In the Name of Harmony

Chapters

Twilight's No Good, Very Bad Day
Planning Stage
Unusual Recruitment
Honesty

Twilight's No Good, Very Bad Day

Everfree High school is not known for being the best school in Equestria—quite the contrary. The school has a reputation for being one of the worst schools a person could attend. Sex. Drugs. Near constant violence. The school was dubbed a nightmare throughout the sprawling city. It didn’t help that most of the violence came from small-time gangs in the area, itching to start some mischief. It made the surrounding neighborhood of Ponyville Heights, which is already struggling with poverty, homelessness, and general neglect from the city, an even worse place to live. Few that attend EH graduate without battle scars. Instead, most either start their own clique and try to fit in with the status quo, try to become the most notorious in school or squeak through the three years under the radar and graduate. There’s the rare few that manage both. Twilight is someone that is somewhere in the middle.

She opens the big double doors into the school. The fluorescent lights scream in her eyes in an attempt to wake her. She blinks a couple of times as she strolls to her locker. While the hallway is energetic this morning many are quick to take note of the girl coming their direction.

Twilight Sheppard was a good student. A great one even. From the outside looking in, Twilight was an incredibly bright girl with a scientific mind that hadn’t been seen in decades at that school. Her academic comprehension was second to none in most regards. She was reserved, attentive in class, and turned in all her assignments on time. She should be valedictorian by all merit, but that’s not the reason most students steer clear of her.

Twilight makes it about halfway to her locker before someone who clearly wasn’t paying attention to where he was going bumps into her. She continues mostly as if nothing happened, trying her hardest not to side eye him and his small group of thugs. The former did not take it lightly.

“Hey, bitch. Watch where you’re going,” he spits, whipping himself around. The others in his posse quickly chime in.

“Yeah, you fuckin idiot, watch out,” one spouts.

“Get your eyes checked, dumbass,” the other chides. Their voices are irritatingly nasally. It’s clear they haven’t even finished puberty as they try to hide their subtle voice cracks. Twilight continues to walk down the hallway consciously ignoring the three behind her. That only works to anger them even more.

“Hey!” The first boy shouts. Twilight doesn’t look back. “Looks like you don’t know who the Diamond Dogs are,” he says. A mass of people start encircling the four as they wait for the inevitable.

The Diamond Dogs were a newer group of three freshmen that were still learning the pecking order. They already acted as if they owned the school after fighting half the freshman class. The freshman looking on didn’t know what was in store, but sophomores and up knew what was going to happen.

Diamond Dog One puts his hand on Twilight’s shoulder and spins her around. One look into her eyes and he saw the unmatched disdain for him and his friends. He, of course, found that irritating.“What’s the look for,” he growls, “Think you’re tough shit? This is your fault after-all. But we can fix that no problem. I’m not above showing women their place.”

“Go ahead and try,” Twilight says. That immediately prompts a punch from Diamond Dog One with fury in his eyes. A wild straight right flies toward Twilight but she dodges outside and counters with a left. She finds his chin and he crumples instantly. Diamond Dogs two and three stare in a daze. Their boss falling within seconds of throwing the first punch is a first for them. They couldn’t believe their eyes. They look back at Twilight as she waits for the other two nonchalantly. Seeing her just standing there with her guard down sends a shiver down the remaining Diamond Dogs’ spine. But they stand firm and rush the young woman. Twilight sees two of the same punches being thrown and rolls her eyes. She steps in between the punches and grabs the two boys' heads. Pausing, Twilight only sighs in annoyance before slamming the remaining Diamond Dogs’ heads together. Their skulls knock against each other and bounce away as they too lose consciousness. Twilight turns and walks away without skipping a beat.

Despite being top of her class, Twilight was also an accomplished fighter in the school, but unlike most parties, she’s never started one. She’s always ended them relatively quickly. Few have seen Twilight struggle in a fight, and even fewer have seen her lose. All her acts of violence in self-defense netted her the nickname ‘The Sparkler’. Whether it was because she left sparkles in your eyes or if it was because she was harmless until you got her going was lost in the three years she had been going to Everfree High. She didn’t look like it either. The one-hundred-seventy pound, five-eight light skin girl wasn’t dainty, but she wasn’t buff. Rocking an average build, the eighteen-year-old was on the prettier side leading many to underestimate her fighting ability even more; however, the unspoken respect for her amongst the students spoke for itself. Everyone moves out of the way for Twilight as she finishes her walk to her locker and into her first class of the day.

It isn’t long into first period before the static hum of the intercom jerked all of the students' attention to the ceiling. All but one. Twilight was in the process of packing when an older female voice buzzes out of the speaker. “Twilight Sheppard, please report to the principal’s office.” Twilight’s teacher hears the door close by the time he looks toward her seat. Another trip to the principal’s office. She never enjoyed going. Everytime she went it was a long lecture about responsibility and the use of violence being unacceptable in a school setting, even if in self-defense. The only solace was that the Principal liked her. More accurately she sees Twilight as a shining prospect to lighten the terrible reputation time has given the school. Twilight could tell that was the only reason she was still in school, thankfully. Despite the attempted assaults lodged at her semi-regularly, she genuinely liked school. Moreover, she needed school to reach her dreams.

Twilight knocks faintly on the principal’s door before walking in. “Good morning Principal Mayer,” she says.

“Ms. Sheppard. Please, take a seat.” Principal Mayer gestures to the empty seat in front of her desk. She looks to be a well put together woman in her late forties to early fifties while boasting a full head of pink hair. She dyes it gray. Nobody talks about it, though. Twilight thinks Principal Mayer does it to put on a front — a weathered, mature woman starting to get up in years when she’s actually just getting out of her midlife crisis. The worst part is she still thinks nobody knows.

Twilight obliges and sits in front of her. Principal Mayer says, “You can guess why you’re here once again, Ms. Sheppard.” Twilight nods. “Good then I can start by explaining the underlying problem in this situation.”

Twilight raises an eyebrow. This situation? How is this any different than the multitude of other instances where she had to defend herself from the many violent characters in her school? Principal Mayer, seeing the confusion on the young woman’s face, clears her throat to continue explaining.

“While you know I understand that this, like all the other times I’ve called you into my office, was self defense. The problem lies with the who. I can overlook inter-grade squabbles but sending underclassmen to the nurse will raise unwanted attention from the school board if I let this go.” Twilight opens her mouth to protest. She wasn’t hearing that she was about to be punished for this. Was she? Before she could say anything to defend herself, Principal Mayer spoke again, “While your name has come up in both positive and negative lights, I embellish the negative aspects to make you seem more in the right.”

But she was right,Twilight thought. She almost cut-off Principal Mayer to say this but was once more interrupted.

“I however can’t cover up the truth. Even in self defense, sending Freshmen to the nurse when you’re a senior calls for disciplinary action, at the least. In truth, parents willing, this could land you in police custody.”

“You’re kidding me!” The words come out faster than she can process the thought. “What about the other two that started the fight?” Principal Mayer clasps her hands together and looks down at Twilight in disappointment.

“Of course, they too shall receive a proper punishment, but at this point, considering your history, I can not overlook this incident. Therefore, you will be sent home today and will receive two weeks of out-of-school suspension. While your time out of school will hinder your studies, I hope that you will reflect on the situations leading up to this moment. Your mother has already been notified and seeing as you are already a young adult I hope you can be responsible enough to go home on your own.”

