//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6 Low blow/Chapter7 Eye Opener pt. 1 
// Story: How Death Lived 
// by Crimson Wisp 
//------------------------------//

//////////////Azazel//////////////////

It's been three days since the elements of Harmony arrived to Canterlot. While the vast majority of them left to their homes by the dawn of the second day, Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer decided to stay for a while longer so I could be formally interviewed by the princess of friendship. Rainbow Dash was going to go see a doctor after our little... discussion. Rarity had to go back to her "boutique", whatever that is. Pinkie Pie had to go plan a "Welcome to Equestria" party, which I must admit, sounds interesting. Fluttershy had to go take care of her pets, and Applejack had to go back to her family's farm. The day we met, I had locked myself in my room after my conversation with Applejack and refused to speak with anyone after I discovered the tome my parents left me. After seeing their written goodbyes, I fell into an uneasy "sleep" that didn't last very long. I woke up shortly after and dedicated myself to reading the book for the following days without pause. Trephor or Mia would bring me whatever food Luna would have her cooks prepare me. I was delighted to find that Luna was sending me raw meat. Must have something to do with her seeing my memories. I was initially tempted to get out of my room and ask, but I thought it best to make those questions at a later time. I ordered my skeletons to keep Twilight and Starlight company while I studied. I had ordered Avalon to keep Celestia and her guards away from my room. I didn't see Luna during those three days, all I knew was that she was asking Mia to make sure I got some sleep. I appreciated the concern, but I had more pressing matters to attend to. I had Mia relay a message to Princess Twilight, promising that once I finished the first chapter of the tome, I'd come out and talk with her about it and any other questions she might have. Mia told me that she agreed, albeit begrudgingly. I finished rereading the first ten chapters for the fifth time by midday of the third day, and for the first time in three days, I got out of bed for something other than using the lavatory. Those first ten chapters talked about my go-to spells and enchantments. Tactus Mortem, Tactus Dolorem, Encontrarium, Revelio, Aura di terror, and Resurectum Inmortous all described in detail along with the spells variants and a list of other spells I couldn't recognize that apparently use them as their groundwork. I also found a ritual similar to the Encontrarium spell that would allow me to cast an astral projection of myself that could interact with it's surroundings in a limited capacity with a considerable range. After digesting all the new information and making a mental note of studying the ritual further to experiment with it. I put the tome inside my bag and walked outside. Seeing Avalon standing outside by himself, I looked around to look for my other skeletons.

"Report."

I ordered, rubbing my tired eyes.

"Sir, the guards have been keeping their distance from this hallway. Only Princess Luna has passed through here. She's been changing the flowers on the halls every night. She came to me last night to ask if you were sleeping. I told her that you were reading, and she left without making a fuzz"

He explained. I stopped swiveling my head around in search for my other skeletons before speaking.

"I'm sorry Avalon, but where are Trephor and Mia?"

I asked.

"Trephor has been taking notes on the surrounding area and is in the library making a list for possible sites to build a more permanent stronghold with the resources available on this world with Starlight Glimmer. Mia is with Princess Twilight Sparkle in the royal dining room having lunch."

He replied after shutting his eyes for a moment and opening them up again. Just as I was about to ask for Anvari, I turned around to see she was sleeping on my bed. It was only then that I realized she had slept through those three days with me by her side. I felt a small smile form at the sight before looking back at him.

"Perfect. Alright, keep watch over this room and don't let anyone other than Mia, Trephor, or myself inside. Anvari is sleeping, if she needs anything, tend to her and keep her safe in my absence. I'm going to honor my promise to Twilight. I'll send Mia over to stay with Anvari. When she gets here, call Trephor and tell him to meet me at room at dusk to discuss his findings and our next move."

