//------------------------------// // CH 9 - Trauma // Story: The Boy and the Bug // by Mr B //------------------------------// Five Months Before The Storm Raining stared at the single birthday card he had held in his hoof. The message inside from his parents, praising him for his schoolwork and promising him a great time for his special day. The whole house had been decorated for the occasion, complete with big colourful signs hung up in the living room and party poppers leaving confetti everywhere. Yet he didn’t look at the card with a smile, but instead with a frown. It was the only birthday card he’d received that day, or at all. He’d waited and waited, but no others ever came. Not to his house or to the arcade. Now he stood there inside the comfort of his room, the curtained sunlight dim and gloomy, the colours of the world faded and dull. “It’s not fair,” He told himself. “Why didn’t anypony come? I didn’t do anything wrong did I?” He spared a glance at the mountain of toys still inside their boxes, all piled high around his chest. Despite having all manner of fancy gadgets and games he never felt the urge to try any of them, nor did he feel like reading, drawing, modelling, painting, or even playing tabletop with his dad. Truthfully, he didn’t feel like doing anything, why would he? What’s the point? Apathy had made the world sluggish to him. One moment it was half twelve and the next it was one a clock. “I’m meant to be happy today, aren’t I?”  There was a longing to be with somepony, yet at the same time he desired isolation. Two paradoxical forces not so much clashing as they were glaring at each other, unwilling to make the first move.  Raining didn’t understand what was going on or why. How you could live in a city full of poniesyet feel so lonely at once. All the while his mind went back to when they’d gone to the arcade, expecting to be greeted by his friends, only to find the Spell-Tag lobby almost abandoned. Naturally, he tried playing some arcade games instead, but that hardly filled the void, in the end they just went home after having waited all morning. “Why is this happening?” He croaked, his voice trembling. Of course, his parents sang his praises when he got back and they had the cake early, but it didn’t feel right. Without a crowd, it was hollow, barren, lifeless, like eating a handful of sand. When he blew the candles out and his parents asked him to make a wish he was unable to answer them, his mind drawing blanks on what he wanted.  Now it was coming ahead, time flew by as he stood there wallowing away to himself. The cold wet touch of sadness burning his cheeks once more. He’d been a good colt hadn’t he? He went to school, he was nice to those he talked to and he did his best to make friends, so why wouldn’t anypony turn up? It was his birthday for crying out loud! Somepony outside of his parents had to care about him! “This isn’t fair!” Raining bucked a back leg in frustration and felt something crunch behind him. Quickly, his eyes shot open and he spun around to look at his door, a hole in his side had opened up and chunks of wood splinters fell to the floor. A weight had fastened itself to the back of his head as he examined the damage, now hounded by the possible consequences of damaging his door like that. Would Dad shout at him? Would Mom stop reading him bedtime stories? Would he have to save up his pocket money and pay for a new door himself? It only led downward from there and he looked around his room panicking, trying to think of something to fix it. Thinking quickly, he took off one of the comic posters he had pinned to the wall and covered the hole in the door with it, stamping the pins in with a hoof. He took a step back and breathed a sigh of relief, admiring the bright colours and stylised depiction of Ironmare. Such a moment of joy was short-lived as soon that same depression came creeping back. The colours grew cold and his eyes drew heavy, the twin terrors of apathy and lethargy setting in. “I can’t keep going like this, I don’t like feeling this way.” Raining began pacing around his room, trying to do something, anything to keep his blood flowing. This was his special day, he should be happy, so why haven’t things gone his way like they should’ve? He tried combing through his memories, looking for something he could take some enjoyment from. Most of the time he only found small fragments from past years, past times from other birthdays or games at the arcade, fleeting moments of triumph against his dad playing cards or little flashes of times he’d gone swimming. But it wasn’t enough, it all just circled back to the present with him being pulled in two directions