Moonglade tried to look calm and collected as she walked through the front doors of her home with her aunt, with the maids and Silver Platter coming out to help carry Ivory Wings’ various boxes out of the car.

The young changeling still had on the shirt she had borrowed from her aunt, with her bra, shirt, tie and jacket tucked nicely inside a little satchel her aunt had brought along. They had also stuffed quite an amount of scented flowers in the satchel as well, hoping it would mask the smell of her blood.

The maids and Silver Platter dutifully took the boxes to Ivory’s room, while Moonglade and Ivory Wings went for Moonglade’s room instead. However, in order to get to the stairs, they would have to pass through the parlour. And standing in the parlour, with a canvas and paints, was Ebony Wings. She was wearing a smock and held a palette in her hand, and was in the process of painting a bowl of onions.

“And here are my daughter and my sister back from their little expedition,” Ebony Wings said without turning away from her artwork. “So, how was your day?”

“Oh, uh, it was fine. Aunt Ivory showed me all her historical artifacts,” Moonglade offered.

“Oh, really. That sounds nice,” Ebony said, putting down the brush and walking over to the bowl, where she picked up an onion and examined it, polishing the vegetable on her sleeve. “What is that smell? And no, it’s not the onions, it’s coming from you.” She then took a bite out of the onion, chewing thoughtfully. “Smells like a funeral home.”

“Oh, uhh, it’s just…” Moonglade tapped on the satchel around her shoulder. “Just some things Aunt Ivory got from her place.”

“Yes, that’s some of my supplies, sister. They were light, so I gave it to her to carry in.” The white haired changeling swooped in and grinned.

“Hmm…” Ebony narrowed her eyes, then pointed a thumb at her daughter. “And what is with this dreadful fashion? An oversized t-shirt and those leggings? And… Are you… Are you not wearing a bra?”

“Oh, here we go…” Ivory sighed. She stepped forward. “We were, um, cleaning my penthouse and it got a little too warm in there.”

“Uh huh…” Ebony took another bite out of her onion. Moonglade didn’t quite like the smell, but it was manageable. “And you didn’t put it back on after?”

“Well, the washing machine wasn’t quite working at my place…” Ivory Wings said, shrugging. “Didn’t want your daughter to put on sweaty clothes, so I lent her one of my shirts. Simples.”

“You could’ve lent her a better shirt. This is so unsightly. And you didn’t think to lend her some underwear too? What if someone saw her like that?”

“No one saw her, and my size is different from hers,” Ivory answered. “And really? All my shirts are nice.”

“Not when you put it with those leggings.” Ebony eyed Moonglade’s legs.

“Umm… Maybe I should’ve taken them off too?” Moonglade smiled sheepishly.

“Yes, you should’ve. You took the rest off because you were sweaty, so why didn’t the stockings come off too?”

“My uh, my legs weren’t feeling all that warm…” The young changeling rubbed at her right arm.

“Hmm, whatever the case, you’re due for a wardrobe change, dear.” Ebony Wings finished up the onion she was holding. “We might not feel the heat, but we’ve got to keep up appearances. You can’t be going around in that red jacket of yours in the middle of summer.”

“Ummm… Yes, you’re right, mother. Yeah.” Moonglade sighed internally, glad the subject had changed. “I’ll, uh, pick out something from my wardrobe later.”

“See to it that you do. For both personas.” With her part said, the actress returned to painting her bowl of onions. She picked up an arming dagger from off the wall next to her and began to mix the paints with it. “Hm. Needs some more phthalo blue.”

“Come on, before your mother starts questioning you again.” Ivory nudged her niece and motioned to the staircase.

Moonglade didn’t need to be told twice. In a record-breaking time, she was in her room, with the door shut behind her and Ivory.

“Phew, it could’ve gone worse…” The young changeling fell atop her bed with a bounce.

“I think the flowers did their job. Now, I suppose we’ll need to re-dye the bits of you that got wounded, then we’ll pick out a summer outfit for you.”

“Mhm. I’ll be right back, Aunt Ivory.”

The young changeling slipped into her bathroom, picking up the appropriate dye from her little basket on her counter. She removed her stockings first, seeing as she didn’t need to be wearing them anymore. She should’ve known better and removed them earlier. Even her mother was smart enough to pick out that she was still wearing her stockings after changing out her top.

