Stepping up to my front door while spinning the Watcher’s vial around, I stop, hearing my parents talking on the other side of the door.

“Tsk,” I take the little vial and put it away in my saddlebags, not wanting them to see it.

Working myself up, I pushed the door open and walked inside confidently, acting like everything was normal.

Inside, I was greeted with the sight of my two mothers sitting on the couch, talking. They turned to me, both looking very displeased.

“Hey guys,” I say while giving a little wave, heading for my room quickly.

“Stop,” my mother said, causing me to stop in the middle of the living room.

“Yeah?” I asked, my voice giving me away as it wavered.

“Calypso called,” she said, grossing her legs. “Hurt while training? As in, hurt to the point you needed to cut a hole in your throat to breathe?”

“Yeah, crazy huh?” I replied with a forced laugh. “I fell on-”

“No bullshit, Shayla,” she said as she rubbed her good eye.

“It’s not bullshit, I just fell-”

My mom stood up, looking furious as she stood above me, “What really happened? Who hurt you?!”

I stared at them as they glared at me, obviously not buying the story I was trying to feed them. “Eh…”

“Young mare,” my mother warned, holding up a hoof. “You are not a kid anymore, you’re old enough to move out, so don’t treat us like idiots. Tell us what happened. Now.”

“Erm,” I mumbled, rubbing the back of my head. “Don’t be mad, ‘kay?”

“Oh for fuck sakes,” my mom said as she fell back onto the couch.

“I…” I started, looking at my mother, staring into her eye. “... I tried to perform your Vortex technique. But I screwed up while trying to do the tornado and crashed into some rocks.”

They both glared at me, reading my body language as I smiled nervously back at them.

“Hmmm,” my mother glared harder at me. “No. You got hurt in a fight.”

My eyes went wide as I stuttered, “H-How do you-”

“You’re not good at hiding things from your mothers,” she said, frowning at me. “Plus you just told on yourself.”

I could only blink at them as they both just stared back at me with exhausted looks on their faces.

“What happened?” my mom asked, placing a hand on my mother to calm her.

“... I lost to Domitor,” I mumbled, causing them to look a bit surprised.

“And he cut your throat?!” my mother bellowed, shooting straight up and looking about ready to kill.

“No… well yes,” I stuttered. “He hit me too hard by accident and had to do it to save me.”

“I’ll be right back,” her mother growled as she moved for the door.

“Mama, no, it’s alright! I’ll handle it!” I yelled, trying to stop her.

“I’ve put up with you two fighting because it’s mostly been harmless. A few broken bones is one thing, but almost killing you?! No. Mallo, keep her here,” she said, stepping out the door and slamming it shut.

“What’s she going to do?!” I asked in a panic, turning to my mom.

She just grimaced at me as she walked over and lifted my chin, looking at the cut, “what she needs to do. Now come on, we’re going to your room to wait for her.”

“But I had plans today!” I yell, not wanting to be confined to my room.

“And you can get to them, after this is resolved,” she stated firmly, crossing her arms.

I stared at her, but she wasn’t budging, so I just sighed and nodded. “Fine.”

Scamp stomped down the street, her anger only rising with each step. She’d put up with Vicar’s son messing with her daughter over the years because they’d just been normal rivals. But almost killing her daughter is a step over the line, and she was putting an end to this. Today.

Kal may just be his step dad, but he’s taken over the father role for Domitor, so that makes anything his son does his responsibility.

As she walked, she heard a few booms above her head as she saw a black dot zooming all over the sky, changing directions at random. She rolled her eyes as she watched the costumed wannabe hero fly all over the sky. It looked like he was looking for something, but she could honestly care less.

Probably just showing off again.

“Hey, Sensei Scamp,” Azure Moon, Rainbow Dash’s twenty two year old daughter, said as she walked up next to the angry Scamp. “You alright?”

“I am not today,” Scamp replied, still walking forward. “Kal’s kid hurt my daughter, so I’m going to handle it right now.”

“Is Shayla okay?” Azure asked, looking up as the costumed stallion exploded over their heads again.

“She’s fine, she’s a tough mare,” she said back, gritting her teeth. “But she’s reckless and cocky. I’ve tried training it out of her, but I’ve screwed up as a mother. I’ve made her into someone who’s used to winning, so she acts like she’ll always win.”

