Sunset checked her cellphone and saw the message that Twilight left her; a worried expression befell her. This was a conversation that she wasn’t looking forward to, mostly because she feared how her parents would react to the fact that their daughter was getting sexually abused and harassed by the student body. However, she knew that this was coming sooner or later, and it was better to rip the band-aid off now instead of later, she just hoped Twilight and Cadence would be able to convince Twilight’s parents not to pursue charges, at least for the time being. That or they could ask Sunset to clandestinely kill the bitches responsible for the suffering they put Twilight through. Can’t convict if all the evidence is burned to ashes, and then have the ashes burned into nothing.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Sunset looked up from her phone and saw her twin, Shimmer, approaching her. “You look a little upset, what’s up?”

Sunset didn’t answer, she just flipped her phone around and showed Shimmer the message. The Equestrian turned human read over the text and furrowed her brow at what she saw. “Sunset, I think you need to tell me what’s going on. ‘Cause this text is kind of unnerving.”

Sunset sighed, not like there would be a good time one way or the other. So, she told her, everything. The day she came to Crystal Prep, the moment she met Twilight, and the day Twilight broke down and confessed everything Twilight had been going through at Crystal Prep. When Sunset was finished telling Shimmer everything, what happened next was what she was expecting. Shimmer got angry.

“THOSE BITCHES!” Shimmer shouted.

“Yep, that’s what I said, too.”

“I know your Twilight isn’t my Twilight from Equestria, but that doesn’t make her any less my friend! And those whores think they can hurt my friend then they have another thing coming to them!” Shimmer threatened.

“And that too.”

Shimmer glanced at the Witchblade and asked, “Hey, you up for a little homicide?!”

}}} Not normally what I do, but then again, my previous wielders have gone after people like she has described. So, nothing out of the normal for me. {{{

“Good! We’ll hold a bloody – fucking – carnival!”

Sunset decided to calm her down before Shimmer ended up claiming the heads of her classmates, not that she wouldn’t mind. “Okay, dial it back a bit, Sis. I wanted to do that too, believe me, I wanted to incinerate them right on the spot! But Twilight asked me not to, despite how much they hurt her, she doesn’t want them dead. Even though I could easily do it and not leave a bit of evidence that I did it, it’d be like they just went poof.” Sunset crossed her arms and sighed. “She’s a freakin’ saint, sometimes I don’t think I deserve her.”

Shimmer smiled and gently placed her hand on her twin’s shoulder and said, “I thought that way when I first started dating Pinkie, but sometimes you need to stop thinking of ‘why is she with me’ and more ‘I’m so glad I’m with her’. Otherwise you’ll just start looking for reasons to not want to be with her, focus on the positives, not the negatives, Sis.”

Sunset smiled as well and chuckled. “Well, guess that settles it, you are the ‘big sister’ between the two of us. Because that was some big sisterly advice.”

“Well, I’m glad you finally admitted it. C’mon, let’s go see if Shining’s partner has finally had enough time to absorb all this,” Shimmer suggested.

The twins exited the kitchen and entered the obscenely large living room, where sat Celestia on one of the sofase, flanked by Gaghiel, on the opposite sofa was Shining and Spearhead, and in the armchair was Meadowbrook, having returned from the lab on the second floor. When they came back and sat down, Spearhead turned his head away from the girls as a light blush tinted his cheeks.

“What’s up with him?” Shimmer asked.

Shining Armor, with a smirk, said, “Oh, he just realized he was perving on a girl that was practically jailbait.”

“Shining, dude, seriously!” Spearhead exclaimed.

“You know I’m eighteen, not jailbait, legal age. And it’s not like he’d be the first guy perving on images of me as Witchblade,” said Shimmer.

“Can you blame them? I mean, we are stupid sexy,” Sunset commented.

“Ahem!” Celestia cleared her throat loudly, making the two Sunsets go silent. “I would not like to talk about my daughter being ogled by strangers. Although, I strangely find that slightly more comfortable than what we do need to talk about.”

Meadowbrook leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees. “Mainly, what’s Neighsay’s next move?”

Spearhead stood up and said, “I’m sorry, but is this for real? Some Cardinal from the Vatican is trying to take the power of a demon and an angel? Pardon my French, but this shit sounds like something out of a comic book!”

“Welcome to my life,” both Sunsets stated at the same time.

Celestia transformed before them, clad in armor, with wings and flaming hair emphasizing this was real. “This is very real, as hard as it may be to believe.” She shifted back to her normal form and continued. “But, back to Miss Meadowbrook’s question. What is Neighsay’s next move.”

