Unloading a set of boxes from the U-haul, an older woman with vibrant pink hair that resembled cotton candy set down one of the eight remaining moving boxes and wiped her forehead free of sweat. Over the years she had sported many different hairstyles, but finally, she had just cut it short to shoulder length and took to wearing a light pink ribbon in it, only a few shades lighter than her natural hair color which was a loud pink.

Her asymmetrical crop top rested on one shoulder as she sat down atop a box and let out a sigh from exhaustion. Sweat was running down her neck, but she felt good about the situation. Her hand rubbed her neck and rested on her wrist where she felt a familiar geode that had been fashioned into a charm bracelet many years ago.

This city brought back so many memories of her high school days, but touching that geode brought back even more. So many times she had teamed up with her friends to save the day, and so few people know about their exploits. She had grown distant with all of them after college, but she wondered how they were doing. She had heard that most of them were still in the city or had returned to the city. Almost all of them were parents now, and she was no exception to that.

Casting her blue eyes over to her whimsical daughter of fifteen, Pinkie found herself smiling brighter when she looked at her.

She had an almost identical figure to her mother, with wide hips, a plump rear, and a busty chest (which just like her mother attracted the attention of boys). With bright green hair tied back into two small buns which still allowed most of her hair to cascade down her back, they shared hair consistency for sure, and they even had the same vibrant eyes, although her daughters sported pink eyes.

Keylime was so much like her mother that many people mistook them for sisters. Right down to her odd demeanor the two were made for each other.

Keylime set a box down and climbed on top of it where she sat with her legs crossed and her arm in the air above her head.

Pinkie laughed heartily and inquired. “What’re you doing?”

“I read online that people theorized that putting strain on a different body part makes you forget about the strain on another, so I’m testing it out,” Keylime explained.

Pinkie nodded in agreement. “I guess that makes sense. If it works, I’ll have to try it.”

“I could really go for some pickles right now...” Keylime changed the subject.

Pinkie let out another laugh. Her daughter had the oddest food cravings, but-like-mother-like-daughter. “With hot sauce, right?” Pinkie asked, already knowing the follow-up.

“It’s like you’re inside my mind. Man, wouldn’t that be cool? If we could go and be inside each other’s minds? Though I’d have to make room for you behind the Godzilla statue, it’s pretty crowded in there.” Keylime placed her other free hand on her chin and looked up in thought, clearly visiting her mental sanctuary, her other hand still in the air.

Pinkie laughed and checked the girl over. She hadn’t exactly dressed for the labor of the day, but that was just like her. She was sporting a studded leather jacket that was left open to expose a tube top which slanted at the bottom to one side, exposing her belly.

On her stomach, she had a glowing tattoo of a cupcake. Pinkie recalled how tattoos used to be something only adults could get, but new breakthroughs with body art allowed for the safe injection of a new kind of ink into people, the law then lowering the age to get tattoos to 13.

Bio-luminance was all the rage now, as kids could get tattoos that emitted a glow to them using natural ingredients. Science had really gotten amazing in the past decade, Pinkie was astounded at what it could do. Tattoo removal was even a cinch as well.

Keylime was sporting a tattered skirt along with her outfit and hole-filled leggings that only covered her right leg. Her feet were slipped into a pair of black leather boots and on the uncovered leg, she had a yellow and black striped sock going up to her ankle.

Everything about Keylime was mismatched, but Pinkie wouldn’t have her any other way.

“So, how do you like Canterlot, baby-girl?” Pinkie asked her daughter.

“There is a very high amount of sandwich shops, which leads me to believe that there are plenty of sandwich enthusiasts here,” Keylime replied.

Pinkie considered it and looked up again as she thought it over. “I think I recall there being quite a few people who did appreciate a good sandwich...”

“Hopefully they like hot sauce on them, though I could really go for noodles right now...” Keylime changed the subject.

“O-M-G, same! I would love some right now, I wonder if there’s a ramen shop in this city now!” Pinkie nodded in agreement.

Pulling up a page from her phone on her wrist, Keylime began to search for the local eateries in town. It had been so long since her mother had lived there that she was out of touch with what was available.

Looking at an expensive car that pulled up to her driveway, Pinkie nodded and waved at the older couple stepping out of it. Mr. and Mrs. Cake were only family friends of hers, they had employed her as a second job for years.

Mr. Cake smiled at Pinkie and closed the door to the car before helping his wife to a stand.

“I see you’re getting settling in alright...” Mr. Cake observed.

Pinkie gave a salute. “Yuperino! It’s great to be home anyway!”

Mrs. Cake came over and nodded at the woman and glanced at her daughter that was distracted by a holographic webpage in front of her. “Hello, again, Keylime.”

Keylime glanced up and smiled brightly. “Hello, Mrs. Cake. Did you want to catch noodles with us?”

The elder woman chuckled and shook her head before tucking a strand of grey hair back behind her ear. “That’s quite alright, dear.”

“You’re missing out,” Keylime stated before looking back at her window.

Turning their attention back to Pinkie who was sitting there dangling her legs, Mr. Cake observed the woman. She had grown up so much, yet her demeanor seemed the same. It was hard to believe she was approaching forty now. He wondered if she had grey hairs hidden in her thick curly hair even.

They had played a role in turning Pinkie into the adult she was now, and the Cakes took some pride in that.

“Are you certain that you can handle taking over the bakery, dear? It’s a lot of work...” Mrs. Cake frowned.

Pinkie gave a dismissive hand gesture. “It’s fine!”

“Still, had we known you would have to move to take over, we’d never have asked...” Mr. Cake rubbed his neck.

“We needed a change anyway.” Pinkie gave a thumbs up.

“Missouri is boring,” Keylime added.

The two had been living in Missouri for some time, and once Pinkie had gotten a message from the Cakes that they were actually retiring and needed someone to take over the business. When their two children had opted to head to Texas and open their own restaurant down there, they could think of no one better to keep the Cake tradition going than Pinkie Pie.

“Well, we’re glad you both were able to come here on such short notice, and it is wonderful to see you both again, we just came to see how you were settling in and to drop the keys to the shop off for you.” Mrs. Cake stated as she reached into her purse to retrieve the keys to pass off to her.

Pinkie took them from her and stuffed them into her bra before winking. “I’m the workhorse, Keylime is more of the brains of our operation anyway.”

