//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 // Story: Hey, Wait a Second // by Erie_Entity //------------------------------// “You ready to move, Jess?” A deep yet familiar voice asked, causing Jessie to squirm on the bench. Jessie’s tired amber eyes slowly opened to his new environment, then blinked, switching to a dark brown as he began to focus. In the real world a colt tossed and turned in his bed, trying to move into a more comfortable position. If not for the sensation of his fur brushing against the sheets Jessie probably would not have noticed that he was dreaming again. The familiar sight of his neighborhood park greeted his dream self. Dotting the lush green grassy area were playing children, many of them giggling in delight. On the other side of the park and sitting on benches were the parents of the children, whispering gossip to one another about the latest news. It seemed like the whole neighborhood was here. Even his grouchy neighbor Miss Wilson had gone for a walk. There was a soft whistling tune coming from her lips accompanied by a minuscule smile. She seemed happy now, watching the children play with a subdued sense of fondness. Everything was so... perfect. Jessie sniffed the air hesitantly, just to see if he could. A faint scent of fresh grass hit his nostrils, making him sigh in satisfaction. His dreams had become so indistinguishable from reality since his arrival into Equestria. Sunset had told him that this sort of thing was normal for all creatures here. Likely due to the magical nature of this world. Jessie couldn’t quite imagine that. He barely dreamed in the human world. Or, if he did, he could never remember them. Here though, dreams came frequently and would persist in his mind long after he had woken up. The teen raised his hands and examined them, wiggling his fingers and using them to trace circles in his palms. At least when he dreamt about his world he was in human form. Hands were much better than hooves. Jessie’s hands closed into fists. It had been about a week since he last dreamed about his world but he wasn’t going to question it this time around. Maybe he could try lucid dreaming up some hot wings to see if he could taste them. As he made to get up and explore the area a thick finger tapped on his shoulder. He looked to his left, trying to see what the owner of the finger wanted. The concerned face of his father stared back at him. “You zoned out there. You alright?” “I...,” Jessie went quiet again. He hadn’t seen his father’s face in what felt like forever. Outside of the eighth birthday memory his face was clouded, hidden from view, or just sometimes missing entirely. One particular exception being an evening where Jessie had come home from a party to find his dad dancing on the table in the living room while singing Baby Got Back. It would have been fine if that was all, but the cherry on top was that Eric had also been in just his boxers. Dark times. Jessie shivered and tried not to dwell on that event, choosing to focus on how clearly he could see his father here. “I’m fine, dad. Thanks.” Eric Morrison smiled at his son and Jessie reflexively smiled back. “I asked if you were ready to move. We leave in a few weeks.” “Right,” Jessie’s smile faded. He looked away in hopes that his father wouldn’t notice. This was the kind of dream he was having, a memory brought forth by Sunset’s spells. He remembered this. “I am. Just gonna miss this place.” “Me too. But I just... don’t wanna stay here. Maybe getting away will do us both some good.” Jessie bit back a bitter comment about the only person benefiting being his father and instead drummed his fingers against his leg. Dad wouldn’t want to hear that. Coming to a decision about moving had been hard for him but he had already made up his mind. His grandparents had tried their hardest to talk his father out of it but Eric Morrison wasn’t so easily persuaded. “The most hard-headed of my three children,” His grandma had scoffed, her fist clenched around her red stress ball. “That man never knows when to quit. One day he’s going to run himself into the ground, get back up, and keep going over and over until it kills him!” Come to think of it she was probably right. Judging by the dark circles under his father’s eyes, he was already beginning the process. Jessie wondered if the man had poured himself into finding his son just as recklessly he did into moving. All the more reason to find out how he could get back as fast as he could. He wouldn’t leave dad alone. He couldn’t leave him alone. “I called ahead to the school you’re supposed to attend,” Eric said. The man pulled out his phone and showed Jessie a picture of a soccer team, wearing identical jerseys and posing with a trophy. “They’ve got a soccer team. I know you ain’t played on a team since you were young but I noticed you practicing your kicks in the backyard. Interested?” Not really. “Yeah. Sounds fun,” He said with forced interest. Jessie didn’t have the heart to refuse his dad. He genuinely seemed to be trying. “Is Granddad going to be teaching me Creole over video chat?” “Erm,” Eric put his phone back in his pocket and scratched