//------------------------------// // Chapter 13 // Story: The dragon breather of Equestria // by Jayelms43 //------------------------------// Meeting an old friend and finding out the truth….. "Can I really love all of them equally?!?" (Third person POV) In another universe or more specifically another Equestria there was a hooded figure running for their life from the royal guards as they made their way to the edge of the cliff. "Stop right there!!!! You are cornered, turn yourself in, and Queen Daybreaker may spare your life!" the leader of the group said as he and the other guards surrounded the figure. The hooded figure just clicked their tongue and said. "Like hell I turn myself into that bitch. Besides, not like she will once I turn myself in. She'll just kill me and use my skull as a paper weight." the hooded figure said, glaring at them. The lead guard smirked a bit. “Good. We were wanting some payback for all the shit you put us through.” The hooded figure got into a fight stance and did come at me gesture with their hand. The first two guards ran at them but the figure disposed of them quickly as they looked back at the leader. "Really Shining Armor? Your guards are even more useless then they were before and that’s saying something seeing how they were trained by you of all people." A magic beam struck them in the chest, knocking them back and making them nearly fall off the cliff if Shining Armor hadn’t grabbed them by their neck and lifted them up and held them over the edge. “Last chance bitch. Give up or I’ll kill you right here.” Due to the strong winds and heavy rain the figure's hood blew off to show that the figure was a female with yellow fur with red rosy cheeks and her eyes were ocean blue. "Fuck you, I rather die again than give up." she said, her eyes full with defiance. Unbeknownst to them a riff in the fabric of reality started to form in the cavern underneath them, revealing Whitetail Woods. (Looks like this) Shining Armor chuckles a bit at this. “Then enjoy Tartarus bitch.” he then dropped her. As she fell through the cavern, her last thought was on her best friend James and said. "I guess I'm dying twice…… I hope you're there James." she said as she fell through the riff. (Scootaloo pov three weeks later) It's been three weeks since my dad and my friends' sisters started dating. It was weird at first but I got used to it. Right now I was at the CMC clubhouse with my friends while my dad and Applejack were helping on the farm. “Okay girls, what’s our next idea in getting our Cutie Marks?” Applebloom asked us, snapping me out of my thoughts. Sweetie Bell was looking bored out of her mind. "I don't know, we did pretty much everything that we could do." she said. "Anything we didn't do my dad would be beyond angry……. I think we can agree if he finds out we did something that could have gotten us killed." I said, not wanting to imagine my dad getting angry. “Yeah, so that pretty much erases any ideas of getting a Cutie Mark.” Applebloom dejectedly said. Just then I heard a loud boom coming from the Whitetail Woods. "What was that!?" I shouted before looking out the window to see what happened. I can see a dust cloud in the distance and I’m guessing it was coming from Whitetail Woods. “Can you see anything Scoots?” Applebloom asked me. "Only a dust cloud…… let's go check it out." I said, walking out of the clubhouse and started to run towards the dust cloud. “Hey wait up!” I hear Applebloom shout behind me but I kept running. After a few minutes of running we made it to the crash site and saw a medium sized crater with some pony knocked unconscious. (Third person POV) They saw this and ran towards the injured pony and saw it was a female who was 5'2 and had yellow fur with black spots on its ears and red cheeks. "Uhhh." she groaned out, unconscious but still hurt. “We better get some help fast!” Scootaloo said after seeing the pony. "How?" Applebloom said, before they could think of a plan they saw a blue portal opened up and James, Twilight and Applejack came out of the portal. "What the…. Scootaloo what the hell are you girls doing here?" James asked, walking over and saw the unconscious person on the ground. “We were just seeing what it was that caused the explosion.” Scootaloo explained while stepping away from the pony. James stared at the pony and noticed right away she wasn't a pony. After thinking for a moment James walked over and picked her up. "Twilight, Applejack can you take the kids back to the house, I am heading towards the hospital. And can you get the rest of the girls and princesses here too?" James asked while summoning his Dragon wings. “We can do that but why do you need the others?” Twilight asked him. "I'll tell you later Twilily." James said, kissing her cheek and flying off towards Ponyville hospital. After that Twilight and Applejack took the Cmc back home and on the way sent a letter to the princesses to meet at the hospital. After a few minutes the Main Six and princesses were outside of the hospital. "Hey what's going on? Did something happen?" Rainbow questioned while looking at Twilight. “Your guess is as good as mine. James just told me to tell everyone to meet at the hospital.” Twilight said. "James!? Did something happen to him," Luna asked. "No, but-" Twilight did get to finish before James came out looking serious.  "Good everyone here, Ok what I'm about to tell you guys can not be told to anyone else," James said, sounding serious. Everyone looked confused but James continued. "The doctors are looking after her and making sure she has any lasting damage but while they were doing that I did a background check on her by reading her memories." James said, as they walked inside the hospital. “Wait, since when can you do that?” Celestia asked with a suspicious look on her face. "Since it was none of your fucking business that’s when." James said, glaring at Celestia. "James." Rarity said, crossing her arms.  James sighed in annoyance "Fine…. I have six Infinity Stones that make up my heart and one of them being the Mind stone that allows me to read people's memories, control their minds, wipe their memories, etc, etc." “So in other words, you can easily take over by wiping everyone’s memories and no one would stop you.” Celestia said with narrowed eyes. James looked at Celestia like she lost her mind. "Why would I want to rule a bunch of toddlers who need their princess to do everything for them besides the Main Six and a few others? Everyone here will get on my nerves so quickly that I might hurt them." “Hey, how about we all just calm down and talk about the pony that was brought in?” Twilight said, getting in between James and Celestia to prevent them from fighting. James clicked his tongue and continued walking. "I found out some shocking information about her. For one thing she's from an alternate universe like ours but…" James stopped before continuing. "In that universe Celestia killed her little sister and took her powers and killed every single ruler and became the supreme ruler of Equus. Going as far as mind controlling that world's Main Six and murder almost half of the population." James finished, standing in front of the door. “What?! That’s simply awful!!” Rarity shouted in disbelief and horror. "Yeah it's not a good place……but.." James stopped, everyone noticed and the main six and Luna were worried. "Her name is the same as my best friend who died." James finished. This surprised a lot of them. “Really? Could it be that they’re the same person?” Applejack asked. "I don't know Applejack, even if she has the same name doesn't mean they're the same person there's only one way for me to know if it's really her or not.” James said, opening the door and seeing she was awake with a confused look. The person in question looked over to see a large group into her hospital room, but to their surprise it had one human male. The person's eyes widened as they stared at James. “A-a human?! How is there a human in Equestria?!” James raised an eyebrow and said. "Better question is how is there an anthro Pikachu in Equestria?" James questioned taking one of the chairs in the room. “W-well, you see I-” she then stopped speaking when her eyes landed on Celestia and she gained an enraged look on her face. “YOU!!” she jumped out of the bed with her fist pulled back, ready to punch the solar princess much to the shock of everyone. James got in front of her and grabbed her wrist and put it behind her back and pulled her away from Celestia. "As much as I want you to punch her…. I saw your memories and believe me she is not Daybreaker." “Let go! I’m gonna make her pay!!” she shouted angrily while struggling in James’ grip. James didn't want to use her name but he needs to get her to calm down and know if it's her. "Shakira Jamie Smith!!! Calm down!" James shouted at her, having a small hope that it's really her. This made the anthro Pikachu freeze before slowly turning to James. “H-how do you know my name?” James was about to cry but stayed strong enough to say. "Hey Lapis," James said, using his old friend's nickname. Her eyes widened in shock as she knew only one person would call her that. “J-James?” James just smiled while now crying like a 5 year old. "It is you….my Lapis!!!" James cried before hugging her while shook in both happiness and sadness. Shakira was still in shock at the revelation of the person hugging her being her friend before that shock turned to joy and relief and she hugged him back. “O-oh James! I thought…I-I thought I wouldn’t see you again!” James just made incohesive sentences as he tried to say the same thing. After a moment of the two crying, James turned to the others with the biggest smile he had. "Guys this is my best friend Shakira Jamie Smith. Shakira, these are my friends/marefriends except for Luna and Celestia." “Marefriends?” Shakira asked while she felt a strange sense of jealousy. "Yeah.. well actually it's them plus a dragon princess, two