Sunset blinked and stood there frozen for a solid minute. Her brain was having a difficult time processing what she was hearing. Eclipse had told her his full name was actually Eclipse Shimmer, and that he was her brother. None of it made any sense. This made everything that she understood about him now come into question. Eight hundred questions raced through her head. She couldn’t find one to start with for a solid minute before Eclipse gestured that they both needed to get going.

“We have to get out of here…” Eclipse pointed toward the bike.

Sunset shook her head and grabbed his arm as he turned to leave, forcing him to stay. “Oh no way! You are staying here and we are talking about this!” She demanded.

Eclipse sighed and pressed his forehead in annoyance. “There’s nothing to talk about, Sunset.”

“Like hell there isn’t! When were you planning on telling me this!? We’ve been working together for years and I’m just finding this out now!? What gives!?” Sunset growled.

“I wasn’t going to tell you,” Eclipse said plainly.

“Why the hell not!?”

“You didn’t need to know…” Eclipse looked away.

Sunset squeezed his wrist tighter, her anger flaring up. “Bullshit! If someone is your brother you deserve to know that shit! Not keep it a fucking secret!”

“Well now you know, are you happy?” Eclipse yanked his arm to get it free, but Sunset held on too tight.

“No. You still have a lot of explaining to do… When you went to the archives…” Sunset began.

Eclipse let out a sigh, realizing that now that she was aware of their sibling nature, she wouldn’t let anything go until she knew the truth. “I was looking for you… I knew you existed, but I knew nothing about you. I had hoped to find out who you were because after Galeal was gone and our parents died, you were the only family I had left…”

Sunset was starting to piece it together. “And you found out I was Glitch then too…”

“The same Glitch I served under… I felt it meant something that my sister was the same hero who stopped the person who killed my parents…” Eclipse spoke softly.

Squinting, Sunset tried to make sense of this. “Then why didn’t you tell me who you were when we met?”

Eclipse managed to get his arm free and shook his head. “Forget it…”

“I want to know, Eclipse…” She pleaded.

“I already told you… I was disappointed when we met… When I saw that you had become a demon like you are…” He looked away. “You’re a disappointment to me as a role model and an older sister… You became exactly what you stood to stop…”

Sunset frowned and glanced at her demonic hand. “I want to say I had no choice, but that isn’t true… I could have let myself die, I could have chose not to give in to save myself… I could have chose never to become what I was in the first place… When I ran away at 13, it was a difficult life, you don’t understand, our parents weren’t great to me, they ignored me, nothing I did was good enough for them…”

Eclipse rolled his eyes. “You’re so full of excuses, you know that? Big deal, you can’t just blame everything on them.”

Sunset growled and clenched her fists in annoyance. “I was just a kid, and you weren’t there! You didn’t see how badly they treated me. I was invisible to them, something you clearly don’t understand.”

Eclipse began to laugh, causing Sunset to raise her brow in confusion. She stood there trying to figure out what was so funny. “Did I say something funny?”

Smirking, Eclipse shook his head. “You think you’re the only one? You think mom and dad suddenly became caring parents when I was born? Please, don’t be so naive… By the time I came along, they were still stuck in their ways. I’d come home to an empty house all the time. Why do you think it was easy for me to do virtually anything with Galeal?”

Sunset blinked in surprise as he continued.

“Mom and dad maybe saw me twice a week at best. They’d pay a nanny to come over and cook, but they never showed up to any of my school functions,” Eclipse explained.

Frowning, Sunset lowered her head, feeling a bit guilty for accusing him now. “Oh, I’m sorry… I didn’t know they were exactly the same to you…”

Eclipse nodded. “And yet I didn’t turn out like you…”

Sunset blinked and looked back at him. “Yeah… You didn’t… Why though? They neglected you and yet you care about avenging them… Why?”

He scoffed. “I’m not like you, Sunset. I don’t hold a grudge against people for making mistakes…”

“Yet you give me a hard time…” Sunset raised a brow.

“I’m just disappointed in you… I don’t hold a grudge though… The two of them though? They weren’t meant to be parents, they clearly weren’t good at it, nor did they ask for it, it just happened. You can’t hold that against them forever…” Eclipse explained.

Sighing, Sunset nodded. “I suppose you’re right. I made a choice that turned me into a demon… And now that choice defines me, it’ll define me until the day I die…”

Eclipse smiled and nudged her shoulder playfully. “Maybe, but it doesn’t have to be the only choice that defines you. You still have time to make other choices, Sunset. There’s still time to do the right thing.”

“I don’t know what the right thing is anymore…” Sunset admitted.

Eclipse offered his hand to her. “We’ll figure it out together, no more bickering, let’s work together as siblings.”

Sunset tilted her head in confusion. Eclipse was never this cooperative before. “Why are you suddenly treating me nicer?”

“You’re finally admitting your flaws. So let’s work on them together.” Eclipse grinned.

Taking his hand in her own, the two shook hands, bringing Sunset’s expression to a more content one. She felt a sense of family between the two of them, something she hadn’t felt in general in a long time. Eclipse deep down was a good person, and looking at him in that moment, she knew that he could take care of Horizon and Twilight on her behalf. He could give them the sense of family that Sunset had failed to do.

“Eclipse… When this is over… What do you plan on doing?” Sunset asked.

“Shimmer told you the portal was going to have to be destroyed?” Eclipse asked.

Sunset frowned. “So she told you too?”

Eclipse rubbed his neck. “She may have said something…”

“I won’t do it, there has to be another way.” Sunset shook her head.

Eclipse smiled. “I know you, you’ll do it in the end.”

