The second day of school wasn’t as exciting as yesterday, but Canterlot High School students knew how to bring their own drama to the table when necessary.

“Do I look short?”

Lyra Heartstrings looked at her best friend. “Look, if this is about the prank I played the other day, I’m sorry, okay?”

Trixie Lulamoon looked at the celeste-and-ivory-haired girl. “No, I’m being serious!”

Seated next to her girlfriend, Bon-Bon gave the olive-skinned girl a sympathetic look. “Look, if this has something to do with your date walking out on you last week, I’m sorry about that. I honestly thought he was going to be good for you, Trixie.”

“No, it doesn’t have anything to do with that, Bonnie,” Trixie replied. “I’m being serious here.” She paused for a second, then asked, “Okay, you remember my cousin, Starbrite Lulamoon?”

“Isn’t that the one that owns that athletic wear company?” Lyra asked.

“Yeah, Aunt Starswirl’s daughter. Anyway, I got a package the other day with a whole bunch of free Lulamoon Athletica attire, with a note from her to wear it around school. Apparently she wants me to model it around as stealth advertising. Except….”

“Except?” Lyra parroted. Trixie muttered something under her breath and Lyra groaned. “Trix, I’ve known you forever…but I still can’t read lips, okay? Speak up, wouldja?”

“Look, they’re too big. I look baggy in them.” She pouted, then asked her friends plainly, “Be honest with me: am I shrinking?”

Lyra and Bon-Bon looked at each other for a few seconds before breaking out into laughter; needless to say, it wasn’t something Trixie found very amusing. She glared at both of them before finally Lyra calmed down enough to tell her, “Trix, just stop, okay? You’re being silly – well, sillier than usual.”

“I’m being serious!”

“Trixie, did you ever think that it might just be that the clothing is too big?” Bon-Bon suggested. When Trixie gave her a querulous look, she added, “Seriously. This shirt I’m wearing right now fits kinda tight—”

“Shows off your curves though,” Lyra leered.

“Hon,” Bon-Bon warned before turning back to Trixie. “This shirt I’m wearing is an XL. At first, I thought it was mislabeled, but then my sister got a medium from the same company and it wouldn’t fit her, either. She ended up buying an XL. Do Burgundy or I look like XLs to you?”

Trixie leaned back unconsciously in surprise at that. “Of course not,” she replied.

Lyra took a bite of her sandwich, gulping it down before continuing. “See? You’re worried over nothing, Trix. Trust me, if something was wrong, I’d let you know.”

Trixie speared an offending piece of lettuce with her fork. “Yeah,” she said dejectedly.

“Look, if you don’t believe me – and I’d be hurt if you didn’t – go talk to Sunny. You know she wouldn’t steer you wrong.”

Trixie sighed. “Yeah, I guess,” the teen magician murmured, finishing off her wilted salad just before the bell rang.

“Trixie? You okay?” She winced the moment she heard that voice. The day had nearly been done and she had hoped to avoid running into her at school. But this was Canterlot High, and she didn’t have any such luck.

She turned and faked her best entertainer’s smile. “Heya, Sunny. What’s up?”

Sunset Shimmer approached, the look in her eyes sympathetic. “You know you don’t have to fake it in front of me.”

“Fake what?”

“Trixie, I’m being serious.”

The smile went away. “What gave me away? Did you talk to Lyra or Bonnie?”

Sunset shook her head. “This is going to sound kind of strange, but I kinda get the feeling I know when my friends are in trouble.”

Trixie, despite her feelings, smiled. “What, is it some sort of thing you picked up now that you’re a French princess?”

“I’d like to think that it’s more important that I’m your friend and not just some royalty in pretense,” Sunset pointed out.

Trixie nodded. “I appreciate it, Sunny. It’s just….” She sighed. “I’m just having an off day, you know?”

“Believe me, sometimes it feels like that’s been my entire life,” Sunset said with a soft smile. “But hey, if you need someone to talk to, you know where you can find me, right?”

“I know. Thanks.” She paused as if in thought, then decided to ask, anyway. “Hey, Sunny?”

Before Sunset could say anything, there was a loud faked cough, and both girls turned towards the sound, seeing Vice Principal Neighsay standing there.

“Ladies, just because it’s almost the end of the school day doesn’t mean that it is,” he told them pointedly. “Unless you desire to have detention, I strongly suggest that you head to your classes.”

“Sir, I’m just trying to help out a friend with a situation—” Sunset began, but Neighsay cut her off.

“Ms. Shimmer, regardless of whatever your personal life may have accorded upon you, this is an educational institution and that is the responsibility of adults. If Ms. Lulamoon requires assistance, she may inquire of the counselors, not queen bees.” He gave her a piercing stare. “Do not make the mistake of thinking that I am as tolerant of social climbers as other educators may have been in this past. This is a place for learning, not for socializing.”

The two girls looked at one another, then headed off, while Neighsay gave himself a small smile and turned to see what other issues needed correction at his school. He had been hired by Luna to fix Canterlot High, and he would most assuredly do so, though…

…inwardly, he winced. The very fact that Luna’s older sister and predecessor, Dr. Celestia, had allowed the school to become like this galled him. Small wonder why even as high up on the performance ladder as Canterlot High was, it was still not thought of as well as Holy Cross, Zacherle or Muenchinger.

Well, Neighsay thought to himself, that’s why I’m here. To correct that error.

“Dear, your chakra—”

Trixie sighed. “Mom, not now, okay?” Trixie had gone home straight after school to get her magic equipment. She had her weekly volunteering gig at the children’s hospital and she was already running late. Plus, as much as she loved her mother, she did not want to deal with the granola-chomping crap at the moment.

“Dear, is there anything wrong?” Harmonic Convergence asked.

“No, running late to the hospital,” she replied. “Probably won’t be home for dinner tonight. Later!” She bulldozed out of the store before Harmonic could ask her anything further, pausing only to let Lyra come in through the door as she left.

“Lyra, dear,” Harmonic stated, turning her attention to Trixie’s best friend and a filial figure to the adult, “my dearest daughter seems to be unaligned with her chi. Did something happen to upset her balance so?”

“Probably,” Lyra admitted as she went behind the store counter to grab what she was working on for the day, “but she hasn’t really told me. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”

Harmonic favored her with a smile. “I know you will, my dear. After all, you two are a Janus, tied together in heart and soul, as befitting the cosmic diamine. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to order some new amber supplies. We ran out after the whole terrible ordeal with that serial killer business, and while our customers were understanding that we were limited due to situations, one cannot shirk one’s responsibility to keep the celestial dial level, correct?” With that, she wandered off towards the office.

Lyra watched as Harmonic walked off. She adored the older woman greatly and thought of her as a surrogate mother – in many ways a better parent than her own, truth be told – but even if Lyra considered herself an enlightened Wiccan lesbian, there were times that she just did not understand Harmonic Convergence. This was clearly one of those times.

She smiled lazily; at least, thankfully, her parents were out of town for the next week. That meant that Bon-Bon could stay over; actually, given that Bon-Bon’s parents completely approved of their relationship, it would be all but certain.

Still, not everything was perfect tonight. Not with Trixie being a hurting unit, Lyra sighed.

“Once again, Trixie, that was amazing,” a boy said to her as she started to pack up her gear. Given that it was a children’s hospital, she wasn’t the only one that volunteered for the kid helping program. Skee-Ball’s father owned GolfWorld, the local family entertainment center out in Everfree Glades, and so the young man often brought arcade games from their business for the kids to play. He was strong, tall, with a winning smile, gorgeous orange eyes and perfectly-tousled red-and-tan hair. Needless to say, he pressed all of her buttons in the right ways, and Trixie was somewhat smitten.

“You think so?” she asked.

“Yeah. The way you work with the children? A lot of them just play the games I bring in, but…they were watching you. They were entranced. And I can see why,” he told her. “You are quite the magical lovely.”

“Thanks,” she said, blushing furiously at his flirtatious compliment. “But…I’m not that great, really.”

“Says the girl that comes from a famous line of entertainers?” he said and she looked at him with surprise. “Oh, I know about that – we went to visit my grandmother in Atlanta over the summer and I got to see your family’s show there. So I guess you could say I’m a fan.”

Trixie suddenly felt flush, not sure of what else to say. “I…uh….”

“No, really!” Skee told her. “Seriously, though, you should talk to my dad sometime. We’re always looking for entertainers for parties, and maybe we could get you a couple of gigs with kids’ parties. Trust me, we’re always looking for ways to one up those guys at Johnny Jackrabbit’s Pizza Party Palace!” He handed her one of the business cards.

“I’ll think about it,” she told him, trying to focus more on the card and less on him. It wasn’t working.

“Don’t just ‘think about it’,” he assured her. “I know I’d love to have you around!”

Trixie’s heart started thumping in her chest. “R-really?” she asked, feeling a weakness in the knees.

“Yeah!” he said, giving her a winning smile. “Well, I need to go make sure the games I’m taking back are secure in the van. I’ll see you later?”

“Maybe,” she replied with a dazed smile.

“You know he’s taken, right?” Trixie turned to see Cherry Cordial standing there, looking at her. Cherry’s family owned a café in Darkside and while it wasn’t as good as Sugarcube Corner Café or even Brews & Bakes, the foodstuffs she brought in from the Dark Roast Coffee Co. weren’t bad at all. The two didn’t really know one another, as their volunteer schedules didn’t overlap much, but Trixie didn’t have a problem with her.

“What?”

“I see how you’re looking at him,” Cherry Cordial commented. “You want in his pants. And don’t give me that look like you don’t. It’s blatantly obvious that you do.”

“What?” Trixie’s jaw practically dropped; whether or not that was true – Okay, maybe it’s a little true, she had to admit to herself – she wasn’t going to stand for a practical stranger calling her out on that. “And I suppose you have a problem with that?” she challenged.

Cherry just rolled her eyes. “Just giving you a friendly warning. I wouldn’t do it if I were you – you’re going to end up with your heart broken. Yeah, sure, he flirts with all the girls, but at the end of the day, he’s already spoken for, so don’t push your luck.” The two girls looked at each other with the gaze of two cats sizing up one another before the claws came out. Finally, Cherry shrugged and added, “Okay, not my fault you don’t listen,” before walking off.

“Ignore her.” Trixie turned to look at Skee as he came back. “I’ve known Cherry for years and she tends to be a bit possessive. I mean, I appreciate it, but sometimes she doesn’t know how to keep her nose out of my business, you know?” he explained in an apologetic tone.

“I see,” Trixie stammered. Now that he was back, he’d stepped a bit closer to her, well within her personal zone.

He gave her another winning smile, and she realized they were alone. “So, um, Trixie…there was something that I wanted to ask you….”

Yes, I’ll go out with you! she sang to herself, though she didn’t say it aloud.

“Look, I was wondering sometime if you have some free time—” he began.

I’m free Saturday! she was just about to blurt out.

“Skee!” Out of nowhere a boy, just as hot looking as Skee came out. He had mauve hair, sea-green eyes and a charming smile…

…a second before he kissed Skee. The two boys briefly locked lips, then broke off.

“Hey, wasn’t expecting you to show up, Cutie,” Skee told the other boy. Turning to Trixie, he said, “This is my boyfriend, Acute Angle. Cutie, this is Trixie, the girl I was telling you about.”

“Charmed,” Acute said, shaking her hand. He then looked at Skee and explained, “I got done tutoring the kids I was working with early tonight, so I figured we could go get a late dinner, okay?”

“Sure.” Skee fished in his pocket for the truck’s keys. “Meet you at the truck, okay?”

“No problem.” Acute waved to Trixie. “Nice meeting you again, Trixie.”

“You…have a boyfriend?” Trixie asked, feeling her heart shatter into a thousand bits.

Skee blushed. “Yeah. Anyways, I know this is sudden, but I was wondering if you were free Saturday. My kid sister saw your show in Atlanta and we’re throwing a birthday party for her, so I think she’d really appreciate it if you put on a show. I’d be happy to pay whatever your rates are, really.”

“I’d be delighted,” Trixie said, entertainer’s smile clearly on her face while inwardly, she was screaming.

After hours, Lyra and Bon-Bon were on the couch together at the former’s home, in theory watching a movie. The truth was, however, they were more focused on the visual display in front of them, with the two already in romantic abandon, and Bon-Bon already having shed her shirt and Lyra having even less on. Lips and tongues darted and dodged and the two let their hands explore in places already familiar to both.

“Bed?” Bon-Bon breathed, cooing as Lyra’s lips traveled down the side of her neck.

“I don’t know if I can make it that far,” Lyra said, her mouth applying a flurry of erotic touches down her girlfriend’s body.

“You two had better,” a third voice said. “I really don’t want to have to go rent a Rug Doctor.”

The two teens froze at that third voice. Like a pair of potential victims in a horror film they turned in the direction of the door, to see a nightmare.

Sure enough, two adults stood there, a man and a woman. “Told you this would happen,” the woman told the man.

“It’s okay – you two can go back to your foreplay,” the man said, “although I’d really appreciate it if you went to your bedroom first, Ly.”

The two girls screamed in shock, desperately trying to cover themselves with the couch pillows.

“You just had to do this, didn’t you?” the woman said, a slight smile coming onto her face.

“You know me,” he said with a shrug.

“HARPER!” the two girls screamed at the guy.

Harper Heartstrings narrowed his eyes. “Oh, don’t give me that shit, you two. For starters, Bonnie, put your shirt back on – I already see your sister’s breasts on a regular basis; I don’t need to see yours.”

“Yes, I’d rather you look at mine instead,” Burgundy, Bon-Bon’s older sister and Harper’s fiancée, told him as she looked at both teens with a reproachful glare.

“And Lyra, as for you,” Harper continued, “I distinctly recall changing your diapers when you were a baby, so I’ve seen everything as is. I just didn’t expect you to still be as, um, you know, clean shaven?”

“The term is Brazilian, dear,” Burgundy reminded him.

The two mortified teens looked at the two adults, who were, in a sense, older variants on themselves: Burgundy looked like an older version of her sister, save for her darker hair colors of navy blue and burgundy, while the Heartstrings siblings both had the same hair and eye color, as well as the same lithe build. Really, the only differences between them were gender, height, voice, Harper’s soul patch and his slightly more mature outlook on the world.

“What are you two doing here?” Bon-Bon gasped.

“Apparently preventing you two from being stupid,” Burgundy snapped. She looked at her sister. “Kẹo Dừa, tôi mong đợi bạn tốt hơn! Bạn là một phụ nữ và bạn nên hành động như vậy. Bất kể mối quan hệ của bạn là gì, bạn nên biết tốt hơn là chỉ hành động liều lĩnh như vậy trong một tình huống như thế này!”

“Tôi xin lỗi, Cục Kẹo. Tôi để cho cảm xúc của tôi thoát ra khỏi tầm tay,” Bon-Bon said, chastened.

Burgundy then wheeled upon Lyra. “And you, you idiot! You know that your parents are so Old School Catholic that they probably knew the folks that were protesting in Avignon at the time! Do you want to end up at a boarding school?”

It was an old threat that Lyra’s parents had mentioned enough times; the real reason her parents had moved to Canterlot was not just because their job let them work from here, but that it was more conservative than even Orange County down south. She was so busy hiding too many things from her parents that she was always afraid that whenever they were home that something would slip. Her parents were so strict with her when they were around that she was afraid that one day they would just give up and send her to boarding school – especially if they found out their little girl was busy getting biblical with the sister of her brother’s fiancée.

“I….” Lyra didn’t know what to say. She looked helplessly at her girlfriend, then her brother and future sister-in-law.

“Get dressed,” Burgundy ordered. “I’m not the gay sister; I don’t need to see your snatch, moron.” She then turned to Harper and said sweetly, “Okay, peep show’s over – you have to turn around now.”

“Hey, it’s not like I enjoyed that,” he said.

“I know,” she said, kissing him on the cheek. “Besides, you have my body to look at later.” A few seconds later, she then looked at the girls before telling him, “Okay, they’re decent again. Well, dressed in any case.”

“Good,” he replied. “It would be really awkward explaining that to the cops.”

“Sorry,” both girls, chastened, said at once.

He sighed, looking at them both. “Look, I love you both dearly, but you both know you should save it until you know you’re alone and in a safe location. When you’re older and you have an apartment like Burgundy and I, then you two can have sex until you get bored of each other. But until then, remember that you two are minors and while your parents might not care, Bonnie, ours do.”

“Message received, bro,” Lyra sighed while doing the “OK” handsign. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

He threw his bag onto the couch. “You really want to know? Mom and Dad don’t trust you to be by yourself anymore during the weekends, because of that Club shit and then the Dead Hand murders. So they called me and said that I had to come over to babysit you. Pissed as hell; I had to cancel a gig with my band and shit.”

“Seriously?” Bon-Bon asked, offended.

“Yeah. Not happy about it,” Burgundy said. “Record label was supposedly sending out a scout to check out Harper’s band, so needless to say, they’re pissed as fuck. You two owe us, big time.”

“Got it,” both girls said, sighing.

“Oh, get a grip, you two,” Harper said. “One night of chastely sleeping together without sex isn’t going to kill either of you.”

“He’s right,” Burgundy added. “But if you do that shit again, I’ll kill you.” Burgundy, being the better martial artist of the two sisters, had the ability to back her threat up.

“Sorry,” Lyra said again.

“Sorry isn’t going to make everything better all the time, stupid,” Burgundy told her. She then looked at Harper. “I’m going to make us some dinner, unless you want to order a pizza.”

“Naah, I’m just tired from the drive,” he told her.

“You two drove up from LA?” Bon-Bon asked. “We didn’t hear your car.”

“Probably because you two were busy trying to figure out who was going to bury the nose first,” Burgundy told her, getting her sister to shut up. She shrugged. “Well, I suppose I should be glad you two can’t get pregnant – I’m too young to be an aunt right now.”

“Hey, they’re both creative,” Harper reminded his lady. “I’m sure they’d find a way.”

“Don’t encourage them, love,” she replied.

Meanwhile, Lyra, desperate to get the attention off her, looked at her phone. “Oh, shit,” she stated.

“Something wrong, Ly?”

“Yeah, it’s from Mrs. Convergence. Trixie hasn’t come home yet.”

“That’s not good,” he said, looking at his sister, then to his fiancée. “Guess I’m going to go look for her. Even with the serial killer caught, there are still copycats out there.”

“Plus, it’s probably going to rain,” Burgundy agreed.

“I’m going with you,” Lyra told him. “She’s been in a mood lately – doing her usual deflection thing. She won’t talk to me at all and made up some story about how she’s shrinking.”

“Shrinking? Seriously?” he asked and both girls nodded. “Well, it’s better than the time she swore some girl in third grade found a memory erasing stone….”

“Really?” Burgundy asked.

“Yeah. Turns out it was just a very ornate looking stone, but still, it’s her way of getting attention,” Lyra clarified. “In any case, let’s get going, bro.”

“No, you’re staying here – both you and Bonnie,” Burgundy ordered.

“And why can’t I go?” Lyra challenged the older girl. Usually Lyra didn’t make waves with Burgundy, but this was Trixie she was talking about.

“Two reasons: one, be glad we’re letting Bon-Bon stay here instead of me sending her back home,” Burgundy stated.

“And the other reason?”

“Because we told you to get dressed,” Harper said blandly, “And I don’t think you want the public to see your underwear – especially the ‘I’ve got the Prettiest Kitty’ picture on the front of it.” Lyra’s eyes went wide and under a different circumstance, the two adults would have laughed.

“I’ll be back soon as I can,” Harper told them.

“We’ll be up,” Burgundy promised as he departed. Once he left, Burgundy looked at the two of them. “You two really owe us. He may have lost out on his big chance, and I had plans for the weekend. Neither of us wanted to come – and we especially didn’t appreciate your impromptu biology lesson.”

The two teens had the grace to be completely embarrassed once more, and an awkward silence filled the living room until Bon-Bon had the courage to look at her sister and ask, “Then why did you come?”

“Because we knew that with Lyra’s parents out for the week, it’d give you two time to spend together.” To their surprise, a smile came onto Burgundy’s face as her stern demeanor vanished. “We know you two love each other and we know how hard it is for both of you to have to maintain that relationship. Harper and I are straight, obviously – we have it easy. For you two to still be together? We know it’s hard for you both, and we want to support you two whenever we can.”

“Thanks, sis,” Bon-Bon told her sister.

Burgundy bent down and kissed both girls on the foreheads. “I still think you two can be idiots…but at the end of the day, we’re still family.”

The rain came down in a torrent, but she didn’t care. She was soaked to the bone, but it didn’t bother her. The rain was warm, like summertime rain always was, and it was great for hiding her tears.

She’d had her heart broken again, and she wasn’t sure if she had the right to have it broken. She was attracted to Skee – yes, Cherry was right; she thought he was hot. She thought his comments had been just for her, his way of trying to get her attention.

Well, she was giving it…and he didn’t want it. It had nothing to do with the fact that he was gay; her best friend and sister figure, after all, was lesbian, so that didn’t matter to her. Maybe it was because it was her heart shattering once more. Cracking in a way that made her feel useless. Worthless. Pointless.

Part of her even wondered if she should just throw herself at Flash Sentry; since the events of earlier in the year became public, his nice guy image had been all but evaporated and, some would argue, he had more girls throwing themselves at him than when they thought he was a gentleman. Surely enough, she knew of at least three girls that had slept with him since his “public outing.” She briefly wondered if she should make herself join that number…but then knew that wouldn’t happen. For one, given that his ex, Sunset, was one of her friends, that made it uncomfortable for her to do so. Secondly, she knew Sunset would try to put a stop on it, because she’d worry about her. And third, the whole idea was silly, anyway.

So here she sat, on the swings in a small park two blocks away from her house, letting the rain soak her to the bone and prevent the world from seeing her cry at her loneliness.

“You know, even with all that’s happened, you probably shouldn’t be out here by yourself at night.”

The moment she heard that voice, she wanted to both smile and cry all the more at the same time. Smile because she knew who it was. Cry all that much more, because it was one of the few guys in her life…and yet another that was, pretty much, untouchable.

She looked up at Harper and he saw her eyes were rimmed with red, a sign that she’d been crying. “Would you sleep with me?” she asked him in a soft voice.

He was taken aback by that. “You know, that’s a hell of a question to ask me,” he told her.

“I know. But I’m asking it all the same. If I threw myself at you, would you?”

“That’s two for two right there. You know I’m not going to justify that with an answer, because I’m not that kind of guy. Even if we were complete strangers I wouldn’t do that.”

“I know,” she told him. “I meant it in the abstract. And I know you wouldn’t.”

He looked at her, the rain sliding down on his face; he’d come out here without an umbrella as well. “So, want to tell me why you’re here by yourself, Bea?”

She gave herself a small, girlish smile; given that her name was Beatrix, most people called her Trixie; not so Harper, who had once said Bea was a little sister’s name and had called her that ever since. An irony, given that he was the one that gave Lyra the idea for Trixie. “You’d laugh.”

“Maybe, but not at you. Especially when you’re thinking about throwing yourself at any guy out there.”

“I said I meant it in the abstract, Harper.”

“Bea, give me some credit. You may have meant that in the abstract to me, but I get the feeling it wouldn’t be so much of a theoretical question if I was some other guy, am I right?”

She blushed again; he knew her too well. “I’m…lonely. Lyra has Bonnie, so many of my friends have relationships and I feel left out. My mother relentlessly teases me about being gay when she knows I’m not, and just about every guy out there thinks I’m weird because I do that third person thing when I’m in my stage persona! For fuck’s sake, I got turned down by a guy who was gay today who was giving me signals that I misunderstood! I wanted to sleep with him, but he was just being nice!”

“That’s really not a good reason to sleep with someone,” he told her. “I mean, being nice helps get a girl, but it’s not the end-all, be-all.”

She got up and leaned against him, crying. He put his arms around her and she bawled all the more for it. “I’m going to be alone forever!”

“Wow, you really worked on your melodrama. You ever consider going into acting?”

“I’m serious!” she sobbed.

“No, Bea, you only think you are,” he told her. “You’ve never been in a relationship before, so you don’t know how to savvy how life can really be when it comes to things like that. But you want to know the truth? No one really does until they’ve been in one.”

“Not me. I’m weird and guys hate me!”

“Bullshit. Yes, you’re a lovely girl…but I’m biased, since you’re like a kid sister. But I can promise you that you will find someone. Might not be today. Might not be until you’re in college. Might not be until even after then. But when you do find that person? They will love you like you deserve to be loved.”

“You’re just saying that,” she accused as he led her to his car.

“Hey, I’m a musician, remember? Stories about love are my stock in trade,” he laughed. “Trust me, you’re not the only one who feels like that. Not everyone finds someone to love right away, and not everyone is meant to. Do you remember when Lyra came out to you?”

Trixie didn’t say anything until they were both in the car. “I remember,” she admitted. “She was afraid I was going to break off our friendship, because she’d had a fling with a girl she’d met the night before when we went to my first public show in LA and she was afraid that I was going to be sick of the fact that she’s a lesbian.”

“And yet, you didn’t, because we’re family,” he said as he started the car and left the park. “But that’s not the point. The point I’m trying to make is: do you remember what happened afterwards?”

Trixie nodded. “Yeah. That other girl, Abby Cadabra, told Lyra that it was just a meaningless fling to her and that later that day, she’d slept with one of the boys who was doing his first show.” The look on Trixie’s face became a brief glance of anger. “I was angry for Ly: it had been her first time, and the girl she’d given her virginity to turned out to have done it just for the kicks.”

“Yeah. That happens, and that’s life. Not every relationship is meant to be, and not everyone’s going to get into one instantly. Love is a complicated thing, Bea. Be glad you don’t have to deal with it now.”

She laughed bitterly. “This isn’t cheering me up, Harper.”

“It’s not meant to. It’s me doing the older brother thing and telling you life wisdom, because that’s what big brothers do. You want cheerful, read a greeting card.” He smiled, and tapped the forward button on the car stereo. The CD advanced to the next track and as it did, he said, “I want you to listen to the lyrics.”

“This your band?”

“Yes, and that’s me singing, and yes, this is the single that we were supposed to play for the talent scout this week and that’s not important,” he told her. “I want you to listen to the lyrics, okay?”

“Fine, fine.” The two drove around, drying off, giving the girl time to absorb the lyrics. “Wow, those are some fucked up lyrics,” she told him.

He sang along with his recorded vocals the moment the chorus came up again: “’Because you couldn’t come to me, I had her instead; Because you wouldn’t love me, I made my home in her bed.’ You know, the song’s based on a real story?”

“Really?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Our drummer, Carnival Beat? That was about the first girl he really liked and how that relationship went south…before it even started, no less. He had a girl that he was really wild about, but she wasn’t willing to take it to the next step; she was kinda shy, or playing hard to get, I guess. Anyway, she had her cousin staying over – Carnival doesn’t really remember why – and said cousin was anything but bashful. In any case, the girl he wanted was so slow in trying to decide whether or not that she wanted a relationship with him, that night, her cousin came up to him and dropped her clothes off in front of him and had sex with him while the girl he’d wanted to date was sleeping in her bedroom next door. In the end, he ended up with neither because he couldn’t face his intended girl for what he did and he couldn’t date a girl that would just throw himself at her.”

“Wow, that’s messed up.”

“That’s life, Bea. That’s how love is, sometimes.” He then asked, “Did I ever tell you how Burgundy and I met?” When she shook her head, he gave a grin. “It was eighth grade, and you were, if I remember, out travelling for a week with your grandfather’s act. Lyra came up to me, crying that someone was beating up on a fourth grader, and I had more bravado than brains back then. I went and confronted the bully – who turned out to be Burgundy, scaring some jerk that had been picking on another girl. Well, she didn’t explain and I really wasn’t in the mood to listen. Kinda like our relationship, in a sense,” he said with a nostalgic grin.

“You didn’t hit her, did you?” Trixie asked.

“Are you kidding? My only martial arts training is whatever I’ve picked up from playing Street Fighter. She and Bonnie have been training all their lives. I was lucky that I didn’t get turned into one giant bruise! Anyway, she had me on the ground, slugging as hard as she could, and hoo boy, did it hurt! I was getting desperate, so I decided to bite her. Kinda unsportsmanlike, admittedly, but I was getting my teeth rattled in my head – I wasn’t in the mood for niceties.” He gave another nostalgic smile. “Thankfully I screwed that up.”

“Screwed it up?”

He nodded. “Ended up kissing her, in public. To my surprise, she returned the kiss. She said I won the fight and the prize I won was a date with her. Hey, I wasn’t going to argue with that, and I think I got the better end of that deal.”

Trixie beamed. “Yeah, you did. I just hope if I meet someone, it won’t be as violent.”

“So do I. Trust me, so do I. Besides, if the guy turns out to be a jerk, you know who to call.”

“You?”

“Oh, please! Weren’t you paying any attention to my story?” He grinned as they finally came to a stop in front of the store. “In any case, feeling better now?”

She leaned against him again, throwing her arms around him in a hug. “A little, thanks. You’re the best big brother in the world, you know that?”

He hugged her back. “Always here for my kid sis, Bea. Always.”

“I’m sorry about yesterday,” she told Lyra the following morning. “I was….”

“You don’t have to explain, Trix,” Lyra said, hugging her. “Harper told us. I just…you know I’m here for you, right?”

“I know, but I….” She pursed her lips and stopped. “Look, it’s not important.”

“It is to me. Look, come on over tonight; Harper’s making chili and we can talk about it, okay? We’re family, Trixie. I don’t give up on you because you don’t give up on me.”

A loving smile came over the teen magician. “Okay. Tonight, then. I need to get to class. See you at lunch?”

“You can count on it.”

Bon-Bon approached, watching as Trixie departed. “I’m glad to see she’s doing better. I was really worried.”

“So was I. Good thing Harper dealt with it.”

“Yeah. Not happy that Burgundy shut us down like that, though.”

“Well, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise,” Lyra told her girlfriend. “She needed to hear that from Harper, not me. Even though I love her like a sister, she needs to figure out things on her own sometimes. She wouldn’t have been happy if I stuck my nose where it wasn’t wanted – she was jealous of us, you know. She didn’t want to admit it, because it would hurt both her and us, but she was.”

“Really? I didn’t think she—”

“In the general sense of a relationship, not either of us specifically,” Lyra explained. “That’s why I asked Harper. He knows her well enough to do what needed to be done. He’s not just my big brother, you know. He’s hers, too, sorta; and last night, she needed her brother more than she did her sister.”

“Wow, looks like you actually planned that one out ahead of time! I’m impressed!”

Lyra laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head. “Well, I probably used up my quota for the month.”

The Asian teen giggled, then kissed her girlfriend on the cheek. “Well, I still love you anyway. C’mon, we’re going to be late for class.”

They weren’t the only ones that watched Trixie Lulamoon walk off.

“Man, I wonder if she’s ever gonna pay attention to me,” a lanky, gangly reed of a boy with turquoise hair and sleepy charcoal-gray eyes said in a forlorn, lovesick voice.

Snips patted his buddy on the back. “Snails, old pal,” the portly teen told him, “You just gotta talk to her, man! I’ll bet if you just said something to her she’d be yours.”

“Yeah, right,” Snails said dejectedly. “Girl like Trixie? She probably has guys constantly throwing themselves at her feet,” he groaned. “Guy like me wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“Where did you get this?”

“Guy who usually comes by the place I work told me about it. In hindsight, that should’ve been a warning.”

“No kidding.” A pause before eyes focused on the screen – and nearly popped out of their sockets in the process. “OhmiGod, they don’t work that way! That’s not natural physics!”

“It’s called Gainaxing.”

“That’s not the point!”

“Yeah, I know. I’m actually more terrified that someone in Japan seems to think that all girls are like that.”

A sigh. “You know, couldn’t we have just watched something a little more normal?”

“Define ‘normal’.”

An accusing finger pointed at the screen. “Well, that sure as hell isn’t it! I mean, isn’t the newest season of Celestial Princess Dancer Mango on Netflix?”

“Yeah, but you have to watch Celestial Princess Dancer Mango S: The Movie ~Dreams in Our Future Past~ in order to get all the references in the new season,” was the response. “For some reason, Netflix doesn’t have the rights to it yet. I could probably find a fansub of it online somewhere.”

“No thanks – I think I’ve been scarred enough by the internet today, and—” Words cut off by a gasp of shock. “Oh dear sweet Lord, is she—?”

“Okay, this is getting too weird even for me, and I work in an anime store.” A dusky finger reached over and clicked the mouse button, closing the browser window. A wan smile followed shortly thereafter. “Sorry about that – I’m going to have to kick Quibble Pants’ ass next time I see him.”

“He was the one that recommended this?”

“Yup.”

A pause, followed by a smirk. “Make him suffer,” was the pleased reply.

Two African-American girls sat in a bedroom that looked like your typical teenage bedroom, albeit on the cleaner side of things. One of them wore a simple white sweatshirt over a tangerine polo and black jeans; while she wasn’t exactly a fashionplate, she was more in tune with style than most she knew. Her blue-and-persian hair was perfectly coiffed, bringing out the richness in her sapphire-hued eyes. The other girl, however, was earthier, currently wearing a coffee-brown Henley shirt accompanied by heavily-scuffed blue jeans; her hair was a short, shaggy mess of pearl-gray ending in lilac tips that somehow made her amber-colored eyes all the more striking.

The two were Minuette and Gilda Griffin, and for some incomprehensible reason to anyone who saw them, the two were friends. Anyone who did know them, however, still found it odd, but at least gave the two the benefit of the doubt.

“You want something to drink?” Minuette asked Gilda.

“Yeah, I could use something to work as brain bleach after that,” Gilda grunted, following Minuette out of the room and downstairs to the kitchen, where the former quickly threw together something looking remotely like nachos and waters.

“Sorry about the drinks,” Minuette apologized. “When your parents are both dentists, sugary sodas tend to become taboo around the household.”

Gilda gratefully accepted the bottle, ripping off the cap and chugging nearly the whole bottle in one go. “That’s fine; believe me, if my father had his way, that’d probably be all that we drink around the house, but we have to have coffee in the morning in order to survive.” She chuckled. “Hell, you should see my mom if she hasn’t had her cup of morning joe – she gets snippy like no tomorrow.”

“Sounds like my mom. Between my parents, my mother is the Queen Goddess of Snip,” Minuette said with a giggle.

“Then why aren’t you?”

Minuette blushed. “I…tend to take after my dad. He’s much calmer and more level-headed about things,” she admitted, then looked at the faint scars she had on her arms, a result of earlier in the year. “I wish I’d inherited more of his calm, believe me.”

Gilda looked at the girl’s arm for a second. “Yeah, Rainbow told me about what happened. Believe me, I’m sorry that it did.”

Anger welled up in Minuette’s soul for a second. “Oh, spare me the pity party, Gilda! What do you know about being used?!” she snapped, then backed off a second later. “Sorry about that. That was unkind of me.”

But Gilda took it in stride. “It’s all good. But to answer your question, I didn’t have the best of childhoods,” she admitted. “My birth father is in prison for, amongst other things, child abuse. My stepfather – he’s my real dad, as far as I’m concerned, but…trust me, you’re not the only one with scars. Mine are just in places that aren’t as easily seen.” She slumped in her chair. “It’s probably why I turned out the way I did.”

“A closet otaku?”

“Trust me, around my old circle of friends, it wasn’t exactly something that you admitted to. Garble, Lightning Dust, Rover, Switchblade, Brass Knuckle – all of them were into bitches, bass and brews. Even Dust, and she was as white as you could get.” She frowned. “If any of them had found out that I was into anime, they’d have punted my ass to the curb in an instant.”

“Same for me, too. There’s a movie from a few decades ago called Heathers that talks about friendships gone wrong. That was me, Waterfire, Primrose and Autumn. I grew up with Wai, but…now? Somehow we’d moved into the frenemies column, and now we’re just strangers to one another. Those three have their own circle and I’m still trying to find out who I am.” She gave Gilda a wan smile. “If they found out that I’ve loved mahō shōjo since I was a little girl, I’d have probably been bounced out of the group sooner.”

“Ma-what?”

“Mahō shōjo – that’s Japanese for magical girl, and—”

“You are such a dweeb,” Gilda said, though adding a smile to indicate she was joking. “But I thought you said you grew up with Waterfire?”

“I did. We used to watch Magical Princess Knight Celea when we were kids, but she ‘grew out of it,’” Minuette said, using air quotes. “I…didn’t.” A thought then came over Minuette. “You know, you never told me how you got into anime.”

Gilda shrugged. “Boredom, I guess. After having ended up at the Blanks, one of the rules was that we couldn’t do any ‘extracurricular’ activities, and since I was also prevented from hanging out with our old crew, going back and forth from home got boring for a while. So to kill time, I started watching TV and shit on the internet again. Came across an old dub of Yuri in the Star Palace on YouTube and it reminded me of the stuff I used to watch when I was a kid. Eventually I watched all of that, then some of the classics: Sailor Moon, Ranma ½, Evangelion, Citrus & Flowers, all that. Eventually I got hooked again.

“Fast forward to the day that they said I could go back to Canterlot High and one of the things my parents insisted was that I get a job so that I wouldn’t fall in with the wrong crowd again. I thought sure, I’ll go work at Burger Shack or something, but then a job opened up at Otome Road, and I just had to get a position there.” In the northeastern portion of Canterlot was Sakura Village, the local Japantown, and in the center of one of the various bland-looking shopping centers was Otome Road. Named after the famous “women’s anime district” in Tokyo, the namesake store actually had a mixed clientele, given that it was the lone anime bastion in Canterlot as opposed to the flotillas of various comic shops in town.

“And your first day on the job was the same day as the cosplay contest, wasn’t it?” Minuette asked.

Gilda laughed, nearly falling out of her seat in the process. “Oh, yeah! First thing that came to mind was ‘what did I get myself into’? First day of work, and I’m surrounded by people wearing these weird-ass costumes, some of which have no business being in any of them! Did you see that one girl wearing that metal bikini-like thing?”

“Oh, I know which one you’re talking about! The girl who was cosplaying Yulia from Extars Weapon:D.rive? Yeah, she was a bit, um….”

“Chunky?” Gilda offered.

“Chunky, nothing! I’d be afraid of wearing an outfit like that, and I’d like to think I keep in shape! I don’t know what she was thinking! As it was, I lost the contest to that one girl from San Palo who made that Galactic Valkyrie Shiori outfit. I mean, that was just some seriously professional work!”

“Eh, to be honest? Yours looked more accurate,” Gilda said. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, the girl with that outfit – it looked good and the judges said it was clearly made by her and not something she’d just bought online. But if anything, I thought that yours looked more like how Dancer Papaya’s outfit would look like in the real world.”

