It was late in the afternoon, when Meadowbrook arrived at the location that the email spoke of. Something wasn’t right with Cardinal Neighsay, and Meadowbrook wanted to learn what that was before it blew up in her face. It seemed that the delivery was made to a storage space that was used by the Saint Pureheart Church, which meant that it wouldn’t be hard for her to get access as she was on the registry of allowed persons to enter and exit the storage. She arrived at the storage unit, unlocked it, and opened the door, sliding it up and took a cursory glance.

From what she could see, it was just the normal assortment of things for, Easter, Christmas, plays, extra chairs for events, and a variety of other knickknacks. Still, somewhere inside this unit was the package that Neighsay sent to the city. Meadowbrook started navigating her way through the large space, with only the humming of a few fluorescent lights illuminating the dark space. She knew that whatever it was, it had to have been fairly big as the amount of money that it cost to send it overseas was in the double digit thousands.

Deeper and deeper Meadowbrook went, searching high and low for whatever it was that was put in the storage unit. There was so much clutter, however, that it was nearly impossible, like finding a needle in a haystack. “Shoot…he could’ve hidden it under somethin’…under a tarp or some other boxes to disguise it.” Meadowbrook was growing frustrated, she needed to find out why he was there, and if Fluttershy was in danger. “God, please, lend me a hand down here, would ya?”

Meadowbrook kicked a box, but as soon as she did that, she started a domino effect that made some other boxes begin to wobble.

“Oh…fudge.”

Meadowbrook ducked out the way as several boxes fell over, triggering a few more to topple down right after it. The Cajun Nun rolled on the floor, missing a few incoming objects, when she stopped, she gasped as a wooden standee of a lamp came falling towards her. Meadowbrook rolled the opposite way and narrowly missed the wooden cut out slamming onto her and instead hit the floor. The frizzy redhead panted as her heart thumped in her chest from the near close call, but when she got up to dust herself off, her eyebrow rose.

There, right behind the Nativity props, was a wooden crate. Meadowbrook walked towards it and found that the crate itself had Customs stickers and a shipping address stamped onto the side, an address that showed it was from the Vatican itself. Meadowbrook smirked upon finding it and offered thanks to God for answering her prayer. Of course, it was nailed shut.

“Come too far to stop now, Neighsay.”

Meadowbrook reached into her pocket and pulled out a vial, on top of being good with computers, she was also a great chemist. So, she brought one of her special concoctions, it was acid that dissolved certain organic material, like wood for example, but left the skin unscathed. Meadowbrook popped off the cork and splashed a few drops around where the nails were. She watched as the acid ate at the wood around the nail and then stopped after a few seconds, she repeated this process on the rest of them, and once she was certain that they were fully dissolved, Meadowbrook pulled up on the lid.

Thankfully, it came off with little to no effort at all, inside it was some packing straw, which forced Meadowbrook to dig through it. She tossed it out with each handful, trying to get to whatever it was that was hidden inside, and then stopped when her hands hit something, two somethings. With her right hand, Meadowbrook picked up one object, and with her left the second.

The one in her right hand, it was overall a dark bronze color, with golden plates that had ornate and intricate shapes made with it, giving the object some flare. The handle was about four feet in length and had a sharp point to the bottom, at the top was a cylindrical object that was about two feet tall and one foot wide, the object itself almost resembled a torch. The second object was flashier than the other, it was made of pure gold, at least it looked like it was, it was about three feet in length, with four legs that formed a cross and were claw-like. The top of this object was round, with strands that came out that mimicked rays of light. The center of this object had a pearl-like jewel at the center, and eight emerald gemstones circling the pearl.

Meadowbrook placed the objects on the floor and broke out her phone, she remembered seeing something about these items when going through Neighsay’s research files, but she didn’t pay them much heed, but if these were important enough for Neighsay to sneak here to Canterlot City, then they must be important for some reason. She sifted through a few of the saved documents on her phone until she found the one that had the picture of one of the objects, the documents even had a file number.

Item#: 888-50-994

Section: 31

Classification: Container

Hazard Type: Omega

Meadowbrook read on, and as she did, her eyes grew wider with each line she read. “No…” Meadowbrook hurried to another document that had the second object’s picture.

Item#: 888-51-995

Section: 31

Classification: Container

Hazard Type: Omega

Meadowbrook read some more, and what she read did not fill her with any sense of relief. “Pardon me Lord but…SHIT!”

After a change of clothes, everyone convened in the living room, whereupon Luna sat in just to get some clarity on everything that was happening. Celestia and Luna brought in some extra chairs from the kitchen so that everyone had a place to sit, Twilight and Sunset took one side of the couch, while Shimmer and Pinkie took the other, with the two Sunsets in the middle. Rainbow and Applejack sat on the floor around the coffee table, Rarity and Fluttershy sat in two chairs from the kitchen, and Celestia took the armchair while Luna sat in another of the dining room chairs.

“Wow, you weren’t kidding, you two do look alike, even Twilight looks like Princess Twilight, except for the glasses,” said Rainbow Dash. “And Sunset is dating Twilight, and she’s rich?”