Sunset sighed at the fact that neither her little sister or little brother believed in her resolve. She would do anything to not have to harm Shimmer. She would find a way without closing the portal, she just knew it.

“And if I do… You can’t go back to Equestria…” Sunset pointed out.

The young man nodded. “I’m aware.”

“Will you stay and watch after my family when I’m gone, Eclipse? They need someone…”

To her surprise he shook his head no. “Sorry, there is no ‘after all this is over’ for me.” Eclipse’s expression was plain, emotionless, yet somehow made Sunset sad.

“What do you mean?” Sunset questioned.

He just shrugged as he mounted the bike he had been standing next to this entire time. “I mean exactly what I said. There’s nothing for me after this. I will either die fighting Serenade or I’ll die shortly after. It doesn’t make much of a difference which. My task is done, and I have no reason to keep going after that.”

He started the bike and gestured for her to get on. She obeyed and wrapped herself around him as she spoke loudly over the engine. “Just like that?”

“Just like that. Come on, we need to get back to the hotel to get you some proper rest, and put some more food in you.” Eclipse instructed.

“What about the kids? They need our help.”

Eclipse placed his helmet onto his head and replied. “I think they can take of themselves, I have a feeling they’re going to be just fine.”

“We’re not done talking about this so you know!” Sunset shouted over the engine.

“We are right now,” Eclipse replied before the two peeled off.

Bolt had been taken by his brother and Keylime to his parents home to further recover. While he was able to take down Lightning, the pair had grown concerned that he would overwork himself. The rest of their group took Yuna and headed to Jasper’s house. Yuna seemed to be in good spirits so long as Horizon was nearby, which was to be expected.

Bolt sat down in a chair sitting on the outside terrace while Fluttershy offered him a glass of lemonade which she took. She gave Keylime a glass as well who gave a large sugary smile as she accepted it. Fluttershy giggled at how much the girl reminded her of Pinkie Pie. Keylime was almost her clone.

As Keylime held her cup and sipped from it, Bolt examined her, noting the many rings decorating her soft hands. She held the cup so firmly though for someone who had such feminine features. She noticed him looking and raised her brows suggestively as she drank from the cup. Wiping her mouth she grinned at him. “If you like that, you should see me when I’m baking.”

Bolt tilted his head trying to understand how the two correlated until Keylime filled in the blanks. “Sometimes I do it just in an apron.”

Bolt nearly spit out his lemonade and began to hack and cough, causing Keylime to start giggling uncontrollably, occasionally a snort was mixed in.

Cloud rolled his eyes at the discussion. Rainbow Dash approached the group and gave an approving nod. “So you won the fight?”

Bolt gave a thumbs up. “She’s toast.”

“Ancient history!” Keylime added.

“I knew you had it in you.” Rainbow returned the hand gesture.

“And we’re ever so thankful to be rid of that nuisance.” A deep male voice came from behind the group.

Rainbow turned around and noticed a man in a brown hoodie standing in her backyard. She chuckled and shook her head. “Hey dude, this is private property, so you can kindly fuck off.”

Shield gave a dismissive gesture. “I wanted to thank you personally for killing that worthless cunt. Lightning was so useless that Serenade had planned on killing her herself if you lot didn’t, so thank you for taking out the trash.”

“Looks like they missed a load…” Rainbow commented as she cracked her knuckles.

“Now that’s not very neighborly of you.” Shield laughed.

Pulling a handgun from her waistband, Rainbow pointed directly at Shield. “I’ll give you one last chance to get the hell off of my property before I put a new metal implant into your brain. How’s that for neighborly.”

“Pfft, you wouldn’t.” Shield laughed.

Not giving a second warning, Rainbow let off eight rounds, hitting him in the forehead repeatedly as he was knocked back a step every time one hit him. After eight shots, she was out. Rainbow lowered the gun and observed as the spots she had hit began to reform. His body looked like a rock where shards were being chipped away. Rainbow watched closely as he regained his composure and wagged his finger at her.

“Yeah, that won’t work, the armor encasing my body reforms as quickly as you can damage it.” He grinned.

Rainbow dropped her gun onto the ground and retrieved a butterfly knife from her pocket. Skillfully she flipped it open and held out her right hand to Bolt. “Give me your geode, son.”

Bolt began to unfasten it while Cloud protested. “Wait mother, it might be dangerous!”

Bolt cut his brother off as he handed Rainbow his geode. “It’s okay bro, I’m sure mom has this under control.”

Grasping the geode in her right hand she nodded and grinned. “This will only take a minute.”

Shield laughed at her overconfidence. “Perhaps you forgot your glasses inside? Don’t you get it? I’m invincible. You can’t even touch my skin, what are you thinking you’ll be able to do with that little butter knife?”

Rainbow threw the blade into the air and caught it before she moved so quickly that Shield couldn’t even see her move. She sliced at his armor, chipping a piece away before appearing behind him with a grin. Shield turned to face her and laughed. “It doesn’t matter how fast you are, you can’t hurt me!”

Rainbow grinned. “It’s just as I thought…”

“Oh? Decided to give up?” Shield grinned back at her.

“I retract my previous statement… This will take under a minute,” Rainbow said.

“I love your overconfidence, it’ll be more amusing when I crush you!” Shield chuckled.

Rainbow began to move so quickly that shield couldn’t even see her once more, but this time she didn’t stop. With her blade she began to chip away at his armor, after a good eighty cuts, Shield could no longer keep track. Rainbow kept moving at alarming speeds and hitting the same spot over and over, chipping away at him, until Shield realized what she was up to. He blocked the spot with his hand but felt it knocked away instantly.

