Nothing about the day had been normal in any fashion, but sitting in the living room she’d grown up knowing, an observer caught in the middle of a battleground with numerous factions, Mi Amore Cadenza found herself wondering if this was all some kind of waking nightmare. While briefly contemplating pinching herself to make sure she was actually awake, Cadence found her attention drawn to the other silent observer in what was a situation quickly spiraling out of control, finding the intense look of focus and worry on Sunset’s face almost as troubling as the tableau before them.

The day had started out fairly normal, even accounting for the frantic phone call from Twilight the night before. She’d felt good, her energy had been up, and she’d even managed to get a few of her favorite breakfast pastries on her way to work. Work had been wonderful too, with some great callers and a few contests going on that brought out some amusing entries that made everyone at the station laugh, and she had received some amazing feedback from a contact about the draft of an article she’d written for her blog about abusive relationships....but then came the call from Velvet on her lunch break.

The call wasn’t really a surprise. She usually got an update from the woman whenever Twilight had a meltdown and called Cadence, because Velvet wanted to keep her abreast of what was going on. It was just part of the way the family worked together to support Twilight. It was what Velvet told her that had been troubling and made Cadence think back about her own time at Crystal Prep and the stern, intimidating woman who ran it, asking herself if the woman could actually do what Twilight’s words had implied.

Her high school years were something she remembered fairly fondly, surrounded by a cadre of friends and Shining’s sweet, but dorky companionship, first as her childhood friend and eventually as her boyfriend. None of them had been at the top of the academic track or sports rosters, and their parents weren’t the type who made massive donations to the school, so her group had been in the middle of the social hierarchy and not involved in the petty games of the movers and shakers of the school. Yet try as she might to really remember any interaction with Abacus Cinch...she couldn’t. At most, she recalled some school wide assemblies, as well as graduation, but beyond that, the woman was almost a non-entity, so much so that Cadence could barely recall the details of her features. She had heard far more stories about Cinch than she had seen first hand...

It had left her calling the one person she knew who would have knowledge on just what Principal Cinch could get away with having Twilight sign without her parents present and putting pen to paper as well.

Cadence idly tugged her hair free of the high ponytail she’d worn at work and scratched vigorously at the itch it always left behind on her scalp while she listened to the phone ring in her ear. “Lu!” she exclaimed in relief when the other woman picked up at last, “I know you probably just got home from work, but I feel like I’m heading into a potential minefield tonight and I need your insight in a big way.”

There was a faint and muffled voice in the background, and her best friend leaned away from the phone to answer. “Thai sounds fine, Tia...just my usual, please, and yes to the extra rum in my coke tonight. After that damned meeting with Mrs. Pepita I need it.” Luna cleared her throat. “Sorry, what did you say, Cadence?”

The DJ chuckled. “Been one of those days for you too?”

The exasperated groan that echoed in her ear was an answer unto itself. “You have no idea. I swear, some days I feel like whatever god came up with the idea of teenagers should have been forced to live with several hundred of them for at least a year before getting to inflict their brilliant masterpiece upon the world...” Luna lamented. “Some days, the only thing worse than teenagers are their parents. Mrs. Pepita’s son is a mouthy pain in the ass who is in detention for getting verbal with his teachers at least once a week, but all we get from her is how her little Azul Angelito is a good boy who would never do anything like that. She should’ve named him Diablo Rojo instead!”

She heard her friend take a long drink and sigh. “Anyway, my day aside, you needed me for something? Didn’t you get enough yesterday?” she teased.

“Never,” she joked back. Then she sobered. “Don’t worry about it, Lu. You sound dead. I can manage on my own.”

Luna made a thoughtful sound. “Cadence, it’s fine. Besides, it’s a nice change of pace to deal with an adult problem instead of a mire of teen angst and hormonal disturbances.”

Rubbing the back of her neck, Cadence couldn’t help but let out a sheepish, nervous laugh. “Umm...about that...”

Her best friend’s voice took on a sharper, more alert note. “That tone tells me it is some kind of teen drama, in which case it involves your little Ladybug, and thus, Sunset Shimmer. What happened? Should I be ready to deal with a broken hearted teenage girl tomorrow morning?” Despite the light tone, she could hear the seriousness in the question.

“No, no,” she reassured immediately. “From everything Velvet told me when she called earlier, the girls kissed and made up last night while Shining’s parents pretended to take about three times as long as actually needed to ‘clean up dinner,’ and she left them home alone for most of the morning to sort themselves out the rest of the way. She even mentioned how Sunset refused to let go of Twily’s hand when Night carried her upstairs. It sounds like they mended whatever damage was done last night and then some. She fully expected to get home and find them making doe eyes at each other.”

