... Princess Luna might need a little more time. She’s trying to get it done as fast as possible

“Time is exactly what we don’t have,” Sunset said looking up from the journal and back to her PC. She looked at a photo from the old club where all three members were smiling in happiness. She closed the photo and opened up the forum. “What do you want?”

*ring-ring*

She was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of her phone. Picking it up, she saw it was Twilight.

“Twilight?”

“Sunset! Aiko’s up. We are on our way to her,”

“Got it. I’ll be there,” Sunset said before she hung up the call and ran out of the room.

“Mom! I’m going to Aiko’s! Bye, Chrys!” Sunset shouted running past her mom, aunt, and Chrysalis who were deep inside files and books.

Sunset hopped onto a bus and dialed Applejack. After a few rings, she picked up.

“Sunset. Twilight already left she should be there in a few minutes.” Applejack said.

“Did you guys find anything?”

“No. Whatever this On-gon is we can’t find anything. Don’t worry, we still have more time, we will solve this,”

“I hope. I gotta go, keep looking,” Sunset said before ending the call and getting off the bus. She quickly made her way to Aiko’s home and knocked on the door. Right as she was about to knock for the third time, the door flung open.

“Good, you are here,” Aiko’s mom said as Sunset walked inside. She saw that Aiko and Twilight were sitting together while Twilight held Aiko’s hand. Her dad and Grandma sat near her. Sunset walked up to an armchair and sat on it.

“Aiko?” Sunset said softly. Aiko looked up at her slowly. “Can you talk?” She nodded. “Okay. Take your time, and tell us what happened there,”

“I... I saw...”

“It’s okay, we are here for you,” Twilight said squeezing her hand. Aiko closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“I... I saw what happened... after s-she fell down,” Aiko started. “I... sh-she was... in a b-bag. I- I think... a sleeping bag. He... t-that boy t-took her somewhere. S-she was still a-alive but... h-he still d-digged u... he... he...”

“Hey hey it’s okay, take a deep breath you don’t have to say anymore,” Sunset said stopping Aiko before she got a panic attack.

“Aiko, here, take this,” Aiko’s mom said holding out a glass of water. Aiko took it and started drinking slowly from it.

No one said anything after that. They were engulfed by a deafening silence. Twilight continued to hug her in hopes of helping Aiko relax. Mr. and Mrs. Whiskers kept looking at Aiko hopelessly, not knowing what to do. Grandma still said nothing as she observed what was happening.

After what felt like an eternity, Twilight decided to break the silence.

“You okay now?” She asked. Aiko nodded. “Can you tell us what happened afterward? After the mirror started cracking?”

“I... I don’t know. When the mirror broke, I felt... a sharp pain. Like something is... stabbing my head. It was very... painful. I... I don’t know what happened afterward. I woke up today when mom came to check on me.”

“I see. This is not good. Luna may be right,” Sunset said.

“What did she say?” Aiko’s dad asked.

“She... she said that... maybe that something is trying to harm her. And being trapped inside a mirror, which according to Luna-”

“Is a gateway to other worlds,” Grandma finished.

“Just like the portal to Equestria,” Sunset confirmed. “Also you have traces of foreign magic. I was able to sense it properly when I stayed with you overnight yesterday.”

“You stayed with me?” Aiko asked.

“Yeah. I stayed just in case something happened. However, the problem is whatever the traces are from, they felt very similar to Anon-a-miss.” Sunset said as Aiko and Twilight’s eyes widened.

“No! But- but... they posted the last rumor. If... we have to-”

“Last rumor? What?” Aiko asked looking at Twilight in confusion.

“We call it the last rumor because it felt like a means to an end. I can’t show you because of what it does.” Sunset said.

“A means to an end? What does it say?” Aiko asked. Sunset closed her eyes as she took a deep breath before looking at Aiko.

“To everyone that is reading this, after 48 hours, “On-gon” will come to you, and take your life. You cannot run forever. Death is coming for you.” Sunset said as everyone fell into a deafening silence.

“They... want to kill everyone? Why?” Aiko asked.

“We don’t know. We are looking into it the whole day. Even Chrys is here. But I feel like this Anon-a-miss and your situation are connected.”

“You think it’s her?”

“It could be,”

“What is happening? I knew coming back here was a bad idea and now my daughter is being haunted by a ghost,” Aiko’s dad said frustrated.

“What do you mean ba-”

“How do you know about that?” Aiko asked interrupting Sunset.

“Sunset filled us in yesterday. So, what are we gonna do about this,” Aiko’s dad asked looking at Sunset.

“I’m not really the expert when it comes to dream creatures. That would be Princess Luna. And she needs time to get ready. So for now, we wait and try to solve this rumor before it hurts anyone. Especially if it’s connected.” Sunset said.

“Does any of you know anything about an... On-gon?” Twilight asked.

“It does sound familiar,” Aiko’s grandma said.

“We’ll see what we can find,” Aiko’s mom said.

“Oh you guys are back,” Applejack said looking up from the book she was reading. Rainbow who was also reading a book, albeit more annoyed glanced at them before going back to the book to rifle through the pages.