As Rainbow hacked away at him, she moved too quickly for him to stop, and the chink in his armor was only growing larger and larger. Rainbow moved faster than his armor could regenerate!

Once the hole was big enough, Rainbow jabbed the knife into Shield’s abdomen. He groaned in pain as he reached to stop her, but she twisted the knife and caused him more pain. He looked at her with widened eyes in shock. “H-how?” He breathed.

Rainbow pushed the blade deeper, causing him to grunt. “You have an impressive defense… However, you should know that you can’t win a fight if you can’t attack. It takes more than a good defense to win…”

“Y-you… Y-you…” He coughed as black blood dripped from his mouth.

“I’m the reaper for you.” Rainbow grinned as she thrust her hand into the wound she had created. He screamed in pain until Rainbow tugged out the man’s intestine. She tore it off and dropped it to the ground.

Shield gripped his bleeding wound as he fell to his knees and eventually collapsed completely, he cursed Rainbow as his body began to dissolve into a black mist. Once Rainbow was confident he was gone, she wandered back over to Bolt and grinned. “I have a feeling you should send a warning to Horizon and her group. If they sent one here, I am sure Serenade would be having someone tail them too.”

“Good idea.” Bolt nodded as he quickly began to type out a text to Jasper but then looked up at his mother. “And mom?”

“Hm?” Rainbow asked as she made her way back to the back door of the house.

“You’re so fucking cool.”

Rainbow gave a thumbs up.

Adagio stood with her sister and posed for a camera. The young Serenade stuck her tongue out as the camera in the booth they were sitting in snapped its eighth photo. The two giggled as they stepped out to collect their pictures. Adagio laughed as she examined them, pointing to the third photo. “You blink!”

Serenade giggled and pointed to the next one. “So did you!”

Adagio gave a dismissive hand gesture as the two continued through the mall. It had been a few hours since Horizon and her friends healed Serenade, and while she protested, her sister Adagio insisted on the importance of spending some time together. Serenade had a feeling that her elder sister wasn’t confident that Horizon and her friends would beat the clock. She wanted to distract herself from it, while also spending time with Serenade in case she had to say goodbye. She was running from it, and Serenade knew it.

Instead of trying to convince her older sister to face her fear though, Serenade opted to let her have this time. She herself was only fifty-fifty on Horizon and her friends’ success probability, however, she remained mostly optimistic. If they defeated the other Serenade in time, she’d live, that’s all she knew and it’s all she counted on.

As the two walked, Serenade turned and saw their reflections in a shiny shop window. She froze as she stared at herself and her older sister. Their height difference was drastic, her sister standing a good head taller than her, but the thing that stood out was Adagio’s smile. Seeing if made Serenade curious.

Adagio stopped with her and glanced at Serenade then the window. “What wrong, sister?”

“I was just thinking about them…” Serenade said quietly.

“Them?” Adagio asked with a confused expression.

“The other versions of us… They don’t have this…” Serenade said.

Adagio tilted her head. “I not understand…”

“We’re always together… Our sisterly bond, it’s strong… They don’t have this… It must be very sad to live like that…” Serenade rambled.

Adagio grabbed her sister’s arm and urged her to keep moving. “Shouldn’t think about. Those girls not us, Serenade.”

“But they could be us… Could I have become like her if I lost you?” Serenade asked, staring at her own reflection, somehow seeing the other Serenade standing next to it in her mind. The likeness was so close, just a tiny bit taller, and looking a few years older.

“Serenade, we not them. That simple. Shouldn’t think like this.” Adagio protested.

“They didn’t want to become them, maybe that’s the key to stopping this from going any further sis, we have to understand what made her like she is now…” Serenade suggested.

Sighing, Adagio pulled her sister closer. “If you think of anything I call them and you can tell. That help?”

Serenade smiled, not at her sister’s cooperation, but instead, at her willingness not to run from the problem. “Yes, okay.”

Adagio nodded and released her younger sister. “Okay, I go in store to try on shoes, maybe get hand bag. Stay here, I be back, okay?”

Serenade nodded. “Okay.”

Adagio kissed her forehead and rushed into the nearby store while Serenade found a bench to relax on. As she sat down to check her phone though, a young teenage boy approached and stood before her with his hands in his pockets. She glanced at him and admired his height.

His face was chiseled and masculine, with messy mahogany hair and dark brown eyes to match, though most of his hair was covered with a beanie.

He grinned as the two locked eyes. “Hey.”

Serenade almost missed a breath as her response became delayed. “H-hi…”

“Mind if I sit?” He asked.

“Sit?” Serenade spoke in confusion.

He pointed to the bench she was sitting on, and her mind snapped back to reality. “Oh! Sit here… Right…”

He laughed and raised a brow. “So, can I?”

“Can you what?” She asked, forgetting once more.

“Can I sit here?” He laughed.

“Oh! Yes! Of course! Sorry!” Serenade blushed as she scooted over.

Sitting down, the teen extended a hand to her, offering to shake. “Oak.”

“I beg your pardon?” Serenade blinked in confusion.

“My name, it’s Oak. Oak Spruce.” He chuckled.

Serenade blushed and shook his hand once she realized what he was saying. “Oh! Right! It’s nice to meet you!”

“And you?” He asked.

“And me, what?” She questioned as she released his hand.

“Your name.” He raised a brow.

“Oh! Right, of course… My name…” Serenade blushed.

The two were silent for a moment before he reminded her she hadn’t actually answered the question. “And it is?”

“Oh, right… It’s Serenade… Serenade Dazzle…” She finally managed to get out.

