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// Chapter 13-MADE IT OUT ALIVE, YAY! 
// Story: I'm on a Master Quest 
// by Purple Pony 
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	FINALLY! Sweet Luna, we made it.
After 3 months of boring morning classes and afternoon classes that had almost no structure, the class will finally graduate. I, personally, can’t wait. It’ll be nice to go and journey around with Sunny and our Pokemon. First, I’ll have to visit home. Otherwise, mom will track me down, and kill me. And I won’t be able to do anything about it.
She’s kinda awesome that way.
After a rather fancy (and unnecessary) graduation ceremony, Sunny and I went over towards the train station. The next train to Hollow Shades wasn’t due for another hour.
Now, since mom had essentially said “BREEEEEEEED!”, Sunny took that to heart.
Get your heads out of the gutter, nothing like that.
But anyways, ever since mom left, Sunny has been more…liberal with her kissing.
I’ve almost gotten an immunity.
But also, she’s been more public with it. She even did it in class once. Needless to say, my reputation in class went down by a long ways. Especially since Flurry caught it, and didn’t do a thing about it.
I swear, Flurry is so inconsistent with her rules. She doesn’t usually punish stuff, but I’ve seen ponies get punished for less than a kiss.
Or Cadence rubbed off on her daughter more that we know.
So anyways, I spent the next hour trying to keep Sunny from tasting my lunch. She was a thestral, and we thestrals have long tongues. 
You figure out the rest.
Not that my traitorous Pokemon were any help. It was times like this where I wished that I couldn’t understand them. Then, instead of knowing they were laughing, I could pretend they were having simultaneous heart attacks. 
When the train arrived, I wasted no time in getting out of Dodge. Unfortunately, the train ride was an overnight.
In other words, I was (expletived).
On the plus side, we had a bed. Now that I knew mom knew the princesses, I was no longer surprised by this.
“Cloud, do you wanna come in here for a sec?” Sunny says from the bathroom.
Naturally, I’m suspicious. “Why?”
“I completely forgot to ask you, but what is your favorite color?”
Favorite color. Hmmmm…didn’t really put a lot of thought into it. “I guess Gold. A color like your mane. Why do you ask?”
“To stall you, silly!” She then walks out, and I realize she’s wearing makeup. 
Warning. Cloud.exe has shut down due to extreme levels of feminism. Proceeding to restart.
I had thought she was hot before. I mean, she certainly was easy on the eyes. However, now she went full on “I am going to (expletive) you senseless.”
Words would not do her justice. That, and I had pretty much lost all higher functions. About the only thing my brain knew to do was breathe, blink, and stare in awe at the mare that clearly knows her way around a makeup box.
I only vaguely remember climbing in bed a few hours later. I think before that, there was a few hundred kisses. Not all of them on my lips. But don’t quote me on that.



So, the next day, we got off the train. Sunny (thankfully) had removed most of her makeup. She left a little, but at least I could function. She had also gotten some earrings out and put them on. They were yellow teardrops (probably due to her full name), and while they weren’t too flashy, they certainly finished her look. Also, I like the gold color, and it matched her mane.
We took a rather roundabout tour through Hollow Shades, so I could show her where I grew up. We eventually made our way to the Gym, and I showed her around. The Gym was closed (mom was probably doing paperwork for both the guard and the Gym), but I have a key. I showed her the rather spooky ambiance, and the creepy, long, dark hallway. Essentially, I showed her all the scare tactics my mom used. Even got her to jump once.
The crew was happy to be home. I could see it on their faces. Even Vaporeon, who didn’t usually care about anything, was smiling, clearly happy to be at her old stomping grounds.
Finally, after an hour long tour, we made our way to the house. I flew in through the window, and unlocked the door. Just because she doesn’t care about chivalry, doesn’t mean I should just ignore it altogether. Just don’t expect me to do it all the time.
As I had guessed, mom wasn’t home. I showed her around. I did it in quite a bit of detail, since (according to Sunny) Sunny wasn’t going to live in Cloudsdale ever again. I immediately offered for her to live with me and mom in Hollow Shades. She accepted, whether it was because she really wanted to come over, or she didn’t have any other choice.
