“Take your time, sweetie,” Aunt Ivory said, but laughed as Silver Rose launched out of the car and into the mansion, running for her room. “Oh, kids these days…”

Silver tossed her bag down by her desk, then disappeared into her bathroom, immediately throwing her clothes off, then stepping into the shower to wash off her Silver Rose dye and gel.

“Finally, finally!” Chrysidea said, her dye all removed. She had been waiting for this date all week and in just a few hours, she would finally get to see Home Run again.

She pulled at her hair and rinsed it with shampoo, scrubbing out all the gel she used to get her Silver Rose hairstyle to work. It was always such a bother, but at least she still looked nice with shorter straight hair.

After a quick wash with soap and more shampoo and conditioner for her hair, Chrysidea was ready to become Moonglade once again.

Adding on the blonde dye, she watched as it began to seep into her turquoise hair, changing colors almost like some sort of magic; It was always fun to watch. After that, she got to work on her skin, turning her charcoal color to a tan one.

“You gotta look even better today, Moonglade,” she told herself as she put on her green contacts. “You’ve gotta really make a good impression on Home Run so that he’ll like you!”

She hummed a little tune all the way to her closet and even as she picked out her clothes. Getting her usual attire on, Moonglade then got to work at braiding her hair, tying it into a nice little ponytail at the back.

“There, all set!” she cheered, then went over to her bedside table for her glasses. Only, they weren’t there.

“Looking for these?” Ivory stood at her doorway, holding her black frames. “I forgot to return them to you the other day.”

“Thanks, Aunt Ivory.” Moonglade accepted them. The other day… Her mind was instantly filled with her aunt and mother pleasuring each other again. Oh no, not that female Home Run again…

“Something bothering you, sweetie?” Ivory put a hand on her niece’s cheek. “You’re exuding some disgust.”

“Well… It’s when mother pretended to be Home Run and you tried to seduce her as me.”

“Oh, yeah… that.” Ivory scratched her snowy hair. “Um, let’s try and forget about that, okay? We weren’t supposed to have gone that far. At least, I hadn’t planned on going that far. I know, seeing Home Run with… such a feminine body must have been a little startling for you.”

“Try horrified, Aunt Ivory.” Moonglade shuddered. “Now I keep thinking Home Run has a pair of boobs under his shirt.”

“Um… Try to think other thoughts, hmm?” The older changeling patted her on the head. “Picture his handsome face instead, how about that?”

“I’ll try, Aunt Ivory.” Moonglade nodded and grinned. “But I am still excited to go see him!”

“That’s a good girl. Now remember…” Ivory wagged a finger. “All the seduction tricks we showed you? Don’t do any of that yet, hmm? That’s for later. Right now, just focus on fishing that love out of him, okay? If you do want to try some seduction, don’t go past kissing, okay? For now, at least.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Moonglade saluted happily. “You can sure I’ll do my best.”

Looking at the time, Moonglade still had an hour until Home Run’s baseball practice was over, so she decided to get started on what homework she had first.

Their teachers had also announced that exams were coming up after the Friendship Games were over. Silver Rose had scoffed at the idea. Why have exams after a fun event, she had no idea. It must’ve been Principal Cinch’s idea to torture the students like that.

Moonglade started with the easier ones first, like chemistry and history. Today, she also had a home ec paper to write, but thankfully, the theory proved much easier than the practicals. Before she could start on her math homework, she looked up at the clock and squeed with glee; it was finally time for her to head out.

Prancing out of the study and down the stairs, she found her aunt by the living room, having a giggle with Sonata Dusk.

“What’s going on?” Moonglade smiled and put her arms behind her back.

“Ivory was just recounting to me a tale from long ago,” Sonata said in bouts of laughter. “We had sung a man to eat broccoli once and he had stuffed his face so full that… pffff… ha ha ha ha!”

“Sonata here couldn’t stop laughing then, and she can’t stop laughing now,” Ivory Wings chuckled alongside the siren. “But okay, I see it’s time to go for your date, sweetie?”

“Oh yeah, you have a date, Moony!” Sonata grinned. “Bring back lots of love!”