at his beard. “He actually said no - don’t give me that look - because he thinks you learn better in person. You know how your grandad is about Haitian culture. ‘Member what he said when you first started learning?” Jessie cleared his throat and in what he felt was a perfect imitation of Grandpa Kendrick’s New Orleans accent, said: “‘Any fool with Ayiti in his blood that can’t speak Creole ain’t worth a damn and should be embarrassed of the disgrace that they are! You best remember that or else you’ll end up spineless like your uncle Jean. Now, go fetch my remote, boy. I gots to catch my program.’” His father laughed but shook his head. “No, Jess. The other thing.” “‘If I can’t smack ya for messing up the pronunciation then I don’t wanna teach ya’?” Eric nodded. Jessie snorted. Granddad was almost as stubborn as his son. Maybe it was a genetic thing that his father had unfortunately inherited. Luckily the younger Morrison had gotten his mother’s power of reasoning instead. She was always more level headed and rational than his father. The same pained feeling he had felt in this moment hit him once more through the dream. Maybe mom would have been able to talk some sense into his dad. The pained feeling got even more intense. It was all his fault. She’d still be here if it wasn’t for... Wasn’t for... Wasn’t for what? He didn’t remember thinking that. Jessie frowned, feeling the same blank sensation he felt whenever recalling what brought him into Equestria. He had almost it and now the thought was fading away. How could he just forget? “I could always hook you up with a tutor online. It’ll be a little different than what you’re used to, though.” What had he been thinking about? “Does it matter?” Jessie asked with a shrug. In the distance he heard an ambulance’s siren but couldn’t see it passing by. “As long as I learn, right?” He almost didn’t notice his dad’s small frown. “I guess. I just want to know if that’s what you wanna do.” You didn’t ask me that when you started packing two weeks ago, he thought. Naturally this was left unsaid. In fact, he didn’t say anything else, resuming the drumming motion of his fingers on his thigh. Beside him he heard his dad sigh as the world faded away. *** “Hey!” “You rainbow haired dork!” “We’re talking to you!” Jessie’s pony ears turned toward the direction of the sound against his will, ignoring his efforts to keep them in a normal position. He’d rather not give the colts the attention they were seeking but his new body betrayed him. He probably should have been more careful. Not that he anticipated anypony following him around like a bunch of creeps in the first place. Sneaking out the castle early in the morning on a Saturday and exploring the city gave him something to do in his downtime besides throwing punches against the sandbag in the gym until his hooves hurt. It also served as a way to pass time besides engaging in shenanigans with Sunset and gave him the chance to see something new. Jessie had seen some of Canterlot already but barely scratched the surface of this new world. He wanted to explore as much of it - or at least the surrounding area - as he could before going back to his. That was how he found himself in the middle class sector again. Far away from the hoity toity rich clowns that lived close to the castle and into a more familiar residential area. He prided himself on knowing how to maneuver his way through city streets without attracting much attention. It was a useful skill on his world. Considering that he looked just like everypony else here though, blending in was pretty easy. Or so he thought. Behind him, the once faint hoof clopping and wing flapping became louder as the makers of the noise approached. For the love of- “You guys need something?” He asked casually, looking at them over his shoulder. There were three colts around his age: a small blue earth pony, an average sized silver pegasus (who was flying instead of walking, Jessie noted with a hint of envy) and a very large green earth pony. The green earth pony lead the other two, walking in front of them with his chin held high. “Need something? Hah! Not from a horned bastard like you.” The pegasus said snarkily. Ouch. Rude much? His horn was awesome. “So... Why exactly are you following me?” “Because!” The smaller earth pony chimed before suddenly looking confused. That must have been the stupid one. Every group of three had a stupid one. “... Uh. Why are we following him?” “I recognize you,” The big earth pony said, brow furrowed with a very pronounced forehead like a Neanderthal’s. The pony reminded Jessie of the stereotypical tough kids from those old Saturday cartoons. Naturally, Jessie decided to call him Biggie. “You’re that homeless dude that dropped the canopy on the market!” Jessie’s head tilted confusedly. He almost couldn’t believe he forgot that happened. Lot of time flew by in a month and a half. ... And he wasn’t just some homeless dude, that was offensive. “Yeah, what about it?” Biggie sputtered. Jessie tried so hard not to laugh at the ridiculous face he was making. “You dropped that canopy on me and my friends!” “Okay... You want an apology or