It started with a letter, and honestly, Robert wasn’t even sure how it had made it all the way here. Equestrian magic really was a funny old thing like that.
“Dear ______ Williams, you are cordially invited to…” the man read to himself, making a noise of distaste at the deadname. Apparently, the reunion planning committee hadn’t quite gotten the memo.
“Well, if I do go, they’re going to be in for a shock…” Robert thought to himself with a chuckle. It was a bit of a fantasy, he would admit, striding into his high school with all eyes widened in shock. “...should I? Or is it the fantasies of a schoolboy? Entirely childish.”
“Ooooooh, mail call?” Rarity walked by, taking some of it out of his hands. “Bills, ugh more bills and oooooh what’s this about a high school reunion?”
She waved the letter in front of his face, grinning like the cat who got the cream.
“You didn’t tell me that this was coming up soon!”
“Slipped my mind,” Robert lied. Really, he’d known what sort of reaction his housemate would have. “Swear to god.”
Rarity raised an eyebrow, giving him her patented ‘don’t lie to me dear’ look. “Yes, well I’m sure this jogged your memory now, didn’t it? I understand why you might be… hesitant dear. But I say you should go.”
“You mean go and expose myself to so many questions? Yeah sure, hey it’s your old pal ______ except not really. I’m a guy now so, surprise!” Robert deadpanned. “...yeah, fuck that. I mean, it’s a cliche to show up to your reunion and brag about how much better you are than everyone else, how much of a success you’ve become but that’s completely childish. I wasn’t the school loser or anything like that.”
Rarity was still giving him a ‘look’. “I’m not saying you’d be bragging or anything. As I said, I understand why you’d be hesitant to say the least but you can’t run from this. Your classmates… they have a right to know. Besides, think of the memories Robert,” she booped him on the nose. “Surely you want to relive a few heartfelt memories from school, correct? I doubt they were all that terrible.”
“...well no, I suppose some of them were pretty good,” Robert sighed as he leaned back in his chair. Running a hand through his hair, he paused to think. “It’s just… Well, the whole thing kinda gives me the quivers. And not the super excited quivers. Because I know who will be there and I’m really not sure I want to deal with her.”
Rarity thought about it for a moment before her eyes widened in realization. “Ah, let me guess, ex-girlfriend? ...Boyfriend?”
“Oh, if it were only that. You remember the type of girl in high school right? The one who made it miserable for the rest of us? Yeah, that one,” Robert remarked. “And I’m not looking forward to having to deal with her.”
“Maybe she’s… changed?” Rarity said hopefully, her housemate snorting.
“Oh no, trust me, I know this woman. I doubt she’s changed in years. Bet you bits that she’s still the same spiteful bitch that she was in high school,” Robert sighed, thinking back…
Then!
“No, no, no, no! Haven’t you cheered properly in your life yet?!” came a familiar complaint.
______ sighed to herself, wondering why she hadn’t just kicked her off the Squad yet.
With that condescending tone of voice, that superiority complex of hers, well it wasn’t all too surprising she was nursing a headache basically every other day. Enter Terry Rivera.
“...would you mind, kindly, Terry, to let me give the orders?” ______ sighed to herself, holding up a pom-pom covered-hand. “I’m the captain here, not you.”
“Not for long , ______ so just you wait,” Terry just did a hair toss. “Everyone knows that you can’t lead the cheer squad. You simply can’t cut it. It’s a privilege only given to ladies like moi.”
“Well, if you don’t consider me a lady like you, well I’ll take that as a compliment,” ______ drawled. “Honestly, the day you’re put in charge, well that’s probably the day I jump off a roof.”
______ thought of Terry as a shrew personally, a real pain in her ass. “Maybe you should, that way if you break your legs I could be in charge.”
Case in point.
“Well, that just gives me ample reason not to,” ______ said to her rival before clapping his hands together. “Alright people, can we just take it from the top?”
She pressed a button on a nearby radio, as a beat began playing from it.
“Yeah, yeah, do we rock? Yeah, yeah! Take it to the top? Yeah, yeah! Are we gonna stop?
No way!” the chant started, several of his fellow cheerleaders doing a series of cartwheels as ______ was raised above the rest. The chanting continued, with great fever. “We've got razzmatazz! Pep, punch, and pizzazz! Hey, you - You've been had!”
