Sunset's human world origin

Chapters

SHWO ch3 New friends?
SHWO ch4 Why are you so nice?
SHWO ch5 Love & Fear
SHWO ch6 Names, Faces, and Pumpkins
SHWO ch7 A new family
SHWO ch8 A weird type of bonding
SHWO ch9 Family is strange
SHWO ch10 Trauma & video games
SHWO ch11 Opening up
SHWO ch13 Another year for love
SHWO ch14 They didn't mention this in "Parenting For Dummies"
SHWO ch15 Japan arc part 1
SHWO ch16 Japan arch part 2
SHWO ch17 Japan arc part 3
SHWO ch18 Changing bodies & a new school
SHWO ch19 Ki, the valiant protector
SHWO ch20 Fracturing
SHWO ch21 The Friendship Five
SHWO ch22 Rainbow's origin
SHWO ch23 The masks we hind behind
SHWO ch24 Seasons greetings and good bye
SHWO ch25 Enter Flash Sentry
SHWO ch26 The Freshman Fair
SHWO ch28 Trouble in paradice
SHWO ch29 Fencing hero
SHWO ch30 A military people & growing abilities
SHWO ch31 Patriotism
SHWO ch32 Ireland acr part 1
SHWO ch33 Ireland arc part 2
SHWO ch34 Ireland arc part 3: the Mac Carthaigh clan
SHWO ch35 Ireland arc part 4
SHWO ch36 Everything's changing
SHWO ch37 What we're willing to do for family
SHWO ch38 Return of the dragon and chef
SHWO ch39 Return to school
SHWO ch40 The first Fall Formal
SHWO ch41 Sunset in office
SHWO ch42 Emi & Anura, the dinamic duo
SHWO ch43 Sunset's on the case
SHWO ch44 Octorber fun
SHWO ch45 Tales from the others part1
SHWO ch46 Tales from the others part2
SHWO ch47 Who are the Katons?
SHWO ch48 Return to Equestria part1
SHWO ch49 Return to Equestria part2
SHWO ch50 A decision's aftermath
SHWO ch51 Past & present
SHWO ch53 Dot Five
SHWO ch54 Family is something else
SHWO ch55 Summer school, American style
SHWO ch56 Growing, learning, & fighting
SHWO ch57 Katon means fire
SHWO ch58 An outsider's view
SHWO ch59 Comunication in its many forms
SHWO ch60 Dreams of memories
SHWO ch61 Hunting season
SHWO ch62 You wanna start a war?
SHWO ch63 Persistance hunters
SHWO ch64 6 weeks on wheels
SHWO ch65 Spirits of the passing
SHWO ch68 Let there be fun, sun, and mischief
SHWO ch69 Nice, eh, sort of
SHWO ch70 Emi
SHWO ch71 The mystery of Bluefaun
SHWO ch72 Return to Japan
SHWO ch73 The Fall at the Formal
SHWO ch1 The arrival
SHWO ch2 Horrors of a new world
SHWO ch12 Fencing with brats
SHWO ch27 It may not all be doom and gloom, but it feels like it.
SHWO ch52 Live long enough to see yourself become the villain
SHWO ch66 Apil 29th
SHWO ch67 The difference between men and boys

SHWO ch3 New friends?

Sour Drops’ Candy Emporium, Canterville, Maine, USA
Date: Oct 20th, 2008, time: 5:00 pm

*Anzhong’s perspective*

“Let me guess. She still doesn’t have a favorite candy.”, Sour Drops said with a thick Brooklyn accent.

“Hmm, yes. Her lack of dislikes is nice when meal time comes around, but her equal amount of specific likes is rather troublesome.”, Anzhong said in his gentle, Japanese accented English.

“Ya now, I’ve heard many guys, and some ladies, come in here and say that their girl said to just get them whatever, they don’t really care, but yours is the only one that ever actually meant it.”

“Hmm”, Anzhong responded with a nod.

Anzhong heard the footsteps of a little girl. The owner of which he knew well. “Hello, little Sweetie Drops.”

“Hello Mr. Katon. How do you always know it’s me?”

“It’s your footsteps. Little girl steps are very different from adult footsteps.”

“Cool. Can I give Ki a treat?”

“Yes, you may.”

Sweetie Drops came around the counter with a dog biscuit in her hands and, gently, gave the treat to the American Akita.

“So, how’s Emi doing?”, Sour asked.

“She is doing very well. She runs around the yard like that’s what she was born to do.”, Anzhong answered.

“Hahaha, sounds like she’s going to be a handful. Here, I just put a random assortment in for Brigid and a box of your favorites.”

“Thank you, Sour.” With that, Anzhong paid, put the candy boxes in his backpack, and he and Ki left the candy shop.

Anzhong was never a big candy eater, but he always liked visiting Sour’s store. Sour was one of the only retailers that had braille on their packaging. It was a simple thing, but it made all the difference for him.

Anzhong began making his way down an alleyway shortcut. When he was about halfway down the alley, he heard rustling in what sounded like a dumpster. “Hello?” The rustling stopped, but now he could hear quick, heavy breathing. It sounded like a little girl, a very scared little girl. Anzhong turned his head to where the breathing was coming from. “I mean you no harm. Are you alright?” The breathing was calming down now. Okay, keep talking. That’s when the smell of blood, both new and old, hit his nose. “Are you okay? Are you bleeding? Do you need help? Ki, lay down.” Ki did as he was told. Anzhong wanted to seem as non-threatening as possible. “I have some candy. Do you like candy?” Great, now I sound like I’m trying to get her into my white van. Anzhong moved to get the candy from his bag. That proved to be the wrong move as the little girl bolted. “Wait, no!” Anzhong gave chase. This must look so bad. Please, no one see this. The debris in the alley was not a problem for Anzhong with his universal attunement, but even then, the girl kept ahead of him. It wasn’t too long before they were in the woods, and Anzhong was having to dodge trip wires and other traps scattered around. Not bad, kid.

Anzhong soon came across what he could only assume was her campsite, but he couldn’t detect the girl. He checked the hammock, not there. He started poking around the area with his walking stick, until it poked something a little too squishy. Uzura Gakure no Jutsu, very impressive. Anzhong knelt beside the squishy rock and placed his hand on her back. “Please don’t run again.” She did not do as he requested and tried to bolt again. Not wanting to have to run after her again, Anzhong grabbed hold of the girl and pulled her into a tight hug. “No hurt! No hurt! No hurt!”, the girl yelled. “No hurt, no hurt, promise.”, Anzhong repeated to her. After a couple seconds, the girl stopped struggling. Anzhong picked her up and began rubbing her back. The girl clung onto Anzhong and started crying into his shoulder, speaking a language he didn’t know. “It’s okay, it’s okay. Let it all out.”, Anzhong said. What has this girl been through? “I’m going to take you to a hospital. Is that okay?” The girl didn’t respond. “I’ll take that as a yes. Ki, grab my cane.” Anzhong made his way out of the forest and began walking to the hospital.

Canterville Hospital
Date: same day, time: 6:00 pm

*Anzhong’s perspective*

There was a hospital not too far away. Once he got back to the pavement, it was only a thirty minute walk away.

“Excuse me.”, Anzhong said to the desk attendant. “I think this girl is injured. She seemed to be living out in the woods by herself.”

“Okay, please go take a seat, and I’ll call someone to come take a look at her.”, the attendant said.

Anzhong headed over to the seating area, placed the girl in one of the open seats, and took the seat next to her. Anzhong then pulled out his phone and made a call. “Hello, Brigid. Can you please come to the hospital?"

"Ara ya alright?"

"Yes, I’m fine. I found this kid rummaging in a dumpster, I’m guessing 9-10ish, and I’ve taken her to the hospital. The problem is, I don’t think she knows English, and I don’t recognize the language she has been speaking. Can you come here and-?"

"Be a universal translator."

"Yes, that."

"Okay, Ah'll be dere in a few."

"thank you." Anzhong hung up the phone and was going to put it away when the girl grabbed his hand to stop him. “Have you ever seen a smartphone before?” The girl didn’t answer and just retracted her hands. Anzhong finished putting his phone away.

Canterville Hospital waiting room
Date: same day, time: 6:10 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

“Ah, dere ya are.”, Brigid said in her thick Irish accent. Her voice used to be naturally booming, but after having a baby, she’s gotten a lot more mindful of her volume. Brigid kneeled down so she was eye level with the girl. “So dis is da wee lassie ya were tellin’ me about.”

Anzhong simply responded with a nod. The poor little girl look terrified. Brigid couldn't blame her. She's a scary woman.

“Do ya have a name?”, Brigid asked. The girl pointed to herself. Brigid then pointed at the girl and simply asked, “Name?”

“Lit-tle Red”, the girl said in a pea soup thick accent that Brigid couldn’t recognize. Dat’s probably not ‘er real name.

“Name, Brigid.”, she said while pointing at herself then pointing at her husband. “Name, Anzhong.” She then pointed at the sleeping bundle strapped to her chest “Name, Emi.”

Little Red looked down at Emi and seemed to relax slightly then pointed at Brigid and said, “Brig-id”. She then turned her head, pointed at Anzhong, and said, “An-zhong”. She then turned back to Brigid and pointed at the 3 year old “Emi”.

Brigid simply nodded her head.

Brigid heard footsteps coming up behind her and turned around to face the newcomer.

“Hello, I am Dr. Lights. Which one of you is my patient?”

“Hello, I’m Dr. Katon. Mo fella foun' dis kiddo rummagin’ through a dumpste' n' livin’ in da woods. She doesn’ appear ta speak English and is fearful a’ new people. Ah’m 'ere ta attemp’ ta communicate with ‘er.”

“What are your qualifications?”, Dr. Lights asked, an incredulous tone slipping in.

“Ah’m a prof a’ anthropology at Canterville College. N’ yer qualifications?”

“Okay, can you get her to take off her hoodie?”, Dr. Lights quickly said.

Brigid turned to Little Red and motioned for her to take off the hoodie. Little Red did as instructed. As soon as she did so, all vision-abled adults were immediately drawn to the hole surrounded by red in her sleeve. Dr. Lights immediately went to inspect the site which made Little Red flinch. Anzhong placed his hand on her shoulder to calm her down, and Dr. Lights slowed down so as to not scare her again.

“It’s clear she’d been shot, but it looks like the wound has healed.” Dr. Lights stood up. “I’d like to take her back in order to do a more thorough examination. Dr. Katon, do you believe that she is comfortable enough with you that your husband can stay out here?”

“Ah think so.”, Brigid said. She then handed Emi over to Anzhong. “Little Red, Dr. Lights n' Ah wanna take ya ta be checked out. Is dat okay?”, she said, offering a hand to Little Red

Little Red turned her head to Anzhong. Anzhong smiled, nodded, and motioned for her to go with them. Little Red turned back to the doctors, took the offered hand, and got up to follow.

Examination room
Date: same day, time: 7:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset now sat on a hospital bed in nothing but her secret croup covers. The two creatures didn’t seem surprised to see them, so Sunset figured these were normal to wear. By then, she had learned the differences between the males and females of her new species. The females have these growths on their chests; while the males lack them. What bothered Sunset is that she seemed to be in a male’s body. She completely lacked these growths, and she couldn’t ask these creatures about it as she didn’t know enough of their language. This wasn’t the first time she had her clothes off, but this was the first time the cold wasn’t rushing her to get them back on. She took this opportunity to really look at herself. All of her old scars transferred over to her new body, but the real interesting part was her back appendages. They weren’t hands. They had the same general appearance, but the base was a lot longer and the digits were much shorter. The whole structure was almost 50% longer than her hands. It looked like everything from her ergot down now made up this new appendage.

The creatures and her have been doing a lot of charades to try to communicate. So far, Sunset was able to explain how she got most of her scars during combat training, but now they seemed to specifically ask about her newest scar. Sunset shaped her hand like the leader held his weapon and mimicked the motion she remembered seeing. The Brigid creature left the room for a few minutes and then came back with three items Sunset couldn’t quite identify. The Brigid creature gave her two of the items and mimed something with her hands. Sunset took a closer look at both items. One of them was several sheets of yellow paper bound together and the other was a cylindrical object with tapering ends. Sunset tried mimicking the motions the Brigid creature made, but nothing happened. The Brigid creature took the cylindrical object back, pushed on one of the ends, making a clicking sound, and gave it back to Sunset. Sunset tried the motion again, and this time it produced ink. The cylindrical object was a quill and ink pot in one. Sunset did her best attempt to draw the weapon the leader used. It was not good, and Sunset glared at the paper like it insulted her mother. The Brigid creature looked at the drawing and then gestured for Sunset to give it back to her. Sunset did and was then handed the third item. It appeared to be a calendar. Examining the calendar, Sunset learned that these creatures’ calendar was almost identical to the Equestrian calendar. The only differences were that their moons ranged from 28 days to 31 days, instead of being 30 to 31 days each, and the year was also divided up into sections of seven days. They even had four seasons. The Brigid creature flipped the calendar to a specific page, tapped on one of the dates, slid her finger along the preceding days, and then pointed to Sunset’s new scare. She wants to know when I was shot. Sunset counted up how many days had passed since she was shot, flipped to the previous moon, and pointed to the day she was shot on. The Brigid creature said something to the male creature, and the male creature left. The Brigid creature motioned for Sunset to get her cloth back on then left the room.

Once Sunset was dressed (Minus her hoodie. They took that from her.), she found herself getting bored. That was interesting as back in Equestria, it took her longer to get bored. Perhaps these creatures require more stimulation. I hope I can get another look at one of those communication devices. Sunset was looking through the cabinets, looking for something to entertain herself. The anatomical displays were interesting, but she was too tired to really appreciate them. Sunset had climbed up onto the counter in order to look inside the upper cabinets. As she was opening one of the cabinets, she lost her balance and began falling. This is going to hurt. Sunset closed her eyes, preparing for the impact, but before she hit the ground, some creature caught her. Sunset opened her eyes to see it was the Brigid creature. She was saying something and sounded both scared and mad. What I did was stupid and dangerous. I’d be mad too. The Brigid creature looked so much like Sunset’s mother at that moment. I miss my mom. “I’m sorry.”, Sunset sheepishly said in Ponish. It was more likely Sunset’s tone she understood, but either way, the Brigid creature sighed and righted Sunset once again.

The Brigid creature brought Sunset back out into the waiting area and to the front desk. The Brigid creature drew something on the yellow paper and then showed it to Sunset. It was a very crude drawing of four of the creatures inside a house. The Brigid creature pointed to the second shortest one and then pointed to Sunset. She then pointed to the tallest one and then herself. - She’s saying I'm going to live with them. The idea of not worrying about freezing to death appealed to Sunset. She nodded her head to signal she understood.

Author's Note

I highly recommend you look up the meaning of all of the main and reoccurring character's names. They all have meaning, even if it's less obvious.

SHWO ch4 Why are you so nice?

Sunset’s new bedroom
Date: a moon and a half since the portal closed, time: morning

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset was woken up by the sound of the Brigid creature calling her nickname. Sunset saw the Brigid creature standing at the bottom of her stairs, motioning for her to come down. Sunset got her shoes on and followed the Brigid creature out of her room and into the dinning room. The Anzhong creature was in the kitchen, making food, and the Emi creature was trying to chase the dog. The dog’s name was Ki, if she remembered correctly. The Brigid creature motioned for Sunset to sit at the table. The Emi creature came up to Sunset and poked her while saying ‘touch’. Sunset didn’t know how to respond to that until the Emi creature repeated its actions. Sunset then poked the Emi creature and said, “tou-ch”. That made the Emi creature giggle and run off again.

The Brigid creature placed four plates and glasses on the table and called the Emi creature over. The Anzhong creature took a seat at the head of the table. The Brigid creature pointed to Sunset’s plate and then said a single word. Sunset paused for a moment until she realized what the creature wanted. She’s trying to teach me their language. With that realization, Sunset mimicked the word back, “fo-od”. With a smile, the Brigit creature pointed to Sunset’s glass and said another word. Like last time, Sunset mimicked the word back, “wa-te”. The Brigid creature’s smile grew, and she took her seat. The Anzhong creature said something that earned him the showing of the tongue of the Brigid creature. Sunset recognized most of the food on the plate. There were eggs, Prench toast with maple syrup, and a third food she didn’t recognize. The third food somewhat resembled her hair. Sunset decided to try this mystery third food first. The moment the food entered her mouth she realized it was meat. Sunset had eaten meat before. Her parents had developed a taste for it when they were overseas, in the griffon lands. Her family would have fish for dinner whenever they could get their hooves on it, but this was not fish. She had no idea what animal it came from, but it was good. Sunset devoured the whole plate of food. The display made the Brigid creature smile.

Every creature finished up their food, and now the adult creatures were busying themselves with cleaning up. Sunset sat at the table, not knowing what to do; when the Emi creature came up to her and started talking. The creature was bouncing up and down and pulling on Sunset’s arm. Sunset decided to get up and let the creature lead her to wherever it wanted her. “Okay strange creature foal, where do you want to take me?”, Sunset said in Ponish. The small creature dragged Sunset out to the courtyard, at least that was the closest thing she could compare it to. This courtyard was not surrounded by the house but rather by a fence. Sunset found it strange how all of the houses had a lot of unused space in the front and big courtyards. Are all these noble family houses? The small creature let go of Sunset’s hand, touched her, said something, and then began running away. Sunset was more than a little confused. The Small creature stopped, turned back towards Sunset, waved its front legs, and started shouting. The creature ran back to Sunset and repeated its actions and ran off again. Still very confused, Sunset began to run after the small creature. The small creature was surprisingly fast, and it took Sunset a while to catch it. When she did catch up to it, Sunset mimicked the actions of the creature. Sunset tapped the creature and said, “Tag, yo-u’re it.”. The creature giggled and bagan chasing after Sunset. The two of them went on repeating this activity, Sunset barely tiring but also sweating a lot. Is this normal for these creatures?

After about ten minutes, the Anzhong creature, the dog Ki, and the Brigid creature came out. The Brigid creature was carrying several articles of clothing with her. Sunset recognized two of the pieces as her hoodie and beanie. Her hoodie appeared to have been washed, but it was still rather gross looking. The Brigid creature was, herself, wearing a beanie and hoodie with an opening down along the front. The Brigid creature also had a smaller, matching set for the Emi creature. The Brigid creature gave Sunset her cloth and helped the Emi creature into its. Once they were both dressed, the Brigid creature led them both into the carriage house. Since Sunset came to this world, she has learned that these “fast creatures” were not creatures at all. They’re some sort of cross between a train and drawn carriage. It was about the size and shape of a carriage, but did not require anypony to pull it. However, whatever these things burned, it was not coal. It was a lot smellier, not that coal wasn’t smelly to burn, and these self-drawn carriages were very loud when starting up. When she first had to get into the carriage, last night, she was completely terrified, to put it lightly, but once she was actually in the machine, she found that she liked riding in them. Sunset remembered the motions from last night: wait for the clicking sound, pull handle out, slide door back, climb in, slide door closed, sit in seat, latch the restraints. The Anzhong creature said something to her. She could only guess he was commenting on her ability to get in on her own.

On the black pathways in the city
Date: same day, time: day time

*Sunset’s perspective*

The self-drawn carriages seem to be restricted to the black portions of the pathways, unless they need to cross them, and then they are only permitted to do so at specific, recognizable places. Sunset locked that piece of information away and memorized what all the crossing spots looked like.

The Brigid creature dropped the Anzhong creature off at a building. The Anzhong creature got out with the dog. Why does he bring that dog everywhere with him? Why would his work allow him to bring the dog? Before she could come up with any more questions, they were off again.

The Brigid creature brought them to one of those large, indoor markets. While getting out of the self-drawn carriage, the Brigid creature put a leash on the Emi creature. That seemed like a good idea to Sunset. The Emi creature would get badly injured if it was struck by one of the many carriages passing by them. With the Emi creature secured, the three of them made their way to the indoor market. The Brigid creature grabbed a large, wheeled basket with a fake carriage in the front and placed the Emi creature in the fake carriage, and the Emi creature started mimicking the sounds the carriages make. Upon reaching the doors, Sunset was left gobsmacked when they opened on their own. But- this world doesn’t have magic. How?

The market was very loud and there were a lot of the creatures in there. The situation made Sunset nervous, and she inched her way closer to the Brigid creature. The Emi creature just started smiling and waving at the passing creatures. The passing creatures waved and smiled back at the Emi creature. They tried to wave and smile at Sunset, but she just buried her face into the Brigid creature.

The Brigid creature brought them over to a section with a lot of clothing in it. The Brigid creature grabbed several articles of clothes and then led them over to a construct within the section. She talked to a creature wearing a blue shirt, grabbed something from her, and led them into the construct. It was then that Sunset realized it was changing rooms. I guess these creatures also don’t want others dressing in public. The three went up to the largest stall. The Brigid creature opened the door, gestured for Sunset to enter, removed the Emi creature and the clothes from the basket, and then entered the stall, closing the door behind her. The Brigid creature motioned for Sunset to undress, she did, and then the Brigid creature gave her some clothing and motioned for her to dress. Sunset’s cheeks turned scarlet. “You want me to dress in front of you! We do not have that kind of relationship.”, Sunset said in Ponish. The Brigid creature looked confused by her outburst. Of course, she has no idea what I’m saying. Sunset mentioned for the Brigid creature to turn around. The creature did so, still looking confused, and Sunset put the cloth on. Sunset tugged on the Brigid creature’s hoodie to let her know she was done. She turned back around to see Sunset and said something while pointing between the shirt and Sunset. Is she asking me if I want these? Sunset nodded her head, and the Brigid creature handed her more clothes. This process repeated, with the only variation being Sunset’s answer, until the basket was almost filled with clothes.

They then left the clothing section and headed to a new section. This new section was filled with toys and art supplies. The Brigit creature stopped at the end of one of the aisles and motioned for Sunset to go ahead. Sunset didn’t move. She’s getting me all these clothes, and now she’s offering to get me toys. No way. Nopony’s this generous to somepony that isn’t their foal. Besides that, I’m an adult. I don’t play with toys anymore. This has to be a trap. The Brigid creature repeated the gesture and gave Sunset a reassuring smile. Sunset slowly walked over to a box of colored pencils, picked one up, and brought it back over to the basket. The Brigid creature repeated her gesture and smiled at Sunset. She really is offering this. Sunset went back into the aisle and picked out more art supplies. When Sunset got to the end of the aisle, she noticed one of the stuffed toys on the back wall. It was a stuffed phoenix. Sunset went over and picked it up. This looks like Philomena. -I left Philomena alone. How could I? How am I ever going to explain this or apologize to her? I’m a rotten parent. “Ugh, not like I can do anything about it now.” Sunset took the plushy with her as she made her way back to the Brigid creature.

The Brigid creature said something to Sunset, but unlike the previous times, Sunset recognized one of the words ‘phoenix’. “You know about phoenixes?”, Sunset asked. The Brigid creature spoke again, but Sunset didn’t need to understand her to know what she was saying; she was thinking the same thing. Our languages share a word. How is this possible? I’m literally on an alien planet?

Katon family home
Date: Oct 21st, time: 5:20 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid and the girls spent the whole day running errands of various types. Got clothes, toys, and learning materials for Red, groceries, car insurance, stuff to fix the leaky sink. Good, dat's everythin’. Now, time to start Red’s English lessons. After putting the groceries away, Brigid walked over to the living room with one of the other bags. “Little Red”, she called and made a ‘come here' gesture. Red quickly made her way over to Brigid. Brigid sat on the sofa and gestured for Red to do the same. “Ah’m gonna teach ya how to speak n’ read English... Maybe someday Ah can teach ya Irish... Now then.” Brigid spent the rest of the evening teaching Red the alphabet and some basic worlds. By the time dinner rolled around, Red was reading at a first grader level. Either ‘his kid is crazy smart, has experience in learnin’ other languages, or both.

Now sitting at the dinner table, Brigid and Anzhong were talking about their plans involving Red. “How long do you think it will take you to get Little Red to a communicative level of English?”, Anzhong asked.

“She’s already reading some of the books Ah got ‘er. Ah think it will only be a month or two before she’s speaking in full sentences.”, Brigid answered.

“You can’t be out of work for two months.”

“Ah know.”

“Do you think we can leave her with a babysitter?”

“No, she’s way too skittish, n’ she wouldn’t be able ta let the sitter know if she had a problem. You should’ve seen ‘er in da stores today. She would jus’ try ta hide ‘erself in me jacket wheneve’ someone would come close. Ah think Ah’m jus’ gonna half ta bring ‘er ta work with me.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“It be da bes’ Ah got.”

Sunset’s bedroom
Date: same day, time: night

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset laid in her bed reading one of the books the Brigid creature gave her. “The cow jumped over the moon.”, Sunset said in English. She laid the book down on her chest with a quizzical look on her face. “Can cows jump over the moon here?”, she asked, switching to Ponish, “No, that’s stupid. The moon is beyond even where the pegasi can fly. No cow can jump over it. I guess this book is more for teaching their foals how to read than teaching them about cows.” Deciding to put the book down, Sunset exchanged it for her stuffed phoenix. “Why are they being so nice to me? I’m not their foal. They have a foal. Why were Blackfeather and Doc so nice? All the other creatures ignored me, poured their drinks on me, or tried to hit me.” The plushy didn’t answer. “Well, I’m going to be here for another 28 and a half moons. I guess I’ll learn everything in time. I should start writing my questions down, but first I need to learn how to write and draw with my hands. I’ll start tomorrow.”

SHWO ch5 Love & Fear

Sunset’s bedroom
Date: the next day, time: morning

*Sunset’s perspective*

The sun shone through Sunset’s large window that overlooked the courtyard. Sunset sprang up and ran down her stairs to the desk under her bed. Grabbing a ‘notepad’ and ‘pencil’, as they’re called, Sunset began going through the basics of drawing and tried to translate it through her hands. This is a lot easier with telekinesis. Sunset was finding circles to be the most challenging to relearn. This is going to take a while.

Sunset heard a knock at her door. Before she could get up to answer it, a tiny gray blur rushed up to her bed before rushing back down to her desk.

“Red Red Red!”, the Emi creature’s excited voice chimed.

“Emi Emi Emi!”, Sunset said, mimicking the Emi creature.

“Play play play!”, the Emi creature said while pulling Sunset’s arm.

‘Play’ was one of the words the Brigid creature specifically taught Sunset. Probably figured I’d be hearing it a lot.

The Emi creature dragged Sunset to her wardrobe, to get a front opening hoodie, then out to the courtyard and grabbed hold of her fetlocks. The Emi creature motioned for Sunset to do the same. The Emi creature then began to spin Sunset. Sunset began to spin under her own power, picking up speed until the Emi creature’s back legs left the ground. The giggles and other excited sounds let Sunset know that she was playing this game correctly. After a while, the two switched to chasing each other.

After an hour or two, the two of them sat on the porch swing, exhausted.

“I didn’t think it was physically possible for you to get tired.”, Sunset said in Ponish. She knew the Emi creature wouldn’t understand her, but it was still nice to talk.

“I love you, Red.”, the Emi creature said.

Sunset didn’t know what the words meant, but the way the Emi creature said it and the energy she’s giving off gave Sunset a happy feeling.

The two of them stayed out there until the Brigid creature came out. When she did, she said something in a way that made her sound annoyed, but the Emi creature was laughing. Sunset was confused by this, but trusted the Emi creature to know how to react. The Brigid creature gestured for them to come inside. The smell of food alerted Sunset as to why.

As Sunset approached her seat, she saw her back bag, as she’s come to call it, on the back of her chair. Sunset looked inside to find some of the books and her stuffed phoenix the Brigid creature got for her, along with some snacks and those ‘water bottles’. Looks like we’re going out for a while.

The town’s college
Date: same day, time: morning

*Sunset’s perspective*

Like yesterday, the Brigid creature dropped the Anzhong creature off at what Sunset assumed to be his work, but unlike yesterday the Emi creature got dropped off at the house across the black path from the nice family’s.

The Brigid creature brought Sunset to a building that resembled the colleges back in Canterlot. The Brigid creature brought her to an office. I guess this must be her office. The Brigid creature set Sunset’s stuff up on her desk. After that she took Sunset to a classroom that confirmed her suspicions about this place being a college. The last room the Brigid creature brought her to is what they call a ‘restroom’. The Brigid creature brought Sunset back to her office, and the Brigid creature left for her classroom.

The Brigid creature’s office
Date: same day, time: hours after the Brigid creature left

*Sunset’s perspective*

There was a knock at the office door. It’s not the Brigid creature. - How did I know that, and what is that? Hearing the creature speak confirmed her to be right. When Sunset heard the door open, she bolted for underneath the desk. Sunset heard the new creature enter the room and say that conversation starter they always say. The new creature walked over to the desk and started rummaging through the stuff on it while talking. Just be quiet. You’re not here. It’s not here. Just be quiet. You’re not here. It’s not here. The creature stopped rummaging and began walking around the room. After walking around the entirety of the office, the creature came back over to the desk. Sunset held her breath. The creature’s head popped down from above the desk. Sunset screamed as the creature reached for her. The creature pulled Sunset out from under the desk and hoisted her to its chest. Sunset struggled, screamed “NO NO NO!”, and tried to escape, but the creature was too strong. Sunset was pinned to its chest with no way to escape. The creature began moving to the door. This thing is going to take me! It’s going to kill me! Sunset needed help. She wanted so badly for her mom to come crashing through the window, subdue the enemy, and save the hostage like she told Sunset in her griffon separatists war stories. “BRIGID!”

Dr. Katon’s class room
Date: Oct 22nd, time: 10:15 am

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid was in the middle of a lecture when a feeling of absolute dread came over her. Brigid never felt anything like it before. Something in her that she hadn’t realized was there before now completely consumed her, but she somehow knew exactly what it meant.

“Excuse me f’r a moment, class.” Brigid exited through one of the side doors and entered the halls that led to her office then immediately started running at full speed.

Brigid was just down the hall to her office within minutes. That’s when she heard her name being screamed. RED! Somehow she began running faster. When she got to her office, she saw Little Red being manhandled by a security guard.

“‘HAT IN BLOODY HELL R’ YOU DOING!”, Brigid shouted with the full force of her booming voice.

“Dr. Katon, I found-”, the skinny security guard tried to get out.

“LET ‘ER GO BEFORE I COME OVE’ THERE AND TIE YOU INTA A PESTLE!”, she shouted, not caring what the fool had to say.

The guard put Red down, and she ran to Brigid. Brigid scooped up the crying and scared little girl. Looking back up to the guard, Brigid didn’t see any fear, embarrassment, shame, or anything other than mild annoyance in his face. Does he not realize what he did? Is he seriously annoyed by a crying, scared kid, a kid he scared? Brigid’s face was now as red as her hair.

“As I was saying ma’am. I found this child in your office, and I was just escorting her off campus.”, the guard said as if he was (badly) trying to reason with someone throwing a tantrum.

“Get, out.”, Brigid said coldly while pointing to the door “If Ah eve’ sees ya in ma office again, Ah will make good on ma threat a’ tyin’ ya inta a pestle.”

The guard didn’t say anything and just left with no emotion on his face.

Brigid took Red over to her chair and began rocking her. “Ah’m sorry kid. Ah would sing, but Ah don’t wanna traumatize ya more. Don’t worry, Ah’ll make sure on one eve’ touches ya again. ‘Hat’s a promise.”

Nice family’s carriage
Date: same day, time: nighttime

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset didn’t speak for the rest of the day. The events of the day and that - odd feeling - the creature gave off disturbed her. That creature radiated pure evil. Sunset never felt anything like it before. The creature also lacked something that every other one of the creatures had. Sunset couldn’t tell if this was something all members of this species have or if it’s just her, but she seems to be able to feel the other creatures’ auras. She’d heard of spells that allowed unicorns to see auras, she knew a couple herself, but this was not a spell. It’s more innate, like earth ponies’ magic. Sunset first noticed this ability after a moon of being here, but it’s been getting stronger since.

Before they left the college, the Brigid creature went to talk with other creatures wearing the same uniform as the creature from earlier. She wished she knew enough ‘English’ to tell them right there and then.

After they picked the Anzhong creature up, the Brigid creature began to tell the Anzhong creature something. In their conversation, Sunset recognized the word that was written on the creature’s uniform, ‘security’. The expression on the Anzhong creature’s face told Sunset that the story angered him. The Anzhong creature turned around in his seat, rubbed Sunset’s hock, and gave her a gesture that implied strength or protection then pointed to his heart and then to Sunset. He’s saying he’ll protect me, and he loves me.

Sunset smiled. Sunset gave a closer look at the two other creatures in the carriage. The Brigid creature is very big. She’s tall, broad shouldered, and has enough muscle to make a royal guard jealous. Her mane’s the same color as the water carriages the fireponies use back home and is also very curly. Her eyes are also as blue as water. Almost as if she was modeled after a water carriage. The Brigid creature’s face has a lot of freckles. Her clothing was also very brightly colored with a lot of reds, oranges, and whites. Her body also has a lot of colorful markings on it. The Anzhong creature is a lot shorter than the other male creatures and skinnier too. However, he was still well muscled. His mane’s a dark blue and straight. Sunset rarely got to see his eyes, but they are a gray toned amber and strangely cat-like. His clothing consists of blacks, blues, and other dark colors. Thinking back to the Emi creature, it has a blue mane like its father and curly locks like its mother. Its eyes are amber but without the gray tone. Its face has about half as many freckles as its mother’s. Sunset wished she knew the Emi creature’s gender so she could stop calling the Emi creature ‘it’. She figured should also stop calling them ‘the creatures’; it’s starting to sound rude.

And the story writer is getting tired of adding ‘the creature’ to their names.

Pinkie, you’re not supposed to show up yet. Wait your turn.

Fine, but when are you going to get to me?

Later, now shoo.

Now Sunset needs to figure out how to tell the- Brigid that the creature that tried to grab her today is the same creature that killed Blackfeather.

SHWO ch6 Names, Faces, and Pumpkins

Platinum Wood’s house
Date: Oct 22nd, time: 8:00 pm

*third person’s perspective*

Trust me, you don’t want to go into Platinum’s head.

“Mom, Dad, I’m home.”, Platinum said. Platinum walked over to his mom and kissed her on her cheek. “What was that? Oh, work was fine.” Platinum turned to his dad. “You can’t talk to me like that. I’m respected by my colleagues and better paid than you ever were! I am not a failure!” Platinum ran to the kitchen to grab a knife. “I’m not going to take this from you anymore! I’ll show you that I’m not a failure!” Platinum drove the knife into his father’s chest until all that showed was the handle. “Yes Mommy, I’ll fix the hole.”, Platinum said with his head down like a scolded child. Platinum went into another room and came back with his taxidermy bag. “I know I still need to find Magnum, Mom. I’m working on it. The little girl? Oh yes, I found her. She’s the daughter of one of the college profs. I tried to grab her when I first found her, but her mom got in the way. I’ll grab her soon, though, and then she can be a part of our family.”, Platinum said to his mom while repairing his dad. Turning to the other bodies “What do you guys think of this plan?” Platinum began going over his plans to get Magnum Knuckles and Sunset Shimmer with the other taxidermied bodies in the room.

Sunset’s room
Date: Oct 31st, time: 9:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Come in, Emi.”, Sunset said in English before Emi knocked.

“Okay, you are getting too good at that.”, Emi said, rushing in. “Guess what day it is today.”

“Sun’s day”

“Sun-day, not sun’s day, and yes. But, it’s also my BIRTHDAY. Ah’m 4 years old as of 2:16 this mornin’.”

“I understood half of that.”

Emi shrugged her shoulders. “Do you like your computer?”, Emi said a lot slower.

“Yes, it helps.”

“What’s Blackfeather?”

“Blackfeather was - (Equestrian word for friend). He was-” Sunset mimicked a shooting motion, but Emi was too young to understand what that meant.

“Wanna go play?”

“Bi-rth-day, important day?”

“Very”

“I play with you all day.”

“YES!”

Katon family back porch
Date: Oct 31st, time: 5:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset and Brigid were sitting outside, carving pumpkins. Anzhong was upstairs, helping Emi with her costume. Sunset was dressed as Little Red Ridin’hood. Brigid thought it would be funny, considering they shared a name. Brigid was dressed as the big bad wolf.

“What is this holiday called?”, Sunset asked.

“It’s called Halloween. It’s a holiday from mo homeland a’ Ireland. It is ‘hen the veil between da realms a’ da livin’ n’ da realm a’ the dead is da thinnest, n’ da spirits c’n cross over ta our world. It used ta be ‘hat we would invite our ancestors inta our homes ta share in our celebrations. We still do ‘hat, but now we also go door ta door, askin’ f’r candy. Now, it ain’t only da good spirits ‘hat are a’ visiting. Dere be evil spirits too. Dat’s why we wear scary costumes. Dat way, dey think we be one a’ ‘em and leave us alone. At da end a’ da night, we will have a feast ta honor our dead.”, Brigid explained.

“It kind of sounds like [Equestrian name for Nightmare Night]. We would collect candy, and at the end of the night, we would give half of it to [Equestrian name for Nightmare Moon]. [Equestrian mane for Nightmare Moon] is a vengeful goddess, and if we didn’t give her enough candy, she would eat us.”, Sunset said.

“‘Hat is a very interesting soundin’ holiday. What day is it on?”, Brigid asked.

“Oct 22”, Sunset answered.

“Pretty close in date too. Ah wonder if-”

Sunset stopped listening at that point. What Brigid said about spirits crossing over got Sunset thinking. She could feel a change in the ambient energy, but she couldn’t tell if it was from spirits or the people.

“Little Red”

Sunset’s attention was pulled back to reality.

“Sorry, Ah was ramblin’ again. Are ya done with y’r pumpkin?”, Brigid asked.

“Yes. Will these things really scare evil spirits away from home?”, Sunset asked.

“Dun know. Ah jus’ know ‘his is fun.”, Brigid said.

This is fun. Even if I’m still crap with my hands.

“Are you two done carving yet?”, Anzhong asked. As he apparently makes a habit of doing, Anzhong was suddenly standing right next to them. He’s got to teach me how he disappears and reappears like that.

Anzhong was wearing a tan coat and hat and a rubber dog snout.

“Ya ready ta figh’ crime, McRuff?”, Brigid asked in a joking tone.

“I still have no idea who I’m dressed as.”, Anzhong said.

“You’re McRuff the crime hound. He takes a bit out of crime wherever he goes. - Brigid makes me watch his shorts.”, Sunset said.

“Come on! Come on! We're burning daylight, and we’ll soon be burning moon light. Let’s go!”, Emi said importantly. Emi was bouncing up and down and wearing a burglar outfit.

“Okay, okay, we’re coming.”, Brigid said. “We jus’ have ta get dese pumpkins lit n’ ‘hen we’ll get going.”

“Yay!”, Emi exclaimed.

Katon family’s backyard
Date: Nov 1st, time: 6:36 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Brigid and Sunset were in the backyard harvesting potatoes. There was a decent amount of cloud coverage. It was going to rain soon. It always amazed Sunset to watch the clouds move on their own.

“Dat’s a pretty sunset.”, Brigid said.

“What?”, Sunset asked.

“Dat’s what this time a’ day is called.”

Sunset’s eyes widened at that. “My name, Sunset.”

“Y’r real name is Sunset. Dat’s great, now all we need is y’r last name.”

Sunset thought on how to translate her name into English. “What is English word for light reflecting?”

“Well, shimmer is one word.-”

“Shimmer! My name is Sunset Shimmer.”, Sunset said with a smile.

“Well, dat’s one mystery down.”

Brigid’s home office
Date: Nov 3rd, time: 11:00 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid was in her office grading papers when there was a knock at the door.

“Come in.”

“Hello, Brigid.”, Sunset said.

“Sunset, ‘hat are ya still doin’ up?”

“Remember that security guard that tried to grab me a couple weeks ago?”

“Platinum Wood, he was suspended. He’s actually coming back in a couple days. Why? Do ya not feel safe around him?”

“He is the one who shoot me, and he made dead one of the street people I lived with. He was called Blackfeather.”

“Where did dis happen?”, Brigid said, alarmed.

“I know where, but not where’s called.”

“Get Anzhong. We’re going ta get a location and file a police report.

Canterville police station 9
Date: Nov 4th, time: 12:00 am

*Brigid’s perspective*

After spending an hour trying to find the overpass Sunset used to live under, they found it and were now entering the closest police station.

“Hello, my name is Anzhong Katon. I am a lawyer in the DA’s office and am here in regards to the murder of a man known as Blackfeather.” Anzhong told the front desk officers.

“That case is still being investigated. I was unaware that the state already assigned a prosecutor.”, the front desk officer said.

“I was not assigned to the case. I have someone with me that witnessed the killing.” Anzhong gestured to Sunset. “This is Sunset Shimmer. She witnessed the murder and can identify the shooter.”

“I’ll contact the detective. We’ll set up a time for Miss. Shimmer to be interviewed.”

“Thank you.”

With that, the Katons left to go home.

Outside the interview room
Date: Nov 4th, time: 12:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Okay Sunset, Anzhong n’ Ah are gonna be in ‘here with ya da whole time. Da nice detective is jus’ gonna ask ya some questions. Is ‘hat okay?”, Brigid asked.

“If they ask something you’re not comfortable answering, you don’t have to.”, Anzhong said.

“Okay”, Sunset answered. Now all I need to do is phrase everything so I don’t sound like a crazy person.

The three entered into the interview room where they were met by the detective. They sat down and let introductions get underway.

“Hello, I am Detective Sentry. I understand you have information regarding one of my cases.”, the detective said.

“Go on.”, Brigid said to Sunset.

“My name is Sunset Shimmer. I lived with Blackfeather when he was shot. A man named Platinum Wood shot him. Platinum Wood works as security at Canterville College.”, Sunset told Detective Sentry.

“Can you tell me what happened before and after Blackfeather was shot?”, Detective Sentry asked.

“I was not there when it started. When I did come back, there was group of men attacking the tent group. The attacking group leader pulled out same thing you have on belt and shot Blackfeather. After he shot Blackfeather, he saw me and shot me. Projectile went through here.” Sunset pointed to her scared wound. Oh, she probably needs to know when it happened. “It happened on Sep four.”

“Okay, if I bring in a forensic artist, can you describe the other attackers and any other people that would’ve witnessed the attack?”, the detective asked.

Sunset nodded yes.

The detective nodded back and left to get the forensic artist.

“I get good feeling from her.”, Sunset said.

“What do you mean?”, Brigid asked.

“Well, I get these feelings about people. I can feel them. Is that not common?”, Sunset replies.

“The ability itself is inherent to all humans, but having it strong enough that you are consciously aware of it, is far less common. We call it a sixth sense or a gut feeling or intuition.”, Anzhong said.

“Is it bad that I have a strong sixth sense?”, Sunset asked, getting nervous.

“It’s not bad. You just need to learn how to use it properly, or it can overwhelm you. That is something I can teach you.”, Anzhong said.

“Thank you.”, Sunset said.

“Sorry, that took so long. This is Sketch Pad. He's our best forensic artist.”, Detective Sentry said, walking back in.

“Hello, so Sunset Shimmer. You said you already identified one of the attackers. How many other attackers were there.”, Sketch Pad asked.

“There were six others.”, Sunset responded.

“Okay, can describe the height, weight, facial features, and any other identifying features of the attackers.”

“Yes”

It took a bit, but they were able to get sketches of the attackers and some of the other witnesses.

“I know the attackers.”, Detective Sentry said.

“You do?”, Brigid asked.

“These boys are repeat offenders. They spent more time in the slammer than their own homes, but considering what their parents were like, that might have seemed like a good thing to them. The problem is, all of these boys have gone missing in the last two months.”, Detective Sentry said.

SHWO ch7 A new family

Sunset’s bedroom
Date: Nov 4th, time: 4:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset was at her desk, reading one of the new books Brigid had got her. It was a book on this world’s history. Sunset never liked history class, even back home. It was the absolute dullest subject with nothing but 1,250 some odd years of boring treaties and only the occasional war that ended in, guess what, a peace treaty. It doesn’t help that there seems to be a law forbidding history books to be anything other than dry, dull sludges that applies to this world as well. Mom and Dad were alive during a much more interesting part of Equestrian history. Also helps, they told their stories way better.

“Okay, my head is starting to hurt.”

Sunset turned to look out her window, where she saw Anzhong sitting in the yard. What’s he doing? Curiosity getting the better of her, she went outside to get to the bottom of things.

“You’re wondering why I’m sitting out in the yard.”, Anzhong said.

“How did you know?”, Sunset responded confusedly.

“I was not fortunate enough to be born with an innate intuition like you. I had to be taught how to listen by my mother, but over the years I have managed to fine tune the ability to the point I don’t need eyes to see. To answer your question, I am meditating.”, Anzhong said.

“Meditating?”, Sunset asked.

“It means to think deeply or focus one's mind. It can also be done to strengthen one’s mind and intuition. Come sit down. I’ll teach you.”

“I actually know how to. My old [Equestrian word for mentor] made us do these daily meditations. I never liked them.”

“Hmm, would you still care to join me? It will help with your headache”

“Okay”

Sunset walked over and sat to Anzhong’s left, and that’s where they stayed until the sun started setting.

“We should head inside. It’s going to get too cold out here soon, and I need to start on dinner.”, Anzhong said.

“Do you always do all the cooking?”, Sunset asked

“Yes, I do all the cooking because there are still things I can not do without working eyes. This world was not built with people like me in mind. Ever since Brigid and I got together, back in college, she’d done all the shopping because not a single item or price tag in any of the major shopping centers have braille on them. I can count on one hand how many stores I can effectively shop at.” Anzhong took a deep breath to calm himself. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have unloaded onto you. It wasn’t appropriate.”

Sunset got up and hugged Anzhong. “You don’t need to say you're sorry. My mom received a back injury that means she can’t walk right or run at all or climb stairs or up steep hills. She’s lucky she has other means of getting around, but our home wasn’t built with people like her in mind at all. We lived on a mountain so stairs and steep hills were everywhere, and nobody cared. That was going to be the first thing I fixed when I got the power I wanted, but my plans went a bit- what’s the word?”, Sunset asked.

“Awry”, Anzhong answered.

“My plans went awry. Maybe now that I’m here, I can fix this world for you.”

A massive smile spread across Anzhong’s face. “Maybe you can. I suspect you will do many great things in your life. I am hoping that one of those great things is to become a great warrior. Sunset, I would like to teach you the skills my mother and father taught me.”

“What kind of skills?”

“The skills to become a ninja.”

“What’s a ninja?”

That caused Anzhong to pause. “You are the first person I’ve met that didn’t know what a ninja was. I’ll tell you all about them over dinner.”

Katon family backyard
Date: Nov 5th, time: 7:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Down, a little further. Now back up again. Good, now a few more.”, Anzhong said.

“What is the purpose of this, exactly?”, Sunset said, exasperated.

“It’s to build up your upper body muscles. Ninjas need to be able to lift up their own body weight to do what we are legendary for.”

“Okay, training’s over. We need ta get ready f’r work.”, Brigid said through the door.

“Coming! Come on Sunset.”, Anzhong said.

“Thank Celestia”, Sunset said.

“Sunset, Platinum wood is comin’ back today, n’ ya are proficient enough with English dat we are goin’ to leave ya with a babysitte’ today.”, Brigid said.

“Wasn’t he arrested, and what do you mean babysitte’?”, Sunset asked, getting nervous.

“The police need ta get a warran’ ta arrest him, and dat takes time. Aside from dat, it was always da plan ta leave ya with a babysitte’ as soon as ya could communicate well enough.”, Brigid said.

“But I want to stay with you.”, Sunset said, now very nervous.

“Sweety, ya don’t need ta be scared. Y’r goin’ to be watched by me very good friend. We’re practically siste’s.”, Brigid said.

“Yeah, Aunt Minerva is great. She makes da best cookies.”, Emi said.

“She’ll take very good care of ya, she lives right across da street, Ah’ll only be gone for a few hours, n’ y’ll be with Emi. She’s ‘ere so ya can meet ‘er. Come on.”, Brigid said.

Sunset said nothing and just took the offered hand. Brigid brought Sunset over to the living room.

The woman standing there was tall, slender, and had a bit of muscle. Her skin was darker than Brigid’s but still fairly light. Her features were all very soft, and her smile was warm and gentle. Her hair faded from black to purple, and her eyes were emerald green. “Hello, Sunset. My name is Minerva Reads. I’m a friend of your mother, and I’m hoping we can become friends too.”, Minerva said in a voice even more gentle than Anzhong’s.

Sunset didn’t respond and hid behind Brigid’s leg.

“We’re still tryin’ ta get ‘er comfortable around new people. Hey Sunset, Minerva is like ya. She gets da same sort a’ feelin's ya do.”, Brigid said.

That got Sunset to come out a little bit. “You do?”, Sunset asked.

“Yes, and I can tell that there is something truly magical about you.”, Minerva said.

What? Does she know? Sunset’s brain was running haywire at that comment.

Brigid knelt down and brought Sunset into a hug. “Minerva will take care a' ya. Can ya be good f’r Minerva?”, Brigid asked Sunset.

“Okay”, Sunset said quietly.

Minerva’s house
Date: Nov 5th, time: 8:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

“What is all this stuff?”, Sunset asked.

“Odds and ends. Stuff I need for my magic.", Minerva answered.

"You can do magic?"

"Not the kind of magic that's on TV but yes."

Maybe I can learn to use this world's magic and find a way to get home, but I'll need to earn her trust first. “Brigid and Anzhong go to work every day. Why aren’t you at work?”

“I have the luxury of working from home. I’m a computer programmer.”

“What’s a computer programmer?”

“Well, computer programmers write the instructions computers follow to do their jobs.”

“Oh, that’s cool.”

“Sunset, Sunset, Sunset, this is Anura.”, Emi said excitedly.

“Hi”, Anura said shyly. Anura looked almost like a younger version of her mother. The only differences being her eye shape more resembling Emi’s and her skin being more tan.

“She’s shy, like you.”, Emi said.

“What? I’m not shy.”, Sunset said indignantly.

“Yes, you are.”

“Get over here, and I’ll show you how shy I am.” Sunset began to chase Emi.

“Aahhh” Emi ran away.

“Hm hm hm, I think she’ll be just fine.”, Minerva said.

Minerva’s office
Date: same day, time: 12:00 pm

*Minerva’s perspective*

“Come in, Sunset.”, Minerva said.

Without having needed to knock, Sunset opened the door and entered the office. “Brigid said that you’re like me. Anzhong said that he’s also like us, but that doesn’t seem to be his best area. Can you tell me more about us? What are we even called?”, Sunset asked.

“Well, to answer your question, we are called psychics. We can also be called witches, and depending on your definition of what a witch is, we are. I, personally, see them as different but very closely related.”

“What’s a witch?”

“A witch is someone who practices magic. Now, it’s not the same as what you’re familiar with. Magic is more like asking for what you want to happen and using the properties of things found in nature to manipulate our minds, bodies, and spirits.”

“Can you teach me to be a witch?”

A happy smile spread across Minerva’s face. “Okay then, why don’t we start now?”

“Okay. By the way, what’s the difference between a ninja and a witch?”, Sunset asked while exiting the office.

“A ninja is just a witch with pointy toys.”

Minerva’s kitchen
Date: same day, time: 2:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“So basically, being a witch is knowin’ how to cook well.”, Sunset said.

“That is 50% of it, yeah.”, Minerva said. “There are some magical entities that are more like what you are familiar with, but they are extremely dangerous. Have you ever heard of a skin-walker or wendigo?”

“I’ve heard of wendigos. They are spirits of ice that feed off conflict and hatred.”, Sunset answered.

“The wendigos I am referring to are similar, but not the same. The wendigos of this land are people who have been transformed into monsters by the consumption of another human’s flesh and murder. They are creatures of the winter but also represent gluttony and starvation as the more they eat, the more they grow, never able to be satisfied. Humans are their prey of choice. Skin-walkers are witches that have been corrupted by the temptation of evil magic. They have the ability to turn into, possess, or disguise themselves as an animal and are very dangerous.”, Minerva said in a tone that says that she had made this speech many times before.

“What do your wendigos look like?”, Sunset asked, clearly scared.

“They are tall, blue humanoids that are basically skin and bones.”, Minerva said in the same tone.

“Are there any here?”

“Skin-walkers aren’t found this far east, and there hasn’t been a wendigo sighting in over a hundred years. That doesn’t mean they aren’t still around though. Wendigos don’t come close to the city. They only attack lone travelers in the woods. Don’t ever go far into the woods without at least one other person, and if you do ever see either one, get into a car, go to the closest city, or find a large group of people. Only newly turned wendigos will attack a large group.”, Minerva said. “Let’s get back to cooking. Defense against evil magic and creatures can be our next lesson.”

Sunset quickly nodded to that.

Katon family front yard
Date: same day, time: 5:30 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

“Hey Sunset, did ya like y’r time with Minerva?”, Brigid asked.

“Yeah, she taught me about magic, all sorts of different countries, wendigos, and skin-walkers. We also made cookies.”, Sunset said like an excited little girl.

“Sink-walkers and wendigos ey? How’s ‘bout ya go inside and get some homework done.”, Brigid said.

“Okay”, Sunset said.

Looking back up to Minerva, Brigid said, “Ya taugh’ ‘er ‘bout wendigos and sink-walke’s?”

“Yes, because they are a very real threat, especially to people like Sunset and me.”, Minerva said.

“‘Here is no proof ‘hat wendigos or skin-walke’s exist. ‘Here’s jus’ stories.”

“There also isn’t any proof that my abilities are real. Just your experiences and stories.”

Brigid had no response to that.

“You believe in my predictions. Can you at least take what I say about these creatures as ‘better safe than sorry’ cautionary tales.”

Brigid ran her hands down her face. “Why do you have to be so reasonable?”

“Because I’m best friends with the most stubborn woman in all of Canterlot.”, Minerva said with a smile.

Brigid just growled at that comment.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”, Minerva said

“Bye”, Brigid said and went back inside.

SHWO ch8 A weird type of bonding

Canterlot adoption agency
Date: Nov 10th, time: 12:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

As the Katon family was walking into the adoption agency, Sunset was smiling like an idiot. Today was the day she’s going to be adopted and become a US citizen. They had talked about getting Sunset adopted, but her fear of new people made even the idea of being adopted by anyone else gave her a panic attack. They were all now sitting down, writing out all the paperwork.

“Name: Sunset Shimmer. Age: 10. Sex: female.”, Brigid was mumbling as she filled out the forms.

That last mumble caught Sunset’s attention. “Wait, I’m a girl?”

“Well, y’re at leas’ in a girl’s body, but if dat’s not what ya feel ya are, den dat can be changed.”, Brigid said.

“I am a girl, but I don’t have those growths on my chest.” Sunset knew they were mammary glands but didn’t know the English word.

“Well, of course not. Y’re only ten. Ya haven’t gone through puberty yet.”, Brigid answered.

Wait, hold up. “When do humans go through puberty?”

“It c’n happen anywhere between 11 and 15, but it’s most common at 12. Ah can tell ya more ‘bout it when y’re bit closer ta startin’.”, Brigid answered.

Why did the portal turn me into a child? Is there... no that can’t be it. The calendars are the same.

“Sunset, Sunset.”

Sunset was pulled back to reality by her name being called. “I’m sorry, spaced out. What did you say?”

“Ah need to know yer birthdate.”

“Ah still don’t know what a birthdate is.”, Sunset said.

“Okay, how do Ah explain it? - It’s the day you came into da world. The day ya was birthed.”, Brigid explained.

“September first.”, Sunset answered. She knew she meant the day she was born, but with the curveball that was her being turned into a minor, Sunset thought it best to spare the headache and use the date she came to this world. It still fit the definition she was given, and this was a new life for her.

“Now, race. What do ya call yer race?”

“Um” Well, I’m not a unicorn anymore. What is my race? “I don't know. I look similar to both you and Anzhong.”

“Ya do, but ya also look Roman. I’ll jus’ put down Irish, Roman, and Japanese. Does that work?”

“Works for me.”, Sunset said with a shrug.

“Now, do ya wanna keep yer last name or change it?”

“I’d like to keep my last name.”, Sunset said. She wasn’t going to change every part of herself, new life or not.

Minerva’s house
Date: Nov 15th, time: 3:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Come on Anura. The show is startin’ soon.”, Emi said impatiently.

“I’m trying. We just got this TV. I’m still learning how to use it.”, Anura said.

“Sunset.”, Minerva called.

“Yeah?”, Sunset responded.

“I’m heading back downstairs. Make sure no one starts a fire.”

“Yeah, no promises.”

“Well, you know where the extinguisher is.”

“That, I can do.”

“Hey wait wait. Sunset look. It’s that Wood guy.”, Emi said.

Sunset looked up from her book, to the TV, and there on the TV was Platinum Wood being arrested.

“Today, police arrested, Canterville College security guard, Platinum Wood on eight counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder. More on the story, as it comes in.”, the TV reporter said.

All three girls were slacked jawed, staring at the TV.

“I figured out how to get to the channel.”, Anura said.

“Yeah yeah, let’s do that.”, Sunset and Emi said in unison.

Brigid and Anzhong’s bedroom
Date: Nov 16th, time: 2:14 am

*Brigid’s perspective*

There was a creaking sound as Brigid and Anzhing’s door was open, waking Brigid up.

An needta get ‘hose damned things oiled. “Hello?”, Brigid asked half awake.

“I had a bad dream. Can I sleep with you?”

“Sunset, yeah, come here.”

Sunset walked over to the bed, and Brigid helped her get in between her and Anzhong.

“Do ya want ta talk ‘bout yer nightmare?”

“It was about Platinum. He was chasing me through the alleyway, and he caught up to me. That’s when I woke up.”

“That is scary. Well, soon he will be in prison, where he can’t hurt you.”

“Will I need to (Equestrian word for ‘testify’).”

“Testify? Maybe, we’ll see.”

Forest outside Canterlot
Date: Nov 19th, time: 1:20 pm

*Anzhong’s perspective*

Anzhong, Brigid, Sunset, and Emi were doing stealth training in the woods. Anzhong figured that jumping straight into stealth and evasion would help with Sunset’s nightmares.

“These are called Shuko and Ashiko. These items allowed the ninja of old to climb any wall or tree. This is less so today, as these will not help in climbing glass. However, these can still help us climb any rough or puncturable surfaces. For example, trees. Now, I will be the first to say, Shuko are a lot easier to carry on your person and slip on quickly. So, we will be training with only the Shuko.”, Anzhong said. “This technique is called the Tanuki-Gakure-no-Jutsu. Humans have a tendency to focus at a 45 degree angle. Stay above that, and you will not be noticed. The goal of today’s exercise is to climb as high as you can and stay hidden from Brigid. Once you start climbing, I will call Bigid in, and she will try to find you. All she knows is that you are hiding but not where she should be looking. Are you ready?”

“Ready”, both girls said in unison.

“Go”, Anzhong said.

Both girls ran off and started climbing their chosen trees. Anzhong began to walk closer to Brigid so she could hear him.

“Brigid, we’re ready for you.”

“Okeydokey, where are them lassies?”

Up in the trees
Date: same day, time: 1:25 am

*Emi’s perspective*

Both Emi and Sunset were now near the tops of their respective trees. They weren’t very high up, but they were well concealed within the foliage. Both girls were wearing camo, making them harder to see. They’re close enough to clearly see each other. Is Sunset shaking? Ever Since they got to their perches, Sunset has been looking uneasy.

Emi made a bird call to get Sunset’s attention “Mom thought you ASL?”, Emi signed.

Sunset nodded ‘yes’.

“You okay?”, Emi signed.

Sunset nodded ‘yes’.

“You shaking.”

“I don’t like being this high up.”, Sunset signed.

“It’s the landing and getting hurt you don’t like.”

It took a minute for Sunset to respond. “You smart for 4 year old.”

“It random life advice from Grandpa. You would like him.”

Crunch Crunch

The footsteps could be heard getting closer. The girls looked down to see their mother scouring the forest floor for them. She never once looked up. The girls gave each other the best thumbs up they could do with their Shuko on.

“Okay, where the bloody hell are ‘hey.”, Mom said, annoyed.

“Girls, do you want to come out?”, Dad asked.

The girls looked at each other, giving each other evil grins. As if they shared a single devious mind, the two shouted down from their perches, “HI MOM!”

Mom jumped in surprise and then looked to where the shout had come from. “You two little gobshites!”

Laughter could be heard from the tree tops.

“One a’ ya t’ree are gonna give me a heart attack.”, Mom said.

Katon family living room
Date: Nov 23rd, time: 7:30 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid was teaching Sunset more sign language when Minerva came rushing in.

“Whoa there. ‘Hat’s goin’ on? Ya look like ya jus’ witnessed a murder.”, Brigid said.

“You’re not too far off. I take it you haven’t seen the latest news.”, Minerva said.

“Nah, been workin’ on Thanksgivin’ stuff. Why?”, Brigid asked.

“Just look.” Minerva said, handing her phone to Brigid. A news article was open on the phone. “On November 15th, police searched the house of Canterville College security guard, Platinum Wood, and found seven taxidermied bodies in his living room.

Police were issuing an arrest warrant for Platinum Wood’s suspected involvement in the death of a man named Blackfeather when they found the taxidermied bodies of his father, mother, and five of his friends sitting in his living room.” the article said.

“What does it say?”, Sunset asked.

“Do ya want ta satisfy y’r curiosity or not risk more nightmares?”, Brigid asked.

“Nightmare’s are temporary, but unsatisfied curiosity is permanent.”

“Okay then.” Brigid turned the phone over to face Sunset.

Sunset’s face was a mix of horror and confusion. “What does ‘taxidermied’ mean?”

Oh boy, how do I explain this? “Well, um, ‘taxidermied’ means ‘hat some creature had been skinned ‘hen da skin was prepared, stuffed, and mounted f’r a life-like effect. Hunters used da practice ta show off ‘heir kills in ‘heir full glory.”, Brigid cautiously explained.

Sunset’s face was now one of pure horror. “That’s sick.”

“The end result can certainly be disturbing.”, Minerva said.

“Hold on, listen to this. “Magnum Knuckles, who participated in the murder of Blackfeather, has come out of hiding and agreed to testify against Wood in exchange for leniency.” Sounds like ya don’ need ta worry ‘bout testifying.”, Brigid said to Sunset.

“I could go my whole life without seeing his face ever again.”, Sunset said.

SHWO ch9 Family is strange

Katon family kitchen
Date: Nov 25th, time: 5:00pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Take these out to the table.”, Anzhong told Sunset.

“Got it.” Sunset made her way out of the kitchen with the two bowls she was given.

The table was filled with various side dishes, and the living room was filled with people. Sunset didn’t recognize most of the people. Of the people she recognized were Minerva, Anura, and her paternal grandfather, who she’d only seen pictures of. The rest of the people, Sunset had been told, were her parents’ coworkers and friends and their partners and kids. Apparently, every year on this ‘Thanksgivin’, her parents would round up everybody they liked with small families or were on their own and have a large celebration with all of them. The large number of people did make her nervous, but they were her parents’ friends, and even Minerva vouched for them as being safe.

Sunset took a closer look at her new grandfather. He looked similar to Anzhong. There were facial differences but the biggest distinguishing features were his graying hair and his eyes worked and were silver. He was talking to another one of the guests; Sour Drops if she remembered correctly. Emi did say I would like him. With that, Sunset made her way over to her grandfather. It’s time to stop being so scared, Sunset. I’ve fought and defeated some of Equestria’s most terrifying monsters. How bad can humans be?

“Hi, Mr. Jiraiya.”, Sunset said.

“Oh, hello Sunset. You know you can call me Grandpa, right?”, Jiraiya Katon said.

“Okay, Grandpa. Why do you have a frog on your jacket?”, Sunset asked.

“Why not? Frogs are cool.”, Jiraiya answered.

Kston family dining room
Date: same day, time: 6:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

The night has been going great so far. The food has been good. No one’s bleeding. Nothing’s on fire. No crazed killers came to kill and taxidermy them. The only thing Sunset would say about the night as not great, is the fact she was stuck at the kid’s table. She knew that she was, not so technically, a minor, but it was still annoying. Up until a few months ago, she was a legal and matured adult, and she was still, mentally. Although, the physical state of her brain was making that hard to prove.

“Make some friends your own age. It will be good for you.” What a load. I’m not actually ten. Sunset looked at the other kids around the table. She, of course, knew Emi and Anura. She met Sweetie Drops before; not someone she wanted to hang out with, though. Everybody else, she’d never seen before. They were all younger than her and, quite frankly, annoying. That was, all except one. She has very light skin, lighter than Brigid’s. Her hair is pink, and her eyes are purple-ish, hard to tell with her skin, seemingly, radiating light. She looked really familiar. There was a unicorn back in Canterlot that everypony called noble chaser. That wasn’t her actual name, Sunset never learned it, but she would always brag about how she would marry into a rich noble family. She tried to get into Celectia’s School for Gifted Unicorns but failed, miserably. Might as well try with her. At least she’s not screaming. “Hello”

The girl looked around then pointed to herself.

“Yeah, you, um, hi.”, Sunset said uneasily.

“Hi”, the girl said, seeming just as uncomfortable as Sunset.

“My name is Sunset Shimmer. What’s yours?”

“Fleur de Lis" Fleur de Lis didn’t say anything else.

Well, this is going well. Might as well keep going. Not like there’s anyone else to talk to. “Um, how do our parents know each other?”

“Who are your parents?”, Fleur asked. She had an accent Sunset heard before but didn’t know where it was from.

“Brigid and Anzhong”

“Oh, my mom’s a history professor at the university. Our moms are - decent friends.”

“Oh, that’s cool.”

The conversation pretty much died at that point.

Katon living room
Date: same day, time: 10:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

The celebration had been fun, but now all the guests had left, except for Minerva, Anura, Jiraiya, who offered to help clean up. Everyone, who remained, was now sitting in the living room, decompressing from being social.

“I don’t want to see another person for a week.” Sunset’s muffled voice came from the bean bag chair.

“Well, Ah won’t be makin’ ya.”, Brigid said.

“Mom, why didn’t any of your family come?”, Sunset asked, face now out of the bean bag.

It took Brigid a couple seconds to respond. “Ma parents are dead, n’ Ah’ve gone no contact with me Auntie’s side of da family. Da rest are dead or British loyalists. ‘Hey disowned ma parents for being Irish nationals.”

“I feel that there is a lot of history I’m missing.”, Sunset said.

Brigid crossed her arms over her head and let out a mix between a growl and a sigh. Anzhong placed his hand on her knee and said, “This is something they both need to know about.”

“Ah suppose y’re right.” Brigid turned to face her husband. “Dey’ll need ta know ‘bout yer mum too.”

Anzhong nodded in confirmation.

“Alrighty then. Emi, can ya please come ‘ere.”, Brigid called.

Emi came bounding into the living room from her game of go fish. Anura soon following.

“Well den, it’s time fer the t’ree of ya ta get a bit of a lesson on Irish history n’ me past. Ah was born in da middle of a war known as da Troubles. Da history behind da war is long n’ complicated, but it can mostly be boiled down ta centuries a’ mistreatment n’ discrimination. Most a’ me pa’s family were a bunch a’ manky holy joes n’ with da loyalists. Me mum’s family were with da Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association. Dey were tryin’ ta end da discrimination against da Catholic minority by da Protestant majority, government, and bobbies. Ah took - let’s jus’ say - a more proactive approach. Bashin’ in da skulls a’ da holy joes dat made me mama’s life hell was quite cathartic. Our farm was right outside da borders of Northern Ireland ‘n right outside a very Protestant city. When Ah was 17, a group a’ ‘em Protestants came ta da house n’ beat me family ta death. Ah was in da barn, but Ah could still ‘ear da screams. Ah was lucky ‘hey didn’t come lookin’ fer me.

After that, Ah was shipped off ta da only family who would take me. Me Auntie had come ta da US some years before, fer college. Dey took me in, but ‘er husband was a piece a’ shit human being, da absolute epitome a’ white trash. He’s fat, drunk, everything-phobic, racist, and believes women belong in da house, and he can’t keep a job down. Da only reason dey aren’t livin’ in a trailer is because a’ Auntie Pristine’s high payin’ job. Ol’ Auntie Pristine wasn’t as bad. She was jus’ controlling, n’ if ya didn’t do ‘hat she said, she would break yer stuff. Ah suspect why ‘hey got or are still married is because she nurtured him. Anyway, Ah took all Ah got n’ made outta there as soon as Ah was 18.” Brigid turned to her husband. “Anzhong, it’s yer turn.”

“Mine is a much shorter story. My mother didn’t come to Thanksgiving because she died in a train derailment when I was nine.”, Anzhong said bluntly.

“That’s sad.”, Anura commented.

“It is, but it was a long time ago.”, Anzhong simply said.

“You forgot to tell them the part about how you were in the train as well, and how you had to hear your mother dying. That sort of trauma does not go away with time, and you never let yourself receive help and continue to blame yourself.”, Jiraiya said in an accusatory tone.

“It -”, Anzhong cut himself off. “I am dealing with my trauma in my own way.”

“Bottling it all up inside is not dealing with it.”, Jiraiya said.

“I specialize in criminal negligence cases. My whole career revolves around getting justice for people like Mom and me. Just because I’ve never gone to a therapist, does not mean I’m not dealing with my trauma. Also, just in case you never noticed,” Anzhong gestured around him. “I’m good at my job.”, he said, raising his voice a little.

Jiraiya gave Anzhong a ‘I don’t believe you’ look.

“What does ‘phobic’ mean?”, Emi asked.

Katon family home
Date: Nov 30th, time: 2:00 pm

*Emi’s perspective*

Emi was doing four year old things in her room when the doorbell rang.

“Mom! Someone’s at da door!”, Emi shouted.

“Ah know. Stop jumpin’ on yer bed.”, Mom shouted back.

After Mom had gone down the stairs, Emi, being the curious kid she is, decided that spying on whoever it was would be the funniest thing to do at that moment, and maybe, if they’re particularly annoying, she can get them to leave faster. With that, she grabbed her blowgun and darts and darted to the stairs.

When she got to the stairs, Emi could hear that her mother was primed to go off. She’s not shouting but press a trigger and boom. Apparently Sunset sensed this too as Emi could see her peeking out from her room from her own perch. Looking back to the people at the door, Emi saw that they were a man and a woman. The lady looked like she put effort into her appearance, too much effort. Her face was caked in make-up, to the point it looked like lumpy paint. Not wearing any make-up wouldn’t have helped as her skin was very leathery. She was wearing nice clothes, but the jewelry she was wearing was so big, it completely up staged her. Mom said that jewelry complaints the wearer, not the other way around. The strangest part about the woman is that she looked... fake. It was weird. She looked mismatched. I’ll ask Mom about it later. The man had the exact opposite problem. He gave no effort to his appearance. He looked like trailer trash, beer belly and all. At least he was wearing a black shirt over his wife beater. Hold up. Uppity tighty lookin’ lady and trailer trash lookin’ man. Emi looked to Sunset, who was now behind the dividing wall between the kitchen and entryway. Sunset looked up at Emi, and Emi signed, “Aunt, Uncle”. Sunset’s face went from surprise to, what Emi calls, her morbid curiosity face, and she started listening in closer. The volume was picking up. So, now Emi could hear it.

“Ah didn’t invite ya ta me Thanksgivin’ celebration because Ah wanted ta have a nice time!” now Mom was shouting.

“But we’re family!”, a whiny female voice said.

“Family doesn’t break every'hin' ya hold dear, including family heirlooms, because things didn’t go ‘heir way!”

“You have a history of making bad choices, and I needed to keep you on the straight and narrow.”, the woman said.

“Y’r crazy!”

“Listen here you-”, the man said.

“I just wanna meet my grandnieces!”, the woman interrupted.

Mom was about to fire back, but Dad, from the top of the stairs, spoke first. “Maybe we should let the girls meet them. If nothing more than an example as to what not to be.”

“What do you mean “what not to be”. We’re pillars of our community.”, the man said indignantly.

“You’re unemployed, and from what I understand, you barely do anything around the house. The only thing you’re a pillar of is your local liquor store.”, Dad said while walking down the stairs.

Emi began walking down to about halfway down the stairs, to get into better firing range.

Trailer trash man glared at Dad. Dad put a reassuring hand on Mom’s shoulder. “Of course, it’s up to you.”, Dad said.

Mom let out a sigh to calm herself before saying, “Alright, ya can meet da girls, but if ya break somethin’, through a tantrum, insult me accent, or call any a’ ‘hem a racial epithet, Ah call da police n’ have ya trespassed. Got it?”

Ready, aim,

“Buuut -” FIRE. The woman was cut off by a dart to the noggin. They weren’t sharp, but they were made out of hard plastic and still hurt to be hit with.

“NO TANTRUMS.”, Emi reminded the whiny lady.

The woman just grumbled something under her breath. Mom and Dad let them in, and Mom picked up the dart and gave Emi a smile. Mom gave Emi back the dart as they all walked into the living room and sat down.

“So, girls, meet Pristine and Hick Blue.”, Mom said.

Right, that’s her name.

“Move, you mutt.”, Hick barked at Ki.

“Don’t talk to my dog like that. Unlike you, he has a job, and that is his chair.”, Dad said sternly.

Ki gave Hick a smug look, a smug look by American Akita standards.

Emi and Sunset quickly went to claim their respective gray and red bean bags before the Blues got any ideas.

“So, who are you?”, Pristine asked the girls.

“My name is Emi, and this is my big sis, Sunset.”, Emi said less enthusiastically than normal. These people are weird. Emi looked to Sunset. She definitely thinks they’re off too. Time to take advantage of my four year old charm. “Mrs. Blue, why do you look so weird.”, she said in the most innocent way possible.

“Gasp, how rude. Do you not teach your brats any manners?”, Pristine said, offended and putting a hand to her chest.

“She’s four. She’s still learnin’.” Mom turned to Emi. “Emi, ‘hat was rude. To answer yer question, she’s had a lot a’ plastic surgery. Plastic surgery is when ya surgically change yer body for cosmetic reasons. Da reason she looks weird is because she paid bottom dollar for it all.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I look beautiful.”, Pristine said.

“No, you don’t.”, Emi, Sunset, and Mom said in unison.

Pristine huffed and crossed her arms.

Everyone sat there in an uncomfortable silence for about a minute. Hick clearly didn’t want to be there. The silence was broken by Sunset. “Mr. Blue, why are you afraid of gay people?”

“I am not afraid of gay people. Their lifestyle is unnatural and goes against God.”, Hick said.

“No it’s not. First, being gay isn’t a lifestyle any more than being white. Secondly, homosexuality is found in nature. So, by definition, it’s natural.”, Sunset said, getting angry.

“Well, it still goes against God.”, Hick said with a huff.

“Okay, Sunset, you’re not going to change his mind. So, let’s drop it.”, Dad said.

Sunset huffed and crossed her arms.

“You know, this house would look so much better if-” “Ah’m gonna stop ya righ’ ‘here. We are not changin’ our house for ya.”, Mom cut Pristine off.

“You know, I think it’s time for you to get going.”, Dad said.

“What!” Pristine jumped up from her spot on the couch. “You can’t kick us out, we're family. Besides, we don't have a ride.”

“We’ll call you a cab.”, Dad said while attempting to corral them to the door.

“Can we just stay here? It’s late, and I’m tired.”, Pristine whined.

“NO!”, the Katon family shouted, and even Ki barked his version of ‘no’.

“But we’re-” “If you say ‘hat stupid catchphrase a’ yers one more time, Ah’m throughin’ ya outta me house by yer waist band!”

“We don’t have enough money for a hotel, and our flight doesn’t leave until tomorrow. We need a place to stay.”, Hick said in a definitive manner.

“That is your problem, not ours. Now, we have been more than gracious to you both, but it is now time to part ways.”, Anzhong said.

“Fuck off back to China, cing-chong!”, Hick shouted.

“That’s not even accurate. I’m from Japan. If you are going to be racist, at least get the right county.”, Dad finished as Mom grabbed both by their collars and began dragging them to the door.

Sunset sprang up from her bag and ran to open the door. Pristine was screaming about assault and police, but Emi just tuned her out. Emi, despite her dad showing as much emotion as Ki, knew how to tell what he was feeling. Hick’s words had no effect on him. The Blues now had the door slammed in their faces, and Emi felt safe enough to speak.

“Dad, what Hick said was mean. Why didn’t you get angry?”

“That is a good question, Emi. One that you, and your sister, should hear the answer to. Sunset, please come here.”

Emi looked over to Sunset. She and Mom were still giggling from the previous events. The laughing had died down since Sunset’s name was called. Sunset quickly made her way over. Dad was now sitting on the ground and motioned for both girls to do the same. Mom was watching the Blues out the kitchen window.

“Sunset, did you hear Emi’s question?”

““Why didn't you get angry at Hick’s words?” Yes, I did.”

“Good, now, the answer to that question is, words are just that, words. All of their power is that of which you give them. Hick wanted to anger me into a confrontation with his words. I just let them wash over me. Like a river over stone. Does that answer your question?”

“Yep”, Emi enthusiastically said.

“It does.”, Sunset said. “But your analogy is flawed. A single drop will do nothing to stone, but a river will carve a canyon.”

“I guess some of my phrases need to be modified.”, Dad said with a smile.

SHWO ch10 Trauma & video games

Minerva’s kitchen
Date: Dec 2nd, time: 3:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“You’re oddly quiet today.”, Minerva said.

“I’ve been thinking.”, Sunset said.

“About what?”

“How long have you known about my parents’ pasts?”

“The part about Anzhong being in the train was new. The rest I’ve known for years.”

“They’re so sad and angry. It’s not all the time, but when they’re alone with their thoughts, anger and sadness radiates from them. I can feel it from my room.”

“I know. They are both too prideful to let themselves get help. I think they also use their anger and sadness to fuel them in their work.”

“I get how Anzhong is fueled by his sadness, but how is Brigid fueled by it?”

“Do you know what your mother teaches?”

“No”

“She teaches anthropology, which is the study of humans. Her anger fuels her to breed love and understanding of others in her students. She actually uses her experience as an example as to why love and understanding is so important.”

“How hate and bigotry led one half of a family to kill the other.”

“Hmm, you know, you’re smarter than people three times your age.”

Sunset’s room
Date: Dec 4th, time: 7:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Hey Sunset, whatcha doing?”, Emi asked. “I’m trying to figure out what this thing is. One of our neighbors was throwing it out. I asked them if I could take it, and they said yes.”, Sunset answered.

“There’s a word printed on it. Maybe we can look up what the word means to find out.”, Emi said.

“That’s a good idea. Let’s try.”

Sunset and Emi walked over to Sunset’s desk and computer. Sunset typed the word into the search bar.

“A gaming console, what’s that?”, Sunset asked.

“Let’s go ask Mom.”, Emi said.

Brigid’s home office
Date: same day, time: 7:35 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“A gaming console is a device ‘hat allows one ta play video games. Ya plug it inta a TV, connect it ta a controlle’, place a game disc inta it, and ‘hen play it. Where did ya get ‘his?”, Brigid asked. “One of our neighbors was throwing it away, and I asked if I could keep it. They said yes but also said it was broken.”, Sunset answered. “Do ya have the controllers?” “Yep, they are pretty weird looking though.”, Sunset answered. “Do ya plan on fixin’ it?”, Brigid asked. “Yep” To this, Brigid smiled. “Ah’ll go grab da toolbox.”

Sunset’s room
Date: same day, time: 8:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

After opening up the console, Sunset found a lot of dead cockroaches inside. After a short freak-out, and scaring Anzhong, they cleaned out the console. After doing that and checking all the internal connections, Brigid helped Sunset put it back together and plug the console into the TV.

“It appears ta be workin’ now.”, Brigid said.

“Yay!”, Emi exclaimed.

“How’s ‘bout ‘his, ya two research ‘hat times a’ games ya wan’, n’ tomorrah, well see ‘hat we can get ya. Sound good?”, Brigid asked.

“Yes!”, both girls said. The sisters ran off to Sunset’s room to research video games.

Bargain-mart
Date: Dec 5th, time: 5:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

It was the Katons’ weekly shopping trip. However, this week was slightly different. The family made a stop at the electronic section to see what kinds of games they have.

“Okay girls, look fer dat ya would like, but only E rated games.”, Brigid said.

“Why?”, both girls said, not whining but legitimately confused.

Brigid recognized their confusion. “‘E’ stands fer everyone. Games are rated ‘E’, ‘T’, n’ ‘M’. ‘T’ is for teen, n’ ‘M’ is for mature. Neither a’ ya are old enough for ‘T’ or ‘M’ rated games.”

“Okay, got it.”, Emi said.

“Stupid portal.”, Sunset said under her breath. She didn’t like being reminded that she was turned into a kid.

“Oh, almost forgot. Make sure da games ya pick have da same logo as yer console. Games need to be made ta work with da specific console. Get one made fer a different console, n’ ya can’t play it.”

With their mother’s words in mind, the girls went off game searching. “N’ stay where ya c’n see each other!”

“Okay, so the logo on the console is red and starts with an ‘N’.”, Sunset said. “Sunset, look at this one.” Emi was pointing at a game a bit too high up for her to reach. Sunset walked over to Emi and looked at the game. It was a kart racing game with a chubby man in red overalls on the cover. Sunset looked the game over and found all the same markings that were on the console. “This looks good, and I think it will be compatible.” “Le’ me see! Le’ me see!” Sunset handed Emi the game. “Be careful. If we break it, we’ll still have to buy it.” At least that’s how it worked in Equestria. “Ah wanna get this one.” “Sounds good to me. Let’s see if there’s any others we want.”

After some more searching, the girls came back to their mother with six games.

“Well that looks like a good haul. Let me take a look at them.”, Brigid said.

The girls handed her the games, and Brigid laid them out on the counter.

“Wow, games have gotten a lot more expensive than when I played.” Brigid turned to her daughters. “Girls, we’ll only be able to get two games for now. How about you each pick one. Does that sound good?”

“I guess so.”, both girls said, dejected.

“Ah’m sorry girls.”, Brigid said while handing them the games.

Emi made her choice quickly. “I want this one.”, she said, holding the kart racing game.

Sunset took more time to choose. She made her choice when her gaze fell upon a familiar item. A crossbow? It was one of the games Emi put into the pile. Sunset hadn’t really looked at it until now. “I want this one.”, Sunset said, holding up a game that had a humanoid wearing green and holding a crossbow on the cover.

“Those look like excellent choices.” Brigid two the chosen games. “Can ya two put da others back?”

“Okay”, Emi said, picking up one of the games.

Sunset simply nodded, picked up the remaining games, and followed Emi as she ran off. Sunset’s mind was elsewhere. She was thinking about when her mother would give her and her sister lessons on shooting a crossbow. Crossbows, in Equestria, were developed after encounters with griffon archery squadrons. Her mother was a proud wielder of the crossbow in the 6th pegasi forward crossbow company, a unit specializing in blitz aerial attacks. She remembered seeing pictures of her mother, pre-injury, standing strong and proud, wearing sky blue flight armor on and crossbow slug across her back. It would have been something to see her fight back then.

“Okay Mom, they’re all put away.”, Emi said.

“Thank you, girls. Ya know, since ya two were so good ‘bout da situation, Ah’ma get ya each an ice cream. How’s ‘hat sound?”

“Yay!”, Emi cheered.

Sunset smiled and nodded.

Katon family home
Date: same day, time: 6:45 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

Sunset hadn’t spoken much on the drive home or while they were putting groceries away. This worried Brigid. As soon as Sunset got a good grasp of English, she was very talkative. She was always asking questions or just having a conversation with someone. In the last month, she began feeling safe enough to ask people she didn’t know about their jobs, why they do something, or anything else she finds curious about them. Her being quiet had become odd.

“Sunset, are ya okay?”

“Huh, yeah, I’m fine, just thinking.”

“‘Hat are ya thinkin’ about?”

“My birth family.”

“Ah don’t think Ah eve’ asked ya ‘his, but ‘hat happened ta ‘hem?”

“Nothing happened to them, as far as I know. I’ve just been separated from them.”

“Do ya know ‘here ‘hey are?”

“I do, I just won’t be able to get back to them for a long time.”

She’s purposely avoidin’ somethin’. Ah bette’ not push. “Do ya wanna talk about ‘em?”

“Yes”

“Let’s go sit down in da livin’ room fer ‘his.”

The mother daughter pair made their way to the living room, taking seats on the couch.

“So, ‘hat would ya like ta talk ‘bout yer family?”

“I come from a military family. Both of my parents were in the military, until my mom was badly hurt. After that, she wasn’t able to walk properly. I was very young when it happened and don’t remember it, but my older sister would tell me about how she experienced it. She said it was scary to see the woman you idolize struggle to move when a week before, she could outrun a bull. The part I clearly remember is how people treated my parents afterwards. The history behind this is long, but the short version is, soldiers are seen as nothing more than weapons by those in power. Even the nobles that served see the non-nobility soldiers as tools to be used. We have a word for the nobility soldiers, ‘decorative armor’. So when my mom wasn’t able to fight any more, and my dad retired to take care of her, they were discarded like broken weapons. It was especially bad because we lived in the capital, and my parents are a part of a racial group with a strong military history and culture. Being called a weapon used to be a great honor, but now it’s been twisted and warped into something negative.” Sunset was now crying as she finished.

Dat do Ah even say ta dat? Not finding an answer to that, Brigid just pulled Sunset into a hug and stroked her hair as she cried.

SHWO ch11 Opening up

Katon family backyard
Date: Dec 12th, time: 6:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Close your eyes, empty your mind, and listen to the world around you. Listen to the Earth, the trees, and the universe at large. This connection to the Earth is what made the ninja legendary and what allows us to do the near superhuman feats that made us feared.”, Anzhong said.

“This sounds like earth pony stuff.”, Sunset said.

“Earth pony?”

Shit! “A group of people from my homeland. They have a special connection to the planet and draw strength from it.”

“Well then, I suppose this is ‘earth pony stuff’.”, Anzhong said with a smile.

The two sat there in silence, listening.

“When are you going to teach Emi this?”

“When she’s a bit older and not busy bouncing off the walls.”

Okay now, the two sat there in silence, listening.

Minerva’s house
Date: Dec 13th, time: 12:00 pm

*Minerva’s perspective*

Minerva was, in her office, wrapping up work for the week. The work was tedious at times, but it paid well, and she was good at it. The thing that really kept Minerva doing it was that she could do it 100% from home, but she was glad that she was done for now.

“12, I should take the girls somewhere. They all really need socializing.” Where though.

After some deliberation, that included the Air and Space Museum, Minerva decided on the nearby park. I can take them to the museum next time.

Minerva made her way upstairs and into the backyard, where the girls were. The girls were playing tag. Something that brought a smile to Minerva’s face was that Sunset and Emi were going much slower than they could. Anura was always slower than Emi, and Sunset’s older than them with longer legs. They’re giving her a fighting chance.

“Girls, as soon as you are done with your game we’re going to go to the park. Make sure you pack everything you need.”

The two younger girls were excited by this, but Sunset became nervous. Minerva made her way over to Sunset in response.

“Sunset, are you okay?”, Minerva said.

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s nothing.”, Sunset said quickly.

“We don’t have to go if it scares you.”

“No, no, it’s okay.”

“Okay”

Canterville park
Date: same day, time: 12:15 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset, Emi, Minerva, and Anura walked to Canterville park, and Emi and Anura ran straight for the swings. Sunset merely stayed by Minerva’s side.

“Sunset, are you sure you’re okay?”, Minerva asked.

“I’m fine.”

“Sunset, I know you’re lying. What’s wrong?”

“Why are you friends with my parents?”

“You’re changing the subject.”

“Answer my question, and I’ll answer your question.”

Minerva took a deep breath before speaking. “I met your parents back in college. We wouldn’t become the friends we are until later, however. When I finished college, I joined the military. Right when I was done with training, our county was attacked, and we went to war. I was a part of the initial invasion. Everything I saw over there messed me up, and I couldn’t get the help I needed. Your mother approached me, and we bonded over our shared war traumas. Her knowledge of humans actually really helped me get perspective on what happened to me. Our relationship only grew from there. Your turn.”

“The last time I was in a park, I was attacked by a group that bullied me at school. I was rising up in the political ladder of my country, and their families considered me a threat. The group decided to deal with me directly and threatened me if I didn’t renounce my position. I fought back and won, but I still don’t like parks.”

“We can leave if you want.”

“No, I don’t want to get in the way of Emi’s fun.”

Brigid’s greenhouse
Date: same day, time: 6:00 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

Sunset and Brigid were tending to their crops in silence. At this point, Sunset had learned how to do her jobs; so, no instructions were needed. They stayed that way for a while, until Sunset asked a question, “Why did you choose to study anthropology?”

“‘Hat do ya mean?”

“I know why you choose to teach it, but why did you choose to study it in the first place?”

“Ah guess- Ah guess Ah wanted ta know why all ‘hat had happened ta me happened. Why humans were capable a’ doin’ such evil.”

“Did you get your answer?”

“Yes”

“What was it?”

“Fear”

“Fear?”

“‘Hen hardship happens, humans need somethin’ ta blame. ‘Hey need ta make da unpredictable world we live in predictable. Da chosen scapegoat sometimes comes in da form of another group a’ humans, or human singular. As much as we try ta control and learn ‘bout da world, ‘here will always be ‘hings we can’t control or understand, and ‘hat scares people. ‘Hat eventually morphed inta believin’ ‘hat people who don’t follow y’r religion are wrong n’ subhuman. Fear is da origin a’ human evils.
‘Hat doesn’t mean ‘hat da absence a’ fear is any bette’.” Wait a minute. “Sunset, do ya know da meaning a’ courage?”

“Of course I do. My parents’ people drill that into us from the moment we can talk. It means to be able to overcome great fear in order to do great things.”

“Good, ‘hat makes ‘his simpler. Da absence a’ fear isn’t any bette’. Da absolute lack a’ fear within a person is called psychopathy. ‘Here are other parts ta psychopathy as well, including lack a’ empathy; resultin’ in someone who can do great harm n’ not fear da consequences. -- Platinum is an example of someone who has psychopathy.”

Katon family home
Date: Dec 24th, time: 6:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

It was the Katons’ annual Christmas party. Same ordeal as the Thanksgiving party, small families or people with no families that they liked and lots of food. The only differences being the decorations and a secret Santa. Sunset was a bit more comfortable this time around, having been around these people before. People were talking, laughing, and generally having a good time. The younger kids were outback having a snowball fight, which Sunset just came inside from.

As Sunset came inside, she spotted Fleur de Lis watching something on a tablet. Curious, Sunset walked over to her.

“Whatcha watchin’?”

“Uh? Oh, hi Sunset. My dad’s having me watch videos of pro fencers so I can improve my skill.”

“At a Christmas party? Wouldn't you rather do - anything else?”

“My dad says I have to watch these every day, no exceptions.”

“Really? Who is your dad?”, Sunset says, looking around the room.

“Oh, he’s not here. He’s back in Canada.”

“Then how would he know if you, say, enjoy yourself? Plus, - can you show me the video?”

Fleur turned the tablet to Sunset. Sunset instantly recognized the sport.

“Plus, I used to fence, and I can tell you that you can only learn so much from the sidelines.”

“You used to fence?”

“Yep, now come on. It’s a party. You should be having fun.”

“O-kay”, Fleur said hesitantly.

“Wanna play a video game?”

“Yes”, Fleur said with energy.

The two played for a while, until the doorbell rang. Sunset quickly did a mental headcount and realized, everyone was already here.

“That’s odd. Nobody left, and everybody that was at Thanksgiving already arrived.”

“Maybe it’s the police. In the movies, the police will sometimes come to breakup parties.”

“Maybe? Wanna go look?”

“Sure”

Sunset turned off the game, and the two got up to move the front door. Minerva was also making her way to the door. When the three got there, the door was opened, and Sunset was the first to speak. “You aren’t supposed to be here.” Standing at the door was Pristine and Hick Blue.

“Well hello Sunset. It would appear that our invitations got lost in the mail. Would you please let us in?”

“Yeah, no.” Sunset turned back to the party. “Mom! It’s Pristine and Hick!”

With that, Brigid came rushing to the door. “Ah told both of ya ta neve’ come back ‘ere. So, ‘hat do ya think y’r doing here?”

“We’re family, and Christmas is about family.”, Pristine whined.

“I’ve known rocks that were better family than you. You’re both vile pieces of crap humans.”, Sunset said angrily.

“You watch your mouth, Chonky!”, Hick shouted.

The party went quiet, and everyone was now moving to get a look at the action.

Brigid was now standing on the front porch. Making herself look as threatening as possible. “If ya don’t get off ma property right now Ah’ll -”

“You’ll do what, Bogtrotter! You’re a wimp!”, Hick shouted.

Brigid took a step forward, and Hick punched her in the chest. The punch did nothing but make her angrier.

“Man, you are an idiot.”, a guest said in his heavy Jamaican accent.

Brigid, in response, uppercut Hick, sending him off the porch. Pristine tried to grab for Brigid, but Minerva stepped in, sending her to the ground with a solid hit to the liver. Hick tried to get up, but Brigid just walked over and pressed her boot into his chest.

“Now, y’re both gonna ta leave, and if you eve’ come back, Ah’ll kill ya.”, Brigid said in a cold, even tone.

Brigid let Hick get up, and Hick went over to help his wife up, the whole time giving everyone stink eyes. The two got back into their car and drove off. The party was uneventful for the rest of the night.

SHWO ch13 Another year for love

Katon family home
Date: Dec 31th, time: 11:55 pm

*Emi’s perspective*

“How are you still bouncing off the walls at this hour?”, Sunset asked.

“I’m too excited to go to bed. This is the first year I’m allowed to stay up this late.”, Emi said while bouncing up and down.

Sunset turned to her mother and gave her a ‘wtf have you created’ face. Brigid just responded with a shrug and smile.

“Come on! Come on! Come on! It’s almost time.”, Emi said.

“Okay, okay.”, Mom said while walking over to the TV.

“So Sunset, what’s your new year’s resolution?”, Emi asked. “Don’t have one.”, Sunset responded. “Yeah, me neither. No wait, I just thought of one. My new year’s resolution is to come up with a better resolution for next year.” “Works for me.” “To coming up with better resolutions for next year!” “To coming up with better resolutions for next year.” The sisters clinked their plastic cups together. “Yeah!”, Emi cheered.

“Okay everyone, it’s startin’.”, Mom called.

The family all gathered around the TV as people started counting.

“FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE, HAPPY NEW YEAR!”, Emi shouted. Crash

Katon family home
Date: Jan 1st, time: 12:00 am

*Brigid’s perspective*

“Well, at least she made it ta da ball drop.”, Brigid said.

Emi was now passed out on the couch.

“At least we now know she has a limit.”, Anzhong commented.

“Is she okay?”, Sunset asked.

“She’s fine. Like she said, this is da first year she was allowed ta stay up this late. She’ll be back ta normal in da morning.”, Brigid said as she bent over to pick up Emi. “Good night, Sunset.”

“Good night.”

Minerva’s front yard
Date: Feb 14th, time: 6:00 pm

*Anzhong’s perspective*

“Minerva, ya are awesome. Thank you”, Brigid said.

“It’s not a problem. You two just enjoy your date night.”, Minerva responded.

“We still greatly appreciate you.”, Anzhong said.

“Get going, before you miss your reservations.”, Minerva said.

“Goodbye girls, and be good for Minerva.”, Bigid said.

“We always are.”, Emi and Sunset said.

“Bye Minerva.”, Brigid said.

“See you both tomorrow.”, Minerva said.

With that, Anzhong, Ki, and Brigid were off.

“So, what do you have planned?”, Brigid asked.

“It’s a surprise.”, Anzhong said.

The two walked the streets of Canterville together, mostly, in silence.

“Anzhong, I wish ya could see da stars. ‘Hey are absolutely beautiful tonight.”, Brigid said.

“Do you remember what I told you on our - third date?”, Anzhong asked.

“Ya told me, - “I may not be able to see beauty, but I still have ways of knowing it.””, Brigid said, mimicking Anzhong’s speech patterns.

“Do you remember what those ways were?”

“Touch and sound, and ‘hen ya told me, “I can feel your beauty when I touch you, and I can hear your beauty in your voice. I am not missing out on the important things.” Y’r such a smooth talke’.”

Anzhong merely smiled.

After a bit more walking, the couple arrived at their destination.

“Da Tasty Treat’, Ah neve’ heard a’ it before, but it sounds interestin’.”

“It’s new. A friend of mine came when it first opened. He said they had a braille menu.”

“Well finally”

“Shall we go in?”

“We shall.”

Minerva’s house
Date: same day, time: 6:30 pm

*Minerva’s perspective*

Minerva was in the kitchen, preparing dinner, and the three girls were in the living room, taking turns racing each other in the game system Sunset and Emi brought.

“No no no, oh come on!”, Anura quietly shouted.

That might just be the loudest Anura ever spoke.

“I told you ‘Rainbow Roadway’ was the hardest level.”, Emi said.

“Girls, make sure you’re ready for dinner in an hour.”, Minerva called out.

“That soon?”, Sunset and Emi said.

“We eat a bit earlier in the night than your family.”, Minerva answered.

The Tasty Treat
Date: same day, time: 7:40 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

“So, how was your meal tonight?”, Coriander Cumin asked.

“Dinner was lovely Mr. Cumin.”, Anzhong answered.

“Please, call me Coriander.”

“Well ‘hen, Coriander, we c’n not tell ya how grateful we are ‘hat ya provide braille menus. Seein’-able people almos’ neve’ think about ‘his sorta ‘hin’.”, Brigid said.

“I have one of my first customers to thank for that. He actually recommended I make braille menus, and now our restaurant has many blind community regulars.”

“Was his name Buck Withers?”, Anzhong asked.

“It was. Interesting man.”, Coriander answered.

“Interesting is one way to put it. We are ready for the check.”

“I’ll go get it for you.” With that, Coriander went off to the register.

“Remind me again why y’r friends with Buck.”, Brigid said.

“Underneath it all, Buck is a good man. He just has a lot of insecurities he’s trying to hide. He has gotten better over the years, especially after getting with Lemony Gems.”

“Ah’ve noticed. He’s still a bugge’, though.”

“Here’s your check sir.”, Coriander said.

Minerva’s dining room
Date: same day, time: 7:45 pm

*Minerva’s perspective*

“Hey Minerva, why aren’t you going out tonight? It’s Valentine's day. Don’t you have anyone to go out with?”, Emi asked.

“Romantic relationships aren’t really my thing.”, Minerva answered.

Emi, looking really confused, asked, “Why not?”

To Minerva's surprise, Sunset answered, “Think of it like ice cream. Some people like vanilla, some people like chocolate, some people like both, and some people don’t like ice cream.”

“That is - absolutely correct, Sunset. I honestly did expect someone so young to know this stuff. How do you know this?”, Minerva asked.

“My grandpa was like you. He co-parented my dad with my grandmas and used that analogy to explain it to me. There’s also a four to one female to male ratio in my county. Lesbianism and other stuff you call queer, we call normal.”

Minerva looked surprised for a moment, then a smile spread across her face. “Well, I’m very happy to hear that.”

“Ah still don’t understand how someone can’t like ice cream but okay. - What’s les-binism?”, Emi asked.

Canterville park
Date: same day, time: 8:30 pm

*Anzhong’s perspective*

“Ya know, Ah don’t think Ah’ve gone ta a park since Ah was six.”, Brigid said while laughing and swinging.

“Well, that’s a right shame. Let me guess, you had to help shear sheep as soon as you were old enough to hold a razor.”, Anzhong said from his swing.

“Yes, but don’t act like y’r childhood wasn’t cut short too. Ah know f’r a fact, ya were being trained ta be a shinobi as soon as ya were old enough to hold a shuriken.”

“Ha ha ha, well, you're not wrong.”

After Brigid had gained enough speed, she jumped off the swing, landing on her feet.

“Five feet”, she called back to Anzhong.

Anzhong chuckled and began picking up more speed. When he picked up enough speed, Anzhong jumped off the swing, landing on his feet.

“How far was that?”, Anzhong asked.

“Five n’ a half”

Anzhong gave her his best smug look.

“Oh, shut up you. Y’r lighte’ ‘han me.”

“I said nothing.”

That earned him a solid shoulder punch, and both started laughing.

“Ki, what do you think?”, Anzhong said.

Ki bruffed an ‘I don’t care’.

Anura’s bedroom
Date: same day, time: 9:00 pm

*Minerva’s perspective*

“But Ah’m not tired.”, Emi whined.

“How can you not be? It’s nine o’ clock.”, Anura asked, bewildered.

“Because Ah'm not.”

“Emi, go da fuck ta bed.”, Sunset said, mimicking their mother.

“Why am I not surprised your mother uses that kind of language around you two.”, Minerva said.

“Well, it is an appropriate time to swear.”, Emi said.

That made Minerva curious. “How is this an appropriate time to swear?”

“Well, Sunset needed to add some punch to your statement. It’s one of the three times it’s appropriate to swear.”

“When are all the appropriate times to swear?”

“When you need to add some punch to your statement, like now, when you get hurt, and when you need to piss off an uppity tighty person.”, Emi raddled off.

“What does ‘fuck’, ‘swear’, and ‘piss’ mean?”, Anura asked innocently.

“Well, -”, Minerva tried to get out.

“‘Fuck’ is a special type of loud cuddling that is used to make a baby, ‘piss’ is another, less polite word, for pee, and ‘swear’ is the collective name for all the words like ‘piss’ and ‘fuck’. The reason y’r not supposed to use these words outside of the situations I jus’ described is because culture has given those words a lot more power than others.”, Emi interrupted.

“That’s - pretty much covers it.”, Minerva said, shocked at Emi’s explanation. “How do you know all this?”

“Mom wanted us to know when and how to use those words. In her words, “Words are as much our tools as our hands.””, Sunset explained.

“I, personally, disagree with your mother teaching you these things when you’re so young, but I do agree with what she says. Anura, if you’re in a situation where you’re not sure if swearing is appropriate or not, go with the safe route and don’t swear. Okay?”

“Okay, Mom.”

“Now, all of you, go to bed.”, Minerva said.

“Okay”, Emi and Anura said. Sunset just walked off to her room.

Katon family home
Date: same day, time: 11:00 pm

*Brigid and Anzhong’s perspective*

Brigid and Anzhong came stumbling through their front door, drunk on love and happiness. Brigid grabs Anzhong’s hand. No words need be exchanged. The two knew what the other was thinking. The two rushed up the stairs and into their bedroom. You can guess what happened from there. Ki took up his usual spot on his chair.

Minerva’s office
Date: Feb 15th, time: 5:30 pm

*Minerva’s perspective*

Minerva was in her basement, doing her work, when she heard Emi shouting. “Mom and Dad are back.” Minerva checked her computer clock. Like clockwork. Minerva got up and went to the front door. When she opened the door, Brigid and Anzhong were just starting to go up her walking path.

“I hope you two had a good time.”, Minerva said as soon as they were close enough.

“We did.”, Anzhong stated.

“Mommy! Daddy!”, Emi said, rushing past Minerva.

Anzhong scoped Emi up and brought her into a hug.

“So, how were our girls?”, Brigid asked.

“Emi taught Anura how to swear.”, Minerva answered.

“Ohp, sorry about ‘hat.”, Brigid said, covering her mouth.

“It's not the worst thing she could’ve done, and it’s not like Anura was never going to learn about it.”, Minerva said.

“Ah am still very sorry. Ah’ll talk with Emi ‘bout it late’.”, Brigid said, moving her hands away from her mouth.

“Brigid, it’s okay. She actually did a really good job explaining it.”, Minerva said, placing her hand on Brigid’s shoulder.

“Well, Ah’m glad ta ‘ear she’s been takin’ me lessons ta heart.” Brigid turned to address her other daughter. “Come on Sunset, it’s time ta go.”

“I’m coming.” Sunset soon exited with her and Emi’s bags. “Bye Minerva.”

“Good bye, Sunset.”

SHWO ch14 They didn't mention this in "Parenting For Dummies"

Streets of Canterville
Date: Mar 17th, time: 4:35 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset was walking to her father’s office after fencing practice. Sword Pin was still biased against her but wasn’t acting on it. Probably because he’s scared of being sued. Sage was still there and just as whiny, but Sunset had struck the fear of her into him. That got him to behave around her, somewhat. Her and Fleur have still been stalemating each other, but more recently, there have been instances where one gets the advantage over the other. At this rate, they’ll be taking turns winning over the other. Sage, on the other hand, had been showing no signs of improvement.

I wonder what all the green decorations are for. All along her walk, Sunset had been noticing that the city had put up various decorations, all in green. She knew it had to be for some sort of holiday. I’ll ask Anzhong when I get to his office.

Anzhong’s office
Date: same day, time: 4:45 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Anzhong’s office was a place Sunset was getting very familiar with. It was nothing grand, just a desk, a large shelf behind it, and a couple chairs. It was small, but her father said that it suited him. Sunset remembered something her father said, “Many people strive for an office with huge windows, but what use do I have of a window. I get air from the vent, and I can not see.” Apparently, windows are something of a status symbol here.

“Hey dad, the city has put up a lot of green decorations. What’s that about?”

“Today is a holiday called Saint Patrick’s day. It is an Irish holiday. According to your mother, it once held great religious significance, but now it is just an excuse to get fluthered.”

“So, not somethin’ we celebrate.”

“Your mother and I are not heavy drinkers.”

Emi’s room
Date: Mar 19th, time: 2:00 am

*Emi’s perspective*

In case you couldn’t tell by now, Emi is not a restful child. That could not be any more evident than tonight. Emi was tossig and turning and couldn’t get to sleep.

“Pff, I’m bored.”

It was then Emi realized something.

“It’s raining!”, Emi whisper-screamed.

Emi jumped out of bed, got dressed in her rain gear, and, quietly, ran outside.

It was already coming down hard. There were already massive poodles, and it was loud enough to cover Emi’s playing. Emi spent hours playing in the rain and mud and running around in and out of the house. After a few hours playing, Emi was finally tired enough to go to bed.

Katon family home
Date: same day, time: 6:00 am

*Anzhong’s perspective*

Anzhong and Brigid walked down the hallway and stairs to start readying the girls for the day. Anzhong rounded the corner to go into the kitchen. (*Slip* Crash) Suddenly, Anzhong found himself lying on the floor.

“Anzhong! Are ya okay?!” Brigid was quite alarmed. “Ow, Brigid, what did I slip on? And I’m not that old that you need to be so alarmed.” “Did ya hear da sound ya made? N’ ta answe’ y’r question, mud. Ya slipped on mud.” “Where did the mud come from?” “Well, considering it’s in da form a’ hundreds a’ Emi sized footprints.”

“Emi!”, Anzhong shouted, a’ la ‘Alven and the Chipmunks’.

“Yeah Dad.”, Emi said from the top of the stairs.

“Why are ‘here muddy footprints everywhere?”, Brigid asked.

“I couldn’t sleep last night, and it was raining. So, I decided to play outside until I was tired enough to sleep.”, Emi said, not seeming to realize she did anything wrong.

“Emi, ‘hat wasn’t safe. We wouldn’t have been able ta hear ya if somethin’ happened. On top a’ ‘hat, ya left muddy footprints all ove’ da house.”, Brigid said. “Ya are gonna help me clean this up.”

It was then Emi looked around and saw the mess she made. “Oh, whoops.”

“I am going to get Sunset up, and then clean myself.”, Anzhong said, having stood up.

Katon family basement
Date: Apr 14th, time: 7:00 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

“Four of a kind.”, Anzhong said.

“Full house.”, Brigid said smugly.

“Yahtzee!”, Sunset cheated.

“Well, I didn’t get a yahtzee. So, I got a not-tzee.”, Emi said.

That brought Brigid and Anzhong to a screeching halt.

The girls noticed their parents' sudden halt. “What?”, they both asked.

Ah can’t believe ‘his is where we’re havin’ ‘his talk. “Well, Emi, Ah know ‘hat ya were just tryin’ ta be playful, but da word ya just said sounds identical ta a very bad word.”, Brigid carefully explained.

“What? Not-tzee?”, Emi asked.

“Yes, it sounds like the word ‘Nazi’. ‘Nazi’ is da name of a group a’ people ‘hat did very bad ‘hin’s, n’ because a’ ‘hat, ‘here name is considered a bad word.”, Brigid tried to carefully explain.

“What kind of bad things did they do?”, Sunset asked.

“Sunset, if ya want ta know ‘bout ‘his, you’ll have ta look ‘his up on y’r computer late’. Emi is too young ta know ‘bout ‘his yet.”

Brigid saw the ‘oh crap’ look on both her girls’ faces. Given what she had told them about, for something to be considered an ‘Emi’s too young’ topic, it had to be really bad.

“I think I’ll wait on that.”, Sunset said.

For once, Emi never protested her being ‘too young’.

SHWO ch15 Japan arc part 1

Katon family home
Date: May 18th, time: 5:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Brigid and Anzhong just returned home after picking up Sunset and Emi.

“So girls, guess what started today.”, Brigid said.

“SUMMER VACATION!”, Emi shouted.

“Cool, that means you can stay with us, right?”, Sunset asked.

“Even bette’, we are goin’ on vacation ta Japan.”, Brigid said.

“YES! YES! YES! We’re going to Japan. We’re going to Japan.”, Emi sang.

“When are we going?”, Sunset asked.

“In a week. I need to finish up some work. You have been studying up on your Japanese, right?”, Anzhong said.

“Yes, I have. Will Grandpa be joining us?”, Sunset asked in Japanese.

“Very good, and yes, he will. I’m quite excited for you both to meet your aunt.”, Anzhong said.

“We have another aunt!”, Emi said excitedly.

“Do you not remember me telling you about Ryoko?”, Anzhong asked.

“No”

“He was jus’ telling us about her a week ago.”, Sunset said.

“What? I’m four, and I never met da lady.”

Sunset was about to retort with how she could remember her family at four but then thought about how humans seemed to develop and age differently to ponies. She’s probably around the same mental developmental stage as a one and a half year old. That would be very interesting to research. “Okay, fair.”

“Well, you’ll be able to meet her when we go.”, Anzhong said.

“Why did you and grandpa emigrate to the US?”, Sunset asked.

“Because the work culture in Japan is, as your mother puts it, pants.”

“Why didn’t Ryoko come with you?”

“She has a successful resort in the mountains we grew up in. She has a much better work/life balance than even most Americans.”

“Will we get to visit Grandma?”, Emi asked.

“You do realize Grandma is dead, right?”, Sunset asked.

“Of course I do. I was talkin’ about visitin’ her grave.”

“Oh”

Canterlot Airport
Date: May 25th, time: 6:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Today was the day. They were going to Japan. They had gotten through security with little issue. Emi got a lot of “aww”s and “how cute”s, whenever she tried to declare her body as a weapon. That experience finally proved to Sunset that cuteness could be a weapon. No way it could be lethal, though. Now the family were getting breakfast at one of the cafes, and Sunset was having a mini panic attack about flying. She was watching the planes out the window, not hiding the absolute terror on her face.

“Sunset, Sunset.” The girl in question turned to look at her mother. “Are ya okay?”, Brigid asked.

“No, how can those things fly?”

“Can Ah borrow a pen and pape’?” Sunset grabbed a pen and paper out of backpack and handed it to her mother. “So, it all has ta do with speed and da shape a’ da wing. Da wings are in da shape of an airfoil. ‘Hat means ‘hat it’s flat on da bottom n’ curved on top. ‘His causes ‘here ta be greater air pressure under da wings ‘han ove’. Combine ‘hat with da speeds planes c’n achieve and ya get lift. Does ‘hat help?”

“No”

“Well, Ah’ll be with ya da whole flight, n’ once ya see it’s safe it won’t be so scary.”

Sunset could only whimper.

“Now boarding flight 237 to NYC at gate 12B.” was heard over the speaker system.

“That’s us.”, Jiraiya said.

The family made their way to the gate, Sunset holding her mother’s hand like it was the only thing keeping her alive. The Katon family was given priority boarding due to Anzhong’s disability. They quickly got to their seats and buckled in. Sunset and Brigid were on one side of the small plane, and Emi, Anzhong, and Jiraiya were on the other side. Sunset had the window seat and was crushing her poor stuffed phoenix.

“It’s going ta be okay, Sunset. Air is da safest form a’ travel. Oh, one ‘hin’ y’re gonna wanna do is yawn, like ‘his.” Brigid proceeded to demonstrate. “‘Here’s gonna be a change in air pressure as we ascend and descend. Da yawning will release da air in y’r ears.”

Sunset mimicked the yawning motion.

“Yeah, like ‘hat. So, when ya feel pressure in y’r ears, do ‘hat.”

Sunset tried her best to bury herself into her mother the best she could with the restraints. Brigid draped her arm around Sunset, covering most of the small girl. Sunset discovered that human mammary glands had a second function. They make excellent pillows. Sunset soon fell asleep.

NYC International A gates
Date: same day, time: 10:30 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Sunset, Sunset, wake up.”

Sunset was groggy when she woke up, but one fact immediately hit her. “We’re not dead.”

“A’ course not. Now, come on. We need ta make our connectin’ flight.”, Brigid said.

Shaking her head to chase away the drowsiness, Sunset got up.

“Do ya have all y’r stuff?”

Sunset did a quick check. “Yep”

“Okay ‘hen.”

Brigid handed Sunset her suitcase, and the family made their way off the plane. The first thing Sunset noticed once is that this airport was much bigger than the one in Canterlot. The airport in Canterlot only had 24 gates. The gate they arrived at was gate 37A, and Sunset could see gates going into the 40’s. “Mom, where are we?”

“We’re in New York City.”

“Why didn’t we go straight to Japan?”

“Our airport isn’t big enough ta accommodate planes big enough ta fly ta Japan.”

“Why?”

“Ah’ll be happy to answer all y’r questions as soon as we find a doggy rest stop f’r Ki. Can ya help keep an eye out?”

“Okay” Sunset turned her attention to her newly assigned task. It wasn’t long before she found a sign that couldn’t be for anything else. “I think I found one.”

“Oh, good job, Sunset.”, Anzhong said. “Can you lead me over to it?”

Sunset grabbed onto Ki’s harness to start leading. The rest of the family stayed in sight range.

“Thank you, Sunset. Go ahead with the others. I’ll catch up.”

“Okay, Dad.” Sunset quickly made her way back. “Dad said to go ahead, and he’ll catch up.”

“Okay then, do any of you need to go to the bathroom?”, Jiraiya asked.

“I do! I do!”, Emi said, starting to do the potty dance.

“Okay, ta da jacks ‘hen.”, Brigid said.

“You said ya’d tell me why this airport is so much larger than ours.”, Sunset said.

“Ah did. Mmm, Jiraiya, c’n ya answer Sunset’s questions while Ah take Emi ta da jacks?”

“Of course.”, Jiraiya answered.

Brigid nodded and took Emi to the bathrooms. Sunset moved closer to Jiraiya, and he motioned for Sunset and him to go sit down on some nearby seats.

“Why is this airport so big? Why isn’t our airport so big? Why can only large planes go to Japan?”, Sunset fired off as soon as they sat down.

“Well, this airport’s so big because it’s in a very big city. New York has a population of 8.4 million people. The greater Canterlot metropolitan area only has a population of 200,000 people. We simply don’t need an airport this big. Smaller planes can’t go to Japan from the US because they can’t carry enough fuel to get across the Pacific Ocean.”, Jiraiya explained.

“Oh”

“Okay, we’re back.”, Anzhong said. “Where are Brigid and Emi?”

“The jacks”, Sunset said.

“Correction, we were in da jacks.”, Brigid said.

“So, is everyone ready to go?”, Jiraiya asked.

Responses in the affirmative were given.

NYC International C gates
Date: same day, time: 11:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

The Katon family had finally made it to their gate. For some inexplicable reason, walking around the airport is more tiring than walking around their neighborhood. Sunset theorized that it had to do with the completely flat surface or the hordes of people slowing their pace. Either way, Sunset and Emi were, by then, being carried by Brigid and Jiraiya, respectively, for the last leg of their journey.

“Okay, we have 30 minutes before we start boardin’.”, Brigid said.

“How long is da flight gonna be?”, Emi asked.

“Thirteen hours and forty minutes.”, Anzhong said.

A blank look of terror came across Emi’s face. “I am going to explode.”

“Ya c’n walk ‘round da cabin if ya need ta stretch y’r legs. When Ah say walk, Ah mean walk. No running ‘round da plane.”, Brigid said.

“Okay”, Emi said.

It was around then the plane rolled up.

“That thing is huge.”, Sunset exclaimed.

The plane had two rows of windows on the side Sunset could see, and it was so long, Sunset couldn't get a good estimate of how long it was.

“It does need to carry over four hundred people, and their luggage across the largest ocean in the world.”, Jiraiya said.

Sunset looked back at him with astonishment.

“Should we start getting in line?”, Emi asked.

“We should wait to be called. They need to unload the plane, clean it, and otherwise get it ready for take off again.”, Anzhong said.

“Okay”

Just as Brigid said, after about 30 minutes, boarding was called, and a similar process was repeated. They boarded the upper level, and Sunset was much calmer this time. She was still nervous, but those people survived their flight. Sunset and Emi had window seats again, but this time, Emi, Anzhong, and Jiraiya sat behind Sunset and Brigid. Sunset looked out her window, watching the ground crew work. Her phoenix plush was once again in her arms but not being crushed this time. The sound of a seat belt buckling caught Sunset’s attention. A woman that reminded Sunset, a scary amount, of Pristine sat in the empty aisle seat. She didn’t have the oversized jewelry, but she had the same “I’m better than you” aura and looked just as fake. What surprised Sunset is that the lady actually looked nice, clearly fake but nice. Mom said Pristine paid bottom dollar for her surgeries. Maybe this lady paid top dollar. The woman looked over at Sunset and gave her a face Sunset was all too familiar with. Noble prick. The woman said nothing to Sunset and pushed on the ceiling. Sunset looked up to see that each of them had some sort of control panel with a couple buttons on it. Sunset yanked on her mother’s arm and pointed up at the panel.

“Hmm, oh, ‘hat serves a few functions. This button,” Brigid said while pointing to the button with a semicircle and three lines on it, “turns on and off y’r overhead lights. Ya twist ‘hese ta control y’r air flow.” She said, pointing to some gray nozzles. “Ah’d recommend ya keep ‘hese blowin’. Keeps ‘hem germs away. ‘His last button,” She says while pointing to a button with a humanoid on it, “calls a flight attendant. Ya know, ‘hem people wearing da uniforms with da itty bitty hats n’ ascots.”

As if on cue, a female flight attendant came up to where they were sitting.

“Took you long enough.”, the lady said in a forced sounding posh voice. “I want a glass of wine.”

“Sarry ma’am. We aren't sarvin’ drinks at this time. Ah’ll be happy ta sarve ya same ance we’re in da air.”, the flight attendant said.

“No, I want my wine now.”, the lady demanded.

“Ah’m sarry ma’am, but as Ah said, we aren't sarvin’ drinks at this time. Ah’ll be happy ta sarve ya same ance we’re in da air.”, the flight attendant said in a more firm voice. Before the lady could speak again, the flight attendant walked off.

“How rude.”, the lady said.

Sunset and Brigid gave each other a look that said “this is gonna be a long flight”.

Once the plane was loaded up, they began taxiing to the runway. Sunset was glued to the window the whole process. Sunset’s face was one of wonder as the plane took off.

Flight 407
Date: May 25th, time: 3 hours into the flight

*Sunset’s perspective*

As she said, the flight attendant did start serving the lady her wine. Sunset lost track of how many the lady had, but it was more than a couple, and the lady was not holding it well. The lady was drunkenly swearing at whatever show or movie she was watching.

“And ‘hey say Ah’m a potty mouth.” Sunset saw Brigid mouthing.

Sunset did her best to drown out the lady.

Flight 407
Date: May 25th, time: 5 hours into the flight

*Sunset’s perspective*

Emi had gotten up to stretch her legs. Sunset was surprised that she lasted this long. Sunset was considering joining her, but that would involve getting past the drunk lady. After a bit more contemplating, Sunset decided to brace the drunk lady. The uncomfortable twitching in her legs was starting to drive her mad, and she needed to pee.

“Mom, I need ta potty.”, Sunset said.

“Okay”, Brigid said.

Sunset got up and headed for the aisle. As she tried to get past the drunk lady, the drunk lady became agitated.

“Excuse you!”, the lady shouted drunkenly.

“I need to go to the bathroom.”, Sunset said.

“Go sit back down!”

“Hey, let me daughte’ through.”, Brigid said.

“Your “daughte’” is invading my personal space!”

“We’re in a giant sardine can! Personal space is kinda a mute point. Now, let me daughte' through, or Ah’ll have ‘er pee on ya.”

That seemed to get some sense into her, as she let Sunset through.

When Sunset came back, the lady tried to bar her entry, but a tap on the shoulder and a death glare from Mom made her put her leg down.

Japan International
Date: May 27th, time: 3:10 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Despite how late it was, the family wasn’t too tired. As soon as they got off the plane, Emi began running and jumping around.

“That sucked.”, Emi said.

“Okay, now, we’re gonna take a train ta Nagano then get a rental car and drive da rest a’ da way.”, Brigid said.

“Sounds good.”, Anzhong said.

With that, the family made their way to the baggage claim and then the train station.

Anzhong’s childhood home
Date: same day, time: 5:40 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

The rest of their journey was without incident. The family was now unpacking and settling in.

“Hey Dad, where’s Aunt Ryoko? I thought you said she still lives here.”, Sunset asked.

“She does. She starts work at five. She’ll be back after three.”, Anzhong answered.

“Okay”

Once everyone was settled in, the family was sitting in the living room, planning out their day.

“Ah’d say, since we are all relatively well rested, we should explore da village and ‘hen come back when we start gettin’ tired.”, Brigid said.

“Make sure to visit some of the sweet shops. The majority of the snack foods sold here, you won’t be able to find anywhere else. There are families that have been creating a single special snack for generations.”

“Please, please, please, can we?”, both girls pleaded.

“Fine, if we c’n’t get ‘hem anywhere else.”

Amigata village proper
Date: same day, time: 2:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

After exploring the village and getting a lot of strange snacks, the family headed back home. The area surrounding the village was mostly forests, but there were also some rice fields. The village itself looked almost nothing like the state of the art Tokeyo. There were little bits and pieces that reminded people that they were in the 21st century, but the rest of the village looked like it had barely changed since the 1800’s. Now that they were home, a surprise waited for them.

“Ryoko, you’re home early.”, Jiraiya said in Japanese. They all speak in Japanese until they get back to the states.

“I wanted to see my baby brother and meet my nieces.”, Ryoko said.

Emi looked back and forth between Anzhong and Ryoko. “Who cloned Dad?”

“They both take after their mother, heavily.”, Jiraiya said.

“You must be Emi. I have heard much about you”, Ryoko said. “Can you breathe fire?”, Emi asked. “Um” “Your name is dragon. Can you breathe fire?” “No”, Ryoko said, slightly confused. “aw”, Emi said despondently. “But Dad’s name is so literal. He’s a fire in the darkness. Why aren’t you a fire dragon?”, Emi pondered.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been asked why I’m not a dragon before.”

“We named her dragon because we knew she would be strong.”, Jiraiya interjected.

“I’m surprised you remember what their names mean.”, Sunset said.

“Of course I remember what their names mean. I’m just crap at remembering who has which name.”

“You must be Sunset. You certainly do seem interesting.”

“It’s the hair. A lot of people say I have interesting hair.”

“That’s a part of it.”

“Well then, I’m going to take a nap. The rest of you can do whatever.”, Brigid said in unaccented Japanese.

“I think I will go join her.”, Anzhong said.

“What do you like to do?”, Ryoko asked.

SHWO ch16 Japan arch part 2

Disclaimer: I know very little about Japanese social customs. I will do my best, but I’ll most likely have to translate them into their equivalent American customs.

Anzhong’s childhood home
Date: May 27th, time: 7:00 pm

*Ryoko’s perspective*

Throughout the day, Sunset and Emi hung out with Ryoko or played in the courtyard. Sunset told Ryoko about how Anzhong first found her, and how she was eventually adopted. The stereotype about Americans being aggressive and enjoying violence was confirmed for Ryoko when the girls started wrestling each other. Jiraiya had to convince her that they weren’t going to hurt each other. Jiraiya had to calm her down again when the sisters crashed into the peach tree. Now, the Katon family sat at the dinner table. Ryoko was telling the girls every embarrassing story she had on Anzhong.

“Oh, here’s a good one. When your father was six, he ate a raw frog.”

“Eww”, both girls said.

“If I remember correctly, you dared me to do it.”

“Yes, but you still did it. Dad got so freaked out when he found out. He rushed you to the hospital to check for - what was it?”

“Tapeworm infection. It was not fun, and that’s why I have that rule of not eating random animals.”, Anzhong addressed his daughters.

“I still stand by ‘worms are tasty’.”, Emi said.

Sunset gagged at the memory. “She used to eat the worms she found in the garden.”, Sunset clarified for Ryoko.

“Ew”, Ryoko said quietly.

The rest of the dinner went on like that. Emi had apparently decided that it had become a contest on who can gross out the table the most. Once the dinner was over and everything was cleaned, the girls went off to their room. Jiraiya went off to his room after a couple of drinks. That just left Anzhong, Brigid, and Ryoko in the living room, enjoying some sakay.

“How was your trip here? I don't think I’ve asked you that yet.”, Ryoko asked.

“It was fine. I was sat next to a posh drunk lady that threw a fit each time Sunset or I tried to get up, but overall fine.”, Brigid said.

“I don't mean to sound offensive, but I’ve never met a foreign person, that has never lived in Japan before, that could speak perfectly unaccented Japanese. How?”, Ryoko asked.

“Has Anzhong ever told you what I do for a living?”

“He told me that you are a college professor, but he never told me what you teach. He was always too busy bragging about you to go into specifics.”

“Aw, that’s sweet.”, Brigid said to Anzhong. “I am an anthropologist.”, she said, turning back to Ryoko. “I am particularly good with languages. I know sixteen of them. I am also really good at coping accents. I’ve had eight years to learn and copy Anzhongs accent.”

“That is - incredible. Are you able to copy specific voices?”

“What, you mean like yours.”, Brigid said in a perfect copy of Ryoko’s voice.

“Holy crap, you’re a parrot.”

“I told you she’s incredible.”, Anzhong said.

Anzhong’s childhood home
Date: May 28th, time: 7:00 am

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid was standing in a cold shower, trying to wake up. Anzhong was still in bed. Jet lag, not fun. The plan for the day was to visit Aoi’s grave, take the girls to the restaurant, and then enjoy a dip in the hot springs. That means a lot of walking and some driving. Brigid was pulled from her planning when she heard the bathroom door opening.

“Anzhong?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

Through the curtain, Brigid could see Anzhong undressing.

“That water’s freezing. What, homesick already?”, Anzhong said playfully as he was getting in.

“Trying to wake up.”

“Well, it woke me up. Could you turn up the temperature a little bit?”

Brigid wordlessly complied, tuning the water temperature up to a level more comfortable for Anzhong. Then she turned to wrap her arms around him.

“Thank you.”, Anzhong said once the water started to heat up.

Katon family grave
Date: same day, time: 10:30 am

*Brigid’s perspective*

The walk to the grave involved a lot of uphill climbing. The graveyard itself was very beautiful. Most of the tombstones were simple pillars with the names of the families they belong to written on them. Some of the tombs had moss growing on them, meaning that the family no longer lives in the village or is no more. The graveyard was fairly isolated from the rest of the village, higher up the mountain. The surrounding wilderness has remained relatively untouched.

“Here we are.”, Ryoko said.

“Ancestral grave of the Katon family.”, Sunset said. “Dad, is this where you plan on being buried?”

“I’m not sure. This is where my will says I want to be buried, but I’ve been thinking of amending it for a while now.”

“Where do you want to be buried, Mommy?”, Emi asked.

“I’m also not sure. I think that’s something Anzhong and I need to talk about together.”

Anzhong nodded in agreement.

“Well, you’ll both have a really, really, really long time to think about it.”, Emi said. “Right?” Emi’s face started to fall. She’s probably rememberin’ how old Anzhon was when his mum died.

“If I have anything to say about it, we will.”, Anzhong said. That brought a small smile back to Emi’s face.

“Okay, what do we need to do?”, Sunset asked.

Sunset’s body language was closed off and defensive. This probably isn’t easy for her. Since she’s from a military family, she’d probably been exposed to more death than the average kid. Not to mention what did happen to her. This can’t be easy for her.

“We use the dipper to pour water over the grave to clean it. Once that’s done, we’ll place the flowers.”, Jiraiya said.

The family got to it.

“Wouldn't it be better to use a towel to clean this?”, Emi asked.

“It’s just as much about the ceremony as it is cleaning the grave. If it had been neglected long enough for moss to grow, then we would use stronger methods to clean it.”, Ryoko said.

“Okay”

Once all the water was gone and the flowers were placed, the family began heading down the mountain and to their next stop. When they were about half way down the steps, Brigid checked on Sunset. She was still closed off and defensive looking.

“Hey, Sunset, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

The way she said it made Brigid think she was clearly not fine.

“Sunset, you know you can talk to me about anything.”, Brigid said, wrapping her arm around Sunset.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”, Sunset said, getting agitated.

“That’s okay too.” Sounds like da puberty talk is gonna need ta happen soon.

Amigata’s only full restaurant
Date: same day, time: 12:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Ryoko wasn’t joking when she said Amigata only had one full restaurant. It had a lot of food stalls, and some of them you could sit down at. However, they were more akin to food trucks in the US, minus the wheels. The restaurant was named Oda’s, and the sign above the entrance had a man with spiky, bright blond hair on it. That was odd. According to her research and what she had seen, the only hair colors native to Japan were black, blues, and greens. Any other color was a clear indicator of foreign heritage. Japan was already rather wary of foreigners, and an out of the way mountain village would likely have no foreigners living in it.

“Aunt Ryoko, is that Oda?”, Sunset said, pointing to the sign.

“Yes it is. One of his dads, the biological one, is from Norway. That’s why he has yellow hair. He’s a childhood friend of mine.”

“He looks like Naruto.”

“Ready to go in?”, Anzhong said.

“Yes”, everyone else said.

The family walked in and were greeted by the hostess with a bow.

“Hello- oh, hi Miss Ryoko, table for six?”, the hostess asked.

“Yes, thank you Hina.”, Ryoko said.

“You know her?”, Anzhong whispered to Ryoko.

“Yes, I’m quite friendly with all of the staff.”

Hina walked them over to their table.

“Here are your menus. Your waiter will be over in a minute.”

“So, you come here enough to be on given name basis with the staff.”, Anzhong said once Hina left.

“Yes, like I said, Oda and I are friends. We’re even thinking about opening his restaurant in my resort.”, Ryoko said matter-of-factly.

“Hello, I will be your server today. Can I get you started on any drinks?”

“Water for me and the girls.”, Brigid said.

“Water and green tea for me.”, Anzhong said.

“Same for me.”, Ryoko said.

“Water and sake for me.”, Jiraiya said.

“I’ll bring that right out for you.” With that, the waiter was off.

“So, about-”, Anzhong tried to say.

“Don’t, even, start.”, Ryoko said as threateningly as possible.

The family got their drinks, ordered their food, and their lunch went on like that with the Katon sibs still teasing each other until-

“Hi, Ryoko.”, a man said. Sunset looked up to see a man that could only be Oda standing by their table. “How have you been?” Oda had a goofy smile on his face. Something Sunset had learned is that humans and ponies have almost identical facial expressions, and that goofy smile is one Sunset had become very familiar with after sharing a bathhouse with the love struck princess of love. He likes Ryoko. Looking back to Ryoko, Sunset could see the same goofy smile on her. They like each other! Looking at Emi, she saw it too. The two finished their chit chat, and Oda went back to the kitchen.

“You liiike him.”, Emi teased.

“And he liiiiikes you.”, Sunset teased.

“Oda and I are friends.”, Ryoko said. “Liar. How long have you two been dating?”, Anzhong asked. “It’s none of your business.” “It is to my business. How am I going to tease you about your love life if I don't know about it.” “Oda and I have only been dating a few weeks. I wanted to give it time before telling anyone.”

“Fat chance of keeping secrets from us.”, Emi said.

“Yeah, we’re trained in intel gathering.”, Sunset said.

Ryoko rolled her eyes and smiled.

Oda’s
Date: same day, time: 2:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

The family were finishing up their meal when an odd looking group of people walked in. There was an immediate shift in the atmosphere. The group approached the bar.

“What do you want now?”, Oda asked, annoyed.

“Let’s just say, we’re here to make you a deal.”, the group leader said.

“Look I’m going to stop you right there. You keep coming in here, trying to intimidate me into paying you protection money. Let me tell you. You are really bad at it. Now, unless you want to meet the business end of a kitchen knife, you’re going to leave.”, Oda said.

“Do you think he needs help?”, Brigid asked.

“No, it’s okay. These guys are - how do you say it?”, Ryoko asked.

“All bark and no bite.”, Emi answered.

“Yes, that. It doesn’t help their case that all chefs are crazy.”

“Woah now, I think we could-”, the leader tried to get out.

“Get out of my restaurant before I serve you up as the Sunday special!”, Oda shouted while swinging his knife.

“No wonder you like him.”, Anzhong commented.

The gang ran out of the place with their tails between their legs with everyone else shouting for them to just leave.

“So, who were they?”, Sunset asked.

“A bunch of wannabes from Nagano. They couldn't make it there. So, they thought that if they moved to a small village, they could make a name for themselves, but all they’ve managed to do is make themselves a running joke.”, Ryoko explained.

“Why haven’t they left yet?”, Brigid asked.

“I have no idea. You would think being threatened to be made into somebody’s Sunday special each week would scare them off. And before you ask, we don’t have police. They’ll go away on their own, eventually.”

The Sleepy Fox Hot Springs Resort
Date: same day, time: 3:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Ryoko’s resort was certainly a nice place. It looked like a really big log cabin. The structure was three stories tall. The structure surrounded a courtyard on three sides, and the hot springs took up the fourth side.

The family was enjoying one of the hot springs. The hot springs remind Sunset of times when Princess Celestia and she, and sometimes Cadence, would bathe together. It was the one time of the day when appearances didn’t have to be kept up. It was during one of those times, Sunset learned about how alicorns were created. She could remember the day like it was yesterday.

*Flash back*

Canterlot castle’s royal spa suite
Date: 16/01/1115 Ee, time: 3rd hour AMR

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset, Celestia, and Cadence were bathing together. It was one of the times Cadence had joined them. As usual, the staff had been dismissed so the princesses and Sunset could have some privacy. Cadence and Sunset were working on detangling each other’s manes and tales. Princess Celestia was simply enjoying the heat.

“Lord Dandy?”, Sunset said.

“Sunset, Cadence and I are not related.”, Princess Celectia said again.

“How else could an alicorn exist? You two are the only ones on Equoes.”

“Do you really want to know how an alicorn is created?”

“Yes!”, Sunset said impatiently.

Celestia chuckled. “Okay, but first, you must promise to keep this a secret. This is top secret information, only known by me, Luna, and Cadence.”

“Yes ma’am.”, Sunset saluted by reflex. “Sorry, soldier training.”

“Alright then. Alicorns are not born. Luna and I became alicorns when we first raised the sun and lowered the moon. There were ponies of all three tribes to witness our power. Their love and admiration flowed into us, carrying their magic with it. Their magic swelled inside us; ascending us into alicornhood. That day, we were blessed with the divine right to rule by our subjects.”, Celestia said in a grandiose manner.

“Translation, all the magics of all three tribes need to combine together in one, with love acting as the binder.”, Cadence simplified.

“Then, how did you become an alicorn?”, Sunset asked Cadence.

“Well, before I was an alicorn, I was a pegasus. I grew up in an earth pony village. One day, a unicorn sorcerous came to my village and tried to steal everypony’s love. I confronted her and managed to destroy the artifact she was using. The artifact was filled with earth pony magic, unicorn magic, and love. When I destroyed the artifact, I absorbed some of the energy and became an alicorn.”

“Wait, that means I could become an alicorn too. It’d be fairly simple too. I’m literally getting my mane combed out by the princess of love, and you’re loved by everyone.”, Sunset addressed Celestia.

“That is true. I am actually hoping that I can make you an alicorn one day. Perhaps even take over ruling Equestria when I retire.”

*Present day*

Sunset hasn’t given up on her goals. Quite the contrary, she’d added a new goal: open the portal permanently. There was no way Sunset could ever choose one world over the other. Sunset looked around her, seeing the people she had come to call family. On both sides of the portal, she has a mother, father, sister, and extended family that loves her. Celestia was right. Destiny will give you a choice of two roads that both lead to happiness and heartbreak. But, as I like to say, intelligence plus stubbornness equals fuck destiny.

SHWO ch17 Japan arc part 3

Dad’s childhood home
Date: June 1st, time: 7:00 am

*Emi’s perspective*

“Emi, get up.”, Sunset said.

“No, I’m tired.”

“Are you more tired or more hungry?”

Emi thought about it for a moment before her stomach answered for her.

“I’ll take that as you being more hungry.”

“Fine, I’ll get up.”

Sunset and Emi left their room and went to the kitchen. The usual sight of their dad cooking greeted them, but the usual sight of their mother planning out their day did not greet them.

“Hey Dad, where’s Mom?”, Sunset asked.

“She and Ryoko went shopping. Today is going to be a ‘take care of the house’ day.”

“House work, but we’re on vacation.”, Emi said.

“Yes, we are on vacation. We are going to be on vacation for a few more weeks. We can spare the time to clean and do maintenance. Now, get washed up. Breakfast is going to be ready soon.”

Dad’s childhood home
Date: same day, time: 8:00 am

*Emi’s perspective*

After breakfast, Emi, Dad, and Sunset got to cleaning and doing assorted maintenance stuff - hold up.

“Dad, where’s Grandpa?”, Emi asked.

“He’s at Grandma’s grave.”

“Oh”

“How long were they married for?”, Sunset asked.

“Twenty years, but they both grew up in this village and knew each other since they were kids.”

“You said Grandma died in a train derailment, and that you now specialize in criminal negligence cases because of that, but what’s the full story?”, Sunset asked.

“I’d rather not talk about it.”

“That bad, huh?”, Emi said.

Dad didn’t respond to that.

Amigata village proper
Date: same day, time: 9:00 am

*Brigid’s perspective*

“How can we be out of saké already?”, Brigid asked.

“Dad’s a heavy drinker.”, Ryoko said.

“I know that, but this is a lot, even for him.”

“It gets worse when he comes back. He’s probably at the grave, drunk out of his mind.”

“I’ve never seen him completely wasted.”

“That’s the real reason he moved to the US. Over there, he’s not constantly reminded of Mom. He never put his patients in danger, but he would also not show up to work. It was either move or be consumed by his grief.”

After they were done shopping, Brigid and Ryoko were making their way back home, until-

“Hey you, you're that restaurant owner’s girlfriend.”, the Running Joke Gang’s leader said.

“What do you want now?”, Ryoko asked, annoyed.

“Well, you see, you are going to get your boyfriend to pay us the money we’re owed, or we’ll hurt your family.”

Ryoko was about to speak, before Brigid cut in.

“Here, take these.” Brigid handed her bags to Ryoko then turned to the gang. “Listen here you little punks. You just threatened my family. That was the absolute worst decision you could have made. Now, I am going to give the three of you a chance to run before I put you in the dirt. So, start running now or die.”

None of them made any moves to leave.

“Do you really think you can take us? We’re the Invincible Oni Raijin Gang.”, crony #1 said.

“Yeah, plus, you’re a girl. Girls are weak.”, crony #2 said.

Brigid’s face was a mix of fury and ‘I’m completely done with this shit’. Do these idiots not realize I’m two feet taller than them and weigh as much as the three of them combined? “That was the lamest thing I’ve ever heard. You’re dead.” Brigid charged at the three. Crony #2 tried to charge Brigid, but she just grabbed his shirt, tossed him into the air, grabbed him by his ankles, and used him as a club against his friends. The other two tried to fight back and then tried running, but Brigid just stuffed two of them under her left arm then the last under her right.

“Hey, let us go.”, one of the Stupid Gang members said.

“Come on Ryoko. Let’s go home.”

“What are you going to do with them?”, Ryoko asked warily.

“Haven’t decided yet. Now, let’s go. These are squirmy little bastards.”

Anzhong’s childhood home
Date: same day, time: 10:30 am

*Ryoko’s perspective*

“Well, this is a surprise.”, Anzhong said.

The three goons were tied to the peach tree.

“I vote we waterboard them.”, Sunset said.

Everyone, that could look, gave Sunset odd looks.

“How do you know about waterboarding?”, Brigid asked.

“Did you forget I have a computer, or have you just not met me?”

“What’s waterboarding?”, Emi asked.

“We’ll tell you when you’re older. Now, back to them. We’ll put waterboarding in the maybe column.”, Anzhong said.

“Tie them up by their ankles.”, Emi said, then a sparkle appeared in her eye. “Without their clothes, in the middle of the village!”

“That, I like.”, Brigid said.

Amigata village center
Date: same day, time: 11:15 am

*Ryoko’s perspective*

“You have a very interesting family.”, Oda said.

The three Oni Raijin Gang members were, as Emi suggested, hanging upside down, by their ankles, in nothing but their underwear. They ended up being gagged since they wouldn’t shut up.

“You think this will get them to leave?”, Oda asked.

“Maybe. Hopefully it will set a precedent for the rest of the village.”, Ryoko said.

“That if you misbehave, you’ll be strung up by your ankles and stripped.”

“No, you goober.” Ryoko elbowed Oda. “That it’s time to fight.”

Anzhong’s childhood home
Date: June 30th, time: 6:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Is everyone almost packed?”, Brigid asked.

“It - won’t - fit.”, Emi said, jumping up and down on her suitcase.

“Well, jumping up and on it isn’t going to make it fit. Hold on, all this stuff fitted in your bag on the way here. Why isn't it fitting now.?”, Sunset asked.

“Because I moved some of the stuff from my backpack into here.”

“Why?”

Emi got off her suitcase and went over to her backpack. “I need to make space for this.” She pulled out the item in question. “It’s a kabuki fox mask. Mom said not to put valuable things in our checked luggage.”

A small smile crept across Sunset’s face. “Here, I still have some room in my bag.”

SHWO ch18 Changing bodies & a new school

Katon family home
Date: June 30th, time: ?

*Emi’s perspective*

“As much as I liked Japan, I didn’t like getting there or back.”, Sunset said.

“Well, we will not be taking any international flights for another year.”, Mom said.

“Bed”, Emi said.

“To bed then.”, Anzhong said.

Sunset’s room
Date: July 8th, time: 8:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Come in Mom!”, Sunset called.

“Well, can you come and open the door? My arms are full.”

“Coming” Sunset jumped off her bed, and to the door she went.

“Thank you”

“What are all those for?”

“Two ‘hin’s, first, y’re goin’ ta start school in da fall. Second, y’r birthday is in a couple months. ‘Hat means y’re gonna get y’r first period soon.”, Brigid said while spreading the books out on Sunset’s coffee table.

“Period? Start with the school thing.”, Sunset said while going to sit on the couch.

“Okay ‘hen, y’ll be enterin’ middle school in August. ‘Hese are testin’ materials ta make sure ya are ready ta enter middle school.”, Brigid said, taking her place on the couch.

“How long do people go to school in this country?”

“Primary education lasts for fourteen years, which is required by law. Secondary education lasts from anywhere from two ta ten years. Secondary is optional.”

“How much more school do I need?”

“Eight more years.”

“Okay, which school are you planning on sending me to?”

“‘Here’s a school ‘hat’s jus’ a twenty minute walk from ‘ere, called Canterlot Middle School.”

“Okay, so, I just need to complete these worksheets, and if I do a satisfactory job, I’m ready for middle school. If I don’t, I’ll need to learn whatever materials so I can get into this middle school.”

“‘Hat sums it up well.”

“Okay then, starting what period soon?”

Brigid pulled out a book from the pile. The cover said, ‘Children’s Guide to Puberty: what to expect’. “Now, puberty c’n start anywhere from eight ta fifteen, but it’s most common around twelve. Ya are already showin’ some a’ da behavioral changes, mainly being more standoffish and irritable. ‘Hat means y’r period c’n’t be too far off.”

“Are you sure that’s not just me being me? Hotheadedness is indicative of the women in my family.”

“Ah had two siste’s n’ three female cousins ‘hat Ah watched go through puberty. Ah’m sure.” Brigid opened the book and started reading from it. “Puberty is something everyone goes through. It is perfectly natural. You might start growing hair in new places. You might start to feel new feelings. This book is-” Oh, for celestia’s sake. Sunset grabbed the book. “Just tell me what’s going to happen. I’ve seen other creatures go through puberty. Just tell me what’s going to happen to me. What’s a period, in this context?”, Sunset said. Then she let the book go.

“Okay” Brigid put the book back in the pile. “As da book was sayin’, y’re gonna grow hair in new places; arms, vulva, botox, maybe even a little around the face. Y’r gonna feel da need ta push back against us as pre-civilization, this is when human children would go off to form their own families. Y’re gonna need ta start showering more often. Teenagers smell really bad. Y’re gonna start having a menstrual cycle. A single cycle lasts a month. During the cycle, y’r body prepares itself for growing a baby. We c’n go more inta ‘hat late’. A period is a part of y’r menstrual cycle where if you don’t get pregnant, y’r body flushes out every‘hin’ it was preparin’. Y’r body basically prepares blood pillows. While y’r body is flushin’ out all those blood pillows, y’ll have painful cramps, and y’r hormones will go outta whack. Am Ah explainin’ ‘his will?”

“You’re saying that, I’ll gush blood and have painful cramps. How many times will I need to do that?”

“Every month until ya go through menopause. Which typically happens when y’re in y’r fifties, n’ Ah’d describe it more as a leak.”

What the fuck. “You’re saying, for the next forty years, I’ll go through this cycle every month. This is a sick joke.”

“It’s not a joke. It’s a strange process, especially since ‘here are only five species ‘hat have menstrual cycles.”

“Do you go through this?”

“Not any more. Shortly after Ah had Emi, Ah had ta have a hysterectomy. ‘Hat made it so Ah don’t get periods, but it also took away me ability ta have babies. ‘Hat’s why Anzhong and Ah became foster parents.”

“I’m sorry that happened.”, Sunset said. Here I am, complaining that I’m fertile. When Mom lost her’s.

“Well, Ah’m alive n’ have two beautiful girls. ‘Hat’s what matters. Let me know when ya get y’r period, and Ah’ll show you how to use a pad or tampon. Ah’ll leave ‘hese here f’r ya ta look ove’.”

With that, Brigid left the room.

Only five species have periods? Wait, what did she mean by feeling new feelings?

Canterlot Middle school
Date: Aug 30th, time: 8:25 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Today was Sunset’s first day of school. She had been allowed to walk to school due to the short distance. For the first time since she got to this world, she began to feel somewhat like her old self, instead of what she has become. She knew that, once she went back, she would never be the same, but, for now, she was Sunset, the student, again. Sunset had gotten to school and now just had to wait for class to start. As she was walking into the school, she realized that she was only a quick walk away from the portal. She wondered why the portal was housed in a statue on the school campus. She had so many questions about the portal, but no way to test them. This infuriated Sunset, but for now, she needed to get her class schedule. Sunset walked into the administrative office and up to the secretary’s desk.

“Hello, my name is Sunset Shimmer. I’m here to pick up my class schedule.”

“Um, okay, let me see. Okay, you are going to be in Ms. Trees’ class. Just follow everyone to the gym, and you’ll be sorted out from there.”

“Okay, what about after Ms. Trees’ class?”

“Well, Ms. Trees is your teacher. You don’t have any other classes.”, the secretary said, confused.

Sunset was just as confused but decided just to go along with it. “Okay”

Sunset left the office and followed the other students. As the secretary said, all the other students were headed to the gym. Once at the gym, the teachers had all the students line up in front of their teachers. Once that was done, the teacher led all the students to their classrooms.

“Okay students, let's start with some ice breakers.”, Ms. Trees said while the students were getting seated. “We’ll go around in reverse alphabetical order and tell us your name, how old you are, and a fun fact about yourself. You may start once I call your name.”

Why don’t we just go in alphabetical order or left to right? Why do we need to say our names when she’s saying them? What is an interesting fact about me that wouldn’t make me sound crazy or open up too many questions? Sunset ignored what was being said around her, until her name was called. Here we go. “My name is Sunset Shimmer, I’m ten years old, and I’m a sabre user in fencing.” Sunset went back to not listening, until one of the other students caught her attention. “Hello, my name is Rarity Alba, I’m ten years old, and I’m a fashion designer.” The way she spoke was almost identical to the nobles back home. Her attention was caught again by the next student to speak. “My name is Rainbow Dash Hothoof, I’m ten years old, and I’m the greatest athlete this school will ever see.” Well, she’s sure of herself. Most of what the other students said was unremarkable, except for Pinkamena Diane Pie, Jacklyn O’Apple, and Fluttershy Forst. Pinkamena practically exploded out of her chair, Jacklyn had a completely different accent, and it took six tries for anyone to hear Fluttershy.

Finally! I was getting so bored waiting around.

Pinkie

;-)

Canterlot Middle School lunchroom
Date: same day, time: 12:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

The day had been going well for Sunset so far. Ms. Trees had some - questionable - teaching methods. Sunset, in particular, wondered about why she had to ask to go to the restroom. Despite having spent nearly a year in this world, she still had so much to learn about it. Sunset looked around at all the other students. This was the first time she ever had to spend any substantial time around others her age. They were all rowdy, but there was a clear distinction in behavior between the younger and older students. The younger students were bouncier, more like Emi’s play. The older students seemed to engage in more sparring-like behavior. Very interesting. Sunset felt the need to turn her head to the left, where she found a pink blur.

“Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie. I’m sooo glad to make a new friend.” Pinkie Pie had a mass of curly pink hair on top her head. Probably where she got her name. She was a bit shorter than Sunset and a bit rounder too. Her skin was a light brown, and she had light blue eyes.

“Yes, I remember you from class. You practically jumped from your seat during introductions.”, Sunset said in a monotone voice.

“Yep, and I remember you too. You’re Sunset.”

At least she can remember names more easily than Emi. This Pinkie Pie was starting to remind her, a scary amount, of Emi. “What do you want?”

“I want to be friends.”, Pinkie said energetically.

“No”, Sunset said bluntly.

“What, why?”, Pinkie said, dejected.

“I don’t want to make friends. Friends are just a distraction.”

“But, won’t that make you lonely?”

“I have my family, and that’s all I need.”

Pinkie slinked off, leaving Sunset to her thoughts once again. What she had said to Pinkie was true, but there are other reasons as to why Sunset didn’t want friends. These creatures are violent, the younger ones especially. Schools are a breeding ground for backstabbers and bullies back in Equestria, and these creatures are just like ponies but with predatory instincts.

Canterlot School of Fencing
Date: same day, time: 3:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset looked around the room. Just as she said last week, Fleur was not here. Fleur was now old enough to practice fencing at her school. That meant that she had no more use of this place, aside from summers. That left Sunset alone with Sage. He was the only other sabre user in the class, and he was absolute crap. Sunset hated Sage with a burning passion. He couldn’t wield a sword to save his life, he was still a whiny brat, and Sunset lost track of how many times he struck at her or Fleur. Each time he did so, the events of the first day would repeat themselves: Sage would try to strike one of them, they would block it, Sunset would punch him, Mr. Sword Pin would take Sage’s side, Sunset would remind him that her dad’s a lawyer, and Sage would back off a bit before trying again. No matter what happened, Sage would never be expelled or even punished. With there only being Sage, this place could no longer provide Sunset with a proper education. Her parents were looking for a new school, but the rest of them were all full. New school or not, this will be Sunset’s last week here. She just had to get through today and Thursday, and she never had to see whiny Sage or Mr. ‘I got a Pin in my ass’ ever again. Sunset had her gear ready and walked over to the sabre section.

“Ready to lose, Sunset?”, Sage asked.

“You couldn’t beat a toddler, Sage.”, Sunset said, unamused.

Sage growled at Sunset from behind his mask. Without another word, he lunged at Sunset. She parried his attack with no effort. Sunset lunged at him and made contact. “One point to me.”, Sunset said. The cycle repeated itself until class was finished. As always, Sage had no points to him. Sunset went over to the side and put her sword down. Just as she took her mask off, she felt Sage coming up behind her. Here we go again. Sunset turned and raised her weapon up to meet his, but she had no weapon. It was too late when Sunset realized what had happened, and searing pain spread across her jaw. Sage’s blade had connected, and despite the fact the swords were nothing more than metal rods, being smacked together over and over again left their surfaces jagged and able to cut.

Sunset let out yell that alerted everyone around. Blood was streaming down her neck and dripping onto the mat. Sunset tried to stop the bleeding, but it would not stop. The cut stretched from the back of her jaw to just before her chin. Sunset looked up to see Sage, without his mask, staring down at her, smiling. He looks like him. Sunset’s vision was filled with red, then everything went black.

The next thing Sunset knew she was being held back by two men. Sage was lying on the mat, his face and throat bloody. Sunset noticed that there was the taste of iron in her mouth. She quickly identified it as blood but not her blood. It tasted different, but she couldn’t explain how. Her jaw was still gushing blood, and she was starting to feel light headed. She was losing too much blood. It was then Sunset could hear what the other people were saying. The words police, ambulance, and 911 were all being thrown around.

“I’m fine. You can let me go.”, Sunset said.

The two men gently lowered Sunset to the ground. “Do you know your parents’ number? We can call them.”, one of the men said.

Sunset only responded by pulling out the phone her mother just got her. She opened her contacts and made a call. “Dad, I need you to come to the fencing school. There was an incident.” “What happened? Are you okay?” “No, I’m not okay.”

SHWO ch19 Ki, the valiant protector

Streets
Date: today, time: bright ball showing

*Ki’s perspective*

Dad ran as fast as his legs would carry him. Ki was by Dad’s side, pulling Dad along to boost Dad’s speed. Despite not showing much emotion of Ki’s own, Ki was very well attuned to the emotions of others. Ki could feel the distress and fear of Dad. Ki didn’t know what was going on, but Ki knew enough to know that Dad and Ki needed to hurry. It wasn’t long before Dad and Ki turned into a den Ki didn’t recognize, but the moment the doors opened, Ki recognized the smell of blood. Dad and Ki hurried in, and Dad called for Sunset. Sunset called back, and Ki led Dad to Sunset. Sunset was covered in blood. Ki went over to Sunset and began licking the wound. Dad and Sunset began to talk, but Ki vigilantly continued his work. Sunset was hurt, and Ki needed to make Sunset better. There was another injured human, but Sunset took priority.

Black and blue flashing lights appeared outside the building. Soon humans clad in blue came in. Two of the blue clad humans came over to Sunset with a wheely bed. Ki recognized the uniforms the blue clad humans were wearing. Ki moved to defend Sunset and growled at the intruding blue clad humans. The blue clad humans were not going to take Sunset way in that white box car of theirs. Ki saw humans be taken away in those things, and Ki didn’t see many of them for months. Dad pulled Ki back, but Ki stayed close. Ki must protect Sunset. Dad gave reassuring pets to Ki, but Ki still didn’t trust the blue clad humans. Another blue clad human walked over to them. Ki made sure the blue clad human knew Ki saw the blue clad human and was watching the blue clad human. The blue clad human didn’t come any closer. The blue clad human was obviously wise enough not to challenge Ki. The blue clad human talked to Dad and Sunset, and the blue clad human made black scratches in a notepad with a pen. Sunset pointed to somewhere, and Ki followed Sunset’s pointing and saw a - Ki didn’t know what it was. The blue clad human made some more scratches and walked away. Turning back to the blue clad humans with the wheely bed, Ki saw them helping Sunset up and - ON TO THE WHEELY BED. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS BEFORE THEY TAKE YOU AWAY. THE BLUE CLAD HUMANS WERE GOING TO TAKE SUNSET AWAY. Ki began barking at the blue clad humans. Ki turned back to Dad. Didn’t Dad see what was happening. THE BLUE CLAD HUMANS WERE GOING TO TAKE SUNSET AWAY! THE BLUE CLAD HUMANS WERE GOING TO TAKE SUNSET AWAY! Ki jumped onto the wheely bed to protect Sunset. Ki growled, and the blue clad humans backed off. Sunset petted Ki. Dad talked to the blue clad humans, and the blue clad humans calmed down. The blue clad humans and Dad took up positions around the wheely bed. For some inexplicable reason, Dad and Sunset trusted these blue clad humans. So long as these humans didn’t cause Sunset distress, Ki would let them take and touch Sunset, but only if Ki stayed with Sunset. Ki decided that, for now, Ki would only glare at them. Ki did Ki’s best to mimic Pumpkin’s glare. Pumpkin was a bastard of a cat, but Pumpkin could also be a kind cat. Either way, Ki learned everything about glaring that Ki knew from Pumpkin. Ki was sad Pumpkin was gone.

The blue clad humans and Dad brought Sunset to one of those white box cars. Ki wanted to lash out and prevent Sunset from facing whatever fate those other humans faced, but Sunset wasn’t distressed and was still petting Ki. Ki wondered why Sunset and Dad weren’t fighting. Did they know something Ki didn’t, or were they unaware of what happens to humans once they enter the white box cars? Humans do seem to miss a lot of things. For now, Ki merely readied Ki’s body and mind for a fight. If Dad said the word, Ki would fight and kill to protect Sunset. All these years of training would be used to protect Ki’s pack. The blue clad humans loaded Sunset into the white box car, and Dad climbed in after them. The white box car had several chairs with a lot of black straps mounted to the inside walls. The wall closest to Sunset was covered in clear cabinets filled with - healing stuff? Dad and a blue clad human buckled into two of the strap chairs. The other blue clad human didn’t climb in the white box car. The white box car started moving. Ki took this chance to examine what the blue clad humans put on Sunset’s wound. Ki recognized it as a bandage. Ki had needed several bandages after Ki was attacked by a mean dog 2,555 bright ball and cool ball showings ago. Ki wondered if these blue clad humans were healers. If the blue clad humans were healers, why did people disappear for months after being taken away in the white box car? Either way, Ki knew that Ki would soon find out why.

Healer’s den
Date: bright ball showing, time: bright ball showing

*Ki’s perspective*

The white box car, that Ki now called the healer’s car, brought them to a healer’s den. That made Ki relax. These blue clad humans were here to help Sunset. The healer humans took Sunset back, and Dad took a seat in the waiting room. Ki wasn’t allowed to go back with Sunset, so Ki needed to stay with Dad. After some time, Mom, Emi, Minerva, and Anura came rushing in. Mom was talking in a panic. Ki touched his nose to Mom to calm Mom down. It worked, and Mom allowed Dad to talk. Mom’s face turned as black as Mom’s hair. Mom was very angry. Ki and Dad tried to calm Mom down the best they could. A healer soon came out and talked to Mom and Dad. Ki had no idea what they were saying, but the humans got up and followed the healer. Ki went back into job mode and guided Dad after the healer.

Canterlot Hospital
Date: Aug 30th, time: 5:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset was guided off the gurney and onto a hospital bed. This room was much different from the one she was brought to when she first met Anzhong and Brigid. Anzhong did technically kidnap her, but everything worked out for the better. This room held several beds only separated by curtains, instead of the singular bed in the one she was first examined in.

“Hello, I’m Nurse Porcelain. What’s your name?”, the elderly woman asked.

“Sunset Shimmer”

“Can you tell your date of birth?”

Sunset knew what this line of questioning was for. “I don’t have a concussion. I have level 2 first aid training, meaning I know how to diagnose a concussion. I didn’t hit my head, and I don’t feel dizzy or confused.”

“That’s all well and good, but I still need your birth date so I can check this box. I know, a lot of pointless bureaucracy.”

Sunset told Nurse Porcelain her birth date and all the other info the bureaucracy required.

“Okay, now, I am going to put some numbing gel around the cut then start cleaning it out. Just let me know if you feel any pain, and I can put more on.”

“Okay”

Nurse Porcelain put the numbing gel on and began cleaning out the wound. She first poured some saline solution into her cut and then began plucking out little bits of metal.

When Nurse Porcelain didn’t have anything poking into her skin, Sunset took a chance to ask a question. “How deep is it?”

“I don't see any bone, but you’ll have a scar. I’m not sure how noticeable it will be, but I’ll do everything I can to make it less so.”

“I’m not concerned about scarring. I’ve lost track of how many scars I have. This will just be my first facial scar.”

“Okay then” Nurse Porcelain continued to remove the metal. Once the metal was all out, Nurse Porcelain grabbed the sutures. “Now, this is called vicryl. This type of suture will dissolve in your skin, so you won't need to have them removed.”

Fascinating “Okay”

Once the stitches were in, Nurse Porcelain left to go take care of some other patients, and Sunset was left alone for the first time since lunch. Sunset retreated back into her mind, but all she could think about were those smiles. That monster was still in her head. Sunset began to wonder if she’d ever be rid of him. She was pulled back out of the abyss by the door to the room opening.

“Sunset!”, her mother bellowed. Brigid ran across the room and pulled Sunset into a hug that made her squeak like a squeaky toy.

“Oxygen - becoming - issue.”, Sunset squeaked.

“Sorry, sorry”, Brigid said while releasing Sunset. “Are you okay?”

“I’ve had worse injuries.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to press charges?”, Minerva asked.

“Honestly, I just don’t want to see Sage, Instructor Pin, or that gym ever again. Pressing charges would be counter intuitive to that goal.”

“That’s far.”, Anzhong said.

Ki jumped onto her bed and began inspecting Sunset’s stitches. Sunset pressed herself into the American Akita and played with his tail. Ki always made Sunset feel safe.

Canterlot Middle School
Date: , time:

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset was in class. They were covering something, but Sunset couldn’t read the board. Sunset raised her hand to ask Ms. Trees about it, but she couldn’t find her teacher. Sunset looked around the room. All the other students were gone. Sunset got up and started to look around the room but there was no one. Sunset walked over to the door and opened it. When she opened the door, there stood Platinum wood. Platinum raised his gun at her. Sunset turned to run. She found herself back in the alleyway. A loud bang sounded, and Sunset found a hole where chest should have been.

Sunset’s bedroom
Date: Aug 31st, time: 2:13 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset woke up with a jolt. She felt around her chest and found it was still in one piece. Sunset turned her head to the left and found Ki looking back at her with what she guessed was worry. American Akitas showed very little emotion. Sunset grabbed her stuffed phoenix and patted the bed. Ki jumped up onto the bed and laid his head on Sunset’s lap. “Yeah now, for the canine equivalent of a royal guard, you are very empathetic.” Sunset looked out her window to see the mass of stars dotted around the night sky. She had another nightmare. However, now her classroom was incorporated into her dream, and she didn’t wake up until after she looked down. Whatever this development meant, these nightmares were seriously messing up her sleep schedule. She so badly wanted these dreams to stop, but she had no idea where to start. “Stupid subconscious.” For now, Sunset decided to hug her plushy and pet Ki.

Author's Note

If you don't know what an American Akita looks like and haven't looked them up, do so. They are adorable stoic tanks.

SHWO ch20 Fracturing

Canterlot Middle School
Date: Aug 31st, time: 1:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset was in the hall of CMS, drudging back to class from lunch. That nightmare left her completely exhausted. Sunset bumped into something soft. She looked up to see two of the older students.

“Why don't you watch where you’re going?”, the older student Sunset bumped into said.

“Sorry” Sunset began to go around the students when one of them grabbed her.

“Hey Thunder, look at this.” the older boy that Sunset didn’t bump into grabbed her face to make her stitches more visible.

“Yeah, now, how did such a pretty girl get this kind of injury, ey?”, Thunder asked.

“That’s none of your business.”, Sunset said. Sunset shoved Thunder and the other boy away and tried to get back to class.

“Hey now, where do you think you’re going?” Thunder grabbed Sunset’s arm. He grabbed her bullet scar.

All Sunset remembered was roaring. Then her world went red then black again. When Sunset came back, the two boys were lying in crumpled heaps on the ground, clutching their twiggs and berries along with their stomachs and faces. There was no blood this time. Sunset made a mad dash back to her classroom. All the while thinking, It happened again. Why is this happening?

Canterlot Middle School
Date: same day, time: 3:05 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Since Sunset didn’t have somewhere to be right after school, she decided to stick around and look at the school clubs everyone was talking about. Sunset got a list of clubs from the school secretary, and one of the options quickly caught her eye. They have a fencing club. Sunset decided to go take a look. The club's location was listed next to the name. On her way there, Sunset ran into the two boys from earlier, not literally this time. One thing was immediately noticeable to Sunset. They’re scared of me. Sunset gave them a mean look, hoping to reinforce that fear. If fear was the only way to insure her safety, then Sunset would make this whole school petrified of her.

CMS fencing club
Date: same day, time: 3:10 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset walked into the gym, where the fencing club was being held. Just as she hoped, there were sabre users and competent ones at that. Coach Swift, the teacher attending the class, came over to meet Sunset.

“Can I help you?”, Coach Swift asked.

“I’m seeing if this fencing club is worth joining. Do you provide gear?”, Sunset asked.

“Yes, we do provide gear.”

“Good. They any good? ”, Sunset asked, pointing at the sabre section.

“Second best in tha city.”

“Second best?”

“CPA wins everything. Go look at the trophy cases, and you’ll see what I mean.”

“I think I will.” Sunset left the gym and made her way to the trophy cases. Just as coach Swift said, CPA students always took first. “I’m going to get CMS their first gold.”, Sunset said quietly. There was one more club Sunset wanted to check out. Sunset made her way out to the field to check out the football club.

Katon family dinner table
Date: same day, time: 8:20 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Football and fencin’, Ah’d be happy ta sign ya up f’r da fencin’ club, but maybe ya could do somethin’ other ‘han football.”, Brigid said.

“What’s wrong with football?”, Sunset asked.

“Well, no matte’ how much protection ya got, y’r still smashin’ y’r frontal lobes togethe’ on purpose. Not ta mention, da types a’ injuries dog piles c’n produce. Makes me queasy jus’ thinkin’ ‘bout ‘hem.”

“Perhaps hockey. Buck described the sport to me, and it’s the most popular sport in the city. Plus, no frontal lobe damage or legs twisted 180 degrees.”, Anzhong said.

The idea of a leg being twisted 180 degrees made Sunset queasy, and she could also see Brigid looking unwell. “Ya know what, I think I will try hockey.”

“Okay, Ah’ll get ‘hat all set up over da weekend.”

Sunset’s bedroom
Date: Sep 1st, time: 6:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Wakey-wakey birthday girl.”

Sunset groaned as her dad was trying to wake her. “Five more minutes, Dad.”

“Okay, but if you're not up when I get back, I’m getting you out of bed the old fashioned way.” Anzhong walked back down the steps and out of Sunset’s room.

After a few minutes, Sunset crawled out of bed and stumbled down to the shower like a zombie. As Sunset was getting into the shower, she felt Anzhong approaching. “What is it, Dad?”

“Just making sure you’re actually awake - and okay.”

“You know.”, Sunset said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“I can tell when my daughter’s in distress. If you want to talk about it.”

“I know.”

Hallways of CMS
Date: same day, time: 3:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset was leaving for the day when she heard some familiar voices. Sunset looked around the corner to see Thunder and the other boy from a few days ago harassing another girl. Sunset was absolutely done with their shit and decided that they needed another lesson in fear.

“Hey, Tweedledum and Tweedledumber. Did you already forget what I taught you?”, Sunset said, walking up to them.

“Sea, finish up here. I’m going to make little miss bacon hair here pay.”, Thunder said. Thunder charged at Sunset. Sunset aimed downward, and Thunder completely missed what Sunset was doing. Sunset drove her elbow straight into his groin, earning a pathetic little squeak. Thunder fell to the ground, and Sunset ran towards Sea. Sea tried to run away, but Sunset grabbed his shirt and yanked him onto the ground. Sunset kneeled on his throat.

“Listen here you little piece of shit. If I ever see anyone else harassing anyone, I will make the rest of their time at this school a living hell. That goes double for you and your friend. Spread the word and pray you don’t catch my ire.” Sunset removed herself from Sea, and Sea ran off, not even stopping to help his friend. Sunset walked over to the girl. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Thank you.”, the girl said.

“Yeah, whatever. Those boys had already pissed me off.” Sunset walked off without another word.

Sunset’s room
Date: same day, time: 6:35 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset had been allowed to go straight home after school, instead of having to stay with Minerva. Minerva was nice and all, and Sunset does still go over there for witching lessons, but it was also nice to just get an hour or two of alone time. Emi gets picked up by Minerva, due to her school being further away, and she hangs with Anura until Mom and Dad get back. Mom and Dad went shopping so they should be getting home around now. Just as Sunset predicted, she saw the family car pull into the garage. The strange thing is that they seemed to be purposely keeping the bags out of Sunset’s view, only carrying bags on their lefts. Party supplies. Do they seriously think they can keep anything from me? Sunset decided to humor them. After about ten minutes, Sunset heard her Mom coming to the door. Sunset got up from her bed and down the stairs. Brigid knocked on the door.

“Come in”

“Hey Sunset, c’n ya come out here?”

“Yeah, coming.”

Sunset walked out to the living room.

“Happy birthday!”, Brigid, Anzhong, Emi, Anura, Minerva, Jiraiya, and Fleur said. Sunset smiled at the display. There wasn’t a lot of decorations, but there was cake, ice cream, presents, and little bits and bobbles strewn about.

“Hey, Sunset. I heard about what happened. Are you okay?”, Fleur asked.

“I’m fine now. Sage was the one to get the short end of the stick. Apparently I caused so much damage he’ll need reconstructive surgery.”

“How?”

“I don’t remember, but, according to the security footage, I mauled him.”

Fleur got a strange look on her face when Sunset said that. She looked down to her stitches then back up to Sunset eyes.

“Hey, what happened, happened. Let’s go eat some cake.”, Sunset said, trying to lighten the mood.

Fleur still looked uneasy but walked over to the table anyway. From there, the party began, but Sunset would catch Fleur looking at her with that same odd look.

SHWO ch21 The Friendship Five

CMS gym
Date: Sep 2nd, time: 8:10 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset was waiting in the gym for school to start. To her dismay, Sunset was approached by a mop of rainbow hair.

“Hey, so I heard what you did for Fleetfoot yesterday. That was really cool of you.”, Rainbow Dash said.

“I didn’t do it for her. Those creeps did the same thing to me the day before. That jus’ gave me excuse to pummel them again.”

“That’s still cool. That just means you’re an anti-hero.”

“A what?”, Sunset deadpanned.

“You know, someone who does heroic stuff for selfish reasons. That’s what you are.”

“Fine, whatever.”

Even though that was the end of their conversation, Rainbow Dash did not leave and was smiling at Sunset. “Why are you still here?”, Sunset asked.

“Did you forget we’re in the same class?”, Rainbow said jokingly.

“Do you have to wait right here?”

“Nope, but I’m gonna stick around until I break through that rough exterior of yours, and we become friends.”, Rainbow said, smirking.

“What is it with everyone and trying to make friends? Look, bit of advice, not everyone in this world, or any world, is your friend. You’ve got your family, the people you fight beside, the people who ignore you, the people who are nice to you or they’d be fired, and the people who want to hurt you. I don’t want or need friends. So, leave me alone.”

“Who hurt you?”

“The list would be shorter if you asked who didn’t hurt me.”

Rainbow Dash still didn’t leave, but at least she wasn’t smiling or even looking at Sunset.

Hallways of CMS
Date: same day, time: 3:05 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Sunset, Sunset Shimmer.” Fake posh. Sunset turned around to see Rarity speed walking towards her.

“What do you want?”, Sunset said, annoyed.

“Well, Rainbow told me about how you helped Fleetfoot yesterday. I could actually use your assistance as well. Would you be so kind?”, Rarity said in her fake British accent.

“So, you need me to knock some heads?”

“That is a rather blunt way of putting it, but yes, I do. Lily Valley, she’s been waiting for me after school every day to call me names and has been saying some other rather unscrupulous things to me.”

“Okay, what do you want me to do to her?”

“I don’t want you to hurt her. I just want her to stop.”

“Okay, for your situation, you’re gonna need to deal with her yourself. If I’m the one to teach her a lesson, she’ll just target you when I’m not around. Now, what I want you to do is beat her at her own game. Yell at her, call her names, and swear like a sailor. As soon as she realizes that you aren’t going to be such an easy target, she’ll leave you alone.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to hurt her.”

“So, it’s okay for her to call you names, but it’s not okay for you to call her names?”

“I see your point. I will try your method then.” Rarity was about to walk off when Sunset spoke again.

“Now, let’s talk about payment.”

“Payment?”

“What, did you think that my advice would be free? The world isn’t like that. I expect full payment once this Lily problem is taken care of. I accept payment in cash, candy, or lunch snacks.”

“Okay, will gummy worms work?”

“Gummy worms will work jus’ fine. I expect two full bags after four days of Lily not bothering you.”

“Okay, thank you, Sunset.”, Rarity said, running off.

Canterville Ice Rink
Date: Sep 7th, time: 3:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“I didn’t know you played hockey.”, Rainbow said.

“What do I need to do to get you to leave me alone?”

“Look, I get it. At school, I’ll leave you alone, but we’re playing on the same team here. I can’t exactly leave you alone.”

“Fine, but keep it at a minimum.”

“Great, let’s get on the ice.”

Once Sunset, Rainbow, and the rest of the team got onto the ice, the coach started laying out the rules and had the team do basic drills until the end of practice. Sunset and Rainbow were both assigned to the forward positions, and Rainbow was assigned as team captain.

“Okay team, that’d do it for this week. Next week, we’ll actually play a game. Good work.”, the coach said.

“You’re pretty good at this.”, Rainbow said.

“What did I say about keeping interactions to a minimum?”

“What, I can’t even complement ya?”

“No”

CMS lunchroom
Date: Sep 8th, time: 12:15 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset sat alone, having a peaceful lunch, until it was interrupted by the appearance of friendship five.

“What do you want now?”, Sunset asked.

“Well, for starters, I owe you some gummy worms, darling.”, Rarity said and placed two bags of gummy worms on the table.

“Okay, so why are the rest of you here?”

“Because Rainbow told us about what you said about people hurting you, and we want to help.”, Fluttershy said.

“What she say?”, Sunset asked.

“Look sugarcube, we know what you’re going through. We’ve all gotten hurt too, and we want to help. Ah can tell ya from personal experience that having friends around is one of the best things to help with mental health.”, Jacklyn said.

These girls have a death wish. “You girls are dense. I don’t want friends. How many times do I need to tell you that? Leave me alone.” Sunset got up from the table, grabbing her payment, and sat down at the next table over. Those girls are never gonna leave me alone. I need to put an end to their meddling, but ‘how’ is the question.

Out front of CMS
Date: same day, time: 4:05 pm

*Pinkie’s perspective*

AJ, Rainbow, Rarity, Flutters, and Pinkie were walking to Pinkie’s house to hang out. Pinkie was happily skipping along, humming a little tune to herself.

“Is that Sunset?”, AJ asked quietly.

“Oh, yeah it is. Sunset always walks home this way. Although I’ve never seen her house.”, Pinkie said.

Sunset was several feet in front of them. So, she likely couldn’t hear their hushed conversation.

“What if we follow her?”, Rainbow suggested.

“And what would that serve to do? If you ask me, that would just serve to aggravate her more.”, Rarity said.

“Yeah, I know, but if we want to become friends with her, we’re not gonna accomplish that by gently prodding her. After what happened to me, Fluttershy needed to, basically, break into my room and not leave until I opened up to her. I get the feeling, that’s what we need to do for Sunset.”, Rainbow said.

“Does anyone even know what happened to her?” AJ asked.

Everyone gave variations of ‘I don’t know’.

“Well, we’re not gonna find out anything if we do nothing. So, are ya with me?”, Rainbow quietly cheered.

“Do we have a choice?”, AJ asked.

The girls kept their distance from Sunset, but stayed close enough that they didn't lose track of her. The girls walked past Pinkie’s house and continued down her street. Soon they were no longer able to see Pinkie’s house. When they were two blocks away from Pinkie’s house, Sunset crossed the street and went into- “The witch's house.”, Pinkie said, scared.

“The what now?”, AJ asked.

“That’s the witch’s house. My grandpa said that the woman who lives there practices magic, makes deals with the devil, and is a witch. She’s so evil, I even wrote a song about her.

She's an evil enchantress
She does evil dances
And if you look deep in her eyes
She'll put you in trances
Then what will she do?
She'll mix up an evil brew
Then she'll gobble you up
In a big tasty stew
Soooo... Watch out!”, Pinkie said.

“Yeah Pinkie, I don’t think she’s an evil enchantress.”, Rainbow said.

“And how would you know she’s not?”, Pinkie asked in an accusatory manner.

“Because magic isn’t real.”

“That’s just what the witches want you to think.”

“Pinkie, darling, have you ever met this woman before?”, Rarity asked.

“Well, no, but you don’t need to meet a lion to know they’re dangerous.”, Pinkie retorted.

“But, she’s not a lion.”, Fluttershy said.

“Fluttershy is right. All you have to go off of is the ramblings of your, Ah’m gonna be blunt here, crazy grandfather. This is the same guy who thinks the government is putting tracking chips in vaccines.”, AJ said.

Pinkie opened her mouth to speak but said nothing.

“Ah say we go over there and introduce ourselves. We’ll see if she actually is an evil enchantress or not.”, AJ said.

Pinkie tried to protest, but seeing none of the other girls were listening to her and were now walking across the street, Pinkie just decided to shut up and follow. Walking up to the house, the girls saw nothing that would indicate anything out of the ordinary. The majority of the front yard was covered in rocks with some bushes and a four foot tall fence. The house was also normal looking. A two story tall, mostly beige, house with a covered archway. Rainbow rang the doorbell. The girls caught a glimpse of movement in the kitchen window. Pinkie wanted to bolt, but AJ grabbed the back of her collar to make that impossible. Soon the door opened, and a tall, Greek woman was standing on the other side.

“Hello girls, can I help you with something?”, the woman asked in a very soft and pleasant voice.

“Howdy ma’am, my name is Jacklyn and these are my friends. We’re classmates of Sunset. We were wondering if she’d be willing to hang out.”

The woman looked behind her and then turned back to the girls. “I’m sorry girls. Sunset doesn’t want to hang out, but before you go, let me get you something for your stomach, Pinkie Pie.” The woman disappeared into the house and came back with a small bottle filled with a goldish brown liquid. “Drink this when you get home, and your stomach should feel better. I’d recommend staying within sprinting distance of a working toilet.”

Wait a minute, is she like me? “Thank - you”

“You’re welcome. I’d recommend you get home now. Your parents must be wondering where you are.”

“Yes ma’am.”, AJ said.

The lady closed the door, and the girls turned to leave. The girls hadn't even left the yard when AJ spoke. “What was that about?”

“I’ve been constipated for a while now. That’s why I haven’t been eating much, Applejack.”, Pinkie said.

“Again with that stupid nick name. Pinkie, my name is Jacklyn.”

“I dun kno. The name’s pretty accurate, Applejack.”, Rainbow mocked.

“Uhg”, AJ groaned.

“Didn’t you say you never met this woman before? How did she know your name?”, Rarity asked Pinkie.

“I think she’s like me.”

“Wait, you mean like, psychic.”, Rainbow said.

“Yeah. I wonder if Sunset’s psychic too. She does seem to be able to predict where I’m gonna pop out from.”

“Now, that is impressive, but if she’s psychic, couldn’t she tell that we’re trying to help her.”, AJ asked.

“Maybe that’s exactly why she’s so guarded. What if she’s scared of forming bonds because she’d been hurt by people who she thought of as friends, and now she no longer trusts her abilities?”, Fluttershy said. The other girls looked at her with surprise. “Or maybe not. Forget I said anything. Never mind. I’m sorry.”

“No no Fluttershy. That sounds like a really good idea. We were all just letting it all sink in. right girls?”, Rainbow quickly said.

“Yeah, there’s not a lot of genuine research on this stuff, but what I could find is that people with psychic powers are inherently more sensitive. You’re probably spot on Flutters.”, Pinkie said in an upbeat manner. Pinkie could just catch a smile behind Fluttershy’s hair.

Minerva’s kitchen
Date: same day, time: 4:20 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Is there any particular reason you didn’t want to hang out with those girls?”, Minerva asked.

“I find them annoying.”, Sunset said.

“Is that all?”

“I don’t want to make friends. That’s just not the type of person I am, and they can’t seem to drop it.”

“I’d like to think we’re friends, and what about Fleur?”

“Can you just drop it, please?”

“Alright”

SHWO ch22 Rainbow's origin

Sunset’s bedroom
Date: Sep 10th, time: 11:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset was at her desk, doing homework and trying to come up with plans to get those girls off her back. So far, the latter was proving itself much more challenging than the former. Taking physical action against those girls would result in disciplinary action being taken. Her parents had already been called for what she did to Thunder and Sea, but luckily, Fleetfoot and some other girls those boys had been harassing were willing to back-up Sunset’s side, keeping her from being expelled, and her parents backed her as well, not making her go to Saturday detention or punishing her. They even got her ice cream for stopping those boys and defending herself. Vice Principal Waters was not happy about that. He’s a cranky old kook anyways. Sunset would most likely not get away with it if she wasn’t going after bullies. This mission required subterfuge, but what she needed to do still eluded her. This is gonna take a while.

Rainbow’s house
Date: same day, time: 11:00 am

*Rainbow’s perspective*

“Mission: ‘make Sunset our friend if it’s the last thing we do’ is a go.”, Pinkie said.

“Yeah, that’s not what we’re calling it.”, Rainbow said.

“Well then, why don’t you come up with a better name for it?”, Pinkie said.

“Come up with names later. What did ya learn ‘bout Sunset?”, AJ asked.

“Nothing. She doesn’t have a social media presence anywhere.”, Rarity said.

“This is starting to feel a bit stalker-ish. Are you sure we should be doing this? She already said she doesn’t want to be friends with us.”, Fluttershy said.

“Look sugarcube, Ah get it. It is pretty stalker-ish, but we all know how lonely of a position Sunset’s in. You remember how sad and lonely you were back when nobody paid attention to you. Ah remember how isolated and alone Ah felt after ma parents died. Ah felt like no one understood how Ah felt. Ah got so wrapped up in my own self loathing that Ah didn’t let anyone else in, and ma mental health took a nosedive. We can’t let Sunset go through whatever she’s going through alone.”, AJ said.

“Exactly, AJ”, Rainbow said.

“AJ?”, AJ said.

“Yeah, ya know, short for Applejack.” AJ grumbled, but Rainbow ignored it. “Now I actually found out some useful information. I talked to my mom yesterday, and she wouldn’t give me any specifics or names, but it turned out Sunset got that cut on her jaw from some kid attacking her in her fencing class. My mom was one of the paramedics that responded to the call. That puts me in the best position to connect to her. I’ll try after school on Monday.”

Hallways of CMS
Date: Sep 12th, time: 3:02 pm

*Rainbow’s perspective*

“Sunset hey, wait up.”, Rainbow said.

“What do you want now?”, Sunset said, exasperated.

“Look, I get it. I was in your same position once. I understand that you think that nobody else in the world could possibly understand what you’re going through, but that’s not true. I’ll make you a deal. If you hear me out, my friends and I will leave you alone. We’ll stop badgering you about being our friend.”

Sunset didn’t say anything for a moment. Rainbow was starting to get antsy before Sunset spoke. “Fine, but make it quick.”

“Great. Um, can we go somewhere a bit less - crowded?”

CMS library stacks
Date: same day, time: 3:10 pm

*Rainbow’s perspective*

“Okay, so, when I said I was once in your same position, I wasn’t kidding. I know how you got your cut. I know what it’s like to be attacked. So, buckle up. I’m gonna tell you the story of the day I was almost murdered. I can remember everything about that day like it was today.

*Flash back*

Rainbow’s aunt’s house, LA
Date: July 24th, time: 1:19 pm

*Rainbow’s perspective*

Rainbow and Paz were playing in Paz’s room when they heard arguing break out in the kitchen.

“Tia Plata?!”, Rainbow asked.

The girls slowly walked down the stairs. That’s when the girls heard a blood curdling scream and a weird scraping sound.

“Mama!”, Paz screamed. Paz tried to run into the kitchen, but Rainbow grabbed hold of her. The girls then saw Oro, Paz’s older brother, walk out of the kitchen with a bloody kitchen knife. “Oro?”, Paz asked, tears running down her face.

“Run!”, Rainbow screamed. Both girls ran up the stairs and back into Paz’s room and locked the door behind them. Paz, the smaller of the two, hid under the bed. Rainbow hid in the closet. Due to the slats in the door, Rainbow could see out into the bedroom. Banging could soon be heard from the door. Oro broke the door open and went straight for the bed. Oro grabbed Paz and dragged her out from under the bed. Oro slammed Paz onto the bed and raised the knife to stab her. Paz was pleading for him to not hurt her, but there was absolutely no emotion on Oro’s face. Oro plugged his knife into Paz and stabbed her over and over until Rainbow could have sworn that the only thing keeping Paz’s upper half attached to her lower half was her spine. Oro snapped his head to look Rainbow in her eyes. Oro slowly walked over to the closet. Rainbow was silently praying to any deity that would listen. Oro swung the doors open and raised the knife in the air. Rainbow was now crying in fear and anger. She was still pissed that she wasn’t gonna be able to do all the things she wanted to do. She wanted to become captain of the soccer team. She wanted to go to Scotland. She wanted to do so much, but now she was gonna die. Rainbow closed her eyes and hoped that it wouldn’t hurt that much.

“PUT THE KNIFE DOWN! PUT THE KNIFE DOWN NOW!” a gruff masculine voice cut through the silence.

Rainbow opened her eyes. Oro turned his head and then began to charge at the newcomer, a police officer. The police officer opened fire on Oro. Oro dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. The police officer holstered his gun and ran over to Rainbow. He picked Rainbow up and tried to shield her from the scene, but Rainbow already saw everything.

*Present day*

“Do you see what I mean when I say that we all know what you’re going through.”, Rainbow asked. “We’ve all gone through some pretty messed up stuff. Not all as bad as me though. We’ve banned together as a support group, and that’s why we’ve been trying so hard to be your friends. We’ve developed a bit of a nose for kids in places like us.”

“Strangely enough, I believe you. - What happened to the other girls to earn themselves a seat in your messed up club?”, Sunset asked.

“Pinkie Pie found her best friend’s body after she committed suicide, Rarity was almost abducted by human traffickers, Jacklyn’s parents were killed in a car crash, and Fluttershy was bullied so badly she considered suicide. We all kept these things to ourselves for years until we couldn’t take it anymore. It destroyed us inside."

“Shit”

“Yeah. So, wanna join?”

“I respect what you’re doing, but no, I want to deal with my crap on my own.”

“Okay, let any of us know if you change our mind.”

Sunset didn’t say anything more as she left the stacks, leaving Rainbow there to get her emotions back under control. Come on Rainbow, can’t let anyone see you crying. You’ll lose serious cool points if you do.

SHWO ch23 The masks we hind behind

Canterville Family Medical Center
Date: Sep 12th, time: 6:00 pm

*Zecora’s perspective*

“Hello Sunset. Hello Dr. Katon.”, Dr. Zecora Abara said.

“Hello Zecora.”, Sunset said. Brigid merely waved.

“Let us get a look at your jaw.”, Zecora said.

Sunset turned her head so Zecora could get a better look at it.

“The sutures have fully dissolved. The area seems to be healing nicely. Is it still tender?”

“A little, but it has faded considerably.”

“That is good. Unfortunately, it looks like you will have a quite noticeable scar.”

“That’s not too bad. The worst nickname the other kids could call me is ‘Scarface’.”

“I am glad you are happy with your situation. I hope I was of assistance with this consultation.”

“He he, you’re the best Zecora.”

Zecora always loved to make her patients laugh with her rimming. It always brings a smile to her face.

Sunset’s room
Date: same day, time: 6:10 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

After returning home from the doctor’s office, Sunset’s head was left spinning. She thought about how all the different people she knew dealt with their trauma. Her bio-mom, who confided in her fellow soldiers to find comfort. Her bio-dad, who’s been using his anger to fuel a crusade of change. Her grandfather, who found solace in his work and, at times, the bottom of a bottle. He does a really crappy job at hiding it. Ryoko, who thought-out professional help. Brigid, who uses her trauma as a tool to teach others. Anzhong, who uses his trauma to fuel a crusade of vengeance. Minerva and the friendship five, who thought-out the help of others like themselves. “Now here I am. One step closer to the abyss each day. What am I even doing?”

Sunset opened up an old family picture of Anzhong, Ryoko, Grandpa, and Grandma. They really do take heavily after their mother. Anzhong, Ryoko, and Aoi all had dark blue hair, golden amber eyes, and almost identical features. Aoi was said to be sly and graceful but had trouble empathizing with people. They must have gotten their empathy from Grandpa. Along with their smiles.

Sunset’s mind spun in circles, thinking about where she came from, how she got here, where she is now; who she was, who she is now; her old family, her new family. Her mind kept spinning and spinning. Nothing made sense to her any more.

Sunset looked over to her journal. She wondered if it would even work. Even if she could convince her parents that she was a unicorn from a magical land of ponies, what could they even say to her. No matter how smart and wise they are, her parents had never dealt with anything even remotely like this. She even wondered if Celestia could help. As far as Sunset knew, she was in completely uncharted waters. She doubted there would even be anyone in her situation in the future.

With her head thoroughly pounding, Sunset decided to just go to bed.

Sunset’s bedroom
Date: same day, time: 8:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Sunset, Sunset, wake up.” Sunset was woken up by a hyperactive four year old bouncing on her bed.

“Emi, get off.”

Emi did as Sunset requested. “Dad said dinner’s ready.”

“Okay, I’ll be out in a minute.” Sunset watched as Emi hopped down her steps. No matter how insane her life has become, the simple joy of watching Emi being so care free would always bring a smile to her face. I wonder if I ever brought Spitfire this simple joy?

CMS lunch room
Date: Oct 1st, time: 12:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Hi Sunset.”, the pink menace greeted.

“Your little leader agreed that your little trauma club wouldn’t bother me any more.”, Sunset said, very annoyed.

“Oh, I’m not here about that. I need to ask you a question.”

“About what?”

“Are you psychic?”

“What?!” Sunset went on red alert.

“Well, I’m trying to learn more about psychic people because I’m psychic too.”

“Oh” Sunset cancelled the red alert. “What can you do?”

“I just know things about people and know when things are gonna happen. The latter comes in the form of little twitches and fidgets, kinda like Tourette's. I was wondering if you were psychic because your mom is psychic.”

Sunset had no idea what Tourette's was. She decided to put that in the ‘research later’ box. Wait. “My mom’s not psychic.”

“Then how did she know I was constipated?”

“That was Minerva. Minerva’s my babysitter.”

“Ohhh, my bad, but I mean you could see why we’d think that.”

“Fair enough, and to answer your question, I am psychic. I get feelings about people, and I have a greater sense of where people and things are.”

“That’s cool. Yeah know, it’s funny how the six of us all have these really tragic backstories. It’s almost like this is a superhero origin story.”

“--What?”

Sunset’s room
Date: Oct 23rd, time:

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset was drawing at her desk when Emi approached her door.

“Come in, Emi.”

Emi came to Sunset’s desk and placed her fox mask on it. “Can you paint my mask, please? You’re a lot better at painting than I am.”

“Sure, just tell me what colors and designs you want.”

“I want something mystical, yet scary. I want the primary color to be black, with blue tips, and purple accents.”

“I’ll come up with some concepts, and then you can pick which one you want.”

“Thank you, Sunset.”, Emi said while hugging Sunset. Emi soon released Sunset and ran off again.

Sunset smiled as Emi ran off. Sunset looked back down at the mask and smirked. She was going to make her sister a mask that reflected her mind onto her body.

SHWO ch24 Seasons greetings and good bye

Katon family home
Date: Oct 31st, time: 5:00 pm

*Emi’s perspective*

“Is everyone ready ta go?”, Mom asked.

“I’m ready! I’m ready!”, Emi shouted, bouncing up and down.

“Wow Emi, that mask is beautiful. Where did you get it?”, Minerva asked.

“I got it in Japan, but Sunset was the one who painted it.”

“Well, that is very impressive. Speaking of which, where is Sunset?”

“She’s finishing up her costume. She should be out- there she is.”, Emi said.

“Hey”, Sunset said.

“What are ya going as?”, Mom asked.

“Princess Zuka from ‘Avatars: the Last Air Spirit’.”, Sunset said.

“Your make-up looks great.”, Anura said.

Dad’s footsteps were heard coming down the stairs.

“Didn’t you go as McRuff the crime hound last year?”, Minerva asked.

“I am not as into costumes as you are.”, Dad said. “What are you this year?”

“Batlady”, Minerva said.

“And I’m Batlass.”, Anura said.

“Mommy’s a scary ghost.”, Emi said.

“A quiet convincing scary ghost if Ah say so meself.”

“Come on, let's get going.”, Sunset said.

Streets of Sunset’s neighborhood
Date: same day, time: 7:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset and her family had been going around the neighborhood, collecting candy and having a good time. Along their journey, Sunset noticed a familiar group of five girls. The girls had not seemed to have noticed Sunset yet, but they soon would as their paths passed one another. As they got closer to the girls, Rainbow looked to have spotted Sunset.

“Hey Sunset, want to capture me and bring me back to the Fire Realm to reclaim your honor?”, Rainbow asked.

“So, Ah take it y’r both characters from da same series.”, Brigid said.

“Yes, you should really watch it. It’s quite good.”, Sunset said.

“It’s the best. Just don’t watch the movie. It just retells the same story as the first season but way worse. They couldn't even say the main character’s name right. I mean, if it was a book, fine, but it was a TV show. They say his name in almost every episode.”, Rainbow ranted.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”, Brigid said.

“Anyway, Ah guess we’ll see ya in school tomorrow, Sunset.”, Jacklyn said.

“Come on Applejack, we only have so much time to get candy.”, Pinkie shouted.

“Applejack?”, Sunset asked.

“A stupid nickname Pinkie came up for me.”

“Isn’t applejack a type of alcoholic beverage?”, Sunset asked.

“Alcoholic-?! Pinkie!”, Jacklyn shouted.

Pinkie ran away down the sidewalk with Jacklyn chasing after her. The other girls chased after them in turn. Sunset’s group continued on their way.

Katon family home
Date: Nov 25th, time: 12:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Okay, It’s holiday season. ‘Hat means da Blues are gonna try n’ make an appearance. We need a battle plan.”, Brigid said.

“We should build pie launching catapults, and pelt the Blues with nut pies, the worst kind of pie. Mwa ha ha ha”, Emi said.

“Let’s put a pin in that one.”, Anzhong said. “There’s no exact telling when they’ll strike. We could hold the party at a different location and hunker down for the rest of the season.”

“No, we're not gonna disrupt our lives because of them. They’re only gonna keep coming back year after year. We need to send them packing so hard they’ll never come back. Unfortunately, I don’t know enough about them to say how we’re gonna do that.”, Sunset said.

“Well, it’s Pristine ‘hat’s really doing all ‘his. Hick is jus’ being pulled along by his testicals.”, Brigid said.

Image “That’s it. Pristine cares about her image more than anything. If we embarrass her at the party and then threaten to blast the video all over social media if they come back.”, Sunset said.

“That’s evil, but brilliant.”, Anzhong said.

Katon family home
Date: same day, time: 7:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“The Blues are here!”, Emi announced.

“Okay everyone, it’s go time.”, Brigid said.

The Katon family came up with a plan to get rid of the Blues for good. They conscripted the help of some of their party guests with more mischievous sides. ‘Tis was the season to rid themselves of annoying family. This time they set the part up out back so the less mischievous of their guests don’t get caught in the splatter zone.

“Here they come.”, Emi said. Emi jumped down from her perch and grabbed her pies. “Whipped cream. You should've let me go with my stinky cheese and uncracked walnut recipe.”

“Our goal is to humiliate her. If we injure her, she will get sympathy, and stinky cheese stink can’t be caught on camera.”, Sunset said. “Camera’s ready.”

A knock was heard at the door. “It’s showtime, baby.”, Brigid said. Brigid opened the door, picked Hick up like a sack of potatoes, and got him out of the way in order to ensure he didn't interfere.

“FIRE!”, Sunset shouted. A barrage of whipped cream pies and balloons filled with confetti and any other assortment of mess producing substances were hurled at Pristine.

Pristine shrieked as she was pelted. She stumbled back, falling off the porch and landing on the walkway.

“Are you okay?”, Anzhong asked Pristine.

Pristine began shrieking again, or maybe she was saying something. It sounded like it had a pattern to it, but Sunset couldn’t make heads or tails of it. Sunset was still filming the fiasco when Pristine spotted her. “Are you filming this? Delete that right now!”

“Nope, you’re on our property, without permission. You’ve tormented my mother ever since she came to this county, and this is your comeuppance.”, Sunset said.

Pristine began shrieking again and made an attempt on Sunset. Anzhong shut that down with a quick shin whack from his cane. “You little brat.” More screeching Sunset couldn’t understand. It was then Hick was released, and he came stumbling back. They were both screeching and yelling now. Hick helped Pristine up, and they angry stomped back to their car and drove off.

“What did they say?”, Sunset and Emi asked.

“It was some‘hin’ along da lines of “we’ll never come back” n’ “you’ll be sorry”.”, Brigid said. “Ya got all dat on camera?”

“Yep”, Sunset responded.

“Great, now let’s get back ta partying.”, Brigid said.

Katon family home
Date: Dec 24th, time: 6:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset and Fleur had recently come in from lobbing snowballs at each other. Sunset just finished telling Fleur about how they got rid of the Blues for good. Fleur had been with her dad for Thanksgiving this year. During their conversation, Sunset noticed that Fleur was agitated and even somewhat hostile.

“Fleur, you okay?”

“Hm, yeah, why do you ask?”

“You seem agitated. Is something wrong?”

“It’s just school. They have high standards for all of the students. I’m just a little stressed.”

“What kind of stress?”

“CPA is very competitive. You either win or lose there.”

“That doesn’t sound like a very healthy learning environment.”

“Maybe, but if you graduate from Crystal Prep, you’re basically guaranteed a spot in an Ivy league school.”

“Is that really that important?”

“Ivy league is the best of the best. If you have any chance to get into one, you take it.”

“I get that. If you need any help with anything, be sure to ask me.”

“Thank you, Sunset.

SHWO ch25 Enter Flash Sentry

CMS lunch room
Date: Jan 2nd, time: 12:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Hi”, some boy said, sitting down across from Sunset.

“What do you want?”, Sunset asked, annoyed.

“My name is Flash Sentry. You have quite the reputation, Sunset Shimmer.”

“Good, now go away.”

“Okay, but here.” This Flash Sentry kid handed something to Sunset. “My fruit cup, for such a beautiful rose.”

Sunset had to hold back her laughter. She didn’t want to be mean, but that was the corniest pick up line she’d ever heard. The fact that it came out of a 5th grader’s mouth, didn’t help her situation. “Thank you” was all Sunset could say without falling into hysterics.

“And I bid you adieu.”, Flash said with a bow before walking off.

Sunset slammed her face into her hand to keep herself from laughing. The boy was so cute in his attempts to court her. She genuinely didn’t want to hurt his feelings. Sunset was just able to get her laughter under control and shook her head. “Boys”

Hallways of CMS
Date: Jan 6th, time: 3:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

School was let out for the week, and Sunset was meandering the halls. She had recently heard that the high school was haunted. Something about the old school burning down, and the ghosts of those killed in the fire still haunting the place. Ghosts on Equoes were formed when wild magic came into contact with a dying creature. There were also spells that could turn you into a ghost after death. Sunset wondered how a ghost could be formed without magic. The research that she had been doing suggested that ghosts are formed during unexpected and tragic deaths or if the person died while feeling a lot of strong emotions, like anger, or feel like they have unfinished business. Apparently, nursing homes are a hotspot for ghosts because many of the residents are angry about being forced into them. Of course there wasn’t much actual scientific research into these phenomena, mostly just explorers with cameras and anecdotal evidence.

Sunset wanted to get into the high school at night, as that’s when most of the sightings have been. Getting out of the house was easy enough. Emi can keep a secret and Anzhong and Brigid sleep like logs. Sunset had learned about a door that was installed improperly that she could get in through. Now, all she would need is a second pair of eyes. She would need someone she could trust, wouldn’t be afraid of a little danger, and could lie. The sound of giggling girls caught Sunset’s attention. Sunset looked to the source and found several girls crowded around Flash. What do those bimboes think they’re doing, ogling Flash like that? Wait, am I being territorial? Humans are territorial creatures but not usually about boys that give them their fruit cups. Sunset noticed she was growling. Hmm, he might be a good candidate. Sunset walked up to the group and made her presence known. “Okay, move along. I need to talk to Flash.”

“Says who. We’re just having a nice conversation with Flash.”, one of the girls remarked.

“Get going before I make you my snack.” Sunset wasn’t particularly tall, but she was broad and muscular, and the girl was a toothpick.

“It’s okay ladies. I would actually like to talk to Sunset, alone please.”, Flash said.

“Okay Flash.”, the girl said in a dreamy tone. Bleck

The other girls soon vacated the area, leaving Sunset alone with Flash.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?”, Flash asked.

“Do you want to go on an adventure?”, Sunset asked.

“What kind of adventure?”

“I’m planning on sneaking into the high school after dark to go ghost hunting. I need a second pair of eyes for this mission. Are you in?”

“Totally”, Flash said a little too quickly. “But what about parentals?”

“My parents sleep like logs, and I live only a twenty minute walk away from the school. As long as I’m back before sunrise, my parents won’t know a thing. Yours?”

“I live further away from the school. Hey, could I sleep over at your place?”

Sunset raised an eyebrow at his request. “Fine, but you’re sleeping on the couch.”

“I’ll be a perfect gentleman.”, Flash said, putting a hand over his heart. “Can I have your number so we can coordinate?”

Sunset took out her phone and unlocked it. “Here, now give me yours.”, Sunset said while handing Flash her phone. Flash gave her his phone in turn. “There, I’m hoping to go tomorrow night.”, Sunset said, giving Flash his phone back.

“That won’t be possible. My mom would need to meet your parents before she’d ever let me sleep over.”

“Fine, you handle that. I’ll put together a full list a’ supplies we’ll both need.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Good, get to it.”, Sunset said, walking away.

Flash did an excited ‘yes’ gesture that Sunset bet he thought she would notice. Dork

Katon family home
Date: same day, time: 5:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Great, you’re home.”, Sunset said.

“Is ‘here a problem?”, Brigid asked.

“No, there’s just a kid at school that I want to have sleep over, but his parents will want to meet you first.”

“A boy, ye?”

“It’s not like that. He’ll be sleeping on the couch.”

“Okay, Ah’m jus’ teasin’ ya. Jus’ have him give my numbe’ ta his parents, n’ Ah’ll set up a time ta meet ‘hem”

Donut Joe’s Donut Shop
Date: Jan 8th, time: 10:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Brigid had set up a meeting between the Katons and the Sentrys, and Sunset squealed in delight when she learned where it was going to be, then began pondering how there could be a Donut Joe’s in both worlds. Sunset was even more confused when she saw that this world’s Donut Joe was a human version of the Equestrian she knew. Sunset had some research to do when she got home. Now was the meeting, and Sunset was joyfully munching on her favorite sugary treat.

“Ah had no idea ya liked donuts so much.”, Brigid said.

“I didn’t know America had donuts.”, Sunset responded after she was done chewing.

“The modern donut was invented in America by Dutch Americans.”

“Huh, interesting.”

“Hi, Sunset.”, Flash said.

Sunset waved at Flash. Her mouth was already busy.

“Hi, you must be Mr. and Mrs. Shimmer. I’m Mrs. Shine Sentry.”, Mrs. Sentry said. She takes great pride in that title, doesn’t she.

“Hi, well, our names aren’t actually Shimmer. Me name is Dr. Brigid Katon, ‘his is me husband, Anzhong Katon, and our daughte’, Emi Katon. Sunset is adopted. ‘Hat’s why ‘er last name is different.”

“Oh, that’s nice.”, Mrs. Sentry said. Mrs. Sentry was an odd one. The first thing that stood out to Sunset was that she was wearing a dress in the middle of winter, in Maine. Even Sunset’s parents were bundled up, and they chose Maine out of all of the states because it was cold. Sunset didn’t care how warm her dress and jacket were, she had to be cold. Yet, she was incredibly upbeat, almost to the point of it seeming fake, but Sunset couldn’t sense any deceit.

“So, is it just you and Flash?”, Anzhong asked.

“Flash’s father and brother are out on deployment. The Sentrys are a family of Navy men.” Okay, that voice is starting to get creepy.

“That’s nice. Is that what you want to do when you grow up, Flash?”, Anzhong asked.

“It’s my plan B. Plan A is to become a rock star.”, Flash said.

“My boy is so talented. He plays the guitar.”, Mrs. Sentry added. “What do you want to be when you grow up, Sunset?”

“I had a plan, but I’m not sure if it’s doable anymore.”

“Oh, come on. At your age, you can dream the impossible. It’s when you get to high school that you either make those dreams possible or reality crashes your parade.”

Okay then, weird turn a’ phrase. “My original plan was to become a politician in my home country.”

“Well, you’re still young. You could become a politician in this country.”

“That’s true.”

“So, what do ya do f’r a livin, Mrs. Sentry?”, Brigid asked.

“I’m a homemaker. The military takes such good care of us that I get to spend my time taking care of my family.”

“Shoot, I’m out of hot chocolate.”, Emi said.

“Sunset, c’n ya go get some more hot chocolate for Emi? Ya c’n get yourself some more donuts if ya want.”, Brigid asked.

Sunset nodded in response.

“Mom, can I have a donut?”, Flash asked.

“One”, Mrs. Sentry said.

Sunset and Flash got the needed money from their mothers, got up, and went to go stand in line.

“Your mom’s kind of weird.”, Sunset said.

“What do you mean?”, Flash asked.

“She’s wearing a dress in the middle of winter. I stop wearing skirts in late fall.”

“I’ve never seen my mom wear pants.”

“How is she not cold?”

Flash just shrugged. “Quick question, why did you bring your dog? I didn’t even know dogs were allowed in here.”

“Ki is a service dog. My dad’s blind.”

“Oh”

He’s a bit naive but a sweet boy.

Streets of Canterlot
Date: same day, time: 11:10 am

*Flash’s perspective*

“Well, she seemed nice. I can see why you like her.”, Mom said.

“Yeah, she’s awesome.”, Flash responded. The meeting had gone well. There was a slight derailment when Emi described herself as a ‘cute hoor’. Luckily, the misunderstanding was cleared up when Dr. Katon explained that it was Irish slang for a person who engineers things to their own advantage and not a bad word. “So, will I be allowed to stay over at her house next week?”

“I think that would be okay. Remember to act like a gentleman.”

“I know, and I will.”

“Good. Oh, and if you pick up any more slang like the one from earlier, don’t use it.”

Sunset’s desk
Date: same day, time: 11:30 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Somehow, there are two identical Donut Joes, one in each world. They obviously don’t look the exact same, but they both share some glaring physical characteristics. On top of that, they sound identical and act identically. If her current theory was correct, there would be counterparts to other ponies as well. Sunset first looked up herself. She found a few people that shared her name, but none of them looked remotely like her. Sunset then tried looking up Celestia.

“Principal Celestia Faust of Canterlot High School. That’s not what I expected. Hm, Vice Principal Luna Faust. So, she’s still around in this world. I guess it would be hard to banish someone to the moon without magic.” According to their Sharebook, Celestia and Luna are in their forties. That’s an age difference if I’ve ever seen one. So many questions ran through Sunset’s head that she was getting a headache. “Time for a break.”

Katon family home
Date: Jan 14th, time: 3:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Hello, Mrs. Sentry. Hello, Flash.”, Anzhong said.

“Hello, Mr. Anzhong.”, Mrs. Sentry said.

Sunset could overhear their conversation from her spot on the couch. Sunset did have to say, Americans go through less pleasantry dances than the Equestrians of Canterlot, but that also wasn’t saying much. Finally, Flash came inside, and Sunset got up to greet him.

“Hey, you got everythin’?”, Sunset asked.

“Yep, can we get everything set up for our sleepover.”, Flash said.

“Yeah, come into my room.”

“Didn’t you say that I was to sleep on the couch?”

“Just follow me.” Sunset led Flash into her room. When Flash entered her room, a look of bewilderment was clear on his face. “That’s where you will sleep.”, Sunset said while pointing to her couch.

“Your room’s as big as my living room.”

“Yeah, this is how my parents bought the house. They suspect it was the original garage, and then it was supposed to be a mother-in-law suite but was never fitted with any sort of kitchen. The furniture was all left over from the previous owner, and my parents jus’ left this room alone until I came along. They figured I would need some extra space to adjust to my new life. They were right.”

“Cool. Wow, you have a lot of consoles.”

“You would be surprised by what people throw away. I found a lot of broken consoles on Kraiklist and Frankensteined them together to make working consoles. Some of them just needed to be cleaned properly.”

“You are awesome.”, Flash said.

“Of course I am. Now, do you have all your supplies?”, Sunset said. “Rope, chalk, headlamp, dark closing, towel, gloves, and face mask. I get why we would need most of this stuff but why rope, chalk, and a towel?”, Flash asked. “Rope, chalk, and a towel are three of the shinobi-no-rokubu. Just hold onto them, and I’ll tell you when and how to use them. Go ahead and get some sleep. We’re not gonna be sleeping tonight.”

Katon family home
Date: same day, time: 11:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset and Flash had managed to get some sleep before it was time for dinner. Flash had obviously been preparing his sleep schedule for this night. Sunset’s parents were undoubtedly asleep now, and as long as she and Flash were quiet, they’d stay that way. Sunset and Flash were suited up, minus their masks, and their bags filled with everything they could possibly need.

“Ready?”, Sunset asked.

“Ready”, Flash responded.

Sunset and Flash quietly made their way out to the living room. They were almost to the door when the sound of rummaging cut them off. The two looked to the source and found Emi sneaking ice cream.

“You don’t tell Dad I’m sneaking ice cream, I won’t tell him you’re sneaking out. Deal?”, Emi asked.

“Deal”, Sunset said. The dynamic duo quickly exited the house and walked to the high school as quickly yet inconspicuously as possible. “When we get onto campus, put your mask on.”, Sunset instructed Flash. Sunset and Flash approached the faulty doors. Sunset pulled out a piece of cardstock paper, pushed it in between the deadlatch and the strike plate, and pushed the door open.

“Wow”, Flash said.

“Yeah, that’s just sad.”, Sunset responded.

“Shouldn’t we tell the principals about this?”

“Maybe, I’ll think about it.”

The two entered the school and began making their way to the pre-1900’s section of the school. That’s where most of the ghost sightings have been. About five minute into their adventure, Sunset and Flash realized they were horribly lost.

“Whoever designed this school was either fluthered or wanted to spite the students.”, Sunset said. “Fluthered?”, Flash asked. “Very drunk. Either way, they made a right bags out of this school. - Bags, in this context, mean ‘mess’.” “I guessed that. Hang on, if the school is this complicated to navigate, there might be a map online.” Flash brought out his phone and began searching. “Found one. The pre-1900’s section is this way.”, Flash said, pointing in the indicated direction. The map led them to the correct sections, as indicated by the plague on the wall. “Looks like we’re in the right place. Keep your eyes open.”, Sunset said. “What are we looking for?”, Flash asked. “The sounds of children, the sound of a stove exploding, the smell of burning flesh, or the ghost of the original principal.” “Creepy” The two continued searching the school but ultimately turned up nothing.

Sunset’s bedroom
Date: Jan 15th, time: 5:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Having not turned up any ghost, Sunset and Flash now sat on Sunset’s couch, lamenting their failure.

“Five and a half hours of searching and the most supernatural thing we find is that unholy smell.”, Sunset said.

“We could try again. We know about the door, but our parents might get suspicious if we do this too often.”, Flash said.

“Yeah, you would think that an official policy on no one being allowed in the school after dark existing because of those ghosts would mean that you’re more likely to see them.”

“Why do you want to see these ghosts so much?”

“I want to make sense of this world, and make sense of myself. I get these feelings. Feelings that defy the natural laws of this world but not the supernatural ones. I guess I’m looking for outside validation.”

“Well, if you say you get supernatural feelings, then I trust you.”

“You are the first person outside of my family that I feel comfortable enough talking about this with. Thank you.”

“Hey, I’ll always be here for you.”

SHWO ch26 The Freshman Fair

CMS lunch room
Date: Jan 30th, time: 12:15 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Ever since their ghost hunting adventure, Sunset and Flash had been spending more time together. In Sunset mind, it was to make it less suspicious when they’d have sleepovers for future ghost hunting trips. However, it had an unexpected side effect. Apparently, Flash was rather popular, and them hanging out, by extension, made Sunset popular. Sunset was still known as the girl you could pay to make someone leave you alone, but now, she wasn’t seen as a freak to be ostracized. There were rumors about them being a couple. They weren’t, but those rumors didn’t help Sunset work out the funky feelings she was feeling.

“Hey Sunset.”, Flash said.

“Hm, what is it, Flash?”

“The school’s having a fair for all of the middle school freshmen. I was wondering if you’d like to go with me?”

“Sure, why not. When is it?”

“This weekend. It starts at 9:00 am and ends at 10:00 pm. I was planning on going on Saturday.”

“Okay, I’ll see you then.”

Outside CMS, Freshmen Fair
Date: Feb 4th, time: 9:00 am

*Flash’s perspective*

Flash stood outside the ticket booth, waiting for Sunset. The fair was opening up, and people were going in. Flash was getting nervous. His brother told him that girls might stand you up if they’re not interested. Flash really wanted to impress Sunset. First step to getting a girl, impress them. That’s what Cascade always said. Cascade’s too awesome to be wrong about this. With that little bit of reinsurance, Flash continued waiting for Sunset.

“Hey, Flash.”, a female voice said from behind Flash. Flash jumped in the air and spun around to face the ambusher.

“Sunset? Sunset, you nearly gave me a heart attack!”, Flash said while Sunset was laughing.

“Ha ha ha, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. You were too easy of a target to resist. You have the cutest little scream.”, Sunset said, out of breath from laughing.

Girls are weird. “Yeah, well, let’s just go in.”, Flash said embarrassed. The two got in line and waited for their turn. “Ten bucks, yeash.”, Sunset said once they got up to the front. “Two tickets, please.”, Flash said to the attendant. “Here, ten bucks.” Sunset tried handing the attendant some cash. “It’s okay, Sunset. I invited you. So, I’m paying for you.”, Flash said while pushing Sunset’s hand down. “Are you sure?” “It is the gentlemanly thing to do.” “You’re a dork.”

