Author's Note

Before anyone tries to look it up, electro-spectrographs don’t exist. It just roughly means ‘rainbow energy measuring device’.

RaR ch1 Standing at the trailhead

Twilight’s lab, CPA

Date: Sep 1st, 2013, time: 9:00 pm

*Twilight’s perspective*

Twilight said at the desk in her makeshift lab, screwdriver in hand. Of course, someone just had to come into her lab and mess with her stuff over the summer. She was still trying to fix everything and set all her equipment back to their proper settings. Whoever it was managed to knock over one of her electro-spectrographs, obliterating it into a bajillion pieces, and did gods know what to the other one.

As she was trying to fix the circuits of the broken machine, a lot of beeping came from behind her. She turned around to see that the other electro-spectrograph was picking something up. She dropped what she was doing and rolled across the room to check it out. Whatever it was picking up was nothing like she’d ever seen before. It was erratic and high energy. The readings died down quickly, but the machine recorded them.

“I’ll have to examine what was done to it, but these are the strangest readings I’ve ever seen. More research is needed.”

Some dump heap

Date: same day time: 9:00 pm

*fragment of apathy’s perspective*

Trash, that was all it saw. That thing threw it out, and now, it was in a pile of trash. What made it worse was that it was stuck inside a doll. It had been stuck in this thing for many years. For a while, it could jump from host to host, but it recently lost that ability. That’s why it was stuck. The most it could do now was spread its aura to its surroundings. How it loathed existence. Organic, inorganic, living, dead, it all disgusted it. It much preferred when there was nothing, when there was no universe.

A shockwave of energy hit it. Power? It was weak, but it was something. If it got more of this power, it could free itself from this prison. It could be free to destroy existence. It needs more though. More power. Another, need another.

Maddy’s apartment, Manhattan

Date: same day, time: 9:30 pm

*Maddy’s perspective*

“Another long day.”, Maddy said quietly as she headed into her apartment. It was small and only had a couple windows. Even with her relatively well paying job, renting a big, fancy place anywhere close to her work was infeasible, but as things stood, it was enough.

Maddy placed her purse and keys on the table as she went into the kitchen to begin making dinner. As she was washing up, she felt some sort of pressure, like when a car drives by way too fast, but the air was still. As a matter of fact, it was dead quiet except for the cars outside. She looked around for the cause, but nothing was amiss. She went back to dinner prep, but when she looked down, she saw that her necklace was glowing.

She took it off to get a closer look. The normally plain blue ball on a golden chain now looked like a tiny plasma ball. “What the…” Just as quickly as the weird light show started, it stopped. “Okaaay, that was weird.” As bizarre as that was, she wasn’t freaked out. Hopefully it won't do anything like that again. Mom never mentioned it doing anything like that before she passed, so maybe it was just a one time thing or whatever that pressure was caused it.

Maddy put her necklace back on and went back to dinner prep, putting that weird event out of her mind.

Some graveyard, Nigeria

Date: Sep 2nd, time: 12:00 am

*Kehinde’s perspective*

Kehinde dug through the dirt to reach the body below. The black dirt blended into the black fur on her paws, but it got in her claws and would be an even bigger pain to get out from under her nails if she shifted back without cleaning them. She knew which tribe’s graves to raid to get the prettiest clothes, most metal, and best meat. The humans’ foolishness only made her life easier. Her deeds would be discovered in the morning, but she would be long gone by then. After some time of digging, she reached the metal lid of the coffin. These things were always a pain, but they also usually meant better goodies were inside and the meat wouldn’t be as predated.

Once the lid was significantly uncovered, Kehinde lifted it up and examined the contents. It was an older woman wearing dyed cotton clothes and fine jewelry. She hopped in and removed the jewelry and added it to her bag then tore away her closing. Her body had decayed, so the cloth would not be usable, but that’s not what Kehinde wanted. Finally, she began eating the corpse’s flesh.

Her meal was interrupted by a wave of energy smacking her in her mussel. Kehinde began grunting at whatever might have done it, but there was nothing. With nothing in sight, she returned to her meal, but some time later, she was again interrupted by an annoyingly familiar voice.

“Hm, looks tasty.”

Anansi. Kehinde would’ve growled his name out loud but talking with a mussel was tricky. She stood up straight and began grunting at the man that was sitting on the mound of dug up dirt.

“Wow there, puppy girl, I’m not here for your meat. I have a proposition for you.”

Kehinde growled and glared at the trickster with contempt while picking the dirt from her claws but, despite her better judgment, did not chase him away. That spirit never did anything for himself and always tricked others to do his hunting for him, but she wasn’t a fool and would not be tricked, so decided to hear him out.

“Great, now, I’m assuming you felt that energy wave earlier.”

Kehinde nodded.

“Well, that was magic.”

Kehinde was skeptical, but Anansi was alive back when the world was filled with magic and has retained much of his own thanks to his worshipers.

“If you can find that source and bring it to me, we can split the power. You’ll finally be better at something than your sister, and you might even become head of your clan.”

That got Kehinde’s attention. Her older twin was always better at hunting, magic, scavenging, smithing, and pottery making, was prettier, and mother’s favorite. She nodded her head with a knife-like toothy smile.

“Perfect, meet me in Lagos in a week’s time. I’ll arrange your travel. Oh, and one other thing.” Anansi hopped off his mound and poked Kehinde in the forehead with one of his spindly fingers. Kehinde tried to bite off said finger, but he was too fast. “I know your people don’t send your pups to school, and you’ll be needing to know English where you’re going.” Anansi spun on his heels and walked off into the night. “Enjoy the extra power.”, he called back.

She didn’t understand what he was talking about until she felt a surge of energy. It wasn’t much, but a little went a long way nowadays. Kehinde returned to her scavenging. She still had several hours before she had to leave.

Wilds of Japan

Date: same day, time: 6:00 pm

*nameless’s perspective*

A fox sat on a rock, munching on his catch. His existence was a simple one, eat, drink, sleep, repeat. He would sometimes mess with the humans that came into his mountains, but that was growing old. His fur was brown with black tips. His seven tails swished calmly behind him. His eyes were a gold that shone in the dimming light.

The sun disappeared over the treetops, and the sky behind the fox was growing dark. The winds were still, and the animals were quiet. That was until a wave of energy tore through the mountain. The wind picked up, and the animals began making a ruckus. Magic? But there was so much. How can this be? The fox stood up from his seat and looked to where he felt the magic come from, but he couldn’t sense where the source was. He hadn’t felt this much magic since he was young. “How interesting.” The fox began walking down the mountain and to the nearest human settlement. He was going to reclaim what was his birthright.

Katon clan compound

Date: same day, time: 6:00 pm

*Ryoko’s perspective*

Ryoko sat in her living room with a book in hand and Hikari happily sucking away. Oda tended to irori and a pot of tea that sat above it. She fiddled with her new wedding ring as she cradled Hikari. It was an interesting yet beautiful tradition. Hers was made out of silver with three small diamonds. The design was simple, which was perfect for her.

A wave of energy rippled through the house, causing both Ryoko and Hikira to look up and around. The animals outside began making a ruckus, causing Oda to look up from the irori.

“What the hell’s going on?”, Oda asked. He got up, went to the door, and stepped outside and looked around, trying to figure out what was going on.

Ryoko followed him out and looked up at the moon. She felt strangely energized. It was nothing like she ever felt before but also familiar and comforting, like trying a delicious new flavor of your favorite candy. There was also something specifically familiar about it. Sunset?

Sunset’s room

Date: Sep 2nd, time: 3:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Once upon a time, I was just a little filly. I was innocent, unaware of the evils of the universe. I was born in the middle of the Griffon Raiders War to Stormy Flare and Shadow Walker. My mother was badly injured by the final battle, and my father had to care for me, my older sister, and our mother while still trying to earn enough money to support us. Foals and nursing mares eat a lot of food, especially if one of them was half dragon. Combine that with corrupt nobility, and even my father’s well paying job struggled to cover everything.

As soon as I was old enough, I began stealing food. I was underweight, and my parents were in an even worse state. My life at school was fine, except for this one little filly that thought she was better than everypony because her parents wasted money on pretty, useless crap. If they didn’t they would likely not be living in lower Canterlot.

Life began looking up for me when I was talent scouted by Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Education is free in Equestria, so our financial situation was no hindrance in that respect. The other students there were mostly snot nosed, rich, pompous clowns, but now, I had the power to show them up, and that I did. My display of power was noticed by the princess herself, and she made me her personal student; good thing too because I probably would’ve burned down Canterlot at some point if she didn’t. From that day on, the name ‘Sunset Shimmer’ was one to be feared, and anyone who did not fear it soon learned the proverbial pants-shitting sight that was a burning, shadowy unicorn running and screaming at you. That was a hilarious one. Their faces were priceless.

For years, I trained and studied to make our princess proud. I was able to alert Celestia to what the nobles were doing, and she put a stop to that, and my parents’ lives were greatly improved. I had access to all the food I could ever want and fruits most commoners had never even heard of; the same fruits many humans take for granted. I was promised that, if I could defeat the mad goddess, I would be given our country to rule over. She never directly promised that, but I was smart enough to figure out what was going on. I would finally be respected by both the regular ponies and the thestrals.

Once I was of age, I joined the military. I was born into the warrior cast. That’s what we did. I rose through the ranks quickly, adopting a phoenix along the way, and then there was the Equestria First Legion campaign. A group of radicals attempted to “purify” Equestria by attacking and kidnapping none-ponies and killing hybrids. Celestia personally promoted me to First Star General and ordered me to form a taskforce to eradicate them. Not only did they pose a threat to Equestrian citizens, they jeopardized foreign relations. If they were allowed to go unchecked, they could spark a war with the homelands of the creatures they harmed. Equestria was placed under a state of war, and I gathered over ten thousand soldiers from every branch to stomp this threat out. We scoured Equestria, captured as many conspirators as we could find, captured or killed their leaders, and ran the most widespread smear campaign to insure that they were seen as the monsters they were. By the end, children were reporting their own parents. Everypony that was involved was charged with conspiracy against the people and conspiracy against the crown. If it could be proven, they were charged with murder. They were religiously condemned for going against Faust’s plan. Their surviving leaders should still be in prison for their crimes.

Overall, my life was great, if constraining, but that all came crashing down after one night. I had learned how alicorns are really created. They are not physical gods as I was taught. They were just (semi?)-immortal ponies. I could’ve lived with that knowledge if that was all, but I also learned that the gods I had prayed to and entrusted my life to were, in fact, also just normal ponies. They weren’t even immortal like their daughters. They were just two ponies that were deified to control the masses. I learned that all my suffering and pain wasn’t a part of some great plan to turn me into Equestria’s greatest leader and that destiny’s a sham. I suffered because life was cruel and ponies were crueler. In that moment, the last tether holding my sanity snapped, and I mentally imploded. I was left a zombie, an angry zombie. Life became meaningless, and death, uncertain, but in all that, one thing became clear. I had to make my destiny happen. I swore to myself that I would never become someone else’s victim ever again. I would become powerful enough to become my own god. I would give life meaning again. There were a lot of other unhinged rantings, but those were the ones that stuck.