by his emotions. He needed something else, something fresh he could take from, but today had only offered him misery and disappointment. How was he meant to pull himself from this slump if he didn’t have anything to cling onto? Everything had gone so wrong for the newly crowned twelve year old. What was he meant to do, just suck it up and move on? So distracted, he didn’t even noticed he’d stopped and sat down on his bed. “Well, they say laughter is the best medicine, what if I just forced myself to be happy? Maybe try remembering a funny joke?” Raining forced his mouth into a smile and did exactly that, his dad always told funny jokes, the one about the cow and the Breezie was one of his favourites. It seemed to  work as he let out a giggle and went from there, exaggerating how funny it was in his mind and quickly finding his smile was no longer forced. Granted, he tried forcing some laughter and remarkably it worked. He was starting to pull himself from his emotional slump.  “Is this actually working? Is this seriously the answer?” Miraculously, his laughter went from forced to genuine, it was like finding out the lost key to your front door was under your doormat that you’d completely forgotten about. Was this how everypony dealt with stress? This whole time he’s been trying to find something to make him happy and here he was doing it for himself. The answer was staring him in the eye and he’d just not bothered to open up? Oh that’s hilarious!  Now fully grinning, he hung his head back and laughed, as loud as his heart desired, the irony was palpable! Why hadn’t he tried this before? This was it, this was what he was looking for. Why bother working so hard trying to find something that doesn’t exist when you can just change what makes you happy? This was brilliant! By the time he’d calmed down from his fit of laughter he noticed he wasn’t sad anymore, that in turn just made him giggle at his victory. It’s true what they said, laughter wasn’t just a medicine, it was a cure! And now he was hooked. Everything would be fine! Just as mom said it would. He heard a knock on his door and turned around to see his dad peeking through, the stallion’s expression one of concern for his son. “Raining, everything okay up here?” Raining nodded with a wide smile. “Yep! I’m not sad anymore! I made myself happy!” His smile spread to Copper and he looked over Lead, there were no tear streaks, no signs he’d been punching his pillow again and the bright colour on his face denoted his joy. “That’s great to hear, son! Would you be up to playing some Hammer & Anvil later?” “Sure dad!” Copper nodded and closed the door, his weary body reinvigorated by his son’s enthusiasm. He didn’t know where such a turnaround came from nor was he about to ask questions. Seeing his son finally smile since getting back from the arcade had put a spring in his step, thankful for his fortune. Raining Lead was left alone in his bedroom once more, now with a new perspective of the world he’d carry with him wherever he went. It was fine that his friends didn’t show up, it was fine he didn’t get to play Spell-Tag today and his parents had sung their hearts out for him when blowing out that candle. Come to think of it, he never did make a wish, would it still count if he made it late? Well what’s the harm in trying? He thought. “I wish I had a friend who’d never leave my side!”  Fifthteen Hours Until The Storm It was another slow morning in the house, Gleaming had tried getting up early to cook a Hearth’s Warming Eve breakfast, but she just couldn’t get herself comfortable after the night prior. She tossed, turned and eventually fell asleep, but doing so alone was something she was not going to get used to anytime soon, even if she did enjoy the extra amount of bedsheets she now had to work with.  Raining and Shellac meanwhile didn’t fare much better, they ended up sleeping in due to Raining’s clinginess of Shellac. Not that Shell would complain, he was pretty comfortable in Raining’s arms. But there did come a point at which even Raining felt the need to move his limbs and escape the cozy covers.  