Twilight sits dumbfounded. She’s getting disciplined? For protecting herself against jackasses? She runs through the effects this will have on her record. The suspension could keep her from getting into the college she wants. And If her name is already out there, as Principal Mayer states, then getting accepted to any good college is already going to be a challenge. This might ruin everything. And it isn’t even her fault. Twilight glares at Principal Mayer. She could say so many things to her right now. So many feelings to spill with vitriol, but she knows it won’t help. If anything, it’ll extend her suspension. She can’t take anymore hits at this point.

She stands up while still glaring into Principal Mayer’s eyes. She sighs heavily, grabs her stuff and quietly but forcefully walks out of the principal's office and out of the school. She stops in the middle of the parking lot and all at once the storm of emotions surge forth in an anguished cry. Usually, Twilight finds a more private place to cry, but no one is around and she needs this now. Snot and tears run down her face as she balls up in between cars, muttering to herself. After a minute, her whimpers die down and she quickly recollects herself, continuing to walk off school property.

Twilight ponders if she should go home, but decides against it. Her mom was probably already back asleep and her dad was at work. She wouldn’t have much to do until her little brother got home and she didn’t want to be bored in the house waiting for her mom to wake up just to talk to her about the incident. She decides to walk a couple of blocks down the street using a public park as a shortcut to get to the Golden Oaks Public Library. She can collect herself fully there. Afterwards she could pick up her brother from school and they could walk home together. Best way to make the best out of the less than stellar day she was already having.

She takes her time, knowing the library most likely wasn’t open yet. She walks down the cracked sidewalks admiring the abundant amounts of graffiti of varying quality on the brick stores and apartments of Ponyville Heights. She’s seen most of them over the years, but new tags continue to populate more and more of the burrough. Twilight can’t help but feel conflicted on the implication. She likes street art. It gives the would-be stagnant industrial browns and grays of the neighborhood more life and color. That color comes at the cost of the more insidious crisis plaguing her home.

She walks past a few drug deals, before getting into the Everfree Forest Park: a sizable city park dense with trees and trails. Unfortunately, due to lack of funding, almost no actual maintenance is done, leaving most of the trees and the grass to become overgrown. The trees create a dense canopy that covers most of the park in shadows. It’s pretty difficult to see and easy to get lost in the tangle of foliage and reclaimed trails if you’re not used to it. It’s mainly used for people to do a lot of shady and illegal things. Twilight has both witnessed and heard many stories with the park as the setting. It sucks, but it’s the fastest way to the library from school, so Twilight frequents the park.

She decides to rest on a bench in one of the few clearings in the park to enjoy the sunlight for a change. She actually just checks her phone for a few minutes. She doesn’t notice the two people walking up to her until a gruff female voice clears her throat and speaks.

“Hey, I like your bag.” It takes Twilight a moment to actually understand the tone of voice. It wasn’t a compliment. She looks up at the two girls standing in front of her. A pair of green and magenta eyes look back with smug looks on their faces. They were both naturally tanned, but with completely different styles. The one with green eyes looked like a cowgirl, complete with Stetson. Her dirty black tank top exposes an intricate apple and pear tattoo on her left arm. She was taller than the other and Twilight could tell the girl was taller than her. The other girl gave off heavy punk and skater vibes with flat shoes, a white crop top under a studded jean jacket, a beanie loosely covering her multicolored hair, and ripped jean shorts showing off a thigh tattoo of a storm cloud discharging multiple bolts of rainbow lightning. Twilight could only see the red, orange, and yellow peeking out from the beanie, but she guessed it was the whole rainbow.

“Thanks,” Twilight deadpanned. She knew where the situation was going and started to tense up.

“Looks like it can hold a buncha stuff,” the skater girl continued to press, stepping forward. “Can I get a look at it?”

Twilight puts her phone in her bag and stands up, the two standing around the same height. She looks the skater in the eyes and says, “No. I’d rather you not.” The punk’s magenta eyes twitch a little through her fake smile.

“Oh? Why not?” She asks. Twilight keeps it blunt.

“I know what you’re trying to do.”

“Oh. Straight to it. I like you,” the skater chuckles, getting into a sort of fighting stance. She raises her guard, and starts bouncing on the balls of her feet. Twilight gets into her own, more grounded stance in response.

Even with Twilight on guard the girl is quick. She closes the distance and throws a fast jab at Twilight. Twilight manages to dodge but is on the back foot as the girl throws another. Unable to dodge, Twilight quickly puts up her hand and blocks. Twilight steadies herself and launches a straight punch of her own. The girl back steps away from the would-be victim before it can connect. The girl looks slightly impressed as Twilight rushes her down with more tight swings. They all miss their mark. One swing goes wide exposing a hole in Twilight’s guard. The skater girl capitalizes on the opportunity and hits a counter squarely on Twilight’s jaw. Twilight staggers just enough to not react to a strong kick to the thigh. Her knees almost buckle, but seeing an oncoming overhead punch snaps Twilight back into the moment and she jumps back.

“You’re pretty good,” the skater says as she dashes in for a low kick. Twilight jumps and tries a two-footed stomp on her assailant. Once more she’s too fast and rolls out of the way of Twilight’s sneakers and springs a kick straight up toward Twilight’s face. Twilight barely dodges and stumbles back once more. Slow footsteps start walking toward her. Heavier footsteps. Boots. The cowgirl was moving closer.

“I got this RD,” she says calmly, a thick country drawl sliding out of her mouth. RD wasn’t so pleased.

“Oh c’mon, AJ. I was doing fine,” She whines, but AJ only waves her off. Twilight quickly puts her guard up again and sizes up her next opponent. AJ was tall and built and her thighs were massive. If she got hit, she would mostly likely be done for, so she had to go on the offensive before she was stuck running away. With a new sense of determination, Twilight lunges toward AJ and before she can react throws a strong hook into her body. Twilight felt like she hit a brick wall. AJ doesn’t react either. She just gently, but firmly grabs Twilight’s shoulders and brings her into a soul shattering knee to the stomach. Twilight gasps but can’t find the air. She gets dropped to her knees and she clutches her abdomen, struggling to breathe. Saying she felt like she got hit by a truck would understate the amount of pain Twilight was in. How could anyone put that much force into a knee? The pain expands around the impact site. She wonders if anything ruptured or if she was bleeding internally. She can do nothing but gawk at the farm boots in front of her. Her mouth stays agape, as she sucks in as much air as possible with each breath, but none of it is enough. Spit trickles out and falls onto the dirt. While she’s wheezing, AJ and RD make their move toward the bag.

“See? That wasn’t so hard,” AJ chastises picking up the bag. RD rolls her eyes.

“Not everybody’s a brick shithouse like you.” Twilight watches, still sputtering, but slowly she gets back on her feet, hunched over in pain.

“I’m not letting you rob me today. This day is not getting any worse than it already is,” Twilight spews. Her eyes lock onto the two with renewed fervor. She gets back into a fighting stance, sluggishly. AJ and RD look back at the pitiful girl in slight surprise, then back at each other. RD goes back in to finish the fight once and for all, but AJ stops her and shakes the bag.

“I’ll tell you what. Since you seem right impressive,and seemingly having an already terrible day. I’ll do somethin’ for you. We’ll give you a chance to get yer stuff back tomorrow.”