I commanded. Avalon gave me a nod, and with that, I began my short walk over to the dining room. As I walked through the halls, I passed by the throne room. From what Mia told me, Celestia held a "day court" at this hour up until sundown. A time where her dignitaries and subjects could schedule a meeting with her to talk about whatever they wanted from her. My appearance was something that unsettled the servants and guards as I passed by. They still feared me, though not as much as they did when they first saw me. For now, that would be good. I didn't want them getting any ideas. As I walked close to the intersection between the dining room and the throne room, the doors to the throne room opened to reveal the diarch of the sun exiting with three more of her subjects that I didn't recognize. Three unicorns clad in purple armor to be exact. If I had to judge their gender, I'd say two of them were mares and the third a stallion. My assumption was based on their  overall size and build. Stallions seem to have larger, more defined muzzles, while mares are overall smaller and have round muzzles. I stopped and decided to wait till they passed so I could go on without having to talk with Celestia. However, fate seemed to be feeling sadistic today. The group turned in my direction and noticed me. The two mares' faces were easy enough to read, controlled panic washing over them as their big eyes shrunk to pinpricks. Their apparent leader was a white unicorn stallion with an azure mane and light blue streaks running down it. He looked at me with a glare that reminded me a little too much of a certain human I despise. When no one moved to try to kill me, I relaxed and resumed walking towards my destination. The unicorns huddled around their ruler as she stood there like an unmoving pillar waiting for a tidal wave that would never come. I sighed, slowed down my pace and was stopped a small distance from her when she spoke up.

"Good morning Azazel. I presume you were able to read to your heart's content?"

She politely asked.

"Yes, that is correct."

Not in the mood for small talk, I began to walk away; the not so subtle soldiers would go around Celestia at much the same speed to keep me in their line of sight and making a meat shield to protect their ruler. As I was about to make my way inside the dining room, those guards from before got infront of me and forced me to stop. I was getting very annoyed with Celestia and her lackeys.

"Move. Now."

I ordered. The two soldiers that stood behind their leader flinched at the sound of my voice. Their leader stood unfazed.

"Not until I'm certain you won't hurt anypony."

He stated defiantly. I would have been impressed if he didn't remind me so much of that bastard Deus Vult with his arrogant attitude. I took several deep breaths to keep myself from unleashing my pent up aggression on this foolish little horse.

"I̵f̴ ̸I̴ ̴w̷a̴n̷t̸e̶d̶ ̵y̶o̴u̶ ̴d̷e̶a̴d̷,̴ ̵y̵o̵u̵ ̷a̴l̴r̸e̶a̵d̸y̴ ̵w̵o̷u̴l̴d̴ ̵b̴e̶.̶ ̵I̵ ̶t̷h̴i̴n̵k̸ ̶t̸h̴a̸t̷ ̷s̸h̸o̶u̴l̷d̸ ̵b̸e̸ ̴p̸r̴o̵o̶f̷ ̷e̸n̴o̸u̴g̸h̶ ̵t̴h̶a̴t̴ ̸I̷'̷m̴ ̴n̷o̶t̵ ̶g̵o̷i̸n̷g̴ ̶t̶o̷ ̶c̷a̶u̸s̴e̵ ̷p̶r̴o̶b̸l̴e̷m̸s̷.̵ ̴N̸o̴w̸ ̷g̵e̵t̷ ̸o̵u̶t̸ ̷o̵f̷ ̷m̵y̸ ̵w̷a̷y̷.̶"

(If I wanted you dead, you already would be. I think that should be proof enough that I'm not going to cause problems. Now get out of my way.)

I ordered with a little too much venom in my tone.

"My sister's in that room, and unless you've got a good reason to be there, I don't want you anywhere near her." 

He stated stoically, poking my chest with his hoof. I swat it away and cast fear aura before speaking again. Now thoroughly pissed off.

"Ị̷̌ ̵̜̈́k̶̻͝n̴̢̕ö̴́͜ẉ̵́ ̷̍ͅn̵̥̊o̴͒ͅt̶̛̮ ̵͛͜ẃ̵͔h̸̹͝o̷̝͆ ̵̳̃y̵͛ͅö̶̼́u̶̳͊r̷̨̐ ̴̣̑s̴̻̀i̶̮̓ś̸͙ť̴̫e̵͚̋ṙ̴̫ ̴̰̋ì̷͜s̴̨̀,̷͔̑ ̶̡̚ň̵͕o̷̩̎r̷͔͗ ̶̳̍d̵̼̊ò̷̰ ̷͓̂I̷̢̔ ̸̼͑c̵̺͝ä̶͓r̵̫̽è̸̪.̴͗ͅ ̷̢̎I̸͖̽'̴̠̍m̶̟̎ ̷̞͑n̵̗̈́e̷̠̎ë̷̜́d̶̺͌ ̷̱͠t̴̊ͅǒ̸̙ ̵̞̎s̸̪̈́p̴͎͑e̸̜̿à̸̗k̶̺̈́ ̶̨̓w̴͔͋i̷͗ͅt̵̤́ḧ̸̦́ ̷̘̇t̸̝̕ḥ̴̀e̴͈͗ ̵̙̃P̸̙̔r̴͙̀i̸̺͂n̵̨̛c̸̰̋ĕ̸̠s̶̬̊s̶̮͝ ̸̡̈ö̷̧f̶̖̆ ̵̳̇F̸̙̈ṙ̶̺į̷̓ė̷̥n̶̡͝ḑ̵̈́s̸͉͐h̶̝̉i̶̳͠p̸̳̚.̸͚̈ ̶̪͗G̶̝͘e̴̙̎t̷̤͌ ̷̖̃o̴̯͆û̸͎t̴͓͝ ̶͍̌ȯ̴̤f̵̬̋ ̷̗͌m̸̨̊y̷̬̋ ̸̳̋w̴͈̋a̷̠͆y̶̺͝,̷̩̌ ̵̲̏n̵̩͑o̸̹͗w̴̛̘"

