“So, you actually let her go, then?” Discord’s voice rang in Twilight’s ear as he scrubbed her mane, lathering it with shampoo. Her mess of a mane still required care, but the girl was thankful that she didn’t have to attend to it too much outside of washing it.

“I had to,” Twilight replied as she closed her eyes, allowing the draconequus to work on her mane, her body relaxing as he did.

“You’ve never let anyone go to no pony territory before, why the exception for that dragon?” Discord raised a brow.

Twilight opened her eyes. “A lot of things happened to me in Dragon Scar, Discord. Cinder not only helped us save Equestria from Serenade, but she also saved me from a life of being Sven’s queen. I owe her more than I can ever repay, so if she asks such a request from me, my hoof is forced.”

“You’re too soft sometimes.” Discord rolled his eyes before rinsing her mane out, making water appear from his hands to do so.

He was right, but at the same time, he was wrong. Twilight knew she could be soft sometimes, but over the years she had noticed herself become harder than she would have liked. Many ponies said she was a much colder mare than she once was, and she couldn’t disagree.

Cold was what worked though, cold was what was needed at times to get a job done.

“Even so, Cinder wanted to go find Eclipse, and I am obliged to help her...” Twilight frowned.

“You know that she could be chasing a dead pony though, right?” Discord reminded her.

“I know, and I tried to tell her that, but she already had her heart set on it. If there’s one thing I know about Cinder Razerclaw, it’s that she does not back down once she’s made a decision,” Twilight stated.

Discord laughed. “It’s definitely going to be a lot less interesting around here without some hot shot dragon warrior to stir things up. Perhaps we could train Spike with a sword to keep things spicy around here?”

Twilight smirked and looked back at him. “Come on, Spike can barely stay coordinated enough to fight with his claws. He’s a lover, not a fighter.”

“I used to think the same about you.” Discord chuckled.

Turning around, the mare placed her hooves around his neck and grinned. “I can definitely be both.”

Twilight Shimmer stood there blank-faced as she stared at her daughter. Her brain just shut down for a brief moment just at the mention of Adagio’s name. It was a name she had hoped never to hear again, and a name that she had hoped would never leave her daughter’s mouth. What did it mean? Why was she curious about such an awful person?

Clearing her throat, Twilight decided to ask for clarity just to make sure she had heard the girl correctly. “Who?”

“Adagio Dazzle,” Horizon repeated.

Fuck. Twilight thought.

How much does Horizon know?

“Why are you asking?” Twilight sat down on the bed and attempted to act casual as she removed her socks, avoiding eye contact with her daughter.

“So you know who she is?” Horizon tilted her head.

“Horizon, I think you’re asking questions that may be too difficult for you to handle...” Twilight said quietly.

“Please tell me.” Horizon stepped closer.

Twilight could see that her teenage daughter was determined. If she didn’t tell her, she was likely to go to her brother and probe him. He was bound by his job not to speak about it, but there was no telling what other things he would say about her mother if he was pressed. Shining definitely was ready to burst when it came to criticisms of Sunset.

The woman was pressed between a rock and a hard place. Horizon was asking questions and that meant she was bound to find out eventually. It was better to appease her curiosity now rather than wait for her to dig for answers on her own.

Sighing, Twilight rubbed her temples. “Adagio Dazzle was a very bad person, Horizon.”

“Why’s that?” Horizon questioned.

“She was an ex-girlfriend of your Aunt Shimmer’s. She murdered her a long time ago when she got her mixed up for your mom...” Twilight explained.

“So she is in prison?” Horizon asked.

“No. She is dead. Your uncle Shining shot her. She was trying to kill your mother, and he finished her off. The report was kind of messy, and he had to fabricate it a little bit to protect other people involved, but the short version is that your uncle risked his own well being to keep this contained. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you, but it really was something that I was hoping to never think about again...” Twilight frowned.

Horizon blinked, trying to take all of this new information in. This meant that getting a hold of the data that Adagio had was now officially out of the question. Whatever knowledge Adagio had about Shimmer’s files that were shared with her died along with her. It was yet another dead end, however, there was a glimmer of hope, as it was clear that Twilight knew at least a little bit.

While Horizon had avoided asking Twilight up to that point, now that the floodgate was open, she decided that there was little point in holding back now.

“Twilight, what do you know about this ‘magic’ that Aunt Shimmer was researching?” Horizon questioned.

Twilight could almost feel her heart stop beating as she reached to her neck and gripped the medallion around it. She hadn’t used its power in so long, how did Horizon know about magic? She had never shown her any of her abilities, nor did Sunset when she was around.

“Magic?” Twilight played dumb.

“Yes, Aunt Shimmer was researching it before she died,” Horizon explained.

Damn it, I thought all of those files were destroyed! Twilight cursed herself for not being more diligent.

“Horizon... Why are you suddenly interested in some old research that your aunt was doing?” Twilight offered a gentle smile to the girl.

“I don’t know, but I think it may have something to do with mom.” Horizon shrugged.

So that’s it, huh? Twilight gulped.

“Horizon, are you sure it’s a good idea to be looking into something like this?” Twilight asked.

“It’s too late for me to stop,” Horizon said plainly.

Biting her lip, Twilight tried to think of what to say, before deciding that the best course of action was to say nothing. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore, Horizon... Please just go back to bed...”

Nodding, Horizon obeyed the command and headed toward the door. “Very well, by the way, I have a friend over, so please make sure she is accommodated tomorrow at breakfast?”