“We have a couple’s ticket that only costs seventeen bucks and will cover the both of you.”, the attendant said.

Flash was jumping with joy inside. He turned to Sunset. She nodded her approval. “One couple’s ticket then.” The two got their ticket and entered the fair. The fair had games, funhouses, many food vendors, and a ferris wheel. “So, what do you want to do first?”

“That game looks like fun.”, Sunset said while pointing to one of those games where you shoot water into a clown’s mouth to make the balloon pop.

“Aw, whatcha got against clowns?”

“I never liked clowns. They’re creepy.”

“Well then, let’s blast some clowns.”

CMS Freshman Fair
Date: same day, time: 10:00 am

*Rainbow's perspective*

“Okay girls, what do you want to do first?”, Rainbow asked.

“Oo oo ooooo, we should play the balloon pop game.”, Pinkie said.

“What did balloons ever do ta you?”, AJ asked.

“Nothing, there’s just a life cycle to balloons. A balloon gets blown up, stung up, then popped. That’s a balloon’s life cycle, and for there to be new balloon life, the previous balloon must complete its cycle.”, Pinkie said.

“That’s strangely deep.”, Fluttershy said.

“Pinkie, they’re balloons. They’re not alive.”, Rarity said.

“Your phone isn’t alive yet it has battery life.”, Pinkie said.

“Ah’ma stop this argument right now. Let’s jus’ have some fun.”, AJ said.

“This isn’t over.”, Pinkie whisper-shouted at Rarity.

CMS Freshman Fair
Date: same day, time: 2:00 pm

*Rarity’s perspective*

“Hey guys, look.”, Pinkie said. Pinkie pointed at a man taking pitchers of students on a bench.

“Yearbook pitchers. Support our school and have a pitcher of you at the fair put in the yearbook for five dollars.”, Jacky read the sign. “Seems kind of expensive.”

“Come on Jacky, how often do you get to have your picture taken?”, Rarity asked.

“Not that often.”, Jacky said.

“We can split the cost. Five dollars, five girls, does that sound good to the rest of you?” The other girls gave affirmative responses. Although, Fluttershy was hiding behind her hair... again. “Fluttershy, darling, why do you always hide behind your hair? You have such a beautiful face.”

“Really?”, Fluttershy asked.

“Really. You’re doing yourself and the world a disservice by hiding.” Rarity brushed the hair out of Fluttershy’s face. “There, that’s much better.”

“Thank you”, Fluttershy said.

“Okay, okay, enough mushy stuff. We don’t have all day. Let’s take this photo and get back to the games.”, Rainbow said.

“Rainbow, you can be so rude sometimes.”, Rarity said.

“It’s okay, Rarity. I also want to get back to the games as soon as possible.”, Fluttershy said.

“Well, alright then. Let’s go take the photo.”, Rarity said.

CMS Freshman Fair

Date: same day, time: 9:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset would say the day was a good one. Although, Sunset’s wallet and arteries might disagree. They ate enough sugary foods that Sunset felt like lying down. Sunset learned that humans have a much lower tolerance for sugar than ponies and a much higher salt and spice tolerance. The prices were also astronomic. Flash insisted on paying for everything, and Sunset was tempted to let him, but she was still a relatively good person and didn’t let him. One thing she did let him buy her were these horse ears and tail. Apparently, the schools’ mascot was a colt. So, everybody was wearing these things to show school spirit. Sunset found the idea of a mascot weird but fun. Also, seeing herself in the headband made her feel - off. She didn’t have a word for the feeling.

The two were now sitting in the ferris wheel, high above everyone else. It reminded Sunset of looking over Celestia’s balcony at all the ponies scuttering below. The two sat close together, as close as you can get with stuffed animals crammed between the two of you.

“Nice night, isn’t it?”, Flash said while putting his arm around Sunset.

“It is.”, Sunset said.

“Hey, Sunset.”

“Yeah, Flash.”

“I want to kiss you.”

“You want to kiss me?”, Sunset said in a surprised, questioning manner.

“Yeah, do you want to kiss me?”

Sunset’s emotions were all over the place again. Although, she could identify one emotion, attraction. Am I seriously attracted to these creatures? Then again, attraction is a neurological process, and I am, neurologically, one of these creatures, as far as I can tell. “No”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I don’t want to kiss you. If I do want to kiss you, I’ll let you know.”

Flash looked sad at the rejection but didn’t protest. “Okay”

Katon family home
Date: same day, time: 10:10 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“So how was your date?”, Emi said in a sing-song voice as soon as Sunset entered the home.

Sunset gave Emi, who was sitting on the stairs, mean glare. “Shouldn’t you be in bed?”

Emi looked down at her pjs, then gave Sunset a wicked grin. “Yeah, but since when have Ah listened ta bedtime rules?”

“True”, Sunset said. “Here, this is for you.” Sunset handed Emi a stuffed fox with blue fur and black accents. It even shared Emi’s golden eyes.

“It looks like me!”

“Yeah, that’s what made me choose it. Make sure to thank Flash next time you see him. He’s the one who won it.”

“Thank you, Sunset.”

“You’re welcome. Now, get back to bed.”

CMS fencing club
Date: Feb 9th, time: 3:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Okay students, it’s tournament season. In a couple months, teams from all over Maine will compete to see who is the best.”, Coach Swift said.

“You mean Crystal Prep is gonna compete to see who’s best, and we’re gonna come in behind them.”, Cloudy Kicks said.

“Yes, but we want to keep that ‘second best in the city’ title.”, Coach Swift said.

Subdued mumbles of agreement came from the rest of the Club.

“I plan on getting CMS its first gold.”, Sunset said with conviction.

“Good luck with that.”, Rose Heart said half-heartedly.

“That’s an admirable goal, Sunset, but I’m not sure that’s very doable.”, Couch Swift said.

“I know one of the CPA fencers. We’re of comparable skill. If the others are of similar skill to her, I can beat them.”

“That is something I would like to see. Okay everyone, let’s get to training.”

The students got up and split up into their groups. Sunset and her group set up in their normal spot. The sabre group has four people in it. Sunset was first paired with Cloud Kicker.

“Ready?”, Sunset asked.

“Go”, Cloud Kicker said.

SHWO ch28 Trouble in paradice

Sunset bedroom
Date: Mar 21st, time: 7:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Screech screech screech

Sunset slammed the silence button of her alarm clock with a groan. Sunset had started a growth spurt recently, and her legs felt like they were being stretched. She was quite possibly the only person on the planet that could propperally attest to that. Sunset sat up and felt a weird sensation in her groin. Sunset grabbed her phone and went to her bathroom. As soon Sunset pulled down her underwear, the unmistakable smell of iron hit her nostrils. Sunset looked down and found blood staining her underwear and pajama pants. Sunset began to hyperventilate and fell to the floor. Sunset’s vision went black and she guessed she must have passed out because the next thing she knew, Brigid was shaking her in a panic.

“Sunset! Sunset!”, Brigid shouted.

Sunset sprang up and grabbed onto Brigid and just started sobbing. Brigid began stroking Sunset’s back and hugged her. “It’s okay. It’s okay.”, Brigid said softly. “Can you tell me what happened?”, Brigid asked when Sunset’s sobs died down.

“The blood, so much blood.”, Sunset said, almost inaudibly.

“It looks like ya started y’r period.”, Brigid said after a minute.

Sunset was still freaked out but was now starting to calm down. Period, it is just my period.

“Here, ya get y’rself cleaned up, n’ Ah’ll clean up da mess.”

As Sunset took off her cloth, she realized that she had pissed herself. “Shit”, Sunset said. “Nope, jus’ piss.”, Brigid retorted. Sunset let out a chuckle at the joke. When you're this freaked out, even the crappiest jokes are comedic gold.

Sunset’s bedroom
Date: same day, time: 9:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset sat on her couch, watching TV. Brigid had called her out sick. Anzhong stayed home to take care of Sunset, and Ki was letting Sunset use him as a pillow. Sunset was back to feeling numb, and now, her other emotions were numbing. Before, an incident such as that would've left her riled up for a while, but now, she was back to neutral within two hours.

Sunset watched as Anzhong came back into her room. The clothes she was wearing, her bedding, and mattress protector all needed to be washed. “Hey”

“Hey”, Anzhong said. Anzhong walked over to the couch, and Sunset made room for him to sit down. “Can you - explain to me what happened?”

It took Sunset a while to answer. “It was the surprise of seeing the blood. When I saw it, it reminded me of when Blackfeather was shot. I panicked and blacked out.”, Sunset finally answered.

“It sounds like PTSD.”

“If you say so.”

“How much is mental health talked about in your culture?”

“It’s not. The closest thing to that is the story of Nightmare Moon and other demons.”

“Nightmare Moon, as in the vengeful Halloween goddess?”

“The Nightmare Night version of her is much more simplified. The original version was originally our moon goddess that felt neglected by her older sister and subjects. Her feelings of neglect festered into hatred which eventually drove her mad, turning her into Nightmare Moon. Mental health issues are almost nonexistent amongst Equestria’s population.”

“I find that hard to believe. Even the happiest countries in the world have people with mental health problems. From what you have told me about Equestria, it seems more likely that the nobility ignores the problem.”

“They’re most likely just a part of a bigger cultural problem. Their reach is far, but not that far.”

“Hmm, you know, this is the first time you told me what your home country’s name is.”

Oh shit. “Huh, interesting.”

“Sunset, I would like to get you into therapy. I think it will help you.”

“I’d rather not.”

“We won’t make you go if you don’t want to, but the first step to getting better is wanting to get better. I implore you to think about going or even just talk to us about it more. We love you, and we want to help.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”, Sunset said with force.

“Okay”, Anzhong said.

Anzhong and Brigid’s bedroom
Date: same day, time: 9:30 pm

*Anzhong’s perspective*

“So, where ya able ta get Sunset ta talk ‘bout what happened?”, Brigid asked.

“Sort of, Sunset definitely has PTSD, but when I tried to get her to talk about it more, she clammed up. The girl’s like non-Newtonian fluid. The harder you push, the harder she resists. The blood freak out was because it surprised her and caused her to flash back to Blackfeather’s death.”, Anzhong said.

“So, as long as she’s not attacked by da surprise blood splatte’ monste’, she’ll be fine. In all seriousness, dat monste’s single action messed Sunset up so badly. It terrifies me dat we worked in da same buildin’ f’r ove’ a year.”

“The world is filled with sickos. I wish there was a way for us to shield them from all the world’s evils, injustesses, heart breaks, and everything beyond that, but then I remember that I can, and they would never know true happiness if I did.” Anzhong took a deep breath before speaking again. “I’ve never known so much fear before becoming a father.”

“Every time one a’ da girls leaves me line a’ sight, me stomach drops ta me feet. N’ now, Sunset’s hurting, n’ we c’n’t help her. Ah feel like Ah’m swimmin’ through black wate’s, blindfolded. - No offence meant.”

“None taken. I feel the same way. When Emi was born and you were in recovery, my father told me something that's pretty much my only flotation device right now.”

“What would dat be?”

“No one’s an expert on parenting. All those parenting books are better used as general guidelines. Your children and you are unlike anyone else that came before you. What worked for one kid, might not work for yours. You had to grow up learning your own way to navigate. There were many bumps and trip ups and failed attempts. Becoming a father will be much the same way.”

“Dat’s good advice. Ah don’t suppose y’r dad had any advice on how ta keep y’rself from losin’ y’r mind outta fear?”

“Keep a spare one in your trunk.”, Anzhong said flatly.

Sunset’s bedroom
Date: Mar 23rd, time: 1:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset laid in bed, in a crumple. Brigid had called in so Sunset won’t have to go to school until her period was finished. “I know Mom said that subsequent periods will be less painful, but this sucks.” Sunset had already taken the maximum amount of ibuprofen she could for the day but still felt discomfort. Sunset decided on a non-drug method of pain management. Ice cream and rice sock. Sunset drugged her way to the kitchen, grabbing her rice sock along the way. Sunset placed the rice sock in the microwave and grabbed the ice cream tub. “Damn, this thing smells bad.”, Sunset said as she pulled out the rice sock. Sunset drugged over to the couch with ice cream and rice sock in hand.

Sunset definitely noticed the hormonal changes. She felt generally more agitated, and the numbness seemed to be lessened. Sunset didn’t mind that last symptom. The numbness was starting to get painful in a way. Sunset racked her brain, but she couldn’t find words to sufficiently describe her feelings. “I know ten languages, and none of them have words to describe it. How does Dad expect me to explain this to a therapist if I can’t even understand this? It’s not like I could even tell them about my trauma from Equestria without raising too many questions. Do I even belong in Equestria any more? In TV shows like this, the protagonist always needs to go home, but this isn’t a TV show.”

Yeah, this is a fanfiction.

Pink- fine, whatever.

Mory Patchwork Elementary
Date: Apr 1st, time: 12:00 pm

*Emi’s perspective*

It’s April Fool’s, Ah got my fool picked, my prank is ready, it’s time to observe a holiday.

Emi grabbed her lunch box from her locker and began skipping her way to the lunchroom.

“Emi Kiton!”, the hall monitor shouted.

“It’s ‘Katon’, and Ah’m skipping, not running.”

Once in the lunchroom, Emi sat down next to Anura and across from her intended victim, Drummer Switch.

“Hey Drummer, whatcha eating.”, Emi said, trying to seem as innocent as possible.

“PB&J”, Drummer responded.

“Nice, did your mom make it for you? I made mine myself.” Emi pulled out her sandwich. It looked absolutely putrid. She used food coloring to make the bread look moldy and put in home-made gummy worms designed to look real and be filled with black juicy slime.

“Um, Emi-”, Drummer tried to warn. Emi took a big bite of her molding worm sandwich. Black slime began to drip out of the sandwich, and Emi could see Drummer begin to visibly rech.

Emi couldn’t keep her composure. “Bahaha, you should see your face.”, she said as soon as she was done chewing.

“That, that’s a joke?! What are you even eating?!”

“Food coloring and gummy worms, my own recipe. Pretty funny, wasn’t it?”

“No! It wasn’t funny! That was disgusting!”

“It was just a prank, Drummer. It’s not like she did anything to you.”, Anura said.

“No! It was disgusting! I’m gonna go tell a teacher!” Drummer jumped up and ran to the nearest teacher. Unfortunately, it was Mrs. Forecast.

Mrs. Forecast came stopping up to their table, and she already looked like someone crapped in her Cheery’Os. “Emilia Kiton, Drummer tells me that you made her watch you eat worms. What do you have to say for yourself?” Mrs. Forecast’s voice was obnoxious and made Emi want to cover her ears.

Emi didn’t respond. Emi made a personal vow to not respond whenever someone calls her ‘Emilia’. Emi lost count of how many times she corrected Mrs. Forecast, told her that her name was Japanese, brought it up to the principal, and her parents even brought in her birth certificate to prove that ‘Emi’ was not short for ‘Emilia’. That doesn’t even count the ‘Kiton’ part of it all.

“Emilia Kiton!”

“Ah’m sorry. Are you talking to me? My name’s not Emilia Kiton. I don’t know any Emilia Kitons. If so, Ah didn’t make Drummer do anything. All Ah did was sit next to my friend and eat my lunch.”

“Let me see this sandwich.”

“Okay, but you have ta wait a while.”

“Ew”, Anura quietly said.

“No, show me it now.”, Mrs. Forecast said.

“She already ate it.”, Anura said.

“You could’ve just said that.”, Mrs. Forecast said to Emi.

“Nobody enjoys a good joke nowadays.”, Emi said to Anura.

“You’re coming with me to the principal’s office.”, Mrs. Forecast said to Emi.

Brigid’s class room
Date: same day, time: 12:30 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid was in the middle of a lecture on the Aztec Empire when she got a notification that Emi’s school was calling her. A chorus of all the worst possibilities of why they’re calling raced through her mind. “Ah’m sorry class. It’s me daughte’s school. Ah need ta take this.” Brigid left out the side door and answered the call. “Hello, dis is Dr. Katon.”

“Hello Doctor, this is Principal Gold. Your daughter has gotten into some trouble, and we need you to come down to the school.”

“What kind a’ trouble could she have gotten inta dat would warrant interruptin’ me class?”

“She pulled a prank on another student and was disrespectful to a teacher.”

“Was da othe’ student hurt?”

“No, but she still-” “Ah’m gonna stop ya right dere. Ah am in da middle a’ teachin’ me class. Me daughte’ pulled a harmless prank and disrespected a teach. Do ya not think dat interruptin’ me class is disrespectful? Would ya like it if Ah called ya in da middle a’ y’r class, completely interruptin’ it. ‘Ere’s what’s gonna happen. Y’r gonna send me girl back ta class, we will have a meetin’ afte’ school, and ya are not ta call me durin’ school hours, unless ya had ta send me daughte’ ta da hospital. Understood?”

“Understood, ma’am.”

Principal Gold’s office
Date: same day, time: meanwhile

*Emi’s perspective*

Emi sat in front of Principal Gold’s desk, listening in on Gold’s side of the call. Judging by his face, the call had gone exactly as Emi predicted.

“Ah told ya so.”, Emi said in a sing-song voice. “And don’t even try my dad. He’s is court. You don’t want a judge cussing you out.”

“Gmm, just go back to class. We will continue this after school.”, Principal Gold said.

“But-”, Mrs. Forecast tried to say. “Don’t you have students to be monitoring?”, Principal Gold snapped.

Mrs. Forecast got a ‘I just smelled a fart’ face and quickly excited the office. Emi hopped off the chair and strutted out of the office. Anura was waiting for Emi outside the office.

“They called your mom?”, Anura asked.

“Yep”, Emi responded.

“And these people are supposed to be teaching the next generation. Idiots”

“Come on, they’re gonna have a meeting with my mom after school, but for now, we still have twenty minutes of lunch left.” Emi grabbed Anura’s hand and led her back to the lunch room.

Principal Gold’s office
Date: same day, time: 5:15 pm

*Emi’s perspective*

“Dat’s it?”, Mom asked.

“Well, you see Dr. Katon-”, Principal Gold tried to say.

“Emilia was very disrespectful to me. She did not respond to me when I asked her a question.”, Mrs. Forecast said.

“Emi, is ‘his true?”, Mom asked.

“Ah didn’t realize she was talking to me. She was addressing me by “Emilia Kiton” again.”

“Principal Gold, we have had dis conversation before. Ya have shown me great disrespect by callin’ me in da middle a’ class f’r such a minor issue, n’ ya have shown me daughte’ great disrespect by lettin’ Mrs. Forecast continue to knowingly and maliciously call her by da wrong name. Ya are settin’ a bad example f’r y’r students. Mrs. Forecast, dis is startin’ ta sound quite similar ta da incident ya had with a student eating curry. What Emi did wasn’t very nice, but she didn’t hurt anyone, and ya and da other student badly over reacted.”, Mom said angrily. “Dis meetin’ is over.” Mom stood up to face Mrs. Forecast directly. “Mrs. Forecast, if ya continue ta purposely use da wrong name with me daughte’, Ah will brin’ up y’r behavior with da school board.” Mom signaled for Emi to get up, and the two left the office.

SHWO ch29 Fencing hero

Katon family home
Date: Apr 8th, time: 6:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset and Emi were sparring in the backyard. Emi was using her small size and her superior mastery of genjutsu to stay out of Sunset’s grapple attacks. Sunset used her superior strength, size, and speed to bulldoze through Emi’s tricks, keeping her off balance. Despite her best efforts, Sunset was able to grab Emi and pick her up. Sunset had Emi in her grasp, and despite all her squirming, Sunset would not let go. Sunset began to squeeze. Sunset could sense that Emi knew it was all over. That Sunset had won the fight and-

“Girls, we’re gonna have some guests ove’ f’r dinner tanight, so we’re gonna be eatin’ a bit earlier. Come in n’ start washin’ up.”, Brigid called from the porch.

“Okay, Mom.”, both girls said in unison.

Sunset let Emi go, and the two raced inside. As the two passed by the front door, they heard a knock. Guess they’re already here. Once the two were washed up and came back out to the main area, they saw an older man and woman. Both were cocation. The man had blond hair that was starting to recede. The woman had medium length, blue hair. They both appeared to be in their mid to late twenties.

“Girls, this is my friend, Buck Withers and his wife, Lemony Gems.”, Anzhong said.

“Hi, Ah’m Emi. This is Sunset.”

“Hi”, Sunset said. Buck Withers, that name sounds familiar.

“It’s very nice to meet you both. Anzhong has told us a lot about you.”, Lemony Gems said.

“Why don’t you all have a seat? Dinner will be ready soon.”, Anzhong said.

“Whatever you’re making smells good. What is it?”, Buck Withers said while taking his seat.

“Fried chicken with sides of mashed potatoes and fried zucchini.”, Anzhong said.

“That sounds good.”, Lemony Gems said.

Sunset and Emi went into the kitchen to help with whatever. Soon, the food was all out on the table, and everyone was seated. The adults were talking about adult stuff, and Sunset was only half listening. That was until Emi piped up.

“So how'd ga meet my dad?”, Emi asked.

“Well, I used to be a public defender, so your dad and I met in the courtroom. One day, I had a particularly bad client. You can’t really choose clients in the public sector. I wanted to get out of the public sector, but none of the firms in the city were hiring, and I wasn’t in a financially stable place to start my own. Your father noticed my distress and offered to support me in exchange for a cut of the business. I said “yes”, and that’s how we got here.”, Buck Withers said.

“His firm is actually in the process of expanding.”, Lemony Gems said.

“Dat’s great.”, Brigid said.

“Girls, there is actually another reason we invited Buck and Lemony over.”, Anzhong said. “Sunset, you’re getting older and going out on your own more. There are things you need to know in order to keep yourself safe.”

“I already know how to fight off an attacker. What else would I need to know?”

“Attackers aren’t the only threat to your safety. Buck, can you take over?”, Anzhong said.

“The police can be as much of a threat to you as anyone. Not all cops are good cops. If you’re ever approached by a cop, don’t be rude or run away, but you also don’t want to give them something to arrest you on. If one asks you something, answer truthfully but don’t say anything else. Tell them the bare minimum amount of information. The fifth amendment protects against self-incrimination, so don’t say something if it might incriminate you. If they continue to ask you questions, ask them if you’re under arrest. If they answer no, ask them if you’re free to go. At that point they will answer ‘yes’, and you can leave. If they say you are under arrest, don’t resist and don’t say anything other than you want your lawyer, which is me.”, Buck said.

“Aren’t police officers supposed to help people?”, Emi asked.

“Dey are, but dat doesn’t mean dat ‘hey do, especially when it comes ta minorities. Ya, Sunset, n’ Anzhong are all apart a’ a minority”, Brigid said.

“So, because of our race, we can’t trust that we’ll be treated properly?”, Sunset asked.

“Unfortunately, yes, that is the current case.”, Anzhong said.

“Tipical”

St. Holly Blue Fencing School
Date: Apr 22st, time: 8:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Okay, Sunset, now's your time to shine. You’ve been fencing for years. These are just kids. You’ve been in much more dangerous situations before, but those never involved fucking up in front of hundreds of people. Sunset sat on a bench in the locker room. Looking around, it was clear which fencer went to which school. The schools gave their fencers gear with the school colors and designs on them. Sunset’s was blue with the yellow lightning bolts on it. Sunset found this curious as the design was identical to the Wonderbolts uniform, and the school’s teams are called the Wondercolts, but there was already a Wonderbolt team in this world. In this world, they were a team of stunt flights that used decommissioned fighter jets. Sunset tried to find a link between the two but found nothing. This world’s Wonderbolts originated in Washington DC, and the school used the design and name first.

“All fencers to the floor.” was heard over the intercom.

“Time to win a gold.”, Sunset said.

Fencing Floor
Date: same day, time: 3:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Final match of the tournament, Sunset Shimmer versus Fleur de Lis.”, the referee said.

Sunset and Fleur stepped up to the strip. This was the first time Sunset saw Fleur since Christmas, and Fleur didn’t look good. She was obviously tired, but it was more than that.

“Salute. Fence.” Fleur attacked first. Fleur’s movements were more aggressive than the last time they fenced. Sunset was immediately put on the defensive. Sunset wasn’t used to being on the defensive, so she was losing ground. Sunset performed a point-in-line that Fleur was unable to disturb. Sunset won the touch and gained priority. The girls repositioned themselves for their next bout. The bout began, and Sunset attacked first. Fleur ducked out of the way and nailed Sunset in the arm. Their match continued on like that. In one bout, Sunset would get the point, and the next, Fleur would get the point. Ultimately, Sunset was the victor.

The last bout had knocked Fleur off her feet, and Sunset extended a hand to help Fleur up, but Fleur batted Sunset’s hand away and stormed off the floor. Sunset was, to say the least, shocked by this behavior. Sunset turned to the referee. “Thank you, and I’m sorry about her behavior. She’s not normally like that.” The referee nodded to Sunset, and Sunset ran off after Fleur. Fleur wasn’t hard to find. Her purple jacket stood out against the blue lockers. “What the bloody hell was that?!”, Sunset berated. “You slap my hand away, you disrespect the ref, and now, you’re sulking in the locker room because you didn’t win!” “You don’t get it Sunset!” “Oh, I don’t! Enlighten me then!” “I needed this win! Anything less than the best is considered a failure!” “You got second in the whole state! How’s that a failure?!” “It’s not first! You can’t possibly understand because you get the luxury of having no expectations put on you!” “No expectation?! I was taught to be the perfect lady of the court since I was a child! You don’t get much more expectations put on you than everyone expecting you to either act perfectly or completely mess up! You get the luxury of being born and bred in a country without a stringent class system! I was born and bred into the warrior class of my county and had to prove my worth as anything other than a warrior every day of my life!” “Do you honestly expect me to believe you?! You keep on saying you’re from another country, but you won’t even say where it is!” Sunset could say nothing. I can’t tell you where my county is because it’s on another planet. “You are a liar, Sunset! I don’t know what you’re trying to get from this, but I’m not going to hear it!” Fleur stormed off, and Sunset hung her head.

Katon family car
Date: same day, time: 3:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset was not in a good mood. She was hurt, angry, and positive she lost her only friend. She had already told her parents what happened with Fleur. They did their best to console her, but this wasn’t some small scrape that they could kiss better. Sunset looked down at the medal around her neck. The argument continued to play in Sunset’s head. Out of everything that was said, Fleur calling her a liar hurt the most, because it was true. I am a liar, but I have my reasons. Sunset looked up at her parents. Do they think I’m a liar? Sunset simultaneously didn’t want to know, in fear that the answer was ‘yes’, and needed to know. Making up her mind, Sunset steeled her resolve. It’s not like I could blame them for thinking I’m a liar. “Mom, Dad, do you think I’m lying about where I come from?”

“Ah don’t think y’r lyin’. Ah know dere are ‘hin’s ya aren’t tellin’ us, but ya ain’t lyin’.”, Brigid said.

“I still have many questions, but I know the answers you have given us are not lies.”, Anzhong said.

“Thank you” That certainly made her feel better, but she also knew that she would need to tell them eventually. The portal will open this coming February. I’ll tell them then.

Halls of CMS
Date: Apr 24th, time: 8:25 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset was walking into the gym. Like always, students were sitting around, waiting for line up to be called. “Sunset! Sunset! Sunset!”, all the students started chanting. Sunset had done it. She had won CMS their first win over Crystal Prep but at what cost. No time to be sentimental. That just proves it. No one is truly your friend in any world. Sunset straightened herself up and basked in the glory.

SHWO ch30 A military people & growing abilities

Ms. Trees’ classroom
Date: May 29th, time: 11:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Ms. Trees was going on with a history lesson that Sunset was only half listening to. Sunset still didn’t like history. Something that Ms. Trees said caught Sunset’s attention.

“Back when America was first formed, we had no formal military. The Revolutionary War was fought by minutemen. These were ordinary people, with guns, who wanted to defend our country. They were called that because they were expected to be able to fight at a minute's notice. This was the only military we had until the formation of the Continental Army in 1775. The history of the minutemen is what led to the first amendment and our cultural idea of every American being responsible for defending our country.”, Ms. Trees said.

Sunset raised her hand.

“Yes, Ms. Shimmer?”

“So, what you’re saying is that every American is expected to be a warrior?”

“It’s more complicated than that, but that wouldn’t be an incorrect generalization.”

“Does that include immigrants?”

“An American is an American. It doesn’t matter where they were born. Your family is no exception to that. Do you have any other questions?”

“No, thank you.” An entire country of warriors. I think Mom and Dad might actually like it here.

Canterlot Veteran Memorial Wall
Date: same day, time: 6:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Here they are.”, Minerva said, pointing to six names on the wall. “These are the people from my platoon that didn’t make it back.”

“Phantom Luck, Cardinal Blaze, Joshua Walker, Reginald Velvet, Bayonetta Banet, Jane Summers.”, Sunset read off the names on the wall. “How’d they die?”

“It was a landmine. They were in the lead vehicle when they ran over a landmine in the ground. It was - loud.”, Minerva said sadly.

Brigid went to hug the smaller woman, and Sunset took a few steps back to look at the wall in its entirety. The wall was big. It would take Sunset several minutes to run from one end to the other, and it was also tall, six feet tall. The side they were standing on was completely full, and the other side was about half way full. The names weren’t in big, bold fonts, but rather they were small enough that Sunset couldn’t read them from where she was standing. All these deaths, just from one war, and it’s still going. Sunset couldn’t give exact numbers, but she estimated that all the names on the wall equal about a tenth of Equestria’s total military forces, including the royal guard. Americans really are a warrior people.

CHS
Date: June 3rd, time: 2:30 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset and Flash snuck into the high school again. At this point, they’ve been in the school so much that they didn’t need the map. Sunset and Flash quickly made their way to the pre-1900’s section. Their plan was the same as always, walk around the section, occasionally calling out to the ghost in hopes of a response. However this time, they had a new toy. Sunset had purchased an EMF sensor and brought it along. EMF sensors detect the fields emitted by electrically charged moving objects, and, supposedly, ghosts classify as such. Although, so far, the thing was acting like a brick.

“Ya know, I’m starting ta think that “official policy” was just some bored teenager’s attempt at scaring their younger sibling.”, Flash said.

“Yeah”, Sunset said, dejectedly.

“I heard that the motel on Hopkins street is supposed to be really haunted. Maybe we could-” “Flash, look.” The sensor lit up like a Christmas tree.

“Whoa”, Flash said.

Sunset waved the sensor around and found that it was picking something up from inside one of the classrooms. Sunset tried the handle but found the room locked. “Hold this.” Sunset handed the sensor and pulled out her lockpicks. It only took Sunset a few seconds to get in.

“How has this school not gotten robbed or vandalized?”, Flash asked.

“To be fair, all of the other outside doors are good. It’s just that one door that was installed improperly. Plus, I’m good at what I do.” Sunset repacked her lockpicks and took the sensor back from Flash. There was no doubt about it, something was in there. Sunset was moving around, trying to find the source, when her head began pounding. It was nothing like she ever felt before. She heard what sounded like screaming. She also felt like she was being burned, which she had felt before. Sunset collapsed to the floor, clutching her head.

“Sunset!” Flash ran to Sunset.

Sunset didn’t answer at first. After a minute, the pain subsided. “I’m fine. Did you hear anything?”

“I think I might have heard screaming, but I was - well - distracted.”

“I heard screaming, and I felt like I was being burned. It must have been the ghosts of the children. There’s no other explanation.”

“Sounds like it, but I think we should get you out of here. It seems like you and ghosts don’t mix well.”

Flash helped Sunset up. As Sunset stood up, her eyes locked onto something just to the left of the whiteboard. Even though Sunset’s thestral senses carried over, she couldn’t make out what she was seeing. It looked like a small, pitch black, shadowy blob in a vaguely humanoid form. “Flash, shine your headlamp over there.” Sunset pointed to the shadowy blob. Sunset didn’t carry a headlamp or flashlight, as she had no need. Flash did as he was told, but as he did, the entity faded into the wall. “Do you see that?”

“See what?”

How? Did it meld into its own shadow? That’s not- uhg, the thing’s not a thestral. It probably didn’t even use shadow magic. “It’s gone now.”

“What did you see?”

“I think it was one of the kids that died.” Sunset walked over to where she saw the entity. “It looked to be made out of shadow. It faded into the wall when you shined your light onto it.”

“Creepy”

“Yeah”

“Do you have the evidence you need?”

“Yeah, I do. Let’s get out of here.” With that, they left.

As they walked down Sunset’s street, Flash and Sunset began talking. “Ya know, we could make some money doing this.”, Flash said. “Doing what?”, Sunset asked. “Ghost hunting. I’ve seen channels on WebTube that do the same thing we do, and they get a lot of viewership. What do you think?” “Sounds like fun, but how would we get to any of the haunts without a car?” “Oh, right. I guess we’d have ta wait until high school before we could do anything like that.” Sunset noticed how close they’ve gotten. Sunset’s feelings towards him have also become more clear. She liked him and the popularity being with him got her. Sunset reached out and grabbed his hand. Flash looked at her with a surprised face. “I’m still not ready to kiss you, but I do like you.” Flash said nothing and just looked ahead with a dorkish smile on his face.

Katon family basement
Date: June 15th, time: 8:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset was taking care of some laundry. It was not her favorite chore, but at least she didn’t get her clothes wet. Sunset did not like getting her clothes wet. The basement, itself, was nothing too special. It did have its own pellet stove, which was nice. The side of the basement Sunset was on had the washer and dryer, the water heater, the basement bathroom, and the stairs. In the center of the basement was a game table. The section of the basement that would be under the kitchen held Sunset’s parents’ locking cabinets. These things had good locks too. Anzhong being an expert lock picker made sure of that. These cabinets held liquor, guns, edo period weapons, ninja tools, various explosive components, and other ninja stuff. Her father assured her that nothing in them was illegal on their own, and he had special permits for everything else, but they still liked to keep things within their own lockboxes within the cabinets and keep the various explosive materials in different cabinets.

The last item of note was a locking chest that, at this point, only contained one item. About a month ago, Emi had received a gift of a Talking Annibell doll from one of her classmates. Emi hated that thing from the moment she got it. She said it was creepy and it watched her. She had it locked up in the empty chest since the second night she had it. Sunset hated it too, but it wasn’t until the last couple of weeks that she felt afraid of it. The thing felt malevolent. Neither of their parents believe in ghosts or demons or anything like that. Apparently, Dad can’t sense ghosts. Even when they got Minerva and Anura down here, and they said the doll was host to something evil, they didn’t believe them. Emi tried to get them to let her throw the thing out or bury it, but they said it was rude to destroy a gift.

Sunset walked over to the chest. Every single one of her instincts were screaming at her to run. It felt as if there was a thick, black, malevolent aura around the chest. ‘Black’ wasn’t quite the right word. A direct translation of the Ponish word for what she was feeling was ‘an absolute lack of color, including black’ or ‘indescribably wrong’. Sunset pulled out her EMF sensor. She had been bringing it down here whenever she came down, hoping to get tangible evidence for her parents. The sensor went straight to red, the highest it could go. The highest it ever got in the school was orange. “Hello” Sunset jumped when she heard that. Sunset looked around before realizing - it came from the chest. Shouldn’t the batteries be dead by now? “I can see you.” Sunset’s heart fell into her stomach. Sunset bolted up the stairs, screaming for her parents.

“Sunset, what is it?”, Brigid asked, alarmed.

“Hetta - dedede - t-toy.”, Sunset tried to stammer out.

“Sunset, what?” Brigid was now rubbing her arms, trying to calm Sunset down.

“It’s the toy.”, Emi said. Sunset nodded her head.

“Which toy?”

“The Talking Annibell, it’s evil.”, Emi stated.

“Girls, dere’s nothin’ evil ‘bout a doll.”

“Yes there is!”, both girls emphatically said. “I heard it say “I can see you”. It’s not programmed to say that, and the batteries should be dead by now.”

“Look, how about I go get the key for the chest, and we’ll all look at it together. Does that sound good?”, Anzhong asked.

Anzhong turned off the burners and went up stairs to grab the key from their room. Upon returning to the ground floor, they all went down into the basement. As they approached the chest, Emi was hiding behind Mom’s leg and glaring at the chest as if she was trying to set it on fire, and Brigid became visibly uncomfortable. “What da hell?”, Brigid asked under her breath. As soon as Anzhong opened the chest, everyone, even Mom and Dad, reared back like they were hit. At this point, Sunset had passed fear and gone straight into anger. She was angry that this thing, whatever it was, dared enter their home, dared to make her sister afraid. Sunset was growling as loud and openly as Ki now. Sunset reached in. The aura felt sticky. Imagine sticking your hand in vaporized sugar. That’s about what it felt like. Sunset grabbed the doll by its neck. The part of her arm that came into contact with the aura began to physically hurt, but she didn’t care.

“You know, I think it would be okay if you got rid of the doll.”, Anzhong said.

Sunset turned the doll over to remove the batteries, but when she opened the compartment, she found no batteries. “That’s not- how?”

“Nope, nuh-uh, no way.” Emi grabbed the toy from Sunset’s hand and ran out the basement, presumably to throw it into the bin.

Sunset began rubbing her arm and looked back at the chest. I hope that aura goes away.

“Sweety, are ya okay?”, Brigid asked.

“That thing had time to build up an aura, and it hurt to reach through it.”

Brigid and Anzhong looked confused. “What do you mean?”, Anzhong asked.

“It’s like reaching your bare hand into a scorching oven. Neither of you felt it because you’re not attuned to it. I’m surprised either of you were able to detect it now. I guess when something like that is strong enough, even people completely without the gift can detect it.” Sunset was certainly surprised when she learned just how similar magic of Equestria and the supernatural of Earth really were. Although, she had no way of knowing how much of what she researched was true or hyperbole until she experienced it herself.

“Okay, by morning tomorrow, that thing will be out of our lives forever.”, Emi said, bouncing down the stairs.

“Girls, we’re sorry we didn’t believe you about the doll.”, Anzhong said.

“I won’t say I wasn’t hurt that you didn’t believe us, but I also get why.”, Sunset said.

“I’ll forgive you, only if I can throw away gifts that make me uncomfortable in the future.”, Emi said with her arms crossed.

“How ‘bout we talk about gifts like that, n’ if ‘hey really make ya uncomfortable, ya c’n throw ‘hem out?”

“Hmm, that is an acceptable compromise.”

Katon family home
Date: June 16th, time: 7:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Stop scratching.”, Anhong said.

“But it itches.”, Sunset protested, continuing to scratch her rash.

“It will scar if you continue scratching.”

“There are scars there already. A few more wont hurt me.”

“Okay, than how about this, if you cut yourself, it can get infected, and you can die.”

“Stupid doll, stupid rash, stupid bacteria.”, Sunset said under her breath. “Is there at least something I can put on it?”

“Brigid’s at the store, picking something up for you know.”

Despite what Anzhong said, it was just too damn itchy.

Canterville Park
Date: June 19th, time: 2:00 pm

*Emi’s perspective*

During the summer months, Mom agreed to take Emi and Anura to the park while Aunt Minerva works. Another kid that frequents the park is Rynin Khors, the boy who gave Emi the doll. As soon as Emi saw Rynin, she ran straight over to him.

“Hey, Rynin! I need to talk to you about the doll you gave me!”, Emi shouted.

“Hi, Emi. Do you like the doll?”

“Yeah, no, where did you get it?”

“From Toysmart. Why?”, Rynin said, looking confused.

“The thing was haunted.”

“Haunted?”

“Yeah, it spoke to my sister when it had no batteries in it.”

Rynin’s face lost its color at Emi’s statement. “You mean like those “Children’s Toys” movies kind of haunted?”

“We didn’t see it move on it’s own but yes.”

Rynin began to shift nervously. “Do you think you can come over and check to make sure none of my dolls are haunted?”

“Sure. Let me ask my mom first.”

Rynin’s room
Date: same day, time: 2:10 pm

*Emi’s perspective*

Rynin lived across the street from the park, so their visit could be a quick one, and they could go back to the park. This was the first time Emi was over at Rynin’s house. Rynin led Emi up to his room. Where the rest of the house had a slovic aesthetic to it, Rynin’s room had a mad toy collector aesthetic to it. It was filled with dolls ranging from some that Emi recognized to really old looking ones.

“Dude, you have a problem.”, Emi said.

“I don’t have a problem. My grandma and I are doll collectors.”

“That part’s fine. I was talking about you having all these dolls watching you while you sleep. That’s creepy.”

“It’s not like they’re alive or at least supposed to be. Can you tell me if they’re haunted or not?”

Emi looked around the room but felt nothing. “Ah can’t feel any ghosts.”

“How can you tell?”

“My sister and Ah can sense ghosts.”

“Really?”, Rynin asked skeptically.

“You don’t believe me? Then why did you ask me to come over here to check?”

“I thought you had some physical test.”

“You want a test, fine.” Emi picked up one of the nearby dolls. “No evil energy coming from this one.” Emi put it down and picked up the next one. “No evil energy coming from this one.”

“That’s not what I meant by test.”

“There is no proper test for this kind of thing. Imagine a world of bind people where there are only a few seeing people. One of the blind people asks a seeing person what color something is. That’s what you’re asking.”

“I see. What did you do with the doll?”

“We had to throw it away. The thing hurt my sister.”

“How?”

“Ah locked it into a chest in our basement, and it had enough time to build up an aura around itself and the chest. That aura burned my sister. She has a rash looking thing running up all over the part of her arm that came into contact with the aura.”

“Is she gonna be okay?”

“We don’t know. We never had to deal with anything like this before.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You couldn’t have known. Not even my parents believed me until it became strong enough for my parents to notice it. Come on, let’s go back to the park.”, Emi said

“You still don’t believe me, do you?”, Emi asked while walking down the stairs.

“I believe in you, but I want to do experiments to understand what you can do.”

“No needles!”, Emi shouted, recoiling.

“Hell, no needles! I hate needles!”, Rynin agreed emphatically.

“What is it like, living with your powers?”, Rynin asked while they were crossing the street.

“It can be annoying. People unknowingly bombarding me with their emotions and people doubting me just because they can’t feel what I feel.”

“People need evidence if they’re gonna believe you.”

“You, along with millions of other Americans, go to church every Sunday to worship a magic sky man.”

“A--- good point.”

SHWO ch31 Patriotism

Katon family home
Date: July 3rd, time: 8:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“So girls, da highschool is havin’ a fireworks show. Dere will also be booths with games n’ food venters. Do ya want ta go?”, Brigid asked.

“Sounds like fun.”, Sunset said.

“Yes, please. Dad, will you be coming with us?”, Emi said.

“I think I’ll stay back on this one. Fireworks and dogs don’t really mix well. Plus, I don’t really see the appeal of fireworks. You just make sure to behave for your mother.”, Anzhong said.

“Ha, I see what you did there.”, Emi exclaimed.

CHS sports field
Date: July 4th, time: 6:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Ten bucks to get in here, and ten bucks to get into the freshman fair. What could they possibly need that much money for?”, Sunset commented.

“Dey need da money ta operate. ‘Hey don’t get enough money from da government ta operate.”, Brigid said.

“And that’s why there are twenty kids to a teacher, on average. Why is this even any issue in a country this rich?”

“‘Cause da US is more concerned ‘bout spendin’ money on defense. Although, an argument c’n be made dat da other countries in da UN c’n only afford free healthcare n’ education ‘cause da US contributes so much ta defense.”

“UN?”

“Right, ya haven’t covered dat yet. The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization where one a’ da requirements is dat each country contributes ta da organization. Da US contributes most a’ da military related stuff. ‘Cause a’ dat, da othe’ nations barely spend any‘hin’ on defense.”

“So, if the other UN countries pulled their weight, we could solve more of our internal issues.”

“Maybe, or maybe da one percent will gobble up da extra money. Like Equestria, dis country’s “nobility” like ta twist every‘hin’ so dat it’s hard ta tell where da source a’ da problem is.”

“So basically, this country has a tangled ball of yarn of a financial situation.”

“Exactly”

“Mom, Mom look! There’s shaved ice!”, Emi shouted while bouncing.

“Oh, dat sounds good. Do ya want some, Sunset?”

“What’s shaved ice?”

“It’s crushed up ice with syrups added to it. You can choose which flavors you want.”, Emi explained.

“And that’s good?”

“Da water dilutes da syrup so y’re not overwhelmed by it.”

“Well, I’ll try anything once.”

Sunset and Brigid walked and Emi bounced over to the booth. The sign in front had a list of flavors on it. Most were the usual affair, but one, Sunset never seen before. Tiger blood? Sunset was familiar with tigers. They exist on the eastern continents of both Earth and Equoes, but they’re endangered here, some species critically so. Plus, Sunset couldn’t imagine their blood tasting that good. So, why would they have it as a flavor?

“Mom, why do they have tiger blood as a flavor?”, Sunset asked.

“It’s not actual tiger’s blood. It’s a combination a’ watermelon, strawberry, and a little bit a’ coconut. It’s called dat because of the color. Ah had da same questions when Ah first heard ‘bout it.”, Brigid explained.

“Oh, I’d like ta try that, please.”

“Okay, what other flavors do ya want? Ya c’n get t’ree.”

“Mango and banana”

“Okay den. Ya sure do love y’r mango n’ banana. Emi, what do ya want?”

“Tiger blood, green apple, and cherry, please.”, Emi said.

They got their shaved ice and enjoyed the festivities until the fireworks were scheduled to start. A few minutes before the start of the show, the trio climbed up onto the bleachers to find good seats.

“We should get seats further back to be away from the loud firework shooters.”, Emi said.

“Mortars, they’re called mortars. Sitting further back would also put us higher up and closer to the fireworks exploding.”, Sunset explained.

“Yeah, good point. Hmm, it’s gonna be loud either way, so I guess it doesn’t matter where we sit.”

“How ‘bout those seats?”, Brigid said, pointing at some seats in the middle.

“They’re as good as any.”, Emi said.

Sunset, Emi, and Brigid went to sit in their seats. Soon the show started. Like just about everything in this world, fireworks work differently from the ones in Equestria. Earth fireworks were far more elaborate and varied. Whereas in Equestria, spells are used to create fireworks, Earth fireworks are basically missiles with mineral elements to give them color. Equestria fireworks only have one or two shapes to them. Earth fireworks have many more shapes due to the construction of the shell and the arrangement of the exploding stars within them. Sunset has already coming up with modifications that could be made to the fireworks spell to give it greater range of shape. Spitfire would love this holiday. Spitfire always loved fireworks. Sunset theorized it had something to do with being half dragon. She was also extremely patriotic. One sentence and Spitfire became Celestia’s most loyal soldier.

*Flashback*

Mistmane Park
Date: 12th day of the 4th month of the 1110th year of the Equestrian era, time: 11th hour ASR

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset and Spitfire raced each other back and forth across one of Canterlot’s older parks. Sunset’s earth pony blood serving to help her keep up with Spitfire’s wings. The park's age and location made it scarcely populated, leaving the sisters as the only ones there, at least for the time being.

“I’m gonna get you!”, Sunset shouted.

“Fat chance, you couldn’t catch me in my sleep!”, Spitfire shouted back.

Sunset let out a hiss, baring her small fangs.

Spitfire laughed while rolling in the air. “You call that a hiss? Oh, I'm so scared. Bahaha”

“Like you can do better.”

“Oh, yes I- wait, somepony’s coming.”

Sunset skidded to a halt and looked to the direction Spits indicated. Just coming into view were Jet Set, Black Marble, Dandy mane, Lightning Gold, Blue Moon, and Peacock Plume. “We need to go.”, Sunset said.

“Why, who are they?”

Before Sunset could answer, the boys had reached them.

“Why hello, Sunset. Fancy meeting you here.”, Jet Set, the leader, said.

“Cut the song and dance. What do you want?”, Sunset cut in.

“Very well then. Your little play pretend as a politician is over. You will either step down voluntarily, or we will force you to step down.”

“Like Celestia would ever let that happen. You see, the advantage to being a weapon is that your handler won’t let anyone else take you from them. You know, I’d actually like to see you try. I bet it will be quite humorous.”

Jet signaled for his cronies to advance. “Looks like we will need to force you then.”

Jet may have them out numbered, but the sisters were better trained and have the biological advantage. Sunset and Spitfire took up combative positions. Jet, Black, and Dandy charged Sunset, and Lightning, Blue, and Peacock charged Spitfire. The girls fought valiantly, but a three on one fight is not easily won. Black and Dandy managed to pin Sunset, and Blue and Peacock managed to pin Spits. That left Jet standing over Sunset, and Lightning standing over Spitfire.

“This is your last chance. Agree to step down, and we’ll let you go.”, Jet said.

“When Celestia finds out what you’ve done, you’ll be spending your glory years in a dungeon.”, Sunset said.

Jet kicked Sunset in the face. Jet signaled to Lightning. Lightning kicked Spits in the face. The two continued to whale on the sisters. “Come on, Sunset. We can do this all day.”, Jet said.

“Actually Jet, my hooves are starting to hurt.”, Lightning said.

The sisters looked at each other. Neither of them were looking too good. It was then they decided that there was no other choice. Spitfire released a plume of flames, causing each of the attackers to recoil. Sunset hopped up and slid into Spits shadow. Taking advantage of the setting sun, Sunset popped back up in Jet’s shadow and shot him directly in his barrel. Spits continued living up to her name and lighting the grass on fire.

“You’ll pay for this, you freaks!”, Jet shouted while he and his cronies ran away.

“We need to talk to the princess about this.”, Sunset said.

“And tell her what? We may both be freaks, but at least you’re one hundred percent pony.”, Spits said.

“Well, it’s either that or let them spread rumors all over the city. What other choice do we have?”

Above the streets of Canterlot
Date: same day, time: 11th hour 30th minute ASR

*Sunset’s perspective*

As Sunset and Spitfire were flying into the throne room, they spotted some irate looking stallions trying to get into the castle.

“Looks like they’re going to report us to Princess Celestia.”, Sunset said from Spits back.

“Are you sure she can dissuade them from outing us?”

“As ideotic as the nobility are, they’re smart enough to suck up to Celestia.”

Spitfire landed on the throne room balcony, and Sunset hopped off her back.

“Hello, girls. I was not expecting you here so late.”, Celestia said as they walked in.

“You’re going to have some guests of the irate variety.”, Sunset said bluntly.

“What happened?”, Celestia asked worriedly.

The sisters looked to each other. It was then that it was decided who would tell Celestia. “There is something we need to tell you about us, more importantly, Spitfire.”, Sunset spoke. Celestia gestured for her to go on. “Spitfire’s father was a dragon, and my grandfather was a thestral. We had to use our - special abilities - to fight off some attackers. Those attackers happened to be nobles, and they’re currently berating the guards, demanding an audience with you.”

“I see. Do you want me to come up with an explanation that does not involve dragons or thestrals?”, Celestia said without a hint of surprise.

“Yes. You’re not surprised by this?”

Celestia flew over and bent down to be eye level with the sisters. “As rare as you both are, you are not the first of your kinds.”

“Wait - whaa?”, Spitfire sputtered.

“Dragon and pony hybrids are called dragon-borns. I would like to teach you more about your kind, if you let me.”, Celestia addressed Spits. “You are a beautiful creature, Spitfire.”

“Yes, absolutely.”, Spitfire answered.

“And Sunset, I know a thing or two about thestral magic. I think we should add that to your regular studies.”

Sunset’s only response was a smile.

“Princess Celestia, there are some nobles that are demanding an audience with you.”, a royal guard announced.

“Send them in. You two might want to make yourself scarce.”

Sunset and Spits made their way to the nearest shadow, but instead of shadowporting out, the two decided that they wanted to watch.

The royal guard brought the boys in and did all the song and dance that goes along with that.

“Princess Celestia, we must inform you that Sunset Shimmer and her sister are some sort of monsters. Sunset was able to move through shadows, and Spitfire could breathe fire.”, Jet said.

“Ah yes, those abilities are the effects of spells that Sunset was working on earlier. The spells’ effects will wear off by tomorrow. Now, before you go, I have some reports I’d like to go over with you.”

“What kind of reports, your highness?”

“Reports that state that you six attacked Sunset and Spitfire.”

Jet made a sound that resembled a strangled squeaky toy.

“I will be reporting your behavior to your families. Perhaps they can come up with suitable punishments for all of you.”

“Or maybe, they’ll give them a pat on the back and tell them they did a good job.”, Sunset said.

“Nobles”, Spits said.

With the show over, Sunset ported them away.

Halls of Canterlot Castle
Date: 29th day of the 8th month of the 1115th year of the Equestrian era, time: 1st hour AMR

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Hey Spits, do you have a minute?”, Sunset asked.

“Sure, what’s up?”

“Let’s go somewhere a bit more private.” Sunset motioned to the shadow she just exited.

Without a word Spitfire walked into the shadow. The shadowport led to Sunset’s room.

“So, first things first, congratulations are in order, Captain.”, Sunset said.

“Thank you”, Spitfire said with pride. “Although, something tells me that’s not why you pulled me into your room.”

“Celestia is using us.”

“Well, of course she is. We’re soldiers. It comes with the job.”

“It’s worse than that. She told me that she intends for me to be her heir, but she won’t give me the power because she said that I’m not ready.”, Sunset said in a rapid fire.

“Wait, Sunset slow down. I don’t understand.”

“Alicorns are made, not born. She wants to make me an alicorn, but she says I’m not ready. It doesn’t matter if I’m not ready. Equestria needs change, now. Mom needs Equestria to change.”

“So, let’s say you are made an alicorn. How do you plan to change Equestria?”

“First, I’ll dismantle the nobility system. It’s a hold over from the time before alicorns anyway and is the reason Celestia isn’t able to enact the needed changes.”

“If you dismantle the nobility system, you’ll throw Equestria into chaos. Look, I’m not a fan of the nobles either, but every governmental body is directly tied to a noble house.”

“That’s exactly the reason it needs to go, and I’ll take responsibility for catching the pieces until a new system can be put into place.”

“Do you not realize how much work that will be? There are dozens of agencies. One pony can’t possibly do all that, not even an alicorn.”

“It has to be done, for the sake of everypony.”

“I can see why Celestia says you’re not ready.”

“What?”, Sunset asked, tone becoming hostile. “Are you seriously siding with the nobility? My own sister.”

“I’m saying that your plan is crazy. I’m in charge of one organization, and I can barely keep up with everything I need to do. You can’t take on all those responsibilities.”

“I have to, for Equestria’s sake.”

“Equestria’s sake is exactly why you can’t do this. Sunset, do you hear yourself?”

“Do I hear myself? Do you hear yourself? Siding with the same social construct that’s made our family’s life tartarus. Get out!”

“You can’t just kick me out!”

“It’s my room!” Sunset lit up her horn and telekinetically shoved her sister out.

*Present day*

That was the last time she saw Spitfire, and looking back on it now, her plan was crazy. The entire Equestrian social and governmental systems still need to be separated, and the nobility system needs to be abolished, but maybe not all at once. I still had eight months left in this world. I could use that time to come up with a proper plan.

SHWO ch32 Ireland acr part 1

Katon family home
Date: July 12th, time: 10:00 pm

*Bigid’s perspective*

“Sunset, are ya ready?”

“Almost!”

“Be ready ta leave soon. We need ta be at da airport in an hour.” Bigid went back upstairs and to Emi’s room. Brigid knocked on Emi’s door. “Emi, thirty minutes!”

“Okay”

Brigid went back into her room. “Ya almost done?”

“Just about.”, Anzhong said. “Just need to pack toiletries. Are the girls ready?”

“Jus’ about. Goin’ back home is goin’ ta be... interestin’.”

“Are you sure you are going to be okay? We are going to be staying in the house your family was murdered in.”

“Facin’ one's demons is apart a’ da healin’ process.”

“What about the girls? Given our experience with the doll, a potentially haunted house might not be the best thing for our spectrally sensitive daughters.”

“Dat is why Ah have a plan B. An old friend a’ mine is willin’ ta house if da old house proves to be much.”

Train to Cavan
Date: July 13th, time: 12:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset, Emi, Brigid, and Anzhong sat in the dining car. Sunset was warned about the local delicacies. The British conquered the world to find a good meal. Probably not accurate, but a funny joke either way. Luckily, the train has a wide variety of food. After they ate, Sunset and Emi decided to walk around and explore. During their exploration, Sunset noticed many differences between Earth and Equestrian trains. What else is new? One of the more interesting differences is the defined seats instead of benches. Most likely a safety feature or a creature comfort feature. Would defined seating make train travel safer on Equestria, or would the different body shapes make that infeasible? Looking outside, all Sunset could see was bright green.

“That’s a lot of greenery.”, Sunset said.

“Too much green. It needs some rocks or some spruce trees. It’s like looking at a painted wall.”, Emi said.

“Yeah”

The sisters moved on from the observation car. The rest of the train was rather unremarkable, being almost identical to the train they took in Japan. Without anything interesting to see, the girls went back to their seats.

“Hey, Mom.”, Emi said. “Ireland is very green.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Why is it all the same shad a’ green?”

“Excuse me?”

“She’s saying that there is a lot more variety in the foliage back home, resulting in an array of colors. Here, it’s mostly the same color.”, Sunset elaborated.

“Evolution, although Ah c’n not say specifically why, as dat’s not me field a’ study.”

“How much longer will it be before we get to Cavan?”, Anzhong asked.

“Another couple a’ hours.”, Brigid responded.

“Will we be picking up a rental car?”, Sunset asked.

“Actually, an old friend a’ mine will be pickin’ us up. His name is Fergus O’Apple.”

“There’s a kid in my class named O’Apple. Are they related?”

“Most likely. Da O’Apple family is a big one, n’ there are branches a’ deir family all ove’ da US n’ Ireland.”

The O’Apple family sounds similar to the Apple family. Most likely their Earth counterparts.

The rest of the train ride was uneventful. Once they arrived at the station and hopped off the train, the family was greeted by an older man Sunset guessed was Fergus. He had gray hair, brown eyes, light skin, and wore your typical farmer’s getup. He was also almost as big as Brigid.

“Brigid, how’s it cuttin’?”, Fergus said.

“‘Hin’s are good.”, Brigid said.

“Oy now, sounds like y’r pickin’ up an American accent.”

“Hff, maybe.” Brigid punched Fergus in the arm. “Fergus, dis is me husband, Anzhong, n’ me girls, Sunset n’ Emi.”

“Hi”, Emi said.

“Hello, I’m Fergus. Ah’ve been friends with y’r mum since she was a wee lass.”

“So, you’re a farmer, like our Grandparents.”, Sunset said.

“Yeah, Ah am, sheep n’ potatoes mostly, but we got a lot a’ othe’ crops n’ critters too.”

“We c’n finish dis in da car. We’re jet lagged.”, Brigid said.

The five of them hopped into Fergus’s truck and drove to the closest supermarket.

“Okay girls, we are gonna be staying in da middle a’ nowhere. So, we gotta stock up.”, Bigid said. Brigid, Anzhong, Emi, and Sunset hopped out of the truck and entered the store. “So, we need ta get enough food ta last us two weeks. Da farm house has two large freezers. We can store a lot a’ food.”

“We would need ta buy out half the store ta feed Sunset for two weeks.”, Emi said. Sunset flicked Emi in the head in response. “Hey”, Emi hissed.

“Girls, behave y’rselves, or ya won't get y’r treats.”, Brigid said.

“Sorry, Mom.”, both girls said in unison.

By the time they were done, they had two shopping carts, or trolleys as they’re called here, filled to the brim.

“Wow, that’s a lot more than back home.”, Sunset said.

“It is. Da US produces twenty five percent of da world’s food but only has four percent of its population.”, Brigid explained.

“Wow”, Sunset said.

They finished up purchasing their food and loaded it up in the truck. Once all loaded up, they got on the road to Brigid’s old home. When Mom said she lived in the middle of nowhere, she was not kidding. It took them just under two hours to get to the house. The only things for miles around are fields and more farms. The house itself was surprisingly large. It makes sense, as it needed to house- Great Nana and Great Grandpappy; five kids, four made it to adulthood, but Pristine moved away; three spouses; Mom, her two sisters, her brother, three female cousins, and five male cousins; twenty people. That means at least nineteen people died that night. It was then Sunset realized that she never asked how many of the attackers died. “Hey, Mom.”

“What is it, sweetie?”

“I can’t imagine people related to you going down without a fight. How many of the attackers died that night?”

“All but four a’ ‘em. Dat makes t’irty six.”

“Fifty five people died that night?”, Sunset said in astonishment.

“Yes”

“Were the other three arrested?”

“Dey didn’t get a chance ta be arrested. An advantage ta bein’ a bunch a lovers is dat a lot a people love ya back, n’ when dat includes da bobbies, evidence as ta what happened tend ta mysteriously disappear from lock up.”

“Hmm, kill ‘em with kindness. I see.”

Brigid merely responded with a Cheshire grin.

Once they reached the house and got the truck unloaded, Fergus said goodbye and drove to his house. Sunset could see his house from theirs, but walking to it would take the better part of an hour. Brigid’s childhood home was two stories tall, had a porch in the front, and was long. The barn, that had once saved Brigid’s life, was the typical red and about 120 ft away from the house.

“Mac Carthaigh Farm”, Sunset read on the sign above the porch. “Mom, did you take Grandpappy’s name or Nana’s?”

“Back den, ya always took y’r old man’s name, no matter how shitty da rest a’ his family is. Me fathe’s name was O’Floinn, which means ‘of bright red’. Ah got me hair from me dad’s side.”

“What does ‘Mac Carthaigh’ mean?”

“It means ‘son of a loving person’. It was a very fitting name, especially f’r me mothe’. Dere’s a reason she was known as da queen a’ love.” Brigid turned to head inside.

Riona Mac Carthaigh and Nicholas O’Floinn, I wish I got to meet you.

Mac Carthaigh farmhouse
Date: same day, time: 4:15 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Soon, the food was stored away. Given the jet lag, the family decided to go straight to bed. Brigid showed everyone where they were going to sleep. Walking down the hallway, Sunset noticed two rooms with three sets of bunk beds in each. “Hey Mom, who used to sleep in those rooms.”, Sunset said while pointing to the rooms in question.

“Da one ta da left a’ ya was da girls’ room. Dat’s where meself, me sisters, n’ me female cousins slept. Da one ta y’r right was da boys’ room. Same deal but with da boys.”

“You didn’t get your own rooms?”, Emi asked.

“Nope, kids didn’t spend all day in our rooms back den. It was get up, eat breakfast, work until lunch, eat lunch, work till dinner, eat dinner, do school work, go to bed. You only got y’r own room when ya started makin’ da kids.”

“Did you go to school?”, Sunset asked.

“Nope, Ah was homeschooled most a’ me life. Me family made sure we got a proper education, but da nearest any‘hin’ is almost two hours away. Takin’ all twelve a’ us ta school wasn’t exactly feasible. Now Sunset, y’ll be sleeping in dis room.” Brigid gestured to the room on her right. “And Emi, y’ll be sleeping in dis room.” Brigid gestured to the room on her left.

There were seven rooms in total on the top floor, four “adult” rooms and three “kid” rooms. Three? “Hey Mom, what’s with the third kid room?”, Sunset asked.

“Dat was originally Pristine’s room, but since she skedaddled, it was reallocated to farmhand n’ lost traveler loggin’.”

“Hold up, I’m a bit confused on how your system worked. Why not give the kids some more room?”

“Well, back when me mum was y’r age, she n’ her siste’s shared a room n’ same with da boys. Me Nana n’ Grandpappy occupied da master bedroom, n’ da farmhands occupied da rest. As ‘hey got married, ‘hey were given deir own rooms n’ another house was built on da property f’r da farmhands. It was intended dat as da kids grew up n’ got married, dey would eithe’ move away or more houses would be built f’r ‘em. Trust me, it was an upgrade considering dat jus’ four hundred years ago everybody, includin’ da cow, all slept in da same room.”

“Fair enough”

“Good night, girls.”, Anzhong said.

“Good night, Daddy.”, Emi said.

Mac Carthaigh Farm
Date: July 13th, time: 7:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Mom, Emi’s taking forever in the bathroom, and I gotta pee.”, Sunset whined.

“Go outside.”

“Isn’t public urination a crime?”

“Yes, but dat’s more an urban n’ suburban ‘hin’. Out here, da only people close enough ta see ya are farmers who do da same ‘hin’. Jus’ don’t do y’r business in da fields or on da house, and if ya need ta wipe, use a leaf. Dat’s why we got ‘em bushes around da house.”

“Okay then.” Sunset quickly made her way to a suitable spot and took care of business. It took her a moment to find an angle that kept her balance and didn’t cause her to pee on her pants, but she managed. It was nice to know that at least some humans didn’t get their knickers in a twist by someone taking care of basic bodily functions. Sunset finished up and made her back to the front door. “Okay, ready for the day.”, Sunset said, walking back into the house. Emi and Brigid were sitting at the table. An odd thing that Sunset immediately noticed is that Brigid was wearing traditional farmer getup. Her plaid shirt, boots, and hat were red, so at least that was normal, but she was also wearing blue jeans. Brigid almost exclusively wore business smart, or whatever it’s called, and she never wore clothes with blue as a primary color. She said it makes her eyes stand out less, and in her normal get up, her eye color does truly pop, but Sunset would also say that her eye color still pops when she’s wearing blue jeans.

“Good, we’re gonna be helpin’ Fergus out for da next few days. We’re gonna ride ‘round da farm n’ make sure none a’ da animals got out, dere’s no damage ta da fencin’, n’ no thickers have damaged da property. Feedin’ n’ wate’in’ are handle by someone else.”

“Make sure the animals are all in their pens, there are no holes in the fence, that no one has trespassed and damaged the property, and someone else will do the feeding and watering, got it.”, Sunset said. Well, now the farm clothes make sense. I guess jeans don’t come in red, yellow, or brown.

“Oh, that’s what she said.”, Anzhong said in the background.

“Mom, I saw the fields around the house were being used. Who’s tendin' to ‘em?”, Sunset asked.

“Da O’Apple family is. When Ah moved ta America, Ah sold ‘em twenty percent share a’ da farm. Dat leaves us da majority shareholders a’ da farm, but Fergus n’ his family c’n use da land.”

“Does Pristine have any share in the farm?”

“No, she does not.”, Brigid stressed. “She was actually disowned n’ written out a’ da will. Me Grandpappy’s exact words were, “Pristine has failed ta demonstrate our core family principles a’ lovin’ n’ acceptance. She is no longe’ a membe’ a’ our family n’ dus has no right ta da farm.”, Brigid said, mimicking her grandfather’s voice. “Da’s why she pulled dose stunts durin’ Thanksgivin’ n’ Christmas. She was hopin’ ta get back in me good graces because da price a’ land has shot through da ceilin’ since den.”

“Wait, how much is the land worth?”

“It was some‘hin’ ‘round $3,500,000 last time Ah checked, n’ da farm makes an average a’ $100,000. We get eighty percent a’ dat.”

Sunset just stood there in stunned silence. She didn’t know a lot of this world’s finances, but she knew that was a lot. So, that’s why that bitch comes all the way up from Florida to bug us.

“Okay, the finance lesson is over. It’s time for breakfast.”, Anzhong said.

“Great, what are we having?”, Emi asked.

“I thought I’d try something traditional. We have boxty in the pan or potato pancakes, bacon, eggs, and black pudding.”

“Dis looks delicious, Anzhong, but if Ah find ya boiled da bacon, y’r on da couch.”

“That’s not going to be an issue. I’ve tried it once, and I’m not trying it again.”

“Who would boil bacon?”, Emi asked.

“People who had no other way a’ insuring da food was safe ta eat, but considering dat’s not da case taday, Ah have no idea why anybody would still do it. Me fathe’ would boil all da flavor out a’ da bacon n’ cabbage. When he was done, da wate’ would be more flavorful n’ nutritious.”

“Ick”, both girls said.

“He would den slathe’ every‘hin’ in butte n’ salt ta try ta pu da flavor back.”

“Stop, stop, you’re gonna male me lose my appetite.”, Sunset said. “And that’s really saying something, coming from you.”, Emi added. Sunset displayed her tongue to Emi, a gesture, Sunset had learned, was meant to show disrespect but in a more teasing way.

Once everybody was done, Sunset and Emi helped Anzhong with the dishes while Brigid got stuff for the day together.

“Dad, will you be coming with us?”, Emi asked.

“I’m afraid not. I’m allergic to horses.”

That caught Sunset off guard. Would this be considered ironic? I wonder if he’d have an allergic reaction if he went through the portal? Would going though take away his allergy, or are Equestrias and Earth horses different enough that he won’t have a reaction?

“I’ll be doing some repairs on the house. The O’Apples did a good job keeping the place from falling in on itself, but quite a few repairs need to be done still.”

Once the dishes were taken care of, Sunset and Emi met their mother on the front porch. In the distance, Sunset could see Fergus riding in on a horse and leading two other horses. “Mom, you said that we are going to patrol the property. Wouldn’t it be better to take a car?”, Sunset asked.

“Where we’re goin’ is completely inaccessible by car. Dere are a lot a’ areas where a car would get stuck in da dirt or where da paths are too narrow. Dat’s why we’re using horses.”

“Okay”, Sunset said with some trepidation. Sunset knew Earth horses were not sapient, but the idea of riding what was, essentially, her cousin still felt weird. As Fergus approached the porch, Sunset could see that all three horses were Irish Cobs. A docile breed and not easily spooked. Perfect for first time riders. Sunset had been doing extensive research into horses and ponies of this world. A lot of it, Sunset found disturbing, but it was also fascinating how similar these alien ponies were.

“Howya, Brigid!”, Fergus greeted.

“Howya, Fergus. Dose are some beauts ya got dere!”

“Well, dey should be. Dey are descendants a’ Caoimhe (kwee-va).”

“Aw, Ah’m glad ta know she had some foals.”

“Who’s Caoimhe?”, Sunset asked.

“Caoimhe was me horse. Ah raised her n’ even helped ‘er mum give birth ta ‘er. Trust me, ya don’t eve’ want ta have ta help a horse give birth. It’s not fun f’r any party.”

Fortunately for Sunset, she’d never had to before, but unfortunately for Sunset, she had to see it happen. “Yeah, I don’t need ta trust ya on that one.”

“Okay ladies, dese are Saoirse (ser-sha) n’ Niamh (neev). Dey will take good care a’ ya. Da barn’s fully stocked, so ya c’n jus’ hang onta ‘em while y’re here. I’ll see ya late’.” Fergus secured the horses and then rode off back to his house.

“See ya, Fergus.”, Brigid said then turned back to the girls. “Emi, y’ll be ridin’ with me.”

“Why can’t Ah ride on my own?”, Emi whined.

“Because not even Ah was ridin’ on me own at y’r age. Sunset, have ya eve’ ridden a horse before?”

Yes, and I recommend it. It took all of Sunset’s willpower to not lose her poker face. Brigid wasn’t dumb, and she’d likely ask how Sunset knew that euphemism. Sunset could add that to the linguistic similarities between the worlds. “No”

“Alrighty den, ridin’ a horse is fairly simple, but it c’n be very dangerous if ya fall off. Cobs don’t get spooked easily, but dey still c’n be spooked. If y’r horse does get spooked, hold onta da saddle as tight as ya c’n. - Emi, are ya listenin’?”

“Yes”

“Good, dis is very important f’r y’r safety. Cobs c’n weigh anywhere between 1,100 ta 1,700 pounds n’ c’n kick hard enough ta kill ya. If ya do fall off, first get y’rself ta safety. Da safest place ta be is ta da side n’ away from da horse. Second, call f’r help. Head, neck, n’ spine injuries are common, n’ falling off c’n leave ya paralyzed. Once y’r safe, limit movement as much as possible, especially of y’r neck. Me eldest uncle died because he fell off his horse. Da fall resulted in a neck fracture, n’ da moment he turned his head, he completely broke his neck. Best not ta move y’r neck at all after an accident.”

“Sweet Celestia”, Sunset said under her breath.

“Next, neve’ stand directly behind a horse. Horses c’n’t see ya back dere, n’ it makes ‘em nervous. Ya got all dat?”

“Yep”, both girls said.

“Good, now put these on.” Brigid handed each of the girls a riding helmet. “Sunset, Ah want ta have ya ride ‘round a little before we get goin’. Let’s get ya on a horse.”

“Are you sure they are okay with this?”, Sunset asked.

“Horses may not be da most intelligent creatures on da planet, but dey will let ya know if dey don’t like some‘hin’. Think a’ dis like deir job. Jus’ like Anzhong n’ Ah get paid ta do our work, horses are housed, fed, n’ given medical care in exchange f’r doin’ deir job. Admittedly, dey c’n’t choose deir job, but neither can a lot a’ humans. Plus, Ah know f’r a fact dat da O’Apples spoil deir horses.”

“Okay then” Brigid helped Sunset onto Saoirse and instructed her on the commands and how to give them. After having Sunset ride around a bit, Brigid grabbed the stuff she gathered, handed Sunset a couple of the things, and got herself and Emi on Niamh. One of the items she was carrying looked kind of like a gun but larger and longer. She had it slung across her back similarly to how pegasi would carry their crossbows. “Mom, what’s that?”

“Hm, dis?” Brigid pointed to the item in question. “Dis is me rifle. It’s a type a’ gun.”

“How many types a’ guns are there?”

“Dere are a few. Dere are pistols, which is what y’r familiar with, shotguns, rifles, mini guns, n’ machine guns, n’ dere are many more types a’ guns within those groups. Ah really do need ta teach ya how ta shoot soon.”

“Can we go already?”, Emi whined.

“Alright, alright, let’s get goin’.”, Brigid said.

With that, they were off. Even though the country was very beautiful, it looked mostly the same. There would be patches of trees here and there, but it was mostly fields and sprawling green hills. Once upon a time, Ireland was absolutely covered in woodlands and forests, but now, deforestation has left a mere 11% of the country forested. Fergus had provided them with a list of which animals should be in which pen and how many of them there should be. Brigid and Emi would count up the animals while Sunset would check for holes in the fencing. Thanks to this system, it didn’t take them long to reach the edge of the property. The entire property was “fenced” off, but it was more of a no trespassing sign and a way to keep cars out than a fence. Less than half of the “fence” was actually a fence, and it would be fairly simple for a human to climb around most of it. The rest of the “fence” was made up of natural barriers, rocks, and large logs. It was only as you got close to the houses that there was popper, high quality fencing. They had divided the “no car areas” into sections to keep track of where they had and had not checked. Even with how fast they were going, it would take a few days to check the whole area.

“Why is there so much of the property that can’t be accessed by cars?”, Sunset asked.

“Dese paths were carved before cars were considered any‘hin’ more dan a rich man’s luxury. As f’r da problems with da dirt, Ah don’t exactly know why. What Ah do know is dat da dirt is so loose dat if ya drive any‘hin’ other dan a monste’ truck or a tractor inta one a’ dose areas, ya ain’t drivin’ out.”

“Do you think we can fix those problems?”

“Theoretically, yes, but dat would cost a lot a money, make da property not look as nice and might even drop da value, doin’ so n’ drivin’ more would hurt da environment, n’ we wouldn’t be savin’ dat much money by gettin’ rid a’ da horses. In short, we could fix da problems, but we wouldn’t gain more dan we would lose.”

“Got it”

The three continued their work. When they were almost done with their current section, they found a section of the fence completely dismantled.

“Aw great, we’re gonna have ta repair that.”, Emi complained.

“Why da fuck did they even dismantle it? The thing’s like four feet tall and only meant ta keep livestock in.”, Sunset asked, aggravated.

“One ‘hin’ ya learn workin’ with da public, people are stupid. Can ya two put it back tagethe’? Ah’m gonna make sure whoeve’ did ‘his isn’t still on da property. Ah won’t be too far, so ya c’n shout if ya need me.”, Brigid said.

“Sure”, both girls said.

Sunset and Emi hopped off their horses, and Brigid rode off. Sunset secured Saoirse to the fence, and the girls got to work. The task was simple. All they would have to do is plug the horizontal pieces back into the posts while righting the posts. The most challenging part would be lifting the logs. The girls quickly got to work and were done fairly quickly. Just when they finished, they heard what sounded like a group of drunken hooligans approaching. It didn’t take long for the group to come into view. Sunset pulled Emi behind herself and placed a hand over the knife strapped to her hip. The group consisted of three teenage boys and one teenage girl.

“Hey, what are ya girls doin’ here?”, one of the boys drunkenly asked.

“This is our land. You’re trespassing.”, Sunset said in the sternest voice she could manage.

“No it’s not. Dis is O’Apple land, n’ we have promotion ta be here.”, one of the other boys said.

“This is also Mac Carthaigh land, and I’m a Mac Carthaigh. I’m rescinding your promotion. You can’t be drunk on my family’s land. Get out!”, Sunset ordered.

“Ya c’n’t tell us what ta do. Who do ya think ya are?”, the girl said.

“I just told you who I am, and if you won’t get lost now, my mom is gonna escort you out at rifle point.”

“Oh, really, n’ where’s y’r mum?”, boy number 3 asked.

“Ah’m right behind ya.”, Brigid bellowed. Brigid sat one top of Niamh, pointing the rifle at the group's feet. The four idiots seemed to have sobered up some after realizing that they were, in fact, going to be escorted out by rifle.

“W-we were jus’ leavin’.”, boy number one said. The four bolted for the fence and hopped over. Luckily, they were smart enough to not dismantle it this time.

“Is stuff like this gonna happen every time we go on vacation?”, Emi asked.

Not having a good answer for her, Sunset and Brigid said nothing, and Brigid motioned for Emi to get back on. Sunset and Emi remounted their steeds, both wanting to get this job over with.

Mac Carthaigh farmhouse
Date: same day, time: 6:00 pm

*Anzhong’s perspective*

“And you didn’t shoot them because?”, Anzhong asked Brigid.

“They never actually threatened us.”, Sunset said. Her father was, to say the least, not happy hearing about a bunch of drunk trespassers coming so close to his daughters. “They just acted stupid. Plus, I had a weapon.”

“Dere was also da problem a’ me bein’ on da opposite side a’ da drunkards ta da girls, but if dey had done any‘hin’ ta threaten ‘em, Ah c’n assure ya dat dey would’ve been catchin’ led.”

“Who were they anyway?”, Emi asked.

“No clue. Ah’ll asked Fergus ‘bout ‘em tamorrah.”, Brigid said.

SHWO ch33 Ireland arc part 2

Mac Carthaigh farmhouse
Date: July 14th, time: some bumfuck hour

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset woke up with a groan. Looking out the window, Sunset saw that it was late in the night. Well, time to figure out what woke me up. Sunset sat up and rubbed her eyes. Hmm, not my bladder. So, what the hell woke me? Sunset wasn’t exactly a light sleeper, so this was odd. Sunset looked around the room. When her search reached the closet, she saw a tall, black figure. Despite how terrifying this sight should be, Sunset wasn’t scared. “Hello?”, Sunset asked. The figure walked closer. As it got closer, Sunset began to be able to make out the figure’s features. “Riona”, Sunset said in astonishment. Riona stopped and looked down at the ground. Sunset got out of bed and walked over to where Riona was standing. Looking down where Riona was looking, Sunset didn’t see anything at first, but after analyzing the floorboards, she found one with a niche just big enough for a finger. Sunset bent down and removed the floorboard. Under the floorboard was a small chest. Sunset removed the chest and sat down to examine it. Inside the small chest was a red-gold locket, a ring, some other pieces of jewelry, and some pictures. Riona picked up the wedding ring and placed it into Sunset’s hand then disappeared. The ring had a thick band with a celtic knot carved out of it and a ruby shaped into a heart recessed into it.

Sunset opened up the locket. It had a picture of Brigid, her parents, and her siblings. Brigid, her brother, and her father were the only ones in the picture with red hair, but the rest still had puffy, curly hair, especially Fiadh (fee-a). Everyone else had brown. Brigid was the only one with blue eyes, Nicholas and Meabh (Maeve) had green, and every one else had reddish brown. Brigid, Fiadh(14 ATD), and Meabh(11 ATD) were almost identical to Riona, and Clancy(16 ATD) was almost identical to Nicholas(46 ATD). The other side had a picture of Nana with her family: Great Grandpappy Hugo(67ATD), who had brown hair and reddish brown eyes; Great Nana Mairead(65 ATD) (mi-rade), who had white hair and gray eyes; Great Uncle Garret(16 ATD), who had brown hair and gray eyes and was the oldest; Nana(45 ATD) was second oldest; Pristine, who, to Sunset’s surprise, was originally a clone of her mother and absolutely gorgeous It’s like she did everything she could to distance herself from her family.; Great Uncle Nolan(43 ATD), who had brown hair and blue eyes; and Great Aunt Fiona(43 ATD), who had white hair and blue eyes and was the youngest. Turning over the locket, Sunset found the message “For my little queen of love. -Father” was written in Gaeilge.

Looking through the other pictures, Sunset found that they were of the Mac Carthaigh family going back several generations. Sunset didn’t recognize anyone past her Great Grandparents. One of the pictures had Nolan, his wife, Nessa(44 ATD), and their kids, Conor(18 ATD), Brion(15 ATD), Niall(14 ATD) (niel), Roisin(9 ATD) (ro-sheen), and Cara(6 ATD). Another picture had Fiona, her husband, Grady(47 ATD), and their kids, Fionn(20 ATD), Donovan(16 ATD), and Clodagh(15 ATD). Two more of the pictures were the ones Riona had in her locket. “How can anybody slaughter an entire family? How can someone slaughter their brother’s family? All this hate for a family whose only crime was loving and caring for others. Uhg, people are shit.”

Mac Carthaigh farmhouse
Date: same day, time: 6:00 am

*Brigid’s perspective*

“Sunset, time ta get up!” Brigid pounded on the door.

“Grrr”

“Ah know, but we need ta get ta work.” Brigid walked down to the kitchen where Anzhong was making breakfast. Brigid went to sit at the table.

“Emi!”, Sunset shouted. “Ya snooze, ya lose, sucker.”, Emi retorted. “I’m gonna get you for this!” Sunset ran down the stairs and out the door. Brigid chuckled in amusement.

After a couple of minutes, Sunset ran back inside and back upstairs. Soon, Sunset ran back downstairs with something in her hands. Wait- “Sunset, where did ya find that? Ah thought it was stolen.”, Brigid said in astonishment.

“I found it under one of the floorboards in my room. I guess it used to be Nana and Grandpappy’s room.”

“It was. Were ya really scrutinizing da floorboards in y’r room?”

“No, Nana showed me where it was.”

“Ya saw Nana?”

“I did, and I think she specifically wanted me to find this.” Sunset held out a locket that Brigid immediately recognized. “I think she wanted to make sure you got this. On the back it says “For my little queen of love. I guess now that Nana’s dead, that’s you.”

Brigid took the locket and held it to her heart. “Ah was always called da princess a’ love. Can Ah see da box, Sunset?”

Sunset handed the box to Brigid. “Oh, one other thing.” Sunset reached into her pocket and pulled out a ring. “Nana put this in my hand.”

“Dat’s the Mac Carthaigh ring. It’s been passed down through da Mac Carthaigh clan f’r generations. It was me mothe’s ring n’ her grandmothe’ before her. It was always given ta da eldest male ta prepose ta his wife, until me mum. Da ruby represents good fortune, courage, love, passion, n’ raw emotion. Da knot represents eternity n’ loyalty. Whoeve’ gets ta put da ring on y’r finger is goin’ ta be very lucky.”

“If this is a Mac Carthaigh heirloom, shouldn’t it go to Emi?”

“Sunset, dis ring goes ta da eldest Mac Carthaigh child. Dat’s ya, no matte’ whose blood runs through y’r veins, n’ Ah guess dat makes ya da next princess a’ love.” Despite what Brigid said, Sunset still looked unsure. “How ‘bout we put it back into da box f’r now, n’ when we get back ta da states, we c’n get ya y’r own jewelry box?”

“Sure” Sunset handed the ring to Brigid, and Brigid placed the ring and the locket back into the box. Emi’s footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. “Took you long enough. What the hell were you doing in there for so long?”, Sunset said, aggravated.

“That’s none of your business.”, Emi said, crossing her arms and turning her head away.

“Emi, did ya fix whateve’ broke?”, Brigid asked.

“Yes”

“Good, because breakfast is ready.”, Anzhong said.

O’Apple barn
Date: same day, time: 4:00 pm

Don't read this while eating

*Sunset’s perspective*

If Sunset had to say which farm job was the crappiest, she would say it was the one she’s stuck doing now, and this was not something that could not be debated as she was literally shoveling horse crap. Sunset initially felt insulted when her mother told her about how instead of getting grounded, Mac Carthaigh and O’Apple children would be put on shoveling duty, but now that she was stuck with it, she was less insulted and could see why it was so effective. They had their own version back home called compost duty where you were responsible for taking care of everything compost related. It wasn’t a punishment, but if you slacked on your responsibilities, you got an extra week added to your turn. When there was nobody that needed grounding, it would be whoever messed up the most or did XYZ embarrassing thing or drew the short straw. Sunset was in that last category, but the other kids on doody duty, as Emi likes to call it, Honeycrisp(17) and Pazazz(16), were in the first category. Apparently, those drunkards from yesterday were their friends, and they invited them over. A good thing did come out of that incident. Because their shenanigans had directly affected Sunset, she was appointed forewoman. That means she got to boss them around and make them do the really nasty stuff, like chipping away at the stuff fused to the floor or scooping the really runny stuff. Even with that being the case, Sunset would gladly switch with Emi, who was helping Dad fix up the house.

Their job consisted of them scooping the crap onto a designated trailer. The driver would then take the trailer to this hole in the ground filled with a crap soup. The trailer contents would be added to the soup, and the soup will be used to make manure. On a farm, everything gets reused.

Honeycrisp and Pazazz spent just as much time complaining as they did working. Sunset had to tell them to shut up and get back to work on multiple occasions. She even had to get Envy, their mother, to get them to listen to her instructions. It had gotten to the point she would come check on them just so she could tell the boys to behave. It boggled Sunset’s mind that these farm boys could be just as entitled as Equestrian nobles. Holstein, their father, speculates it has to do with the crowd they hang around with. Apparently, going out into the countryside and trespassing onto private property in order to illegally drink was on the lower end of the list of criminal activities they would do. These two were raised in the same environment as Jonagold, Gravenstein, and Winesap, but they turned out completely differently. Jonagold, Gravenstein, and Winesap were the kindest and most honest people one could hope to know. Envy and Holstein were hard working and respectful. It really does go to show how much those you choose to associate yourself with really do have an incredible impact on yourself.

Honeycrisp and Pazazz had stopped working again. Sunset turned to face them, shovel aimed at the boys. “If you two don’t get back to work, you’re gonna be shoveling with y’r hands.”, Sunset said in her most commanding tone.

“Ya know what, no. Y’r jus’ a wee kid. Ya c’n’t make us do any‘hin’.”, Honeycrisp said.

“I may not, but y’r mom can, and she’ll be back soon. So, unless you want to get another talking to from her, get back to work.”

“Fine”, Honeycrisp quickly said.

The speed at which he agreed made Sunset suspicious but turned to get back to work anyway. Before Sunset could start scooping, she was pushed from behind and landed with her arms and face submerged in crap. She quickly extricated herself, but her face and hands were still covered in crap. Sunset quickly began to wipe the crap from her hands, mouth, eyes, and nose. The boys were laughing at her. They had purposely pushed her and were now laughing.

This would normally be where Sunset blacked out and attacked her assailants, but since Anzhong suggested she had PTSD, Sunset had been researching and learning about her condition. She had since learned that she is indeed suffering from what the humans call “post traumatic stress disorder”, a condition referred to as common cowardice by the higher ranking members of Equestrian society, and her black outs were a defense mechanism to prevent further trauma. Now knowing what was wrong, Sunset had used meditation in hopes to regain control of her mind. Now was the time to see if her work paid off.

Sunset regained control of her breathing and stood up. She had not blacked out yet. Sunset turned to the boys. During her research, Sunset also learned about the four human threat responses: fight, flight, freeze, friend. These responses existed within Equestrians too, but they leaned more towards flight or friend, whereas humans leaned more towards fight or freeze. Sunset knew which option she leaned towards more. Sunset jumped on the closest boy, who happened to be Pazazz. Pazazz toppled to the ground, with Sunset on top of him. Sunset bared her teeth at him with a snarl. Her canines were long and prominent, a fact Pazazz was now acutely aware of. Sunset slipped one of her shuko on and grabbed Pazazz’s throat. The fear in his eyes intensified as he felt the metal spikes make contact with his skin. “I believe I got my point across.”, Sunset said with cold venom.

“Ye-yes ma’am.”, Pazazz stuttered in fear.

Sunset stood and turned to face the older brother. At no point did he try to come help his brother, he froze. This fact angered Sunset more than that he was an entitled brat. Even though they did not share blood, Sunset’s brain was hardwired to protect Emi. She was her older sister. It was her duty. This khange khodah, as the farsi would put it, just stood there while his brother was being threatened. Sunset glared at him with enough hatred that she knew he felt it. “Go n-ithe an cat thu, is go n-ithe an diabhal an cat.”, Sunset told Honeycrisp and then stormed off.

Sunset walked to the hose and sprayed herself off. It took a while because she was shaking like naked chihuahua in winter. She wanted to go back to their house and take the longest, hottest, most soap filled shower she had ever taken, but the boys might take that as her running away, as weakness. She needed to show them that, despite the age gap, she was dominant. Humans were creatures that respected strength, and it was time for Sunset to show that she was the stronger one.

As soon as she got her shaking under control, Sunset marched back into the O’Apple barn. The boys were back at work. They were most likely told to stop acting the maggot by their mother. The boys froze and looked at each other when Sunset walked in. Sunset was not 100% sure if it was because she had successfully shown her dominance, or it was because they were surprised to see her. Maybe it was both. Sunset fixed the boys with a steely glare. “Get back to work.”, she ordered. The boys quickly averted their gaze and continued working. These boys are truly cowardly. Sunset grabbed her shovel and continued her work.

It took them another half an hour to finish their work. It had gone a lot faster after the boys stopped “taking breaks” every five minutes. Sunset’s first mission was to get into the shower and scrub every part of herself until she felt clean again. After that was to get something to get the smell out of her nose. It was unreal how bad it smelled. According to Brigid, the smell comes from gut bacteria that gets passed along with the waste, and that every mammal has these gut bacteria. The reason Sunset hadn’t noticed the smell before was that human toilets were designed to contain the smell, horse poop has a particularly pungent odor to it, and nobody thinks their own crap stinks. Apparently, gut bacteria is absolutely necessary in order for Earth mammals to digest their food. Clearly the Equestrian digestive system was different to Earth mammals as Equestrian crap doesn’t have a noticeably pungent smell. Sunset added this to the biological differences she would need to study. Although, that would likely involve bringing human technology to Equestria, as ponies haven’t discovered microorganisms yet. Her last mission was to, hopefully, get her hands on some alcohol. Sunset was not sure she didn’t ingest any crap and wanted to sterilize her mouth, as much as you can sterilize a human mouth. The problem with that last mission is that her parents might not allow her to. Sunset knew the drinking age for humans was over the age of the group from yesterday, but never checked the exact age as she was never much of a drinker. Equestrian society, as a whole, was not opposed to alcohol, but the warrior class was. Drinking alcohol is outright forbidden in most pegasi cities. The reasons range from completely reasonable, like flying and cloud walking while drunk is bad, to being a holdover of the pre-Equestrian era religion of Po’haidism. The Equestrian drinking age was fifteen, roughly equivalent to a human eighteen year old. It would make sense for the human drinking age to be eighteen. Well, I’ll find out soon.

Sunset mounted Saoirse and rode back to the Mac Carthaigh house. After securing Saoirse in the barn, Sunset ran inside and straight into the shower. When Sunset was done, it was past 6:00 pm. She entered her room and plopped down on her bed. The smell was no longer burned into her nostrils, but she still felt paranoid about having gotten shit in her mouth. Sunset decided the sooner she took care of that, the better. Once she was finished drying herself and had gotten dressed, Sunset went down stairs. Brigid and Emi were nowhere to be seen, but Anzhong sat at the table, reading a book. Fat chance of sneaking anything past him. Unlike their house, the Mac Carthaigh farmhouse had no basement. Here, the alcohol was kept in a rack above the sink. Looks like I’m gonna have ta ask him. Well, if I fail, I could always wash my mouth out with soap. Sunset walked over to where Anzhong was sitting. She stood behind him, waiting to see how long it would take for him to sense her. Her stealth had gotten to the point where she could sneak up on Brigid without even meaning to. Even with that being the case, it only took Anzhong a few seconds to detect Sunset.

“Hello, Sunset.”

“Hey Dad, can I get an alcoholic drink?”

“Sure”

Wait, what?

“You weren’t expecting that answer, were you?”, Anzhong said, knowingly.

“I was not. Alcohol consumption is highly restricted in my culture, if not outright banned.”

“That is also true here and in America, but the laws are a bit more nuanced than just ‘no’. In certain states, including Maine, minors can consume alcohol so long as they are in their own home and are being watched over by their parents. I’ll get you some sake.” Anzhong got up to do just that while Sunset took a seat at the table. Returning with the sake, Anzhong poured a glass for Sunset and himself.

Sunset had long since become familiar with sake. It was her parents' alcohol of choice. They had never expressed why this was, but Sunset theorized it had to do with sake not having a strong smell. During the few times Sunset saw them drinking other types of alcoholic beverages, she had seen them both scrunch up their noises, an action meant to limit olfactory intake without straight up plugging the structure. Both had mentioned, in the past, that their functioning senses were stronger than the average human. A predicament Sunset could sympathize with. Sunset took a large sip and swished it around her mouth. After swallowing, Sunset compared it to other alcohols she had tasted. Rice was not something found on Equoes, as far as anypony knew, along with wheat and potatoes. The closest thing that Sunset could compare it to was the hcena seed in its early stages of development, but those are more jelly-like and bigger. This sake was mango flavored. Sunset remembered the time she first discovered strawberries, bananas, and mangoes existed on Earth. She had accompanied Brigid to the grocery store and was introduced to the marvel that was the produce aisle. It was the first time she truly felt happy after coming to Earth. The sake still tasted like rice, white rice to be exact. We are ingesting a poison. It’s not like anyone’s gonna care about the nutritional loss. By alcoholic beverage standards, Sunset liked mango flavored sake. However, Sunset was still not a big fan of the taste or smell of alcohol.

“Not that bad.”, Sunset said.

“I figured that you would like the mango one.”

“Why is it you and Mom don’t drink beer, wine, or much of the stronger drinks? There are much wider selections of everything else.”

“Beer’s nasty and has less alcohol in it than my left toe, wine’s smell is too strong, and the alcohol drowns out the taste in everything else.”

“My theory wasn’t that far off then.”

“I love that you have such an analytical mind.” It was about a minute before Anzhong spoke again. “Sunset, do you watch teen sitcoms?”

“You mean shows like “Witches of Wave Street”? Some.”

“Then you know that in those shows, the characters will get themselves into potentially dangerous situations and not tell their parents in fear of being punished. Sunset, I want you to know that if you get yourself into any situation that you can’t handle, you don’t need to fear coming to us for help. Our main concern is keeping you safe.”

“Thank you, Dad.” -- “Honeycrisp and Pazazz pushed me into a pile of horse shit while we were cleaning the barn, and I pounced on Pazazz.”

“Well, I guess we know what we’re doing first thing tomorrow.”

Farm pastures
Date: July 15th, time: 10:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Today was the last day they were going to be patrolling the property. Once they were done, the rest of the property could be patrolled by car. The area they were in mostly held sheep. Sunset couldn’t remember for sure if sheep existed in Equestria or not. Sunset was leaning more towards “not”. There was no way she could forget such adorable creatures, but then again, it could be that she's only perceiving them as cute now that she’s a human. Sunset had noticed an interesting phenomena. She had begun viewing humans as more attractive than odd and pony as more cute than attractive. She could still think of some mares and stallions she found attractive, but over all, Equoes ponies brought about emotions more akin to those she felt when viewing a dog. This was a new development too. Six months ago, she still found Equestrians very attractive. It would appear that certain neurological changes are gradual.

The sheep used to be allowed to roam around the property as they pleased, but about five years ago, “animal rights activists” started stealing the animals and releasing them “back into the wild”. What those idiots failed to realize is that cows are aggressive, chickens could easily be eaten by anything, and sheep will first become blinded by their wool, then immobilized, and then starve to deathwithout humans to shear it off. Pigs are able to survive without humans, but they are an invasive species. Because of that, all the animals were put into pens and brought further away from the roads. The pens are massive, so the animals care little about the change.

As Sunset rode around one of the pens, she noticed that one of the lambs was outside it. Sunset dismounted and went over to pick up the lamb. The creature had very little wool due to its young age. Sunset began to pet the lamb. It seemed to enjoy it. Walking to the gate, Sunset soon found how the young one got out. There was a small hole in the fence. It was barely any larger than the lamb. Luckily, the other sheep seemed to not be aware of it. Sunset continued walking over to the gate. Once she got there, she went to put the lamb down in order to open the gate, but when she tried, the lamb began to cry out in protest. “I need ta put ya down.”, Sunset tried to explain to the lamb. As she tried to put the lamb down again, it made its displeasure with that action clear again. “You’re not making it easy for me ta do my job.” Sunset tried again, but the lamb's cries seemed to pull at something deep inside Sunset that prevented her from putting it down. Sunset was impressed by the human ability to quickly bond with another being, one of a different species no less. Undoubtedly, the creature’s age helped it in that regard.

That was not to say ponies are incapable of doing the same, Spitfire’s (and arguably her own) existences are evidence to that, but ponies that can, or are willing to, drastically decrease the closer to Canterlot you go, and ponies like her mother are all but unheard of anywhere except for along Equestria’s borders. The only reason why they live in Equestria’s heart of prejudice was because that’s where her parents were stationed when Mom got her injury, and after that, Canterlot was one of the few places Mom could get the medical help she needed, and she was too weak to move away. Eventually, they just got used to it, and she and Spitfire passed well enough.

Sunset was pulled back to reality by a headbutt from the lamb. She had apparently stopped petting it. “Spoiled little cunt.” Mustering up all her will power, Sunset placed the lamb on the ground. It fussed, and once Sunset put it down, it began “pawing” at her boot. She quickly opened the gate and placed the lamb back inside of the pen. The lamb gave her a sad look but bounded off back to its family. Sunset quickly grabbed the fence repair stuff from Saoirse and went back to the hole. The fence consisted of two parts, a standard wooden fence and added chicken wiring due to the sheep’s smaller size. The chicken wire was the part that was broken, and it was broken in a way where there was a flap of sorts. This was easy to fix. All Sunset had to do was bend the flap back into place and then use the spool of wire and tweezers she was provided with to “stitch” it closed. This would not take longer than a few minutes. When Sunset was about half way done, the same little lamb came bounding up to her. Sunset could tell it was the same one because it had a little scar on its nose. It would not surprise Sunset if it got the scar from squeezing through a past hole. “Sorry, but you are gonna have ta find a new hole.” The lamb didn’t seem to react, but Sunset could see something along the lines of a conniving glint in its eyes. This one’s gonna be trouble.

Mac Carthaigh farmhouse
Date: same day, time: 3:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset, Brigid, and Emi rode back to the Mac Carthaigh barn. When they got there, they saw Anzhong working on something outside the barn. He was wearing a high quality filtration mask over his nose and mouth. Ki was sitting in front of the door, watching Honeycrisp and Pazazz. After she had recounted the events of the barn incident, Anzhong suggested a suitable punishment for the boys was to help him do repairs inside their barn. Envy and Holstein wholeheartedly agreed. They were a bit freaked out when the boys gave their side of the story but were calmed a bit when it was explained that shuko were climbing tools. Given that the boys were still working, the ladies decided to put the horses out to pasture.

Sunset debated going into the barn and giving them a proper scare but decided against it. Her parents would likely deem that as unnecessarily cruel, and Sunset would be disciplined. Brigid walked over to Azhong. Sunset couldn’t hear what they were saying, and they never got all that animated while talking to each other; so, Sunset couldn’t guess what they were talking about that way.

Emi came walking out of the barn, carrying two horse brushes with her. She handed one of the brushes to Sunset, and the girls got to work bushing the horses. Despite her initial discomfort with this arrangement, these horses were clearly living comfortable lives, and they didn’t seem to have a problem with it. Come to think of it, I know a couple Equestrians that would pay money to be in these horses’ position. Of course, a different kind of riding would be involved. Sunset paused at that thought and slowly turned to stare Saoirse in her black, beady eye. Saoirse was looking off into the distance, not paying Sunset any mind. “I’m watching you.”, Sunset said, almost inaudibly. Saoirse showed no reaction.

SHWO ch34 Ireland arc part 3: the Mac Carthaigh clan

*Flashback Dream*

Mac Carthaigh farmhouse
Date: Jan 6th, 1995, time: 6:00 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid and her family were sitting down for dinner. Even with twenty people at the table, there were still a few seats empty. Despite what has become commonplace in media, pop culture, and in big cities, life on a farm meant lunch was the big meal of the day, and dinner was just meant to hold you over until breakfast. The sun had already set by then, and it was pitch black outside. The house didn’t have any electricity and was only lit by oil lamps and the burning heating stove. Everyone was chatting, teasing, and enjoying the meal. Clancy and Brigid were having a mini sparring match and having a friendly game of one-upmanship. Clancy bragged about how he could wrestle a hog covered in grease, and Brigid challenged him to prove that brag.

“Fine den. Tomarrah, at sunset, ya bring da grease, n’ Ah’ll show ya jus’ how awesome Ah am.”, Clancy said.

“Y’re on, n’ afte’ y’re humiliatin’ y’rself and fail, Ah get ta hose ya down - with da pressure nosile.”, Brigid retorted.

“Ya mean, once Ah prove me awesomeness n’ succeed, ya gotta take me next laundry chore.”

Brigid eyed him in a way he knew ment she was aiming. A smile grew on his face, as wide as the Cheshire cat’s. Brigid was their best shooter when it came to guns but not when it comes to hurling food. Clancy knew he could dodge anything Brigid threw at him. Brigid grabbed a handful of mashed potatoes and threw them as hard as she could. Clancy ducked out of the way, and the mashed potatoes found their new mark in the form of Clodagh's hair.

“Brigid, what da hell!? Do ya know how hard it is ta get - any‘hin’ out a hair as thick as mine?”, Clodagh asked. Out of everyone at the table, Clodagh had the thickest hair and thus, was the hardest to maintain. She took great pride in her hair, and everyone could see why. Her hair flowed like the river she was named after and was whiter than the clouds in the sky. Clodagh was the most beautiful member of their family and the Meagher family (her father’s family), who got their name from their beauty. Her eyes were crystal blue and even looked like crystals. Like everybody else at the table, her skin was tanned from working outside all day, but hers tanned in such a way that makes it look like her skin is partially made of gold, and her freckles frame her face perfectly. Her facial features struck the perfect balance between soft and firm. She was also tall, even by Mac Carthaigh standards, and the kind of well built that comes from farm work. It was no wonder she wanted to become a model.

“Sorry, Ah’ll help ya get it out afte’ dinne’.”, Brigid said.

“Did ya know Marilyn Monroe once wore a potato sack to prove ta a critic dat it wasn’t da nice clothes dat made ‘er look beautiful?”, Conor asked. Conor always was a brainiac. He had hundreds of random facts floating around in that brain of his, and he knew just about everything about chemistry and agriculture. It was no wonder he was accepted into Cambridge. His dream was to create an environmentally friendly pesticide.

“Yes, Ah did know dat. Ya’ve told me dat fact twelve times already.”, Clodagh said in a slightly annoyed tone.

“Did Ah?” Conor didn’t pick up on Clodagh’s tone. His autism made that difficult for him. He could also be forgetful when the subject wasn’t about a random fact, chemistry, or agriculture.

“Don’t you even think about it.”, Aunt Nessa said.

Turning her head, Brigid saw Cara frozen in place, with her hand about to grab some of her mashed potatoes. Cara pulled her hand back under the table and gave an “innocent” smile.

“She takes afte’ her mum.”, Mum said. Nessa narrowed her eyes at Mum “Are you calling me a troublemaker?”. “If da shoe fits.” “That sounds like the pot calling the kettle black.” “Are ya callin’ me a troublemaker?” “If the shoe fits, wear it.” “Did ya seriously use da whole phrase?” “Yes, because when speaking proper English, you say the whole phrase.” “Ba, y’r from South London. Ah’d hardly call dat Queen’s English territory.” Their banter continued on for a bit more. As antagonistic to each other as they might sound, they actually love each other very dearly. They’re both just very witty women and have a bit of a rivalry going on.

Dad and Uncle Nolan were talking tractor maintenance and what that odd sound one of the tractors was making could mean. Fiadh was letting Roisin play with her hair. Donovan was proving to Fionn that he had chest hair, and Fionn was playfully mocking him about him still being his baby brother. Donovan hated being called a baby. Niall was keeping to himself. This was something he normally did. None of them minded and accepted that he liked to be left alone. Aunt Fiona was critiquing Brion’s cooking. Brion was learning how to cook and had been saying that he wanted to be a professional chef. Brigid thought that he was well on his way of doing just that but also thought that he still put too much salt in the gravy. Meabh was off in her own world. She would daydream a lot. Grady was, once again, making these nasty food combinations that he says are good. Everybody has just learned to just ignore it, and he has learned to stop offering his creations to other people. Grady was an odd and, to be blunt, dumb one to be sure but still very lovable. Everyone was just glad that all his kids got their mother’s brains and only a few of his odd tendencies, especially the ones relating to food. At least Grady was aware enough to recognize his own “inadequacies”. “Ah’m lucky Ah’m pretty” was a phrase he would often say, and everyone had to agree. He was very pretty.

Brigid looked at her Grandparents. They were looking on at everyone with pride in their eyes, and Brigid knew exactly what they were thinking. This is their family. This is their legacy. This was the fruits of their work. They took their families' failing farms and breathed new life into them. When the rest of their families gave up, they pushed on and made this farm profitable. They built this house with their own hands and raised four children any parents would be proud of. Brigid’s thoughts turned to Pristine. Her brain mus’ be wired wrong. She was raised da same as da rest a’ her siblin’s. Dere’s no othe’ way ta explain ‘er “mess”.

Things are going to get really dark and gory. If you don’t think you can handle it, skip to the next section. You won’t miss anything crucial to the plot. This was hard for me to write, and I wrote the Platinum Wood stuff without batting an eye.

Soon dinner was done, and everyone was helping to clean up. Something that deeply annoyed every Mac Carthaigh and O’Conaill woman is that, in every other family they knew, the women cooked and cleaned while the men did “men stuff”. Even Grandpappy expected that to be the case when he and Nana first got married. Well, let’s just say that a bit of ball squeezing and a threat of going back to being Ms. O’Conaill got Grandpappy to rethink his stance on that matter. Nana really was as strong as a wolf. With twenty people helping, the clean up was quick.

“Dad, dere’s someone coming down da road.”, Meabh said.

Everyone turned to look and saw what looked to be five cars driving down the road. Immediately, everyone was put on edge. The only thing along that road was their farm.

“Everyone, grab da guns. Brigid, Clancy, go out ta da barn n’ guard da animals.”, Grandpappy said. Without a moment’s hesitation, everyone grabbed their guns and readied themselves for the fight. Ever since the Troubles started, everyone was trained to defend themselves and the farm from anyone that might attack. Even Cara had and knew how to use a small caliber revolver. Guns were grabbed from under beds, out of closets, and off walls. Everyone took up position in windows, behind furniture, and on top of the roof. Brigid and Clancy followed their orders and ran straight out to the barn.

Once inside the barn, Clancy and Brigid stacked whatever they could to give themselves cover. Once they had cover, they positioned themselves so they were aiming through the windows on either side of the door. They couldn’t see the house from where they were, but they could hear the engines cut. The two looked at each other. Dis is fuckin’ real. Then the gun shots started. They heard rifles, shotguns, and pistols all going off. The sounds were frightening but the wait was agonizing. They had no idea what was going on. They didn’t know who was winning, who was getting hurt, or if anyone was dead. Brigid’s heart was beating in her ears, and her hands began to shake. Brigid didn’t know how long it had been, it could have been minutes or hours, but the gun fire had stopped. She thought the gun shots were scary but the silence after made her heart drop. Had they won? They had to wait for one of the others to come and get them. For all she knew, the attackers could have defeated them. If da attackers defeated dem, dat means dey’re dead. Dey could all be dead. No, hold it tagethe’, Brigid. We won’t know until someone comes ta get us. The two waited and waited. The two heard engines coming to life and cars screeching off. Then they were being shot at. The two ducked for cover as bullets sprayed in through the windows. The horses were freaking out. The sounds of gunfire, shattering glass, panicking animals, and wood breaking was deafening. Brigid closed her eyes. She tried to block out the noise, but it was too much. The moment the firing stopped, Clancy sprung up and managed to get two shots off before a bullet went straight through his skull. Brigid could only watch as her baby brother’s brain matter was expelled from his skull. There was so much blood. Clancy’s body dropped to the ground, his eyes wide open. Brigid switched to her shotgun and stayed low, waiting to ambush whoever came through those doors. The horses were still panicking, so Brigid couldn’t hear if someone was approaching. All Brigid could do while waiting for those doors to open was stare at the lifeless body of her brother. Blood drained from his head like someone spilled a bottle of beer. Little chunks of his brain were sprinkled in front of and behind his head. Brigid heard the door slide open, and the moment the person stepped inside the barn, Brigid sprung up and fired.

Brigid had fired that gun thousands of times before. She could identify it from sound alone, but this time, it sounded different. It was so much louder than it had ever been. Brigid’s ears were ringing. Seeing that she had got the person and there was no one else, Brigid lowered her gun and looked down at the person who killed her brother. Brigid’s eyes widened in horror as the identity of her brother’s killer became known to her. “Uncle Ian?” The man who lay before her now, was none other than her father’s brother. It was unmistakable. Their father’s own younger brother. Brigid climbed down from her perch and walked over to Ian.

“Why?” was all that Brigid could ask, still in disbelief over the situation.

Ian was still alive but wouldn’t be for much longer. The slug went into his lower chest. His trip to the ground caused him to lose hold of his gun, and it ended up several feet away from him. Ian looked at her with such hatred in his eyes. Ian never loved any of his brother’s children, but he never showed any of them hatred. “Because y’r family helped -huuu- da terrorists. Y’r -huuu- family has gone -huuu- against da state f’r da last time. Da -huuu- rest a’ y’r family has -huuu- been brought ta justice, and -huuu- ya will join ‘em soon. You will -huuuu- all rot in hell f’r y’r sins.”, Ian said in a raspy voice.

Absolute dread filled Brigid’s heart. Brigid ran as fast as she could to the house. On her way there, she came across the two that Clancy shot. She immediately identified them as her uncle, Jonathan, and her cousin, Matthew, but even upon seeing their bodies, Brigid did not stop. As she reached the house, the first bodies of her family she saw were of Conor and Uncle Nolan, having fallen off the roof after being shot. Their heads were bleeding from the bullet holes and from where they cracked their skulls open on the ground. Conor’s nose was completely gone.

Upon entering the house, the bodies of Nana, Grandpappy, Mum, Dad, Clodagh, Fionn, Donovan, Brion, and Uncle Crady were strewn about the living room, kitchen, and dining room. Brain matter, organ bits, bone shards, intestines, and blood, lots and lots of blood, were splattered all around the rooms and embedded in whatever the person was standing in front of. Every step sounded like Brigid was walking on wet pavement. Walking over to Clodagh, Brigid saw her beautiful face was no more. It was completely gone. The face she had once envied and despised Clodagh for having when she did not, was now nothing more than red goo and bone shards. Her gorgeous white hair, now stained red with her own blood, with the mashed potato from earlier still tangled within it. Brigid’s father was almost completely gone. The only way she could identify him was by his red hair and wedding ring. Brigid could see his intestines and spine surrounded by red goo. That red goo was once the flesh of the man who consoled her after her first breakup, the man who taught her chivalry and inspired her love for learning. Her mother’s body was in much better condition, but her ring was gone. However, Brigid was in so much shock that it barely even registered. The indomitable beacon of love and compassion, a healer of the scarred, the woman Brigid aspired to be was dead. Her face was contorted into one of pain and fear. She died unable to save the ones around her. Brigid could barely look into the eyes of the ones who still had theirs. That spark of life was just - gone. It was surreal.

It was different yet exactly the same as when she would look into the eyes of a dead animal. In all of the carnage, Brigid could tell that there were more pools of blood than there were bodies. That’s what they were doing during the silence. They were removing the bodies from the scene.

Brigid turned to the stairs. Immediately, she could see the bodies of Aunt Fiona and Aunt Nessa. Walking up the stairs and past Aunt Fiona’s and Aunt Nessa’s bodies, Brigid entered into the first bedroom facing the front yard. Inside were the bodies of Fiadh, Meabh, Niall, Roisin, and Cara. Cara's small body was all but obliterated by a shotgun blast. Their attackers used buckshot. Fiadh’s body was slumped halfway out the window with brain matter splattered behind where she was standing. Meabh’s body was lying underneath one of the beds, gun in hand, pointing at the doorway. The top part of her skull was gone. Roisin was on one of the top bunks, rifle having fallen to the ground. Out in the hallway and out front, were more messes of blood without the accompanying bodies. Clearly, her family managed to injure or kill many of the attackers, but it was also clear that some got away.

“Dey are goin’ ta die.”, Brigid said, voice distorting into that of a demon’s.

*Present day*

Mac Carthaigh farmhouse
Date: July 16th, time: 4:00 am

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid awoke in a cold sweat. A dream, jus’ a dream. Brigid ran her hands down her face and found that she was crying. Brigid sat up in bed and clutched her legs to her chest. Brigid began to weep. The weight of all the emotions and all that happened to her that day and what she became after that day came crashing down upon her once again. That day marked the day she became a monster. She became a creature fueled by anger, hatred, and a need for revenge. That day, her demon was released onto the world.

“Brigid, are you okay?”, Anzhong sleepily asked.

“No, Ah’m not okay.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Dere’s jus’ so much hatred in the world, n’ it spreads like a disease. Me family only wanted ta help dose who needed it, but because we didn’t believe in deir god n’ helped dose who didn’t believe in deir god, we were demonized f’r it. Da discrimination, da violence, da hatred, all a’ it, jus’ why? Ah jus’ can’t understand it, n’ dey spread deir hatred ta me.” Brigid was still sobbing, and Anzhong was hugging her and rubbing her back.

“You can’t understand it because you are a good person. You love everyone too much to let minor differences like religion and social class keep you from having love for them. I won’t pretend to know what you went through, but I do know that you have beaten whatever hatred they’ve spread to you.”

“It’s not dat simple, n’ Ah don’t think Ah c’n explain how.”

Mac Carthaigh farmhouse
Date: same day, time: 4:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset woke up crying. Although, she could not figure out why she was crying. Sunset checked to see if they were her own emotion, or if she was taking on someone else's. She found that these were not her own emotions. It didn’t take long for Sunset to figure out whose emotions these are. These are Mom’s emotions. She’s crying.

Mac Carthaigh family grave
Date: same day, time: 12:00 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid had brought Emi and Sunset to a small plot of land not too far away from the house but far away enough that horses were still required to get there. This is where they are all buried. Everyone that Brigid loved for the longest time, dead and in the ground.

“How, that’s a lot of graves.”, Emi said, melancholically.

“Yeah, n’ dese graves shouldn’t have been needed so soon.”, Brigid said.

Sunset didn’t respond, just continued to squeeze Brigid’s hand. “Sunset, dere is some‘hin’ ya need ta understand.”, Brigid said. Sunset turned her head to meet Brigid’s eyes. “When someone goes through something like we have, dey begin to shatter. From dat point, one a’ two ‘hin’s c’n happen. One a’ ‘em is dat we c’n break. When dat happens, we become a danger ta ourselves n’ others. Da other one dat c’n happen is dat we c’n repair. In doin’ dat, we become stronge’. Whicheve’ path ya take, it is important ta know dat ya c’n switch paths. Sometimes, it c’n happen without ya even realizing it.”

“Mental health is a funny thing, isn’t it?”, Sunset said.

“It really is.”, Brigid said.

Author's Note

The Troubles was a real war in Irish history. I highly suggest you look into it yourself. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Troubles

SHWO ch35 Ireland arc part 4

Mac Carthaigh old gun range
Date: July 18th, time: 10:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Brigid had brought Sunset out to an area that Great Nana and Great Grandpappy had set up to be a gun range. Cleaning it up yesterday was a challenge because of how overgrown the place was. Emi protested vehemently when she was told she couldn’t come with them. Her main argument points were that cousin Cara was being taught how to shoot at her age. It was a good argument, but Brigid’s counter of this place being a warzone at the time was better. Emi tried to counter with Sunset’s encounter with Platinum being proof that Canterlot was a dangerous enough place to warrant her learning to use a gun. Brigid countered with the gun violence rates in Canterville, that she’s always with her whenever she goes into Canterlot, and that they live next to three war veterans that have and can use guns. It was so funny to see Emi do her angry sulking pose. The horses were secured a fair distance away and given ear protection to reduce the amount of gunshot noise they heard. Brigid and Sunset also had their own ear protection.

The gun range was built in a large clearing. The targets were made of large wooden slabs. They were obviously originally from a diseased tree. Sunset asked Brigid about it, but Brigid didn’t know what it was. Without much else to talk about, the lessons began. Brigid first taught Sunset about gun safety. Never aim your weapon at someone, unless you intend to shoot them. Don’t place your finger inside the trigger guard until you're ready to shoot. Don’t be a dumbass. That sort of thing. When they actually got to firing the guns, Brigid first taught her how to fire a pistol. All of the weapons they were using were low caliber and low power, but the recoil Sunset felt still shocked her. The noise also produced a small panic response. Brigid was able to calm her, and they modified the lesson plan to include frequent breaks in order to let Sunset calm down. Eventually, Sunset needed fewer and fewer breaks, but she still didn’t like the sound. Although now, it had more to do with the fact that an explosion was going off just not even two feet away from her ears and being amplified by a metal tube. Sunset’s aim left something to be desired, but Brigid assured her that she would get better with practice. They then moved onto shotguns. Brigid brought slugs and birdshot. They had to get closer to the targets. They’re apparently used for short range combat, and that’s why they are often used for home defence. The phrases “You couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn.” and “I call shotgun.” both had direct links to the weapon, according to Brigid. The first one became clear to Sunset after firing the birdshot, and the second one dated back to ye olden times back when horse drawn carriages were the norm. Back then, someone would sit next to the driver, holding a shotgun, and was responsible for protecting the carriage.

“If dey had machine guns back den, people taday would be callin’ “Ah call machine gun!”.”, Brigid said.

“And if they were available f’r civilian use.”, Sunset added.

“Well-” “Don’t tell me. They are available f’r civilian use.” “Dey are in America, at least.” “Fucking Americans, they take everything insane about this species and turn it up to eleven.” “Ya think dey’re bad. We should take ya ta Australia. Dey are like da unholy love child a’ America n’ da British Isles.” “Wasn’t Australia originally a prison colony?” “Yeah, but back den, being Scottish was considered a crime. Dey’d send ya dere f’r stealin’ a pie.” “No wonder you have a “dislike” of the British government.” “Don’t f’rget da Potato Famine.” “Fat chance of that.”

Sunset could see the merits of the shotgun, but she preferred the more accurate handgun. Once Sunset got the hang of the shotgun, they moved further back than when they were using handguns, and Brigid pulled out two rifles. Hers was the same one from their patrols.

“Y’ll hear many different names for rifles. Da only one dat really matters is da addition a’ “semi-automatic”. Dat means dat da rifle c’n shoot faster but is less accurate den da standard rifle. All da others, hunting, sniper, etcetera, only denote what y’r aimin’ at.”, Brigid said.

Sunset found that she most liked the rifle. Not only was the tip of the barrel farther away, but the rifle most reminded her of the crossbow. She saw why Brigid liked the rifle the best too. When you first meet her, Brigid seems like a big, dumb, pretty farm girl, but as you talk to her, you realize that she’s one of the smartest and well educated people you’ll ever meet. In a way, the rifle is much the same. When you first look at a gun this big, you see a lumbering mass of metal that can blow you to bits, but as you become familiar with the weapon, it becomes a fine tuned machine that can blow you to bits.

They continued practicing until the sun started to set. Brigid said that night shooting was going to be a future lesson. They packed up their gear, mounted their horses, and rode off.

It truly amazed Sunset just how much humans managed to do without magic. These weapons were just the “tip of the iceberg”, as humans say. So much of Equestria’s modern technology was heavily reliant on magic. If Equestria ever lost its magic, it’d be propelled back into the stone age. To be fair, humans would also be thrown back a few thousand years if, as Micro Chips put it, the sun farts in the wrong direction at the wrong time. Still, humans did all this without laws of physics breaking magic. They put humans on the motherfucking moon. If humans had access to magic, - well, they would weaponize it, but after that, who knows what they could do. Sunset looked over to Brigid. Humans truly are a species worth extensive study, and clearly, they thought so too.

Mac Carthaigh farmhouse
Date: July 20th, time: too late to be woken up

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Sunset, Sunset, wake up.”, Emi said.

“Emi, it’s the middle of the night. We have ta be up by six thirty.”

“Ah know, but the man in my room is freaking me out. Can Ah sleep in your room?”

If Sunset wasn’t awake before, she was now. Sunset shot up, propping herself up with the full length of her arms. “What man?” Sunset had gone straight into fight mode.

“A ghost, and he’s really scary lookin’. He kinda looks like Grandpappy, but with a large scar going down the right side of his face.”

Sunset was now sitting cross legged, having come out of fight mode. “Grandpappy didn’t have a scar on his face, but if it looked like Grandpappy, he was most likely one of the attacking O’Floinns.” Sunset’s speaking slowed as all the dots connected in her head. Emi’s face showed clear evidence that the same dots were connecting in hers. Whoever was in Emi’s room was a most likely malevolent spirit.

Sunset’s hackles became raised, and she looked to the open door. Whether Emi noticed Sunset’s actions or sensed it herself, Emi also turned to look at the open door. The two continued to stare into the hallway for a few seconds. Both nearly jumped out of their skin when a tall, dark shadowy figure ran straight past the door. ‘Ran’ wasn’t the correct word. The figure itself didn’t move. It just slid across the floor. The figure was ramrod straight, and it didn’t make a single sound. Those last three things are what made that thing truly unnerving. Nothing of this world, or Equoes for that matter, could move like that. Neither girl moved. They were too scared. Before either could fully process what they had seen, the figure came back. This time, it stopped right in front of the door and stared at the girls. The figure was tall, gangly, and stood ramrod straight. The figure was stiller than a manikin. How that was possible, Sunset didn’t know, but it was. The figure was clad in darkness, but Sunset could make out the features. Just as Emi said, it looked similar to Grandpappy but was clearly not him. That scar made that clear. Sunset, absentmindedly, brought her hand up to her own facial scar. Looking to its eyes, there was something very wrong with it. It wasn’t physical, there was nothing physically wrong with them, but just looking at them made Sunset feel “off”. She had no other way to explain it. It was similar to the feelings she would get when she looked at her own eyes when she first got to Earth or when she looked at Platinum, but this was different. When looking at her own eyes, she knew she was looking into the eyes of a predator. When looking at Platinum, she knew that she was looking at pure evil. This was like those feelings but very different and even more unsettling.

The figure charged at the girls with the same speed, but this time, it ran and pounced like a mountain lion and had a face of pure hatred. Moving at a speed Sunset did not think humans capable of, Sunset pulled Emi closer and shot out her hand. “No!”, Sunset shouted. Sunset could feel something emitting from her and reverberating with her voice. The figure had made it to within a few inches of the girls before evaporating (dissolving?). Either way, the figure was nowhere to be seen, and the room seemed to get a bit brighter.

“How’d ya do that?”, Emi asked.

“I have no idea.”, Sunset responded.

“Girls, are you alright?”, both their parents asked. They were both standing just outside the door frame. Sunset hadn’t noticed them approaching, and Brigid’s not a quiet one.

“We’re fine, now.”, Sunset said.

“There was this freaking shadowy dark, unmoving monster that had been watching me in my room, and then it charged at us, and the Sunset physic blasted it back to wherever it came from.”, Emi said a mile a minute.

“What?”, both their parents asked. Emi’s explanation was hard to understand.

The girls explained what happened to their parents the best they could. The figure was hard to explain. None of the ten and two half of languages Sunset knew had words that could effectively describe that thing. Not even the words specifically created for the pony of shadows did justice to that thing. If Sunset had magic, she could use the memory transfer spell to show them.

“You know what it is or was.”, Sunset said. As Sunset and Emi described the scar and feeling the figure emitted, Brigid’s brow furrowed. A human specific expression that meant “I know what you’re talking about, and I don't like it”.

“Ah knew da man when he was alive. He was one of da attackers dat died in da house. His name was Sullivan, and his name was a fittin’ one. Even though he had green eyes in life, anyone who looked at him could’ve sworn dey were pitch black. Dere was some‘hin’ very very wrong with him from da moment he was born n’ gowin’ up smack dab cente’ in a warzone didn’t help with dat. At first, Ah thought he had psychopathy, but dat didn’t match up. He was da reason Ah took extra psychology classes in college, but no matter what Ah researched, Ah couldn’t match what he had. Although, given that what Ah once considered paranormal is becoming normal, Ah’m startin’ ta consider dat he was a demon.”

“Demon?”, Emi asked.

“Well, whatever creature biblical demons were based on. Ah don’t f’r a second believe dat God n’ Satan exist, but Ah’m startin’ ta believe dat demons were more dan jus’ da artistic representations a’ humanity’s darker sides.”

“In Equestrian mythology, demons are created when strong magic users “break”, as you put it. Their mental turmoil or “negative emotions”” Sunset put in actual air quotes, “becomes its own entity and takes over their body; their body mutating as a result. The most famous being Nightmare Moon.”

“Sounds like an Oni.”, Anzhong commented.

“Interestin’.” Brigid shook her head. “We’re gettin’ sidetracked. Do ya think what ya did scared him off f’r good?”

“I have no idea what I did. I’ve never done anything like that.”, Sunset said.

“You were trying to protect us when you did it. It was probably an instit-instita-”, Emi tried to pronounce.

“Instinctual response.”, Sunset finished for her.

“Yeah, that. That means ya can do it again.”

“That sounds like a good theory.”

“Well, so long as he’s gone, I think it would be good to go back to bed or at least try.”, Anzhong said. “If either of you need anything, just shout.”

“Good night, girls.”, Brigid added.

“Good night.”, both girls said.

Emi turned to Sunset and fixed her with a serious face. “There is no way Ah’m sleeping alone tonight.”

“What, do you seriously expect me to be able to sleep at all after that?”, Sunset half jokingly asked. “Hop into bed. I’m going to close the door.” Sunset climbed out of bed and walked over to the door. Before she closed it, Sunset peered out into the hallway and checked for - anything really. Sunset then grabbed the chair from in front of the (make-up desk thing?); whatever it is. Just like she’d seen in the movies, Sunset jammed the chair under the door knob. Walking back to the bed, Sunset got a scary idea. Once she was close enough, Sunset checked under the bed and then walked over to the closet to check there. Finding nothing, Sunset climbed back into bed but didn’t sleep until the sun came up.

Mac Carthaigh farm
Date: July 25th, time: 11:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Over the last few days, Sunset’s skill with her guns had greatly improved. She was still using lower powered guns, but that’s more of a “Sunset’s size” issue. Now, they had moved on from stationary targets to moving targets. They were hunting for grey squirrels, hares, or any other small rodents. The only expectations to their hunt were mice and rats. According to Brigid, they carry diseases that are deadly to humans. Apparently, one of the diseases carried by rats, the bubonic plague, wiped out a third of Europe’s population in the 1400’s. It was apparently so bad that it’s often referred to as the plague. None of them were wearing ear protection this time. Brigid said that they all needed all their senses on alert, and they aren’t going to be firing round after round in quick succession.

So far, Sunset hasn't gotten anything. Brigid had managed to get a few kills, but Sunset just couldn’t hit anything.

“Try aimin’ from a bit furthe’ away. Dese are prey animals n’ skittish ones at dat. Dey’ll run at da slightest provocation.”

Sunset spotted a hare and raised her rifle. She was far enough away from it that it wouldn’t run. However, this also meant that Sunset had more difficulty aiming. This was slightly mitigated by the fact that this thing was huge. It had to weigh at least twelve pounds. Sunset slowed her breathing and did her best to steady her hands, like she was taught. Sunset fired and the bullet went flying through the air. The hare had no time to react as the bullet blasted straight through its head.

Sunset and Brigid rode over and hopped off their horses to look at the kill. “Nice shot, Sunset.”, Brigid said.

Sunset felt a sense of pride swell up inside herself. Just like shooting a crossbow. Brigid packed up the kill. With that, they had enough for the hare soup Anzhong wanted to make.

Mac Carthaigh farmhouse
Date: July 27th, time: 12:00pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

“Girls, ya almost read ta go?”, Brigid asked. Brigid walked into the girls’ room. They had been sharing a room since the Sullivan incident. As Brigid looked around the room, she couldn’t find the girls. “Girls, ya in here?”

“Right behind ya.”

Brigid jumped what felt like three feet in the air and spun around. When she looked to who spoke, she found Sunset and Emi laughing their asses off. “Ya two bloody melters think dat was funny, don’t ya?”

“Hahaha, yeah.”, both girls said.

Brigid shook her head but then got a devilish idea. As the girls were laughing, Brigid scooped both of them up and brought them into an Irish bear hug. Even with Sunset having grown a lot in the last six months, Brigid could still pick her up with one arm. Sunset and Emi squirmed around, trying to escape their mother’s grasp, but Brigid just squeezed tighter.

“Oxygen - becoming - issue.”, Sunset wheezed out. Brigid lowered the girls back to the ground, and the girls flopped to the floor in an exaggerated manner.

“Hmhmhm, be ready ta go in an hour.”, Brigid said before walking out of the room.

SHWO ch36 Everything's changing

Katon family backyard
Date: July 30th, time: 12:00 pm

*Emi’s perspective*

Sunset and Emi were playing/sparring with each other. This time, Emi focused more on running and dodging. Emi had to learn the hard way that Sunset wasn’t fooled by her genjutsu tricks. However, Sunset was a bit of a klutz. That means that Emi could easily out maneuver her. Sunset lunged at Emi, but Emi was able to dodge, and Sunset went barreling to the ground. Sunset quickly got back up and began chasing Emi again. Emi made a quick turn to put Sunset off balance, but she ended up tripping on something and went careening to the ground. Unlike Sunset however, Emi did not bounce straight back up. Instead, the worst pain she ever felt shot through her left arm. “Aaahhh.” Emi could only scream, it was so painful. Emi had barely registered Sunset running and screaming for their parents. What felt like an eternity later, Emi felt herself being picked up and carried somewhere. Emi was able to regain some level of coherence and realized that they were all in the car. Emi looked down to her arm and found that it looked funny. Emi pulled on her wrist and her arm moved in a way that it really shouldn’t have, but for whatever reason, that fact just couldn’t quite register for her.

“Hey, look, Sunset. I have two elbows.” Hm, I sound funny.

Sunset looked like she was going to be sick.

Time had ceased to make sense to Emi, but at some point, she was being taken out of the car and into a hospital. Emi couldn’t remember most of what happened next. She could remember the doctors asking a lot of questions but not what the questions were or what the answers were. The next thing she could clearly remember was lying in a hospital bed, with her arm in a cast. Sunset was sitting in a chair next to the bed, but Mom and Dad were nowhere to be seen. “Where are Mom and Dad?”

“They’re talking with one of the doctors. He said the way you broke your arm and those red spots on your skin were cause for concern. He wanted ta do some tests. They’re going over the results of those tests.”, Sunset answered.

“Huh” Emi’s family had noticed the red spots, but were only monitoring them up until now. Emi looked at her cast. It was exactly what you would see in the movies. Emi turned back to Sunset. “Hey, Sunset.”

“Hm?”

“Ah don’t have ta take showers now.”, Emi said in a cheery sing-song voice.

“Oh, yes you do. It’s just your arm that can’t get wet, and that’s why they invented sponge baths.” Sunset’s grin was composed of such evil that it could only be rivaled by the Christan devil himself. Emi returned the grin with a tongue spat.

It didn’t take much longer for Mom and Dad to come back with the doctor. They all had sad looks on their faces. Sunset picked up on it too and started looking very scared. Mom came over and kissed Emi on the head. Ki propped his front legs on the bed, and even he looked worried.

“Emi, we have some‘hin’ really important ta tell ya.” Mom was speaking in an incredibly soft voice. This could only mean whatever was going on was really, really bad.

“Girls, do either of you know what leukemia is?”, the doctor asked. Both girls shook their heads. “Do either of you know what cancer is?” The girls shook their heads again. “Okay then, cancer is when the cells in your body don’t die when they are supposed to and continue to grow abnormally. Leukemia is bone cancer. The specific type you have is AML M0 leukemia.”

The sisters looked at each other. Emi could see tears welling up in Sunset’s eyes. This is bad.

“Now, we will need to talk about a treatment plan, and the first step is to find you a blood donor, which is going to be harder than normal. You have O- blood, but your blood has also tested negative for the Kell, Yt, Vel, and XK antigens. This means you can’t receive blood from just anyone. Less than one percent of the population are missing any one of these antigens, so this might take a while.”, the doctor said.

“What about one of us?”, Sunset asked.

“Your mother’s blood isn’t missing these antigens, and my blood is only missing the Vel antigen. We are not compatible.”, Anzhong said.

“Then what about me?”, Sunset asked.

“That is what I was hoping to ask you. We just need a sample of your blood for testing. We can do that here, if you like?”, the doctor asked.

Sunset gave an affirmative answer, and the nurses wheeled in a cart with needles and a bunch of other stuff. The process was quick, and the nurse took the cart and blood to what Emi guessed would be a lab. The doctor explained to Emi and Sunset what chemotherapy was, what it would entail, and what the side effects were. Due to the chemotherapy making Emi immunocompromised, their parents decided to pull Emi out of school and homeschool her. That was not a decision Emi had a problem with. Some time later, the nurse came back with Sunset’s blood test results. Strangely, the nurse asked to talk to the doctor in private before giving the results. Once the two were done with their talk, they came back in and gave the results.

“The results came back, and Sunset is a suitable blood donor and a HLA match for Emi. As a matter of fact, Sunset has RhNull blood or golden blood as it’s commonly called.”, the doctor said.

Mom was shocked into silence, but Emi, Sunset, and Dad just looked confused. Although, the part about Sunset being a suitable donor came across clear.

“There’s more. All other cases of golden blood have irregularly shaped red blood cells due to the lack of antigens along with some other negative side effects, but Sunset’s red blood cells are normally shaped and show no other signs of the negative side effects. This has never been seen before, but before I geek out, I would recommend that we set up a system so Sunset donates blood to herself. Sunset is the 44th case of RhNull blood ever recorded.”, the doctor said.

“Ah’m completely lost.”, Emi said.

“Sunset has absolutely no antigens on ‘er red blood cells. Y’r only missin’ six a’ da fourteen known antigens. Sunset is missin’ all a’ dem, and ‘er red blood cells aren’t misshapen, less elastic, or more fragile and don't have an abnormal covering or an altered volume. Dat’s incredible.”, Mom explained to Emi before turning to and kneeling down be eye level with Sunset. “Sunset, we’re gonna set up dat system f’r ya, but Ah highly recommend ya at least register y’rself as a blood donor. Y’r blood has so many life savin’ medical applications. Ya don’t have ta make dis decision right now, n’ ya can stop donatin’ at any time, but y’r blood c’n be used to save da lives a people like Emi n’ save da lives a babies who are a’ different blood type ta deir mothe’s.”

Sunset looked to be thinking hard about it, but she also looked strangely nervous. I wonder why Sunset’s freaked out by this. If Ah was the one with the miracle blood, Ah’d say yes is a heart beat. Eventually, Sunset gave her answer. “I’m willing to donate my blood, but I’m uncomfortable with people studying it.”

“Okay, it is your decision. We should start putting blood in reserve for you today. We’ll do the first blood draw after we get the paperwork taken care of.” With that, the doctor, the nurse, and Mom were off.

That left Sunset, Emi, Ki, and Anzhong in the room. Ki had finished inspecting the cast and laid his head on Emi’s lap. Dad and Sunset both had solemn looks on their faces, and it was about then that the gravity of the situation hit Emi. Ah’m gonna die.

Sunset’s bedroom
Date: July 31st, time: 12:30 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

After getting home from the hospital, Sunset did some more research into Emi’s leukemia and her “golden blood”. To Sunset’s dismay, out of the seven variants of AML leukemia, Emi had one of the three highest risk variants, and it turns out, RhNull blood was called “golden blood” because it’s worth its weight in gold. My blood’s probably worth more because of its oddity. Why I have this “golden blood” is also worth its own study. Uhg, there are so many things that need further study that I’m starting to lose track of them all. After some more research and a stressed induced hysterical laughing fit brought on by the cosmic joke that was being played on her, Sunset was now curled up in her bed, balling her eyes out. There has to be some way I can fix this, some way I can help. It was then that Sunset made her decision. I’m not going back to Equestria, at least not permanently. When the portal opens, I’ll go back to grab whatever I can to help Emi. Despite being two completely different species, humans and ponies seem to react the same to medications. Sunset untagged herself and sat up. “Whatever it takes, I will save Emi.”

CMS PTA meeting
Date: Aug 1st, time: 6:00 pm

*Pinkie’s perspective*

“Okay ladies and gentleman, the new school year is starting soon, and we need to find a way to get the students more invested in the student council.”, Principal Winters said. “Last year, none of the students entered the running to become president, and almost no students even submitted ballots. We can’t have that happen again this year.”

The adults in the room went back and forth, debating what they could do, but Pinkie already had the perfect idea in mind. “Why am I at a parent teacher association meeting?” you might ask. Well, it’s quite simple. You try leaving me with a babysitter. My most recent babysitter ran screaming from the house. The only way we could get any babysitter was if my parents promised to not leave me with the sitter. Our current arrangement is that I can come with my parents so long as I behave. If I don’t behave, I’ll be left with Ms. Gray, and she’s a big meanie who expects kids to not make any noise at all and is no fun. Once all the adults had submitted their proposals, Pinkie jumped up and gave hers. “I propose we have a party to get everyone all excited. There will be balloons, streamers, and one of the students can be nominated as the prince or princess of the dance and would also be elected student council president.”, Pinkie said.

“A dance that early into the year?”, one of the parents asked.

“It will work, and I will be taking care of it because I’m president of the party planning committee.”, Pinkie said.

“Hmm, that is the most cost effective method suggested so far. If you can keep the budget low, I’ll allow it. Any objections?”, Principal Winters asked. No one objected. “All right then Pinkie, we will go with your plan.”

Sunset’s bedroom
Date: Aug 3rd, time: 8:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Sunset, c’n ya come ‘ere, please?”, Brigid called from the living room.

Sunset hopped out of her bed and ran out to the living room. They had just come back from Emi’s first chemotherapy appointment, and she looked like hell. The doctor did explain what chemotherapy would do to Emi’s body, but it was hard to properly picture it until Sunset saw it. Emi looked tired and like she was about to throw-up. It was hard for Sunset to see the once hyperactive little turd that would bounce off the walls like SCP-018 now so sickly and weak. Sunset’s resolve reaffirmed itself. She had eight months to prepare, and she wasn’t going to waste her chance.

Brigid pulled something out of her pocket and walked over to Sunset. “Here Sunset, dis is y’r medical alert bracelet. It is engraved with information about y’r condition n’ who ta call ta get y’r blood delivered ta ya. Ya should wear dis at all times in case y’re incapacitated n’ c’n’t explain what ya need ta whoeve’s helpin’ ya. Now, hold out y’r arm.” Sunset raised her left arm, and Brigid secured the bracelet on her. It consisted of a black metal tag with Sunset’s name and Dr. Dracul’s number on the front and information about her medical condition on the back and a black velcro band. Emi was wearing one of her own, but her band was purple. Everything’s changing so quickly.

Sunset looked back up to Emi. Since the chemotherapy would cause Emi’s hair to fall out, they were going to shave it off to make it “easier”. Like we can really make anything easier for her. Brigid walked over to Emi and began reassuring her that everything was going to be alright, but Sunset knew those were “empty words”, as humans put it. Emi knew that too. She was about to go through something only the absolute worst of humanity deserved to go through.

“Sunset, do ya want ta come help?”, Brigid asked.

“Yeah, I’ll be right up. I just want to grab something from my room first.”

Brigid gave an afferming nod then picked Emi up to head upstairs. Sunset dashed back into her room and to her wardrobe. Sunset rummaged around all the weird crap she had in there before finding what she was looking for. “Why do I even have these?”, she said, holding a pair of googly eyed glasses. Sunset dropped the glasses and grabbed her prize. Sunset darted out her room and up to the upstairs bathroom.

“Hey, Sunset.”, Emi said in a much more subdued voice than should ever come out of her mouth.

“Hey”, Sunset said solemnly. “Well, let’s get to it.”

“Okay, but don’t either of you even think about shavin’ your own hair. It’s too pretty for that “we stand together” crap.”, Emi said with a bit more energy. Even with shit hand they were dealt, Sunset couldn’t help but chuckle. Even with her body actively trying to kill her, she is still her little sassy shit-stain usual self. “I’m glad you say that because I wasn’t going to. My hair is far too beautiful to ever chop off.”, Sunset said while looking indignant. “It’s also a giant pun. Red n’ gold hair and golden blood, it’s like someone’s playing a joke on ya.”, Emi retorted. Sunset rolled her eyes. “Oh, so you’re only just noticing. I’ve known since the night we came back from the hospital. I think you’ve fallen on your head one to many times.” Emi narrowed her eyes at Sunset, clearly thinking of a retort.

“Okay girls, ya c’n have y’r banter late’. For now, let’s get started.”, Brigid said.

“Fine”, both girls said.

The process took longer than expected due to Emi’s hair being tougher than expected, but it was done, eventually. When they were done, Emi had a naked gnogen.

“Ah look weird.”, Emi said.

“But ya still look beautiful.”, Brigid responded.

“Of course Ah do. That’s beside da point. Ah’m jus’ saying that Ah’m so used to seeing myself with a full head of hair that it’s odd to see myself bold.”

“Hmhmhm, neve’ lose y’r confidence.”

“Here.” Sunset said as she placed her old beanie on Emi’s head. “Ya still need ta protect your head from the sun.”

“Dat’s very nice a’ ya, Sunset.”, Brigid said.

“It looks nice.”, Emi said.

Sunset grabbed the broom and dust pan and started sweeping up the hair while Brigid took Emi back to her room. Sunset had gathered up all of the hair and was about to sweep it into the pan but stopped. She just looked down at the pile of hair on the floor. Every emotion she had swirled in her mind. She wanted to cry, scream, punch the walls, but she could only stare. Humans took such pride in their hair. For as long as Sunset’s been a part of this family, she was taught to take pride in her hair too. Emi took such pride and care of her hair. It showed how good of a job she did in how difficult it was to cut it off. Despite the act she put up, Sunset knew Emi was heartbroken about having to lose her hair. Sunset’s numbness and every single emotion just couldn’t decide how she should be feeling.

SHWO ch37 What we're willing to do for family

Katon family backyard
Date: Aug 14th, time: 2:00 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid sat on the porch swing, watching the girls play their games while she prepared for her classes. Usually, Brigid would have a smile on her face, but the girls’ games had to be modified to be less dangerous since Emi’s bones are still fragile and she is becoming more fatigued. As a consequence, the girls can’t wrestle, run around at top speed, or do half of the stuff they used to do. The girls’ playing has just become another reminder that Emi was dying, and there is very little Brigid can do to protect her. The girls were playing a simple ball tossing game.

“Hey, Mom! Come take a look at this!”, Sunset called.

Brigid looked up from her work to see Sunset standing next to the fence. Brigid put her work down and walked over to where Sunset was standing. “What is it, Sunset?”

“I found this weird plant”

“Oh my,” Brigid knelt down and examined the plant more closely and found that it was growing up from Mrs. and Mr. Shot's side. This might actually be a good thing.

“What’s the plant?”, Sunset asked.

“Well, it’s a very special plant, but ya c’n’t tell anyone about it.”

“Why not?”, Emi asked.

“Because it’s so special dat other people will want ta take it from us if dey know we have it.”, Brigid explained to the girls.

“Can we tell Dad?”, Emi asked.

“It’s okay ta tell y’r fathe’ but no one else. Now, ya continue playin’. Ah’m gonna go talk ta Mrs. and Mr. Shot about da plant.” Brigid stood up and walked over to Mrs. and Mr. Shots’ house. Upon reaching the door and knocking, Mrs. Shot answered.

“Why hello, Brigid. Is there something I can help you with?”, Mrs. Shot asked. Mrs. Shot was a nice elderly lady. She and her husband were WWII veterans and liked their peace and quiet.

“Ah was hoppin’ ta talk ta ya ‘bout one a’ y’r plants. One a’ ‘em is growin’ inta our yard, n’ Ah wanted ta make sure ya know ‘bout it. It’s a very “special” plant. It has five leaves.”

“Perhaps we should finish this conversation inside.” Mrs. Shot gestured for Brigid to come inside.

“Thank ya” Brigid stepped into the house. Like most houses in the neighborhood, Mrs. Shot’s house used to be one of the six cookie cutter templates that were repeated in the same pattern, but like many of the remaining original houses, it had been renovated and was almost unrecognizable. The Katon house had the dividing walls torn down in the main area to make it feel less cramped. The Shot house had a similar treatment, but the livingroom and dining room were still separated. “So, Ah take it ya know what da plant is.”, Brigid said as soon as the door was closed.

“Yes, I do. It’s not gonna be a problem with your husband being a law man n’ all?”

“Me fella doesn’t care. In his own words, “I have real crimes to prosecute. Just don’t do anything stupid.” He doesn’t partake in it himself, but didn’t care when Ah did.”

“Well, that’s good, and it is sweet of you to make sure I wasn’t going to get myself into trouble by accident. You feel free to take whatever’s growing on your side of the fence.”

“Thank ya. Would Ah be incorrect in saying dat ya grow da plant ta make CBD oil?”

“You would not. It’s just about the only thing that works on my husband’s arthritis. Why?”

“My youngest daughte’ has been diagnosed with cance’. Eventually, she will need some very strong painkille’s, but Ah don’t want ta risk opioids. C’n ya teach me how ta make CBD oil?”

A mix of horror and sadness washed over Mrs. Shot’s face. “Oh yes, absolutely I can. I am so sorry about your daughter. Come now, I’ll teach you how to, right now.” Mrs. Shot started to lead Brigid into her basement.

“Thank ya. Let me just text my daughte’s ta let ‘em know Ah’ll be a little while longe’.” Brigid texted Sunset then followed Mrs. Shot into her basement. “Ya know, dis is like da start a’ some crappy low budget horror movie.”

“Pff-ha, yeah it could be called “The Night Grandma Strikes”

“Or maybe some‘hin’ minimalistic like “Granny’s house”

“Oh, I like that one.”

Mrs. Shot’s basement didn’t look like anything special at first, but Brigid’s opinion soon changed as Mrs. Shot pulled out a bag of unprocessed leaves from a hiding space in the floor and a bunch of stuff that looked inconspicuous on its own but its purpose became clear as you put it all together.

“Dere is absolutely no way da cops are eve’ gonna bust ya.”

“I learned just about everything I know from my son. He grows this stuff professionally deep in the Everfree. He has never been caught in his twenty plus years in the business. Of course, the clueless old lady act is all me. hehehe”

For the next hour, Mrs. Shot taught Brigid how to extract CBD oil, and Brigid and Mrs. Shot discussed horror movies. Once Brigid had gotten the extraction process down, Mrs. Shot set Brigid off with a couple of bottles of the oil, and Brigid gave Mrs. Shot an open offer to come over and watch horror movies with her and Minerva. Walking back into their house, Brigid found the girls playing on one of their consoles. She sprayed herself down with the decontamination spray then walked over to the girls. “Girls, c’n we talk f’r a moment?”

Sunset paused the game and the two turned to face Brigid. “What’s up?”, Sunset asked.

“Ah have some‘hin’ ta show ya both.” Brigid pulled one of the bottles out of her pocket. The bottles had fake labels with “Dr. Fausse’s painkiller oil” printed on it. The ingredients listed on it were a bunch of random essential oils. Brigid figured it was all meant to make cops think that whoever had these bottles were just desperate people who got scammed. “Dese are painkille’ medications. It c’n also help with nausea and lack a’ appetite. Emi, if y’re in pain, ask someone ta put a couple drops on a cookie f’r ya. Ya c’n also take it straight, but dis stuff isn’t dat appetisin’. Ah’m gonna keep dese in da upstiars bathroom cabinet.”

“Okay”, Emi said. “Can Ah try some now?”

“Do ya jus’ want a cookie?”

“Maaaybe”

Brigid shook her head and got up to grab a packet of cookies. “Girls, come ove’ here. Ya should learn how ta do dis.”

The girls hopped up from the couch and into the kitchen. Brigid showed them how to properly measure out a dose and then gave the medicated cookie to Emi.

“It tastes weird.”, Emi said.

“Dat’s what Ah was talkin’ ‘bout when Ah said dis stuff wasn’t dat appetisin’.”, Brigid said.

Emi shrugged and ran back off to the couch.

“Does that stuff have anything ta do with that plant?”, Sunset asked.

“Da less ya know, da bette’.”

“Is this stuff illegal?”

“Da less ya know, da bette’.”, Brigid repeated. Brigid then grabbed the bottle and took them up to the upstairs bathroom.

Katon family livingroom
Date: same day, time: 3:15 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset watched Brigid walk upstairs with the bottle with a speculative eye. How illegal is what she’s doing? Sunset turned to look at Emi. Her arm was still broken and would take another six weeks to heal. She was getting weaker, her nose bleeds were becoming more common, and these symptoms were only going to get worse, and she would start developing more symptoms. Sunset knew that she was willing to kill for Emi, because she nearly had to kill for Spitfire. So, how far are Mom and Dad willing to go? If Sunset had to guess, she would say nothing was too far for Emi.

Sunset pulled herself back to reality and walked back over to the couch. “Ya ready to get an ultimate smack down and be humiliated?”

“You mean, are you ready to face the fury of Amoebaby and ta defend your honor?”

“You dare challenge my honor? The Great Sunset da Conqueror has never let a challenge of her honor go unpunished.”, Sunset said in a grandiose voice.

“Well then, choose your fighter, because Emi da Powerful is ready ta fight.”, Emi said, mimicking Sunset.

“So, be it then.” Sunset hopped back onto the couch and picked up her controller. Sunset picked her goto fighter, Bracket. Bracket was the green clad humanoid from the crossbow game, and that game was the reason Sunset loved that character.

Sunset’s bedroom

Date: Aug 16th, time: 12:30 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset sat up in bed, examining the Mac Carthaigh ring. It was a truly amazing piece. The silver still shined as bright as the moon, even after nearly twenty years of neglect. The ruby sat snuggly in the ring. It poked out just enough to display itself but not too far as to over state itself. Over the undoubtedly many times the ring needed to be resized, the knot has remained flawless. Sunset slipped the ring onto her finger. It was big on her, but she was still growing.

Sunset’s pony family never had any heirlooms like this. It was tradition to bury a warrior in their armor and with their weapons. It came from the Po’haidism belief that they must prove their worth as a warrior to the god, Po’haid. According to the stories, if a warrior could prove themselves to Po’haid, they would be welcomed into his armies to prepare for the Great Battle of Rafehra. The Great Battle of Rafehra was basically the pegasi version of Ragnarök. Just replace Loki with Grogar and no rebirth of the world, and you got Rafehra. Nowadays, all ponies pretty much believe that they will go to Elysium when they die or be sent to Tartarus for eternity, but pegasi warriors are still buried in their full armor. Pegasi also don’t do the whole ring thing, no place to put them. Instead, it was an exchange of weapons, typically daggers, and those were always buried with the pegasi when they died. Earth ponies tie their tails together for a day, hence tying the knot, or plant a “seed of love” or both. The “seed of love” bit is far less dirty in Ponish. They typically have the simplest ceremonies of the three tribes. Sunset once went to one of her earth pony relative’s wedding when she was a foal, and it was literally just show up, watch the couple get married in one of their fields, eat food, help clean up, go home. You didn’t even need to wear anything if you didn’t want to. Sunset so much preferred that over the fiasco that was a unicorn wedding. There were so many moving parts, so much going on, and it could oh so easily fall down on their heads, and those dresses were a nightmare. They were a nightmare to get into, to wear, to get out of, and they were mandatory, and she wasn’t even in the wedding party. She was just there with Celestia because it was nobles getting married. Sunset was so stressed out at the end that she needed to be consoled by her mother and Celestia, and she wasn’t a young kid when this happened. She was fifteen years old. The pegasi wedding she went to the year after was so much more relaxed. Which is really saying something because pegasi weddings are taken very seriously. Everypony is expected to wear formalwear or dress uniforms, but the formalwear is of the wearer’s choosing. Everything is extremely structured, and there are backup plans in place to ensure everything goes smoothly. The exact details of what happens differ between military and non-military pegasi, but the expectation that the couple will stay together through life’s and the afterlife’s hardest moments and come out the other side all the stronger for it stays the same.

Sunset has done research into human weddings, and the weddings are just as varied as the cultures they come from. Some cultures don’t have wedding ceremonies. You just go from not living together to living together. Some cultures have weddings that span many days. Some of them were - disturbing, like bride kidnapping from Kyrgyzstan. Others are funny. Sunset couldn’t remember what culture this one was from, but in one ceremony, the friends and family of the couple, and the couple themselves gather together and embarrassing and funny stories about the couple are shared. Sunset quite liked that ceremony.

Sunset pulled her attention back to the ring. She could feel the residual energies of its previous wears. The strongest of those energies belonged to Riona. “So, I’m the new princess of love. Watch out Cadence. I’m coming for your title. Hehehe” Sunset’s mood turned into a contemplative one. “I don’t deserve this ring. I’m not a Mac Carthaigh woman, and I can’t love everybody like you or Mom do.” Sunset looked up at the moon. “Where do I even belong anymore?” Sunset waited for some kind of an answer, but when nothing came, she decided to just go to sleep.

Mac Carthaigh Farm
Date: , time:

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset sat utop one of the sprawling, green hills. The wind was blowing, making the tall grass look like a green ocean. For the first time in a while, Sunset felt at peace.

“Beautiful sight, isn’t it?”, a woman with a pea soup thick Irish accent asked.

Sunset looked up to see the figure and found Riona standing next to her. “Nana?”, Sunset asked, bewildered.

“Well, who else did ya expect? Elvis Presley?”

“Um, no one really. Aren’t ya supposed to be in Ireland?”

“Ah was in Ireland.”, Riona said while sitting down.

“Then, how are you here?”

“Why don’t ya take a crack at figurin’ it out?”

“Great, you’re one of those teachers.”, Sunset deadpanned.

“Ah thought ya liked riddles.”, Riona said coyly.

Sunset gave Riona a smile then began to think. “The fact that you’re here means that you’re not haunting the house, like I originally thought. - You’re haunting the ring, aren’t you?”

“Ding ding ding, we have a winne’. - Sunset, ya may think dat ya c’n’t love like a Mac Carthaugh, but ya c’n. Y’r love f’r Emi bein’ proof.”

“Then, why am I so angry at everything?”

“Dere was an expression me fathe’ liked ta say, “love is da first emotion”. It means dat love is da first emotion we feel when we are born, n’ dat all othe’ emotions come from love. Ange’ comes from when someone or some‘hin’ hurts someone or some‘hin’ we love, n’ we love more deeply dan anyone else in da world. Ya are angry at every‘hin’ because a’ how much ya n’ dat which ya love have been hurt. Y’re angre’ because ya want ta protect what ya love.”

“That doesn’t help.”

Riona said nothing and just began rubbing Sunset’s back.

Sunset’s bedroom

Date: Aug 16th, time: 6:30 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Beep beep beep

Sunset was awoken by her alarm clock. Even though Sunset’s dream wasn’t scary, her sleep wasn’t restful. I guess communing with spirits isn’t good for your sleep. Sunset stumbled like a zombie out of bed and into the shower. The warm water was doing nothing to help wake Sunset up. So, she decided to bite the bullet and turned the water to cold. There was no way she was going to sleep through today. Today, Grandpa, Aunt Ryoko, and Oda are coming to visit. Sunset finished up and quickly got dressed. Once she was dressed, she gathered up some things that she made for Ryoko and Oda. Once that was done, Sunset joined her family for breakfast.

SHWO ch38 Return of the dragon and chef

Katon family front yard
Date: Aug 16th, time: 9:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset and Emi were sitting on the porch, “patiently” waiting for their grandfather’s car to come down the road, and by “patiently”, Emi was practically vibrating off her seat. It didn’t take much longer for the girls to see the car. When they did, the girls ran inside to tell their parents. Grandpa pulled into the old driveway, Sunset and Emi were watching them from the kitchen window while Ki watched them, and Brigid and Azhong were coming down the stairs. The moment the doorbell was rung, Sunset and Emi moved to hiding behind the dividing wall. Brigid and Anzhong greeted the guests and sprayed them down in the decontamination spray. The moment the process was done, Emi bolted towards them for a hug. Sunset came out from behind the wall and greeted their guests in a much calmer manner.

“Hello, Grandpa. Greetings, Aunt Ryoko and Oda.”, Sunset said with a bow.

“Come here.” Jiraiya pulled Sunset in for a hug.

“You do not need to be so formal with us, Sunset.”, Ryoko said.

“Okay”, Sunset replied a little squished from within the hug.

Anzhong motioned for everyone to take seats in the living room. Sunset ran into her room to grab what she made for Ryoko and Oda. When Sunset came back out, she saw everyone seated and a couple bags on the coffee table. Sunset walked over to Ryoko and Oda.

“I have something for both of you.” Sunset pulled the paintings from behind her back. The one she made for Ryoko had her as kitsune in human form, and the one she made for Oda had him as a food ninja from the Taruno series.

“These look good, Sunset. Thank you”, Oda said in the thickest Japanese accent Sunset had ever heard. He was doing his best but was clearly having some difficulty.

Sunset got a happy grin on her face.

“Do you like to paint?”, Ryoko asked. She also had a pea soup thick accent but seemed to be having an easier time with the English language.

“Yeah, I do. It helped me to develop fine motor control.”

“That is interesting.”

Sunset thought what Ryoko said was odd but decided to not look too much into it and took her seat.

“We got some things for you girls too.”, Oda said. Oda handed each of the girls one of the bags.

Emi opened her bag first. Inside was a handheld game console and several games. Sunset recognized that the games were ones that haven’t been released internationally and thus were still in Japanese. Emi also got a CSI crime scene kit. It included a black and some fake blood that would glow under the black light. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Emi jumped up from her seat and gave Ryoko and Oda as massive of hugs as her tiny body could manage.

While Emi was giving her hugs, Sunset opened up her gift. Inside was a tactical tanto and a tactical wakizashi. The tanto and wakizashi were black, including the blade, and the hilt and guard had red accents. What really caught Sunset's attention was that the blades were on the straighter end of the scale. Sunset didn’t remember saying that she preferred straighter swords, but she apparently must have. The craftsmanship of the weapons amazed Sunset. “Thank you”

“I figured you would like them. You seemed like the warrior type.”, Ryoko said. “You know, you remind me a lot of my mother.”

“What was Grandma like? Dad has told us little bits about her but not much.”, Sunset asked.

“Yeah, we don’t even know how you and Grandma met.”, Emi said to Grandpa.

“You want to know how I met your grandmother?”, Grandpa asked.

“Yes”, both girls said.

“Okay then, I first met Aoi after my father’s and brother’s funeral, and I was ten years old.”

*Flashback*

Amigata graveyard
Date: July 17th, 1943, time: 5:00 pm

*Jiraiya’s perspective*

Mei, Jiraiya’s mother, and Jiraiya stood at the Katon family grave. Most of the other funeral goers had dispersed at this point. Jiraiya was enraged by their deaths. Akira, Jiraiya’s brother, and Ryuu, Jiraiya’s father, were both killed by the war, and Jiraiya needed someone to blame for their deaths and just started blaming everyone. Jiraiya ran away from the graveyard in rage and ended up somewhere outside one of the rice fields, near the surrounding forest. Jiraiya fell to the ground and just sobbed. He stayed there for some time before he heard the voice of a girl around his age.

“Why are you crying?”, Aoi asked. Unlike everybody else that asked him that over his life, Aoi’s tone didn’t have any hint of sympathy in it. It was pure curiosity.

“Why do you think I’m crying?”, Jiraiya asked with anger.

“I have no idea. That’s why I’m asking you.” Aoi’s tone was so matter-of-factly. It was like crying was a foreign concept to her.

“Isn't it obvious why I’m crying?”

“Hm, no. Humans have a tendency to cry in response to strong emotions in general. That makes it very difficult to figure out what you’re feeling.”

Jiraiya was no longer mad but very confused. “My father and brother recently died.”

“Oh, so you’re crying out of sadness, or at least I’m hoping that it’s sadness. The few times I’ve encountered humans that weren’t sad about someone’s death was… troubling.”

“Yeah, I’m sad. Who are you?”

Aoi looked herself over before answering. “I am - Aoi. That’s still a name that’s used, right?” Aoi took a seat next to Jiraiya.

“I guess so.”

“So, what’s your name?”

“Jiraiya”

“Jiraiya? Can you use toad magic?” This was the first time her tone betrayed anything other than pure curiosity. She actually sounded excited.

“No” Now Jiraiya was very confused. Magic wasn’t real, but Aoi was so sincere that it was like she believed wholeheartedly in it.

“Hm, that’s too bad. You know Jiraiya, you might see your father and brother again.”

“What?”

“It’s the cycle of rebirth. They’ll come back. See you later, Jiraiya.” Aoi got up and walked off into the forest.

*Present day*

Katon family livingroom
Date: Aug 16th, time: 9:30 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Grandpa’s story sounded odd to Sunset. If that was what Grandma really said, then it sounded like she was something other than human. Now, Sunset wondered if Grandpa, Ryoko, or Anzhong knew what she was.

“After that, she would just continue to show up until I asked her to go out with me, and we eventually got married.”, Grandpa said.

“Wait, what happened to Uncle Akira and Great Grandpa Ryuu?”, Emi asked.

“When I was a boy, the world was at war with itself. Japan was facing severe oil and other natural resource shortages and was driven by ambition to displace the United States as the dominant Pacific power. Because of that, we attacked a US base called Pearl Harbor. We did so many very bad things all fueled by nationalism, indoctrination, and narcissism. We were taught to believe that we were descended from gods, that the emperor was divine, and that we deserved to rule the world, and my father, brother, and myself believed that wholeheartedly. The only reason I didn’t go off to fight was because I was too young. If the war had gone on long enough, I would have gone out to fight. Both of their ships were sunk by the Americans, and for years, I blamed and hated the Americans for their deaths.”

“But you don’t blame America now?”, Sunset asked.

“I don’t. As much as Aoi didn’t understand humans, she understood enough to understand war and hatred. She made me realize that the Americans were defending themselves, and that we spurred their wrath. I still don’t think what they did to Hiroshima and Nagasaki was okay though. Now, I blame the imperial government. War was not the answer.”

“So, the US was the good guy, but what did the US do to Hiroshima and Nagasaki?”, Emi asked.

“Dere are no good guys or bad guys in war. Granted, World War two was a bit more cut n’ dry dan war normally is, but da US was no good guy. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were two Japanese cities filled with innocent civilians. Da US wiped ‘em off the face a’ da planet. Ove’ a hundred thousand innocent civilians were instantly incinerated. Deir shadows are still burned inta da pavement.”, Brigid explained coldly.

All the adults in the room looked saddened, and Sunset and Emi just looked at their mother. Sunset could barely comprehend what her mother just told her. She had seen first hand the evil humanity was capable of, she had heard her mother’s story of the night of the attack, but this was a whole new level. “Why?” was all Sunset could get out.

“Da US government thought dat was what it would take ta get da Japanese ta surrender. Ah was not dere so Ah won’t pretend ta know whether or not dat was da right call, but Ah will say Ah don’t like dat it happened.”

“Whether or not it was the right call, nuclear weapons have not been used since then and are unlikely to be used again. Even the most insane of the world leaders can recognize that mutually assured destruction is not good for anyone.”, Anzhong stated flatly.

“How did we get on this topic?”, Oda asked.

“I asked what happened to Grandpa’s family, and I’m starting to learn that asking what happened to family members in this family is a loaded question.”, Emi said.

“I say we switch to a happier topic.”, Oda said.

“How is your training going, girls?”, Ryoko asked.

“Ah could have eyes in da back a’ me head n’ dese girls c’n still sneak up on me. How’s dat f’r trainin’?”

“How about survival? A shinobi, by definition, is one who endures.”

“I could already be dropped in the woods and survive before I was adopted. Although, now I know how to best get food when grocery store dumpsters aren’t available.”

“I’m not that good at meditation yet, too much energy, but considering my current condition, that might soon change.”, Emi said.

“One of the side effects of chemotherapy is reduced energy.”, Sunset clarified.

“I am glad you can find something good in all this, no matter how small.”, Ryoko said uncomfortably.

Katon family backyard

Date: Aug 17th, time: 2:00 pm

*Ryoko’s perspective*

“Hey, Aunt Ryoko!”, Sunset called out. Sunset was just coming out of the garage with two bokkens under her arm.

“What is it, Sunset?”

“Wanna spar with me?”

“Sure”

Ryoko got up from her seat on the porch swing and walked over to Sunset. Sunset handed her the larger of the two bokken, and they took up positions. Sunset charged first and aimed for Ryoko’s stomach. Ryoko blocked and jumped to the side. She attempted to get behind Sunset, but Sunset didn’t let her and spun around to keep Ryoko in her sights. As Sunset spun around, she extended her leg, intending to sweep kick Ryoko. Ryoko jumped back, dodging the kick. Before Sunset could recover, Ryoko charged at her and nailed her in the sternum. Sunset staggered back and collapsed to one knee. Her breathing became heavy and labored.

“Oh no, Sunset! Are you okay?!” Ryoko rushed over to Sunset. She feared that she might have seriously hurt her. As Ryoko approached Sunset, she began to bend down to more easily examine Sunset.

Whack

Sunset nailed Ryoko with a hard hit to the side of her knee, and Ryoko lost her balance and fell to the ground. Sunset stood up triumphantly and pointed her sword at Ryoko.

“You tricked me. You are not actually hurt.” Ryoko was a little annoyed but more impressed with Sunset’s ingenuity.

“A little winded, but no, I’m not hurt.” Sunset extended a hand to Ryoko, which she exempted.

As Sunset was walking to the garage to put the bokken away, they heard Emi screaming for her parents inside the house. Sunset dropped the bokken, and they both ran inside to see what was wrong. As they entered the house, they found Anzhong, Brigid, Dad, and Oda already trying to calm Emi down.

“Emi, tell us what’s wrong, slowly.”, Anzhong said, putting emphasis on ‘slowly’.

Emi took in a deep breath and then skope, still rather frantic, “Our house is a murder scene. Come on, I’ll show you.” Emi ran off and up the stairs.

Everyone else looked at each other confusedly before following Emi. Anzhong and Brigid have lived in this house for seven years. What could Emi have found that they never have? Emi led them into Anzhong and Brigid’s room and shown her black light on their bed. The bed lit up like a Christmas tree.

Looking around to everyone else, Ryoko saw Brigid’s face going red with embarrassment, Sunset, Oda, and Dad were trying to contain their laughter, and Anzhong had yet to be informed of what was going on. Ryoko’s own laughter was starting to build up in her chest.

“See?! There’s blood all over Mom and Dad’s bed! I found it with my black light!”, Emi proclaimed.

Now Anzhong’s face was turning red. Brigid covered her face with her hands and mumbled something about needing to buy better detergents while everyone else broke into laughter. Emi began to look very confused by everyone’s laughter. “Why are you laughing?”

“Well, you’re half right.”, Sunset managed to get out. “That’s not blood, but that is our fallen siblings. Hahaha”

Emi just looked even more confused, and Brigid and Anzhong turned even redder. “Why must ya?”, Brigid mumbled.

Anzhong managed to compose himself first and walked over to Emi. “Sweety, yes the black light makes blood glow, but it also makes -chm- other bodily fluids glow.”

“What, you mean like sweat?”, Emi asked.

“Um, sort of.”

Emi looked back to the bed then back at Anzhong. “That makes no sense.”

Anzhong had no good answer for her and escorted her out of the room and back to her own. “Why couldn’t you have started playing with that thing after they left tomorrow?” Ryoko knew Anzhong did not mean for any of them to be able to hear him, but Ryoko never let anyone know just how good her hearing was. That most certainly included her troublesome little brother.

SHWO ch39 Return to school

Ms. Trees’ classroom
Date: Aug 30th, time: 8:30 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Good morning, students.”, Ms. Trees said.

Before Sunset could say ‘Hi’ back to Ms. Trees, Sunset’s attention was pulled away. Ms. Trees’ breasts had seemed to have grown a whole cup over the summer. Sunset wanted to ask Ms. Trees about it but didn’t want to be rude. Fortunately for Sunset’s curiosity, another student, with far less social etiquette than Sunset, spoke up first, “Ms. Trees, what happened to your boobs?”. Sunset was torn between listening intently and hiding under her desk from second hand embarrassment.

“Well students, over the summer, I got breast implants.”

“Why?”, the same student asked.

“I was unhappy with my appearance, so I decided to change it.”

“My mommy says that people should be happy with the body that God gave them and not try to change it.”, another student said.

“Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that. It’s perfectly okay if that’s what you believe and how you want to live, but that’s not going to be the same for everyone. I, personally, believe that God gives us our bodies to see how we would react to them. Now, taking God out of the equation, if you can be happy with the body you have, that’s great. However, not everyone is so lucky. Some people have bodies that they really don’t like, and they want to change them. That’s okay. So long as it is something they want for themselves, and they are happy with it; that is all that matters.”

Wait, Ms. Trees is a Christian, but she’s so nice. “I know someone who had a lot of plastic surgery, really bad plastic surgery, and I think they did it to separate themselves from their family.”, Sunset said.

“Why did they want to separate themselves from their family?”, Ms. Trees asked.

“Because they were a narcissist from an extremely loving family and were disowned. They used to be a clone of their mother.”

“I’m not going to presume what this person’s reason is, but it doesn’t sound like a healthy one. Plastic surgery is not inherently good or evil. Like all things, it is how it is used that is good or evil. Now then, let’s get onto today’s history lesson. Today, we are going to be learning about the first male to female empress of Rome, Elagabalus.”

“The inventor of the whoopee cushion!”, Pinkie shouted out.

“Exactly”, Ms. Trees said.

Ms. Trees’ classroom
Date: same day, time: 12:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Ms. Trees.”

“What is it, Sunset?”

“Are you a Christian?”

“No, I’m Jewish. Why do you ask?”

“You said “God”, singular. I was only aware of Christianity being a monotheism religion.”

“Christianity and Islam are off shoots of Judaism. They are Abrahamic religions.”

“Okay, now I’m more confused.”

“It’s complicated, and we need to get to lunch. You can ask your parents about it when you get home.”

Sunset nodded to Ms. Trees and made her way to the lunchroom. On her way to the lunchroom, Sunset noticed a poster on the wall. It read, “Fall Formal Dance; sign up to become royal of the Fall Formal; winner of the crown will become student council president; sign up with the party planning committee president in the gym after school”. Princess of the Fall Formal, that sounds like fun, and the dance is on my birthday. Sounds like a better plan than just sitting around the house and eating cake and being a princess sounds nice. With that, it was decided. I’m gonna run for Fall Formal princess.

CMS gym
Date: same day, time: 4:05 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset walked into the gym. It was covered in streamers and balloons, and Pinkie Pie was standing in the center of it all.

“Are you the president of the party planning committee?”, Sunset asked.

“Yeperouny, that’s me - oh, hi Sunset!” Pinkie bounced over to Sunset. “Whatcha doing here?”

“I’m here to become the Fall Formal princess. I just need to sign up first.”

“Okidoki then.” Pinkie pulled a clipboard from her hair. “Just sign here.”

Sunset took the clipboard from Pinkie. Sunset noted that no one else signed up. “Am I the only one who signed up?”

“Yeah, and the sign up cut off is at the end of the day. You’ll likely stay the only one running for the crown.”, Pinkie said dejectedly. “The whole point of this was to get people to be more excited about student counsel stuff and becoming student council president, but it didn’t work.”

“It got me interested.” Sunset signed and handed the clipboard back to Pinkie and left the gym.

Sunset’s room
Date: same day, time: 5:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Since Sunset got home, she’s been researching the religions of Earth. The diversity in the religions was fascinating, but it was the animosity between religions that could easily be mistaken as the same religion that really intrigued Sunset. The violence between Hindus and Buddhists and the long history of evils all the different Abrahamic religions have committed against each other over the last 2,000 years are just some of the more notable instances. As intriguing as the reasoning for violence was, it was all just as juvenile and stupid as Sunset expected. What Sunset did not expect was that these religious organizations were strangely charitable. There were still plenty of reasons to be suspicious of religious organizations, especially the large ones, but they at least acted charitable.

Even with all this research, Sunset’s main question wasn’t answered. Hm, Mom’s back. She’ll most likely know. Sunset got up from her desk and went out to meet her mother.

“Hey Mom, can I ask you something?”

“A’ course, what is it?”

“Are Christians good or bad people?”

“Someone’s religion is irrelevant ta deir morality. Being religious doesn’t make someone good or bad. It jus’ makes ‘em religious. Now, ya will hear stories of people usin’ deir religion as an excuse ta hurt people, but dey still would have hurt people if dey weren’t religious. Da only difference is dat dey might have had different targets. Why do ya ask?”

“Taday, I learned that my teacher is Jewish. Before, the only religious people I knew about were also very evil people.”

“Ah see. Ya know, y’r fathe’ n’ his family are Buddhist, n’ me family was Pegan.” Brigid then got a contemplative look on her face. “What’s up with religion in Equestria?”

“I did not know that Dad was religious. Religion is kinda weird in Equestria.” Sunset paused to think of how to phrase what she was going to say next. She still had six more months before she had proof for Brigid. “Many people believe the ruling family are gods, as much as they try to dissuade that notion, but most people don’t worship them as such. There is a history of fanatical groups forming around the idea that they are gods; they also have a history of being responsible for some rather horrific crimes. A group known as the Equestria First Legion worshiped the princess as a god but also committed numerous hate crimes against non-natural born Equestrians. I-” Sunset was about to add that she was apart of the task force to apprehend them but stopped when she remembered that, in Brigid’s eyes, she would have been a young child going after a terrorist organization. “They are just the most recent example.”

“Aah, now Ah c’n see how ya c’n easily associate religion with evil. Hff, luckily, da majority a’ religious folk are jus’ people tryin’ ta make sense a’ da universe.”

“Thank you, and that’s good ta know.” Sunset went back into her room, feeling a bit better about the world.

Katon family home
Date: same day, time: 8:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“So Sunset, what do ya want ta do f’r y’r birthday?”, Brigid asked.

“There is going to be a dance that day, and I signed up to be princess of the dance.”

“That’s good to hear. What do you have to do to become princess?”, Anzhong asked.

“From the way things were going earlier, nothing. I was the only one to sign up, and I signed up near the end of the sign up period. I’ll check with Pinkie tomorrow, but chances are all I’ll have ta do is show up.”

“We’re still going to have cake n’ ice cream, right?”, Emi asked.

“Of course, what sane person would pass up the chance to get cake n’ ice cream?”, Sunset said, then bent down to whisper into Emi’s ear. “Even if it’s Dad’s nasty vegan stuff.”

Ms. Trees’ classroom
Date: Aug 31st, time: 8:27 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset, along with the rest of her classmates, walked into the classroom and started to take their seats. Since they were second years, they didn’t need to line up in the gym before class. So, they could just go straight to class. Before Sunset took her seat, she walked over to Pinkie’s seat and bent down to talk to her. “So, did anyone else sign up?”

“Uhg, no, you’re running unopposed.”, Pinkie said sadly.

“Well, your idea worked, at least a little bit. Maybe more people will be excited next year.”

“Maybe. Why are you being so nice to me? You’re normally very cranky.”

“I guess I’m too tired to be cranky.” Before Sunset left, she wanted to make sure she didn’t just create an opening. “Don’t try anything. I know what you’re like, I know why you’re like this, and I don’t want anything to do with it.”

“There’s the good old Sunset.”

Sunset decided to ignore that remark and just take her seat.

CMS lunchroom
Date: same day, time: 12:15 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset and Flash sat together, eating lunch. Flash had been asking Sunset non-stop questions about Ireland. Several times she had to dodge questions about where her Irish relatives were. Flash was just too sweet and innocent. Sunset didn’t want to shatter his innocent view of the world. He knew about 9/11 and why his father and brother were overseas, but he still seemed mostly unaware of the true evils humanity was capable of. Sunset knew that if she told him they were dead, he would ask what happened to them, and a tale of two sides of a family killing each other over political differences would probably break him. She didn’t lie to him; he was strangely good at telling when Sunset was lying. She just told him that they were still on the property, and they had visited them, but they were too busy working to spend much time with each other. He thought that was weird but didn’t pry more into it. Fortunately, Sunset had managed to change the subject to the Fall Formal and student council stuff.

“So, what does the student council president do?”, Flash asked.

“My responsibilities basically boil down to making the student voices heard and organizing and distributing funds for the clubs and campus-wide programs. I’m honestly surprised nobody else wanted to run. I mean it would seem like when we have as little power as we do that others would take any opportunity they could get to get more power.”, Sunset explained.

“Eh, not everyone wants power or the responsibilities.”

“You can’t honestly expect me ta believe that. I mean, we are told what we can do and when we can do them every day of our lives. We have to ask to go to da bathroom. It is very illegal to restrict access to the bathroom in a public building where I come from. I’m most likely not going to be able to do anything about that rule, but I sure can raise a stink. Oh, and the dress code requires girls to cover up more than boys. That is illegal in this county. I so plan on fixing that.”

“That’s great and all, Sunset, but stuff like that goes through Vice Principal Waters, and you know what he’s like.”

“Grrr”

“Exactly, but hey, if you’re gonna be in student council, I’ll help in whatever way I can.”

Sunset smiled. He was still an adorable dork, a trait Sunset was finding more and more attractive the more time she spends with him. “There are still several open positions in the student council.”

“Hff, looks like I’m running for student council then.”

SHWO ch40 The first Fall Formal

Halls of CMS
Date: Sep 1st, time: 8:20 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset and Flash, along with other students, were hanging out in the halls, waiting for school to officially start. The morning announcements were coming over the speakers, like normal, but what was not normal was that Vice Principal Waters was making the announcements. It was normally Principal Winters who did all the announcements. Having to hear his voice, especially so early in the morning, grinded Sunset’s gears, and it was clear by the looks of contempt on some of the other students’ faces that Sunset was not the only one who disliked Waters. Aside from that, the announcements went on like normal. That was, until the end.

“And, effective immediately, there will be no hugging. Violating this rule will get you sent straight to my office.”, VP Waters said in his usual abrasive tone.

The reactions to the new rule varied from confused to angry to indifferent. Sunset was both angry and confused.

“What kind of a rule is that?”, Flash asked.

“I don’t know, but I’m going to get to the bottom of this after school.” Sunset got an evil look on her face and pulled Flash in for a hug. Chuckles and students jokingly saying “Ooh, you’re gonna get in trouble.” could be heard from the crowd.

“Ooh, a trouble maker.”, Flash jokingly said.

“Ha ha, I’ll see you at lunch.”, Sunset said while patting him on the shoulder.

With that, they were off in opposite directions. Flash wasn’t in Ms. Trees’ class.

Principal Winters’ office
Date: same day, time: 4:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Knock knock knock

“Come in.”, Principal Winters said.

“Hello Principal Winters, I have some questions about the new rule. From my understanding, people require a lot of physical contact. This rule seems like it would be harmful to the students. So, I need ta ask, why does it exist?”

Principal Winters placed her pen down on the desk with a sigh. “The rule is in place because some of the female students have been giving male students hugs in order to cause them to get… boners.”

Sunset stared at Principal Winters in disbelief. What the older woman had just said was so absurd to Sunset that it took her several seconds to properly process it. “That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. These are twelve year old boys we’re talking about. Salads give them boners. On top of that, this is already covered under the sexual misconduct rules. Why put a completely ridiculous rule in place to deal with an issue that already has rules covering it?”

“Sunset, I’m afraid that you’re going to need to take this up with Vice Principal Waters. He is responsible for all disciplinary matters.”

“You mean the same guy who let two older students go around sexuall harassing younger girls? Why in da world did it take another student to take care of them?”

“Huh, I know what you mean. Mr. Waters is very ineffective at his job, and I’m overworked as it is. So, I can’t just pick up his slack. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“No, thank you for your time. I’ll see you tonight.”, Sunset said, then turned to leave. It’s time to put that legalese training to use.

Sunset’s bedroom
Date: same day, time: 6:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“That’s the dumbest rule I've ever heard of, and my old school had some gems.”, Anzhong said. Sunset had been beguiling Anzhong with the story of the new rule they had at school and her meeting with Principal Winters while she got ready for the dance. “I can say as a former twelve year old boy that salads will give them boners.”

“Exactly what I said, minus the part about being a former twelve year old boy. I want to get him fired, and from what I learned from you, the first place I’m gonna look is at the books. There is no way someone like him isn’t skimming some off the top.”

Anzhong got a huge smile on his face when he heard that, huge for him at least. “So, you have been listening to what I’ve been teaching you.”

“Of course, I’m always listening when you and Mom teach me stuff.”

“Hff, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Yeah, chances are good that none of the documents will be in braille, but I would still like your help.”

“Of course, I will help. I quite like the idea of getting Mr. Waters fired. He’s an asshole, even by old white guy standards.”

“Hmhm, thanks. I’m off now.” Sunset and Anzhong began walking out of Sunset’s room and to the back door. Even though it was just a twenty minute walk, because it was now dark, Brigid wanted to drive Sunset. “I’ll see you in a couple hours.”

“Have fun.”

CMS gymnasium
Date: same day, time: 6:15 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Hey, Sunset!”, Flash called from the middle of the floor. He was doing a dance Sunset could best describe as what a person with three left feet would call a dance.

“Hey, Flash.”, Sunset said while trying not to laugh. “How in Traitorous are you popular when you dance like that?”

“Oh please, I’m so cool I can make anything cool.”

“So, you can just point to something, say it’s cool, and then it suddenly becomes cool?”

“Probably” Flash held out his hand which Sunset took. The two did their best to dance, despite neither really knowing how to. “Wow um, the party committee really did a good job.” Flash was clearly trying to distract from how badly they were dancing.

“Yeah, they did.” There were plenty of streamers and balloons serving as decoration. The room was mostly dark but had several lights of many colors to light it. There were several tables filled with food and drink. The stage was left relatively barren, except for the microphone, speakers, and the crown.

The two continue to dance and do their best not to hurt each other until Principal Winters announced it was time to crown the Fall Formal royal. All the students turned to face the stage. Both Winters and Waters were on stage. Winters was wearing her normal pants suit and glasses, but her snow white hair was done up in a simple yet elegant low bun. She also looked to be wearing make-up but the lighting and her dark skin made it hard to tell. Overall, she looked very nice. Waters was also wearing his normal getup, but unlike Winters, he always looked terrible. It could just be Sunset’s dislike of him coloring her vision, but Waters looked like he saw a picture from some 50’s formalwear magazine and said “That’s what I want ta look like.”, strange color and texture combo included. Combine that with a lousy comb over, and he just looked bad.

Winters called out Sunset’s name, and Sunset climbed up to the stage. Winters took the crown from Waters and crowned Sunset. Sunset turned to the crowd, and everyone started cheering. This surprised Sunset considering how little everyone seemed to care, but she liked the feeling all the same. It made her feel special, like how she felt while being Princess Celestia’s prized pupil. She wanted to feel like this more. She wanted to feel like a princess.

As she was basking in the attention, Sunset saw Flash. Out of everyone in the crowd, he looked at her with the most love and adoration. No one ever looked at her like that before. In that moment, it was like she was the center of his universe. He made her feel like a princess.

Sunset climbed down from the stage and went back over to Flash. The music started again, and everyone got back to dancing; eating; nonchalantly leaning against the wall because they’re “too cool”, when in reality they couldn’t get a date; or whatever the hell Flash and Sunset were doing.

“Have I told you how beautiful you look?”, Flash asked.

“Hm, maybe, but you can tell me again.”

“You look beautiful.”

The two continued to “dance”, until Sunset leaned down and kissed Flash; he was a good couple of inches shorter than her. Flash came to a full stop for a second, probably in shock, but he soon came over it and kissed Sunset back. A collection of “ow”s, “aw”s, and “ew, cooties”s came from the crowd. They soon parted, and Flash had that same dorkish smile on his face. Sunset replied with a considerably less dorkish smile.

Katon family home
Date: same day, time: 8:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Happy birthday, Princess Sunset!”, Emi cheered. Sunset knew that she was calling her that as a joke, but it still felt nice.

“Thank you, my loyal subject.”, Sunset said in her most regal tone. “Let’s go get some cake.”

“Cake! Cake! Cake!”, Emi chanted.

Brigid finished decontaminating and walked in after Sunset and to the fridge. Brigid grabbed the cake out of the fridge, and Anzhong set the table. Everyone had eaten already, so they weren’t just eating cake and ice cream for dinner, despite Emi’s protest. No amount of “but I’m sick and dying” will get her that.

“Can I see your crown?”, Emi asked Sunset.

Sunset was hesitant but decided to let Emi look at it. Sunset took the crown off her head and handed it to Emi. “Be careful with it.”

“What? I’m always careful.” Emi took the crown and started examining it. After she was done examining it, Emi placed the crown upon her head. “How do I look?”

“You look like a princess.”, Sunset said with a smile.

SHWO ch41 Sunset in office

VP Waters’ office
Date: Sep 4th, time: 3:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Hello, Vice Principal Waters.”, Sunset said as she walked into his office.

“What can I do for you Ms. Shimmer?”, Waters said boredly.

“I need all the financial books relating to the clubs and stuff like that. I was told that I could get that from you.”

“And why do you need those?” Now Waters was sounding annoyed.

“Because I’m the student council president. Did you seriously already forget? It was just last Friday.” Sunset was getting annoyed herself.

“No, I didn’t forget. I just don’t see why you would need such things.”

Is he for real? “I need them because they are a part of my job. It’s not like I’m the first one.”

“Well, I’m afraid that you’ll need to get a permission slip from Principal Winters to get those records.”

At this point, Sunset was grinding her teeth and wanted to rip her hair out or what was left of his. “I don’t need a permission slip. I’ve been elected as the student council president. That’s all the permission I need to get those records. Now hand them over, or I’ll be calling Principal Winters so she can report you to the school board.”, Sunset said with clear anger in her voice.

“Are you talking back to me?”, Waters said angrily while standing up. His posture and tone were threatening, especially with his height. However, Sunset wasn’t scared. She was grinning on the inside as she was recording the whole interaction.

“Please don’t yell at me. You’re scaring me.” Sunset was purposely playing up the ‘scared little girl’ routine. “I just want to get what I need ta do my job.”

“Get out!”, Waters shouted.

Sunset immediately left Waters’ office, at which she dropped the act. She stuck her tongue at him before closing the door. Sunset stopped the recording and created a file on her phone labeled ‘VP Evidence’. There’s no way he’s not doing something illegal. Why else would he not want me to look at the books? With that done, she made her way to the principal’s office. Even though Sunset knew that Winters was fed up with Waters too, she wasn’t gonna tell Winters about her suspicions. For all she knew, Winters was in on it and was just trying to push Waters under the bus, or she might accidentally tip Waters off. For now, Sunset needed to keep this close to the chest.

Student council meeting
Date: Sep 11th, time: 3:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Today was the first meeting of the CMS student council. It was in an empty classroom. The room belonged to Mr. Blightson, who was their advisor. As he said, Flash joined the council as its secretary. Secretary Sentry, try saying that five times fast. Sunset had yet to appoint a vice president. That was on the long list of things she needed to do. Rarity was the treasurer, and if Sunset’s theory on Waters was correct, the two of them will be interacting more. The meeting was attended by most of the presidents of the various clubs. The rest of the Friendship Five were there too, minus Flutterbug, along with a few other kids. At least with Rainbow being the president of most of the sports clubs, Sunset’s job will be a bit easier. Most of the meeting was rather mundane, planning fundraisers, talking budgets, that sort of thing. Things picked up when the topic of the ‘no hugging’ rule was brought up. The council decided to launch a ‘parent campaign’ against the rule. A ‘parent campaign’ involved having kids complain to their parents and the parents complaining to the school. It was simple but effective. Overall, it was exactly like when Celestia would hold court, attendees acting like children included. These kids might actually be more mature than them. Eventually they got onto the topic of the dress code.

“Now, I think that we can all agree that the dress code is sexist.”, Rarity said.

“It’s also unconstitutional, and I say that because it actually is, not like how people will say that about something that they don’t like.”, Sunset said. Everyone in the meeting gave Sunset weird looks. “What? That actually happens. Some people go as far as to try and sue the city over it.”

“Riiight”, Rainbow said sceptically.

“Grr, whatever. Fact of the matter is that the dress code should either require boys to cover up more or not require girls to cover our shoulders.”

“Yeah!”, all the female attendees cheered.

“There are so many outfit designs that I can’t use because of that dumb rule.”, Rarity added.

“Yeah, and what kind of distraction are shoulders anyway. I mean I’ve never been distracted by someone’s shoulders. What, do the administrators expect people to go all “oh, yum, shoulders, yum yum”?”, Pinkie said, acting like a real creep in that last part. Everyone else collectively decided to pretend that last bit didn’t happen.

“So then, once this meeting is over, I will take this to Principal Winters. She can be made to see reason.”, Sunset said. “Before we rap up, I want you all to write down whatever donations, fundraiser money, or anything else like that and what you spend and bring it directly to me.”

Everyone looked at each other confusedly. “Why?”, Jacklyn asks. “Doesn’t dat go through Vice Principal Waters?”

“I had to sick Principal Winters on him to get the books from previous years. I’d rather not have ta go through that again.” That was partially true but not the main reason.

“Okay, Ah guess.” Jacklyn didn’t sound convinced but didn’t protest.

With that, the meeting was wrapped up. Before leaving, Sunset turned to Mr. Blightson. “You were awfully quiet.”

“I’m just the advisor. I give you kids power while making sure you don’t go overboard. You were doing just fine.”

Sunset nodded and left to go to Winters’ office.

Anzhong’s office
Date: same day, time: 9:30 pm

*Anzhong’s perspective*

Sunset and Anzhong were going over the books. They had already scanned everything into Anzhong’s computer, and the computer was reading out Anzhong’s half for him. Sunset was reading her half the old fashioned way. As the two read, they found clear evidence of skimming and fund misdirection. Mr. Waters had been stealing funds from all of the clubs, except the football club. He would keep half of what he stole and give the other half to the football club. It was never enough to be noticeable on its own but when gathered all into one place.

“This is exactly why the schools stopped doing collective fundraisers. They tried having it so that the school would have one big fundraiser and the profits would be split up evenly between the clubs. Not only were those less profitable, but the funds were never split evenly.”, Sunset said.

“Hm, I’m no detective, but from the sounds of things, it would seem that Mr. Waters is pumping up his old team. I don’t think a guy like that would have a specific person he was trying to help.”

“I agree, but I don’t think ‘pumping’ is the right term.”

Anzhong shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not a financial lawyer for a reason.”

“I saw a lot of old football trophies and pictures in his office. From the looks of things, he played football all through his schooling. He seems to have peaked in high school. It’s kinda sad really.”

“Hm, so, what is your plan?”

“First, I have ta know my enemy. I know what kind of power he holds himself, but I also need ta know who he knows. Who knows who else is in on it. Although, given its nature, I wouldn’t bet on there being others involved. Second is evidence. I’ve got this and a video of him acting threatening towards me, but given what I’ve learned of the US justice system, I’m gonna need more.”

Anzhong nodded. “Very good. Now, I need to get to my work. Have a good night.”

“You too.” Sunset gathered up the papers and exited Anzhong’s office.

Sunset’s room
Date: same day, time: 10:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset glared at her computer in frustration. The information it currently showed might very well derail her campaign. Hours of work down the drain if she was in on it too. Amanda Waters, wife of VP Cloudy Waters, was the current head of the school board. Sunset was not sure if she was surprised by the fact that Waters had a black wife or not. Sunset was certainly not expecting that seventy-something asshole to not be racist. Then again, he never made a remark about her race. “I guess even some of the most shit people need some redeeming qualities.” If Amanda was complacent in her husband’s actions, Sunset could be sure that she would get nowhere with the board. “On the other hand, if she’s not, I could have him sacked by this weekend. Hm” Sunset contemplated the risks and benefits of presenting her evidence to Amanda. Ultimately, Sunset settled on ‘more data required’. She knew nothing of this Amanda, and her social medias were no help in that matter. She simply had nothing to go on. Sunset needed to come up with a battle plan, but for now, Sunset’s battle plan would be ‘bed’.

CMS lunchroom
Date: Sep 12th, time: 12:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset and Flash sat together, like normal, but ever since the Fall Formal, they had begun holding hands. Sunset had told him about what she had discovered and how important it is to keep this all a secret. Flash could keep their adventures into the high school a secret. Sunset was not worried about him knowing this. Once that topic was finished with, they began talking about more mundane topics.

“I’ve got a new guitar teacher. She’s really nice.”, Flash said.

“I actually don’t know what a guitar is. Can you describe it?”, Sunset asked. It was getting rarer, but Sunset still encountered English words she didn’t know.

“Oh, um, a guitar has a large, hollow body, a long neck, and six strings.”

“Oh, I know what that is. We call it a (Equestrian word for guitar) in my language.” The guitar, on Equoes, was invented by the minotaurs. Many of the instruments that they have in Equestria were invented by the minotaurs. It really was a shame that their reputation was that they were con artists or meathead barbarians. They did have those, but in reality, they were a people of inventors, artists, and scholars. Much of what Equestrians take for granted was first invented by the minotaurs.

“Oh, neat. Do you know how to play?”

“No, I never learned how to play an instrument.”

“Do you want to learn with me? My lessons are on Fridays.”

Sunset thought about it. She had student council meetings every other Monday, fencing on Tuesdays and Thursdays, hockey on Wednesdays, and witch studies whenever she could manage. Her schedule was getting quite full, but spending more time with Flash would be nice. “That would be nice. I’ll ask my parents.”

SHWO ch42 Emi & Anura, the dinamic duo

Mory Patchwork Elementary
Date: Sep 12th, time: 3:00 pm

*Anura’s perspective*

Anura dreaded going to school. The other kids were mean. Emi used to keep them away with her antics. She would play all sorts of tricks on the kids she felt deserved it, and those tricks would get really scary if those kids did something to make Anura cry. Emi once put a contraption designed to blast chili powder in one’s face in the backpack of a kid that was calling Anura some really racist names. Emi got in a lot of trouble for it, but the kid left Anura alone after that. That was until Emi got sick. Now the kid and his goons have set their sights back on Anura. ‘Brownie’ was the most common one. ‘Dirty skin’ and ‘poop face’ were less common but still used. Racists really aren’t creative, are they? Emi has been teaching Anura how to deal with and scare the bullies, but they just weren’t scared of her, and Anura was not willing to resort to chemical warfare, yet.

At this point, Anura just wanted to get her stuff and get out of there, but she was stopped by the bully and his friends.

“Where are you going, poopy?”, Match Head said.

“You know you can try to be a little creative with your insults. Comparing my skin color to poop or dirt or just stating its color doesn’t take that much brain power.”, Anura stated coldly.

Match apparently didn’t take too kindly to that and made an aggressive move towards Anura. Anura stepped back, but her face never changed. “You smell bad.”, Anura stated. Match’s face became a snarl, and he started shouting and calling Anura names. Anura looked past Match and to his two friends. They were both cheering him on. Anura stepped past Match and walked over to one of his friends. “Why are you friends with this racist jackass? You’re black.”

“Because my family helped make this country. Your people are just here to take our jobs.”, David Jackson said.

Anura nailed Match in the nose with the back of her hand and gave David a flat look. “My family has been in this country for about as long as yours.” Anura ducked the punch Grayson Walker threw at her and walked towards the exit.

Emi’s room
Date: same day, time: 3:30 pm

*Anura’s perspective*

Ever since Emi’s diagnosis, Anura’s mother had been coming over to the Katons’ house to take care of Emi. Aunt Brigid still took Anura to school, and her mother still picked her up, but their lives truly have been turned on their heads. Being able to hang out at Emi’s place did have its perks. Thanks to Sunset’s hobby, they have every console on the market. Emi also has a variety of board and puzzle games. It did not surprise Anura that she needed all this stuff to keep mentally stimulated. The girls were currently playing one of the puzzle games while discussing how to deal with the bullies.

“Ah still say you should let me give you one of my tricks.”, Emi said.

“One of your tricks would involve some kind of bomb and/or poison. Do you not remember how pissed your parents were when one of your tricks sent Holaday Cheer to the hospital?”

“Of course, Ah remember, but do you remember that the doctors said that she was overreacting? All that “It burns! It burns!” stuff was just for attention. Her name’s stupid anyways. It’s ‘holiday’, not ‘holaday’.”

“You still sent her to the hospital.”

“It was flour and liquid ass! Okay, Ah probably shouldn’t have done the liquid ass part. Ah was clearly not thinking ahead there.”

“Uhg, fine. Let’s say we went with your plan. What would you do?”

Emi crossed her arms and gave Anura a wicked grin. “Well, they keep calling you ‘brownie’ and ‘poopy’. Ah say we give them some poopy brownies.”

Anura furrowed her eyebrows. “How do you plan on getting laxatives? I’m pretty sure you need a doctor to give them to you.”

“Have you ever read the reviews for Nile’s sugar free gummy bears?”

MPE lunchroom
Date: Sep 15th, time: 12:00 pm

*Anura’s perspective*

Anura sat at one of the lunch tables, alone. No one was willing to sit with her. She freaked everyone out. When she was younger, she would blurt out things about the other kids that she had no way of knowing. She had since learned how to not do that as often, but kids remember and tell other kids. Theories ranging from her being some creepy stalker to being an omnipotent goddess abounded to explain how she does it. Weirdly enough, none of them were about her being a witch. Anura wouldn’t have minded the peace, if it was actually accompanied by peace.

Match and his two cronies marched up to Anura’s table. Match did his usual huffing and puffing with the tweedle twins cheering him on. Anura was sick of hearing it so just tuned them out. Once they were done, Anura enacted the plan. She pulled out a brown paper bag and placed it on the boys’ side of the table.

“What’s that?”, Match asked.

“A peace offering. I hope that with this, we could at least be cordial.”

Match opened the bag and pulled out its contents. “Brownies? Aw, da brownie is bringing brownies.”

“I take that to mean that diplomatic relations can not be reached?”, Anura asked.

“Ha, no.” Match then began to scarf down the brownies, all of them.

Anura debated warning him, but he was finished before she could reach a decision. “That was meant for the three of you.”

“Ha, no way. I’m da boss. That means I get first pickings.”

“Hey, that’s not far.”, Grayson complained.

“Shut up!”, Match shouted.

“Um, Match, you should really start heading to the bathroom.”, Anura said.

“Yeah, and why should I?” Match had his hands on his hips all indignantly.

“Because those brownies were made with maltitol. That’s the stuff in sugar free gummy bears that make you really need ta go.”

As if on cue, Match’s stomach made a sound too similar to a car revving up. A look of panic spread across his face and he began to make a mad dash to the closest bathrooms. The two goons looked to each other, then to Anura, and then to where their boss ran off to. They then ran off to catch up with their boss.

Emi’s room
Date: same day, time: 3:30 pm

*Anura’s perspective*

“Okay, okay, then what happened?”, Emi asked after coming down from her laughing fit.

“Well, some of the other students joked about how the school was going ta have to call in the HAZMAT team, and David and Gray got real mad at Match for not sharing the brownies, even after they saw the side effects.”

“Those boys need ta get their priorities straight. Well, at least we can say that asshole’s ass is now cleaned, or would it be dirtier. Eh, either way, Ah doubt they got the joke.”

“What made you like this?”

“My dad sings me a song called ‘Sleep Well Monster Killer’ as a lullaby. How else do you expect me to turn out?”

Anura thought for a moment before speaking again. “I’ve never heard of that song.”

“You wouldn’t have, it was a creation of my dad. Hey, do you want me to ask him to sing it to you?”

“Um, I mean no disrespect, but I suspect it will have the exact opposite effect on me.”

“Eh, suit yourself.”, Emi said while shrugging her shoulders. “Now, all we need ta do is take care of Patrisha North” The face Emi made honestly scared Anura.

SHWO ch43 Sunset's on the case

Student council meeting room
Date: Sep 25th, time: 3:30 pm

*Rarity’s perspective*

This week’s meeting had just wrapped up. The no hugging rule had yet to be revoked, but everyone was still trying. VP Waters was a very stubborn man. The dress code had been successfully amended to allow women to have exposed shoulders and knees. The reason why women were ever required to cover those up eluded Rarity, but she didn’t care that much. She was just glad that was no longer the case.

As Rarity was getting up to exit the classroom with the rest of the students, she felt a hand being placed on her shoulder. Rarity turned around to see it was Sunset. Sunset was wearing a black hoodie, black leggings, and black sneakers. Girl really likes her black. Rarity could see a red shirt under the hoodie, and the hoodie had Sunset’s symbol over the left chest and Sunset’s gloves in the pocket. Rarity could also see that Sunset had bags under her eyes along with her regular resting “female dog” face.

“Oh, hello, Sunset. You look - nice.”

“Cut da crap. I look like shit, and I know it.”, Sunset said in her usual gruff demeanor. Rarity cringed a little at the swear. Her mother taught her to be a lady, and that includes not swearing. Normally, Rarity would try to help correct that behavior, but Sunset had made it very clear and damaged a few of Rarity’s shirts informing her that she doesn’t care nor what her help.

“Chm, right. Um, what is it that you want?” Rarity looked around to see that it was just Sunset, Mr. Blightson, and herself, and Mr. Blightson was packing up to leave. Rarity did not like being isolated. It didn’t matter that it was Sunset. The only people Rarity felt safe being isolated around were her four closest friends and her family. Rarity began to fidget and started subconsciously noting all escape routes.

“I found evidence of theft and misallocation of funds. You’re the treasurer; so, I thought you should have a look.” Sunset handed Rarity a manila folder. Inside was several years worth financial documents. “From the look of things, someone has been skimming the money from fundraisers, keeping half, and giving the other half to the football team.”

“Is-is that so? Hm, I-I’ll have to take some time to-to read all this.” Rarity’s voice had quickly become shaky. From her estimations, she had less than a minute before she had a panic attack and bolted for the door.

“Rarity, are you okay?”

“Oh, it’s fine. I-I’m fine.” Rarity gave Sunset a smile that, judging by the face she made, was unconvincing. Sunset merely crossed her arms and gave Rarity a look that was way too similar to the look of a disapproving parent. “I ne-need to not be isolated.”

“Okay, let’s go.” Sunset packed everything up and practically shoved Rarity out into the hallway. There were still a few students in the hall, and Rarity was able to calm down. “We still need ta talk about this, and it needs ta be somewhere private. Where would work for you?”

Rarity took a minute to collect herself and then answered. “The library stacks would work.”

“Good, let’s go.” Sunset led Rarity into the library and into the deepest part of the stacks. After setting everything down on the table, Sunset motioned for Rarity to take a seat. Both girls took their seats, and Rarity began looking over the documents.

Indeed, there was clear evidence of theft, and the way it was done could’ve only been done by people in two positions, but the time span knocked out one of those positions. “Vice Principal Waters has been stealing? It looks like he’s been doing it since he became the Vice Principal.”, Rarity said in shock.

“I know, but there are two problems with this. The first is, I don’t know if Winters is in on it, and second is that there is a Mrs. Waters as the head of the school board.”

“Hm, that’s certainly not going to help our case. Do you have a plan?”

“Two actually. I need your help to gather enough evidence that we can take it to the police. With how much he’s stolen, it will only be a misdemeanor, but it’s enough to get the courts interested.”

“You want me to get enough evidence that Waters' wife can’t save him.”

“Exactly”

“And what is your second plan?”

“Intel gathering on Mrs. Waters. If she’s on our side, we won’t need da cops.”

“What do you mean “intel gathering”?”, Rarity asked suspiciously.

“That’s my job. You just worry about getting the evidence. Rainbow told me about what happened to you but didn’t go into any detail whatsoever. I was wondering what happened.” Sunset was clearly trying to redirect the conversation, but at that point, Rarity knew that she wasn’t going to get the answers she wanted.

Figuring that she might get Sunset to open up to their attempts to befriend her, Rarity decided to tell her story. “Well, let’s see. It happened when I was six years old. I was with my family in Canterlot city to have a nice dinner out. We had finished our meal and were walking back to our car when the paper hat that my little sister was wearing was blown off her head. I ran off after the hat and got separated from my family in the crowd. As I was trying to find them I ended up away from the crowd and all alone. A man spotted me and offered to bring me back to my family. However, that was just a ruse. He grabbed my hand and started leading me to a van with two other men in it. If it weren’t for my dad coming in at that moment, I likely would have been sold into who knows what.”

“How did you know it was trafficking instead of just a kidnapper?”

“That’s what the detective told us.”

“Hm, were they ever caught?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“That’s too bad. You can keep all this. I have more copies.” With that Sunset packed up her stuff and walked off, leaving Rarity with the contents of the manila folder.

Rarity gave the contents another once over before packing up to leave herself. “This is going to be big.”

Ms. Michelson’s house
Date: Sep 29th, time: 4:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset’s parents agreed to let her take guitar lessons with Flash, and she was now at her first lesson. Sunset was surprised when she found out the lessons took place at the teacher’s house as that was not done in Equestria. Sunset seated herself next to flash as the lesson started.

“Hello, children. Sunset, you can grab a guitar, and we can get started.” Ms. Michelson said.

Sunset got up and grabbed one of the guitars. They were all the same brown color, not very exciting, but it worked. Sunset retook her seat, and the lesson began. Ms. Michelson started off teaching proper hand placement, then taught them how to play a few notes. This was all stuff Flash already knew how to do. So, he helped Sunset where she needed it. Near the end of the lesson, Ms. Michelson taught them how to play a simple song.

Once the lesson was over, Sunset, along with a few of the other kids, put their guitars back, but Flash hung on to his. “Don’t you need to put that back?”, Sunset asked.

“No, I own this one.”, Flash responded.

“Oh, how much does one cost?”

“A lot. The cheapest ones go for two hundred dollars. The only reason I have this one is because it was a gift from my brother.”

Sunset gawked at the price. It would take her months to earn enough money to get the cheapest option. It could take her over a year to get a good one. She couldn’t ask her parents for this. She was going to earn the money on her own.

Waters house
Date: Sep 30th, time: 1:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

All the lights in the surrounding area had long since been turned out. That left the street illuminated purely by the half moon and the stars. To ponies, this would be considered pitch black. To humans, this would be considered dark. To Sunset, it was no darker than a cloudy day. For her, dark would be when the moon, stars, and her own eyes no longer shined. Sunset was dressed head to toe in the darkest blues she could get a hold of. The only parts of her that were not blue were her shoes, gloves, and eyes. The neighborhood Sunset was now in consisted of smaller houses and various complexes. It was not dissimilar to the neighborhood she was raised in.

Sunset spotted her entry point. There was an open window on the second floor, and it didn’t lead into the master bedroom. It was easy for Sunset to climb up the brick exterior and open the window up fully. Once inside, Sunset removed her shuko and ashiko and placed them in her bag and one of her pockets. The room Sunset was in was a guest room/home office combo. The master bedroom was on the other side of the wall to Sunset’s right. Sunset placed the first of her bugs in the air vent and named it “office bugger” on her phone. Sunset moved on into the hallway. Sunset placed a bug inside the hallway air vent and named it “hall monitor”. Sunset then went downstairs and into the living room. Sunset placed her last bug in the living room vent and named it “LRB”.

With her work done, Sunset turned to head back the way she came but was stopped when she heard footsteps. Sunset hid behind the couch and closed her eyes to cut off the glow. The glow is too dim for most creatures to see, but Sunset wasn’t taking any chances. Sunset heard the footsteps go into the kitchen. The other person walked around the kitchen before heading back up the stairs. Sunset continued to remain completely still until she heard the door to the master bedroom close. Once she heard it close, Sunset stood up but did not head back upstairs. Sunset wanted to wait for the other person to go back to sleep. In the meantime, Sunset looked to see if there were any unlocked doors or windows. There weren’t any, and they had a security system. If she opened anything that they didn’t leave open, that thing would start screeching like a banshee. With her only way out made clear, Sunset crept back up the stairs, careful not to make a sound. Sunset slinked back into the guest room and back over to the window. She attached a grappling hook to the outside ledge and climbed out. Sunset closed the window to where it was when she came in. Careful not to dislodge the hook, Sunset scaled down the wall and onto the grass. With a simple flick of her wrist, the hook came free and fell to the ground. Checking that no one had spotted her, Sunset quickly packed up and left.

Katon family home
Date: same day, time: 3:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Tell the monster that hides beneath your bed to try somewhere else instead or you'll whack them in the head” Sunset quietly sang her father’s lullaby as she placed her key into the lock and opened the door. “There's demons to slay and monsters to hunt; they’ll cower when they see you, from the giant to the runt” As Sunset walked into the house, she felt a presence. It only took her a second to recognize it as her father, and she knew she was caught. “Hey, Dad.”

“Hello, Sunset. Did you have a good time?” Anzhong’s voice came from the living room.

“Let’s cut to the chase. I’m grounded, aren’t I?”, Sunset said, walking into the living room.

“You are. What made you think it was a good idea to sneak out without telling any of us?”

“Wait, that’s what you’re grounding me for, not telling you that I was sneaking out?”

“Correct. What if something happened to you? We would have no way of knowing where you were. I’ve lost count of the amount of children that go missing, and we don’t know where to start because they weren’t where they said they were going to be.”

“Wait, let me get this straight. You’re saying that I can go anywhere and stay out for as long as I want, so long as I tell you where I’m going?”

“Not anywhere, anywhere, but yes.”

“Oh, I did not know that. Well, now that I do know that, can I be ungrounded?” Sunset was about to give her most adorable smile before remembering Anzhong would not be able to see it.

“We’ll talk about it in the morning. Now, what were you doing out so late?”

“I was planting bugs in the Waters’ house. I wasn’t caught.”

“Adda girl.”

CMS
Date: Oct 2nd, time: 3:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

After talking with her parents Saturday morning, Sunset was still grounded. Their reasoning being that Sunset acted while believing that she was breaking a rule, and her actions resulted in her actually breaking a rule. Sunset was not happy about that and even more unhappy about how that would absolutely stand in court. They wouldn’t even need to add the first part because there’s, apparently, a “negligence of the law is no excuse” thing. There’s a law in Equestria that states “one must be aware of the law to break the law”. That means that towns with odd laws must have signs posted to declare that the law exists, or they are not applicable. Either way, that means that Sunset has to come straight home after school or practice.

As Sunset was walking out of the school, she was stopped by Rarity. “Sunset, wait up!”

“Please tell me that this has ta do with the case.”

“Oh, it does. I had Micro Chips look into the electronic stuff, and he found that the records were edited by Vice Principal Waters’ account.”

“You’re gonna need ta explain this to me. I have no idea what you mean by “electronic stuff”.”

“Oh, you see, at the end of every fundraiser, each club needs to register how much they make into what is called the treasurer’s database. Now, edits can be made by admin staff if an error was made, but there is no way that everyone has been making errors since it’s creation in 2000.”

“If it’s been happening since its creation, then it could just be a bug in the system.”

“Nope, there was a year, 2006, where no edits were made by anyone, and it was the same year that Mr. Waters came down with tuberculous meningitis. Mr. Waters was out of school for the entire year.”

“This is great, Rarity. We might be able to bring this to the police.”

“That’s what I was hoping for. Now, I have to wonder, what’s going on with your second plan?”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of it.”

“Does it have something to do with spy bugs?”

“What makes you say that?”

“Because of the one I found in your pocket.” Rarity held up one of Sunset’s bugs and presented it to her.

Sunset snatched it from Rarity, and Rarity got a pleased look on her face. “How did you do that?”

“I’m a pickpocket. My grandmother taught me how. She had to steal potatoes in order to survive the Nazi ocupation of Poland, and because of that, she taught me how to steal.”

“And here I thought my family legacy was weird.” Sunset turned on her heels and quickly made her way outside.

“Hey! You didn’t tell me what the bugs are for!” Rarity rushed after Sunset but stopped outside the front door.

“And I ain’t gonna!”

Sunset’s desk
Date: same day, time: 6:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Let’s see what you little buggers picked up.” Sunset had her spy bug program set up to record. The house was mostly quiet during school hours, and most of the time the Waters were home had nothing concrete. What Sunset had discovered was that the two were a match made in hell. They’re both unpleasant, rude, and sound miserable. They do talk about school stuff and money stuff but no stealing money from schools.

With nothing on the recordings, Sunset decided to listen in, live. Immediately, she heard crashing and shouting. It took her a minute to figure out what she was hearing. “Dad!”

SHWO ch44 Octorber fun

Katon family home
Date: Oct 2nd, time: 6:10 pm

*Anzhong’s perspective*

“Dad!” Anzhong heard Sunset scream from her room.

“Sunset?!” Anzhong rushed from the kitchen and into Sunset’s room.

“Listen to this.” Sunset handed Anzhong an ear piece.

Anzhong placed it in his ear, and he heard the sound of crashing and shouting. It sounded like there was a fight, one male and one female combatant. “What is this?”

“One of my bugs recorded it, just now.”

“The Waters house?”

“Correct”

“What’s the address?”

Sunset gave Anzhong the address, and Anzhong pulled out his phone.

“How are you calling?”

“The police”

Principal Winters office
Date: Oct 5th, time: 4:00: pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

After Anzhong called the police, Mr. and Mrs. Waters were both arrested. At first, the police were only going to arrest Mr. Waters, but Mrs. Waters assaulted the officers and was also arrested. At least, that’s what one of Anzhong’s friends said. Sunset was not sure how reliable this information was, but it seems likely to be true.

Now, Sunset was presenting her evidence to Principal Winters. As Principal Winters read, her face became more scrunched. She even bared her teeth at one point. “Sunset, I do hope you understand the severity of the allegations you’re bringing against Mr. Waters.”

