Luna stood within the newly built dueling stadium, arms crossed with an impressed smile on her face. On the outside, it looked like a rounded building with a covered roof which sat next to their sports fields. It was only when you got inside that a person could feel the grandness of it all. The main floor was large enough so that ten duels could be carried out at the same time, with markings that showed where the duelists were to position themselves. But, if they wanted to change it they could for with the simple push of a button the floor would automatically change to one of several different options. Holo-emiters were also positioned along the walls to increase the amount of detail with the holograms as well as giving it a bit more ‘feel’ as it were. Then there were the stands. According to the blueprints, this place could hold double the amount of students they actually had at this school. All in all, it was a fine building that would be the envy of any pure dueling school in the country.
But none of that was what was making Luna smile at the moment. It was Pip. The small boy was standing at the other end of the dueling field they were currently on with all the members of the dueling team and the dueling fan clubs watching from the sidelines. Just by glancing over, Luna could make out the faces of several prominent students like Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Gabby, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and many others. Pip was on one knee at the moment, breathing hard after finishing a rather difficult duel.
“An impressive display,” remarked Luna as she approached her young protégé. “You managed to use the card I gave you effectively.”
Pip looked up at her, a small smile of his face from the praise as well as a blush. “T-Thanks,” he managed to say when Luna stopped in front of him. Slowly, he rose up with the look of an utter fan boy who was meeting his idol. “But I was no match for your signature Star Rush combo! That was just amazing! And the way you took down my best monster with Honest…I never saw that coming!”
For her part, Luna chuckled before reaching out and messing up his hair. “Thanks for the compliment,” she said as the boy blushed even harder. “But, rather than admiring my moves, I want to talk about yours. Do you know where you went wrong?”
“Well,” began Pip as he brought his hand to his chin, thinking hard. Luna could tell he was replaying the duel in his head, thinking about every move he made. “I think I might have pressed my advantage too much. Is that it?”
“Yes,” said Luna with a proud nod. “You managed to get your best monster onto the field, but in doing so you used up nearly your entire hand. Without any cards in your hand for a discard, you couldn’t activate his effect leaving it nothing more than a big beatstick for me to take down. What’s more, you jumped the gun a bit with that trap card. Had you waited a little bit longer you could have made better use of it.” Pip nodded, eagerly taking in the advice she was giving.
“Now then,” continued Luna as she turned to the other students, all of them looking excited at being addressed. Some were even moving their hands to their deck boxes hanging from their belts, ready to pull them out to either duel the Vice-Principal or to ask her to look over their decks. “Who wants to go next?”
“I do!” shouted one boy. He was a gray skinned lad with slicked back hair. If memory served her right, he was the younger brother of Thunderlane. Rumble she thought. However, her smile quickly turned into a frown as this boy shoved one of the other students needlessly as he raced onto the field. Her eyes then narrowed as he almost ran Pip over, who managed to move out of the way at the last moment so that Rumble was now standing in his place. Rumble didn’t seem to notice this sudden change in mood as he took his deck out, slammed it into his duel disk, and activated it in a showy style. “I’ve been waiting for this all day! Let’s duel!”
“Rumble,” began Luna with an edge in her voice that everyone could clearly hear. But before she could go any further, there was a cough behind. Turning around, she saw that it was Cheerilee holding up her arm and pointing to her watch.
“Is it really that time?” asked Luna to which Cheerilee nodded before heading out the door. With a sigh, Luna turned back to the students. “I’m sorry everyone, but I have another engagement that I need to get to.” At that everyone let out a groan. “But don’t worry. I’ll set aside some time next week to spend more time with all of you. Rumble, I want to see you in my office tomorrow before the first bell. There is something that we need to discuss.”
With that said, Luna walked out of the stadium, waving goodbye to her students, all of whom waved back. Well, every student except Rumble who was not looking too pleased at the moment. He was standing there, glancing at her with narrowed eyes and his hands tightened into fists. The last thing she saw of the boy was him quickly turning and moving away from everyone else. Yes, she would need to talk to him about this. This sort of behavior was not going to be accepted here at this school and she was going to make sure he understood that. Hopefully, in the morning, he would calm down and they could discuss this.