The other woman coughed, muttering something about ‘pony eyes’ before clearing her throat. “I’m relieved to hear that they seem to have sorted their problems out. From my perspective, knowing what I do, it seems to me that Sunset Shimmer’s relationship and the interaction with Shining’s family has been a major factor in the character growth and emotional stability she has exhibited in the last few months. I would hate for some trivial teenage moodiness to put an end to that.”

“...plus they’re just so cute together!” Cadence squealed.

“Yes. I’m sure they’re absolutely...precious,” Luna responded with dry sarcasm. “But if it wasn’t that kind of teen drama you called for advice on, what was?”

The pink skinned woman sighed. “This is going to probably sound strange...but what kind of contracts can the school present to a student to sign without parental consent or presence?”

Cadence could hear the rustle of fabric as Luna sat up, voice sharp and cutting. “Oh for—what bullshit has Abacus pulled now?”

She must have made some kind of startled noise, because Luna continued, her tone somewhat biting. “I’m not stupid, Cady—I had Sunset asking me yesterday about my thoughts on if Crystal Prep was a safe school environment and your mother-in-law asking me about information on CHS because she was concerned for her daughter’s mental health in that harpy’s gilded dungeon. So what has Abacus Cinch done this time?” There was a worried voice in the background, and Luna turned her head from the phone again, answering, “Abacus Bitch being her usual self it sounds like...” to her sister.

“Honestly, I don’t know for sure, Lu. All I know is what Twily told Velvet and Night last night. That she’d signed some special project contract with different rules than the independent study ones she’s done for the last two and a half years. That’s why I wanted to ask you what kinds of contracts she could give to a student to sign without prior or active parental consent.”

Luna made a thoughtful humming sound. “Honestly not a lot. Almost anything outside some very basic school run, school-centric activities have to be signed off on by a parent or guardian first. Nothing involving money, for example, especially coming from the student, is usually allowable—except for direct purchases or pre-orders of things like yearbooks, school pride clothing, that sort of thing. And even those obviously have records, receipts and up-front pricing data that is all sent home for parents to see. I know we can have them fill out an incident report—for example, if they witness something like a fight or bullying, we have a form they can fill out that allows us to keep records of who tells us what, but it's not a contractual obligation, only a statement and a signature to say ‘yes, I wrote this.’”

That helped her relax just a little. “So there’s no way she could have...say...gotten Twily to sign something that locks her into producing something for her, or that means she can make her spend more time at school than the standard seven thirty to two thirty time-slot?” Those were two of the concerns that had come up when she chatted with Velvet earlier.

Her friend snorted derisively. “I wouldn’t put it past her to try or have even slipped in some kind of signed contract if she thought she could get it past her parents...but if you mean something she can legally enforce without parental consent, then no, it’s expressly against the law for a school to try and do that to a minor with no parental backing. If your in-laws didn’t sign anything then she doesn’t have any kind of legal leg to stand on.” Luna’s tone shifted from irritated to concerned. “...not that it would stop her from finding ways to take it out on your Ladybug, if something like that happened. I’m telling you right now what I told your mother-in-law yesterday: I wouldn’t trust that vile woman with the care of a pet rock, let alone a sensitive child. Your family says the word, and she has a place here at CHS the next day.”

The talk with Luna had soothed her nerves some, and sitting down to dinner had actually lifted her spirits. Twilight and Sunset had been as thick as thieves, heads still bent together as they whispered between themselves about something, all smiles and happy laughter....and the little bit of footsie she caught a glimpse of when she entered the dining room had been so cute, especially with the way Twilight had been flushed and adorably nervous as she took the chance, and the sneaky kiss Sunset had pressed to her cheek in response. Even the dinner conversation had been light, with the girls talking about their afternoon reading ancient myths and ordering more books, and Night Light recounting a funny incident from one of his classes.

All of that levity had drained away when they were in the living room after dinner and Twilight had announced she was ready to discuss her project with her family. When they yielded the floor to her to get an explanation of just what had gone down in her meeting with the principal of Crystal Prep, the teen had recounted the meeting in detail...and even before her story was finished, the mood in the room had changed.

Now the air was charged with frustration and disapproval and more than a little anger. Twilight had abandoned her seat next to Sunset on the couch in order to pace, gesticulating wildly with her hands as she defended her decision vehemently. “I don’t see why you can’t just trust me and respect my decision,” she bit out. “I read it over; it was all a reasonable contract, and I’m not stupid.”

“Twilight, it’s not that we don’t trust you,” Night offered. “It’s that we just want to make sure you understand what you are signing before you do.”

She glared at him. “I’m perfectly capable of reading, Dad! ...and I’m so tired of being looked at as ‘poor little Twily’ by this family and being made to feel like I’m never going to be anything because I’m not like everyone else! I don’t need you to hold my hand for everything!”

