With a loud crash, Champion flung open the doors to his Father’s old workshop, stomping in and going towards a pile of boxes that held his late Father’s personal things.

Digging through the boxes, throwing them aside as he went, he let out a growl of frustration.

“Who’s in here?!“ a voice called out as some stepped into the room. “Oh! Star Chaser, it’s just you.”

He turned to his mother, anger still plastered across his face.

“Star! Your face!” Luna yelled, rushing to her sons side and lifting his chin with her hoof.

“I’m fine, I just need to find Father’s mask. The one he wore to social events, that made you always call him handsome,” he asked, turning from her and going back to searching the boxes.

“Why would you need that?” She asked, a sad look on her face as her son ignored her.

“To hide this!” He yelled, not even looking at her as he pointed at his burned face.

“Our good friend Doc could attempt to-“

“I am not letting that thing touch me!”

Luna scowled at her son, but held her tongue, as she knew how he’d get when he was upset.

“Ah, there it is,” he exclaimed as he lifted the slim mask. “Fit for a king.”

“Star, I’m worried about you,” she finally said, her concern for him no longer able to be concealed.

“Don’t, I am perfect,” he said with a sly grin as he slide the mask on over his snout, hiding the hideous burns from view. “And now, we must talk.”

She sighed and shook her head, already knowing what he wanted to speak about. “You are not ready.”

“With Father gone, it is time I take his place, and for you and Aunt Celestia to step down as Rulers,” he said firmly.

“One day,” she said calmly, “you will be ready for the responsibilities that come with being King, but that day is not today, nor any day in the near future. Star, my Midnight Comet, you are not ready.”

“I am!” He roared, not able to control his emotions.

“Clearly you are not,” she retorted. “A ruler must keep themselves in check at all times, and not have emotional outbursts.”

He stared her down, but she didn’t back down.

“I am ready,” he said coldly. “You’ll eventually be able to see that.”

“Prove to me you’re ready, then we will discuss this in a more office capacity,” she said, giving her son a hug. He did not return it, just stood there stock still.

She leaned back, giving him a sad look as she turned and took her leave.

Once she was gone, he stomped over to a mirror and looked himself over. The mask did indeed hide the burns, and made him look rather dashing.

“Perfection,” he muttered, smiling to himself. The mask didn’t cover his eyes or mouth, so his chiseled chin still stuck out, making him look oh so handsome. “Turn me down now.”

I stepped through the portal I’d created and smirked, that really was easy! Behind me, my friends slowly filed out, all of them smiling just as widely as me.

The portal closed, leaving us now alone in our clubhouse.

With a twirl, I turned to face my friends, taking in their new items. I was the only one without a weapon, as I’d forgone going through Loric’s things. I didn’t have it in me right now, besides, my claws are enough to carry me.

“Now what?” Nightstreak asked, messing with his new Ego gauntlets.

Smirking, I held up the two Dimensional Daggers, the one from Loric and the other one the key to the Order Hall, “we can do whatever we want now! We have a real Dimensional Dagger!”

Roxxy just frowned at me, her Ego Scythe balanced over her shoulder, “I think we should take a step back and think about this.”

“What’s there to think about?” I asked, not seeing a problem.

“For one,” Dude began, his own Ego Saber, which was more of a laser sword than anything since it was just a hilt till he turned it on, hanging at his side, “we all just got our Ego’s and weapons, so going on an adventure right now would be stupid.”

“We need to get comfortable with our stuff first,” Summer Breeze stated, her new Shield attached to her left leg.

“Plus I’m not ready for another adventure just yet…” Flippy Dew muttered, fidgeting with her new Whip, which was able to move in accordance with her mind., “we just did two back to back, and watching Loric… I just want to go home.”

I looked at my friends, seeing their pleading eyes. My eyes lingered to Flippy Dew, who had tears in her eyes. “Yeah,” I said with a heavy sigh, “we’ll take a break.”

“Thank you, Shay,” Flippy Dew said as she walked over and hugged me, then walked for the door.

“Go home and get some rest,” I announced to them. “I’ll text you all when I think we’re good to go.”

“Let me get some training in first,” Nightstreak said, slamming his gauntlets together. “I feel like I’ll be unstoppable if I can figure out my Ego!”

“Yes, everyone go get some solo training in,” I said as they all headed for the door. “We’ll meet up later for some group training.”

