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.