“Really?” Mrs. Cake blinked looking over at the teen.

Pinkie nodded. “Yeah, she’s always been really responsible. She makes dinner when I get home from work, but we bake together on the weekends. She’s going to be a valuable asset to the bakery, trust me.”

The teen was very unusual, but if she learned how to work with food from Pinkie Pie, the Cakes were confident that she would be a huge hit. That and despite being quirky, Pinkie’s quirkiness had always lured customers in (though her attractive figure definitely helped).

“Well, you two certainly do have a very charming mother-daughter relationship...” Mrs. Cake grinned.

Many would consider their dynamic odd, as Keylime actually made a lot of the choices around the house, and Pinkie even gave her the final say on if they would move back to Maryland. However, that dynamic worked for the two of them. Pinkie trusted her daughter’s intuition, and Keylime would never purposefully steer her mother wrong.

Both of them were fun-loving and they bonded so easily. They enjoyed a lot of the same shows and movies, and Keylime would even tell people that her mother was her best friend.

Looking up from the hologram of a webpage, Keylime spotted a figure on the other side of the street. A teenager that was probably close to her own age, somewhat taller with a beanie slouched on his head hiding only a small amount of his thick pink hair.

He was in decent shape, and she could see that. Keylime caught her mother’s attention and jerked her head toward the teen to clue Pinkie in on who she was staring at.

“Hot guy alert.” Keylime whistled.

Pinkie took a look and nodded in approval. “Go talk to him, girl!”

“I’m on it, noodles on hold.” Keylime winked before scurrying off to chase after him.

She came a decent distance from him and casually followed him to a convenience store just around the corner. The teenager came up to the counter and looked the store owner in the eye as he spoke Japanese.

The owner was an Asian man who nodded in approval and tapped the counter where the teen placed eight dollars down.

He exchanged the money for some cartridges for a synth-cig, a more modernized electronic device that had long since replaced common cigarettes. They were slightly less awful for one’s health, but still not an admirable thing to be doing. They were loaded with cartridges and they actually produced an odorless vapor despite being called a “cig”. They were essentially the next evolution of vaporizers.

The shopkeeper waved him out, and the boy loaded up his synth-cig and took a drag from it after he stepped outside.

Keylime made her move after he was standing there puffing. “So, you can speak Japanese?”

He didn’t even look in her direction. “Yeah, I learned it when my family lived in Japan and we kept learning long after and...”

His eyes caught the girl as he was finishing his sentence and his entire body turned to see her. She was a bit oddly dressed, but she had an impressive bust with some amazing hips and legs. He felt his heart racing as he tried to keep his mind off of all the impure things he would do to her if he were given the chance.

“Hey...” He changed the subject.

She waved at him. “Hello.”

“I’m Bolt.” He offered a hand.

She took his hand in her own and shook it. “Keylime.”

“Like the pie?” He asked.

“Actually my last name is Pie.” She winked.

“Oh, you must be related to Pinkie Pie? She’s a friend of my mom’s, though I’ve never met her,” Bolt suggested.

Keylime gave a thumbs up to him. “She’s my mom.”

“I see, so you live around here then?” He tilted his head slightly as he took a drag from his device and exhaled.

Grinning, Keylime pointed back to her house a good walk down the street. It was still visible from where they stood, and she could see her mother still conversing with the Cakes.

Bolt turned his head to get a look at the house and nodded. “The one with the moving truck?”

“Well, I don’t know how many other houses have a moving truck in front of them, so I can’t say for certain...” Keylime placed two fingers on her chin in thought.

Bolt chuckled and rolled his eyes. “The one over there that we can see?” He pointed.

Looking in the direction he pointed, Keylime clapped her hands together. “Oh, you mean the only one within our line of sight, gotcha! Yes, that would be my house.”

“Ah, cool. So you are really just moving in then?” Bolt asked.

“Mhm, we’re taking over the Cake’s bakery. I’m going to be the assistant pastry chef with my mom after school.” Keylime spoke with pride in her voice.

Chuckling, Bolt nodded. “I’ll have to stop by then.”

Winking, Keylime poked the boy’s chest as she came closer. “For you? I’ll be sure to make something special.”

Bolt froze in place for a moment as he processed what was happening. Was she coming onto him? If she was, he welcomed it, as she was incredibly attractive despite her strange demeanor and odd way of dressing. Her body did not displease, that was for sure.

“Oh yeah? Now I know I’ll stop by, just to see you behind the counter.” He smirked.

Keylime held up her wrist with her phone on it. “Do me the honors of swapping numbers?”

Nodding, Bolt held up his wrist and the two tapped them together. A gentle vibration came from their phones to signify that the transfer was complete. Keylime smiled brightly after the exchange because placing her hands behind her back and wobbled in place a little. “So, you’ll text me sometime?”

“Count on it.” Bolt grinned.

“I’ll see you later then, cutie.” Keylime winked as she walked past him and traced his cheek with her index finger.

Bolt watched as she left, making little effort to hide his observation of her attractive rear. He stared as her skirt swayed and her hips moved. Once she was gone, he shook his head and smirked. “I’d hit that for sure...” He thought out loud.

“So y’all havin’ a good time hangin’ out with the Dash boys? ‘Ah ain’t seen ‘em since they were little, but ‘Ah know they started goin’ to your school a bit ago. Ain’t had time to get caught up with Rainbow and Fluttershy though...” Applejack frowned as she took a sip of some coffee while sitting at the dinner table. It was late, but Applejack still had a few more chores to finish, so she was getting herself a pick-me-up.

Jasper poked at a steak and looked up blinking. “Oh, yeah, Cloud’s a good fella.”

“And Bolt?” Applejack asked.

Jasper chewed his thoughts trying to think of a good word to describe his self-declared rival. “He’s... Somethin’ that’s for sure...”

“Guessin’ y’all don’t get along?” Applejack chuckled.

Finishing a bite of food before speaking again, Jasper shook his head. “Kid’s a real blockhead sometimes if I’m honest. Ain’t met his parents, but I assume they’re the same.”

Applejack smirked. “Rainbow? Yeah, she’s competitive as all can be, but Fluttershy is so docile she’d cry over squashin’ a spider.”

“Opposites attract, I ‘spose.” Jasper shrugged.