“Yes, Rainbow Dash, Sunset is rich and dating Twilight,” said Shimmer.

The rainbow haired athlete snickered and said, “Wow, you must feel like you got shafted.”

Applejack elbowed Rainbow in the side and made Rainbow give an “oomph” in response. “Dash, c’mon now!”

Sunset shrugged and then threw her left arm around Shimmer’s shoulders. “Well, I’ve pretty much adopted Shimmer here as my twin sister, so, technically, she’s rich too. But that doesn’t grant you permission to date Sparky or kiss her. Got it?” Sunset poked Shimmer’s cheek with her right index finger for emphasis.

“Hey, she’s all yours, I have my own pink ball of happiness over here,” Shimmer replied as she threw an arm over Pinkie’s shoulders.

“Aww shucks, Shimmy, you flatterer you,” said Pinkie in a giddy tone.

Rarity couldn’t help but “d’aww” at the banter between them. “I must say, you two are simply precious, and you and Twilight together are adorable, just like our Shimmer.”

Twilight fidgeted in her seat, she didn’t know how to react in this situation, and part of her was a bit afraid. After what happened, being a room full of semi-strangers was putting her on edge, she didn’t know these girls very well, but neither did she want to distrust them. Twilight promised herself that she wasn’t going to let what happened to her define her potential relationships with other people, and, if she was being honest, upon looking at these girls, the atmosphere that they created in the room was leagues above what those other girls made her feel when in their presence.

Sunset took notice of this and gently took Twilight’s left hand into her right. “Hey, you alright, Sparky?”

“I-I am, I’m just…a little nervous is all,” said Twilight.

“Oh…um, I can understand how you feel, being in a room of unfamiliar people can be a bit nerve wracking,” said Fluttershy in her demure and kindly voice. “But you don’t have anything to worry about, everyone’s real nice.”

Hearing Fluttershy’s calm and soothing voice, strangely enough, made Twilight less nervous. When it came to such sincere kindness from another person her age, Twilight was dubious of their intent. She had been burned far too many times, but thankfully she allowed herself to trust Sunset Shimmer.

“Thank you, um, Fluttershy, right?” Twilight asked.

Fluttershy nodded in response.

“Sorry, I just have a hard time trusting others…my circumstances at Crystal Prep Academy haven’t exactly made it easy for me to do so…”

Applejack crossed her arms and sneered at the mention of the school. “Ah heard Crystal Prep was practically a viper pit, but Ah never thought they could mess with someone so much to make them distrust other people. Well, Ah’m glad yer able to at least enjoy our company.”

Twilight smiled a little more upon hearing that. “Thank you, Applejack.”

“I’m sorry, I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that my sister is Angelus, and that Sunse – Shimmer is Witchblade,” Luna chimed in. “And the fact that there are now two of her here! You’re saying that you were fighting those demon things two months ago?”

“Yeah…” Shimmer confessed while rubbing the back of her head. “I was…all while that Anon-A-Miss thing was going on. I’m sorry for not telling you.”

Celestia decided to interject. “If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t know anything until about three weeks ago…that’s about when Angelus appeared.”

“I mean, it’s so weird that we never even saw you. I mean, wouldn’t the police or something realize that a rich girl was going to a public school, or that there would be two sets of school records or something?” Rainbow inquired.

“Well, that’s mostly because I don’t live in Canterlot, my family’s originally from Manehattan, we only keep a home here because my Mom was originally from Canterlot,” Sunset explained.

“Oh, Manehattan!” Rarity gushed. “I’ve always wanted to go there, it’s home to all the most famous fashion boutiques and design studios in the country! Not to mention it’s home to one of the premiere fashion schools in the country!”

“Didn’t you apply fer that fancy schmancy school?” Applejack asked.

“Yes, Prim Hemline’s Institute of Fashion, I sent them some of my best works, but I haven’t heard from them…at least not yet…” Rarity kept a small smile on her face, but it was mostly to hide her nerves about her application.

Sunset rubbed her chin as she thought about what Rarity said. “You know, if you want, I could probably pull some strings to make sure you’re at the top of their selection.”

Rarity shot up from her seat and stared wide eyed at Sunset. “Y-Y-You can?!” The fashionista quickly shook her head to dislodge the notion. “No, no, I-I couldn’t possibly accept that, I don’t want to be given any special treatment, I wish to get in on my own merit.”

“Nothing like that, I’m just saying I could make sure you get through the front door, after that, it’ll be all on you,” Sunset explained.

Rarity’s head began to spin, Sunset was offering to make sure that she could get her foot in the door of P.H.I.F. “I think I need to sit down for a minute…” The fashionista plopped back down onto the chair feeling giddy at the idea.

Shimmer lightly elbowed her sister and grinned. “Jeez, Sis, you trying to win over my friends with bribes?”

Sunset merely shrugged.