“Sweetheart...” Velvet had spoken worriedly, only to be cut off by Shining, who broke into the conversation, catching everyone by surprise, especially Cadence.

He gave his father a frown. “Look, Dad, I don’t see why this warrants putting Twily through some kind of interrogation. Sure, she should’ve talked to you before signing, because legally, it’s not a good idea to sign anything without having someone else read it first, but really, is there a reason to make this into such a production? Principal Cinch is an upstanding educator with the highest of personal qualifications and a glowing reputation, who has never been in trouble with the law in any way—just the opposite. She cooperates readily with police, and provides anything asked for when we’re trying to track down a missing kid or something. Whatever that contract says, it’s probably directed at protecting Twily and the school and is nothing to be concerned with.”

“That’s not really the point, son...” his father responded.

“Then what is? Twily is right—she is perfectly capable and able to read and understand a school contract, so why do we need to have this silly mockup of a sit-com in the living room?” The way his voice edged towards angry and defensive was more surprising than his actual words to Cadence—her Shiny never got this hostile.

The whole thing clearly bothered Sunset, the teenager having withdrawn into pensive silence, hugging her knees to her chest on the sofa. She was flicking her gaze from person to person, brows furrowed and a mix of agitation and confusion was present in her eyes when they found Cadence’s. She slid closer to the redhead, shaking her head quietly. Velvet had said that Sunset had voiced some worrying concerns and admitted to an argument with her guardian that precipitated her running away from home.

It bothered Velvet too, and she spoke up, her voice shaking slightly. “I think the point is what that educational institution does on a regular basis and the way it affects members of this family.”

Shining turned away from his father and towards his mother. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Velvet hesitated a moment, then seemed to gather herself and pressed her point to her family as a whole. “Crystal Prep, for all its reputation, is an incredibly hostile environment that I don’t think deserves half the praise it gets—it certainly isn’t worth the amount of money that comes out of the trust every year to pay for it. You kids are not privy to the constant struggle your father and I have fought for three years to just get them to follow Twilight’s IEP and behavior plan—things they are required to recognize and follow, by law, that have been created with the input of not just qualified educators, but also Dr. Soft-Spoken, who is not only a licensed psychologist, but one who has been working with Twilight for a decade! The administration at this ‘wonderful, law abiding’ school ignores half of the things because it suits them! Did you know, they are supposed to call me anytime something happens? They are, and half the time they don’t. I find out when Twilight calls me herself, or worse, comes home at the end of the day and tells me what happened! And on the off chance that they do call, it’s with this attitude that whatever the problem is, it stems from us not being harsher in ‘discouraging childish tantrums from Miss Sparkle.’ That’s not the actions of a school that gives a rat’s ass about its students’ well being.”

Cadence rubbed her eyes. This had been building up in Twilight Velvet for a long time, and it looked like that it was all going to come out at once.

Shining let out a heavy sigh that was layered with annoyance. “Look, Mom, I think you need to take a step back and look at this whole situation less emotionally.” He gestured towards his sister, who was still pacing restlessly. “After all, that’s what you keep telling Twilight to do—to calm down and think rationally, rather than being ruled by anxiety and fear, right? The educators at Crystal Prep are all highly trained people who are widely acclaimed in their fields, not random people off the street like you’d see in a public school.” The note of derision in his voice made Cadence’s heart twist—what had gotten into her beloved Shining Armor tonight?

“Has it ever occurred to you that they may well seem to ‘ignore’ the various controls you’re trying to enforce because they’re already well aware of how to help Twily and are using more...successful...techniques? They don’t need you second guessing them or worse, undermining their techniques because you’re an overprotective helicopter parent!”

Twilight chose at that moment to break in and add her own two cents. “Shining’s right, Mom! I’m doing fine at Crystal Prep and any of the minor inconveniences in the social realm are far outweighed by the academic gain! I know you’re always concerned about my ability to interface with my peers and build social relationships, but I have Sunset, and Wallflower, and I still talk to Moondancer...and that’s good enough for me. Not to mention, as wonderful as Dr. Soft-Spoken has been to me over the years, I think it’s time to face the fact that she is trained in the psychological development of children, and I am hardly a child any more.”

The pink skinned woman watched as things unraveled before her eyes, unsure if she should try and step in or if getting involved in what was escalating into a fight would only make it worse.

Velvet looked hurt and taken aback by her children’s words for a moment, but then she motioned to them both. “What has gotten into you?” She looked around the room. “Do you even hear yourselves? Shining, this isn’t even about you specifically, and you’re treating it like a personal offense, and Twilight, I know you are invested in your academics, but that school is not good for your mental and emotional health! Yet both of you are defending that toxic cesspit of discriminatory upperclass rhetoric and social climbing nonsense, as well as the sour, hostile, arrogant, wretched woman who runs it with in a fashion bordering on zealotry!”