Twilight blinked and came to a stand. “Does... Your friend know... What you’re looking into that is?”

Horizon nodded. “Yeah.”

There was silence and then Horizon left to return to her bedroom. Twilight sat back down on her bed and gripped her medallion once more. It had been so long, and the thoughts were too painful. What was going to happen? She wished she knew.

The next morning, Yuna woke up with her friend at her side. For a brief moment, she forgot where she was and thought she must have been dreaming still, as the girl of her dreams was asleep next to her, but then she recalled what had happened the night prior and she was elated.

Horizon was adorable as she slept, her hair was an absolute wreck, but it was so cute. Her lips were slightly parted as she inhaled and exhaled, and Yuna wanted to just lean down and kiss her good morning. She was too much, and it took everything to not take advantage of the situation. If she ever kissed Horizon, she wanted the first time to be something that Horizon wanted.

Still, she gave into some temptation and reached forward and brushed some of the girl’s hair out of her face, gently caressing her cheek as she did so. Horizon had baby soft skin, and it was soothing just to touch for Yuna.

The touch made the girl open her eyes slowly and look over at Yuna who quickly retracted her hand and blushed. “O-oh... Hey...” Yuna glanced at her.

“Hello,” Horizon responded plainly.

Yuna could not understand how Horizon didn’t see her as awkward and strange, but she was grateful for it nonetheless.

“Sleep well?” Yuna asked.

Horizon nodded as she sat up. “Yeah, how about you?”

“Best sleep I’ve ever had...” Yuna admitted with a blush.

“That is good, the bed is quite comfortable isn’t it?” Horizon asked as she came to a stand and yawned, stretching her arms out as she did.

“Y-yeah...” Yuna blushed as she noticed where Horizon stretched her oversized T-shirt came up just a little bit and showed her attractive panties.

“I talked with Twilight about Adagio.” Horizon changed the subject.

Blinking, Yuna was a bit surprised. She hadn’t expected her to converse with her guardian about what they were looking into so easily, but then again all her time around the girl should have told her that that was exactly the kind of thing that Horizon actually would do.

“What did she say?” Yuna questioned as she got up herself.

Horizon shrugged. “She dismissed it and told me it wasn’t a good idea to look into.”

That was to be expected. “So she knew who Adagio was?”

Horizon nodded as she gesture for the girl to follow which Yuna did as they went downstairs toward one of the dining areas of the house. “Yes, and she said that Adagio is dead, she murdered my Aunt Shimmer, but was an ex-lover of her.”

“That’s... Unexpected...” Yuna rubbed her neck as the two found the stairwell and entered the breakfast nook where Twilight was waiting for them. The woman was already dressed for work, a blue blouse that wasn’t tucked in covered her chest, and a black tie accompanied it.

She was sporting a checkered skirt that sat well above her knees and black stockings over her long slender legs. With a cup of coffee in her hand, she smiled at the two girls who sat down at the counter where two plates waited for them.

Yuna looked down and blinked at the impressive spread. Eggs, sausage, bacon, hash browns, and a stack of French toast awaited both of the two girls. “Sorry, I didn’t know if you were vegetarian or not, I probably should have asked...” Twilight frowned.

“I’m not, but it’s fine.” Yuna nodded.

Horizon had already started eating nonchalantly and kept her eyes locked on her food. Yuna took a few bites and marveled at the excellent quality before looking up at Twilight after swallowing her food. “This is fantastic.”

“Thank you, Yuna. I’m not a great cook, probably because I never really fell into the housewife role. When Sunset was around, I was the one who went to work and she was the one who stayed at home.” Twilight giggled.

“Really? Sunset was a stay at home mom?” Yuna blinked and glanced over at Horizon who nodded, food still in her mouth.

The other teen swallowed and answered for Twilight. “Sunset was always home. When I was at school she spent her time working out, and practicing guitar.”

“So she was a good cook?” Yuna questioned.

“Yeah, but she mostly made vegetarian food. She would make meat now and then for us, but it wasn’t too often,” Horizon stated.

Twilight sipped her coffee before answering. “She was an avid vegetarian. The girl never ate meat her entire life.”

“Interesting, she sounds like she was a fascinating person...” Yuna trailed off.

“She was...” Twilight nodded in agreement.

There was an awkward silence in the room for a few seconds. Yuna could hear Twilight tap her foot at least eight times before breaking the silence. Stepping forward, the woman put the cup down and looked between the two girls. “So you two are looking into what happened to Sunset?”

Yuna felt a cold sweat run down her neck, but she remained silent.

“Yes.” Horizon nodded.

Sighing, Twilight shook her head, knowing that there was no point in resisting. “You two are getting yourselves into something that would be better left alone...”

“We’re not going to stop,” Horizon responded bluntly.

“You’re sure?” Twilight asked.

Horizon looked over at Yuna and stared. Yuna could tell she was waiting for her approval. Looking at Twilight, Yuna nodded to Horizon’s mother. “Yes... We’re sure...” Yuna said.

Sighing, Twilight leaned back and rested herself against the wall as she thought to herself. “If that’s the case, then you both should be cautious. I can’t stop either of you if you’re that determined, obviously, but I have no idea what you’re going to uncover...”

“Thank you for understanding, Twilight.” Horizon nodded.

Twilight sighed and nodded back before finishing her coffee and adjusting her tie. “Yes, well, I have to get going to work, try and not get into too much trouble, you two?”

“We’ll try.” Horizon yawned.