Twilight’s eyes locked onto Rainbow Dash, if she was being honest, she reminded her of Indigo Zap just a bit. Both were star athletes of their respective schools, both were tomboyish, and both were boisterous. The teen genius could feel her heart rate going up a bit, images of past abuse by Indigo Zap being recalled as she imagined what would happen if she got too close to Rainbow Dash and ended up in a similar situation. Twilight flinched when she noticed Rainbow Dash look at her, the athlete seemed to have an awkward expression on her face as she rubbed the back of her head. Rainbow Dash carefully inched her way closer, only adding to the anxiety Twilight was feeling while her girlfriend was carrying on a conversation with the others.

“Say…um…Twi – can I call you Twi?” Rainbow asked.

“O-Oh, um, y-yes,” Twilight replied.

“Cool, so, uh…this may be a bit of an odd, weirdo question…but…do you like Daring Do?” Rainbow asked in a hushed whisper.

Almost immediately Twilight’s eyes bulged, and a happy grin spread across her face. “YOU LIKE DARING DO?!” Her exclamation drew the attention of everyone in the room, causing both Twilight and Rainbow to blush in slight embarrassment. Twilight cleared her throat and leaned forward to reply, “Yes, I do like Daring Do, which ones have you read?”

Rainbow Dash scoffed, “Which ones haven’t I read. ‘Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Statue’.”

“‘Daring Do: The Riddle of the Sphinx’.”

“‘Daring Do and the Marked Thief of Marapore’.”

“‘Daring Do and the Eternal Flower’.”

“‘Daring Do and the Forbidden City of Clouds’.”

“The Chronos Sword?!”

“Yep! The Temple of Shadows?!”

“Oh yeah! And don’t forget–!”

“A. K. Yearling’s secret novel–!”

“That was released under a pseudonym–!”

“And showed off her slightly more romantic writing style–!”

“Daring to Love!” both girls said at the same time.

Twilight practically had stars in her eyes, she had long hoped to find someone who had the same passion for the Daring Do series as she did, while she was in love with Sunset and would never give her up for anything in the world, she hadn’t inquired or thought about how to get her girlfriend hooked on the Daring Do series, but all through her high school career, she had longed to find someone who shared that passion for good storytelling, and now she did. Without thinking, Twilight took Rainbow Dash’s hands into her own and squeezed them.

“R-Rainbow Dash, you have no idea how long I’ve waited to find someone who loves Daring Do, too!” Twilight stated.

“Heh, to be honest, the others aren’t as much of a crazy super fan like I am, but now I found someone who is!” Rainbow declared.

Sunset watched the exchange and had become extremely happy and relieved; she wasn’t the only one who noticed that Rainbow Dash had similar mannerisms to Indigo Zap and had been keeping an eye on her the whole time. She was ready to lunge at Rainbow Dash should she display any actions that would trigger Twilight into going into panic mode. But then both girls geeked out about a book series and Sunset released the tension in her shoulders.

Shimmer noticed what was going on the whole time, Sunset had gotten really tense, almost on the level of bolting from her seat. She glanced at Pinkie and it seemed even she noticed what had happened.

For a couple of hours the girls and two older women enjoyed the stories of CHS as told from the others’ perspectives, Celestia and Luna were also intrigued by this information, never realizing how much their students were doing behind the scenes to protect their world from the supernatural dangers that had come to threaten it. As time went on, Sunset and Shimmer gravitated towards the kitchen, leaving Twilight alone with the girls. From there, they watched as Twilight interacted with each of them, and were growing content in how she was smiling and laughing about this and that.

“Hey, did something happen?” Shimmer asked.

Sunset looked at her twin. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’ve looked kinda tense since we all sat together in the living room. I thought you were about to throw yourself at Rainbow Dash the moment she got close to Twilight,” Shimmer explained.

A frown appeared on Sunset’s face as she crossed her arms. “Yeah…something happened today, to Twilight.”

Now it was Shimmer’s turn to tense up. “What? What happened?!”

“Look…I don’t want to talk about it here, with everyone. Sparky’s having a better time here than I could’ve hoped for. So, for now, I’d like for her to enjoy this without having to think about it, but I promise I’ll talk to you about it later,” said Sunset as she raised her right pinkie finger. “Pinkie swear?”

Shimmer smirked, “Nuh-uh, Pinkie Promise.”

Sunset cocked an eyebrow. “What now?”

“It’s a promise that you cannot – absolutely cannot – break.” Sunset still looked confused. “It’s a Pinkie Pie thing. But seriously, don’t break it.”

“Ah, proceed.”

Shimmer made the motions of the Pinkie Promise ritual and followed up with, “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. And make sure to close your eye when you do it.”

Sunset snorted.

“Shut up! It only happened once!”

The human double rolled her eyes and began the motions of the Pinkie Promise. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my – OW!” Sunset shrieked as her left index finger accidentally poked her sclera, hard. All while Shimmer burst out laughing, holding her sides.

“Shut up!” Sunset retorted.

“Told you!” Shimmer mocked.

In the living room, Pinkie went rigid, the long bang around her forehead moved like an antenna and pointed in the direction of the kitchen. Twilight noticed this strange phenomenon and asked, “Pinkie Pie, are you okay?”