something? Sorry, I’m just having a hard time following-“ “You made us drop our stuff! We had to buy all of our ice cream again!” “I’m... sorry?” “You should be!” Both the small earth pony and the pegasus said simultaneously. This was going on for longer than he would have liked. Maybe he should give the lackeys some names. Pegasus boy would be Wings. Or even better, Featherhead. That worked. And the small earth pony would be Smalls. Not much effort required and they were easy to identify. Not too shabby if he did say so himself. And he did. “Yeah. You should be,” Biggie growled, taking a few threatening steps forward. Jessie kept his hooves planted, unwilling to give the bigger colt the satisfaction of moving him. “I heard you got off scott-free because you’re a unicorn. A magically gifted one at that.” “Could be true, couldn’t be. Does it really matter anymore?” Jessie asked in a level tone. They both stared each other down, neither willing to give an inch to the other colt. Biggie’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Yeah it does matter. You unicorns are always getting away with stuff you shouldn’t around here. Maybe we should teach you a lesson.” Smalls and Featherhead made some - what he assumed to be - threatening poses. They were really unintimidating but clearly seemed to be trying. Was this... pony racism? The word combination nearly made him giggle out loud. Back on earth he had an experience or two on the subject matter but to think he’d actually experience it in another, completely different, world was crazy. Then again, maybe they had a point? Canterlot did have an abundance of unicorns. Maybe he just never noticed it because he was a unicorn himself. He’d have to ask Sunset about that. Why the colts wanted to project their feelings onto him specifically was unclear. He was just chilling and walking. The canopy incident was ages ago and it’s not like he was going to do it again anytime soon. What was clear though was that the street was more empty than he had noticed before. Either there weren’t any ponies here before... or things were about to get all weird and ugly. Maybe he should diffuse the situation before things took a turn that way. Weird and ugly would be bad. “Listen, guys,” Jessie said, trying his best to keep his voice calm and friendly. “I can buy you some more ice cream or something. I’m really not interested-“ Biggie threw a punch at his head. The hoof came at him in slow motion and yet even with all the extra time to process the sight he barely managed to activate the teleportation in time. His body flickered out of existence in a flash of amber light and appeared a few yards away, a loud yelp of surprise coming from his mouth. The brick wall that had unfortunately tasted Biggie’s hoof now sported a few cracks and missing pieces. Jessie and the other two colts watched in stunned silence as chunks of brick fell onto the concrete street. That had almost been him. He was suddenly even more grateful for his magic lessons. “Stupid unicorns,” The big colt muttered, shaking the pains from punching a solid object off with ease. “You and your stupid magic.” “I dunno what your deal with unicorns is, man,” Jessie took a deep and long breath then slowly released it to shake off the rush of adrenaline. “But you could have damn near killed me. What the hell’s your problem?” “What’s a man?” asked Smalls. He was ignored by everypony else. “You unicorns always look at us other ponies like you’re so high and mighty. You’re even doing it right now but it’s fine. When we slap you senseless you won’t even be able to tell the Princess or your cotton candy marefriend.” Jessie was so surprised that Biggie called Candy his girlfriend that he almost didn’t teleport away from the next punch. “Stop teleporting! Let me hit you!” “Kind of defeats the purpose.” Jessie muttered, now even further away. More chunks of brick clattered onto the street. He contemplated running. Considering all the spells he knew, he could probably win a fight but he didn’t want to take that chance and a confrontation didn’t seem worth it. Celestia would be really angry with him over something like this. He’d be locked in the castle or end up getting kicked out completely. Not good. “Look,” He said, taking a few slow steps back. They’d start chasing him if he bolted. “I’m finna just walk away. You guys have fun-“ “HAH! So you’re a coward! I knew it!” Featherhead laughed, pointing a hoof in his direction. Jessie’s eye twitched. “What?” “You heard me, horned dork! You’re a coward!” Jessie’s eye twitched again. He never considered himself as someone to get angry at provocations, even if it meant looking spineless. He had taken the insults and bitter words despite how badly they wounded his pride, just like his mom and dad taught him. But he wasn’t a coward, especially compared to this weird little group who thought they could get the drop on him in the middle of the day. “Aww! Did the little unicorn get his feelings hurt?” “I think he did. Look at him! He looks so mad!” “Maybe we should stop? He’s getting really angry, guys.” Smalls said in a shaky voice. The warning from the earth pony fell on the