Next, Moonglade removed her aunt’s shirt, taking a second to admire herself in the mirror again before applying the dye on the spots she had been wounded. The wounds hadn’t been very big, at least not on the skin’s surface, so there wasn’t much more dye the young girl needed to apply. When she was done, she slipped her aunt’s shirt back on and smiled at herself in the mirror.

All set.

Soon, she threw her bathroom door open, walking back into her room to see her aunt picking out clothes from her walk-in closet. Ivory Wings was holding on to a white shirt with a pink bunny imprinted on it, her red Discourse shirt, and a white tank top with Moonglade’s insignia on it, which was a grassy field with a full moon above it.

“I think the white matches you better, sweetie.” Ivory looked over the few clothes she had in her hand. “You?”

“I dunno. I thought maybe something darker would work better?”

“It is true that your hair and skin are of a lighter color already…” Ivory put back the two white tops back into the closet. “How about this one then?” She held up the red Discourse shirt.

“Silver Rose has been the one wearing that.” Moonglade pointed. “Maybe Silver Rose can continue to wear that and Moonglade should go out in something else.”

“Hmm…” Ivory Wings disappeared back into the closet.

Moonglade sat down on her bed and waited, taking Mishter Schniffs and putting him on her lap, playing with his wings.

In no time, her aunt returned, now holding two very different tops.

“How about this one, sweetie?” Ivory smirked and held up a short black top that ended just above the navel. “I know Home Run will like this one.”

“I-I don’t even kn-know why I have th-that one!” Moonglade’s face turned red and she hid it behind Mishter Schniff’s form. “I-I w-would never wear something like that out in public!”

“I figured…” Ivory chuckled and put it down. “How about this one, then?”

The older changeling raised a simple orange top with a lion head printed on the front.

“Looks promising.” Moonglade’s aunt grinned. “Feels like there’s glory to be won with this one.”

“Mmm, yeah, this one’s okay.” Moonglade nodded. It didn’t look too bad. Orange seemed to go well with her skin. “Yeah, I think this will do, Aunt Ivory.”

“Okay.” Ivory tossed the shirt onto the bed. “Now for a bottom. Let’s see if we can find a nice skirt…”

She disappeared back into the closet. In no time, she was back out, holding Moonglade’s signature black skirt.

“I actually see no problem with this one, sweetie.” She dangled the piece of clothing in her hand. “What do you think? You’ll just have to do away with the stockings and boots, but I think you can stick to this.”

Moonglade shrugged. She did like that skirt. It was comfy, besides being fashionable as well. “Sure, Aunt Ivory. I’ll continue to wear this.”

“So that leaves footwear…” Ivory rubbed her chin. “I would suggest sports shoes, seeing as you’ll be able to run in them if the need arises, plus, they’re padded inside, so they’re usually very comfortable.”

“I think I have a pair in there somewhere.” Moonglade tried to recall. She remembered her mother buying her sports shoes about two years ago, but she hadn’t really worn them since.

“These?” Ivory said, holding up a pair of white and red running shoes. “Not to put too fine a point on it, sweetie, but I think you’ve outgrown these.”

“I grew so much in like, two years?” The young changeling stuck out her feet and wiggled her toes.

“Good question. Hmm. I suppose you can have mine. Not like I’ll be needing any sports shoes any time soon. Wait here.” And then she was out the door in a blur, taking the small shoes with her. In less than a minute, Ivory Wings was back, carrying with her a pair of black and white sports shoes, dropping them by Moonglade’s feet. “Give them a try.”

Moonglade removed the scrunched up newspaper that was inside the shoes and slipped her feet in. It was remarkably comfortable inside, and she walked up and down her room, trying to see if there were any problems. After six lengths, she concluded that there weren’t.

“These are just fine, Aunt Ivory,” She took the shoes off and placed them next to her bed. “Did you know that we have almost the same shoe size?”

Ivory Wings shrugged lazily. “Lucky guess? I’m not the biggest fan of changing outfits to suit the weather that we can’t even feel, but we have to keep up appearances for the prey, yes? Especially you.”

“Oh. Yes.” Moonglade said dutifully. “The prey; of course.”

