Walt slept very soundly under his covers in his bed. Completely concealed by them and curled up beside his stomach was Rainbow Dash, her soft snores soothing Walt further. The hushed sound of an alarm coming beside Walt’s head on the desk, prying his eyes open.
Walt gently slid himself up and sat up with his back against his headboard. Reaching up and grabbing his phone, he clicked the center button on the bottom of the screen, revealing the time and date:
6:15
Wednesday, May 28
Walt groaned as he clattered his phone down on the dresser. Rainbow Dash stirred and squeaked through her nose as her snore was broken. However, Walt’s slipping back onto his bed and nudging the moaning pegasus with his hoof finally woke her up.
“Walt…” she quietly whined. “I’m still sleepy…”
“You need to go back into the attic,” he whispered. “Evey still has school and Mom has work, so they’ll be up soon. She usually knows I’m up and she’ll see you if she comes in here.”
“Ugh… fine just let me…”
Walt threw his comforter off of her, revealing her ruffled mane and tail and unhappy face. With a reluctant sigh, Rainbow Dash, facing Walt, lowered the top end of her body down, stretching her arms, legs, and body as her body vibrated from the tension. She then picked her body up and arched her stomach down with her legs, pushing her body towards Walt.
Walt gave Rainbow Dash hearty stroke and pat on her chest as he walked to his bedroom door, which she smiled at. With her body prepared, she gently hopped off the bed and followed Walt out. Walt opened the door and peered outside; not a soul to be seen. He then pulled the attic door down and pulled the bottom stairs down for her.
“I can fly, you know?” she giggled.
With a whoosh, Rainbow Dash flew from inside Walt’s room and into the attic without a sound. Walt quickly and quietly folded the bottom stairs back in and pushed the door up and shut, hopping up to push it closed. Upon his feet landing harder and louder than he thought was safe, he darted back into his room and diligently shut his door.
The door was not fully in, and with gravity’s pull, the door began to slide open gently, unheard by the tired or sleeping ponies above.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Evey grumbled out of her bedroom at the back of the Faber upstairs hallway, angered that her siblings could sleep in, no longer burdened by the toils of school. As she turned the corner, not bearing to look at Yurik or Walt’s doors, her eyes suddenly moved to the attic door which was mysteriously down. Evey, her downtrodden mood suddenly cheerful, stepped cautiously to it.
“Ooohh,” she exclaimed.
Tiptoeing across it, she looked up into it, unable to contain the imaginings of what could be up there. Giggling slightly, she jumped up and grabbed a hold of the bottom set of steps, the weight making her drop it as it barely missed striking the floor. Evey put her hands over her mouth, looking to Walt’s door, then Yurik’s, then peering down the hall for her mother.
With no fear of being caught left, Evey went up the stairs one step a second, keeping her neck and head up to see what the attic held. Finally, her head poked up to the floor’s level her eyes finally able to see past with two more steps. It was all the steps she needed before she stopped, completely stunned by what she had spotted.
Sleeping up on various spots on the floor were Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and a still squirming Rainbow Dash as she kept her eyes closed to go back to bed. Evey, both amazed and terrified to see the ponies there, gasped loudly. In reaction, Rainbow Dash rolled to her stomach and opened her eyes, facing Evey with a frightened look of her own.
“Oh no!” she spoke loudly.
Evey screamed as she stumbled backwards off her step. Rainbow Dash sprung up and soared through the room and to the attic entrance, waking the other three ponies instantly as a blast of wind rushed over them. Before the back of Evey’s head could hit the floor, Rainbow Dash grabbed her by the bottom of her shirt, swooped up and landed back on the ground. As Rainbow Dash panted, settling herself from the adrenaline she felt, Evey cowered and teared up in fright at the odd creature standing over her.
“Evey!” shouted Walt, bursting from his room.
He suddenly gasped to see both the attic door open and Rainbow Dash atop his sister.
“Walt!” cried Evey.
Yurik stepped out of his room too, horrified to see the attic open.
“Rainbow Dash!” hissed Walt. “Get back in the attic!”
“Your sister was about to fall!” defended Rainbow Dash as she stepped away from the terrified girl. “I needed to catch her!”
“Evey, why is the attic open?”
“I came out of my room and I saw it open!” she whined, running to his waist and hugging him tight. “I know I shouldn’t have gone up, but I just wanted to see!”
“Rainbow Dash!” spat Yurik. “Get into the attic before–”
Bette ran in from around the corner and spotted her three children and the blue, rainbow-mane-and-tailed pegasus before them. As her face and throat contorted into shock and horror, Rainbow Dash unquestionably flew back up into the attic, leaving Yurik and Walt dumbfounded at what their family had just seen.
“What was that?” screamed Bette, running around the attic stairwell.
“Mom,” pleaded Walt, “wait!”
“What just went into my attic?!”
As she tried to run up, her force was stopped by Walt’s hands around her wrist, stopping her. Upstairs, Twilight and her other three friends crowded in the corner away from the entrance.
“Twilight,” whispered Applejack anxiously, “do something!”
“I can’t!” she spoke. “The only other place I know is too far for me to send all of you!”
“Walt!” ordered Bette below. “Let me go this instant!”
“Mom,” shouted Yurik, “please, this isn’t what it looks like!”
“Is that one of the ponies? Was that what just went up there?”