“What happened? Are you okay Aiko?” Rarity asked concerned.

“Yeah, I... I don’t know.” Aiko said as Blake jumped onto the table.

“Aiko’s parents weren’t happy but we need her here with us in case something happens, where’s the others?” Twilight asked picking up one of the books from Applejack’s pile.

“Ahhhhh!! They are looking for more books because none of these books have anything about this On-Gon guy,” Rainbow said frustrated.

“Keep your voice down!” Rarity whispered. “But yes, we are running out of books and no luck. Not in any of these books, or in the internet.”

“What should we do now?” Applejack asked as Sunset propped her head on her hand covering her eyes.

“I guess we’ll have to wait for Luna. She must know something.” Sunset said. “By the way Aiko, why did your dad say it was a bad idea to come here?” Sunset asked looking up at Aiko.

“I think i- it...” Aiko closed her eyes as she felt a little dizzy.

“Aiko?” Twilight asked concerned.

“I’m fine... no I don’t know. We’ll have to ask him,”

“Hm...” Sunset looked away in thought when all of a sudden she felt a vibration coming from her bag. She quickly pulled out the journal from her bag as she read the latest message.

“It’s Luna, she’s here. Let’s go,”

With the news of Luna’s arrival, the gang quickly left the library and made their way to the school. Once they reached the portal Sunset quickly sent a message to Twilight to let her know Luna could cross. Not long after the message was delivered, the portal started to glow as Princess Luna, in formal attire came out of the portal.

“Okay... I’m supposed to stand on my hind legs correct?” She asked trying to balance herself. “This is going to take some getting used to,”

“Princess Luna!” Sunset said gaining her attention. “Did you finish it?”

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t would I?” Luna said “Aiko he- who’s this?” She asked as she noticed the cat standing next to Aiko.

“O-oh that’s Blake. He’s with me,” Aiko said.

Luna narrowed her eyes at the cat before holding her hand out which had a crescent moon necklace. “Aiko, here wear this,” Luna said looking at the girl.

Aiko walked forward before taking the necklace.

“What is this?”

“It’s an enchanted necklace. Since I can’t use magic in this world yet, I believe this will help you. It should help you strengthen your mind so no one can invade it,” Luna explained.

Aiko nodded before lifting the necklace and placing it over her head.

“How do you feel?” Twilight asked placing a hand on Aiko’s shoulder.

“I feel... I- agh-” Aiko grunted in pain as she clutched her head.

“Aiko!”

“No, let her fight it,” Luna said stopping Twilight while the rest of them watched in concern.

“But- but,”

“She has to do it. It’s her mind,” Luna said kneeling in front of the girl. “You can do it Aiko fight it!”

“I... I... ugh...” Aiko grunted before breathing hard.

“That’s it, keep going,” Luna said as Aiko’s breathing slowed down.

“Ha... ha... ha... ... ha... I think... I’m fine now,”

“Good. I’ll stay until this is all solved. I can’t use magic yet but I should be able to guide you in fighting it. That necklace can do so much.” Luna said.

“You are staying? What about your duties?” Aiko asked.

“Celestia can raise the moon while I’m gone. And Twilight will attend to any royal duties. Good practice for her.”

“Okay, but we don’t know what to do yet. We are nowhere closer to solving the new post and we don’t have time.” Sunset said.

“Sunset, don’t worry we will solve this,” Luna said placing her hand on Sunset’s shoulder.

“Yeah yeah... okay. Twilight, I need you to talk to your brother and see if he can find anything on Violet. I’ll send anything my parents find out.”

“Got it,”

“Luna, do you know anything about an On-Gon?”

“I’m afraid not,”

“Tch- I was hoping it was a dream creature and you would know about it.”

“Seems there’s not much we can do now,” Applejack said.

“Yeah. We’ll have to hope whatever your brother and Chrys can find will help us.”

“So what? We leave now?” Rainbow asked.

“I don’t think separating is a good idea. We should stay together.” Rarity said.

“I agree. Aiko, will your parents be fine if we stay at your place?” Sunset asked.

“I’ll have to-” *ring* *ring* she got interrupted by the sound of her phone. “It’s my mom,” Aiko said looking at the caller ID. Picking up, she turned on the speaker.

“Aiko! Are you okay?” They heard the sound of Aiko’s mom.

“I- I am. Did anything happen?”

“No, I... I wanted to make sure. And I think we know why that name sounds familiar,”

“What is that?” Aiko asked as everyone listened in on interest.

“Think about it, say it out loud, why does it sound familiar?” Aiko’s mom said.

“Wait, is it... Kanji?”

“Hai. It means vengeful spirit. Obaasan thinks it could be a yokai like Shinigami or the girl turned into a yurei, like an Onryo. I hope this helped.”

“Hai hai. Okaasan, can my friends stay the night at home? Just in case?”

“Hm... I guess so. 8 right?”

“9 actually. Luna-hime is also gonna stay with us,”

“Hime? Oh uh... we will figure something out. Are you coming home now?”

