Hero

by FightorFlyT

1-1: The New Blank

Hero

A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Written by FightorFlyT

Disclaimer: I do not own the intellectual rights of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I will not repeat this, as it should be quite obvious. I mean, seriously: F-A-N-F-I-C. Thank you.

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Prologue

Sweetie Belle winced in a small amount of pain as discomfort swept through her body. There was a musty haze hanging in the air, and she could hear heavy, labored breathing around her. She slowly returned to conscious to see...

Scootaloo was hanging upside down in front of her, wrapped up tight in the coils of a great green serpent, aptly named the garden hose. She obviously had been struggling valiantly for quite some time, but now she simply hung trussed and strung up from the loft of the Sweet Apple Acres barn. Her pink mane was damp from perspiration, and she wore a highly irritated glowering glare.

“Well shoot! I thought fer sure we’d fi’nally found our special talent...” The light-toned southern drawl had come from their host, Apple Bloom. It had been Apple Bloom's idea in the first place to try... well, whatever they had tried this time.

Sweetie could recall the horrors of the incident. Scootaloo had been in charge of aiming the hose. Sweetie Belle was supposed to operate the on/off crank for the water supply. Apple Bloom was going to be their directional guidance. Scootaloo had positioned the spout of the mighty hose in a fashion that Sweetie assumed was pointing at Apple Bloom's target. Sweetie was given the go ahead to throw the crank, and she did. Right before that, however, she thought she's heard Apple Bloom say something about a clog in the hose.

That's right, Sweetie had gone around the length of the hose and spotted a kink. Right as she'd pulled it loose, however, she'd heard Apple Bloom scream and then everything had gone black...

What WERE we trying to do this time, anyways, Sweetie Belle thought. And where is Apple Bloom?

Sure enough, they’d all found a way to get into yet another... bind. All in the name of earning their cutie marks. All in vain. Scootaloo was wrapped up worse than a bale of hay, Sweetie Belle was caught beneath the greater bulk of the remaining hose, and Apple Bloom... Apple Bloom...

Sweetie Belle looked around. Where was her red-maned fellow crusader?

“Apple Bloom?” she called out.

“Yeah?” Apple Bloom called back. She sounded close. Really close. In fact, so close that-

Sweetie Belle managed to spin her head around far enough to see Apple Bloom’s head sticking out of the tip of the garden hose’s spout. Figures.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get outta this mess!” Apple Bloom promised. Scootaloo groaned, upset but accepting her fate. Sweetie Belle only gulped in fear. If she knew her friend well enough (and she did), then they weren’t going to be out of it for quite some time...

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Three hours later, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were laughing away with a cup of apple juice in their hooves. While they had wiggled and squirmed away, Apple Jack finally noticed a certain yellow filly had been missing longer than expected. She'd looked high and low for her little sister, racing all across the farm. Or, at least, she would have;tracking them down had been easy. All she had to do (and did) was follow the trench of mud that was torn all across the farm. 'Following the destruction', she called it. After that, she'd manually extricated each crusader by hoove, an arduous task that took up the rest of the afternoon. She'd almost had to call Big Mac, her older brother, out to help her, that's how bad the three had managed to catch themselves.

Meanwhile, the sun had just set, and the night sky was a beautiful shade of deep purple. Stars twinkled here and there, and the moon cast a stunning light on the sleeping land. The Crusaders stared up at the sky with exhausted bliss. While they hadn’t found their special talent in anything that day regardless of how much crusading they did-

“We’ll get our cutie marks soon! I know we will!” Scootaloo said with excitement, her wild pink mane plastered against her orange hide. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom cheered with agreement, and they returned to watching the sky. Inside the Apple house, they heard Apple Jack and Granny Smith chatting away.

“- and I knew as soon as I met him, I could do anything.” Granny Smith’s words drifted out to the hungry ears of the three friends. At once, they all perked up and listened intently. You could almost hear their attention focus in on the words.

“Is she talking about... your granddaddy?” Sweetie Belle asked Apple Bloom after they caught more and more of the conversation. Granny Smith seemed to be conversing with Apple Jack.

“Sounds like it...” Apple Bloom answered after a pause, “Maybe it was when they met.”