RD looks at AJ confused, ”We are?”

“Yeah we are. We’ll be back here tomorrow at ten in the morning.”

Twilight calls out “How do I know you're not lying.”

AJ looks back at Twilight and declares flatly, ”I’m an honest gal, and you’re just gonna hafta trust me.” Bewildered at the statement just said, Twilight watches as AJ books it further into the Everfree Forest Park followed right behind by RD. And as the two girls disappear into the shadows, Twilight falls to her knees once more. She’s been suspended for something that wasn’t her fault, jumped, and mugged in the middle of a public park, and now she’s just sitting there with pain flaring in her cheek and abdomen at around eight-thirty in the morning. Not that she could know because her phone was in the bag that got stolen. Twilight takes a moment for it to process, and for the second time in this long morning, Twilight bawls her eyes out.

Planning Stage

Twilight stares ahead toward the front desk as she absentmindedly flips the pages of the book in her hands. The texture of the book’s spine and the turning of the pages help calm her nerves as she thinks. What should she do? Could she trust them? Her first instinct was to say no, but she knew there was no harm in going on the off chance AJ turned out to be trustworthy. It wasn’t as if she was going to miss more school than she was. She sighs heavily and stares out the window next to her seat.

She takes a look around and congratulates herself for finding such a nice spot to sit and reflect. Twilight sits in a corner window seat in the back half of the library. It sits partially obscured by the bookshelves and has a nice view of one of the few clocks in the building. She gleams the time. Five ‘till eleven. Twilight had to wait a few more hours before she could go pick up her brother from middle school. She looks back at the book she’s holding and closes it, looking at the title for the first time. ‘Daring Doo and the Forbidden City of Clouds’. A book she had already read a dozen times. While in search of something to thumb through to calm her nerves, the familiar and comforting blue of the spine must have subconsciously resonated within Twilight. She chuckles softly and begins reading the book again from the beginning.

Hours pass in the blink of an eye and Twilight walks out of the library with plenty of time to get to Ponyville Middle before the final bell. Three o’clock rolls around and Twilight sits at the top of the stairs waiting for the rush of preteens to explode out of the double doors in front of the school. And not a minute later they do. Dozens of kids loudly run up the front steps passing the high schooler without so much as a glance. Twilight keeps her eyes peeled for her little brother as kids flow toward public bus stops and cars with family members waiting inside. Soon she spotted him in the crowd, the silhouette dragon tattoo on the shaved side of his head being his damning feature. She stands and calls out to him, “Yo, Drake!” The boy swiveled his head toward the voice and instantly looked confused. He turns to say something to the three girls next to him. Twilight initially tuned them out while looking for Drake, but now it was obvious they were a group. Drake walks up to Twilight, girls in tow.

“Twilight?”

“What’s going on Spikey!” She ruffles the boy's hair.

“C’mon Twi, stop,” he whines, pulling away, “Just call me Spike.” The girls behind him giggled softly. Twilight looks over Spike’s shoulder and takes them in fully.

“And who are these three?” She asks a little wary. Twilight knew his brother had a few friends, but he never brought them over. She knew he had reasons not to so she never pressed it. Consequently Twilight had never met her brother’s friends and seeing him hanging out with three girls at the cusp of puberty gives her pause.

Spike gestures down the line from left to right. “This is AB, Sweetie, and Scoots,” he introduces. He then turns his attention to the three and gestures back to Twilight. “And this is my big sis, Twilight.” They politely wave at each other.

“They got actual names?” Twilight asks.

“Yeah, but it’s been so long since I’ve used them and we don’t have classes together, they probably just”— he makes a small poofing motion next to his head with his hands—“Y’know?” Twilight mulls the answer given for a second before deciding to take her brother’s words at face value. And turn to the girls looking for an answer.

“Amy,” AB states, taking the hint. With the only word spoken it was clear she had a strong country accent. She assumed she was a farmgirl based on the overalls she had on over her yellow shirt and the big red bow in her red hair.

“Casey,” Scoots says next. A tomboy through and through. Bandaids cover several parts of her tan skin, sports rough purple hair, and her scooter handle poke out from the top of her backpack.

“Caroline,” Sweetie says last. Her two-tone pink and lavender hair is what stands out the most to Twilight. The second is how pale the girl was. She could easily fit into the pastel goth niche if she wasn’t dressed as plainly as she was: Just a t-shirt, jeans, and worn sneakers.

“Well it’s very nice to meet you,” Twilight says with what she hopes is a convincing fake smile. Any other day the smile would’ve been genuine, but after the events of that morning, Twilight couldn’t help but be a little annoyed looking at AB and Scoots. The farmgirl and tomboy respectively both shared a resemblance to AJ and RD. Twilight thought AB could pass as AJ’s sister with how much they looked alike. She tries to shove those observations and feelings aside in an attempt to not get angry at any more children. All they’ve said were their names.

Spike interrupts her thoughts with a question. “What are you even doing here?”

“Is it so strange for me to pick you up?” Twilight sidesteps. Spike looks at his sister matter-of-factly. She knows he sees right past her.

“Yes. You haven’t done it in years,” he deadpans.

“Well, I have my reasons. C’mon let’s head home.” Twilight replies, continuing to try to sideline the inevitable line of questioning from her brother for now.

“But—”

“Just for today, Spike. Please.You can head back out after you do your homework ” The look she gives is stern but pleading. Seeing the uncharacteristic need in her eyes Spike mulls the offer over.

“Ugh,” he bemoans and turns to his friends, “I’ll see you later guys. I gotta make sure she isn’t losing it.”

“Alright, try to get there before six, Spikey.” Sweetie teases playfully, walking off and giggling with the girls as the heat in Spike’s cheeks rises. Twilight chuckles to herself. She can’t exactly tell what he was blushing about but she gets the inclination Sweetie is the center of it.

…

The walk home is quiet at first. Twilight notices Spike’s occasional glances up at her as if waiting for something. She knows what it is. She takes a habitual look around at her surroundings. Nothing but broken sidewalks, buildings, and passing cars. Spike watches as Twilight visibly relaxes, shaking away some of the built up tension. Without looking back, she gives him what he wants.

“I didn’t want to be alone with mom when I got home.”

“Got yourself in some more trouble?” It’s more of a rhetorical question. Of course she was in trouble. The question is only meant to draw out the story behind the event.

“It’s…a long story. Main thing is, I got suspended.” Twilight doesn’t take the bait. She isn’t ready to share everything fully. However the information given is enough to spark the wild imagination of the preteen.

“Whoa, for real?” he exclaims. With all the fights his older sister got into, Spike frequently wonders how she always avoids suspension. If he’s honest with himself he wonders how she’s even still in school. Whatever luck she had must've run out. “For how long?” He inquires eagerly. Twilight can practically see his imagination running at full speed.

“Two weeks,” Twilight relents. She decides to give her sibling a short retelling of what happened at school. He listens intensely, smiling wide. Every word has him captivated. He looks up at Twilight in admiration as she finishes with a deep, tired sigh. He continues his questioning.

“You’ve been out of school all day? What have you been doing?”

“I’ve just been reading at the library. Spending that amount of time alone with mom after she wakes up again wouldn’t be fun.” She reminds him.