“A Pinkie Promise has been made,” said Pinkie in a solemn voice.

“Is that a good thing?” Twilight asked.

Pinkie turned back to Twilight and smiled. “So long as you don’t break it, then yep!”

Fluttershy giggled, but then paused when she felt her phone vibrating in her pants pocket. The shy girl pulled out her cellphone and knitted her brow when she noticed it was Meadowbrook texting her. Fluttershy read the text, her expression morphing from shock, and then back to normal. “Um, sorry, but I need to get going, my Mom texted me to say that dinner was ready.”

“I suppose it is late, you all should head back home,” said Luna.

“Oh, it is?” Twilight looked up at the clock and hissed when she saw the late hour. “Oh my, I need head back, I don’t normally stay out this long.”

Celestia stood up and asked, “Does anyone need a lift back to their homes?”

“Nah, we’re good, Principal Celestia,” said Applejack.

“I’ll take you up on that ride, Ray’s probably worried about me,” said Shimmer.

With everyone having exchanged goodbyes, Fluttershy got into her Volkswagen beetle and texted Meadowbrook back.

[I’ll gear up and meet you at the church in twenty minutes.]

[I’ll see you then.]

Cadence slumped in her couch, a glass of whisky in her sitting on the coffee table in front of her. The Dean of Crystal Prep hardly drank, and when she did it was a glass of wine, but when something really bad happened, something really stressful, she would dip into the hard stuff, which was why they always kept a bottle of whisky in their liquor cabinet. Thankfully, it was always full, and never touched by Shining Armor, he didn’t drink much either, only for special occasions. All day Cadence had been working over how she was going to break what happened to Twilight to him, she knew her boyfriend was protective of his little sister, hell, so was she.

If not for the threat that Cinch made, Cadence would’ve happily bashed the old bat’s face through the glass case, and then methodically strike Cinch with each and every plaque she had in that case, going in order from lightest to heaviest, and finishing it all off by pulling down the case and letting it fall on top of her. Would it crush her? Maybe. Would it cause some extensive internal damage and possibly get some sharp glass shards to impale her? Oh, most definitely.

I’m going to entertain that scenario, ‘cause I just might still do it, thought Cadence.

But back to the original problem, how was she going to tell Shining Armor? In truth, Cadence felt like a failure, she hadn’t once picked up on Twilight’s suffering, she was the Dean of Students, it was her job to make sure that the students were not just physically healthy but also mentally. She had a degree in child psychology for God’s sake, and yet she couldn’t see the signs?

To be fair, neither did Shiny, and he’s possibly the closest person to Twilight, plus, he’s a cop, he’s trained to spot these things.

Pointing that out made Cadence feel a little better, but it also spoke to the fact of how good Twilight was hiding her pain from them. She hated it, all of it, herself, Cinch, those girls, Twilight didn’t deserve to go through all that. She was such a sweet girl, incredibly intelligent, and painfully introverted, Cadence hoped that Twilight could make some likeminded friends in Crystal Prep, kids who strove to improve their intellect as well as their physical ability, at best Cadence hoped that Twilight would be able to make one, maybe two friends. But no, she remained isolated, through no fault of her own, by design her suffering was orchestrated right under her nose.

Cadence took a swig from her glass and clenched her left fist as she felt the burning liquid flow down her throat and into her gullet. “Shit, that burns…!”

Right about then, Cadence heard the garage door opening. She released a heavy sigh, knowing that the time was nigh. The door to the garage opened and right about then Shining Armor entered and said, “Hey Cady.” As Shining Armor walked towards the living room, he paused, noticing the open whisky bottle on the coffee table, and a glass in Cadence’s hand. “Oh no, what happened?”

Cadence grinned a little. “You know me too well, Shiny.”

“Yeah, whenever you break out the whisky, it means something bad happened.” Shining Armor took off his jacket and threw it over the couch before sitting next to his girlfriend. “What’s going on? Something happen at work?”

“Yeah…something…but first, take a swig of this, you’ll need it.” Cadence handed him the glass she was sipping from, to which he unhesitatingly took from her and gulped down some of it. She watched as his face contorted into a grimace as hers did not a moment ago. “Been awhile since we opened that bottle.”

“Yeah, and I remember why now…ugh. Anyway, what happened?”

Cadence sipped from her whisky glass again and began. “A girl at the school was taken against her will to the outdoors sports equipment shed near the track field. She had her hands bound and was strung up by them, the ones responsible were five girls three of which were in the shed, while two others were enacting another part of their goddamned plan.”

“Cadence, what the fuck, why didn’t you–?!”

Cadence raised her hand in a stopping motion to cut him off. “Wait until I’m done, please.”

It was less a question and more an order, she wanted to get this out and didn’t want to repeat it. Steeling himself, Shining Armor nodded for her to proceed.

“The other girl was the secondary target, and the kidnapped one’s girlfriend – her lover – and the other two girls used the kidnapped one as a hostage to exact revenge on the girlfriend. The overall plan being that if the girlfriend resisted against her coming beating, that the kidnapped girl would be stripped and filmed, ending with the kidnapped girl being sexually assaulted and the footage thrown onto the internet when it was over. Thankfully, the girlfriend got the upper hand on both the ones fighting her and beat them into the ground.”