Roxxy stopped as she was the last one out, she turned and looked me over. “Shay, you’re good, right?”

I blinked at her, then gave her my signature confident smile, “of course I’m good!”

“You sure?” She pressed.

“Go home, you dumbass,” I laughed, waving her off.

She narrowed her eyes, but gave a nod and left me alone in the clubhouse.

Once I heard her take off, I sat down hard and sighed, lifting my Pit Viper’s to rub my eyes.

“You know it helps to talk to friends about your problems?” Rosemary said as she materialized in a bean bag chair near me.

“No need, I’m good,” I replied, shaking my head at her.

“You know I can see your thoughts? Your feelings?” She said calmly, “I know what happened with Loric has affected you.”

“No,” I said, standing up and walking for the door. “I’ve just never seen someone die. Let me sleep it off and I’ll be back to normal.”

“I’m always here to talk when you’re ready,” she said as I threw open the door and stepped out, slamming it behind me.

Huffing loudly, I jumped from the porch and glided down to the ground, deciding to walk to clear my head.

As I walked down the path that led back to New Ponyville, I went over everything that's happened in my head.

Honestly a lot has happened since this morning. We stopped an evil chaos being from going on a rampage, became the new Bearers of the Elements, became Enforcers, got our Ego and items, and gained the ability to travel to dimensions. Wow, an eventful day.

The sun was setting, so at least the day was almost over.

“Ah, Shayla,” I heard the all too familiar and annoying voice of Kal say as he leaned against a tree, cleaning his hoof with a file.

I just ignored him as I walked towards him.

Taking note of my silence, he looked at me, raising an eyebrow, “you’ll be happy to know I’m almost ready to take you to another dimension.”

I couldn’t help but snort laugh as I continued past him, “don’t worry about it. I got my own way to travel around now.”

“What?!” He yelped, seeming to be taken off guard by my words.

Smirking, I raise my Dimensional Dagger, “got my own key now.”

A solemn look fell over his face as he saw the rose covered dagger. “… do you know how to use it?”

“I got the basics,” I say with a wink. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m no longer helping you with your plan to get to my mom’s home world.” At his grimace, I stuck my tongue out at him, “yeah, I know about you wanting to get a Thorn. You’ll need to figure something else out.”

As I turned to leave, I heard him growl and stomp his hoof. “Wait.”

But I didn’t wait, I just started walking away.

“What do you want? I’ll compensate you greatly if you help me,” he said in a almost desperate and begging tone.

A sly smile appeared on my face, he was so easy to manipulate. “Hmmmmmm,” I hummed, spinning around to face him. “I don’t know, what could you possibly have that I’d want?”

He did not look happy as he looked at me, “if you take me to where I want to go, I’ll provide you with a full list of other dimensions and their coordinates. That’ll give you and your friends a massive jump forward, allowing you all to go anywhere you want without having to go there first.”

“Hmmm,” I hummed in a condescending tone, “what else ya got?”

“Shayla, be wary of this one,” Rosemary warned as she appeared next to him, looking him over.

‘I got this,’ I thought back to her, causing her to frown.

His eye twitched as he opened a pocket dimension and pulled out a strange item. “I’ll also give you this. It has six great Soul’s inside of it, once for each of your friends. Using one grants you access to their skills and technical knowledge.”

“So,” I began, looking at the item, “you’ll give me all that, AND a shit ton of money, just to go to my mom’s home dimension?”

At the mention of giving me money, he rolled his eyes, “yes. Do we have a deal?”

I wink at him, “yep. Hit me up when you’re ready. Also deliver all my new shit to my clubhouse, not my house.”

He bowed, causing me to laugh, “of course. I will contact you shortly.”

Without another word, I snapped around and continued on my way.

“You should not help him,” Rosemary said as she appeared next to me. “He is the one Loric was hunting.”

“No, the guy Loric was hunting is that guy's boss. He’s currently in prison,” I said, already having everything figured out.

“Prison?” She asked, rubbing her chin.

“Yeah, my parents beat him and got him locked away in a high security prison up in the far north. This guy Kal is a push over compared to his boss, I’ve been taking advantage of him since I was a kid.”

“If that is true, then the next time Bronwyn is here, connect with her so I may speak to her. If he’s trapped here, she can deal with him,” she said, fading away slowly.

“Can do,” I said aloud, a little pep in my step as I continued along the path.

“You didn’t have to do this!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as her kids led her to their table.

