//------------------------------//
// Ch.21 Answers 
// Story: The First Star of Twilight 
// by Arcanum -Phantasy 
//------------------------------//

Living in the world of Gifted often leaves one with very few things that could surprise them. When your closest relatives can do things that others would consider magical, the bar would naturally be pretty high for such things. Sunny thought that would be true for her, that basically nothing could surprise her. Yet, she found herself unable to make heads or tails of her current situation.
It was not the eerily plain and sterile decorum of Harshwhinny's kitchen that had put her into such a tailspin. No. That particular honor went to the two girls sitting across from her. While Twilight looked like she was a step away from bolting out of the room, Petal carried herself in a way that dared her to try something. The human-formed Wraith sat up with her arms crossed, the glass of water set before her ignored. Her teal eyes drilled into them in a narrow impatient glare, one that was matched by a twitchy Sour Sweet sitting at Sunny's left. Twilight avoided eye contact with either of them, staring down at her own glass on the table and nervously tapping her fingers together.
"So, let me get this straight," Petal growled. "The whole reason you were a bitch to Twilight was because you thought she was being too high and mighty?"
"Yes," Sunny nodded, her face void of emotion.
Petal was about to explode at the girl, but only just managed to pull herself back. 
With visible strain, she looked Sunny dead in the eye and stated, "You are a very special brand of fucking stupid."
"That's not very nice," Sour sweetly stated, then ground her teeth as she growled out, "So shut your fucking mouth, bitch!"
"You first," Petal seethed. "And I mean both halves of you."
Sour paled at that, eyes wide with shock as she leaned away from the fuming Wraith. Sunny tensed at the display, her hand drifting towards her pocket. Petal noticed, ready to drop her human form at any moment. Before the tension could grow, a soft voice dragged the whole table towards its source.
"Please stop," Twilight softly pleaded, body trembling as she continued to stare into her glass. "Please. Not here. I...I don't want to lose my friend. I....please stop."
Rage traded places with concern as Petal pulled Twilight into her side. Both of them felt a familiar spark, one near her heart and the other her core. Sunny and Sour blinked in shock when a dark violet aura briefly enveloped the duo.
"It's alright Sparky," Petal soothed, gently rubbing her back. "Remember what your sister-in-law told you. Breath."
Stiffly, Twilight nodded, brining her hand slowly to her chest as she took a deep breath, then bushed it away as she let it out. The gesture raised a brow out of Sunny, the repeated visits she had with Dean Cadence more than making her familiar to it. Her musings on the matter were cut short by a sharp glare from Petal.
"Does this look like someone with a fat head to you?" Petal huffed. "I mean, where the fuck did you guys get it in your heads that she was like that?"
"It....seemed more believable until now," Sunny allowed, shame creeping into her features.
"How?!" Petal barked, incredulous.
Both girls looked away from her.
After enduring Petal's glare for a few seconds, Sunny took a breath, and pleaded her case.
"After earning her title, Sparkle refused to interact with any of the other students, including her fellow Elites. Any attempts were often ignored and that lead to a rumor about her lording her title over everyone else being spread. I originally attempted to quash it, but....."
"But?" Petal pressed.
Sunny's eyes briefly darted back and forth between Twilight and Petal before she let out a dejected sigh and continued.
"Around that time, Principle Cinch started to take notice of Sparkle's talents. Whenever I was alone with her, she would go on and on about how well Sparkle did on the latest exam or what new patent she had managed to secure. At the same time, all of my hard work went ignored. I would work myself to sleep every night thinking that if I could surpass you, then maybe I could earn her praise."
"And sense you couldn't, you decided to let the rumors spread and kicked Sparky while she was down?" Petal asked, raising a brow.
"In a way," Sunny nodded. "I did allow the rumor to spread, but my more....malicious actions come from a different source. As a Wraith, I am sure you are aware of mine and Sour's affliction."
"Yeah," Petal frowned, pulling away from Twilight to cross her arms. "I sensed them just before you guys jumped us. I'm kind've surprised you two haven't lost your minds yet."
"We have these to thank for that," Sour smiled, gesturing towards her earring and Sunny's ring, then scowled as she added, "Too bad they suck at it sometimes."
"indeed," Sunny nodded.
"Um...what are we talking about?" Twilight asked, looking back and forth between the three girls.
"We know something Sparkle doesn't know?" Sour gushed, then bitterly growled, "Somebody take a picture."
Petal and Sunny glared at her, the later catching Sour off guard. 
Sporting a trembling Smile, Sour did something that stunned Twilight. In a voice with a faint echo, she met Twilight's eyes and apologized.
"I...I'm sorry about that. My brain is....I'm screwed up so I tend to say whatever's on my mind. It's like....We'll, I mean, I'll tell you about it later."
"O....Okay," Twilight nervously nodded.
Sour nodded back, her face falling until the shadow of her bangs hid all but her frown. Sunny gave the girl a comforting smile, lightly rubbing her back.
"Going back to Sparkle's question," Sunny continued, still comforting her friend. "I believe it is safe to assume that Petal told you how Wraiths feed, correct?"
