//------------------------------// // Persona VI: Childhood Friends (part 1) // Story: Sometimes They Call Me Super // by KorenCZ11 //------------------------------// Applejack     “Wow, I’m honestly surprised you all made it on time… and together? Well, I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t hang out I suppose. Take your seats and we’ll start.” Twilight said from literally out of nowhere. The four of us were the only ones in the livin’ room right now. That is until Ah looked ta my left and found Pinkie in her seat.     “Twily, where even are you?” Pinkie asked, not seemin’ ta care as she laid across the arms of her chair. In a bright flash of violet lightnin’, Twilight appeared on top of the table with a ton of… well, stuff, as far as Ah could tell. Ah was lookin’ at it all when Ah caught Goose’s eye. He quickly looked away and turned his attention ta the stuff, almost like he was avoidin’ me. Is he… nervous?     “So uh, I kinda have some stuff to do, so can we get this over with in a hurry?” he asked. Twilight gave him a half lidded stare and a raised brow.     “You can go when I say you can go. It’s my turn,” she shot.     “Well, I see you’re still mad then.” His tone had a bit of his usual self in it, which made me feel relieved fer some reason. Twilight ignored the statement and sat down in her own chair.     “Anyways, Mother and Luna stopped by recently to um… address my performance in Sunday’s battle and I have spent quite a few hours training with them each for the next encounter.” Pinkie sat up and gave Twilight an annoyed stare.     “Yeah, somepony definitely needed to ‘address’ your performance alright. We almost made it out without getting hurt! But no, the princess has to play damsel in distress and get saved in the middle of the fight. I always thought I was the cannon fodder hero, but you took that role all on your own,” she said as sarcastically as possible. Ya could almost see the veins ready ta burst on Twilight’s head, it was really somethin’.     “I… will admit that I… didn’t do a very good job, but, I have since been trained by my Mother, and the wonders that did for Applejack will surely carry over to me.” Ah'm impressed, Ah probably woulda blew up and went after Pinkie fer talk like that. Of course, if Twilight's teeth were like Goose’s, she woulda bit a hole in her lip.     “I sure hope so. The ‘ominous message’ we got from Mr. Ooze doesn’t have me excited about this coming Sunday,” Pinkie added. She put her elbows on the table and rested her head in her hooves. “I don’t know about you guys, but… if we didn’t manage to make a hole in that mask… do you think we still could’ve done it? Like… you broke your wrist, and it took both of you to punch that dagger through Sachiel, even if that may have been over kill, but still… If the next one is just a bigger, faster, harder to kill monster, then… do we even stand a chance?” Twilight certainly didn’t have anythin’ ta say ta that. Nopony did, really. Ah sat and thought about it fer a little bit, then somethin’ came ta me.     “Pinkie… Ah honestly believed that we were all gonna die last Sunday. In the dream, we didn’t stand a chance. But the dream didn’t come true either. By luck, strength, skill, or virtue, we managed ta get the job done without losin’ anypony and only really havin’ minor injuries all thin’s considered. We can prepare, and we can train all we want, but we don’t know what comes next. Sometimes, ya just gotta plan fer the worst and hope fer the best.” Ah don’t always know what ta say in situations like this, but thinkin’ about Ms. Swan Song had me remember a whole bunch of stuff about her, and that quote Ah wish Ah never forgot. As Ah figured, this got his attention, and he was lookin’ at me again.     “Huh. Well, I can’t really say anything against that. Plan for the worst and hope for the best… I like that.” Pinkie's frown quickly turned inta a smile, and Ah was happy ta see it. She gets so irritatin' when she's in a bad mood.     “And that’s exactly what Mother said, or why we have all this. We got a ton of medicine and pockets for the armor that we can put it all in. This way, everypony who’s armored can carry it, and we’ll have it for a while.” Rarity nodded.     “Okay, but medicine doesn’t really do us much good if we’re dead you know. How about protection? A Pinkie has already voiced her fears, I would say that my fears involve energy attacks. While it wasn’t a problem last time, I get the feeling we’ll need more than just blunt force protection sooner rather than later. The guard armor can only do so much to repel a beam from attack magic, what happens when it’s ten times as intense and twice the size of a pony all around?” Pinkie gagged.     “Ugh, don’t remind me… I just want to forget all about that night.” She said as she laid her head on the table. Goose looked down and scratched at his chin. That was not a good night… but she’s right, we could run inta somethin’ like that again… Twilight picked up a big clear rectangle off the table and started slidin’ off sheets ta everypony.     “That would be what these are for. They aren’t the strongest things in the world, but they absorb magic up to enough to power Manehattan for a day. If any kind of energy hits this, the shield would just absorb it. And um… if all else fails, really I could…” She scratched at her foreleg ta hide her eyes, and Ah was not a fan of that notion. Just because she might be able to don't mean she needs ta. Rarity beat me ta voicin' my concerns, however.     “Oh darling, please don’t go jumping into energy beams. We don’t know what would happen if you were ever overloaded, and we don’t know how much you can take to begin with,” she pleaded. Twilight shook her head.     “No, don’t worry about it. My power and my Father’s power are supposed to be the same, and he was never hurt by magic, at least as far as Mother’s stories go. It-” Now it was my turn.     “Twi, Ah would really appreciate it if ya didn’t jump inta lasers fer us either. Sure, maybe it won’t hurt ya, and if that’s the case then fine, but don’t go tryin’ ta figure out if somethin’ like that works. It’s like playin’ Zyvrian roulette. It’s not a game anypony wins on purpose. The shields are fine, as long as somepony can carry ‘em.” Ah why does she seem so desperate ta sell us this stuff?     “Ah, right… um, well… we’ve been given some special ammunition that’s all fitted to Fluttershy’s gun, including some prototype weaponry that involves using magic to split apart high density atoms.” Everypony raised their ears at that.     “Y-you… you mean like a nuke?” Fluttershy asked for everypony.     “Uh… well, I suppose it’s like that, but this is a more sophisticated than a nuke. It’s more like shooting a big bundle of dynamite than it is a nuke. The radius in which it explodes after the shell makes contact is only fifteen meters, and the magic is supposed to remove the radiation afterward. I mean, it still works on the same nucleus splitting tech, and it will vaporize any organic tissue within it, but nothing around it. It’s uh… not been tested more than a few times due to the um… cost to make these, but all the same, this is bleeding edge stuff.” She explained herself almost in a confident manner, if not fer a few shaky spots in there. Fluttershy slowly shook her head and frowned.     “R-right… so, I’m just going to… n-not use these if at all possible. W-when you say ‘supposed to’ that means that i-it doesn’t ‘always’ do what it should,” she said, eyein’ the bullet.     “Well, yes, I didn’t say always but-”     “T-twilight, how many times did this work?”     “Fifteen.”     “O-out of?” The violet mare let her head sink.     “Forty-five...” Fluttershy frowned harder.     “Um, yeah, t-there’s no way in hell that I-I’m firing a miniature nuke in the city. I-if the magic fails, it would take years f-for whatever spot it hit to recover, a-and there’s only three of these. W-with those numbers, a-at least two aren’t going to work right.” Twilight sighed.     “I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to carry them anyways… this is an order.” She couldn’t even look at Fluttershy at this point.     “I-I can’t believe she’s making us do this. W-who gives somepony like me t-the power to just… destroy? I-I’m nineteen, I don’t want a doom’s day b-button,” Fluttershy said angrily. Twilight shook her head.     “This… this isn’t them, this is… from me,” Twilight said softly. Fluttershy stared at Twilight in awe.     “Y-you personally, are asking me, t-to carry this death bomb?” Fluttershy pointed at the metallic green shell and Twilight looked away and nodded. “W-why?”     “I can’t let it happen again.”     “Let what happen? Twilight, darling, what’s going on? This is completely uncharacteristic of you,” Rarity stated. Of all of us, she’s known Twi the longest, but even Ah could tell this was a weird request.     “I… you all just…”     “Come, on, talk to us. I can’t have you losing your head and getting into fights with everypony too.” Goose said while Ah rolled my eyes. Made sure he saw me do it too. Twilight sighed and shook her head.     “I just felt so useless the other day. You and Applejack did all the heavy lifting, Fluttershy kept the monster under pressure, Rarity filled her role, and Pinkie even figured out how to finish it off. And I… I just got in the way. Made things worse, even. I just thought that if we had more tools, then maybe I wouldn’t… get in the way…” In a blink, Pinkie was on the arm of Twilight’s chair givin’ her a hug.     “Hey now, we can’t all be top of the line super heroes from the start now can we? So you had a rough time out there. It’s not like you’ve been dealing with monsters and Fluttershy for the last few weeks like the rest of us.” Pinkie smiled and Fluttershy gave her a half lidded frown.     “I-is that bruise on your head gone yet?” she said dryly.     “It will be when I decide to stop bringing it up~” Pinkie sang. “You don’t have to be your mom just yet. She’s had centuries of fights to draw upon and you’ve had like what, four? Give it time, huh? You’ll get there.” She rubbed Twilight’s back, careful not ta touch her wing and Twilight hugged Pinkie back, then sat up straight.     “Thanks Pinkie, all of you. The rest of this stuff is just more ammunition for Fluttershy based on your other weapons, so all I really have left is to figure out our schedule this week. I figured a few days to recover would be best, but now that we’ve had that, I think we should get back to it,” Twilight said, this time with more enthusiasm. Oh, right. We haven’t prepared for the next one at all this week. Ah’ve had so much on my mind since Sunday, Ah damn near forgot about it.     “Uh, about that… see, I’ve kinda got stuff going on and while I don’t care if we work, it just needs to be earlier rather than later in the day. Specifically, whatever training we do needs to end before five PM, one way or another,” Goose said. Twilight was about to open her mouth when Rarity beat her ta it.     “Ah, yes, I also have a previous engagement that I need to attend to during the week, so ending before five would be best for me as well.” Twilight frowned and sighed, then turned ta me.     “Well, I’ll let you decide on this, since you’re the trainer and all. When should we practice?” she asked. Hmm… Ah don’t know what they’ve got goin’ on, but Ah’d rather have ‘em here and ready ta go than leavin’ in the middle of practice. Well, this is technically a job, so how about nine ta five? Ah nodded in agreement with my inner thoughts.     “Alright then, we’ll meet and be ready ta go every mornin’ from now until Sunday at nine AM and run till we’re either all dead tired or five PM, whichever comes first. That okay with everypony?” Ah asked. Goose shrugged, and everypony else nodded.     “It’s settled then! I can’t wait to show you all how much I’ve learned over these last two days! You’re free to go, see you tomorrow!” Twilight warped away somewhere and Ah was a little confused at the sudden tone shift. Okay... Ah guess she's fine now? As soon as she was gone, Rarity made a nod at Fluttershy.     “Pinkie, may I have a word with you? There’s something I’d like to discuss with you in private if you don’t mind,” Rarity asked. Pinkie shrugged.     “Sure, I don’t see why not.” Then the two headed toward the garage.     “I-I don’t know about you two, b-but I’m tired. S-sunlight… makes me sleepy, a-and I’ve been in it all day it seems. G-good night,” Fluttershy said mid yawn.     We both said, “Night,” and lazily she strode ta her room. Then there were two. Just me and Goose. Catchy and I. Should Ah ask first? Maybe we should go somewhere else? Or… Ah don’t know… aw, fuck it.     “Hey, can we talk?” we said in unison. In the same moment, we had both reached out a little, but then pulled our hooves back.     “So uh…” Ah started.     “I uh… um, what is it you wanted to say?” he asked. Ah scratched at my ear. There was some kinda weird synchronicity goin’ on and every time we looked at each other it was like we always caught each other’s eyes. Fer the first time since he was little, he was bein’ shy around me. Ah shook my head.     “Ah… no, y’all go first. Ah uh… Ah’d rather know what ya wanted before Ah uh… ya know…” It wasn’t the most graceful thin’ Ah’ve ever said, but Ah figure it worked.     “Well… I think I probably know what you want to say, and… I’d rather you didn’t, just yet, at least. So, with that in mind, I’m just going to pretend like I don’t know, and go ahead with this.” He swallowed and walked over toward me, a little slow and cautious. The spines under his suit were just about standin’ on end, or at least tryin’ ta, and he was probably doin’ his best not ta shake where he stood. He took a deep breath and then looked me in the eyes. Oh goddess, is he gonna ask here? Oh no, oh no, what do Ah do if he asks? Ah don’t… Ah don’t know that Ah wanna just turn him down, but Ah don’t wanna get married with all the shit that’s goin’ on! “I have a reservation at a restaurant in Central Manehattan on Thursday. It’s not a regular place, and probably not what you’re used to, but… will you… come to dinner with me? Just the two of us?” Ah let out a breath Ah didn’t know Ah was holdin’.     “Whew. Good Goddess Ah thought…” Ah took a deep breath myself and nodded. “Yeah, sure Ca- er, Goose. Sure. Ah’ll go ta dinner with ya.” He let out his own breath and a laugh ta match.     “Oh, great. Geez, I don’t know what I was so worked up about, you know? It normally doesn’t take this much effort to ask a mare out.” His little laugh was infectious and Ah stared ta giggle myself.     “Heh, sure doesn’t sound like ya. So, where are we goin’? Hmm… more importantly, how much is this gonna cost me? Ah don’t got a whole-” He shook his hooves and stopped me.     “Nothing, nothing, I’ve already got it covered. I’ve got everything covered, really. Uh, I can either pick you up, or you can meet me at Champagne at 6, up to you really.” Champagne? He… he has reservations fer us… at Champagne? Oh… shit. “Uh, ya know, Ah think Ah’d like ta drive myself actually, why don’t ya just uh… Ah’ll meet ya there! Yeah, Ah’ll uh…” He raised a hoof.     “If you don’t want to ride with me that’s fine, but… if it’s because you don’t have something to wear…” He blinked away, and a second later he blinked back with a long flat box wrapped in white and red paper and tied up with a yellow ribbon. “I think I covered that too.” He held out the box for me and ah just kinda stared at it. Should Ah…? It’s not like Ah couldn’t afford ta go get somethin’ myself, but we only got paid just a few days ago…     Why don’t ya just give him a chance? Applebloom’s voice repeated in my head. Ah scratched at my cheek. Too damn intelligent fer yer own damn good. Ah swear it’s gonna get ya in trouble one day. Ah carefully took the box and unwrapped it like a time bomb. Well, it’s definitely a clothin’ box, that’s fer sure. Oh goddess, how much did this cost him? How much is dinner gonna cost him? Ah… Ah just better not think about that. Ah set the box on the table and pulled off the lid. Inside was… somethin’ out of a childhood fantasy.     When Goose and Ah were little and we would spend our time on the playground just by my house, Ah would often steal my mom’s old weddin’ dress that dad kept. Ah didn’t know what it really was or why he had it, but Ah thought it was pretty. More than that, Ah thought it made me look like my idol at the time… Red Hoof. It was pure white and flowy in the back with all it’s see-through white layers. It didn’t fit of course, but it smelled like her and made me feel like him. Like Ah could be the super hero, like Ah was the one who saves the day. When Ah was in white, he was the bad guy and Ah’d beat him up ta be the hero. When a year passed and Red Hoof started wearin’ a new suit, Ah wanted a change too.     “So, if not the white dress, what would you wear now?” Catchy asked.     “Somethin’ just like him… somethin’ bright and shiny. It’d have ta be red like his, but… maybe with a few other colors too, like the coats of my family, ya know? Ooh! Like a sunset, with stars in it! And, and it would be like that mare’s from the game, somethin’ Ah could kick in!”     And then we went on ta play another game. Ah was six… how could he remember somethin’… from so long ago? Ah guess… he really never did forget… Ah sniffed and wiped at my eyes. Come on now, ya aren’t this sentimental. What are ya gettin’ so choked up fer?     “T-thanks… Ah… Ah don’t know that Ah could ever tell ya how much Ah appreciate this.” Ah didn’t know what else ta do, so Ah gave him a hug.     “I’m just glad that you like it. I uh… If I didn’t know better, I don’t know what I could’ve found for you. You aren’t the easiest mare in the world to shop for, after all.” Ah let im go and folded the dress back in the box. Should Ah tell him still? He knows, but… that wasn’t all Ah wanted ta say…     “Goose, Ah-” He put a hoof on my lips.     “Please… just wait for me, okay? I’m… I’m still trapped in the present. On Thursday, I’ll reach the future, because you’ll be there, with me… and not somepony you used to know. I… I don’t know that I can be him again. So… before you make me remember the past, meet me... as I am today, all right?” he pleaded through a shaky smile. Ah sighed and nodded again.     “Okay, Ah’ll wait fer now. But remember this; what we need ta talk about… isn’t all Ah wanna talk about. Ah’m gonna head on home now. Ah’ve still got some work ta do, so… Ah guess Ah’ll see ya tomorrow.”     “Yeah… see you… tomorrow.” He slowly followed. Ah gave him a look, but then shook my head and grabbed the dress. As Ah made it ta the end of the livin’ room, Ah thought Ah heard somethin’.     “…watch her as she goes…” Ah turned my head just in time ta catch Goose blink away. What was that?     As Ah made my way ta the garage, Ah passed Pinkie, who stopped and stared me down.     “Uh, is there somethin’ Ah can do fer ya?” She stared on silently and slowly shook her head. Ah turned my eyes away and kept movin’ forward. “Well, alrighty then. See ya tomorrow.”     “I… as long as it makes you happy, I guess.” Ah heard, but as soon as Ah turned, she was gone. Was she… listenin’ in? Do they all know? Or… well, who cares anyways? It’s not like it’s official or anythin’ yet. We’re just gonna go have dinner… right? As Ah made my way ta the garage, Ah noticed that Rarity was still parked. Or rather, she was waitin’ on me Ah guess.     “So? How did it go?”     “What?”     “You know what.”     “So what if Ah do?”     “Then tell me about it!” It echoed in the crystal chamber and back up the hallway. Ah closed the distance and put my hooves over her mouth.     “Okay, geez! Not so loud! Can we go somewhere else first?” Ah whispered. She swiped my hooves away and wiped at her face.     “Please refrain from putting your dirty hooves on my face, thank you. Of course. Why don’t we meet up at my shop and we can talk? Besides, I wasn’t quite sure on some of those measurements he gave me, so I want to know if your dress fits.” That caught my attention.     “You made the dress?” Ah blinked and Rarity was in her car with the window down. The engine roared and Ah tried ta catch her.     “What was that? Sorry, see you at the boutique, bye!” Clutch popped, tires squealed, and out the garage she went.     “Son of a bitch! Y’all were in on it!” Ah jumped on my bike and kicked off the floor, startin' it in mid air. All the way on the gas, Ah was full throttle by the time Ah hit the ground.         “I didn’t know you were such a capable driver,” Rarity said as she sipped on somethin’ she must’ve stopped time ta make. She beat me ta her boutique by seconds, so there’s no way she made it without her powers.     “Rarity, we almost caused a wreck.” She waved my complaint away.     “Oh, nopony was hurt and no damage was suffered. Besides, you were the one who made the decision to try and catch me, my dear darling Applejack. It would’ve never gotten so out of hoof had you not wanted a race.” She had that haughty tone of her on and it was threatenin' ta piss me off. Ah rolled my eyes and huffed.     “Still don’t know how ya beat me, but whatever. What’s the deal? Is that why y’all came in together earlier? Because ya were makin’ the dress today?” Ah felt my tone come down as my blood started ta cool off. It was apparent after she more or less swerved through alleyways how she gets everywhere so fast. That little thin’ she drives ain’t near as big as a police car. Ah’m just surprised she’s never hit anypony doin’ it. She must use her power pretty liberally ta make split second decisions like that. Another thin’ Ah learned today is that her powers don’t work on machinery. It’s probably a good thin’ though, otherwise she’d be blinkin’ through traffic around cars. Good driver and reckless driver aren’t too far apart in her case.     “Hmm… Now what exactly should I tell you? You are the one who owns the dress, but you weren’t the client either… decisions, decisions…” She tapped at her lips as she moved from the kitchen ta her workshop with that damn smirk on her face. Ah followed and just stared at her. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. Just because I’m being coy doesn’t mean I’m not serious either. I didn’t just drop everything to make that today for no reason after all. Come stand over here and put it on. I want to see you in it.” Ah rolled my eyes and did as Ah was told.     “So that was what was goin’ on. Why was Fluttershy with y’all?” Ah tried ta squirm inta the thin', but it was about as loose as a stuck bolt. Geez, what is this, my suit? Why is it so damn tight?     “Stop! Don’t go any further, you’ll ruin it!” Ah kinda just stared at her until she motioned fer me ta give her the dress, which Ah did, even if reluctant.     “Ah almost had it on…” Ah mumbled. Rarity shook her head as she threw the dress on a mannequin.     “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Of course you did. I knew the measurements I had seemed wrong. There’s no way somepony so well suited to… child birthing would fit in the average medium. I even made a guess on the high end too. So much for that.” She waived a hoof in a circle around my cutiemark with disgust on her face. Ah frowned and raised an eyebrow.     “Ah mean, ya could just insult me ta my face, that’s fine.” Once again, my complaint was waived away.     “Pfft, ‘insult me’ she says. You will never know how good you have it. I only insult out of love and jealousy. That said, it doesn’t really surprise me that the measurements I had were a little on the small size. I didn’t make it easy to adjust without reason it seems. It didn’t feel tight anywhere else did it?” She asked after she started ta unravel what Ah could only assume were clear threads along the seams. Whatever she had in her magic, it was barely visible.     “Uh, Ah don’t know that Ah made it far enough ta tell. Ah don’t really have a whole lotta clothes ya know. Or buy them often fer that matter.” Rarity sized me up then went back ta what she was doin’.     “I see. Well, that doesn’t really surprise me either. What about that ratty old jacket you wear all the time?”     “That was my dad’s, thanks.” She gave me a frown.     “Well, you certainly know how to make me feel bad. I’m surprised it’s in such a good condition for leather that old. Stand up straight for a moment please.” She asked as she came over with a tape measure.     “Hey! Watch where yer puttin’ that!” Ah said when Ah felt somethin’ cold too close fer comfort.     “Applejack, I have been doing this for years, there is only one place to measure a pony waist correctly. One can only see things so many times before they become numb to it. And, just as I thought, you have an almost a twelve waist on your eight body. Congratulations, you are the ideal, and the hardest kind of mare to fit. I bet your shoulders don’t even reach this far out, even with all that muscle. Truly, you are the envy of mares.” She penned a few numbers on a sheet of paper and then put her tape back on a shelf. “And now I have that in my records, so when next you need a dress, you can buy it yourself.” She picked up the damn near invisible thread and began ta resew it back inta my dress.     “Shouldn’t ya measure the rest of me too? Ah mean, if one was wrong, wouldn’t the others be wrong too?” She shook her head without skipping a beat as she worked.     “I can just look at you and tell you what you are. The measurement I just got was what I suspected from the beginning. The only reason I went lower is because I was given these measurements from somepony I respect. Who however is not for you to know, at least until after he tells you himself. I really hope you appreciate what Goose is doing for you here. Some mares would kill to be treated like this. I know I would.” If it wasn't clear before, she made it very clear with that.     “Huh. So maybe a little bit less ‘love’ and a whole lotta ‘jealousy,’ right?” Ah said with air quotes and a smile. She rolled her eyes.     “Oh absolutely. It’s a Glass Slipper story. He’s the prince and you’re the pauper.” Ah giggled some more.     “And that makes you the fairy godmother don't it?” She paused and looked up for a moment, then went back to work, this time on the other side.     “I suppose it does. However, in this story I believe it was the prince who asked me help him go to the ball.”     “Was it? So wait, if not just the dress, what else are ya doin’ for him?”     “Hmm, I wouldn’t say doing ‘for’ him, I was paid, and quite generously at that, for this. I won’t say though, you can find out about that bit. While we’re on the subject, what do you think of him?” Good question.     “Ah don’t know. Ah mean, sure, he’s kind of a tool, but after Sunday… Ah know better than that, or remember anyways. Ya see, he was my best friend when we were little.” Rarity nodded.     “I do know, actually. You should hear his side of the story, it’s quite… well, something, that’s for sure. But that’s not what I want to hear. Ignoring the bit about your past together, the stallion whom I assume you’ve agreed to have dinner with, what do you think about him as he is now?” Ah feel like Ah’m gettin’ punched here.     “Ah… Ah don’t know. He… he’s Goose. And Goose is… well, Ah don’t know who he is. At least not like Ah used ta. Ah talked ta my little sister about this and Ah figured Ah’d give him a chance, but he didn’t even give me a moment ta talk today. Honestly, today was the first time Ah’d seen him act like the colt Ah used ta know. We used ta get in fights over who got ta play the hero, and only in the last couple days did Ah realize that him promisin’ ta be my super hero a few weeks ago wasn’t the first time he’s said that ta me. And he did it too. He pulled me outta the way in the middle of the fight and it was just like… just like when we were kids. Three weeks ago, he was just some ass hat on my bounty list. Today… it’s a completely different story.” Rarity shook her head.     “No, that won’t do…” she mumbled.     “Well, Ah know that, but Ah don’t know what ta do about it.”     “What? Oh, I said that out loud. No, that was for me. In your case, I figure you do have a lot to think about. Based on what the two of you have told me though, I expect it to be easy for you to return to form once you finally talk to each other. That is provided, you do talk to each other. I always suspected he was never being true to himself in the beginning, but after hearing all that, I’m surprised he made it as far as he did.”     “Well, hearin’ what? What happened after he left? We were only together fer a few days after his mom died.” Rarity nodded.     “There’s quite a bit to be told, but I shouldn’t be the one to tell you. I’ll just say that his mother was only the beginning. Speaking of, I actually saw her in concert while she was still singing. A real shame, truly.”     “Yeah. Kids… kids just shouldn’t have ta watch their parents die.” Rarity flew the dress over ta me in her magic and said,     “Here, see if this fits now. It should. Speaking of, why did you remember? I imagine that seeing that happen just meters away is more than enough to traumatize a seven year old, as brutal as it was, but… if you had forgotten her completely, and Goose as well, how did it just come back?” Ah tried ta put the dress on, and this time it was easy ta get inta. It fit just perfect. Ah walked around in it and stopped ta look at myself in the mirror. Ah look like a wreck. Ah’m gonna have ta do some serious work on my mane before Ah go out Thursday. And sleep fer more than four hours fer a change. It wouldn’t be so bad if Ah didn’t look so tired.     “You’d probably be surprised, but Ah went ta Over Equestria with my family. Back when we were kids, and even before my aunt died, we all went together since she had that minivan. It was the only time we ever went out of the province with dad, so Ah didn’t forget, but Ah couldn’t remember who we were with. Ah asked my brother, and he remembered his mom’s name. Ah looked her up and that’s when Ah read an article about her death. It uh… all came back ta me after that.” Rarity looked me over and then she started ta mess with my mane.     “Hmm, so it was just happenstance?”     “Kinda. Ah mean, the whole thing was just happenstance. Everythin’ so far has just kinda been happenstance. Ya know why he was with his mom in the first place? Because my dad put his dad in jail! She stopped singin’ in the first place because she had ta suddenly take care of her son, whom she had out of wedlock and hid from the media. Ya know, with his mob boss dad. His powers only showed up because he got kidnapped after his dad took him back. Who knows what else could’ve happened in all those years! Ah swear it’s like fate itself is screwin’ with me.” Ah couldn't keep from gettin' worked up, and after a bit, she smacked me in the nose.     “Quit moving, I’m not finished!” Ah stood still and nursed my muzzle.     “Oh, sorry. Anyways, that all just kinda came back at once and Ah think Ah’m still probably tryin’ ta process it. So much has happened and everythin’s changed since then.” She stepped away and nodded ta herself, then Ah looked in the mirror.     “Hehe… Maybe Ah should wear my bracers with this…” Ah said through a giggle.     “You will not! But I must say, this suits you, even if a little strange. For such a southern pony to wear a Mǎnese dress and mane style. If your mane was black, I’d say you fit the bill, really. And even then, it just looks so perfect as is. Hmm, maybe not that perfect. Your mane is too long, those buns are too big. Ah, you know what? Let me try something…” Rarity started ta undo her work, then she braided each side of my head. She wrapped the braids around themselves, then let them fall after a certain length. Once she had them where she wanted them, she took the ribbon from my tail and tied up both sides. She let go and Ah laughed again.     “Now it looks like Ah got the ribbons flowin’ down too. This is great. Never did Ah ever think Ah’d live out a childhood fantasy.” Rarity smiled and raised her chin.     “Well, you might just find that those are closer to reality than you think,” she said with a smug smile. Ah shook my head.     “Ah’m not sure about that. My last ‘fantasy’ was too close ta reality. Waaay too close.” Rarity nodded.     “True. But this one isn’t a bad one, not in any way that I can see anyways. I… have a stake in this now, so would you mind coming here after training Thursday? I’d like to make sure you’re… presentable.” Rarity flicked her hooves at me and Ah glared at her.     “Presentable? What’s that supposed ta mean?” She rolled her eyes.     “You know what that means, I don’t trust you to know what you’re doing. Or to own many of the things I do, really.” Well, that was blunt.     “... You’re not wrong. Sure why not. But uh, why do ya… ‘have a stake in it’ Ah guess?” She put on a thin smile and closed her eyes.     “You’ll find out. Now off with you, I still have other work to do today.” She shooed me out of her office, but Ah stopped short.     “Can Ah leave this here? Ah don’t really wanna take it home…” Because then they’re gonna ask, and then Ah’m gonna have ta tell them somethin’, and he’s smart enough ta make a connection, and Ah don’t feel like dealin’ with that.     “I suppose. Leave it on the mannequin.” Ah slipped out of the very soft dress, now that Ah take note of it, and set it down carefully on the doll.     “Thanks Rarity. Ah’ll see ya in the mornin’,” then headed out the door.     “Au revoir, miss hero~”