“Mom, please!” cried Walt, yanking her back to the floor.
Bette, shocked by Walt’s act, slapped him hard in the face, Evey shrieking tearfully at the sight. Yurik used the opportunity to hop onto the stairs and block anyone’s entrance, earning their attention as they turned to face him. Walt rubbed his cheek and grit his face, fighting the sting.
“Move it, Yurik,” she demanded.
“Can you just let us show you!” he requested, tears forming in his own eyes. “They’re probably really scared right now because of you!”
“Scared? Yurik? Walt? What are you talking about?”
“I’ll show them…”
“Yurik?” Walt croaked, feeling betrayed. “Don’t!”
“…just don’t frighten them any more than they are!”
With nothing else to fall back on, Walt looked his mother in the eye as she turned back to him and nodded, asking her as well. Bette, honoring Yurik’s wish, moved back towards Evey and picked her up, holding her tight. Yurik, seeing as everything was set, turned his head up to the attic.
“Twilight,” he called, “guys. You can come down. She knows now…”
It took several painful moments before the soft patter of hooves came towards the entrance with progressively louder clops. Leading the way down the stairs was Twilight, revealing herself calmly, yet shamefully, to Bette and Evey. With her free hand, Bette covered her mouth and stifled her breath, staring at the unbelievable creature.
Following her down with equally somber expressions were Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack, taking their place beside Twilight. Getting a good and silent look at them, Bette stood awe-stricken at the sight of them as Evey, now realizing what was standing before them, grew a wide smile on her face.
“Mommy!” she happily cried. “It’s them! It’s the ponies from that planet!”
“Yurik,” she breathed. “Walt. Why are these ponies in our house?”
Yurik inhaled slowly, piecing together a story that would still keep Walt safe.
“The night that the planet appeared,” he explained, “and when that purple beam had hit Seager Park, that beam… carried that one with it,” he said, pointing to Twilight.
Walt looked at Yurik warily, but refused to speak, lest he reveal them further.
“We didn’t want the authorities finding her and doing God knows what to them,” Yurik continued, “so we took her over to Mary’s house so we could nurse her back to health. That’s why we were up so late.”
“But what about the others?” questioned Bette. “They were on different parts of the world! How did you get them?”
“Well,” Yurik spoke, “those–”
“I went out and looked for them,” stepped in Twilight.
Bette’s heart skipped a beat as she heard the pony talk, hugging Bette tighter as she stepped back.
“Please, Ms. Faber,” said Twilight, “we don’t mean you or your family any harm. In fact, Yurik and Walt have been very good in keeping us company while I search for the others.”
“But…” she stammered. “How is that possible? For a creature like you to fly to all those places in only a week’s time?”
“That’s the thing. I didn’t fly. You obviously don’t know this as well as Yurik and Walt do, but unicorns and alicorns, such as myself, are capable of using magic, and that includes teleportation.”
Yurik, finally seeing where Twilight was going, smirked proudly
“Magic? Teleportation?” Bette responded. “That’s impossible!”
“I can give you a demonstration if you want,” suggested Twilight.
“The only thing that’s going to happen is that I’m going to pick up the phone and call the police and have them deal with you.”
Bette turned to walk towards the staircase, only for a flash of light to appear with Twilight standing where it had occurred. Bette screamed as she nearly stumbled backwards, frightening Yurik and Walt as Bette continued to clutch Evey tight.
“Mom!” shouted Walt. “Let her go before you drop her!”
“Walt’s right!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “We’re not going to hurt you or your family. Walt and Yurik are our friends, and so can you if you just calm down!”
“Mommy,” whined Evey, “please, I want to be with Walt now.”
Bette kept a fierce, protective eye on Twilight as she set Bette down, turning around to face the other three. As promised, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie stood still as Evey ran to Walt and stood by his side. Bette turned to Twilight, her only obstacle to the phone.
“Like I was saying,” Twilight spoke, “and just like what you saw, I have the ability to teleport great distances. I have been teleporting to all of the places where my friends have been seen and bringing them here until we are all here and we can return home.”
Bette stood motionless, still fearful of Twilight’s capabilities.
“Please, Ms. Faber,” begged Twilight. “We only have a few more of our friends to find. We will leave for our home as soon as the last one is brought back.”
“No,” Bette responded. “You’re leaving here today.”
Walking to the stairs and with a hard shove to Twilight, she ran down the stairs to a phone inside the kitchen. With another flash of light Twilight appeared in the kitchen as Bette grabbed the phone and began to dial three numbers.
“Please,” Twilight said, “you don’t have to do this!”
“Mom!” yelled Yurik, leaping down the stairs with Walt. “Mom, stop!”
“Hello,” Bette said into the phone, a look of anger in her eyes as she stared at Yurik and Walt, stopping them in her tracks. “I’m have some wild animals in my house and I need them removed immediately.”
Twilight, hurt by Bette’s terms, bit her lip as her eyes started watering. From the upstairs banister, Evey fearfully watched Bette’s conversation with Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack.
“Yes,” responded Bette, “I thought of calling animal control, but this is a lot more… different. Could you please send some officers and a van?”
Yurik waved his hand behind him, calling Twilight over. Bette noticing Twilight trotting towards him, widened her eyes in fear.