demons, and a literal darkness," James said, before looking at the others. "Guys, Shakira was my bestest friend back home. She was there to comfort me when my parents died." James said, not noticing that the Main Six and Shakira were given each death glares at each other. “Well that was nice of her.” Rarity said with a forced smile on her face. “So how long have you two known each other?” "Ever since we were 4 years old, we have been close friends. We would do anything from watching anime and movies to going to the forest to find cool stuff. I also slept over at her house too." James said, sounding excited and was beaming with happiness like Pinkie. Shakira had a smirk while the Main Six glaring at her trying to set her on fire. “Yeah, I guess you can say we were really close back then.”  "Yeah, remember that time we tried to get superpowers like Spider-Man?" James asked while laughing. "Man, our mom's were so angry that they looked like they were going super saiyan."  Shakira laughed as well. “I have never seen them so mad before that it was more funny than terrifying!” After that James offered Shakira to live with him and much to the Main Six’s anger she said yes. It was now nighttime and the Main Six, Amara, Angel, Cherri and Ember were in Twilight’s library discussing James and Shakira. "Damn so she is the girl that James was talking about?" Angel asked. “Apparently so.” Twilight said with a nod.  "Uhh Twilight…. Your hair is on fire," Rainbow said, pointing at Twilight’s flaming hair with the mare in question trying to keep a calm face but couldn't while knowing that Shakira was with James right now. “Huh, guess she’s an actual hothead.” Angel Dust said while laughing a bit with Cherri snickering. The two demons stopped laughing when they saw Twilight giving them a look that could kill them in an instant. "Yeah, and it's worse when she knows James practically his whole life she has the biggest advantage out of all of us here." Rarity said, looking rather annoyed at their current situation. “Pft, so? Like that’ll matter.” Angel Dust said with a roll of his eyes. "Well you weren’t there." Rainbow said, crossing her arms in annoyance. "From the hospital to his house they were in their own little world talking about things we didn't even know about him." “Chill out Skittles. I’m sure he won’t ditch us for his best friend.” Cherri said as she leaned back on the chair. "A best friend who he said he loved more than anything," Pinkie said. It was silent inside the library as everyone digested that statement from Pinkie. Even if Cherri was right, they can't deny that with Shakira being here James might start having second thoughts about being with them. And having this dark thought causes them to second guess their confidence in the relationship they made with him.  “This might be a problem.” Ember said and the others nodded their heads. "So let's just kill her then." Angel Dust said, in response Amara smacked him upside the head. "You know that if we try that, James will never trust us again or even worse he will try to kill us in revenge for killing her." Amara said with a scowl on her face. “Geez, it was just a joke.” Angel Dust said while rubbing the spot where Amara smacked him. "What if we can get some alone time and show him how much we love him?" Rarity suggest while smirking. Everyone looked at each other and agreed. "OK but you're going first, Rarity," Rainbow said, smirking at Rarity's shocked and horrified face.  "Wait, why do I have to go first?!" the unicorn mare questioned while blushing. "Well since it's your idea, you can go first." Rainbow answered. “B-but..” Rarity tried saying before sighing. “Fine. I’ll go first.” (Next morning) It was early morning in Ponyville and both James and Shakira were walking towards Rarity Boutique to get her some new clothes. "Trust me Rarity is the best clothes designer in Ponyville." James said, smiling brightly. “That’s what a lot of people said back home. Always preaching how they’re the best or something like that.” Shakira said. "Don't worry this is not like home, and everyone in this universe is nice and Rarity is a generous marefriend and the greatest at making clothes," James said, not noticing Shakira had a scowl on her face after hearing James say marefriend. “That’s just great then.” she said, doing her best to hide the jealousy in her voice. "Looks like we're here," James said, opening the door and saw Rarity wearing a black pencil skirt with a white dress shirt that looked a bit small showing her C-cup breasts. James smirked evilly and sneaked up behind her before wrapping his arms around her waist. "Hi Rarity, how are you doing?" James said, trying and failing not to laugh at Rarity's surprised face. “Wha?! James! Don’t startle a lady like that!” scolded Rarity. “You could have given me a heart attack.” James kissed her cheek. "Sorry Rares. But I brought Shakira so you can get her measurements and make her some new clothes." James said while smiling. Rarity's eyebrow