“I hope to, Sonata.” Moonglade waved to the bubbly siren before following her aunt out to the car, which was already at the driveway.

The ride over to Sugarcube Corner went by uneventfully, though Moonglade was glad there weren’t any accidents on the road. Those might only delay her from seeing Home Run again.

“Now, remember my tips, Moonglade.” Ivory looked out the window at her niece as she got out her door. “Don’t push it too far and don’t give him any reason to doubt you, like you did on your first date. Your opinions don’t matter. What matters is that he hears what he wants to hear, okay? And last, have fun, hmm?”

“I’ll keep it all in mind, Aunt Ivory.” Moonglade waved and skipped into the cafe. She didn’t need to pretend she was excited. She was really looking forward to spending time with Home Run.

“I’ll be close by, and I’ll keep the engine running. If you need to make a quick exit, I’m ready.”

Pushing open the door, the bell chime signaled a newcomer to the other patrons, which didn’t make her feel very comfortable. Scurrying over to an empty booth, Moonglade seated herself down and pulled up a menu, hiding her face behind it. She checked the time on her phone. Four thirty. She hoped Home Run wasn’t going to keep her waiting, because those toothpicks were looking awfully tempting to use on that one guy in the corner who was staring at her.

Using her peripheral vision, Moonglade also managed to determine that the girls following them the other day were not in the cafe today, which was a good sign. Closing her eyes behind the menu, she inhaled deeply, tasting the air for anything that might trip any alarms. The only thing that was off was an intense feeling of curiosity from the same young man in the corner, who now had his phone out.

Not to be outdone, Moonglade slowly took out her own phone, then texted her aunt.

Theres a guy here who might be a problem. Green shirt, jeans, brown hair. Can u do anything about him?

Ivory Wings was quick to reply.

I can do something, but I’ll have to get out of the car to do it. Stand by.

From the corner of her eye Moonglade saw her aunt’s car door open, and Ivory stepped out with a different phone in hand. One that she recognized as one of the two phones looted off the late Pierce Network. Ivory Wings lifted the phone to around head height, as if she were about to take a selfie, aimed at the guy in the corner. Suddenly, there was a burst of sparks from the young man’s phone, and smoke began pouring out of the battery and headphone jacks.

One peeping tom taken care of. Ivory texted, returning to the car. Text me if you need me again.

“Aunt Ivory is the best!” Moonglade smirked as she watched the young man pocket his phone and fold his arms.

She continued to sit around, pretending to stare at the menu while she waited. Before long, Home Run was through the door, sweating profusely as he found his way to where Moonglade was waving to him.

“Sorry I’m late…” He huffed and puffed, sitting down across from her and putting his bag on the seat. “Had a bit of a hold up with my friends, but here I am now. Did I make you wait long?”

“No, not for too long,” Moonglade said with her nicest smile. She had practiced it in front of the mirror earlier that day, and was determined to make it the most disarming and comforting smile she could muster. “You’re all sweaty. Would you like a handkerchief?”

“Oh, no don’t worry about it.” Home Run started pulling on his shirt to air his chest. “Have you ordered? If not, I can go place our orders.”

“I haven’t placed them yet, no,” Moonglade said sweetly. “What was the hold up with your friends?”

Not that I really care, but… She thought snidely.

“Well, uh, they think that I should, er, think about spending more time with you.” Home Run laughed slightly nervously. “Anyway, strawberry milkshake for you, yes? Would you like anything to eat?”

“Well…” Moonglade put a finger to her chin. “A slice of chocolate cake would be nice.”

“Chocolate cake coming up, then!” Home Run went over to the counter, leaving Moonglade looking out the window.

Her aunt looked up from the car and gave her a thumbs up, then went back to something she seemed to be looking at on her lap.

When Home Run returned, he had a tray with their milkshakes and two slices of chocolate cake.

“One for you, one for me.” He put Moonglade’s shake and cake in front of her.

“Thank you!” Moonglade exclaimed, picking up the plastic fork that had come with the cake. Bending its tines back, she nodded in satisfaction and stabbed the implement into the slice. A thick, chocolate sauce poured out of the holes. “Oh, that’s nice,” she said, impressed.