Oak chuckled as he saw how flustered she was. “Not very good at this are you?”

“Sorry, I guess I’m a little scatterbrained today…” Serenade admitted.

He shrugged. “Well, it’s still a pretty name for a scatterbrained girl.” He smiled at her.

She smiled back at him, she enjoyed looking at his face, he was quite handsome. “Thank you.”

“You from around here?” He asked.

“No, my sister and I came to the States from Russia when I was really young, we moved around a lot until we ended up here though,” she explained.

“Gotta be rough moving so much.” He nodded.

“Well, we sing, so it comes with the territory.” She shrugged.

Oak squinted as he examined her once more. “Wait… I think I saw you on the net before… You’re in that group, Sirens, right? Up and coming star, right?”

She blushed and nodded to confirm. “Yes, that’s me.”

“I’d love to see you perform sometime…” He grinned.

She held out her wrist with her phone on it and gestured it to him. “Well, give me your number and I’ll get you tickets next time we perform.”

He reached forward but paused before tapping his phone to hers. “One condition.”

“Which is?” She tilted her head.

“You gotta let me take you out on a date after the show…” He smirked.

Boldly, she reached forward and forced their phones to touch before she replied. “You don’t have to wait for the show to do that.”

He laughed and nodded. “Okay, how about eight o’clock then?”

“Sounds perfect.” She smiled.

He nodded and stood up. “I better go get things ready then… I’ll see you then, Serenade.”

She nodded back and waved gently as he walked away with a wink and a wave. She watched as he walked away and let out a contented sigh. Once her hormones were no longer in control of her actions though, she wondered if she was ready for a date. She had no experience with romance, after all.

Then again, she found herself thinking about what was said by Eclipse. So long as the other Serenade existed, her days could be numbered. It was better to enjoy these kinds of experiences now, while she still could. Could they actually defeat the other Serenade, she wondered. In her life, Serenade had never seen anything like her counterpart. One could feel her tremendous power just standing next to her. When she felt her touch, she saw things that she didn’t want to admit to her sister.

In actuality, planting that thing inside of her, made it so for a brief second, she could sense the power and emotions of the other Serenade. For that brief eight seconds, she felt astonishing hatred. Hatred she had never experienced before or could imagine. The amount of anger and hatred her counterpart lived in was unreal, unfathomable. If her power was fueled by that hatred, she might be invincible.

It gave her chills just thinking about it. It rattled her core. Was it really possible for her to turn into that? What if I could end up down that path too?

Adagio returned with a new bag in tote. She twirled, showing it off with a grin. Serenade forced a smile. “Looks good, sis.”

Adagio nodded with glee. “I thought so too.”

“Wise choice.” Serenade’s tone was quiet and lacking her usual enthusiasm.

Adagio tilted her head, sensing something was amiss. “Everything okay?”

Forcing a smile once more, Serenade nodded to her elder sister. “Yeah, everything’s fine.”

She knew it wasn’t, but there was no reason to burden her elder sister. For now, all she could do was try to live like a normal teenager and hope for the best. She would put her faith in Horizon and her friends.

Applejack wiped the sweat from her brow as she passed the kids all hanging out on her porch. Jasper was conversing with Nova about her life on the road, and Horizon was tending to the frail Yuna. It was hard to believe the girl survived so long without food. She looked very weak, but the moment she arrived at their home, Rarity promised to load her up with food. Applejack’s wife’s hospitality and generosity were unmatched.

Even now, Horizon was feeding her some meatloaf with gravy that Rarity had saved from the previous night. If they gave her enough hearty food, she’d be back to her old self quickly, no doubt, especially in Rarity’s care.

Passing the children, Applejack grabbed a soda from the fridge, giving a sugary smile at her wife as she saw her in the kitchen wiping a plate dry with a cloth. Rarity gave a kissing gesture to her, which Applejack returned before heading back out to go work the fields some more before the Sun went down.

As she stepped back onto the porch, she noticed Jasper looking at his phone mid-conversation with Nova. He blinked and looked up at the group. “I just got a text from Bolt. He said some creep came to their place, and said he was working for Serenade.”

“Is he alright?” Candy asked.

Jasper cleared his throat as he read from the text. “Well, according to him, Rainbow Dash beat him to a pulp the second he gave her his medallion. He also said they might have another one heading our way.”

Applejack chuckled and shook her head. “That would be the dumbest thing anyone ever did… If’n Rainbow beat him, imagine what will happen if one of them came here…”

“Yes, I wonder…” A deep voice spoke.

The entire group turned and standing there was a large muscular man, his arms were probably twice the circumference of Applejack’s skull. His head was shaved, and the shirt he was wearing was definitely too small for his massive size and was decorated with an emblem of a skull sitting on top of a barbell. With shorts on, Applejack could see his legs were equally as shredded as his upper body. It was clear he never missed a single day at the gym.

Jasper was about to stand up, but Applejack stopped him. She stood in front of the steps and crossed her arms. “Ain’t y’all ever heard of trespassing?”

He extended his arms and laughed. “My name is…”

“Don’t recall askin’ for your name…” Applejack interrupted.

“Brute…” He finished with an annoyed expression, he hated it when people interrupted him, especially weaklings that had no right to do so.

Nodding, Applejack tilted her chin up and smirked. “Well, they’ll be callin’ ya Ball-less if’n you choose to stick around.”

“Is that so?” He smirked.

She nodded. “Sure is, cause I’m gonna rip your balls off if you don’t get off my property. Might make a trophy out of ‘em…”

He laughed. “Lot of tough talk from such a small woman.”