Once outside, she felt the cool air hit her. The sun’s light was fading over the horizon so that the sky was awash with a golden hue. But she did not pause to stare at this sight, instead hurrying to the faculty parking lot where her car awaited her. As she moved, she checked her own watch to make sure of the time. Hopefully she could make it back to her place, get changed, and then be at her final destination without being late.
“Luna, there you are,” said Celestia. As the younger of the two sisters entered the parking lot, she saw her sister standing by her own car. “I was beginning to worry. You were later than normal. Now, hurry up or we’ll be late.”
Seeing her sister and hearing what she said caused Luna to stop and curse, briefly glad for the fact that there were no students around to hear her. “Oh, I’m sorry sister,” said Luna as she smiled awkwardly. “I, ah, sort of made other plans for tonight.”
Celestia, who had turned to open her car door, paused for a moment before slowly turning around to look at her. Even from where she stood, Luna could see the subtle movements around Celestia’s mouth despite the appearance of calm.
“Luna…we always have dinner together tonight,” she said, her tone sounding slightly hurt. “We haven’t missed this since our college days. Not even when you got sick! I came to your room with your usual order and-”
“Yes, I know,” said Luna as she moved to her own car. “This was, well, sort of last minute thing.”
Celestia frowned visibly now. “Does that have anything to do with you canceling our Tuesday and Thursday night plans? That super secret thing you’re not telling me about?”
Luna shook her head as she pulled out her keys, unlocking the car with the push of a button. Or, at least she tried to. Even though she was pushing down with all her might she could not hear the sound of the doors unlocking nor did she see her rear lights blinking to show that it was working. Great, just great. Her car had been doing this more and more lately. So of course at the one time when she needed to make a getaway it was doing this! Sighing, Luna continued to press the button while turning to look at Celestia.
“Sister, I’m trying to sort some things in my life out. Ok?” she began with a pleading expression. Another sigh escaped her lips as she shook her head. “And this is very important to me. I’ll tell you everything once I see how things are shaping out.”
“But sister,” began Celestia, but her voice was drowned out by Luna’s car alarm. The young sister had given up on the button and had, instead decided to do things the old fashioned way. Only problem was that this make’s alarm system activated whenever someone tried that!
Shaking her head even more, Luna put her keys into the ignition and turned on the car to stop the alarm. “Celestia, I am honestly sorry about this. I was just so excited and I promise I’ll make it up to you. Just…think of this like taking a break from babysitting your little sister. Go out and have some fun on the town for a change. Maybe go to the indoor rock climbing place or something.” With that, Luna entered her car before driving off. Leaving her big sister still standing there.
-x-
Sometime later, Sombra was seated within one of the fanciest restaurants in town. Despite the late hour, the room was a wash of light thanks to the large crystal chandeliers overhead as well as the candles sat on every table. The tables were covered by cloths made of nothing less than the finest materials with crystal glasses resting on top, along with a wide array of silverware. The floor was made of white marble, still looking clean enough to reflect everything despite being walked on all night. With this place being such a high class location, only a few of the dozen or so tables were occupied by some of the most elite members of society. One waiter was bringing a large silver tray of food to a table belonging to a man that Sombra knew owned several hospitals whose company was a woman that was not his wife. At another table was a man named Filthy Rich, looking proudly at his daughter while his wife looked like she smelled something rotten.
As for Sombra, his table had yet to be filled with food. Something that was uncommon for him since, whenever he visited this location, he had a standing order waiting for him. He would have eaten, paid for his meal, and then left without a word to anyone. Perhaps a glare to scare any of the staff. But now, well, he was seated alone as he fidgeted slightly whenever someone passed him by. His gaze moved from scanning the room before moving towards the empty plate across the table from him. More than once he had picked up his spoon to check his reflection, not caring how it looked, as well as breathing into his hand to check his breath.
“Sir,” came the voice of one of the waiters as he approached him. “Are we ready to order?”
Sombra glanced over at the other plate yet again, his hand twitching slightly before returning to look at the waiter. “It seems my guest has yet to arrive,” he said in a polite tone that he had been using more and more recently. “Would you please come back in a few minutes?”