“That sounds ‘bout right. Those two’ve known each other since they were in kindergarten, so it wasn’t much of a surprise when they got shacked up. Rainbow didn’t really say nothin’ till high school though.” Applejack recalled around when the two started dating. It really was such a natural transition that she had forgotten they weren’t always together.

“Sounds like an annoyin’ person. If Bolt takes after her, I can only imagine how bad she is...” Jasper shook his head just at the thought of someone more of a braggart and showoff than Bolt. He didn’t want to think such a thing was possible, but the boy had to be learning it from somewhere.

Applejack’s demeanor changed from that of a jokester to a more serious one. Her face contorted to show Jasper that there was no humor in her words. “Don’t say that.”

“Huh? But y’all yourself said she was a braggart and whatnot, didn’t ya’?” Jasper raised a brow in confusion at the sudden change in tone from his mom.

“That may be true, but Rainbow’s someone that y’all should respect. Trust me on that. Her son may be rough ‘round the edges, but if Rainbow taught him, he has good values,” Applejack insisted.

“Huh?” Jasper was still confused.

“Y’all will understand when ya’ meet her, trust me,” Applejack stated as she closed the conversation.

Jasper didn’t quite understand, but he chose to remain silent and continue eating his food instead of trying to probe her for more info.

Cloud couldn’t decide on what to wear. Everything just felt off today, and he couldn’t find a single thing that he felt really spoke to him. It was another school day, and he wanted to look presentable, even though he rarely stood out at school. His muted rainbow hair had already been braided, but now he just needed the wardrobe to complete his appearance.

Sighing, he looked through his extensive closet and contemplated. Given that it was the warm season, he knew that he had to choose something that would allow proper ventilation.

His lovely eyes closed and opened and he spotted a nice simple button up top that felt like it played the part. He slipped it on along with some slacks sporting a dragon design on the right side and did a little turn in the mirror.

Once he was satisfied, he blushed as he saw himself. For as long as Cloud could remember, he was always exceptionally feminine, and the odd part about it was that despite his brother’s aversion to homosexuality or anything, not “manly” as he put it, Bolt never gave him a hard time for his effeminate demeanor. In actuality, Bolt often defended him and even got suspended a few times taking swings at other kids that made fun of him.

Cloud struggled with self-image, but he considered himself a person who could see the beauty in all things. His room was decorated with flower motifs and with many pieces of art that he had collected.

Stepping out of his room, he caught the sight of his mother Fluttershy wandering down the hall with a basket in hand. She smiled at Cloud and tucked her shoulder-length hair behind her ear. Despite her age, she was still cute and dainty.

“Heading to school soon, Cloud?” She asked.

Cloud nodded and bowed gently out of respect. “Yeah, do I look okay?”

Fluttershy nodded and kept smiling at him. “You look lovely, sweetie. Make sure your brother isn’t late though, alright?”

“I can do that...” Cloud replied quietly.

“Good, you know how he gets. I need to get this basket to Rainbow at work...” Fluttershy lifted the basket which Cloud surmised had her lunch in it.

“Yeah, okay...” Cloud said.

There was silence for a few seconds as Fluttershy could sense something was bothering Cloud. “Something, wrong sweetie?”

Cloud shook his head. “No... Well... Actually...”

Fluttershy stepped forward. “What is it?”

He wanted to tell her about something he had been dealing with, but decided to change the subject at the last second. “What mom does is really dangerous, right?”

Frowning, Fluttershy turned her head away slightly. “Not as much these days, they’ve mostly got her doing training now, but overall, yes.”

“You’d want us to stay safe, right?” Cloud asked.

“Of course, why are you in trouble?” Fluttershy looked so serious all of a sudden like she was going to cry.

“M-maybe... I don’t know... Bolt knows more than I do...” Cloud admitted as he rubbed his neck.

Fluttershy stepped forward and pulled her son into a hug and squeezed tightly before releasing him and keeping her hand on his shoulder as she met eyes with the boy. “I’ll talk to him when I get back. Please stay safe until then, alright?”

“A-alright...” Cloud nodded slowly.

His mother kissed his forehead and headed out, leaving Cloud a bit concerned that he may have said too much. This certainly would complicate things, and there was no doubt that Bolt might be mad about it later when he found out.

Jasper and Horizon arrived at Bolt’s home after school the next day, and he gave a sheepish smile to them all. “Oh, hey guys, come on in.”

Jasper’s brow rose as he became suspicious as to why the teen was acting off. He seemed somewhat distant and nervous even. Regardless, the two stepped inside of his home. It had been the first time either of them had seen it, but upon entering the main hallway that lead to an opening that housed the kitchen and dining room there was a wall of war memorabilia.

Horizon leaned in to examine the various items. Several were medals that had been framed, likely earned by Rainbow Dash, Bolt’s mother. Others had newspaper clippings that Horizon began to scan over when the raspy voice of Rainbow Dash herself called the group.

“Alright kiddies, in the kitchen, it's time we all had a talk.”

Blinking, Jasper looked at Horizon with confusion who just shrugged back at him. Obeying the order, the two entered the kitchen where Rainbow was seated at the table, Cloud, and Fluttershy sitting across from her.

Her hair had been tied into a ponytail, and Jasper took notice of the woman’s right arm. It wasn’t real. Her hand looked like that of an android’s, metal and plating, and it seemed to be her entire right arm. It wasn’t a typical prosthetic though, as it moved naturally as if she was in complete control of it. He had heard about advanced prosthetics such as that but had never actually seen one in person, they were exceedingly rare.

“Let’s all how a little pow-wow shall we?” Rainbow grinned.

Jasper didn’t like where this was heading; Horizon was as calm as ever.

“So, I don’t know what kind of crazy nonsense Sunset Shimmer got herself into before she bit the dust, but I do know that the girl has trouble follow her around, that was sort of a common feature with her,” Rainbow began.

“I don’t know what y’all are talkin’ about...” Jasper attempted to lie, but like his mother, he was dreadful at it.

Rainbow raised up her good hand to dismiss him. “Save it, I already know a good deal. You kids are trying to solve the mystery of what happened to Sunset Shimmer. Admirable, I mean I must say that I’m curious myself, but it’s already proven to be dangerous given what happened to Horizon already.”

