Author's Note

My apologies for taking so long to post this. Hit a bit of a snag and I'm now at where I'd like to be, so here is Chapter VII to celebrate Star Wars day.

Happy May 4th everyone ^3^

Chapter VII: Emergence of Conflict

Sunrise fell to her knees as the weight of the big realization hit her: She was manipulated and turned into a demon by her own mother, one of the women she looked up to as a little girl growing up. But now all of the good memories she had held onto by that point were now twisted by the ultimate truth that her mother was anything but a good, loving person.

"Twilight Sparkle, your own mother, did this to you. Wow. What a sick bitch," Fudge spoke, rubbing his chin and then thought of something. "Hmm. When she turned you into a demon that laid control over an undead army… was she rather fascinated by other-worldly magic, particularly from a world called Equestria?"

"Uh.. yeah? How do you know that?" Sunrise inquired, looking up at Fudge.

"I figured that out because our Twilight had become fascinated with magic in the past several months, starting back at the Fall Formal at CHS, and then the Battle of the Bands not long after that," Fudge continued. "So if your mother began to collect magic while studying it, only to become a demon as a result while also turning you into one, and if our Twilight is also collecting magic… then that means…. Oh no…"

Realizing that their Twilight was in imminent danger from the magic contained within her spectrometer, Fudge reached for his phone which was stashed in the right pocket of his dress pants and attempted to call Twilight. To his disappointment, there was no signal.

"Fuck! Dammit, I should've figured there'd be no signal since we're in a damn game! I just wish I could warn Twilight! That spectrometer is a magical bomb that could go off at any moment, and I can't tell her that it needs to be disposed of," Fudge said in a panic.

Unbeknownst to Fudge, he inadvertently did warn Twilight just what kind of danger she was in collecting other-worldly magic, as everyone still present in the gym at that moment could see everything that was transpiring, considering that the game's case was projecting what was currently going on like it was a movie.

Meanwhile, as the seventh round was now in full swing, the others cut down any advancing zombies while holding their ground. Fudge regained his composure as he held a hand to Sunrise, offering to help her to her feet.

"Come on. We got a battle to finish. Your mother may have betrayed you, but we won't. Should you choose to join us in our world, you won't have to worry about family turning their backs on you ever again," Fudge offered as Sunrise took his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet. But as she got up to her feet and released Fudge's hand, her own began to faintly glow.

"Um… this is new," Sunrise commented as the glowing aura began to extend down her arm, and then her entire body after that. The weird sensation caused Sunrise to go rigid.

Sunrise's zombie-like appearance began to fade in exchange for one more akin to a natural human. Her once frizzled hair was starting to straighten and look more vibrant in color, being a brilliant red with yellow and blue highlights, and her skin was also healing as blood was beginning to flow through her veins once more. Each passing second sent more and more blood throughout her body as Sunrise's heart had been restored, all while Fudge stood in shock at this somewhat alarming transformation.

Not only was Sunrise transforming back into a human, but her figure and clothes also began to change, going from a somewhat voluptuous and athletic physique to a more plump and curvaceous figure with a set of luscious breasts and a butt that could put most any adult film star to shame.

"Fudge, what did you do?" Cara asked, moving next to him.

"I honestly don't know. I was just helping Sunrise to her feet, and then that happened," Fudge replied.

Once the glowing aura faded, Sunrise looked remarkably different than when she first met them all. She looked… alive. Human. Fudge had just healed Sunrise and made her human again. Her outfit had also changed except for her sneakers, as Sunrise was now wearing a vibrant green t-shirt and sky blue leggings.

"Did… Did I do that?" Fudge questioned, looking at his hands while in awe from seeing Sunrise reform back into a human. Cara was also in shock from the sudden transformation.

"I've never seen anything like that before," Cara commented. "You completely healed her, Fudge."

"I guess so. I mean, I did have it in my mind that I was hoping Sunrise would become human again and not have to spend her life cursed to look like a zombie. But if I can be honest, I didn't think that it'd actually work," Fudge spoke, rubbing the back of his neck.

Sunrise on the other hand, felt tears building up in her eyes. She had been a demon for so long that becoming human again became nothing more than a distant memory in the darkest corners of her own mind. Feeling up and down her body, taking in the smooth and soft feeling of her normal skin which was now a slightly dark fleshy orange. Her eyes were also restored, with her right eye being a moderate cyan with an amber yellow birthmark around it, and her left eye being a vibrant purple. Sunrise also had one final birthmark in the middle of her forehead, a small patch with a lavender purple hue.

"I… I'm.. human again.." Sunrise uttered, a tear now cascading down her cheek. "Thank you, Fudge.."

"You're welcome, Sunrise. Again, I didn't even know I could do that," Fudge replied.

With her happiness beginning to boil over, Sunrise latched onto Fudge and gave him a big, air-depriving hug.

"S...Sunrise… can't.. breathe.." Fudge croaked.

"Oh. Sorry.." Sunrise spoke, releasing Fudge so that he could have room to breathe. Regaining their composure, neither had expected what was coming next.