“Most certainly sir,” replied the waiter as he bowed, still holding the tray with an impressive amount of skill.
“Ah, one more thing,” said Sombra quickly as the waiter was about to turn around. A hand went to his slightly loosened tie which he then began to fiddle with. “I was just wondering…Do I…That is to say I’m not saying…I mean…How does…”
“I can assure you, sir, you look smashing this evening,” replied the waiter with a smile. As he left, Sombra looked down at what he was wearing this evening. It was one of his more casual suites with the jacket left unbuttoned along with a red tie. He already knew it fit him and everything matched, which for the longest time was all that mattered. So why was he now caring if it looked good on him or not?
As he sighed, he heard the sound of heals on the marble floor coming towards him. Looking up again, he saw that it was Luna. Tonight she was dressed in a matching white top and pants that looked professional yet fashionable at the same time. Nothing really spectacular, most likely the best that she could get with her salary. For a moment, Sombra bit his lower lip as he wondered if it was a good idea asking her to meet him here.
“Sorry I’m late,” she said as she sat down across from him, placing her palms on the table while giving him an apologetic smile. “Wasn’t sure what I was supposed to wear at a place like this. I’m sure a certain student of mine could have helped, but I was short on time.”
“It’s ok,” said Sombra as he waved it off. “Besides, you look great.”
Luna's smile turned into a smirk. “You don’t look half bad yourself, Serious Sombra.” It took a great deal of effort for Sombra not to snort loudly at the sound of her old nickname for him. It really took him back. At the same time Sombra felt his shoulder relax while the knot of tension he had been feeling begin to unwind into nothingness. He then smiled at Luna gently, allowing her playfulness to set the mood for tonight. Right now, they were just two old friends meeting up after so long.
Not long after Luna had sat down the waiter arrived at their table with two glasses of sparkling water and ready to take their orders. As Luna opened up her menu real quick, Sombra felt someone’s gaze bearing down upon them. Doing his best not to turn his head, he managed to spot Filthy’s wife glaring at them. The grey man could practically see the hate emanating off her body while she bit her lower lip. It was strange though, since she hadn’t done anything like this since he had arrived. Could it have been Luna? That was a possibility, but why would this woman have such a problem with her?
Thankfully he wasn’t the only one who noticed this sudden change as well. Both her husband and daughter could see it as well. While the young lady at the table leaned away from her and more towards her father, Filthy looked extremely unhappy about this. As Luna was ordering her meal, Filthy stood up and began to usher his family out while paying for their half eaten meals. His wife did not fight this, only loudly exclaiming that they would most certainly not be dining here again if they were going to allow ‘common trash’ to be allowed in. As she snottily walked out, Filthy merely slipped his waiter a hundred dollar bill as a tip before leaving, apologizing for his wife’s behavior.
“So, how have you been?” asked Luna after they had ordered. As she spoke, she rested both of her hands on the table with one on top of the other. if she had been bothered by that scene she didn’t show it in the least. Perhaps she was doing her best to make sure the rest of the evening was as pleasant as possible.
“To be honest, better than I have in a while,” admitted Sombra as he took a quick sip of his drink. “It’s weird, but I never thought that going to hospitals to see my fans would have this sort of affect on me. Every time I visit them, I get a call from one of the nurses telling me that the kids’ spirits are much higher as well as their health. I’ve also spotted a few who have some hidden potential. A few years of training and they could give you or me a run for our money.”
At that, Luna smiled and nodded. “I can relate,” she said. “There is one student I’ve taken under my wing. He’s got talent, no doubt about that. But he’s not the only one I’m working with. Recently I’ve also been spending time with many of our school’s duelists, working with all of them and helping them to become the best they can be. They all seem to love dueling in that stadium you built them.”
“It was a small price to pay for peace of mind,” said Sombra, slowly closing his eyes and then opening them again. Then a smile appeared on his lips. “Well, I shouldn’t say that. It was expensive so I should say it was worth every penny.” He then paused for a moment averting his gaze for a moment before looking at her again. “Other than working with your students, how have you been? Has anyone from the old days contacted you yet?”
