“Moony, are you almost done?” Moonglade could hear Sonata yell outside her bathroom door.
“Just a bit more, Sonata!” Moonglade answered, drying her wet blonde hair with a towel.
She looked in the mirror, admiring herself, but at the same time, making sure her disguise was in order.
“Skin, check. Hair, check. Eyes, check. Eyeliner…”
Pushing her fringe to the side, Moonglade picked up her pink eyeliner by the sink and began applying it. Where Silver Rose had deep purple eyeliner, Moonglade had light pink.
Satisfied with her look, the young changeling stepped out of her bathroom and strolled to her closet, throwing her towel aside as she picked out Moonglade’s regular outfit.
Adjusting her glasses on her face, she pulled open her door and stretched her arms out before Sonata Dusk. “Ta-da! I’m ready.”
“Moony, I’ve missed you!” Sonata gave her a hug. “And yaaay, time to go! Adagio and Aria are already waiting downstairs. They got bored.”
After school that day, Silver Rose had wasted no time in heading back home, but apparently she hadn’t been fast enough. Though to be fair, the sirens didn’t need to wash off their dye and apply a new one.
“Not my fault I have to put on my disguise,” Moonglade said with a pout.
The two girls proceeded down the staircase, eventually finding Aria and Adagio lounging on one of the sofas in the living room, doing nothing in particular.
“There you are,” Aria said, blowing at her fringe. “I thought we weren’t going to make your mom’s timing.”
“No, I’m here,” Moonglade smiled. “Let’s go.”
Moonglade and the sirens passed by Silver Platter at the front door, the butler stepping aside to let them through.
“Have fun out there, young princess,” he bowed.
“Thanks, I will!” Moonglade bounced excitedly before joining the sirens at the car where her aunt was waiting.
Since she had now recovered from all her injuries, Ivory Wings had decided she was going to be Chrysidea’s driver from now on, replacing Silver Platter, allowing him to get back to the household duties.
“Ready for your first adventure outside?” The white haired woman turned around and grinned as her niece and sirens got inside the car.
“Of course, Aunt Ivory,” Moonglade replied, putting her seatbelt on. “My first time outside home and school… This sounds like it’s gonna be so exciting!”
“So first stop, the mall, hmm?” Ivory released the brakes. “Your mother said you can pick up that Neighstation thing.”
“And there’s plenty more to look at in the mall.” Adagio leaned an elbow on the car door. “We’ll show you all the interesting stuff, Moonglade.”
The four girls sat at attention as Ivory drove the car down the hill and out through the gates. The sun was still up, but was already well on its way down to the horizon.
“Oh, this is going to be so fun,” Sonata squeed. “We can go get tacos and sing karaoke, and-”
“Can’t sing, remember?” Aria grunted.
“Oh… yeah.” Sonata looked crestfallen for a moment.
“Girls,” Ivory said from the front. “I promise you I will do my best to fix your broken amulets. I’m working on it right now, as a matter of fact. So don’t look so gloomy, get out there and have some fun.”
“Yeah. Thanks, Ivory.”
The rest of the drive was spent in silence. After ten more minutes of driving, Ivory pulled into the Canterlot Mall’s parking lot and stopped the car.
“Well, this is where I must leave you. I’ll be waiting here, but do try to get back before seven forty. Otherwise we might not make it back in time and Ebony will go ballistic.”
Moonglade winked at her aunt. “Got it.” She was sure they weren’t going to take nearly that long.
“Well, that’s all I have to say. Adagio, Sonata, Aria? She’s in your hands now.”
The four girls left the car, making a beeline for the mall. Moonglade followed behind the sirens as they talked to her about the many different shops the building had to offer, ranging from clothes, shoes, and of course, food, which included a Mexicolt joint that Sonata really liked.
“Where do we even start…?” Moonglade looked up, examining the many floors of the mall. Maybe they wouldn’t make it before seven forty. There were just so many different stores.
“Then let us go pick out your Neighstation first,” Adagio suggested. “The games store is on the third floor. Right this way.”
Moonglade followed Adagio and her sisters up an escalator, a device that the young changeling found very novel.
“They’re like stairs that move!” she exclaimed, putting one foot on them. “How do they work?”
Aria shrugged. “I dunno. Just step on it.”
The foot Moonglade had put on the escalator began moving up, while her other one was still off, dragging her feet apart.
“Whoops!” She quickly corrected herself and placed her other foot on it.
She noticed other people looking at her, trying to figure out what she was doing. Fortunately, Moonglade had hair to hide behind, unlike Silver Rose.