Twilight nodded, her features instantly becoming more animated.
"Well, Wraiths have the ability to spawn servants called Seeds. These Seeds can be implanted into a human's mind and soul and compel their host to feel whatever specific negative emotion their master prefers to eat. They can also influence their hosts on some level, often forcing them to preform actions that will further aid them in their missions. Once their host is ready for harvest, they send a message to the Wraith that created them and the host will meet their end."
Looking a little pale, Twilight turned her head towards Petal. The Wraith could literally sense her question along with a twinge of dread that came with suspecting an unpleasant answer. Petal knew something like this was going to have to be revealed at some point, especially if she managed to become an Archwraith in Twilight's lifetime. With a sigh, she met her friend's eyes and answered.
"She's mostly right. Archwraiths and above can make Seeds, but Arches are usually the only ones that bother. Most of the time, we use Seeds to speed-up Direct Feedings when we're desperate, but they're normally used to keep Nests safe. Gifted have ways to keep themselves from getting got by them in one way or another thanks to their powers, but normies...aren't all that lucky most of the time."
"The same goes for us," Sour frowned, her voice still holding that odd echo.
"Indeed," Sunny frowned, pulling away from her friend.
"Huh?" Petal blinked.
"Technically, Sour and I are not Gifted," Sunny clarified. "We are able to use artifacts left behind by other Gifted, but we have no abilities of our own."
"So that fuck-you mace was a rental?" Petal asked, her lips twitching into a scowl.
"In a way," she allowed. "Getting back on topic, I....fear my affliction may have had a part in how I see Sparkle."
"Same," Sour spat.
"Blaming your Seeds won't fix anything," Petal growled. "Sure, they didn't help, but you really fucked up Sparky's head. Then there's the shit going on between you two and the rest of our crew."
"That is a separate matter altogether," Sunny seethed, barely contained rage flowing out of her in waves.
Both Petal and Twilight leaned back from it, the later briefly feeling the girls rage. That went unnoticed by the Wraith, her jaw clenched as she leaned forward in her seat. Sour watched everything with wide eyes, snapped out of her gloom and looking around the table at the girls in a quick near-panicked swivel.
"Spill," Petal growled.
Sunny met her glare, looking like she was just short of jumping into a rematch with the Wraith, but just managed to pull herself back. With a deep breath, she straightened her posture and traded her glare for a cold frown. Sour let out a relieved breath and slumped in her seat while Twilight let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.
"When Sour and I were in Junior High, those girls nearly pushed Sour into....doing something irreversible."
A heavy arctic silence filled the room, the implications crystal clear to everyone present. The shocked look Petal gave Sour surprised Sunny, but the tears Twilight shed for her friend crushed her heart. That doubled when Twilight jumped out of her seat, almost ran to the other side of the table, and hugged Sour. Said girl could only stare blankly forward as Twilight hugged her, both halves of her mind struggling to make sense of what was happening and how to react. Before that could happen, Twilight's own mind caught up with her.
"S-Sorry," she sniffled, letting go of the stunned girl. 
"It's okay," Sour smiled, then sported a blushing grimace as she looked away and bitterly grumbled out, "Fucking softy."
Nodding, Twilight ran back to her seat, her cheeks also sporting a new shade of red.
"As I was saying," Sunny calmly stated. "I believe you can agree that Sour's condition makes her an....interesting person to interact with."
"Fucking understatement," Petal frowned.
An elbow to the gut from Twilight forced a choked squawk out of her. Rubbing her side, she briefly traded glares with her friend before they gave Sunny their full attention again. Once she had it, she continued without missing a beat.
"This made her rather unpopular with our peers at the time. It eventually got to the point that..."
Sunny's body started to tremble, a mix of anger and grief showing on her face. She hugged herself, lips pulled back into a scowl before she banished it all with a long, slow breath.
"I found Sour behind the school crying as Indigo Zap, Lemon Zest, and Sugar Coat were screaming at her. The things they said to her still boil my blood to this day, especially knowing what their actions almost led to."
"What happened?" Twilight pressed.
Sunny gave Sour a questioning look, to which she received a small smile and nod.
Not able to look away from the table, Sunny somberly continued her tale.
"After that, Sour stayed far away from the other students. If she ever needed to interact with others, she did so with a notepad or simple one word answers. I would try to interact with her and keep those three monsters away from her, but no matter what I did, she would not talk to me. I did everything I could think of to help her. I had lunch with her, studied with her, I even brought her home with me on the weekends for sleepovers, but nothing helped."
"She really tried her best," Sour weakly smiled, then frowned as she somberly spat, "Too bad it wasn't good enough."
Sunny sadly nodded.
"I was far too young to know just how out of my depth I was at the time. I still thought that a few kind words and hugs was all it took to fix things. It became so much clearer to me when I found Sour in the bathroom...holding a knife."