The entire group looked over at Horizon, who was still sitting quietly waiting for this all to unfold.

“How did you-?” Jasper didn’t get a chance to finish before Rainbow pointed to Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy told me, and she heard it all from Bolt.”

Jasper gave an annoyed stare at Bolt as he spoke up. “You told her about all this?”

“I can’t lie to her dude, sorry. Look her in the eye and tell me that you could!” Bolt challenged.

Even if Jasper was any good at lying, he couldn’t deny that one look at Fluttershy’s soft face would make it a challenge for even the greatest fibber to spin a tale the woman.

“Doesn’t matter, what matters is that you kids are wrapped it in something really dangerous...” Rainbow lectured.

“Mrs. Dash, if you let us explain-“ Jasper attempted to speak up again.

Cutting him off, Rainbow shook her head. “Look, I’m not going to give your typical adult speech about how you all need to stop, because frankly, it’s probably too late for that. On top of that, I know what it’s like to feel that you need to do something. Instead, I’d rather you be prepared, so that’s why I’m giving this up to you, Bolt.”

Undoing the clasp on her necklace, Rainbow offered it to Bolt who took it with a confused expression.

“It’s just like the one that Horizon got from Twilight, I’m sure you’ve all discussed it by now. It’ll keep you safe.” Rainbow smiled.

Bolt nodded and placed it around his neck, already feeling its power surge through him. He was already invigorated by it.

Fluttershy spoke up now and took her necklace off and offered it to Cloud. “And I want you to have mine, Cloud.”

Cloud blinked as it was offered to him. He attempted to decline it and pushed it back toward his mother. “I can’t accept this, mother...”

“Please take it. I’d feel better if you had it...” Fluttershy pleaded.

Sighing, Cloud took it into his hand and grasped it in his palm. He closed his eyes for a moment and nodded. “I’ll keep it close...”

Satisfied with how things turned out, Rainbow stood up and grinned at the group. “Now that all of that is squared away, I have some paperwork to catch up on before I go to bed tonight. You all really should practice your new abilities before just going out there to fight whatever. Only a novice goes into battle without fully understanding his weapons.”

With a wink, the woman exited the room to head toward her study. Fluttershy let out a sigh as she shook her head.

“As much as I’m not a fan of you all fighting, I can already tell that you have Rainbow’s determination...” Fluttershy frowned.

“We ain’t tryin’ to be difficult, honest.” Jasper raised his hand as he promised.

Horizon changed the subject. “Rainbow’s arm... It’s a military issue, isn’t it”

“Horizon!” Jasper scolded her for her social faux pas.

It didn’t seem to bother Fluttershy, though. “Yes, it's a very advanced prototype. She was part of the Revived Warriors Project.”

“The R.W.P.? I think I heard about that in the news a few years back...” Horizon placed a hand on her chin as she tried to remember.

“What’s the R.W.P.?” Jasper asked.

“The Revived Warriors Project was a special program that was designed to take soldiers who lost limbs in combat and replace them with new advanced cybernetics and they would return to the battlefield. Mom was in the original group of 80. She was number 8,” Bolt explained.

“I’ve seen those, supposedly their cybernetics are the most advanced out there? Civilians can’t even get cybernetic limb replacement yet, if I recall the average cost of a single one is about 80 million isn’t it?” Horizon recalled the data she had read.

“Something like that, yes...” Fluttershy nodded quietly.

Suddenly, Jasper now could understand what his mother had told him. Rainbow Dash was a selfless hero. She had not only lost an arm for her country, but she was willing to still go back out there despite that. She had the honor of being one of the first soldiers with lost limbs to return to active duty, and judging by the wall of medals that they saw when they entered, Rainbow took her job seriously.

That was obviously the reason that she commanded Applejack’s respect now. She was truly a great woman.

“You must be proud of her.” Jasper smiled.

Fluttershy rubbed her neck. “I am...”

He could sense there was a “but” that was intended to follow that statement, but she cut herself off and chose to say nothing else instead. Something clearly was bothering her, but she wasn’t going to say.

“Point is that mom’s behind us now,” Bolt stated.

“Come on, Cloud, let’s go practice with our new magic, alright?” Bolt gestured for his brother to follow him.

Cloud gave a simple “mmm,” and was right behind him as the two left the room to head outside to practice with their newfound abilities.

“So you’ve never worked on a farm before...?” Rarity asked with a puzzled expression as a strange woman sat across from her at her dining room table sipping from some tea that she had been offered.

The woman’s muscular left arm gripped the cup tightly and Rarity could easily see the tone of her impressive bicep and even smell a hint of her sweat, there was little doubt that the girl was strong. She gave a gentle shake of her head to signify her answer was "no".

“Yes, well, it’s very difficult work so you know,” Rarity informed.

The stranger placed their other hand on the table, it was made entirely of metal, and her hand was more of a claw. Her entire arm was uniquely crafted, sporting some kinds of spikes on it, it was unlike anything Rarity had ever seen before. “I can handle it, I’m a hard worker, promise.”

“I am going to guess you were in the army?” Rarity asked.

“You could say that...” The other woman crossed her arms.

Rarity noted her eyes were different from most people’s, they were almost reptilian, and there was something about her smile that was odd as well, she seemed to have some rather sharp incisors, giving her somewhat of a snaggletooth grin.

The woman’s hair was brushed into a side-swept side cut and left rather messy. It was a vibrant pink is color, but ironically the girl didn’t come off as overtly feminine. She was dressed exceptionally plain with a tank top and jeans.

“Out of curiosity though, if you have a military background, why do you want to work here as a farmhand? Surely there are better-paying positions out there for someone of your talents...” Rarity questioned.

The woman grinned and patted her chest with her closed fist. “Hard work is where I shine. Besides, I needed a job that would keep me active while I’m in town.”

“So you’re just passing through?” Rarity questioned.

“I’m going to be here for a bit, but I don’t know how long yet,” the other woman explained.

Rarity bit her lip, unsure if she was making a wise choice or an incredibly foolish one. “Well, alright... We’ll see you tomorrow then, Mrs. Razorclaw.”

The tall woman chuckled and shook her head dismissively. “Please, call me Cinder.”

As Bolt and Cloud practiced their new magic outside, Jasper sat indoors with Horizon who was scrolling through various webpages on her phone as Jasper thought silently to himself. He poked his head into the kitchen when he heard Fluttershy head down the hallway.