“You deserve it, mom,” Lightning said proudly as they reached the table and sat down.

“We know you hate fancy things, but this is supposed to be the best Brony run restaurant in Canterlot. The food is supposedly amazing,” Azure Moon said with a wide smile. “Plus we had too, it’s yours and Dad’s anniversary week.”

This brought a sad smile to the older mare's face, “I don’t deserve you two.”

“Oh hush, look at the menu and get whatever you want, we’re paying,” Azure Moon laughed, lifting her own menu.

“I wonder if this is any good,” Lightning said aloud as he tapped a picture of what appeared to be a burger. “The ‘can’t believe it’s not meat rodeo supreme burger’.”

“With a name like that, you gotta get it, son,” Rainbow Dash said, reaching over to playfully shove him.

“Know what, I’m-“

“Azure Moon! A pleasure to see you here!” A voice called out from across the restaurant.

“You’re fucking kidding me,” she groaned, placing a hoof over her face in annoyance.

Champion glided up to their table and landed before them, smiling confidently. But everyone at the table just glared at him, already knowing the full story between him and Azure Moon.

“Didn’t I say to stay away from my family's dinner?” She asked harshly, trying not to cause a scene.

“And I was! But we just so happened to come to the same place!” He said with a very loud laugh.

The ponies around them were talking excitedly among themselves, taking a few pictures of him as he stood there posed up.

“I highly doubt that this is a coincidence,” she growled.

“Star Chaser, I’m going to ask nicely,” Rainbow Dash said evenly as she scowled at him. “My daughter asked you not to be here, so go. Now.”

“With all due respect, Mrs. Dash,” he said with a large smile, “this is a public space. And I came here to eat, which is what I shall do.”

He then reached over to another table and grabbed a chair. He brought it over to their table and sat down with them.

“Leave,” Azure Moon growled, staring daggers at him.

“I’m paying for dinner tonight, so just enjoy yourselves,” he said with a charming smile.

“Okay, I’m not going to be nice,” Lightning said as he stood up and stepped up to Champion. “Get the fuck away from our table.”

“Or what?” Champion asked as he turned his head to him, his eyes wide as they flashed purple.

“Lightning, please sit down,” Azure Moon said calmly.

Her brother grumbled, but complied as he returned to his seat.

“Star Chaser,” she began, getting his attention as he smiled at her. “I’m putting an end to this. Right now.”

He just stared at her, still smiling.

“I do not like you, and I never will. And the more you try to convince me to get with you, the more I dislike you. But after tonight, coming here after I told you to stay away, you’ve crossed a line. You have become the only person I can say I HATE. Now, stand up, and leave. And NEVER speak to me again. Or I will bring your mother and sister into this.”

As she spoke his smile slowly fell into an emotionless blank stare. Once she finished, he just kept staring at her.

“You’re making a mistake. I am the next ruler of Equestria, I can provide you with-“

“I do not care!” She suddenly screamed, losing her composure as she sprang to her hooves, sending her chair flying backwards into another table. “You can become the ruler of the world, and I’d still hate you! I hate you, do you not get that?! You make me feel scared for my life when you are around! For my family's lives! I will NEVER be with you! And there is nothing that will change that!”

He just kept up his emotionless stare as she screamed at him. He glanced around, seeing that everyone was looking at their table. Turning his eyes back to her as she stood there panting and huffing, face red with anger, he stood up.

“You’re emotional right now, so you’re not thinking clearly. That is unbecoming of my future Queen.”

“Get the fuck out!” She roared, stepping forward and punching him straight in the face.

He didn’t react, nor did his head even move when she hit him, just kept his eyes locked to hers. “We will speak later, Azure Moon.”

With that, he spun around and left the fuming mare.

Once he stepped outside he looked up into the sky as it poured rain down on him.

“That was rough my guy,” someone said from behind him.

His wide eyes snapped to the stallion that had walked out after him.

“I don’t know the story there, but it gets better,” the stallion said, stepping out into the rain with Champion. “You just gotta let her go and-“

He didn’t get to finish his sentence as his head suddenly exploded as Champion fired a purple beam right through him. The body stumbled then collapsed.

“Hmmm,” Champion looked around, using his super hearing and sight to confirm no one saw what he’d done.

He grabbed the stallion by the leg and flung him straight into the sky, and with an angry roar fired a wide beam up after him, disintegrating the body instantly.