twitched in annoyance before having a forced smile. "Oh really that's….. great." Rarity said. "Thanks Rarity I really appreciate this," James said, before smirking evilly. Rarity was confused until James pulled Rarity close and kissed her deeply with his tongue invading her mouth while grabbing her ass. Shakira’s jaw dropped which Rarity noticed and gave her a smug look which only ticked off Shakira. James and Rarity's makeout was interrupted by Shakira pulling on James' shirt separating them. "OK that's enough you too, let’s get this over with." she said, before taking off her cloak and making James have a nosebleed and Rarity was dumbfounded by Shakira. Shakira was short and her body was a little chubby but in all the right places with H-cup breasts and a bubble butt that any stallion or man would have a heart attack just by seeing it. (,like this) “Sweet Celestia.” Rarity muttered quietly as she stared at Shakira. Shakira raised an eyebrow and turned to see James staring and smirked before hefting her breasts up with her arms. "Like what you see, James?" she asked with lust filled eyes. James blushed and said in a nervous tone. "I don't know what you're talking about." he said, lying through his teeth. “Are you sure about that?” she asked him while giving her breasts a bit of a bounce, making him nearly have another nosebleed. Rarity cleared her throat and said. "Let’s get started." she said, looking at James with a glare before grabbing the measuring tape with her magic and began measuring her. While that was happening James tried to get his mind off of how Shakira looked by starting up a conversation. "Soooo Rarity, how's Sweetie Belle? Last time I checked on her and the others were still down about not getting their Cutie Mark." “Yes, they are still upset about that but they are doing alright.” Rarity said as she wrote down some measurements before she continued measuring Shakira. James thought for a moment before snapping his fingers. "Hey Rares, have you ever heard or seen Sweetie Bell sing or dance in her spare time?” “Sometimes.” Rarity said as she wrote down more notes. James smirks before saying. "That's good to hear because I just figured out how to help one of them." James said, getting up and stretching. “Really? Well I’m sure they would appreciate it.” Rarity said with a small smile. James smirked and said. "Trust me she will, I'm going to go and get things ready. Meet me back at the house with all the others. I got a surprise for you guys." James said, kissing Rarity on the lips one more time before leaving. When James left it was an awkward science between Rarity and Shakira, Rarity cleared her throat. "Well OK let's continue shall we? Do you have any preferences on what you want your style of clothes to be?" Rarity asked, trying to be professional. “Meh, loose fitting clothes works for me. I’ll wear a dress but I’ll mostly stick with tomboyish clothing. As for the colors, black, blue, silver and red.” Shakira said and Rarity wrote it down. Rarity nodded at her before pausing for a moment. She thought about what she was going to say but hesitated for a moment before sighing and said. "Shakira, does James know you're really a lesbian or you are actually bisexual?" Rarity asked, sitting down the notebook and pencil. Shakira blinked at this. “What? What brought this up?” "Well…. I was wearing a very tight skirt and dress shirt and James was attracted to it, but if you were a lesbian then you would have stared too. But instead you were jealous that James was looking at me and kissing me," Rarity said, before looking at Shakira with a serious look. "Have you been lying to James telling him you like mares instead of stallions but you actually like both more specifically…… James?" Rarity questioned as she looked at Shakira and noticed a look of anger, sadness, and fear. Shakira was quiet for a few minutes before saying. "Even if it was true, are you going to tell him?" she asked with a blank expression.  “Of course not dear. I’m not one to tell secrets that aren’t meant to be shared.” Rarity said. Shakira stared at Rarity for a moment before saying. "Yea, it's true I love James more than a friend and yes I lied about my sexuality to him." she said while crossing her arms in annoyance. “Can you tell me why you would lie to him?” Rarity asked her. Shakira was again quite for a moment before saying. "Three days before I told him, I fell in love with him. I love more than anything. But I was very sick, so I went to the doctor and they told me I had stage 4 cancer in my brain." Shakira said, as tears came down her cheeks. "T-they said I had maybe 2 or 4 weeks left before I die, and I didn't want James to go through that pain…. So I lied and pretended to like women instead of men." she finished. Rarity’s eyes widened in shock. After hearing that she now understood why she lied, if she had died James would have been devastated. “Oh my, I’m…I’m sorry to hear that. Now I understand why you lied.” Shakira just sighed