(I know not who your sister is, nor do I care. I'm need to speak with the Princess of Friendship. Get out of my way, NOW!)

I yelled at him. The stallion flinched when I got in his face, but he held his composure. I could tell he was struggling to keep it together, he was sweating profusely and his legs were starting to falter. 

"Shining Armor, stand down and let him pa-"

That's as far as I heard Celestia speak before I noticed out of the corner of my eye one of the mares to my left charge a spell in her magic. I barely had enough time to see the ball of magical fire shoot from her horn and hit my stomach. The spell hit me with very little force, but it burned my skin and sent my body into overdrive as the pain triggered an explosion of adrenaline to surge through me. I covered the damaged area with my hands as a reflex, and the moment I saw the small, bloody crater, I lost all semblance of self control. I let out a primal roar as I began charging necrotic energy into my hands, resulting them to be engulfed in a black and red flame. Just as I was about to grab my assailant with Tactus Mortem and rip my attackers asunder, I was enveloped in a golden magical aura. I didn't have time to react as I was violently hurled backwards. I landed on my back and rebounded, flipping and skidding across the polished floor before friction stopped me. My horns shielded my head from getting a concussion, but they hurt from the collision nonetheless. When the world stopped spinning, I was enveloped in that aura again and forced onto my knees, my back was held straight and my wings were pressed back against my body. With my arms pressed firmly against my sides, I quickly took stock of the situation. The mare that had just shot me was looking like a scared dog as her apparent leader ran to her. The stallion that threatened me began angrily yelling at the mare that attacked me. For as mad as he may have been, he had nothing on Celestia. She looked like dad did the last time someone threatened mom. My eyes were locked with hers, and I saw nothing but anger. I had to get free from her grip or she would get a shot off while I was restrained. I began to charge necrotic energy within me to set myself free.

"Azazel, stop this! Don't make me-"

That's as far as she got before I released the pent up magic across my body and the golden aura around me shattered. I barely registered Celestia stagger from the magical backlash of having her telekinetic grip broken off me before I rose to my feet and began charging a blast of hellfire in my throat. Celestia was able to get her bearings just in time to see me open my jaw and the red hot glow of my throat to know what I would do next. Celestia quickly cast a concave shield to protect herself from the incoming attack. I fired the stream of black and red flames from my mouth and kept the pressure until I was certain there was enough smoke for me to safely bolt it out of there. I knew, even in my adrenaline fueled rage, I stood no chance against Celestia with my current exhaustion. Not listening to Luna's advice to rest was taking a toll on my mind, making it difficult to think, and the sudden usage of so much magic to heal my wound and keep the torrent of hellfire going was making my body shake and scream for me to stop. Keeping up the flames wasn't easy, and I was getting light headed. Fortunately, my plan worked. My flames crashing against Celestia's shield had generated a rather thick smog. I stopped my onslaught and began a breathless sprint in the opposite direction, towards my room. I was going to get my things, and take flight. I'd deal with where I'd go when I got there. Avalon, had been waiting by the door dutifully when I turned onto the corner of the hallway where my quarters were. Avalon didn't even flinch when I rammed through the door, tearing off the door's lock. I had startled Anvari so much she had fallen off the bed when I barged in. I paid little mind to it as I grabbed my bag and opened it.

"GET IN! WE'RE LEAVING!"

I commanded. Immediately, Anvari scurried over to me and climbed inside the bottomless bag. I tied it around my waist tightly before turning around and seeing Avalon on the inside of my room, holding the door shut with his body.

"Sir, we're trapped! What are your orders!?"

Avalon shouted as I noticed him struggling to hold the door shut. I took a moment to look around and when I saw the window, I made a hasty plan.