“You!” she shouted. “Get away from him! I’m sorry,” she said back into the phone. “One of them just went near my children.”
“Hurry,” Walt hissed, “let’s get to the attic. I have an idea.”
Yurik, Twilight, and Walt went upstairs and began to usher Evey and the other ponies into the hallway.
“Evey,” instructed Twilight, “I need you to be a good girl and stay here, okay?”
Evey nodded in response.
“Don’t tell anyone else we’re in here,” she continued. “Everyone else, stay close.”
The ponies and humans huddled together with Twilight charging her horn. In a bright flash, all of them had disappeared. Bette, fearing the worst, trembled with the phone in her hand.
“Yes,” she hyperventilated, “my name is Bette Faber, please come quickly!”
Practically throwing the phone back on the base, she ran upstairs and into the hallway, seeing Evey standing there obediently.
“Oh, thank God,” she moaned, sliding on the floor and hugging her tight. “Where are Walt and Yurik?”
“Upstairs with the ponies,” she said.
Looking up at the attack door, Bette hopped up and grabbed the string, only for the door to stay shut when she yanked it.
“Give me my children back, you monsters!” she cried.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
The ponies in the attic winced with every yank that she gave at the attic door, only for it to still not budge. Applejack looked to the door, only for the bottom end of the top half of the steps on the door to be roped to the support beams, keeping it steady.
“Well she doesn’t seem like a very nice person,” said Pinkie Pie.
“She’s only concerned with her kids,” said Applejack, “but she sure as sugar could be a little nicer about this.”
“Don’t bother,” Walt said. “She’s extremely protective of us. No matter how peaceful you say you guys are, she won’t trust you, and she won’t be happy until you guys are gone.”
“But what do we do?” Rainbow Dash asked. “We can’t stay up here forever!”
“Can’t we get Alice to drive us to the Guardiaboliques headquarters?” questioned Yurik
“Don’t be stupid,” hissed Walt. “The cops are already on their way. If they catch us, not only will they take the ponies, they’ll take us in, as well as the rest of the Guardiaboliques.”
“And I just can’t transport us all there,” said Twilight. “It already took a lot of magic sending all of you in here. Walt, you said you had an idea. What is it?”
“It’s simple,” Walt said, “but it’s the least harmful thing we can do at this point.”
“And what’s that?” asked Yurik.
“…A sit in.”
“A sit in?” questioned Rainbow Dash. “What does that mean?”
“It means we’re staying up here until the police and Ms. Faber meets our demands,” answered.
“What?” shouted Rainbow Dash. “What about breakfast?”
“Until this mess gets sorted out,” Yurik said, “we’re not doing anything.”
“The police will be here any minute,” Twilight said. “We should also stay away from the windows.”
“Right.”
Picking up her mattress with her magic, Twilight and Yurik already began moving towards the corner of the room to the right of the inside of the window, followed shortly by Walt and Rainbow Dash.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
A masculine hand knocked on the Faber household’s door. Bette had quickly answered it, opening the door for a middle-aged male police officer with a pointed black soul patch and medium length black hair.
“Good morning, Mrs. Faber,” greeted the officer.
“Yes!” she sighed, looking over his shoulder to see the van she had requested, along with his patrol car parked in the driveway. “Come right in! Would you like me to make some coffee? Oh, and please, call me Bette.”
“If you insist,” he said. “Where are these animals you were talking about?”
Bette walked behind him and closed the door, confusing the policeman.
“You probably wouldn’t have believed me over the phone,” she said, “but those animals… well, they’re actually those ponies from the planet up there.”
They officer looked at her inquisitively, if not, oddly.
“The ponies?” he questioned.
“Yes,” she answered. “My son brought it home from where they were having their school musical’s after party a week ago from last Friday. He and his adoptive brother, Yurik, have been taking care of it in secret after the pony has been finding more of her friends. I only found them here today.”
Suddenly, the officer calmly stayed silent, realizing something.
“Your son’s name doesn’t happen to be Walt, does it?” he asked.
“Yes!” she huffed, surprised. “Why?”
“Coincidence would have it that Walt ran into me after he left his motorcycle there that night while we were investigating the crater left there. Turns out there was more to his story than he wanted to tell me.”
“I’m very sorry about that,” she said, “Walt is very mistrusting around policemen. Can I still get you that coffee?”
“Please, and while I do, I can try and get your son to come down.”
As Bette stepped into the kitchen towards a Keurig machine, the officer relayed his new information into his radio set, cautiously going up the stairs. Looking up at the attic door, he tiptoed up to it, hoping for the ones up above not to hear him.
“I can hear you!” shouted Walt from above.
With no need to sneak any further, the officer stood still.
“My name is Officer Clark,” he responded back in a friendly tone. “Do you recognize my voice?”
“What makes you think I can tell one pig from another?”
“Saturday, May 17th,” Clark reminded him. “You came to Seager Park late that night and came to get your bike back.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Up in the attic, Walt and Yurik looked at each other, the former’s eyes and mouth open with sudden realization.
“Hi, Walt,” Clark called from below. “Nice to hear from you again!”
Walt hissed as he kept up his brave face.
“I can’t exactly say the same,” he finally responded.
“Can we just talk about this like grown men?” Clark requested.
“We’re talking!”
“No, I want to come up and talk, that’s all.”