Shining Armor couldn’t help a smirk from forming on his lips, hearing a bad guy’s plan fall apart was always fun.

“One of the kidnappers, who was apparently off their meds, threatened to use a deadly object to sexually harm the kidnapped girl. One of the kidnappers either grew a conscious or something, but whatever the case was, she tackled the other kidnapper and prevented the deed from happening, but was……” Cadence wondered how to explain this, it was Sunset after all, and Shining Armor already knew about both girls’ powers, “…stabbed. The girlfriend came and knocked out the other two and saved the third from dying. I came in late and saw both leaving the shed.”

Shining Armor had crossed his arms and was tapping his left bicep with his right index finger. “Cadence, why the hell haven’t you called the police?! This isn’t something that you can write off as kids just messing around, every one of those things are criminal felonies! Forget juvie, they’ll go straight to jail!”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Cadence asked bitterly as she sipped more whisky.

“And why are you keeping the victims' names a secret? This isn’t a time for privacy, you need to tell me who they are, the victims and the suspects, now!”

Cadence closed her eyes and gave a long exhale. “The perpetrators are Sour Sweet, Sunny Flare, Indigo Zap, Lemon Zest, and Sugarcoat, arguably the popular girls of the school. The victims are……Sunset Shimmer, the one they were targeting…and Twilight Sparkle, the one they kidnapped…”

The room went deathly quiet, as if time had stood still, even color was becoming muted to Shining Armor as a lone ringing resonated in his ears. His little sister, his innocent, intelligent, dorky little sister, was kidnapped by a bunch of popular girls and about to be sexually abused and humiliated. All for revenge against her girlfriend…her girlfriend…?

“Wait…you said this was for revenge against the ‘girlfriend’, and you mentioned that the other victim was Sunset Shimmer…Twily and Sunset are together?”

“Yes, they are.”

“W-Was this some kind of homophobic attack or something?!” Shining asked.

Cadence went into more detail regarding the whole incident, at least based upon what Twilight and Sunset told her and what they speculated was the reasoning. The abuse that Twilight had been enduring all these years in Crystal Prep, the sexual abuse she had been suffering from Indigo Zap, Sunset Shimmer’s rising to become Twilight’s guardian and eventual girlfriend. How such an arrange went against everything the students knew as normal, and how Sunset practically declared war on anyone who dared to lay a finger on Twilight – something that Shining Armor reminded himself to thank her for when he saw her next time – and how Indigo Zap had some obsession with Twilight and was angered by this, wanting revenge on Sunset.

“I repeat…why the fuck haven’t you or the school called the police?!” Shining asked again.

Cadence should’ve sniped at him for that angry tone he was taking with her, but it wasn’t like she could blame him. She was angry too, Twilight was more or less her little sister as well, her family, and she had just learned her family was being hurt right under her nose. “Because Cinch threatened not just me, but Twilight’s academic career.”

“WHAT?!”

“Cinch has connections, and the families of those five girls have connections not just to the schoolboard, but law enforcement, your profession, Shiny. If we go against her, she could find a way to get you fired and make it look legit, even worse, she could destroy all of Twilight’s achievements, she has pull outside of the school, and if she wishes it, she could make sure that Twilight can’t get into any school in this city, outside of Canterlot may be another story, but I have no doubt whatever bullshit she comes up with will stain Twilight all the way to another school, regardless if it’s made up, just the suspicion alone can make any Ivy League university turn you away…”

Shining Armor got up from his seat, pacing around as he grumbled and swore up and down. “And you made the decision not to fight!?”

“I didn’t, I left it to Twilight.”

“……And she said she didn’t want to?”

“I said I’d make sure that those five won’t ever come near her again. And I’ll make damn good on that promise, believe me. They’ll face punishment, our only saving grace is that Cinch doesn’t want to lose Twilight because she’s a ‘benefit to the school’. Which means we have some leverage over her, and after what Sunset did, I’m sure they’ll be thinking twice before trying anything again, if at all.”

Shining Armor walked back to the couch, picked up the bottle and took a big swig from it before putting it back down on the table. “Okay…Okay…Has Twilight told Mom and Dad yet?”

“Not that she’s told me. Although she’ll probably won’t say anything for right now, maybe when me and you are there.” Cadence placed her hand on his left shoulder and looked at him with the most comforting expression she could muster. “Shiny, right now, she’s going to need us more than ever. Sunset has helped her so much already, but it’s unfair to make her take on all that burden by herself, same for Twilight.”

Shining Armor placed his right hand over his face, a feeling of shame and disappointment building inside of himself. “I’m the worst officer, detective, and big brother…I’ve taken so many courses on how to spot signs of abuse, and yet…I missed them all when it came to one of the most important people in my life!”