deaf ears of his comrades, the two of them too busy laughing as Jessie’s face twisted into a dark look. Pent up frustrations from the events of yesterday and his time in this world were all too glad to resurface, amplifying his already growing anger and taking the form of the flaring magic surrounding his horn. “Uh... Dude?” The little earth pony said worriedly. “He’s charging up!” Biggie lunged, throwing another punch at Jessie’s head. This time however, an amber magical barrier erected itself between them in a flash. Biggie’s hoof slammed into it with what seemed to be all his strength but the barrier held strong, a loud thud echoing through the empty street. “You little freak!” Biggie yelled out, jerking his hoof toward himself and reeling backward. It must have hurt judging by the way he was looking at it. Jessie tried to contain his surprise. He had read about that spell in one of Sunset’s books but hadn’t ever actually tried it himself. He hadn’t expected it to be so strong and it was only one of the simple ones! A mental note was made to experiment with it more later. “You’ll pay for that!” Featherhead screamed as he launched toward the brown unicorn. Another much brighter glow came from Jessie’s horn. However instead of taking the form of a barrier it formed as a stream of arching amber colored electricity. The colts didn’t have much time to react before it slammed into them. Featherhead was hit first since he was the closest. Then came Biggie. Behind them, Smalls backed away in a panic, yelling something that didn’t quite reach Jessie’s ears. Biggie and Featherhead’s eyes widened in fear. It seemed to take a moment for them to both process that they were being zapped with an electricity spell but when they did, they screamed. For ten almost painfully long seconds, screams of first surprise and then pain echoed down the street, causing Jessie to wince. They were trying to move away but the energy held them in place, zapping the ever living hell out of them. As Jessie willed the spell to stop a final unintentional burst of energy came from his horn and forced the colt’s back into a wall, knocking them unconscious. “Holy shit,” Was all he could say. Using magic was weird. Sometimes it felt like using another limb, like with telekinesis. Sometimes it was like jumping, like with teleportation. Using that electricity spell had felt like vomiting... but in a good way. It felt great, pushing out all that energy and pent up frustration. Much better than he could imagine. The stench of something burning lulled him out of his thoughts and his gaze set on the defeated pegasus and earth pony. Wisps of smoke rose up from the bodies of the unconscious colts. If not for the soft rising and falling of their chests, he’d have assumed he had actually killed them. Jessie felt bad but couldn’t quite ignore the other smaller feeling of gratification that came with winning a fight. What he just did was pretty badass. A whimpering sound drew his attention away from the unconscious forms of his aggressors and towards a still shaking Smalls. He was in the middle of the street, with a charred and jagged burn mark from the magical blast leading from Jessie’s position to just a few feet in front of the earth pony. Underneath him was a puddle of what Jessie hoped was water, but from the smell that hit his nose it most definitely was not. He supposed that was a justified reaction after a magically gifted unicorn tased his friends so hard they started smoking. ... It was still badass though. Whatever. Maybe he should say something. “I- I’m sorry...” The earth pony whimpered, shrinking as the unicorn’s attention landed on him. “Yo,” Jessie waved, trying to keep it casual. “You alright, man-“ Then Smalls fainted. *** Jessie’s hoofsteps were the only sounds that echoed through the halls. He forcefully slowed his breathing, it having picked up from how quickly he ran back to the castle. Maybe he shouldn’t have left the colts there. Or at the very least picked Smalls up and hid him somewhere so nopony found him in a puddle of his own urine. Just seemed like a waste of effort at the time. C’est la vie, he supposed. They kind of had it coming by approaching him and starting a fight. He wasn’t about to stick around when the possibility of being arrested by a guard was still up in the air. Luckily he hadn’t been caught. Why did they even want to bother him exactly? Ah, right. Pony racism. The words put together still made him snicker. At least it was quiet in the castle. Guards and servants alike had been called away to rehearse for some event coming up. The... something. Its name was alliterated and contained a pun. He wondered how exactly he managed to forget it given how easy the names seemed to click here. Everything was always some sort of easy to remember play on words. Speaking of which... “Hehe... Oklafoala.” If he couldn’t go back to his world he was totally creating a town of that name. Even if he was the only pony who understood the joke the chance was too good to pass up. Jessie laughed some more to himself. He was hilarious. One of the only servants remaining in the castle happened to pass him by, regarding