Luna appeared taken aback by that for a moment yet it only lasted for a moment before she regained her composure. “So far only one. Celaeno called me the morning after our duel. She hasn’t changed a bit. She was talking so fast that I wondered when she had time to breath.” Luna then sighed as she looked down at her side. “When she said how worried she was, that she thought I had been murdered or something, I felt guilty for not contacting her sooner. The thing was she only knew me as Nightmare Moon and Starswirl was keeping a closer eye on me…It’s not an excuse I’m proud of. I’m sure that there was something I could have done to let her know I was ok. Maybe…Maybe I was subconsciously afraid to do it because it reminded me of what I was missing out on.”
“Celaeno,” said Sombra with a small laugh, bringing Luna’s gaze back to him. Her expression was that of shock, but Sombra quickly waved a hand while he continued to chuckle. “I’m sorry, but I was just remembering the two of you back in the day. You dressed in that knightly armor and her in pirate get-up. Did you know she still wears it?”
“Yeah,” said Luna as her expression softened. “I’ve caught a couple of her duels over the years.”
“So, what happened after she called?” urged Sombra.
“Well, besides wanting to know everything that I’ve been doing since my disappearance, she wants us to get together for a night out the next time she’s in town,” explained Luna. “Hopefully I’ll be available when she does.”
“Why wouldn’t you?” asked Sombra. “I don’t mean to sound rude or anything, but surely you can take a night off work when a friend comes to see you. Maybe that sister of yours could help?”
“It's not about,” began Luna, suddenly nervous. At that moment, the waiter returned with their food. The two sat there in silence as he sat their dishes on the table before walking away. After a moment or two of silence, Luna let out a sigh before picking up her fork and toying with her food. “Sombra, if I tell you this, can you promise not to tell anyone? I mean it, you can’t tell a soul about this.”
“Of course,” said Sombra. As he did, he began to mentally prepare himself for anything she might throw at him. That she had some large amount of gambling debt that she was working to pay off. That she had some other sort of addiction and was seeking help. That she was dating someone else. Anything!
Luna let out another sigh before taking a bite out of her food. She ate slowly, building the tension that Sombra was feeling, before continuing to talk. “I…I’ve been taking online college courses ever since we dueled,” she said
Sombra raised an eyebrow at this. “That…wasn’t what I was expecting to hear,” he said. As her gaze hardened a little, Sombra quickly added. “You know it’s not that big of a deal. Plenty of people are taking advantage of online classes these days to better themselves. So I guess I don’t understand why it’s a secret.”
Luna’s face softened before looking down at her plate. “You have a point,” she admitted. “Truthfully I hate hiding this from my sister like I’m doing something wrong. I guess, if I had to pick a reason, it would be that I’m afraid Starswirl would find out. Every time I log in I find myself half expecting him to come bursting through the door.” As soon as she said that, everything clicked into place for Sombra. It made sense. From everything that Luna had told him about the old geezer, he had impacted her life in the worst possible way. Always comparing her to her sister while telling her that she would never be good enough. Dictating how she was to live her life. And then, just when she was about to make her mark in history, Starswirl took it all away without a care in the world. Yeah, being in the shadow of a man like that would have an affect on Luna.
“I understand,” said Sombra as he closed his eyes. “You have my word that I won’t speak about this to anyone. But, you know sooner or later you’ll have to face him about this. He can’t control your life anymore.”
“You have a point,” replied Luna, as Sombra opened his eyes. She seemed to have brightened up considerably, eating her food with gusto. “I’ll tell Celestia about what I’m doing after I finish these courses. Then I’ll tell her that I’m planning on going back to school for real.”
“Well, if you ever need the money you know you can make some big cash by dueling again,” said Sombra calmly. “And I’ll do my best to help you re-enter. By the way, what classes are you taking? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“A couple reintroductory courses into psychology,” replied Luna. “Back when I was studying to become a teacher, my college professors said I had a knack for the subject. Some even talked to me, urging me to consider entering their more advanced classes. To be honest, I did like the subject and thought I’d be happier doing that than teaching. Maybe even specializing in children. Starswirl…Well, Starswirl certainly didn’t agree when I brought it up and I didn’t have it in me at the time to fight back.” Luna then shook her head. “But enough about me. What else have you been up to since we last saw each other?”