“I think so?”

“Okay okay... come home fast. Kiotsukete ne (Be safe) Aiko,”

“So... we are fighting a yokai?” Twilight asked.

“What’s a yokai?” Applejack asked.

“Demons. And yes, it does feel like the girl has the possibility to be an Onryo.” Aiko said.

“What if we can find where the girl was buried? If we properly laid it to rest, it should stop the rumor,” Fluttershy said.

“That may solve it but we still need to find where she was buried. Let’s go home and get ready. Come to Aiko’s as fast as possible.” Sunset said.

With that, the girls parted ways while Luna went with Aiko to keep an eye on her.

“Mom, I’m home!” Sunset shouted as she arrived back home.

“Sunset, what happened with Aiko?” Celestia asked coming from the kitchen while Luna was preparing some tea.

“There’s a lot to tell. And it seems like her situation is connected with the rumor. Princess Luna also came in to help with Aiko’s situation. She’s with her now,” Sunset said. “Did you guys find something?”

“Yes, both good and bad news,” Chrysalis said as she gave Sunset some papers. “We found out about the Sprint guy. He switched schools around the same time the girl died which more or less confirms what Aiko saw. Unfortunately, he’s no longer in the country.”

“What’s the good news then?”

“His family is still in the city; we can talk with them and see if they know something.”

“What about Violet?”

“Not much. Her family also left the city after she died so we got nothing on her. We’ll keep looking but not sure if we’ll find anything,”

“Of course,” Sunset said dejectedly. “Send these out to Twilight’s brother. We’ll see if we can find anything tomorrow.”

“Are you going back?” Luna asked.

“Yeah. We decided splitting up isn’t a good idea so we are gonna stay at Aiko’s today. I just came here to get ready.” With that said, Sunset ran up to her room to get ready for the night.

After taking all the necessary supplies Sunset ran back downstairs to leave. Chrysalis offered to take her to Aiko’s and before long, she was at her destination. Everyone was already there except Applejack being the furthest from everyone. Sunset also found out that as soon as Aiko got home, her grandma and Luna took her to her grandma’s room to help her with the situation. Sunset was imagining Aiko sitting in the middle while her Grandma chanted some kind of phrase waving a bunch of talismans while Luna tried to use her magic. What was interesting was Blake sitting outside the door in silence.

“What’s up with Blake?” Sunset asked.

“I’m not sure, he was like that since I arrived,” Twilight said.

“For some reason, Luna-hime didn’t want him in,” Aiko’s mom said.

That night everyone went to sleep for the day. Luna was wide awake in the shadows of the room looking after Aiko. Her eyes narrowed as they landed on the cat lying near Aiko.

“What is your deal?” Luna asked. Blake looked up at her but said nothing.

“I know you can talk, now answer me, beast,” Luna demanded careful not to raise her voice so as not to wake anyone up.

“I’m here for her,” Blake said. “I don’t want her to get hurt,”

“And you want me to believe that? And who is this her anyways?” Blake looked at Aiko but said nothing.

“I don’t trust you so you better not try anything funny, I have my eyes on you,” Luna said glaring as her eyes glowed blue for a second.

“The Necklace is getting weaker,” Luna said as she let go of the necklace around Aiko’s neck. “How do you feel?” Luna asked the next day, back in Grandma’s room as Grandma and Luna checked up on Aiko.

“I feel fine,” Aiko said.

“Any nightmares?” Aiko shook her head.

“Keep practicing the techniques I taught you,” Grandma said placing her hand on her head. “You will be fine, I know you are strong. You have the blood of a warrior. Keep fighting,” Aiko nodded.

“What will you do now?” Grandma asked looking at Sunset standing near them.

“Well... we still don’t have a good lead, but we can meet the family of that boy. That’s the best lead we have at the moment,” Sunset said.

“Hm hm... we will get ready from here. We can’t do much but we will be ready if you need help.” Grandma said as they left the room.

After having a proper breakfast, the girls and Princess Luna left the house for their first destination. Thankfully Applejack had the bright idea to bring their family truck so that all nine of them could fit together. After giving Applejack the location, Sunset jumped onto the back. She pulled out her phone and she dialed her mom.

“Hello Mom, any news?”

“We did find a few things about Violet but all just bits and pieces. We sent them to Shining this morning. Now we just have to wait for him to find anything. How’s Aiko?”

“She’s okay for now. But the necklace that Luna gave her is losing its power. We have to hurry,” Sunset said. “We are going to meet up with that boy’s family. See if we can find something.”

“Okay, good luck. I’ll send you anything we find out about her,”

It didn’t take much longer for them to get to the destination. It was a modest apartment complex.

“You guys stay here, no need to barge in like an army in there. I’ll go with Twilight.” Sunset said. “You… also probably stay here Luna, they might recognize you as the Principal and that could complicate things,” But before the two girls can leave, Aiko called out.

“I’m also coming with you,”

“Aiko?” Twilight asked.