him with an odd look. Jessie went quiet, feeling the warm sensation of blood rushing to his cheeks. The servant laughed quietly under her breath, saying something that he couldn’t quite hear. Ducking his head in embarrassment, he moved more quickly down the hall to get away from her. Note to self, he thought. Wait until you’re sure that you’re alone to laugh at your own jokes. That was embarrassing. His hurried hoofsteps slowed, turning from a loud clopping into a dull noise. Alone again. “Wonder what Sunset’s doing,” He said aloud for no particular reason. Thoughts of the bacon haired filly/girl had plagued his mind since he woke up this morning. Considering what had happened last night, it was understandable. “Probably scheming or something,” Jessie assured himself. What else would she be doing? “Maybe I should-“ “Iridescent,” A voice called to him, making him pause. His ear twitched at the new sound. Who the hell was that? “Iridescent. Over here!” The voice whisper-yelled. Where was that coming from? He was pretty much alone in this hallway, save for the sound of the wind whistling past a window leading outside. “Where?” He whispered-yelled back. “Behind the curtains, egg brain.” Jessie looked back toward the window, noticing the curtains that had been pulled open. Sunset’s disheveled hair stood out the most but the bags under her eyes immediately stirred up feelings of concern for his friend. “You look crazy,” He said, walking toward her and glancing left to right to make sure nopony was watching them. “You know we can just talk to each other like normal peop- ponies, right? What the hell happened to you?” “I’m fine-“ “Are you sure?” Jessie asked, half seriously. A small smirk quirked at the corner of his mouth. “Your bacon’s looking a little crispy.” Her horn glowed turquoise and he felt the sensation of something flicking his forehead. The fading sting hurt but not enough to muffle his chuckling. “Enough about my hair... It’s not even that bad,” Sunset shook her head quickly and her hair returned to normal, surprising him. Could he do that? Why did this world work the way it did? So many new questions. “Where the hell were you?” “Woah,” Jessie said in mock surprise. “Relax with the potty mouth. You cute little ponies aren’t supposed to swear. Maybe you’ve been looking at my memories too much-“ “Answer the da- Answer the question.” She snapped. Jessie grinned. “I was out. Chillin’, relaxin’. That sort of thing.” “You were gone for six hours.” Sunset deadpanned. “I was not,” He waved a dismissive hoof. “It was only, like, three.” Sunset’s blank and unamused stare immediately let him know that he, in fact, had been gone for much longer. To further prove her point, she gestured with a hoof to a nearby clock on the wall. Jessie glanced at the timepiece, noting the drastically different position of the hour hand compared to when he left this morning. He sheepishly turned back to Sunset who was still staring at him blankly. “Maybe I was gone for six hours-“ “Really? I didn’t notice.” “In my defense... I... I got nothing.” Sunset growled out a low frustrated sound. “Whatever. I don’t care about how long you were gone. Did you get my letter?” “It slapped me across the face when it appeared. So, yeah.” “You read all of it, didn’t you? Jessie nodded slowly, which then turned into a shaking of his head. “Seriously?” Sunset asked, her tone creeping on the edge of genuine anger. “I only got through the first few sentences. Couldn’t read the rest of it because your hornwriting is so bad-,” She didn’t seem to appreciate that. Her horn glowed again and he felt another flicking sensation on his head, just at the base of his own horn. “Ow! Hey!” “Fine then,” Sunset continued, letting out a deep breath to calm herself. “Since you missed it, I’ll fill you in. We need to talk about the mirror.” “The mirror,” Jessie repeated, rubbing the spot where her magic had flicked him. “The mirror,” confirmed Sunset. “I have a plan.” “You have... a plan?” “Yes,” She said confidently. Jessie nodded, as he usually did when Sunset was about to say something he should be listening to. Sunset was a genius, evident by her grades in class and praise from the Princess herself. Whatever plan came out of her mouth was probably infinitely better than one he could spend a lifetime cooking up. An obvious exaggeration, of course. They were near the same level academically speaking, with Sunset showcasing a bit more intellect than him. The fact was embarrassing considering he was technically a few grades above her back on his world. There was silence. She didn’t launch right into her explanation. He tilted his head. “You gonna, like, explain it?” “I still haven’t thought it out fully. I don’t want Celestia catching on and ruining anything so it has to be perfect.” She could have just waited to fully form her plan instead of pulling him aside like she was a psycho about to sell him illegal substances. She also could have just met up with him this morning to talk. But as much as he protested internally, he didn’t dare say this out loud. Sunset would probably flick him again. That hurt. “Essentially,” Sunset said. “We’re going