"If you really want to say you're sorry to Fudge, you could always give him a kiss," Cara interjected, now sporting a smug smirk on her face. "On the lips."

"Wait, what? You really want me to kiss your boyfriend? In front of you?" Sunrise questioned.

"Yeah. You know, like this," Cara spoke before grabbing Sunrise at the waist and pulling her into a passionate kiss, revealing that she has an interest in women as well as men. Sunrise was caught completely off guard as Cara's soft lips made contact with her own, her cheeks turning a rosy red.

"Heh. Never thought I'd actually see my girlfriend kissing another woman," Fudge interjected as Cara broke off the kiss.

"Wha-..? I uh..," Sunrise murmured, trying to process what just happened.

"If you didn't catch on, I'll just tell you. I'm Bisexual, darling," Cara confidently spoke. "Granted, I never thought I would be able to tell anyone that. But ever since I met this handsome stud, I knew that I could trust him with anything. He helped me crack out of my shell, and I love him for that. If you choose to become part of our relationship, I'd be more than happy to share Fudge."

"R-Really? You'd.. let him take me out, on a date, and make love to me? W-When it gets to that of course," Sunrise said, albeit with nervous energy.

"She'd be more than okay with that. After all, it was her idea," Fudge responded, draping his left arm around Cara's waist and pulled her towards him in a side hug. "So whaddya say? You don't have to make a decision to join us now if you don't want to of course, Sunrise. It's not an obligation."

"Wow…. This is actually happening," Sunrise muttered.

"But like I said, you don't have to have a decision right this minute," Fudge continued. "You still have time to think about it. We're probably gonna be here for a little while longer anyway until we beat this forsaken game."

"Agreed," Cara added on. "But let's get moving. Even though we still have a few more rounds until we can locate the next big clue to this mysterious easter egg or whatever it is, I'm sure that we can still find other things that may prove to be useful."

Nodding in agreement, Sunrise and Fudge walked with Cara as they moved to exit the gymnasium and regroup with the others, Fudge covering the rear. But as Cara and Sunrise stepped out into the hallway with the others, all doors to the gym suddenly shut out of nowhere, trapping Fudge inside and separating him from his family.

"What the-..? Oh you've gotta be kidding me!" Fudge yelled, understandably frustrated.

"Fudge? Fudge!" Cara shouted from the other side of the doors while simultaneously banging on them. Taking out her lightsaber, she ignited the raspberry glowing blade and attempted to cut through the doors, but was met with a great deal of resistance. "Fuck! My lightsaber won't cut through the doors!"

"Fudge? Sweetie! Don't worry! We're gonna get you out of there!" Lavender shouted to her son. She would pry the doors open with her bare hands if she had to if her children's lives were threatened, but the continuously advancing zombies disrupted that.

"Just go on ahead, guys!" Fudge shouted back. "I'll catch up-.."

Fudge was interrupted mid sentence when he felt the presence of a new and unfamiliar arrival, taking his focus away from the door. Turning to face the intruder, who it turned out to be, brought a surprised expression onto Fudge's face.

"Oh boy.."

"Well hello there," the woman spoke, appearing to be yet another version of Sunnie. This Sunset was wearing Jedi attire like his mother, but hers was mostly various shades of dark gray, and her eyes were glowing a vibrant purple, indicating she was being mind controlled by the other Twilight Sparkle. "You seem like a handsome young man. It'll be fun killing you."

"I'd like to see you try, Sunset Shimmer," Fudge said, walking in a simultaneous circle with his opponent. "You know… Sunrise would be rather heartbroken if she were to see you right now. You're supposed to be the mother she's looked up to the most as a little girl, and now you've let this Twilight Sparkle, your wife, take control of your mind. You should be ashamed of yourself."

"Well, I'm not," Shimmer barked. "But enough talk. It's time for your demise."

"So be it, then," Fudge barked in response. "I never wanted to actually fight anyone, but I will if I have to. And… I will make this an honest and fair fight without using my force abilities. It's part of a gentleman's duty to give a lady a fair fight. And as the wise saying goes… Manners maketh man."

"Such a gentleman," Shimmer spoke, pulling her lightsaber from her belt and ignited it, the white of her blade casting off an amethyst glow. "Now draw your weapon. Let's see how good of a swordsman you are."

Fudge was unaware, but he was put into a legitimate boss battle. Inhaling and exhaling to calm and focus himself, Fudge retrieved his own lightsaber and ignited the pink hued glow of his blade and moved into a defensive stance, ready for battle.

At once they both charged at one another, with Shimmer being the first to deliver a swing only for it to be parried by Fudge with ease. Fudge has plenty of experience with his lightsaber, having trained with Cocoa and their mom day after day for the past six years when he and Cocoa were first given their lightsabers.

Each quick and near fatal blow from Shimmer was swiftly deflected by Fudge as their duel led them through the doors to the right of the stage and towards the small staircase leading up to the stage. Fighting up the small staircase, the duel had escalated to a fast-paced one, with Fudge holding his own without so much as breaking a sweat.

"I must say. He is quite the skilled swordsman," Cinch commented.