Minuette looked at Gilda with surprise. “You…you really think so?”

“Yeah. In fact, to be honest, the only reason you didn’t win the contest is because the boss didn’t think to have prizes for second and third place. Plus….” Gilda paused, leaning back in her chair, wondering if she needed to continue.

Pencil Code looked at the girls in front of him. “I dunno,” he told his panel of judges. “Minuette looks like an accurate copy of Dancer Papaya. If it wasn’t for the fact that she doesn’t have naturally yellow-and-orange hair, she’d be an exact copy.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever,” Quibble Pants demurred. “But did you see the girl wearing the Genesis Galactic Valkyrie Knights outfit? I mean, you just gotta appreciate the technical expertise that went into the costume! The details, the level of minor accuracy—”

“You kept staring at her tits,” Wallflower Blush told him.

“Who are you?” Quibble asked, and she glared at him in response. He ignored it and continued. “Look, she managed to get her costume to Gainax! Have you ever seen such technological detail?” He looked at the other guys who were judging. “C’mon! That kind of jiggletech takes talent, and I firmly believe we should reward such innovation!”

“Oh, for crying out loud!” Wallflower groaned. “You’re seriously going to vote for the girl with the huge jiggling tits because she got her costume to do that over the girl who managed to get her costume to look like Dancer Papaya? Seriously? Or what about the girl who managed to make that near-exact replica of Catty’s leather jacket from Capture Alley? Or what about the guy who took the time to wear the cardboard costume that looks like the GX-5 Gladius from Bansizer?”

But Quibble hadn’t played his trump card yet – and now he did with brutal clarity. “Bountiful pontoons,” he said, leaning over the table as if divulging a grand secret to his fellow judges, almost all of which were male. The guys all looked at one another, save for one, and then as one, nodded their heads in agreement.

“Seriously?” Wallflower shouted. “Seriously?” She then wheeled on Pencil Code, who had yet to vote. “I swear, you so much as vote for this sexist crap and I am telling your girlfriend!”

Pencil Code gulped.

“Yeah, so the judges really thought the detail on her costume was practically professional-grade, which is why she won,” Gilda lied. “But if it means anything, that one chick – the one that goes to our school – she thought your costume was the best looking one.”

“Wow, that means a lot to me,” Minuette admitted. “Especially since Papaya’s my favorite anime character.”

“Funny you mention that; she’s mine, too.” Gilda took a bite of the nachos, then continued. “Why is she yours?”

“You’d laugh,” Minuette said.

“No, I don’t think I would, really,” Gilda told her. “You might think that someone would find your reasoning for liking her to be silly, but we all have our reasons and though they might be silly to others, they’re heartfelt to us.”

“Wow, that’s actually profound.”

“I do have my moments,” Gilda stated. “No, but seriously, why is she your favorite character?”

“I….” Minuette blushed, unable to say anything more.

Gilda sighed. “Okay, I’ll go first. Although anime really has a variety of styles, the truth is they all look like they’re white.”

“The term is mukokuseki, which is Japanese for ‘stateless’,” Minuette explained. “Basically it’s using the phenotypes of one ethnicity to represent no ethnicity, since accurate ethnic representation can only be done in the RL-type of art style….”

“Look, I didn’t need a lecture on why they do it, okay? I just know they do. But anyway, when they deliberately pick a foreigner, especially one who’s American, it always boils down to two looks: the rough-and-tumble badass white girl with flaming red hair and orange eyes, or the doe-eyed exotic beauty with blonde hair and blue eyes – who is also white. I mean, pick an anime that has a foreign character in it and that’s always the case.” She then smiled. “So in the show, when Dancer Mango announced she’d found the secret location of the girls who would be the Second Chorus of Dancers, I was expecting more of the same. And when they said that one was American, I knew that we’d see some typical blonde or redhead.

“So when Boogie Star appeared on-screen for the first time, I was surprised. I thought, if anything, she was either the damsel in distress for the episode or maybe the girl who gets turned into the monster. But when she shouted her Call to the Dance and became Dancer Papaya? I practically cheered, because there was a girl that could be just like me – someone I could identify with. To step up and be the big hero when the chips are down, and to kick ass and take names! It’s really why I just adore the character and why she’s my favorite.” Gilda closed her eyes and leaned back into the chair. “So that’s my take. What about yours?”

Minuette was quiet for the longest time. Finally, she took a breath and said, “I know this sounds funny, but…I always wanted to be a magical girl. I wanted to help others, but I wanted to do it on my terms. And I know that being a magical girl is impossible, but I always felt that was what I was meant to be. So when I heard Dancer Papaya’s Call to the Dance for the very first time, I….” She blushed. “It moved something within me. Something I didn’t think I’d ever feel after what happened to me earlier this year.”

Gilda was almost reluctant to ask. “What was that?”

“Hope.” The look in Minuette’s eyes was almost one of girlish desire, of a pure maiden being offered a sword of finest silver to use to protect all of mankind. “It made me want to do whatever I can to protect my friends and family against whatever’s going to come. I know that sounds silly, but maybe it’s because I want to make sure that nothing like whatever happened to me occurs to anyone else.”

“Not a thing wrong with that, Minnie,” Gilda assured her, “though most people who want to do that end up becoming cops, not throwing on a short skirt and tight top and trying to cast wind magic.”

“I know it sounds silly, but just like how you try to be a tough girl in order to get past your pain, I want to be a magical girl. The difference is just that what you do is more realistic and achievable.”

Gilda sighed. “And self-destructive,” she added. “I turned into the kind of person I didn’t want to become. I ended up at the Blanks, and pushed away my closest friend at the time.” The girl seemed to curl into herself, both body and soul moving inward. “I nearly ruined my own life because I hated Sunset,” she admitted. “The smart thing would have been to just walk away and let her destroy herself – but I’ve never been a particularly smart person when it comes to those sorts of things.”

The two girls sat there in an uncomfortable silence, until Minuette spoke clearly, and from the heart:

“In my life, I’ve loved, I’ve lost, I’ve missed
I’ve hurt, I’ve trusted, I’ve made a lot of mistakes,
But most of all, I’ve learned.
Because in life, experience is the hardest type of teacher.
It gives you the test first…
…and the lessons afterwards.”

Without even realizing it, she raised her hand, as if she were Dancer Papaya in the flesh, raising her henshin ring in order to Call the Power of the Dance to her.

“The saddest part of being strong
Is that no one ever asks you if you’re fine.
You carry on, because you must!”

Gilda looked at her friend for a moment she swore she saw Minuette glowing with the bright prismatic magic that was indicator of a Dancer – of a magical girl. She blinked, and in an instant it was gone, but for a moment she didn’t see Minuette as the girl who she’d recently made friends with and bonded over anime, but instead as a brave and sure magical girl, a modern shieldmaiden fighting the good fight in a savage land.

“I am the broken dream reforged anew!
I am the shattered promise moving forth to be kept!
I am Dancer Papaya – and I will fight for justice!”

Gilda looked at her friend once. Twice. And then, finally, “Did you just…?”

Minuette blushed furiously as she realized what she’d just done. “I, um, thought…maybe…it was the right thing to say?” At that, Gilda started to laugh uncontrollably, and a second later, Minuette joined in.

She wasn’t sure why or really how they’d formed their friendship in a short time and given their pasts, it probably wouldn’t have happened otherwise, but aside from that, she was glad it did. After a bit, they agreed to sit down and watch some of the shows either recommended, if only so that they wouldn’t have to go through another round of that sort of weirdness again.

Finally, however, as the day wore down, Gilda had to head home, and Minuette gave her a lift home. After doing so, however, she realized she hadn’t had dinner, so she decided to head off down to Hinoiri Sushi, if for no other reason that it was convenient to where she was at the time. Besides, sushi was Dancer Papaya’s favorite food, so it was kind of apt.

As she ordered the Sunrise Boat, she thought about the day she’d spent with Gilda and what they’d talked about. She also thought about her impromptu quotation of Papaya’s Call to the Dance. In hindsight, it seemed silly, but for a moment…Minuette actually felt as though she was going to change. As though a magic force of some kind had swelled within her and was aching to be let out, because there were people on this Earth who needed protecting and she was the only one that could do it. It was silly, she knew, but…somehow, that’s just how she felt.

“Well, if it isn’t the loser.” She flinched at the sound of the voice. Just months ago, she would have been thrilled to hear it. But now? Now it filled her with sorrow and dread.

She looked up to see her former friends. “Hello, Wai,” Minuette said softly and sorrowfully.

“Sorry, only my friends get to call me that,” Waterfire snapped. “I don’t recall you being on that list any longer.”

“Ignore her, Wai,” Primrose told her. “She’s just being a stuck-up skank. Hell, from what I hear, she’s so desperate for friends, she’s even hanging out with degenerates like Gilda Griffin nowadays!”

Autumn agreed. “Maybe Gilda’s just teaching her the thug life,” she taunted. “After all, if she’s willing to screw over her supposed best friend, then she’s already ready for that kind of lifestyle!”

Minuette clenched her teeth and her fists, unable to do anything other than take the insults. After all, she wasn’t Dancer Papaya. She wasn’t anyone as brave as Sunset Shimmer or her friends, or even someone as stupid as Noteworthy had been when he tried to chase after her. She wasn’t anyone.

“Shut…up…” the words came from her mouth.

But maybe…

She felt herself rise from the chair, unbidden. “How…dare…you….”

…just maybe…

“Gilda is trying to make up for the kind of person she was in the past. That’s more than I can say about you three!” Seeing the mollified looks on the three other girls’ faces, Minuette continued. “Yeah. She knows she wasn’t the best person in the past, but that’s just that – in the past. What have you three done? You let your bullshit ruin our friendship and you’ve screwed up your reputation at school because you wanted revenge against someone who wasn’t even to blame for what happened to us! And now you’re taking it out on Gilda, who wasn’t even involved? What is wrong with you three?”

“Just keep pushing your luck, Minuette,” Waterfire warned, her eyes narrowing. “You’re already on my shit list.”

“And you’re on everyone’s,” Minuette snarled back. She wasn’t sure where this was coming from, but now that it was flowing out, she couldn’t – and didn’t want to – stop it. So she brandished it like a weapon, because it was all she could do to protect Gilda, who wasn’t here. Admittedly, Gilda was the last person that needed protecting, but she wasn’t here to defend herself, and somehow, that incensed Minuette for reasons she couldn’t vocalize.

“I really should—” Waterfire began, but was interrupted.

“You should what?” The group turned to see Derpy Hooves standing there, surprisingly angry. “You should what, Waterfire? Dig yourself in deeper? Make an even bigger fool of yourself? Everyone knows at this point you’re little better than those you pretend to hate.” Waterfire looked at the blonde in surprise, but Derpy just shook her head. “Now, granted, I’m just a thin-brained short bus case, but at least I have the decency not to risk my neck when I’m already in shit-deep. What’s your excuse?”

“Those glasses aren’t going to save you, dipshit,” Autumn told her. “I’d just as soon as hit you as I would her.”

“You mean you can try. Remember, my father’s military – means I learned a few things.” The look on Derpy’s face was serious. “I already have an injured eye, so it can’t get any worse. You, on the other hand, have a lot more to lose than I do. So you want to take this out back?”

The two girls stared at each other for countless minutes before Autumn turned away. “C’mon, girls, these losers aren’t worth it,” Autumn said. Waterfire and Primrose gave final, angry looks at both Derpy and Minuette before storming out of the store.

“Thanks,” Minuette voiced.

Derpy shrugged it off. “No sweat, really. C’mon, you can sit over here with me and we can chat about your Dancer Papaya costume.”

Minuette looked at the blonde with surprise. “You saw it?”

“Yeah – my boyfriend was there and took pictures for the contest. By the way, he says he feels bad about voting for the girl with the Valkyrie Knights outfit, but he was kinda pressured.” She shrugged. “You know how guys can be sometimes.” Derpy gestured to the table where she had been sitting. “C’mon, we can talk about it while we eat, ‘kay?”

Minuette was all smiles. “Sounds like a plan,” she told Derpy as she picked up the stuff from her table.

Two individuals sat on their porch, entwined and clearly enjoying the evening sky. One held a goblet of red wine while the other was just content to lay in her lover’s lap while reading from her tablet.

Without looking down, the first one said, “She’s back again.”

The second one looked towards the treeline; in the nocturnal distance, the evergreen pines sat undisturbed. “You sure? I thought that—”

“It’s been a while, true, but there’s still that part left. I know when something like this happens.”

The woman with the tablet reached up and kissed her lover. “Tell you what: it’s probably best that I deal with this. You check on the kids and I’ll take care of our little problem.”

The look on the first woman’s face contorted into concern. “You sure?”

“I don’t think she’ll be a problem, per se; I just think I’m better at dealing with this. Besides,” she said with a laugh, “it’s a school night and you’re the authoritarian parent. I’m the understanding one.”

The first one drained her wineglass and chuckled. “Well, you certainly understand me. And given that our oldest daughter takes after you, I suppose I need to be strict.”

“She’s just….”

“She’s just like you used to be, I know. I love that about both of you.” The first woman smiled, then gave her spouse a kiss again before heading into the house once more, leaving the one with the tablet alone.

The second one got off the porch bench, set the tablet down and dusted herself off, and then said, “Look, you’d better come out now. I’m going to assume you don’t mean any harm, but if you do…I’m pretty sure I can still create explosive blasts on call.”

A voice from the trees called out with surprise, “You can do that?”

That voice. She’s still young. The woman visually shrugged and voiced, “Pretty sure. It’s been ten or fifteen years since the last time I did it, but I’m sure it’s like riding a bike – you really don’t forget, but while trying to remember you probably run over a person’s foot or two.”

“Wow, all I have is super strength and some flash-stepping capabilities.”

The woman frowned; the newcomer was far different than expected. “What about the Sense?”

“My Pinkie Sense? Yeah, I got that.”

Best be careful; with that combination she could be trouble if she’s on the wrong side. “Well, come on out. I figure you’re not here to see two old married lesbians cuddle and watch the stars.”

The figure stepped away from the trees, revealing herself. “Well, actually….”

Pinkie looked around at the surroundings. It looked like the Everfree, but closer to Darkside or Mountainline than Canterlot or the inner suburbs. Funny, though; she didn’t see anything that looked like Mt. Shasta nearby, but clearly given the forest, this was either outer suburban or exurban, though probably not outright rural. The house was well-tended and looked like a farmhouse even though there was no farm. Two SUVs sat on the property, though she wasn’t familiar with the make or model.

But the biggest surprise was the woman standing there at the porch. Thin and beautiful, with short, straight hair showing the first signs of gray. Still, her clear blue eyes showed a bit of her youthful self, even though tempered by age.

Pinkamena Diane Pie…or what Pinkie assumed was her. Probably a couple of decades older, and clearly happily married to Sunset, given the earlier displays of affection and the golden band she wore on her ring finger.

“You look surprised,” the older Pinkie spoke.

“I just…yeah, it kinda is. I didn’t think I’d end up here,” Pinkie admitted.

“Do you need help getting back?”

Pinkie shook her head. “No, I don’t think so.”

“I suppose you’re not going to tell me how you got here, then,” the older Pinkie inquired.

“Probably for the best if I don’t. It’s…complicated.”

The woman sat down and patted the seat next to her. “Well, I’m going to presume you’re not here to harm me or my family, so….”

“Why would I do that?”

The older Pinkie sighed. “That…. Well, it’s a long story. The short of it is that my wife is an illegal alien in both senses of the word. The long of it is that even after all these years, we still have some enemies out there.”

“Enemies? Like Divine Right and the Black SIRENs?” Pinkie’s eyes narrowed. “Or like Ascot and Cicely?”

“Enemies like the Dazzlings, actually.” She held up her tablet, which was off. “There was a prison break upstate at the women’s incarceration center last month and Adagio, Aria and Sonata were three of the escapees. I’m sure they’ll be caught, but until then….” The woman shrugged again.

Pinkie frowned at the names. “But why would the triplets harm you?”

“Kid, you must come from a really different world if they’re not out for your blood.”

“Why would they be? They’re some of our closest friends – in fact, they’re Sunny’s cousins!”

The older Pinkie blinked at that revelation. “Yeah, you clearly come from a very different probability tree. Anyway, care for a Colta?”

“A what?”

“Soft drink – Colta is the big one out here. I take it that brand doesn’t exist where you’re from?”

“Not really. The big names are Coke and Pepsi.”

“Weird. Anyway, I’ll be right back, Pinkie. It is Pinkie, right?”

“Yeah, I call myself Pinkie, why?”

“I’ll explain in a minute. You have a seat and I’ll be right back.”

Pinkie sat down and looked at the sky. It was mostly the same, but different. The moon looked similar, for the most part, though there was something odd about it that she couldn’t put her finger on. Still, Sunset hadn’t said that this place was dangerous for her, and if there was one person out there that Pinkie trusted, it was her girlfriend. Sunset wouldn’t have left this reality thread inside of her if it would have meant harm.

A minute later, the older Pinkie came out with a plate of chocolate chip cookies and two bright yellow aluminum cans. “Here you go. Hope you like the cookies; Sunset’s the one that made them.”

“She did?”

“Yeah. She doesn’t let me cook when I’m at home. She says that between the restaurant and my show on the Cooking Channel, I have to have some time to myself. Besides, she works from home, so she handles most of that when I’m out in town or at the studio.”

Pinkie took a drink from the can; “Colta” was apparently the local equivalent of Dr. Pepper, though it had more of a cinnamon aftertaste. “You have a restaurant? And a TV show?”

A giggle uttered from the woman’s mouth. “Oh yeah! Cooking with Mina is the top-rated show on the channel. The producer’s been trying to get me to do a second show, one where we travel around the world, but with the kids not being old enough yet and…well, Sunset not having a passport or much legal identification, I’ve managed to convince her otherwise so far.”

Pinkie caught that. “Mina? As in Pinkamena?”

“Pinkie works great when you’re a teenager. Not so much when you’re a young chef trying to make a name for yourself as a serious culinary artist.” Mina frowned. “And it especially doesn’t work when your ex-girlfriend is still so bitter, even after all this time, that she manages to pull strings to get your SBA loan shot down.” She sighed. “But that’s a story for another day and hopefully something you won’t ever have to experience for yourself, kiddo. How old are you?”

“Sixteen. Seventeen in a few months, why?”

“Enjoy those years while you still can,” Mina said, with a hint of a smile. She leaned back in her chair and took a bite of a cookie, savoring it in her mouth. “For normal people those days go by faster than you can imagine. For people like us, however, they go by even faster than expected – given that you’re here and what you can do, I suspect you don’t have a normal school life.”

“Somewhat. It’s…it’s complicated.”

“No, it’s really not,” Mina told her. “Complicated is when you help your best friend after she’s been seriously injured and you two find out you have feelings for each other. Complicated is having an affair behind your girlfriend’s back, only for her to find out in college that you’ve been sleeping with your best friend. Complicated is….” Mina sighed. “Complicated is having to live with that responsibility. Granted, I don’t regret the life Sunset and I have built together, and at thirty-seven I’m a bit too set in my ways to change things. But I do regret how things ended between me and Shy.”

“You and Flutters?”

“Yeah, you’re both lesbian, right?”

“Actually, I’m bi and Flutters is straight. She actually has a boyfriend, though I’m not sure how he’s taking her sudden fame.”

“Sudden fame?” Mina shook her head. “Nevermind, don’t want to know. The Fluttershy I know…well, she’s mayor of Canterlot now. Part of the reason why we don’t live there anymore.”

“You don’t? I was wondering where this place was,” Pinkie admitted.

“Yeah. This is Arrowhead Creek. Just an hour’s drive northwest of Coast City.” The look of incomprehension on the younger girl’s face said it all. “And none of that means anything to you. Okay, Canterlot is about a thousand miles east of here, and we live on the west coast of the country. Coast City’s the second largest city in the country and where the entertainment industry is.”

“So like Los Angeles?”

“I guess; we don’t have that place here.” The two sat there in relative silence, eating cookies and drinking Colta, until Mina spoke again. “So, want to tell me why you’re here?”

“Because I needed to know something,” Pinkie said.

“Look…Pinkie, I’m going to tell you right now. If you’re looking at me and Sunset the way you are, that means that you and your Sunset are in a relationship as well, right?” The teen nodded. “Our lives…the life Sunset and I have here? None of it is going to be of any meaning to how your life is with your Sunset. You probably won’t have two daughters and a son. You might still have all of your high school friends, including – weirdly – those ‘triplets’ you mentioned. Hell, you probably have a great relationship with your Fluttershy.”

“That bad?”

“For Sunset’s 62nd birthday – or 35th, if you want to go by her fake ID – she wanted to get the gang back together. I closed down the restaurant for the day, just so we could have the party there. You know who was the only one that showed up? Fluttershy – and she did just so she could spit in our faces. She actually tried to call immigration on my wife! Fortunately – very fortunately – the fake IDs Sunset has looked real enough to fool the authorities and I know a few authorities myself thanks to my restaurant. But that was the point that Sunset had to realize what I already knew. The past is dead and buried, and it should have been left as is.”

“But what about—”

“Kid, just stop, okay?” The look in Mina’s eyes was wistful. “I already know what you’re going to say: something like it doesn’t have to end that way, or that you can’t believe things are like that. You’re just a kid, and it sounds like you come from a world where the numbers lined up in a way they didn’t here. Trust me: I miss them and think of them fondly, sometimes even Shy, despite what happened there. And I know Sunset does. But it sounds like you had three luxuries we didn’t, things I would rather not detail.” She leaned back in the chair again and looked at the sky. “Either way, those differences are like the Hummingbird Principle.”

“The Hummingbird Principle?”

“The beat of a hummingbird’s wings causes a tornado elsewhere in the world. It’s a theory where one small act causes a chain of events ending up in something big that couldn’t be foreseen.”

“Ah, you mean the Butterfly Effect.”

“Whatever.” Mina took a second cookie, chewing a bit before continuing. “The point is, if you’re looking for relationship advice from me regarding my wife, it’s not going to help you. Your Sunset is, presumably different than mine and unless yours is a sixty-four-year-old magically-crippled unicorn masquerading as a thirty-seven-year-old children’s book writer—”

“Thirty-year-old all-powerful goddess alicorn pretending to be a seventeen-year-old high school student.”

Mina blinked. “And you really think you’re going to get relationship advice from me? Hell, if Sunset still had more than a fraction of her magic left, I’d be outclassed! As it is, I’m the one with the magic in the family, and I haven’t used mine in years. I can only hope the kids didn’t inherit anything from us.”

“Why would they?”

“Because Pastel Chime, Starlight Glimmer and Aeon Soul are our biological children. I take it your world hasn’t developed a way to merge two womens’ genes and to have a perfectly healthy child?”

“There’s some studies being done on it if I recall,” Pinkie admitted, “but it’s only at the ‘we got lab mice to do it’ stage. Certainly nothing human, and besides, I suspect Congress is writing laws prohibiting it.”

“I had Pastel and Glimmy, while Sunset insisted on carrying Aeon. They’re our children and we love them. Being a wife and mother…it means more to me than the magic I have or the fame or anything like that. I know Sunset would say the same. I guess that’s pretty much the only advice I can give you: if you love your Sunset…don’t ever let her go. Don’t do what I did. Don’t get there the stupid way. That takes a toll on a relationship. If I’d been honest with Shy, sure we probably wouldn’t be friends, but I sure as hell wouldn’t have an enemy like her.”

Pinkie ate another cookie. “I can’t believe that I’m hearing all this. The triplets were your enemies? And Fluttershy is now, too? What about the others? Rares, AJ, Rainbow, Twily, Tavi?”

“I’m not familiar with that last name,” Mina said, ruminating over the thoughts until it came to her. “Do you mean Octavia Melody?” When Pinkie nodded, Mina said, “We were just acquaintances. The only real big thing I recall about her was that she was dating some guy named Vinyl Scratch, but aside from that, they didn’t factor much into our lives. And by Twily, I guess you mean Princess Twilight?”

“No. Twily is the human Twilight Sparkle,” Pinkie explained. “She’s Sunny’s adoptive sister.” A sudden pall crossed Mina’s face and Pinkie looked at her counterpart. “Did I say something wrong?”

“You couldn’t have known,” was all Mina said.

“Couldn’t have known what?” Pinkie didn’t care for the way her older counterpart was clamming up. “Look, if it’s something I need to keep an eye out for in our world….”

“I hope you don’t. If you are friends with those whores that you call ‘the triplets’ instead of the Dazzlings, then I hope what happened to us never comes to pass in your world,” Mina told her, venom clearly in her voice. A second later, she backed off and said, “Look, just let it go. You’re a bright and shiny kind of Pinkie, I can tell, one that probably has never seen anything really bad, and I—”

“I was gangraped courtesy of my first boyfriend, his supposed sister and my girlfriend’s at-the-time boyfriend. I had an abortion that’s probably left me infertile and I nursed a hatred for Sunny that ultimately made me suicidal. It took a lot for me to get where I am and a lot more to finally trust Sunny. She earned my love, but just as much, I learned to love myself again. And then I nearly lost the girl I fell in love with when she fought a monster that took her life – thankfully, she resurrected as an alicorn or I probably would have lost it for good.

“So, with all due respect, Mina, don’t you dare treat me like I’m some coddled child. Yes, you’re right that we aren’t the same Pinkie. Which means that what I’ve had to deal with is probably worse than what you had to endure.”

The two Pinkies looked at each other over a gap of silence for the longest time before Mina shook her can. “I need a beer if I’m going to tell this story. You need a reload?”

“I’m okay.”

“I’m serious. If you told me what you just told me?” Mina shook her head. “Nevermind. I’ll just get one.” She went back in the house and a second later came back with two bottles. “Bufadora Butterscotch Beer,” she said, popping the tops and handing one to Pinkie. “Sunset drinks Apple Valley ciders because it reminds her of Jackie,” Mina admitted as she took a drink. “Me? I’ve never cared for cider and really, not many beers either. Thankfully this one has a sweet edge to it and I was able to get an exclusive contract with the company for my restaurant. I’ve actually thought about buying the company in order to help them expand, but we have kids and college is always expensive.”

Pinkie hesitantly took a drink. She could taste butterscotch and alcohol, though thankfully it wasn’t too bad. She did hope she wouldn’t end up with a hangover, because explaining that to her aunt and uncle would be a problem then.

Mina, fortunately took that in mind. “Eat the rest of the cookies,” she insisted. “Extra food will help absorb the alcohol in the bloodstream, as I’m presuming you’re not legal to drink where you’re from.” She grinned, then continued. “Remember when I told you that Sunset lost her magic? That name is part of the reason why. After the incident with the Dazzlings, we thought things were going to die down. But then there was the Friendship Games, some annual sports festival CHS had with our crosstown rivals over at Crystal Prep. You have the same issue?”

“No, but that’s more because Crystal Prep is elementary and junior high where I’m from. K-8,” Pinkie supplied.

“Sounds nice. Maybe it would have been best if that had been the case.” Mina took another drink from her beer, then continued. “Of course, we couldn’t have known that at the school, there was one introverted, put upon little ball of neuroses by the name of Twilight Sparkle. A girl that had been picked on by several of the most popular girls there, and was a loner outcast. Now, I don’t know about your world, but in ours, normally that spells the kind of trouble that ends up with a teenager getting their hands on illegal weapons and a body count. But here, it was worse – much worse.”

“How worse?”

“The Dazzlings switched schools to Crystal Prep while they tried to find a way to get revenge on us. And for a girl like Sparkle, she was putty in the Dazzlings’ hands. It wouldn’t have surprised me if by the end she was just as much theirs in body as she was in mind – and she was very much their plaything, mindwise.” Mina paused, hunched over and curled briefly into a fetal position. “Because we took their magic away, they used her to find a way to try to get it back. And that went sideways so hard.”

Mina pulled up her tablet and tapped a few things on it, then handed it to Pinkie. “Here. This is the official report of what happened back then. When you’re done reading, I’ll tell you the rest.”

Pinkie sat and read for several minutes. Intense reading slowly turned to horror, and after a few minutes, she finally turned, ran away from the porch and towards a nearby bush, where she vomited repeatedly. She felt a calming hand on her back and turned to see Mina looking at her with concern.

“How…how could she?” was all Pinkie could say.

“Because she wasn’t human anymore. She’d become Midnight Sparkle, and Midnight was a creature not even the Dazzlings could control.” She pointed to the part of the report that had made Pinkie retch. “To this day, they’re still not sure how to explain what happened to those poor girls that Midnight first turned her powers onto. The closest thing that some forensic scientists could come up with was that the heat from the fire somehow fused their bodies into some unnatural abomination. But you and I know that fire doesn’t do that.” Tears then welled in Mina’s eyes. “And then, after what happened to Juni and Boysi, Sunset lost it.”

“Juni? Boysi?”

Tears streaked down Mina’s cheeks. “I guess they’re not a part of your circle then, which means they’re probably still alive. Juniper Montage and her twin sister Boysenberry. They were part of our group and between them, they had illusion magic. Twi – Princess Twilight – referred to them as the Spirits of Faith and Devotion, just as I was the Spirit of Joy and Sunset, after her change, became the Spirit of Redemption. You have something like that?”

Pinkie nodded. “If I remember correctly, Sunny says I’m the Element of Laughter.”

“Not much to laugh about in this story. Anyway, Midnight slipped the Dazzlings’ leash and instead of going after us, she decided to use all of her power for revenge against Crystal Prep and its students for what they did to her. She did this during the Friendship Games, and some of our own students were caught in it as well. Juni and Boysi, bless them, decided that we had to try to talk her down, to convince her that what she was doing was wrong. And for their selflessness and bravery, they….” The tears started flowing freely and Mina sobbed.

Pinkie reached over and hugged the woman and the two sat there for several minutes before Mina recomposed herself, leading them both back to the porch. “Thanks. I think I needed this.”

“Maybe that’s why I’m here. Not just because I need something,” Pinkie said, as if having an epiphany.

“Maybe you’re right, but I need to finish this. I’ve spent too many years bottling it up.” Mina wiped her eyes, then continued. “Their funerals were closed casket for a reason. Riri – Rarity – had been the one to see what had been done to them and just lost it. It was then that Sunset decided that Midnight was beyond redemption and that we had to save lives. And so….” Mina paused, then continued. “That’s the night my then-best friend burnt out nearly all her magic taking a life and containing the magical blast, nearly killing herself in the process. That’s when we had to use the rest of our magic to wipe the memories of what had actually happened, turning it into a complete lie.”

She held up the tablet. “This part? This part where the police said that Twilight Sparkle had snapped and built an arsenal that she used against her fellow students and that CHS students got caught in the crossfire? That was a lie. Twilight Sparkle, I believe, died when all that magic from the Dazzlings’ ritual entered her. Midnight was a monster – and we had to hide the existence of monsters from the real world. So a dead girl became a school shooter and decades later, no one really knows the truth, most certainly not her sister-in-law, who was a teacher there; or her brother, who was one of the first officers on the scene.”

“We did what we had to do to save lives. I’m not sure I’m proud of what we did, but I stand by the fact that we saved lives. No, I think it’s what we did after that destroyed everything between us.” Mina paused. “I can stop right now. I’m sure you don’t want to hear this about your friends.”

“They’re your former friends, I presume,” Pinkie stated. “I’m sure my friends wouldn’t.”

“They’re counterparts, kid. That means the potential is there – though I hope for your sake it doesn’t happen. For the next year, I spent most of that time helping Sunset while she was in her coma, and then eventually to walk again. I think that’s why we got closer. Shy was the smartest of us, and even though she was reluctant to do so, we pretty much convinced her to use her connections – even then, as a teenager, she somehow had some – to start placing the blame on the Dazzlings. Riri, Jackie and Dash did what they could as well, though Jackie was the first to balk at all of it. I mean, she was the Spirit of Veracity – how could she not?

“But we wanted revenge for what the Dazzlings, by proxy, had done to our own and we were going to get that revenge. And that’s ultimately what did us in as a group. Slowly we lost the bonds of friendship between us, replaced by conspiracy and a false camaraderie. And maybe that’s why I started my relationship with Sunset behind Shy’s back. She was so busy trying to pull the strings that she didn’t have time for us anymore, and if she hadn’t found out about me and Sunset, I don’t think we would have lasted beyond college.”

Pinkie took another drink, then stopped. Somehow any potential fun with drinking alcohol went out the window after all that. “What about now?”

“We really haven’t spoken much in years, truth be told. Sunset inviting them all for her birthday was a pipe dream, and we knew it.” Mina drained her beer, then stared wistfully into the nothingness. “Dash went off to college, got her degree in physical therapy and now she’s the girls’ PE teacher at Crystal Prep. I suspect that she probably felt she had to make up for what we did. Jackie went to college and then went to work for her family’s brewery – if I recall she’s the Vice President of Sales or something like that. I told you about Shy. And lastly, Riri?”

“What about Rarity?”

“Riri gave up everything, all her dreams and such. From the last time I looked, Sister Rarity works in a convent with the poor in Steeltown, on the other side of the country. She’s the one that came from a wealthy family and we all thought she would go places. Now? That’s gone.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Pinkie said, looking at her counterpart, no longer seeing the woman that was far luckier than her, but instead someone that had survived a hell just as bad as she had and was fortunate enough to end up with the one she loved, even if that love had cost her.

“So you see,” Mina said, running a hand over her short hair, “I’m sure you came here looking for how to make life with your girlfriend as perfect as ours is. Well, our lives aren’t perfect, not by a fucking longshot. We have to live with the ghosts that we created and the lies that we built up, because it saved a world even as it destroyed our own. And yes, I love my wife and I’m happy for what we have – but that happiness was Goddamn earned through blood, sweat and tears.”

Mina’s blue eyes bored into Pinkie’s own. “If you really, truly love your girl, you owe it to her to be honest and true and faithful to her for every day. To be kind and generous, devoted and ready to redeem yourself when you err. You have to embody all of the Spirits, or Elements or whatever the fuck you call them in your world. Not just one, but all of them. Because your life might be easier than mine is, or it might end up harder. But as the old saying goes, ‘this before everything: to your own self be honest.’”

“This above all: to thine own self be true,” Pinkie said, parroting the version from her own world.

“Right.” Mina looked at her tablet, and the time. “Look, I need to break this short. I have to catch a flight in the morning to Windy City – we’re doing an on-location there, and I hate to rush for my flight. You’re welcome to spend the night, if you want. I can tell the kids you’re a messenger from Equestria – they know about Sunset’s true origins.”

Pinkie shook her head. “No, I think I got what I wanted. And I don’t need to focus on your life. I need to focus on mine.”

Mina gave the teen the briefest hint of a smile. “Don’t be a stranger.” Pinkie started walking towards the trees, pausing only to wave once more before vanishing into the shadows.

After a second, Mina said aloud, “How much did you hear?”

“Enough. She seems like a very brave kid. Certainly with everything that she went through. Although,” Sunset said with mirth, “I can’t see me as an alicorn. I can barely see myself as a unicorn anymore, even with the few times I go back home for research.”

Mina snaked her arms around her wife’s waist. Even at thirty-seven, Sunset still retained a bit of her youthful gloss, the likely result of what little magic was left in her. With her shoulder-length wavy hair, she looked more sophisticated than she had when she was younger, and Mina found that hot. “I don’t know if I could handle you being an alicorn. I can barely deal with it when your sister comes to visit.”

“Oh, lay off Razzie, okay? She’s only been an alicorn for a few weeks, and she did fix your car after she accidentally melted it.” Sunset giggled. “Anyway, I should have come and introduced myself to your little shadow.”

“No, I think that would have just made things worse. She was looking for perfection and not realizing that our lives aren’t theirs and their lives aren’t ours. While I admit I’m a tad bit curious about their world, I’m old enough to know to that it’s nothing more than a facet of our own lives, the road less traveled. Someday, I’m sure she’ll come to the same conclusion.”

“I see. So you want me to contact Twi and ask to see if she can strengthen the dimensional veil so that this doesn’t happen again?”

“No need. Despite what I said, I don’t think she’ll be back. Call it a hunch.” Mina reached forward and kissed her wife and Sunset complied, the two women loving each other in the cool night air. After a second, Mina broke it off and said, “Well, I need to get some sleep if I’m driving to the airport tomorrow.”

“Who said anything about sleep?” Sunset said in a sultry voice. “The kids are in bed, and I’m going to be without you for a whole week. So, you can sleep on the plane. Tonight, you have your wife to take care of.”

Mina and Sunset wordlessly grinned before locking hands together and heading into their home for the night, and to the rest of their own lives.

It always started the same way.

No matter how her dreams were, whether she was a forest nymph, a bird, or an elf (one time she even dreamed she was a flying dolphin with a pink flamingo following her, strangely enough!), the dream always had the same feeling of primeval beauty and peace, the concrete and neon canyons of Las Vegas blending into and becoming a beautiful verdant forest that drew a stark contrast from the desert in the opposite direction.

And as always she would be drawn to the forest to laugh and jump and play, to leap and vault. Her name was Raspberry Beryl, but her family had always called her Ribby, both because of her initials – RB – and because of her love of frogs, particularly tree frogs. She’d somehow picked up their habits, her mother had said, and in time she’d become quite the athlete, going for pole vaulting, long jumps and similar pursuits. It had been her mother that said she would grow up to be a herpetologist or an Olympic athlete, and somewhere along the way, RB got merged with “ribbit” (the onomatopoeic, but wrong, croak of a toad, as tree frogs chirped) and eventually she became known to her family as Ribby.

But here in the dream, where the deserts of Las Vegas became lush, verdant freedom, she didn’t need a name. She didn’t need anything but the eternal expanse of bountiful green and the endless carpet of blue sky above. She was happy.

And then, as it always did, it ended the same way.

Whether it was by fire, decay or some other sinister means, the beautiful world would give way to dross and pain. There would be screams and grunts, blood and horror. She would lose her ability to jump, her ability to be free – her legs would melt into ash and poison. And all she could do would be to stare into sulfuric eyes of madness and the eternal stench of ethanol. Then she would feel herself being ripped apart.

“Froggie’s got no legs no more…” a sinister – and familiar – voice would say.

And she would wake up screaming.

Raspberry flopped and floundered, the bed soaked in sweat and other things. She could vaguely hear a voice, begging for her to stop, to calm down, to relax. Eventually the world regained its sanity and clarity, and Raspberry broke down crying, with a strong pair of arms holding her close, assuring her everything would be okay, that she was safe and loved and there was nothing to fear anymore.

Raspberry knew that to be a lie – there would always be something to fear. At the same time, however, she instinctively responded to the warm, sororal voice that spoke to her. Her older cousin, Phoenix Temple. Though they were six years apart in age, Phoenix was the closest thing Raspberry had to an older sister, and now served as her de facto legal guardian. They lived in the penthouse of the hotel owned by their grandparents – Raspberry’s actual guardians – but given how busy they often were, Phoenix had stepped in to serve as Raspberry’s caretaker and day-to-day lone family member.