“Yeah, the Cakes do make good, um, cakes,” Home Run said in between sips of his milkshake.

“Looks tasty.” Lifting it up, Moonglade took a bite, closing her eyes as a most wonderful chocolate taste filled her mouth, sweet but not overly so. The syrup was of a dark chocolate, its faint bitterness balancing out the sweetness. “It is tasty!”

“Right?” Home Run got started on his own slice. “So… uh, how have things been? I mean, aside from what you’ve already told me over the phone.”

“Well…” Moonglade chewed at the corner of her mouth. “I’ve been helping my sister with her exam revision. I hear exams are coming up?”

“Oh, yeah, after the Friendship Games,” Home Run confirmed. “We’ll have a few weeks to study after the Games. But then it’ll be summer break after! My first summer break here in Canterlot, you know?”

“Are you participating in the Friendship Games? My sister said her principal approached her about taking part, but she declined. Can’t say I blame her; from what I’ve heard, the principal of Diamond-ahem, Crystal Prep is a real witch.”

“I’m still relatively new here, so I haven’t had much of a chance to hear about her.” Home Run cut another bit off his cake. “And no, I won’t be taking part. I figure I’ll just watch, seeing as I’m new to the school. Not much good at anything else besides baseball anyway.”

“Yes, I know what it’s like to be new to a school,” Moonglade said under her breath. Then in a louder voice, she said, “Oh, I see. I’ve heard a lot about the baseball team from Adagio and the girls. They seem to think your team is quite good.”

“Well, we do have some talented players, yeah.” Home Run nodded and took a bite from his cake. “Apparently nothing compared to Crystal Prep’s team, though. I guess we’ll see them in action if we do get that far in the championships, huh? We’re actually doing good so far. My old school’s team usually gets eliminated pretty early on, but Canterlot High has proven they have what it takes. I’ve never seen a more friendly and synchronized team.”

“I’ll be sure to pass on your sentiments to my sister,” Moonglade said in between bites of cake. “She’s probably got friends on the CPA baseball team.”

“Oh, well then I look forward to the championships. That is, if we do make it to the finals.”

“Aw, don’t sell yourself short, Home Run. You’re pretty good at baseball, at least from my perspective. I’m sure you’ll get there.”

Home Run smiled and took a slurp from his milkshake. “Thanks, Moonglade. And oh, yes, I have your gift for you.”

Moonglade sat there, excited to receive a new present, watching as the boy’s hand went into his bag and came out with a plastic bag, wrapped around the item inside.

“Here. I saw it and it thought of you, so… yeah.” Home Run’s cheeks turned a slight red.

Gratefully accepting the gift, Moonglade wasted no time in unwrapping it, wanting to know what was inside. When she was done, her hand swooped in, coming back out with a black patterned hairband that had a little white lily adornment on the top.

“It’s so pretty! Thank you so much, Home Run!” She bounced on her seat. It really was very lovely and he really just got it for her? Moonglade was so happy that she didn’t know what else to do. “You’re really such a nice boy, you know?”

“Well… heh, okay.” Home Run blushed and looked to the side. “Glad you like it.”

Moonglade really wanted to try it on now, but she had braided her hair nicely and the band wasn’t going to go over it without messing it up.

“I’ll try it on when I get back. Don’t want to mess up my braids now,” she told the boy, then reached over and took one of his hands in a soft grip. “But it’s perfect. Thank you, Home Run.”

“Hey, anytime, Moonglade.” He smiled.

Moonglade sniffed, finding a big chunk of affection radiating out from Home Run. She closed her eyes and smiled, savoring the taste. No concrete love yet, but she knew she was getting there. It was only a matter of time now.

“So, uh. Everything good at home? The sirens okay too?” Home Run eventually broke the silence, still holding hands.

“Oh, yeah. Things are good back home. The sirens are doing, um, mostly alright.” This time, Moonglade knew not to blame his friends for their loss of immortality. “Sonata and Aria have been arguing a lot though. It’s a bit… disheartening to see them like that.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.” Home Run scratched his face. “They argue in school too. I’ve tried to help out once, but Adagio told me it’s better not to get involved.”