“Yeah.” Spike murmurs. There’s a knowing silence between the two as they walk up the front steps of their apartment. They get in the elevator and Twilight hits the button for the eighth floor. Spike’s eyes wander around the sterilized white box aimlessly up and down the walls before returning back to Twilight staring straight ahead at the door. Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed. He could guess what she was thinking about. His gaze drifted back down to her back when he noticed the glaring inconsistency in the timeline he was told. “Wait if you haven’t gone home yet, where’s your stuff?”

Twilight’s eyes shift back into focus, but her gaze at the door does not relent, “A long story.” The elevator doors open and she walks out down the carpeted hallway. Spike follows behind, noticing a bruise sprouting on her left leg. They stop at the door to their home, apartment eight twelve. She moves out of the way and motions for Spike to unlock the door. Her house keys were also in her bag. She didn’t want to think about that.

Spike opens the door and rushes to his room. Twilight trudges through the threshold. Shoes strewn about at the door, the trashcan on the verge of overflowing, the beaten up old couch sitting on a dirty carpet facing the moderately sized flatscreen mounted to the wall. Next to the couch sat the mail table, where unopened mail and soliciting posters went to sit indefinitely before getting thrown away after inviting company over.

She sees her mom, Viola Sheppard, in the kitchen next to the half-full sink. She could tell she was in the middle of getting ready for work. She had all the clothes she needed to leave on and her duffel bag was sitting by the door packed and ready to go. Her make-up and hair wasn’t done yet. Twilight guessed she’d be out of the house in the next hour and a half. Her mom looks up from the meal prep and smiles at Twilight.

“Hey Twi.”

“Hey Mom.” Twilight warily greets her mother back. She tries to scurry past Viola but, before Twilight could move further she kept talking.

“Nice of you to walk Drake home.” She said with a telling glance. Twilight knew her mom was smart enough to know she had been avoiding her.

“Thought it would be a nice change of pace.” Twilight deflects. Spike bursts out of his room and out of the house calling back to his family.

“I’ll be back later!”

“You better be home before your Dad,” Viola calls out, “Speaking of, I got everything just about set up for dinner. Just gotta finish cutting up this sausage. I want you to make baked spaghetti tonight.” she says

“Dad’s favorite? I’ll try not to mess it up.”

“Don’t worry too much about that. You did great last time.” Viola reassures.

Yeah, with you holding my hand through the whole thing,” Twilight counters, “You practically made it.”

Viola looks up at her daughter in disbelief. “Everything else you make is great as well, Twi,” She tries to reassure her daughter.

“I would hope so.”— Twilight leans against the tiled countertop and fidgets with the loose sealant between two tiles—“If you cook regularly enough for a few years, anybody ought to be good at it.”

“True.” Viola looks back at the sausage absentmindedly and her mood visibly saddens. Twilight wondered what her mom was thinking. Even if she couldn’t figure that out, she didn’t want to see her mom upset.

“I’ll make sure to leave you two enough for seconds. Just don’t get mad when it’s bad.” Twilight says.

“Thanks, hon.” Viola smiles softly and completes the sausage cutting and puts it in the refrigerator. Twilight tries to make another move toward her room but Viola stops her once again. “Are we gonna talk about what happened?”

“What’s there to talk about?” Twilight responds a bit too snappy.

“A lot, in my eyes.” Her mom confronts bluntly.

“Well it wasn’t my fault.” Twilight deflects again.

“It never is,” Viola starts, “You always have to fight everything that comes your way.”

“It’s not like that, I’m defending myself,” Twilight explains.

“And I’m all for that, but does fighting have to be the only solution?” Viola prods.

“Like what?” Twilight’s growing agitation was starting to slip through.

“You have not once tried to de-escalate or ignore the situation. You are a smart, young, adult woman. You should know better than to run at every person trying to fight head first.” Viola answers.

“What should I do then; let them just run their mouths and threaten me everyday; just get beat up until I graduate?”

“If it’ll stop you from beating up kids.”

Twilight throws her hands in the air in exasperation, “That’s crazy!”

“What’s crazy is being called at seven in the morning saying my adult daughter beat up three fifteen-year-old boys before first period.” Viola brings up

“They were—” Twilight is swiftly cut off as her mom continues on with her lecture.

“I know what they were and what they were trying to do but you need to start using your head for more than just studying.” She checks the clock hanging above the TV. “Shit, I gotta finish getting ready. Look there’s more than one way to be inactive in those situations. You don’t need to be beaten to avoid a fight.”

“It worked for Shiny.” A hush falls. Viola looks at Twilight’s frustrated expression. She thinks hard about her next words before getting another glance at the clock. She knows she’s cutting it close and her make-up still wasn’t done. A pretty face brought in more money.

“He’s a different story that I will get into later. I have to get ready soon, Twi. We can continue this tomorrow, since you won’t be at school.” Viola says, clearly disappointed that she couldn’t finish talking to her daughter again. Viola moves away deliberately as Twilight watches her mom step into her room and close the door.

“It’s almost showtime, Twilight Velvet,” Twilight can hear her mom say as she stands in the living room alone.

…

Twilight spends the rest of her evening alone for the most part. She cooks and watches TV while eating dinner in lieu of the entertainment she gets from her phone, but she doesn’t pay attention to the screen in front of her. She doesn’t even notice when Spike gets back home around ten-thirty to scold him for clearly not doing his homework. Twilight’s brain works overtime to plan her strategy. She spends the rest of the night plotting counters to Aj’s tough exterior and RD’s speed. She does as many push-ups and situps as she can knowing it wouldn’t do anything, but as a way to say she prepared as best she could while she continued to put her mind to work. When she falls asleep late into the night she’s thinking of possible revisions to the plan and hypotheticals.

All those scenarios race through Twilight’s skull even after she wakes up, along with the growing soreness of her body. She looks down at herself in the shower seeing the growing discoloration of her abdomen and thigh and with the stiffness of her jaw, she knows a bruise was there as well. She tells herself to power through it. There’s no point in letting this setback affect the outcome of the day.

Twilight walks out of her room and into the kitchen to check the fridge as part of her morning routine. She does it in hopes of starting the day off right. When she looks, there are no leftovers. She smiles, closes the refrigerator door and leaves the apartment determined.

Unusual Recruitment

A gentle breeze blows through Twilight’s hair. The sun blazes down in the clearing unbothered by any cloud. A thin layer of sweat forms above her brows from the mid-morning heat, but Twilight steps into the clearing with a cool mind. Even without her phone, Twilight is certain she is early. She prides herself on her punctuality and it looked like her adversaries did as well.

“Well, yer early!” AJ’s imposing frame is visible across the clearing sitting on the bench with three others by her side. Twilight clocks RD next to AJ on the bench from the mess of colors going on on top of her head. The other two are unfamiliar and, frankly, unimportant to her. Twilight strides up to her main target. The cowgirl takes a phone out of her jeans’ pocket— Twilight’s phone— and looks at the time, “Still seven fifty.” A smirk worms to the corner of her freckled cheeks. Twilight wanted to rush AJ right then and there. She wanted to tear that phone out of her hands and get her stuff back; however, she holds herself back and remains level glancing over the two new additions to the original duo.