Carefully he observed her from afar as she brought a box of tools with her. The girl tied her shoulder-length hair back into a messy ponytail and called for Rainbow Dash upstairs. “Rainbow, it’s time for maintenance!”

Lazily, Rainbow answered her call and found her way downstairs into the kitchen. Jasper watched carefully as Rainbow yawned and sat across from her wife at the table. The girl extended her synthetic arm for Fluttershy to see and pulled her sleeve up so the girl could get a better look at it.

Fluttershy began working with a screwdriver on the girl’s arm and switched to another one when she had some screwed undone, putting the original screwdriver in her mouth as she worked. Her eyes were full of focus as she worked on the girl’s arm, checking it thoroughly. “You have been exceeding the weight limit again, haven’t you?” She asked.

Rainbow scoffed and looked away. “That’s just a recommendation, the system can easily push 800 pounds if necessary...”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t designed to work at max capacity all the time. Try and take it easy? This thing isn’t easy to get replacement parts for, the backorder time is usually eight weeks, you want to go eight weeks without full use of your arm?” Fluttershy asked with her brow raised.

Rainbow smirked and raised her other arm. “I still got one good one, and one is all I need to work my magic.”

Rolling her eyes, Fluttershy continued to work, getting into the inner systems of the appendage as she checked it over. “Well, everything seems to be alright, no damage. You’re making sure to put the fluid in it every week, right?”

Rainbow sighed and nodded. “Yes, mom.”

“You’re the mom around here...” Fluttershy grinned.

This attempt at flipping things around only filled Rainbow with more pride. “Hey, I gave birth to them because I’m tough like that. Not even childbirth can bring me down, and I got two at once, how tough is that?”

Fluttershy giggled a bit at the notion. “They are wonderful boys, that’s for sure, and you're plenty tough.”

“We’re good parents, Shy,” Rainbow’s tone became more serious.

Sighing, Fluttershy nodded and gave her wife a smile as she closed up her arm. “I know we are...”

There was an awkward silence between the two before Fluttershy cleared her throat. “Right... I think we’re done, you can head back up to what you were doing.”

Flexing her synthetic arm a few times, Rainbow tapped her eye and blinked a few times. “Let me make sure the optical link is still functioning...”

Rainbow’s pupil grew and shrank as it adjusted and she nodded contently as she detected that it was still functioning as expected. “Cool, everything’s working. Thanks, babe, I appreciate it.”

Fluttershy gave her a gentle smile as Rainbow leaned down and kissed the sitting woman’s forehead before leaving to head back upstairs.

Jasper stood there silently until he felt a hand upon his shoulder, causing him to jump. He pivoted around to see Horizon standing there with her head tilted. “Spying on Fluttershy and Rainbow?”

“I was just curious is all...” Jasper frowned sheepishly.

Nodding, Horizon stepped past him and entered the kitchen where Fluttershy was still sitting to confront her about what the two had just witnessed. Jasper tried to reach out to stop the girl, but it was too late.

“So you perform maintenance on Rainbow’s prosthetic then?” Horizon asked.

Jasper blushed from embarrassment as he entered the room and tried to give her the signal that her question was inappropriate, but Fluttershy didn’t seem too offended by it.

“I’m no engineer, but I had to learn how to do it because Rainbow can’t do it herself with only one arm. It’s taken a lot of my time to read many of the manuals and guides from the army about it, but I’ve become quite efficient at it.” Fluttershy forced a smile.

“She has an optical implant too, correct?” Horizon asked.

Sighing, Fluttershy nodded. “Yes... It’s a disk that is placed under her cornea made of some kind of gel. I don’t really understand much of how it works, or how it doesn’t damage her eye, but essentially it is linked to her arm wirelessly...”

“What’s it do?” Jasper asked, realizing at this point there was no point in feigning that he wasn’t curious himself.

“Most of its functions are top secret, but I know it has a targeting system for weapons and can detect ammo reserves in a weapon held by the same arm. I believe it also is capable of finding targets through heat detection too...” Fluttershy explained.

“You don’t sound too impressed by it all...” Jasper pointed out.

Looking away and out the window, Fluttershy spoke with a somber tone. “Is it that obvious?”

“Kinda...” Jasper admitted.

Fluttershy paused for a moment before answering. “The army has given her a career that has provided for us, and for that I’m thankful; however, I can’t ever forgive them for what they’ve done to Rainbow. She lost her arm for them, and they gave it back only to use her some more... They’ve turned Rainbow into a weapon, and I hate it. I love her so much, but it does hurt sometimes to see what the army has done to her...”

“She’s a hero.” Jasper pointed out.

“And look at how they reward heroes...” Fluttershy said quietly.

Horizon didn’t quite understand what was going on, so she remained quiet as the entire room fell silent.

Applejack yawned as she slipped off her work boots and sat down on the couch next to her wife, wrapping an arm around her. Rarity giggled and snuggled into the muscular woman with a smile on her face.

“How’s my girl doin’?” Applejack grinned as she kissed her forehead.

Rarity peppered a few kisses on the girl’s neck, sending tingles up Applejack’s spine. “I’m alright, you’ve been working hard, I see.”

“You know how ‘Ah am.” Applejack laughed.

Remembering something, Rarity sat up and relayed the news to her wife. “Oh, before I forget, I hired the new farmhand you wanted, darling.”

“Oh? Guy or a girl?” Applejack raised a brow.

“It’s a woman, but she’s... Different, that’s for sure.” Rarity tapped her chin, unsure of how else to describe her.

“Different how? She look strong at least?” Applejack asked.

“Definitely looked strong. Her muscles I’d say rival your own, and she had a metal arm...” Rarity explained.

Blinking, Applejack drew a conclusion. “So she’s a veteran then? In that program that Rainbow was in?”

Rarity bit her lip. “To be honest, that’s the most logical answer, but something about her was just... off. I couldn’t put my finger on it though, she was just a really odd individual. What’s odder is she doesn’t seem to be too concerned with the workload and didn’t try to negotiate the pay at all...”

“How is that odd? Gal probably just likes t’ feel like she earns her keep.” Applejack could admire such dedication.