to find out more about it. We’re going to have to scour the archives but we might also have to actually go up to the mirror again. The problem is that there might be guards there and I don’t want to get caught and have Celestia bothering us some more-“ As she rambled on gradually - and by that he meant almost immediately - her words became dull noise, barely registering in his ears and not even reaching his brain. He didn’t really know why it had happened but it just did. The mirror. Annoyance crept up in his chest. Brief flashes of his so-called conversation with Celestia last night bombarded his consciousness like artillery on a bunker. The more he tried not to think about it the more frequently the events appeared in his mind. Celestia knew what the two had been doing and continued to do yet didn’t stop them. They were doing illegal and taboo magic and she just... let them. If she knew the spells herself then why not do them herself? Things would be much easier with her godlike levels of power, right? Jessie sighed. He had been used, treated like some kind of tool when he had hoped to find guidance. But all the shit that had been revealed to him yesterday didn’t really compare to what Sunset had said. Why did her saying a few words hurt more than that? Why did he care so much? “We aren’t friends.” An especially negative feeling that he couldn’t place a finger on came forth. Jessie didn’t understand why she said that. They were friends... right? After all the time they spent together and all the memories of his past Sunset had seen, they were linked in a weird unseen way. She must have said that to throw Celestia off. For a reason he couldn’t understand. They didn’t have much to gain by suddenly not acting like friends. Unless she did it to make Celestia doubt herself? But why? It made no sense. She could have at least apologized after- “Iridescent? Iridescent? Hey! Are you listening?” “Huh?” He snapped back into focus. Sunset was staring at him. “Sorry. I was just thinking... Yeah, thinking.” “Thinking,” She repeated, to which he nodded. “Yep. You know me. Thinking about... stuff,” Jessie tried to say casually. Instead it came out more along the lines of uncertain and nervous. “Nothing you need to worry about.” “It’s clearly something if it’s got you all moody. What is it?” “I told you, it’s nothing-“ “Jessie,” Sunset said, causing him to pause. There was an unspoken rule about using his human name. Sunset only ever used it when things were serious and that they were about to have an important conversation. Guess there was no getting past her this time around. “If something’s bothering you then you might as well tell me about it. I need you to be at the top of your game if you want to get home ASAP.” “It’s just what you said yesterday. About us not being friends,” A muted laugh came from him to try and throw Sunset off but it wasn’t enough to convince her. She eyed him curiously. “I guess it stung more than it should have.” Confusion flashed across her face for the shortest of moments. Did she not get it? His face fell. He had seriously hyped himself up for that? Why was he still asking himself so many questions? Sunset tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. “What?” “Sorry,” Jessie muttered, taking sudden interest in the floor. The tip of his hoof traced circles in the marble. “I just meant we’ve spent so much time together that I’m wondering if we actually are friends or if we’re not. You told Celestia we weren’t but I just wanted to-“ “You wanted to know... if we’re friends,” Sunset Shimmer said slowly. He nodded. She got it. Great! Beyond great. That wasn’t so hard. “You know I don’t like that word.” Nevermind. “Yeah...,” Jessie sighed, unable to keep the defeat out of his tone. He should have figured she wouldn’t say it outright. “I just- Yeah. Forget it.” A bright turquoise glow came from Sunset’s horn. She didn’t say anything for a few seconds. Jessie avoided looking directly at her. “Be in the archives by midnight. If I have to come get you we’ll be wasting a lot of time. I have some stuff to do while we wait.” “I’ll be there,” He said, trying to force a smile. The expression wavered and then fell. So much for that. “Archives, midnight. Yeah.” Jessie’s hoof traced more circles in the marble. He could feel Sunset’s eyes watching his movements, making him feel exposed and vulnerable. Slowly his hoof stopped moving, but the feeling didn’t go away. He silently begged for this to just be over already. Sunset let out a deep sigh. “To answer your question, I guess... you can call us friends,” She said evenly, then seemed to regret what she just said judging by the shift in her tone. “Just don’t say that word too much around me, okay? ...That is the answer you were looking for, right?” “Yeah, it was,” Jessie nodded again. His gaze stayed downward, hiding his face from view. But a small smile was beginning to form. “Thanks.” Sunset shook her head, the glow of her horn becoming more intense. Her magic wrapped around her body and she flickered out of existence in a flash of turquoise light. As she left, Jessie heard a quiet whisper that made him snicker. “What a moron.”