Behind RD and AJ on the bench stands two other girls with wildly different personalities on the surface both around the same age as her, if not a year or two older. Twilight’s apathy falls upon the girl wearing her stolen backpack first. A sort of hostage situation seems to be going on. She clearly doesn’t want to be here. She stands off a couple of feet away from the bench as if standing in a doorway. One foot in and one foot out. Her pale hands clutch the backpack nervously. Flowing pink hair falls out of her yellow hoodie and covers half of her face. Her exposed turquoise eye darts all around, frequently making eye contact with Twilight for a second before looking away just as quickly. Twilight surmises that she was another poor victim dragged here against her will, most likely told to run if things didn’t go according to their plan. Twilight quickly guesses she could probably outrun the walking bundle of anxiety and just as quickly moves on to the next new face.

The other girl was way too excited to be here. She was practically vibrating, leaning over the bench by RD’s shoulder, her baby blue eyes boring into Twilight’s soul with a manic grin smeared across her face. Her darker pink hair seems to defy physics as it stands and waves proudly in the light breeze. “This the girl you got your eyes on?” she blares out. AJ and RD barely flinch despite the close proximity. Twilight blanches slightly while the shy one fully cowers away. Twilight wanted to figure out a way to help the poor girl after this was all over. To match the loud mouth’s pink hair was an equally pink jacket she wore over a black T-shirt struggling to contain her massive personality.

“Sure is,” AJ responds and gets up. She puts her hair up in a ponytail that falls to the farmer’s shoulders. “Sit and watch you guys. Tell me what y'all think of her,” AJ cracks her knuckles in anticipation. Twilight glances to the bench to see nobody moving and all watching intensely. One on one. Perfect, the simplest plan was coming together. The public school veteran feels the shift in everyone’s demeanor and quickly gets into her fighting stance.

AJ chuckles as the loud pink one commentates, “Oooh! She’s got a nice form!”

“Alright, sugar cube, consider this as a type of interview.” AJ starts sauntering up to the twelfth grader.

“An interview? To get my stuff back?” Twilight involuntarily tenses. The simplest plan is seeing some revision. Alarms in her head were starting to go off. What was this girl up to?

“Yeah, if you’re worthy enough.” AJ coyly responds. “Let’s start with introductions. I’m Angela Janine Smith. Everyone calls me AJ,” she tilts her hat politely and doesn’t say any more. Twilight’s eyes narrow.

“What about the others?” Twilight motions to the girls behind AJ, half baffled on how she could give up her name so easily and half reluctant to give out her own name as readily.

“If you pass this interview you’ll get a full introduction if you want. But focus on me right now. I’m the one within striking range.” Angela stops right inside Twilight’s bubble. But doesn’t bring her guard up. Even with that knowledge Twilight knows that she’s still in danger. She was in AJ’s striking distance as much as the farm girl was in hers. With their height difference Twilight was even further in AJ’s striking range, even if that gap was a few inches. Spacing is everything in these situations. “Now, what’s your name?” AJ’s question jolts Twilight out of her thoughts. Not spacing out was also everything in these situations. Twilight quickly chastises herself internally before registering the question in full. Twilight mulls over giving a fake name briefly but with all of her livelihood in their hands at the moment Twilight knows it’ll be easy to be caught in this lie. All her textbooks and classwork are in that bag after all. She indulges the interviewer.

“Twilight Sheppard,” she says cautiously.

“Age?” AJ moves on.Kind of unfair. How come she needs to know my age, Twilight thinks. She takes her time answering.

“Eighteen.”

“What school do you go to?” Twilight physically reels back. What kind of interview was this? How can knowing what school she goes to help determine her “worthiness” of getting her stuff back? The cowgirl didn’t even ask if she was a student. AJ obviously went through her stuff but what was she getting at?

“Why do you need to know that? You should already know all this. You stole my backpack.” Twilight challenges.

AJ chuckles heartily. “Humor me.” AJ takes another step further into Twilight’s range. The height disparity becomes more and more prominent as the distance between the two closes.

“Everfree High.” Twilight concedes and stands firm.

“You got any brothers?” Twilight glares into AJ’s eyes. Confidence stares back. Her fists tighten. Why? What is this line of questioning leading to? Does she want to know her entire family history? For what? What are these questions testing? She can’t back down though. This is too much.

“You definitely don’t need to know that.” Twilight challenges again, a little more confident than before.

“Trust me, Miss Sheppard, I do. It’s imperative,” AJ responds, her tone darkening. AJ takes another step closer and Twilight’s fist is practically touching AJ’s chest. Twilight notices her neck is starting to hurt from constantly looking up. AJ’s presence alone is intimidating and she still hasn’t taken a fighting stance. “Imperative”. One of the many words Twilight didn’t think AJ knew. I’m being played. Her darkening tone, the increasingly personal questions, her imposing physique. Twilight sunk deeper into her trap with every non-answer she gave her. She’s being constricted. She can’t back away anymore even if she wanted to. Her blood runs cold. Just how much does she know?

“Yes. I have an older brother.” the teen’s voice trembles a little.

“That it?” AJ fully towers over Twilight at this point. She knew that wasn’t the full answer. Her knowledge went beyond just looking at her stuff. She possibly went through her phone. No that can’t be it; she still wouldn’t have known this much. Twilight hadn’t spoken to her big brother in years and barely texts Spike. There aren’t many pictures of them in her phone either. Is this the best place to lie? She can’t know more about her. She’s just a thief. Right? They don’t seem like ordinary thugs anymore. With all this accumulating pressure Twilight’s nerves get the best of her and she tells the truth.

“No, I have a younger brother, too,” Miss Sheppard chokes out.

“What school does he go to?” Angela looms. Her warm breath wafts over the teen’s forehead.

Twilight’s sweating profusely. AJ knows. At this point Twilight can tell. She can guess AJ knows that she knows, but she’s carrying on with the questions like they aren’t a centimeter away from each other. Is this just a game to her? Is she looking for an easy lick. If she was she would’ve just taken her shit and left. Is this to test her resilience? AJ’s warm breath continues to envelop the skin on her face. Twilight tries to take a step back asking, “Why do you need to know all this?”

“It’s an interview.”— AJ steps in yet again leaning over Twilight threatening to collapse on her— “I gotta learn about what type of person you are.”

“How is asking about my brothers gonna tell you the type of person I am?” Twilight sputters.

“Trust me. It tells me a lot. Now what school does he go to, Miss Sheppard?” She says chillingly into Twilight’s ear.

“Ponyville Middle.” Twilight squeaks. AJ nods approvingly. What form of torture is this? It’s too calculated to be a spur of the moment decision. Or is she naturally this sadistic?

“Last question. Who taught you how to fight?” The easiest and most relevant question to answer by far. Twilight answers without hesitation. Maybe if she answers fast enough the farmgirl will back off.

“I taught myself. In order to have enough strength to get through E.H. while doing my own thing, I had to.” She sees nods of approval from behind Angela. Twilight’s guard relaxes just a little

“My big bro boxes on the side,” AJ starts, “He taught me almost everything I know.” AJ takes advantage of the addled state the student is in and throws a quick jab. Twilight’s reflexes save her face. The power behind that fist displaces some of Twilight’s hair. “You would think the police captain’s sister would’ve gotten some moves from him.”

“What the–,” Twilight’s mind flips as dots start connecting. A mounting rage swells within her once again. “Is that why you robbed me? You wanted to get back at my big brother?” She practically yells.