“Sorry I… I need to meet them,”

“You sure about this?” Luna asked, clearly not liking Aiko going with them. Aiko nodded. “Okay but stay close.” The three then turned to go into the apartment. “Not you!” They turned confused, only to see Luna glaring at Blake.

“But what if something happens to her?”

“I said no,” Luna said dangerously low.

“Blake, it’s fine,” Aiko said trying to defuse the situation. “I’m with Sunset, I’ll be fine,” Blake didn’t answer, instead he looked up at Aiko.

“Okay.”

With that, the three climbed the stairs to get to their destination.

“You think they’d be home today? It is a Monday morning,” Twilight asked.

“Let’s just hope they’d be,” Sunset said as they finally arrived at the apartment.

*knock* *knock* *knock*

The knock was followed by the sound of a chair being moved. Within seconds, the door was opened by an elderly woman who seemed a bit younger than Sunset’s grandparents.

“Oh hello, what can I do for you?” The woman asked.

“Good morning madam, Sunset Shimmer from the Canterlot High School Newspaper Club. Can we have a moment?” Sunset asked. She also noticed how there was a small flash of emotion on the woman’s face at the mention of the club.

“Yes come in,” She said allowing them to come inside. “Would you like some tea?”

“Uh… we won’t be here for long; we just have some… questions to ask of you if it’s fine by you,” Twilight said.

“Yes, come sit,” The woman said as they came to the living area.

As they moved in, Sunset looked around the apartment. It was spacy and didn’t really have much from the looks of it. There were a few images of people. Her eyes also went to a framed picture of a blue spider lily.

“We were hoping to meet your son, but I don’t think he’s available at the moment? Can we know when he’ll be back?” Sunset asked.

“Oh… I’m sorry but you won’t be able to meet him at all. He’s out of the country.” The woman said.

“Oh, I see. So you live alone here?”

“Mostly, yes. But the neighbors are quite nice so it doesn’t get lonely that much.” The woman said as they sat down. “Okay, so what do you want to know? I can hopefully answer them.”

“Yes, you see, we are from the newspaper club but the club has been… closed for a long time. We just reopened the club.” Twilight started. Sunset was focused on the woman and saw a flicker of recognition flashing by her.

“I see, well, that happens to a lot of clubs as its popularity goes down.”

“Yes, but here’s the thing, as new members of the newspaper club, we wish to know more about its past. Unfortunately, most of its past is lost in time.”

“From what we found, your son was in the same year as the students that ran the club last time; we were hoping to see if he could say anything about that. Maybe he was friends with the club members?” Sunset asked.

“Maybe, but he had to switch schools around the same time the club was closed so I’m not sure who he was friends with.” The woman said.

“Surely he must’ve had friends before then right? Also what caused him to switch schools?” Sunset asked.

“Oh… um… he d-didn’t really feel comfortable around Canterlot. Because it was a lot different back then.” The woman said.

“Oh, I see. Can you tell us more about that time? We were doing some research and found that the closure of the club might have something to do with an incident.” Sunset said before looking at the woman’s eyes. “Something that happened around the same time your son left the school?”

“I mean a lot of things happened back then.” The woman said, clearly on edge.

“I’m sure you were really worried about his safety after what happened,”

“Y-yes, I mean I’m a mother, after all. A-any ways I think it’s time you go. I’m a bit tired and these old bones are not what they used to be.”

“Yes, of course, I’m sorry for barging in like thi-”

“Why?” Sunset was interrupted by Aiko who was silent all this time. Everyone looked at her to see her looking down, her hair covering her face.

“P-pardon?” The woman asked confused.

“Why? Why did he do it?”

“I- I don’t… you should go no-”

“WHY!? I di- She did nothing… he…” Aiko trailed off as she started leaning to the side. Twilight was immediately on her side to catch her.

“Aiko! Aiko?” Twilight asked.

“I… I’m fine… sorry…”

The woman got up and hurriedly walked over to the door before opening it.

“Leave!”

Sunset helped Twilight with Aiko, who was leaning heavily against Twilight. As they walked out the door, Sunset stopped for a second to look at the framed photo of the spider lily. But the woman walked in front of her. Sunset looked up at the woman.

“Good day to you ma’am.” She said before walking out the door which slammed shut behind them.

A silence fell over them as they walked back downstairs. Aiko, who was still leaning against Twilight looked up at Sunset who was deep in thought.

“I’m sorry… I don’t…”

“Hey, it’s fine. Are you okay though? What happened?” Sunset asked.

“I… I don’t know. I kind of… blanked and… wait…” They stopped for a bit as Aiko requested. Aiko brought one hand to her chest, and closed her finger, with the index and middle finger pointing straight. She closed her eyes and started focusing on the techniques her grandma had taught her. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes. “L-let’s go,”

They made their way out of the apartment complex where Rainbow and Rarity were waiting for them. They turned to look at the approaching girls.

“Did you guys- what happened to Aiko?” Rarity asked seeing the girl still leaning on Twilight. Before Aiko could say anything, Sunset interrupted.

“Let’s go back to the truck, we’ll talk from there.”