“I mean, is that really a bad thing?” Azure questioned, cocking her head as they walked.

Scamp gave a sharp nod, “yeah, it is a bad thing. If you think all you can do is win, then you won’t take everything serious, and that’s how you get hurt. It happened to me, it happened to her mom, and it’ll happen to her.” She let out a ragged sigh, “I just hope when it happens, it’s in a safe environment and not in the real world.”

“Shayla can handle herself, and when she does eventually lose and get humbled, she’ll handle it with grace,” Azure tried to assure her.

Before she could respond, there was yet another boom above them, followed by Champion floating down in front of them.

“Ladies,” he said, a large smile on his face.

Scamp just rolled her eyes and ignored him, walking around him as Azure did the same, trying to avoid making eye contact.

Champion’s eye twitched, but he didn’t react the way he felt. Instead, he floated after them, getting back in front of the two mares. “I’m actually here to ask a work related question,” he said, giving a wink to Azure, “a ‘saving all of Equestria’ kind of question.”

“What do you want?” Scamp asked with a scowl.

“You two seen a human walking around? Looks homeless?” he asked, his eyes scanning each of them.

“Nope,” Scamp said back simply, continuing on her way.

Azure tried to follow, but he glided up between her and Scamp. “Oh, Azure Moon, I’ve brought you something.”

She smiled awkwardly as he pulled out a very expensive looking pendant and held it out to her.

“I saw it at the Royal Jewel Expo in Canterlot last week, and I just knew I had to get it for you,” he said, holding it closer to her, wanting her to take it.

“Er, thank you, Star Chaser, but I’m good. I don’t really like jewelry,” she said back, not wanting to accept anymore of his gifts.

His smile faltered, but he just put it away and smiled back at her, “I should have known! You’re a rough and tumble kind of mare, not one of those prim and proper mares in Canterlot.”

“Thanks, I think,” she muttered back.

“Of course!” he exclaimed, floating closer to her. “I was also wondering, after I finish saving Equestria today, if you’d want to go out to dinner?”

She looked extremely uncomfortable, looking past him at Scamp for help.

“Star Chaser, get moving,” Scamp said roughly from behind him. “We have business to attend to and you’re getting in our way.”

The corner of Champion’s smile twitched as he turned to face the older Mare. She glared back at him, pointing to the sky.

“Go on, fly,” she said firmly.

He took a deep breath and smiled confidently. “No you are right, I do not have time for this! I need to get back to stopping this new evil and save Equestria!”

“Yep, so hop to it,” she deadpanned.

Without another word, he jumped into the air and shot away, causing a shockwave to rock the area around them.

Scamp didn’t say anything, just shook her head and went back to walking. As Azure caught up to her, she glanced at her, “is he still harassing you?”

“I wouldn’t call it harassing,” she muttered, shaking her head, “he just… doesn’t take no for an answer.”

“That’s harassing,” Scamp stated.

“Well he hasn’t done anything, just won’t stop trying to ask me out on dates. I keep telling him no, but he’s obsessed with me or something.”

“Have you tried ignoring him?”

“I have, but that’s when he got really into me,” she groaned. “What should I do?”

“Normally, I’d say kick his ass,” Scamp started, rubbing her face, “but he’s a superpowered prick now, so that’s not a good idea. Honestly, just put your hoof down and make your feelings clear. If he doesn’t listen, then talk to his mother. She’s the only one who can keep him in line.”

“Thank you, Sensei,” Azure said with a thankful smile. “What are you planning to do about Domitor hurting your daughter?”

Scamp looked ahead, the mansion just now coming into view. “I’m talking to his asshole of a father.”

“Ew,” Azure said, making a face. “Have fun with that.”

“Good luck with your love struck stallion problem,” she replied, getting a chuckle out of the other mare.

“Yeah, I’ll need the luck,” she said, taking her leave and walking away down a different street.

Now alone, Scamp picked up her pace and headed straight for the mansions front door.

Upon reaching it, she slammed her paw into it, shaking the whole door.

It didn’t take long for someone to open the door. It was Lemon Tape, a cup of something hot in his hoof.