“Oh no.” AJ throws another jab that narrowly misses, “That was a coincidence. Now it's time for the hands-on part of the interview.” AJ’s fist swipes at Twilight’s face, grazing her nose. “Your final test: survive for two minutes.” The farmhand steps in confidently and unleashes a flurry of blows. Twilight dances to the rhythm of AJ’s fists, narrowly avoiding jabs and hooks. She doesn’t lose focus. The original plan was shaken up but they are back in her wheelhouse. All of the other stuff had to be put aside for the moment. With renewed vigor, she fixates on and analyzes AJ’s form, attacks, and movements, seeking out a moment to throw her own punch and start a counter offensive.

“Don’t hurt her too bad,” RD jokingly calls out with the pink geyser of excitement cheering unintelligibly with a stopwatch in hand.

But AJ is relentless. A fist finds itself lodged into Twilight’s abdomen. Twilight sputters as the bruised area is struck once more. The defender moves away to catch her breath. Even while running away Twilight’s gaze does not waver. With the greater space, Twilight moves more naturally, dodging more of the ensuing onslaught. But a thought blooms amidst the chaos. I can’t win with brute force. She decides to switch tactics, attempting to throw counter punches, using her assailant's power against her. Punch after punch Twilight looks to counter but the farmer is too fast, weaving in and out of Twilight’s fists. She makes a show out of how easy it is. AJ sees what Twilight is doing and goads her by opening up her chin. Twilight, seeing the bait, forces herself not to attack, but her focus fully shifts to AJ’s face. AJ smiles and swiftly plants her shin into Twilight’s thigh. The challenger lets out a yelp. She thought her leg might have snapped. The gallery lets out an audible groan. Twilight hops around in pain uttering profanities under her breath. She tries to walk on the leg after a few seconds but all she can manage is a heavy limp.

“I thought your brother taught you how to box.” Twilight winces with every step.

“I said he taught me almost everything I know,” AJ clarifies, a smug grin etched onto her face.

She goes back on the offensive, not giving the girl in front of her a chance to rest. Twilight frantically tries to dodge and block her assailant’s barrage of limbs, her leg hampering her movement significantly. With a severe limp Twilight’s dodges become more desperate and erratic. In response to Twilight’s unpredictable weaving, AJ throws a haymaker that forces her to overextend just a little. Twilight doesn’t fail to see the opportunity and ducks in close to AJ and connects an uppercut to the farmer’s exposed chin. She had done it. Twilight had indeed a hit against this monster. The blonde’s head snaps upward harshly and her knees look to give out for a moment, but AJ stands tough and looks back down at Twilight. It was time to go on the attack. It was time to enact the plan. Twilight doesn’t move, however. AJ’s lucid stare stops her from proceeding.

For a second, Twilight could see her death. Her mission was to survive for two minutes and she wasn’t the one keeping track. All the pain and unanswered questions weren’t helping her either. She takes solace knowing she fought hard before the end. AJ raises her hand and balls it up into fist. Twilight faces the impending devastating punch head on. She was far too close to a powerhouse that just shrugged off a solid hit from her. Her leg was too hurt to move away effectively at the distance they were at even if she wanted to. It was definitely a step up from yesterday. Oh well, she thinks to herself. “You can stop the clock Pinkie,” Twilight barely registers what she just heard.

“You sure? You got like twenty seconds left,” the volcano of excitement, Pinkie, looks for clarification. AJ nods and backs off of the injured girl. Twilight stands dumbfounded. Unsure of how to exactly make this situation out.

“How do you girls think she did,” AJ faces the audience.

“She’s rough and a little sloppy, but she’s got some good footwork and a pretty good form.” RD says.

“Yeah, and if we just put her through a little bit of ‘Pinkie Pie’s Fighting Bootcamp’ she’ll be ready to tear up the streets, easy peasy in no time at all!” Pinkie exclaims.

“And you, Shy?” AJ brings the attention to the timid girl Twilight thought was an unwilling victim in all this. Seems she was also a part of this. They come from all walks of life, the young woman supposed in her growing delirium. The hooded girl only nods in response, prompting an “alrighty then” from AJ.
Twilight looks in between the four as the skinny girl holding her backpack hostage cautiously places it at the confused girl’s feet and mutters an almost inaudible “I’m sorry.” She was slouched all the way to meet Twilight’s eye level, but the girl was clearly taller than Twilight if she stood upright.

“Wait. What’s going on right now?”

“You passed the interview,” RD says.

“And what does that mean?”

“You’re one of us now and as a reward allow me to introduce us officially. I’m Raine Daley. I know, stupid name. My parents are real funny. Just call me RD. You’ve already met Angela. The bouncing ball of pink energy is Diane Pie, but we just call her Pinkie because, look at her. And the tall ball of anxiety scurrying back behind me is Flora Saccone. She’s trying to distance herself from her family name and she’s shy so we just call her Shy. There’s another member but she couldn’t make it. You’ll meet her eventually.” RD introduces.

“What is she talking about, ‘a part of us?’ What are you?” Twilight pushes back at AJ.

“We are the Elements of Harmony, a local up-and-coming gang.” AJ responds proudly.

“Nope. No way. Nuh uh. I’m not a part of you or any of…this.” Twilight does a quick inventory check before slinging the bag over her shoulder. “I’m taking my stuff and getting out of here. Find some other crazy person to follow you to your deaths,” Twilight vehemently refuses the offer, galloping away as a consequence of her limp.

“We’ll convince her,” AJ says to her friends. “Let’s go get food and hold a meeting.”

…

Twilight stands in front of the doors to the SugarCube Corner Bodega the next morning. Violet quickly took advantage of Twilight not having school and rushed her daughter on a mission to grab groceries at this specific bodega. It was a bit out of the way but Violet was adamant that the groceries come from SugarCube Corner. Every chance she gets she preaches the quality of the bread and pastries made there. Twilight never complained, they were really good, so she guessed that the place was pretty fancy and expensive. Seeing it in person, though, gave Twilight pause.

Despite the sign very clearly reading ‘SugarCube Corner Bodega,’ Twilight checks the address on her phone. She really was in the right spot. Twilight slowly takes in the mostly brick building again. The double door entrance has one of the doors backed by a security gate seen at the entrances of gas stations. Two of the four windows Twilight could see are boarded up. The other two windows are heavily tinted with only a neon “Open” sign shining through. Visible bullet holes tell silent stories of previous violent encounters. The sign was weathered and dull above the awning covering the entrance in much needed shade.

Twilight collects herself and cautiously enters the bodega. The bell above the door announces her arrival. She looks around to see that the inside isn’t much better than the outside. Faulty and dimmed fluorescent lights beam down on the stained yellow linoleum floor. The aisles look fully stocked, though, so that was a point in Twilight’s favor. The door closes behind Twilight and the bell signaling a customer dings one last time.

“Bienvenidas, and welcome to…” A loud gasp fully alerts Twilight and she whips her head around to lock eyes with Diane Pie. Twilight immediately shifts her weight and makes a dash toward the door. She ends up slamming her body into a now locked exit. She tries to push and pull the door loose but it is not going to move any time soon.

“You! You locked me in here?” Twilight rattles the door some more to no avail.

“Yup.” Pinkie answers way too cheerfully for Twilight’s liking.

“WHY?”

“To talk.”

“You used the theft alarm, didn't you,” Twilight points out, “Aren’t the police coming? If this is your ploy for me to join your gang then, wow.”