Granny Smith was indeed recalling the story of how she had met her husband such a long time ago. The story was short yet sweet, and left the Crusaders curious, not to mention confused.

"So... what exactly is love, anyways?" Scootaloo asked her friends. "I wouldn't say we know much about it, after Hearts and Hooves day..."

"Ah guess we don't really know all that well, either," Apple Bloom said, scratching her red mane. "It's not like any of us've ever had a coltfriend 'r somethin'..."

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom immediately turned their attention to Sweetie Belle. Sweetie raised an eyebrow at them. "What?" she asked defensively.

"We haven't had any coltfriends, haaave we?" both of her friends asked accusingly.

Sweetie Belle laughed at her friends. "Of course I haven't, girls! We do everything together a crusaders, so I think one of you would have noticed if I was dragging around some colt with me!" The trio chuckled. "Besides, why are you so worried about ME, Apple Bloom? Why, you and Spike have probably-"

"Sweetie Belle!" Apple Bloom interrupted. "It wasn't like that, how many times do ah have to tell you!?" She huffed, her face going a little red.

"I know, but it's so funny to see you get this worked up!" The three laughed again, falling onto their backs.

"So... what were we talking 'bout, anyways?" Apple Bloom asked nopony in particular.

"We were talking about... uh... Scootaloo?" Sweetie passed the question off to their flightless, winged friend. Scootaloo simply shrugged.

"Ah know it had something 'to do with our cutie marks!" Apple Bloom said.

"Oh," Sweetie Belle said, remembering the subject. "I think I know! Your Granny said she could do anything after she met your Granddaddy, right?" The attention returned to Apple Bloom.

"Yeah... 'nd... Wait a second, if-"

Scootaloo interrupted Apple Bloom, knowing exactly what she would say.

“Apple Bloom, we’re too young to get coltfriends. Besides, do you even like anypony?”

Apple Bloom huffed and dropped her head, upset. “I was just sayin’s, is all...” she said quietly.

“Well, Rarity has told me that every pony does eventually meet somepony they love...” Sweetie Belle stated. Her eyes were large and optimistic.

Scootaloo, who normally shunned from talks that had to do with relationships, fluttered her wings excitedly, hovering a few inches as she had a thought.

“Well, who says we won’t ever meet somepony!” she practically yelled with glee. She finally had an idea, which was rather surprising considering she'd just derailed Apple Bloom's previous plan.

She sounds really excited, Apple Bloom thought. She never sounds this excited unless...

Then Apple Bloom caught on, and in reality what she was catching on to was pretty much what she was trying to say when Scootaloo interrupted her.

“And when we meet that special somepony...” Apple Bloom began.

“...We can do anything...” Scootaloo continued, with Sweetie Belle finishing the thought.

“... Like getting our cutie marks!” The three of them cheered, having figured out their brilliant plan.

Then the saddening realization hit them. Hard. All three of them slumped back down onto the wooden deck.

“But... When’ll we find somepony we really care for?” Apple Bloom asked her two friends. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle shrugged.

“I don’t know,” Scootaloo answered.

“But just think,” Sweetie Belle said while looking back up to the sky. “When we do find that special somepony, our dreams might come true! Imagine it!”

They all tried picturing it in their minds, but they were too young to really imagine what their dream buck would look like, much less the cutie mark they might have to go with him.

“Well, we have to promise something!” Scootaloo said, competition edging into her voice.

“Yeah,” Apple Bloom agreed, thinking the same thing.

“What are you suggesting, that we all have to find our special somepony at the same time?” Sweetie Belle laughed, eyes closing. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looking at Sweetie, waiting for her decision.

Sweetie Belle peeked a look at both of them. Her two best friends in the whole wide world. “I wouldn’t have it any other way!” She said happily.

“Yeah! Cutie Mark Crusader Marefriends-”

“Apple Bloom, what was that ah just heard you say!” Apple Jack could be heard rushing to the door.

The three girls giggled.

“Nothing, AJ!” Apple Bloom laughed.

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Chapter 1: The New Blank

Six years later...