“Something important. For both of us,” said Sombra in a serious tone. “After our duel, I redirected all of my resources that had been tasked with finding you to my newest subject: finding the person who sent that letter.”
At first, Luna said nothing. Merely finished chewing on her food before taking a sip of water. It was surprising for him. He had expected her to be more excited about this. Or, at the very least curious as to the identity of the person who ruined their lives. So why did she seem so…indifferent.
“Sombra,” began Luna as she set down her glass. “Do you really expect to solve such an old mystery? I mean, do you even have any clues to work from?”
Sombra let out a sigh as he leaned back in his chair. “To be honest, I thought I did,” he said. “I’ve managed to obtain security footage from around the locker room that you normally used, personally watching it myself to see if there was anyone who could have found your identity back then. So far I’ve found nothing.” He then let out a sigh. “I’ve also been looking at all the people who would have benefitted by your disappearance other than myself. Most of the duelists from back then eventually quit and moved on with their lives. Nearly all of them are living basic lives with nine to five jobs. Heck, Storm King has even started up his own business. But there are a few who are not doing so well for themselves. Bitter Pill is in heavy debt right now. When I brought up your disappearance, he said that if he knew anything about it he would have sold the story to anyone willing to pay.”
Sombra paused for a moment to take a bite out of his meal. He did not mention that he was thinking of looking into Hope. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, she did have a motive. Hope had known how important that duel was for him since it was his next step into getting into the pros. The working theory was that she found out who Nightmare Moon was and, thinking she was helping him, sent Starswirl that damned letter. The idea made sense and had the potential to put a new spin on why they broke up. Guilt over causing him so much pain. However, he wasn’t ready to confront her on this before he found proof.
“So, nothing so far,” said Luna. There was something in her tone that made his eyes twitch. He was about to remind her that he was doing this for the both of them. So that they could have closure. But he stopped when he saw her face. She looked worried. Slowly she reached across the table and gently placed her hand on top of his. “Sombra, I don’t want this to become an obsession with you. It happened so long ago that we both might have to accept that the identity of who did this will never be found. I can accept this and move on with my life, but can you?”
Sombra looked at Luna as he felt the warmth of her hand on his own. As he did, he understood what she was telling him. She didn’t want him to waste years of his life perusing this, chasing a ghost that he might never find. Not when he had so many good things right in front of him. A thriving business. A great dueling career. Having dinner with a beautiful woman. All things considered, he did have it made despite what happened in the past. And yet…
Slowly, Sombra nodded. “I understand,” he said as he watched her worried face relax. “But I still need to at least try. I’ll keep looking but once all my leads have dried up then it's over.”
Luna let out a sigh at this, leaning back into her seat as she did. “Well, if you insist. Just know that I will smack you if you become too obsessive.”
“Deal,” said Sombra with a smile which Luna slowly returned.
-x-
Spoiled Rich let out a scream from within her private office as she flung a stack of papers against the wall. The room was elegant with furniture made out of wood that had come directly from the rain forests, all polished on a daily basis. Her desk sat on one corner, devoid of any meaningless personal items like pictures or knick-knacks. Only files and her computer were allowed on it. On one side of the room was a couch meant for her to lie down in peace when she needed as well as an old grandfather clock. Small meaningless plants were found here and there, but other than that the room gave off a refined yet sterile appearance for whoever came to her home to talk business. This place was her sanctuary, an isolated place from the rest of the house where she could do her work in peace.
Yet despite being here, Spoiled could only seethe in rage at the remembrance of Luna. Not that she didn’t hate Celestia either. Celestia was far too soft for the position that she held, trying to make school a more friendly place rather than ensuring that the school was raised to the level of that of Crystal Prep. Well, a Crystal Prep before that pink skinned ninny was put in charge. In her mind, that was the direction that schools should be heading! Hiring only the best, most refined teachers while also allowing only the best (and wealthiest) students to attend. Yet as of now, that second part could not happen. But Spoiled had spoken to Celestia many times in the past about her hiring choices. Like hiring that Cranky Doodle character who only got his teaching degree from a community college. How could she even consider someone so lowly as that?! Or that sister of hers.