Leaving the room, Twilight gripped the medallion on her neck once more and closed her eyes as she entered the garage and placed her other hand on her car door. It had been so long since she had seen Sunset, and while she wasn’t sure what had happened to her, a part of her was worried as to what Horizon would find if she dug deep enough.

It was too late though, Horizon clearly knew enough to where she would find many family secrets. A part of Twilight wanted to believe that her daughter would give up eventually, but she knew it wasn’t likely. Horizon had a look of determination in her eye and that meant she would dig until she uncovered all she could.

Doctor Chemical stuffed his hands into his lab coat as he approached Eight Ball who was sitting atop of a set of crates, focusing on his hand where a set of dice were resting. His eyes didn’t even dart in the good doctor’s direction as he entered the room, instead, his eyes stayed on the dice.

“Hello, Doctor. I hope you’re bringing me good news?” Eight asked.

He nodded and kept his eyes on Eight. “Yeah, I got some info that I’m sure you’ll be interested in.”

“About who killed Blade?” Eight asked.

Chemical retrieved a photo from his jacket and offered it to the strange man. Eight clenched the dice in his palm and with his other hand took the photo observing the girl in it. It was a candid shot, clearly taken from afar.

The girl in the photo was young, likely a teenager, a pair of stylish glasses planted on her freckled face. She was sporting a short haircut that was muted purple with red tips.

Eight looked up from the photo and glanced at Chemical whose hands were stuffed back into his pockets. “You’re sure?”

“Pretty positive.” Chemical nodded.

“A teenage girl killed Blade?” Eight raised a brow.

“She’s sixteen according to my information, a student at Crystal Prep Academy.” Chemical shrugged.

Eight leaned back and looked at the dice in his other hand. “I guess Blade really was a waste of space then if he was done in by a teenager. How did she do it? Blade had demonic powers and magic, how did an ordinary girl take him out?”

Chemical smirked and shook his head. “She’s no ordinary girl, I am quite confident she had to have used magic.”

“How did a human use magic?” Eight yawned, he was beginning to doubt the validity of Chemical’s information.

“Because she’s not a normal human... I didn’t tell you her name...” Chemical said.

Glancing over at him, Eight gave a “hm?”

“Horizon Shimmer.”

Eight blinked and turned to where his entire body was facing Chemical. “Shimmer? You’re sure.”

Chemical nodded. “She’s Sunset Shimmer’s daughter...”

Eight grew a menacing grin and looked down at the photo. He gripped it tightly and felt his hand shaking with excitement. “Well, this is more than a pleasant surprise...”

“So y’all told Twilight?” Jasper blinked.

Horizon nodded. “I didn’t have many options. After Yuna managed to get into the computer, we only really found more questions than answers. Asking Twilight what she knew was the next logical choice.”

“You didn’t tell her that Sunset was dead though, did y’all?” Jasper asked curiously.

Horizon shook her head as she found herself sitting down in a chair in Jasper’s bedroom. “I didn’t find it necessary. Not to mention, I heeded your advice and avoided it.”

Jasper found his eyes darting to the hallway outside his door where he could see his younger sister sticking her tongue out as she passed by. Her luscious hair bouncing as she walked by. He rolled his eyes at her gesture, but it was precisely why he always kept the door open when Horizon was over.

His family had asked before if the two were an item, and his sister regularly teased him, so to keep anyone from getting the wrong idea, he never dared close the door if Horizon was visiting, even though he was certain that his parents were completely fine with him having sex. His mother had even bought condoms and placed them in his closet when he wasn’t home. Rarity seemed to be in the mindset that he was at that age where even trying to stop him would do no good.

Fortunately for her, she had little to worry about, as Jasper while attracted to females, had no intention of just ravishing the first girl who threw themselves at him. At school, he was a fairly attractive guy, so he got offers for dates now and then, but he always declined them. Jasper was focusing on his schooling and didn’t want to get distracted with the nonsense that came with dating in high school.

On top of all that, he couldn’t really bring himself to see Horizon as more than a sister figure to himself. The very idea of anyone having sex with her just made his stomach uneasy, similarly if he imagined anyone having sex with Candy.

“Probably a good idea, she’s viable to cry like a baby when she finds out. Might be best to wait until this is all sorted, ya’ know?” Jasper nodded in agreement with Horizon’s actions.

“All I know now is that Adagio Dazzle was someone connected to all of this. She was a former girlfriend of my Aunt Shimmer.” Horizon gestured with her hand.

“Cool, so we just gotta track her down?” Jasper lit up at the news, clearly excited to hear more.

Horizon shook her head disapprovingly. “Not possible, she’s dead. I guess she must have bled out from gunshot wounds when my uncle tried to take her in. I guess she resisted arrest and got herself killed or something. Twilight didn’t make it sound like Shining would be interested in telling us anything about it either, so that’s a dead end.”

“That’s some bad luck right there...” Jasper frowned.

Horizon nodded as she reached up and itched her head. “Do you mind if I take a shower? I didn’t get a chance to this morning.”

Nodding, Jasper pointed toward the hall. “Y’all know where it is, and where the towels are, I mean, ya’ve been here so many times before.”

Standing up, Horizon left the room to head to the bathroom before Jasper leaned back on his bed with a sigh. Things were going to get messier, he could already tell. Twilight was keen to Horizon investing her mother’s disappearance, which meant it was only a matter of time before she said something to his parents, right?

Was Twilight the kind of person that would just tell all the parents involved, or would she just worry about her own daughter? It was tough to say, in all the years of knowing Twilight Shimmer, Jasper always knew her to be fairly guarded and one who kept her emotions hidden. Though there were a few instances he could remember her weaknesses leaking out, she ultimately kept what she was feeling inside.