“I’m completely aware. That does not change the fact that Vice Principal Waters stole from the school, and I believe the fact that the Waters got into such a heated domestic dispute that it resulted in heavy objects being thrown around supports my first video. Mr. Waters is too dangerous to be around children.”

“How did you get your second recording?”

“My father and I were the ones to call it in.”

“Hg, thank you Ms. Shimmer. I will present this to the acting board head.”

“Thank you” With that, Sunset exited Winters’ office. While leaving and Winters wasn’t looking, Sunset placed a bug behind the bookshelf next to the door.

“How’d it go?”, Flash asked.

“It went well.”, Sunset said while taking the seat next to Flash.

“You’re not worried about Winters being in on it?”

“Not entirely. That’s why I’m going to keep an eye, or rather a bug, on her.”

“How long do those things last?”

“Their batteries last a month.”

“Now, what do we do?”, Flash asked.

“Wanna go back ta my place?”

“Sure”

Emi’s room
Date: Oct 15th, time: 1:00 pm

*Emi’s perspective*

Emi hummed to herself as she worked on her latest trick. By the time she goes back to school, she’s going to have a whole wave of new tricks. Her latest trick was a jack-in-the-box with creepily sweet music. When it pops, the jack will have a sign that says “I see you” and then a creepy laugh will play. Everybody at school is already creeped out by Emi, and they will know this is her handiwork.

Just as Emi was about to test her creation, she heard Sunset walking up the stairs. Given that Mom and Dad were out on a date and everyone else was downstairs, that could only mean that she wanted to talk to Emi. Emi’s suspicions were proven correct when Sunset knocked on her door.

“Come in. Watch your step.”, Emi said while turning to face the door.

As Sunset entered, she had to step over various semantics and recipe sheets. Emi liked to keep records of how to build her stuff, and when she’s actively working on a project, the needed information ends up on the floor. “I want to talk about what we’re going to do for this Halloween. Trick-or-treating is not exactly a germ free experience.”

“It’s not like Ah’m going to be sitting in a single room for eight hours, surrounded by a bunch a’ snotty crotch goblins. At worst, another group will come up ta talk ta us. Ah c’n jus’ stay behind Mom. There’s no way Ah c’n get sick.”

“Be that as it may, you simply can’t afford to get sick. If you get so much as a cold, you could die. I would jus’ like to be safe rather than sorry.”

“Fine, fine, as long as it doesn’t interfere with me collecting candy.”

“I wouldn’t dream of depriving you of your life blood.”, Sunset said while putting a hand to her heart.

“Ha ha, very funny. What’s your plan?”

“My plan is to put you in a HAZMAT suit and make it a part of your costume. I’ve come up with a few ideas.” Sunset handed Emi a drawing pad. The designs were good and ranged from a straight up HAZMAT suit to versions of already existing ideas that were modified to cover everything.

“I like this one.” Emi pointed to a cat burglar costume that used her fox mask.

“Okay then, I’ll start putting it together.”

“Thank you, Sunset.”

Sunset gave Emi a thumbs up and carefully left the room.

Emi turned back around and began turning the handle of the jack-in-the-box. The music played, and the jack sprang up. The sound of a low, staticy recording of Emi’s laugh played out from the box. It was perfect.

Emi placed her new scare-in-a-box onto her shelf of completed works. The shelf contained powder bombs, other creepafied toys, stinck bombs, glitter bombs, and other weapons of mass chaos. Emi wasn’t sure which one to call her masterpiece. She’s just too happy with all of them. Emi turned to pick up her schematics from the floor. As she was gathering them up, an idea for an even more devious device came to her. Now, all she had to do was find a way to bring her idea into reality.

Sunset’s bedroom
Date: Oct 28th, time: 5:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset’s day had been going well. The day was relaxed. Her homework was done, her and Emi’s costumes were done, she got some witch training in, and she had not much else to do. She wasn’t in a mode to play video games, and her wrist was starting to get tired from drawing. Without anything she wanted to do, Sunset got up and exited her room. No one was in the main area. Sunset looked outside and saw a sight she never thought she would see, Emi meditating. Sunset stealthed outside and saw that Emi was meditating and not just sleeping.

“Is there something we can help you with?”, Anzhong asked.

“No, I’m jus’ surprised that Emi’s actually meditating.”

“Hey, Ah’m disciplined.”, Emi protested.

“Six months ago, you were bouncing off the walls so much that you could barely do your homework.”, Sunset deadpanned.

“Yeah, yeah, pin the blame on me. It’s not the fact that it was boring or barely readable because they’re crappy copies.”

“They can’t be dat bad.”

“Oh, trust me, they are. You’re lucky you never had ta deal with US elementary schools. Do you even have copiers in Equestria?”

“Actually, we don’t.”

“What kind of third world micronation is Equestria?”

Sunset didn’t answer. She would tell them everything, in time.

Katon family home
Date: Oct 31st, time: 5:00 pm

*Anura’s perspective*

“Hello, Anura. Emi’s in ‘er room.”, Brigid said.

“Thank you”, Anura said, then went upstairs and into Emi’s room. Her room was a perfect reflection of her personality. It was painted with dark blues and blacks. The walls were lined with bookshelves, but the shelves had few books. They were mostly home to her creations, parts that would soon become part of one of her creations, or the blueprints for her creations. She still slept in her child’s bed, but Anura knew that was going to change soon. There was a nice, big window that let in a lot of light but was covered a lot of the time by the blackout curtains. Emi’s ceiling was painted like the night sky and had glow in the dark stars dotted about. Emi was sitting on her bed doing - something.

“Emi, what are you doing?”

“Hm, oh, Hi, Anura. Ah didn’t hear you come in.”

“Wow, that’s a whole new level of concentration for you.”

Emi stuck her tongue out at Anura.

“What are you doing?”, Anura repeated.

“Ah have this incredible plan for a new trick, but I can’t figure out how to make it work. Ah already asked Sunset to help, but she said that Ah’d need magic to make this work.”

“And you’re still trying to make it work anyway.”

“Sunset told me something the last time I was in a funk that fits here. “The only thing impossible in life is that anything’s impossible.””

“I like that. Either way, we need to get ready for trick or treating.”

Emi looked up to the clock on her wall and got an “oh, shit” face. “Crap, it’s that late already.” Emi hopped out of bed and ran to her closet, and Anura turned around from Emi. Anura was already dressed in her costume. The two of them were going in twin cat burglar costumes. The only difference between them would be their masks. Of course, they did have reflective tape on them. A fact Emi was not happy with, saying that no sane ninja would wear anything reflective. When Emi announced she was done dressing, Anura turned back around. Emi motioned for them to leave. Heading down stairs, they saw Sunset dressed as a pirate, Anzhong dressed in his McRuff costume, and Mom dressed as a wrestler. The only one not dressed up was Brigid.

“Mom, why aren’t you in costume?”, Emi asked.

Brigid gave Emi an apologetic smile. “Ah’m sorry. Ah have some work dat Ah need ta do. Ah’ll join ya late’.”

Emi looked sad but also suspicious. “Okay”, she said normally.

“Anzhong and I will still be taking you.”, Mom said.

Emi nodded, and everyone left to start trick-or-treating. The trick-or-treating went as normally as it could’ve. Emi made sure not to get too close to anyone, and people didn’t really ask about Emi’s costume. They met up with Brigid about a third of the way through. She was dressed as a pirate captain. The real fun began when they got back to the Katon house.

“Emi, we got a present f’r ya.”, Brigid said. Brigid led everyone upstairs and into Emi’s room.

Emi’s old bed was no longer in her room. In its place is a bunk bed desk combo. Sunset plugged her ears as a massive smile spread across Emi’s face. Emi proceeded to imitate the sound of a tea kettle. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Emi ran into her room and climbed up onto the bed. “I love it!” Emi then hopped off her bed and started reorganizing her room, incorporating her new desk, and everyone else left, deciding to let her get to it.

Sunset’s bedroom
Date: Oct 31st, time: 11:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Like many nights before, Sunset lay awake with her thoughts spiralling. Questions about who she has become, where she belongs, and what her future is. She has not been able to communicate with Nana since the first time. That only leaves her stuffed phoenix to talk to, who isn’t much help. Mr. Waters being relieved of his position did make Sunset feel good, but she still had this void in her chest. Its intensity varied, and Sunset could ignore it easily enough, but it wasn’t getting better. “Stupid complicated human emotions.” Sunset turned her focus to her anger of Mrs. Waters not being sacked. Despite the fact she attacked the police officers, she was still reinstated as the board head. From what Sunset had overheard of Mrs. Waters, that was going to be a bad thing. Mrs. Waters was not only complicit in her husband’s theft but actively encouraged it. That fight was because Mrs. Waters learned that Mr. Waters was giving half of what he stole to the football team. Unfortunately, Sunset couldn’t give the cops that evidence without admitting how she actually got it. That leaves Mrs. Waters in a position where she could retaliate against the school, but Sunset doesn’t plan on letting that stand. “Your move Waters.”

SHWO ch45 Tales from the others part1

Emi’s room
Date: Nov 4th, time: 10:00 am

*Emi’s perspective*

“Hey Emi, one of your classmates is here.”, Sunset said from Emi’s doorway.

“Who?”, Emi asked.

“Rynin”

“Rynin’s not one of my classmates. He goes to a different school. Ah know him from da park.”

“Oh, my mistake. Either way, he’s downstairs.”

Emi hopped off her bed and followed Sunset down the stairs. Rynin was just done getting decontaminated. This is the first time Emi and Rynin had seen each other since the diagnosis. That also means that Rynin hasn’t seen Emi’s bald head, and the face he made clearly showed that. “Don’t look so shocked. You know how beautiful I am.”

“Ah, oh, um, sorry.”

Emi shook her head at Rynin’s attempt of digging himself out of that hole. “Shut up. Let’s go up to my room.”

“Sounds good.”, Rynin said quickly, and followed Emi up to her room.

“So, what do ya wanna play?”

“Dumb Deaths”

“What’s y’r Mom’s problem with these games?”

“It’s because it has the Grim Reaper on it.”

“The Grim Reaper is present in slovic mythology. Although it’s a ‘she’, has a white robe, and goes by ‘Śmierć’ or ‘kostuch’.”

“She says the Grim Reaper is Satanic imagery.”

“Do you think that?”

“I don’t care. I just want to play a fun game.”

Emi smiled and got to setting up the game. Dumb Deaths is a game were you have to seperate survival myths and facts. It’s typically a college aged game, but Emi’s parents got it for her as a way to encourage analytical thinking and information gathering. The two played the game, and like always, Emi won.

“How do you keep winning?”, Rynin asked while scratching his head.

“I’m a ninja. Despite what pop culture would have ya believe, ninjas aren’t unstoppable super soldiers. We’re spies, saboteurs, the occasional assassin, and, most importantly, extreme survivalists. Knowing what’s a myth and what’s true is survival 101.”

“I’m going to beat you one of these days.”

“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen. So, what do ya wanna do now?”

“I’d like to do some tests with your powers. I’d really like to learn more about them.”

“Okay, what do ya wanna test first?”

Rynin grabbed a notepad and pen from his bag. “First, what all can your powers do?”

“Well, Ah can see and sense spirits, sense emotions, and have a heightened sense of where things are.”

“Okay then, are there any spirits here?”, Rynin said after writing in his notepad.

“Nope, although, there are some at the nearby highschool, according to Sunset.”

“Wait, your adopted sister has these powers too?”

“It’s not like Ah’m one of a kind. There are people like me all over the world.”

“Okay, let’s get back to the tests. I’m going to blindfold you, and you try to sense what I’m feeling.”

“Don’t make this weird.”, Emi said while crossing her arms and giving Rynin a mean glare.

Rynin got up and grabbed Emi’s night mask. After giving the mask to Emi, Rynin took his seat and pulled a book from his bag. “Ready?”

“Ready”, Emi said after putting the mask on.

It took a while for Rynin to speak, and Emi could hear the turning of pages. “Okay, what am I feeling now?”

“Aside from intense curiosity, happiness.”

Emi heard Rynin write in his notepad and then more page turning. It was another few minutes before Rynin spoke again. “What am I feeling now?”

“Boredom”

That cycle repeated eight more times. “Emi, I’m going to amend the testing process. From now on, I’ll tap your leg when I’m ready.”

“Okidoki”

Rynin repeated this new process ten times. “Okay, you can take off the mask.”

“So, how’d I do?”

“Out of the twenty times, you got all of them correct.”

“You sound surprised.”

“It’s just that this is extremely unlikely to be an accident, and you would have had no verbal cues for the second half. I can’t explain it.”

“Huh, look, I’m not well educated in the science behind my powers, but, from what I overheard from Sunset, this would be an evo-lution-airy ad-van-tage for humans.”

“A species so reliant on communication would benefit from being able to read each other's emotions like that.”

“Exactly, although, you’d have ta talk ta Sunset if ya want more of the scientific stuff.”

“Okay, I’d like to test your spatial sense next.”

“There actually is an existing test for that.”

“There is? What is it?”

“I forget what it’s called, but basically, the test giver stands behind the test taker with a bokken or something similar, and the test giver will randomly swing the bokken down on the test taker’s head. The test taker needs to roll out of the way before they’re hit but not before the swing.”

“That sounds perfect.”

“Great, I’ll go get my dad. He’s the only one certified to give the test.” Emi hopped up and began running out of the room but stopped at the door when Rynin spoke.

“Wait, you need to be certified to give the test?”, Rynin asked confusedly.

“Kind of. The test giver needs to have taken the test themself. My dad says it has something ta do with knowing how to do it right.” With that, Emi resumed running to grab her dad. “Hey, Dad!”

“Hello, Emi. Are you and your friend having fun?”

“We are. Rynin and I are testing my abilities, and Rynin wants to test my spatial sense. Do you remember that test where the taker has to dodge being smacked on the head from behind with a bokken?”

“The sakki test?”

“Yeah, that one. Can we do the test?”

“Emi, it takes many years of training before one can even hope to pass that test.”

“It’s not like Ah haven’t done stuff like that before, and it’s not like there’s some consequence, beyond getting bonked on da head, for failing.”

“Hm, I suppose you’re right. Alright, I’ll meet you outside. Go grab a bokken and a helmet.”

“A helmet? It’s just a wooden sword.”

“Emi”, Dad said seriously.

“Fine”, Emi said, defeated. Emi ran back to her room and told Rynin to come outside with her. Emi then ran into the garage and grabbed one of the longer bokken from the wall and her helmet from her bike. Emi ran back outside to see Rynin and her father waiting for her.

“Wow, is that a sword?!”, Rynin asked.

“This is a bokken, a wooden sword.”, Emi answered.

“Cool”

“Alright Emi, put the helmet on and take a seat.”

Emi handed her father the bokken, put the helmet on, and sat down in front of him, closing her eyes. Dad patted her on the head to make sure he was oriented properly, and Emi began waiting. It did not take as long as Emi feared it would. Once Emi sensed the strike, she rolled out of the way.

“Ta-da”, Emi said when she righted herself.

“Can you do that a few more times? I want to make sure it wasn’t just an accident.”, Rynin said after writing in his notepad.

“Fiiine” Emi was getting a bit annoyed now, but understood that Rynin was just being a good scientist. “Let me guess, nine more times.”

“That’d be good.”

Emi got herself back in place, and they began repeating the process. Emi successfully completed all of the tests. “Ya got what ya need?”, Emi asked Rynin.

“Yes, thank you.”

“What knowledge have you gained from these experiments?”, Dad asked Rynin.

“Well, there is no doubt that Emi’s abilities are real, but I still don’t know how they work. I have a few theories but no idea how to test them.” Rynin put his notepad and pen into his pocket but then seemed to focus on something else. “Mr. Katon, why did you need that wood sword when your cane would’ve worked?”

“Come here.” Dad grabbed the bokken and his cane. “Hold these.” Dad handed the two to Rynin.

“Your cane’s a lot heavier.” Rynin noticed.

“Good, now, imagine if Emi had not dodged one of the strikes and I’d use my cane. What do you think would happen?”

“Emi would’ve gotten hurt, and with her current state…”

“Hey, Ah’m not that fragile. Plus, the cancer hasn’t spread to my skull, yet.”

Rynin got a look on his face that looked like fear mixed with shock and something else that Emi couldn’t place.

“I’d say it’s a good time for the two of you to get back to your games.”, Dad said while gathering everything up. “I’ll put everything back.” Dad reached out for Emi’s helmet, and she gave it to him.

Emi ran back upstairs with Rynin following her.

Canterville College

Date: Nov 9th, time: 3:15 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

When classes are wrapped up for the day, Brigid is usually left to take care of paperwork for the next couple of hours. Although, all the paperwork is done, for once. That left Brigid with nothing to do. Getting bored with opening and reopening the same three apps on her phone, Brigid began daydreaming. Brigid thought back to when she was a student. More specifically, when she met Anzhong.

*Flashback*

Canterville College
Date: Sep 2nd, 1998; 3 years after MCM, time: 12:00 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

As had become routine in the last two years, Brigid sat alone. She did not mind this whatsoever. Nobody liked her, and she liked nobody. As much as Brigid wanted to enjoy her meal, the shrill laughter of Spoiled Milk and her piece of shit friends made that very difficult.

“Ew, is that a dog?”, one of the cackling hyenas shrieked.

Brigid looked around to see what the hyenas were talking about, and in fact, there was a dog, a seeing eye dog.

“Yes, Ai is a dog.”, the boy attached to “Ai” said.

“Who let you bring a dog on campus. You’re going to get my allergies worked up.”, Spoiled said in her usual “I’m better than you” attitude.

Before the boy could speak, Brigid spoke up. “It’s a damn seein’ eye dog! It’s written right dere on da harness! If ya couldn’t see dat den ya should get some glasses, n’ Ah know y’r not allergic ta dogs! Ah’ve seen ya sittin’ in a car with a sheddy german shepherd in da back seat, n’ ya weren’t sneezin’!”

“Hmf, well I never.”

“Neve’ bothe’ ta use y’r brain! Doesn’t surprise me!”

The boy walked over to Spoiled and leaned down so their faces were only a few inches apart. Even though he spoke in a soft, quiet voice, the cafeteria had gone quiet, and Brigid could hear him. “I believe it would be a good idea for you to pay more attention to what’s around you, instead of just yourself.” The boy stood back up and began to walk over to Brigid’s table. He used his cane to figure out where the seat was and sat down. “I appreciate your assistance with that situation. Unfortunately, stuff like that is practically a daily occurrence for me, and it’s rare for others to step in and help.”

“Ah only did it ‘cause Ah hate dat girl.”

“I don’t believe you. I do believe that you hate her, but I also believe that you don’t like to stand by while others are being bullied.”

“Ya don’t know me at all.”, Brigid said angrily.

“That is true, but I’d like to get to know you.”

Brigid gave him an incredulous look. “What’s your name?”

“Anzhong Katon, and yours?”

“Brigid O’Floinn”

“I think we are going to have a good relationship.” The way Anzhong smiled made Brigid want to punch him.

*Present day*

Brigid cringed when she thought about how much of an edgelord she was. At least it led to her meeting Anzhong. Brigid then thought back to their first date. It was over a year after they met. Anzhong had chipped away at Brigid’s armer until she began to open up again.

*Flashback*

The Lobster Boat
Date: Nov 5th, 1999, time: 6:00 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

“Da Lobster Boat?”, Brigid said.

“They serve fish and lobster that they catch during the day. It’s as fresh as you can get.”, Anzhong said.

Anzhong had lived in the city since he was a teen. Brigid had only lived in the city for a little over three years. It did not surprise her that he knew more of this city’s hidden gems than she did, but Brigid was surprised by what this city had to offer. Before meeting Anzhong, Brigid had the impression that the US was filled with nothing but chain businesses, fast food, and trailer parks. In her defense, the town her aunt and uncle live in was exactly that. Learning about this town’s history and trying the various delicacies had thoroughly changed her opinion.

“Shall we go in?”, Anzhong asked.

“We shall.”, Brigid answered.

Anzhong instructed Ai to lead them in. Ai was clearly getting up there in years, but she did her job well. Brigid was glad that she got to know her but was also sad that she would only be around for another few years. She was truly a sweet dog and got along with Pumpkin quite nicely. The hostess gave Ai strange looks as she seated them. Brigid had already prepared herself for some kind of confrontation. It really was a near daily occurrence where someone would get their knickers in a twist about Ai. People wanting to pet Ai was the least they had to deal with. People would accuse Anzhong of not really being blind because he didn’t have cloudy eyes. Some people would get offended when Anzhong would tell them they couldn’t pet Ai. One man even tried to take Ai away from Anzhong while Brigid wasn’t in sight. The man had previously confronted them about Ai but backed off when Brigid stood up, revealing she was half a foot taller than him. Anzhong panicked when that happened and nearly killed the man with one whack to the head from his cane. Because of that incident, Brigid had become extremely protective of them both and began prepping for those instances.

Brigid had to read the menu out for Anzhong. They could hear tables around them commenting on Ai. So far, it was just comments about how cute she was or how well behaved she was. Hopefully, that will be it, but from experience, they both knew it would not. They both ordered their food, and Brigid practiced ASL with Anzhong while they waited. Anzhong initially thought that the idea of him learning ASL was silly, but Brigid blew his mind when she showed him how blind people can use ASL. Now, he was determined to learn it.

It didn’t take much longer for their food to arrive, but it also didn’t take much longer for someone to complain about Ai. A man in a business suit came up to their table. “Excuse me, sir.”, business suit man said.

“You are excused.”, Anzhong retorted. He knows what’s happening.

Business suit man was caught off guard by that. “Um, sir, people have made complaints regarding your dog. I’m afraid that you’ll have to leave.”

“My dog is a service animal. If you kick me out because of her, you will be violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you are convicted, you would face a fine up to $75,000 for your first offense and $150,000 for additional offences.”

That took the wind out of his sails. The man went wide-eyed and immediately backpedaled. “Oh, no sir. Sorry to interrupt your evening. Have a pleasant evening.” business suit man walked away from their table as quickly as was polite.

“Hey, no screamin’. How lucky are we?”, Brigid jokingly said. Anzhong just shook his head and continued eating.

Business suit man became the butt of their jokes for the rest of the dinner. The rest of the dinner was peaceful, but they still wanted to get out of there quickly. After finishing their food and exiting, the two of them decided to stroll around. This part only mattered to Brigid, but the area they were in had very little light pollution. Brigid could see the stars clearly. It was a comforting feeling. Her mother would say that their bodies come from the earth and their soles come from the stars, and when they die, they return to the stars and earth. Brigid wasn’t sure about the “soul” part, but the whole being children of the Earth and stars bit was scientifically accurate. Either way, the idea that her clan was watching over her from the stars was comforting. Brigid wished that Anzhong could see the stars.

*Present day*

The attitude around service animals had certainly gotten better over the last decade, but those types of interactions still happen a lot and are another reason why Anzhong is a bit of a shut-in. When they moved in together, Brigid became responsible for all chores outside the house while Anzhong became responsible for all chores inside the house. The house, back then, was a bit of a fixer upper. It was nothing major. The previous owner had disappeared under suspicious circumstances mid-renovation, and there was no one to take care of the home until he was declared legally dead, 9 years later. They had to swim through the grass when they first went to view the house. That was actually eight years ago, to the day.

*Flashback*

The eventual Katon family home
Date: Nov 9th, 2000, time: 2:00 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

“This house is an older one. It was built in the late 1800s. It has also been vacant for over nine years. It has four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a detached garage, a mother-in-law suite, a basement, and two above ground floors. However, the house was abandoned in the middle of a renovation; so, some areas are unfinished..”, the retail agent said.

“What do you mean by “abandoned”?, Anzhong asked.

“The previous owner disappeared and has since been declared dead. The case is still ongoing, as far as I’m aware.”

“How does it look?”, Anzhong asked Brigid.

“Da grass is severely ove’grown, but da house looks fine, from da outside. Dere’s a chain link fence surroundin' da front yard.”

“If you follow me, I’ll show you the inside.”

Anzhong and Brigid followed the agent through the fence and cleared pathway, onto the porch, and into the house. Inside was a short hallway leading to the main area and a bathroom to the left, a set of stairs leading upstairs in the middle, and a closed door with a sign that says “not a closet” to the right.

“What does dat door lead to?”, Brigid asked.

“That door leads to the basement. The basement is unfinished. Know, follow me into the kitchen. The appliances do need to be replaced, but the counter tops are all marble.”

Inside the main area were half torn down walls, a destroyed sofa, a table and chairs that had seen better days, and 15 year old appliances. The counters were a nice marble, and despite the dust, the cabinets were in good order. Brigid had seen a bunch of old houses with lots of little cabinets stacked under each other, but luckily, these were nice and big. The kitchen was surprisingly efficient. The house she lives in now is horrendously inefficient in its use of kitchen space, with the “lots of tiny cabinets” included. One thing that she absolutely hates is when the sink is in the corner. That blocks off a good cubic foot of space behind the sink; which her current place is also guilty of, but this place is not. The stove is placed in the island, and there’s more cabinets under it. Opening up the cabinets, Brigid found pots and pans. “Yes” Brigid heard Anzhong say. Brigid looked up to see Anzhong touching the oven. The oven was the only “new” appliance and is placed in the wall right around Anzhong’s chest. He had previously explained how he preferred the older style of elevating the oven. It gave him more control over the situation. “Dere are cabinets unde’ da stove too.” Anzhong got a huge, by his standards, smile on his face. The kitchen was definitely a ‘yes’.

The dining room was not very interesting. Even before the walls started to come down, it was more like an extension of the kitchen. They moved on to the living room. Strangely, you had to take a step down to get into the living room, which Ai warned Anzhong of. The couch sat in front of a moderate sized TV, and there is a fireplace in the wall bordering the bathroom. Considering when the house was built, Brigid found the living room configuration weird. To the left of the TV, is double doors with a large, solid pane of glass in each. Brigid had some security concerns about the doors, but they did let in some much needed light. Even with the line of windows near the ceiling, it was a bit dark in the room for Brigid’s liking. She would need to consult Anzhong about the security of the doors. He was, apparently, some sort of expert with that sort of thing. Ah guess workin’ f’r da law gives ya some insight inta dat.

“What does dat door lead to?”, Brigid asked.

“That door leads to the mother-in-law suite. It’s unfinished. We can take a look at it now, if you like.”

Brigid nodded yes, and they followed the agent into the mother-in-law suite. The first thing Brigid noticed was the large near floor to ceiling window. It was nice, but it was the only window in the room. That left the rest of the room rather dark. The window faced a loft of sorts that is home to a bed and has a desk under it. Strange. There were various pieces of furniture wrapped in plastic and shoved next to the stairs. Along the same wall is a mostly finished bathroom. A toilet and sink just needed to be installed. The far side of the room was where the kitchenette would’ve gone, but it looks like the work to put it in wasn’t even started. All they would’ve needed to do was paint the place, put the toilet and sink in, and set up the furniture and this place would be habitable.

“Would you like me to show you the basement or the upstairs next?”

“Basement, please.”, Anzhong said.

The agent took them to the basement. The floor was concrete, and the space was completely empty except for a pellet stove, water heater, washer and dryer, and a door that led into another bathroom. Anzhong walked around to explore the room. He was done quickly, and they proceeded to the only part of the house left. The upstairs was the only part of the house that was completely finished, but it was still covered in a near decade worth of dust. The four bedrooms were furnished, but Brigid could tell that only one of them was not a guest room. Looking into the master bedroom was strange. Aside from what would have been moved by the police, the room had to be the exact way the previous owner left it, dirty clothes pile included. Brigid spotted a picture on the nightstand. It was of a man and a young girl. It felt like a massive invasion of privacy being in that room. Either a daddy’s missin’ his little girl, or a little girl is missin’ ‘er daddy.

*Present day*

After she got back home that day, she looked up what happened to the previous owner. It was the father who went missing. He left work one day and was never seen again. That girl in the picture was indeed his daughter. She had been in a car crash that left her with severe brain damage that left her unable to live on her own. Brigid went to go talk to her. She was 19 when she was in the accident and 29 when Brigid met her. She was capable of recognizing her condition, and she was angry that she was like that. The mother-in-law suite was meant to give her some independence while her father could still keep an eye on her. It was just the two of them. Neither the man nor his body has been found to this day.

SHWO ch46 Tales from the others part2

Canterlot county courthouse
Date: Nov 9th, time: 1:00 pm

*Anzhong’s perspective*

Despite the crime rates of Canterlot city, there was only one courthouse for criminal matters in the whole county. That meant that the courthouse staff was overworked and prisoners could be waiting over a month for their case to start. Anzhong was currently waiting for his case to be called. It was a simple battery case, and Anzhong was confident they would convict due to there being video of the whole thing.

Ki alerted Anzhong that he needed to relieve himself, and Anzhong took him outside. Going outside would mean that they would need to go back through security. That normally wouldn’t be a problem, but there was a new guard on staff that was a bit too big for his breeches. Strangely enough, his problem wasn’t with KI, it was with the cane. The guard tried to confiscate it, saying it was a weapon. He was correct in calling it a weapon but was also incorrect in his attempt to take it. Either way, Anzhong was long used to that kind of behavior, and another guard that worked there for longer stepped in and shut the newbie up.

Once Ki was done, Anzhong got in line to re-enter the building. He took Ki’s harness off and put it on the conveyor belt, along with his keys and phone. Once it was their turn, Anzhong instructed Ki to go through first then went through himself.

“Sir, you’re not allowed to take this with you. You can either take it back out to your car or surrender it. You will not get it back if you surrender it.” The same newbie guard from earlier said.

“Scott, we already had this talk today. You’ll be getting a write up for this.”, the senior guard from earlier said.

“I think I can handle this one.” Anzhong grabbed a pencil from his pocket and showed it to the newbie. Anzhong then threw the pencil into the far wall, in which it became embedded. “Yes, my cane can be used as a weapon, but so can a simple pencil. If you are so concerned with keeping all potential weapons out of this building, then you will need to keep everything out.”

Anzhong heard the newbie gaping like a fish and the senior guard laughing at the newbie. She was used to Anzhong so was not shocked by the display.

Anzhong went to go get his things but found Ki already had his harness on and his things were already being placed in his hand. “Something tells me he’s not going to make it through the month.”, the senior guard said.

“I am inclined to agree.” Anzhong placed his items back where they belonged and began walking back to his courtroom.

Canterlot Memorial park
Date: Nov 14th, time: 12: 30 pm

*Anzhong’s perspective*

Anzhong had decided to take his lunch in the nearby park. It was a nice place and, depending on how deep you were, quiet. Anzhong had let Ki take a break too. From the sounds of things, Ki was jumping around in the fallen leaves. Anzhong was enjoying his bento box. When he was about done, he heard what sounded like a young boy.

“Doggie!”, the boy shouted. Given that the only dog in the area was Ki, Anzhong paid close attention to the situation. The boy ran over to where Ki was and began making happy noises. Whatever the boy was doing apparently made Ki uncomfortable as he began running back to Anzhong. “Doggie?!” Anzhong could hear the boy running after Ki.

“I’m sorry young man, but Ki would like to be left alone.”, Anzhong said once the boy approached. Ki was now hiding behind Anzhong, and the boy was in front of Anhong.

“But I want to pet him.”, the boy whined.

“As much as you might want to pet a dog, they might not want to be petted, and their wishes need to be respected.”

“Aw”, the boy said in disappointment. “Hey mister, why do you have that stick?”

“It’s my cane. I use it to know what’s in front of me.”

“Why?”, the boy asked.

“I’m blind. That means that my eyes don’t work the way they are supposed to.”

“Why?”

“I was born this way. There’s a thing called an optical nerve that tells your brain what your eyes see. I was born without working optical nerves.”

“So, you can’t see me at all?”

“That is correct.”

“Can you still do normal stuff?”

“Mostly, I can’t drive a car, but I can still do most jobs and play most games. I just do it differently from how you might do it.”

“Cool”

Around then, Anzhong heard a woman call for someone. “Abayomi! Abayomi! It’s time to go!”

“I gotta go. Nice meeting you, mister.”

Anzhong waved to the boy as he ran off. Anzhong checked his watch and, finding that his break time was almost over, put Ki’s harness back on and began walking back to the office.

Minerva’s house
Date: Nov 14th, time: 6:30 pm

*Minerva’s perspective*

With Emi’s condition worsening, Minerva has been working on finding something to help her. Unfortunately, her remedies were not designed to deal with cancer. The best she could do was provide an immune boost. For the first time in her life, Minerva felt useless. It was her medicinal assistance that helped to bring Emi into the world in the first place, but now, she can’t find a way to keep her in this world. Anything Minerva gives Emi needs to be cleared by her doctor, Scylla Rojas, to ensure that there will be no negative interactions with her other treatments. Dr. Rojas had provided Minerva a list of compounds known to react badly, and that left Minerva with very few options.

Minerva had learned much about leukemia and cancer in general since the diagnosis, and she was surprised that more people don’t die from it. At this point, Minerva had conceded to the fact that the best she could do was make Emi more comfortable. However, this came with its own difficulties. Emi is, and has always been, as stubborn as her mother and has a ridiculously high pain tolerance, like her father. Emi onced smashed her finger in a door but wasn’t whaling in pain like other children would. She was crying but was otherwise coherent. This had led to Minerva frequently directly asking Emi if she was alright.

Minerva mulled over her current situation as she worked on her latest bit of code. Brigid and Minerva decided they wanted to have kids around the same time as each other fairly early on in their friendship. As mischievous as children can be, having two around the same age ment they could entertain each other while the two of them worked. Minerva managed to convince her employer to let her work from home and hence became the primary caregiver of the girls during the work day. Brigid would watch over the girls during the summer and take them to do things that Minerva’s war wounds make difficult for her to do. This plan saved them thousands that neither could really afford. They intended to nurture the girls through school and help them in any way they could until they became self-significant and successful, in whatever form that was. The girls certainly had the genetic advantage. That was something Minerva looked for when choosing a donor. Anura’s donor was smart, genetically healthy, and Minerva found him attractive, even if he wasn’t considered so back in the Philippines, where he was born, due to his dark skin. They still work to give Emi an education, but that’s been taking a back seat to keeping her alive.

An email notification pulled Minerva’s attention back to her computer. It was from her boss, Cypher Williamson.

Hey M, we need you to come into work in a couple days. There’s this uber-important meeting that the bigwigs want everyone to attend. I tried telling them that some of our team works remotely and could join us via video call, but they wouldn’t hear it. You would think that the higher-ups at a technology company would be more open to that sort of thing, but nooo, everything has to be done the way it was done before the invention of electricity.

The meeting’s at 9:30 on the 16th. I’m sure you and the rest of the ghosts can find a way to get to the office; you’re a smart bunch. I will be wearing my most dapper ringmaster getup. I’m sure you’ll find equally appropriate attire.

Senerly, your favorite little gremlin

“This is just great.” Minerva couldn’t bring Emi with her, the price for someone with the necessary training to take care of Emi was something that neither of them wanted to spend, and having to come in person to a meeting at a tech company was stupid. At least Minerva knew that she had the support of Cypher and her coworkers. “Dapper Victoria era getup” was code for malicious compliance. Cypher was an anarchist and prided himself on his ability to get under the skin of his superiors while staying perfectly within company guidelines. Him not wanting to be seen as just another higher-up had led to a rather relaxed office culture. For example, the office dress code simply states a requirement of clothes and a recommendation of a hoodie and sweatpants. The recommendation only existed because of the computer rooms being kept cold. Knowing Cypher, he’s already tried every trick in every book to get the higher-ups to see reason. That means that Minerva had no chance.

With no other choice, Minerva got up from her chair, climbed out of the dark basement, and walked over to the Katon house. Minerva had her own key to the place so just walked straight in. Seeing that Brigid wasn’t in the living room, Minerva went straight to her office. “You are very predictable.”, Minerva said as soon as she saw Brigid.

“How about regularly overworked?”

“Yeah, speaking of work. The bigwigs are requiring all of us lowly drones to come into the office on the sixteenth. I can’t get out of it.”

“Crud, Ah’ll find somethin’. Couldn’t dey have told ya soone’?”

“They’re glorified middle managers. They don’t care about us. I’m certain that they would do the same thing even if they knew our situations.”

Brigid muttered something that Minerva could only guess were Irish expletives and some rather rude names.

“I’ll let you get back to your work. I have ta find a good way to make those bigwigs actually need wigs.”

“See ya Minerva.”

BisonWorks Maine state office
Date: Nov 16th, time: 9:15 am

*Minerva’s perspective*

Minerva showed up to the BisonWorks office in her army best. Looking around, Minerva could see several people who worked from the building, but the majority were other ghosts, people who normally worked off site. This was beneficial for all those involved. The company didn’t need as much office space or to buy lunches for them. The reason why someone became a ghost varied, but just from looking around, you could see people with medical conditions that would make it difficult to leave their house and babies/young children.

“Hey, M. How are your legs?”, Cypher said.

Minerva turned around to see her boss. As he said, he was wearing his ringmaster suit. It consisted of a black and yellow tailcoat, white gloves, black pants, black boots, white button up shirt, cane, and top hat. The only thing that did change between his normal work wear of a hoodie and sweatpants was his eyepatch. He never told anyone what happened to his eye beyond that he lost it by being a stupid teen. He had a prosthetic eye under that patch, but he said that he hated the way it looked and only had it to keep his eye socket from collapsing. The patch was black with a yellow eye design he drew on there, making it a sort of inversion of his remaining yellow eye. His yellow and black hair was in its usual unkempt state.

“Hello, Cypher.” Minerva bent over and pulled up her pant legs, exposing her prosthetic legs. “They’re performing excellently.” One of BisonWorks biggest projects is the development of prosthetics and mobility aids. Because of that, Mr. Bison has his hiring managers actively search out people with disabilities to work for them. Minerva’s legs have automated joints to aid in providing more natural movement while still looking like a foot. “Any idea about what’s going on?”

“It turns out these are new people from the buyout. That’s why they are unfamiliar with the ghost program.”

“What buyout?”

“You haven’t heard?”, Cypher asked, surprised.

“I don’t keep up with stuff like that. They tell me what they need me to do, and I do it. That and coming here to get maintenance done on my legs is about the limit I interact with the company.”

“Well, this other company called Sandysoftwear- Hey, that’s the first time I was able to say the name without laughing. -Anyway, they were going under, so we bought them out. The bigwigs we’re dealing with are transfers from that company.”

Minerva nodded her understanding. The start of the meeting was called, and everyone walked into the room. As Minerva walked into the room, she saw the bigwigs gawking at what they saw. All of the ghosts did their best to play up their conditions or wore their old military uniforms. It was not twenty minutes into the meeting before the children started fussing. The parents began giving their kids snakes, and one of the mothers began breastfeeding her twins.

“Stop that, this instance!”, one of the bigwigs shouted.

“She needs to feed her girls. Do you not see how small they are?”, Cypher retorted. “Before you give us crap about having kids in the meeting, you only told us about the meeting at the end of the work day, two days ago. That’s not enough time to arrange child care.”

Cypher and the bigwigs continued going back and forth. Minerva was only half paying attention. The bigwigs were giving her a headache and she was tired. The bigwigs were eventually settled, and the meeting continued. What was so important that everyone needed to be present? Announcing the completion buyout and what the new structure will be. If any of them had gotten to participate or voice their concerns, it would’ve been acceptable, but they didn’t. The bigwigs just told them what was going to happen and then told them to leave. As annoyed as everyone was, they were willing to just get out of there and forget about it, but what the bigwigs said next sent everyone into a tizzy.

“We’ll see you here tomorrow.”

Everyone stopped in their tracks and turned to look at the bigwigs. Cypher stepped towards the bigwigs with a shit eating grin on his face. “Well in that case, we will need twenty-nine new offices and twenty-nine more lunches, which-” Cypher twisted around to count some of the ghosts. “-four of which will need to be soft and one needs to be a liquid. We’ll also need movers to bring their setups here because some of them are specially designed for their users. You’ll also need to file paperwork and go meet with Bill Bison himself to tell him the ghost program at this site is being terminated. Oh, this would all need to be done by tomorrow if you want everyone here by then.”

The bigwigs’ faces drained of color at the mention of Bill Bison. Mr. Bison was a ghost himself due to his own mobility issues. In short, they already fucked up and were just about to fuck up even more. “Well, um, chm chm, resume your normal duties. We are done where.”

“Good, that makes you smarter than the majority of your counterparts.”, Cypher said. “Next time, just make this an email. This little meeting cost the company one and a half hours of time that we were still paid for. That’s $1,507.50 just to let you know.”

They exited the conference room, leaving the bigwigs to wallow in their screw ups. The twenty regular workers walked deeper into the building, to their work stations, and twenty-eight of the ghosts and the occasional helpers made their way out to their transports. That left Cypher and Minerva alone in the lobby.

“Is everything okay? You look tired.”, Cypher asked Minerva.

“I’m fine. I just have a lot going on and need to get home.”

“Okay then, safe travels.”

Minerva nodded and left to go home.

Minerva’s house
Date: same day, time: 5:45

*Minerva’s perspective*

Ring Ring

“Mom! It’s Aunt Brigid!”, Anura called out.

Minerva pulled herself out of bed and worked her way down to the living room, where Brigid was.

“Ah figured yeah c’n use a drink n’ someone ta talk ta. Ah will neve’ know how ya c’n drink dis stuff.” Brigid handed Minerva a Beast Power drink. Brigid had a regular coffee in a thermos.

“Many more late nights than I’m proud of.” Minerva motioned for them to take a seat on the couch. Minerva told Brigid about the meeting and how the bigwigs didn’t do their research about the company. Brigid simply sat and listened while sipping her coffee. “Sigh, thank you for listening. Hff, we haven’t really talked in a while, haven’t we?”

“No, we haven’t. Every‘hin’ is jus’ so- crazy isn't the right word, but ya know what Ah mean.”

Minerva nodded in response.

“Let’s not talk ‘bout dat. Dat’s all dat we’ve talked ‘bout f’r months.”

“Yeah, what do you want to talk about then?”

“We’ve known each othe’ f’r nearly ten yea’s, but Ah jus’ realized dat we know very little ‘bout what each othe’ does f’r work. We almost neve’ talked about work. Da few exceptions bein’ gripin’ or when we couldn’t hang because a’ work.”

“Really?” Minerva thought they talked about work with each other. “How could work never come up as a subject?”

“Ah imagine it’s ‘cause our work is kinda boring. Aside from da occasional funny assignment or meltdown, me work is, f’r da most part, da same day-in n’ day-out. All da crazy stuff takes place in da dorms.”

Minerva nearly shot her drink from her nose when remembering some of the things they did while living in the dorms. Even though she and Brigid were not close back then, they lived on the same floor. That meant whatever chaos one experienced, the other would also experience. The paper thin walls did not help in that manner. Minerva could even remember a time where Brigid accidentally punched a hole straight through the wall. “Do you remember that time where one of the other girls had to give a safety presentation after burning her macaroni and setting off the fire alarm and gave a safety presentation about the health risks of macaroni instead of a fire safety presentation?”

“Hehe, yeah, Ah thought da RA’s head was goin’ ta explode. Now den, me job’s pretty cut n’ dry. Ah teach n’ research anthropology. Me main area a’ research concerns da uncanny valley n’ why it exists.”

“The uncanny valley?”

“Ya know when ya look at a doll n’ get creeped out? Dat’s da uncanny valley, when some‘hin’ looks human but not quite right. We react da same way ta dat as we do ta snakes. Dat tells us dat we evolved ta be afraid a’ some‘hin’ dat looks like us but isn’t us.”

Minerva sat up straight and a feeling of unease came over her. “That has some very disturbing implications.”

Brigid nodded sympathetically. “Ah agree. Ah think it has some‘hin’ ta do with detecting those with psychopathy, but many a’ me colleagues n’ myself believe dat dere is some‘hin’ more. - Now, what is your work like?”

“Well, BisonWorks mission statement is to ensure every human has the ability to move freely, but there are also many side projects to fund the mission. I make the codes that they can either sell or use themselves. I’m also a tester.” Minerva gestured to her legs. I tell them what I need and want and report how well their creation works.”

“How are ya doin’ with y’r legs?”

“I’m doing fine.” When Minerva first lost her legs, she was angry. She was supposed to be some sort of avenging spirit, a hero righting a horrific wrong done to her people. Minerva never once saw combat while over there. All she saw were landmines, sometimes too late. Minerva was angry about her legs but was furious about how. She’d rather have lost her legs in a battle or rescuing someone. Instead she stepped on a landmine when they were supposed to be removing them. She lost her legs by being a screw up. “I still don’t have my full range of motion with this model, but they think they’re getting close.”

“Ya still have dose athletic feet, right?”

“I do, but I don’t like the look of them, and they are harder to balance on.”

“Ah see.”

The two of them sat in silence together after that, simply enjoying the other’s company. Eventually, Brigid had to go back home, and Minerva got to work making dinner. Meanwhile, Minerva couldn’t stop thinking about what Brigid said about the uncanny valley. There are many creatures in mythologies around the world that take the form of humans in order to cause harm, and the way Brigid said “some‘hin’ more”, leads Minerva to think that Brigid is having a similar train of thought. Brigid had never really believed in the supernatural until that incident with the doll and her developing what she calls hyper-mumstincts; although she says that they can be explained by science, even if it’s a whole new field of science. She did always trust Minerva’s feelings but didn’t believe in a sixth sense. For Brigid to be considering a supernatural explanation is huge, but it also leaves Minerva with a feeling of unease. There might be something out there that hunts humans by taking their form.

SHWO ch47 Who are the Katons?

Katon family home
Date: Nov 18th, time: 12:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Sunset, Emi, c’n ya come down ‘ere?”, Brigid called.

Sunset hopped down from her bed and hurried out to the main area. It took Emi a bit longer to get down from her room. When she did, Brigid motioned for them to take their seats at the table.

“Girls, given da current situation, we won’t be havin’ our normal Thanksgivin’ or Christmas party.”

“I don’t have a problem with this.”, Sunset said coldly.

“Are we still going to do something for Thanksgivin’ and Christmas?”, Emi asked.

“Of course, but it’s going to be limited to just us, Grandpa, Anura, and Minerva.”, Anzhong said.

Emi smiled, but Sunset didn’t react. This time of year had become sour since her fight with Fleur. However, she still enjoyed spending time with her grandfather, especially since he lives on the other side of the city and is very busy. Anzhong and Brigid explained how the plans have changed. There is still going to be a party for everyone, but it will be hosted by someone else.

“Are you going to go to the party?”, Emi asked.

“No, either we all go or none of us go. We’re a package deal.”, Anzhong said.

“We’re goin’ ta help Abbas plan n’ set up f’r da party dis yea’, but othe’ dan dat, we’re goin’ ta spend da holiday with ya.”, Brigid elaborated.

Brigid, Anzhong, and Emi continued to talk about holiday plans, but all this talk about family has the questions Sunset has about Grandma swirling around in her head. Anzhong said that it was Grandma that taught Grandpa ninjutsu. The story goes that after Grandpa came to terms with his father’s and brother’s passing, he swore off war and violence, declaring it unacceptable unless used for defense. Grandma taught him ninjutsu, along with arts focused on submission techniques, so he could defend himself. Ninjutsu deals heavily in evasion. However, that just makes Sunset curious about how she learned it.

“You’re awfully quiet.”, Anzhong said.

“Just thinking.”

“About what?”

“Grandma” If she was going to get her questions answered, it might as well be now. “How old was she - when she died?”

Anzhong stopped drinking his tea and got a serious look on his face. He was clearly thinking very hard about something. “The things about your grandmother I’m about to tell you can not be shared to those outside this family. Not even Minerva has this information, and your mother hasn’t believed me, until recently.” With both of the girls’ full attention on him, Anzhong told Grandma’s story. “My mother was a kitsune, one of the very few remaining. She was over five-hundred years old when she died.”

“Called it.”, Emi said triumphantly. Sunset looked at her with clear confusion on her face. “What? Ah had the same information as you. Oh, and I know that you figured it out too.”

Sunset decided not to respond and turned her attention back to her questions. At least her question of how Grandma knew ninjutsu was answered. She was alive back before ninjas became the emperor's guards. “What do you mean by “very few remaining”?”

“Mythical creatures have been dying out. My family doesn't know why, but the dying out started around a thousand years ago, and ever since then, humans have been writing off many stories as pure fiction. The vast majority of those stories are fictitious or greatly exaggerated, but there are also many that are true.”

“Cool”, Emi said.

Sunset was left speechless. At one point, this planet did have magic but started losing it around a thousand years ago. What could be causing the die out?

Sunset’s room
Date: Nov 25th, time: 11:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Brigid and Anzhong had gone over to Abbas’ house already but were expected back soon. Minerva, Anura, and Emi were busy doing stuff, while Sunset was busy cursing whatever deity thought it would be funny to make human females endure such torture if they wanted to have babies and waiting for the painkillers to kick in. Brigid joked that it was to prepare women for the pain of childbirth, but that didn’t explain why bats, the elephant shrew, the spiny mouse, and primates were the only creatures on Earth that have periods.

Being bed ridden, Sunset could only effectively do one job. Brigid asked her to organize the family pictures into a tree. She could trace the Mac Carthaigh clan back to a man named Cernunnos Mac Carthaigh, twenty generations back. He would paint his face green and wear green robes and a helmet with antlers on it to make his enemies believe that he was the horned god. They weren’t real antlers. That would’ve been too heavy. There are even stories from the British of one of their armies encountering an Irish army led by a green demon, and the encounter took place in Cernunnos’ teratory. His birth name is unknown.

After his career as a warrior was over, he started the farm. He also started the alliance between the Mac Carthaighs and O’Apples by saving the life of the O’Apples’ progenitor, Annurca Mela. The story goes that Annurca migrated to Ireland from Southern Italy and started the O’Apples farm, but one year, the trees grew sick and didn’t produce. Annurca had no apples to sell and no other way of feeding himself. Cernunnos noticed the man gowing skinnier each month. One day, as Cernunnos returned from one of his hunts, he shared his kill with Annurca. The next time Cernunnos went hunting, he brought Annurca with him and taught him how to hunt and forage. That day, Annurca swore an oath to Cernunnos that eventually led to them calling each other brothers. The two clans take that relationship seriously to this day. Annurca became known as Annurca of the apples and later, Annurca O’Apple.

Cernunnos married a woman named Orla. Orla was the only person Cernunnos entrusted with his horses. She was said to have magic powers and be able to heal and tame any horse. She was even said to have healed a horse’s broken leg. Even in modern day Equestria, a broken leg has to be amputated, and this was middle ages Ireland. Given what Anzhong said about the dying out, she could’ve legitimately had magic, or it could’ve just been oldtimie propaganda. She was a daughter of that area’s lord.

The rest of the family was unremarkable until Sunset’s great great grandparents. Brigid never went into much detail, but they nearly lost the farm. After them was Great Grandpappy Hugo and his sibs. Great Grandpappy Hugo managed to save and even expand the farm with just the help of Great Nana Mairead. Brigid never said what happened to Great Grandpappy Hugo’s and Great Nana’s siblings, but Sunset guessed that they, and their children, just completely gave up on the farm. That was the only way she could explain not even one of them returning.

Anzhong’s side of the family was much easier to organize as there weren't five kids for each pairing and Grandma’s line started with her. His family records only went back ten generations. Sunset left some space by Ryoko for Oda for when he officially joined the family. There’s no way they’re not getting married.

Canterlot Ice Rink
Date: Dec 16th, time: 7:25 pm

*Rainbow’s perspective*

9 to 9, the Thunder Griffons and Wondercolts were tied neck and neck. This last point would decide the game. Rainbow looked over to Sunset and the couch. They were trying to come up with a plan to beat the Griffons. The captain of the Griffons was Rainbow’s girlfriend, Gilda Griffon. Beating them would not be easy. Westside Jr High, the Griffons’ school, was much more focused on sports than CMS, and several of the Cults’ best players were out sick, most notably, Tiny. The overly brutal attacks of one of the Griffon players, Lightning Dust, also didn’t help.

Sunset and the couch finally worked out a game plan, and everyone moved into position. Betta was netminder, Harper and Ginger were defenders, Sunset and Fleetfoot were forward, and Rainbow was center.

“Ready to lose, Dash?”, Gilda asked.

“Not even your good looks can keep me from winning this.”

The other forwards started fake gagging and acting like they were going to puke.

“Shut it.”, Rainbow and Gilda chided.

The buzzer sounded, and the sound of clashing sticks could be heard. The Griffons got the puck first and made a mad dash to the Colts’ net. Betta widened her stance in preparation. The defenders rushed the Griffons, and the forwards began their harassing techniques. Harper was able to retake the puck and launched it to Fleetfoot. Sunset and Rainbow broke off from their harassies and moved to join Fleetfoot. They moved together like a pack of wolves. It didn’t matter how they felt about each other off the ice. On the ice, they were a single unit. Rainbow, Sunset, and Fleetfoot began passing the puck between each other like it was hot potato. As they near the Griffons’ net, Rainbow got the puck. She lined up the shot and, with all the might in her body, sent that puck flying across the ice, past the defenders. It’s going to go in. No one can stop it. It skipped towards the net until the netminder stopped it.

Rainbow went wide-eyed as the netminder passed the puck to one of the Griffons’ defenders, and the defender launched the puck across the ice and past their own defenders, right to Gilda. Gilda quickly took control of the puck and sent it straight through Betta’s legs. The buzzer sounded, and the crowd roared like a lion.

But-but, we were so close. How? We lost. Rainbow’s mouth was agape. She could barely process what happened. She looked over to Sunset, who had a solemn look on her face and was looking off into the crowd. Rainbow followed Sunset’s line of sight and found a woman she recognized as Minerva, two little kids, a man with blue hair and glasses, and a woman with hair as puffy and red as Sunset’s. The redhead had to be Sunset’s mom. There’s no way she’s not. Rainbow’s own parents were not faraway. Both sets of families were cheering and smiling, even though they didn’t win.

Both teams made their way off the ice and into their respective locker rooms. This was the team’s first loss since Rainbow joined. Instead of cheering and playful teasing and boasting that normally filled the Wonder Cults’ locker room before and after a game, there was silence. Everyone was quietly taking off their gear until the sound of someone punching their locker rang through the air. Rainbow turned her head to see that it was Sunset who made the sound. She had a look of anger on her face that was not aimed at anyone in particular. It was like the anger equivalent to soft light.

“I’m sorry.” was all Sunset said. That made no sense to Rainbow.

“What do you have to be sorry about? I was the one that messed up the shot. If I had just aimed a little more to the left, we would’ve won.”

“That’s irrelevant. I’m the leader. Every win is the team’s; every loss is the commander’s. Every time we win is because of you, and every time we lose is because of me. That’s the way it is.”

Damn, Sunset’s so cool.

They finished sorting out their gear and packing their bags and filed out of the lockers and into the hall. Some of the girls went straight to the nurse’s office to meet their injured friend or get themselves checked out while the rest, Sunset and Rainbow included, marched up the stairs. The upper ring of the arena was packed with spectators and vendors. It was utter chaos, especially for the girls, some of whom don’t even reach the adults’ chests. Some of the girls went left, and some of the girls went right trying to find their parents or whoever. Rainbow knew exactly where the person she was looking for would be. Rainbow bolted to get to their meeting spot first, she had to show off somehow. It only took her five minutes to get to the spot and was, as always, the first there, but it didn’t take long for Gilda to get there too.

“Took ya long enough.”, Rainbow said cockily.

Gilda simply stuck her tongue out and flicked Rainbow’s nose.

“Hey”, Rainbow complained. The two smiled and took each other’s hand before walking towards the exit. Rainbow really enjoyed these moments. It was so hard for them to get time together with each one living on the exact opposite sides of Canterlot. Rainbow lives to the North east of Canterlot in Canterville, and Gilda lives in the South west side of Canterlot city. They would’ve likely never met if it weren’t for those “issues” with her parents and her grandparents gaining custody of her for those couple of years and sending her to sports camp.

Rainbow took a deep breath of the cold, fresh air the moment they got out of the cramped arena. Rainbow loves every part of game day, except the part where people seem to forget deodorant is a thing. The girls noticed Rainbow’s parents walking up to them and promptly released each others’ hand. Rainbow wasn’t out to her parents yet. She wasn’t sure how they would react. Her parents love her dearly, but they were also religious. They weren’t devout, but her mom still identified as jewish, and her dad identified as cathlic. Rainbow was agnostic herself. The few times they took her to church or synagogue, the relevant speakers didn’t talk about the LQBT+ community much, but the one time each of them did, was the last time Rainbow ever went to their respective house. They talked about us as sinners. Her parents didn’t seem to react to the speakers so that was a positive. Still, she wanted to wait for the right time and place.

“That was an incredible game, girls.”, Dad said.

Mom scooped Rainbow up into a hug and kissed her on the head. “Oh, I’m so proud of you. That was a great play you came up with.”

Already thoroughly embarrassed, Rainbow did want to add the dishonor of taking credit for another’s work on top of that. “That wasn’t my plan. I’m only the vice captain. Ya know, the person who takes over if the captain can’t do their job for whatever reason.”, Rainbow said immediately.

Mom and Dad now looked confused, and Mom put Rainbow down. “I thought you were the captain.”, Dad said.

“I was, but I gave that title to Sunset. She’s an awesome leader, and she proved it tonight. She gave a speech- At least I think that’s what it was. -about how every win is the team’s, and every loss is the leader’s. She was awesome.”

“Sounds like you have a crush on this “Sunset”.”, Gilda said mockingly.

Rainbow spun around to face Gilda. She loved her, but Gilda’s attempts at “helping” Rainbow come out to her family by dropping “hints” only made Rainbow panic. She just wished that she could get some quality time alone with her to actually talk to her about how much she doesn’t like it. “No, I don’t!”, Rainbow said quickly. Rainbow mouthed “don’t” to Gilda while shooting her a death glare. Gilda seemed to show some recognition of what Rainbow was trying to tell her, but Gilda had trouble with understanding stealthier communications so it’s a 50/50 change.

“So, where is this “Sunset”? I’d like to meet her if she’s someone you respect this much.”, Dad asked Rainbow.

“Oh, she’s-” Rainbow turned around in place until she could see the massive clump of red and gold. She wasn’t able to find Sunset, but she could see the bright red lion’s mane of the woman Rainbow guessed was her mom. “I think her family’s over there. She’s most likely with them.”

“Well, let’s go see then.”, Mom said.

“I’d love to go with ya, but I got a bus ta catch.”, Gilda said.

The Hothoofs said their goodbyes to Gilda and then began weaving their way through the crowds. It didn’t take them long to catch up to the redheaded woman’s group; at which point Rainbow could see Sunset holding the woman’s hand. The first thing that became apparent to Rainbow was the sheer size of the redheaded woman. She looked to be at least half a head taller than anyone around her. Even Sunset, who practically towered over Rainbow, looked tiny compared to her mother. Being smaller than someone wasn’t a new feeling for Rainbow, she was the shortest member of most of her teams, but this lady made Rainbow feel like she needed to be careful she wasn’t stepped on. Before she got caught staring, Rainbow remembered why they were there. “Hey! Sunset!”, Rainbow called out.

Sunset tried her best to spin around to meet Rainbow but was stopped by her mother holding hand. She ended up turning around, along with the rest of her group. The moment their gazes fell upon Rainbow, she felt this strange, uneasy feeling. It was like she was staring down a mountain lion.

“What is it, Rainbow?” The moment Sunset said that, the feeling went away, but the dog with the man was still looking at Rainbow like she just asked the dumbest question. That was strange.

“Hello, we’re Rainbow’s parents. I just wanted to say that you did an excellent job. It’s rare for Rainbow to have so much respect for someone.”, Dad said.

“Thank you”, Sunset said sharply. She attempted to turn and leave but was stopped by her mother.

“Are you and Sunset friends?”, the little girl holding the woman’s other hand asked. The little girl looked extremely bundled up. Every inch of her skin was covered. Rainbow didn’t even realize that she was a girl until she spoke. She must really not like the cold.

“No, we're not. We're just teammates.”, Sunset answered flatly. “Can we go now? I’m hungry.”, Sunset asked her mother. The bundled up girl, maybe Sunset’s sister, said something that was too badly muffled by her mask for Rainbow to understand it, but Sunset did apparently understand it and stuck her tongue out at the younger girl.

“It was nice meetin’ ya, but we should be goin’ home.”, the woman said.

“Wait, are you from Ireland?”, Mom asked the woman.

“Indeed, Ah am, n’ from da sounds a’ it, y’r from Scotland.”

“I am. It’s nice to meet another woman from the British isles.”

“Ireland belongs ta da British no more dan da Americas. Dose Northern “loyalists” are traitors ta deir country.” And in that moment, Rainbow learned just how much venom you can fit into one word.

“Ookaay then.”

Everyone gave their goodbyes, and Sunset practically dragged her mother away. By then, the crowd had thinned considerably so no weaving was needed. Dad would’ve sprinted to the car if the ground wasn’t icy. Rainbow wondered why he ever agreed to move to Maine. Her best guess was that he was desperate for love and people were a lot dumber back in the 90s. Whatever his reason, Rainbow’s sure she’ll never move across the country for some girl.

Katon family home
Date: Dec 24th, time: 7:00 pm

*Anura’s perspective*

Anura liked the smaller celebrations of this year’s Thanksgiving and Christmas. The large parties were okay, but Anura oftentimes found herself asking Emi to hide her in her room until dinner. Although, the snowball fights were really fun. The adults tried to make up for the lack of kids, but adults can’t replicate the chaos that is children’s play. Anura got to help make the kadomatsu this year. She didn’t get what the importance of these were, but they are pretty.

Having a smaller party also allows Grandpa Jiraiya to spend more time with the girls. He would tell them crazy hospital stories. He always looked like some wise, old sage whenever he told a story with his graying green hair, silver eyes, and gold framed glasses. Anura wanted to hear stories about interesting or rare conditions he encountered, but Sunset and Emi wanted to hear horror stories, the grosser, the better. Unfortunately, this one was a horror story.

“So, there was this guy who came in, and his chief complaint was abdominal pain. Now, we were going to perform a CT scan because we couldn’t find anything on the outside or his history that would explain his problem. It was then that he mentioned that he had been experiencing leg weakness for the last few weeks. I asked him to explain more and to let me examine his leg. Now, he had previously told us that he recently got back from Florida and it was around then he started having the problems with his leg. He also had a small cut on the top of his foot. Working on a hunch, I opened the cut, and his whole leg deflated like a balloon. It turns out that he contracted flesh eating bacteria while swimming in his cousin’s pool, and it had been eating away at his leg and was now spreading to the rest of his body. I had to tell him to call his family and say his final goodbyes. Moral of the story, weakness in your extremities is not something that should be brushed off.”

“It’s always Florida that has all the crazy stuff.”, Emi said.

“Did you know that Florida also has a similar bacteria that specifically eats brain matter?”, Sunset asked.

“No, and now I wish I didn’t.”, Anura said with a blank face.

“Aw, poor thing’s gonna starve.”, Emi joked.

“Okay, we’re never going swimming in Florida.”, Anzhong said from the kitchen.

“Sunset, hows ‘bout ya show us y’r project.”, Brigid said.

“Sure” Sunset hopped up from her beanbag and ran off to her room. She soon came back out with her laptop in hand. Brigid had gone upstairs and came back down with a projector. Brigid set the projector down on the coffee table, and she and Sunset got to work setting it up. Once they were done, Brigid signaled for Mom to dim the lights.

As the lights dimmed, Anura noticed something weird. “Sunset, are your eyes glowing?” Everyone else, minus Anzhong, turned to look at Sunset.

“Yes, they are.”, Sunset said matter-of-factly.

“Why - are they glowing?”, Anura asked hesitantly.

“It’s so I can see better in the dark.”

Anura was about to ask another question, but Emi placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her. “Ya n’ Ah both know she’s not going to answer more than that.”

Sunset pulled up a document that had all of their names and pictures on it. It didn’t take Anura long to recognize it as a family tree. The line that connected Mom to Brigid was red which, according to the reference card, meant “blood of forged family”. Anura read through everything as Sunset explained it verbally. Sunset first showed them Anzhong’s line. They were mostly farmers with some merchants here and there. The interesting thing about his family was that Aoi had no ancestors or a birthdate. As weird as that is, Anura didn’t think too much about it. After all, Aoi did grow up in a time of war, and she could’ve been in a similar situation to Sunset. Brigid’s line was much larger and exactly what Anura expected until the last few generations. Anura did not expect Emi and Aunt Brigid to be descended from nobility. The whole presentation got Anura thinking about her own grandparents and why she’s never met them.

Brigid’s office/guest room
Date: same day, time: 11:00 pm

*Minerva’s perspective*

“Mommy?”

Minerva opened her eyes to find Anura standing next to her bed. “Mm, Anura, shouldn’t you be in bed?”

“Why haven’t you taken me to meet Grandma and Grandpa?”

Minerva groaned, sat up in bed, and patted her lap. She knew this day would come up eventually. She just wished it would’ve happened later. Anura climbed up onto Minerva’s lap, and Minerva gave her a hug before starting her story. “The truth is, I cut off contact with them as soon as I was old enough to go to college.”

“Why?” Anura’s face wasn’t the quizzical look she normally gets when she asks that question. It was pure confusion.

“When I was fifteen, my parents got into a very bad car accident that left them in a lot of pain. They were prescribed OxyContin to help them deal with the pain. OxyContin is a type of opioid. Do you remember what I told you about opioids?”

“They’re dangerous and can make you want more of them in an unhealthy way called ad-ic-tion.”

“Correct, and they can also change your personality if you become addicted to them. My parents used to be kind people, but they became addicted to OxyContin, and it turned them into neglectful and dishonest people. By the time I left, all they cared about was getting more opioids. That’s why I haven’t taken you to go see them.”

“But what if they’re better now? What if we can help them?”

Minerva gave Aura a sad smile. It would be nice to have her parents back, her actual parents, not the people they turned into. “I’ll see if I can contact them, but it’s unlikely we’ll be able to help them. You can’t help people who don’t want help.”

Katon family home
Date: Dec 31st, time: 11:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

The Katon family had long finished their traditional new year's meal of toshikoshi soba, but Sunset was already getting into some of the leftovers. She was excited for o-sechi ryori in the morning. Everyone had been joking about how Anzhong better put extra of whatever invites good health into the dish. The thing Sunset was not excited for was the first sunrise prayer. Last year, Anzhong made everyone get up super early so they can “enjoy” the first sunrise of the new year. He didn’t make them pray with him, Sunset didn’t even know he was praying, but that didn’t make the experience any more enjoyable. There’s a reason she’s named “Sunset” and not “Sunrise”.

“So Sunset, what’s your new year’s resolution?”, Emi asked.

Sunset gave Emi a cocky smile before answering. “To make sure you don’t die, but I said it as more of a “fuck you, Death”.”

Emi gave her own cocky smile before replying. “Fun, making sure I don’t die is also my new year’s resolution.” Emi looked down at Sunset bowel then back up at Sunset with a perplexed face. “How da bloody hell can ya eat so much food without being morbidly fat?”

“Ya know how active I am. Plus, as good as this is, it’s not very filling.” Even with that said, Sunset was surprised with how many calories humans need to consume and how much heat a human gives off. Sunset has a theory that Earth has a higher gravity than Equoes, and that’s one of the reasons why humans need so much muscle mass, but that’s not going to be easy to test with only having three days every two and a half years to jump between the worlds. She already had a lot of things to do once the portal opened, and she didn’t have the space to allocate to a weight and a scale. “Ya going to be awake enough ta walk to bed after da ball drops?”

“Hell if I know.”

She wasn’t.

Katon family home
Date: Jan 11th, time: 8:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Girls, time for dinner.”, Anzhong called.

The girls paused their game, and Emi hopped over to the table while Sunset and Anura followed at a walk. “Ya know, if ya told me what was in this before you had me try it, I wouldn’t have eaten it.”, Sunset said.

“What, week old rice cake soup doesn’t whet y’r appetite?”, Brigid joked.

“Not when you describe it like that.”

Brigid smiled and handed Sunset a bowel. They each filled up their bowels and added it to their plates. Like many other Japanese holiday traditions, this was meant to bring them good luck, health, and wealth. Looking over to Emi, Sunset saw that she had served herself even less food then she did a month ago. When she ate less dinner last year, everyone knew it was so she could eat more cake. Now, Sunset was unsure if she would even be hungry enough for cake.

As always, the dinner was delicious. Anzhong was in a league of his own. Sunset’s bio-mom was also a great cook, but she did not benefit from the lack of spices in Equestrian cuisine. They do use and have spices, rather flavorful ones at that, but there was far less variety compared to Earth spices. Plus, Sunset really likes capsaicin. Either way, it was time for cake. The moment Brigid started singing, Anzhong got a look of “kill me now” on his face. Despite what she claims, Bigid is actually a decent singer. That or she has just sang “Happy Birthday” so many times it doesn’t matter if she can actually sing. Either way, the look on Anzhong’s face is from embarrassment rather than Brigid’s singing.

“Thank you”, Anzhong said.

“He’s plotting our demise as we speak.”, Emi joked.

“Oh, my.”, Minerva said almost inaudibly.

Grandpa got a wicked smile on his face as he saw the cake.

“Hm, there’s a design on the cake. One with a lot of red food coloring.”, Anzhong noted. Anzhong’s cake was normally fairly plain. Like all other years, it was a lactose free vanilla cake with vanilla icing. However, this year, Brigid let Sunset and Emi decorate it.

“How the hell do you know that?”, Sunset asked.

“I can taste the dye.”

“No way! I call bullcrap! Mom told you.”, Emi said disbelievingly.

“No, really. Different substances are used to create the color. After many years of practice, I can taste the differences.” Anzhong gave the girls a cheeky smile. “It’s a neat party trick, wouldn’t you say? So, what is the design of?”

“You decapitating an enemy ninja.”, Emi said proudly. “And yes, there’s a lllot of red.”

“It’s very anatomically accurate, for a design on a cake.”, Jiraiya said.

Sunset wasn’t sure if the smile Anzhong gave was a terrified “oh my god, what did I raise?” smile or a proud “oh my god, look at what I raised” smile.

“We thought you needed something a little exciting. Especially considering how vanilla everything is with you.”, Sunset said.

“Oh, I wouldn’t say I’m that vanilla.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. Evidenced by the fact his hand was over his mouth the moment he realized what he said.

Brigid looked over to Sunset, hope Sunset didn’t understand evident in her eyes, but the shit-eating grin plastered all over Sunset’s face squashed any hope within Brigid.

Katon family home
Date: Feb 1st, time: 8:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

February first was many things to the Katon family. It was the start of spring, it was a holiday called Imbolc, and it’s Brigid’s birthday. The holiday of Imbolc is celebrated by having a feast in honor of the goddess Brigid and parades of local girls and young women. Being born on this day is how Brigid got her name. The Katon girls don’t get to do many of the traditions associated with the holiday due to Paganism practitioners being so rare in the greater Canterlot area. To make up for this, they have a day filled with dancing and games, and Brigid even lets the girls stay home from school. They still did things like making the icon of Brigid and laying her on a bed of birch. Their feasts weren’t very big considering there were only six to seven of them, plus dog, any given year. Grandpa wasn’t able to join them this year due to work. Brigid didn’t take it personally. She knew that they were insanely lucky to get him at all during the holiday season. He’s a burn specialist, and people’s IQ seems to drop by around ten to twenty points when cooking turkey.

“So, how much red did ya use on me cake?”, Brigid asked.

“Lots, and lots of yellow and green too.”, Emi answered.

Minerva brought the cake over while Sunset brought plates and silverware. The cake had a sun and tree design on it. It wasn’t the Celtic tree of life, even though it was the main part of Brigid’s symbol. Neither Sunset nor Emi were that good with cake art yet. Under the art was “happy 32nd” poorly written in icing.

The cake itself was red velvet and, of course, lactose free.

“Wow, thirty-two, you’re old.”, Anura said.

“Anura, that’s not nice.”, Minerva scolded.

“Yeah, especially since y’r mum is a yea’ olde’ dan me.”, Brigid said.

“Wait, how old are you, Dad?”, Emi asked.

“I’m thirty.”

“So, y’re also also old.”

“Hey”, Anzhong said, annoyed.

The mischievous grin on Emi’s face told Sunset that the cancer hasn’t made Emi any less of a little shit stain.

SHWO ch48 Return to Equestria part1

Author's Note

Spell on display: shadowporting, also called shadowsteping for shorter trips
First developed by the thestrals to enter and exit their cavernous homes then further refined to bypass anti-teleportation magics, shadowproting is done by entering the shadow dimension through a shadow then exiting a through another shadow at your desired location.

Restrictions and requirements

A shadow magic affinity
A dark enough shadow at entrance point and exit point: level of darkness varies based on the skill of the caster
Knowledge of where you are exiting. You can not shadowport to a location without being able to point to it on a map, having seen it, or being able to it.
Knowledge of distance between entrance point and exit point

Advantages over similar spells
Shadowporting is safer than conventional teleportation. There is no risk of getting stuck in a wall, and as long as you are not fully out of the shadow, you can pull yourself back into the shadow without having to cast shadow meld.

Risks
The shadow dimension is a poorly understood place, and it is suspected that it is inhospitable to Equoesian life.

SHWO ch48 Return to Equestria part1

Canterlot Hospital
Date: Feb 16th, time: 2:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

If you had asked Sunset where she thought she would be in five years, five years ago, regularly donating blood to herself in case she got injured while her sister was up stairs, getting chemo, would not be her answer, and yet, that’s exactly where she was now. They didn’t have medicine like this in Equestria when Sunset left. They might have developed it since then, but that’s highly unlikely. Ponies are extremely durable, thanks to their magical auras. It’s extremely rare for a pony to be injured. Combine that with the strenuous relation ponies have with blood, and this technology is unlikely to ever be developed.

Ponies view blood as disgusting, and most would like to forget it’s coursing through their bodies, relatively easy for them to do. Even soldiers get squeamish around blood. Sunset has a nickname that basically translates to “vampire” because she would lick the blood from her cuts and blades to freak out her opponents. It’s one of the reasons why thestrals and ponies were less than friendly with each other. Thestrals view blood as liquid life and sacred. They consider it as the source of our power. Thestral warriors would drink the blood of their comrades to strengthen each other and their bonds. Thestrals that drank each other’s blood were said to become one. A troop of thestrals was even called a blood band.

The human’s view on blood was something else Sunset liked about them. Like the thestrals, they view blood as liquid life and sacred, but unlike thestrals, humans don’t see it in a near orgiastic way. Humans also associate blood with great power, but instead of it being the source, it’s the vessel. Sunset suspects that the association comes from adrenaline, and how it’s released into the body.

Adrenaline has been a subject of interest for Sunset as there are absolutely no records of ponies expressing the effects of adrenaline. Sunset has been in many life or death situations but never experienced anything like the effects of adrenaline, no bouts of incredible strength, no sudden surge of magical output, nothing. Her first experience with adrenaline was when she ran away from that lady her first night on Earth. There are ponies who are thrill seekers, but that’s just endorphins and dopamine or the pony equivalents.

“Sunset?”

Sunset looked up from the tube sticking out of her arm to see a familiar tanned farm girl standing at the door of the blood donation room. “Jacklyn?”, Sunset said coldly.

“Ya know, you’re the only person other than my granny that still calls me “Jacklyn”.”

“Why? It’s your name.”

“Ya remember that nickname Pinkie gave me a while back?”

“Yeah”

“Well, it stuck, and now, everyone calls me Applejack… everyone.”

“Do you have a problem with that name?”

“Eh, it’s grown on me. - So, uh, what are you doing here?” Jacklyn was sounding nervous now. The stupid question suggested that she was trying to keep the conversation going.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Sunset was now annoyed. The conversation had reached its natural end point. Sunset wished Jacklyn would just go back to whatever she was doing beforehand.

“Yeah, Ah guess that was a dumb question. So, uh, how have you been?” Jacklyn was now scuffing her foot on the floor.

“Why are you trying to continue this conversation? You have no obligation to be here. So, why haven’t you left yet?”

“Wha- sorry. I’m jus-. My little sister is getting some tests done, and I’m trying to kill time.” Now Jacklyn was avoiding eye contact with Sunset.

“You have a little sister? Is she okay?” Any annoyance Sunset had been feeling was now gone, her “big sister” instincts taking full control.

Jacklyn pricked up at that question and looked Sunset in the eye again. “Oh, she’s fine. We’re just checking for some things we have a family history of.”

Sunset’s systems settled down after hearing that. It will never cease to amaze Sunset how humans can feel the same instinctual drive to protect members of their family group with those outside of it. Ponies will help to protect others, but it’s not driven by the same instincts that tell them to protect their family group.

Sunset’s bag was now full, and the nurse began disconnecting her. “Do you love your sister?”

“Of course, I do. I’d do anything for her.” Jacklyn almost seemed insulted by the question.

Now disconnected, Sunset got up from the chair and began getting her jacket back on. “Anything? Even break the law? Even kill?”

Jacklyn paused and went wide-eyed at that question. It took her a moment before she answered. Sunset did not fault her for that. She did just ask her if she’d be willing to kill after all. When she did finally answer, her entire body changed from laid-back to dead serious. “If it was her life or someone else’s, I’d choose to save her.”

“That makes you a good sister.” Sunset was all packed up now and began to walk out of the room.

As Sunset passed Jacklyn, Jacklyn spun around to face Sunset with the same deadly serious face. “Why did you ask me that? Rainbow told us about your little sister.”

Sunset turned her head to face Jacklyn with what she hoped was a disarming smile. “I’m not planning on killing anyone, if that’s what you’re asking.” Sunset turned her head back around and walked off before Jacklyn could ask another question.

Katon family home
Date: Feb 28th, time: 6:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Cloak, check; food, check; water, check; face mask, check; swords, check; letter, check; gun, check; explosive components, check; bullets, check; ruler, check. Tonight was the night. Sunset was going to return to Equestria to find something to cure Emi. Sunset even has an idea of what item she would grab. She has everything she could possibly need, and whatever else she might need, she can cover with her magic. She just hoped that the cloak was the right size. That left only one thing remaining. Sunset needs to tell her parents everything. That’s not going to be easy. The explanation part was going to be complicated, but getting them to let her go would be harder. From their perspective, Sunset would be leaving for an alien planet that she was a wanted criminal on and could be captured and trapped there for at least two and a half years if she does not make it back within the next couple days. Better leave out the “wanted criminal” part until I get back.

With the sun having set, Sunset decided now was the time. Everyone was in the living room, and the portal should be open by now.

“Hey everyone, I have something I need to tell all of you.”

“What is it, Sunset, n’ what’s with da backpack?”, Brigid asked.

“It’s actually something I need to show you, at the high school.”

“What could you need to show us at the high school at this hour?”, Anzhong asked.

“That’s hard to explain, but it will make some sense once I show you.”

“Ya gonna tell us about y’r past?”, Emi asked.

“Yes”

“Well den, dat is a reason ta take a ride ta da high school.”, Brigid said.

With that, Anzhong got Ki’s harness on, and everyone hopped into the car. The whole ride to the school, Emi was basically playing twenty questions to figure out what Sunset was going to show them. Although, if the trip had gone on for much longer, Emi would’ve quickly exceeded twenty questions. Brigid parked the car a little ways away from the school in order to not look suspicious. Sunset led them over to the Wonder Cult statue and to the side that faced the school. The others looked or listened to Sunset, curiosity peaked.

“So, what are ya gonna- whoa.” Brigid was cut off by Sunset placing her hand on the base and the portal rippling. Sunset pushed her hand through, turning it into a hoof.

“Whoa, cool.” Emi jammed both her arms into the portal. They became small, grey hooves.

“What is dis?”, Brigid asked.

Sunset pulled her arm out of the portal and pulled Emi out as well. Sunset kept a hold of Emi while she turned to face her mother. The last thing Sunset wanted was for Emi to go crashing through the portal. “It’s a portal to another world. When I first came through the portal, I thought it was just a portal to another planet, but after encountering people that exist on this side and the other side of the portal, I believe that it’s a portal to an alternate dimension.”

“Wait, let me get dis straight. Dis is an extra dimensional portal, n’ ya’ve gone through it before.”

“Yes and close. I’m from the planet on the other side of this portal. I’m an alien. That’s why I was living in the woods and didn’t have any papers of any kind.”

Shocked faces spread across the faces of Sunset’s family, except for Ki. He looked bored.

“This is totally awesome!”, Emi whispered-screamed. “But what’s with the transforming limbs?”

“The portal turns whoever goes through it into the same species as their counterpart. While your limb is in the in-between world, you can see what it will look like once you cross over.”

“Why are you only telling us this now?”, Anzhong asked.

“The portal only opens every two and a half years and will close after three days. Before now, I didn’t have any evidence that I could show you.”

“What do you look like on the other side?”, Emi asked excitedly.

Sunset gave Emi a wary smile. “This is where it’s going to get even weirder. I’m a unicorn. No, seriously, I am.”, Sunset said before Emi could say something snarky. “I don’t believe that I’m the first of my kind to come to Earth. Many creatures present in your mythology are real creatures where I come from, and magic is commonplace.”

Emi’s eyes widened and began to twinkle at that. Sunset could hear the gears turning in her head. The worlds will tremble if Emi ever gets a hold of Equestrian magic.

“Okay, me head’s startin’ ta hurt. Ah think it would be best if we go home. Ah still have a lot a’ questions, but Ah need time ta organize it all.”

“You guys can do that, but I’m going to be going through the portal.” Sunset could see the worried faces spread across each of them, and she knew exactly what they were thinking. “I’m not going back permanently. I’m going to go find a cure for Emi. I’ll be back before the portal closes.”

A wave of relief washed over everyone now that they knew Sunset wasn’t leaving forever.

“Is dat gonna be possible? Y’re only gonna have three days.”, Brigid asked.

“There are certain relics that have the power to heal creatures and cure illnesses. I plan on grabbing one of those.”

“And you’ve already made up your mind on this matter.”, Anzhong said, then took in a deep breath. “Be safe.”

“I will.” Sunset pointed to one of the stars in the sky. “I’ll be back before the moon passes over that star on the third night.” With that, Sunset let go of Emi and walked into the portal. The world vanished and was replaced by a rainbow of colors. Sunset could feel her body being compressed and contorted. Soon, she was flung from the portal and onto the ground. It was still not painless, but at least she wasn’t bleeding this time. Figuring someone heard her, Sunset quickly got up, taking a moment to readjust to her pony anatomy. Sunset took a second to listen for foo-hoofsteps and then focused her sixth sense to sense for anyone, but the only thing Sunset could sense was a growing headache. Luckily, she couldn’t hear anyone, and it’s not like hooves walking on tile are quiet.

Seeing as she was in no immediate danger, Sunset took this opportunity to check something out. She magicked out the ruler and placed it on the ground. The official Equestrian unit of measurement was a hooflong. It’s the length of an average adult unicorn’s hoof, and Sunset’s hoof was exactly one hooflong. Sunset placed her hoof down on the ruler, and it turns out that one Equestrian hooflong was exactly four human inches. That certainly made conversion easier. Sunset was four hooflongs at her shoulders and six and a half at her head. Holy crap! Sunset was only just over two feet tall, at her head. She wouldn’t even make it to Brigid’s knee.

Sunset placed the ruler back in her saddlebags and pulled out the cloak and face mask. The cloak and face mask ended up being way too big. So, Sunset took out her wakizashi and began cutting off the excess fabric from the cloak and just took the mask off. Once that was done, Sunset placed the excess fabric and mask in her bag and headed out of the anti-shadowporting field and then to the nearest shadow. First stop, the Royal Canterlot Library.

Out front of Canterlot High
Date: same day, time: 6:45 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid, Anzhong, and Emi watched on as Sunset disappeared through the statue. Brigid immediately got a feeling in the pit of her stomach that something was going to happen to her, but she brushed it off as nerves. Emi walked up to the portal, and Brigid was ready to run up and grab her, but all she ended up doing was sticking her hands through.

“Hey Mommy, look at this.”

Brigid walked over to see that Emi’s arms had been transformed into grey, hoof-like appendages. Dat’s what dey meant by transformin’ limbs.

“Cool, isn't it?”

Brigid looked down at her own hand then pushed it through the portal. Her hand turned into a light creamish leg but with a clearly defined, brown hoof. Brigid pushed her other hand through, and it turned into the same thing. Brigid began rubbing her “hooves” together, and even though feeling through hooves was “different”, she could feel the-her fur and her hooves. “Wow”

“What’s going on?”, Anzhong asked.

Brigid pulled her arms out of the portal and moved over to Anzhong. “‘Ere, Ah’ll show ya.” Brigid grabbed Anzhong’s hand and led him over to the portal. Brigid guided Anzhong’s hand into the portal. His hand turned into a grey hoof, like Emi’s but bigger.

“Whoa, that’s weird.”

“It’s cool.”, Emi retorted.

“We should get going. Someone might see us, and it would be very difficult to explain this.”, Anzhong said.

“Aw, but this is fun.”, Emi complained.

“‘Ere we go.” Brigid scooped Emi up, and everyone made their way to the car as quickly as they could without being suspicious.

The Royal Canterlot Library
Date: same day, time: ?

*Sunset’s perspective*

The important relics were kept in the reliquary, near the center of Canterlot castle. That means getting the relic Sunset was thinking of would take some planning. However, what Sunset had once considered top of the line security was now more like a hungry Doberman, still scary but not unbeatable. The kinds of security humans will put up to keep other humans out is bonkers, and the fact people still manage to get past that, and even take that sort of thing as a challenge, is even more bonkers, but until that plan is formed, Sunset took to grabbing some cultural texts to make explaining everything to her parents a bit easier. As far as medical texts go, humans and ponies are far too biologically different for that to be a good idea. She would’ve like to bring some back to compare the different biologies, but she only has so much space in her bags. Instead, she read as many as she could.

The books Sunset has gathered were the first book in the “Complete History of Equestria” series, which chronicles every event that shaped Equestria into what it is today; a taxonomic book with lots of pictures; “Rise and Fall of the Equestria First Legion” by yours truly; and a few books for teaching foals how to read. Knowing Brigid, she’s going to want to learn the language. Given her limited space, this will have to be it. Sunset tried to find a book that mentioned any sort of human-like creatures in Equestria but came up blank. It would not surprise Sunset to learn that Celestia purposely suppressed information about humans. Humans make creatures like the mythical changeling look like angry house cats, still scary as hell but not a mountain lion.

That left the matter of a safe place to sleep. The obvious answer would be her old room in the castle, but that was likely reallocated by now. Staying in the library would most likely not work. Sunset would be sleeping during the day, and either the noise would wake her, or somepony would find her. The streets had the same problem. She had no bits, so a hotel room was out. Her old bedroom back home was also a no-go. If her family found out she was back, they would never let her leave again. With no other options available, Sunset decided that the best course of action would be to cross her now metaphorical fingers and toes and hope that her old room was not reallocated.

With a flick of her horn, Sunset had her stuff back on, and with another flick of her horn, the shadows surrounding her began to wrap around and envelop her. Sunset didn’t need to worry about being stopped by the castle’s anti-teleportation runic fields as shadowporting was specifically developed to bypass such things. Locations such as the princesses’ royal chambers, the throne room, and reliquary had extra protections to counter creatures shadowporting in, but those had too high of magic power requirements to be placed throughout the entire castle. If they did so, Canterlot would be a magic deadzone within a hundred years. Within mere moments, the shadows parted, and Sunset was in a dark corridor near her room.

Even though there’s a full moon out, ponies have such poor night vision that they need light spells to see three hooflongs in front of their muzzles. That made it infinitely easier to sneak around at night. Sunset quietly snuck to her room’s door, ready to meld with the shadows at a moment’s notice, but that moment ever came. This did not surprise Sunset. The royal guard was the laughing stock of the EUP. Out of all four branches of the military, the royal guard had the most lax training and the highest percentage of “decorative armor” soldiers. Celestia does have many good traits as a ruler, but she’s way too soft. Sunset would say that’s where most of Equestria’s problems came from. Luna was always the more militaristic and stern of the two. The only thing Celestia did right with the royal guard was enchant their armor with an illusion spell to make them look the same as each other.

Upon reaching her door, Sunset found a high level locking spell on the door. Where most locking spells were the magical equivalent of a bolt latch, this one was more of a heavy deadlock and chains, a clear indicator Sunset’s room has not been reallocated. Considering how much stuff that only she and Princess Celestia had clearance to access was in there, it didn’t surprise Sunset that Celestia decided to just lock it all up. With a simple shadowstep, Sunset was once again in her old room.

Sunset took a long sniff of the familiar air and then promptly started hacking and coughing from all the dush she disturbed. “Cough, cough, whew, I need to open up a window in here. Hack” Sunset’s room was mostly how she left it, except for some boxes and old papers arranged in such a way that would make a fire marshal have a conniption. Sunset’s half finished assignments were still scattered around, and her EUP armor was still on its stand. When she got it, it was the top of the line Mark 4 spell caster armor. It’s mostly the standard EUP silver. The purple stripes designated her as a spell caster, the gold stripe designated her as, in US military terms, a one star general, and the black and green stripe designated her as a hunter and tracker. Celestia personally chose her to lead the task force against the Equestria First Legion and promoted her to general to do so. However, that was all behind her now.

“Screech!”

Sunset turned her head to see a mass of red and orange feathers crash into her. “Oof, Philomena! Oh, how have you been, girl? Have you missed me?” Sunset affectionately nuzzled Philomena. Philomena pecked Sunset hard on the head. “Okay, fair. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disappear like that, honest.” Philomena gave Sunset a judging look then nuzzled Sunset back. “Aw, that’s my girl. Hey, I need to go back to where I disappeared to, but this time, I plan on bringing you with me. How does that sound?” Philomena nodded her head in the affirmative. “Great, now, we need to give you a name humans can understand. Oh, humans are the creatures I’ve been living with. Let’s see, your name means “lover of strength”. I’m sure I can find a human name that means the same thing. Humans have very similar values to the dragons.”

Sunset continued her conversation with Philomena until the sun began to come up. With barely a thought, Sunset drew her curtains and brushed the dust off her bed. I love telekinesis.

Katon family home
Date: Mar 1st, time: 6:00 am

*Brigid’s perspective*

Emi was still in bed, and Anzhong was getting ready for the day, but Brigid was too busy pacing to do anything productive. She just couldn’t get this feeling of Sunset being in danger out of her system.

“Brigid, I know you’re worried, but wearing out the carpet is not going to help Sunset.”

“C’n’t ya feel it? Y’r da psychic one a’ us.”

“I can, and I’m worried too, but I also have trust in Sunset.”

“Ah have trust in Sunset too, but dere’s so many ‘hin’s dat c’n go wrong. She only has until tomorrah night ta get back, or she’ll be stuck dere f’r two n’ a half yea’s, n’ she left Equestria f’r a reason.”

“Brigid,” Anzhong placed a hand on Brigid’s shoulder to calm her down. “Sunset will be okay. You two share that fighting spirit, and she’s sneakier than I was at her age, and if she does need help, nothing will stop us from getting to her. Now, you need to call the school.”

“Sigh, y’re right. Y’re always right. Y’re worse dan me ex.”, Brigid joked.

“Hey, that’s my line.”

“Hff” Brigid shook her head, and Anzhong let go of her shoulder. Grabbing her phone, Brigid called up Principal Winters. “Hello Principal Winters, dis is Dr. Brigid Katon. Sunset is feelin’ unwell n’ dus will not be comin’ inta school taday.”

“That’s unfortunate. I hope she’ll be back on Monday.”, Principal Winters said.

“Ah hope so too.”, Brigid said in a more somber tone.

Canterlot castle
Date: 29/02/1118 Ee, time: 8th hour ASR

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset got up with a groan. Ponies, being prey animals, evolved to be able to get up and be fully awake at the slightest hint of danger. That means that they don’t have deep sleep and certainly don’t do the free trial of death thing that is human sleep, and Sunset’s brain was having to readjust to that. It sucked. I should have added coffee to my supplies. - Then again, human coffee would likely give my pony body a heart attack. The amount of poison human bodies can tolerate is nuts.

After eating her first breakfast ration, which consisted of half an MRE, Sunset stashed her stuff. It was unlikely, but if somepony came in, Sunset didn’t want clear evidence of her being here where somepony could easily find it. “Okay Philomena, I’m going to do some scouting. Don’t tell anyo-pony I’m here.”

Philomena gave Sunset an uninterested look and went back to preening her feathers.

With the world’s laziest phoenix taken care of, Sunset removed her swords from her bag and secured them to her barrel. An illusion spell later and Sunset was an average looking maid with a sparkling breeze cutie mark, and her swords were cleaning supplies. A quick shadowport later and Sunset was in a dark, isolated corridor right outside the anti-shadowporting field. Sunset walked around for a bit to ensure the castle still recognized her sigil. This deep in the castle, there’s a disorientation spell that only ponies that have taken a solar oath or have a royal sigil are immune to. Judging by the fact that Sunset wasn’t horribly lost by now, it was safe to say that the castle still recognized Sunset’s sigil. If Sunset had to redesign the system, she would make it so everypony had a unique identifier and could be tracked anywhere in the castle.

Sunset slowly made her way to the reliquary, pretending to clean all the way. The modern ninja handbook says “Nobody pays attention to the cleaning service” and “Cleaning service people were the ones to ask for information”. That’s doubly true for the poorly trained royal guard. It took a long time for Sunset to get to the reliquary with how many stops she had to make. It was an unassuming door that led to a hallway with several other unassuming doors. You’d think it was a janitor’s closet if you didn’t know better. Now, there should be a few guards in there. Sunset focused her sixth sense to see how many guards were there exactly, but once again, the only thing she could sense was another cranium splitting headache, or was it the same one from last night. What da bloody Tartarus is going on? After letting the headache subside, Sunset devised a new plan. Sunset searched her library of spells until she found the spell she was looking for, an ultra low power detection spell of her own creation inspired by seismic sense. Sunset placed her horn to the floor and let out several long, low powered magic pluses. Six guards in the reliquary, and - oh crap, someone’s coming. Sunset picked her head up and resumed “dusting” the tapestry.

“Excuse me ma’am, what are you doing here?”, the guard asked.

“Oh, hello sir. I’m cleaning. Got to make sure the castle is worthy of our gorgeous princess.”, Sunset said in her most innocent, sweetheart voice.

“This is a restricted section. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“But I have to make sure everything is clean. I have direct orders from the head of cleaning.”

“Really?” The guard pulled out a clipboard. “What’s your name?”

“Spiffy Whistles”

“Hm, I don’t have you on the schedule.”

“That’s odd. May I see?”, Sunset asked. The guard handed the clipboard over to Sunset. Sunset pretended to examine the list. The list was only for today, so it will be of no use to Sunset tomorrow. “This is very odd, but the castle’s disorientation spells haven’t affected me. That must mean I’m allowed to be here. Maybe it’s because I’m new. I only started yesterday.”

The guard thought for a moment before answering. “Maybe, but why would they assign somepony so new this far down into the castle?”

“I don’t know. I just go where they tell me to.”, Sunset said while giving a shrug then passed the clipboard back.

The guard took the clipboard back and gave a sigh. “I can understand that. I think it would be best if you left. I’ll talk to the head of cleaning and explain the situation.”

Sunset was surprised by the guard’s answer. Any other guard Sunset knew would’ve just trusted the explanation of “the castle lets me be here” and go on with business as usual. Sunset knew this because she used to do this for fun. This guard was actually doing a good job. “That sounds like a reasonable compromise and less work for me.”

“Hehe, yeah, you have a good night Ms. Whistle.”

“What is your name kind sir?”

“Shining Armor, ma’am.”

“Hm, good name.”, Sunset said while nodding to the guard and then turned to leave. Sunset could feel the guard watching her walk off. Well, this disguise is useless now. Sunset decided to walk around the less restricted sections of the castle for some fresh air. She also needed to check if Celestia had improved royal guard training or if this Shining Armor was just an outlier.

Walking through the halls brought back so many memories of Sunset foalhood. She and Philomena would run around, causing untold amounts of trouble for the nobles. Sunset was reveling in her memories when she felt a solid thunk against her chest. “Hey, watch where you’re- are you okay?” Sunset was angry until she saw the thunker was a young purple mare massaging her horn. She couldn’t have been older than twelve. She was just too stinkin cute to be mad at.

“Ow ow ow, yeah, I’m fine but ow.”

“Here” Sunset lit her horn and gathered up all the young mare’s books.

“Thanks”, the mare said as she lit her own horn and took her books back.

“What’s your name?”

“Twilight Sparkle”

“What are you doing here, Twilight?”

“I’m Princess Celestia’s personal student. I live here.”, Twilight said, aggravated.

“Princess Celestia’s personal student you say. Well, I guess I should let you get back to studying.”, Sunset said, trying to keep her own irritation out of her voice.

Twilight gave Sunset a strange look before running off. Of course she has a new personal student. She probably didn’t even wait a week before she started searching again. hug, who am I kidding? She’s doing this for her sister, and look at what I’m doing. Don’t need to be happy ‘bout it though. Now, guards. Need to check on guards.

Katon family home
Date: same day, time: 5:30 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid and Anzhong were returning home from work. During the whole car ride, Anzhong was visibly tense. It didn’t take a PhD in human behavioral psychology to know that he was worried about Sunset. Sunset had taken her handgun. She forgot to turn off one of her lights, and they saw the wide open lockbox on her desk. The fact Sunset felt she needed her gun scared the crap out of all of them.

“What are we going to tell Minerva?”, Anzhong asked.

“Da truth. If she doesn’t believe me, Ah plan on takin’ ‘er ta da statue.”

Anzhong said nothing in response. He does love Minerva, but he’s less trusting in general. The two gathered their stuff and went inside the house. Once inside, Brigid was immediately approached by Minerva.

“Oh good, you’re back. Sunset isn’t home yet, and you said that would explain what was going on when you got back. So, what’s going on?” Minerva was looking at Brigid like it was her kid that was nowhere to be seen.

“Sunset is okay. She’s jus’ gone back ta ‘er home planet ta find a cure f’r cancer.”

“What?”, Minerva said while looking at Brigid like she just grew a second head.

“Ah’ll show ya what Ah mean.” Brigid motioned for Minerva to follow, and Brigid took Minerva to the school and statue.

“Okay, what do you want to show me?” Minerva’s tone was now a mix of curiosity, suspicion, and confusion.

Brigid looked around to see if anyone was watching them. Seeing no one, Brigid stuck her hand through the portal. Minerva watched on in shock as she watched Brigid move around her now hoof. “Dis is a portal ta another dimension. Sunset is from dis other dimension, n’ in ‘er dimension, magic is commonplace n’ dere are relics dat have healin’ powers. Sunset has gone back ta retrieve one a’ dose relics ta help Emi.”

“Okay, just, give me a moment to digest this.”

“Take y’r time. Ah had da same reaction.”

“Why did your hand turn into a hoof, and why did Sunset only go through now?”

“Da portal turns ya inta a species native ta da othe’ world, n’ da portal only portal only opens every two n’ half yea’s.”

“How long do we have before the portal closes?”

“Three days, n’ dat was last night.”

“So, if Sunset isn’t back by tomorrow night,-” Minerva couldn’t finish that sentence. All she could do was grip her head in worry.

“It gets worse. Sunset took ‘er gun with ‘er.”

“What the hell could Sunset need a gun for?”

Brigid only gave Minerva a knowing look. They both knew what a gun was for and why Sunset would bring one.

SHWO ch49 Return to Equestria part2

Author's Note

Spell on display: shadow body
Shadow body is a spell that allows the user to turn their body or parts of their body into pure shadow mist and move freely in that state.

Restrictions and Requirements

A shadow magic affinity
A lot of magic
A high degree of magical control

Advantages over similar spells
Shadow mist is denser than smoke or air. This will make your body easier to control in this state but still able to float. It also takes little magic to maintain your shadow mist form.

Risks
As you do become pure mist, losing control over your body can leave you open to being killed by the wind. You will need to reform your eyes or ears if you want to see or hear anything.

SHWO ch49 Return to Equestria part2

Sunset’s old room
Date: 29/02/1118 Ee, time: 6st hour AMR

*Sunset’s perspective*

After talking with many of the other guards, Sunset deduced that the guards had actually gotten worse since she left. Their training was still the same, but now, Sunset wasn’t constantly sparring with them or causing trouble for them, forcing them to do their jobs. This left Sunset confident that, so long as she doesn’t run into that Shining Armor fellow, she would be just fine. Sunset even felt confident enough to walk around the castle. She still wore her Spiffy Whistles disguise and stayed away from Celestia, but was otherwise as free as a bird.

Now, another rule of the ninja hand book was to travel light. Sunset did do that coming in, not having to pack clothes made that easier, but books are not light. That means that she’ll need to empty her bags as much as possible. One thing Sunset quickly learned was that she brought way too many MREs. She expected her pony body to be smaller than her human body, but boy did she underestimate how small ponies are. Hell, she knew some miniature dogs that are about the same size as ponies. That left Sunset with a lot of extra food and water. She rationed out what she would need for tomorrow and put the rest aside. The ruler could be left behind. The thing was like a buck. The letter was always going to be left behind. Sunset tossed Philomena the mask and excess fabric which she promptly turned into a toy. Everything else would be used tomorrow night.

Sunset balanced her bags to make sure the weight would be as little a hindrance as possible. Her human strength didn’t appear to have transferred over to her pony form. Actually, now that Sunset was thinking about it, her pony body was exactly the same as the day she left, minus the new scars. Sunset didn’t expect her body to change much in thirty moons, but she should have grown at least a few inches as she entered her late-twenties. Sunset’s best guess is that when the portal turns you back, it shapes you back into exactly what you were when you left, but that question would need to be answered another day. Sunset had to make sure her plan was perfect.

Sunset’s old room
Date: 30/02/1118 Ee, time: 3rd hour AMR

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset looked over the letter again. She needed to make sure it was perfect. She didn’t have time to visit her family. So, she needed to make sure she effectively explained herself. Although, this was more just to comfort herself as she had no way of changing now. As annoying as the ponies’ insistence of rising and falling with the sun was, it made knowing when everypony was asleep much easier. Seeing as everyone’s lights were off and the sun had long since set, Sunset gathered up everything, including Philomena’s call whistle and walked into the shadows.

Sunset’s destination was a small house in one of Canterlot’s lower class neighborhoods near the outskirts of the city. Americans might even call the place a ghetto. Despite the less than well maintained streets and the smell of last night’s party evidence, it was a nice place to live. Even with the certain “habits” of some of the other residents, it was still Equestria and very safe. Although, the safety comes from the ponies’ lack of a predatory nature and the good economy instead of effective policing. There isn’t even a word for “police” in Ponish. It’s just the royal guard.

The house itself was well maintained, and it looked exactly how it did when Sunset left. She could even see the repaired spot where she got her horn stuck in the wall. Like many pegasi houses, it was very utilitarian in the way things were arranged. Every space was used to its maximum potential, but effort was still put in to make it look nice. Right as you enter the door, there’s a kitchen to your left and a staircase to your right. Past the kitchen is the dining room and then the living room. Since TV wasn’t a thing in Equestria, all the couches were arranged to face the fireplace. There’s a door that leads to the backyard and Mom’s garden. Since Mom wasn’t an Earth pony, she had limited success with it, but she would get help and tips from Cousin Passionfruit whenever she came around.

Sunset laid her letter and her unused MREs on the dining room table. One thing you learn being raised in poverty is that you don’t waste food. So, either Sunset’s parents will eat it or use it for something else. With this complete, Sunset was off to her next stop.

Sunset shadowported into a hallway just outside of the anti-shadowporting field. Sunset disguised herself as a guard and marched to the reliquary. The few guards she passed didn’t even spare her a second glance, assuming she belonged there because she wasn’t lost. Doing this this late is cutting it close, but it’s close to shift change. That means that the guards will be tired and ready to go to bed, and their replacements will still be in bed, and it will take time for them to get ready.

The corridors near the reliquary and similar areas are lightly patrolled to help sell the illusion that these are low target areas, but this is going to bite them in the ass this time. Sunset approached the reliquary door and pulled out a homemade stun grenade. She didn’t want to kill the guards, they did nothing to her, but she would if she had to. The locking spell on the door was nothing to Sunset. The light of Sunset magic grew a bit brighter as she dispelled the lock, opened the door, threw the grenade in, and closed the door. Surprised neighs and then a bang could be heard through the door. Sunset opened the door and stepped inside. Six guards were laying in crumpled heaps on the ground. Various groans and moans let Sunset know they’re still alive.

Step one complete. Now, onto step two. With a simple location spell, Sunset was able to find her prize amongst the rest of the junk. With the relic secure, Sunset ran out of the room, closing the door behind her. She didn’t care how sparse the guards were. That explosion had to be heard by somepony in the quiet castle. Sunset pulled out Philomena’s call whistle and blew. With Philomena on her way, Sunset put the pedal to metal to get to the mirror.

As Sunset turned down another corridor, she found herself face to leg with Princess Celestia.

“Sunset Shimmer”, Celestia said coldly.

Shedding her disguise, Sunset bared her fangs to Celestia and so wished ponies could growl or hiss. “Out of my way, Celestia. More is at stake here than you realize.”

“Oh, enlighten me then.”

“You know I don’t have time for that.” Sunset spun around only to find earth ponies holding spears, pegasi holding crossbows, and unicorns casting light spells that Sunset had to shield her eyes from.

“You know I can’t let you leave Sunset. Make this easy on yourself and come quietly.”

Sunset grinned evilly at that. “You know, there’s an expression from my new home that fits here perfectly.” Sunset spun back around to face Celestia while pulling her weapons out of her bag. “We will not go quietly!”, Sunset shouted while raising her gun to Celestia.

Out front of Canterlot High
Date: Mar 2nd, time: 8:00 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

“Ah don’t like dis.”

“I know what you mean.”, Anzhong said.

“She should be back by now. Da portal c’n close any minute now.”

“I know.”

“We should go in afte’ ‘er.”

“We might compromise her.”

“Da moon’s almost over da star. We need ta go get ‘er.”

“Uhg, I had a feeling you’d talk me into going.” Anzhong placed his cane and backpack on the ground and pulled out - two oni masks. Anzhong handed the mask with eye holes to Brigid, pulled off his glasses, and placed the mask without eye holes on himself.

“Do ya have a light in dere? Ah c’n’t imagine Sunset doin’ dis operation in da daylight.”

Anzhong reached into his bag and pulled out a headlamp. Brigid plut the mask and headlamp on and then turned the headlamp on.

“Ready?”

“Ready”

“Ki stay.”, Anzhong ordered, and Ki sat down in what the girls call his “guard dog pose”. Brigid took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and the two stepped through the portal.

To say the process was pleasant would be a lie. Brigid felt like she was being squished, and exiting the portal wasn’t much fun either. Brigid could hear the two of them crash before she felt the pain. After letting the dizziness faid, Brigid stumbled to her fee-hooves. She had hooves now. Brigid looked over to see Anzhong shaking the dizziness off. “Good ‘hin’ ya had da torch. It’s dark in ‘ere.”

“What are these things on my back?”

“Bat wings”

“Bat-” Anzhong was cut off by the sound of a gunshot ringing out though - wherever they were.

“Sunset”, the two of them said.

Brigid rammed the door open, and the two ran off to find their daughter.

Halls of Canterlot castle
Date: same day, time: 4th hour AMR

*Sunset’s perspective*

“We will not go quietly!”, Sunset shouted while raising her gun to Celestia.

“What is tha-” BangCelestia was cut off when Sunset fired her gun and shot her crown off her head.

“It’s a gun. Think of it like an ultra powerful crossbow.”

“Attack!”, one of the guards shouted.

Sunset turned her body into shadow in order to let the crossbow bolts pass through her harmlessly. Immediately after, Sunset reformed her body and fired a magic bolt at the guards. Down to 89%. Can’t do that too many times. Sunset sensed Celestia charging an attack so she charged the guards to dodge. The lack of space made it difficult for all the guards to fit, but it, along with the anti-teleportation fields, made it difficult for Sunset to maneuver. Half of the unicorn guards began laying into her with various types of magic bolts while the other half kept their light spells on Sunset, partially bindinger her. Most of the spells were ice based and aimed at Sunset’s hooves, leaving the floor slippery when Sunset doged. Sunset casted a traction spell on herself to keep from slipping. The pegasi guards shot more crossbow bolts, but those were easily dealt with by a shield spell. The earth pony guards used the spears to form a defensive line that would thrust out if Sunset got too close. That left Sunset in a balancing match between staying close enough to keep Celestia from firing but not close enough to be stabbed. Come on, come on, give me an opening.

Sunset was offered some reprieve from the bolts of magic, crossbow bolts, and thrusting spears when Philomena joined the fight. Philomena caused enough of a distraction for Sunset to stab a couple of the guards.

“BLOOD!” the guards screamed. Even Celestia looked a bit queasy at the sight.

Sunset waved one of the blades around, splattering blood everywhere, while licking the other one clean.

“It’s Sunset, the blood eating feind! Run for your lives!”, one of the guards shouted. Several of the guards, mostly unicorns, ran screaming in terror, but that still left about a dozen others and Celestia herself. At least there’s less light.

Sunset grabbed one of the guards in her magic and used her to shield herself from the other’s attacks. The guard went limp in Sunset’s magic grasp. She didn’t know if she was alive or dead, nor did she care to check. Sunset hovered the guard’s body between herself and Celestia. Sunset could feel the attack Celestia was preparing wane. Sunset fired off a couple of gunshots, dropping two more guards. Sunset moved the two dropped guards to shield her from the others then turned her attention back to Celestia, but as she did, Celesita shot off a spell that curved around Sunset’s pony shield. Sunset dropped the bodies and put up a shield, but Celestia’s spell broke through and nailed Sunset in the side. Sunset was thrown against the wall, and she could smell the singed fur. Philomena moved to protect Sunset and began hissing at anypony that came near.

“Philomena calm down. We’re not going to hurt her.”, Celestia said in a calming tone. Philomena flared her fire and screeched at Celestia. “I’m sorry Philomena, but this is for both of your goods.” Celestia lit her horn, and in a flash, Philomena was gone.

Sunset wanted to cry out but the pain in her chest prevented her. Celestia and the guards sarrowned Sunset. Celestia began another teleportation spell but was interrupted by a war cry coming down the hall, a very human sounding war cry, a war cry that sounded a lot like Brigid’s. Before anypony could figure out what was going on, what looked like a demon came bounding down the hall and rammed into Celestia. All the guards turned their attention to Celestia which let another figure slip in. “Dad?”, Sunset squeaked out in English.

“It’s me. Come on, we need to go.”

Anzhong lowered himself, and Sunset climbed onto his back. “What’s burning?”, Anzhong asked.

“Let’s go! Let’s go! Ah think Ah made her angry!”, Brigid shouted.

Anzhong began running while Brigid kept Celestia and the guards busy for a bit longer.

“You will not remove Sunset from this castle!”, Celestia bellowed in her royal canterlot voice.

“Inside voice! Did y’r mothe’ neve’ teach ya any manne’s?!”, Brigid bellowed back before bolting to catch up with Sunset and Anzhong. Brigid talking back to her seemed to have stunned Celestia and the guards as it took them a minute to chase after them. “So, who was dat?”, Brigid asked once she caught up.

“The princess.”, Sunset wheezed out.

“Ahh, good, Ah neve’ liked monarchs.”

At the pace they were running, it only took them a couple minutes to make it to the mirror room, but when they got there, Celestia was waiting for them.

“Stop this instance!”, Celestia bellowed, but Brigid didn’t listen. Brigid rammed into Celestia once again, sending them both through the portal.

Anzhong and Sunset weren’t far behind them. Jumping through the portal, kaleidoscope, stretching, yada yada, Sunset landed on the other side of the portal on top of Anzhong. Sunset picked her head up to see Brigid picking up Celestia by the collar of her newly formed jacket.

“Hey, I’m bigge’ dan ya know.” Indeed, Brigid was bigger than Celestia. There wasn’t much of a height difference, but there was a very noticeable weight difference, and Celestia looked terrified of the massive muscular red demon snarling at her.

“Mom send her back through the portal. It would not be good for Equestria to lose her.”, Sunset said while climbing off of Anzhong. It hurt to move, but Anzhong needed to get up. At least the headaches stopped.

“Mom?”, Celestia asked Sunset.

“Ya got dat right.” Brigid picked Celestia up, marched over to the portal, and tossed her through like a sack of rotten potatoes. Brigid, Anzhong, and Ki stood guard over the portal until it closed. Celestia would never send her guards into the human world, but they didn’t know that, and Sunset was too hurt to tell them.

“Sunset, are you hurt?”, Anzhong asked. “I smelt burnt hair, and it seemed to be coming from you.”

Sunset pulled her jacket and shirt down, the cloak disappeared when they went through the portal, and indeed, she was hurt.

“Who did dis ta ya?”

“That lady you just manhandled.”

“Ah should have ripped dat stupid horn off ‘er head!”, Brigid roared.

“Can we just go home now? This hurts.”

“Aw, come ‘ere.” Brigid picked Sunset up while Anzhong gathered Ki and his things.

“I think ya scared the most powerful being on all of Equoes.”, Sunset said.

“Good”, Brigid simply said as she walked to the car.

Reliquary room #13
Date: same day, time: 4th hour 10th minute AMR

*Celestia’s perspective*

“Oof” Celestia landed hard on her back as she was flung out of the portal. Sunset called that thing “mom”. What was that thing? What did Sunset turn into? What did I turn into?

“Princess Celestia, are you all right?”, one of the guards asked. “Should we go after them?”

“I’m fine and no. Go see to the others, and move this mirror to reliquary room one.”, Celestia ordered as she righted herself.

“Right away, your highness.” The guard ran off to complete his orders, and Celestia began walking to her room. She knew Philomena wasn’t going to be happy. She’s extremely loyal to Sunset. Sunset raised her after all.

Walking into her private chambers, Celestia found Philomena in her cage, exactly where she put her. Philomena looked at Celestia with disdain. “I know you’re unhappy, but this is for the better. I don’t know what Sunset’s purpose for being here was, but I know it wasn’t good.” Philomena screeched in angry protest. Celestia wished that she could understand her, but she never was able to learn her language. Even though, like all creatures, phoenixes are capable of language comprehension, they had no official language. That left Sunset and Philomena to develop their own language, and it used very few actual words. It mostly consisted of body language, tone changes, and basic animal sounds. That left the translation spell almost useless. One of the few phrases Celestia could recognise was “I’m sorry”, and that was only because Philomena had to say it on a near daily basis. She was a serial prankster. With the portal closed, Celestia had no reason to keep Philomena locked up. Celestia opened the cage, and Philomena flew off, undoubtedly to Sunset’s room. “I hope you can forgive me.”

Sunset’s bathroom
Date: same day, time: 8:45 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“How did you get these burns?”, Grandpa Jiraiya asked as he poured water over Sunset’s burns.

“That’s a bit of a story. I’ll tell everyone at once.”

“Well, you're lucky you only got first degree burns. It should clear up without scarring.”

“Eh, I’m not surprised. Celestia is too soft to actually hurt me, and she’s lucky she didn’t. Mom would’ve ripped her horn off with her bare hooves, shoved it up her prison pocket, and jammed it up there until it came out her mouth.”

“Horn? hooves?”

“That will be explained when I tell the story.”

“Okay”, Jiraiya said warily.

Sunset had burns over her right shoulder, armpit, side of her chest, and part of her back. She was just happy her bag wasn’t hit, but this was still going to be a pain. At least it would all be worth it once Emi was healed, and it’s not like this was her first rodeo. When Spitfire was still learning how to control her fire breath, she burned Sunset tail off, and then Sunset nearly caught the house on fire by running around and screaming. Sunset chuckled inwardly remembering how she had to walk around with just this little nubby thing attached to her butt for two weeks.

It was a while before Jiraiya felt that Sunset was ready to have aloe cream put on the burn. After he put the aloe cream on, Jiraiya loosely wrapped Sunset up in gauze and told her to move her arm as little as possible. Once Sunset was wrapped, dried, and dressed, she grabbed her backpack, and she and Jiraiya went out to the living room where Brigid, Anzhong, Ki, Emi, Minerva, and a tired Anura were waiting. Sunset took her bean bag while Jiraiya took his own seat.

“So Sunset, Ah told Minerva what ya were doin’, but y’r grandfathe’ n’ Anura have no idea what dis is about.”, Brigid said.

“Right so, for the last couple of days, I have been in a country called Equestria, on a planet called Equoes. That’s the country I was born in. The statue outside of Canterlot High has a portal in it that opens for three days every two and a half years or thirty moons, as we call it.”

Jiraiya and Anura looked stunned and unsure and looked around at the others to see if it was a joke, but Brigid, Anzhong, Emi, and Minerva all just nodded their heads, confirming that it wasn’t a joke. “Anzhong n’ Ah needed ta go through da portal ta save Sunset.”

“So, let me get this straight. Sunset’s an alien, and she looks like a human.”, Jiraiya said.

“Actually, I didn’t look like a human until I came to Earth, and in order for what I’m going to tell you to make much sense, I’m going to give you a lesson about my people.” All the humans in the room gave Sunset the go ahead. So, she began. “So, like Earth, the planet of Equoes has many countries on it, but unlike Earth, each of those countries has a different dominant species. Now, I believe that the portal near the school hasn’t been the only one. Many creatures present in your mythologies are real creatures on Equoes. One of those creatures are unicorns, which is what I am.”

“A unicorn?”, Minerva said.

“Hey, Anzhong was some sorta bat-winged pegasus. Now, dat begs a question. Why was Ah just a normal horse? Ah mean da lady dat burned ya had wings n’ a horn. Dat’s jus’ not fair.”

“Along with unicorns are pegasi, which Dad is a sub-species of, there are earth ponies. Now, before you say anything. “Earth ponies” is a bit of a translation error. Their name in Ponish means ground or soil,-” Sunset tapped her foot on the ground. “-i.e. earth. Now, earth ponies have super strength, super durability, and a connection to the planet that ranges in power from giving them a better feel for their surroundings to prophetic dreams.”

“Oh, dat’s not bad.”

“Now, there’s a fourth type of pony called an alicorn, which translates to “all magic” in Ponish. They have the magical traits of all three tribes. They are created when the magics of all three tribes are combined in a single individual with a binder, like love. I know what you’re going to say, but love is a measurable thing on Equoes. That’s a whole other field of study. Now, there are two more things ya need ta know. First, inherited last names haven’t been a thing for over a hundred years. Nobody knows exactly why. It just seemed to have fallen out of style. Second, if two ponies of different tribes have a foal, the foal can only express the magical traits of one of the parents. So, let's say a unicorn and pegasus has a foal. The foal can only be a unicorn or a pegasus, not a pegacorn. Which one they become is, as far as we know, completely random, but they still can give birth to a foal of the tribe they weren't born into, even if they don't have a foal with a member of that tribe. Did everyone get that?

A chorus of “yeah”s and “I think so”s came from the others.

“Good, because that’s my situation. So, I was born to two pegasi named Stormy Flare and Shadow Walker, and I have an older sister named Spitfire. When I was eight, I was accepted into Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. A few months after that, I was selected to be Princess Celestia’s personal student. Her goal in making me her student was to A) find someone to save her sister and B) find a successor. I graduated from her school when I was fifteen but remained her student until I ran away when I was twenty-six.”

“Wait, wait, wait, y’r twenty-six?”, Brigid asked.

“Twenty-eight now but yes. The portal deaged me as well as changed my species, again ‘nother can of worms. Now, I wanted to become the ruler of Equestria so I could correct many of the flaws in the Equestrian government and society, but Princess Celestia kept on saying that I wasn’t ready. So, I decided to become more proactive, and I started researching forbidden topics, including the portal. One day, I was caught, and Princess Celestia dismissed me from my studies and ordered me to be arrested.”

“You went back to Equestria even though you’re a wanted criminal.”, Anzhong said in shock.

“Eyeap, anyway, I escaped from my escort and ran through the portal. Now, the part about closing after three days was lost due to decay. So, I ended up trapped here, and you know the rest.”

“Why were you in Equestria if you were a wanted criminal?”, Jiraiya asked.

“To get this.” Sunset pulled the relic out of her bag and showed it to everyone. “This is called the Gold Hoof’s stone. It can heal anyone of anything.”

“I hope you didn’t steal that from a hospital.”, Jiraiya said.

“No, I didn’t. It has a limited number of uses since its creator died. Celestia keeps it locked away incase of a major emergency, like a foreign diplomat being poisoned or grievously injured on our watch. If that happens, it can mean war. There are many others similar to this. I didn’t just doom Equestria to war.”

“I see. So, how did you get those burns?”

“During my escape with this, I was attacked by Princess Celestia. She had no idea why I was there, and I didn’t have time to explain. Considering how we last left things, she assumed the worst, and tried to apprehend me. We fought, and I got burned. I’m also going to have a nasty bruise.”

“Dat’s when we swooped in ta save ‘er.”

“So, you’re going to use that rock ta cure me?”, Emi asked.

“Yes, tomorrow though, I’m exhausted.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Dad, can you stay here tonight?”, Anzhong asked.

“Of course”

With the explanations done, Sunset grabbed her things and went back to her room. She really needed a good night’s sleep.

SHWO ch50 A decision's aftermath

Stormy Flare & Shadow Walker’s house
Date: 1st day of the 3rd month of the 1118th year of the Equestrian era, time: 30th minute ASR

*Stormy Flare’s perspective*

Stormy flew down the stairs and into the kitchen to start making breakfast for her husband and herself. Even after all these years, she still couldn’t do stairs. As she was making breakfast, Stormy heard her husband coming down the stairs.

“Hey Stormy, what’s this?”

“What’s what?”

“There are these packages with strange symbols on them and a letter on the table.”

“That’s strange. We’ll look at them after breakfast.”

Breakfast didn’t take long, and they were soon investigating the strange packages. They appeared to be made of something like paper but stronger. They contemplated opening them up but decided not to. They then turned to the letter, hoping it contained answers. The letter said “From Sunset” on the front. The two quickly opened it, now hoping it had answers to where Sunset went.

Mom, Dad, I first want to say I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disappear like that. I don’t know how much Celestia has told you, but I want you to know that I’m safe. I was taken in by a family of humans, the dominant species here. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to visit you, but I came to Equestria on a mission. One of the humans that took me in has become very sick, and I only had a couple days to get what I came for before I would not be able to return. I do hope to come back one day, but that might not be for a long time.

Love, Sunset Shimmer

Please tell Spits I’m sorry for blowing up at her.

“Sunset” Stormy said.

“But is it really Sunset?”, Shadow asked. “I mean, it doesn’t even look like her horn writing.”

“I know, but it otherwise sounds like her.”

Shadow mulled over the situation before answering. “We need to tell the princess.”

Canterlot castle throne room
Date: same day, time: 3rd hour ASR

*Celestia’s perspective*

Even though Celestia had cancelled court for today, she still sat in her throne. After such a disturbing incident, Celestia’s ponies needed to see her as an unshaking pillar, a rock to grab hold of. It’s clear that Sunset had stolen something, but they were still searching for what. The reliquaries were not the most organized places in the castle. Maybe I should ask Twilight to organize them after all this is done. Celestia picked her head up from the mountains of unrelated documents to meet the eyes of the guard who just entered. Celestia put her papers aside as the guard came closer and took a bow.

“Your royal highness, I have an update regarding the guards injured during last night’s attack.”, Lieutenant Blade Strike spoke.

“You may rise.”, Celestia ordered, and the guard did so immediately. “What is their condition?”

“Major Sergeant Spearbiter died on scene, and Corporal Cobalt Helm and Private Thunder Chap are still in critical condition. Helm and Chap are likely to need-” She shuddered at what she was going to say next. “-organ transplants. Do we know what weapon the assailant used?”

“She called it a gun. She described it as an “ultra powerful crossbow”. You are dismissed.”

Lieutenant Strike bowed then hurried off. Celestia was about to go back to her paperwork until another guard came in.

“Your royal highness, Captain Spitfire of the Royal Air Guard Wonderbolts deviation, Major Shadow Walker of the Royal Air Guard intel deviation, and Staff Sergeant Stormy Flare, formerly of the Royal Air Guard 6th pegasi forward crossbow company, are here to see you. They say they have intel on a pony of interest.”, Sergeant Swords Dance said.

“Send them in.”

Sergeant Dance saluted then signaled for the other guards to send them in. Just from looking at them, anypony could see that both Sunset and Spitfire took after their mother, but there were several traits that Sunset obviously got from her father. Shadow had a purple, wavy mane with gold streaks through it, teal, slitted eyes, a light grey coat, bat wings, and the fangs all thestrals have.

“Princess Celestia, we have evidence that Sunset has returned and came to our house last night.” Shadow Walker pulled a letter out of his saddle bags and offered it to Celestia.

Celestia took the letter in her magic and brought it over to herself. “Sick?”, Celestia said after reading it over. “First Sergeant Swords Dance, have the guard focus their search to healing relics.”

“Yes, your highness.” Sergeant Dance saluted then quickly exited.

“There are also these.” Stormy Flare pulled out a package of some kind from her saddle bag.

Celestia took it in her magic and cast several detection spells on it. The spells came up negative for poisons and explosives, aside from a lot of salt. The package looked exactly like the discarded wrapping found in Sunset’s old room. Celestia then cast a text translation spell. It was a far from perfect spell, but it would work here. “Meals ready to eat”, Celestia read. She then cast a food identification spell. It came up with several dried vegetables. “This is food.”, Celestia announced.

“Now that sounds like Sunset.”, Spitfire said.

“Princess Celestia, do you know what’s going on with Sunset?”, Stormy Flare asked.

“Stormy, you can do what you need to do to be comfortable.”, Celestia said. Stormy nodded then sat down. “To be honest with you, I do not know. Last night, Sunset broke into the reliquary, and we suspect Sunset stole a relic to heal this “humans” she mentioned in her letter.”

“Wow, she must really love these humans to do all this for them.”, Spitfire said.

“Spitfire”, Stormy and Shadow chided.

“What? It’s true.”

Celestia levitated the letter and package back to Shadow and Stormy. “From what I have seen, that appears to be the case. Thank you for this information. You are dismissed.”

The three of them saluted then exited. Once they were gone, Celestia got up from her throne and walked over to and through a door behind it, reliquary room #1. Inside were mainly multiple sets of Celestia’s regalia, including the crown Sunset shot. The projectile was even still logged in it. This place served as a sort of museum to Celestia’s life as a ruler. There was an actual museum dedicated to that, but that only held copies of most things. These were the originals. Celestia’s and Luna’s first set of regalia, crafted by their own father, sat on elaborate pedestals at the back of the room as its centerpiece. To the left of that was the mirror portal. For whatever reason, the mirror’s creator gave it a secondary ability to show ponies their destinies. As Celestia had already realized her destiny, she only saw herself in the reflection. “What are you planning, Sunset Shimmer?”

Emi’s room
Date: Mar 3rd, time: 11:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Ya ready ta be ridded of your cancer?”, Sunset asked Emi.

“Beyond ready, let’s do this.”

“Okay then, hold out your hands.”

Sunset placed the relic in Emi’s hands and began the incantation. It didn’t translate well to English, but it was basically asking for the recipient to be healed.

“This is getting really hot. Is it supposed ta do that?”, Emi asked about halfway through the incantation.

“What? No” Sunset felt the relic, and it was indeed really hot. Sunset pucked the relic up with her good arm but had to toss it up and down because of the heat. Brigid noticed what was happening and grabbed a pillow case from Emi’s closet and scooped the relic out of the air with it. “Emi, that was really, really hot. Why didn’t you say anything sooner?”

“The boiling frog effect”, Emi simply said.

“I don’t think that’s an actual effect, but I get what you’re saying.”

“Emi, y’re burned!”, Brigid cried out.

“Whoops”, Emi said.

“Grandpa’s coming!”, Jiraiya called from his room.

Sunset could only look on in shock. This was supposed to help Emi, but it ended up harming her. What kind of a sister am I if I can only hurt her?

“Sunset?” Sunset looked up to see Brigid trying to comfort her while avoiding her burns and Jiraiya treating Emi. “Ah remembe’ ya sayin’ some‘hin’ ‘bout some books ya want ta show us at breakfast. Do ya wanna show us now?”

“Sure” That brightened Sunset mood a bit. Sunset had been wanting to share Equestria’s history with Brigid for years. She reached over to her bag and pulled out the “Complete History of Equestria” book. The book had grown to a more human appropriate size while crossing the portal which made things easier. The letters were already kinda small and being forced to read something the size of a kid's diary would not have helped. Brigid positioned herself so she could see the pages, and Sunset began reading.

“Long before even the time of the three tribes, the land that would become Equestria was populated by collections of small farming communities and roaming herds. That all changed when Grogar, father of monsters, declared himself emperor and used the power stored in his bell to conquer the land. Most ponies banded together and formed the three tribes, but some moved north to escape. Time and time again, ponies tried to mount a resistance, but time and time again, Grogar would crush it with the monsters he created. It was not until Gusty the Great forged an alliance between the unicorns and the pegasi was Gusty able to steal Groga’s bell and seal it away. Without his bell, Grogar was able to be defeated, but his monsters still roam Equestria to this day.”

“What kinds of monsters?”, Emi asked.

“Well, let’s see. There are timber wolves, which are monstrous wolves made out of wood; bugbears; chimeras; manticores; hydras; cockatrices, which can turn ya ta stone with their stare; cragadile, which is a stone crocodile; and many others, and these are all naturally hostile to ponies.”

“Wow, with creatures like those, is Equestria even safe?”, Jiraiya asked.

“Yes it is; thank you very much. Without Grogar, these creatures no longer go out of their way to hunt ponies, and if they ever do come close to ponies, that’s what the EUP is for. And for your information, we live a thirty minute walk away from moose territory.”

“Fair”

“Now, back to the history of Equestria, time for the three tribes area. After Grogar’s defeat, the three tribes stayed to themselves for thousands of years, but that changed after a cataclysmic event of unknown origin caused the orbits of the sun and moon to be disrupted. The unicorn tribe was able to move the sun and moon to simulate their original orbit but at a great price. The amount of power it required to move the sun and moon left the unicorns too drained to farm. The king of the unicorns decided to demand food from the other tribes. If the other tribes did not comply, the king would order his unicorns to direct the sun away from the others’ farm lands. The earth ponies compiled, but the pegasi were already facing food shortages. However, the pegasi had learned that they can control the weather. So, the pegasi commander made a deal with the earth ponies and unicorns. If the earth ponies gave them food and the unicorns stopped demanding food from them, the pegasi would provide their weather controlling abilities to them. They all agreed, and the three tribes formed an uneasy partnership.”

“What da hell could’ve caused da sun n’ da moon ta stop movin’?”, Brigid asked, astonished.

“We have no idea, and the only creatures that were there and are still alive aren’t exactly the cooperative sort. Now, on to the pre-Equestrian era. The three tribes' partnership was strenuous from the start, but only got worse over time. As time went on, the three tribes began to argue more and more. One day, a snow storm the pegasi could not control came in. This only worsened their relationships as the unicorns and earth ponies blamed the pegasi for the storm, saying they caused the storm with their weather magic. The pegasi blamed the unicorns, saying that they were framing the pegasi so they could justify a war. The earth ponies did not aid in soothing the conflict, and the storm only got worse. The leaders all separately decided that their peoples needed to find new land. All three leaders and their subordinates went off in search of new lands for their people, but they all ended up finding the same land. The three leaders began to feud again, which brought the storm to the new land. The six of them took shelter inside of a cave, but they did not stop arguing, and the storm only grew worse. The leaders ended up completely frozen over, leaving their three subordinates huddling together in the center of the cave. Seeing as that moment was likely to be their last, the subordinates began talking to each other. As they talked, they grew to understand each other and became friends. As the ice began to incase them, their friendship sparked a new kind of magic that created a great fire in the shape of a heart and drove away the storm. It was then they learned that the storm was created by creatures that fed off of the arguing known as the wendigos. Following the example of their subordinates, the leaders decided to come together and share the new land. That day, Equestria was born.”

“Wait, aren’t wendigos those cannibal creatures Minerva warns us about?”, Emi asked.

“On Earth, yes, but these are Equoesian wendigos, and only traits they share are the name and their association with winter. Equoesian wendigos are winter spirits that feed off of hatred and disharmony. Oh, and trust me, that’s not the only instance of two completely different creatures from the two worlds sharing the same name.”

“Well, that’s not going to make things confusing.”

“Yeah, I know. Now then, as the tribes’ relationship improved, the fire of friendship grew stronger and drove the wendigos away further. In this time, pony society prospered and advanced faster than it ever had before, but all was not well. Starswirl the bearded-” Sunset was interrupted by Emi.

“Wait! Isn’t Starswirl the famous astronomer who's often mistakenly called the father of modern astronomy?”

“This is his pony counterpart, and he is the father of modern magic.”, Sunset clarified.

“Wait, pony counterpart?”, Jiraiya asked.

“Right, you weren’t there. You see, for some reason, people who exist on either side of the portal have a counterpart in the other world. Some examples are Donut Joe from my favorite donut shop and Celestia and Luna from the high school.”

“Oh, that’s weird.”

“I know. Now, back to the story. Starswirl the bearded and his band of unicorn mages were tasked with the raising and lowering of the sun and moon every day and night, but as you can imagine, this was very draining. During one of these times, Starswirl and his unicorns failed to lower the moon. The ponies in attendance began to worry that they would never see the sun again. That’s when two unicorn sisters came onto the stage and moved the sun and moon on their own. The crowd cheered for the sisters. Their love and adoration flowed into the sisters, carrying some of their magic with it. Their magic and love fused into the sisters’ bodies, creating the first alicorns. The leaders of the tribes decided to relinquish their power to the two sisters to unify the tribes under a single power. That began the reign of the two sisters.”

“So, Equestria was ruled by two queens, n’ Celestia is one of deir descendants. Who’s its current ruler?”, Brigid asked.

It was then Sunset realized that she forgot to explain the differences in Earth and Equestrian royalty. “Um, no, Celestia is one of the sisters from this story. She’s immortal, as far as we can tell. The reason she’s not called queen is because she never produced an heir. You only become king or queen once you are the active ruler and produce an heir, but you still have as much power as a king or queen.”

“How long ago did dis happen?”

“One thousand one hundred eighteen years ago.”

“Damn, she’s an oldy.”

“So, what happened to her sister? Last night, you mentioned Celestia made you her student so you could save her sister.”, Emi asked.

“I did, and I’ll get to that. Now, you remember what I said about some ponies traveling north to escape Grogar? Well, one of those groups was a herd of earth ponies. These earth ponies evolved to meet the harsh and cold conditions of the everstorm, a snow storm that has been raging past the northern mountains since before recorded history, unrelated to the wendigos. These earth ponies developed shoveled hooves in order to dig through the snow to find food and developed extra hardy bodies and auras. Their auras became so robust that they became able to be crystallized. These ponies became known as crystal ponies. They founded their own queendom called the Crystal Empire. These ponies lived in peace until a unicorn stallion wielding dark magic named Sombra enslaved them all. Word of this got to the princesses, and they traveled to the Crystal Empire to save it. On their way there, they came across one of the other groups of ponies that traveled north. These were a group of pegasi that inhabited the mountains themselves, living in series of tunnels to protect themselves from the storm. This group interbred with the original creators of the tunnels, the noctrilly. This created a new species of ponies called the thestrals, that’s what Dad turned into. These ponies were nocturnal and worshiped the moon, and once they learned that Luna, the younger sister, raised and lowered the moon, they declared her to be their goddess. The sisters told the thestrals of their mission, and the thestrals sent their best warriors to go with them. The thestrals helped the sisters fly through the storm, shortening their journey from months to days. The sisters and the thestrals defeated King Sombra but did not save the empire. Sombra cursed the empire, causing it to disappear into the darkness. Unable to do anything more for the empire the sisters returned to Equestria, and the thestral warriors came with them, forming the now defunct lunar guard.”

“It must have taken a lot of power to cure an entire empire.”, Jiraiya said.

“Actually, it was only an empire in name. It was actually smaller than Canterlot.”

“Are ya a thestral?”, Brigid asked.

“I’m part thestral. My grandfather was a thestral, and since they got their magic from a non-pony race, I was able to inherit his thestral magic.”

“Ahh”

“Now, a year after the defeat of Sombra, an entity known as Discord began terror-is-ing- Mom are you okay?”

The color drained from Brigid’s face when Sunset said Discord’s name. “Dis Discord fella, he wouldn’t happen ta have da head of a horse, a deer’s antler, a goat’s horn, different-sized pupils, a snake’s tongue, a goat’s beard, a lion’s paw, a hawk’s talon, a bat’s wing, a blue feathered wing, a serpent’s body, a lizard’s leg, a goat’s leg, n’ a dragon’s tale, would he?”

Sunset’s jaw dropped when Brigid said that. “That’s a near perfect description of him. How did you know?”

“Could he have possibly gone through da portal like ya did?”

“He’s so powerful that he could’ve created his own. Did he?”

“Every culture on da planet mentions a creature jus’ like dat spreadin’ chaos and destruction whereve’ it went. Sightings of dat creature only stopped around a thousand yea’s ago.”

“That’s also when he was imprisoned for his crimes. This requires more research.”

“Research later; story now!”, Emi demanded.

“Okay, okay, a year after the defeat of Sombra, an entity known as Discord began terrorising Equestria, turning it into a realm of chaos. The princesses, solar guard, and lunar guard attempted to battle him, but were soundly defeated. The princess had heard about a great source of power not far from their castle. Although, the princesses had never revealed its location. This great source of power were the elements of harmony. These are the physical manifestation of our people’s values of kindness, generosity, loyalty, honesty, and laughter. There is a sixth element, but what it was has been long forgotten. The sisters used the elements to defeat Discord and imprison him in stone. Peace was once again returned to Equestria, and Discord has remained in stone ever since.”

“Could Discord being imprisoned be the cause of the die out?”, Emi asked.

“What do ya mean?”, Brigid asked.

“Well, Discord was imprisoned around the same time as the die out started, and you said that he has been coming to Earth for thousands of years. What if his presence was what gave us magic?”

“That’s not a bad theory, but we have no way of testing that. There’s just no way to know.”, Sunset answered. “Now, there’s a pretty sizable difference between the official version and what actually happened for this next part. If what actually happened became public knowledge, there might be a war between the thestrals and Equestria, which would be devastating for both sides. So, I’m going to tell you what actually happened and then tell you what was changed for the official version.”

“You say that as if we’re going to go to Equestria some day.”, Jiraiya said.

“Well I mean, I hope that, some day, we can freely travel between Equestria and Earth. I don’t like the idea of having to choose between my two families.”

“N’ hopefully, you won’t, n’ Ah’ll do every‘hin’ in me powe’ ta make sure ya don’t.”

“Thank you, Mom. Now, everything seemed peaceful for many months, but there was a darkness growing inside Luna’s heart. The ponies would frolic and play in her sister’s sun but sleep through her beautiful night. Her anger and feeling of neglect swelled until it became physical. From her darkness was born Nightmare Moon.”

“As in the Nightmare Night mascot?”, Emi asked.

“Yes, as in the Nightmare Night mascot. Now then, Nightmare Moon threatened to plunge Equestria into eternal night. Princess Celestia was forced to use the elements of harmony to banish Nightmare Moon to the moon for a thousand years, until Nightmare Moon’s hold over Luna could be weakened enough to free her. However, using the elements against another wielder severed the sisters’ connection to the elements. That means Celestia must find new wielders of the elements, and Nightmare Moon is set to return in a little over a year.”

“You were being trained to wield ancient magical items that can turn people to stone or banish them to celestial bodies and become the queen of an entire country. That is so cool!”, Emi exclaimed.

“Hehe, that’s the summarized version but yeah. Now, the official version is that an outside entity, called the Nightmare, infected Princess Luna and the sisters never lost their connection to the elements. The rest of the story is the same, and that’s all the events that shaped Equestria into what it is today.”

“Sounds like things have been pretty peaceful for the last nine hundred ninety-nine years.”, Jiraiya commented.

“I wouldn’t say “peaceful”. We needed to go to war during that time.”

“Ya mentioned some‘hin’ ‘bout a paramilitary force called da Equestria First Legion. Ah’d be interested in learnin’ more ‘bout dat.”, Brigid said.

“Could ya go do that in Sunset’s room? I want ta get some of my own work done.”, Emi said.

“No prob, and Mom, I’d like ta get some lunch first.”, Sunset answered. Everyone got up from their places on the floor, and Sunset, Brigid, and Jiraiya exited while Emi went to her desk. Jiraiya went back to his room while Sunset and Brigid walked to the kitchen. “Mom, is it normal for humans to eat as much food as I do? I’ve noticed that I’m eating a lot more food as of late.”

“Do ponies have a teenage stage a’ life?”

Sunset thought about that for a moment before answering. “Not really. We reach adulthood when we’re fifteen, but we can do most things an adult can, minus drink alcohol and join the military, as soon as we get our cutie marks, which is typically around eight.”

“Cutie marks?”

“Ya know the symbols most people wear somewhere on their clothes or bodies?”, Sunset said while pointing to one of Brigid’s tattoos.

“Yeah”

“Well, for ponies, those magically appear on our flanks once we realize our special talent. It’s a bit more complicated than that, but that’s the simple version.”

“Okay, well, back to y’r original question. Y’re a teenager. An increase in appetite is normal. Jus’ listen ta y’r body n’ eat healthy foods n’ y’ll be all right.”

“Humans are weird.”, Sunset said while shaking her head.

Stormy Flare & Shadow Walker’s house
Date: same day, time: 6th hour ASR

*Spitfire’s perspective*

“Not bad, a little dry but not bad.”, Spitfire said. The packages of food Sunset left were weird, but very filling. Spitfire thought that they would actually make good military rations if they could figure out how to make them. It was just like Sunset to leave her leftover food for their parents. Even after Dad was able to return to normal duties, Sunset was obsessed with making sure they were never at risk of starving again. Spitfire never faulted her for this, but some of what Sunset did to complete this objective was less than legal. During the worst of the times, Sunset would steal food to give to their parents. I guess that part of her will never leave. They were never happy about that but were in no place to refuse the food. After Sunset was accepted as Celestia’s personal student, she would send bushels of food back to their parents, with the blessing of Celestia.

“Are we going to talk about Sunset?”, Dad asked.

“What is there to talk about? Sunset is gone again, and there’s nothing we can do to get her back.”, Mom retorted.

“I know what you’re thinking, and it won’t work. The three of us can’t scour all of Equestria, looking for Sunset, and judging from her letter, she’s not even within Equestria. I’ve never even heard of these “humans” before. If we were to mount a large-scale search operation, we would need to bring in some help.”, Spitfire noted.

“No, this is a family matter. We don’t need help.”, Dad retorted.

“Hg, Shadow, you are as stubborn as a mule. Tartarus, it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that you were part donkey.”, Mom spat.

“Well, at least I’m trying to do something. You two have seemed to have given up.”

Spitfire and Mom began vehemently arguing that they did not give up, but since they were arguing over each other, nopony could understand what they were saying.

“Celestia knows more about what’s going on than she’s telling us! If she wasn’ the princess, we’d be interrogating her for answers right now!”, Dad proclaimed.

“How can you say that?! We fought for her! We put our lives on the line for her!”, Spitfire said, outraged.

“Exactly! And now look at us! I can barely walk! I can’t climb stairs! And we’re living in one of the worst parts of the city while the nobles, who have done nothing but be born into the right family, are sitting pretty in their mansions with servants to tend to their every need! They have never once been afraid that they won’t be able to feed their children!”

“Celestia has already done so much for everypony! You should show her more respect!”, Spitfire chastised.

“She hasn’t done enough! I’m starting to think Sunset was right. The nobles do need to have their power stripped.”, Dad stated.

“You can’t be serious. That would send Equestria into chaos and disrupt vital organizations.”, Spitfire retorted.

“Not Equestria, just Canterlot. The rest of Equestria is self-sufficient enough to survive a few months without those organizations.”, Dad stated.

“Farming towns, yes, but every other type of town would not have enough food to survive that.”

“You're not an economist, or whoever is incharge of that stuff. You can’t say for sure that your version would happen.”

“Neither could you!”

“We’ve gotten off topic.”, Mom said. “I’m sorry honey, but we can’t just go looking for Sunset, and we’re not going to get any more information from the princess. We just have to wait and see what happens next.”

Dad sat back in his seat and crossed his forelegs over each other. “I don’t like not knowing things.”

Mom got up from her seat, walked over to Dad, and hugged him. “I miss Sunset too.”

Spitfire remained in her seat and mulled over the situation in her head. She wouldn’t be able to get a report of the event, but the royal guard is so badly trained that they might gossip about it. I might just go on an intel mission of my own.

SHWO ch51 Past & present

Katon family home
Date: Mar 3rd, time: 1:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Hey Sunset, how was Ah able ta unde’stand Celestia, n’ she me, when ya needed ta learn English?”

“That’s simple. Celestia was using a translation spell, and since the portal was open, she had magic to fuel it.”

“Ah guess dat would be very useful f’r a diplomat.”

“Yeah, it is. So, the Equestrian First Legion, they were a paramilitary group made up of both civilians and veterans. Like many human hate groups, they viewed change as a threat to their way of life and, by extension, themselves. Even though ponies are the dominant species, Equestria has been open to emigration for nearly five hundred years, and there are also other creatures native to Equestria that have formed their own societies. One of the most prominent being the bison to the South. The Legion would attack and abduct non-pony Equestrians, take them to the borders, and force them onto ships that would take them away from Equestria. They would also attack, terrorise, and even somethimes kill pony hybrid Equestrians.”

“Pony hybrids?”

“Ponies who have a biological non-pony parent.”

“Like thestrals?”

“Yes and no, thestrals are in a weird place because they’ve been so thoroughly hybridized that they’re considered their own thing.”

“Ah see.”

“Now then, Celestia ordered the creation of a task force to deal with them and placed me in command due to my rare hunting and tracking abilities. I was promoted to general first grade to command the task force.”

“Wait, ya were in da military?”

“Yup, I was First Star General Sunset Shimmer of the Equestrian Royal Ground Guard magical warfare division or General Shimmer for short. I joined as soon as I graduated. Princess Celestia wasn’t too happy about it, but it was what my family did. Anyway, I chose the absolute best out of the air and ground guard, and we hunted those traitors to the ends of Equestria and back. We burned their hideouts, destroyed any positive association any Equestrian might have had of them by showing them as the monsters they were, and wiped them off the face of Equoes. Now, they are remembered as a bunch a’ cranky assholes that had nothing better ta do than terrorize ponies. I even wrote a book about it.”, Sunset said proudly then reached into her bag and pulled out her book. She flipped it over to the back cover so Brigid could see the picture of her.

“That’s very impressive, but what happened ta da members?”

“If they surrendered, they were sent to a reform center, our version of a prison. If they fought back, we killed them. We tried to capture as many as we could, but I had a standing order for my soldiers that their lives came before the traitors. There was one hideout deep in the forest that was so heavily booby trapped that I just decided to blow it up personally. Seeing them scurry and run like bugs was cathartic.”

“Sounds like ya have a bit more of a grudge against dem dan jus’ “dey killed me country men”.”

“Do you remember me mentioning my sister, Spitfire?”

“Yeah”

“Well, we’re actually half sisters, and her father’s a dragon. It’s ponies like those within the legion that makes her afraid to be herself. She’s a famous athlete with trading cards and everything, but there’s only one pony outside of our family that knows she’s part dragon. Every time I saw the body of a hybrid, I could only think that Spitfire might be the next one.”

“Ahh, so, it’s not jus’ y’r baby siste’ dat y’re ultra protective of.”, Brigid said while giving Sunset a sly grin.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up.”

“Ah wasn’t laughin’. Ah think it’s cute n’ a good ‘hin’. Ya know, y’re such a’ good siste’ ta Emi. Ya were willin’ ta risk imprisonment ta get some‘hin’ that would help Emi.”

“I’m going to cut you off there. I know what you’re doing.”

“N’ what am Ah doin’?”

“You’re trying to distract me from the fact that I completely failed my mission. I would have been captured if you and Dad hadn’t shown up, this stupid rock did the opposite of what it was supposed ta do, and I couldn’t even bring Philomena home.”

“Who’s Philomena?”

“My phoenix, I promised that I would bring her with me this time, but Celestia captured her right before you and Dad showed up.” Sunset was starting to cry now. She didn’t want to cry, but she just missed Philomena so much.

“Ah’m sorry dat we weren’t dere in time. Do you want ta talk ‘bout ‘er?”

Sunset reached into her bag and pulled out Philomena’s call whistle. It has a wooden body and was stylized to be shaped like a phoenix in a dive position. It has a thin, black rope clenched in its talons. Sunset would blow through the tail feathers, and the sound would come out the mouth. “I found Philomena when she was just an egg. When I was eighteen, Celestia and I were investigating reports of creatures coming out of a forest called the Everfree forest and causing trouble for the nearby town. Now, this isn’t like the Everfree forest behind the school. This forest has the highest concentration of Grogar’s monsters and is highly dangerous. I found her nest destroyed, but she was saved by a tree branch. Her parents were nowhere to be found, and we assumed they were killed. I convinced Celestia to let me keep her, and I helped her hatch and raised her. As she got older, she began helping me in battles. I had this whistle specially made so I could easily call her. I had it enchanted so Philomena can hear it no matter how far away I am and so it’s basically indestructible, especially fireproof. That’s really important when half your family can shoot fire from some part of their body.”

“She sounds like a very special girl.”

“Philomena also was quite the prankster. She used to drive Celestia crazy by hiding her regalia.”

“Hm, Ah c’n’t imagine where she could’ve gotten dat from.”

Sunset gave Bigid her own sly grin. “I really can’t. I was the perfect mare of the court.”, Sunset said in her mock-regal voice.

“Hehe, ya know, Ah don’t think Ah’ll eve’ get used ta ya referrin’ ta y’rself as a mare.”

“Well, I’m not a filly. Hell, I was even looking into ways of having a foal before I left.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, luckily, it seems my pony body is eternally trapped at twenty-six, so I have more time.”

“Do ponies go through menopause?”

“No, and that’s not the problem. Ponies only live until their eighties, and I mean that the oldest pony who ever lived, without some sort of immortality or a spell to elongate their life, died at eighty-nine, and she was barely able to take care of herself because of her age and bad life decisions. I saw the pictures. She was skin and bones. She could only eat food that had been blended into a paste. I don’t want to ever have to go through that.”

“Ah c’n understand dat. Well, lucky f’r ya, y’re now a membe’ a’ a race dat doesn't get like dat until much late’ in life.”

“Yeah, hey, how old is Grandpa?”

“Ah think he’s in his mid seventies. He neve’ told me.”

“I see. Ya know, I like being able to talk openly around you. I used to have to watch what I said, or you’d think I was crazy.”

“Ah’m glad ya c’n talk openly too.”

Sunset continued telling Brigid stories about her time in the royal court until they were finished eating. Once they were done with their lunch, Brigid helped Sunset repack her things. Sunset placed Philomena whistle around her neck like she did years before.

After returning to her room, Sunset pulled out the Gold hoof’s stone and began analyzing it. The thing’s oval-shaped and black and has the Equestria rune for healing carved into it and several gold glowing dots surrounding it, representing the remaining charges. Since Sunset didn’t finish the incantation, a charge wasn’t used. Sunset looked it over for any cracks or damage that might have caused it to super heat. Finding nothing, Sunset placed the relic to her burns and began the incantation. Almost immediately, the relic began to heat up, and that headache returned, leaving Sunset clutching her head. Wait, a minute. Working off a hunch, Sunset shot a text off to her parents.

Did either of you experience anything like a headache while in Equestria?

A little bit of one, but I was bashing my head through doors and ancient alicorns. Why?

Was it a burning sensation?

Yeah, I did think that was strange, but I wasn’t exactly focusing on that. What’s going on?

Yes, my head felt like it was burning. I also felt a burning sensation in the rest of my body. Why?

I think I know why the relic burned Emi.

The relic burned Emi! What happened?

To make a long story short, the relic overheated, and Sunset had to stop.

That means Emi still has cancer, and I don’t think the relic is broken. Emi has Earth magic in her while the relic has Equestria magic. While we were in Equestria, our bodies, containing Earth magic, were interacting with Equestrian magic and that caused us to feel a burning sensation. I’m starting to think that Earth and Equestrian magic are similar to matter and antimatter.

I take this to mean that the relic is useless on this side of the portal.

Exactly

Back to plan (A) then.

Sunset put her phone down with a groan. Everything she had been working towards for the last several months was for nothing. Sunset risked her own freedom and killed three ponies to get what is now a glorified hot rock.

Sunset got up from her couch and over to her punching bag. Sunset began punching it with all her might out of sheer anger and frustration. Eventually, Sunset moved on to smashing into it with her head. “Worthless, worthless, worthless, you don’t deserve their love. You’re just a mistake. You couldn’t help Emi. You hurt her. You hurt her! I’m a terrible sister. I’m a terrible mother.”, Sunset told herself while sobbing.

Minerva’s basement
Date: Mar 4th, time: 8:00 pm

*Minerva’s perspective*

Minerva looked down at her screen with a blank look on her face. It hadn’t taken her long to find them, but Minerva still hasn't decided if she should tell Anura that she found them. It had been 15 years since she had seen those faces, and now, she was staring at their mugshots. They didn’t even look like her parents any more. They almost looked like skeletons with skin pulled tight around their bodies, horrible teeth, and, worst of all, they had looks filled with anger and spite; they looked like monsters.

Minerva so badly wanted to think of them as nothing but the unredeemable, spiteful, horrible people they’ve become, but she couldn’t. She could still remember how her dad taught her how to ride a bike, how her mom taught her how to cook, how they would treat her like a princess. Minerva wanted to murder the every member Sackler family and any doctor that had any part in the opioid crisis.

“What are the chances you two are in rehab?”, Minerva asked herself. Judging by their photoes, the chances of that were slim to none at all. Even though there was no way Minerva was going to take Anura to see them, looking them up made Minerva curious. Despite her better judgment, Minerva began making plans to go see her parents. “I just know I’m going to request this.”

Canterlot Royal Hospital
Date: 8th day of the 3rd month of the 1118th year, time: 1st hour AMR

*Blade Strike’s perspective*

Blade made her way through the halls of the hospital, flowers in mouth and looking for a specific room. She soon found the room and gave the door a knock.

“Come in.” Blade heard from the other side.

Blade entered the room to see a nurse tending to a unicorn mare with a cobalt blue mane and a very light pink coat. The nurse looked oddly familiar to Blade. She had a pink mane with a cream coat and a light blue medical cross for a cutie mark. Blade shook off the deja vu. She was here on a mission. “Can I talk to her?”, Blade asked after replacing the flowers in the vase with the new ones she brought.

“I don’t know. Can you?”, Cobalt joked.

“You’re awake!”, Blade exclaimed in excitement. Blade leaped into the air, landing on Cobalt. Blade wrapped her wings around Cobalt and gave her marefriend a deep kiss.

“I’ll leave you two be.”

“Thanks, Joy.”, Cobalt said.

“Wait, I thought Nurse Joy worked in Baltimare.”, Blade said as soon as Nurse Joy left.

“That was, apparently, her cousin. She said that she has dozens of sisters and cousins all across Equestria named Joy, and they’re all nurses.”, Cobalt said.

“That’s got to be confusing at family gatherings. So, how are you doing?”

“Okay, I guess. Still a little freaked out that there’s another pony’s lungs inside me, and I’ll have to take anti-rejection pills for the rest of my life. So, that’s fun.”

“Do you have any idea who did this? Princess Celestia isn’t saying much, and the other guards are talking about somepony named Sunset the blood eating fiend.”

A serious look replaced Cobalts previous laid back and happy look. “Sunset Shimmer was Princess Celestia’s personal student before Twilight. She’s a thestral hybrid that would lick the blood from her blades.”

“Thestrals are real?”, Blade asked in shock.

“Very. I don't know what happened exactly, but Sunset ran away one day and wasn’t seen again, until now. So, who’s going to be in the search party? I’m only going to be in here for another week. If the team doesn’t headout by then, I’d love to join it.”

Blade’s face turned somber. “There’s not going to be a search party.”

“What?!” It was clear Cobalt was enraged by the news. “That monster killed Spearbiter, severely injured me, and Chap is still in a coma! Let me guess, she’s getting off scot-free because some noble has the hots for her!”

Blade shook her head. “I didn’t hear about any requests like that, but I did hear some interesting rumors.” Cobalt motioned for Blade to go on. “I hear that there’s some sort of magic mirror that can take you to another dimension filled with monsters that Grogar created but had banished because even he thought that they were too terrifying and dangerous to be let loose in Equestria, and we’re not going after her because she jumped through it.”

“Well, if that’s where she ended up, she deserves it.”

*Flashback*

Mistmane district Primary School
Date: 9th day of the 11th month of the 1095th year, time: 6th hour ASR

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset sat on the steps to her school as she waited for Spitfire’s class to get out. The school was situated near the edge of the shelf, and even though there is a wall and it was really bright out, Sunset could see the sprawling hills and fields of the village below Canterlot. Sunset could only imagine what kinds of food they were growing down there. The thought of food made Sunset’s stomach growl. Last night and this morning, Sunset pretended to be full half way through her meal and offered the rest to Dad to make sure he had enough to eat. The last thing Mom needed was for Dad to collapse from hunger while helping her with her treatments.

“Hey, Sunset.”, Silver Treasure called out. Oh no, please no. “Hey, feather brain, I was talking to you.”

Sunset hesitantly looked up to meet Silver’s eyes. She was a unicorn filly around the same age as Sunset, had a silver mane, a purple coat, and purple eyes. “Hi, Silver.”, Sunset squeaked out.

“Where’s your freak of a sister? Did she finally do everypony a favor and go back to whatever freak land she came from? Maybe you should join her. A worthless mistake like you should never have been allowed in Canterlot.”

Sunset was already crying at this point. Silver had been saying these things to Sunset for months now, along with other nasty names. “No! You’re wrong! My sister is coming to get me, and I’m not a worthless mistake!”, Sunset cried out.

“Oh really, you’re not. Huh, I would’ve thought that a pegasus without wings or a unicorn without magic would be a worthless mistake.”

“My magic will come in soon, and when it does, I’ll be the most powerful unicorn to ever live! I’ll even make Starswirl the bearded look like a weakling!”

“Oh yeah? Well, from the looks of things, you’re a skinny little liar.”

“No! You’re the liar! You’re a big, fat, stinkin liar!”

“Nuh-uh, my daddy said so. That means it’s true.”

“Your daddy’s a big, fat, stinkin liar too.” Sunset looked up and Silver spun around to see Spitfire burning holes into Silver with her eyes. “Now, scram before I decide that you’ll me our family’s next meal.”

Sunset couldn’t see Silver’s face, but Sunset could’ve sworn she smelt a little pee. Silver ran off with her tail between her legs which made Sunset chuckle.

“Hey, you okay?”, Spitfire asked while wrapping a wing around Sunset.

Sunset gave Spitfire as big of a hug as her little six year-old legs could manage. “Thank you”, Sunset said into Spitfire’s chest fluff. Under Spitfire’s fluff were her scales, which made hugging her interesting. At least her belly scales aren’t keeled.

Spitfire hugged Sunset back and rubbed her back. “Hey, it’s okay. That’s what big sisters do.”

*Present Day*

Sunset’s room
Date: March 11th, time: 4:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset woke up to Ki licking her face and what felt like someone sitting on her bed. “Ki knock dat off.”

Anzhong grabbed Ki’s collar and pulled him back. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just had an unpleasant dream, not that dream.”

“I have tea. Want some?”

“Yeah”

Anzhong handed Sunset the cup of tea. Earth tea wasn’t as good as Equestrian tea, but there were more varieties of it and decaffeinated teas. Sunset was pretty sure that no pony had even thought of decaffeinating tea. “Thank you”

“Do you want to talk about your dream?”

“Well, when I was a filly, I had a bully. Her family liked to act like they were all rich and stuff, but they were just as poor as the rest of us in the Mistmane district. Because her family presented themselves as better than the rest of us, she believed that she was. Combine that with my family being the “other” and my magic not coming in until I was eight, standard is five to six, and she targeted me like an archer. My classes got out half an hour earlier than Spitfire’s. That’s when she’d target me. Some of the names she would call me were “feather brain”, “wingless pegasus”, “magicless unicorn”, “worthless mistake”, and several insults referring to my family being mixed tribed, meat eaters, and poor that don’t translate well to English. She never got physical, but if she ever did, I was so malnourished at the time that I wouldn’t be able to put up a fight.” Sunset panicked when she realized how that made her parents sound and quickly tried to fix that. “They weren’t starving me. I actually had to pretend to not be hungry in order for my Dad not to starve himself.”

Anzhong put his hand on Sunset’s leg to calm her down. “It’s okay, Sunset. I understand, but I do have a question. Why were you so poor when your mother was an injured vet? Minerva gets a sizable compensation because she lost her legs.”

“Due to how much work is involved in running Equestria, Celestia has delegated many of her duties to the nobility.”

“Uh-oh”

“Exactly. It’s rare for nobility to go into any other branch than the royal guard. That means that most of them have no idea of what war is like and how debilitating injuries can be. Think the most spoiled, out of touch people possible. They don’t even realize how expensive the cost of living is as their family has already paid for their land and houses, and many of the nobles know each other; so, they can just ask their friend to “give them a reduced rate” on their utilities. That lost money is then dumped on us to pay.”

“Oh sweet deities, that’s bad.”

“And I haven’t even got to how much my parents get paid. So, my mom gets paid the ruff equivalent to a hundred bucks a month, and my dad could only work part time because he needed to take care of me, my sister, and my mom. Together, they made enough to pay for the house, utilities, and our land, but not always enough for food. My mom would try and grow food for us, but that’s not easy ta do for a pegasus in a wheelchair. My parents would always make sure we were fed, but that left them weak and Irish potato famine. That led me to stealing food. I really didn’t want to. Needless to say, Spits and I were looking for work as soon as we got our cutie marks.”

“Did you ever bring this up to Princess Celestia?”

“Oh, I did, but she’s too soft and only gave the nobles a slap on the metaphorical rist. She did make two new laws mandating that the disabled vet comps are at least equal to that of a living wage and that if a noble gives their friend a reduced rate, they need to pay the difference. That solved the immediate issue, but the nobility are still trying to screw over the common folk.”

“Please tell me your anti-noble sentiment is not rare.”

“Oh, it is far from rare. If there’s a noble in a town, the whole town hates nobles.”

“Good, and I think we got off topic.”

“Oh, yeah, my dream. Well, it was actually a memory. It was one of the days I was waiting for Spits outside the school. Silver, my bully, was doing her old routine again. I was hungry and stressed and her words just sent me over the edge, and I started crying. Eventually, Spitfire showed up and scared the little crap off, but her words still hurt.”

“I can imagine they would, but Sunset, you are not a mistake, and you are not worthless. You are one of the most important people in my life, and I know your pony family feels the same.”

Sunset was glad Anzhong couldn’t see because her eyes were starting to tear up. “Thank you”

“Now, get some sleep. You have school in the morning.”

Sunset let out a groan and handed the cup back to Anzhong. It was not going to be easy to fall back asleep.

Halls of CMS
Date: March 11th, time: 3:35 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Even if Sunset was tired from last night, it was still good to be able to see Flash again. The skin on Sunset’s arm had fully healed but was still sore and discolored. Jiraiya said that the soreness would subside after a little bit but the discoloration would stay for a while. Sunset just resigned herself to not yearning sleeves that were shorter than her bicep. Even after her talk with Anzhong, Sunset still felt like shit and completely powerless. Sunset hates feeling powerless.

As Sunset was walking down the hall, another kid crashed into her on her right side. Sunset was sent stumbling back while the other kid fell on his butt. A wave of pain rippled through Sunset’s body. It was far from the most painful thing she ever experienced, but it still fricking hurt. At that moment, it was like someone popped a balloon. Every bit of pain, anger, frustration, and guilt Sunset had been feeling erupted like a volcano. “What the fucking hell what that?! Can’t you pay attention to where you’re going?! Even my blind father can avoid crashing into people! What’s your effin’ excuse?!”

The boy looked shocked at Sunset’s outburst, but he wasn’t scared. Sunset wanted him scared.

“I’m sorry, but I’m in a rush.”

“Sorry! Sorry isn’t good enough. That hurt. I’m going to show you just how much.” Sunset’s tone became colder as she went on.

Now, the boy looked scared. Sunset was one of the bigger kids in the school, and the little brat hadn’t even started puberty yet. “What-what are you going ta do to me?”

Sunset grinned wickedly. “Everybody’s still in their clubs. We’re all alone. I’ll show you.” Sunset pulled the brat up by his collar and pulled her good arm back.

“You’re not all alone.”, a quiet voice said. Sunset’s left arm was grabbed from behind, and she turned her head to see who dared touch her.

“Fluttershy”, Sunset spat with venom.

“I saw the whole thing, and I know him. I never liked your methods, but they were necessary. Your methods are not necessary here.”

Sunset dropped the brat and turned around to fully face Fluttershy, making her let go of her arm. “Bold words, coming from you. Aren’t you the one who normally hides behind the others, like a little bug?” As Sunset was speaking, she walked closer to Fluttershy. Fluttershy backed away from her at the same pace. Fluttershy was a bit taller than Sunset, but she was practically a toothpick, and Sunset was an accomplished athlete.

“What you’re doing is wrong, and they’re not here.”

“You’re right; they’re not here.” Sunset took a swing at Fluttershy, but with surprising strength, Fluttershy nailed Sunset with an uppercut. Sunset was left staggering back, just as much from the shock as the actual hit. Sunset tilted her head like a dog would. A gesture Sunset knew Fluttershy understood.

“How do you think I got the other kids to leave me alone?”

Sunset nodded her understanding then tucked her head down and charged Fluttershy. Fluttershy twisted out of the way, grabbed Sunset hand, and attempted to swing Sunset around, but Sunset used the swinging motion to grab Fluttershy. Sunset had Fluttershy’s arms pinned to her body in a bear hug-like hold. Then Sunset used her foot to spread Fluttershy’s legs apart.

“That trick might work on little punks, but it won’t work on me.”, Sunset whispered into Fluttershy’s ear. Fluttershy said nothing and continued to struggle, but the look on her face told Sunset she was scared. Sunset sweeped one of Fluttershy’s legs out from under her and pushed her to the ground. “Next time you try to fight me, actually learn how to fight.” Seeing as the brat had run away, Sunset decided just to leave. Fluttershy wasn’t crying, but she was scared. That was good enough for Sunset, and she needed to get out of there. She knew that Rainbow would hear about it, and Rainbow could actually fight.

SHWO ch53 Dot Five

Sunset’s room
Date: Apr 9th, time: 5:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset was mid repair when she got a notification on her computer. Pinkie Pie had texted her friends, telling them about another one of her stupid sleepovers. Most of the other girls replied quickly, but Jacklyn hadn’t replied yet. Probably busy on the farm. Sunset decided to take advantage of this opportunity.

Hey girls, I’m having a sleepover Friday. Who wants to come?

I’m in.

I would love to attend your soiree, darling.

Jeez Rares, why do u need so formal? What the heck is a soiree anyways?

A soiree is a social gathering at a private house, like a sleepover.

I would love to go.

Sunset opened her infiltration software and selected Jacklyn.

Pinkie, your parties are lamer than a hungry duck in snow boots.

Yo AJ, that was uncalled for.

Wait, are we sure this is Applejack?

The girls stopped using that chatroom and moved to another that Jacklyn wasn’t a part of.

You think it’s that hacker?

Absolutely, I’ve never known Applejack to say such things, and that was a rather pathetic countyism.

Pinkie, are you okay?

Yeah, that just really hurt my feelings.

“And my job here is done.”

Wonderbolts barracks
Date: 7th day of the 4th month, time: 1st hour AMR

*Spitfire’s perspective*

If there was one thing the Royal Guard was the best at, it was gosep. As a matter of fact, they were so good at it that it was easier to keep a secret by having them spread the information so much that the truth becomes indistinguishable from the misinformation. Spitfire always disliked the game of “rumor mill”, and this was the most infuriating game yet.

Spitfire had recounts ranging from Sunset teleporting in, battling some guards, and then teleporting out to Sunset commanding an entire army of griffon vikings into battle to try and take over Equestria. That left Spitfire to sort through the rumors and compare them to what she knows.

Sunset broke into the castle to steal something, presumably related to medical magic. That means any recounts of her leading armies to take over Equestria were out. Sunset likes to do stealth missions alone, so it’s unlikely that anypony, other than Philomena, helped her. That means any recounts of her being pulled out by anypony were out, especially the ones stating she was pulled out by two demons. That was just ridiculous. A few even say that one of the demons overpowered Princess Clestia. Spitfire almost laughed at that one. Speaking of ridiculous. Some of the recounts stated that Sunset came and left through a portal that leads to a world full of the most horrible monsters to ever exist. If such a thing really existed, it would have been destroyed to protect everypony from the monsters, and why would Sunset go there? What most likely really happened was that Sunset traveled from the land she now called home, shadowported in, stole whatever she came for, battled some guards to escape, and was now sailing back to the humans land.

Spitfire wasn’t sure how this information would help, but as her dad always said, “There is no such thing as useless information. Gather every bit of information and use all of it.” Spitfire pulled out her personal file on Sunset’s disappearance and placed all the retellings in it, separated into two sub folders for “plausible” and “implausible”.

The file wasn’t that big, but only because Spitfire had so little information to go off of. When Sunset first disappeared, their family went on the hunt for her. Any member that had any authority in any part of the military had their ponies searching every part of Equestria for Sunset, but they found nothing. Nopony remembered seeing her, and there were no records of her getting any sort of transportation anywhere. It was like she disappeared into thin air. This wasn’t some small three pony search. They had one of the largest tracked extended families in all of Equestria, with members from all three tribes and beyond. They even rivale the Apple family with all their extensions in size. Theories sprang up all across the family, ranging from where Sunset could’ve gone to Sunset having been killed or imprisoned. The latter two came from some of their relatives with more extreme anti-noble sentiments. At least the more extreme theories could be put to rest.

Spitfire pulled out a map of Equoes. She searched for where the humans land could be. It was very possible that the humans land was beyond explored Equoes, but that begged the question of how and why did Sunset go there. This whole situation made no sense to Spitfire.

Canterlot Ice Rink
Date: Apr 11th, time: 3:30 pm

*Rainbow’s perspective*

The Wondercolts filed into the changing room and began gearing up, bantering and boasting all the while. This was just a typical practice match. That meant that there was more bantering and boasting than there would be if they were going up against another team. Soarin’ and Cecil, being the only boys on the team, were on the receiving end of a lot of the teasing. However, that did not exclude others from the torment. The boys and girls had their own separate changing and shower areas, but it was still one locker room. None of them cared because over half the team were gay, bi, or pan, even if only a hadful were out.

“Soarin’, you’d die if Sunset smashed into you.”, Silver Contrails joked.

“I don’t need to worry about getting smashed into because I’m too agile. Nothing can touch me.” In response to that, another Colt threw something at Soarin’ and nailed him in the back of the head. “Hey!”

“So much for being untouchable.”, High Winds chastised.

The teasing went on like that until it was time to get onto the ice. The three things Sunset loved most about hockey are winning, smashing into people, and the pre- and post-game banter.

Canterville Community Center
Date: May 4th, time: 1:00 pm

*Fluttershy’s perspective*

Fluttershy watched on as Ms. Amberson started the auction. The donations made by the community were varied and some were rather expensive. It warmed Fluttershy’s heart to see that so many people cared about their work. It can be difficult to remember that most people are good when so many cases of abuse and neglect come in every week.

The auction was underway when, suddenly, a bunch of small fireworks went off and the sound of noise makers filled the air. Fluttershy looked up to see Pinkie Pie jumping around, making a huge ruckus.

“Come on everyone! Who’s ready to party?!”, Pinkie shouted while blowing noise makers.

All of the guests looked confused by the commotion, and Fluttershy was mortified.

“Young lady, what is the meaning of this?”, Mr. Amberson demanded.

At that point, Fluttershy slunk away, back into the building, and couldn’t hear the rest of the conversation. Fluttershy found herself a secluded corner, curled up into a ball, and cried like she hasn’t cried since she met Rainbow. How could Pinkie Pie do this? She ruined the auction. We won’t be able to raise the money now. What kind of friend does that?

Outside CMS
Date: May 28th, time: 10:00 am

*Rainbow’s perspective*

Mom brought Rainbow and the rest of the soft ball team to the school, but they couldn’t find where the bake sale was. Rainbow instructed the team to split up and look around, but no one found anything. Rainbow tried texting Applejack but got nothing back. She next tried calling but it went straight to voicemail. She double checked the text AJ sent her, and it said “CMS, May 28th, 10:00 am”. AJ totally bailed and didn’t even tell me. What kind of friend does that?

Outside CMS
Date: May 29th, time: 11:00 am

*Applejack’s perspective*

Applejack looked around for Rainbow Dash and the softball team while helping Granny to keep up with the line of customers. Rainbow Dash should have been there long before then. Applejack distinctly remembers sending her a text, confirming the date and time.

“Applejack, do you know where the softball team is?”, Ms. Trees asked.

“No Ms. Trees, Ah have no idea. They were supposed to be here at ten.”

“Well, let me know when they get here.”, Ms. Trees said then walked off to take care of other things.

Applejack went back to helping Granny but continued looking for rainbow hair. As the day went on, there was still no sign of the softball team. Applejack got worried but then realized that if something did happen to them, someone would’ve called either her or Ms. Trees. Applejack would’ve called them herself if she got the chance but never did get that chance. The day went on, and the bake sale was a huge success with almost everything being sold. By 3:30, everyone was packing up to leave.

“Wasn’t Rainbow supposed ta bring the softball team?”, Big Mac asked.

“Yeah, she was supposed to.”, Applejack said in a cold, angry tone.

“What happened?”

“Ah don’t know.” Stupid Rainbow making a liar out of me. What kind of a friend does that?

CMS gym
Date: Jun 4th, time: 3:30 pm

*Rarity’s perspective*

For the umpteenth time, Pinkie had rebuked Rarity’s offers of helping with the decorations and setup, and Rarity just about had it. The previous times, Pinkie Pie ended up doing everything by herself. Rarity promised herself that if that was the case this time, Rarity would no longer offer Pinkie her help.

Rarity entered the gym, and it was very nicely decorated. Rarity looked around for Pinkie and found her lying on the bleachers. Walking over, Rarity could see that Pinkie was exhausted, exhausted by Pinkie standards.

“Pinkie darling, you did an excellent job setting up for the End of Year Dance, but where are your volunteers?”

“Oh, nobody signed up to help, but that’s okay. I was able to get everything done.”

“Nobody-” Rarity was about to go off on Pinkie, but held her tongue. “I see.”, Rarity ended up saying then immediately left. Well, if she’s going to be like that, then I’m not going to be her friend.

CMS lunch room
Date: Jun 11th, time: 12:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

‘Tis the final day of school, and summer break is just three hours away. Although, that also meant that today will be the last hockey match of the school year. They’re going to be playing against a new team in the area called the Center for Troubled Youth’s Berserkers. Sunset just knew that there was going to be a lot of penalties for excessive violence in that game. At least her Dot Five campaign succeeded. All five of the girls no longer sit together, hangout, or even speak to each other.

At the End of Year Dance, they stayed far away from each other, and today, they were sitting with their respective social groups. Fluttershy has become even more of a recluse and no longer talks to anyone at all. Rainbow and Jacklyn have become standoffish and cold. Pinkie Pie and Rarity seem to act the same on the outside but have become more distant towards everyone. Sunset did feel bad about taking away their coping mechanism, but it had to be done. Those girls were a threat to her.

Canterlot Ice Rink
Date: same day, time: 3:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

The Wondercolts filed into the locker room and began gearing up. They all wanted this game to be a good one. As they walked out onto the field, they could see the Berserkers. The two groups huddled up and began planning. Sunset had researched the other team and found that they were very recently created to give the kids an outlet. That meant they were likely dealing with an inexperienced team with emotional issues. Sunset debated using that against them but ultimately decided she liked the way her nose looked already, and judging by the way they were acting, they would get enough of that already.

“You sounding classest. They misunderstood.”, Meg signed once Sunset explained her findings to the team. Sunset translated it for the rest of the team.

“The place’s website literally states that they specialize in helping kids through behavioral problems. It’s not classism.”, Sunset explained.

“Maybe you should go there.”, Soarin’ remarked.

“Soarin’, I’ll get you, and it’ll look like a bloody accident.”, Sunset said threateningly.

“Kids, come on now. We have a game to play.”, Coach said.

The kids grumbled but went back to planning. Once each team was ready, they lined up and waited for the buzzer. Tiny was netminder, Meg and Spade were defenders, Sunset and Fleetfoot were forwards, and Rainbow was center. The buzzer sounded, and the game was on.

The Berserkers got the puck first, but the Colts retrieved it before the Berserkers could even get over the blue line. Fleetfoot passed the puck to Sunset, and Sunset and Rainbow rushed towards the Berserkers’ net. Sunset passed the puck to Rainbow, and Rainbow charged the Berserkers’ net. The Berserkers’ netminder tried to block the shot but missed by a mile, and the puck went straight into the net.

The game continued like that, with the Berserkers getting their asses handed to them. Half way through the game, one of the Berserkers decided that they were sick of getting humiliated and began actually attacking the Colts. The ref ordered the kid into the box, but the kid just kept rampaging. Several of the larger Berserkers and Colts along with the coaches and ref tried to restrain the kid, but the kid was a beast. As they were trying to restrain the kid, the kid hit Rainbow hard upside the helmet, and she went crashing to the ice. As Rainbow hit the ground, something snapped within Sunset. Sunset took her stick and began bashing the kid. The others all backed away from the scene. Sunset just kept bashing, not paying attention to anything else, until she felt her stick get grabbed. Sunset spun around, ready to explode on whoever it was, until she saw it was Rainbow. Rainbow looked dazed and kind of out of it and collapsed again, just as Sunset registered the situation. Sunset managed to grab her but nearly lost her balance in the process as skates aren’t the most stable footwear. The Colts rushed into help while the Berserkers helped their team mate. As the Colts took Rainbow off her hands, Sunset turned to look at the berserking Berserker. They were curled up into a ball, and their team was trying to calm them down. Sunset shot them a disgusted look and went off to rejoin her team.

Parents, police, and an ambulance for Rainbow were called. The berserking Berserker wasn’t injured, aside from some nasty bruising, just freaked out. Rainbow was still out of it and very likely had a concussion. Sunset tried to get her to follow her finger, but Rainbow just looked at her, glassy-eyed. The ambulance showed up first, and one of the medics bolted over to Rainbow. Sunset immediately recognized her as one of the medics that picked her up from the fencing school and Rainbow’s mom.

“So that’s how you knew what happened to me.”

Rainbow gave no response to Sunset’s accusations.

Mama-Hothoof’s partner came running with their jump bag. Mama-Hothoof and her partner began fretting over Rainbow and asking people what happened. They loaded Rainbow into the ambulance and sped off, leaving everyone else waiting for the police. Soon the police arrived, then the parents, and everyone spent the next several minutes retelling the story.

“They definitely acted tough, but they were really just a massive baby.”, Sunset finished retelling to Brigid and the police officer.

“Thank you, I think that’s all I need.”, the officer said then walked off.

“Don’t we have exciting lives.”, Sunset deadpanned to Brigid.

Brigid merely smiled and brough Sunset to the car. They also needed to get to the hospital.

?
Date: ?, time: ?

*Rainbow’s perspective*

Rainbow woke up with a splitting headache. Looking around, Rainbow found herself in the hospital and her parents, Uncle Blitz, and Gilda around her. The moment they noticed Rainbow woke up, she was bombarded with “Are you okay?”s, “How are you feeling?”s, and so on. Rainbow tried to remember what happened but couldn’t. The last thing she could remember was one of the Berserkers going berserk. If I’m in the hospital, and I can’t remember why, that means I got knocked out or the experience was so traumatic that my brain blocked it out. Judging by the headache, I’d bet on getting knocked out.

“So, who knocked me out, where are they, and where’s my hockey stick?”, Rainbow asked.

“According to your teammates, your friend, Sunset, beat you to it.”, Mom said.

At that, Rainbow’s brain promptly blue screened, and it apparently showed on her face.

“After you went down, Sunset lost it on the boy and whacked him until he went down. Do you remember stopping Sunset’s rampage?”, Mom asked.

“No, what’d I do?”

“You grabbed her stick, and that caused her to stop.”

“That’s totally awesome, but why would Sunset go ape shit over me?” The question was more to herself than anyone else.

“Aren’t you two friends?”, Dad asked.

“Not really, we’re teammates on the ice, but off the ice, I think she hates me.”

Everyone looked around, puzzled. None of them could quite make sense of Sunset’s actions.

“Whatever her reason, we’re all glad that she did. She likely kept more kids from getting hurt.”, Mom said.

“Yeah”, Rainbow said quietly. Rainbow racked her brain to try and figure out Sunset. Nothing about her sudden snap or her current behavior made any sense to Rainbow.

“Rainbow, the doctors want to keep you overnight for observation. We’ll be back later tonight and in the morning to check on you.”, Mom said. Rainbow nodded her understanding.

“And Rainbow, we support you no matter who you love. You being a lesbian has no barring on that.”, Dad added.

Rainbow shot up in alarm. “You told them?!”, Rainbow asked Gilda.

“What? No, I didn’t.”, Gilda frantically said.

“We knew since you were four and said that you were going to marry your teacher.”, Mom said.

Rainbow’s face became bright red, and she crashed back into bed, covering her face with a pillow. Rainbow was both embarrassed as that was not how she wanted to come out and relieved that it’s over. “Wait, why are you only telling me you know now?”, Rainbow said after lifting the pillow from her face.

“We only realized you were dating Gilda back in the lobby, and we realized that you were hiding the relationship from us.”, Dad said. “We don’t want you to feel like you need to hide anything from us.”

Canterlot Hospital
Date: same day, time: 5:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

With the many trips they’ve needed to make to the hospital over the last eleven months, Sunset has grown quite familiar with the largest hospital in Canterlot. Grandpa Jiraiya showed Sunset around the hospital, and Sunset has become familiar to the hospital staff. Emi’s chemotherapy takes a lot longer than Sunset’s blood donation. That means that Sunset is often left to wander around or get something to eat at the food court. That is what she would normally be doing, but Raindow was here. Despite her being the former leader of the defunct Friendship Five, Sunset still felt a need to check up on her. It was strange, but Sunset guessed it was because she viewed her as one of her soldiers while on the ice.

Finding Rainbow’s room wasn’t hard. All Sunset had to do was look for the mop of rainbow in the children’s wing. When Sunset found her, Rainbow appeared to be sleeping. Sunset stood at the foot of her bed, debating whether she should wake her up. The decision was made for her as Rainbow woke up and screamed, causing Sunset to scream.

“Why are you standing at the foot of my bed?!”

“I was waiting for you to wake up!”

“Why were you doing it in such a creepy way?!”

“Is there a not creepy way of doing that?!”

That got them to calm down.

“I guess you’re right. Sunset, I’ve been informed of what happened, and I have some questions.”

“You want to know why I reacted the way I did to you being knocked out.”, Sunset said bluntly. Rainbow merely nodded. “To be honest, I don’t know.”

“That’s a flat out lie; which is strange because I’ve never heard you flat out lie before.”

“How did you-?”, Sunset asked, very confused. Rainbow was one hundred percent right. The only human that could ever see through Sunset like that was- “You learned that from Jacklyn.”

Rainbow’s face darkened at the mentioning of her name. “Yeah, I’m not anywhere as good as her, but at least I’m not some no good-” Rainbow cut herself off. Sunset smiled internally. She could only imagine all the nasty names that Rainbow wanted to call Jacklyn that even she was too polite to say out loud. “So, what’s the real reason?”

Sunset debated just leaving, but that would likely cause Rainbow to chase after her, and there was no way she didn’t have stay-in-bed orders. Sunset didn’t want the guilty conscience that would come if Rainbow were to fall and get injured. Ultimately Sunset decided to tell Rainbow some version of the truth. “Despite how annoying I find you, I respect you, and no one hurts a member of my team.”

Rainbow gave Sunset a look like she didn’t quite believe her but nodded her understanding anyways. Assured that Rainbow wouldn’t do anything stupid, Sunset truned to leave the room.

“You’re a strange one, Sunset.”, Rainbow said under her breath.

Sunset just grinned, exited the room, and made her way back to Emi’s room. Emi was also in the children’s wing but a floor up from Rainbow. Unlike the rest of the hospital, which Sunset has called canned depression, the children’s wing was actually bright and cheerful. There was wall paper with various cartoon characters on it and chests full of toys. Emi was in a double room along with another girl. Although, this was a new girl. The previous girl was moved to a different hospital a couple of weeks ago. This new girl was named Lily Light and has blue eyes, light skin, and the warmest smile Sunset had ever seen. She seemed nice and liked to talk about her dog.

“And he’s big, like he’s another human big, and he eats a lot.”, Lily said.

“Hey Sunset, sounds like we found your dog counterpart.”, Emi joked.

“Ha ha ha, very funny.”

“He once sat on me, and my dad had to get him off me because I couldn’t.”, Lily said.

“One time, Ki farted so loud that he started barking, and he’s an American Akita, so only barks when he thinks there’s an intruder.”, Emi said.

Sunset listened in as the two continued talking. Both of them were adorable. Sunset really hoped both of them would make it.

SHWO ch54 Family is something else

Westside Jr High
Date: Jun 11th, time: 3:00 pm

*Striker’s perspective*

Paul Query Thunderstrike, known as Striker to his friends due to him playing the position in soccer, exited his car and entered the school. He wasn’t there to pick up a kid but rather a yearbook. He had ordered a yearbook from each middle school in the city and surrounding area. The DNA samples Brigid gave him to analyze belonged to her, a thirty year old male of Japanese descent, and a twelve year old girl of Japanese, British isles, and Roman descent. The girl is the one Striker was most interested in. If there were aliens putting alien DNA into little girls, Striker wanted to know. The likelihood of an alien hybrid going to public school was slim, but he’d check anyway.

After Striker collected his yearbook, he went back to his car and placed the book with the others. He had the yearbooks of CPA, CMS, NCMS, H k-19, and now WJH. Striker started up his car and peeled out of the parking lot. There were aliens out there, and Striker needed to stop whatever plans they had for Earth.

Katon family home
Date: Jun 13th, time: 8:30 am

*Minerva’s perspective*

Minerva and Anura walked into the Katon house as Brigid turned the corner into the alley behind the houses. Emi and Sunset were likely still asleep. Minerva knew those two would become nocturnal as soon as they were done with school. Brigid soon came through the back door and immediately spotted them.

“Hello, Minerva. Ya ready f’r ya stay Anura?”

“Yup”

“Okay then, Mommy will be back in a couple days.”, Minerva said to Anura. “Thank you again, Brigid. Anura has everything she needs in her backpack, and I think that’s everything.”, Minerva said to Brigid.

“Dere’s no need ta thank me.”, Brigid said to Minerva. “Why don’t ya take y’r stuff up ta one a’ da guest room while Ah talk with y’r mum?”

“Okay”, Anura said, then ran up the stairs.

“Ah know Ah’m not gonna talk ya out a’ dis, but Ah still gotta ask. Ah’d hardly call dese people y’r parents any more. Are ya positive dis is such a good idea?”

“No, I actually think this is a terrible idea, but they were once my parents. Call it closure or whatever. Maybe it’s just so I can get my heart to accept that they are no longer my parents.”

Brigid nodded. One of the greatest things about Brigid is that she understands that parents can die in more than one way. If Minerva ever told anyone else about what happened to her family, she would get told that going no contact was the wrong thing to do or that you can’t be made at your family or other bullcrap like that. She has no idea how people raised by narcissists can deal with it.

“I’ll see you in a few days.”, Minerva said.

Brigid pulled her into a hug. “Be safe.” Brigid said before letting her go, and Minerva walked back over to her house and into her car.

Windham, ME
Date: same day, time: 1:00 pm

*Minerva’s perspective*

The drive to Windham took nearly 4 and a half hours to make. That was on purpose. Minerva wanted to put as much distance between her and those druggies as possible without leaving the state. Maine was still her home, no matter what anyone else did. Now, Minerva was driving around the city, looking for her hotel. Minerva had never spent much time in Windham, only going there on vacation with her family a couple times. The place was definitely a nice break from the towering buildings of Portland.

Minerva was finally able to find her hotel after asking some locals. Minerva got her room key and unpacked her car. Minerva did minimal unpacking, preferring to keep anything she wasn’t going to need on a daily basis in her bags. Once everything that needed any kind of emotional energy was handled, Minerva got back in her car and made her way to the Windham Correctional Center.

Windham Correctional Center was exactly what you’d think of when you think “prison”. There were barbed wire topped fences and several brick buildings. It all looked depressing, and the mix of strong emotions gave Minerva a headache.

Minerva passed through security and told one of the guards who she was here to see.

“Which one do you want to see first?”, the guard asked.

“Miria Reads”, Minerva said after a moment of thinking.

The guard nodded, relayed the information to another guard, and pointed Minerva to a door with another guard in front of it.

Minerva walked over to the door, and the guard let her in. Minerva took a seat, and soon, a skinny woman with dark purple hair and blue eyes was brought over to the seat opposite Minerva. She looked tired and worn down but still angry. Minerva picked up the phone, and the other woman did the same.

“What do you want?”, the woman asked. Minerva wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but she was sure she wasn’t expecting her to sound exactly as she did when Minerva was a girl, just tired.

“It’s me, Mom, Minerva.”

“Oh yeah, what do you want.”, the woman said more aggressively.

Anger spread through Minerva. How could this woman, who had birthed her, act so coldly to her? Thoughts of violently murdering every idividual involved with turning her mother into this flashed through Minerva’s mind once again. Minerva forced those feelings and thoughts down. It would not be wise to blow up here. “You have a granddaughter. Her name is Anura.”

“That’s a stupid name.”, the woman spat out.

“It means intelligence, wisdom, and kindness. All of which perfectly describes her.”, Minerva said, growing more agitated. The woman merely scoffed. “She’s been asking about you and Dad. I was hoping to learn that you were in rehab, but now it’s clear that you’re not.”

“I’m done talking.” The woman slammed the phone down and called the guards to take her back to her cell.

As soon as the door to the rest of the prison closed, Minerva put the phone back then placed her head in her hands and tried to force herself not to cry. One of the people sitting next to her got up from their seat and placed their hand on Minerva’s shoulder. Minerva looked up to find a woman with pale green eyes and hair and amber skin, like Sunset’s, giving Minerva a careful smile. The woman said nothing, and Minerva patted her hand to let her know she was okay. The woman patted Minerva’s shoulder and went back to her seat. Minerva was able to straighten herself up just in time for a man in a similar state to the woman being brought in. Minerva picked up the phone again, and the man did the same.

“Hello?”, the man said in a shaky voice.

“Hey Dad, it’s me, Minerva.”

The man became more alert and his face brightened as he recognized her. “Minerva, I’m so happy to see you.”, the man said quietly.

Minerva was shocked by this. She expected him to act just like the woman, but he actually seemed like himself. “Are you in rehab?” was all Minerva could ask.

“I - am. It’s a process though.”

Hope returned to Minerva, and her face brightened. “That’s better than Mom. How are you able to do it? I mean-” Minerva cut herself off there. She couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud.

“I was the one who started using hard drugs first. I know. - I - overdosed. - Coming that close to death - helped, I guess.”

“Well, if you stay clean once you get out, I’d love for you to be able to meet your granddaughter.”

The ma-Dad perked up once again. “I have a granddaughter?”

“Her name is Anura, and she’s been asking about you.”

“I’d love to meet her.”

“How much longer do you have?”

“Three years, eight months”

“I’ll be waiting.”

The guard that escorted Dad in tapped him on the shoulder, signaling their time was up. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Dad.”

They both put the phones back, and the guard led Dad away, back to his cell. Minerva got up from her chair, walked to the door, and knocked to let the guad know that she wanted to be let out. Minerva walked back over to the guard she talked to earlier. “Can you have someone take this to Simon Reads, please?”, Minerva asked while handing the guard a picture of Anura.

The guard took the picture then examined it. “Cute kid.” The guard handed the picture to another guard, and the other guard walked off.

“Thank you” Hope restored, Minerva walked back to her car with a smile on her face.

Windham Correctional Center
Date: same day , time: 2:30 pm

*Simon’s perspective*

Simon sat in his cell in a better mood than when he left it. He was a grandfather, and he only had to wait three years and eight month to see his granddaughter. Simon was pulled from his thoughts when a guard knocked on his door. The door opened to reveal Officer Starzen Stripes. Officer Stripes was one of the younger guards and was Simon’s favorite. He might even go as far as to call him his friend and would certainly say his parents hated him or thought they were being clever by choosing that name. Simon hopped up from his bed and saluted to the guard.

“Don’t you ever get tired of that joke?”, Officer Stripes asked.

“What can I say? I’m a former soldier. We were trained to always salute the stars n’ stripes.”, Simon joked. “Besides, what else am I going to do while I’m in here?”

“Maybe this will help pass the time.” Officer Stripes held out his hand. Held in it was a little girl that looked like a darker skinned version of Minerva in a pink dress and holding a Power Ponies lunchbox.

Simon took it and smiled, something he hasn’t done in fifteen years. “It’s my granddaughter. She looks so cute.”

“Great, now I have something to tease you about, Grandpa.”, Officer Stripes joked.

Simon gave Officer Stripes a mischievous grin. “It’s not teasing if the recipient is happy about it.”

“Oh, I’ll make it teasing.”, Officer Stripes said while leaving the cell.

Simon sat back down on his bed, examining the picture closely. Before today, Simon only had broken relationships to look forward to upon getting sober, but now, he had a granddaughter to meet.

Katon family home
Date: same day, time: 8:30 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

“I want a puppy.”, Emi announced.

“A puppy?”, Brigid asked.

“Yes, I’ve been thinking about it a lot and have been learning how to take care of a puppy. I’ll have lots of time to train it and play with it. Please?”

“Dat - doesn’t sound like a bad idea. What do ya think, Anzhong?”

Anzhong thought about it as he chewed his bite. Only after swallowing did he answer. “It is only her and Minerva here during the school day. It would be good for her to have some company.”

“Yey!”, Emi cheered and threw her hands in the air, flinging the food that was on her fork across the room. “Oops”

Ki got off his chair and walked over to the food. Brigid watched him walk and noticed that he was moving slower than normal. He was almost ten years old. Anzhong’s goin’ ta need ta start trainin’ a new service dog.

Windham Seven Trees Hotel
Date: same day, time: 10:00 pm

*Minerva’s perspective*

Minerva lay face up on her bed. Today had not gone as she expected. She expected her parents to be monsters that were beyond recovery, but her father proved that they could be saved and that he was on the road to recovery. If only her mother was in rehab, this would be the best day ever, after Anura’s birth, but she’s not. She’s still that horrid person that replaced her mother. Minerva wondered if there was some way she could help her mother, but Brigid’s words reverberated in her mind. “Ya c’n’t help dose who don’t want help. All ya’ll end up doin’ is pissin’ everyone off.” If there was one time Minerva wished Brigid wasn’t right about human psychology, it would be now.

With there being jack squat Minerva could do, she tried to get to sleep, “tried” being the operative word for hours.

Striker’s house
Date: Jun 14th, time: 1:00 am

*Striker’s perspective*

Striker sat in his living room, having looked through all the yearbooks. He had picked out fourteen girls that looked like they would fit the bill: Melen O’Conal, Ahmya Suzuki, Siel Reddancer, Tara Hope Tanaka, Riley Brown-Davies, Sunset Shimmer, Melody Singer, Hope Ogawa, Moonglow Talyor, Sakura Sky Bloom, Daisy Dream Bloom, Lotus Love Bloom, Aya Feathers, and Night Flora. Of course, he couldn’t know for sure until he got samples from all of them. However, that would be less than simple. Striker only had names and faces. True, all of these girls had to live within their school’s district, but that was still a large area. Striker would likely have to wait for the next school year in order to start investigating.

Canterville Humane Society
Date: Jun 15th, time: 11:00 am

*Emi’s perspective*

Emi burst through the doors of the animal shelter, excited for her new puppy. They had already gone and picked up Daddy’s new puppy, a six month old American Akita they named Kiba. Emi didn’t understand why Dad needed another service dog, but she was sure they’d tell her eventually. Emi originally also wanted an American Akita, but her parents and Sunset talked her into getting an easier and smaller dog. Emi didn’t understand why there were dogs of different experience levels until she saw how rowdy Kiba was. That dog couldn't sit still for the life of her.

“I want a puppy, please.”, Emi said to the woman behind the counter.

“Hello, little girl. Where are your parents?”, the lady asked. As if on cue, Mom, Dad, Sunset, Anura, Minerva, Ki, and Kiba came through the door. For the first time since they met, Kiba wasn’t trying to run around like a maniac. Emi attributed that to her being in “work mode”. Emi simply pointed to the group. “Okay then.”, the lady said to Emi. “How may I help you today?”, the lady asked Emi’s parents.

“Yes, we’re ‘ere ta adopt a dog, some‘hin’ small n’ f’r a beginne’.”, Mom said.

“Okay then.” The woman then called out to someone in the back. A girl around Sunset’s age with pink hair and dark teal eyes came out. The moment she saw us, she froze. Emi tracked her gaze to Sunset then shrugged. Sunset was pretty scary. “Fluttershy, please take these people over to where the small dogs are kept.”

Fluttershy unfroze slightly and started walking. We all followed, and the girl kept stealing glances back at Sunset. Somebody’s got an admirer. Fluttershy brought them into a room with a lot of barking dogs. With all the barking dogs and concrete walls, the room was very loud. Emi and Anura looked at all the dogs but had to use ASL to communicate due to the noise. Ki and Kiba remained quiet, thankfully. Fluttershy tried to talk to them about some of the dogs they were interested in, but she couldn’t be heard over the barking.

Anura found a black miniature poodle mix puppy, who’s tag said was four months old. Emi indicated that they wanted that one, and Fluttershy took the puppy out of her cage and brought them all out to a little play area where they could see if they liked her.

Canterville Humane Society
Date: same day, time: 11:15 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset watched as Emi and Anura played with the puppy. All the while, Sunset noticed that Fluttershy seemed to be paying more attention to her than the puppy.

“Hey Mom, I’m going to talk to Fluttershy for a bit.”, Sunset said.

“Do ya know each othe’?”, Brigid asked, puzzled.

“Yeah, we’re classmates. I just want to talk to her about some stuff pertaining to the next school year.”

“Ah have no problem with dat.”, Brigid said while going back to watching Emi.

Sunset turned to Fluttershy, and she got the hint. Fluttershy led them to a location where they could talk privately but could still be heard if they screamed. “What are you going to do to that puppy?”, Fluttershy asked as soon as they stopped.

Sunset was shocked by that question, then was insulted. “I would never hurt an animal, especially not my sister’s.”, Sunset said angrily. Fluttershy looked shocked, and that pissed Sunset off even more. “You brats deserve what you’re getting, but no dog deserves to be hurt.” Sunset apparently shortwired Fluttershy’s brain as she could only spit out half formed words. “Oh, if you ever tell my family about me, I’ll do terrible things to you.” That seemed to get Fluttershy’s brain working again as she snapped to attention and nodded her understanding. “Good”, Sunset said before going back to her family.

“Hey Sunset, look! I already taught Chinatsu how to play dead!”, Emi called out. As soon as Sunset and Fluttershy were close enough to see, Emi pointed her fingers like a gun and said “bang”. The dog made a dramatic scene of “dying” before actually falling over.

“Aw”, Fluttershy said.

“That’s great Emi, but are ya sure Chinatsu is the best name?”, Sunset asked.

“It means a thousand summers. I want her to be able to see all those summers with me.”

“That’s great, but her full name would be a thousand summers of fire, and considering what’s going on in California.”

“Oh, maybe a different name than.”

“Ya c’n think ‘bout it while we’re fillin’ out da paperwork. Ah take it dat she’s the one.”, Brigid said.

“Yes”, Emi assured.

“Okay then”, Fluttershy said while putting the leash back on the dog. “Do you think you can handle her?”, Fluttershy asked Emi.

“Better let Sunset take her. I’m not strong enough anymore.”

Fluttershy looked at Sunset carefully but handed her the dog anyway. Sunset gently led the dog to the lobby, and Brigid got to working on the paperwork. Sunset watched on as Emi and Anura played with the puppy and continued discussing names; all the names discussed had to do with long life. Fluttershy was also watching the girls, but she was mostly watching Sunset. Sunset gave it little thought. Fluttershy was too much of a coward to do anything against Sunset now that the Friendship Five were no more.

“Emi, have ya decided on a name yet?”, Brigid asked.

“Tomiju”, Emi announced. Brigid nodded her acknowledgement and wrote the name down.

With the paperwork done, everyone, now including Tomiju, left for the car. Piling all six humans and three dogs was not the easiest with only seven seats and a large squirmy dog, but everyone managed.

“We’re gettin’ dat dog a travel harness.”, Brigid stated.

Brigid started the car and drove them to the nearest pet store. Everyone filed out of the car, and Brigid and Minerva grabbed carts. Emi and Anura took turns carrying Tomiju until they got to the dog beds. Brigid grabbed a dog bed and placed it in the kiddy seat then placed Tomiju on the bed. Tomiju laid straight down but kept looking around at everycreature. Everyone split off to take care of their own part of the shopping. Brigid was always lenient when it came to Sunset wondering about but was now willing to let Sunset watch over Emi now that she knew Sunset was nearly as old as her and could bash armored people twice her size into a quivering mess. Minerva was still conscious but was confident in the kids’ screaming abilities and Brigid and Anzhong’s sprinting abilities.

Sunset, Emi, Anura, and Ki went over to the leashes and collars aisle. Until Emi regains her strength, Sunset’s going to be responsible for walking Tomiju. The amount of needed walking will be minimal since they have such a large yard, but when it’s needed. Sunset got the ultimate say on leashes and harnesses because of that, and Emi got the ultimate say on collars and tags. However, both girls got each other’s and Anura’s input on the matter as they are still going to be heavily involved.

Emi ended up picking out a purple collar with pink hearts on it. Sunset picked out a red harness, a regular leash, and a hands free leash, all with flame designs on them, and a black collar for Kiba.

“Of course you choose a flame design.”, Emi remarked.

“And of course you’d choose purple.”, Sunset retorted. Emi just gave Sunset a mischievous grin.

“Hey, look what I found.”, Anura called out. Anura ran over with a whistle in her hand.

“A whistle?”, Sunset asked.

“A dog whistle.”, Anura exclaimed. Sunset tried to stop her, but Anura blew it before she could even say “no”. The painful high pitched noise of the whistle rang through Sunset’s ears as she desperately tried to block it out.

After what felt like an eternity, but was most likely just a few seconds, Anura stopped. “Don’t ever do that again.”, Sunset angrily snapped.

“Sorry”, Anura said sheepishly and backed away from Sunset.

“I’m sorry, Anura. Please, don’t do that again. It really hurt.”, Sunset said gently.

Anura pricked back up a bit and nodded to Sunset.

“Who would make something like that?”, Emi asked. “You’d think something that painfully loud would be illegal.”

“I didn’t hear anything.”, Anura stated confusedly.

“It’s an ultrasonic whistle. Very few people can hear it, but dogs and we can.”, Sunset explained.

“Oh”, Emi and Anura said. Anura quickly put the whistle back, and the girls went back to their parents.

The adults were in the food aisle, loading bags of dog food into the carts. The carts already contained beds, treats, toys, travel harnesses, and some costumes. Of course Mom would buy the dogs costumes.

“We got the collars and leashes!”, Emi announced.

“Good, put ‘em in da cart.”, Brigid instructed.

The girls did as instructed, then Emi went to Tomiju. Both perked up upon seeing each other, but Emi was too short to reach Tomiju. Sunset picked Emi up so she could interact with Tomiju. Tomiju got so excited that she started dancing in place. They both looked so cute.

Canterville Humane Society
Date: same day, time: 11:20 am

*Fluttershy’s perspective*

Fluttershy watched as Sunset’s family all piled into their car. She wanted to give Sunset the benefit of the doubt that she wouldn’t hurt the dog, but she couldn’t. Sunset was violent, and Fluttershy heard rumors that Sunset tortures animals as a part of her experiments. She didn’t believe those rumors at first but now.

“Is something wrong?”, Kylie asked.

“It’s just that, I know the eldest of those girls, and I don’t think she’s fit to take care of an animal.”, Fluttershy said while walking back to the counter.

“How so?”

“She’s a bully and cruel.”

“Ah see. Flutters, I’m going to tell you something that very few people know. I used to be a bully.”

That caught Fluttershy off guard. How could the sweetest person she knows been a bully?

“When I was your age, I didn’t have the best life. My parents were drunks; I barely had enough money for food, that sort of stuff, and I dealt with my anger by taking it out on my classmates. The one source of happiness in my life was my dog, Pinocchio. He had a really long snout. Despite how badly I treated everyone else, I loved Pinocchio, and he prompted me to become a better person.”

“So, you’re saying that having a dog would make her nicer?”

“I’m saying that I don’t think she’ll hurt the dog.”

Fluttershy wanted to believe Kylie, and her words did ease Fluttershy, but there was still a great deal of unease in her stomach.

Sunset’s room
Date: Jun 17th, time: 1:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset was awoken by Emi and Anura shaking her and Tomiju licking her.

“Come on, Sunset. It’s da bloody afternoon. I get wanting to sleep in, but this is a bit much.”, Emi said.

“Mmm, I’m nocturnal. I don’t like being awake with the sun.”, Sunset complained, covering her eyes.

“Right, the noctrilly thing. What were they like anyway?”, Emi asked.

“Noctrilly?”, Anura asked.

Lecture time. There’s no way I’m going back to sleep now. “Uhg, they’re the ancestors of the thestral race, including me. Here, I actually prepared visual aids for this.” Sunset groggily got out of bed and stumbled down to her desk. Once she got all her visual aids, Sunset motioned for everyone to take a seat on her couch. Emi, Anura, and Tomiju bounded over and sat on the couch.

“So, this is what we think noctrilly looked like.” Sunset pulled out of the pictures she drew.

“Cool”, Emi said.

“It looks scary.”, Anura said.

“Well, they were the apex predators of the Northern Mountain Range, so yeah. The noctrilly had powerful wings, bioluminescent eyes, incredible senses of smell, hearing, and sight, and had the ability to control shadows. They dug expansive tunnels and only came out at night to hunt.”

“So, they bred with pegasi and created the thestrals?”, Emi asked.

“Yep, and dis is what my grandfather looked like. He’s a pure blooded thestral.”

“He looks kinda derpy.”, Emi said.

“Yeah, he’s not the greatest example of thestral attractiveness. Our dad and my bio-dad are a lot more handsome.” Sunset pulled out two more drawings.

“Aw, Dad looks so cute.”, Emi cooed.

“Why is Uncle Anzhong’s symbol on his butt?”, Anura asked.

“Those are cutie marks. You get them once you figure out your special talent or what makes you special. My grandpa was an excellent combatant, hence the swords. My dad is an investigator, hence the magnifying glass.”

“What’s Uncle Anzhong’s symbol?”

“The tomoes are a Shinto symbol and the symbol of Hachiman, guardian of warriors, and the hooked cross is used in Buddhism to represent the Budda’s footsteps. There’s also a shuriken shaped like a hooked cross.”, Emi explained.

“But it looks like a swastika.”, Anura said, puzzled.

“That’s a very long and complicated history, but the short answer is, similar symbols but very different meanings.”, Sunset explained. Emi corroborated Sunset with a nod.

“Oh”

“What did Mommy look like?”, Emi asked. Sunset pulled out the last drawing.

“That’s so cool.”, Emi exclaimed. “I wonder what I’d look like and what my cutie mark would be.”

Sunset shrugged. “You’d probably be a blank flank. You haven’t figured out what your symbol is here, so I don’t think you’d have a cutie mark.”

Emi crossed her arms with a humph. Figuring out one’s symbol wasn’t as big of a thing on Earth as it is in Equestria, but it’s still a source of pride. Human symbols are supposed to say who you are, what you can do, and/or be something important to you, like a logo. Brigid’s symbol represents the Mac Carthaighs’ believe that love is the foundation of life. Minerva’s symbol is the head of the owl of Minerva with a “1” in one eye and a “0” in the other. It represents her skill with and knowledge of code. There is no expected age for when someone discovers their symbol, some never discover theirs, but Emi is impatient.

Author's Note

Dedicated to Sophie Ritter, the piranha pug
Death is the world's best ambush predictor. Even when you expect it, it will sneak up on you.

SHWO ch55 Summer school, American style

Sunset’s room
Date: Jun 17th, time: 5:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset’s brow furrowed in confusion and disgust as she read the article that was now displayed on her computer. She had earlier stumbled across a video about a phenomenon known as “school shootings” while browsing WebTube. Sunset couldn’t believe that such a thing exists, at first thinking it a tasteless joke, until she found the official reports. Sunset was disgusted by this but not surprised that humans could do this to any creature. What Sunset was surprised by was that there was a school shooting at North Canterlot Middle School on the 8th. NCMS was a middle of nowhere school in the village of North Canterlot. Before now, absolutely nothing happened there. The motives of the shooters were not known as they escaped into the Everfree before cops could arrest them. What was known was that there were three of them, they wore animal masks, and they killed two teachers and five students and injured twenty-four others.

At the bottom of the article had a statement from the mayor regarding the officers’ response.

"This tragedy has been a wake-up call to our town. No longer are these events relegated to the large cities. The lack of effectiveness of our police officers in these situations prove that we need to up our training. Over this summer, we will have mock shooter calls, using the actual schools in and around the city. We will never let something like this happen again.”

The mock shooter calls were set for three days from now, and the schools have been asking for students to volunteer to be victims in these drills and for anyone to be the shooters. “Looks like I know what I’ll be doing this summer.”

Outside CMS
Date: Jun 20th, time: 9:30 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset stood outside CMS along with a couple dozen other students and a few parents, including Brigid. Minerva and Anura went to Anura’s school to volunteer there, Anzhong was at work with Ki and Kiba, Tomiju was at daycare, and Emi was getting chemo and hanging out with Grandpa. When Sunset first told Emi about this, she was pissed that she couldn’t go, but after Sunset told her she would only get to be a victim, she didn’t give a crap. In her words, “Ah want ta shoot people, not get shot.”, a sentiment Sunset could appreciate.

The lead officer gave them the load down on what was going to happen. The students, teachers, and extra parents will go into lock down while the shooter(s) roam the school. The cops will wait a couple minutes, then the round begins. Each round will be a different sanerio: high powered weapons and armor, normal clothes and pistols, child shooter, etcetera etcetera. X amount of shooters will be chosen from a pool of volunteers for each round. After someone was chosen, they couldn’t be a shooter again. Sunset assumed that they would use some sort of training rounds, but the lead officer never said what they were. The cops would win if they captured the shooters. The shooters would win if they escaped the cops.

Brigid along with two dads were chosen as shooters for the first round. While they suited up, the “victims” entered the school and began acting like it was a normal day. This first round was set around lunch time, so Sunset bee-lined to the bathroom. She actually needed to go. Just after Sunset finished, the school’s lockdown alarm sounded.

Breee, lockdown, lockdown. Lock the doors. Stay away from the windows.

Sunset was in the last stall, so wiggled herself between the toilet and the wall. The sound of the lockdown alarm always sent a chill down Sunset’s body. She couldn’t exactly say why, maybe it was the high pitched sound or the way the recording sounded, but it scared her even more than the fire alarm or the city’s ESS, Emergency Siren System. Before she learned about school shootings, she didn’t understand why they had these drills. Now, she knew.

Sunset leaned on the toilet tank so she wasn’t putting all her weight on her feet and pulled out her phone. Just then, she got a text from Flash.

Hey, where are you?

I’m in the bathroom.

Your mom’s really scary. I heard she actually took a student hostage.

Wow, go Mom.

CMS
Date: same day, time: 9:40 am

*Brigid’s perspective*

“Ya doin’ okay?”, Brigid asked the girl she took “hostage”.

“Yeah, this is fun.”

“Good” Brigid continued down the hallway, trying to see if there were any unlocked doors and pounding and shaking the locked ones. Brigid and the other “shooters” were given an objective to “kill” as many students as they could and insight terror. The cops wanted them to make it as realistic as possible without damaging anything or actually hurting anyone.

Soon, Brigid heard the stomping boots of the police entering the school. Brigid moved the girl to better cover her and went to confront the officers.

Just inside CMS
Date: same day, time: 9:40 am

*Officer Law’s perspective*

Officer law and his team entered the school, weapons drawn. Officer Law was new to the force, only joining this year. Even knowing this was just a training exercise, he was still freaked out. The team leader had them split up into smaller teams and search the school. Law, Smith, West, and Volkov went together down one of the branching hallways. As they turned a corner, they found one of the shooters.

Law remembered that some of the others mentioned there being two males and one female shooter, and he guessed that this was the female, judging by the hair, but he was not expecting her to be a creature from hell. She was easily taller than anyone in the team and looked like she had more muscle than the four of them combined, and her bright red hair and the demon mask she was wearing gave her a red tint. She also had a hostage.

The shooter raised her weapon, and all four men ducked for cover. Smith radioed that they made contact with one of the shooters, and Volkov tried to shoot back but couldn’t get a clear shot. The shooter began firing and even got West in the shoulder. Law was petrified. He couldn’t move and everything sounded distant.

Suddenly, everything came to a stop, and the shooter started cursing. “Aw! Did ya bloody fucking cunts jus’ shoot me in da ass?!”

“What can I say? We are trained to aim for the largest part of the target.” The voice sounded like it came from Officer Lambdin, but Law couldn’t bring himself to look.

“Well, Ah guess ya won’t eve’ have ta worry ‘bout bein’ shot in between da legs!”, the shooter bellowed. Uproarious laughter came from Smith, West, Volkov, and several officers near Lambdin.

Word came over the radio that they got the other shooters and the round was over. Law let his team finish mocking Lambdin and sluncked out to his truck.

Outside CMS
Date: same day, time: 9:45 am

*Brigid’s perspective*

“Hahahaha, they seriously got you in da ass. Hahahaha”

Brigid listened on as Sunset continued mocking her for getting taken out so quickly and for getting taken out with a shot to the butt while she took off the gear. It was funny, but that didn’t mean Brigid couldn’t get in her own teasing. “Ah thought ya were twenty-eight up dere in dat coconut, but y’re acting like a twelve year old.”