The two sat there in the embrace for the longest time as the older girl let the younger girl’s pain and anguish play out. Finally, Phoenix looked at her and asked gently, “Are you feeling better?”

Raspberry, saying nothing, merely shook her head.

Phoenix wiped her cousin’s eyes and told her, “It’s okay, Ribby. You’re safe, you know that.”

“But everyone doesn’t want me around!” she wailed.

“That’s not true. I wanted you to come live with me, remember?”

“But I’m a bother, and I’m ruining your life, and—”

“No, you’re not.” Phoenix kissed the girl gently on the forehead. “You’re as close to a little sister as I get, so you’re not a bother. And none of this was your fault. None at all.” She sighed and said, “Okay, go ahead and take a shower, then change into some new pajamas and we can sleep together on my bed.”

“You sure?”

“We both need our sleep. You have both your appointments today, right?” Phoenix then grinned impishly. “Plus, you’re getting to skip school because of it.”

“But won’t they get mad? It’s my third day at school, and I don’t—”

“The school already knows. And I asked Twily to get your homework from your teachers. You’ll be fine, I promise. And if you’re worried about your friends, we can have dinner at the Sugarcube Corner Café and invite Coco and Crackle.”

“Okay,” Raspberry said softly.

“Okay, now get going, okay? I need to change too.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay. You’ve been through a lot, Ribby, and I’m here for you.” The younger girl nodded, grabbed some clothes from the drawer, and went off to the shower.

Left in the room, Phoenix sighed, looking at her cousin’s soiled bed. It was the third time this month and unfathomable in a normal girl her age. But then again, normal teenage girls weren’t traumatized to the point Raspberry had been. Normal girls didn’t get put through the hell that she’d been through.

And they didn’t get put through that hell by their own fathers.

“I’m glad you’re dead, Uncle Split,” Phoenix hissed to the empty air. “For what you did to Aunt Di and Ribby? I hope you rot in hell, you bastard.” She then looked at the bed and made a mental note to call housecleaning services in the morning; fortunately, the maids assigned to clean the penthouse were thankfully both sympathetic to Raspberry’s plight and discreet to the situation as a whole.

Still, I’m going to have to tell Dr. Wellmind about this, Phoenix sighed.

Dr. Wellmind looked at her patient. Having read the reports, it was amazing that the girl hadn’t been institutionalized, given everything she’d been through. She hated thinking that; she was of the opinion that every mental wound was like a physical one; in time, they could be healed. But what Raspberry’s father had done to the girl, physically, mentally and emotionally? If Wellmind was a lesser-skilled practitioner of her art, she would have had the family check her into the Mental Health Institution at Horseshoe Bay, especially after everything she’d been through.

Still, it would be a long, painful climb for the young girl. Especially when she had a physical reminder every day of her life.

“Ribby?” she asked the girl as she lay on the psychiatrist’s couch, “do you want to talk about it?”

“I had the dream again, Doctor,” she said softly. “I was walking through Las Vegas Forest – that’s the name of the forest that the buildings and casinos turn into in my dream – and I can hear the sounds of nature. I even have Burp on my shoulder.”

Wellmind ruffled through her notes. “Burp is your….”

“Red-eyed tree frog,” Raspberry told the woman. “Pheo got him for me after….” The girl trailed off, then winced, blocking out bad memories.

Wellmind made a note to ask about previous pets; given what she’d been told, the memory Raspberry was having was an understandably bad one. “It’s okay, Ribby. Go ahead and continue.”

“Anyway, Burp and I are walking through the forest, and I see a beautiful castle on the mountain in the distance. It’s…it’s like it’s hanging off the side of the mountain but still attached, like in a fantasy novel. But then the sky turns black and I have the same end to the dream as before.”

Wellmind sighed; she hated to do this part, but it was her job. “Go ahead and tell me, Ribby.”

“I don’t….”

“I know you don’t, dear. But sometimes getting better means facing your fears.”

“The eyes are staring at me, melting my legs. I can feel the blood between my legs flow and there’s pain and screams and moans and laughter and—” Wine-colored eyes turned to pinpricks of fear. “No…. I can hear him say the words, that I can’t run anymore, that ‘Froggie’s got no legs no more….’ And I want to run and scream and protect myself, but I can’t!”

Wellmind decided that was enough; she wasn’t going to put this girl through this again. “Okay, you can stop now.”

But she wasn’t stopping. “Daddy, no! Please, no! Daddy, it hurts! No, Daddy, no!” Raspberry began to hyperventilate, as her body shook.

Wellmind ignored protocol and took the girl in a tender hug. “You’re safe, Ribby,” she told her. “You’re safe.”

“No, I’m not safe,” she cried. “I’m damned.”

“It was not your fault. You had to protect yourself.”

“No, I—”

Wellmind’s lilac eyes looked into Raspberry’s own. “No. Your father was a troubled man, dear. What he did to you and your mother? None of that is your fault. None of it is.”

“Yes it is!” Raspberry cried. “I should have died, not Daddy. I should have died!”

An hour later, Wellmind spoke to three adults in the room. Phoenix, of course, was there, attentive and taking notes. But it was the presence of the two older adults that underscored the importance of this meeting: Ascot and Cashmere, Raspberry and Phoenix’s grandparents. A former airline pilot and a costume designer, respectively, the two had parlayed their youthful luck in the stock market into a vast financial and real estate empire, with ownership of the Retreat Inn in its many incarnations, from the Marriot Renaissance Retreat Inn in downtown Canterlot to the Golden Retreat Inn and Casino in Las Vegas and so many other locations around the world.

Wellmind looked at the two adults, seeing their vitality still at their age. Neither Ascot’s burgundy hair and goatee had gone gray, and his dark blue eyes shone through with a cunning intellect. In fact, as she understood it, the only acknowledgement to his age was his walking cane, the result of injuries sustained during a plane crash where he’d saved everyone aboard. As for Cashmere, with her curly cream-and-white hair and golden eyes, she still had the youthful step in her gait and the business acumen – and schedule – of someone a fraction her age.

Ascot adjusted his glasses, disturbed at the latest report. “Doctor, what can we do? I’ve already lost my precious daughter to that monster; I will not let my granddaughter fall to that bastard’s memories.”

“I don’t mean to pry, but what else can you tell me about Raspberry’s father?”

“Split Decision,” Cashmere began, “well, he was a successful divorce lawyer in Vegas, as best as you can get there, as I understand it. He didn’t have any family; he was an orphan and well, we tried to be the family for him he didn’t have. But I guess he had demons, you could say, and they overtook him.”

“What kind of demons?”

“Based on what Diamond Worth – our daughter; she ran our properties in Vegas – said, he’d become an alcoholic and was falling apart for some reason. Maybe the toll of being the best divorce lawyer in town became too much for him.” Cashmere looked sad. “I wish we could have gotten him some help before he—”

“Before he committed the atrocities he did on his own wife and daughter,” Ascot said in a cold tone. “I won’t forgive him for what he did. Never.”

“Can you tell me more? I know this is painful for you both,” Wellmind asked.

Ascot looked at Phoenix. “Pheo, dear, will you leave us?”

“Grandpa, if this is about Ribby, I need to know,” Phoenix told him. “I don’t even know the full story, and if I’m going to watch over her, I have to know.”

“We would rather you didn’t, dear,” Cashmere told her. “We know you loved your uncle and aunt—”

“Not after what he did to them,” Phoenix shot back. “Not after what this has done to Ribby.” She looked at her grandparents. “I’m going to be a teacher, which means that I’m going to see a lot of nasty things as the years go by,” she reminded them. “Hiding things like this from me isn’t going to do anyone any good, especially if I can be in a position to help her.”

Cashmere laid her hand on her husband’s arm. “She’s right, dear,” she told him.

Ascot deflated with a sigh. “I wish I could just protect you both,” he told Phoenix. “But I’m no good as a grandfather if I can’t.” He was silent for the longest time, and then began. “When the police showed up to their house, per the report, it…it was madness. Split had lost his mind and he….” He buried his face in his hand, feeling hot tears burn his face as the reminder to protect his loved ones came up front and center once more. “He left a note that said that he knew Di was going to divorce him and take Ribby with her, and he snapped. He….” He couldn’t say anything more, unable to vocalize the words.

“He raped and murdered Di in front of Ribby,” Cashmere said in a flat tone. “He then set fire to Ribby’s pet collection of tree frogs, right in front of her. When she tried to run away, he blamed his dead wife for trying to teach her how to be a frog and he….” She was silent for a time, but continued: “He stabbed his own daughter in the legs with a kitchen knife. The doctors got to it in time, and thankfully she’ll be able to walk without a cane in time, but the injuries to her muscles…it ruined any chance for her to go into professional athletics. But it gets worse than that.” Tears streamed down the matron’s face as she forced herself to continue. “He…he raped Ribby, according to the police report. Went on her like some sort of out of control animal.”

Wellmind fought to keep control of her emotions. In the corner of her eye she could see Phoenix’s hands go to her mouth in shock and horror.

“He told Ribby that since she was a worthless whore like her mother, he was going to treat her like one. And then he was going to kill her like her…her mother. But in his insanity, he dropped the butcher knife and she grabbed it. To protect herself…Ribby had to kill her own father in self-defense, stabbing him repeatedly until the knife reportedly snapped off in his spine.”

“My God,” Wellmind whispered, horrified.

Ascot, broken, finally found his voice. “The neighbors, who were apparently used to hearing Di and Split argue, didn’t do anything, didn’t call the police or anything of that sort. It wasn’t until the morning, when the landscaper came by and found that Di’s pet poodle had been eviscerated on the front lawn that the police were called. And by then, Ribby had been with her dead parents, violated, for God knows how many hours.”

“I…I may have to call a colleague in on this one,” Wellmind told them. “Not that I wish to refer her somewhere else; no, she needs stability. But I am not trained to handle that sort of trauma. I have a colleague and friend on the other side of town, a Dr. Chrysoberyl…she’s more familiar with childhood traumas of these sorts. With your permission, I would like to bring her in on the case.”

“Whatever it takes to ensure she’s fine,” Ascot insisted, a look of heartbreak in his eyes. Cashmere leaned against him and cried.

Phoenix, still taking it in, looked down at the ground, floored. What could she say? What was there to say? Though she’d been born in another country and traveled far more extensively than others her age, she wasn’t worldly by any means. She had never known what monsters were…and now she did. And worse, she’d been related to one.

“I’m going to protect her,” the words came from her mouth, unbidden. The older adults looked at her, but she wasn’t talking to them. “I’m going to protect her and make sure she gets her happiness back. Whatever it takes.”

“Pheo, dear….” Cashmere began.

“No, Grandma. Ribby needs me. I am not going to let her down. I won’t!”

Ascot gave his older granddaughter a smile. “I know you won’t, Pheo. But I fear this may be too much for you.”

“Maybe,” she admitted, “but Ribby needs me. That’s more than enough reason not to give up.”

The drive to Sugarcube Corner Café was uncomfortable silence. Phoenix wasn’t sure of what to say to her little cousin. What could she say? Raspberry had been through an ordeal that defied comprehension. How could anyone do that to anyone? How could a father do that to his only child? The most her father had ever done to her was to raise his voice. How could Split Decision do that to his wife and child?

“Is everything okay?” Raspberry asked her.

“Everything’s fine, Ribby,” Phoenix told her absently, the anger creeping into her voice. None of it was intended towards Raspberry in any way, shape or form.

“You hate me, don’t you?” Raspberry said in a nearly-inaudible voice. “You hate me because I’m damned, because of what Daddy did to me.”

Phoenix slammed on the brakes on instinct, glad a split-second later that no one had been behind them. “Don’t ever say that,” she said in a choked voice as she quickly pulled the car over. “We’re family, Ribby. I love you dearly and I’m going to be there for you always.”

Raspberry just looked at her, tears in her eyes. “But I’m worthless,” she told the older girl. “I’m—”

“No. Don’t ever say that, Ribby.” Phoenix looked at her cousin, her green eyes piercing in their severity. “You are not to blame for what happened to you. Your mother isn’t to blame for what happened to her or you. Your father…he was sick, and….” Phoenix couldn’t say anything anymore as she simply reached over and hugged her cousin, not letting her go, the minutes ticking by as the two sat there.

“And that’s how things are going right now, Light,” Phoenix said as she took a drink from her beer. Her old friend had come over for the night after Phoenix had taken her cousin to dinner at the Sugarcube Corner Café. Sure enough, her friends were there, and thanks to housekeeping having gone the extra mile, a new bed had been placed in Raspberry’s room, which she was currently using for a sleepover with Coco and Sweetie.

“Man, that sucks,” Light said, absently. In the years since her graduation, she’d traded in her long braid for a short ponytail and her fashion sense had also been retired, given her personal choice of career as a biologist for the California Department of Fish and Game. Phoenix at first had a hard time reconciling her fashionable friend with the girl now sitting on the couch wearing jeans and a flannel shirt, but somehow Light managed to pull it off.

Taking another drink from her beer, she said, “So I guess I should cancel the date, then? I mean, it took me a while to find a guy willing to go out with you – no offense, but your social life has gone to hell since you became a mom.”

Phoenix rolled her eyes. “I did not become a mother, Light.”

“Bullshit you didn’t, Pheo. You got promoted to parent. Sure, if you ask Ribby, she thinks of you as her cousin and big sister-type, but if you were to hug her while she was asleep, she’d probably call you ‘mommy’ or something.”

Phoenix’s eyes narrowed. “Look, I didn’t ask you over so you could give me grief about raising Ribby—”

“And I’m not, Pheo. Personally, I’m impressed that you’re doing that. I’m also not surprised, given you just said the R word without batting an eye.” She leaned forward. “I just want you to realize what you’re potentially giving up here. You’re my bestie and I want what’s best for you.”

“That’s not important, Light,” Phoenix told her as she took a drink from her own beer. “What’s important is making sure that Ribby is healthy and recovers from this. She’s fourteen and heavily traumatized to the point that she regresses at times. I can’t let her do that to the point that she’s completely dysfunctional when she reaches our age. If that means I’m out of the dating pool until my thirties, then that’s what it means.”

“That’s giving up a lot, girl. Even Umi would tell you that.”

Phoenix gave her friend a sardonic look. “And speaking of which, where is that troublemaker?”

Light laughed. “Studying, would you believe? She’s actually taking her citizenship test so she can stay here with Ruby Bedazzle. I never thought she’d ever get serious, but I guess Ruby managed to put a ring on it.”

“Probably won’t last,” Phoenix grunted. “I love Umi like a sister, but she’s got a roving eye and how many ‘true love’ relationships has she ruined because she ends up cheating on her girlfriend?”

Light drained her beer, then got up to get another from the fridge. “And see, that’s what you get for not paying attention. Umi and Ruby have been together for three years now – you know that’s a lifetime as far as Umi is concerned.”

Phoenix blinked. “Seriously? You and I can’t get boyfriends to stick around long term and our friend the lesbian who cheats on all her girlfriends finds the true love of her life?” She facepalmed. “Oh, it is so not a fair world!”

“Well, at least you’re doing better than me in the long run,” Light told her.

“Oh? How so?”

She grinned as she brought two beers over, one for herself and one for Phoenix. “Once they grow up a little, guys like girls who can be responsible parents. It just takes them longer to figure out than we ladies do.”

Coco woke up to find Raspberry standing outside on the balcony, looking down at the city below. This high up, the midnight lights of Canterlot were a string of pearls against the late summer sky, the clear night showing the moon gleaming down as just one more accompaniment in the festival of lights that was Canterlot at night. Across from where they stood, Coco could see the hotel her own parents owned, the Four Seasons hotel being a rival to the Renaissance Retreat Inn. But that was just business, her father had told her; it didn’t affect her friendship with Raspberry in the slightest nor should it.

“Ribby?” Raspberry stood out there, transfixed, looking at the lights, unmoving, as if she were hypnotized. Coco climbed out of bed to join her in the warm air. “It’s midnight. We have to go to school tomorrow, so we should get some sleep.”

“It’s warm,” was all that Raspberry said as a soft, warm breeze caressed her, blowing past them and ruffling the tan-skinned girl’s hair and nightgown. “It’s like home.”

Coco knew her friend could be homesick at times; from what she understood, the move from Las Vegas had been quick and unplanned. She knew that something had happened to Raspberry’s parents, but not the full details. The truth was probably that they sent her to live with Raspberry’s grandparents because of a really bad divorce – several girls that Coco knew had divorced parents, and Raspberry was probably the same.

“Do you miss it?” Coco asked.

Raspberry nodded. “But I can’t ever go back,” she said sadly. “It was Paradise – literally. And now Paradise is gone.”

Coco felt her friend’s sorrow and decided she needed to do something about it. Hugging her close, Coco chirped, “Then I guess I’ll have to just make sure that we make it so that your new life here is even better.”

“You mean that?”

“Yeah, we do.” The two girls turned to see the third of their trio, Sweetie Belle, standing there in her pajamas, rubbing her eyes. “Now can we go back to bed? We need to get some sleep or else we’re all going to be a mess for school tomorrow!” Sweetie went over and tugged on the other two girls’ arms. “Let’s just get back to bed, okay?”

“Not unless Ribby joins us!” Coco insisted, then looked at the sad girl. “Okay?”

Sweetie yawned. “As long as we can go back to sleep. I don’t know if there’s a scouting badge for sleeping, but right now? I want to earn it.”

Raspberry looked at her two friends, then at the Canterlot sky, and then giggled. For some reason, right now, things felt…manageable. Not really right, per se, but at least that she didn’t have to stand there and wonder what it would be like if she just departed the balcony.

She walked back into her bedroom before her friends worried further. She was a burden to them already – there was no reason to make it even worse.

Raspberry found herself in a field of flowers she’d never seen before. They were very beautiful and smelled pretty. She commented so to Burp, but Burp, only being a frog, probably didn’t understand. It was okay; though, because at least she wasn’t alone.

However, she also knew this was usually when she would be attacked by the monster. The creature that haunted her dreams, bringing nothing but horror and ruin. And sure enough, the eyes of madness came, boring down on her, holding her fast and separating her from Burp. She readied to scream, knowing those nightmarish, terrifying words that she heard every dream.

She closed her eyes, praying for it to end.

“Froggie’s got no legs no more…” the voice said, as a storm of knives rushed towards her, all ready to chop her to pieces.

She screamed.

“No.”

She opened her eyes, confused at the new change.

There, standing in front of her, holding a golden shield up which deflected each missile, was herself – only not so. This version of herself was older, stronger, braver, surer. On her right shoulder was Burp…but on her left shoulder was a Fujian green canary. Her cousin Phoenix had told her once that the Chinese believed that the canaries were baby phoenixes, and that they breathed fire and were always loyal to their masters.

For some reason, Raspberry could see the look on her older self’s face. It was a look of fierce determination, a visage that said no matter what, she would not give up, and she would not give in. That no matter how many times that dark face appeared, Raspberry would face it, stare it down and drop it into submission.

And just like that, the hailstorm of deadly projectiles vanished.

And just like that, she could see the satisfied look on her older self’s face.

Raspberry sat up in her bed, awoken by the strange change in the dream. What had happened?

She looked around the room, searching for a sign. In the dim light she could see Burp’s illuminated eyes, the friendly eyeshine of her beloved pet looking at her. Asleep in their sleeping bags, both Coco and Sweetie dozed, neither aware of their friend’s sudden wakefulness. She turned to look at the alarm clock, seeing it read three in the morning, a time when her mother said that magical things happened.

Was that what had happened to her? Was that not really her, but some alternate version of her, a brave, gentle strong soul, protecting her? Or was it actually all just a dream?

“Burp, do you know?” she asked her loyal frog.

Burp chirped once, an enigmatic answer. But she smiled anyway; if nothing else, she knew he was watching over her.

With that, Raspberry turned to go back to sleep. At least tomorrow would be another day, once it came, and another chance to hope that someday she could be worth something and not just a burden to kith and kin.

She dreamed of a brave older self for the rest of the night.

“My life, nothing was easy till now
Hope like the morning will paint the dawn
More than ordinary (deep down)
Make it more than merry (deep down)
Take me to the jamboree (deep down)
And shine a light on me
Draw back the curtains and smile –
Everything's wow!”

Oblivious to the song coming over his alarm clock’s speakers, a young man with brown hair lay on the bed, trying to ignore the world. There was something about the feeling of waking up in a different bed, he mused. Well, it was more than just the bed – everything was new, truth be told.

“Ren?”

A new bed, a new room, a new life – everything left behind in Seattle with his father. Once, they had been a happy family: his parents, him and his younger sister, but then his father…well, when the dust settled and the ink on the divorce papers was dry, his mother Quaint Cottage was so desperate to just leave that she insisted he and his sister just pack their clothes and leave everything behind. Off to a new city…though technically it wasn’t really new, either.

“Ren, honey? Time to get up.”

They had moved south to California – Canterlot, to be precise. His mother had been from there originally and technically they owned a “vacation house” down there that had been owned by his grandparents before they retired to Arizona. After the divorce, their mother made it their full-time home, and after a quick sprucing up of furniture and a hefty IKEA bill, they were “home.”

Of course, it didn’t feel like home to him, not with the friends he’d left behind. But at least his mother was happy and wasn’t crying all the time anymore. No more screaming between his parents and no more dealing with his father’s new girlfriend, a girl that really wasn’t much older than Ren himself.

He wondered how long that relationship would last, but the truth was, he didn’t care. He and his sister backed their mom in the divorce, both because she needed them and because they felt what their father had done was just beyond the pale….

But at least he stayed in Seattle, being the all-important CIO for Xconomy Systems. His mother, just a “lowly” real estate agent, could get by anywhere.

So here they were in Canterlot, just days after school had already started, ready to get by—

“RENAISSANCE CANVAS!”

Renaissance sat up with a start, looking at an older woman with blue hair and wine-colored eyes looking at him. “Do you know what time it is, young man?” she asked him.

He rubbed his bedhead-draggled hair. “Crap – did I forget to plug my phone in before going to bed?” He reached over and grabbed it, tapping the screen to find…nothing. He looked at his mother awkwardly. “Guess that makes it a good thing I set my alarm clock, right?”

Quaint just sighed. “Except you slept through that, too.”

“Hey, how was I to know that the station I usually listened to in Seattle is on the same frequency as the 80s station here? Seriously, how did you listen to this stuff growing up?”

“That song is from the 90s, young man; and besides, that is not the point,” Quaint argued. “Look, you’ve got about thirty minutes to go before you’re late to school. And I gather you don’t want to be late for your first day of school, right?”

“Well, given it’s already the third day of the school year, I’m technically already late,” he pointed out.

“Then you’d better get dressed,” she said as she stepped out of the room to let him attend to personal business and get ready for the day.

No sooner did he enter the kitchen than he found his younger sister, Juniper Montage, sitting at the kitchen table, looking annoyed at him.

“Well, if it isn’t Sleeping Beauty himself!” she teased with a smile. “Waiting for a kiss from a handsome prince to wake you or something?”

“Yeah, well he sure isn’t going to go after you, not with your attitude,” Renaissance replied back.

His sister responded by picking a froot loop out of her bowl and flinging it at him with her spoon. “I swear, Ren, if we’re late because of you….”

Renaissance sat down at the table as Quaint set a breakfast Hot Pocket, fresh from the microwave, in front of her son. “Okay, hurry up and eat, you two. We need to get going and I need to make it to the office for Orientation.”

“Well, maybe you should’ve made some toast, Mom, so Ren could run out of the house with it in his mouth like Yuka does in High School Dazzle,” she giggled. “Hey, maybe Ren can borrow my old uniform!” She sighed. “I liked that uniform.”

“Nothing wrong with you wearing it as normal clothes,” Renaissance told her. “As it was, I thought you were glad you didn’t have to wear a uniform anymore.”

“Yeah, but then I saw some girls from the local private school – Zacherle, I think it’s called? – and they looked so cool and sophisticated!” Juniper replied. “Heck, I’ll bet the uniforms at Holy Cross look pretty cool, too, even if it’s a Catholic high school.”

Quaint finally sat down with her coffee and a small bottle of yogurt. “Unfortunately, with moving us down here, having to get all-new furniture and tapping the settlement money until I sell a home, I couldn’t afford to put you two in a private school,” she told them. “Fortunately, Canterlot High is the best high school in town. Trust me, I went there when I was your age and look how I turned out.”

“We’re doomed,” he said flatly. His mother mock-glared at him, then laughed.

A copper-colored BMW SUV still bearing Washington state plates pulled up in front of the school. “Here we are: Canterlot High, Home of the Wondercolts – your new school!” Quaint said.

Juniper groaned. “Well, we can tell Mom’s from California – she still drives like a maniac!”

“I heard that, young lady. Now go carpe diem and all that! Aren’t you two excited?”

Renaissance gave his mother a dry look. “Excited? For school? Do you even know us?”

“Yeah, they probably don’t even have a Film Club or anything, or whatever it is that Ren does – the ‘I don’t have a life’ Club?” Juniper groaned.

“You’re cruisin’ for a bruisin’, June,” Renaissance told her, and she in turn stuck her tongue out at him.

“Well, you two will just have to make do. Now give me a kiss goodbye.”

Juniper groaned. “Mom! Come ooooooooooooooooooooooon! Kids are watching!”

A few minutes later, the pair watched as their mother drove off. “You know, June, with a dramatic performance like that, you should just ditch Film altogether and join me in Drama.”

Juniper shook her head. “As if. If I wanted a career in a dying medium, I’d go join the school newspaper or something. Besides, you say you’re going to go out for Drama, but last week it was art. And the week before that it was CG graphics. And the week before that it was music. And the week before that….”

Renaissance shrugged. “Hey, I’m good at everything, okay? Not my fault.”

Well, here we are, he thought to himself. But as he looked to the front of his new school, with its rearing horse statue seated on a marble plinth, his sister’s criticisms of his interests faded into the background buzz.

This is it, he told himself again. Time to start my new life.

After a quick check-in with the administrative office, Juniper immediately took off towards their classes. Never mind that she and her twin brother had most of the same schedule, this was high school and she had to see him on a daily basis – no way was she going to hang out with him at school as well!

For his part, Renaissance just sighed. His sister had a flair for the dramatic that he didn’t, his current interest in acting notwithstanding. She wanted to be a director just like their uncle, Canter Zoom, who was one of Hollywood’s go-to moviemakers. That was a problem for Renaissance himself, ironically; coming from a family that had artistic talent oozing from their pores, while he had inherited the family talents and traits, sometimes it seemed that he also inherited his mother’s general lack of interest in any of it. Her parents had been a famous nature photographer and a celebrated sculptor, while her older brother was Canter Zoom and her younger brother was noted comic book artist Inkshades. And Quaint Cottage? Well…she was a real estate agent. A very good one, but just that.

And that’s how he felt sometimes. All the talent in the world and seemingly none of the drive.

He walked down the hall towards his first class, noting the friendly atmosphere in the school. At his old high school, The Lakeview School, everyone was so focused on pushing to be the best that there was little time for friendship or relationships. Sure, he had friends, but that was more because he knew them for years and years.

And now he was gone and they probably hadn’t even noticed. So much for friendship. He groaned inwardly. Well, I guess it’s like that old saying about how friendship is like magic: In the end, it doesn’t exist and it’s nothing more than an illusion. He looked around. Maybe if he was lucky, he’d figure out who the popular kids were, so he could fail to be like them.

“You’re new here, aren’t you?”

He turned to see…a goddess. A girl, slightly taller than him, but drop-dead gorgeous – the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life. She wore a simple black t-shirt and jeans, but there was something about her that…he really didn’t know how to describe it. Maybe magical, as weird as it was, was the word. A vision of absolute beauty, with cyan eyes and flowing hair like ruby and gold that burned like a warm, inviting bonfire.

He remembered at his old school being practically in love with the school’s alpha bitch, a girl named Radiant Starlight. Radiant had nothing on this girl, flat out.

After a second, he recomposed himself. “Uh, yeah, sorry about that. Still getting used to everything here.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said with a smile. “Welcome to Canterlot High,” she said, offering her hand. “I’m Sunset Shimmer. You can call me either Sunset or Sunny. And you are?”

He took her hand and the moment he shook, he could feel a strange strength from her. The feeling of unrestrained beauty and power, wrapped up in the touch of an angel. Oh, man, I hope I am not going ga-ga over this girl, he told himself. I do not want to embarrass myself like I did around Radiant.

“Oh, I’m Renaissance Canvas,” he told her. “Just Ren is fine.”

“Well,” Sunset began, “I—”

“Sunny!” Another girl appeared before him, and while she wasn’t as perfect as Sunset, it was clear she was a looker. She was shorter than him, with slightly tanned skin, expressive purple eyes and long flowing hair of alice-blue and ivory. She was cute as hell and for a moment, Renaissance wondered how the hell he managed to live a life where he would meet two beautiful girls in the same day, both of which would probably have nothing to do with him after a few more seconds.

“There you are! I need a favor!” the other girl said to Sunset.

Sunset grinned. “Wow, must be pretty important if the Great and Powerful Trixie isn’t speaking in third person!”

The newcomer, whose name was likely Trixie, Renaissance noted, groaned. “Come on! You know I only do that when I’m performing!”

“Yeah, I know, Trix. Just messing with you. What’s up?”

“You know how I’m doing the show for the kid’s stage at the County Fair this weekend, right? Razzmatazz was supposed to be my assistant this weekend, but then her mother found out and given what happened over the summer she doesn’t want her staying out late, so she had to bail on me and I can’t find a replacement!”

“Doesn’t Lyra or Bonnie usually—”

“Lyra’s parents are out of town for the week,” Trixie deadpanned. “You know what that means.”

“Means it’s a good thing they’re both girls,” Sunset giggled. “Well, I would offer, but I can’t do it. It’s the County Fair, so we’re going to be busy as hell at the café, and that probably writes off Pinkie and Soni as well. Have you asked any of our other friends?”

“Yes,” Trixie said, ticking responses off her fingers. “Tavi and Flutters are going to be performing on-stage, Rainbow has a tournament out of town this weekend, Rarity was freaking out about the fake saw for the act, AJ has to work this weekend, Ari’s teaching the archery class at the Fair, and Dagi said this weekend is usually busy at the pizza place.”

“And you probably would’ve asked Twily, but she’s doing the student mentoring this weekend for the incoming freshman at her school.” When Trixie nodded, Sunset sighed. “Sorry, that’s just about everyone.”

“Great, just great,” Trixie groaned.

“Hey, if I find someone I’ll send them your way. Can you afford to hire someone?”

“Not really,” Trixie admitted. “I had to spend some money to upgrade my gear just for this performance.”

“Then I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it, okay?”

Trixie beamed and reflexively hugged her friend’s arm. “You’re a lifesaver, you know that?’

Sunset shrugged. “You’re my friend. Not going to leave you hanging.”

“Thanks! Well, I need to get to my locker so that I can get ready for classes. Thanks again!”

Trixie, so caught up in the joy of having Sunset bail her out of a mess, rushed off, without looking where she was going. A second later, she collided into Renaissance, knocking him over and continuing to move on without batting an eye.

Sunset bent down to help him up. “Sorry about that. Trixie can get a little excited.”

“Well, she knocked me over without even stopping,” Renaissance said as he took Sunset’s hand. “I’d be mad if that wasn’t so impressive. Is she a linebacker, or do I just need more protein in my diet?”

“Hey, as long as you’re okay….”

For some reason, Renaissance saw an opening and took it. Feigning injury, he moaned, “Oh, woe is me! I think I see my end approach! Give my money and my love to my mother, tell her I thought of her at the end! Don’t give any to my sister, though – she doesn’t deserve it!”

Sunset laughed and gave him a smile. “Well, I guess you’re okay if you can put on that kind of performance.”

He bowed. “I do try.”

“Drama student?”

“Sorta. I dabble here and there.”

“Well, since you’re new here, I can show you around. We have about five minutes before first period.”

“I’d really appreciate that,” Renaissance commented. “Might be good to get the lay of the land.”

The two went on a quick tour of the school, from the cafeteria (with their surprisingly tailored lunches and not the typical public school fare), the music room (where Fluttershy was busy practicing her guitar work and briefly waved hi), the general room, where most of the other clubs shared (and in particular, a morning support group was there, all looking nervously at Renaissance until Sunset decided it was time to move on), and the courtyard garden, where the garden group met. There, he saw his sister talking to a girl with brown eyes and shaggy aquamarine hair, but the latter had captured so much of his sister’s attention he decided to leave things as is.

During this time, however, he decided to try to impress Sunset, though he knew that it was going to be a tall order. She was already gorgeous, and given that she’d offered to pay for Trixie’s assistant, that implied that she was rich enough to not worry about the money, either. What is she, a princess? So he regaled her about his meager cooking skills (she liked that he made apple crumbles and mentioned someone named Applejack), the fact that he could play some guitar but he was a better singer (she mentioned that the girl with the guitar, Fluttershy, was an accomplished musician but was still trying to adjust to something), and that she herself wanted to play guitar, but never quite found the time to learn.

The odd thing when they went to the general room was that Sunset was reluctant to talk about the group meeting there at the moment. He’d heard about the serial killings over the summer, as well as the multi-school scandal about the rapes earlier in the year – could those girls have been survivors of one or the other? Maybe both? At that point, he opted not to pry.

It was then that the school bell suddenly rang. “Sorry, but I gotta cut this short,” she said. “Last thing I can do though is to get you to your class. Which one do you have?”

“I…” His face fell as he realized not only was his schedule on his phone, but he’d never thought to get a paper copy – and he didn’t want to look like any more of a dork in front of this beauty.

However, she caught on instantly. “Forgot it? No sweat – I can take care of that; there’s still time.” She had him follow her to the computer lab, where she quickly logged in and tapped away at a few things. A few seconds later, a nearby printer spat out a printed copy.

“Wow, how did you…?” he asked, shocked that this girl could actually get things done. Forget wondering if she was a princess; Renaissance was now wondering if she was a literal angel or something.

Sunset blushed. “I…kinda have elevated permissions because the school principal is my mom’s best friend, so she trusts me with a few things. And I try not to abuse them. Especially since our new vice principal is a hardcore stickler for the rules.” She looked at it briefly before handing it to him. “Art, huh?”

He shrugged. “I guess.”

“Well, unfortunately, that’s on the other side of the school, so I can’t quite walk with you over there. But….” She looked around and spotted someone. “Snails! Snips!”

Two boys his age approached. One was short and stocky, kinda like a carrot-topped teenage version of Goin’ Ape, while the other one was a complete beanpole, lanky and with turquoise hair that made him look like Alfalfa from The Little Rascals. Both of them had the look of complete and utter losers practically tattooed on them.

My kind of people, he sighed.

“You wanted something, boss?” the shorter one asked in a scratchy voice that sounded like puberty was well overdue in making an arrival to his larynx.

“You guys seriously don’t have to call me that anymore,” Sunset sighed.

“Kinda force of habit at this point,” the other guy said. His voice was low and slow in the “short bus” sort of way.

“Well, maybe you two can help me out here: we got a new guy, and his first class is Art, if you can show him the way over there.”

“No sweat! That’s actually our first class as well,” the short one said, offering his hand. “I’m Snips, by the way, and this is my main man Snails here.”

“Uh, yeah, hi!” Snails said, as if it had taken some great effort to think about his words.

“Heya. I’m Ren,” he said.

“Okay, he’s the new guy, so you two take care of him, okay? Counting on you.”

“You can count on us, boss,” Snails said, affecting a salute. Sunset just chuckled and shook her head as she wandered off, leaving Renaissance alone with the pair.

“Follow us, newbie,” Snips said with the sound of someone who was a master at thinking himself farther above his natural level. “We’ll set you straight.”

“So,” Snails asked. “Ever seen a grown man naked?”

Ren looked at him oddly. “The fuck?”

“Snails, you doof – how many times do I gotta tell ya?” Snips said, pointing at his shirt. “It’s Groanman Nekkid – that’s the name of the band, okay? You say it the other way, people are going to think you’re some sort of superfreak.” Moving his hand in an aside, Snips said, “Don’t mind Snails, okay? He’s a great guy. He’s just got Assburgers.”

“You mean Asperger’s?”

“No, I mean Assburgers – guy’s head’s up his ass half the time because he speaks before he thinks,” Snails said, laughing at his own joke. “Seriously, though, I don’t joke about that shit often, especially since my mom’s actually from Asperg, so she’s kinda sensitive about that joke.”

“Really? Wasn’t aware there was a place like that.”

“Oh, yeah, man,” Snails said. “Asperg, Germany, population about 15,000 as of the last German census. Primary town economy is—“

Snips rapped a hand against his friend’s chest. “Dude, you’re doing it again, okay? No one likes a know-it-all, got that?”

“Oh, heh, sorry. Was just memorizing it in case Trixie ever—”

“Dude, you are sorry as fuck if you think Trixie’s interested in that shit,” Snips responded, though without a bite in his tone. “Don’t mind him, he’s completely head over heels with Trixie Lulamoon. She’s one of the girls that goes to the school here. Personally, I think she’s a 7 out of 10, but hey, love is what love is, right?”

For Renaissance, classes seemed to dash by in a blur. His class schedule actually had him zig-zagging between the two ends of the school for the morning, which had enough time for him to meet Principal Luna, who was friendly and vivacious; and Vice Principal Neighsay, who looked like someone pissed in his cornflakes on a daily basis. Whereas the former was about complimenting and challenging her students, the latter was an authoritarian bent on apparently controlling said pupils.

Finally, the lunch bell rang and based on the crowds, he followed them off to the cafeteria, which turned out to be surprisingly better than expected. He was about to get in line, when he saw both Snips and Snails, waving over to him. He wandered over, glad to see some friendly faces in the perpetually blank crowd.

And yet…. He felt something…odd. He couldn’t describe it in any concrete way, but if he had to put words to it, it felt like…her. The beauty from before. His eyes instinctively went to the wall, and found her, sitting there, gathered around a group of incredible beauties in their own right, from the elegant to the earthy, but all of them gorgeous in their own way.

His mind briefly went to places where it probably wouldn’t have…

…only to be brought back to reality by the snap of fingers. “Hey, buddy, as much as I think they’re hotties as well,” Snips told him, “ya gotta keep some perspective. I mean, maybe – maybe – the only one who might give you the time of day as well as her digits is Pinkie, but that’s because I heard things about her.”

“Heard things about her?”