Applejack was on the taller side for a lady, but she was still a woman, standing at an unimpressive 5’8. Sighing she took a step down the stairs. Quickly Jasper offered her his medallion. To his surprise though, his mother turned it down.

“Won’t need it…” She smiled before stepping off the stairs entirely. Now Brute and she were only about eight feet apart.

Applejack cracked her knuckles and spoke up. “I’ll ask y’all nicely one last time… Leave or y’all will regret it.”

Brute burst out laughing. “That’s rich! Lady, I’m like eight times your size! You couldn’t so much as bruise me!”

Applejack took the bandana off of her neck and tied her hair into a ponytail with it. She then removed her button-up plaid shirt and tossed it aside. Under all she had was a plain white undershirt and a sports bra. She sighed as she took a boxing stance. “Y’all get to learn the hard way then…”

He chuckled as she darted forward swinging. He dodged the first punch but found it odd how much wind he felt from it. He sidestepped once more and saw her fist connect with the trunk of a tree he was standing near, but to his shock, her fist burst through the tree trunk, shattering a large portion into splinters. He blinked, wondering how that was possible for such a small woman.

Upon closer examination, he could see her arms were toned, but nowhere near the level necessary for such a feat. It would take someone with muscle mass far greater than what this farmer had, he was sure of that.

He concluded it was just a fluke and took a few swings of his own, only for Applejack to block two of them and dodge the rest. She didn’t seem to react much as his fists hit her arms, which he found odd.

Catching him off guard, she landed a hit in his chest. He gasped for air as he felt the sheer force of her punch. It pushed him back a good eight inches and knocked the air right out of his lungs. He gasped for air before composing himself, taking another swing.

His efforts were pointless, Applejack blocked his attack and smashed him in the cheek, causing considerable pain and a trickle of black blood to leak from his lip. He spit and tried to fight back but the girl landed two more hits, staggering him easily. She didn’t even appear to be trying.

How is this possible!? I shouldn’t even be able to feel this! Her punches… How are they this strong!? Brute thought as he put his fists up, ready to fight back. He swung, but she knocked his fist out of the way and jabbed him a few times in the gut, causing him to kneel.

Applejack didn’t waste the opportunity, she punched him square in the head, knocking him down.

He gasped for air and looked up at her as he coughed up blood. Applejack lowered her fists. “I’d reckon you had enough… Come near my kids again and I’ll kill you…”

As she turned to step away, Jasper called out to his mother. “Look out!”

Applejack turned in time to see him draw a gun from his jeans. She was just in time to step forward and step on his hand, hearing a crack as she did. He released the gun and looked up in horror. Applejack shook her head. “Y’all shouldn’t have done that… I was gonna let you live…”

She reached down and got on top of him punching him repeatedly. He groaned in pain at each hit before she stopped and got off of him. He hacked up blood but managed to speak. “How? You have no magic… Why do your punches hurt so much? It’s not possible…”

Shaking her head, Applejack grabbed his shirt and dragged him a few feet over to a nearby rock, about the size of a car engine. “When ya’ rely too much on magic, y’all never reach your limits. Some things can only come from hard work and determination… If you wanna be truly strong, you can only rely on your own body…”

“That’s… Not possible…” He denied.

“Maybe this will convince ya’.” Applejack gripped his skull in her hand tightly. He could feel her fingers squeezing, the pressure on his skull felt like it would crack under her grip if any more pressure was applied.

Without warning she began to bash his head repeatedly into the rock. Each hit spewed blood and bone fragments until the eighth hit where his entire skull shattered, splattering black blood everywhere.

His headless body fell to the ground and dissolved into a black mist. Applejack sighed and wandered back to her shirt, and picked it up. She wiped a bit of the black blood away and came back up the steps, nodding at her son and daughter. “I’m gonna ask your mother if she has my other shirt cleaned… I think I got some blood on this one…”

“You do that…” Jasper nodded.

Applejack smiled and wandered into the house, she ruffled Jasper’s hair on her way inside.

Yuna spoke up finally. “Damn… I’d hate to be on your mom’s bad side…”

“Damn straight.” Candy smirked. “That’s one bad apple!”

Horizon had taken Yuna inside and was tending to her. She offered her some more food on a fork, which Yuna accepted happily. She chewed and swallowed before mouthing a simple “thank you”, to Horizon. Horizon nodded and continued. After about eight bites, Yuna wiped her mouth and spoke up as she tried to sit up a bit. Horizon gestured for her to remain still and conserve her energy.

Yuna shook her head and sat up anyway, clearly some of her strength returning after all the care she had been given. “Horizon…”

“Hm?” Horizon asked as she grabbed a water bottle and offered it to Yuna.

Yuna accepted and took a drink before continuing. “Do you hate your mother?”

Horizon had her usual emotionless face. She paused and thought about it before she shrugged. “I don’t feel anything toward, Sunset.”

Yuna frowned. “I know she left you a long time ago, but I have to tell you… She really cares about you. All she did while we were trapped was worry about you.”

“I see,” Horizon responded nonchalantly.

“That doesn’t make you feel anything?” Yuna asked.

Horizon leaned back in her chair and looked up in thought. After a few moments, she shrugged once again. “I’m not really good with emotions… So like I said, I feel nothing. I don’t know what I’m supposed to be feeling even… Maybe I’m feeling something but I just don’t understand it, so I don’t know I’m feeling it? If that makes any sense…”

Yuna tilted her head. “Do you think… You shut out emotions so you don’t have to feel hurt by her?”