Sunset crossed her arms and leaned back. “Going after Angelus seems like the obvious bet, so long as Miss Celestia stays here, she’ll be safe.”

}}} That’s certain. About how much of your power was taken, Mother? {{{

\\\/// Roughly…seventy percent if I had to put a number on it. Even with that, that insolent cur wouldn’t dare try and fight us. With my Son here and that Ember Stone, even with that one girl wielding the Spear of Destiny, he’s not strong enough to face off against them combined. \\\///

}}} Oh, so are you saying that I am stronger than you dear Mother? {{{

\\\/// Do not start with me, Son! \\\///

Shimmer and Celestia shook their heads, prompting Spearhead to ask, “Something going on?”

“Just a family squabble between Angelus and her Son, Witchblade. Be thankful you can’t hear it,” said Celestia.

Meadowbrook chuckled a little before she said, “I think I know what he may be up to next. Before I discovered his plans, Neighsay was probably planin’ on going after Angelus first. But when I did discover his plans, he accelerated his timetable and went after Angelus. He most likely assumed I was goin’ to warn her, with that being the case we must assume he’s goin’ to do the same thing.”

“Then that means he’s going after Sombra and the Darkness, right?” Shining Armor asked.

“That’d be the logical conclusion. We mustn’t allow that! Having my Mistress’ power is one thing, but to add that vile creature’s power together with my Mistress’ will spell disaster for us all,” warned Gaghiel.

“W-Wait, can he do that?! I mean, can he use both?” Spearhead asked.

“With the Prism and the Siphon, he can easily wield both of their powers without any consequence, since his body is not acting as a host but instead usin’ two artifacts made specifically to hold their power, he won’t be under any strain,” said Meadowbrook.

Shimmer was thinking hard about what their next move needs to be, unfortunately, the more she thought about it, the more she was coming to the one – if not only – solution to their current conundrum. So, with great reluctance, Shimmer spoke up, “I hate to say this, and I mean I really hate to say this, but we need to find a way to warn Sombra. Or at the very least, see if we can…form an alliance.”

“SERIOUSLY?!” Spearhead, Celestia, Shining, and Sunset shouted together.

“That guy’s leading a gang that’s tearing up the city,” said Spearhead.

“He attacked our Precinct, and before that his guys have killed several cops!” Shining Armor added.

“He killed me and used you as a weapon!” Celestia growled.

“This is not a good idea, Sis,” Sunset stated plainly.

Meadowbrook sighed and chimed in, “I think it’s our only option. If I had known he was going to do that to Angelus, I would’ve headed straight for you. If we have a chance to at least warn Sombra, maybe we can convince him to leave town before Neighsay realizes it. Or at the very least, see if he will fight alongside us to stop him.”

Sombra had left a sour taste in everyone’s mouth, so the idea of fighting alongside him, let alone helping him, was unthinkable. Then again, if they didn’t do something, then Neighsay would get his power, and the rogue Cardinal would become extremely powerful and even harder to defeat if he managed to get ahold of the Darkness.

Shining Armor ruffled his hair as he growled. “Dammit, I hate it to admit it…but she’s right. All else fails we can track Sombra down when it’s all over, keeping Neighsay away from him is top priority.”

Spearhead crossed his arms as he sat back down, not bothering to hide his displeasure, not that anyone could blame him. “Fine, but that’s easier said than done, any CIs that we had before this shitstorm went underground. No one wants to snitch on a guy who can summon demons, so we don’t have anyone that can set up a meeting with him or get a message to watch out for a power-hungry Cardinal.”

“And if we do send some kind of public message, Neighsay will just move quicker to attack Sombra and get the Darkness,” said Sunset.

“Guess I’ll have to do something,” said Shimmer. “I’ll head out in the night and kick over a few rocks and see if that gets Sombra’s attention, or at the very least I can get one of his cronies to send him a message.”

Meadowbrook nodded and stood up, “In the meantime, I need to go through Neighsay’s files and see if I can find some way to get Fluttershy back. If we can do that, it’ll bolster our fightin’ power, and give Neighsay one less card to play. Thankfully I kept the data with me.”

“Guess we’ll head back, and see what we can dig up,” said Shining Armor.

“Meanwhile you can rest up in one of the guest rooms, Miss Celestia,” said Sunset.

Shimmer took out her cellphone and gawked at the ungodly amount of text messages and voicemail. “Oooh, I better talk to the girls, they have been blowing me up.”

Nighttime descended on the city, thankfully, Sunset had finally replied to everyone, putting them a little at ease that she was okay, but nonetheless, worried when she said that something worse was happening and that she’d give them more details come tomorrow. Pinkie was just happy that her girlfriend was alive and okay, now that just left one other issue to deal with at home, Limestone.