Though ______ was doing a good job of leading the team, Terry just felt disgusted on the inside, as she forced her smile. Deep down, she knew that she was the one who was supposed to be leading this squad; not some wannabe loser like ______. She just had to hope that somewhere down the line, she would choke and then she would take his place.
“Keep it going all the way, we won’t ever give you way! Fight, fight, fight, fight, All the way through day to night!” ______ said as she rallied the rest of the cheer squad. It seemed that her words were starting to get through, as the team of cheer squadmates were much livelier than usual, and hitting their moves with immaculate timing and accuracy. Let's get physical! Get down, get hard, get mean! Let's get physical, and beat that other team!”
“Alright, take five everyone,” ______ said to her team, wiping the sweat from her brow. Going for her water bottle, she scanned the room with an intense gaze. “Good job, though Rockwaller, your timing is a bit off. Work on it!”
She sighed, taking a sip of his water. Something was still missing from the whole cheer, though what exactly he wasn’t sure.
“So, ______, good work. For today anyhow.”
“Could you try a little harder to disguise your ambitions? That’s the reason nobody likes you Terry. You’re so blatantly obvious, you’re a walking cliche,” ______ drawled, trying to suppress the flinch. Why? Why didn’t she like that name? Why did it feel so… wrong to her? “Like this isn't a High School Musical.”
Terry just scoffed loudly. “Well, it should be! That way, I could be the star, and you’d be the wannabe backup dancer!” She pushed ______ hard on the forehead, making her stumble backwards a few paces. “I. Am. The. Star. Here. Not you!”
She threw her arms backwards and leered ferociously, or what she probably thought was ferociously at her. She honestly looked about as dangerous as a kitten, ______ thought. Maybe she was constipated? That explained Terry’s expression.
“Well then,” ______ said, her tone an eternal deadpan. “Better hope you don’t burn out and fade away then!”
Now!
“Terry Rivera, I haven’t thought about her in years honestly,” Robert said. “Think I’ve been trying not to actually. Blocked her from my mind like a bad dream. Yeah, that’s pretty accurate. A nightmare.”
“She sounds like it,” Autumn remarked from outside the changing room, where inside Robert was trying on a nice suit. Specialty-ordered, to hide the curves. “And yet you’re going back into the proverbial lion’s den anyways, facing her like some greek hero? To slay the dragon?”
“Please, let’s not use the greek hero comparison. They all died horrible deaths, which is a real confidence booster really,” Robert drawled, adjusting his tie. He peeked his head out from behind the drapes. “You don’t have to come, you know.”
“I know, but as your self-appointed sister I am anyways. Moral support. Charlie’s coming too, right? Or is she involved in a case?” Autumn asked.
“No no, she said she’s coming,” Robert said, back inside behind the curtains and pulling on his pants. “Honestly, I think she’s been looking forward to this more than I’ve been. She’s going to be the nerd showing up everyone at this reunion.”
“...wait, she was that girl?” Autumn replied. “The one everyone overlooked?”
“Oh yeah, did you think she was always this badass?” Robert said. “Nope, she used to be pretty mousy actually.”
“Badass huh? You sure you two never dated? I mean, the way you talk about her…” Autumn said.
“Nope, never even considered the possibility,” Robert said a little too quickly honestly as he stepped out looking nice and sharp. Autumn applauded a little and no his soul didn’t feel any lighter no sir! “...you know, I think I may actually enjoy this.”
“Annnnnd there he is! I was starting to get worried, hearing you so nervous! I wondered where the real you was…”
Then...
“So, who's the real you huh?” Charlie asked, ______ halting in her tracks. “I mean, it’s pretty obvious that you’re hiding something. You sure you haven’t considered…”
“...really Charlie, do we have to talk about this?” ______ said, whirling around to face her. “I’m fine, I’m me. Look, this whole thing’s thrown me for a loop, that’s all. Plus, I’ve got so much else on my mind as it is…”
“You mean Terry threatening to drive you slowly insane?” Charlie remarked, grabbing her things from her locker. “I know you’ve said it, but she’s such a walking cliche. It’s… well, no words really. No words to describe her. It’s…”
“Oh, how do I even begin to explain Terry Rivera?” ______ deadpanned. “That, basically. Oh, Terry Rivera is flawless! She has two Fendi purses, and a silver Lexus! The whole nine yards. Walking! Cliche!”
