//------------------------------// // Arc IV Episode I: Student Pressure // Story: Family Begins With You // by Jmaster49 //------------------------------// Inside the school’s hallways… “And he just gave you a ride? That’s...unexpected,” Twilight responded to Applejack’s story. “It was just a small favor, Twi,” AJ said as she put her raincoat in her locker, “Ya make it sound as if he ain’t worth trustin’. You know better than that.” Of course, once she was in a state of mental analytics, it was hard to get Twilight to stop. “Okay, but did you happen to see any magical aura surrounding his body? Anything at all?” She asked desperately with her hands grasping at the country gal’s shoulders. To which she responded with a flat, deadpan expression. “You got some real issues, girl,” she said while grabbing Twilight’s hands and pulling them off of her, “Hold yer horses and chill. There ain’t no magic comin’ from yer ‘tetro-gram’ teacher,” she said with mocking air quotes. “Excuse me,” a voice called out to them from nearby, “Twilight? Applejack? Got a minute?” The two looked over to see Adagio, Aria, and Sonata walking up to them with concerned looks on their faces. “What’s the matter, ya’ll?” Applejack asked. Twilight was about to make an obvious inquiry, “Does it have to do with--” “No.” Adagio pulled them both into a huddle along with her sisters. “Listen up. Watch your backs around the new girl in our age group.” “Goetia?” said Applejack. “I believe she’s been taking extra Home-Ec classes,” Twilight pointed out, noting the schedule, “But not at the same time as any of us.” “That’s probably intentional, Twizzlers,” Aria commented, “We’ve got reason to believe that she’s a familiar from Equestria working for Blueblood. That’s why she doesn’t wanna share any classes with us. She wants to keep her distance.” Applejack paused and raised a confused eyebrow. She was about to open her mouth and ask something but Sonata was ahead of her. “It’s basically a demon servant,” said the blue siren, “She’s working for him--but we’re like, not exactly sure how strong she is or how he got her on his side.” “Whatever the case, we just want you to be aware of what’s going on,” Adagio warned them, “If anyone is going to start something, it’s her.” Twilight, being the cautious person she was, started to take notes on the situation. “Hmmm…very odd indeed. I’ll make sure Sunset and the others know of what’s going on. And then maybe, just maybe, Mr. Iota is linked to this…” “Ugh, wouldja give it a rest, Twi?” Applejack retorted with a groan, “Ain’t nothin’ta suggest that he’s evil yet. LIke sirens just said, we gotta find more evidence before we slam anyone. Even this ‘Go-ay-sha’ gal. Whoever she is. What I wanna know, is how did ol’ Blueboy manage’ta summon a demon? Ain’t he human and ya know, not magical?” “Guess it’s possible for humans to acquire magic too?” Aria mused, “Wonder if it’s similar to our Aether Skills? Didn’t you say it exists everywhere? Humans should have it too, right?” “Something like that,” Twilight replied, “Humans have dormant aether--it’s their life force. Like me and my friends, we managed to activate ours by resonating with Equestrian magic. So it’s entirely plausible that he may have been exposed to it and summoned a demon to act as his familiar.” The conversation was moving a bit fast for the farm girl. But she was just barely able to keep up as she thought about further possibilities. “Okaaaaay…but if that’s the case, what kinda demon is she? There’s hundreds--prolly thousands’a demons that exist in the netherworld or whatever.” “You leave that to me,” Adagio asserted herself, “I work with her and she doesn’t know that we know. I’ll find out all that I can before we can get ambushed.” “And while you do that, I’ll keep an eye on our new professor,” Twilight said, “I just have this feeling…” Applejack took out her phone and started to compose a text message. “And I’ll let Sunset and the others know about...what all ya’ll just said.” Everyone broke the huddle and went off in the direction of their respective classes as if nothing happened in order to remain inconspicuous. Unfortunately, they hadn’t accounted for Wendy’s superior sneaking skills. The milk-white girl glared at the group as they dispersed from around one of the nearby corners that led to another hallway of lockers. “They were discussing something for sure. But what? They think they’re smooth. But I’m one step ahead of them all.” Meanwhile... Twilight arrived at her Projective Geometry class a bit early so she could catch the professor for a few minutes to herself without interruption. “Excuse me,” she said as she entered the room, closing the door behind her, “Professor Aidon?” The man was already putting some notes together, but stopped on a dime to listen to the purple girl. “Hm? Oh, Ms. Sparkle. What can I do for you?” “Answer a few questions,” she stated while narrowing her eyes ever so slightly, “That’s not going to be a problem, is it?” “No, not at all,” he replied as he sat the papers aside, “What would you like to know?” She started off simplistic with rather normal student-teacher questions first. “Are you a local professor or did you come from a university overseas?” And he promptly answered, “Oh, yes. I do most of my work here.” “I see. Granted, Pinkie Pie told me that you were new in town,” Twilight adjusted her glasses, “Are you from around here or…?” “Dammit. She’s onto m--no...relax. There’s no way that she knows.” Aidon’s mind wandered for a few seconds before he responded, “Ah, uh...yes, you could say that. I only recently moved here.” “Aha! Now to see if he really is from Equestria.” Twilight folded her arms, now even more suspicious than before, but put on a face of curiosity. “Ooh, that sounds interesting. Where are you from exactly?” Aidon was at a loss for a moment. “Ah, damn…” There was no way he could reveal that information to a student. He had to deflect. “Erm...ahem--no offense, but what makes you ask such a thing?” Unfortunately, Twilight had already thought up a way to play through this game of verbal chess. “Well, I’d simply like to figure out where you obtained your credentials from. I’d like to become a professor myself someday,” she said with a prideful smile as this was partially true, “So if I can find out about any prolific institutes that I could potentially learn from. So...where are you from?” “She’s playing you. Get rid of her--approach the situation calmly.” Once he gathered his thoughts, he formed a response. “Er...the South. One city over. It’s been so long that I’ve forgotten the name of it, see…” “San Francis City?” Twilight asked. Aidon snapped his fingers. “That’s it--that’s the one. Yeah, I was there for a while but I only really focused on getting to and from the university to study certain subjects and not much else.” “Hm…” While she could relate to that, she wasn’t going to drop her guard. Twilight remained vigilant and continued to keep a close eye on the man. “Alright...that makes sense. I’ll come to you if I have anymore questions, sir. Sorry if this came off as a bit...invasive.” With that, she walked away and took her seat. “...Thank goodness,” the professor thought to himself with a mental sigh of relief, “Who knows what she and the others would think of me if they found out. It wouldn’t be pretty.”