Honestly, Pinkie was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that her big sister had a crush on Sunset, her girlfriend. She didn’t want to feel irked by it, this was her big sister, and she loved her, so the last thing that Pinkie wanted to do was be mad at her or hate her. And it wasn’t as if Limestone had tried to make a move on Sunset, if anything she was being kind of hostile towards Sunset. Now that she thought about it, that might’ve been her way of keeping Sunset away from her, be as off putting as possible to make sure that Sunset wouldn’t ever come near her or at least be too afraid to do so.

If Sunset wasn’t wielding an ancient demon slaying weapon and wasn’t already an ass kicking machine, then that would work, but Sunset wasn’t one to be intimidated that easily, and would just take it as a challenge to try and make a connection with Limestone, which would eventually backfire on Limestone, ending up with the two alone and having hot, passionate sex in Pinkie’s room, and then Pinkie eventually finding the two of them doing the dirty on her bed, to which point Sunset and Limestone drag her into the bed, ending up with all three of them in a threeway and–

Pinkie slammed on the mental brakes. Okay, that went a little too far into the gutter…but we’ll just keep that in the back pocket.

When Pinkie arrived at her home, by way of Rarity, she went through her normal routine. She greeted her family, Marble first, then her mom and dad, her big sister Maud, and, well, it was a little awkward when she got to Limestone. The two sisters stood before each other, with the elder sister chuckling awkwardly, knowing that she had just confessed to having impure thoughts about her little sister’s girlfriend. Pinkie opened her arms to show that she was okay with hugging her, Limestone smiled a little and took a step forward to do just that, but then an icepick of guilt stabbed her in the heart and she turned away and walked on.

Pinkie Pie sighed, she knew it wouldn’t be that easy, but she hoped it would be less awkward later. Things went on as normal, well, normal-ish in regard to Pinkie and Lime. The family enjoyed dinner together, with their father leading them in grace, from there they spoke about their days. Maud had received high marks in the geological and petrological studies courses and was asked to be a junior assistant in the Museum of Science’s Earth Sciences wing. Marble didn’t speak much, but overall, she had a good day. Lime just said college was fine and that there was nothing new. Pinkie just regaled her family with her normal tales of craziness, at this point they had become a staple of their family dinners, there always seemed to be something happening at her school one way or another.

After dinner was done everyone was left to do what they wanted to until it was time for bed. Pinkie tried to talk to Limestone, but her big sister had gone outside to workout, there was a little area where she would practice her mixed martial arts fighting. Pinkie knew that her big sister secretly wanted to enter the world of MMA but hadn’t gotten around to telling their parents yet. Of course, they expected their daughters to pursue something they were proud of, Maud’s was geology and petrology, Marble wasn’t sure yet, but she still had time to figure that out, Pinkie…well…she knew what she wanted to do, to make people happy, but, what kind of career is that? Anyway, Limestone wanted to fight, she was always a fighter, not once would anyone call her a “girly-girl”, and sometimes, according to Maud, some people mistook her for a boy.

Pinkie watched from the window as Lime took to jabbing at the punching bag that was set up outside, once she was done with that, she would go to the dead tree in their backyard and start kicking it. High kicks, low kicks, doubles to the top, roundhouses, and other variations as she imagined different scenarios for the imaginary opponent she battled. Their mother didn’t like it, since Lime didn’t wear much in the way of padding around her shins, preferring to hit it with her bare legs, of course this ended up with her getting scratches and bruises. But the payoff came later, because when she kicked someone, it was like getting hit with a steel bat, and of course she didn’t feel pain there much anymore. She would do the same with her fists, Lime swore that one day she’d get strong enough to where the dead tree would fall over from her strength alone. Although, if she was being honest, it looked like Lime was going harder at the tree than she normally did, most likely thinking that it was a form of punishment to endure whatever pain she was feeling.

It was some hours later when most of the family was asleep, Limestone headed back inside and decided to take a shower, when she was in there, she winced when the hot water washed over the scratches on her fists and on her legs, trickles of blood flowing down her skin and into the running water of the drain. Limestone slumped her back against the wall of the shower, she still didn’t know how to approach Pinkie, so the best option was not to. She was, in her words, “A piece of shit”, she had feelings for her little sister’s girlfriend, and she hated herself for it. Limestone was the oldest, it was her job to protect her little sisters, being tough on them was one thing, but doing something like that was just really shitty in her book.

“Fuck it, just…just leave her alone – leave both of them alone. The less you’re around Sunset and Pinkie, the less you’re tempted to do something stupid,” said Limestone to herself.