“Ah, Scamp, finally taking me up on my offer for love?” he said in a terrible rendition of a seductive tone.

“Can it, idiot,” Scamp said, holding up a claw and pointing it at him. “I’m here for you boss.”

He just winked and stepped aside. “Give it time, I’ll wear you down eventually.”

“That’s not creepy at all,” she said, stepping in and shoving him hard out of her way.

His only reaction was to laugh as she stomped towards Kal’s study. After walking down a few hallways, she came to his door.

She didn’t bother to knock this time as she bucked the door open and walked in, her eye instantly locking onto Kal as he sat at his desk reading something.

“Yes, Scamp?” he asked, putting it down and giving her a wide smile.

“You know why I’m here,” she said simply, stepping up to his desk and lifting herself up on it, slamming her hooves down on it.

“Because my good for nothing son hurt your daughter,” he said back, getting a nod from her. “Yes, I’ve heard. He told me, and I punished him.”

“Not good enough,” Scamp said, narrowing her eye at him. “This is over, Kal. I’ve put up with you and your son’s antics over the years, but today, you’ve both stepped over the line.”

“I did not tell my son to hurt your daughter,” he said back calmly. “He acted on his own accord.”

“You’re his fucking FATHER!” she bellowed, slamming a hoof down hard on the desk. “Don’t push blame solely onto him! You’re the real problem here, kids take after their parents!”

Kal jumped up and slammed his hooves down on the desk as well, getting his face a foot away from Scamp’s, “I have done everything in my power to change his path! He was brought into this world to rival your daughter, and I have done everything I can to change that! But he’s stubborn!”

“This ends here, Kal!” she screamed back, slamming her head forward and butting heads with him. “Get your son under control, and keep him away from Shayla. If I so much as hear of a little scrape between the two, or even just a few crossed words, then I’m coming back here with the police!” she slammed her head into his again as he pushed back against her. “Your son is a menace, just like his father before him. Get him in line, before I do it myself!”

Kal growled at her, but gave a sharp nod. “For you, Scamp, I’ll make sure this NEVER happens again.”

She reached up and shoved him back with her paw, sneering at him. “You better, for all of your sake.”

With a final slam of her hoof, cracking the desk a bit, she spun around and left the office, leaving Kal standing there fuming.

Once she slammed the door, and the sounds of her hooves could be heard leaving the hallway, Hester and Ulystee suddenly appeared next to his desk. Ulystee had his hoof on Hester, who had the ability to turn himself and anyone touching him invisible.

“Are you really just going to let her leave like that?” Hester asked.

“We really need to just kill her already, before she screws anything else up,” Ulystee stated, frowning.

Kal adjusted his goggles and shook his head, looking displeased. “No, killing her is too good for her. If I wanted to kill her, I’d have done it without any of these theatrics, back when she was pregnant and not able to react properly. No, I want her to suffer.”

“We need to proceed with caution at least. Her daughter is the only one who can get us into that dimension. If she decides not to take us, then this all falls apart,” Hester said as he stood at attention behind Kal.

“After I lost my Ego,” Kal said, staring out the window, “I gave up hope of achieving my goals. But as we learned, if I can get into this special dimension, I can get a power that equals an Ego.” He turned to face his two men, “we’re going to keep going forward with this plan. Scamp will get hers in due time, but right now, she’s not my concern. We need to get ready to leave, and we need to stall Shayla for as long as we can without her losing interest in helping us.”

“What of Domitor?” Ulystee asked carefully.

“Tsk,” Kal grumbled, shaking his head. “Should have got rid of him after that night we lost to Scamp. But his mother begged me to keep him around. If she wasn’t so useful to me, I’d just dispose of him.”

They both watched as he turned and looked out the window. “You two focus on your task, I’ll handle the rest.”

The two nodded and walked for the door, leaving Kal alone in his office. Outside his window, he’d catch glimpses of Champion zooming through the sky, looking for Loric.

He frowned, as this all now hinged on him beating Loric, since he was one of the few who could stop them at this point. But, he was confident with the item he gave Champion, that he’d come out on top. If not… then he’d have to take drastic measures.

Next Chapter: Anarchy reigns again Estimated time remaining: 23 Hours, 3 Minutes