“I’m chronologically twenty-eight. Neurologically, I’m twelve, and psychologically thaaat’s still up f’r debate.”

“Ah’ll say.” Brigid was cut off from more teasing when she noticed one of the officers sulking on the bed of a pick up. Brigid thought she recognized him as one of the officers that she was shooting at but wasn’t sure. The fact that the lad was sulking when his team won was odd. Brigid hurried to get the body armor off. “Ah’ll be right back.”, Brigid told Sunset. Sunset gave her an odd look but then noticed where Brigid was looking and nodded her understanding.

As Brigid approached, she could see that the lad was one of the officers she was shooting at. He was a skinny kid with pink and purple dreadlocks and coal black skin. “Hey laddy, ya doin’ okay?” The boy snapped his head up and looked like he was going to piss himself. Looks like Ah did me job too well. “Sorry if Ah scared ya earlier.”

“Oh, yeah, mmm.”, the officer mumbled.

Brigid climbed up onto the bed to sit next to the officer. “What’s y’r name?”

“Amadi Law” Now Brigid could clearly hear that the officer had a Mainer accent.

“Well, dat name takes on new meanin’ in dis country.”

“Hehe, yeah.”

“Are ye from ‘round ‘ere?”

“Yeah, I’m from the west side of Canterlot.”

“So, what made ya want ta become a police office’?”

“I wanted to help people, protect them.”

“Wanted?”

“I, um, mmm.”

“Ya froze, didn’t ya?”

“Yes”, Officer Law said ashamedly.

“Freezin’ is natural. Despite da popular saying “fight or flight”, it’s actually “fight, freeze, friend, or flight”. Ah’m an anthropologist specializin’ in dis. Ah know what Ah’m talkin’ ‘bout.”

“Still, what kind of a hero freezes?”

“Well, Ah actually know a person dat has a story like dat.” Law looked at Brigid with curiosity, which she took to continue. “Me siste’, who is doin’ dis with ‘er daughter at Mory Elementary, was a part a’ da early invasion a’ Afghanistan. Durin’ ‘er first real firefight, ‘er platoon were under fire, hidin’ behind rocks, n’ she froze. She couldn’t move or speak or any‘hin’. She didn’t unfreeze until da fightin’ stopped. Ya know what happened afte’ dat? She n’ her platoon lived ta fight anothe’ day. Dat’s what freezin’ is for. It’s ta keep ya from actin’ too quickly n’ gettin’ y’rself killed.”

“So, if I didn’t freeze?”

“Ya would’ve charged me n’ hit da girl or gotten shot by me, or ya would’ve run n’ might’ve run inta one a’ da othe’ shoote’s. Yi’ll eventually learn ta control dese instincts, but dat takes time n’ experience.”

“Ugh, I don’t know.”, Law said while rubbing his face.

“At least wait until da end a’ da summer. Da whole point a’ dis is ta teach ya how ta deal with dis stuff.”

“Okay”, Law said disheartenedly.

“Great” Brigid patted Law on the shoulder, hopped off the truck, and began walking back to Sunset.

“Ow”, Law said while rubbing his shoulder.

As Brigid got back to the group of students, teachers, and parents, the lead officer was explaining the next round. Just like last time, all the participating officers were out of earshot and they were separated by a divider so the officers didn’t know what was going on or what to expect. This round was “plain clothed shooter with a pistol”. To Brigid’s surprise, Shine was chosen as the shooter.

“Ah didn’t know ya could use a gun.”, Brigid said.

“My dearest Brigid, did ya think ya’re the only walkin’ stereotype here?”, Shine asked in her thick Texan accent.

“Ah guess da “Southern” part in y’r “Southern Baptist belle” title is more dan jus’ where y’re from.”

“Well, there are more guns than people back home.”, Shine said with a smile.

“Okay now, this time, the shooter will have a target. We need someone to play her ex-lover, preferably someone who works here.”, the lead officer announced.

“I’ll do it.”, Vice Principal Leo announced.

“Great”, the lead officer said.

“At least Ah can say that, if Ah swung that way, you would be a woman worth goin’ on a rampage for.”, Shine said.

“That is the strangest compliment I’ve ever gotten, but I’ll take it.”, Leo said.

“Are we sure this is what we want to be showing to the kids?”, another parent asked.

“Don’t worry, we know that being gay doesn’t automatically make someone want to shoot up a school.”, Sunset remarketed.

The parent went to open her mouth again but was stopped by everyone else giving her “I dare you to say that” glares and disapproving looks. Shine was handed a simple handgun, and all the victims filed into the school. “Come on, I know where we can hide.”, Sunset said while pulling Brigid and Flash along. Sunset brought them to the library and led them into the stacks. Soon after they found their hiding spots, the alarm sounded.

Breee, lockdown, lockdown. Lock the doors. Stay away from the windows.

“Damn, dat’s unnervin’.”, Brigid said while picking out a book to read.

“I know. It’s like they want us to panic.”, Sunset said.

“Dat’s not entirely wrong.” Looking up from her book, Brigid saw Sunset giving her the “explain everything to me” look. That look always brings a smile to Brigid’s face. “Call it a kick in da ass. Dey want ta get ya inta fight or flight mode so ya c’n act, n’ dat sound does da trick.”

“I suppose, still doesn’t sound like the best idea.”, Sunset said quizzically.

Brigid shrugged her shoulders. “Human psychology is weird.”

CMS
Date: same day, time: 9:50 am

*Shine’s perspective*

Since Shine had a specific target, she forwent the door rattling and shaking. Instead, she went straight for the vice principal's office. Once she got there, she shook and banged on the door. With the obligatory door banging out of the way, Shine opted to run before the cops came close. Shine made a bee-line for the nearest exit until she heard the cops on the other side. Shine made a U-turn and bolted down another hallway. There would be cops at all the exits by now, and all the windows are behind locked doors. That left Shine with one option, hide.

CMS library
Date: same day, time: 9:55 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset was bored. She tried reading, but it's hard to read with the beeping of the lockdown alarm. That left Sunset playing on her phone or looking at picture books. Strangely, some of those picture books included magazines with scantily clad women in them. Sunset had no problem with this and was positive not many of the students had a problem with it, but if most of the parents learn about this, there would be trouble.

Sunset was pulled from her smut by the sound of the library doors being opened and the sound of someone running into the stacks.

“Sounds like y’r mum chose ta hide rathe’ dan fight.”

Mrs. Sentry ran into the stacks on the other side of the library. About a minute later, the cops filled into the library. They began searching, and a few even passed by Sunset’s group. Sunset moved to where she could watch the officers. The officers searched the entire library but came up empty handed. After the officers left, Sunset returned to her group to report what happened.

“So, it wasn’t my mom that came in here?”, Flash asked after Sunset explained what happened.

“No, it was definitely your mom. I could smell her perfume.”

“Seriously?”

“Females have stronge’ senses a’ smell dan males, n’ Sunset’s is particularly strong.”, Brigid explained.

“Wow, that’s cool.”

“I vote we go find her.”, Sunset said. Brigid and Flash nodded and got up to follow Sunset. They headed to where they last heard Mrs. Sentry. Sunset, and now Flash and Brigid, could smell her but couldn’t see her. An idea came to Sunset. She looked up and found Mrs. Sentry on top of one of the shelves next to the wall. It was dark, but Mrs. Sentry was wearing a light yellow dress. “I see you, Mrs. Sentry.”

“Oh, hello, Sunset.”, Mrs. Sentry said.

Brigid and Flash came over and were quite surprised.

“Ya know, if it weren’t f’r dat dress, Ah’d call ya a ninja.”, Brigid said.

“Why is that?”, Mrs. Sentry asked.

“That’s exactly what my dad instructs us ta do if we need ta hide.”, Sunset said.

“Humans have a tendency ta not look above a forty-five degree angle. Ya c’n avoid detection by climbin’ high enough.”, Brigid explained.

“That’s very interestin’. Now, Ah would very much appreciate it if you could help me down.”

“Sure” Brigid held out her arms while Mrs. Sentry slid down the shelf. Once Mrs. Sentry was in a good position, Brigid picked her off the shelf and brought her to the ground.

“Ah see those muscles ain’t just for show.”, Mrs. Sentry noted.

“Are you sure your mom is straight?”, Sunset quietly asked Flash.

“No”, Flashy replied.

Outside CMS
Date: same day, time: 10:10 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Very good everyone.”, the lead officer said. “Now, before we move on to the next round, I have to ask. How did you evade us, Mrs. Sentry?”

“Simple, Ah climbed on top of the library stacks shelves. Your officers never once looked up.”, Mrs. Sentry explained.

The lead officer’s face went from surprise to embarrassment as Mrs. Sentry explained. “Chm chm, I see. Thank you for enlightening me. Now then, let’s move onto the next round. We will need some of the young ones to volunteer. Does anyone know how to handle a gun?” Sunset immediately shot her hand up, along with Flash, Rarity, Jacklyn, and a couple other students. “Okay then, um, you, you, and you, what are your names?”

“Sunset Shimmer”

“Rarity Alba”

“Jacklyn O’Apple”

“Okay, good. Sunset, you’ll be the shooter. Jacklyn and Rarity, you’ll be her targets.” The lead officer handed Sunset a pistol. The “victims” entered the school while Sunset waited outside. Once everyone was through the doors, Sunset entered in after them. As soon as Sunset entered the school, the lockdown alarm sounded.

Breee, lockdown, lockdown. Lock the doors. Stay away from the windows.

“Show time, baby.”

Halls of CMS
Date: same day, time: 10:10 am

*Rarity’s perspective*

“Rarity, wait.”

“What is it, Applejack?”, Rarity asked in a sharper tone than she meant.

Applejack either didn’t notice or didn’t care to mention it. “Ah don’t think we should hide in the classrooms. Let’s actually give Sunset a chance ta catch us. Let’s make this more fun.”

Rarity took a moment to think about it. It indeed sounded more fun than sitting huddled in a classroom, but it was Sunset that was hunting them. If she wanted to find you, she would, and she was dangerous. But would she actually do anything with her mother around? Rarity’s pondering was cut short by the lockdown alarm sounding.

Breee, lockdown, lockdown. Lock the doors. Stay away from the windows.

“Time’s up Rares. What’s it gonna be?”

“Let’s do it.”, Rarity said in a way she hoped made her look like an action movie hero.

Applejack took Rarity’s hand and charged down the hallway. It gave her butterflies in her stomach. Applejack was so beautiful.

Halls of CMS
Date: same day, time: 10:10 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset crept through the halls. Her prey were not hiding in the classrooms or offices like Mrs. Sentry’s. They were running. They were playing. Sunset could play too. Rarity was wearing perfume, and Jacklyn smelled like a farm. That made them easy to track in the sea of smelly humans. Sunset’s nostrils flared as she took in the scents of the area and locked onto Rarity and Jacklyn. With a lock on their scents, Sunset put on her own mask and bolted down the hallway, after them.

Halls of CMS
Date: same day, time: 10:15 am

*Applejack’s perspective*

Applejack listened for Sunset’s footsteps. They managed to get pretty far away from the entrance, but AJ knew it was only a matter of time before she found them. AJ made sure they kept ahead of Sunset, but the school hallways were thoroughly interconnected and like a circle. There was no way they could be cornered, but they could run into Sunset when they were running from her. That only left them with the option of “keep moving”.

As they rounded a corner, AJ smashed straight into someone, sending them both stumbling back. AJ looked to see what had to be Sunset, but she was wearing a mask.

The mask plus her red and black outfit and the gun in her hand made her look really scary. Sunset raised the gun, and Rarity and AJ about-faced and began running in the opposite direction. Sunset fired off a couple rounds of the airsoft gun and got AJ and Rarity.

“Okay Sunset, you win.”, AJ said while turning around. It was hard to tell, but it looked like Sunset had a predatory grin under that mask. Suddenly, Sunset spun her head around as if she was reacting to a noise, but AJ couldn’t hear anything. Sunset muttered something under her breath then ran past AJ and Rarity. Rarity looked at AJ, puzzled. Soon, AJ heard what Sunset must have, the sound of the cops’ stopping boots.

Halls of CMS
Date: same day, time: 10:15 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset fired off two shots that nailed Jacklyn and Rarity in their backs.

“Okay Sunset, you win.”, Jacklyn said while turning around. Sunset smiled under her mask. It was always a nice feeling to catch your prey, but for whatever reason, it felt nicer as a human. Maybe it was because humans are a predator species.

Sunset’s attention was caught by the sound of heavy boot’s stomping. “Crap”, Sunset muttered. Sunset ran past Jacklyn and Rarity with no precise destination in mind. She couldn’t try the Tanuki Gakure no Jutsu because now the cops will be searching places where she can perch. Despite the fact the ceiling was easy to get into, it could not support her weight.

As Sunset ran, she passed by her locker and got an idea. Sunset discarded her mask, gun, and jacket in the locker; turned her shirt inside out, turning it from red to dark blue; and grabbed her hat from the locker. Once complete, Sunset found the nearest janitor’s closet and hid inside.

Some time later, Sunset was found by the officers. “Hi, have you found the shooter yet? I’m getting bored.”, Sunset said.

“No, why are you in a janitor’s closet?”, one of the officers asked.

“The shooter had a target, like last time. I didn’t want to get in the same room as them.”

“Okay, Officer Lambdin, take this girl outside.”, the officer ordered.

Officer Lambdin escorted Sunset outside then went back to rejoin his team. Sunset walked over to the staging area where Jacklyn, Rarity, and some of the other “victims” were.

“Shouldn’t an officer be with you?”, the lead officer asked.

“I tricked them into thinking I was just another victim.”, Sunset answered. “By the way, I win.”

The lead officer groaned then radioed his officers that they lost the round. Soon, the officers and the remaining victims exited the school.

“Yo boss, what happened? We haven’t found the shooter yet.”, one of the officer’s asked.

“I’m the shooter.”, Sunset said while raising her hand.

“Oh, come on!”, one of the officers complained.

Sunset gave a triumphant laugh while everyone gathered around to listen to the lead officer. Since that was the last round for the day and Brigid was there to hear whatever the lead officer had to say, Sunset went back into the school to retrieve the gun and her jacket from her locker. By the time she got back, people were heading back to their cars or starting their walks back home. Sunset handed the gun back to the nearest cop and headed back over to Brigid. Brigid was talking with Mrs. Sentry, and Flash was sitting around, looking really bored. Sunset sat down in front of Flash.

“This is worse than when it happens in the stores.”, Flash droned.

“Yeah, wanna head back ta my place?”

“Sure” Flash stood up and called out to his mom. “Hey Mom, I’m going to hang out at Sunset’s house.”

“Okay, when do you want to be picked up?”, Mrs. Sentry asked. Flash just shrugged his shoulders. “Okay, I can pick you up at dinner, if that’s okay with Dr. Katon.” Brigid nodded her approval.

With the approval of both parents, Sunset and Flash walked to Sunset’s house.

SHWO ch56 Growing, learning, & fighting

Katon family backyard
Date: Jun 22nd, time: 1:00 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid and Emi watched as Sunset and Anzhong trained. Despite not having this body for even three years, Sunset was more than adept at using it. She has gotten so good at fighting that Anzhong is letting them train with real weapons, but they were still wearing armor made up of wrestling mat padding topped by a sheet of aluminum, leather guards, and a bike helmet. Despite how much Sunset usually complains about having to wear armor, this was the first time she didn’t. Brigid didn’t need to wonder why that was. The scars on her body told a story of their own.

Anzhong swung his staff down, and Sunset deflected it with one of her blades then charged in with the other. Anzhong dodged and kicked Sunset away, not hard, but she was sent stumbling away. Sunset grabbed a rock and threw it at Anzhong’s head. Anzhong blocked it easily and charged Sunset. Sunset tripped Anzhong, sending him staff then face first into the ground. Sunset hopped on his back and pointed her blades at the back of his neck.

“I win.”, Sunset cherped.

“Okay, I say we take a break. I would like to train Kiba.”

Sunset got up from Anzhong and removed her blindfold then the rest of her armor. Anzhong did the same, then they both brought the stuff to the garage. They soon came out with a training dummy, treats, and the bite proof suit thing.

Emi hopped up, carrying Tomiju, and ran over to Anzhong and Sunset. Brigid couldn’t hear what they were saying but could guess. Emi wants to train Tomiju how to be a guard dog. Sunset began teasing Emi about the idea. Probably something about how Tomiju would only be able to bite ankles judging by the fact Emi started chasing Sunset on all fours and biting at Sunset’s ankles. Sunset picked Emi up and held her upside down. Emi began to squirm, and Sunset let her down.

Anzhong called Ki and Kiba over and had all three dogs sit down with varying levels of success. Once they were all paying attention, Anzhong ordered Ki to attack the dummy. Once Ki was done, Anzhong began instructing Kiba and Tomiju on how to do it. Kiba was picking it up faster than Tomiju. Tomiju was more concerned with getting attention, but Anzhong was doing his best. He eventually managed to get Tomiju to bite at the dummy’s leg but not with the desired ferocity.

Emi helped as best she could, but that proved less than stellar as she had no idea what she was doing. After a couple hours of training, Anzhong put the bite proof suit on and had the girls hold the dogs. After Anzhong got a few feet away, Sunset and Emi gave the order to attack. Ki and Kiba ran after him, but Tomiju just sat there, looking at Emi for attention. Emi just hung and shook her head. Ki ended up grabbing Anzhong’s leg and tripping him while Kiba went straight for the butt.

“Ah bet y’re glad ya weren’t facin’ ‘er at dat moment!”, Brigid teased Anzhong.

“Oh, you should be just as glad!”, Anzhong shot back.

Brigid was about to make her own retort but was cut off by Sunset and Emi making gagging and barfing sounds. Brigid merely rolled her eyes at the girls’ antics while Anzhong got up and ordered the dogs back over to the girls. They continued the dogs’ training, but the results were very mixed for Tomiju, with her only obeying half the time.

They eventually had to stop training as it was time for Anzhong to start dinner preparations. Everyone began heading back inside, but as Brigid was taking off her boots , she saw that Sunset was fixated on the fence. “Ya comin’ in?”, Brigid called out.

“Yeah, just a minute.”, Sunset said, only taking her eyes off the fence for a moment.

As weird as this situation was, Brigid could say from experience that it was better to just let weird be weird. Brigid finished removing her boots and went inside.

Katon family backyard
Date: same day, time: 6:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset waited for Brigid to go inside before approaching the fence. Whoever was on the other side would definitely get jumpy if they heard her as Sunset what she was doing. Sunset continued to listen as the person shifted their body. They were being very noisy. Even Brigid would be able to hear them from where Sunset was standing. Sunset quietly approached the fence. The person had stopped making noise now. Once she was close enough, Sunset peered through one of the small holes in the fence. On the other side, she saw purple, purple hair. Rarity. Sunset nearly growled her name out loud. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why she was spying on her family. Rarity was casing the place. Sunset so badly wanted to hop the fence and rip the girl’s throat out, but she was also curious about how she was planning on breaking in. Ultimately, Sunset decided to wait and watch. Plus, that gave her a better defense in case Sunset ended up badly hurting her.

With a plan in place, Sunset followed her family inside. While Anzhong cooked dinner and Brigid and Emi trained Tomiju, Sunset began hiding her PC. They’re house’s security system was by no means lax; every door and window were outfitted with sensors and are reinforced or bulletproof, but there’s no such thing as a pick proof lock. They do have an alarm system, but they haven’t armed it in nearly a year, and Sunset had forgotten her code. If Rarity got in, Sunset didn’t want to risk her finding anything incriminating.

Sunset dismantled her PC and placed it into plastic boxes to protect it. The less incriminating parts got scattered about her room, but the parts that could hold any sort of evidence got stashed. Sunset pushed her couch out of the way and lifted up some of the floorboards. Underness was a cubby not unlike the one Nana made but bigger. Sunset hid the remaining parts in there, covered it back up, and pushed the couch back into place.

Sunset sat down on her couch, picked up her controller, and began pursuing her game collection. She had many games at this point. Sunset picked out one that she could pause, she only had a couple of hours, and began playing.

Katon family dinner table
Date: same day, time: 8:15 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

As Sunset sat, eating dinner, she noticed Brigid looking at her quizzically. Sunset panicked for a moment, thinking that she might be catching on to what she was doing, but calmed herself realizing that she would have no way of knowing.

Eventually Sunset got an answer to Brigid behavior. “Ah think we’ll need ta take ya shoppin’ f’r bras soon.”

“What? No, she’s not that old.”, Anzhong said.

“Anzhong, she’s nearly thirteen.”

“No, she’s still my little girl and not allowed to grow up.”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “You sound like my bio-mom.”

“Who, me?”, Anzhong asked in mock offense.

“Yes, you. My mom would always say that Spitfire and I were not allowed to grow up.”

“We’ll go shoppin’ Thurthday.”

Katon family home
Date: Jun 27th, time: 7:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Everyone was running around, getting ready. Despite Sunset trying to readjust her sleep schedule, she still ended up with less than 8 hours of sleep. Grandpa Jiraiya was late due to a pile up on the highway, and he, being him, was helping the paramedics. It’s not like he was gonna be moving any time soon anyway. Minerva had an online meeting that started at 8, so could only watch the girls unil 7:55 and couldn’t have kids and dogs playing in the background.

Eventually, Anzhong, Ki, Kiba, Brigid, and Sunset just had to get going, and everyone hoped Grandpa got there soon. Anzhong, Ki, Kiba, Brigid, and Sunset filed into the car where Sunset promptly fell back asleep. The ability to fall asleep anywhere was an ability Sunset only developed upon becoming human and is up there in her favorite human abilities.

The next thing Sunset knew, she was being woken up by Brigid in the Bargain-mart parking lot. Sunset groaned but got up. Much to her releaf, Brigid picked Sunset up and carried her to the store. Sunset did have to admit that she was getting a bit too old for this, but considering parking lots were even more dangerous than roads and no place to be inpared in any way in, Sunset did give a fuck. It also gave her a chance to wake up slowly. By the time they made it to the store front, Sunset was awake enough to walk. Brigid put her down and led her over to a Starbits. Brigid ordered her and Sunset’s favorite caffeinated beverages. Despite humans not requiring, or even being able to tolerate, as much sugar as ponies, Sunset still liked her sweets. They took a set and let Sunset wake up a bit more before heading out.

Once they were done, Brigid grabbed a cart, and they headed over to the clothing section. There were a myriad of different bras of different colors, sizes, and styles. There were some called “sports bras”. Sunset examined those first. Compared to the others, they had little structure and were the most stretchable.

“So, as da name suggests, dese are designed ta give ya as much support as possible without interfering with y’r movement.”, Brigid explained.

“Why would we need support?”, Sunset asked.

“Dey help with preventin’ back problems. Dey help ta contain y’r breasts n’ keep them out a’ da way while y’re goin’ ‘bout y’r day.”

Sunset looked down at her own mammary glands. They had been growing over the last year. Looking over to Brigid, Sunset could see why they could cause back problems. Just like the rest of her, Brigid’s mammary glands were bigger than most other women’s. “What kind do you wear?”

“Some‘hin’ like dis.”, Brigid said while grabbing a bra. “Ah like ta avoid ones with a lot a’ wires. Dey poke me.”

Sunset nodded then turned back to the bras. Sunset grabbed one that looked to be about the right size and pulled the elastic part around her body. It seemed to be the right size, so Sunset grabbed a few in different styles.

“Ya wanna try dose on?”

Sunset’s face contorted in disgust. Considering where parts of these things will end up on her body, that sounded really gross.

“Don’t worry. Dat’s why Ah wash new clothes before we wear ‘em.”

“Humans are nasty.”, Sunset deadpanned.

“Says da one goin’ through puberty.” Brigid then took a moment to think before speaking again. “What’s pony puberty like?”

“Well, the basics are the same, but other than that, it’s completely different. We start at around ten and are finished when we first go into heat at fifteen.”

“Ya go through heat? Dat must be - unpleasant.”

“Very. Now, I’m no expert on this subject, but it is mainly characterized by accelerated growth and the development of sexual organs. Since we go into heat, we don’t become year round walking, stinking cauldrons of hormones and pheromones, and no, we don’t use cauldrons in our magic. We use more of what you would find in a chemistry set to make potions.”

Brigid smiled in a way Sunset knew to mean “smart ass”. “So, which do ya prefer, periods or heat?”

“Periods”, Sunset answered quickly. “As much of a pain they are, they’re better than being in heat. Periods still such though.”

Brigid nodded sympathetically, and they went over to the changing rooms. Brigid talked to the attendant, and the attendant grabbed a number, unlocked one of the rooms, and placed the number on the door handle. Unlike the first time they came, Brigid didn’t need to accompany Sunset in. That was good for Sunset. She still didn’t have any problem with nudity, just the cold, but dressing in front of others was equivalent to stripping for Equestrians, and Sunset doubted she’d ever get that association out of her head. Although, this would be considered the most vanilla peantana ever.

Sunset first tried on one of the sports bras. It was comfortable, but she wouldn’t want to wear it all the time. Sunset took it off and tried on one of the non-sports bras. It’s design was strange. The clasps to fasten it were in the one spot on her body that Sunset could not easily reach, and she knew this applied to the majority of humans. She tried anyway and was able to fasten it but not without a decent amount of difficulty. As soon as she got it on, she found it uncomfortable. Sunset checked to see if everything fit properly, and it did, and nothing was poking her. It seemed like her body just didn’t like having it on.

Sunset took it off and put her clothes back on. After gathering everything up, Sunset exited the stall as walked over to Brigid.

“Dat was quick.”

“These are uncomfortable.”, Sunset said flatly.

“Ah see. It’s okay if ya don’t want ta wear ‘em.”

“Wait, so you dragged me out a’ bed ta go shopping for something that’s completely optional.”

Brigid shrugged. “It’s optional f’r some n’ not f’r othe’s. We c’n put dose back n’ get ta da rest a’ da shoppin’.”

“I’d like to get some a’ the sports bras. Although, don’t expect me to wear ‘em outside a’ sports.”

“C’n do.” Brigid took the bras from Sunset, placed the sports bra in the cart, and took the others back to the rack. Sunset grabbed some more sports bras and put them in the cart. With that done, they went on with the rest of their shopping.

Katon family home
Date: same day, time: 7:50 am

*Jiraiya’s perspective*

Jiraiya walked into Anzhong’s and Brigid’s house slower than he normally moved. Emi ran up and hugged Jiraiya, and a small dog began sniffing him. Jiraiya was careful when patting Emi’s head. He didn’t want to stain her beanie with whatever still might be on his hands. He had used some wet wipes to clean up a bit, but he still felt like there was still stuff on his hands. Minerva said a quick “hi” and “goodbye” to Jiraiya as she rushed back to her place. As soon as Emi let go of Jiraiya, he went over to the kitchen sink to wash his hands.

Emi looked at him worriedly. “Was it really that bad?”

“A lot of people got hurt. A truck turned over trying to avoid something in the road. It hit a lot of cars and more ran into it. It was bad.”

Emi hugged Jiraiya again, which he returned as soon as his hands were dry. Emi and Jiraiya went over to the couch, where he was properly introduced to Tomiju. She was an excitable one. She danced in place while Jiraiya petted her. Soon, Anura came out of the bathroom and came over and hugged Jiraiya.

“Hey kiddo.”

“What happened? Aunt Brigid said that there was a bad accident.”, Anura asked. Emi shook her head at Anura, and she quickly got the message. “Never mind, sorry.”, Anura quickly said.

“It’s alright. It’s good that you’re curious.”, Jiraiya said in a somewhat somber tone.

“Well, I actually have some questions about Aoi.”

“Shoot”

“Why didn’t she have any family on the family tree or a birth date?”

“Well, that’s actually a bit of a story. She did have a father, but I never met him, and I’m not sure if she’s still alive. And the reason we didn’t have Aoi’s birthday written down is because we can’t have it written down anywhere. She didn’t even remember it by the time I met her, only her birth year.”

“How does someone forget their own birthday?”, Anura asked, confusedly.

“It happens as you get older”, Jiraiya said.

“And Grandma was over five hundred years old.”, Emi added. Anura’s face was a mix of shock and disbelief. It was like we told her that the Earth was really shaped like a giant banana. Jiraiya nodded to back up Emi.

“Aoi was a creature called a kitsune, a fox yokai. I wasn’t even her first human lover, but I was the first to not reject her upon learnin what she was.”

“That’s-that’s impossible.”, Anura said, shocked.

“Says a girl who’s cousins with a magical unicorn turned human from another dimension and me. A tell for if someone’s ancestor is a kitsune is if they have golden eyes. It’s not a guaranteed yes, but if they don’t, they aren’t.”, Emi explained.

Emi and Jiraiya waited for Anura to speak, letting her process everything. “We have got to be the strangest family in the world.”, Anura finally said.

“Ah wouldn’t bet money on that.”, Emi half joked.

Streets of Black Forest neighborhood
Date: same day, time: 9:30 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

For every advantage of being a human, there was a disadvantage. The human ability to get bored quickly did helps to fuel Sunset’s creativity, sometimes in destructive ways, but made shopping trips a nightmare. At least Sunset was allowed to sit in the front seat on the way back. It brought a juvenile joy to Sunset to be treated like a big kid, as stupid as that sounds.

As they turned the corner to the street that they needed to take to access the alley, Sunset noticed something in the bushes of the house across the street from theirs. Sunset only had a few seconds to make sense of it, but it was enough to know it was Rarity. She was wearing camo, but Sunset could see her head moving to track them. She wasn’t sure if Rarity saw Sunset watching her.

They soon pulled into the garage, and they began unpacking the car. Emi and Anura were training Tomiju in the backyard while Grandpa watched. Once Grandpa saw them, he went to the car and started helping to bring in the groceries. Once the groceries were situated, Grandpa left to go back home. He had the look of a man that had seen something really bad. It had long faded, but Sunset had seen that face so many times, it was hard not to see it. It brought back some of her more painful memories, ones she tries hard to forget. Sunset began to think of the old human saying “war is hell”. That couldn’t be more wrong. War is war. Hell is hell. In hell, you know no one down there is innocent. War drags in the innocent.

“Mom, can I have a drink?”, Sunset asked.

“Ah’m guessin’ y’re not askin’ f’r a soda.” Sunset shook her head. “Mango sake?” Sunset nodded. Brigid walked over to the fridge and pulled out the beverage. She then pulled out the sake set, poured some sake in the flask, and put it in the microwave. Once done, Brigid poured two glasses and handed one to Sunset. Sunset stared at the liquid inside as she waited for it to cool. “So, what drudged up dem memories?”

“What?”, Sunset asked. She heard what Brigid asked but didn’t know how she knew.

“Da face y’re makin’ is y’r “deep contemplation” face, n’ considerin’ it only came up afte’ ya saw Jiraiya n’ what happened ta him earlier, Ah’m guessin’ bad memories.”

“You’re not wrong. I’ve seen that kind of face more times than any creature should. A good number of those times were in the mirror, and don’t say anything about therapy. My answer is still “no”.”

Brigid raised her hands up in surrender. “Do ya want ta talk ta me ‘bout it?”, Brigid asked while putting her hands down.

“Not really, I don't really want ta think about it at all.”

“Dat’s understandable but not healthy.”

Sunset took a long sip before answering. “As soon as I become an alicorn, I’m going to focus scientific efforts on creating those “anti-psychotics” you mentioned and massively reform the mental health sector.”

“Ya want ta become an alicorn?”

“After over a thousand years of only being ruled by ‘em, Equestria has grown to associate alicorns with royalty. You can wear a crown, but no one will take you seriously as a ruler if you don’t have wings and a horn.”

“Ah see, like bad teeth.”

That got Sunset to laugh. “Hehe, yeah, something like that.”

“But bein’ an alicorn would make ya, at least a near, immortal. Ya’d out live everyone or, um, pony.”

“Not everypony, dragons are also near immortal creatures. The current dragon lord, their leader, was an ancient dragon back when the pillars a’ harmony were alive, a group that included Starswerl.”

“So, y’r siste’ would also likely be very long lived.” Sunset nodded. “It sounds like ya got plenty a’ reasons ta wanna become an alicorn.”

“That, I do.”

Katon family home
Date: same day, time: 1:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Sunset, Ah’m gonna take da girls ta da park. Do ya wanna come?”, Brigid asked.

“Still hate parks.”, Sunset answered back.

“Okidoki” Brigid left Sunset’s room, and Sunset went back to watching Rarity. She had moved onto walking around their block. Brigid had noticed her, but Sunset convinced her that she was just a kid from school that had a history of being a fruitloop and was harmless.

Every few minutes, Rarity would pass by Sunset’s window. I wonder what’s going through her head. Sunset heard the car start up and saw it drive down the road. A bit later, Sunset heard the sound of the back gate opening. That thing was loud, even by normal human standards. A lot of the entrances around the house were like that. You couldn’t sneak in without sending the whole house on alert.

Sunset slid under her blanket and watched through her back window. Rarity walked up to the back doors and was most likely picking them. Sunset quietly moved from her bed to her door and grabbed her gun box on the way. It took her several minutes, but she got in. Sunset heard Rarity head straight for the stairs. As soon as it sounded like she was up the stairs, Sunset took her gun out and quietly followed Rarity. It was easy to keep quiet when you were only wearing socks.

Rarity was in Emi’s room. Sunset crept closer. She saw Rarity rummaging around Emi’s desk. All Emi had on her desk was her laptop, school work, and various items relating to her inventions. Sunset stood up from her crouching position and raised her gun.

“Wearing shoes inside the house, Rarity? Didn’t your mother teach you any manners?”, Sunset said with as much bravado as she can muster.

Rarity began to reach inside her bag and spun around to meet Sunset, but once she saw what Sunset was carrying, she put her hands up. “Where did you come from?”

“Didn’t you notice the door to your right when you broke in? And I’m surprised you’re not starting to have a panic attack. We are isolated, anyways.”

“It’s a bit weirder than that. Let’s just say I’m too focused on the fact that you have a gun to be panicking.”

“Fair enough. Now then, what were you reaching for in your bag? Don’t try any funny business.”

“Oh, I would never. Funny business was Pinkie’s domain.” Rarity reached into her bag with one hand and pulled out… something.

“What is that?”

“Oh here, I’ll show you.” Before Sunset could order her to stop, Rarity pressed a button on the device, and an ear splitting screech filled the room. It was like the dog whistle but worse. Sunset dropped her gun and covered her ears in a desperate attempt to block out the noise, but she could still hear it. Sunset staggered back and fell to the floor in pain. Rarity ran up, picked up Sunset’s gun, and pointed it at her. Only then did she turn the thing off.

“What in Tartarus is that?!”, Sunset asked, all bravado lost.

“June fifteenth, I overheard you yelling at that darling little girl about her blowing a dog whistle. After that, I just had Micro create a really loud, painful sound recording at thirty-five thousand hertz, that’s the hertz level of a dog whistle.”

“Good ta know.”

“Now, I know you had something to do with the bully bots. Where’s the computer Sunset? A simple laptop can’t run those programs.”

Sunset began to stand up and started laughing. “Hahaha, oh, Rarity, Rarity, I know you’re not going to shoot me.”, Sunset said with regained bravado. “You don’t have the metal.”, Sunset said predatorily. Sunset grabbed Rarity’s hand with the gun and moved it so the gun wasn’t aiming at her then grabbed Rarity’s throat and forced them to the ground. Sunset sat mounted on top of Rarity, and Rarity grabbed at the arm Sunset was choking her with and kicked fruitlessly. Sunset let go of Rarity’s throat, grabbed her free arm, and pinned it down to the floor. Rarity was at Sunset’s mercy, and thoughts of all the things she could do to her crossed her mind. She wasn’t going to do any of those, but she would scare her with them.

Rarity was looking at her with the most pitiful eyes she’d ever seen on a human. They wouldn’t be out of place on a pony. Sunset gave her a predatory grin and then bit her neck. At first, it was just a nibble, but then she pressed a bit harder, not enough to break the skin but enough to make her realize just what kind of situation she’d gotten herself into.

“Sunset, please let me go. I-I won’t tell anyone.”, Rarity pleaded.

“Oh, I will, but not for a while.”, Sunset said in a sultry voice. “None of my family is due to be home for hours, and in that time, I could do whatever I want with you.”

“What do you want?”

“What does any girl with raging hormones want? Although, I might just be willing to let you go, if you promise to do something for me.”

“I don’t believe you’d actually do something like that.”, Rarity said, gaining some confidence in her voice. “Even you’re not that horrible.”

“Oh, am I?” Sunset let go of the hand not holding the gun and groped one of Rarity’s breasts.

“No, you’re not.”, Rarity answered. Rarity took this opportunity to launch an attack and gave Sunset a solid left hook. This gave Rarity the chance to get her leg out and pushed herself up and Sunset off. Sunset was sent sprawling out onto the floor. Both girls quickly stood up and were still holding the gun. Rarity reached into her bag again and pulled out a stun gun. Sunset grabbed the hand with the stun gun. That left Rarity holding both weapons, and Sunset holding both of Rarity’s hands. Sunset spread their arms, forcing the two closer together, and headbutted Rarity right in her forehead. That stunned Rarity, and Sunset was able to deliver several kicks to Rarity’s stomach and solar plexus. Rarity slumped to the floor, and Sunset let her go. Rarity dropped both weapons. Sunset grabbed them, placed her gun on Emi’s bed, and put Rarity’s stun gun back in her bag.

“Now, you’re going to leave, and we’re never going to speak of this again.”, Sunset commanded.

Rarity grabbed her bag and ran back the way she came as fast as she could, which was only slightly faster than a walk. Once she was down the stairs, Sunset walked over to the discarded whistle device. Rarity had a device made that would only affect my family. What a bitch. Sunset retrieved her gun and walked around the property to make sure Rarity was gone. While Sunset was still outside, she grabbed a rock and smashed that infernal device.

Windham Correctional Center
Date: Jun 30th, time: 3:00 pm

*Simon’s perspective*

One of the guards brought Simon to a visiting section where they weren’t separated by glass. Already sitting at the table was Miria. They got these visits once a month, and they were rarely pleasant. Sometimes, he would be relapsing, other times, she would be relapsing, and the remaining times, they would both be relapsing. Simon had brought Anura’s picture with him in hopes that will motivate her to get better, but he has long since learned that he should never get his hopes up. He just wished that they could be there for Anura, even if their relationship and their relationship with their daughter will never be the same again.

Simon took his seat and looked into the dead eyes of what remained of his wife. They both remained cuffed and chained as their visits could get heated.

Miria looked at him with scoren in her eyes. “I see you’re on the wagon.”, Miria spat out.

“Did you know we have a granddaughter?”, Simon asked bluntly.

“Minerva told me.”

“Did she show you her picture?”

“Pff, no.”

Simon pulled the picture out of his jumper pocket and showed it to Miria. Miria looked at it briefly then turned her head. “Cute, and why should I care?”

Simon so badly wanted to strangle her right now but kept his emotions in check. He knew it was the addiction talking, and he wanted to get out of here. “You can stay in here and rot for all I care. I’m going to get out of here and be a grandfather.”, Simon said in an angry whisper.

The two got up from their seats and had their guards take them back to their cells. As they were being led away, Simon glanced back at Miria, and all he saw was a bitter, spiteful woman. He could no longer sense the woman he fell in love with all those years ago.

SHWO ch57 Katon means fire

Streets of Brigid’s neighborhood
Date: July 4th, time: 11:00 am

*Striker’s perspective*

Striker drove around Brigid’s neighborhood, looking for her house. She invited him to her Christmas and Thanksgiving parties, but had never gone. Striker was never one for celebrating the holidays. He still had her messages from back then so had her address. He just couldn’t find the damned place.

After what felt like an eternity in limbo, Striker found the place. He pulled up into what he thought was the driveway, but there was no garage. Striker walked through the gate and up to the door. As soon as he knocked, he was greeted by the sound of a barking dog, and Brigid soon opened the door and picked the dog up.

“Oh, hey Striker. Whatcha doin’ ‘ere?”

“I wanted to talk to you about some things. May I come in?”

“Yeah, jus’ take off y’r shoes n’ let me spray ya down. Me youngest is immunocompromised.”

Striker walked inside, took off his shoes, and Brigid sprayed him down. Striker then went into the main area of the house. As soon as he did so, he saw a girl sitting on the counter, digging into a mango. Striker immediately pegged two things about the girl. One, she had fangs, not just long canines, proper fangs. Second, she was one of the girls Striker identified as possibly being the source of the human/alien DNA, Sunset Shimmer.

“Who are you?”, Sunset asked.

“I am Dr. Thunderstrike.”

“He’s one a’ me colleagues.”, Brigid added.

The girl then spoke in a language Striker didn’t know, and Brigid responded in the same language. It kinda sounded like the language Brigid shouts in when she’s pissed, but Striker wasn’t sure.

“Is there a place where we can talk about this privately?”, Striker asked, turning to Brigid.

“Yeah” Brigid led Striker up the stairs and into a guest room/office. “So, whatcha wanna talk ‘bout?”, Brigid said while taking a seat in the chair. She made a motion for him to take a seat on the bed, but Striker elected to remain standing.

“That DNA you wanted me to test.”

“Ah told ya Ah c’n’t tell ya any‘hin’ ‘bout me subjects.”

“But Brigid, if there’s an alien invasion in the works, we need to let the government know, for the safety of humanity.” To Striker’s utter bewilderment, Brigid was laughing. “This is no laughing matter! There are aliens disguised as humans walking among us!”

“Hehehe, Striker, Striker, dere’s no alien invasion. Da aliens y’re so worried ‘bout are an entire race a’ Canadians.”

“You’re just saying that because that girl downstairs is the source of that DNA.”, Striker said accusatorily. Brigid quickly went from laughing to stone cold. She looked at him like she was daring him to go on, and he did. “I’m betting there are thousands of others like her, just waiting to enact their plan, and I’m going to do my civic duty and report everything to the government.” Just as Striker finished that sentence, the sound of someone running down the hall and down the stairs could be heard.

Brigid went from stone cold serious to burning hot rage, bolted up from her chair, grabbed Striker by the shirt, and slammed him into the wall before Striker could blink. “If ya do any‘hin’ ta endanger me daughte’, ya will not be alive long enough ta regret it!”, Brigid roared with the force of the sun.

Daughter? Before Striker could fully process what she said, he was being marched down the stairs and thrown out the front door, his shoes following him shortly. Brigid watched Striker as he got his shoes on, got into his car, and drove away. Striker drove straight back to his house to gather up every bit of proof he had. As soon as the government offices open tomorrow, I’ll give them everything I have. I’ll be a hero.

Katon family home
Date: same day, time: 11:15 am

*Brigid’s perspective*

As soon as Striker’s car was out of sight, Brigid locked the door and the security door and ran to Sunset’s room. At first, Brigid couldn’t find Sunset, but then she climbed up to her loft and looked under her bed, and there she was. It was impressive how she could squeeze herself into such a tight space. She was huddled as far back as she could go and crying.

“Oh Sunset, come ‘ere baby.” Brigid reached out as far as she could, but she was too big.

Sunset looked at her like a scared rabbit. It broke Brigid’s heart to see her like that. Sunset crawled out from under her bed and practically leaped into Brigid’s arms. “I don’t want to be taken away. I don’t want to be experimented on. I don’t want to be killed and dissected.”, Sunset cried.

“No, no, ya won’t be. Ah would let dat happen.”, Brigid said while rubbing Sunset’s back. Brigid spent the next several minutes comforting Sunset. Brigid had been having a hard time wrapping her brain around the fact that Sunset had the memories of a twenty-six year old but was, in almost all other ways, a normal twelve year old. She knew and went through things a twelve year old just shouldn’t, and Brigid wasn’t sure if her brain was physically capable of processing everything. That part made Brigid seriously worried for Sunset.

Once Sunset was calmed down enough, Brigid left to go check on the girls, who were obliviously playing in the backyard. Once Brigid knew everyone was safe, she went over to Mierva’s house. Like she always is around this time, Minerva was in her basement office.

“Hey Minerva, c’n ya watch da girls while Ah go run a few errands?”

“Yeah, but what kinds of errands are you running?”

Brigid looked around before answering Minerva. “Is dere any‘hin’ recordin’ in ‘ere?”

“No, why?”

“A couple a’ months ago, Ah asked one a’ me colleagues to test Anzhong’s, Sunset’s, n’ me DNA. It turns out dat da portal transformers ya down ta da genetic level but not completely. Sunset still has some alien DNA, n’ me colleague believes dat Sunset is da precursor ta an invasion. Ah only have tanight ta destroy da evidence.”

“How do you plan on doing it?”

“His house is an arsonist's wet dream.”

“Are you sure he only has his research in his house? You said he works at the university.”

Brigid shook her head. “He’s paranoid. He’d wanna keep every‘hin’ close ta him.”

Minerva got up from her chair and began gathering some things. “Okay, make a list of everything you need and give it to me. Sunset needs you right now.”, Minerva said while putting on her jacket.

“Minerva”

Minerva put a hand up to stop her. “Brigid, I got some birthday shopping to do. I can’t watch the girls right now.”

Brigid smiled once she realized what Minerva was doing. Brigid wrote down everything on a piece of paper and handed it to Minerva. Minerva went straight to her car, and Brigid went home.

As soon as Brigid got home, she went to check on Sunset. Once again, Sunset was hiding under her bed. Brigid went out to the kitchen and a bowl of mango chunks, strawberries, and banana slices. Brigid then got out the pizza stone, some premade pizza crust, marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, and pineapple. While making the pizza, Brigid made one half plain pepperoni and the other half Hawaiian style. Brigid was never much of a fan of pineapple on pizza but could get why Sunset liked it. Sunset always described it as juicy and sweet and savory, like dipping your chips (French fries) in your milkshake, which Sunset also liked. Once the pizza was in the oven and the timer was set, Brigid brought the bowl of fruit to Sunset.

“Sunset, Ah have some‘hin’ for you.”, Brigid said in her most comforting voice. Brigid placed the bowl on the floor of the loft which resulted in Sunset quickly snatching the bowl away. Brigid laid down on the floor and lifted the skirt of the bed up to see Sunset. Sunset was happily munching away at her bowl of fruits. As soon as she saw her, Sunset gave Brigid a small smile.

“Hey, can ya come out ‘ere?”

“Can I just stay down here?”

“Of course, but Ah do have pizza in da oven, so ya’ll need ta come out when it’s ready.”

“Okay, but what are we going to do about Dr. Thunderstrike?”

“Ah have a plan, n’ we won’t have ta do any‘hin’ ‘bout Striker, jus’ his evidence. Everyone will jus’ think he’s crazy without it.”

“Are ya sure?”

“Ya know how we’re able ta talk about Equestrian stuff openly?” Sunset nodded. “It’s da same sorta thing. People tend ta write off what they c’n’t explain. It’s probably da only way most people c’n keep deir sanity.”

“So, that’s why Dr. Thunderstrike is going nuts.”

“Yeah, some‘hin’ like dat. Now, come on. Da pizza should be ready soon.”

Sunset crawled out from under the bed with the now empty bowl and followed Brigid down the stairs. “It’s interesting how food can make humans feel better.”, Sunset noted.

“It’s because a’ a powerful painkiller dat’s naturally found in our saliva called opiorphin, n’ it’s better absorbed inta da body with food. Dat’s why comfort eatin’ is a thing, n’ why humans suck on deir wounds.”

“So humans have pseudo-venomous saliva that only the human that created it is immune to, naturally produce a potent painkiller, and the ability to mimic sounds. You have a lot of abilities packed into such a small space.”

“Hmhm, dat is true.”

Canterlot Mall
Date: same day, time: 12:15 pm

*Minerva’s perspective*

Minerva meandered through Canterlot’s mall. She had already picked up party supplies for Anura’s birthday and was now heading into a clothing store. Minerva picked up some dark blue jeans, black and dark blue hoodies, black boots, and headbands and beanies. Minerva also grabbed some other articles of clothing to make her other items less suspicious.

As Minerva was walking to check out, she noticed a rack of faux leather jacks. Minerva looked some of them over. There were some that looked like they would fit Sunset and a few sizes up. Minerva knew Brigid was planning on getting Sunset a guitar and thought that she could get something to complete the look. Minerva picked out a jacket that was a size up from what Sunset currently wore so she could grow into it. The jacket was black and had studs lining the collar.

With a basket full of clothes, Minerva got in line at the check out. I should probably move my wheelchair up to the ground floor for a few weeks.

Minerva’s basement
Date: same day, time: 12:45 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

“No, y’re not comin’.”

“I am to coming, and you can’t stop me.”

“Da girls don’t need ta lose both a’ us if dis goes wrong.”

“The chances of this going wrong decreases with both of us going. Think about it. We need to find his computer and phone, grab them, then torch the place. Plus, the police will be looking for two able body people. It’s going to be much harder to connect it to us when one of us is disabled or at least it will make them feel bad about it.”

“Dat’s why ya moved y’r wheelchair to y’r livin’ room.”

“Exactly. Now, how do you want to do this? I vote that we don’t try to hide that it’s arson because arson investigation tends to look for signs of arson instead of looking to see if it’s arson.”

“Ah agree. Ah have some rubbing alcohol ta use as an accelerant.”

“How much rubbing alcohol do you keep around? I swear you have more than the base.”

“Anzhong uses da stuff ta clean da bathrooms ta with in an inch a’ deir lives, n’ ya’ve seen how often we manage ta hurt ourselves.”

“Okay then, what’s our alibi?”

“Ya n’ Anura stayed at our place ta watch da CHS fireworks. Me husband n’ Ah engaged in intercourse da night a’ said incident.”

“That sounds good. Now, for the act itself. We should walk there or our car will be picked up by cameras. I have reflective tape so we’re safe. That will take us a couple of hours, but that might work in our favor. Once we get there, I’ll find the computer and phone; you torch the place. We’ll throw the computer into the ocean tomorrow.”

“Ya’ve really thought about dis.”

“There’s no way I’ll ever let anyone hurt any of you.”

Katon family home
Date: same day, time: 11:00 pm

*Minerva’s perspective*

Brigid and Minerva worked to get ready for their mission. They had briefed everyone one what they were to say to the cops when they inevitably were questioned. They had told them as little as possible about the mission to keep the risk of the truth getting out as little as possible. They had both put their hair up in buns, and Brigid wore a beanie to conceal as much of her hair as possible. They wore brightly colored shirts underneath in case they needed to quickly change their profiles. They both wore dark jeans, hoodies, boots, backpacks, and bandanas. They would wear the hoodies around their waists and the bandanas around their necks until they got close to Striker’s house.

Once they were all suited up, they began their two hour walk to Striker’s. Minerva kept an eye out for cameras as they walked. Once they got to Striker’s neighborhood, they pulled their bandanas up and put their hoodies on. Brigid led them to Striker’s house. They jumped the back fence, and Brigid picked the lock. From what Brigid remembered from the last time she was here, Striker doesn’t have a security system. That proved to be true as no alarms ever went off. Brigid went straight to work covering everything in alcohol, and Minerva went looking for his computer and phone. The place was really small and filled with papers. There was only one bedroom and bathroom and everything else was one big room. Minerva crept into his bedroom. He was sleeping soundly, his phone was on his nightstand, and his computer was on the lower shelf of the nightstand. Minerva grabbed both, crept out into the main area, and signaled to Brigid that she got them. Brigid began pouring a trail back to the back door. As soon as they were outside, Brigid took a lighter from her pocket and lit the trail while Minerva packed the computer and phone into her bag. The fire spread to the papers in a matter of seconds. With their jobs done, they booked it out of there as quickly as Minerva’s prosthetics would allow.

Once they were a far bit away from Striker’s neighborhood, they ducked into a back alley and took a moment to catch their breath. Brigid took the bottles out of her bag and threw them into the dumpster, and then they both took off and stuffed into their bags anything that might raise suspicions.

“That was intense.”, Minerva said. Her heart was pounding in her ears. “Brigid, you okay?”

Brigid had a face on that made Minerva think that she was regretting not murdering Striker. “He had yearbooks. Yearbooks from every middle school in n’ around da city. Yearbooks with little girls’ names highlighted, including Sunset’s!”, Brigid said in escalating volume.

“Shoosh, shoosh, we need ta be quiet, but damn, that’s creepy.”

Brigid covered her face and leaned against the wall for support. She was… crying. Minvera hadn’t seen Brigid cry since she lost her fertility. Minerva went over and hugged the crying woman. Brigid hugged her back with one of her spine crushing hugs. “Ah put her in so much dange’. Ah failed ‘er.”, Brigid said between sobs. Minerva could say nothing, partially because of the blaring sounds of emergency vehicles rushing by, but mainly because Minerva started crying herself. The realization of how easily they could mess up and put the girls in danger hit her like a wave. The two remained in the alley until they could compose themselves. They made their way back home as quickly as they could. They both just wanted to sleep. Just like on their way there, Minerva watched for cameras all the way.

Once they were back, Brigid took Minerva’s bag and hid it in the basement. Minerva walked upstairs to her room. Once in her room, Minerva stashed her boots in the back of the closet, put her phone on the nightstand, and then flopped onto the bed without even taking her legs off.

The next thing Minerva knew, it was morning. She hadn’t even gotten under the covers last night. Minerva looked over to the clock, and it said that it was past eleven. Shit. Minerva jumped out of bed and bolted to Emi’s room. Emi and Anura were both in there which calmed Minerva.

“Hey girls, do you know where Brigid is?”

“Mom’s asleep.”, Emi answered. “She drove Dad to work then went back to bed as soon as she got back.”

“Okay, that’s good.”, Minerva said with a yawn. She was tempted to wake Brigid up and ask her if she took care of the stuff but decided against it. She also decided against going to check if they were still in the basement. Brigid and Anzhong built all kinds of hiding spots into the walls and floors, and Minerva didn’t know where most of them were. Instead, Minerva decided just to go back to her room. Minerva flopped back onto the bed and pulled out her phone. Minerva checked to see if there was any news about what they did but couldn’t find anything. Not surprising. It’s only been ten hours.

Another hour passed before Minerva heard Brigid get up. Minerva hopped up and met Brigid outside her room.

“Hey, did you take care of the stuff?”

“Na, Ah actually wanted ya ta take a look at it first.” Minerva followed Brigid down to the basement, and Brigid pulled the bag out from a cubby under the table. Brigid put the bag on the table and pulled out the computer. “Ah want ya ta hack in n’ delete every‘hin’ from his cloud or whateve’ it’s called.”

“Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. You can’t ever truly delete something if it’s in the cloud. There are copies upon copies all over the place, and if you know what you’re doing, you can find one of the copies and retrieve the information.”

“Den what do we do?”

“You said he was paranoid enough to not keep anything important anywhere other than his personal computer. That most likely means that he didn’t upload anything to the cloud.”

“Ah really hope y’re right.”

“I do too. Now, we need to toss those things into the ocean. That will destroy the hard drive and insure they’re never found.”

“Alright, Ah’ll do dat when Ah go ta pick up Anzhong.”

“Do you think he survived?”

“Ah honestly hope not.”

Canterlot Hospital
Date: July 5th, time: 1:30 am

*Jiraiya’s perspective*

Jiraiya hates night shifts. Not because he doesn’t like staying up late, he’s actually somewhat nocturnal himself, but because the crazy stuff always happens at night, and it seemingly gets worse the closer it gets to a full moon. Unfortunately, tonight’s a full moon, and the pattern continues with a fire victim, screaming about how all his proof was destroyed, being brought into the ER.

“What is he talking about?”, Jiraiya asked one of the paramedics.

“He says that he had proof that aliens were planning an invasion, and it was all burned in the fire.”

“Sir, sir, we need you to stop screaming. You inhaled a lot of smoke. You need to let your lungs and throat rest.”, Nurse Joy said.

“No, I will not stop! The aliens are here, and they’re going to take over the Earth!”

“Joy, please go get something to sedate him.”, Jiraiya ordered. Nurse Joy nodded then walked away. Until she got back, Jiraiya was going to try talking to the man. That might at least get him to stop screaming. “Sir, what do you mean by aliens?”

“I only know of one, but there has to be others. She’s a little girl, and she’s part alien.” He was talking normally now. That was good.

“What makes you believe that she’s an alien?”

“Her mother asked me to do some DNA testing on her. As I was doing that, I noticed some genes that do not belong to humans or anything else on Earth. They would have given her greatly enhanced senses, including night vision and bioluminescent eyes, and fangs.”

That caused Jiraiya’s hackles to rise. He knew exactly who he was talking about. That also let Jiraiya know what caused the fire, or more precisely, who.

Nurse Joy came back with the sedatives soon after and began administering it to the patient. The patient began to protect, saying that the aliens were trying to silence him, but Joy was able to administer the sedatives.

“Thank you, Joy. You’re one of a kind.”

“You got that right.”, the tan woman smugly replied.

Canterlot Hospital
Date: same day?, time: day time

*Striker’s perspective*

Striker woke up with a groan. The last thing he remembered was talking to an elderly Asian doctor. Striker tried to move but found himself restrained. “Hey! Is there anyone out there?!”, Striker called out. Soon, a nurse came in. “Why the hell am I restrained?! What’s going on?!”

“Sir, please calm down. This is for everyone’s safety. Once we’re sure that you’re not a threat to anyone, we’ll untie you.”

Striker slammed his head on his pillow with a huff. “Fine”

“Thank you. Dr. Katon will be in to see you shortly.”

“Brigid’s here?” Wait a minute. The fire happened after I told her I was taking the evidence to the authorities. Brigid set the fire!

“I don’t know any Brigid. His name is Dr. Jiraiya Katon.”

“Okay, thank you.”

The nurse left, and Striker spent the next several minutes fiddling around with the remote that somebody was kind enough to put where he could reach it. The doctor that came to meet Striker was the same one who he talked to last night.

“Dr. Jiraiya Katon, I presume.”

“You presume correctly. Now then, to get straight to the point, you have burns on your hands and legs, and you’ve also sustained smoke inhalation damage. The latter will clear up with some rest, so will your hands, but you will need skin grafts for your legs, but overall, you got out quite lucky.”

“I see. Say, are you by any way related to a woman named Brigid Katon?”

Dr. Katon closed the door to Striker’s room and then the curtains before answering. “Brigid is my daughter-in-law, and Sunset is my granddaughter. Brigid has called me and told me about you threatening her. I don’t care what you believe about her. I will not allow you to put my granddaughter in danger. Once your wounds are treated, you will be moved to a more appropriate facility to treat your mental disorders.”, Dr. Jiraiya said coldly.

“What?! You can’t do this to me! The aliens are coming, and your granddaughter is a spy for them!” Striker continued to scream and shout, trying to get anyone to hear him. Dr. Katon came closer and began injecting something into Strikers IV. “No! No! You can’t do thaaa-”

Canterlot Hospital
Date: same day, time: 8:00 am

*Jiraiya’s perspective*

Striker hit his pillow with a thud. Jiraiya quickly made notes in the patient’s charts and left the room. With the last of his rounds done, Jiraiya put his lab coat back and made his way back to his car. On his way there, Jiraiya noticed some cops talking to one of the desk nurses. His interest was peaked when one of them asked about the alien screaming lunatic. They were asking if they could talk with him. Wanting to save the nurses the trouble, Jiraiya answered them.

“He’s actually not. I had to give him another dose of sedatives as he began screaming again. We really can’t have him screaming in his condition.”

“Who are you?”, one of the officers asked.

“Doctor Jiraiya Katon, I work in the burn ward.”

“Okay, do you have any idea of when he’ll wake up?”

“It will not likely be for several hours. You can ask one of the nurses to give you a call when he does.”

“Okay, thank you, Doctor.”

Jiraiya exited out to the hospital parking lot. It was a cloudy morning but would clear up by noon. Once Jiraiya got into his car, he checked the back seat and footwell for any potential anyones. It was a habit he developed after leaving his doors unlocked when he went inside a gas station. He was just lucky enough to have noticed the man get into the car. Now, he planned on drilling that habit into the girls when they get old enough to drive. Immediately after, Jiraiya shot off a text to the rest of the family, explaining what happened. He soon got a reply from Anzhong.

Thank you for letting us know. Brigid, Minerva, and Sunset are all unlikely to get this for a while.

With that done, Jiraiya began his drive to his apartment. The drive back to his apartment was normally just twenty minutes, but the morning rush turned it into a forty-ish drive. Jiraiya’s apartment building wasn’t much to talk about, but it did have a buzzer system so that, unless you had a key, you had to be buzzed in. Jiraiya lived on the fourth floor, and the apartment itself was rather small. It could almost be called a loft, but there was a clear distinction between his room and the rest of the apartment.

Before Jiraiya could change out of his work clothes and make himself some breakfast, someone buzzed for him. “Hello?”

“Hi, Jiraiya.”

“What do you want, Jade?”

“I think I left one of my towels in your apartment. Can you let me in?”

“I recommend that you go see a doctor about your apparent onset of dementia.”

“You’re a doctor.”, Jade said in a sultry voice.

“Jade!”, Jiraiya growled angrily.

“Jiraiya, please?”

Jiraiya buzzed her in and unlocked his door. Jade was in the apartment within a minute. She was of Chinese descent and in her mid fifties. Her green hair was graying, and she had bright pink eyes. She was attractive for a woman her age, but unfortunately, her friendly personality was as skin deep as her looks.

“Now, grab your towel and leave.”

“Actually, I didn’t forget my towel. I just wanted to see you.”

Jade tried to wrap her arms around Jiraiya, but he pushed her back.

“And this is why I broke up with you. Now, leave.”

“Oh, you’re just hung up on Aoi. Give me a chance.”

“I gave you a chance. I gave you multiple, but each time, you proved just how manipulative you really are, and you’re doing it right now.”

“Oh, come o-”

“Out, Jade.”, Jiraiya commanded.

Jade began crying and ran out of Jiraiya’s apartment. Jiraiya locked his door and resumed his morning routine. He knew he would catch flak from his nosier neighbors about being cruel to that woman, but he couldn’t give a rat’s ass about it any more. He was just embarrassed that it took him a full year to boot her out.

Jiraiya flopped into bed and prayed to every Kami even remotely related to sleep that the cops don’t bring him into questioning until after he gets a full 8 hours.

Seaview road
Date: same day, time: 4:00 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid looked over the cliff and down to the crashing waters below. The place was beautiful, if not an acrophob’s worst nightmare. Brigid couldn’t say what the exact height was, but she could say that you wouldn’t survive. Despite the stunning view, this stretch of Seaview was rather desolate. This made it perfect for what Brigid was there to do.

In her arms, she held Striker’s computer and phone. Hopefully, the last remaining shreds of evidence to Sunset’s other worldly nature. Brigid pulled back and flung both into the water. They hit the jagged rocks, broke into a dozen pieces, then were swept away.

Brigid stepped back into her car and drove off. She still had about an hour to kill before she needed to pick up Anzhong. She decided that she would take care of dinner this time and drove to a fish and chips place down the road. It was a small mum and pop’s place, but they were good. They also sold milkshakes and other fried seafood items. Brigid nicknamed the place “heart attack” because absolutely nothing they sold was healthy. Either way, Brigid needed some comfort food.

Brigid pulled up to Seaview Seafood, got out of her car, and placed her order. Once the order was placed, Brigid went back into her car. Despite it being summer, the ocean air was cold. While she waited for her order, Brigid looked over the view of the ocean. The events of the last couple of days have been an emotional roller coaster. She was betrayed by someone she trusted, Sunset was put in danger, and she had to burn down his house. Brigid just hopes that was everything.

Canterlot Hospital
Date: same day, time: 5:00 pm

*Intel’s perspective*

Det. Intel Harvest stood watching as her partner, Det. Spark Plug, questioned Dr. Thunderstrike. Intel excelled in reading body language and picking up on small details, or at least, that’s how she explains it to anyone who asks her to explain. In reality, it was a feeling she would get. Maybe it was her subconscious picking up on these things, but that couldn’t explain everything. It took her a while to learn to trust her gut instincts, but now, it is the most powerful tool in her arsenal.

Spark was asking Dr. Thunderstrike about the fire. As soon as they got there, Dr. Thunderstrike immediately began accusing one Dr. Brigid Katon of setting the fire. He said that he had proof that her daughter was a threat to global security and she burned his house down to get rid of it. As crazy as it sounded, he was right about it being arson, and it was the only lead they had. Intel made a note to have uniforms bring them in and look for a computer in the house. He also told them that another Dr. Katon worked here, the grandfather. Intel made another note to have him brought in too. Spark asked Dr. Thunderstrike about what he remembered from that night.

“I was asleep by the time it started. I remember smelling smoke and hearing the fire alarm. Oh, and the back door was wide open. As I ran outside, my pants caught fire, and I had to roll on the ground and beat it out with my hands. After that, I ran to my neighbor’s house to get help.”

“Did you notice any suspicious characters hanging around the area?”, Spark asked.

“No, but I wasn’t exactly looking.”

“Understandable. Now, you said that a woman named Dr. Brigid Katon burned your house down because her daughter was a threat to global security. What kind of threat, and what makes you think she’s capable of doing that?”

“To answer your second question, look up the Mac Carthaigh clan massacre. Brigid was the only surviving member, and she once almost came to blows with a guard that turned out to be Platinum Wood, the taxidermy killer, because he scared her daughter. When I told her my suspicions, she, quite literally, threw me out of her house. I’m no psychologist, but it’s clear what has happened to her has made her extremely protective of her daughters. Most of my evidence was on my computer. Hopefully, the hard drive is still intact.”

“Okay, we’ll look into this.”

Intel finished her notes, and she and Sparks left Dr. Thunderstike’s room.

“So, whatcha get from the guy?”, Spark asked.

“He believes he’s telling the truth, but you heard what I did. I’ll have some unies bring the Katon family in tomorrow and look for the computer. You look for video surveillance.”

“You just like sticking me with the boring work, don’t ya?”

Katon family home
Date: July 6th, time: 8:00 am

*Brigid’s perspective*

“Sunset, you sound like a bag a’ popcorn.”, Emi proclaimed.

“I do not.”, Sunset said indignantly.

“Yes, you do. With all that popping and cracking your body does, Ah’m surprised you c’n sneak up on any one.”

“And yet, I’m better at stealth than you.”

“That’s as surprising to me as it is to you. On top of the popping, your eyes glow, and the gold in your hair is practically reflective and the rest of it is bright red. Oh, and on top of all that, you’re fat.”

“What?! I am not fat. I’m thicc, and this stuff means I can take more hits and I’m better at turning sisters into tomato paste.”

“Aaaahhhhh”, Emi screamed as Sunset started chasing her, followed by a barking Tomiju. While all this was going on, Brigid sat, drinking her coffee, and Anura wore headphones to drown out the noise.

Suddenly, Sunset and Emi came to a screeching halt, causing Tomiju to crash into them, and all the girls looked towards the front yard. Taking the cue, Brigid looked outside as well. At first, nothing was there, but soon, a police car came rolling up. In order not to tip her hand, Brigid mentally prepared herself to keep her snark in check. Once the officers knocked on the door, Brigid answered it. Into two officers were both Caucasian males. One was gangly and had blue hair and blue eyes. The other was rather muscular and had gray eyes and blond hair.

“C’n Ah help ya office’s?”

“Would you and your family please come down to the stations to answer some questions?”, the blond officer asked.

“Concernin’ what?”

“We are not at liberty to say.”, the blue-haired one said.

“Alright, let me jus’ take me niece back ta me siste’s house.”

“Does your sister live nearby?”, the blue-haired officer asked. Brigid pointed to Minerva’s house. “Ah, okay.”

Brigid closed the door behind her, and the girls had already gotten Anzhong, their stuff together, and Tomiju in her kennel. Anzhong took Anura back over to Minerva’s while Brigid got Sunset and Emi into the car and brought the car around. Once Anura was in her house, Anzhong, Ki, and Kiba hopped in the car, and the Katons and the cops drove to the station.

Canterville police station #4
Date: same day, time: 8:15 am

*Intel’s perspective*

“Hello, Mr. Katon. I am Det. Plug, and this is Det. Harvest. Where were you on July fourth from one am to two am?”

“Having intercourse with my wife.”

The suddenness and directness of his answer caused Spark to choke on his own saliva. “Chm, chm, okay um, what do you know about one Dr. Thunderstrike?”

“I know he works at the university as a genetics researcher, my wife asked him to test our oldest daughter’s DNA, and he recently threatened to report my daughter to the government for being an alien.”

“Excuse me, what do you mean by alien? Do you mean illegal immigrant?”

“No, I mean little green men. As a matter of fact, it was the fourth when he came to our home and began screaming that Sunset was the prelude to an invasion.”

Intel was thankful that Mr. Katon couldn’t see, with the way she and Spark looked at each other.

“Okay then, that will be all for now.”, Spark said. Intel escorted Mr. Katon out and signaled for the next one to come in. Dr. Brigid Katon was the next to come in, and let’s just say that Det. Intel now knows how she was able to literally throw Dr. Thunderstrike out.

“Hello, Dr. Katon. I am Det. Plug, and this is Det. Harvest. Where were you on July fourth from one am to two am?”

“Ah was havin’ intercourse with me husband. Ah c’n go inta detail if ya want?”

“No, no, that would not be necessary.”, Spark said quickly. Intel held her notepad over her face to cover her blush. “Now then, what do you know about Dr. Thunderstrike?”

“Let’s see, we both work in da Canterlot college science building, he tends ta hoard scientific papers n’ books ta da point dere was no place ta sit, his family is Jewish, but he’s an atheist-”

“I’m sorry Doctor. I was hoping you could narrow it down to more recent events.”

“Ya want ta know if Ah set da fire.”

“How did you know about the fire?”

“Me fathe’-in-law works in da burn unit. Now, Ah’m guessin’ me husband already told ya ‘bout his alien ramblings n’ him threatening me daughte’. Ta make it short, Ah asked him ta test me daughte’s DNA. We wanted ta know ‘er ethnicities. Somehow, he got it inta his head dat me daughte’ is an alien ‘ere ta take ove’ da world. If ya wanna ask any more questions ‘bout da DNA or da results, y’ll have ta ask Sunset. Now, me daughte’ is human n’ why would Ah need ta destroy his “evidence” f’r some‘hin’ so ridiculous?”

“I guess you wouldn’t. Dr. Thunderstrike mentioned that you were the only surviving member of an event known as the McCarthy clan massacre. What can you tell me about that?”

“F’r starters, ya spelt da name wrong. It’s M A C space C A R TH A I GH. Da event itself was when me fathe’s family murdered me mum’s family. Ah watched me brothe’ get his brains blown out by me uncle, n’ Ah had ta kill me uncle.”

Intel couldn’t see Spark’s face, but if she had to guess, it was not much different from her own terrified and shocked expression. “Th-that must have been very traumatic. I think that’s all, Doctor.” Dr. Katon got up and exited the interview room. The next one to enter was a little girl with red and gold hair escorted by a lawyer. The girl immediately seemed off to Intel. She sat too straight and looked too calm. She honestly looked like a soldier at attention.

“Hello sweetie, I’m Det. Plug, and this is Det. Harvest. What’s your name?”, Spark asked in a sweet tone.

“Sunset Shimmer, the alien.” Her tone was even and cold.

“You have a different last name?”, Spark asked in his normal tone.

“I’m adopted. I opted to keep my name.”

“And before we get started, I want to make clear that my client is here as a courtesy and is under no obligation to answer any questions.”

“And you are?”

“Buck Withers”

“Okay then, now, Ms. Shimmer, where were you on July fourth from one am to two am?”

“I don’t wanna talk to you. I want to talk to her.”, Sunset said while pointing to Intel. When she looked at Intel, it was like she was looking right through her. Like she knew everything about her in an instant.

“Me?” Sunset nodded. “Okay” Intel took the seat next to Spark. “Ms. Shimmer, where were you on July fourth from one am to two am?”

“Playing video games”

“What were you doing up so late?”, Intel asked confusedly.

“I’m nocturnal, and it’s summer vacation.”

“Okay, did you see either of your parents leave that night?”

“Property or house?”

“Sunset, don’t be a smart ass.”, Mr. Withers said.

“It’s a ligament question.”, Sunset protested in that same cold tone.

“The property”, Intel clarified.

“No”

“Did you notice anything out of the ordinary?”

“No”

“Your parents both mentioned that they had your DNA tested. Would you mind telling us what those results were?”

“Japanese, Roman, Greek, and British isles mix, mainly Scottish.”

“Do you believe your parents are capable of committing a crime like arson or murder if it meant protecting you?”

“Don’t answer that.”, Mr. Withers interjected.

“If you ask me, I’d say that idiot burned down his own house. My mother told me about how many paper articles and books he had everywhere when she visited him in the past. Now that sounds like a fire waiting to happen, and he’s so paranoid that he thinks we did it.”

“How much of the situation are you aware of?”

“I was right outside the door when he made those threats to my mother. I got my grandfather’s text telling us what happened. I know everything.”

“I see. Have you ever been in a police interview before?”

“Don’t-”, Mr. Withers tried to say.

“I know what I’m doing.”, Sunset interrupted. The coldness in her voice even surprised Mr. Withers. “Yes, I have. I was there to identify the taxidermy killer. I was witness to his first murder.”

That shocked Intel and Spark, but they both kept their professional masks on. “That’s all for now.”, Spark said.

Intel got up to let Sunset out and let in the younger sister. Mr. Withers stayed.

“Hello sweetie, I’m Det. Plug, and this is Det. Harvest. What’s your name?”, Spark asked in that sweet tone again.

“Emi Katon”, she said to Spark. “Hey, you’re like me.”, she said to Intel.

“Excuse me?”

“You’re excused.”

“No, I mean, what do you mean by I’m like you?”

“Psychic”

“Can we get on with the interview?”, Spark asked.

“Okay”, Emi said in a joyful tone. Her tone was much more like what Intel expected from a kid, if not exact. This made Intel even more curious about Sunset’s behavior.

“What were you doing on July fourth from one am to two am?”

“I was asleep. Although, I might have gone to the bathroom during that time, but I wasn’t exactly looking at the clock. You can run my alibi by my cousin, Anura. She can be woken up by a fart and is a crap liar.”

“I don’t think that will be necessary. Did you notice anything strange that night?”

“Oh yeah, there was a ghost in our house.”

“A ghost?”

“Yeah, it was in my parents room. I only heard it as I was going to the bathroom, but there was all kinds of moaning and groaning coming from my parents room.”

Every adult in the room had to stifle their laughter. “Okay, that’s all for now.”, Spark said.

Intel led Emi and Mr. Withers out and let in the last interviewee, Dr. Jiraiya Katon.

“So Dr. Katon, where were you on July fourth from one am to two am?”

“At work, I work in the burn unit in Canterlot hospital, yawn. Sorry, I just got off shift, and this is normally when I go to bed. I received Dr. Thunderstrike as a patient at around one thirty in the morning. When I got him, he was screaming about all his evidence being destroyed and alien invitations. We had to sedate him so we could treat him. Over a couple dozen nurses, janitors, other doctors, and patients can attest that I, nor my car, left the hospital between twelve to eight.”

“What did you do after you left the hospital?”

“I texted my family about who came in and then went straight home.”

“Can you show me the texts?”

“I’m afraid that you would need a warrant for that.”

“Why? If you don’t have anything to hide, it won’t be a problem to let us see it.”

Dr. Katon gave Spark a glare that could melt him. “I am a man of color and an immigrant to this country, and police like to make a mountain out of a molehill. You could take something I said out of context and use it to incriminate me. Your mother should be ashamed that her son is using such deceitful tactics as an officer of the law. Are we done here?”

“No, not quite. Do you believe that your son or daughter-in-law are capable of arson?”

“Anyone can burn down a house.”

“Do you believe they set fire to Dr. Thunderstike’s house?”

“No”

“Do you know where your son was last night?”

“Although I am his father, I have long since stopped being apprised of where he is every hour of every day.”

“Okay, that’s all… for now.”

Intel escorted Dr. Katon out, and she and Spark went over to their desks.

“So, what do you think?”, Spark asked.

“Mr. and Dr. Katon are definitely lying that they were having sex, and so was Emi. They also seemed to be avoiding certain questions. Like when Dr. Brigid Katon said “why would I need to destroy his “evidence” for something so ridiculous”, she never said “no”.”

“True, but that would hinge on the older daughter being an alien.”

“The way Sunset was acting, it wouldn’t be surprising.”

“What do you mean?”

“Have you ever seen a soldier at attention? She was acting like that instead of a kid.”

“That is strange.”

“Dr. Thunderstrike’s sudden decline into madness is also strange. From my interviews with his family and other colleagues, they said he had no prior mental health concerns, other than being a borderline hoarder. What kind of accelerant did you say was used?”

“Rubbing alcohol, not exactly hard to get.”

“Wait, Emi said that her cousin was staying with her.”

“Didn’t the unies say that their niece was with them when they went to pick them up? I’ll go ask them about it, and we might be able to talk to the aunt.”

“Sounds good”

The aunt’s house
Date: same day, time: 9:30 am

*Intel’s perspective*

“They live right across the street from each other. Why not just move in together?”

“Spark, there is a big difference between living together and living near each other.”

“Says the woman whose entire family lives on the same block.”

“It takes a village.”, Intel said while shrugging her shoulders.

“Let’s just go up there.”

Spark and Intel exited the car and walked up the walkway. It was a nice yard, if a bit unkempt. In addition to the step, there was a ramp leading to the porch. Soon after Spark rang the doorbell, a white woman with black and purple hair and green eyes opened the door.

“Can I help you with something?”

“Hello, I’m Det. Plug, and this is Det. Harvest. We would like to ask you a few questions Ms?”

“Minerva Reads. Please, come right on in.”

The house was a bit small. There was a greeting area then the kitchen and dining room to your immediate right and stairs going down past a closet and to the left. The kitchen had an archway leading to the greeting area and the dining room had an archway leading to the living room. There was a straight path from the greeting area to the living room. Once in the living room, you could see a hallway leading to some rooms. The house had some pictures, clay art, and hanging plants scattered about. Minerva led them to the living room and motioned for them to sit down. Harvest’s eye was immediately caught by the folded up wheelchair in the corner.

“If you’re wondering whose that is, it’s mine.”, Minerva said.

“You seemed to be walking just fine.”, Spark commented.

“On some days, I can, on some days, I can’t, and on some days, I just don’t have legs.” Minerva put one of her feet on the coffee table and lifted up her pant leg, revealing it to be prosthetic. Spark and Intel were both left speechless. “I lost them while clearing out a minefield. I ended up stepping on one. I was told that I was sent flying and ended up landing on my head. I still can’t remember the six months preceding that. I had to learn that my legs were gone and relearn that a good chunk of my platoon was dead on the same day. Hell, I thought that I lost my legs in the explosion that killed my platoon.”

“That is… very sad to have happened to you. Where were you on July fourth from one am to two pm?”

“I was staying over at my sister’s house, the one right across the street. We watched the fireworks then went inside to go to bed.”

“So, you were there all night?” Minerva nodded her head. “Did you see your sister or brother-in-law leave after you went inside?” Minerva shook her head. “Okay, um, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but you look absolutely nothing like your sister. Was she adopted into your family after her family was killed?”

“It was the reverse actually. There are absolutely no legal documents anywhere that state we are sisters. We’re surrogate sisters. After I came back, I was really messed up, and my parents are drug addicts, and I had no other family. Brigid and I met in college, but we didn’t become close until after I came back. Brigid was the only person to help me, and she brought me into her new family. Now, I have a new father, sister, brother, two wonderful nieces, and my own daughter.”

“I take that to mean that you are very protective of your family. What would you do if someone threatened them?”

“I did not set the fire, and I know that’s what you were saying because I also received Jiraiya’s text.”

“May I see the text?”

“No, and don’t try the “if you don’t got anything to hide” stik. I ain’t new to this.”

“Okay then, may I speak with your daughter?”

“She was long asleep by one am. You won’t get anything out of her you don’t already know.”

“Still”

“Uhg, Anura, can you come out here?”, Minerva called. A little girl that looked almost like Minerva came out of a room and down the hall. She immediately stiffened up upon seeing Spark and Intel. “Anura, these are Det. Harvest and Det. Plug. They want to ask you some questions.”

“Okay”, Anura said hesitantly. She came over and sat on her mother’s lap.

“Where were you on July fourth from one am to two am?”

“I was asleep by then.”

“Were you woken up at any point during the night?”

“If I was, I don’t remember. I rarely remember those times, unless I was up for several minutes.”

“Okay, did you notice anything strange that night?”

“What is considered strange by your definition is extremely different from mine.”

“Okay, what about that night would be considered strange by my definition?”

“My whole family”

“Okay, what about that night would be considered strange by your definition?”

“Nothing, we watched the fireworks, then I went to bed.”

“Okay then, that’s all for now.”, Spark said then he and Intel got up and exited the house. “What’d you think?”

“Neither of them lied about anything, but Minerva did shake her head instead of responding verbally. The body wouldn’t respond if that was a lie, and that was the only time she didn’t verbally respond.”

“So, Anzhong, Brigid, and Minerva are all lying about where they were the night of the fire.”

“That doesn’t mean that they set the fire. All it means is that they were doing something that they don’t want us to know about. They could have been having an orgy for all we know.”

“Seriously, why would you use an orgy as your example?”, Spark questioned, alarmed.

“It’s the least illegal, yet still embarrassing, thing I could think of. Let’s talk with some of the neighbors while we’re here.”

“Yeah, about that, does that house look abandoned to you?”, Spark asked while pointing to the house to the right of the Katon house.

“You’d be surprised what people are willing to live in, but I would ask one of the neighbors before we go over there.”

Spark and Intel walked across the street to the house left of the Katon’s. Spark knocked, and stomping could soon be heard. The man who answered was old and grizzled, and his face was badly scarred. He was about the same height as Spark, but his demeanor made him look bigger.

“What do you want?”, the man asked in a gruff, demanding voice.

“Hello, I’m Det. Plug, and this is Det. Harvest. We would like to ask you some questions Mr?”

“I am Staff Sergeant Buck Mathew Shot, and you will address me as Sergeant Shot.”, Sergeant Shot bellowed. The verbal lashing almost made it seem like Sergeant Shot grew or made Spark shrink.

“Ye-yes sir, Sergeant Shot.”, Spark stammered out.

“Now, what kind of questions?”, Sergeant asked in a slightly less bellowing tone.

“What do you know about the Katons?”

“Honey! There are some people who are asking questions that you’re better equipped to handle!”, Sergeant Shot called into the house.

“Coming”, a female voice called back. The woman who came out was much softer looking and was smiling, unlike her husband. “Hello, how can I help you?”

“What can you tell us about the Katons?”

“Oh, they are a nice bunch. The parents moved in almost a decade ago, fixed up that dilapidated place. It is sad what happened to the previous owner, but life must go on. They had their younger daughter a couple years after they moved in and adopted their older daughter almost three years ago. They used to have these Thanksgiving and Christmas parties but had to stop them once their younger daughter got cancer, poor little girl.”

“Did either of you see anything strange on the night of July fourth?”

“No”, Sergeant Shot said.

“We were in our basement until the fireworks stopped, then went straight to bed.”, Mrs. Shot said.

“Okay, last question. The house on the other side of the Katon’s house, does anyone live there?”

“The place was a meth lab over twenty years ago and has since been condemned. If anyone was living there, they’re not supposed to.”, Sergeant Shot said.

“Okay, that’s all for now.” Spark was turning to leave when Sergeant Shot reached out and grabbed him by the shirt.

“Hold it! Did your mother not teach you any manners, or are you just blatantly disrespecting her?”, Sergeant Shot bellowed.

“Sir, this is ‘assault on an officer’. Release me, or I will arrest you.”, Spark commanded, but Sergeant Shot didn’t waver.

“When someone answers your questions, you’re supposed to say ‘thank you’.”, Sergeant Shot said in a tone that was between a bellow and a growl.

“Unhand me!” Spark began to reach for his gun.

“Dude, just say ‘thank you’! He probably eats bullets for breakfast!”, Intel shouted. The shouting had already earned them some attention with people, including Katons, coming out of their homes, some with guns.

Spark looked between Sergeant Shot and Intel before turning back to Sergeant Shot. “Thank you for your time, Sergeant Shot.”, Spark said. The way he said ‘thank you’, it was almost like it was an alien word.

Sergeant Shot let Spark go and nodded. “That’s better, and you’re welcome.”

Spark straightened his shirt and glared at Sergeant Shot. Sensing the testosterone spillover, Intel grabbed Spark’s arm and yanked him back to the car. As they left, the neighbors that had come out began defensively circling in on the Shots. Once they got to the car, Intel shoved Spark into the passenger side then hopped into the driver side and drove off. They both stayed silent until they were off that street.

“You just about shot a man who just wanted a ‘thank you’.”, Intel said matter-of-factly.

“He was assaulting me.”, Spar said defensively.

“He grabbed your shirt. He never even raised his other hand. You were gabbing for your gun.”

“My point still stands.”

“This is why everyone hates you. You never say ‘thank you’ or ‘sorry’ or ‘please’. What’s up with that?”

“Saying such things is a sign of weakness.”

“You know why small dogs are noisier than big dogs? It’s because they need to make up for their lack of physical strength by being louder. That’s what you’re doing. You’re compensating for your weakness by saying that being polite is a sign of weakness and being a jackass. I’m willing to bet that Sergeant Shot is a very polite man in everyday life.”

“Your analogy is flawed, and he was the one shouting.”

“He’s an ex-drill sergeant. I saw a picture of him in uniform behind him. That’s why he was shouting.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m weak.”

“I’m going to take you to meet someone.”

Shot’s house
Date: same day, time: 9:45 am

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid, Anzhong, Sunset, Minerva, and several other neighbors rushed out of their homes with their weapons when they heard shouting. They saw Detectives Harvest and Plug in a face off with the Shots. Once the two walked off, several of them went over to the Shots to check on them. Now, they were all having an impromptu meeting to discuss the situation. Of the people in attendance, Brigid recognized Fiddly Twang, a blue haired woman from Vietnam whose family moved to the US when she was one; Tall Order, another lawyer; Star Hunter, a construction worker; Burning and Juno Heart, married c-list actresses at Canterlot Studios; and Buzz Cut, a new comer to the neighborhood.

Brigid gave everyone a rundown on who they were and why they were here, then the Shots gave a rundown of what happened earlier.

“You grabbed a guy for not saying ‘thank you’.”, Fiddly said.

“People need to be taught discipline and respect.”

Fiddly was about to protest, but was stopped by Tall. “Don’t even bother. He’s more bull-headed than a minotaur and possibly has dementia.” He’s Equestrian counterpart is probably a minotaur.

“I do not have dementia, but you’re right about the bull-headed thing.”

“We can worry about that later. Right now, we need to worry about the cops. If anyone has anything of questionable legality, they should hide it.”, Burning said while looking at Star.

“I’ll have you know that I have permits for all my explosives.”

“So do we, but we’re still hiding everything.”, Anzhong said.

“You have explosives?”, Juno asked Anzhong.

“Blowing stuff up is fun.”, Anzhong said nonchalantly.

“I think everyone gets the idea.”, Minerva said. “We should all go back home before someone ends up revealing that they're a drug dealer.”

A couple people chuckled at that and everyone started filing out.

“Given dat ya two boarder our property, is dere any‘hin’ we c’n help ya with?”

“Thank you, Brigid, but we’re good.”, Rosie answered.

Brigid nodded and left the house with everyone else. As they were leaving, Buzz came up to them.

“Hi, I just wanted to say that if you need something, don’t be afraid to ask me.”

“Oh, thank ya.”, Brigid said.

“Yeah, I do have a question though.”

“Shoot”

“Where did your daughter get that beautiful gold in her hair? I don’t mean to intrude, but um-”, Buzzed stopped, realizing what he was implying.

“The mailman”, Sunset said bluntly.

Embarrassment spread across Buzz’s face before he practically ran off, and Brigid and Anzhong began laughing.

“Hehehe, now, where’d ya learn that?”

“I actually am a bastard child. My parents weren’t even dating when I was conceived, and I was old enough to remember when they got married. Although, that’s not considered a problem in Equestria, unlike here.”

“Oh”, Brigid said.

“Let’s go home. It’s already been a long day.”, Anzhong said.

SHWO ch58 An outsider's view

Cousin Grain and Cloud’s house
Date: July 6th, time: 9:50 am

*Intel’s perspective*

Once they arrived at the house, Intel dragged Spark out of the car and into the house.

“Cousin Grain, Cousin Cloud, are you here?”

“Intel, what ya doing here?”, Cloud called back. Cousin Grain and Cloud soon came into the living room, where Spark and Intel were.

“Spark, this is my cousin, Grain, and his husband, Cloud. Now, go punch them.”, Intel said to Spark with a push.

“What! I’m not going to punch them!”, Spark protested.

“So, what’s wrong with this one?”, Cloud asked.

“Nothing’s wrong with me.”

“He has confidence issues. He doesn’t say ‘please’, ‘thank you’, or ‘sorry’ because he says “It’s a sign of weakness.”

“I see. Please, come sit down.”, Grain said while gesturing to the couch. Spark, reluctantly, went over and sat on the couch. “Spark, did your parents ever say ‘thank you’, ‘sorry’, or ‘please’ to you?”

“Of course not.”, Spark said like that was the most normal thing in the world.

“And I’m guessing they said it was so they would not appear as weak.”

“Yeah”

“Cloud, please go get Dad.”

“Roger” Cloud saluted and exited the house.

“Spark, not being rude is not a sign of weakness. Your parents were using a practice where parents don’t say anything along the lines of ‘please’, ‘thank you’, or ‘sorry’. The thinking of that is that it shows them as dominant and unquestionable. This has long since been proven as harmful to the child and teaches them it’s okay to be disrespectful to others.” As Grain got done explaining, Cloud came back in with Uncle Victor.

Once Spark saw Uncle Victor, his eyes widened, and he jumped off the couch. “Holy crap, you’re Victory Man, the punching king!”, he said excitedly.

“And you must be Spark Plug. Intel has said a lot about you.”, Uncle Victor said while shaking Spark’s hand.

“You-you know me? Wait.”

“Spark, this is my uncle and Grain’s dad, and he’s one of the politest men I know.”, Intel said.

“His parents refused to be respectful to him and inadvertently taught him that was okay.”, Grain clarified.

“I see. Det. Plug, I’m sorry that you had to go through that. Why don’t we sit and talk about it?”

Intel, Grain, and Cloud went into the kitchen so the two could talk alone. Knowing this would take a while, they each got themselves a drink and began catching up on what they were doing and what was going on in their lives.

“So, this one kid I’m working with told me that their new dad liked sticking things in them, and here I am, thinking that the kid was - you know. Later, the mom came to pick them up, and I asked her about her husband. Eventually, I told her what the kid told me. Her eyes went wide, and she frantically told me that the dad was a doctor and was catching the kid up on their shots. I asked the kid what their dad was sticking in them, and they said “needles”. Needless to say, I was relieved that I didn’t call CPS.”, Grain said.

“That’s life as a child therapist, isn’t it?”, Cloud said, and Grain nodded his acknowledgement. “What case are you working, Intel?”

“Well, this guy’s house was burned down, and he blames a family because he thinks the older daughter is an alien.”

“Oohh, details, details.”

“On July fourth, someone broke into this guy’s house, stole his computer, and set the place on fire. When she was brought to the hospital, he was, reportally, screaming and shouting about all his evidence being destroyed. We interviewed the family today, and I’m honestly not sure if they did do it or not, but the parents aren’t telling the truth of where they were that night. Actually, Grain, could you talk to the older daughter? When we interviewed her, she acted more like a soldier than a kid, and I should be able to get to talk to her either today or tomorrow.”

“I don’t see why not.”

“That’s great.”

Right around then, Uncle Victor entered the kitchen and started to make himself some coffee.

“How’d it go?”, Intel asked.

“It went well.”

“Anything else?”

“Nope” was all Uncle Victor said before he started drinking his coffee.

With no more answers to be had, Intel decided that her job there was done. “I’ll text you with the time to meet.”, Intel told Grain before she left. Intel re-entered the living room where she found Spark in that deep thinking anime pose, the one where you support your head with the inside of your hands. “Ya good there?”

Spark turned to Intel with a blank look, but Intel could feel that he was conflicted. “I’ve got a lot of apologizing to do.” was all Spark said before getting up and going out to the car.

“Good, because we got a warrant to get, and I want to talk with the older Katon girl.”

Katon family home
Date: same day, time: 1:00 pm

*Intel’s perspective*

Intel, Spark, Grain, an armed escort, and CSI rolled up to Katon and Reads houses. Intel and Spark approached the Katon house with Grain and several armed and CSI officers while the rest approached the Reads house. It was not exactly easy to get Judge Gavel to grant them the warrants. She likes Anzhong but did have to admit that he was capable of doing such a thing if it meant protecting his daughters. She even recounted the time where Anzhong told her that he could not come to the courthouse during Platinum Wood’s trial because he did not trust himself to not kill him. Intel completely understood, but she still had a job to do. Spark knocked on the door, and a rather displeased looking Brigid soon answered.

“We have a warrant to search your home and property.”, Spark said.

“So be it, but in accordance with da freedom a’ information act, Ah have da right ta review da warrant. N’ please take off y’r shoes.”

Spark handed her the warrant, and she stepped aside to let them in.

“Hey everyone, take your shoes off before coming in!”, Spark relayed to the rest.

“I see that talk with Uncle Victor did the trick.”, Intel said while taking off her shoes. Spark merely grumbled a response. Brigid and Anzhong were reading over the warrant as everyone filed in.

“Ma’am, are there any weapons on the premises?”, one of the escorts asked.

“Locked weapons cabinet in the basement, two handguns in locked cases in the master bedroom, the swords on the wall, and one handgun in a locked case n’ two short swords in my eldest’s room.”, Brigid said without looking up from the paper and pointing to the basement door, the upstairs, the living room, and then a door on the far side of the house.

“Your daughter doesn’t live upstairs with you?”, Intel asked.

“It was supposed to be an attached mother-in-law suite but a kitchen was never installed. Given what she went through, we figured she needed some extra space.”, Anzhong answered.

“Is she in there now?”

“She should.”

“Alright, thank you.” Intel and Grain went over to the door and entered the room. It was the size of a small apartment.

“He wasn’t kidding when he said they wanted to give her some space.”, Grain said.

“Sunset? Sunset, we just want to talk.”, Intel called out but got no reply. She and Grain began searching the room. Eventually, Intel began searching around the loft but still couldn’t find her. Wait, is she-? Intel bent down, ending up on all fours, and looked under the bed. There was Sunset, staring at Intel with pure hatred. “It’s okay sweetie. We’re not going to hurt anyone.”, Intel said in her gentalist voice. She could only imagine how scary this was for someone so young. “Can you please come out?” Inlet reached out her hand towards Sunset’s. As soon as she got close, Sunset bit her and hissed. “Did you just bite me?!”, Intel said, surprised and alarmed. Intel took a second to calm herself before speaking again. “Sweetie, I know you’re scared, but we really do need to talk to you.”, Intel said in what she hoped was a calming voice.

Intel heard the door to Sunset’s room close and heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. She turned around to see that Grain had gotten Brigid, and she looked pissed. Intel got out of her way, and she knelt down. She began speaking in a language that Intel couldn’t recognize. That got Sunset to come out, but she was still looking at Intel with that same look of hatred and was holding a gun. Intel immediately tensed up and refexibly put her hand on her gun. Sunset grabbed the gun case off the bed and placed the firearm inside. Intel tried to get herself to relax and took her hand off her gun. Brigid guided Sunset down to the couch, and Intel and Grain followed.

“Sunset, I’m Dr. Harvest. I’m a child psychiatrist, and I would like to ask you some questions.”

Intel did not have words to describe the way Sunset was looking at Grain other than she was trying to summon the pits of Hell to come and swallow him. “No”

“Sunset, Ah know ya have reservations ‘bout therapy, but dis isn’t therapy. Dis will be jus’ like da interview at da police station, n’ Ah’ll stop it if da questions get too invasive.”, Brigid reassured.

“Fine”, Sunset said through gritted teeth.

“I know that this is scary, but I hope that we can work together, and you don’t have to answer any questions you don’t want to”, Grain said, but Sunset’s glare didn’t change. “Alrighty then, so Sunset, where were you born?”

“Canterlot”

“I understand you were adopted. Do you remember what happened to your biological parents?”

“I’m not answering that.”

“Okay, were you ever in the foster system?”

“No, I lived on the streets.”

“That must have been scary. What did you do during that time?”

“Survived”

“How, though”

“I lived out in the woods during that time. I cleaned out a barrel to catch rainwater, hung up a hammock and rainfly, got food by dumpster diving behind super markets and fishing in a nearby lake, and cooked what I got over a fire pit.”

“That’s impressive. How did you know how to do all that?”

It took Sunset longer to answer that question. “My bio-parents taught me to do that. They were sovereign citizen tinfoil hat types. They didn’t even register my birth, so I did not legally exist until I was adopted. They wanted me to be able to survive when the US government inevitably crumbles. Plus, people throw out a lot of useful stuff.”

“Do you believe that the US is doomed to crumble?”

“Nothing lasts forever.”

“Okay, if you weren’t in the foster system, how were you adopted by your parents?”

“I was dumpster diving when Dad heard me. Not knowing if he intended to harm me, I ran back to my camp. I never saw people go into the woods, so I thought he wouldn’t follow me. I was incorrect.”

“Okay, what was life with your biological parents like?”

“It was good. We didn’t have a lot of money, but we got by.”

“Any specific stories?”

“No”

“Okay, how did you get that scar on your chin?”

“A kid named Sage attacked me while my mask was off in fencing class, but I got the last laugh as I saw red and ended up mauling his face. A girl I knew that went to the same school as him said that he ended up needing plastic surgery to get everything fixed.” The lack of emotion as Sunset told that story unnerved Intel. It was like she was retelling a normal story she got from a friend who got it from her co-worker who got it from a guy on a bus. No one, especially a child, should not be able to tell that story without emotion.

“How do you feel about that incident?”

“Oh, if I saw that kid again, I’d probably undo all that surgery, or at least, that’s what I’d wanna do. I’d likely be arrested if I did that.”

“So, you’re still made at Sage?”

“Oh, I hate him, but I have a long list of people I hate, and he’s closer to the bottom.”

“I see. Who else is on this list?”

At that, Sunset showed the first bit of emotion since her anger died down. She smiled but not a warm smile. It formed a ‘V’ shape, a threatening smile. “Don’t worry, you and y’r cousin aren’t on it… yet.” The whole time, Brigid didn’t react to her daughter’s behavior.

“Well, thank you. I think we’re about out of time. It was a pleasure speaking with you.”, Grain said quickly, then got up and began leaving the room with his stuff.

“I would say the same, but that’d be a lie.”

Sunset ran back up to her loft, and Brigid just about pushed Intel out of the room. Brigid closed the door behind the three of them, and Grain spun around to face her. “Your daughter needs serious help. I don’t know why you haven’t brought her to a therapist, but she needs to see one now.”

The glare Brigid gave him was one of contempt and disgust, and her superior height didn’t help her look less intimidating. “Y’re very judgemental f’r a therapist. Sunset’s reaction ta ya isn’t unique, n’ people like ya only reinforce Sunset’s disdain f’r shrinks.” Brigid pushed past Grain and went straight for the couch, where Emi and Anzhong were now sitting.

“She lied about or avoided questions about her birth parents. She also didn’t act like a kid. She honestly acted more like my dad. I - don’t know what to make of it. If I could, I would want to have several sessions with her. I think bringing in CPS might be good.”, Grain explained.

“I’m not so sure. I get the impression that they’re trying to help her and get her into therapy. If CPS comes knocking right after we show up, they’ll link it to us, and Sunset will have an even harder time trusting cops and therapists.”

“They let their twelve year old have a gun in her bedroom.”

“Which is legal so long as the parents are the ones who own it and Sunset doesn’t leave the house with it. I really don’t think CPS is the right call here.”

Grain gave Intel an incredulous look but said nothing more about it. Intel saw Spark come up from the basement along with several CSI officers. Normally when they come out of a basement, they come up with some evidence, but came up with nothing this time. The officers that were in the garage also came back empty handed. The officers that had come out of the bathrooms carried bottles of rubbing alcohol, but even those looked completely normal, and all they could prove was that it was the same brand that was used to set the fire. Officers walked past Intel and into Sunset’s room. Soon, one of the officers brought out a very pissed off looking Sunset. As soon as she was out of the room, Sunset bolted from the officers and into her mother’s arms, where Emi already was. Anzhong pulled a blanket from a chest that Intel recognized as a weighted blanket. He placed it on the girls, taking care to tuck it around them.

Officers came down the stairs and out of Sunset’s room with laptops and bottles of rubbing alcohol in hand. The only way they could prove that the Katon and Reads family set the fire was if they found the laptop. Intel followed Spark out of the house and into the command truck.

“So whatcha find?”, Intel asked Sark.

“Three laptops in the Katon house, one in the Reads house, and a grand total of five bottles of rubbing alcohol.”

“That’s a lot of rubbing alcohol.”

“Well, there are six bathrooms between the two houses, so not as much as you would think. It’s not like they can be used to prove anything other than they get hurt a lot anyways.”

“True, what about the computers?”

“Once we log them, I’m going to ask the families to come in to prove them theirs, but I don’t think that any of these are Dr. Thunderstrike’s. His computer was assigned to him by the university, and only this one matches it’s description.” Spark pointed to the one with a CCU sticker. “But it’s likely Dr. Katon’s as she also had the same one assigned to her.”

“That makes sense. It’s probably in the ocean by now. I certainly wouldn’t keep it around, and we’re dealing with people who have doctorates and master degrees.”

“At least nobody died, and we won’t have to go to court.”, Spark said with some enthusiasm.

“We’re not being recorded, right?”

Spark looked around the truck and actually did a thorough search before answering. “I don’t think so.”

“Good, because I really hope we don’t find evidence that they did it. They seem like a happy, mostly healthy family. I don’t want to be a Christmas movie villain.”

“Christmas movie villain?”

“Ya know, an outsider that comes to rip apart the family.”

“What kind of Christmas movies do you watch?”

“How am I supposed to answer that? We watch Christmas movies. Stop judging my family’s choices in movies.”, Intel said. Spark gave the most innocent smile he could. “Let’s just get everything to the station so we get these things back to their owners as soon as possible.”

Judge Lady Gavel’s chamber
Date: July 8th, time: 11:00 am

*Lady Gavel’s perspective*

Knock knock knock

“Come in.”, Lady called out. The doors opened, and in walked Anzhong. “I’m not sure if you’re aware of what your face looks like, but you look upset.”

“That’s one way to put it. You signed off on a warrant to search my house based on an officer’s “gut feeling” that my wife and I were lying and a possible motive. You’re lucky that they recognized that there was no way my computer belonged to Striker.” Despite seeming upset, Anzhong’s voice was its usual neutral. His control over his voice and constantly covered eyes made it difficult to know how he was feeling, but Lady has learned how to somewhat tell.

“Detective Intel Harvest is highly skilled in picking up on body movement and twitches and tone changes to tell if people are lying. That’s why she was hired.”

“That sounds a lot like a lie detector, and you and I both know those are little better than guessing.”

“I’ve seen her work. She’s never been wrong. Plus, this man was threatening your daughter. Even if they were ridiculous, I know you well enough to know that you don’t take threats to your family lightly.”

“If you really know me well, then you would know that if I had anything to do with this, this would be a missing persons case, and you’d be finding him in bear scat for months, not an arson investigation.”

“Duly noted, but we have to look at every option, and you’re our only option.”

Anzhong gave his equivalent of a blank look before bowing and leaving. Lady pulled out her next file and got back to work. Good thing he’s on our side. He’d be really scary if he was a criminal.

Canterville station #4
Date: July 9th, time: 3:00 pm

*Spark’s perspective*

Spark watched on as four out of the seven members of the Katon and Reads family marched down to the interview room. Minerva and Sunset both looked annoyed, but Brigid and Emi just looked bored. Intel guided them over to the desk, and Spark presented them with four computers.

“We simply need you to prove that these are your’s, then you can have them back.”, Spark instructed.

Brigid placed Emi on one of the chairs, and all of them quickly typed in their passwords then turned the computers around to prove they unlocked them.

“That’s - interesting.”, Intel noted.

Spark turned to track where Intel was looking. She was looking at Sunset’s computer, more specifically, the wall paper that was a red, black, and white picture that depicted the silhouette of a large monster being stabbed by a pegasus.

“Did you draw that yourself?”, Intel asked.

“Yes”, Sunset answered tersely. She closed up the computer and put it in her backpack, which turned out to actually be a computer bag. The others did the same thing with their own computers and the bags they brought.

“Okay then, thank you for your cooperation. You're free to go now.”, Spark said.

“Wow, a ‘thank you’, I’m sure Buck will be pleased to hear that you’ve learned some manners.”, Minerva commented before leaving.

Spark said nothing to the remark. His emotions concerning that event were complicated and couldn’t even properly explain why they were complicated.

Outside the Katon house
Date: July 14th, time: 10:00 am

*Raven’s perspective*

Raven Inkwell rolled up to the Katon house. Once she was parked, she pulled out her clipboard and began noting down the state of the front yard and front of the house. It was reasonably well kept. There was no garbage in the yard, the fence didn’t have any holes in it, and nothing was falling off the house. Raven exited the car and walked up to the house. An odd thing she noticed was a ramp leading up to the front porch. The family’s file didn’t mention either of the girls needing a wheelchair, but it did state that they had adopted a girl and had a biological daughter. There was a security door in front of the actual door, neither a good or bad sign. Raven rang the doorbell and was soon greeted by a barking dog and then a woman with a lot of crimson red hair. She was accompanied by a small girl holding back the barking dog.

“Hello, I am Raven Inkwell. I’m a CPS worker and here to do an inspection.” Raven held up her ID to prove her identity.

“So he did end up callin’ ya. Fine, come in, n’ take y’r shoes off.” The woman opened the door and moved herself and the little girl out of the way. Raven took off her shoes and stepped inside.

The inside of the house was clean, as far as Raven could see. Raven moved into the main section of the house. The first things to catch Raven’s eye were the swords mounted on the wall. Although, they did look to be out of the reach of small hands.

“So this one here is Emi, correct?”, Raven asked.

“Yup, and this is Tomiju.”, the girl said while holding up the dog.

“I see. Where is your older daughter?”

“She’s out back, with ‘er fathe’. Emi c’n ya go get ‘er?”

“Okidoki” Emi ran to the back door and shouted for her dad and Sunset.

“Ah said go get ‘em, not shout f’r ‘em.”, the mother chastised. Emi merely responded with a Cheshire grin.

Soon, a man with a cane, a girl with red and gold hair, and two dogs came in. The younger of the dogs came over and investigated Raven and looked at her with suspicion, and the older dog looked at Raven with a resting bitch face. The older girl had scrapes and cuts on her hands.

“Hello, I am Raven Inkwell with CPS, and I would like to talk to the girls, alone.”

“Grumble grumble grumble, fine, but don’t get any funny ideas.”, Sunset said through clenched teeth and with a scowl on her face.

“Sunset, I do not think now’s the best time for your brand of humor.”, the father said. Only then did Raven understand what she was implying and went beet red.

“Party pooper”, Sunset said.

“Alright, we’ll be upstairs. Ya t’ree c’n stay down ‘ere.”

The parents went up stairs, followed by the two larger dogs. Raven began walking over to the couch, but the older girl only stared and snarled at her, and the younger girl mimicked her sister.

“Is everything okay?”, Raven asked.

“You’re here to find some reason to take us away. That’s what you’re paid to do.”, Sunset said, coldly.

“I can assure you that I am not paid to fabricate reasons to take kids away. We would actually really like it if all the kids in our care found happy, safe homes to go to. I’m just here to make sure that this is a happy, safe home. This won’t take long. I just need to ask some questions.”

Sunset’s expression was still cold and untrusting, but she motioned for her sister to follow her to the two bean bags. Emi was still holding on to the dog.

“Alright then, Sunset, how did you get those cuts on your hands?”

“We were in the middle of training when you showed up.”

“What kind of training?”

“This specific one was to develop my grip strength and ability to dig into the ground.”

“Why would you need to do that?”

“Wilderness survival, my father grew up in a small village where being able to survive in nature is still important.”

“Okay, what did you have for dinner last night?”

“Grilled shrimp with fried zucchini.”, Emi answered.

“Is that a normal meal for you?”

“We have some sort of meat with vegetables every dinner. Sometimes, we have a starch as well.”, Sunset answered.

“Okay, what does your day normally consist of?”

“During the summer, we generally hang out here with trips to the hospital here and there. Emi has leukemia.”

“I’m very sorry to hear that. How did you get that scar on your face, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“A kid attacked me with my mask off in fencing class. Despite the swords just being metal sticks, years of being smashed together tends to leave them jagged. No, you will not find a police report. I declined to press charges. I just wanted to get away from that brat.”

“Okay, what happens when you get into trouble?”

“That depends on what we did. If we made a mess, we have to help clean it up or clean it up ourselves. If we slack on our chores, we get more added on. If I stay up too late, I go to school tired.”, Sunset answered.

“Is that it, no grounding or time out?”

“Well, yes, but those are rare. There are very few restrictions on what we can do, so we feel very little reason to act out.”, Sunset explained. That’s oddly insightful.

“House rules basically boil down to, “don’t blow the place up” and “keep the mess to your room”.”, Emi answered. Well, that’s rather lax.

“You say that when you slack on your chores, you get more added on. What do you mean by that? What kinds of chores do you have?”

“We’re responsible for cleaning our own rooms; I do my own laundry, and so will Emi, when she’s older; we help with cleaning up after dinner and doing the dishes; help Mom with the garden; and we have weekly shifts of managing the compost. That last one is the one that we’d normally get extra weeks of.”, Sunset explained.

“You don’t help clean the house?”

“Dad’s a perfectionist. He does teach us how to but prefers to do it himself. When he’s done, the floors are clean enough to eat off of.”

Interesting. “Okay, do you mind if I see your rooms?”

“Yes, I do mind.”, both girls said.

“Is there a particular reason you don’t want me in your rooms?”

“Because we don’t want strangers in our rooms. Now, get out. You are no longer welcome here. If you don’t leave, we’ll call the cops.”, Sunset said angrily, while pointing to the door. Emi hopped up from her bag and ran upstairs, presumably to get the parents.

They’re protective of their space. “I’m sorry if I crossed a line. Thank you for your time.” Raven got up from her seat, and Sunset all but pushed her out of the house, literally kicking Raven’s shoes out in the process. Sunset slammed and locked the door. Raven got the message, put her shoes back on, and went back to her car. She made some final notes before driving back to the office.

The office was your average bland, soulless government building. There were rooms with toys for kids in the back, but even those were soulless. Raven’s office was a small cubicle with the only adornments being a small potted plant, a picture of her with her parents and brother from when she was a young teen, and a picture of her with her husband and two boys, but that’s not where she was going. Raven approached Mr. Blue Moon’s office and knocked on the door.

“Come in.”, Mr. Moon instructed. Unlike her office, Mr. Moon’s was heavily decorated with pictures, plants, knickknacks, and whatnot. “Ah good, Ms. Inkwell, please sit down.”, Mr. Moon said and gestured to one of the chairs in front of his desk. Raven did as instructed and pulled out her clipboard from her bag. “Now, I hope you did your job properly. Mr. Katon is a highly respected man in the legal system, a personal favorite of Judge Gavel. People will not be happy if he’s brought up on child abuse charges and even more unhappy if he’s brought up on faulty charges.” His tone and the implications of his words were enough to make the threat clear.

“I understand, sir.” Raven began reading off her notes. “The house was in good condition. The girls were well fed and didn’t smell unreasonably bad. They had dogs that were friendly… enough. They did seem suspicious of me. I was able to privately talk with the girls, but they were none too happy about it. The older girl kicked me out when I asked to see their rooms. The older girl and the father do some sort of survival training. She also has a large scar that she says she got from getting attacked during fencing class but there is no official police report. When the parents were around, the girls seemed more relaxed, the older one even made a rather… um, risque joke, but they tensed up after the parents left. They seemed to be a relatively healthy family.”

“Good, that makes my life easier. Finish your report and get to your next assignment.” Mr. Moon waved Raven off and went back to his work.

Raven exited his office and went back to hers. She was long since used to his lack of respect and learned to just ignore it. She was just happy that she only needed to do this formal check in because the father was some sort of up and comer law man. Raven took her seat with a huff and booted up her computer.

“Moony?”, Fleur De Verre asked from atop the divider. “Moony” was Fleur’s nickname for Mr. Moon, which he absolutely hates. That wasn’t a problem for her though. The two of them hate each other’s guts.

“Yes”

“What were you doing in there anyways?”

“City politics reasons.”

“Really, who?”

“Some lawyer.”

“Sigh, why can’t it ever be some famous guy. Think of the drama.”

“If I ever get a high profile case, you’ll know and have it by the end of the day.”

“Hmhmhm, you’re the sweetest, Raven.”

“And you’re a dramaholic.”

Fleur playfully stuck her tongue at Raven then disappeared back behind the divider, leaving Raven to her work.

Limbo
Date: ?, time: ?

*Riona’s perspective*

If you had asked Riona where she thought she would go after she died, a limitless void where time didn’t exist would not have been her answer. She wasn’t kidding about the ‘no time’ part. The time between her death and her first meeting Sunset simultaneously spanned an eternity and passed in a second. Either that or she just went mad. C’n ghosts even go mad? Ah should ask Sunset wha’ year it was next time Ah see ‘er. Riona didn’t know what this place was called but had long resigned to calling it Limbo. She was capable of manifesting her form in the corporeal world, but that took a lot of energy. It also took energy to contact Sunset but nowhere near as much. Where this energy came from, Riona also didn’t know, but she knew how to collect it. That is all she did. It was a tortuous existence.

Riona felt Sunset’s mind, and she reached out for it but couldn’t make contact before she was gone. Sunset’s mind reached out again, and Riona tried to reach it again but, again, couldn’t. This happened again and again and again and again before Riona could finally reach her. A flood of information bombarded Riona’s mind upon making contact, information about recent events, who Sunset is, who her family is, and what’s troubling her. Riona could certainly say that she wasn’t expecting to have to have a magical unicorn turned human and fox demon for grandbabies, but she didn’t care about that. She was just happy to know that Brigid was alive and she had grandbabies. Oh, crap. Dis is a mess.

The space began to transform itself, but, unlike last time, the space did not become the ocean of grass. It transformed itself into the old farmhouse living room. It was exactly as Riona remembered from her childhood. The place was in pristine condition and the fireplace and oil lamps were lit, providing ample light. There was no smell, but Riona didn’t have a problem with that. Oil lamps smell really bad. The endless expanse could still be seen outside the windows. Riona’s body had appeared as well, and soon, so did Sunset.

“Interesting”, Sunset said.

“Sunset, what year is it? How long has it been since we last spoke?”

Sunset looked around the space and noticed the black void outside. “I’m guessing time isn’t much a’ a thing here.”

“Let’s jus’ say dat it’s a miracle Ah haven’t gone mad, or maybe Ah did n’ jus’ don’t know it.”

“Or maybe you’ve gone mad so many times that you’ve gone sane. Oh, and it’s two thousand-eleven.”

“Sixteen years, Ah’ve been dead f’r sixteen years.”, Riona said in shock.

“Sixteen n’ a half, it’s July.”

Riona pushed the shock down. She would have time to deal with all that later. Right now, she had her bullheaded granddaughter to help. From what she’s seen of her memories, Sunset made Brigid seem as flexible as Clodagh. Come to think of it, Sunset looked very similar to Clodagh, particularly with her golden skin and wavy hair.

Riona brought Sunset into a hug, but there was no warmth. She couldn’t feel her at all. “Well, dis ain’t workin’.”

“Dreams are a purely visual and auditory medium. Is this how you exist?”, Sunset asked while removing herself from the not-hug.

“Dat’s not important right now. We don’t have long, and we need ta talk.”

A solemn look crossed Sunset’s face. “A social worker came today. I heard about their ineptness from some of the other kids at school. I’m worried that she’s going to have us taken away.”

An equally solemn look came across Riona’s face. “Ah wish Ah could give ya me two cents, but Ah have no experience with any part a’ dat US government. What Ah c’n tell ya is dat y’r mum is part mule n’ part bear. She won’t let anyone take ya away from ‘er.”

“I’m scared.”

“I wish dat Ah could do more.”

“Do you think I should tell Mom about you? I know she’d love to see you, but I don’t want her ta go through the pain of losing you again.”

“Tell ‘er, but wait f’r… how long has it been since we last talked?”

“Eleven months”

“Wait f’r next June, den tell ‘er.”

“Alright”

The sound of an alarm clock beeping reverberated through the expanse. “Sounds like our time is up.”

Sunset disappeared from the void with Riona’s body and the farmhouse soon following. Once again, Riona was left alone in an infinite void, time passing at an eternal instant. Riona began gathering energy again. She sang every song she knew, forgot which ones she already sang, sang them again, counted as high as she could, and waited.

An indiscernible time later, Riona felt Sunset’s mind reach out, and with her was another mind. Brigid, it must be June.

SHWO ch59 Comunication in its many forms

Author's Note

Spell on display: letter sending fire
Letter sending fire is a dragon spell that allows the user to near instantly send a letter to someone by incinerating it. Due to it being a dragon spell, there is very little information on its limitations.

Restrictions and Requirements

Dragon magic
A familiarity with the letter's recipient

Advantages over similar spells
You don't need to know the location of the recipient to successfully send the letter. So long as you are personally familiar with the recipient, you can send letters to them wherever the two of you are.

Risks
There are no known risks with using this spell other than accidently burning something you didn't mean to, but that's spellcaster's error.

SHWO ch59 Comunication in its many forms

Sunset’s room
Date: July 21st, time: 2:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset heard a knock at her door. She hopped up from her chair and opened her door. On the other side stood Brigid.

“How ya doin’, Sunset?”

“Been better, a bit frazzled still.”

“Dat tracks. Hey, Ah’ve been wonderin’ if ya’d be willin’ ta teach me how ta speak n’ read - Ponish, Ah think ya called it?”

“I was wondering when you’d ask me. I actually brought back some books meant ta teach foals how ta read.”

“Still not used ta ya usin’ pony terminology.”

“Well, I’m still not used to the fact that some humans eat horses.”

“Ah c’n one up dat. Horse n’ pony penis is considered a delicacy in some Southeast Asian countries.”

Sunset’s face contorted into what you’d expect after hearing that. “You people will eat anything that won’t rip your stomach lining open.”, Sunset said in disgust.

“Hm, yeah. Have Ah told ya ‘bout da French man who supposedly ate a baby?”

“Yes, you have. You need new stories to mentally scar me with.”

“Damn, okay, let’s get ta da learnin’.”

Sunset took Brigid’s hand and led her over to her couch then grabbed the books and notes from her shelf and brought them over. “Now, one of the first things you’ll notice is that Ponish has fewer distinct sounds. That is because ponies can’t make anywhere near as many sounds as humans. You might have noticed that when you shouted at Celestia.”

“‘Ch’ sounds were definitely harder ta make.”

“Exactly, now, there are eighteen basic letters in Ponish, and the rest of the letters are combinations of those basic letters. As a result, we have nearly seventy thousand letters, but only a fraction of them are actually used.”

“Sweet crap, dat’s a lot.”

“Yeah, when I left, there were talks about streamlining the alphabet, reducing it to the letters that are actually used, but that’s easier said than done due to different areas of Equestria using different parts of the alphabet. At the very least, you can decipher most writings as long as you know the basic eighteen, or you can ask somepony to help you. We also have many words that are just single letter words.” Sunset opened up her notebook to the page that showed each of the basic letters with the transliterations of their names and corresponding English letters. “The first letter is Ahn and is pronounced ‘Ah’, like how you say ‘I’, or makes an ‘A’ sound. The second letter is Bin and makes a ‘B’ sound. The third letter is Ceyn and makes a ‘C’ sound. The fourth letter is Deyf and makes a ‘D’ sound. The fifth letter is Fin and makes an ‘F’ sound. The six letter is P’fp and makes that raspberry pfp sound horses make. The seventh letter is Hay and makes an ‘H’ sound. The eighth letter is Iei and makes an ‘I’ sound. The ninth letter is Len and makes an ‘L’ sound. The tenth letter is M’p and makes an ‘M’ sound. The eleventh letter is Nip and makes an ‘N’ sound. Next is Oo which makes an ‘O’ sound. Next is Pi which makes a ‘P’ sound. Ren makes a ‘Re’ sound. Stir makes an ‘St’ sound. Ta makes a ‘T’ sound. Uo makes a ‘U’ sound. Next is Q which makes a 'Qu' sound. And the last letter is called Ey and makes an ‘Ey’ sound.”

“Okay, Ah think Ah got it, but we should keep dat easily accessible f’r now.”

“Will do. Now, when I say the rest of the letters are combinations of the basic letters, I mean that they are smooshed together.” Sunset opened up one of the word books, in which she added the transliterations of the words and how the letters are formed under the originals. Sunset explained what each word meant and how to pronounce them. The humans’ flat face, ‘L’ shaped supralaryngeal vocal tract, and rounded tongue does make it so they can create a wide variety of sounds, but several of the words were still difficult to pronounce. As much as they both tried, neither of them could not pronounce P’fp correctly. They could achieve a close approximation, but the letter was created by a differently shaped mouth.

“Ah’m startin’ ta think dat written Ponish was made ta be overly complicated.”

“That would be an effective way to keep literacy rates down in the lower classes.”

“What is Equestria’s literacy rate?”

“I’m not sure. We don’t have nation wide standards of - well, much of anything. I do know that proper schools are rare outside of prominent towns and their surrounding settlements, and it’s, oftentimes, completely up to the parents to teach their foals. Equestria is so backwards.”

“Hey, don’t sell y’rself short. We had a good three thousand year head start on ya. Give ‘em time. Dey’ll catch up.”

Sunset looked at Brigid without emotion on her face. It wasn’t just a matter of time. Ponies have been coddled by Celestia for hundreds of years. The weapons Sunset used were the same ones her parents used. They were still advancing but at a snail’s pace. Any civilization’s greatest periods of advancement come after tragedy or war, but Equestria rarely takes advantage of such periods. “As much as having an incredibly powerful, immortal ruler is useful, it’s also left Equestria stagnant. Equestria’s not going to advance the way it needs to unless Celestia is succeeded.”

Spitfire’s barrack
Date: 19th day of the 7th month, time: 2nd hour AMR

*Spitfire’s perspective*

Still nothing. The search for Sunset has, once again, turned up nothing. Why? Why did you do this? Life wasn’t easy, but we were loved. We were happy. The princess still hadn’t announced anything about Sunset or even placed her on the official most wanted list. She classified Sunset’s records like she would when sending Dad undercover. Is this some big, elaborate ruse so Sunset can go undercover? No, she wouldn’t leave a letter like that if that was the case. “Grr” What the buck, Sunset?! Why are you doing this?! Why did you leave us?! Spitfire slammed her hoof on the desk in anger. The desk was left with a massive crack along where Spitfire hit it and several smaller cracks radiating out from that. “Shit” Spitfire moved some papers to cover the crack. Hopefully, nopony will notice until she could get her mending charm recharged.

Spitfire wasn’t very sentimental, but she did keep a picture of Sunset and herself from back in basic in her desk. They were giving the camera a pair of fang filled grins. Sunset was holding her head in a cocky manner and had her foreleg on Spitfire’s back, and Spitfire was in a pseudo-pounce position. They were being little shits and goofing around when they should have been doing drills. Being a member of and the favorite weapons of the crown got you and those close to you out of a lot of crap.

Spitfire thought back to the lessons they shared. Celestia had this giant book on dragon magic. The spells ranged from simple amplifications of her normal fire breath to fire ring portal. One of the spells the two of them used a lot was letter sending fire. Being able to send letters to Sunset wherever she was was fun; burping up the letters she sent was - less fun.

Spitfire grabbed a piece of paper and quill and began writing. She wasn’t sure about the maximum range of the spell, but hopefully, it would reach Sunset. Spitfire finished the letter, rolled it up and secured the clasp, opened up the window, imagined the spell circle and focused on Sunset, and blew. The green flames engulfed the letter, and it soon became a cloud of green smoke. The green smoke flowed out the window and disappeared into the night, and Spitfire closed the window and returned to her desk. Please come back to us, Sunset.

Donut Joe’s
Date: Aug 1st, time: 1:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“That sounds scary.”, Flash said. Sunset had just finished relaying the events of the previous July. She hadn’t told him about the spirit of her dead grandmother inhabiting her ring. Even with what he witnessed at the school, that was too strange to be believed.

“It was, but they seemed to have gone away now. There was no big hurrah or any sort a’ big final battle. After the CSP lady left, everything just fizzled out. I have no problem with that, but everyone has been on edge for a while now. Ki has even gotten to sleeping with me in my bed, not an easy thing for his old bones.”

“I don’t blame you. Do you think they’ll come back?”

“My dad said that they closed their case on us and shouldn’t bother us any more.”

“What if they do? Will they take you away?”, Flash said around a mouth-full of donut.

“I don’t know and don’t really want to think about it.”

“Okay, what do you want to talk about?”

“What was your summer like?”

“It was fun. My mom took me to see her family down South. I got to meet all my aunts, uncles, and cousins.”

“Oh cool, what were they like?”

“Exactly like the stereotypes. One of my cousins had an accent so thick, I could barely understand him.”

Sunset giggled at Flash’s remark. Simpler times like these are what life is about.

Katon family home
Date: Aug 16th, time: 8:00 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

“Wha’ ‘bout dis one?”

“Inside, hmhm, sounds interesting.”, Rosie said. “But it’s in French.”

“It’s subtitled.”, Brigid said.

“Okay, but be prepared to pause the movie so I can read it.”

“Same goes for me.”, Minerva said.

“How c’n ya two live dis close ta Canada n’ not know French?”

“I just never needed to.”, Minerva said.

“I took some classes in highschool, but I’ve long forgotten.”, Rosie said.

“You seriously haven’t talked ta a French speaker since highschool?”, Sunset said from behind Rosie.

Rosie jumped up and spun around to find Sunset standing behind her. “Sweet Jesus girl, you nearly scared me half to death.”

“Well then, those movies will scare you completely to death.”, Sunset remarked.

“Is dere some‘hin’ ya need, Sunset?”

“I want to watch the movie with you.”

“Are you sure that’s the best idea?”, Minerva asked.

Sunset looked past Rosie and gave Minerva a ‘seriously’ look. “I’m a horror monster in n’ of myself. My nickname is ‘Vampire’. I can handle a fictional movie monster.”

Minerva and Rosie looked to Brigid for her answer. “Ya c’n watch if ya want, but don’t be embarrassed ta leave if it gets ta be too much.” With that, Brigid started up the movie, and everyone piled onto the couch, with Sunset snuggling up to Brigid. “Y’re tellin’ me dat story late’.”, Brigid whispered to Sunset.

The time it took to watch the movie was uneventful aside from normal horror movie stuff. Sunset did touch her facial scar when the protagonist’s face was slashed and tensed up and hugged Brigid tighter when the mother was killed but was otherwise fine. Once the movie was over, they talked about what was going with Striker and the investigation for a bit before Rosie went home. With Rosie gone, the Mac Carthaigh women could talk openly.

“So, how did you end up with the nickname ‘Vampire’?”, Minerva asked.

“My actual nickname is ‘The blood eating fiend’ because we don’t have any vampiric creatures in our mythology. We do have creatures whose name can be translated into ‘vampire’ but would be, more actually, translated into ‘juice sucker'. Either way, I changed my nickname to ‘Vampire’ because it was cooler and still meant the same thing, and the reason why I have that nickname is because I used to lick my opponent’s blood off my blade in order to freak them out. Equestrians have a complicated relationship with blood.”

“That is the best military nickname I’ve ever heard, way better than mine.”

“Oh really, wha’ was y’r nickname?”

Minerva’s face went beet red. “I’d rather not say.”

“It can’t be worse than my sister’s many names. The worst one is ‘Shitfire’ because she crashed into the latrines her first week.” That got a chuckle out of the older women.

“Fine, fine, my nickname was ‘Dolly’. My drill sergeant decided to call me ‘Dolly’ for whatever reason, and it stuck. If either of you call me that or tell anyone else, I will throw you into the ocean, off a steep cliff.” Brigid and Sunset grinned at Minerva’s threat. “Good night ladies. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Reads family home
Date: Aug 19th, time: 7:00 pm

*Anura’s perspective*

Anura sat in her bedroom while everyone else prepared for her party. It would be just the seven of them. Anura had no friends outside of the clan. Everyone else was afraid of her and either avoided her or lashed out against her. This did not bother her. She was naturally introverted, and having too many people around caused her to become overloaded and get a throbbing headache. Because of that, she had prescription strength painkillers at school.

Anura heard a knock at the door, which told her that they were ready for her. Anura hopped up from her bed and followed Emi out to the dining room.

“Happy birthday!”, everyone shouted. Anura blushed, smiled, and hugged everyone.

“Now, cake!”, Emi proclaimed.

“Yes, please.”, Anura calmly said.

“Children n’ deir sweet teeth… or would it be toothes in dis case?”, Aunt Brigid said while grabbing the plates.

“Both are creepy.”, Sunset remarked.

Canterlot Hospital
Date: Aug 20th, time: 10:00 pm

*Jiraiya’s perspective*

“So, is he good to be transported?”, one of the patient transport guys asked. To Jiraiya’s glee, the alien nut was being taken to a mental hospital, and more importantly, far, far away from Jiraiya’s family.

“He’s perfectly healthy, physically at least.”, Jiraiya answered. The two burly men entered his room while Jiraiya stayed out of their way, but he could still see them through the glass wall. Striker did not go quietly and was kicking and screaming. No wonder they’re so burly. They managed to strap him into a wheelchair, even putting the tin foil hat one of the nurses made for him back on. One of the nurses offered them some duct tape to shut him up, but they refused. The lunatic was wheeled over and into the elevator. He had stopped screaming and was now just grumbling.

“Good riddance.”, Joy said.

“What? Were his serenades of aliens and alien children not riveting?”, Jiraiya joked.

“Pffa, although, it was chilling how sane he seemed when he wasn’t screaming ‘bout aliens.”

“Mental illness is a scary thing in many ways. One of those ways is how it can hide just below the surface until it’s too late.”

“Is that your way of telling me to be careful of the next Ted Bundy?”

“Something like that.”

Principal Winters’ office
Date: Aug 25th, time: 3:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset listened as Brigid and Winters spoke with each other. When Winters called, Sunset’s parents joked that she, somehow, already managed to get into trouble before the school year even started. However, this was by no means a disciplinary meeting, rather the opposite. Winters was recommending that Sunset be placed in the honors program due to her performance the previous year.

“Ah didn’t even realize dey had honors in middle school.”

“We like to ensure that our students are reaching their full potential by challenging them and mentally and physically stimulating them.”

“What do ya think, Sunset?”

Sunset mulled over the pros and cons of the situation. She wouldn’t be in the same class as the former Friendship Five, which was both a pro and a con. She wouldn’t have Ms. Trees as a teacher, con. New teachers were always a “cross your fingers, toes, and nose” experience. The work will be more challenging, pro. What would be the best thing for me?

“Ms. Shimmer?”, Winters asked.

“I’m thinking.”, Sunset snarked. “Can I go back to normal classes if the advanced classes turn out not to be the right fit?”

“Yes”

“Okay, then advanced classes sound like a step in the right direction.”

“Alrighty then, I’ll put your new schedule in place. You won’t need anything other than go to class.”

“Dat’s great. We should be goin’ now. Have a good rest a’ y’r day.” With that, Brigid and Winters did the usual song and dance, and by the time they were done, Sunset was already out of the office and down the hall. Brigid soon caught up, and the two began walking back home.

“Ki’s bein’ fully retired in September.”, Brigid informed Sunset.

“Good for him. I’m sure he’ll be happy to be able ta jus’ lounge around all day.”

“Or he’d get bored. He’s used ta bein’ a workin’ dog. He will need ta adjust ta not havin’ any‘hin’ ta do all day.”

“He’ll probably become a full time guard dog. His resting bitch face can scare off most intruders alone.”

“Yeah, it will be nice ta have dat little extra bit a’ security.”

“Ah great, ya jinxed it. Now, we’re definitely going to be broken into.”

“Hahaha, Sunset, dat’s jus’ superstition. Dere’s no proof dat jinxes exist.”

Sunset fixed Brigid with a flat look. “You’re still skeptical about this stuff even though you’ve developed your own psychic abilities, birthed the granddaughter of a mythological creature, and are parenting a unicorn?”

“Jus’ because Ah except da supernatural as existin’, does not mean dat will be my go ta explanation f’r what Ah c’n’t understand. Plus, jinxes are in a completely different ballpark. If ya c’n show me proof dat jinxes are real, Ah’ll take ‘em more seriously.”

“Alright, when we get home, I’ll mark down what you said and the date. I’ll continue to mark down any other jinxy things said, and if the jinxed event occurs within an expected time, I’ll call that a concluded jinx. Let’s give this jinx a month to conclude.”

“Sounds good ta me.”

Halls of CMS
Date: Sep 1st, time: 8:25 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset stood in front of her locker, people watching. She specifically kept an eye out for new students. Hopefully her reputation alone will scare them into behaving, less work for Sunset. Among the new students was a girl with dark blue and light blue hair and rose colored glasses, a girl with blond hair and yellow eyes, a short boy with green hair and black eyes, and another short boy with orange hair and black eyes.

The girl with the rose colored glasses wrote something down on a piece of paper and began showing it to people. She got around to Sunset, and the card read, “Where is Mr. Sockem’s room?”.

“You deaf?”, Sunset signed.

“Mute, hear fine.”, the girl signed.

“Down that hall and two the left, you’ll see the door with his name on it.”, Sunset said.

The girl gave Sunset a thumbs up and ran off to her class. Seeing the time on her phone, Sunset removed herself from the lockers and made her way to her own class. Her new teacher was Mr. Milestone. Sunset had never heard anything about him. That at least meant that he hadn’t done anything that would get kids griping about him.

Sunset filed into the classroom with the rest of the students, and everyone began picking their seats. Sunset took a seat in the back of the class. One thing that was strictly American was their natural ability to project their voices. They weren’t necessarily louder. You could just hear them from much further away. Because of that, Sunset sat away from the teachers.

Sunset vaguely recognized most of the other students but couldn’t put names to most of them. One exception to that was Meg. Meg was a girl of what looked to be Mediterranean descent and average height with orange hair with streaks of lighter orange running down it and teal eyes that were slightly darker than Sunset's, and she always wore a beanie the same color as her eyes. Despite Sunset’s actions towards the rest of the students, Meg still liked her, even if it was complicated. Sunset was one of the only people in her life that she could have a proper conversation with. Her own parents don’t know sign language, which is surprisingly common. Meg decided to sit next to Sunset even though she already had a seat near the front.

Mr. Milestone started the class with icebreaker games, Sunset’s least liked part of the new year. “Okay students, let’s get to know each other by playing some games. What’s your name, how old are you, and what’s something you like to do?”, Mr. Milestone said.

The other students stood up, said their names, ages, and whatnot. Soon, it was just the kids in the back row left, and, to Sunset’s surprise, they were just as preemptively fed up with this as Sunset. Various grumbles and under the breath swearing were emitted as they stood up.

Sunset’s turn came up, and she stood up. “My name is Sunset Shimmer, I’m thirteen years old, and I like leading armies into battle and making the other poor bastards die for their beliefs.”

Mixtures of confusion and fear spread across everyone else's faces as they looked around at each other.

“Ah, you like playing video games, like ‘Armada: Rise of Thunder’.”, Mr. Milestone said.

“Close enough.”, Sunset said. Sunset remained standing as Meg stood up. “This is Megan “Meg” Gagnon. She is completely deaf, so I will translate for her. Please address her directly when speaking to her.” Meg began signing, and Sunset translated. “Hi, I’m Meg, I’m twelve years old, and I like playing ice hockey.”

“Hello Meg, if there’s any way I can make it easier for you to understand, let me know.”, Mr. Milestone.

Sunset relayed what he said to Meg, and Meg began signing her response. “Just write down the important stuff and instructions on the white board.”, Sunset translated.

Mr. Milestone nodded his understanding and began the lesson. It was significantly harder than the normal classes, but Sunset was still able to do it, mostly. History was by far Sunset’s worst subject, and she had a love/hate relationship with it. Sunset was actually going to have to work hard to pass it. She enjoyed a challenge, but history itself was unenjoyable.

A few minutes before the lunch bell, Meg tapped Sunset’s shoulder and pointed to the boy in front of her. With Sunset’s attention, Meg tapped the boy sitting in front of her. The boy turned around, and Meg began signing.

“What is she saying?”, the boy asked confusedly.

“Hail Satan.”, Sunset translated. Just as Sunset said that, Meg’s nose started bleeding, and the boy freaked out. The boy jumped out of his seat and started screaming incoherently. Everyone turned towards the commotion and leaned out of the way when necessary, and Meg was laughing her ass off.

“Okay, okay, everybody calm down. Ms. Shimmer, what just happened?”, Mr. Milestone asked.

Sunset looked over to Meg for answers, and Meg began signing. “Can feel nose bleeds coming. That kid hyper religious.”

“It was just a prank, sir, and Meg has a nose bleed. May she go to the nurse’s office?”, Sunset said.

“Yes, go take her.”

Sunset translated Mr. Milestone’s orders, and the two girls left. “Good one.”, Sunset signed. Meg smiled at her. Meg and Sunset had never been in the same place together outside of the arena. She would have never pegged Meg for a prankster. “No, keep head down. You can choke on blood.”, Sunset signed. She had noticed Meg holding her head up to keep the blood from running down her face.

“Will get everywhere.”, Meg signed the best she could with one hand.

Sunset pulled out a piece of cloth from her pocket. It was a habit she kept from her guard days. A towel was even a part of the rokubou. The amount of uses for a simple piece of cloth was truly impressive.

Meg took the cloth and crammed it up to her nose. “Thank you”

The trip to the nurse’s office wasn’t quick. By the time they got there, Meg’s nose had stopped bleeding. When they got to the office, Meg showed the rag to the nurse, and Sunset explained that it was just a random bleed. Given that there was nothing to take care of, the nurse just handed Meg some tissues, in case it started again, and sent the girls on their way. Given that the lunch bell would go off before they got back to class, they just decided to go straight to lunch and be first in line.

The girls got to the lunchroom just as the bell went off. The lunch ladies gave them disapproving looks, but neither girl cared. They were a bunch of cranky skeletons with skin anyways. Remember the adage about never trusting skinny chefs?

After getting what barely passed as food, the girls sat down, and the other students started getting their food and sitting down. They were soon joined by Flash, and Sunset explained who Meg was.

“I didn’t know you knew sign language.”, Flash said.

“My mom taught me. It’s similar to writing as it’s partially muscle memory.”

“Can you tell me more about it?”

“What do you want to know?”

“How do you communicate names?”

Sunset held her left arm horizontally and held her right arm vertically while pinching her index and thumb together. She then brought her right hand down to where it was also horizontal and below her left arm. “That’s my name. You can also just letter sign your name, like Meg.”

“Cool, so what’s my name in sign language?”

“It can be whatever you want. Names are just arrangements of sounds or symbols assigned to you.”

“So, maybe something like this.” Flash held his left arm horizontally, like Sunset did, and moved his right hand in a long ‘z’ shaped line down his arm, similar to a lightning bolt.

“Yeah, that would work.”

Flash smiled then turned to Meg and got her attention. He then pointed to himself and signed his new name. Meg signed his name then gave him a thumbs up. Meg turned to Sunset and letter signed “dork”.

“Also cute… and great in bed.”, Sunset signed back. Meg’s face went beet red, and Sunset doubled over in laughter, nearly missing her “food”. Meg slapped Sunset upside the head which only made her laugh harder. Once Sunset got her laughing under control, she could see just how confused Flash was.

“What did you say?”

“Don’t-don’t worry ‘bout it.”, Sunset said through residual chuckles.

“I’m going to see if there’s a sign language club. I want to learn it.”

“There is one. I checked.”

“Maybe you should start one.”

“Ha, do you really think anyone in this school will willingly join a club I’m the head of?”

“What you talking about?”, Meg asked.

“He wants create ASL club.”

“We only two signers in school.”

“There new girl signer.”

“Who?”

“Don’t know name. Has light skin, dark blue and light blue hair, and rose colored glasses.”

Meg stood up and looked around the lunchroom. She apparently found what she was looking for as she got out of her seat, signed “BRB”, and walked off.

“Where is she going?”, Flash asked.

“I don’t know.”

Meg soon came back with the girl from earlier. “This [girl’s name].”, Meg signed. Meg signed the girl’s name as the left arm in a position similar to holding a table and the right arm held in a similar position but with the hand moving back and forth.

“My English name Vinyl Scratch.”

“Okay, what does your signed name mean?”, Sunset asked in English.

“Turntables”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

“Wait, she can hear?”, Flash asked.

“She’s mute, not deaf.”, Sunset clarified.

“Meg told me you form ASL club. I want in.”

“Form club but without me. Everyone afraid of me. Nobody come if I part.”, Sunset signed.

“We need translator. You only translator.”, Meg signed.

Sunset looked between the two of them. She didn’t know if she really was the only translator, but she was the only one they knew of. “I help, but I can’t be president or vice president, and I can only be there after student council Mondays.”, Sunset signed.

Both agreed, and Sunset relayed the convo to Flash.

“We can also do Fridays. We can push our guitar lessons back an hour.”, Flash said.

“Okay, that sounds good.”, Sunset said.

Vinyl relayed the conversation to Meg, and Meg got excited. How Meg showed excitement is by bouncing on her toes and clapping her hands. It was really cute. Meg and Vinyl spent the rest of lunch discussing stuff related to the ASL club, and Sunset and Flash talked about what they were going to wear to the Fall Formal.

CMS gym
Date: same day, time: 3:00 pm

*Pinkie’s perspective*

“Hello, Pinkie.”, Sunset said from behind Pinkie in a sultry voice.

Different parts of Pinkie’s body had different reactions. A cold chill ran down her spine at the same time her body heated up. It caused Pinkie’s head to spin, and she had a feeling that was exactly what Sunset wanted. Pinkie regained control over her body and turned around to face Sunset. Sunset had a smile on that was predatorial, and the way she was looking at her made Pinkie very uncomfortable.

“I would like to sign up for the princess of the Fall Formal.”, Sunset said while reaching a hand out.

Pinkie hardened her expression and mentally prepared for confrontation. “Sure, but first, you need to tell me how you were able to sneak up on me.”

Sunset grin somehow became even more predatory, and Pinkie could’ve sworn her pupils became slimmer, almost like a cat or fox’s eye. Sunset didn’t answer verbally but rather tapped the side of her head.

“Oh, now that’s just not fair.”, Pinkie protested.

“Clipboard”, Sunset demanded.

Pinkie handed Sunset the clipboard, and Sunset quickly signed her name and handed the clipboard back to Pinkie. “Hm, still no challengers. Say, what would happen if someone was actually dumb enough to run against me?”

“It’s a popularity contest. You can do whatever you want, so long as it falls inside the school rules and, of course, the law.”

“That sounds like a very bad way of picking your class president.”

“It’s not like you have any real power.” That was apparently the wrong thing to say as Sunset grabbed Pinkie by the shirt and snarled at her. “Did I say you don’t have any real power? What I meant to say was, “Yay, all hail Queen Sunset.”

“That’s better.” Sunset released Pinkie and even straightened out her shirt for her. “Now, be a good subject and stay out of trouble.”, Sunset said in that same predatory tone while caressing Pinkie’s face. That same chill ran down Pinkie’s spine while the rest of her body heated up again, and she was left just watching as Sunset walked off. What just happened? Am I - in love with Sunset?

Katon family home
Date: same day, time: 7:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Emi, you’re getting more cake on your face than in your mouth.”, Sunset quipped. Emi smashed another chunk of cake into her face and gave Sunset the bird. Sunset was so tempted to steal Emi’s plate but also wanted to not have her cake end up on the floor.

“Ya ready f’r y’r presents?”

“Yes”

Brigid, Jiraiya, and Minerva got up from their seats and retrieved the gifts they brought. Brigid went upstairs while Minerva and Jiraiya just grabbed the gifts from the breakfast bar. Brigid soon returned with a large box. What could need a box that big?

“Ah suggest ya open Minerva’s first.”, Brigid said.

Sunset complied, and opened up the purple bag. Inside was a black jacket with studs around the collar. “Wow, this is cool.” Sunset put her new jacket on. It was a bit big. “Thank you”

“You’re very welcome.”, Minerva said.

“Open ours next!”, Emi demanded.

Sunset opened the cardboard box that was decorated with crayon drawings. Inside was a clay statue, clearly made by a child, but it was made by her sister and cousin. That made it perfect. “It’s beautiful.”

“You’re just saying that. It’s nothing compared to what you can make.”

“I thought we did a good job.”, Anura meekly said.

“Hey, you two were the ones who made it. That makes it perfect.”

“Eew, Mom, Sunset’s being mushy.”

The adults started laughing, and Sunset’s first reaction was to punch Emi’s arm but stopped as she raised her arm to strike. Instead, Sunset pulled Emi into a light hug.

“Okay, okay, let go. Finish opening the presents before I die already.”

Sunset let Emi go and turned back to the remaining two gifts. As the adults were clearly nudging Sunset to save Brigid and Anzhong’s present for last, Sunset decided to open Jiraiya’s present next. Inside was a tablet.

“Admittedly, I don’t understand digital art or art in general, but I asked around and downloaded all the art programs.”, Jariyai said.

“Thank you.”, Sunset said, not sure what else to say other than that.

Sunset placed the tablet down and moved on to the final present. Her eyes grew in shock as she pulled out a beautiful acoustic guitar. The edges around the front were a dark brown that became lighter as you got closer to the center, and there was a design coming from the soundhole that looked like a purplish night sky, almost like a portal to the sparkling beauty of the stars. “You didn’t have to. I was saving up to buy my own.”

“We wanted to, Sunset. Why don’t you play us something?”, Anzhong said.

Sunset brought the guitar up to her chest and began playing. “I always thought this needed a beat.
There's a monster that lives beneath your bed?
Well then, he's a coward
What a boar
He should come out and say ‘hi’
There's a creature that lurks behind the door?
I've checked there many times
When I leave, they arrive?

Well then, tell the monster that hides beneath your bed
To try somewhere else instead or you'll whack them in the head
Tell that creature that lurks behind the door
That they are welcome no more
And you're kicking them out, at the count of four!

Sleep well monster killer, sleep well
Now it is time to close your eyes
There's demons to slay and monsters to hunt
They’ll cower when they see you
From the giant to the runt
Sleep well my little killer
You have battles to fight

Tell the monster that eats children, that you taste bad
And are sure you'd be the worst they’ve ever had
If they eat you, don't fret, cut them open with an knife

Tell the tengu that land on your bed
That you'll burn them alive, at the count of five
Tell the shinigami it's time you gave them their due
Because the mightiest creature is you

Sleep well monster killer, sleep well
Now it's time to close your eyes
There are demons to slay and monsters to hunt
They’ll cower when they see you
From the giant to the runt
Sleep well my little killer, sleep well
You have battles to fight

I won't say, there's nothing beneath your bed
I won't sell you that it's all in your head
This world is not as it seems
The monsters are real, but not in your dreams

Learn what you can from the beasts you defeat
You'll need it for some of the humans you meet

Sleep well, sleep well, sleep well”, Sunset sang.

“Huh, those lyrics aren’t as traumatizing as I thought they’d be.”, Anura remarked. Traumatizing?

“I’ve never heard that song before. Where did you learn it?”, Jiraiya asked.

“It’s Daddy’s lullaby.”, Emi clarified.

“Leave it to you to write a badass lullaby.” Anzhong merely shrugged at Jiraiya’s comment.

“Thank you”, Sunset said.

ASL Club
Date: Sep 5th, time: 3:15 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset sat in the darkest corner of the classroom as she, Flash, Vinyl, and Meg waited for people to arrive. They did get some sign ups during the week, but Sunset had very little hope that anyone would actually come. All other clubs have already started.

The way everything was set up was that Flash would greet the people when they came in and get them situated, Meg and Vinyl would teach them ASL, using the black board to communicate with the non-signers, and Sunset would only intervene when a translator is absolutely necessary, so as to not scare people off.

“Hey Vinyl, can you get Meg’s attention for me?”, Sunset asked.

Vinyl nodded, poked Meg’s shoulder, and pointed to Sunset.

“What up?”, Meg signed.

“You like music?”

“Heavy bass, feel in chest.”

“Neat”

“Excuse me, is this the ASL Club?” Sunset recognized the voice as Octavia Melody. She was one of the students that tried to oppose her, but Sunset had put her in her place.

“Yes, hello, I am Flash Sentry, and these are Meg and Vinyl. They’ll be teaching us ASL.”, Flash said chipperly. Octavia looked around the room and noticed Sunset in the corner. Her body went rigged, and she got a deer in the headlights look. “And Sunset, over there, is our translator.”

“Sup”, Sunset said in a neutral-bored tone.

“Um, hi.”, Octavia said nervously.

“I say we get started.”, Flash said.

“Um, sure.”

Vinyl relayed what they said to Meg, and the two of them began writing the alphabet and basic words on the black board. Flash and Octavia took a couple seats, and Sunset walked up to the front of the classroom.

“Alright now, this is how things are going to work. We’ll first start out by teaching you the basic alphabet and some simple words. You’ll also eventually choose a signed name. These names can be your English name letter signed, like Meg’s; the signed version of her name, like mine; or something more abstract that represents you, like Flash’s or Vinyl’s.” Sunset moved out of the way, going back to her seat, and gave the floor back to Mag and Vinyl.

Meg and Vinyl pointed to the sentences that introduced them and showed how to sign each word. They then moved onto the alphabet. The session went smoothly, but Sunset’s hopes for the club were at rock bottom. I need to find a way to get these shits interested, but how?

Outside Rainbow’s house
Date: Sep 6th, time: 12:00 pm

*Pinkie’s perspective*

Pinkie stood outside Rainbow’s house with her mom sitting in the car, waiting to make sure Pinkie got in safely. She hadn’t told her mom why she wanted to see Dash after all this time. She was just happy that Pinkie might be reconnecting with her friends. Pinkie hadn’t really talked to any of them since everything blew up, except for AJ. She could get her a great deal on apple cider. Neither of them wanted to talk about what happened, which left Pinkie trying to piece it together from rumors and random scraps of info. From what she could gather, one of them stood the other up or something.

Rainbow lives on the second floor of a motel that was converted into an apartment building. Each apartment takes up what was three to four rooms. It was a nice place, for what it was. Pinkie tentatively rang the doorbell, and Rainbow’s dad answered. Rainbow’s dad was a gym trainer so was quite built and intimidating, but Pinkie knew that he was a giant teddy bear. His wife was the one with the claws. Pinkie could remember a time when a racist was shouting at him and his mom and calling them ‘wet-backs’ and Mr. Hothoof was holding on to Mrs. Hothoof’s and his mom’s arms in case he had to keep them from attacking the butt-face. That was the day Pinkie learned that Mexican grandmas are the single scariest thing on the planet.

“Pinkie? I wouldn’t have expected to see you.”

“Hi Mr. Hothoof, is Rainbow home?” Early on in the time they knew each other, Mr. Hothoof would say that Pinkie could call him Bow, but the idea of calling an adult by their first name was not one that computed with Pinkie’s brain.

“Yeah, she’s in her room.” Mr. Hothoof let Pinkie in, and Pinkie went straight for Rainbow’s room and knocked on her door.

“Yeah, come in.”

Pinkie opened the door to find Rainbow laying on her bed, reading a Daring Do book, and that her room looked like a hurricane swept through, as usual. Rainbow’s room hadn’t changed much since the last time Pinkie was here. She still had models of various planes and spaceships on every horizontal surface in the room. Her ceiling is painted midnight blue and has glow in the dark stars glued on it. Rainbow has wanted to be an astronaut ever since they were shown the video of the moon landing in class. “Hey, where’d your floor go, Rainbow?”

“Pinkie?” Rainbow was surprised but also happy. Rainbow sat up and put the book on her night stand then properly addressed Pinkie. “Whatcha doing here? It’s not that it’s not great to see you but… ya know.”

“Everything blew up.”

“Yeah”, Rainbow said sadly.

Before she spoke again, Pinkie closed and locked the door to Rainbow’s room. “To get straight to business, I need advice, love advice.”

“Love advice? Pinkie, I’m not exactly the best person to ask when it comes to that.”

“True, true, but you’re the only openly gay person I know.”

“Oooh, so who’s the lucky girl?”, Rainbow asked in a joking tone.

“That’s the problem. It’s Sunset.”

“Oh, have a seat. This sounds like it’s going to be a while.” Pinkie complied with Rainbow’s request, and Rainbow took a more serious posture. “So, what exactly is going on?”

“Well, when I was setting up for the Fall Formal, Sunset came in to sign up. Before she left, she caressed my face and my body heated up. It scared me, but I also kinda liked it, in a way. From what I read, that means you like someone, but I don’t want to like Sunset. She’s mean and a bully and-”

“I understand, Pinkie, and luckily for you, that doesn’t mean you love Sunset. It means you're attracted to Sunset.”

“What? Isn’t that the same thing?”, Pinkie asked, now very confused.

“My mom describes it like this, loving someone means you want to be with the person; attraction means you want to be with the body. Basically, you think she’s hot, but her personality is not, and I don’t blame you. I sometimes sneak a peek in the locker room, and she ain’t shy about it.”

“Oh, that makes sense. Thanks, Rainbow.”

“No probs, Pinks, and welcome to Gay Club. Now the first rule of Gay Club is don’t talk about Gay Club.”

“Good bye, Rainbow.”, Pinkie said with a grin before leaving.

Student council meeting
Date: Sep 8th, time: 3:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset watched as everyone began packing up and leaving. She had her eye on one person in particular. She had a mission. She liked having a mission. It distracted her from the emptiness. Anything that can distract her from the emptiness was good. Sunset watched as this particular person slung her bag over her shoulder and walked out the door. Sunset grabbed her bag and got up to follow. Sunset walked out into the hallway and ran to catch up.

“Hey, Rarity!”, Sunset called out.

Rarity tensed up and slowly turned around to face Sunset. “What do you want?”, Rarity spat.

“I want you to join the ASL Club.”

“What?”

“The ASL Club only has five members. You’re a popular girl that everyone isn’t afraid of. If you join, others will too.”

“What exactly will this club entail?”, Rarity asked skeptically.

“We teach people how to use and understand sign language. I’m not joking when I say that there are only three signers in the whole school, faculty included, and I’m the only one that doesn’t have it as my only way of speaking.”

“Oh, I guess only having two other people to talk to would be rather boring.”, Rarity said while pondering. “I think I will join.”

“Good, because it’s starting in thirty minutes.” Sunset grabbed Rarity’s hand and began dragging her to the club.

“Hold on, I need to call my mum first.”

ASL Club
Date: same day, time: 3:35 pm

*Rarity’s perspective*

“Alright Rarity, since Flash and Octavia have a bit more experience than you, we’re going to be doing some catching up. So, this is how things are going to work. You’ll first learn the basic alphabet and some simple words. You’ll also eventually choose a signed name. It can be your English name letter signed, like Meg’s; the signed version of her name, like mine; or something more abstract that represents you, like Flash’s or Vinyl’s. Do you understand?”, Sunset said.

“I understand. Say, what’s the sign for ‘diamond’?”

“You form your right hand into the letter ‘D’ then place it on your left ring finger, left palm facing down.”, Sunset said while demonstrating.

“Well then, it looks like I have my signed name.”

“You want to be known as ‘Diamond’?”

“Correct, unless there’s a sign for ‘rare’ or ‘rarity’.”

“There isn’t really. So, I guess you’re Diamond.”

“Excellent, now, what are everybody else’s names? I don’t want to be rude and not be able to say-sign their names.”

“Mine is the sign for sunset, Meg’s is just ‘M’ ‘E’ ‘G’ letter spelled, Vinyl’s is turntables, Flash’s is this which doesn’t mean anything beyond his name, and Octavia hasn’t come up with one yet.”, Sunset said while demonstrating each one.

“Okay, I think I can keep that all straight.”

“Don’t sweat it. You’re here to learn. Now, let’s go over the basic alphabet.”

SHWO ch60 Dreams of memories

Author's Note

Spell on display: teleportation
Teleportation is a spell that allows the user to instantaneously travel from one point in space to another. The distance and amount that can be transported is depended on the magic input. Teleportation causes a displacement wave of air or whatever else you teleport into.

Restrictions and Requirements

Spatial magic affinity
A high degree of magical control
Lots of magic

Advantages over similar spells
Teleportation has no restrictions on where you can go, other than power. Where as other spells require contact with a specific element or object, teleportation does not.

Risks
Despite every unicorn having spatial magic, teleportation is a very rare skill. This is in part due to the power requirements but is mainly due to the danger and skill required. Due to the lack of restrictions on where one can teleport to, there is nothing stopping you from accidently teleporting into a pit of lava or a wall.

SHWO ch60 Dreams of memories

*Flashback*

Canterlot Castle
Date: 30th day of the 2nd month, time: 3rd hour 30th AMR

*Celestia’s perspective*

Celestia entered her chambers, ready to retire for the night. As she was about to remove her regalia, the door to her room was slammed open by one of the guards.

“Private Spear Head?”, Celestia asked.

“Princes Celestia, an explosion has been reported in the reliquary. Guards are on their way.”

“Thank you for letting me know.” Celestia charged her horn and teleported into the reliquary. When she got there, she was nearly slammed into by what appeared to be a guard, but Celestia knew that magic signature well. “Sunset Shimmer”

The visage of a guard fell away, leaving behind a snarling Sunset. “Out of my way, Celestia. More is at stake here than you realize.”

“Oh, enlighten me then.”, Celestia said curiously. She wanted to know how she could help her former student. She wanted to know what was going on. The guards had arrived and began falling into formation.

“You know I don’t have time for that.”, Sunset said, then spun around to see the guards.

“You know I can’t let you leave Sunset. Make this easy on yourself and come quietly.”, Celestia said softly.

“You know, there’s an expression from my new home that fits here perfectly.” Sunset in a threatening tone, then spun back around to face Celestia. “We will not go quietly!”, Sunset shouted while raising some unknown object to Celestia.

“What is tha-” Celestia was cut off when an explosion erupted from the object and her crown flew off her head.

“It’s a gun. Think of it like an ultra powerful crossbow.”

“Attack!”, one of the guards shouted.

The guards and Sunset began to battle, and Celestia began charging her spells. Sunset was very skilled but also extremely violent. Celestia knew that she would badly hurt the guards if she was not stopped. Sunset rushed towards the guards, too close for Celestia to safely cast her spell. Philomena soon joined the fight, distracting the guards long enough for Sunset to stab two of the guards.

“BLOOD!” the guards screamed. The smell of the blood made Celestia want to be sick, but she kept her composure.

Sunset waved one of the blades around, splattering blood everywhere, and Celestia knew she was licking the blood off the other one.

“It’s Sunset, the blood eating feind! Run for your lives!”, one of the guards shouted. Several of the guards ran screaming in terror, but Celestia still had about a dozen left and herself. Your tactics may be effective, but I will not fail you again.

Sunset grabbed one of the guards in her magic and used her to shield herself from the other’s attacks. Celestia was shocked by this action. It was barbaric, even for Sunset. Celestia began crafting a spell powerful enough to take Sunset out of the fight but controllable enough as to not hit the guards. Sunset hovered the guard’s body between herself and Celestia. The guard in Sunset’s magical grasp was dripping blood and was not moving. Her eyes were wide open, but they lacked a sparkle. Sunset used that weapon two more times and hit two more guards. She grabbed the two guards to shield her from the others and then turned her attention back to Celestia. Celestia took this opportunity and fired her spell. The spell curved around the guard. Sunset dropped the guards and put up a shield, but Celestia’s spell broke through her shield and hit Sunset square in the shoulder.

Philomena moved to protect Sunset and began hissing at anypony that came near.

“Philomena calm down. We’re not going to hurt her.”, Celestia said in a calming tone. Philomena flared her fire and screeched at Celestia. There was no way she was going to calm her down enough to let them treat Sunset. “I’m sorry Philomena, but this is for both of your goods.” Celestia lit her horn, and in a flash, Philomena was teleported away.

Celestia began another teleportation spell, this one taking them to the royal hospital when a strange sound came from down the hall. Before anypony could figure out what was going on, what looked like a demon came bounding down the hall and rammed into Celestia. Celestia was set stumbling back, and every guard’s attention was now on this new intruder.

“Let’s go! Let’s go! I think I made her angry!”, the demon shouted in a thick accent Celestia couldn’t recognize.

It was then that Celestia noticed that there was a second demon, and that one was abducting Sunset. “You will not take Sunset from this castle!”, Celestia bellowed in her royal canterlot voice. No! No! No! No! No! Celestria was about to call out for Sunset when the demon interrupted her.

“Inside voice! Did your mother never teach you any manners?!”, the creature bolted to catch up with the other demon taking Sunset.

No! No! No! This can’t be happening. Wait, they’re heading for the mirror. Celestia lit her horn and teleported herself in front of the mirror. The demons soon ran in. “Stop this instance!”, Celestia bellowed, but the demons didn’t. The lead demon rammed into Celestia, and they were sent flying through the portal. Celestia had never been through the portal before, and it was very unpleasant.

Celestia hit the ground hard and took a few seconds to regain her barings. The demon apparently didn’t need to do that as Celestia was being hoisted up by her clothing. Celestia would have wondered why she was wearing clothing if she wasn’t too busy being stared down by what Celestia could now clearly see was a red maned creature wearing a mask. The creature looked very different now, and so did Celestia. Their hooves had been replaced by hairless hands, but they weren’t monitors. She had one too many digits.

“Hey, I’m bigger than you know.”, the creature growled.

“Mom send her back through the portal. It would not be good for Equestria to lose her.”, Sunset said while climbing off of the other creature.

“Mom?”, Celestia asked Sunset. These creatures weren’t abducting her? How did she end up in their care? Why was Sunset so much smaller than the three of them?

“You got that right.” The creature picked Celestia up, marched over to the portal, and tossed her back through.

*Present Day*

Canterlot Castle
Date: 26th day of the 7th month, time: 1st hou AMR

*Celestia’s perspective*

Celestia ran the events of that day through her head over and over again. Nothing made sense. She wished she knew what was wrong with Sunset or this humans. She wished she could go wherever Sunset was and help. She wished she knew what to do.

Katon family home
Date: Sep 9th, time: 5:30 pm

*Anzhong’s perspective*

“Anzhong, ya have a lette’.”, Brigid announced.

“Oh, what does it say?”

“It’s in braille.”

“That’s very interesting.”

Brigid gave Anzhong the letter, and Anzhong began to read it.

“Katon Anzhong, you are cordially invited to attend the funeral of Kikuchi Riku. In lue of bushūgibukuro, bring stories and happy memories.
Anzhong, there are pressing matters we need to discuss.”

“Oh dear”

“What?”

“Daiki’s father died.”

“Who? Sorry if ya already told me, but Ah don’t remembe’ anyone by dat name.”

“I never really told you about him. He and I went our separate ways after high school.”

“So, who was he?”

“He’s my first American friend. He was the only other kid in my school that could speak Japanese. That made things easier for a fresh off the boat kid. Skipping to the summer before college, we decided to have minimal contact with each other because it would not be wise for a prosecutor to be seen chummy with the son of the local Yakuza head.”

Apparently a jaw dropping can make an audible sound as Brigid’s just hit the floor. “Anzhong”

“The girls aren’t in danger, and I never did anything illegal with them other than dumb kid stuff.”

“Okay, dat answers my two biggest questions. Now, are ya goin’?”

“I am. Riku was good to me, and Daiki has something we apparently need to talk about.”

“Ah get da feelin’ dat’s not good.”

“With him, it’s never good but not something dangerous to us. He knows better than to try paying me off or other such nonsense. I would like you and the girls to come as well.”

“Are ya sure dat’s a good idea?”

“It’s a funeral. I can only think of one group that would make trouble at a funeral, and they’re westsiders.”

“Ah still don’t like this.”

“We’ll be fine. Daiki will make sure of that.”

Kikuchi estate
Date: Sep 13th, time: 12:30 pm

*Anzhong’s perspective*

Anzhong followed Kiba as they navigated the garden. Anzhong tried to locate Daiki, but there were a lot of people talking. The smell of dirt and gravel, koi, pond water, and a myriad of flowers and foliage, mostly chrysanthemums, filled Anzhong’s nose. Chrysanthemums were the family’s namesake and worked very well as threats with the French influence in the area.

“There you are, Anzhong-kun.”, Daiki called out.

“Twelve years and you still sound like you’re choking on gravel.”, Anzhong remarked.

“Wow, I’ve seen scarred up mugs, but you are the worst by far.”, Sunset said.

“Sunset”, Brigid was about to scold before being cut off.

“They’re a good reminder to always protect the face.”, Daiki responded.

“And to remember when you don’t have a weapon.”, Sunset responded, referring to her own facial scar.

“Oh yeah, that’s a nasty one. You tell me yours; I tell you mine.”

“Sure, I was in fencing class with this brat named Sage. He’s a terrible fencer, and I always beat him easily. One day, when I was packing up and had my mask off, Sage attacked me, and I didn’t have my sword to protect myself. That’s how I got this.”

“Wow, that sucks. Okay, my story. It happened when your father and I were seventeen, almost eighteen.” As Daiki told the story, the memory of that night flashed threw Anzhong’s mind. Daiki had stolen some beer, and they were enjoying the spoils, Daiki more than Anzhong.

*Flashback*

Streets of Canterlot
Date: Dec 14th, 1997, time: late at night

*Anzhong’s perspective*

“So, as the cashier was distracted, I grabbed the case and ran. I don’t even think he noticed me.” Daiki regaled Anzhong with the story of how he stole the beers they were now drinking. Anzhong wasn’t happy that Daiki stole them but also wasn’t torn up about it. It’s not like he had a soapbox to stand on. I think that’s how that saying goes.

Daiki was on his fourth beer while Anzhong just started his second, and it showed. Daiki was getting louder and not walking straight.

“And then I took his arm and flung him around!” Daiki switched to a different story Anzhong was only half listening to.

“Quiet it down, you idiot, unless you want to get caught.”

“Wha’? Oh yeah, sorry. I guess it would be bad for Mr. Future Lawyer Man to be seen breaking the law.”, Daiki mocked.

“You know it’s not personal. Someone could accuse me of taking bribes, and I’d end up in prison.”

“I’d keep you out. I’m rich. I’m powerful. We can do whatever the hell we want with no consequences. That’s the great thing about America.” Daiki moved to where he was in front of Anzhong and facing him. The stench of beer on his breath made Anzhong scrunch up his nose.

“That’s exactly what I want to stop.”

“Yeah, yeah, poor little boy whose Mommy’s killer got away because he had money, and now I’m going to be the big hero and put the world right.”, Daiki said in a mock sympathetic tone. “I’ve heard this story before. Get over yourself. You’re not going to turn this world into a utopia. So long as there is greed, there’s going to be corruption, and there will never not be greed. It’s human nature. Money means power, power means survival, and survival is human nature.”, Daiki said in his normal voice.

“That doesn’t mean we stop trying.”

“Well, aren't you a shonen protagonist. It’s not going to bring your mom back. She’s dead! Your altruism isn’t going to bring her back or make you feel better about switching seats with her. Poor little boy wanted a window seat.”

“Shut up!”, Anzhong shouted in anger. He threw his mostly full bottle, nailing him in the chest. The bottle didn’t shatter, but Daiki was covered in beer and now stank even worse. Anzhong turned around and matched away.

How Daiki got into that situation in those few minutes is a mystery to Anzhong, but as Anzhong was walking away, he heard Daiki scream out in pain. Anzhong turned back around and ran back to Daiki. Anzhong could hear three other people and smell blood, Daiki’s blood. “Ai, attack.”, Anzhong commanded. Anzhong tackled one of the guys holding Daiki while Ai went for the other. “Daiki, are you alright?” Anzhong got no reply, but he could hear the sound of a bottle being picked up.

As Anzhong tried to gain as much information as he could, the guy he tackled kicked him off which left him scrambling to his feet. The guy charged, and Anzhong jabbed his staff out, nailing the guy in his stomach. The guy staggered back, and Anzhong charged in for another attack, but this time, the guy grabbed Anzhong’s saff, leaving them in a tug-of-war over the weapon. This tug-of-war continued until Anzhong heard a solid thunk and the guy let go. Anzhong stood there, confused, for half a second before he took his staff and beat the guy until he was crying like a baby, which wasn’t very long.

“I give up. I give up. Please stop.”, the guy whined.

Anzhong gave him an unimpressed look as the rest of the world came back to him. As it did so, he heard Ai still tangling with the second guy and nothing from Daiki. “Daiki?” Anzhong got no response other than gagling. Anzhong walked over, hitting the leg of the assumably knocked out third guy, and Daiki collapsed. “Daiki?! Ai, go get help!”

Ai let go of the second guy and started barking and howling, and the second guy ran off. Anzhong held Daiki and gently searched him over for injuries. His face and arms were badly cut up, but the worst of it was the knife sticking out of his neck.

*Present Day*

“Ai was able to get the attention of someone who called 911. The knife missed both major blood vessels in my neck but cut into my windpipe, and I was drowning in my own blood. That’s why I sound like a pack-a-day smoker now. I owe your father my life.”

“Gruesome, what were you and Dad arguing about?”, Emi asked. Daiki had kept out what the augment was about. At least Anzhong could say Daiki grew some brain cells.

“I would tell you, but I’d like to keep myself out of the pond.”

“Smart man.”, Brigid commented. “Looks like ‘hin’s are startin’. We should get ta our seats. Um, where are dey?”

“You’re sitting up front with me. As Anzhong-kun’s family, that makes you all family.”

“Oh, thank you.”

Daiki led them to the front row, and he made sure that he and Anzhong were sitting next to each other, and the tsuya began. As the priest began, Daiki handed something to Anzhong.

“What is this?”, Anzhong asked.

“The names of every CCPD officer, lawyer, and judge that Storm has on their payroll.”

“Why are you giving me this?”, Anzhong asked, both shocked and serious.

“They were the ones who killed Father. I want to deal them a nasty blow.”

“This could start a gang war.”

“You know me better than that. Though, I would stop your park lunches for a while.”

“I take it you have a plan.”

“Simple, stop their supply lines into the city.”

“I’d hardly call that simple.”

“Maybe not, but it will cripple them.”

“Hm, this will take a while.”, Anzhong said while putting the paper in his pocket.

“I understand.”

Streets of Canterlot
Date: same day, time: 2:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Dad, who were those people, and what is Storm?”, Sunset asked. She found that whole situation strange. She understood it was a wake, but that Daiki fellew was odd. He claimed that Anzhong was like family. Yet, Sunset had never even heard of him.

“Those people were people who worked for the man in the coffin and now work for the man you met, Daiki. Have you ever heard of the Yakuza?”

“No”

“Well, they are the Japanese version of the mob. The Kikuchi family are the heads of the local Yakuza.”

“Still don’t know what that means.”

“They’re an organized crime syndicate, a bunch of dumb brutes commanded by slightly smarter brutes. They hurt other people to take their money, and they already have enough money to pay their way out of trouble.”

“How did you get involved with such people?” Now, Sunset was very confused. Their family were by no means saints, but this didn’t sound like something Anzhong would be okay with.

“Loneliness, Daiki was the only other kid in my school that knew Japanese. I didn’t learn what his father did until years later. His father was a surprisingly good man, so long as you played his game. I cut ties with them when I went to college. Well, I guess I can say that I have an army at my beck and call now. Storm is another crime syndicate, but they will hurt people for fun. They are the most violent gang North of New York and the biggest supplier of drugs to the city.”

“And Daiki wants you to help him stop them.”

“Yes”

“Will you do it?”

“Of course, to remove corruption is why I became a lawyer. Plus, if this little piece of paper has what Daiki says is on it, I will make DA by the time you’re off to college.”, Anzhong said while pulling a folded piece of paper out of his jacket pocket.

“This sounds dangerous.”

“Maybe, but it has to be done. I know you understand that.”

Sunset thought the situation over. She looked over to the sleeping form of Emi then out the car window. There was actually a way to remove corruption here. That was something Equestria definitely needed. Why not exercise that ability, even if it’s dangerous? “I understand.”

*Flashback*

Canterlot Castle balcony
Date: 13th day of the 5th month of the 1100 year Ee, time: 12th hour ASR

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset watched the setting sun as she waited for Spitfire. The horizon shimmered as the sun passed over it. Even the horizon recognizes the power the celestial body represents and thus creates her namesake, and some day, she will possess such power. The radiant glow of the moon soon replaced the scorching light of the sun. As much as Sunset liked warming up beneath the sun, the night was her preferred time. There was a part of her in the back of her mind that felt safer in the dark, like it was home, right.

The sound of flapping wings caught Sunset’s attention. Spitfire landed on the balcony with an elaborate trick and flourish of her wings. “You plan on using that to impress Captain Whorl Winds?”

“You bet. What do you think?”, Spitfire asked.

“I think it will impress her but not automatically get you in. We both know that’s not how it works.”

“Uhg, at this rate, I’ll be forty before I become captain.”, Spitfire said while taking a spot next to Sunset, leaning on the railing.

“You’ll still beat the current record holder by a couple years.”

“That won’t be enough. I need to beat the record by much more if I want to be remembered as the greatest captain of all time.”

“And others will also have a harder time beating your record.”

“Exactly, and I plan on becoming the captain by the time I reach thirty-five.”

“So what, if you're not captain after twenty years, then what?”

“I’ll still continue protecting Equestria and being a Wonderbolt, if that's what you’re wondering.”

“Hey, you wouldn’t be the first pony to desert the guards if they didn’t get what they wanted.”

*Present Day*

Sunset’s desk
Date: Sep 20th, time: 12:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

My, how things have changed. Sunset looked down at her latest piece. It was of her and Spitfire in front of the setting sun. It reminded her of that conversation. Spitfire had just turned fifteen and was now old enough to join the military. Even with her intensive training and Sunset’s studies, they still made absolutely sure to make time for each other.

Sunset saved the piece to her finished work folder. Among the other pieces was one of a dragon and smaller bat creature, a similar piece with the addition of a blue, black-footed fox, her wallpapers, and some darker pieces. Many of the other pieces brought up other memories from her foalhood and time in the military. Many of them were inspired by her old life. Things were simpler back then.

“Kids at school want to be grown up so badly. They have no idea what they’re wishing for.”

*Flashback*

Jiraiya’s childhood home
Date: 1953, time: 3:00 pm

*Jiraiya’s perspective*

Jiraiya opened the door, trying to make himself look as suave as possible. One the other side of the door stood Aoi.

“You look beautiful.”, Jiraiya said while taking in every inch of her.

“Well then, maybe you should let me in before I freeze.”, Aoi said coyly.

“Oh, right.”, Jiraiya said with a blush and stepped out of the way. As Aoi walked in, she gave Jiraiya’s butt a smak.

“Oh, is that how it’s going to be?” Jiraiya closed the door and pulled Aoi into a passionate kiss. Aoi ran her hands over Jiraiya’s back and under his clothes. Jiraiya responded in kind. The two continued into Jiraiya’s bedroom, and Jiraiya pinned Aoi to the bed. Jiraiya ran his hands over Aoi’s rear and felt something… fluffy? Jiraiya pulled back and saw Aoi had a confused look on her face. He looked her over again and now saw a large, fluffy tail. “Where did that come from?”

Aoi traced where Jiraiya was looking and only then seemed to notice the tail. She moved her tail to try and hide it, but there’s no hiding something that big. It’s real! “It’s my tail. Do you have a problem with it?”

“No, no problem, I’m just confused.” Jiraiya stood up and took a couple steps back to try and make sense of the situation.

“Well, that already puts you above my other human suitors. This is normally the point where they, how’d you put it, run for the hills or come at me with pitchforks and torches.”, Aoi said while taking a relaxed pose on the bed.

“So, what are you, if not human?”

Aoi got up and did a backflip, landing on the bed as a large, blue, black-footed, five tailed fox, leaving her remaining clothes behind. Jiraiya’s jaw hit the floor as Aoi looked at him expectantly. “Same as always.”, Aoi muttered. She turned toward and prepared to jump out of it but was stopped by Jiraiya grabbing and hugging her.

“Aw, you’re so cute and fluffy!”, Jiraiya squealed like a little girl.

“That’s - not the reaction I expected.”

Jiraiya spun her around so they were facing each other. “It must have been a while since you last revealed yourself to a human. Creatures like you are used in children’s animation now.”, Jiraiya explained in a less eardrum shattering voice. “I should show you some of those western - cartoons, I think they call them.”

“I, um, wha-what’s a car-toon? You’re the first human I’ve had contact with in fifty years.”

“Well then, I have a lot of innovation to catch you up on.”

*Present Day*

Jiraiya’s apartment
Date: Sep 20th, time: 4:00 pm

*Jiraiya’s perspective*

Jiraiya woke up from his dream to his US apartment, his empty apartment. No Aoi, no anyone, just him in the dark. “Uhg, stupid dream.” Life’s not fair. Jiraiya curled up around one of his pillows. Despite the heater, it was cold. The kind of cold that can only be filled by another living creature.

Stormy and Shadow’s house
Date: 30th day of the 7th month of the 1118 year Ee, time: 3rd hour AMR

*Shadow’s perspective*

Shadow placed the record on the plateau, lowered the needle, wound up the crank, and let the music start. It was an orchestra piece by Flourish Tone, not Shadow’s personal preference, but it was Stormy’s favorite, and Shadow didn’t hate it. Shadow flew back over to where Stormy was sitting and offered her his hoof. She accepted, and the two began to dance. There wasn’t much overhead room, but they managed. They just kept close to the ground. Despite their ages and injuries, they could still move through the air like the wind itself. It was second nature to them.

“Do you remember the first time we met?”, Shadow asked.

“I remember saving your flank.”

“I also remember saving yours shortly after.”

“I wouldn’t call that a save but rather more of an assistance.”

“Hehehe, sweet, sweet memories.”

*Flashback*

Gargon Forest, Griffonstone
Date: 988 Ee, time: 7th hour ASR

*Shadow’s perspective*

Shadow watched from the trees as the band of raiders approached General Daffodil and her escorts. There were six unicorns and seven earth ponies on the ground along with twelve pegasi from the 6th pegasi forward crossbow company in the air. Stealth operatives from the various intel divisions were scattered along the tree line. If all went according to plan, Chief Gina will sign the treaty and the war will be over, but absolutely nopony believes that he actually will. That’s why there were spies in the trees.

Gina had nearly double the troops, most only wearing light armor and pelts and carrying cheap or scavenged weapons. There were some that had armors that they scavenged from Equestrian troops, including Gina himself. This royally pissed everypony off. These criminals were wearing their celestially blessed armor. That metal was forged in sunfire, their princess’s fire, and the dark paints of the stolen stealth armor was made in accordance with a formula created by the moon sovereign. They had no right to wear it.

As the two forces met, Shadow’s quarry came into view. Just as expected, Gina ordered some of his raiders to hide in the trees and attack Daffodil. Shadow slinked his shadowy form to just behind one of the griffons. The two waited for their respective signals as their camandors talked. As Daffodil stated the requirement that the raiders will be required to surrender all pieces of stolen Equestrian property, Gina gave his signal.

Shadow’s griffon jumped and spread its wings to fly, but Shadow wrapped himself around it. The two fell to the ground and began to scuffle. Shadow resumed his physical form in order to attack back. They were both out in the open now, surrounded by fighting on all sides. Shadow wore claw shoes as his primary weapons. The two slashed and clawed at each other and even tried biting. The fighting only grew with the EUP having better equipment but the raiders having more fighters. Almost every EUP soldier had to fend off two raiders.

Shadow was quickly running out of magic and was now fighting two raiders. He was losing. From out of nowhere, a blue blur just barely grazed the two raiders, but the raider chasing it was not so skilled or lucky as it crashed into Shadow’s raiders. Shadow looked up to see one of the crossbow company pegasi aiming down at the raiders. She fired off three shots in quick succession, killing the three raiders.

“That was very impressive!”, Shadow called up to her.

“Keep moving. We still have to make these cretins pay for their blasphemy.”, she commanded.

Shadow saluted and took to the air. As he got higher up, he noticed a raider sneaking up on the crossbow company pegasus as she was busy launching arrows. “What out!”, Shadow screamed as he rushed to intercept the raider. She turned around just in time to see Shadow digging his claws into the raider. Shadow pulled one of his claws and drove it into the raider’s heart. The raider went limp and slid off Shadow's claws, landing with a thump and sickening cracks.

“Impressive”, the crossbow company pegasus said.

“Come on, we still have to make these cretins pay for their blasphemy.”, Shadow said with a smile.

*Present Day*

“You’re incredible.”, Shadow said.

“I was, wasn’t I?”, Stormy said with a bit of melancholy.

“No, you are incredible. Never forget that.”

*Flashback*

Minerva’s childhood home
Date: 1982, time: 12:00 pm

*Simon’s perspective*

“Daddy! Daddy! Come play!”, Minerva called.

“Okay, okay, I’m coming.” Simon followed Minerva to her room. Minerva had set up her tea set and gotten out the appropriate attire for Simon. Minerva was wearing her princess dress and tiara waving her favorite wand around. She handed Simon his tutu and tiara. Before he had a kid, Simon only wore a tutu once. He lost a drunken bet to his friends, quite badly, and he hated every second of it, all his “real men don’t wear girly things” macho man crap. Although, he still wouldn’t be caught dead wearing a tutu unless Minerva asked him to wear it. Who could say ‘no’ to that face?

Simon put the tutu and tiara on and took a seat on the floor, he couldn’t fit in the chairs. The other three seats were taken up by Minerva, Mr. Bearmont, and Ms. Elli von Bearstine.

“Would you like some tea, Mr. Bearmont?”, Minerva asked, then poured the imaginary tea. “And how about you, Ms. von Bearstine?” Minerva poured Ms. von Bearstine a cup. “And you, Daddy?”

“I would love some tea.” Minerva poured Simon his cup, and he proceeded to take a sip. “Thank you very much, Princess.”

Minerva’s smile was infectious and could light up a room. Simon was happy that he could bring such joy to his daughter. He hoped that he would be there for her for many years. If only he knew back then it would be a mere ten more.

*Present Day*

Windham Correctional Center
Date: Sep 21st, time: 10:00 pm

*Simon’s perspective*

Simon held the picture of Anura with great care. It was his most cherished possession. The day he got to meet her was all he had to look forward to and the only thing that gave him hope.

SHWO ch61 Hunting season

Sunset’s locker
Date: Sep 23rd, time: 12:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Okay, name all the presidents.”, Flash said.

“George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson,-”, Sunset said while continuing to rummage through her locker. She had too many books and not enough space

“James”

“James Monroe, James Madison”

“It’s Madison, then Monroe.”

“Uhhg, I hate history.”

“I don’t like it either, but if we don’t learn from the past,-”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, we’ll be doomed to repeat it. I get that, but how does knowing the names of all the presidents help with that? Even if we do need that information, we have the internet. If that’s not an option, then we have bigger problems.”

Flash did not get a chance to answer beyond a shrug as he was cut off by someone kissing him. Both of them were too shocked by this action to act immediately, but as soon as the shock wore off, Sunset yanked the girl, who she could now process as being Lily Valley, off of Flash and shoved her into the lockers. “What the fuck, Lily?”, Sunset growled.

“It gets under your skin. That’s the only reason I need.”, Lily said with a chuckle.

Sunset raised her fist to strike her, but then remembered that they were far from alone, and this would get back to the teachers. “Grr, if you ever come anywhere near me or Flash ever again, I will rip that pretty little face of yours up with nothing more than the weapons nature gave me, and if you think I’m bluffing, go to Crystal Prep and ask about a kid named Sage.”

Lily continued smiling, clearly not taking Sunset’s threat seriously. She’s gotten bolder. Sunset threw Lily away from them, causing her to stumble before she huffed and walked off indignantly. Sunset turned back around to face Flash, who still looked shocked but now also scared.

“Sunset, I swear I’m not cheating on you. I-I have no idea why she kissed me. I-”, Flash said frantically.

“Shush, it’s okay. I know you’re not cheating.”, Sunset said while lovingly caressing Flash’s face. “You’re too smart for that. Any girl other than me would be a major downgrade.” Sunset reached into her locker, pulled out a sanitary wipe, and wiped down Flash’s lips. “That’s better. We don’t want whatever that harlot’s lips have been around to spread to us.”

“Like what, and what’s a harlot?”

Sunset smiled and kissed Flash. His naivety can be very cute at times. “Both are questions I don’t think your mother would be happy with me answering.” Flash still looked confused but seemed to understand what Sunset meant. Sunset closed up her locker, grabbed Flash’s hand, and led them to the lunch room.

ASL Club
Date: same day, time: 4:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset watched from her dark corner as everyone packed up and got ready to leave. Sunset’s plan went well. They were now up to a respectable ten members. There were some kids that ‘noped out’, as Rarity put it, when they found out Sunset was involved. Good riddance to them. The current club membership is Flash, Octavia, Rarity, Muffins, Sweetie Drops, Sunflower, Forest Glow, Brindle, Duke, and Flax. Sunset didn’t participate much in the club. She would still translate when necessary, but Vinyl and Meg were surprisingly good teachers that it was rare. Meg could even do it professionally when she grew up; she was that good.

As most of the other kids were leaving, Forest walked up to Sunset and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “I know your secret, but don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.”

Sunset was more confused than alarmed. There was simply no way she could learn any of her more damning secrets, and even if she did, she’d just sound crazy. “And what secret would that be?”

“I know you’re a vampire.”

Sunset’s mind went straight to red alert, but she tried to keep her face neutral. How could she know I’m ‘the Vampire’? What else - Wait, she said “a vampire”. “What do you mean by ‘vampire’?”

“You know, a vampire. Like the ones in the ‘Dusk’ movies.”

She thinks I’m an actual vampire? Sunset was so baffled by the situation that she decided to just go along with it. “Yeah, thanks”

Forest seemed satisfied with that answer and left the classroom. Nut job, Sunset thought as she shook her head. Flash walked over to Sunset with a puzzled look on his face. “What was that about?”

“She thinks I’m a vampire.”, Sunset said dryly.

“You do have those fangs and are hot and nocturnal and have a generally vampiry attitude. All you’re missing is a weakness to garlic and a need to drink blood.”

Sunset fixed Flash with a thoroughly unamused look. “The word’s ‘vampiric’.” Sunset stopped to think for a second before getting a sly smile. “Although, I do have an allergy to raw garlic, but the cooking process breaks down whatever’s in it that I can’t eat. Maybe I am a vampire?”, Sunset joked.

Flash flashed her a knowing and pleased grin. “What happens when you eat garlic?”

“My mouth goes numb and gets all tingly. That will happen to any part of my body that comes into contact with raw garlic.”, Sunset said without humor. “It’s rather unpleasant.”

“I bet so. Do you want to do anything about her?”

“Uhg, no, I already have one problem to deal with. Plus, she promised to “keep my secret”.”, Sunset said with air quotes. “She’s harmless.”

“If you say so. Ya know, I like the idea of having a vampire girlfriend. You definitely live up to the stories I’ve read.”

“You’ve been hanging around me too long.”, Sunset said with a shake of her head. “By the way, any idea what the ‘Dusk’ movies are?”

“Well, I heard that they are a series of movies popular with the older kids and they’re based off of a book series of the same name. Why?”

“They, apparently, have something to do with vampires. Forest mentioned them to me, and that’s where she got the idea I’m a vampire from.”

“Oh, maybe we can watch them some time. We’re both old enough now.”

“Sure, I’d like to get a better idea of what’s going on in Forest’s head, but will your mom allow it? I heard that Christan parents don’t let their kids watch that kind of thing.”

“My mom knows the difference between reality and make-believe.”, Flash said with a shrug. “I’ll check out a video rental on my way home Friday and call you. We can watch it over the weekend. That good?”

“Sounds fine with me.” Sunset got up from her seat and gave Flash a peck on the cheek. “See ya later.”

“Bye”

Streets of Canterville
Date: Sep 27th, time: 4:40 pm

*Flash’s perspective*

Flash stared out the car’s window as the world passed by. He knew this route as well as the back of his hand. He could practically navigate it blindfolded, if it weren’t for the cars. They lived surprisingly far from the base, on the other side of town, far. Flashed guessed that it was so he could go to a better school. He heard about Westside’s reputation, and it wasn’t good.

“Hey Mom, can we stop by the video rental place? There’s a movie Sunset and I want to watch, and I want to see if they have it.”

“I don’t see why not.” As the place came up, Mom pulled off the road and into the lot. Mom parked the car, and the two entered the store. The place was dead. Mom said that places like this were going out of business due to the rise of streaming services. Flash went straight to the fantasy section and began browsing. It didn’t take him long to find what he was looking for. The box had a picture of a moderately attractive man and woman on it. Flash brought the movie to the counter, where Mom already was.

“That’s an interesting pick.”, Mom noted. Flash shrugged his shoulders and handed Mom the movie. Mom rented the movie, and the two exited the store and re-entered their car. Flash read over the box as they drove home. The movie sounded interesting. He was becoming excited to watch it.

Sunset’s room
Date: Sep 29th, time: 10:00 pm

*Flash’s perspective*

Flash stared at the TV with a blank expression as the credits rolled, and he knew everybody else had similar expressions. They had just finished watching the first ‘Dusk’ movie, and Flash could see why Forest Glow thinks that Sunset is a vampire from the franchise. Except-

“That was terrible.”, Emi said.

“That was the worst acting I’ve ever seen.”, Sunset followed up with, and Flash couldn’t agree more.

“I take that to mean you don’t want to see the other two.”, Flash said.

“Who would okay two more of this dumpster fire?”, Sunset asked with near outrage in her voice. “I can’t believe that nut job thinks I’m a vampire from this movie. Now, I’m insulted.”

“Any changes of plans regarding Forest?”

“No, she’s still harmless. Though, I might show her what a real vampire looks like.”

Flash didn’t know what that meant but thought better of asking Sunset at that moment. It was best just to go along with it until she calmed down.

Sunset’s room
Date: Oct 16th, time: 9:30 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

“Modern day spoken Ponish is a mishmash of Old Pegasin, Old Earth Ponish, and Old Unicorsian, but the written language is almost entirely Unicorsian. Earth ponies didn’t have much of a writing system, and pegasi writing systems were decentralized. By that I mean each city had their own system. Unicorns were the only ones with a centralized writing system.”, Sunset explained.

Brigid made mental notes on everything Sunset said. Learning to speak Ponish was going much easier than reading. The theory that the writing system was intentionally made overly complicated has been all but confirmed in Brigid’s mind. From what Sunset has told them of the modern Equestrian ruling class, this would not be out of the ordinary for them, and the ruling class is and has always been almost entirely unicorns. Brigid would just have to see it for herself to be sure. She only had one point of data, and it was not wise to go off such a small data sample.

Although, as complicated as it is, it’s more consistent than English, making it much more predictable. An expression Brigid really likes is “The only rule English has is that you capitalize the word ‘I’”. That doesn’t apply to Ponish. Ponish rules were numerous and constant.

“Try translating this.”, Sunset instructed.

Brigid read over the sentence and began translating it in her mind. “Where is da bathroom? Really?”

“Hey, it is something necessary to know. Now, try this sentence.”

Brigid chuckled to herself and they got on with the lesson.

CMS lunchroom
Date: Oct 18th, time: 12:10 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Hey, looks like Octavia and Vinyl are hanging out together.”, Flash commented.

“Hm, good for her.” Sunset watched them as they interacted. They were cute together. Sunset even noticed Octavia rubbing Vinyl’s arm. Oh, I’m going ta get a lot a’ mileage out of that.

“Uh, excuse me, Sunset Shimmer?”

Sunset was pulled from her thoughts by what sounded like a younger male student calling her name. “What do you want?”, Sunset said, annoyed. There were two of them, and she recognized them as new students.

“Uh, there’s this girl who’s been bullying us, and we heard you can scare bullies off.”, the green haired one said.

“That is something I do, but I don’t do it for free. Money or candy will do.”

“Uh, we don’t have anything to pay you with.”, the orange haired one said.

“Then why should I help you?”

“Will do whatever you want. Just tell us what you want, and we’ll do it.”

“You’ll be my servants?”, Sunset asked with a raised eyebrow. They must be desperate. Hm, desperate people are easily manipulated but also dangerous.

“Uh, yeah, I guess so.”

“Alright then, who’s bullying you?”

“We don’t know her name, but she has blond hair, light skin, and yellow eyes.”, the green haired boy said.

“Lily Valley”, Sunset growled. “What are your names?”

“Um, I’m Snips. That’s Snails.”, Snips said nervously.

“Alright, Snips and Snails, sit.” Sunset pointed to the bench opposite her like she would when instructing a dog. “We need to discuss our plans.”

Katon family home
Date: Oct 31st, time: 10:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

If Emi could express how annoyed she was that people stop giving out candy “this early” in more ways, she would. In her mind, it was a religious holiday; they should at least continue until midnight. Sunset just shook her head. Emi would understand once she got older.

Emi and Anura bounded upstairs to enjoy their bounties, and Sunset plopped herself on the living room couch to do the same. Sunset was soon joined by Brigid, and Sunset handed her the customary selection of stuff she dislikes and Brigid likes. Sunset could understand the culinary differences they enjoy for almost everything, Sunset prefers sweet and juicy things while Brigid prefers tart things, but Sunset will never understand how she can eat candy corn. Those things taste like dried, chalky earwax dipped in sugar. Sunset just handed it all over and tried not to get sick thinking about it.

“Hey, Sunset.”

“Yeah?”

“Tomorrah is da start a’ deer season. Now dat y’re a teen, we can take advantage a’ it.”

“Sweet” Sunset enjoyed hunting back in Ireland and has been wanting to go hunting again, but due to the American wilds being more dangerous, Brigid wouldn’t let them go until Sunset was older.

“Now, we’ll be goin’ deeper inta da forest dan ya lived in. Dat means we might run inta some large’ animals, n’ deer c’n be dangerous too.”

“Really, deer?”

“We’re talkin’ ‘bout a several hundred pound animal with large antlers n’ a brain da size a’ y’r fist, n’ dey have attitudes, jus’ like moose.”

“Jeese, even the herbivores on this planet want to kill you.”

“Actually, afte’ talkin’ ta a zoologist Ah know, Ah learned that y’re more likely ta be made past tense by an herbivore dan a carnivore.”

“That makes no sense.”

“Ta put it in a nutshell, carnivores are gonna be more cautious as dey only want ta eat or are protectin’ deir young, but herbivores will attack without any caution with da reason rangin’ from dem feelin’ threatened ta no apparent reason.”

“Oh”

“Get ta bed early tomorrah. We’ll be gettin’ an early start. Ah put da clothes ya’ll need in y’r room.”

Everfree Forest
Date: Nov 2nd, time: 8:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

To say the drive into the forest was smooth would be inaccurate. Sunset wasn’t being tossed about the car, but the unpaved road did provide some jolts. Brigid was taking them deep into the woods, and they would also be walking even deeper when the road ended. They were both wearing jeans and other durable clothing along with bright orange vests and hats. The orange garments were apparently required by law, but they were so damn bright they hurt Sunset’s eyes. It reminded her of the time one of the other students was chastised for not wearing enough neon for spirit week so decided to come to school wearing nothing but the brightest neon clothing for the rest of the week. It was physically painful to look at her.

The road ended in a parking lot which Brigid pulled into. Around the lot were trails carved into the forest and signs indicating where they led to. Once parked, the two of them exited the car, went around to the back, and grabbed their guns and bags. Sunset could now use larger guns but still not as big as Brigid’s.

“Any preference on which way we go?”, Brigid asked.

“Not really.”

“Okay den, let’s go dis way.” Brigid led them down one of the trails and deeper into the woods. The trail soon dissolved, and they were walking through undergrowth. “Sunset, ya mentioned ta me dat ya have experience with trackin’. Now would be a good time ta polish off dem old skills. We should only hunt the bucks, preferably older or injured ones.”

“Okay, give me a sec.” Sunset closed her eyes and focused on her surroundings. She listened for hoofsteps in the brush or any other deer sounds. She heard something that fit the bill to the North. “That way.”, Sunset said while pointing in the indicated direction.

“Stay close.” They moved slowly and methodically in order to make as little noise as possible and not seem threatening. When they reached the source of the sound, all they found was a doe. “Sigh, okay, let’s get out a’ ‘ere n’ try again.”, Brigid said quietly. Before they left, Sunset took in the scent of the deer. There would be a difference between a doe and a buck but not a big one.

They moved further away from the doe, and Sunset began searching again. There were so many smells and sounds that it was almost overwhelming. While out in the wild, you need to keep your wits about you. That means that Sunset can’t tune out the background noise like she would during everyday life. Sunset just had to keep breathing and focused. Sunset eventually got a whiff of deer. “There’s another one that way.”, Sunset said while pointing Southeast.

“Lead da way.” They crept towards the smell and found a buck with antlers big enough to squish Brigid. “Now, dat’s wha’ Ah’m talkin’ ‘bout.”, Brigid whispered. Brigid crouched down into the brush, lifted her gun, and motioned for Sunset to do the same. “Aim f’r da head.”

Sunset did as instructed. As soon as they had their shots lined up, Brigid instructed Sunset to shoot. Sunset did so, hitting it just behind the eye and causing brain matter to go flying.

“Nice shot!” Brigid got up from their hiding spot and went over to inspect the kill, and Sunset soon followed. Brigid placed her hand over the buck’s eyes then closed her own.

“What are you doing?”

“Showin’ respect ta da deer. It had ta die f’r us ta eat. It’s important ta appreciate dat or become monsters.”

“Oh” Sunset kneeled down next to Brigid and mimicked her actions. As she did so, she couldn’t help but look over the wound. It was large and rather grisly, not like the small holes they put into the hares.

“Ya okay?”, Brigid asked.

“Yeah, it’s just that I usually roast those I kill. I don’t normally see their brains.”

“Understandable, when insides are on da outside, dat means some‘hin’ really bad has happened.”

“That, and brain matter is kinda gross.”

“Ha, true. Now, let’s get dis ‘hin’ back ta da car.”

Sunset pulled the tarp from her bag, and Brigid lifted the deer onto it. Brigid took the front of the tarp, and Sunset took the back end. Brigid dragged it while Sunset made sure the deer didn’t slide off.

“This is the worst part of hunting.”, Sunset griped. The trek back to the car was uneventful aside from the tarp getting snagged on a branch or two. When they got back to the car and it was time to load the kill, Brigid opened up the back, and the two lifted it in. Brigid had put the back seats down before they left, so they didn’t need to do that. Once it was in, Brigid pulled her tarp out of her bag and used it to cover the deer.

“Ya did a good job ta day, Sunset. Ah’m gonna show ya how ta process it when we get home.”

“Sounds good.” The two of them hopped in and started driving. Shortly into the drive, Sunset fell asleep and was woken up when they got home.

“Come on, Sunset. Ups n’ at ‘em.”

“Mmm, are we back already?”

“Yes, now, come on. We got work ta do.”

“Mmm, comin’.” Sunset helped Brigid haul the deer into the yard and onto some folding tables that would act as their work space. Brigid went back into the garage and came back out with some scary looking tools, wet wipes, buckets, a trash can, and a couple of aprons. Brigid placed the buckets and trash can under and around the table, the scary tools and wet wipes on the table, gave one of the aprons to Sunset to put on, and then put her own apron on.

“Now, first is guttin’ it. What ya do with da guts depends on wha’ ya plan on doin’ with da deer. We plan on usin’ every part dat’s edible. Dat means every‘hin’ goes inta da buckets. Although, Ah like ta put da digestive tract in its own bucket. Da intestines are a bit more gross dan da rest a’ da beasty.” Brigid proceeded to demonstrate and instruct Sunset on the best way to extract the organs without damaging them, starting by cutting around and removing the testicles. The testicles got thrown into the lined trash can.

“What could we possibly need the intestines for?”

“Sausages”, Brigid said bluntly. Sunset’s face became one of confusion and disgust. “Wha’ did ya think sausage casin's were made out a’?”

“So, we slaughter an animal, grind ‘em up into a paste, and then shove ‘em up their own anus?”

“Hahahaha, Ah think dat’s da best way Ah eve’ heard da process described. We are a bunch a’ sickoes, ain’t we?”

“Yes”, Sunset said bluntly.

Brigid merely shook her head at Sunset’s reply. “Okay now, we’re gonna hang it upside down from da tree. Ah’ll grab some rope but first.” Brigid took one of the tools and popped the antlers off. They got placed into a pile under the table.

“Do you plan on using the antlers?”

“Yes, dey make great dog chews. Late’ Ah’ll take da bone saw n’ cut ‘em up inta smaller pieces.” Brigid wiped her hands off then went into the garage. She came out with the rope then began hanging it on and wrapping it around the tree. Brigid wrapped it in such a way that the weight will be distributed amongst the strongest branches. The two then lifted the deer off the table, over to the tree, and Brigid placed the back legs threw the loop. It was noticeably easier to lift it without the antlers. “Okay, we next skin it. We c’n’t really do any‘hin’ with da skin, so it goes in da bin. C’n ya go grab it?” Sunset nodded then quickly grabbed the trash can. Brigid proceeded to teach Sunset how to skin a deer without cutting out the muscle. Brigid then grabbed the hose and sprayed down the carcass. “Dis is ta insure all da hair is off. Now, we’ll leave it out ‘ere ove’night ta let da meat tenderize. C’n ya grab da tarp.” Sunset dis as instructed then Brigid wrapped the tarp around the deer.

“How will leaving it out overnight tenderize it?”

“Well, it’s called agin’ da meat. Da agin’ process breaks down enzymes and muscle cells dat enhances da meat’s flavor and tenderness. It’s similar ta what happens when ya cook some‘hin’.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Sunset looked over the carcass, and an idea struck her. “Mom, do you plan on doing anything with the head?”

“Hm, no. Some people will choose ta stuff n’ mount ‘em, but Ah don’t like da look. Ah always feel like Ah’m bein’ watched, n’ now, taxidermy reminds me a’ - ya know who.”

“Yeah, our own version of ‘he who must not be named’.” A shiver ran up Sunset’s spine at the thought of him. “Can I have the skull?”

“Sure, but why?”

“There’s this girl in school that’s causing trouble for my group. I plan on shoving it in her locker. I’ll clean it before I get shoving.”

“Dat would be effective, but how do ya plan on gettin’ inta ‘er locker, n’ what kinda trouble?”

“I’ll just pick her lock, and she kissed Flash, without his consent, and has been bullying a couple of henchmen I’ve recently acquired.”

“Henchmen?”

“That was the only way they could pay my fees. You can’t say I’m not a good business woman.”

“Let’s finish ‘hin’s up n’ get cleaned up. We c’n discuss your questionable business practices late’. Now, ‘ere’s da worst part a’ processin’ a deer,” Brigid walked over to the buckets and picked up the one with the digestive tract in it, “flushin’ out da crap.”

“Ew”

“Eh, it sounds worse dan it is. We jus’ pick a spot, stick da hose in it, n’ blast da insides. Y’r fathe’ gets ta sanitize it.”, Brigid said with a mischievous look.

Sunset’s room
Date: same day, time: 9:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Wow”, Emi proclaimed as the superhero in the movie they were watching did something cool. It was admittedly cool, but Sunset was watching Emi just as much as the movie. She was honestly more entertaining than the movie. “Have you ever done anything like that?”, Emi asked with a bright smile on her face.

“Kinda, I’ve never done anything exactly like that but close.”

“You had the coolest life.” After saying that, Emi got a contemplative look on her face. “Hang on, you were some kind of super soldier back in Equestria, and you talk about that time with pride, but you talk about the time you met Wood with sorrow and fear. You even talk about the time Sage attacked you like you got puked on. What’s the difference?”

Sunset flinched at that question. She really didn’t like thinking about that day. “It’s because I felt powerless. Back in Equestria, I was the second most powerful magic user, trained by a god to fight a god, but when I first came here, I was absolutely powerless. I could do nothing but watch and run. Fear comes from the lack of understanding and control. At that moment, I had neither. That’s why that event haunts me. If that happened now, I probably wouldn’t be haunted by it because I would understand what was going on and would have some power.”

“Oh, humans have a very strange relationship with power.”

“Humans and ponies alike. That’s one of the few things the two species have in common.”

Katon family backyard
Date: Nov 3rd, time: 2:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Now, ya wanna get as much meat off as possible. Dat means cuttin’ very close ta da bone, but ya don’t wanna grind y’r knife along da bone as dat will damage y’r knife.”

“Wow, so that’s what muscles look like!”, Emi proclaimed while running over.

“Emi, ya know y’re not supposed ta be out ‘ere.”

“But this looks sooo cool.” Emi began playing with the tendons and making the leg move.

“Aieee”, Anura screamed, making Sunset’s ears hurt.

“Sweet Celestia! Anura, we told you we were processing a deer! Go back inside!”, Sunset barked.

Anura ran back inside, crying. “I’ll calm her down.”, Emi announced before hopping up and running after Anura.

“Uhg, dis is why Ah only brought ya along. Now, wha’ was Ah sayin’?”

“No grinding the knife. That’s also why all those movies that show characters having conversations with locked swords is unrealistic. They should at the very least have them grinding the broad sides of their swords instead of the edges if they’re going to do that type of scene.”

“Right, so, how ya cut it depends on wha’ y’re gonna use it for. We’re jus’ gonna cut it up inta da same sotra cuts ya’d get at da store. Anzhong c’n decide wha’ he wants ta do with it late’.” Brigid proceeded to cut into the meat. It wasn’t quite as smooth as a hot knife through butter, but it was close. Due to how delicate this step was, Sunset was only watching but would be able to do the cutting herself once she’s a bit older. As she cut off the chunks, she handed them to Sunset to put back on the table. Once all the meat was off, they moved on to the next step. “Now, check f’r any discolored or dry spots. We’ll wanna cut dose out along with da excess fat.” the two feeled around the meat for any spots. All the found spots were cut out then the excess fat. That left them with a couple hundred pounds of meat. “Dat should hold ya ove’ f’r a few days.”

“Hardy har har.”, Sunset said, crossing her arms.

Brigid gave Sunset a smile before grabbing another piece of equipment and several vacuum sealable bags. Little instruction was needed as the two of them got to placing the meat in the bags then vacuuming out the air.

“Aw man, Ah missed it.”, Emi said dejectedly.

“Sorry, Emi. Ah’ll teach ya how ta hunt n’ process a deer once y’re thirteen.”

“That’s if I turn thirteen. Even if I beat this, there’s still everything else that’s trying to kill us.”

Sunset and Brigid looked at each other to see what the other thinks about that. After silently coming to a consensus, they turned back to Emi. “Alright, ya c’n help us put dese in da freezer.”

“Fine” Emi ran over and began helping Sunset carry the slabs of meat into the garage and into the deep freeze. After several trips, they got all the meat put away, and Sunset and Brigid got to cleaning up the work sight.

“Aren’t ya gonna help?”, Brigid asked.

“Na, I’m good. I think it’s really important to wait until I’m thirteen before you teach me this part.”

“Slick, go inside.”

Emi gave Brigid a triumphant grin then ran off.

“You should have made her help.”, Sunset commented.

“She would have made a bigge’ mess.”

“Hm, true.”

The two continued cleaning up until the only blood remaining was either on the ground, on them, or on some of the knives. The two folded the table up, and Brigid put it back into the garage while Sunset examined the bones. The only parts still easily recognizable as deer were the hooves and head. Sunset took a cleaver and began hacking away at the spine until the head was detached.

“If ya wanna take da flesh off, Ah’d recommend boilin’ it. Dat will-”

“Dissolve the proteins and cause it all to slop off. I’m a pyromancer. I know heat.”

“Alrighty den. Now, dis last part is gonna be loud, n’ Ah don’t exactly have ta teach ya how ta do it. So, why don’t ya grab da big pot from da garage n’ start cookin’.”

“Sounds good.” Sunset ran into the garage and to where they kept all the special pots and pans they don’t need outside of holidays or other big events. Grabbing one the skull can fit in, Sunset ran back inside before Brigid could start the bone saw. Once inside, Sunset filled the pot with tap water and began cooking.

“Whatcha making?”, Emi asked.

“Deer skull soup, want some?”

“Are you actually going to eat dat?”, Emi asked in disbelieving disgust.

“No, I’m cleaning the skull. The soup will get dumped outside. How’s Anura doing?”

“She’s fine now, but I don’t think she’ll ever come hunting with us.”

“That’s understandable.” Sunset turned her attention back to the pot. The water had become discolored, but the flesh was still attached. Emi had run back upstairs to do who knows what, and Sunset just continued to watch the boiling water. Now, she wished they had a stove safe cauldron. This stuff was starting to look like a stereotypical witch’s brew, animal skull included. Of course, real witch’s brew was just really healthy soup, but this was still fun. The flesh eventually began slopping off the skull, revealing an off white color. Sunset placed a towel on the counter then used a couple of spoons to remove the skull from the pot and put it onto the towel. Sunset then turned the burner off and waited for everything to cool down enough to be handled.

One the skull was cooled, Sunset dried it off and began considering the best way to send her message. After looking like a redneck/serial killer Shakespeare for just short of too long, Sunset got a plan.

Outside Lily’s locker
Date: Nov 4th, time: 8:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset thoroughly disliked getting up early, but revenge was far more than worth the inconvenience. Sunset put her ear up to the toublers and got to work. It took longer than Sunset wished it would have. I need more practice with combo locks. Sunset got it open, pushed Lily’s stuff out of the way, pulled the skull out of her bag, and placed it in Lily’s locker. The skull now had a note taped to it to complete the message. Sunset locked the locker back up and exited the scene before anyone noticed her.

Halls of CMS
Date: same day, time: 8:20 am

*Daisy’s perspective*

“Did you hear what Torch Song was saying? She said-”, Lily yammered on. Daisy just continued to tune her sister out. Daisy loved her sister, she really did, but she could be so annoying. Boys this, boys that, this girl did XYZ, and this other girl NWP. It got grating over time. Unfortunately, their lockers were right across the hall from each other, and they shared the same lunch period. That means that they were only separated by their classes.

The two reached their lockers and began opening them. Just as Daisy was about to reach into her locker, she heard Lily scream. “Aaaaieeeeeee”, Lily screeched at the top of her lungs. Daisy spun around and looked past Lily to see an animal skull in her locker. She didn’t know what kind of animal, but she did see a not taped to it.

Daisy slid past Lily, who was doing some sorta mix between hyperventilating, screaming, and crying, and the growing crowd and grabbed the note. Daisy opened the note and began reading it out loud. “I was not huffing and puffing when I made my threat, and now, the orange and green haired boys you’ve been bullying are also under my protection. If you touch, speak to, or so much as look at my boys funny, your head will be the next one in my pot.” What kind of person would write this or do that? “Lily, what’s going on?”

“It was Sunset! That psycho wants revenge because I kissed her boyfriend!”

“We should tell Vice Principal Leo about this.”

Vice Principal Leo’s office
Date: same day, time: 5:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset sat in between her parents while the Valley twins sat between their parents. Vice Principal Leo sat opposite them, behind her desk.

“Ms. Lily Valley, please state your accusation, calmly.”, Leo instructed.

“That psycho put an animal’s skull in my locker because I kissed her boyfriend.”, Lily spat with venom.

“You were also bullying Snips and Snails, who hired me to get you to stop, and it was a deer’s skull.”, Sunset said, nonchalantly.

“See, she admits it!”, Lily screeched.

“Lily, please keep your voice down. Sunset, are you confessing to breaking into Ms. Lily Valley’s locker and planting the skull?”, Leo asked.

“I am, but I’m also filing my own complaint about Lily. As she said, Lily kissed Flash, without his consent, and, as I have said, has been bullying two boys named Snips and Snails. All three are outside and willing to give testimony.”

“Alright, bring them in.”, Leo instructed. Sunset hopped up from her chair and went straight to the door. Sunset opened the door and beckoned the three boys in. The boys came, and all four of them came to stand in front of Leo. “Gentleman, Ms. Shimmer says that you can back up some claims she made against Ms. Lily Valley. Is that true?”

“Yes, ma’am.”, Flash spoke first and like he was addressing a superior officer. “September twenty-second, I was quizzing Sunset before her history exam. In the middle of our conversation, Lily came up and kissed me. Now, I’m in a committed, loving relationship with Sunset. I would never betray her trust by gallivanting around with other girls. I am most certainly not, nor have ever been, in a relationship of any kind with Lily. I have never given or implied any form of consent for Lily to touch me in any way.”

“Ha, he’s a boy. He should be flattered that girls are taking interest in him.”, Mr. Valley said. Flash looked offended by Mr. Valley’s words. Sunset took his hand and began rubbing her thumb over the back.

“If memory serves me, the same thing was said about women not twenty years ago, but now, that’s considered sexual assault.”, Anzhong explained. “Does that change because Flash is male?”

“I-I guess not.”, Mr. Valley said, now looking ashamed. His wife rubbed his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

Leo wrote something down then turned her attention back to Sunset’s group. “Mr. Snips Boillard and Mr. Snails Boiardo, what are your claims against Ms. Lily Valley?”

“Lily calls us names and mocks us.”, Snips said.

“She’ll also block the hallway so we can’t get away from her.”, Snails added.

“Lily, do you have any counter to their accusations?”, Leo asked. Lily crossed her arms and turned away with a huff, like a two year old. “Alright, Sunset, I’m giving you Saturday detention, and Lily, I’m giving you in-school suspension. Does anyone have any problem with that?” Lily tried to say something but her mother shut her down. “Alright then, I’d say we’re done here. Have a good rest of your day.”

The ten of them exited the room and went out to the hall. As soon as they were out, Mr. Valley turned to Flash. “I am very sorry for my words earlier. I was being bigoted.”

Flash said nothing and seemed confused by the situation. Anzhong stepped in to clear up the awkward situation. “In your defense, it is a wide sweeping cultural issue. You would be surprised by how many defense lawyers argue that men can not be raped.”

“That’s - disturbing.”, Ms. Valley said.

“A good trick to use is the “gender reversal game”. If it would not be acceptable if it happened to the opposite gender, then it’s not acceptable now.”, Anzhong explained.

“Thank you. I will keep that in mind.”, Mr. Valley said. “Now Lily, it’s your turn to apologize.” Lily merely crossed her arms and turned away. “Lily Valley! Apologize now, or your punishment will be worse!”

Lily turned to Flash but did not uncross her arms. “I’m sorry.”, Lily said half heartedly.

“With sincerity!”, Mr. Valley barked.

“I’m sorry, Flash.”

“We’ll work on that. Hopefully, we won’t have to meet again any time soon.”, Ms. Valley said before ushering her family away.