“There’s nothing to talk about! We haven’t done anything wrong, so get the hell out of our house!”
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Clark stood perfectly still below the front of the door, hoping that by some miracle, someone would come down and talk and act calmly. Just then, Evey, now dressed in her casual clothing, sprinted past Clark and down the stairs with a backpack on her back. Looking down at the next level, he heard the sound of the coffee machine finishing the dispensing of his brew.
“I’ll be back, Walt,” he said, walking towards the stairs. “Don’t go anywhere.”
“Not planning on it, dick,” snapped Walt.
Clark sighed as he put his radio to his mouth.
“The kids have locked the attic door,” he reported. “Can’t get in.”
“Do you need backup, officer?” spoke a woman on the line.
“No, I think we can work something out. Over and out.”
“Mommy,” spoke Evey in the kitchen, “I’m going to miss the bus!”
“Mommy’s busy, sweetie,” she cooed. “You know where the stop is.”
With a kiss, Evey disdainfully jogged to the door and left.
“Have a good day!” she called out.
Placing his radio back, Bette carried a full cup of coffee to the table in the kitchen, setting it down next to a bottle of creamer, a glass container of sugar, and a spoon.
“I didn’t know how you liked your coffee,” she said, flustered.
“It’s fine,” he chuckled. “I prefer it black.”
“I just heard Walt upstairs. Terrible thing to say to you.”
“I hear worse every day,” he assured, sitting down and lifting his glass up. “Besides, I’m not too surprised to hear that coming from him.”
“What do you mean?”
Clark took a sip, savoring the flavor, and then swallowed
“When I checked Walt’s license,” he explained, “I couldn’t help but notice the last name Faber. I couldn’t put my finger on it until I got home that morning, and I realized that he’s the son of Colin Faber.”
“Yes? And?”
“You see, he was my boss when I first became a police officer several years ago. However, I too learned of the nasty things he had done and lost all respect for him after he finally left. I can’t blame your son for having a very jaded view of the police force after that.”
“Well,” she sighed, taking a seat to his right at the table, “I wish he could see that not all cops are like his father.”
“Still, you shouldn’t feel bad for Walt’s actions. He and I both understand where he comes from.”
“Do you have children, Mr. Clark?”
Clark took another sip; longer this time.
“Used to…” he said.
“Used to?” she questioned. “What happened?”
“Hit-and-run collision with another driver. Took them, and my wife.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t–”
“It’s fine,” he said, raising his glass for another swig. “Just understand that I know full well what it’s like to have a kid.”
“Pardon if I ask again…”
“Shoot.”
“How old were they?”
Clark took a much calmer sip of his coffee, now seeming to enjoy it.
“Ten and eleven year old girls,” he said. “Rambunctious little things… but they were the joy of my life.”
Bette frowned, disgusted with herself for making him reveal himself like that.
“Again, I’m sorry,” she spoke. “You didn’t have to tell me anything.”
“Again,” he responded, “it’s fine. It’s all been said and done; nothing can change that.”
“Did the guy at least get caught?”
“Strangely enough, he did. It was actually right around the same time that Kieran and the Guardiaboliques had emerged in the streets of Chicago.”
“Wait,” Bette realized, “you don’t mean–”
“Yes. Kieran himself had caught my family’s killer. I saw it on the news as I was mourning. I can still remember that moment of seeing that. Stunned, unable to believe what he had done. It was that moment that I realized my calling and became an officer of the law.”
“That’s good to hear,” she responded. “I’m glad to hear people like you with a real sense of justice take to the streets to fight crime.”
“Yes…” he sighed, taking a larger mouthful of his now warmed coffee. “In that case, I’d like to ask you something, Bette.”
“Yes? What is it?”
Clark put his mug down and stood up to Bette, crossing his arms.
“Why do you want these ponies out of your house so badly?” he simply wondered.
“Are you kidding?” she exclaimed, standing up to Clark’s level. “They’re living in my house and now they’ve kidnapped my children! And what does any of this have to do with justice?”
“Hmph,” he chortled. “From the sound of it, it’s the kids who are kidnapping them. And didn’t you just send one of your children off to school without a problem?”
“Are you making fun of me, officer?”
“Of course not. Have these ponies harmed your children in any way?”
As Bette tried to come up with an answer, she stopped, unable to provide a clear answer.
“I don’t… I don’t know!”
“You don’t know whether your children were ever hurt?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well, have you noticed any bruises, cuts, any changes in their personalities or anything?”
“…No, but…”
“Also, have you noticed any… unfamiliar droppings in your house?”
“No, officer, but that still doesn’t change the fact that I want them out of my house!”
“It’s just that I’m trying to understand why, Bette. You claim they’ve never actually hurt any of your children, and it seems that the two you have in your attic care enough for them to lock themselves up with them. On top of that, they don’t seem to be causing you any disturbances and are not damaging your property in any way.”
“What are you asking me to do? Just let them live here and allow them to do God knows what to my kids?”
“It’s not necessarily illegal for your kids to have the ponies with them in the house, being that their search and retrieval is open to anyone,” he said. “And according to you, you haven’t even noticed them until just this morning. These kids have clearly formed a strong bond with these ponies that they’re willing to go to these lengths for them to stay. Should they not get a say in whether they can be allowed to stay?”
“Of course not!” she shouted. “I’m their mother, and it’s my house, and my rules!”