“Yeah. Like she’s gay and doesn’t want to admit it or anything, so she flirts with guys a lot. Heard she’s goin’ out with another hottie, name of Compass Rose. She’s too high to set your sights on as well, if you ask me.” Snips grinned. “But no worries, in due time, you’ll probably bag yourself a hot piece of babage around here.”

“Yeah, like I got with Trixie,” Snails said, pointing a thumb at his chest.

“Trixie ain’t yours yet, pal, not until you’re knockin’ boots,” Snips reminded him. “Anyway, shall we get some lunch?”

Lunch consisted of a vegetarian pizza (which turned out to be better than Renaissance had expected), a salad and a flavored water. Snips had gone for the double cheeseburger, mac and cheese and a Coke, while Snails had brought his own lunch with him. The three talked about various things, with Renaissance answering as much as he could about Seattle, while his two new friends told him as much about Canterlot as they could.

Snips, as if a wise sage, listened only half the time, his eyes scanning the crowds as if for some hidden treasure. Finally, he said, “Hey, Rennie, check this out, man: see that girl over there? The sweet thing over there? She looks like she’s more your style, dude.”

Renaissance looked over to where another group of girls was sitting and focused on the girl in question. “Pass,” he said instantly.

“Dude, look at her. Yeah, she’s not as hot as the boss and her posse, but still, she’s got that kinda sorta jay-ne-say-kwai?”

“Je ne sais quoi?” Snails offered.

“What the fuck do you know about French, Snails?” Snips asked him.

“Hey, it’s what I looked up, okay? Anyway, why would you turn down such a prime babe like that, Rennie?”

Renaissance shook his head. “That’s my twin sister, Juniper.”

“Oh.” Snips paused. “So, can I have her digits?”

Finally, the school day came to an end. The afternoon classes went by like a blur, and it didn’t help that one of them was taught by Vice Principal Neighsay himself, who seemed to focus more on trying to get them to memorize the raw data without understanding why they needed to. Renaissance really hated teachers like that, and thankfully Neighsay seemed to be, as far as he could tell, the only educator here that focused on that particular style.

He did, in particular, like the drama teacher. Ms. Valencia had been a child actress and model before she mostly gave it up for a teaching career (though she still did some indie films now and then, she added); she was extremely passionate about her art and it showed. It also helped that she was cute as hell, although Renaissance knew that he didn’t stand a chance with her anyway – and if he did, that would be the least of his problems.

“So how was your first day?” Renaissance turned around to see Sunset standing there, a smile on her face.

“I…uh….”

Sunset smiled again. “Don’t worry about it; I just happened to be running late for stuff and saw you. Nothing else.”

“I…see,” Renaissance said. “Look, Sunset….”

“I also appreciate you taking Snips and Snails under your wing,” Sunset added, and this gave Renaissance pause. “Don’t say you didn’t; I was watching and I saw. The fact is, I really do appreciate it. Those guys…they’re sweet, but they don’t have too many friends and people tend to look down on them a lot. I try to keep an eye out for them, but I can’t as much as I’d like. So having someone who will prevent them from falling under someone’s sway, like Flash Sentry, for example, is someone they need.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Oh, I think you do; you don’t have to be so modest,” Sunset told him. “I can sense that about you. You’re a caring person, and it shows.” Sunset held her books close to her chest, and Renaissance forced himself to calm down. “Just keep an eye out for them, okay? I’d consider it a personal favor if you did.”

“I…um…”

Sunset gave him another sunny smile and Renaissance thought he was falling in love despite himself. “Well, I need to get going, but thanks again for looking out for them. If you ever need anything, just let me know, okay?” She then walked off towards the student parking lot.

“OHMIGOD – YOU KNOW THE PRINCESS?” Renaissance turned and saw his sister looking at him with complete shock.

“Princess?” he asked.

“You don’t know? Sunset Shimmer is a princess – an honest-to-God princess! She’s a princess of France!” Juniper looked fit to be tied. “My new friends told me all about it!”

“June, France is a democracy – they don’t have royalty,” he told her. “Besides, I highly doubt an actual princess would be attending a public school.”

“It used to be a monarchy, dork – she’s a part of that family! But apparently she was lost here and adopted by locals and just recently found out what she really was. My friend Debonair Lace told me about it – she’s in a club with Rarity, one of Sunset’s best friends!” Juniper squeed. “Isn’t it great? Her life is like a literal fairytale – street girl finds out she’s actually a real princess!”

Renaissance scratched the back of his head in confusion. “Funny, she didn’t strike me as the princess type.” But of course, he knew that wasn’t true. He was completely enamored of her, and he wanted to know more. She actually talked to him!

For the first time in his life, Renaissance Canvas might have a chance to be something more than he thought he was.

A couple of hours later, a pair of girls were seated at the Burger Shack, going over spreadsheets and other documents.

Setting down her burger, Trixie looked at Sunset. “Thanks again for going over all this with me, Sunny. Usually I go over this stuff with Lyra, but with her being…um…‘occupied’…this week, I needed someone to look this all over with me.”

Sunset nodded. “No problem, but why me?”

Trixie gave an awkward smile. “No offense, but for some reason, after you taught me the bian lian trick, it was clear that you knew something about magic. I mean, you don’t perform, but….” Trixie was quiet for a moment. “Sorry if I brought up something painful for you. I know your life hasn’t been easy.”

“It’s okay. I have no idea why Ms. Faustus taught me all of that,” Sunset lied, hating every moment of it, but she had to keep up the masquerade. “Maybe she intended me to go into a life of crime someday and I just happened to be the child she stole. I don’t know. But at least it’s useful.”

“Yeah, it is, thanks. So you don’t think the multiple illusions are too much?”

“Not really, but do you think you’ll have enough of a Pepper’s Ghost in order to pull it off?”

Trixie’s fingers slid over her tablet to the image she had of the stage she’d be working on. “If I place the props here, here and here,” she said, “hopefully that should give me enough cover to set up the pepperboxes for the Pepper’s Ghost effect. Add a fog machine to act as lensing, and that should cover it. My uncle Presto pulled it off last month in Milan with a lot less space and props, so the idea should be sound.”

Sunset leaned back in her chair, impressed; even if Trixie didn’t know how to use real magic, her skill at prestidigitation was unparalleled. “I’m impressed, Trixie, really.”

“Thanks. I mean that. And you don’t have to pay for the assistant.”

“I don’t mind, really,” Sunset said. “I mean, you need the help, right? And in the end, it’s just money.”

Trixie took another bite of her burger before continuing. “One, you’re going to spoil me like that; and two, isn’t your girlfriend – or is it girlfriends? – going to get jealous.”

Sunset sighed. “That obvious, huh? Look, Trixie, I’m not—”

“You don’t have to tell me,” Trixie assured her. “Given all the grief my mother gives me, you know I know who’s on the gaydar and who isn’t. It’s just that it’s obvious that you have Pinkie and Rose competing for your affections right now, even if you were focused on that new guy. Who is he, anyway?”

“Oh, so you noticed him, huh?” Sunset asked.

For her part, Trixie blushed. “Yeah,” she admitted. “He’s kinda cute. So who is he?”

And with this, we get into one of the main storylines of meanwhile... This one is a story we've really wanted to tell, and if you wonder how much? Well...at one point, we were actually going to make it into a game (a visual novel) that we were going to give out to our fans for free.

We'd actually did some work on backgrounds, script, music and some such before we realized that it wasn't going to be anything that we were going to be able to finish in a timely manner (I mean, seriously, you waited four years for 7DSJ to go through its motions, right?) so we sadly had to give it up and turn it into a normal story.

That being said, we're definitely doing that here and now, and we hope you enjoy. Additionally, if anyone would ever like to see some of the art, music, etc., just let us know. We'd be more than happy to share some of that stuff, although maybe some day it might make an appearance in something else. You never know....

“Shimmy!” Night Lily rushed up to her, gasping from heavy running.

“Hey, you okay, Lil?” Shimmer asked her friend.

“No! Are you kidding? My world is ruined!” Tears were streaming down her friend’s face, ruining her mascara. “My life is over!”

Shimmer sighed; Lily was always melodramatic. “Want to tell me what’s going on?”

“Do you remember my date with Strongarm last night?”

“That hunky Scottish guy you keep pining over?”

Lily began bawling again. “He’s seeing another girl! And I have proof!”

“What, did you catch him when you met up with him?” Shimmer’s eyes narrowed in anger. At that moment, she wished her sister would visit soon so that Sunset could teach her how to use some sort of spell to mess with Strongarm, if that was the case.

Lily shuffled her feet. “Well, no, but….”

“But what?”

“When I got there, he was on the phone with some other girl – some German girl!” She balled up her hands in frustration. “I bet it was Raffinesse, that hussy! She’s had her eye on him all this time!” Lily started bawling again. “And then while he was in the bathroom, I grabbed his phone and looked at it.”

“Wow, that’s really classy, Lil.” Beachcomber, with Priceless following behind, joined them. “And no, you don’t have to bring me up to speed, Shimmy. I already heard the blow-by-blow from Price here.”

“Yeah,” Priceless sighed. “It gets real interesting.”

“Well, I copied the number down and as soon as I find Raffinesse, I’m going to give her a piece of my mind!” Lily stammered, wiping her eyes. “How could she ruin the heart of a maiden in love like me?”

“Maiden?” Beachcomber said skeptically, crossing her arms.

“Beachie, you really don’t want to go there,” Priceless warned her.

“I’ll have you know that Olhar Nobre and I did not go all the way,” Lily growled. “So yes, I am still pure.”

“Pure bullshit,” Beachcomber said with a grin.

“Beachie….” Shimmer warned, then turned to her other friends. “Price, would you do me a favor and take Lily to go get her makeup fixed before class starts? Last thing we need is for Raffinesse to see her in this state.”

“Yeah, of course. Sure thing,” Priceless agreed.

“Lily, give me that phone number, okay? I’ll do some looking into it and make sure that’s the case.”

“But…but….”

“Look, I see how Strongarm looks at you, okay?” the flame-haired girl said with a smile. “No guy like that’s going to cheat on you. There’s probably a reasonable explanation.”

“I hope so,” Lily sobbed. “I’ll text you the number.”

A few seconds later, Shimmer had it and as she waved her friends off, she sighed. Right now, she could use some of her twin sister’s particular skills, but she didn’t have those. Fortunately, she had some assets of her own to tap into.

She just hoped that it wouldn’t look too bad.

“You know, mujer, you owe me.” The speaker was a boy her age, with shoulder-length red hair near the same color as hers, but with beige eyes and a smoldering smile. At the moment, he was at a keyboard, typing away. “Perhaps over dinner sometime?”

“Cordoba, remember what I told you? I’m not ready for dating just yet. Especially after my recent issues with Vlamwacht,” Shimmer told the boy.

Cordoba Alcazar looked at the girl seated next to him. “And I have no idea what you were thinking when you found his fancy. I warned you, did I not? He only has eyes for royalty and nobility, because he’s trying to score points.”

Shimmer crossed her arms and gave the boy an even look. “And you aren’t?”

Cordoba laughed. “As if. Remember, I may be a member of the Spanish royal family, but I am illegitimate – a bastard,” he told her. “Though my mother and I are well taken care of, I will hold no title or rank within the family, and though my relatives are nice, I would hardly think my uncle the King would formally make me a prince. Even in the Court of the Bourbons, such a thing would be impossible.” He gave her a wolfish grin. “In some cases, it’s even worse than being American.”

“You’re not helping your case here, Cord.”

He shrugged. “Point made. In any case, I can confirm that whoever it is that you’re looking for, the number is not that of our young miss Raffinesse.”

“Are you sure? I know Lily and while she can be a bit high-strung, she’s also good at recognizing voices.”

“I’m quite sure,” Cordoba told her. “I know for a fact that she was elsewhere occupied.”

“Oh?”

He flicked the mouse over to a familiar website. “Is this enough evidence for you?” He turned to screen so he could show her. On the screen was a Facebook page, one Shimmer was intimately familiar with. And on it, was her one-time romantic interest, Vlamwacht, making out with Raffinesse over on the Seine. The picture looked as though he’d selfied the whole thing, and the date of the post matched.

Cyan eyes narrowed. “That bastard,” was all she said.

“I thought you weren’t interested in him any longer?”

“I’m not…but it still doesn’t mean he’s not a bastard.”

Cordoba laughed. “Perhaps, infanta, perhaps. So now that you know, would you be interested in finding out what I uncovered about that phone number?”

“What’s it going to cost me? Saturday date at Disneyland?”

To her surprise, he shook his head. “That would be gauche, bonita, and you know it. No, all I want to know is why.”

Shimmer sighed; she really needed to learn magic from Sunset so she could do a lot more of this on her own. “Lily is interested in Strongarm, but she thinks that he cheated on her with Raffinesse. She told me she went out with him and overheard him flirting with a German girl, and we only know one particular German girl that’s more interested in being a slut than some ice queen.”

“That’s a rather harsh statement, don’t you think?”

She grinned. “I blame the American in me.”

Cordoba laughed again. “Well, I suppose you’ve earned this.” He moused over to the next browser window. “This is the number that Strongarm probably called then. It’s popular amongst a lot of guys at school as of late.”

“A German sex phone line?”

He shrugged and admitted, “I’ve even called it once.”

“You’re a cad, Cord.”

“Honestly, it was just idle curiosity, because I came across the commercial on YouTube while I was watching something else.” His fingers danced over the keyboard, bringing up the site in question. He then went into his browser history, bringing up the specific commercial. “If nothing else, if the girl in the commercial is the actual girl on the phone – and I don’t see why she would be – well, no offense, bonita, but while you’re cute, she’s sexy. And sexy always gets a man’s attention.”

Ignoring his backhanded compliment, Shimmer instead focused on the screen and the commercial playing. She didn’t know much German, but she knew enough to figure out what EROTISCHER TELEFONSEX probably meant.

Worse, she knew the girl onscreen. But not as well as the one person whose help she was going to need.

Sunset’s phone immediately started ringing as the first rays of light began to climb over the horizon. Groaning, she absently tried swiping for it a couple of times before she gave up and opened her eyes.

I swear, can’t a goddess get some sleep? Admittedly, as an alicorn she no longer technically needed to sleep, eat, etc….but she liked sleeping, eating, etc. It kept her mother and aunt tethered to reality, it kept her cousin and her friend tethered to reality, and even as the lone Alicorn of Earth, it did the same for her, too.

Even if I could probably just completely metabolize everything and not have to use the restroom ever again, she thought to herself. A second later, she realized what she was thinking about and the ickiness completely woke her up.

Reaching for the phone, she immediately saw who was calling her. “Shimmy? It’s six in the morning here. What’s up?”

“Sis! I know this is crazy, but can you come to Paris? We need to talk.”

Sunset blinked. “Yeah, no pressure or anything. You are aware the farthest I’ve ever considered teleporting to before was to LA, and even then it was chain teleporting, not to mention the fact that I never actually tried it.”

“Look, it’s really important and I wouldn’t bother you right now if I didn’t think it was urgent.”

Sunset banished the remainder of her sleepiness away. “You know it’s a school day, right?”

“I know; that’s how I found out – at my school! It’s really important!”

Sunset sighed. If there was one person on this world aside from her family that she couldn’t disappoint…it was her “twin sister”. Shaking her head, she said, “Okay, Shimmy. Give me a place where I can meet you and then give me thirty minutes. I need to cover my tracks.”

“Sure, I’ll text you. I need to let my friends know I can’t hang out with them this afternoon. See you soon, sis.”

Despite everything, Sunset smiled. “Sure thing. See you in thirty.” She immediately cast two more spells, one to get refreshed for the day and a second to put on clothing. She then checked the weather in Paris to make sure what she was wearing was okay, then immediately made a phone call.

The voice on the other end sounded just as tired as her. “I take it there’s a reason you’re calling me at 6:10 in the morning, Ms. Shimmer?”

“Good morning, Ms. Celestia. I need a favor – I need someone to excuse me for school today. Wing and horns business.”

“Sunset…is this going to be a regular thing? I…I’m not the principal of CHS anymore. That would be Luna’s job.”

“I….” Sunset paused for thought. “I thought it would make more sense to ask you. And no, I don’t want this to be a regular thing. I want a normal life, not chasing down every little crisis on this world. It survived before I got involved….”

“But we didn’t know what was really out there.” Celestia paused on the other end. “Fine. I’ll pull some strings, tell them that I gave you a special educational assignment. As an assistant superintendent, I’m allowed to occasionally use some dispensations for students. But I can’t do this all the time.”

“I know. I’ll have to figure out something.”

“However…I want to know what this is about when you’re done with whatever it is, Sunset. I think your parents, Luna, Sable and I need to discuss this. As an educator…as your mother’s friend…I don’t want you doing this on a regular basis. You are still a growing woman, Sunset and you need to be a normal teenager, even if the truth is anything but.”

“I know. Thanks, Ms. Celestia. I’ll tell you as soon as I’m back from Paris.”

“Paris?”

“Long story. Really long story.” Sunset then hung up, then went to her computer and started doing calculations. She knew her family would be waking up soon and the moment the triplets smelled anything was wrong, they would demand to go with her. Likewise so would Twilight and Octavia – she couldn’t allow them to risk whatever was happening to Shimmer.

A second later, she finished her calculations. A second after that, she memorized them.

A second after that, a young girl vanished, replaced by a maize-colored alicorn, burning with power.

Sunset teleported herself outdoors…

…then shot off into the air, immediately reaching supersonic once she was high enough.

Several minutes later, five girls rushed into Sunset’s room. “Sunny!” Twilight called out. “Did you—”

“Wait – she’s not in bed,” Octavia noticed immediately. “Something’s up.”

“Yeah, something’s up alright.” Sonata immediately went to the keyboard. “We have ballistic calculations from here to Paris.”

“Paris? Shimmy?” Aria asked.

Adagio sighed. “Okay, whose turn is it to tell Aunt Velvet this wonderful news?” They all looked fruitlessly at one another, and then back to Adagio, who facepalmed. “Great. And I just got off being grounded, too. Thanks, girls.”

A mid-afternoon breeze fluttered across the sky, blowing onto all who were visiting the Eiffel Tower. For most of them, this legendary symbol of Paris was a treasure, a once-hated piece of architecture that the Parisians had thought to be a scar on the skyline, and yet now, over a century later, it was a beloved part of French culture.

But for Sunset Shimmer, right now it was the best place she could think to be on a school afternoon where her friends and fellow students wouldn’t interfere. Being a tourist trap, even a beloved tourist trap, it would be a place where they wouldn’t go on a regular basis. Denizens of Paris and its suburbs, after all, saw the thing every day.

So as she leaned against the railing on the top platform, she knew she would be alone for the moment. The champagne bar wasn’t currently open, and by a small stroke of luck, no one else seemed to have any interest in spending €15 to take the elevator to the top floor, giving her both a gorgeous view and complete solitude.

“Wow! This is impressive,” she heard from behind her and turned to see Sunset Shimmer standing there, in her alicorn form, looking through one of the telescopes. “This reminds me a lot of Canterlot…well, the one I was born in, I mean. The view from the palace is just as breathtaking.”

“Sunny!” Shimmer went over and glomped her doppelganger just as Sunset resumed her human form.

“Easy!” Sunset laughed. “It’s only been a day or two since we last saw each other, Shimmy.”

“You’re my sister! I’m supposed to miss you anyway!” Shimmer pouted before giving her twin a wide smile. “Seriously, though, it’s great seeing you again.”

“Yeah, but I can’t make a habit of it – this is going to cost me a school day,” Sunset reminded the younger girl. “So what’s up?”

“Let’s go get some coffee and I’ll tell you all about it.”

A few minutes later, the two were at the restaurant on the first floor. “And so that’s everything,” Shimmer finished. “I know that it seems strange, but when I saw it, I had to tell you in person. This isn’t exactly the sort of thing you can just do over email, you know?”

Sunset nodded; her twin had a point. “Yeah,” Sunset said, watching the offending video on her phone. “Thanks for letting me know about this, Shimmy. Really.”

“Hey, she’s my friend too, you know. Obviously, you’re closer than I am, but I got to know her as well and I don’t see why she would do this.”

“Well, have you given consideration to the fact that it might be—” When Shimmer merely gave Sunset an even glance, the latter chuckled. “Okay, I guess I kinda deserve that one.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t hold it against you,” Shimmer said with a smile. “But what are you going to do?”

“Look into it. Best place to start is Germany, since this is all German.”

“Have you ever been there before?” Shimmer asked. When Sunset shook her head, Shimmer nodded. “Well, fortunately for you, I have. Let’s get going.”

“Are you sure that’s okay, sis?”

“I think Mom would understand,” Shimmer assured her. “Besides, safest place in the world is probably being right next to my sister, who’s a literal goddess, right?”

“Yeah, I guess. Okay. Let’s get going then.”

One heavy description, a teleport and a few minutes later, the two girls ended up in a small German border city by the name of Offenburg. As the two walked down Lindenplatz, Shimmer said, “Mom and I usually stop here whenever we drive through Germany. She loves the place and I suspect that if she’d been born German, she would want to live here.” She then looked at her sister side-eyed and asked, “So what’s the plan?”

“I need to get my hands on a phone system,” the alicorn replied. “You don’t happen to have all-European access on your phone, do you?”

“Thought you’d never ask.” Shimmer handed over her phone and Sunset started fiddling with it, taking the time to look up stuff. “Sunny, are you sure you know what you’re going to do?”

“Not in the least.” Sunset moved forward a bit before plopping down on a convenient park bench. “I mean, what can I say? What would you say?”

Shimmer sat down next to her. “Good to know that the goddess can be human at times,” she said with a smirk.

Sunset sighed. “Shimmy….”

“No, I meant that as a compliment, sis.” Shimmer leaned against Sunset. “We’re the same person, though different dimensional copies. And you are, as far as I’m concerned, my sister. And that means that we need to have a bond with each other. But how can you have a bond with anyone if you’re so far above them that what is just normal for you is completely fantastical and amazing for others? You already started with that sort of life, given what you really are. And each step just takes you further out past the demarcation line. So it’s good to know that at the end of the day you’re still human.”

“Funny that you would say that,” Sunset said with a smile, as she continued to search through Shimmer’s phone. “Okay, found it. Give me a second.” The phone, buoyed in a mist of cyan energy, wafted up from Sunset’s hand, the screen spitting out virtual images. Tiny holograms appeared around the two of them.

“Use your magic and snare what you saw earlier, okay?” Sunset asked her.

“How do I do that?” Shimmer asked in reply.

“Just focus and think as though you’re drawing a circle around the picture in question. You can even trace the circle in the air if you want, though eventually you should become strong enough to just do so with your mind.”

Doing as requested, Shimmer used her finger to trace around the image. As she did, a red trace of light enveloped it.

“Good, now hold it,” Sunset told her. “Just relax and keep focusing on it, okay?”

“Sure,” Shimmer told her, “but what are you up to?”

“Just follow my lead,” Sunset told her, and dispelled the other images, focusing on that particular one. A new spew of information jotted out from Shimmer’s phone and a tendril of Sunset’s magic traced a line across the various data coming out of the device, moving faster and through each bit until it stopped.

“Gotcha,” she said, and flicked her fingers.

A man suddenly appeared, the look on his one of studious analysis, which soon vanished as he suddenly realized he was no longer where he was originally.

“Was ist dis?” he spoke, looking around. “Wo bin ich?”

Sunset waved her hand. “We don’t have time for niceties,” she said sternly. “We have questions – you’re going to have answers.”

His eyes widened at the two twins standing there. “Vat are you?” he gasped, then blinked. “I’m…I’m not schpeaking German, am I?”

“Congratulations, and welcome to the world of English,” Shimmer said, getting what Sunset was doing and rolled with that. “We have questions, and like she said, you’re going to give us answers.”

“I don’t ansver to little girls,” the man said defensively, pulling his reedy body stark straight.

“In case you hadn’t noticed,” Sunset told him, “you’re not in your usual location, and we’re wielding incomprehensible power that should make you shit your pants. You are at a severe disadvantage, and unless you want to be turned into a frog, you will tell us what you know.”

“Vat?”

“You heard her,” Shimmer said, taking a chance and imagining a ball of fire in her hand. At once, her magic complied, creating a miniature ruby inferno in her palm. “We could also do worse.”

The man paled, finally realizing what he was in the midst off. “Fine! I’ll tell you vhatever you want! Chust…chust don’t hurt me!”

Sunset gestured to the picture. “According to our files, she works for you. Who is she?”

“Seltenheit? One of our pest – vy do you vant to know?”

“Let’s just say that we don’t trust you and we think she’s in danger,” Sunset ventured.

“Nonsense – sche’s one of our pest; vorked for me for years! I take care of all of mein girls,” he told her. He then looked at them both and ventured, “Berhaps you vould like to try vorking for me? I can tell you’re poth fine peaudies und I haffe zo few redheads.”

“Perhaps I can turn you into a redhead – that should solve your problem in short order,” Shimmer bluffed. He froze at those words and she gave a cold smirk. “Would you care to rephrase your statement?”

He tugged at his tie. “Yes, of courze.”

“So where is this Seltenheit?”

“Sche’s…sche’s Dutch, put sche liffes in Pruges,” the man explained. “Sche’s our most bobular girl und ve only uze her ven ve haffe top clientele that request her schervices.”

“And you’re going to give us her contact information, correct?” Sunset insisted. In response, he pulled out his cellphone and brought up the contact information, then showed her. Sunset took his phone, then looked at it.

“Well, that’s that,” Shimmer said. “We going to Bruges?”

“Sure.”

“Vat about me?” the man asked. How do I get pack to Berlin?” The response to that was the girls vanishing – and taking his cellphone with him.

He stood alone in a plaza, hundreds of miles southwest of where he normally was…with no easy way of getting back home.

“Sohn einer Hündin!” he spat.

A second later, the two ended up by a canal. “Welcome to Bruges!” Shimmer said. “I’ve only been here once before, so sorry if my directions were slightly off.”

“Um…stupid question time….”

“Belgium.”

Sunset blushed. “Oh.”

“It’s okay,” Shimmer giggled. “Sometimes I forget I’m the more travelled sister…well, as far as this reality is concerned.” She then noticed the setting sun. “In any case, we need to get this done soon. Mom’s going to notice by now that I’m not home from school and I’m sure you’re going to want to get back before people notice you’re gone as well.”

“Too late for that already,” Sunset sighed. She hadn’t looked at her email, but she knew she was probably in trouble with her entire family at this point and being grounded was probably in the cards. Still, she had to see this through.

“Look, we already found out that it was just my overactive imagination, okay? I made a mistake, sis, and I don’t want you to get in trouble for it. Especially since I’m probably going to be in hot water myself once my mother finds out I went a bit beyond my normal boundaries. Still….”

“Still?”

“There was something about that guy that freaked me out. Plus, if this girl is a sex worker, then…well, let’s just say that from the last news article I read, the EU has a serious issue with runaway girls that become sex workers, because they don’t have anything else to turn to and they become virtual sex slaves.”

Sunset folded her arms. “Okay, so this is now less about quote-unquote ‘my’ issue and more about you wanting to be a heroine?”

Now it was Shimmer’s turn to blush. “Maybe my older sister is just rubbing off on me?” she offered.

Sunset chuckled and shook her head. “Well, I came all this way for you, so I guess I should see this through.”

Shimmer grinned and hugged Sunset’s arm and kissed her cheek in response. “I owe you, sis.”

The address pointed to a nondescript brown door on a brick apartment complex facing Kruisvest. From where the sisters stood, they could hear the babbling of the canal and people biking by. One person in particular gave them a hard glare, likely due to where they stood – an indicator that at least someone was familiar with what the occupant did for a living and did not quite approve.

“Well, I guess that’s a confirmation of sorts,” Shimmer murmured, watching as the person giving them the stink-eye walked on past. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Taking the hint, Sunset knocked on the door. On the other side, a muffled voice sang out, “Een ogenblik aub! Ik ben er zo!”

Sunset and Shimmer looked at one another. The voice was uncanny.

Suddenly the door cracked open and a young woman was revealed. She wore very little, and though she looked surprised at first, she assumed a sultry pose. “Zusters? Nou, ik heb dat nog nooit eerder gedaan, maar er is een eerste keer voor alles….”

Sunset blinked for a second, surprised at the other woman before realizing what she meant. “Uh…no,” she said in English. “We’re…um…not here for that.”

“Oh! Americans!” The woman excitedly clapped her hands together, cheerfully, speaking in Dutch-accented English. “I’m American as well! Or…well, that’s what my mother told me. I never really knew my father. My name is—”

“Seltenheit, we know. We were referred to you by your boss in Berlin,” Sunset began. “But we’re not here to talk about your business…um, either of them. We just wanted confirmation as to who you are.”

Seltenheit looked at the taller twin with a curious gaze. “Why? I mean, aside from what I do for a living – of which you just said that you’re not interested – I don’t know why you wanted to speak to me.”

Sunset wasn’t sure of what to answer.

Fortunately, she wasn’t by herself.

“Are you happy with the way you’re living? From how it sounds, you aren’t happy with your…ahem…boss.”

Seltenheit looked at the two, then opened her door more. “Please, come in.”

As they entered the flat, they noticed that it looked fairly tasteful, like someone their age lived here. Sensing that, Seltenheit looked at them both. “Ah. The, ahem, ‘work location’ is downstairs in the basement,” she explained. “It has a separate entrance, as some of my clients do not wish to be seen. Additionally, I like my home to remind me of what I hope to be someday.”

“And that is?”

Seltenheit ignored the question. “Would you care for some tea? Or beer? Presuming you two are old enough, of course—”

“Ms. Seltenheit,” Sunset interjected, “you’re dodging the question she asked.”

“First off, I don’t get many girls my age – twins, no less – come to my door. Second, you’re both American – and I don’t see many of those, or at least those I can identify. Third, you come asking about my boss and not my particular proclivities. So,” she said, “the question I have is…are you CIA or FBI?”

“We’re not….”

“Both of you, to be quite honest, are incredibly beautiful. And while I consider myself heterosexual, I have had female clientele, so I do know how to pleasure them,” she admitted. “But the way you two carry yourselves is not the way clientele or fellow, ahem, ‘professionals’ would. As I said, my father was supposedly American, but I have no hard proof of that. And given how America tends to run roughshod over everything, or at least that’s what the telly would have us believe, I have to wonder: am I in trouble?”

Sunset looked at Shimmer.

Shimmer stepped forward and took Seltenheit’s hands in her own. “No. Quite the opposite. We’re here to help you.”

“Help me?”

Sunset asked, “How old are you, Ms. Seltenheit?” When the woman was about to speak, the alicorn added, “How old are you really?”

“Old enough?”

Shimmer went over and took a seat at Seltenheit’s table. “Wow, that sounded almost believable.” Her tone indicated that she didn’t buy a word of it.

Seltenheit murmured something sotto voce, and when Shimmer pressured her, she said, “Fifteen.”

“So not legal by any means. Does your mother know about this?”

Seltenheit shook her head. “Hangt af van wat je vanuit de hemel kunt zien,” was her response.

“Hemel? Heaven?” Taking a seat, Sunset didn’t know what that meant, but she knew her sister’s tone of voice and saw the look of concern in her eyes.

“I’ve…I’ve been on my own since I was eleven,” Seltenheit admitted. “My mother was in the same business as I am, but not as lucky as I’ve been. She passed away from AIDS. Her ‘employer’ promised her that he would help me find my father and live with him. Needless to say, he didn’t. Instead, he charged me for my mother’s medical and funeral costs and said I would have to work to pay him back. It goes without saying that he found a way for me to do it.”

Sunset looked at her. “But you’re underage!” The irony of an underage girl living on her own didn’t escape her, nor did the fact that she already knew someone who had the same issues as she did.

“Yes, and he took pains to cover his tracks. He has several police on his payroll, and several select politicians as his clientele. This…this actually isn’t my home. This place belongs to a Belgian parliamentarian who owes him quite a bit. Said politician pays for my private tutor and house, but….”

“Are you saying that you’re trapped here?” Shimmer asked.

Seltenheit looked at them for a bit, then nodded her head in shame.

“We’re going to fix this.” Shimmer pulled out her phone. “I’m going to ask you one question and one question only, and I want the absolute truth, am I clear?” The younger twin had assumed the voice of regality once more, and Sunset couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride for her younger sister at that. Sunset might not have been born a princess, but she knew what one was – and Shimmer definitely carried herself like one.

Shimmer’s cyan eyes met Seltenheit’s own. “What would you give to be a normal girl?”

The older girl looked hesitant to answer, as if it would lead to extra vulnerability.

“Seltenheit…I give you my word that this is not trickery. I didn’t come here to add to your burden,” Shimmer told her. “I came here to end it.”

The look on Seltenheit’s face was one of utter surprise. “You…you mean that?”

Sunset looked at her sister with a wry smile. “Trust me, she dragged me along for this one and I was in California this morning.”

“California?” Seltenheit looked at Shimmer. “You’re both from California?”

“No,” Shimmer explained. “I live in Paris. My sister lives in Canterlot. But long story short, yes, it’s true. But that’s not important. What is important is that now that I know you’re in trouble, Ms. Seltenheit, I’m offering you the chance to escape this, if you truly want out.” Shimmer offered her hand. “What will you do?”

“You,” Zephyr said angrily to Shimmer, “are in deep trouble.” He then wheeled on Sunset. “And is there any time when you don’t start a shitstorm?”

Shimmer looked at her mother’s boyfriend, who had come to Bruges after she’d contacted him for help. Now, she wasn’t sure if that had been a good idea. “Look, Zeph….”

“Don’t ‘look, Zeph’ me, young lady,” he cut her off. “Besides, I’m not the one you’re going to have to explain this to. When we get home, your mother is going to have some words with you. Most of them will probably be French profanity and somewhere in there is ‘you’re grounded’.” When she looked away, he scratched his head and said in a softer tone, “But personally…I’ll talk to Soli. As much as you fucked up, kid, and shouldn’t have done this…well, you did a good thing. And I’m proud of you.”

Despite everything, Shimmer blushed. “Thanks.” She looked at the Belgian Federal Police car and the frightened girl sitting in the back seat. “What’s going to happen to her?”

“I’ll talk to your uncle,” Zephyr said. “Ask him to pull a few strings and get her under our care. It’s not going to be easy: keep in mind that she’s a minor living on her own and she has zero ties to France and only her word that she’s an American, so it’s going to be very difficult to do so.” He looked at Sunset. “I don’t suppose you’re going to meddle in this one, aren’t you?”

“Is there a way that she can be matched via DNA?” Sunset asked.

“Needle in a haystack, not to mention that we would have to have a reason to go looking,” Zephyr said. “Now, granted I have some friends who could pass this off as a Missing Kids case, given that she’s a minor by European and American standards, but even if we get a hit, there’s also medical confidentiality, if the father knows about her and wants her, etc.”

“But I made a promise to her!” Shimmer cried.

“Yes, and sometimes you can’t keep the promises you make, princess,” Zephyr told her matter-of-factly. “That doesn’t mean I won’t try. But it also means that it’s a harsh lesson you may have to learn. Lastly, you’ll have to hope Noblesse will stick his neck out for this one – he’s the one with the contacts in the Belgian government, not your mom.”

“Fortunately for me, I’m his favorite niece,” she told him.

“That and five euros will get you some coffee – but not a way out of this,” Zephyr reminded her.

“Look, she was just trying to do the right thing, Zephyr,” Sunset told him, defending Shimmer.

“Sunset, clearly you still have a lot more to learn about being human,” Zephyr shot back.

“Thankfully I have others to show me the way when I need it.” She put her arm around Shimmer’s shoulders. Shimmer blushed as a result, and Sunset smiled warmly.

Despite everything, Zephyr could only shake his head and chuckle. “Well, let me talk to the authorities here and see what little diplomatic immunity I have will buy me. Then we’re going home, Shimmy, so you’d better say your goodbyes for now.” Giving Sunset a final nod, Zephyr went off to talk to the police officer in charge, leaving the two teens alone, who walked off towards the canal and out of the view of the scene and the gathering crowd.

She then looked at the moon in the sky. “Well, time for me to go, Shimmy.”

Shimmer pouted. “I wish you didn’t have to.”

Sunset hugged her. “I’ll be back again someday in the near future, you know that. And my family is still planning to make the official visit in December, so everything’s going to be fine. Just…in the meanwhile, practice your magic whenever you can and obviously we’ll still keep in contact. Plus, you’re not exactly going to be alone; aren’t Zephyr’s kids supposed to be moving in soon?” When Shimmer nodded, Sunset patted her on the shoulder. “Then you can work on being a big sister and tell me all about it next time we see each other, okay?”

Shimmer hugged her back. “Will do, sis, will do.”

Sunset let her go and then waved before changing back into her alicorn form, then rocketed into the air, turning invisible as she flew westward.

Shimmer watched as her sister vanished, reminding herself why she was incredibly lucky to both know – and be – Sunset Shimmer.

Sunset appeared back in her room, feeling a bit tired from the jet lag. Even if she could dispel the exhaustion she felt at the moment, the fact was, she flew halfway around the world twice, and used quite a bit of magic, so she was completely tired. Plus, with her being gone for a good portion of the day, it was already eleven in the morning back here in Canterlot and—

“Ahem.”

Sunset turned to see her mother, sitting there in her room, her arms folded. Seated next to her were Celestia and Luna, also with arch looks on their faces.

“Have a nice trip to Paris, Sunset?” Velvet asked archly.

“Um….”

“Celestia told me – and that was after the girls told me,” Velvet explained. “By the way, the triplets are furious with you right now, so don’t think I’m the only one who is owed an apology, young lady.”

“Would you believe I had a good reason?”

“I’m sure you do, and you can explain yourself during lunch. And what I hear will determine exactly how long you’re going to be grounded.”

“I hope you brought gifts back from your trip,” Celestia told her.

“Because a bribe will help soften the blow?” Sunset weakly replied.

“Not in the slightest, young lady,” Luna told her, “but it would at least be the polite thing to do.”

The jingle sounded along pleasantly, the soft voice singing along in German:

“Null hundert achzing fünf
Vier sechs vier sechs
Nur vierzen Cent pro Minute”

On the screen, a scantily-clad Dutch girl, with elegantly-coiffed hair in shades of purple spoke on a phone, while her deep blue eyes were filled with desire. It was very clear what she was selling, and from the professionally-produced status of the video, it was clear that she had enough of a successful business in order to warrant such quality.

Watching via Sunset’s phone, Rarity’s jaw dropped. “But…but this…this isn’t…!” she stammered,

“I know. I met her yesterday while I was in Bruges.”

“Bruges?” it took Rarity a second for the connection to kick in. “Belgium? What on Earth were you doing in Europe!? And why didn’t you take me along?”

“Oh, trust me, be glad you didn’t go,” Sunset grumbled. “As it is, I’m grounded for that little stunt.”