The girls got back in the truck and Applejack drove them a bit far from the apartment at Sunset’s request. After driving for a while, Applejack stopped to park the truck off to the side, and the girls got out.

“So, what’s going on, you found something?” Applejack asked.

“Not much. We couldn’t get much out of her. But it is clear she knows what happened, she just refuses to say anything. Can’t really blame her.” Sunset said.

“So what now?” Rainbow asked. “Also why did Aiko look so weak before?”

“I… I’m not sure. I got m-mad and then I blacked out for a second,” Aiko said.

“The necklace is getting weaker,” Luna said as she gripped the necklace and focused on it.

“Luckily, I might have a lead. There was a framed photo of those blue spider lilies in the apartment. There’s a chance that’s where the girl was buried,”

“What makes you so sure?” Twilight asked. “Those are rare flowers, she might have just liked them,”

“Actually if you think about it, it makes sense,” Rarity as she started to figure it out. “For one, we know the flowers are special, not only are they rare, but they also glow under the moonlight. The park where the flowers are is actually closer to CHS, and it was supposed to be a small wilderness back in the day. Also, we know the boy had feelings for Violet, so maybe he took a photo of the flowers as a way to remember her,” Rarity said in her detective voice.

“Exactly my thoughts,” Sunset said. “It’s the best lead we have so I say we go for it. Twilight, call Shining and get permission to dig those flowers. I remember when investigating those flowers again that the magic signature of them was very familiar, I’m 100% positive that’s what we are looking for.” Twilight nodded as she fished out her phone.

“I’m gonna send a message to Mom and Chrys, have them on the loop,” Sunset said quickly sending out a text. “We need some shovels,”

“Hop on, we have some back at the farm,” Applejack said as they all got on the truck again.

It’s almost evening and no good news from the girls so far. Whisker's household is in tense, waiting for something. Aiko’s grandma sat on her bed in thought. She heard the sound of her daughter and son-in-law talking from outside her room. They are restless, with Aiko’s dad blaming himself for coming back, while his wife tries to console him. The sound of their voice was interrupted as she heard the phone ring. She got up and left her room and saw Aiko’s father picking up the phone.

“Hello? Oh Principal any… oh…” Grandma came closer to listen to the conversation. “Yes I, we did… I… there was an incident and… wait…” there was a pause. His wife came closer and placed a hand on his shoulder. His eyes widened at whatever was said from the other side. “No! No that… that can’t be… it can’t be her she-”

“Honey, what’s going on?” His wife asked.

“I… my cousin but…” Suddenly, Grandma snatched the phone from him.

“Principal, where are the girls?” She asked.

“They are going to the park, they think they have a lead to where the girl is buried,”

“Aiko cannot go there! Keep Aiko away from wherever they are going!” Grandma said before handing the phone back to her son-in-law and quickly making her way back to her room.

Once inside, she opens a drawer. It was filled with Talismans. She picked a bunch and stood up to leave. She paused before looking back at the drawer. She reached out to the back of the drawer and placed her hand on a part of the bottom, that seemed to have a separate cut, as if there should be a square hole that was filled. She paused again. She shook her head and closed the drawer, before leaving the room.

“Get your car we are leaving!” She said as she walked to the door without waiting for an answer.

The truck rounded a corner as it drove towards the park. The sun is slowly slipping down, signaling they are running out of time. The girls had to wait a while, hoping Shining would be able to get them permission but it was taking too long so Sunset decided they should go anyway. As they came closer to the park, Sunset heard her phone ringing.

“Hello, Mom … … … what!” Sunset shouted as the rest of the girls with her in the back of the truck looked at her. She’s glad that Twilight and Aiko’s in the front. “I see okay,”

“What is it?” Fluttershy asked, who was holding onto Sunset for dear life, not wanting to be in the back of the truck.

“It was… Violet. They found something I’ll…” Sunset looked back at Aiko who was leaning onto Twilight inside the truck. “I’ll tell you in a bit,”

Before long the truck came to a stop at the park gates. The girls got off the truck and prepared to enter the park. As Aiko and Twilight got off, Sunset walked up to them.

“You two stay here. I don’t -”

“NO!... I- I mean I want to come with you,” Aiko said in distress.

“I’m sorry but no. It’s too dangerous for you to be there,”

“Sunset’s right. If this is where the girl is buried, you getting closer to it is the last thing we want.” Luna said.

Twilight placed a hand on her shoulder, hoping to ease the girl.

“Aiko, it’s fine. They will help her, and it will all be over soon,”

“But…”

“I’m sorry Aiko but you get no say in this,” Sunset said.

With that, AIko and Twilight got back into the truck while the others made their way to the flowers.

The Park was relatively quiet. Most likely due to being a weekday. Fortunately for them, the area where the flowers are less popular, part of it being thanks to low light levels. The girls made their way to the flowers in silence until Applejack decided to break it.

“So, what’s up with Aiko? You are not telling something,” She asked Sunset.

“Mom called. They found some stuff about Violet. Aiko’s in a lot of danger.”