“Dat was… strange.”, Brigid said once the Valleys were out of ear shot. “A good kinda strange though.”

“Nobody in the office will believe me if I told them this story.”, Anzhong said.

“Emi’s not gonna believe us.”, Sunset remarked.

“My mom’s waiting for me. I gotta go.”, Flash said.

“Yeah, us too.”, Snips said. The three boys waved then ran off to the front of the school.

“Clearly, we need ta get out more. We’ve become jaded.”, Brigid commented. Jaded?

Sunset’s room
Date: same day, time: 6:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset booted up her dark web computer and started up her old programs. Sunset highly doubts Lily will be stopped by just an in-school suspension. She needs to be shown her place. Sunset picked out a program that was designed to harass someone nonstop. If they block the account, it will create a new account and just continue until it’s disabled. Sunset gave it some things to say and let it loose, nothing identifiable of course. “Lily, you've made a terrible mistake.”

SHWO ch62 You wanna start a war?

Canterlot Hospital
Date: Nov 16th, time: 12:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“How are you doing, Sunset?”, Nurse Rhyme asked.

“I’m doing fine.”, Sunset responded. Sunset watched the blood flow out of her arm and into the bag. It was a sight Sunset was very familiar with by now. Dr. Dracul is odd to have an entire deep freeze filled with Sunset’s blood at this point.

Once the hospital got their monthly dose of her blood, Sunset got her hoodie back on and marched to the chemo ward. This place was one of the most depressing places in the hospital, second only to the PICU. Everyone looked like they were on the verge of death, which more than a few were. People were pale, weak, and looked miserable. The dread and suffering was like a physical force bombarding Sunset’s scenes. There were hints of joy and happiness scattered about, but those were washed out by the negative emotions. All Sunset could do was put up her hood and try to ignore it all.

Sunset soon found Brigid on one of the benches outside the room Emi was in. Despite her not having the same powers as the rest of them, the atmosphere of the place still got to her. Sunset just curled up next to her and zipped her jacket all the way up, completely covering her head. Brigid began rubbing Sunset’s side. This was Sunset’s least favorite time of the month. It was worse than her periods.

“How ya doin’?”

“This place is draining.”

“Yeah, ya gotta wonde’ how Jiraiya isn’t an emotional wreck.”

“Something like that.”

Emi’s session took a while longer before it was over. Emi was rolled out and brought into a less irradiated room, Sunset unzipped her hood, and she and Brigid followed. Emi has gotten more accustomed to what chemo does to her body, but she still looks like crap. She was wheeled into the same rooms as Lily Light again. Lily wasn’t looking too good but still had that warm, hopeful smile.

“Hi, Emi, Sunset, Dr. Katon. How are you all doing?”, Lily asked.

“Considering we’re in a hospital, not great.”, Emi remarked.

“Hehehe, you’re funny. Got any new stories about Tomiju?”

“Boy, have I got one! So, they went hunting recently,” Emi pointed to Sunset and Brigid, “and came back with this huge buck. Mom chopped up the antlers into appropriate dog sized chews, and Tomiju got one of the ones meant for Ki. So, here’s this little dog with an antler about the same size as her, and she’s running around with it. Ki is following her around with one of the pieces sized for her, waiting for a time he can switch them out, but she doesn’t let him. Ki eventually just gives up and grabs another piece sized for him.”

“Sounds like she has a Napoleon complex.”

“Don’t you mean ‘neapolitan’?”

“Napoleon was an eighteenth century French general. He was also somewhat short by the standards a’ French noblemen, at da time.”, Brigid explained. “A Napoleon complex is an inferiority complex attributed ta people or creatures a’ small stature. Creatures with da complex will do dat sort a’ ‘hin’.”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

Sunset sat back and watched the girls interact. They waited until the staff said that they could go, which generally took ten to fifteen minutes. Once they were set loose, Sunset practically bolted to the car. Brigid carried Emi out to the car at more of a walking pace. Emi clutched on to her stuffed fox for comfort the whole way home. Once they got home, Brigid carried Emi up to her room to rest while Sunset returned to her own.

Sunset wished she could somehow give Emi the ability to use both Equestrian and Earth magic. If she could somehow get her body to accept it, she could use the Gold Hoof’s stone to heal her, but there wasn’t exactly a way to do that. Unless… If I had a source of pure magic, I can force Emi’s to adapt to it. “Humans! You beautiful, disgusting, adaptable, nightmare monsters! Being human could save Emi’s life! - But where am I going to get a source of pure magic?” Sunset paced around her room, trying to think of any sources of pure magic. She came up with very little. Pure magic was very rare and not very useful. Every spell or magical item in existence has some type of magical attribute. Even something as simplistic as an energy blast has the force attribute. If it didn’t, it’d do jack squat.

A realization hit Sunset like a fastball. She needed a source of pure magic, and there’s no source as pure as the element of magic. That little, purple twerp should have it by now. The only problems would be getting it and making sure Emi survives long enough for Sunset to get it. Planning’s so much easier before you actually start planning.

ASL Club
Date: Nov 8th, time: 3:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“You look happy.”, Sunset signed.

“My dad and brother are back. I like if you met them.”, Flash signed.

“Would be nice.” Sunset noticed Vinyl and Octavia talking and they seemed to be very familiar with each other. Sunset got Flash’s attention and pointed to them.

“You not do something mean?”

“No, just tease them.” Sunset got up from her seat and sauntered over to the love birds.

The two noticed her approach and turned to face her. “High, Sunset.”, Octavia signed.

“You two having fun?”, Sunset signed with a mischievous smile, which translates to a mischievous tone.

“Yes?”, Vinyl signed.

“You two look cozy together. Kiss yet?”

Both of their faces turned such wonderful shades of red, and Octavia began sputtering. “Wha- we’re not.”, Octavia said.

“Vinyl and Octavia sitting in a tree, K I S S I N G.”, Sunset signed and began to chuckle. The two blushed then turned away from each other. “Oh relax, I was just teasing.”, Sunset said aloud since they weren’t looking at her.

Both turned back to Sunset with confused looks then looked around to see if anyone was watching. “You don’t have problem with gay people?”, Vinyl signed.

“Why would?”, Sunset signed.

“It not exactly accepted.”, Octavia signed.

Now, it was Sunset’s turn to be confused. She knew that pansexuality wasn’t the norm here, but for being gay to not be accepted was news to her. She really hadn’t researched it beyond Brigid telling her that homosexuality, on Earth, was a survival mechanism to give orphaned or rejected young a chance to survive. Sunset’s mind went back to the school shooter drills over the summer and that one adult that asked “Are we sure this is what we want to be showing to the kids?”. That’s what they-! “If anyone gives you trouble about this, tell me.”, Sunset growled. Octavia and Vinyl seemed to have been taken aback by Sunset’s tone but nodded anyway. Sunset marched around the room and asked everyone what their opinions on gay people were. Most gave neutral responses or didn’t know what gay people were, including Snips and Snails, Rarity and Sweety Drops both blushed, and Forest picked up on Sunset’s “gayness” and used it as further proof as to Sunset’s vampireness. Apparently, all vampires are pan.

Once done with the others, Sunset sat back down in front of Flash. “You look troubled.”, Flash said.

“What do you know about homosexuality?”

“That’s what gay people are, right?” Sunset nodded ‘yes’ to Flash’s question. “I know that they are people who just want to love who they love. My mom drilled it into me pretty young that being gay wasn’t a choice people made but was rather an inchangeable part of them as much as eye color and that our ancestors caused them a lot of pain and suffering. She made me promise to treat them just like anyone else because they were anyone else. Why do you ask?”

“I just learned that being gay is considered unacceptable.”

“It was also illegal up until a couple years ago.”

“What?”, Sunset asked in a stern tone.

“Same sex marriage was illegal in Maine until May of two thousand-nine, and they would have kick you out of the military if they found out you’re gay up until this September. That’s actually why my dad and brother are coming back. My brother’s getting married to his boyfriend.”, Flash explained that last part excitedly.

“That’s great.”, Sunset said excitedly.

“And I want you to be my plus one.”

“Aw, you’re sweet. When’s the wedding?”

“The date hasn’t actually been picked out yet.”

“Let me know as soon as you can, and I’ll make sure I can make it.”

“Thank you, Sunset.”

Sentrys' house
Date: Nov 16th, time: 2:00 pm

*Flash’s perspective*

Flash heard the doorbell ring, and Mom went to answer the door. “Hello, come in.”, Mom said.

“Hey, Sunset.” Flash hopped up from his seat and went over to greet Sunset. The two hugged as Sunset’s family came in. Flash was really excited. Having their families meet was a huge step in a relationship, and they were doing it now.

“So, this is your girlfriend.”, Andy said while putting his hand on Flash’s head. “She’s cute.”

“Sunset, this is Andy, my brother. He’s an asshole.”, Flash said exasperated.

“I get it.”, Sunset said with a slight laugh. “It’s the job of older siblings to be assholes.”

“Ya got that right.”, Andy said.

Sunset looked around the room when she heard Dad come in. “By the way, your mom’s a copy machine.”, Sunset said before she walked off to rejoin her family.

Flash looked at Dad, then at Andy, then at himself in the mirror. “We don’t look that much like Dad, do we?”

Andy looked at himself, then at Flash, then at Dad. “We look almost exactly the same.”

Flash examined the three of them. They all had similar facial features, allegedly more similar than your average group of closely related people, the same blue eyes, the same blue-colored hair, and the same Navy regulation haircuts. Flash originally got his hair cut like that to feel closer to his dad and brother and because it looked cool, but now that they’re back,- I think I should grow out my hair.

Everyone finished up with basic introductions and moved to sit around the coffee table. Most of the “getting to know” part was on Dad and Andy’s side as Mom knew everyone decently well.

“So, are those ships as cramped as they say?”, Minerva asked.

“They’ve actually opened up a lot. There’s still no ballroom, but we aren’t ducking constantly.”, Andy said.

“That’s what my Dad says about cheap hotels and cheap underwear.”, Emi said, then went back to her and Anura’s game of checkers.

“Hahaha, oh, that’s funny.”, Dad chortled.

“Andy, where’s your finance?”, Sunset asked.

“He’s down in Massachusetts, visiting his family. He’ll be here in a week to start planning the wedding.”

“I bet he’s really handsome.”, Anura said.

“He is, and dramatic. I think he missed his true calling of becoming an actor. So Sunset, how’d you meet my brother?”

“Your brother heard about me from the other kids, and he’s, apparently, attracted to bad girls. So, during lunch, he came up to me, introduced himself, gave me his fruit cup, and gave me a corny pick up line. I didn’t exactly fall for him then and there, but we did eventually form a relationship.”

“You may not have fallen for me, but you did become territorial of me. Four days later, I was talking with some other girls when Sunset shooed them all away. I’m very glad that I gave her that fruit cup. Sunset’s incredible.”

Katon family home
Date: Nov 20th, time: 8:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Emi, stop playin’ with y’r food.”, Brigid ordered.

“But look at it. It’s so wobbly.”, Emi protested. Sunset did have to admit, it was wobbly and fun to play with. Anzhong had tried making flan for the first time. It wasn’t Sunset’s favorite but not bad. Either way, Sunset was still going to eat it. She wasn’t called “the human garbage disposal” for nothing.

“Ah was thinkin’ dat it would be nice ta invite da Shots ta Thanksgivin’. Dey’ll otherwise be alone dis year.”

“I thought they had two sons.”, Anzhong commented.

“Dey do, but deir eldest won’t be home until afte’ Thanksgivin’, n’ da othe’ one is unde’ suspicion so doesn’t want ta risk his parents.”

“That is strangely sweet.”

“We ain’t exactly ones ta talk.”

“True. I have no problems with hosting them.”

“Will we be able to watch horror movies?”, Sunset asked.

“If ya wanna, but ya c’n also watch ‘em on y’r own.”

“I prefer watching them with you, and those movie nights are when you’re not too busy to hang out.”, Sunset explained.

“Ah’m sorry if we’ve been makin’ ya feel neglected. We c’n make sure ta spend more time tagethe’.”

“That’s not necessary. I just like taking advantage of the time we do have together.”, Sunset quickly explained.

“Alright” Brigid sounded unconvinced but didn’t press the matter further.

Katon family home
Date: Nov 25th, time: 6:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“It’s nice to see you girls again.”, Rosie said.

“Hi, Mrs. Shot.”, Emi said.

“Dinner will be ready in not too long.”, Anzhong instructed. There were other assorted chit-chat, but Sunset was more focused on helping make dinner. Sunset recently heard a TV advertisement that said “there can never be too many cooks in the kitchen”. Clearly, whoever wrote that has never tried to share a kitchen before. Sunset did not care how well people got along; the absolute maximum number of people in a domestic kitchen was two, and even that was stretching it. Sunset and Anzhong used a very sophisticated system that allows them to use the kitchen simultaneously; they each have their own counter space, and they each stay within the space. Sunset wants to capture all those responsible for that ad, stuff them into a single domestic kitchen, and force them to cook something.

With the food almost being done, Sunset began setting the table. With Rosie and Buck that makes… wait. “Hey Mom! Since Buck’s eating buck meat, does that make it cannibalism?!” Rosie began laughing her ass off, Brigid, Jiraiya, and Minerva chuckled, Buck rolled his eyes, Emi and Anura looked confused, and Anzhong had no reaction. Sunset grinned to herself and got back to getting plates.

“Start getting washed up.”, Anzhong announced. While everyone scrambled to the bathrooms, Sunset and Anzhong started bringing stuff out to the table. As people got done washing up, they started to help. Soon, everyone was sitting and getting ready to eat.

“Forgive me for my cultural ignorance, but do you say grace?”, Buck asked.

“Not the way you do.”, Anzhong said.

“What’s grace?”, Sunset asked.

“It’s a prayer a’ thanks said before or afte’ a meal. It’s considered polite ta wait f’r ‘em ta finish before eatin’, even if ya don’t take part y’rself.”, Brigid explained.

“Oh,” Sunset turned to address the Shots, “we already said ‘thanks’ ta the deer when we killed it.”

“The deer?”, Rosie asked.

“Who else would you pray to say ‘thanks’ to?”

“Dey’re Christians, like da Sentrys. Dey believe in an all powerful creator god, n’ dat’s who dey thank.”

“Oh” Human religions are weird. Rosie and Buck did their “grace thing” then Brigid gave the okay to eat, and Sunset dug right in.

“So, you thank the animals you kill?”, Buck asked.

“Every‘hin’ wants ta live, but f’r some creatures, dat means killin’ anothe’. We show da animal respect f’r livin’ a good life n’ dyin’ a good death. Not all Celtic Pagans do dis howeve’. We don’t have a centralized church dat tells us how ta act. Even though Minerva n’ Ah are both Celtic Pagans, we have very different practices.” Minerva nodded her head to confirm what Brigid said.

“Very interesting. What are your beliefs?”, Buck asked Jiraiya and Anzhong.

“Japan has an interesting relationship with religion. There is a common expression that goes, “Shinto wedding; Buddhist funeral”. The two religions are so deeply intertwined that they are represented in single places of worship but are still two distinct religions.”, Jiraiya explained.

“Shintoism has Kami, which are divine beings that inhabit and represent anything and everything. Buddhism is more complicated but can be boiled down trying to escape suffering by achieving enlightenment and ending the cycle of reincarnation.”, Anzhong explained.

“That is very interesting.”, Rosie commented.

The meal was peaceful, and the adults continued talking about this and that. The night went on, they finished their food, had dessert, and Emi and Anura were put to bed.

“Ya boys wanna join us f’r a movie?”

“It’s one of your horror movies, right?”, Buck asked, and Rosie nodded yes. “No thank you then. I don’t like watching people suffer.”

“I’ll have to agree with the Sergeant. Plus, TV isn’t my forte.”, Jiraiya said.

“You both can join me downstairs. We have many board games.”, Anzhong said.

“You can play board games?”, Buck asked.

“The monopoly money has textured tape on it so I know what it is.”

“Neat”

The men moseyed on downstairs while the ladies picked out a movie. After some back and forth and Rosie and Minerva insisting that the movie needed to be in English this time, they finally picked a murder mystery and started watching. The movie was alright but a bit boring. Combine that with the amount of food she had eaten, Sunset was slipping off to lala land about halfway through.

*Flashback*

Canterlot Castle
Date: 05/07/1098 Ee, time: 3rd hour ASR

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Sunset, watch what I do.”, Celestia said. Sunset nibbled on a mango while she watched Celestia do some fancy tricks with levitating multi-colored, wooden blocks. Sunset really liked mangoes. She wished that her family had enough money to get them. “Doing these exercises will help develop fine telekinetic control. Now, you try.”

Sunset jammed the mango into her mouth and got up to stand next to Celestia. Sunset lit her horn with the telekinesis spell and focused it on the blocks. They were lightweight and easy to move. Sunset tried lifting the red block to start but, instead, sent it flying and crashing through the window. Sunset dropped her mango in shock and cowered away. Oh no no no, I just destroyed the Princess’s window. She’s going to be so made. “I’m sorry.”, Sunset squeaked out and wrapped her front hooves in front of her eyes. She was too scared to look at Celestia.

“It’s okay, Sunset. Accidents happen, and windows can be replaced.”, Celestia said calmly.

Sunset tentatively lifted one of her hooves from her eye and looked up at Celestia. “You’re not mad?”

Celestia walked over and wrapped her foreleg around Sunset. “Of course, I’m not made. You should have seen how much damage I caused when I was learning to control my powers. I applied too much pressure on a spear I was helping my father forge, crushing it. I was banned from my father’s workshop all together after nearly blowing up the furnace.”

“Hehehe, you’re a lot nicer than ponies say.”, Sunset quietly said. Her hooves were now back on the ground, and most of the fear was gone.

“Oh, what do other ponies say?”, Celestia asked curiously.

“They said you’d be really strict and would kick me out when I messed up.”, Sunset said nervously.

“Sunset, I’m not going to kick you out. Do you remember your entry test and what the testers said?”

“It was a test to see how I would react to failure, and that the school taught us to succeed. We don’t need to be perfect already.”

“Correct. Now, I created that test and that modo. Why would I kick a student out for making a mistake?”

“I guess you wouldn’t.”

“Sunset, don’t listen to those who would put you down. You are wonderful just the way you are. Do you understand?”

“I understand.”

“Good, now,” Celestia lit her horn and the block reappeared, “let’s try that again.”

*Present Day*

Sunset was woken up by Brigid getting up. Sunset worked on regaining her bearings while Brigid and Anzhong did the goodbye song and dance. For a partially Irish household, the Irish goodbye was very rarely practiced. Sunset got up and walked over to Brigid, who had just closed the door.

“Hey kiddo.”

“It was Vanessa.”, Sunset said bluntly.

“Good guess.”

“It wasn’t a guess.”

“Hff, ya tired enough to go back to bed?”

“Not any more.”

“Yeah wanna talk f’r a bit?”

“Yes”

“Good night, ladies.”, Anzhong said before going upstairs.

Brigid and Sunset went back over to the couch and sat down. “Sunset, ya mentioned dat da princesses are considered ta be gods. Ah was curious ‘bout Equestrian religion.”

“Well, we have a heaven and hell, but you automatically go to heaven unless you’re sentenced to Tartarus by the Princess, which is a real place that keeps you alive but imprisoned for eternity. Luckily, the only creature in there, currently, is a centaur that tried to conquer Equestria named Tirek.”

“Wouldn’t some‘hin’ like dat have been mentioned in da history book?”

“It was more of a temper tantrum and didn’t cause any changes to Equestrian society. As for myths and legends, it’s hard to tell what is true and what isn’t. Even the story of the founders is starting to be forgotten as a legend.”

“Ah c’n see why.”

“Yeah, as for our creation myth, it says that the parents of Celestia and Luna are the creator gods. In the time of creation, Faust, the Writer, wrote a story of a world filled with life and many creatures living and laughing. She showed her husband, Cracken, the Forger, the story and wished she had a place to make it real. Cracken memorized every detail he could about the planet and went off to forge it. He found a suitable sun for the planet and began. He swung his hammer and created a ball of magma. He swung his hammer again and cooled it to create the ground. He swung his hammer again and created the mountains. He continued swinging, creating the oceans, skies, rivers, valleys, and plains. Once the planet was created, he brought his wife to see it. She was overjoyed and began writing story after story, creating ponies, griffons, yacks, dragons, and all other creatures. She created stories that all the creatures of Equoes would live out.”

“Ah take it destiny is a big part a’ y’r culture.”

“It would be hard for it not to be when we got destiny-defining marks on our butts. Faust and Cracken were real and were the parents of Celestia and Luna, but they were just commoners. Cracken’s smithing did make them wealthier than your average unicorn family, at the time, but that was it until Celestia and Luna first raised the sun and lowered the moon.”

“Researchin’ mythology on Equoes sounds like it would be interestin’, like a planet wide King Aurther.”

“What?”

“Historians are debatin’ whether or not King Aurther was real. Da general consensus is no, but part a’ his story might be real.”

“Sounds boring. Yawn, now I’m ready for bed. Good night.”, Sunset said sleepily and got up to go to her room.

“Good night, Sunset.”

CMS gym
Date: Dec 6th, time: 2:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Students from several classes flooded into the gym with gym bags in hand, trying to cross it and get to the locker rooms. The beginning of gym class was always hectic. As students began to reach the locker rooms, the gym teacher spoke up. “Put your swim suits on. We’re going swimming!” Students began cheering and hollering. Swimming was a rare treat for most of them but a nightmare for others. Sunset saw some of the students dreading the class even more. Gym was a time rife with bullying; add skin tight waterwear to the mix, and Sunset didn’t blame them for hating it. As much as the teachers and the “peacekeeper” kids tried to keep it in check, there were just too many kids.

The students split up into their respective sections and began changing. Once Sunset was done, she placed the garments she was no longer using in her bag and headed out. With swimsuits now replacing underwear and goggles on heads, the students exited the locker rooms and began lining up to get going. Flash, Sunset, and Snips and Snails rejoined each other in the line, and they were soon on their way.

The teachers brought the students over to the highschool and down into the basement. The basement was an interesting place and the least confusing part of the school, which wasn’t saying much. The pool was put underground to help with temperature regulation and keep kids out during the summer. Only the very top of the pool room was above ground and was lined with very narrow windows. Entering into the pool room, the students found places to plop their bags down and began taking their clothes off.

Kids began jumping into the pool and splashing around. The teachers tried to keep control over the situation, but they were badly outnumbered. Sunset slid into the water with practiced ease. Humans and ponies were of comparable swimming skill, but how they did so was very different. Sunset had to relearn how to swim back during her first year of human schooling, but now she was one of the best swimmers in her class, moving through the water like an otter. She didn’t need goggles but wore them anyway because kids be nasty and chlorine irritates her eyes. She always loved swimming. It made her feel like she was flying. Swimming as a human had the advantage of not having to spend several minutes drying out her thick fur. Her fur was water-resistant but not water-proof. Wet clothes, wet fur, she hated it all the same. I should invent some sorta waterskin spell. The human form would work well with that.

After doing her laps, Sunset parked herself by the edge to just enjoy flouting and relax. “Lily! Leave me alone!”, Snips shouted. Sigh, scrap relaxing. Sunset launched out of the pool and came up behind Snips. Snips hid behind Sunset as she stared down Lily.

“Wow, you must be as blind as your dad to have the confidence to wear a two piece with your body.”, Lily snarked, referring to Sunset’s larger build.

“At least I fill out my suit. I honestly feel sorry for you, just developed enough to need to wear a top piece but not enough to fit into anything commonly sold.”, Sunset snarked back.

“I’m developing just fine, and I know you’re stuffing your bra!”

“Oh, if you’re really that curious, I’d be happy to show you.” Sunset grabbed the bottom hem of her top piece, not actually intending to do it. She knew she would get into big trouble for exposing herself. It was just a threat.

“Hold on now. Let’s simmer down n’ talk this out.”, Jacklyn said, stepping in between Sunset and Lily.

“Jacklyn, this is none of your business. Go back to your girlfriend.”, Sunset said calmly but threateningly.

“Wha-I don’t,” Jacklyn shook her head, “that’s not the issue here. Ah’m sure that you can talk this out, calmly. Now, what happened?”

Sunset gave Jacklyn an indignant look and shook her head. “Jacklyn, I’m only permitting this because you’re an O’Apple. If you were a member of any other clan, you’d already be in da wate’.”

“Um, thanks”, Jacklyn said confusedly.

“I’m not going to have this mediated by another Irish! You’re all terrorists and in cahoots with each other!”, Lily shrieked.

“What did ya jus’ call us?!”, Jacklyn and Sunset shouted in unison.

“You heard me! You’re all terrorists. My British cousins told me all about the IRA.”

Sunset and Jacklyn looked at Lily in bewilderment then to each other. It was clear that Jacklen was thinking the same thing as Sunset. Did that bitch really just say that? The two turned back to Lily then turned back to each other. “Wate’?”, Sunset asked.

“Water”, Jacklyn answered. The two marched over to Lily, who tried to run but slipped before being grabbed mid fall by Jacklyn. Jacklyn took one side, and Sunset took the other, and Lily protested furiously. “One… two… three.” They threw Lily into the pool by her swimsuit. She screamed and hit the water with a satisfying splat. Sunset laughed at her, pleased with their actions.

“I had no idea that ya had a spiteful side.”, Sunset noted.

“Ah’d be willin’ ta bet everybody does. Mine’s jus’ hard ta bring out. Ah had no idea you were Irish.”

“My mom is. I’m, biologically, more Scottish but was still raised Irish.”

“Oh, that’s cool.”, Jacklyn said more nervously.

“You’d think she would be smart enough not to piss off two people from a place called ‘Ire-land’.”, Sunset joked.

“What-oh, ha, that’s funny.”

“See ya.”, Sunset said sharply then walked off. Snips had, apparently, scampered off. Wordless communication with Jacklyn was easy, actual conversations were not and painfully awkward. If Sunset had to take a stab as to why, she had to say that it was because Jacklyn really hated her but was too polite to just walk off. Not a fricken ‘Irish goodbye’ anywhere to be seen.

Sunset dove back into the water. It was nice and warm, and she had gotten cold during all that. The water felt nice around her skin, kinda like a hug. Sunset spotted Flash doing his laps, and a devious idea came to her. Sunset snuck up on Flash and grabbed him. He freaked out for a second before realizing it was Sunset. Sunset poked her head above the water and gave Flash a mischievous grin. Flash rolled his eyes then got his own mischievous grin. Flash pushed Sunset’s head back below the water. Flash began laughing, and Sunset was tempted to pants him but figured the poor boy already had enough of that type of trouble for a year or two. Sunset swam away, giving the parting gift of a butt slap before she left.

Sunset continued to leisurely swim around until gym class was over. The teachers blew their whistles to signal that it was time to get out of the pool. Reluctantly, Sunset pulled herself out of the water, grabbed her bag, and followed the other girls into the showers. Sunset got everything she needed from her bag and put everything she didn’t need back into her bag then put her bag in her locker. Sunset locked everything up then slid on her shower shoes and took her turn. She made absolutely sure that she got all the chlorine out of her hair. One time she didn’t, the gold parts of her hair turned green, and she was called Sunset Claus until it was washed out. She would rather that not happen again.

Sunset finished up quickly as she had places to be and grabbed her bag out of the locker, got dressed, and went to put Philomena’s whistle on, but it was missing. Sunset searched her bag, dumped everything out, searched through the contents, searched through every pocket, and turned the whole thing inside out. No! No no no no! “Did anyone see anyone go through my locker?!”, Sunset asked while pointing to the locker. Everyone shook their heads. The padlock was still on there. Nobody here, except for me, knows how to decode a combo lock, and mine’s top of the line. That means it was taken during swim, but who - Lily. “Where’s Lily Valley?!”, Sunset growled.

“Looking for this?”, Lily smugly said. She was leaning against the lockers, trying to look cool. Operative word being ‘trying’. “I’ve seen you wearing this all the time this last year. I take it that this is important to you.”

“Give it back!”, Sunset snarled.

“Tell you what, I’ll give it back if-” Lily didn’t get a chance to finish as Sunset bolted towards her and aimed a punch at her face. Lily barely had any time to dodge as Sunset’s fist hit the lockers behind her with a bang. Lily stumbled but quickly got back up to run. Sunset ran after her. The two ran back out to the pool, where Sunset was able to catch up to Lily. The two began to struggle, and one of them tripped, Sunset didn’t know which one, and sent them both into the pool. Sunset saw the whistle sinking to the bottom of the pool, and she broke away from Lily to go grab it.

Once Sunset got Philomena’s whistle, she came back up and was met by one of the teachers. She helped Sunset out of the pool and handed her a towel. “Now, what do you think you were doing?”, the teacher asked.

“Getting this back.” Sunset showed her Philomena’s whistle then blew it to get the water out.

“Alright, grab your stuff. You’re going to the vice principal’s office.”

Sunset put Philomena’s whistle back around her neck, grabbed her stuff from the locker room, and went to Leo’s office with Lily screaming abuse at her. Sunset so badly wanted to punch Lily straight in the mouth, but that would not help matters. At least she knew what she was going to do when she got home. “Shut the fuck up! You’re not special! You’re just a whiny brat that no one likes! How you ended up like this when your sister and parents are decent, I have no idea!”, Sunset finally shouted back. Lily began crying like a damn baby, and Sunset wanted to pull her hair out. Hers? Lily’s? Either worked. How can even someone’s cries be annoying? Is this girl made of annoying? - And I need a nap.

“Girls, why are you both wet? Sunset, have you been crying?”, Leo asked once Sunset and Lily got into her office.

“Sunset pushed me into the pool. It was so awful.”, Lily whined.

“I didn’t push you. We both fell in.”, Sunset protested.

“Girls, girls, calm down. Now, Sunset what happened?”

“Why are you asking her? I’m the victim here.”, Lily protested.

“Lily! Be quiet! I will get your half of the story after I get Sunset’s. Now, Sunset?”

“It started when she was bullying Snips during swim. Jacklyn tried to mediate and defuse the situation, but Lily called us terrorists because we’re both Irish. In retaliation, we threw her into the pool. As I later learned, she stole an important item from my bag, which I only learned about when I was getting dressed. I tried to get it back, and we struggled for it. That’s when we both fell into the pool. She dropped it in the pool, and I was able to retrieve it. You can ask anyone. I wasn’t quiet about it.”

“Alright, Lily”

“It was terrible. She tried to punch and kick me, and she bit me.”, Lily whined.

“She bit you?”

“Uh-huh” Lily even tried bringing a tear to her eye. It was unconvincing. Leo turned her head to Sunset.

“I did try to punch her, yes, but I never tried to kick her and certainly never bit her. That last part would be very easy to prove.” Sunset smiled, showing off her elongated canines.

“I’ll talk with the other students then decide your punishments. For now, Lily, I’ll call your parents. Sunset, - are your eyes okay? They look really red.”

“My eyes are sensitive to chlorine, and I wasn’t exactly wearing my goggles when-” Sunset gestured to her wet clothes.

“I see. Well, you can just go home.”

“Thank you”, Sunset said. Sunset practically bolted out of the room. She would probably come up with a better descriptor when she was less exhausted, but saying that ‘Lily was made of annoying' was still accurate. Sunset spent most of the walk home grumbling about wet clothes and wet socks and the cold. The first thing she did when she got home was to get out of her wet clothes and take another shower. She really didn’t want to be called Sunset Claus again. Once she was warm, dry, positive that her hair wouldn’t turn green, and in dry clothes, Sunset went to go find Minerva. Finding her was easy. She’s normally in Brigid’s office at this time of day.

“Hey, Minerva.”

“Sunset?” Minerva checked her computer clock then her wristwatch. “You’re back early.”

“Yeah, I actually have a problem that I need your help with.”

“Shoot”

“Do you know any curses? There’s this girl at school that’s been causing my group a lot of trouble, and in-school suspension isn’t going to cut it.”

“Hm, I do know how to curse someone, but I have no proof it actually works. It could be the curse that’s messing with their lives or just bad luck or their own actions coming back to bite them. Are you really sure you want to curse this kid?”

“Positive, but maybe something reversible.”

“Alright, let’s get crackin’.”

Halls of CMS
Date: Dec 9th, time: 8:30 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset planned to monitor Lily as she went about her week. If the curse worked, Sunset didn’t want to miss any of it. If it didn’t work, Sunset would have to take matters into her own hands again, or she might just do it for the shits and giggles. Sunset watched Lily from around a corner as she opened her locker. The curse was designed to just cause a lot of mild inconveniences with no rhyme or reason. The line of thinking being that they would either mount up and cause the person more and more stress or cause a chain reaction that would lead to bigger consequences down the line, like causing someone to be late to work and get fired and other stuff like that.

When Lily opened her locker, everything came falling out. Lily scrambled to get everything cleaned up quickly but wasn’t able to do so before the bell rang. Lily was still cleaning everything up as students were going around her to get to class. Sunset came out of her hiding spot and began walking to class, past Lily, but instead of going behind Lily, she walked over her papers.

“Hey!”, Lily shouted.

“Oops, sorry Lily. I didn’t see you there.”, Sunset said condescendingly.

“You had something to do with this.”

“Oh, maybe I did, but I’d have to be a witch to do that. These are all your papers that you put in your locker.” Lily scowled at Sunset, but Sunset wasn’t sure what she was thinking. “Well, I need to get ta class. Spell ya later.”, Sunset said with a sickly sweet tone and turned to walk to class. She couldn’t see Lily, but she could sense her anger towards her boil.

CMS lunchroom
Date: same day, time: 12:00 pm

*Flash’s perspective*

“Sunset, what are you doing?”, Snips asked.

Flash looked up from his food to see what Snips was talking about. Sunset was staring at something and not eating her food. The first one is weird enough, but the second one made it downright bizarre. Flash tracked where she was looking and found Lily. Flash tensed up upon seeing her, and somehow, Sunset picked up on that.

“Hey, hey, you’re okay.”, Sunset said while taking Flash’s hand in hers. “I’m not going to let her hurt you again.”

Oh no. Flash knew what that meant, and it wasn’t good. “What do you plan on doing to her?” Flash by no means likes Lily, but Sunset + revenge = not good.

“I already did it. I’m just waiting to see if it actually works.”

“What. Did. You. Do?”, Flash said more sternly.

“I cursed her. Nothing deadly, it’s meant to cause many mild inconveniences.”

“You cursed her?”, Flash said skeptically.

“Hence the “waiting to see if it actually works” part. Oh, don’t look at me like that. You and I both saw what we saw that day.”

“Saw what? What day?”, Snails asked.

“Not now.”, Sunset snapped. “Actually, now would be a good time for you two to get your own revenge.”

“Yeah!”, Snips and Snails cheered.

“I want you two to follow her around. Whenever you can, make her misery worse and make it clear I sent you.”

“Yes ma’am.”, Snips and Snails said with a salute. This isn’t going to be good.

Halls of CMS
Date: Dec 10th, time: 3:00 pm

*Snips’ perspective*

“Ready, Snails?”

“Ready”

Snips and Snails watched and followed Lily around. Sunset was off to hockey. That left Lily’s misery up to them. Under Sunset’s orders, both of them held pitchers filled with water and were waiting for the curse to take effect. As Lily was walking down the hall, she tripped on her own feet and fell to the floor. Snips and Snails moved in quickly and poured the water all over Lily. Snails took the picture then quickly hid his phone.

“Sunset says “thanks for the extra bath”. She wanted it returned in kind.”, Snips said before they both ran off.

“That was awesome!”, Snails shouted. “Finally getting some payback.”

“Yeah”, Snips corroborated.

Canterlot Ice Rink
Date: same day, time: 3:15 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

The Wonder Colts hockey team poured into the locker room as they did every Tuesday and Thursday. Each member removed whatever garments they didn’t need and donned their gear. Everyone began bantering and teasing each other, but Sunset didn’t participate. Lily was going to retaliate, and Sunset needed to be ready for it. She started a war, and Sunset may lose a battle or two but never loses a war.

“That’s new.”, Rainbow said.

“What?”, Sunset asked.

“The lock on your bag. Is it because of the incident during swim?”

“I take it you heard about it.”

“Everyone has. I even have it on good intel that the teachers are talking about it. What did she try to steal?”

Sunset pulled the item in question out of her bag and showed it to Rainbow. Rainbow tilted her head from one side then to the other, trying to figure out what it was. “It’s a bird call whistle. And yes, it’s that important to me.”

“Hm, pet memento?”

“What?”

“Is it something that you keep from your pet?”

“She wasn’t my pet. She was my daughter. I raised her since she was an egg.”

“I get that. I have a tortoise named Tank. He’s still small enough to fit in my hand, but he’s going to get really big and strong. He’s my best friend and little scaly boy.”

“Yeah, that’s-” You deceitful little bitch. “You’re trying that “oh, we’re so alike, so let’s be besties” stik again!”, Sunset said accusatively and bolted up from the bench. “I told you once, I told you a hundred times, I don’t want to be your friend, and I’m never going to be! Nobody wants to be your friend! Evidenced by the fact your best friend is a cold blooded turtle!”

Rainbow bolted up from her seat, now also enraged. “Well, excuse me for trying to help you! Have you looked at yourself lately?! You’re becoming the same kind of monster Thunder and Sea were! And Tank’s a tortoise not a turtle!”

“I am nothing like them, and I don’t need help from some half pint Brit!” Sunset pushed Rainbow to emphasize the ‘half pint’ bit.

Before either could start again, Tiny stepped between them, and some of the other girls held them back. “Wait until we’re on the ice to shove people!”, Tiny bellowed. Sunset and Rainbow continued to snarl at each other but made no moves to continue the fight. The other girls let go of them, and Tiny got out of their way. The two of them continued to glare at each other as they got their skates on.

Sunset let out a small hiss. She wanted to rip Rainbow’s throat out. Rainbow clearly picked up on it but said nothing. Once all suited up, they all made their way onto the ice. Sunset breathed in the frigid air of the arena. She really needed to work off some steam.

SHWO ch63 Persistance hunters

*Flashback Dream*

Train to Tokyo
Date: 1990, time: 10:00 am

*Anzhong’s perspective*

Anzhong had his hands on the window. He couldn’t see what was out it, but he could feel the vibrations. The vibrations made his fingers tingle. Suddenly, Anzhong was jerked in one direction then another, and the sound of scraping metal and crashing bombarded his ears. Anzhong clung tight to his restraints until everything stopped. Once everything had stopped moving, people began screaming, crying, and calling out for their loved ones.

“Mom! Mom! Mom!”, Anzhong cried out but got no answer. His heart sank and was hit with an indescribable dread. Mom never failed to answer his cries before. Anzhong felt something dripping onto his face. It smelt metallic. Anzhong reached up to reach her. He first felt her arm. It was limp, like she was asleep. He reached further up and reached her face. Anzhong felt the same liquid all over her head and found the source. Mom had a massive wound on her head.

“Anzhong”, Mom said before falling quiet again.

“Mom! Mom! Mommy! Please wake up! Mommy!”, Anzhong cried out. Anzhong shook her, trying to wake her up again. “Mom! No! Daddy says not to fall asleep when you’re hurt this badly! Mommy!” Anzhong grabbed her arm again, this time, checking for a pulse, but there wasn’t one. She-she was gone. Pain and anger swelled inside Anzhong, his stomach twisted into knots, and he cried out in anguish, no words, just pain.

Anzhong didn’t know how long it took for him to be extracted but it felt like hours. He wasn’t crying by the time they got him out, but he was still seething. He wanted whoever was responsible to be trapped in a tomb with their mother’s corpse, slowly being covered in her blood. The rescue workers carried Anzhong out and to an ambulance. The sounds of sirens drowned out most other sounds and made Anzhong’s head hurt. The EMTs began cleaning Anzhong up, trying to figure out what was his blood and what was Mom’s along with taking his blood pressure and generally checking him over. One of them shone a light into his eyes, he could feel the heat.

“His eyes aren’t dilating properly.”, one of them said.

“Of course they wouldn’t! I’m blind!”, Anzhong snapped.

“Anzhong! Anzhong! Please let me through! That’s my son!”, Dad cried out. Anzhong began crying again. Mommy should be with Daddy. They should be together. Anzhong heard Dad’s running footsteps approach the ambulance. Dad wrapped Anzhong in his arms and held him tight only losing his grip so he could talk. “Are you hurt? Where’s your mother?”

“Mo-ommy’s dead.”, Anzhong said in a quivering voice, tears streaming down his face. Dad started crying and pulled Anzhong back in. Anzhong - never heard his dad cry before.

*Present Day*

Katon family home
Date: Dec 11th, time: 4:00 am

*Anzhong’s perspective*

Anzhong woke up with tears running down his face. Anzhong felt Brigid wrapped around him. Her gentle breathing and heartbeat worked in bring Anzhong back into a calm state of mind. For someone so big, she was so gentle, or maybe it was because she was so big she needed to learn how to be gentle. Anzhong wasn’t sure and didn’t care to think too much about it at that moment. Anzhong truly feared the day the girls would lose her. His death would be sad, but hers would be devastating. But as there’s no such thing as immortality, Anzhong was determined to enjoy every moment he has with his wife and family.

Katon family home
Date: same day, time: 7:00 am

*Anzhong’s perspective*

Anzhong was already on his second cup of coffee for the morning, normal being one. Anzhong was by no means a morning person, but such a dream did not help matters. His eyes physically hurt from all the crying. Anzhong read over the names Daiki gave him, finally having the time to delve into it. After putting the list through his scanner and downloading it to his tablet, Anzhong could read what was on it. He did know who the people were, but he suspected he would be becoming very familiar with them.

Anzhong’s head shot up when he heard footsteps coming from Sunset’s room. “Ah, what a pleasant surprise it is for you to join us at breakfast on a weekday.”

“Very funny, Dad.”

“Y’re one ta talk. Ya would’ve taken night classes if da college offered ‘em back den.”, Brigid commented. Anzhong merely shrugged and went back to work.

Sunset poured herself some cereal and took a seat at the table. “Whatcha workin’ on?”

“Remember that list of names Daiki gave me?”

“Yes”

“That’s what I’m working on.”

“Yeah, I’m a little confused about that. I thought you did criminal negligence law and the train derailment was why you became a lawyer.”

“I specialize in criminal negligence law, but I work whatever case the state throws at me. The,” even after all these years, that word was difficult to say, “crash was what sparked my fire, but it were events following it that weaponized it.”

“That’s it? Come on, Dad. I want to know what happened to my grandmother. I understand why you avoid it, but this is a family matter.”

Anzhong did not answer right away. He put his hands together as if he was praying. He wasn’t but the action was calming. “An investigation was launched into what happened, but it was closed without any legal action being taken.”, Anzhong finally answered. “It later came out that the people incharge of the investigation were paid off. A second investigation was launched, and it was found that the train was not being properly maintained. Massive fines were levied, people were jailed, and the affected families were finally given compensation, but it took seven years for that to happen, and millions more of people’s lives were put in danger.”

“So, you’re on a vendetta campaign against corruption itself.”

“Pretty much”

“You’re never going to tell us what happened during the crash, are you?”

“That is correct.”

DA’s office
Date: same day, time: 8:00 am

*Anzhong’s perspective*

Anzhong gave Brigid a kiss before he exited the car with Kiba and entered the DA’s office building. Anzhong smiled and waved to the clerks as he walked past and to the elevator. Once getting into his office, he took Kiba’s harness off and set her up in her little puppy corner. He went about his normal routine until he had enough time to go over the list. He would first target the lower ranking officers. They’ll be easy to get to and might give damning testimonies about the ones in higher power, making them easier to get to. “Now, all I need to do is find inconsistencies in their official reports or bank records. This is going to be fun.”, Anzhong said sarcastically.

CMS grounds
Date: same day, time: 4:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset chuckled to herself as she examined the pictures Snips and Snails sent her. Seeing Lily so humiliated brought Sunset a not small amount of amusement. Lily was just lucky Sunset didn’t know where she lived. Taking away your enemy’s sense of safety forces them to constantly be on guard and never be fully at rest, leaving them weak for the next battle.

Sunset exited the school and was about to walk home when she was stopped by someone calling her name. Sunset turned around and saw it was Fluttershy. Sunset snarled at her as she proched, but she gave no reaction. “What do you want?”

“I know what you’re doing to Lily. I don’t like Lily either, but you’re just being cruel.”, Fluttershy said quietly. Sunset would not be surprised if she was the only one in school that could clearly hear her.

“So?”

“So, I was hoping you two could talk this over and come to a peaceful resolution.”

“Not going to happen. I’m going to keep this up until she comes crawling and begs me to stop.”, Sunset said menacingly.

“I know you’re not a monster, Sunset. I’ve seen how you interact with your sister.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. I am a monster. All humans are, and I don’t intend on changing.”

“What if I beat you?”

Sunset let out an uproarious laugh. “Do you honestly believe you can take me in a fight? You already tried once and lost. It wasn’t even a close fight.”

“Then you shouldn’t have a problem fighting me again.”

She has something planned. “Fine, but I want something if I win.”

“What do you want?”, Fluttershy asked nervously.

“A favor, no questions asked.”

Fluttershy blanched at that. “What kind of favor?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I’ll think of something. What do you say?”

Fluttershy looked at Sunset nervously, but then her face steeled in a way Sunset couldn’t help but find cute. “Fine”

“Great, we’ll have our fight in there.”, Sunset said while pointing to the forest.

Fluttershy looked over her shoulder and went rigid for a second before turning back to Sunset. “Fine”

The two of them walked past the school and into the forest. Sunset led them to a spot where they could still see the school but it would be hard to see them. They dropped their bags behind one of the trees and got into their fighting stances. The two stood there for a couple seconds, both waiting for the other to strike. Finally, Sunset charged in and aimed for Fluttershy’s collar bone, but she dodged. Fluttershy aimed her own jab at Sunset’s face. Sunset grabbed her arm, but it turned out to be a distraction as she hit Sunset with an uppercut. Sunset stumbled back but did not let go of Fluttershy. Sunset grabbed Fluttershy’s shoulder and swept her legs out from under her, forcing her to the ground with the satisfying crunching of snow. Sunset mounted Fluttershy, and Fluttershy grabbed Sunset’s jacket.

“Whatcha gonna do now?”

Fluttershy took one hand off Sunset’s jacket and repeatedly punched Sunset. Sunset was used to being crashed into by kids twice the size of Fluttershy. Her punches were more annoying but still painful. Sunset grabbed both of Fluttershy’s arms, but she was able to squirm her leg free and push Sunset off.

“So, you’ve actually have gotten better.”, Sunset said with a smile. “My turn.”

Sunset and Fluttershy both bolted up and began exchanging blows again. Sunset was stronger, but Fluttershy was smaller and more nimble. Sunset was able to get one solid hit in on Fluttershy’s stomach. Fluttershy staggered back, looked around, then bolted into the trees.

“Bad move, Fluttershy! These woods are my domain!”, Sunset said with joy. She ran after Fluttershy, and Fluttershy wasn’t exactly quiet. Now, this is getting fun. Fluttershy managed to get herself out of Sunset’s sight, but Sunset could still hear and smell her. Sunset smiled wickedly as she heard Fluttershy’s breathing. Sunset couldn’t be quiet in the woods either, but she could take advantage of that. Sunset picked up a rock and began sneaking up to the tree Fluttershy was hiding behind. Once Sunset was close enough, she threw the rock into the opposite side of the tree from where she was going. Once the rock landed, Sunset ran around the other side and tackled Fluttershy.

With a smile, Sunset leaned down to Fluttershy and whispered into her ear, “Whatcha gonna do now?”. Fluttershy bucked her head back and nailed Sunset in the eye. Sunset reared back and let out a roar of pain. That let Fluttershy squirm out from under her again. “Aahh! You little bitch! I’m gonna-” Sunset didn’t get a chance to finish as Fluttershy gave her a roundhouse kick to her head. Sunset slumped to the ground, laying face down in the snow. After the disorientation faded, Sunset was laughing internally as she remained lying in the snow and waited for the all too naive Fluttershy to panic and try to help her.

“Oh no, oh no no no, Sunset.”, Fluttershy whisper-screamed. Sunset could hear her running over, and she turned Sunset over. Fluttershy leaned over and tried to wake Sunset up. “Sunset, oh, please wake up.”

“Uhg, you need to brush your teeth.”

“Wha-” Fluttershy didn’t get a chance to finish that as Sunset head butted her. Fluttershy reared back up, and Sunset scrambled to her feet while Fluttershy was still on her knees. Sunset kicked her in the stomach, then again and again. Fluttershy slumped over in the snow, clutching her stomach.

“You can’t be kind in battle, Fluttershy. You never know when your enemy is faking.” Sunset gave Fluttershy’s stomach one more kick to be sure then helped her stand up. When Sunset stood her up, Fluttershy nearly lost her footing. “Woah there.” Sunset grabbed Fluttershy’s arm and wrapped it around her shoulder. “Come on.” Sunset marched them over to where they left their bags. Sunset picked their bags up as best as she could and slowly got them out of the forest.

Once back to civilization, Sunset dropped Fluttershy and her bag on her doorstep. Sunset was about to leave when Fluttershy spoke. “See, you’re not a monster.”

“You got some messed up world views if you think I’m not a monster.”

“A monster wouldn’t have helped me out of the forest.”

“I would’ve been charged with murder if you froze out there.”

“At least we know there is a line you wouldn’t cross.”

Sunset said nothing and turned to leave. You’re too kind for your own good. This world will stamp that out. As Sunset turned the corner onto her street, she looked back to Fluttershy’s house. She saw Fluttershy pull herself up and go inside. Sunset turned back and began her walk home.

Upon getting home, Sunset was greeted by Minerva in the kitchen and Emi and Anura doing homework. “Sunset! What happened to you?”, Minerva asked, alarmed.

“My day was great. How was yours?”, Sunset said sarcastically. Though, she did have to admit she looked less than fine. Her hair and clothes were a mess with snow and leaves stuck to them, and her eye was red.

“Woah, did you get into a fight?”, Emi asked.

“Yup, and it was great.”

Valley family home
Date: same day, time: 4:30 pm

*Lily’s perspective*

Lily walked into her room after spending the last hour getting maple syrup out of her hair. She grabbed a notepad and pen and curled up in bed. She needed to do something to get Sunset off her back and get back at her. Sunset has people to help her. I don’t. She’s stronger than me, but I’m more cunning. As Lily ran various ideas through her mind, she couldn’t think of anything that would work. Sunset was just too well guarded and nobody knew where she lives. That’s it. I’ll find where she lives.

CMS
Date: Dec 13th, time: 4:00 pm

*Lily’s perspective*

Lily hid around the corner from the stupid sign language club Sunset runs. People were leaving and going in all sorts of different directions. Lily spotted Sunset and Flash; Sunset’s hair was not hard to spot. Lily stayed close but also far enough away as to not be seen. Lily couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, but it sounded like they were talking about vampires and something about “forest glow”, whatever that meant. She followed as they exited the school and walked down the street. They walked a couple blocks down one street before taking a right. They walked two more blocks before turning right again, then again, then- And they’re walking a circle. They know I’m here. Crap.

“Enjoying yourself, Lily?”, Sunset called back smuggly.

Lily said nothing and ran back to the school. How was she able to spot me? I was so careful.

Streets of Black Forest neighborhood
Date: same day, time: 4:10 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“So, how long did you know she was following us?”, Flash asked.

“You wanna make a game of it?”

“Sure, that sounds like fun.”

“She was hiding behind a corner as we exited the club.”

“What? No way.”

“Yes way. She wears the same perfume everyday.”

“I’m gonna lose this game.”

“Welp, too late. You already agreed. Now, let’s get going.” Sunset and Flash leisurely walked back to Sunset’s house. Once inside, Sunset noticed Minerva with one of her legs detached.

“Holy crap!”, Flash exclaimed. “- Wait, your leg is prosthetic?”

“You only just now noticed? Her feet are plastic, and her legs are purple.”, Sunset asked.

“In my defense, I don’t interact with your aunt much, and I don’t spend that time looking at her feet. Plus, she always wears long plants.”

“Well, to answer your question, yes, both my legs are prosthetic. Sunset, you’re better with hardware. Can you take a look at this?”

“Sure, what’s wrong with it?”, Sunset said as she sat down next to Minerva.

“The ball joint is making a strange sound. Kinda like squeaking but different.”

“Okay” Sunset took the leg in her hands and examined it. “At least we can say your feet don’t stink.”

“Sunset”, Minerva said in that mildly threatening parental tone.

“Flash, can you grab the toolbox from the closet?”, Sunset asked, ignoring Minerva’s threat.

“Sure”

Sunset continued to examine the leg as Flash went over to the stairs and came back with the toolbox. “Thank you” Sunset took out the appropriate screwdriver and ratchet and began disassembling the ball joint, taking great care to remember where each piece went. Once it was disassembled, Sunset put it back together. This is more intricate than I thought. I guess it’s necessary since humans don’t have very strong auras. “Try it now.”

“That’s it?”, Minerva asked.

“Yup, try it out.”

Minerva seemed skeptical but reattached her leg anyways. She got up and began rocking her foot. No noise other than her knee motor came from the machine. “How did you do that?”

“It’s the hardware equivalent to turning it off and on again. Somewhere in the reassembly process, the error gets fixed. That’s how I fix a good quarter of my consoles.”

Minerva shook her head disbelievingly. “I will never understand hardware. You two have fun. I’m going back to work.” Minerva walked back upstairs, and Flash and Sunset went to her room.

The two of them sat on the couch, and Flash began flipping through the channels. As he was doing so, they came across an odd looking ad. “Wait, stop. What is that?”, Sunset asked. Flash didn’t answer the question but did stop flipping. The commercial had a caucasion man with a strange accent and dark green hair asking the viewer questions.

“Do you want to know the future? Do you want to know what lies ahead? Then call me, the stupendous Yuppy. For years, I have entertained audiences with my psychic abilities. I have been consulted by Hollywood actors and police departments and now you. I can be your personal psychic consultant. Do you want to know if you’ll get that big promotion, if your marriage will work out, or when you’ll find “the one”. Then call me at 1-900-555-YUPP. Remember, the future is close and so is your phone. If you want to know the future’s secrets today, pick it up. I know you will. I can see your future.”

“You think he’s legit?”, Flash asked.

“What? Of course not.”, Sunset said, almost insulted.

“Mind explaining it for someone who’s not a part of that world?”

Sunset sat up straight and turned to fully face Flash. “We don’t have much control over when we get our visions or what they’re about, and anyone who claims they can or has regular visions is a faker. There isn’t an on/off switch.” Sunset said in increasing agitation. She took a breath to calm herself before continuing. “Sorry, it’s just that people like that Yuppy pretend to have an incredible gift so they can scam desperate and hurting people.”

“I guess they’re your equivalent of televangelists. How do your powers work?”

“The best comparison I have is to a normal person’s sense of smell. You can plug your nose to reduce it, you can inhale to increase it, but you can’t turn it off. You also can’t smell what’s not there or command what you smell. Does that make sense?”

“Kind of. I guess describing it is like describing color to your dad.”

“Exactly”

“Okay, let’s do something else. My mom is going to be here soon anyways.”

“What do you wanna do?”

Flash shrugged. Sunset rolled her eyes, scooted closer to Flash, and pulled him in. If they had nothing else to do, they could at least cuddle. They remained like that until Flash received a text. “It’s my mom. She’s here.” The two got up, Sunset grabbed her guitar, and the two went outside and got into Mrs. Sentry’s car.

The drive to Ms. Michelson’s house wasn’t long but also wasn’t short. She lived on the opposite side of Canterville. Sunset supposed she could count herself lucky that she lives near one of the largest cities in Maine. She overheard from other students that had friends or family in the neighboring villages that they would need to travel to the next or two cities over in order to get something as simple as guitar lessons.

Once they got to Ms. Michleson’s house, Sunset and Flash hopped out of the car, and Flash grabbed his guitar from the back. The two entered the house while Mrs. Sentry went to find a better suited parking spot. The two entered and were greeted by Ms. Michelson and most of the other students milling about. Sunset and Flash joined them and began setting up their guitars. More students arrived after them until the lesson room was full. One of them was one Sunset didn’t recognize, at first. The new student was wearing a CPA uniform. Sunset examined him, and her stomach dropped. Sunset could now recognize him. He was the human counterpart of that traitorous noble, Peacock Plume. She prepared herself for any trouble this student would cause. That nobility brat attacked a member of the crown. He was lucky Sunset wasn’t hurt, or he would’ve been imprisoned for life. All six of them would’ve been imprisoned if it was Sunset’s call.

Everyone picked up their guitars, and the lesson began. So far, Peacock was behaving, but Sunset wasn’t confident that would last. About half way through the lesson, Ms. Michelson allowed everyone a break to rest their fingers and do whatever else. Peacock got up from his seat and walked over to Sunset. Sunset was already prepared for confrontation.

“That’s a cool guitar. May I have a turn with it?”, Peacock said in a surprisingly deep voice for a boy his age.

“No, you can not.”, Sunset said, not hiding her contempt for him and turning away from him so she was between him and her guitar.

“Why not? Sharing is important.”

“I don’t need a reason. I said ‘no’, and that’s final.”

“It’s not your guitar. You don’t get to decide who gets to use it or not.”

“Actually Peacock, that is Sunset’s guitar. It’s her personal property, and she brings it in every week.”, Ms. Michelson explained. Sunset couldn’t help but ease a bit when she spoke; she was so soft spoken and her voice was so smooth that it could put a raging minotaur to sleep, and knowing she was paying attention to the situation made Sunset feel better too, but she immediately tensed back up when she looked back at Peacock, barely holding back a hiss.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t know.” Peacock pulled his guitar back up to his chest and went back to his seat. He sounded sincere, but Sunset knew from experience how slimy he was. Flash rubbed Sunset’s shoulder to calm her down, and Sunset scooted back to her normal position. The lesson continued, and Peacock stayed quiet. Sunset kept an eye on Peacock, and the moment the lesson was over, Sunset placed her guitar back into its case and slung it over her shoulder. Sunset quickly left, and Flash followed. She didn’t want to be anywhere near someone like Peacock with such an important item. Surprisingly enough, Peacock didn’t follow them, and they were able to get to Mrs. Sentry’s car without incident.

Flash put his guitar in the back, but Sunset kept hers with her. “Sunset, I get that guy was trying to take your guitar, but you seemed, well, overly defensive. Even after the problem was fixed, you continued to glare at him.”

“Is this you questioning my actions?”

“No, I’m just trying to understand.”

Sure, the reason I was so defensive was because I know that kid, or rather, an alternate version of him, and that version of him is a slimy, corrupt noble that attacked me when I was barely an adult. That will go over well. “I know people like him. You saw his CPA uniform. All of them are spoiled brats that think that because they’re rich, they can do whatever they want.”

“You don’t know that for sure.”

Sunset fixed Flash with a glare that could’ve melted him. “I have a physical reminder, that I have to see every day, to the lack of human decency they afford everyone else.”, Sunset growled out. “I’ve had that message beaten into me over and over again. So, excuse me if I’m not exactly looking for it to be beaten into me again, especially not with the second most valuable thing I own.” Sunset leaned against the window and closed her eyes. Blowing up at Flash would not help anything, especially not around his mother.

Sunset and Flash were silent the rest of the way back to Sunset’s. Even as Sunset was dropped off, they said nothing. Sunset went to check if the car was in the garage. Nope. Sunset went back inside and placed her guitar back on its mount. She still feels a bit guilty for having it, like she doesn’t deserve it. Sunset shocked her head, trying to get those feelings to be quiet. Her parents love her. That’s why they got it for her. She decided to distract herself and play video games until they got back.

Once they got back, Sunset hopped out to help bring in groceries. “Hey Dad, how did things go?”

“Wha’ aren’t ya interested in wha’ my day was like?”, Brigid asked in mock offense.

“You’re not the one in a potentially dangerous situation, trying to rid the city of corruption.”, Sunset remarked.

“Ah get it. Y’r Dad’s da crime fightin’ hero, n’ Ah’m jus’ a scholar.”

“No Mom, you’re cool too. Dad’s just cooler.”

“Gasp, Sunset, oh, ya break y’r mothe’s heart.” Brigid gave an over dramatic performance of being shot in the heart. As dramatic as she’s being, it was almost impossible to take her seriously with her accent, and Sunset began snickering. “Wha’s so funny?”

“It’s your accent. It makes it really hard not ta not find your performance funny.”

“Well, maybe I should use an American accent next time, eh.”, Brigid said in a pitch perfect Mainer accent. The chance was so jarring that even Anzhong whipped his head around to face them.

“Or maybe not.”, Sunset said. They continued to bring all the groceries in and began putting them away. Minerva had come downstairs, and now, she and Brigid were talking to and teasing each other. Minerva was specifically making jabs at Brigid’s American accent. Sunset stayed close to Anzhong in order to talk. “So, how is the mission going?”

“Slowly. As you said, this is dangerous.”

“Sounds like you need help.”

“I do. I’m just not sure who to trust. Did you ever have to root out a traitor?”

“Fortunately, no. Equestrians are a rather religious people, and being Celestia’s personal student basically turned me into pony Jesus, especially amongst other soldiers.”

“Normally, I would ask if you were ever worried about people, em, ponies betraying you due to differing interpretations of the religion, but I guess that’s less of a problem when your goddess is the one actively leading the country.”

“She’s also the one you have to answer to if you screw up badly enough.”, Sunset cheerfully said. “So, what is your plan?”, Sunset said normally.

“The patrol troopers will be the easiest to get to, so I’ll target them first. Once I prove myself, I’ll start going after the higher ranked officers. I might even use the lower ranked officers to get testimony against the higher ranked officers.”

“Hm, you sound like a soldier with that line of thinking.”

“Well, I am American.”

CMS lunchroom
Date: Jan 9th, time: 12:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“What do you think?”, Flash asked. He was referring to the new mystery meat. Everyone was trying to guess what it was.

“I think I’m going to need the bathroom pass next period.” Sunset stabbed her fork into the rubbery, sticky, slimy mess. “I don’t even think Spits would eat this, and she eats those chewy, overly salted, quarter sized appetizers those snobby nobles serve.”

“Um, what?”

Shit. “This is really, really bad, is what I’m saying.”

“O-kay”

The two settled back into their normal routine until someone else sat across from them. “Jacklyn?”

“Hey Sunset, Ah need your help.”

“What could you need my help with? I thought you were strongly opposed to my methods.”

“Ah am, but Ah’m also desperate.”

“Ooh, this is going to be interesting.”

“Sigh, just look at this.” Jacklyn pulled out her phone and showed Sunset a picture of her locker. It had her symbol painted on it but the apples were filled with worms and overall were made to look gross.

“That’s nasty.”, Flash remarked.

“That’s incredibly disrespectful.”, Sunset added.

“Ah know. That’s why Ah need your help. There is no doubt in ma mind that Lily did this.”

“How do you know I wasn’t the one who did this? We don’t exactly like each other.”

“Ah know this wasn’t you because for whatever reason, Ah ain’t got the foggiest idea as to why, you’ve never done anything to me, other than generally being mean.”

“Okay, boys, what do you think? Should we help Jacklyn?”

“Yeah, let’s mess with Lily!”, Snips cheered.

“I thought her name was Applejack?”, Snails said.

“Alright, we’ll help, and because I’m so generous, I won’t charge you.”, Sunset said with a flourish of her hand.

“Generous like a leach, what’s your angle?”, Jacklyn said with a scowl.

Sunset fixed her with a predatory smile and put her hand to her heart in mock offense. “Jacklyn, you wound me. I am just trying to show you some good will, and maybe you’d show me some in return.”

“Ah, so that’s it.”

“What can I say? It’s business.”, Sunset said while shrugging.

“Gromble, gromble, fine.”

“Great, what do you want me to do to her?”, Sunset cheerfully asked.

“I don’t want you to hurt her. I just want you to make her stop.”, Jacklyn said, a bit scared.

“Yeah, okay, but that’s not what I asked.”

“I didn’t really think about that. I guess you could give her a taste of her own medicine.”

“Alright, I can do that.”

Art class
Date: same day, time: 1:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Very good students blablablabla.”, Ms. Trail started saing. Sunset wasn’t listening much. She was more focused on other things. Sunset snuck a few of the paint jars and a paint brush into her backpack. She was confident Ms. Trail wouldn’t notice. Her memory was really bad. Sunset guessed it was drug related by the way she dressed. Sunset wasn’t a fashion snob and even liked tie dye in moderation, but she looks like she washed everything she owns in a rainbow. Sunset picked out some red and yellow paint along with some brown and cream. Sunset had already come up with how she was going to vandalize Lily’s symbol.

Mr. Milestone’s room
Date: same day, time: 3:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Rrriiinngg

“Okay, have a good rest of your day.”, Mr. Milestone said. Everyone hurried out of the classroom and to wherever their next thing was. Sunset rushed to her locker and grabbed her stuff then bolted for Lily’s. Even with only two legs, Sunset was fast. She would need every ounce of speed she had as the bus to the ice rink would be leaving soon. She needed to do this quickly.

Once she got to Lily’s locker, Sunset began painting a dying lily. It was very rushed and looked terrible, but it was serviceable enough and even added to the vandalism. Once done, Sunset bolted towards the front doors and ditched the paint and brush in a trash can along the way.

The rest of the hockey team was already waiting in the parking lot. Sunset sprinted to meet up with them. Everybody was milling about with each other while Sunset chilled outside of the group, on the curb.

“Hey! Shimmer!”, what sounded like Lily shouted. Sunset was in the process of turning around when she was punched in the cheek, causing her to fall onto the pavement and her leg to hit the concrete wheel-stop thing, hard.

“Hey! What’s the big idea?!”, Rainbow shouted. Most of the team chased Lily off while Tiny and Meg checked on Sunset.

“You okay?”, Tiny asked.

“Yeah, I’ll probably just have some nasty bruises.” Tiny and Meg tried to help Sunset up, but as soon as she put any weight on her left leg, she knew something was wrong. “Wait, hold up. Set me down.” Tiny motioned for Meg to put Sunset down, and the two set her down on the curb. Sunset pulled her legging up and inspected where she felt the pain. It was sore, but it was just smacked against a big stick of concrete.

“Want ambulance?”, Meg asked.

Sunset ran her hands over her leg. It didn’t feel that bad. “Let’s not. I’m not dying, and I can just call my aunt. Though, I’m not going to make it to practice today.”, Sunset said and signed.

The rest of the team started to return and crowd around Sunset. “What’s wrong with Sunset?”, Winds asked.

“Something’s wrong with Sunset’s leg.”, Tiny answered. “She’s not going to be able to play.”

The bus finally rolled up by then, and the doors opened. “You should get going. I’m just going to call my aunt.”, Sunset said and signed. Everyone looked around uncomfortably, and only a couple got onto the bus.

“I stay with Sunset.”, Meg signed.

“Meg”, Sunset signed.

“No, you injured. Not safe leave you alone. Not like I can talk to anyone without you.”

“What are you guys saying?”, Rainbow asked.

“Fine”, Sunset signed. “Meg offered to stay with me.”, Sunset said out loud.

“Okay, is everyone good with that?”, Rainbow asked. Most nodded, but some still looked unsure.

“If any of you fools don’t get on that bus, I’m going to use your asses as a puck!”, Sunset threatened while waving her stick around. With that, everyone scrambled onto the bus with only one needing to get whack in the back of the leg. Once everyone was in and the bus rolled out, Sunset pulled out her phone and called Minerva.

“Hey Sunset, is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. There’s just something wrong with my leg, and I need to go to the hospital.”

“Have you called an ambulance?”

“No, I’m not dying. I just can’t walk. Can you take me?”

“Alright,” Minerva said skeptically, “I’ll come get you and your sister as soon as Anura’s in the car.”

"Okay, thank you.” Sunset hung up and turned towards Meg. Meg was looking at Sunset’s leg, which had not changed since Sunset finished examining it. Sunset tapped Meg on her shoulder to get her attention. “When you parents pick you up?”

“After practice.”

“Can they pick you up earlier?”

Meg shook her head. “They work until five. No one to pick me up earlier.”

“What you normally do after practice?”

“Origami club and other visual arts.”

Sunset nodded. Minerva arrived a few minutes later with Emi and Anura in tow. Emi hopped out of the car and ran over to Sunset. “Sunset! Sunset! Are you alright?”, Emi shouted and tackled Sunset with a hug.

“I’m fine.”

Minerva and Anura were next to reach Sunset. Minerva bent down and inspected Sunset’s leg. “Are you in any pain?”

“Not really, it’s just when I put weight on it.”

“Okay, let’s get going.” Minerva wrapped Sunset’s left arm around her shoulder, and Meg took it as a cue to do the same with Sunset’s right arm. Emi let go, and the two of them helped Sunset hopped over to the car. “Who’s she?”

“This is Meg. She’s a member of my hockey team and volunteered to stay with me until you got her.”

“Oh, thank you, Meg.”

“She’s also deaf and can’t read lips for crap.”

“Oh” Once at the car, Meg and Minerva loaded Sunset into the front passenger seat. “Sunset, can you tell Meg thank you for me?”

“Yeah”, Sunset said out loud then turned to Meg. “She says ‘thank you’.”

“You’re welcome. May I come with you?”

“I ask.” Sunset turned to Minerva. “Meg would like to come with us.”

“Will her parents be okay with that?”

“You parents okay with that?”, Sunset signed.

“I will text we go to hospital. They fine with that.”

“She says that her parents will be okay with it.”, Sunset said out loud.

“Okay” Minerva pointed to Meg then the car. Sunset closed her door and buckled up, and everyone else got in. Minerva began driving, and Sunset saw Emi, Anura, and Meg signing with each other through the rearview mirror.

Once they got to the hospital and parked, Minerva went around to the back of the car, and everyone else began helping Sunset out of the car. Minerva came back around to Sunset’s side with her unfolded wheelchair. Minerva and Meg loaded Sunset into the wheelchair, and Minerva wheeled Sunset into the ER. Minerva went to talk with the desk nurse while everyone else took some seats. There were a few other people waiting to see the doctors that looked worse than Sunset. They were going to be there a while.

The hospital was the same one they took Emi to when she broke her arm and Anzhong took Sunset to when he first found her. It was far smaller than Canterlot Hospital, being more of a place to go for follow ups, broken bones, or stitches. The way Jiraiya described it, you have three levels of injuries and diseases, the ones you can treat at home, the ones where you need a place like this, and the ones where you need a place like Canterlot Hospital.

Minerva walked over to where they were all sitting and took a seat of her own. “Good news and bad news, your life isn’t in mortal peril, but we’re gonna have ta wait a while.”

“I figured that much.”, Sunset said. Minerva pulled out her phone and began texting someone, presumably Sunset’s parents. Sunset tried to lean back and sleep through the wait, but Minerva’s wheelchair’s backrest only went up to Sunset’s lower back, and there were no armrests, only these small handles near Sunset’s hip she guessed were used to lift one’s self out of the chair. “Minerva, why did you choose a chair with so little support?

Minerva gave Sunset a smile and chuckled to herself slightly. “It’s an active wheelchair. It may not be the comfiest to sleep in, but a high backrest and armrests will severely impede your ability to move yourself.”

“How so?”, Sunset asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“Try wheeling yourself around and imagine where a high backrest and armrests would be.”

Sunset did as instructed and wheeled around the room. It took her a while to get the rhythm down but got it eventually. Once she did, she noticed how her arms and back moved. A high backrest would restrict how far back she could reach and thus restrict how much power she could get from each push, and she’d be smacking the inside of her arms if there were armrests. Sunset wheeled back over to the others and placed herself back besides the provided chairs. “Point taken.”, Sunset said to Minerva.

Group by group, people were called back until it was just Sunset’s group and another person who looked very uncomfortable sitting down. Emi was watching the man closely then turned to Sunset. “Mason jar” was all Emi said before turning back to the man.

Meg looked confused and turned to Sunset. “What she say?”

“She guess he shove mason jar up his butt.”, Sunset signed. That only seemed to make Meg even confused. “Our grandfather pull out many things from butts during residency.”

Meg didn’t get a chance to ask any more questions as their group was called back. The nurse guided them to a room and pulled out a clipboard. “Okay, I would like to take down your past medical history. Would you like- well.” The nurse motioned to everyone with her pen.

“My medical history entirely consists of me getting shot, burned, stabbed, and sliced, and same goes for almost all of my blood relatives.”, Sunset said, ignoring the nurse’s misgivings about all the people.

“You forgot to mention all the head trauma that makes you such a weenie.”, Emi snarked in Japanese.

“Says the gobshite that yeeted herself out of her bassinet and onto her head.”, Sunset retorted in Japanese.

“Does anyone know what they’re saying?”, the nurse asked. Minerva and Anura shook their heads, and Meg just looked bored.

“We’re just teasing each other.”, Emi clarified.

“O-kay. So, your chief complaint is that your leg hurts when you try to walk on it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Can you tell me what happened before it started hurting?”

“I was punched, and my leg hit that concrete wheel stop thing when I fell.”

“How could that have happened if you’re wheelchair bound?” The nurse looked up and his brow furrowed as he seemed to realize that he said Sunset was walking on her leg not a minute ago, and now, the two pieces of data were conflicting within his brain.

“She’s not. I’m letting her borrow mine instead of having to hop on one foot.”, Minerva clarified.

“Oh, my mistake. We’ll get the x-ray room ready for you.”, The nurse said with the conflict seeming resolved and exited the room, leaving the five women alone.

“So, how is the chair working for you?”, Minerva asked.

“It’s a little snug but not uncomfortably so. I can deal with it for a few weeks. Are Mom and Dad coming?”

“I assured them that I had the situation handled and that you’re not in pain, but I can call them and ask them to come if you like.”

“No, it’s okay. I was just wondering if I should prepare myself for a bear hug.” Sunset was a little disappointed that they weren’t coming but also understood. She didn’t want to take them away from their work.

The five waited around until the nurse came back and took Sunset to the x-ray room. Once in the room Sunset hoisted herself onto the bed. The radiology tech brought over what looked like a thick apron. “What’s that?”

“This is a lead apron. It will allow us to x-ray you without eradiating your organs. Now, just lean back.” The tech guided Sunset into the right position and placed the apron on her, positioned the x-ray device, which looked like a very expensive camera, then took the wheelchair behind the controls with her. The device made an almost cartoonish powering up sound then a shutter sound. The tech re-entered the room and repositioned the device, and the process repeated. It was all very different from how x-rays were done in Equestria; although, they weren’t called x-rays. An internal scanning spell was used, no radiation or led. The only similarity between the two were the final results.

Once the tech got all the pictures she wanted, she took the apron off Sunset, she and the nurse helped Sunset back into the chair, and the nurse escorted Sunset back to the exam room, opting to not push her this time. The low backrest was good for Sunset’s back but probably not for his. The next part Sunset was familiar with from when Emi broke her arm. Sunset rolled back into the room, and the nurse went off to do other stuff. The wait for the doctor wasn’t too long, but Minerva was already having to stop Emi from poking at the anatomical models.

“Good day everyone. I’m Dr. Miller. Which one of you is Sunset?”, the doctor said when he came in.

“I am.”

“Alright” Dr. Miller pulled out Sunset’s x-rays and put them up on the light box thing. “You have a fracture along your tibia here.” Dr. Miller pointed to said fracture. “I don’t think you’ll need surgery, so we’ll just put a cast on you.”

“Okay, at least I’m wearing a skirt, but I have a question first.”, Sunset said.

“Shoot”

“When my sister broke her arm,” Sunset pointed to Emi, “she was screaming because of the pain, but this only hurts when I stand. Why is that?”

“Well, there are a few different factors here. Broken legs are generally less painful than broken arms, and you only have a fracture. How bad was your sister’s break?”

“I had a new elbow.”, Emi cheerfully informed him.

“Yeah, so that’s why. Now, I’ll send the nurses in to set your cast, and we’ll send you on your way. Do you plan on using that chair the whole time?”

Sunset turned around to face Minerva, the question unspoken. “Yes”, Minerva said to Dr. Miller. “I’ll teach you all the tricks to using it.”, Minerva said to Sunset.

“Alright, the nurses will be in shortly.”, Dr. Miller said.

Katon family home
Date: same day, time: 4:45 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Minerva pulled into the front driveway, and everyone hopped out and helped Sunset into the wheelchair. Meg pulled out her phone and began texting someone. Everyone went inside, sprayed down, and took their shoes off. “Why have to get sprayed?”, Meg asked.

Sunset only signed out ‘E’ before having to stop because she did not know how to sign ‘immunocompromised’ or even spell it. “- Emi very sick.”

“What kind of sick?”

“I have cancer.”, Emi signed.

Meg’s jaw hit the floor, and she looked at Sunset in horror and realization. “Don’t tell anyone.”, Sunset signed with a scowl.

Meg nodded and turned back to Emi. “Sorry”

“We not Canadian. Don’t say ‘sorry’.”, Emi signed, then ran inside. Anura joined her, and the two hopped on the couch. Ki came up to Meg and sniffed at her. He still had his resting bitch face but was not hostile in any way. Ki then examined Sunset’s new wheels. He was confused by it and stayed close to Sunset as everyone followed the girls inside. “Aunt Minerva, do you know how to turn on subtitles?”

“Let me see.” Minerva walked over, took the remote from Emi, and began fiddling with it.

“What they saying?”, Meg asked.

“Trying to turn on subtitles for you.”, Sunset answered.

Meg’s face went from surprised to happy. “Need anything else?”

Sunset shook her head. “I good. Emi and Anura need practice.”, Sunset signed, then entered her room with Ki following. Once she was looking at her steps, she realized that she forgot that her bed was not wheelchair accessible. “Well, shit.” Sunset went over to the boxes under her stairs and pulled out some extra blankets. Sunset brought the blankets to her couch and laid them out for the night. “What even was that girl’s disability?”, Sunset asked no one in particular. Her bed was up two flights of stairs, but her bathroom had those railing meant to help people get onto and off the toilet or into and or out of the bathtub, both downstairs bathrooms did. Brigid had told Sunset the story of her room but not what was wrong with the daughter.

Sunset wheeled herself over to her bathroom. Her sink also wasn’t wheelchair accessible, but she could use it to balance while she was doing hygiene stuff. Getting around in school will be less easy. “Huh, this is going to be a fun six weeks.”

Sunset wheeled back out to the living room where Emi, Anura, and Meg were watching TV and Minerva was munching on a granola bar. “Aunt Minerva, you said you’d teach me all the tricks to using your wheelchair.”

Minerva smiled at Sunset and finished what was in her mouth. “Alright, you already got movement down, so let’s start with brakes.” Minerva wrapped her granola bar back up and walked over to Sunset. Kneeling for her was significantly more difficult for her, and she could only kneel on her right leg as she did not have a left knee, but she did so to make instructing Sunset easier. “See this lever here?” Sunset grabbed it and nodded. “Push it down until it’s completely vertical to secure the brakes. You’ll need to put the brakes on any time you reposition yourself in the chair or try to get out of it.”

“Yeah, don’t want the chair rolling out from under me.”, Sunset said light heartedly.

“You can hit your head if you’re not careful. Picking yourself out of this chair is going to be one of the most dangerous things you’ll be doing for the next few weeks. Do you understand me?”, Minerva said very seriously. It reminded Sunset of the last time her mother had to scold her for jumping on her back. The guilt from that old memory combined with the mixture of feelings she felt now. She had always known that life was different for Mom, Anzhong, and Minerva, but now, she was going to personally understand it.

“Loud and clear.”

“Good, let’s go practice it.” Minerva stood up, and Sunset began heading to her room. Minerva followed her, and Sunset led her to her couch. “Will you be comfortable enough on the couch?”

“I’m a soldier. I can sleep anywhere I can lay my back flat against.”

“Alright. Now, you still have a good leg. Have you ever tried hopping on one leg before?”

“Once, but I was still on four legs at that point, so I was more dragging the rest of myself. Don’t ask. My drill sergeant was a sadist, by pony standards anyway.”

“And by human standards?”

“A normal drill sergeant. It does not take a lot to make a pony cry, and I am not ashamed to say she made me cry too.”

“Okay, let’s start practicing.”

“Alrighty then.” Sunset spun herself around to a position that seemed like it would make it easier then applied the brakes. Minerva checked them then gave Sunset a thumbs up and stayed close as Sunset lifted herself out of the chair. Sunset took care to not bump her cast on anything, and Ki kept a close eye on her as she crawled onto her couch. The operation was successful but clunky. “That could’ve gone better.”

“It was your first time. You’ll get better at it.”

“Yeah” Sunset pulled the blankets up and snuggled in. “I’m going to get some sleep.”

“Alright”

“Oh, before you go, could you get my phoenix down from my loft?”

“Sure thing.” Minerva marched up the stairs then came back down with the desired toy.

“Thank you”, Sunset said while taking the toy and giving it a tight squeeze.

“You’re welcome.”, Minerva said warmly.

Minerva left the room, Ki laid down next to Sunset’s couch, and Sunset closed her eyes. Sunset fell asleep quickly, and the next thing she knew, a donut was being waved in front of her face. “Seriously?”

“Hey, it worked.”, Brigid half joked. “How’s y’r leg?” Sunset pulled the blanket off, exposing her cast. “How did it happen?”

“Lily punched me, and I fell on one of those concrete wheel-stops.” Brigid’s face grew serious, clearly contemplating what she could get away with. “I’d actually like to deal with her myself. I don’t even plan on reporting her to the school.”

“Are ya sure?”

“Positive. I’ve already been messing with her since she kissed Flash. I’m just going to ramp it up.”

Brigid narrowed her eyes at Sunset. “Wha’ have ya been doin’?”

Shit! “Just petty stuff. I’m not hurting her.”, Sunset said, hopefully not too quickly.

“O-kay. Ah’m goin’ ta leave dese ‘ere.” Brigid placed the bag of donuts on Sunset’s coffee table. “Do ya want dinne’?”

“I’m kinda tired. Can you save some for me later?”

“Sure”, Brigid said softly.

Sunset watched Brigid leave her room. As soon as the door was closed, Sunset punched herself for making such a stupid mistake. I need to take care of Lily, quickly. She’s causing me to slip up.

SHWO ch64 6 weeks on wheels

Home
Date: today, time: bright ball showing

*Ki’s perspective*

Ki watched as Sunset pulled Sunset’s self onto the wheely chair. Ki still didn’t know why Sunset was wearing that thing around Sunset’s leg or why Sunset was in that wheely chair. Why would Sunset limit Sunset’s movement like that? Despite only having one leg, Sunset was still graceful. Ki had no idea how Sunset could move so gracefully only on two legs and at the ages they can reach but also didn’t think about it too much. Ki had long accepted that humans are too weird to make sense of. HUMANS CAN TAKE HUMAN’S FUR OFF AND PUT NEW FUR ON. Humans walking around without fur means bath time. Very disturbing.

Ki followed Sunset out of Sunset’s room and into the food room. Mom, Dad, Emi, Kiba, and Chewy Stealer were all in the food room as well. Ki knew Chewy Stealer’s actual name was ‘Tomiju’, but Chewy Stealer was more accurate.

Mom scooped some food into Ki’s, Kiba’s, and Chewy Stealer’s bowls, and Ki, Kiba, and Chewy Stealer began eating. Mom, Dad, and Sunset began talking. Ki’s name was mentioned, and Ki lifted Ki’s head to see if Ki’s attention was needed. Ki’s attention was quickly pulled back to Ki’s bowl by Chewy Stealer getting too close. Ki let out a growl to get Chewy Stealer to back off. Ki’s growl alerted Emi to the situation. Emi snapped at Chewy Stealer and pointed to Chewy Stealer’s bowl. Chewy Stealer went back to Chewy Stealer’s bowl with Chewy Stealer’s tail between Chewy Stealer’s hind legs. Ki felt pleased with Ki’s self but dragged Ki’s bowl over to Mom, Dad, and Sunset so Ki could eat in peace while listening to the table. The conversation did involve Ki, so Ki needed to hear it, even if Ki couldn’t understand most of the words.

Soon, Pumpkin’s name was mentioned. That got Ki to perk up. Pumpkin coming back would be great. Ki didn’t know where Pumpkin went nor did Ki care. Ki just wanted Pumpkin back. Pumpkin made Mom so happy.

The conversation seemed to have ended, and Dad got up from the table. Dad soon returned with a harness, Ki’s harness. Ki began bouncing up and down in excitement, as much as his aging body would allow. Dad handed the harness over to Mom, and Mom removed the large handle-thingy from the harness. Dad petted Ki to get Ki to calm down. Ki did try to calm down, but Ki was very excited.

Everyone finished eating, dishes were washed, Minerva and Anura came in, and Ki waited by the door to get going. Sunset called Ki into Sunset’s room as Mom, Dad, Kiba, and Anura were leaving. Ki was reluctant, but no one made any objections, so Ki complied. As Ki passed by Sunset, Ki noticed that Sunset had Ki’s harness. Ki became excited again. Ki was going to be working for Sunset.

Sunset continued doing stuff while Ki patiently waited. Once Sunset was finally done, Sunset put Ki’s harness and leash on and wrapped her end of Ki’s leash around a part of her wheely chair, and Sunset and Ki got on their way. As Sunset’s and Ki’s walk continued, more kids began walking the same way. Ki and Sunset’s walk ended at a large building. Most of the kids went in through the front doors, but Sunset and Ki went through a side door with a ramp for Sunset’s wheely chair. The inside was very crowded with many other bad smelling humans. Several of the humans made high pitch sounds that hurt Ki’s and Sunset’s ears and tried to pet Ki. Ki did not acknowledge the smelly humans, but Sunset shooed the smelly humans away and got Ki and Sunset out of the swarming smelly humans with the help of the silent human from yesterday.

The silent human brought them to a room with many chairs and tables. Sunset had trouble getting around the tables and chairs. Sunset and the silent human ended up sitting in the front row, and Ki laid down next to Sunset’s wheely chair. Other smelly humans soon came in and made noises at Ki. Ki ignored them. Ki was working.

The largest human did a lot of talking, and Ki and Sunset were in that room for much time. A bell sounded, and all the humans got up and began leaving the room. The next place all the humans went was a larger room with even more tables and chairs and the worst smell Ki ever smelt. The smell smelled like stinky humans, questionable food, and - well, Ki couldn’t identify the last smell. Most of the humans got into a line along a counter that smelt of food. Dad’s food smelled much better. Sunset was joined by Flash and two small humans Ki didn’t recognize.

Sunset, Flash, the silent human, and the two small humans got food and went to one of the tables. Sunset handed Ki’s bowl to one of the small humans and ordered the small human to get Ki water. These small humans were clearly members of Sunset’s pack, but Ki did not know why Sunset did not live with Sunset’s pack. Ki had a pack before Ki was brought into Ki’s current pack. Humans make no sense.

Sunset began laughing. Ki looked up at Sunset then at what Sunset’s laughing at. Sunset was laughing at two other humans with one of the other humans with the same thing wrapped around one of the other human’s own legs as Sunset had wrapped around Sunset’s own leg. The new human with the leg wrapping was using two strange stick thingies to walk. Ki had no idea what was going on.

CMS lunchroom
Date: Jan 10th, 2012, time: 12:05 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Hahahaha, wow, karma really is a bitch, isn’t she?”, Sunset hollered.

“You had something to do with this. I know you did.”, Lily barked.

“How? Depending on when you got your leg broken, I was either sitting on the curb with the leg you just broke; at the hospital, getting my leg x-rayed and cast; or at home, sleeping on my couch because I can’t climb up the stairs to my bed! You called me, Jacklyn, and every Irelander a terrorist, tried to steal from me, defaced Jacklyn’s locker and symbol, and broke my leg because she hired me to give you a piece of your own medicine!”, Sunset said loud enough for everyone to hear. “And that’s just the most recent events. You also sexually assaulted Flash and have been bullying a couple of fourth graders for who knows what reason. Who does that?” If everybody wasn’t paying attention before, they were now. Sunset looked around and saw Flash trying to disappear below the table, Daisy looking very embarrassed, everyone looking at Lily, and the other Irish kids giving her serious stink eyes.

“Wha- you don’t actually believe her? It’s Sunset.”, Lily tried to defend. There was some murmuring, but most seemed unconvinced.

“Ya forget that other people were witness to yar antics.”, Jacklyn spoke up.

“You also have a history of harassing students.”, Rarity added. “You’ve called me a “commie here to corrupt the American people” along with many other remarks I do not care to repeat.”

“Yeah, the whole hockey team saw you sucker punch Sunset, causing her broken leg.”, Rainbow said.

“Oh please, I bet her leg isn’t even broken. She’s just doing it for attention.”, Lily accused.

“Oh yeah, I’m pretending to be disabled.” Sunset rolled out to the front of the lunchroom and took the blanket off. “Bitch, I won’t be able to play hockey until I’m fully healed, my mobility is extremely limited, I can’t effin’ get to my preferred desk, and I can’t get to half the school. That’s just the stuff I can’t do at school. Lily, you’re as thick as shite and only half as handy.”

“Speaking of which.”, Flash said, standing up from his chair. “Did anyone see you break your leg?”

“What?! Are you seriously accusing me of faking my injury?!”, Lily said, outraged.

“If the shoe fits, or should I say cast.”

Lily’s head looked like it was going to explode, but Daisy stepped in before Lily could say anything. “She tripped over her own feet and fell down the stairs.”, Daisy said. Lily tried to say something, but Daisy shut her down. “Lily, literally no one here is on your side, not even me. Shut up and walk away quietly.” Again, Lily tried to say something, but Daisy lightly kicked her in the back of her good leg, and that got her to shut up.

Sunset tucked her blanket back around her legs and rolled back to her table. She turned to Flash with a massive grin, preparing to praise him, “Flash, I didn’t know you- Flash?” but Flash had his head on the table and his arms wrapped around his head. “Flash, are you okay?”, Sunset asked worriedly. Flash shook his head without taking it off the table. There was a mix of emotions radiating from him, none of them positive. Sunset untied Ki from her chair and handed the leash to Snails. “Ki, stay. You, watch him. Keep the other crotch goblins from hurting him.” Sunset turned back to Flash, rubbed his back, and got in close enough to whisper to him. “Hey, do you want to find a quiet place?” Flash mumbled a yes and got up, and Sunset wheeled away from the table.

Sunset and Flash exited the lunchroom and went to the library. Almost nobody was in the library at this time of day, but they went deep into the stacks anyways. Once they were far away from everybody, Flash slumped down against the shelf and began crying. Sunset comforted him the best she could, but she was stuck in a chair. “I hate her. - I hate her. I hate her.”, Flash sobbed out.

Sunset continued running her hand through Flash’s hair. “Maybe you should talk to a therapist.”

“Maybe, but she’s only part of the problem.”

“What’s the other part?”

“You’re too much like her.”, Flash said scornfully.

That caught Sunset off guard. “I’m no saint, but I’m nowhere near as bad as her.”

“But you’re getting there. Another year, two, you’re getting worse each year. I’m afraid you’ll cross a line you can’t uncross.”

“You mean killing.”, Sunset stated bluntly. “Are you seriously concerned I’d kill someone?”

“Your curse broke Lily’s leg. Next time, it could be her skull.”, Flash said darkly.

Sunset’s words caught in her throat. Flash was right. Humans are far less durable than ponies. It would be an exaggeration to say that a pony could fall off Mount Canterhorn and walk away with just a bruise but not by much. As terrifying humans are, their bones just aren’t as tough as ponies’. “I’ll reverse the curse.”, Sunset said solemnly.

Flash took Sunset’s hand that had been removed from his head earlier and looked Sunset in the eyes. “Hey, I’m not mad, and I still love you. I want to help you.” There’s nothing you can do to help me. Sunset said nothing, and the two of them stayed like that until Sunset’s stomach reminded them neither of them had eaten anything more than a couple of spoonfuls of vegetables. “We should probably go back to lunch.”, Flash said while wiping tears from his eyes.

“Thank you for saying it first.”

“It was your stomach that said it first. Seriously, where do you put it all?”

“In my breasts. Women’s bodies store all the excess food we eat in our boobs, break it down, and ferment it into milk.”

“Wait, really?”

“No, of course not. Damn, you're gullible.”

“Ha ha, very funny.”

“It was. Now, push me back to lunch.”

Flash rolled his eyes but did so, but not before getting his own jab in. “Eats so much bacon your hair matches it.”

“My sister does that one better.”, Sunset remarked.

ASL Club
Date: same day, time: 3:05 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Flash wheeled Sunset into the club with Snips and Snails trailing behind them. Everyone turned to look at them, then some of them looked at Sunset’s leg but didn’t look shocked. “I take it my verbal brawl with Lily made it around.” Everyone, except for Meg, nodded. Sunset wheeled herself over to her usual corner, but on her way there, she noticed someone new that looked less than thrilled to see Sunset there. “Sweetie Drops forgot to tell you I was club staff, eh?”

“Yeah, how’d you know I was with Sweetie?”, the girl said with furrowed eyebrows.

“I have a matching stain on one of my shirts from when we bumped into each other while she was holding a chocolate bar.”

“This is Lyra Heartstrings. She’s my friend.”, Sweetie Drops cut in.

“Will you be getting her up to speed?”

“I’ve actually been teaching her the basics for the last week.”

“Good. If you feel lost, you can ask me for help.”, Sunset said to Lyra.

“Okay, sure.”, Lyra said, rather surprised. Sunset continued on to her corner but overheard Lyra and Sweetie. “I thought she would’ve been meaner.”

“She’s been going through a lot. She’s actually kinda nice just not dealing with things well.”, Sweetie said.

Sunset just rolled her eyes and didn’t say anything. The club started, and things were fairly normal. Lyra would occasionally ask for Sunset’s help translating particularly with letter signing. For someone who joined half way through the year, Lyra was a good signer, particularly with body language. As the lesson continued, Sunset noticed Forest stealing glances at her. Sunset tried to ignore it, but the Forest was looking at her made her uncomfortable. Sunset turned herself away and began petting Ki, but she could still feel Forest looking at her.

Sunset continued trying to ignore Forest for the rest of the hour. Once the club was over, everyone began dispersing, except for Forest. Sunset and Flash began getting their jackets back on and packing up to head to Sunset’s. They didn’t get much packing done before Forest came up to Sunset. “Hey Sunset, can I talk to you - alone?”

“Anything you need to say to me can be said in front of Flash.”

Forest looked unsure but complied. “Okay, why hasn’t your leg healed?”

“What? It was broken yesterday.”

“Yeah, but you have healing powers.”

Oh, this crap again. “No Forest, I don’t.” At least, not any more. “I heal just as slowly as any human.”

“Oh, that sucks.”

“Yeah, it does. Now, we have an appointment to get to.” Flash put Sunset’ backpack on her back handles, and they headed to the door. Just in case Forest tried to stop them again, Sunset and Flash hurried out of there. Flash pushed Sunset home, and Sunset sent Flash to go get Minerva.

“So, you want to take the curse off.”, Minerva said as she came down the stairs.

“Well, Flash wants me to, and the curse was meant to get revenge for him.”

“Okay, you still have the hair?”

“Yup. Flash, there’s a plastic bag in my nightstand that has some of Lily’s hair in it. Can you go get it?”

“Sure, but how did you get Lily’s hair?”, Flash asked, seeming a bit concerned.

“It caught on my jacket zipper during the scuffle for my whistle. I didn’t yank it out of her head as much as I wanted to.”

“O-kay” Flash ran off to Sunset’s room, and Sunset and Minerva headed to the kitchen. They began pulling out ingredients including mushrooms, mustard seed, and witch hazel leaves. “Okay, got it.” Flash ran into the kitchen with the baggie in hand.

“Thank you.” Sunset took the baggie and placed it with the rest of the ingredients.

“So, what’s going on?”

“Basically, we need to do what we did to curse Lily in the first place but in reverse.”, Minerva explained.

“These are normal foods and spices.”, Flash said, confused.

“Well, what were you expecting?”, Minerva asked.

“I don’t know, eye of newt.”

“That is eye of newt.”, Sunset said while pointing to the mustard seed.

“That’s mustard seed.”, Flash said, not getting it.

“That’s what eye of newt is. It’s just the old-timey name for it. Witchcraft is just cooking, but the end product rarely tastes good.”

“Wow, that simultaneously makes being a witch way cooler and way lamer.”

“We can teach you, if you want.”, Minerva offered.

“I’m pretty sure my mom would freak out if she found out I was dating a witch. She might call for an exorcism if I started practicing.”

“You mean what the priest did in that movie?”, Sunset asked.

“Yes but less vomiting.” Flash looked to be thinking before he spoke again. “Do you have exorcisms?”

“Not that I’m aware of, but then again, most Pegan traditions were either erased or absorbed by Christianity.”

“Oh, yeah.”, Flash said solemnly.

“I think it’s ready for the hair.”, Sunset cut in.

“Okay” Minerva added the hair to the pot and said the incantation, which sounded like gibberish when said backwards. “Kcuf efil rieht ekam, enutrof ssim dna niap meht esuac. Kcul rieht yortsed, seimene ym esruc.”

“Nothing happened.”, Flash said.

“Despite the flashy light show movies like to show, magic is actually very subtle.”, Minerva explained.

“How does it work?”

“Have you ever heard of the tulpa effect?”

“No”

“The tulpa effect can be boiled down to ‘if enough people believe in it hard enough, it becomes real’. Magic is a product of that. We believe we can commune with the planet and ask for her power to service our needs.”, Minerva explained.

“That’s nuts. So, what do you do with that?”

“Garbage disposal, the spell is finished, and the magic in these ingredients has been spent.” Minerva turned the burner off and poured the soup down the drain.

“Thanks for your help.”, Sunset said to Minerva.

“No problem.”

Sunset rolled over to her room, and Flash followed. They still had an hour to wait for Flash’s mom.

Sentrys’ house
Date: same day, time: 4:35 pm

*Ethan Sentry’s perspective*

“Hey honey, I would like to take Flash to guitar practice today.”, Ethan said.

“Hm, oh sure. Let me jus’ write down Sunset’s address.” Shine grabbed a notepad and pen and quickly jotted it down. “Sunset lives close to tha school and Ms. Michelson’s house, but ya’ll still need ta get going if ya want ta get ‘em there in time. Oh, and don’t forget ta pack Flash’s guitar.”, Shine said as she handed Ethan the paper. “Oh, and Sunset broke her leg yesterday, so ya might need ta help her in and out of tha car and her wheelchair.”

“What happened?”

“Ah don’t know. Brigid called me last night and asked if Ah would be able ta handle it.”

“Okay, I can do that.” Ethan took the keys, grabbed Flash’s guitar, and went out to the car. After punching the address into the GPS, Ethan set off to pick up the kids. Upon reaching the Katons’ house, Ethan pulled into what looked like the driveway, but there was no garage. Ethan walked up the pathway and to the door. Ethan knocked on the door, and a woman Ethan recognized as Minerva answered the door.

“Hey, Ethan, right?”

“Yes, may I come in?”

“Sure, just spray yourself down first.” Minerva handed Ethan a spray bottle.

Ethan examined the bottle. It was just a normal spray bottle with what smelled like disinfectant inside. “Does this have to do with Emi wearing those gloves, glasses, and mask?”

“Yes, she’s immunocompromised.”, Minerva answered. Oh. Ethan sprayed himself down and stepped inside then handed the bottle back to Minerva. Minerva placed the bottle on the table and walked to a door on the far side of the kitchen. “Flash, your dad is here.”

Flash and Sunset soon emerged from the room and walked or rolled over to the front door. “Hey Dad, I thought Mom was taking us.”

“She was, but I volunteered to take you instead.”

“Okay”

Ethan led them out the car and prepared to help Sunset in, but Sunset just handed her guitar to Flash and pulled herself into the car. Okay, that works. Flash handed Sunset’s guitar back to her then took the chair to the back of the car and started collapsing it. “Need any help with that?”

“No thanks, I’m good. Sunset showed me how to do it properly.”

“Oh, okay. You really have grown up, haven’t you?”, Ethan said warily.

“Yeah, I guess I have. I kinda had to.”

“That’s good.” Ethan let Flash finish and went to sit in the driver seat again. Flash soon finished up and sat in the back with Sunset.

“Here, since you're transporting me, you get to hang this in your windshield.” Sunset handed Ethan a handicapped placard. “I will need that back when you drop me off back here.”

“Will do.” Ethan pulled out of the driveway, and they got on their way to Ms. Michelson’s house.

“How’s civilian life treating you?”, Sunset asked.

“It’s good but a bit of an adjustment process.”

“You woke up at five and had nothing to do but clean until everyone else woke up.”

“Well, I… I feel very called out. How do you know?”

“Did you not notice my aunt’s plastic feet?”

“I did, but having prosthetics doesn’t automatically mean someone was in the military.”

“True, but she was and still wakes up way too close to the butt crack of dawn.”

“Says the creature of the night.”, Flash snarked.

“If it were up to me, everything would be open twenty-four hours to accommodate everyone of every sleeping schedule.”

“And that kind of attitude is why I like you.”

Flash really was growing up.

Katon family home
Date: same day, time: 6:00 pm

*Anzhong’s perspective*

“Mom! Emi’s chewing on her letter blocks again!”, Sunset called out.

“Emi, ya know y’re not supposed ta do dat.”, Brigid called back.

“They’re my blocks, and they’re nontoxic.”, Emi protested.

“Yeah, but y’ll eventually have no blocks because ya ate ‘em all. Wha’ will ya do den, eat da furniture?”

“Yes”, Emi said emphatically. Anzhong hoped she was joking, but it was hard to tell with Emi. Anzhong knew kids put things in their mouths that they shouldn’t and couldn’t claim he never did the same, but he would have thought that Emi would have grown out of chewing on her blocks by now.

Anzhong put his book down and got up from his chair and walked over to join the debate. “Perhaps everyone would like some actual food.”

“Ooh, ooh, can we have mac n’ cheese tonight?”, Emi asked.

“Dat sounds good.”

“I’ll get started then.” Anzhong headed back inside and to the kitchen, but before he was out of earshot, he heard Sunset and Emi going at it again.

“Take that out of your mouth.”

“Ya can’t tell me what ta do.”

“Ah can do this.”

“Sunset, put me down. Mom!”

“Sunset, put Emi down.”, Brigid said, exasperated.

Anzhong shook his head. There is never enough warning to how much of a handful kids can be. Macaroni and cheese was a simple dish to make and took less than an hour. “Wash your hands for dinner.”, Anzhong called out. Everyone hurried to the bathrooms and after a couple minutes started setting the table.

“Mac n’ cheese, mac n’ cheese, Ah love mac n’ cheese.”, Emi sang. Anzhong placed the macaroni and cheese in the center and took his seat along with everyone else. Strangely enough, everyone was quiet. That was until Emi said something. “Oh, yeah. Ow, hey.”

“Sunset, no bonking Emi on da head.”, Brigid chastised. “Would ya like it if Spitfire did dat ta ya?”

“She’s done that and worse to me. One of those times is why I even became Celestia’s personal student.”

“Oh, story time.”, Emi said, seemingly having forgotten that Sunset just whacked her.

“Okay, first off, this is something I already told Mom, but Spitfire is my half sister and is half dragon on her dad’s side. Now, when I was a foal and she was young, she was learning to use her fire breath. She was doing it inside the house; you better bet our mom was none to happy about that, but I digress. So, Spitfire was practicing her fire breath, and I was watching. One of her puffs ended up being a bit bigger than either of us expected. I ducked to avoid the flames, but me being the dumbass I was,”

“Are”, Emi siad. “Ow, Sunset.”

“She deserved it.”, Sunset protested. “Anyway, I neglected to lower my flank as the fire ball soared over me. This resulted in my tail catching on fire, and I ran around the house, screaming, while Spitfire tried to put me out. I was fine and didn’t get badly burned, but my tail was gone. I was left with nothing but this little nib attached to my butt until my tail grew back.”

“Hahaha, I bet you looked silly.”, Emi chuckled.

“I did. I also had ta wear a dress to cover my unmentionables, and because of that, I worked to become a pyromancer so I could get back at her, and I found out I was really good at it. I ended up getting my cutie mark when I blasted her through a wall, and my parents decided to send me to Celestia’s school so I could hone my skill and to reduce the chances of the house being burned down.”

“Gettin’ y’r destiny definin’ mark by blastin’ y’r sister through a wall. How fiitin’.”, Brigid said dryly.

“She was fine. She can nosedive into lava and come out just fine, just without any fur. Plus, she got hers in that tail scorching incident.”

“Jus’ don’t set Emi on fire.”

“That’s easy.”

“N’ don’t set y’rself on fire.”

“No promises.”

“How’d you become Celestia’s student?”, Emi asked.

“Well, that has to do with a student named ‘Jet Set’. Despite his name, he was a unicorn and also attended Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. He was an absolute asshole. One day in the lunchroom, he was being his normal asshole self. I can’t remember what he was talking about; it was twenty years ago, but I do remember that it made me mad. I confronted him about it, and he challenged me to a magic duel. Despite just barely having become accustomed to my magic, I accepted. We went out to the courtyard for our duel. I had a lot of raw magic power, even back then, but I didn’t have good control over it. Several broken windows can attest to that. So, our duel started, and Jet fired a magic bolt at me. I dodged and fired one of my own. Except it went wide, and I ended up blasting the shrubs. When I say blasted, I mean the thing exploded, like BOOM. As shocked as I was, it was funny watching that pompous noble running away from a kid two years younger than him like a chicken. After that, Celestia recognized my power and took me under her wing. Good thing too. I definitely would have blown up something far less easily replaced if I was in normal classes.”

“That sounds in line with you.”, Anzhong said.

“It sounds in line for this whole family.”

“Hm, fair.” The dinner was once again quiet. Anzhong was both not worried about it but also very worried about it. They were most likely planning a birthday surprise in ASL. This will be interesting.

Inside the car
Date: Jun 12th, time: 5:30 pm

*Anzhong’s perspective*

Anzhong opened his eyes as the car rolled to a stop. He opened his door and stepped a foot out before he noticed something was off. They weren’t in the garage. There was a distinct lack of the smell of pine, metal, and plastic. Now that he thought about it, the car didn’t make the correct turns needed to go into the garage. However, it did make the correct turns needed to get onto the front driveway. “What are you doing, Brigid?”, Anzhong asked warily.

“Ahh, don’t be such a spoilsport. Since we can’t give ya a proper birthday celebration on y’r actual birthday due ta da holiday, we’re givin’ ya one now. Ya, stay in da car, n’ Ah’ll get everyone movin’.” Brigid stomped up to the door and inside the house.

Anzhong resigned himself to his fate and got back in the car. “You would think you can avoid having your birthday being a big hoopla by being born on a holiday but no.”, Anzhong said to Kiba. Kiba let out a low grunting sound in agreement.

Brigid soon came out of the house with two extra sets of feet in tow and Emi going “Weeee!”, most likely riding with Sunset. “Okay, butts in car.”, Brigid ordered.

“Hey, look Mom. My butt’s in the car.”, Emi teased.

“Oh, come on, Emi.”, Anura said.

“Wah! When did you get so strong?”

“You should have said ‘butts in seats’.”, Sunset suggested.

“Ya two would’ve found someway ta maliciously comply with dat.”

“Hehe, yeah, we would’ve.”

Everyone got loaded into the car, and Brigid pulled out of the driveway.

“So, where are we going?”, Anzhong asked.

“It’s a surprise, Daddy.”, Emi said.

Dumpling’s Delectables
Date: same day, time: 6:45 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“That was good.”, Anzhong said.

“Now, aren’t ya glad we kidnapped ya n’ forced ya ta eat ‘ere?”, Brigid teased.

“Do you have to phrase it like that?”

“As a matter of fact, she does. She’s contractually obligated to.”, Jiraiya said.

“If he made you sign it under duress, I can have it voided.”, Anzhong whispered to Brigid.

An odd sound drew Sunset attention away from the adults, which turned out to be Emi and Anura table knife fighting.

“Please put the knives down. You could get hurt.”, Minerva said.

“Come on, their table knives. They can barely cut meat.”, Emi protested.

“Eyeball, dey can cost ya an eyeball.”, Brigid said.

“Oh”, Anura said, then put her knife down.

“Whimp”, Emi said.

“Well, excuse me. I don’t have that hyper spatial awareness thing you have. If I lose my eye, I’d be far worse off than you.”

“Safety glasses”, Emi said as if she just invented them.

“That might actually be a good idea.”, Minerva said.

“Hello everybody, how was your meal?”, the waitress asked.

“Everything was delicious. We are ready for the check.”, Jiraiya said.

“Okay, I’ll be right back then.” The waitress walked back to the register and soon came back, check in hand.

“Thank you.” Jiraiya placed his card in, then gave it back to the waitress. The waitress took the bill back to the register, yada yada, the family paid the bill and was now heading back to the car. As soon as they stepped outside, they saw that someone parked in the disabled loading zone.

“What is this?”, Anzhong asked while bumping his cane against it.

“It’s someone’s car.”, Minerva said.

Brigid’s face turned as red as her hair, and she stormed back into the restaurant. “Whoever’s da cocksucke’ dat parked in da disabled loadin’ zone, move y’r effin’ car now! Me baby’s in a wheelchair, n’ now, she c’n’t get in da car!”, Brigid bellowed. Even with the doors closed, she could be heard loud and clear.

“You know, I forget how loud she can be.”, Jiraiya commented.

A sheepish looking young man soon scurred out past the family and to the illegally parked car. “Sorry”, the young man sheepishly said.

Brigid stomped out of the restrant after the kid, still looking pissed but also pleased with herself.

“What’s the smile about?”, Minerva asked.

“Da turd was with a girl, n’ she looked none to happy ta learn wha’ he did.”

The kid moved his car, and they were finally able to get into their car and drive home. “Hey Minerva, did this ever happen to you?”, Sunset asked.

“Yeah, a few times. Some people think the rules don’t apply to them, but Brigid was the one chauffeuring me around in the early days, so she scared them off, and I eventually learned how to deal with them my own way.”

“That tracks with what I’ve seen.”

“Yeah, but remember sweetie, dese people are da minority a’ people. Dey jus’ happen ta be da loudest.”, Brigid said.

“Yeah, right.”, Sunset said disbelievingly. She knew Brigid was trying to make her feel better about this world, but there was no point. Sunset has seen how violent and deceitful humans are, and it’s not like she could condemn them. After all, she’s just like them.

Mr. Milestone’s classroom
Date: Jan 14th, time: 3:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

The bell rang, and the students rushed into the hallways. Sunset and Meg headed towards their lockers to grab their hockey gear, but as Sunset reached into her locker, she remembered that she wouldn’t be able to go. Horse feathers.

Meg tapped Sunset on her shoulder, and Sunset looked up to face her. “I go now. See you tomorrow.”

Sunset waved to Meg then turned back to her locker. As soon as Meg was out of sight, Sunset stood up from her wheelchair, using her locker to stabilize herself, grabbed her books, and put them in her bag. Sunset laid her bag on the ground and lowered herself back into her chair. “Sigh, I’m glad this is temporary.”

Sunset placed her bag on the back of the wheelchair and began heading to the exit. As she headed out, she noticed Fluttershy at the edge of the crowd. “Hey! Fluttershy!”, Sunset called out and started wheeling closer to her, having to give some kids the death glare to make them get out of the way.

Fluttershy froze and slowly turned around to face Sunset. Fluttershy was either too stupid or scared to just book it out of there. “What is it, Sunset?” She said it clearly, but the ‘I’m close to shitting myself’ face remained.

“I’m here to cash in that favor you owe me.”, Sunset said confidently.

A look of defeat washed over Fluttershy and added to the fear. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath in a futile attempt to summon up some form of courage. “Okay, what do you want?”

“I need you to find me a hypoallergenic cat.”

Fluttershy’s eyes opened in shock, and she looked at Sunset like she asked her for a pet unicorn. That would be a strange day. “That’s it?”, Fluttershy deadpanned.

“My mom’s a cat person, but my aunt and cousin are both allergic. I want to find her a cat that won’t bard my aunt and cousin from our house, and it has to be before February first. Oh, and it can’t be hairless. The poor thing’s name will inevitably be scrotum.”

“Oh of course, I can help with that, and you don’t have to worry about the cat being hairless. Hairless cats aren’t even hypoallergenic since your aunt and cousin are most likely allergic to the dander and saliva, not the fur.”, Fluttershy said, becoming much more relaxed. “You don’t even need to cash in that favor.”

“You really want to continue having that over your head?”

Fluttershy’s eyes sprang open again. “Oh no, this is a perfectly reasonable reason to cash in your favor.”

“Smart girl.”, Sunset grabbed her backpack, pulled out a pen and paper from it, and wrote her number down. “This is my number. When you find the cat, call or text me.”

Fluttershy took the paper and quickly walked off. Sunset turned back around to go to the side exit. The crowd hadn’t thinned much since Sunset and Fluttershy started talking, leaving little room for Sunset, her chair, and Ki. Many ‘hey’s and death glares were exchanged as Sunset and Ki re-entered the crowd.

After getting outside, freeing herself from the hoard of stinky adolescents, Sunset gave Ki a chance to do his business. She spotted Lily and Daisy walking past, to the carlot. Lily looked oh so uncomfortable on her crutches. Sunset gave Lily a cocky wave, and Lily responded with the one finger salute. Sunset responded with an American salute. Lily responded by sticking out her tongue, but any more of their eloquent discourse was cut off by Daisy practically pulling Lily away. Ki walked back over to Sunset, Sunset checked for poop, and seeing that there wasn’t any, they got underway.

Sunset rolled into the house and unleashed Ki. “Hey! Emi! I’m home!”, Sunset called out, but there was no response. “Emi?” Sunset rolled around, looking for Emi. “Emi! there’s no point in hiding! I know you’re down here!” Sunset turned to look over the couch but heard air whooshing behind her. She raised her hand to protect her head and ended up catching a bokken.

“Nuts”, Emi said.

Sunset turned around to find Emi standing behind her with a sour look on her face and holding the other end of the bokken. “You wanted to take advantage of my temporarily reduced height and whack me in the head with the bokken?”

“Yes”, Emi said dejectedly.

“Good plan, it would have worked if done on almost anyone else.”

That got Emi to perk up and even look proud. “Yeah, it was a good plan. I’m a master tactician. I just so happen to be going up against a freak of nature.”

Sunset let go of the bokken and rolled her eyes. “That’s the pot calling the kettle black. How are you doing?”

“I’m fine.”

“Okay” Sunset gave Emi a pat on the head then went to her room and did homework stuff. It wasn’t long before Minerva was back with Sunset being alerted by Emi’s war cry.

“Face me, warrior! We will fight to the bitter end! And this time, with safety classes!”, Emi cried, shortly followed by the sound of wooden swords clashing and Minerva telling them to go outside.

Sunset exited her room and caught Minerva before she went back upstairs. “Hey Minerva, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“You just had your first real experience with your new restrictions.”, Minerva said in that voice that meant she already had you completely figured out. She moved over to the couch, and Sunset followed her down the ramp. “How was it for you?”

“It was more of me realizing what it must have been like for you and Mom, my bio-mom. How did you cope with the sudden lack of independence, all of it?” Sunset gestured to Minerva’s legs and the chair.

“To be honest with you, I didn’t handle it very well. I’m still somewhat ashamed of how I lost my legs and reacted and don’t like having a visual reminder of my stupidity. Let me tell you the story.”

*Flashback*

Military Hospital, Afghanistan
Date: early June, 2002

*Minerva’s perspective*

Minerva stared at the space where her legs should be with utter disdain and disbelief. The attending physician had filled her in on what happened, but it didn’t seem real. She transferred out of cyber command to kill the al-Qaeda scum, not get blown up. Minerva’s head whipped over to the door as she heard it open. Through it came Dr. Novo Kawailani, a Polynesian woman with dark magenta hair with a light blue witch’s streak going straight back from the center of her hairline. She was a very attractive lady that clearly put effort into her appearance, and her tribal tattoos, army camo, and sidearm attached to her thigh made her look badass. Under normal circumstances, Minerva would respect the effort, but in her current condition, she found it insulting. How dare she be sprucing herself up when Minerva would have to go weeks without a proper shower. It didn't help that Minerva had a bit of a... hatred for MDs at the time and was in pain because she refused any sort of pain meds due to her paranoia.

“Hello Lt. Reads, how are you doing?”

“How am I doing? How do you think I’m doing?! I’m missing my legs and six months of my life! I don’t even have the luxury of having both of my knees!”, Minerva shouted with venom.

“Your reaction is normal. You’ve just gone through a very traumatic event, and it will-”, Dr. Kawailani tried to say but was cut off.

“Oh, you don’t say. I haven’t noticed.”, Minerva said sarcastically. “You know nothing about what I’ve gone through! You’re in perfect health! I don’t even have my hair!”

“I understand you’re in pain. Would you like some more time alone?”

“Yes! Get out!”

Dr. Kawailani nodded, then left Minerva’s room, and Minerva slammed her head against her pillow.

Canterlot Airport
Date: some days later, time: 11:00 pm

*Minerva’s perspective*

Minerva rolled out of the secure area in her hospital model chair alongside several other soldiers returning from deployment. Most of them were embraced by their families and loved ones while others just went over to the rental cars. Minerva rolled to the Mexican restaurant and rolled up to one of the many empty tables. A waiter soon came up and greeted Minerva.

“Welcome back, soldier. What can I get for ya?”, the waiter said while placing a menu in front of Minerva.

“Huh, I would say alcohol, but that’s probably not the best idea right now. A soda would be fine.”

“I’ll bring it right out.” The waiter left and returned with the soda within a minute.

Minerva scanned over the menu, but she wasn’t very hungry. Her stomach was in knots. As she sipped on her soda, she contemplated what she needed to do next. She had no house, couldn’t drive, had no family, and now, had no job. Minerva opened up her contacts. She looked through the names. Most of them were just the other girls that lived in her college dorm. However, one of the names stood out to her, Brigid O’Floinn. Minerva remembered her as being grumpy and withdrawn, except for the occasional tirades about the latest literal crap her managers made her clean, and she didn’t know how to use a toaster, leading to some hilarious moments, but she could also remember that Brigid would help anyone who asked. She was very big and very strong. Leading her to be frequently asked to help carry stuff. Minerva decided to try her. She expected to be told no, but she had to start somewhere.

“Hello?”, Brigid asked somewhat tiredly.

“Hello, you probably don’t remember me, but my name is Minerva Reads. We used to live in the same dorm.”

“Were ya da one whose wall Ah accidentally punched a hole in?” Brigid sounded happier than Minerva could ever remember, but to be fair, having to clean shit off the ceiling of the MickieD’s bathroom on a semi-regular basis would make anyone unhappy. She was likely far away from that place now.

“Uh, no, that was someone else, but I do remember that. The reason I called you is that I need help. I just got back from deployment and can’t drive.”

“Say no more. Are ya at da airport?”

“Yes”

“Ah’ll be dere in ‘bout forty-five minutes.” With that, Brigid hung up.

Minerva sat there, stunned. Someone jumping to someone else's aid like that was something Minerva only heard about lifelong friends doing. Minerva and Brigid only knew of each other. Minerva ended up not eating anything and just drank soda as she waited for Brigid. Once the forty-five minutes were up, Minerva paid her bill and exited the restaurant. Through the sliding glass doors, Minerva saw the unmistakable figure of Brigid O’Floinn step out of the large, gray sedan that would eventually be transferred to Minerva once they became pregnant and before Brigid became infertile. Minerva exited the building and rolled up to Brigid. “You look well.”, Minerva said.

“N’ ya look like ya’ve been put around da ringe’. When was da last time ya slept?”

“A while ago. If you can take me to the nearest motel, I can figure things out from there.”

“Dat’s not da safest idea. Ya c’n stay with me if ya want. We don’t have ground level beds, but we do have bette’ food.”

“You’d really do that for me? We hardly know each other.”

“Ya need help. Ah don’t need anothe’ reason.”, Brigid said with a shrug.

“How noble of you.” Minerva rolled over to the passenger door which Brigid opened. Minerva placed one hand on the door and grabbed the side handle thing with her other then began lifting herself out of her chair.

“Ya good?”

“Yes, I can handle this.” Minerva managed to get half way into the car before losing balance and began to fall, but Brigid managed to swoop in and catch her. Brigid then began to lift Minerva into the car. “Put me back! I can do this myself!”

“Alright”, Brigid said calmly, then lowered Minerva back into her chair. Minerva tried again but wasn’t able to do it. “Ah c’n admire y’r commitment ta dis, but it’s late, n’ Ah wanna go ta bed soon.” Minerva fixed Brigid with a glare but relented. Brigid lifted Minerva out of her chair and placed her in the car. Brigid took Minerva’s bag off the chair and placed it on the ground, then knelt down to collapse the chair. “Okay, how do ya do dis?” Minerva told Brigid how to collapse the chair, and Brigid placed it and the backpack in the back then got into the driver’s seat.

The whole drive to Brigid’s house, Minerva sat in silence. Upon reaching the house, Brigid brought Minerva’s wheelchair around to the front and had her bag over her shoulder. Minerva positioned the chair, engaged the brakes, faced away from the chair, then placed her hands on the armrests. This time, she was much more successful and was able to get in her chair on her own. Minerva moved out of the way and to the back, and Brigid closed the door. Minerva followed Brigid out of the garage and up to the porch. Brigid helped Minerva up the steps and into the house then up into the dining room.

Brigid went over to the fridge and pulled out a piece of fish. “Feel free ta any a’ da food unless it has dis textured tape on it. Dese are reserved f’r recipes.”

“Okay”

Brigid then entered a door then waved Minerva in. It was Sunset’s room long before it belonged to her. It was stale, and Brigid was busy removing the plastic from the furniture and had placed Minerva’s bag on the floor. “Sorry, dis is da best we got.”

“It’s okay, and thank you.”

Brigid gave Minerva a nod then left the room with the plastic in hand. Minerva looked around the room then went to the bathroom. “Okay, let’s do this.” Minerva put the brakes on and scooted onto the toilet. Minerva grumbled incoherently as she squirmed out of her pants. Getting back into her pants was even harder, and after the whole ordeal, Minerva just wanted to go to bed. Minerva went back out to the main area and, luckily, crawling onto the couch and falling asleep was much easier.

By the time Minerva awoke, the sun was shining in through the window and Brigid was knocking at the door. “Hey, breakfast will be ready soon.” Minerva groaned but pulled herself off the couch and onto the chair, went to the bathroom, then out to the kitchen. A man Minerva would later know as Anzhong was cooking in the kitchen while Brigid was feeding a much younger Ki. In the corner of the room was a cat tree, but Minerva didn’t see a cat. She rolled over to the table and took a space at the table. Brigid and Anzhong placed the food on the table and took their seats. “Minerva, dis is ma fiancé, Anzhong.”

“Hello”, Anzhong said.

“Hello”, Minerva said.

“Do ya have any appointments?”, Brigid asked.

“Not today. I have to set up everything, but I was thinking of house hunting.”

“Ya could try lookin’ across da street. Dat nice couple in dat house ove’ dere are lookin’ ta sell n’ move ta Florida. Ah have tried ta warn dem ‘bout how much a’ a mosquito infested swamp dat state is, but dey don’t seem ta care. Eithe’ way, it’s a one story three bed, two bath, with a basement.”

“That - actually sounds nice.”

“Great. Ah have errands ta run, but Anzhong can help you. Just keep in mind he’s blind, so ya can’t use body language.”, Brigid said quickly, and Anzhong nodded. “Showin’s start in a couple hours.”

“O-kay”

Brigid quickly finished up her food and hurried out to the garage. Minerva looked Anzhong over. He was clad entirely in blacks and blues and was surprisingly well dressed for a person that couldn’t see himself. The dog Minerva would later know as Ki finished his food and walked over to Anzhong, and Anzhong gave him head pats. “You’re a quiet one, aren’t ya?”

“Brigid is more than capable of doing the talking for both of us.”

“I’ve noticed.”

“I do feel the need to thank you. You’ve provided Brigid a distraction from the recent passing of her cat.”

“What happened?”

“Pumpkin was quite old and had a heart condition. He just gave out.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

The two sat in silence as they finished up their meals. Once they were done, Anzhong took the plates to the kitchen, and Minerva went back into the guestroom. She pulled out her phone and began making calls to all the relevant doctors and whatnot. During her calls, Anzhong came in and left the newspaper on the coffee table without a word. Once Minerva was done with the scheduling, she opened the paper and began going through the help wanted section. The recent dot-com crash has left many people in IT out of a job but has also left room open for new companies to emerge. Minerva just needs to find herself some room.

Canterville Physical Therapy Center
Date: a couple days days later, time: 9:00 am

*Minerva’s perspective*

“You did well for your first session. We’ll have your active wheelchair ready for you in a few days. Have a good day, Minerva.”

“You too.”, Minerva said as she finished signing papers, then quickly left. Minerva rolled out of the clinic and towards Brigid’s car. Her arms and back were sore from the therapy, and she had bruises from smacking her arms against the armrests. Her active chair could not come soon enough.

Brigid was waiting in the loading zone, leaning against the side of the car. “Ahh, dere ya are. Ready ta go?”

“I am.” Minerva wheeled herself to the car, and Brigid opened the door for her. Minerva tried to get in, but she was too tired.

“Do ya need ma help?”

“No, I can do this.”, Minerva snapped. She tried again and again, but was not able to get in the car.

Brigid knelt down to be eye level with Minerva and gave her a serious look. “Minerva, Ah understand ya still want ta be independent, and Ah admire dat, but y’re still gettin’ used ta y’r new state a’ being. Please let me help you.”

“You think I’m some sort of pity project, something to keep your mind off your cat! I’m not! I can do this! I’m not helpless!”, Minerva snapped.

“Ah’m not sayin’ dat y’re helpless. Ah’m sayin’ everyone needs help sometimes, and Ah know wha’ y’re goin’ though.”

“You have no idea what I’m going through. A dead cat is not the same as seeing half your platoon blown up!”

Brigid’s eyes narrowed, and she looked angry. “Ah neve’ said any‘hin’ ‘bout me cat! Ah was talking ‘bout seeing me brothe’s brains blown out by our uncle! Ah’m talkin’ ‘bout seein’ me family’s faces blown off, deir bodies obliterated inta goop! Ya spent a few months in a war zone! Ah was born inta one! As much as we may wish y’re an isolated incident, y’re not! We all need help sometimes, n’ ya need help ta get inta dis car! Now, ya c’n eithe’ let me help ya or push y’rself home!” Brigid stood up, but that angry look didn’t leave her face.

It took Minerva a few moments to fully process what Brigid said, but once it did, it hit her like a train. “The troubles”, Minerva squeaked out.

“Precisely”, Brigid said coldly.

Minerva hung her head and tried to keep her tears in. A torrent of emotions hit Minerva all at once, sadness, pain, guilt, and now, shame. “I’m sorry. - Please, help me.” Minerva couldn’t see Brigid’s face, but she could feel Brigid carefully pick her up and gently place her in the car. The whole ride back, Minerva couldn’t meet Brigid’s eyes. Upon reaching her house, Brigid got Minerva back in her chair, and the two headed inside. As they approached the back door, Minerva noticed something new, a wheelchair ramp. It was unfinished, the railing needed to be attached, but still usable. “You made me a ramp?”, Minerva said.

“Yeah, it makes life easie’ f’r everybody. Ah’m still workin’ on da one f’r da front door.”

“Thank you, you’ve been very kind to me, but I have to ask. Why? You didn’t even give me a chance to explain what happened to me.”

“It's because Ah had people ta help me, but Ah was taken away from dem due to bureaucracy. Ah’ve experienced wha’ it’s like ta both have n’ not have someone, n’ Ah wanta make sure everybody has somebody.”

“I’m sorry I said what I said. It was wrong of me to make that assumption.”

“Yeah, dat was pretty crappy.”

“I’m going to go lie down. I’ll see you later.”

Before Minerva could get moving, Brigid grabbed Minerva’s shoulder. “Hey, Ah’m not mad at ya. Well, Ah was back dere, but not anymore. Ah get it. Ya see people walkin’ down the street, jus’ goin’ ‘bout deir day, bein’ happy, n’ Ah think, how dare dey jus’ go ‘bout deir life when some‘hin’ so terrible happened, when so many lives were unfairly cut short. Ya feel alone n’ like no one c’n possibly know y’r pain. We wouldn’t be wrong in sayin’ dey don’t know wha’ we’ve gone through, but we also don’t know wha’ dey’ve gone through.”

“Thank you for telling me this. I’ll try to keep that in mind.”

“Dat’s all Ah c’n ask.”

*Present Day*

Katon family home
Date: Jan 14th, time: 3:45 pm

*Minerva’s perspective*

“And that’s how I became friends with your mother and how I learned never to judge people.”, Minerva finished her story off with. “Your mother is the kindest person I’ve ever met. She made every part of her house as wheelchair accessible as she could. She made all three ramps by hand and put in the disabled railing in the ground floor bathrooms.”

“I thought those railings were for the previous owner’s daughter.”, Sunset said.

“Nope, that was all Brigid.”

“Huh”

Their conversation was interrupted by Emi and Anura running inside with Tomiju bounding in behind them. “Mom! Look! Emi and I lost our first tooth!” The two girls proudly showed off their teeth and smiled, showing their new gaps.

“Ya whacked them out of each other’s mouth, didn’t you?”, Sunset asked.

“Maayybe”, Emi said.

“Either way, that’s great.”, Minerva congratulated. “Now, you can put them under your pillows, and the tooth fairy will exchange them for money.”

“Yes! Let’s make a pact with a demon in exchange for body parts!”, Emi cheered.

“Do you have to make everything weird?”, Anura chastised.

“In her defence, it’s already weird.”, Sunset said.

“Do you have anything like the tooth fairy in Equestria?”, Minerva asked.

“Not really. Since body parts can be used to curse people, we either burn or bury any hair clippings, baby teeth, and whatnot.”

“That’s one way to do it. Girls, if you give those to me, I can keep them safe while you continue playing.”

“Okidoki”, Emi said. The two of them handed Minerva their teeth, then ran back off.

Minerva took the teeth into the kitchen and placed them in a plastic baggie. Our little girls are growing up.

CMS
Date: Jan 15th, time: 3:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset headed into the gym with the rest of the after school gym rats. Sunset let Ki off his leash, told him to go lie down, dropped her bag, and began getting her gear on, minus the leg guards, which are more of a precaution in sabre fencing away, as Coach Swift headed over. “Hey, Coach. What can Ah do for ya?”

“Hey Sunset, what are you doing here?”

“Getting ready to practice. What else would I be doing?”

“Sunset, I can’t let you practice until your leg is healed.”

“What? This isn’t some high contact sport where being in a wheelchair is a liability. We’re poking each other with fancy sticks. There are Paralympic teams of wheelchair bound fencers.”, Sunset said angrily.

“I understand you want to fence, but I can’t let you until you’re healed. You’d be sparing against able bodied fencers. This is for your protection.”

“This isn’t more dangerous. It will just be different. You’re just being ableist! I can still out fence everybody in here!”

“My decision is final. You can fence when you’re healed. You can watch if you want, but you can’t fence.”

This was far from the most egregious thing Sunset had ever experienced, but it was one of the most aggravating. She hadn’t had her abilities questioned since she became Celestia’s student. After that, nopony dared to question her abilities, even when she was injured. Sunset gave the coach what was possibly the nastiest glare she had ever given someone, called Ki over and releashed him, angrily packed her stuff, and exited the gym. Sunset went straight to Principal Winters office and rolled in on a mission.

“Sunset? I wasn’t expecting you.”

“Coach Swift won’t let me fence because he thinks it’s too dangerous for me.”, Sunset quickly said. “I want something done about that.”

“Sunset, if Coach Swift believes that it’s too dangerous for you to fence, then I’m inclined to go with his assessment.”

“Except, he’s wrong. Anyone who fences me and I would be stationary, but otherwise, it’d be the same as fencing someone with a height difference. I can still wear the important parts of my armor and swing my sword. It’s no more dangerous than it is normally.”

“Sunset, I understand you want to fence, but if Coach Swift says it’s not safe, then it’s not safe.”

“No, he’s just being ableist. There’s a difference between not being physically capable of doing something and people thinking you can’t do something. I can’t play hockey because wheels don’t do ice, and I accept that, but I can fence. Only minor adjustments would need to be made for me to fence.”

“Hm, how ‘bout this, I’ll go with you back to the gym, and if you can show me that you can fence in a wheelchair, I’ll let you fence.”

“That works.” Sunset spun around and headed back to the gym with Principal Winters on her tail.

Sunset re-entered the gym, and Winters went up to Coach Swift and began to quietly talk to him. Sunset knew they believed that she couldn’t hear them, but she could easily toon out the sounds of swords clashing and hear them. “Look, Sunset is accusing you of ableism based discrimination. We can get into serious trouble if her father chooses to prosecute us. You already advised her it wasn’t safe. If she does get hurt, we can’t be sued, but if we forbid her from trying, we can get sued.”, Winters said.

Sunset was angered by the fact Winters was more concerned about being sued than making sure her students were treated fairly, but so long as it gets her what she wanted, she could live with it. “Alright Sunset, we will try it your way. Rose! Get over here!”

Rose Heart stopped hitting the dummy and ran over to meet them. “Yes, Coach?”

“You’ll be sparring with Sunset.”

“Okay, will you be able to do so in a wheelchair?”, Rose asked Sunset.

“Yes, but it will be slightly different from normal sparring. Since I can’t move easily with one hand, we’ll be mostly stationary, but we can both still lean forwards and backwards. You also can absolutely not hit my legs. My blanket is tough, but it’s not proper leg armor.”

“Okay, I can do that.”

Sunset unleashed Ki again, told him to lie down, and got her gear on, and she and Rose went over to one of the mats. They saluted then began, and as always, Sunset whooped Rose’s butt. It didn’t even take any longer than it normally did. Sunset turned back to the coach and lifted up her mask to give him the most Jester-esk smile she could manage while Swift gave her a disapproving stare, and Winters looked neutral. “We had a deal, Coach. I get to continue fencing.”, Sunset mocked.

“We did, but you won’t be able to participate in the state championship.”

“I didn’t go last year; I wasn't planning on going this year.”

“Well, it looks like everything’s sorted out. I’ll leave you all to it.” Winters left the gym, and Swift went to go attend to other students.

Sunset turned back to Rose, who was looking towards Swift, and she saw pure disappointment in Rose’s face. “Ready to get back to sparring?”, Sunset asked.

Rose’s head snapped back to face Sunset. “Yeah”, Rose said warily.

“You lost respect for him too, didn’t ya?”

Rose solemnly nodded. “Sunset, I never doubted your ability, not for a second.”

“Well, that makes you smarter than him.”

“Yeah, I’m also no stranger to this.”

“How so?”

“My dad fell down the stairs after a drunken night out back in college and broke his back. He’s been in a wheelchair ever since. There’s a lot of unconscious ableism in n’ out of sports.”

“Yeah, I’m starting to think that’s part of the reason my aunt hides her prosthetics.”

“Yeah. You know, you’re surprisingly easy to talk to. You could make a good therapist.”

“Ha, yeah right.”

“I’m serious. After you see one of your own, you could really help people.”

“Whatever, let’s just get back to sparring.”

“Alright, but I’m not joking.”

Sunset and Rose lowered their masks, saluted, and began again.

Katon family home
Date: Jan 18th, time: 3:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset, Anura, and Emi sat in the living room, playing a game of Uno. This would normally be something they do in the basement as that’s where all the games are, but no stairs for Sunset. Emi or Anura would have to run downstairs to grab the games and bring them upstairs so they could play. They were using one of the side tables to place their cards, otherwise Tomiju would try to eat them, and so far, Emi was winning.

“Mahahaha, you puny mortals could never hope to beat me at Uno, mahahaha.”, Emi declared. Anura did exactly what Sunset wanted to do and flicked Emi in the head with a dice from one of the other games. “Hey!”

“Good one.”, Sunset commented. Emi stuck her tongue out at the two of them, but they got back to the game quickly.

After Emi whooped their butts and they started another game, the girls noticed Brigid walking downstairs in her winter gear.

“Where are you going?”, Anura asked.

“Nowhere, Ah’m jus’ gonna get da snow off da roof.”

“Don’t you normally go out the attic window to do that?”, Anura asked.

“Ah’m tryin’ a new method dat wouldn’t involve dat.”

“Okay”, Anura said, then quickly turned back to the game.

Sunset heard Brigid walk outside and, a couple minutes later, the sound of something hitting the roof, something that sounded like an avalanche, and a surprised yelp from Brigid. The girls rushed outside to see Brigid emerge from a large pile of snow that now covered the space just around the porch. “Mom, are you okay?”

“Yeah, dat jus’ worked bette’ dan Ah expected.” Brigid extracted herself from the snow, let out a grunt, and marched to the garage.

The girls looked around at each other with semi-intrigued faces. “I guess whatever she did worked.”, Anura said. Then went back inside and back to their game. That was interesting.

Sunset’s room
Date: Jan 28th, time: 4:15 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset sat at her desk, channeling all the will power she had not to burn her history book. Only to add to her annoyance, her phone pinged with a text notification. Sunset’s ire grew more when she saw it was Fluttershy but then remembered why Fluttershy was texting her.

Hey Sunset, I found a hypoallergenic cat.

Okay, we’ll be over soon.

Sunset rolled to the stairs. “Minerva! I need you to take me to the animal shelter!”, Sunset called up the stairs.

Minerva came around the corner, looking confused. “Why do you need to go to the animal shelter?”

“Mom’s birthday present.”

Minerva continued to look confused then seemed to understand. “Sunset, Anura and I are allergic to cats.”

“I know, and I planned for that. That’s the main reason I need you to come with me.”

Minerva looked confused again but relented. “Alright, go get the girls.”

“Will do.”, Sunset said. Minerva went back around the corner, and Sunset went out back. “Girls! We’re going out! Get your crap together!”

“Okay!”, Emi called back.

Sunset rolled back into her room and began collecting things she would need, including the adoption fee and Punkin’s old caring crate which Emi was able to get down from the attic. That was the day Sunset learned they had an attic. As soon as Sunset picked up Ki’s harness, he was up and walking up to Sunset. Sunset patted him on the head then put his harness on. Sunset and Ki went back out to the main room where Minerva, Emi, and Anura were getting their shoes on. The five of them walked across the street to Minerva’s house, Minerva got her driving foot, and they got into the car and got underway. Once they were at the animal shelter, everyone hopped and dragged themselves out of the car, and Sunset gave the crate to Ki to carry. Sunset led them inside, and Fluttershy was waiting inside by the counter. “Hi, if you follow me, I’ll bring you to a room where you can meet Scar.”

“Scar? This will be interesting.”, Minerva commented.

Fluttershy led them to a room with three chairs and a cat tree and other cat toys. “I’ll be right back with Scar.” Fluttershy left the room, leaving the Mac Carthaigh women alone.

“So, you say you planned around our allergies.”, Minerva said.

“I did. If Fluttershy did her job correctly, this cat should be hypoallergenic.”

“Huuuh,” Emi excitedly gasped, “we’re getting a kitty!”

“The poor thing’s going to be named scrotum.”, Minerva said.

“It won’t be hairless. It turns out most people are allergic to cat’s saliva and dandruff.”, Sunset assured.

“Hm, we’ll see.”

Fluttershy soon returned with an angry looking cat, and why it was named ‘Scar’ was immediately apparent. Despite the thing looking barely five months old, it looked almost as scarred up as Sunset. Its ears were missing large chunks, and its most noticeable scar went down from its left eyebrow, across its nose, and down its face. Sunset could only guess how many scars were covered by its fur. “This is Scar. She’s a four and a half months old Siberian Forest cat. They are very personable and enjoy the company of children, dogs, and other animals along with being fearless, and as you may have noticed, she’s been in a few fights.”

“What happened?”, Anura asked.

“We don’t know. She was brought in by someone who said they found her in an alley, and she was covered in claw and bite marks. She is friendly. She just looks mean.” To emphasize her point, Fluttershy scratched Scar on her head, and Scar began purring loudly. “She will need to be brushed out daily and periodically bathed to both keep her healthy and to insure she won’t trigger anyone’s allergies.”

“Aw”, Emi cooed. She went over to Fluttershy, and Fluttershy gave her the small creature with a warning to be careful. “Aw, hi, little one.” Emi brought Scar up to her face, and Scar nibbled Emi’s nose. “Hey, hehe.”

“Emi, bring her here.”, Sunset said. Emi came over and handed Scar to Anura. “Give the cat a sniff, Anura. If you don’t sneeze, then we can get her.” Anura took a big whiff of Scar’s side and didn’t sneeze. “Okay now, hand her to Minerva.” Anura handed Scar over to Minerva, and she repeated the process, also without a sneeze.

“Alright Sunset, you did it. Looks like Brigid’s getting a cat.”, Minerva said.

“Yay!”, both girls cheered, scaring Scar.

“Girls, be quieter. You don’t want to scare Scar.”, Minerva chastised.

“We need to give her a different name. ‘Scar’ simply isn’t suitable.”, Sunset said.

“You can change her name during the adoption process.”, Fluttershy said.

“Thank you, Fluttershy. You did your jeb well.”

“Um, thank you.”, Fluttershy said nervously. “I’ll get the papers ready for you.” Fluttershy left the room with the Mac Carthaigh women following. Fluttershy went behind the counter, pulled out an adoption form, and slid it to Sunset along with a pen.

Sunset began filling out all the relevant information until she got to the name. “Any name suggestions?”, she asked her family.

“Let’s name her after a warrior. It would only be appropriate.”, Emi said.

Sunset looked over the ferocious kitten that was trying to “kill” Minerva’s fingers. She was mostly white but also had some light gray fur kinda in the shape of a superhero mask and cape and some stripes. Sunset remembered a legend Brigid once told her about an Irish warrior whose name was Ailbhe (Alva), meaning white. “How about ‘Ailbhe’?”

“I know that story.”, Anura said.

“Yes”, Emi quietly cheered.

“I think it’s decided then.”, Minerva said. Sunset finished the paper work, and Minerva began to reach for her wallet, but Sunset beat her with her own. “You really have planned this out.” Sunset had more than enough with the money she planned on using to get her guitar, but since her parents got her one, she set aside the money to do something for them. The only problem with that plan was that they were impossible to shop for short of paying off their student loans, which were already paid off thanks to Jiraiya, scholarships, and farm funds.

With the other lady behind the counter satisfied with the paperwork and payment, Sunset took the crate from Ki and placed Ailbhe in it. Minerva carried her out to the car and placed her in the back seat along with the girls, and once everyone was in, they got on their way.

“Minerva, may I stash Ailbhe at your place?”, Sunset asked.

“Of course. We should stop by the pet store and pick up some food and toys.”

“Sounds good.”

Reads family home
Date: Jan 29th, time: 7:15 am

*Minerva’s perspective*

Minerva and Anura finished up their breakfast, and Minerva took their plates to the sink. As she headed to the sink, Minerva noticed Ailbhe munching on her own breakfast. After placing the plates in the sink, Minerva gave Ailbhe a good head scratch. As Anura ran back into her room to finish getting ready, Minerva grabbed her phone and shot Brigid a quick message.

Hey Brigid, I’m running a bit late. Can you come pick up Anura?

Of course, I’ll be over soon.

With that done, Minerva continued getting ready. As she said she would, Brigid pulled up outside Minerva’s house, and Anura ran out to meet her. Once the car was out of sight, Minerva scooped up Ailbhe up with her toys and her own bag and went across the street. Once inside, Minerva placed Ailbhe in the living room with her toys.

“Aw, hey, Ailbhe.”, Emi said from out of nowhere, causing Minerva to jump.

“Ah, fuck! Emi, oh, it’s just you. You’re getting too good at that.”

“Eh, it’s one of the few skills I can safely learn.” Emi began scratching Ailbhe’s small face while Tomiju investigated the new thing. Ailbhe seemed to have decided Tomiju’s tail was a toy and tried to attack it. Tomiju seemed more bemused or amused by her actions than annoyed, so Minerva let it happen.

“Fair. Is Sunset up yet?”

“Yeah, she’s in her room.”

“Thank you. Can you watch Ailbhe while I go talk to her?”

“Okay”

“Great” With the newest suicide machine being watched over, Minerva went over to Sunset’s room and knocked.

“Come in.”, Sunset called. Minerva entered and found Sunset getting her winter jacket on and tucking her blanket around herself. “Oh, hey, Minerva.”

“Are you doing okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“How are you handling people treating you differently? I remember you told your mother about your coach.”

“Oh yeah, well, let’s just say that every week I see Coach look at me like I don’t belong there, my little black heart becomes just a bit brighter.”

“Huh, I have no response to that.”

“I’m saying I’m fine.”

“Alright, I’m glad to hear it.” Minerva couldn’t over state how happy she was that Sunset was adapting well to life in a wheelchair. Knowing it’s temporary likely helps in that, but Minerva was still impressed. She was positive the only reason Sunset wasn’t racing down hills in her wheelchair was because she was borrowing Minerva’s. You’re very impressive, Sunset.

Sunset’s room
Date: Feb 1st, time: 7:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

With the tying of the final knot, Sunset finished Ailbhe’s box, a silver present box with a blue ribbon, a tag that said “Hi, my name is Ailbhe. Fear me.”, and air holes just big enough for a tiny monster to stick their paws out and attack something. Sunset grabbed a sticker that said “Allergy sufferer approved” and stuck it on the lid. The little monster in question was peacefully sleeping in her crate. Once dinner was over and it was time for presents, Sunset would come back in and get the monster in her box. Until then, she was staying in her crate, under a blanket. That seemed to keep her asleep.

“Sunset, dinne’s ready.”, Brigid said.

“Coming” Sunset placed the box back on her desk and went out to the dining room. Brigid, Emi, Anura, and Minerva were all already sitting while Jiraiya and Anzhong were getting everything on the table, and the dogs were lazily lounging around. Sunset joined everybody at the table next to Emi. Once all the food was on the table, Jiraiya took his seat next to Sunset, and Azhong sat at the head.

“Thank ya for dinne’, boys.”, Brigid said.

“Anything for you.”, Jiraiya said.

Dinner went normally, and dessert was much the same with everyone talking and enjoying each other's company. The one thing different was that Minerva said something to Brigid in what could’ve only been Arabic, as that was the only language they both knew that Sunset did not, that prompted Brigid to mock offense and give Minerva the middle finger. Once all the eating was done, it was time for presents. Emi and Anura gave Brigid a clay sculpture of a horse they made. Their skills have improved greatly since Sunset’s birthday. There wasn’t a lot of fine detail, but the overall shape was good. Minerva gave a pumpkin spice candle.

“Ah, here it is. It was hiding.”, Jiraiya said as he pulled his gift from his bag.

“Thank ya, Jiraiya.” Brigid opened the box, and Sunset guessed a framed picture, judging from the size. Brigid’s face lit up as she pulled out an item from the box. It was the Mac Carthaigh crest made into a pin, like the pins of the Katon family crest Jiraiya, Anzhong, and Ryoku wear.

“Dis is beautiful. Ya even got da apple. A lot a’ people forget it’s dere.”

“There are enough for all of you, and even some for any lucky men, in the future.”, Jiraiya said.

Brigid pulled six of them out and passed them around. The pins had two shafts and clutches to keep them straight. Everyone else began putting theirs on, but Sunset hesitated. “Sunset, are ya okay?”

“Yeah, I was just thinking that I shouldn’t wear this to school. The other kids might damage it.”, Sunset lied.

“Oh yeah, that would happen.”, Anura noted.

“But Sunset, y’re not at school. Ya c’n put it on. Plus, if it’s damaged, we c’n jus’ repair or replace it. Y’r pin bein’ destroyed means no‘hin’ more dan ya need a new pin.”

Sunset was still hesitant but put it on anyway to appease her mother. “I’m going to get my gift.” Sunset rolled back into her room, grabbed the box, put some treats in to appease the monster, then went over to the monster’s den. Sunset lifted the blanket, which woke Ailbhe up. “Hey little one, time to meet your new mom.” Sunset took Ailbhe out of her crate and placed her in the box. Ailbhe went straight for the treats. Sunset closed the lid and went back out to the dining room. “Here you go.”, Sunset said while handing Brigid the box.

Brigid read the tag and sticker. Sunset could see the gears working in her head then her eyes lit up. Brigid quickly but carefully took the lid off and pulled Ailbhe out. Ailbhe was munching on a treat she was holding in her paws. “Aw, hello, Ailbhe.” Ailbhe looked up at Brigid then went back to her treat. Brigid cradled Ailbhe in her arms with absolute joy on her face. “Thank ya, Sunset. So, how is she hypoallergenic?” Sunset explained everything Fluttershy told her, including coat care. “Dis is incredible, Sunset. Thank you.”

“No problem”, Sunset said with a smile.

Brigid continued to cuddle Ailbhe and gave her the rest of the treats as the table was cleared. Once the table was cleared, the adults continued to socialize for a while longer before people started getting ready to leave.

“Looks like it will soon be time for me to give you my present.”, Anzhong said to Brigid in a sultry tone.

“Oh gag”, Sunset said.

“That’s the same birthday present that resulted in you.”, Jiraiya said to Anzhong.

“Can I sleep over at your place tonight?”, Emi pleaded to Minerva.

“Of course. Sunset, do you want to come too?”, Minerva asked.

“Ah think I’ll take you up on that offer.”

Sunset’s room
Date: Feb 3rd, time: 8:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset looked down at her clan pin. Despite what Brigid said and even Riona giving Sunset her ring, Sunset still felt like an imposter wearing this. Like she didn’t deserve it. But she also knew Brigid would know without question something was wrong if she didn’t wear it, and Sunset didn’t want to burden them with her own issues. Anura could get away with it because kids at her school actually would break it. Sunset ultimately decided on keeping it in her room along with Philomena’s whistle to sell the idea that Sunset was worried about it being damaged. Now that I think about it, Lily might try to steal my stuff again and might damage it. I might not be lying as much as I thought.

Sunset finished getting ready and left her room with Ki close by. The cat tree, litter boxes, and various other cat stuff had been retrieved from the attic and set up around the house. Sunset leashed Ki, exited the house, and made her way to school. As she rolled up, she saw Flash’s mom drop him off and drive away. Sunset rolled over to him, and he leaned down to kiss her.

“Hey, where’s your whistle?”, Flash asked.

“I’m scared Lily will try to take it again. There’s no way she’s not planning something.”

“As much as I would like to think people are better than that, you’re probably right.”

“I always am.”, Sunset snarked. Flash rolled his eyes and grabbed Sunset’s handles and rolled her into the school.

CMS lunchroom
Date: Feb 13th, time: 12:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Ahhh, it’s not working.”, Sunset complained while trying to scratch an itch with a pencil. “You two, go find something longer.”, Sunset ordered.

“Yes ma’am.”, Snips saluted. Snips and Snails ran off in search of a slender enough item that could reach Sunset’s itch.

“Anything I can do to help?”, Flash asked.

“Not unless you know of a good scratching stick.” Luckily for Sunset, Snips and Snails shortly returned with a long wire. “Finally” Sunset took the wire and was finally able to get the itch.

“Anything else you need of us?”

“No, eat your food before it gets cold.”

Snips and Snails did as instructed, and Sunset went back to observing Lily. Lily and Daisy were sitting on the other side of the lunchroom. Sunset was positive Lily was planning something for when they’re healed. She just didn’t know what. Sunset had to come up with something to end this soon.

Lunch soon ended, and everyone had to get back to class. Sunset and her group got up to leave, and as they were walking to the door, they shared space with the Valley sisters.

“Ugh, your dog is disgusting. Why do they even let you bring it into school?”, Lily said with disgust.

“Ki’s job is to protect me from people like you.”, Sunset spat with venom. She gave Ki the “on guard” command, and Ki raised his hairs and began growling at Lily.

“Ugh! Get that rabid mut away from me!”, Lily screeched.

“Ki, down.”, Sunset said in Japanese, and Ki went back to a neutral stance. “That’s what Ki is trained to do.”, Sunset said in English.

Lily huffed and hobbled away indignantly. “I’m so sorry.”, Daisy said, then chased after her sister.

“How did those two come from the same household?”, Flash asked.

“Well, there are actually a lot of ways, but I don’t know which one applies to them.”, Sunset said.

Katon family dining room
Date: Feb 20th, time: 8:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset and her family sat around, eating dinner. Anura was trying to sneak her vegetables to the dogs, but a stern look of “I’ll tell your mom” from Sunset temporarily stopped her. The dogs and cat were congregated around Emi as even though she wasn’t in the habit of sneaking the animals her food, she regularly dropped bits of her food on the floor and was responsible for distributing the fish skin after dinner. The adults were talking about adult stuff, and as usual, Sunset was eating in silence. Not having anyone around her own age made table conversations uncommon unless Brigid started talking science.

About halfway through the meal, the sounds of something going through the trash cans could be heard. Anzhong grabbed his cane and went to go check it out. Soon, banging and shouts of “Get out of here you filthy rodents!” could be heard. Anzhong soon came back inside with a scowl on his face.

“You know, raccoons aren’t rodents.”, Minerva said.

“He knows, but dese two hate raccoons.”, Brigid said.

“They’re too similar to tanuki.”, Emi said with a growl in her voice.

Minerva and Anura looked confused, so Sunset clarified as Anzhong sat back down. “Kitsune and tanuki have never liked each other. They’re like those cousins that avoid each other at family reunions at all coasts because they’re too similar to each other.”

“But they’re so cute.”, Anura protested.

“No, they’re not.”, Emi spat.

The two continued like that until dessert came. Sunset just rolled her eyes and went back to her food.

Katon family backyard
Date: Feb 24th, time: 11:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Hey, wanna hear something weird?”, Sunset asked.

“Shoot”, Emi said.

“If you tell someone that they’re breathing manually, they’ll start breathing manually.”

“That’s stupid.”

“But it’s true.”

“No way. You’re just making it up.”

“I’m not. Tell Anura to try it on someone at school.”

“I will, and I’ll prove you’re just making things up.”

“Alright”

Sunset and Emi sat outside playing checkers with Tomiju sleeping next to Emi on the porch swing. Sunset held the board on her lap and was close enough to the swing so Emi could reach the board. Brigid had taken Anura to MMA class, and Minerva was in her own home. That just left Anzhong, the girls, and the fluffles at home, and the other four residents were upstairs.

“Aw, man.”, Emi complained. Sunset had just taken more than half of Emi’s remaining pieces.

“Ya gotta be aware of the whole board, not just the area you’re focusing on.”

“Yeah yeah yeah” Emi sat up straight and stretched. In the process of her stretching, her focus fixated in the direction of the cherry blossom tree. Sunset tracked where Emi was looking and found what she was looking at, a squirrel. “That’s a pretty big one.”, Emi said quietly.

“Yeah, ya want me ta shoot it?”, Sunset said just as quietly. Emi smiled and quietly went inside. Sunset placed the board on the swing, and Emi quickly returned with Sunset’s gun box. Sunset unlocked it, removed her gun, loaded it, and aimed. As soon as the squirrel was still, Sunset fired, and after a second, the squirrel fell to the ground.

“Tomiju, fetch.”, Emi commanded.

“You taught her to retrieve?”

“Yeah, she didn’t make a good attack dog, so I trained her to retrieve stuff.”

“Girls, what were you shooting at?”, Anzhong asked from the master bedroom window.

“Just a squirrel!”, Emi answered. Tomiju returned with the squirrel in mouth. “Good girl.”

“Okay, just make sure to retrieve the bullet.”

“We will!”, Sunset said. “Emi, can you do that while I get this into the fridge?”

“Okay”

“Tomiju, come.” Sunset and Emi went inside, and Emi grabbed the tool box while Sunset went to the kitchen with Tomiju following. Sunset grabbed a plastic bag then took the squirrel from Tomiju. “Good girl” Sunset placed the squirrel into the bag then into the fridge. If she could stand, Sunset would process the kill then and there, but currently, she would need to wait for Anzhong or Brigid to process it.

Emi soon came back in with the bullet and spent cartridge in hand. Emi dumped the bullet in the trash and placed the toolbox back into the closet in the stairs.

“Ready to get back to our game?”, Sunset asked.

“yup”

Canterville Family Medical Center
Date: Mar 1st, time: 1:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset rolled into the exam room with Brigid just behind her. Sunset took her blanket off, and Brigid picked her up from the wheelchair and onto the exam bed.

“Hello, Sunset. How are you today?”, Dr. Abara asked as she walked in.

“Excited to get this thing off. I smell really bad.”

“Fair enough. Smelling bad can make anyone quite dour. Let’s get this off so you may shower.” Dr. Abara began to cut into Sunset’s cast.

As soon as her foot was free, Sunset began to move it around. “That feels so much better.”

“Good, now, take my hand. We’re going to try to stand. Let me know if there’s any pain when you land.”

Sunset took Dr. Abara’s hands and slowly lowered herself to her good leg then her bad leg. “Everything seems good.”

“It is well that you stood, but try taking a step. We do not harm to come because it was to conclusions we lep.”

Sunset walked around the room for a bit before returning to the bed. “I feel fine.”

“That is divine. I would say, stay away from contact sports for another seven days. After that, you can get back to play.”

“Thank you” Sunset hopped back onto the bed then pulled out her other sock and shoe from her bag and slipped them on. “Ah, that’s better. Ma foot was gettin’ cold.”

“Now that we are done with the fuss, do you have any other concerns you wish to discuss?”

Brigid looked towards Sunset in a silent question but also in an expectant way. “No, that’s it.”, Sunset said. Brigid looked disappointed, but she tried to not let it show.

“Alright then, I will send you on your way. Have a good rest of the day.”

Sunset hopped down from the bed, and Brigid folded up the chair and carried it out as they went to the car. “Sunset, Ah know Ah can’t force ya ta do so, but ya need help. Ya c’n talk ta Dr. Abara, n’ she c’n recommend ya to a good therapist.”

“How am I supposed to talk to a therapist?”, Sunset asked, agitated. “Even if I leave out all the magical stuff, they would still ask questions that I can’t answer. I can take care of myself anyway. I’ve been doing it for years.”

Brigid finished putting the chair away and pulled Sunset into a hug. Sunset didn’t return the hug but also didn’t try to turn away. “Ah know ya don’t like ta seem weak, but we all need help sometimes. Have ya ever heard da story a’ how Minerva n’ Ah became friends?”

“Minerva already told me, but therapy didn’t work for her either.”

“But she tried it. Ya start any‘hin’ by tryin’ it first.”

“I said I don’t want to.”, Sunset said more sternly. Brigid let her go, and the two of them got into the car and drove off.

SHWO ch65 Spirits of the passing

CMS

Date: March 3rd, time: 3:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset approached Lily’s locker with caution. If Lily had any brains for strategy, she would predict Sunset to attack her locker again. Whether she did or didn’t, Sunset had a plan for both outcomes. Sunset checked the surrounding area for anyone and, finding no one, proceeded to unlock Lily’s locker. She had changed the code, but it was still easy to figure out. These locks didn’t even have false gates. Sunset proceeded to take all of Lily’s textbooks and any school papers she had in there then closed the door to cover her tracks. She didn’t take anything else as that wouldn’t work with her plan. Sunset took everything to the library and stashed it all in the shelves, where they would not be immediately noticed.

Sunset then quietly left the library and went back home. As she entered her home, Sunset saw Emi and Tomiju playing with Ailbhe while Ki kept a watchful eye on them from his chair that had its legs removed long ago. Despite her small side, Ailbhe was putting everything into her jumps to catch the toy. Sunset reached over the banister to scratch Ki’s head before heading into her room. Sunset sat at her desk, turned on her computer, put on her headphones, picked out some true creepy stories, and began doing her homework.

Sunset had a goal but not much of a plan. Sunset’s goal was to get Lily expelled. That wasn’t easy to do due to the school’s no kid left behind policy, but it was possible. Thunder and Sea were expelled by Leo for repeated sexual harassment. The potential risks involved with trying to frame Lily for such actions makes doing that unwise, but Sunset can get her at least held back for more mundane reasons, like academic failure. That will just take longer.

After scheming, homework, dinner, and video games, Sunset was excited to sleep in her own bed for the first time in nearly two months. Rather than risk getting stuck in the chair again, Sunset spent the last two nights on her couch, but now she felt confident enough to walk up her stairs. Once she was up in her bed and her stuffed phoenix was back in its rightfully spot, Sunset placed her new pin and whistle in her book safe which took the form of a dictionary. As sunset was placing it in, she pulled out the Mac Carthaigh ring. Every time she looked at it, a mix of emotions swirled in her. She could feel the love of the previous owners that have been embedded into the ring throughout the generations including Nana’s love for her, but she also felt as if she was not supposed to have it, but Nana gave it to her personally. She just couldn’t get the part of her brain that was sick to accept it, and unfortunately, that was a very large part and the most prominent part of her brain.

Sunset placed the ring back into the safe, locked it up, put it away, and went to bed. After a few minutes, Sunset found herself looking down at a person. He had a large slash across his forearm, and Sunset was stitching it up, but she wasn’t moving her arms. It was like she was a passenger or watching a movie in the first person. She or whoever was moving her body finished the guy up and left to take care of someone else. As Sunset moved past a mirror, she was able to see that she appeared to be in Nana’s body. I’m dreaming of one of Nana’s memories. I hope I’m not exhausted in the morning. After patching up another person, Nana went to the front and began doing paperwork, but before she could get started, two red haired men barged in. Aside from the fact one of them was shot, their heights made them very noticeable, both being around 6’ 10”. They had to flippin’ duck to get through the door. Despite their height, neither man was very intimidating due to them being a couple of string beans.

“Help, me bothe’s been shot!”

It was then Sunset noticed the uninjured man’s symbol.

Grandpappy, that means that’s Ian. “Bring him back.”, Nana ordered. Grandpappy brought Ian into a patient room and got him onto the bed.

“Are ya a Protestant or Catholic?”, Ian asked.

“Neither, Ah’m a medic, n’ ya’re dyin’.” Nana began packing the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. No, don’t. Let him die. He’s going to kill your kids! Sunset pleaded, but it wasn’t like she could do anything. “What’s his blood type?”

“A positive”, Grandpappy answered. Nana called for A+ blood and continued to work on Ian. Soon, they brought Ian into a surgical room and an actual doctor came in. They began closing up his wound, and after a short procedure, Ian was stabilized and brought out of anesthesia. Nana went out to the waiting room to retrieve Grandpappy. “Y’re brothe’s out a’ surgery.”

“Thank ya, um.”

“Riona. And you?”

“Nickolas. Thank ya f’r savin’ me brothe’.”

“It’s me job. Come on back.” Grandpappy followed Nana back to the recovery room and waited for Ian to wake up. The staff gave Grandpappy post op care instruction, and as soon as Ian was fully awake, the staff helped Grandpappy lift Ian out of bed, and Grandpappy carried Ian to the front.

“Ah hope next time Ah see ya, ya aren’t havin’ ta save a live.”, Grandpappy said with a warm smile.

“Ah hope so too.”, Nana said while reciprocating the smile.

Grandpappy’s smile turned kinda goofy as he turned to leave. Nana turned to go back to work but was stopped by the sound of Iam scolding Grandpappy. Nana turned back around to listen to what they were saying.

“Don’t even think ‘bout it. Her kind is da enemy.”

“Oh, shut up, Ian. She’s pretty.”

As the two of them left, Sunset’s eyes were fixed on Ian’s symbol that was on the back of his jacket. The symbol of betrayal for her family.

No! No! You can’t let him leave! You can’t let him live! No! No!

“Sunset? Sunset!” The next thing Sunset knew, she was being shaken awake by Brigid and Anzhong. “Sunset, are ya okay? Ya were screamin’.”

Sunset sat up but didn’t answer. She was absolutely seething. Nana saved that monster’s life, and he slaughtered them. Anzhong began singing his lullaby, and Sunset began to calm down. By the end of the song, Sunset was able to fall back asleep.

Brigid and Anzhong’s room

Date: March 4th, time: 6:30 am

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid was awoken by the beeping of her alarm clock. Slamming the silence button, Brigid got up with a groan and stretch. It didn’t take long to get Sunset back to bed, but it did disrupt her sleep. So was the life of a mother. As much as she wanted more kids, only having two had its benefits. Brigid shook Anzhong until he groaned that he was awake and then got up and headed to the bathroom with Ailbhe following her. It always took Anzhong a bit longer than Brigid to get mobile. Despite light not being a factor for him, he was just as nocturnal as the rest of his clan.

As Brigid finished brushing her teeth and was about to take off her pajamas, she noticed Anzhong wasn’t making noise anymore. Brigid grew concerned and went back into the bedroom only to find Anzhong cradling Ki with his head down. Oh no. Brigid stopped in her tracks and looked solemnly at Anzhong. “Anzhong”, Brigid whispered. He didn’t move. Neither did Ki. Ki wasn’t breathing. Brigid sat down next to Anzhong and gave him a hug. He moved his hand up to grip Brigid’s arm. They sat there for a bit before Anzhong let Brigid go. “Ah’ll go get da blanket.”

Brigid stood up and walked down stairs and out to the garage with Ailbhe still following her. Inside a white, plastic box in the rafters was a large, red blanket. This blanket and box were used for one purpose and one purpose only, to transport dead pets. Brigid opened the box to make it easy to load Ki into it and brought the blanket inside and up stairs. Upon re-entering their room, Brigid laid the blanket on the ground and took Ki’s body from Anzhong, placed it on the blanket, and wrapped him up. Anzhong went to the bathroom and washed up while Brigid brought Ki down stairs.

As Brigid stepped onto the bottom landing, she saw Sunset standing in the dining room, destress evident on her face. As Brigid turned to face her, it was clear Sunset noticed a paw or something else that gave away what Brigid was caring. Sunset began to ball her eyes out. Brigid went over and hugged her with her free arm. She was hoping to wait until after school to tell the girls, but that plan was no more.

“Sunset, what’s wrong?”, Emi asked worriedly.

Sunset tried to clear her tears but was only partially successful. “Ki-Ki’s dead.”, Sunset sobbed through her tears and clogged nose.

Emi stared at her in disbelief before becoming furious. “Sunset! That’s not funny! That’s not funny!”, Emi shouted, tears beginning to build up in her eyes. Brigid shook her head and lowered Ki’s body so Emi could see him. Emi lifted the blanket off his face and her own went pale. Emi began to wail, and Anzhong came down the stairs and picked her up and began rubbing her back. It broke Brigid’s heart to hear her children cry. She wished she could take their pain away.

Brigid stood back up and continued her journey to the garage. Brigid placed Ki in the box and the box in the back of the car then took a moment to compose herself before she went back inside where there was now a crying Anura, and Minerva was trying to comfort her. Sunset was now in a corner with her knees to her chest and covering her ears. Seeing where she was needed, Brigid took a seat next to Sunset and pulled her into a hug which Ailbhe joined. Sunset buried herself inside Brigid. Brigid could feel her teats soaking her pj shirt. Ah wish Ah could say some‘hin’ ta ease y’r pain. Their hug was only broken when Sunset’s stomach butted in. “Do ya want some breakfast?”, Brigid asked. She more felt Sunset nod then saw it and helped her up.

Breakfast was very quiet as everyone barely paid attention to anything. “Ah’m gonna take Ki ta be cremated, n’ den we’ll bury him unde’ da cherry blossom tree.”, Brigid informed. None of the girls really acknowledged what Brigid said and just finished their food. Minerva took care of the dishes as everyone else dispersed to either finish getting ready or just curl up in their bed or on the couch. Aside from the sound of running water, the house was dead silent. Brigid couldn’t imagine what Anzhong was going through. Losing a pet was hard, but service animals and their owners are practically a single entity. Anzhong had previously described losing Ai as losing a piece of himself, and this couldn’t be much different.

As soon as they were dried and dressed, Anzhong gave Kiba a hug then put her harness and leash on. They headed downstairs, and as they passed Emi’s room, Brigid went in and gave her a kiss on the head. Once they were downstairs, Brigid picked up Anura and brought her out to the car. “Is Ki back there?”, Anura asked.

“He is.”, Brigid informed as they drove to the vet. Once they were there, Brigid hopped out and went inside and to the counter.

“Hello, how can I help you?”, the woman behind the desk asked.

“Ah have a dead dog n’ need him cremated, a private cremation.”

“Alright, what’s your dog’s name and breed?”

“Ki Katon, he’s an American akita.”

“Alright” The woman told Brigid the price and to bring Ki around back.

Brigid paid, then went back out the car and pulled Ki out of the back. Anura saw and Anzhong heard Brigid and took the cue. The two of them and Kiba came out of the car and around back. As soon as Brigid was out of the way, Anzhong closed the back then locked the car. Anura, Anzhong, and Kiba followed Brigid around back and opened the door to the exam room for her, and the four entered. They waited there for a while until the doctor showed up.

“Hey, Doc.”, Brigid said.

“Hello, I’m sorry about Ki.”, Dr. Fauna said. “Is he in here?”, she asked, pointing to the box.

“Yes, n’ Ah wanta make sure ya got dat we want a private cremation. Da last time we did dis, dat got lost in da communication, n’ me cat was cremated in a mass cremation.”

“I can assure you that we will not make that mistake. We know how precious animals are, especially service animals. We’ll take good care of him and get your box back to you.”

“Thank you.”, Anzhong said. With that, the four left and continued with their normal daily routine the best they could.

Sunset’s room

Date: same day, time: 6:45 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset was woken up by the sound of nails on wood. Sunset cracked one eye open to find Ki with his front half on her bed. “Ki, how’d you get up here?” Ki could barely get on his chair and had to be carried upstairs by Brigid. He shouldn’t have been able to climb up the stairs. Sunset went to pet Ki, but he disappeared before she could reach him. What? No, no no no no! This can’t be happening. Sunset jumped out of bed and ran out to the main area where she saw Brigid carrying something large inside a red blanket. The size, shape, and toe bean that stuck out told Sunset what she feared; Ki, her valiant protector, was dead.

She couldn’t hold it in. Sunset began to cry, hard. Brigid came over and hugged Sunset with her free arm. Sunset buried herself in her. She had lost many over her years, but it hits harder when it’s family.

“Sunset, what’s wrong?”, Emi asked.

Sunset tried to clear away her tears enough to speak but was only barely able to do so. “Ki-Ki’s dead.”, Sunset managed to get out. She couldn’t see Emi’s reaction, but she sounded mad.

“Sunset! That’s not funny! That’s not funny!”, Emi shouted. Brigid shifted, and Emi began crying.

Brigid stood back up and continued outside. Sunset watched her leave then went into a corner and curled up. Sunset heard Minerva and Anura walk in. Minerva asked what was wrong, and Emi told them. Anura began crying as well. Sunset covered her ears to try to block out the noise. Brigid soon returned and came and hugged Sunset, which Ailbhe joined. Sunset petted Ailbhe as she buried herself in Brigid. They remained like that until Sunset’s stomach made its desires known.

“Ya want some breakfast?”, Brigid asked. Sunset nodded, and Brigid stood them up and brought them over to the kitchen.

After a silent breakfast, Sunset went back into her room to get ready for the day. Sunset heard Ki walking around as she did so. That brought a small smile to her face even though she would never get to touch him ever again. “Enjoying not having arthritis?”, Sunset asked. Ki didn’t answer.

Sunset had a bit more time to kill before she had to leave, so she opened her computer and began watching UTube. After another hour-ish, Sunset had to get up and go to school. She grabbed her bag and started her walk to school. As soon as Sunset got to school, she saw Flash waiting on the steps.

“Hey, Sunset. Are you okay? You seem upset.”, Flash asked.

“Ki died this morning.”

“Oh man, I’m so sorry.” Flash sprang up to hug Sunset and began stroking her hair.

“Okay, let’s go. We need to go in.” Sunset pushed herself away from Flash, keeping him at arm's length.

“Okay, but if there’s anything I can do, let me know. I’m here for you.”

“Thank you, Flash.” The two entered the school and went to their respective classes. Sunset took her normal seat as class began. Sunset was emotionally exhausted from all the crying, and the current lesson was math. She laid her head down and closed her eyes. However, that didn’t last long as Mr. Milestone decided to make a fuss.

“Am I boring you, Ms. Shimmer?”, Mr. Milestone asked.

Sunset picked her head up and gave him a dead look. Her emotions were spent for the day. “No, I’m just tired.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have stayed up so late playing video games, but my class is not nap time. Now, pay attention.”, Mr. Milestone said indignantly.

Sunset continued to glare at Mr. Milestone until he turned back around. Sunset laid her head back down. That, again, didn’t last very long as Mr. Milestone slammed a book down on Sunset’s desk. Sunset shot up, grabbed one of Mr. Milestone’s hands, and began to twist it around his back before she realized what she was doing and let go. Mr. Milestone staggered back with a surprised look on his face while rubbing his wrist. Mr. Milestone’s face turned angry, and he was undoubtedly about to shout at Sunset to go to the principal’s office, but Sunset beat him to the punch. “I have PTSD from being shot, and you just surprised me with a sharp and sudden sound. I suggest you don’t try that again.”, Sunset said sternly and with the last bit of anger she had. She handed Mr. Milestone’s book back to him, which he took.

Either because realized he messed up or because Brigid and Anzhong’s reputation had spread, Mr. Milestone calmed down but still looked pissed. “You still can’t be sleeping in my class. How are you going to learn if you’re asleep?”

Sunset looked past Mr. Milestone at the equation on the board. Sunset recognized it as a high school level equation. Perfect. “How ‘bout dis, if I can solve that equation, you let me sleep.”

“If you can solve that equation, you can sleep through math for the rest of the year.”

“Great” Sunset walked over to the board and began working. It was all a matter of simplification and applying the same principles as she uses when she teleports. “Done” Sunset stepped away, and Mr. Milestone checked it over.

“It’s correct. That’s impressive.”

“Good, now, I’m going to sleep.” Sunset marched back to her desk and put her head back down, and this time, it lasted until the end of math with the ringing bell waking her up. With an annoyed growl, Sunset got up and headed towards the door but was stopped Mr. Milestone. “Hey, Sunset. I’m sorry for slamming that book on your desk. Are you okay though? You seem… off.”

Sunset had regained some emotional energy by then but was still drained and feeling dead inside. “You know that dog I had with me while my leg was broken? He died this morning.”

“Oh Sunset, I’m so sorry. If there’s anything I can do, let me know.”

What little emotional energy Sunset had evaporated then and there, and she exploded on Mr. Milestone. “You’re only the second person I’ve heard that exact phrase from today, and I’m already sick of it. There’s literally nothing you can do unless you can somehow raise the dead.” Sunset didn’t scream, but anger was clear in her voice, and she stomped away to the lunchroom. Sunset was having a really bad day.

Mory Patchwork Elementary

Date: same day, time: 8:15 am

*Anura’s perspective*

Aunt Brigid dropped Anura off at school, and Anura walked inside. There were kids all over the place, in the halls and on the playground. Anura just walked to her classroom with her head down. It never occurred to her how sudden death was, and now, she was faced with what might happen to Emi.

As Anura walked down the hall, she bumped into someone. “Oh, sorry.” Anura looked up to see it was Match.

“Watch where you’re going-”, Match tried to say but was cut off.

“Match, are you going to actually get creative? Seriously, your insults are more disappointing than an unsalted pretzel.”

“What did you say to me, witch?”, Match asked in a tone he probably thought was threatening, but Anura had the Katons for family.

“Finally, someone finally called me a witch. It’s been almost three years, and you’re the first one to finally get it right. To reward you, Ah’m gonna curse you.” Anura threw her hands up in the air and began to talk gibberish. “Ibraw shijiwa crimcrimka ifraza! There, now, you’re breathing manually.”

Falling straight into her trap, Match began to breathe harder and panic. “She really is a witch!”, Match screamed as he ran off.

Anura looked where Match was with a shocked face then slowly looked behind her, where Match ran off to, then back ahead. “That actually worked?”, Anura asked herself. The rest of the kids gave her a wide berth as she walked past.

News of what happened quickly spread as the day went on. Anura could practically hear the teachers’ eyes roll whenever they heard the story. Either despite or because of the knowledge of Anura being a witch spreading faster than the flu, she had a peaceful day. At least, that was until lunch. As soon as Anura sat down, kids started bringing her their desserts and a few even outright said “please don’t curse me”. Anura just sat there in relative stunned silence, only giving a “yeah, sure” to the kids that outright said anything. As stunned as she was, Anura was happy that today was brownie day. That meant the desserts were sealed in plastic and could be stuffed into her jacket. I’m sooo doing this again.

Once the parade had stopped and Anura was shoving as many brownies she could into her pockets, three older girls came over and sat across from Anura, which never happens. “Can I help you?”, Anura asked.

“Hi, I’m Sweetie Belle, and this is Bloom and Scootaloo, and we need your help.”

Anura raised an eyebrow at this. “You need my help? With what?”

“Do you know Diamond Tiara?”

“I know of her. She has this weird symbol superiority complex, right?”

“That’s her. She thinks that just because she already has her symbol, she’s better than everybody who doesn’t.”, Bloom said. “We need you to curse her.”

“What kind of curse?”

“Something like a bad luck curse.”, Scootaloo said.

“Um, no.”

“Why not?”, Bloom asked.

“Because my cousin put that curse on someone, and that person nearly died. I don’t want to be responsible for someone’s death.”

“Oh, what about that manual breathing thing you did earlier?”, Sweetie asked.

“That only works for a few minutes before it wears off.”

“Oh, do you have anything that would work?”

“Sorry, I don’t know that many spells. I’m six.”

“Oh, thanks anyway.”, Bloom said. The three girls got up, and once again, Anura was left to herself.

Emi’s room

Date: same day, time: 12:00 pm

*Emi’s perspective*

Emi sat slumped on her bed with Tomiju on her lap. She had gotten most of her work done already so had time to waste. She didn’t feel like building or designing anything. Plus, she had a bit of a stockpile of pranking inventions. She really needed a way to get rid of some of them. Maybe she could dismantle them and use their parts in different projects.

Emi was pulled from her thoughts by Aunt Minerva coming in. “Hey, Emi. How are you doing?”

“Ah chose the wrong onesie f’r taday.”

“What do you mean?”

“Kirin are supposed ta be happy creatures, but I’m sad.”

“Um, your onesie is a giraffe.”, Aunt Minerva commented.

“Kirin is the Japanese word for giraffe and a mythical creature similar to a giraffe.”

“Oh. How about we change your onesie. Maybe to a wolf one. Many stories say that the wolf was the first animal to experience death.”

“Yeah” Emi grabbed Tomiju and slid down her ladder and ran over to her closet. Emi put Tomiju down and began rummaging through her collection of onesies. Ever since her diagnosis, onesies have become her primary wear, so Emi had a lot of them. Her favorite ones were her animal onesies. She had an otter onesie, a penguin, cat, deer, dog, fox, mountain lion, leopard and snow leopard, panda, brown bear, black bear, polar bear, dragon, dinosaurs, the giraffe one she was wearing, and the wolf onesie, everything except reptiles, which are scary, and a raccoon, because they just American tanuki. Emi took off her giraffe onesie, put it in her hamper, and slipped into her wolf onesie. “This is better.”

“Good, now, do you want lunch?”

“Yes, please.”

Minerva extended her hand which Emi took, and they headed downstairs. As they headed into the kitchen, Tomiju ran into the living room and began play barking. This confused Emi because she only did that to get the attention of someone to play but no one else was in the living room. Ailbhe was begging for food from Minerva. Emi crept over to the living room but still found no one, other than Tomiju, but she did see a depression in Ki’s chair. Emi reached through the banister and touched the spot. It was cold, but she got a sense of safety from it. The same sense of safety Ki provided. “Huh, Ki.”, Emi whispered.

“Did you say something, Emi?”

“Ki’s still here! He’s dead, but he’s still here!”, Emi cheered.

“That doesn’t surprise me. He loves you all very much. I bet he’ll be around until your dad is ready to join him.”

“That better not be for a thousand years.”

“We can hope so.”

The fact that Ki was still around made Emi a bit happier, but she was saddened by the fact she could no longer touch him or see him or call him a good boy. “Minerva, why do we die?”, Emi asked solemnly.

“We die when our bodies no longer work. Ki most likely died from a heart attack.”

“I know how we die, but why do we have to die? Why can’t we live together forever? Why does it hurt so much to lose someone?”, Emi asked, getting more distressed with each question.

“Different people will have different answers to the first two, but the last one is easy. When you love someone, you want to be able to feel them, see them, and interact with them, and when they’re dead, you know that you will never be able to express how much you love them ever again. All the unexpressed love turns to pain. Now, to answer your first two questions. My answer is that if we never die, we can never truly live. The impermanence of life forces us to savor every moment. To not die is to never truly experience what it means to be alive.”

“You developed that life view while high, didn’t you?”

“Yes, shrooms to be precise.”

Outside CHS

Date: same day, time: 3:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset watched her hockey team embark onto the bus for the rink. She wouldn’t be able to join them for another week but still liked seeing them off. As the bus pulled out, Sunset turned around only to be met face to face by Lily. Sunset looked her over with absolutely no fucks to give. Lily was out of her cast, but Sunset couldn’t bring herself to care. She couldn’t even bring herself to hate Lily. She just found her annoying. “Lily, what do I owe the displeasure?”

“You stole my school work yesterday, and I want it back!”

“I don’t have it.”

“Liar!”

“For once, Ah’m not lying. They’re somewhere in the library. I’m too tired to deal with you today. Go away.” Sunset walked away from Lily without another word and staggered back home. Upon getting home, Sunset went to her room and just curled up on her couch. She couldn’t hear Ki scampering about, which made her more sad. She didn’t have the comfort of being able to hear him. “Ki, why couldn’t you just burst into flames and be reborn like a phoenix.” Sunset closed her eyes but didn’t go to sleep. Minerva and Anura soon returned, and Sunset went out to greet them.

“No way. This is awesome!”, Emi cheered.

“What’s awesome?”, Sunset asked.

“Anura used that trick you showed her and freaked all the other kids out enough that they gave her their brownies!”

“Wow, so, what’s my cut?”

“Your cut? No way, you’re not getting any.”, Anura protested.

“Ehem, who taught the two of you that trick?”

“You did.”, Anura answered sheepishly.

“And would you say that deserves some brownies?”

“Fiiine.” Anura handed Sunset some of the brownies with a pout.

“What about me? I was the one to give you that information from Sunset.”, Emi asked.

“No, all you were was the messenger. Plus, you can get brownies and cookies whenever you want just by saying you’re in pain.”

“I can’t get plain brownies whenever Ah want. It has ta be pot or I don't get any.”

“Sigh, fiiine.” Anura rolled her eyes and handed Emi a few brownies, and Emi’s face brightened up.

“Thanks, Anura.” Emi took her brownies up to her room. Anura just looked at Sunset then followed Emi and her mother upstairs. Sunset smiled and took her brownies back to her room.

Roads of Canterville

Date: same day, time: 5:30 pm

*Jiraiya’s perspective*

Jiraiya drove down the street that led to Anzhong’s and Brigid’s house. He had gotten the call as soon as he woke up in the afternoon. This was never a good time for the family. Jiraiya pulled into the front driveway just as Brigid turned down the street that led to the alleyway. Jiraiya exited his car and walked inside and was immediately jumped by Anura.

“Grandpa! Grandpa! I used psychological warfare, and it worked!”, Anura cheered excitedly. “I managed to scare the entire student body so bad that they gave me tribute to not curse them. I love being a witch.”

“That’s great.”, Jiraiya cheered, although a bit confused.

“Great for her. I was proven wrong.”, Emi protested.

“I’m the one that taught them that trick, and Emi didn’t believe me.”, Sunset smugly explained.

“You can’t be that mad. You got brownies out of it.”, Anura said.

At that time, Anzhong and Brigid came inside, and everyone went to go hug them. Brigid carried Ki’s box. It always amazed Jiraiya how such a large animal can fit into such a small box. After the hug dispersed, Anzhong took the tin box from Brigid, and Brigid went back outside. Minerva corralled the kids while Anzhong headed upstairs. Brigid soon emerged from the garage with shovels and gardening shears in hand, and Anzhong returned from upstairs with something in his hand Jiraiya couldn’t identify.

Everyone headed outside and to the cherry blossom tree. Brigid dug a hole in front of the tree, and Anzhong took the bag of ash out the box and placed it in the hole, laying him to rest beside Ai and Pumpkin. Brigid covered it up as Anzhong sat down in front of the tree. Kiba nuzzled up to Anzhong, taking the place of Ki in the hauntingly familiar sight. A gentle breeze came in, causing the branches and young flowers to sway, and Jiraiya joined his son on the ground.

Anzhong pulled out the other thing that was in his hands, which turned out to be a music player. Anzhong began playing Aoi’s favorite song, the same song played at her funeral. It was a hauntingly beautiful and old melody. If Jiraiya remembered correctly, it was originally composed in the eighteen hundreds.

“Do you remember the first time I came over? I was greeted by this pint sized akita that tried to rip my leg off.”, Jiraiya said.

“I remember you laughing your head off.”, Anzhong answered.

“Yeah, he saw me coming into your house without being let in, and he thought I was an intruder. I knew you would be well protected for the next ten years.”

“Ki’s still protecting us. He’s still here.”, Emi said.

Jiraiya turned to look at her, confused. “What do you mean?”

“I saw his spirit on his chair. Well, I saw the indentation he left.”

“I heard him running around my room.”, Sunset added.

Jiraiya looked back to Anzhong and found him smiling. It was a small smile, but for him, any smile was like a normal person grinning ear to ear. “That stubborn old dog.”, Anzhong said quietly.

After the song finished, people began to disperse. Brigid took the tools back into the shed as everyone, except Anzhong, headed inside. Those who were inside congregated in the kitchen and got water or other stuff. Anzhong came inside not long after, followed by Brigid with Ailbhe on her shoulders. Anzhong walked over to Ki’s chair and felt the cushion. There was no indent, and Ki did not seem to be there. Anzhong’s face grew a hint of disappointment, but he hid it. The only reason Jiraiya could tell was because he was his father. He then came into the kitchen and joined everyone else. People spent time talking and sharing stories about Ki. The kids laughed it up as they learned how silly Ki was in his youth.

As much as he enjoyed spending time with his family, the fight against God and Darwinism was eternal. Jiraiya gave his son one more hug before he headed out to the hospital. “You gave Ki a wonderful life. Be happy that you had him as much as you mourn his passing.”, Jiraiya whispered to Anzhong. Anzhong nodded his head, and Jiraiya headed out the door.

Katon family home

Date: March 8th, time: 10:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset sat in the living room along with Emi, Anura, and the animals, watching The Lion Queen for the fourth time; it was Emi and Anura’s favorite. Sunset enjoyed the movie too, but she could probably act the whole thing out and sing every song herself by now. Kiba was lying on Ki’s old chair, and as Ki’s spirit didn’t seem to make a stink about it, they allowed it. Anzhong was also with them, but he wasn’t exactly watching, or paying attention to, the movie. Brigid soon came downstairs and went out front before coming back in and joining them.

“Whatcha got there?”, Sunset asked.

“Mail”, Brigid answered. Sunset turned back to the movie until Brigid made an unhappy noise. Sunset turned around to see that Brigid was looking at one of the letters. She wasn’t angry but annoyed.

“What’s wrong?”, Emi asked after pausing the movie.

“Ah got jury duty.”

“Is it civil or criminal?”, Anzhong asked.

“Criminal”

“Well, you’ll probably be able to get out of it by telling them you’re married to a prosecutor, especially if I’m prosecuting.”

“What’s jury duty?”, Anura asked.

“The jury are the people Dad has to prove the defendant committed the crime to.”, Emi explained.

“Okay, why would Uncle being a prosecutor keep Aunt Brigid from having to be on the jury?”

“Uhhh, I don’t know.”

“It’s because people who know either party would have their vote swayed by their feeling towards the party.”, Sunset explained.

“Oh, okay, that makes sense.”, Anura said and started up the movie again, and Brigid continued going through the mail. Being an adult in America sounds even worse than being an adult in Equestria.

Outside CMS

Date: Mar 11th, time: 3:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset adjusted her bag on her shoulder as she walked to the pickup spot. As she walked, Sunset noticed Lily getting picked up. She still needed to get rid of her. Sunset joined her team and waited for the bus. She ended up standing next to Rainbow who was texting someone and smiling. As soon as the bus arrived, everyone got on, and Sunset took her usual spot in the back. The bus ride was the same as it had been for the last almost three years. They passed by the same buildings, same road signs. The trip went by quickly, and the team hurried into the rink.

Upon reaching the locker room, Sunset sat down on the bench, unlocked her bag, and began pulling out her gear. Out of the corner of her eye, Sunset noticed Rainbow taking off her shirt. Her chest was barely recognizable as boobs, but her musculature made up for that.

“Um, Sunset?”, Rainbow asked with a blush.

“Oh, don’t be modest. You have a nice body. I’d be happy to show you mine. I know you like it.”, Sunset said sultrily. Rainbow’s blush spread across her face, turning her into a dark red tomato, and she promptly spun around as to not face Sunset. “Eh, your loss, pretty bird.” Sunset could’ve sworn Rainbow’s skin turned a bit redder. She loved the effects her words had on other people. Watching them squirm was truly enjoyable, and the way she could get them to do what she wanted was very useful, but for now, she was going to leave Rainbow alone. This worked better in more isolated areas.

The team finished gearing up and got onto the ice. The teams lined up, and Sunset was facing Rainbow. Sunset gave Rainbow a smirk that caused her to blush. The game started, and the whole time, Sunset focused on Rainbow. Sunset’s earlier flirting had thrown Rainbow off her game, making her easy pickin’s. A lip bite from Sunset even ended up with Rainbow on her ass. Sunset’s team won hands down, and the Wondercolts returned to the locker room.

Once they were back in their street clothes and the others were leaving or heading to the bathroom, Rainbow put a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. Sunset turned around to face her with a curious look. “You were tripping me up on purpose.”, Rainbow accused.

“I was.”

“That’s not cool.”

“You could’ve used the same tactics. I’m not immune to the allure of a beautiful woman.”, Sunset said while brushing a strand of hair behind Rainbow’s ear.

Sunset could practically hear Rainbow’s brain short circuit before she regained composure. “Why are you like this?”

“Hm, what do you mean?”

“Three months ago, you called me a “half pint Brit”, but now, you’re calling me “pretty bird”. What is up with you? Why do you act like this?”

Sunset straightened herself and looked down at Rainbow. “I act how I want, when I want. If it serves my needs, I’ll do it.” Sunset turned around and began walking to the bus. It took a few seconds, but Rainbow was soon running to catch up. Sunset began running as well, and it became a race. Rainbow passed Sunset, but she remained close behind.

Rainbow got onto the bus first and turned around to taunt Sunset. “Ha, ya have ta faster than that if you want ta beat me.”

“How ‘bout Ah beat ya the old fashioned way.” Sunset jumped on Rainbow, causing her to fall to the floor and Sunset to be on top of her. Sunset’s hands were on Rainbow’s shoulders, and she was grinning like a Cheshire down at her. Rainbow blushed again, and the other kids on the bus began laughing at them and making kissy noises. Sunset leaned down to whisper into Rainbow’s ear. “I win.” Sunset then got up and returned to her seat. Rainbow remained on the floor until team members that were in the bathroom returned. As she was blocking the aisle, Rainbow got up and returned to her own seat. All the while, Sunset watched her closely. She can be used.

Canterlot Ice Rink

Date: same day, time: 4:15 pm

*Rainbow’s perspective*

“You were tripping me up on purpose.”, Rainbow accused.

“I was.”, Sunset said nonchalantly.

“That’s not cool.”

“You could’ve used the same tactics. I’m not immune to the allure of a beautiful woman.”, Sunset said while brushing a strand of hair behind Rainbow’s ear.

Rainbow was once again thrown off balance as she tried to process what was going on. She wasn’t helped by her blood rushing to other places. “Why are you like this?”, Rainbow asked as soon as she regained composure.

“Hm, what do you mean?”

“Three months ago, you called me a “half pint Brit”, but now, you’re calling me “pretty bird”. What is up with you? Why do you act like this?”

Sunset straightened herself and looked down at Rainbow. She thought she was superior. Sunset’s little superiority complex really pissed Rainbow off. “I act how I want, when I want. If it serves my needs, I’ll do it.” Sunset turned around and began walking to the bus. Rainbow tried to process what she said. Sunset needed to be brought down a peg. It was then she realized that the bus was going to leave without her.

Rainbow ran out of the locker room and to the bus. Sunset began running too, and the two raced to the bus. Sunset wasn’t quite as fast as Rainbow, so she was able to pass her, but Sunset remained close on her heels. Rainbow got onto the bus first and spun around to tease Sunset. “Ha, ya have ta faster than that if you want ta beat me.”

“How ‘bout Ah beat ya the old fashioned way.”, Sunset said, then jumped on Rainbow, causing her to fall to the floor and Sunset to be on top of her. Sunset’s hands were on Rainbow’s shoulders, and she was grinning down at her. Her predatory smile was strangely sexy, and Rainbow blushed again. The other kids on the bus began laughing at them and making kissy noises, but Rainbow was too distracted by the hot Asian chick straddling her to care. Sunset leaned down to whisper into Rainbow’s ear. “I win.”, then got up and returned to her seat. Rainbow remained dazed on the floor until team members returned and needed to get passed. Rainbow got up and returned to her own seat which she promptly slumped down into as the bus started.

“Geeze Rainbow, keep that up and some people might start thinking you like her.”

“Oh, can it, Soarin. I know you think she’s hot too. Anyone in their right mind would.”, Rainbow retorted.

Soarin shot her a shit eating grin then went back to playing with his phone. As soon as the bus returned, the team hopped off and either got picked up by their parents or began their walk home. Rainbow knew her parents were going to be running late, so she would be waiting a few minutes for them. She began walking to the school but was stopped by Sunset. “Let’s have a little chat.”, she said, then pointed to the side of the school. Rainbow was hesitant but figured she could fight her off if she tried anything and followed her. Rainbow’s confidence wavered somewhat when she was led, not to the side of the school, but to the back, where no one could see them. Sunset leaned up against the wall and gave Rainbow a look that made her heart race.

“So, what is this about?”, Rainbow asked with a mixture of fear and - something - in her voice.

“I know you think I’m hot. I can make you very happy, but you would have to do something for me in exchange.” Both Sunset words and tone made Rainbow’s brain and body go haywire. She could hear her heart beating in her ears.

“Um, what do you mean?”, Rainbow asked nervously.

“I mean I can eat you out, make out with you, or just a naughty picture in exchange for you owing me a favor, anything you want.”

A butt load of chemicals were surging through Rainbow’s head, and her blood was going everywhere but her head. Eventually, Rainbow’s mind and body came to a consensus, RUN. “Nope!”, Rainbow shouted, then booked it out of there.

“Wimp!”, Sunset called her, but Rainbow didn’t care. She just ran out to the parking lot and saw her parent’s car. She jumped in, buckled her seatbelt, and slumped down so no one outside could see her.

“Are you okay?”, Dad asked.

Rainbow covered her face to hide her blush. She was confused and embarrassed. “Just drive.”, Rainbow said sheepishly.

Behind CMS

Date: same day, time: 4:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Wimp!”, Sunset shouted at Rainbow, but Rainbow didn’t slow down and ran towards the parking lot. “Well, that was a bust. And ouch.” Sunset walked back around front and walked back home. Rainbow was a bust. She needed someone else she could manipulate to do her bidding. Snips and Snails were too dump for this task, Flash was too moral, and Jacklyn had both problems. “Sigh, simple in theory, not so simple in practice.”

Katon family home

Date: Mar 19th, time: 8:00 pm

*Minerva’s perspective*

“Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Minerva. Happy birthday to you.”, everybody sang. Minerva covered her face out of embarrassment. She always felt embarrassed when people sang for her.

“Thank you.”, Minerva said and blew out her candles.

“What did you wish for?”, Anura asked.

“I don’t know.”, Minerva said with a shrug. “I already have everything I could want.”

“Dat’s why it’s so hard ta shop f’r ya.”, Brigid said.

“Cake n’ ice cream!”, Emi cried.

“We should get cutting before she dives head first into it.”, Sunset said.

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“Says the one in a bear onesie.”

“Says the pony.”

“Says the fox.”

Jiraiya and Anzhong placed their hands on each of the girls’ shoulders. “Okay, let’s just have sweets.”, Jiraiya said.

“Okay. Hey, how’s lactose free stuff made?”, Emi asked.

“Either by removing the lactose from the milk or using a milk substitute to make it.”, Anzhong answered.

Brigid grabbed the ice cream scooper and scooped some non-dairy ice cream for Anzhong and Jiraiya and then normal ice cream for everyone else, and Jiraiya grabbed a knife and started cutting the cake.

“I’m glad I’m not lactose intolerant. Milk substitutes just don’t taste as good. Why can I have lactose when Daddy and Grandpa can’t?”, Emi asked.

“Because a’ our European heritage. It was our ancestors who were the village weirdo dat decided ta try suckin’ on cow tities.”, Brigid said as she handed Minerva her cake and ice cream.

“You make it sound so weird when you say it like that.”, Minerva said.

“Dat’s because it is weird. Ya have no idea how surprised Ah was when Ah learned not only do ponies drink milk but cows sell it to ‘em.”

“Wait, they sell their milk to you?”, Minerva asked Sunset.

“Yup, the vast majority of cows are content with just grazing. Farmers provide them with a safe place to live, and cows let them harvest their extra milk.”, Sunset answered.

“That is strange.”

“It’s strange that you take it without permission.”

“Fair”

Canterlot Courthouse

Date: Apr 2nd, time: 9:30 am

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid, along with the rest of the jury candidates, were led into the jury waiting room and to their seats. They were made to watch an introductory video on jury service and were provided a Juror Handbook for reference. It was boring. They’ve each been given a number, and Brigid was lucky number eight. She hoped this increased her chances of not having to be on the jury. Each juror took the seats with the corresponding number. The judge called them up in numerical order, and each of the lawyers, neither of whom were Anzhong, asked the candidates about their background, beliefs, prejudices, and relationships with any party to the case. Brigid saw her chance to get out of this.

The judge eventually asked for Brigid, and she stood up. “Candidate eight, what is your background?”

“Ah’m a professor a’ anthropology at Canterville Uni from Ireland. Ah’m also married to a District Prosecutor, Anzhong Katon.”

“I see. Do you believe cannabis should be illegal?”, the defending lawyer asked.

“Do ya want ma ta contaminate y’r jury pool?”

“We need a proper answer.”

“No, cannabis has excellent pain management properties while bein’ non-addictive. Da only reason it’s illegal is because a’ racism n’ da xenophobic fear a’ Mexicans. Da whole “war on drugs” was jus’ an excuse f’r Nixon ta tear apart black families.”, Brigid said. The judge and both lawyers looked annoyed with what Brigid said. “Ah tried ta warn ya.”

“Yes, you did. You can all leave now.”, the judge dismissed them with a wave of his hand.

The whole lot of the jury pool left the room with no skin off their backs. While everyone else practically ran out to the garage, Brigid went to the courtroom Anzhong was in. He had told Brigid where he would be when they arrived in case she wanted to see him. Though, he did warn against doing that. Brigid understood why he wouldn’t want her seeing what he has to deal with, but she’d seen worse and wanted to watch him work.

Brigid found the courtroom he was in and took a seat behind the prosecutor's side. The defendant was a young man with a cop aura. Great, Ah sound like Minerva. Twenty year old me would’ve raised her eyebrow at that. Anzhong was showing bank statements with the help of a sighted presenter. The sighted presenter worked the projector and highlighted the parts Anzhong was talking about, and Anzhong explained that the defendant had been putting large sums of money in his and his mother’s account on a regular basis and without declaring it as income. Even if the money wasn’t suspicious, he was in for tax fraud.

After all that was explained, Anzhong called the defendant up for questioning. “Now, Officer Shim, would you mind explaining where you got all this money from?”

“I take the fifth.”, Officer Shim said.

“Alright” Anzhong continued to question Officer Shim about what he was doing on certain days, why he did and didn’t do certain actions, and whatnot, then the defence lawyer questioned him after Anzhong. It was pretty boring, so Brigid closed her eyes and leaned back until she heard the judge hit the gavel and began talking again. The jury went into the deliberation room, and Anzhong leaned back in his chair.

“Dey make dis much more interestin’ on TV.”, Brigid whispered to Anzhong.

“You should try sitting in on family court. I once heard that one woman tried to punch the judge and had to be tackled by the bailiff.”, Anzhong whispered back.

“Dat doesn’t surprise me.”

Somewhere around an hour later, the jury came back in. Brigid and Anzhong straightened in their seats as they waited for the verdict. “We of the jury find the defendant guilty of all charges.”, the jury foreman said.

There was no cheering or blowups. The worst Brigid heard was a couple of growls on the side of the defendant. The bailiffs took the defendant away, then Anzhong got up and bowed to the judge, then the jury, and everyone began leaving. They walked together until Brigid had to go into the parking lot and the prosecuting team just had to walk across the street and down the block. Brigid began heading up the stairs when a lilac-haired man, she recognized as the defence lawyer, came up beside her.

“You seem to know Mr. Katon.”, the defence lawyer said.

“Yes. Why?”

“How well do you really know him?”

“Ah know him well enough.”

“You wouldn’t happen to know what kind of company Mr. Katon keeps?”

“Spit it out, or Ahmma start usin’ y’r boys f’r footballs.” Brigid reached her car with the defence lawyer still on her heels. He wasn’t standing that close to her, but his behavior was still concerning, and he was standing behind her car. She couldn’t leave without running him over. They just came out of the courthouse, so neither of them have weapons on them, and Brigid was almost twice his size, so she wasn’t too worried but still. This wouldn’t be the first time a shrimp tried something, so she watched his body language closely.

“Um, right, I believe Mr. Katon may be corrupt. He’s won nearly a hundred percent of his cases. That’s almost impossible.”

“Let me stop ya dere. His mother was killed by corruption. He’s dedicated his life ta its extermination. Da reason he’s won so often is because, jus’ like ya c’n choose not ta represent someone, he c’n choose ta dismiss a case before it goes ta court. In short, he’s good at his job. Now, get out from behind me car. Ah don’t much like people accusin’ me husband a’ bein’ corrupt.” Brigid didn’t raise her voice, but her tone left no room for argument.

The blood drained from the man’s face, and he scurried away without another word. Brigid smirked and got into her car. After locking her doors and before driving off, Brigid put her knife back into her pocket, slipped her red, fingerless weighted-knuckle gloves back on, and checked that her guns and bullets are where they’re supposed to be. With the comfort provided by her weapons, Brigid drove home. Upon getting home, Brigid was greeted by the sound of tiny paws running down the stairs and a little monster jumping up on her. Brigid caught the little monster and cradled her. “Hello, Ailbhe.” Brigid placed Ailbhe on her shoulders and walked upstairs.

Outside Winston Defense Office

Date: Apr 3rd, time: 5:00 pm

*Anzhong’s perspective*

Anzhong stepped out of the taxi and onto the sidewalk with Kiba in tow. He leaned himself against the building with Kiba sitting next to him and waited for his target. People soon began exiting the building, paying no mind to Anzhong. Soon, the smell of his target’s cologne hit Anzhong’s nose. “Autumn Frost”

“Yes? Oh, Mr. Katon, what a surprise.”

“It shouldn’t be. You scared my wife yesterday.”

“I-I scared your wife.”, Autumn said disbelievingly. “Dude, your wife’s bigger than me. What does she have to be afraid of?”

“The same thing every woman does. You followed a woman to her car and prevented her from leaving. Why would she not worry about that?”

“Okay, I’m sorry. I’ll never go anywhere near your wife again. Sound good?”, Autumn said half-heartedly and tried to walk away, but Anzhong brought his cane to Autumn’s chest, cutting him off.

Anzhong stood up from the wall and even leaned in a little. “Now, why did you feel the need to harass my wife?”, Anzhong asked, making the threat clear in his tone. Kiba also helped by growling at the man.

“D-didn’t your wife tell you already?”, Autumn asked nervously.

“She did, but I want to hear it from you.”

“Why would that be necessary? I was just mad that I lost. It’s nothing.”

“You harass my wife and accuse me of corruption for nothing.”

“N-no, no, that’s not what I meant.”, Autumn stammered out.

“Stay away from my wife.”, Anzhong commanded and walked away. Anzhong heard Autumn run away as he walked around the corner and pulled out his phone and sent a text to Brigid, telling her where he was.

What are you doing there?

Best you not know, plausible deniability and all.

What. Did. You. Do?

I made sure Autumn Frost won’t try anything with you again.

Who?

The guy from the garage.

Oh. Ps. you’re an idiot. I find someone to be your character witness in court.

Anzhong shook his head at Brigid’s joke, put his phone back in his pocket, and waited for Brigid to arrive. Anzhong heard a car pull up some time later. “Brigid?”

“What do ya think ya’re doin’ hangin’ ‘round ‘ere?”, a gruff sounding man asked.

“Excuse me?”

“Get in ya duffus.”, Brigid said.

“Brigid.”, Anzhong said in annoyance, realizing she was the gruff sounding man. “One of these days, I’ll be able to tell when it’s you.”, Anzhong said as he got in.

“In y’r dreams.”

CMS gym

Date: Apr 15th, time: 3:30 pm

*Pinkie’s perspective*

Pinkie hopped and danced as she threw streamers into the rafters and put up the final touches on the set up, balloons, floral décor, table covers, extra, for the Spring Fling, which was happening that night. Pinkie was blowing up a balloon when she spun around to find Sunset standing behind her. She jumped in surprise, letting the balloon go, which flew around the gym until coming to rest - somewhere. The two girls watched it until they lost sight of it then returned to looking at each other. “Jesus Sunset, you gotta stop sneaking up on people.”

“Good evening to you too. I need a favor.”, Sunset said in a sultry voice.

“Nope, I’m not doing any favors for you. Not even in exchange for sexual favors.”, Pinkie said while crossing her arms.

“How the hell did you even know that?”, Sunset said confusedly.

“You already tried this with Rainbow earlier this chapter.”, Pinkie said while pointing up. Sunset looked up to where she was pointing but only saw the ceiling.

“Wha-?” Sunset shook her head then looked at Pinkie with that sultry look again. “Oh, come on, Pinkie. Have you ever touched a woman like that before? I know you find me attractive, everyone does. I can take your virginity, or give you the best kiss you’ll ever get, or just a naughty pic.” Sunset leaned into Pinkie’s ear and caressed her under her chin. “I’m, personally, curious to know if all that sugar you eat makes you taste - hm sweet.”

Pinkie felt pressure building up down South and squeezed her legs together. “Tempting offer, but I’d have to decline.”

That was apparently the wrong thing to say as Sunset became enraged. She grabbed Pinkie by the throat and began to choke her. There was a sharp pain where Sunset was grabbing, and Pinkie began to panic. “Listen here, you little shit, I need to know where Lily lives. I tried to be nice, but you left me with no choice. Where does Lily Valley live?”, Sunset asked threateningly.

Pinkie tried to pull Sunset’s hand off, but she grabbed one of Pinkie’s arms, and she couldn’t get her off with just one hand. Pinkie then tried to kick her, but Sunset had long arms and would just kick Pinkie’s kicks away. “Aagghh, she lives on the other side of Canterville.”, Pinkie squeaked out. “1449 Crocker st, apartment B.”

“That’s better, but shit. That’s more than a bike ride away.” Sunset let go of Pinkie, and she coughed and took in a deep breath as she backed away from the psycho girl. Sunset effin’ smiled and walked away like nothing happened.

Oh no, she doesn’t get to do that. “Hey!” Pinkie ran up to Sunset and, as Sunset turned around, uppercut her straight in the jaw. Sunset staggered back but grabbed Pinkie’s next punch. Pinkie brought her knee up, which Sunset also caught. Pinkie then grabbed Sunset jacket, jumped forward, and swept one of Sunset’s legs out from under her, sending them to the ground with Pinkie on top. With both of Sunset’s hands occupied, Pinkie began whaling on Sunset with her free hand. They were brief, but when Pinkie caught glimpses of Sunset’s eyes, she noticed a change in them. It was like the intelligence behind them was gone. Suddenly, Sunset let go of Pinkie’s appendages, grabbed the back of her head, and brought Pinkie’s head down on her own. Pinkie was dazed, and Sunset slid both feet out from under her and kicked Pinkie away. Pinkie staggered up and opened her eyes only to Sunset charging at her. Pinkie only had time to close her eyes, tuck her head in, get her hands up before Sunset jumped on her and tackled Pinkie to the ground. Pinkie slapped the ground to stop her fall, but that left her completely open. Pinkie could feel Sunset crouched over her with her hands on her hair and collar. She could feel Sunset’s mouth wrap around her throat before she stopped then pulled back. Pinkie opened her eyes to see Sunset but not with a sadistic smile, like she expected. Pinkie saw Sunset looking serious and, possibly, even a bit concerned.

Sunset got up off Pinkie without losing eye contact. “Don’t tell anyone about this. It won’t end well for either of us.” With that said, Sunset left the gym, holding her face, and Pinkie was left on the floor.

Aside from the pain of the headbutt, Pinkie was in decent shape. Sunset left very little evidence on Pinkie. She would check if she ended up bruising, but from the looks of things now, she didn’t look too good. Sunset’s face was undoubtedly going to bruise. “Shit, no wonder she’s not been caught.”

Hold up, how did Sunset choke me without leaving bruises? Are you just fudging the facts so her parents won’t find out.

Actually, no. Sunset grabbed your trachea and the two major blood vessels in your neck and not the surrounding muscle. That was the sharp pain you felt, and it takes less pressure to start choking you that way than to bruise you. I tried it on myself, and even my easy to bruise ass wasn’t bruised.

Are you sure you should be telling people on the internet this?

It’s not like stupid kids are reading this. It’s rated ‘M’ for a reason.

I-:,`

Don’t look at me like me like that. Now, back to the story.

Pinkie pulled herself off the floor and was tempted to go after Sunset but realized that wouldn’t look good on her. Pinkie grabbed her streamers and got back to work.

Sunset’s room

Date: same day, time: 6:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset stood in front of her mirror, applying the last touches of makeup. It was a few shades lighter than Sunset’s skin since she was using Brigid’s. She was unlikely to mind as it still had the tamper proof seal on it and was out of date, whatever that meant for makeup. Either way, it still worked, so Sunset guessed it was makeup companies trying to scam people. She had to say, Pinkie knows how to throw a punch. Hopefully, the next time they’re in a fight, her fists will be working for Sunset instead of against her. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much Sunset could do with the information. Lily lives too far away to walk or bike to and survey within a night. She’d be getting back early in the morning if she did that, and she would need to do it multiple nights. With the last bit of concealer applied, Sunset went out to the living room.

“Ready ta go?”, Brigid asked.

“Yup”

“Okay then.” Brigid and Sunset went out to the garage, and Brigid took Sunset to the school. Before Sunset got out, Brigid gave her a kiss on the forehead. “See ya late’.”

“See ya later.” Sunset hopped out of the car and met up with Flash. The two headed inside and to the gym. This Spring Fling was exactly the same as all the other parties. The decorations for the Spring Fling were more flowery than the decorations for the other dances, but that was it. As routine as it was, Sunset was happy to dance with Flash until it was time to retrieve her crown, even though he danced like he shoved something up where the sun don’t shine. Flash held Sunset close to him both in a protecting way and in a way that says he wants to be protected.

“That dress looks really nice on you.”, Flash said.

“Thank you. Ya look nice too.”

Flash smiled and caressed Sunset’s face. “Are you wearing makeup?”

“Does it not look good? I tried looking up tutorials online, but I’ve never done this before.”

“No, it looks fine. You’ve just never worn makeup before. You never struck me as a makeup person.”

“I’m not. I got punched and figured a black eye wouldn’t be the best look to sport during a dance.”, Sunset said nonchalantly.

“You were punched?”, Flash asked worriedly. “By who?”

“That’s not important. Besides, I gave them the one for.”

“Sigh, I don’t like when you get into fights.”

“I don’t exactly like being beaten up either, but It’s a part of life.”, Sunset tried to assure. Flash looked down solemnly and brought their foreheads together, but he couldn’t meet her eyes. “Hey, I love you, and I’ll do everything I can to keep us safe.”

The two of them continued like that until it was announced that they were going to crown the royal of the Spring Fling. Sunset positioned herself where she’d have the easiest time getting to the stairs to the stage. Just like every other Spring Fling and Fall Formal, the principals stood on stage with the crown and a letter with the name on it. “And the royal of the Spring Fling is,” Principal Winters opened the letter and pulled the paper out, “Rarity Alba.”

Sunset leaned forward to start walking to the stage until her brain registered what she heard. Rarity?! Sunset watched Rarity walk onto the stage with a smile and receive her crown. Sunset glared at her with such hate that the only reason Rarity wasn’t on fire was because Sunset didn’t have her magic.

Sunset marched out of the gym and out of the school and sat down on the front steps. There was a gentle breeze that made Sunset’s hair sway and nipped at her exposed skin. She looked out over the space in front of her. It was still early, and the light from the houses drowned out the light from the stars. Sunset missed the pure night sky, untainted by light pollution. She knows Earth’s sky was just as beautiful as Equose’s from her time on the farm. That was an untainted sky.

Flash joined Sunset shortly after she sat down, but she didn’t look at him. “Are you okay?”

“That crown should’ve been mine.”, Sunset said coldly.

“Not everything can go our way.”, Flash tried to console but failed miserably.

Sunset whipped her head around to meet his eyes, which startled him. “You don’t think I don’t know that. My sister is dying. I’m plagued by nightmares so frequent I don’t even react to most of them anymore. I’ve been stabbed, shot, burned, exiled. All my suffering has been for nothing. There is no greater meaning for anything. Those crowns are some of the few good things in my life and the only ones I deserve.”, Sunset ranted with tears starting to form.

Flash pulled Sunset into a hug, and she began to cry into his shoulder, exposing her young bruises and red welts. Sunset heard the doors behind them open, and Flash removed one of his arms for a second before quickly returning it accompanied by Snips’ and Snails’ footsteps and the doors closing. “Hey, I love you, your parents and family love you, and I know you love us.”

“I don’t deserve your love.”, Sunset said quietly.

“No, you absolutely deserve our love because you love us. I don’t know what you’ve been through, but I do know what you are going through. I know you don’t believe in God, but life does have a greater meaning; whether you believe God gives your life greater meaning or you give meaning to your own life.”

“I did believe in a god, once, but I learned that my gods were just normal folk that just so happen to give birth to my country's rulers. There are no gods, just stories we tell ourselves so we can sleep at night and justify our actions. Life is meaningless.”

“Sunset, life’s not meaningless. Your life’s not meaningless. You bring those you love such joy and happiness. I’ve seen how happy your sister is when you’re around. Your life is as meaningful as you make it.”

“I so wish that was true.”

“What can I do to convince you?”

“Nothing, because it’s not true.”

“Sunset”

The two of them stayed like that until Sunset was done crying. “Oh, I’ve got makeup on your jacket.”, Sunset said.