“What, for skipping school?”

“That and going to Europe without permission,” Sunset said blandly as if it were the most normal thing in the world. “Mom says I can only go to school, work and Equestria for the next two weeks. Oh, and I’m forbidden from using magic of any type for the next month, unless it’s an emergency or when I go to Equestria.” Sunset sighed. “Plus, Dagi read me the riot act about going off on a dangerous adventure without bodyguards.”

Rarity, for a change, ignored most of that, instead looking at her doppelganger on the screen. It was clear what the girl did for a living and it made Rarity ill at ease. Handing Sunset’s phone back to her, she asked, “But why did you think…?”

“I didn’t. Shimmy did and she was worried about you, so instead of just sending you an email to confirm, she sent me a panicked phone call and dragged me into this whole thing.” Sunset grumbled. “She’s grounded for this whole mess as well,” the teen sighed.

“Sunset, dear, is this why you wanted to talk to me in private? I mean, it’s obviously not me and—”

“Rainbow would drag this joke into the mud, kicking and screaming long past the point of funny,” Sunset reminded her.

Rarity groaned. “You have a point, I must admit,” she stated.

“Well, I didn’t tell her, but if you need someone to talk to about this, you can always get a hold of Bonnie. She’s learned to live with the fact that her doppelganger is a Hong Kong porn star,” Sunset pointed out. “Although…I still feel bad about outing that info.”

“Well, at least I know you wouldn’t do that to me. Or now, at any rate,” Rarity stated.

“True. But there’s always the chance that someone knows about this,” Sunset told her. “But I promise I’ll do everything to make sure someone doesn’t, okay?”

At that pronouncement, Rarity looked unconvinced. “My life is ruined,” she mourned.

Later that night, Flash was kicking back in his bedroom, watching a movie. His cousin Blueblood was also in attendance, having managed to free himself momentarily from his fiancée’s clutches. “And why should I find this interesting?” Blueblood asked.

“Oh, trust me, Blue, you will,” Flash said. “One of my friends found this on the internet and thought it might be of use.”

Blueblood yawned. “This looks like that little soiree that you cooked up. The one that had been filmed and got us all in trouble?”

“Don’t remind me. At least our parents had good lawyers,” the blue-haired boy stated. “But no, this isn’t that. In fact, this one was taken a month ago in Vienna. Perfectly legal, all the girls are above the age of majority.”

Blueblood gave his cousin a bored look. “Flash, if I wanted to see sex, I could just have Suri do something. To my surprise, my dearest betrothed is quite the…how shall we say…freak? As long as she’s in control, she craves lording it over. And you’d be surprised how many girls there are who are willing to be in a ménage a trois with two wealthy and gorgeous people their age.”

“I’ll just stick to the one on ones if you don’t mind; I don’t need the emotional baggage.” Flash picked up the remote and sped up the image. “But that’s not why I wanted you to watch it.”

“Oh?” Blueblood then turned his attention to the screen, finding little interest in the high-class call girls entertaining their clients by “entertaining” each other.

And then he saw her.

“But it’s not her, right?”

“Of course not. But it doesn’t have to be. One thing I learned from my ex before she turned into a goody-two-shoes cunt is that sometimes the image is worse than the reality.” Flash then explained what Sunset had done to a girl named Bon-Bon by way of her doppelganger. “And the best part is, unlike Sweetie Drops and Bon-Bon, this link is even more tenuous.”

Blueblood watched as the on-screen Rarity lookalike writhed in pleasure as two other girls attended her, with a bunch of fat, cheering older men watching in the audience. The whole thing had a sordid air of obscene wealth about it, the kind that spoke of Eastern European affluence and not caring about one’s public image.

Light blue eyes turned to focus on familial eyes the same color as his. “Do tell.”

“Her name is Seltenheit,” Flash said, a nasty grin coming to his face.

Blueblood, who knew German, continued to watch the screen, a nasty look coming over his face. “German for rarity,” he said. Rubbing his nose, he swore he still felt the pain. “And I owe that strumpet some comeuppance, not to mention that Suri would like to have some words with her as well.”

“Anything that will hurt her will get back to Sunset,” Flash said, “and I’m okay with that. Let me know if you need any help.”

“Oh, you’ve been a big help, cousin,” Blueblood said, watching onscreen as Seltenheit switched from her female partners to a willing male one. “And if this gets back at our troublemakers, then they won’t know what hit them.”

This chapter was unusual to write for me. Originally, it was intended to be a rather light-hearted poke at this video (which itself is a parody of this German commercial; note that the emoticon censoring was added to the video by the uploader, not me, and I suspect the girl is topless behind the emoticon.)

Well, I tried, but a lot of emotional pain takes you into the weird parts of one’s mind. The result was that I came across several articles regarding the heavy epidemic of underage sex workers that is problematic in Europe (was not aware this problem had existed) and from there, things ballooned.

Seltenheit is not meant to be a reinterpretation of Sweet Pea, in case people are wondering (my editors had that question as well). Pea has a normal life now and she turned to prostitution to get away from a bad life; now she has a normal one and is adjusting. Seltenheit is younger than Pea and had a fairly normal life until circumstances forced her into it. How this will play out remains to be seen, of course, but that’s down along the line.

“A pet?” Twilight Velvet asked.

Rubbing her chin in thought, Chrysoberyl nodded. “It’s a relatively new approach in child psychology that I’ve been reading up on, and I think it would be a novel way to help Octavia through some of her issues while potentially reducing her need for the Malarson and Kasevanoc,” the doctor explained. “After all, caring for the life of another may help her to see through some of her own potential issues, while the selfless love that a pet can provide would go a long way. I take it you have no problem with pets?”

In her chair, Velvet shifted slightly. “We don’t have a problem, per se; it’s just that we don’t really have pets around the house,” she replied. “I suppose you could talk about my younger daughter’s parliament—”

A delicate rose eyebrow raised. “Parliament?”

“When my younger daughter was eight, she and Tavi found an abandoned northern spotted owl and nursed it back to health. They released it into the wild, but Aloysius stuck around and formed a parliament – a flock of owls, basically – of his own and they all consider themselves Twily’s pets. We probably go through a few pounds of bird feed a month for them. It’s just that we have no standard pets, as it were.”

“That seems unusual.”

“Well, we briefly thought about getting a pet before we had children, but it just never really came up,” Velvet said with a shrug. “In any case, Chrys, I’m more than willing to give it a shot if she is.”

“I’m sure it will be a wonderful healing experience for her.”

“A pet?” Octavia spoke to her aunt as they drove away from the clinic. “I’ve really never thought about it before. Besides, I don’t have a great track record with them.”

Velvet gave her niece a sympathetic smile. “Are you still having problems with Twily’s owls?” For reasons that no one was too sure of, a good number of Twilight’s owls did not like Octavia. While they didn’t attack or harass her, the fact that they eerily stared at her when she walked by (as opposed to disinterest when other family members did or happy hoots when Twilight or Sunset were present) seemed somewhat off-putting to the family matriarch.

“I don’t know why they keep staring at me.” A flash of a brief nightmare entered her mind and she shivered at the thought. No! Go away!

“Tavi, are you okay?”

Octavia looked at her aunt. “I….” She reached for the climate controls. “Just a little cold all of a sudden,” she lied, hoping it wasn’t too obvious.

Velvet, fortunately, chose to ignore it; she’d had more than enough of her share of odd things in her life in the past few months. “Well, Dr. Chrysoberyl recommends it and as a child psychologist myself, I do have to agree that the idea has merit. But that’s entirely up to you. This will be your pet, and though we’ll all help take care of it, ultimately it will be your responsibility.”

A thought crossed the girl’s face. “So that means I get to choose what kind of pet I want?”

Velvet thought about this for a few seconds and immediately realized the potential Pandora’s Cube she’d set before her niece. “Three rules: one, it has to be legal and nothing that requires a special permit. Two, likewise, nothing from Sunset’s world – I don’t care if Razz’s pet phoenix was tame; I don’t want the house to burn down while we housebreak one for you. And finally….”

“Finally?”

Velvet sighed. “No bees.”

Octavia groaned, slumping in her seat. “Yeah, no kidding. What’s with all the hives that seem to be everywhere? I thought there was supposed to be an epidemic of bees dying off?”

“Well, Sunny says she doesn’t know enough about it to look into it,” Velvet noted, “so it’s possible that it might be a side effect from when her grandmother reset the timeline. And while I know the bees could certainly use a break, I think the neighborhood having a strange infestation of honeybees is more than enough weirdness than I’d like to deal with.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” The teen pulled her phone out of her purse and started to look for a list of potential pets. It was obviously going to be her decision, but that didn’t mean that she didn’t want the input of her family, particularly the ones that were most likely to help her with it.

“I recommend a bloodhound,” Adagio commented drily, “if only so that we have something that will keep an eye on Sunny when we’re actually trying to get some sleep around here.”

Sunset shifted uncomfortably in the beanbag chair in Octavia’s room. “You’re not still mad, are you?”

“Let’s see.” The eldest triplet started ticking things off on her fingers. “You took off to Europe without letting anyone know, especially us, your bodyguards! You then get Shimmy involved in some international scandal, all to save Rarity some potential embarrassment!” She shook her head, her large mop of curly hair shifting to and fro. “Cuz, I love you dearly, but why do you have to be so stupid at times?”

“Gee, thanks,” Sunset drolled.

Aria raised her hand. “Anyone else want to jump on the ‘Sunset deserved her grounding’ train?” Four other hands went up immediately.

Twilight looked at her sister. “Look, we care about you and just want you to have a normal life. Your average teenager doesn’t rush off to other continents at the drop of a hat!”

Sunset sulked. “I thought we were talking about Tavi’s pet?”

Sonata nodded, deciding to ease off on her. “Okay, we’ll get back to that, but we’re not letting you off the hook. Anyway, go ahead and continue, Tavi?”

“So, ladies, I was thinking: any suggestions? I’m partial to a small dog, personally, but I want all your opinions.”

“No thanks on the dog,” Twilight said. “Just from what I hear about Winona from AJ makes me think I would never want one.”

“What’s wrong with Winona?” Sonata asked. “She’s a sweet thing.”

“She also barks like crazy and AJ told me that when she was a puppy, she practically chewed on everything in sight. I keep enough stuff strewn around my bedroom that I don’t want some poor pup to inadvertently and literally eat my homework.”

“What about a cat?” Aria suggested. “They’re okay, for the most part.”

“Are you crazy?” Adagio commented. “Every time I go over to Rarity’s, Opal just sheds all the hell over my clothing.”

“You know, Dagi, there are things known as short-haired cats,” Aria pointed out.

“No cats.”

“It’s Tavi’s choice.”

Adagio looked at her cousin. “Please be the voice of reason here?”

Octavia looked at Sunset. “Isn’t that your job?”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “I’m grounded because I apparently am not a voice of reason, as I recall.”

Twilight looked at the others. “What about—”

“No birds,” the other girls said at once, and Twilight pouted.

“I wasn’t going to suggest a bird,” she stated flatly. “Pooka gets jealous if a bird that’s not part of the parliament is close by.”

“What about a fish, then?” Sonata asked. When the other girls looked at her, she shrugged. “Look, it was just a suggestion, okay?”

Sunset then decided to be the voice of reason after all. “You have practice tomorrow with Fluttershy, right? Why not ask her? She used to work at the animal shelter in the old time and at the zoo in the new one. She’s probably got some ideas.”

Octavia nodded. “You know, that’s not a bad idea. Thanks, Sunny.”

Fuzzywuzzy’s Pets-O-Rama was a particularly special store. In a world dominated by Petco and Petsmart, the small store thrived from its location on Sycamore Street, a small retail boutique that dealt in pets that were of highest caliber, tended to by knowledgeable and expert staff. The betas there were tended to in pristine aquariums. The poodles had their coats brushed daily and the Siamese were pampered and cuddled. Not an animal that originated at Pets-O-Rama was anything less than perfect, and everything there ran like clockwork.

So when a car unexpectedly rear-ended a delivery truck, the staff of the Pets-O-Rama went into action, making sure that the truck was quickly unloaded, that their furry charges were attended to with the utmost of care, that the customers within were assured that despite the inconvenience, that their needs would be met and the continued operations of the store would move on without a hitch, so that human patrons and their furred companions would continue to receive only the best.

So in the process, no one noticed the battered cage that fell out of the back and bounced under the undercarriage of the truck, or the flash of tawny fur that scattered away from the chaotic scene, into the light-soaked Canterlot night.

“A pet?” Fluttershy asked Sunset once the flame-haired girl had explained the dilemma to her friend the next day. “Of course, I’ll be glad to help! I still have some of my expertise left from the animal shelter, though I don’t know if any of my knowledge from when I worked at the zoo will help….”

“We’re just looking for something reasonable,” Sunset told her, “so any idea will help.”

“Like Carl and Curtis?” When Sunset looked at her, Fluttershy smiled. “Part of the new timeline. When Dad moved back in with us, he brought his pet chinchillas with him – Carl Pettington and Curtis Pawpower. They’re apparently named after two famous guitars and their guitar players. They’re just adorable little things.”

“Sure, something like that,” Sunset told her.

“Okay, so I’ll bring it up to her when we practice tonight,” Fluttershy assured her. “Oh, and speaking of which, can I get your opinion on something?”

“Sure, no problem.”

Fluttershy brought out some guitar straps. “Um…the Artbuckle Music Accessories Company wants me to model some of their new ‘Slinger Strings’ straps. I’m not even a professional yet and I have these companies coming to me because ‘Discord’s Daughter’—” she said, using finger quotes, “—will be a hot property once I get a contact out there. Except I’m not ‘Discord’s Daughter’ quote unquote, I just happen to be the daughter of Discord.”

“And you want that made clear, I take it?” Sunset asked.

“Partially; it’s why I want to make sure that the band Tavi and I are forming doesn’t have my name attached to it,” she said as she stuffed the straps back in her bag. “But I also want to earn my own respect. I want to be the girl who made it because of my musical skill, not because ‘wow, Discord’s kid knows how to play banjo after throwing a temper tantrum onstage!’”

Trixie, who just happened to be walking towards them, said, “You didn’t throw a temper tantrum, Flutters; you had a valid reason for what you did – just bad timing, is all. Happens to me on stage all the time. And hi, girls. Sunny, have you heard anything yet about a substitute?”

“No, sorry, I haven’t, Trix,” Sunset told her, “but as soon as I do, you’ll be the first to know.”

“Sunset told me about your issues. Sorry to hear that. Looks like we both have things we have to work through,” Fluttershy said sympathetically.

Trixie nodded. “I’m sure we will. Besides, at least you’ve got Tavi with you.”

“Well, Lyra’s part of our band, too; we just need to find a drummer,” Fluttershy commented.

“Lyra’s parents are out of town, so that means Lyra’s a little busy, if you get my drift,” Trixie said flatly. “Well, I think I see Mr. Neighsay walking towards us, so he’s probably going to give us grief for something.”

“It’s a break right now,” Sunset stated. “Why on Earth would he give us grief?”

Neighsay strode right up to Sunset. “Ms. Shimmer,” he told her in his usual condescending tones, “I do not care what your real-life status is; in this school you will not circumvent the rules based on any real or fictional authority you may or may not have, am I clear?”

“Sir?” Sunset stated, confused.

“I found that you broke into the school attendance system and accessed scholastic files. The daily audits confirmed it.” The look on Neighsay’s eyes was one of the cat that had the mouse cornered. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

“Yes. That authority was given to me by Ms. Celestia back when she was school principal, and given again now that Ms. Luna is school principal, sir,” Sunset explained, “and if you ask either of them, they’ll be more than happy to confirm that. As for the reason I accessed it, that was to give a new student a copy of his schedule that he didn’t have beforehand. I didn’t want him to be late for class, so I pulled it up for him.”

Neighsay paused; the look on his face seemed as though he hadn’t considered that. “In any case, consider your authorization now revoked. It was a level of permission that you should not have had in the first place. After all, I don’t see the student council with it, and if they have more reason to do so than you, I don’t see why you should be made the exception. I will let this go for now, but I will speak to Principal Luna on this.” Nothing more to add, he walked off.

Trixie glared at the man as he departed. “I can’t believe—!”

“It’s okay, Trixie,” Sunset told her. “I’m sure Ms. Luna will straighten it out. Might mean that some other people will be authorized the same as I am, but I don’t think she’s going to take it away.”

“Still, we’d best not push our luck,” Fluttershy advised. “We may as well get to class. It’s going to be a long day as is; no need to make him any angrier.” The other two agreed with her words and they all decided to head off.

It was tired, hungry and overall miserable.

It had no idea where it was, what it was doing here or what to eat. It had been warm earlier before being removed from its mother, but that was a long time ago. Now it was by itself and didn’t know anything.

It lay on the grass, where others of its kind would have enjoyed freedom. Instead, it wondered what its future would be.

Then it saw the tall things. Tall things meant safety. Tall things meant surety.

It scampered off towards them as fast as it could.

Both Fluttershy and Octavia sat there in the rented studio, tuning their guitars. It was a place where they could both hone their craft in peace, and find a way through their strange, shared futures together. Normally, the third member of their band, Lyra, would be there, but with the news that she was busy being domestic with her girlfriend given that there were no distractions for either, both Fluttershy and Octavia let their friend have her moment.

“So, Sunny said that you were looking for a pet?” Fluttershy said, breaking the ice.

Octavia nodded. “The girls and I were talking about it, but I really don’t have any ideas. None of them want birds, Dagi doesn’t want a cat, and Twily doesn’t want a dog. Of course, they won’t let us get something from where Sunny’s from.”

Fluttershy smiled. “What, no fire-breathing phoenix chicks?”

The raven-haired girl gave a smirk of her own. “Aunt Velvet wouldn’t be happy if the house burned down for some reason.”

“Well, I’m guessing you want something cute, so something like a tarantula would be out—”

“Oh hell no! No way would I want one of those. And no fish, either. I want something cute to spend time with, not just have as decorations I have to feed.”

“So no lizards or snakes or anything like that?”

Octavia’s hand went across her guitar, causing a loud, discordant twang. “No! Not at all!”

Fluttershy put her hands up in submission. “Okay, okay, just kidding. Seriously, though, I’ll see what I can come up with. I can’t promise I’ll be able to come up with something instant, though. I don’t have the access to animals that I used to.”

“What about your boyfriend? Doesn’t Puppytails still work at the animal shelter?” Octavia asked.

Fluttershy shook her head. “His college work got a bit too busy for him to do that, and he ended up getting a new position as a vet assistant out in Bella Vista,” she explained. “It’s closer to where his apartment is, anyway. Besides, he also says that way he has a good chance to avoid Dad.”

Octavia grinned at that. “Overprotective father?”

Fluttershy laughed, a musical sound elicited from her. “No, Dad is actually happy that I’m dating. The problem is that he’s pretty much…well, you know how my dad can be in public.” Fluttershy scrunched her mouth. “It’s kinda why I was hesitant to go into music even though I like it.”

“I promise if we make it, we’ll make it on our own.”

“I know we will.” Fluttershy then remembered something. “Oh! That’s right, I was going to talk to you about something. I already spoke to Sunny about it for advice, but she’s not in our band, and you are, so I wanted your opinion as well.” Fluttershy then went over and related everything she’d discussed earlier in the day with Sunset, and as Octavia listened, she could see the stress in her friend’s eyes.

Finally, Octavia said, “Look, I promise you that when this is all done, no one’s going to care that you’re the daughter of Discord when this is over.” Clapping her friend on the back, she said, “When we take the stage? I guarantee they’re going to point out he’s the Father of Fluttershy.” The two giggled and Fluttershy relaxed, glad she had a friend she could rely on.

“Anyway, did you want to see the straps?” When the yes was nodded, Fluttershy pointed towards her bag. “Can you grab them out of my bag? They’re in there.”

Octavia got up and went for her friend’s bag, opening it…and gasped. “Flutters! What’s this?” Confused, the chiffon-haired teen got up and looked in the bag as well. To her surprise, laying in the bag was a small ferret pup, sleeping on top of the straps. The way it was positioned, the name of the company – ARTBUCKLE – read as AR_BUCKLE instead.

“Oh, he’s so cute!” Fluttershy gushed, automatically reaching into the bag and plucking him out. The ferret looked completely spooked until Fluttershy held him close to her cheek, gently nuzzling him. At once, he began to make a small, soft clucking sound, a tone that indicated he suddenly felt safe.

“Can I?” Octavia asked, completely entranced by the small form cuddling in Fluttershy’s hands. Immediately she passed over the small mustelid, and to the surprise of both, it started jumping excitedly up and down in her hands.

“Ooh! A war dance!” Fluttershy noted.

Octavia looked at her worriedly. “Should I worry?”

“No, that’s just what it’s called. Weasels and ferrets do war dances when they’re excited and happy. It’s almost as if it’s saying that he belongs to you.”

“Really?” Octavia looked at her new charge. “Do you mean that?”

In response the pup scurried up her arm and onto her shoulder, muzzling against her ear and dooking gently. It tickled her, and she giggled as a result. “I guess you do belong to me, don’t you?”

“Well, what are you going to name him?”

“Not a clue. You have an idea?”

“What about…Artbuckle, since he was laying on the straps?”

Octavia thought about that. “Well, what about Arbuckle, since he was covering the T when he was sleeping?” She asked him, “You like that?” In response, he began to war dance again and she could feel the excited little creature bounce up and down on her shoulder. “Okay, Arbuckle it is, then.”

“Well, I guess that’s the end of practice,” Fluttershy said. “We’re going to have to go to the store, get him a cage and some stuff, then take him to the vet.”

Octavia’s smile fell. “Oh, I hadn’t thought about that. That’s going to be hell on my allowance.”

“I’ll pay for everything,” Fluttershy insisted. “My treat.”

“You sure?”

“Well, it looks like you found a pet that you like…or rather, he found you,” Fluttershy explained, “so I can’t let a good pair like that go away. Besides, Dad’s always saying that’s just money, anyway.”

Sitting away on her shoulder while she ate dinner, she fed a piece of her sashimi to him. “Who’s a good little boy?” she cooed. “You are!” Arbuckle took it and nibbled on the piece of raw tuna, a contented look on his face.

“Are you sure you didn’t have anything to do with that, Sunny?” Twilight asked her sister.

“No, not at all!” Sunset insisted. “I wouldn’t have even remotely thought of a ferret!”

“Why not?” Adagio asked. “He is kinda cute, and from the way he’s just doting on Tavi, I think they’re a perfect match for one another.”

Sunset tried to figure out a way to explain. “Okay, you know the story Rikki-Tikki-Tavi?”

“Who doesn’t?” Velvet said to her daughter. “It’s a classic that everyone grows up with.” Realizing who she was talking to, she amended with, “Well, everyone born human, that is.”

“Don’t worry, Mom, I’ve read the story, although I have to wonder why the author’s parents named him Rude Yard.”

“‘Rude’ was a synonym for rough around the time when he lived,” Twilight explained, “and yard simply referred to India at the time.”

“Thank you, Wikipedia with Legs,” Aria said with a laugh.

“Anyway, as I was saying,” Sunset explained, “in pony culture, we don’t give much thoughts about weasels or ferrets. They’re important in Zhuanganese – panda – culture, but otherwise to ponies, we don’t think of them much at all. Not even as pets.”

“Really?”

“We tend towards the more unique, like phoenixes, pygmy alligators though most ponies have many of the same types we have here.”

“Well, I for one think he’s cute…as long as he doesn’t steal anything,” Sonata added. “Ferrets do that, you know.”

“Oh, he’s a well-behaved little guy,” Octavia assured them. “I promise he won’t do anything bad.”

“Where’s my controller?” Spike asked. “Mom, did you take my controller?”

Velvet sighed. “No, though I’ve been more than tempted to at times, son. Don’t you have a wired controller?”

“Yes, but then I can’t sit on the bed and—”

“You’ll manage.” She looked down at her work; now was not the team to deal with this sort of headache. She had next year’s annual budget to look over, and then present it to the County board. Now, if she could go over the notes she had on her…

She groaned. “Okay, where’s my cellphone?”

Sunset overheard. She snapped her fingers and Velvet’s cellphone appeared in her hand a second later. “Better?”

“No; I told you that you were grounded from using magic, Sunset,” Velvet admonished. “But…since I needed this I’ll let it slide this one time.” Seeing her daughter’s crestfallen face, she said, “I know this is difficult for you, but you have to remember: you have to be a normal girl as well as some omnipotent being.”

“I’m not omnipotent, Mom,” Sunset reminded her. “I’m powerful, but definitely not omnipotent.”

“Powerful enough.”

“Found the stuff,” Adagio said a second later. “Looks like Arbuckle’s already busy building himself a little hidey hole underneath the couch.” The carrot-haired girl set a plethora of small items on the table, from the keys to Aria’s motorcycle to Spike’s wireless controller, to (somewhat worryingly) a magazine from one of the triplets’ pistols. On that last part, Adagio apologized to her aunt and insisted they would take better care of that in the future.

“So looks like our little ferret is living up to his name, I see,” Velvet said with a slight smile.

“Sorry?”

“Ferret comes from the Latin term for small thief. Given their nature, it only makes sense.” Velvet looked at Sunset and Adagio. “Looks like Sunset’s not going to be the only furry troublemaker in this house.”

The flame-haired girl sighed. “Mom….” she groaned, getting a chuckle out of the older woman.

In reality, the ferret is named after famed silent comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle.

BANG

“Stupid fucking cunt!”

BANG BANG BANG

“Goddamn fucking whore…wish she’d shove that camera of hers so far up her twat she’d give birth to 35mm Ektachrome….”

BANG BANG BANG

“I mean, where the fuck does she get off thinking she has any say in my life?”

BANG BANG CLICK

At that last sound, Derpy set down her pistol. It was already bad enough that she was firing angry, which didn’t do wonders for her targeting skills or her concentration. But when that last sound came, the last thing she wanted to do was to explain to her father why she’d dry fired the pistol to the point where she ruined the firing pin.

“Hey, Derps, you okay?”

She turned to look at Red Dot, the owner of the shooting range. He’d been an Olympic shooter and then a Coast Guard marksman before getting out and starting a shooting range here in Bella Vista. It was comfortable and nobody minded that she was a girl, unlike some of the other ranges in the area.

“Yeah, just…frustrated, you know?” she stated.

“Yeah, I can tell,” the man said, taking off his ballcap as if to dust it off. “Haven’t seen shooting that shitty since the time we were hunting drug runners who had more hardware than sense.”

Derpy ejected the magazine and slipped a new one in. “I take it that was a bad move on their behalf?”

“Well,” he said, a strangely nostalgic grin coming over his face, “half of them are dead and the rest are serving time in Sumter County Penitentiary. What do you think?”

Derpy gave him a smile back. “Sounds like they fucked with the wrong guy.”

“Smart kid. Just keep it focused, okay? A shitty shot is worse than no shot taken.”

The blonde aimed and said absently, “Yeah, my old man tells me the same thing.”

BANG

After several minutes more, she felt she got everything out of her system. Several perforated targets told the tale of her practiced murder of paper profiles, and sure enough, Red Dot had been right. It hadn’t been some of her best shooting, but she knew why.

She had a chirp on her phone and pulled out a hot pink LG flip phone. It was barely serviceable, but it had internet capability – and she used that function for all it was worth. She opened it, punched in the security PIN and briefly glanced at the screen, noting an email that had the subject line of BARELY LEGAL TEENS WANT YOUR TOUCH SO BAD – XXX SERVICE. A grin came over her face; she knew that the gene donor, who paid for her “phone”, was too stupid to realize her daughter had intentionally signed up for the nastiest porn services available and was billing it to the account. Closing the clamshell without looking at anything else, she slid it in her pocket.

She started packing up the gun when a second chirp sounded – this time from her real phone, something that she paid for herself. Reaching in another pocket for her trusty iPhone, she saw who it was and a genuine smile appeared on her face.

“Hi, Mom!” she said, a genuine tone of joy in her voice.

On the other end, a voice similar to hers sighed. “Derpy, as much as both you and I would prefer that, you know that’s not the case.”

“Yes, but you deserve it a thousand times over – you know that, I know that, Dinky knows that, and most importantly, Dad knows that.”

“Yes, but that still isn’t going to change what we are, sweetie.”

“Fine, Aunt Hazey.” The words came out of her mouth reluctantly, but not because of the person on the other end. On the contrary, her aunt, Hazey Jane, was as far as Derpy and her sister were concerned, their real mother. Admittedly, both girls knew their life was extremely complex, but Derpy and Dinky had never really known simple. Not when on one hand, their “real” mother, New York photographer, Artiste Boheme, only acknowledged their existences as much as the law and her convenience went; while on the other hand, their maternal aunt, Artiste’s kid sister and their father’s (all-but-made official) girlfriend, Hazey Jane, had been there since the day that she’d been horrified that her older sister mistreated and abused her older daughter, and had fallen into a long-term relationship with their father during the divorce.

She knew that part of the reason they had never seen their maternal grandparents in years was because their aunt had been disowned by them and in response, their father simply had written them out of their lives, something that Derpy and Dinky were perfectly fine with. Their paternal grandparents absolutely loved their aunt and often told her that “at least Argent got with the right sister this time,” much to the chagrin of both Hazey and Argent Lance, their father.

Hazey sighed. “Derpy, they’re just words, and those are different from actual feelings, you know that.”

Derpy, despite everything, beamed. “Yeah, I know. What’s up?”

“I’m at the airport right now – I have a week off. I was wondering if you could pick me up?”

“I’ll be there in thirty!” the teen sang and got the details immediately. She then immediately packed up the gun and virtually skipped to her car.

Watching from a distance, a man who was just about to go into the firing range watched the usually taciturn girl act…well, like a teenager. “What the hell got into her?” he asked Red Dot.

Red Dot watched as the small Volkswagen Golf zoomed off into the distance. “My guess?” he told the other man. “Something happened to make her act like a girl for a change.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Most of the time she acts like she’s too old for her age,” he mused, “and maybe just for once, she got to be a kid again. But that’s just my guess.”

Thirty minutes later, an unusually giddy Derpy was practically vibrating with excitement as she walked through the familiar walkways of CJV. Even though she didn’t fly often, she was here practically every other weekend, and her pass, as she moved through the gates and into the secure area, showed why.

After a quick check, she walked over to the airline lounge, and quickly poked her head in. At the far side, a group of pilots and airline attendants were joking, after apparently a long series of flights.

One of them looked at the door, then turned to a woman with chiffon-pink hair and hot pink eyes, “Looks like your kid’s here, Haze.”

The woman in question looked over at the door and smiled softly. “Yup, so she is. I’ll catch you later, Skyblaze. Folks, enjoy the week, and I’ll see you guys next week, got it?” Hazey Jane got up, grabbed her coat and her hat – the symbols of an airline pilot – and walked over to Derpy, who was all smiles.

As the two departed, Skyblaze looked at some of the others. “Think it’ll happen this time?” he asked them.

“No idea why it would,” one of the attendants commented. “They seem to be content with their life.”

“I’m not so sure,” Skyblaze replied, looking at the closed door where his co-pilot and long-time friend was. “Really not so sure of that at all.”

On the other side of the door, two women embraced, and to a casual onlooker it would have been easily mistaken for a parent embracing her child. Only those who truly knew the situation knew it to be anything else.

Once they let go of each other, Hazey sighed. “Why is it that it seems like lately the only time I get time off is when Argent is out of town?”

“Oh, c’mon, you can’t be that hard up,” Derpy said impishly

“Young lady, I swear your father and I taught you better than that.”

“I blame my mother,” the teen said blandly as she automatically went over to the luggage rack, grabbing her aunt’s bag as always. Affecting an overblown tone, she said, “Artiste Boheme always calls it like she sees it and she makes sure her next generation does as well.”

Hazey rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, tough shit,” was her response.

“Yeah, that’s what I keep telling her, but you know how she is,” Derpy replied. “So, usual question?”

Despite everything, Hazey gave a response that Derpy expected: “Usual answer.”

“I guess I need to step up my game, then,” Derpy replied.

“Last time you ‘stepped up your game’, you got grounded for a month by your father, as I recall. And then he got mad at me for even explaining how it all worked, which was unfair, given that it wasn’t even my fault!”

“Look, I told him that, but he didn’t want to believe it until Mom had to confess that she’d left her photographs from her latest shoot around and I figured it out that way.”

Hazey put an arm around Derpy’s shoulders. “Yup, precocious kid that you are and all that. Speaking of which….”

“No. Especially not after that incident.”

Hazey just laughed.

“This is soooo weird.” Carrot Top, who had come over to see how her best friend was doing, instead saw something on Derpy’s face that practically seemed like it didn’t belong there: a wide smile.

“Oh, c’mon, Carrot! You know I don’t get to spend enough time with my mother as is!” Derpy told her.

“Yeah, especially since she’s not really your mother,” Carrot reminded her friend. The familiar scowl immediately fell into place, and Carrot felt as though she’d hurt her friend. “Look, Derpy, I know your home life is complicated, okay? This is me you’re talking to.”

The scowl was replaced by a melancholy smile. “I know you didn’t mean it, Carrot. It’s just….”

“Derpy, you don’t ever have to explain. Not to me – I get it.” Carrot reached over and embraced her friend and sister figure. “If she’s been that way to you, then what’re words?”

“Formality and official recognition,” Derpy responded. “That’s what.”

There was a knock at the door, and a second later, Hazey poked her head in. “Hey, Carrot, interested in staying for dinner tonight? I think I made a bit too much, and you’re always welcome.”

“Dunno, Ms. Jane. What’s on the menu?”

“Pad thai, chicken satay and spring rolls,” the older woman replied. “All for a girl who looks like she’s on a diet again.”

Now it was Carrot’s turn for her smile to fall as Derpy covered her mouth in an attempt not to laugh. “That obvious?” she groaned.

“Hey, I’m not so old that I don’t recall when I was a teenager, you know,” Hazey responded. “My teenage years just involved flannel, Nirvana and beepers.” She then grinned and said, “Oh, and as an extra bribe, I picked up some green tea ice cream from the store, too.”

Carrot pouted. “You’re the worst, you know that?” she said, mock-complaining.

“Just how I roll,” Hazey said with a laugh.

“Okay, Dinks, you made two spelling errors here and there,” Hazey said, looking over her niece’s homework. “Aside from that, I think you’ve pretty much got this book report in the bag.”

“Thanks, Aunt Hazey!” Dinky happily hugged Hazey and showered her with kisses like only a kid could.

“It’s what I’m here for. Now, I’m due for watching a movie or two – catching up on what I missed while out of country. Care to help me find what’s new?”

“Really?” Dinky asked, overjoyed to be of help.

“Yeah. But I think I want to see it with both my girls. Hold on.” She walked over to Derpy’s room and poked her head in. “Hey, girls, we’re going to be watching Netflix or Hulu or whatever it is that sure as hell isn’t in-flight entertainment. You guys want to join us?”

Both Derpy and Carrot were working on projects at the time and Derpy looked up at her aunt. “As much as I’d like to, I’ve got this coding thing I’m working on, and Carrot’s probably going to need help with her assignment.”

“I’m not that hard up,” Carrot grumbled.

“And yet you’re here doing it instead of at home or at your boyfriend’s place,” Derpy reminded her.

“Spot’s got a game out of town tonight, otherwise, yeah I’d probably be over there,” Carrot admitted. “Besides, I don’t see you rushing off to be with Code.”

“He’s with his computer club today, and I have to let the guy have some time around people who don’t know how to tech the tech, you know?” Derpy said with a grin. She then looked back at her aunt and said, “We’ll get some family time in later this week, Aunt Hazey. Promise.”

“No problem,” Hazey replied, then closed the door, leaving the two girls be.

Derpy popped away from the door, after having seen Carrot off for the evening. She noted that both Hazey and Dinky were still on the couch. But it was a second later that she realized both of them were asleep. Not wanting to disturb them, Derpy walked over to her father’s bedroom, grabbed the comforter off the bed, then walked over to the couch and covered them both.

She then went over and kissed her kid sister on the forehead, then went over and did the same, whispering, “Good night, Mom,” then finally turned off the TV and the light in the living room, bathing it in darkness. She then returned to her room; given that she had that new code project that she’d been hired by an “unknown company” to process. She wasn’t sure why someone in the national security system would come to a teenage codehead like her for that, but she knew if it were a real threat, there were people that she could confide in to get it solved.

Best to just get it done for now, since the pay was good. If it turned out to be a danger later, she knew how to protect herself and her loved ones in multiple ways.

Derpy woke up to an unusual smell in the house…someone was cooking, and for a change it wasn’t her. Furthermore, she knew it couldn’t be Dinky, as while the younger girl did know how to cook, actually trying to do so usually ended up with things burned on occasion. She then caught a whiff of some exotic scents and smiled; she knew that she was being spoiled.

Sure enough, a second later, Hazey showed up, wearing one of Argent’s shirts and a pair of her own shorts. “Get up, lazy,” she teased. “Made brouillade de truffes, chistora sausage and sage potatoes and the family French hot chocolate recipe.”

“Wasn’t aware we had one,” Derpy told her.

Hazey booped her niece on the nose. “Of course we do, kiddo. We come from a proud family of French assholes and sweethearts. Arti inherited the asshole part, and so you can guess which one I inherited.”

“The sweetheart part?”

The older woman laughed musically. “Of course not. I inherited the bigger asshole part!” she said with a wink. “C’mon, let’s eat and then drop Dinky off at school.”

Derpy caught that. “Don’t you mean both of us?”

But Hazey shook her head. “No. There’s a reason I said that. You’re taking the day off from school,” the woman said in an uncharacteristically serious tone. “We need to talk, Derpy.”

“I’m not going to like this, am I?”

“Sweetheart, none of us do. That’s why you’re taking the day off – so Dinky doesn’t get word of this, got it?”

Derpy sighed; she hated hiding things from her kid sister, who was no slouch in the perception department, either; that seemed to be something they picked up from their father. “Yeah, I got it.”

The next few hours for Derpy were a whirlwind of…well, having something that she rarely enjoyed in her life: that of an actual mother figure. The two went shopping for new things, talked girl stuff, and Derpy generally admitted more about her relationship with Code than she probably wanted to, but it was worth it. They tried on perfume, clothing and as lunch came, Derpy had run up a hefty shopping bill on her aunt’s dime, including a cute gray sleeveless turtleneck with stenciled wings on the back and a matching gray skirt with a bubble pattern on it.

She’d also begun to dread what was coming next. Her aunt refused to talk about what she’d said in the morning, or even acknowledge it. It was as if Hazey’s words had never been stated. It reminded Derpy of a computer she’d fixed for a fellow student a year ago. The software was erasing the words as quickly as they had been written, as if they were never meant to fix. Ultimately, it was just a simple matter of cleaning the viruses off the hard drive and then reinstalling the program, but it was a unique enough effect that she’d never forgotten it.

