//------------------------------//
// Lights 
// Story: Three More Things! 
// by Tatsurou 
//------------------------------//

	Bai Tza wasn't certain what Valmont's plan was anymore, and she couldn't be more excited.  She was used to humans being barely able to keep up with a Demon's ability to plot, plan, and anticipate, while being evenly matched with the brighter of her siblings and far smarter than Shendu.  But despite Valmont having explained his plan in detail, she still was never certain what he was going to do from one moment to the next.  She found herself wishing there was someone she could pray to so that he'd achieve a Demonic Ascension of his own so they could share eternity.  Even eternity in the Demon Netherrealm wouldn't be so bad if it was the two of them.  She made a mental note to ask Santa if she was still on Earth come the Christmas season.  She doubted anyone else would hear her out, and unlike most higher powers, Santa had never inflicted her with pain for praying to him, since it was hard to send a letter from a place without paper.

As she leaned back in her chair thinking such happy thoughts, she was startled by the touch of good magic on her skin.  She thanked her lucky stars she'd based her human form so closely off her siren form, since that meant her siren Wild Magic created a buffer between her demonic Dark Magic and any Good Magic she touched...not enough to directly handle the Pan'ku Box without pain - since it was directly attuned against her and the others - but enough that she didn't jerk back with a hiss of pain when that hoof touched her.  Instead, she only jumped in surprise, glancing down at the little yellow filly that was looking up at her with a smile.  "Can...can I help you?" she asked carefully.

"I'm Apple Bloom!" the filly offered eagerly.  "Are you and Valmont dating?"

Bai Tza blinked in confused surprise.  "...why does this matter to you?" she asked finally.  "I was under the impression your family and Valmont were..."

Before she could find the proper word, Apple Bloom shrugged.  "Valmont seemed to put it right.  We're business rivals.  He wants to do a job, we don't want him ta succeed, but it ain't personal either way.  Sides, Tohru still respects him even though we're on opposite sides, so he can't be all bad.  And if'n he ain't all bad, then he deserves ta be happy.  So do ya make him happy?"

Bai Tza couldn't help but chuckle at that innocent perspective.  "In ways your guardians would be unhappy with me talking about with you," she replied teasingly, a throaty purr in her words.  "We've gone a way past dating."

Apple Bloom gasped happily.  "Are ya gonna get married?" she demanded eagerly.

"Probably not," Bai countered.  "I've...never had the best relationship with god, upper or lowercase."  She tapped her chin thoughtfully.  "Or with law, for that matter.  But then, if you know anything about Valmont, you already know that."

Apple Bloom shrugged.  "Grown ups care too much about Law vs Chaotic," she admitted dismissively.  "I care more about Good vs Evil, and I'd say Valmont's at least a Neutral given how well his men are treated."

"That's an odd way to look at things," Bai observed curiously.

Apple Bloom shrugged as the other two ponies - Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, Bai recalled - and Jade joined her.  "We're pretty close ta Chaotic ourselves," she pointed out.  "We ain't ones ta judge."

Bai Tza couldn't help but chuckle at that.  "So you four are little troublemakers, then?" she asked teasingly.

"You bet!" Jade crowed eagerly.  "We get up to no end of trouble!"

"It's not our fault all the fun stuff is against the rules!" Scootaloo insisted.

"Well, not all the fun stuff," Sweetie Belle pointed out disapprovingly.

"Just the best stuff," Apple Bloom countered.

Sweetie Belle opened her mouth to counter, then sighed.  "Yeah, guess I can't argue there."

Bai Tza chuckled at their antics, only for her throat to catch suddenly as tears beaded her eyes.  Three faces appeared in her mind, superimposing themselves on the three troublemakers before her...  D'gi...A'ri...S'na...

"Are you okay?" Apple Bloom asked softly, reaching up to touch her cheek.

Bai managed to get herself under control.  "I'm...older than I look," she explained evasively.  "I...once had three daughters, real troublemakers in their own right.  You...reminded me of them for a moment."  She gasped in surprise as Valmont placed his hand on hers.  She turned to face him curiously.

Valmont's gaze was comforting and serious.  "I'll help you find them," he stated firmly.

Bai's lip trembled.  "You...don't know what you're promising-"

"Not don't know, don't care," he corrected.  "And I don't care if it expends every resource at my disposal and the remainder of my life.  I will find them, and bring them back to you."  Leaning in close, he kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear, "Even if it takes another thousand years, I will make it so."

Bai Tza couldn't stop the tears at that point.  Part of her wanted to throw herself onto Valmont no matter who was watching, but she couldn't bring herself to do so.  All she could do was smile at him, holding both his hands in her own.  A part of her mind registered the shadow of Shendu within Valmont, looking nearly as stunned at this sudden proclamation as she was, but she didn't care.  She didn't want this moment to end.

"Aww..." the three fillies and Jade said together, touched at the scene.

A sudden sneeze jerked attention towards where Ratso was wiping his nose with a hanky, the Pan'ku Box in his other hand.  "That's...so sweet..." he murmured, the Box slipping from his hands, bouncing back over his shoulder...and shooting a beam of light at a prop door on a nearby set.  "Oops."

The girls gasped as they raced back to their family, Valmont and Bai Tsa standing up.  "Well, so much for the touching scene," Valmont observed dryly, a twist of rueful humor in his voice.  As the Box embedded itself in the lock and generated the portal, he lifted his hands.  "Rise, Demon of Thunder!  Rise and face your jailers!  Your trial is at hand!"

Seeing nearby cameras still rolling, Bai Tza did her best not to laugh aloud.  Then she realized she should be dramatic at this point, and let loose with her best maniacal laugh.  She was pleased to see it send delighted shivers down Valmont's spine.  Still got it...