So, the two of us just hung out. We watched some of my old recordings of my mom fighting. Even her fight against Flurry Heart. Which, now that I looked at it, was a lot closer than most of Flurry’s fights. Apparently, a good strategy can overcome a clear strength difference. Unfortunately, Flurry’s team was just outright better, and came back from being down 5-3.
We then played some games. Umbreon beat the rest of us in poker (yes, Pokemon can play poker. It’s even legal. Except for psychic types.), and Sunny proved that she was brilliant at Monopoly. I would have accused her of cheating, but Espeon was in charge of the bank.
Finally, we hid under the table and waited for mom to get home. We were gonna scare the ever-loving (expletive) outta her. For once, all my Pokemon were in their balls, and we waited under the table for mom to walk through the front door.
A half hour later, and I was starting to cramp up. Mom was a bit later than usual. Finally, she came in the front door, carrying groceries. That explained it.
The two of us waited until she turned towards the kitchen, before we flew out from under the table, and landed on her back.
Mom squeaked, and immediately bucked the two of us off. She then turned around to see the two of us, and immediately ran over to crush-sorry, hug me.
She was a lot gentler on Sunny, but Sunny still tapped out before mom let go. 
“I thought the two of you weren’t coming back until tomorrow! I didn’t think you were going to come back right away!”
“Well, we weren’t going to stay in the blinding empire of shininess any longer than we had too. Even as a Pegasus, we were still getting headaches.”
“Ah. I wound up getting some sunglasses. Really powerful ones. There was also something about an implant, much like the crystal ponies had, but it involved eye surgery, so I politely declined. And by politely declined, I mean made a gag me motion with my hoof and said a few choice words.”
Sunny then popped in. “I bet those words were something like (expletive) (expletive) (EXPLETIVE) (racial slur), weren’t they?”
Mom immediately lost control of her jaw. She then looked at me. “It was her parents fighting. Speaking of that, would you mind if Sunny stayed here? She really doesn’t want to go home.”
Mom turned back towards Sunny. “How bad?”
“Bad enough that I wish my parents would get a divorce. Nonstop fighting, general abuse, and complete neglect were common things. I envy Cloud here, even though he doesn’t know his father. And, as for I feel about my parents, well…they can go (expletive) themselves in the (expletive) with a (expletive) so hard they won’t be able to (expletive) again. They’re a bunch of (expletives) who don’t give a (expletive) about anything but themselves, and THEY DON’T (EXPLETIVING) LOVE ME!” Sunny then curled up into a ball and started to sob.
Mom looked at me, and mouthed one thing. ‘What the (expletive)?’
I had no answer. I had never seen Sunny look so angry. She was still crying on the floor, which in and of itself was different than normal. I had never seen her cry before.
I knelt down next to her, and simply hugged her. Not saying anything, for risk of making it worse. It was a whole two minutes before Sunny stopped crying. “Sorry, Cloud. I didn’t realize I had that much on my chest.”
“Hey, don’t worry. I’ve had more than one instance that I had to shout. Besides, you taught me some new words today.”
“Still, I never realized just how much I hated them. Now, if it wasn’t illegal, I would murder them in their sleep.”
That got me wide eyed. 
Mom reached over and hugged us both. Not crushing us, fortunately. “Sunny, you can stay here. My colt needs a marefriend like you. Just promise me you don’t go and kill your family.”
She then lifted her mane up from around her neck. Back there, there was a scar that looked like it was caused by something sharp. It also looked deep. “This is from when my dad nearly killed me for talking back. I was fortunate my mom tackled him. We couldn’t have dealt with the charges. On top of probably both my parents losing my jobs, I would have been thrown into a random orphanage. They then threatened me not to tell by warning me that if I told anypony, they would kill me for real. I want the two of them thrown in jail for so long, they forget what the world is like outside of jail.”
“I can have that arranged.” Sky said, and not fifteen minutes later, with me and mom in armor, the three of us took off towards Cloudsdale with one mission in mind.
Make sure Sunny’s parents were locked up for good.



Now, despite our evidence, if the three of us apprehended Sunny’s parents, it wasn’t very likely that any court would believe it.