The odd feeling in Rarity just couldn’t be shaken though. She definitely felt off regarding the new farmhand, but she couldn’t find a justifiable reason to not have hired her when she was the best candidate she had interviewed.

Her demeanor was so friendly despite her gruff outer appearance, and that definitely confused Rarity.

“Keep an eye on her when she’s working with you, please?” Rarity asked.

“Why y’all paranoid about her?” Applejack asked.

It wasn’t like Rarity to be so distrusting, something about the woman must have made her uneasy.

“It’s probably nothing, but I just want to be sure, that’s all...” Rarity said.

Applejack grinned and held her hand tightly. “Then ‘Ah’ll keep my eyes open.”

Detroit, Michigan had grown so much worse over the years. Once a city riddled with gang violence had become home to larger gangs until super gangs had formed. Those same gangs ruled the city and operated almost above the law due to their massive influence. They were fully equipped with informants in the news and police force who tipped them off to anyone trying to take them down.

On top of this, they had enlisted men and women in the military to hook them up with the latest in military weaponry and technology. With law enforcement unable to hold a candle against such groups, they had changed from gangs into their own mafia.

One such group met monthly downtown at an abandoned office building where they had members stationed throughout the complex to ensure their operations were kept uninterrupted. Today was that meeting.

At the head of the table was a man who only went by the name “Blood”. He had acquired it through years of proving himself to be top dog, and there were stories of how he loved the sight of blood, as he killed his enemies. A ruthless leader he was, and he stood fearlessly at the top of his “organization”.

Next to him were his two trusted subordinates, Clip and Edger. Both equally ruthless in their own right, but they were a tad smaller than Blood who stood an impressive seven feet tall.

As their discussions of what their next operations would be continued, the door to their meeting room opened allowing two cloaked figures to enter. The entire room filled with a good dozen people all turned their heads at the mysterious strangers taking note of them. They couldn’t see their faces or any defining features, but one was fairly short, probably no taller than five foot two, and the other was a man standing about six feet tall.

“Who are you assholes?” Clip asked.

The tall one reached into his robe and retrieved a revolver of a high caliber and blasted the top of Clip’s skull off, his body limply fell to the floor as blood sprayed the remaining members at the table. All of which quickly retrieved their own guns and pointed it at the two.

Both of them stood unfazed. The tall one dropped his gun onto the floor and walked closer casually, the short one following him.

“You fuckers are dead!” Edger called out.

The tall one walked up to one of the lower members who pointed a gun directly at his head. He took his hand and gripped the man’s hair and smashed his face into the table so hard that he shattered his skull. The robed man seemed completely not intimidated by their threats.

One of the men at the table fired their gun at the tall figure, but the bullet just bounced off of him and ricocheted killing another member at the table.

Finally, the tall robed man spoke. “Who is in charge here?”

“Who the fuck is asking?” Blood questioned as he crossed his arms.

“Would that be you then?” The tall robed man asked with a deep voice.

“That’s right, I’m blood and who are you?” Blood raised a brow.

“New management,” the robed man replied plainly.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Blood laughed.

The short one approached Blood and stood in front of him silently. He raised a brow once more as he let out a hearty laugh. “I ain’t scared of you, little shit. What do you want?”

“You’re sitting in their chair,” the tall one explained.

“Is that so?” Blood chuckled.

“Move, now.” The tall one seemed to speak for the little one.

“Make me,” Blood challenged.

Accepting his challenge, the short figured reached forward and with a powerful grip, stuck their two fingers into both of his eyes and their thumb into his mouth. Without much effort, they piercing his eyes, causing blood to spurt all over and Blood screamed in pain.

With another quick motion, they ripped his skull out of his head and tossed it aside before gripping his headless body and throwing it aside like it were nothing more than a wet towel. They then seated themselves in his chair as the placed their hands on the arms of the chair.

The tall one stood by their side and looked at Edger who was in shock at how easily they had not only infiltrated their building but also taken out his leader. “You must be his right-hand man, right?”

“Y-yeah?” Edger gulped.

The tall one nodded before walking over and placing both hands on the man’s head. “We won’t be needing you, we’ll be bringing in our own people...” Before Edger could object, the man twisted and snapped his neck.

Looking back at the remaining members at the table, the tall man spoke for both of the robed figures. “Gentlemen, congratulations, you’re all about to contribute to our operation which is far bigger than what you’re currently involved in.”

“What do you want?” One of the men at the table nervously asked.

“Assets. You all have access to weapons, tech, and warm bodies, all of which things we require, so we’re seizing all of it today. Anyone who objects will be killed,” the tall man said.

“Who are you people?” The same man asked.

“From now on, everything is on a need to know basis, and you don’t need to know...” The tall man answered.

“So Eclipse went to the human world and now Cinder followed him, am I following that correctly?” Starlight asked Princess Twilight.

The good princess nodded as she placed a pair of reading glasses upon her face so she could work on some paperwork that had been piling up over the past few days. Years of having her nose in books had affected her vision and now she needed lenses to read small text. She imagined it would have gone better when she had kept a more “put together” look as it likely would have fit the “sexy librarian” fantasy.

Twilight hadn’t maintained her mane in years though, and as a result, it was always a constant mess. Discord approved, and all were happy.

“That’s the short of it, yes.” Twilight nodded, keeping her eyes focused on the paperwork that she had been attempting to start before Starlight had burst into her office and demanded information.

Starlight still couldn’t make sense as to why any of this had transpired. She knew that Eclipse had trained under Cinder, but why would he go to the human world?

“How did Eclipse even get to the human world though?” Starlight turned her head.

Making a few marks on a paper in front of her before she spoke, Twilight answered the mare with an uninterested tone. “He managed to slip past security in the castle using illusion spells where he was able to get to the mirror. He just so happened to time it correctly, that’s all.”

“But why go through the trouble?” Starlight asked.

“He was chasing after Glitch, I assume.” Twilight shrugged.

Starlight blinked. “Wait, Glitch? Really?”

Twilight didn’t take her eyes off of her work. “Yes, Glitch is actually from the human world. She was Equestria like us, but she ran away to the human world ages ago. I recruited her to help us defeat Serenade.”

“Wait, wait, wait... Glitch is a girl too?” Starlight was in awe.