They went up one more before Adagio led them off, going pass a row of electronic shops that sold all kinds of different technological wonders, including this thing you could stand on, which would speed you along the road without having to expend your stamina.
Moonglade found that useless, because it would just make you fat and lazy instead. Sure, it looked cool, but it would surely make your fitness level drop tremendously.
Eventually, Adagio stopped in front of a large store with the words ‘Game City’ on its front. She gestured at the shop.
“Well, here we are at the games shop. I believe the Neighstation 6 Pro is inside somewhere? Why don’t we go in and take a look?”
“Whee!” Sonata cheered. “I love video games!” She immediately flocked over to the demo section, where various handhelds were on display.
“You girls know video games,” Moonglade started as they entered. “So tell me, why do people play them? What keeps them going?”
“They’re entertaining,” Aria offered. “And they help people escape the regime of their boring, daily lives.”
“Gee, that’s kind of morbid.”
“Hey, I tell it as it is.”
Moonglade’s eyes widened as she stepped into the game shop, growing large as dinner plates as she beheld the inside of the store. There were rows and rows of different video games in various shelves and all kinds of accessories on the rest, including things like headphones, action figures, different controllers, mice and even keyboards, and these weird card things that Moonglade couldn’t figure out what they were used for.
“This place is amazing!” she marveled to the sirens, who were checking out the headphones. “There are so many different things! I see clothes and shoes at home all the time, but I’ve never seen any of these before!”
“You have a computer and a laptop back home,” Aria told her. “These are roughly the same, just that they handle better and are way more expensive.” She held up a computer mouse that had glowing blue lines across its length.
Moonglade darted from this display to that, fawning over the numerous gadgets and hardware that were on sale. Some of the store’s customers watched her run along, but the blonde haired girl was too absorbed in everything to notice them.
“There’s so much stuff!” she gushed. “How do people choose?”
“Well, most people generally have an idea of what they want when they come here…” Adagio said, sauntering to the handheld section and watching Sonata play on one of the demos.
“Well, I suppose I know what I want to get.” Moonglade remembered the console she came for. “So how does this work? Which one is it?”
“Pardon me, young miss.” A store clerk stopped beside Moonglade, wearing a pleasant smile. “Can I help you?”
“Um, yeah, sure. I’m looking for a Neighstation 6 Pro. You do have one, yes?”
“Yes we do,” the clerk nodded and directed her attention to one of the top shelves, displaying different kinds of consoles. Moonglade spotted what she was looking for. It was black with blue lights, kind of like the mouse Aria had shown her earlier. “May I assume you would like to purchase one?”
“Well, yeah, I do.” Moonglade thought it was pretty obvious.
The store clerk headed to the back and returned with a Neighstation 6 Pro from storage, placing it atop the counter for Moonglade to see.
The bespectacled girl examined the details on the box with excitement. She liked getting new things, whether they were useful or not. In this case, this gift was definitely going to be useful.
“And will you be wanting any games to go with your purchase, miss?”
“Games?” Moonglade said.
“Why yes, games. The system’s not much good on its own. Might I recommend Call of Camping?”
“Ew, no,” Aria said, sidling up to Moonglade, holding a game box. “Get Finest Fantasy. Your mother’s in this one too, as the Pale Sorceress.”
“Wait… mother?” The clerk said, looking from the game to Moonglade’s face. “But that would mean that you’re…”
“The daughter of Ebony Wings,” Aria said drily. “Yes.”
“Yeah…” Moonglade adjusted her spectacles. “I-I kinda don’t want there to be a big commotion, so if you could keep this to yourself…”
“Oh!” the clerk exclaimed. “Don’t you worry, young miss, I’ll keep your secret. Mum’s the word. But if you wouldn’t mind… Can I take a picture with you? Just for myself, of course,” he added hastily.
“Oh, umm… sure, that’s alright, I guess…” Moonglade had never taken a personal picture with anyone other than her mother before, not even Aunt Ivory.
“Awesome.”
The clerk whipped out his phone and held it up, sidling up next to Moonglade.
Snap!
“Well, that’s it then. Now, how will you be paying, cash or credit?”
Moonglade followed behind Adagio as she led them along the second floor, stopping by at various clothes shops to look at the latest fashions.
She followed along, but truth be told, she was anxious to get back and set up her new Neighstation, which she held in a special fabric bag the store had given her to hold everything she bought.
“Are we almost done yet?” Sonata complained, swinging her arms down. It looks like Moonglade wasn’t the only one in a rush. “When can we go to get some tacos?”
“Tacos… tacos… Mexicolt food?”
“Yep! They’re my favorite. And dinner was like, two hours ago.”
Moonglade looked at Aria and Adagio. “Anyone else want to go get a bite to eat?”