As he was lost in thought, he didn’t even notice the footsteps of an elegant older woman approach his door and enter his room. His mother stood at the foot of his bed with a smile on her face.

He leaned up and could see her dark black hair cascading down her body just above her butt. She had dyed it black some time ago and seemed to stick with that color, likely to potentially hide any grey hairs, but as far as Jasper could remember, his mother never had a grey hair that he could find.

“Oh, hey mom, what’s up?” He smiled at the matriarch of the family.

“Just checking up on you, how was school?” She asked.

“Pretty good, I think I did swell on that history exam.” Jasper winked.

Rarity giggled and nodded in approval. “I take it, Applejack’s study session with you paid off?”

“Yeah, Ma’ really helped me cram. She’s great with history.” Jasper complimented his other parent.

Rarity rolled her eyes. “I wish she was better at math, but that’s neither here nor there.”

“We all got our strong suits,” Jasper reminded.

“That is definitely the truth.” Rarity chuckled.

The two shared a few laughs before Rarity changed the subject. “I heard that you are getting along well with Rainbow Dash’s kids?”

“Don’t know if ‘well’ is the word I’d use. Cloud’s a good fella’, but Bolt is more like someone that you tolerate...” Jasper admitted.

Rarity found herself having flashbacks to her time in high school with the boy’s mother. “I suppose the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree then. Still, if he’s anything like Rainbow Dash then he makes up for his lesser qualities through loyalty.”

Jasper couldn’t argue that one. Bolt had gone out of his way for them for reasons unknown even to Jasper. Despite being a show-off, pervert, and crude asshole, Bolt was loyal to a fault. When he promised Horizon he would help her uncover what happened to her mother, he definitely wasn’t joking. It astounded Jasper how much effort a person like him really had already put in.

“He’s somethin’ else, that’s for sure.” Jasper grumbled.

A giggle escaped his mother as she covered her soft-looking lips.

“Give it time, eventually you’ll get along better than you realize.” Rarity winked.

Jasper doubted it, but he didn’t want to go against his mother, so he just nodded in agreement.

“Where’d Horizon get off to, darling?” She looked around the room, knowing the girl had come over as she could see her car parked in the front yard. While Rarity hadn’t seen her come in as she was working on some new designs in her study, she could smell the scent of her body spray in Jasper’s room.

Horizon had an odd taste in fragrance for a female and that meant you could smell her from far away, just because of how different her choice was. It was a combination of mint and dragonfruit, a scent that she stated was “right up her alley.” Jasper didn’t quite understand what she meant, but chose not to question it, as he was sure the answer would only confuse him further.

“She went to take a shower a few minutes ago, I guess she felt unclean after school,” Jasper said as he pointed toward the door.

Rarity looked in that direction and nodded before looking back at her son. “What have all of you kids been up to anyway? Your circle of friends suddenly got a whole lot bigger...”

Jasper tried to maintain his composure. Rarity was onto something, and if he gave her reason to dig deeper, she would until she found out. He had to make sure he didn’t sound unsure about what he was going to say. Jasper detested lying, but he knew that he couldn’t just blurt out that the group was looking for Horizon’s late mother, and that she was likely killed by some freak show that could turn his arms into blades.

“Just tryin’ to get Horizon to socialize a little more, y’all know how she is.” He grinned, trying to sound as genuine as possible, though it wasn’t a complete lie.

With a face that first suggested doubt, Rarity’s expression turned to a smile as she accepted that his explanation was plausible. “Well, I’m glad that you’re getting her to talk to new people, it’s good for her. Extreme isolation like she is used to isn’t good in the long term; a lady her age should be fraternizing with the other teenagers.”

“No arguments there.” Jasper nodded.

The two giggled for a few minutes before the sound of the bathroom door closing from the hallway caught them both off guard. Into the room walked Horizon Shimmer with a towel in her hand that she used to wipe her face, but there was one problem, she wasn’t wearing anything.

Jasper’s face turned beat red as he looked away from the nude girl who had wandered into his room with his mother present. Rarity turned and saw the young teen and she too found herself blushing and looking away. “Oh, hello, Miss Apple.” Horizon waved with her free hand.

“Ummm, Horizon, darling, perhaps you’d be more comfortable with some clothes on?” Rarity suggested.

Horizon looked down at her naked form and shrugged. “If you say so. I usually like to air dry before I get dressed again, plus I didn’t bring anything else and it would be senseless to put my school uniform back on...”

Rarity stepped forward and grabbed the towel and wrapped it around the girl. “Ahem, yes well, I can probably find something that will fit you in my collection. Why not have Candy escort you there to find something to wear? And do try and keep yourself covered in front of her.”

Horizon nodded and headed out into the hallway toward Jasper’s little sister’s room.

Rarity sighed and shook her head before placing her hand upon her forehead. “What a dense girl...”

“That’s an understatement...” Jasper nodded. “How can she just be so comfortable like that?”

“Some people lack embarrassment, clearly Horizon is one of those people. A blessing, and a curse, for sure.” Rarity chuckled.

“I ‘spose it makes sense, on account of Horizon usually spends all her time at home by her lonesome. I guess bein’ able to walk around without a damn thing on must be common for the girl. She lives in isolation so often that she probably forgets that most folks don’t approve of such a thing,” Jasper suggested.

Rarity winked and nudged her son’s shoulder. “Don’t tell me you didn’t like what you saw.”