Meanwhile, at the truck, Aiko and Twilight were sitting inside. Twilight was in the driving seat while Aiko stayed on the other side. She was looking out at the park in silence. Too silent. Twilight awkwardly played with the wheel, thinking of a way to break the silence.

“You know, I never actually tried to drive a truck before. Feels… intimidating. I mean this one in particular is not a big vehicle or anything but…” No response.

“So… uh… you know how to sword fight right? You gotta show me one day, I bet you’d look really cool, as Rainbow would say.” Again, no response.

Twilight had no idea what to do. Aiko’s clearly distressed but no matter what she says she gets no reaction. Even Blake, who is curled up on Aiko’s lap looks at Aiko concerned. Twilight sighed.

“Aiko? It’s fine. This will all be over soon trust me. They’ve apparently fought way worse like… I think evil mermaids? Siren? Yeah so don’t worry, everything will be fine.” Twilight reached out and placed a hand on Aiko’s shoulder. “Hey Aiko-”

Aiko suddenly snapped her head at Twilight. What looked up at her were not the cyan eyes that she grew to love. Instead, it was bright red, glaring at her. Then suddenly she vanished in a flash, leaving Twilight alone in the truck, breathing heavily.

“Wha- what… what – where… oh no,”

Twilight quickly left the truck and ran into the park. She ran as fast as she could. She has no idea what happened to Aiko and needs to act fast. Twilight saw the group ahead and Sunset was explaining something. She shouted gaining their attention.

“SUNSET!!! SU-Sunset!!!” The group turned back in surprise.

“Twilight!? What are you doing here where’s…”

“She left, she-” Twilight interrupted Sunset. “R-red eyes, she… she teleported and…”

Twilight tried to explain what happened with little success. But it wasn’t needed as everyone understood what was going on.

“Shit! Come on! We gotta hurry!” Sunset shouted as they started running to the flowers.

It didn’t take long for them to make it to the flowers. And sure enough, Aiko was standing there with Blake next to her. She had her back turned to them.

“Aiko?” Sunset approached her cautiously. “Hey Aiko what…”

“It’s beautiful isn’t it,” Aiko said. Everyone stopped, not sure how to proceed. “And you know what it cost for these flowers?”

“Aiko, it’s okay, can you come to us?” Aiko didn’t move. Blake looked spooked next to her.

“My Life!” Aiko said in anger. Everyone’s eyes widened, catching onto what’s happening.

“No,” Twilight whispered in horror.

“Aiko! Fight it, you can do it,” Luna said. “You are strong, use my-”

“Aiko isn’t here!!!” Violet shouted as she turned around, eyes burning red. “Though I have to say, you are right. She was strong. And your necklace gave me a bit of trouble as well,” She said holding the necklace up and looking at it. “But it wasn’t enough,”

“Why are you doing this?” Sunset shouted.

“He has to pay. I did nothing, I just wanted a peaceful life but he… he couldn’t take a no. Now it’s time for him to DIE!”

“But you’ll be killing so many other people, is that what you want? Is that who you really are?”

“Then so be it, it’s the only way,” This was going nowhere. It’s getting dark, and now Aiko is in danger.

“But why her? Why Aiko?” Twilight asked in desperation.

“Twilight, was it? Thank you, for bringing her to me.”

“What?”

“I deeply regret using her. I didn’t want it to come to this. But she was too curious for her own good, too innocent. She reminds me of myself actually. After all, we share the same blood.” The girls gasped at the revelation. But before they could say anything, a dark aura surrounded her body.

“Hu- Ah- AAH…” Blake dropped down in pain. The same dark aura surrounded him as well. “AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!” He shouted in agony as he grew in size. His eyes snapped open looking around. Gone were the glowing blue eyes, now replaced by a glaring red.

“What is going on!?” Rarity shouted.

“I hate to say this, but I feel like she wouldn’t just let us go past her,” Sunset said getting ready for a fight none of them were looking forward to. Blake finally stopped growing, now the size of a full-grown tiger with two tails. He walked behind Aiko, or rather Violet, and looked at the girls with angry eyes.

Violet grabbed the necklace around her neck and yanked hard, snapping it out.

“You were good friends to her,” Violet said, now with an otherworldly voice. “But get in my way, and you… will… SUFFER!”

“Fine! You want a fight, you get a fight?” Rainbow shouted before activating her geode and running at Violet.

“Rainbow wait!” Sunset shouted but the speedster didn’t stop.

Blake jumped in front of Violet, and Rainbow delivered a powerful kick to his head. Blake received the blow head-on but he shrugged it off and looked back at Rainbow as if nothing happened.

“Oh shit,” Rainbow muttered as Blake opened his mouth to bite at Rainbow. Fortunately, Applejack jumped in and punched him, which managed to stagger him for a bit.

Violet then teleported behind Rainbow trying to hit her but a sparkle explosion from Pinkie caused Violet to move protecting Rainbow.

“We’ll take Blake!” Applejack shouted.

“Luna! Fluttershy! Try to dig the flowers we’ll keep them busy,” Sunset instructed.