I did some very illegal things to become more powerful. I might have had virtuous motives at one point, but over time, my mental state deteriorated and so did what good was in me. It wasn’t like anypony noticed. How could they when their only understanding of mental health was that war makes ponies act violently. My symptoms were hardly so obvious. I developed many of my complexes during that time, predominantly, my need for control.

Celestia figured out what I was doing and dismissed me as her student. I became enraged. She couldn’t just strip me of my destiny. She wasn’t a god. It was my destiny and mine alone. I am not proud of many of the things I said that night, other than that last one; I’m actually pretty proud of myself for that. Celestia had her guards escort me to the dungeon, but I was the second most powerful being in Equestria and easily escaped. I ran to the mirror portal with a great misunderstanding of what it was and became trapped in the human world, where I let the rot continue to fester and consume my mind, and I, ultimately, ended up here. I just wanted to save my sister. I’m terrified of death and those I love dying because… I don’t know what comes after.

Sunset laid face down on her bed with no more tears to cry. She had only gotten a few hours of sleep before she woke up and started crying again. This was not how she thought this night would end. She had no idea if Emi was going to survive, and that whole… she didn’t even know what to call what happened. She turned into a demon, tried to take over Equestria, tried to burn Twilight and her friends alive, and she didn’t even have control over herself, or maybe she did. The whole night was a mess, and now, Brigid knew everything. She knew just how terrible of a person Sunset was. She was going to disown her, throw her out onto the streets, or worse.

A knock at her door brought Sunset’s attention back to reality. “Come in.”, Sunset called out.

The sound of Brigid’s footsteps came up Sunset’s stairs, and she sat down on Sunset’s bed. “Are ya okay?”

“No”, Sunset said honestly. There was no longer any point of lying.

“Come ‘ere.” Brigid helped Sunset sit up. She looked into Sunset’s red, puffy eyes with the same love and surprising tenderness she always had. You would not expect someone big enough to fill a door frame and with such calloused hands to be so tender, but those are the very traits that force her to be as such.

Despite what Sunset thought earlier, she still had some tears in her. If she was in a joking mood, she would say someone should probably call Guinness. She began sobbing again and buried herself into her mother. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Brigid said nothing and just let Sunset cry while she stroked her hair. Her tears began to subside again, and she looked up to Brigid with pleading eyes. “Please, don’t disown me. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Brigid’s face shifted to shock before realization and concern. “Sunset, I’m not gonna disown ya. Pristine not only spent years denying treatment but also didn’t feel any sorta love f’r anyone, not even herself. Ah’ve seen y’r love. Ya just need help. Please, let us help you.” Sunset nodded her head and reburied herself in Brigid. “Dat’s da first step.”

Reads family home

Date: same day, time: 6:30 am

*Minerva’s perspective*

Once upon a time, I lived the life of a dad’s little princess. Both my parents loved me, and I loved them, but I was particularly close to my father. He was a member of the coast guard in his youth, and I grew up admiring soldiers. “We are Americans; we are all soldiers.”, he would say. I had an average American life until I was fifteen.

When I was fifteen, my parents were badly injured in a car accident and put on OxyContin. They became addicted and eventually moved onto heroin. In that time, they became dishonest and cruel. They were no longer the parents I loved. They were monsters. They stole everything I had and stopped paying the bills in order to pay their dealer. I had to start working and hide the bill money I earned, but that only worked until I was seventeen. I spent the last year of high school in homeless shelters or on the streets. Frankly, I found the streets safer than those supposed shelters. At least I was allowed to keep my own food and knife. Those places have so many stupid rules.

I was able to get accepted to Canterville College, promised I would join the military if they paid my tuition, and got out of there and told no one where I was going. That was the time I started practicing magic. It was strange. I always had the ability to feel others’ emotions, but it seemed to become stranger after I moved here. After college, I joined the brand new cyber security division in the army, it wasn’t even a corps yet, and became a second lieutenant. Life was good, until 9/11 happened.

I transferred to a combat role and jumped in with both feet to fight al-Qaeda. I was made a first lieutenant and put in charge of a platoon. That was a bad idea as I froze during our first firefight and managed to get a big chunk of them blown up within three months. I don’t remember the next six months as I was blown up and hit my head. I also lost my legs. At least that got me sent home, so I didn’t get anyone else killed.

When I got back, I had no one, no family, no friends, nothing. I was left looking through the contacts of my college dorm mates. I didn’t expect anyone to help me, but much to my surprise, no questions asked, Brigid came to my rescue. She took me in and helped me adjust to living without legs. I was even the maid of honor at her wedding, but it wasn’t like there was really anyone else.

About a year later, we decided to have kids. She did it the old fashioned way, and I was artificially inseminated. Our kids were supposed to be born around the same time, but I had complications that ended up with me getting a C-section and Anura born two months early. A few months after Anura was born, I got my first pair of prosthetic legs. It was weird walking again, but I readapted quickly.

The last five years have been interesting with Brigid and Anzhong adopting this strange mystery girl. We had no idea where she came from or where her parents were. All we knew was that she needed love and a family, and we gave it to her. Three years ago, Brigid and Anzhong’s youngest was diagnosed with leukemia. We’ve tried everything to cure her, but she hasn’t improved and was put on hospice not long ago. Two and a half years ago, we learned the truth of the mysterious girl. Sunset was a magical unicorn alien, and the portal to her home world only opens for three days every thirty months. I’ve firmly put that in the ‘sentences I never thought I’d say in real life’ pile. The last time the portal was open, she went there and stole something she thought would cure Emi, but it didn’t work. Now, Emi’s on the verge of death, and we can’t do anything about it. None of us, especially Sunset and Anura, have been taking it well.

Minerva pulled herself up out of bed. She grabbed her socks and rolled them on. They’re officially called sleeves, but sleeves go on your arms. These are socks. She stuck her sockets on and rolled up the socket fabric. Her legs were modular, so the legs and feet can both be switched out. Minerva can walk on her sockets. That’s generally not recommended or efficient but still doable. She attached her legs then grabbed and slipped on a pair of jeans from her dresser then clicked her feet into place. An advantage to having removable feet is that you don’t need to put your shoes on in the morning.

Minerva got a shirt on, grabbed her bag, and went out to the kitchen to make breakfast. Anura came out soon after, and she looked awful. She looked completely drained. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her colors were duller, not her actual colors but the metaphysical colors that Minerva's powers interpreted aura as. Anura’s was usually a vibrant green, but it now looked like murky swamp water. Minerva wished there was literally anything she could do, but there was nothing. Her best friend was dying. They’ve been attached at the hip since Emi was born. Anura once said she was losing a part of herself, and that definitely looked to be the case.

Minerva placed the food on the table, and they ate in silence. She tried to say something, but everything died in her throat. As soon as they were done, they went over to Brigid’s house. Anzhong was drinking his coffee, and Brigid looked tired, both physically and emotionally. Her normally rich blue looked faded. Anzhong’s bright gold was dull, even though he didn’t physically show it, and he also gave off a lot of anger, some ambient but mostly directed at himself. That’s troubling.

“How are you doing?”, Minerva asked.

“Not well. Sunset was injured last night.”, Brigid replied.

“What?” Anura sprang to life and ran into Sunset’s room.

Minerva and Brigid ran after her and followed her up to Sunset’s bed. Sunset was laying on her stomach with bloody bandages covering the areas just below and to the inside of her shoulder blades. Her aura had completely changed colors. Her once cyan was now red. Minerva had never seen anything like that before. How is this even possible? She didn’t have a standard for her new color, but it probably shouldn’t normally be that dark.

“Sunset are you okay?”, Anura asked worriedly.

Sunset cracked an eye open and looked at the three of them. Her eyes were also red and puffy. “You look like crap.”, Sunset said to Anura.

“She’s okay.”, Anura said dryly.

“Let’s let ‘er sleep.”, Brigid said and corralled them down the stairs and out the room.

“What happened to her?”, Minerva asked as soon as they were out of her room, with more than a bit of accusation coloring her tone. She didn’t believe either of them did that to her, but it happened to their daughter while they’re unharmed.

“A couple days ago, Sunset stole anothe’ Equestrian artifact, but dis one had unexpected side effects. She got inta a fight for da artifact, n’ she tried ta used it. But, well, she described wha’ happened as ‘er inne’ demons bein’ given physical form n’ takin’ ove’ ‘er body. Dis included wings n’ a tail. Dat same artifact was used ta defeat ‘er, but it also ripped ‘er wings n’ tail off. Dat’s wha’ does wound are from.”

“That’s… extreme.” Minerva didn’t even know how to start processing that. Demonic possession, and by one’s own inner demons? At least, that’s what she thinks Brigid’s saying. Either way, demons and demonic possession wasn’t something she ever thought was real. “Will she be okay?”

“Ah think so. Ah’ll be stickin’ around ta help take care a’ ‘er.”

“What do you need?”

“Ah don’t know. F’r now, let’s jus’ get people where dey need ta be.” Brigid took Anura’s hand, Anzhong got up, and the three of them went out to the car.

Minerva was tempted to ask Sunset more questions but thought better of it. Instead she just went back to her house.

Sunset’s room

Date: same day, time: 10:00 am

*Brigid’s perspective*

Ah was once jus’ a little girl. Ah was born in Ireland, on a farm, durin’ da Troubles, n’ despite every‘hin’ dat was goin’ on around us, we were mostly safe n’ happy. Ah was da eldest a’ four, but it felt like twelve with mo cousins also livin’ unde’ da same roof. Ah was da eldest child a’ da eldest cousin, so Ah was bein’ prepared ta takeove’ afte’ mo parents afte’ dey takeove’ from mo grandparents, but mo parents were never able ta takeove’ n’ da day Ah’d takeove’ came soone’ dan anyone expected.

Me mum worked in a clinic durin’ da off season, helpin’ any n’ all dat were injured. It didn’t matte’ who ya were, wha’ color y’r skin was, y’r gende’, or wha’ religion ya followed. Ya were human n’ deserved ta be treated. Dat’s where she met mo dad. She wasn’t a doctor, but when ya live on a farm, ya gotta be able ta keep y’r people alive long enough to be transported. It would take one a’ us breakin’ our leg for a hospital ta become necessary.

When we was old enough, our mum would take me n’ me sibs ta da clinic ta help. Ah saw first hand how she was treated by da Protestants n’ da Catholics. Both sides would berate her f’r helpin’ da othe’, but da Prodies would physically assault her. Mum was a badass howeve’ and could easily put people in dose beds, but Ah was enraged dat someone would attack me mum f’r helpin’ people. As soon as Ah was big enough, which wasn’t very long, Ah started bashin’ in da heads a’ Prodies wheneve’ Ah was brought ta da city.