Luna. Just thinking about that woman caused her blood to boil. She was a nobody, a nothing. The only reason she was hired and moved to the position that she was in was because she was related to Celestia. Several times she brought up the motion of having Luna removed to the rest of the school board only to be shot down. Sadly she understood their reasoning: she needed to have a reason for doing so or else they might find themselves facing a lawsuit.
Spoiled had spent so long looking for that reason until one finally fell in her lap. When Sombra had approached them, offering up so much if Luna won the duel that Spoiled knew she had to take it. it seemed like the perfect way of getting rid of her. Luna would lose the duel (and of course she was going to lose, being forced to duel against a professional), allowing Spoiled to point to the board that she cost them a brand new stadium. There was even a chance that she could convince them that Luna hadn’t tried hard enough or even lost on purpose. From there, she would force Luna out of the school and replace her with one of her associates: a high class gentleman named Neighsay. Bit by bit, the two would work to undermine Celestia and replace the staff to reflect their own ideal until finally forcing Celestia out. Then Neighsay would be the Principal thus allowing them to move forward and making Canterlot High a model of what all schools should be like. From there, it would only be a matter of time before she rose up, perhaps becoming something like the Secretary of Education.
It seemed so perfect…so how in the hell did it fail. How was Luna able to snatch up a win?!? For some time, Spoiled had pondered that question while Luna’s reputation seemed to grow. From what she had heard the students were warming up to her even more while the board's opinion of her grew vastly. Only she seemed to see Luna for what she was: a nothing.
Now tonight she had her answer. Sombra had thrown the match on purpose! That he and Luna were in this together! Yes, it was the only explanation that made any sense. They were working together, hatching this scheme to make Spoiled look bad while making Luna seem like a star.
“Madam,” came a voice from the other side of the door along with a knock. It was the family’s butler, what’s his name. “I am sorry to disturb you, but a package just arrived.”
A package? At this hour? Spoiled thought hard to see if she had ordered anything recently, but came up empty. Perhaps it was a gift?
“Come in and set it down at my desk,” said Spoiled coldly. As the door opened, she turned so that she wouldn’t have to look at the help. To her, doing so was unthinkable. They were naturally lower beings in every sense so that to look upon them was to look at something truly ugly. So, there she waited, staring at nothing until the door closed again.
Once closed, Spoiled turned to her desk to see a small package wrapped in brown paper. After walking over to it, she also spotted a note taped to the top with only her name on it. Nothing to tell who sent it. Not even a stamp or postmark meaning whoever delivered it to her did so in person. For a moment, Spoiled considered destroying the ‘gift’ on the spot without ever opening it. For some reason she had gotten hate mail and packages full of trash from various people. No doubt jealous of how rich she was. Frowning she tapped the package to find it hard, making a tapping noise.
Curious, she removed the note to at least see what it said. As she opened it, her internal alarms began to sound for this was not a handwritten note or one typed on a computer. No, it was like the ones a kidnapper would send to the family of its victim with the letters cut from a dozen or so magazines. Shocked by this, she nearly tossed it aside until something about the wording caught her attention.
“A Gift,” it read. “Use it as you see fit.”
Frowning, Spoiled took the note with both hands and crumbled it. She had no idea what game this person was playing, but whatever it was she wanted no part in it. Who in their right mind would trust something given to them by a stranger along with such an ominous note? The whole thing just came off as silly and half baked.
After crumpling the note and throwing it in the trash, Spoiled reached for the package but paused when she noticed that a piece of the brown wrapping had torn off. Probably when she had taken the note off. Looking down, she saw that it was an old VHS tape along with part of the title. A professional looking one at that. For a while, Spoiled stood there as she stared at the tape wondering what she should do. This certainly wasn’t what she had been expecting. Slowly she reached down to undo more of the wrapping. Really, there was no harm in just seeing the whole thing. Then, when the full title was on display, Spoiled’s eyes widened before a devious smile appeared on her face.