Several minutes had passed and Fudge was still as energized as when the duel began with Shimmer starting to show signs of fatigue. Hoping to prolong the duel as much as possible to try to gain the upper hand, she commenced in a blade lock with the young man.

"You're much.. more skilled than I expected. Maybe once I'm done with you, I'll pay my regards to that little girlfriend of yours," Shimmer snarked.

That last comment was a mistake on Shimmer's part.

"You'll do no such THING!" Fudge snarled, whipping Shimmer's saber from her grasp, flung it to the opposite side of the gym, and proceeded to lift her up with the force while deactivating his own saber and put it back in the pocket on the inside of his jacket.

Fudge then aggressively threw her against the wall of bleachers closest to the doors that had previously shut in his face and pulled her back to him only to drop her to the floor with a hard punch right in the face.

"Threatening my girlfriend is something I don't take too kindly to, nor if you threatened the rest of my family," Fudge coldly commented.

Pulling Shimmer straight up on her knees, he delivered a hard punch to the right side of her face and repeated the process only to punch the left side of her face. One after the other he continuously punched the mind-controlled woman that had just threatened his girlfriend who was also the mother of their impending child. Although he couldn't see it himself, everyone who was still present in the gym in the outside world could see that Fudge's eyes were beginning to show signs of the dark side as he lost control, with them beginning to turn a menacing Yellow. Fudge was losing control.

Fudge was about to retrieve his lightsaber and put the woman out of her misery when out of nowhere his surroundings changed to something completely different to a gymnasium, albeit a bit blurry, although he could make out a bench, trees and grass, most likely a park on a sunny day. And before him stood what appeared to be a smaller version of Cara but with orange skin instead of red and with the same yellow stripes on her montral and lekku.

"....Daddy? Come on, Daddy! Run with me!" The little girl chirped, her voice echoing as it was a vision. A vision of a life he'd give up if he continued to act out of selfish anger.

Coming to his senses, Fudge's surroundings morphed back to the gymnasium inside the game world, and still before him was Shimmer as she looked up, the blood that dripped from her nose having stopped as it began to dry on her face. Her eyes were also not glowing anymore, returning to a moderate cyan. Shimmer had been freed from her mind control induced by Twilight Sparkle.

"I… I'm sorry," Shimmer spoke, wiping the blood from her face. "I shouldn't have said those things."

"No, I should be the one saying sorry," Fudge replied, helping Shimmer to her feet. "I shouldn't have lashed out in anger like that when you had no control of yourself or what you said. You were being influenced by Twilight Sparkle. Your wife. I overreacted. I'm sorry for doing this to you. Truly I am."

"Not bad, Jedi. Not bad at all," a voice boomed, which Shimmer immediately recognized as the voice of her wife: Twilight Sparkle.

"Twilight, come out! Come out and face me you cowardly bitch!" Shimmer shouted.

"In due time, my love. In due time," Sparkle replied. "But first… that was quite an impressive display from the offspring of a Jedi. Able to tap into his anger and quickly recover from said anger like it was nothing… an admirable feat. But… I suppose since you won this little boss battle, I suppose you should be given a reward. But don't get used to such kindness. This'll be a one time offering."

Out of nowhere, the doors to the gym flung back open and Fudge soon found himself within a glowing aura as his clothes began to change.

"Wait, what? What's going on?" Fudge rhetorically questioned as the glowing aura intensified. In the blink of an eye, Fudge's outfit had changed from a standard male uniform for Crystal Prep Academy… to that of a Jedi. Like his mother, Lulu, Tia, and Shimmer. But once he gazed upon his cream yellow and brown colored tunic, Fudge began to feel conflicted. Unworthy. After all, he did just tap into the dark side. Something he's never done before.

As Fudge sank to his knees with regret for his actions, the rest of his family began walking in along with Sunrise, who once she saw the person opposite Fudge, she froze.

"M-Mom?" Sunrise murmured.

"Sunrise? Oh sweetie," Shimmer spoke, running into her daughter's arms and embracing in a loving hug.

Yet another family reunion was in full swing, as Shimmer had just reunited with her daughter after almost three years of being apart. Fudge was still feeling incredibly guilty for what he had just done as Cara, Cocoa, and Lavender walked over to console him.

"Hey. Hey Fudge, it's okay," Cocoa assured as she kneeled next to her brother as she rubbed his shoulder. "It's okay. You still have us."

"No. It's not okay. I lost control," Fudge remarked, avoiding eye contact with his sister. "....I used the dark side."

"Sweetheart, it's not your fault," Lavender chimed in, kneeling in front of her son. "And hey… you realized you made a mistake. You acknowledged it, something the other Jedi of the order could not by allowing that forsaken war to occur and for being blinded for so many years. You may not be perfect, and that's okay. What we need to do is get up, learn from our mistakes, and move on."

Fudge looked up after hearing his mother's speech, he realized that he shouldn't let his mistake define him. Getting up to his feet, Fudge was now filled with renewed confidence.

"You're right mom," Fudge continued. "Let's kick more undead ass back to the grave."

"Atta boy," Lavender chimed, smirking alongside her son.

And with that, their family was solid once more, and this Twilight Sparkle now had a viable threat to her power….