Dat was life, until dat day. Ah was seventeen when it happened. We were jus’ finishin’ up supper when a caravan came drivin’ down our road. Da time n’ number a’ cars told us we were in dange’. Ah only survived because mo family took out almost all a’ da attackers. Ah only took out one. Ah saw human soup dat night.

Because a’ bureaucracy, Ah was sent ta live with me aunt. Ah hate dat woman n’ ‘er husband. Dey are every bad thin’ ‘bout humanity, greed, vanity, narcissism, racism, everythin’. Ah ran away from ‘em da moment Ah could. Ah chose da college furthest away from dem dat would accept me. Ah would’ve liked ta go ta Washington, but no dice.

Ah ended up in Maine, at da college Ah now teach at. Dere Ah met mo future husband who got me ta open up again. Late’ Minerva asked f’r ma help, n’ Ah obliged. Ah helped her get back on her, metaphorical, feet n’ process wha’ happened ta ‘er ove’ dere. We bonded over our shared trauma n’ became as close as siste’s. Ah sorta adopted ‘er inta mo clan since she also had none a’ ‘er own.

We both wanted children n’ agreed ta get pregnant at da same time. All went accordin’ ta plan until Anura needed ta be taken out early due ta medical complications. Da doctors gave ‘er a good prognosis, but not much has beaten how scared we all were. However, dat wasn’t da end a’ our medical problems. Not long afte’ Ah gave birth, Ah learned Ah had ta get both me ovaries removed or die. Lucky me. Dat killed me inside. Ah wanted nothin’ more dan ta rebuild mo clan, but now, Ah couldn’t do dat. Ah got counselin’ afte’ dat, but Ah was still sad Ah couldn’t have anymore children. Anzhong suggested we become foster parents n’ we registered with da state.

Almost five years ago, a scared little girl came inta our lives. She didn’t know English or any othe' language Ah knew of. We brought ‘er in, n’ Ah taught ‘er English. Now, she’s injured both mentally n’ physically afte’ turnin’ into a demon durin’ a plan dat went sideways in an attempt ta save ‘er siste’. Only time will tell how dey both come out a’ dis.

Brigid sat on Sunset’s bed, changing her bandages. She had completely bled through them a couple times throughout the night, so Brigid added more cotton each time. The process was unpleasant for Sunset, so Brigid tried to be as gentle and careful as possible while going quickly.

“Hiss”

“Sorry, baby. Dis shouldn’t be much longe’.” Brigid managed to change Sunset’s dressings with minimal extra pain. Once done, Brigid rubbed the uninjured parts of Sunset’s back which calmed her back down. Sunset was still in pain but was otherwise restful. She fell back asleep, and Brigid left her room and met up with Minerva in the living room.

“How is she doing?”, Minerva asked worriedly.

“Not great. She’s asleep again, but Ah’m gonna bring back some a’ ‘er blood from da hospital. She’s losin’ a lot.”

“They’ll let you do that?”

“Ah’ve done enough blood transfusions ta fill up a cow, n’ it’s mo daughte’s blood. If dey got a problem with it, dey’re gonna have a bigge’ problem with me.”

“Well, if they’re smart, they won’t.”

Brigid gave Minerva a smile then went out to the car and drove to the hospital. As has become a disturbingly familiar process, Brigid signed in as a guest and made her way up to Emi’s room where she was met by Emi’s doctor. “What’s up, Doc?”

“Each time I hear you come in saying that, I expect you to be holding a carrot.”, Dr. Rojas said.

“Maybe Ah will, one day. How are ya, Emi?”

“Ah’m feeling better.”

“It’s remarkable. She’s made a complete turn around. She’s… getting better.”, Dr. Rojas said in astonishment. Joy swelled inside Brigid. She was still disappointed that Sunset disobeyed her, but she was even more happy that Emi was going to survive. “I have no idea how this is possible.”, Dr. Rojas added.

“I do. It’s magic.”, Emi said.

Dr. Rojas smiled at Emi then turned to Brigid with a different type of smile. Emi looked towards Brigid, past Rojas, and mouthed “She doesn’t believe me.”

“With dis development, wha’ treatment would you recommend?”, Brigid asked.

Dr. Rojas grabbed the clipboard and began looking though it. “I’m going to have more tests and scans done, but I’d say that we put Emi back on her previous treatment plan. We might even be able to do the bone marrow transplant by the end of the year or early next year.”

“Does that mean I can go home?”, Emi asked. “I want my onesies back.”

“Soon, you’ll get to go home soon.”, Dr. Rojas assured.

Brigid walked over to Emi and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “Ah have ta go pick up some stuff f’r y’r siste’. Ah’ll be back late’.”

“Is Sunset okay? I smelt blood on her last night.”, Emi asked in Irish.

“She was injured, but she’ll be okay.”, Brigid answered in Irish.

“Okay, I’ll see you later.”, Emi said in English.

“Ah love you.”, Brigid said, then headed down to Dr. Dracul’s office.

Sunset’s room

Date: same day, time: 12:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset woke up to the sensation of something cold on her arm. She looked over to see Brigid wiping her elbow down with an alcohol swab, a bag of her blood and med tape on her side table, and a makeshift iv drip stand made out of a clothes hanger; broom handle; and there had to be a base, but Sunset couldn’t see it from where she was and didn’t care to get up and check. “Mm, did I really lose that much blood?”

“Are”, Brigid corrected. “Ah’m tryin’ ta keep ya from da red zone. How are ya doin’?” Brigid inserted the iv then began stroking Sunset’s hair.

“I feel awful.”

“How so?”

“When I was hit with the elements, I was first made to feel all the pain I unjustly caused. I didn’t even remember most of it. I was so horrible. I’ll never be able to make up for all of it.”

Brigid took a seat on Sunset’s bed and helped her into a sitting position to be able to directly face her. “It will take time, n’ not everybody may be willin’ ta forgive ya, but dat doesn’t mean ya don’t try. From dis moment on, be da best version a’ Sunset Shimmer. Everyone will judge ya from dat.”

Sunset lowered her head, unable to meet Brigid’s eyes. “What does that Sunset even look like?”

“Ah don’t know. Wha’ Ah do know is dat ya can become her if ya try. Y’r fathe’, Minerva, n’ Ah weren’t always da way ya see us know. We all were angry at our unjust world at one point n’ took it out on does around us. Ah was cold n’ hostel to anyone dat tried ta get close ta me, Minerva would blow up on does tryin’ ta help ‘er, n’ Anzhong was a straight up bully.”

Sunset shot her head up in surprise, meeting Brigid’s eyes again. “Wait, Dad, a bully? No way. There’s no way Dad ever bullied anyone.”

“Oh yeah, not even Ah believed it at first, but he n’ Daiki were da biggest bullies in deir school. Ya should really talk ta him ‘bout dis. Ah know almost nothin’ ‘bout it.”

“Maybe”, Sunset said reluctantly.

Brigid smiled down at Sunset then Sunset’s stomach reminded her she didn’t eat breakfast. “Do ya want lunch?”

“Yes, please.”

Katon family home

Date: same day, time: 5:00 pm

*Anzhong’s perspective*

From just a few months old, my family knew my life would not be easy. I was born completely blind. I don’t care about being blind, I know nothing else, but being blind in a mountain village has quite a few dangers. There weren’t rope bridges connecting the various parts of the village, but there were several cliffs and other sheer drops. As soon as I was old enough to understand, my mother taught me to navigate the world in a different way. Not many people realize this, but all that lives on Earth has a special connection to her. If you listen, she will speak to you. Some people, like my children, can do this naturally. Many gain a version of this ability upon becoming parents; what you call “mom-stincts” and “dad-stincts”. Having every cell in your body scream at you that something’s wrong with your child is something else. My mother taught me to do this.

For centuries, groups in Japan have taught themselves these abilities to become the near mythical warriors they are regarded as today. These people were ninja. I’ve used this ability to run and jump and play without worrying about falling off the mountains. I now use this same ability to become my own near mythical warrior in the courtroom.

I loved my mother, I still do, but she’s not here anymore. She and my sister were my only friends growing up. My dad and I never had the best relationship. He worked long hours, and we just never knew how to connect, and I suspect he was scared of me two. I couldn’t hide my kitsune-ness very well. My mother and sister were the only ones that would play with me, and I was fine with that.

One day she was taking me into the city, for what I can’t remember anymore. The train we were on derailed, killing her. I was covered in her blood. I heard the dying breaths of my mother. It took seven years to get the justice we deserved due to corruption. This sparked my need to rid my world of corruption.

My father began drinking heavily after my mother died and stopped going to work. He ended up taking the two of us to live in the US to get away from the pain and start anew. My father was able to get his drinking under control, but it wasn’t so easy for me. I was angry and took it out on the people around me. I would beat up kids for any reason I could think of, they smelled, they bumped me, I felt like it. This was no justification, but I only had one friend in the states and was lonely. My father beat the stuffing out of me when he found out, to make me feel the pain I caused, and raged at me about how I used my mother’s teachings dishonorably and how I dishonor her memory. That hurt me deeper than any kick he gave me. He hadn’t even so much as raised his voice at me before or after that. I wasn’t the hot shit I thought I was. I never so much as touched another kid at that school after that.

When it was time to go to college, I had a choice to make. I wanted to become a lawyer, but I couldn’t do that if I kept my only friend. He was the son of the yakuza head. If we remained friends, I could easily be accused of corruption. We walked on opposite sides of the gray line, and I couldn’t interact with him without risking my future. I decided to cut ties, and we went our separate ways.

It was just me and Ai when I first went to college, but it wasn’t long before I met the woman that would change my life forever, Brigid. She was crabby and closed off for the first few months I knew her, but I could sense the kind, loving heart buried beneath her armor. We stayed by each other’s sides and brought the best out of the other. We became each other’s best friends and, later, lovers.

A short time before we were to get married, a woman named Minerva came into our life. Brigid helped her rebuild her life after she returned from war. I will admit, I was a bit jealous she was getting so much of my fiancé's attention, but I forced myself to accept her. There was nothing else I could do. I still wouldn’t call us friends, but we respect each other. Not long after, they both decided to get pregnant. That time was far from easy for both of them. Anura was born early, and Brigid lost her ovaries shortly after Emi’s birth.

Raising Emi was no easy feat either. She got cranky a lot, was always hungry, and had a lot of energy. It got a bit easier after we adopted our second daughter. She was interesting. I found her dumpster diving, and she only knew a handful of English words. I called my wife in hopes she could speak to her, but not even she knew what language she spoke. As we had become foster parents, we were allowed to take her in, and we adopted her when she knew enough English to tell us her real name.

Little did we know at the time, she was hurting an unbelievable amount. That pain was only exasperated when Emi was diagnosed. We later learned Sunset’s true nature, and began to start understanding the pain she was in. That also got Brigid to finally start believing in magic. We tried to get Sunset the help she needed, but she kept refusing and refusing, and now, we’re here.

Brigid pulled into the garage, and the two of them headed inside. Brigid headed upstairs to get more coloring books and stuff for Emi, and Anzhong headed to Sunset’s room. He knocked on the door, and Sunset answered almost a minute later.