And now she was seeing a real-life version of it, via her aunt.

Finally, they decided to have lunch at one of Derpy’s favorite places, a burger place in Everfree Glades called Hot Bun’s Hot Buns. It was run by this saucy woman who was, by her words, “loud, proud and got sliders for days, honey!” So with both of them ordering the signature Grand Champion burger, a double decker slathered in caramelized onions, roasted mushrooms, black truffles and blue cheese crumbles; a basket of beer-batter onion rings and cajeta milkshakes, she knew she was in heaven.

She also knew the boom was about to be dropped, and for the first time in months, Derpy was afraid again. It was almost like the time she’d been there to narrowly prevent Carrot from committing suicide. In some ways, reliving that again would have been preferable. That was talking on a level to someone she loved dearly and could help. This was completely out of her league, talking to her mother figure and she had no idea what was going on. She felt completely helpless.

Finally, she looked at her aunt. Eyes to eyes and the joy in them was gone.

Hazey sighed. “I knew you were going to get to this sooner or later. You’re too smart, Derpy,” Hazey told her. “That can be a good thing and a bad thing.”

“Did I do something wrong?” Derpy asked honestly.

“Of course not. I wanted to spend this time with you because I don’t know when I’ll be able to do so again. You know my job keeps me busy.”

“That’s not true, and you know it.” Derpy’s eyes narrowed. “You’d be home a lot more if you flew domestic routes,” she accused. “And I remember Dad telling me once that you were offered a position at the airline pilot school down in Colton. Sure, it’s a drive, but you’d be home! With us! With your family!”

“Derpy, sweetie, it’s not that easy,” Hazey began.

“Yes it is! Do you think we’re blind, Aunt Hazey? You and Dad have been an item since I was a little kid! Even Dinky knows that! So what if you’re technically our aunt – to Dad, you’re the woman he loves and to us, you’re our mom! I know you hate it, but that’s what you are to me! My mom!”

To Derpy’s surprise, Hazey started crying. “I don’t hate it,” she said in a soft voice. “I never have.”

“Then why won’t you come home?”

“To protect my children,” she said, looking at Derpy, never removing her eyes from Derpy’s own. Hot pink bored into citrine, and Derpy hated the fact that she had Artiste’s eyes. She wished that she’d instead been as lucky as Dinky, who had inherited their father’s eyes.

And then Hazey’s words sank in: my children.

“Derpy, do you remember the two weeks that your father had to spend on active duty training back in March? I know you and Carrot had some issues; Argent told me about it.” When Derpy nodded, Hazey sighed. “There’s…there’s really no easy way to do this.” Reaching inside her shirt, she pulled out a thin silver necklace, upon which sat a platinum loop.

A wedding band.

“He…wasn’t on active training,” she admitted. “He was with me. In the Bahamas. On our honeymoon.” She reached over and took Derpy’s hand in her own. “Technically, I’m not just your aunt anymore, Derpy. I’m now your stepmother as well.”

Derpy’s jaw dropped. “What? What the fuck? What the fucking fuck?” she gasped. “Why the fuck didn’t you say anything? You or Dad?”

“Derpy, language,” Hazey chided.

“No!” Suddenly angry, Derpy slammed a fist on the table, causing a scene. “I have always wanted this! And you two just go and hide it from me like I’m some spoiled kid that wouldn’t fucking understand—”

“I’m actually surprised you hadn’t figured it out already,” Hazey said with an awkward half-smile. “Argent told me he hasn’t really been hiding it.”

“Bullshit! I want answers!”

“Derpelle Hooves, you’re making a scene,” Hazey said in a suddenly parental tone, “and I know your father and I raised you better than that. I thought I would bring you here to break it to you, but I’m wondering if that was a mistake.”

The parental tone got Derpy to calm down. “Fine. Spill,” she said, angrily grabbing an onion ring and spearing it in boom boom sauce.

“Thank you.” Hazey looked at her niece and stepdaughter and said, “Derpy, I want to make this clear: I love you and Dinky both. To me, since the day I stepped in to stop my sister from abusing you; from the moment that I supported your father in his divorce from your mother; and the day I told my own parents to fuck off, that protecting you was more important than Arti’s precious reputation; you stopped being my niece and became my own daughter, you and Dinky both. I don’t care that you came out of my sister’s womb instead of mine: you and your sister are mine, not hers.” She sighed. “And with Dinky getting older, your father and I knew it was just going to be a matter of time before we could – or rather, needed to – normalize our relationship.”

“Then why—”

“Because of that bitch I call a sister!” Now it was Hazey’s turn to make a scene and both of them were glad that the restaurant was empty. From her perch at the grill, Hot Bun realized this was a woman-to-woman moment, and with her being a part of the XX club as well, she just shrugged and turned away.

“I don’t understand.”

“Derpy, do you know why all of a sudden you two had to spend two weeks with her in Manhattan, despite her almost never wanting to see you and then spending all this money on you and your sister even if she knows jack shit about either of you? I mean, you told me she bought you that expensive Prada bag that you never use?”

“Yeah, she kept wondering why I was looking at the ‘hideous’—” she did finger quotes, “—laptop bags from Republic of Codemonkeys instead.” She grinned and held up the one Hazey had bought her an hour prior. “Trust me, going to get a fuckton of use out of this.”

“It was meant to be a bribe. She wanted you and Dinky to forgive her everything so you two would want to live with her.”

“I swear, she’s fucking stupid,” Derpy snarled.

“Derpy, she’s your mother…even if, yes, she is fucking stupid,” Hazey agreed. “But the fact is, somehow she found out that your father and I got married and she threatened to take custody of you and Dinky away from your father. That was what the whole summer shit was meant to be – a knife in the wound aimed directly at me and Argent.”

“As if I give a fuck about what she wants,” Derpy stated. “Hell, Dinky doesn’t even trust her – you know that.”

“It’s not about trust, Derpy. It’s about the law. You know that your father is the local National Guard recruiter for officers, but his local duty is scheduled to end soon, and with him in demand, his superiors are looking at him for a potential Pentagon job in DC for two years. That’s part of the reason why we got married: if he has to take it, someone needs to be home for you two. For our family.”

“Then why—”

“Because your mom hates me and your father so much that she would even take you and Dinky away from us, even if she resents having given birth to both of you,” Hazey said flatly. “Because my parents are so enamored over my sister’s fame that they’re so fucking blind to what she’s done to you and nearly could have done to your sister, that they think I was out to steal your dad since the day we first met.” Hazey’s hands balled in fists of anger. “I didn’t fall in love with your dad because he’s a hunk – and believe me, he is – but because he’s the nicest, gentlest soul I’ve ever met. It took me a long time to stop seeing him as ‘my sister’s husband’ and as Argent. And I felt guilty about the first time I kissed him, because I felt that maybe my sister’s accusations were right.”

“They’re not.”

“I know. The fact that you can’t see straight without glasses, even if you should have perfect vision, tells me that every day. The fact that I still have nightmares of the day I found you, beaten and battered, with your literal blood on my sister’s hands, tells me that.” Hazey looked at Derpy once more and the teen noted they had long stopped being the eyes of a loving aunt, but instead of an actual mother. “Derpy, have you ever heard the term ‘vodka aunt’?”

“You mean like Aunt Bullion?” Argent’s sister Silver Bullion was the same age as Hazey, but while the former was level-headed, the latter lived a bohemian lifestyle in Austin. Derpy wasn’t sure what her aunt did for a living, but based on her Instagram posts, it was probably enough to keep the woman out of trouble.

Hazey giggled. “Something like that. Have you ever seen me like that?”

“Of course not!”

“What about my sister, then?”

Derpy was about to open her mother in protest, but then said, “Okay, she does fit the profile much more than you do. Especially after she left those pictures of—”

“Exactly,” Hazey sighed. “Derpy, you and Dinky were mistakes. Accidents. Arti and Argent had a physical attraction to one another and it never should have ended in children. They should have gotten married, then had a quick, regretful divorce a few years later. But let me make things clear: you and Dinky, have never been mistakes or accidents as far as I’m concerned. When your father and I have children, I can only hope that they’re as perfect as you two are.”

Derpy nodded, but her face still bore some confusion. “But there’s something I still don’t understand: you know that Dinky and I don’t care about you and Dad’s relationship – we want that, obviously. And we don’t give a damn what Mom wants. Why don’t you come home and live with us? Why this farce about maintaining your apartment in Maryland? You told me once you don’t even like Baltimore.”

“Because of my parents,” Hazey told her. “They’re so blindly on her side that they would do something like hire a private eye to watch every time we’re together, for some fuck up your dad or I might make, something they can use to strengthen a legal case. And neither Argent or I want to lose you – either of you – because of something we did without thinking.”

Derpy suddenly thought back to the temper tantrum she’d just thrown a few minutes prior, and then with equal horror, the incident with Carrot earlier in the year.

Hazey nodded. “And now you see why we were so careful. We didn’t want to intentionally hide this from you, but wanted to wait until you were legally eighteen. That way I could adopt you both without Arti having any say in the matter, because then you’d be adults and could choose.”

“I’m choosing now,” Derpy told her. “Fuck that cunt and fuck those old assholes. They aren’t family. You are – Mom.”

Despite the frown on her face, Derpy saw that Hazey’s eyes lit up at that. “Derpy, I told you. It’s just a word.”

“Yes, and someone I love dearly – someone who raised me – told me that words should have meaning or else they’re just sounds. So I’m making sure they have meaning.”

Two women looked across a table of half-eaten burgers and onion rings and melting milkshakes. And somehow in that messy moment, everything seemed perfect.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” On the other end of the phone, Derpy could hear her father’s concern. Thankfully Dinky was over at her friend Pistachio’s place, which meant that both Derpy and Hazey could make dinner that night unimpeded. Officially that was the plan. In truth, the two had called Argent.

“Yup. Fuck that bitch, Dad.”

“I did; it’s how I ended up with you and Dinky,” he replied with a laugh.

“Sounds like you screwed the wrong sister, then,” Derpy countered with a straight face.

Hazey laughed and added, “Yeah, you can tell she’s an Army brat.”

“Yeah, that’s my fault.” He then paused to gather his thoughts. “Derpy, I’m not going to force you to do anything you don’t want. But if you go this route, you know she’s just going to make it harder for us. Your mother isn’t stupid.”

“I know.” Derpy reached over and put her arm around Hazey. “Too bad I was born to the idiot instead.”

“This is going to be messy as hell, kiddo. And while you only have to deal with it for maybe a year or two more, keep in mind this is not going to be easy for your sister. She’s still got years to go until she’s an adult – and that’s the rub.”

“I’m sure we can find a lawyer that’ll nail her ass to the wall,” Derpy insisted. “We do have what happened to me, and if it means protecting our family, I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“I know I don’t say this enough, Derpy, but I’m proud of you,” he told her.

She blushed, then said, “Well, I’m lucky I had parents that raised me right.”

“So I guess you’re going to talk to the brass about switching away from international routes, Hazey?”

“Yeah. Domestic routes don’t pay as much, but I’ll be home more often. And given that I want to see my girls grow up, I guess that means we’ll have to close up my apartment in Baltimore next summer. Besides, I think you and I should talk about having a third kid before Derpy ups her game again.”

“Please don’t,” Argent insisted.

BANG

“God fucking dammit!”

BANG BANG BANG

“Stupid ass fucktard, not paying attention to jack shit and ruining everyone’s day….”

BANG BANG BANG

“I mean, seriously, why the fuck did this happen now of all times?”

BANG BANG CLICK

At that last sound, Derpy set down the pistol. She was starting to get riled up again and that was never a good thing.

“Hey, Derps, you okay?”

She turned and standing there was Aria Blaze, one of Sunset’s cousins and, as the flame-haired girl had said often, practically a sister. The two didn’t run in the same circles often due to the fact that they attended different schools, but they were both shooters and Derpy knew her well enough to consider her a friend.

“Yeah, just…frustrated, you know?” she stated. “My mom got called back off vacation early; she had to take over piloting a flight to Sydney because one of the other pilots broke his leg or something, and apparently she’s one of the few available pilots familiar with that runway or some shit like that.”

“Didn’t you say that your mother was a photographer in New York?” Aria asked.

“Well, yeah. But the woman I call my real mom is my stepmother. She’s also my aunt,” Derpy replied. “Problem with that?”

Aria laughed as she ejected the clip on her pistol. “If you’re expecting me to be freaked out about that, you’re talking to the wrong girl. Did I ever tell you why we’re living with my aunt and uncle?” When Derpy looked at her, Aria explained the fact of her and her sisters’ lives: about their adoption, and how their adopted mother had been killed during 9/11; how they’d been partially raised by one aunt and then a stepmother who was barely an adult herself before dying in childbirth and ending up with their current aunt and uncle.

“So yeah,” Aria commented as she finished, “I get blended families. And because of that, it sounds like your aunt – excuse me, your mom – is cool as hell.”

“Yeah,” Derpy said with a proud smile coming onto her face as she switched the magazine on the pistol and raised it once more. “She is.”

"Let's sing a song
For Hazey Jane
She's back again in my mind
If songs were lines
In a conversation
The situation would be fine"
- Nick Drake

“So she’s grounded?” Trixie asked Sonata.

Sonata nodded. “Yeah. She’s not working today, so she had to go home. Aunt Velvet is very pissed with her.”

“Yeah, I can imagine. Sunset didn’t seem like she was going back to her old ways,” Trixie commented.

Sonata, however, shook her head; the last thing she wanted was Sunset’s friends not in the know to worry like that. So she had to stick to the lie that had been concocted. “Look, it’s not like that. Sunset just thought she’d head back to the place where she was raised by that criminal that abducted her. The state said they were going to tear it down, since it was an illegal dwelling on state land where there shouldn’t have been a cabin, and Sunset went there to try to get them to stop it. It was, after all, the home she lived in for all of her childhood.”

“Yeah, but a childhood of being raised by the woman that kidnapped her,” Derpy Hooves, who was also there, commented. “Seems pretty freaky to me, but then again, I don’t have the corner on normal childhoods myself.”

“Still, it was her home, Derpy,” Carrot Top, also in attendance, added. “I mean, now, yeah, it’s bittersweet for her, I’m sure, but back then, she was just a kid. She didn’t know any better.”

“I guess I’ll just have to go visit her and make her feel loved like she should be!” Pinkie, who was in earshot, chirped.

“Or traumatize her even more,” added Compass Rose, who was also in the store that day.

“I’m sorry,” Pinkie said sweetly to Rose, “were you commenting on something that wasn’t any of your Goddamn business?”

Rose’s reply was also saccharine in nature. “Only that you’re traumatizing my dearest intended, you psychotic stalking bitch.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet. I’d punch your teeth out, but I’m sure my fist wouldn’t fit. Now maybe if I punched you in the twat, there’d be so much space that I’d get caught up to my elbow.”

Rose smirked. “At least I’m not the one jacking off with a baseball bat because I’m too loose.”

The three girls at the table looked at the two girls not-quite-bickering, then looked at each other.

“And that’s my cue to leave,” Derpy commented. “I need to swing by the computer store anyway and pick up a new SSD. Coming, Carrot?”

“Um, sure,” Carrot said. “Care to join us, Trix?”

“I, uh, need to talk to Soni some more, but believe me I would rather do so,” she said, looking at Pinkie and Rose, who had quieted down and were now merely staring daggers at each other.

“She can have visitors, if that’s what you’re going to ask,” Sonata told her.

“Thanks.” She slapped down a ten for her mocha and raced out the door, following the other two.

Pinkie smiled and looked at Rose and added sweetly, “Great job in scaring off the customers, you cuntmonkey.”

Rose replied in a tone as floral as her name, “Get bent, assrabbit.”

Sonata sighed.

“Look, I’m sorry, okay? How was I supposed to know that—” Juniper Montage spoke, but was cut off by her brother.

Renaissance Canvas just shook his head. “You were downloading from an unknown Bit Torrent location and you’re surprised you caught a virus that completely destroyed your hard drive?”

“Well, yeah! I wanted to see the new season of Orange is the New Black!” she defended. “Deb was telling me that it’s must-see TV!”

“And it didn’t occur to you to just, you know, watch it on Netflix?”

“I, uh, couldn’t remember the account password?” she replied in an apologetic tone.

Renaissance facepalmed and tried not to mutter a few choice words.

“Look, I need my laptop fixed and you’re the only one who can do it, okay? Besides, it’s not like you have a life or anything,” she told him.

“And what’s that supposed to mean, June?”

“Well, you hang out with those losers Tweedledum and Tweedlestupid—”

“First, that’s not their names,” Renaissance said, going to bat for his friends…even if that sort of did fit their personalities, he privately admitted to himself. “And second, you don’t even know them, so why are you calling them that?”

“That’s what everyone else does.”

“Yes, and as I recall, Sunset has told everyone not to do that.”

Juniper just threw her arms up in disgust. “And that’s another thing! You know the Queen of Canterlot High – an actual, honest to God princess! – and you’re not trying to go out with her? Hell, if I were a guy and she noticed me I’d be putting those moves on real quick!”

“Look, she’s going through a lot of things right now, so Snips says, and besides, she’s not really my type.”

“Not your type or probably wouldn’t give you the time of day?”

Renaissance closed his eyes and exhaled. “Do you want me to fix your computer or not?”

Juniper realized she was probably pushing her luck. “Look, I just want the best for you, bro, okay? Between the two of us I’ve always been the more social one and you’ve always been the loner. And it bothers me to see you like that.”

“Or maybe it bothers you that it just makes you look bad?” he snarled and walked off.

She tried to reach out to him to apologize, but couldn’t find the words and a few seconds later lost him in the crowd.

Trixie lost both Derpy and Carrot the moment they entered Fry’s. She barely knew the two and to be honest, she was more concerned about getting out of the way of the impending battle between Pinkie and Rose; she felt bad that Sonata was going to be caught in the middle when the two eventually threw down, but that was probably par for the course in being in the extended circle of Sunset Shimmer’s friends, she guessed.

And now, she was here in a cavernous electronics store with no clue as to where either of them had gone. She was out of her element, needless to say and that wasn’t going to help her with her current dilemma. As far as the eye could see there were nothing but computer techs and makers, people who worked with this kind of stuff on a regular basis and not her.

Pausing in front of some weird gadget with wires and…whatever sticking out of it, the teenage magician groaned. Her uncle Presto told her that having a working knowledge of computers and technology helped, especially if she was going to pursue a career in stage magic. Her aunt Starswirl, however, gave her the opposite advice: that reading the crowds and gauging where the suspension of disbelief was counted more. Either way, it put her at a standstill: her uncle was known for some seriously impressive vanishing acts, while her aunt could practically get auditoriums full of people eating out of her hand. Trixie had performed with both as well as her “old school” grandfather, and she wasn’t yet sure the way she wanted to go, except that she didn’t want to go the “dangerous” route that performers like Mindfreak did or focusing more on sex appeal like that tart Abby Cadabra.

Part of her wondered if it would just be easier if she just went into the same business as her father; or worse, her mother. But that way, she knew, wasn’t really where her life was drawing her.

I really need to sit down with Sunny sometime and work on how she learned those bian lian mask tricks; learning that would be amazing for my career!

“Hey, didn’t expect to see you here.” She turned to see that guy she met the other day, looking at the same piece of bric-a-brac she was looking at.

“Yeah, I’m here with friends.” Well, it’s true enough…I think. “What brings you here?”

He sighed. “Fixing my sister’s computer. She apparently thinks downloading viruses is a safer option than using Netflix.” He then went on to explain his sister’s little “accident” with torrenting her favorite show and the resulting mess her computer was.

“Sorry to hear that,” Trixie sympathized. “I really don’t know too much about computers myself; I just usually let my best friend handle that for me. She’s better at it than I am.”

“Yeah, well, unfortunately, I tend to live up to my name. I also have to handle the tech for my mother as well, though she’s nowhere near as bad about it as June is.”

An awkward silence came over the two as they realized they didn’t exactly know what to say. Finally, Renaissance asked, “So, why were you looking at Arduino boards if you’re not familiar with tech?”

Trixie picked up one of the unopened boxes. “Kinda hoping that somehow just holding one of these might let me soak up some of the expertise by osmosis,” she muttered with an awkward smile. She then went into a brief explanation of her own, detailing what her uncle had done and had sent the blueprints her way, but that she couldn’t make heads nor tails of them and she was hoping that she could have used them for her performance at the County Fair this weekend, but that wasn’t going to happen.

In response, Renaissance asked, “Do you mind if I look at it?”

Trixie pulled out her phone, brought up the schematics and said, “Be my guest. Maybe you’ll actually understand some of it.”

The boy spent a few minutes looking over this stuff. “This is some pretty advanced stuff. I mean, yeah, I could probably do it, but I sure couldn’t come up with this. Your uncle’s doing?”

“Sorta. My uncle comes up with the general theory, but when it comes to the technology, that’s his wife taking care of that. Aunt Workbench has been helping my uncle with all of the tech and engineering for some of his greatest stunts. That’s why he’s one of the Great Lulamoons – because he’s able to achieve the impossible!” She sighed. “I just hope that I can do that.”

“Oh, that’s right – I heard you tell Sunset the other day that you’re a performer, right? Something about the County Fair this weekend?”

“Tomorrow, actually,” Trixie told him, “but I’m probably going to have to cancel, because I don’t have an assistant.”

“That’s a shame. I was headed to the fair tomorrow and I figured I could watch you or something.” Which wasn’t entirely the truth, though he didn’t say it. The fact was, both Snips and Snails had invited him so that Snails could watch the girl that he was so hot after.

“Well, believe me, I would love to do it, but unless I get myself an assistant, I’m pretty much going nowhere.”

Fortunately for him at that moment, fate intervened.

“Yeah, sorry to hear that, Deb, but yeah, I totally understand, really,” Juniper said to the person on the other end of the line while she walked to her brother. “Hey, you do what you gotta do, girl. I got your back. Anyway, I’m here with my total nerd of a brother, so I’ll talk to you later, okay? Ciao!” She hung up the phone and huffed. “Fuck.”

Renaissance looked at his sister. “Something wrong, June?”

“Yeah, Deb and I were supposed to go to the fair tomorrow, but she had to bow out – last-minute babysitting or something like that. And since I don’t know if any of our other friends are going, looks like I’m stuck in the nerd palace with you this weekend.” She pouted. “And here I was hoping that something cool was going to go on.”

“Maybe something can,” Renaissance said as an idea suddenly came to him. “Trixie, you said you needed an assistant, right? I present to you my twin sister Juniper Montage, who apparently has nothing going on tomorrow and is practically a stage hog.”

“Hey, what do you mean by that—” Juniper retorted at her brother, until she realized who she was with. “Hey, you’re a friend of Sunset Shimmer’s, right?”

“Uh, yes?” Trixie asked. “Why?”

“She’s totally cool! I mean, Ren met her yesterday and he was all like ‘no big thing’, but seriously, is she as cool a person as everyone says she is? I mean, seriously, I—”

Trixie sighed. “Are you sure it’s a good idea?” she asked Renaissance.

It was then that Juniper realized that the other two weren’t on the same topic as she was. “What’s a good idea?” she asked the pair.

At that point, Trixie explained everything. It didn’t take any particular amount of skill in order to be her assistant, as Trixie herself was doing all the tricks; all it took was a particular sense of showmanship and style in order to distract the audience from a lot of what Trixie was doing. She was good at prestidigitation and many other things, but she admitted that it made things all the better when the audience wasn’t expecting what was coming.

“And you know, I thought since you’re trying to be an actress and all that, that you might be interested, since you’re in the Drama Club,” Renaissance told her.

“And I’m in the Drama Club as well. Granted, I don’t participate much since I have my own thing going on,” Trixie added, “but I do know several members and I do try to help out when the Club puts on a play.” Trixie then thought about it, then decided to go for her coup d’ grace: “And you know, Sunny’s paying for it, as well. I asked her not to, but…hey, she’s got the money, and she is a friend of mine, so I can’t argue much.”

“Wait – Sunny? As in Sunset Shimmer?”

“The one and the same.”

Juniper thought long and hard about it…for all of two seconds. “Sure, I’m in!”

“Well, since we’re running short on time and we need to get you your costume ready, let me go tell my friends that we’re headed over to Rarity’s place so she can make it.” She looked at either of them. “I…uh, don’t suppose either of you drove here? I don’t have a car.”

“No sweat,” Juniper told Trixie. “Fortunately, Ren was cool enough to drive me here.”

“You mean that you were supposed to drive us here and then went all, ‘but I just did my nails! I don’t want to ruin my nails!’” Renaissance drolled in a credible imitation of his sister’s whine. Hearing that, Juniper’s eyes narrowed in irritation, while Trixie giggled.

“Yeah, sounds like something Rares would say. Anyway, let me go find Derpy and Carrot real quick and I’ll meet you two by the front.”

“And I swear, if I have to deal with that cuntnugget trying to put the moves on my girlfriend again, I’m going to go Mortal Kombat on her ass!” Pinkie hissed. At the moment she was over Rarity’s place, the fashionista and tailor having offered to fix Pinkie’s cheerleading outfit after she’d torn it during the last football game.

“Pinkie dear,” Rarity said delicately, “far be it from me to correct you, but are you sure that’s what Sunset would want? I mean, I’m quite sure she knows how you feel about her and I don’t think she would be very happy with you to go to blows with Compass Rose. Contrary to your rivalry, she is a friend of Sunset’s.”

“Sure, friend, no problem. She wants more than that? Then I’m going to go seriously ham on her ass.”

“Pinkie, would you listen to yourself? Crudeness is usually Rainbow’s department, not yours.”

Pinkie sighed. “I guess. It’s just that….”

Rarity took her friend’s hands in hers. “I understand, Pinkie, I truly do. But you must woo Sunset in your own way, finding your own path. You are not some knight in shining armor that shields her from every potential threat, especially given that we have faced some truly large threats and it has been her that has protected us. If anything, she needs a significant other that is there to support her, not a thug who would brush away any potential challenge.”

“I guess you’re right. It’s just…I love her, Rares. I want to be there for her in every way I can. Isn’t that what a girlfriend does?”

Rarity smiled. “You’re the one that’s dated before, Pinkie, even if it didn’t turn out that well. Unfortunately, that’s more experience than I have, truth be told – and you know all too well how my last date ended. So in in the end, only you can answer that question.”

“Yeah.” She picked up her cheerleading uniform. “Anyway, thanks for fixing this for me, but I need to get going. We still up for lunch tomorrow at the fair?”

“Well, I believe the price was that I repair your torn skirt, and you were treating me to lunch, correct?”

Pinkie grinned. “You got it! Now, I have just enough time to go visit my babe tonight and see how she’s doing!” With a jaunty wave, Pinkie departed her friend’s place, leaving Rarity to start putting away her sewing gear.

That didn’t last long, however, as her phone rang. Picking it up, she said, “Oh, hello, Trixie, what can I do for you?” Trixie explained for a few minutes and noted that she was on the way over. Hearing that, Rarity sighed; she had hoped to watch her favorite TV series that evening, but apparently, she was going to have to record it instead. “Well, fortunately, I still have all the materials I had from when I made your outfit. So I’ll see you in ten minutes!” She hung up the phone and groaned.

“Something wrong, sis?” Rarity turned to see Sweetie Belle leaning against the door jamb.

“Just…I guess I’ll have to skip out on Grey’s Anatomy tonight. Would you be a dear and tape it for me?”

“Sure, I guess. Going to be busy?”

“Yes, Trixie Lulamoon’s new assistant needs an outfit, so I’ll be busy working on that tonight.”

The younger teen’s eyes brightened. “Want some help with that? I do need to work on my sewing for my—”

“No, that’s quite alright, Sweetie, dear,” Rarity said, recalling the last time she let her sister aid in that endeavor. Replacing everything had cost her a few hundred dollars and had wiped out one of her paychecks from her afterschool job. “Besides, Trixie’s new assistant might, ah, be somewhat skittish about things and having too many people present might bother her.”

“Oh.” Sweetie sounded down at first, but then nodded. “Okay. In that case, I guess I’ll just go watch TV, record your show and call the girls. We were going to take Ribby to the fair tomorrow since it’ll be her first time.”

“Yes, you do that.” As her sister departed, Rarity let out a breath of relief at disaster having been averted.

Going back to setting up her equipment, she mused to herself, And I only have the one sister, while Sunset has essentially five of them – and I can barely keep up with my sole sibling! I’d hate to see what would happen if I had more than one!

“Dude, are you seriously at Trixie’s place?” Snails asked him.

“No, Snails, for the umpteenth time, I’m at Rarity’s place, where I’ve been for the past hour,” Renaissance told his friend. “I just happened to run into her at Fry’s and she talked my sister into being her assistant for tomorrow, and since someone had to drive them here….”

“Hey, let her know that I’m going to be there tomorrow, okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll do that,” Renaissance told him. “What time do you and Snips want to meet tomorrow?”

“I dunno. I figure Snips’ll just meet me here and we’ll catch the CanterRail out to the fairgrounds. We’ll call you about that tomorrow, okay?”

“Yeah, works for me. Anyway, I’ll talk to you later.”

“Yeah, sure thing. Catch ya on the flip side.” Snails grumbled and fumbled with his phone for a few more seconds while Renaissance heard him do so. Yeah, Snips was right in that Snails was probably a bit in the slow department, but in the week he’d been here, he’d been comfortable enough with the pair that he felt right at home with them. Probably a good thing, too, given their semi-pariah nature, he was starting to be thought of as a sort of “restraint” on them, which he didn’t like. He suspected that Sunset didn’t care for that either, but even with her being the queen bee of the school even she couldn’t control every aspect. Still, they were his buds and if it meant he was going to have to go the extra mile to make sure that Snails ended up with the girl he liked, well, that was just going to have to happen.

So, while his sister and Trixie were downstairs with Rarity working on Juniper’s outfit, that left a very bored Renaissance to sit and pay attention to whatever was on his phone while Rarity’s kid sister watched some God-awful TV show while hammering out constant texts to her friends via her phone. It was more than enough to make him wonder why the hell he was still here, waiting for his sister.

If I’d been smart, I would’ve just said something to Trixie, then had June drop me off at home or something, he thought to himself.

A second later, Rarity came strolling up the stairs. “Oh, Renaissance, dear, would you do me a favor?” she asked the young man.

“Uh, sure,” he said, putting away his phone. “What do you need help with?”

“It is not often that I admit such, but I could use a second pair of eyes in regards to the design of the costumes. Because your sister and Trixie have different tones and hair colorations, I needed to redesign both outfits so that I could find a particularly happy medium with both, as they do have to be a matching pair on-stage.”

Renaissance gave a small smile. “And since I’m an artist you need my opinion?”

Rarity returned his smile. “It is very rare when I come across an individual with particular talents that isn’t already in the design or art clubs at school. While I know you’re a new student, have you considered joining either?”

“I’m not really the joining type,” he had to admit.

“A pity. In any case, if you will be so kind as to follow me downstairs to my workshop, I believe I can show you their outfits.” Nodding, he followed her down the staircase, to where a large furnished basement was, complete with what looked to a connecting room. As they entered that second room, the whole place turned out to be a well-designed atelier for Rarity’s use, with dressmaker’s manniquins, shelving for fabrics and all the stuff that she needed. And towards the back, with the curtains drawn shut, were two changing stalls.

Rarity clapped. “Okay, ladies – showtime!” she called out in an ebullient tone. At that note, the two girls came out of their stalls. Both wore tuxedo shirts with matching bowties that seemed to change color from green to blue to purple when the light hit it just right. Over that they wore matching black tuxedo coats with long tails and piping similar to the ties. The ensemble continued on to short black skirts, topped off with fishnet stockings and pumps of the same color scheme as the bowties.

Renaissance had to admit that Rarity’s work had been professional-caliber. Looking at how the outfits sat on them, it showed both elegance and attractiveness at the same time, showcasing the pair’s curves while not looking blatantly out to do so. Additionally, just from the way she was having the girls turn to and fro, it seemed that she’d thought to also let the outfits move and breathe for functionality’s sake. It actually made Juniper look good, he had to admit.

And then he looked from his sister’s outfit, over to Trixie’s…

…and his jaw decided to take a vacation on the composite floor paneling in Rarity’s studio. If the outfit had made his sister look good, on Trixie, it made her look magnificent. Where the outfit on his sister showcased her looks and yet still looked refined, on Trixie…she appeared…. He couldn’t describe it. It was like she was born to be in it, a second skin that had made her go from merely gorgeous to….

Renaissance suddenly felt the need to sit down in a chair, then crossed his legs. It made it easier to hide things that way.

Unaware of his “condition”, Rarity looked at him. “So, dear, what do you think? Does the color scheme I chose work? We still have time to change things.”

“Well,” Juniper said, crossing her arms, “given that he’s speechless, I think he’s probably still trying to form words or something.”

His sister’s snarkiness was the perfect balm to get control back of his body. Leaning forward, he said, “Yeah, June, you’re right – I’m trying to find words of how impressive it is that Rarity actually managed to make you look good.”

The other two girls giggled at that, while she glared at her brother. “Jerk,” she said, under her breath.

Trixie, in the meanwhile, turned again. “So how do I look?”

Glad he had himself under control once more, he looked at Trixie and said, “You look great, Trixie. As pretty as a picture, as the saying goes.”

She blushed. “Thanks.” The two looked at one another, but didn’t say anything further, and things got awkward shortly after that.

“Well, I hate to be the one to rush things, Trixie, dear, but if you’re going to work with Juniper, shouldn’t you practice?” Rarity asked.

“She’s got a point,” Juniper stated. “Ren, do you mind driving me home quickly so that I can get an overnight bag? I suspect I’ll be staying over at Trixie’s place tonight.” She turned and looked at the other girl. “Unless you have any other ideas.”

“No, it’s probably easier to do that,” Trixie admitted. “If you can just stand my mother, beloved whackjob that she can be,” the teen sighed.

“Yeah, sure, I can drive you both. That’s my only purpose in life right now it seems,” he mock-groaned and Trixie flashed him a smile.

“Well, I certainly appreciate everything you’re doing, Ren,” she told him. “I’d be lost if it wasn’t for you.”

Rarity nodded. “Well, our dear gentleman should go upstairs and let you two change, while I put away everything.”

As Renaissance went back upstairs, Trixie looked at Rarity. “Rares, thanks again. I really appreciate this.”

“What are friends for, Trixie, dear? Besides, from the discounts from the gemstones and the like that I’ve gotten from your store, it’s only fair.”

“Well, I do appreciate it. Trust me, once I get June squared away on all of this, tomorrow is going to be a day to remember!”

Rarity gave her friend a smile. “Oh, trust me, I’m sure some will remember tonight instead.”

“Huh?”

The fashionista gave a second smile, this one seeming different somehow. “Oh, nothing,” she stated.

Onboard a business jet flying northwesterly through the California skies, a girl was throwing a temper tantrum. This would not be considered abnormal, save for the girl’s age. However, given the fact that this was by no means the first time, the other two passengers on the aircraft were long used to it.

“I hate it I hate it I hate it!” snarled a teenage girl with fair skin, tangerine eyes, and long maroon hair that had bittersweet-red and fawn-brown highlights. At the moment, she wore a fashionable sweater, expensive and strategically-faded jeans and a pricey pair of sneakers. “Why do we have to do this? Can’t we live like normal people?”

Seated across from her, a girl her age with darker skin, citrine eyes and long, wavy silver hair with highlights of magenta and teal, sighed. “Sis, we’re rich – I doubt we can say we’re normal to begin with. And I would argue that growing up in Nashville is no different than where we’re moving.”

The first girl angrily wheeled on the second, jabbing a finger in her direction. “I told you – don’t ever call me that!”

The look on the second girl’s face was one of all-too-familiar hurt and sadness. “Abby, we’re twin sisters—”

“Just because we have the same mother and were born on the same day and share half our genes does not mean we are twins, much less sisters!” Abby’s eyes were full of hate and spite. “I am the great scion of a family that is famous worldwide for being known as ‘The Southern Aristocrats of Magic!’ You are the daughter of some r—”

“Abby Cadabra, that’s enough.” Though the words were not shouted, they were firm and carried authority. A young woman a decade older than both came in. With the same facial features as the younger ones, she had fair skin like the first, but with apple-green eyes and long black hair in a ponytail that had highlights of neon-green and optic yellow. The woman adjusted her glasses to look at Abby with disappointment. “Behave yourself and stop picking on our sister. Aji is not—”

“Whatever,” Abby grunted, looking at the woman. Finally, she softened enough to say, “You know my position on this.”

“And you know what Mom would say. And Dad, for that matter – and I daresay his opinion is the most important one.”

“You win, Poke.” Turning to scowl at the other girl, Abby announced, “If anyone has anything of importance to say to the Amazing and All-Powerful Abby Cadabra, she’ll be on the other side of the plane.” With that, she walked off.

“The Amazing and All-Powerful Abby Cadabra is on the verge of being the Grounded and In-Trouble Abby Cadabra if she doesn’t knock it off,” the woman called to the petulant girl. She then turned to the remaining one. “Are you okay, Aji?”

She nodded. “I’m fine, Poke. I just wish….”

“No. Stop that – you are our sister. You’re not to blame for how you were born and Dad certainly doesn’t hold it against you. Heck, it was his idea to even give you a name befitting someone in the family, right?”

That didn’t seem to work. “Except that if it wasn’t for me, our parents wouldn’t be divorcing and my twin sister wouldn’t hate me.”

“Abby doesn’t hate you. She’s just…well, you know as well as I do that she’s a drama queen and she’s been going through a lot lately. But look at it this way: this is a chance to start over. After everything that’s been in the news about us back at home, starting over in Canterlot will be a blessing, okay? I mean, Mom’s from the area, and Dad said he always liked coming here.”

“That was before the freak hurricane and the murders that happened over the summer. We may as well be moving to Detroit or Oakland at that rate.”

Sighing, Hocus Pocus knew that her sister was right. This was a mess, to say the least. Their parents’ well-publicized marital issues had become enough of a problem that the local media back in Nashville were gleefully writing about the ‘implosion of America’s Royal Family of Magic’; one writer at the Nashville Scene even said that their squeaky-clean rivals, the Lulamoons, were better seen as ‘America’s Magic Family’, because they didn’t ruin a performance at the Grand Ole Opry by bickering during the act. That little stunt had gotten their family booted from the Opryland Auditorium (an embarrassing gaffe, to be sure) and cost both Abner Cadabra and Crystal Focus a lot of respect as their affairs and worse became public knowledge.