Gleaming didn’t end up making the colts breakfast that morning, they’d beaten her to the cereal boxes and already had their bowls out. On the bright side, it meant she could save her pancake batter for Hearth’s Warming Day, considering how quickly Shellac chewed through her previous supply she considered it a blessing in disguise. Now she watched the two resuming their board game which they’d paused yesterday before bed. She’d even picked up on their preferred strategies, Raining liked using a lot of slow but tough units to box Shellac in while indirect fire pummelling his models, while Shell leaned heavily into magic to keep Raining guessing. It was for that reason that the game had taken so long, both of them were really trying to outwit the other. As fun as it was though Gleaming still had her own battles to fight. “Should I tell them? On Hearth’s Warming Eve? I told myself I would but…now I’m having second thoughts. What do I say? How should I say it? Should I really break little Lead’s heart? Or should I do it later when he’s had his presents? Help soften the blow.” The poor mare felt a headache coming on, knowing that no matter when she revealed the truth, it would destroy Lead.  Gleaming took another bite out of her jammed toast and observed the two, weary and worried about their worlds. “Your just putting it off now, they’re going to find out eventually. Would you rather rip the bandage off now or wait and risk them discovering it themselves? How’d they feel if they knew you knew this whole time but didn’t tell them? They’d hate you.” Gleaming’s eyes drifted to the pair of eager young colts, Lead even waving in her direction before turning back to the game.  “Okay, perhaps not hate, hate’s a strong word. But they’d definitely be angry.” Before Gleaming knew it she’d finished off the toast slice and found her cup of tea had been emptied. It was the perfect excuse to sort out her thoughts away from the two and she strolled back to the kitchen to put the kettle on. Jamming another two slices of bread into the toaster as she did so. It was frustrating, it felt like it didn’t matter what her decision was, it was going to be the wrong one. Like asking a dentist when the best time to brush in the morning was. If she told them now they’d obviously be upset and that will sour Hearth’s Warming for them. The again, the longer she waited the more likely they’d ask her and everything would come crumbling down. It was a miracle they hadn’t yet, maybe they just thought he was still helping the guards? But Lance had attacked them yesterday, surely they’d have figured out that wasn’t the case. So why hadn’t they asked about it? She couldn’t just assume they already know. She grumbled and swung her mane back, the misty morning fog still clouding her brain. “Maybe what I need is some fresh air to clear my head, a walk to the park? That sounds like a good idea, I need to stretch my wings.” Gleaming refilled her cup and used her mouth to spread a knife full of butter onto her toast, she didn’t feel like breaking out the strawberry jam again but the butter was in easy enough reach. “Let the kids finish their game and then go for a walk. Pegasi were never meant to be cooped up for too long anyway.” With a plate balanced on one wing and the handle of a cup in the other she went back into the living room and sat down. Breaking out that adventure novel she’d been reading a couple nights prior. Raining looked down at the game board, deep in thought. Shellac was able to capture the centre point objective first due to Raining’s knights being much slower but he’d accepted that. The idea was to let him build up his defences all neat in one spot then blast it all to kingdom come, the issue? Shellac wasn’t buying it. He just had to do the sensible thing and spread his units out. But if he could take that centre objective it wouldn’t matter, he’d only have to defend it long enough that he overtook Shellac on points by the end of the game. He parked his knights a few tiles away from Shellac’s front line and fired his cannons, a few dice rolls later and… “Wow…ones and twos, I take it none of those hits?” Shellac said with a smug grin. Raining sighed and went through his tactics deck, hoping he had something that let him re-roll, but he was afforded no such luck. He did at least have a contingency in case Shellac tried being cheeky with his warmages but the conditions weren’t right for that yet. Instead he took it on the chin and turned back to his knights. He didn’t like giving Shellac more points but he was patient, he could play the waiting game. “I’ll have my knights fortify this round. Your turn.” Shellac rubbed his hooves together and started rolling for his archers to attack a line of Pikeponies Raining had as a backup behind his knights. Thankfully, he rolled decently well, and managed to cause a few injuries but didn’t manage to take any models out. He frowned and looked around, seeing Raining’s cannons, knowing that if he didn’t do anything about them they would likely demolish his front line. As it was, his archers were too far away to target the cannons, hence why he tried his luck on the Pikeponies, but he did have one of his two warmages on the far right with a group of Griffon