Clark sighed disapprovingly at the last line.
“You know,” he responded, “that sounds like something your ex-husband would say before he was arrested.”
Bette chuckled in sheer shock.
“What did you say?” she asked. “What right do you have to talk to me like that?”
“I might be an officer,” he retorted, “but I know when to call bullcrap when I hear it. You claim to be for honoring people with a real sense of justice, as you put it, but you think flaunting your power to do whatever you think is right is honorable?”
“Who are you to question my parenting? I should call your department and get someone competent to do the job!”
“And what will your kids think of you after that?”
As Bette reached for the phone, she stopped, thinking over the scenario in her head.
“I guarantee you that in the police’s hands, those ponies will not be treated as nicely as I’d like to think your boys do. I think Walt has a good idea of this too. If you surrender those ponies to us, the two of them will never forgive you.”
Bette eased herself, her hand slipping further and further away from the phone.
“These ponies are alien to you;” he continued, “I understand that; they’re alien to us too. However, I have no reason to believe that they will harm your children or your family at all. Just give them a chance. I guarantee you that Walt, his sister, brother, and the ponies up there with him, as well you will be much happier if you let them in.”
Bette stood before Clark, trembling.
“Is everything okay, officer?” spoke the female’s voice on the radio.
“Everything’s fine,” sighed Clark, stepping away from Bette. “I’m working out a negotiation for the kids and their mother. I’ll call back soon.”
Clark hooked the radio back to his body, huffing dejectedly as he did so.
“Bette,” spoke Clark, “you wouldn’t mind showing me your husband’s card, would you?”
“My…” she wondered aloud, “husband’s card?”
“Yes. The one he always used in his duels.”
“I believe Walt has it… in his room.”
“I don’t think I’ll be getting on Walt’s side any time soon if I go inside there. You wouldn’t mind getting it for me, would you?”
“Let me see…”
Bette traveled upstairs as Clark stood in the kitchen with a content smile on his face. Looking down at the last bit off coffee in his mug, he picked it up by the cup itself and downed the rest of it, grunting at the now lukewarm feeling in his mouth.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Walt grunted as he heard a door open below, the ponies still smothering his and Yurik’s legs as they huddled in the corner of the attic.
“That bastard!” Walt hissed. “Now he’s going into my room?”
“Walt,” assured Yurik, “you don’t even know whose room he’s going in, yet alone if it’s him. It could be mom.”
“Either way, they have no business in there.”
“What if we can’t stop him? Can’t Twilight and her friends just teleport to Alice’s van? It’s practically across the street.”
“I texted her,” he said, “and she’s currently having breakfast with her friends downtown. We’d only find another way to blow our cover if either one of her friends saw them, even if Twilight and her friends could travel that far.”
“So,” Yurik sighed, taking his place back against the wall, “we can only hope for the best now?”
“Yeah,” Walt confirmed. “That’s all we can do…”
Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked at each other nervously, unsure of how long their protest would actually last.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
“Here it is,” said Bette, handing Clark an xyz monster card to him.
Clark pinched the bottom end of it, admiring its artwork. On it was a muscular, black-robed, medieval-era man with thick, dark-blue armor underneath it. Floating in front of him were five black shields in a star pattern with white stars upon them. Two long claymores were held in its grasp.
“Sir William – Sentry Sheriff,” mused Clark. “I’ve always loved this card.”
“Really?” replied Bette. “How so?”
“Because it represented everything I first admired about your ex-husband. A strong defender of the weak.”
Clark looked once again at the card noticing one black star between the card’s title and its art.
“Five level 1 monsters to summon it,” he said. “This card’s strength is constructed with the will of the lesser. A savior to the scared and miserable.”
“I’m not sure I understand what you want with this card,” Bette responded
“Your son holds onto this card himself. That means that despite the hell he caused you and your family all those years ago, he still looks fondly upon what his father used to represent. It’s like the last shard of the honor and respect we all had for him is in that card.”
Bette looked to Clark, still unsure what he was going on about.
“Your children only have you left as their guardian,” he continued, “and all you have left is them. Please, do the right thing, as the Colin Faber I knew would.”
Bette looked upstairs to where the door to the attic might be, imagining the scared and hateful expressions her children and the ponies might have had. Bette then stared back onto the ground with a sigh.
“I’m sorry, officer,” she said. “You’re right. However, I don’t think the children are going to believe me when I want to come up and apologize. They’ll still see your van and assume I’m trying to trick them.”
“Well, I’m glad to see you’ve opened up,” Clark said, “but there’s still another question that I need to ask before I can leave you and your kids to your own devices.”
“What’s that?”
“How are you going to take care of these ponies? Feeding four ponies as a single mother is going to be very difficult to do by yourself.”
“I’m certain Walt and Yurik will help out,” she said.
“How do you figure?”
“You see, a couple of weeks ago, a relative of a friend of theirs gave them money for their high school graduation.”
“How much were the checks?”
“I believe they were… two-grand a piece.”
“Two-grand? She must really like them.”
“Actually,” she admitted, “I’ve never heard of her, and neither did they, for that matter. I merely assumed that Alice had told that person about Yurik and Walt and threw them a bone.”
“A bone made of gold…” mumbled Clark, his entire index finger wrapped around his chin.