“Well you don’t have to sound so unenthusiastic about it,” Ivory said reproachfully. “You hunt, we all eat. Isn’t that something to smile about?”

“I-I guess, Aunt Ivory.” The girl looked to the side. She just wished it could be more than that.

Ivory Wings squinted at Moonglade for a moment, then shrugged. “Well, that takes care of your summer outfit. I have to get back to my star charts and see to the food for my picnic with Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle. Come get me if you need anything. Ciao!”

And she was gone in a blur again, leaving Moonglade to brood by herself. She had her outfit settled at least, but her aunt had brought up that sour topic again. Food and prey. After being out there amongst her friends and Home Run, she really didn’t like seeing it like that. They were friends, not food, but of course, to her kind, they were nothing but fodder.

“Don’t you like Home Run too, Mishter Schniffs?” She picked up her plushie and flapped his wings. “He’s a nice boy.”

“A very tasty boy too,” Mishter Schniffs replied. “Though that Sunny Flare comes close in the competition. She’s so eager to feed you, it’s hard to believe you two started out as enemies.”

“Oh, it sure is, isn’t it?” Moonglade hugged her plushie close. “But I promised mother and Aunt Ivory. I won’t fall in love with Sunny. I won’t make that same mistake twice.”

Moonglade pushed at her new sports shoes with her feet. Even the outside was relatively comfortable to touch.

“At least you acknowledge it as a mistake,” Mishter Schniffs remarked.

“Well, I don’t think it’s a mistake myself…” Moonglade pulled at Mishter Schniffs’ cheeks. “But mother and Aunt Ivory do, so I have to try to avoid doing it again.”

“Remember, the queen, your mother, knows what’s best for you. Follow her directions and you will not falter,” the plushie said. “Of course, your aunt has your best interests at heart too, so make sure to do as she says.”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it.” Moonglade looked over to her opened closet and adjusted her glasses. “Well, I guess this is the new Moonglade attire. I wonder how Home Run would take it.”

“Why don’t you take a picture of yourself and show him?”

“Oh, why not indeed, Mishter Schniffs.”

Moonglade set him down and took out her phone. After putting on her orange shirt and making sure her hair was in order, Moonglade smiled at her own phone’s camera and snapped a picture. Then she flipped it back around and sent the image to Home Run, along with a short question underneath it.

What do u think?

“There, that’s sent.” The young changeling put her phone back in her skirt pocket and leaned back on her bed. “I hope he likes it.”

“Did you remember to use the right phone?” Mishter Schniffs asked.

“Of course, I’m no amateur, you know? I’ve had plenty of months to practice.”

“Uh huh.” Her doll sounded rather unconvinced.

“Well… Here we are anyway. The beginning of my first summer break. I wonder what I’m going to be up to…” Moonglade looked out the window and tried to picture herself having fun.

“Lessons, that’s what I know,” Schniffs said from beside her.

Moonglade glared down at her plushie. “You really know how to kill the mood, you know that?”

The plushie said nothing.

“Hmph.” Moonglade looked back outside. One thing she did want to do was go to the beach. She had heard a lot about beaches, but of course, she had never gotten the chance to go.

She closed her eyes and pictured herself prancing about the sand with Home Run. She decided she was going to build a sand castle, and she had done so in the end, although she did it atop a mound she had buried Home Run under. They both threw their heads back in laughter, before sharing a few kisses.

Then Moonglade shook herself out of her own imagination and sighed. She wasn’t actually at the beach and daydreaming about it would only make her more impatient.

“How about we save these thoughts for when we actually go out there, hmm?” the young changeling said to herself and chose to think about something else.

Thoughts about her father soon came to her mind, about how her mother had seemingly erased him from existence, at least until today. She knew why her mother had to dispose of him, but she still didn’t get why she wasn’t allowed to know about him. That part just didn’t seem to make sense.

“A lot of what you do doesn’t make sense, mother.” Moonglade played with her hairband’s flower.

And then she remembered her grandfather. Her grandparents were likely still alive and with this long summer break, maybe she would get to go see them. That is, if her mother would allow it.

“Perhaps I could ask Aunt Ivory. Maybe she could convince mother to let me.”

Whatever the case, there was so much to do and see during this break and Moonglade couldn’t wait to start.