***


The restroom was as quiet as a tomb, its sole inhabitants locked in a chilling showdown. Sour sat in a stall, the thirteen-year-old's face and eyes blank as she stared down at the small knife in her hands. Her lavender uniform was covered with patches of dried mud with her matching skirt missing a chunk above one of her knees. Sunny sported an identical outfit, save for the wear and tear of Sour's. The young girl was frozen with terror, mind torn between refusing what she was seeing and what she could do to stop it.
"S-Sour," she gulped. "Please. Put the knife down."
"Why?" Sour smiled, then growled, "Nobody wants us around. We're doing everyone a favor."
"I-I want you around," Sunny protested, a shaky smile gracing her lips. "S-So plea-"
"That's sweet!" Sour chirped, still staring at the weapon in her hands, then screamed, "Now quit lying to us!"
"B-But I'm not!" Sunny pressed, taking a step.
"Stay back!" Sour cried, then growled, "You can't stop us! Back off!"
"No!" Sunny cried back, taking another shaky step. "Not until you put the knife down!"
Tears fell down Sour's face as she looked up at Sunny, her lips trembling in a vane attempt to hold back her crying.
"P-Please, let us do this," she begged, then growled, "You don't need to pretend to be our friend anymore!"
Sunny shook her head, her own tears starting to fall.
"I'm not going to do that and I'm not pretending!"
A shaky smile spread across Sour's lips.
"Th-That's really nice to hear," she chuckled, then frowned as she somberly added, "I don't deserve it."
What followed was a flurry of movement that took both girls by surprise. Sour closed her eyes and pulled the knife to her neck. Before more than a knick could be done, Sunny closed the distance between them and knocked the weapon out of the girl's hand. Sour's eyes flew open, but before the girl could do more than that, Sunny kicked the knife as far away from their stall as she could. Sour tried to get up to get it, but Sunny caught her in a tight hug. Sour struggled, an even alternation of furious and tragic cries falling out of her mouth like the howls of a two-headed beast. Sunny held firm, refusing to let her friend go through with this with all of her might. Even when she felt Sour's nails dig into her sides, she refused to let her go. Over time, the girl's struggling grew weaker, until she was reduced to a whimpering limp mess in her friend's grip.
They stayed like that, both sniffling in each others arms on the bathroom floor. Still shaking, Sunny eventually pulled herself free from their embrace just enough to get a look at her friend's face. Sour was near catatonic, only a faint trace of life present in her puffy eyes. It was then that Sunny noticed the small cut on the girl's neck and the trail of blood staining their uniforms. She quickly grabbed some toilet paper, held it against the wound, and helped her friend get to her feet.
"I'm taking you to the nurse," Sunny shakily stated. "S-She should kn-know what to do."
Sour gave no response, the girl no more than a human-sized doll as she used Sunny as a crutch. As they closed in on the bathroom's exit, Sour saw her knife sticking out from under one of the stall doors. She weakly reached out towards it as Sunny nearly dragged her out into the school's hallway. Not even a second later, a panicked Stygian literally emerged from a nearby shadow, the gangly ebon-clad child taking in the pair of them with eyes almost as wide as the black owl on his shoulder.