“Why?” she asked. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Bette, how did your kids get the other three ponies?”
“They didn’t. According to one of them, she has the ability to teleport.”
“Teleport?”
“Yes, I even saw it myself. I know that it sounds crazy…”
“Listen, if I was told two weeks ago that a planet would appear outside ours, I’d call that person crazy. I can’t really say that anymore.”
“Anyway, she had traveled to where the other beams had landed and brought the ponies that came from them here and then brought them back when she had found them.”
Clark stood motionless, still deep in thought.
“Hello?” Bette responded.
“Tell me, Bette. Have your children taken any trips or have been away from your house over the past two weeks?”
“What? Why do you need to know that?”
“It’s just a theory…”
“What’s a theory?”
Clark looked seriously at Bette, prepared to drop his bombshell.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Clark knocked the door of the attic hard. Bette stood against Walt’s door, a hand over her mouth with moistening eyes.
“Go away!” shouted Walt. “I told you, we haven’t done anything wrong!”
“That’s where you’re mistaken Walt!” called Clark in the toughest façade he could muster. “I know you and Yurik’s secret!”
“What are you talking about? You’re crazy!”
“I know that you, Walt, and those ponies are part of the Guardiaboliques!”
Bette breathed in hard, waiting for the quick denial of Walt or Yurik, only for it to come from neither of them.
“What makes you think that?” Walt challenged.
“You see,” Clark responded, “me and your mom were talking about how you would manage taking care of the ponies yourselves. She tells me that you got a bunch of money from a Mrs. Stella Carmichael for your graduation, a relative of your friend Alice, she said. Tell me now, why would the distant relative of a friend give both of her friends two-thousand dollars like that?”
“You tell me!” shouted Walt.
“And then there are the trips you took these past couple of weeks. Both of them are also related to Alice in some fashion. First was your overnight study cram at her friend’s. The second was a trip to the cabin of another relative of hers.”
“What’s your point? Are you saying that we used those stories as covers to go and search for the other ponies?”
“You tell me!” called Clark, unable to hide a smirk.
“Sir,” called Twilight’s voice, through the floor “I can explain.”
“Are you one of them? The ponies that is?”
“Yes!” she responded. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. I’m not sure if you know, but–”
“You have the ability to teleport, right?”
“Yes! Did Ms. Faber tell you?”
“She did, and I don’t believe a word of it.”
“What? I’m an alicorn! Unlike you, I actually know magic!”
“Hmph,” Clark chortled. “And that’s where you think you have the upper hand, do you?”
“What?”
“You think that because I’m ignorant of your abilities, you can make up whatever you want about your capabilities and I’d have to take your word for it, right?”
Twilight exhaled shakily, listening as her defense was quickly torn down.
“However, it still doesn’t add up. If you really had such an ability, why wouldn’t you just return the friends you’ve found to Equestria and save them the trouble of being kept up in some teenager’s attic?”
“My magic does have limits, you know!”
“Limits that still allow you to jump from Naperville to Suzuka and back, right? If that’s the case? Why not hide you and your friends somewhere really remote where we couldn’t find you until this all blew over? Let’s face it, you’ve been traveling to the world and find your friends all thanks to the man named Kieran.”
Twilight struggled to speak, trying to control her inevitable hesitation.
“It seems I’ve got you now,” he said.
Bette kept her breath held, scared for her boys’ safety.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Upstairs, Yurik slid onto his back, physically spent as their cover was now blown. Walt couldn’t muster the strength to stay angry, putting his hands over his eyes to prevent the others from seeing his oncoming tears.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked up at Yurik and Walt’s faces, respectively. Applejack and Pinkie Pie gave both of them tight hugs, knowing that their time would soon come to an end.
“Listen,” called Clark below. “I want this to be painless as possible. You open the attic right now, without any tricks, I promise you that your friends will be treated well with us. I might even be able to reduce your sentence to community service if you cooperate.”
Walt gave one look to Rainbow Dash and hugged her before he began to stand up and face the attic door.
“Hurry up!” called Clark.
“I’m coming!” shouted Walt. “I was just saying my goodbyes.”
“I’ll allow you to say goodbye when we come up.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Clark pulled his radio from his belt and put it to his mouth.
“Clark is opening the door,” he reported. “Do not send backup until I call for it.”
The sliding of rope could be heard upstairs as Clark put his phone away. The sound finally stopped, making Bette and Clark look up.
“Okay,” beckoned Walt wearily. “It’s open.”
Clark reached up and pulled the string on the door down, the door coming down with it. Walt solemnly stepped aside as Bette quickly flipped down the bottom steps and ran up. Seeing Walt before her safe and sound, she wept as she threw her arms around him in a tight, protecting hug.
“Walt!” she cried.
“I’m so sorry, mom,” he cried.
Twilight got off of Yurik and allowed him to stand up. As he approached Bette, Clark came up the stairs, finally seeing the saddened expressions of the ponies in the corner of the room, looking at him as if making a final plea to let them stay.
Clark himself was stunned to see the ponies for himself, gasping as he put his fingers over his mouth. Bette, also with a last-ditch mentality, spun to face Clark.
“Officer,” she begged, “please, spare my boys! They have such bright futures ahead of them!”
“It’s my fault!” exclaimed Yurik. “I only joined so I could help Twilight get back home!”