Limestone finished washing up and exited the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her svelte body. When she opened the door, Limestone yelped, Pinkie was sitting cross legged on her bed, her face plastered with that same happy-go-lucky smile that she normally had on.

“P-P-Pinkie, what the hell?!”

“Sorry, Limey, you’ve kind of been avoiding me, so I thought I get you in the once place you need to come to after a shower,” said Pinkie.

Lime scowled as she said, “Well get out! I need to change!”

Pinkie crossed her arms and shook her head in defiance. “Nope, I said we were going to talk about this, and we are.”

“Fine, we can talk! Just let me dry off and get changed first!”

“You can do that right here,” said Pinkie.

Limestone gave her little sister a deadpan expression. “I’d like some damn privacy.”

“Yeaaaaaahh…no. ‘Cause I don’t trust you to lock the door the moment I get out.”

Limestone growled, one because she was right and she would, and two, she just wanted to dry off and get into her pajamas. “Pinkie, seriously, leave. I’m not getting naked in front of my little sister, don’t make this weird.”

Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes. “Lime, did you suddenly sprout a dick in the last couple of hours?”

Limestone’s eyes widened as she stated, “NO!”

“So, then you have the same things I do, two titties and a kitty, so, what’s the big deal? I change in the locker rooms at school and see plenty of both every other day! And I’m sure you do at the gym!” Pinkie argued.

Limestone pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation, it wasn’t like she was wrong, but still…

Pinkie was getting a little irritated at her big sister’s stubbornness and decided to speed things along. The pink haired party planner reached for the hem of her pink polka dotted shirt and pulled it up, exposing her breasts to Limestone.

“Pinkie what the fuck are you doing?!” Limestone asked as she blanched.

Pinkie Pie stood up and hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her similarly decorated pajama pants, and without missing a beat, pulled them down before sitting back down on Limestone’s bed completely naked. “There, now we’re both naked in your room. So, go ahead and get dried up.”

Limestone’s left eye twitched. “I swear to God, Pinkie, you – you just – ugh!”

At that exact moment, Limestone felt a presence behind her, slowly, she turned her head and – much to her dismay – saw Maud standing right behind her. Seeing her stoic sister made Limestone yelp again and jump back from the fright, of course this action made her lose her grip on the towel, allowing it to fall to the flower, exposing herself to both her little sisters.

Maud looked at Limestone, then Pinkie, and then to Limestone. “I don’t support incest, but so long as you two are just fooling around and not doing anything romantic, and it’s consensual, I won’t tell Mom and Dad.”

“WHAT?!” Limestone practically shouted. “H-How did you think THAT what’s happening right now?!”

Maud shrugged. “Technically speaking, experimentation between siblings is not uncommon, especially given how close the four of us are.”

Limestone facepalmed herself as she tried to get her temper under control, before it alerted their parents and led to an awkward conversation so epic, that Limestone would rather go out into the night and fight one of those Blacknight monsters of the Blood Kings. “Let me be clear, we are not – repeat NOT – ‘fooling around! Pinkie Pie’s just been trying to talk to me, and…I’ve been avoiding her. She apparently waited for me in my room, and when I said I wanted her to leave so I could get changed, she stubbornly refused. And when I said I didn’t want to get naked in front of my little sister,” Lime pointed to the still naked Pinkie sitting on her bed, “she stripped!”

Maud blinked slowly, hummed, and said, “That makes more sense.”

“And yet, sibling sex was the first thing that popped into your head and out of your mouth?!”

“Again, not uncommon, but that stuff usually happens when you’re way younger. But to be clear, I didn’t think you were the instigator,” Maud explained.

Limestone turned back to Pinkie Pie, she was trying not to look too long at her naked little sister, so her eyes darted from Pinkie and then to the ceiling. “And you’re okay with her thinking that you were trying to convince me to bang?!”

“Eh, I have a lot of weird thoughts, and that may’ve crossed my mind a couple of times in the past, and a little bit in the present too.”

Limestone threw her hands into the air and said, “My sisters are insane, it’s official.”

“More to the point, put some clothes on before you catch a cold. Goodnight.” Maud began to walk away but stopped and turned around. “Next time, please close the door if you’re going to have awkward conversations like this. I don’t want Boulder to see this, thanks.”

“Thank you, please leave!” Once Maud left the room, Limestone closed the door and locked it, not wanting anyone else to walk in on this. Limestone glanced back at Pinkie who just grinned back at her. “Ugh, goddammit, and people call me stubborn as shit.” Limestone picked up the towel and began drying herself off, at least what was still wet, during that talk with Maud most of her body dried. All the while, Pinkie just sat there and waited. Limestone blushed heavily and said, “I want to fuck, Sunset! There, I said it!”