“Hey, Dad.”, Sunset said meekly.

Anzhong said nothing at first. A mixture of disappointment, anger, and sadness swelled inside of him. He didn’t know how to feel about it. His daughter did one of the worst things a girl her age could do for the last two and a half years, and she did it right under his nose. “Is your back still hurting?”, he finally said.

“It is... Are you mad at me?”, Sunset asked worriedly.

“Yes, I am.”, Anzhong said matter-of-factly. “You’re not like the other kids in your class. You have the mind of an adult. You were yourself bullied in your youth, and yet you bullied others. You hurt innocent children that are just like you once were. You should’ve known better. We’ll be heading to the hospital as soon as your mother grabs some things for Emi.” Anzhong turned back around and headed back out to the car, but he only got half way there when Brigid came storming out of the house.

“Wha’ da hell did ya say ta ‘er?!”, Brigid shouted angrily.

“I told her exactly what she needed to know.”, Anzhong said calmly.

“And wha’ would dat be exactly, because da look Ah saw on ‘er face before she ran back inta ‘er room was not one a’ someone dat jus’ got a talk from ‘er fathe’?!”

“I told her she should’ve known better. That she has an adult's mind and should know how damaging bullying is!”, Anzhong said, beginning to shout.

“She has an adult’s memories, but ‘er neurology is dat a’ a teenage’! She physically isn’t able ta process everythin’ dat’s happened ta ‘er! She’s already traumatized enough from last night! She doesn’t need us addin’ ta dat!”

“She needs to learn that kind of behavior is not tolerated!”

“N’ ya don’t do dat by traumatizin’ ‘er!”

“Your coddling of her won’t do it either! She needs to learn that actions have consequences!”

“Oh, look who’s talkin’, Mr. Lawyer Man, who by name droppin’, she could get out a’ any trouble!”

“That wasn’t of my doing! You’re the one that’s been first to bat to defend her actions! You know what, no! I’m not having this argument!” Anzhong marched back to the car while he heard Brigid go back inside. Anzhong got back in the car and waited for Brigid and Sunset, which was a couple minutes.

“Ah hope y’re happy?”, Brigid said as she got in the car.

“About what?”, Anzhong snapped.

“Sunset’s gone.”

“What? Where did she go?”, Anzhong said, shock and worry in his voice, all anger gone.

“Ah have an idea.” Brigid pulled out of the garage and drove them a short distance away. As soon as they were parked, both of them got out, and Anzhong followed Brigid.

“Where are we?”

“At da high school.”

Anzhong headed to the portal but didn’t find Sunset, but he did find her keys. “She was here.”

“Can Kiba track ‘er?”

“No, I never trained her to do that, but I know where she went.” Anzhong stuffed the keys in his pocket and ran off into the woods with Brigid close behind.

Everfree Forest

Date: same day, time: 5:10 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset tried her best to navigate the forest but doing so while injured was not easy. She really hadn’t thought this through. She only grabbed her phone, Bedelia (her stuffed phoenix), and keys, and the keys were out of habit. That’s why she left them by the statue, she wouldn’t be needing them anymore. Her family would be better off without her, without such a monster.

Sunset ran as far as she could before she had to sit down. She found a large tree and decided to lie down under it. She still couldn’t lie on her back so lied on her stomach, her phoenix clutched in her arm. The cold ground felt nice beneath her. She heard rustling and her head shot up. It was a couple of foxes and their two kits eating some bush berries. One of the kits looked at Sunset quizzically. “You’re almost grown. It’s almost time for you to go off on your own.”, she said to the kit. The kit just looked confused and went back to eating.

The wind picked up slightly, and she could smell Brigid, Kiba, and Anzhong on it. No. Sunset stumbled back up and began running again, sort of. Saying she was running was being nice. Really, she was stumbling forward while, somehow, not falling over. She could feel her blood begin to leak from the cotton. She really hadn’t thought this through. Sunset began to feel lightheaded. She was hungry, thirty, and losing blood. She wanted to go home.

Sunset’s lightheadedness caught up to her, and she began to fall but was caught before she hit the ground. “Ogh, you’re getting heavy.”, Anzhong said. Anzhong gently laid Sunset down, and she curled up into a ball. Anzhong sat down beside Sunset and began stroking her hair while Kiba sniffed at her and lied down next to her.

“Leave, you’re better off without me.”

“You say that, yet you’ve made no move to resist me.”

Sunset began to cry as the sound of two large feet crunching leaves quickly approached. “Sunset, are ya okay?” Brigid sat on the ground and pulled Sunset into a hug. “Ah’m sorry, baby. Y’r fathe’ shouldn’t have said dat.”

“No, he’s right. I’m a terrible person.”

“I didn’t say that. I said that you did something terrible, but I evidently said it very poorly. Sunset, I’m disappointed in you, but I still love you. You’re my daughter. I forgot that you are, despite all you’ve gone through and the years you’ve lived, just a child.”, Anzhong said. His voice was his normal matter-of-fact tone, but Sunset could feel his love for her and his regret for his actions.

“Did one of your victims die?”

“Your mother told you I used to be a bully.”

“She did.”

“Sigh, no, none of my victims killed themselves, but what I did was despicable. I would beat kids up for whatever reason I wanted. My thought was “I’m strong, and they’re weak”. I had a very poor understanding of the role of the strong.”

“That sounds familiar.”, Sunset commented.

“That is a common sentiment amongst bullies. Sunset, I want to help you, but you need to understand, bullying is contagious. It’s a symptom of trauma, and the trauma you inflict can cause them to become bullies themselves, and the cycle continues. All this is something you can choose not to spread.”

Sunset nodded. “I want to stop it. I want to make it better.”, Sunset said with determination.

Anzhong reached over and, after locating it, lovingly caressed Sunset’s face. “That’s my girl.” He removed his hand and pulled Sunset’s keys out from his pocket and presented them to her. “Please don’t leave these where other people might grab them, and if you’re going to run away again, at least pack a bag, even just the bag itself.”

Sunset took back her keys and held them to her chest. “I’m sorry.”

“Okay, let’s get ya cleaned up. We’re already late.”, Brigid said. She picked Sunset up, and Anzhong stood up as well. She carried Sunset out of the forest while, carefully, rubbing her back. “Sunset, dere’s a phrase dat Ah was taught a long time ago. Ah think it might help ya.”

“What is it?”

“Life is like a pond, and all da bad in life things are like stones bein’ thrown in it. Dey may ripple da wate’ n’ remain in da pond f’r da rest a’ time, but dey, ultimately, don’t damage da wate’, n’ da wate’ moves n’ grow around da stones.”

“So, what you’re saying is that the trauma will always be a part of me, but I can move past it and continue to grow and even use the trauma as a source of growth.”

“Bingo” It didn’t take long for them to make it out of the forest, and Brigid placed Sunset in the car and then drove them all home. Sunset was able to walk inside under her own power, but Anzhong and Brigid remained close until Sunset was sitting down.

“I think I bled through my bandages.”

Brigid nodded then removed Sunset’s jacket and shirt. “Eyuh, dey need ta be changed.” She began to clean her up. Sunset put her keys back into her pocket and squeezed Bedelia in preparation for the pain.

Anzhong sat down in front of Sunset and held out his hand. “Squeeze my hand. It will help.”

Sunset looked down at his hand skeptically then back up at Anzhong. “Really?”

“It’s wha’ da doctors tell ya ta do when y’re givin’ birth. Ah nearly broke his hand when Ah was givin’ birth.”, Brigid explained.

Sunset took Anzhong’s hand, and Brigid began changing her bandages. Sunset gritted her teeth and squeezed Bedelia and Anzhong’s hand. It felt like someone was searing her skin each time her wounds were exposed to the air, even with her blood covering her nerves. Brigid worked quickly, but Sunset still let out pained hisses.

“Ah’m sorry, baby.”, Brigid said and rubbed the good part of Sunset’s back. Another couple painful minutes later, she had fresh bandages on. “Dere, all done.”

“I’m hungry.”, Sunset said.

“Good, because we’re goin’ ta da hospital f’r dinne’. Ah’ll get ya a new shirt.” Brigid got up and disappeared into Sunset’s room.

“Sunset”, Anzhong said.

“Yeah?”

“Did you use what I taught you to bully the other kids?”

Sunset shook her head fervently. “No, I would never dishonor you like that.”

Anzhong nodded. “That already makes you better than me.”

Brigid came back with one of Sunset’s old shirts and helped her get it on and then her jacket. Anura and Minerva came inside and looked at the scene.

“Is everything okay?”, Minerva asked.

“No, but it will get better.”, Anzhong said.

Brigid carried Sunset out to the car, everyone else following. Everyone jumped in, and they were on their way to the hospital.

Sunset looked back at Anura, who looked like a part of her was gone. “Anura, are you okay?”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do when Emi dies. It’s always been the two of us. I don’t know what I’m going to do when it’s just the one of me.”, Anura said sorrowfully.

“Well, ya won’t have ta know for a while longe’. Ah got a good prognosis from da doc ta day. It looks like Emi will be okay.”, Brigid informed.

Anura’s head shot up and hoped filled her eyes. “Really?”

“Yeah, da doctors are gonna keep ‘er a bit longe’ f’r observation, but she looks to be gettin’ bette’.”

Sunset felt a weight she didn’t even know was there lift from her chest. It worked. It worked! She leaned against the window and closed her eyes. She felt exhausted in every sense of the word and cold. Once they got to the hospital, Brigid picked Sunset up and carried her inside. They headed to the cafeteria, where Emi already sat in a wheelchair at one of the tables with a nurse. The six of them joined her, and Brigid dismissed the nurse.

“Hey, what ya did worked. The doc said that my cancer cells are dying.”, Emi said. “You, however, look like you’re dying.”

Sunset gave her a wry smile. “I’ll live.”

“What does everybody want?”, Minerva asked.

“I’m surprisingly hungry,” Emi said, “so a lot.”

“A lot of whatever, preferably warm.”, Sunset said.

Anura just shrugged her shoulders.

“How very helpful.”, Minerva deadpanned.

“I’m not hungry.”, Anzhong said.

“Are ya sure?”, Brigid asked.

“I don’t really feel like eating.”

“Okay”, Brigid said, then she and Minerva went off to get the food.

“So, what happened to you?”, Emi asked.

“That’s… a long story.”, Sunset said quietly.

“Ah’ve got time.”

Sunset would’ve glared at Emi if she had the energy. “I’ve been sick for a very long time. When I was getting that energy to help you, I got into a fight over it and tried to use its power to win. The magic manifested my sickness into a living monster that took me over completely. The process to remove the monster left me pretty badly injured. I’m lucky to be alive.”

“Since the monster’s gone, does that mean you’re better?”

“Not entirely. The monster’s gone, but my sickness might never fully go away.”

“Then what do we do? Are you just going ta be sick forever?”

“Maybe, but I can still work to make it better, and that’s what I wanna do.”