before saying. "Not like it matters anymore, James has a fucking harem and I'm just the 'lesbian friend' to him," she said,crossing her arms. Rarity thought for a moment, she had an idea but she didn't like it and the others won't either. "Shakira…… let's go talk to the others." Rarity said, leading her towards the library. (Five hours later) The main six, Angel, Cherri, Amara and Ember were at James house in the living room with the Cmc except Sweetie Bell was with James. "Does anyone know why we're here?" Rainbow questioned, while reading a Daring Do book. “Your guess is as good as mine Skittles.” Angel Dust said. Rainbow Dash glared at Angel Dust, but before she could do anything James was behind her, or more specifically she was sitting in his lap. "Sooooo, what's Dash reading?" James asked, hugging her. “Gah!” shouted Rainbow Dash in surprise before shooting James an annoyed look. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!” James smiled before saying. "Oh sorry Rainbow Dash what if I..” James started before whispering in Rainbow Dash's ear making her face turn red like a tomato. "How's that sound for an apology RD?" James asked, licking her neck. Rainbow Dash shivers a bit from the lick before crossing her arms and turning her head away. “W-whatever.” Just then James appeared in front of everyone. "But right now it's time for Sweetie Bell to sing us a song." James said before using the Reality Stone and changed the living room into an Opera stage.  “Wait, that’s why you called us here? To watch a kid sing?” Cherri asked James. James eyes turned blood red making her shut up and turning her head away from James angry glare. "Sweetie has been wanting to get her Cutie Mark, as well as sing for us. So I guess you sit and enjoy her song. Do you understand Cherri?" James asked while standing over her as his eyes glowing red in the dark. “Whoa whoa whoa! No need to go psycho on me! I was just asking!” Cherri said. James' eyes narrowed for a moment before smiling brightly and sat next to her and Angel. "Good, hope you enjoy the show my cherry." James said, everyone stared at James, completely scared and shocked by his change of attitude.  “R-right.” Cherri said. After that everyone looked towards the stage and saw Sweetie Bell standing wearing a blue dress with gold trimming and looked very nervous but seeing both Rarity and James smiling softly at her calmed her down. She took a breath then smiled and music started to play with her grabbing the microphone and sing. Everyone just stared in surprise before her friends began cheering. “Wow, never thought someone with the word ‘sweet’ would sing such a song.” Amara said with a chuckle. "Yeah she was hesitant at first, but I helped her understand her true talent for singing. She just needed somepony to believe in her." James said, remembering the conversation they had. (Flashback five hours ago) James was in his with Sweetie Bell and talking about how he figured it out on what Sweetie Belle’s Cutie Mark was. "Sweetie Bell, in your spare time have you ever sang or Hum a tune to yourself before?"James asked, while looking through his phone’s list of songs. “Um, sometimes? Why?” she asked him while a bit confused. James stopped and looked at her. "Because I know what your Cutie Mark is," James said, while getting up and walking over to her. Sweetie Belle gasped, shocked and excited to finally know what her Cutie Mark, the one thing that she’s been wanting for a long time, is. “YOU DO!?! Tell me!”  James kneeled in front of her and said something that confused her beyond belief. "Your special talent is the thing you've been doing this whole time, Sweetie Bell." James said, smirking. “Huh? You mean hunting for Cutie Marks?” Sweetie Belle asked. "Well that but also singing Sweetie Bell. Ponies say you have to give it time, that they will figure it out. That's stupid because if you watch your kids do things that they are good at unconsciously, why not help them," James said, hugging Sweetie Bell. "I know I'm not your father Sweetie Bell, but I'm going to help you realize that not only are you good at finding Cutie Mark for others. But you also have a gift for singing too." James said, smiling softly at her. Sweetie Belle was a bit unsure. “But what if my talent isn’t that?” "It’s the same as when you were with the others, you won’t know unless you try. I believe in you Sweetie Belle, even if you don't or Ponyville or even Equestria doesn't. I will always believe in you." James said, voice full of seriousness and determination for her. Sweetie Belle was quiet for a moment before taking a deep breath. “Alright, I’ll give it a shot.” James smiled and stood. "That's good. Now I know this song isn't your kind of taste, but I think this is something that you can pull off," James said, letting Sweetie Belle listen to the song. Once it was over, Sweetie Belle gave him a confused look. “Um, this song sounds like it’s for crazy people, definitely not something I would be into.” James