“It’s okay. I’ll just wash it out.”

“Come on. We should wash it out sooner rather than later.” Sunset took Flash’s hand, and the two of them walked back to her place. As soon as they were inside, Sunset took Flash’s jacket and began washing out the makeup. Sunset heard Brigid’s footsteps come down the stairs, and she turned away from the stairs so Brigid wouldn’t see her exposed welts.

“Wha’ are ya two doin’ back ‘ere?”

“Sunset lost the competition, so we decided to come back early.”, Flash explained.

“Okay, but wha’ is Sunset doin’ with y’r jacket?”

“He got something on it, and I’m cleaning it out.”, Sunset quickly said. Sunset heard Brigid walking closer, and she turned away from Brigid, but Brigid picked Sunset up and turned her to face her. “Aah, Mom.”, Sunset complained.

Brigid’s eyes went wide when she noticed Sunset’s face. “Sunset, did ya get inta anothe’ fight?”, Brigid asked worriedly.

“It’s not a big deal. They started it, but I ended it.”, Sunset protested.

“Sunset”

“Mom, seriously, I’m fine. I can handle myself.”

Brigid looked at Sunset disappointedly, which tore Sunset up inside more than if she had yelled at her. “Sunset, we c’n’t help ya if ya don’t tell us wha’s goin’ on.”

“I don’t need your help.”, Sunset said sternly.

“Alright.”, Brigid said, defeated. “Now, where did ya get dat makeup?”

“Frooom your baaathrooom.”

“Sunset, ya know ya need ta asked before ya borrow stuff, right?”, Brigid asked with an ‘are you serious’ face.

“That would kinda defeat the point of trying to hide this from you.”

Brigid put Sunset down and looked at Flash’s jacket. “By da way, y’re grounded f’r two weeks for stealing my makeup n’ not callin’ me before ya walked home.” Brigid took the now clean jacket out of the sink and looked directly at Sunset. “If ya were-”

“Yeah, yeah, if I was kidnapped, you wouldn’t have known for over an hour.”, Sunset finished.

“N’ ya put Flash’s life in dange’ with y’r actions.”, Brigid said with a seriousness Sunset had only before seen during gun training.

“We were usin’ the body system. We were safer together.”, Sunset protested.

“Y’re only thirteen. Another thirteen year old will only end with two kidnapped kids or a severely beaten kid. Now, Ah’m gonna get dis dryin’. You, bring out y’r computer n’ gamin’ stuff.” Brigid turned to go down stairs, and Sunset crossed her arms and huffed.

Flash walked over to Sunset, but didn’t get close. “Well, this has been a crappy night.”, Flash said nervously, almost as if he was worried Sunset would bite his head off if he said or did the wrong thing.

“Yeah”, Sunset said curtly. She washed off the makeup then stomped to her room and grabbed her electronics and left them on the counter. She then grabbed Flash and brought him into her room, locking the door behind them, and onto her couch. Flash tried to question Sunset’s actions, but she cut him off with a kiss then more kisses. Sunset raised off him for a second to catch her breath and to reposition herself because his member was starting to poke her.

“Wow, glowy eyes.”, Flash commented.

Sunset gave him a toothy smile along with her bedroom eyes. “Hm, maybe I am a vampire.” Sunset resumed kissing him and ran her hands along Flash’s body. She was soon kissing other parts of his face and neck and scraping her fangs across his skin. Flash, apparently, had no idea what to do with his hands and was just grabbing at anything around then until Sunset grabbed his arm and put his hand on her body. Sunset tried to slip a hand into Flash’s pants, but he grabbed it and pulled it out.

“No, um, I don’t want to do that.”, Flash whispered.

“Okay. Why not?”, Sunset asked, then thought back to how this was the third time she was rejected in a week. “Is it something about me?”

“What? No, no, you’re perfect.”, Flash said quickly. “I just want to wait until marriage.”

Sunset was confused by that. What purpose would waiting until marriage serve. “Why?”

“Because premarital sex is a sin.”

“Oh, religious nonsense.”, Sunset said dismissively.

“It’s not nonsense.”, Flash tried to defend.

“How do you know your partner can satisfy you if you don’t have sex with them before you become permanently hitched?”

“You marry someone because you love them.”

“That’s why it’s called ‘making love’.”, Sunset countered.

“Well, it stops the spread of STDs.”

“- Okay, fair.” Sunset moved her hands further North, snuggled up next to Flash, and resumed kissing him. She even gave him a few little nibbles, which he seemed to enjoy, before they fell asleep.

Some time later, Sunset was awoken by Flash getting up. She let out a small whine of disapproval then opened her eyes to see Brigid and Mrs. Sentry. Mrs. Sentry led Flash out of Sunset’s room, and Brigid picked Sunset up. “Let’s get ya ta bed.”, Brigid whispered. Sunset let out another small whine, and Brigid rubbed Sunset’s back. Brigid carried Sunset up to her loft and helped to get her out of her dress and into her PJs. “Did ya enjoy y’r time with Flash?”

“Hm, nobody wants ta have sex with me.”, Sunset tiredly said.

“What makes ya say dat?”

“I tried to exchange sexual favors for help and intel, but both went bust, and now, Flash wants to wait until marriage, dumb religious crap.”

“Ah’m sure y’ll be gatherin’ all da intel once ya get ta high school. Middle schoolers tend ta get scared by sex.”

Sunset let out one more whine then laid down and fell back asleep.

CMS lunchroom

Date: Apr 16th, time: 12:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset carried her tray to her and Flash’s usual table and took her seat next to Flash. Snips, Snails, and Meg were also there, but Sunset knew she could tell the boys to not listen to what she and Flash were talking about, and they would do so, and Sunset could tell Flash wanted to talk to her about something important by the way he looked at her. Sunset motioned for the boys to plug their ears. They didn’t actually plug their ears, but they did look away from the two of them.

“Hey, Sunset, I wanted to talk to you about last night.”, Flash said.

“I get it. Your culture says that you need to wait. I respect your choice even if I disagree with it.”

“Thanks, but that’s not what I wanted to talk about.”

“Oh, what do you want to talk about then?”

“Your eyes, how were they glowing?”

That seemed to catch the attention of the boys, but one ‘you better not’ look from Sunset got them to go back to ignoring them. “‘Are’ is the correct verb in this case. My irises constantly emit a low light that most can’t notice unless in pitch black darkness via bioluminescence. It allows me to see even if I’m in complete darkness.”

“Sunset, English.”

“My eyes glow the same way fireflies’ butts do.”, Sunset said with a sly smile.

“Okay, but why do you have it?”

“My ancestors lived underground, but they still left the caves in order to hunt and gather food, so they still needed their eyes. Without an external light source, they needed it to see.”

“That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever heard of.”, Flash said like a kid that just saw a real life superhero.

“I’d kiss you if you didn’t have school lunch breath.”, Sunset said with a more noticeable smile.

Flash did a breath check, and his nose scrunched up at the smell. “Good call.”

Katon family home

Date: Apr 18th, time: 11:00 am

*Rynin’s perspective*

Mom pulled into Emi’s parent’s driveway, and Rynin moved to get out but was stopped by Mom speaking to him exasperatedly. “Why do you even like hanging out with her?”

“She is nice and fun and weird. She’s not like any other girl.”

Mom raised her eyebrow at that. “Alright, just go in.”

Rynin hopped out of the car and ran to the door and knocked, and Dr. Katon opened the door. Seeing that Dr. Katon had opened the door, Mom left. “Hi, Dr. Katon.”

“Hello, Rynin. Emi’s in da kitchen.”

Rynin stepped inside, took his shoes off, and got sprayed down. Entering the kitchen, Rynin saw Emi, Ms. Reads, Anura, and Sunset standing around a pot on the stove.

“Hi, Rynin!”, Emi cheered.

“Hi, what are you doing?”

“Aunt Minerva is teaching us how to make a healing potion.”

“You mean as in magic?”, Rynin asked skeptically.

“Yeah, these are turmeric, chili peppers, black pepper, ginger, and garlic. They reduce inflammation. These are onions, shallots, scallions, leeks, chives, avocados, fatty fish, various berries, broccoli, and extra-virgin olive oil. They help to fight cancer. And there’s scientific backing on all of these.”

“Oh, okay. Does it taste any good?”

All five women shook their heads with strained smiles, frowns, and looks of defeat. “No, it really isn’t. I usually get really high then eat this crap.”

“High?”

“Yeah, here.” Emi hopped off her step stool and grabbed a plate of brownies. “These are called pot brownies. They help to manage my pain and make me hungry enough to eat that stuff- or anything at all really. Do you want one?”

“We bette’ not. We would need permission from his parents before we give him any‘hin’ like dat.”, Dr. Katon said.

“Okay. By the way, you can’t tell anyone about these.”

“Okay, but why?”, Rynin asked.

“It’s illegal.”, Emi whispered.

“It’s illegal!”, Rynin said, freaked out.

“Yeah, but da only reason it’s illegal is because a’ racism. Da whole war on drugs was jus’ an excuse ta put minorities in prison.”, Dr. Katon said.

“Seriously?”

“Eyup, n’ the drugs are starting to take effect, so-.” Emi bounced back to Ms. Reads, who handed her a bowl of the soup, and Emi ran off to eat it.

“Weed turns her into pre-cancer Emi.”, Sunset said with a shrug. She then grabbed a brownie, ate it, then began cleaning up along with Ms. Reads.

Rynin stepped onto Emi’s stool and took a sniff of the concoction and immediately regretted it. It smelt like a spicy burrito inside an unwashed gym sock. Anura poured herself a bowl, which made Rynin turn green. “Did you have one of those brownies too?”

“I get to have brownies with breakfast. I don’t care what’s in them or if I’m able to eat this by lunch. Hey, I’ll pay you five bucks if you can eat and hold down a spoon full of this stuff.”

Five whole bucks. That was a lot of money, but this stuff smelled horrible. Rynin looked between Anura and the soup as he considered his options. “I’ll do it.”

Anura smiled, grabbed a spoon, and handed it to Rynin. Rynin took a scoop, plugged his nose, and downed it quickly. The soup tried to come back up, but Rynin forced it back down. “Oh God, that’s disgusting.”

“Hahaha, nice. Here.” Anura pulled out her wallet and slapped a fiver on the counter. “Come join us when you’re done dry heaving.” Rynin nodded, and Anura went over to the dining room table.

Rynin eventually felt well enough to grab his money and joined them, but he sat at the other end of the table. “So, Anura, how’d you end up with that name?”

“It’s a Hindi name meaning knowledgeable, intelligent, and kind. Why do you ask?”

“Because it’s also the name of the order for all tailless amphibians, like frogs and toads.”

Anura and Emi stopped in their tracks then looked at each other. Emi dropped her spoon in her bowl and began laughing. “Grandpa’s going to love that.”, Emi chortled. Rynin looked over at Sunset and Ms. Reads, who both looked surprised.

“Okay wise guy, how’d you end up with your name?”, Anura asked.

“It’s my mother’s maiden name.”

“Ah”

Anura and Emi quickly finished their spicy sock burrito soup and took their bowls to the sink. “Come on, Rynin. Let’s play.”, Emi called. Rynin hopped out of his seat and followed the girls outside. Emi walked into the garage and came out with three bokkens, safety glasses, and helmets and handed them out.

“What are we supposed to do with these?”, Rynin asked.

“Whack each other.”, Emi said. Emi took her animal hood off but not her beanie as she and Anura geared up. Rynin guessed it was to keep her helmet from rubbing against her skin. As he geared up, Emi and Anura took up fighting stances which Rynin mimicked as soon as he was done. The girls swung at each other with over the head strikes, and their swords clashed. Both moved with practiced grace as they struck and dodged and blocked blows. Rynin was so enamored that he almost didn’t notice Anura taking a swing at him. Rynin blocked it with his own sword but stumbled back and landed on his butt.

“Nice try.”, Anura said, trying to comfort Rynin.

“How do you two do that?”, Rynin asked.

“Lots of practice. We can teach you.”, Emi said. Rynin nodded, and the girls helped him up. “Now, this overhead strike is a samurai classic, and if we were using real swords, we could cut someone’s head in half with it.”

“Metal”

“Yeah, now, watch.” Emi demonstrated the proper stance and technique. “Now, the key to any martial art is your stance. You draw the power from the Earth, through your feet, up your legs, along your spine, and into the rest of your body. This is called a square stance, and it’s the resting stance of most styles.” Rynin took mental notes of everything and mimicked Emi’s stance. “Spread your feet wider apart.” Rynin moved his back leg further back. “Other way.”, Emi said. Rynin corrected his stance and moved his back leg further to the side. “Good, now, do what I do.” Emi raised her bokken over her head and brought it down very quickly. “Keep your blade straight and hold it tight.” Rynin mimicked her actions. His strike was slower than Emi’s, but he thought his technique was good.

“Not bad. Wanna see if you can best me?”, Anura asked.

“Um, no”, Rynin said bluntly. “You already nearly took my head off.”

“Okay, then let me teach you what I know.” Anura and Emi spent hours teaching Rynin how to properly use a sword and sword fighting. He was much slower than them and didn’t always understand the jargon, but it was fun. The girls would also frequently run back inside to grab a snack. They told him it was because the brownies make them really hungry. Rynin thought that was a strange side effect but didn’t have a problem with it as they were quick.

The three of them continued playing until the sun began to go down, and they went back inside. Dr. Katon was mixing up a drink with her cat on her shoulders. “Did ya have fun?”, Dr. Katon asked.

“Yeah, they taught me how to use a sword.”, Rynin said.

“Dat’s good. Y’r mum will be here ta-”, Dr. Katon said but was cut off by the cat jumping off her shoulders and onto the counter, knocking over her freshly poured drink and getting it on her pants. “Son a’ a bitch!”, Dr. Katon yelped. The cat didn’t care and just continued to chase after whatever caught her attention.

“Mom, Ailbhe is a girl.”, Emi corrected.

“Don’t get smart with me.”, Dr. Katon threatened, then began cleaning up.

“I can’t help it. I’m always smart.” Emi hopped over and began to help clean up. Once things were cleaned, Dr. Katon headed upstairs to change her pants. While she was upstairs, the doorbell rang. Emi snuck to the door and looked through the window. “It’s your mom.” Emi opened the door, and Mom stepped in.

“It’s time to go.”, Mom said.

“Okay, bye guys.”, Rynin said. Mom brought Rynin out to the car without another word.

“How was your day?”, Mom asked once they were back in the car.

“It was fun. Emi taught me how to use a sword.”, Rynin said excitedly.

“That’s great.”, Mom said disbelievingly.

“She did.”, Rynin protested.

“Okay, honey.”

Rynin crossed his arms, annoyed that his mom didn’t believe him.

Hothoof apartment

Date: Apr 26th, time: 4:00 pm

*Rainbow’s perspective*

Rainbow walked to the door with the laundry in hand. She hated having to do the laundry because to get to the laundry room, she had to walk past Moper. Moper wasn’t aggressive or anything, just extremely unsettling. She felt like at any moment he would jump up and do something, but he never does. Rainbow walked outside and was met with the usual sight of Pearls looking around the parking lot as if she was trying to avoid someone. Rainbow called her ‘Pearls’ because of her pearl necklace. She was an unidentified woman killed back when the apartments were just a motel. What was strange about her is that Rainbow only learned she ever existed after she started seeing her.

Rainbow rounded the corner to the hallway the laundry room was in. As always, Moper was moping outside the door. He was very dark, and his details were hard to make out, but he wore a dark hoodie that covered most of his face. What little she could see of his face was very disheveled. She just tried to ignore him and went inside the laundry room. Luckily for Rainbow, the laundry room was free of “ghosts”, and she could do her laundry in peace.

About halfway through the wash cycle, another tenant came in. Rainbow looked up to acknowledge the guy, and she noticed Moper was now standing up.

“Hey, you okay?”, the other tenant asked.

“Yeah, yeah,” Rainbow said quickly, “just- it’s just- I’m fine.”

“O-kay”, the other tenant said warily. After he put his clothes in the washer, the other tenant left the laundry room.

As he left, Rainbow saw Moper coming closer and into the laundry room. Rainbow backed up as far as she could, and to her relief, Moper seemed to vanish. Rainbow let out a sigh of relief, but she, proverbially, spoke too soon as a bottle of detergent came flying towards her head. Rainbow ducked out of the way in time to not be hit by the bottle but not in time to not get splattered by the soap. Rainbow ran out of there and back into her apartment and locked the door.

“Rainbow, are you okay? What happened to you?”, Mom asked.

“I haven’t been hallucinating. Moper just threw soap at me.”, Rainbow said, alarmed.

“What?”

“Here, I’ll show you.” Rainbow ran back to the laundry room with Mom following her. As Rainbow turned the corner, she saw that Moper wasn’t there, but now she knew that didn’t mean he wasn’t still here.

“Woah, what happened in here?”

“I was doing the laundry when Moper got up and came inside. He then turned invisible and threw the soap at me.”, Rainbow quickly explained. Mom looked confused and somewhat skeptical. “If you don’t believe me, we can check the security tapes.”, Rainbow said somewhat offended.

“That might be a good idea.”

Rainbow and her mother walked down to the lobby/security station. The security guard didn’t even look up from what he was ready as they approached. “Hello, can we see the security monitor, please?”, Mom asked.

That got the guard to look up then he noticed Rainbow but still looked bored. “What happened to you?”, he asked dully.

“What happened to me is why we want to see the security footage.”

“Alright. Let me guess, the laundry room, just a few minutes ago.”, the security guard said. Rainbow nodded, and the guard moved the monitor up to where all three of them could see it and then began rewinding it to a few minutes before. They could see Rainbow staring at the door and the other tenant talking to Rainbow. The tenant left and Rainbow began backing into the machines. She then looked around before the bottle of soap was sent flying, and she ducked out of the way and ran out of there. Mom was clearly shocked by what she saw, but the guard looked as bored as he always does. “Yeah, that’s Hubert. Story goes that he used to live in the motel. I would recommend you don’t let your daughter near him. He hates young girls.”, the security guard said flatly, as if Rainbow wasn’t just attacked by a ghost.

“Wait, ya mean like a ghost?”, Mom asked, stunned.

“I mean exactly like a ghost. Lot a’ people report strange occurrences that match up with ghost activity, and a lot a’ people have died on this property over the years.”

Mom turned her head to Rainbow, and Rainbow met her with a shit eating grin. Mom turned back to the guard with a mixture of shock and horror on her face. “Thank you”, Mom said, and the two of them began walking back to their apartment.

As soon as they were out of the lobby, Rainbow turned to her mom, still with that shit eating grin. “I’m not crazy.”, Rainbow said happily.

“I suppose you’re not.” Mom didn’t say much else until they were passing the laundry room hallway. As they passed, Mom stopped abruptly, causing Rainbow to almost bump into her, and looked into the hallway. “Do you see him now?”

“Yeah, he’s back to his normal spot. Does this mean I don’t have to do laundry any more?”

Mom put her hand on Rainbow’s back and hurried her away from the hallway. “Yeah, I think that would be for the best, and I think we should call a kohen or priest. But you do need to take a shower.”

SHWO ch68 Let there be fun, sun, and mischief

Canterville College

Date: June 2nd, time: 12:10 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid walked out of the science building and to the cafeteria with her book bag in hand, a little after the students. She tended not to eat much during lunch because the prices were outrageous, even with the staff discount, and she could eat quickly from growing up on a farm, ya ate quickly and got back to work, so running a bit late was hardly a problem for her. Shortly after leaving the building, Brigid was approached by four men she didn’t recognize. This wasn’t too alarming. The college was large enough that you wouldn’t be able to meet everyone, no matter how hard you tried.

“Can Ah help ya with some‘hin’, gentleman?”, Brigid asked.

“Yeah, we’re looking for Dr. Brigid Katon. Where would we be able to find her?”, one of the men asked.

“No need ta look far. Y’re talkin’ ta ‘er.”, Brigid said with a smile.

The men’s faces went pale, and they looked amongst themselves. “Dude, she’s huge. How are we going to do this?”, the man in the back asked worriedly. This put Brigid on alert. That question only had a couple of applications in this context, none of them good. Brigid dropped her bag behind her and looked at the men more closely. The largest of them was about six feet tall and rather built. The smallest of them was standing in the back and was somewhere around five-six and also built, if a bit more on the runner side of built. The other two were around five-nine and also looked like they’ve been in fights. One of them wore a hoodie, but it was the other one that caught her eyes. He wore a short sleeve shirt, and a pair of distinctive blue points poked out from under his sleeve.

“STORM!”, Brigid bellowed. The four men barely had enough time to pull out their weapons before Brigid delivered an upper cut Muscles, causing a satisfying crunch of bone and him to go flying. The other three men only pulled out metal pipes. They clearly weren’t expecting such a fight. This was good because Brigid only had her red, fingerless weighted knuckle gloves, and that’s only because they don’t look obvious as weapons. Hoodie and Tats took swings at her sides, which did hurt, but Emi inherited her father’s legs and kicked much harder than that. Brigid backhanded Hoodie and sent him flying to the side. He wasn’t out for the count, but Brigid heard him groaning. Tats tried to swing at her head, at least that’s what it looked like. He was an inch shy of being a foot shorter than her, and his arm length was unimpressive. He only managed to hit her shoulder, and Brigid pulled her leg in and kicked him so hard he sounded like a squeaky toy.

Shorty was standing in the same place as when the fight began. He was shaking in his boots and clutching his pipe like it would somehow protect him. It wouldn’t. He ran away from Brigid at surprising speed for someone so short, but Brigid was faster. She only gave him a second head start before charging after him. It took her about four seconds to catch up and grab him by the back of his head. Damn, Ah’m outa shape. He wasn’t small enough that Brigid could pick him off the ground with one hand, but she didn’t need to. She pulled him around to face her and fixed him with a malicious grin. “Ya thought ya were gonna come n’ beat up some small Asian chick, didn’t ya?”

“Pl-please let me go. I’ll do anything.”, Shorty cried.

“No”, Brigid growled, then smashed his face into the concrete. There was a crunch, and a pool of blood quickly formed. Shorty rolled over and cupped his nose but didn’t get up.

Brigid turned around and saw two students watching the spectacle in aw. “Wha’ are ya doin’ jus’ standin’ around?! Call da police!”, Brigid ordered as she pointed at one of them. That shook him from his stupor, and he quickly pulled his phone from his pocket and began dialing. Brigid surveyed her surroundings, but something she expected to see was gone. Tats got away. “Shit”

Storm HQ

Date: same day, time: 1:00 pm

*Bruiser’s perspective*

Bruiser rushed into the rundown building and past the receptionist. He tried to stop him, but he rushed past him and into the boss’s office. “Mr. Storm! I have bad news!”

“I’m going ta have ta you back.”, Mr. Storm said flatly, then put down the phone. “What could be so bad you had to barge into my office like that?!”

“Sir, we failed to capture the prosecutor’s wife, and she may have killed Stryker.”

“How can four fully grown men not take down a little Asian lady?!”

“She wasn’t a little Asian lady. She was a giant barbarian of a woman.”, Bruiser said as he tried to demonstrate her size with his arms. “She was bigger than you.”

“Ha, you really think someone’s bigger than me?”, Mr. Storm said as he rose from his chair. Bruiser didn’t know his exact height, but he was over 6’ 6”. As intimidating as his height is, he didn’t have the muscle to back it up, being rather slim.

“Yes, sir. She was about the same height as you, but she had enough muscles to throw a man like a football. Here, I found a picture of her.” Bruiser pulled out his phone and pulled up the one picture he could find of her. It was a picture of the college faculty.

“Okay, which one is she?”

“The one with the red hair, sir.”

“Crap, she’s huge.”

“What should we do?”

“How the hell should I know? We lost the element of surprise. Ugh, Grubber! Is there anyone else we can kidnap? How about any kids?”

Grubber, the secretary, peeked around the doorframe. He was a squat, ugly guy and didn’t smell too great either. “Sorry, sir. We don’t have access to those kinds of records, but we do know of a father.”

“Great, we’ll try him. Surely, you’ll be able to deal with an old man.”

Katon family car

Date: same day, time: 5:05 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

“This is bad.”, Anzhong said. Brigid had just finished regaling him with the events of that day's lunch time. “They’re going to target the kids.”

“We need ta call someone.”

“Not the cops. I haven’t even gotten all of the ones on the list outed. We need Daiki.”

“Agh, Ah was hopin’ we wouldn’t need ta call ‘em.”

“I know. Thank you for accepting me in spite of my crappy high school self.”, Anzhong said while rubbing Brigid’s leg.

“Oh please, wha’ ya did was no‘hin’ compared ta ma rap sheet.”

“Debatable, but I still love you.”

“Ah love ya too.”

Sunset’s room

Date: June 3rd, time: 7:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Sunset, wake up honey.” Sunset awoke to see Brigid kneeling over her. The sun hit her eyes, and Sunset let out a hiss as she pulled her covers over her head. “Oh, come on. We need ya ta come meet someone.”

“No, it’s too early ta do anything.”

“Yeah, yeah, mornin’s are evil. Come on.” Brigid scooped up Sunset with her covers and carried her out into the living room as a human burrito.

“I hate you.”, Sunset said from within her blankets.

“Yeah, y’re ‘bout ta hate me even more.”

“Why?”, Sunset asked warily.

Brigid pulled the covers off Sunset’s head and presented her with a man in a well tailored suit with slick back, almost black, green hair, standing in the dining room. “Sunset, dis is Wakabayashi Daisuke.”

“Great, why is he here?”, Sunset said unenthusiastically.

“He is your bodyguard.”, Anzhong said. Sunset looked him over more closely. He was tall, by Japanese standards, and looked like he had some muscle, but was still slim, and mid-range by American height standards.

“What happened?”, Sunset asked in a flat tone.

“Ah was attacked yesterday, n’ we’re worried dey’ll go afte’ ya next.”

“Great, can you put me down now?” Brigid did, and Sunset approached long ass name dude with her blankets dragging behind her, looking not at all intimidating or commanding. “I take it you’re Yakuza.”

“You are correct. I’d be interested in knowing how you knew.”, long name dude said in the overly polite way Japanese people speak.

“You radiate sleaze. If you’re going to be my bodyguard, you need to dress like an American.”

“I’ll take that into consideration.”

Weasel. Sunset grabbed his tie and yanked him down to her level. “No, I’m in charge here. You work for me. If I tell you to do something, you’re going to do it.”, she said in her quiet commanding voice.

“Sunset, let him go.”, Brigid ordered. Sunset looked back at Brigid then, hesitantly, let him go. “Now, she is right. Ya do stick out like a sore thumb.”

“Chm, I will find some more “American” clothing.”

“You better do it before I get out of school. I do not want to explain why I’m being picked up by a weasel. Got it, Washi?”

“Washi?”

“That’s what I’m going to call you because your name’s a mouth full.” Sunset marched back to her room to put her blankets back on the bed and get ready for school while her parents dealt with Washi.

Halls of CMS

Date: June 6th, time: 3:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset stood around the corner from where Lily was yapping with two other girls who were the closest things she had to friends. Lily didn’t know how to keep her mouth shut, and Sunset would make sure that bit her in the butt. She was fiddling on her phone so as to not look suspicious.

“What are you doing over the summer?”, one of Lily’s friends asked.

“My parents are taking us to Mexico after the Fourth of July. I won’t have to deal with this stupid town until a week before school.”, Lily answered.

You idiot. You stupid, stupid idiot. You just made my life a lot easier. With a time to strike, Sunset got out of there and headed to the ASL club. At this point, everyone was fluent enough to where the club has become more of a hang out for signers. As usual, Sunset mostly hung around Flash and Snips and Snails.

“I want set up ASL club at CHS.”, Flash signed. “But I worried nobody will join.”

Sunset nodded sympathetically. Flash and Forest were the only members of the club moving up to high school next year. The main reason this club had most of its members was Rarity. “Become popular there. Tell people ASL is cool.”

“Not broke, don’t fix?”

Sunset nodded. “Social engineering, make people do what you want.” Sunset and Flash continued talking about how he would run the high school ASL club until club time was over. Flash stayed with Sunset while the idiot twins went to their parents’ cars. Sunset and Flash headed out front in order to meet up with Washi. He couldn’t step foot onto school property because he was more strapped then a lesbian orgy. He at least now wore sneakers, jeans, a hoodie, sunglasses, and a baseball cap. Despite him being in his thirties, he could pass for a senior.

“I still can’t believe you need a bodyguard.”, Flash commented.

“Trust me, I’m working on not needing him.”

“What do you-” Before Flash could finish his question, they were interrupted by someone calling out for Sunset.

“Hey, Sunset, wait up!”

Sunset turned around and groaned when she saw it was Forest. “Agh, what do you want?”

Forest seemed to ignore Sunset’s agitation as she approached them. “Hey, so, I wanted to talk to you about,” Forest looked around for people listening in, “ethay ampirevay ingthay.”, she whispered.

“Are you having a stroke?”, Sunset asked, confusion clear on her face.

“No, I’m speaking Pig Latin.”, Forest continued to whisper.

“I think she’s having a stroke.”, Sunset told Flash.

“Pig Latin is a code language, but I don’t know what she’s saying.”, Flash said.

“Forest, you can speak English, Japanese, Gaeilge, or even French, and I will understand you, but I don’t speak that gibberish.”, Sunset said in a condescending version of a slow, clear voice.

“Okay, I want you to turn me into a vampire.”

Sunset just stood there blinking, not entirely sure on what to say. “Forest, I’m not a vampire. I can’t turn you into a vampire.”

“Of course you’re a vampire. You have fangs and red hair. Plus, you took down two upperclassmen and drank their blood.”

“I didn’t drink their blood, at least I don’t remember doing so. I’m just a weird kid with weird genetics. And my mom has red hair too, and she’s more like a werewolf than a vampire.”, Sunset protested.

“Sunset, there’s no reason to pretend around me.”

“Forest, stop! You’re a year older than me, and I’ve long since stopped playing make-believe. You’re going into high school. You need to grow up.”, Sunset said angrily, then stomped off to Washi.

“Hey, you didn’t need to be like that.”, Flash said as he caught up.

“She was annoying me. I wanted her to stop.”

“Yeah, but from what I heard, I think something may be wrong with her, and she’s using this as a form of escapism.”, Flash said in that “please calm down” voice, but Sunset wasn’t in a mood to be calm. The three of them walked back to Sunset’s place, with Washi staying in between Sunset and the road.

“Well, she can play her games with other people. I’m not having it.”

“I understand that you don’t want to be a part of it, but that doesn't give you the right to be mean to her.”, Flash said more sternly.

“I can be mean to whoever tha hell I want! And I don’t care!”

“What do you mean you don’t care?! What happened to you?! You were never friendly, but you were also never this mean!”

“I’ve lost my patience with these brats, that’s what! I’m done playing nice, and I’m done justifying myself to you!”

“Might I suggest having this argument inside. You’re drawing a lot of attention to yourself.”, Washi said. Sunset looked around, and yes, their argument was drawing the attention of other walkers and people outside their houses. Sunset turned back to where they were walking and ignored Flash.

The whole walk back, Sunset was on high alert. Brigid and Anzhong assured her that they had their home address and phone number taken out of the phone books and no one is going to be giving out their address, but it still wasn’t impossible for Storm to find them. Sunset not taking the Katon name and doesn’t wear the Katon crest and the fact it would be impossible for them to produce a red headed kid does give her some extra protection, but she still lives with them. If Storm sees her coming in or out of the house, it’s game over.

“What’s going on over there?”, Flash asked. Sunset’s head shot up in a panic, but she calmed down when she saw Flash was just talking about a demolition crew working on the old house across the street from hers.

“We’re putting up a place to give the Katons twenty-four hour protection.”, Washi said.

“Wow, you guys are really taking this seriously.”

“My dad once saved the oyabun’s life back when they were friends. The Japanese take that stuff pretty seriously.”, Sunset said.

“The oy-what?”

“The big boss of the yakuza, literally meaning ‘parent status’.”

“Oh. A law-man and a crook, sounds like a bad Lifetime movie.”

Washi escorted the two of them to the front door then walked back to his car as soon as the door was closed. Sunset locked the door, and she and Flash headed into her room. The two of them waited on Sunset’s couch for one of Flash’s parents to pick them up. Flash tried to cuddle, but Sunset pushed him away. “No, I’m still mad at you.”

“Mad at me?” Flash jumped off the couch and looked down angrily at Sunset. “For what, calling out your shitty behavior?”

Sunset jumped up as well, even angrier than Flash. “For defying me!”

“Defying you?! I’m not Snips and Snails! I’m your boyfriend! We are equals in this relationship!”

“And as my boyfriend, you’re supposed to support me!”

“I have been supporting you! I have been patient with your bad attitude, you treating other people like pawns, and your bullying. I thought that I could wait it out, and you’d go back to normal when Emi got better, but no, you’ve turned into a bitch!”

“Wow, tell me wha’ ya really think, why don’tcha?”, Sunset jokingly said. “If yu’re so disgusted by mo behavior, why don’tcha jus’ break up with me?”

“Because I know this isn’t the real you.”, Flash said with a mix of worry and sympathy.

“Oh really, if this isn’t the real me, then what is?”

“The real Sunset is kind and loving. I see it every time you interact with Emi.”

“Hate to break it to you, lover boy, but the Sunset you see at school is the real me. Those brats annoy me, so I treat them the way they deserve.”

“I know that’s not true. Please, Sunset-” Flash reached his hand out, but Sunset slapped it away.

“Drop the damn hero complex. This isn’t some crappy anime. This is real life, and in real life, humans are nothing more than chimps with delusions of grandeur, the kind that maul faces off.”

“I’d more put us as the love child of a chip and a bonobo, and as right as you are that we’re just apes, you underestimate apes as a whole. We aren’t just monkeys.”

Sunset shook her head. “Like I said, delusions of grandeur.”

Flash sighed and sat back down, and Sunset joined him. Flash tried to hug her again, but she pushed him away again. She was still mad at him.

Streets of Canterlot

Date: 26th day of the 5th month of the 1119th year, time: 9th hour ASR

*Stormy’s perspective*

Stormy flew over the crowds of ponies as she and the rest of them went about doing their shopping and other post work stuff. Normally, Stormy would’ve gone before the rush, but she was too busy trying to find a job. That task was not going well. Even with her new braces, she still couldn’t pass the minimum physical requirements for any branch of the military other than paper pushing, and things weren’t that bad. She tried retail, but rude ponies plus her temper equal fired. Despite the laws put in place, not many places aren’t willing to hire wounded veterans, especially if they’ve been involved in a conflict. Her new braces can turn invisible, but she still walks with a noticeable limp. There are also the horror stories about battle soldiers flying off the rails and attacking ponies, going crazy, shouting about how they’re surrounded, or balling up in the corner and crying. Most ponies suspect it’s a curse, but nopony actually knows.

She wished she could leave the city. She’d even be willing to go back to Sire’s Hollow and move in with her sister and put up with her boundary issues, but she needs the medical facilities that can’t be found outside of the big cities. Things aren’t as bad as they used to be now that Shadow worked full time and got a promotion and with the girls moved out, but Canterlot is still an expensive city to live in, and a lot of major repairs need to be made to the house.

“Excuse me, ma’am! Excuse me! You, flying in the sky, excuse me!”, a stallion’s voice called out. Given that there were every few ponies flying, Stormy looked around. “You with the red mane!”, the stallion said. He was wearing an altered version of the Order of Destiny robes. It was mostly the same except his was hooded whereas a normal robe isn’t, it had protective runes in addition to holy runes, and it was the wrong color. A member of the order’s robes were the colors of the god they represent, white and gold for Celestia, blue and black for Luna, pink and magenta for Cadence, and so on. His were blue and black, but it was a much darker blue than the one used for Luna, the blue from Luna’s mane. Stormy pointed a hoof at herself in a questioning manner. “Yes, you!”

She flew closer but remained wary. Cults would often use bastardized versions of the holy robes to seem more “legitimate” and lure in unsuspecting ponies. “What do you want?”, Stormy said curtly.

“I wish to talk with you. May we move out of the street?”, the stallion said while pointing to a space between two buildings.

Stormy spread her feathers and felt her magic dance between them. She had not been in a fight in nearly thirty years, but the instincts are something that never leaves you. They would still be visible from the street, but with how many ponies there were, the bystander effect could easily kick in. The stallion was a unicorn, and Stormy did raise the second most powerful and the single most stubborn unicorn to ever live. Overall, the odds are just a bit better than 50/50. If it gets fluffy, I’ll bolt. “We may speak, but you have some explaining to do.”

The stallion nodded, and the two of them went between the buildings. Stormy landed up on some crates to put herself a bit further away from the stallion. “Might I say, you are a very powerful pony.”, the stallion said.

“That is no secret, seeing as you sensed me from way up there.” Stormy motioned to the spot she previously occupied in the sky.

“I guess not, but I was talking more specifically. Could you channel some magic into this, please?” The stallion pulled out an affinity gem, a magic device designed to glow if it comes into contact with the magic it resonates with. It’s a part of every foal’s life to determine their affinities. It’s something done as soon as the foal can focus and channel their magic. It’s typical to have two, three is uncommon, and four and up are rare to damn near one of a kind. In large cities, like Canterlot, it’s just a part of school and you go on with your day, but in small towns, like Sire’s Hollow, it’s a big event with a party, especially since there’s usually only one set of gems in the town, owned by the town head.

The gem was physically like any other affinity gem, but the color was flat out wrong. There is no standard cut for these things, but the colors and magic symbols are always the same since they’re effects of the identification magic mixing with whatever magic the gem is to resonate with. A gem being the wrong color is a sign that something went wrong in the creation process and it won’t work. Stormy didn’t recognize the color or symbol. It was see-through, like stained glass, which these gems should not be. The color was a very light blue, most similar to the ice affinity gem but slightly darker. The symbol was most similar to the fire symbol, but there was only one lick of flame instead of three. It kinda looked like a tadpole. “There’s no way this is an affinity gem. They aren’t see-through.”

“This type is. It’s the nature of the magic.”, the stallion assured.

“What are you planning?”

“I am simply looking for others with this extremely rare magic affinity for my organization.”

“So, you’re looking to recruit members for your cult. I can report you to the guard for practicing a dangerous religion.”, Stormy said angrily. This cult is defiling Luna’s garb.

“Cult?” The stallion’s eyes widened as Stormy prepared to bolt. “Wait! No, no, no, no! I am a part of the clergy. I’m just a part of a clandestine sect. Have you ever heard of the Order of the Exorcist?”, the stallion said quickly.

Stormy turned back to him and fixed him with a suspicious gaze. “I have heard rumors. They deal with malevolent spirits, but I’ve never seen one. How do I know you speak the truth?”

“You have an old Air Guard sigil. You can check mine. Yours still works.”

Stormy remained suspicious, but activated her old sigil. As he said, he also had one. It looked odd, but the fact he had one was enough to alleviate her suspicion. It's not just that the princesses were the only ones that knew how to make sigils. They were the only ones that physically could, and only those they’ve given a special sigil to could implant one, making stealing one to implant into yourself impossible. Each sigil created contains a small portion of alicorn magic, not magic of all three tribes, pure alicorn magic. This not only made their guards stronger, it created an unforgeable identification system. "Okay, you are who you say you are. What now, are you going to say I'm some sort of chosen one?", Stormy joked.

“No, it’s possible you have the rarest of all affinities. I just need to check.”

Stormy gave the stallion a funny look but did as he asked. She placed her hoof onto the stone and folded some magic into it. The gem started to glow brightly, and the analytics were projected before them. This was normal and gave the test giver a comprehensive look at somepony’s magic. “So, would you mind telling me what this “rarest affinity” I have is called.”, Stormy more told rather than asked.

“It’s not something we should really discuss in public.”, the stallion said while putting away the gem. “I would like to take you to the Order of the Exorcist Corp headquarters.”

“Wow, you’re already taking me home, and I don’t even know your name.”, Stormy said while mock fanning herself.

“My name is Black Marble.”, he said bluntly, clearly not enjoying that joke.

Stormy bit her tongue in case it decided to get her into trouble again. Oh great, a noble.

“Are you coming?”, Black Marble asked.

“Yeah” Stormy took flight and followed Black through the crowd. “Hey, is this a job interview?”, Stormy asked Black.

“Yes”

Finally. Black led Stormy to the Flash Magnus district, where all the military head offices were. Stormy had many far less flattering names for it including the brass belt, the world’s biggest pile of paper, and the knock before you enter the storage room district. Black led her to the district’s shrine house where there were some ponies praying to the shrines of the various gods. Ponies would pray to Faust for guidance or inspiration, Cracken to bless their creations, Po’hahnd for somepony that had wronged them to be brought to justice, and Cueymn to send a message to their deceased loved ones. Nopony really prayed to the Sisters of Change, but pegasi and earth ponies still leave offerings as thanks for their abilities, and sailors would leave offerings for Pfpustiey in thanks for calm seas. They were also the only gods not to be alicorns. Tstuc has the form of an earth pony with plants growing from her and stone like hooves, Lahnoey has the form of a pegasus with clouds and weather constantly surrounding her body, and Pfpustiey was a water pony monster with a mane and tail made out of lava; you can tell she’s the youngest. Stormy could still see where Princess Luna’s shrine once was. Since she was back on the mortal plane and lived in the castle, she could no longer hear her worshipers’ prayers through the shrine or needed a temporary home when visiting the mortal realm. As such, it was removed.

As Stormy was led to a back room, she placed a carrot on Lahnoey’s shrine then hurried back. Black led her down a flight of stairs and into a conference room. “Welcome, Ms. Flare, to the Order of the Exorcist. We are all ponies that can use soul magic, and that includes you.”

“So, because I have soul magic, you’re going to give me a job?”

“Yes, we will train you to use your magic and fight those who chose to use their soul magic for evil and Equestria’s spiritual enemies.”, Black said in a grandiose fashion.

“Sounds great, but I can’t fight. If you check my records, you’ll see I was honorably discharged because of an injury that has left my hind legs paralyzed.”, Stormy said flatly. If she was twenty-seven-ish years younger, she’d have the same attitude as him, but her faith in the institutions meant to safeguard them was less than whole at this point.

“You seem okay.”, Black said in shock. Stormy pressed the invisibility rune on one of her braces with the tip of a feather, dispelling it. “Oh,- well,- I mean,-” Black stuttered out as he tried to figure out what to say. “Our physical requirements are flexible, and-and-and we’ll make sure to only send you on missions you feel comfortable taking.”

“This won’t affect my pay, right?”, Stormy asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Of course not, you’ll be paid the same as the rest of us, and we actually get paid more than most other branches because of how rare our skill is. Besides, isn’t this more about protecting Equestria and surviving our gods?”

“Yeah, my parents don’t pay me to live in a mansion and look pretty at parties. I love our country, but I need money.”

“Okay, yes, you will be well paid.”

Black told her the pay, and Stormy's ears perked up when she heard the number. “So much gold. I’m in. Ah great, I sound like my ex.”

“Hehe, let’s get your orientation scheduled. Once you complete that, you can be inducted into the order.” With that, Black led Stormy to the clerical desk, and Stormy followed with what passed for a happy skip with braces on. Once the paperwork was done, Stormy flew home as quickly as her wings could carry her.

When she got home, she saw Shadow groggily nursing a cup of coffee. Their sleep schedules were opposite with Shadow sleeping while Stormy worked, and Stormy sleeping while Shadow worked. “Yawn, good evening, beautiful.”, Shadow said.

“Good morning. I may have just gotten a job.”

That got Shadow to perk up. “Really? With who?”

“Have you ever heard of the Order of the Exorcist?”

“He, yeah, knowledge of them was the unofficial mark of greatness in the intel corps. Knowing anything about them, the Order of Emotion, or the Order of the Mind meant you were the best there was. Don’t tell me you were scouted by them.”

“I was.”, Stormy said proudly.

There was a mixture of emotions on Shadow’s face. There was pride, like Stormy expected, but also worry and fear. He also had on his “I have a disturbing theory” face. “This means you have soul magic.”

“I do.”, Stormy said, interested in where he was going.

“Do you think Sunset might have inherited it?”

Oh. “Shadow, Sunset could use all forms of magic. Me having a particularly rare affinity wouldn’t affect that.”

“Sigh, what are we doing?”

“Trying to find our daughter while also trying to continue with our lives, like any parents in our situation.”

“Yeah” Shadow sat up straight in his chair and slammed his hooves onto the table, startling Stormy. “We shouldn’t be a couple of dire downers. You just got a job, and I still have a couple hours before my shift starts. We should be celebrating. I can make you something.”

“Oh, I have an idea of what you can make me.”, Stormy said while shaking her flank.

Shadow gave a goofy smile and hopped out of his chair. “I’ll grab the toys.” Shadow trotted upstairs, and Stormy hopped onto the couch. She removed her braces and placed them where they wouldn’t get damaged. It would take more than a moon to get new ones made or get these ones repaired. Shadow came back down with a variety of toys under his wings. “Do you want to be on top, or should I?”

“I’m feeling good. I’ll be on top.”

Moonshine’s bar

Date: June 7th, time: 12:00 am

*Jiraiya’s perspective*

Jiraiya sat in his seat, listening to the stories of his latest date, and she was interesting. She didn’t do much nowadays, but she used to be a pin-up girl and had all the stories about creeps and weirdos that came along with that.

“So, this guy sat outside my dressing room for over an hour, not realizing I had jumped out the window. One of my security friends told me the rest of the story. So, when they finally decided to get rid of him, he threw a completely hissy fit when he learned I was long gone. The way he described it was so comical. I couldn’t do it justice without making a scene. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the last time I saw him, but he never was able to get within ten feet of me thanks to the big guys.”, Hearty said.

“Hehehe, good riddance.”, Jiraiya said.

“So, where did you grow up?”

“I grew up in a mountain village in Japan. There are just over a thousand people living there. We have a main street that isn’t paved, and everyone lives in their clan’s compound. My father was the clan head, and he died when I was nine. That left my mother and uncle to run the clan until I was old enough.”

“So, who runs the clan now?”

“My daughter, she’s been doing a pretty good job from what I heard.”

“Oh, that sounds interesting. Maybe you can take me home and teach me more about clan politics.”

Picking up on the proposition, Jiraiya paid the tab and offered a hand to Hearty. “I would love to.” Hearty took his hand, and the two strolled out of the bar and into the night.

“Hey, you!”, a gruff voice shouted. Jiraiya and Hearty spun around to see four buff, dodgy men, wearing hoodies, behind them. Calling them unfriendly looking would be apt, and they seemed to have something big in their pockets. Jiraiya pointed a questioning finger at himself. “Yes, you. Ya Jiraiya Katon?”, the lead guy said.

“I am, and you must be Storm goons.” Jiraiya turned to Hearty, who looked frightened by the men. “Run.” Hearty looked to him for some sort of assurance, but he only forcefully turned her, and the two of them booked it. He ran down the first alleyway they passed while Hearty continued straight, and as expected, the goons followed him. He ran down the alley, across the quiet street, and down another alley before making a sharp left and running down the block, his destination, the police station. Jiraiya may have been getting older, but being married to an immortal, magical entity has its benefits, and he was still rather fast. He was able to keep ahead of the younger men and reach the police station. He ran into the station and barely slowed down as he approached the counter.

“Sir, can I help you?”, the front desk officer asked. She seemed to be confused and annoyed by Jiraiya’s actions, most likely expecting him to merely be intoxicated. The other officers, working at their desks behind her, who bothered to look at them, had similar expressions.

“Four men are after me.”, Jiraiya said quickly. The officer seemed skeptical and opened her mouth to speak, presumably to assure him he was safe and take him to a holding cell, but was cut off by the doors slamming open and glass shattering. Jiraiya spun around to see the four men standing in the entryway, surrounded by the remains of the glass doors, with pale faces, seemingly just realizing where they just entered and broke the doors of. Jiraiya turned back to the stunned desk officer with a vindicated smile on his face. “That’s them.”

The men hightailed it out of there, and most of the officers chased after them, leaving only Jiraiya, the desk officer, and a handful of other officers in the station. “Sir, would you mind coming back and giving a statement?”, the desk officer asked.

“Of course, I just need to text my date.”

“Okay, follow me, sir.” The desk officer led Jiraiya to the station’s interview room while he pulled out his phone.

Hey, you okay?

Am I okay? Jiraiya, what was that? Are
you okay?

I’m fine. My son is a state prosecutor, and those

men are none too happy about his latest project.

Where are you?

I made it to a police station. I did enjoy the night.

I would like to try again soon.

Alright, maybe sometime next week.

That would be lovely. I have to go, but I'll call

you later.

Jiraiya put his phone away and faced the desk officer, who sat on the opposite side of the table from him. The officer had an incident report form, notepad, and pen in front of her. “So sir, let’s start with your name.”

“My name is Jiraiya Katon. Those men are members of the Storm gang. My son is a state prosecutor and is trying to expose those within the police force that are on Storm’s payroll. They have already made similar attacks on my son and daughter-in-law.”

“Alright, would you please write down what happened in as much detail as possible.” The desk officer handed Jiraiya the form and pen, and he put everything from that night down as well as contact information. He handed the completed form back to her, and she took it without really looking at it, just making sure it was filled out properly. “Thank you, sir. You’re free to go.” The desk officer got up and exited the interview room, leaving Jiraiya to his devices.

Jiraiya left the station, thankful to have worn his safety boots when stepping over the remains of the doors that were still being cleaned up, and decided to walk home. There were still several hours before he had to go to bed, but he didn’t want to be caught outside if they decided they really wanted him.

Katon family home

Date: June 14th, time: 9:00 am

*Brigid’s perspective*

“Do ya have y’r gun?”, Brigid asked.

“Yes Mom, I have my gun.”, Sunset said, slightly irritated.

“Do ya two have y’r guns?”

“Yes honey, we have our guns and all of our other weapons.”, Anzhong assured.

“I may not like guns, but I will do whatever I need to in order to protect my grandchildren.”, Jiraiya said.

“Do ya have y’r gun n’ permit?”

“Yes, they’re under my jacket and in my wallet. Brigid, we’ll be fine. The girls will be fine. You remember the response from the neighbors when Buck was yelling at the cop.”, Minerva said.

“Ugh, Ah know. Ah can’t help it. Maybe we should cancel.”

“Mom, effin’ go.”, Emi said. “Don’t stop this tradition just because some doofus isn’t willing to put on his big girl panties.”

“Hehe, okay, I’ll go.”

Brigid and Minerva headed out to the car and got in. Minerva pulled out her plaque and put it on the dashboard, and they got under way. This is their yearly tradition to commemorate them truly meeting, i.e. the day Minerva put down her emotional armor and gun. What exactly they did on this day wasn’t important, so long as they spent it together. Brigid drove them to the mall and headed to the disabled parking spots.

“There’s a spot we can park.”, Minerva pointed out.

“But dat’s not a disabled spot.”

“I’m not that disabled. I don’t need the loading bay.”

“Okay” Brigid pulled into the spot, and she and Minerva headed inside. “So, wha’ do ya wanna do?”

“A movie would be nice, but we should get some snacks from a store first.”

“Isn’t dat not allowed?”

“I worked there during college, and we were paid poorly. No doubt it’s only gotten worse with those damn baby boomers in office. So long as we don’t leave a mess or make it obvious, they won't care. Also, my boss used to make us dump the popcorn in trash bags, clean the popcorn maker, then put the popcorn back in the popcorn maker, and then sell it as fresh popcorn the next day.”

“Okay and ew.”

The two of them headed to the theater and began looking at the movies being shown.

“Oh, Baleful, that might be good.”, Minerva suggested.

“Ah don’t think Sunset would be too happy with us watchin’ da newest horror movie without ‘er.”

“Hm, fair.”

“Wha’ ‘bout dat one?”

“I was over there. I don’t need to see a movie about it.”

“Okay.”

“What about The Dusk Saga?”

“Sunset described da first movie as two n’ a half hours a’ ‘er life she’ll neve’ get back. Ah’m wonderin’ how it got a sequel.”

“Hehe, there are a lot of people with horrible taste out there.”

“Clearly... Oh, The Three Fools?”, Brigid asked.

“Sure, I could use a laugh. There’s a showing in twenty minutes.”

Brigid and Minerva got in line and waited their turn. It was still early, so the lines were short. Brigid paid for the tickets, and they then headed to a food store.

“So, wha’ do ya wanna eat? I’m tryin’ ta watch me weight.”

“You seem fine to me.”

“It took me four seconds ta chase afte’ dat Storm goon. Ah’m gettin’ fat.”

“I’ll take your word on it. So, what about that place? It has some good looking stuff, but I don’t know about healthy.”

“Sure.”

Brigid and Minerva entered the store and began looking around the store. Brigid grabbed some trail mix, jerky, and yogurt covered pretzels while Minerva grabbed more traditional movie snacks.

“Oh yeah, that’s real healthy.”, Minerva teased.

“Healthier dan wha’ ya got.”, Brigid teased back.

The two of them paid for their snacks, stuffed them into their pockets, and hurried to catch their movie. They made it in as the previews were playing. Due to Brigid’s size, they always tried to sit as far back as they could. It was rare for them to not be able to sit in the furthest back row as people are weird and like to sit near the front. Brigid could never understand that. Even she needed to crane her head up to see anything. Not having the answers, she just leaned back and got ready to enjoy the movie.

The movie began, and Minerva and Brigid took their snacks out. Some of the antics in the movie were funny, but a lot of them made Brigid’s mom-stincts flare up, and she could see the same was true for Minerva. They watched the film without incident and, overall, enjoyed it. They didn't stick around for the credits as neither of them really cared that much and Brigid can't read that fast. As they left the theater, Brigid noticed something. “Hey Minerva, why isn’t dere any‘hin’ keepin’ us from jus’ walkin’ inta anothe’ movie?”

“I don’t actually know, but my guess is that they aren’t losing money when someone does that, so long as they aren’t sold out. Plus, the real money’s in the concessions.”

“Ah guess dat works.”

Brigid and Minerva headed out and began looking for what to do next.

“You know, I used to love The Three Fools, but now, some of their antics, eh-”

“Ah know wha’ ya mean. Becomin’ a mum changes ya.”

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Katon family home

Date: same day, time: 11:00 am

*Jiraiya’s perspective*

Jiraiya sat on the window chair in one of the offices as he looked out over the street. He held one of Anzhong’s guns in his hands. He had never liked guns, even before the war. They’re so loud and too good at killing people, but now, he might need to use one to protect his family.

Knock knock knock

“Come in.”, Jiraiya said. Anzhong entered the room and walked over to where Jiraiya was sitting. “Oh, if you need me to leave, I can.”, Jiraiya said, switching to Japanese.

“No, I wanted to talk to you.”, Anzhong also said in Japanese, then took a seat on the other side of the seat. “Are you alright?”,

“Are you talking about me having to use a gun?”

“Yes, and you being attacked.”

“I am willing to do what I need to. Those men started this by attacking my kids, and we are going to finish it, one way or another. If I have to use a gun for that, I will. As far as being attacked, I wasn’t fake laughing when I told you the story.”

“That’s good. What are you doing up here?”

“Watching the street for suspicious vehicles.”

Anzhong said nothing for a while, and Jiraiya started to wonder if he had heard something before he spoke again. “Are you disappointed in my choice of carrier?”

Jiraiya took a moment to find the right way to say it before he spoke. “I do wish you chose a carrier that didn’t put you in the crosshairs of such terrible people, but I am not disappointed. I understand why you chose your path, and I am proud of you for that.”

“Thank you.” Anzhong stood up and turned to leave but stopped. “Lunch will be ready in an hour.” Anzhong headed back out, and Jiraiya resumed watching the street.

Jiraiya looked back down at the gun. A gun was an impersonal way to kill someone. You can do it without being anywhere near the person. You don’t have to look the person in the eye as you kill them. “A coward's weapon but an effective one.”

Ribbon Tailoring

Date: June 17th, time: 1:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Brigid pulled into the curb, and after Anzhong kissed her, Sunset, Anzhong, and Kiba hopped out of the car and entered the tailoring shop. Inside was Royal Ribbon, the daughter of the owners and next in line to take over the business. Due to Brigid’s size and Anzhong’s oddly shaped body, your normal store doesn’t have clothing that would fit them. Anzhong is an average height for a Japanese man at 5’ 7” and only about 135 lbs and rather slim, but he has long legs and a short torso. Even pants with extra long legs would leave almost half his calf showing if he didn’t wear boots, and most shirts are too long for him to comfortably tuck in and would make him look right at home in ancient Greece. Brigid, on the other hand, is 6’ 8” and 240 lbs with broad shoulders, even by men’s standards, and what you would call ‘child bearing hips’. She can’t find anything close to fitting in your average clothing store, even in the men’s section. Anzhong approached the front desk, and Sunset went to sit down with her game in hand.

“This is tighter than you normally ask for.”, Royal said.

“Yes, I’m going to be presenting to a rather - stringent judge. To borrow my coworkers' words, “He’s a jackass”. - No offense intended, Sunset.”

“None taken.” Sunset lifted her head to see Royal had a confused look on her face. “I’m part mule.”, Sunset clarified.

Royal still looked confused for about a second before realization dawned on her. “Haha, yeah, that tracks. By the way, you’re going to be in high school soon, and I know from my own experience that having well fitting clothing is very helpful with high school politics.”

“I got that covered.”

“Okay”

Anzhong and Royal finished the transactions, and he, Kiba, and Sunset exited the shop and began walking down the street. The Ribbons’ shop was located in the more industrial part of town, near the docks, with warehouses, fisheries, and other such establishments. An interesting aspect of this area was all the hole-in-the-wall eateries. Many of them sell fish they get straight from the harbor. Mm, fish, I’m hungry. “Dad, can we get something to eat?”

“I don’t see why not.”

The three of them turned to head to where more of the restaurants and pubs are. The closer they got to the sea, the more salt and smell of fish filled the air. Even as inland as they live, you could catch a hint of salt on a windy day. The sea air reminded her of times she would have missions near a beach and could go fishing. She would bring her bounty back to Spitfire, who rarely got to go anywhere near Equestria’s borders. Dad sure could fry a good filet, even if it doesn’t really compare to humanity’s recipes.

The three of them reached the street with most of the restaurants, and Sunset looked around for one she liked. Fishy, fishy, fishy. One of the signs in front of one of the pubs said “Husband daycare, please pick them up before dark”.

“Hehe”

“What’s so funny?”

“Just one of the signs.”

“Hm, I have a place we can go. Care to follow?”

“Alright”

Anzhong led Sunset down the streets, but as they started to turn a corner, Sunset got a bad feeling in her stomach. It could be described as a pit in her stomach, but it felt more like a piece of it just stopped existing. Sunset grabbed Anzhong’s coat and pulled him back.

“What’s wrong?”, Anzhong asked worriedly.

“We shouldn’t go that way.”

“Why not?”

“Bad feeling, very bad feeling.”

“Okay, we’ll go around.” Anzhong turned away from the corner, and the feeling in Sunset’s gut lessened but not gone away. Anzhong led them further down the street until they got to another corner. “Are we safe now?”

Sunset stepped around the corner and didn’t feel that feeling getting stronger, but it still didn’t go away. “Yeah, but we should still be careful.”

“Good, walk quickly but don’t run. We’re just normal people, taking a normal walk.” Anzhong assumed a protective posture around Sunset, and the three were underway again. Sunset kept all her scenes on the lookout for whatever caused that feeling, but all the stimuli was quickly becoming overwhelming. Anzhong noticed this, put his hand on Sunset’s shoulder, and got them to the restaurant as quickly as possible.

As soon as they were inside, Sunset reigned her senses back in. That fucking sucked. The three of them took a table away from the windows, and the waiter came with their menus soon after.

“Can I get you started off with any drinks?”, the waiter asked.

“Just some tea for me.”, Anzhong said.

“Same for me.”, Sunset said.

“Alrighty then, I’ll bring them right out.”

The waiter left them, and Sunset began looking over the menu. It wasn’t in braille, so she would have to read it for Anzhong. “This looks good. It’s grilled mackerel with rice and sauce.”

“It does. Would you like that?”

“Yes”

“Alright”

The waiter returned with their tea and placed two cups with the pot in front of them. “Are you ready to order?”

“Yes, we would both like the grilled mackerel.”

“Alright, that will be ready soon.” The waiter wrote down their order and left them again.

“Do you have any idea what caused your bad feeling?”, Anzhong asked.

“No idea, I just got this horrible feeling. I just knew we were in danger.”, Sunset answered. Anzhong got this look on his face that meant he had a theory. “You think it was Storm.”

“That’s a possibility, but it also could've been a truck for all we know.”

“But you think it was Storm.”

“That’s not important right now. Let’s just enjoy our lunch.”

Sunset glared at Anzhong but didn’t press it further. He could be just as stubborn as the rest of them, especially when it comes to divulging information.

Katon family home

Date: June 18th, time: 3:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset heard Minerva’s car coming down the street, and she headed out of her room to greet her, and she was hoping to see it. Minerva soon came in through the door, and Anura and Emi bounded down the stairs, followed by Tomiju.

“Is it finished?”, Anura asked.

“Yes, it is.”, Minerva answered.

“Can we see it?”, Sunset asked.

“They said I should keep it covered.”

“As long as ya ain’t gettin’ it dirty, it should be fine f’r a showin’.”, Brigid said, coming down the stairs.

“Alright.” Minerva removed the plastic wrap dressing, revealing her first tattoo. It was a small one on her left bicep of the moon and torches of Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft. It would take less time to list the spells her symbolism was not involved in, especially protection and divination spells. She’s considered the protector of those neglected or abandoned. “My pre-accident mother would’ve freaked if she saw this.”

“Ah thought ya said y’r fathe’ has a state guard tattoo.”, Brigid asked.

“My mother would’ve said it was unlady-like, but she also would’ve said having a child without a man would lead to the child being ill behaved and deviant. So, what does she know?” That got Emi to cackle like a fox, and Anura to look between Emi and her mom with a ‘ya seeing this’ look. “Precisely”, Minerva said flatly.

“When can I get my first tattoo?”, Emi asked.

“When y’re olde’. It’s a painful process. Plus, it’s not legal ta tattoo someone before dey’re at least sixteen.”, Brigid said.

“Aw, poo.”

“Now, Sunset, time ta get ready.”

Sunset groaned as she knew where they were going. “I’ll grab my shoes.” Sunset grabbed her shoes from the front door rack, and she and Brigid walked to the back door.

“Kiba, Tomiju, Ailbhe, time ta go.”, Brigid called out. Kiba and Ailbhe soon came bounding down the stairs, and Tomiju pranced over as Brigid and Sunset got their shoes on. Brigid grabbed their leashes and harnesses, and they headed to the car. The animals loaded into the back as Sunset and Brigid sat in the front. Brigid pulled out of the garage, and a look of realization and horror spread across Kiba’s face, no girls and no Dad, not good. Tomiju looked out the windows with excitement, and Ailbhe just didn’t care.

Brigid drove them to the dog groomer, and Sunset and Brigid brought the critters inside. They were none too happy but didn’t fight it. Brigid checked them in while Sunset looked at the harnesses and leads, just doing stuff to keep herself busy. They had some nice colors, but none of them were really special.

Brigid tapped Sunset on the shoulder, signaling it was time to go and for Sunset’s torture to commence. The two of them hopped back into the car, and Brigid drove them to the dentist office. Dr. Ezio Namil’s office was located in an office complex in Canterville. Sunset liked him, as far as dentists go. Not a high bar, but it was something. He would say stuff like “I became a dentist because I like to make children cry”. It appealed to Sunset’s growing sense of dark humor.

Brigid brought Sunset to his office and let her hang out in the waiting room as she signed her in. There were some younger kids playing with the toys the office provided. Sunset pulled out her phone as Brigid sat down and texted Flash.

Hey, how are things going down in yeehaw land?

Hot, things are very hot. In case you’re
wondering why some people down here are
so stupid, it’s because their brains are boiling
inside their skulls.

They teach ya to fire a gun yet?

Oh yeah, they have. Where are you?

Dentist

That sucks

Could be worse, I could be boiling inside my skull.

Touché

“Sunset Shimmer.”, one of the ladies called out. Sunset wasn’t sure what her job title was, but her regular hospital equivalent was ‘nurse’, so Sunset just called them that.

Gotta go

Sunset didn’t wait for Flash’s response and headed in. The nurse brought her back to one of the rooms where more waiting commenced. Dr. Namil wasn’t too bad, but this wasn’t always something that could be helped.

“Hello, Sunset.”, Dr. Namil said as he came in. He’s a Chilean man in his sixties that came to the US just a couple decades ago.

“Hey, Doc.”

That’s all they said to each other before Dr. Namil got to work. Sunset was there for a simple teeth cleaning, but as simple as it is, it’s not pleasant. Sunset’s eye twitched as he scratched at her teeth, but it, fortunately, didn’t take long.

“Huh, you actually do floss. Either that or I’m not doing this hard enough.”, Dr. Namil said.

“Of course, I do. Who wouldn’t?”, Sunset asked, confusedly.

“Well, most kids your age don’t.”

Sunset was confused at first but then remembered that she wasn’t a kid. “Oh, right. Am I done?”

“All done. Oh, but before you go.” Dr. Namil turned around and pulled out one of the draws of the cabinet and grabbed something from within before turning back around. “Here, take these. They won’t let me order more in less ugly colors until I get rid of these.” Dr. Namil handed Sunset a handful of toothbrushes, and they were pretty ugly colors.

“Thanks”, Sunset said purely so Brigid wouldn’t admonish her for being rude. Sunset was led back to the waiting room, and Brigid took her out to the car and drove them to the shopping center with the groomers.

Sunset hopped out of the car as soon as they parked and headed to the groomers. As she got to the doors, she looked back and realized Brigid wasn’t there. Sunset panicked, fearing that Storm had gotten her, and frantically looked around for her mother.

“Sunset!”

Sunset snapped her head in the direction of the sound and saw Brigid waving her down. Sunset ran over and practically tackled her as she hugged her.

“Woah, are ya okay?”, Brigid asked.

“You scared me.”, Sunset said, muffled by Brigid’s body.

Brigid stroked Sunset’s hair for a bit before finally speaking. “Ah’m sorry, baby.” Brigid continued comforting Sunset until she was calmed down and she pulled away from her body. Brigid crouched down to look Sunset in the eye. “Tell me what happened.”, Brigid said in a caring but commanding tone. Sunset looked away from Brigid, embarrassed how freaked out she got. “Sunset”

“I-I was worried Storm got you.”

Brigid pulled Sunset in and resumed stroking her hair. “It’s okay, Sunset. Loyalist soldiers couldn’t take me down. A bunch a’ misguided boys won’t either.”

A bunch a’ misguided boys with guns. One lucky shot and you’ll be lucky to be alive. This needs to be stopped. Crush the head of the snake. A sinking feeling formed in the pit of her stomach. She didn’t have her magic or her army, but she still had people to protect. She was scared. “Please, don’t do anything stupid and don’t die.”, Sunset muttered.

“Not plannin’ on it. Now, Ah was plannin’ on pickin’ up some stuff from ‘ere before we have ta drag around a bunch a’ critters. Are ya up f’r dat?”

Sunset pulled back from Brigid and looked towards the store they were in front of. They stood in front of one of those convenience drug stores with the ice cream (bribery) bar inside. “Yeah, okay, but can we get ice cream?”, Sunset asked as she turned back to Brigid.

Brigid smiled at her as she stood back up to her full height. “Okay, we need ta be quick though.” Brigid held out her hand out for Sunset, which she took. The two of them headed in, and Brigid grabbed a basket and went to get her stuff.

Sunset quickly got bored so looked around at everything else. One of the products caught Sunset’s eye. She let go of Brigid and went over to investigate. The product consisted of a couple ear plugs and a metal tube. Sunset turned it around and found the product description. It was designed to reduce the amount of noise that entered the ear without completely blocking it out.

Recommended for people with sensitive hearing. That sentence intrigued Sunset, and she grabbed three of them. She headed to where her mother was now and presented her find to her. “Hey, Mom, look at what Ah found.”

Brigid turned to Sunset and looked at what she was holding. “Wha’ are dose?”

“They’re things designed to help people with sensitive hearing by reducing the amount of sound entering the ear. I was thinking this could help Dad, Emi, and me.”, Sunset said while handing one of them to Brigid.

Brigid took it and examined the product. “Dis looks good, but Ah’ not sure y’r fathe’ would use ‘em.”

“Why?”

“He needs ta always be aware a’ his surroundin’s, n’ dat means keepin’ his ears open.”

“What about times like during the thunderstorm?”

“Hm, true. Okay, let’s ask him, when we get home.” Brigid took the rest of the packages from Sunset and placed them in her basket. “Ah’m almost done. Why don’t ya head ta da ice cream bar n’ decide on da flavors ya want.”

“Okay,” Sunset headed to the front of the store and looked at the available flavors the bar had to offer. She was familiar with all of them but only liked a few. If there were three things Equestria did better than America, they were marriage and gender equality and ice cream. Equestrian ice cream was higher quality, and the flavors were richer. Unfortunately, the amount and intensity of Equestrian sugar in Equestrian sweets would challenge even the legendary sugar fueled Pinkie Pie, if not make her out right puke. Human bodies simply can’t handle that level of sugar.

Cotton candy, bleck. Sherbet, yack. Sunset turned to the less pastel-ly colored options that taste less like a frozen 2-to-1 syrup to milk concoction. She passed over any flavor with nuts in it as eating frozen nuts was like trying to chomp down on a block of fresh ice. Should I have salted caramel with cookies n’ cream or strawberry with mango?

“Ya picked out y’r flavors yet?”, Brigid asked.

“Picking ice cream flavors is a serious decision that takes time.”

“He, okay. Here, Ah might have an easier decision f’r ya.” Brigid pulled out six wallets from her basket and placed them on the counter. “Which one do ya like?”

Sunset walked over and examined them. They were all black but different styles. “Uh, I don’t think these fit you.”

“Ah mean f’r ya. Dey have other colors, if ya want.”

“Oh,” Sunset looked at them closer and examined their features, considering what she would need and how they looked. “I like this one.”, Sunset said while holding up her chosen wallet.

“Alright,” Brigid grabbed the other wallets and placed her basket on the counter, “ya start ringin’ dese up while Ah put dese back.”

Brigid left Sunset to be the adult, and Sunset scooted the basket towards the cashier. The dead looking cashier began ringing the stuff up, and Sunset went back to choosing her flavors.

“What flavors would you like?”, the cashier asked in a dead voice.

“Yeah, I would like salted caramel and cookies n’ cream on a sugar cone.”

The cashier got the requested cone and scooped the requested flavors. The scoops were not as big compared to her as when Sunset was first treated to ice cream, but that just means she gets two scoops now. The cashier handed Sunset her ice cream as Brigid returned.

“Good, ya got y’r ice cream.” Brigid approached the register and pulled out her wallet. The cashier and Brigid finished the transaction, and she and Sunset packed up and headed to the groomers. Brigid walked up the counter, with the bag on her arm, as Sunset sat in one of the seats, and spoke to the front desk lady. “We’re here ta pick up Kiba, Ailbhe, n’ Tomiju.”

“Alright, we’ll bring them out.”

Brigid stepped away from the counter and stood as she waited. Sunset continued enjoying her ice cream as all this was going on. The critters were soon brought out on their leads. Sunset got up and joined her mother. Brigid placed Ailbhe on her shoulders and took Kiba. Despite being bigger, Kiba was easier to manage. Sunset took Tomiju, and they headed out to the car.

“Mom, would you ever like ta visit Equestria, legally?”

“Yeah, Ah would love ta see Equestria and relentlessly tease n’ remind da princess dat Ah bested ‘er.”, Brigid said proudly.

“Oh, now that would be entertaining.”

Reads family home

Date: June 20th, time: 3:00 pm

*Minerva’s perspective*

Beep beep beep

Minerva silenced her phone and began packing up and got her legs back on to pick up Anura. Once she got everything, Minerva headed out to her car and started it up, but as she did, it made an alarming, expensive sounding sound. Minerva popped the hood and got out to check the engine. She knew little about cars, but something within the engine was clearly broken. She placed her hand over her mouth, trying to figure out what to do. This wasn’t surprising, the car was old when Brigid bought it, but Minerva didn’t have a backup plan.

“Is everything okay?”

Minerva leaned over to see around the car and saw Rosie walking up to her. “Hello, Rosie, and no, my car broke. Hey, you built planes back in the day. Could you take a look?”

“Sorry, sweetie. I just bolted slabs of metal together. I didn’t touch the engines.”

“Sigh, I guess I’ll have to call a taxi. Ugh, that’s going to be a fortune, assuming it arrives.”

“Isn’t Brigid home?”

Minerva shook her head. “No, Brigid is at the hospital with Sunset and Emi, and I need to go pick up Anura.”

“Well, there will be no need for you to get a taxi. I have a car that my husband and I can no longer drive. You can have it.”

“Thank you, I’ll bring it back with a full tank.”

“No, I mean you can keep it. Neither my husband nor I can use it.”

“Thank you, I’ll grab my che-”

“Nope, no money. You just come with me and take it. You’re doing us a favor by taking it. Now, don’t dilly-dally. I’m not getting any younger.” Rosie began to turn around and walk back to her house.

Minerva was about to follow but then realized something. “I’ll be right over. I need to grab some things.”, Minerva called out. She quickly grabbed her information from her glovebox, disabled placard from her dashboard, and then headed to her trunk. She grabbed her emergency bag from the back, which contained a device she expected would be needed.

With insurance, placard, and bag in hand, Minerva headed after Rosie. Rosie’s walk was slow and methodical. Even Minerva was able to quickly catch up with her driving foot, which caused a pronounced limp.

“What’s with the funny walk?”, Rosie asked.

“I have my driving foot on. It makes it easier to drive but harder to walk.”

“What makes it different from your normal foot?”

“My driving foot has a stiff ankle. My normal foot has a hydraulic ankle to allow for more natural movement.”

“Sounds expensive.”

“Very.”

Rosie led Minerva into her house, grabbed her car keys, and then brought them out to the garage. The car was by no means pretty, but it also wasn’t ugly. It was dark green and kinda boxy but not an actual box car. Rosie got in and started up the engine, or rather tried.

“Pop the hood. This I know how to fix.”, Minerva said. Rosie complied, and Minerva pulled out her battery jump pack. It was small, but you didn’t want its load getting pumped into you. Minerva opened the garage door, hooked up the batteries, and gave it a minute. “Okay, try it now.”

Rosie tried it again, and the car started. “How’d you do that?”

Minerva unhooked the jumper pack, closed the hood, and lifted it up to show it to Rosie. It’s called a battery jump pack. You only need to be stranded in the desert once to not ever want to do that again.”, Minerva said as she walked over to Rosie then placed it back into her bag.

“I wish we had those when I was your age.” Rosie carefully rose out of the car and got out of Minerva’s way. Minerva glided in and put everything where it needed to go. “Before you go, there is one thing you could help me with.”

“Sure, anything.”

“My daughter is flying back in on the twenty-sixth and needs a ride home. Could you pick her up?”

“Of course, what time does she come in?”

“Her flight is due to come in at twenty-one hundred hours.”

“I’ll be there.”

“Thank you.” With that, Rosie stepped back and let Minerva get underway.

Okay, I need to schedule a trip to the DMV and a dealership. This car has - okay, not bad, but the age is a concern. Hm, I don’t want to push it. Okay, let’s see. How much do I have in there? I’ll need to wait until I’m on my computer for this. Minerva turned her attention fully to the road as she pulled out from the alley and onto the street.

Katon family backyard

Date: June 21st, time: 2:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset, Emi and Anura played in the backyard while Brigid gardened. Running around wasn’t much of an option for Emi anymore, so they were playing more subdued games. Brigid didn’t really care what they did, even playing video games, so long as they were in the sun. Sunset guessed it was so they don’t become vitamin D deficient vampires.

“Aah, crap!”, Brigid swore.

“You okay?”, Sunset asked.

“Yeah, Ah jus’ nearly grabbed some poison ivy.”

“What’s that?”, Emi asked. Sunset was curious too. She’d never heard of such a thing on Earth or Equoes. Anura was paying attention too.

“It’s a plant ya shouldn’t touch, but ya don’t need to worry ‘bout it. Ah jus’ need ta get da right tools ta take care of it.” Brigid got up from the ground and went into the garage.

Sunset got up as well and went over to the plant. It didn’t look special and was quite small. Sunset reached out to touch it, but Emi spoke up. “Mom said we aren’t supposed to touch that.”

Sunset scoffed. “How bad can it be if it can grow in our own backyard?”

“I’m gonna tell.”, Emi said in a sing-song voice. Sunset rolled her eyes, reached down, and rubbed a leaf between her fingers. It had this gross oil on it, and she whipped it off on her jacket. Before Brigid could return, Sunset hurried back over to their game. “You’re gonna get in trouble.”, Emi taunted. Sunset flicked Emi in the forehead. “Hey” Brigid soon came out of the garage, wearing a long-sleeve shirt and heavy duty gloves. “Mom! Sunset touched da poison Ivy!”, Emi yelled.

Brigid’s head shot up from the glove she was fiddling with. There was shock and fear in her eyes as she bolted over to Sunset and scooped her up. Brigid carried Sunset inside, not even taking off her shoes, and over to the sink. She grabbed the rubbing alcohol from under the sink and poured some on a paper towel. Sunset was thoroughly freaked out now. Am I going to die? What is this stuff?

“Sunset, where did da oil get?”, Brigid asked.

“Just on my first three fingers.”, Sunset said while holding up her right hand. “But I wiped it off on my jacket.”

Brigid wiped her hand down and removed her jacket. “Did ya touch any‘hin’ else?”

Sunset’s eyes widened in horror as she remembered. “I touched Emi.” Brigid ran back outside, and Sunset felt like she was going to throw up. She might be responsible for her and Emi’s death. Brigid came back inside carrying Emi, with Anura following them.

“Nice going.”, Emi chided. Brigid repeated what she did with Sunset’s hand to Emi’s forehead.

“Ar-are we going to die?”, Sunset asked, horror clear in her voice.

“Wha’-? Oh, no. Ya ain’t gonna die, but ya ain’t gonna have a good time.”

“Wha’? What do you mean?”

“Da symptoms a’ poison ivy are itching n’ blisters, among othe’s. Either way, y’re not gonna have a good time.”

“Oh, but I don’t feel anything.”

“Give it a couple days.”, Brigid said.

Outside Canterlot Prosecution Office

Date: same day, time: 5:10 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid pulled over next to the sidewalk, where Anzhong and Kiba were waiting for her. Brigid rolled down her window and leaned out to let him know it was her. “Need a ride?”

“Hello, Brigid.” Anzhong let Kiba into the back seat then got in himself.

Brigid pulled away and began their drive home. “Sunset’s entered ‘er rebellious phase.”, Brigid said in that semi-funny way that only exasperated parents can.

“Oh, joy. What’d she do?”

“She touched poison ivy after Ah told ‘er not to den touched Emi.”

“Great, two kids with ivy poisoning. If my childhood is anything to go by, these next few years are going to be long.”, Anzhong remarked. Brigid let out a snort and quickly returned her attention to the road. She just counted themselves lucky that they wouldn’t be raising a rebellious teen in a warzone, like her parents had to.

Later into their drive, the Amber alert sound came from their phones. A pit formed in Brigid’s stomach at the idea of a child being taken. Anything involving children just hits differently after becoming a parent. She couldn’t help but think ‘what if that was one of her girls’. Brigid couldn’t look down at her phone, but she didn’t need to. Anzhong’s phone read out the message. “Amber Alert Canterville, Maine: black SUV. Last seen driving away from Canterville Plaza.”

“Gee, could dey be any more vague? Dat’s da second most common car on da road.”

“People don’t tend to be great at remembering details under stressful situations.”

“Ah know, but even we fit dat profile. Our car is a black SUV.”

“Oh”

Katon family home

Date: June 24th, time: 12:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Ya still don’t feel any‘hin’?” Brigid held Sunset’s hand, closely examining it.

“Nothing, no rash, itching, or swelling.”, Sunset said.

“Huh, Ah guess y’re immune ta poison ivy.”

“How can I be immune to a poison that I’ve never encountered before?”

“Despite da name, it ain’t actually poisonous. It’s more of a species wide allergy. Our bodies ove’ react ta da oil da plant produces. Only fifteen percent a’ da population are immune.”

“So, maybe because I wasn’t born human, I’m immune to it.”

“Dat’s a good theory, but we’d need a bigge’ sample size.”

“Not fair, that’s not fair.”, Emi complained. Sunset looked over to Emi, who was sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the dining room table with her arms crossed and a sour look on her face. She started showing symptoms two days ago and now had a red dot on her forehead. It was small but was still itchy. Brigid treated it with some sort of cream and covered it with a band aid so Emi wouldn’t scratch at it.

“Yeah, it ain’t, but dat’s where we become proactive n’ make it fair.” Brigid turned back to Sunset with a look that was way too similar to Celestia making a royal decree for someone from bumfuck nowhere. “Since y’re immune ta poison ivy, y’ll be da one responsible f’r handlin’ all poison ivy in da future.”

Sunset grumbled to herself in response to having more responsibilities but also had to concede that it was logical. “Fine, I can do that.”

“Good, because we got a patch on da side a’ da house.” Brigid got up from her seat and headed to the back door. Sunset groaned but got up to follow. Brigid took Sunset out to the garage, showed her where the black garbage bags were and where to put everything when she was done, grabbed one, some gloves, and a hand shovel, and brought Sunset out to the wall that connected her bedroom wall. “Wha’ ya need ta do is get every part a’ da pant in da bag. Dat includes da roots.”

“Yeah yeah, fine.”, Sunset said irritatedly. She took the bag and shovel, put on the gloves, and crouched over the plant.

“Make sure ta wash y’r hands well.”, Brigid said as she walked off.

“Grumble grumble grumble, Ah thought there were child labor laws in this country. I’m not even getting paid.” Sunset yanked out the ivy and dug up the roots and placed it all in the garbage bag. After putting as much of the dirt back in the hole and padding it flat, she brought the bag to the trash can, but as she lifted the lid, a thought came to her. I’m immune to this stuff, but Lily likely isn’t. Sunset grabbed a handful of ivy and entered the garage. She grabbed a plastic shopping bag and placed the ivy inside. Sunset placed the gloves and shovel in the bag Brigid instructed her to and hid the ivy bag behind some boxes. “Now, to plan my attack.”

Out front Canterlot Airport

Date: June 26th, time: 9:05 pm

*Minerva’s perspective*

Minerva pulled into the passenger loading and unloading bay and waited for the next wave of passengers to exit. A mixture of vacationers, New York business types, and a couple returning soldiers exited the airport with various types of bags trailing behind them and slung over their shoulders. People either got into taxis, shuttles, or the cars of those picking them up, thinning the crowd enough for Minerva to spot Long Shot.

All of her limbs looked to be all there, and her face was intact, say for a very notable cut on her cheek that still had its stitches in and would likely scar. She had a desert tan and looked like a feminine version of her father with her strong features and blond on blond hair that was well on its way to gray. Even her cut is in a near identical location to one of her father’s. Then again, he had so many that any cut could easily be in a similar place. From the pictures Minerva had been shown, the only visible part of her that resembled her mother was her ‘I ain’t taking no crap’, blue eyes, but she couldn’t see them now as she was wearing shades. Along with the typical bags you’d see a returning soldier carrying, she had what looked to be a camera bag.

As Long arrived, Minerva unlocked the doors with an audible click. Long threw her bags into the back seat and then joined Minerva in the front. “You must be, hold on,” Long pulled out her phone for a moment before turning back to Minerva, “right, Minerva. My mom said you’d be taking me home.”

“Yeah, that’s me.” Minerva pulled out of the loading bay and started them on the way home. Minerva stole glances at Long whenever she could, who seemed to be lost in thought. Although she didn’t have much physical damage, that said nothing of her mental state. “So, what are your plans, or are you still working on that?”

“Oh, um, I plan on readjusting to civilian life with my parents for a while then move down to New York. My brother runs a photography business down there, and he offered me a job.”, Long said while shifting uncomfortably.

“That’s great. Adjusting back into civilian life isn’t easy but having friends and family and a job definitely helps.”, Minerva said with a smile.

“Were you armed forces?” Long seemed more comfortable now and perked up a bit.

“Yeah, I was a part of the initial invasion of Iraq. I started out as cyber security but then nine eleven happened. I take it you were a war photographer.”

“Yeah, I was. It wasn’t easy. You can’t really do much. I know that I was keeping everyone informed of what was going on and giving faces to the tragedy, but I could never help but feel like I should be doing more for those people.”

“I get that. So, how’d you end up with your name?”

“I’m named after one of my dad’s old friends. His name was Long Xiong, and it meant dragon bear, and yes, “Long John” was the other kids’ choice of nickname for him.”

“Well, that’s a nice name, yours, not ‘Long John’. My sister-in-law’s name also means dragon but in Japanese. Her name is Ryoko.”

“Hm, that's also a nice name.”

The rest of the ride was mostly silent with Long noting how the city has changed. Minerva pulled into the Shot’s driveway, and she and Long hopped out of the car. Long grabbed her bags, and the two of them headed to the front door. Minerva rang the doorbell, and the two waited for the door to be opened.

Rosie was the one to open the door, and when she saw Long, her smile nearly split her face in two. “Welcome home. How’s my baby girl?”

“Mom, I’m not a baby.”, Long said through gritted teeth.

“You’ll always be my little girl.”

“Ugh, is your mother like this?”, Long asked Minerva.

“Well, my mom’s a drug addict, so no.”, Minerva said matter-of-factly.

Long’s eyes widened in shock and horror. “Oh, um, I’m sorry.”, Long said sheepishly.

“Don’t be. You had no way of knowing. I would be insulted if someone just assumed my parents were druggies.”

Long smiled awkwardly, and Rosie patted her on the back. “Come on. Everyone should go home.”, Rosie said.

“Oh, yeah, bye, Minerva.”

Long and Rosie headed inside, and Minerva got back in her car and drove it back to her driveway.

Sunset’s room

Date: July 5th, time: 10:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset sat in bed with a book in hand, waiting for Meg to arrive. Even with all the other people in the club, Meg still liked to hang out with Sunset, for whatever reason. The doorbell rang, and Sunset hopped out of bed and headed to the front door. Anzhong was already coming down the stairs, so Sunset opened the door.

“Hi, Sunset.”, Meg signed.

“Hi”, Sunset signed back.

“Hello there. Mr. Katon?”, Meg’s mom asked.

“Judge Gavel.”, Anzhong said in a tone Sunset knew meant “I tolerate your existence” but that other people didn’t pick up on. Recognizing the name, Sunset had to bite her tongue to not say something that might get her dad in trouble. “Hi, Meg.”, Anzhong signed.

“Huh, I never thought I’d see a blind person sign.”, Judge Gavel said.

“Yeah, because he bothered to learn.”, Sunset grumbled before her better judgment could kick in.

“That’s great to hear. I’ve been trying to learn since we learned Meg was deaf but just could never get the hang of more than a few signs. I’ll see you both later.” Judge Gavel turned to Meg and signed “I love you”, which looks like bull horns except the thumb is out to the side instead of tucked in. Meg returned the sign, and Judge Gavel headed back to her car.

Sunset gave Meg a stinky look then pointed her to her room. Meg pretended not to notice and went to Sunset’s room. Sunset closed the door behind them, and Meg sat on her couch. Sunset sauntered over in front of Meg and looked down at her suspiciously.

“What up?”, Meg asked.

“You told me your parents never bother to learn ASL.”

“No, I told you it is common for parents to not learn ASL. Did not say anything about not bother.”

“Your parents just can not learn?”

“Yes, they tried but could not get it.”

Sunset nodded her understanding and sat down next to Meg. “What signs your mom know?”

“Yes, no, I love you, M, E, G.”

“How do you communicate then?”

“Writing, not real conversation.”

Sunset nodded and pulled out one of the board games she grabbed for them. Meg wasn’t a fan of video games. As they played, Sunset noticed Meg seemed distracted. Sunset tapped her shoulder and signed, “You ok?” Meg squirmed uncomfortably in her seat and looked between Sunset and anywhere else in the room. “Meg?”

“Can I kiss you?”

Sunset was surprised by this request but not exactly shocked. Eh, why not? Sunset leaned in and gave Meg a quick peck. The flurry of emotions on her face could best be summed up as surprise and confusion. “You like?”, Sunset asked.

“Ag-agh”, Meg said, then sorted herself out enough to sign. “Very nice, but I do not think I am gay.”

“Ok” The two of them restarted their game, and Sunset forgot about the whole thing.

A couple of hours later, Sunset was working at her desk as Meg napped. “I swear. Each year, they make these things harder and harder to repair yourself.”, Sunset mumbled to herself. She closed up the shell and leaned back in her chair. As she began to close her eyes, she caught the sound of someone saying ‘moshi moshi’. Those who say that people say ‘moshi moshi’ because they want to make sure the person on the other side isn’t a kitsune are flat out wrong. Grandma, Anzhong, Ryoko, and Emi never had any trouble saying that. Hm, Dad must be talking to Aunt Ryoko. That piqued Sunset’s interest, and she pressed her ear against the door but could only here Anzhong’s side of the conversation. Okay, sneaky time.

Sunset tried to wrangle her aura in as tightly as she could, slid out her door, and hid behind the kitchen island. Anzhong was in the kitchen and talking quietly while cooking lunch. Now, Sunset could hear both sides of the convo.

“So, when’s it do?”, Anzhong asked in Japanese. He sounded happy, by his standards.

“Doctor said seven months.”, Ryoko said.

“That’s great. Do you know the gender yet?”

Gender? Baby!

“No, not yet. The first ultrasound isn’t for another month.”

“Well, I’m very happy for you and Oda. Are you two going to get married?”

There was a long silence on the other side of the line before Ryoko responded. “I actually wanted to talk to you about that. I don’t want to get married without you all there, but I know Emi can’t travel. I was hoping to wait until she was better.”

It was now Anzhong’s turn to have a long silence, and you didn’t need to be a mind reader to know what he was thinking. “I pray that day comes.”, Anzhong said solemnly. “No, we should be happy. You’re going to be a mother.”, Anzhong said with commitment. “Speaking of which, would you like to talk to your niece? She’s currently hiding behind the kitchen island.” Fuck

“Haha, sure.”, Ryoko said in a mirthful tone.

Sunset heard Anzhong walk around the island, and then he presented his phone to Sunset. Sunset let out a slight nervous chuckle and took the phone. “Moshi moshi”

“You got caught?”

“Yeah”, Sunset said, defeated. “How does he do that? I have an ability to hide myself that works on this kid at school with real bonkers abilities and Minerva but never him.”, Sunset said in Japanese.

“Your grandmother taught him well. That’s why nobody wanted to play hide-and-seek with him.”

“I thought it was because everybody could tell he was a fox.”

“That too. How have things been for you?”

“Has Dad told you about Storm?”

“He has. It sounds really scary. Are you going to be okay?”

“This isn’t the first time I’ve had my life threatened.”

“That’s - not very reassuring.”

“I’ll be fine so long as I’m not shot again.”

“Ugh, there’s no keeping you out of trouble.”

“That’s a fair enough assessment. So, you’re cooking a baby.”

“I hope you can meet them soon. Oh, I got to go now. I am on the clock and have guests.”

“Alright, I love you.”

“Love you too.”

Sunset hung up the phone, stood up from her hiding spot, and placed Anzhong’s phone on the counter. Anzhong had something baking in the oven which was almost done, judging by the timer. “Sunset, what does the timer say?”, Anzhong asked.

“Five minutes”

“Okay, could you go get everybody.”, Anzhong told more than asked.

“Yeah” Sunset headed back into her room and over to the sleeping Meg on the couch. Sunset shook her awake and signed ‘lunch’ to her as soon as she was awake enough then left the room and headed upstairs. “Lunch is ready!”, Sunset called down the hall.

“I said “go get everybody”! I could’ve done that!”, Anzhong called from the kitchen.

Minerva, Brigid, Emi, and Anura came out of whatever rooms they were in and followed Sunset downstairs. Meg was already sitting at the table, groggily rubbing her eyes. Anzhong had the plates and utensils on the table and was waiting by the oven. Brigid joined Anzhong in the kitchen while the rest of them joined Meg at the table. Brigid and Anzhong talked about adult stuff as Anzhong pulled the casserole out of the oven and brought it over to the table. They sat down with the rest of them, and everybody took turns serving themselves.

“Sorry you couldn’t hear it from the source, but I have some exciting news to share with you all.”, Anzhong announced, and Sunset translated for Meg.

“He no look very excited.”, Meg signed.

“He no idea what facial expressions look like and has best poker face.”, Sunset signed. Meg’s face flushed with embarrassment, and Sunset felt safe betting that she was glad Anzhong couldn’t see what she signed. Sunset looked across the table to Anura, who was vibrating in her seat and looked like she was trying to contain her excitement. “Did you hear the phone call?”

“No” was all Anura said.

“Ryoko is pregnant.”, Anzhong finished. Everyone cheered, and Meg congratulation elbowed Sunset.

“When are we going to meet the baby?!”, Emi asked as everyone quieted down.

The adults looked at each other uneasily. “It might be a while. Ya c’n’t travel safely.”, Brigid said.

“Oh” Emi sat back down and dug straight into her food like she wasn’t bothered, but Sunset could tell this saddened her.

Nothing else of note happened until seven. Meg was in Sunset’s room and packing up when the doorbell rang. Sunset went out to see who it was. Anzhong was the one to open the door this time, and a man was on the other side. “Hi, Ah’m Meg’s dad.”

“I’ll let her know you’re here. You can come in, if you’d like.” Anzhong walked over into Sunset’s room, and the man walked in. He looked fairly normal. He had tanned skin, green eyes, and two toned red hair. It was most likely a “farmer’s tan”, based on the cowboy hat. From the looks of things, Meg got her hair from her mom and everything else from her dad.

Brigid came down the stairs, and Meg’s dad gave her a friendly greeting after the typical “Wow, you’re a big one” they almost always say. Sunset just stood off to the side, not really paying attention to their conversation, until Brigid mentioned the O’Apples. “Would Ah be right in assumin' y’re an O’Apple?”

“Ya wouldn’t be wrong. Ma mom was, but Ah still help out in tha orchards.”

Meg’s an Apple? “I’m starting to think the universe likes to play jokes.”, Sunset commented.

“What does she mean?”, Meg’s dad asked.

“We’re Mac Carthaighs.”, Brigid answered.

Meg’s dad looked disbelieving at Brigid before spotting her pin and his eyes went wide. “Ah thought ya’ll were wiped out.”

“Y’re lookin’ at da only survivor, n’ da people in dis house are all dat remains.”

“Ha, Ah know some people that will be elated ta hear about you.”, he said while tipping his hat up.

It was then that Anzhong returned with Meg, and she hugged her father. The two broke the hug, and a look of confusion came across Meg’s dad’s face. He looked between Anzhong and Brigid with a surprised look on his face. “Ya got her pregnant?”, he directed at Anzhong.

“I did.”, Anzhong confirmed.

Meg’s dad looked down at himself then back at Anzhong. “I suddenly feel under equipped.”

“It runs in the family.” was all Anzhong said before going back upstairs.

Meg’s dad chuckled to himself then he and Meg were on their way. Brigid locked the door behind them, and Sunset had an internal debate about asking Brigid if Anzhong’s statements were true but decided that she didn’t want to know or even think about it.

“Ah would say “What are da odds ya inadvertently make friends with an O’Apple?”, but dis town is so lousy with ‘em, it’s arguably an inevitability.”

“I think it would be prudent to ask “How’d you end up moving to the one city in the US that’s lousy with O’Apples?””

“Ah guess da universe likes ta play jokes.”, Brigid said with a shrug of her shoulders.

Sunset just shook her head and headed back to her room.

Order of the Exorcist Corp headquarters

Date: 4th day of the 6th month of the 1119th year, time: 4th hour AMR

*Stormy’s perspective*

“Stormy Flare, by taking this oath, you are pledging your soul to the Exorcist Corp.”, the hooded unicorn stallion in front of Stormy said. He wore a white and gold version of the traditional exorcist robes, meaning he’s the big boss and was a master of all forms of soul magic. He was Head Priest Nobleblood, Prince Blueblood’s uncle. He was older and had brass hair instead of pompous blond, but the two of them looked the same otherwise. They stood in a dark room, only lit by candles, and were surrounded by a dozen other ponies in similar hooded robes of various dark colors, denoting what type of soul magic they used. All but three of them were unicorns, and unless they had their wings covered, Stormy was the only pegasus here. “This oath is for life. You can not leave the Exorcist Corp until you pass on to Elysium. You can also not share our spells or discuss missions with anypony, other than the princesses, outside of the order. You will also be tasked with more typical priest assignments. You must also adhere to the privacy rules of priesthood. You may turn back now, and your memories of the Exorcist Corp and soul magic will be wiped, and your soul magic will be sealed. Do you understand these terms and accept your responsibilities?”

“You’re the only branch that has physical requirements low enough for me to pass. I don’t have any other option.”, Stormy snarked.

“What about retail?”, one of the other clocked ponies asked.

“Tried that. Let’s just say it didn’t work.”

“Ehem”, Head Priest Nobleblood said. “We need a proper response.”, he said with disdain.

“Who shoved a zap bee up his rear?”, Stormy said under her breath. She then propped herself up as proud as she could in her sitting position. She had to take her braces off because the runes on them were the same style as the ritual runes, and they could mess with each other. “I, Stormy Flare, daughter of Nova Flare and Warm Winds, will take the oath and keep the secrets of the order.”

“Good, then repeat after me. Under the witness of Faust, Po’hahnd, and Cueymn, I take this oath.”

Stormy spread her wings high so the gods may see her, the pegasus oath pose. “Under the witness of Faust, Po’hahnd, and Cueymn, I take this oath.” The spell circle around Stormy lit up with power, but nothing moved yet. From helping Sunset with her homework, Stormy knew that the outermost ring was a simple yet powerful binding spell that would keep the magic contained during the spell’s activation and while it was in Stormy’s body. The second ring was a sigil seal. It was basically the same as her old Air Guard seal but for the order. The rest however, Stormy had no idea what they were.

“I will serve Equestria and the princesses with my soul, heart, and life and protect Equestria from that which lurks in the nightmares of the innocent.”, Head Priest Nobleblood said with grandeur.

“I will serve Equestria and the princesses with my soul, heart, and life and protect Equestria from that which lurks in the nightmares of the innocent.”, Stormy said in a more normal voice but still with some oomph.

The spell circle began shifting into position as the spell prepared to activate.

“With the oath taken, the spell is complete.”

“With-”, Stormy tried to repeat, but that was apparently not a part of the oath as the spell fully activated. The different rings lifted into the air and separated to be all at different angles and began to spin. Just like with her Air Guard induction, the rings spun and closed in on Stormy’s heart until they were wrapped around it, and she felt the magic from the sigil spread into her ley lines and body. It was not pleasant but also didn’t last long. “Ow”, Stormy said dryly.

“That “ow” you felt was a jumpstart to your training.”, Head Priest Nobleblood said.

Stormy’s eyes widened as she noticed a spirit floating next to Head Priest Nobleblood. “Um, sir.”

Head Priest Noble gave Stormy a not friendly smile at seeing her fear and confusion. “I see the sigil has worked. The power you know poses is called ‘Spirit Sight’. It would traditionally have taken moons of training to unlock it, but thanks to advancement in sigil techniques, it now only takes a few moments. The spirit beside me is named Earl.”

“Something tells me that spirit didn’t name itself ‘Earl’.”, Stormy said.

“No, it’s customary to name your spirit when you have bound it to you. Of course, this is only for ponies with soul taming magic. It would actually be a good idea for you to look into. Having a spirit may make up for the lack of a horn.”, Head Priest Nobleblood said in his signature “I’m better than you” tone.

That’s it. I’m done trying to be respectful. I don’t need a horn to shove my hoof up your ass. Stormy bit her tongue so as to not say something that would get her into trouble. She already had the title of “Stormy of the Bladed Tongue” and is why she never got an officer’s rank. Although she did agree that having a spirit by her side would likely benefit her, though not because of her lack of a horn.

Nobleblood made a gesture with his foreleg, and the ponies surrounding them closed in. Two of the unicorns magically carried a gray version of the hooded robes they were wearing, and two of the earth ponies carried Stormy’s braces. The braces now had metal plates with shock redirection and absorption runes in key places so she could kick without risking damage to the delicate contraptions. Stormy stood up so they could put her braces on while Nobleblood started wasting more air. “This robe signifies you as beginning your journey with us. It will remain gray until you learn your first form of soul magic. At that point, it will change to that type’s color.”

Once Stormy’s braces were back on and reactivated, the unicorns helped her into the robe. The robe consisted of a toga covered by a hooded cape with a fancy chest banner to close it; Stormy didn’t know what that piece was actually called, but when she was signing up, she requested that they make the toga fur tight, and it was. The cape had holes in it for her wings, so she was the only pegasus in the room. She and the other non-unicorns also had focus gems on their chest banners to help them weaponize their magic. Nobleblood went over what all the different pieces meant and signified, but Stormy already knew it all, so tuned him out until he moved on to something else. “Now then, follow me, and we will finish up the paperwork so you can be officially registered as joining.”, Nobleblood finished.

“More paperwork?”

“Don’t worry, you and I just need to sign the form saying you completed the oath.” Nobleblood turned around and headed to the door, and Stormy followed. Even though they were under the church, they weren’t entirely underground. Some sections of the building were in the rock while some were on the edge of the mountain. “So, Ms. Flare, would you happen to be the same Stormy Flare that is the mother of the one known as Sunset Shimmer?”, Nobleblood said in a voice that put Stormy on edge.

“Sunset is my daughter. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, I just find it humorous that the mother of that demon child is now a priest.”

“Excuse me, did you really just call my daughter, student of Princess Celestia, a “demon child”?”, Stormy asked angrily.

“I did, because she was. I petitioned to have her undergo an exorcism multiple times as she was clearly either possessed by a demon or one herself. I’ve seen the way her eyes glow in the dark.”

Insult my tribe, insult my daughter, insult my husband’s tribe, is he trying to get me to hate him? “My daughter is a thestral. That’s why her eyes glow. It’s just evolution.”

“Thestrals are descended from demons.”

Stormy was stunned by how triblist that was. Never had she heard somepony be that openly triblist. She wasn’t sure what she would’ve done, nothing good, but she was interrupted by another member of the order. “Oh, don’t listen to him. He’s just made that, in the guard split, we were put into the Night Guard. He hates the idea of a group of exorcists working under a former demon, his words, not mine.”, the other order member said. Nobleblood merely huffed and walked off, and Stormy turned to her savior. She was a unicorn with a purple coat and black mane. Her robe was a deep crimson. All the exorcist robes, except for the head priests’, had black trimming. The head priests of each form had gold trim. Stormy wasn’t sure what all of the colors ment, but she would bet crimson had something to do with holy fire. “Hi, I’m Happy Berrymix. Don’t laugh.”

“Wha- oh, I get it now.”

“Ahuh,” Happy said with a nod. “Well, welcome to the order. It’s serious business. That’s why you can’t take it seriously. At least that’s my motto.”

“Thank you. Say, would your robe mean you deal with holy fire?”

“That’s correct. Are you saying you want to learn holy fire?”

“Correct, I already have a fire affinity. Will you be willing to teach me?”

“No problem. Come find me in the house after you're done with your paperwork. I got a wedding to officiate.” Happy trotted off, and Stormy moved to catch up Noble Pain-in-the-flank.

Sunset’s room

Date: July 18th, time: 10:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset got her pjs on and finished up her nightly routine, like any normal night, but this wasn’t a normal night. It was time to reacquaint Brigid with Nana. We are dreaming, but it’s also a bit more than that. No, I'm not just a figment of your imagination. That sounds good. Sunset grabbed the ring from its hiding space, stuffed it in her breast pocket, headed straight upstairs and knocked on Brigid and Anzhong’s door. Brigid quickly answered, filling up the whole door frame, and instead of its usual three braids, her hair was in one large braid.

“You look nice.”

“N’ ya look like ya should be in bed. Is some‘hin’ wrong?”

“Yeah, I’m having trouble sleeping. Can I sleep with you guys?”

Sunset could sense Brigid wanted to say ‘no’, but the small sigh Brigid let out told Sunset she lost the internal debate. “Alright, come on in.” Brigid moved out of the frame and let Sunset inside.

The walls of their room were covered with mementos ranging from pictures of family and friends to religious symbols and awards. Brigid had multiple awards for shooting that, if Sunset remembered correctly, also came with some nice money that can now be attributed with how Brigid has such a nice collection, and Anzhong had a few martial arts trophies. Though, he isn’t much one for competing. Two of the more notable ornaments were their oni masks. They were of similar design with just a couple differences. In accordance to mythology, Brigid’s was red, and Anzhong’s was blue. Oni come in two, one red, one blue. However, the horns on Anzhong’s mask were smaller than Brigid’s, only being a couple inches. This worked for them, but in mythology, female oni have smaller horns. The lack of eye-holes on Anzhong’s mask has nothing to do with mythology and is to protect his eyes.

What is that? On top of a chest of drawers was what looked like a badly dented UFO. “I knew it. You’re an alien. That’s why you’re so tall.”, Sunset whispered.

“What?”, Brigid asked confusedly, then noticed what she was talking about. “Oh, hahaha.” Brigid had to cover her mouth so as not to belly laugh. “Dats not a spacecraft. It’s called a hang. It’s an instrument Ah used ta soothe y’r siste’ when she was a baby.” Brigid picked the instrument up and hit it a couple times. It had a quiet, melodic sound.

“It’s nice.”

Brigid placed it back in its spot and gave Sunset a soft smile. “Come on. It’s time f’r bed.”

Brigid climbed into bed and tried to scoot over Kiba, Ailbhe, and an already asleep Anzhong. They had their bed custom made to accommodate Brigid’s size and Anzhong’s preference to share the bed with his dogs, but adding Sunset to that mix made it a tight fit. Sunset climbed in, snuggled up to Brigid, and closed her eyes.

The next thing Sunset knew, she was standing in the Mac Carthaigh farmhouse. It was just like last time except, now, Brigid was also here. Nana was standing off in a corner, looking at Brigid with pride and joy in her eyes.

“How did Ah get here? Am Ah dreamin’?” Brigid was looking around at her surroundings but not at Nana or Sunset.

“We are dreaming, but it’s also a bit more than that.”, Sunset said. Brigid spun around to face Sunset, confusion and surprise evident. “No, I’m not a figment of your imagination.”

“Sunset, Ah don’t understand. Wha’s goin’ on?”

“To be honest, Ah’m not entirely sure. To sum it up the best I can, we are currently in a shared dream where we are making contact with a disembodied entity.”

Brigid furrowed her eyebrows as she gave Sunset a questioning look. “Ya sayin’ we’re dream talkin’ ta a ghost?”

“That ghost, to be precise.”, Sunset said with a nod of her head.

Brigid looked to where Sunset was pointing, and her eyes widened when she saw Nana. “Mum?”

Nana smiled and approached Brigid. “It’s me.” Despite Brigid inheriting her height from her father, Nana was no dwarf. She looked to be about 6’. However, Brigid’s shoulders and musculature clearly came from her.

Brigid stood there like a deer in the headlights as she tried to process what she was seeing. “H-how?”

“Ah’m not sure. All Ah knew is one minute, Ah was in pain, n’ da next, Ah was in a void.”

“Nana’s spirit somehow ended up inside the Mac Carthaigh ring.”, Sunset clarified.

Brigid looked from Sunset to Nana and reached her hand out. Nana grabbed Brigid’s hand with both of her own. Brigid’s face fell as she came to the same realization Sunset and Nana did last time. “Ah c’n’t feel ya.”

“Yea, ya c’n’t feel in dreams. Ah wasn’t able ta comfort Sunset da last time she was ‘ere.”

“Last time? Sunset, how many times have ya been ‘ere?”

“This is only my third time here. We can only do this once a year.”, Sunset answered.

“Well den, we bette’ make dis count.”

“Unfortunately, our time is almost up. Ah don’t have enough energy ta keep ya ‘ere much longe’.”, Nana said.

“Wait, wha’?”

“Da reason Ah c’n only bring ya ‘ere once a year is because a’ how much energy it takes, but even den, Ah c’n only keep ya ‘ere f’r a short while.”

Sadness and disappointment but also resignation and acceptance flashed across Brigid’s face. “Alright, Ah will be ‘ere next year, but f’r now, Ah love ya. Ah’ve missed ya every day.”

Nana grasped Brigid’s arms and gave her a loving smile. “Ah love ya too, n’ Ah’m so happy ta know ya’ve made a good life f’r y’rself. Ah jus’ didn’t expect it ta be with a demon.”

“Sign, he’s a yokai, Mum, a spirit, not a demon.”

Nana gave a light chuckle as she and the house faded away. The next thing Sunset knew, she was waking up next to Brigid, completely exhausted.

“This is a first. I’ve never gotten up before you.”, Anzhong said to Brigid.

“Gr, yeah, why am Ah so tired? Oh, wait, were we dreaming da whole night?”

“This is normal and not quite but longer than typical.”, Sunset answered. “Plus, I think our energy is used to help construct that space.”

“What are you two talking about?”, Anzhong asked.

“My mum’s spirit is trapped within ‘er ring, n’ we jus’ spent da night with ‘er.”

“I - don’t know how to respond to that.”

“I’m going back to bed.”, Sunset said, then flopped back onto the bed.

Emi’s room

Date: July 27th, time: 1:00 pm

*Emi’s perspective*

Emi looked down at her bag and the dog toys scattered across the floor as she decided what to bring. Tomiju was treating one of her stuffed animals like a rag doll, so that was coming. Which ones should I bring? She ultimately just decided to take one of each type. After putting the toys in her bag or back in their box, she put her own toys in her bag and put it on, grabbed Tomiju, and went downstairs.

As she headed to the back door, the house phone rang. This either meant a scam caller or a telemarketer, same thing really, as that’s the number they give out to everyone that they didn’t want calling them. Emi grabbed her step stool and used it to reach and pick up the phone.

“Hello, we’ve been trying to reach you about your car’s extended warranty.”, the caller said. Emi inhaled and blew the longest raspberry she could into the phone. “Uh, ma’am?” Emi repeated the process, and the caller hung up half way through.

“Mmm, they never make it past the second one.” Emi hung up, put her stool away, grabbed Tomiju’s stuff, and went to the back porch. She noticed Sunset was meditating under the sakura tree. Emi put her shoes on, and Mom came outside.

“Ready ta go?”

“Ayuh” Emi hopped off the swing and hurried to the garage as Mom got her boots on. “Come on, Mom!”

“Don’t yell while your siste’s meditating.”, Mom said.

“Sorry”

Mom came over to the garage, opened it up, and unlocked the car for Emi, and Emi carried Tomiju up into the car.

“Do ya need help bucklin’ up?”

“I got it. I got it.”

“Alright” Mom closed the door and got into the car herself. “Is y’r seat belt on?”

“Ayuh”, Emi said and was confirmed with a click from the buckle.

“Good” Mom started the car, and they were finally underway.

“We’re going to the park. We’re going to the park. We’re going to the park.”, Emi sang the whole way. The park was within walking distance, but before they actually went to the park, they had to go pick up Anura. She was at some sort of funship crafting thing or some sort. All Emi remembered was that it was at the college. Mom pulled into the parking lot, and they went over to the science building. “Wow! This place is so big!”, Emi cheered.

“Emi, we’re at a school. We shouldn’t shout.”

“But it’s summer. School’s not in session.”

“It is actually. Da college offers summer classes.”

Emi’s eyes widened in shock and horror. “What? Why would anyone go to school during da summer? That’s evil.”

“Dey do it so dey can graduate faster. Ah did dat so it wouldn’t take me a decade ta finish.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea. Ah’m gonna do that.”

“Don’t get ahead a’ y’rself. Da soone’ ya graduate, da soone’ ya’ll join da work force. Ya should enjoy y’r summers. Dese people are mostly adults tryin’ da get bette’ jobs f’r deir families.”

“Oh”

Mom took them to the room Anura was in. Anura was talking with other kids, and they were all holding something, but Emi couldn’t see what.

“Anura, ya ready ta go?”, Mom called out.

Anura looked up at them with a smile and ran over to them. “Aunt Brigid, look what I made!”, Anura cheered.

“Wha’ is it?”, Mom asked.

“It’s a solar powered car.”, Anura happily said as she presented Mom with the bare bones of a car. “We had a contest, and mine was the fastest.”

“Dat’s great. How ‘bout ya show it off at da park.”

“Yeah!”

Mom patted Anura on the back and herded them back to the car.

“Hey, Emi, can I hold Tomiju’s leash?”, Anura asked.

“Sure” Emi handed Anura the leash as they exited the building. Anura skipped to the car while Emi walked with Mom. Tomiju was running around as far as her leash would let her and trying to go say hi to all the people walking by. “She’s so energetic.”, Emi said in aw.

“Dat’s poodles f’r ya.”

Mom helped Anura into the car and finally took them to the park. Mom helped them out of the car, and Emi and Anura ran towards the pavement. Anura placed the car on the pavement and let go of Tomiju’s leash, so she could turn on the motor. The car zoomed off, and Tomiju chased after it.

“Tomiju! No! Don’t break it!”, Anura shouted. She chased after Tomiju with Emi not far behind. The day was saved by Mom as she scooped Tomiju and the car up just as she was about to bite the car.

“Wow! Mom! That was awesome!”

“Wha’ did we say ‘bout holdin’ on to Tomiju’s leash?”, Mom scolded.

“Sorry, Aunt Brigid.”

“Dat goes for both a’ ya. Y’re both responsible f’r ‘er safety.”

“Sorry, Mom.”

Mom handed Anura back her car and handed Tomiju to Emi. “Both a’ ya run off now. Ah’ll be on dat bench over dere.”

“Okay”, both girls said. Emi placed Tomiju back on the ground but kept a tight grip on her leash. The girls and poodle ran off towards the playground, and Emi pulled off her backpack once they'd reached a good spot. They were near the trees and away from the other kids but well within Mom’s sight. Emi pulled out a ball, and Anura stashed her car in the bag.

The girls each took turns throwing the ball for Tomiju. Each time they threw it, Tomiju blasted off after it at speeds Olympic runners would envy. The girls were enjoying the game until it was Anura’s turn to throw the ball but hesitated. Emi was about to ask why she was waiting but then felt what Anura was undoubtedly feeling. They were in danger. Tomiju began barking, and the girls spun on their heels to face a man that was mere inches away from them. Time seemed to slow down, and Emi was able to take in more details about the man. He didn’t look scary. Instead, he looked friendly. It was only the feeling he gave off that told them the truth.

Bad man. Bad man. Emi gritted her teeth and snarled at him. All her attention was on him and every move he made. She was frozen in place.

The man continued to approach with a friendly smile. “Hello, little girl, do you want some candy?”, the man asked with a friendly sounding tone.

“Get away from me!”, Emi roared. There was something wrong with her own voice. It sounded less human, and she felt something emitting from her but was too focused on him to pay attention to that.

The man’s smile faltered, and he looked concerned or confused or scared for a moment before he dropped the act. The man grabbed Emi’s arm, and that snapped her out of her petrification. The moment he tugged, Emi launched forward and bit as hard as she could into his arm . She felt her teeth sink into his flesh and draw blood, but that didn’t stop her. She kept going until she felt her mouth close again and then reared back. Emi was sent flying and landed back first in the grass, and there was something in her mouth.

She shot back up only to see the man running away and just stood there for… How long had she been standing there? How long had that whole thing taken? Emi heard the grass being trampled behind her and turned around just in time for Mom to scoop her up.

“Oh baby, are ya okay?”, Mom asked worriedly and squeezed Emi tight enough that she almost spat whatever was in her mouth out onto her clothing.

Emi was still kinda stunned and just spat the thing out onto the grass. “What’s that?”

Mom bent down to examine the thing, and Tomiju sniffed at it. Mom picked it up before Tomiju could get any ideas and held it between two fingers. “Did ya bite him?”

“Um, oh, I did. That’s a piece of his arm!”

“Ew!”, Anura exclaimed.

“Can I keep it?”, Emi asked her mother.

“We best give it ta da cops. Unfortunately, dat means ya would be able ta keep it.”

“Aw, man.”

Katon family backyard

Date: same day, time: 1:45 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Under the sakura tree was a nice place to meditate. Even though a wooden fence was the only thing separating Sunset from the road, it was generally fairly quiet due to being within a school zone and on the edge of town. She didn’t envy those living close to the main road. Aside from the infrequent car, the birds happily chirped away as they gobbled up the cherries from the now green sakura tree. Nobody cared about the birds eating the fruit as they were far too bitter for human consumption, even for Sunset, the garbage disposal descendant of a fruit bat that could probably eat a shoe.

Sunset’s peace was broken by a feeling of dread. Her eyes shot open, and she looked around for the source but couldn’t sense anything. Sunset tried to go back to meditating but the feeling returned. This time, she focused on the feeling. It wasn’t coming from her surroundings. It was the same feeling that day near the docks, but it was coming from farther away and felt a bit like Emi. Emi’s in danger. Sunset’s eyes shot open again as the realization hit her. She sprang to her feet and ran into the garage and grabbed her bike. She didn’t even give the door time to fully open as she ducked under it. Barely remembering to close the door and buckle her helmet, Sunset peddled down the road as fast as her wheels could spin.

When Sunset got to the park, she saw Brigid cradling Emi and Anura holding on tightly to Tomiju. Sunset let her bike fall to the ground as she hopped off and ran towards her family.

“Sunset, wha’ are ya doin’ ‘ere?”, Brigid asked.

“Wheeze, huuu-ha, I knew Emi was in danger.”, Sunset said, out of breath.

“Well, you missed the whole thing. We’re just waiting on the cops. Oh, and I bit off a chunk of his flesh.”, Emi excitedly informed. Blood still covered her lips.

“Ew”

The sounds of sirens could be heard quickly approaching. “Took ‘em long enough.”, Brigid remarked.

Several police cruisers pulled up, and the police officers rushed out. “Ma’am, were you the one who called nine-one-one?”, one of the officers asked.

“Ah’m da one who needed ya.”

“I bit a chunk of flesh off a guy that tried to kidnap me. Show ‘em, Mommy.”

Brigid raised her hand that held the chunk and showed it to the cops. The cops’ reactions ranged from surprised to well hid disturbed to visibly disturbed. “Somebody bag this.”, one of the older cops said.

“It’s not fair I don’t get to keep it. Ah bit it off. It’s mine.”, Emi complained.

“You really wanna piece of meat that’s gonna rot?”, Sunset asked.

“I’d cure it, just like Dad does ta make jerky.”

The cops took the chunk, and four of the cops came over to them. Three of the cops started talking to Emi, Anura, and Brigid while the fourth walked up to Sunset. “Would you mind describing your recollection of the events?”

“I didn’t arrive until after the events had unfolded. I don’t know what happened.”

“He had white hair and was big.”, Anura said. That sounds

“So, you know nothing?” The cop looked down at Sunset with a disbelieving or disinterested look but kept it out of their tone.

“He had a fake smile and offered me candy, but I was too smart for such amateurish tricks. I tried to scare him off, but he was either very brave or very stupid. That’s when he grabbed me, and I taught him a lesson.”, Emi said proudly.

“I know my family has been targeted by Storm due to my father’s involvement in taking them down. So, this might not just be another pedo case.”, Sunset said.

That raised the cop’s interest, and they looked down at Sunset with a more serious face. “Who’s your father?”

Sunset answered the cop’s question by pulling her father’s card from her wallet. They looked it over, and realization dawned on their face.

“Ah ran ove’ as soon as Ah saw him talkin’ ta Emi. Ah jus’ knew some‘hin’ was wrong.”, Brigid explained.

“We’ll put out an APB at all the hospitals.”

The officer gave Sunset back her card and went back to their colleagues.

Sunset went over to Brigid and hugged her, and Brigid stroked Sunset’s hair. Sunset was no longer listening in on the conversations as they were done describing the events. Some of the cops got back in their cars while the rest went over to where Emi said the man ran off.

“Come on, let’s go home.”, Brigid said.

“What? No! I’m not done playing. Ah’m not going to let fear rule my life.”, Emi protested.

“Sigh, Anura?”

“I wanna keep playing too. “, Anura answered. “The guy’s scared off, so we don’t have to worry.”

“Fine, we c’n stay a bit longe’. Sunset, are ya goin’ ta stay?”

“No, I still hate parks.” Sunset let go of Brigid and turned back around to her bike as Brigid put Emi down. Sunset got back on her bike and rode back home.

Storm HQ

Date: July 28th, time: 2:30 pm

*Tempest’s perspective*

“What do you mean you failed?! I get you weren’t prepared for the wife, but this was just a little girl. How can you mess up kidnapping a seven year old?!”, Mr. Eric Storm questioned.

“I’m sorry, sir. The kid bit a chunk out of my wrist. I barely made it to a vet in time.”, Bruiser explained.

“Wait, that’s why your arm is all bandaged up. How big of a bite are we talking?”

Bruiser used the fingers of his uninjured arm to outline the bite. “The doc said it was about half a centimeter deep, sir.”

“How the hell are you still alive?”

“She only nicked the artery. That’s why.”

“It seems Mr. Katon prepared his family for this possibility.”, Tempest interjected.

“What are you suggesting?”, Mr. Storm asked.

“I want to test just how well taught his kid is.”

“Maybe you can try grabbing her. She can’t exactly rip a chunk out of your arm.”, Bruiser said while looking at Tempest’s prosthetic arm.

Tempest clenched her prosthetic fist, causing Bruiser to flinch. “I can also break your face without feeling a thing.” Tempest turned to Mr. Storm and unclenched her fist. “He is somewhat right. My plan is for me to get the kid. People, especially kids, tend to be more trusting of women.”

“Alright, but we should wait a while. No doubt they’re going to be on guard after today.”, Mr. Storm added.

“Of course, sir.”

“As for you, Bruiser, go lay low. I don’t want to see you again until you’re healed.”

“Yes, sir.”, Bruiser said with a salute, then left.

“You better not get caught. If they can pin anything on you, this ship is sunk.”, Mr. Storm said with both seriousness and concern in his voice.

“Understood, sir.”

Katon family garage

Date: Aug 1st, time: 8:45 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

There are advantages to being a civilian. Mainly, the Geneva Convention can suck balls, and biological warfare is fair game. Sunset intended to take full advantage of that. She pulled the bag of itchy vengeance from behind the boxes and added it to her bag. She headed out to the street and waited. A black sedan with heavily tinted windows rolled up next to her, and Sunset climbed in.

“You’re late.”

“I have other and better things to do than chauffeur you around.”, Washi said.

“Considering it’s your job, no, you don’t. You didn’t have to do anything on the days I didn’t call you.”

“Maybe if you called me more than ten minutes before you needed me, I’d be able to get here at a time more to your convenience.”

“Just shut up and take me to 1449 Crocker st.”

Washi didn’t say another word as he punched the address into the GPS and shifted the car into gear. Neither of them made a sound until they reached Crocker st.

“You’re gonna want to park some ways away from the address.”, Sunset said.

“Are you planning on doing something illegal?”

“Yes”

“Do you need help?”

“Are you immune to poison ivy?”

“Um, I’ve never checked.”

“Then just stay in the car.”

Washi pulled over into a shaded spot as Sunset stuffed as much of her hair as she could into her baseball cap and put on her shades. Then she hopped out and started walking to Lily’s house. It took her a while to find the place as American house numbers never seem to have any pattern to them. “There it is. Ugh, ‘Merica bullshit. Get your fucking numbers straight.”, Sunset grumbled to herself as she climbed the front stairs to Lily’s home. Lily lived on the second floor of a duplex.

It only took a few seconds for her to pick the lock and get inside. The Valley home was fairly modest. The door opens up to a small living room with a tv and couch. After that’s the kitchen and dining table. To the right of that was an entrance to a hallway with three doors. “Bathroom, master bedroom, this must be Lily and Daisy’s room.”

Sunset entered the room and saw a space that was little bigger than her loft with bunk beds, some shelves, and a closet. It didn’t look like either of the girls had a distinct space to call their own as all the toys, pictures, arts and crafts stuff, and other personal effects were mixed together. I guess this is what it’s like to be a twin. This same effect extended to their beds as they had plain, white sheets and nothing to denote whose bed was whose. They each had a quilt for a comforter, but neither were color coated nor had their symbols on them. This is a fucking nightmare. I would’ve gone insane if I had to share my space.

Sunset tried for a bit longer to figure out whose bed was whose but gave up before long. She grabbed the ivy out of her bag and rubbed it all over both pillow cases and under their covers. Once that was done and the ivy was back in her bag, Sunset went over to all the arts and crafts stuff and pulled out the glitter, beads, and every other small, organizational nightmare thing and dumped them all out over their carpeted floor. I should wash my hands. Washi can’t do his job if he’s too itchy. After cleaning up in the bathroom and wiping down the doorknobs, it was time to move onto stage three, Sunset exited their room and re-entered the living room. On the coffee table was a small basket filled with what looked to be all their remotes. After adding the four remotes to her inventory, Sunset exited, wiped off the doorknob, and headed back to Washi’s car.

Crocker street

Date: same day, time: 9:30 am

*Daisuke’s perspective*

Sunset exited the car, leaving Daisuke alone. He pulled out his phone and was minding his own business when he heard a knock on one of the windows. Daisuke looked up from his phone to see your stereotypical white, suburbia mom. He rolled down the window a crack and leaned over to better speak with the woman.

“Is there something I can help you with?”, Daisuke asked.

“What are you doing here, just sitting in the car?”, the woman asked.

“Why? I’m not doing anything illegal.”

“You don’t look like you belong here.”, the woman said with a glare.

“Yes, I’m aware that my car makes it clear I’m too wealthy for this neighborhood.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Oh, I’m aware, but I wanted to give you a chance to leave with some of your dignity intact. I’m waiting on my cousin. She’s visiting a friend.”

“Uhuh”, the woman said skeptically.

“Yes, uhuh. Now, why don’t you take your little racist ass back inside and leave me alone. I’d be willing to bet you have some warrants out for your arrest.”, Daisuke said smugly. The woman glared at him some more before turning around and leaving. Daisuke rolled the window back up and continued waiting for Sunset.

Sunset came back not long after that and got in the car as Daisuke put his phone away.

“We’re apparently cousins now.”, Daisuke off handedly remarked.

“What do you mean?”

“One of the neighbors decided that it was her job to police the neighborhood and keep out any undesirables.”

“You mean her?”

Daisuke whipped his head around to see an almost angry face nearly smashed up against his window. “Yagh!”, Daisuke yelped in surprise but quickly regained his composure.

Sunset rolled down her window a crack took off her sunglasses. “Hello, ma’am. Can I help you?”

“You have your cousin. Now, you can leave.”, the woman said.

“Ma’am, what’s your name?”, Sunset asked.

“Why the hell would I tell you my name?”, the woman asked angrily.

“So I can text my dad where you live. My dad’s a county prosecutor. I’d bet you have a couple 'failure to appear in court’ warrants out on ya.”

“Why you skanky little mix breed.” The woman’s face was quickly turning into a tomato, and Daisuke shifted into drive in case they needed to make a getaway.

“Don’t get mad at me just because I’m gorgeous.” Sunset took off her hat and ran her hand through her hair for emphasis.

The woman just puffed up her cheeks and went back inside. Daisuke let off the break and got them out of there. “Crazy lady.”, Daisuke mumbled to himself. “Did you accomplish your mission?”

“Sure did.” Sunset opened up her bag and angled it so Daisuke could see in.

TV remotes? “You called me just so you could steal a bunch of remotes.”, Daisuke spat with venom.

“The TV remotes are just the only things I stole. I also vandalized the place.”

“Wait, did you just want to, what, inconvenience them?”

“Pretty much.”

“Why?”

“Girl stuff.”

“Girl stuff? Ugh, girls, you’re like blasted aliens.”

“Hehe, you have no idea.”

Katon family home

Date: Aug 14th, time: 7:30 am

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid got done putting the final touches on her third braid as Anzhong had his face in a sink full of water and Kiba was pretending to be a pancake on the hardwood bedroom floor. Summer really wasn’t either of their seasons. Even having shed her under coat, Kiba was still built for the snowy mountains of Japan, and so was Anzhong. Ailbhe was half asleep herself as she stomped out of her litter box. She had grown a lot, but was still a little baby.

“Practicing our breath holdin’ technique, are we?”

“I feel like I’m being cooked.”

“It’s not even noon yet.”

“I know. I’m glad summer’s almost over.”

Brigid chuckled to herself as she scooped Ailbhe up and placed her on her shoulders. She exited their room, and Kiba got up to follow. “Time ta get up, baby.” Brigid entered Emi’s room, earning a hiss from said girl as she opened the curtains. “Dat never worked f’r Sunset. It ain’t gonna work f’r ya.”

“I don’t even go ta school. Why do Ah have ta get up in the mornin’?”, Emi whined.

“Because we’re goin’ somewhere fun.”

That got Emi to perk up. “Fun?”

“Yeah, Ah’ll give ya some time ta wake up.” Brigid grabbed Tomiju and added her to the fluffy parade then led the dogs downstairs and out back. She let the dogs do their business as she headed into Sunset’s room. “Sunset, time ta get up.”, Brigid said as she approached Sunset’s bed.

“Mm, hey.”, Sunset said from within her cocoon.

“Good mornin’.”

“I can’t fit under my bed anymore.”

“Did ya have anothe’ nightmare?”

“Yeah”

“Okay, Ah’ll figure out wha’ ta do.”

“Thanks. No therapy.”

Brigid rubbed Sunset’s head and left to let the dogs back in. Anzhong was already in the kitchen, and Emi was coming downstairs. As soon as Tomiju came inside, she bee-lined for Emi. Sunset came out and slouched in her chair. Anzhong placed a bunch of plates and utensils on the table, and the rest of them passed them out. Brigid got the animals’ food out from the fridge, scooped their needed amounts into their bowls, and popped them in the microwave. Ailbhe tried to jump down and snatch her food, but Brigid wasn’t green to fur-parenthood. There was very little difference between domestic animals and human children, especially with her kids. Once all the food was heated, Brigid took their bowels to their respective eating spots, and the critters sat patiently for the go ahead.

Brigid watched all three critters to see how they behaved. She did have to stop Ailbhe from going for her food. “Okay”, Brigid said once she felt they'd waited enough. She headed to her seat at the table as Anzhong placed a stack of pancakes, eggs, and bacon on the table.

“What fun thing are we going to do?”, Emi asked.

“What?”, Sunset asked through a mouthful of bacon.

“Ah’m takin’ ya ta do some‘hin’ fun, but Ah’ll tell ya once Anura’s here.”

The four of them finished their meal as Anura entered.

“Anura’s here. Can ya tell us what fun thing we’re going to do now?”, Emi asked.

“What’s going on?”, Anura asked.

“Dere’s dis farm in da mountains dat offers horse ridin’ n’ care lessons. Dat’s wha’ we’re gonna be doin’.”

“Hhhuuu, yyyaaayyy!”, Emi and Anura cheered.

“But wait, wouldn’t that be offensive to Sunset?”, Anura asked.

“No, it’s fine. They don’t have a problem with it. Plus, I know more than a few ponies back in Equestria that would pay for that kind of service. Though, it would involve a different kind of riding.”

Anzhong nearly spat out his coffee, Brigid let out a hardy chuckle, and Emi and Anura just looked confused. “Will somebody explain the joke?! I don’t get it!”, Emi complained.

“Dis one is bette’ ta wait till y’re olde’.”

Emi huffed and crossed her arms. “Are you coming with us, Daddy?”

“I’m still allergic.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right.” Emi got a look of realization then gave Sunset a mischievous grin.

“Yeah yeah, I get it.”, Sunset said.

“Come on, we need ta get goin’.” Dishes done, animals have wate’, Kiba has ‘er harness on, kids are wrangled, shoes are on, we’re ready ta go. The six of them got into the car and got underway. Their first stop was the prosecutor's office to drop off Anzhong and Kiba then they headed to the farm.

The farm was a small place as far as farms go. They dealt purely in horses, horse breeding, training, boarding, rehabilitation, farriering, that sort of stuff. There was the house, the barns, the various trucks and trailers, and the tracks and fields. The whole thing couldn’t be much more than twenty acres, and they rely heavily on the public horse riding trails in the surrounding mountains.

Brigid pulled into the dirt parking lot and let the kids out of the car. “Alright, before we go in, Ah need ta make sure ya all know how ta act around horses.”

“Don’t stand behind them, don’t mess with their legs, keep a hand on them when walking around them, and don’t act like a predator.”, Emi said.

“Dat’s a good summary. Anura, do ya understand wha’ all dat means?”

“Um, horses are prey animals, so we scare them.”

“Almost, horses kick when dey get scared, n’ dey scare easily, but dey can’t effectively kick out ta da side. If dey kick ya from da back, y’re goin’ ta da hospital. Dat’s why we stand ta deir side. Keepin’ a hand on ‘em lets ‘em know where we are, so dey don’t get scared when we come outa deir blind spots. Horses’ legs are powerful but also fragile. Ya c’n eithe’ hurt or scare ‘em if ya mess with deir legs.”

“Horses are giant chickens.”

That got a chuckle from Sunset, and Anura looked up at her confusedly. “Horses have that same reputation in Equestria.”, Sunset explained.

“Ya have horses in Equestria?”, Brigid asked.

“We have horses on Equoes. They’re from a country to the east.”

“Oh. Okay, we can go in now.”, Brigid said, then led them to the closest barn. Inside was a young man, brushing one of the horses. “Hello, we’re da Katons. We’re ‘ere f’r da ridin’ lessons.”

“Oh, okay, I’ll be with you in a moment. Go ahead and look at the horses, if ya like.”, the young man said.

Brigid herded the girls into the barn, the younger girls ran up to pet the horses, and Sunset just stayed close to Brigid as she looked around. There were a variety of breeds that were meant for different jobs, but they didn’t get much larger than the American Quarter Horse. None of them had any signs of previous neglect, but that didn’t rule out the possibility they’re rescues. They all seemed well behaved, and that’s what’s important. Brigid didn’t have a prejudice against rescued horses. She just knew they can be unpredictable, and adding little kids to that equation was not a good idea. That’s why Granpappy never let any of the kids near Beathra until they were old enough.

“Now, given the young age of some of your girls, they’ll need to ride with someone.”, the young man informed.

“Dey’ll be ridin’ with me n’ mo eldest.”

“Do you have any experience with horses?”

“Mo eldest n’ Ah both grew up around equine n’ know how ta handle ‘em. Ah’m a farm girl n’ want ta teach da little ones ta ride. We jus’ don’t have da horses.”

“Oh, okay, let’s find you some horses then.” The young man went over to the stables and looked to be trying to pick the right horses.

“Mommy, look, a fire truck puppy.”, Emi said excitedly.

Brigid looked where she’s pointing and saw what she was talking about. “Oh, a dalmatian, dey’re useful for keepin’ horses calm.” Despite Emi calling it a puppy, the dog was full grown.

“Should we get one to keep Sunset calm?”

“Oh, trust me, a dog will do anything but keep me calm.”, Sunset said.

“Don’t you like dogs?”, Anura asked.

“I like other people’s dogs. They need so much attention.”

“Dat’s fair.”

“What’s the puppy’s name?”, Emi asked the young man as he approached with three riding horses in hand.

“That’s Chew-chew.”

“How’d he get that name?”

“He chewed up one of my toy trains when we first got ‘im.”

“That’s funny.”

The young man smiled at Emi then brought the horses over to the saddles, and Brigid wrangled the kids over there as well. “Alright, we’ll start out by saddling the horses. Do either of you young ladies have any experience with this?”, the young man asked.

“I do. I helped my mommy saddle Niamh.”, Emi said excitedly.

“I have no idea.”, Anura said.

“Alright, Ms. Katon, would ya mind helping me demonstrate how to saddle a horse?”

“No problem.”

“I know how to saddle my own horse.”, Sunset said. Sunset grabbed one of the saddles and hoisted it onto one of the horse’s back. “Hey, Mom, want to know what I learned in French class?”

“Sure, wha’ did ya learn?”, Brigid said as she got her own horse’s saddle on.

“The word ‘bastard’ comes from the Old French word for saddle. Back when that was relevant, people would use saddles as pillows when on long trips, and that’s when most of us were made.”

“And dey taught ya dis in class?”

“No, I just noticed the similarities between the words and asked Mr. Greene about it. He’s quite knowledgeable about his favorite word.”, Sunset said with a crap-eating grin. “He’s also the hockey team’s bus driver. We’ve learned many no-no words from him.”

Brigid just shook her head and got back to helping Emi tighten the straps.

“I did it! I did it!”, Anura cheered.

“Very good. Now, go join your family.”, the young man instructed.

“Who am I riding with?”

“I wanna ride with Mom.”, Emi stated.

“Is riding with Sunset okay with ya?”, Brigid asked.

“Okay”, Anura said and skipped over to Sunset.

“What are their names?”, Sunset asked.

“This is Sir Tinkle Tootsie.”, he said, referring to his horse. “He hates having his hooves touched so much he pees himself whenever anyone tries. That’s Ivan Big Dump, self explanatory.” The young man emphasized his point by patting Brigid’s horse’s, admittedly, big rear. “And that’s Sassy Pantsy. Now, before we go, I need to check to make sure your saddles are secure. It’s not that I doubt your abilities. I just don’t want to get fired or sued.”

“Fair” Brigid and Sunset moved out of the way, and the young man checked the straps.

“Everything looks good. Alright, mount up, and let’s get going.” The young man led them out of the barn then climbed up on his horse, Sunset helped Anura up, and Brigid scooped Emi up into the saddle. “Okay, follow me.”

“Ya remember how Ah did it?”

“Yup”, Emi chirped. Brigid let go of the reins and let Emi take over. Emi followed the young man with Sunset and Anura behind them.

“You can loosen your grip. Holding it too tightly will stress out the horse.”, Sunset said.

“But I don’t want to fall off.”, Anura said.

“You won’t fall. I’ve got you.”

Brigid smiled to herself. She didn’t know if being a pony helped Sunset understand horses, but she would’ve made the rest of the family proud.

The young man led them up a low gradient trail to ease the girls into riding. Emi took to it like a fish to water, but Anura seemed to be more nervous about it. Sunset tried to help her, but this was the first time she’s ever interacted with a horse. The trail, from where they started, was only about a mile long, so it didn’t take them long to complete. When they got back to the barn, the young man showed the girls how to put away the horses.

“You both did very well. With a little more practice, you’ll be horse ridin’ pros.”, the young man said.

“That was scary.”, Anura said.

“Many new things are scary at first, but it won’t be once you get accustomed to it.”, Sunset said.

“You sound like my mom.”

“That’s no surprise, considering how much time they spend around each other.”, Emi commented.

“If you would like, you can walk around and see how we do things around here. Just stay out of the way of the people working, stay out of the pens, and just don’t be an idiot.”, the young man said.

“Thank ya. Oh, Ah neve’ got y’r name.”, Brigid said.

“Oh, My name’s Silver Zoom.”

“It’s good ta meet ya.” Brigid corralled the girls out of the barn and out of the way of the travel paths. The sound of metal banging on metal could be heard in another nearby barn, giving Brigid an idea. “Now, do ya wanna go see a farrier work?”

“I don’t know what that is.”, Anura said.

“Farriers are da people who take care a’ horses’ hooves n’ make deir shoes.”

“Mom’s a certified farrier.”, Sunset said.

“Yeah, but Ah’m probably rusty as all hell.”

“In that case, yeah, I’d love to see a fairy-eh, farrier work.”, Emi said.

“Alright, let’s go.” Brigid picked Emi up and took Anura’s hand. Sunset followed close behind as Brigid took them to the source of the sound. The inside of the barn were some stalls, but most of it was clear. An entire half of it only had a bar to attach horses to and a couple stools. Outside of the barn was a trailer filled with everything a farrier would need. The only living beings inside were two horses and a single man. The man had a cart with all the things a farrier would need next to one of the horses. He carried a hot horseshoe with a pair of tongs over to one of the horses, picked up a hoof, and placed it on the bottom. The smoke that came from that caused the three girls to gasp and cling to Brigid.

“Doesn’t that hurt the horsy?”, Emi asked.

“No, she’s fine. Her hoof absorbs most a’ da heat, so it’s jus’ warm ta ‘er.”

“That’s one thick hoof.”, Sunset said.

“Is dat not how it’s done in Equestria?”

“No, and I’ve only seen horseshoes like that as symbols.”

Odd

Once the man was happy with the fit, he dunked the shoe in a bucket of water, and began to attach it to the hoof. Sunset’s face paled when he started hammering the nails in and looked like she was ready to puke when it came out the side of the hoof.

“Sunset, are ya okay?”

“How-how can she not feel that? A nail’s coming out of her hoof.”, Sunset shakily said.

“Dere aren’t any nerves dere. It’s jus’ a lot a keratin.”

“I think Earth horses have thicker hooves than Equestrians. If someone did that to one of us, it’d be like someone driving a nail under your fingernail.”

It was Brigid’s turn to feel the need to puke. Professor Snapper had gone into too much detail and brought too many pictures in his medieval torture methods lecture back when Brigid was a student. “Ya said ponies use both deir mouths n’ hooves ta manipulate ‘hin’s around ‘em. Ah’m guessing thinne’ hooves makes dat easier.”

Sunset made her thinking face for a long moment before answering Brigid. “That is a plausible theory. We are able to squeeze the back of our hooves together in order to grab stuff. Having thicker hooves would likely make that, if not impossible, much more difficult.”

“Ya said ya have shoes. Wha’ do dey look like?”

“They’re a combination of metal or wood and fabric or pure metal. They are custom fitted to fit snuggly while not falling off.”

“Dat makes sense.”

The two of them had to cut their pony conversation short as the farrier approached. This conversation was just a bit too specific to just be shrugged off as them talking about a book or show.

“Can I help you, ladies?”, the farrier asked.

“Ah’m ‘ere ta teach mo girls ‘bout horse husbandry.”

“I get the feeling the person who came up with that term had a man-child for a husband.”, Sunset remarked.

“Dat’s a new one.”

“Well, I’ll be happy ta show ya. I just got done with Flower. You can watch me do Plunder.” The farrier walked back into the barn, and the four women followed. “Now, don’t stand behind a horse.” the farrier started to say.

“They have powerful legs, get spooked easily, and kick when they get spooked.”, Anura said.

“A kid from the side is far less powerful than a straight back kick.”, Emi finished.

“Ah grew up on a farm n’ around horses.”

“Okay, good.” The farrier brought them over to Plunder, put Plunder’s foot between his legs, and grabbed a hammer and what Brigid always called the shoe wedge. Is dat wha’ dat ‘hin’s actually called? Eh, whateve’, it’s close enough. “Now, the first thing we do is take off the old shoe.”, the farrier said, then began working the nails loose. Once he had enough room, he grabbed the clippers and used them to pull the shoe off. “Next, we clean out the sole.” He next grabbed a straight blade and used it to scrape out all the mud and gunk and what had grown in. “The way we know when to stop is when it gets slightly waxy. We don’t want to go any further than that. This next part is almost exactly the same as clipping your own nails.” The farrier grabbed the clippers again and cut away the nail. “Next, we file it flat.” He grabbed his rasp and filed it down quite nicely. “We need to make sure this is even so they walk evenly on their joints. If you do one side higher than the other, it can cause joint pain or damage.”

The farrier let go of Plunder and stood straight again. “The next step is to shape the shoe. Follow me.” The five of them headed outside to the trailer that held everything you’d need for blacksmithing. The farrier grabbed a horseshoe from a pile of four and showed it to the girls. “Back in the olden days, we had to forge shoes from scratch, but nowadays, we just bulk order these, and all we have to do is shape them to the horse’s hoof.”

“Did you have to forge horseshoes from scratch?”, Emi asked.

“Ah ain’t dat old. We got our horseshoes from a factory near Cavan. Though, dere are da remains of an old forge not far from da house, but it’s jus’ a pile a’ rocks now.”

“Are you a farrier?”, the farrier asked.

“Ah am, but Ah’m outa practice.”

“Well then, you must know what comes next.” The farrier placed the horseshoes in the furnace and waited for them to heat up. Once they were at the correct temperature, he pulled one out and laid it on the anvil. “No two hooves are the same, so we need to shape them to fit. This is going to be loud.”

Sunset and Emi covered their ears, and the farrier began the process. He was good and able to do it quickly, and he repeated the same process he did with Flower. As he dunked the shoe in the bucket, the four of them went over to see what he was doing. Even with the horse not minding, Sunset still cringed when he nailed the shoe in place. Once the nails were in, bent, clipped and filed, the farrier did some more rasping and sanding to make sure there was nothing for Plunder to catch himself on.

“There we go. All that’s left is to seal the hoof back up. When we rasp it, we remove the outermost that keeps all the healthy oils and stuff in and bad stuff out, so we have to replace it with this.” The farrier grabbed a bottle from the cart and a brush and showed it to the girls. He unscrewed the bottle, dipped the brush in, and coated the hoof. “That’s it for this hoof, and we do the same with the other three hooves. It’s the same process.”

“Thank ya f’r da lesson.”

“Thank you for teaching your girls about horses. They were a delight.”

“Much luck ta ya.” Brigid took the girls out of the barn and back to the car. “Did ya enjoy y’rselves?”

“I did.”, Emi cheered.

“Yeah”, Sunset said.

“Horses are scary.”, Anura said.

“Yeah got da right idea. Horses are four legged chickens, with powerful legs, dat will kick if dey get scared. Dat is why dey deserve respect.”

“Ponies are scarier, and Ah don’t jus’ mean that one.”, Emi said while pointing at Sunset.

“Excuse me?”, Sunset asked.

“Ponies are small. That means they have to be meaner. It’s not jus’ a human thing. It’s the same reason chihuahuas are little pieces of shit.”

“This planet is so effin’ backwards.”

“Okay, get in da car. We got more places ta be.”

Katon family livingroom

Date: Aug 19th, time: 6:15 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Ho-how did she beat me? When did she get so good?

Emi was doing her victory dance right in Sunset’s face. She was tempted to hold her upside down and shake her like a salt shaker, but Brigid and Anzhong would be back any minute. Just as predicted, they walked through the door not five minutes later.

“Wha’s got ya so excited?”

“I bested Sunset in a video game.”, Emi cheered.

Sunset grumbled to herself and resisted the urge to pummel her. She then felt that someone else was upset. She looked up and saw it was Anzhong. “Is Dad okay?”

“Someone stole his lunch.”, Brigid said.

Anzhong stomped his way in front of the girls with a serious attitude. “Alright girls, you are two of the most devious people I know. I need you to make me a lunch that will teach the thief a lesson, but it needs to meet three criteria.”

“What are the criteria?”, Sunset asked.

“The criteria are as thus, it can not contain any sort of medication or poison, you can not use excessive amounts of hot sauce or similar spices, and it must look and smell good enough to actually make it into the culprit’s mouth.”

“I get the first and third ones, but why no hot sauce?”

“I work in a law office. Someone will find a way to sue me.”

“That’s fair.” Sunset turned her attention to Emi. “You’ve been oddly quiet. Whatcha thinkin’ about?”

“I have an idea of what we can do, but we’re going to need lard, whipped cream, a pie crust, and some fruit. Mom, could you go get any of the sakura cherries that are left?”

“Sure, but wha’ sort a’ pie are ya planin’ on makin’?”

“Ya’ll see.”

“Alright” Brigid went outside while Emi hopped off the couch.

“To da laboratory!”, Emi announced while pointing to the sky.

“You’ve been watching too many of those old movies.” Sunset hopped off the couch and followed Emi into the kitchen. Emi pulled out her stool while Sunset pulled out all the ingredients she mentioned, mumbling curses as she pulled out the condensed pig fat, her eternal enemy. “What are we making?”

“Cherry cheesecake with lard instead of cheesecake filling and sakura cherries instead of sweet cherries.”

“Oh, that is disgusting. Where did you learn this recipe?”, Sunset asked with both disgust and pride.

“Lunch thieves and stories of revenge on such scum are common on Readit, and that’s jus’ about mo only source a’ human contact.”

“Well, I am impressed. Let’s do this.” Sunset grabbed a pie tin, turned on the oven, and placed the pie crust in the tin.

Brigid soon came back inside and placed a handful of cherries on the island. “Is dis enough?”

“Eyup, thanks, Mom.”, Emi said as she placed the cherries next to the can of whipped cream.

Brigid surveyed their set up, and her eyes locked onto the lard and pie crust. “Ya two are nasty.”

“What are they doing?”, Anzhong asked.

“It’s a surprise.”, Emi teased.

“Is it following my criteria?”

“Yeah, y’re thief won’t be able ta sue, but Ah doubt dey’ll be able ta get a bite down.”

Brigid and Anzhong headed upstairs as Emi and Sunset waited for the oven to finish preheating. Once it was ready, Sunset placed the crust in. It only took about fifteen minutes to cook, and then it was time for the fun. They loaded the lard up until just below the edge of the crust, garnished it with the whipped cream and cherries, and stuck it in the fridge.

“This is going to be awesome.”, Sunset said.

“I’m tempted to taste it to see just how bad it is.”, Emi said, earning a weird look from Sunset. “Ah said “tempted”. I ain’t gonna.”

Prosecutors office

Date: Aug 20th, time: 11:00 pm

*Diana’s perspective*

“Ms. Zilberschlag, please take these to Ms. Neptune.”, Mr. Katon said.

“Yes, sir.” Diana took the files Mr. Katon handed her and headed to Ms. Neptune’s office. As she passed a reflective service, she noticed her curly silver and navy hair was a mess. She immediately fixed it before anyone could see. The advantages of having a blind boss. Once her hair was as close to neat as it would get, she resumed her walk. Their building was a bit nicer than your average government offices, but it was still nowhere as nice as private lawyer offices. Diana knocked on Ms. Neptune’s door and waited for an answer.

“Come in.”

Diana opened the door and looked around the office. It was filled with boxes, the shelves were empty, and it overall didn’t take a genius to figure out she was still moving in. “Hello, Ms. Neptune. I’m Diana Zilberschlag, Mr. Katon’s assistant. He wanted me to give you these.” Diana handed Ms. Neptune the files.

“Thank you. I’ll take a look at these later.”

Diana nodded and headed back to Mr. Katon’s office. On her way back, she noticed a guy in the breakroom blasting his mouth with water. She went to check on him but noticed Mr. Katon’s open lunchbox on the table with a piece of cheesecake with a bite taken out of it next to it. It was undoubtedly his as it was a gag gift and was a children’s lunchbox with ninjas on it.

“You’ve been stealing Mr. Katon’s lunch.”, Diana accused. “You work in the prosecutors’ office, and you’re committing a crime. How stupid can you be?” The culprit turned around and glared at Diana, and she recognized it was Sombra Reyes, a Wall Street broker of a lawyer. “Oh, I see, spite.”, Diana said while crossing her arms. Mr. Reyes and Mr. Katon hate each other. Mr. Katon calls Mr. Reyes “Chihuahua man” as he’s a coward, has an annoying voice, and has the integrity of one.

“You”, Mr. Reyes spat in disdain. “You better tell your boss to watch himself. I’m going to get him fired.”

“Fat chance, this is the advantage of putting the effort into making people like you, even if you don’t like them. Mr. Hooves is going to side with Mr. Katon, even if he’s not going to have you charged.”, Diana said flatly.

Mr. Reyes glared at her and stomped out but not before muttering a few more words of disdain. “Symbolless nobody.” Mr. Reyes said it just loud enough to make it clear he intended for Diana to hear it. She looked down at herself. She was in her mid twenties and still hadn’t figured out what her symbol was. “It’s not that unusual.” she said. Yeah, but how am I going to get anywhere in this world without one. Nobody worth their salt doesn’t have a symbol.

Diana shook those thoughts from her head, grabbed the lunchbox and cake, and headed back to Mr. Katon’s office. She re-entered the office and placed the items on Mr. Katon’s desk. “We know who the lunch thief was.”

“Mr. Reyes”

“Did you figure it out, or are you just guessing him because you hate him?”

“Nobody else's lunches have been stolen, so it was either him or someone really likes my cooking.”

“Uh-huh. Y’know, I’m surprised he didn’t peg that as a trap. It’s not exactly a secret that you’re lactose intolerant. He should’ve known you’d never bring in cheesecake for yourself.”

“Keep thinking like that, and you’ll be top of your class and a great lawyer.”, Mr. Katon said with a smile.

“Thank you, sir.” That’s assuming anyone would want to hire someone without a symbol. They’ll think I’m dishonest or incompetent. “What did you do to that cake?”

“This cake was the creation of my daughters, and it isn’t a cheesecake. It’s a lard cake.”, Mr. Katon said with pride.

“Man, that’s nasty.”, DA Hooves said.

Diana jumped and spun around when she heard Mr. Hooves. “Sir! You scared me.”

“Sorry. Now, Mr. Katon, I can’t see why you and Mr. Reyes can’t get along. You’re so similar.”

“I am to Mr. Reyes as oranges are to grapefruit. We will never get along so long as I have a modicum of self respect and he’s so blatant and impudent with his misdoings. Our similarities are surface level.”

Wait, is Mr. Katon more upset that Mr. Reyes is bad at being a dick than him being a dick in the first place?

“Ugh, did you do anything else to that cake, other than making it out of lard?”, Mr. Hooves asked while pinching his nose.

“Other than that and my girls using the cherries from my sakura tree, no, the crust is a standard premade crust, and the whipped cream is your regular non-dairy whipped cream that you can get at any store.”

“Okay, you didn’t actually poison him. Now, I just need to get him to stop whining. Quick question, what’s wrong with the cherries from your tree? You clumped them in with the lard.”

“These aren’t the sweet cherries you’re used to. They aren’t poisonous, but they don’t taste good. They are very bitter, to the point they aren’t considered edible by humans.”

“That’s good. I don’t want you or anyone else bringing poison into my office.”

“The strongest poison I bring is my coffee and hot sauce.”, Mr. Katon said while holding a hand up in the ‘I surrender’ possession and pulling a brown paper bag out from under his desk.

“Very funny.”, Mr. Hooves said sarcastically as he left.

Diana turned back to Mr. Katon, who dumped the lard cake in the trash and unpacked his true lunch. “Sir, do you hate Mr. Reyes because he’s bad at being a dick?”

“Yes”, Mr. Katon simply said.

“So, you wouldn’t hate him if he was good at it.”

“That is correct.”

“Why?”, Diana asked confusedly.

“I am no saint, Ms. Zilberschlag. It would be hypocritical of me to expect else of others. What I do expect is for people to be at least smart about it. Mr. Reyes is not smart.”

Diana opened her mouth to say something but then thought better and closed it. She just got back into work mode and went back to her desk.

Shots' home

Date: Aug 23rd, time: 8:00 pm

*Long’s perspective*

“Hey, sweety, I’m going next door to watch a horror movie with the neighbors. Do you want to come?”, Mom asked.

“What movie are you going to watch?”

“That hasn’t been decided yet. We usually decide all together.”

“Sure, I have nothing better to do.”

Mom gave a soft smile and picked up a box of popcorn. “Let’s get going then.”

Mom led the way to the right house. It was, quite literally, next door. Mom rang the doorbell, and it was soon answered. Long looked to where she expected to see a face but had to look up and up. The woman who answered filled the frame and made Dad look tiny in comparison.

“Hello, ya must be Long. Ah’m Brigid. It’s nice ta meet ya.” Brigid extended her hand, and Long reciprocated.

As they shook, Long noticed how strong Brigid’s hands were. Blue collar work, she has some dirt on her hands. That alone didn’t tell her much, but the stench of fertilizer filled in the gaps. A farmer, but does she do it for a living or a hobby? Long remembered a glass building in the backyard that could only be a greenhouse, and there was a hint of a long faded farmer’s tan in Brigid’s skin. She could’ve grown up on a farm and now just does it as a hobby. “It’s nice to meet you. I do have to say, I wasn’t expecting, well, you.”

“Ah get dat a lot. Come in. Sunset already has a suggestion.” Brigid moved out of the way, letting Mom and Long in.

“Minerva?”, Long asked.

“Hello, Long.”

“What movie did you choose, Sunset?”, Mom asked.

“Kairo, or Circuit, in English. It’s from two thousand one and is about ghosts being transmitted over the internet.”, a girl with red and gold hair said. She was very pretty, but there was something about her that Long couldn’t help but find odd but couldn’t quite place. It was almost familiar.

“That sounds good. Long?”

“I’m good with whatever.”

“I guess it’s decided then.”, Minerva said.

Mom popped the popcorn in the microwave while everyone else grabbed drinks and snacks. Long just sat on the couch and waited for everyone. Sunset put the DVD in, and everyone huddled around the TV. Interestingly, the volume was already turned down to a comfortable level for Long. Even as the movie played, Long kept stealing glances at Sunset. She just radiated… something. Long had to quickly avert her gaze back to the movie when Sunset looked back at her. What is up with that kid?

You’d normally expect a kid Sunset’s age to be disturbed by what she was seeing, but she could best be described as intrigued. Of course, she had the same instinctual responses as any sane person, but she's acted like someone who’s seen it all before. Maybe she’s just seen too many of these things.

As the movie finished, the lights were turned back on, causing Long to flinch at the brightness, and everyone got to cleaning up. Mom, Brigid, Minerva, and Sunset worked like a well oiled machine, and Long was pretty much just left watching. Sunset was in the kitchen, cleaning the popcorn bowl. Long got up and went into the kitchen as well. There really wasn’t much to do, gather up trash, take the DVD out, clean the dishes, and they had basically done it all. Sunset placed the popcorn bowl in the dish drainer and turned and looked up at Long. She made an odd face, and Long was worried she’d caught on.

“So, you’re going to work at your brother’s photography studio, correct?”, Sunset asked in a tone that put Long on edge.

“Um, yes.”, Long said, not sure how to defuse this situation. All the while, her mind raced to come up with answers that wouldn’t make her look like a creep to every possible question.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t do better as a PI?”

Long could now recognize Sunset’s tone as sly, rather than accusatory, and that was not a question Long even considered as slightly plausible. “Would I do better as a PI? Why do you ask?”

“There’s no reason to be nervous. I’m not judging you for being a creep.”, Sunset said quietly and with a devious smile. Well, crap. “I’m saying I’ve seen the way you’ve been looking at me. It’s the same look my bio-dad makes when he’s trying to figure someone out, and I am someone to figure out. A PI is basically a photographer with an inquisitive mind. That’s you.”

Long’s mind was still trying to process what she’d just heard. She didn’t expect anything like that out of the mouth of someone still in middle school.

“Granted, you might wanna work on your stealth and subtlety skills first. A blind man would’ve known he was being watched.”

“Um, thanks. I’ll think about it.”, Long finally managed to get out and return to her mother, who was talking with Brigid and Minerva. They were talking about one of the scarier scenes in the movie. Long felt like a teenager again, just standing next to her mom until she was done talking to her friends and ready to go. No, that feeling doesn’t go away, even when you're nearly sixty.

Long was very bored by the time Mom was finally done talking and they could finally leave. Brigid and Sunset were alright, but it was nice to be out of there.

“So, how did you like them?”, Mom asked.

“They were okay.”

“That’s good.”

“Hey, what do you know about Sunset?”

“Sunset, well, she was adopted nearly four years ago. She likes scary movies. Um, that’s about it. Why do you ask?”

“She’s just… strange. She doesn’t act like a kid.”

“‘Act like a kid’ is a very broad term. You didn’t act like the other kids, and you know as well as I do that “normal” is just an act everyone puts on.”

“Yeah, okay.” Long still wasn’t happy with that answer, but that was the only one she’d get until she interacted with Sunset more.

Mr. Root’s classroom

Date: Aug 30th, time: 10:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset sat in the back row, just like last year, next to Meg. She was translating for Meg again. The only difference this year was that they were now being taught by Mr. Moody Root. The whole time during class, Mr. Root looked distracted. Sunset was confused by it but also was more focused on the material.

Mr. Root looked up at the clock and then turned back to the class. “Okay, students, today is going to be a bit different. Before we go to lunch, we’re going to attend an assembly at the high school. You can leave your bags, if you want, but start getting ready to go.”

Sunset signed Mr. Root’s instructions to Meg, and the two of them got up and joined the forming line. Once all the students were up, Mr. Root led them to the high school gym. It looked like everyone from the two schools were in there. There was a stage in the middle of the gym floor where some of the teachers stood, directing students and setting up. Sunset noticed one of them was signing and pointed it out to Meg. “She can sign.”

“I sit in front.”, Meg signed.

Sunset nodded, and the two of them sat in one of the front rows. Sunset spotted Flash and waved him over. The three of them sat together and waited for whatever this thing was about. The other students were all seated, and the teachers finished setting up. In addition to the normal stuff you’d see on a stage, there was a large picture of a girl in a CPA uniform, around middle school aged. She seemed to be happy in the photo.

A woman that Sunset recognized as Principal Celestia Faust stood on stage with Vice Principal Luna Faust to her right and Principal Winters and Vice Principal Leo to her left. Luna was very pretty. If her pony counterpart was anywhere near as pretty, Sunset understood why thestral kind was enamored with her. The two of them also had an interesting feel to them. Everybody had a feel to them that someone like Sunset could learn to distinguish by getting to know a person, but some people have a noticeably different feel. This is normally an indication of a very dangerous person, i.e. Platinum Wood, but their feel wasn’t so evil. It was strong and earthy, like a tree’s.

“Thank you all for being here.”, Principal Celestia said into the microphone, and the ASL translator signed with a camera and monitor to make seeing her hands easier. “I know you’re all wondering what this is all about. Well, the young woman, whose picture you see behind me, is named Blueberry Swirl. On June twenty-first, she was abducted off the streets and is now fighting for her life, in the hospital, after being shot. Her friends told police that a man threatened to shoot her if she did not get into his car.” Celestia lowered her head and wiped away the forming tears before continuing. “As your teachers and people that care for you, we want to take this opportunity to tell you that under absolutely no circumstances let someone that is trying to abduct you take you to a second location. Despite being in critical condition, Blueberry Swirl is considered one of the lucky ones because she is still alive. Your chances of surviving an encounter like this drop significantly if you are taken to a second location. If someone ever tries to force you into their car, scream, kick, bite, do everything you can to not let that happen, even if they have a gun. It’s better to be shot where help is only minutes away than where help may never come. Make as big of a scene as you can. Scream that the person is not your parent, fire, anything to get attention on you.”

Sunset couldn’t take her eyes away from the photo. That kid, that happy kid, was dying. Monsters, fucking monsters.

“Thank you for your attention. You are all free to head to your next period.”, Celestia finished.

The students moved at a more subdued pace now. Sunset didn’t get up right away. She was enraged by this. She had come to expect such behavior from humans, but it still pissed her off. Flash took her hand and stroked her hair to calm her down. It worked, but Sunset still didn’t feel good.

“Sunset?”, Snips asked.

“What is it?”, Sunset asked, annoyed.

“If someone tries to kidnap us, would you protect us?”, Snails asked.

“Nobody would want to kidnap you two. You’re too ugly.”

“But what if? We’re not strong. If we’re targeted, we won’t be able to defend ourselves.”, Snips said.

Sunset looked over the two boys. They weren’t wrong. “You have your teeth. It doesn’t matter how strong you are. Human bites can be devastating. Aim for the neck, eyes, scrotum. It doesn't matter how strong you are. Those areas will always be weak spots.”

“Okay, thank you, Sunset.”, Snails said and hugged Sunset.

“Yeah, yeah, go back to class.”, Sunset said as she pushed Snails away. Snips and Snails followed their orders and rejoined their class.

“What they want?”, Meg signed.

“Scared, that is all.”, Sunset answered.

“Bye, gotta go.”, Flash signed and rejoined his class.

Sunset and Meg got up to rejoin their class, and as they were walking to their class, Sunset noticed Celestia sitting on the stage with her head down. Old instincts taking over, Sunset walked over to the woman. “Principal Faust?”

“Oh, hello. Please, call me Principal Celestia. Principal Faust was my grandfather.”, Celestia said, wiping tears from her eyes. “I’m sorry. I don’t recognize you.”

“That’s because I’m still a middle schooler. Are you okay?”

“I’m okay. What’s your name?”

“My name is Sunset Shimmer.” It felt weird introducing herself to Celestia again, even though she knew this was a different Celestia. It reminded her of the first time she met her, if vaguely.

*Flashback*

CSGU

Date: 999th year, time: 9th hour ASR

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset sat opposite the disciplinary head in her office. Her office looked exactly like what you’d imagine a stuffy, uptight tenured professor’s office to be. Her hooves were pristine, polished and shiny. There wasn’t even dirt embedded in her hooves. Her hooves were cleaner than a day old foal’s. Sunset wouldn’t bet against her viewing earth ponies as lesser because they spend all day in the dirt, but those types were a bit a dozen in Canterlot.

“Ms. Shimmer, are you aware of why you’re here?”, Ms. Strict asked.

“I blew up the bushes.”, Sunset said.

“That, and?”, Ms. Strict said with a raised eyebrow.

“Uh,” Sunset shrugged her shoulders.

“You challenged Jet Set to a magic duel.”

“No, he challenged me, and I accepted as demanded of the pegasus code of honor.”, Sunset said indignantly.

“Oh right, you’re one of those things. I don’t know why Princess Celestia would allow such filth into this school.”, Ms. Strict said disgustedly.

“Maybe it’s because it’s the combination of the three tribes that gives me my power. The same power that you now respect and worship.”

Ms. Strict’s head shot up with fear evident in her eyes, and Sunset turned around to see Princess Celestia standing in the doorway. “Prin-Princess Celestia, Great ruler of the sun, I-I didn’t see you there.”, Ms. Strict stammered out.

“You must be Sunset Shimmer. I’ve heard much about you in the last hour. I would like to talk to you in my study, if you please.”, Celestia said with a warm smile. Sunset just sat there, mouth gaping like a fish. “Sunset?”

“Yes, of course.” Sunset hopped off her chair and walked up to the white alicorn. “You’re shorter than I thought you’d be.”

“Ach chm, Ms. Shimmer.”, Ms. Strict choked out.

“I suppose I do give off a larger than life presence when I appear in public. And, Ms. Strict, I do not believe that you have an intimate enough relation with this child to have such brevity with your words.”, Celestia said. “Come along now, Ms. Shimmer. We have much to discuss.”

Sunset nodded and followed Celestia out and down the hall and to the front entrance. “Um, Princess, I mean, Princess Celestia, Great ruler of the sun, where are we going? I thought we were going to your office.”

“Hmhm, not my school office, we’re going to my personal study.”, Celestia said with a smile.

Sunset’s jaw dropped again. Her personal study, that’s in the castle. I’m getting to go to the castle. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll be on my best behavior.”, Sunset said with a salute.

“That’s good to hear, but you don’t have to be so formal with me.”

“Sorry”, Sunset said with a sheepish smile.

“You have no need to apologize. You were simply displaying good manners, an admirable trait for someone as young as yourself.”

As they walked to the castle, ponies all around them bowed to Celestia and otherwise showed their devotion. The whole time, Celestia smiled and greeted them and was all around friendly, but there was something else to it. “Ponies rarely show what they’re really feeling, whether it’s frustration, greed, or joy. Everypony has something to hide, even the princess.” That’s what Daddy always says. What’s the princess really feeling? It’s not joy. That’s what she’s showing. Sunset watched Celestia’s expressions carefully. Every time somepony complimented her or bowed, her smile would change from natural to slightly strained, just like the pictures in Daddy’s textbooks.

“Princess, you’re, like, super powerful, right, and can teleport?”, Sunset asked quietly.

“Yes, I can teleport.”

“Then why don’t you just teleport straight to the castle if all this attention is bothering you?”

“What makes you think I’m bothered?”, Celestia asked, still in that sweet teacher voice. But she was surprised by my question.

“You have to strain to keep your smile when ponies praise you.”

Anger, no, sock, er, or maybe- Sunset noticed a glint of something in Celestia’s eye before her mask covered it back up. “You’re quite perceptive, my little pony. Tell me, how does one at your age pick up on such small details?”

“My daddy is an intelligence officer in the Royal Air Guard, and I sometimes sneak into his room and read his infiltration textbooks. There’s one all about reading faces, and… hey, this is textbook redirection. You’re trying to not answer my question.”, Sunset said with a scowl.

“Oh, no, I’m not trying to avoid your question. I’m just trying to get to know you better. The reason why I don’t teleport into the castle is because it has runes in place to prevent that. I can teleport throughout the castle and out of the castle, but allowing ponies to teleport into the castle would pose a security risk.”

“Wow, really? Wait, of course it is. It has to be the best protected place in all the world because all the most important things are kept there.”, Sunset said excitedly.

“Very astute, my little pony. You have a bright destiny before you.”

*Present Day*

I was so naïve back then. She was testing me, even from the moment we met. This Celestia, however, seems to wear her heart on her sleeve, even when she’s trying to keep her composure. Either that, or she’s far superior to Princess Celestia in manipulating people, making everyone think she’s terrible at hiding her emotion, lulling them into a false trust. But given the fact she’s barely a fraction of Princess Celestia’s age, it’s likely the former, and my intuition tells me these are her real feelings. I wish I had these powers back then.

“Are you okay, Sunset?”, Principal Celestia asked.

“I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

“You seem a bit on guard. Despite what happened to Blueberry Swirl, you don’t need to be afraid, while you’re at school. As your teachers, we will move mountains to keep you safe.”

I’ve never heard anything so sincere come out of the princess’s mouth, and I don’t sense any ulterior motives, just pure love. Either this Celestia is completely incapable of hiding her emotion, or my powers are a lot stronger than I thought. “You’re not just lying to me to make me feel better, are you?”

Principal Celestia got up from her seat and crouched down to be eye level with Sunset. “Sunset Shimmer, I mean every word. Your safety is my number one concern. It’s our job to send you out into the world as well educated, alive adults.”

“Hehe, I like you. You’re honest.” Looks like both.

“I find it best to lead by example, and that means being honest with my students. Oh, looks like you need to get back to your class.”

Sunset looked up at the clock and realized how late it was. Oh crap “Gotta go.” Sunset ran past Celestia and towards the gym doors.

“Slow down!”, Celestia called out.

“I’ll slow down when I’m not late!”

SHWO ch69 Nice, eh, sort of

Katon family home

Date: Sep 1st, time: 8:10 pm

*Flash’s perspective*

Flash waited with Emi and Anura as Brigid was picking up Sunset. The remaining adults were talking amongst themselves as Anzhong cooked. Emi and Anura were talking with each other, leaving Flash without anyone to talk to. His awkward torment was finally ended when Sunset and Brigid returned.

“Hey, Sunset.”, Flash said.

Sunset came up to Flash and gave him a kiss. “Hey, Flash.” Sunset took her seat, and Anzhong brought out the food.

“Did you win again?”, Anzhong asked.

“You bet.”

“That’s my girl.”

Once all the food was out, everyone sat down and began serving themselves. Flash liked how the Katons served meals.

“Is this how you do it in Japan and Ireland?”, Flash asked.

“More like, dis is how we do it in Japan n’ on farms.”, Brigid said.

Flash nodded. His family hadn’t been farmers for nearly 200 years, so small details of farm life, like this, have been long forgotten.

Despite how good it was, the meal was not the main event. Anzhong brought out a cake with fourteen candles on it and placed it in front of Sunset. Everyone began singing happy birthday, and she blew out the candles when they were done. Once the cake was eaten, everyone brought out their presents. Flash presented Sunset with his, and she accepted it with a smile.

She opened it up and made a confused face at the contents. “Hairspray?”

“Not just any hair spray, eighties hairspray.”

That was enough info for Brigid, Jiyaira, and Minerva to make ‘oh-no’ faces.

“I’m still gonna need more context.”

“This stuff makes a better flamethrower than hairspray.”

That got Sunset’s eyes to sparkle, and she bolted up, tore the plastic off, and grabbed a lighter.

“Outside!”, Brigid demanded.

“I was going to anyway.”, Sunset responded as she popped the lid off then ran outside with Emi and Flash following her. She aimed it away from the house and tree, lined up the lighter and spray can a few inches away from each other, lit the lighter, then let out the kaboom air. A large stream of fire erupted from the point the spray hit the lighter with Sunset laughing like a deranged lunatic. “This is awesome!” Sunset let up on the spray and let the flame go out. “This is awesome, Flash. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Yeah, Sunset, Ah only want ya playin’ with yer flamethrower-in-a-can when y’re sober.”, Brigid said.

“Did you like the show, Ailbhe?”, Sunset asked while looking out into the yard.

Flash tried to find the cat but couldn’t see anything. “Where’s Ailbhe?” Flash’s question was answered as said cat ran past him and up Brigid. “Oh, there she is.”

“Can I get a turn with the hairspray?”, Emi asked.

“No”, Sunset and Brigid firmly said. Emi pouted, crossed her arms, and huffed off.

“N’ store dat thing where neither cat nor kid c’n get ta it.”

“That’s not a lot of places, but I’ll figure something out.”

“Good”

The three of them re-entered the house, and Sunset put the can back into the box and closed it up. The party continued, and before long, it was almost ten o’clock. Mom arrived and knocked on the door, Brigid got up to let her in, and Flash inwardly groaned.

“It sucks that your parents are so strict about this.”, Sunset said.

“Yeah, I wish they were more like your parents.”

“Ready ta go, Flash?”, Mom asked.

“No, but it’s not like I have a choice.”

“Don’t talk ta me like that.”, Mom scolded. “Come on, let’s go.”

Flash got up, waved to Sunset, and left with Mom.

“Did Sunset like her gift?”, Mom asked once they were in the car and underway.

“She immediately ran outside to try it out and laughed like a mad woman.”

“You gave her hairspray, right?”, Mom asked confusedly.

“Yeah, I did. You do realize how flammable that stuff is and that it makes a pretty good home-made flamethrower?”

“A flamethrower, you gave Sunset a flamethrower?”

“They’re legal, and Sunset loves it.”

Mom’s mouth gaped like a fish as she tried to process what she just heard. “That’s - well, interesting.”

“Yeah, she scares me sometimes, but I like seeing her happy.”

Skyranger’s Combat School

Date: Sep 6th, time: 2:30 pm

*Rarity’s perspective*

Rarity and her opponent stood and walked to the center of the circle. They were surrounded by the rest of their classmates, who formed said circle. Everyone was spread out, so the fighters had plenty of room. Mr. Skyranger stood off to the side as Rarity and Night Glider, her opponent, squared up and sized each other up. Night’s muscles twitched in anticipation, and somehow, Rarity could sense and interpret it. She didn’t even need to look down. She just knew.

Mr. Skyranger gave them the signal to begin, and Rarity sensed Night’s right punch. She was easily able to grab Night’s arm, get to her side, and punch her in the side of the head. Night staggered but reoriented herself and squared back up. Night right kicks, Rarity grabbed the kick, and pushed Night back. Night bounced back up, and Rarity sensed another right punch. Night’s favoring of her right side didn’t help her predictability. She grabbed Night’s arm again and punched her in the side of the head again.

“Match”, Mr. Skyranger said.

Rarity and Night retook their spots and watched the other kids spar. If she focused on one of the fighters, Rarity could predict the other kids’ movements. As useful as it was, doing too much caused her to have a headache, so she tried to not have it happen. That’s easier said than done when you’re trying to learn from the other fighters. The non-combat version of this power is less draining. She could pick up on the slightest muscle or eye twitch in normal conversations all day without getting drained or a headache. What are the odds my parents will believe me versus them thinking I’m nuts? When did this even start happening? I definitely didn’t always have this.

Night got up to spar again with another kid. She still had her predictability issue. Right leg, right arm, right arm, left leg- ooh, lefty, that’s new. Night swept the legs of her opponent out from under them and jumped on them. She pelted them with punches then got back up.

It was Rarity’s turn again, and she was paired up with Sugar Grape, or “White Rainbow” as Rarity called her. She really did look a lot like Rainbow, just white and with purple hair. She wasn’t nearly as predictable as Night. Sugar began rocking on the balls of her feet, making the feeling surge, and Rarity caught Sugar’s jump kick. She let Sugar fall and jumped on her the same way Night jumped on her opponent then delivered the same series of punches. Rarity let Sugar up, and the two squared up again. She caught Sugar’s uppercut then punched her in the side as she guarded her face too well, hitting her just below her ribcage. Sugar dropped like a bag of potatoes. Rarity staggered back, internally freaking out, as Mr. Skyranger checked Sugar.

“You okay?”, Mr. Skyranger asked.

Sugar slowly sat up but still looked dizzy. “What was that?”

“It was just a liver punch. You’ll be fine. Go sit down.”

Sugar slowly got up, and Mr. Skyranger sat her back down in her spot in the circle.

Mr. Skyranger then went over to Rarity. “You okay?”

“I-I didn’t mean to do that.”, Rarity stuttered.

Mr. Skyranger corralled Rarity out of the circle and turned back to the other kids. “Continue sparring.” Mr. Skyranger brought Rarity to the corner of the room then sat her down on one of the punching bags that lined the wall and kneeled in front of her. “Firstly, you did nothing wrong. I’ll try to explain what happened to the best of my non-medical ability.” Rarity nodded, and he continued. “A punch to the liver causes the body to temporarily malfunction and widen the blood vessels, causing a rapid but temporary drop in blood pressure. Her body will correct the malfunction, tighten her blood vessels, and she’ll be back to normal in a few minutes.”

Rarity internally sighed in relief. That was scary. Mr. Skyranger got both of them standing again and brought them back to the circle. Rarity sat back down in her spot, and Mr. Skyranger stood outside the circle, like he had been before. The class continued as usual, and they were soon wrapping up. The other students gave Rarity a wide berth as they got their shoes on and gathered up their bags. Dad’s car pulled into the parking lot, and Rarity was about to head out but was stopped by Mr. Skyranger.

“Rarity, you’re better at predicting other people’s movements than anyone I’ve ever seen. I highly urge you to consider competing.”, he said in his no nonsense, straight to the point, laconic way.

I could, but wouldn’t using my ability be cheating? Then again, how would that be any different from a big kid using their size to their advantage? “I’ll think about it.”, Rarity simply said before leaving. She hopped into her dad’s car, and they drove off. “Dad, do you ever feel like you know what another person’s going to do?”

“Yeah, when I’m on the field, I can read the other players like books. Why do you ask?”, Dad said like he was describing any other play.

“I can do that too.”

“Good.” was all Dad said in response.

Rarity just sat there, wondering if her dad fully understood what she was saying.

Sunset’s room

Date: Sep 10th, time: 6:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset grabbed one of her kimono from her closet and presented it to Brigid. It was primarily black with red and gold flowers on her left sleeve and the bottom part and the Katon clan crest on the back and front of the shoulders. This style is called a houmongi and is very formal and lavish. It was a bit more masculine than an average woman’s kimono with a men’s belt with a bow rather than the traditional obi. Sunset found the thick obi to be rather uncomfortable. “What do you think about this?”, Sunset asked.

“It would be nice, but ya also don't wanna upstage da grooms.”

“I would have to go dressed as a peacock to upstage Andy.”

“Eithe’ way, ya should check with him first. Americans take weddings very seriously, n’ da last thin’ ya want is ta mess one up.”

“I know. Pegasi take weddings just as seriously. I'll text him a pic and ask.”

“Good plan. Now, Ah got a cat dat needs combin’.” Brigid came over to Sunset and kissed her head. “Love ya.”

“Love ya.” Once Brigid was gone, Sunset took out her phone, snapped a pic, and sent it to Andy.

Hey, is this okay for the wedding?

Yes, it’s fabulous. What is it?

Houmongi kimono, a.k.a fancy-schmancy

traditional Japanese dress.

It’s perfect. Where can I get one?

Sunset gave feather-boy the place’s name and address then went back to choosing her hair accessories. As she was trying to find her black flower comb, Emi came running in. “Not on the kimono.”, Sunset warned.

“Why do you even have the super fancy one out?”

“To plan for the wedding.”

“Oh right, can I come?”

“You weren’t invited.”

“I can be your plus one.”

“I’m already a plus one. Bringing my own plus one would be rude. Plus, I’ve been to three weddings in my time, and they’re either stressful or boring. My parents’ wedding was so boring, I fell asleep in the pedal basket.”

“Aw, baby pony you must’ve been adorable.”

“Are you saying I’m not adorable?”

“No, you’re old.”

“Considering you aren’t likely to reach double digits, yeah, I guess I’m old to you.”

“Low blow.”, Emi said in a cold yet still teasing tone and stomped out of the room. It was clear Emi wasn’t hurt, so Sunset felt no need to chase after her.

She went back to sifting through her jewelry box and found her desired accessories and placed them where she could more easily find them then put her kimono back. She’d just wear her nicest pair of black sneakers. It’s not like she needs fancy shoes with what she’s already wearing. Once everything wasn’t going to get stepped on, Sunset went back to her desk. She turned her laptop on and opened up maps. The feeling she got at the docks warranted further investigation. She clicked through the street view of the area. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, at first. There were your usual pedestrians, buildings in various stages of being beaten up by the sea and salt winds, some Storm goons…

Sunset went back and, sure enough, two guys that matched Brigid and Emi’s descriptions of the men that attacked them. She went up the street one click and looked back at the men, and she noticed them entering a more run down warehouse type building. A quick Boogle search of the name showed it to be a vending machine company, but that’s not the interesting bit. The third result is a report from the police saying that the company was suspected to be a front.

“Interesting, very interesting.”

Sentry family home

Date: Sep 19th, time: 9:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Mrs. Sentry, do I need to wear my wedding attire, or are street clothes okay?”, Sunset asked as Mrs. Sentry walked past.

“Just wear your street clothes. This is just a rehearsal.”

“Okay” Sunset put her suitcase back under Flash’s bed and went out to the living room.

Mrs. Sentry was running around the house as she made sure everything was going to plan. You’d think she was preparing for the apocalypse. Even Andy and Borago were just looking at house brochures. Flash was standing in the kitchen, with a bowl of popcorn, watching the show. Flash presented Sunset with the bowl, and she took a handful.

“Okay, Ah think that everythin’. Am Ah missin’ anythin’?”, Mrs. Sentry asked.

“Your pants.”, Sunset said.

“Oh, pants.” Mrs. Sentry was about to sprint to her room but stopped before she even completed the turn. “Sunset”, she said, irritated, earning bemused chuckles from the males. “Ugh, boys. Is everyone ready to go?”

“Relax, Mom, it’s just the trap. Today’s supposed to go wrong.”, Andy said.

“Trap? I thought it was called a wedding rehearsal.”, Sunset asked.

“Basically, we don’t fully trust our relatives to behave themselves. We told them today was the real thing. If any of them misbehave today, they’ll be banned from the wedding.”, Flash explained.

“Devious, absolutely and beautifully devious. Who all knows about this plan?”

“The six of us, my grandparents, my great grandma, Borago’s parents, and a few of Andy and Borago’s friends.”

“Really? I would’ve figured great grandparents would be on the suspect list.”

“Well, as my great grandma put it, “If the Nazis hated it, then I love it.””, Flash said in his best old lady voice.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend to the extreme.”

“Ayuh”

“Okay, let’s get going.”, Mrs. Sentry said.

Sunset and Flash finished the popcorn, and he ditched the bowl in the sink.

“Sunset, your shoes.”, Mrs. Sentry said as they headed out the door.

“Oh thanks.” Sunset reached down to grab her shoes, only to remember/realize she hadn’t taken them off. Sunset straightened herself and glared at the, now, evilly cackling Mrs. Sentry.

Sunset and Flash went with his parents, and Andy and Borago went in their own car. The church was unimpressive, especially compared to a shrine house. From what Sunset understood, churches are the same idea as shrine houses, but this place didn’t look like anybody lived there. Even the most rural communities are able to put together beautiful shrines for the gods to inhabit. Sunset chuckled to herself as she realized those shrines were, basically, glorified telephones.

“What’s so funny?”, Flash asked.

“Nothing, just thinking.”

They walked to the back of the church, where a man in all black, except for a little white square on his collar, stood.

“Hello, I’m Father Mark. Which of you are the lucky couple?”

“We are.”, Andy said as he put his arm around Borago.

“That works too, but please, excuse me if I say ‘bride’. I’ve said that so much, I sometimes say that when I go to get my dog groomed. Is everyone ready to get started?”

“Not quite. We told our family that today’s the actual day, in case they try anything. We need you to act like this is the actual thing too.”, Mr. Sentry said.

“That’s, well… I’ll do it, but I don’t like it. I am not God, so I will not judge.”

“Smart man.”, Sunset commented.

“Flash, could you and Sunset go greet people?”, Mrs. Sentry asked.

Flash looked to Sunset, who shrugged her shoulders. “Sure”

“Great, we brought some stuff to make this look more authentic, and people should be arrivin’ soon. So, let’s get a move on.”

Sunset and the Sentrys headed back outside, where two cars drove up to them and parked.

“Hey! I heard there was a party!”, the woman driving one of the cars said. She was dressed nicely and wore a pair of sunglasses. She also had some crazy yellow, blue, and purple hair. There was someone in her passenger seat and three people in the other car.

“Hey, Holly. We got some setup to do.”, Andy said.

“Great” Holly got out of her car along with the other four people. “Alright people! We got work ta do!”

The eleven of them brought everything from the boots of the cars inside and began the setup. There were folding tables covered with blue and plum cloth covers and pamphlets and various other stuff and small bouquets of plum and borage flowers scattered about the room. It all gave an impression of a wedding, but if you thought about it long enough, it was clear something wasn’t right.

A small, white car soon pulled up, and out stepped an older man and woman and a woman around Rosie’s age. Flash became excited upon seeing them and ran out to greet them. Sunset watched as he hugged them and they patted him back. The four of them came inside, and the older three immediately took a seat in the front.

“Sunset, these are my grandparents and gran gran. Grandma, Grandpa, Gran Gran, this is my girlfriend, Sunset Shimmer.”, Flash excitedly said.

“Hello”, Sunset said more meekly. Meeting new people from the WWII era gave her a sense of unease. She was clearly Asian. Would they react with contempt for her existence? Would they hate her for the actions of her forefathers?

“That’s nice. How long have you been in the US?”, Gran Gran asked.

“Four years, though, I haven’t been clocked as an immigrant for a while now.” Sunset noticed the Sentrys become a bit uncomfortable while the Spurs, aside from Gran Gran, turned away from her. “It wasn’t my accent, was it?”, Sunset said, deadpan.

“Um, well, ahhh”, Flash sputtered out.

“Whatever, I don’t care.”

Everyone eased a bit and scurried away, back to whatever they were previously doing. People soon began arriving, and Flash and Sunset greeted people. As people came in, Sunset could see Flash doing a mental headcount. It was easy to tell the Sentrys apart from everyone else with their blue hair and eyes. Everyone wore their clan rest as a pin or a ring and their personal crest somewhere on them. The Sentrys all had shield designs in their personal crest, but everyone elses’ were much more varied.

“Damn, dude, talk about strong genetics.”, Sunset commented, but Flash didn’t react. “Earth to Flash.” That didn’t work, so Sunset switched to a more offensive technique. “Yo, space cadet, back to reality.”, Sunset said at an elevated but not yelling volume and clapped her hands.

“Huh, what?”, Flash asked confusedly.

“Jeez, dude, you were somewhere near Andromeda with how spaced out you were. What gives?”

“Sorry, I was just thinking of what she might try ta do.” Flash looked over to Sunset and noticed the unimpressed look on her face. “Right, I mean one of my cousins, Shoeshine Spur. She was the only person not to show up and has a history of causing drama.”

Sunset nodded her understanding. “Alright, what do you think she’ll do?”

Flash let out a sigh and looked at Sunset like he was done with the world. “She’s from Alabama and owns a wedding dress.”

Sunset made a disgusted face.

“Exactly”, Flash confirmed. “We should take our seats.”

The two of them went back to the main room, and Flash led Sunset to the front row, where there were two empty seats. They sat in between his parents and grandparents. Everyone that wasn’t in the know seemed to notice the oddities and were curiously looking around. Borago stood in front of everyone, next to Father Mark, and kinda looked like he needed to take a crap. He was now in nicer clothes than he normally wears. Mr. Sentry gave the thumbs up to someone, and when Sunset looked to who, she saw Holly at the organ.

Holly returned the thumbs up and began playing “Here Comes the Bride”, but that’s not what she sang. It sounded like a goofy parody of said song about a “pretty peacock man”. Borago relaxed a bit but also looked like the only thing keeping him from laughing was his military training.

A loud creaking sound emanated from the front of the room. Everyone turned around to face it, and Andy walked through, carrying a bouquet of flowers. He wore what could best be described as his normal attire on steroids. How his hat could stay on his head with so many big ass feathers draping down the back of it, only he knew. The feathers on the hat were long enough to seamlessly merge with the feathers that made up the cape that trailed slightly behind him. His suit and the brim of his hat, being the only part of it that could be seen, were also sparkling like the night sky. This is so weird. Borago looked so incredibly, stupidly happy though, so it works. Andy got up to the altar, and Father Mark began the ceremony. Sunset wasn’t paying attention to the front but rather was waiting for the Alabamian to make her move.

As if on cue- she might have actually been waiting and listening- a woman wearing a wedding dress came marching up the aisle as Father Mark asked for any objections. “Andy, you can’t marry him. You need a proper wife.”, Shoeshine said.

The faces around the room ranged from red to embarrassed on Andy’s side and side-eyes to disgusted looks from Borago’s side. For a moment, you could cut the atmosphere with a knife. “Ya ain’t helpin’ yar state’s reputation Alabamian.”, a Massachusettsans man said, eliciting chuckles from both sides. Holly began playing “Sweet Home Alabama” but changed the lyrics to include lines about hot cousins. Everyone, even the other Alabamians and Father Mark, were laughing, and Shoeshine was laughed out of the church with her head low, looking defeated. Score one for the peacock man.

The laughter slowly died down, and everyone turned back to the lovely couple. Andy moved to directly address the audience. “Thank you all for coming, and thank you all that are still here for being accepting of Borago and my relationship or at least behaving yourselves. Now, there was a reason the wedding invites said the nineteenth to the twentieth. Today was a test to make sure any incidents like what just happened wouldn’t occur on the actual day. The real wedding will be tomorrow, same time.” The reaction to that was mostly annoyed grumblings about not being trusted but also reluctant acceptance that they were right. One really can’t argue that after such a fiasco.

People began filing out of the church while Andy and Borago went to go change and the Sentrys and the Bowies, Borago’s family, chatted and did stuff Sunset couldn’t bother to pay attention to. Flash seemed to quickly be getting bored too, so Sunset took him by the hand and led him outside. Most of the cars were gone or leaving with the only remaining ones being Flash’s parent’s car, Andy and Borago’s, and what Sunset could only assume was the Bowies’ car. She was hoping to see Shoeshine’s car but nope.

“Looks like we know who’ll be the family laughing stalk for a while.”, Sunset commented.

“Yeah.”, Flash said quietly.

The adults were apparently done with whatever they were doing and came outside. People got loaded up into cars and taken to where they’d be sleeping to get ready for tomorrow.

Sentrys’ church

Date: Sep 20th, time: 11:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset messed with the skirt of her kimono as the actual wedding began. Everyone that was there yesterday, minus Shoeshine, was back, plus some more of Andy and Borago’s friends. There were many more flowers than yesterday, and things overall looked more put together. It also took a lot more time to set up. Holly played the same parody song she did yesterday, and the wedding began. Borago looked far more relaxed than yesterday as Andy walked up the aisle. Mrs. Sentry and Mrs. Bowie both had ‘proud mama’ looks on their faces as the grooms exchanged their vows. The wedding went off without a hitch, and the wedding procession headed to where they were holding the marital feast, or whatever Christians call it.

The place was decorated similarly to the church, but there were the tables and chairs you’d expect, a wide open dance floor, and people in waiter uniforms. Being well out of her element, Sunset stayed glued to Flash’s side. He led her to the head table and to their seats. It was set up similarly to meal halls in old castles with Andy and Borago in the middle and their families to either side. Sunset and Flash sat near the end. Each seat had a menu in front that listed a meat, vegan, and vegetarian option and what each one had. Flash and Sunset both chose the meat option. The waiters brought out plates with simple dishes that can’t get cold. Remembering that Christians have to thank their sky daddy, Sunset waited and watched what Flash did, though was still annoyed but kept it off her face. Come on, I just want to eat.

As if just to annoy her, Mr. Sentry stood up and hit his glass with his knife, creating a loud, high pitched sound, causing Sunset to cover her ears. “Thank you all for coming. I would like to make a toast to the happy couple.”, Mr. Sentry started. “For years, you’ve had to hide yourselves away for the sake of your carriers and, unfortunately still, your safety. I wish I could say we live in a country where being queer isn’t a big deal, but we don’t, and that saddens me. That is why it makes me so happy to see all of you here, people that love my son and the young man he loves so much for me to consider my son, regardless of their preferences. The world needs more people like you. Thank you.” Mr. Sentry sat back down, and Sunset nudged Flash and motioned to her food with her eyes. Flash got a crooked smile on his face and nodded yes.

Once everyone had eaten, including the cake, Andy and Borago took to the dance floor. Sunset looked to Flash for what to do but just saw him sitting. Okay, I guess we’re sitting. The couple danced until the end of the song then the next song started other people began joining them. Flash stood and extended a hand to Sunset. She took it, and he led them to the dance floor. The two joined the slow dance, but trouble arose when feet kept getting stepped on.

“Sunset, let me lead.”, Flash said quietly.

“No, let me lead.”, Sunset said in a low growl.

“It’s the men’s job to lead.”

“Says who?”

“Tradition”

“Yeah, and it’s tradition in Spain to have a bunch of bulls chase after people. Just because something’s old doesn’t make it any less stupid. Now, let me lead.”

“Come on, my family’s watching.”

“What’s the hang up? You let me lead at school dances.”

“I’m a man now. It’s time I start acting like one.”

“And you call this acting like a man?”

The feet stepping did not improve until the song switched to something faster. Though, by that time, Sunset wasn’t in a dancing mode. She sat back down in her seat and spent her time people watching. Flash joined her shortly after. The two sat in an uncomfortable silence as Flash tried to strike up a conversation, but each time, the words died in his throat.

The two of them didn’t talk for the rest of the day, earning them funny looks from Flash’s parents. The rest of the wedding went well, and Andy and Borago drove off at the end. The venue staff started cleaning up, and guests left. Flash’s parents loaded the presents into the car then got the four of them in and headed back to their house.

“Hey, is everything alright? You two have been awfully quiet.”, Mr. Sentry asked.

“We’re fine, Dad.”, Flash said tersely.

Mr. Sentry didn’t look convinced but didn’t push the subject.

Katon living room

Date: Sep 28th, time: 10:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

“So, what is this all about?”, Daiki asked as he and Anzgong sat on the couch.

Sunset stood in front of them both with her tablet in hand. “I found Storm’s base.”

Daiki looked surprised, but Anzhong only said two words. “The docks?”

“Correct,” Sunset handed her tablet to Daiki, who began looking through her collected evidence, “I searched Boogle Earth and found some guys that look like Storm goons going into a vending machine company. Looking into the company, I could only find shell companies, but it is of suspect by the police, and some in person snooping should be able to confirm my suspicions.”

“Alright, I’ll send some people to check it out.”, Daiki said as he handed back Sunset’s tablet.

“When you go after them, I want to be involved.”

“Absolutely not.”, Daiki said firmly. “Why would you even want to be involved?”

“Because those bastards tried to hurt my clan, and I want to make sure it’s done correctly. Plus, I have a plan.”

“What is your plan, sweetie?”, Anzhong asked.

“A fertilizer bomb. I plan on waiting until it gets colder so we can cover ourselves up more and waiting near the place “for Mom to pick us up” while one of your guys delivers the package. Once it’s been dropped off, I’ll remotely detonate it, and then Dad and I will feign trying to help everyone when we’re really making sure everyone’s dead.”

“That’s actually not a bad idea.”, Daiki said before turning to Anzhong. “What are you teaching this girl?”

“I didn’t teach her this. We got her this way.”, Anzhong said. “On the topic of the plan, I agree with Sunset.”

Daiki looked between the two Katons before shaking his head. “This world is lucky you’re a good guy. I need to talk to my guys. We’ll talk more about this once I confirm that’s Storm’s HQ.” Daiki got up and headed to the door. “I’ll see you some time later.”

Sunset took the seat Daiki once occupied next to her father.

“Have you ever done something like this before?”, Anzhong asked once Daiki was out the door.

“Yes and no, the human and pony brains are two very different beasts. I have needed to put together plans similar to this during my military career, but we don’t have bombs. I don’t think the pony mind would naturally think up such a device, and I know I wouldn’t have thought of this plan back when I was a pony.”

“That’s not surprising. What would you consider yourself now, mentally?”

Sunset scrunched up her nose in thought. Interesting how that old behavior hasn’t changed in four years of being human. That trait was enough to prove that there was still some pony in her, but the increased aggression, increased prey drive, and year round hornyness were more than enough to prove she was very human. What was she? “I… don’t know.”

Shots’ backyard

Date: Oct 1st, time: 2:30 pm

*Long’s perspective*

Long sat in her favorite lawn chair, soaking up the last bits of warmth from the sun before it was covered up by clouds and it started snowing. Three months back and I’m still not readjusted to the cold. Long, like any time she was outside during the day, had on her sunglasses. Even when it’s cloudy, it’s too bright for her. It was very rare for the other soldiers to see her eyes.

She heard what sounded like a little girl humming, and it sounded like it was coming from the Katons’ yard. She knew they had a teenager, Sunset, but this sounded like a much younger kid. The fence was seven feet tall because Brigid could be seen over a six foot fence and easily look over one. Shouldn’t kids still be in school at this time?

Long got up and looked for something to stand on. She ended up having to grab a step ladder from the garage, and when she came back out, she heard what sounded like something being hit against something soft. She placed the ladder against the fence and climbed up. On the other side was a little kid with a gray beanie. There was a medium sized tree in the center of the yard with padding strapped to its trunk. The little girl was hitting it with something attached to the end of a rope. It looked like some sort of pouch or weight, and there was a stick of wood tied to the other end. What is that thing?”

“Hey, kid! What are you doing?!”, Long called out.

The kid spun around and looked up at Long in a way that made her uncomfortable. “None of your business, but what you’re doing is illegal because of the ladder I know you’re using, and my daddy works for the prosicutter’s office!”

“Shouldn’t you be in school?!”

“Call da cops, why don’tcha! I’m sure they’d love ta know that you’re creeping on an eight year old in her own backyard!”

Long wasn’t sure if the kid was making stuff up or not but remembered that Mom once mentioned that the husband was, in fact, a law man, and what the kid said sounded reasonable. Deciding the kid was probably not just blowing hot air, she climbed down the ladder, stored it away, and hurried back inside.

Inside the house, Dad was lounging on the couch, reading a newspaper. Long approached her dad and sat down next to him. “Dad, do the Katons’ have an eight year old?”

“Yeah, Emi. Have you met her?”, Dad said without looking up from his paper.

“I think so. She was hitting a tree with something tied to a rope.”

“I think your mom mentioned something about the kid being a little ninja.”

“What does hitting a tree have to do with being a ninja?”

Dad shrugged and didn’t give any other answer.

Long got up and headed down to the basement, where Mom most likely was. It was dark enough down there that Long needed to lift up her glasses. She found Mom down there, working on another batch of Dad’s medicine. “Hey Mom, what does being a ninja have to do with hitting a tree?”

Mom turned around and looked at Long like she grew a second head. “What kind of question is that?”

“I saw the Katons’ younger kid hitting their tree, and Dad said it had something to do with her being a ninja.”

“Oh, Emi, sounds like weapon training.”

“Oh, okay. Why isn’t she in school?”

“Because she’s sick.”, Mom said, a bit exasperated. “Now, sweetie, you gotta stop being so nosy. Someone might cut it off.”

“What is she sick with?”

Mom put her hand on her hip and scowled at Long. “Long, mind your own business.”, she said in that ‘I’m not saying this again’ tone.

Long got the hint and scurried back upstairs. All the while, something she once overheard her mom say came to mind. “How can that girl be so observant yet so oblivious at the same time?” Am I being oblivious again?

Brigid’s office

Date: Oct 15th, time: 7:45 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

Knock knock knock

“Come in.”, Brigid called out.

Sunset came in with her computer and approached Brigid’s desk. “Hey Mom, take a look at what I found.” Sunset turned her computer around to show Brigid the screen.

“Candy blood bags. Huh, do ya wanna have dese f’r Halloween?”

“Yeah, there’s also a kid at school that thinks Ah’m a vampire. I might as well have fun with it.”

“Wha’ makes ‘em think y’re a vampire?”, Brigid asked, not because she was confused, Sunset was known as ‘The Vampire’ back in Equestria, but because she wanted to hear Sunset’s explanation, but instead of saying anything, Sunset just opened her mouth, exposing her elongated canines. “Okay, fair. Ah’ll orde’ da blood f’r ya.”

“Thank you.” With her mission a success, Sunset closed up her laptop and hurried out of the room.

Brigid turned to her grading. It was the easiest part of her job but also the most boring. This is not what she imagined she would be doing when she read that Daring Do book. Granted, she did end up going into another field of anthropology, but this still wasn’t what she’d imagined doing.

CMS

Date: Oct 16th, time: 2:00 pm

*Fluttershy’s perspective*

Fluttershy walked quickly and with purpose along the lockered wall. Just get to her next class quickly and she’d be fine. She held her backpack close to her chest while trying not to crush its contents, i.e. Angel Bunny. The crowd of other students quickly overwhelmed her. The dozens of presences felt like a massive weight on her body. Animals are easier to be around. No matter how many animals are around, their presences never overwhelms her.

Fluttershy ducked into the bathroom and into one of the stalls. She pulled Angel Bunny out of her bag and held him to her chest. He nuzzled up to her as she waited for people to leave and the hallways to empty. Students emptied the bathroom, and Fluttershy gave it another minute before putting Angel back and leaving herself. The hallway was mostly empty with only a handful of stragglers.

She turned around to head to class but ended up bumping into someone. The blood drained from face as her mind processed the black jacket and orange shirt of the person she bumped into. She tried to slowly back away, but it was too late. Sunset took Fluttershy’s backpack from her arms, held it up to her face, and sniffed it. She then unzipped it and pulled out Angel.

“I thought I smelled rabbit.” She held him with his forelegs pinned and looked at him with careless disregard.

“P-please don’t hurt him.”

Sunset switched her gaze to Fluttershy, and it went from uncaring to predatory, and a matching smile crept across her face. “Hm, oh, don’t worry. He’s not big enough to be worth the trouble. You, on the other hand, are the perfect size.” The only thing keeping Fluttershy from running away was that Sunset still had Angel. Sunset put Angel back into the backpack and gave it back to Fluttershy but kept a hold of the handle. She leaned in so her much larger frame pressed against Fluttershy and her mouth was right next to her ear. “It would be a real shame if a teacher were to find out about him. However, I can be persuaded to keep my maw shut.”

Not again. Fluttershy whined internally. Knowing how much worse Sunset had gotten, getting her another animal is unlikely to be what she wants. The bell, that would normally send shivers of dread down her spine, sounded like angels singing to Fluttershy in that moment. Sunset let out a low growl that sounded way too much like an actual dog’s or maybe a fox’s. “I’ll let you know what I want, when I want it.”

Sunset let go of Fluttershy with a shove and stomped away. Fluttershy was left clutching her backpack. Sunset was never the nicest kid, but in the last few months, she was getting worse. She still didn’t do anything that would leave marks or tangible evidence, but her mind games were getting scarier. She couldn’t prove it, but Fluttershy believed she was the one rubbing poison ivy on kids’ lockers. None of the victims were kids Sunset liked or on the hockey team.

Fluttershy bolted in the direction of her class but noticed some sort of oily substance on her bag. She sniffed it but couldn’t identify it. Wait, poison ivy. Fluttershy hurried back to the bathroom and tried to clean herself and her bag off. Oh, Angel. She pulled him out and gave him an impromptu bath, which he didn’t like in the slightest. “Oh, I know, but I need to get this off.” Why are you doing this? What did I do to deserve this?

Halls of CMS

Date: Oct 21st, time: 3:30 pm

*Rainbow’s perspective*

“I call BS.”, Rainbow said.

“I’m telling you, it really happened.”, Soarin defended. “I swear I saw a bear carrying a log like a musket.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything further as they needed to go their separate ways. Soarin went down one hallway, and Rainbow went down another that led to her locker. On her way, she saw Sunset talking to another kid. The kid’s name was Bright or something, and it was clearly not a pleasant talk. I should probably do something.

Rainbow approached the scene with a cocky smile. “Hey, Sunset.” Sunset snapped her head towards Rainbow and snarled. “Whoa, who let a wild animal into the school?”

Sunset moved away from Bright, letting him get away, and put Rainbow in between her and the lockers. “Watch your mouth, Brit.”

“What are you going to do about it? You may act tough, but I know you’re really a coward.”

Sunset pulled her arm back, and Rainbow barely had enough time to duck and roll out of the way before she heard Sunset’s fist make contact with the lockers, hard. The grunt of pain Sunset made was all the warning Rainbow needed, and she ran like her life depended on it. She ran a good two hallways away before stopping to listen for Sunset. As expected, no sound of Sunset. Heh, coward. Rainbow continued on her way. She only had a few remaining minutes before class.

The grocery store

Date: Oct 24th, time: 1:00 pm

*Emi’s perspective*

Emi sat on the aisle floor as Mom looked through the shelves for whatever. Sunset was sitting next to her, looking equally as bored. Anura and Aunt Minerva were elsewhere in the store, and Dad was with his co-workers, working on the Storm case. Emi wasn’t doing so hot because of the chemo, and Sunset was also looking a bit drained from getting her blood sucked out of her and emotionally drained. As much as none of them wanted to, food shopping needed to be done. At least Emi wasn’t feeling queasy. She was gloved and masked up and was staying away from people and not touching stuff.

At the end of the aisle, Emi saw a woman that creeped her out. She had a mohawk and a prosthetic arm but otherwise looked normal. She just had an off feeling about her. Emi tapped Sunset and signed, “Strange woman, fake arm.” and pointed to the end of the aisle. Sunset looked up and watched the end of the aisle like a hawk. After a while, she bared her teeth and snarled. Emi spun around and saw the woman again.

“Come on, girls.”, Mom said.

The two of them got up and followed their mother. They moved slowly, and Sunset and Emi both held onto their mother’s jacket. An uncomfortable feeling bubbled up in Emi’s stomach, and she pulled on Mom’s jacket.

“Wha’ is it, baby?”

“Ah gotta puke.”

“Okay. Sunset, c’n ya take yer siste’ ta da restroom?”

Sunset nodded, grabbed Emi’s hand, and led her to the restroom. Emi went into the nearest stall, removed her mask, and began emptying her stomach. When she was done and about to get up, the door to the restroom opened and another woman walked in. Looking under the stall, Emi recognized the strange woman’s shoes. Sunset was leaning against the outside of the stall and facing the woman. Emi cleaned up the best she could, put her mask back on, and exited the stall. She saw Sunset glaring at the woman with utter hatred. Emi felt her flight or fight response activating and something bubbling up through her skin. There was something dangerous about that woman. The woman seemed to flinch for a fraction of a second but quickly overcame the effects.

The woman gave them what looked like a kind smile on the surface but that stunk of evil. “Hey, little girls, where’s your mama?”, the woman said sweetly.

“Waiting for us.”, Sunset said coldly. She motioned with her head for Emi to wash her hands, so she tried to creep past Sunset.

“I think your mom left. Here, I’ll help you find her.”

The woman reached for Emi with her prosthetic arm, but Sunset scooped her up in a blink of an eye and ran out of the restroom. Sunset ran through the store until she found Mom and hid between her and the cart.

“Eh, wha’s wrong?”, Mom asked.

“Strange lady.”, Emi said. Sunset put her down, and Emi looked around Mom, searching for the strange lady.

“Okay, let’s hurry up. Ya two look like ya need some sleep.”

The two of them grabbed their mother’s jacket again and stayed glued to her hip the remainder of the trip. They met up with Aunt Minerva and Anura, and Mom gave them the signal that they had to hurry up. They headed to the check out and quickly left and headed out to the cars.

“She’s following us.”, Sunset pointed out as they loaded groceries in the car.

The strange woman was trying to hide between the cars and was getting uncomfortably close. Mom loaded Emi and Sunset in the car, and they watched as she told the Reads to leave and went to confront the lady.

“Can you hear them?”, Emi asked.

“Nope”, Sunset responded.

Mom and the woman were obscured by the cars but appeared to be having a civil discussion, from what they could see. Eventually, Mom came back to the car and started driving but not in the direction of home.

“Where are we going?”, Sunset asked.

“Home but da long way.”, Mom answered.

Sunset turned around in her seat and got a worried look on her face.

“What?”, Emi asked.

“We’re being followed.”

“Mom?”, Emi asked worriedly.

“We’ll be okay, baby. Jus’ gotta lose ‘er.”, Mom said.

Mom continued driving calmly, and Sunset kept watching behind them. Emi slumped in her seat, trying to not be seen. After what seemed like forever, they finally pulled into the garage.

“Is she gone?”, Emi asked.

“She should be.” Mom picked Emi out of the car and grabbed half the bags. Sunset grabbed the rest of the bags and followed them inside. Mom dropped the bags off in the kitchen, brought Emi upstairs, and laid her down in her bed. “Do ya want me ta close yer curtains?”

“Yes, please.”

Mom closed the curtains and put Tomiju on the bed then left. Emi cuddled up to Tomiju and tried to keep her stomach calm.

“This treatment better work. I don’t want to die.”, Emi said bitterly. “And fuck that lady.”

Katon family basement

Date: Nov 7th, time: 6:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Brigid handed Sunset the box of the .22s, and Sunset placed it in the bag and next to the lockbox that contained their .22 revolvers. Neither of them were partial to revolvers over semi-automatics, but revolvers have less complicated mechanisms and, thus, are better suited for the forest. The bag also contained their fishing knives, the med kit that can, more or less, keep them alive short of being shot through the heart or head, and various other wilderness survival tools. Next to the bag were their rifles in their drag bags. Once they had everything they’d need from the basement, they headed back upstairs and to the back door.

“We got clothes, food, weapons, n’ da tent. Sleepin’ bags n’ cookin’ stuff are in da car. Are we missing anything?”

“What about finishing gear? You said you were going to teach me to fish.”

“Dat’s da best part. Ah’m gonna teach ya ta fish without a pole.”

“What, ya mean like with pointy sticks?”

“Dat’s one a da ways.”, Brigid said with a devious smile, then turned towards the stairs. “Okay! We’re goin’ now!”

“See you in a couple days!”, Anzhong called back.

Emi sat on the couch as she played her video game and ignored Sunset and Brigid.

“Aren’t you going to say goodbye?”, Sunset asked.

“No, piss off.”, Emi barked.

Sunset looked at Brigid with a deadpan glare. Brigid’s devious smile only grew, and her eyes narrowed as she put on her shoes and picked up her share of the bags. “Okay, we’re off ta da dangerous woods where we might get killed by a moose, bear, or a Lyme disease carrying ticks. We might not make it back.”, Brigid announced to no one in particular.

Brigid began walking out the door, but Emi ran up to her and hugged her leg. “No! I’m sorry. I love you.”

“Good going, traumatize the crotch goblin into behaving.”, Sunset quipped.

Emi whipped her head around and shot Sunset a glare that would be scary if it wasn’t coming from someone smaller than many dog breeds. “You can die in the woods.”

At first, Sunset was shocked but then laughed.

“Is huntin’ really that dangerous?”, Emi asked Brigid.

“It can be. Dat’s why we have dis huge med kit n’ a radio n’ ya need ta wait until y’re a teen ta come with.”

“Then don’t die.”, Emi said with a scowl.

“So, that’s how it is. You care about Mom, but I’m just chopped liver.”, Sunset said with a huff as she crossed her arms.

Sunset felt Emi hug her and looked down to see Emi looking at her with puppy dog eyes. “Pweez, don’t die.”

“I can’t tell if you’re being serious or just messing with me.”

“Then I’ve done my job.”, Emi said with a smile, then happily walked back to the couch.

Sunset looked at Brigid with a ‘you made that’ look, and Brigid just smiled. Sunset put her shoes on and grabbed her share of the bags, and they headed out to the car, got loaded up, drove into the forest, parked and hiked deeper in, yada yada. They hiked until they were near a lake and had enough space to set up camp.

Even with Sunset’s inexperience, the setup was quick. They set aside the shovel for later, strung up their food bag, and the tent was designed so you just extended the legs and pulled it open. The tent was small, giving them just enough room for themselves and their bags.

“Okay, ya ready to go?”

Sunset hammered in the last peg into the dirt and tossed the mallet back into the tent bag and the tent bag into the tent. She then grabbed her drag bag, attached her side holster and knife to her legs, loaded and holstered her revolver, and got her hip bag with her water bottle and filter on. “Ready”

“Let’s go den.” Brigid grabbed the cooler bag, and they began the short walk to the lake. They placed their bags against some rocks, and Brigid led Sunset to the edge.

“So, how are we going to fish without any fishing equipment?”

“Well, let’s first examine how fishin’ works. Why do we use each piece a’ equipment, n’ how does it work?”

“Ugh, you sound like Celestia.”

“Well, as different as we are, we are just as similar.”

“You are kinda like a fusion between Celestia and my bio-mom.”

“Dat’s likely why ya were able ta adapt ta life ‘ere so well.”

“What? Explain.”, Sunset said with narrowed eyes.

“It’s simple. Dere is comfort in familiarity. In stressful times, we cling ta things dat are familiar. Dat is why we have comfort foods. Ah reminded ya a’ yer mum n’ Celestia, n’ even though ya left on bad terms, she’s still a source a’ comfort f’r ya.”

“And I had jus’ gone through one of the most stressful times of my life. That makes sense.”

“Now, back ta fishin’.”

“Fiiine. Okay, the pole allows us to reach deeper waters without getting wet, and they work by acting as extensions of our arms. The hooks are what actually catch the fish and work by impaling them with a barbed metal thing. The bait is what attracts the fish and works by wriggling, which is what the fish are attracted to.”

“Precisely. Now, wha’ do we have dat can do all dat?”, Brigid asked while wiggling her fingers.

“We’re going to catch them by hand.”, Sunset said with deadpan disbelief.

“Watch n’ learn, kid.”, Brigid said with a smirk and turned toward the water. She surveyed the water as Sunset sat on one of the surrounding rocks. Brigid crouched down, stuck her hand in the water, and waited in that position while wiggling her thumb. A couple minutes later, a huge fish sped up to eat her, and once it bit down, Brigid closed up her fist and pulled the fish out of the water.

“Holy crap! That worked! And it’s huge!”