“Nope. I asked Shy to rig up two buttons, one to lock down the place and one for the alarm.” Pinkie explains. Twilight could imagine why they would want that set up.

“So you locked me in here to talk?”

“Mhm.” Pinkie cheerfully goes over to the open sign in the window and turns it off. “So, why are you here?”

“To get groceries, obviously.”

“Never seen you here though.”

“My mom sent me here. She loves this place apparently.”

“Makes sense. This place is awesome. Oh, do you want a cupcake? I make pretty good ones.” Pinkie offers a freshly baked vanilla cupcake topped with purple frosting and white sprinkles. Its scent wafts over to Twilight. The smell pirouettes into her nose and draws her in for a moment. Twilight has to force herself away from the delicious smelling temptation. She must remember the situation she’s in and what they know about her and her family.

“Uh, no,” Twilight side skirts the potentially dangerous offer, “What topic did you want to discuss so badly you needed to lock me in here?”

“Join us,” Pinkie demands sweetly.

“No,” Twilight denies as coldly as the first time.

“Worth an early shot”— Pinkie shrugs off her failed attempt— “AJ’s not a bad person y’know. She’s a good judge of character, and she pegged you as a good one.”

“My mugger thinking I’m a good person doesn’t help me think she’s also a good person.” Twilight deadpans

“She has her reasons.”

“Those being?”

“It was supposed to be a whole speech in your orientation, but it can’t hurt to peek behind the curtain early.” Twilight raises an eyebrow to Pinkie. “The city sucks. You know that well. Multiple gangs and small crime rings run Manehatten, Ponyville Heights, Appaloosian Plains, Baltimore, Rainbow Falls. Even Canterlot; every borough of this city is infested. And the prodigal mayor, Celeste Sarai, does nothing about the problem in the outskirts of the city like Ponyville and Manehatten. Canterlot is the only place where things seem to happen, spear-headed by the best police captain to come from the worst side of town. AJ saw the bullshit that this city had to offer and said fuck that. She wants to change what’s happening and finally have an era of actual peace under one banner: The Elements of Harmony. We’re gonna take over the underworld and get so big nobody will want to fight us ending gang warfare in Equestria!” Pinkie says with a huge smile plastered on her face. Twilight takes in the speech, mulls it over, lets the words rumble around in her skull. It’s compelling, she hates to admit. Twilight always felt that way, but was looking to get out of the city altogether. Her dream was a way to escape this shitty city and be successful away from her family. The suspension will definitely hamper the original course, but is it enough to turn to a life of crime immediately? Not to mention the absolutely insane tactics these girls are using to add to their ranks.

“But what does robbing me have to do with this?”

“We need money and most of us don’t have the time to make it legitimately between school and work, and since we are going to be the center of all crime in the city eventually…”
“You guys go to college?”

“RD and Shy do, yea. The rest of us work to try to earn money. A little grassroots, huh?” Pinkie giggles at the notion. It’s infectious. Twilight hides her mirth.

Twilight gives it thought. The message and the lasting impact sound like a good idea. It would be fun undermining Shiny’s control. Having someone like AJ as a friend or at least an ally is beneficial to say the least. And college wasn’t completely off the table. But is joining the gang that forcefully borrowed, for lack of a better term, from me really the right move? She needed more time. The thought surprised her at first. Allying with the people who attacked her and stole from her was crazy, but the even crazier idea to take over Equestria to stop crime was a long shot. But the dream was there. A respectable dream was there. She has her own dream that doesn’t seem so impossible now. Maybe she can relate to that. And they didn’t actually steal or sell anything. Twilight sighs, “Give me a couple of days to think this all over.” Pinkie jumps for joy and rushes in for a big nonconsensual hug.

“OH! Thankyouthankyouthankyou! AJ’s super trustworthy you’ll see! I’ll tell the girls right now!” Pinkie Pie lets go and disappears into the back of the store.

Twilight, still reeling from the bear hug given to her, makes her way to the front door, finding said door still locked. “Could you at least unlock the doors before you do!” Twilight calls out. She sees a brief blur of pink, hears a click, and Pinkie is gone once more. Twilight tests the door one last time and the barrier gives way. With a ding of the bell Twilight is out of SugarCube Corner Bodega. Twilight stands to reflect on what just happened. While remembering everything, she’s reminded of the reason she was at the bodega in the first place. She promptly walks back in to start her shopping.

…

Three days pass with little fanfare. Twilight sits on the couch watching tv with Spike. It was something they did every weekend while their parents caught up on sleep. Twilight’s attention barely shifts as a knock raps against the door.

“Spike. Door,” she halfheartedly mentions. Her brother rolls his eyes and gets up to check the door. He saunters over and peers into the peephole on his tiptoes expecting to be a door to door salesman or Jehovah's Witness. What he sees instead is a welcome surprise. He opens the door happily and greets the unexpected guests.

“Hey, AJ what’s going on? Didn’t think I’d see you here anytime soon.”

Twilight’s ears prick up upon hearing the familiar voice say, “I would say the same, but interesting circumstances led us here.” Her neck twists a hundred and eighty degrees to see her brother comfortably dapping up the farm girl at her doorstep.

“AJ?!”

“Afternoon, Twilight.” AJ and the rest of the Elements of Harmony walk into the living room including a girl Twilight hadn’t met yet. However the newcomer was what was on her mind.

“What are you guys doing here? How do you know where I live? And why are you dapping up my brother?” Twilight shoots out of her seat.

“He knows my little sis. Comes over to the barn to play all the time. You can intuit the rest.” AJ speaks smugly. “We came by to hear your answer.”

“You stopped by for that. Is this a show of strength or something?” AJ shrugs.

“I mean we do know where you live, so, kind of yea.” She responds.

Weirdly, knowing AJ didn’t resort to any diabolical means to get information about her family makes her decision easier to make. And staring at the five women staring back at her in her apartment doesn’t leave many options.

“Fine. Then, yes. I will join the Elements of Harmony.”

Twilight knew the girls were crazy. Borderline insane really. You need to be if you’re part of a gang. That’s what she thought. What she used to think. She never knew she would need to reevaluate her own sanity. The newest member of a five, now six, member gang. The thought distracts her from time to time. Not enough to forget about the next week she’s gonna have. AJ had the bright idea for Twilight to shadow each member of the gang for her to learn everyone's role and to find her own.

How nice of her.

Was the thought sincere or sarcastic? Twilight opts to lead with a ‘guilty-until-proven-innocent’ mindset. She knew she would have to work with them and that AJ had good qualities, but forgiveness is not that simple.

Honesty

Sweet Apple Acres looked lovely. AJ was taking a break at the dining table in the kitchen. The daily chores were halfway done by the time the schools started to let out and she was doing a great job as usual if she could say so herself. AJ called them chores but it was obviously farm work. Upkeep to have the farm looking and running good. Big Mac was a big help when it came to that. Four hands are better than two, especially when you only have four hands to feed four mouths. Any extra help is appreciated.