“Oh, yes, I forgot you were not one of the few that was privy to know that information. Yes, Glitch was a girl, but I can’t reveal more than that. Cinder knew Glitch’s true identity, and I would surmise that Eclipse found out too through her. It’s likely why Cinder felt responsible for his predicament,” Twilight explained.

That all did make some sense at least. If Cinder had told Eclipse who Glitch was and that was enough to encourage the boy to chase after her, then Cinder definitely was responsible.

“Why did you let her go though?” Starlight asked.

Twilight set her quill down and tilted her head down so her eyes could see above her glasses as she stared at Starlight. “I’m honor-bound to do so, Starlight. Cinder did a great deal for us not only during the Serenade reign but also during the Dragon Scar incident. Were it not for her, I wouldn’t be alive.”

“You still haven’t really told us all what happened over there, you’ve left out so many details...” Starlight frowned.

Twilight sighed and shook her head. “It’s a story that I’d rather not relive. It was hell, but it’s because of Cinder and the other dragons that we were able to liberate Dragon Scar. The three of them together saved my life, so I owe her.”

Starlight had only heard of these other two dragons in passing. She knew that one of them perished during their efforts, but the details were left fuzzy. Twilight clearly didn’t like talking about it. One of those two dragons now sat as the king of Dragon Scar, and regularly sent over ambassadors to Equestria to aid in peace negotiations. They even estimated that within eight years time, ponies would be able to freely travel to Dragon Scar safely.

It couldn’t be denied that Cinder had done so much for Equestria and the royal family, but that made it all that much more strange that they would let her go so easily.

“She really isn’t coming back then?” Starlight asked quietly.

“No. It’s as I said, going to the human world is dangerous, and that’s why we made the decision to end the allowance of human world interference in our world. The order is above me anyway, so I can’t do anything even if I wanted to. Cinder decided that this was what she wanted, and I have to respect that,” Twilight stated.

Biting her lip, Starlight sighed and nodded. “Well, I guess it’s like you to do things and not explain them...”

Twilight already knew where the conversation was going: a place it had gone to many times before. “Considering you won’t hear me out on Arax...”

Sighing, Twilight removed her glasses and placed both hooves onto the table as she leaned in. Her former student could sometimes get on the mare’s nerves, but Twilight always made an effort to be patient with her. “Starlight, I have told you before; Arax is a traitor to Equestria.”

“Serenade made him do that though! If he had a choice he-“ Starlight got cut off.

“Irrelevant. He is in prison, and that is where he’ll stay.” Twilight was losing her patience for the subject.

“But-“ Starlight began.

“Starlight, your infatuation with the changeling is clouding your judgment. His pheromones clearly have altered your thoughts on him, you’re not of sound mind...”

Starlight approached the desk Twilight was seated at and pounded it with her hooves as she sat on her haunches. “Listen to me, the pheromones aren’t the reason. I’ve been seeing clearly for a long time, and I know that Arax isn’t a bad person outside of the tasks that Serenade forced him to do. She has some kind of weird hold on him...”

Twilight sighed and shook her head. “The changeling is to stay in prison, plain and simple. I would suggest abandoning any notions that you’re going to convince me to free Serenade’s greatest subordinate...”

Defeated, Starlight let out a long sigh as well and nodded in agreement. “Alright...”

“Now please, I need to get back to my work...” Twilight waved a hoof to dismiss the girl.

Nodding, Starlight retreated out of the room to leave the Princess of Friendship to her work. It was clear that Twilight was not trying to discuss the matter further.

Bolt was practicing his new abilities outside, working on using electricity with his geode when Jasper came out to approach him. The young teen was making sparks in his hands and trying to focus them into bigger surges of electricity with only a little luck. His medallion had granted him incredible speed, but also an affinity for lightning, something that Horizon had mentioned before about every magic-user having an affinity rang in Jasper’s mind.

Lightning was a fitting element for Bolt, it represented how unpredictable the boy was, as like lightning it was difficult to gauge where he would strike and how he would act.

Keeping his hands in his pockets, Jasper sat down on a nearby rock and cleared his throat to get the boy’s attention.

Bolt glanced over at him but tried not to pay him too much mind. “Oh, hey.”

“Howdy...” Jasper nodded.

The two were silent for an awkward eight seconds before Bolt returned to trying to master his new abilities.

Jasper was the one who broke the silence once more. “So... Listen... I can’t help but notice we don’t exactly have a lot in common...”

“Yup.” Bolt nodded, not even turning to look at the boy.

Jasper rubbed his neck, realizing that Bolt wasn’t about to make any of this easy. “Look, I’m sorry if I implied that y’all weren’t raised right. Your ma’ she’s...”

“A hero?” Bolt finally looked over in Jasper’s direction.

“Y-yeah...” Jasper admitted awkwardly.

Bolt lowered his hands and turned to face the country boy properly. “Most of my childhood was spent with my mom getting shipped out. My parents almost got divorced when I was like eight.”

“Them? Divorced? Those two are smitten on each other though...” Jasper blinked, a bit surprised to hear this news.

Bolt nodded. “Yeah, but it’s not always easy for them. When I was eight, my mom got sent to a mission in the Middle East. One of her squad members got separated from the group and she ran off to go find him. He had broken his leg and she tried to carry him back to the rendezvous...”

“What happened?” Jasper could sense this story was going to turn south.

Bolt shook his head. “They were captured and taken prisoner. She spent eight months as a prisoner of war. We had thought she was dead... But she bided her time there and ate half as much to make sure that her subordinate that was with her was strong enough to survive. When she saw an opportunity, she managed to escape with him after eight months and called for help.”

Jasper was silent as he listened.

“When she got home, she was emaciated, she weighed about only one hundred and five pounds...” Bolt explained.

Even for a woman of Rainbow’s below average height, that weight was incredibly low.

“We were glad she was back, but after only a few months of recovery, she went to re-enlist... And Fluttershy had a fit over it. They fought for weeks about it, but Rainbow wouldn’t budge. She insisted that so long as her body was able, she wanted to serve, and Fluttershy didn’t want to bury her. My mom has always thrown herself into danger regardless of the price...” Bolt grew rather quiet.

“A noble person then...” Jasper offered.

Bolt looked away. “Maybe, but she said that so long as she knows she can do something to help people and she doesn’t do it, she can’t feel complete. It wasn’t long after that until she lost her arm in combat; and of course... She wanted to re-enlist again. I think Fluttershy has just come to accept it at this point, but she still worries that one day she’ll have to attend an early funeral for my mom...”