“Is her hair insured for ten thousand dollars, does she do car commercials… in Japan?” Charlie teased.
“And she’s still just as stuck up as ever. No wonder she dropped out of the cheer squad…” ______ folded his(?) arms. “Honestly, did us a favour, that. Heh. Only favour she’ll ever do us, really.”
“Oh right, I heard about that. Said she was too good for you losers, or something,” Charlie replied before she paused. “...oh hear that? It’s the sound of the losers and the simps bowing down before her queenliness. Her godliness. ...we live in Mean Girls.”
Both turned to see exactly that. The girl who they thought would never get any more posh and snobby was just that. Now, it looked like her face had a series of plastic surgery operations done on it, and it looked like she was one of those dolls that little girls liked to play with; the ones that were exceptionally sexualised to look pretty.
And the whole school bowed before her might. No, some of them were literally bowing.
“Somebody shoot me, I don’t want to live anymore,” Charlie muttered. “You think she can’t get any worse, and… hello!”
“I keep pinching myself, and hoping I’ll wake up and discover this is all a bad dream but… nope, it’s real. And it’s bloody awful,” ______ said to herself. “I swear her face is completely plastic.”
“Yes, yes! That’s right! Gaze upon me, boys and girls! It’s me! Your true queen of the school!” She giggled as giddy as, well, a schoolgirl. She stretched her arms into the air with triumph over her accomplishment.
“...that’s it, we’re skiving,” ______ decided, Charlie nervously nodding along. “Come on, it’s not like anyone will notice. They’re so enamored with Her anyways. Their new goddess.”
Now…
“You’re kidding, bro,” Autumn said, wide-eyed in stark disbelief. “You’re making that up.”
“Okay, maybe I exaggerated just a bit. But that’s what it felt like sometimes,” Robert admitted as the limo pulled up to the school, music echoing out from inside the gym. “Least nobody broke out into musical numbers praising their new goddess. All hail the Church of Terry Rivera!”
Outside Equestria, Autumn didn’t look quite so magical. From Kirin to a completely normal woman, albeit with interestingly curly red hair. If you looked a little too close, you would swear that it was impossibly beautiful. Like it was just that too well-kept, especially for someone who smelled of the farm.
“So Chesterfield High School huh? This is what made you, well you?” Autumn said. “Shaped your thoughts, gave you some exciting adventures and turned a normal cheer captain into someone completely awesome sauce?”
“No, I think it was just a living nightmare. Purgatory basically,” Robert said, fiddling with his tie perhaps a bit self-consciously. “All those movies about how cool it is? They’re propaganda pieces basically. They lie to you.”
Whispers were coming from all around him, wondering exactly who he was.
“I don’t think they’ve worked it out yet, who you are,” Charlie remarked, having ditched the police uniform for a far nicer dress. She was rocking the power suit. “Hey, you think when we stride in, the song will be fittingly appropriate for two badasses walking back into their kingdom?”
“Our kingdom?” Robert snorted.
“Well, I can dream, right? Just imagine it, everyone fawning over us as Chesterfield’s two alumni come home. Return to the nest to roost!” Charlie imagined, possibly drooling a little.
“...you’re unusually dramatic tonight,” Robert observed, his voice still a deadpan. Autumn giggled as they strode into the renovated gym.
And if a little bit of Autumn’s remaining Equestrian magic kicked in and the DJ began playing ‘Make a Man out of You’, well that was her secret, wasn’t it?
Robert didn’t know whether or not to chuckle over the choice of song, but he still appreciated the effort that Autumn was going through for his benefit. He just decided to shrug and play it cool as he walked towards the centre of the gym, ready for the dance ahead.
For as much as he had loathed some of his time in high school, most of the rest of his time was filled with fond memories. And as he looked around at the many faces dancing around him, all sorts of fond nostalgia rushed into his head. One such was a particular memory from the cafeteria…
Then…
Ah yes, the cafeteria. That usual stomping ground where students would come after the gruelling morning sessions of high school. The time for students to unwind as they tucked into some food, while gossiping over various topics.
For ______, he didn’t have much to talk about, but he did have Charlie by his side. That at least gave him someone to talk with. As the two waited in line to get their food, the two of them were already having a chat with each other.
“I tell you what. Math is going to be the end of me,” said ______ as he was served his lunch. “All this talk about algebra and tangents, I swear, exam day is not gonna be friendly.”