"Jump! I'll catch you!"

I instructed. Avalon simply nodded before letting go of the door and sprinting towards the window. Just as his body smashed through the glass and began falling, the door to my room swung open to reveal several golden clad ponies. Seeing this, I took three long strides as I dove out the window. I began to fall and easily spotted Avalon's black form rapidly falling towards the contrastingly colorful streets below. I stretched out my wings and used the magic I had left within me to propel myself towards him. As he neared the ground, Avalon began to panic, his arms and legs flailing around in a desperate attempt to grab something. With the sound of the wind rushing past me, I reached out with my hand and caught Avalon by his spine just in the nick of time. I flew parallel to the road and struggled gain altitude, all while flying faster than a falling star. Nobles and travelers alike had to duck and jump out of the way lest they be rammed by three hundred and fifty pounds of teifling muscle flying through the city's main road with the speed of the falling star. I cleared the city's wall by a few feet and only when I looked down to see Avalon, barely holding onto my arm; I remembered that Mia and Trephor were still in the castle. I began circling back around the mountain while I released a high pitched roar my skeletons would recognize as a command to come find me immediately once I lapped around the mountain. While this happened, Anvari opened my satchel for Avalon to climb in. Because I was pressed for time I shoved him in head first, the wind pressure from the speed I was traveling at pushed him the rest of the way inside and Anvari closed the bag from the inside like gnome closing the hatch to their underground home under some comically large tree. I knew I couldn't head back into the city, so I took a quick glance at the area surrounding the mountain. I could see a massive expanse of dark green forest past the lime green pastures that surrounded the mountain where the castle was, so I began to descend towards a clearing near the forest's edge. As I did my best to slow my descent, I braced myself for another less than perfect landing. I wasn't able to slow down enough to land quietly, causing a shock wave of wind and dust to surround the area of impact. Hearing the blaring of what I believe to have been sirens in the direction of Canterlot, I began to run into the forest. Running away from my the only family I had left, away from those that feared me, and away from the one my father had warned me about.

/////////////Trephor/////////////

~Sometime before sunrise~

Azazel ordered me and Avalon to stand guard by his door a few days ago. After standing there not doing much other than staring at the opposite wall to me for Two nights and two days, I got bored. The first night I had been standing guard with tall, dark, and grouchy Avalon. Princess Luna decided to come by and do some gardening in the halls, so there's that. After a while, I began my second most favorite activity, pestering Avalon.

~Two Hours Later~

"Avi?"

I asked for the gazilianth time. To this, Avalon gritted his teeth before answering.

"My name is Avalon. How many times must I say it?"

He griped.

"As many times as it takes for you to answer my question."

I replied. Avalon groaned to this as he clawed his non-existent face off.

"For the last time, I can't tell you what to do because I have no idea as to what we SHOULD do! CAN YOU PLEASE JUST... SHUT! UP!"

He argued. I looked away from him, raised my hand to my chin and stroked my imaginary handle bar mustache and goatee respectively. 

"Hmm... You know Avipoo. Come to think of it, I don't think master Azazel is very happy here..."

I stated squinting my eyes in mock contemplation before continuing.

"Twilight Sparkle seems to be very smart, and the lavender pony that follows her seems to be quite knowledgeable too... I wonder if this castle has a study or library of some sort..."

As I knew it would, Avalon's poorly wired skull began to stink of bacon as his proverbial brain threatened to combust from the strain of holding a line of thought that didn't involve Azazel's last command to him.

"You're not suggesting that we relocate somewhere else do you?"

He asked with a genuinely confused look on his face.

"Ding! ding! ding! Ladies and gentle creatures we have a winneeeeerrrrrr!"

I celebrated by gesturing at him with my best jester impression. To this, he would have scowled if he could.

"Oh, lighten up Aragon."

I chastised.

"Don't get off topic! Why do you think we should move elsewhere?"

He inquired.

"I don't think we should move just yet. I'm suggesting that we should have a contingency plan should Princess Sunbutt decide she wants to have an Azazel flambe."

I clarified. Avalon seemed lost in thought. Probably looking for a fault in my suggestion or a way to say the same thing differently.

"If there's a library in this castle, Princess Twilight must know. From what I'm able to pickup, Mia has been conversing with Twilight on a lot of subjects ranging from technology, medicine, and the history of our land. So comparing Mia's knowledge on the subjects with what they have available has been a regular occurrence."