The dark haired teen threw her arms up in exasperation, her voice rising in volume and pitch. “Mom, seriously? You sound like you’re on some kind of witch hunt against Principal Cinch. What is your exact issue with her?” Twilight blew air out through her lips in a noise remarkably similar to some of the ones Sunset would make on occasion. “She’s a brilliant, successful woman with amazing credentials in academia, and she’s willing to mentor me, to help me in breaking into those circles and potentially gain some recognition—something I need to do for me, for my life! You’ve always supported me before, so why aren’t you now, when it really matters?!”

The older woman sat forward, her expression tight with worry. “Because someone like Abacus Cinch doesn’t do something like that for nothing,” she responded. “People like that are always looking out for number one and there is something in all of this she hasn’t told you and won’t tell you until she knows you can’t get out of it, Twilight. Everything has a cost, and if they aren’t telling you upfront what it is, then you can be damned sure it’s a cost you don’t want to pay!”

Twilight had forgone all volume control at this point, her retort not quite a scream, but almost. “MOM! You’re asking what is wrong with us? What is wrong with you? It’s nothing like that, and you’re...you’re fixated on making this out to be some sinister, sleazy plot, like she’s going to steal me away...” Her face twisted into an expression that Cadence didn’t like seeing on her sweet little Ladybug. It was so ugly and filled with anger and spite, that it felt unsettling to see.. “Or is that it?” she accused. “Are you just upset that I’m looking to someone other than you for guidance, that I’ve found a role-model to look up to that isn’t you?”

Her mother gasped, shaking her head firmly. “No, sweetheart, that’s not—!”

Shining cut in harshly, his voice a growl that Cadence could never remember hearing from him, even when Long Pass had gotten extremely personal to her and Luna back in their college days. “That’s exactly what it is, and you know it, Mom. This whole thing is nothing but you being unable to accept that Twilight doesn’t need you holding her hand anymore and you’re trying to foist the blame on the school and Principal Cinch because you’re eaten up with petty jealousy for a woman who managed to achieve all the things you couldn’t in life!”

Horror. That was the feeling in Cadence’s guts...pure sickening horror as she watched, frozen in place and unable to move as Twilight Velvet reeled from the verbal blow, her face gone white and tears gathering in her eyes. Next to Cadence, Sunset made a wounded animal noise in her throat, fingers curled into fists, her body gone rigid and her expression more than a little distant.

At that point, Night Light seemed to recover from his shock at the way his wife and children were arguing and he stood up from his chair, extremely unhappy. “Shining Armor,” he said, his voice dropping into the sharp, firm tone that Cadence could only remember hearing when one of them had done something extremely wrong. “I think that’s quite enough out of you...” He never raised his volume, but it had always proven effective at cutting them all off when he used it.

Sunset made another odd sound next to her, causing Cadence to turn to her, ready to suggest that the two of them go to the kitchen, worried that the situation was triggering memories and emotional distress for the girl. What she saw was a little chilling—blue green eyes were staring at Shining with icy, dispassionate calculation, dilated so utterly that the iris was barely a thin ring of bright color outlining darkness, and the faint trembling had been traded for tightly coiled tension like an animal ready to spring into action.

At that point, she stopped listening to whatever dressing down Night might be giving her fiance. She was far more concerned with Sunset’s reaction, Shining’s warnings and the scene from the previous weekend flashing through her mind. She tried to get the redhead’s attention, but Sunset refused to take her eyes off of where Shining had turned his uncharacteristic rage on his father, doubling down on his caustic remarks in a manner entirely too reminiscent of his cousin Starry Night, someone that Shining had absolutely loathed for his simpering monologues about the people his father had basically paid off to give him a series of diplomas and degrees the man didn’t earn, all for a job his daddy got him in the family company, where he couldn’t get fired for laziness or incompetence.

Velvet, still in some measure of shock, had croaked out a plea for everyone to stop, voice breaking. Shining—her sweet, goofy, lovable Shiny, who was so gentle and thoughtful that Cadence had worried about him being a police officer originally—responded with a single, threatening step towards his parents and sister.

Cadence barely had time to register the shift of the couch springs and the movement of air, before Sunset was between Shining and everyone else, hands up in a ready stance and eyes meeting his as an equal, despite the fact that he had about half a foot and easily a hundred pounds on her. She made a horrid sound in her throat, some kind of nightmarish, burbling, wet sounding growl, her lips curled back from her teeth in a grimace, nostrils flaring with every breath. “Stop!” Sunset rasped, though whether as a plea or a threat, Cadence could not be sure.

Sorry, not sorry.

Tune in next week to see what happens! :P