“End me…” Charlie muttered in agreement. “The devil’s work!”
“No, I’m pretty sure that the devil himself spat algebra out of hell. Even Satan has standards,” said ______. He was now wearing some fairly masculine clothing, and by itself this was fairly innocent though nobody else seemed to have picked up on what he was hinting at. Or if they did, nobody said a word. “Like fairly certain.”
“Hey! Look who it is!” Came the voice of one of the girls that ______ actually liked to see. With flowing blonde locks and a loose blue shirt, it was none other than Laura Silverlips; ______’s first female friend, but not the last. Behind her were a pair of other girls, one with brunette hair and another with black hair. They were Louise Summerleaf and Samantha Snowpetal respectively.
“Hi,” ______ waved at the three girls as they joined him(?) around the table. “How’d morning periods go?”
“Oh my god, the sub’s such a hardass…” Louise muttered. “Said my skirt was too short!”
“But it is too short,” Laura pointed out. “You’re brave! Oh my god, you’re such a slut!”
“I mean, most of this stuff we might not even need to remember!” Charlie commented. “I mean, half of the time, I’m convinced that some of this stuff is only gonna be on the test for the sake of the test!”
“Well, that’s just how school likes to dole it out sometimes.” Samantha propped her elbows on the table and looked into ______’s eyes. “Oh well. At least it’s keeping us busy; instead of those schools that like to drag it on and stagger our learning.”
“Yeah. It’s a shame that we can’t be in the same class together, because something tells me that if we’re together, it’d make these classes a whole lot easier.”______smiled at his friends; his girl posse. “That and, well, we’d be able to share in each other’s pain.”
Laughter filled the table. While school was suffering, ______ knew with friends like these he could manage it.
Now…
“I swear you look so familiar,” said someone from beside him. “Not sure why, but I swear I’ve seen you somewhere before. You’re not in the yearbook are you?”
“Oh, I am. I’m sure if you look long enough, you’ll find me,” Robert said cryptically, in an amused tone enjoying some fruit punch. “Trust me, I was pretty memorable. Still am, actually.”
“OH MY GOD, CHARLIE IS THAT YOU?” Lauren shouted as she ran up, embracing the woman in a hug. “Daaaamn girl, what happened to you? You’ve gone and changed on us while we weren’t looking. You’ve gone from, forgive me, not to just straight up hot!”
“Yeah, what she said,” Louise agreed, both of the two having aged gracefully like fine wines. “So where’s the Captain? Did you two end up marrying after all? Is she staying home being the housewife? I… I haven’t seen her, which is weird right? Like… you’d think the captain would be here to greet the squad?”
“Oh, they’re here,” Charlie chuckled, not wanting to spoil the surprise. The girl squad looked confused while she smirked. Penny in the air…
“...holy shit,” Samantha whispered as it hit her, Robert giving a nervous little wave. “...well, house husband then?”
“Not even married, I mean I’m flattered that you thought we went that way but was never even a consideration,” Robert said, though again it was a little too quickly. “So apologies for dashing your dreams.”
“So who then? That cute red-head we saw with you walking in?” Louise guessed. “Like whoever it is, I totally ship you with them!”
“I’m honestly surprised you braved this at all, like it was a huge step to come out to your former school like this,” Laura said. “I’m proud of you captain.”
“Not sure what I was expecting, honestly. Maybe more… pizzazz I guess? Like several faintings?” Robert shrugged. “Honestly, expectation… reality. That meme, really. It’s honestly shockingly mundane.”
“Well if you want, I can go find a megaphone…” Charlie chuckled, her shoulders shaking with laughter. “Shout it all to the heavens.”
“Now, now, no need to be drastic…” Robert stammered, courage suddenly leaving him.
“Hey, relax, nobody’s going to judge,” Louise said. “You’re still the school idol, as you were then and as you are now. Honestly, everyone I know was looking forward to seeing you here.”
“School idol huh?” Autumn said with a wily grin as she passed. “...now why didn’t you tell me about that huh? Talk about underselling your importance!”
“Unde… underselling?” Robert muttered. “I mean… I guess it was sorta implied? Honestly, I didn’t really think I was the school idol. Like eh. I guess I didn’t think about it all that much.”
“Dude, cheer captain. Cheer captain. Like, hello?” Louise said. “It was definitely implied!”