Aria shrugged. “I’m okay with whatever.”
Adagio pursed her lips and looked to the side. “I could eat,” she said offhandedly.
“Then it’s settled,” Moonglade said with a grin. “Now, which way to the food court?”
As it turned out, the food court was on the top floor, allowing Moonglade more time to marvel at the escalators. Holding tightly to her purchase, the young changeling and her three companions soon arrived at the top, where they were assaulted with various toothsome smells.
“So… how does this work?” Moonglade cast a wandering eye over the various food stalls and licked her lips.
“Tacos! Tacos!” Sonata pointed at a very Mexicolt stall. “Come on, I’ll show you.”
In moments, Moonglade found herself sitting at a round red table with a plate of tacos in front of her, its contents making the girl’s mouth water. Mexicolt food wasn’t exactly new to her, but her mother didn’t particularly like them, so they were rarely served back at home.
Ordering food had been fun. Moonglade found she also rarely had the chance to choose her food back at home. She just ate whatever her mother wanted the maids to prepare. Standing at the counter and looking at the menu had been a fun experience.
“So, where’s the cutlery?” Moonglade looked around the tray on the table for the knife and fork.
“There’s no cutlery, silly,” Sonata chirped. “We use our hands!”
“Oh. Cool.”
Rubbing her hands together, Moonglade picked up a taco and took a bite out of it, wiping at the corner of her mouth when a few bits stuck out. “This is really tasty. I mean, the food at home is the best of the best, but this is still pretty good.”
“Right?” Sonata said with her mouth full, spitting bits of her taco on the table.
“Quit sputtering all your food out.” Aria hit her on the back of her head.
“Hey!” Sonata turned to Aria, but when she spoke, more taco bits flew out at her sister’s face.
“Watch it! Gross! Really, Sonata?” Aria wiped the back of her hand over her face. “You really are the worst.”
“No I’m not!”
“Yes you are!”
“Ugh…” Adagio slapped a hand to her face and leaned her forehead on Moonglade’s shoulder. “Here we go again… Sometimes, I’m thankful we lost our immortality. I won’t have to deal with them forever.”
“Don’t say that…” Moonglade said reproachfully. “Aunt Ivory’s promised to help get it back, so don’t get used to being mortal.”
Adagio managed a smile. “Well, if she does find a way, then I’ll have to get used to putting up with these two for the rest of our long lives.”
Sonata and Aria were now smearing food on each other’s faces.
Moonglade laughed. “Ah… It’s fun hanging out with you girls.”
Adagio bit down on her taco. “Let’s see if you still think that after a few years.” She ended with a cheeky smile.
Moonglade and the sirens had saved one taco for Aunt Ivory as they left the food court, taking Moonglade’s new favorite form of travel down to the first floor. She really liked the idea of an escalator.
She looked at the many other stores the mall had to offer on her way out, but they would have to wait for another time.
Aunt Ivory was still in the same spot she had parked the car. Her window was down and she had an arm sticking out.
“Hey, Aunt Ivory!” Moonglade got in beside her, putting her goods on her lap as she belted in.
“Hello, niece and sirens.” Ivory patted Moonglade’s head. “All set? Got what you wanted?”
“Sure did.” The tan-skinned girl tapped her squarish bag. “I’ve even got a game that mother is in.”
“Sounds exciting,” Ivory smiled as she started the car engines. “You’re going to have to show me how you use this thing.”
“The Neighstation? I’m not so sure myself, Aunt Ivory.”
“I’m sure we can figure it out,” Adagio said from behind as the car reversed out of its lot. “How hard can it be?”
“So this is the cable to power the machine…” Moonglade held up a cable with a head for the power socket. “Then what’s this other one for?” She held up a thinner one with a much smaller head.
Aria looked through the instructions, scanning the words line by line. “Um, that’s to charge your controller.”
“You mean these things don’t need to be attached to the main thing?” Moonglade held up the controller.
“Not since the last five years, no,” Adagio answered, watching as Sonata attached another cable to the back of the living room’s large TV.
“So according to the instructions, we just plug in these two wires, then turn it on?” Moonglade eyed the machine. It was a sleek black thing with slanted sides, kind of like a trapezoid.
“Yup!” Sonata walked out from behind the TV. “Wire’s all set here. Give it a try!”
Moonglade turned the TV on and booted up the Neighstation. On cue, a big ‘N’ appeared on the screen, then a whole list of instructions to set it up.
“There’s more?” she groaned. “I thought we were done with the setup.”
“You still need to set up a user,” Aria said, pointing to a bar that she was supposed to input her name.