“Shiny…I know how you feel…” Cadence moved closer and wrapped her arms around him, trying to hug him the best she could. “But Twilight was hiding it from us, and she was doing a damn good job of it. She didn’t want to burden us with what was happening to her…she was more afraid of disappointing us than what was happening to her…”

“But Mom and Dad, me, you, we never foisted any high expectations onto her! Mom and Dad never, like, pushed her to the brink or whatever! Twily’s always been like that, she strives for more and more, broadening her own knowledge,” said Shining Armor.

“That’s true, but I think somewhere in her mind she didn’t want to disappoint us because of all she’s achieved. Crystal Prep isn’t easy to get into, you know that, I know that, and if she made complaints against the students, who – let’s face it – some are rich and influential, they could cause problems for your family, in her head, she was protecting us by enduring it, plus with graduation so close, she must’ve thought it was better to suck it up until she was out those doors permanently.”

Shining Armor could understand what she meant, but still, it didn’t make the situation any better. So many emotions were churning inside Shining, like a raging tempest. Anger, shame, sadness, rage, and a small thirst for revenge, but he knew better, as a cop and as a person, if he took action against these people they could bury his family and make Twilight into a social pariah for the rest of her life, killing any chances that may come up in her adult life. Still…

“The way Cinch told you all that, it sounds like there’s other things that were going on, right?” Shining asked.

“I’m pretty sure she’s swept a lot of different incidents under the rug, not just Twilight’s, why?”

“How can that many incidents go on and there not be a paper trail? I’m going to look into it,” he said with conviction.

“Shiny, be careful, Twilight needs you in her life, and the last thing she wants is to make you lose the job you love most,” said Cadence with concern.

“They don’t just get to hurt my little sister and get away with it, Cady, plus, I’ll be low key about it. With the Blood Kings and the Darkness, there’ll be too much attention on that to worry about a detective digging into old cases.”

Cadence didn’t like the idea, if Cinch was right, Shining could be putting himself in danger of stirring up a hornet’s nest. Then again, her line of thinking was the same as his, no one hurts Twilight and gets away with it. “Okay, but keep me in the loop, I may be able to get some more information from my side to feed to you.”

Shining Armor smiled and gave Cadence a chaste kiss on her lips. “Now…we just need to figure out how to tell my parents.”

“That’ll be fun…”

Saint Pureheart Church was closed early that night, and Father Huff Puff had headed home early as well, in fact most places were closing early at night after the police precinct attack, many were afraid that another super brawl would take place, but thankfully the Angelus made good on her promise to increase the amount of Sentinels that would be patrolling the city. One couldn’t look up without seeing a glowing being flying by every twenty or so minutes.

Inside the church, Meadowbrook stood at the head of the aisle, dressed in her habit and some white gloves, with the altar right behind her. Neighsay came in from the side door and began his long walk down the aisle, already having a cross look on his face.

“Nice to see you, Neighsay,” Meadowbrook greeted.

“That’s Cardinal Neighsay, show some respect,” he scolded.

“That’s quite the thing to say when you’re disrespecting Him already.”

Neighsay stopped halfway and gave her a confused look. “What are you on about?”

Meadowbrook took a step to the left, allowing Neighsay an unobstructed view of the altar behind her. Upon the altar were the two objects she had discovered earlier today, and when Neighsay saw them, his body language changed, going from angry and annoyed to calm and calculating.

“And what, pray tell, are those doing here?” he asked.

“So, you know what they are?”

“Perhaps I do.”

Meadowbrook rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. “Pardon my French but cut the bullshit! I did a little diggin’ and found out that the Vatican doesn’t know you’re here, in fact, they think you’re on a sabbatical to England right now.”

“Obviously, someone is mistaken, someone must’ve not relayed to one of the inner circle agents,” Neighsay explained.

“You know, I was gonna give you the benefit of the doubt, but just to be safe, I called at different times throughout the day to make sure that maybe someone didn’t’ get the memo, but that’s not the case. I even managed to get ahold of Cardinal Lexicon, a young Cardinal, but knows his stuff, and even he says the same thing.”

At this Neighsay’s flinched.

“So, I’m gonna ask you this question again, why do you have these items, that are from the secured vault in the Vatican underground facilities, and why are you really here?” Meadowbrook demanded.

Neighsay uncrossed his arms as he slowly approached Meadowbrook. “Sister, you stepped too far past your station, all you need to do is keep your mouth shut, praise God, and never question those higher than you! If you cannot do that then–!”

Just then, from the rafters above, a cloaked figure dropped down between them. With a flourish of her cloak, Fluttershy, the Magdalena, brandished her Spear of Destiny and pointed it right at Neighsay. “Sir, please stay right there, and I’d like for you to answer Sister Meadowbrook’s question.”

“You’d defy the Church, Magdalena?” Neighsay asked.

“Cardinal Neighsay, from what I’ve seen so far, it seems that you have defied the Church. You’ve lied long enough, now, please, answer her!” Fluttershy demanded, her spear gleaming in the soft light from chandeliers above.