“So where’s Queen Bitch?” Robert asked. “Like, I’m honestly bloody surprised she hasn’t made a show of herself and thrown herself at the nearest man. Which, given my rotten luck, would probably be me, so hello irony!”
A few noises of disgust were made at this idea.
“...really Rob?” Louise asked. “Ooooh, Rob. I like that! But seriously you had to give me that image?”
Laura shuddered in turn. “Thanks for the nightmares! I have to go cleanse my brain now, thank you very much.”
“But seriously,” Louise said. “She’s… around, though why you even want to go looking for her is beyond me.”
“Solely curiosity, I suppose. That, and if I know where she is, I can be on the other side of the building,” Robert said. That being said, as he spoke he felt… weirdly wrong about badmouthing a former classmate, even if it was Terry.
Maybe it was the fact that he’d grown up, and matured a bit more. Maybe, well, from his perspective petty school rivalries seemed so far away now…
“Like… if you see her coming, warn me so I can vacate the area,” he went on. “Honestly, quite frankly I practically had to be dragged out here just because I knew Terry would be here. Not the whole gender change thing, I could’ve cared less what you thought of me-” lies! “-but dealing with her might require me to muster up more courage than I actually have.”
“Chillax, okay?” Samantha said, gently shoving him off. “Don’t worry about Miss Thing. You, well you’re here to enjoy yourself. So stop acting like a stick in the mud. Stop being tense. If Drama Queen tries to start something, don’t worry we’ll have your back. So go on, have fun Captain!”
“Right…” Robert said with a nod as he made his way into the crowds. Now that the secret was out, people greeted him with pleasant surprise.
“Robert!” Gloriosa Daisy, the head of the school’s gardening club said. “...That is your name isn’t it? Now, I mean?”
Gloriosa had always disapproved of him, though honestly why he’d never worked out. She’d been the nicest girl in school and she never hated anyone. Anyone but him that is.
Even now, in her eyes, he could feel the disapproval. The distaste. A paranoid part of him said it was for obvious reasons but then… Well, Gloriosa had never been like that. Judging people for their life choices.
“Gloriosa,” he said curtly. “Your father’s camp going well?”
“I’m running it now, actually. I got this,” she said politely, though her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes with him. “I heard someone got assigned to SPD, was it? Honestly, it shocked the whole school when we heard. You, a detective! We… Well, a few of us thought that you’d keep the whole cheer thing going. Become a champion, win a few awards.”
“Realistically, I knew I’d never be able to keep that going,” Robert sighed. “It was nice while it lasted but… well, honestly I had to move on with my life. Do something of note, do some actual good in the world.”
“Awwww, and you’ve always been such a cynic! Nice to know there is a heart buried somewhere deep down in there!” Autumn teased.
The man rolled his eyes fondly.
“That, and he wanted to be next to me,” Charlie said. “Said I needed protection, even if I technically outrank him and can kick his sorry ass to the mat any day of the week. And they say chivalry is dead!”
“So romantic…” Gloriosa chuckled.
“...wait, why does everyone think we’re going to end up a couple?” Charlie asked, and her friend simply shrugged. “Sorry, but me and Rob? We’re tight but we’re not like that.”
She pursed her lips, and there was an odd… look in her eyes. Something that he couldn’t quite place.
That’s it, he needed to go clear his head.
Finding the nearest bathroom, Robert turned on the faucet and began splashing his face with water.
“...what the hell’s going on with me? This is all getting incredibly strange, disorienting really.”
“Well,” came the creak of a door, and then a slam. “It’s been a few years since you came here, everything’s changed. Not just the school, but people as well probably.”
Autumn was standing over his shoulder, a comforting hand placed on it.
“Oh, I think I saw that Terry girl as well. Hard to miss her, she looked… really out of place. It wasn’t that everyone was avoiding her, because you think they would if she was as bad as you say,” the kirin went on. “It’s actually pretty crazy, she just seems plain not wanting to be here. Like, at all.”
Robert sighed as he leaned up against the wall. “Okay, that is weird, from what I… remember… she…” he paused. “From what I remember she had everyone waiting on her hand and foot.”
He sighed.
“From what I remember…” he repeated as if something had just only now occurred to him.
“Walking! Cliche!”
“Oh, how do I even begin to explain…”
“I. Am. The. Star. Here. Not you!”
The thing is… the owners of those voices had been completely wrong.
Now he could see. It hadn’t been Terry who’d been the Queen Bitch of the school.