Pinkie Pie blushed as well. “Oh, well, I guess I can’t blame you too much for wanting to do that, I mean, Sunset is stupid sexy, right?”

“Yes, but that’s not the point! I’m…ugh…I’m not supposed to feel this way for someone my sister obviously likes and is in a relationship with!” Limestone finished drying off and went to her dresser, pulling out a pair of boxers and tank top. As she dressed herself, she could hear Pinkie doing the same. “I don’t know why I feel that way, well, I kinda do, but…fuck, I don’t know, I’m messed up and the worst sister in the world.”

Once Pinkie got her shirt back on, she walked up to Lime and placed her hands on her big sister’s shoulders. “You’re not the worst sister in the world, it’s not like you did anything with Sunset.”

“But somewhere inside I want to! And that’s the part of myself I hate! I mean…you do so much to make sure other people are happy! And sometimes I wished there was someone like that for you! Someone who would just make you happy!”

Pinkie Pie smiled and placed her right hand over her heart. “Limey making others smile does make me happy.”

“That selfless attitude is what makes me worry about you sometimes,” said Lime.

Pinkie Pie released her big sister and sat back down on the bed. “I’m not completely selfless…if I was, I would’ve believed Sunset when she said she wasn’t Anon-A-Miss, instead I sat by and watched the school hurt her, and left her alone when she needed us the most, needed someone to make her smile…”

“Enough with that, Pinks! You screwed up, you’re human, you’re not some god or something, you can make mistakes! What matters is that you make up for them, and from what you've told us, you have,” said Limestone.

Pinkie smiled a little. “Yeah…but the guilt is still there.”

“Fine, let it be there. It’s a good thing, it just means that the next time something like that happens, you’ll remember that guilt and you won’t make the same mistake again.” Limestone sat next to her little sister and threw her right arm around her to give Pinkie a hug. “Even I know Sunset’s been good for you, you’re definitely a lot happier than you’ve ever been.”

Pinkie’s smile grew. “Yeah, I am, she’s just so…so great! I love everything about her, and she’s artistic!” Pinkie glanced about as if they were going to be overheard. “Did you know that she’s a graffiti artist?”

Lime raised an eyebrow. “No, I didn’t. She any good?”

“Ya ever heard of Flanksy?”

Lime’s mouth dropped, she had seen Flanksy’s work in different parts of town, they always drew a crowd for how artistic they were. Some were elaborate murals, others were just bombastic images, and occasionally they were just serene. Limestone visited a few of the artist’s works and took pictures before the city came and washed them away, although not all of them were taken down, some were left because either the community liked them too much to want them gone, or they drew such a big crowd that it actually helped the businesses around there. However, during the winter, people were noticing that Flanksy’s work was sad, depicting emotions like isolation and anger. Now it made sense, that was Sunset expressing how she felt.

“Oh damn, I can’t believe she did that! Does that! She’s a freakin’ artist!” Limestone exclaimed.

“I kinda suspected it when we had art class together, she was really good, but when she showed me her sketches of what she had done and what she planned on doing down the road, it brought it altogether,” said Pinkie.

Limestone didn’t believe it, but now she just found Sunset Shimmer even hotter. “Wow, now I need an autograph. Well…tell me something, why aren’t you mad at me? I just told you I want to bang your girlfriend.”

“Again, it’s not like you did anything with Sunset, and, also, I trust Sunset to do the right thing and give you a nice punch in the face if you did.”

Limestone laughed at that. “You know, I wouldn’t blame her for doing it.”

“And I trust you,” Pinkie “booped” her big sister on the nose, “not do that. I love you, Limey, and I know you love me. So, I can trust you not to act on those feelings. It’s okay to have them, believe me, I’m sure you’re not the only girl around who has the hots for Sunny. Heck, I know there are a few boys at school who do!”

Limestone used her left hand to rub the back of her head. “I guess, if I did do anything, you know where I live.”

“Yep.” Pinkie gently removed herself from the half hug of her big sister and stretched a little. “I guess I’ll head to bed then, I think we’re good!”

“Ya sure?”

“Positive!” Pinkie Pie leaned down and hugged Limestone, then gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “See you in the morning!” Limestone watched as Pinkie unlocked her door and skipped down the hallway. The eldest daughter of the Pie family felt relief that her sister didn’t hate her, it was going to be awhile before she could forgive herself, but hopefully she’d get over her feelings. “Oh, and Limey!”

Limestone nearly jumped again at how Pinkie appeared in her doorway. “Gah! Y-Yeah, what?”