Neighsay looked to Fluttershy, then to Meadowbrook, and finally to the two objects on the altar. After a few seconds, he released the tension in his shoulders and adopted a more relaxed demeanor. “Very well, I know when I have lost the upper hand. The Siphon of the Angelus, the lantern looking object, was crafted by the Angelus itself ages ago as a means to imprison the Darkness.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened, she then glanced to Meadowbrook and asked, “Is that true?”

Meadowbrook nodded. “Accordin’ to the archives’ notes, it is.”

“And the ornate one next to it, is the Prism of the Brothers.” Neighsay held up his hands and began walking forward, Fluttershy backed up slowly and allowed him to exit the aisle and move closer to the altar. “During one of many confrontations the Angelus had with the Darkness, she realized that their battle was eternal. Both were primordial beings of light and darkness, and are forever, with that being the case, and with the Darkness jumping from host to host, and each host being harder to kill than the last, she knew her best chance was not in eliminating the Darkness, but in imprisoning him.”

Neighsay grabbed a hold of the Siphon, making Fluttershy put Meadowbrook behind her as she readied her spear.

“Relax, it’s harmless. Anyway, this Artifact can effectively kill the host of the Darkness and send their soul straight to Hell and has the added bonus of absorbing all the essence of the Darkness and trapping it inside for all eternity.”

“With something like that, we can end this whole entire war! We can exorcise the Darkness from Sombra King and bring him to justice, and lock the Darkness away forever,” said Fluttershy with hope in her voice.

“Somethin’ tells me that there’s more to this story, right?” Meadowbrook asked.

Neighsay put the Siphon down and answered, “Correct.” He moved on to the Prism and brought up for them to see. “There were followers of the Darkness, the Brotherhood. They wanted to use the Siphon to take the Darkness for themselves, but ultimately failed. So, they shifted their focus onto the Angelus, and so they created this object that does the same thing as the Siphon. But, and here’s the fun part, both objects have one other thing in common. Once the Darkness and Angelus are absorbed into them, whoever wields the objects can wield their power freely, without being controlled by the entities themselves, the person who wields these two artifacts can become a god upon this world.”

Meadowbrook narrowed her gaze and glared at the Cardinal. “You want to use them to take the Angelus and Darkness for yourself?! Why?!”

“Because this world is sorely lacking in leadership. Look at what we’re dealing with you two. Incompetent world leaders all around, only looking out for themselves and their power! People further delving into debauchery, turning this world into a modern-day Sodom and Gomora! The sinners continue to sin without fear of the consequences of their actions wrought in this world, or what fate awaits them in the next! Blasphemies of all kinds, and others worshipping false gods! No, this world, on its current path will only end up leading to its own destruction.”

“And you think you have the right to change it all? Are you saying you’re above God Himself?!” Meadowbrook asked.

Neighsay scoffed at this. “I don’t see myself above Him. He has done much for us and we spit in His face. No, I mean to be the shepherd that will guide this world, so that people who live it can be guided to paradise. God has enough to deal with managing the cosmos, I’ll deal with things here on Earth. Maybe having a living deity will finally make the fools of this world understand their place in it!”

Fluttershy couldn’t believe what she was hearing, a man of the Church, a Cardinal, was planning on taking over the world. She may not like Cardinal Neighsay, but she at least believed in his faith and his dedication to God, but this…this went against everything God stood for. “Getting us to join forces with the Angelus was just a way for you to get closer to her, correct? Close enough to use the Prism?!”

Neighsay tapped the side of his head and smiled. “Right on the money, my dear. But that’s not the only way, I’ve been…how shall we say…working both sides.”

“WHAT?!” both girls exclaimed.

“I’ve been helping Sombra, well, actually, I’ve been speaking to his second-in-command, but the little mongrel has been feeding my information to Sombra. The attack on Precinct Seventeen? My idea. Before that, the raid on their large recruitment facility for the Blood Kings? Information I fed to her little bird, and he confirmed it.”

“So, you’ve been workin’ as a double agent, and she knows this?” Meadowbrook asked.

“Indeed, Angelus looks favorably upon those who assist her in her endeavor to end the Darkness, which is why I’m going to be having a meeting with her soon, and you’re going to help me steal her power, Magdalena,” said Neighsay.

Fluttershy glared at Neighsay and proclaimed, “Cardinal Neighsay, in the name of his Holiness the Pope, and in the name of the Almighty, I will stop you! Now, do you have anything to say before we take you into custody?”

Neighsay put his hands behind his back and grinned. “I do. Magdalena Project command: It was you who broke my Meissen plate.”

Upon uttering these words, Fluttershy went still, her eyes widened for a few seconds and then they went blank. Fluttershy twirled her Spear of Destiny, struck the butt of the Spear against the floor, and knelt before the Cardinal. “The Magdalena is ready to receive your orders, Cardinal Neighsay.”

“Fluttershy…? Hey, Fluttershy?!” Meadowbrook shook Fluttershy’s shoulder, but she remained unresponsive, as if she didn’t even hear Meadowbrook. “What did you do to her?!”

“Since I oversaw the Magdalena’s training, I inserted a command phrase that would make her completely obedient to whomever speaks that phrase. It was a failsafe should the Magdalena ever go rogue. She’ll only listen to my commands, so don’t try and give her any or try and say the command phrase, it only works once, but once is all I need.”