The day was already beautiful. The sun was just breaking over the dawn, the sound of birds waking to the warm morning, singing their songs as they began to take flight. A slow, soft breeze tumbled through the quiet town of Ponyville, masking the early sound of orning rituals. This included mother mares making their foals breakfast, working bucks preparing a mug of coffee to start yet another day. A few parents had to yell at their sleepy children only to receive a hushed, “five more minutes.”

And then you had-

“Mornin’, Praggy! Ready for school?! Are ya? Are ya? Are ya? Are ya? Are ya? Are- Oof!” Nimbus Aura was sent flying across the room, crashing harmlessly into his bookshelf. The shelves croaked a little bit under the sudden strain.

“C’mon, Cloud! I’m tired!” Neiku called in an irritated voice from under his blanket, using the nickname Nimbus hated being called. It always managed to get a response from him. Sadly for Neiku, a response was not what he wanted just then.

Nimbus grew an evil grin, then walked over to the bedroom door while stopping his hooves in a dramatic fashion. The sounds make it seem like Nimbus had given up trying to rise his cousin. He passed through a bright ray of sunlight falling in through the window, making the small patch of freckles on his nose pop out in comparison to the lightning-yellow hide he was adorned with. His blazing blue hair was messy as usual, and reflected the light away.

“Well, I guess you’ll just miss school then!” he called as he stopped in front of the door, closing it loudly and mimicking the sound of disappearing hoofsteps. Oh, this was going to be GOOD! He crept quietly over to his cousin’s bed and, before Neiku could react, swiped the blanket from the bed. Cackling loudly, Nimbus barely dodged the pillow his cousin chucked at his head.

“Fine, you win. I’m up.” The dark dust-blue pegasus stretched out his legs before rolling onto the floor, snapping out his wings to get the blood flowing. His short crop of jet black mane was cut in an exaggerated fashion of Zebra style as he was, after all, half Zebra. His signature strands of bright pink streaks stood a stark contrast to the serious colt. Then he smiled cheerfully, loosing his entire stoic demeanor. He flicked his similarly colored tail, which was quite long but cut relatively even at the end.

“Yeah! First day of school! Let’s go!”

“That's what I'm talking about- hey!” Nimbus yelled as Neiku barreled past him.

Nimbus grinned excitedly and raced from the room with his cousin and friend, drifting in his hooves into the kitchen.

“Mornin’, mum!” His distinct New Yolk accent was accentuated in the mornings, especially when he was excited. His dark yellow hide rippled with crazed energy as he rushed up and gave his mother a big hug. His mother, a light yellow unicorn with deep blue hair, returned his hug, ruffling his own wild patch of blazing blue mane. His tail was just as messy, as always.

“Now you two be good,” Stratus Patch said while slicing up the last of the fruit for their lunches. “And Nimbus, introduce Passion to your friend, whats his name-”

“Snap Drop!” Nimbus yelled excitedly.

“Yes, Snap. He really is a sweet kid, so-”

Nimbus used his magic to pick up the two lunch sacks his mom had made, a light blue energy enveloping them.

“Let’s go!” he called to Neiku, already out the door and waiting for his darker-hided cousin. He tapped his hoof in an irritated fashion against the wrist of his other hoof, mimicking the sign for 'we're late!'

Neiku grinned.

Yep, he thought to himself as he raced outside, today is going to be good!

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Snap Drop was shy. Very shy. Helplessly shy. He wasn’t even as tall as the mares in school, even though he could bench press half the class at once if he wanted to. That had to be a force of the universe having a grudge against him, he felt. But why would the universe not like him?

Snap walked to the Ponyville school house, looking sad and scared to the world but actually quite excited. Nimbus had said his cousin from the southern country of Panatone was going to start going to school with them. Maybe his cousin was friendly. Snap didn’t have many friends. It wasn’t that he didn’t like any other ponies, it was just that... well... he wasn’t exactly very social. He wasn’t social at all, actually. The only reason Nimbus even met him in the first place was because Nimbus (being almost twice as tall as Snap) ran into him. Granted, they did become friends virtually instantly after, but still...

