//------------------------------// // Arc XVIII Episode VII: Time To Get Up // Story: Family Begins With You // by Jmaster49 //------------------------------// The next morning…at CHS… Aidon woke up, slowly blinking his eyes…only to realize that he was still tied to that chair. Not only that, but the principals were going at each other’s throats due to the effects of the lust-inducing spell causing them to fight over him unwillingly. “He’s mine!” Luna screamed, “I’ve finally found a man who understands me and the first thing you want to do is take that away from me?! Just like you do with everything else?!” “Oh please,” Celestia scoffed with an arrogant grin on her face. “You couldn’t hold a man down if you tried. All of the other ones you’ve met were scared of you--and rightfully so. Who wears black on a date?” She started to crank invisible handles beneath her eyes to represent years, “We get it, you like the darkness and you love to be sad. But no man with any self-respect would date someone like--” SHOOM! CRACK! A wooden chair was flung across the room at mach speed, breaking into hundreds of tiny pieces on impact. Rivers of tears were running down Luna’s face as she hissed--almost like a bat--with veins bulging on her neck. “You’re not special, Celestia! Nothing about you is! You’re no different from any other woman! Quit trying to put me down to fluff up your own fat, insignificant posterior of a washed-up, middle-aged hag!” Celestia fell silent--tension sucked out of the room. “Yeah, how does that feel, sister?” Luna snapped, “Your age is getting the better of you. I’ve seen your health records. Yet you continue to gorge yourself on sugary confections! You’re not attractive!” As the shouting continued, all Aidon could do was stare at the floor. He wondered just how much of this was brought on by the effects of the spell…or whether there was some truth to those words of theirs. But worst of all, what scared him the most was one simple fact: Whether or not they’d remember this once it was all over. “...If they do remember, this will result in a lifetime of unearthed traumas that they’ll have to work hard to get through. If they don’t…then they’ll carry on with life as if it never happened, and I’ll be the only one that knows about their deepest feelings for each other--assuming these feelings are true. If that were to happen, it’d burn a hole in my chest just holding onto such info. Would they even believe me if I told them?” Bottom line, there was no easy way to look at this situation. All Aidon could do for the moment was try his best to figure out a way out…without causing them any harm. “The longer I wait…the more potent this seems to become. There don’t seem to be many other options…” At Sandbar’s home… Everyone was awakened by the smell of breakfast. Sandbar had taken to waking everyone up with a few nudges and a loud-- “Get up, yo! Today’s the day we save the girls!” “Huh? Wha…?” Micro Chips picked up his glasses and put them on. “Morning already? Ah, that’s right, we need to get ourselves in gear.” From nearby, Coral Currents had slid down the stairs via sitting on the handrail and gliding down. “Big brother--guys--we got trouble. Apparently they found the dead body of a groundskeeper near the planetarium that overlooks the city!” “What?!” everyone shouted together, causing Flash to jolt awake. “W-wha--what’s going on??” “This is some real shit now, yo--we don’t have much time left,” Sandbar grumbled to himself. Coral folded her arms and gave a determined nod. “Hm. Don’t worry, big brother. I’ll make sure we--” “Oh no you don’t, yo,” Sandbar placed his hand on her head, ruffling her hair. “You’re goin’ right to school and not getting involved in any of this crap. If I let you get wrapped up in this, I’d never forgive myself.” As much as she wanted to protest, Coral couldn’t argue. “Alright…but make sure you keep your phone with you so I can tell you what’s going on. I can still help from afar.” Just then, High Tide walked downstairs wearing a more business-oriented pair of pants and a suit. Her voice was also much more blunt than before, lacking any sort of slurring. “Alright, Coral. Let’s go. You don’t wanna be late for school, do you? By the way--breakfast is on the table, everyone.” “No mom, I’m on my way!” she replied, and looked at Sandbar and his friends. “I’ll be in touch. Don’t do anything crazy.” Sandbar scratched the back of his head as she left. “She’s always like this…can’t blame her though.” Meanwhile, Micro Chips had taken the time to explain to Flash what had happened while looking it up on the news. “We’re running out of time. Our adversary is making moves by taking the lives of innocent people,” said Micro. “Those nanomachines,” Flash called out, “We need to get back to school and use them to get Sunset’s book and speak to Princess Twilight on the other side. It’s the only way we’ll be able to figure out how to beat her. Right Spike? Spike?” Everyone looked around. The purple pup was busy stuffing his face with some of the bacon on the dinner table. “...Morning?” “C’mon man, focus up!” Flash clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention, “I’ve already got an idea on how we can get this done before the day is over. We just need to give a quick call to Wallflower and the others.” “Really?” Micro asked, adjusting his glasses. “But I haven’t even told you what they do y--why are you staring at me like that?” Just then, everything except for Micro’s glasses turned completely transparent, giving the appearance that his glasses were simply floating in the air. Everyone pretty much had the same reaction: “WHAT THE HELL?!”