“No touching Sunny in any naughty places without my permission or hers. Or I’ll let Sunset turn you into a human pretzel!”

The oldest sister rolled her eyes as she chuckled at the threat, but then took a moment to think about it. “She…She can’t really do that, right?”

“If you’re willing to find out, you’re welcome to try!” Pinkie dared as she skipped back to her room.

Yeah…hands to myself. Got it.

Twilight fidgeted in place; she was starting to have second thoughts about this. Maybe I should hold this off until this weekend…Twilight shook her head. No, I have to do this, it’ll only make Mom and Dad more worried if I do. It was right around that time when she heard the sound of a familiar speedster car, the ZR-1, which meant Sunset was already here. Well, it really is now or never…

She waited in her room and eventually heard knocking from her door. Spike perked up his ears and began barking happily as he went for the door, and just about that moment was when the door opened, and Spike went flying in the other direction. Sunset heard the thud and quickly poked her head inside.

“Oh shit, Spike, are you okay?!” Sunset asked as she opened the door fully.

The little dog shook his head and then got back to his paws, panting and running up to Sunset as he jumped up wanting to be held.

“He’ll be fine, unfortunately I’ve done that a few times as well. He just keeps getting too excited whenever someone comes to the door and ends up getting hit on the head,” Twilight explained.

Sunset scooped Spike into her arms and let the purple furred canine leg her face, she gently kissed his forehead and made cooing sounds as she said, “Spikey, you really need to stop doing that or you’ll get a concussion!”

*Bark!*

Sunset brought Spike over to the bed where she let him go, allowing him to sit between them. He could sense that something was wrong with his master, and the scent in the air reeked of sadness and hurt, and fear, and it was coming from Twilight. It was times like this that Spike wished he understood human speak better, or better yet, could speak it himself so he could talk to Twilight and help her. But unfortunately, he couldn’t, so the best he could do was just nuzzle her, lick her, and just be there. Which was why he was glad when Sunset appeared, she was able to help Twilight in a way he couldn’t. He could also smell the familiar scent of attraction and…arousal? Yep, Twilight wanted Sunset as her mate, and it seemed Sunset wanted Twilight for a mate too.

“Hey,” said Sunset.

“Hey,” Twilight replied.

“You sure you want to do this, Sparky? I mean, I know we have to tell them, but you don’t have to do it so soon.”

Twilight clutched at the hem of her skirt. “No, the longer I put this off, the harder it will be, and I’ll just bury it. I’m tired of hiding this, tired of tiptoeing around what’s actually been happening. I need to tell them the truth. And I’m sorry, I just don’t feel strong enough to do this without you here…”

Sunset held Twilight’s left hand and gazed at her with a furrowed brow. “You’re stronger than you think you are, Sparky. Enduring all that for so long, speaks to your strength. Telling your parents and Cadence, just shows you’re stronger than you think. But even strong people need help, just look at me and Shimmer. We kickass on our own, but together, we’re the baddest motherfuckers around.”

Twilight grimaced, she didn’t like it when Sunset used foul language like that, but she couldn’t help but giggle at her show of bravado. “Thank you,” Twilight took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as she put on a determined expression, “okay, let’s go.”

Downstairs, Velvet and her husband, Night Light, were sitting on the couch, while Cadence was sitting in the armchair, Shining Armor stood next to her, the two having a knowing and worried look upon their faces. Something that did not go unnoticed by the two adults in the room.

“Shiny, do you know what’s going on?” Velvet asked.

Shining Armor remained silent.

“Son, your mother asked you a question, do you know?” Night Light repeated.

“I do…well, we do,” Shining answered.

Velvet fidgeted in place, anxious as to what the topic of this meeting was about. “Can you give us a heads up at least?”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Velvet, but we promised Twilight that she’d be the one to tell you what is, I’m not about to take that away from her,” said Cadence.

Everyone went silent when they heard footsteps from the stairwell, along with the jingling of Spike’s dog tags. All eyes shifted to Sunset and Twilight, the latter of whom was feeling even more nervous than she did a moment ago. Twilight felt Sunset squeeze her hand, reassuring her that she was right there and would not let her do this alone. The two continued walking down the stairs, entering the living room, and sitting down on the loveseat.

“I guess I should go ahead and tell you why I asked you to come here. Shining Armor and Cadence know what this is about, so…I’ll mostly be addressing you, Mom and Dad,” said Twilight.

Night Light leaned forward and rested his elbows on his thighs as he waited. Velvet was feeling even more anxious, especially after what Twilight said about her being broken.