Jasper rolled his eyes. “She’s like my sister, mom. We were in diapers together...”

Sighing, Rarity nodded as she couldn’t deny that point. “Yes, I suppose you’re right there. Still, you’re lucky that your mother is approving of you getting a girlfriend, if Applejack had her way, no girl would be ‘good enough’ in her eyes.”

Jasper rubbed his neck. “I guess so, what was it like when you were growin’ up?”

Rarity laughed. “I had one of those bad-boy boyfriends. I had to hide him from my parents.”

“That’s so... Unlike you. Ma ain’t anything like that...” Jasper blinked.

Shrugging, Rarity smiled. “A girl can be attracted by strange things, darling. Applejack is irreplaceable.”

“I’m glad you’re happy with ma.” Jasper grinned.

Rarity looked at her phone on her wrist and smirked. “Speaking of which, It’s about that time where she should be tossing those hay bales, I think I’ll go watch as she flexes her muscles.”

Rolling his eyes, Jasper sighed. “Does she know you do that?”

“I’m pretty sure she expects it.” Rarity giggled as she headed out of the room, her hand caressing the doorway as she did, nodding at Horizon who were returning, now with cloths covering her form.

As she entered the room, Jasper observed her outfit which was a rather poofy black dress where the skirt was longer on the left side than the right. It was decorated with bring neon green ribbons, including a large one tied around her waist. The outfit was complete with black fingerless arm sleeves.

“I see Candy went overboard again...” Jasper said.

Horizon tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“Never mind, so where are we goin’ to go from here? No Adagio Dazzle, and Twilight wasn’t much help,” Jasper asked.

Horizon placed a hand on her chin as she thought it over. There really wasn’t any other direction to go was there?

Wait there is one other path to go down. Horizon thought to herself.

“We can investigate the box, which seems to be pretty important. I bet Yuna could analyze it with some computer stuff and maybe we can learn more about it that way,” Horizon suggested.

Jasper shrugged. He had no real opinion one way or the other on the box, but it was their only lead now. “Sounds like a plan, hopefully, she can tell us something about that thing.”

“Let’s hope.” Horizon nodded.

With eyes on the box, Yuna tapped her phone on her wrist and a projection scanned the object as she sat at her desk while Horizon sat on her bed with her nose buried in a manga. Yuna focused on the data that her phone had brought back on a hologram in front of her.

“Strange...” Yuna stated.

“Hm?” Horizon said as she looked up from the book in her hand at the computer genius.

“This box seems to be sealed with something similar to the energy you were able to use. From the scans I did after you showed me your powers, the energy sealing this box seems relatively similar...” Yuna explained.

“So the box is sealed by some kind of power then? I guess that explains why it wouldn’t open from conventional means.” Horizon shrugged.

“It also may explain why you said that Blade guy was able to locate it the moment it was taken out of storage. Something in that storage must have been masking its energy signature, so Sunset must have known about the fact that the box possessed such properties...” Yuna continued her line of thinking out loud.

Horizon didn’t mind the lack of acknowledgment, but she was used to it after all.

“So there’s a possibility that I could use my powers eventually to open it,” Horizon suggested.

With a nod, Yuna picked the box up in her hand and examined it. “It’s possible, though I don’t really understand anything about these strange powers, so it’s hard to say how one would go about doing that. How did you learn how to use them before?”

Horizon shrugged. “A strange vision of myself appeared and then I suddenly knew how...”

“If someone else had such powers, could you teach them how to use them though?” Yuna asked.

Horizon nodded. “Definitely. There’s a certain feeling inside of you, and a level of concentration you need, but I could definitely teach someone else how to use them if they were capable.”

“Well, we know that the ones after this box can use these powers, so we may want to recruit others with the same powers to protect it...” Yuna suggested as she set the box down on the table.

“How does one go about recruiting people with special powers? I mean obviously they had to have a way to do it since Blade implied that he and his brother were working for someone,” Horizon asked.

That was a good question. It wasn’t as if they could put up fliers and hope people give them a phone call. Yuna thought it over. “Maybe... You can learn a way to detect others who have these powers using your own?”

“That’s a good idea.” Horizon nodded in agreement.

“I have some occasionally, the only problem is that I still can’t figure much out without more research... I think you’re going to have to ask Twilight again about all of this, show her the box and see what she says.” Yuna passed the box over to Horizon who caught it in both hands.

Horizon looked down at the mysterious object and then back at Yuna who continued speaking. “Besides, it’s probably safer for you to hold onto it. As much as I’d hate to have those goons attack you again for it, the reality is... You’re better prepared to defend it than me. I have no powers like you, and I have no self-defense training. Didn’t you say your house even has an armory?”

“Yeah, it’s in the basement level. My mother used to do target practice a lot, I think there’s like eight bows down there too...” Horizon rambled as she was lost in thoughts of her mother practicing at the armory. She was quite handy with a pistol and deadly with a revolver.

As she thought about her mother, it dawned on her that she would never see her mother use the practice range in their home again. Horizon paused but then looked back at Yuna.

“I guess you’re right, sorry I was rambling...”

Yuna shook her head as she blushed. “It’s no trouble, I like listening to you...”

“Do you? I’ve never had anyone say that to me before...” Horizon tilted her head.

Yuna played with a strand of her long messy hair and nodded as she averted her eyes slightly. “I... like...” she paused trying to think of how to finish her sentence, but what came out was “learning about people.”

She scolded herself internally. She wanted to say that she liked hearing her voice, but she chickened out at the last second.