While Fluttershy and Luna tried to walk around the battle, Rarity kept throwing small shields at Violet. But she expertly teleported around them. She teleported closer to Rarity and tried to hit her but Twilight managed to capture her using her telekinesis.

“Please, stop this. I don’t want to hurt you,” Twilight shouted.

“It’s too late for that now!” Violet teleported out of Twilight’s magic and appeared next to her.

Sunset flew in and tackled Violet, giving Twilight some time to breathe, but her teleportation powers proved to be a huge problem. Meanwhile Applejack, Pinkie, and Rainbow were having little success fighting Blake. They managed to land some solid hits between Rainbow and Pinkie distracting Blake with their speed and unpredictableness respectively and Applejack capitalizing on them. But Blake doesn’t seem to slow down but gets annoyed at the three. Rainbow tried to fly around and get a hit from behind Blake, but the cat anticipated this and used his twin tails to grab her midair. He then proceeded to fling the girl hard to the ground.

“Rainbow!!!” Applejack shouted but thankfully Twilight managed to catch her before she hit the ground.

Applejack didn’t get any chance to breathe afterward as Blake then tried to bite her. But thanks to her superior strength she managed to hold the cat from its jaws, preventing him from biting her. She then managed to throw him over herself and onto the ground.

“Can’t we use the elements?’ Rainbow asked getting back from the ground and ready to help Applejack.

“If we can find an opening then yes,” Sunset said.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy and Luna slowly made it to the flowers, trying their best to stay out of the fight. Once they made it to the flowers, Luna gave one of the shovels to Fluttershy. She took it but then looked back at the fight going on.

“You think they will be fine?”

“They will be if we hurry. It’s not like they can actually fight Aiko without hurting her.” Luna said as she lifted her shovel and shoved it deep into the flower bed. The moment the shovel hit the floor, Violet flinched, causing her to get hit by one of Rarity’s shields. She teleported away from them and looked at the flowers to see Luna and Fluttershy trying to dig into them.

“Blake!!!” She shouted. The cat looked at her and then at the flowers before he turned and tried to run for the two.

“Oh no you don’t,” Applejack shouted as she grabbed one of the tails, with Rainbow following up with the other tail.

Blake growled, trying to break free from them. Rainbow was the first to lose her hold, as Blake yanked hard. With the now free tail, he snapped at Applejack causing her to let go as well. Pinkie tried to stop him but he was too fast. Another tail flick and Pinkie was thrown back.

“NO!!!” Sunset shouted as the cat ran to Fluttershy and Luna.

All of a sudden, a glowing paper flew past them and onto Blake, causing the cat to stop in its tracks and scream in pain.

“Watashi no mago ni te o dasu na! (Leave my granddaughter alone!)”

Everyone turned to see Aiko’s dad and grandma walking to them. She had a bunch of paper in her left hand, and another on her right. She brought the talisman on her right hand closer to her and focused.

“Rin, Pyo, To, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen…!” She shouted, waving her hand down and left for every word, with each word making the paper in her hand glow purple.

“You will not stop me!!!” Violet shouted as she teleported in front of Aiko’s grandma. However, she hesitated for a second. That was all they needed.

“Twilight!!!” Sunset shouted and Twilight used her magic to capture Violet. Grandma then made a circle from her hand before thrusting the talisman at Violet.

“OM!!!” She shouted, and the paper flew into Violet, causing her to scream. “Now! Use your magic!”

The girls quickly got together and held each other’s hands. Their geodes started glowing before they were engulfed in a rainbow light, which then shot a rainbow of its own at Violet. Then everything went white.

I never wanted any of this…

All I ever wanted was a peaceful life… with my friends by my side…

But then He came…

He destroyed my life…

Hurt my friends and family…

I wanted him to suffer…

…

…

…

Thank you… for helping me…

But there’s more to come…

Be prepared… Aiko…

The first thing she heard was the sound of birds chirping outside. She then felt soft clothes under her. Someone was holding her hand. She then felt the warm light on her face. A pair of cyan-blue eyes opened. She turned her head to the side to see Twilight holding onto her hand.

“Twilight?” Aiko whispered causing the girl to snap her head at her.

“Aiko! You are awake,” Twilight said getting closer. “How do you feel?”

“I… I feel so… tired…” She said as she sat on the bed with Twilight’s help. “What happened?”

“What do you remember?” It was Sunset. Aiko now noticed the other girls strewn around her room.

“I… I remember us going to the park and… you asked me to stay then… I remember a… voice. And then I woke up.” The girls looked at each other, not sure how to proceed. “What happened?”

“Um… you see… we went to the park and then you...” Twilight tried to answer, looking for the best way to word it. “We found the girl but… before we could get to her… you… she… uh…”

“Oh…” Aiko said, having an idea what happened. “Did… did I hurt anyone,”

“It doesn’t matter. What happened, happened. We stopped Violet, and helped her.” Sunset said. “The forum is no more, it’s just a normal forum now. Everyone’s safe.”