Now the only evidence was a bit of blood and chunks of meat and bone. He pulled out an item and tossed it to the mess. With a hot flash, the gore was gone, leaving a bow clean street and wall.

He then looked back to the restaurant and growled, “we’ll see.”

I stepped out of my room, still yawning as I made my way to the kitchen. The night before I’d just come home and went straight to bed, and didn't even talk to my parents.

Nearing the kitchen I could smell breakfast cooking, making my mouth water.

“There’s our Hero,” my mother said brightly as I stepped into the room and made my way to the table where my mom sat, playing one of her handheld games.

I just smile in response as I sit down and wait for my food.

“You need to comb your mane, honey,” my mom commented, reaching over and ruffling up my already messy mane. “

And you need a shower, greasy little shit,” my mother joked as she stepped over to the table and placed down two plates for us.

“I’ll take one in a minute,” I mumbled as I began to devour my food.

“You’re acting like we don’t feed you,” she said as she placed down another plate as I finished the first.

“Just starving,” I grumbled as I pulled the second plate over and dived into it as well.

“So what’d you guys do afterwards yesterday?” My mom asked as she continued to play her game as she ate.

A grin slide onto my face, as I wasn’t sure if I should tell them yet. I’ll have to tell them eventually, but I’m afraid if I do they’ll over react.

“Just hung out at the clubhouse,” I said, deciding to hold off on telling them for now. If my friends told their parents, then I’ll go ahead and tell them. Till then, ignorance is bliss.

“I recommend against hiding this information from your parents,” Rosemary said as she sat on the counter.

‘Trust me, I know the best way to handle my parents,’ I thought as I kept eating.

“I’m sorry if we’ve treated you too much like a kid recently,” my mother said as she sat down with her own plate of food. “It’s just hard, you’re our little hellion, and we love you to death.”

“But you’ve shown us up, that’s for sure,” my mom chuckled, “you and your friends stopped Anarchy, and somehow got her on the road to recovery. I’d of just killed her, but you do your own thing.”

“Thanks, guys,” I say with an awkward smile, as I’m not very good at taking compliments. “She didn’t need to die, she just needed help.” I pushed my empty plate away, “besides, I don’t have to kill anyone to solve my problems.”

“I hope you never have to kill someone,” my mother said in a solemn tone. “It changes you forever.”

I frown at her, as I did not like it when she got all serious like this. “It’s okay, Mama, I can handle my business without ever having to kill someone.”

“I hope so, sweetie,” she said, reaching over and giving my hand a squeeze. Then a weird look came over her face as she turned my hand over, exposing the port in my wrist. “What is this?!”

“Uh…” I said as I stared dumbly at my wrist as she held onto it.

“Should of just been up front with them,” Rosemary said with a sly grin as she faded away.

“Uh?” My mother mimicked back at me, “what have you done this time, Shayla? What body modification did you just have to have?”

The urge to argue with her began to rise within me, but I struggled to respond calmly. “It’s nothing, just something a friend gave me.”

“That does not answer my question,” she said as she narrowed her eyes. Then she let out a sigh and let my wrist go, leaning back. “Just don’t lie to me, that’s all I’m asking.”

“I’d rather not say then…” I muttered, looking away from her.

“Are you in trouble?” She asked carefully.

“No.”

“Should we be worried?”

“You always worry.”

“Because we love you.”

“I’m okay, I promise.”

“This little thing on your wrist isn’t dangerous is it?”

“No.”

“Will you at least tell us in the future when you do things like this?”

“Sure.”

She reached over and gave my hand another squeeze, getting me to look her in the face. “We love you, and we’ll always support you. Just don’t block us out of your life.”

I force a smile as I hold eye contact with her, “I’m not going to block you two out, I promise.”

My mother sat back, a small smile on her face, “you can tell us anything, okay? We’ll try to listen instead of getting angry.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled as I stood up. “I’m going to take a shower now, ‘kay?”

She just nodded as she started picking at her food.

I left the kitchen and moved for the bathroom, but as I entered, I barely heard them start to speak.

“She’s up to something, Scamp.”

“I know… but she’s a mare now, we need to try and let her do her own thing.”

“To an extent.”

“I trust her to make the right decisions, Mallo.”

A tiny smile slid onto my face, but it was quickly washed away by a frown. Why can’t I just be open with anyone? Especially my parents…

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