“Damn you, Neighsay!” Meadowbrook shouted.

“No, damn you, Sister. Magdalena, Sister Meadowbrook has strayed from the path of righteousness. Eliminate her, immediately,” Neighsay ordered.

“So ordered, Cardinal Neighsay.”

Fluttershy stood up, making Meadowbrook take a few steps back. The teen warrior turned around and stared directly at Meadowbrook, her eyes still glazed and blank, her expression neutral, not a hint of emotion in her voice or on her face.

“Fluttershy, you gotta fight this! Don’t let Neighsay turn you into a killa!”

Her words fell on deaf ears as Fluttershy twirled her Spear around and thrust forward. Meadowbrook took a step back, her shoe caught on the skirt of her habit, just in time for the Spear to slash her left arm, grazing her as she fell to the floor. Meadowbrook clutched at her now bleeding wound, feeling the crimson warmth seep from it and on to her hand, she looked up and watched as Fluttershy twirled her Spear around and readied to skewer Meadowbrook. The Cajun Nun closed her eyes and began reciting a prayer in preparation for her imminent death. However, nothing happened. Meadowbrook dared go crack an eye open and saw the Spear of Destiny hovering just mere inches from her torso.

When Meadowbrook looked up, she saw Fluttershy’s hands trembling, her neutral expression breaking a little and her glazed look faltering, as if the real Fluttershy deep inside was fighting to break free, or at the very least stop herself. Meadowbrook wasn’t going to waste this opportunity, she reached into her habit and pulled out a vial, without missing a beat, she threw the vial against the floor, causing a large smoke plume to rise into the air. Fluttershy coughed and sputtered as she backed away quickly from the cloud. Her eyes stung and skin burned, making the Magdalena disoriented and unable to see where Meadowbrook was.

Meadowbrook managed to hold her breath and close her eyes the moment it broke, and thanks to her habit, most of the toxic cloud got on her clothes and gloves and not on her skin. The Cajun Nun ran as fast as she could, crashing through the front doors, down the stairs and dashing down the sidewalk. She found an alley and quickly removed her habit, tossing it into a dumpster before continuing her getaway.

Meanwhile, Neighsay cursed as he walked up to the Magdalena, the toxic effects seeming to wear off. “Status report!”

“The…The cloud is an airborne version of pepper spray. The effects will wear off in a couple of minutes with my healing factor,” said Fluttershy.

“And in the meantime, she’ll get away and go underground…” Neighsay swiftly slapped Fluttershy across the face, leaving a red mark on her cheek. The satisfaction of the act was lost since, in her current state, Fluttershy was emotionless. “Do not hesitate like that again, do I make myself clear!”

“Yes, Cardinal Neighsay,” replied Fluttershy.

Neighsay growled with irritation, there was a fifty-fifty chance that Meadowbrook would alert the Angelus to his plan, which meant that he either had to do an emergency meeting with the Angelus right now or go after Sombra directly. Both had their risks, but with every second that went by it meant that his chances of getting the Angelus’ essence was dwindling. After weighing his options, Neighsay knew what he had to do. The crooked Cardinal reached into his robe and pulled out a cellphone, in it was the number of the mayor, the one who was best able to get into contact with the Angelus’ host.

The phone began to ring, and ring, and ring. Neighsay bit his left thumbnail, he needed her to answer, he needed to get this done soon or else the entire plan would go down the drain. Finally, the ringing ended and Neishsay heard the mayor’s voice.

{Hello, Cardinal Neighsay. Is there something I can do for you?}

“Yes, Mayor Mare, I need to move up that meeting with you and the Angelus from this Friday to tonight.”

There was audible sputtering on the other side of the phone. {I’m sorry, tonight?! Why is that?}

“I happened to find some information, a possible location of Sombra and the Darkness, and a possible means to end this little war for good. Tell her I have found the Siphon, I’m sure she’ll want to meet immediately, I’ll be by your manor around nine.”

{Hold on, are you certain it’s a sure thing? A true means to end this war?}

“Madam Mayor, I guarantee it, on my word as a man of the Cloth, and in the name of the Lord,” said Neighsay with sincerity.

It wasn’t hard to reassure that he did have the means to do it, after all, it wasn’t a lie, he did have the means to end the war, just not in the way either the mayor or the Angelus believed.

{Okay, I’ll call you as soon as I’ve gotten confirmation.}

“Please make haste, I fear the Darkness might know of my discovery and I need to get this to Angelus as soon as possible.” With that, Neighsay ended the call and sighed heavily. “I’ll secure the Angelus first before the traitorous bitch of a swamp rat gets to her first. With control of the Angelus I’ll have command of the Sentinels, and I’ll have a bigger advantage over the Darkness when the time comes.” Neighsay glanced at Fluttershy. “Magdalena!”

“Yes, Cardinal Neighsay,” Fluttershy replied as she stood at attention.

“We're going to execute an operation tonight, I need you to listen very carefully…”