The disheveled teen only shrugged once more. “I suppose it’s possible, but I wouldn’t know. Sunset is just a person to me, that’s all. Emotions… They just don’t make sense to me. It’s hard for me to understand something not based upon logic.”

It was clear to Yuna that Horizon’s feelings were suppressed on such a subconscious level that she herself couldn’t even tell if they were even there. She had gone on this way for so long, she had lost touch with if it was an act or how she really was. The illusion had become so real that it had become her reality.

Just thinking about that made Yuna a bit sad. She wondered if she would ever see Horizon smile, or if the veils of her illusion had grown so great that she would never see past it. She could end up spending the rest of her life so catatonic, so melancholy.

Yuna vowed she would help her see past that one day, no matter how long it took, she wanted to see Horizon smile, if not just once.

“Sunset protected me, she kept me alive and was even willing to die to protect me…” Yuna explained.

“I suppose we should all be thankful then…” Horizon said.

Yuna nodded. “Yeah, she really did a lot for me…”

Changing the subject, Horizon pointed out another detail. “By the way… Your sister has been missing since you vanished too… Do you have any idea about where she went? We assumed she was with you, but I guess not…”

Yuna chuckled. “Knowing her? She probably just got into a project and turned her phone off. It’s not uncommon. I am sure if we go back to the house she’ll be there, waiting for us.”

Horizon nodded. “If you say so.”

“We should go check on her now though…” Yuna suggested.

Horizon tilted her head. “Shouldn’t you rest some more?”

“I’ll be fine. It’s important that I make sure she’s okay…” Yuna spoke.

Horizon gave in easily. “Alright, we’ll go together.”

Yuna grimaced as she made her next statement though. “I… I want Sunset there too…”

Horizon tilted her head in confusion. Yuna knew it was likely awkward for Horizon to be around her mom, but a part of her wanted a hand in bringing them back together.

“Why?” Horizon asked.

Yuna composed herself. “She looked out for me when we were trapped, and my sister and our family owe so much to her, I want her to be able to thank her in person…”

Horizon just nodded, accepting the explanation instantly, such was her nature. “Very well. Call her.”

Yuna nodded back and made her phone create a hologram of a headset upon her head with a simple hand gesture. She dialed Sunset’s phone which she had added to her contact list while they were trapped and waited for her to answer.

The woman answered with a yawn. “Yeah, what’s up, Yuna?”

“Sunset, sorry if I woke you up, I’m sure you’ve been resting since what happened…” Yuna began.

Sunset suggested they skip the pleasantries. “What do you need, Yuna?”

“Well… My sister hasn’t seen me since we were trapped, and I wanted to go check up on her, but I wanted you there so she could thank you for all you did…” Yuna explained.

Chuckling slightly, Sunset diminished her role in it all. “I didn’t do much, or at least nothing that you wouldn’t do for me if the roles were reversed.”

“Either way… Will you meet us at my home?” Yuna asked.

“Yeah, Eclipse and I will be there, we’ll see you soon,” Sunset said.

“Okay, see you in a bit.” Yuna hung up and made the projection disappear. She decided it might be best to leave the fact that Horizon would be there out of it for now.

Yuna stood up, and Horizon followed suit. The two left the room and came to the porch, making eye contact with Jasper who raised his brow in confusion. “Where are y’all going?”

“We’re gonna go check on Moondancer. Don’t worry about us, Sunset is supposed to meet us there,” Horizon explained plainly.

Jasper frowned at that news. “Y’all want me to come with?”

It was clear to Yuna he was concerned as to how seeing Sunset again would affect Horizon.

Horizon shook her head. “No. We will be more than fine on our own.”

“If you say so…” Jasper nodded.

Horizon gave a gentle goodbye wave and then the two made their way to her car. Yuna sat down in the passenger seat and let out a breath she didn’t even know she was even holding in. Horizon stepped into the driver’s side and fastened her seatbelt as she started the car and set the automatic navigation to Moondancer’s residence. She then relaxed and looked over at Yuna as the car began to drive.

“Do you think Moondancer is alright?” Horizon asked.

Yuna blinked, unsure of why she was being asked such a question. “I’m positive.”

Horizon nodded and closed her eyes as the car drove the two of them. “I don’t understand why she hasn’t answered her phone while you were gone though…”

“I told you, it’s not uncommon for her to go off the grid for a couple of days or weeks at a time when she’s working on something. She got kind of used to it the first time she worked with Sunset, I guess…” Yuna said.

Horizon remembered, but somehow that answer just wasn’t good enough for her. She had a feeling something was not right. Yuna’s explanation just didn’t come off as very logical to her. While Yuna could take care of herself, Horizon couldn’t imagine Moondancer just not leaving her a way to get a hold of her. Moondancer was a pretty tech-savvy person, so going radio silent felt out of character for her.

“Yeah, I suppose so…” Horizon was quiet in her response.

The two sat in silence as they pulled up to the house, there in front were Sunset and Eclipse. Eclipse looked a bit annoyed to be there, but that was somewhat par the norm for his personality when he got dragged places with Sunset. The two had taken separate motorcycles this time.

Stopping her car, Horizon unfastened her seatbelt, as Yuna did the same. The two stepped out of the car and Horizon brushed a lock of her messy hair out of her face. Yuna blushed as she watched, remembering how adorable Horizon could be just doing little things.

She admired the girl so much but wondered if she’d ever have the courage to tell her how she felt. Still, she wished she could see what she looked like with a smile, but these days she likely had little to smile about. She still remembered how she promised herself that she would see Horizon smile one day, and that day she could finally draw her with a smile.