Horizon stood up and walked over to the girl’s chair and looked down at Yuna who was sitting down. “S-something wrong?”

“I was just thinking about how much I trust you,” Horizon stated plainly.

Yuna’s face was burning up as she heard those words. “W-why were you thinking about something like that?”

Horizon knelt down to be at eye level with the girl, Yuna struggled to make eye contact, but she did; though her eyes trailed down to Horizon’s easily visible cleavage line for a brief second before darting right back up.

“You’re one of the few people that doesn’t think I’m weird,” Horizon said.

“What about Jasper? You’ve known him your entire life haven’t you?” Yuna gulped.

Horizon shrugged. “He has told me I’m weird to my face before, and I’m sure he has thought it, though I know he doesn’t mean it in an insulting way, or maybe I’m too stupid to know that he does...”

“I doubt he’d insult you, and you’re far from stupid...” Yuna faintly smiled.

“Still, you just see me as normal for some reason, why?” Horizon tilted her head.

The other girl could feel her heart racing as Horizon stood there staring her down. “I... Well... I guess I’m just not that normal myself, so to me, you’re perfect the way you are.”

Horizon nodded. “Thank you. I think I am right to trust you so much.”

Yuna frowned a little, while the compliment was nice, she was hoping that the girl would crack a smile for a change. She had yet to see Horizon smile, and thus none of her drawings of the girl were of her smiling, because she didn’t dare try and “guess” what that would look like, she wanted any depiction of it to be based upon the real thing.

“I will do my best to prove I’m worthy of such trust...” Yuna replied quietly.

Their faces were so close, Yuna could feel Horizon’s breath. She was hating herself for not having the courage to close the remaining few inches and kiss her.

Stepping away, Horizon looked at the clock and then back at Yuna. “It’s getting late, I should really get heading home, I have a lot of questions to potentially ask Twilight after all.”

Yuna’s heart sank at the missed opportunity, but she bounced back and nodded in agreement. “Yeah, that’s a good idea, best to get it out of the way now.”

“I’ll message you, how it all goes before I go to bed, alright?” Horizon asked.

“Of course!” Yuna smiled at her friend.

Nodding, Horizon picked up her bag and bowed. “Thank you for having me.”

Twilight was seated at her desk in her study with her phone projecting a screen and keyboard for her to use. With her glasses perched on her nose, the woman who was closer to forty than thirty pushed them up as she focused on her work. She had been conducting a research project for the institute and knew she had to have a report in within eight days and she was uncharacteristically falling behind. There had been too many distractions in her life, and so her keen scheduling abilities were slipping.

Sighing, the girl picked up her cup of tea and took a long sip before setting it back down and continuing her typing. When she was on a roll, it was difficult to stop her, but it would seem like the universe wanted her to not get work done as her daughter entered the room dressed only in a shirt that was several sizes too large and a pair of panties, her usual sleep attire when she wasn’t sleeping nude, though occasionally she would wear a kigurumi around the house when she was lounging.

Her hand was wrapped around something that she had at her side. As she stood there with her normal serious expression.

Twilight glanced at her and then returned to typing. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”

Horizon stepped forward and approached Twilight’s desk before placing what was in her hand onto it directly in front of Twilight. Horizon stared at her guardian as she spoke. “Do you know what this is?”

Twilight looked down at the black box and then back up at her daughter. “I’m assuming you’re asking because of your questions about Sunset?”

“Yes.” Horizon nodded.

Sighing, Twilight shook her head. “You’re not going to give up on that, are you?”

“No,” Horizon answered simply.

Taking the box in her hand, Twilight examined it. She could feel a familiar energy emanating from it, one she knew was magic. The box was most definitely sealed with magic, and the geode on her neck was vibrating lightly as she held it.

“Are you certain that you want to know what this is? You’re positive you want to pursue what happened to your mother?” Twilight asked clenching it tightly in her hand.

Horizon nodded.

Sighing, Twilight came a stand. “I promised I’d protect you from all of this, you know? Your mother made me promise to keep you safe, but I guess there’s no way I can avoid you going into harm’s way if you’re this determined...”

“Mom asked you to keep this from me?” Horizon tilted her head.

“Well, not this specifically, but I suppose it’s time you learned a family secret...” Twilight gestured for the teenager to follow her.

Doing so, Horizon stayed close to her guardian as the two made their way downstairs, the box still in Twilight’s grasp. Before they knew it, they came to the training area of the basement where they practiced sparring in the past.

Twilight loosened her tie and removed it, tossing it aside before taking her shoes off and setting them neatly in a corner.

Horizon just tilted her head. “What’re we doing?”

Twilight untucked her dress shirt and rolled up her sleeves. “Horizon, you have unique powers don’t you?”

Horizon blinked, surprised that Twilight had guessed such a thing. “How did you know?”

“I had a feeling... Right now though, I’m going to guess your abilities are limited... Show me what you can do...” Twilight instructed as she took a stance.

Obeying her guardian, Horizon closed her eyes and concentrated as she had before. With enough focus, she was able to summon the light sword she had before, though she could feel her body weaken just to maintain it. The first time she had used it, she was running off of adrenaline so she hadn’t noticed how much energy it took to conjure the weapon.

Now, it felt like it took her entire being just to keep the blade in existence.

Grabbing it, she readied the sword as Twilight nodded.

Twilight focused on her medallion and conjured a rock out of nothingness and levitated it in the air. “Let’s see how well you can use that thing.”

“You have powers too?” Horizon asked.

“Save the questions for later. Right now, I need to test your abilities...” Twilight instructed.