***


Sunny somberly stared down at the table, while Petal and Twilight held their own reactions. Petal silently seethed, her hands trembling on the table in tight fists. Twilight paled, her body locked into a terrified stare at Sour. The girl in question took it all in with a deep frown.
Shakily, Twilight forced herself to look at Sunny and ask, "H-Has she..."
"No," Sour sighed, her voice regaining its echo. "We, er, I have a therapist that I meet every other week and some medication I can't pronounce to help me stay stable. When I got Seeded, Stygian's Grandpa gave me my earring to help keep it under control."
"That won't work forever though," Petal snorted, her ire pulling back a bit. "I can tell that whatever powers those little do-dads have are starting to run out." 
"Indeed," Sunny nodded. "Just one of many reasons we need to move forward with our plans."
"Plans?" Twilight gulped.
She nodded, sitting up straight in her seat as she gave Twilight her full attention.
"For many years, an Archwraith has been inhabiting the land my mother's school now stands upon. Thanks to my ancestor's gift, it has been the duty of my family to uphold a ritual to keep him contained. I wish to put an end to it; permanently."
The pure malice she held in the word permanently put a chill down even Petal's spine, the Wraith tasting the concentrated hatred the girl held in her heart. She also noticed Twilight flinch back from it, but pushed it to the back of her mind for later. It also reminded her that these two were not the only ones the Archwraith could be gunning for. Taking a deep breath, she bit the bullet and took her chance.
"Let me guess; you want help dealing with this fucker, right?"
Taken aback, Sunny nodded.
"Cool," Petal nodded, a vicious smirk spreading across her lips. "What kind of Archwraith are we talking about here?"


***


To say Lemon was surprised by the sudden turn her day had taken would've been like saying the ocean floor is a little dark. A deep frown graced her lips as she sat on her bed, arms crossed while she glared daggers at her guest. 
Stygian sat across from her in her desk chair, the boy's face an unreadable mask as he stared back at her. 
Thanks to Petal's warning, she knew that she was going to meet other Gifted eventually; she had just hoped it wouldn't have been so soon. She also thought the first Gifted she would meet would've been taller or a least buff. While Stygian was in pretty good shape, he was so far from that, it hurt. At the same time, she knew that the boy could take her out in a nanosecond if he wanted to. 
The silence between them was defining, yet neither knew how to break it. At least, not in a way that didn't end with the two of them coming to blows. 
Unbeknownst to her, Stygian was already trying to think of a way to do just that.
He could tell that she was loyal to Twilight and the Wraith; so much so that saying the wrong thing would lead to all kinds of problems. The fact that she was an untrained Gifted only added to the need for tact. If there was one thing more dangerous than a Wraith going rogue, it was a Gifted's power going wild. While he was certain that the girl wouldn't risk destroying her own home, he knew first hand what kind of power she could unleash if pressed.