-x-
“What do you mean Vice-Principal Luna is fired?” demanded Celestia from behind her desk within her office. Sitting directly across from her was Spoiled Rich, a smug look on her face as she looked back at Celestia. On her right sat a man who was the Assistant Chairman of the School Board; a man by the man Documented Procedure. He was a slightly plump man with a far kinder face than his superior, looking like he did not enjoy this any more than Celestia. Finally, standing in the corner with her cheeks burning, was Luna.
“Just as I said,” replied Spoiled, her voice full of triumph. “The School Board has decided that your sister will no longer be working at this school. Nor any other school in this district.”
“Yes, I heard that part,” stated Celestia, a clear edge in her voice as she looked back at the woman. “But what I fail to understand is why. What cause do you have for firing the Vice Principal of my school? After everything that she has done for this school? You can’t just dismiss her without reason!”
“Believe me Principal Celestia, the majority of the School Board doesn’t want that either,” said Documented before Spoiled could say anything, earning a venomous look from her. “However, our hands are tied. Last night, a video came into our possession. One that, according to Spoiled Rich, contains images of your sister in a rather questionable state.”
“Y-You really found a copy?” asked a stunned Luna. When Spoiled nodded, Luna’s only reaction was to cover her face with her hands.
Shocked, Celestia turned to look at Documented. “Is it really that bad?” she asked.
“Well…I haven’t watched it myself,” he admitted. “Only Spoiled Rich has.” He then glanced over at Luna, letting out a little sigh before returning to look at Celestia. “Now, the members of the School Board wish to make it clear that they in no way desire to shame the Vice-Principal for any, ah, mistakes she might have made in her youth. We’ve all made our fair share of mistakes. However, we feel that if word ever came out about this it might cause an uproar with the parents. Not to mention how the students will see your sister.”
Despite the calm tone of Documented, as well as his kind wording, Celestia glared at Spoiled Rich. “Seems unfair to fire my sister without having the Board actually watch the video,” stated Celestia.
“Oh? You don’t think that my word is trustworthy?” asked Spoiled with a smirk. Rather than waiting for Celestia to reply, she turned to look at Luna whose hands were still covering her face. “Former Vice-Principal Luna, would it be fair to say that in that video you are shown in either skin tight attire or showing off large amounts of skin while also sweating while your rear is in the air?” Luna, whose voice had failed her, could only nod yes. “There, you see.”
“Even if that were true, what are the chances that anyone else will ever find the video?” pressed Celestia. “I mean, she’s been working here for years and no one has even heard of this video before.”
“You do have a point,” said Documented slowly. “And given the fact that she has done much for the school recently, perhaps we could-”
“No,” said Spoiled Rich flatly as she stood up. “As the Chairwoman of the School Board and as a mother of one of the students attending Canterlot High, I refuse to allow someone like Luna to have any position of authority here. The School Board has already made its vote so there is no more discussion. Ms. Luna, kindly remove yourself from these premises as soon as possible.”
With that, Spoiled turned and began walking out the door with Documented looking torn. Like he wanted to see if they could come to an understanding but knew that the conversation was over. As for Luna, she seemed frozen in place.
“I will fight to keep my sister at this school,” said Celestia firmly, causing Spoiled to stop in place. Slowly she looked at Celestia with an amused look on her face.
“You’re welcome to fight this in the courts,” replied Spoiled. “However, this expense will have to come out of your own pocket.”
“Why do it that way when we can settle this with a duel?” countered Celestia as she reached into her desk and pulled out her deck. She watched as Spoiled eyed the cards with a look of apprehension. “We’ll keep this simple. If I win, then my sister stays and I’ll be the one to deal with the consequences if anyone ever finds out. But if you win, then we both go.”
“Now now,” stammered Documented as he stood up. “There’s no need to-”
“An interesting offer,” interrupted Spoiled with a wicked grin on her face. “Very well, I accept your terms. Meet me in your new stadium in one hour along with the rest of the students. I want them to watch as I kick both sisters out of this school once and for all.”