“But… but I tried to…”

“So what? It wasn’t your fault, you were being controlled,” Rainbow said. “These two did way worse than you,” Rainbow said pointing at the general direction of Sunset and Twilight.

“Dashie really?” Pinkie chided.

“What? It’s true,”

Aiko looked down, not sure what to do. Then Pinkie appeared next to her, trying to cheer her up.

“Dashie’s right though. This is really not your fault. So turn that frown, upside down, or I will hold the biggest party ever to cheer you up.” Aiko smiled.

“Oh no, I’m scared please no,”

“Too late,”

Everyone fell into silence after that. Aiko looked up at Sunset.

“So… what happens now?”

“Well… your parents and Grandma are trying to figure out what to do now. We’ll have to wait and see what they think.”

“Oh…” Aiko said bringing her knees closer and hugging herself. Twilight hugged her from the side.

“I don’t want to go…”

“Don’t worry Aiko, you are not going to go anywhere. They wouldn’t do that,” Twilight tried to reassure her but Aiko didn’t seem convinced. Then she remembered something.

“Wait… where’s Blake?” The girls all looked at each other.

“After we… cleansed you he…he just disappeared,” Applejack said.

“Disappeared?”

“Maybe he’s with Violet,” Fluttershy said. Aiko nodded.

They then heard a knock on the door, and Luna opened it.

“Ah, you are awake, good. Can you come down?” She asked. Aiko nodded. “Okay then, they are waiting.”

After trying to calm down her still racing heart, Aiko stood up from the bed and left the room, with the others following her. The house was quiet. Too quiet. As she came down the stairs, she saw her mother and grandma sitting on the couch while her father stayed near the front window looking out. The moment her mother saw her she bolted from the couch.

“Aiko! Daijobu desu ka? (Are you okay?)” Her mother asked embracing her.

“Daijobu, Okaasan, (I’m fine Mom,)” Aiko said giving into her mother’s touch. She then looked up at her father. “Otoosan?”

Her father looked at her, his eyes turning soft. He walked up to her and ruffled her hair.

“My little kunoichi. Never want to give me a break do you,” He said softly.

“Sorry,” Aiko said looking down.

“It’s okay. What matters is you are safe now,” He said. Then his expression turned a bit serious. “Now, we were talking about how to handle this best, so first thing first,” He said before looking up at all the girls. “Thank you all. You helped my Aiko and my cousin. I’m truly grateful for that.”

He then looked back at Aiko.

“Second, no school for now,” Aiko tried to argue. “No, no, you heard me. I would have wanted to have you transferred but…” he looked up at the others. “… I don’t think that’s the best idea. For now, you are gonna stay home, and rest.” Aiko nodded. “I promised you, remember, we are not going anywhere again. We stay here,”

“Well, I believe it’s time for me to go now. Stars know what Twilight’s been up to while I’m gone,” Princess Luna said as she got ready to leave while their own Twilight made a face at that. “Can you send a message to her?” She asked looking at Sunset who nodded.

“Princess Luna,” Aiko’s father addressed her. “Thank you for your help. I don’t know how to repay you,” He said as he and his family bowed to her.

“No need for that. It is my duty as the Princess of the Night to help in situations like these.” She said. Aiko then noticed the necklace in her hand.

“Luna-hime? Can I have that necklace?” Aiko asked. Luna looked down at the necklace.

“You no longer need this, nor does it have any powers,”

“I- I figured but… It helped me and… I’d like to have it… to remember by… I- if you don’t mind,” Luna looked at the necklace again before looking at Aiko.

“Very well, it is yours then,” She said giving Aiko the necklace. “You are strong, never forget that,”

Aiko took the necklace and looked at it. The shiny surface reflected her face back at her. She doesn’t know what will happen now. Where things are going to go. What does Violet mean by there’s more to come. But as she looked up at her friends, she knew, that she could take whatever it was head-on. She will be prepared.

After finding out where Violet was buried, the CPD acted quickly and dug her body out. She was then given a proper funeral. What happens to Sprint is still up in the air as he’s out of the country. But as of right now, all that mattered was that Violet was properly laid to rest.

Aiko was left weak after the incident, having taken a toll on her energy. But she’s getting better as days go by. Her father promised to let her go back to school in a few days. Her friends’ constant visiting was fun, but she missed school and hanging out in the club room. She also missed Blake. He didn’t stay for long, but he was a great companion to have. She didn’t show it but even her mom missed him. But she was happy for him. He’s finally with Violet, with his soul also laid to rest. She can’t take it from him. She was currently in her room, looking out the window when she heard her mom.

“Aiko! Twilight’s here!”

Aiko couldn’t stop the smile from coming out. She quickly got off the bed and ran to the door.

“Coming!”

Author's Note

I"M BACK!!!

And right before the new year too.
Sorry for so so late. Got writer's block and was busy with a lot of work on my course and personal projects. But it's finally finished.

Now I'm sure a lot of you have questions and I'm happy to answer them. Also, I do have some plans for the future but I'm not sure when I will get to that. For now, tho, this story comes to an end.

Hope you enjoyed my story.

Thank you.