“I joined so I could keep my brother safe!” argued Walt. “I swear, we were going to leave as soon as they went home!”
“Please, sir,” Twilight spoke, “if it’s worth anything, take us instead! Just spare our friends!”
Clark looked to the faces of the three humans and four ponies looking at him with eyes that pleaded for mercy. It was then that Clark reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the Sir William – Sentry Sheriff card, presenting it to Walt and shocking him
“Hey!” Walt shouted angrily. “Where did you get that!”
“Your mother showed it to me on my request,” explained Clark. “You might not know me, Walt, but I began working for your father right up until he was arrested all those years ago.”
“And what are you doing bringing that bastard up?”
“I think the better question is, ‘What is a man who hates his father so that he keeps his most valued card?’”
Walt gasped, suddenly stumped.
“You see,” Clark said, “I highly respected your father up until we found out the person he had become, and to me, this card was his true badge of honor. I assume you keep the card for the same reason that I admire it; it represents the level of justice he used to uphold, the one memory of him you wish to keep.”
Walt stood still as he stared deeply at the artwork of his card, angering Rainbow Dash.
“What does this got to do with anything?” she shouted. “Aren’t you just going to arrest us anyways?”
“As a matter of fact…” Clark responded, a soft closed-eyed smile on his face, “no.”
A loud gasp escaped the lips of each of the other humans and ponies, floored by this statement. Bette stared at Clark, hardly prepared to hear what would probably be an outlandish explanation.
“Yay!” Pinkie cheered with tears streaming down her face as she hugged Twilight. “We’re off scot free!”
“But why?” wondered Yurik. “We just admitted we’re members of the Guardiaboliques! How is that–”
“I wasn’t even exactly sure you were until you admitted your guilt just then,” admitted Clark. “I just had a really nudging feeling that you were covering up your tracks with those checks and trips with your friend. There was just too much coincidence to ignore.”
“But what about my magic?” asked Twilight. “What made you so sure I was lying?”
“Oddly enough… cartoons.”
“Huh?” Walt and Yurik questioned at the same time.
“A friend of mine from the force suggested I try this show that he had grown fond of that I decided to watch. One of the ways the villain in that show covered his tracks was by making up fake rules of the power he possessed to lead people off his trail. I had a nagging suspicion that the same thing was happening here.”
Walt couldn’t help but let out one chuckle, extremely impressed with his reasoning.
“I still don’t understand?” asked Walt. “Why are you sparing us?”
“Do you really want to know?” asked Clark. “It’s because I have a debt to pay to the Guardiaboliques… as well as this family.”
Yurik and Walt continued to look confusedly at the officer before them, Twilight looking very invested with him.
“I had told your mother that a hit-and-run had killed my family,” he said, “and that Kieran himself had caught him and helped bring him to justice. I had told her that it’s what led me to becoming a police officer.”
“A police officer?” asked Yurik. “Didn’t you want to be a part of the Guardiaboliques?”
“Very badly, to be honest, but I didn’t want to risk a criminal record just to deliver justice, so I trained to become a police officer. I served under your father until his arrest, but I didn’t stop there. In fact, it only made my resolve stronger.”
Walt then watched as Clark’s fists clenched up, the Sir William card safely pinched in-between his thumb and above his index knuckle.
“I continued to serve the law and deliver justice where I saw fit,” he stated. “I aimed to be as legally-vigilant and cunning as Kieran, while still earning the respect that your father once did on the force. Walt,” he said, looking at him, “I can never know how hard it must have been for you to do that, and I know how mistrustful around us cops you are. Please just know that you can at least trust me.”
Bette, still unsure of whether to break down or smile, approached Clark.
“So…” sniffled Bette. “My children…”
“I haven’t said a word to my associates,” he answered. “I will not report either of them, or their friend Alice. I will just act as if these past few minutes have never happened.”
“What about us?” asked Applejack. “Isn’t Ms. Faber still sending us away.”
“I have decided,” she declared, “that I can trust you around my children, so until you find your friends, you’re free to stay in this house.”
The faces of the ponies brightened, the final good news finally having been given.
“Hooray!” cheered Twilight, hugging Yurik tight in celebration.
Walt continued to look at Clark with and blank and perplexed stare.
“But,” he asked. “What happens if they find out what you’re doing? You’re going to get in a lot of trouble.”
“Better me than you, kid,” he responded, pointing to both of them. “At least you’ll be getting these guys home safely now!”
Out of seemingly nowhere, Rainbow Dash surprised Walt with a hug from behind. Walt laughed as he playfully tried to wrestle out of her grasp. Bette watched with heartwarming bliss as Applejack and Pinkie Pie, came up to Yurik and embraced him while Walt and Rainbow Dash continued to play. Twilight, alone, approached Clark, looking up at him as he gave her the same respect.
“Thank you, sir,” she said with a bowing nod. “I’m certain Celestia would be very happy with you for doing this.”
“It’s my pleasure,” Clark responded. “And please, call me Clark.”
Twilight reached her hoof out towards him, and with an eager grip after moving Walt’s father’s card to his other hand, Clark shook it firmly.
“Twilight Sparkle,” she introduced. “It’s been a pleasure to meet you.”
“Twilight,” he sighed, taking in the smooth texture of her hoof and coat. “I’m glad to have met you too.”