Thus, we went to the Cloudsdale guard, to see if we could get one of them to sign on.
Naturally, the captain wanted to see mom, since she’s a captain. He seemed like a nice fellow. His name was Thunder Clap, appropriate, since his coat was a deep, rich blue, with a bright yellow mane. All of that was underneath his armor, which was a lot lighter than ours. It was white, with a bit of gold trim.
Also, he had a level head.
“So, you’re telling me that she said she was almost killed by her father, who is one of the highest ranking members of the weather factory, and in order to protect himself, he threatened to kill her if she spilled the beans, which means she’s now as good as dead if her parents find out. And that doesn’t even include the broken bones received from beatings, and all the bribery in the hospital so they could keep her in their custody. It all seems a little far-fetched, but you are not a liar, Captain Song. I would much rather this not be true, if only so that I don’t have to arrest a Wonderbolt, but if it is true, due process must be given to them.”
“Correct.”
“Okay. The problem is, she’s the only witness, and we can’t arrest somepony on only one witness, especially if that pony is placing charges. Doubly so since she’s only 10.”
“Exactly. Which is why we need you to come with us. We have a plan.” Mom said.
“Is there anything else we need to bring?”
“A way to stay hidden. What more evidence do we need than a confession?”
Thunder Clap then got a sly grin. “I love the way you thestrals think. When do we start?”
Sunny added her two cents. “We should probably go there after about 1. If we’re going to be getting a confession, I’m going to need to appear alone, and probably have some sort of backup plan in case dad goes crazy. Which is more than likely.”
“Okay. I suppose we should do this tomorrow, then?”
“Yup!”
“The three of you can come over to my place for the night. I’ve got so much room, especially after the foals moved out.” The Captain offered.



It turns out our way to stay invisible is his wife, a unicorn named Rose Thorn. She apparently is quite powerful, since she lives in an area that requires a cloud walking spell. I left the bracelet back at my house, knowing that I would be asked about it, and not really wanting to explain it to every pony I met.
The plan is simple. Rose teleports into the house, and unlocks the door. Then, we all figure out where we want this conversation to happen. After that, Sunny sits in the open, with Rose, Thunder, mom and I hidden in the corners. After we hear enough, we walk in, charge her parents, and get them thrown in jail, with five witnesses. If they attack, Rose can hold them down long enough for the rest of us to sufficiently subdue them.
I offered Sunny my armor. She accepted, and after refitting a few straps (she’s a little smaller than me), Rose then works on turning the armor invisible, while still keeping Sunny visible.
I tuned them out. I was going to be in the same room as Sunny’s abusive parents, and forced to not immediately strike. In other words, I was (expletived).



We had settled on the living room.
It was the most open, largest room in the house. That, and she would be immediately visible from the front door.
It wasn’t too long before her parents walked into the house. Her father was a light blue Pegasus with a black mane named Stormy Night. Her mother was a light blue Pegasus with a white mane named FleetFoot. Now I’m really confused. How did she get her golden mane?
Anyways, the two of them were bickering over who would make dinner. Already confirming what Sunny had told me. The moment they saw Sunny, they marched over. “Looks like our daughter decided to come home.” Stormy Night said in a disdainful tone.
Sunny, to her credit, did not back down. Of course, she was wearing armor. “We need to talk. Now.”
Her parents both sat down on the couch opposite her.
“Now, I didn’t want to come back, but one of the friends I made said I should try to make up with my parents. He didn’t really give me a choice in the matter, and when he asked me why I didn’t, I said some really bad blood kept us apart. I don’t want to go away, but if you don’t act like parents, I very well might.”
FleetFoot smirked. “Is this about the incident?”
“If by incident, you mean incidents, then yes.”
“Sunny, we realize that you aren’t exactly happy with us-“
“BECAUSE YOU TRIED TO KILL ME!!!!!”
“-but we did it for your own good.”
“How is killing me for my own good?” Sunny asked in a tone that said ‘humor me.’
“Because,” Stormy Night said, “If you turned us in, you would have nowhere to go. We got away with it because you stayed quiet.”