nodded at Sweetie Bell words. "Yeah you're right about that. But I believe you can not only sing but perform with the same amount of energy as the person singing it." James said while leading her towards a piano. “I don’t know, I never really played and the song was pretty intense.” Sweetie Belle with uncertainty in her voice. "Oh this? You won't have to play the piano, we're going to practice your singing and dancing," James said, sitting down and continuing. "Besides, the song is basically about them getting pushed aside for something new. Think of it as if Diamond Tiara did that to you." he then cracked his knuckles, getting ready to play. “Well…I guess I can give it a shot.” she said. James smiled. "Great, let’s get started." James said and started to play. (Present time) James snapped out of it as he heard the applause from the others and saw Sweetie Belle taking a bow while smiling brightly. “Huh, the kids got a knack for singing.” Angel Dust said. James nodded in agreement before noticing a mark on Sweetie Belle's right shoulder and smiled brightly and said. "Hey Sweetie, look at your shoulder," James said. She did so and gasped in shock and happiness as she saw her Cutie Mark. It was a shield that was red, white and purple with a musical note in the middle with a five pointed star over the shield. “My Cutie mark!! I finally got my Cutie Mark!!” Sweetie Belle shouted as tears of joy formed in the corner of her eyes. That's when she remembered something and smiled brightly while looking at James. "Now that I have my Cutie Mark you're going to keep your promise right?" Sweetie Bell asked, making everyone confused. “Promise? What promise?” Rarity asked James. James had a forced smile on his face and said. "Really Sweetie Bell right now….. in front of everyone?" James answer, fearing the answer. “Seriously, what is the promise if you’re gonna act like that?” Rainbow Dash questioned as everyone looked between James and Sweetie Belle in confusion. James sighed in annoyance. "There are these two rap songs that Sweetie Belle heard. One is about a group of protagonists while the other is about two strong individuals."  James explained getting on the stage while Sweetie Bell was looking for said songs. “Rap songs?” Applejack asked. James just sighed again. "It’s better for you to listen then to tell you….. and you better not laugh, Shakira." James said, as the music started to play. Shakira was holding in her laughter but had a bit of an amused smile on her face. “She got you to sing that?” James just glared at her while everyone just stared at him either shock or this case amazement from the CMC. “Whoa! That was awesome!” Scootaloo exclaimed with a large grin on her face. James looked at his daughter's happy face so he let it go and started to sing but didn't notice that the Helluva Boss gang was coming in.  The Helluva Boss gang just stood there looking at James for a moment before Millie spoke up. "Huh. I didn’t know you could both sing and rap." “Pft, sounded more like a cat dying than anything.” Blitzo said with a chuckle. Blitzo was covered in purple and blue magic and was slammed to the ground and thrown out of the window. Everyone looked at both Twilight’s and Rarity's angry look in shock before a loud explosion went off and then they looked at Cherri who also had an angry look. “Diss our man, you get hurt.” Cherri said in a low tone. For James' part he looked at the scene in front of him. "Faust if you could hear me…….. I'm so fucking scared of my girlfriends right now." James thought before seeing Scootaloo looking at him with a smirk that he didn't like. "Hey peanut. What do you need," James said, fearing the answer. “Can I suggest you sing something?” she asked him. James sighed in relief for not needing to Dance again. "And that would be?" James asked and she grabbed his phone off the table and after scrolling through his playlist. She showed him a song that made him pause. It was dead quiet for a moment before he nodded and walked back to the stage. He took a deep breath and looked at Shakira for a moment before getting ready to sing. It was quiet for a few moments before everyone, minus Blitzo and Loona, began clapping. “Wow, that was quite beautiful.” Rarity said. “Eh, a bit sappy but still pretty damn good.” Cherri said next. James was still quiet and didn't look at anyone else but Shakira who was crying and James had a blank expression. "Girls…… go to Scootaloo’s room and get ready for your sleepover." James said, but sounded more like an order. “Huh? But we wanted to hear you sing some more.” Sweetie Belle said but Scootaloo began ushering her friends out once she noticed the look on her fathers face. “Come on girls, we can ask him later.” she said. After the CmC left it was quiet again and everyone except for Blitzo and Loona. "Soo are you going to say something or just-" Blitzo didn't get to finish before his mouth literally disappeared and James body was covered in rainbow energy but his face was still blank. Everyone was silent in shock. Wondering what had caused James to act like that while said person walked over to his friend. "What’s wrong Shakira?" James said, as reality started to become undone and the sun and moon were moving around in the sky as the very ground shook violently. “I-I…” Shakira began before pausing and glanced at the others and James figured she didn’t want to say anything in front of the others. James snapped his fingers and they disappeared and reappeared in the Everfree Forest next to the Castle of the Two Sisters. "Is this better," James asked, claiming down for now. She just giggles a bit. “A bit much don’t you t-think?”  