Sunset grinned as she saw the two and Eclipse just gave a gentle affirming nod, clearly not caring about being there. He certainly wasn’t the most emotionally supportive person.

“Nice to see you again so soon, Yuna.” Sunset smirked playfully.

“Likewise, considering it’s only been a few hours… Are you feeling any better?” Yuna asked.

Sunset flexed her bicep and gave a confident expression. “Give it a few days and I’ll be back to full strength. What about yourself? Are you eating enough?”

Yuna nodded. “Y-yeah, Horizon has been feeding me all day…”

Sunset gave a look to her daughter and nodded. “I guess Horizon has a nurturing side… Definitely didn’t get that from me…” Sunset’s voice had a hint of sadness on admitting that fact.

Eclipse rolled his eyes. “I thought we agreed you’d stop the self-pity thing?”

Sunset rubbed her neck and nodded sheepishly. “Yeah, you’re right… Sorry.”

“Why did you bring him?” Horizon asked.

“Everywhere I go, he goes.” Sunset shrugged.

“Any reason why?” Yuna chimed in.

“He’s Horizon’s uncle.” Sunset shrugged again.

“WAIT, WHAT!?” Yuna exclaimed.

Horizon’s tone contradicted what she said next. “I have to say that’s surprising to me as well.”

Eclipse rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, it’s all a very shocking reveal, now can we please move past it?”

“How long have you known?” Yuna questioned.

“Since a few hours ago, but that’s not important right now.” Sunset dismissed her.

“You’ve been traveling with him for years and you’re only finding out he’s your brother now?” Horizon raised a brow.

Sunset cleared her throat. “Again, that’s not really important right now. We can get to that another time. Right now we have to go check on Moondancer, don’t we?”

“She’s right, for now, let’s check on my sister.” Yuna smiled.

“Okay,” Horizon replied plainly.

The group all stepped aside as Yuna approached the door and fished the keys from her bag. It had been so long since she had been home, a part of her wondered if she would ever make it back. She was glad Horizon found her. She would soon see her sister again and tell her how much she missed her. She could be with family once more.

Unlocking the door, Yuna pushed it open and was met with the usual dark atmosphere. The walls were painted a deep purple and Moondancer seldom turned the lights on when she was working. Yuna flipped a light switch only to find it wasn’t working. “Huh, that’s weird…” She flipped it up and down a few times to confirm her findings, and naturally, nothing happened.

Horizon had stepped into the building with her now and turned the light on on her phone. Eclipse and Sunset did the same as they entered. “Turn on the lights,” Eclipse suggested.

“They’re not working…” Yuna said.

“That’s weird…” Sunset thought out loud.

“That’s what I said.” Yuna nodded in agreement.

“We should check the breaker then, where is it?” Sunset asked.

“In the basement, that way, and down the stairs.” Yuna pointed as they all shined their lights in that direction.

“We should all go together… I have a bad feeling…” Sunset said.

No one disagreed, and the group made their way down the stairs to the basement. Halfway down the stairs, Horizon noticed moisture under her shoes. She shined her light down and noticed that past the bottom step was a good eight inches of water. “Looks like your basement flooded…” Horizon commented.

Eclipse sighed as he took off his shoes and hiked up his pants. Sunset just stepped into the water, uncaring if she got wet. Yuna removed her shoes and socks and the group all started wading through the water. Yuna spoke up about the situation. “If the power was out and it rained, sometimes the basement floods, but with no power, the sump pump didn’t kick on…”

“The power must have been out for a while then… Is Moondancer really even here?” Sunset asked.

“Probably not, but she likely left a note or something saying where she went,” Yuna suggested.

“Seems logical.” Horizon nodded in agreement.

Eclipse panned his light around the basement as the group were conversing and blinked as he noticed something amiss. There were cables on the ceiling that had been ripped out. Virtually every single wire there had been severed as if something just grabbed them and ripped them out methodically. “You got a rat problem?” Eclipse asked as he pointed up.

The group all looked up and Yuna’s mouth opened. “No… rats don’t do that, also how would they chew through something on the ceiling?”

“Something ripped those out… I don’t think the fuse box is going to help us now…” Sunset said.

“You can say that again.” Yuna pointed to the fuse box and it had been severely damaged. Someone had ripped nearly every cable out of it and smashed it in, leaving only a dented scrap of metal with torn wires hanging there.

“Do you think Moondancer would have done this?” Horizon asked.

“I’d imagine Moondancer left to get away from whatever did this…” Sunset pointed out.

“More than likely. Perhaps she went into hiding when she found out Yuna went missing. Given she knows what kind of stuff she’s wrapped up in, Moondancer might have gone into hiding.” Eclipse yawned.

Yuna shook her head. “Nah, she would have been looking for me.”

“Or maybe she thought you went into hiding and they would use her to lure you out,” Sunset replied.

Yuna couldn’t deny it was a sound theory. Perhaps Moondancer knew more about the situation than they did. It was highly likely that she was planning preemptively. She could have had faith that Horizon and her friends would keep her little sister safe. So now the question was: where did she go?

Yuna took a closer look at the fuse box. The kind of damage done didn’t suggest to her that whatever did this was normal. Pulling up Moon on her phone, she made a projection of the dog appear before them. Moon bowed and grinned as he saw them all together.

“Miss Yuna, and Miss Horizon! Oh, and Sunset is here too! Well isn’t this a pleasant reunion! All of my users in one place!” Moon bowed in kindness.

Yuna smiled at her virtual companion. “It’s good to see you again too, Moon. I was a little tied up before, sorry.”

“It’s all fine, Miss Yuna! I’m glad to see you well!” Moon nodded.