“...it was me. I was the walking cliche…”
A bitter chuckle. Oh bloody hell, no wonder things had been weird all night. Funny what a few years of maturity afforded you, along with a decent amount of perspective.
Now he could see why things had never quite worked out between him and Charlie, why she’d taken that extra almost sadistic pleasure throwing him to the mat. Why Gloriosa could never quite meet his eyes.
“Not like I could blame either of them…”
“Rob…? You okay?” Autumn asked, concerned. “You’ve been awfully quiet for a while now.”
He explained, and his self-appointed sister winced.
“Yeah, uh… I got nothing. I really got nothing,” the kirin said. “Okay, uh whoof that’s a lot to unpack isn’t it?”
“Guess I’d tried to block it all out, make myself the victim just to feel better about who I’d been,” Robert said, rubbing his forehead before another bitter chuckle forced itself out. “How do I even begin to explain _____ Williams huh? Well, she was a bitch. She owned two Fendi purses and a silver Lexus. That’s me, I’m the plastic one.”
“...guess there’s only one thing to do right? Reunions are where you show how much better you’ve become, right?” Autumn said, pointedly.
“Well, she’s got me there!”
“Thanks.”
Finding Terry had been easy enough. Getting up the courage to talk to his favorite victim was another.
“So, I guess you couldn’t find a date for tonight?” he said, to break the ice.
“Not really, I don’t think anyone cared enough,” Terry said. “Probably didn’t want to be uninvited to any parties.”
Robert winced. Yeeeeah, that probably would have been something he would have done. But that was then, this was now.
“I dunno, I would have taken you,” he said, Terry giving him a weird look. It was like she was trying to work out who he was, why he seemed so vaguely familiar. “Fuck the popular opinion, right?”
“You’re a brave man. There was this girl who used to go here, a real petty bitch. You probably heard them whispering about her inside right? ______, you remember her right?”
“Oh yes I do…” Robert thought to himself. “Well, I’m sure like everyone else she’s grown up, moved on. Life happens. We can’t stay static in one place forever, as people we grow and change. I’m sure even she did.”
“Mhmm, maybe,” Terry said. “Don’t know, don’t really particularly care. I’ve been trying to block her from my mind all night.”
“Yeah, me too. Maybe I should have stopped earlier.”
“But you honestly think she’s changed?” Terry asked. “...wow, you have more faith in humanity than I do. I left the cheer squad because of her, you know. Thought I could make something of it before Queen Bitch came along.”
Robert winced, now feeling really guilty as the memories returned. He sucked in a breath, thinking about what to say before finally replying.
“I’ve seen the ugly side of people, plenty, but I’ve seen some of the best in them lately as well. So you never know. Anyways, this is a reunion yeah? You’re supposed to remember the good times as well as the bad, and I’m pretty sure high school wasn’t all that terrible for you was it?”
And here, at his words, Terry actually smiled. ...wow, it could light up a room.
“Thanks, you know what? I think you’re right, it wasn’t all bad. So let’s see what I can remember, huh? Be seeing you,” she said, before walking off.
“Be seeing you too…”
“...well, that plan was a wash, and this one as well,” Radiguet said, rewatching old failures. “You know, a lot of these plans have been failures and you know why? Because it comes in assorted colors and has 10 legs!”
Gray wisely said nothing.
“And I know why! I created Rangers, if not accidentally and I accept my failure. But now I think I know how to stop them. You put out fires by choking them out, cutting off their oxygen with another inferno. Do you see where I’m going with this?” the tyrant asked.
Gray did, though he wasn’t sure if he liked it.
“You need a Ranger… to stop a Ranger,” Radiguet chuckled, rubbing his hands together with a cackle. “Call your kid in. I know, I know, I’ve tried to forget about him, but right now? I think they’re the solution to all of our problems!”
“You mean…” Gray sat up.
“Oh yes, I do. Now, what’s their number again?”
“No need,” said a voice as a dark-haired, undeniably gorgeous person walked in. “I’d heard you’d been having such terrible luck and I decided to pop by just to see why. Heard you’d dismissed a general right? No way that’s not going to come back and bite you.”
Staci grinned, dressed in royal adornments. “Because you’ve made such a mess of things, you and father… well! Allow me to rectify it. With my all-powerful and crushing darkness, I’ll snuff those Rangers' lights right out!”