“Okay”

Brigid and Minerva returned with several plates of food and placed them around the table. “Ya’d think, with how much our insurance is payin’, da food would be free.”

“Blame the insurance companies. They aren’t actually paying that much. All the prices are jacked up because all the insurance companies “negotiated” for discounts, and the hospitals had to raise their prices in order to get the money they need.”, Anzhong explained.

“Figures”, Minerva said bitterly. “On to a happier topic.”, she said in a more cheerful tone. Everyone looked around the table, and despite the good news on Emi’s health, no one was exactly in a cheery mood. “On a happier topic, none of us are dead.”, she deadpanned then sat down.

They ate in silence. Emi ate slowly but was eating. Out of the corner of her eye, Sunset noticed Dr. Dracul walking over to their table.

“Hello, Doctor.”, Brigid said.

“Hello. Sunset, I have something I think you’d like ta see.”, Dr. Dracul said.

“Let me finish my food first.”, Sunset said.

“Of course.”

Sunset shoveled her food into her mouth then followed Dr. Dracul out of the cafeteria. He took her up to the elevator, up to the NICU, and over to the window to the baby room. “You see that little girl over there?”, Dr. Dracul said while pointing to one of the babies.

“Yeah”

“Her life was saved by your blood. She wouldn’t still be here without you.”

Sunset got a fuzzy feeling in her chest at his words. She saved that kid without doing anything underhanded or hurting anyone. Granted, it wasn’t much, but she needed anything she could get. “Thank you for showing me this. I needed it.”

“Your mother came by for some bags of your blood. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just got some bad cuts.”

“Okay. I should let you get back to your family.”

Sunset waved goodbye to Dr. Dracul and headed back down to the cafeteria and retook her seat with her family.

“Wha’ did Dr. Dracul want ta show ya?”, Brigid asked.

“A little girl that got a transfusion of my blood.”

“Bet it feels good to know you helped her.”, Minerva said.

“Yeah, it does.”

Crystal Castle

Date: 1st day of the 9th month of the 1120th year, time: 2nd hour ASR

*Twilight’s perspective*

Twilight looked at her friends, the princesses, and Shining Armor, who were all waiting to hear about Twilight’s adventure on the other side of the portal. Spike was off somewhere else. He was there, so he didn’t feel the need to be here. Twilight and Celestia managed to convince everypony to wait until after breakfast, but now, there was no more stalling. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to tell them. It was that she didn’t know how to tell them. That place was weird. Finally, Twilight took a deep breath and began talking. “So, you all want to know about my time on the other side of the mirror portal, and I have already told you that you have counterparts in the other world, but I want to start off by asking you something, Prin- Celestia. How much do you know about that place?”

“I do not know much about that place. I was there once, but that was only for a few seconds. I would really like to hear what you have learned.”

“Okay, first, the creatures on the other side of the portal are not ponies.”

That elicited confused murmurs from everypony, except Celestia. “If they’re not ponies, what are they, griffons?”, Shining asked.

“No, they call themselves “humans”.”

“Humans, that sounds familiar. I think Lyra once mentioned them.”, Pinkie said.

“Wait, really? That-”, Twilight tried to say but was cut off.

“Later, I want to hear about my hoo-mahn counterpart.”, Rainbow said impatiently. “What does she look like? Do they even have mares and colts?”

“Right, yes. First off, yes, they do have mares and colts. As far as they look, they are similar to minotaurs in that they walk on two legs and have two front appendages to grab and use tools, but unlike minotaurs, they are almost completely furless, except for their manes, and they don’t have hooves. Instead, they have feet similar to Spike’s. I have no reference how big they are compared to ponies, but they would likely be a bit taller due to them walking on two legs, but I can’t imagine they’re much taller.”

Everypony, except for Celestia, was either giving expressions of curiosity, confusion, or outright disgust. “How would not having fur benefit them? Do they have chitin or scales instead?”, Fluttershy asked. She was one of the ones with a curious face.

Twilight debated telling them, but most of them would likely, at the least, not believe her but would more likely be freaked out, but she also didn’t want to lie to them. “They don’t have chitin or scales. Instead, they sacrificed protection for the ability to cool themselves while running by sweating.”

“That makes no sense.”, Shining said.

“It apparently worked for them.”

“What did they wear? Do they wear anything?”, Rarity asked.

“They do wear clothing. As a matter-of-fact, because they don’t have natural protection, they are constantly wearing clothes. I didn’t see a single human not wearing clothes. I don’t think I can describe their clothes to your standards though. Sorry, Rarity.”

“Was my counterpart as funny as me?”, Pinkie asked.

“I didn’t really spend enough time with her to get a sense of her humor.”

“Eh, that’s okay. I hope I get to meet her one day.”

“Do you think these hoomahns might be a security threat to Equestria?”, Princess Luna asked.

“I’m not sure. They don’t have any magic, but their technology level is far beyond anything Equestria has. They have these little devices they call phones that allow them to communicate anywhere on the planet and larger devices called com-pute-rs that give them access to the entirety of their collective knowledge; the contents of thousands of libraries can fit inside of those things. I was more concerned with learning about their current culture, so I didn't get a good look at their technology.”

“Hm, the next time the portal opens, we should launch an expeditionary force to learn about them and any possible threats they may pose.”

“Not to be rude, Princess, but it’s safe to assume that they don’t know about the portal. If we launch any forces through, we will be alerting them to its existence, opening us up for invasion. In short, we should absolutely not do that.”, Shining said.

“Yeah, the only humans that know about the portal are my Canterlot High friends and Celestia’s counterpart, who’s merely a school principal. The greater world knows nothing about the portal or Equestria.”, Twilight added. Princess Luna merely huffed and turned her head up.

“If nopony else has any questions, we should start preparing for the summit.”, Celestia said. Everypony nodded and began getting up and leaving the room.

“I’ll probably have more questions later, Twilight.”, Rainbow said as they were leaving.

“I’d be happy to answer them to the best of my ability.”, Twilight answered, then approached Princess Celestia with her own question. “Prin- I mean Celestia, you said you were there once. What happened?”

“Hm,” Celestia closed her eyes in contemplation before opening them again with a bit of sorrow, “it’s not much of a happy story. Perhaps I will tell you another time.”

Twilight was annoyed that she wouldn’t get to hear the story but also trusted that when Celestia said it wasn’t a happy story that it wasn’t. It looked like she would have to wait to hear it.

Outside CHS

Date: Sep 3rd, time: 5:15 pm

*Brigid’s perspective*

Brigid walked alongside Anzhong and Sunset as they went around to the side entrance of the school as the front was less than safe. Sunset was gripping onto Brigid’s jacket like she was the only thing keeping her alive. It reminded Brigid of when she first went shopping with her. There was barely anyone around the school. There were inspectors looking at the damage, but that was about it. They arrived at Celestia’s office, and Anzhong let them in. Brigid had to suppress a snarl upon seeing her. They were obviously different species, but this was the human counterpart to the mare that harmed Sunset. The hair was a dead give away, but it was also those eyes. They were also slightly different, this Celestia having the eyes of a hunting animal, but other than that, they were the same. The other woman in the room stood behind Celestia with the eyes of an observer, detached but watching.

“Hello, I am Principal Celestia, and this is Vice Principal Luna. We can get another chair if you would like.”

“I’d prefer to stand.”, Sunset said timidly. The proud soldier visage was gone, and now, she was hiding away in her jacket with her head down. Brigid rubbed Sunset on the shoulder, getting her to let go of her jacket, and she and Anzhong sat down.

Celestia’s demeanor gained a firmness as she turned to Sunset. “I’ve talked to the other students and gotten their side of the story, but I want to hear what you have to say about all this.”

Sunset turned her head away from Celestia. She undoubtedly saw the same thing as Brigid, but to her, it means something entirely different. “Sunset, tell Celestia wha’ ya told us.”, Brigid said gently.

Sunset turned back to Celestia but still couldn’t look her in the eye. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for any of that to happen. The crown was never even supposed to enter the school. I… had a lapse in judgment.”

Brigid’s brow furrowed in response to what Sunset said. “Dat’s not wha’ ya told us.”

Sunset hesitated but finally spoke after a couple moments. “I had a mental episode. That demon was jus’ tha physical manifestation of my… problems.”

“Are you saying you weren’t in control of your actions?”, Luna asked.

“Yes and no, it’s hard to explain.”

“I understand what you’re saying. I’m familiar with such episodes, just with less… magic.”, Celestia said. “You don’t need to say more if it bothers you.”

“Thank you.”

“Now, we still need to talk about repayment for the damage and how we’re going to handle this going forward and keep it or anything like it from happening again.”

“We’ll cover the costs of the repair, and we are taking Sunset to therapy along with having her apologize to every student she has wronged.”, Anzhong said.

“Except for Lily.”, Sunset said, lifting up her head for the first time since they left home.

“Sunset.”, Anzhong chastised.

“No, I’m saying anything to the B other than the only reason I haven’t done worse to her is because I like not being in jail.”

“Sigh, we’ll talk about this later.”

“You wouldn’t say sorry to someone that hurt Mom like that.”, Sunset said angrily. “Even with what happened, I still care about Flash enough to be angry at her.”

“I understand Sunset…”, Anzhong tried to say, but Sunset cut him off.

“No, you don’t! I understand I unjustly hurt people, I really hurt people during the formal, and I will make amends for that, but I also hurt people that hurt other people! I’m not sorry about beating up Sea and Thunder or Honeycrisp and Pazazz, I’m not sorry about all the stuff I did to Lily, and I’m certainly not sorry about stealing the crown!”

Brigid put her hands up, stopping anything more from coming out of either of their mouths. “We’ll pay f’r da damages, and Sunset will be goin’ ta therapy n’ makin’ right wha’ she did wrong. Will dat be all?”, Brigid said in a way that left no room for argument.

“Yes, that sounds good.”, Celestia said.

“Ah’ll get ya a check by da end a’ next week.”

“That would be good.”, Celestia said. Brigid, Anzhong, and Celestia stood up, and Brigid was surprised by the fact Celestia was almost eye-level with her, relative to how eye-level other people normally are to Brigid. Celestia was slightly shorter than her but only by about a few inches.

“Hey, Ah won’t hurt mo neck ta look ya in da eye.”, Brigid commented as she shook Celestia’s hand.

“It has been a while since I needed to look up at someone.”

Brigid nodded her head and assured her family out. They still had a lot of stuff to do that day. One of which was to begin looking for a therapist.

Canterlot Hospital

Date: same day, time: 8:00 pm

*Jiraiya’s perspective*

I used to be a normal boy until my country went to war. I had a mom, dad, and older brother, but the war took all but my mother from me. I was ten years old and angry at everything except the girl I met at the edge of the forest. She was a strange girl, and I had never seen her around the village before, but I was head over heels for her. In my darkest hours, she listened to me without making me feel like I was being judged. I could tell her all my darkest thoughts. She’d even seemed disappointed when I retracted my statements about wanting to kill the emperor or every American soldier I could find. Years later, I learned why she was so strange and that she was a fox spirit. She became the shrine maiden at Inari’s shrine and gave the village the messages she received. She taught me everything I know about fighting, and I taught her about humanity. I was the first human to not reject her for what she truly was. She was the one to convince me to go to medical school. We loved every part of each other because we were a part of each other. That made it all the more painful when I lost her.