“It’s about Crystal Prep, over the past three and a half years now, I’ve hid something from you with regards to my time there.” Twilight squeezed Sunset’s hand as she readied herself. “The students at Crystal Prep have been…bullying me, hazing me, putting me through all different manner of humiliation.”

Night Light’s hands clenched into fists, “What?! Twilight why–?!”

“Dad!” Shining interrupted. “Let her finish.”

Night Light looked at his son, noting the serious expression on his face. Reluctantly, he held his tongue and allowed his daughter to continue.

“I could go on about what I’ve been subjected to, but…we’ll just focus on one part in particular. The…uh…The sexual abuse…” Twilight’s voice hitched as she dredged up the memories of her abuse at the hands of Indigo Zap. “One of the female students, Indigo Zap…she’s…obsessed with me. For what reason I don’t know, and honestly, I don’t care to. For a time, it wasn’t anything, just staring, some awkward glances. Then she started to get bolder, during P. E. classes, when we showered, she’d make sure that we were alone and start touching me…”

Velvet’s heart was breaking as she listened to her daughter, at the same time her anger was rising, this was reflected in Night Light, but they both held their tongues. Twilight was confessing about what happened to her, and to stop now would only hinder their daughter.

“The touching shifted to other things, she started to grope me…and…and put her hand down my skirt…” Twilight’s eyes watered, but she pressed on. “Things escalated from there, she would…she would take me to classrooms that were empty and…performed oral on me…and…made to do the same for her…” Tears were streaming down Twilight’s face, she thought she was stronger than this, but her tears wouldn’t stop. “This…This has been going on for a while now but…when Sunset showed up, it started to get better.”

Twilight took a moment to look at Sunset, there were tears in her eyes as well, she knew that Sunset wished she had come to Crystal Prep sooner, maybe then Twilight wouldn’t have had to endure all of what she did, but that didn’t matter, what did matter was Sunset was here now, and that things were getting to get better.

“When Sunset came, she stopped it all, she made a grand show of it and made sure that everyone knew that if they messed with me, she would deal with them. I don’t like to encourage violence, but it was really nice to see Sunset make one of the girls who was picking on me squirm in fear of her.”

Night Light and Velvet looked at Sunset, who was now blushing from the attention.

“But…it seemed that wasn’t enough. About a day or two ago, Indigo Zap, along with her friends, kidnapped me and took me to the outdoor equipment shed. They were going to record me, strip me, and violate me, this was done to threaten Sunset into not fighting back while Indigo Zap beat her up, but Sunset turned the tide on them and found me, beating Indigo up, along with the girls who captured me. Cadence found us and…I broke down…I broke down and told her everything. So, don’t blame Cadence for not helping me! She didn’t know, because I didn’t tell her! Because I didn’t want to burden her with what was happening to me, not her, you two, or Shiny! I knew that my time at Crystal Prep was almost over, and that I only had to stay there for just a bit longer and I would never have to go back there again. But now I realized that I’ve lived in silence too long, and I’m sorry for not speaking up sooner…t-that’s all I wanted to say…”

Velvet couldn’t wait any longer, she bolted from the couch and hugged her daughter fiercely, crying into her shoulder. Twilight couldn’t hold back anymore either as she wrapped her arms around her mother and cried into her shoulder. Night Light stood up slowly and approached them, more specifically, he approached Sunset Shimmer.

“Miss Shimmer, could you please stand up.”

Sunset did as he asked, nervous as to what his response would be.

To her surprise, the older man hugged her. It was a little awkward for Sunset as she wasn’t expecting this response.

“Thank you, thank you for protecting my daughter Sunset,” said Night Light. He pulled back a little and looked her in the eyes. “Are you and my daughter together?”

“Um…yes, yes we are, Mr. Night Light, sir,” Sunset answered.

“Then welcome to the family.” Night Light patted her on the shoulders and then turned to his son and his – potential – daughter-in-law. “I believe Twilight when she says that you didn’t know anything about this, Cadence, had you known, I assume you would’ve more than likely executed the ones responsible, jail be damned.”

Cadence chuckled and said, “Hahahahahaaaa – without hesitation, yes.”

Velvet parted from her daughter and addressed her son, “Shining Armor, I want you to go and arrest the bitches who would dare to harm my daughter! I want to press full charges on them!”

Shining Armor crossed his arms and scowled. “Oh, I’d love nothing more, but it’s more complicated than that.”

“How is it complicated?! They raped and hazed your little sister! It’s clear enough to me that they need to go to jail!” Night Light argued.