He explained. It amazes me that despite being the only one of us that can communicate with Azazel and us telepathically, he's still dumber than a brick. Eh, guess it comes with the perks of being able to bench press a full grown bear.

"Avathong?"

I asked, barely keeping my manic giggling in check. Avalon, as expected, was not pleased.

"*sighs* What is it Trephor?"

He stated as the despair of thinking I'd never leave him be began settling in. Hanging his head in defeat.

"Can you tell me where Mia is? I feel like doing some research of my own would be productive."

His eyes ignited with renewed excitement at the prospect of me leaving him alone. I couldn't help but laugh at his display.

"She should be outside Princess Twilight and Starlight Glimmer's quarters getting ready for the day."

He stated with a joy that he didn't have a few a seconds ago. My laughter at his sudden mood swing died down the moment I realized that I had no idea where that was.

"Riiiiiiight... Could you point me in the right direction?"

As I stated this, I began to get a little dizzy. My sudden dizziness was the result of Avalon using his telepathic bond with me to send me the layout of the castle based on Mia's and Azazel's memories. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and on command, they did. 

"Ok. I'm gonna go over to Mia. With any luck, I can get you an idea of where we could set up shop with whatever this world has to offer us."

I explained, to which, Avalon nodded.

"Hold down the fort for me Aragon. I'll be back."

I told the now grumbling skeleton standing watch by our master's door on his lonesome. I began my trek through the halls with a small bounce in my strides as I began reminiscing on memories of simpler times. I remembered my first few days after being "resurrected." Azazel had given all of us a custom paint job and his mother Lilith gave us a gift to use with our sentience. Mia had been given the skill and mind of an architect and indoor stylist along with a universally good fashion sense. She's the reason Azazel's room back on our homeworld wasn't a rat infested cesspit, she taught him how to organize and clean after himself. Avalon, being the most loyal, was given telepathy so Azazel could keep track of us. Your's truly, being the most smartest, most handsome, and wittiest, was given the ability to understand, speak, read and/or write in any language I come across. Little Anvari  frightens me a little with her gift. DON'T TELL AVALON! She has the ability to channel magic through her arms to cast spells. The reason this scares the living daylights out of me is becau- Hey! Its Mia. The poor girl had been sitting there all night by herself. I approached the door and sat down next to Mia. 

"Morning Mia."

I smiled with the friendliest smile I could offer. Mia looked tired, despite us skeletons not being able to feel physical exhaustion. She yawned before answering.

"Morning Trephor. How were things on your end?"

She asked, looking at me.

"Oh, not much. I just annoyed our dark knight for about four hours after standing in a hallway for nearly three days with nothing to do."

I complained. Mia began chuckling at this and scooted a little closer. Seeing this, my chivalrousnessness came shining through and gesture for her to get closer. She did so and rested her head on my shoulder. We stayed there for a while, not really doing much as I simply watched the sun's rays crawl up a wall through a window while it slowly rose. I never really understood why, Mia liked laying her head on my shoulder. I can say from personal experience that hard bones are NOT very comfortable. Unfortunately for my current train of thought, the door to the suite opened to reveal a very happy looking Twilight and a very tired looking Starlight.

"Good morning Princess. You too Starlight."

I addressed them. The girls perked up and looked at me with a bit of surprise.

"Oh, hello again Trephor. Is Azazel ready for his interview?"

Twilight asked like an excited scholar, dying to get more knowledge. Me being the all time champion of the disappointment Olympics, decided to give her the best customer service smile possible along with her answer.

"Sorry, Azazel is still going over the information. If it's any consolation, the conversation you're gonna get out of him is gonna be juicy."

I explained. I expected disappointment, not intrigue.

"What do you mean?" 

She asked, her eyes shimmering with the spark of curiosity.

"Well... My guess is that the book he has is a sort of condensed compendium of all things necromancy. A necronomicon, if you will."

I explained. Twilight summoned a parchment with a feather pen and an ink well with a smile that rivaled that of the ponified hurricane, Pinkie Pie. I immediately understood why Mia was so tired, and took the best course of action accordingly. Mia, who had been peacefully sleeping on my shoulder, was now being shaken awake by yours truly.

"Hey Mia! I was just talking to Twilight about what a necronomicon is and all that it entails. I thought you could give her a much better explanation than me. Seeing as how you're much more knowledgeable than myself with this stuff."

I stated, standing her and myself to our feet and politely escorting the sleepy she-elf towards pony princess with a ravenous hunger for knowledge. Mia, was visibly miffed at my display, but she didn't say anything.