***


Gazing through Scathex's eyes, Stygian spat out a curse when he saw the Wraith send Sunny flying into the other end of the arena. He had no idea how the tide of the fight had changed so suddenly. One minute, Sunny was tearing the Wraith apart, then the next, she was put onto the back foot. This should not have been the case. From what he had been able to gather about their target, they were dealing with a New Born; a Wraith with next to no real combat ability beyond the most basic skills her kind could develop. When she changed form, it quickly became apparent to him that there was something off about their target.
"Scathex, get ready to pull her out," he frowned, trying to think of a way around this new development.
"Got it," the demon stated. "I hope you have a pla-FIVE O'CLOCK!"
Cutting his connection to the demon's eyes, he turned just in time to see a mulberry fist come flying at his face. Sidestepping out of the way, Lemon leveled a venomous glare at him before she took another swing. Much to her frustration, years of training helped him avoid the raging teen's fists with casual ease. What put him on edge though, was the flickering yellow aura her anger summoned around her body.
"Who are you?" he asked ducking under a punch. "What family sent you?"
"What?" she blinked, confusion halting her rage for a second, before she shook it off and went back to trying to hit him.
An abandoned line? he mused, ducking under a punch. But why is she attacking me? Is she from an enemy group?
A slight spike of Aether at his left snapped him out of his thoughts, giving him just enough time to jump out of danger. A second later, four thin arrows planted themselves into the ground in a perfect square around Lemon. Stygian summoned just enough of Scathex to cover his mouth and nose with shadow as the red feathers on the arrows morphed into flower petals. Upon doing so, the arrows-turned-flowers flooded the area with a thick pink fog. Lemon coughed as the sweet-smelling mist filled her lungs, one hand covering her face while she used the other to try to wave it away.
"The heck is this stuff?" she hacked.
She quickly got her answer when she tried to take a step.
All of the strength suddenly left her legs, her eyes widening in shock as she fell bonelessly into the grass. He saw panic creep onto her face, her eyes frantically darting every which way. He let out a relieved sigh behind his mask at the avoided crisis. The sound of crunching grass announced Sour's presence, an ornate wooden bow held tightly in one of her hands as she ran towards him.
"Nice shot," he smirked.
"Naturally," she snorted, her voice holding its familiar echo. "Is Sunny done yet?"
Stygian's smile instantly died, a fact that became obvious when his shadow mask moved over his eyes. When he saw Sunny laying helpless on the floor, he was ready to pull her out to take her place. Before he could give the order, a pulse of Aether from his attacker caught his attention. Pulling his vision back to his surroundings, he shared a shocked gape with Sour at what he was seeing.
Gritting her teeth, Lemon forced herself to her knees, her flickering aura growing more vibrant and pronounced by the second. When she met their gaze, a fire burned bright in her eyes. A furious growl passed her lips as she forced herself to her feet, her aura almost blinding to the two teens.
"Where. Are. They?" Lemon growled.
They? Does she mean Twilight and the Wraith?
Following protocol, he pulled some of the power he was using to keep Sunny and the Wraith in the Shadow Plane and threw it into their surroundings. Everything turned gray as a dome of Aether surrounded them. Sour gave him a worried frown, all too familiar of what this likely meant for them.
"If you are here for the Wraith, then we have no reason to fight," he stated, tone even. "In fact, if we act fast, I am sure we can-"
"WHERE ARE THEY?!" Lemon roared, her voice loud enough to shake the ground.
"I have the Wraith contained," he said, pushing a calm voice through the pain in his ears. "Now, if you would just-"
That was as far as he got before the girl tackled him to the ground. Sour pulled back her bow string, an arrow instantly manifesting onto it as she aimed her weapon at the girl. Meanwhile, Stygian tried to get the girl off of him, but she refused to move. At the same time, he saw a faint lavender and black mist intermingle with her aura's yellow glow. 
"LET THEM GO!" she roared, her voice louder than it had been a second ago.
She let out a pained grunt when Sour's arrow planted itself in her shoulder. Anger seared through her when she started to feel numb again, her will the only thing keeping her from dropping. Both impressed and worried, Stygian tapped into what little power he had available to fall into his own shadow. As he fell through the void separating the material world from the one his power crafted he tried to make sense of what had just happened. Why was that girl so determined to free both girls? Twilight he could understand, but the Wraith? Was there something going on here that he didn't know about?
"Not likely," he frowned, shaking his head at the possibility. "The Wraith is probably manipulating her in some way. If I put an end to this, whatever compulsions she has on her should dissipate"
Yet another reason to end this quickly.
Further and further he fell, the world nothing but a monochromatic blur as he closed in on the ground below. At the last second, he gracefully rolled into a stand on the gray grass. He quickly took note of his surroundings, instantly spotting his downed friend and the sitting Wraith on the other end of the arena. Now able to access more of his power, he willed his summon into a clawed gauntlet before he charged towards his target. It took less than a second for him to close the distance, training, his demon, and his desire to end this quickly all giving him the power he needed to do so. Both girl's turned towards him, surprise and fear gracing both of their faces as his claw closed in on Petal's throat. Before he could land the blow, a thunderous roar shook the whole arena. Before he could even begin to guess what had caused it, a searing pain ripped through the boy's head, dropping him to his knees. His hands clutched his head, desperate for any kind of relief from the strain of keeping the barrier and the arena held together. Unfortunately, it became very apparent that he could not keep both standing at the same time. Deep cracks formed all across the shadow world's ceiling, a familiar female scream seeping through them into the space. 
That, and a cry from Sunny was the last thing he heard before the pain made everything fade to black.