So here they were, flying out to the family’s last remaining gig, a year-long residency at the Grand Ol’ Gala Casino & Resort in Bella Vista, a tony suburb of Canterlot, where the three daughters were going to perform in their parents’ stead while the elder Cadabras worked on yet another attempt to save their marriage. Pocus wondered if the constant teeter-totter that was their union was what actually had saved it from dissolution long ago, but even though she was an adult now, she promised her parents she would look after her kid sisters.

Or, to be technical, her kid sister and her kid half-sister.

One of their mother’s affairs over a decade and a half ago had produced a little magic of its own: part of the reason why the Cadabra family had been in the magic business for so long was because of a family secret – they had a lot of twins in their family, and when her father married their mother, strangely enough, the family “tradition” continued. But it had done so in a strange way: superfecundity. When she’d been younger, Pocus always wondered why their family’s business manager, a man her father had described as “his best friend” and whom she thought of as practically like an uncle, vanished from their lives. Now, she knew why.

To his credit, Abner Cadabra had claimed the girl as his own and had given her the name Ajimaji La-Taraji, the Persian equivalent of her twin sister’s name, Abby Cadabra. And up until their parents’ rude and drunken revelation, Pocus and Abby had never thought of Ajimaji as being anything less than their sister. When Abby had come out as gay two years ago, it had been her younger sister that had been her biggest supporter, and when Ajimaji’s boyfriend had moved away last year, it had been Abby that had been there for her twin sister and best friend.

But now, something had been driven between the two sisters, causing a schism as great as their styles in magic. Abby was always the glamorous showgirl, relying on her looks to distract with her slight of hand and other skills; unfortunately, however, she wasn’t the most personable individual there was, and as much as Pocus loved her kid sister, she knew she was a diva. That contracted with Ajimaji’s particular talents, however; she leaned towards the old comedienne-magician tradition, telling jokes and spinning yarns while entertaining the crowd with her skills. She knew that Abby slightly envied Ajimaji’s particular talents at that and now that their sister’s parentage had come out that envy had morphed into rage.

As the plane headed towards Canterlot, Pocus was glad of at least one thing: from what research she did, she could tell that their hated family rivals, the Lulamoons, didn’t live there; they tended to live down south in Vegas or LA.

And that’s honestly a good thing; the last thing I would need right now is to run into one of them!

Onscreen, the black and white hand-painted letters displayed the words THE END in a deco font while the tinny orchestral crescendo from a bygone age played its final tune. A second later, the screen went to the Amazon Prime Video selection screen, suggesting other classic movies for the two viewers.

“So what’s next?” Code Break, taking a swig from his Coke, asked.

“What about The Royal Rascal?” Jade Lily suggested. “It was her favorite movie.”

It was a Friday afternoon and she’d already finished her class for the day, and he didn’t have any classes on Fridays. So the night before, the two agreed to watch a marathon of Shrinking Violet’s favorite films in memory of her. Both of them were dealing with the loss of the woman who had died a month ago and missed her for very different reasons. This had been exacerbated by her family coming to pick up her belongings earlier in the week and now with those gone, it truly felt as though Shrinking Violet was finally and tragically departed.

But it hadn’t been an entire loss: their shared grief had brought both Code and Jade together, and they had become the closest of friends. When Jade had told this to Braeburn, a part of her was worried that he would be jealous, but being the jovial and caring man he was, he was glad that they got along so well; the three of them even had dinner together the night before Braeburn flew back to Hawaii, where the two bonded and Braeburn elicited a promise from Code to make sure nobody would mess with Jade, to which Code agreed.

She gave herself a private smile – while no one would ever be a replacement for Violet, Code himself was a good friend to have and it pushed away the loneliness she felt, especially since with Violet gone, her ties to Sandstone and the others seemed to fade away with her. The last things she wanted to be was alone here for the next four years, and having a good friend made it all the easier.

“She loved that old film?” he asked. “I…I didn’t know that.”

Seated across from him, Jade adjusted her ponytail. “Well, even though the movie’s from the 1950s, she always loved Dashing Dancer’s portrayal of the king in it. Her mom even said that…that….” She paused, grabbing the tissues from the coffee table.

Looking at her sadly, Code said, “Take your time, Jade.”

Sobbing into them, she added, “Her mom said that when she was a kid, Violet wanted to be able to dance like Broadway Melody, and it wasn’t until she got into coding that she changed her mind. Even still, she made a CG animation that got her accepted here.”

The look in Code’s eyes grew distant and sad. “I remember that: she showed the whole class on the first day. I….” He paused to gather his own feelings. “I just thought it was the most amazing thing and I knew she was going to go places just from seeing that. And now?” He shook his head. “It’s not fair. I mean, it doesn’t make sense why she was up there to begin with, but why did the edge just give out like that?”

“I don’t know,” Jade said, wiping her eyes and feeling a stew of emotions she hated. Part of it, of course, was the fact that Violet wasn’t here to engross over the film and swoon over the big dance number between Dashing Dancer and Broadway Melody. But just as much was the lie that she had to keep up to Code – that Violet had been brutally murdered by a girl that had been someone Lily had thought was a friend, only to turn out to be a timberwolf in a rosellama’s clothing.

Iris Nightshade had turned out to be a member of a human based cult called the Ordo Duodecim that, inexplicably, had access to both human and Equestrian magic, and so she’d been taught in it and it had only been due to Jade’s previous life as the apprentice of one of Equestria’s most vaunted mages that had saved her. But even still, Iris had paid for her failure with her life, and at that moment, Jade had briefly seen who she thought was the true master of that cult, and she had never been more frightened in her life. If anything, it had paused her life in a way she had never dealt with before, even when she had to deal with Braeburn’s sister being inadvertently corrupted by the Wonderstones.

By coincidence, that same event ultimately led to her meeting someone she never would have thought existed: the alicorn daughter of Princess Celestia, namely, Princess Sunset Shimmer. Having been a servant of Celestia’s mother, Queen Faust, Jade remembered the former alicorn as nothing more than a young filly with a cheery smile and a sweet tooth that her master, Lord Starswirl had indulged, perhaps a little too much. But now, the timelost Jade had found that Celestia had grown up to be the current monarch and had a daughter whose power likely outstripped even Celestia’s own. But Sunset had been a very different royal than Jade had been used to, and even though Jade had declined to return to her position as a mage of Equestria, she promised her friend that she would help whenever she could.

But she was afraid to. The Eyeless Man’s gaze seemed to bore into her soul, as though he knew her deepest secrets. And given that Iris had been here and had inserted herself into Jade’s life so easily…maybe he actually did.

But that was past now, and the (possibly) dream-based messages from her liegelady Queen Faust had told her she would be safe. But even in that, there was a price: the world had to believe that Shrinking Violet, a sweet-natured girl with anxiety issues, would take her own life that way. Thankfully, however, fortune’s wheel spun and had delivered a blessed coincidence: during the official investigation, it had been noted that the dorm roof, which students were allowed to hang out on and upon their own Violet had helped tend to the small garden, had loose tiles. Thus, the Campus Police had determined it had been an accident and that while tending to the garden, Violet had stepped on a broken tile and had lost her footing. Now, the campus was adding railing to the dorm rooftops, and everyone could rest easier knowing that Violet had not wanted to take her life.

Everyone, that is, except for Jade, who had lost two friends that week as well as her own confidence. And if this Eyeless Man was someone who could even get at Sunset Shimmer, she knew she stood no chance against him.

She put her own arms around her in comfort, wishing it had been Braeburn’s embrace, that Queen Faust could be here to let her know that she was safe, that her old master, Lord Starswirl, would assure her that she was not as powerless as she felt and that even though she was no longer a unicorn mare with a promising future in magecraft, she was a woman with a boundless potential and future.

Unaware of her thoughts, Code went over and hugged Jade, which was what she needed. “Hey, I miss her too. We all do, and if I’d just talked to her more instead of being a moron, maybe she would still be alive.”

Wiping tears from her eyes, Jade looked at her friend. “No. It wasn’t your fault, Code. It…it was no one’s. It was…an accident.”

It was then that keys jiggled in the door, and a second later, a dark-skinned girl with pink and sea-blue hair and tan eyes, wearing a midriff and short jeans walked in, carrying a pair of pizzas. “Hey, let’s not order from that place anymore, okay? They put pineapple on the pizza again. Who the hell orders pineapple on pizzas?”

Code looked at the newcomer. “Hey, I like pineapple, okay?”

“Yes, and I also see you like putting the moves on my roommate.” Code blushed and pulled away, much to the new girl’s amusement.

Jade recomposed herself. “Pearl, you know it’s not like that.”

“I know, but I’m your roommate, okay? I’m supposed to tease you like that. Besides, I’m kinda jealous of that hunk you’re engaged to.” Pearl sighed. “I wish I could find someone like that of my own.”

“I’m sure you will,” Code assured her.

“You volunteering?” the girl asked and the moment Code blushed she laughed again. “C’mon, let’s eat the pizza. I’m sure we’ve got a bunch of other movies to get through as well.”

The day went on and so did the films: The Royal Rascal, Just an Old Fashioned Love Song, Singin’ in the Rain, Three-Part Harmony, and Under the Desert Moon. Dinner that night was Chinese take-out, courtesy of a restaurant that Code knew about. After that, they spent time gaming on Jade’s XBox, with Code ultimately coming up as the victor of their impromptu Halo tournament.

Finally, defeated, Pearl stood up…and slumped back on the sofa. She had a glazed look come over her eyes. “I…I don’t feel so good,” she moaned.

“Did you take your medicine?” Code asked, concerned.

“No, I hate that stuff,” Pearl commented. “Do you mind carrying me to my bedroom?” she asked in a weak voice. “And Jade—”

“Yeah, I’ll get your medicine for you. But you were the one who told me that you had to take it or else you lose your strength. I shouldn’t be the one to remind you.”

“Yeah, I know,” she murmured softly, as Code gently picked the girl up and carried her over to her bedroom.

A few minutes later, Code took that as his cue that he needed to leave for the day. As Jade saw him to the door, he asked her, “Is she going to be okay? I mean, she felt really light, more like I was carrying my kid sister than a grown woman.”

Jade grinned. “Or maybe you’ve been taking Brae’s advice about working out in the gym a bit?” She reached over and briefly felt his bicep. “Trust me, you’re a lot stronger than you think.”

He grinned and with his other hand, scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, maybe. Anyway, I still need to work on my homework for Monday. Just…make sure Pearl’s okay, alright? Wouldn’t want anything to happen to her.”

Jade blinked. “Code, are you…?”

His eyes widened. “No! I mean…I don’t know, okay? You know I liked Violet, but….”

“Look, as your friend, I would say it’s perfectly natural to care for someone. And I think Violet knew you like I do now, she probably would have tried to fix you up with someone. But I think Pearl’s got a boyfriend or something. Not sure.”

“She doesn’t act like it.”

“Yeah, but you know how she is.”

“I guess. Anyway, I’ll talk to you later. Night.”

“Night.” Jade watched her friend as he walked down the hall and waved to him as he got into the elevator. Once she closed the door, she immediately cast the security wards around her room, then went over and activated the portal to her home in Heavener. Finally, with the portal open, she went over to the bedroom and effortlessly picked Pearl up, carrying the girl through the entrance. Something odd had occurred today, and Jade had to figure out what it was.

An hour later, she levitated a mug to her muzzle, her left forehoof scratching her mane in confusion. She’d spent the past hour going over the programmatic spell layout and it made zero sense. But then again, that was her fault for using something that was technically illegal…well, as far as Equestria was involved.

After Sunset’s warning about the Pink Pearl 1.0 magical construct leaking way too much mystic energies, Jade had spent a few days trying to figure out a way to improve that. After all, the constructs of her “parents” that she left here did the job effectively, given that nobody in Heavener had a clue about magic. But out at college, where she’d already been attacked once before, that was a different story and that meant she had to be more careful about it. She’d been lucky that Iris wasn’t as trained as she was, but she couldn’t afford a second instance.

Her ears drooped about that. Iris. Despite everything, Iris had been a friend, and everything she’d done had been because she’d been raised in the cult known as the Ordo Duodecim – she hadn’t known any other way. And she’d been executed – and worse, somehow erased from the memories of virtually all that had known her, save for Jade herself. She wondered if that was the Eyeless Man’s way of taunting her, like a predator playing with its prey before going in for the kill.

She shuddered at that thought. She already suspected a couple of people of potentially being cult members, and unlike Iris, neither of them was friendly to her. They weren’t antagonistic either, so it could be that she was being overly paranoid, but the fact that Timeline was constantly looking at her during class or that she always seemed to see Golden Brocade in the same places as she usually went made her uncomfortable. She thought about asking for help from Sunset, but if she did that, it would put her back in a position where she would be reporting to a royal once more – where her life wouldn’t be hers.

I know Sunset wouldn’t think that way, but…. She groaned. The last thing she wanted to think about was the ethics of the whole situation right now. Maybe she was being a coward for metaphorically burying her head in the sand over the whole thing, but truth be told, it would be just one more thing she was already hiding from everyone she knew.

Like what she was.
Like the truth of her “family”.
Even her age, in a manner of speaking: Given all that occurred, she was probably the oldest living creature on the planet.

She brushed aside the thoughts and walked away from her notes, instead heading over to a series of holding tanks, all of them giving the room a very creepy sci-fi vibe that was accented by the magical crystals glowing at their base. It had been the book that Applejack had given her, via Sunset, that had given her the idea of how to improve Pink Pearl, and it was a currently banned method in her former homeland.

During the Moonfall War, Nightmare Moon had used golems – not like the legendary stone constructs that human myth had, but ponies made out of flesh and magic. There were, unsurprisingly, equivalents in human magic: homunculi, tulpas, simulacra. And Pink Pearl 2.0 was one of those, because unlike her previous version, she had a physical body. Powered by one of the few remaining Wonderstones that still had a charge left, she was, for everyday appearances, a human version of her old friend, with some details of the human version that Jade had researched. The human Pink Pearl lived around a century ago, and there were just enough details of her life that she was able to inject into the golem’s own. Thus, Pink Pearl, a girl from Ding Dong, Texas (and wasn’t that a ridiculous name for a town?) was studying business at MTU.

And at first, it seemed pretty cool: Jade had something akin to a normal life once more, even if it meant the next time Braeburn came over, she would have to have Pearl “head out of town for the weekend” again. And with the limited personality that Jade had programmed into Pearl, she was able to do a lot more than the previous one did, including grocery runs and other stuff like that; it certainly made Jade’s life much easier.

But I never programmed her to flirt, Jade noted as she looked at the golems in their tanks. And come to think of it, she’s never had pineapple, so how would she know what it tastes like? Jade had to put some of her own personal experience into the personality matrix, but to make sure that she was a separate individual and not a blatant “clone” of herself, she fudged the data a little, adding a bit of Braeburn’s, Summerfree’s and Skateaway’s tastes and opinions into the mix as well.

But now Pearl was starting to do things that weren’t in her programming. Was that why they were made illegal? Because they started forming their own opinions and choices? It was uncomfortably like creating new life, now that Jade thought about it, and if that was the case, she didn’t have eight golems in tanks down here, but eight clones of Pink Pearl.

The thought unnerved her.

Then there was the thought of Code. Code was her friend – someone she trusted. It was clear, despite his protestations, that he was finding himself attracted to Pearl. And was she reacting to rudimentary coding, or…actually giving hints? She hadn’t created the golems to be a full person in that regard; underneath the clothing, they were as anatomically correct as girls’ dress up dolls.

What if Pearl, within her coding and Wonderstone “heart”, actually was attracted to Code in turn? And if Jade tried to stop that…would she be interfering in someone else’s relationship? Could they even have a relationship?

She swished her tail in circles, a bad habit of hers that her master, Lord Starswirl, had often chided her for. He’d told her often that it was unprofessional and unbecoming of a mage, but in her pony form, she’d never broken the habit. He was no longer around to gain advice from…and she wasn’t sure she could talk to Sunset about this.

Maybe Sunset’s right that I need to come clean to Brae. I love him and he loves me, right? Does it matter that I’m not really human? I’m going to always be his, whether marefriend or girlfriend, and I couldn’t love another.

She sighed; that was going to be a difficult thing to talk about. Especially the part when she had to admit that she’d already been married once before, even if the marriage had never been consummated and her husband had ultimately declared her dead and married another. Hell, technically she was still legally dead in Equestria, unless Sunset had taken care of that, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer to that, either.

And all of this was on top of her problems with the Ordo Duodecim – and trying to live life as an ordinary African-American girl in the US, which itself came with baggage that she barely understood because she wasn’t really that when push came to shove. And unlike Pink Pearl, Jade’s own counterpart was still alive and present, even if on the other side of the country. There would always be a chance of running into her.

Leaving the room, she decided to head to the main house and get some sleep. She still kept this place in shape since it was her home, and she didn’t feel like being back in her dorm. If anyone came by her room, the magic spells would ensure that no one would see the portal that led here. Even if for some reason someone had to enter the room for emergency purposes, the magic would keep things secure.

But I thought I was secure. And then Iris came into my life.

She slept uneasily that night.

The following morning, she found herself cooking her favorite eggs and bacon with toast. She’d changed to her human form again, and was hoping to spend a day just walking around the comforts of Heavener, not wanting to deal with the golem or her various problems in life or anything like that. She’d already thought of telling people that she’d come to town for a weekend because she needed the break from school, and it was a realistic enough excuse.

She went to go grab the keys to the van to take a trip over to the Apple Farm – may as well go see her future in-laws while she was in town – when the alarm in the house went off. To anyone else, it would have seemed as though the smoke detector was on the fritz, but Jade had set it that way on purpose: it was an alarm that something was going on in the secret room. Setting up a spell, she immediately darted out the door and towards the barn, pushing past the hologram of the rusting tractor and into the room downstairs.

If those bastards from the cult want me, they’re going to have a fight on their hands. She paused for just one second more, just to cast a secondary spell, one that would go off if the unthinkable happened: if Jade were to fall in combat against a member of the Ordo Duodecim, not only would the safeties built into the property go off, causing a localized earthquake, destroying everything, but warning notifications would go to both Sunset and Applejack to take care of things. It wasn’t something she wanted to do, but someone had to stop the cult.

Besides, if she was dead, that meant that someone had to explain why…and only Applejack could explain that to her family. It was a reluctant responsibility the teen had taken on for herself, and as she reached the last steps, Jade wondered if she would have been brave enough to make the same choice if she were in the blonde’s shoes.

No. AJ’s far braver than I am, she decided. But there would be no time to find that out.

Rushing into the space, she called out, “I KNOW YOU’RE HERE! SHOW YOURSELF!” as she brought a magical blast to her palms. She was better at fighting in her natural form, but given the shape of the room, it necessitated that she remain as a human.

“Jade?” she heard a voice ask, and the minute she heard her name, she knew she was fucked. This wasn’t the worst-case scenario, but it was nonetheless nothing good. She found herself standing in the room, blazing power in her hand, looking at Code, who was sitting in a yellow puddle and looking up at terror at the vats. Thankfully, the yellow fluid in question wasn’t what she thought it was at first. In getting here, he’d apparently knocked over a few of her alchemical reagants.

That was about the only good thing.

“Listen, Code, I can explain….” she said, knowing damn well she wasn’t going to be able to explain any of this, not easily. Then there was the matter of how he got here.

“What the fuck is going on?” he gasped. “And what are you doing to Pearl?” He then blinked and realized that it was Pearls, plural – and that the girl in question…wasn’t really a girl.

He did the only thing that was natural – he passed out.

If there was a thing that Code Break could say, it was that he had a very normal life. Growing up in London, Ohio, his mother ran the London Diner, one of the best eateries in town, while his father was the mayor. Granted, that wasn’t saying much, given that the town was less than ten thousand in population, but he’d like to think that he’d had a normal life, no different than those living in the big city to the north – Columbus, the state capital. Growing up, he wasn’t much different than his peers, having been interested in videogames and computers like so many his age, and the weirdest thing that had ever happened to him was the time his older sister accidentally got him drunk when he was ten.

But as he woke up in an unfamiliar bed hearing two voices in the distance, he knew that his life had just taken a very odd turn. This was underlined when he got out of the bed and went to the window, looking out at a farm and a view that he knew wasn’t the MTU campus in any way shape or form.

It was then that there was a knock at the door, and he called out, “Uh…come in, I guess.”

The person who came in through the door was a beautiful girl who appeared to be just a bit younger than he was. Taller than him, she also had muscles that framed her body. Her long blonde hair trailed down her back, and the look in her green eyes was one of a weary expression. It was clear that whatever was going on, this girl knew all about it…and it wasn’t anything new to her by any stretch of the imagination.

“How are you feeling?” she asked him.

“I….” Code searched for words, then decided to just get to the heart of the matter. “Where am I and what the hell’s going on? And for that matter, who are you?”

The girl laughed. “Well, you’re direct, Ah’ll give you that. I’ll answer the latter, first. Name’s Applejack. As to where you are, you’re in mah friend’s house in Heavener, Oklahoma – eastern part of the state.”

He blinked. “Wait – did you just say Oklahoma?”

Applejack nodded. “Hey if you think that’s bad, about thirty minutes ago, Ah was all the way out in California.”

“What?”

“Not kidding. Look, you hungry? Breakfast is downstairs, if you’re interested. She owes us, anyway.” Applejack yawned. “Especially since mah ass was asleep just before Ah got here.”

“Huh?”

“Ah did say Ah came here from California – you try dealing with a two-hour time difference in a matter of minutes. Anyway, let’s head downstairs and get some breakfast and we can talk. Trust me, you’re going to need the coffee.”

“Am I dreaming?” Code asked. “Someone pinch me.”

Applejack gave a wry grin. “Sorry, not my type, sugar. Anyway, just come on down when you’re ready. It’ll give her enough time to come up with a way to apologize and an explanation. And believe me – we’re both owed an explanation.” With that, Applejack went through the door, leaving Code alone in the room.

Oklahoma? But that’s impossible! And yet…the window he looked out of didn’t look like Michigan by any stretch. It didn’t even look like there was a town, much less a city, nearby – and MTU was practically in the middle of Houghton. Looking out the window again showed the barn, a van, and endless stretches of farmland, occasionally broken up by a tree or other rural structure in the distance.

Holy shit – I am in Oklahoma!

Amazed and confused, Code decided to go downstairs and meet up with Applejack. His life was already getting weird…how much weirder could it get?

Hey, you know what’s cooler than cool?
Updating the TVTropes page!

As he descended the stairs, Code noticed an odd thing about the house: it had a strangely equine motif, as if the owners really loved horses or such. There were also a lot of books and classical-style paintings, a sign of someone really into past culture. Of course, he really couldn’t complain; back home, his mother loved pink flamingos so much she practically wallpapered the house with them – and she actually did use flamingo motif wallpaper for her diner. As for his father, he was a fan of Masterpiece Theater and PBS, so seeing Brideshead Revisited on a bookshelf here didn’t seem too out of the ordinary.

As all of this flew around in his head like detritus in a storm, Code tried to recall what happened the previous day. The last thing he remembered was letting himself into Jade’s dorm room to check on Pearl (after her “episode” the other day, he was worried), but she hadn’t been there when he arrived. He’d waited around a few minutes, and then….

What had happened then?

The beads Jade hung up around her door frame had started to glow, hadn’t they? Yes, Code remembered thinking it was only a trick of the light at first. He reached out to idly grab them for a closer look and they’d seemed to glow brighter…almost as if they were reacting to him. Then they’d…made a doorway? No, that couldn’t be it. Code knew that was impossible, but there it was: an entrance to another room much larger than any of the dorms. And in that room was….

The details of the day before suddenly came rushing back to him, and Code started to wonder if he was going crazy as he started hearing voices. But no, he wasn’t crazy; the voices were definitely real and coming from elsewhere in the house. Code wasn’t so sure about everything else he suddenly remembered, so in the interest of not going crazy, decided not to think about it any further.

He did, however, follow the voices towards their origin: both female, and clearly bickering at the moment.

“Jade, Ah said you’re family and Ah meant that – but Ah also meant that you need to solve your own shit, okay?”
“Look, AJ, what was I supposed to do? I can’t exactly tell Sunset about all of this!”
“Yes you can! Ah thought you two were friends?”
“AJ, if you want to be technical, she’s my liegelady – way different from just being a friend. Hell, I’m not even sure where I stand with you!”
“That hurts, you know?”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean that.” A sigh. “Fuck, I am so Faustdamn confused right now….”

The moment he stepped into the kitchen, he found the two girls looking at each other. Applejack was seated at the table, a half-eaten omelet and toast on her plate. Across from her, eating from a sizeable plate of eggs, bacon and toast, was Jade, with a somewhat embarrassed look on her face.

As he approached, the latter looked at him. “So, um…hungry? I can fix whatever you want.”

Applejack grinned. “Go as expensive and exotic as you want. Ah figure she owes us for this.”

Jade’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, oh she who wanted a brie-and-applewood-smoked-bacon omelet with Iowa golden hash browns and Devonshire butter on San Francisco sourdough toast.”

Applejack shrugged. “Be glad Ah’m not mah friend Rarity. She’d be going for some really expensive stuff – shit Ah generally can’t pronounce.” With that, she reached over and plopped a bottle in front of Code. “And this is for you. Trust me, you’re gonna need it.”

Code stared at the bottle of tequila sitting just across from him. “It’s…” He looked at the clock on the nearby wall, “…7:30 in the morning.”

“Trust me, if Ah was old enough, Ah’d be taking a healthy swig right now.”

Code then turned his look to Jade. “Jade? What’s going on?”

“It’s a long story….” she said with reluctance.

“Well…if you’re friend’s right, we’re a thousand miles away from college with no explanation why, I got here by going into your room and then ending up in a freaky sci-fi hellhole with eight versions of what look like Pearl and you came at me with glowing purple hands and I must seriously have been slipped some weird shit by my roommate, because this is the only way any of this makes sense.”

“I wasn’t aware Rolling Paper did drugs.”

“There’s a reason why I gave you unopened drinks the last time you were at my dorm,” he drolled. “Besides, that’s not the point. What the hell is going on here?”

“Would you believe that you’re asleep, this is all a dream and you’ll wake up and everything will be fine?” she asked awkwardly.

Now it was Applejack’s turn to glare. “Jade….”

Jade sighed. “You know how hard this has been for me, AJ.”

“And a lot of it you brought on yourself. Ah’m not saying it’s not entirely justified, but…you trust me, right? You can trust others, too.”

“Yes, but you know why I can trust you. Otherwise, you wouldn’t know, either.”

“That’s not the point, sugar, and you know it.”

Code looked at both, an angry scowl coming onto his face. “Look, right now, I don’t give a fuck about whatever personal issues you two have with one another. What I would like to know is what the fuck is going on!”

The two girls looked at one another again, and Applejack commented, “Yeah, sorry, sugar. This is old hat for me.” She then looked at Jade. “All yours.”

The two were quiet for a few minutes before Jade finally said, “Fuck this….” and grabbed the tequila bottle, taking a swig from it.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Code asked. “It’s morning and your friend said she’s not old enough, but honestly, I don’t think any of us are.”

Setting down the bottle, she said in a sad tone, “Oh, trust me, I’m old enough.”

“You turn nineteen in January. I saw your driver’s license.”

Applejack grinned and cracked, “Give or take about six thousand years.”

Code blinked his way through a pregnant pause. “What?”

“Do you know that book I have? The one that’s my favorite?”

“Yeah – A History of Equestria or something like that, by some author named Time Passages. I remember reading some of it and tried to find a copy of my own, but aside from finding out that the author is from New Zealand and writes non-fiction biographies, I never found anything else. I figured it was just a limited-run one-off just for him to get it out of his system or something like that. Why?”

“It’s my favorite…because it’s not fiction,” she told him, never wavering her gaze from him. “It’s history. Specifically, my history, or rather, the history of my homeland.”

He blinked once. Twice. “What?”

“Code…I’m…I’m not African-American, or even American. I’m not even human. I’m…” She took a breath, then exhaled. “I’m a unicorn.”

The response to that was expected: Code stood up and paced around the room. “Roll, you sick sunnabitch…I told you I didn’t want you to put shit in my drinks, but you fucking idiot!”

“This has nothing to do with your roommate, Code.”

For her part, Applejack leaned back in her chair. “Trust me, sugar, this isn’t the first time I’ve been present for this kind of admission. At least she’s doing it better than the last one I knew.” To that, Jade gave her an annoyed look that said Really?

Meanwhile, Code just continued to pace. “Look, I gotta wake up, get a hold of the real Jade and see if she can get me to the campus clinic. I’ll have to explain what happened, and it’ll probably get Roll in a world of shit, but Goddammit, Roll, you deserve it for doing this to m—” He suddenly found his head being turned around, surrounded in a field of mauve.

He was immediately turned to face a small animal the size of a German Shepherd; it looked like a toy version of a unicorn. The creature looked at him with sad eyes and said, “Code, you’re not dreaming.”

Code did the only thing he could think of: he passed out again.

“Okay,” Applejack grunted. “I take it back: you really screwed the pooch on this one, sugar.”

Jade brushed her mane out of her eyes and looked at her friend. “AJ, not helping at all.”

“Yeah, well getting teleported two time zones out of nowhere will do that to you,” she said flatly. “Now if you’ll excuse me, Ah need to figure out how Ah’m going to explain to my family why Ah can’t work at the store today, or for that matter, why Ah left the house at five in the fucking morning.” Getting up from the table, she departed the room.

Jade sighed and facehoofed. “Great, just great. I am soooo glad Lord Starswirl will never see this, because my old master would probably be laughing his plot off at me right now.”

After casting a wakefulness spell on Code and apologizing to Applejack, Jade brought the two back into the kitchen for another talk. This time, however, she opted to remain in her unicorn form for the whole of the conversation. These were two of her closest friends and two who now knew her secret. She owed them.

So, as the day dragged on and breakfast came towards lunch, Applejack offered to cook, since Jade was somewhat unable to. As she did, Code and Jade continued their conversation, and to his credit, he was starting to come around to the idea. “So…you’re clearly not a nineteen-year-old girl, but a six-thousand-year-old unicorn mare?”

Jade sighed. “This is going to sound funny, given how I look, but…I don’t consider myself a unicorn mare anymore. I’ve spent the last couple of years as a human girl and given that the time I came from is no longer there anymore, I have no reason to go back. Besides, I love Brae, and I’m going to be his wife someday.” She blushed at that, and despite the change in face, to him it seemed so much like his friend.

Code turned to Applejack. “And you’re human?”

Applejack looked at him. “Not that it should be any concern of yours, but yes, Ah’m human. Most of the time, anyway. Long story there, trust me. And before you ask, so’s Braeburn. He’s mah cousin, and Ah think mah parents would’ve mentioned something if things were different.” She then dropped a couple of plates in front of them. “Okay, hope you like your burgers well done.”

To Code’s surprise, Jade shapeshifted into the girl he knew right in front of him. “Thanks, AJ,” she said with appreciation.

“Hey, as annoyed as Ah am with you right now, Jade…we are family. That ain’t gonna change, and you know it,” Applejack said with a fondness that Code noted.

“So…the big question, and yeah, you probably answered it already, but…why?” Code asked. “I mean, you said you’ve lived here for two years without being detected, you have your ‘parents’—” he said, adding finger quotes, “—and you’re technically an adult already. So why live like a teenager?”

“Because I am one, physically. I don’t really understand how it all works – even now, the ponies in Equestria that study this still don’t get it either – but with some exceptions here and there, we generally show up the same age as our counterparts. My counterpart – the human Jade Lily – lives in Arizona and attends ASU. Aside from our names and looks, there’s nothing in common between us. If anything, she’s more like Iris…just without the bad parts.”

He shook his head. “I’m…still trying to wrap my head around that, too. This Iris person…you say that she was your old roommate, that she killed Violet and when we found out, she was murdered by the person in charge of the cult she was a part of, a person who doesn’t have eyes, but has far more magic power than you do and was powerful enough to completely wipe her from existence?”

“Not exactly from existence,” Jade said, clearly shuddering, so much so that she had to set down her food. “Last week I found an article from a newspaper in Oregon that said that a family was killed in a car accident eighteen years ago.” She paused. “Including their infant daughter, Iris Nightshade.”

“But that’s—”

“Impossible?” Jade finished for him. “I wish I could say it was. I don’t know, and I’m not going to risk a trip out to Oregon to find out the truth. Iris…despite everything…she was my friend, someone I trusted. If things had been different, it would probably be her in your shoes right now. But she was brainwashed by that cult she was in, forced to do things I’m sure she wouldn’t have done if she’d known any different. And now? Now, I’ll never know.” Jade turned away, sorrow in her eyes. “That’s the thing I’ve had to keep under wraps. It’s not a lie…not exactly…but the truth? Well, you’re having a hard time believing it and yet….”

“Yeah, I get what you’re saying.” He sat there for endless minutes, and then finally reached for the half-empty bottle of tequila, pouring himself a shot. “So how do I figure into all of this?”

“Look, Code, I’m still trying to figure out how the hell you got into my dorm room,” she told him. From the look in her eyes, she seemed angry, but at the same time, the tone in her voice was one of both resignation and, in a sense, relief.

“You gave me the spare code key to your dorm room, remember?” he reminded her.

“That still doesn’t explain—”

“You told me that you’d planned to be out all day today,” Code replied back. “Something about a day trip to Duluth?”

Jade’s eyes widened; in everything, she’d completely forgotten about that. “Oh, shit….” she mumbled into her hand as she facepalmed. “I completely forgot about that.”

“Was it a lie?”

“Um…not really. It was going to be part of a class research trip. Now I’m going to have to cover my ass on that on top of everything else,” she groaned. “But that still doesn’t explain why you were there.”

“I was worried about Pearl. She was in bad shape last night, worse than I’d ever seen her.” He paused. “At least until last night. I…I didn’t imagine any of that, did I?”

There was a heavy pause. “No,” Jade admitted.

“Is she real? She said she came from Ding Dong, Texas—”

“There’s a place called Ding Dong?” Applejack interjected. “Fuck, and Ah thought Beehive was a weird enough name for a town.”

“You live in a city called Canterlot, which used to be Camelot and was originally Poverty Flats, if I remember you saying,” Jade reminded her.

“Yeah, point.”

“That’s not the point!” Code slammed his hand on the table, and the look in his eyes was suddenly angry. “Jade, you lied to me about her! You made me care about a girl that doesn’t exist!”

“Look, I’m sorry, okay? I wasn’t aware that you were going to start falling for her. That wasn’t her purpose! She was meant to be an early warning system in case those who had come after me before were going to come after me again. Hell, originally she wasn’t even corporeal – I changed her from a hologram to a golem after I had an unannounced visitor,” Jade commented, looking at Applejack.

“In mah defense, Ah didn’t know Sunny was gonna head to see you first thing,” Applejack told her.

“Look, I don’t give a fuck about that, okay?” The look in Code’s eyes was anger. “I came over to check on her because I was worried, okay? Worried about…about some girl that I cared about and one you’re saying is just some magical flesh robot?” He gripped the side of his head, shaking it in confusion. “Was all of it fake? Was the day that she kissed me fake too? Just some programmed protocol that—”

Jade looked at him with surprise. “Wait – she kissed you?”

“Yes! She even told me at one point she wanted to go out with me, but she was afraid that she’d be stepping on your toes, since you’re her roommate. I take it that was a lie as well?”

“Ah am soooooo glad Rainbow ain’t here for this,” Applejack said to no one in particular. “You’d never hear the end of it.”

“AJ, shut up,” Jade told her, then turned to Code. “Code…are you serious about this?”

“Yes, I’m serious! What, you want pictures or something?”

“Look, Code…I know you’re not going to believe this when I tell you, but….” She sighed. “I never programmed her to do any of that. She was just supposed to be a normal roommate, and that was that. That’s why I told you she had a boyfriend. Not because she actually has one or because she could have one, but…she’s not supposed to be capable of it.” When Code looked at her oddly, she stated flat out, “Think about it: can a robot love? Is a robot capable of love?”

“Of course not! Otherwise we’d all owe our Roombas an apology or something.”

“That’s basically what a golem is. To use a human equivalent, it’s a simulacrum.” She broke out her phone, went to the Wikipedia page and passed it over.

He read the article, then looked up at her. “So, she’s a replicant?”

“A what?”

“You mean like Blade Runner?” Applejack asked. When Jade looked at her, the teen shrugged. “You’re telling me Brae or Summer haven’t shown you that?”

Now it was Code’s turn. Grabbing his phone, he brought up the appropriate page on Wikipedia, passing that over to her, Jade read over it, then read it a second time. “I…guess? I mean, this is all just make-believe to me.”

“Yeah, well a few hours ago, you and all of this was just make-believe to me.”

“Hey, at least you didn’t reference Battlestar Galactica,” Applejack cracked, only to get stared at by both of them. “So much for helpful support, Ah guess.” She then looked at both of them. “You know, both of you are spinning your wheels here. If you’re that worried about her, why not go check on her?”

Later that afternoon in Jade’s alchemical lab, Code looked at the eight tanks, all carrying the girl that he liked. Except…now he wasn’t really sure if she was real…or a girl. Seeing her – all eight of her, floating, unconscious and asleep in the tubes was bad enough; worse so that all of them were her. But it was the fact that she floated in the tank there, completely nude…and with nothing to hide…that truly underscored the truth of it all.

He would have half-expected the girls present to give him some lecture about respecting Pearl’s privacy, but…it was hard to worry about privacy for someone who had no private parts. Furthermore, it was hard to worry about privacy for someone who technically wasn’t a someone.

And yet…seeing her like this? It was like she was in critical condition, like she was on the verge of death.

No. Something inside of him told him that it didn’t matter what she was. This was Pearl, a girl who liked him…and a girl he liked, too. Maybe he was weird for falling in love with the magical equivalent of a robot; certainly, there had been tons of stories about that since the first fake girl caught the attention of the first real guy. Plus, he was certain that what she was doing, hinting that she wanted to be with him, couldn’t be just programming and code. He knew computers and code and that world. Maybe Pearl’s coding was far above anything he was used to, but Jade had said it was magic and if so, magic didn’t play by the rules he knew. That meant that when it came to her, the rules he knew went out the window.

He leaned against the nearest container. It didn’t have to be this way, and yet….

“What the hell?” He heard Applejack’s words and looked at her. She was looking at him, completely shocked. So, for that matter, was Jade.

“What’s up?” he asked them both, noting their faces. It didn’t help when they pointed at him, and he turned to look at where they pointed. His hand, flush against the glass of the tank, glowed with a magic circle that burned with the same color as his citrine eyes. Even more shocking, despite the fact that Pearl was in a deactivated mode, she too placed her hand against the glass, as if to reach out to him.