“Not for much longer.”
Stormy started. “Y-you didn’t…”
“I filed a complaint with the guard the instant I got home. In about 15 minutes, you’ll be surrounded on all sides.”
Both Stormy and FleetFoot’s eyes burned with rage. Stormy yelled first. “DO YOU REALIZE WHAT WE’VE DONE FOR YOU?! WE GAVE YOU EVERYTHING! WE COULD HAVE GIVEN YOU TO AN ORPHANAGE! AND HOW DO YOU REPAY US?! BY BECOMING MORE ATTACHED TO THE MOST IRRESPONSIBLE PONY IN EQUESTRIA THAN TO YOUR OWN PARENTS! THAT’S (EXPLETIVING) HOW!”
Sunny didn’t give an inch. “WHY SHOULD I BECOME ATTACHED TO THE PONY WHO NEARLY KILLED ME?! WHO BROKE MY WING ONE TIME BECAUSE I DIDN’T DO THE DISHES! WHO BROKE A LEG JUST TO PROVE I SHOULD LISTEN TO YOU! WELL, YOU KNOW WHAT?! (EXPLETIVE) YOU IN THE (EXPLETIVE), YOU (EXPLETIVES)!”
“YOU DESERVED ALL OF THOSE! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH WE HAD TO SACRIFICE BECAUSE OF YOU?! OUR PUNISHMENTS COST US THOUSANDS OF BITS! I HAD TO NOT ONLY PAY THE HOSPITAL BILLS, BUT ALSO MAKE SURE YOU COULD COME HOME AFTERWARDS! WE BOUGHT YOU EVERYTHING YOU WANTED! THAT’S ABOUT 10 THOUSAND BITS! AND YOU’RE GONNA COME RIGHT OUT AND ARREST US!” Stormy shouted back.
He then pulled out a knife and went to stab Sunny in the neck. He didn’t make it far.
Rose Thorn held the two pegasi still, while having the three of us (and Sunny’s armor) reappear. 
Thunder Clap then announced, “Stay down. The two of you are under arrest for bribery, blackmail, assault and battery, and attempted murder. Do not attempt to escape. Doing so will just add to your already lengthy criminal records.”
“Sorry, dad. You didn’t give me everything I wanted. I wanted a family. You were just related to me.” Sunny said in a voice that made it sound like she didn’t want it to go like this.
“Kid, what will you do now? You have no family. We never told any of our relatives about you. You have nowhere to go.”
I stepped in. “She’s living with me. Now, you’ve already gotten lucky. If it was up to me, you would have been killed the moment you sat down.” It was true. I was standing right behind them.
Another thing. Who puts a couch in the middle of the living room?
“You have no evidence! How can you convict us?”
“We all heard you admit to nearly killing her, and hospital records can be dug up. Anypony who worked on her can be called in and testify against you.” Mom pointed out.
Sunny’s parents just slumped over in defeat.



A week later, and they pleaded guilty.
Not that it helped them any. They got a life sentence, with possible parole in about 50 years. As opposed to either life with no parole, or the death penalty.
During that week, we seized her house. Now, Sunny owned a house in Cloudsdale. Completely paid off.
The press went crazy. Naturally. But when a Wonderbolt and a weather factory executive get arrested for attempted murder, well, it tends to make everything explode.
Also, Sunny is now my adopted sister/marefriend.
It’s incredibly confusing. Believe me.
Now, the three of us were flying back towards Hollow Shades. Sunny and I were going to take a few days to try to relax. And get used to being siblings. That’s gonna be weird as all get out.
Then, we would go out on a journey.
Sunny has expressed a desire NOT to compete, which means she’ll be going with me simply to hang out with me.
I, however, had a plan as far as where we would go. We would first head to Vanhoover, then go south to Seaddle, a bit east to Las Pegasus, then torch the east coast, with Baltimare, Phillydelphia, Manehattan, and Ponyville. Then, I would come home and challenge mom. All in all, the eight Gyms I would be facing would be tough as nails (except Ponyville, but it’s not supposed to be a challenge), but I felt ready. 
Those poor souls wouldn’t stand a chance.