I always thought she would far out live me, but that was not to be. When my eldest was twenty-one and my youngest was nine, a train derailment took the life of my wife, Aoi. I began to drink to distract from the pain, drinking more and more as the years went on. I eventually left Japan with my son to put some needed distance between us and the tragedy.

After moving to America, I managed to rebuild my life and stop the unhealthy amounts of drinking. I began working at Canterlot Hospital, and that’s how I ended up here.

Jiraiya stood to the side of the bed of one Torta Klubnikaevna Alekhina, putting burn ointment on a burn that covered most of her right forearm while her family waited around. “So, how did this happen?”

“I lost my balance and knocked over pot of water.”, Ms. Alekhina said.

“Do you have any concerns regarding your balance?”

“It’s side effect of one of my medications. I’ll be scheduling appointment with my GP to discuss it.”

“That’s good.”

“So, how long have you been in the US?”, Ms. Alekhina asked.

“Almost twenty years.” Jiraiya began placing the dressings on Ms. Alekhina’s surprisingly muscular arm. She was rather chatty, and Jiraiya kept up the conversation, but she seemed to be picking up a more flirtatious tone as she went on. Jiraiya finished up her dressing and helped her off the bed. “There you go. Now, for wound care-”

“Oh, I know what to do. I've got more burns than winters under my belt.”

“Very good then. I’ll send you on your way. Just make sure to sign out with the front desk before you leave.”

“Thank you, but before I leave, do you have pen and paper?”

“Sure, right here.” Jiraiya gave her the requested items, and she quickly wrote something down, tore off the bit she wrote on, and gave everything back to Jiraiya.

“Here’s my number. How about you give me call some time?”

“Oh, Baba, leave the doctor alone.”, Ms. Alekhina’s older grandchild said. Despite neither her mother or sister having the same accent, the older grandchild spoke with a British accent. As weird as it was, Jiraiya didn’t think too much into it as he had a job to do and there are a dozen reasonable explanations, including foreign accent syndrome.

“Thank you for the offer, but this wouldn’t be appropriate.”, Jiraiya said.

“Why, are you married?”, Ms. Alekhina asked.

“No, that’s not it. It’s not appropriate for a doctor to date their patient.”

“But after I sign out, I won’t be your patient.”

“Oh Mama.”, Ms. Alekhina’s daughter said.

“This is not unheard of. Though, it typically happens with first responders. Just give it a couple weeks, and you’ll forget all about me.”, Jiraiya dismissed with a wave.

“Hm, we’ll see. I’ll be seeing you in couple weeks. Do svidaniya”, Ms. Alekhina said with a wave of her fingers, and she and her family left.

Jiraiya looked down at the number and chuckled to himself. He stashed it away in his pocket. There was no way she would end up wanting to date him, but hey, maybe he’d get lucky.

Port of Tokyo

Date: Sep 4th, time: 9:30 pm

*nameless’s perspective*

The fox watched from the shadows as doc workers loaded crates onto and off the ships. How in Inari’s name humans advanced so much in three hundred years was a mystery to him. He nearly got hit twice by those metal monsters roaming those black paths. He pulled out a world map he’d snatched and looked it over again. That energy blast came somewhere from the east, so he had to find a ship going that direction. Strangely, there was a new country called ‘Rice Country’. He would find a ship going there then try searching from there.

The fox tucked the map away in his tails and began walking around. He used an illusion to hide himself from the humans as he searched for the right ship. The foremen held devices that told them which crates went where and on what ships. He eventually found a ship going to this ‘Beikoku’ place with strange symbols on the hull. Getting onboard was simple as he just had to walk up the ramp. Inside the cargo hold was what was probably the strangest thing he’d seen all day. Some of the humans were covered in ink or mud, but they didn’t smell of ink or mud. Maybe it’s something they do for their health. Hm, there were some women that used charcoal to blacken their teeth. Today was quickly becoming the strangest day of his life, and he once encountered a young kitsune with horse ears traveling with six humans that also had horse ears. The fox quickly left the cargo hold and headed toward the cabins. He eventually found one with a sleeping human inside. Although “quietly” wasn’t exactly possible, the ship was so noisy that the creaking metal was not noticed. He closed the door behind him and approached the still sleeping man. He was clearly an outlander by his facial features, but his skin was normally colored. The fox jumped into the sleeping man.

The process was a bit magic intensive, but remaining within the human would not drain his power faster than he could restore it. The human bolted up as the fox began to take control. He thrashed, trying fruitlessly to fight him. Within a few seconds, the fox was in control. The fox looked through his host's memories and found out his name was Ch-uck. Chuck, strange name, but names were strange to him as a whole. It made sense for humans to have names, being that they are social animals, but kitsune were solitary by nature. Aside from one’s mate, the longest any spend with other kitsune was the time needed to raise young. I would likely need a human name once I reached my destination. Hm, Tomoe, maybe. Lee is pretty generic. I’ll think of one later. This one is not expected on shift for a few more hours. I should sleep. The fox returned his host body back to sleep, but the noise did not make it easy. His only saving grace was that he now only had to deal with human hearing.

Reads family home

Date: Sep 5th, time: 8:00 pm

*Anura’s perspective*

“That’s my dad?”, Anura asked.

Mom and Anura sat in the living room with her father’s donor information in front of them. It had his picture, blood type (O-), education level (bachelor), occupation (nurse), marital status (single), languages spoken (Filipino and English), whether he is a twin or not (not), ethnic origin (100% Filipino), career goals (nurse), interests/hobbies (biking and hiking), how he would describe himself (outdoorsy and introverted), familial medical history (nothing notable), other kids he fathered (seven), and other such information in it, but there was no contact information or even a name. He looked absolutely nothing like Anura, but she did share his blood type. A couple very notable features were a large scar going from his nose to his left ear and that same ear had an equally large nick in it. It looked like all the damage was caused by a single cut.

“Yes”, Mom said.

“Why didn’t he leave any way for us to contact him?”

“Well, people get paid a lot to donate to fertility banks… He probably wanted some extra money. Stuff can get pretty expensive, and nurses aren’t always paid as much as they should be.”

“Oh” Anura tried to keep a neutral face as she tried to sort out her emotions. She wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Her father didn’t technically abandon her because he never met her, but she still felt like he didn’t want her. Would she ever get to meet him? If she did, would he reject her?

“Are you okay?”

“I’m… I'm not sure. I only exist because he wanted money. It… kinda feels bad.”

“Anura, you don’t only exist because he wanted money. I was a part of that equation too, and pregnancy is quite a bit more involved than just planting the seed. You exist because I wanted a child to love and raise, and that’s what I now have. I love you to the moon and back. Jiraiya loves you, Brigid and Anzhong love you, and Emi and Sunset love you.”

“I know, but I can’t stop it. I care what he thinks, but I don’t want to care about that.”

“Emotions are funny like that. I wish there was something I could do about that, but I’ll tell you what I can do. I can love you with all my heart.”

Anura pushed the folder away and hugged her mom. “I love you.”

Mom scooped Anura up and held her to her chest. All that needed to be said had been said, so they just stayed like that in silence.

Outside CHS

Date: Sep 6th, time: 9:00 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Brigid walked Sunset from their home to the high school. Her back was healing surprisingly well and no longer hurt as much. How much she could do was still up in the air, but she should still be able to do something, and that’s what Brigid cared about. Even with her back getting better, she still had to carry her backpack in her arms or by her side rather than where it’s supposed to be. Outside CHS were a bunch of construction people working on the crater and the destroyed entrance and VP Luna waiting outside. Brigid brought Sunset over to Luna. “Here she is.” Brigid patted Sunset on the shoulder then left her with Luna. The first thing Sunset noticed was the lack of her two lackeys. If those two fools think they’re gonna leave me ta do all the work, they’ve got another thing coming.

“I know you don’t want to be here. I certainly don’t. But you did this, and now, you need to make retribution, and I need to monitor you.”

“I only did that.”, Sunset said while pointing to the entrance. “Twilight and her cronies did that.” Sunset pointed to the crater.

“I’d say stopping your rampage gave them suitable cause.”

“Grr, fine. What do you want me ta do?”

“You can help the bricklayers.”

Sunset got her work gloves from her bag then headed over to the entrance and found a safe place to put her bag.

“Are you da kid that’s supposed ta help us?”, a man Sunset assumed was the foreman asked.

“Yes”

“Alright, I’m Rivet. Have ya done work like this before?”

“No”

“Alright, you’ll be sticking with me.” He handed Sunset the same tool Luna handed her that night. “This is a brick trowel. We use this to spread the mortar. You’ll be spreading the mortar while I lay the bricks.” Rivet brought Sunset over to a bucket filled with what could only be the mortar.

Sunset stuck her trowel in and scooped some out. “Is this a good amount?”

“Eyuh”

The two of them got to work, quickly picking up a rhythm. Sunset’s back ached whenever she had to carry the bucket, but she was able to power through it. She was able to call upon an unusual strength. It wasn’t much, but it made things easier. Maybe it’s my human body interacting with the residual magic. Several minutes later, two cars pulled up, and out stepped Snips and Snails from each of the cars along with two unpleasant looking ladies.

Upon seeing her moron lackeys, Sunset jumped up to shout at them. “It’s about time you two idiots show up! Were ya plannin’ on leaving me ta clean up this whole mess?! Get ta work now!”

The boys jumped and ran over to Luna followed shortly by the women Sunset presumed are their mothers.

Sunset turned back to her work and ignored the boys for the rest of the day. They worked throughout the day, only stopping for lunch and when the sun went down. Sunset’s back ached, and she felt sore, but she caused this. She deserved this pain. Brigid had told her to wait to be picked up, so she grabbed her bag then went to find a place where she could be out of the way. As she sat down, she was approached by Snips and Snails.

“Hey, Sunset.”, Snips said. “We can’t hang out with you anymore. Our moms say we’re not allowed.”

Given her reaction to Flash breaking up with her, Sunset expected to feel something, but she didn’t. She didn’t even feel relieved that she wouldn’t have to deal with their incompetence. She felt nothing… other than amusement at them squirming as she silently looked up at them with a blank expression. “Fine, whatever.”, Sunset said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

The two of them ran off, and Sunset was left alone in peace. Brigid and Anzhong soon came walking up, and Sunset got up to meet them. Brigid stroked Sunset’s hair and brought her over to VP Luna.

“How’d she do?”, Brigid asked.

“She did good. She did what she was told without complaint.”, Luna said.

“Good, we’ll see ya tamorrow.”

The three of them began the walk home with the sun having fully set.

“So, did ya learn anythin’?”

“You’re gonna conscript me into helping you with masonry work, aren't ya?”