Twilight soon set her arm down, freeing Clark. Looking back to Walt, who managed to break free from Rainbow Dash’s grip, he walked up towards him, getting both of their attention. With an outreached hand, he presented Walt’s card to him.
“You can have this back now,” Clark said. “Thank you for letting me see it.”
Walt, looking up to Clark’s eyes with a respectful and humble smiled, gently took the card from his hand and slipped it back into Clark’s pocket.
“Keep it,” Walt said. “Consider yourself the one who should be allowed to own such a card.”
Clark’s breath shuddered excitedly as he felt the flatness of the card in his jacket, but then faced Walt with a gladdened smile.
“I’ll take good care of it,” he promised. “Thanks, Walt.”
With a gentle ruffling of Walt’s hair, Clark stepped towards the attic, stopping before he could get to the first step.
“Hey,” he exclaimed forgetfully, turning back to Bette and reaching into another pocket on the other side of his jacket. “My card.”
Clark handed Bette a plain business card that contained his name, phone number, and email address, which she quickly glanced at, knowing what it was.
“If either of you need any help,” he instructed, “just give me a call.”
Walt and Yurik nodded, understanding his request.
“Will do,” Walt said.
“Thank you very much for your kindness,” spoke Bette. “I’m forever grateful.”
“I’ll see you all later,” he bid, saluting them all with a flick of his index finger.
“Bye, Clark!” shouted Pinkie Pie. “Thanks for being a super-duper swell policeman!”
By the time, each of the humans and ponies were waving Clark farewell, he had already disappeared from their sight under the ceiling to the floor below. Bette turned her head and looked at Yurik and Walt with slight regret in her smile.
“So…” Walt said, scared of his mother’s imminent reaction as he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, “yeah, we’re kinda… Guardiaboliques, and stuff…”
“I know,” she responded, fighting tears. “I don’t care about that anymore. I’m very proud of you both for what you’re doing. All I want now is my family here with me.”
“I’ll be part of your family!” squealed Pinkie Pie, leaping towards her.
Bette whooped in shock as Pinkie Pie’s arms squeezed her torso, the latter beaming brightly. Then, at once, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack began to smother Pinkie Pie and Bette with their own embraces, laughing as they finally received her blessing.
Walt stepped up beside Yurik and put his hand on his shoulder. Yurik was too happy with how the situation turned out to face his brother, instead watching the ponies’ celebration with their induction into their house by their mother.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Clark stepped out from the front door and to his patrol car, getting relieved reactions from the people waiting outside the van.
“Finally!” spoke a tan-skinned female officer with dark hair. “What was taking you so long?”
“The negotiation, that’s what,” he grunted. “Also, if anyone asks, we were solving a pest problem.”
“What?” spoke a large, male African-American officer. “What about the ponies? What are we supposed to do with that?”
“They found a home,” Clark responded, as he opened his car door, “and the family found peace. I’d like it to stay that way.”
Before either of them could respond, Clark stepped inside his car and closed it shut. As he backed out of the Faber’s driveway, the two other officers rolled their eyes as they made their way into the van, leaving the Faber household alone.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Bette straightened her luxurious black dress with orange-hoop designs in her bathroom mirror. As she moved her styled hair into a proper placement, the sounds of shoes and hooves running on the floor in the hallway caught her attention.
“Bye mom!” called Yurik.
“We’ll be home Sunday night hopefully!” called Rainbow Dash.
Bette stepped out of the bathroom and through the hallway to the banister overlooking the first floor.
“Wait!” called Bette, stopping Yurik, Walt, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash as they stood in the foyer with backpacks and duffel bags in their hands. “I’ve got plans tonight! Who’s going to watch Evey!”
“Ooo! Ooo! Ooo!” Pinkie Pie squeaked coming from behind. “I can do it!”
“I’ll lend her a hoof,” said Applejack. “You go on and have yourself a ball, Ms. Faber. Your daughter’s safe with us.”
Bette hummed gladly at the suggestion, satisfied with their addition to her house.
“Thank you,” she said. “Please be sure she’s in bed by no later than ten.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Applejack said.
The two earth ponies then hopped their front legs onto the banister and looked down at their friends in the foyer.
“Bye, guys!” Applejack called. “Good luck!”
“Tell Fluttershy I said, ‘Hi!’,” shouted Pinkie Pie.
Yurik and Walt nodded with a giggle. The two of them walked outside from the front door as Twilight touched her now glowing horn to Rainbow Dash’s head, bathing them in light before they both disappeared.
With that settled, Pinkie Pie and Applejack galloped into the hallway, the sound of a door opening soon afterwards.
“Looks like you get to spend the night with us,” laughed Applejack.
“Best sleepover ever!” screamed Pinkie Pie.
“Yeah!” cheered Evey’s voice.
Bette huffed happily, walking down the stairs and into the kitchen. Standing above the phone, she glanced at Clark’s card, dialing the ten-digits upon the dialpad of the base without looking. Putting the phone to her ear, she waited for his voice to call. Upon hearing his voice, she perked her smile up.
“Clark!” she said. “Hey, are you off work yet…? Great! What time should I meet you over…? Wait, you want to pick me up…? Oh, aren’t you just a sweetheart!”
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Alice’s van pulled out of the Faber house’s driveway and onto the street, setting its course for the next rescue ahead.