“...I really don’t want to do this,” Shinji muttered to himself as he walked down the hill towards the festival. “...Sunset and her friends don’t seem like they’re evil, but father’s right. The way they monopolize magic is a serious problem…”
“I see what you mean…” a smooth, stoic voice of a hardened warrior called out from below the young man. “If those girls keep forcing control over all magic, then it won’t be long before someone becomes rebellious and uproots the system entirely. But here’s my question to you, Shinji: How do you solve this problem without falling into hypocrisy?”
Shinjiro stopped and looked down at his companion--a small white cat with a simple red collar and yellow eyes that served as the background for wide, black irises.
“...That’s the problem, Jules. I’m not exactly sure how I’d go about it. Maybe make them get rid of their magic? But that sounds equally authoritarian. Unless…”
The cat--whose full name was Julius--hopped up onto a nearby stall and started batting his paws at various toys while the owner’s back was turned. “Your father is a crazed man, driven by his lust for power and control. He wants you to use you as a pawn in his game. Are you prepared to die for him if the chips are down?”
“No…of course not,” Shinji replied as he shook his head. “But at the same time, I can’t disappoint him. At the very least, we can’t afford for them to try and take our magic away…”
By the time the stall owner had turned her back, Julius had already hopped off and resumed walking alongside his owner.
“That is true…it’s the only reason why I’m able to communicate with you, after all. I wouldn’t want to lose something like that over a petty disagreement regarding ideals,” he continued. Apparently the sight of a young man speaking with his cat out in the open wasn’t exactly abnormal given that no one batted them an eye.
That, or everyone was so distracted with the state of the festival that they didn’t care.
“At the very least, I want to investigate them,” Shinji continued, “Just to see what they’re like before I take action.”
“They don’t seem like hostile people,” Julius mewled, “They simply seem to be looking to enjoy the festivities. I say we let them do that much.”
“You’re right,” Shinji replied with a nod as he eyed up Sunset Shimmer from afar. “...Still. It can’t hurt to be prepared.” He zipped up the hoodie he was wearing, and grabbed a fox mask from a nearby stall. With it on, no one could tell what he looked like, and he would still be able to keep an eye out on those whom his father warned him about. “Now which way is Keiji…?”
“Follow me, Master,” Julius took the lead, opening his mouth to taste the air. “If we find trouble, you know I’ll gladly defend your life with my power.”
“I appreciate it,” the boy replied from beneath the mask, “You’re the only one I can rely on when things get rough. Hopefully I won’t need your power, but…”
“This way,” Julius cut him off, carefully prowling through and around some food stalls towards where he last saw the vampboy.
Meanwhile, with Diamond Tiara…
“That’s weird…I can’t find dad anywhere,” the pink girl stopped to ponder what happened to her father. She pulled out her phone and dialed…no answer. Next, she’d stop to look at the texts she had sent him over the course of the last hour. “...Still on read. Dammit, daddy, where are you? We’re supposed to be enjoying this together…”
“Sup, Tiara?” Applebloom appeared, wearing her best set of eastern robes with apples all over that had been custom made by Rarity. She was suckling on a candied piece of sushi with apples in it. “How ya’ll doin’ tonight?”
“I’m fine,” she replied with a smile, “Just looking for my dad. Have you seen him?”
“Oh yeah--I think I saw him headin’ up’ta one’a them there buildin’s nearby,” she explained while pointing at once of the office buildings near the fairgrounds, “Guess he had’ta handle some business.”
“Darn…” Tiara sighed, slumping her shoulders, “Here’s hoping he doesn’t take too long. Thanks for the heads-up, Applebloom.”
“No prollem…” the apple girl decided to quickly change the subject in order to make things better. “So…how’s yer lil’ date with Keiji?” she asked teasingly.
“Wh--it’s not a date,” she huffed in response, “He’s just…watching over Silver Spoon and I--”
Applebloom simply snickered with a sly grin. “Hot damn. He’s baggin’ both of ‘em? Lucky feller he is.” She then spoke aloud, “It’s alright. You ain’t gotta tell me. Buuuuut I can tell he’s a bit more social and involved cuz of ya. Whatever ya did, ya did him well.”
Tiara shyly kicked the ground. “...All I did was treat him like anyone else would.”
“That’s the thing--not everyone’s willin’ta treat people the same way. Some people are mean and treat people differently just cuzza where they came from. I mean, honestly…” she rolled her eyes from merely thinking about it. “But you didn’t--you showed him kindness and now he likes ya both.”
“I…don’t see how that’s possible,” Tiara replied with a nervous chuckle and shook her head, “I’m not exactly…anyway, it was good talking to you, but I gotta go!” And with that, she ran off, leaving a confused Applebloom to simply shrug and be on her way…
“I can totally see it happenin’.”