She looks at the clock in the kitchen. Any minute now her baby sister was gonna pop up, most likely with friends. She was expecting that and she was hoping someone else was tagging along. Not a moment later, and little Amy Beth bursts into the kitchen declaring, “I’m home, AJ!” and runs to give her older sister a deep hug. AJ shows the same kindness. Behind AB piles in the usual subjects, Casey, Caroline, and Drake, all showing proper manners by thanking AJ for letting them stay and play at their farm once again. She appreciated the gesture but they didn’t need to do it anymore. She didn’t tell them to stop, though. Common courtesy needs to be reinforced in the children before they become amoral, doing things for the sake of it without the thought of how it would affect someone and society. That indifference can turn sinister fast leading them down a path of immorality. Though, people can say what she’s doing, running a gang and robbing people, is immoral. She doesn’t let them get to her, because she knows the truth and once her plan comes to fruition, society will finally understand.

As quickly as the kids appeared, they vanished into the backyard, to their treehouse. And the newest addition to the cause makes an appearance. “Twilight. It’s nice to see ya,” AJ greets, “I appreciate you getting my sister from school.”

“If anything, they led me here; so, I should thank them.” Twilight says. She was practically hugging the doorway as she stood awkwardly within the rustic house. Applejack chuckles.

“C’mon. Sit down, I don’t bite.” AJ motions for Twilight to take a seat across from her and the high-schooler does after a little hesitation. Twilight was wary of her, she could tell. But what was she wary of? Her strength? Her tactics? The incident itself? AJ couldn’t place her finger on it, but she didn’t blame her all the same. It was a new space and they had beef less than a week prior. Maybe she was just scared. AJ thought it was possible but the term wasn’t the best fit. Cautious was more like it.

“So,” Twilight starts, “what are we gonna do today? Am I gonna be put to a new test? See if I really have what it takes?”

AJ’s chuckle almost breaks through her smile. “No, no,” she quells her questions. “I just brought ya here to be on equal footing; you got questions and I got answers, so ask away.”

Twilight’s face threatens to contort in confusion. “Seriously?” She asks.

“Seriously.” AJ answers. It doesn’t take longer than a second for Twilight to ask her next question.

“What was that ‘interview’ testing, exactly?” A predictable question. Out of all the things Twilight could ask, it was probably the easiest to answer.

“I was testing your fightin’ ability and, more importantly, how honest you are.”

“Why?”

“Would you want to work with someone who would lie to your face?” Twilight nodded in understanding, but quickly found a worrying situation within this thought process.

“What if any one of us is being interrogated? Being honest in that situation is not ideal,” counters Twilight. AJ doesn’t have to think about the answer. It was ingrained into her way of life since she was old enough to remember.

“Then don’t say anything,” AJ shoots back immediately. Twilight’s surprise by the quick response shows in her widening eyes. "If the info is that important, it’s better to not say anything. Or just say something misleading,” AJ elaborates.

“Isn’t that being dishonest in and of itself?” Twilight wonders out loud.

“It’s being disingenuous,” the cowgirl states bluntly, “I can easily say things that are true that don’t help the current situation, or lead you into thinking something else is true by association.”

“Like what you said about your brother,” realization falls over Twilight.

“Exactly. Both statements were true; he does box and he did teach me everything I know, but you decided to believe that all he taught me was boxing techniques. Many will say that’s a lie by omission, but it isn’t a true lie. Once I’m asked the correct question the full truth is readily revealed or nothing is said. You just gotta ask the right questions.” AJ could see the cogs turning in Twilight’s head.

“Who taught you that?”

“My parents were big on honesty.”

“Where are your parents?”

“Gone.” A long pause falls upon the two. AJ can see Twilight shifting a little uncomfortably. She continues to talk. No point in leaving her in the dark, “They’re the reason I made the gang in the first place. They were innocent, hard working farmers caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“What happened?”

“Collateral damage in a drive-by. Fuckers didn’t even hit who they were aiming for. Hit Ma ‘n Pa though. Walking to their car coming from a museum. Ma got hit with the worst of it. Found bullets in her chest, abdomen, left arm, a nick was left in her right ear. Pa only got hit in the stomach and upper thigh. He was a strong one though. Had enough strength to carry her to the car and drive her to the hospital, though the nearest one with an ER was thirty minutes away. But he did it. Got her into the lobby before the blood loss finally caught up to him. Last thing he was able to croak out was her name. Died right there. The doctors tried to stabilize Ma but it was too late and the damage too severe. She fought hard too. Was conscious up until they got her in the stretcher and died on the table. Last thing she said was ‘Hold on a little longer, sugar cube. I’ll be back.” Tears well up in AJ’s eyes. She can’t see the face Twilight is making and she thinks it’s for the best. Her imagination of the shock on her face is enough.

“When did the doctors tell you that?” Twilight asks.

“They didn’t.” A heavy breath racks her body. “Heard it straight from the horses’ mouths.”

“No… you were…?” Twilight can’t bear to finish the thought. A small nod from AJ confirmed all too much.

“It was my birthday. Big Mac never liked museums. Finds ‘em borin’. He chose to stay behind and look after Amy Beth with Granny. When shit hit the fan, Pa had enough time to push me into a nearby car for cover. Scraped my knee but I chased after Pa as he ran to our car like it was nothin’. Sat in the front seat. Watched the agony and terror in his eyes as he sped to the hospital. Felt the heat leave his body on that cold floor. Got my clothes covered in his blood. Tore myself from his body to check on Ma. Her bloody hand wiped across my face as the doctors wheeled her away. Called Big Mac after she was placed in the Operating Room. Pa’s body was moved by the time they got there, but the blood wasn’t. Granny nearly had a heart attack seeing me covered in it. We were all there to hear Ma’s fate.” AJ pauses for a second to keep from sobbing. “I’ll remember a lot from that day, and one of those things is what the shooter said after missing his targets and hitting a random couple with their daughter.” Her voice darkens and rage spills out of every word she says next, “‘Don’t fuck with the Crystal Kings.’” Twilight gasps audibly. She was very familiar with the name.

The biggest gang in Ponyville Heights and Crystal Gardens. The Crystal Kings took over years ago and slowly started expanding into the Ponyville area. Every wannabe gang member wants to be a part of them because they’re the baddest thing around without going to Canterlot to try to join The Shadowbolts. And since the cops in the lower income boroughs don’t really do anything, they just get away with whatever. Those who go against the Crystal Kings are killed. Usually.

“It’s been eight years since then. In order to bring peace to Equestria we need to deal with them and their leader, Sombra, first.” Was it revenge that led AJ here or was it the feeling to bring justice and peace to the community? AJ couldn’t fully tell, and she didn’t care. The one truth she knew was that The Crystal Kings and Sombra needed to be stopped. AJ wipes her tears and apologizes to Twilight., “I got a little too carried away there.” Twilight refutes her claim.

“I’m sorry that I brought it up.” She looks at the clock and laments the time passed, “I gotta get home and cook for everyone. I’m sorry to leave like this.”

AJ waves off the girl's apology. She knows she dumped a lot of personal and emotional baggage on her lap. The look on her face tells AJ, Twilight doesn’t know how to help or what to do. AJ chuckles warmly, “I got family, too. I understand.” She was going to be fine. Twilight was helping more than she could’ve imagined right now. Twilight sees the statement for what it is: an out. AJ knew she was smart. Just a little stunted.

Twilight smiles softly, “I’ll leave Spike with you. Thanks again.”

AJ watches Twilight leave before getting up and sitting in the living room rocking chair. Next to the chair on an end table sits a photo of her parents before they got married. The youth on their skin and pure joy in their eyes would be infectious if the image of them cold and lifeless was not burned into memory. AJ picks up the photo and softly mutters under her breath one word.