“Hey Snap!” Snap looked up, trying to locate where the voice was from. It was a female voice, but had a hint of country to it. He looked in his path and his heart skipped a beat. Standing in front of hm was none other than Apple Bloom. Suddenly, Snap Drop was very conscious of himself, from his deep green hair to his lack of a cutie mark, like her. She and Snap had known each other for the last four years, ever since the Drop family had bought a small section of the Apple’s property to build a small house. Moon Drop, Snap’s dad, had struck up a business deal with the apples, offering to process a small portion of the apples into candies that would then be sold to Sugar Cube Corner. The plan worked out well. Both families were receiving good incomes, and Apple Bloom and Snap Drop met each other one day when Apple Bloom was outside playing. Snap had, as usual, been listening to an audio textbook while working out. Of course.

“Snap? Ya okay?” Apple Bloom asked again? Snap’s cheeks went slightly pale against his grey hide, his version of a blush. He couldn’t speak. Not that he didn’t want to, but he didn’t know what to say.

Should I greet her? No, she just greeted me, so I should acknoledge that- wait, she did something with her hair today, I should- no, I need to greet her- but she just did- hair- greet- did- hair- greet- did-

“Well... Ah’ll see ya ‘round, ‘kay?” she said with a soft smile. Snap gave up with his thoughts and just nodded quickly. Apple Bloom laughed lightly and rejoined two other mares she had been walking with.

Stupid, you should have just greeted her, then- no, wait. I should have commented on her mane. Even though she greeted me first- grrr!

Snap sighed and gently tapped his head against one of his thick hooves, the tough yellow hide showing on his hooves making a soft thud sound.

She looks really nice, though. She’s matured a lot since I met her... gaaah...

His deep green hair, cut preppy but clean, suddenly flattened against his head.

“Snap!” He knew that voice...

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“Snap!” Nimbus Aura said while scruffing up his tank-like friend’s schoolcolt mane.
“How’s it going, bro!”

Nimbus saw Snap smile at him, and barely heard a deep voice respond with a very quiet, “been alright.”

Neiku trotted up besides the two. Nimbus was giving him a tour of the school at the moment, which so far had consisted of them... arriving. Apparently there wasn’t much to the school.

“So Snap, this is Neiku, my cousin from Panatone! His name is Zebraik for ‘Passion’, but he says its Pragmatic-”

Neiku interrupted his cousin.

“My name doesn’t MEAN pragmatic, I AM pragmatic! I believe in pragmatism; that is-”

This time, in a scene that surprised Nimbus in a way he had never been surprised before, Snap said something. Something LEGIBLE.

“-you believe in making life a practical path to follow-”

Neiku’s eyes shot open; Nimbus had said his friend didn’t speak. And now he knew his way of life, something surprisingly few ponies here seemed to understand.

“Yeah, that’s it!” Neiku grinned, and Snap returned it with a small smile.

“What...” Nimbus muttered.

The school bell rang.

“Well, we should probably get to class. I’ll see if I can get a seat next to you!” Neiku said to Snap Drop as the two trotted to their classroom.

“Okay.” Snap Drop talked. Again. That was twice in the time span of... seconds!

Nimbus just stood there, in shock in disbelief. Ponies walked around him, heading to class. A few asked him why he was sitting there looking like he saw a ghost, but he didn’t answer them. Eventually they moved on, not wanting to be late for class.

Many of the ponies whispered, “He's so weird,” or “What's he doing,” as they passed by. A few even went so far as to poke him, curious for a reaction. They got nothing.

Finally, right before the final bell rang, he managed to sputter out a mess of words.

“What the- happened- talked, twice- whaaaat?!”

And with that he turned hoof and rushed to class, just as the final bell rang.

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“Did you see the new kid? He’s a blank flank!” A porky little spoiled mare with a pink hide gossiped with her apparent friend, who just from first sight looked just as snobbish.

Nearby, the three young mares known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders listened in momentarily before talking between themselves.

“Do you think that’s true?” The orange pegasus in the group said hurriedly, absentmindedly running a hoof through her wild pink mane.

“It might be, Scootaloo,” her white unicorn friend responded, a lazy look on her face. She wasn't really that interested in the new kid, whether he was absent of a cutie mark like her, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, or not. She just wanted a certain colt who she already knew... sort of... to arrive-

Suddenly, her face reddened ever so slightly. While it wasn’t enough for her friends to notice, she immediately felt the heat of her muzzle as she watched Nimbus Aura walk in.