Brigid brought the fish over to Sunset and pulled out her knife. “Do ya know what comes next?”

“Kill it?”

“Not quite. We have ta identify n’ measure it first. Dere’s a daily bag limit, n’ dey need ta be long enough, or we gotta throw ‘em back.”

“That explains why our blades have their length carved into them, but let me guess, there isn’t one standard size.”

“Yup, n’ some fish don’t even have limits, but we’ll cover dat late’. Fishy ‘ere ain’t havin’ a good time. So, dis is a togue, n’ deir minimum size requirement is eighteen inches.” Brigid placed her knife along the side of the fish while trying not to poke the squirmy thing. “Eight inches.” She then moved her knife to where the tip was; this time using the whole thing, not just the blade. “Twenty plus. Dis one’s a keepe’, n’ now, we kill it. Watch closely. Poor thing’s already been suffocatin’ long enough.”

Brigid took her thumb out of its mouth, grabbed its neck, placed it on a rock, took the butt of her knife, and hit it just above the eye. The fish stopped moving, and Brigid moved her hand further back then chopped its head off with a couple good whacks. “Wha’ Ah jus’ did was stun it with dat blow ta its brain n’ killed it via decapitation.”

“I take it we won’t be eatin’ the head.”

“Not, unless y’re one a’ does weirdos dat like it.”

Sunset made a confused face, looked down at the fish head then back up at Brigid. “Ew”

“Dat’s da correct response. In terms a’ disposal, dis is wha’ we do.” Brigid grabbed the head and launched it back into the lake.

“Ah, yes, traumatize the fishies. Make ‘em fear the all powerful stinky apes.”

“Hehehe, aw, ya sound like yer siste’. But in all seriousness, dey don’t care. Fish are smarter dan people give ‘em credit for, but not smart enough ta be traumatized or even recognize a decapitated head.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Good. Time f’r ya ta try. Come ‘ere.”

Sunset came closer to Brigid, and Brigid held her hand out in the same position she had it in earlier. It was in a loose thumbs up position where the thumb stuck up and the rest of the hand wasn’t fully closed. Sunset mimicked her, and Brigid inspected it.

“Looks good. Now, go tell dose fishes ta take it up da butt, n’ see which one gets mad enough ta bite.”

Sunset chuckled to herself and walked over to the water’s edge. She stuck her hand in and wiggled her thumb around. She kept at it for a while but no bites. “Hey, am I doing something wrong?”

“Maybe dey took some anger management classes.”

“Mom, be serio-Yaaow!” Sunset yanked her hand out of the water, flinging the fish behind her and onto the dirt. Sunset stuck her thumb in her mouth and whipped around to glare at the fish and Brigid, who was now inspecting it. “You didn’t tell me that would hurt.”

“Ah didn’t think Ah had ta. An animal is bittin’ yer thumb.” Brigid picked up the fish and brought it over to Sunset.

“How was I supposed to know fish have teeth?”, Sunset said as she got up.

“Wha’ else would dey have? Get yer blade out n’ take care a’ da fish before it suffocates.”

“I don’t know. I thought they just gobbled up anything small enough to fit into their mouths.”, Sunset said as she took her blade out and the fish from Brigid and lined the two up.

“Dat’s a brown trout, n’ it needs ta be at least fourteen inches. Fish need ta chew things like worms n’ smaller fish.”

“Teeth aren’t the first thing I think of when I think of fish, and this one’s seventeen inches.”

“Good, go ahead n’ kill it, n’ well, now ya know.”

Sunset rolled her eyes then repeated the same steps to kill the fish, except she only needed one swing to cut off its head due to its smaller size. She chucked the head back into the water and presented her kill to her mother.

“Very good. Let’s fill up on wate’ n’ get ‘em on ice n’ in a tree so we c’n go scavenging.” Brigid put both fish in the ice filled cooler bag, and they took their water bottles out, set up the filters, and stuck them in the water. The filters stuck into the opening of the bottles, so it was the same as filling them up normally, just a little slower. Once they’re bottles were filled, Brigid grabbed her drag bag, and Sunset resheathed her knife, picked up her drag bag, and followed Brigid back to the camp. They strung up the cooler bag where it would be out of the sun then started getting ready to go scavenging.

“Hey, Mom, why did ya learn to fish without a pole?”

“Dat is a fifteen year old story. Back in Florida, a kid in my class tried ta do wha’ yer fathe’ did but was unsuccessful. Durin’ one a’ his attempts ta break mo shell, he invited me ta go fishin’. As much as Ah disliked othe’ people, Ah hated bein’ home even more. So, I agreed. He n’ his dad took me ta deir favorite fishin’ spot, gave me a pole, n’ taught me da basics. Ya know how in comedic media whoeve’s da butt a’ da joke would end up catchin’ da back of deir pants n’ end up in da wate’?”

“Yeah”

“Well, Ah didn’t end up in da wate’, nor did Ah catch da back a’ mo pants. When Ah tried ta cast mo line, da hook ended up catchin’ me in da butt, n’ Ah mean it got stuck in dere.”

“Hold up, you’re saying you impaled yourself with a fish hook, in the butt?”, Sunset said with a chuckle at the mention of butts. Oh, Celestia, I’m too old to be laughing at people saying ‘butt’.

“Yeah, Ah had ta go ta da hospital ta get it surgically removed. Afte’ dat, Ah developed a slight phobia of anythin’ barbed.”

“Wait, it was the barbed part of it that stuck with ya?”

“Yeah, dat’s why it needed ta be surgically removed. Plus, Ah’m quite familiar with hay barrel hooks, so hooks don’t scare me anymore dan knives.”

“That’s not a mental image that will be leaving me any time soon.”, Sunset said as her chuckles died down.

“Good, dat will teach ya da be careful around fish hooks. Now, finish up gettin’ ready. Ah don’t wanna still be out once da sun goes down.”

Brigid grabbed a rucksack from the tent, and Sunset finished up bandaging the small cut on her thumb, and then they headed out, deeper into the woods. They kept their eyes to the ground as they looked for anything that wouldn’t poison them. Dandelion leaves were plentiful and quickly made up the majority of their harvest. It was too late in the year for fiddleheads, so they weren’t headed to their usual spot. The lambs quarters that grew in these woods were massive and, generally, still good at this time of year.

Crunch crunch crunch

Sunset’s head shot up in response to the sound, which caught Brigid’s attention.

“Wha’ is it?”

“I heard something.” Sunset stood up to her full height. If she was a pony, her ears would be swiveling in all directions, trying to locate the source. Sunset looked around, waiting for more sound, then the smell hit her nose, a smell that let her know exactly who she’s dealing with. The salty smell of sweat mixed with a sugary sweet smell, if it weren’t for the bacteria farts, she would’ve smelled kinda like a candy. “Pinkie Pie”, Sunset snarled.

“Wha’s dat?”

“Oh, it’s just anothe’ girl from school.” Sunset heard more crunching in the distance, and now, she could tell that there were several sets of bipedal feet. “Sounds like she’s here with others.”

“Probably anothe’ huntin’ party. We should go introduce ourselves.”

“What? Why? She’s annoying, and I don’t want to have to interact with her anymore then I half to.”

“It’s wise f’r hunte’s ta know if dere are any othe’ humans in an area. Lettin’ ‘em know we’re here reduces da chances a’ us shootin’ each othe’.”

“Isn’t that what this god awful color’s for?”, Sunset asked while pointing to her hat.

“One is good; both is bette’. Now, let’s go.”

Sunset huffed but led Brigid in the direction she heard Pinkie’s party. As they got closer, Sunset could clearly hear Pinkie talking, royally annoying her. Her irritation only grew when she saw Pinkie bouncing up and down and making that poinking sound. Pinkie was hiking along a trail with an adult woman and three other girls Sunset didn’t recognize. Strangely, the girl with the green-ish gray hair had splotches of lighter skin as opposed to her brown skin. “Y’re gonna scare all da deer away if ya don’t shut it.”, Sunset growled. “Ah man, are you wearing some really sugary perfume, or are you sweating sugar?”

“Oh, hi, Sunset.”, Pinkie said with a forced, uneasy smile. At least she stopped bouncing. “And I don’t know what you mean. I’m not wearing perfume.”

“Sunset, be nice.”, Brigid chided. “Sorry ‘bout mo daughte’. She takes hunin’ very seriously.”

“Thy’s daughter’s comment is forgiven. Although rude, her words were not unwarranted.”, the old woman said with a glare to Pinkie before turning back to Brigid. “Thy shall know me as Cloudy Quartz Pie. May I pertain as to thy’s name?” Cloudy was a black woman with green hair and eyes and wore more old-timey hunting gear than anyone else on the trail but still had the required bright orange vest and hat.

“Ah’m Brigid. Ah gotta say, Ah haven’t heard speak like dat outside a’ Macbeth.”

“Yeah, my parents are kinda old fashioned.”, Pinkie chimed in with.

That’s her mom? Sunset looked between them. The woman was so dull looking. She simply didn’t look like the kind of woman that could pop out that ball of energy shaped as a human.

“Indeed. These are my children, Maud Pie, Pinkamena Diane Pie, Marble Pie, and Limestone Pie.”

Maud looked at Sunset and Brigid blankly, Pinkie was still smiling awkwardly, Marble was trying to hide behind Pinkie, and Limestone was glaring at them. Normally, Sunset would be glaring back at her, but she was far more interested in Marble. I didn’t think a black n’ white kid could come out with splotchy skin. Is Pinkie adopted?”

“Thy accent is not of these parts. For where does thy hail from?”, Cloudy continued.

“Ah’m an Irish las, n’ mo daughte’s name is Sunset. She n’ Pinkie go ta school togethe’. We jus’ came ‘ere ta let ya know we’re also huntin’ in da area.”

“May thy hunt be bountiful, and may thy be safe.”

“Ya too. Come on, Sunset.”

“Wait, how come your skin’s like that?”, Sunset asked. Marble tried to hide further behind Pinkie, which confused Sunset, and an odd discomfort quickly permeated the area. “Did I say something wrong?”

“Marble has a condition called vitiligo. Dat means da cells dat produce melanin are dying, resulting in da pattern ya see.”, Brigid explained.

“Oh, is it a serious condition?”, Sunset asked Marble.

“It’s not life threatening, but she does have some issues with her sight.”, Pinkie answered when Marble didn’t.

“That answers my questions.” Sunset spun on her heels and started to march back into the forest, but Brigid stopped her.

“Sunset, dat’s not a proper goodbye.”

She really wanted to just go but knew that they weren’t going anywhere until she appeased Brigid. Sunset grumbled to herself and turned back around. “Goodbye. Pinkie, keep quiet.” Sunset once again turned on her heels and, this time, was able to retreat into the forest unimpeded.

“Teenagers”, Brigid commented before following.

The two headed back into the woods, Sunset trying to get far away from Pinkie. Once they were deeper in, they found deer tracks leading to a clearing. They found spots to hide, Sunset climbing up into a tree and Brigid finding a spot in the bushes, and they waited, but no deer showed up. The sun moved across the sky, and Sunset’s legs began making their displeasure known.

“Mom, my legs are hurtin’.”, Sunset said quietly.

“Yeah, mine too. We c’n start walkin’ again.”

The two of them got up or down from their spots, and Sunset shook the numbness from her legs.

“Do ya jus’ wanna head back ta camp? We have enough food for dinne’.”

“Sure”

The two of them turned around and headed back to camp, picking up firewood along the way. They laid their collected wood on the ground, and then Brigid grabbed the shovel and started digging a fire pit. “Go fill up da wate’ jug.”, Brigid instructed while pointing to the tent.

Sunset nodded, retrieved said jug and attachments from the tent, and headed down to the lake. She attached the pump and made sure the filter was fitted properly then stuck the filter end of the pump into the lake. As Sunset squeezed and released the squishy oval thing that made up the handle of the pump, water was brought up through the filter, up the tubing, and into the container. The container only holds about five gallons, but that was enough for the two of them, and lugging much more than that up a hill wasn’t easy for anyone other than a Mac Carthaigh giant.

As Sunset was packing up with a full jug, she heard another set of bipedal footsteps, ones too light to be Brigid’s. Looking to her left, she saw Maud crouching beside the lake, several meters away. Out of the four sisters, she had the darkest skin, which helped her to blend in with her surroundings. If she’d inherited her mother’s green hair, she would’ve had near perfect natural camouflage.

Shoot, this means they’re camping nearby. Sunset got up and scurried back into the forest before Maud could see her. She didn’t want to have any more interactions with Pinkie or her clan. She placed the water on the folding table Brigid had set up and joined her around the campfire. She had the fish cooking over the fire, and the greens were sitting mashed up, in a bowl, on the table.

“Pinkie’s party is camping nearby.”, Sunset informed.

“Okay, good ta know.”

Brigid eventually took the fish off the fire, plated them, then put the mashed up greens on as a dressing. She handed Sunset her plate, and the two sat and ate in silence, listening to the sounds of the forest. The sun slowly set over the mountains, and the stars blinked into existence. Before long, it was completely dark aside from the stars and the fire.

“The constellations here are different from the ones in Equestria.”, Sunset noted.

“Oh, wha’ ones ya got back in Equestria?”

“The Starswirl’s hat constellation, the Magnus arrow, the great plow, that sort of thing. I was never much of an astrologist.”

“Hm. -- What is it like ta use magic?”

“It’s… hard to explain. It’s a sense of power, like when your enemy is afraid of you, but it also exists as just a part of your body. You don’t notice it unless you focus on it. I don’t know how else to explain it.”

“How do ya use magic?”

“There are two parts to magic: imagination and power. You first imagine what you want to happen, the more accurately you can picture it the better. Then you extend your own magic to interact with the magic in the atmosphere and use that to exert your will over reality. There are a lot of set spells that make forming the mental image easier, but ultimately, it’s up to your mind.”

“Sounds like aphantasia would make performing magic impossible.”

“What’s that?”

“Aphantasia is da inability ta create mental imagery. Basically, if ya or Ah think of an apple, we c’n picture it in our minds, but someone with aphantasia c’n’t. At best, dey c’n picture a vague idea a’ an apple.”

“Yeah, that would make using magic impossible.”

“Dere’s also a condition called hyperphantasia, which is da opposite. Someone with hyperphantasia c’n imagine very vividly.”

“That would be very handy for a spell caster.” Sunset thought for a moment and looked back down at her plate. The only thing that remained of her food were little bits of the plant mush, but if she tried, she could mentally recreate it, down to every char mark and little bit of the sauce. This is something she could do since she was a foal. It never occurred to her that this might be anything out of the ordinary. Why would she? “Mom, do you have either of these conditions?”

“Yeah, Ah have hyperphantasia. Though, it expresses itself more through sound than image. Ah c’n trick myself inta thinkin’ Ah heard somethin’ when Ah hadn’t. Da only way Ah c’n tell da difference is dat da fake sounds come from inside mo ear.” Brigid turned to Sunset and took her plate. “Ya think ya have it too?”

“Yeah, I’m not sure if it’s a pony thing or just a me thing.”

Brigid placed the dishes in one of those plastic storage boxes, put some soap and water in it, and started doing the dishes. “Well, considerin’ wha’ ya told me ‘bout magic, it sounds like dat’s why ya were so good at it, alongside yer power. Ah’d bet it’s a you thing.” Brigid rinsed the dishes and set them out to dry before retaking her seat. “It wouldn’t surprise me if y’d find a highe’ percentage a’ ponies with hyperphantasia at Celestia’s school dan in da general population.”

“That does make sense. What’s the percentage on Earth?”

“Two point five f’r hyperphantasia n’ four percent for aphantasia.”

“Okay, I’ll add that to the list.”

“Wha’ list?”

“I have a mental list of studies I wanna conduct once I can open up travel between the worlds.”

“Ah would also be interested in runnin’ some studies once dat happens.”

Sunset nodded, and the two went back to watching the forest and sky until it was time to go to bed. The two of them put out the fire, crawled into the tent and into their respective bags, and fell asleep quickly. Way too early for Sunset’s liking, the sun woke them up by shining through the tent. Sunset tried to ignore it and tried to go back to sleep, but Brigid had other ideas and stomped out of the tent and started stomping around the campsite. That woman either didn’t know the meaning of ‘quietly’ or didn’t care, probably the latter. The sound of food being made was enough to coax Sunset out of the tent.

Brigid had a fire going with food cooking and the coffee pot heating up. She lifted up the pot, and Sunset grabbed two cups and sat down. Brigid pressed the filter down and poured them each a cup. Sunset sipped away as she slowly woke up. Brigid plated their food and handed Sunset’s hers.

After eating, and other morning stuff, they cleaned and packed up and headed back into the woods. Sunset began sniffing for deer and led them in the direction she thought it was. As they got closer, she could hear something munching on foliage. They hid behind a tree, and the munching came from somewhere behind it.

“Hear munch behind.”, Sunset signed and pointed in the direction.

They crept around the tree but never got to raise their rifles as it wasn’t a deer that was the source of the sound. A full grown bull moose was facing them straight on from just a few dozen meters away. Lucky, they’d just emptied their bowels less than an hour ago and quickly hid back behind the tree. They waited for a few seconds, listening for angry moose sounds, which there were luckily none of, before getting the fuck out of there.

“So, that’s what moose smells like. Good ta know.”, Sunset said once they were well away from the 1,500 pound beast of angry death.

“Ya remember wha’ Ah told ya ‘bout ‘em?”, Brigid asked.

“Don’t fuck with ‘em if ya wanna keep on livin’ or got a tank. Actually, jus’ use da tank ta get away.”, she said in her best (bad) Brigid impression.

“Haha, bingo”

With Sunset now being able to distinguish between moose and deer by scent, she led them far away from any trace of those angry murder machines. They hiked around until they found deer tracts.

“Dey’re fresh.”

They raised their rifles and followed the tracts, staying low and around the bushes. They soon found a real old buck, judging by the size of his antlers. The dogs were going to eat well. The deer hadn’t noticed them yet, so they stayed still and quiet as they aimed. Brigid got off a shot first, and the deer dropped. They got up from their hiding spot and examined the deer. It was dead with a hole going through its head.

“Do ya wanna give thanks?”, Brigid asked.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Jus’ say wha’ comes ta mind. It’s ‘bout respect, not da specific words.”

Sunset placed her hand over its eyes and closed hers. “You lived a good life, and now your time has come. May your soul move on knowing you played your role.”

Brigid grabbed Sunset’s shoulder, causing her to look at her, and gave her a soft smile. “Very good.”

They tagged it, got up, Brigid pulled the tarp out of her bag, and they got it under the deer and dragged it back to camp. They found a strong, sturdy branch near but too close to their tent and strung the buck up.

“Are we gonna dress it down here?”, Sunset asked.

“We’re jus’ gonna get da skin off den take it home tomorrow.”

“Aren’t you worried that a bear will snatch it?”

“One might, dat’s why we’re hangin’ it away from camp, but it’s unlikely, especially with da tarp coverin’ it. Most predators won’t eat somethin’ dey didn’t kill demself f’r fear a’ germs n’ bacteria. Dey have no idea when it died or wha’ killed it n’ c’n’t cook it.”

“Okay”

They got to skinning, taking extra care to get all the fur off since they didn’t have a hose. Once the buck was nakeder than the day it was born, they wrapped it up, and Brigid gave Sunset the ‘stay’ gesture and disappeared back to the tent. She soon returned with the shovel and picked up the skin. “Ah’m gonna go bury dis. Could ya go get us some fish? Dere’s a book with all the size n’ bag limits n’ crap like dat in mo backpack’s outte’ pocket.”

“Sure”

Brigid disappeared into the woods, and Sunset headed back to the tent. She grabbed Brigid’s backpack and searched for the book. She found it, Maine Fishing Reference Guide, 2005, and inside, there were a couple pages dedicated to each fish. One page had a picture of the fish, its name, information on where they could be found, and nutritional facts and taste, and the next page had bag and size limits and tips on how to catch them. Sunset memorized the pictures and the bag and size limits, stuffed the book in her bag, then grabbed the cooler and headed down to the lake.

Once at the shore, Sunset crouched by the water line and stuck her hand in the water. The fish were less keen on biting this day, even as Sunset wiggled her thumb. It was already noon, so Sunset was getting inpatient. “Come on fishy. Bite down so Ah can eatcha.” The fish seemingly listened to her as she got a bite. She pulled it out and identified it as a togue. She didn’t need to pull her knife out to measure it. It was clearly too small. Sunset grumbled to herself as she pulled the fish off her thumb and threw it back into the water.

“Any luck?!”

Sunset spun around and saw Brigid coming out of the woods. “I got a bite, but it was too short!”

Brigid joined Sunset by the water’s edge and crouched down next to her. “Well, we jus’ gotta keep goin’.” Brigid stuck her hand in the water, and only a few minutes later, she got a bite. She pulled it out, and just by looking at it, you could see it was over the size limit. Even with that, Brigid still measured it before chopping its head off.

“You have a way with nature.”

“Nah, Ah’m jus’ experienced. Y’ll get it. Now, go on.”

Sunset stuck her hand back into the water and tried again. Within a couple minutes, she got a bite, and it was a big one. Sunset pulled out her knife, and it was twenty-four inches. Sunset gleefully stunned it and whacked off its head. “See, you being around improves even my results. You gotta have some sort of power.”

Brigid rolled her eyes with a ‘how cute’ smile, clearly not believing Sunset. “Ya’ve only gone fishin’ without me once n’ only fished with me twice. Ah don’t think dat’s a large enough data pool ta say somethin’ like dat.”

“Fine then,” Sunset gave Brigid her fish and chucked the head into the water, “I’ll continue fishing while you cook lunch. You should be far enough away not to affect my results.”

“Okay, okay.” Brigid got up and took the fish back to camp.

Sunset waited until Brigid was beyond the tree line before trying again. As the minutes ticked by, no matter how much Sunset tried to make her thumb look like a yummy worm, no fish were biting. Maybe I’m trying too hard. Sunset let her hand just rest in and move with the water. After several more minutes of this approach, Sunset finally got a bite, but it was puny. Sunset threw it back and tried again. The calmer method seemed to work better as Sunset got another bite after a few more minutes, but just like the last one, it was tiny.

“Sunset! Food’s ready!”, Brigid called out.

Sunset threw the fish back and ran back to camp. Brigid was plating their food which consisted of the fish, some greens, freeze dried fruit, and rehydrated mealworms. Sunset grabbed her plate and sat down next to Brigid.

“How’d yer fishin’ go?”

“Badly. Ah only got a couple bites, and they were- Too bad there aren’t any guys here. I could’ve made a joke.”

“So, not well, Ah take it.”

“Yeah”

“Keep practicing. Y’ll get bette’.”

“Or you got more magic in you than ya think.”

Brigid shrugged and continued eating. Sunset was annoyed she didn’t believe her but knew there was no way she would convince her without solid evidence. It was undoubtedly a good treat, but boy, could it be annoying.

“Mom, does your side of the family have any sorta history with strange abilities?”

“Not dat Ah know, but both sides do seem ta have a strong history a’ becomin’ ghosts. Ah wonde’ if dat will happen ta me.”

“I think that has more ta do with the strong emotions everyone was feeling rather than some sort of genetic predisposition.”

“If strong emotions were all it was ta it, Ah’d imagine we’d hear ‘bout a lotta more ghosts.”

“So what, some people have a predisposition to becoming ghosts?”

“Somethin’ like dat, n’ it might have a link ta location. Ya know how da Canter Valley n’ da surroundin’ mountains n’ forests are considered da most haunted places in all a’ Maine?”

“Yeah, top ten in tha whole country.”

“Well, eve’ since ya bashed me ove’ da head with da whole “magic bein’ real” thin’, Ah’ve been lookin’ inta da history a’ weird events n’ psychics dis place has. Unfortunately, Ah’m pretty sure anyone with any real abilities are tryin’ ta keep deir heads low, like us, so dat’s been a bit of a bust, but sightin’s a ghosts, UFOs, n’ all dat stuff sharply goes up within dese mountains, n’ Ah’m not sure dat portal bein’ here is a coincidence. How much do ya know ‘bout it?”

“Not much. Records of it were few and damaged. I do know that Celestia only came into possession of it about seventy years ago and it can’t be older than four hundred years old because the materials used to create it only became available to us then.”

“How could documents ‘bout when it was acquired be damaged in only seventy years?”

“An unfortunate accident, one I wasn’t a part of. I wasn’t even born when it happened.”, Sunset defended before continuing. “Any experiments involving interdimensional doorways are highly regulated, for obvious reasons, and I couldn't find any records of any being done on the mirror. That doesn’t they didn’t happen. That just means that, if they did happen, the only records of such are in Celestia’s head.”

“Ah hope she’s got a good memory.”

“Oh, she’s got spells for that. On that note, I’m not even sure if she knows who created it.”

“Well, da statue was commissioned n’ put in place in nineteen-o-two ta commemorate da fifty year anniversary a’ da openin’ a’ da new school. Ah couldn’t find who da artist was though.”

“The artist doesn’t necessarily have ta be the one to have turned the statue into a portal. It’s just more likely.”

“Wait, how was da portal created?”

“Fixed portals like that are typically made by anchoring a teleportation spell to a physical object. That begs the question, how or who anchored the portal to the statue and why?”

“Ah’d wager it was a forme’ membe’ a’ da school staff. A student would’ve more likely have made it somewhere indoors. Kids are more like cockroaches whereas adults are better at hidin’ in plain sight.”

“Okay, then how and why?”

“Given dis place’s weird history goes back ta before it was colonized, Ah’d say said weirdness somehow allowed da portal ta be created. Maybe someone from one a’ our worlds managed ta make contact with da othe’, n’ dey worked tagethe’ ta make da portal ta visit each othe’.”

“That does sound plausible and like something a human would do, pony, eh, maybe. Humans are a more adventurous species than ponies.”

“Remember, da people a’ dis nation, da majority a’ humans ya’ve been exposed ta, are descendants a’ explorers n’ frontiersmen, very adventurous people.”

“So what, the American people have some sort of adventuring gene?”

“In a sense.” Brigid grabbed their plates and cleaned them.

The portal is hidden well. Who would randomly touch the base of a statue, but with humans, it’s not a matter of ‘who?’ but ‘when someone will stumble into it’, and times that by hundreds of teenagers. Then again, there were far fewer kids going to school there a hundred years ago, but that’s still many dumb, random kids. Yet, it clearly worked, so far. I will be going there next year. Maybe I can find employee records from that time. Nineteen-o-two to nineteen-thirty-two, not that long of a time, for humans.

Outside CHS

Date: Oct 30th, time: 3:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Forest doesn’t have any extracurricular activities, so she should be out any minute now. Sunset leaned against the statue in front of the high school and grabbed a pouch of candy blood from her bag. To the untrained eye or to someone that doesn’t regularly donate, it looks like an actual blood bag, but look closely enough and you’ll see the word ‘cherry’ on the label. Students began coming out the front doors and most were in costume since tomorrow was Saturday. At least one good thing came out of watching that garbage Dusk movie, depending on who you ask, and that was Sunset knew how to pull off a self-loathing, modern vampire. She’d never let it down if she was seen by another thestral, but luckily, the only other one is blind, unless Emi’s one. Is she one? She does have gray fur. Though, that’s not a thestral only trait.

Sunset spotted Forest, opened the clip, and inserted the tube into her mouth. She waited until Forest spotted her before beginning to drink. Forest’s eyes went wide, and she looked around at the other students. Some of the other students were looking at Sunset, but since it was the day before Halloween, they didn’t question the blood bag.

Forest scurried up to Sunset and whispered so quietly that a normal human probably wouldn’t have heard her. “What are you doing? You’re gonna get exposed.”

“What, can’t a woman enjoy her treat as she waits for her boyfriend?”

“Not with…” Forest waved her hands around, for what reason, Sunset couldn’t decipher, “that.”

“Hey, Sunset.” Flash came from around Forest, all dressed up in his own angsty vampire costume. He even had glittery face stuff. “That looks good.”

Sunset took the tube out from her mouth and gave it to Flash. Flash took it in his mouth and took a good, long sip. Forest balked at what she saw, looking between them and the few students still around. Sunset decided to up the ante and leaned into Flash’s neck and gave him a lick, which she quickly regretted. The glittery stuff tasted bad. At least Flash seemed to enjoy it. Sunset suppressed her disgust and looked back at Forest with a devious look. She could see Forest’s brain blue screening behind her eyes. Forest left quickly, probably from having her brain short-circuited. Flash let go of the tube to watch Forest retreat. As soon as she was far enough away, they broke out laughing.

“Hahaha, now that’s how you deal with the annoying weird kid.”, Flash said. “Hm, that stuff tastes good.”

“Yeah, it’s cherry flavored.” Sunset took the collar of her jacket and used it to try and scrape away the glittery stuff. “Are your sparkles plastic or biodegradable?”

“I don’t know. My mom got it for me.”

“You should only use biodegradable glitter. The plastic stuff becomes microplastics in the ocean and is jus’ more dangerous for humans in general, especially if it gets in the eyes. Actually, you should make sure none of the body wash or other hygiene products you use don’t have those tiny plastic beads in them.” The two of them began their walk to Sunset’s house as they continued talking.

“Why would hygiene products have tiny plastic beads?”

“The reason given is that they’re for exfoliating, but I don’t think they actually do anything, and they’re really bad for the environment either way.”

“Okay, got it, no tiny plastic beads.”

“Good” Sunset resumed drinking her candy blood as they walked. She could still feel some glitter on her tongue which poked into it. She was uncomfortable.

Emi’s room

Date: Nov 15th, time: 3:00 pm

*Emi’s perspective*

“Come on. Hurry up.”, Emi complained.

“The more you whine, the longer this will take.”, Sunset said. “Stupid, fucking, flawed piece of softwear.”, Sunset swore as she tried to make the video call work. “Okay, got it.” Sunset stepped back from the computer, and Rynin’s face popped up on the screen.

Emi flipped her mic down and scooted closer to her desk. “Hey, Rynin.”

“Hey, Emi.”

“Can you two hear each other?”, Sunset asked.

“Yup”, Emi answered.

“Great, then I’m off.” Sunset left Emi’s room, leaving the two of them to their business.

“Whatcha been up to?”, Emi asked.

Rynin disappeared from the camera view for a moment before coming back with an odd looking Freaky High doll. “I customize dolls now.”

“Customize, wha’ do ya mean?”

“Well, I strip away the factory paint, hair, and clothes then give them a new face and hair and make them new clothes. Once I’m old enough, I want to make body modifications. I’ll give them new legs and skulls. That kind of stuff.”, Rynin explained calmly, like it was the most normal thing in the world.

“Huh, I was wondering why you’re friends with me. Turns out you’re just as messed up as I am.”

“What?”

“Did ya hear wha’ came outa your mouth. Ya sound like a deranged plastic surgeon.”

Rynin stayed quiet for more than a moment before finally speaking. “Huh, I guess I kinda do.”

“So, wha’ kinda dolls have ya made?”

Rynin disappeared again and reappeared with more dolls. They were from Freaky High and Fairytale High. “I started out just making them look like nicer versions of themselves, but I’ve started to make my own characters.” Rynin held up a doll that clearly had originally been one of the werewolf characters from Freaky High. Though, she now had a pair of butterfly wings on her back. “This is Venessa. I was thinking, “What if different monster species reproduced?” and then created her.”

“So, she’s a werewolf fairy?”

“Exactly” Rynin put the doll down. “How are things going for you?”

“The docs are trying some new treatment. It doesn’t feel great. Oh, in a couple weeks, we’ll be volunteering at the soup kitchen for the Festival of Hecate.”

“What’s the Festival of Hecate?”

“Hecate’s the goddess of witchcraft, and as witches, it’s our duty to help those society has failed, and the Festival of Hecate is the holiday dedicated to that.”

“I never thought of witches as volunteering types.”

“Blame the church. We used to be doctors and teachers, the people you’d go to for help, but then a bunch of outsiders came, saw us using magic, called us devil worshipers, and tried to wipe us out and ruined our image.”

“Oh”, Rynin said sadly. “You and your family are cool.”

“Thanks. You’re cool too.”

Canterville Soup Kitchen

Date: Nov 30th, time: 6:00 pm

*Minerva’s perspective*

The Festival of Hecate could be best summed up as ‘help those that have been neglected by society’. As the goddess of witchcraft, Hecate was rather unconventional. She dedicated her life to helping others, and now, her followers take this day to help others. That is what the Mac Carthaighs did now. The clan members that were big enough helped with the cooking while their pint sized members played gofers.

“Chugga chugga choo choo, the carrot train is coming through.”, Emi announced as she and Anura worked together to carry a big bag of carrots. “Here ya go, Daddy.”

“Thank you, sweety.” Anzhong took the bag from the girls, and they ran off to help somewhere else.

Minerva chuckled to herself as she stirred the soup. She kept forgetting that half her family weren’t 100% human. They just acted so human. Granted, she wasn’t the best example of a normal human. Maybe that was it. Maybe strange was so normal for her that having an alien unicorn niece or a half fox spirit BIL and goddaughter just weren’t weird enough to really register. Whatever the reason was, it was now just one of those things you don’t really think about until you randomly remember it and go ‘oh yeah’.

Brigid came in with a cutting board filled with chopped broccoli. It wasn’t the freshest, but that’s why it’s called a soup kitchen. Brigid once called it “Da same idea as English cooking but done right”. As Minerva thought, her mind drifted to the night she returned from service, all alone and scared. She was in a situation many had found themselves in before and that not all had enough hope to come out of alive. In all likelihood, she might have done what many had done before if it weren’t for Brigid. In that moment before the phone call, she had nothing to live for.

“Hey, Brigid.”

Brigid lifted her head up from her task and looked at Minerva quizzically.

“Remember back when I called you for help when I got back, why were you so willing to help me? You didn’t even know who I was, and all I needed to say was that I couldn’t drive.”

“Call it big sis instincts. Ah was basically da oldest a’ twelve. Plus, in rural places, like where Ah’m from, ya don’t question why someone needs yer help. Ya jus’ help ‘em because ya know y’ll need deir help in da future.”

“So basically, everything in your upbringing told you to come and help me.”

“Dat sums it up well, n’ look at us now.”

Minerva smiled warmly at Brigid, but the sweet moment was cut off by loud swearing from Sunset.

“Ya okay, baby?”, Brigid asked.

“Uuugh, this is tha third time this thing has slipped! It's duller than a flat Earther! How do you even sharpen one of these?”

“Here, Ah’ll show ya.”

Brigid went over to help Sunset, and Minerva shook her head. She’d gotten used to Brigid’s, and by extension her girls’, level of swearing but still wasn’t a fan of it. Minerva took the pot off the heat and brought it to the line. A couple of volunteers were working the serving line, so she just had to put the soup on the warmer.

“Hello, Minerva.”

“Hello, Mr. Greenhooves, how are things going?”

“Pretty good, all things considered.”

“That’s good. You’re looking healthier.”

“Yeah, I found this organization that’s helping me get a job.”

“I hope you find success.”

Mr. Greenhooves tilted his hat to Minerva with a smile on his face and took his food to one of the tables. Minerva went back to the kitchen and began cleaning her work station. Sunset and Brigid were back to their own work, and neither were swearing, so everything was going well. A small smile crept onto Minerva’s face. It wasn’t perfect, but she was content with her life and loved. That’s what matters.

Yakuza’s house

Date: Dec 14th, time: 8:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

“You know what you need to do?”, Sunset asked.

A young yakuza member, wearing typical clothing for a delivery boy, stood in front of her, holding the bomb. It was disguised as a perfectly normal looking package with Sunset having put in a good deal of effort to make it look real. Can’t have Storm suspecting something before it was boom time. “Yeah, deliver the package then get out of there quickly. A trained monkey could do this.”

“We ain’t got a monkey, so we’re stuck with you.”

The young yakuza member rolled his eyes and headed out to his car. Sunset headed out to where Brigid and Anzhong were waiting and climbed into their car. Brigid was in her normal clothes, but Sunset and Anzhong were bundled up in heavy coats, balaclavas that only showed their eyes, sunglasses, and their other usual winter crap, nothing they cared about if it got ruined. Brigid drove them to the docks, and Sunset, Anzhong, and Kiba climbed out. The three of them headed to a fishery and got some fish so they could say they had a legitimate reason to be in the area.

With wrapped up fish in hand, they stood in the back alley behind the Storm building. A side alley led from the street to the back alley, letting Sunset peer around the corner and see the young yakuza member walk to the front door and later away. She grabbed the destination device and flipped open the cover. Her heart was pounding, but Sunset took long, slow breaths to try and calm it. She gave them a couple minutes to get the package deeper into the building then pressed the button. A resounding boom came from within the building, startling Kiba. The bomb wasn’t powerful enough to shake walls, but the sound of shattering glass could be heard, but there was a slight problem. A man with white hair burst through a side door and collapsed in the alley. He was breathing but was burned, bleeding, and overall in bad shape. Sunset tugged on Anzhong’s sleeve and stashed the detonator, and they quickly approached.

“Eric Storm?”, Sunset asked.

“Who’s asking?”, he wheezed out.

He’s not going to die soon enough. Sunset looked around and saw some rebar leaning against the neighboring building’s wall, in a pile of other assorted garbage. She grabbed it, kicked up the snow around where it was, and brought it back over. She kneeled over the man that made her fear for the safety of her family and raised the rebar over her head. There was no fear in his eyes, only spite. Sunset drove it into his neck, noting how similar it was to stabbing an orange but with some added hard stuff. He began to gargle and sputter but the look in his eyes never changed. She jostled it around until a satisfactory amount of blood was spurting out and his eyes lost that spark of life.

Blood now covered her clothes, so Sunset grabbed the wound site as if she was trying to stop the bleeding. Sirens could be heard in the distance, and Sunset had to fight the urge to bolt. Maybe it was that she just blew up a building or just killed a man, but Sunset’s body was shaking. It wasn’t shivering. She wasn’t cold. She was probably just coming down from an adrenaline rush, but boy, was it unpleasant. She was glad she never had to deal with this as a pony.

“Is he dead?”, Anzhong asked.

“Yes”, Sunset said without a hint of emotion in her voice.

Anzhong and Kiba stepped over the body and walked out to the street. Once the sirens came close enough, he began waving his arms. The cop cars and ambulance stopped in front of him. “Over here! Somebody’s hurt!”, Anzhong shouted.

Sunset schooled her face to something more freaked out before the paramedics got out. They rushed over, and Sunset stepped back from the body, letting the paramedics do their thing. It only took a couple seconds for them to know he’s dead. Sunset walked around them and over to Anzhong and took his hand.

“Okay, could you both remove your face coverings and show ID.”, the cop said.

The two of them removed their balaclavas and glasses, and Anzhong pulled out his ID. “I’m fourteen, no ID.”, Sunset said.

“Okay, so what happened?”, the officer asked Sunset.

Sunset held her hands out in front of her with her palms up, telling the officer’s subconscious that she had nothing to hide, and moved them to more animatedly tell her story. “We were doing some shopping when we heard the explosion, and we were about to run when we heard that guy stumble out and fall in the snow. He had that thing in his neck, and I tried to stop the bleeding, but he didn’t make it.”

“I see. What’s your name?”

“Sunset Shimmer.”

The officer nodded and turned to Anzhong, but he already had his card out. “Oh, prosecutor.” The officer took it and placed it in his wallet.

“We know the routine. We’ll be awaiting your call.”, Anzhong said.

“Alright, you’re free to go.”

Anzhong put his glasses back on and led them away from the scene. Sunset pulled out her phone and texted Brigid that they needed a pick up. They stopped on a corner a couple blocks away and waited. Brigid soon arrived and picked them up.

“Uhg, dat’s gonna be a pain ta clean.”, Brigid said, referring to Sunset’s jacket.

“At least it’s my snow jacket.”

“Yeah, but it’s likely gonna have a red tint ta it.”

“I can live with that.”

Canterlot Police station

Date: Dec 17th, time: 2:00 pm

*Anzhong’s perspective*

Kiba led Anzhong into the interview room where he could smell the two detectives. One needed a shower, and the other needed to use less cologne.

“Hello, Mr. Katon, Ms. Shimmer. Please, take a seat.”, the officer needing a bath said.

Anzhong and Sunset sat in the provided seats and waited for one of the detectives to ask a question. He laid his cane against the table and hands on it. His hands were currently on their sides but ready to be flipped palms up when he started talking.

“So, Mr. Katon, you and your daughter were, eh, witness to the bombing that took place on the fourteenth, at the docks?”, officer cologne asked.

“Yes, we were.”

“Ms. Shimmer, could you describe what you saw?”

“I didn’t see anything. We were behind the building when the bomb went off.”

“I see. Mr. Katon, are you aware of the identity of the man that died?”

“No, I am not.”

“The man’s name was Eric Storm, leader of the Storm gang, went by the moniker of Storm King.”

“Sounds like he had quite the ego.”, Sunset remarked.

“I see. As unfortunate as his passing is, I can not say that I’m particularly saddened by the news.”, Anzhong said, choosing to ignore Sunset’s comment.

“So, you know nothing else?”

“I’m sorry we can’t help you any further.”

“Thank you for your time.”

Anzhong and Sunset got up and left quickly.

“You did well.”, Anzhong said as soon as they were back in the car.

“I’m starting to hate police stations as much as I hate hospitals.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“So, now that Storm’s leader is taken care of, could you guys call off Washi?”

“We’ll talk ‘bout it.”, Brigid said.

Emi’s room

Date: Jan 20th, time: 3:15 pm

*Anura’s perspective*

“Emi, what are you doing?”, Anura asked.

“Teaching Tomiju how to read.” Emi sat on the floor with Tomiju in between her legs and a children’s book in her hands. Tomiju was looking at the book, but Anura knew she didn’t actually comprehend what was in it.

“But she’s a dog. Dogs can’t read.”

“That’s only because no one ever bothered to teach them how.”

Anura just shook her head. She wasn’t going to change her mind. “Hey, Emi, I need some help.”

Emi closed the book and placed it beside her then wrapped her arms around Tomiju. “What’s up?”

Anura sat down in front of Emi and took off her backpack. “It’s medieval day next week, and I don’t want to go as just another princess.”

“Plague doctor!”, Emi shouted in excitement.

“That’s about what I was thinking. Can you help me with that?”

Instead of giving an answer, Emi got up from her seat and pulled her computer from her desk. After typing something, she turned the computer to Anura. “What do you want to look like?”

Anura took the computer, which had pictures of plague doctors on the screen. They ranged from realistic to cutesy cartoons. “My black overcoat could make up the majority of the costume, and we could get a white bird mask easily. That just leaves the hat and accessories.”

“Sunset can help us with that.” Emi jumped up, and Anura followed her to Sunset’s room.

Sunset and Flash were laying on her couch and the floor, respectively, playing a game of chess. Sunset had a rice sock on her pelvis, making it clear why she wasn’t at the rink. Despite how calm they both were, Anura could sense some tension between them.

“Sunset! Sunset! We need a big black hat and a creepy cane.”, Emi said.

“For what?”, Sunset asked warily.

“Anura wants to go as a plague doctor for medieval day, at school.”

“And where do I fit into this?”

“Those are both items you can get us.”

“Hm, possibly. The hat’s easy; a black, large brimmed fedora would suffice. However, it’s nowhere near Halloween. You can check in my wardrobe and boxes for a cane.”

Emi scurried over to the boxes Sunset kept under her stairs, and Anura could hear boxes rustling. Anura followed her and began to help with the search. The boxes were filled with game console parts, random nick-nacks, books, and old costume parts.

“Jeeze, Sunset, don’t you throw anything out?”, Anura asked.

“Hey, those are still useful.”

“Your Read Along with Me books, from when you were learning English?” Anura held up one of the books in question to emphasize her point.

“I do plan on having kids.”

“But you’re- oh, never mind.” Anura put the book back with the rest and closed the box back up.

“Mom said it’s a symptom of her growing up in poverty. She also said we’re lucky she doesn’t hoard food. Instead, she just eats it all.”, Emi jabbed.

“Can it, short fry, or Ima eat you.”

Emi stuck her tongue out at Sunset and went back to searching. “Found something.” Emi pulled out a white cane with a simple white dome on top. “Why do you even have this thing?”

“Specifically for this reason.”

“Fair, can we borrow some of your black paint?”

“Yeah, go ahead, but you can’t borrow paint. There is no possible way to return it in its original state once you’re done.”

“Can we use some of your black paint?”

“Just grab it and get out already.”, Sunset said flatly.

Emi ran out of Sunset’s room, grabbing a DIY Depo sample container of black paint and brush as she left. Anura followed her, and they went out to the back porch. Emi lathered the top of the cane with the paint until it was covered in a gloppy mess. “Take this somewhere else.” Emi then handed Anura the cane. Anura was confused but complied. She took it off the porch while being careful to not get the paint on anything. Emi hopped off the porch, grabbed the hose, and sprayed the area where she painted down. “Where should we put that?”

“Um” Anura looked around and considered her options. Placing it on the ground would get grass and dirt in the paint. She couldn’t leave it on the porch in case it dripped. “Is there something we can put this on, like some paper towels?”

“Hang on, I’ll go get some.” Emi ran inside, leaving Anura holding the cane. She soon returned with a roll of paper towels and laid out a line of them. Anura brought the cane over and laid it on the paper towels. “There. Now, we just need everything else.” Emi and Anura went back inside, with Emi taking the brush to the sink and cleaning it off.

Anura headed upstairs and into Aunt Brigid’s office, where Mom normally worked. “Hey, Mom.”

“Hey, baby.” Mom picked Anura and put her on her lap. Mom wasn’t wearing her prosthetics, so her lap was a bit smaller and Anura had to work a bit more to balance herself. “What’s up?”

“I need a black hat and a white bird mask.”

“For what?”

“I’m going as a plague doctor for medieval day.”

“That sounds like fun. We can go shopping later for everything.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Anura hopped off her mother’s lap and headed back downstairs. Emi was outside, watching the paint dry. Whether it was her inhuman blood or just her, Emi was very strange. Anura rejoined Emi outside and sat on the swing. Emi didn’t acknowledge her beyond a quick look. “Y’know that will take a while to dry.”

“This is taking forever. I’ll be dead before it’s dry.”

“Don’t exaggerate like that.”

Emi gave her a mischievous grin, and Anura glared at her. “Oh, alright, I’m just trying to cope with my impending doom through humor, but who am I to make such jokes?”

Anura became downcasted and swung her legs under the swing. “I’m-I’m sorry.”

“Hey, I was just giving you a hard time.”, Emi said in a comforting tone.

Anura looked up at Emi with a sad look. It was unreal. Emi was dying, and there was nothing she could do. Anura put her head in her hands, her emotions overwhelming her. She felt Emi pull her into a hug. It wasn’t fair. Nothing that happened to any of them was fair. Of all the emotions Anura was feeling, there was one that shone brighter than the rest and billowed within her, anger, pure rage that she had nothing to aim it at so just kept it inside. There was nothing else she could do. I’m so weak. I’m just a human. I can’t help anyone.

Mory Patchwork Elementary

Date: Jan 27th, time: 1:00 pm

*Anura’s perspective*

Anura, along with the rest of her class, shuffled through the halls, out to the playground. Just about every other kid was dressed as a princess, prince or night, the usual stuff. One kid was dressed as a jester and actually was pretty funny. They got to the doors, and the kids spilled out into the yard. Anura ran straight for the swings, brushed the snow off, and hopped on. She could see the whole playground when she reached the top of her swing, including three students she recognized as Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle.

Bloom and Sweetie Belle were completely normal looking, but Scootaloo had something odd about her. Not once in her entire time at the school had Anura seen her run. They stayed on the paved areas of the playground, and Scootaloo used her scooter to chase after the other two or “run away” during tag. When she wasn’t on her scooter and had to walk around, she always hobbled, like she was wearing a prosthetic. She didn’t actually have one. She was the kind of person to not wear anything past her elbows and knees unless it was below freezing. She used her left leg to push herself on her scooter, despite being right handed. This all led Anura to believe that there was something wrong with her right leg. As much as she wanted to ask her about it, Anura knew some people are sensitive about such things and that might be seen as rude.

She switched her people watching to another group of kids, another group of friends. Why wouldn’t the other kids play with me? What was so wrong about me that my only friend’s an inhuman creature? How come Emi can befriend a normal kid like Rynin when she’s an actual monster? Anura stopped swinging. No, she’s not a monster, just different. I wish I was a monster. Then I’d at least know why nobody else likes me. Anura’s swing came to a stop. There’s something dark inside of her. It was that ball of festering rage. It made her want to hurt them, but then she’d calm down and feel sad. What if, one day, she couldn’t calm down in time?

CMS

Date: Feb 5th, time: 12:05 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Oh, come on, Indigo. Just tell me what I want to know, and I won’t hurt you.”, Sunset said in a suave voice. She had Indigo Wreath pinned against the wall in one of the school’s storage closets. He was one of the braver students, but a dumb kid is still a dumb kid, and Sunset knows how to scare a dumb kid.

“Piss off.”, Indigo definitely said.

Sunset cracked a lopsided grin and looked at Indigo like a fox would at any other of their prey. “You may think you’re all strong and tough, but I’ve eaten bigger and stronger.”, Sunset said with a growl.

Indigo had his chin practically glued to his chest, but the defiant look in his eyes wavered. Sunset leaned in and snarled at him, pulling her lips back to prominently show her fangs. “Please, don’t hurt me.”, Indigo squeaked out.

Sunset pulled back enough that she could see the fear on his face. She loved being feared. It was euphoric. “I won’t hurt you if you tell me.”, Sunset said with a sickly sweet tone that contrasted her predatory smile.

“Velvet used her dad’s credit card and blamed it on her brother. She did it to make herself look better.”

Sunset kept up her predatory grin but was internally rolling her eyes. Why can’t these brats have any interesting dirt on them? Sunset let go of Indigo and turned to leave but looked back at him. “It would be a real shame if Velvet found out just who exactly ratted her out, wouldn’t you agree?” The delicious look of shame on his face was the cherry on top as Sunset left for the lunch room.

Canterlot Hospital

Date: March 15th, time: 5:00 am

*Jiraiya’s perspective*

Jiraiya stepped off the elevator and walked over to the room with the armed guard sitting in front. He gave the officer a polite wave as he entered. Inside the private room was Tempest Shadow. She was in a coma from being thrown head first into a wall by the blast. She also had some charring and many lacerations. Her prosthetic sleeve had been fused to her skin in some places, so those parts of her skin had to be scrapped away, and now, she had grafts dotted along her right arm. Her other arm was handcuffed to the bed railing. Although they weren’t sure when exactly she’d wake up, she’s unlikely to be in that coma for much longer, and her higher brain function shouldn’t be hampered, but then again, TBIs can be unpredictable.

Jiraiya checked her vitals, but that wasn’t why he was there. He leaned down to her. Even if she couldn’t hear him, this was just as much for his catharsis. “You got better than you deserve. You should be dead.”, he growled.

“As much as I agree with you, I can’t, legally, let you correct this oversight of the universe, if you plan on doing such.”, the officer said. He was now standing inside of the door frame with his arms crossed.

Jiraiya stood up and walked to the foot of the patient’s bed. “No, I’m a physician first, do no harm and all that, but I’m also a father, and she went after my children.”

“I get you. I’m also a father.”

Jiraiya nodded and left the room. He left the hospital and drove to Anzhong and Brigid’s house. Walking inside, the only person not practically falling asleep was Brigid, and the only ones not nursing a cup of coffee were Emi and Anura.

“Hey, da computer’s set up.”, Brigid said as she waved Jiraiya over.

He walked over to the couch with everyone else. Jiraiya leaned on the back of the couch; Anzhong, Brigid, and Minerva sat on the couch; Anura sat on her mom’s lap; and Sunset and Emi sat on their beanbags. Sunset started the call, and Ryoko and Oda’s tired looking faces popped up on the screen with young Hikari in her arms. Hikari had his mother’s blue hair and gold eyes but had a witch’s streak of his father’s blond going down the left side of his hair.

“Moshi moshi”, Ryoko said.

“You look tired.”, Jiraiya said in Japanese.

“Please, Father, we have English speaking guests. It is only polite.”, she said in English.

“Very well. Are you doing well?”

“Tired but well, but to get to the point, you all wish to meet Hikari.” Ryoko lifted Hikari up to be better seen by the camera. Brigid and Minerva both had smiles on their faces and were cuing at him.

“He’s kinda ugly. I blame Oda.”, Emi said bluntly. Anzhong nearly choked on his coffee, and Oda rolled out of his chair laughing.

“All babies dat young look like dat.”, Brigid said.

“I was never that ugly.”, Sunset defended.

“Yeah, because you were a pony.”, Emi countered.

Ryoko lowered Hikari, and Oda stopped laughing and righted himself in his chair, both looking confused.

Minerva looked back at Anzhong, Jiraiya, and Brigid, the latter two of which had “oh, great” looks on their faces. “You guys never told them, have you?”

“We forgot.”, all three said.

“What is going on?”, Oda asked.

Sunset lifted herself up so she was in the center of the frame. “Sooo, funny story.” Sunset recounted a quick version of her story, leaving Ryoko and Oda with their mouths open and looking between each other as if they were checking to see if they were actually hearing this or if sleep deprivation had finally gotten to them.

“I know it’s hard to believe, but Brigid and I went through the portal once and were very much ponies.”, Anzhong said.

“Da portal’s actually openin’ back up soon, isn’t it?”, Brigid asked.

“Yeah, six months.”, Sunset confirmed.

“Okay, this is… nuts.”, Ryoko said, stunned.

“You’re half fox.”, Oda said in Japanese.

“Alien pony unicorn, our niece.”, Ryoko said in Japanese.

“Says the fox.”

“We know you’re kitsunes.”, Minerva said, and Anura nodded.

Ryoko whipped her head back to face the camera. “Azhong”, she said with a scowl.

“It took traveling to the alien pony world for Brigid to believe me when I told her what we are. We’re safe.”, Anzhong defended.

“You all make me seem normal.”, Anura commented.

Hikari started getting fussy, and Ryoko got up to take care of him.

“We have to get going. We will talk to you some time later.”, Oda said in English before ending the call.

Everyone got up and either went about their day or went back to bed. Anzhong pulled Jiraiya aside, and he could feel the seriousness from his son. “What is the condition of Tempest Shadow?”

“Still in a coma. We’re not sure when she’ll wake up, but she likely will.”

Anzhong seemed unhappy by the answer but didn’t say anything.

“You’re worried she relayed the knowledge of Sunset’s existence.”

“Storm has been quiet, but they’ve pulled this before. Sunset’s been asking to have her bodyguard removed.”

“You left the serpent without its head. The body’s movements may be erratic at first, but it will surely die.”

“I hope you are correct.”

Canterlot Hospital

Date: Apr 4th, time: 6:00 pm

*Emi’s perspective*

Emi was wheeled into the recovery room, where Lily White already was. She looked paler than a sheet of paper, and there was a hint of vomit in the air. Emi was placed in her usual spot, but Lily didn’t greet her.

“Hey, ya dead?”, Emi asked.

“No,” Lily said tiredly, “just tired.”

“How are you doing?”

“Not well.”

Lily rolled over, so Emi stopped talking. She pulled out her handheld and played her games. After some time, Emi heard Lily rolling over again.

“What are you playing?”, Lily asked.

“I’m playing Daring Do: Temple Escape.”

“Can I watch?”

“Yeah, hang on.” Emi turned to her mother. “Hey, Mom, can you take me to Lily’s bed?” Mom got up from her seat and picked Emi up and put her on Lily’s bed. Lily sat up and scooted next to Emi and watched her play for a while. Lily ended up falling asleep on Emi’s shoulder. Emi put her game down and stroked Lily’s hair.

She woke back up some time later and looked up at Emi. “What are you doing?”, she asked weakly.

“Just trying to comfort you.”

Lily put her head back down and let Emi continue to stroke her hair. Lily’s nice.

Outside CMS

Date: Apr 9th, time: 4:15 pm

*Flash’s perspective*

“Hey, man!”, Sandalwood called out. Flash turned to him and waved. He walked over to where Flash sat and sat down next to him. Flash was sitting on a bench near the middle school parking as he waited for the hockey team bus. “Whacha doing here, man?”

“I’m waiting for my girlfriend. She’s still in middle school.”

“Ahh, if that’s the case, could you ask her about the poison ivy cases? I overheard some middle schoolers talking about how a lot of kids were getting poison ivy rashes with seemingly no cause. I tried asking them, but that’s all they knew.”

“That’s odd, but what’s your interest in it?”

“It’s just so weird, man. Who in the world would use poison ivy as some sort of weapon? It should be left to live out its life peacefully.”

“Dude, it’s a plant. It’s not like it has feelings.”

“All life has feelings, man. Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Sandalwood got up and began walking to his house.

Flash continued waiting, but an uncomfortable feeling bubbled up in his gut. Sunset’s behavior has been getting worse, and no matter how much love he showed her, it wasn’t helping. She also was opening up to him less and less, not that she was very open with him in the first place. Is this something Sunset’s capable of? Absolutely.

He was pulled from his head as the bus pulled up. The team unloaded, and Sunset walked over to him. “Hey there, pretty boy.”, she said, not in a friendly and loving tone but a predatory dominant one, like she saw him as something she could control. It was degrading but also… strangely hot. She smiled at him predatorily, and Flash could feel his heartbeat pick up.

“Hey”, Flash said sweetly. He stood up and took Sunset’s hand.

Washi was standing on the other side of the street, waiting for them. They joined him and began walking to Sunset’s. He was silent, as always, and was barely noticeable, but for whatever reason, Sunset still found him to be a nuisance. Flash never understood why.

“Sunset, I heard a rumor going around. Apparently, kids are getting poison ivy rashes when they haven’t come into contact with the stuff. Have you heard anything about that?”, Flash asked.

“Yeah, I’ve heard about that, but I’m immune to poison ivy and wash my hands frequently, so you don’t have to worry about touching me.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Should I? She could be… What if… Am I wrong for doubting her? Flash put it out of his head for now. He had no proof, and Sunset sure as heck isn’t going to give up that information if he pushed. This isn’t right.

Canterlot fire station 13

Date: May 31st, time: 6:00 am

*Rainbow’s perspective*

“Rainbow, we’re here.”, Mom said. She shook her lightly, and Rainbow roused from her light sleep. It was way too early in the morning. “You remember the rules?”

“Yes,” Rainbow said in the way only a fourteen year old who’s just been asked such a stupid question could, “I remember. This is the third time you’ve had me repeat them.”

“I know this must seem tedious to you, but this is a life and death profession where being slow can cost someone their life, including us. I need to make sure you know the rules.”, Mom said in her “serious paramedic” voice.

Rainbow resigned herself and listed off the rules. “Stay within hearing range of the alarm or a five minute run of the ambo, whichever’s closer; if it involves not having your pants on, do it quickly; don’t eat the other shifts’ food; don’t say any jinx words; don’t anger the EMT god; follow instructions; and stay up wind.”

“Perfect, now, we can go in.” Mom and Rainbow hopped out of the car, grabbed their bags, and headed into the station. The garage was abuzz with last shift finishing up final checks and hurrying to get out of there and fourth shift heading in and doing everything they need to do to get ready for the day. “Hey, how was shift?”, Mom asked the third shift paramedic.

“We had a good shift. We didn’t get any calls past midnight.”, the third shift paramedic said with a chuckle.

“Fuck me.” Mom stomped off to the meeting room with Rainbow following her. An easy previous shift means that they’ll have 12 calls after midnight. Everyone on fourth shift, minus Phenix, and Rainbow headed into the meeting room for the morning debrief. The chief came in shortly after and began the debrief. It was really boring for Rainbow, so she just daydreamed the whole time. Mom tapped Rainbow on the shoulder to let her know the meeting was over.

Everyone went out to the common room, where Phenix was cooking breakfast. He had already set out some eggs, bacon, and stir-fried vegetables. Firefighters eat a lot, so everyone loaded up their plates. Despite what some TV shows will say, firehouse cutlery never matches. You got fancy plastic cups, cheap plastic cups, glass cups, plates of every shape and material, and utensils are stabbies, scoopies, and cutties, none of that fancy table, salad, desert crap.

Mom and Rainbow got their food and took seats at the table, dropping their bags on the floor. In the common room were Lieutenant Phosphorus Wings, Autumn Blaze, Starburst Burns, Phenix Star, Cole Stream, Coal Ignatius, and Kenneth Talis from truck; Lieutenant Fire Streak, Hudson Beckett, Blaze Rafferty, Amaya Lakes, Ren Brooks, Max Maren, and Sabrina Tiber from engine; Janet Silverspeed, Mom’s partner; and Captain Robert Robertson Rabison III; everyone just calls him “Captain Bob”. Everyone was scattered around, some at the table, some eating in front of the TV. In a fire house, the only table rule is “eat it before the bell goes off”. Sure, they tried to be polite, civil human beings, but nothing can gross-out a firefighter.

“Hey, it’s Rainbow.”, Autumn said excitedly.

“Hi, Ms. Blaze.”

“You excited for your ride along?”

Rainbow nodded her head with a mouthful of food. She may not believe in the Christian or Jewish god, but she is by sure a believer in the ever wrathful and petty EMT god and does everything in her power not to anger it, especially during meals.

“Come on, show a bit more enthusiasm.”

“We’ll show more enthusiasm after we eat. We don’t want to anger the EMT god.”, Janet said.

“Ah, you're just being superstitious. Our actions don’t affect how many calls we get.”

The EMT god was offended and decided to prove her wrong as the alarm sounded. //Ambo 13, person in distress, 1437 Songbird lane.// The moment the automated voice said “ambo”, Mom, Janet, and Rainbow began shoveling their food into their mouths while giving Autumn death glares.

“This isn’t proof.”, Autumn said as Mom, Janet, and Rainbow ran out to the garage.

The three of them jumped into the ambo and raced to the address, sirens blazing. As soon as they got to the address and the wheels stopped turning, Mom and Janet hopped out of the ambo, Mom grabbed the jump bag, and the two hurried up to the door. Rainbow stayed in the ambo, as instructed, and watched as they were let inside. As much as she wanted to go in with them, for both her safety and to be courteous to the patient, she had to stay where she was. At least this meant she could guard the ambo. A disturbing amount of medics have stories of their rigs being vandalized or otherwise tampered with while they’re attending to a call. Granted, it’s exceedingly rare, but any amount of that crap is a disturbing amount.

They soon came back out, helping an elderly lady down the stairs and to the ambo. Given her lack of visible injuries, Rainbow guessed she had a fall. Damn, getting older sucks. I never wanna get to the point where tripping in my own living room could put me in the hospital. Mom helped the woman into the back while Janet hopped into the driver seat. There’s a small window that lets people in the crew cab see into the back and vice versa. The lady was sitting in one of the seats instead of on the gurney, so she wasn’t too bad. Once everyone was seated, Janet drove them down to the hospital, without lights and sirens.

“Canterlot Med, we’re en route, elderly, fall, ETA five minutes.”, Mom radioed in.

“That was a lot fewer words than the last medic to take me to the hospital used.”, the lady commented.

“There is a big difference between how we’re trained to encode and how the nurses want us to encode.”

The lady chuckled, and she and Mom continued chatting all the way to the hospital. Dropping her off went quickly, and they were soon back at the house. Once they pulled in, Rainbow hopped out and returned to the common room. Everyone had spread out by then with only a few people remaining in the common room, which included Autumn Blaze.

“How’d the call go?”, Autumn asked.

“It went fine, but seriously, stop tempting the EMT god.”, Rainbow said.

“But there’s no such thing. It’s all just superstition.”

“You haven’t lived in this city very long. Trust me, stranger things have happened.”, Janet said as she and Mom walked in.

“You mean those old wives' tales. People made those up because they were bored or to keep the kids in line.”

“I dunno. I’ve seen some pretty strange things since moving ‘ere.”, Mom said, her Scottish accent slipping through.

“Like what?”, Autumn said skeptically.

“A ghost once threw a bottle of laundry soap at my head.”, Rainbow interjected.

“I have the video saved on my phone.” Mom pulled out her phone and showed it to Autumn.

Autumn scrunched up her face as the video played and looked to be trying to examine the video for anything out of place or that could prove it as fake. “That is certainly odd.”

“Our building used to be a pretty shady motel. Y’know, the kind where drug deals happen and people are murdered.”, Mom said as she put her phone away.

“I’ll admit, I don’t have a good answer for that video, but there must be a rational explanation.”

“Oh, I can tell you stories. That video is just the tip of the iceberg.”, Janet said. She took a seat at one of the tables, and everyone else took the hint. They each took a seat around the small, round table and waited for Janet to speak. “So, the Silverspeeds have been around these parts for generations, almost since the beginning, and I went to CHS. That place was built over the sight of the original school house that burned down. An entire class, which was about ten kids and a teacher at the time, and the principal died in that fire. There are placards on the wall indicating what portions were built before the nineteen hundreds, and there is a rule that says no one is allowed in those parts after nightfall because of how many janitors quit, saying that the reason was because of the ghosts. Mostly, it’s just people hearing the children scream, but a few have said they’ve seen the old principal, skin charred black and red, pieces of wood and metal sticking out of him, and one haunting blue eye.”

“Sounds like a good campfire story, but this still isn’t proof.”, Autumn said, sounding disinterested.

“A government institution had to put a rule in place because of ghosts.”, Janet stressed.

“My high school had a rule against hoodies, wearing the color red, and being in groups of more than four because these were “gang colors and behaviors”. This was in a tiny Wisconsin farming town. I’m pretty sure the closest gang’s in Chicago. You seem to be under the misconception schools are run by smart, rational people.”

“Uhhhh, you got a point.”

“What’s with the US school system’s obsession with gangs?”, Mom asked. Rainbow could only shrug.

“Okay, how do you explain all the strange disappearances and happenings in the woods and mountains? I mean we got Bluefaun, an entire town’s population, poof, nowhere to be seen; Mylan Dubois, kid was found impaled on a branch, sixty feet up a tree; and tons of strange lights and just weird crap.”

“I can’t explain it, but that doesn’t mean it’s gods, ghosts, or anything else supernatural. I’m sure we’ll have a scientific explanation some day.”, Autumn said.

“Yeah, and that scientific explanation will be ‘ghosts are real’.”

The entertainment was cut short by the alarm sounding for truck, waking Max up.

“We’ll be continuing this later.”, Autumn said as she ran out to the garage.

Max went back to sleep, and Janet got up and left. Mom grabbed their bags, tapped Rainbow on the shoulder, and motioned for her to follow. She led her to the bunk room, placed their bags on their beds, then brought them to where they keep the cleaning supplies.

“Part of being a firefighter and paramedic is keeping the house clean.” Mom handed Rainbow a dustpan and broom then pointed to the common room. “The floor needs cleaning.”

“Seriously?”, Rainbow complained.

“Yes, seriously. Now, I’ll be in the ambo if you need me. Lieutenant Dumbass left something sticky in the back.” Mom grabbed a rag and a bottle of some cleaning stuff and disappeared to the garage.

Rainbow grumbled to herself but headed into the common room. At least firefighters aren’t pigs. She headed to the common room and started sweeping. The real pain were all the chairs as they would pick up hair and dust and not want to let it go. Max had his feet up on the coffee table, and not even Rainbow’s sweeping woke him up. What do soldiers, firefighters, and teenagers all have in common? They can sleep anywhere, anytime.

Her sweeping was cut short by the alarm sounded for ambo. She dropped everything and ran out to the ambo. All three of them jumped in and rushed off. This time, it was a man unconscious on the sidewalk. Mom and Janet hopped out and rushed to the patient. It didn’t take long for them to get him on the gurney and load him in the back. They raced to the hospital, and Mom and Janet worked with the doctors on the guy. The ER was busy, so Rainbow left as to not be in anyone’s way.

She walked down the hallways and heard familiar sounding grunting and angry chuffing. She looked around and saw none other than Sunset looking more pissed off then she’s ever seen her. What in the world could get her this mad? Rainbow cautiously approached, keeping her guard up. “Sunset?”

Before Rainbow could react, Sunset buried her fist into her chest. Rainbow was knocked on her butt, and when she looked up, she mistook Sunset for a demon for a second before realizing it was just an enraged Sunset and her mother standing behind her.

“Sunset”, Sunset’s mom scolded. Sunset’s face flashed to horror for a split second before her mom scooped her up and pressed her to her body. “Ah’m sorry ‘bout dat.” Sunset’s mom took her back into the hospital room, and Rainbow could’ve sworn she heard Sunset sobbing.

Canterlot Hospital

Date: same day, time: 8:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Brigid placed Sunset back in her seat and looked down at her with a disapproving glare. Sunset averted her gaze, all the emotions being too much. Brigid just sighed and walked back to Emi’s bed. The empty bed next to her served as a painful example of what was happening. It was so sudden. Last time they were here, she was sleeping in that bed but now, empty. The doctor’s words echoed in Sunset’s mind. “It’s terminal. She has only four months left.” It’s not fair. It’s not fair!

Dr. Rojas returned with a woman wearing a shirt that said “Make-A-Wish”. They approached Emi’s bed with the woman having a gentle, sweet smile on her face, but Sunset could feel the twisted mass of emotion in her chest. Something ate away at her, but something else comforted that ache. “Hi, Emi, my name is Surprise. I’m with Make-A-Wish. Do you know what that is?”, she said in a raspy but caring tone.

“No”, Emi said.

“We’re an organization that fulfills the greatest wishes of children like you. Anywhere you want to go, do, anything like that.”

“So, I can ask for anything, and you’ll make it happen?”

“To an extent, yes.”

“Did Lily get to make a wish?”

Surprise looked confused before Dr. Rojas motioned with his head to the empty bed. Sadness flashed across her face before she looked back to Emi. “I don’t know. Someone else must’ve gotten her case.”

Emi clearly didn’t believe her but didn’t say anything about it. “Okay, then I wanna see my aunt and uncle get married.” She said it so quickly. It was clear that’s been something she’d been wanting for a while.

“Okay, we can do that.”

“Her aunt and uncle live in Japan.”, Anzhong informed.

“Oh, okay, we can still do that. What’s the wedding date?”

“One hasn’t been set due ta current situations.”, Brigid said, referring to Emi.

“I see. I’ll need to talk to the aunt and uncle then. Could we talk about details?”, Surprise asked while motioning to the door.

Brigid and Anzhong nodded, and Brigid looked down at Emi. “We’ll be back soon.”

“Wait, can Anura and Aunt Minerva come too?”, Emi asked.

“We’ll ask Ryoko. It’s ‘ers and Oda’s wedding’, so dey say who comes.” With that, the three of them left the room, and Dr. Rojas left shortly after them. Sunset and Emi were left alone, so Sunset went over to Emi’s bed and climbed in.

“Hey”, Sunset said quietly.

“I only have four months to live. I won’t even get to see my ninth birthday.”, Emi said solemnly, but then she got an angry, determined look on her face.

Sunset pulled Emi in and stroked her hair. She had needed to comfort soldiers that just had their innards turned into outards, but how do you comfort a dying child? I need to get the element of magic. That’s the only thing left that can possibly save her.

Elsewhere in the Hospital

Date: ?, time: ?

*Tempest’s perspective*

Tempest opened her eyes and was immediately blinded by the fluorescent lights. She tried to cover her eyes but quickly realized her arm was missing. She then tried her other arm but couldn’t move it. She was… oh crap, she was handcuffed. Blinking a few times, she adjusted to the light and looked around. She was surrounded by medical personnel and a cop in the corner. At least she was in the hospital. She knew that she was out for a while, but how long was the question.

“What day is it?”, Tempest asked.

“May thirty-first”, one of the nurses answered.

“Crap” The doctors had a lot of questions for her. It sounded like they were trying to make sure her mental facilities were still intact. She’d need physio, but that wasn’t her main concern. “Hey, is my prosthetic okay?”

“We’re not sure. We’ll ask.”, one of the doctors said.

The doctors and nurses began filing out of the room, and the cop went back out to his chair once all the medical personnel were out of the room. Tempest was finally left alone to scheme in peace. Wait, is Mr. Storm even still alive? That was a crucial piece of information for whatever plan she made, but there was no way of getting it without talking to the cops and potentially incriminating herself. I guess I’ll have to wait for my lawyer.

SHWO ch70 Emi

Anzhong’s home office

Date: June 1st, time: 5:30 am

*Anzhong’s perspective*

“So, how does that sound?”, Anzhong asked his sister over the phone.

“That sounds great. I just wish it wasn’t like this.”, Ryoko said sadly.

“I know.”

“I’ll email Brigid the details once we figure them out.”

“That sounds good. Emi was also wondering if Minerva and Anura could come.”

Ryoko was silent for a long moment before answering. “I’ll talk to Oda about it.”

“Thank you. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Good bye”

Anzhong hung up the phone then got up and laid down on the bed. He just stayed there for a while. He called off work, so time wasn’t an issue. Kiba climbed into bed next to Anzhong and put her head on his chest. Anzhong ran his hand through her short coat, and the tears started to flow. He could protect his family from Storm, Platinum Wood, and even an enraged alicorn, but he couldn’t protect them from this. He failed as a parent, but he couldn’t give up. He had to be there for Sunset. He had to be strong for her.

There was a nock on the door. Anzhong stopped the tears and tried his best to clean up his face before answering. The massive wall of heat made it clear it was Brigid. She always ran hot. She made it impossible to be cold at night. Her smell blessed his nose as she passed by him and entered the room. Anzhong closed the door, and Brigid sat on the bed. He joined her, and she pulled him into a hug. He could feel her distress as he returned the hug.

She lifted his head up and removed his glasses. “Ya’ve been crying.”

Anzhong took her hands in one of his, as best as he could considering how massive they are, and ran his free hand across her face. He could feel lines of dried up tears. “So have you.”

She put her head to his, and her tears began to flow again. “Ah failed as a mother n’ a daughte’. Ah couldn’t protect ‘er. Mo clan will die with me.”

Anzhong started crying again in response to his wife’s crying. “Your bloodline may die with you, but the spirit of the Mac Carthaigh clan will live on through Sunset and Anura and every student you teach compassion and understanding to.”

“Dat only makes me feel partially better.”

“I know. I feel the same, but we can’t give up. Sunset still needs us. We have to be strong for them.”

The two stayed in each other’s arms as they cried. Kiba stuck her head in between them. She was so innocent. All she knew was that they were sad but couldn’t understand why. Maybe she could smell the cancer, maybe not.

“Did ya talk ta Ryoko?”

“Yes, she’s putting things together.”

“Dat’s good.” Brigid pulled back and wiped her tears. “Ah’m gettin’ hungry. Are ya?”

“Yes”

The two of them got up and headed down to the kitchen. Emi wouldn’t likely be hungry or even up yet, and it’d be more likely for frogs to rain from the sky than for Sunset to be up anywhere near this hour of her own accord. That just left the two of them and their animals. They made a simple breakfast and sat down to eat but were interrupted by Anzhong’s phone. It played Dad’s message tone. Anzhong brought it up to his ear to listen to the message then pressed play on the read out.

//Tempest Shadow is awake.// The human wannabe voice said.

“Anzhong?”, Brigid asked worriedly. He didn’t know how she could read him so well. Then again, they have been married for a decade.

“Tempest Shadow is awake.”

Moonshine’s bar

Date: June 2nd, time: 7:00 am

*Jiraiya’s perspective*

“Shit, man, I can’t even imagine.”, Jamal said.

Jiraiya sat slumped over the bar. He didn’t have anything alcoholic. He didn’t dare, as much as he wanted to. “Ironic, I gain one grandchild just before I lose another. The universe has a fucked up sense of humor.”, he said bitterly.

Jamal patted Jiraiya on the shoulder. The bar was sparsely populated with only a few other night shift workers being there and, thus, was very quiet. As a result, they were all paying attention to Jiraiya’s story. He could feel all their eyes on him. He doesn’t have his kids’ abilities, but he was still human and could feel when he was being watched.

Jiraiya heard someone get up and walk over to him. To be polite, he sat up straight and looked the man in the eye. He was your average looking slightly overweight guy with a full beard. His clothes didn’t give much indication as to what he did. “God works in mysterious ways.”, he said as if that was supposed to comfort Jiraiya or be some profound piece of advice.

“Shut the fuck up, man.”, Jamal said angrily. “This isn’t some grand plan of God’s. This is a dying kid. Save this crap for church.”

“Well, excuse me for trying to help.”, the man said indignantly.

“You’re not helping.”, Jiraiya said bluntly.

The man huffed and went back to his seat.

Jiraiya and Jamal turned back to each other and shook their heads. Jiraiya paid his tab and left. Rush hour had begun, so the streets were packed with cars. He got back to his apartment, made some food, and collapsed into bed. His mind was filled with too many scenarios of what might happen in the coming months, and a depressing realization came to him. Sunset would likely be the only thing keeping Brigid and Anzhong from killing themselves. The girls are their world. Jiraiya can still remember what Anzhong said to Emi when she was born. “I’m going to make the world better for you.” Jiraiya grabbed his phone and called up Anzhong.

“Hello”

“Anzhong, remember, Sunset needs you, especially now.”

Anzhong was quiet for a moment as he undoubtedly heard the urgency and tinge of fear in his voice. “I know. We both know.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Jiraiya hung up, and his stomach now wished he hadn’t eaten. “Why does the universe hate my family so much?”

Anura’s room

Date: same day, time: 8:00 am

*Anura’s perspective*

Anura laid in her bed, staring up at her ceiling. She’d known Emi might die soon, but now, she absolutely was going to die, and it was only in four months. She was going to lose her best friend. Her stomach was in knots, and not even Lupa, her stuffed wolf, could ease it.

Anura got a knock at her door, and as much as she wanted to pretend she didn’t exist, she knew that her mom would get worried and come in anyways. “Yeah”

Mom opened the door and stuck her head in. “Hey, breakfast is ready.”

“I’m not hungry. My stomach doesn’t feel well.”

“Oh” Mom came in and sat on the bed. “Do you have any other symptoms?”

“I just don’t feel good. I’d like to stay in bed for a while.”

“Okay” Mom got up and left.

Anura pulled Lupa closer and turned onto her side. She closed her eyes, but it wasn’t sleep she was after. She wanted to just forget this was happening.

Some time later, Mom stuck her head back in, without knocking. “Are you feeling well enough to go over to Brigid’s?”

“No, I don’t want to give Emi whatever I have.”

“Okay” Mom left again.

Anura never felt weaker. Equestria has access to powerful magics that could cure just about everything while they were losing theirs. It wasn’t fair. They shouldn’t be magicless like this, and Emi shouldn’t be sick.

Katon family basement

Date: June 3rd, time: 11:00 pm

*Anzhong’s perspective*

“Man, I don’t even have words.”, Daiki said.

Anzhong didn’t answer that and just put his glass down on the table. They were drinking some cheap scotch that tastes more like lava than anything else. Sure, they were still kinda friends but not expensive alcohol level friends or even cheap booze and a porch level friends. It was weird. On one hand, he felt like Daiki could understand him in a way that not even Brigid could, but on the other, Daiki reminded him of the time he was the worst version of himself. Maybe that’s why he was still in contact with him.

“We do need to discuss things like Sunset’s protection detail.”, Daiki continued.

“Yes, Sunset has mentioned she’d like it removed.”

“The only person that knows she has any connection to you is currently in a hospital bed, under armed guard by both the police and us, and will soon be transferred to a cell. Unless, she passed that info along.”

“Which she likely did, and there are still Storm goons on the loose.”

“Do you believe that she’s unsafe?”

Anzhong thought about that. All they have is Sunset’s physical description, which isn’t enough to easily find her but does make an attack of opportunity possible. Though, they don’t know what her relation to the rest of them is. Sunset can’t bring weapons to school. Even a simple weighted chain got himself in trouble at school back in the day, and that was pre-Columbine. She does have her shuko, but they’re as close quarters as it gets. She does take her walk alongside other kids but lives further away than most walking kids, so there are far fewer during the start of her walk, but Storm isn’t careful enough, especially the dumb, low level goons, for the Katons to take full advantage of witnesses. Them attacking Emi at the park, with Anura right next to her and many more kids not far away, and Brigid at the college, during lunch, proves it. Sunset is a fast runner, but that means little against a gun or car, unless she can out maneuver them. Given all the fences, she could get out of sight relatively quickly, but they aren’t bulletproof shields.

“Monitor their movements. It’s too early to predict how they’re going to react. We’ll have this discussion again closer to the end of the summer.”, Anzhong finally said.

“That is a fair assessment.” Daiki downed the rest of his drink with an audible gulp and cringe from burning alcohol and slammed the glass down on the table. “I guess we’ll speak again in August.”

Daiki got up and left the basement, leaving Anzhong alone with the two glasses and bottle of bad liquor. He poured himself another glass and downed it before putting away the scotch and taking the glasses to the kitchen sink.

“What are you doing up so late?”, Anzhong asked Sunset, who stood next to the sink.

“Did you dismiss my protection detail?”, Sunset asked bluntly.

“No”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s too early. We don’t know how Storm will react, and they know what you look like. As a former general, you should understand this.”

Sunset didn’t say anything and stomped back to her room.

All the memories of a general stuffed inside the mind of a fourteen year old. That can’t be good for her.

Emi’s room

Date: June 5th, time: 10:00 am

*Emi’s perspective*

Emi sat at her desk, working on one of her books. It was an English book that had crossword games that you filled out with the provided word key along with other stuff to teach the definition of the words. She really liked the crosswords part. Puzzles are fun.

Her door opened, and Emi spun around to look at who it was. Dad walked in and up to her with a book in his hand. Emi had it drilled into her head not to leave stuff out on her floor ever since she was old enough to put away her own things because Dad wouldn’t be able to see them and could either break whatever was left out or get hurt; Mom has a habit of looking down at where her feet were gonna go, so that’s not such an issue for her. He doesn’t use his cane inside for both their safety and because he knows the layout well, and using his abilities 24/7 will cause burnout, meaning everyone needs to help keep walkways clear.

“What are you doing?”, Dad asked.

“Homework”

“I admire your dedication, but wouldn’t you prefer to spend this time relaxing?”

“Anura’s still unwell, Sunset’s not handling it well, and I’d prefer to keep my mind busy.”

“I see. Has she expressed her feelings to you?”

“No. She’s all walled up, and the only thing I could read from her is a lot of anger. She’s barely even spent any time with me.”

“I see.” Dad lifted up the book for Emi to see, but she couldn’t read the title. It’s in braille. “Would you like me to read you a story?”

“Yes, please.”, Emi said with a big grin.

Dad sat down on the floor, and Emi crawled onto his lap. The book didn’t have any pictures, and Emi couldn’t read braille or even tell if it was English or Japanese braille, but she still liked being cuddled. Dad’s not a living furnace like Mom, but cuddles are cuddles.

“What’s the book?”, Emi asked.

“Journey to The West”

“That’s the story Grandpa is named after, right?”

“No, that’s The Tale of The Gallant Jiraiya. I can read you that one another time.”

“Yes, please.”

Dad nodded and started reading. As he read, Emi heard a name that sounded familiar, Monkey King Son Goku.

“Dad, isn’t Goku an anime character?”

“Journey to The West is a very popular story, and people tend to pull from older stories when making their own. Even The Power Ponies are loosely based on an old TV show my sister used to watch. It was called Sūpāhōsuhīrō Sentai, which translates to ‘Super Horse Hero Squadron’, and yes, the name is basically in English. English was considered hip and cool back then, and I guess still kinda is. Anyway, that show was partially inspired by an old story from the Sengoku period.”

“Ooh, I wanna hear that story.”, Emi said excitedly.

Dad closed the book and set it down on the ground before starting the story. “Well, the story goes that, near the end of the Sengoku period, a daimyo and his army were chasing down a kitsune that had tried to bewitch him. The search took months, but they never found her.”

“Of course they didn’t. We’re too crafty.”, Emi said indignantly.

“Yes, we are.”, Dad said with a smile. “However, they did find another yokai, which they quickly wished they hadn’t done. It was humanoid with long, green hair that it could use to grab and crush, like an octopus; dark purple skin; a crazed smile that would even make the bravest of warriors falter; green and red eyes that constantly leaked black blood that burned away at the skin of whoever it touched; and a haunting laugh that would stay in the head of whoever heard it.”

“That sounds like the Mane-iac but a lot scarier.”

“That’s who the character’s based on. Though, her Sūpāhōsuhīrō Sentai counterpart is much closer to her original depiction. That damn laugh used to give me nightmares.”

“Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you swear before. She must have been scary.”

“Very, but I can now appreciate the voice actress’ skill. Back to the story, it attacked the daimyo and his army, crushing them to death and throwing their corpses around with its hair. The carnage was only stopped by the appearance of six humanoid, horse-like yokai.”

“The Power Ponies!”

“Yes. The six horse yokai battled the green haired yokai, giving the daimyo and his army their chance to escape, but before they were out of range, the daimyo drew his bow and shot the green haired yokai, killing it. And that’s the story.”

“How, who knew a kids show could come from something so dark.”

“Jus’ wait until ya learn about da original stories Gisney movies are based on.”, Mom said.

Emi looked past Dad to see Mom in the doorway. “What do ya mean?”

“Let’s jus’ say dat wha’s considered suitable f’r children has changed a lot in da last couple hundred years. Anzhong, mind if Ah steal ‘er f’r a bit? Ah would like ta discuss something with ‘er n’ Sunset.”

Dad picked Emi up as he stood and handed her off to Mom. “I’ll finish reading you the story later.”

“Thank you” Mom took Emi and started down the hall.

“What do ya wanna talk about?”, Emi asked.

“Ah need yer opinion on somethin’.”

Sunset’s room

Date: same day, time: 11:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Anzhong was with Emi, Brigid was in the green house, and Anura was home sick, just like the last two days. The house was quiet, except for Sunset’s beating of her punching bag. It wasn’t about training or exercise. She just needed something to take her anger out on. She punched and punched, even as her knuckles turned red. Not even the pain from that made her stop. What did finally get her to stop was a knock at her door.

“Sunset, c’n ya come out ‘ere?”, Brigid asked from the other side of the door.

Sunset gave herself a second to breathe before heading out. Brigid was sitting on the couch and had Emi on her knee. She patted the spot next to her, so Sunset took the seat.

“So, Ah was called- Sunset, wha’ happened ta yer hands?”, Brigid asked.

Sunset hid her hands behind her back out of reflex. “I was just punching my punching bag and over did it.”

“Dat’s an understatement. Are ya okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Okay. So, Ah was called by one a’ mo colleagues, n’ he mentioned dat Dr. Tenure is puttin’ togethe’ an expeditionary party ta try n’ solve da Bluefaun disappearance.”

“Ooh! I heard of that!”, Emi exclaimed excitedly.

“Well, I don’t.”, Sunset said.

“An entire town up in the mountains suddenly disappeared back in the seventeen hundreds. They didn’t even take their guns with them. There’s a whole subreadit dedicated to it.”

“Dat ‘bout sums it up. Dr. Tenure wants me ta come since Ah’m an anthropologist, but Ah wanted ta talk it over with you two before Ah gave mo answer.”

“You should do it!”, Emi said. “I so want to see this mystery solved. How long will you be gone?”

“Jus’ a couple days.”

“Then go. Oh, take a lot of pictures for me.”

“Okay, Ah will.”, Brigid said with a wary smile then turned to Sunset. “Now, for why Ah called ya out. Given da oddness a’ da case, Ah think dere might be a magical element to it.”

“So, you want me ta come because of my expertise in magic.”, Sunset said.

“Precisely.”

“Sounds interesting. I would like that.”

“Good. Now, Ah got somethin’ fun f’r us ta do.”

“Yay!”, Emi yelled.

Minerva’s house

Date: June 8th, time: 12:00 pm

*Minerva’s perspective*

The clock hit 12, so Minerva got up from her chair and headed up to the kitchen. Anura had, once again, said that she wasn’t feeling well, but she was always hungry by now. Minerva made enough food for them both then went to go get her up. Anura drudged out of her room and to the table. She ate her food in silence then went straight back to her room. She hadn’t left the house or showered since they got the news. Minerva was worried but didn’t know how to approach the situation. Maybe I should make her shower. She should feel better clean. She put that thought away for now and headed back down to the basement.

Surprisingly enough, or maybe not, she felt rather numb about everything. It was similar to how she felt after her parents became addicts and she became homeless. Her emotions would eventually come back and would likely come back as anger, just like they had the last times, and then guilt and sadness. Growing into adulthood in such an unstable environment clearly fucked with her ability to process strong emotions. At least she could focus.

Emi’s room

Date: same day, time: 6:00 pm

*Emi’s perspective*

Emi held Tomiju close to her as she laid in bed. She had her homework propped up against the railing of her bed. She wasn’t going to let something as trivial as being exhausted stop her from getting it done.

Mom came in and began petting Emi’s hair. “Ya know ya don’t have ta do that if ya don’t want to.”

“I’m not gonna let something as pesky as cancer stop me, and I don’t want to be behind when I prove the doctors wrong and beat this thing.”

Mom tried, and failed miserably, to hold back a grin. “Dat is da most Asian thin’ Ah think ya eve’ said.”

“Well, I am an Asian, not a B-sian.”, Emi said indignantly.

Mom slammed her forehead into the railing as she tried to stifle her laughter. Emi liked making her laugh. “Heh, okay, heh, jus’ go easy. Rest is very important for beating cancer, especially now.” Mom lifted her head back up and rubbed the part that got slammed. “Wait, where’d ya even learn dat?”

“I know, and online. Do you know when Anura’s going to get better? I miss ‘er.”

“Ah don’t know. Ah’ll check in with Minerva tomorrow. Do ya feel up ta food?”

“Not really.”

“Do ya want a cookie?”

“Yeah”

Mom bent down to retrieve the bag of cookies and CBD oil. She had mentioned something about THC, but Emi didn’t really understand it other than it helped her eat, and that’s all she cared about. Mom prepped the cookie and gave it to Emi. “We’ll save ya some food.”

Mom left, and Emi wolfed down the cookie. She tried to get back to work but fell asleep. Some hours later, she woke up, and the cookie had kicked in. She got up and helped Tomiju off the bed then headed down to the kitchen. It was dark, but she knew her own house well enough to get around. She just did what Dad did and kept one hand on something at all times it was possible.

Down in the kitchen, Emi got her stool to get the leftovers from the fridge. The docs said the cancer and chemo stunted her growth, so she wasn’t the size she should’ve been, but that didn’t pose a problem to her. She knew how to get around at her size. The microwave was on the counter, so all she needed was her stool to reach it. She pulled out the food, grabbed a fork, and sat down. She gave Tomiju bits of her food as she ate. She wasn’t able to eat much, but anything was better than nothing. She put what she didn’t eat back then headed back upstairs. She grabbed Tomiju and climbed back up her ladder and went back to sleep.

Minerva’s house

Date: June 9th, time: 8:00 am

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid stood on Minerva’s front step and knocked on her door. Minerva answered quickly and gave Brigid a happy smile but a confused look. “Hey, is everything okay?” Brigid raised an eyebrow at her, and Minerva shook her head. “Right, wrong question.”

“Ah’m ‘ere ta check on Anura. Ah might be able ta figure out wha’s wrong, or at least say if she needs ta see an MD.” Minerva nodded and let Brigid in. Brigid headed to Anura’s room where she was asleep in her bed. Her room was painted the same clay red as the rest of the house. Her bed was snuggled in the corner of the outside wall with her closet being close to the foot of it, and she had a desk under the window and dresser on the other side of the room.

Brigid grabbed the chair from Anura’s desk and sat down next to her bed. “Anura”, Brigid said as she gently shook her awake.

Anura slowly woke up and groggily and confusedly looked up at Brigid. “Aunt Brigid, wha’ are you doing here?”

“Ah’m ‘ere ta check on ya, as a doctor. How are ya doin’?”

“I’m fine.”

“Dat’s a lie. Ye’re barely eatin’, barely out a’ yer room, n’ yer mum’s needin’ ta force ya ta shower. Ya ain’t well. Tell me what’s wrong.”, Brigid said firmly.

“My stomach just doesn’t feel good.”

“Dat’s it? Any othe’ symptoms?”

“No”

Brigid got an idea as to what was happening but wanted to be safe and rule out a couple more lethal possibilities. She pulled her blankets back and pressed down on her appendix. “Does it hurt more when Ah press ‘ere?”

“No”, Anura said with a shake of her head.

Brigid then pressed down on Anura’s actual stomach. “Here?”

“No”

Brigid moved her hand to another spot on Anura’s abdomen. “Here?”

“No”

Brigid moved her hand again and pressed on another spot. “Here?”

“No”

Brigid pulled Anura’s blankets back up then got up and grabbed the thermometer from the bathroom. “Have ya had anythin’ ta eat or drink recently?”, she asked as she re-entered the room and retook her seat.

“No”

Brigid put the thermometer in her mouth and felt her forehead. The thermometer beeped, and Brigid took it out. It showed a temperature of 98.6, completely normal. “Ya don’t seem sick. Are ya coughin’ or sneezin’ at all?”

“No”

“Are ya feelin’ stressed ‘bout Emi’s condition?”

Anura didn’t say anything and rolled over in bed.

“She misses you, n’ ya both look like ya need each othe’.”

Anura curled up into the fetal position and remained silent.

“Please, Anura, we c’n’t jus’ hide like dis, not now.”

“I’m scared.”, Anura squeaked out.

“We all are, but we c’n’t let our fear keep us from our loved ones.”

Anura pulled her covers over her head, so Brigid took that as her cue to leave. She took the thermometer back to the bathroom, cleaned it, and put it back. Minerva sat at the dinner table, and Brigid joined her.

“How is she?”, Minerva asked.

“Stressed n’ scared. Given da lack a’ change f’r ove’ a week, Ah think ‘er stomach issues are caused by da stress a’ da situation.”

“Makes sense. What should we do?”

“Both a’ ya come ove’ f’r dinne’. Da girls need each othe’.”

Minerva nodded. “Agreed”

Anura’s room

Date: same day, time: 5:30 pm

*Anura’s perspective*

The sound of her door opening caused Anura to look over her shoulder to her visitor. Mom came inside and pulled Anura’s blankets off, causing her to curl up to try and preserve heat.

“Time to get up. We’re heading over to Brigid’s for dinner, and you need to shower.”

“No, I’m not feeling well.”

“No, you’re coming. You’re not contagious, so get up.”, Mom said softly but sternly.

Anura grabbed her blankets and covered herself back up.

“No, you’re not doing this.” Mom pulled Anura’s blankets back off and pulled her out of bed and dragged her to the bathroom.

“But Mom.”, Anura whined.

“No ‘but’s. This is for your own good.” Mom stripped them both down and got them both in. The sensitive parts of Mom’s legs were protected by a silicate covering that kept them safe from rain and debris, so she didn’t have to take them off. If they were taking a bath, that’d be a different story.

At this point, Anura knew she lost so began washing herself. Once Mom deemed them clean, she pulled them out and dried Anura off before wrapping herself in a towel.

“Go get dressed, a fresh set.”, Mom ordered.

Anura sulked back to her room and got on a clean set of clothes. Mom soon came in, completely dressed, and waited for Anura to finish getting ready. As soon as her shoes were on, Mom corralled Anura out of the house and to Aunt Brigid’s. Uncle Anzhong was in the kitchen, and Aunt Brigid was coming out of the bathroom, wearing her gardening clothes.

“Hey, Anura.”, Aunt Brigid said with a big smile. “Emi’s in ‘er room. She’d really like ta see ya.”

A mixture of emotions made Anura feel unwell again, but she was able to come to some sort of consensus. She headed upstairs and to Emi’s room. Emi and Sunset were doing a puzzle on the floor. As soon Emi saw her, she jumped up and ran to hug her. The emotions that Anura’s been feeling for the past week broke to the surface, and she sobbed uncontrollably into Emi’s shoulder as she hugged her back.

“I’ll leave you two alone.”, Sunset said as she left.

“I’m sorry. I’m so scared.”, Anura sobbed.

“I’m scared too.”, Emi said quietly. She guided Anura to the floor and petted her hair as she cried.

“I-I don’t w-want you to di-ie.”

“Well, I’m not gonna. Ah’m gonna prove those doctors wrong. I’m too stubborn ta die.”, Emi said indignantly.

“Don’t joke about this, please.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll stop.”

Sunset’s room

Date: June 11th, time: 10:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset laid in bed, staring up at her ceiling. She felt so helpless, even with her plan. She was so fucking angry. She couldn’t beat up what was trying to kill her sister or scar it off. “Spitfire, if there was ever a time I needed you. What would I want you to do if I were in Emi’s place?” I wouldn’t want you to lock yourself away. I’d want you to spend time with me. “Ugh” Sunset dragged her hands down her face. They were sore and inflamed from her relentless punching.

She was pulled from her moping by a call from Flash. She stared at her phone for a second or two as she decided on whether or not she wanted to answer. She decided to pick up but couldn’t keep her growl out of her voice. “Hey”

“Hey, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. What do you want?”

“Um, I was hoping we could hang out this weekend. We haven’t seen each other for a while.”

“No, I’ve got other things to do.”

Flash didn’t say anything for a while, and Sunset was about to hang up, only stopping when he spoke again. “What’s wrong? Something’s clearly bothering you.”

“I don’t wanna talk about it.”, Sunset said tersely before hanging up. She put her phone on silent and got up out of bed. Anzhong was at work. As much as he wanted to spend every moment with them, the city needed him, and they needed the money. Brigid’s with Minerva, the both of them processing everything. Sunset marched up to Emi’s room where Anura and Emi were putting together a puzzle. Sunset scooped Emi up and slung her over her shoulder.

“Hey, what gives?”, Emi said.

“It’s play time. That’s what.”, Sunset answered.

Emi started chuckling, and Sunset heard Anura get up and follow them as she carried Emi back to her room. Sunset plopped Emi down on her couch then walked over to her game collection.

“Okay, what do you wanna play?”

“A racing game.”, Emi cheered happily as Anura climbed up on the couch next to her.

Sunset picked a game, set it up, and then grabbed each of them controllers and sat down.

“Prepare to get schooled.”, Emi said once she got her controller.

Anura rolled her eyes as she was handed her controller. “We’ll see.”

“You’re still really angry.”, Emi said to Sunset.

“Remember when I told you that I don’t like feeling helpless?”

“Oh, yeah.”

Katon family backyard

Date: June 13th, time: 2:00 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid, with sturdy gloves on, gingerly worked around and parted the thorny brambles in order to get to the blackberries. Sunset was entertaining the girls inside, and with Anura and Emi having been reunited, Brigid was feeling a bit better but still felt… bad, for lack of a better word. Blackberries are one of Emi’s favorite foods, and gardening normally made her feel better. It reminded her of her childhood, helping her family in the fields and taunting Clodagh with earthworms she’d find.

Memories of better times, both before Emi got sick and of her own childhood, brought tears to Brigid’s eyes. The pain of that kind of loss doesn’t go away, and it likes to hit at random, typically during times of quiet reflection. A smell or sound or some random little thing will trigger a memory, and Brigid would have to keep herself from crying in public, but in the solitude of her plants, she could let herself feel without someone trying to comfort her, telling her not to cry, or give her odd looks.

With a couple full bowls, Brigid cleaned herself up. She needs to be strong for the kids. She picked up the bowls and brought them into the kitchen. She took one of the bowls and headed over to Sunset’s room. After a knock and a “come in” from Sunset, Brigid brought the bowl over to Sunset’s coffee table where the girls all sat around.

“Ah thought ya lot might like some blackberries.” Brigid placed the bowl on the table, and the girls dug in.

“Thanks, Mom.”, Sunset and Emi said.

“Thanks, Aunt Brigid.”, Anura said.

Brigid gave them a smile then went back to the kitchen. She grabbed some pastry Anzhong had made earlier and a pie tin, turned on the oven, then began making the blackberries into filling. Once the filling was done and the pie was put together, Brigid popped into the oven then headed upstairs to change out of her work clothes and shower. Once she was clean and in lounging clothes, she headed back down to the kitchen, and standing with her face practically pressed up against the door of the oven was Emi.

Brigid raised an eyebrow at the situation but knew her daughter well enough to figure it out. She crept up behind her, but of course, Emi knew she was there. She looked back at her mother with a smile. Brigid smiled down at her little fox cub, picked her up, and turned the light inside the oven on.

“That looks good.”, Emi said.

“Dat’s good ‘cause Ah’m makin’ it f’r ya.”

“Yaaay”

“Ya do have ta share it.”

“Ahh, poo. Okay, I’m ready to go back to playing.”

Brigid put Emi down, and she walked back to Sunset’s room. Brigid just played on her phone for the remainder of the short time the pie had left. She pulled the pie out when the timer went off and placed it on the stove to cool. Ailbhe hopped onto the counter, and Brigid glared at her while reaching for one of the many spray bottles strategically placed around the house. Ailbhe stopped in her tracks, looked at the bottle, then up at Brigid. “Ya know Ah’ll do it.”, Brigid said in a mildly threatening tone. Ailbhe lightly swished her tail, so Brigid picked up and aimed the spray bottle. That got Ailbhe off the counter. Brigid grabbed a pot from the cupboard and used it to cover the pie. “Little turd.”

It was still early, and the girls were entertaining themselves, so Brigid decided to watch some TV until it was time to pick up Anzhong. At least, that was the idea. Just as she was getting settled in, Emi came back, followed by Tomiju, and climbed on her lap.

“Ah thought ya were playin’ with yer siste’.”

“I was, but now, I wanna be with you.”

Sunset and Anura soon also came out and sat around Brigid. That wasn’t surprising given that, as much as they love each other, they aren’t exactly friends. Brigid changed the show to something more colorful and brought Emi up to cuddle her. At least they’re being quiet. Once it hit 4:45, Brigid got up, putting Emi on her beanbag, and put the pie in the fridge then headed to the door.

“Hey, are you going shopping?”, Emi asked as Brigid got her boots on.

“No, jus’ pickin’ up yer fathe’.” Brigid headed out to the car and hurried to the prosecutor’s office before rush hour starts. Anzhong was waiting on the sidewalk, and Brigid pulled up as close to him as parking spaces would allow. She rolled down her window and stuck her head out. “Over here!”, she called out.

Kiba led Anzhong to the car, and the two of them hopped in. “How was your day?”, Anzhong asked as Brigid started driving.

“It was good. Yours?”

“The same. Chihuahua man is up to his usual antics.”

“How has he not gotten fired yet?”

“For all his huff and puff, DA Hooves has little actual bite. Other than that, I don’t know.”

The rest of the car ride was spent in silence, and once they got home, Anzhong started making dinner. The girls hadn’t moved from where Brigid left them, and it can take up to 30 minutes to get back from the prosecutor’s office during rush hour. Bette’ dan ‘em burnin’ da house down. Brigid pulled the pie out of the fridge to warm up, spending too long trying to find a spot it’d be safe from kid, cat, dog, and blind adult. “If it’s safe from cat, it’s not safe from kid. If it’s safe from kid, it’s not safe from blind adult. If it’s safe from blind adult, it’s not safe from dog.”, she mumbled to herself. She ultimately put it on the part of the counter Anzhong used the least and put the pot back over it then knocked on it to let Anzhong know it was there. He nodded, so Brigid went to sit with the girls. Ailbhe had taken her spot on the couch, so Brigid scooped her up and retook her seat, and Emi climbed back up onto Brigid’s lap.

After about an hour, it was time for dinner, and Minerva had come over. It was the usual affair, meat, vegetables, and tofu. Kitsunes apparently have a thing for tofu.

“Blackberry pie! Blackberry pie!”, Emi chanted as the adults took the plates to the sink.

“Give us a minute.”, Brigid said. They got the plates soaking, then Brigid got the pie plated. “Who wants deirs heated?”

“I do!”, Emi said excitedly.

“Sure”, Sunset said tiredly.

“I’m good with room temp.”, Anura said.

Both Anzhong and Minerva just shrugged their shoulders.

“And he complains about me not bein’ picky enough.”, Brigid said under her breath as she handed Anura, Minerva, and Anzhong their slices and heated up Emi’s, Sunset’s, and her own.

“Well, you rarely cook, so I have to deal with your lack of pickiness more often.”, Anzhong countered.

“Damn fox ears.” Brigid got done heating up the pies and handing them out and retook her seat at the head of the table, next to Emi and Anura. Once she picked up her fork, everyone began eating with Emi practically smashing her face into her slice. “Emi, y’re makin’ a mess.” Brigid grabbed a napkin and Emi’s face and began cleaning her up. As she did so, she got a good look at the now slender face that used to be plump and squishy and the dark bags under her eyes. No matter what they did or what they fed her, Emi just never had the same energy or liveliness she once did. Yet, despite all that, her eyes still shone their radiant gold, filled with love and boundless excitement, and Brigid saw her baby girl, her brave little girl with an inconquerable fighting spirit. She’s had nightmares where those golden eyes no longer shined, and they were coming true.

“Mom, you’re crying.”

Brigid wiped the forming tears from her eyes. “Eh, so Ah am.” As much as she wanted to play it off, the emotions that had been building finally came out, and Brigid pulled Emi in closely and began sobbing uncontrollably. Minerva and Anura jumped up and hugged Brigid. Brigid heard Sunset heaving through her teeth and looked up to see her, head down on the table and shaking. “Sunset, come ‘ere.”

Sunset pulled herself out of her seat, her head still down, and joined in the hug. Anzhong got up and came over as well, wrapping his little arms around them. Tears were coming out from under his glasses. Brigid’s arms were already full with their daughters, so the best she could do for him was nuzzle his neck. Dis isn’t right. No child deserves dis. Brigid couldn’t help but think of Cara and Roisin and how scared they must’ve been. How scared must Emi be?

Canterlot City Jail

Date: June 14th, time: 10:00 am

*Tempest’s perspective*

Tempest laid in her bed, dressed in the finest orange jump the city of Canterlot offered. She was pissed. There was a guard near the exit of the cell block that Tempest wished she could rip the head off of. If only she had both her arms, but she’s still waiting for her replacement. Getting new prosthetics is slow as fuck.

Tempest was pulled out of her daydreaming of brutally ripping up everyone here by a guard tapping on her cell door. “Your lawyer’s here ta see ya. Stand against the wall with your hands above your head.”, the guard said.

“Hand, singular.”, Tempest said while waving her stump at him. The guard gave her an unamused look. Tempest climbed out of bed and stood against the back wall with her arms above her head. The guard came in and put the Hobble Restraint Device on her. Since she was missing an arm, handcuffs won’t work on her. The Hobble Restraint Device works by chaining her arms to a belt secured around her waist. Her right arm’s secured by cuffing her above the elbow.

The guard led her out of the cell block and to a room that looked like your standard police interview or interrogation room. Tempest’s lawyer, Hank Lawscroll, sat on the other side of the table. He was a boring looking white man with purple hair and dark purple eyes. He has no direct affiliation to Storm, but still, he lacked any sort of moral compass. He didn’t get into law for any self-righteous crap. He has an ego large enough to suffocate him in this room if it had physical form, and he always had to prove to everybody that he was right. Even with his massive ego, he’s highly intelligent, especially in the self-preservation department. Those traits came together to create a lawyer that would stoop to any low to win, which is exactly what she needed now.

The guard sat Tempest down in the chair and chained her to the table via the metal loop attached to her belt. The two of them were left alone and only had cameras with no sound watching them. They could talk about anything, and whatever they said, the state couldn’t legally know it.

“Is Eric alive?”, Tempest immediately asked.

“No, the explosion lodged some debris into his neck. He bled out in the alley.”

“Shit, he’s not getting me out of here. What do we do from here?”

“Well, the only thing they have connecting you to Eric is that you were there when the bomb went off. That’s not enough to put you away.”

“Not quite, a few months ago, I was sent out to abduct a little girl, the daughter of a local prosecutor. I didn’t manage to get her, and there was another girl with her and her mother. All three of them could identify me and tell the jury what I did.”

Hank narrowed his eyes at Tempest. “You’re an idiot.”

“I didn’t exactly anticipate us getting bombed, none of us did.”, Tempest said with a growl.

“Whatever.”, Hank said dismissively. “Look, your men have either been arrested, put in the hospital, run for the hills, or gone off and formed smaller street gangs. Unless the store has CCTV, your best bet is to deny any affiliation with Storm, deny trying to kidnap the kid, and wait this out. Once you’re found innocent, you can go do whatever you want, but for now, don’t talk to anyone other than me. That includes any of your old goons. And keep your violent machinations to yourself.”

“Alright, I can do that.”

“I highly doubt that.”, he said with a sneer.

“You’re lucky I’m handcuffed.”

“My point exactly.” Hank stood up, walked to the door, and pounded loudly on it. “We’re done here.”

Hank was let out, and then a guard came to take Tempest back to her cell. As soon as I get out of here, people are going to end up dead.

Bargain-mart

Date: June 17th, time: 9:15 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset drudged after Brigid as she entered the Bargain-mart. I should not be up this early. It’s summer. She’d been woken up a couple hours earlier and had to come with Brigid as she drove Anzhong to work. At least Brigid wasn’t ambling around the store. She took them straight to the camping section.

“What are we even here for?”, Sunset asked tiredly, wishing she was home, in bed.

“Ah figured we should get a bigge’ tent since we’ll be spendin’ more time in it n’ won’t be hikin’, n’ we’re low on bullets.”

“And this involves me because?”

“Sigh, Ah jus’ figured y’d like ta have some input inta da tent.”

“It’s a tent. It’s metal, plastic, and cloth meant ta keep the hot air in and the cold air out. I don’t care about the color.”

“Ah also plan on gettin’ us some cots. Ah’d assume dat’s somethin’ y’d want ta have input in.”

“Fiiine”

Brigid grabbed a six person tent, meaning it could hold six people if they all played human tetris and had zero fucks to give about personal space. She put in the cart, and they started looking at cots only to realize Brigid would likely have to buy hers online. None of them were long enough, and the sturdiest ones were only graded for 200 lbs. Would an extra forty cause it to instantly collapse or just shorten its life expectancy?

“Y’d think with this place’s average clientele that they would carry stuff rated for three hundred pounds.”, Sunset commented.

“Do ya think dat people dat heavy would even go campin’?”

“Good point.” Thanks to her more average proportions, Sunset was able to pick out a suitable one for her. “Anything else?”

“Ya want anythin’ ta make it easier?”

“Maybe some camping chairs.”

“Okay”

They looked at the camping chairs, and Sunset found one that was called a zero gravity chair. What, is it weightless? Sunset looked over the packaging and saw that it was a reclining type chair that used the person’s own weight to do so, and it could support up to three hundred pounds.

“Hey, Mom, look at this.”

Brigid looked at what Sunset held and nodded approvingly. “Yeah, dat looks good.” She added a couple to the cart then turned back to Sunset. “Anythin’ else?”

“I can’t think of anything.”

“Okay, let’s get goin’ den. We c’n always come back if we need ta.”

With that, they grabbed some bullets then headed to check out and left. When they got home, Brigid put their new camping stuff up in the rafters with all the other stuff of similar nature. They headed inside, and Brigid headed downstairs with the bullets. Sunset was too awake to go back to sleep but too tired to really do anything. It was one of the most annoying states to be in. You were too tired to do anything productive but also not tired enough to remedy the situation. She went to her room, laid on her couch, and turned on the TV. She watched without any real interest, just using it to keep her mind occupied as she waited to be tired enough to go back to bed. Even with the TV, her mind wandered to places she really wished it didn’t. Nobody ever warned me how much being a big sister could hurt.

Katon family garage

Date: June 28th, time: 9:00 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid stood at the boot of the car, surrounded by all the stuff they needed to take with them. On top of their camping stuff, they also had stuff that’d be needed for the investigation. It wasn’t so much that it all wouldn’t easily fit. She did get this car intending on having a large family. The problem was trying to make sure the sensitive equipment wouldn’t get damaged on the drive up the mountain back roads.

“Whatcha doin’?”, Emi asked.

Brigid leaned around the car to see her. “N’ wha’ are ya doin’ out ‘ere?”

“I want to spend time with you.”

“Okay, come ‘ere.”

Emi scurried over and looked over all the stuff. “What’s this?”

“Stuff for da trip.”

“Do you think da people a’ Bluefaun really ran off ta make a whole new underground civilization and are now mole people?”

“Ah find dat very unlikely.”

“Do you think it had anything to do with Equestria?”

“Maybe, Ah really don’t know though. It could’ve been jus’ about anythin’.”

“What will happen if you do figure out what happened?”

“Ah dunno, probably become famous. Ah might even be able ta write a book. But in all likelihood, we won’t figure it out. It’s been three hundred years.”

“Oh”

“Yeah. Now, it’s gettin’ late. Go ta bed.”

Emi grumbled her annoyance but headed off. That left Brigid alone to get back to sorting out the car.

SHWO ch71 The mystery of Bluefaun

Road to Bluefaun

Date: June 29th, time: 8:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset groggily looked out the window as they rounded the mountain. Having to get up at 6-fuck o’clock so they could finish packing and get to the research site wasn’t her idea of a plan, but she wasn’t the one driving. These mountains almost completely surrounded their community and, with the help of the forest, ocean, and a large river, kept them secluded from the rest of the world, but these mountains also contained many secrets. The disappearance of Bluefaun was just the tip of the iceberg. Tales of unknown creatures, disappearing hikers, and various mysterious lights surrounded the mountains and forest. They were not an insignificant part of why Canterlot is called the most haunted city in Maine, even though the three most famous ghost stories happened outside of the city proper. Sure, some of those stories could possibly be explained, but a six year old going missing and later being found impaled on a branch, 60 ft. up a tree, was less explainable.

The road they turned onto was not well kept and was still dirt and only big enough for a single car. There hasn’t been a reason to upgrade it. It only leads to one place, and that place has been abandoned for nearly 300 years. Since Brigid asked her if she wanted to come with her, Sunset’s been researching Bluefaun’s history. The disappearance of the people has been widely regarded as the first modern unexplained event of the Canterlot area. Back in 1728, Alex Kuchen, who co-owned the general store with his brother, and his wife and kids went out on a restocking trip to Canterlot, but when they got back two days later, everyone was gone. There was still food on the tables, and nothing looked out of place. All the horses and other animals were still alive and in their stables or houses or wherever. There were just no people, and no one could figure out why. It was like everyone just up and left, but they didn’t bring anything they’d need to survive nor ever made it to any other human settlements.

A few years later, the government tried to restart the mine, but it was found that the mine had become filled with toxic gas. The mine had to be sealed and the project scrapped. Some people thought that was why the town was abandoned, but that explanation was deemed unlikely. The toxic gas theory wouldn’t explain the state of the town. If the gas was why they left, they would’ve had time to pack their things, and they wouldn’t have left their horses behind.

The many theories range from mass panic and plague to aliens, spirits, and a murderous cult. The mass panic theory states that something scared everyone enough to cause them to run into the forest, where they then died, but search parties combed the mountains following the disappearance, and no bodies were ever found. The lack of bodies and short time frame also discounts the plague theory. The aliens and spirits theories are your basic ‘they were abducted by X’. What’s possibly the most disturbing theory is that the mountains were home to a murderous cult, and during those two days, they murdered everybody and cleaned up the crime scene. That theory’s kinda fun, but the least likely. Murderous cults don’t exactly care about crime scene clean up, and the town had a population of over 1,000 people, many of whom had guns and mining tools. One cult wasn’t killing an entire town of armed miners.

The town came into sight, and a disturbing feature of it became known to Sunset. There was no plant life within several feet of the town. Everything was dead, like the Pridelands under the rule of Trash in the Lion Queen.

“Mom?”

“Ah know, honey. It’s because a’ da gas. It’s seeping outa da bedrock n’ inta da soil. Da gas is closest ta da surface near da town, so more gas is in da soil.”

“If the gas is seeping out of the ground, is it safe ta be here?”

“Yeah, Ah wouldn’t bring ya if it wasn’t. A bunch a different smarty pants from a bunch a different fields say “At da rate at which da gas is bein’ released, it would take months f’r us ta accumulate a fatal dose”, but we’ll be campin’ outside da wiltin’ zone, jus’ ta be safe. N’ we won’t go near da mine.”

The thought of being inside any place called ‘the wilting zone’ didn’t sit well with Sunset, but this was Earth. It’s not like Earth has any- Wait, no, brine pools are a thing and Chernobyl and Lake Natron. Fuck, Earth doesn’t even need magic to create danger zones. “Earth is a death trap.”

“Ah won’t argue with ya dere.”

Brigid parked the car near a bunch of other cars, one of which was a really nice looking, blue truck that didn’t look like something someone would take camping. They grabbed their tools, which consisted of a couple of small cameras, dusting brushes, a big ol’ bag Brigid put together, and flashlights, got out, and headed to the group of researchers near one of the buildings. The buildings were badly dilapidated, but there were no plants taking them over or animals making their homes inside. It was like a post apocalypse movie, but as unnerving as it was, nothing was telling her to run. There was a mild odor in the air that she guessed was the gas.

The researchers ranged in age, gender, and race, but they all wore basically the same thing as Sunset and Brigid did, summer outdoor adventurer getup. The only real difference in what they wore was that some of them, including Sunset and Brigid, had on hunting orange hats and/or vests. Nobody in their right mind would come here to hunt, but you can’t argue that with a bullet. Plus, looking at some of the buildings, wearing orange would make it easier to be found in case of a collapse.

“How y’all doin’?”

“Hey, Doctor, we’re debriefing. Care to join?”, an odd, native looking man with blue hair asked. He was one of the few people wearing jewelry with a gold and red earring on his right ear.

“Ah’m sure Ah c’n fit ya in.”, Brigid joked, and the two of them joined the circle.

“Hey, I know you. What’s your name again?”, Sunset said to a dark brown girl with grayish purple hair and turquoise eyes.

“My name is Maud Pie. We met while deer hunting last year.”

“Right, you’re Pinkie’s sister, somehow.”

“Let’s get ta introductions, den we c’n chat. Ya know Maud. She’s a geology student. Dis is Dr. Rusty Tenure. He’s a geologist n’ Maud’s teacher. Dis is Dr. Teddie Safari. She’s a botanist n’ zoologist. Dat’s Dr. Top Marks. He’s a historian n’ asshole.”

“I beg your pardon.”, Dr. Marks said indignantly.

“Start beggin’.”, Brigid snarked. Dr. Marks made a face like he just stepped in crap, but Brigid ignored him and continued with the introductions. “N’ dis fine example a’ da reason ya don’t have a kid with yer siste’ cousin is Dr. Ahuizotl Lobo. He’s an archaeologist, and his name translates ta ‘water dog wolf’. Ah jus’ all him Dr. Ahui. Everyone, dis is mo daughte’, Sunset. She’s ‘ere ta explore da supernatural side a’ dis mystery.”

“Hi”, Sunset said.

“Supernatural side, Brigid, are you serious?”, Dr. Safari asked.

“Ah am. Ah know it’s hard ta accept, but we’re dealin’ with an entire town a’ people havin’ gone poof, jus’ like dat.”, Brigid said with a snap of her fingers. “N’ keep in mind, chemistry was considered witchcraft jus’ a few hundred years ago, à la alchemy. We only call it supernatural ‘cause we don’t understand it.”

“Just keep an eye on her and don’t let her disturb the evidence.”, Dr. Marks said, badly containing his irritation.

Sunset rolled her eyes at him. “It’s not like this is a secure crime scene. Everything here has been exposed to nearly three hundred years of the elements, animals, and dumb humans. I’m not going to destroy some crucial piece of evidence that will crack this case.”, Sunset spat. His little remark didn’t help the hatred she already had for him from his pony counterpart. He wasn’t that bad compared to other upper end Canterlottens, but that was like comparing rotten apples to rotting apples.

“Sunset, be nice.”, Brigid quietly chastised, then turned to Dr. Marks. “Sunset knows wha’ she’s doin’.”

“I believe Dr. Katon has the right idea.”, Dr. Tenure said. “Only leaning into conventional or unconventional thinking will only lead to dead ends. Besides, having another person isn’t going to cause us any issues.”

“I also think Sunset’s inclusion is wise. There is more in heaven and Earth than is taught in school.”, Maud said. Her monotone voice still unnerved Sunset, but she seems smart.

“You’re just saying that because it’s what your mentor said.”, Dr. Marks scoffed.

“I just want to know what happened to my family.”

Family?

“Wha’ do ya mean by dat?”, Brigid asked, taking the words out of Sunset’s mouth.

“My family name used to be ‘Kuchen’ before World War Two.”

“Oh”, everyone except Dr. Tenure and Maud said.

“Come on, we’re bleeding daylight. What do we already know?”, Dr. Lobo said.

“Everyone that was in the town disappeared without a trace and without taking anything, not even their horses. Neither hide nor hair of them have been found, and there was no sign of a struggle. And the mine’s farting. With the most plausible theory being aliens, this investigation isn't looking too good.", Sunset recapped.

“So, spread out and look for anything that gives us a plausible theory, other than aliens.”, Dr. Marks said.

“Or look for evidence that supports the alien theory. Just gather whatever evidence you find.”, Dr. Tenure said. Dr. Marks sneered at him, but Dr. Tenure ignored him. The environmental guys went off to find an environmental reason, Dr. Lobo and Dr. Marks went off to look at the buildings, and Brigid looked for any human reasons they would’ve left.

Any magic residue from a spell, even one as large as what would’ve been needed to make 1,000+ people disappear, would’ve been long, long gone, but that’s not what Sunset was looking for. As big as the spell would’ve needed to be, it would be more likely that it was a ritual. Rituals could involve just about anything as materials, but all rituals are performed the same way. She just had to find a spell circle, and that could still be around. Spell circles tend to leave scorch marks on whatever surface they were drawn on. So long as it wasn’t drawn on loose dirt, which isn’t recommended anyways, or paper, also unlikely due to the needed size, it should still be there.

Sunset weaved in and out of the houses, looking for any signs of magic and taking pictures as she went, but so far, they were your average puritan homes. The lack of hallways surprised her though. You had to walk through bedrooms to get to the next room. I guess privacy wasn’t much of a thing back then. She exited another building and headed to the next one. The half missing sign and the disheveled clan crest next to the front door made it clear it was the Kuchens’ store.

Upon entering the store, Sunset could see the 300 year old remains of food, clothes, cookware, and candy. She could only tell some of the stuff was food and candy based on the containers. The clothes were riddled with holes and looked like they’d fall apart if they were sneezed on. Behind the counter was a doorway with the door having fallen off its hinges. Sunset walked through the door and saw an old-timey living room. I guess they had their store in their home.

The floorboards behind Sunset creaked, and she spun around and took up a fighting stance, ready to fight whoever it was until she saw it was just Maud. “Huh, that hasn’t happened in a while.”, Sunset commented, referring to being snuck up on, as she relaxed.

“Found anything yet?”, Maud asked.

“No, this town would be really boring if it had people.”

Maud said nothing and just walked past Sunset.

“Okay” Sunset followed Maud deeper into the house. Just like the rest of them, there were no hallways, and it was very puritan. As they passed through one of the bedrooms, Sunset noticed a rug near one of the beds. In of itself, it wasn’t very suspicious, but she got the feeling she should look closer at it. She tried to lift it up, but as she grabbed it, the rug fell apart in her hands. She switched to scooting it off the spot. The rug still crumbled and had to be brushed away. “Wow” Underneath were scorch marks from multiple spell circles. The rings were a much darker color from being drawn in the same place over and over again, and the runes were so overlaid Sunset couldn’t make heads or tails of them. The only thing she knew for sure was that this couldn’t be the cause of the disappearance. The spell circles were only big enough to affect a single being.

“Hey! Maud! Take a look at this!”

Maud came over, and her eyes locked onto the spell circle. “What’s that?”

“One of your ancestors practiced magic and wasn’t half bad.”

“That’s not surprising. Alex’s wife came up from Salem to escape the trails. Her sister lived here.”

“Does your family still practice?”

“No”, Maud simply said. “Could this be why everyone disappeared?”

“Not a chance, at least not directly. A spell circle this size couldn’t gather enough power to disappear an entire town.”

“You said “at least not directly”.”

“Correct, your ancestor’s use of magic might have attracted something that was powerful enough, but I have no way of proving that.”

“We still got nothing.”

“That’s correct.”

Maud nodded and continued on her way, leaving Sunset to her investigation. Sunset looked around the room, but any other clues were long gone. She took pictures of the circle and, without any more information to be gained, moved on.

After searching through all the buildings, except for the church, she met up with her mother in the town square. The square was the only part of the town to have pavers, but it was clear that the rest of the town was meant to get them too from the piles of unused pavers. In the square was the pub, church/school, and the government office/jail/sheriff’s office. In the middle of the square, and where Brigid was sitting, were some benches and a statue of the town founder, Cole Bluefaun. He inherited a large sum of money from his family and used it to start up the mine and build the town.

According to his Omnipedia page, and confirmed by his statue, he was a dwarf that used humor to deal with the ridicule. One of the quotes attributed to him was “If people are going to laugh at me, I might as well give them something actually funny”. His statue consisted of him on a soap box, wearing a well tailored suit with a large top hat, and a cane in his hand. The base of the statue had “Our founder, Cole Bluefaun”, the town name, and the establishment date, 1702, engraved on a plaque, but the more interesting engraving was of another one of Cole Bluefaun’s quotes, directly on the soap box. It read, “You may be taller than me, but I’m bigger than you in all the ways that matter.”, and yes, the statue did have a large package. Sunset particularly liked this quote. It had both a crude and heartfelt meaning.

“Did ya find anything?”, Brigid asked as Sunset approached.

“I did. The Kuchen matriarch was a witch and used spell circles.”

“Did dat have-”

“Nope, not powerful enough.”

“So, we still got nothin’.”

“Weeell, I do have a theory.”

“What?”

“Earth’s literature suggests creatures from Equoes have been coming to Earth for hundreds of years. Logic dictates that creatures from Earth could end up on Equoes.”

“It’s an interesting theory, but dat wouldn’t explain why only da humans n’ da clothes dey wore were taken. Ah c’n’t imagine dat portals like dat would target specific beings.”

“It would be the entity controlling the portal.”

“But why?”

Sunset shrugged. “It would appear that I’m just spitting out another version of the ‘abducted by aliens’ theory.”

“Let’s move away from da how n’ ta da why. Why would something want ta disappear an entire town a’ humans?”

“Maybe it wasn’t intentional. What if it was an accident?”

“Dat brings us ta da same problem. Why only da humans?”

“Ugh, this is making no sense. If it was something that wanted the town gone, they left it here. And why these humans?”

“Find anything?”, Dr. Lobo asked as he and Dr. Marks walked into the square.

“Other than the Kuchen matriarch was a practicing witch, just more questions. We were just pondering if something had purposely taken them, but that only leads to ‘Why these humans?’.”

Dr. Lobo and Dr. Marks both looked to be thinking before Dr. Marks spoke. “You have a point. Even if the Kuchens hadn’t been away, the companies that bought the raw ore would’ve discovered the people missing within weeks. There were many other towns that people would’ve never known had gone missing during that time. If something did take these people, its motive wasn’t to go undetected.”

“Dat’s a surprisingly well thought out line a’ thought from you, Dr. Marks.”

Dr. Marks growled, but Dr. Lobo stepped in. “You should see what we found.”

Dr. Lobo and Dr. Marks led them into the church and down into the basement. Brigid, Dr. Marks, and Dr. Lobo had to turn on their flashlights, but Sunset could see well enough. She hadn’t bothered to search the church as this brand of religion tends to be antithetical to magic. In the basement was Dr. Safari, looking at something on some boxes. The four of them huddled around the boxes, and Sunset recognized what it was.

“A cockatrice?!”

The mummified remains of a cockatrice sat on top of a pile of boxes.

“You know what this is?”, Dr. Safari asked.

“It’s a half chicken half snake creature that’s known to turn po-people into stone with its stare, but the most important part is that it should not be here.”

“Of course it shouldn’t be here. Cockatrices aren’t real. It’s obviously someone’s idea of a prank.”, Dr. Lobo said.

Dr. Marks looked unsure, and Dr. Safari looked uncomfortable. “I’ve had a few sewn together specimens come across my table over the years and can normally peg them as fake at a glance, but this one… I don’t see any stitching, at all. If this is a prank, it’s the best one I’ve ever seen.”, Dr. Safari said.

“Sunset, you said Jane Kuchen was a witch. Could these be linked?”, Dr. Marks asked, seeming too confused to be an asshole.

“Maybe, but I have no idea what she was doing, so I can't say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. All I know is this.” Sunset took out a marker and wrote a light spell on one of the other boxes. “This is a spell circle. One of the members of the Kuchen clan had used these extensively. When one is activated, it leaves behind a scorched imprint due to not being one hundred percent effective. Just like everything else, some of the energy is converted into heat. If you do this over and over again in the same spot, the naked eye can’t discern what you were doing.”

“Would you mind giving a demonstration?”, Dr. Marks said with his skeptical asshole tone back.

“Heh, I can try. Not sure how well this will go.” Sunset tried replicating the same technique she’d use with her horn and focused the magic into her finger. He felt her hand get warmer and poked the spell circle. The circle glowed for a fraction of a second, and a small ball of light formed in the center circle and then floated up to the ceiling before disappearing. Must not have had much magic. Either way- “I did not expect that to work.”

Sunset turned back to the doctors, who all had their mouths hanging open while looking up at where the light disappeared. All four of them looked back to Sunset then the circle. Some slight charring and an indent in the exact shape of Sunset’s spell circle now sat in the wood of the box.

“The-there must be a logical explanation.”, Dr. Marks said.

“Holy crap! Magic’s real!”, Dr. Lobo shouted in excitement.

Dr. Safari just stood there, gaping like a fish, and Brigid was just stunned.

“I can’t believe this is actually happening! Nobody's going to believe this!”, Dr. Lobo continued. “Wait, nobody’s ever going to believe this, no matter how many pictures I take. Aw man, the greatest scientific discovery of my life and I’ll never have it officially recognized.”

“What is all this shouting about?”, Dr. Tenure asked as he came down the stairs.

“Forget it. You’ll never believe me.”, Dr. Lobo said solemnly. He went back upstairs, and Dr. Tenure joined the rest of them in the basement.

Brigid walked over to Sunset and placed her arm around her. Sunset could sense Brigid’s unease and see that she was watching the others very closely. Did I mess up?

“Would someone tell me what’s got him so riled up?”

“We just saw magic, first hand, and he’s upset no one will ever believe him.”, Dr. Marks explained.

“Is that it?”

At that moment, the only person not confused was Dr. Tenure.

““Is that it?” We just told you magic was real, and that’s your response.”, Dr. Safari asked disbelievingly.

“I’ve known about magic since I was a young boy. I encountered a horse-like insect creature, and I’m pretty sure it could speak, but I couldn’t understand its language. It died shortly after, and I never told anyone, until now.”

“Do you know what it died from?”, Sunset asked.

“I couldn’t say for certain, but the whole time, it seemed short of breath.”

Sunset nodded and mentally added that to her notes.

“I’m going to get a locker. I want to bring this back to the university.”, Dr. Safari said. She went back up stairs, Dr. Tenure went to take a look at the cockatrice, Dr. Marks went over to inspect the spell circle, and Brigid and Sunset headed back out to the town square and sat on one of the benches.

“It’s lookin’ more n’ more like da people ended up in Equestria.”

“Seems like it, but I’m wondering what killed the breezie.”

“Da what?”

“The creature Dr. Tenure found as a boy is called a breezie. They’re extremely delicate life forms to the point even a leaf passing by can throw them off their path. However, delicate doesn’t mean easy ta kill.”

“Hm, wha’s Equoes’ atmosphere made up of?”

“Hm, give me a sec. This was a pretty new discovery when I left, so I need a minute to remember. - Okay, it was something like fifty percent oxygen, forty-eight percent nitrogen, and two percent other gasses.”

“Well, dat explains it.”

“Explains what?”

“Earth’s atmosphere is only about twenty-one percent oxygen. Da breezie suffocated.” Brigid’s brow furrowed, and her head lowered. “Dat also means, if dey ended up on Equoes, da citizens a’ Bluefaun died a long, painful death.” Brigid looked up and saw the confused look on Sunset’s face. “Dey would’ve died a’ oxygen toxicity, n’ da symptoms are visual changes, ringin’ in da ears, dizziness, confusion, hiccups, coughing, throat irritation, chest pain, trouble breathin’, n’ muscle twitchin’ in face and hands. It takes only ten hours for symptoms to start showin’ but forty-eight hours ta die from it at one hundred percent oxygen. Ah don’t know how long it would take at fifty percent, but Ah guess ‘bout four days, n’ dat doesn’t sound like a good way ta go ta me.”

“No, it doesn’t. Now, I know why I was turned into a human. I wonder who created that portal and why.”

“Add dat ta da list a’ questions Ah doubt we’ll eve’ get an answer to.” Brigid stood up and looked at her watch. “Come on, it’s lunch time, n’ we’ve done all we c’n f’r taday.”

Sunset got up and followed Brigid back to their car. The blue truck was now gone, and Sunset guessed it was Dr. Lobo’s. They got into their car, and Brigid drove them to a clearing where there were already some tents and work stations set up. Dr. Lobo was trying to set up his blue tent, and there were a couple new people in front of a white tent with red crosses on it. “I take it the MDs are here because of the gas.”

“Ayuh” Brigid parked in the “parking lot”, and they grabbed their camping equipment and headed to the campsite. “Before we set up, we need ta check in with da meda docs.”

Sunset nodded her acknowledgement, and they walked over to the medical tent. They placed their equipment on the ground, and Brigid started talking with one of the medics. “Hello, Ah’m Dr. Katon, n’ dis is mo daughter, Sunset. We were both at Bluefaun.”

“Alright, Dr. Kim, please take Sunset.”, the MD said.

“Okay, Sunset, please come sit down.” Dr. Kim pointed to a seat next to a folding table covered in medical equipment. Sunset went over and sat down, and Dr. Kim put on his stethoscope and placed it on Sunset’s back. “Breathe deeply for me.”

Sunset did as instructed and watched Brigid have the same done to her. This wasn’t the first time she had to do this, even for the same reason. It was many years ago, and Sunset was just a squad captain. She was a part of the Monster Hunter Corp, and there was talk of a cragadile near a village. As sturdy as they were, they were easy enough to deal with. The problem was that this one had made its home in a Req class danger zone, meaning poisonous gas, and this same medical check needed to be done after the mission was completed.

“So, what did you do, up at Bluefaun?”, Dr. Kim asked.

“I went up there to find any signs that magic was involved in the disappearance.”, Sunset answered.

“Oh, did you find anything?”, Dr. Kim asked in a tone you’d use when asking a kid what their imaginary friend looked like.

“Signs of witchcraft, yes, but I can not conclusively say whether or not it was involved in the disappearance. For all I know, someone was just trying to keep one of their relatives safe.”

Dr. Kim looked at Sunset a bit more seriously but still with more than a bit of skepticism and took his stethoscope off. “Did you smell anything odd while you were up there?”

“Yes, I could smell the gas. It smelled like soil and rotten eggs.”

“So, ya weren’t speakin’ in hyperbole when ya said da mountain’s fartin’.”, Brigid said.

“Not entirely.”

“How strong would you say the smell was?”, Dr. Kim asked. His face was neutral, but Sunset could sense his growing concern.

“Keep in mind, she has a very strong sense a’ smell, n’ Ah mean she’s got a bette’ nose dan some dogs. Ah couldn’t smell anythin’ odd.”

That eased Dr. Kim’s concern, and he moved on with his questions. “How does your throat feel, any irritation?”

“No”

“Do you have any concerns?”

“No, I can breathe jus’ fine.”

“Alright, you can go on with your day, but come talk to me if you feel anything off.”

Sunset hopped off her chair and grabbed her stuff, which included the tent, and carried it over to a suitable spot and began unpacking. Brigid joined shortly after, and they got to setting up. This tent was the same design as their hunting tent, though slightly harder to set up due to its larger size. The cots allowed them to store their bags under themselves and have even more space. Several minutes later, their campsite was set up, and everyone else had arrived and were setting up. Everyone had ended up in a ruff U-shape, so Sunset grabbed the shovel and began digging a firepit in the approximate center.

“Hey! Does anyone else want any squirrel stew?!”, Brigid called from the parking lot. Dr. Marks looked disgusted at the idea. Sunset was glad Brigid couldn’t see his face.

“Are squirrels even in season?!”, Dr. Lobo asked.

“Who gives a shit?! Dey’re rats with fluffy tails!”

“Squirrels are considered rodents, so can be hunted year round.”, Maud added.

“Maud says no one!”, Sunset relayed to Brigid.

Brigid returned with their food bag over her shoulder, her revolver, knife, and a spare bag at her hip, and Sunset’s holstered revolver and knife in her hand. “Back ta mo question. Who wants squirrel stew?”

Dr. Marks opened his mouth, looked at Brigid’s gun, closed his mouth, and went back to setting up his fancy-smancy looking tent. He’s smarter than he looks.

“I would like some.”, Dr. Tenure said.

“So would I.”, Maud said.

“Same”, Dr. Lobo said.

“That sounds good.”, Dr. Safari said.

Dr. Kim and the other MD talked amongst themselves for a bit before answering. “No thank you.”, the other MD said.

“Alright, see ya late’.” Brigid handed Sunset her revolver and knife and placed their food bag next to their tent. Sunset strapped up and followed Brigid into the woods.

Brigid found a spot for them to hide and watch for squirrels. Sunset kept an ear open for skittering but had her eyes focused on the ground. She wrote a light spell into the soil, and it worked. She now held a little ball of light the size of a mandarin in her hands. She tried to supply it with magic to keep it going, but trying to use magic the way she did back on Equoes just wasn’t working, and the light fizzled out after about ten seconds.

A loud bang rang out, and Sunset looked over to see that Brigid had gotten a squirrel. They got back up, retrieved the squirrel, and went to find a new spot. As they repeated this process, they got further and further away from Bluefaun. Each time they stopped, Sunset casted another light spell. Each time she casted it, it was the exact same. There was no deviation in light output, size, or how long it lasted. From the looks of things, Bluefaun wasn’t some magic hotspot, at least not anymore.

By the time they’d gathered twelve squirrels, they had reached a river. Brigid examined it and motioned Sunset over. “Dere’s brook trout in ‘ere. Want some?”

“Asking me if Ah want fish is like asking a dog if it wants a treat.”

Brigid gave Sunset a crooked smile then the two of them got to fishing.

“What’s the bag limit on brook trout?”, Sunset asked.

“Five, n’ deir size limit is a minimum a’ six inches.”

“Is the bag limit per household or what?”

Brigid seemed to be thinking as she pulled out a fish that you could tell just from looking at it exceeded six inches, quickly processed it, and stuffed it in the bag. “It’s probably per household, but Ah don’t know if we c’n fish f’r da othe’s. Let’s just get five. We c’n get more tomorrow.” They quickly got another four brook trout, adding to Sunset’s theory that Brigid has some sort of way with nature. “Ah know it’s a bit late, but wanna see if dere’s still any fiddleheads?”

“Sure”

With a bag full of meat, they marched off in the general direction of camp, not worrying about being quiet anymore. They kept their heads down to look for any edible plants. They collected what they could find and eventually made it back to camp. Everyone was all set up by then, and someone had been collecting firewood that was now piled next to the pit.

“I’ll process da meat. C’n ya build a fire?”

“Ayuh”

Brigid unfolded their food table and got to work skinning, scaling, and whatnot while Sunset looked over the wood she had to work with. She knows three different styles of how to build a campfire, and the one the both of them favor for a cooking pit is the reverse campfire. It’s a pretty typical fire except that the kindling’s on top and the large logs are at the bottom. The burning kindling falls to the bottom and catches everything else on fire, and it’s easier to light and heats the whole grill evenly.

“Don’t the large logs go on top?”, Dr. Lobo asked.

“Depends on what style you're using. The one I’m using requires the kindling to be on top.”

“That doesn’t seem right.”

Sunset turned to Dr. Lobo with an annoyed glare. “Would you like to set it up?”

Dr. Lob put his hands up and walked away.

Once all the wood was placed, Sunset lit the fire then placed the grill over the pit. It had legs to lift it up, so no part that they put food on is in contact with the dirt, and they don’t accidentally smother the flames. Brigid brought the processed meat over along with the pot and other ingredients and started on their late lunch. The squirrel went into the pot, and the fish went straight on the grill. Dr. Tenure provided the water, using a similar jug and filter setup to their own.

“Y’all got bowls and plates?”, Sunset asked.

“Yeah,” Dr. Lobo said, “and I got some pans that you can use.”

“We’re good. Ah’m grillin’ da fish, not fryin’.”, Brigid said.

“He doesn’t seem like the outdoorsy type to me.”, Sunset said quietly to Brigid.

“Oh, definitely not. Dis is the first execution he wasn’t able ta sleep in a hotel. Knowin’ him, da potential fame’s da only reason he’d agreed ta dis. He wants ta be da next Daring Do.”

“Really”, Sunset said flatly.

“Wanting ta be famous isn’t wrong, so long as ya do yer job honestly n’ with love, which he does.”

“Do you wanna be famous?”

Brigid shrugged. “It would be nice ta be recognized f’r mo work, but it’s not a driving force for me.”

Sunset nodded and went to go sit in her chair. Dr. Lobo came over with his chair and sat next to Sunset.

“So, about what you did earlier.”, he said.

“I’m a witch, but if you tell anyone about me or what I can do, you’ll be lucky if my mom only ruins your life. She’s done it before.”, Sunset said quietly.

Dr. Lobo got a look on his face like he just crapped himself and slowly side-eyed Brigid. Brigid gave him a quick glance to confirm what he heard. He slowly looked back to Sunset. “Is that what happened to Striker?”

“I can neither confirm nor deny that.”

“I promise, I won’t do anything that might end up with you locked up in some government black site, but I have ta know. How?”

“Well, magic isn’t some unknowable, eldritch force. It’s energy, a byproduct of life. Every living thing produces it, and some people can use it. I’m pretty sure stories of people knowing something they shouldn’t or of time slowing down are actually stories of people innately using magic.”

“That’s very interesting. Could you teach me magic?”

“Do you have any history with unexplainable weird stuff happening to you?”

“No”

“Then no.”

Dr. Lobo nodded, got up, picked up his chair, and went back to his tent.

Sunset looked around at the other campers. Dr. Safari was examining the cockatrices that now sat in a silver case. Dr. Marks was keeping to himself, which Sunset was perfectly fine with. Dr. Tenure and Maud were talking to each other. And the two MDs were in their own tent that was by the medical tents.

“Food’s ready!”, Brigid called out. Everyone, except for the MDs and Dr. Marks, grabbed their dishes and cutlery from their bags along with their chairs and circled around the firepit.

“Oi, doc stick up his bum, don'tcha wanna eat?”, Sunset asked.

“I would never lower myself to eating hobo food.”, Dr. Marks said.

“Do ya have food a’ yer own?”, Brigid asked.

Dr. Marks disappeared into his tent without saying anything.

“Typical”, Sunset said under her breath.

Brigid rolled her eyes and went back to serving the food. “Okay, who wants fish?” The rest of the doctors and Maud all raised their hands. Brigid gave everyone their share of the fish, giving Sunset Dr. Marks portion, and served everyone squirrel stew. She put the fire out then sat down with Sunset. Everyone was at their own tents, so the two of them wouldn’t be heard if they talked quietly. “Ya have experience with Dr. Marks or, rather, a Dr. Marks, don’tcha?”

“I do. He’s a lecturer at Celestia's school. He’s not nobility, but he comes from a wealthy family. He’s just as stuck up as his human counterpart, maybe even a bit worse as he’d never agree to go anywhere he’d have to camp. He’s at least good at his job.”

“Is his behavior normal?”

“Equestria’s Canterlot is built on the side of a mountain. I don’t mean on a mountain like we are now. Mt. Canterhorn is basically a spire with very little flat land. Canterlot is built on platforms that jut out over the side of the mountain. Everypony that lives there, especially the higher class ponies, who live on platforms that were built higher up, are looking down over the miles of fields and the farmers that work them. They spend their entire lives literally looking down on the lower class, and Equestria’s caste system is much more well defined and stricter than America’s.”

“Oh”

Brigid and Sunset finished their food, washed their dishes, then got their cameras out of the car. Sunset flipped through the pictures until she got to the one of the spell circle. She tried to make out anything specific, but it was just as fruitless as earlier. The rectangular shape of the scorch marks and the fact that there was more scorching on the left side of the rectangles suggested that the spells were written using a Latin alphabet.

“Hey, Sunset, look at dis.” Brigid leaned over to show Sunset her camera screen. It showed a picture she had taken of the outside of a building, and it was zoomed in as far as it could go. “Ya see dat dark spot?”

Sunset looked closer and saw what Brigid was talking about. It was too pixelated and at a bad angle to make out the lettering, but the double rings and symbols made it clear as day that thing’s a spell circle. “Yeah, let’s go check it out.”

“Okay” The two of them got up and began walking to the car. “We’re headin’ back ta town!”, Brigid called out.

“Okay, see ya!”, Dr. Lobo said.

They got in the car and drove back to the town. Brigid led them to the building that the picture was of, and they found the spell circle. Unlike the one in the bedroom, the letters on this one were easy to make out. The circle was small, only about the size of a charm. Sunset brushed away the centuries of dirt and gunk embedded in one of the letters, which is what gave away the circle, and it was an impressive 1/5th of a centimeter deep. That could be from casting the spell multiple times, but after clearing away more of the dirt, the wood wasn’t discolored, making it more likely that this was from a single cast.

“Protect”, Sunset said, the word edged into the wood. “Whoever casted this spell must’ve really loved whoever lived here.” Although a pony’s emotions can affect their magic, the effects seem to be more prevalent in human magic, if the tropes and stories are to be believed.

“Too bad it didn’t work.”

“Yeah, I wanna see if there are any others.”, Sunset said as she snapped a picture of the spell circle.

The two of them walked around the town, running their hands along the walls. They found that each building had at least one spell circle somewhere on it. They were mostly protection spells, and most were only about 1/20th of a centimeter deep, which is the norm. The ones that weren’t protection spells said stuff like ‘health’ and ‘happiness’. None of it was anything out of the ordinary for a friendly witch. If this Kuchen witch was anything like her hyperactive descendant, she was a very friendly witch. They took pictures of every circle they found. Though, they were just as hard to see in a picture as real life.

“How many was dat, twenty?”

“Something like that. Unfortunately, I doubt her actions had anything to do with the disappearance. There’s jus’ no way a bunch of little charms could cause something so big. If they could, there’d be a lot more of these types of events all over the world, and I mean a lot.”, Sunset said as they walked back to the car.

“So, we’re not any close’ ta an answer.” They loaded into the car, then Brigid began driving back to camp.

“Ayuh”

They got back to camp and sat back down in their seats.

“Hey, find anything interesting?”, Dr. Lobo asked.

“Nothing relevant to the investigation.”, Sunset said. She leaned her chair back and looked up at the clouded sky. There was a breeze that had a hint of mountain farts. I wonder how much gas there is. Is the wilting zone going to get bigger? “Mom, is the wilting zone gonna get bigge’?”

“Ah don’t know.”

“How much gas is there?”

“Not enough ta damage da environment, especially as slowly as it’s comin’ up.”

“Where did the gas come from?”

“Ah don’t know. Ah study people, not mountain fart gas.”

“Heheheh, fart gas.”

“Ain’t ya twenty somethin’?”

“Twenty-nine, and that’s exactly why I say frick all to being mature. Adulting sucks.”

“Smart lass.”

The sky got progressively darker as the docs went over their findings and Sunset relaxed in her chair. Brigid restarted the fire once it was nearly dark and put the remainder of the squirrel stew on to reheat, and people moved in closer to it, except for Dr. Marks.

“Yo! Dr. Marks, ya coming for dinner?!”, Dr. Safari called out. Dr. Marks didn’t answer. “Is he alive?”, she asked the rest of them.

“I’ll go check.”, Dr. Tenure said. He got up and went to knock on Dr. Marks’ tent. “Dr. Marks, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”, Dr. Marks said.

“Would you like to join us?”

“No, thank you.”, Dr. Marks said with a hint of ‘I’m restraining the urge to behead you for disturbing my-highness’ silence, you peasant’.

Dr. Tenure turned back to the group, shrugged, and went back to his seat.

“No great loss.”, Sunset remarked.

The night went on, they finished the stew, and Dr. Tenure pulled a bag from his tent. “Would anyone like to make s’mores?”, he asked, and everyone raised their hand. “Dr. Marks, we’re having s’mores. Would you like to join us?”

“No, thank you.”, Dr. Marks said in the same tone.

“Suite yourself.” Dr. Tenure got up and laid out the ingredients on the Katon’s food prep table as the rest of them got their roasting sticks. People prepped their s’mores, grabbed a marshmallow, and got to roasting.

Brigid and Sunset both liked their marshmallows fully and evenly golden so kept theirs turning and carefully balanced keeping them the proper distance from the fire. When done right, they’re a damn beautiful color and perfectly gooey with a slight caramelly taste. Everyone else had different techniques to achieve their preferred toast, or lack thereof, except for Dr. Lobo. He just stuck his in, lighting it on fire, then waved it around to put it out. It ended up looking like an oddly lumpy piece of coal.

“Did you do that on purpose?”, Sunset asked incredulously.

“Yeah. Why?”, the man that Sunset was now questioning the sanity of asked.

“You burned it, on purpose. Why would you do that?”

“I like it this way.”

“You like the taste of ash?”

Dr. Lobo shrugged and got up to make his ash’more.

“Dragons would not eat that.”, Sunset signed to Brigid.

“People like what dey like. He’s not hurtin’ anyone, so dere’s nothin’ wrong with it.”, Brigid said.

“I still find it nasty.”

“N’ dat’s yer right as much as it’s his ta have his food however he wants.”

Okay, yeah. Sunset decided to ignore Dr. Lobo’s bad taste as she and Brigid got up to assemble their s’mores. The night went on, they ate s’mores, cleaned up, and settled down for the night. The cot took some getting used to, but Sunset was eventually able to fall asleep.

D2

“Who wants coffee?!”, Brigid asked.

The mention of coffee stirred Sunset from her sleep. She groggily pulled herself out of her bag and back into her pants. With pants on, she sprayed herself with some deodorant and then wandered out in search of her beloved coffee. Brigid had the coffee pot sitting open on the food prep table with their bag of Heart Attack Coffee.

“Brigid, I’ve got an instant coffee machine! We can just use that!”, Dr. Lobo said while holding up a ceramic mug.

Did I hear that right? Everyone looked at him like he’d just shouted that he was a llama eating a banana.

“Um, we ain’t got electricity out ‘ere!”, Brigid called back.

“Yes, we do! I have the coffee maker plugged into my truck!”

“Good luck driving home with a dead battery.”, Sunset remarked.

“Y’re gonna kill yer battery!”, Brigid said.

“Nah, it’s designed to do that.”, Dr. Lobo said with a wave of his free hand. “Come on. I’ll show you.”

Everyone, including Dr. Marks and the MDs, dropped what they were doing to follow Dr. Lobo out to the parking lot. He opened the back of his truck, and inside was a bunch of extension cords, a big something or other that kinda looks like an AC unit, and said instant coffee machine along with many other electronic devices and stuff.

“Do you not understand what camping means?”, Dr. Safari asked.

“It’s not like we’re camping for camping’s sake, and I like my creature comforts.”

Brigid shook her head and walked back to camp.

“How strong is your stuff?”, Sunset asked.

“Um, it’s coffee.”, Dr. Lobo said, slightly confused.

“Just regular coffee?”

“Yeah”

Sunset nodded and turned to follow her mother. Brigid was back to getting their coffee ready. When the creators of their coffee called it Heart Attack Coffee, they meant it. There was a legit warning on the bag telling people with known heart problems to not drink it. Granted, Sunset probably shouldn’t be drinking it because it has 1,500 mgs of caffeine per 12 ounce cup, but it’s not like this is her regular brew, this is her ‘for my own safety, I can’t be tired’ and ‘Mom forgot to pack my coffee’ brew, the latter of which she realized 2/3s up the mountain, and Sunset has an annoyingly high tolerance to caffeine. Plus, Brigid limits her to 6 ounces. Brigid, on the other hand, once drank an entire 24-Seven mega gulp of 6-hour energy because of college finals and only stayed up for another twenty-fours hours while the rest of the study group, who all had the same stupid idea, got sent to the hospital and didn’t sleep for nearly a week. The only reason Sunset wasn’t questioning whether or not she’s human is because her humanness was already proven by a genetic test.

Brigid put the pot on the fire then began working on breakfast. Sunset walked up to the other side of the table and crouched down next to it. “Need any help?”, Sunset asked.

“Ah’m good. Breakfast will be ready soon.”

Sunset got up and went back to her chair. It wasn’t comfortable to sleep in, she found out as she leaned back and tried to get some extra sleep. The chair was comfortable to sit in, but it was a little too uncomfortable to sleep in. She heard the others trickle back to camp but didn’t care enough to open her eyes to see who exactly.

“Breakfast’s ready.”, Brigid said. She handed Sunset her plate then sat down on her chair with her plate. Their food consisted of reconstituted freeze dried veggies and other stuff that didn’t require refrigeration. The others had their own breakfast. They took care of what hygiene they could without a shower, changed, and, group by group, headed back up to the town.

Sunset had already checked the buildings twice, so decided to look around the surrounding land. It was dead, completely dead. The trees weren’t even being decomposed. Any microorganisms that tried to eat them were likely killed by the gas that killed the trees. There were animal tracks, but it was clear nothing tried to make a home of this place. It was like a scene from a post apocalypse movie, and in some ways, it was.

As unlikely as it was, she wanted to rule out the possibility that someone might’ve used a spell to disappear the town. The ground’s dirt was fairly well compacted, so hopefully, it kept evidence of a spell circle. She kept her eyes on the ground, looking for blackening or lines in the dirt, as she walked around the outside of the town. The search proved fruitless. There was no spell circle or any evidence of there ever being one. One large enough to affect an entire town would be pretty hard to miss.

Sunset went back into the town and looked around for Brigid. The smell of rotten eggs made searching by scent unpleasant, but searching by aura was unimpeded. Brigid was in someone’s bedroom and carefully looking through a book. She wore cotton gloves and took pictures of each page before touching it. Her head almost touched the ceiling when she stood up straight. It was an odd sight seeing this pillar of red surrounded by the washed out colors of the room.

Sunset stood next to her and read the book for herself. It was a journal. “Ya think somebody’s journal will shed some light on what happened?”

Brigid jumped in surprise, hitting her head on the ceiling. “Ahh, sneaky little bastard.”

“Sorry”

Brigid rubbed the top of her head and nodded. “Yeah, dat’s wha’ Ah’m hopin’.”

“Have ya found anything?”

“No, Ah have found entries from da day of, but dey mention nothing strange or out of da ordinary. Though, Ah haven’t checked or found dem all yet. You?”

“Haven’t found anything new. Unless someone finds something else magic related, I have nothing ta do.”

“Ah would let ya help ‘ere, but wha’ Ah’m dealin’ with could disintegrate if touched wrong. Why don’tcha go explorin’?”

“I might as well.” Sunset left the house and began to meander around the town. There was nothing within the town she hadn’t seen before so decided to walk around the outside of it. Instead of looking for anything in particular, she was just looking around. The wilting zone extended for several feet past the town. She could imagine children playing in these once lush woods. The still living foliage outside of the wilting zone was looking sickly and was likely dying from the gas. It’s definitely getting bigger. Sunset walked into the still living part of the forest, but even it was deathly silent. She couldn’t even smell anything aside from the gas. Nothing has been there for a long time. Okay, officially creeped out.

She turned on her heels and hurried back into town. She sat in the town square, not wanting to get in Brigid’s way again. At least there, she could hear her if she needed her. She was waiting for what felt like hours but could’ve been a few minutes with how her brain perceives time. She laid down and looked up at the sky. It was a bit cloudy with a breeze, but Sunset’s jacket kept her warm enough. Though, said jacket is starting to feel a bit tight. As she was thinking about if there was some way she might be able to stretch it out to fit better, a red blob came into her field of view. “Mom”

“Hay, ya done explorin’?”

“Way too creepy. Everything’s dead or dying.”

“Ah hear ya.” Brigid picked Sunset up, and Sunset clung onto her. The advantage to having a monster of a mama is that you can still be held like a little kid as a teenager, and Brigid’s soft.

“Are you done looking through all the journals?”

“Yeah, but nothin’ came of ‘em. Even da miners’ journals are normal. No mention a’ even da gas.”

“What now?”

“Well, dere is one more place Ah’d like ta check.” Brigid motioned with her head to the town hall.

Brigid put Sunset down, and they walked to the town government office. The building had two doors, one marked as the mayor’s office and the other as the sheriff’s office. They went into the mayor’s office, and the first thing they saw were a desk and some chairs. Behind the desk was a door that they walked through. Turning on their flashlights, they could see that the door led to a room filled with piles of paper and books. What bookshelves there were had been completely filled, and the piles covered a good chunk of the floor.

“Fuckin’ stars, didn’t these people ever hear of a filing cabinet?”, Sunset asked as she looked on in disbelief at the organizational nightmare before her.

“As a matter a’ fact, dey did not. Da filin’ cabinet wouldn’t be invented f’r anothe’ hundred n’ sixty years.”

“Oh”

“Put dese on n’ be careful.” Brigid handed Sunset a set of cotton gloves, took a picture of the whole thing, and then got her own gloves back on.

“What changed here?”, Sunset asked, referring to her not letting her help with the journals.

“Dese were better protected,” Brigid said while gesturing around to the lack of any openings aside from the door, “so less likely ta fall apart, n’ dere’s jus’ way too much f’r me ta do on ma own.”

Sunset nodded and got her gloves on as they got to work. Sunset copied what Brigid did with taking a picture of whatever she was about to touch. Even without a good filing system, the mayor at least kept their files somewhat organized in piles by year. This made it a matter of finding the pile with the most recent documents and looking for anything weird. The former was easy as those piles were the closest. Looking through everything from the weeks before the disappearance was time consuming, but it did turn up something.

“Interestin’, Sunset, look at dis.” Brigid’s surprisingly good at talking with stuff in her mouth for a species with hands.

Sunset turned to what Brigid was looking at. “A storn?” ‘M’s aren’t easy to make when one’s lips can’t touch.

Brigid took her flashlight out of her mouth before talking more. “Dis says dey experienced a severe storm da night before dey disappeared.”

Sunset took her flashlight out of her mouth and looked up at Brigid. “I don’t remember anyone mentioning a storm.”

“Dat’s because dere wasn’t one. No weather reports from da time mention any sort a’ storm.”

“Then why did the mayor say they experienced a storm?”

“Dat’s da million dollar question. Read through da rest den we’ll go back ta camp.”

They continued reading through the papers but came up with nothing else. Brigid led them back to the car and drove them back to camp. They were checked out by the MDs then headed straight to the creek and got to fishing.

“Y’know, dis isn’t da first time a mysterious storm was mentioned da night before a disappearance.”

Sunset looked up at her mother with befuddlement clear on her face.

“Da Flannan Isles Lighthouse vanishing, Flannan Isles is a little place off da coast a’ Scotland. It was staffed by t’ree keepe’s, n’ dey n’ da grass were da only life on da island. Da lighthouse was built in eighteen-ninety-nine, n’ only one year n’ a handful a’ days late’, all t’ree a’ ‘er keepe’s disappeared. One a’ ‘em mentioned a storm in da log book, but no such storm was reported. Log entries also mention da men prayin’ n’ cryin’. Dese were hardened marine’s. Dey would’ve known dey were safe in da lighthouse, forty-five meters above sea level.”

“Old lighthouses use mercury bathes ta move the light. Could the men have been sufferin’ from mercury poisoning?”

“Maybe. Deir bodies were never found, so no autopsy was ever performed. We jus’ don’t know.”

“Could the storms be linked?”

“Maybe. Ah jus’ know both instances are really strange.”

They quickly got their five fish and went back to camp. Brigid got straight to cooking, and Sunset grabbed both of their cameras and looked through the pictures. Looking over the report that mentioned the storm, it was in the mayor’s handwriting, so likely wasn’t a prank. If the storm of the Flannan Lighthouse vanishing is related to this storm, this could mean there’ve been even more such incidents. Usage of massive amounts of magic can affect the weather, even when no weather magic was being used. Could that be the cause of the storms, or were the storms used as cover for the spells? Would anyone on Earth even have that kind of power?

The other doctors soon started returning, and Brigid waved them over. “We’ve got fish stew taday.”, she said.

“Sweet”, Dr. Lobo said. “How much longer?”

“Jus’ a few more minutes.”

Everyone grabbed their bowls and circled around the fire, except for Dr. Marks, of course. He hid away in his tent. Brigid passed out the soup, and people got to eating.

“Too bad you’re already married. I would’ve proposed to you here and now if you weren’t.”

Sunset leaned past Brigid to give Dr. Lobo the stink eye, and Brigid looked him up and down with a side glance and shook her head. “Ya don’t have da needed equipment.”

Everyone else around the fire cracked up laughing while Dr. Lobo sat there stunned. Sunset continued glaring, so Brigid began petting her hair. Sunset leaned into her mother’s side as she continued to eat. She officially liked Dr. Lobo a lot less now.

They finished their food, cleaned up, and Sunset went back into their tent. She shimmied out of her pants and into her sleeping bag. For whatever reason, sleeping bags and pants never went well together for her. Brigid came in not long after, knelt down next to Sunset’s cot, and started petting her hair again.

“Ah take it Ahui’s joke upset ya. Wanna talk about it?”

“Not really.”

“Sunset, no matte’ wha’ happens, yer fathe’ n’ Ah will always be ‘ere f’r ya n’ f’r each othe’.”

“I know.”

Brigid got up and left the tent. Sunset snuggled into her sleeping bag. She wasn’t tired so just stared at the tent walls. The hours passed by, and Brigid poked her head in. “Ya want dinne’?”

“Yeah” Sunset climbed out of her sleeping bag, got her pants back on, and left the tent. Brigid handed Sunset her bowl, and they took their seats. Sunset didn’t engage in conversation and headed straight back to her tent after cleaning up but was stopped by Dr. Lobo.

“Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t know my joke would upset you so much.”

Sunset shrugged him off and went back inside. She grabbed her hairbrush and sat down on her cot to bush out her hair. Not being able to shower made detangling it harder. Brigid came in not long later.

“Hey, do ya want me ta brush yer hair?”

“Yeah”

Brigid sat on her cot and motioned Sunset over. She sat down on Brigid’s cot and handed her brush to her. Brigid worked her up and through her hair with an expertise that only comes from years of practice. Beauticians in the US are rarely trained how to properly treat curly hair. Pristine, like everybody else in their family, had thick, curly hair, and thus, faced the same problem the two of them do. As shite of a person as she is, she took surprisingly good care of Brigid’s hair back in the day. Of course, she’s a raging narcissist and made it all about herself. Having heard stories about her, Sunset felt just as sad for her as she did hate her. She’s incapable of feeling love, not for herself or anyone else. As painful as love can be, Sunset couldn’t imagine being unable to feel it at all. Pristine is sick, another member of her family taken by some Po’hahnd forsaken disease.

Sunset brought her mind back to the present. That was way too depressing of a thought process. She focused on the here and now and the comforting presence of her mother. She was brushing full, fluid strokes through her hair, unimpeded by knots.

“Dere we go, all done.”

Sunset ran her hands through her, now, silky smooth hair. “Thank you. Would you like me to do yours?”

“Dat would be nice.” Brigid got up and grabbed her brush. She handed it to Sunset, undid her braids, and then sat on the ground in front of her.

Sunset didn’t have the same level of experience as Brigid, especially with her hands, but Brigid taught her well enough to take care of her hair. Brigid’s hair took much longer because she has way, way more of it. Her hair goes down to her butt and is thick enough that you could lose something in there. Speaking of losing stuff in there, her hair was filled with twigs and other tree crap. “I guess being tall has its downsides.”, Sunset said while showing Brigid one of the twigs.

“Heheh, yeah.”

Sunset eventually managed to get all the knots and crap out of Brigid’s hair. “All done.”

Brigid ran her hands through her hair. “Thank ya.” She stood up, reclaimed her brush, handed Sunset back hers, and put hers back. Sunset got up from Brigid’s cot and sat back down on her own. Brigid returned to her cot, putting her hair into one large braid.

“Can NPD be cured?”, Sunset asked, her previous musings returning.

“Dat is a very complicated question. We’re not entirely sure how much genetics play inta da whole thing, but we do know dat environment is da bigge’ contributin’ factor. Therapy might be able ta treat it, but fat chance y’ll get one ta agree ta it.”

“If narcissists are made, then how did Pristine become one?”

Brigid shrugged. “Ah dunno. Ah wasn’t dere, n’ she wasn’t a regular topic a’ conversation. But, if Ah had ta guess, due ta bein’ identical ta Greatnana, she was put unde’ a lot a’ pressure. Greatnana was a proud woman n’ very smart n’ strong. She wanted all ‘er kids ta be strong n’ smart, but Ah wouldn’t be surprised if she went overboard with Pristine.”

“Is that why she did what she did to herself?”

“Maybe. Let’s go brush our teeth. We’re leavin’ tamorrow mornin’.”

The two of them got up, grabbed their hygiene stuff and a lantern, and headed out to the table with the water jug. It served as their faucet. The night was only lit by the stars, the small sliver of a moon, and the lantern, and the ground was their basin. They finished up, rinsed off their brushes, and headed back to the tent.

“Mom, was Greatnana a good person?”

“F’r da most part. She was kind, caring, patient, no nonsense kind a’ woman n’ was willin’ ta teach anyone dat asked, but she was human, n’ humans are flawed. She was bullheaded n’ expected a lot out a’ people, too much at times. She would get upset with you if ya didn’t live up ta ‘er expectations. She would work with ya ta help ya meet ‘er expectations, but da time she was upset with ya didn’t feel good.”

“Okay”

They put their stuff away and climbed into their sleeping bags. It was hard for Sunset to get to sleep as her mind was filled with thoughts about what the rest of Brigid's side of the family could’ve possibly been like. Up until then, she only had a perfect picturesque idea of them, but what were they really like?

D3

“Wake up. Come on, time ta get up.”

Sunset was shaken awake, and the unpleasant morning light bombarded her eyes. “Hisss”

“Ahh, don’t be a drama queen. We need ta pack up.”

Sunset huffed out of bed and grabbed her bags out from under her cot. Brigid left the tent as Sunset began folding up her cot. Brigid’s stuff was already packed and in the corner. Sunset packed up everything, except what she needed for that morning, and put it all in her corner of the tent. She then left the tent to see Brigid cooking breakfast and making coffee. Sunset sat in her chair and waited for her coffee.

“Ya went ta bed da same time as me. How are ya dis tired?”

“I’m nocturnal. I will never be a morning person.”

Brigid handed Sunset her coffee and food before sitting down to consume her own. The others began coming out of their tents and getting their own food. Sunset and Brigid finished their food, cleaned up, and began packing up their stuff, minus the still cooling grill. Once all that stuff was packed up, they got hygiene stuff from the tent, brushed up, changed, and began loading up the car. Once everything inside the tent was out, it came time to pack up the tent. Collapsing the tent is the easy part. The hard part comes when trying to put it in its bag.

“Why don’t they make these bags big enough?”, Sunset complained as she smooshed the tent in while trying to hold the zipper closed.

“Ah know y’re jus’ complainin’ n’ know da answe’, so Ah won’t answe’ ya.” Brigid was trying to zip up the tent bag without breaking the zipper.

They finally managed to zip it up completely once they wiggled the zipper half way up. They loaded it and the grill into the car.

“Come on, let’s say goodbye ta everyone.”, Brigid said as she closed up the boot.

“I’ll be in the car.” Sunset turned to climb into her seat but could hear Brigid sighing as she did so. Brigid didn’t say anything and just left back to the camp. Sunset climbed in and leaned back to rest her eyes. After way too long, Brigid finally returned and got in. She started up the car and started the drive home.

“Sunset, Ah understand dat y’re in yer ‘Ah hate everythin’’ phase, but it would still serve ya well ta be nice ta people. Dey’ll be more willin’ ta do stuff f’r ya or mention ya ta someone dat c’n be a useful contact.”

“I don’t plan on going inta academia or study any of their subjects, so none of those lots are or have useful contacts for me.”, Sunset said dismissively.

“Ah wouldn’t be so sure ‘bout dat. We tend ta talk, n’ someone dat might end up as yer future professor might hear about ya, especially since y’re mo daughte’.”

Okay, that’s a good point.

The rest of the hours-long car trip went by in relative silence as Sunset tried to get more sleep. When they finally got home, Brigid had them unload the car before heading inside. Surprisingly, Emi wasn’t waiting for them by the door. Sunset followed Brigid upstairs and into Emi’s room. Her room was completely dark, and said room’s occupant was asleep in her bed. Brigid went inside and gently woke up Emi. “Hey, baby.”

“Hm? Hey, you’re back.”, Emi said sleepily.

“Yeah, n’ we have news ta share.”

Emi sprung up, though still tired looking. “Tell me everything.”

Brigid picked Emi and Tomiju up and brought them out, and Sunset followed them to the living room. Brigid sat Emi on her lap, and Sunset took a seat next to them on the couch.

“Whadja find?”, Emi asked, now more awake.

“Sunset”, Brigid said, directing her to speak first.

“We found spell circles and a mummified cockatrice, and at least one of the town residents was a practicing witch.”

“What’s a cockarice?”, Emi asked.

“Cockatrice,” Sunset corrected, “it’s a creature native to Equestria.”

Emi’s eyes went wide with excitement as her mouth went as wide as it physically could. “They did end up in Equestria!”

“Dat is a possibility, but it also ain’t good.”

“Equose and Earth are two different planets with different atmospheres. If that’s what happened to them, they would’ve died within a few days.”, Sunset elaborated.

“Oh, that’s sad. What’s Equose’s atmosphere made of?”

“Same stuff as Earth’s, just in different, deadly, quantities.”

“Is that why the portal turned you into a human?”

“Almost definitely.”

“Cool. What are spell circles?”

“They help with forming spells, back in Equestria. However, I believe they are a necessity over here.”

“Can you teach me ta use them?”

“Easily”

SHWO ch72 Return to Japan

Katon family back patio

Date: July 1st, time: 1:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Okay, watch what I do.”, Sunset instructed. She had a pen and notebook to write down a basic light spell and showed it to Emi and Anura. She translated it into English for all three of their sanities.

“Looks simple.”, Emi said.

“That’s the point. Now, this isn’t enough to cast a spell all by itself. You need to direct it. Magic consists of two parts, imagination and power. You form the mental image of what you want then use your power to bring it into reality. Spell circles exist to help form and guide that mental image, but you still need to direct it. Try to activate it.”

Emi placed her hand on the circle, and a small flash of light erupted from the page that then proceeded to burn up. “What gives? You said you were able to make a ball of light.”

“That’s what I mean by “you still need to direct it”. You need to know what you want.” Sunset redrew the light spell then turned it back around to the girls. “Try again. Imagine a ball of light being formed by this paper.”

Emi closed her eyes and placed her hand on the circle. The paper burned away, and a small ball of light formed in her hand. She opened her eyes and brought the light up to her face. It was only the size of her eye, but that didn’t matter as she beamed a smile from ear to ear. “This. is. Awesome!”, she cheered and threw her free hand in the air. The light faded shortly after, and Emi looked down at it disappointedly. “Aw man”

“I’m sorry I can’t make it last longer. I don’t know enough about Earth’s magic.”

“My turn, but I wanna draw it.”, Anura said.

“Okay, if you think you can.” Sunset gave the pad and pen to Anura. “Make sure to spell it right. You don’t wanna be the one who’s spell circle blew up because of a typo.”

“They can blow up?”, Anura asked worriedly.

“I’ll check your spelling before you cast.”

Anura nodded and then drew a pretty good copy, though not as clean. Sunset checked it over and nodded her approval. Anura placed her hand on the spell circle, and the paper burned up. She turned her hand over to reveal her own ball of light. However, her light was purple. Interesting. Sunset thought back to Emi’s light and realized that it wasn’t the standard yellow. It was kitsune gold. Very interesting. Sunset redrew the spell circle, casted it, and a ball of turquoise light formed.

“Very interesting.”

“What?”, Emi asked.

“Light spells don’t normally take on colors like this, and my light spell didn’t take on this color when I wrote it Ponish.”

“Weird”

Sunset redrew the spell in Irish and casted it. It too was turquoise. She redid it in Dragon Tongue, and it was standard yellow. “This is odd.”

“Now what?”, Anura asked.

“Now, you two practice on your own.” Sunset stood up and passed Emi and Anura the couple of pads and pens that she had sitting next to her. “Don’t worry about the calligraphy, jus’ practice the spell.”

Katon family back patio

Date: same day, time: 1:15 pm

*Emi’s perspective*

“Don’t worry about the calligraphy, jus’ practice the spell.” Sunset left to go back inside, leaving the two of them outside.

Emi flipped open her pad and immediately began drawing her own spell circles. Each time she created a light ball, she tried to keep it going longer and longer, but she couldn’t keep it going for more than ten seconds. Over and over again, they only lasted ten seconds. Even casting multiple in quick succession didn’t change how long they lasted.

“How many sheets have you gone through?”, Anura asked.

“Why are you being so slow? Sunset said not to worry about calligraphy.”

“Well, I care. I wanna have nice spell circles.”

“Well, I don’t have time for that. Nor do Ah have time for ten second light balls.”, Emi said under her breath. Fire should be easy enough. Drawing a fire spell was easier than the light spell with it only being four letters. When she casted it, it formed into an apple sized ball of golden flames. It’s bigger.

“Woah! Emi, what are you doing?!”, Anura shouted in alarm.

“What does it look like I’m doing?”

“Trying to burn the house down.”, Anura deadpanned.

“Relax, I’m a kitsune. Fire’s our thing.”, Emi said as she bounced the fireball in her hand. The fire fizzled out, only lasting about as long as the light. Emi began drawing another fire spell, but not without a disapproving look from Anura.

“That really doesn’t seem safe.”

Another fireball rose from the pad, and Emi began passing it between her hands. “Let’s see how far I can throw this.”

“No!”, Anura shouted, but Emi ignored her and threw it into the yard.

The fireball didn’t just fly through the air, as she expected. It fell to the ground and lit the grass on fire. The grass is on fire. “Sunset!”, they screamed as they ran inside.

Sunset sat at the dining table with a plate in front of her and an unamused look on her face. “What’s going on?”

“The grass is on fire!”

Sunset’s unamused look instantly switched to alarm as she sprang up, knocking her chair over, and bolted to the fire extinguisher. She ran outside with Emi and Anura following behind. Sunset got to the fire and blasted it. “Now, who wants to tell me what happened?”

“Emi created a fireball and threw it into the grass.”, Anura said.

“I thought it would fizzle out in the air.”, Emi defended.

“Why were you creating fireballs? There’s a reason I left you with only the light spell.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, you explain this to Mom.”, Sunset said while pointing behind them.

They spun around to see Mom and Dad, the former of whom looked miffed. “Wha’ did Ah tell ya ‘bout burnin’ da house down?”

“In my defense, Ah didn’t catch the house on fire, just a bit of the yard.”

“Emi”, Dad said in his ‘you know what you did’ tone.

“Ah’m gonna let ya handle this. Dis is out a’ mo ball field.”, Mom said to Sunset, then looked back down to Emi. “Y’re helpin’ me fix dat.” With that, Mom took Dad’s hand and headed back inside.

The two of them turned back to Sunset, who had her arms crossed and an annoyed look on her face. “Emi, I applaud your ability to figure out new spells, but I left you with the light spell so you can learn control with minimal risk. On top of that, you know not to play with fire.”

“I really didn’t think it would land in the grass.”

“Energy is still subject to gravity.”

“It is?”

“Yes, that’s why blackholes are black.”

“Oooh, I did not know that.”

“Gee, if only one of us could’ve guessed playing with fire was a bad idea. Oh, wait.”, Anura snarked. Emi gave an apologetic smile, but Anura still looked upset.

“Well, now you do. No more fire until I say so.”

“Alright, light spells only.”

Sunset nodded then headed back inside. Anura and Emi returned to the porch and picked their pads and pens back up. Anura got straight back to drawing spell circles, but Emi wasn’t so quick to do so. If she wants to do anything cool with her spells, she needs to make it last longer. Maybe make it bigger. She was already using the full notepad; it’s only a few inches wide. To at least test her theory, Emi drew the light spell smaller. The resulting light ball was smaller than her previous attempts, about pea sized. She passed it between her hands as she timed it. Still only ten seconds.

Emi crossed her arms and huffed. Her theory proved incorrect. What else can be changed? Could I want it to last longer? I gotta know what I want. Last longer. Last longer. Last longer. Emi redrew the spell and casted it as she repeated the mantra in her head. The light rose from the pad, and Emi began counting. Again, it only lasted for ten seconds. “Damn it.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I jus’ can’t make the light last longer.”

“Why don’t you ask Sunset about it?”

“Ah might as well.” Emi got up and headed inside.

Sunset was back in her seat and chowing down on her food. “Is something else burning?”

“No, I want to know how to make the spell last longer. I’ve already tried wanting it to last longer, but it didn’t work.”

“Yeah, if it doesn’t work for Mom and Dad, it won’t work like that.”

“What?”

“Never mind. It was a bad joke anyways. Come sit down.”

Emi climbed into the opposite chair and placed her pad on the table.

“I’m not sure how to gather Earth magic. Equestrian magic is free flowing through the atmosphere. It’s very easy to access. I’m not sure what’s up with Earth’s magic, but I can’t feel it. The only way I’ve been able to access it is through those spell circles. So, the short answer is, I don’t know how to make it last longer.”

“What if I wrote ‘long light’ in the spell circle?”

“You’ll end up with a dud. That’s not how it works.”

“Great, that blows.”

“The best I can say is keep experimenting. Maybe you’ll figure it out.”

Emi nodded and headed back outside. Anura had multiple balls of light floating around the patio. “Wow, that’s pretty.”

“Yeah, watch this.” Anura stuck her hand out, and the lights swirled and danced around her for a few seconds before fading. It was like what she imagined fox fire to look like.

“Wow”

“Did you find out how to make them last longer?”

“No, Sunset said that she can’t feel Earth’s magic and that she doesn’t know how to gather it.”

“So, she doesn’t know how to get more fuel for the spell.”

“That about sums it up.” Emi sat back down next to Anura and resumed drawing spell circles.

Emi’s room

Date: July 4th, time: 7:55 pm

*Emi’s perspective*

The yearly fireworks show was minutes away from starting. Emi stood atop her step stool, carefully removing the fly screen from her window. The patio awning has a gentle enough slope that one could sit on it, and it can hold a lot of snow. An underweight eight year old should be no problem. From the awning, she had a much better view of the world beyond her backyard. It was a pretty night, but people didn’t know how to turn off their lights, so the stars were hard to see. She knew her mom hated not being able to see them in their full beauty but put up with it for the benefits living here provides.

“Girls, da fireworks are about ta start.”, Mom called out.

From her vantage point, Emi could see Mom, Aunt Minerva, Anura, and Sunset walk into the backyard. Dad was in the basement with all the animals, as usual. Grandpa was working, as usual. It’s a lucky night when no Darwin award nominees come in with freshly amputated fingers.

“Where’s yer siste’?”, Mom asked Sunset.

“I’m up here.”

The four of them looked up, and Mom looked unhappy. “Emi”

“It’s not that dangerous. I’m not hanging off the edge.”

Mom looked to Sunset and pointed up at Emi. Sunset nodded and headed back inside. The fireworks began, and Sunset climbed out of Emi’s window and sat down next to her. They sat in silence as the whizzing fireworks flew up into the sky. Emi was glad she gets to see them one more time before the end.

Katon family home

Date: July 19th, time: 8:00 pm

*Emi’s perspective*

“I’m the cake-asaurus rex!”, Emi proclaimed with cake all over her face. She may have had a couple too many cookies, but she wanted to not be in pain for tonight. This was likely going to be the last time she’d get to celebrate her parents’ wedding anniversary. She was going to make this count.

Mom picked Emi up so she couldn’t smash her face more into her cake. “Come ‘ere.” She brought Emi to the sink to wash off her face, all the while, Emi was laughing her butt off.

“She didn’t get that from me.”, Dad joked.

“Of course not. She got it from me.”, Mom said. Mom cleaned Emi’s face then plopped her back in her seat.

“So, what time are we heading over to Minerva’s?”, Sunset asked.

“Oh, not dis time.”

“Are you sure?”

“We aren’t exactly going to be making a lot of noise tonight.”, Dad said.

“Make noise!”, Emi shouted. Mom patted her on the head.

“I see.”, Sunset said.

The adults cleaned up then Mom brought Emi over to the couch, followed by Dad and Sunset. Grandpa, Anura, and Aunt Minerva all left to go home. Mom put on The XC-Files: The Movie on and cuddled up with Dad with Emi and Sunset between them. Emi didn’t really understand the movie, but she knew it was the first movie Dad took Mom to see. Even though he wasn’t into movies much as he couldn’t see what was going on, he liked cuddling up to Mom. Emi liked cuddling with her parents too.

Emi must’ve fallen asleep some time during the movie because the next thing she knew, Mom was carrying her upstairs, and Dad was walking behind them. “Hey, Daddy.”

“Hey”

“Did ya enjoy your party?”

“I did.”

Emi smiled as Mom brought her into her room and put her into bed. Tomiju jumped at the ladder, so Mom brought her up to Emi.

“Good night”, Mom said.

“Good night”

Mom left, turning off the lights as she did so, and she and Dad headed to their room. Emi snuggled up with Tomiju and her fox. When she dies, she wanted to be cremated with her fox. “That’s going to be years down the road. I’m not giving up.”

Flash’s room

Date: Aug 1st, time: 2:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Sunset, could you come over? We need to talk.” That was the text Flash sent to Sunset earlier that day. She had no other context. She hadn’t talked to him in a while. Brigid brought her to his house, and she was now talking to Mrs. Sentry, who also had no idea what was going on. Entering his room, Sunset saw him sitting in his desk chair, facing the door.

“Sunset, please sit down.”, he said while gesturing to his bed.

A bit confused, Sunset sat down across from him.

“Sunset, I know something’s wrong, but you aren’t talking to me about it.”

“It’s none of your concern.”, Sunset said, irritated by Flash poking his nose where it didn’t belong.

“It is my concern. I’m your boyfriend, and part of being in this kind of relationship is talking to each other about what’s bothering us. We need to be a team.”

“Right now, you’re what’s bothering me.”

“Sunset, you’re not treating me like your boyfriend. You’ve been treating me like a nuisance. I don’t deserve to be treated like this.”

“Well, whatcha gonna do ‘bout it?”, Sunset taunted. There’s no way Flash would actually do anything about it.

“If you’re not going to treat me and this relationship properly, we shouldn’t be in this relationship.”

Sunset glared at him. He couldn’t really be saying this. He didn’t have the spine. “What do you mean by that?”, Sunset growled.

Flash didn’t take his eyes off her. He actually looked like he had guts. “I’m breaking up with you.”

Sunset bolted up in rage, startling Flash back. Once again, he looked like the weakling he was, but that didn’t quell Sunset. She was going to teach him better. She was gonna… Oh, shit. Her gut turned at the memories of having to look over incident reports of soldiers attacking their own families. As their CO, she had to. Each time, the soldier, their family, and every inch of their homes and workplaces were searched for some sort of curse that could explain their behavior, but rarely were any found. In hindsight and with human level knowledge on mental disorders, it’s obvious that they were suffering from the effects of untreated PTSD, but at the time, Sunset thought they were scum and couldn’t believe she’d let them serve alongside her without ever noticing. Now, she came within a hair’s length of becoming that kind of monster. No, I was going to do it. I am a monster.

Sunset stepped back, and Flash relaxed. She tried to find the right thing to say but couldn’t. She couldn’t say something to save face, to threaten him, not even a fake ‘sorry’. She just turned and left.

Brigid and Mrs. Sentry sat in the living room. Brigid got up from her seat to comfort her clearly distressed daughter as she walked in. “Hey, wha’s wrong?”

“I just wanna leave.” Sunset didn’t sound like she was going to cry, but she couldn’t control her tone. As much of a surprise to herself, she sounded scared on top of angry.

“Okay” Brigid brought Sunset out to the car but didn’t immediately drive away. “Sunset, wha’ happened?”, she asked in a tone Sunset had never heard before. It scared her but not for her sake. Her earlier tone apparently gave her the wrong idea.

“I…” Again, Sunset couldn’t find the right words. She had to tell her something or else she’d go mama bear mode, but she didn’t want to tell her the truth. She’d see her for the monster she is, and she’d be disowned and alone. She took a second to regain control over her voice before speaking again, regaining a sad but calm tone. “Flash broke up with me.”

“You were scared. Wha’ happened?”

“Nothing happened.”, Sunset said sternly. “It just brought up old memories, military memories.” She didn’t look at Brigid, but she knew her well enough to know she was trying to mentally connect the dots.

“He broke up with ya, n’ dat brought up some bad memories. N’ dat’s it? Nothin’ else happened?”, she asked in a much calmer, more inquisitive tone.

“I mean, I got mad at him, but nothing else happened. You would’ve heard if something happened.”

“Sigh, true.” Brigid started up the car and drove them home. Sunset could sense Brigid still wasn’t quite happy with her explanation but her fear was subsided.

Reads house

Date: Aug 19th, time: 7:00 pm

*Anura’s perspective*

Anura poked at her food as she slowly ate. Her appetite was about as low as Emi’s. It felt like someone stabbed her in the gut and was twisting the knife. Sunset seemed to be deep in thought and wasn’t paying attention to anyone around her. The adults were talking amongst themselves, and Emi was staring off into space. Anura snuck food to Kiba. She wasn’t gonna eat it herself.

After the adults were done eating, Aunt Brigid pulled out the cake and ice-cream. That pulled Emi back to reality. “Oooh, ice-cream.”

Aunt Brigid served each of them their respective plates, and Anura finally was able to eat something. Even Emi seemed to have activated her desert stomach.

“C’n ya eat without gettin’ food all ove’ yer face?”, Aunt Brigid asked Emi as she smashed her face into the cake.

“It tastes better this way.”

Aunt Brigid just groaned and went back to her cake.

“Is everyone ready to go to Japan?”, Grandpa asked.

“Yeah, jus’ need ta pack.”

“What kind of weather should we expect?”, Mom asked.

“Hot and humid,” Uncle Anzhong said, “you’ll be seeing me in yukata.”

“Okay, we’ll pack accordingly.”

“Hey, Emi, what’s Amigata like?”, Anura asked.

“Vending machines, vending machines everywhere. Other than that, it’s almost like going back in time.”

“Really?”

“The village council has worked to maintain the village’s traditional look.”, Grandpa said.

“Then why have so many vending machines?”

“We like to hold onto our history, but we’re not totally against modernization.”

Once everyone was done eating, Uncle Anzhong took the dishes to the sink. Emi was falling asleep in her seat, so Aunt Brigid picked her up and cradled her.

“Looks like you guys need to head home.”, Mom said.

“Yeah, we’ll see ya tamarrah.” Aunt Brigid gathered her family and left back to their place. That left Mom, Grandpa, and Anura.

Mom and Grandpa talked with each other while Anura sat alone. She didn’t care about what they were talking about. She had her wolf and just played with her.

“Anura, are you ready to meet my side of the family?”, Grandpa asked.

“I guess. Will they be nice?”

“That… they’ll be polite. Japan is an island nation with a rocky history with outsiders. Even with Japanese culture spreading across the world, the people are still wary of foreigners, but you’re my granddaughter. If anyone’s mean to you, they’ll have to deal with me.”

Anura let out a little laugh at that. Grandpa was sweet but not at all intimidating. “I’m going to bed.”

“Okay, goodnight.”, Mom said. “Brush your teeth first.”

“Oh wait, before you go,” Grandpa said, “giving someone a thumbs down may not be a big deal in the US, but in Japan, you’re telling someone to ‘go to Hell’. So, avoid doing that.”

“Good ta know. I probably would’ve done that.”, Mom said.

“Goodnight, Grandpa.”

“Goodnight. Now, Minerva-”

Anura didn’t hear the rest of their conversation, but it was probably just more adult stuff.

Canterlot Airport

Date: Aug 21st, time: 6:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset drudged behind her parents as the Make-A-Wish lady, Sunset forgot her name, led them through the airport. Brigid was carrying Emi, and Anura was riding on her mother’s lap, who was riding in an airport provided wheelchair. She had her legs but didn’t want to have to walk around the airport when walking around a lot normally is already enough of a pain. Anzhong had his hands full with Kiba and his cane. That left Sunset and Jiraiya to take care of most of the luggage. They had one of those cart things, but it was still a pain.

The lady led them away from the regular terminals and to a part of the airport with hangers and smaller planes. The plane she led them to was bigger than the commercial planes typically seen there but wasn’t as big as the jumbo jets they took last time they needed to cross the ocean.

“How did ya pay f’r dis?”, Mom asked.

“We have benefactors that let us use their private planes.”, the lady said.

The flight crew helped load their stuff up then got them seated inside. The inside was far more spacious than a commercial plane. It looked like something out of a rich peoples magazine. Brigid stood in the aisle, looking confused. “Um, wha’ do we do?”

“Take a seat and buckle your seatbelt.”, the flight attendant said.

“N’ our carry-ons?”

“Keep ‘em by your feet.”

They got seated, and the pilot came on the intercom. He gave them the typical spiel, mentioned they’d be making a stop in Hawaii to refuel, and then started up the engines. Anura had her face pressed up against the window the whole way up.

“Dis is da first time y’ve been in a plane, isn’t it?”, Brigid asked.

“Yeah, this is the first time I’ve ever been beyond the mountains.”

“You’ll like Japan. It’s almost all mountains.”, Sunset said.

Tokyo International

Date: Aug 22nd, time: 9:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

“I’m bored.”, Emi whined. They were waiting in the customs line, which was moving at a snail’s pace. Somebody forgot to charge her electronics on the plane, so she had no handheld.

“Ah know. It shouldn’t be much longe’.”, Brigid said.

Their setup was the same as when they went through the Canterlot airport, except Jiraiya was in front. The line inched forward, and Sunset had nothing to do but look around at all the advertisements. Japan was certainly an interesting place, and companies seem to use it as a testing ground for all their weird, experimental favors. What Creamios do in the US is nothing compared to the crackpottery that are Japanese Kitkittens. There was sensible stuff like ‘green tea’ and ‘red bean’, and then there was ‘soy sauce’ and freaking ‘corn on the cob’ flavored chocolate candy. Most of them made sense, like ‘wine’ and ‘sparkling champagne’, and even looked like something she’d wanna try, but Sunset draws the line at ‘corn on the cob’. Yes, it’s technically a fruit, but so is tomato, and knowledge is knowing that tomato’s a fruit, but wisdom is knowing not to put it into a fruit salad.

After several minutes, they were finally through customs and heading to the train station. Just like on the plane, Anura was glued to the window. “The buildings here are huge.”, she said.

“Tokyo is one of the biggest cities in the world and there needs to be space for all those people.”, Jiraiya said.

“Why not build outward?”

“That would very quickly leave us with no more farmland or wild land.”

“Oh, that wouldn’t be good.”

The rest of the train ride was in relative silence with Emi sleeping and Anura being fascinated by the scenery. Once they got off the train, they headed to the car rental place. Jiraiya was the only one with a Japanese driver’s license, so he drove them the rest of the way. The familiar sight of the Katon clan compound came into sight. The place was surrounded by walls and a gate. Though, the gate was usually kept open during the day. It’s kinda like a small castle. Since the invention of cars, a small parking lot has been added to the outside. There were only a few cars, for a clan of eleven families, since they were only ever needed if one was going out of town.

“What’s with the gate?”, Anura asked.

“Back when this place was built, raiders and wars were rampant.”, Jiraiya explained. “Wealthier clans would build these kinds of compounds to protect themselves.”

The seven of them piled out of the car, grabbed their stuff, and then headed to the gate, where Ryoko was waiting for them. “Hey, Dad.” She gave Jiraiya the best hug she could with all the stuff he was carrying. Kiba sniffed her leg, and Ryoko, as much as she tried to hide it, was clearly uncomfortable with the unfamiliar dog.

“Do you not like dogs?”, Anura asked.

“No, I just more fox than my brother.”

“Foxes don’t like dogs.”, Sunset clarified.

Ryoko took some of the bags from Jiraiya and led them in. She led them to the part of the compound that housed the clan head, i.e. her. It was mostly the same as the last time with a living room that wouldn’t look out of place in an American house with the exception of an irori (Japanese equivalent of a fireplace), a modern kitchen that was added on by Ryoko, and all the bedrooms and other various rooms. Ryoko led each of them to their rooms and left them to unpack. After handing out the bags that weren’t hers, Sunset went into her room and plopped on the bed. It wasn’t the same bed that she slept in last time.

It was what Sunset assumed was a typical Japanese bedroom. The primary material, just as throughout the rest of the compound, was bamboo. The bed was tucked into the corner with a desk tucked into the opposite corner. A dresser separated the bed from the shoji. Opposite the dresser was a small bamboo potted plant along with other minor decorations along the walls. Brigid had joked about these rooms being perfectly inoffensive.

A knock came at the door, so Sunset got up to answer. Brigid stood on the other side, having to bend over slightly due to the low frame. “Ya hungry?”, she asked.

“Very”, Sunset replied.

Brigid moved out of the way, and they headed to the common room. Oda was cooking in the kitchen while everyone else was sitting around the table. “So, it’s going to be a dry reception. Dad…”, Ryoko said but was then cut off by Jiraiya, who was holding Hikari.

“Don’t worry, I understand. I won’t touch a drop the whole week.”

Ryoko gave him a small smile, but Sunset could sense her doubt. The adults continued to talk about wedding stuff, which Sunset tuned out of. Oda brought the food over, but even Sunset was merely picking at it. It wasn’t that his food was bad; Ryoko was wolfing everything down. It was just that most of their appetites were in the toilet. Most of them ended up giving their uneaten food to Ryoko.

“Wow, you can really eat a lot, Ryoko.”, Anura said.

“Breastfeeding is very calorie intensive.”, Minerva said.

As if on cue, Hikari started getting fussy. Ryoko took him from Jiraiya and began nursing. A little bit in, Ryoko let out a yelp and pulled Hikari away from her.

“What happened?”, Jiraiya asked.

“He bit me.”

“Somebody’s goin’ ta be hearin’ ‘bout dat f’r da rest a’ deir life.”

“Did you understand her? Because I did not.”, Oda said.

“She said he’s going to be hearing about that for the rest of his life.”, Anzhong clarified.

“I guess you would have to be able to understand her to be married to her.”

“It takes a good ear.”, Brigid said.

Ryoko went back to nursing while the other adults turned the conversation back to adult stuff. Sunset finished as much of her food as she could before heading back to her room. There wasn’t a closet, so Sunset had to put all her clothes in the dresser. As she was doing so, she heard a couple of boys playing outside. Sunset poked her head out to see Sota and Yuto playing with toy guns. They were brothers, Sota being twelve and Yuto being ten, both with green hair, and both being annoying little shits. They’re loud, disruptive, and couldn’t follow directions to save their lives. Sunset closed the door and went back to unpacking.

Once she was done, she got back into bed and tried to get some rest, ‘tried’ being the operative word. The boys’ noisy playing kept her from relaxing. As she was getting up to tell the boys off, she heard Anura shouting. “Stop it!” A shout from Emi came next, reiterating what Anura said, only in Japanese and using less polite language. Sunset’s annoyance turned to fury as she bolted up and ran outside, neglecting to put on her shoes. The girls were by the tree, and the boys were jeering at them. Sunset got in between them, and the look on her face was enough to get Yuto to back off, but Sota was only a couple years younger than her and dumb as rocks.

Before she could turn them into pudding, the boys’ mother came over and dragged them away, giving the girls an apology before leaving. Minerva, Brigid, and Jiraiya came out from their respective rooms and came over to them. Sunset turned around and kneeled down to look at the girls. Anura had some dirt in her hair that Emi was helping her brush out.

“What were they saying?”, Anura asked.

“Not nice things.”, Emi answered.

“It was about my skin, wasn’t it?”

“Eh, yeah, they said you looked dirty.”

Anura huffed and crossed her arms. “Typical. Boys are so dumb.”

“Yes, we are. I’ll have a talk with them.”, Jiraiya said.

Anura said nothing, got up, and stomped back to her room.

Brigid and Minerva gave each other looks then looked down to Emi. “Has Anura been bullied ‘bout ‘er skin before?”

“Oh yeah, there were these three kids that constantly teased her about it. They called her ‘brownie’ a lot.”

They gave each other another look, and Minerva followed Anura back to her room.

Sunset turned around and headed back to her room. Hopefully, it would stay quiet.

Katon clan compound

Date: same day, time: 1:00 pm

*Minerva’s perspective*

Minerva followed Anura to her room, who had grabbed her brush and was trying to get the dirt out of her hair. Minerva took a seat on her bed behind her and pulled her into a hug. “Do you want help?” Anura nodded and handed Minerva her brush. “Why didn’t you tell me other kids were being mean to you?”, Minerva asked as she brushed out the dirt and crap.

“I tried telling the teachers, but they never did anything. What good would telling you do if telling the teachers did nothing? I’ve dealt with them on my own. They’re just too dumb to learn.”

Minerva brushed away the last bits of dirt then pulled Anura back in. “Anura, do you want to be homeschooled?”

“Yes, I hate school.”

“Okay, I’ll look into that when we get home.” Minerva got up to put the brush away when a knock came from the door. When she opened it up, the two boys were on the other side, looking like kicked puppies, along with their mother. “I think it’s for you.”, Minerva said to Anura. She got up from the bed and came over to the door.

“We are sorry for what we said. It was wrong.”, the older of the boys said in rough English.

“It won’t happen again.”, the younger boy said in equally rough English, then they both bowed deeply along with their mother. She said something in Japanese.

Anura stood there until they stood back up, gave them a thumbs down, then slammed the door in their faces. My sweet, little nine-year-old just told three people to go to Hell. This isn’t good. Anura stomped back to her bed and angrily climbed in.

“You don’t have to accept their apology until you’re ready, but your reaction seemed a bit extreme. Are you okay?”

“No! I’m not. Everything’s bad. What is everyone’s hang-up on the color of my skin?”

Minerva sat back on the bed and hugged Anura again. “I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that they’re jealous.”, Minerva said in her most calming voice. “Those two boys likely have never seen anyone like you before, and people tend to act stupid when confronted with something they don’t understand. As for the kids at your school, they likely learned it from their parents. Humans will attempt to ‘make the other’ of anyone different from them. The best that we can do is show them unrelenting human kindness, show them that we are all humans.”

“They don’t deserve kindness.”, Anura said bitterly.

“I’d say they need kindness the most. The meanest people have often been shown the least amount of kindness. All they’ve known is hate. Not everyone will accept your kindness, but those who do will learn it and begin to show it.”

Anura didn’t say anything and just hugged Minerva back. Minerva cradled her daughter, herself feeling like a complete failure for not being there for her when Anura needed her. Maybe I can reduce my hours. I’ll look at the math. Could I take an extended leave?

“Mom”

“Yes”

“Do you know who my dad is?”

There it is. “He’s a nurse from the Philippines. I don’t know who he is or where he lives, but I have seen his picture and know that he has fathered other children in the state.”

“Does his skin look like mine?”

“Your skin’s a bit lighter than his because of my genetics, but yeah, his skin looks like yours.”

“Can I see his picture?”

“Yeah, I’ll show you when we get home. But for now, know that I think you look beautiful, and that every part of you makes up the whole that is ‘Anura Reads’.”

Anura pulled in closer. She was still so little. Does she need a father? Did I mess up? I’ll ask Jiraiya later. He should know.

Katon clan compound

Date: same day, time: 1:00 pm

*Jiraiya’s perspective*

Jiraiya stomped over to Hanzo and Yui’s, Sota and Yuto’s parents, home. He wasn’t surprised that Hanzo’s kids would be ones to misbehave in such a way. He was always a wimp that couldn’t put his foot down. He didn’t know Yui well, but she clearly wasn’t instilling discipline either. Once he got to their door, Jiraiya gave it a good, hard pounding.

Hanzo was the one to answer, with the sound of Yui scolding the boys in the background, and immediately shrunk down upon seeing Jiraiya. “He-hello, sir.”

“I take it you know what your sons did.”, Jiraiya said in Japanese, using his pissed off dad voice.

“Yes, sir, my wife is disciplining them as we speak.”

“I would like to have a talk with your boys.”

“That won’t be necessary, sir. We’re taking care of it.”

“Those girls are my granddaughters. I would like to talk with your boys.”

Hanzo slinked out of the way, and Jiraiya went to where he heard Yui. The three were in the living room, and the boys looked just as cowardly as their father. Jiraiya approached them from behind, and Yui spun around to look at him. “Mr. Jiraiya, sir, I’m sorry for the actions of my sons. It won’t happen again.”

“You’re right. It won’t.” Jiraiya stepped past her to be directly in front of the boys. “What in the six realms made you two think it was a good idea to call someone dirty and throw dirt at them?”

“We’re sorry.”, the boys said.

“I don’t think you fully understand what you did. I’m going to teach you a proper English apology, and her reaction will dictate your punishment.”

“Can he do that?”, Yui asked Hanzo.

“He’s the former clan head. He can.”, Hanzo replied.

“Their punishment will apply to you too as you failed to instill discipline.” Jiraiya turned back to the boys. “Now, time to learn that apology.”

Sleeping Fox Inn hot springs

Date: same day, time: 6:00 pm

*Ryoko’s perspective*

“So, that is what that was.”, Ryoko said. Minerva and Dad had just finished recounting what happened with Sota and Yuto. They were all relaxing in one of the hot springs. Ryoko had this one specially cleaned and closed off from the public for Emi’s safety.

“Anura rarely swears or makes rude genstures. She had to have been mega mad to do anything like that.”, Emi said.

“Gestures”, Sunset corrected.

“Talking’s hard.”

“What did you do to the boys?”, Ryoko asked her father.

“Remember that old collection of statues in the forest?”

“The one of the wolves?”

“Yeah, they’re going to be cleaning those spotless. Hopefully that will teach them some discipline.”

“Do you just have a bunch of statues in your forest?”, Minerva asked.

“There once was a member of the Hayashi clan named Moriko. She was an artist and sculpture maker. These forests used to be filled with wolves, but they were hunted to extinction. Moriko was enraged and saddened by this, so created four wolf statues named Anger, Fear, Sadness, and Regret as a way to forever remind us of what we did.”, Ryoko explained.

“Aw, poor wolves.”, Anura said.

“Yeah, and without the wolves, we have a wild boar problem. No matter how many dogs we train, boars we hunt, and fences we put up, those pigs always get in and trample and eat our crops.”

“Yeah, I’d rather deal with a chicken or two getting snagged than the destruction those boars can cause.”, Jiraiya corroborated.

“How’d we get on the topic of boars?”, Anzhong asked, his way of getting the conversation back on track.

“Oh right, the statues, once they’ve been cleaned, I might take you out to see them, if we have time.”

Before long, their time in the hot springs was over as the sun was setting and dinner had to be made. Brigid helped Minerva out and over to the bench where she put her legs. It was interesting seeing her put them on. It looked like the only thing keeping them on were the socks, or whatever they were called, and the sleeve attached to the part she put her actual legs in. They were evidently enough though.

They headed back home, Ryoko picking Hikari up from Cousin Gina on the way. Oda began making dinner once they got home. This would typically be her breakfast, but her sleep schedule has been all over the place since the baby. No matter what she tried, she couldn’t get him on any sort of schedule. “Brigid, how did you get Emi on a feeding schedule when she was a baby?”

“Ha, we didn’t. She wouldn’t have it. She wanted ‘er food when she wanted it, n’ she’s still jus’ as stubborn.”

“Great”, Ryoko said through gritted teeth.

Everyone gathered around the table as the food was brought over, but Anzhong and his family barely ate anything again. Even Sunset, who Ryoko remembered having a big appetite, wasn’t eating. She couldn’t blame them. She would just shut down in their place.

Everyone dispersed after eating, and Oda and Ryoko headed back to their room. It was large and spacious and filled with stuff. Ryoko wouldn’t call herself a hoarder, but she did like keeping her things close to her. She had things organized enough and tricks to keep the room uncluttered. The remnants of their wedding planning were tucked into shelves around the room. They’d be thrown out, no need for them after the wedding, but it’d likely be after the honeymoon, or maybe before. It’d depend on when they could take it. She laid Hikari down for the night, hopefully, then joined Oda in bed. He had his laptop and was looking at honeymoon destinations.

“Maybe we should just find a nice campsite and camp for a couple weeks.”, Oda suggested.

“Camping, for our honeymoon?” Switching back to Japanese made talking so much easier. She didn’t have to translate what she was about to say in her head before saying it.

“You said you wanted privacy. Can’t get much more private.”

“I know, but we can go camping anytime. This is our honeymoon. I was hoping to go to the beach. We rarely get to go there.”

“Okay, I’ll see what I can find, hopefully a place with good food.”

Walking paths outside Amigata

Date: Aug 23rd, time: 9:00 am

*Anzhong’s perspective*

Through the densely packed trees and bamboo of the Haunted Woods laid paths formed by hundreds of years of people traveling and hunting. They now attract hikers and outdoor enthusiasts that are like 60% of the inn’s business. He’d been told that the nature of these trails was visually beautiful, but Anzhong only knew its beauty by smell and sound. The smells of the dozens of different plants danced on the wind and combined together to form a fragrance that cleared his sinuses of the oh-so lovely smell of stinky teenager. He loves his daughter, but Sunset was one of those teenagers that just stunk. She has good hygiene; she’s just stinky. Anzhong turned his attention back to the world around him. He could hear the birds chirping, rustling in the underbrush, Kiba sniffing at stuff, and… a car?

Anzhong checked where he was and realized that he was close to the main road, as in, he could touch it with his cane, close. A good couple of miles of the trail run alongside the road, so that wasn’t the surprising part. He was surprised at how quickly he reached it. He took a side step closer to the woods to give the car a wide berth, expecting it to whoosh past him, but it didn’t. He heard it stop alongside him and the sound of a window being rolled down shortly after. He braced himself, expecting the person to ask him if he needed help, not realizing this was a hiking trail and that he was a hiker, but nope, wrong again.

“Hey, do you live around here?” The asker was a man, 30s-ish, sounds like a city boy by the way he spoke. A waft of strong perfume and lots of hair products hit his nose, probably not an outdoorsy type.

“Sort of, but I’m not the best person to ask for directions.” Anzhong held up his cane in case the man couldn’t see it.

“Do you live in Amigata?”

“I’m from there, yes.” Anzhong heard the man get out of his car, and he switched his grip on his cane to one better for striking. He could feel Kiba tense up, telling him all he needed to know.

“May I ask how good you consider your quality of life to be?”

“You may not. You may get back in your car and leave me alone.”, Anzhong said in a much less friendly voice.

“I’m just trying to bring jobs to your little village. Imagine how much better your lives will be with higher paying jobs.” Oh, the sleaze, it was enough to choke on.

“That sounds like something to talk to the village council about.”

“I did, but I couldn’t get them to see sense. I was hoping that, if the community came together, that we could get the council to realize how great of an opportunity my business could bring to the people of your village.”

“Not going to happen. Firstly, you aren’t one of us. Secondly, we live here because we like our way of life. All the kids that want higher paying jobs with big companies move to Tokyo. If the village council already said ‘no’, you’re not going to get the village to side with you. Now, your car’s blocking the road. Get back in it and get moving.”

Anzhong turned on his heels and continued on his hike. He heard the man get back into his car and continue past him on the road. Ryoko should probably know about this. He cut the walk short and took some less traveled shortcuts to get back to the compound faster. Ryoko was easy to find given that she snores like an asthmatic yak drowning custard whenever she sleeps on her back, i.e. on the couch. She wasn’t loud; it just sounded gross. He whacked the leg of the couch with his cane a couple of times to wake her up.

“Wha-wha-oh, I told you to stop that.”, Ryoko complained.

“And I ignored you. By the way, a strange man that stank of perfume, hair products, and sleaze stopped his car in the middle of the road to talk to me, and he was talking about his business bringing opportunities to the village. You and the council already told him ‘no’, but he was going on about ‘the community coming together to make you see reason’. He was driving in the direction of the village proper, last I heard him.”

The air in the room became filled with Ryoko’s rage and fear aura, and the faintest hints of a growl arose from her throat. “Did you catch his name?”

“Nope, but I’m guessing you already know who he is.”

Ryoko let out something that was a mix between a growl and a hiss as she marched to the door.

“Want me to come with you?”

“Actually, yeah, and bring Brigid. We could use a scary redhead.”

Brigid & Anzhong’s room

Date: same day, time: 11:00 am

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid laid in bed with a book that she’d been meaning to read for a while now but has just been too busy to. The sound of Anzhong coming in pulled her back to reality. He was still as properly put together as when he left.

“Y’re back early.”

“To make a long story short, a man that doesn’t understand ‘no’ means ‘no’ is trying to manipulate the population of the village into allowing his business to operate here.”

Anzhong was speaking in Japanese, indicating that he’s upset, so Brigid switched to it as well. “Could you elaborate?”

“Several months ago, a man by the name of Sato Junichiro came to the council to propose building a factory.”, Ryoko said, coming in behind Anzhong. “We rebuked his offer because of the ecological damage it would cause, but it would appear that he’s back and, as Anzhong said, is trying to manipulate our people to get his way.”

“No wonder you two are upset.”

“Could you please come with us? I’m hoping you could scare him off, like you did those three wannabes.”

“Sure, just let me get my jacket and shoes on.”

Anzhong and Ryoko left to let Brigid get ready. She grabbed her jacket and pulled on her boots once she was outside. “Okay, ready to go.” The three of them headed down to the village proper and to the parking lot outside of it. The roads inside weren’t built for cars. They’re only technically roads because you could fit a cart through. Most modern cars, on the other hand, wouldn’t fit, and there are village laws in place that prevent cars from driving into the village proper. What the council did was build a parking lot for people to park their cars while they walk around the village. It kinda gave the place a shopping mall type feel, but it worked.

“Could you tell us which car is his?”, Ryoko asked Anzhong.

“What, do you expect me to smell each car and tell you if it’s his?”, he said in that way only a younger brother talks to his older sister.

“Right, I forgot you were blind.”

“You two really do fall back into your old sibling roles when you’re together.”, Brigid commented.

Ryoko sorta glared at her before they headed into the village. Seeing tourists around here was common, but a nearly 7’ tall redhead still garnered attention. “Who should we be looking for?”, Brigid asked.

“Dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, real generic looking, he looks like the physical embodiment of the phrase ‘worker Joe’, except you can smell the sleaze.”, Ryoko said.

Being head and shoulders above everyone else made scanning the crowd easy for Brigid. It wasn’t packed to the gills, but it was the middle of the day, and people were out and about. Hair colors ranged from browns and blacks to greens and blues. Most people were in traditional garb or shots and t-shirts. If Ah were tryin’ ta turn people ta mo cause, wha’ would Ah be wearin’? He wouldn’t be wearing a full business suit, more likely something casual. He likely wouldn’t be wearing hiking clothes, so those people could be ruled out.

Brigid saw a man matching the physical description, but she couldn’t “smell the sleaze”. Maybe it was because she wasn’t a fox. Brigid spun the man around, and looked like he was about to give her a telling off before freezing out of fear. “This him?”, Brigid asked Ryoko.

“No”, Ryoko said.

Brigid let him go then continued her search. She poked her head into one of the food stalls. Inside was a man with dark brown hair, wearing casual clothes, chatting up an elderly woman. Brigid motioned for Ryoko and pointed to the man.

Ryoko came closer, and judging by her face, she recognized the voice. She squeezed past Brigid, putting herself between the man and the woman. “Hello, Ms. Fujino, do you know this man?”

“No, he just sat down and started talking.”, the sweet sounding woman said.

“Do you want me to make him leave?”

“Oh no, we’re having a lovely chat.”

“Okay” Ryoko turned to the man. “If I catch you doing anything weasley, I will have my sister-in-law there throw you out of the village by the scruff of your neck.”

The man turned to Brigid was taken aback.

“Hi”, Brigid said in that pseudo-friendly way that communicates a threat.

The man re-schooled his features to appear friendly and non-threatening then turned back to the woman. He began talking like an old friend to the woman. Now, Brigid understood what the siblings meant by “smell the sleaze”. She couldn’t “smell it”, but she can recognize a salesman when she sees one. She tried to remember the article one of her old classmates wrote on their psychology a few years back. To summarize what she could remember, the environment filters out kind-heartedness and promotes traits like charisma and the ability to come up with a good lie on the spot, anything to make a sale. How quickly he’s able to go back to “friendly normal guy” was cause for concern.

“Hey, Ms. Fujino, this man is trying to sell you something.”, Brigid explained. “Don’t believe a thing he says.”

“Oh, I know. I wasn’t born yesterday. It’s just nice to have someone to talk to.”

“Yes, now, you two lovely ladies have a good day, and congratulations on the new baby.”, Sato said.

“I miscarried, actually.”, Ryoko lied.

The man sat there stunned as the two of them walked away. They met back up with Anzhong, who was hiding around a corner. “Did you say that just to mess with him or?”, he asked.

“Both to mess with him and to keep him from trying to use Hikari to try and manipulate me again.”

“Again?”

“I was very visibly pregnant almost immediately.”

“I guess being a smaller lady will do that to you.”, Brigid said.

“I’m not small. You’re massive.”

“So, what now?”, Anzhong asked.

“Well, I have no legal grounds to banish him, but Ms. Fujino is a major gossip and smart. Everyone will know his business within a few days and that I’m trying to hide Hikari from him.”

“Now what?”, Brigid asked.

“Well, why only have one gossip spreading the news when you have many? There are a lot of old people in this town that have nothing better to do with their time. Follow me.” Ryoko led them around the village, to places such as newsstands, other stalls, and other places of the like. At each establishment, Ryoko told the elderly person running the place about the man and what he looked like. Each stop took longer than a quick ‘hey, watch out for this man’ should as each person they talked to wanted to talk about their grandkids, what else was the latest gossip, and whatnot. At least we know they can do their job.

“Dem old coots c’n really talk yer ear off.”, Brigid said, switching to English.

“They only get chattier as they get older.”, Anzhong said, also switching to English. “Are we done?”, he asked Ryoko.

“Yes, we’re done.”

The three of them walked back to the compound and back to their respective rooms. Anzhong and Brigid took off their outer layer of clothing, Anzhong took Kiba’s harness off, and they cuddled up in bed. Brigid had the blankets over her while Anzhong didn’t. It was funny having a husband that was half her size. In the back of her mind, she was kinda worried about squishing him. She brushed her hand through his hair, which was naturally smooth, not the frizzy mess hers and the girls’ are.