Deciding it was best to just follow orders, Horizon readied her blade as Twilight hurled the rock toward her. With a quick slash, she split it in two before Twilight lobbed a few more. Each rock was sliced in half, though by the eighth rock, Horizon’s concentration had broken and the sword vanished with the girl panting.

Twilight nodded in understanding. “I see, it’s just as I theorized...”

“What is?” Horizon panted.

Twilight removed the medallion around her neck and tossed it to Horizon. The teenager caught it and looked down at it in confusion. “I don’t get it.”

“Put it on, it’s time I passed it onto you,” Twilight stated plainly.

Horizon placed the medallion around her neck and fastened it. The moment she did, the world around her vanished and was replaced by a white space where she once again saw a robed version of herself standing there.

“It’s you again...” Horizon said.

The other her nodded. “I’m here to teach you how to use your new abilities. With the geode around your neck, you should be able to use them much more freely.”

Horizon touched the geode and she could feel an immense power emanating from it, something about this object was otherworldly.

“Everyone capable of such powers has an affinity, a certain aspect that they excel at, it’s all dependent upon the person, but yours is light,” the robed Horizon spoke.

“Light?” Horizon blinked and tilted her head.

The other nodded. “Able to pierce through the darkness, light is one of the rarest affinities. Yours is particularly rare as your heart is pure. You are a genuine person, you show exactly who you are to others and wear no masks. Because of this, your light is stronger than most.”

Horizon touched her chest in confusion. “Who I am affects my powers?”

“Yes, and because your light is so pure you are capable of a technique that others can not do...” The other Horizon said plainly.

“And that is?” Horizon asked.

“Dark removal. A very devastating power that will aid you greatly against foes corrupted by darkness, if you summon your light to your hand, you can pull darkness right out of their body...” The other Horizon explained.

“Sounds impressive,” Horizon replied.

“Be warned though, the greater the darkness in them, the more it will harm you to do so. The darkness is pulled into your body and the light in you purifies and destroys it, but the process can be quite painful when the darkness in a person is too great, the more given to darkness they are, the more of a toll on you it will take to remove it...” The other Horizon warned.

“I understand...” Horizon replied.

“Excellent, now go put your new powers to the test.” The other Horizon waved their hand and the world around them vanished.

After blinking, Horizon noticed her other self was gone and she was standing back in the sparring room with her guardian again. She wondered if Twilight had seen any of what she just went through, but it appeared as though not even a second had passed since she put the medallion on.

Twilight opened her hands and they caught fire but glowed a magnificent purple. Her eyes glowed and fire appeared around them as her entire body began to change. Her hair stood up and danced in the air as her entire form and outfit transformed.

Twilight grew ethereal wings and levitated off of the ground as she held up her hands in a combat stance. “Let us test your power, Horizon...”

Her voice had become twisted like she wasn’t the same Twilight anymore.

Horizon readied herself and got down low with her right arm dangling in front of herself and her left arm raised like a claw. She concentrated her power and a set of light-based claws appeared over her hands.

Twilight wasted no time and hurled a set of fireballs Horizon’s way, which the girl rolled out of the way of. She was able to notice another set of them heading her way which she deflected with her left claw, sending the attack back to Twilight, who just hit it back toward Horizon.

When the fireball came back, Horizon got out of the way this time, accepting that Twilight likely wasn’t foolish enough to be taken down by her own attack. She would need to be far more clever to get the drop on her.

Twilight concentrated and summoned a set of dark spears that floated around her. She took aim and began tossing them at Horizon, who just kept dodging them. The spears disappeared the moment they hit the ground, but the girl was able to conjure up more every time she lost one.

Horizon needed to get close if she hoped to win the fight, but she couldn’t see a path to do so. Twilight was perfectly guarded and her dark powers seemed to be at a far higher level than Horizon’s abilities. There was a good possibility that she had much more practice using them.

Channeling her power, Horizon summoned another sword of light, but this time she was able to make it levitate around her. The medallion appeared to be working, she was able to channel her powers far easier.

Quickly, she hurled the sword Twilight’s way and it caused her to use the spears to block it.

As the spears bunched together, Horizon saw her opening, knowing that this might be her only chance to attack, she had to make it count.

Leaping forward, she hopped onto Twilight’s back. The older woman shook her violently to try and throw her off, but Horizon’s grip was tight. Focusing her power into her hand, she made her entire left-hand glow a strong bright color before she pierced it through Twilight’s back. Her hand seemed to not actually puncture the skin, but instead, it went right through her body.

She could feel it, the dark energy, it had taken shape inside of Twilight. Gripping it tightly, Horizon began to pull as hard as she could.

It took a considerable amount of effort as the dark energy seemed to fight back, but after only seconds of tugging the energy was pulled out of Twilight’s body and quickly entered Horizon’s.

She felt a slight tinge in her chest as she gripped it, and while she could feel an unpleasant tingle throughout her, soon she opened her mouth and a black mist exited it, and the pain was gone. She had done it, she had expelled the darkness and as she was told, her heart cleansed it. She panted lightly as her claws disappeared and she stood there in her shirt and panties looking over at Twilight.

No sooner than Horizon pulled the darkness out of her, Twilight had returned to what she was prior. She picked herself up off the floor and panted heavily as she looked back at her daughter. “Well... You’re a lot stronger... Than I would have thought...”

“What was all of that?” Horizon asked, unconcerned with praise.

“That... Was a demon, and while I was expecting you to defeat it, I hadn’t anticipated that you are actually capable of dispelling it completely...” Twilight came to a proper stand and approached the girl.