Moonglade continued to inspect her lovely hairband. “I think she’s right on that. You don’t need to trouble yourself with this. My aunt will be taking care of it, I hope.”

“Not in a bad way, I’m hoping?”

Moonglade thought about it for a second. “No, I don’t think it’s a bad way.”

“Well, I hope they eventually get past all these petty squabbles.” Home Run finished up his cake. “It’s not good for them.”

“Can’t deny that…” Moonglade sighed. Then she shook her head and swapped back to her smile. Her job wasn’t to feel sad about her friends. Her job was to seduce the boy to the best of her ability.

Ugh. Seduce… Still haven’t gotten over using that word.

She found her eyes looking down at Home Run’s chest, glad that it was flat. She could still picture her mother as Home Run and it wasn’t a comforting sight.

Breathe, Moonglade. Breathe. Home Run isn’t a girl. He’s a boy. He’s a very nice boy who’ll soon be a good source of food. He has his male features. No female features to be found on him.

“You okay?” Home Run looked at her, his eyes not averting this time. She figured he was getting used to her now and she could smell concern coming from him. It was nice.

“Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine.” Moonglade decided to step up her game a little. “Well, when you’re with m-me, you know, I don’t have to… worry about an-anything, he he…” Moonglade ended with a shy blush. She didn’t need to pretend to be shy, seeing as she was shy.

“Yeah, actually… I do enjoy spending time with you.” Home Run matched her reddish cheeks. “You, uh, free tomorrow… by any chance?”

Oh? Is he the one asking me out now? Moonglade’s smile widened. “Yeah, of course! I mean, I do have lessons in the afternoon, but yeah, I’ll have time to spend with you.”

“Oh, that’s great. I was thinking of catching a movie?” Home Run said. “Horror of the White River. You heard of that one?”

“Oh, yeah!” Moonglade nodded, her curly hair bouncing around her face. “My mother’s in that one as the lead heroine! Though, she did say she was rather useless in the movie.”

“Oh?” Home Run chuckled and drank from his milkshake. “I haven’t looked up anything except for the summary, but it did look good. Would you like to see it with me?”

“I would love to, Home Run!” Moonglade said almost a little too excitedly. “I mean, yeah, I-I’d like that… yeah.”

“Okay, then I’ll get to see you tomorrow too,” the boy grinned and slurped at his milkshake.

For the rest of their time finishing their cakes and milkshakes, Moonglade talked with Home Run about the various things they had done. She learnt that Home Run had left Fillydelphia, because his father had gotten a job at Crystal Prep as a bus driver. She had wondered why he didn’t go to Crystal Prep, but she guessed it was certainly no place for him. Then she learnt that his mother was a doctor at Canterlot Clinic, which was outside the city in the more residential area.

Interesting how a bus driver and a doctor had gotten together. Then had a son who plays baseball.

Home Run had asked a little bit about her sister, and her mother and aunt, so Moonglade told him only what she was able to tell. Like, how her sister was living with her aunt before they came to Canterlot and how her mother was such a busy actress.

“She’s in Canterbury now, you know?” Moonglade said as they got up to leave. “Filming for another movie.”

“Oh, that’s nice. Never been there myself, but I heard the countrysides are nice.”

Now back outside, Home Run seemed to be affected by the weather. Moonglade felt none of it, but since it was approaching summer, she guessed it was getting hotter. Being part changeling, she could withstand quite an amount of heat without feeling it, like back in home economics class, when she had tried to start up the stove.

“So, you have a ride back?” Home Run asked her, standing beside her on the pavement.

“Yeah, right there.” Moonglade pointed to the car where her aunt’s car was waiting.

“Alright.” Home Run patted her on the arm. “So I’ll see you tomorrow, hmm? Have a safe trip back.”

Now or never, Moonglade. Grabbing him by the arm, she pulled him back, making him face her. “You weren’t going to leave without a goodbye kiss were you?”

She closed in on his face, aiming for his mouth, hoping to finally give that kiss she’d been waiting to give, but as she got closer, she hesitated, hovering close to his lips.

She realized it was quite embarrassing and she didn’t know how to proceed. Kissing Sunny had been without the intention of seduction and she had been really angry then. Right now, things felt different and Moonglade was afraid of going further.