Gladiators. Shell then started going through his Warmage’s spell book, he had an idea brewing and wanted to double check if he could pull it off. Sure enough he managed to find the right page and grinned, reading through its description and glancing back to the game board to check if it had the range. Wordlessly, he put the book down and moved his Warmage to re-join the Gladiators before declaring his next move. “My Warmage is going to cast Teleport and move my Griffons riiiiiight-” He then picked up the clump of pieces and moved them adjacent to Raining’s backline cannons, where he saw no units. “-there.” Before he could start rolling to attack however, Raining smirked, and pulled out a stat sheet for a Thestral Assassin, laying the card down on the table facing Shellac.  Ambush! This unit has the ability to hide inside the space of another unit, as a reaction when an enemy unit enters its attack range, you may attack with the Thestral Assassins first. If you fail to defeat the attacking enemy their attack is re-directed onto the Thestral Assassins until the start of your opponent’s next turn. “Oh don’t you dare tell me.” Raining let out a giggle that quickly escalated into a hearty laugh, he pulled out a set of tiny tokens from under the bases of his cannons. Producing several models of bat ponies clad in black robes with daggers jutting from their hooves. Shellac scrambled to find a spell or card from his tactics deck he could use to counter Raining as he set the models down. The clock ticked on as they each hit the board one by one, until he found the page he was looking for. “Wait! I cast a shield on my Warmage and attached units!” “Sorry Shell, but I’m already taking a reaction, you can’t react to my reaction, that’s not a thing you can do.” “But…but!” Lead desperately tried to make an argument.  “But no, I’m going to roll my dice and you're going to pray I fumble again.” Shellac waited with baited breath, if he lost his Warmage here there’d be no way for him to get his Griffons away from the crossfire. Peering through his options, he was preparing to use another spell point to buff them so they could one-shot Raining’s cannons, otherwise they’d just turn around and blast them to pieces. Raining rolled and time slowed down as the dice fumbled across the board, rolling around like a set of giant apocalyptic boulders that would spell doom if the stars didn’t align. They bounced and bounced, flashing ones, threes, fives and more. Shellac shut his eyes, he couldn’t look!...Until he did, peeking through one of the holes in his hooves. His worst fear had come true. Raining, was smiling. The world once more slowed down. He cried out as he brought one of the Assassin models up and gently knocked over his Warmage, tapping its head with the base of his model. It crashed to the ground with a dramatic thud as Shellac held out a hoof in denial. Raining stared at him with the most overly exaggerated smug grin Shellac had ever seen. The kind you’d see from a mischievous cat after knocking over a glass cup, or swapping out all the chocolate chip cookies for ones with raisins without anypony knowing. Shellac scowled, wanting to wipe that smug grin off his face the only way he knew how. “That’s it! I’m putting the Hammer to the anvil!” He yelled. “What?” Shellac’s horn glowed and the inflatable neon hammer from the carnival floated up from behind the couch he was sitting on. Fully pumped up (somehow) and ready to smack Raining like a nail, now it was Shellac’s turn to smile. His fangs rose high to meet his cheeks. Raining blinked twice from behind the table before registering the giant rubbery weapon, his eyes went wide as he realised what squeaky wrath he’d incurred. Barely any time to think, he let out a short squeal and lept to the side, running around the living room with Shellac doing the same. They chased each other in circles around the two couches like cheetahs with Gleaming having to stifle a snicker as Shellac attacked. Squeak! “Not again!” Squeak! “Ack, stop it!” Squeak! “Ok I’m sorry! You win!” “Say uncle!” Squeak! “Aaaahhh!” Shellac managed to wedge the hammer in between Raining’s legs which caused the colt to trip and fall just behind Gleaming. She rolled her eyes and took another sip of her tea as Shellac menacingly walked toward Raining, his shadow casting over him like a monolith. “Wait, Shell, we can talk about this!” “You took my Warmage, so now you’ll take my WAR-RAGE!” What followed was probably the cutest murder Gleaming had even heard. Hearing her son’s pleas for mercy go unanswered as he was playfully bludgeoned with an oversized squeaky toy. The bright green splattered hammerhead rising and falling just behind where she was sitting with the righteous fury of a paladin. Raining flailed his limbs around, laughing as Shellac smacked him over and over without much aim, relentless with his air powered assault. The more he attacked the more sweet happiness was pumped into the air, like a pony pinata!  