Ever since your… escapade, your head bubbled with questions. You drew amateur sketches of your friends in their animal features. Watching cartoons and Sci-Fy movies had you think the possibility that they might be real. Excited as it was, you soon got angry, angry that you didn’t ask Cosgrove, or believe in Apple Bloom’s story from the get go. Now it’s a school day once more, and there is much to ask. Hitching the bike, you storm into your school, not minding the looks your classmates gave you as you reached the Junior section of the school. Cosgrove, in his yellow cloak, stood in the middle of the hallway with his back turned.
“Cosgrove, we need to talk.”
Your host turns his head, giving you a look with an emerald green eye. You expect something to happen, but instead, he just turns around, hands behind his back.
“Yes, let’s.”
Before you could ask, something covers your head and tied around your neck. You are then lifted off the ground, feeling your legs and head bounce against a hard object. Your view suddenly becomes dark before you are dropped on another object. Even when your captor removes the hood, you only saw darkness.
“All right, if this is some Mafia thing going on, remember, I know kung fu!”
A few seconds of letting your voice echo, a spotlight turns on. As your eyes adjust to the blinding light, you hear footsteps. You look around, but could not find the source of the noise.
“When you first came to this school, you acted quite fishy. Too fishy for our liking.” You recognized that voice as Cosgrove’s, yet you cannot see him. “And now, Anon:” - You see a pair of three-fingered hands gripping each other - “what did you see?”
While he waited for his answers, your lips begin to quiver, sputtering, then making a few indistinguishable words before you point at him.
“You were some animal thing, some of the others were also animals, even Apple Bloom had… cat ears! What are you!?” In your panicked state, you look at Cosgrove’s hands, as calm and firm as you are scared.
“Human. Tell me: do you believe in fairy tales, or of magic?”
You shake your head.
“Well, they’re real. All too real.” You see Cosgrove’s middle finger poke the table. “What you saw that was one of the many things we have encountered over the last two years. Worlds were discovered, skills are unlocked, secrets kept… Friendships were strained.”
You give your hidden interrogator a raised brow, “Apple Bloom wasn’t joking wasn’t she?”
“Nope, she spoke just about everything.” You look down, finding the dog that gave you trouble on your first day. You thought that it was another person you have yet seen, but then he waved his paw. “Hi.”
“Whoa!” You almost fall on your back, feeling a pair of large hands hook your armpits. In your perspective, Chelsey appeared upside down. “Did that dog just talk?”
“Uh, huh!” You see the purple and green dog approach you. “And that’s not all, I can breathe fire!”
A talking dog that can breathe fire. Right in front of you. You try to talk but only made squeaky noises. Chelsey puts you on the chair and closes your gaping mouth. You calm yourself, bending and stretching your arms.
“Okay, okay.” You pinch your temples. “So magic does exist, why does it matter?”
“To put it simply,” - Cosgrove leans forward, showing his forehead and cheekbones - “we were at war. You remember the news about the earthquakes the past Summer? Not earthquakes. Before then, we lead our small but valiant forces against our mortal foe. All the while we kept this a little secret. Today, some of our closest friends and siblings have gone to college. We're few, but strong and we're looking to expand our numbers.”
“So why am I here?” You see Cosgrove's hands recede to the shadows, slapping with a metallic clang. As he draws it away, you lean forward. What he placed on the table appeared to be a badge in the shape of a horned dinosaur on top of a tri-colored shield.
“You little scrape with death landed you a little spot in our little group. You don't have to join, we won't force you. Just know that if you do, we aren't a charity case. You be with us, you go by our rules. One, you'll give us all you got. Two, then you give us more. Three, we make the rules. This will test you physically, mentally, and spiritually.”
There's a thing about sharks; they can be quite dangerous to be with. But if you can swim in their company, you'll be hardly touchable. You think long and hard; for most of your life, you've been bullied, punched, kicked, jeered, stuffed into lockers. What you expected from this school is the lack of bullies. But now there are much larger bullies to find. You look at Cosgrove again, who stretches his hand. You also find another hand on his left shoulder pad.
“How painful... would you say this job does to you?” You see Cosgrove places his raised palm, using the other hand to draw away the sleeve. The yellow flesh dotted with rows of tooth marks. You’d think it might be a shark bite, but being this deep in the states, maybe it’s a coyote? Or some other animal with sharp teeth. Either way, that’s just the tip of the iceberg of whatever hell they've gone through. You're still skeptical while he pulls up the sleeve and exposes his palm. For what it’s worth, you've gotten used to this band of sharks and would love to keep swimming with them. You grab his hand and shake it. The lights turn on, revealing not only Cosgrove but Apple Bloom standing behind him. Dapplewood stood behind them raising his sunglasses, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo standing behind him. Joining them are Chelsey, Tex, Zipper, Diver, Snips, Snails, Rumble, Dinky, and Indigo Blue. Cosgrove stands up, towering you as he looked down.
“Welcome to the Titans.”