Jasper stood up and placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Rainbow’s tough, hopefully, that won’t happen...”

Bolt nodded as his voice remained low. “Either way, I’m going to fight too. I’m not going to let a couple of people looking for some stupid box hurt me, Cloud or my friends, besides, I can’t let you have all the glory. God knows that I don’t need any more reasons to owe you anything....”

Jasper smiled with amusement at Bolt’s playful banter and offered his hand which Bolt took in his own. The two boys gripped tightly as they raised their arms with flexed biceps and smirks on their faces. Jasper then spoke. “Finally, somethin’ that we can agree on.”

“You know it.” Bolt nodded.

Keylime hadn’t expected to see Bolt again so soon, but sure enough, after she began classes, she noticed him right away out in the hallway at school. Curiosity overcame her as she followed him out to the parking lot now that classes had finished up.

The young teen was standing next to an expensive Audi with a female sitting inside the car in the driver’s seat, sporting a bored expression. Next to him was another fairly tall male, this one blonde and a boy with a rather Asian inspired fashion sense and muted rainbow hair tied into a neat braid.

Approaching the group, Keylime grinned at Bolt. “Hey, cute stuff.”

Bolt blushed and grinned back at her. “Hey. What’s up?”

She glanced over at the blonde and shot him a wink too. “You didn’t tell me that you had a hot friend too...”

Jasper blinked and pointed to himself in confusion. Bolt looked over his shoulder at Jasper and gestured toward him. “Who, this guy? Forget him.”

The response from Jasper was a predictable rolling of the eyes.

Pointing at the rainbow-haired boy, Bolt introduced him. “This is my brother, Cloud.”

Cloud nodded shyly at the new girl, noting that her fashion choices were quite odd. Almost everything about her was mismatched and showing off a lot of skin, probably more than the school dress code would allow.

“This is Keylime, guys. She’s from the Pie family, she just moved here,” Bolt explained.

“Pie, huh? My parents said that Pinkie moved away a long time ago...” Jasper glanced over at the odd girl who was swaying back and forth on back of her feet, her balance was impeccable.

“Yeah, we came back to Canterlot because my mom is taking over the Cake family bakery,” Keylime beamed with pride as she spoke those words.

“So they’re finally retirin’ huh?” Jasper asked.

Keylime just nodded and gave a simple “mhm.”

There was a short silence before Keylime moved her head to look around Jasper and bolt at the girl in the car. “Who’s this? Your girlfriend, Bolt?” She smirked as she said those words.

Bolt shook his hands defensively. “Huh? No way!”

“So she’s Jasper’s girlfriend then?” Keylime giggled.

Jasper sighed. “As much as my mother would love that, no.”

“Well then who are you, stranger?” Keylime stepped past the two boys and placed her hands on the car door with the window rolled down.

The girl in the car’s face seemed to lack much in the way of expression as the girl blankly stared at Keylime before answering. “My name is Horizon, Horizon Shimmer.”

Keylime tried to process the name which had a familiar ring to it, but she couldn’t place where she had heard it before.

Jasper sensed that the girl was deep in thought and decided to fill in the blank for her. “She’s the daughter of Twilight and Sunset Shimmer...”

“Ah, the Shimmer family. My mom went to high school with them, she said they were strange...” Keylime said as she reached into her pocket and retrieved a half-eaten cookie that she began to munch on.

Jasper was about to point out the irony before Horizon spoke up on her own behalf. “I suppose that would be an accurate statement. Virtually everything surrounding my family at this point could be classified as strange.”

Neither Jasper nor Bolt could argue with that assessment. Between her mother being murdered by a weird guy who could turn his arms into blades, Horizon being able to use magic, and her aunt Shimmer’s murder decades ago, the entire family was the center of oddity. There wasn’t a think about them that was “normal”.

Keylime shrugged after she finished her cookie. “So, you guys are all friends then?”

Bolt and Jasper looked at each other and then at Horizon who just stared blankly. Bolt crossed his arms and spoke for the group. “I guess so, we sort of bonded over a common interest.”

Cloud who had remained fairly quiet spoke up. “Maybe we should ask Keylime to join us?”

Jasper blinked and shook his head. “It’s bad enough that we got as many involved as we have, we shouldn’t be puttin’ more folks in harm’s way...”

“But if she’s related to Pinkie Pie, who went to school with our moms, there’s a good chance her mom already knows a little bit about what’s going on, not to mention she might have access to a geode like our moms did...” Cloud pointed out.

“Geo-whaty?” Keylime tilted her head.

Touching his chin in thought, Jasper nodded. “Yeah, ‘spose that makes sense...”

Horizon looked at Keylime and spoke up. “Keylime, would you like to join our group? I should warn you that it might be dangerous though.”

“Dangerous sounds like fun. I’m in!” Keylime giggled.

“That was easier than I thought...” Jasper sighed.

“Hey, it’ll be cool to have another hot chick come along with us.” Bolt grinned gleefully.

Rolling his eyes, Jasper shook his head in disgust at how blunt and rude Bolt was being. “She’s standing right there, partner...”

Bolt shrugged and looked right at Keylime as he complimented. “You’re hot as hell.”

Keylime giggled and winked as she gave him a little side turn so he could get a better look at her profile. Bolt was already undressing her with his mind, considering what unspeakable things he would do to the young teen if given the chance.

“I can already tell this is going to be annoyin’...” Jasper sighed.

“Guess we better bring her up to speed then, huh?” Bolt asked.

“Yeah, so what exactly are you guys doing?” Keylime asked as she placed her hands behind her back and leaned in with interest.

“I think we better let Horizon explain, given the circumstances...” Jasper suggested.

“Yeah, probably a good idea...” Bolt agreed with a nod.

All eyes fell on the socially awkward teen who adjusted her glasses before beginning. “Well, it sort of goes like this...”

WOW, really long hiatus; I'm sorry. I actually was moving for a good 2 weeks and I didn't have internet during that time. I would like to return to regular weekly updates from here on, hopefully without too many breaks in between now that things have stabilized a bit.

So, we finally get to meet Keylime Pie, one of my favorite characters, and she's so kooky that I know she's loveable.