Really? You can’t do it, Moonglade? But you’ve wanted to! Just a little more. He’s so close.

She moved on again, but at the last second, she diverted and kissed him on the cheek like the last time, holding it there for a few seconds before stepping back.

“W-Was that good…?” She smiled rather awkwardly, twisting one foot on the ground.

“Umm… uh, yeah, that’s was… yeah…” Home Run rubbed his cheek where she had kissed him, which was turning red like her own cheeks.

Moonglade felt like she had never been more awkward in her life, but she continued to smile and slowly step away. “S-So, umm… see you to-tomorrow, Home Run…”

“Y-Yeah, see you.” He raised a hand to wave goodbye.

The young changeling quickly got back into the car and held her face in her hands, putting her new hairband on the chair, embarrassed at her failed attempt to kiss him on the lips.

“That was… painful, Moonglade.” Ivory Wings turned around to look at her. “Why didn’t you do it?”

“I don’t know, Aunt Ivory…” Moonglade mumbled, hiding her face behind her hands. “I just… I couldn’t. I wasn’t brave enough…”

Ivory Wings sighed and put the car into gear. “You know you’ll have to do it sooner or later, so why not sooner? A kiss would go a long way into extracting that delicious love from the… prey.” Backing the car from the parking lot, she began the short drive back to the manor. “Did I ever tell you about my time in the Assassin Brotherhood? Fun times, that. Met some rather nice people and learned lots of new tricks. Of course, I did end up having to betray them in the search for your mother, but that’s just how it goes, hm? You can’t win them all.”

“Um, where are you going with this?” Moonglade asked. She had indeed heard tales of her aunt’s exploits before she had come to join them at the mansion, but nothing specific.

“We-ell, at the time, I was in a relationship with this Assassin whose name is not so important right now. It took years to actually get him to the point where he would be a constant font of love, but once I did…” Ivory took one hand off the wheel to smack her lips against her fingers. “Delicious. I never did learn what became of him later. But the point I’m trying to make here is that once you win a human over, like completely, you can literally stab them in the back and they’ll still love you. Capiche? Which is why you have to work hard on this Home Run fellow. You don’t have the time I did with that Assassin, but once you break through… he’s all yours.”

Mmm, I like the sound of that… Moonglade smiled at the thought of the taste of love from an outside source. “I’ll try my hardest to get where you did, Aunt Ivory. I mean, of course, without stabbing him in the back. He got me this today, did you see? It’s so pretty.” The young changeling held up her new hairband to the rearview mirror for her aunt to see.

“It does look pretty.” Ivory turned the steering wheel and brought the car up a short hill. “And he got that for you? You might be further along than I first suspected, sweetie. Well done.”

“Thanks, Aunt Ivory!” Moonglade held the hairband close to her chest and sighed contently. She was going to try it out the first thing when she got home. “Home Run’s so nice to me. I do hope I can get his love eventually. We’re going to the movies tomorrow after my lessons. It’s going to be so exciting! Oh, Home Run…”

Eventually the car pulled up into the estate and stopped outside the front door, with Moonglade getting out of the car first.

“Remember, princess. He is but food for us.” Ivory told her before she closed the door.

“Yeah, I remember…” Moonglade blew at her fringe as she entered her home, walking down the hallway herself. “But for once… I want to just do as a normal person does. I want to be a normal girl, at least for a day. I want to think about him, I want to love him… I want to… love him?”

Moonglade stopped in her tracks and clutched at her chest, over where her heart was. It felt different. Was she really harboring such thoughts? Her goal was always to lure Home Run in with her charms and then siphon love from him whenever she could, using him as a gas pump. Like her aunt and mother had told her countless times, she was to pretend she loved him and acted like she did, but… did she actually have real feelings for him?

Mishter Schniffs’ voice spoke in Moonglade’s head. “Remember. Moonglade falling in love with the prey is fine. Any other persona… and you’ll be in big trouble. With both your mother and your aunt.”

“I know, Mishter Schniffs,” Moonglade sighed. “Don’t worry. I’ve got this. I think...”