Moonglade looked at it, thinking for a moment. Then she used the controller, which had connected wirelessly, and typed in the word, ‘Schniffs’.
“You’re naming yourself after that doll?” Aria folded her arms and sat back on the couch.
“I like that doll,” Moonglade smiled and picked an avatar for her name. She liked one that was of a white bunny, so she picked it. “Hey, this isn’t so hard.”
Soon, she found herself at the main menu, which had orange sparkles on the screen, along with a bunch of icons.
“Here, try your mom’s game.” Adagio opened the game box and inserted the disc into the machine.
Moonglade hadn’t even known you could insert the disc through that. It looked like it was part of the Neighstation’s decoration.
She and the other sirens returned to the couch and sat down beside Aria, watching as the screen changed into one of a flower field with the words, ‘Finest Fantasy’, floating above them in an orange sky.
Creating a new save file, Moonglade finally got into the game, keeping an eye out for her mother as the main characters were introduced. The video game had been around long before the movie, so Ebony Wings wasn’t exactly in the game, but her character was.
The main character of the game was a blue haired guy called Bowman, who had lost his kingdom to another kingdom of dark armored knights, over a giant crystal they had.
When Moonglade finally got to play, she tried out the controls, walking around and mostly into walls and immovable furniture.
“Mm… I’ll need to get used to this…” she said as she ran against a pillar. The character didn’t even seem to get hurt or anything. He just kept running, even though the pillar was in the way.
Eventually, she got to a ledge she was supposed to jump to.
“Press X to jump…” Moonglade looked down at the controller. “Oh, here it is.”
“Wow, you really don’t know how to use these, huh, Moonglade?” Adagio watched as her character jumped repeatedly into a wall.
“That’s what happens when you haven’t played any video games all your life…” The blonde haired girl kept trying.
The sirens continued to watch Moonglade as she attempted her way through the tutorial, trying to remember where all the buttons were on the controller. It wasn’t as easy as she’d thought it would be, but Moonglade felt like she would get it in time.
She played on for another two hours before she began having trouble keeping her eyes open.
“Mmm…” Moonglade stretched her arms up and scratched at her head. “I think it’s time to call it a night, girls.”
“Yeah, look at Sonata, she’s already asleep.” Aria pointed a finger at the sleeping siren. She was lying down on the side of the couch with her head over an arm.
“Should we wake her?” Moonglade asked as she turned off the Neighstation.
“She can sleep on the couch tonight.” Adagio shrugged. “Not like it isn’t comfortable anyway. Your mom only buys the best of the best here.”
“True…” Moonglade yawned. “Well, I’ll see you girls tomorrow. Good night.”
The young changeling headed back to her room, washed up and changed out of her home clothes into her pajamas, falling onto her bed with a sigh as she pulled the sheets to her neck.
“What a day it’s been, right, Mishter Schniffs?” she picked up her plushie and looked into its eyes.
“You can say that again, Moonglade,” she spoke as her doll. “Your first day out to have fun, getting a new console, not to mention escalators. You love those.”
“Yeah, today was great!” Moonglade hugged Schniffs close. “I wonder what we’ll be doing tomorrow?”
“Besides your classes?” Mishter Schniffs pondered. “Maybe you can go catch a movie. I know you have a home theatre and all, but it’s different out there. Just go see.”
“Alright, I’ll ask the sirens about it. We’re going to have so much fun! Goodnight, Mishter Schniffs. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Sleep tight, Moonglade.” Her plushie patted her on the head as she snuggled up into her pillow and sheets.
Sunny Flare sat in her room, her brows creased together as she continued to scribble down on a piece of paper. She’d been working on it for only an hour, but it felt like she had been doing it for half a day now. The more she wrote, the harder it became to write another.
“I’m out, Sour Sweet.” Sunny looked at her phone, which had a video chat on with her friend. “Anything else you have?”
“The bucket over the door prank?” she suggested.
Sunny tapped her pencil against her chin. “Meh, I’ll write it down. It’s better than nothing.”
“What are all these even for, Sunny?” Sour Sweet demanded to know.
“I’m sure you can guess, these are things we’re going to be doing to Silver Rose, starting from Monday,” Sunny snickered, rubbing her hands together. She couldn’t wait to try them all out. “She’s done enough, stealing all the credit from us Shadowbolts and she’ll regret messing with me.”
“Too right, Sunny. Let’s see how she likes it when people mess with her.”
“Just what I like to hear, Sour Sweet,” Sunny smirked. She proudly held up the paper, reading it from top to bottom. “You’ll soon learn that you don’t mess with me, Silver Rose. No one messes with Sunny Flare and the Shadowbolts!”