“Likewise, anyway, Moon can you do a scan of this area and tell me what you find?” Yuna requested.

Moon gave an affirming salute as he followed her instruction. A light scanned the entire room quickly and then Moon transformed into a version of himself in a lab coat. He pulled a clipboard out of nowhere and began to tap a pencil on it as he processed the data.

Above his head, a little progress bar moved until it was full. Once it was, he nodded and put his clipboard away. “There are traces of demonic energy in this room. I’d wager they’re several days old though, faint and barely there, but still there nonetheless.”

“It’s exactly as I feared… Whatever did this wasn’t human…” Yuna frowned.

“We better check upstairs then… Everyone keep your guard up, whatever did this could very much still be here…” Sunset advised as she removed her glove and belted sleeve. She flexed her demonic arm, preparing for a potential fight.

Yuna was about to object to Sunset using her demonic power, but then she recalled how in her weakest state it was the best tool she had in her arsenal. It gave her a significant boost, and that’s exactly what they needed right now.

Moon appeared on Sunset’s phone as a hologram before her suddenly and held up a stop sign. “Sunset, I must heavily advise using demon state in your condition! If you do it again so soon after last time… The effects could be fatal.”

“Demon state?” Horizon questioned.

Moon nodded and proceeded to explain. “Yes, by tapping into the demonic presence within herself, Sunset is able to unify with the demon inside of herself and exponentially increase her power. However, this form drastically increases the spread of demonic energy, and can significantly shorten her life span. That’s why a system is in place to automatically pull her out of demon state after a period of time.”

“The needle…” Horizon recalled.

Moon nodded once more. “Correct. That large injection is a fail-safe when the auto-injection system fails to pull her out.”

“When auto-injection fails, you have to do a much larger manual injection,” Eclipse explained.

“Right, but in her current state, the fatality rate is 100%.” Moon pointed out.

Grumbling, Sunset rolled her eyes. “Then I’ll only use demon state as a last resort. Come on, we’re wasting time.”

While Yuna found it all interesting and wanted to keep discussing the matter, she couldn’t help but concur with Sunset. Time was wasting while they stood there learning demon biology. It would have to wait for another day.

“Alright, let’s head back upstairs.” Yuna pointed.

Eclipse retrieved a butterfly knife from his pocket and flipped it open as the group ascended. Once they were at the top of the stairs, Yuna took the lead, guiding them to a hallway that lead to the kitchen. Yuna observed that there didn’t appear to be any damage to the other parts of the house. Whoever destroyed the fuse box and all the wires to the house’s electrical systems didn’t seem too interested in ruining anything else.

Horizon peeked inside of the fridge and most of the food had already gone bad. “Guess she must have left right after you disappeared, everything in here is rotten.”

Eclipse noticed that Moondancer’s shoes were still by the door when they arrived but had chosen not to say anything. He had a bad feeling. Something was very not right, and he knew it.

As they exited the kitchen, Yuna decided the next best place to check was Moondancer’s study. The group followed without question as she took them up to the second floor and when they came to the room, Yuna noticed it was locked. She rattled the handle a few times but to no avail. She pounded on the door calling her sister’s name. “Moondancer, it’s me!”

Sunset squinted as she stepped forward. “Does she normally lock the door?”

Yuna shook her head. “No. And I don’t have the key to this room… Moondancer doesn’t like it when anyone comes in here, so I usually know not to enter so she never needs to lock it.”

Sunset gestured for them all to step aside. “Since you’re already going to have to have repairs done, I’m going to break the door down. You can bill me later…”

Yuna nodded and they all stepped aside as they watched Sunset prepare herself. She took a stance and put her demonic appendage forward. She reeled it back and thrust forward with her palm open, cracking the door upon impact. She revved back and hit it a second time, making the crack bigger. After eight strikes, the door finally caved and broke into pieces, granting the group access to the room.

Sunset lowered her arm and smirked at the group. “Guess I really am quite drained, sorry.”

“You got it down didn’t you?” Eclipse reminded.

Sunset nodded. “I suppose so…”

“I guess you two are getting along better now…” Horizon noticed.

The two of them said nothing about her remark, knowing she likely was still curious about how they were siblings.

The room was pitch black, which Yuna found strange. Ordinarily, it would be illuminated by the glow of several computer monitors, keyboards, or projectors, but now it was as black as midnight. Granted, she knew the power was out, but it was still a strange sight to see. Her sister’s office was like her sanctuary, it felt wrong just stepping foot inside.

“Everyone ready?” Yuna asked politely.

The group nodded. “Let’s just get on with it,” Eclipse said.

Horizon took the lead and flashed her light forward. What she saw before her though caused her to pause. “I think I found Moondancer…” She spoke quietly.

The group turned to look in the direction of her light, and there on the floor, propped up with her back to the desk behind her was a woman with long messy hair, she was facing the floor with her head slouched and her hands at her sides. In one hand, a gun, fully loaded without a single shot of the revolver fired.

Her other hand was covered in dried blood, and from her chest, was a hole where the blood originated. The entire bottom half of her body was stained with dried blood and looked to already be starting the decomposition process.

Yuna covered her mouth as her eyes began to well up. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing, but Sunset stepped forward and reached down, touching Moondancer’s neck, checking for a pulse. There was nothing. Sunset shook her head. “I’m sorry… She’s dead…”

Yuna dropped to her knees as tears began to leak from her eyes. This couldn’t be happening. She had been hoping to come home and hug her sister, and try to put what had happened to her behind her, but it was clear things were far from over. Her sister had been murdered.

I'm sorry. I really am. :c