***


Stygian's head still throbbed from that, not anywhere near as bad as it had when he woke up, but still enough to ware on his patience. Lemon wasn't fairing any better, the strain of letting out so much Aether taking a heavy toll on her. Combine that with whatever Sour's arrows did to her and it was a miracle that she was able to keep her eyes open. 
Pushing past his headache, he finally broke the silence.
"I am sorry for attacking your friend," he sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "But you do understand why we did that, correct?"
Lemon huffed at that, looking away with a grimace.
Stygian sighed, flinching slightly against the pounding in his head.
"Twilight's Wra-"
"Petal," Lemon snipped, cutting him off.
"Pardon?" Stygian blinked.
"Her name's Petal Wasp," Lemon frowned, aiming a glare at him.
He met it with a blank stare, then nodded.
"Very well," he allowed. "As I was saying, Petal may be an...unusual case, but she is still a Wraith. At her core, she is a threat to humans and must be eliminated."
"And I'm telling you you're wrong!" Lemon growled. "Petal's, like, super protective of Twi and stuff! And Twi's really close to her too! They're like sisters!"
"It may look like that, but that just means Petal has latched onto her," he frowned. "Twilight is nothing, but food to her; simple as that."
"It's not like that!" Lemon insisted.
"Regardless," he sighed, tired of metaphorically banging his throbbing head against a wall. "Your ability would be very useful in our next hunt. As such, I would like to make a proposal."
"Go jump off a cliff," Lemon huffed.
"But-"
"Shut it," the girl growled, her eyes boring holes into him. "You're friends with Sunny and Sour and you tried to kill Petal. As far as I'm concerned, you're the lowest of the low."
"I can understand that," he nodded. "But what I want to ask could benefit bo-"
"I said no," Lemon cut in. "Now, get the hell out of my room before I deck you."
Stygian opened his mouth to protest, but the venom in the girl's eyes halted his tongue. Knowing a losing battle when he saw one, he solemnly nodded and got out of his seat. She watched him with narrowed eyes as he exited the room. As he made his way towards the kitchen, his shadow wavered a bit below him.
"Well, that went well," Scathex chuckled. "Didn't expect you to let her off that easily, though."
"Leave my contact information on her desk later tonight," he demanded, ignoring his summon's needling. "Even if we do not see eye-to-eye on this, she will need our assistance at some point. Perhaps Grandfather can talk some sense into her while training her."
"Whatever you say," the demon snorted, pulling himself further into Stygian's shadow.
As his shadow's form stabilized, Stygian had to admit that something about this whole situation didn't sit well with him. Petal definitely acted different from the other Wraiths he and his family had dealt with in the past. Then there was that form she assumed. Seeing a Wraith change form was nothing new, but the power she was using was an anomaly. 
Was she using....Aether?
He shook his head at the impossibility of the thought as he joined the group in the kitchen. The irony of that assessment was not lost to him when he took note of his current situation. He traded stares with Twilight and the Wraith as he took a seat, worry and anger from the duo meeting his blank mask. HIs instincts and training told him to fight, but he knew better than to act on it. There was much more he needed to learn if he planned to make any progress in solving the unusual riddle sitting before him. Hopefully, the answers wouldn't make his head hurt any more than it already did.