He was almost late! Oh, he needs to be more careful about that, she thought carelessly to herself. Although... he looks kinda cute when he’s in a hurry...

She realized what she had just thought, then quietly groaned and hid her face in her hooves, upset with her conflicting emotions about whether she had a crush or not. She took a few heavy breaths, then peeked back out.

Nimbus rushed to his seat, literally stumbling over his own hooves as he clumsily maneuvered through the desks. Finally, he fell into a rather pathetic heap in his seat, next to a short but stout earth pony Sweetie Belle realized not long ago was his friend... Apparently his only one, actually.

I should ask him why he’s late... No, never mind she said to herself as she turned in her seat to face the teacher. Miss Cheerilee taught the lower class, while Miss Lantern taught the upper class. Sweetie Belle, her friend Scootaloo and her other friend Apple Bloom were all juniors this year, and would be graduating school altogether the next year. But there was still one fact that haunted them still, something so embarrassing they wished with all their hearts they could fix soon. Something like being a-

“Blaaank flaaank...” Sweetie Belle heard Diamond Tiara, a stuck-up rich pony near the back of the class, coo towards the three friends. She sighed, getting ready for more insults to come her way. They never did.

“Alright class, lets meet our new student today. Would you like to introduce yourself, maybe tell us where you’re from?”

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Scootaloo was trying very hard. These days, that was a rather rare sight to see if she was within two hundred paces of the schoolhouse. She had a goal, and she was almost there. Aaalmooost... Just a little bit more...

“Oh, uh...” A nervous but powerful voice, like a smooth line of bass, suddenly drug her from her attempts at dozing off.

Scootaloo snapped her head up so fast at the voice she gathered concerned stares from nearby classmates, including her fellow crusaders. Already, rumors were beginning to form in the minds of several students.

That voice was... actually really sweet, she said in her head. And cute at the same time- no, not what I want to think! She looked over to see who it was that had woken her with his... attractive voice.

At the front of the class stood a lean pegasus, his hide was dark blue in a way that was almost gray. He had a black stripe over his nose, and his mane was black with two bright pink stripes poking out from the clean-cut mohawk-like style. It kind of resembled a military style of Zecora's mane.

Fashion statement, maybe? She asked herself. I should ask Sweetie later...

“Uh...” the pegasus stammered, and Scootaloo realized he was sending odd glances her way.

Why is he looking at me, she thought quickly as she felt the blood beginning to work its way into her face. Did I do something? What did I-

Then she realized she was flittering a good foot above her desk, her wings flapping so fast they seemed to be just vibrating. Her face went bright red as she locked eyes with him, and she dropped back into her seat.

“What a freak,” she heard Diamond Tiara mutter, followed by an agreeing snort from Silver Spoon. Scootaloo ignored the verbal jab, deciding to save her remaining pride and dignity.

The mystery pegasus shifted his hooves slightly, then recovered and returned to speaking.

“Aaanywaaays... My name’s Neiku, and I’m from Panatone. It’s a small country far south of Equestria’s border. I just moved here to stay with my cousin, Cloud-”

“It’s Nimbus, Praggy!” Nimbus interrupted.

“Thanks, Cumulus. Anyways-” Sweetie and Scootaloo giggled lightly at the joke, as did Nimbus even though it was about him. Hey, he could appreciate a good joke.

“What?” Apple Bloom said quietly, not getting it. She didn't do very well with anything that wasn't a part of the ground.

“As my cousin hinted with the name, I’m a Pragmatic, which is a culture in Panatone. In Panatone, we don't have a lot of space or natural resources. Thus, we had to make our way of living work with the limitations. So, we became Pragmatics. A Pragmatic is-” Neiku then caught Snap Drop’s eyes, and had a sudden idea. He nodded for him to join him, and Snap did so, thoroughly confused.

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What’s he want me to do? Snap thought, a little worried.

He joined Neiku at the front of the room, staring at the ground.

“Actually,” Neiku said, setting his hoof on Snap's shoulder, “my new friend Snap here knows what a Pragmatic is. How about you tell them?”