"Ok-"

She began with a sigh, rubbing the sleep off her non-existent eyelids and focusing on Twilight

"A necronomicon is, in essence, a collection of rituals, spells, cantrips, enchantments and hexes that revolve around the direct manipulation of..."

She explained to Twilight as they walked off into the distance and out of earshot while rounding a corner. When they left my field of hearing I let out a chuckle I'd been holding. I nodded to myself as the two left, and looked over to a very disappointed looking Starlight.

"What?"

I asked.

"You're Trephor?"

She replied with a question of her own. it confused me at why she would ask that, and so, I tilted my head to show it as I don't have eye brows to raise.

"Yes, I am. I presume you're Starlight Glimmer, correct?"

I countered. Our duel of inquiry would only have one outcome. A victory for me. MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

"That wasn't very nice of you. Especially with how well she talks about you."

She stated, her drowsiness replaced with a defensive tone. This stumped me. I mean, Mia of all people, spreading a good word about me? It had to be sarcasm. Right?

"What do you mean?"

Curiousity overriding my pride.

"Well, she told us she really likes you."

She stated matter-of-factly. I knew then this was a joke, and as such I couldn't help but laugh. When I finally got my bearings, I noticed she wasn't laughing with me. She looked like she was both seriously worried and really upset.

"What's wrong with you!? I just told you she likes you and you treat it like a joke!?"

She asked indignantly. Seeing as how she wasn't joking, my fit of laughter subsided and I began to stand up straight.

"Starlight, I'm sorry. I- heh heheheheh I just find it so outlandish that out of everyone she would like. She likes me- hehehehehehahahaha... "

I confessed, letting my fit of giggling subside completely before I continued.

"Look at it this way. What could she possibly like about a bag of bad jokes, cheesy puns, lame references, and poorly camouflaged bones such as myself?"

I explained. I'll admit, it sounded funnier in my head. Now I just sounded depressed. Starlight on the other hand, looked a lot less upset, and a lot more concerned.

"I'm sorry I lashed out at you like that. Look, why don't we go grab breakfast with Twilight and we can talk about it later with a full stomach, ok?"

She offered, trying to lighten up the sour mood. Fortunately for us both, it did, as I was suddenly struck in the face with a way I could kill two birds with one stone.

"You know, I think that would be a good idea. Although I don't think food would be good for me. Everything I eat has a way of going right through me."

I explained, waving my hand over the are my stomach would be if I had one. This caught her off guard and she let out a hearty chuckle.

"Well, is there anything else I can help you with?"

She offered. TARGET ACQUIRED. 

"Well, I actually came here to ask if you could point me in the direction of the nearest library."

I explained. She raised an eyebrow at this.

"Uh.. Sure, I can take you to Canterlot's public library, but what are you looking for?"

She asked.

"I want to see if I can find a map to get a sense of where we are and just somewhere I can get a general understanding of what Equestria has to offer."

This caused her to tense. I stretched out my arms and let my jaw hang from my left hinge. I made the flames of my eye grow and they turned green with amusement.

"I will learn from your land so that my Master's undead horde may eat whole cities of pony braaaiiiiinnnsss!"

I spoke with the best zombie voice I could manage. Starlight backed away with a horrified expression that was too funny for me to not laugh. I was promptly konked on the head with a hoof for that, knocking me off balance.

"Worth it..."

I stated, rubbing the area of impact. Once I got back to my feet I noticed Starlight was looking at me with an annoyed expression.

"Ok. ok. I won't joke around with that again."

I conceded. Starlight rolled her eyes at this and began her walk to the dining room to enjoy a nice breakfast.

"Good, now let's go get me something to eat. The library should open by the time we're done getting breakfast."

She explained. I sheepishly nodded and followed her. Twilight and Mia were at the table, Mia talking and Twilight multitasking between eating her cereal and taking detailed notes on everything Mia was talking about. As I waited for Starlight to finish her breakfast I began to maul over what she said about Mia liking me. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I am fully aware that I can be an insufferable pain in the ass when I want to be, and despite this, not once has she complained. She's given me advice and helped me to plan out situations where Azazel has needed of me without ever complaining about my humor or choice of words. The more I thought about it, the worse I felt. I began to connect the dots with her behavior as well. All the nights she would become mentally exhausted, she would come to sleep with me or simply to vent how she was feeling. As far as I know, I'm the only one she-

"Ok, I'm done. Let's get going."

Starlight said happily, derailing my train of thought.

"Y-yeah."