“I love you.”, Brigid said.

“Love you too.”, Anzhong mumbled.

Katon clan compound meeting room

Date: same day, time: 6:00 pm

*Jiraiya’s perspective*

Jiraiya looked around at the rest of the people gathered in the room. The clan was far from its peak but it had bounced back considerably from its absolute lowest after WW2. With a total of twelve families and nearly sixty members, things were looking better. As the current clan head, Ryoko sat in front of the gathered clan leadership, the heads of their respective families. Anzhong and Brigid were not present as they’d be going home in a few days. Jiraiya was only there to watch his daughter work.

“I hope you see the problem.”, Ryoko concluded.

“Do you really think he could do such a thing?”, Mizuki asked.

“I don’t know, but I’d rather not find out.”

“Okay, make sure Mr. Weasel Man doesn’t brainwash the village into overthrowing the council to build a factory. Got it.”, Ren said.

“Could you maybe do it without running through the town, shouting he’s evil?”. Ritsu, Ren’s older brother, asked.

“Hey, it’s effective.”

“They’ll think it’s another prank.”

“Boys!”, Ryoko interjected. “Have this discussion later. I don’t care how, just get him out of the village. Dismissed.”

Everyone got up and left to go back to what they were previously doing. Jiraiya went back to the dojo, where Sunset was busy beating up her cousins, last he saw. In the dojo were Nakano, who’s been running the dojo since Aoi’s passing; several of the clan’s kids; and Sunset. The kids were all sparring with other kids of similar size. Sunset was sparring with Yuma, Ritsu’s son. He was putting up a good fight, but even though he was the tallest kid and reasonably strong, Sunset had more weight on him. She just had to knock him down and sit on him.

Jiraiya retook his seat next to Nakano to watch the kids. Seeing Sunset’s red hair against the many greens of the other kids was certainly interesting. “Hey! You’re cheating!”, one kid shouted, Jiraiya didn’t know which. It was one of the younger boys.

“The only rule of ninjutsu is ‘no dying’.”, Nakano said.

“But she spat on me.”

“Did it get into your eye?”

“No”

“Then stop whining. If it works, it works. Spitting is a perfectly reasonable distraction.”

“I take it that one’s a regular whiner.”, Jiraiya said.

“Yeah, Fuyuhiko, he’s Noriko’s son.”

“Ahh, that explains it. I remember when Aoi taught. She’d always made a stink about everyone following the rules.”

“Agh, I remember. ‘There have to be rules. The world will fall apart without rules.’”, Nakano said in a mocking, girly voice. “She still does. I just don’t have to listen anymore.”

“How did you two come from the same household, let alone the same egg?”

“Beats me. All I know is that rules are meant to be broken.”

The sinister laughter of Sunset drew Jiraiya’s attention. She had Yuma pinned with his arm twisted around his back. He couldn’t see their faces, but her laughter and his winces of pain told him all he needed to know. “Sunset, let him go.”, he said in his commanding voice. Sunset let him go and got off of him. Jiraiya got up and gave her the ‘come here’ finger while walking to the least populated corner. She followed, looking sheepish.

“Did I do something wrong?”, Sunset asked in a voice that made his heart ache.

“I just wanted to talk to you.”, Jiraiya assured. “I understand the intoxicating effect having that kind of control over someone has, but you can’t let it get the better of you. We are strong in body, but we must also be strong in mind and in heart.” Sunset nodded apprehensively. Jiraiya patted her head to reassure her. “Go take some time to center yourself.”

Sunset left the dojo, and though he couldn’t be sure, Jiraiya thought he heard her let out an irritated growl. That’s concerning. Jiraiya retook his seat next to Nakano, but he wasn’t watching the kids. Should I be worried? She did act reprehensive, but it could’ve been just an act. Jiraiya thought back to when Anzhong was her age and the warning signs he displayed. I should be more vigilant for those signs. She might start taking her frustration out on other kids.

Inari’s shrine

Date: same day, time: 10:00 pm

*Minerva’s perspective*

Jiraiya, if I didn’t love you, I’d tell you to go hug a mine. Jiraiya’s very smart and very wise but does have his dumb moments. Sending a woman without legs hiking up long-ass stairs in search of someone was one of those moments. At least the view’s pretty. The stairs led up the mountain, and the specific spot she was currently at allowed her to see over much of the rice fields, all surrounded by the trees. Growing rice apparently involves a lot of water, and the light of the full moon shimmered in the water and made it almost as bright as an overcast day. It may also be that being a basement gremlin makes it easier for her to see in low light.

As Minerva ascended the stairs, the path started to be lined with some sort of archways, the red ones that are squared off. She had a feeling she’d seen them somewhere before, probably in Brigid’s house, but couldn’t name them. A gate, like the one surrounding the compound, guarded by two dog… (lion?) things soon came into view. Past the gate was a small building with a large rope hanging from the ceiling and a box in front. This has to be the shrine. To corroborate her suspicion, a statue of a white fix sat in the middle of the building. Ryoko was sitting next to the box and looking up at the fox.

“Hey”, Ryoko said without turning to face Minerva.

“Your dad’s looking for you.”

“Okay”

“This place is pretty.”

“Yeah, Sora has been doing a good job.”

“Is this place important to you?”

Ryoko turned to look at Minerva, and in that moment, she felt like she was looking at something otherworldly. “My mother used to be the shrine maiden. Being here… it almost feels like she is here.”

“You must’ve really loved her.”

“I still do. She was smart, carrying, funny. She was not perfect. Not being human meant that school life drama was completely alien to her, and her salutations to most problems were what a fox would do, but she was there. That is more than I can say about Dad.” Ryoko said that last part with venom. Sure, Jiraiya was a busy man, but he tried his hardest to be there for the important stuff.

“What do you mean?”

“My father was not around much when I was kid. He was either doing clan head stuff or at the hospital. Being father seemed to be low priority to him, and it only got worse after his drinking problem started. I had to be parent for Anzhong. I had to get him his first dog. I had to teach him how to get around without Mom. I was barely adult, and I was hurting, but I had to jump both feet in because he was too busy wallowing in alcohol.”

Minerva winced slightly at her words. She’d known about his alcoholism, but this is… something else. The tears welling up in her eyes made it clear how badly she’s hurt. “I know you don’t really see me as your sister, but I consider Jiraiya to be my father. He’s still a busy man with weird hours, but he’s changed a lot since he was the man you remember.” Ryoko looked up at her with a skeptical look, so Minerva continued. “When I was pregnant with Anura, I had some medical complications that forced me to have a c-section when I was only about twenty weeks along. The whole time I was in the hospital, Jiraiya was with me, running updates to me from the nursery. He was by my side whenever he wasn’t needed in the emergency room. And I know he wants to be a better father for you because he asked me to smack him if he so much as cracks open a beer, and he used way more colorful language than that when he asked me.”

Ryoko looked at her intensely, then glanced up at the moon, and then back to Minerva. “Is he really better than your dad?”

“My father would rip apart my room, looking for money to buy more drugs, then scream and threaten me for trying to hide money to pay the bills when he did find it. Having absent or even dead parents would’ve been an improvement.”

The look of shock and horror that came across Ryoko’s face told her she got her point across.

“What about your mother? Did she not try to stop him?”

“Who do you think told him to do it? She’d even beat me if I were “too happy”. I don’t entirely blame them. They didn’t choose to become addicts, but the people they once were are gone. Brigid saved my life and brought me into a whole new family I couldn’t have ever imagined having before. I can never repay all their kindness.”

Ryoko looked at her like she was deep in thought before standing up and walking over to her. “You have had bad life.”

“I wouldn’t say ‘bad’, but it definitely hasn’t been easy.” Minerva knew Ryoko wasn’t trying to be mean, but her inexperience with the English language was showing.

“Let us go find him then.”

Minerva nodded as Ryoko got up to head down the mountain. As they descended the stairs, Minerva’s legs started to ache, so she had to stop to massage them.

“What is wrong?”

“Walking up all these stairs is hard on my legs.”

“But they are metal, they can not feel?”

“Yes, but my upper legs are still very much flesh, and along with the nerves, I also lost all the muscles, and I need to get my sockets refitted.”

Ryoko turned back around and patted her shoulder. “Get on.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am stronger than I look.”

Minerva lifted herself up onto Ryoko’s back, and Ryoko carried her back to the compound with little problem. “Are female kitsune stronger than the males?”

“We are about the same.”

“Oh, I’ve never seen Anzhong do something like this.”

“Have you ever see him get fight?”

“No”

“That is why.”

Ryoko let Minerva down once they reached her place, and they went inside. Jiraiya was playing with Hikari on the floor, and little Hikari was laughing his sweet little laugh. Minerva missed hearing that sound. There’s just something so sweet about it that never fails to make her feel good. Ryoko sat down next to him, and Hikari smiled as bright as the sun upon seeing his mother. Ryoko began speaking to Jiraiya in Japanese, and Minerva took a seat across from them. She couldn’t understand what they were saying, but things seemed promising. Jiraiya rubbed Ryoko’s shoulder the way only dad’s do, and she smiled at him. I think things are going to be okay.

Inari’s shrine

Date: Aug 24th, time: 1:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset stood next to Brigid as the rest of the clan got seated. The main ceremony was a clan affair, but friends would be joining them at the reception. Even though it was just the clan, the place was beautifully decorated. Lanterns were strewn up over their heads, flowers were absolutely everywhere. Everyone in attendance was either wearing suits or kimonos. Brigid, Anzhong, and Emi were wearing kimonos as well, Kiba was wearing a snazzy bow tie, Anura and Minerva were wearing nice dresses, Oda’s fathers were wearing nice suits, and the happy couple were wearing traditional wedding kimonos. The immediate families stood behind two small tables, one with saké and the other with three cups on it. In front of the white fox was a wedding altar with bowls of salt, water, rice, saké, fruits, and vegetables on it. Either side of the altar stood the priest and the shrine maiden. The latter of whom was carrying the rings on a pillow. Ryoko and Oda stood between the tables, and Hikari was off with a babysitter.

“This is boring.”, Emi said quietly, a bit muffled behind her mask.

“I told you.”, Sunset responded.

The priest purified the shrine then called the attention of the kami, primarily Inari. “All gathered here today, it is time for the three-three-nine-times ceremony.”, the priest said. Jiraiya brought over the smallest cup and Oda’s biological father, his name was Fredrik, if Sunset remembered correctly, brought over the saké. They filled the cup up and handed it to Oda and Ryoko. “This cup represents the three couples, the bride and groom and their parents.” Oda took a sip and, although it was just a flash, made a sour face. Ryoko took a sip from the cup and made a barely audible noise that confirmed to Sunset that the saké wasn’t good. Oda took the last sip then they handed the cup back to Jiraiya. Jiraiya exchanged the small cup for the medium cup, and Fredrik filled it up. “This cup represents the three human flaws: hatred, passion, and ignorance.” This time, Ryoko took the first sip, then Oda, and then Ryoko. They handed the cup back to Jiraiya, and he exchanged it for the largest cup, and Fredrik filled it. “This cup represents heaven, earth and humankind.” Oda drank first, then Ryoko, and then Oda.

They handed the cup back to Jiraiya then approached the altar and shrine. Oda pulled out a piece of paper and opened it up. “I’m crap at remembering anything that’s not written down, so… We’ve known each other since the first day of our schooling. Even back then, I thought you were the most beautiful thing in existence. You also scared me pretty badly. Today, I vow that I will always love you, always see you as beautiful, and always be a little scared of you.” Ryoko let out a laugh at that, and she caressed his face.

“It is now time for the families to join in the drinking of saké…”, the priest began to say before the head shaking of the wedding party and the look Ryoko gave him reminded him that they weren’t doing that. “Uh correction, it is now time for the ceremonial offerings and the rings.” He pulled out some sort of flower from his robes and placed it on the altar. Ryoko and Oda pulled out similar plants from their kimonos and also placed them on the altar then Jiraiya and Yori, Oda’s other father, did the same. The shrine maiden brought the rings over, and Ryoko and Oda took them then placed them on each others’ fingers. “You may now kiss the bride.”

Ryoko pulled Oda into the kiss, and Anura made the ‘ew, grossing kissing’ face. Ryoko led Oda out the gate and down the mountain. Everyone, except for the priest, followed them to the clan compound, Brigid handing Emi off to Jiraiya and picking Minerva up piggy-back style again to bring her down the stairs, same as she did to bring her up. Anura happily hopped down the stairs, holding Sunset’s hand. Oda and Ryoko’s friends were arriving as well and joined the clan inside. The compound was decorated similarly to the shrine but with a self-serve buffet.

Brigid let Minerva down, and they went off to get the girls some food before it was contaminated by the horde of people. They got the food by the time the rest of them found their table. Once Brigid and Minerva returned, Anzhong was left to watch the girls while the rest of them got their food. Brigid got both herself and Anzhong plates. Everyone else had gotten to getting themselves food as well, so there was now a line. While waiting for food, Sunset saw Anura and Emi sitting together. Emi was noticeably smaller than Anura. Pre-cancer, Emi was taller than Anura. Sunset bit the inside of her cheek as her rage boiled up. She took some deep breaths to calm herself. Now wasn’t the time to get angry.

The reception and day went on. It was similar to Andy and Borago’s wedding, except there was no dancing. Everyone remained at their tables, which Sunset didn’t mind. After eating, the adults, minus Anhong, Brigid, and Anura, began socializing. With Jiraiya, he was being approached by everyone else, and they were having a more one-sided conversation with him. He looked like a public official that didn’t do the whole ‘public’ part of their job often the entire time. As the people came over to talk to Jiraiya, Sunset noticed them giving Anzhong weird looks. He wasn’t giving off any weird energy, so she couldn’t understand why.

Sunset grabbed Anzhong’s hand and began signing to him. “People looking at you weird. Why?”

Anzhong took Sunset’s hand and began signing in turn. “I was a weird kid. People were afraid of me.”

Was it because he’s a fox? Can they tell he’s a fox? What about Ryoko? Sunset wasn’t sure what he meant by that but decided to wait until later to ask more. Anzhong’s a slow signer and just as proper as in his speech.

Emi fell asleep shortly after cake, so Minerva took the girls back to their rooms. Eventually, people started trickling out. Jiraiya was finally left alone, and Sunset didn’t have to listen to their jibber-jabber. Once everyone else was gone, Ryoko, Oda, and his family came over to sit at their table.

“So, how does it feel to be newlyweds?”, Fredrik asked.

“The same as before, just official.”, Oda said.

“Fair enough.”, Yori said. “Where do you plan on going for your honeymoon?”

“Down to the beach.”, Ryoko said.

Sunset tuned out again and laid her head down on the table. She felt someone rub her back. She looked up to see it was Brigid. “Do you want to go back to your room?”, she asked.

“Yeah” Sunset got up and went back to the clan head’s part of the compound. She saw Anura sitting beneath the tree. She headed over and sat down next to her. “Hey”

“Hey” Anura looked solemnly down at the ground, not even looking up at Sunset for even a second.

“Is something wrong?”

“Who will I be without Emi?”

“You’re human. You’ll adapt. You’ll grow up and become your own person.”

“How do you know?”

“I felt this way back when Spitfire and I had to go our separate ways. It’s hard at first, but you’ll adapt to your new normal.”

“Who’s Spitfire?”

“She’s my biological sister.”

For the first time since she sat down, Anura looked at Sunset. “What’s your pony family like?”

A knot formed in Sunset’s stomach at their mention. What will they even think of me now? I’m not the same Sunset that left. Will they think I’m a monster? “I don’t wanna talk about them.” Anura didn’t push further and looked back down at the dirt. Sunset got back up and went back to her room.

Katon clan compound

Date: Aug 25th, time: 9:00 am

*Ryoko’s perspective*

Ryoko carried Hikari with her as she walked out to the parking lot. Anzhong and his family were loading up to leave. She walked over to Dad, who smiled like a fool at Hikari. “Hey little one, you couldn’t let me leave without saying goodbye, could you?”

“Something like that.”, Ryoko said. “When do you think you’ll be able to come back?”

“I’m not sure.”, Dad said solemnly.

“When you are able to come back, I’d like to spend some time with you, just the two of us.”

Some of the happiness and light returned to Dad’s eyes. “I’d like that.”

“You do need to not drink.”

“I think I can do that.”

Ryoko nodded then headed back inside. The decorations from yesterday had been cleaned up, and the compound and temple were back to how they usually look. Ryoko went back to her place, put Hikari to bed, and tucked in herself.

SHWO ch73 The Fall at the Formal

Canterlot Hospital

Date: Aug 27th, time: 3:00 pm

*Emi’s perspective*

“Now what?”, Emi asked. She laid in a hospital bed, surrounded by her family and doctor. Her family all had uncomfortable looks on their faces while Dr. Rojas looked sad.

“We’re gonna try to make you as comfortable as we can.”, Dr. Rojas said.

Normally, Emi would be angry and defiant about giving up, but she was just too tired to do that. “Okay”, she said quietly.

“Could I talk to you all outside?”

All the adults left, leaving Sunset, Anura, and Emi alone in the room. Emi stared up at the bland ceiling. The walls had cartoon characters on them, but the ceiling was the same as the rest of the hospital. “I wanted ta learn ta shoot.”

“Y’re gonna get to.”, Sunset said. Emi turned her head to see that her face was a steely mix of determination and trying to hold back her tears.

Emi wasn’t able to hold her own back, and tears began to leak from her eyes. “I don’t wanna die.” She sensed something was off and looked over to where Anura was sitting. She had her arms around her stomach and her knees up to her chest. “Is she okay?”

Sunset got up and walked over to Anura. “Are you okay?”, she asked her quietly.

“I’m fine.”, Anura mumbled.

“Liar”

“It’s jus’ stress.”

“Okay”

Sunset turned back to Emi and went back to her seat. Shortly after, the adults came back in, and Mom clearly had been crying with Aunt Minerva trying to comfort her. Dad had a more neutral look, but Emi could feel the maelstrom of emotions in his heart. Grandpa had put up his emotional walls, scary things that turn him into an emotionless machine.

“Emi, where would you like to have your remains placed?”, Grandpa asked.

This isn’t a question I should be answering yet. But it’s a question that’d need ta be answered eventually anyways. “The farm, I wanna be buried with Nana and everyone else.”

Mom took Emi’s hand in hers, completely engulfing it. She could feel her mother’s heart shatter. “Okay, we’ll do dat.” Emi used what remained of her strength to smile up at her before closing her eyes and nodding off.

Sunset’s room

Date: Aug 28th, time: 12:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Laid out before Sunset on her coffee table was a roughly drawn map of the castle with all the possible locations Celestia could be keeping the element of magic marked. There were far too many to search them physically. That’s why she was planning on using a spell to locate it. Anything that powerful should be like a freaking lighthouse. Hell, she might even be able to sense it without the spell. She was on more of a time crunch this time, so it’d have to be a smash and grab.

There was a knock at the door. “Come in.”, Sunset said without looking up from her work.

The individual, who was undoubtedly Brigid by the fact there’s only one person on the entire street with steps that loud, walked over to where Sunset was sitting. “Lunch will be ready soon. Wha’s dat?”

“My preparations for storming the castle.”

“Castle?... Sunset, are ya plannin’ on goin’ through da portal ta steal anothe’ relic?”

“Yes”

“No, Ah forbid it.”

For the first time since she came in, Sunset looked up at Brigid. “What?”

“Y’re a wanted criminal. If y’re captured, yer fathe’ n’ Ah won’t be able ta bail ya out again.”

“This might save Emi.”, Sunset said sternly.

“Ya already tried dis n’ it didn’t. Ah ain’t gonna risk losin’ you f’r somethin’ dat won’t even work. Are ya really willin’ ta possibly miss yer siste’s last days on Earth?”, Brigid said, matching Sunset’s tone. Sunset turned her glare back to her work. She couldn’t convince Brigid. There’d be no point to. “Here’s somethin’ y’ll like. Yer fathe’ talked with Daiki, n’ he said Storm has completely ceased operations, as far as he could tell. Ya c’n start walkin’ ta school on yer own again.”

“Okay”, Sunset said without much enthusiasm.

Brigid left the room, and Sunset went to clean up for lunch. Does she plan on doing something to physically keep me from going? Then again, she’s been so exhausted lately that I’d doubt she’d have the energy to actually do anything. Sunset walked out to the kitchen and saw Brigid slumped over her food. She looked like she hadn’t slept much or stopped crying since they put Emi on hospice care. Tomiju was looking around the dining room and scampering up and down the stairs. It was like what a parent does when they hear something weird and are doing a headcount. She knows something’s wrong. Ailbhe was sitting atop her cat tree, looking at Brigid. Cat emotions are hard to read, they’re so dissimilar to human emotions, but Ailbhe seemed worried.

Sunset’s food was in front of her usual spot. Brigid didn’t acknowledge her as she sat down, seemingly lost in her own thoughts. Judging by the expression on her face, they weren’t good thoughts. Sunset shook her shoulder, bringing her back to reality.

“Huh, is everythin’ okay?”

Sunset gave Brigid the ‘you know why’ look.

“Yeah, okay.”

The whole time they ate, Tomiju didn’t stop looking around the house. She even looked out every window she could.

“Tomiju, she’s not here.”, Brigid said. The dog still didn’t calm down, so Brigid called her over. She picked her up and tried to soothe her. Tomiju relaxed but looked heartbroken. Poor girl’s probably got separation anxiety.

Canterlot High

Date: Aug 29th, time: 9:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

“And down this way is the cafeteria.”, VP Luna said.

Sunset, Brigid, Meg, and Meg’s dad were a part of a tour group, along with Fluttershy, Rainbow, Jacklyn, Rarity, and Pinkie, led by VP Luna to help them get familiar with and navigate the complicated school layout. Sunset smiled internally seeing that those five annoyances still weren’t talking to each other. She’d honestly forgotten a couple of them existed for a while. Brigid was signing what Luna was saying for Meg. The group was somewhat large, but not everyone from her year was there. It wasn’t mandatory, more of something to save them stress and time tomorrow. Sunset wasn’t worried about tomorrow as her adventures with Flash left her with a decent sense of where everything is, so was lagging behind as she skimmed her book.

“This is my office over here. Hopefully, I won’t be seeing any of you in there often.”

The door was open, so Sunset took a look inside. It was dark, which was to be expected of the night princess’ human counterpart, but she could still see everything, including the shape of a six pointed star. Stopping to take a better look, it was undoubtedly the Star of Magic, and it sat upon a crown. It had to be the crown for the Fall Formal, but it was the fact they made it in the shape of the Star of Magic that most intrigued her. The chances of it ending up looking like that on accident was slim. It had to be intentional. Maybe influenced by outside forces. Given everything else the two worlds share, it had to look like that because that’s what the Element of Magic now looks like. A plan formed in Sunset’s head. I guess today’s not gonna be as boring as I’d thought. Still a good thing I brought so many books. It’s gonna be mine in a few days anyway. Might as well take it now.

She put her book back in her backpack and scurried to catch up with Brigid, got her attention, then gave her the sign for ‘toilet’. She nodded, and Sunset went back to where she came. The group was out of sight before she even reached Luna’s door. Hearing no other sounds of footsteps, she slipped inside, grabbed the crown, and put it inside her bag, using her books to hide it. She slowly walked back to the group and snuggled up to Brigid.

The tour ended, and Sunset got out of the school and back home with no one the wiser. She stuffed it in one of her many random assortment boxes. Now, she was ready. She was going to succeed in her mission. There was no other acceptable option.

Sunset’s room

Date: Aug 31st, time: 7:30 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset slung her backpack on as she headed out to the kitchen. It was filled with her cloak, the fake crown, swords, explosive components, and loaded gun. Hopefully, she wouldn’t need to use the last three items, but she wasn’t taking chances. Nobody was in the kitchen or living room, so she felt confident that Brigid hadn’t planned something. Getting outside and to the high school was uneventful. She now stood in front of the portal statue. The surface rippled beneath her hand. It felt kinda like a filled water balloon, but it still had its smooth stone texture. She pushed her hand through, seeing it turn back into a hoof. After so long, what was her original appendage felt so alien. She pushed the rest of the way through the portal, feeling her body being stretched back into a pony’s and readying a levitation spell as soon as she felt her horn. The moment she popped out the other side, she activated the spell and caught herself before crashing.

She gently lowered herself onto the floor, the crystal floor. Okay, what gibs? No floors in Canterlot Castle are crystal. I’m not in Canterlot Castle. Where am I? Shit! Where’s the crown? Sunset casted the locator spell in the distant hope that the crown was close. It took a second to readjust to having a horn. Levitations spells don’t require the same kind of conscious thought or concentration. It’s like opening and closing your hand versus playing the piano. Much to her surprise, the crown was also in this new place. That’s convenient, too convenient. What are ya planning ya old crone? Not having the time to really think about it, Sunset casted a couple spells to figure out where she was and get a general lay out of the place.

This can’t be right. She was far North of the Crystal Mountains but not as North as Yakyakistan. She was in the middle of the Frozen North. I must be in the Crystal Empire. “Well, I’ll be damned King Smoky Butt bit the dust. Good riddance, he gives umbramancers a bad name.”

Sunset donned her cloak and followed the trail of the powerful magic. Just like Canterlot Castle, this place was light on hoof patrols, relying more on wards. You don’t have to pay wards a wage. The armor suggested Royal Guard, but they were a lot sparklier. Probably a crystal pony thing. She also saw one of Celestia’s guards that she had to meld into the shadows to avoid. She’s definitely here. The locator spell led her to a door, not a vault door, a bedroom door. What better place to hide Equestria’s most powerful artifact than under your pillow? That is where teenage girls keep their top secret diaries after all.

Inside the room laid a sleeping dragon in a pet bed and a purple pony, who Sunset had forgotten the name of but remembered crashing into, in the center of the room. If she had wings, they were tucked under her blanket, but she definitely had a horn. She was about the same as when Sunset first bumped into her, maybe a bit bigger. She left it out on the nightstand, seriously? She has everything that should rightfully be mine, and she’s so careless with it. She’s basically asking for me to steal it.

Sunset levitated it off the nightstand but also knocked the lamp off. She managed to catch it before it hit the ground. Sloppy Sunset, sloppy. She put the lamp back then switched the crown out for the fake. Any good look at it would make it clear it was a fake, but it would fool a guard that poked their head in or a bleary-eyed mare getting up for a bathroom trip. Sunset turned to leave, but as she passed the dragon’s bed, she tripped and landed on her chest with a thud and grunt. Crap! Please be heavy sleepers.

“My crown! She’s got my crown!”, the purple pony shouted.

Welp, so much for that hope. Sunset bolted for the mirror, no point in subtlety now. The purple pony gave chase, and Sunset could hear a spell being powered up and prepped a teleportation spell in case she needed to dodge a blast. No blast came, but instead, the purple mare teleported in front of her. Sunset used her spell to teleport behind her, leaving her cloak behind to act as a distraction. The cloak trick did give her a few valuable seconds, but purple was most definitely an alicorn and was fast enough to catch up with Sunset and even get close enough to attempt snatching her bags. Come on, almost there.

Purple tackled her through the doors that led to the room with the portal, and Sunset heard the crown fly out of her bag and bounce around the room. She smells of farmland. Odd. She lifted her head just in time to see it fly through the portal. Yes!

“Gasp, what did you do with my crown?” Oh, a noblemare. Not even after years under Celestia did Sunset ever sound that posh.

“Sorry it had to be this way,” Sunset said right before she teleported to in front of the mirror, “Princess.” It wasn’t totally a lie. She’d rather not have had to steal the crown to save Emi. She'd rather not have been in a situation where she needed to save Emi at all. Sunset jumped through the portal and landed on the other side rather unceremoniously. She pushed herself to where she was sitting on her knees and let herself have a breather. She looked around to make sure no one saw her, and it didn’t seem like anyone was around. “Fuck yeah!”, she cheered triumphantly.

Sunset got up and began looking around for the crown. However, to her horror, she couldn’t find it. “No, no no no no no! Where is it?” It should’ve been there on the pavement. It couldn’t have flown all the way into the bushes, but Sunset checked there anyway. “It’s gone.” Someone took it, but who?

Before she could ponder that, the first bell rang. Crap, I’m gonna be late. She bolted inside and to her new locker. She stuffed her bag inside. If she was caught with any of the stuff she had in it, she’d be in huge trouble, like legal trouble. I’ll ask around. Someone had to have seen who took the crown, but class first. Mom won’t be happy if she has to be called in the first week.

Sunset’s locker

Date: same day, time: 3:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset hurried back to her locker and pulled her bag out, careful not to give any sign as to its contents. Twilight Sparkle shouldn’t be an issue. Sunset had years to learn to act like a human while she only had a few hours. Everyone will think she’s some sorta freak and won’t want to associate with her. The translation spell had clearly been improved given that she could understand and be understood perfectly by everyone, even without them having the spell on them as well. She quickly got off school property and only then relaxed.

Getting back home, Sunset was greeted by silence and Ailbhe looking at her from her tree. They were the only ones there as, without Emi, Minerva had no reason to be there, and Tomiju was with a dog sitter. It was surreal and ominous. She’d only manage to put her bag on the table before falling to her knees, crying. “I’m gonna get that crown if it’s the last thing I do! I’m not gonna let the one good thing this world has going for it die!”

After what felt like hours, but was probably only a few minutes, she managed to compose herself enough to go to her room and unpack her bag. She climbed into bed and curled up into a ball. She stayed like that until she heard her parents return. When they came inside, Sunset jumped out of bed and to the back door. She hugged Brigid, and Anzhong joined in on the hug.

“Sniff, you smell like pony.”, he said. Oh, crap.

Brigid pulled back and looked at her in that way that told her she was in trouble. “Ya went ta Equestria?”

There’s no way I’m squirming my way out of this. “Yes, I went to Equestria to get the Element of Magic.”

The level of pissed Brigid’s face turned was something Sunset had never seen directed towards her before, and she grabbed Sunset by her jacket. “Are ya out a’ yer mind?! Ya could’ve been captured! Ya could’ve been killed! Emi would’ve spent da last days a’ ‘er life wonderin’ where ya went, n’ ya did dat f’r somethin’ dat we know doesn’t work.”, Brigid said, fear and sadness clear in her voice. “Ah would’ve lost both mo babies.”

Tears welled up in Sunset’s eyes. For the first time ever, her mother scared her. She wasn’t scared that Brigid would hurt her, but she was being held up and yelled at by a person nearly three times her size. On top of that, the situation she was in once again hit her. “I know, but I couldn’t go on knowing I didn’t even try something that might work.”

Brigid let go of Sunset and went back to ‘stern mom’ mode. “Ah’m missin’ somethin’. Wha’s different ‘bout dis Element a’ Magic?”

“What makes the Element of Magic different is that it’s pure, raw energy. Emi’s dying because she no longer has the energy to fight. I can take that energy and place into her. She’ll be able to fight on longer and possibly recover.”

Brigid rubbed the bridge of her nose but relaxed. She couldn’t argue with what’s already been done.

“Where is it?”, Anzhong asked.

“I, um, lost it.”

Brigid let go of her nose, and her face fell as she wrapped her arms around herself.

“It did make it to Earth. I just lost hold of it, and it looks like something that belongs to the school, so they have it.”

“Sigh, great. Maybe we c’n try n’ explain dat it’s ours.”

“Unlikely, it doesn’t look like something we should have. I’ll just go there tonight and steal it back.”

“Excuse me.”, Brigid said disbelievingly.

“It’s a high school, not Fort Knox.”, Anzhong said. “Plus, an arsonist shouldn’t be preaching to a burglar.”

Brigid looked like she wanted to protest before his words fully set it. “Touche” Brigid turned to let the dogs in before continuing. “Alright, how do ya plan on gettin’ in?”

“The side door that leads to the field has a defective lock that can be popped with a piece of paper.”

“N’ ya know dis f’r sure?”

“I…” Oh, can’t say that. “I’ve heard rumors.”

“Are dere any cameras?”

“No”

“Sigh, okay, bring a weapon with ya. Ah don’t want ya gettin’ jumped.”

Sunset nodded, and the three of them continued on about their night. After they had dinner, Sunset dressed in dark clothing and filled her bag with everything she’d need. Just like last night, she made it to the high school quickly but, this time, headed to the side of the school. In the past, what, three (four?) years, the school hadn’t fixed the lock. Even without her magic, Sunset moved like a shadow through the hallways, fast and quiet. She thought she’d be the only one in the school, but as she passed the library, she was proven incorrect. Twilight Sparkle, how has no one pegged you as alien? She gave off a distinctly non-human aura. It was like the feeling Anzhong gave off but doubled, and there’s no way Sunset’s the only one that can pick it up. The only reason you’re able to hide is because they don’t know what to look for. Sunset continued to the VP’s office, which she had to pick her way into.

A cursory search didn’t reveal the crown. She began picking and searching every drawer in the place. It wasn’t there. Shit, where can it be? Sunset locked everything back up as she pondered every possible option. It being in Celestia’s office was a possibility but unlikely. That left her with two options, and she really hoped it was the former.

She snuck into the library and followed the alien aura. It led her deep into the stacks. Twilight was sleeping on a pile of books shaped into a bed with only an old banner as a blanket and her dog sleeping next to her. Neither of them stirred as Sunset inched closer. Twilight was defenseless. She had no magic and was a scrawny human. All she had for defense was Spike, and he’s tiny. All she’d have to do is jam her knife into her throat. Why shouldn’t she? Twilight took everything from her, Celestia’s love, the admiration of the rest of thestral kind for bringing back their princess, her princesshood. It was all meant to be hers.

Sunset reached back to pull out her knife but stopped. Twilight was just a victim of circumstance, another one of Celestia’s pawns. She likely had no idea who Sunset was before yesterday. Something needs to be done about her but not death, at least not yet. She’s just a child. Maybe she could make Twilight her ally, tell her the truth about everything, every one of Celestia’s lies and omissions. She does need to be told she’s not truly a god, for her own sake.

Sunset turned and slunk out of the library. Twilight didn’t have the crown, so that meant it had to be the last possibility. VP Luna had it hidden somewhere else, likely at her home. Breaking into someone else’s home is a whole other, much bigger can of worms and far more dangerous. I’ll just have to win the crown tomorrow. Easy enough.

Hallways of CHS

Date: Sep 1st, time: 2:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Do you have it?”, Sunset asked. She’d mucked up her ankle while trashing the decoration, so was leaning against the lockers. It wasn’t anything bad, just sore.

“Sure do, Sunset.”, Snips answered as he handed her a manila folder.

Sunset took it from him and examined the contents and then lost all hope for whatever remaining brain cells those two possibly had. “These are glued together. Why didn’t you use a photo editor?”

“We don’t know how.”, Snails said.

Sunset felt herself die inside. Seven years in command positions, and these two were the dumbest creatures she’d ever been given charge of. “Do you not know how to use a search engine? Oh forget it, I’ll make this work. You at least got rid of the evidence, right?”

“Yes, ma’am, we got rid of the evidence.”, Snips said.

“Why do I doubt that?”

“Uh”

“That was a rhetorical question.” Look confident, Sunset. Enough confidence will get you to the moon. Sunset straightened out and began her walk to the VP’s office. Yes, destroying the decorations did mean the Fall Formal might not happen, but she couldn’t let Twilight get the crown back under any circumstances, and she had an advantage over Twilight, her time constraint was much longer than hers.

Canterville Boutique

Date: 30th day of the 8th month of the 1120th year, time: 3:30pm

*Twilight’s perspective*

The girls helped Twilight with finding clothes for her new body. Getting these things on and off was a strange process. Most of the clothes she wore as a pony were just slip-ons. Even military uniforms with buttons were just decorative and were adopted because some general way back when liked the look of the buttons on minotaur uniforms. She couldn’t say which one specifically, but she had a book on military uniform history she could look at again when she got home. This new creature she became also had hands, so getting their clothes on was more complicated. What are they even called? Twilight looked at the time, and they did have a couple hours. “Hey girls, would you mind answering some of my questions about your world?”

“Shoot, but for every question we answer, ya need ta answer one a’ ours’.”, AJ said.

I’m going to just assume that means ‘go’. “Alright, what does your species call yourselves?”

“We’re called humans. We’re the last living members of the homo genus.”, Fluttershy answered.

“Homo genus?”, Twilight asked, confused.

“She means we’re the last species of human. All the others either went extinct or bred with our ancestors to make us. Now for our question, how in the world did Sunset even learn about your world and your crown?”, RD asked.

“Well, to make a long story short, Sunset’s from my world. She was actually the one that was supposed to wield the Element of Magic before she betrayed my Celestia.”

“Wait, your Celestia? What do you mean by that?”, Pinkie asked.

“Let me ask my question first, then I’ll answer yours. Why are you all still in school? My research says that your schooling only lasts until you're eighteen.”

“Because most of us are only fourteen, and by that I mean Fluttershy’s fifteen.”, Rarity answered, a bit confused.

“Fourteen!?”

“Yeah, what’s so confusing ‘bout that?”, AJ asked.

“This actually relates to Pinkie’s question. You all have counterparts in my world, and they are all around eighteen.”

“By counterparts, do you mean that there are ponies that have the same names as us?”, RD asked.

“Same name, personality, hair, and symbol.”

“Wow”, RD said.

“My question now, why don’t you have any fur or scales or chitin? You don’t seem well protected.”

“You’re right. We’re not, but in exchange for not having as much protection, we are the best long distance runners on the planet.”, Rainbow said. “We have sweat glands all over our bodies that allow us to run for as long as we have fuel by evaporating our sweat and letting it take our body heat with it.”

Twilight looked at Rainbow like she grew a second head. What she said was utterly ridiculous. Why would any creature need to do that and why sacrifice protection for it. “I’m sorry Rainbow, but that’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard. There’s no way that would be a viable survival strategy.”

“Not only is it viable, but it made us tha top dog on tha planet. We’ve managed to hunt several species inta extinction by runnin’ ‘em ta exhaustion or death, and very few creatures would dare challenge a human. Wolves, coyotes, and even bears stay away from us. No animal on the planet actively hunts humans, and we have populations on every continent on this planet.”, AJ said indignantly.

“Did you say hu-hunt? Y-you’re active hunters?” Twilight suddenly felt a bit scared. She was in a room, surrounded by five, self-proclaimed, top predators, and not just predators but active hunters.

“Yes, we very much are.”, Rarity said.

“You’re-you’re not going to eat me, right?”, Twilight asked nervously.

The rest of the girls picked up on Twilight’s fear, and each one quickly tried assuring her. Variations of “Oh, no no no, we wouldn't.” came from each of the girls.

“We wouldn’t eat ya. Horses are sacred ta most humans.”, AJ said.

Twilight let out a sigh of relief, then felt silly about being scared. These are her friends, if alternate versions of them. They would never hurt her, at least not on purpose. Her old instincts still seemed to be present, even in this body. “Wait, you have horses on this world?”

“And ponies too.”, Pinkie said with a bounce. “We actually created ponies and used them to pull mine carts.”

“Wha-? Okay, please explain.”

“We’ve used horses as our main mode of transportation for thousands of years, and we breed the shortest horses ta create ponies. They proved useful in mines, on small farms, and in harsh climates.”, AJ explained.

That’s nonsense. “I don’t believe you.”, Twilight said flatly.

“I thought you might not.” Rarity handed Twilight her phone with some text on the screen.

Twilight recognized the name in the top most part of the screen as the name of the free encyclopedia, Omnipedia. The translation spell worked quickly to translate the rest of the text on the screen. The lack of a living being presenting this information meant the translation was going to be less accurate, but it would suffice. The word right under ‘Omnipedia’ was clearly ‘pony’. The more Twilight read, the more her jaw dropped. She didn’t understand everything but got most of it. “This is… disturbing.”

“Well, it’s not like they’re sentient, and we do take care of them. Horses and ponies live much longer in captivity than in the wild.”, Fluttershy said.

“Yeah, ma family has a few, and they love us as we love them.”, AJ said.

Twilight wanted to ask more questions but also feared where that may lead. “I need some time to process this. I think I’ve learned enough about your world, for now.”

“Ground, our planet’s called Ground.”, Pinkie added.

“Ground, straight forward name for a planet.”

The rest of the girls looked around at each other confusedly. “Our plant’s name isn’t ground. It’s Ground.”, AJ said.

“I don’t think what you’re saying is being translated correctly.”

“Translated?”, Rarity asked.

“Yeah, let me explain.”

Black void

Date: same day, time: ?

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset opened her eyes to complete nothingness. Everywhere she looked, there was nothing, only darkness. Despite the lack of light, she could see herself clearly. The last thing she remembered was putting on the crown then immense, burning pain. “Am I dead?”, Sunset tried to think, but it came out loud. “Hello?! Is anybody out there?!” Sunset tried to look around, but in every direction was complete nothingness. She wasn’t even sure if she was moving. “Mom! Dad!”, Sunset cried out. “Mom! Mom! Mom!” Sunset’s heart sank. She consciously knew that there was no way for Brigid to be here, but a part of her mind still expected her to somehow hear her and come and save her. Fear was the closest thing she could call the feeling, but it was unlike any fear she’d felt before.

Suddenly, she could remember looking down at her hand, her red hand. She could remember looking at her tail, still being in the real world. More and more memories came to her. All of these memories were made just then, but she was in this place. “Unless, oh, this is my head.” Memories of her saying she wanted to conquer Equestria came in next. They were her words, but she didn’t mean them, not really. That thing out there was voicing her darkest fantasies and desires. She no longer wanted any of that. “Somebody! Anybody! Help me!”, Sunset shouted into the void but got no answer. That thing, those words, why was this happening? That wasn’t her, yet it was.

The next thing Sunset knew, the black void became filled with rainbow lights. It was blinking. She tried to shield her eyes and herself from the light, but it penetrated her hands and eyelids. More images began to play in Sunset’s mind, but they weren’t her memories. They were memories of her but from a second person’s point of view, memories of her threatening, laughing, attacking, all sorts of cruel actions. She could feel the emotions of the people who’s memories she was experiencing, fear, anger, all of them. She didn't even remember her own memories of most of them. She experienced all of it as if it was happening right then and there. The pain became so much Sunset just curled into a ball and waited for it all to stop.

“Stauomah, Stauomah”

That was her name, Sunset’s Ponish name, but who, other than that Twilight, would be calling her that on this side of the portal? Sunset snapped her eyes open and jumped to her feet, as much as she could with no floor. The pain had stopped, but it was still very bright. The rainbow colors were now replaced by a solid white light. She tried looking around for the source but had to shield her eyes. “Who’s there?! Show yourself!”, Sunset angrily said in Ponish.

The white light cleared, but instead of the black void, Sunset was in the Canterlot Castle throne room. Standing just a few feet away from her was Princess Celestia, or more likely, something pretending to be her. Celestia is many things, but dumb enough to chase after her hours before the portal closes was not one of them. As she expected, her human form is eye level with the princess. Sunset snarled at the figure. No matter what it was, she was going to kill it. “Whoever or whatever you are, release me this instant!” She charged at it, ready to strike, but before she connected, it telekinetically threw her into the doors. Sunset fell to the ground, groaning from the impact. She wabbled up to her hands and knees. She was in pain, but her rage kept her going. “How the hell did you do that?! Where are we?!”, she angrily asked, head shooting up to face the entity.

“You have a vivid imagination. You can imagine stimuli so realistically that it almost is, that includes pain.”, the doppelganger said in Celestia’s ‘stern teacher’ tone.

“So, we’re in my head. That means I have home field advantage.” Sunset launched herself up into a fighting stance, clapped her hands together, and summoned a large, red nine-tailed kitsune avatar.

“True, but,” the doppelganger lit its horn, and Sunset’s creation disappeared, “I have, as you would say, hijacked it.”

Sunset growled at the doppelganger and formed a new avatar, this time, one of Cernunnos. Again, the doppelganger lit its horn, and the avatar vanished. Realizing that this was getting her nowhere, Sunset turned to a more direct approach and imagined the doppelganger disintegrating, and it began to do so, but same song and dance and the doppelganger reformed itself.

Sunset was even more enraged now. This thing dared to invade her mind and take control over part of it. She was going to kill it, but doing it like this wasn’t going to get her anywhere. She stood up straight and crossed her arms. “Well, if you’re going to be hanging out in my head, you might as well tell me what you are because you’re definitely not Celestia.”

“It is true that I am not Celestia. I am the spirit of harmony.”

“And you thought you could take the form of someone I respect in order to manipulate me better. Nice try, but I lost all respect for Celestia long ago.”

“That is not my intention in taking this form. However, despite what you claim, you still respect her and, thus, need to hear this from her. Please, have a seat.” The throne room morphed into Celestia’s study with a gentle fire lit. Harmony sat on Celestia’s cushion and gestured to the other cushion. Sunset looked it over. It was less than half the size of her beanbag. She tried to sit on it, but the way it was designed made it impossible for a human to sit in it without falling over. She ended up just punting the damned thing and sitting cross-legged on the floor. “You could’ve adjusted it to suit you better. This is still your mind.”, Harmony commented. Sunset just glared at her and dropped an anvil on her head, which did nothing and disappeared after making contact. “Did that make you feel better?”

“Yes actually, it did.”

“That’s good.”, Harmony said, switching to Celestia’s ‘calm teacher’ tone. “Sunset, you saw and experienced the pain you’ve caused. You’ve had times you needed to defend yourself, but those were not those times. You physically hurt and psychologically damaged innocent children, children just like you.”

“They are nothing like me. They deserved all I gave them.”, Sunset scoffed, then the images came back. The emotions became stronger and new ones joined the existing ones. She clutched her head and fell to her side. “Do you intend on torturing me until I beg you to make it stop?”, Sunset said through the pain.

“No, I merely intend on making you understand the effects of your actions. Your need to feel in control led you to harm those around you, but that’s not all.”

More images entered Sunset’s mind, this time, when she broke into Canterlot Castle. She could remember the final moments of the guards she killed and the memories of the other guards who witnessed it. It was a painfully familiar feeling, and Sunset began to cry. “I did it to try and save my sister.”

“I understand that, but do you really think that a mare that raised two mares in the hope they would be able to save her sister wouldn’t? You had three days. That was plenty of time to explain that there was a life on the line. Do you really think she wouldn’t have given you whatever you needed?”

Sunset wanted to retort that Celestia would’ve arrested her, but even that wouldn’t have stopped her from learning about Emi. Sunset merely closed her eyes and became a bit smaller.

“Even now, if you had approached Princess Twilight, do you think she wouldn’t have found a way to help you? She was also raised by Celestia and instilled with the same values. Instead, you refused to even attempt to ask.”

Sunset just curled into as tight of a ball as possible. The pain of those she hurt mixed with the fact she risked her sister’s life because of her own failings all crashed down on her all at once. “I’m a monster.”, Sunset squeaked out.

“No Sunset, you’re not a monster. You’re just sick. There are true monsters in both worlds, but you’re not one of them.”, Harmony said as she placed her leg around Sunset’s shoulders. She consciously knew it wasn’t Celestia, but it felt so much like her. “I know you want to feel safe, but how you are doing it now is not the way.”

“How then? How am I supposed to keep people from hurting me?”, Sunset said with a mix of sadness and anger.

“Friendship. Both humans and ponies have this phrase, “There is strength in numbers”. I suggest you heed it. Now, get up. There is still time.”, Harmony gently said.

Celestia’s study faded away, and the black void returned, and Sunset fell through it. The next thing she knew, she was face down in the dirt and surrounded by smoke. When she moved, jolts of pain cascaded from her back.

“You will never rule in Equestria. Any power you may have had in this world is gone. Tonight, you’ve shone everyone who you really are. You’ve shown them what is in your heart.”, that Twilight girl said.

Pain, anger, fear, but mostly sadness swelled inside Sunset. This was not how any of this was supposed to go. Sunset managed to push herself up through the pain, tears streaming down her face. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know there was another way.” I failed. Emi’s going to die, and it’s because of me.

“The magic of friendship doesn’t just exist in Equestria. It’s everywhere.”

Sunset covered her eyes from the stairs the other kids were giving her. So embarrassing, this is so embarrassing. Sunset stumbled to her feet and began the painful walk and climb out of the crater.

“You can seek it out, or you can forever be alone. The choice is yours.”

It was only her mountain climbing training that let her get out. The walls were so steep, anyone else would’ve needed a ladder. But that didn’t mean it was easy. More pain shot out every time she moved her arms. She managed to get to the edge and hang herself there to give her arms a break, but Twilight’s words echoed through her head. “But all I’ve ever done since being here is drive everyone apart. I don’t know the first thing about friendship.” Sunset closed her eyes, the stinging of her tears not helping with the situation. She was surprised when she felt someone grab her hand and even more surprised to see it was Twilight. Twilight helped pull her out and looked at Sunset with… kindness? Why? I just tried to kill her and her girls. I would’ve killed me if I were in her place.

“Maybe they can help.” Rainbow and her four friends. Out of everyone there, she’d hurt them the most. Why would they help her?

Sunset slunk away out of the circle that had formed. Most of the students were looking at Twilight, but some were glaring at her. It was almost physically painful. She slunk around the building and tried to lean against the wall, but more pain shot up her back the moment it made contact. Painfully, Sunset reached back to try and figure out what was causing it only for her hand to come back bloody. She began to hyperventilate at the sight of her own blood. Not now Shimmer. Can’t have a panic attack now. Can’t faint. She put her hands together and began performing the Kuji to calm herself. “Rin… Pyou… Tou… Sha… Kai… Chin… Retsu… Zai… Zen…” With a couple extra breaths, she no longer felt like she was going to panic. She twitched her back muscles and realized the pain was coming from where her wings and tail once were, like they’d been ripped off. And I deserve it.

The rest of the kids had filtered back into the school and, most likely, back to the gym, so it seemed safe to go in and to the nurse’s office. The nurse wasn’t on staff then, but a quick pick got her in. She pulled her jacket off and examined the damage. There was a lot of red, and it was seeping through her clothes. She had to do the Kuji again due to the sight. Because of the location of her injuries, she could only effectively clean and gauze the one at the base of her spine. The other two would just have to wait. Brigid won’t be coming to pick her up until later.

Sunset put her jacket back on and drudged back out to the entrance where she saw Twilight being embraced by her friends. They looked over at her, and she tried to hide behind the destroyed wall.

“Ms. Shimmer,” Vice Principal Luna said, “my sister and I have been talking, and it has been agreed that you and your two sidekicks will help repair the entrance.” With that, VP Luna handed her one of those tools bricklayers use to spread mortar.

She wanted to growl and say no, but… “I suppose this is appropriate.” But those two idiots will definitely find a way to mess this up for me.

VP Luna gave her a look then sniffed her. “Are you bleeding?”

“Minor injuries from the fall. They’re superficial.”, Sunset lied. She had no idea how deep her injuries went. She went to go sit down where she could sulk in peace until her mother picked her up. “Happy fucking birthday to me.”, she grumbled. She looked down at her bloody hands. Luckily, it’s too dark for anyone else to see them. She failed her mission. She failed to get the crown to Emi. She’s gonna die. Sunset tried to focus any magic she might’ve still had within her. Maybe she could still save her sister. Her eyes went wide when a ball of rainbow light formed in her hands. There’s still hope.

“Wha’ happened ‘ere?!”, Brigid shouted in surprise. Sunset wobbled to her feet and ran out to Brigid. The wounds on her lower back stung, but she really needed her mother. She practically tackled her, and Brigid returned the hug. “Sunset, wha’ happened?”

“We need to get to the hospital.”, Sunset said quickly.

“Are ya hurt?”

“Yes, but not for me. I have the magic.”

Brigid scooped Sunset up, loaded her up into the car, and drove them to the hospital. They hurried inside and to the reception desk. “Please call down Dr. Jiraiya Katon. We need ta talk ta him.”

“One second.” The reception nurse, one Sunset didn’t recognize, contacted Jiraiya’s pager and called him down.

Jiraiya came into the intake room at a speed walk. The only reason he wasn’t running was because a hospital is a bad place to get your cardio in. “Brigid, what’s wrong?”

“We need ta go see Emi.”

“Sorry, but visiting hours are over.”, the reception nurse said. “Our patients need sleep.”

“The kid’s in hospice. A couple hours aren’t going to make a difference. I’ll take them up.”, Jiraiya said. The nurse nodded, and the two of them followed him up to the hospice ward.

Sunset moved as quickly as she could to Emi’s room and quietly walked in. The only light in the room was the moonlight coming through the window and the lights from the monitors. According to said monitors, Emi was still breathing, but her breaths were so shallow, Sunset could barely see them. She focused the magic to her hands then pressed them to Emi’s chest. She felt the magic exit her body and flow into Emi’s. Emi woke up and looked at Sunset quizzically then smiled at her. Sunset smiled down at her then felt something flow up her arms. It felt like magic, but it wasn’t the magic from the element of harmony. This is Emi’s magic. Emi’s magic flowed up Sunset’s arms and into her body. It felt weird but wasn’t alarming.

Once the magic flow stopped, Sunset pulled her hands back and turned to see Brigid and Jiraiya had joined them. “What did you do?”, Jiraiya asked.

“Hopefully, I gave her the energy she needs to continue fighting.”

“If that’s the case, we should let her rest.”

Brigid ushered Sunset out and down the hallway. “Sunset’s injured.”, she told Jiraiya.

“Okay, I’ll look at her.” Jiraiya took them back down to the ER and got Sunset onto a bed. “Okay, let’s have a look.” Jiraiya pulled off her jacket, and the resulting silence told her just how bad it was.

“There’s one by the base of my spine too.”, Sunset said ashamedly.

“How did this even happen?”, Jiraiya asked as he began cleaning her back.

“I…” Sunset looked up at her mother. She was worried about her, but how would that change when she told her the truth? “I stole a powerful magical artifact from Equestria, and its rightful owner chased after me to get it back. During the struggle for it, I decided to use it to get the upper hand, but it backfired. I have a lot of internal demons that I’m losing to, and the artifact gave them the power to take control and turn me into a physical representation of them. That included wings and a tail. These wounds are what’s left after I was forcefully transformed back.”

“Sunset”, Brigid said. She hugged Sunset, avoiding her back. Sunset grabbed onto her tight. She never wanted to let go. “We’ll talk more ‘bout dis when we get home.” And that’s what she’s afraid of. She’s going to hate me.

Brigid shifted to stroking Sunset’s hair as she hissed as Jiraiya cleaned the wounds. Her hissing was the only sound in the quiet ER. From his stories, she expected it to be chaos. Granted, the non-chaotic times wouldn’t make good stories, but this felt off. “It’s qu… wait, no. I’m not supposed to say that. What should I say? Hiss”, Sunset asked.

“I know, and it’s a full moon. Never in all my years of working in hospitals, in two countries, have I experienced a shift during a full moon that wasn’t crazy. This has been a strange night.”

“What do ya mean?”

“I felt this odd shockwave about an hour ago that only a couple other nurses felt. Nobody else felt it.”

“That was me.”

“Oh” Jiraiya finished fixing up Sunset in silence then sent them on their way.

Brigid got them into the car and drove them home. “Change out a’ yer bloody clothes, n’ Ah’ll see if Ah c’n save ‘em.”

Sunset went into her room and changed into her pajamas then handed off her clothes to Brigid. She climbed into bed, having to lie on her stomach, and waited for Brigid. Brigid soon climbed up Sunset’s stairs and sat on her bed. Sunset sat up and faced her.

“Tell me wha’s been happenin’.”

Sunset grabbed her mother’s hand, trying to reassure herself that she wasn’t going to abandon her. She couldn’t even look her in the eye as they spoke. “I’m a bully. It started after the Goldhoof Stone failed to cure Emi. I felt so helpless and needed something to take my anger out on. I decided to kill two birds with one stone and use fear and intimidation tactics and sometimes even force to scare the student body into submission.”

“Sunset” The disappointment in Brigid’s voice destroyed Sunset inside, and it took everything in her not to cry.

“The process to free me from my demon form involved me being forced to experience every wrong I’ve done from the perspectives of my victims. I’m a monster.”

“Why didn’t Ah know ‘bout any a’ dis?”

“I purposely hid it from you and the faculty. I knew how disappointed you’d be.”

“Ya knew it was wrong n’ still did it.” Sunset clutched Brigid’s hand tighter as she braced for the worse but was surprised when Brigid placed her other hand on hers. “Sunset, ya need help. Ah’d much prefer it if ya come willingly, but Ah’m takin’ ya ta see someone before ya have ta end up emitted.”

Sunset nodded solemnly. “I know. I’ll go. I don’t wanna hurt anymore.” Sunset hugged Brigid as she began to cry, and Brigid hugged her back, being careful to not touch her injuries. “Please don’t tell Emi what I did. I don’t want her to see me as a monster.”

“Ah won’t. Ah promise.”

Sunset’s room

Date: Sep 1st, time: 11:00 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid cradled Sunset until she fell asleep then tucked her into bed. She got up and went to her room. Anzhong was already in bed. Though, she doubted he was asleep. She went into the bathroom and splashed some water on her face. How did Ah fuck up dis badly? Have Ah not been payin’ enough attention ta ‘er? I guess bein’ a forme’ high rankin’ soldie’ means she’d be bette’ at hidin’ ‘er activities. Ah need a second voice. Brigid got ready for bed then sat down and got Anzhong’s attention.

“Hm, is something wrong? You were out quite late.”, he said, not sounding tired at all.

“Sunset had a mishap when gettin’ da crown dat resulted in ‘er gettin’ injured, so Jiraiya had ta fix ‘er up when we went ta da hospital.”

“Does that mean Sunset was able to get the crown and help Emi?”

“Not da crown, but she was able ta get da magic needed.”

“Does that mean she’s better?”

“We’ll know in due time, but Ah also have some bad news. Sunset admitted ta me dat she’d been bullyin’ da other students at ‘er school.”

Anzhong sat up, and Brigid could see his muscles tensing. He was mad. “She’s been bullying other kids? How have we not known about this?”, he said with restrained anger.

“She’d been purposely hidin’ it from us n’, Ah’m guessin’, scarin’ da othe’ kids inta silence. Da mishap involved da crown turnin’ ‘er inta a physical manifestation a’ ‘er demons, n’ da way she was turned back involved ‘er bein’ forced ta experience wha’ she did ta ‘er victims from deir perspectives. At least, dat’s mo understandin’ a’ da situation.”

“And that’s what got her to finally admit it.”

“Yes, n’ she’s willin’ ta start therapy. Wha’ Ah need ta know is how we could let dis happen. Have we not been spendin’ enough time with ‘er? Is dere somethin’ we should’ve done differently?”

“Sunset is old enough to make her own decisions. We can’t police her twenty-four seven. We can’t blame ourselves for her actions.”

“We’re her parents. Her actions are our responsibility. Are ya sure ya ain’t jus’ projectin’ on ta ‘er?”

Anzhong said nothing and laid back down.

“Da two a’ ya are remarkably similar.” The only response Brigid got was a grunt. “Ya know, it might help Sunset feel more comfortable goin’ ta therapy if ‘er fathe’ went as well.”

“You’re just trying to manipulate me into going to therapy.”

“Nooo, Ah’m jus’ sayin’ dat we should set a good example for Sunset, n’ Ah already worked through mo trauma.”, Brigid lied.

“Fine”, Anzhong said through gritted teeth.

Brigid smiled to herself as she went to sleep.

Canterlot Hospital

Date: Sep 2nd, time: 1:00 am

*Emi’s perspective*

Emi woke up to an empty and mostly dark room. Mom, Grandpa, and Sunset all left. Emi herself felt different. She felt stronger. She still felt like crap, but there was also a growing warmth inside her. For the first time, she became consciously aware of her magic. She’s known she has it for a while now, the same way she knows she has a beating heart, but now, it’s like when her heart’s beating out of her chest. She can feel it pulsing through her veins along with her and Sunset’s blood.

“Ain’t tha docs gonna be surprised tamorrow when I’m gettin’ bette’.”, Emi said with a foxlike smile.

Author's Note

To be continued in "Recovery and Rebirth".

SHWO ch1 The arrival

Location: unknown
Date: unknown, time: night

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset’s world was a kaleidoscope of colors. Her body was pulled in every direction, and she felt like she was being stretched. Before she knew what happened, Sunset was launched from the portal like a cannonball. She hit the ground hard, causing her to scrape her chin and forelegs. After coming to a stop, Sunset just laid on the ground trying to process all that had just happened. After a moment, something occurred to Sunset. Her hooves were hurting. They were hurting a lot; way more than her muzzle. She felt like she was going to cry because of the pain. Sunset motioned to look at her hooves and see why they were hurting so badly. When she looked at the underside of her hooves, she noticed they weren’t hooves any more. Where were once her hooves were now these claw-like appendages, very sensitive claw-like appendages. Sitting up, Sunset determined that, despite the pain shooting through her body, she was fine. She was just scraped up and would need to disinfect the wounds. Sunset took a closer look at her new appendages. They were claw-like, but they weren’t claws. There was this large, round-ish base, which was the part that was injured, and five digits, four on top and one on the side. At that point, it struck Sunset what these were. These are hands. Like what minotaurs have, but with an extra digit. Did the portal turn me into a minotaur? Sunset looked the rest of herself over. She could conclusively say she was not a minotaur, but she also couldn't identify what she was. Her efforts to identify herself were not aided by the fact she was nearly completely covered in clothing. This is - odd. She found herself to be wearing a long sleeved shirt, some sort of hooded sweater with a pocket located in front of her lower barrel, a flimsy fabric cap, some sort of shoes, a saddle bag that laid flat against her back, and hind leg coverings. Wait, there’s no slit. How in tartarus am I supposed to go to the bathroom? Sunset looked at her hands and then to the garment in question. She took her hands, slid them into the top opening of the garment, and pushed the fabric down. That will have to work. It’s going to be difficult but - hold up. Sunset found that the material was stretchy. She wasn’t able to stretch the material a lot, but the fact she could stretch it at all without any signs of it being damaged amazed her. She identified the material as being similar to workhorse’s cloth, but that couldn’t be stretched without damaging it. Remarkable. -What are these? Sunset noticed that there appeared to be a different item covering her nether region. She tentatively grabbed and stretched this secret croup cover and found that it was very stretchy and quite soft. Why in Equoes would the portal dress me like this? With no way to answer that question, Sunset moved to get up. The wounds had stopped bleeding, but the ones on her hands still stung like a zap bee. She was now on four legs but found this position to be very uncomfortable. After a few awkward steps, Sunset reared up on her hind legs to give her hands a break. To her bewilderment, Sunset found herself more comfortable the higher she went. Okay, so these creatures are bipedal. That makes some things easier.

After walking around a bit to get herself comfortable, Sunset took the time to examine the world around her. The portal was housed in the base of a large statue. The statue was in front of a large building. Sunset didn’t know what the building was for. The building was two stories tall and had a lot of windows. Maybe it’s a castle. If it was a castle, that would mean there was staff that could help her. Sunset walked up to one of the windows, rose up to her tiptoes, cupped her hands around her face, and tried to peer in. It was pitch black inside, and Sunset could barely make out the outline of what looked like desks. Okay, so not a castle. That meant that this was a school, and that there would be no one here to help her. Sunset turned back to the statue. Now that the statue wasn’t blocking her view, she could see lots of other buildings across a pathway of some sort. Many of them had lights in their windows. Their general shape made Sunset think that they were dwellings. Lights mean ponies, or whatever these things are. Maybe I can get help. She began making her way to the houses, only stopping, briefly, at the statue. Celestia probably still has her guards watching the mirror. Better wait for a few days before going back. Sunset made her way closer to the path. As she got close to the black portion, something blew past Sunset at incredible speeds. Sunset jumped back and let out a high pitched shriek. “What the buck was that?!” It moved too fast for her to get a clear look at it. All that she could gather was that it was big and had lights coming out from the front of it. Sunset looked towards where it came from and towards where it went to make sure no other creatures like it were coming. Once she made sure it was safe, Sunset ran across the path and onto some grass that was on the other side. Sunset carefully snuck up to the closest lit window and peered inside. Inside was one of the creatures Sunset had been turned into. However, this one was very rotund compared to her own rather small frame. The creature also wore far less clothing and was sitting on a couch in front of a box with moving pictures. Sunset was transfixed by the box. The box showed two other of the same creatures arguing. She had no idea what they were saying, but their raised voices and aggressive movements made it clear it was an argument. Sunset’s observations were interrupted by a loud noise behind her. She turned around to see one of the bipedal creatures climbing out of one of the fast moving creatures. The bipedal creature was shouting at her. It was clearly a language, but Sunset had no idea what the language was. Sunset knew six languages, and this one sounded nothing like any of them. Combine the shouting with the fact that this creature was much taller than Sunset, and she was getting really scared. Abandoning the idea of getting help, Sunset started running as fast as she could away from the creature, which wasn’t very fast. The space between the houses was fenced off, so Sunset was forced to run alongside the black and white pathway, but Sunset kept to the grass to stay as far away from the pathway as possible. It did not take long to lose the taller creature, as it did not attempt to follow her. With the creature being out of sight, Sunset allowed herself to slow down, but she did not stop. Sunset did not feel a need to stop. She did feel tired from her initial sprint but, aside from that, was feeling fine now.

Sunset just kept going and going until she was in a much better lit area. There were a lot of these creatures here; almost all of them taller than her. Sunset slipped into a back alley to stay hidden. That was when she remembered, she was covered in blood. Her hooded sweater was red and able to hide the blood stains, but the bottom of her muzzle and hands were still covered. On top of that, she didn’t know the language. So, she couldn’t explain why she was covered in blood. She needed to get washed off. It didn’t take her long to find some random junk that had collected some rain water. Sunset knew it wasn’t sanity, but not getting mobbed took priority right now. As soon as she was done washing off, Sunset started on her next steps. She had two days to wait before it was safe enough to go back through the portal. That means she needs to find food, water, and a warm place to sleep. As much as wearing all this clothing seemed odd at first. Sunset found there was a very good reason. These creatures have very little fur, and it’s bucking cold here. Considering it was already dark, Sunset decided that the first thing she would find was a place to sleep. The large dumpsters were an option, but Sunset preferred something less gross. Sunset spent what felt like hours searching, until she found a group of these creatures wearing tattered, dirty clothing gathered around several tents. What are they doing? While she was observing them, one of the creatures spotted her. Sunset was about to run, but the creature spoke in a very gentle tone that put Sunset at ease. The creature motioned for Sunset to come over. Sunset did so slowly, watching the creature for any sudden movements. The creature smiled at Sunset and appeared to ask her something. “I don’t know what you're saying.”, Sunset said in Ponish. The creature gave her a puzzled look then called for one of the other creatures. Sunset was, again, ready to run, but the creature that came over did not look threatening. The first creature made some more gestures with its forelimbs. “I’m looking for some place to sleep. I’m cold.”, Sunset continued. The first creature turned back to the second. The second creature shook its head and spoke again. Are they trying to understand me? Sunset was obviously shaking at this point. The second creature went somewhere else and came back with a blanket. The creature gave the blanket to Sunset which she accepted. The first creature then motioned for Sunset to sit down and handed her something that smelled like food. Sunset sat down and accepted the cylindrical metal thing. Sunset didn’t know what the food was, but she still ate it. It was really good. Sunset tried to levitate the metal thing back over to the creature, but when she tried, she found that she couldn’t feel her magic any more. I can’t use my magic. What happened to my magic? Is this a punishment of some kind?

Sunset lived with the tent creatures for the next two days. Following them around and mimicking their actions. Sunset learned that the first creature’s name was Blackfeather, and the second creature’s name was Doc. The tent creatures called her ‘Little Red’. She continued to try her magic, but each time nothing happened.

Back in front of the statue
Date: Two days later, time: night

*Sunset’s perspective*

Her time in this world has been interesting, but it’s time to go home. Sunset walked up to the statue and placed her hand on the portal. Nothing happened. Sunset removed her hand and placed it back on the portal, but still nothing happened. “No,no,no,no!” Sunset was now banging her hands on the statue, but quickly stopped when she was, not so subtly, reminded that her hands were injured. “I’m stuck here.” Sunset racked her brain for everything she knew about the portal. “The portal closes for 30 moons after being open for” and that’s all the book said. The book had been damaged and some of that page was missing. Giving it a conservative estimate: the portal was open for two days before I went through it and it closed the night I got here. The portal is only open three days every 30 moons. That means I’m going to have to survive here for 30 moons, great. My best bet will be with those tent creatures. They seemed nice. With that, Sunset began making her way back to the tent creature’s camp.

SHWO ch2 Horrors of a new world

Tent creatures’ camp
Date: Two days after the portal closed, time: night

*Sunset’s perspective*

After a couple hours of walking Sunset made it back to the tent creature’s camp. However, things were not as she left them. There was a new group of creatures Sunset didn’t know, and they were attacking the tent creatures. Sunset identified the group’s leader as the one attacking Blackfeather. Sunset grabbed a piece of debris and was readying to attack the group’s leader when he pulled out a black metallic object and pointed it at Blackfeather, with a grin on his face. A look of absolute terror came onto Blackfeather’s face. An unbelievably loud bang came from the black object, and red splatter coated everything behind Blackfeather. Sunset watched in horror as Blackfeather fell, limply, to the ground. All of the tent creatures started screaming and running away, and even the attacking creatures seemed horrified at their leader’s actions. The whole time, the smile never leaving the leader’s face.

The leader spotted Sunset in her hiding spot and raised his weapon at Sunset. Seeing this, Sunset ran back the way she came as fast as she could. Sunset heard the weapon fire several more times and the sounds of impact all around her. One of his shots hit her left foreleg, but Sunset didn’t stop running until she was physically unable to run anymore.

Forest outside the city
Date: Same day, time: night

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset laid in the fetal position, cradling her injured foreleg. She was in agony. It felt as though her foreleg was on fire but also freezing. Despite that, she wasn’t crying. The tears had blinded her, but they never came. She just stared straight ahead, not blinking. Why? Why would that creature do such a thing? What did I ever do to it? What did Blackfeather do to it? A shot of pain broke her from her train of thought. She was badly hurt. She needed help, but who could she trust? What if the rest of the creatures are like the leader? She couldn’t trust these creatures. It was too risky.

Now, how to better hide myself? The hoodie, as she learned it was called, was nice, but it was bright red. Not very good if you don’t want to be noticed. She needed to change the color. I am in a forest. Sunset found some mud, grass, and other foliage and began rubbing it all over her hoodie. When she was done, the hoodie was now stained brown and green. The rest of her clothing was either black, gray, or a dark blue, so staining wasn’t needed. Sunset shoved all of her bright red and gold hair into the beanie, as Blackfeather called it. That’s better. Her skin was a peachy, amber color, but that couldn’t be helped.

Now for step two, treating her wounds. I need something to wrap the wound and a way to sterilize everything. She could get some cloth in the alleys but as for sterilization. Those ‘gas station’ things Doc showed me. They have bathrooms inside. Whether or not they have soap will be a gamble. With that, Sunset began on completing her goals.

Gas station bathroom
Date: Same day, time: night

*Sunset’s perspective*

To say Sunset lucked out would be an understatement. On her way to the gas station, Sunset found a half empty bottle of alcohol, at least that’s what it smelled like. It had something in it that made it smell unappetizing. Maybe it was the strange container it was in. The container was similar to the squishy, loud bottles the tent creatures were collecting, but it was different. Either way, Sunset needed to save as much as she could for wound treatment, so she wasn’t going to drink it. Plus, she didn’t want to risk addiction. What was it Dad said? Oh yeah, “Alcohol is a crutch for the weak. You can cry after a battle, you can be enraged after a battle, but you must never drink alcohol after a battle or risk weakness.”. “I have pegasus blood. I am not weak.” The shot was a ‘through and through’, so she didn’t need to pull the projectile out. After cleaning the cloth as best she could, Sunset placed some of the alcohol on it and readied to sterilize the wound. This is going to hurt. Sunset placed the cloth to the wound and let out a loud roar. “AAAAAHH! Buck, Shit, Reuahey!” Breathing heavily, Sunset looked into the mirror. Sunset’s eyes widened when she saw her teeth. For the first time since she got here, she ran her tongue over her teeth. Only the ones in the far back were anything like her pony teeth, but even they were sharper and more jagged. It didn't take long for Sunset to match the teeth to something found on Equoes. These creatures are predators. That’s why the leader killed Blackfeather. With weapons like those, these creatures are likely the top predators on this world. So, to get a “proper challenge” in a hunt, they hunt each other. Hmm, but the other creatures with the leader seemed appalled by its actions. Perhaps they hunt each other but don’t normally kill each other, or it was the use of that weapon that was appalling. An interesting line of questions but not what she needed to focus on. Sunset wrapped her projectile wound in the fabrics she gathered. Taking the last small piece of fabric, Sunset put some alcohol on it and used it to sterilize her scrapes.

With that done, she put her shirt and hoodie back on, left the gas station, and headed back into the woods. She wasn’t going to risk encountering another murderous creature, so she decided to set up camp in the woods. The creatures never seemed to go into the woods.

Deep in the forest outside the city
Date: 9 days after the portal closed, time: day

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset had managed to cobble together a relatively nice camp. Her efforts were greatly helped by the fact these creatures throw out some very valuable stuff. Most of it only needed minor repairs. Despite the lack of magic, Sunset was starting to fall in love with this body, the hands especially. She’d be right as rain, if she could have a hybridized form between pony and this thing. She would need to be able to use magic in that form, of course. Her EUP survival training also seemed to translate well to this world. She strung a hammock with a rainfly in between to trees, made a large rainwater collector (it rains a lot here), and is able to get more than enough food from dumpsters behind those large indoor markets. She could never figure out why they threw out so much good food. Whatever, more for me.

SHWO ch12 Fencing with brats

Katon family dining room
Date: Dec 28th, time: 8:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset and her family were having dinner. While Brigid and Anzhong were talking about something, Ki was eating his dinner in the kitchen, and Emi was humming to herself, Sunset was thinking. She was thinking about the video Fleur showed her. This world’s fencing and Equoes’ fencing looked to be almost identical. She’d been doing research and found that most of the rules were the same too, and there are places offering classes around Canterlot. She would just need to learn the different foot placements and how to hold a saber in her hands, but she could be in the advanced classes. All she would need to do now was ask her parents about it and now was as good a time as any.

“Hey Mom, can I ask you something?”

“Of course, ‘hat is it?”

“Can I take fencing classes?”

“Ya do realize ‘hat ‘here is gonna be a lot a’ people ‘here?”

“I do, but I’ll be holding a weapon. So, it will be okay.”

“‘Hat’s an interesting confidence builder but okay. Have ya done y’r research?”

“Yep, there’s a fencing class close to Dad’s work, and they provide rental gear.”

“Okay, then. I’ll do some research of me own, and we’ll see ‘hat we can do.”

Sunset’s bedroom
Date: Dec 30st, time: 6:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset’s alarm clock went off, and sprang out of bed and to the shower. Today was her first day of fencing lessons. That meant she was going to spend most of the day at Minerva’s house, be driven to the place, and once the lesson’s done, she’ll walk to her dad’s work where she’ll spend the rest of the day, until coming home.

She got to showering, which had become a much more pleasant experience ever since she discovered conditioner. Conditioner was not a thing in Equestria, in no small part, due to the fact that curly hair is extremely rare. She could count how many families she knew in Canterlot had members with curly hair, on her hands. Sunset remembered the first, and only time, the royal manesylest tried to comb through her hair. It was very painful, and she wouldn't listen to Sunset when she tried to instruct her how to properly do her main and tail. Cadence had to save her. From that point on, Cadence was the only pony, aside from Sunset’s mother, allowed to touch her hair. Living in a world where you’re not treated as an anomaly is nice.

Not too much later, Sunset was ready to start her day.

Canterlot School of Fencing
Date: same day, time: 3:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

After Sunset was signed in and got her gear, Minerva left to bring the kids back home. Having two 4 year olds, one being hyperactive, sit still for an hour around weapons is a bad idea. This meant that Sunset was there by herself, and she was more nervous than she expected. Sunset looked around at the other students, until she spotted someone she knew. What is Fleur doing here? I guess this must be the class she attends. Sunset made her way over to Fleur and got her attention.

“Hey, Fleur.”

Fleur spun around, surprised. “Oh, hey Sunset. Didn’t see you there. What are you doing here?”

“Taking a fencing class. I hadn’t realized that fencing was practiced in this country until you told me you practiced. So, thank you for that.”

“You’re welcome. - Wait, didn't you say you used to fence? Why are you in a beginner's glass?”

“I haven’t fenced in a while, and something happened to me so I need to relearn the basics.” It’s not a lie, I just left out what happened.

“Hold on, what happened?”

“I don’t really want to talk about it.” Again, not a lie.

“Okay, I hope it wasn’t too bad.”

Sunset looked down at one of her hands and said, “Yeah, not too bad.”

“Okay, everyone. Line up and get your gear on.”, one of the instructors said.

The lesson got underway. They worked on foot work, lunges, extra. It didn’t take Sunset long to learn how humans fence. Her old muscle memory did prove to be a challenge but not something Sunset couldn’t overcome.

Now came sparring. The students were grouped by weapon. Sunset and Fleur were both sabre users, so were grouped together. There were three people in the sabre group, and Sunset and Fleur decided to spar first.

“Ready to lose, Sunset?”

“I’m not gonna lose.”

The match began, and both girls went on the offensive. Their swords clashed, and they both moved to dodge out of the way. This cycle repeated itself, neither girl managing a hit. They were of equal skill. Before either had realized how long it had been, their timer went off.

“Wait, what?”, both girls said.

“Timer’s up.”, the boy and third member of their group said.

“Really, that fast? Damn.”, Sunset said.

“Good match, Sunset.”, Fleur said.

“Good match, Fleur.”, Sunset said.

“Okay, my turn.”, the boy said.

“I’ll spar with you.”, Fleur said.

With that, Sunset and the boy traded positions. The new match started, and Fleur was demolishing the boy. The boy hadn’t even come close to hitting Fleur. The timer went off, and Sunset stood up.

“Timer’s up.”, Sunset said.

“Good game, Sage.”, Flue said, lifting up her mask.

“No, it wasn’t a good game. You didn’t let me win.”, Sage whined.

“Of course she didn’t let you win. That would be disingenuous, and neither of you would learn.”, Sunset said.

“You still should’ve let me win. I wanted to win.”, Sage continued to whine.

Fleur turned to Sunset and said, “Ignore him. Even by CPA standards, he’s a whiny brat. This-”

Fleur was cut off by the sound of clashing metal. She turned her head and saw crossed blades mere inches away from her unprotected face. Sage had moved his blade to strike Fleur. Sunset noticed this and was able to intercept the slash. Fleur backed away, and Sunset advanced, keeping their blades locked. It wasn’t until she was inches away from Sage’s masked face did Sunset speak.

“Bad, move.”, Sunset said menacingly. In one swift motion, Sunset moved their blades out of the way and gave the boy a solid uppercut, sending him off the ground for a second.

It was then the instructor finally noticed what was going on. The instructor marched over and began berating Sunset. “Young lady, we do not punch other students.”

“Sage tried to strike me while my mask was off. Sunset was just protecting me.”, Fleur quickly said.

The instructor gave Sunset a look like he didn’t believe what he was told. “That’s not what I saw.”

“Check the cameras. They should've caught everything.”, Fleur demanded.

The instructor’s face didn’t change.

“My dad’s a lawyer. Before you do anything to me, talk with him.”, Sunset said.

The instructor’s face changed to one of terror and quickly lost its color. “No, no, that’s okay. Just continue sparring.” The instructor quickly walked off, back to the other groups.

Sage looked like he was going to protest, but a quick glare from the instructor shut him up. Sage just slunk off.

“What’s his deal?”, Sunset asked.

“He’s an alumni of the school Sage and I go to. He thinks people that never went to CPA are second class citizens. You get a discount if you go to CPA, and that’s how he knows who does and does not go.”, Fleur explained.

“What a turd.”, Sunset commented.

“Yeah, luckily for you, he’s got enough common sense to be scared of lawyers. Sunset, when you blocked his sword, you had this look on your face. What was it?”

Sunset knew the face she was talking about. It was the face all soldiers get in battle and what differentiates a soldier from a trained fighter. How do I explain that? “It was - I have extensive combat training. That face is a side effect of that.”

“Okay”, Fleur said, but her face said she was unconvinced.

“Let’s just get back to sparring. I still need to beat you.”, Sunset said.

“Oh, you’re on.”, Fleur retorted.

Canterlot district attorney’s office
Date: same day, time: 4:40 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset had made it to her dad’s work safely and was now sitting in his office.

“So, how was your first class?”, Anzhong asked.

“It was mixed. I like the sport, and the instructions were good, but there was a whiny kid that tried to hurt Fleur, and one of the instructors was very biased against non-CPA students.”, Sunset responded.

That got Anzhong’s attention. “Is Fleur okay? What happened?”

“Fleur’s fine. I stopped the blade. I punched the kid. The instructor tried to have me punished. Me mentioning you’re a lawyer, shut him up. Class went normal from that point on. I wish to return to give it a second chance.”

Anzhong took a deep breath. “Okay, as long as you believe you are safe.”

SHWO ch27 It may not all be doom and gloom, but it feels like it.

Katon family home
Date: Feb 14th, time: 8:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Emi, ya need ta wear shoes, even if it is pajama day at school.”, Brigid said.

“No! Ah don’t wear shoes ta bed, so Ah shouldn’t need ta wear ‘hem.”, Emi said.

“Yes, ya do. Ya need ta protect y’r feet when outside.”

“But Ah’m wearing my onesie with the footies.”, Emi said, pointing at her raised foot.

“Dat doesn’t count. It be like goin’ outside in y’r socks.”

“No”

“Anzhong, help me with this.”

Sunset looked over to Anzhong and saw him trying to hold back his laughter as much as she was.

“Emi, if you don’t wear shoes over socks or pajamas with footies when you go outside, a yokai called the Kutsushita rikkā will come and lick your feet until they are completely wet.”, Anzhong said, trying to not break into a fit of laughter.

A look of absolute horror came over Emi’s face. “No! No! I’ll put shoes on!” Emi ran upstairs in a panic.

Sunset finally broke down into a fit of laughter. “Is -he he- is there really -pffa- is there really a yokai that licks socks? -bahahaha”

“Pff-hn, no, I completely made that one up.”, Anzhong said.

“Come on, we need to get going soon.”, Brigid said.

Canterlot Ice Rink
Date: Feb 15th, time: 3:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset’s hockey team split up into two teams and readied themselves for their practice match. Sunset was on one team, captained by High Winds, and Rainbow was captaining the other. Sunset’s team was currently putting together a game plan. Sunset was signing everything said as Megan, one of her teammates, was deaf.

“Okay, here’s the game plan.” High showed the team a whiteboard with her game plan on it.

“That’s a terrible game plan.”, Sunset said.

“Yeah, Violet should switch places with Sunset, and Ginger should switch places with Megan.”, Tiny said in her thick South African accent.

“The only way that plan could be worse is if you had Tiny as a forward.”, Violet said.

“Hey, I’m the captain. I make the game plans.”, High said.

“You were picked at random to be captain, and it's probational.”, Sunset translated for Meg.

“Yeah, I say we switch captains.”, Ginger said.

“Well, fine then. Any nominees.”, High said indignantly.

“I nominate Sunset. All in favor?”, Tiny said.

Ginger, Sunset, Tiny, Violet, and Meg all raised their hands. High gave everyone sour looks.

“Hey Couch, we’re gonna switch captains!”, Ginger called.

“Whatever, just be ready to play in five minutes.”, the coach said.

Sunset extended her hand for the whiteboard. High gave the whiteboard to Sunset. “So, the lines are good, but, like Tiny said, Ginger, switch with Meg, and Violet, switch with me.”

Everyone gave their affirmations and took up their positions. Tiny was netminder, Ginger and Meg were defenseman, and Sunset, Violet, and High were the forwards. On the other team, Rainbow, Sherbirt, and Grace were forwards, Spade and Harper were defensemen, and Betta was netminder. Sunset and Rainbow were centers. Sunset and Rainbow got into position and stared each other down. The puck was dropped, and the game was on.

Sunset got the puck first, rounded Rainbow, and passed the puck to High. Sherbirt tried to intercept, but High passed to Violet. Violet tried to rush the net but was intercepted by Harper. Harper passed the puck to Rainbow, and Rainbow rushed the net. Rainbow took her shot, but it was denied by Tiny. Tiny passed the puck to Meg, and Meg passed the puck to Sunset. Sunset saw Rainbow coming to bodycheck her, but Sunset was bigger and leaned into the check. Rainbow was sent to the ice, and Sunset made a beeline line to the net. As soon as Sunset was over the centerline, she shot the puck, and it soared straight between Betta’s legs and into the net.

Ice Rink locker room
Date: same day, time: 4:35 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset stared down at the captain’s patch velcroed to her jersey. The fact she had this on still baffled her. One minute she was celebrating her team’s victory then the next, Rainbow was slapping the captain’s patch onto her jersey. She said that Sunset deserved it, and she most certainly did, but it was still odd. She knew that she should feel excited about this, but she didn’t. Maybe it’s because I don’t know why I got it.

“Hey, Rainbow.”, Sunset said as Rainbow was walking past.

“Yeah, what’s up.”

“What made you want to give me this?”

“What happened to keeping interactions to a minimum?”

“Minimum doesn’t mean ‘none’. It means ‘only what is necessary’. This is necessary information.”

“It’s because you’re a great leader. I’d follow you.” Rainbow left it at that and walked off.

That answer was sufficient but not satisfactory. However, Sunset knew she was not likely to get a better explanation from her teammate.

Sunset decided to stick around the rink for a little bit and explore. Sunset walked out to the rink and saw the Zamboni going across the ice. Zamboni is a strange word. I wonder how it got that name. The ice rink sat on the edge of the border of Canterlot and Canterville. It was relatively small but could still hold several thousand people. The rink and seatings make up the center of the arena. The outer ring of the arena is made up of a lower ring, where the locker rooms and the equipment storage rooms are, and an upper ring, where the concessions, bathrooms, and all the other spectator stuff are. Sunset had never been to the upper ring, so she decided to explore there. Making her way upstairs, Sunset saw a lot of old posters for old hockey games. There was one for the nineteen sixties with clear propaganda on it. The upper ring had clearly not been updated much since the arena was first built in 1926, but it had a strange vintage look to it that Sunset rather liked. “Pit Trap’s bar and lounge, established 1926” It was one of the few permanent fixtures in the upper ring. Sunset pulled on the door and found it unlocked. Odd. Well, it is unlocked. Sunset walked in and found the place to be exactly what she expected. The interior has a green and brown color scheme. The far wall consisted solely of a floor to ceiling window that allowed the lounge’s occupant’s to watch the game.

“Can I help you with something?” Sunset spun to the source of the voice. Sunset found an elderly man standing behind the bar.

“Hi, I was just exploring.”, Sunset said.

“Do your parents know where you are?”, the man said.

“Yes” It was a lie, but Sunset wasn’t gonna tell an absolute stranger that she was alone. “Are you Pit Trap?”

“No, Pit Trap was my grandfather. I’m Mud Trap. What’s your name?”, Mud Trap said.

“Sunset. Why are you here alone?”

“I like watching the young teams practice. You’re one of the players, right?”

“Yeah, I’m number seven.” Sunset walked over to the window to see the current team playing. Same team that always played after them. Soon Sunset got bored and left the lounge. Sunset continued to look around, but everything else was locked up. Sunset left the arena and walked down to the bus stop. When she got to the bus stop, she checked her phone. Ten minutes before the bus shows up. “Yey, ten minutes in the cold.”, Sunset deadpanned. Sunset still felt this numbness inside her. Come to think of it, it has been getting harder to feel excitement about anything. It got worse whenever Sunset was alone. When she was with others, she would mimic what the other people were feeling. Group survival mechanism. Maybe the tournament will get me excited.

CMS fencing club
Date: Feb 23th, time: 3:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset and Rose were practicing together, and Sunset was getting the upper hand. Rose was quickly losing ground. Sunset thrusted her sabre, and Rose fell backwards.

“Do you expect to beat Crystal Prep like that?! Not even the worst fencer I know fell on his ass!”, Sunset berated.

“I don’t expect to beat Crystal Prep! Nobody’s beaten them at anything in decades!”, Rose shouted back.

“And it’s attitudes like that will keep them undefeated!”

“Girls, what is going on?!”, Coach Swift asked.

“Sunset’s a psycho!”, Rose shouted.

Sunset was about to retort when Coach Swift interrupted. “Ladies, let’s all take a deep breath and maybe a fiver. Sunset you go sit over there, and Rose, you sit over there.” Coach Swift pointed to opposite sides of the gym.

“You’re putting us in timeout! We need ta train!”, Sunset shouted.

“No, you need to take breaks. Now go, or I’ll send you both to the principal's office.”

Sunset walked off with a huff, and Rose walked off grumbling she didn’t do anything. When Sunset sat down, she realized that she still didn’t feel excited. She just felt mad. What’s happening to me?

Minerva’s house
Date: same day, time: 5:00 pm

*Emi’s perspective*

Emi and Sunset sat on the bench in Minerva’s backyard. Emi and Sunset were playing I spy, and Emi was winning. Emi looked over to Sunset, as Sunset seemed like she wasn’t even trying. Sunset seemed sad, but there was something else as well, but Emi couldn’t identify it.

“Sunset, are you okay?”

“Hmm, yeah, I’m fine.”

“Then why are you so sad?”

“I just haven’t been feeling excited. I should feel excited when I’m playing sports, but I haven’t.”

Emi thought for a moment before coming up with an idea. “Do you have your house keys?”

“Yes. Why?”

Emi hopped off the bench and held her hand out for Sunset. “Come with me.”

Sunset looked confused but complied. Emi led Sunset back into Minerva’s house and towards the front door. “Minerva! We’re going home for a bit!”, Emi shouted as they passed the basement door. “Be careful!”, Minerva shouted back. Emi led Sunset out the house, across the street, into their house, and up to her room. Emi sat Sunset down on her bed, went to her closet, and pulled out her doctor kit.

“What are you doing with that?”, Sunset asked.

“Ah am gonna figure out what is wrong with ya.”, Emi said as she put on her oversized lab coat. Emi picked up her doctor bag and made her way over to Sunset. Sunset started giggling. “What’s so funny. Medicine is no laughing matter.” “I’m sorry. You jus’ look so damn cute.” “Well, stop laughing. We need to figure out what’s wrong with ya.” “Okay, okay.” Emi hopped up onto her bed, pulled out her stethoscope, and put it over her shoulders. “So, what seems to be the problem?” “I’ve been feeling emotionally numb and haven’t been excited for anything in a while.” “Oh”, Emi said sadly. “That sounds like something’s wrong in here.” Emi pointed to Sunset’s head. Emi then suddenly stood up straight, crossed her arms, and began looking very serious. “I diagnose you with lots of sadness. All the sad and scary things y’ve gone through have left you emotionally drained and unable to feel excited.” “Do you have a treatment plan?” “Hmm, hugs, lots of them.” Emi proceeded to wrap Sunset up as best she could.

“Ya know, y’r the best thing in my life.”, Sunset said, returning the hug.

Author's Note

This is gonna be the last chapter for a while. I gotta go binge watch Animaniacs season 2. I'll be back with new chapters soon.

SHWO ch52 Live long enough to see yourself become the villain

Forst family home
Date: Mar 11th, time: 3:40 pm

*Fluttershy’s perspective*

Fluttershy ran into her house and straight up to her room on the verge of crying. She didn’t want to cry. She promised Rainbow that she wouldn’t cry. She had tried to be brave, but all she ended up doing was turning herself into Sunset’s target. Why did I think I can do that without the girls? I’m not strong. I’m not fast. I’m just a nobody.

Knock knock knock

“Hey Fluttershy, it’s me. Open up.”, Rainbow called through the door.

Fluttershy pulled herself off the floor and let Rainbow in.

“Yo, what happened? I saw you running to your house, and I asked Coach to let me out of practice early. Ar-are you crying?” Rainbow was still wearing her soccer uniform and smelled really bad.

“I’m sorry. I know I promised you I wasn’t going to cry anymore.”

“Forget about that. Who made you cry?”

“It was Sunset. I don’t know what happened, but she just snapped after another kid bumped into her.”

Rainbow’s face turned confused and serious. “What do you mean by “snapped”?”

“Well, exactly that. She yelled at him and was going to beat him up.”

“That doesn’t sound like Sunset.”, Rainbow said, even more confused.

“Well, it’s not like we actually know Sunset.”

“That’s true. I’ll talk to her.”, Rainbow said, then pulled Fluttershy into a hug. “Hey, it’s okay to cry.” Fluttershy returned the hug in full. Rainbow dash always made her feel safe; even if Fluttershy had to hold her breath to hug her. She was like her valiant knight in sweat stained jerseys.

“Thank you, Rainbow, and you smell bad.”, Fluttershy said.

“Oh, uh, sorry.” Rainbow pulled out of the hug, gave Fluttershy a thumbs up, and left her room.

Fluttershy walked over to her computer. She was going to learn how to fight. She first looked up Muay Thai, which is what Rainbow practiced, then Krav Maga, which is what Rarity practiced, and then LINE system, which is what Pinkie practiced. Then, Fluttershy remembered something she heard one of her classmates say. Fluttershy looked up Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, which was designed by a lighter fighter to take on heavier fighters. Finally, Fluttershy decided that she would learn BJJ and LINE system. If Sunset was going to become a bully, Fluttershy was going to be ready for her.

Streets of Black Forest neighborhood
Date: same day, time: 3:45 pm

*Rainbow’s perspective*

Rainbow sprinted at top speed to catch up to Sunset. Rainbow knew that she lived somewhere in the neighborhood and suspected she lived on the same street as Pinkie. Even if her suspicion wasn’t true, Sunset still walked down Pinkie’s street every day. It did not take long for Rainbow to catch up to Sunset. Sunset was strolling along the sidewalk like it was any other day, like she hadn’t made Fluttershy cry.

Sunset apparently heard Rainbow coming as she turned around to meet her. “Well, that was quick. I would’ve thought that you'd confront me tomorrow, and to answer your burning question, your little friend got in my way. She needed to be taught a lesson.”

“What about the kid who bumped into you?”, Rainbow said while crossing her arms.

“Crashed is more like it. We were in an empty corridor, and he crashed into me so hard that he fell to the floor, and it really hurt.”, Sunset said matter-of-factly.

“Okay, that was on him, but trying to beat him up. Don’t you think that’s a bit of an over reaction?”

Sunset’s face became cold and hard. She looked like Rainbow just insulted her very existence. “No” was all Sunset said.

Rainbow was surprised by this. For as long as Rainbow knew Sunset, she was cold, distant, quick to anger, and violent, but this was a new level. Previously, Sunset was viewed as a punisher, someone who kept the bullies in check, but now, she was the bully. “What happened to you? You were someone I respected, but now, you’re a bully. I thought you hated bullies.”

“Oh, I do, but I hate being the victim more. I’m never going to let someone make me a victim ever again. Now, do you plan on fighting me?”

“We won’t let you do that, Sunset.”, Rainbow said angrily.

“Hm, we’ll see about that.” After that, Sunset turned and resumed walking.

Rainbow was left there, seething with rage. To see someone she admired fall like that made Rainbow lose hope in the world, and the only way she knew how to express that was through anger.

Sunset’s room
Date: same day, time: 3:50 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

After Sunset got home, she pulled up a file named “Dot Five”. Inside were the addresses, emails, passwords, and phone numbers of each of the Friendship Five along with psychological analyses of the girls and “weak links” within the group. The weak lines are between Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash and Jacklyn. The only thing keeping that group together was its nature as a coping mechanism. All Sunset needs now is their schedule, and she will be able to cause havoc in their ranks. It may take a while, but Sunset has more than enough time. “Operation “Destruction of the Five” is a go.”

Sunset’s room
Date: same day, time: 6:00 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

“Hey Sunset, c’n Ah come in?”, Brigid called from outside the door.

“Just a minute!”, Sunset called back. “Come in.”, Sunset called after a couple minutes.

Brigid entered the dark room and went over to Sunset’s desk with two hot chocolates in hand. It was just light enough for Brigid to see, but dark enough for Brigid to be able to see Sunset’s glowing eyes. Despite them being teal, they glowed a bright yellow with only a hint of teal. “C’n we talk f’r a bit?”, Brigid asked while offering Sunset one of the cups. Sunset took the offered cup and led Brigid over to her couch. “Considering every‘hin’ ya’ve been through, Ah think it would be best f’r ya ta go to therapy.”

Sunset immediately became alarmed by this. “Mom, I’m an alien. I can’t talk to a therapist. I’d be institutionalized.”

“Ya c’n leave out da parts about bein’ from anothe’ planet, but ya’ve been badly bullied, abused by y’r own government, gone ta war, been da target a’ a serial kille’, n’ now every‘hin’ dat’s goin’ on with Emi. Dat much trauma doesn’t jus’ go away.”

“No!”, Sunset exclaimed. “I don’t want doctors examining me or any of that! I don’t want to be taken away!”

Brigid pulled the terrified girl into a hug and rubbed her back. “What is da mental health field like in Equestria? Ah think ya mentioned it as “nonexistent”.”

“Yeah, there are some asylum-like places that are more like prisons for ponies that can’t operate in society because of their mental illness, but that’s it.”

“Ah see why y’r so resistant ta da idea a’ therapy, but it’s not like dat ‘ere. Well, it hasn’t been since da invention a’ antipsychotics, n’ we also have doctor/patient confidentiality. Dat means dat a doctor c’n not tell othe’s dat ya are or have any‘hin’ without y’r written consent. Dat also applies ta Anzhong n’ me. Da only exception is a court order, but does are taken very seriously.”

“Really?”, Sunset asked while letting go of the hug.

“Ah’m not joken. Ya c’n even look up da HIPAA if ya want ta. It applies ta all health fields.”

“I see, but I still don’t want to. It will take some time for me ta warm up to the idea.”

“Ah c’n understand dat. Do ya want ta talk ‘bout more scientific topics?”

“Yes please.”, Sunset said immediately.

“Okay, ya said dat EQ magic n’ Earth magic c’n’t mix, but y’r eyes glow. Why is dat?”

“My eyes are bioluminescent, not magiluminescent. Although, I have no idea why that trait transferred over.”

“Hm, human eyes are a bit fluorescent. Maybe it has some‘hin’ ta do with dat.”

“Hm, maybe. It’s one of my goals to open that portal permanently in order to research it more.”

“Ah actually have an idea on how ta do some research without needin’ an open portal.”

“How?”

“Ah want ta take y’r DNA ta be tested. Now, Ah will have me colleague test it, n’ he won’t know were it came from. All he’ll know is dat I got some human DNA dat needs testin’ f’r one a me projects.”

“DNA?”

“How,” Right, dey haven’t gone over dat in school yet. “DNA is da code inside y’r cells dat tells dem how ta work.”

Sunset looked speculative for a moment. “I don’t get it.”

“Well, da relevant information is dat, in Equestria, ya should have pony DNA, but here, ya should have human DNA. Ah want ta see if y’r DNA varies from normal human DNA.”

Sunset seemed alarmed again but not as much as earlier. “I won’t be taken away if your colleague finds something weird?”

“No, ya won’t. Da only people who will know where da DNA came from are in dis room.”

“Okay”, Sunset said after thinking about it for a minute.

“Great. Before ya brush y’r teeth in da mornin’, Ah’ll collect a sample.”

Sunset’s room
Date: Mar 12th, time: 4:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

The first step of any good operation is intel gathering. Sunset needed things she could exploit and a lot of them. Even if the only reason the group exists is to act as a coping mechanism, it still had years to develop and get stronger. Sunset would need to find something to drive a wedge between them.

Pinkie is the president of the party planning committee and has been setting up for the Spring Fling. It also has a crowning. There was nothing attached to that princess title, but Sunset was still going to sign up. Fluttershy volunteers at the animal shelter and regularly hands out fliers for it in the courtyard. Jacklyn works on her family’s farms after school. There are two O’Apple farms in the greater Canterlot area, Sweet Apple Acres, which is now only a fraction of its former size, where Jacklyn lives, and within Canterville city limits, and Great Apple Orchards, which is outside city limits and a couple dozen acres big. Jacklyn works on Sweet Apple Acres during the week but goes and helps on Great Apple Orchards on the weekends. Rainbow has various sports after school and then takes the bus back to her house. Rarity has drama club and sewing club after school then home.

Now that she has their schedules, Sunset needs to hack into or copy their accounts. Just logging into their accounts would cause her activity to be noticed, but Sunset had a plan. Ever since her first guitar lesson, Sunset had been buying damaged consoles, repairing them, and selling them at a reduced price. This has not only proven profitable, but Sunset has been using any extra computer components to create an extra powerful computer. It’s by no means a supercomputer, but Sunset can use it to access the dark web and several programs that would allow her to appear as anyone she wants.

Sunset hasn’t figured out the specifics yet, but the overall goal for each of the girls was clear. Make it look like the others made a liar out of Jacklyn, were disloyal to Rainbow, rebuked Rarity’s generous offers, were unkind to Fluttershy, and that Pinkie Pie made a mess of things with her hyper activity. Once I’m done with them, the Friendship Five will never reform, and none of the girls will have the strength to stop me on their own.

Canterville College
Date: Mar 19th, time: 4:30 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

When Brigid dropped off the samples, Dr. Thunderstrike, Brigid’s colleague, said to give him a week. With it having been a week, Brigid was on her way to get the results. Dr. Thunderstrike’s lab is on the second floor of the science building. Which left Brigid with only a walk to the end of the hallway and down a flight of stairs. Dr. Thunderstrike’s lab was, like most of the other labs, one of the cleanest places on campus, but Brigid knew that clean and tidy wasn’t Striker’s personality. She’d seen his house. He wasn’t a hoarder, but it was scary.

“Hey Striker, ya got me test results?”

“Yes, I do, and they’re pretty interesting.”

“How so?”

“Well, they’re all definitely human, but this one seems to have been edited somehow but is otherwise normal, and these two have also been edited but have some odd genes.”

“What do ya mean by odd, n’ how c’n ya tell if some‘hin’ has been edited if it is normal? Would dere be any health problems associated with da editin’.”

“To answer your first question, this person has RHnull blood, incredible hearing and smell, bioluminescent eyes, and nearly six times as many rod cells than a normal human. This person would be blind, but if they could see, would have excellent night vision. They also have an incredible sense of smell and hearing. I asked another geneticist I knew, and she said it looks like this second person has fox DNA, and this first person seems to have alien DNA. To answer your third question, no, the DNA is where it should be, and I can’t find anything that would cause health problems. Whatever technique was used is better than anything we’ve created. To answer your second question, it’s hard to explain. It’s just something you learn to notice after dealing with DNA as long as I have. Where did you get these samples?”, Striker asked with enthusiasm.

“Ya know Ah c’n’t tell ya who me test participants are.” Brigid reached over and grabbed one of the samples. “But Ah c’n tell ya dat dis one is mine.”

“What happened?”, Striker asked, now, much less enthusiastic.

“Dat, Ah also c’n’t tell ya. What Ah c’n tell ya is dat dere is more ta da world dan eithe’ a’ us realized.”

“You just recited the reason why scientists exist. Can’t ya give me something?”

“Magic is real, n’ a magical alien has come ta Earth n’ now lives in me house.”, Brigid deadpanned.

“Fine, don’t tell me.”, Striker said while throwing his hands in the air.

Brigid chuckled to herself, grabbed the other samples, and began exiting the lab. Sometimes, honesty really is the best policy. Before Brigid left, she turned to address Striker. “Oh, by da way, don’t send me samples out ta othe’s without my permission.”

“Sorry about that. I’ll email you the full results.”

Sunset’s room
Date: Mar 30th, time: 9:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset sat at her desk, admiring her work. She could see the girls becoming more tense with each other at school. Her plans were working.

For Pinkie Pie and Rarity, Sunset had created an email account named “CMS_PPC_Official@bmail.com” and covertly told everyone to send all offers to help with event set up to that address. Sunset got very few offers. Everyone at the school were still apathetic little shits. Pretending to be Pinkie, Sunset would tell every offer that she got, including Rarity’s, that there were plenty of volunteers.

For everyone else, for now, are only getting insults and mean messages from the spoofed numbers and hacked accounts of their friends. For them, it will likely be one big thing that shatters the friendship instead of a slow build up. This actually worked better for Sunset as that lessens the risk of them talking and figuring out what is going on, but as soon as the opportunity shows itself, Sunset will pounce.

CMS gym
Date: Apr 1st, time: 3:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset entered the school gym, and, just as she suspected, Pinkie Pie was the only one in there. “Aw, are you here all alone?”, Sunset said in a mock affectionate voice.

Pinkie Pie spun around and glared at Sunset. “Yes, and you’re here to sign up.”

“What can I say? If I don't do it, no one will.”, Sunset said nonchalantly.

“Yeah, yeah”, Pinkie said while handing Sunset the clipboard.

Just like with the Fall Formal, no one has signed up to be the Spring Fling princess. The sheer amount of apathy these students show is pathetic. Sunset finished signing up, handed the clipboard back to Pinkie, and exited the gym. The halls were mostly empty with most kids still being in clubs. As she was walking to the front doors, she noticed that the kid that crashed into her was also in the halls. Sunset snuck up behind him and spun him around. “Hello again.”

The boy looked like he was ready to crap himself. “Look, I’m sorry about bumping into you. I’m sorry.”, he blabbered out.

“Oh, now you’re sorry. Ya know, I was recovering from an injury that week, so that really hurt, and now, there will be no one to interfere.”

The boy became too scared to speak as Sunset chucked him into the lockers, shoulder first. The boy let out a welp of pain and slid to the ground.

“By the way, if you ever tell anyone about this, I’ll do much worse to you.”, Sunset said, then walked away.

Sunset’s room
Date: same day, time: 3:50 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset went straight to her desk as soon as she got home. With the Friendship Five well on their way to falling apart, Sunset wanted to turn her sights to the rest of the school. With most students being so apathetic, they will be easy to control, but there were some students that would need some more attention. There were too many to make specific plans for them all, but they were still teenagers. A few untraceable bots to shake their confidence, a few threats at school, and Sunset will dominate.

As Sunset walked to her desk, she heard something coming from her bathroom. Sunset quietly placed her boots and backpack on the floor and picked up her hockey stick. Sunset snuck over to the door, ready to find an intruder, but only found Emi standing over her toilet, puking her guts out. “Emi!”, Sunset shouted, alarmed. “Are you okay?”

Emi slowly moved her head to meet Sunset. She was pale as a ghost but still gave Sunset a smile. “Sorry, I was setting up an April fool’s joke for you but got sick in the middle of it.”, Emi crooked out.

“Hey, don’t be sorry. Are you all done, or do you think you need to stay here a bit longer?”

“I think I’m good.”

“Okay, let’s get you to bed.” Sunset put the stick down and picked Emi up and carried her back to her room. On her way down the hall, Sunset grabbed the CBD oil from the bathroom. Sunset placed Emi on her bed then grabbed the bag of cookies kept in her desk. Sunset put a few drops of the oil on one of the cookies and gave it to Emi. “Do you want another one without the oil?”

“Yes, please.”

Sunset handed Emi two more cookies then placed the bag back in its drawer. “Do you need anything else?”

“Water”

“Okay, I’ll be right back.” Sunset was almost out of Emi’s room when Emi spoke up.

“Oh, watch where you step near your couch. There are some loose whoopie cushions on the floor.”

“Got it”, Sunset said quietly. Emi was getting worse.

CMS gym
Date: Apr 6th, time: 7:30 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Brigid had dropped Sunset and Flash off at CMS, and now, the party is in full swing. Sunset and Flash sat off in the bleachers, watching the other kids dance and give passing glances to Sunset. What Sunset had become has spread to the other students. Some of them have started to investigate Sunset’s bots and even started linking them to her. There was no way for them to prove it as those bots are completely autonomous and completely untraceable unless you have a sample of Sunset’s code. Either way, Sunset found their efforts amusing.

“Hey, Sunset.”, Flash said.

“Yeah”

“I’m not sure how to say this, but I’ve been hearing some rumors about you. Are they true?”

“You’re going to have to be more specific. I’ve heard a rumor that I’m actually an alien from another planet.”, Sunset said with a grin.

“Well, these ones say that you’ve become a bully and are threatening to beat students up if they don’t vote for you.”, Flash said nervously.

“Flash, let’s say I was that. How effective were my previous methods of keeping the school’s bully population in check? How long did it take for them to be back to their old tricks?”, Sunset said with all seriousness.

“But not all of the kids you’re targeting are bullies.”

“I’m just making sure that no one will interfere. I’m just trying to make this school safe for the two of us.”, Sunset said while cupping Flash’s face in her hands.

Flashed pulled Sunset’s hands off his face and averted his gaze. “I don’t like it.”, Flash said forlornly.

Sunset wanted to say she didn’t like it either, but she doesn’t like lying to Flash. Sunset liked the power, the other students fearing her. It was intoxicating. “I know.”, was all Sunset could say.

“Okay everyone, it’s time to announce who will be crowned prince or princess.”, Principal Winters announced.

Everyone in attendance gathered around the stage, but Sunset held herself and Flash back so she didn’t have to weave through students to get to the stairs like at the Fall Formal. The newly appointed Vice Principal Leo handed Winters the envelope, and Winters read it out. “And the princess of the Spring Fling is - Sunset Shimmer.”

Very few students clapped or cheered, and the few that did were unenthusiastic. Both Leo and Winters looked confused by this, Leo more than Winters. Sunset climbed up onto the stage and received her crown. None of the other students seemed happy in the slightest, but Sunset didn’t care. She had power, she had control over her life, and nobody, not even the principals, could do anything to stop her.

SHWO ch66 Apil 29th

Sweet Apple Acres

Date: Apr 29th, time: 6:00 am

*AJ’s perspective*

Applejack felt the sun caress her skin and was stirred awake. She hopped out of bed, got dressed, cleaned up her room, and then went downstairs. Granny was still cooking breakfast, so AJ decided to get some of the lighter work done. She went outside, watered the young flowers, cleaned up the porch, and fed the chickens. AJ was far more than used to this, so it only took about thirty-ish minutes.

“Applejack! It’s time for breakfast!”, Bloom called out.

“Coming!”, AJ called back. AJ finished feeding the chickens and joined her family inside. After washing up, AJ helped set the food out.

“Bloom, be careful.”, Granny warned. AJ turned to see Bloom was carrying the scrambled eggs.

“I got it. I got it.” Bloom was able to safely get the eggs onto the table despite Granny’s worries.

Once all the food was set out, everyone took their seats and gave grace. AJ didn’t pay much attention to it. She honestly wasn’t sure if she believed in God. If God was real, why would he let her parents die? She didn’t buy into that “God works in mysterious ways” stuff. Lies only bring trouble, and AJ didn’t want to believe in a god that lies, and that’s on top of all the issues AJ has with the Bible. Why would God need a human to write it if he could just will it into existence? Humans are fallible at the best of times and would flat out abuse that power at the worst of times. “Amen”, Granny said. AJ’s attention was brought back to reality and she began eating.

Once breakfast was over, everyone got back to their chores. AJ went out to the garage. The inside of the garage was filled with boxes and other junk, but the most noticeable item was a severely damaged car. AJ didn’t know why Granny kept it. It was a sick reminder of a tragic day. If it were up to her, it would’ve been scrapped a long time ago.

AJ began sweeping and clearing out the cobwebs. The whole time, AJ kept stealing glances back at that car. It was still recognizable as a car, but the back end was totaled, almost every window was busted, and there were several dents all along the sides. AJ tried not to think about what happened, what might have been going through their minds at the time. It hurt so much to think about. It was easier to think that they had just gone on a trip and will be back eventually, to ignore that they were dead. It was easier to just forget, but she knew that wasn’t true, and it probably wasn’t healthy.

AJ tried to ignore the car as she finished cleaning. She just wanted to get it over with and get to as many of her other chores before school.

Pinkie’s room

Date: same day, time: 6:30 am

*Pinkie’s perspective*

“Pinkie, it’s time to get up.” Maud shook Pinkie’s shoulder until she started moving.

“I’m awake.”, Pinkie said tiredly.

“Do you need any help?”

“No, I think I’m fine.”

“Okay, I’ll be back in ten minutes to check on you. Don’t forget to take your meds.”

“Okay”

“Happy birthday, Pinkie.”, Maud said before she left the room.

Pinkie slowly started to sit up and grabbed the pill and water bottles from her night stand. She hated taking them. They tasted bad and felt funky in her mouth and going down her throat. She was able to stop taking them for a while thanks to her friends ex-friends, but that was not to be. Pinkie popped the pill into her mouth then chased it down with the water. Yack. Pinkie slouched out of bed and picked out her outfit for the day as she waited for the medicine to kick in. It was funny how her hair acted as a loading bar for the pills. It would slowly go from being flat and straight to being poofy and curly as the medicine took effect.

As Pinkie rummaged around her clothes, something fell out of one of the pockets. It was a picture of herself and Bumblesweet. Pinkie picked up the picture and sat back down on the bed. It was uncanny how much they looked alike, minus the colors. She could not believe such a horrible plant existed. Gympie was a monster plant, and whoever planted it in the park was either really dumb or an even bigger monster. Bumbles’ screams of agony were burned into her memory. The scene played out in Pinkie’s mind like it was yesterday. It was summer, and they were playing happily in the park like they had done since they were old enough to play. Bumbles was wearing a tank top and short shorts due to the heat. At one point, Pinkie jokingly pushed Bumbles after she bumped into her, and she fell into a patch of that stuff. Pinkie also touched it with her hand as she was trying to help Bumbles up. The pain was immediate, and they were both taken to the hospital.

It took days for Pinkie’s hand to stop hurting, but Bumbles wasn’t so lucky. She couldn’t remember how Bumbles did it. All she could remember was waking up to see Bumbles’ lifeless eyes staring back at her. She ended up killing herself to escape the pain. Pinkie didn’t blame her. She wanted the doctors to just cut off her hand because of the pain. Pinkie blamed herself. Despite everyone saying it could’ve happened to anyone, it was the fault of whoever planted it, and Bumblesweet wouldn’t blame you, she still felt responsible. She shoved Bumbles and caused her to fall. I killed you. I know you wouldn’t want me thinking like that, but I did. “I’m sorry.”, Pinkie said, tears forming in her eyes, but she couldn’t bring herself to cry.

With the antidepressants taking effect, Pinkie put on her biggest smile and skipped out of her room. Even when she couldn’t trick herself into being happy, she could make the people around her happy, and that would make her happy. She was determined to get better. I’ll live my life for the both of us. Bumblesweet will make her mark on the world, even if she’s not here.

“Hey Marble.”, Pinkie greeted her twin with enthusiasm. She had gotten really good at seeming happy, even when she wasn't. “How are you doing today?”

“Alright”, Marble squeaked out.

“Well, that’s better than terrible. Hey, these patches are forming into a bunny.”, Pinkie said while pointing to the three little patches on Marble’s cheek.

“Really?”

“Yeah, it’s cute. I call first dibs on the shower!”, Pinkie said, then immediately rushed off down the hallway.

“Hey! I wanted to go first!”, Limestone called out.

“Too late!”, Pinkie called back from within the bathroom.

Fluttershy’s room

Date: same day , time: 7:00 am

*Fluttershy’s perspective*

Beep beep beep

Fluttershy slapped the snooze button on her alarm clock, pulled herself out of bed, and went over to Angel’s cage. He was sleeping in such an adorable little ball that Fluttershy was hesitant to wake him up, but she needed to feed him. She gave him a head scratch, and Angle woke up and twitched his nose. “Hmhmhm, good morning Angel.” Fluttershy pulled out the pellet bin and scooped some into Angel’s bowl. Angel began munching, and Fluttershy began getting dressed, or rather tried.

As the time for school drew nearer, Fluttershy’s anxiety grew, but she powered through. Once dressed, Fluttershy went to the bathroom to take her meds and brush her teeth. “Come on, Fluttershy. It’s just school. You’ve been going there for years. You can do this.”, Fluttershy told herself. She waited until the meds started taking effect before going back to her room. The meds kept her from having a panic attack, but they didn’t completely get rid of her anxiety.

Upon returning to her room, Fluttershy saw Angel trying to escape. “Hehe, oh Angel, you silly bunny.” Fluttershy took Angel out of his cage, and Angel began snuggling Fluttershy. “I wish I could bring you to school with me.” Fluttershy placed Angel down and returned to getting ready. As Fluttershy stuffed what she would need into her backpack an idea struck her. “You would need to be potty trained, but this could work.”, Fluttershy said to Angel. Angel merely scratched himself.

Dr. Gray’s office

Date: same day, time: 4:30 pm

*Rainbow’s perspective*

“Hey, Doc.”, Rainbow said as she walked in the door.

“Hello, Rainbow. How have you been?”, Dr. Gray asked.

“I’ve been good.” Rainbow took a seat on the couch and leaned back on the armrest.

“How has school been?”

“Fine”

“Any panic attacks?”

“Nope”

“Any more hallucinations?”

Rainbow wanted to say she got soap thrown at her by one of her “hallucinations”, but that was unlikely to go over well. “Same as before. Moper’s still moping, The Girl is still hella creepy, and all that, but I haven’t seen anyone new.”

“Meds still aren’t working, I take it?”

“Yeah, and I would like to stop taking them.”

“Why?”

“Well, it’s been almost a year now, and no matter what you put me on, I still see them, and I don’t like the side effects, and I don’t experience any other symptoms other than the hallucinations.”

“Rainbow, it can take much longer than that to find the right combination of meds. I would suggest you give it some more time.”

“I want to stop my medication.”, Rainbow said more sternly.

“Alright, I would have to talk with your parents about this. Is there anything you would like to talk about?”

Rainbow took a moment to collect her thoughts before answering. “I had a dream a couple of days ago.”

“About what?”

“It was about one of the times I saw Oro and Uncle Bliz fighting. Oro had a needle in his hand and blood was coming out of his inner elbow, and he was acting very erratically. I didn’t know what was going on at the time, but now I do.”

“Would you mind telling me?”

“Huh, it was when Uncle Bliz found out Oro was using. I still don’t know what exactly. No one will tell me. I’ve been trying to figure it out. I would guess heroin and crack, but I’ve never heard of either one taking someone’s soul away. I don’t know how to better explain it.”

“You mentioned before that Oro had no emotion when he did what he did. Can you tell me more about that?”

Memories of that day came rushing into Rainbow’s mind. Tears threatened to cascade down Rainbow’s face. She wiped the tears away and tried to speak but couldn’t. The dam completely broke, and Rainbow began sobbing. She didn’t try to stop the tears; there was no point. Dr. Gray was nice; she could cry around her. Dr. Gray never said anything when Rainbow cried. She never told her not to cry or that it was okay to cry or offered Rainbow any condolences or hugs. She’s always just shut up and let Rainbow cry. That’s why Rainbow liked her. She understood that crying wasn’t something that needed to be fixed. Rainbow felt safe to cry around her.

“There was just nothing there.”, Rainbow said once the tears finally subsided. “He was a good guy before, really awkward, but a good guy. I don’t remember what happened, but I remember he slowly became meaner and more closed off, but not even that was there. It was just a completely blank face. He might as well not have had a face. That was the scariest part.”

“How is your relationship with your uncle?”

“It’s okay. He’s a long haul trucker. We will all hang out when he is in town.”

“Would you say you have a meaningful relationship with your uncle?”

“- Our relationship is alright. He’s been withdrawn since that day and doesn’t do the whole touchy feely stuff. I know my abuela is acting as his emotional anchor.”

“That’s good. How’s your relationship with the rest of your family?”

“It’s the same as it’s always been. Oh, I’m going to go on a ride along with my mom soon. Well, I’ll be riding with the engine company. Mom says I’m still a bit too young for an ambulance ride along. I mean, I’ve already seen someone die. How bad can an ambulance ride along really be?”, Rainbow said excitedly.

“I’d imagine they can be really scary, if the shows are anything to go by.”

“Ha, my mom went on a rant about how stupid those characters are. I mean they called blue fire “extra sticky”, implying normal fire is already sticky, and that’s one of their smarter moments.”

“Oh”

“Yeah” The session continued until five. Once five came, Rainbow went back out to the lobby, where Mom was, and waved to the kid that went in next. His name might have been Sage, but Rainbow wasn’t sure. He had small, nearly imperceptible, scars around his face that Mom says are likely from reconstructive surgery. If that was the case, why he was seeing Dr. Gray would be a no brainer. Getting attacked by an animal was bound to leave more scars than just physical.

“How’d it go?”, Mom asked.

“Things went normally. We talked about your ‘bad first responder TV’ rant.”

“Oh, great.”, Mom said with a blush. Mom took Rainbow’s hand and led her out to the car. “Do you want to get ice cream?”

“Yes!”, Rainbow proclaimed.

Alba family home

Date: same day, time: 5:30 pm

*Rarity’s perspective*

“Yes! Yes! Yes!”, Sweetie Belle cheered as Dad scored a touchdown. Unlike Sweetie Belle, Rarity watched on in relative silence. Sports weren’t really something she gets excited about, but she likes watching Dad play and seeing her sister so excited.

Cli-click

Sweetie and Rarity turned in their seats when they heard the door being unlocked. “Dad!”, Sweetie and Rarity shouted as their father entered. The girls jumped off the couch and ran over to their father.

“Ohg, hey kiddoes.”, Dad said.

“Dad, we were just watching your game. You were incredible.”, Sweetie said.

“We all were. A team can only be effective when all players are working as a whole. Now, who wants to throw around the pigskin?”

“I do”, Sweetie said.

“I would love to.”, Rarity said.

“Great, get your play clothes on, and I’ll meet you outside.”, Dad instructed. Sweetie Belle ran off and up the stairs, and Rarity was about to follow but was stopped by Dad. “Rarity, are you okay? You can talk to me or your mom about anything.”

“I know I can. It’s just not always easy.”

“Alright, go get your play clothes on then.”

Rarity walked upstairs and into her room. She got out of her normal clothes and into her play clothes. Her play clothes consisted of a Black Bears jersey, matching skin tight shorts that cut off a quarter of the way down her shins, matching tennis shoes, and a matching bandana to help keep her hair clean and out of the way, all of which had varying levels of grass stains. Rarity gave Opal a head scratch then walked back downstairs and out to the backyard where Sweetie and Dad were already tossing the football back and forth.

“Ready to go?”, Dad asked.

“Yup”

“Go long.” Dad threw the ball across the yard, and Rarity and Sweetie ran for it. Rarity was the one to catch the ball and then threw it for Sweetie. Sweetie ran for it, jumped into the air, and caught it. She came down on her back and with a skid. Sweetie got up and began running towards the tree that designated Dad’s goal. Rarity and Dad both began running in the same direction. Dad was running at a greatly reduced speed in order to give Rarity and Sweetie a chance of beating him. When Dad got close to Sweetie, she tossed the ball to Rarity. Rarity grabbed the ball and began running faster. Running fast wasn’t Rarity’s specialty. She wasn’t slow, but she also wasn’t very fast. As Dad got close, Rarity tossed the ball back to Sweetie. Dad turned to run after Sweetie, but Rarity decided to take advantage of her specialty, charging and tackling. Rarity ran after her father and grabbed his legs, causing him to fall over. “Woah, aah!”, Dad cried as he crashed into the ground. Sweetie was able to make it to the tree after that.

“Touch down!”, Sweetie cried. Rarity released Dad and let him get up.

“Nice game, but it’s time to get cleaned up for dinner.”, Mom announced from the back door.

“Okay, we’re coming.”, Dad said, and he and Rarity got up, and everyone went inside.

The sound of Baba swearing, then covering it up with more child-friendly curses, and something boiling over caught Rarity’s attention. For whatever reason, the stove hated her and only her. Each time she could try to cook something, it would burn, boil over, or otherwise not cook properly. Baba was a great cook and owned several successful restaurants in Boston before moving in with them after Dedushka’s death. It was just this stove in particular that wouldn’t work for her. “You okay, Baba?”, Rarity asked in her rough Russian. Baba knew English but preferred Russian, especially if she’s tired or frustrated. She had been teaching Rarity and Sweetie since she came to live with them, but Rarity wasn’t picking it up as quickly as Sweetie.

“This stove freaking hates me.”

“Why don’t you have it replaced?”

Baba turned to Rarity with a serious look on her face. “Raritiva, Morozovas never leave a challenge unmet, and this stove is challenging me. Torta Klubnikaevna will not rest until she has beaten it.”, Baba said with a flourish of her wooden spoon.

Rarity rolled her eyes and went back upstairs to her room. Baba was the only person allowed to use her real name. Once she was in the privacy of her bedroom, she took her clothes off and put her bathrobe on. She then headed out for the bathroom, grabbing a clean towel from the linen closet along the way. She hung her bathrobe on one of the hooks, placed the towel on the rod, and got into the shower. The sun was setting, casting beams of lights threw the window. Rarity closed her eyes and let the water wash over her. As Rarity opened her eyes, she noticed something out of the corner of them. Rarity jumped and spun around. It was only after she realized it was just a shadow from a cloud did her heart stop beating so hard that it could jump out of her chest. Rarity took a few breaths to calm herself and slumped down into the tub.

“Why me?”, Rarity asked no one. Why did it have to be her they targeted? Why did it have to be her that has to live with the mental scars of that night? Why did it have to be her who now can no longer feel safe around crowds of strangers or by herself. All questions Rarity would never get answers to. She did feel safe around her friends ex-friends, but now, she doesn't have them, and it’s getting worse.

After several minutes of using the breathing technique her therapist showed her, Rarity picked herself up and continued her shower.

Emi’s room

Date: same day, time: 5:30 pm

*Emi’s perspective*

“Emi, we’re levin’ soon.”, Mom said from Emi’s doorway.

“Okay, I’ll start getting ready.”

Mom nodded her head and left Emi’s room. Emi put her book down and hopped off her bed. She grabbed her bag filled with art supplies and books from her closet. As she did, Emi noticed one of her costumes, her doctor coat. Emi pulled it down and put it over her wolf onesie. She then put her backpack on and headed to the back porch where Mom and Sunset were getting their boots on.

“Are ya really goin’ ta wear dat ta da hospital?”, Mom asked.

“Yes”, Emi said confidently.

“Alright Dr. Wolf, let’s get your shoes on.” Mom picked Emi up and placed her on the swing and helped her get her shoes on. Emi knew how to do it on her own and was able to tie them, but Mom still held them in place to make it easier. Once her shoes were on, the three of them got into the car and drove to the hospital.

Upon reaching the hospital, everything was the same. They checked in and went up to the chemo wing, and Emi waved and said ‘hi’ to all of Grandpa’s coworkers and colleagues. It was the same doctors and nurses and the same boring ass procedure. Emi pulled out her coloring book and got to work. The coloring book consisted mostly of giant monsters and yokai. It was her favorite. Once Emi was all set up, Mom took Sunset to get her blood drawn and bagged.

These things normally only took about 20 to 30 minutes, but that was an eternity to a six year old. Every so often, the nurses came in to check Emi’s vitals and stuff. Mom always came back quickly and would stay with Emi, but she would sometimes need to go out into the hallway. Mom said it was because she needed fresh air, but Emi knew it was because Mom didn’t want her to see her cry, but Emi didn’t tell her. This whole situation sucked.

After the drugs were all pumped in, Emi was brought to the more comfortable room with fun wallpaper and toys to process the chemicals. Good Lily was there, playing on her dad’s phone. “Hey, Good Lily.”

“Why do you call me “Good Lily”?”

“Because there’s a ‘Lily’ at my sister’s school that’s a total bitch.”, Emi said. Lily’s dad’s head shot up to look at them in shock. “What? I’m half Irish. What else do you expect?”, Emi said while Sunset shrugged and Mom gave no reaction. Lily’s dad just shook his head with a comment to Lily not to say that word and went back to his paper.

“How are you doing with Ki’s death and all?”

“We’re taking it one day at a time. We all miss him.”

This wait period was a bit longer than normal, and Emi was wondering what was happening until the nurse came in. “Hello, Emi. we’re going to take you to get some x-rays.”, the nurse said.

“You’re going to microwave me to check to see if the cancer’s gone?”

“Wrong type of radiation but yes. Let’s get going now.” The nurse brought Emi to the x-ray room and did their thing before bringing her back to the comfy room.

After more waiting, Dr. Rojas came in with a manila envelope. The look on her face was not good. “Hello, girls. I have your x-rays back.”, Dr. Rojas started to explain. She was both of their doctor, and neither of them gave a crap about the other knowing their medical info. They were in the same boat. Dr. Rojas pulled the x-rays out and put them on the light box. Emi has seen enough of these to know what the different shades ruffly mean, and it wasn’t good.

“We’re not getting better.”, Emi said.

“Unfortunately, no. Although, there may be something that might help. There’s this new treatment that’s still in trial, but it might help you.”

Mom and Lily’s dad looked at each other. They weren’t friends, but they were in the same boat. It helped them to get the other’s opinion. “What else can we do?”, Lily’s dad asked.

“Ah think dat would be our best option.”

“Alright, I’ll start the paperwork. You’ll just need to sign it.” Dr. Rojas left the room, and Emi and Lily went back to chatting. Sunset was somehow sleeping with her bottom half on her chair and her top half on Mom with the armrests under her. How does she sleep like that? Dr. Rojas soon returned with the paperwork, and Mom and Lily’s dad read and signed their respective papers. “Thank you. We’ll start your new treatments next time you visit. You can go home when you’re ready.”

“Dat sounds good. We will see you next time.”, Mom said. Mom picked Emi up, and the three headed out of the hospital.

Hothoof home

Date: same day, time: 6:00 pm

*Windy’s perspective*

Windy grabbed the laundry basket and headed out to the laundry room. Ever since Rainbow was attacked, laundry duty had been transferred back to Windy and Bow. Walking past the location Moper was supposed to be, the hair on the back of her neck stood up. This was nothing new and is why she hates walking down this hallway, but she had always brushed it off as it being a dark place. However, seeing what happened to Rainbow, Windy was going to pay more attention to those feelings.

Before she could get too scared, Windy hurried into the laundry room and got her laundry. As she left the laundry room, Windy looked to where Rainbow described Mopper as being and tried to see if she could see him, or it. Windy could tell something was there by the sheer sense of danger she felt but couldn’t actually see anything. It was like a vague outline of something. The feeling of danger intensified, and Windy bolted. She ran back into her apartment with the basket of clean clothes under arm and slammed the door closed and locked it.

“Mom, are you okay?”, Rainbow asked from her room.

“I’m okay! I’m okay!”, Windy called back. She did her best to calm herself, but the fact that there was something that was trying to hurt Rainbow that she couldn’t do nothing about, both scared and angered Windy. She’s her mother. She should be able to protect her.

Windy placed the basket on the table and began folding the clothes. When she was about half way done, her phone rang, and she stopped to pick it up. “Hello?”

“Hello Ms. Whistles, this is Dr. Gray. I’m calling to let you know Rainbow wanted to stop her medications. She never expressed this desire to me before. Would you have any idea as to why she would want to do this?”

“I am aware she wants to do this, and I agree that she should stop. We’ve had an incident that seems to prove she’s not hallucinating.”

“What incident would that be?”

“The instance she calls ‘Moper’ attacked her while she was on camera. There is security footage showing a soap bottle being thrown at her by an invisible force, and she said it was Moper.”

“Are you suggesting that Rainbow is seeing the spirits of the deceased?”, Dr. Gray asked skeptically.

“I am aware of how it sounds, but I’ve seen the footage myself, and other people in our building have reported similar occurrences. This Moper even has a history of attacking young women and girls. I am giving you the okay to stop her medication.”

“Sigh, I will give Rainbow a new schedule that will wean her off the meds, but I do strongly advise that you not do this. We will eventually find the right medication for your daughter.”

“I understand your concerns, but I’m just trying to do what’s best for her, and I believe this is it.”

“As am I, Ms. Whistles. Have a good rest of your day.” Dr. Gray hung up the phone, and Windy went back to folding clothes.

Rainbow soon came into the dining room with a broom and dustpan in hand. She had been given sweeping duties in exchange of her laundry duty.

“Hey, Dr. Gray is going to put you on a new schedule that will wean you off of the meds.”, Windy said.

“Great, thanks, Mom.” Rainbow dumped the dust pan’s contents into the trash then placed the broom and dustpan back in the closet, took her folded clothes, and went back into her room.

“Ghosts, ghosts are real.”, Windy said while shaking her head. “Next thing I’ll hear is that magic’s real.”

Brigid’s and Anzhong’s bedroom

Date: same day, time: 9:00 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid laid on her bed, reading the Equestrian history book. She already knew what it said, making it a good practice read. She still over emphasized the ‘t’ in ‘stir’. It’s a very soft ‘t’ sound, almost imperceptible, and some accents even cause it to drop entirely. An interesting quirk of Ponish is that they have many words that translate to the same exact thing in English but are not interchangeable whatsoever. For example, there are two words that mean trot, but one refers to the action, and the other is a unit of measurement. Switching the two would make about as much sense as saying ‘they feeted away’. The point would still get across, but it wouldn’t be correct. It’s almost the exact opposite to English. Ponish had very few words with multiple meanings.

As Brigid read the part about Celestia’s and Luna’s ascension, something odd came up. There was no ascension. The book said that they were already alicorns by then. As odd as it was, Brigid knew that Sunset’s version was most likely the more accurate account. She did, quite literally, hear it straight from the horse’s mouth. Sunset did mention two othe’ instances where da official report differs from wha’ actually happened. Ah’ll ask ‘er ‘bout it.

Brigid closed the book and headed down to Sunset’s room, with the book in hand. Upon reaching Sunset’s room, Brigid knocked and waited for Sunset to answer. “Come in.”, Sunset called out. Brigid entered Sunset’s room and looked around for her. Sunset’s room was dark, as she usually kept it that way. For a student of the sun, she was much more of a night owl, or bat.

“Ah, dere ya are.”, Brigid said once she saw Sunset at her desk.

“I’m here.”

“Ah was readin’ da history book f’r meself, n’ Ah noticed an inconsistency between wha’ ya said n’ what da book says.” Brigid opened the book up to the relevant page. “Ya said da princesses ascended afte’ dey did deir ‘hin’, but da book says dey were already ascended by dat time. What gives?”

“Although the fact that alicorns are created is not restricted information, it’s also not something taught in schools. I wasn’t Celestia’s first attempt at finding a successor. Her first attempt was a mare named Mage Light, back before she figured out she and Luna were immortal, and when I say that mare was power hungry, I mean she wasn’t Stalin but was close.”

“N’ she was allowed ta be Celestia’s student?”, Brigid asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Hindsight’s twenty/twenty. Now, how alicorns are created was common knowledge back then, and Mage tried to become one. The results were disastrous. The force she used to bind the power was unstable, and let’s just say, Celestia figured out she was immortal after that.”, Sunset said in that dark-cheery tone.

“Aiy”, Brigid said with a grimace.

“Yeah, Celestia managed to fly her up into the air and away from other ponies before she went boom. After that, knowledge of how to create an alicorn became restricted only to the crown, and the fact that alicorns can even be created was swept under the rug. I didn’t even learn any of that until just a few months before I left, and that was only because a new alicorn was created. Kinda a funny story, actually.”

“Oh, Ah’d like ta hear dat story.”, Brigid said mischievously.

“We should take a seat on the couch.”, Sunset said while pointing to the furniture in question. “It’s kinda long.” Sunset and Brigid headed over to the couch and took their seats. “Now, to preface this story, curly hair is even rarer in Equestria than it is here. Some ponies have these wisps of curls at their tips, but true curly hair- we can’t even ask for a hairdresser with curly hair, it’s so rare. Now, for my whole life, my mom or dad would do my hair, and this story starts with the royal manedresser somehow managing to talk me into letting her do my mane, big mistake.”

*Flashback*

Canterlot Castle

Date: 09/01/1115 Ee, time: 10th hour ASR

*Sunset’s perspective*

“Ow! Ow! Ow! I said ‘tip to root’! I said ‘tip to root’!”, Sunset cried out in pain.

“It wouldn’t hurt so much if you combed out your mane more regularly. When was the last time you combed out your mane?”, the royal manedresser asked.

“I comb my mane every night!”, Sunset shouted, now very insulted. “You’re doing it wrong!”

“What’s going on in here?”, an unknown voice asked. The royal manedresser turned to look at the newcomer, and Sunset took the opportunity to escape. Sunset hopped off the chair and turned to the exit. A pink unicorn stood in the doorway, and the royal manedresser was facing her.

“Oh, nothing. My client here is just being uncooperative.”

The pink unicorn looked towards Sunset, and a look of comprehension came across her face as she had wavy hair of her own. “Yeeaah, I’m gonna say she wasn’t just being uncooperative.”, the pinkie unicorn said to the manedresser. She spoke in a “not Canterlot” accent, sounding rather rural. “Hey, I can help you with your mane if you wanna come back to my room.”, she said to Sunset.

“Please”, Sunset pleaded. The pink unicorn backed out of the doorway, letting Sunset rush out of the room. Sunset ran a few trots away before turning back to her savior. “Thanks a lot back there-” Sunset’s words died in her throat as she saw the two extra appendages no unicorn should have. She looked back at the other mare’s horn, then back to her wings, then back to her horn again. Sunset rubbed her eyes then looked back to the other mare just to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. Unicorn and pegasus hybrids were not unheard of, but they never have both physical characteristics. It’s always either a pegasus that can use unicorn magic through their wings or a unicorn that can naturally walk on clouds. That only left one option. “You’re an alicorn.”, Sunset said, astonished.

“I am.”

“How?”

“That’s a question best left to Auntie Celestia to answer.”, she said timidly.

“Auntie Celestia? Does that mean you’re the daughter of Princess Luna?”, Sunset asked excitedly. News of the Sovereign having an heir would have every thestral flying to Canterlot as fast as their wings would carry them.

“Who?”

“What?”

“I don’t know who Princess Luna is.”

Or not. “Okay then, who are you?”

“My name is Mi Amore Cadenza, but I much prefer to be called Cadence.”

“Okay Cadence, if you’re not Luna’s daughter, why do you call Celestia ‘Auntie’?”

“Because she adopted me. That seemed most respectful.”, Cadence said like that was the most normal thing in the world. Sunset only had more questions now. What Cadence said made no sense. Celestia and Luna were the only alicorns. Any other alicorns would’ve needed to have come from them. Cadence apparently picked up on Sunset’s confusion. “You should ask Auntie Celestia. She’s better suited to answer your questions.”

“Oh, you bet I will.” Sunset turned to leave but was interrupted by Cadence.

“Do you still want me to help you with your mane and tail?”

Sunset stomped her hoof in irritation. She completely forgot about that, now she would have to wait to ask Celestia, and Faust knows how tight the royal manedresser made her knots. Sunset turned back around to face Cadence. “This is not going to be pleasant.”, Sunset said with a grimace.

Cadence put a hoof to her mouth and gave a light chuckle. “Hmhmhm, I have a few tricks that might help.” Cadence led Sunset to her room, which was right next to Sunset’s. Their doors were nowhere near each other’s, but they shared the tower. “Here we are. I’m still getting settled in. Give me a second to find my mane care supplies.” Cadence began rummaging around in the boxes, and Sunset looked around at what was already set up. There wasn’t much, but there were some small trinkets scattered about. The room itself was of similar design to Sunset’s and just as big.

“So, where are you from?”, Sunset asked, trying to make small talk.

“I’m from a town called ‘Gallopville’, up North. Aha, found them.” Cadence brought her mane care stuff over to the vanity and patted the seat for Sunset to sit.

“Never heard of it.”, Sunset said while walking over.

“Not surprising, it’s very small.”, Cadence said as she got started. Cadence began working on Sunset’s mane. It was worse than she thought. Cadence had to spend a near hour detangling Sunset’s mane, and that wasn’t even including her tail. It was painful, and Sunset wanted to badly hurt the royal manedresser. The manedresser hadn’t gotten to her tail, so it took less time. “There, I think I got them all.”

“Thank you”, Sunset said then stood up.

“Any time. Seriously, I’d be willing to help you with your mane and tail whenever you need.”

“Thank you, and same. I’d be willing to help you with your mane and tail. Faust knows you won’t find a manedresser that knows anything about curly hair.”

“Thank you. I think I will take you up on that offer.”

Sunset gave Cadence a nod then teleported to just outside Celestia’s room. Sunset gave a polite knock, but Celestia most likely already knew she was here. “Come in.”, Celestia said. Sunset entered and looked around for Celestia. Despite her being Equestria’s supreme ruler, Celestia’s room was rather mundane. Most nobles will completely deck out their houses and rooms to display their wealth and importance, but Celestia doesn’t need to do such childish things. Sunset found Celestia laying on her bed, reading a book. “Hello, Sunset.”

“Hi, I met Cadence.”

“Oh, I was going to properly introduce you two tomorrow, but I’m glad you met. What did you think of her?”, Celestia said while sitting up.

“She’s nice, but I was wondering where she came from. You and Luna were the only alicorns, and Luna’s been on the moon for the last thousand years. That leaves you as the only one Cadence could’ve gotten her alicorn traits from, but she says you only adopted her. You’re not telling one of us something.”

“Sunset, Cadence and I are not related.”

“How else could she be an alicorn?”

“Is that really what’s more important, or is her character?”, Celestia said while walking over to Sunset.

“Well, her character is what’s truly important, but I would still like to know how she’s an alicorn.”

“I will tell you this, Sunset. Get to know Cadence, then I’ll tell you how she’s an alicorn.”

She’s planning something. “All right, but I should warn you. I’ll be spending the whole time pestering you about who her father is.”, Sunset said with a cheery smile.

Celestia gave her own cheery smile, but Sunset has known her long enough to see the grimace underneath. “All right, is there anything else I can help you with?”

“No, thank you.” Sunset gave Celestia a soft smile before teleporting away.

*Present Day*

Sunset’s room

Date: same day, time: 9:15 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“So, that’s how I met the first alicorn to be created in a thousand years. After a week of getting to know her and the two of us bonding over mane care, Celestia told me how alicorns are created.”

“Why did she wait a week before tellin’ ya?”

“I guess she was worried about how I’d react. She has this grand idea that becoming an alicorn is some divine gift of destiny.”

“Ya don’t?”

“It’s a power, nothing more, nothing less. Bcey, I don’t even believe in destiny anymore.”

“Oh, why not?”

“Was getting this a part of my destiny,” Sunset pointed to her scar, “or this?” Sunset pointed to her previously broken leg, “Were any of the terrible things that happened to me? Was it the destiny of the Equestria First Legionnaires to be racist monsters? What god would write that? Faust was just a normal scribe and story writer. She’s not up in Elysium, writing all of our stories.”, Sunset said, agitated, then lowered her head. Tears were threatening to escape from Sunset’s eyes. She didn’t want Brigid to see her so weak.

“Are ya okay?”, Brigid asked calmly. She placed her hand on and rubbed Sunset’s shoulder.

“I don’t know what to believe in anymore.”, Sunset said solemnly.

“Hey,” Brigid cupped Sunset’s face in her hands, “it doesn’t matte’ wha’ external force ya believe in. Ya c’n believe in a giant, flying spaghetti monster.- Pastafarianism, it’s a real religion. -Wha’ matte’s is dat ya believe in yourself. Ya c’n write y’r own destiny.”

Sunset wrapped her arms around Brigid and just buried herself into her bulk. Religion was complicated. The more she learned, the more she questioned, and now, she needed to go look up Pastafarianism.

*Flashback*

Canterlot Castle royal spa suite

Date: 16/01/1115 Ee, time: 3rd hour AMR

*Sunset’s perspective*

So many ideas went through Sunset’s mind that night. Restructuring Canterlot to be more accommodating for the disabled, dismantling the nobility system, and ensuring veterans get the respect they deserve were but a few of them. There were so many things Sunset could do to make Equestria better for the underprivileged of the country, but that wasn’t the only thing that occurred to her. “Princess Celestia, if you and Luna weren’t born alicorns, what about your parents?”

For the first time that night Celestia’s face became serious and even a bit sorrowful. “Sunset, you and your family are rather religious, correct? You pray to my mother for some clue about your destiny, and you pray to my father to bless your armor and weapons before battle.”

“Of course, why wouldn’t we?”

“Well, the truth of the matter is, my parents were not gods. My mother was a writer but not of destinies. She was a court scribe and fairytale writer. My father was a forge master, but he did not create Equoes. Over the centuries, despite my best efforts, my parents have been deified. In reality, they were normal unicorns that lived during the founding of Equestria.”

Sunset’s ears went flat against her head. This couldn’t be true, a lie, but it was Celestia. She would have no reason to lie about this, not to her. “Thank you for telling me this.”, Sunset said flatly. She pulled herself out of the water and began heating up her fur. “I think I’m going to turn in for the night.”

“Sunset, are you okay?”, Cadence asked.

“I - need to process this.” Sunset slowly walked to the door, steam wafting off her.

“No, let her go.”, Celestia said. Sunset could only guess it was in response to Cadence trying to stop her.

Sunset exited the spa and teleported to her parents’ house. She ended up not needing to knock as her Dad noticed her. “Sunset, you know you can just teleport straight in. You don’t need to wait for one of us to let you in.”, Dad said once he opened the door.

“I prefer to be polite.”, Sunset said as she walked inside.

“Is something bothering you? You look troubled.” Dad closed the door and moved to face Sunset, and Mom joined them.

“Sunset?”, Mom asked worriedly.

Sunset debated telling them. She hated that they were living a lie, but knowing the truth would also crush them. It was Mom’s faith that helped her through everything that has happened to her, and Dad was very religious. “I’ve learned something very troubling.”

“Sunset, you can tell us anything.”, Dad said.

“He, you know I can’t. They wouldn’t be state secrets if I spilled them.”, Sunset said with a light chuckle.

“Is there anything you need?”, Mom asked.

“Space and time.”

Mom and Dad parted, and Sunset walked upstairs and into her old room. The room was painted to look like a cloudy night sky. The bed had a homemade canopy that gave Sunset a safe feeling, like being in a cave. The room wasn’t big enough for a desk, but she did have a breakfast-in-bed table that served as a suitable substitute. When Sunset was a filly, any and all available space, which was barely anything beyond her bed, was filled with bookshelves, which were in turn filled with books that Sunset scavenged and small nick-nacks Sunset liked to collect. She clearly picked up a few habits from Spitfire. She even stuffed as many books as she could under her bed.

Nowadays, most of those books were located in her room at Canterlot Castle, but there were still a few story books lying about. Sunset levitated one of them up. It was a book about the various legends involving Faust and Cracken. Mom and Dad used to read it to her before bed. She was raised to believe these stories were true, but they’re not. Lies, all of them. Sunset glared at the book, and her magical grip tightened. The book began to smoke and then burst into flames. “Aw, shit.” Sunset dropped the book and quickly stomped out the flames. Sunset picked the book back up and inspected the damage. The damage was contained to the cover and the fringes of the pages. She casted ‘Mend’ on it and set it back down.

Sunset climbed onto her bed and under her canopy and curled up into the fetal position. Her mind was all over the place with feelings of betrayal and hurt twisting within her gut. She didn’t know how to feel about any of it. She didn’t know if she should be mad at Celestia, if she should even feel betrayed, or what. All she knew is that she had been lied to her entire life.

*Present Day*

“Sunset?”

Sunset looked up to meet Brigid’s eyes. She tightened her grip around her. Her mother was here and real. She could hold her as tightly as she wanted. If there was anything she could believe in, it was Brigid, Anzhong, Emi, Anura, Minerva, all the people she could touch, feel, and see. “Yeah?”

“Do ya express how ya feel in y’r art?”

“Not really, it’s hard to express it. How do you express that you were betrayed by your very gods?”

“Fair, but ya also can’t bottle dese feelin’s up. Dat’s how ya get a pipe bomb.”

“What am I even supposed to do?”

“Ah - Ah don’t know. Ah straight up have no idea a’ wha’ Ah’m doin’. Parentin' is like flyin’ by da seat a’ y’r pants, but ya don’t even have pants.”

“Hff, the mental image of you trying to fly a plane in your underwear is funny.”

“- Trousers, dat saying is ‘bout trousers.”, Brigid said astonished.

“Hahaha”

“Yeah yeah, laugh it up.”

Author's Note

The next chapter will take a while longer than normal. I just got my wisdom teeth yanked out, and I'm in a bit of pain. I'll get the next chapter out as soon as I can, but I'm going to be doing a lot of sleeping for the foreseeable future.

SHWO ch67 The difference between men and boys

Moonshine’s Bar

Date: May 3rd, time: 8:00 pm

*Jiraiya’s perspective*

Jiraiya walked into Moonshine’s and took a seat at the bar. The man himself, a bald mixed man that looked like if the Rock and Obama had a baby together, came up and greeted Jiraiya. “Your usual?”

“You know me well, Shiny.”, Jiraiya teased.

“Don’t call me ‘Shiny’.”, Jamal Moonshine said seriously, but Jiraiya knew he was playing the game. Though, he would likely actually drop kick anyone else that called him ‘Shiny’. The only reason he allows him is for the same reason he also wears a combat belt, a ‘cool belt’ as he calls it. These belts were not normal belts. They had snap buckles instead of the typical frame style for easy release; are made of a highly durable, slightly stretchy fabric; and were not through any loops, just held up by being tight around the waist.

“What else am I supposed to call you with that shiny ass head of yours?”

“Hide your women and hide your baby oil.”

“Exactly, if I rub your head three times, a genie will pop out.”

Jamal handed Jiraiya his drink then went to help other customers. Jiraiya nursed his drink as he waited for his date. He opened the dating app on his phone and looked at Amethyst Maresbury’s picture. She’s a white woman, about Jiraiya’s age, and has graying pink hair with purple eyes and a scroll as her symbol. She’s okay looking, but Jiraiya didn’t care so long as she was interesting and could still do the dead. After many years of rejecting women because they weren’t as beautiful as Aoi, Jiraiya figured out that having a shapeshifter for a wife kinda spoiled him and now, after working on it, is happy with “not ugly”.

Her profile says she’s a librarian at Crystal Prep. The CPA thing gave Jiraiya pause and almost made him not want to respond to her message considering the reputation and Sunset’s experiences with their students, but he ultimately decided that he would at least go on one date. She was just a librarian at the school and likely didn’t have much influence in how the kids acted.

A few minutes later, Amethyst arrived and looked around the bar for Jiraiya. She found him rather quickly, seeing he was the only guy in there with long, wild hair, and sat down next to him. “You must be Jiraiya.”

“And you must be Amethyst. What would you like? It’s my treat.”

“What would you recommend?”

“He makes a pretty good mixed fruit drink. That’s what I’m drinking.”

“I’ll have that then.”

Jiraiya called Jamal over with a raise of his hand. “Another tropical storm for the lady.”, Jiraiya said while putting down a fiver.

“Coming right up.”, Jamal said and took the cash, then leaned down to Amethyst. “Fair warning, he likes to scare people as a prank.”

“Thank you.”, Amethyst said somewhat nervously.

Jamal made Amethyst’s drink and went back to his other work. Jiraiya and Amethyst began talking and getting to know each other, and Jiraiya switched to virgin drinks and sodas after he was done with his first. Amethyst was a nice woman but not that interesting. She didn’t do much outside work anymore, and being a librarian wasn’t a very interesting job, for the most part.

“So, I opened up the book, and there was a taco inside.”, Amethyst said.

“A taco? That’s a strange bookmark.”

“That’s one way to put it.”

The two continued talking until Jiraiya was pushed off his stool and onto the ground, knocking his glasses off. “Ow, why did you do that?”, Jiraiya asked. He got his glasses back on and looked up to see a man in his late fifties, early sixties, standing over him, looking like he wanted to kill him, but Jiraiya wasn’t too worried as this guy didn't look like he took care of himself. The best way he could describe him was as the really hairy guy who only wears overalls to Bargain-mart, but thankfully for sanity’s sake, he was fully clothed.

“That’s my girl!”, the angry man shouted.

Jiraiya climbed to his feet and looked back at Amethyst, and she was scared, not the ‘I’ve just been caught’ scared but the ‘I am genuinely afraid for my life’ scared. Jiraiya gave the man his best smile and put on his ‘peaceful old man’ act. “I don’t believe I’ve introduced myself. I’m Jiraiya, and I’m sure we can talk this out. Please, take a seat, I’ll buy you a drink, and we can discuss this misunderstanding.”

The angry man’s face became even redder, and he looked like Jiraiya just insulted his mother. “Don’t shit with me!” The man threw a lazy right hook, which Jiraiya ducked with ease.

Jiraiya straightened himself and grabbed the buckle of his combat belt. He was out of friendly grandpa mode and in ‘ya done fucked up’ mode.

“Sir, you need to leave.”, Jamal said forcefully. He was standing near the exit point of the bar counter and also holding the buckle of his combat belt.

“You can’t make me leave. He’s the one hitting on my girl!”, the angry man shouted.

“Yes, I can make you leave because I’m the owner. Get out!”

The angry guy didn’t listen and pulled his arm back again. Dude was clearly not trained or been in a fight before as he had his thumb inside his fist. Jiraiya internally rolled his eyes at this idiot's attempt at breaking his own thumb. As the man striked, Jiraiya whipped off his belt and, in one fluid motion, wrapped his belt around his arm, swung him around and onto the counter, and wrapped his other arm up, forming makeshift handcuffs. Jamal called the cops, and Jiraiya hauled the angry man outside to wait while Amethyst stayed with Jamal.

“Fuck you! I’m gonna fuck you up!”

“I highly doubt that. With all due respects, you’re lucky I stopped you from hurting yourself.”

The cops showed up, took statements while the angry man continued to holler abuse, and took angry man away. This was nothing new to Jiraiya, but it was the first time he’d experienced it since his hair started turning gray. Jiraiya re-entered the bar and walked back over to Amethyst and Jamal. The other patrons were only mildly paying attention to them. It’s not like people getting into fights was newsworthy in bars. Amethyst was drinking some water, and Jamal was comforting her. Jiraiya took a seat next to her and projected a confident yet comforting demeanor. “Are you doing okay?”, Jiraiya asked.

“I’m a bit shaken up but otherwise fine.”

“Who was that?”

“Shivle Agacker, he’s been stalking me for a while now, but what you did with your belt was amazing.”

“Thank you.”

“Maybe you can teach it to me. It can be our second date.”, Amethyst said flirtatiously.

“I can teach you, but I don’t think we should have a second date. You’re a nice woman, just not what I’m looking for.”, Jiraiya said as politely as he could.

“Oh”, Amethyst said dejectedly. “Well, this was a nice time.”

“Do you need me to walk you home?”

“I’ll just get a taxi, but thank you.”

Jiraiya nodded, paid the tab, and exited the bar. The walk back to his apartment wasn’t long, he lived the next block over. Upon getting into his apartment, Jiraiya poured himself a coffee and waited for the drink to wear off. Around 22:30, Jiraiya checked his BAC with his personal breathalyzer and, seeing it was well below the legal limit, began getting ready for work. He washed off the cologne; got his work clothes and shoes on, which meant scrubs and blood proof, puncture proof, steel-toed safety boots; and tied back his hair into a bun. Jiraiya drove to the hospital, clocked in, and began work.

Work consisted of doing his evening rounds in the burn ward, then ER chaos, and then morning rounds. On days where it was needed, Jiraiya would attend board meetings. At this point in his life, he’s the guy the other members ask “Did we do this before?” and “Did it work?”. The rounds were the simple parts, making sure people weren’t dead, didn’t have any complaints, and generally keeping them alive overnight so the morning people could continue their treatments. The lovely nurses were the ones really working with the patients. ER duty was a different story. House fires, car wrecks, late night cooking accidents, all of them get worse at night. More people are at home, and people are more tired and drunker. One guy even came in with severe penile burns from trying to give his girlfriend a chocolate covered strawberry inspired Valentines gift. That was not a sober decision. The overall hospital was quieter at night but the ER, nope. His overall seniority also meant that he was one of the ones younger doctors would come to for help. He didn’t mind this. It was just another thing he did.

Once Jiraiya had made sure everyone was alive, he went to the ER. It was quiet, but he dare not say it out loud. There was one drunk kid that had his hair burned off and a torched scalp with his equally drunk friends.

“Dude, I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”, one of the kid’s friends said. He was that mix of sober and drunk that told you he was forcefully sobered up by adrenaline.

“Oh man, oh man, this is bad. Is he going to be okay?”, the third boy asked.

“Both of you, shut up. Let the doctors concentrate.”, the burned kid said.

“He’ll be fine, but we’ll have to see about his hair. He might not get it back.”, Jiraiya explained. The three of them looked at each other, just realizing how permanent this might be.

Jiraiya and Joy ignored the boys as they worked. “How was your date?”, Nurse Joy asked.

“Well, there were two parts to the date. The most interesting thing during the first part was a story of someone using a taco as a bookmark.”

“Ew”

“And during the second part, the poor lady’s stalker arrived, and I had to subdue him.”

“How big was the guy?”

“I don’t know, five nine, a hundred eighty-ish.”

“Hold up, you took out a guy two inches taller and thirty pounds heavier than you. How old was he?”, Joy said disbelievingly.

“I restrained him, not “took him out”, and he was about sixty.”

“Aren’t you like eighty or something?”

“I will be, next year.”

“So, you restrained a man that was taller than you, bigger than you, and younger than you. Yeah right.”

“I very much did, and be happy to tie you up too.”

“In your wet dreams.” Joy’s last comment got the three boys laughing. I guess an old fart and a middle aged woman taking sexual jabs at each other is funny.

They finished up shortly after, and Jiraiya gave them wound care while the boys packed up. “Keep the burns covered, wear a hat or something else to cover your head, and change your bandages everyday.”

“And don’t do whatever you did to end up in this mess again.”, Joy added with her usual snark.

“You bet. I’m never putting candles on my headboard again.”, the burned kid said.

“Why did you put candles on your headboard?”, Jiraiya asked.

“This one is easily romanced by romantic mood lighting.”, the third boy teased.

“As if you’re not.”, the second boy defended.

“Boys, that’s enough. Let’s go home.”, the burned kid ordered. The three of them left the room, and Jiraiya and Joy moved on to their next task.

Halls of CMS

Date: May 6th, time: 3:00 pm

*Flash’s perspective*

Flash grabbed his stuff from his locker and turned around to meet up with Sunset but was instead met with two other girls. He didn’t know either of them, but they seemed to be around the same age as him, maybe a bit younger.

“So, you’re the cool guy, Flash Sentry.”, one of the girls said.

“Yeah, that’s me.”

“Well, I got ta say, I like what I see.”, the second girl said.

“Well, thank you.”, Flash said with a voice crack.

“What was that?”, the first girl said in amused bemusement. “Are you part frog?”

“No, it means he’s growing up, unlike you.”, Sunset interjected with. Both girls looked annoyed before they spun around and saw who just said that. “Boo” The girls ran off, and Sunset chuckled to herself. “I love being the most feared woman in school.”, Sunset said with a smile.

“Eh, I prefer being ‘the cool guy’.”

“And that’s why we work well together. Now, walk me to my bus.”, Sunset ordered.

Flash bowed, and Sunset chuckled. Sunset took Flash’s hand, and the two walked to the parking lot. Flash watched Sunset board the bus to the hockey rink with a smile on his face. So hot. As the bus drove off, Flash saw Mom’s car pull up. He hurried over and hopped in but noticed it wasn’t Mom driving. “Dad?”, Flash asked.

“Hey, Flash. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I was just expecting Mom to pick me up.”

“Well, I’m going to be picking you up for a while.”, Dad said with a smile.

“Oh”, Flash simply said. Dad seemed a bit concerned but said nothing.

Before he drove off, Dad pulled out a piece of paper and checked something on it. It was a list of times and places. “Okay, let’s go.” Dad put the paper back and drove out of the parking lot. Their next stop was Dr. Owlseye’s office. “A therapist's office, what would you need to see a therapist for?” Flash didn’t answer his father’s question and just waited for them to park. Dad pulled into the parking lot, and Flash went to get out, but before he could, Dad grabbed his shoulder and kept him in the car. “Flash, please tell me what’s going on.”

Flash looked at his father darkly. “A girl at school kissed me without my consent. The act itself wasn’t traumatic, but it’s what it meant that really hurt me.”

Dad said nothing and pulled Flash into a hug as best he could in the car. “I’m so sorry that happened to you. Is there anything I can do?”

“No, you should’ve been there.”, Flash spat bitterly.

“Flash, I was overseas. There was no way for me to be there.”, Dad said matter-of-factly.

Flash pushed away from the hug and glared at his father with anger that rivaled Sunset’s. “You shouldn’t have been overseas! You should’ve been with us! You left us alone for three years!” Flash just unloaded on his father. All the resentment that had been building up over the years finally came out. Flash was surprised by his own words as much as his dad, but they lifted a weight from his chest he wasn’t even aware was there until it was gone.

“Flash, our country needed me. I had no choice.”, Dad said, still in that matter-of-fact tone. That angered Flash further. Dad wasn’t even sorry about any of it.

“No! The government needed soldiers, any soldier, but Mom and I need you specifically! I needed my dad! You could’ve joined the coast guard, and that would’ve kept you home! I needed you, and you weren’t there!” Tears were now streaming down his face, and Flash let them flow.

“Flash, I’m sorry, but I did what was needed of me. You’ll understand when you join.”, Dad said in a more apologetic tone, but Flash was still furious that he still thought he was right.

“No, I won’t because I’m not joining.”

“What?”, Dad asked in shock.

“I said, “I’m not joining”. I want to be a father and actually be there for my kids. I’m not going to leave my wife to raise our kids alone.”, Flash spat with venom and jumped out of the car, walking towards Dr. Owleye’s office.

“Flash! Wait!”, Dad called out. Flash didn’t acknowledge him and continued walking. Dad ran to catch up to Flash and grabbed his arm.

“Let me go.”, Flash demanded.

“Flash, please, you need to understand. I went on missions where my skill set was absolutely needed. The navy needed me specifically.”

“For three years! You were gone for three years, and I only saw you a handful of times!”

“It’s not that easy.”, Dad said solemnly.

Flash yanked his arm away and marched into the waiting room. Dad signed him in and took a seat next to Flash. Dad tried to say something but didn’t. Eventually, Flash was called, and he went back to Dr. Owleye’s office. Dr. Owleye’s office was decorated to have a calming atmosphere, at least that was the intent. It was a bit much for Flash with the warm colored everything, but he dealt with it because he liked her.

Katon family home

Date: same day, time: 5:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset entered her home, took off her shoes, and walked over to the couch with her hockey stick still in hand and her bag over her shoulder.

“Hey, Sunset.”, Flash said tiredly. He and Sunset were the only people in the main area. Everyone else is likely upstairs.

“Hey to you too. Are you okay?”, Sunset asked.

“Not really.”

Sunset dropped her stuff, sat down next to Flash, and cradled him. “What happened?”

“I snapped at my dad. I just went off on him for being gone for so long. I didn’t even realize how mad I am at him.”

“Do you want me to say anything?”

“No, just hold me.”, Flash said quietly. Sunset did, and Flash grabbed her arm as if it was a life preserver. Sunset used her other arm to stroke Flash’s hair.

Brigid and Anzhong soon returned, and Brigid saw Sunset and Flash on the couch. “Is every‘hin’ okay?”, Brigid asked.

“He got into a fight with his dad.”, Sunset informed.

“Dat’s unfortunate. Do ya want ta have dinne’ with us?”

“That would be nice. Thank you.”

Sentry family home

Date: same day, time: 5:00 pm

*Shine’s perspective*

Shine was sweeping and cleaning as Ethan returned from chauffeuring Flash around. Strangely enough, he looked down. Shine put the cleaning supplies and walked over to him. Ethan sat down on the couch and put his head in his hands. Shine sat down on one of the chairs, facing Ethan. “Is everythin’ okay?”

Ethan lifted his head up to look Shine in the eyes. “No, Flash and I had an argument.”

“About what?”

“He’s upset I was gone for so long. I tried to explain why I had to be away for so long, but he wouldn’t listen. He said he wasn’t joining the military. Maybe I should just go back after the wedding.”

“Ethan, Ah think that’s possibly tha dumbest thing that has ever come out of your mouth, and that’s saying something.”, Shine chastised. Ethan looked at her in the ‘did you just call me stupid’ way, but Shine ignored it and continued. “Ya can’t go back overseas, not if ya want ta still have a relationship with Flash. He needs you to be here, at least until he goes ta college.” As they were talking, Andy came in, wearing his most fabulous clothes and with papers in his hands, and was now listening to their conversation. How wonderful he gets to express himself.

“So, what happened?”, Andy asked. Ethan filled Andy in, and Andy nodded. “Yeah, I get that. Over the three years you were on deployment, you’ve only been home for a couple months. Same goes for when I was a kid. I needed you, and Flash needs you. And don’t give me the “our country needed me” spiel. Your skill set isn’t that rare, and you do this at the time we need you the most in our development. I love you, Dad, but you have seriously bad timing.”

“You never acted like this though.”, Ethan said.

“No, but I also didn’t go through anything like he did.”

“You knew too. Why didn’t either of you tell me?”

“Because that’s not something ya tell more people about.”

“I’m his father! You should’ve told me!”, Ethan shouted in rage.

“It happened ta Flash. It’s his decision who knows. That includes family.”, Shine said.

Ethan buried his head in his hands again. “What do I do?”

“Be here for him. Take a job that will let you be here.”

“But I’m needed in the navy. Andy, you understand.”

“Actually, I’m transferring to the coast guard.” Andy handed Ethan the papers he was holding. “Borago is too. We want to be here for our kids.”

“I’m out numbered here, aren’t I? Alright, I’ll talk to my superiors and try to get a desk job or something.”

Canterlot Hospital

Date: May 8th, time: 5:00 am

*Jiraiya’s perspective*

“Good morning, Jiraiya.”, Nurse Joy said.

“The quality of this morning is questionable.”, Jiraiya said flatly.

“Aw, what’s got you down? Is it that it’s your birthday?”, Joy teased.

“How is it that you know my birthday and yet I don’t know your first name?”

“Jenny”

“Ah. Well, for your information, the fact it’s my birthday has nothing to do with today’s quality. We do not fear getting old in my culture.”

“Then what is it?”

Jiraiya pulled his sleeve up, revealing the bandages on his arm. “Drunk people plus long nails equals the doctor getting hurt.”

“Ow, are you okay?”

“Yes, they are shallow enough not to bleed, but that’s why they hurt so much.”

“Gotta love working in healthcare. Ya pay a bunch ta do it, the long hours, ya only make it rich after decades of work, and to top it all off, people hate you for doing your job.”

“Still, seeing people’s faces when they’re told they’re going to be okay. It’s worth it all.”

“Speak for yourself. You get doctor’s pay. Have you seen the crap I have ta put up with, and I ain’t just talkin’ about the patients.”

“And that’s why you love me.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, what are you doing for your birthday?”

“I have tomorrow off, so I’m going to celebrate with my family then get drunk.”

Jiraiya and Joy got back to work until shift change, and Jiraiya grabbed something from the cafeteria before leaving. It was one of the few times the two of them were leaving at the same time. As they were walking out to the parking lot, Jiraiya saw good ol’ Officer Jenny. Even after working with Joy for a decade, he didn’t know either of their first names. Jiraiya waved to them as he went to his car. He did his normal check of the back seat then drove home.

As soon as he was home, Jiraiya took his shoes off and put on his slippers. If scrubs were anything, they were comfortable, and as the ones he was wearing didn’t have any blood on them, so Jiraiya just lounged around in them. He checked his phone to see happy birthday messages from his family and the few friends he has. After replying to everyone, Jiraiya set his alarm, flopped into bed, and got some shut-eye.

A few hours later, Jiraiya awoke and made some breakfast. After confirming the place and time with Brigid, Jiraiya commenced with his nightly routine. After brushing his teeth, Jiraiya took out his puzzle book and began working on solving them. He went through a book a week, even with the highest difficulty ones. At least he could say they were doing their job. After completing his puzzles, Jiraiya grabbed his weights and began working out. He couldn’t lift as much as he could twenty years ago or go it for as long, but even just an hour will slow down his body’s degradation.

After his workout, Jiraiya took a bath and then got dressed in his semi-nice clothes. You don’t want to go fully formal with kids under ten around. No matter how well they’re raised, they’re still kids, and kids are messy. Jiraiya put his shoes on, grabbed his keys, and got in the elevator to get down to the garage. Inside the elevator was Mr. Waddle. “Oh hello, Jiraiya.”

“Hello, Mr. Waddle.”, Jiraiya said cordially but remained facing the door.

“Say, you’re a doctor, right?”

“That I am.”

“Well, I have this weird rash on my butt. Could you take a look at it?”

Horror arised in Jiraiya as Mr. Waddle placed his hands in the waistband of his pants. “Oh, no no no, I don’t need to see your rash.”, Jiraiya tried to say faster than his mouth could move while frantically waving his hands. “I work in the burn unit. Unless you have a burn, I can’t help you.”

“Oh, okay.”, Mr. Waddle said as he removed his hands from his pants.

As soon as the elevator reached the garage, Jiraiya got out of there as quickly as was polite. If he was a younger man, he would’ve taken the stairs. That’s the real occupational hazard of being a doctor.

Outside CMS

Date: May 12th, time: 3:30 pm

*Flash’s perspective*

Flash and Sunset exited the school and began walking to the parking lot. As has become the norm, Dad was waiting instead of Mom. What was new is that Andy and Borago were with him. “Hey Dad, what’s up?”

“Hey Flash, we’re gonna have a guys’ day out for your birthday.”, Dad said excitedly.

“Okay”, Flash said flatly.

“Aw come on, it will be great. We’ll go to the arcade and go go-kart racing, just like when you were a kid.”

“That sounds like fun.”, Flash said with some enthusiasm.

“Ehem”, Sunset said.

“Oh right, Sunset, this is Borago, Andy’s fiancé. Borago, this is Sunset, my girlfriend.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, Sunset.” Borago and Sunset shook hands, and Sunset looked Borago over, for whatever reason. “What?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be gay?”

Borago looked himself over, and Flash noticed what Sunset was talking about. Andy was wearing a plum - Flash thought he called it - and black suit with a matching, wide brimmed fedora with a large feather dyed the gay male flag colors. The only subtle thing he was wearing was his black tactical boots, and even they had their standard laces replaced by blue laces. On the other hand, Borago was wearing a plain white t-shirt with blue jeans and a black, leather belt and his own military issue combat boots with the only noteworthy thing on him being a chain on his pants that held a metal plate of his symbol, a rifle with borage flowers engraved in it. “I never said I was good at it.”, Borago defended.

“Oh, you’re fine just the way you are.”, Andy said in his deep, somewhat gravelly voice. It shocked more than a few people to hear such a voice come out of a fairly averagely built and flamboyant guy. “It’s your fashion, and you pull it off perfectly, what with your big, strong muscles and all.”, Andy said while caressing Borago’s bicep.

Borago blushed, and Sunset looked over to Flash and shrugged. “So Borago, how’d you end up with your name?”, Sunset asked.

“My parents are obsessed with flowers and own a flower shop, so my siblings and I are all named after flowers.” Where Andy’s voice was deep and gravely, Borago’s was soft and gentle. It wasn’t effeminate, but it was still more of what you would expect to come out of Andy’s mouth.

“Cute”

“We should get going.”, Dad said. “See you tomorrow, Sunset.”

“Bye, Sunset.”, Flash said as he and the rest of his family got into the car. Dad drove them to Kablamers Park. It had been some time since Flash was last there, but it hardly changed. Along with the arcade, there are go-karts, mini-golf, and a pizza parlor. It was a fun place. Flash wished to take Sunset here on a date as soon as he had enough money.

The four of them exited the car and went inside. The sound of blasters firing, children screaming and cheering, and various other video game sounds hit the men’s ears as soon as they walked through the doors. The four of them headed to the front desk, and Dad got them their game tokens. They separated into two groups, Andy with Borago and Dad with Flash.

“So, what do you want to play first?”, Dad asked.

Flash looked around the place and spotted a zombie shooter with those plastic blasters. “That one.”, Flash said, and the two of them headed over. Dad put the tokens in, and they began shooting. “Watch your nine.” During the whole game, Dad kept a cool head. Guess being in the military makes you good at video games.

“That was fun. What do you want to do next?”, Dad said once the game was finished. They continued playing various games and having fun with each other until they heard a woman getting upset. Flash looked over to where he heard it and saw Andy’s feather. He looked up at Dad and saw that his face was one of recognition and annoyance. That got it to click in Flash’s mind, and the two marched over to the ruckus.

“You two should be ashamed of yourselves. What are you two doing, spreading your perversion in a place filled with children? What would your parents think?”, the irate woman ranted.

“I think that they are a lovely couple and am happy that they can finally be their true selves.”, Dad said.

“And who are you?”, the woman said indignantly.

“I’m the father of the fabulously dressed young man you were just berating. Now, what are you doing, spoiling my son’s birthday?”, Dad said like a CO addressing an irritating subordinate.

“It’s my birthday, by the way. That’s what we’re doing here, and my brothers aren’t bothering anyone.”, Flash added, trying to defend his family.

“Well, you should be ashamed for raising such a disgrace.”, the woman said, addressing Dad.

“I pray that God has mercy on you, and may Jesus teach you kindness and compassion. I’m sorry that the devil has made his home in your heart.”, Dad said with a face of ‘I’m done with this’. Andy and Borago began chuckling to each other, either about the woman or what Dad said or both. Dad really did mean what he said, but it was also code for “go fuck yourself”.

The woman stammered out some Bible passage, but Dad was having none of it. “Yes, the devil can quote the Bible too, but that doesn’t mean he understands it.”

The woman looked shocked, enraged, and - well, whatever that was. Flash wasn’t quite sure how to describe it, but it was kinda like disgust, so she looked shocked, enraged, and disgusted, which Andy was keen to take advantage of. “Oh, don’t worry, Dad. This unfashionable witch’s mean comments mean nothing. She’s just jealous we get more action in a week than she gets all year.”

The woman’s mouth gaped like a fish then she spun on her heels and walked away, past the employee that was finally showing up. As the woman walked away, Flash noticed her grab a thoroughly embarrassed kid from behind one of the games. The boy mouthed “Sorry” as he was being pulled away. Flash waved at the kid as Dad, Andy, and Borago explained what was going on to the employee.

“Sigh, I’m sorry about what happened. Let me talk to my manager, and we can get you compensated for the incident.”, the employee said.

“That won’t be necessary. You had nothing to do with it. You shouldn’t be held responsible.”, Dad said.

“I insist. We want everyone that visits Kablammers to have a good experience. Wait here, I’ll be right back.” The employee walked off quickly and soon returned with a piece of paper and handed it to Dad. It was a voucher for a free pizza.

“Thank you.”, Dad said.

“I hope you have a good rest of your day.” The employee walked off while Flash, Andy, and Borago crowded around Dad.

“Nice.”, Borago said.

“So, do you want pizza?”, Dad asked. Affirmative nods came from the rest of them. “Alright, let’s go.” The four of them headed to the pizzeria and got their preferred pizzas. They ended up with two split pizzas and began chowing down.

“I’ll be right back. I need to use the jhons.”, Andy said, then got up.

“I need to go too.”, Flash said quickly and hurried to catch up. “Hey Andy, can we talk for a minute.?”

“Sure, what’s up?”, Andy said as they continued walking.

“I’m impressed with how you dealt with that woman, but next time, can you not use witch to replace the ‘b’ word.”

“Why?”, Andy asked confusedly.

“Well, I know some witches, and they are very nice people.”

“You know witches?”, Andy asked skeptically.

“Yeah, they don’t throw fireballs from their hands, but they do use the natural magical properties of the Earth to cast their spells.”

“Okay”, Andy said somewhat dismissively as they entered the bathroom.

“Don’t say it like that. You were just talking to one when you and Dad picked me up from school.”

“Sunset’s a witch?”, Andy asked, surprised.

Flash nodded his head. “Yeah, but don’t tell Mom or Dad. They’d freak out.”

“Okay, yeah.”, Andy said more seriously.

The two of them finished their business, washed their hands, and rejoined their family. “So, what do you want to do next?”, Dad asked Flash as they sat down.

“The go-karts.”, Flash said.

“Alright, we’ll do that next.”

The four of them finished their pizzas, paid for some go-kart tickets at the desk, and headed outside. The registration booth thing for the mini golf was to their right as they exited, and the entrance to the go-karts was to their left, along the side of the building. The track was built in what used to be part of the parking lot. The four got in line, which was kinda long. As they got closer, Flash could see more of the races. Most of the kids were your average go-karters, but a couple here and there actually looked like they knew what they were doing. Eventually, it was their turn, they gave the tickets to the worker, and they entered the go-karts.

“Ready to lose?”, Andy asked Borago.

“Are you kidding me? ‘Go’ is part of my name.”

Flash didn’t pay much attention to them as he was focused on showing them just how good he’s gotten in the last three years. The light turned green, and the drivers sped out. Flash kept better control over his kart than most other people on the track. He was able to take the turns tighter and not bump into the side walls. He didn’t even know where the other three were, but he hadn’t lapped them, so they must be doing okay.

The stop light flashed, and the racers pulled into the loading bay. Flash entered first, followed by Dad, then a couple other kids, then Andy and Borago, then the rest of the kids. The employee escorted them out, and the four of them moved away from the gates.

“When did you get so good at driving?”, Dad asked.

“Over the three years you were gone.”, Flash said with a bit more than zero venom.

“Oh” It was a few moments before Dad spoke again after looking at his watch. “It’s getting late. Your mom is waiting for us.” The four of them headed out to the parking lot. “Flash, I hope that, one day, we can repair our relationship and go back to the way things used to be.”

“That’s not exactly going to be possible when you get back on your ship.”, Flash spat.

“Actually, I’m looking to find a job that will keep me in the states. I’ll still be in the military, but I’ll be able to stay with you and your mom.”

Flash looked up at his father, surprised. “You really mean that?”

“Yeah, I plan on fixing my mistakes.”

“You can’t fix your mistakes.”, Flash said while shaking his head then looked up at his dad again. “But you can make up for them.”

Coddler Inn, Vanhoover

Date: 29th day of the 3rd month of the 1119th year, time: 3rd hour AMR

*Shadow’s perspective*

Shadow Walker stared at the necklace around his neck in the mirror while picturing the pony he is impersonating in his mind. The necklace was made up of a series of amulets he uses to go undercover. He has a disguise charm that can make him look, sound, and feel just like any other pony, a telepathy charm that allowed him to listen in on ponies’ surface thoughts within a couple trots of him and adjust his behavior to match how the other pony thinks he shout act, a magic masking charm that prevents others from detecting all the magic on him other than standard magic of the tribe he’s disguised as and can be dialed up to completely conceal him, a telekinesis charm so he can impersonate unicorns and other telekinetic species, a strength enhancement charm to impersonate earth ponies and other physically capable species, and a poison detection charm for obvious reasons. All these different gems were held in place by a black metal band and black cords. In the center of the necklace was a recording stone. It can record everything Shadow sees and play it back later.

He pictured everything from his new form’s height and weight to the texture of her fur and horn. Once the image was clear in his mind, the magic swirled around him, and when it dissipated, a unicorn mare with a raspberry coat, fluffy, rich maroon mane and tail, wine purple eyes, and grapes for a cutie mark stared back at him. He could still feel his wings and the things he has in his wing pockets, but so long as he keeps his wings tucked in, they won’t give him away.

With his disguise in place, Shadow put his saddlebags on, exited his room, and began walking down the streets. Even after all these years, using telekinesis still felt strange. That’s why unicorns are his least favorite disguise, but the Night Guard couldn’t detain anypony else. After having to double check his map a couple of times, Shadow eventually found the meeting spot. It was in the back of a closed down dive bar. There was a security pony checking everypony’s cutie mark against a reference book. They clearly didn’t suspect anything. Otherwise, they would have somepony with an identification charm scanning everypony. As rare and restricted Shadow’s grade of disguise charm is, anypony can pick up any grade identification charm at any magic shop. Though, the high grade ones can be a bit pricey. Shadow got in line and it was soon his turn.

“Name?”, the security pony asked.

“Fine Brew.”, Shadow said. His voice was just like Fine Brew’s, feminen, snotty, and high pitched.

The security pony checked Fine’s cutie mark and waved Shadow through. Shadow walked into the meeting room. Several of Vanhoover’s crime dons were in attendance with their entourages. Anypony that was anypony in the crime world had a hoof in the illegal alcohol business. It was very profitable. Who wouldn’t want to skirt around the steep alcohol tax when you can transport it as medical alcohol, then filter out the toxins, and sell it in seedy bars. Who cares if they could possibly be poisoning your patrons. It was good money.

Shadow could see several of those alcohol purification systems lining the walls of the meeting room. They were all in sorry states. Each one was so dirty that it looked like any alcohol ran through them would come out more contaminated. He took Fine’s seat at the table. She was the one of the brewers at Wine Taster’s Brewery, which made both medical grade and consumption grade alcohol. Shadow sat next to Wine Taster herself. Shadow gave her a look that said “Do what you were told, and you get what we talked about.” and settled in.

The meeting started, and the dons began talking business. Shadow merely made sure that everything was recorded while Wine Taster did all the talking. Shadow began reading the surface thoughts of everypony that wasn’t talking. Most of them were very bored and weren't paying attention to Fine Brew. They were just the escorts of their respective don. Good. The ponies that were talking were too wrapped up in their conversation to pay attention to him also. This is exactly why you impersonate low ranking members of an organization.

“Now that that matter is settled, let’s move onto payment.”, Wine Taster said.

“Yes, of course.”, Don Spur said and pulled out a bag of bits. Wine Taster took it in her own magic and began counting its contents. “Don’t insult me. It’s all there.”, Don Spur barked. Wine Taster merely glared up at the don and silently looked around at the other dons. Even Shadow knew that Don Spur had a habit of short changing his business partners. It was no wonder why he only did business with other ponies and didn’t dare to even go near another race that might react more violently to his antics. Don Spur snorted as the other dons chuckled to each other.

Wine finished counting and placed the bag in her saddlebags. The dons in the meeting moved to continue, but the door leading to the bar was bucked open and dozens of ponies rushed in. It was utter chaos, and everypony that was at the meeting was trying to escape. Shadow saw several of the dons running out through the back door, and he ran after them, but he didn’t even get out to the street before he was jumped and taken to the ground. “Let go of me! They’re getting away!” Shadow tried to reach for his disguise charm to dispel it, but his hooves were restrained, the officers were on top of his wings, and a magic inhibitor ring was placed on his horn. “Release me! I am an officer of the crown! You are impeding my investigation!”

“Yeah right.”, one officer said.

“We know who you are, and you’re coming with us.”, the other officer said. Shadow stopped struggling and let them haul him off. There was nothing he could do right now, and he could chew them out when they got to questioning him.

Shadow was taken around to the front where there were a couple prisoner transport carriages. He was thrown into one of the carriages with a few of the meeting attendees, none of them were of any noteworthy rank. Shadow had no idea who was in the other carriage, but he doubted they got any of the dons.

“Man, that was intense.”, one of the lackeys said.

“Yeah, good thing the bosses got away though. We’ll be out by the end of the moon.”, another lackey said.

“Speaking of which, would any of you know where they’re hiding out?”, Shadow asked.

“Oh yeah, they’re somewhere up in the Unicorn Range. You know, someday, I would like to go up there. I heard that they have log cabins with indoor hot springs.”

“That does sound nice.”, Shadow said as they were hauled off to the local jail. As soon as they got there, they were thrown into a cell, in which there wasn’t a single individual of notable rank, and one by one, were taken for questioning. It was Shadow’s turn before long, and he was sat in front of two detectives, each one in Solar Guard armor and looking fed up with the whole situation.

“Alright, what’s your name?”, detective one asked.

“I am Colonel Shadow Walker of the Night Guard, and you fools blew my whole operation. There were four dons there, and you didn’t manage to grab one of them.”

“Ha, yeah right. We know who you really are. This was just a test to see how truthful you’re going to be. Now, then-” As detective two was talking, Shadow unfurled his wings and used them to press his disguise charm, revealing the slitted yellow eyes, sharp fangs, and gray feathered wings of his true form in his Night Guard armor and causing the magic inhibitor ring to clatter onto the floor. He let out a hiss to punctuate his point, and both of the detectives fearfully scrambled away from his predatory display.

“Get me out of these chains.”, Shadow growled in his much more intimidating, deeper and gruffer natural voice.

“U-um, yes sir.” Detective one scrambled to unlock Shadow’s shackles, and they too clattered to the floor.

“That’s better.”, Shadow growled as he got up and glared at the bumbling fools. He turned off his recording charm and headed straight up to the city guard commissioner's office and barged in, with Wreath’s secretary being too scared to try and stop him. Commissioner Wreath Leaf was sitting at his desk with piles of paperwork and his helmet on it. “Do you really have so little control over your soldiers?”, Shadow accused.

“Colonel Shadow Walker, I don’t know what you’re accusing, but I don’t like the tone of your voice.”, Commissioner Wreath said.

“I have it recorded that your officers raided a meeting that I was infiltrating and let all of the higher ups get away.” Shadow activated his recording charm and played back the events of his capture. The commissioner’s eyes grew dangerously narrow as the recording continued. By the time the recording was finished, the commissioner looked like he was ready to put his horn through his subordinates.

“Thank you for showing me this. I’ll let you handle the Unicorn Range escapees. I’ll be busy dealing with internal matters.” The commissioner put his helmet back on and marched out of his office. Shadow saw the writing on the wall and left to report back to his superiors.

Hothoof home

Date: May 16th, time: 5:30 pm

*Bow’s perspective*

The doorbell rang, and Bow got up to answer the door, and on the other side was the priest. “Hello, I am Father Mark. Are you Bow Alejandro Angelo Hothoof López?”

“That’s me, and thank you for coming.” Bow reached his hand out for a shake, which Father Mark returned.

“May I come in. I would like to talk to your daughter.”

“Of course, Father.” Bow moved out of the way and held the door open. Once Father Mark was inside, Bow closed the door, offered Father Mark a seat, then went to get Rainbow. She was in her room, listening to music while doing homework. “Rainbow!”, Bow said forcefully enough to get her attention. Rainbow took off her headphones and looked up at Bow. “The priest is here. He would like to talk to you.”

Rainbow got up and followed Bow to the living room. Father Mark was sitting on the couch, where Bow left him. Rainbow approached him with trepidation, which Bow didn’t blame her for. The last one she had any contact with was homophobic and about as subtle about it as a freight train. He was also the reason Bow stopped going to church entirely. He doesn’t need a bunch of out of touch white men telling him what his relationship with God should be like. Rainbow and Bow grabbed chairs from the dining room so they could both face him.

“Hello Ms. López, I’m Father Mark. I’ve been told you were the one to experience this spirit. I would like to hear what happened.”

“Alright, but my name is Hothoof Whistle or just Hothoof. It's a Mexican naming convention thing. A little over a year ago, I developed the ability to see spirits, and one of them, I called Moper. On April twenty-ninth, I was doing the laundry like I normally would, and for whatever reason, Moper attacked me. He threw a bottle of laundry detergent at my head. There’s security footage of it.”

“That will not be needed. I believe you. Could you take me to where it happened?”

Rainbow nodded and got up to lead Father Mark with Bow following them. The three of them headed to the laundry hall, and immediately, the hairs on the back of Bow’s neck stood on end. “There he is.”, Rainbow said as she pointed to the wall across from the laundry room door.

“Hm, alright.” Father Mark began the exorcism, and Rainbow hid behind Bow.

“Is it working?”, Bow asked Rainbow some time into the exorcism.

“He’s not looking happy.”, Rainbow said. The exorcism continued, and close to the end, Rainbow pushed in front of Bow. “No!” Rainbow shot her hands into the air, and Bow felt a wave of energy emit from Rainbow. It was powerful enough to cause Father Mark and Bow to stagger.

“What was that?”, Father Mark asked. Rainbow didn’t answer and didn’t look to have heard him.

“Rainbow?”, Bow asked.

“He’s gone.”, Rainbow whispered.

“Who’s gone? Moper?”

“He was coming at you, then he was gone.”

Now that he thought about it, that feeling of imminent threat Bow was feeling was gone. Did Rainbow do that? It did come from her. “Are you sure he’s gone?”

“I’m - not sure.”

Not knowing what else to do, Bow decided to remove them from the situation. “Thank you, Father. You’ve been a great service to us.” Bow guided Rainbow back to their apartment. Rainbow looked at her hands as if they were not her own. “Rainbow, are you okay?”

“I-I don’t know. How did I do that?”

“I’m sorry. I don’t know. Can you tell me what happened?”

Rainbow sat down on the couch, followed by Bow. “I just saw Moper charging at us, and I acted. I have no idea how I did that spirit blast thing.”

Bow rubbed his daughter’s shoulder. “It's okay. We’ll figure it out. You can’t be the first person this has ever happened to. As Abuela always says “Nothing has never happened before”.”

“Yeah, I’m actually kinda tired. Whatever I did was kinda draining. I’m going to lie down.” Rainbow got up from the couch and headed to her room.

“Okay, good night.” Bow went over to the computer and began researching ghosts and people who can see them. There has to be some sort of explanation.

Unicorn Range

Date: 30th of the 3rd month of the 1119th year, time: 3rd hour AMR

*Shadow’s perspective*

Colonel Shadow Walker and his soldiers marched through the snow as they approached the cabin. Some of Shadow’s soldiers wore snow boots that reached their knees along with armor warded against the cold. Shadow himself and the other thestrals in his unit did not need such measures. Their species evolved in colder and snowier conditions than this. Their thick fur kept them warm, and their outer coat kept them dry. It wouldn’t stop them getting wet if they jumped in a bath, but it worked perfectly in the snow. Instead of their standard midnight blue armor, they all wore snow white armor. The tops of the mountains were never not snow covered.

Shadow and his soldiers approached the cabin and hid behind a snowbank. The log cabin was large and quite nice, clearly the property of somepony very wealthy. It was the kind of place Shadow wished he could afford for his family. Sunset, like all thestrals, loved the snow, even if she hated being wet and cold, Spitfire would love playing chicken off the surrounding cliffs, and Stormy would’ve just liked getting out of Canterlot. The pony who owned the cabin would have been admirable if the money likely used to purchase it wasn’t obtained by illegal means.

Shadow activated his special ability, ‘Investigate’. His eyes glowed bright enough for his non-thestrals to see. He could see the heat signatures of every notable source inside along with what the building was made of and what was in it. “By the sovereign, they actually have an indoor hot spring.”, Shadow said out loud.

“Seems like I chose the wrong profession.”, Privet Leadwing joked. Leadwing was an earth pony and good kid, but he wasn’t likely to become a career soldier. The only reason he was in the Night Guard in the first place was because of the return of the sovereign and his thestral heritage. This isn’t to say he’s a bad soldier. He just wasn’t going to be around long enough to get an officer rank. He was far less thestral than Shadow, but he still had the dark colors, nigh vision, and bat related cutie mark common amongst thestrals. The first one is not exclusive to thestrals, but the latter two are.

“How many are inside?”, Captain Fire March asked. She was a unicorn and a career soldier, and she followed Shadow into the Night Guard since he trained her. She was previously a part of the Air Guard intel corps as a stealth blimp captain.

“I see ten ponies that look like guards along with seven others, but there might be more hidden because of the hot springs. It’s hard to tell. Okay, let’s move.”, Shadow ordered.

The unit snuck to the doors and windows, Shadow gave the signal, and they began the raid. The earth ponies bashed in the doors, and the ram wielding pegusi broke the windows. “Night Guard! Get on the floor!”, the unit shouted. The earth ponies dealt with the guards, the unicorns captured whoever they could, and the pegasi took down any escapees. The operation was quick, efficient, and effective. They would not let them escape this time. Suspects were tackled to the ground, and hooves were shackled, horns were sealed, and wings were clamped. Some did try to fight back, but each one had to fight three ponies, one of each tribe, who were all well trained and heavily armored. They stood no chance.

Once everypony was captured, they were all collared and chained and led outside. “Hope y’all’re happy with yourselves. We couldn’t get da snow carriages up ‘ere, so we’re gonna have ta walk y’all down da mountain, and y’all ain’t gettin’ boots. Hehe.”, Major Hoedown Jamboree said. Hoedown was an odd one, especially in his hometown. He was from a very rural farming town but was always a night owl, preferring to stay up late to party and make music. He joined the guards to get out of his hometown and jumped at the chance to join the Night Guard. In his words, “Ah get ta sleep all day and stay up all night and nopony will git mad at me? Sign me up!”. Plus, Luna loved his songs and parties. He plays one of the most physically challenging instruments to play, the guitar.

Shadow looked back at the cabin before they left. Privet Kaydet, a pegasus a part of the second chance program, came up and stood next to him. “Yeah know, this is wha’ I wanted too. A nice place to call my own. Though, I never imagined it to be this fancy.”

“Yeah, it would be nice to live in a place like this.”, Shadow said.

“Y’know, this place will likely go into auction once the investigation is over.”

“Ha, do you really think I could buy this place, even with all the doors and windows smashed in?”, Shadow said disbelievingly. Kaydet padded Shadow on the shoulder and rejoined his team.

The unit dragged the suspects down the mountains, to the point the transport carriages had to stop, with the unicorns guiding the way with their light spells. Some of the dons were whining and complaining barely five minutes in. “I’m too cold. You have to give me a set of boots.”, one of them said. “This is unfair treatment. I demand to speak to your superior.”, a second one said.

“I am the commanding officer here,” Shadow informed, “and I don’t care about your discomfort. You’ll live. I can’t say the same about some of your victims. I swear on the name of Po’hahnd, you will be brought to justice!”

“Haza! Honor to the gods! Honor to justice! Honor to Equestria!”, the rest of the unit cheered.

The sun was beginning its ascent by the time they were close to the transport carriages. The snow reflected the light back into their eyes. The normal ponies were able to adjust to the light fairly quickly, but the thestrals had to put on sunglasses. A group of tired looking Solar Guard stood guard around the carriages. Their commander hurried them all awake as she saw them approach. The Solar Guard took over the suspects as they were given jurisdiction over prisoner transport and containment and the detention facilities during the guard split. The suspects were loaded up and taken away by the Solar Guard, leaving the Lunar Guard to their own devices.

“We should set up camp. I’m sure everypony’s tired.”, Shadow announced. Everypony nodded and began setting up the tents and space heating stones. They would move out again a couple hours before sundown.

Inari’s shrine, Amigata

Date: May 26th, time: 3:00 pm

*Oda’s perspective*

Oda and Ryoko were praying in front of the shrine. Inari had protected the land since the village’s founding. They were the kami and protector of rice cultivation, merchants, and tradesmen, which were the primary industries in the village. They were also the patron of swordsmiths, entertainers, and, well, brothels, which were also present in the village. Inari was very important to them. Their shrine was littered with fox imagery and statues. Not only was Inari sometimes depicted as a white fox, kitsune were also their messengers. Ryoko even said that she sometimes heard their voice.

“We need to tell your family at some point.”, Oda said.

“Not yet. You know my brother’s situation. I want to wait another month at least.”, Ryoko said.

A little while later. Oda looked over at Ryoko and saw her ear twitching. It was a habit she inherited from her mother, despite not having fox ears, and meant she was trying to hear something. Oda stayed quiet, not wanting to disturb her.

“We need to go.”, Ryoko said, then turned about face and began walking out of the shrine.

“Where are we going?”, Oda asked, following Ryoko.

“To do peacekeeping work.”

Oda groaned at that. After the three wannabes were run out of town, the village heads decided Amigata needed some sort of policing force in case something like that happened again. The village only has a population of a little over a thousand, so they aren’t big enough for a proper station. That left it up to a volunteer service. The two of them volunteered because he was a big guy, by Japan’s standards, and she knew how to scare the ever living crap out of anyone with the magic she inherited from her mom. It wasn’t much, but a little can go a long way. As much as Oda wanted to protect his home, he didn’t like the idea of having to fight someone. This would be the first time they ever actually had to do their peacekeeping thing.

Ryoko led them to the village community center, which served as the meeting place for the village heads. They entered one of the smaller rooms that served as the “council room”, which meant it had a table and chairs in it, but it was really an all purpose room, just like the rest of the building. The rest of the council of village heads, the people responsible for governing the village, were already in the room, talking to some guy in a fancy business suit with slicked back hair. He just oozed sleaze.

“Ah, Ms. Katon, we were just about to call you. Mr. Sato, this is Katon Ryoko, head of the Katon clan, head of village security, and owner of the Sleeping Fox inn. Now that we are all here, we can talk business.”, Yamada Asahi, head of the Yamada clan, said. The Yamada clan were the first people to cultivate these mountains, followed by the other three founding clans that make up the council, and they own most of the rice fields. Mr. Yamada was currently the oldest council member at seventy.

Ryoko scrunched her nose up as she took her seat. The business man was wearing some strong perfume. It didn’t smell bad, it was just over powering, and that was what Oda thought with his normal human nose. He had to wonder why Ryoko hadn’t thrown up yet. Oda took one of the extra chairs and took a seat behind Ryoko. One of the other council members, Hayashi Kyo, head of the Hayashi clan, noticed Ryoko’s discomfort and opened up a window.

“Hello, Ms. Katon, I am Sato Junichiro. I believe that we’re going to be able to make some profitable business together.”, Mr. Sato said while holding his hand out to shake. Ryoko accepted it but looked at the other heads worriedly.

“What does he want?”, Ryoko asked the other heads.

“He wants to build a factory, and we already said no, but he refuses to leave until he talks to all of us.”, Inoue Hotaru, head of the Inoue clan, said. His clan were the last of the original four to settle here, and they are performers and entertainers, of all kinds, and got the looks too. That’s why they’re all named after flashy or nocturnal animals.

“Where does he want to build it?”

“Well, that’s what I would like to discuss.-”, Mr. Sato tried to say but was interrupted.

“He wants to chop down large sections of our forests to build it and the roads needed to transport the materials.”, Ms. Hayashi said angrily. Her clan were the second to settle, and used to make the tools the Yamada used and would defend the village with their blades. Nowadays the clan consists of construction workers, hunters, and forestry conservationists. Any construction project that takes place within the Haunted Woods needs to get her family’s stamp of approval that it won’t have a major impact on the environment.

“I bet you were real happy about that.”, Ryoko said sarcastically. Ms. Hayashi merely let out a low growl. If tengu were known to breed with humans, Oda would’ve thought the Hayashis were descended from them based on just how territorial they were of the mountains.

“I understand your forests are important to you, but think about the prosperity it will bring to your village. People will move here to work, and the factory will bring money in.”, Mr. Sato said.

The village heads all looked at each other and collectively made their decision. “No”

“Our hot springs and rice fields already provide for our village, and we hunt in those woods. We enjoy our traditional way of life. Your factory will not be built on our land.”, Mr. Yamada added.

“Please, let’s not be hasty about this. I’m sure you want your little one to have prospects for their future.”, Mr. Sato said to Ryoko, referring to her two month pregnant belly.

Oda and Mr. Yamada grabbed Ryoko’s shoulders as they heard her begin to snarl, and Oda felt her fear aura begin to permeate the room. “You leave my child out of this.”, Ryoko growled. The other council members visibly became unnerved by the effect but remained professional.

Mr. Sato looked to be unfazed by this, and his expression remained unchanged. “I am merely trying to bring prosperity to your village.”

“No, you are an invader. My family has always protected this village. We burned invaders alive and strung their bodies up around the forest. We are the reason these are called the Haunted Woods, and I will protect our village from people that wish to exploit us, people like you.”, Ryoko snarled.

Before Mr. Sato could say another word, he was pulled up from his seat and escorted from the room by Mr. Inoue and Ms. Hayashi. Oda and Mr. Yamada only let go of Ryoko after the door was closed and they felt the abeyance return to normal.

“Oh boy, did your wife have this much of a personality shift when she got pregnant?”, Oda asked Mr. Yamada.

“Oh yes, but don’t worry, it’s just hormones.”

“When will I go back to normal?”, Ryoko asked. Her hands now covered her face in clear embarrassment.

“Not until after the little one’s out. You still got incredibly horny, a lot of crying, and forgetfulness to look forward to.”, Ms. Hayashi answered.

“Ugh, pregnancy sucks.”

The other heads could only express consolation as they took this opportunity to talk about other village matters.

Founding of Amigata

This is the story about how Amigata was founded. It’s not important to the main plot, but it’s going to be gruesome. The members of the Katon clan were (and frankly are) kind fucked up.

The area near Mt. Fuji that would become Amigata and the Haunted Woods was first settled by the people that would become known as the Yamada clan about 800 years ago. They cultivated the land into rice fields, earning them the name of mountain rice field people, Yamada.

A couple decades later, the ancestors of the Hayashi came and met with the Yamada. They offered to make the Yamada better farming tools made of iron in exchange for a share of the rice. The Yamada agreed, and the Hayashi settled in the woods, becoming known as the people of the woods.

During this time, a clan of hunters were trading meat, pelts, clothes, and anything else they could forage and make with the Yamada and Hayashi for rice and iron hunting tools. They were considered weird but mostly harmless. During a hunt, the hunting clan came across some hot springs not far from a road. Realizing the proverbial gold mine they had, the clan head decided to set up home base there, and they built an inn and shop for the people traveling the road. The hunting clan, Yamada, and Hayashi all sold what they had to offer to any travelers. Most of them remained hunter gatherers to supply the store, but the clan became known as the hot water clan, but that name wouldn’t stick.

Some time later, the inn would attract the attention of a clan of somewhat unsuccessful traveling performers. Given that they were running out of supplies, they asked the hunting clan if they could live in their inn in exchange for entertaining the guests and doing odd jobs. The hunting clan decided it was no skin off their backs and said yes. The performer clan then went to the Yamada and offered their services in exchange for rice. The Yamada said yes, and the performer clan began working for the hunter clan and Yamada. The performer clan then went to the Hayashi to offer their service in exchange for tools to make their own sets. The Hayashi agreed. After some time of working for all three clans, the performer clan got to work on transforming the trade agreements into an actual village. They would put on plays for the clans, opened a brothel, performed music, and built a shrine to Inari. They got the three clans to start socializing with each other, and they started to become an actual village. Their performances were even improved by the input of the other clans, and they started to bring in more money. Because of their efforts, they became known as the people of the mountain village, Inoue, and the Inoue clan head even picked out a name for the village. They told the other clan heads it meant ‘song of the mountain’ in a far western language, but it was really the name of a mythical land in one of their flunked plays that the clan head pulled out of their ass.

As much as their new prosperity benefited the villagers, others wanted what they had. Thieves and bandits raided the village and damaged their woods. The Hayashi began forging weapons and killing bandits on sight. The Katons’ ancestors were excellent killers from their generations of hunting, but they had a better idea. They would take bandits alive, but they would not stay that way for long. They would tie up the bandits in poses that would make them look like they were incinerated on the spot and burn them alive, making sure the whole mountain heard their screams. That’s how they got their name of the people of fire. Once their victims were blackened like a hockey puck, they would place them up in the woods where they knew bandits frequented, scorch the area immediately around them, and let their old friends find the bodies. They would also create “scare crows” and disguise themselves to look like spirits of burned humans. They would then hang up the scare crows and walk around the forest.

Due to so many people not getting proper burials and that it looked like people were being burned alive where they stood, the woods were believed to be haunted. Very few people dared to leave the road afterwards, and the bandits refused to go anywhere near the village in fear that they would be targeted by whatever demons protected the mountains. To this day, any sort of crime is big news in the village, and you can still find people putting up those scare crows.

Katon family home

Date: same day, time: 6:00 pm

*Jiraiya’s perspective*

Jiraiya walked through the front door as the rain already started trickling down and took off his rain boots. A massive thunderstorm was predicted for tonight, and knowing from past experience, it was all hands on deck. Jiraiya felt safer in his kids’ basement than his high rise apartment during a storm anyways. Although spring showers were normal, this one was going to be passing straight over Canterville and thus was going to be loud. Every able body was either bringing weighted and non-weighted blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, and anything else comforting or needed to weather the storm down into the basement.

While he still had his coat on, Jiraiya went to the back door, slipped the sandals they keep for him, and went out back, where he found Brigid prepping her crops for the storm. “Anything I can do to help?”

“Huh, oh, hi, Jiraiya. Ah’m good, but ask Anzhong.”

“Alright.” Jiraiya headed inside, took his sandals off, and took his coat off and placed it on the coat rack. Anzhong was in the kitchen, and when Jiraiya went over to see what he was doing, he saw that he was packing snacks and drinks in a cooler. “Hey, do you need any help?”

“Huh, oh, hey, Dad. I’m good, but Minerva could probably use some help with the kids.”

“Got it.” Jiraiya headed down the stairs and saw Emi and Anura wrestling. Emi was wearing her fox mask while doing so, which made it look like a kabuki play. Minerva was keeping an eye on them while setting up the blankets and pillows. Jiraiya waved to her, and she nodded to acknowledge his presence. Jiraiya took over watching the girls so Minerva could focus.

Later on, Sunset came downstairs with her hand-held games and tablet in her hands, headphones around her neck, and her stuffed phoenix in her mouth. Sunset placed her games on top of the game chest, took her phoenix out of her mouth, and took a seat at the table. The first wave of thunder sounded, and the younger girls bolted into the pillow fort.

“It’s okay. It’s just thunder.”, Minerva said gently.

“It’s loud, and it hurts.”, Emi said. Brigid stomped down the stairs, placed the cooler next to the table, and went over to the fort. Emi barreled out of the fort and into Brigid’s arms. Brigid comforted Emi as Anzhong joined the rest of them.

“Here, we got dis f’r ya.” Brigid pulled a package out of her jacket pocket and handed it to Emi.

“What are these?”

“Ear plugs, dey will help with da sound.” Brigid then turned to Sunset and pulled another package of ear plugs out. “We got some f’r ya too.”

Sunset took them with a smile and signed “Thank you” but, instead of putting them in, put her headphones on. Another wave came, Emi still winced from the sound even with the ear plugs in, and Kiba and Tomiju began barking. Minerva and Brigid picked up their respective daughters and brought them over to the table and sat them in their laps. Anzhong calmed the dogs down and put them in their happy hoodies and weighted vests. Jiraiya noticed a white and gray tail under one of the locked cabinets. Ailbhe was clearly not happy.

Anzhong began setting up a game of Uno. The cards have braille lettering taped to them so Anzhong can read them. Waves of thunder continued to come, causing Anzhong, Sunset, Emi, and the dogs to wince and whine, despite every layer of ear protection they had. Emi even cried because of the pain. Brigid tried her best to calm her, but there was very little she could do. She eventually gave her an ice cream bar, but that didn’t stop the thunder.

“Mommy, why is the storm hurting Emi?”, Anura asked.

“Emi’s hearing is much stronger than ours. She’s likely hearing it as if she was directly under the storm.”, Minerva answered.

“Exactly.”, Jiraiya said. “When Anzhong and Ryoko were kids, thunderstorms were always the worst times. They clung to me and Aoi for dear life. I’m just glad they didn’t inherit their mother’s claws.”

“Y’re gettin’ chocolate everywhere.”, Brigid said and grabbed a napkin.

Another wave crashed, causing Sunset to drop her cards and clasp her ears. “Fucking Earth weather!”

“I take it Equestrian weather is calmer.”, Anzhong said.

“Of course it is. The weather teams are good at keeping on top of our water needs.”, Sunset snapped. Her eyes widened as she realized what she did and then slumped back into her chair. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap.” Anzhong gave Sunset a comforting shoulder rub, and everyone got back to playing.

“What have you been up to lately?”, Jiraiya asked Anzhong.

“I’ve been focusing on the Storm cases. The low level lackeys are easy enough, but as I start going after the higher ups, well, there’s a reason they’ve been around long enough to achieve some rank.”

“Must be pretty scary.”

“Nothing worth doing is without risk.”

“Even so,-”

“I have my shuko. I never leave the house without them.”

“He’s paranoid.”, Sunset commented.

“You mean prepared.”

“Hm”, Jiraiya chuckled to himself. Kids

It was late into the night before the storm subsided, and the children were tired and sick of the noise. Jiraiya, Minerva, and Anura stayed over, and the adults put the kids to bed, cleaned up the basement, then went to bed themselves.

Canterlot Prosecutor Office

Date: May 31st, time: 12:00 pm

*Anzhong’s perspective*

Bip bip bip

Anzhong’s lunch alarm went off, and he began locking away his sensitive documents. Once everything was in a safe place, he went to the breakroom, grabbed his lunch box, and began walking outside.

“Hey, Anzhong, come in here for a moment.”, DA Thunder Hooves said.

Anzhong entered DA Hooves’ office and stood facing him. DA Hooves was a Native-American man with a very deep voice, and from what Anzhong had been told, is a very big man. “Sir, I’d be happy to help you with whatever you need, but if it’s going to take a while, it will need to be after my lunch break.”

“Oh, nothing like that. I just wanted to say the judge on your next case is a bit of a hard-ass. You’ll need to ditch the trench coat and put on a regular suit jacket as well as find a better fitting pair of pants.”

“What is wrong with my pants?”

“They’re a bit baggy.”

Anzhong did have to admit his pants are a bit baggy on him, but they were what fit him best, and he liked the feel. He also has the size to get Brigid pregnant, so he needs the space, but he wasn’t going to say that to his boss. “Unfortunately, it’s hard to find pants in this country that aren’t baggy but still cover enough of my legs. That’s why I always wear tall boots. My legs are quite long.”

“I understand. I also have an oddly shaped body. I’ve been using this tailor for many years now. Bring her a pair of your pants, and she can tighten them up for you. I’m going to hand you her card.”

Anzhong extended his arm out and felt DA Hooves place the card card in his hand. “Thank you. I will consider her.” Anzhong already had a tailor. He was just hoping that excuse would get him out of buying a new pair of pants he’d only wear once.

“Thank you. You can go to lunch now.”

Anzhong nodded and quickly left. He walked out to the park to found a cool spot to sit. The collection of smells and sounds the park had to offer at this time of year was very nice. Young birds were flying, flowers were in bloom, and the squirrels were gathering nuts. Anzhong found a good spot, sat down, and let Kiba out of her service dog vest. Kiba began to run around as Anzhong ate his lunch. His lunch was mostly peaceful, with Kiba occasionally trying to get him to play. That was until he heard several people coming closer. It sounded like six people. Anzhong could smell iron and various other metals, but the most concerning smell was the gunpowder.

“Kiba, come.”, Anzhong called. Kiba trotted over and sat down for Anzhong to put her harness on. Anzhong got her harness on, but instead of grabbing her handle, he handed her his cane. “Run” Kiba immediately understood, took his cane in her mouth, and ran off back to the office. Anzhong ran off into the trees, put his shuko on, and climbed up one of the trees.

Canterlot Prosecutor Office

Date: same day, time: 12:45 pm

*Thunder Hooves’ perspective*

“Mr. Hooves, sir.”, Mr. Bolt said.

“What is it? I’m having lunch.”, Thunder said while putting his sandwich down.

“Yes, well, Kiba’s back but without Mr. Katon, and she has his cane. I think I remember him saying that if that ever happens, we should call the police.”

“Yes! What are you doing asking me? Call them!”, Thunder bellowed. Mr. Bolt bolted back to his desk and phoned the police. Thunder went to the lobby, where the nearly all black akita was holding her human’s cane. Thunder kneeled down and grabbed onto the cane. “Kiba, drop it.” Kiba released the cane from her maw, leaving it to Thunder to hold. Huh, this thing’s heavier than I thought. Thunder took Kiba outside and waited for the police. As the police cars pulled up, Thunder waved his arm to get their attention.

One of the police cars pulled over next to Thunder and rolled down their window. “Are you the one who called nine-one-one?”

“Yes, this is one of my prosecutor’s service dog. She showed back up at the office with his cane and without him.”, Thunder explained and showed the officer the cane.

“Okay, do you know where he is?”

Since he didn’t know, Thunder asked Kiba. “Kiba, where’s Anzhong?” Kiba excitedly wagged her tail and bolted into the nearby park. “Follow the dog.”, Thunder told the officer. The cops all parked their cars and ran after Kiba, into the park, with Thunder following. Kiba led them deep into the trees, where six men were searching around. One of them was wearing a sleeveless shirt, and Thunder saw the Storm gang symbol. The officers saw it too and moved in to surround them, but before they could raise their weapons, Kiba jumped on one of the men and took him to the ground. One of the other guys raised his pipe and tried to bring it down on Kiba, but she grabbed it, threw it away, and jumped on the man, taking him to the ground too. It all happened within seconds.

The other men began to raise their weapons, and that’s when the cops stepped in. “Drop your weapons! Get on the ground now!” Three out of the four remaining men complied, but one of the men holding a gun decided he was in an action movie and raised his gun at the cops. Before anyone could fire, Kiba grabbed the arm that was holding the gun, forcing it down. The man tried to hit Kiba with his free arm, but she just kept moving and yanking him around. This gave the cops enough time to restrain and cuff him. After it was all over, Kiba went back to her normal tail wagging self, with some added blood on her muzzle. Some of the cops now looked wary of her, so Thunder stood next to her to keep her safe.

“Sir, what did you say the man you were looking for’s name was?”, one of the officer’s asked.

“Anzhong Katon”, Thunder answered.

“Where is Anzhong Katon?”, the officer asked forcefully.

“I don’t know. We never found the guy.”, the Storm goon under him said.

“You really expect me to believe that? Where is Anzhong Katon?”

“I’m up here.”

Thunder, the officers, and the goons all looked up to see Mr. Katon chilling on a tree branch, at least fifteen feet up. “Stay where you are, sir. We’ll get the fire department to get you down!”, one of the officers said.

“No need, but thank you.” Before anyone could protest, Mr. Katon climbed down the tree with ease. Anzhong walked over some of the Storm goons to get to Thunder and Kiba, without even bumping into one of them. It has always somewhat unnerved Thunder how Mr. Katon could navigate the world like a fully sighted person, sometimes even better. I guess adversity really does force one to grow stronger, but how does he do it? “Ready to go back to the office? We have a case to build.”, Mr. Katon said.

“Sure, but how did you climb down that tree so easily? I’ve been climbing up and down trees, rocks, and anything else that could support my weight ever since I could walk. I’ve never seen someone climb something so easily without climbing gear.”

“Oh, but I do have climbing gear.” Mr. Katon opened his hands up so his palms faced Thunder. A strip of metal with hooks on it were strapped on each of his hands. Thunder wasn’t familiar with these specific devices, but he understood their function.

“Hm, lucky you had them on you today.”

“Not luck, sir. I keep these on me at all times, except when I’m in the courthouse, specifically for this type of situation.”, Mr. Katon explained as he removed the hook strips and placed them in his pockets. Thunder had a look like he was talking to a crazy person, and Mr. Katon could apparently sense it, somehow. “It’s only paranoia until it actually happens.”, he said as he took his dog and cane.

“Yeah, I’m just going to pretend you don’t have those.”, Thunder said as they started walking back to the office.