“Maybe”

“Then I learned nothin’. I don’t even remember what I was doin’ all day.”

“Well, if yer memory's dat bad, we might wanna take ya ta a doctor. Speakin’ a’ docs, we do still need ta pick a therapist.”

“Great”, Sunset said through gritted teeth. Even with everything that happened, she wasn’t too keen on seeing a therapist, and the thought of having to pick one gave her an odd sense of anxiety.

“If it makes ya feel bette’, yer fathe’s also gonna go see a therapist.”

“I don’t remember saying that.”, Anzhong said.

“Odd, both a’ ya are havin’ memory problems. Maybe Ah should check da CO detectors.”, Brigid said in her playful tone.

“Darn, looks like she’s too smart for us ta fool.”, Sunset said.

“Hm” Anzhong nodded.

Katon family home

Date: Sep 7th, time: 7:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

Sunset looked through the glass of the back door like a dog waiting for their human to come home. That wasn’t far off from the truth. Emi was coming home. She heard the car drive down the alley and into the garage. Brigid soon came out of the garage, carrying Emi. Sunset ran outside and hugged them.

“Sunset, hey, I need your help with something.”, Emi said.

“Anything”

“Great, we need to go to your room.”

“Okay”, Sunset said, not sure where she was going with this. Brigid handed Emi off to Sunset, and Sunset carried her to her room. “What do ya need?”

“Your drawing tablet.”

“You ain’t usin’ mo tablet.”

“No, I need ya ta draw somethin’ for me.”

“Oh, okay.” Sunset brought Emi over to her desk and sat her on her lap as she set up her tablet. “Okay, what do ya need me ta draw.”

“My symbol.” Emi pulled a folded piece of paper out of her pocket and opened it up on the desk. The drawing was crude, but it got the idea across along with the helpful little labels with arrows.

“Oh, okay, why is the shuriken in that shape?”

“It’s how I saw it in my dream.”

“Do you know what it means?”

“No”

“That’s the Star of Magic, the Element of Magic. That’s the thing I used ta save you.”

“Oooh, cool.”

The design was relatively simple. She just had to tweak the standard six pointed star. “There, does that look good?”

“Yes”

Katon living room

Date: same day, time: 6:00 pm

*Sunset’s perspective*

“I think the first question we should ask is, who would even believe my story.”, Sunset said. Brigid, Anzhong, Emi, and herself sat around the living room coffee table with a list of possible therapists between them. She still couldn’t sit on the couch or her beanbag and was sitting on a cushion Anzhong got when he broke his tailbone some years back so as to not aggravate her tail wound. Emi called it a “butt donut” because it was donut-shaped without the cover.

Emi’s condition had drastically improved. She’s still not anywhere near as active as she used to be, but she’s not constantly tired anymore and is in a cheerier mood. “That basically eliminates all of them. They’ll think you’re crazy n’ lock ya up in the loony bin.”, she said.

“I’m glad you’re doing better.”, Sunset said sarcastically.

“Maybe you can leave out all the magic stuff when talking to the therapist.”, Anzhong suggested.

“That’s not gonna work. A good chunk of my issues are rooted in my time in the military. I don’t think I could twist the story to where a nine-year-old general makes sense. Plus, the whole turning into a demon thing was pretty traumatic, and I wouldn’t be able to mention that.”

“Ya could try doin’ magic in front a’ ‘em ta prove it’s real.”

“Or I might end up scaring them. This HIPAA thing will keep whoever I talk to from spilling the beans, right?”

“Dat’s wha’ it’s supposed ta do, n’ any doc worth deir salt abides by it.”

“But it’s just a piece a’ paper that gives us power ta sue ‘em if they don’t and not something physically or magically keeping them from doing so.”

“Dat is true, but same issue Ahui brought up, nobody would believe ‘em, n’ dey c’n’t cast spells ta prove it.”

“True, but my anxiety still isn’t assuaged.”

“Sigh, let’s come back ta dis late’. Maybe Ah c’n try talkin’ ta ‘em first ta feel ‘em out.”

With that, the four dispersed, and Sunset went back to her room. I can’t avoid it forever, but who can I trust?

Lagos, Nigeria

Date: Sep 9th, time: 8:00 am

*Kehinde’s perspective*

Kehinde looked herself over in the mirror as she washed her face. She kept her amber hair and brown eyes in her false, human skin, but that was the only thing that stayed the same. She looked human in every way, though not very attractive by their standards. Her people have always been able to hide amongst humans. Their voices were a bit nasally, and their bodies a bit hairy, but these features were never distinct enough to be a smoking gun. It was even easier now that it was illegal to accuse someone of being one of her people. It was funny how humans grouped the Jews in with her people. They did practice the same triads, but that was their only similarity. Her human form has the same dark brown skin as the majority of the humans around and has one of those “it could be anyone” faces. This all worked in her favor.

Kehinde exited the bathroom and began searching for Anansi. She searched in places away from the prying eyes of humans. A six armed man was not something that would go unnoticed, but he was not hard to find as he smelled of deceit. Even humans can smell it and, thus, don't like him. She was already near the less populated part of the city, so just had to look in alleys and shadows.

“Hello there, puppy girl.”, Anansi said with his annoying voice. He was hiding in a dumpster, and now he smelled even worse.

“You reek.” Kehinde approached the dumpster but kept her distance.

“Not all of us are blessed with the ability to blend in perfectly with the most dangerous species on the planet.” Anansi hopped out and presented Kehinde with several pieces of paper, a book of some kind, and a rectangular device.

After a second of looking at them, Kehinde recognized them as immigration papers, a passport, and a smartphone and how to use them. How the hell do I know- bug boy.

Anansi apparently noticed Kehinde’s realization and grinned. “You’ll be needing these where you’re going. You can’t survive there without them.”, Anansi said while pointing to the phone. Kehinde knew better than to ask where he got such items as they were likely either stolen or he swindled others into getting them for him.

“Where exactly am I going?”

“To the United States of America, the state of Maine.”

A flood of information was brought forth in Kehinde’s mind. She now knew the local costumes and dialect, the state and federal laws, the dangers, and even how to use their toilets. “Wait, you’re telling me they have so much clean water that they crap in it, unbelievable.”

“Helps with the smell. Now, I arranged a ship to take you. Go to the docks and ask for Captain Olowe. He and most of his crew are popobawa, so your nightly transformations will not be an issue.”

“I thought mapobawa were solitary creatures and drank human blood. What are they doing on a ship?”

“Despite the stories, most are just trying to make a decent living, and they have a wide range of personalities amongst them. Though, not all of them are as law-abiding. That’s where the stories come from. Not all other species are as one note as yours.”, Anansi said, putting four hands on his hips and crossing his top two arms.

Kehinde just rolled her eyes and headed to the docks. Finding the right ship wasn’t hard. She just had to follow the smell of bats. The ship was smaller than the average, but it was still a cargo hauler. A popobawa disguised as a human and wearing a typical, short-sleeved captain uniform stood at the end of the loading ramp as the ship was loaded. “You must be Captain Olowe.”

The captain scrunched up his nose upon smelling Kehinde. His sense of smell wasn’t as good as hers, but it could likely pick up on her midnight snack. Kehinde gave him a predatory smile as he continued to look at her with suspension. “And you are?”, the captain said with an air of disdain.

“I’m your passenger. The one an annoying trickster sent.”

“I see. Follow me.” The captain lead Kehinde through the corridors, past humans and mapobawa.

“So, how did your people end up on a cargo ship? I thought you were solitary creatures.”, Kehinde asked with a bit of a mischievous tone.

“We are. That’s why you’ll rarely see us outside of our cabins when we’re off shift.”, The captain said curtly.

“I see. What about food? Don’t you feed on human blood?”

“We feed on blood, but not human blood specifically. Any mammal blood will do.”

“And the anal rapes?”

The captain spun around, face red as blood. “We are not like that! That was the actions of a few that led to more being blamed on all of us by the true culprits! We are nothing like you!”, the captain shouted, getting the attention of everyone in that section of the ship. The captain spun back around and returned to leading her to her quarters. “These are your quarters. I suggest you don’t leave them.” The captain leaned into Kehinde’s personal space and snarled at her. “If you hurt a member of my crew, I will throw you into the ocean. I don’t care how much I’m being paid, you don’t get a second chance.”

“Anansi is paying you, with cash?”, Kehinde said in disbelief. She was uncensored by his threats or posturing. He may be hot stuff against male hyenas, but females are much bigger and stronger. His itty-bitty arms wouldn’t even be able to hold her long enough to get her off the deck.

“No, he’s paying us in cow’s blood.” The captain stomped off.

Kehinde entered her cabin. Throwing her bag on the floor and flopping on the bed, she prepared for the long trip.

Outside CHS

Date: Sep 15th, time: 8:20 am

*Sunset’s perspective*

Canterlot High, she only ruled it for a couple days, but those were a couple of really crappy days. Sunset looked up at the now repaired entrance with a swirling mix of emotions, none of them good. It was like the events of the Fall Formal never happened, but they did happen, and she had the injuries to prove it. They were almost healed up, and Sunset could now sit in a chair somewhat comfortably.

She slowly walked forward and into the school. The halls were filled with students milling about before the first bell. The moment they noticed her, they stared daggers into her. They hated her, and they were no longer too afraid to let her know exactly what they thought of her. The sheer amount of emotional energy directed at her caused her head to hurt. She hurried to her locker, not wanting to be stared at like that longer than she had to. As she walked to her locker, Sunset ran into Meg. “Hi, Meg.”, she signed. Meg looked at her with utter betrayal and hurt in her eyes before scurrying away. Sunset couldn’t blame her. She’d hurt everybody.

The day went on with Sunset trying to avoid everyone and getting stared at. Even the teachers didn’t look at her the same, though not in a hateful way, more of a ‘WTF is going on’ sorta way. Not all of them were there, but teachers gossip, and a student turning into a literal demon is probably the biggest piece they’ll ever hear. Lunch time eventually came, and after getting her food, Sunset tried to find a seat, but everyone purposely made sure there was no space for her whenever she neared their table.

“Twilight asked us ta help her.”, Rainbow said.

“Ah know, but do we really want her ta sit with us?”, Jacklyn said.

“She’ll be really sad if we don’t. She’ll think no one wants to sit with her.”, Pinkie said.

“Ah mean…”

“Applejack,” Rarity chided, “she needs help. If we don’t help her, she likely won’t get any and will slide back into her old ways.”

“Ah guess y’re right.”

“Sunset, over here.”, Fluttershy “called out”.

“She’s not gonna hear ya if ya don’t speak up.”, Rainbow said.

“You’d be surprised with how good my hearing is.”, Sunset said as she got close.

“Wait, ya heard all that?”, Jacklyn asked, looking sheepish.

“The whole thing. Good ears run in my family.” She chose to not make a big deal about Jacklyn’s words. She was right to feel that way, and the rest were being nicer than she deserved. She sat down in the open seat, causing the surrounding people to clear out.