“You’re a demon?” Horizon asked.

“Not entirely, no. At one point, I gave into darkness, but darkness never leaves your body, the capability is always there. Though it looks like you have a way to remove it... If you’re serious about chasing down what happened to your mother, you should know that you will likely encounter many demons along the way...” Twilight explained.

“I already defeated one a few days ago. Sorry I didn’t tell you,” Horizon said.

“Then I suppose I have no reason to try and stop you, it’s all already begun, so there is no reason to keep secrets from you...” Twilight sighed and wandered over to a nearby chair and sat down.

Horizon followed and stood in front of the woman listening to her.

“Your power is referred to as magic. Anyone who has a medallion like yours can use it, but demons can use dark magic without it. They’re horrible creatures, people who gave themselves to darkness, and it twists them into monsters given enough time...” Twilight explained.

“What about the box?” Horizon asked.

Twilight glanced over at the box that she had set down before the fight. “It’s sealed with magic. Whatever’s inside, Sunset clearly wanted to be protected, so keep it close. No doubt in my mind that the demons likely will want what’s in it.”

“So she didn’t tell you everything?” Horizon tilted her head.

Twilight shook her head. “Your mother said that she didn’t want us involved. She wanted to handle this all on her own, but clearly... Something has gone wrong if you have the box.”

“Twilight,” Horizon said.

“Hm?” Twilight looked up at her.

“Mom is dead,” Horizon’s voice was as monotone, as usual, no emotion, Twilight couldn’t gather how she felt about that statement, but she knew it wasn’t a joke, as Horizon wasn’t a joking type.

“Why do you say that?” Twilight asked.

“We found the box in some kind of facility that she had hidden in a storage locker, but we also found a lot of blood, definitely more than enough for someone to die from. There was some kind of fight with a demon there,” Horizon explained.

“Maybe it was the demon’s blood?” Twilight suggested.

Horizon shook her head. “When I fought that other demon, I noticed that demons bleed black and their blood and bodies evaporate into some kind of black mist when they die. This was red, clearly human.”

Twilight clenched her hands tightly as she inquired further. “I-is that so...”

“We also found her severed hand,” Horizon added.

Tears began to form in Twilight’s eyes. “I... I see...”

“I’m sorry, Twilight. I was told it probably might not be right of me to tell you, Jasper said you didn’t deserve to find out like this, but maybe it’s better you know the truth,” Horizon said.

The woman wiped her eyes and shook her head as she forced a smile. “No, it’s alright. It’s been eight years, I suppose that makes it easier. I’ll always love your mother, but at least I don’t have to wonder if she’ll ever come home anymore... Thank you for telling me...”

“Do you know anything about these demons?” Horizon changed the subject.

Twilight shook her head. “Sunset didn’t tell me much about them. She had dealt with demons before apparently, but again she didn’t tell me anything about that.”

“Is this related to when she left after I was born?” Horizon asked.

Twilight nodded. “Yes, she said there was unfinished business from back then. I don’t know much about what happened to her, but I have a feeling you’re about to know a lot more than me...”

Horizon nodded in agreement. “I guess Sunset kept a lot of secrets from the both of us then?”

“That is an understatement. Your mother was the kind of person who didn’t want her past to be a burden to others, so she often kept things to herself. I didn’t agree with it, but it was the way she was. Don’t mistake me though, your mother loved us both so dearly when she was with us, but it’s pretty clear that sometimes you can’t escape your past...” Twilight frowned.

Horizon didn’t know what to say to that, but she stepped forward and placed a hand on Twilight’s shoulder in comfort. The woman looked up at her daughter with misty eyes.

“You still love mom, don’t you?” Horizon questioned curiously.

Twilight nodded. “Yes, very much. Loving Sunset has caused me so much pain and anguish, but I still can not help that I do. It hasn’t been an easy cross to bear, but it’s one that I can not shake. Your mother still holds a very prominent place in my heart, regardless of how our relationship has been.”

It all made no sense to Horizon. Matters of the heart were her weakest subject, but she could at least understand that Twilight truly loved her mother. Twilight clearly had held in her pain of Sunset disappearing for nearly a decade, and now she was trying her best to keep herself put together after learning of the woman’s death. The reality was that Sunset Shimmer was gone and with her death came more questions than answers.

Horizon didn’t know much at that point, but a part of her wanted to find out the truth for Twilight’s sake. Her legal guardian was obviously distraught over Sunset’s death, but she did a keen job of masking her feelings.

Horizon knew that Twilight was as eager for the truth as she was. “Twilight, I intend to find out what happened, I promise.”

Twilight looked up at the girl with pleading eyes. “If you do find the answers, please let me know, even if you think the results will scare me or upset me, I want to know the truth too...”

Horizon nodded in agreement. “Any information I obtain, well, you’ll be the first to know.”

Twilight smiled and nodded once more. As she stepped forward. “Thank you, Horizon. I hope that medallion will keep you safe, but please promise me that if you’re in over your head, you won’t do anything stupid...”

Horizon nodded in agreement. “I promise I will respect my own limitations.”

Twilight sighed and leaned back in thought. So it really was true, Sunset was dead. She had suspicions for a long time, but she had never confirmed them. In a way, it was therapeutic to know the truth, and while she had no real interest in starting another family at her age, she at least could bring herself to come to terms with the fact that she would never see the woman she had fallen for so long ago. She missed her so much, but now she could focus on Horizon.

Candy is a cutie!