Snap’s eyes suddenly shot open, while his pupils shrunk to the size of beads. His breathing became harsh. His body stiffened as the entire class drew in a sharp breath, not expecting the new kid to ask the quietest colt in the class to speak.

“... What...?” Snap finally muttered, barely above a whisper (no, it was pretty much just a whisper).

Neiku sighed with a tiny grin.

“Well, a Pragmatic is-” Neiku started, but as he hoped he was finished by Snap Drop, just as he was hoping the stout earth pony would.

“-a pony who lives by a standard of making life itself a practical goal, and usually sets practical goals throughout life as opposed to fantasies-” Snap Drop stopped. He could literally feel the attention he was receiving at that moment. He didn't like it. He shrunk a little in his stance, terrified.

Did I really just say that?! He thought to himself, scared. From the saucers staring at him all around the room, he took that as a yes.

“Yep! Thanks, Snap!” Neiku said in a cheery tone, feeling like he accomplished something important and substantial. He gave Snap a light pat on the back.

“... Yeah...” Snap muttered as he trotted back to his seat. Everypony’s eyes followed him on his little trip. When he sat down, he tried to keep from looking at anypony, but Apple Bloom managed to catch his eye and gave a sincere smile, mouthing ‘good job’ to him.

He smiled a little, feeling his face warm ever so slightly. Maybe Neiku knows what he’s doing...

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The final bell rang, and all of the students filed out of the room in the most unorganized fashion since... well, the day before.

Instantly, the three Cutie Mark Crusaders gathered up outside of the school, talking between themselves.

“He really didn’t have a cutie mark! I can't believe it!”

“Ah can’t believe he got Snap to say something! Ah don't get why the guy's so shy, even if he doesn't have a cutie mark either-”

“He’s cousins with Nimbus?! I didn't know there were two blank flanks in his family! THIS IS A SIGN!”

The trio of girls kept chattering away, oblivious to their male subjects walking past them.

“- I can’t believe it! You got him to talk! Say something again, say something!” Nimbus was talking very excitedly as the three walked out, Nimbus and Neiku shielding Snap from the stares he was still getting from his little speech earlier.

Snap’s face was deep red, flustered from all the attention he’d received that day.

“Well, I-” he started, but stopped short. Nimbus cackled wildly.

“Amazing! Praggy, you’re a genius!” Nimbus said, praising his cousin.

Neiku grinned lightly, then tilted his head slightly. It felt as though somepony was staring at him. He turned around, but of course EVERYPONY was staring at him.

Great, I’m the weird foreign kid now aren’t I?

He felt the wind change direction. Battle lines were being drawn. A few mares eyed him hungrily, scratching at the ground as their tongues flicked across their lips. He could see the flags raise. This was about to be a battleground. Then the first mare charged.

“Ruuun!!!” Neiku yelled.

The three took off, sprinting as fast as they could. This was going to be a long day.
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A/N: Well, there you go. Chapter One. This took me about two hours to write and then type, so if anypony likes it I suppose I could keep the story going...
I just kinda started this cuz there really wasn’t enough good CMCxOC stories online. At least, not many I could fully appreciate.
Anyways, please rate/review. This is my first story, so if this doesn’t live up to our standards I AM SORRY!!!
If enough reviews are good, I’ll type more chapters. G’night!

Comments

[shadowxlocket]

amazing story encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRi3ZC0MY2T-ibHznw794SHZdWu03F9i68L4CS8NY8STWa0WOG_nQ

[AkTourettes95]

RUN, FUCKERS, RUN

[FightorFlyT]

1408021

Thanks so much! '

[shadowxlocket]

1411265 Your welcome, it was such a good story line :D and is there going to be a chapter 2 (I know silly question but I am very curious about it :D )

[FightorFlyT]

1413073
Yeah, in the works right now. Going to make it (hopefully) about 10,000 words, and already the beginning is a little bit dark... Oh well, this is the 'true' first chapter haha I started writing this chapter (C.2) before I said 'hmmm, I should add more before-story', and that led to the prologue and chapter one. Now, to continue work on Chapter 2!

[shadowxlocket]

I'll keep an eye out for the next chapter