With a surprise, he pulled his hand away from the glass, looking at the amber glow that remained on his hand until it softly faded away.

“That’s…not supposed to happen, is it?” Applejack asked Jade.

“No,” Jade commented, equally astonished. “But I think I know what it means.” She put up her own hand and a diffuse glow came around it. “AJ, concentrate on your power and do the same.” When Applejack did so, Jade stated, “Code, do what you just did.”

“What did I just do?”

“Just…focus, okay?” she told him. “Trust me. I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise. Just focus on your power and it should come forth.”

“Like a Jedi or something?” he asked.

Jade laughed. “Something like that, yes.”

Looking at her worriedly, he closed his eyes and focused. Once again, the glow and magical rings surrounded his hands, but it was a far weaker force enshrouding his hand as opposed to Applejack or Jade.

“Well, that confirms it,” Jade said, looking at the far different appearance of his magic. Looking at him, she said, “You have human magic, Code. Apparently, you come from a human magical bloodline.”

Applejack looked down at hers, which was blobby and shimmering, and looked more like Jade’s. “Then why isn’t mine like…?”

“Well, you told me about how your magic was awoken by Princess Twilight, right? My guess is – and no offense, AJ – that you probably don’t come from a magical family at all; instead, you got your powers via the Elements. Call it a magical transfusion, if you will.” She then pointed at Code. “But yours, Code…it looks like everything I’ve ever read up on about human magic. In Equestria, we rarely use magical circles, but they don’t look as complex as that – and they certainly don’t encircle our horns.”

He looked at his hands, and a smile of wonder came onto his face. “I’m a mage?”

Jade shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. Think about it: for starters, if you were, then Iris would have probably tried to get to know you a little better. Given that she didn’t know who you were at all, either the Ordo didn’t know about your magic, or just as likely, didn’t consider it a threat.” She went over and took his hands, looking at it intensely. After a few seconds, she pulled back. “You have very little magic, so much so that it’s almost nonexistent.”

“Nonexistent?”

She nodded. “You had a mage in your bloodline at one time, but it’s been so long or so far back that it’s been diluted by the rest of your ancestors. Your kids or grandkids will likely never have any at all. And while I can teach you how to use what little you have, it’s going to take a lot of training, maybe making sure you have access to a magical artifact you can draw from and even then, it’s going to exhaust you after a while.”

“But if I need training to use it, then why did it appear when I touched the tank?” he asked. “And why was Pearl trying to reach out to me?”

Jade didn’t have an answer to that, but it was Applejack, surprisingly, who did: “Could it have been the Dance?” the blonde asked. When both of them looked at her oddly, she then explained what had happened between Sunset and the human Sunset, who had apparently (and unintentionally) received her magical powers from the alicorn. When one Sunset tried to teach the other how to use it, the first thing they did was the Dance of Magic.

“They…didn’t have that in my time,” Jade explained. “It’s far more recent, I guess. But if what you’re saying is right, then it’s something that happens between two individuals who are intimate with one another.” She looked at Code. “I get that you have feelings for her, but the Dance shouldn’t happen, unless….”

“She’s got feelings for him, too,” Applejack noted.

“But that’s—”

“Impossible, sugar?” Applejack noted. “One of mah best friends, as well as mah future cousin-in-law, are both horse-like aliens from another dimension. Ah have magic powers of mah own, and when Ah’m fully powered up, Ah grow pony ears and my hair gets long enough that it looks like Ah have a tail. Want to tell me exactly how you define impossible? Because Ah think that word’s run out its welcome.”

“But even still….”

“Jade?” She looked at Code, who went back to the tank, and had placed his hand against it once more. As expected, the unconscious Pearl slowly reached out and touched the side of the glass where his hand was as well. His magic activated, and to Jade’s surprise, so did Pearl’s. Even more so, despite being in a deactivated state, a soft smile came onto the golem’s face.

Jade looked at the two of them: guy and girl, doing what naturally came to males and females with attractions to one another. Even though they were different species (and even that, as well as gender, was up for debate in Pearl’s case), the look of bliss on her face, as well as the worry and care on his made it clear what they thought of each other.

What if the same was between me and Brae? she asked herself. What if this was the way he found out what I was? A flash of imagination hit her, and it was suddenly her in the tank, with Braeburn standing just outside it, a worried and confused look on his own face. She turned to Applejack, who stood there, arms folded and looking at her with sympathy.

“What do I do, AJ?” she asked.

“Ah dunno.” The blonde turned to look at the two at the tank. “But Ah do know what pain is, and worry is. And after having seen what it’s like to lose a friend to death? Ah just never would want to be in that situation ever again.” She nodded her head towards them. “And it’s gotta be a billion times worse if the person is someone you intimately care about.”

Jade looked at the two for the longest time, then at Applejack, then back to the pair again. At last, she sighed. “I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing, AJ. Just bringing her into existence is technically illegal by Equestrian standards.”

“This ain’t Equestria, sugar,” Applejack reminded her. “And Ah can’t speak for Sunny, but Ah know you didn’t mean to do anything to hurt anyone. Ah think she’d understand that.”

“Then what do I do about them?”

Looking at the pair, Applejack said softly, “Maybe you shouldn’t do anything. Maybe it’s them that need to sort this out.”

“Dude, you just need to chill, okay?” Rolled Paper said to Code a couple of days later. They were back in their dorm, and at the moment, the former was seated on the couch, watching football and for a rare change, not high as a kite. “I can roll us a couple of blunts right now. Should just take the edge right off ya, man.”

“No…no thanks,” Code replied. He felt sickened. He hadn’t spent the night there in Oklahoma – Jade had cleared him out and told him he needed to go back, as she had to think about what to do with Pearl. He in turn asked if that meant “deactivating her” and Jade sadly admitted that it was possible. At that point, Code wanted to fight her, but…Jade was his closest friend. Right or wrong, he had to trust her. Furthermore, the look in her eyes was one of loss and confusion – the same look when she’d found out that Violet had died.

He hated leaving. He hated walking out of her dorm room as if nothing was wrong. He hated spending all of yesterday and a good part of today, skipping classes and sitting in a funk. He’d gone by Jade’s dorm the first thing this morning, but she hadn’t answered, and given that she’d taken his spare key that she’d given him, there was no way to know how she was handling, either.

“Trust me, man, I’ll get the bong, we’ll order some pizzas, and everything’ll be bliss, my man,” Rolled said with a lazy grin. “Good times.”

“No,” Code replied. “I’m good.”

A knock on the door got him out of his reverie. “I’ll get it,” Code commented, hopping out of his chair to answer the door. If nothing else, it would at least get Rolled off his latest attempt to get him stoned.

As he got to the door, he found a familiar figure standing there. “Hi,” Jade told him with a wave.

He leaned against the doorframe. “Hi, Jade….” he drawled, unsure of what to say.

She looked at him. “Look, I thought I needed to tell you this in person: I’m sorry about what happened this weekend, Code. I needed some time to figure everything out. And I mean everything. I’m in uncharted territory here, especially in regards to…well, you know.”

“And?”

“It wasn’t an easy decision,” she sighed. “It wasn’t one I wanted to make, but AJ told me that I wasn’t being fair to you – or honest with myself – if I didn’t make a final call. But I don’t want to put anyone in danger – not my family, not my friends, not innocents. And leaving things as they were didn’t sit well with her.”

“She’s a smart kid,” Code admitted, not sure where the conversation was going.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to guess.

“Hey, we’re going to be late for class, Jade! And you know how Prof. Gradecurve gets when we’re even a minute late!” To Code’s shock, Pearl appeared there, a smile on her face and light in her eyes. “Besides, you’re not allowed to flirt with him!”

Jade snickered. “Oh, really?”

Pearl mock-pouted. “Yeah, really! Now go away, I need to talk to him!”

“Fine, fine. I’ll wait over here, but remember that I still need to talk to him about something.”

As Jade walked a slight distance away, Pearl looked at him. “So…about this past weekend….” she began.

“Pearl, listen: you don’t have to expla—” Code began, but Pearl cut him off.

“I…I guess I should have told you that my disease is worse than I said it was earlier, and that I have to go to the hospital for blood transfusions occasionally. Jade told me that when I passed out, you were really worried, and when you guys called the ambulance, you were completely freaked out. That you spent the entire weekend by my hospital bed until the doctors sent you home.” She sighed. “Trust me, between my parents blowing a fuse, Jade chewing me out and the doctors giving me a lecture, I’m really sorry about putting you through the wringer, Code. I really am. But….” she said, a smile creeping onto her face.

“But?”

“Tonight. 7:30, pick me up. I made reservations at Keewenaw’s at eight, and then we can go hit that movie I wanted to see at 9:30.”

Code blinked. “Huh?”

“Good! I’ll see you tonight then! Gotta go!” With that, she headed towards the elevator. “Jade, you coming?”

“Uh, no – I need to talk with him about the other thing that came up this weekend,” Jade commented.

Pearl’s smile briefly fell. “Yeah. I heard about that. Well, you two have me, so that’s a consolation prize, right?” And without even thinking twice, she went up to Code and kissed him deeply for several seconds before breaking off, breathless. “There’s more where that came from,” she said with a wink before rushing back towards the elevator. Waving goodbye to the pair, she then headed off.

Code stood there, amazed, while Jade giggled. “3.0,” she said after a second.

“3.0? But I thought—”

“I nearly did. But then Applejack told me that if Pearl really reacted to you that way, she was capable of other things and I didn’t have the right to interfere between what goes on with you two. And she’s right, you know: I don’t have that right to interfere…especially when things get to that stage.”

“That stage?”

“You know, when a filly and a colt really really love each other….”

“No! I mean, I thought….”

“Like I said – 3.0. I made a lot of changes to her, and she’s as close to a normal human being as can be, although she has pony magic instead of human magic, and I’ll still have to switch her mental core out between the eight different bodies, so she’ll ‘be going to the hospital’—” Jade commented with finger quotes, “—once every couple of months.”

“That still doesn’t answer—”

“Yes, she can.” That put his further question on ice. “Trust me, it was hard to make those adjustments, but I, ahem, found a willing volunteer to model.” She tapped him on the shoulder and added, “Oh and AJ says if you so much as even think about her while you two are getting intimate, she’ll know and she’ll drive from Canterlot just to kick your ass.” Code went pale, and Jade added with a laugh, “Well, I couldn’t very well use myself as a model, right? That’d be all kinds of awkward.”

“As if it isn’t already?” Code asked.

“Just take care of her, okay? She’s not the Bride of Frankenstein and even though I don’t consider her my daughter or anything – that’d be creepy as hell – she’s still my roomie and my friend, so don’t hurt her, okay?”

“Um…yeah. Of course.”

“Good. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get to my class.” Whistling the tune to the theme from Weird Science, Jade went off, towards the elevator and the rest of the day.

The strange dream happened again.

Funny that she’d had the dreams shortly after the time that Sunset had asked her about dating another girl; that was…odd, as the girl in question not only didn’t exist, but was also stated to be the (non-existent) younger sister of her ex-boyfriend. Younger than her by at least a couple of years, and certainly not what she would consider girlfriend material – there was only one girl that fit her mind, in her opinion.

So when she woke up again after having the same recurring dream she’d had occasionally since that day last month, Compass Rose sat up and looked around in her room, the moonlight throwing odd-colored grayish white shapes through the window against the wall. Her head was a mess and right now she wasn’t sure what she wanted.

Part of her wanted to call her ex-boyfriend. Despite what she told everyone, she still loved Forward Pass. She’d broken up with him not because they didn’t belong together or the like, but because he’d made a stupid comment. Part of her wondered if they should get back together, especially with the rumors she’d heard that he was genuinely remorseful about making light of her admission of her feelings. Truth be told, she’d thought about it on more than one occasion, but it never went beyond that for one particular reason…

And that reason was Sunset, as she was part of the problem as well. The girl she’d been friends with as a child (and that had actually turned out to be Sunset’s similarly-named twin sister, oddly enough), only to go away for a few years and come back as the bad girl that had piqued certain desires in Rose’s mind. That had blossomed into outright love as Sunset had changed and become the girl everyone relied on. Unfortunately, getting into Sunset’s heart meant a locked struggle against the magenta-haired yandere that was unfortunately the niece of Rose’s bosses at the café. Just thinking about her made Rose’s blood boil.

And then there was this strange, fantasy girl that had been in her thoughts as of late. Rose knew she was a figment of her imagination, and yet all those dreams felt like they were memories, fragments of a time gone by, as weird as it seemed. But if that was true – and there was no way it could be – then her dreams were…

She shook her head. She didn’t even want to think about what that meant.

She looked at the clock, which read 1:30 in the morning. Thankfully, she didn’t have to work today, but going down to the County Fair to see Sunset was out of the question, mainly because that also meant dealing with the pink-haired problem child. So she closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

No such luck.

Sitting up, she knew she couldn’t sleep now. She was wide awake and restless at that. If she was going to sleep, she was going to need to burn off this extra anxious energy. Part of her wanted to go wake up her brother and ask Vector Line if he wanted to watch some movies, but then she remembered that he was out of town this weekend with his girlfriend and had left her his car so she could get around. Part of her also thought about calling her parents back in the UK for advice but given the time difference there was no guarantee that they were at home. Plus, to be honest, she really didn’t feel like sitting at home in the empty house, now that she was awake.

She reached for her phone and started to tap out a text to her best friend, Scotch Bonnet, but then remembered that she had to work at her part-time job at the County Fair in the morning, so waking her up was probably a bad thing to do. So, like it or not, Rose was on her own for this one.

Fortunately for her, she thought, as she got out of bed, being up this early in the morning gave her an idea that she wanted to try, if for no other reason than just because she could.

The Meatery was the only round-the-clock diner that she knew about, at least around here. Nestled in Bella Vista, it was started by a pair of game hunters. The place had a weirdly rustic look to it, and the logo – a cartoonish smiling griffin, eating a cheeseburger – also made things look all the weirder. And that was during the day. At night, with the deer’s head and antlers on the wall, antique guns and other bric-a-brac decorating the wooden walls, well, she wondered if she should look for a guy in a hockey mask carrying a rusty, bloodied machete as well. Seriously, the place in the late hours just seriously was creepy as hell.

And as she sucked on the straw in her mouth, she had to sigh. Strange as hell or not, they made the best milkshakes in town, hands down. She’d been here a number of times with Scotch Bonnet and Tennis Match, her best friends – a wince passed through her as she recalled the tragic, unfair fate that had befallen Match – enjoying the drinks and onion rings (another one of the choice items here) and generally trying not to be creeped out by the décor.

But things were different now. Ever since Match’s death, there had been an uncomfortable rift between her and Scotch, and the gulf seemed larger every day. In many ways, the now-lost third member of their trio had been the glue of what kept them together, and now that she was gone, murdered by girls who were really no older than they were, Match’s loss had reduced the trinary to a binary that was falling by the wayside due to grief, life or something that Rose couldn’t put her finger on.

We really were so innocent back then, she thought mournfully. Just Scotch, Matchie and me, happy as larks and not realizing the dangers of the world. She sighed; she’d give anything to live back in the world of the past again if it meant her friends could be returned to her. But reality didn’t work like that, she knew, and there was nothing that could change that.

“Rose?”

She turned and looked with surprise: there, standing at the table, was Forward Pass. They’d been together for years, though strangely sometimes it felt as though they’d never been together, if that made sense: their relationship had fallen apart because she’d realized her feelings for Sunset and in a pique of jealousy or something, he’d made comments that had driven an irreparable divide between them. They’d been apart for close to a year now, and even after all that, she’d heard rumors that he hadn’t really gotten over her.

Well, that was fair enough, because truth be told, she hadn’t really gotten over him, either. She always found his smile infectious, always got lost when looking into his eyes, and missed the warm strength of his arms around her. They’d never slept together, but she’d been tempted to more than once and maybe if he hadn’t meant his crass remark about Sunset, she might have even taken him up on that.

That is, if that bitch Pinkie doesn’t stop trying to turn Sunny’s life into a nightmare, Rose inwardly seethed. She hated that girl, even if she liked said cunt’s aunt and uncle. Well, not their fault their niece was a freakish stalker nightmare twat, she reasoned.

“Yeah, it’s me, Ward,” she told him.

“What are you doing here?” he asked her.

She held up her drink. “The mint chocolate milkshake’s to die for,” she said with an awkward smile. “But I could ask you the same thing.”

He looked around and when the coast was clear, sat down in the seat next to her. “Honestly? Ditching Double Reverse,” he said with an awkward smile. “We just got done with our game against Bridgevale High a few hours ago and Dub’s here trying to get into Dance Squad’s pants.”

Rose glared at Forward with narrowed eyes. “Isn’t he dating Flying Colors?”

“Define ‘dating’,” Forward told her. “The sad fact is, he’s with Flying Colors because she dotes on him and he’s over there playing tonsil hockey with Dance Squad because she’s stupid, stacked and a bit on the slutty side.”

She took an angry sip of her milkshake – or at least she thought so. To him, it looked a bit childish, in that cute sort of way. “So is that what you jocks do?” she accused. “Have one girl that stands by you while you go play hide the football with the other?”

He clenched his hands in frustration, closed his eyes, then sighed. “You’re never going to forgive me for what I said, are you?”

“Hey, I let you sit here with me instead of telling you to take a hike, right?”

Before he could answer, the waitress showed up and because he didn’t want to be a bother, he placed a quick order for a cherry milkshake and fried pickles. She always wondered why the hell he liked the things, and when she once asked him about it he’d replied that it was something his parents always made, then made an off-hand remark about how he wasn’t aware they were any normal foodstuffs back in his parents’ native Mexico.

“You and those pickles again, I see,” she commented.

“And knowing you, you’ll steal half of them before I’m done even though you claim to hate pickles,” he told her.

“I do,” she replied, “but at least the buttermilk dressing they go with tastes okay.”

Once the waitress disappeared, the two former paramours looked at each other uneasily. Forward was the first to speak after several awkward seconds. “So…how are things going with Sunset?”

“I….” Rose gave him an awkward smile. “Great! Sunny and I are doing just fine, thanks.” In response to that, Forward merely looked at the girl he’d known forever until she wilted under that look. “Okay, we’re not doing so great. Unfortunately, I have to contend with a pink-haired menace who thinks that getting in the way of my romantic life is the best option.” With that, Rose went into a discussion with the heated rivalry she had with Pinkie Pie and how it was impacting her attempts to get closer to Sunset.

“Well, don’t look at me for romantic advice,” Forward said with a shrug. “I don’t think I could genuinely offer any. Besides, I didn’t even know that Pinkie Pie swung that way. Last I’d heard, she had a boyfriend.”

“Yeah, well, she should’ve stayed with him,” Rose growled. “Maybe she’d’ve been happier that way.” She then paused, realizing exactly what she said, and looked at her ex-boyfriend. “Ward…I’m sorry. That was insensitive of me.”

“I….” Mercifully, before he could say anything else, his order showed up. As expected, she immediately stole a pickle from him, though it was more out of the need to not say anything that could make things worse between the two of them. Several minutes went by with him not saying anything, just eating and with Rose feeling that every bit of taxidermy in the restaurant was staring at her with accusing eyes, glances that spoke of just how badly she’d screwed things up and how much she was paying for it.

“Ward? Say something? Please?” she asked him.

“What’s there to say?” he grunted, not so much in anger as resignation. “You were right. I fucked up, and I’m paying for it.” Unable to finish his food anymore, he got up from the table and added, “I’ll pay for everything, so don’t worry about it. You have a good night, Rose.”

She reached out for him. “Ward, please, I didn’t mean—” As she touched him, she realized he’d stopped.

“Oh, son of a bitch,” he groaned. “Dub, you fucktard.” At that pronouncement, Rose looked over to where the other teens had been and saw an empty booth. Clearly either forgetting about him or just not caring, Double Reverse and Dance Squad had taken off, leaving Forward high and dry.

“Ward, please, just have a seat and finish eating, okay?” she told him. “I have my brother’s car and I can give you a lift home. Just…sit, okay?”

“Fine,” he grumbled, taking a seat once more. With that, an uneasy silence came between the two once more, punctuated only by the occasional slurping from straws and chewing on fried pickles.

“You think you know about life
You think you know about love
But when you put your hands inside me
It doesn’t even feel like I’m being touched, and

You were the boy I wanted to cry with,
You were the boy I wanted to die with”

The song droned on as they pulled up in front of Forward’s house. The house was dark and as they pulled up, Ward looked distinctly uncomfortable.

“Well, we’re here,” Rose said, looking at the unusually darkened house. Then again, it was nearly three in the morning. “Huh, they didn’t even leave the porch light on.”

“That’s, uh, my fault; my parents have been out of town for the past few weeks, so it’s just me by myself.” He leaned back in the seat. “You know how my parents have thought about having a second kid, right?”

“Yeah. Sometimes I think they thought I’d be it,” she said with a half-joke, then winced at yet another reminder of their ended relationship. That was quickly followed by a flash in the mind of that purple-haired girl from her dreams earlier. Huh?

To his credit, Forward let her comment go. “Well, they’re currently in Mexico signing adoption papers for another kid.” Forward pulled out his phone and showed a picture of a smiling little girl with green hair, tan skin and orange eyes. “Her name is Cinnamon Churro and she’s the cutest little thing, so my parents say.”

Rose took the phone. “She does look cute. Looking forward to being an older brother?”

“Yeah. You know me, always been an only child, so….” He shrugged.

“Well, speaking from being a kid sister, having an older brother is a great thing,” she yawned.

He noted that. “C’mon in – I’ll get you some coffee before you go.”

“No, that’s not really necessary, Ward,” she protested.

“Bullshit. I saw that yawn, and I’m not going to let you drive into a ditch because you closed your eyes at the wrong time.”

“I won’t do that,” she insisted.

“Yes you will – I still remember that the fastest way to your place is through Three Heroes Parkside Drive, and that place gets foggy as hell at night this time of year. It’s a mess to drive even during the best of conditions and not while you’re half-asleep.”

Rose made to protest again, but then a second yawn uttered from her mouth. She blushed and said, “Your mom still get that cinnamon mocha coffee?”

“Yup,” he said with a grin as she locked the car and he went to the door to open it.

A few minutes later, they sat in his kitchen, drinking coffee. Despite the caffeine injection, she still felt as though she was losing it. For his part, Ward looked just as tired. Stifling another yawn, she asked, “So how are things going with you, date wise? I know that Suede Jacket and Miniskirt were both interested in you.”

“Yeah, maybe,” he admitted. “And to be honest, I could probably have either of them within an instant.” He sighed and then looked her straight in the eyes. “But they’re not you, Rose. And if I were with them, well…I’d feel like I was cheating.”

“Why would you? We’re not dating anymore.”

“Rose, you don’t get it, do you? I don’t want anyone else! For fuck’s sake, I could have the entire cheerleading squad throw themselves at me and it wouldn’t matter, okay? You and I – we were together since Eighth Grade, and you threw us away because of a stupid comment I made! Yes, I shouldn’t have made it! Yes, I should have been more sensitive to your feelings! But what about mine? Don’t my feelings count for anything?” He leaned against the table, looking at her, his face a mixture of anger and hurt. “You honestly can’t sit there and say that you don’t feel anything, do you? That you’ve stopped loving me?”

She looked at him and was going to say the obvious: Yes. But it wasn’t just that simple, was it? He was right – they had been together forever, and while she’d been hurt by what he said, she hadn’t made it any easier by admitting how she felt about Sunset. Furthermore, her fights with Pinkie – as justified as they were; that girl had some serious obsession issues! – probably hurt Forward every time he saw it. And lastly, if she were to tell him yes, she knew the truth: it would be a lie.

Not sure of her own self, she suddenly found the table surface very interesting to look at as she said sotto voce, “No.”

Endless minutes peeled away from the clock in silence, until the sound of steady staccato sounded from outside. Both of them looked out the window to see silvery lines come down, heavy and constant.

“Well, that settles it: I can’t let you go out there like this,” he told her. “You know where the guest room is.”

“But I—”

“Rose, please don’t argue. I know what you’re going to say: that it probably isn’t a good idea to stay over at a guy’s place when his parents aren’t home. But we’ve been alone before, and you know I’m not going to do anything. Plus, the door locks, if you don’t trust me.”

She gave him a hurt look; not because she’d been hurt herself, but because of the shamed look. Yes, they’d been alone plenty of times, and there had been times when they could have easily done something, but he’d always been a gentleman about things. And now that they weren’t together, why would it be any different?

“Tell you what: I’ll get up in the morning and make you your favorite breakfast,” he said with a grin. “I haven’t forgotten about that.”

Despite everything, she laughed. “You don’t know how to cook, Ward.”

“And yet you ate it.”

She rolled her eyes. Yes, I did – but only because…. She sighed inwardly; she ate it because she loved him and she didn’t want to tell him how God awful his attempt at “cooking” was. “Okay, you win – but only if I make breakfast.”

“Deal,” he said, sounding somewhat relieved.

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

“No, but if I have one more breakfast consisting of microwaved Hot Pockets, I’m probably going to go nuts.”

After sending her brother a quick text – ever since the murders this past summer, Vector had become somewhat more protective of her than usual – she climbed into the familiar guest bed. She’d slept in the bed more than once, but that was usually when she stayed over when Forward’s parents were home. Still, it felt comfortable, and in a way, perfectly natural, and with that, she didn’t have much problem falling asleep.

“Rose?”

Rose looked around, seeing the front of Canterlot High. She was still in her underwear, having slipped out of her clothing so she could get some sleep in the guest bed, and so she knew this was just a dream – a lucid dream. Furthermore, there was nobody around, so she didn’t have anyone to look at her – even if it was a dream, that would still be embarrassing.

Okay, if Sunny looked at me, it wouldn’t be that embarrassing, she admitted to herself.

“Rose?”

She heard the voice, and it sounded like no one she knew. Of course, it was a dream, so it was all just a part of REM, of her mind sorting out the day’s events, and truth be told, they had already been not normal for her.

She then felt the tap on her right arm, and as she turned, she felt herself kissed. Sensually, lovingly, and the sensation of someone pulling her close. Without even thinking twice, she joined in on it. She could sense something feminine about the lips, and it had to be Sunset. Even a dream Sunset was better than nothing, right?

As the kiss broke, she heard the voice say breathlessly, “Wow – you never did that to me when I was alive.”

Rose’s eyes widened. Was she kissing Tennis Match? She blushed furiously – for one, she never thought of Match like that; they’d been friends forever and that had never come into her mind. Plus, Match had a boyfriend!

The person laughed and Rose found herself looking into the eyes of a girl she’d never seen before, one with lilac eyes, framed within a beautiful tan face. Burgundy locks fell down around her, and there was something that stirred within Rose, which made her blush all the harder for it. Then she realized she was nearly naked, and dream or not, this was a stranger. Screaming, she dived for the nearby bushes.

The girl laughed. “You were always the shy one. Why was I the bolder one? I was the younger one, for crying out loud!”

“Who…who are you?” Rose called out from behind the bushes. Suddenly this didn’t seem so lucid anymore.

A sad look came over the girl’s face. “I knew this was going to happen, but…it still hurts. Hold on a second.” The girl raised her hand, and strange circles of lavender light encircled them, with unusual script dancing between the layers of the circle. Rose suddenly felt warm light encircle her, and a second later, she was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans.

“You can come out now; your dignity is ensured,” the stranger told her, though she added, “though I kinda liked the view, to be honest.”

Rose stared at herself. Isn’t this a dream? she thought to herself, now completely confused.

“It’s a dream,” the stranger assured her. “Only it’s not, too. It’s…complicated. And we don’t have much time. I wish we did. Maybe, maybe if things had gone right, we would have. I’ve seen other places, you know. Places where we were happy together. Places where we spent a lifetime together. And now?” The look in the stranger’s eyes looked infinitely sad.

“Do I know you?” Rose asked. To a degree, she did: it was the girl from her recurring dreams this past month. The fantasy girl she didn’t know and wasn’t sure why she was dreaming about. But until this point, she was sure that the girl was probably a picture she saw once somewhere, and mentally tied to Forward. But now? She wasn’t as sure about that.

“You did,” the girl told her. “I used to be your girlfriend in a time that never existed…but you obviously don’t remember that. I’m not going to go into a long story that would probably give you a headache. Let’s just say that I existed once, something happened, and I don’t exist anymore – never did, in a sense. But when I did, you were my girlfriend, and we were an item…even if my big brother wasn’t happy about that.”

Something jabbed Rose’s memory like a spike in the head, and she suddenly remembered last month, when Sunset was asking her about a girl that didn’t exist, a girl that was supposedly Forward’s kid sister and Rose’s girlfriend. Rose had told Sunset everything she knew – or rather, didn’t know – about that girl.

Despite everything, a word came with the unusual clarity, as if something was clawing from the beyond only to insert itself into her brain like a coin dumped into an arcade game.

“Boysenberry? Berry?” Rose spoke, not sure if she was saying the right words.

To her surprise, the girl started crying tears of joy. “You remembered,” she said softly and gently. “Despite everything, you remember.”

“I…didn’t. I…shouldn’t?” Rose stated, confused once more.

“Oh, trust me, after this is all over and done with, you’ll probably forget about it, like most people do with dreams,” Berry admitted. “Not all of us get to be lucky enough to be in the circle of friends of a goddess, or something like that. I’m a bit unclear on the details myself, given that I don’t exist.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Yeah. My mentor tells me that’s the first step to wisdom,” Berry said with a sad laugh.

A blank look came over Rose as she suddenly remembered everything. Their relationship, the arguments with Forward (who, strangely enough, wasn’t her boyfriend and was actually unhappy about her relationship with Berry). That she hadn’t been as popular at school as she was, and that if anything, she filled the niche now filled by some girl named Wallflower who Rose barely recalled meeting once. So much of it filled her mind, thoughts and memories of a time that didn’t exist and yet somehow did, and the girl couldn’t wrap her mind around it. She fell to her knees, buffeted by the mental onslaught, and sobbed a whimper of pain as the maelstrom of realities warred within her mind.

She felt Berry’s hand on her shoulder and things were suddenly clear. “You don’t have the capacity to remember both timelines. There’s precious few who do,” the girl told her. “And it’s not going to matter once you wake up, anyway – which will be in a few hours. So we have to talk fast.”

“We do?”

Berry nodded. “My mentor pulled a few strings – more than a few, actually – to get this moment to coalesce. After that, probably never going to happen again. Probably for the best, I guess. So, I’m going to be blunt: go back to Ward. Give up Sunny.”

“But why? For starters, he hated our relationship, if these memories are true! And even so, you want me to date your brother?”

“You two grew up together! Why not?”

“But if that’s the case, that’s the result of the new reality, not the one you lived in! That doesn’t make sense!” She looked into the eyes of the girl she dated once upon a non-time. “None of this does.”

Berry smiled. “It does. You were always meant to be a part of my family, Rose. In the old time, we were probably going to get married. In the new one, it’s clear that you and Ward do. Things happen for a reason, and I guess this is one of them. But you can’t do that if you keep chasing Sunset.”

“But what about my feelings?” Rose asked. “What about my own life! You’re making it sound like I have no agency or choice in all this!”

“Rose, sweetie, it’s not like we’re characters in a story. Well, we are, but…so is everyone else.” She put up her hand and magic flared within it; above, billions of small bubbles appeared and within those bubbles were faces of people she both knew and didn’t. “Everyone has a story, a role to play in the grand scheme of things. It’s like that song my brother likes so much: ‘All the world’s indeed a stage, and we are merely players – performers and portrayers.’” She smiled. “You showed your agency and choice by leaving him when he made that stupid comment. But even still, you love him, right?”

Rose nodded. “I shouldn’t. If what you’re saying is true, I shouldn’t. But I do. I love Sunny, but I also love Ward.”

“Because you were meant to love someone in my family and continue our family line. There’s a reason for that. I don’t know what it is and I don’t know why. But you were meant to bear Ward’s child, no matter what.” Rose looked at Berry with wide eyes, and the younger girl laughed. “C’mon! We’re both girls! How’d you think we were going to be parents? I mean, adoption’s great, really, but you’ve always wanted kids of your own – you even told me as much.”

Rose blushed; she did. “And so I just forget about you?”

“You can’t forget about someone who didn’t exist.”

“You know what I mean!”

Berry reached over and caressed Rose’s cheek. “I do. But somewhere, maybe, our story is still being told. Maybe somewhere you and I get our happily ever after. And I’m sure even in this time, we…well, at least you…get our happy endings. I’m sure I will, too. My mentor is really upset about what happened. But Sunset, as hot as she is, was never meant to be yours, Rose. You have someone who loves you, even if he made a mistake. And trust me, he’ll make many more – he is my brother, after all.” Berry pulled Rose back to her feet. “Look, ultimately you’ll make your choice – that’s your agency. But destiny exists…it’s just not pre-destiny.”

Berry went and kissed her. “But no matter what, Rose, I’ll always love you. Even if you don’t remember me, I’ll remember you.”

And then Rose opened her eyes as her alarm went off. Ugh, she groaned, wiping her eyes. I swear I feel like I didn’t get any sleep! She stretched, remembering that she was in her ex-boyfriend’s home and that she’d offered to make breakfast for him.

My “ex” boyfriend, she mused to herself. How long was she going to hold him to a mistake he’d made that he didn’t mean? How long was she going to deny her own feelings about him still? She knew she loved Sunset, but….

Forward came into the kitchen, yawning. “I swear, I need some coffee,” he said, stumbling in like a zombie. Then the smell hit him – the smell of real food.

“Hi,” Rose said as she stood over the stove, making omelets. “Sleep well?”

He shook his head as he shuffled over to the coffeemaker. “No. Weird ass dream.” He thought about it, rattling the idea around in his head. “Bunch of weird, horse-like creatures telling me that I had to make you happy.”

“Weird horse-like creatures?”

“Well, some of them were horses, but really small, maybe about the size of a large dog,” he told her. “I’d call them ponies, but obviously they looked more like some demented version of that kid’s show – Filly something or other. And they weren’t all horses. Some of them were fantasy creatures, like pegasuses and unicorns.”

“Pegasi,” Rose corrected. “Trust me, I was born in England, so I know my fantasy characters. I think it’s Crown Law or something.” She slid the first omelet onto a plate as he poured himself a mug, then started working on the second one. “But they were telling you that you had to make me happy?”

“Yeah. Like I’d be disappointing someone if I didn’t. I know, sounds funny, huh?”

“The mind works in weird ways, Ward, you know that.”

“Yeah, well, I’m a football player, so I’ll just write it up to a concussion and call it that,” he said with an awkward chuckle. Seeing the lack of a smile on her face, he sighed and took a drink from his coffee. “Look, Rose…I honestly didn’t sleep much last night, because I had to do a lot of thinking about things.” Another sip to clear his mind. “About us.”

“I figured that.” She finished up her omelet and sat down at the table, where she’d already poured herself a coffee. “Same here.”

“And?”

She took a bite of her omelet. For a strange second, she thought she tasted fruit…berries? But then the sensation went away. “I’m not going to lie. I’m bisexual, I realize that. I’m in love with Sunset, and that’s not going to change.” She saw the look of heartbreak on his face, and in that moment, she knew her choice was made.

“But,” she added, “I also know she’s not in love with me. As much as it hurts, she only sees me as a friend, and that’s probably all I will ever be to her.”

“I’m sorry,” he said to her in a not-entirely-convincing voice.

“Thanks. But it’s more than just that. Truthfully, she’s not the only one I love. And I’ve been absolutely horrible to the other person I care about.” At that, Forward looked up at her with desperate hope in his eyes, and she looked at them in return. “And for that, I’m sorry, Ward. I don’t know if I deserve your forgiveness – or love – for how I’ve treated you this past year.”

“I don’t care about that,” he told her. “But does that mean…?”

“Can we start over?” she asked him. “I think we should. Take it easy and slow. But you have to understand: I’m always going to be attracted to girls. There’s a chance I might find one and she might be Ms. Right instead of you, Ward. I don’t want to sound cruel or wanton, but….”

He reached over and took her hand in his. “I’ll take that challenge,” he told her. “I’ve never loved anyone other than you, Rose. I don’t think I ever will.”

“Why?” she asked him. “You could have just given up. You could have, by your own words, dated anyone. Why me?”

He chuckled again, but there was a smile in his eyes. “Because, as strange as it sounds, it has to be you. Like there’s something inside of me that says that you and I were meant to be together. I know that sounds weird, but somehow, when I first realized that I wanted to be more than just friends with you, that I wasn’t going to go anywhere else. Like you were always going to be the one.”

She looked at him and believed it. Without even thinking about it, she leaned over the table.

So did he.

His lips tasted like coffee, that boysenberry-flavored coffee that he liked, as much as she thought it was weird. But for some reason?

It felt right.

Standing outside, watching from under the shade of the pine tree she used to love sitting under, Boysenberry sighed. It was over. The last link was severed, the last tie was broken. “I guess this is it, then,” she said sadly.

“It is,” a new voice agreed. “It had to be done, and I’m sorry.”

“Why?”

“Bonds such as the one that you have with her…they create a weakness in the fabric of timespace,” the other person told her. “That’s dangerous and causes things that aren’t exactly good for humanity. But healing personal rifts also heals those kinds of rifts as well.”

“I wish I could have been with her,” Berry mourned.

“I wish you could have as well. But that’s beyond even my power.” Seeing the look in Berry’s eyes, the speaker added, “Oh, this has happened before. It will probably happen again. And from what I understand, usually those affected are offered the chance to forget when the pain becomes unbearable.”

The young woman looked at her reflection in the glass. She was thirteen a reality ago. Now, she was in her early twenties, and a stunner – the new body that had been created for her as a consolation prize for not existing in this reality anymore. She wasn’t Boysenberry anymore, not really; that said, she would always be herself, though, even if the identification she carried didn’t say that. And she would always love Compass Rose, no matter what.

Berry looked at her mentor. “Does anyone ever choose to forget? To move on, as if it never happened?”

A beautiful woman with long, blood-red hair and sparkling blue eyes looked at her, and a ghost of a smile came onto her lips. “No,” Faust said fondly. “No one – or nopony – forgets. No one.” With that, she started to walk away from the house. “Let’s go. I have a lot to teach you still, and you have a ways to go on your new path. And we don’t have much time.”

Berry took one last look at the girl she loved, and the brother she adored, then turned away. She would never forget them, even if she would never see them again.

And somehow, that made all the difference.

This story has been a long time in coming. Inspired by the short story “The Nearness of You” as well as the film What Dreams May Come, I felt we had to wrap up the tale somewhat on Rose and Berry. That doesn’t mean that Former Unicorn’s version is forgotten; if she decides to finish it, it will be in the old timeline, but we don’t operate there anymore.

That being said, what will happen to Berry now? Even we don’t know yet.

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