James rolled his eyes and made bottles of Jack Daniel appear and gave her one of them and sat down across from her. "So what is wrong, Shakira?" Shakira looked down. “I…I-I have a confession to make…”  James looked confused and said. "What’s that, Lapis?" James asked before taking a swig of the Jack Daniels.  “I…” Shakira paused, unsure of how to continue but sighed and decided to just say it outright. “I lied about my sexuality!” she shouted, surprising James a bit while Shakira looked down in shame. To say that he was surprised with an understatement as he spat out the Jack Daniels and nearly choked before clearing his throat and looking at her with shock and betrayal. "So you're telling me you've been lying to me ever since we're on Earth?" James asked while clenching his fist in anger.  Shakira just began to cry. “Y-yes! And I felt terrible about it all the time! But I-I did so you wouldn't get hurt because of me!” "AND YOU THOUGHT LYING IS FUCKING BETTER!?!" James shouted in anger. “YES!! YOU THINK I WANTED TO KNOW MY FRIEND WOULD BE HEARTBROKEN WHEN I FUCKING DIE?!?!” Shakira shouted back and James was shocked to hear that about his friend. "W-what!?" James asked, now looking at Shakira crying face. “I-I…James…I was very sick a-and the doctors said I only had 2 o-or 4 weeks left….” she told him as she fell to her knees and cried into her hands. “I didn’t want t-to put you through that kind o-of hurt if we did become a-a couple! I just couldn’t! So I lied about being into girls just so you wouldn’t be hurt when I die!”  James just stood there frozen, his hair covering his eyes as he processed everything that was told to him. After a moment, he walked over and hugged her, making her gasp in surprise. "You really are a dumbass. Even if you would tell me this it will just make me more determined to spend every last moment with you as a couple." James said, rubbing her back and letting her cry on his chest. “B-but you have been devastated w-when I died. I didn’t want to do that to you. I care about you too much to leave you heartbroken.” she said as her tears stained his chest. James just laughed, making her confused. "Then you forgot why I call you Lapis and you call me Steven then." James said, helping her stand up. Shakira was confused until James said. "It’s because like Steven I'm willing to forgive my friends' mistakes, while you have a hard time forgiving yourself." James said, smiling softly. Shakira just looked up at him with teary eyes before sniffling. “B-but I had lied to you for so long. How can I ever forgive myself for that?”  James nodded his head. "Well, it will take time and you will have moments when you doubt that you are forgiven but just know even if you don't forgive yourself, I always will.” James then smirked. "Besides I already let you die once when I was powerless but now I can bring you back with just a snap of my fingers. So no trying to kill yourself." he said, laughing a little. Shakira was still upset so she didn’t laugh as well but appreciated his attempt of cheering her up. “O-ok.” After a moment of silence James looked around trying to find something to do or say but ultimately didn't find anything until he was struck by an idea. "Hey Remember you said you always wanted to see what the galaxy looked like when we were kids?" James asked. “Um, yeah?” she said, wondering why he brought that up. Instead of answering, he just smirked before holding out his hand and it began to glow in a rainbow aura before a bright flash enveloped them. She was forced to shut her eyes due to the blinding light but once she opened them her eyes widened in surprise as they were right now looking at the Milky Way galaxy. She just continued to stare in awe and surprise at the galaxy before them. “It’s….it’s amazing..” she said quietly as her previous attitude changed to a slightly positive one. James smiled and moved them closer. "Let's just forget about what happened in the past and focus on the future. Besides, we both would get a headache just thinking about what we could or couldn't do." James said, looking at the galaxy and not noticing Shakira was staring at him. Shakira was still wondering why Jame was so nice to her but remembered that he was just like this back on earth. "Never change James never change," Shakira thought while smiling at her.