“You mean pony ears run in the family.”, RD said.

Sunset stopped mid stabbing her fork into her food. “Little Ms. Princess told ya, didn’t she?”, she said, adopting a bit of her old sinister tone again.

“Sure did.”, RD said in her usual cocky tone. “So, a teenage army, was that really your grand plan for conquering your home world?”

“Imma stop ya there. Don’t trust anything demon me said. Everything it spouted was nothing but my dark fantasies and intrusive thoughts. I’m not stupid, and that wasn’t my original goal.”

“So, what was your original goal?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“Sunset, we want to help you, and that means we need to know what’s going on.”, Rarity said.

“I said it’s none of your business.”, Sunset said, putting a bit more malice into her voice. The result of which caused Fluttershy, who was sitting across from her, to shrink away from her and try to hide behind the table’s edge.

“Hey, it’s okay.”, Jacklyn cut in. “This isn’t an interrogation. Sunset can tell us when she’s ready.”

The girls continued talking amongst themselves, leaving Sunset to eat in peace. The food in the high school was a step up from the middle school, but it still pales in comparison to anything she could get at home.

“So, I tried telling my parents what happened,” Rainbow said, “but they didn’t believe me.”

“Mine too.”, Rarity added.

“Same.”, Fluttershy said.

“Maybe Granny could talk ta ‘em and vouch for ya.”, Jacklyn suggested.

“My mom saw a video of a ghost throwing a bottle of laundry soap at me. Even with the president that set, she still didn’t believe me. I doubt Granny’s testimony’s gonna convince her.”

“Are ya sure it was a ghost, sugarcube?”

“Oh right, I forgot to mention I’ve developed the ability ta see ghosts. My apartment building’s full of them.”

That got Sunset’s attention. “Ya mean “see” as in sense or “see” as in actually see them?”

“I can see them clearly. I thought I was hallucinating for a while before the bottle throwing incident.”

“Huh, interesting.”

“My parents believed me. My family used to practice witchcraft, so magic’s kinda normal for us.”

“Really?”, Rainbow said skeptically.

“Eyup, my family hasn’t practiced it for hundreds of years though. I think my ancestors suspected my aunt’s magic might’ve caused the disappearance of their whole town and it scared them away from it.”

“What?”, Fluttershy deadpanned.

Pinkie recounted the story of Bluefaun and her family’s involvement in it all. “Maud and her teacher went there to try to figure out what happened. She said found some sort of strange creature but not much else.”

Before the girls could ask more questions, the bell rang, and Pinkie, who had been talking the most, had to jam the rest of her food into her mouth as they all got up to leave. Walking to class, the other students avoided Sunset like she had the plague, and by extension, the other girls.

“Looks like you lot are gonna be pariahs by proxy.”, Sunset said.

“Eh, we’ve all survived worse.”, Rainbow said. “Plus, you, although unintentionally, taught us all an important lesson.”

“Oh, and what was that?” Now, Sunset was genuinely curious.

“The importance of a good support system.”

“Yeah,” Pinkie chimed in, “after you broke us all apart, I slid back so far that I had to go back on my meds, and now, even just two weeks into being back with my friends, my doc is weaning me back off them.”

Ooh, crap. “It wasn’t my intention to… do that. I just wanted you to leave me alone.”

“We can add that to the list of your plans that had unintended consequences.”, Rarity said.

“My plans regularly have unintended consequences. They only started blowing in my face after I got to Earth.”

“We’re friends with an alien. Mark that down as a sentence Ah never thought Ah’d say in real life.”, Jacklyn commented.

The girls split up to go to their various classes, leaving Sunset in the same position as earlier. At least there were only a couple hours left in the day. The moment the last bell rang, she made a beeline for the exit, running into the girls along the way

“Hey, what’s the hurry?”, Pinkie asked.

“You wouldn’t wanna be here if you were in my position.”

//Sunset Shimmer to Principal Celestia’s office.//

Sunset stopped in her tracks, and the rest of the girls looked at Sunset with ‘what did you do?’ and ‘really?’ looks.

“I didn’t do anything.”, Sunset tried to defend as she hurried past the glares of the other students and to Celestia’s office. Not many kids were around her door, so Sunset had a chance to compose herself before stepping in. “You wanted to see me?”

“Yes, please, have a seat.”

Sunset sat across from her old mentor’s human counterpart. Despite the similarities, you could see just how different they were just from looking into their eyes. This Celestia wore her heart on her sleeve, making her much easier to read, but she also had a more intimidating presence. She still has the sweet, carrying aura, but Princess Celestia kept her power on a tight leash, letting her title tell others she’s powerful rather than projecting a powerful presence. This Celestia’s much more similar to Brigid, showing that they’re powerful while not making themselves seem threatening. She also seems more confident than the princess. She’s definitely an interesting one.

“How are you doing, Sunset?”

“Hm, been better.”

“Have you found a therapist yet?”

“You’re concerned I’m gonna turn into a demon again?”

“I would much prefer it if you didn’t.”

“Sigh, finding a therapist has been tricky given my… unique situation. Mom has been scouting some possible options out, but our biggest concern is them not believing me and me ending up labeled as schizophrenic or, worse, them believing me and telling the whole world. I’d rather not end up at Area 51.”

“I see. I do have a suggestion for the meantime, if you want to hear it.”

“Shoot”

“In the interim of you finding a proper therapist, you might want to meet with the school’s guidance counselor. Ms. Lance-Hart was one of the chaperones at the dance and has already been exposed to magic. I’ve talked with her, as well as the rest of the faculty present that night, and as freaked out as she is, she’s handling the whole thing well and should be able to help you. I believe she’s not currently occupied. If you have the time…”

“I suppose that’d be a good start.”

“Good, I’ll take you there.” Celestia got up and led Sunset out of her office and down the halls. She brought her to a door identical to her own, except it said ‘Guidance Counselor’ in place of ‘Principal’s Office’ and a hanging plaque with the exposed side saying ‘come in’. Celestia led Sunset in, and Sunset took a peak at the other side of the sign. It says ‘do not disturb’. “Hi, Ms. Lance-Hart. This is Sunset. She would like to talk with you.”

“Sure, come sit down.”, Ms. Lance-Hart said as she gestured to the seat in front of her. Sunset sat in the chair as Celestia left the room. She could hear her turn the sign around as she left. “I’m guessing you wanna talk about… eh, what happened at the Fall Formal.” Ms. Lance-Hart was a squat, older woman with short, brown hair done up into Pretty Soldier Moon buns and dark brown eyes. She reminded Sunset of a teddy bear. She was also pretty clearly nervous, but Sunset heeded it no mind. That just meant she was sane, unlike Twilight’s friends.

“More like what led up to that incident. You got a while?”

“I have as much time as you need.”

“And everything I say stays in this room?”

“Your parents or the principals can request access, but nobody else can access my notes.”

“So, you’re not covered under HIPAA?”

“No, but I am covered under a similar law that only has the two previously mentioned exceptions.”

“Sigh, I guess you’re better than nothing. Buckle your seatbelts. This is gonna take a while.” Sunset gave Ms. Lance-Hart an overview of the pertinent parts of her pre-Earth life, leaving out the doppelganger phenomena by using the relevant Ponish names and the exact location of the portal by just not mentioning it.

“I’m confused. You said you joined your country’s military at fifteen, but you’re fifteen now?”

“When I came through the portal, I was turned into a ten-year-old human. I was turned into a human because Earth has less than half the oxygen percentage of Equoes, and I’d guess that’s where the age error happened.”, Sunset said. She wasn’t lying. That is what she would guess if there weren’t doppelgangers. “I am, both physiologically and neurologically, fifteen, but I’ve been stomping around for thirty years. When I go back through the portal, I’m twenty-five again.”

“Well, that is an eventful life you’ve had. And I’m talking to an alien.”

“I haven’t even gotten to my time on Earth.”, Sunset said while taking off her jacket, exposing her bullet scar. “Have you ever heard of the serial killer, Platinum Wood a.k.a the Taxidermy Killer?”

“I had seen the news about him.”

“Well, the news didn’t cover everything.” She pointed to her bullet wound. “I was almost his second victim, and I witnessed him kill his first victim.”

Horror flashed across Ms. Lance-Hart’s face before she quickly suppressed it. “You were the girl he was rambling about.”

“Say again?”

“Sorry, I’m friends with the forensic psychologist that met with him after his capture, and he said he was rambling on about finding “that girl” and… um, I’m sorry, it’s… what he said was…”

“Yeah, don’t worry. I get it. The mind of someone that did that can’t be a pleasant place.”

“You are very lucky to have never been caught by him.”

“I have my parents to thank for that. So, onto that part of my life.” Sunset continued, telling Ms. Lance-Hart about all the shit she’s gone through over the last five years, leaving out her adoptive family’s magical heritage, their crimes, and the less than legal bits preceding the days leading up to the formal. “After getting some sense knocked back into me, I’ve realized that I was too far up my own ass… no wait, that’s not right. Maybe it’s right. Self-deluded? Whatever. Basically, my thick-skulled ass never stopped to consider that I could just ask for help, and that’s how we all ended up in this situation.”

Ms. Lance-Hart looked to be thinking deeply about everything Sunset told her before taking a breath. “This is way out of my pay grade, but I’ll do everything in my power to help you.”

“I like that you’re straightforward and honest. It’s refreshing.”

“Would you like to play a game?” She seemed to go back to how she was at the start.

“A game?”

“Yes, many students find it’s easier to talk when they’re doing something else, like playing a board game.”

“Sure, why not.”

Canterlot Hospital

Date: Sep 19th, time: 8:00 pm

*Torta’s perspective*

“Excuse me.”, Torta said to the intake nurse.

“Yes, how can I help you?”

“I’m looking for ze hot, Japanese doctor that treated my burn couple weeks ago.”

“Do you have a name?”

“Oh, I’m terrible with names, but he had graying green hair, silver eyes, and I think frog for symbol.”

“Oh, that’s Dr. Katon. I’ll call him.”

Torta stepped back to wait and looked towards the doors that led deeper into the hospital.

Dr. Katon soon came out and approached the front desk. “Can I help you, ma’am?”

“Yes, you told me to wait couple weeks. It’s been couple weeks, and I’m still interested in that date.”, Torta said in a flirtatious tone.

“Oh right, Ms. Alekhina, you really want to go on a date with me?”

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”

“I guess you want my number then.”, he said as he pulled out his notepad and pen.

“Along with your name, not just your family name. Mine is Torta, in case you forgot.”

“No, I wouldn’t forget your name. Especially since Spanish names are rare all the way up here.” Dr. Katon handed Torta the paper with his number on it, which she stashed.

“It’s Russian, actually. Tort but made into girl’s name by adding ‘a’ at end. It does have ze same meaning though.”

“Oh, I stand corrected. My name is Jiraiya. I also work from eight pm to six or eight am, so actually scheduling the date might be tricky.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Do svidaniya”

“Do svidaniya”, Jiraiya said as Torta walked out into the night.