Cadence decided to step in. “I’ll explain, and believe me when I say, I don’t like this either.” Cadence told them what she did after Twilight told her about what the young genius had endured, her meeting with Cinch, and the threats the old hag made about making sure Twilight’s future would be ruined if she brought this to light. “She isn’t making idle threats, she has the resources and pull to make that possible, plus, some of the kids’ parents have ties to law enforcement. Meaning she could have them make life hell for Shining or make him lose his job, same with me, but honestly, if it meant taking that hag down, I’m all for it. But Twilight is another matter, I won’t kick up a hornet’s nests if it means Twilight’s going to get stung.”

Night Light and Velvet couldn’t argue with that, their daughter has suffered enough, the last thing they needed was to bring down Cinch’s wrath upon Twilight.

“So, what, those girls just get off scot free?! What’s stopping them from attacking Twilight again?!” Velvet asked incredulously.

“For one thing, me,” Sunset stated. “Second, Cadence said she’s going to be keeping a closer eye on them.”

“And since Cinch considers Twilight her prized – ugh – possession, we can leverage that, now that I know what’s going on. She assured me that Twilight won’t be bothered by them anymore, and I made sure to put Indigo Zap on notice.”

“Meanwhile, I’ll be looking into Cinch from my end. No way Twilight’s the only one she’s covered up,” said Shining Armor.

Velvet turned back to Twilight and cupped her little girl’s cheeks in her hands. “Twily, you don’t have to go back there, you can stay home from now on.”

Twilight rested her hands on her mother’s and gently pulled them down. “No, Mom, I have to. I’m not going to live in fear, plus, Sunset will be there with me.”

Velvet turned to Sunset and hugged her tight. “I know I’m asking a lot of you, but please keep my little girl safe.”

Sunset, still feeling awkward, returned the hug. “Believe me, Mrs. Velvet, I intend to.”

The moon was half waning as Neighsay hovered over the sleeping city of Canterlot. He was in his armored form, surveying the land and enjoying a view that only God Himself could. The power of the Angelus coursed through his body, making him incredibly strong, stronger than he had ever felt in his youth. Ever since he was a child, the word of God was all that guided him. Some say he took it too far, and maybe he did, but he was just so sick and tired of the world not heeding His word. For years the people below had been scoffing at His name, committing atrocities in His name, and proclaiming to know His will. The hypocrites, the liars, and the blasphemers, for too long have they done whatever they want, but now they would have to answer to someone. They feared no retribution of the divine, but now, with the power he was soon to possess, Neighsay would put the fear of God into them all.

Some might see his acts as trying to become God Himself, but no, that was far from the truth. He wanted to become His enforcer, a swift and terrible sword, a beacon to light the way for those who were lost in their sins. With the powers of light and darkness, Neighsay would do this, would become someone that the people could look to in both hope and fear, to know that a true instrument of God’s wrath was ready to deliver swift justice.

Neighsay summoned an orb of light, he weaved his fingers through it, enjoying the feeling of the power. Thankfully, the voice of the Angelus was silent while inside the Prism, if its consciousness was in there that is. The Prism sucked up a good amount of the Angelus’ full power, not all of it, but still it was a lot of power for an entity of light and order to lose, and he suspected that she’d be hiding out. Unfortunately, the places that the Magdalena had specified Celestia to be at came up short. Her residence was not visited, nor was her ward aware of her disappearance. However, with the knowledge of the ward being Witchblade, this posed another problem. As powerful as he was, if Witchblade found out about what he had done, at his current level, Neighsay believed he might lose.

But this was all a moot point unless he got the rest of the power of the Angelus. Although, until she surfaces, I’m left with few options. I must accept that, by now, she is hidden away by her allies. Neighsay placed his hands behind his back. Perhaps I should target the Darkness and Sombra? Although…Neighsay raised his right hand and formed an orb of light, which then took on a vague silhouette of Sombra in his Darkness Armor. Against someone like Sombra, I haven’t had enough time to master all of these powers, slowly, the knowledge is coming to me. But I’m not ready for a full-blown battle against him. That’s when an idea struck the man and made him smile. Although, who says I have to be stronger, sometimes, it’s better to be smarter.

Neighsay snapped his armored fingers, and instantly, a Sentinel appeared behind him. “You summoned me…My lord?”

The Cardinal was growing irritated by the reluctance of the Sentinels being displeased with him. However, so long as he had the power, they had to do what he said, whatever he ordered, his word was law to them now. “Yes, I’m planning on attacking the Darkness.”

The Sentinel seemed to perk up at this knowledge. “I-I see, that is good to hear! How do you wish to do this?”

“We’re going to need lights, lots and lots of lights.”

Next Chapter: To War: Part 5 Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 40 Minutes