At one point though, Raining was able to cling onto the hammer using his front legs and when he did so he locked eyes with Thunder. “Ha! Try wacking me now!” “If you say so Lead.” Shellac then walked up beside him, bent down, and kissed him on the cheek. Raining…was at a loss for words, his mind entirely blanked out as he processed what Shellac just did. His train of thought derailed over a cliff as he lay there paralysed with a smile, leaving little but awkward silence. “What?”  His moment of weakness was all Shellac needed to pull away the rubber mallet and start bashing him again. Raining woke from his stupor and continued filling the air with his adorable cries for a truce, to which Shellac promptly ignored. It was then left up to Gleaming to mediate the matter. Fighting off a chest full of chuckles to avoid spilling her tea, she put the cup down and craned her neck to view the two play fighting. Savouring all the funny faces Raining was making with each wham of the hammer. “Okay Shellac, let Raining go now, I think he’s learned his lesson.” Shellac paused and turned to face her, but not before one final smack to Raining’s chest. “If you boys are done, I’d like to go for a walk to the park, fancy coming along?” “Sure thing Miss Gold!” Shell said with a smile while giving Lead one last wack.  “Uncle?” Raining’s voice cracked. Gleaming put her second round of morning tea down and finished off the rest of her toast. Shellac already taking his disguised form, prancing to reception. Raining picked himself up and jabbed his head to make the little hammers circling his head stop spinning before cautiously following Thunder. Thunder and Raining both helped each other get their winter clothes on, albeit with a bit more trepidation from Raining. By now Thunder and Raining had established what coats and boots belonged to who, even if what Thunder was wearing did originally belong to Raining.  “Perhaps I’ll take Shellac clothes shopping next week? Then again, I also need to think about getting him a decent bed. He can’t share with Raining forever.” They each followed the other outside with smiles on their faces, looking forward to some cool, fresh air and sunshine. But when they did venture beyond the door, their smiles dropped to the cobblestone pavement like rocks, each collectively staring at what now covered the house and tarnished the lawn. Lines of frozen toilet paper were draped over the front walls, the windows, the roof, it probably even reached into the back garden. The signs and front garden lights had been broken or torn apart, the lawn littered with bricks that had letter clippings arranged into various threats and downright toxic insults. Even the bins had their trash bags torn out and tossed around, making the place filthy with rubbish. The only exception was the sign Thunder saw for the princess when he first arrived, it had been spared but now stuck out around a pile of trash rather than snow covered grass. The three stood there, observing their surroundings with bewilderment and confusion. Taken aback by the audacity of the attack. All of the lovingly placed decorations, the carefully trimmed lawn, even the metal bins she’d often not think much of, all of Gleaming’s hard work was gone, taken away and spat on by some brutish colt. They all knew exactly who would do this, but the fact he had the nerve to actually go through with it was something else entirely. Gleaming didn’t feel sad, or downtrodden, or like she was about to collapse crying. No, she felt something else. The burning embers of a fire sparking to life in her chest, pumping lava like liquid into her forehooves. The thundering hammers of anger calling her to action. “How dare he? First he harms my children, twice, takes away my husband, and now he has the nerve to do THIS? That little blue BRAT!” Thunder turned to look up at Gleaming, sensing the wrathful flame rising from the mare. He couldn’t blame her, he’d probably be angry also if somepony made a mockery of his efforts. But he couldn’t stop himself from shrinking under her growing influence, threatening to singe him if he stayed around long enough. Especially when Gleaming looked down between the two colts. “Raining, go inside.” “W-What?” “Go back inside! Now!” Raining nodded and ran back indoors, taking Gleaming’s key to get through reception and into the living room, not bothering to take off his coat or boots. He paced around and sat down on the couch facing the windows, glancing between it and the unfinished board game.  “Why? Why are you doing this to me Lance? Shellac aside, why won’t you just leave me alone?” He brought a hoof up and held his temple, the same flame of anger he’d just seen in his mother now sparking inside him too. “What did I do to set you off? What did I do that made you want to hurt me so much? I don’t get it.” With every thought a set of bellows fanned the flames of his anger, his frustration it’s accelerant and the pain of his memories it’s fuel. The times Lance had made fun of his father’s limp and his mother’s supposed lack of loyalty, the winter coat he’d ruined when he stuffed it into a used toilet and flushed, the various raids on his locker and the theft of his keys when he tried securing it up. The flame grew and grew, threatening to rise into a raging inferno that may burn all around him. There was so many flooding in now, he remembered two pegasi who tried talking to him only for Lance to but in before he was even told their names, helplessly watching as he threw a rock at one and gave the other a pair of black eyes and a bloodied nose. Furiously, he remembered the time he tried defending himself, only for him to get shoved onto the floor and had a trophy cabinet fall on top of him. Or the time he drenched his entire Daring Do collection on school book day and destroyed his library card. There were so many incidents, so much pain, so much anger, so much…hatred. Raining turned to one of the couch cushions, the fire inside burning to a violent degree, ready to combust if it wasn’t seen to. He imagined it being Lance’s face and picked it up, his eyes red with burning anger. “Why can’t you just leave me alone!” He shouted, “Why do you wanna ruin my life so much!?” He cocked a hoof back and punched the cushion, making a massive dent in its soft tissue. Again he punched, and again, and again, over and over. Taking all of his pent up anger out on the mental image of her tormentor. Not letting up for a moment as he went to work trying to punch a hole right through the plush pillow. “I hate you! I hate you, I hate you and I bucking hate you!!!” Punching wasn’t good enough, he bit down on the top of the pillow and began thrashing it around, shaking his head side to side bashing it into the couch. Imagining himself finally putting Lance in his place and throwing him around for a change. To be the one punching him, throwing stuff at him and toppling bookcases onto. In this thrashing the pillow suddenly came loose and fly across the room, crashing into the in-progress game board and sending the whole thing over the coffee table. Miniatures, dice and tools clattering to the floor in droves. Finally taking a breath, he paused and stared, the only sounds to meet his ears being the tick of the grandfather clock and the beating of his own chest, realising he’d just ruined any hope of continuing his game with Thunder. A fresh wave of cold water putting out the flame in his heart, anguish flowed from his hooves up to his face behind his eyes, fighting the physical urge to let the dam loose. He turned to the other unbeaten couch cushion, hastily grabbing it with his magic and embracing it like it was his friend. Letting the tears run rampant into its soft, comforting cover. Back outside, Gleaming took a few steps around, examining the damage around her. She couldn’t let Lance get away with this, not one bit, but cleaning up by herself would take forever. It didn’t seem that good of a day to go for a walk anyway, the clouds were blocking out the sun and the wind was howling, kicking up snow from all across the street. “Thunder, would you be a dear, and help me clean up?” As much as he didn’t want to get his new winter wear dirty, Gleaming’s tone didn’t indicate refusal was an answer. Thunder didn’t realise how intimidating the outgoing mare could be when her temper was tested and made quick notice of his acceptance. Gleaming set the knocked over trash cans upright and began picking up bits of litter, including the now broken decor she’d hung up a month prior. Crushed fairy lights, shattered baubles, snapped wires and desecrated signs. All things she’d have to re-buy next year to make up for it. A thought that only increased her rising anger.  Thunder likewise had got to work gathering up all the bricks, a little curious to see what colourful messages Lance had made on some of them using all the janky cut out letters. Picking them up he couldn’t resist taking a quick look, maybe they’d be so bad he’d get a laugh out of them? “There’s going to be a lot more holes in you when I’m done.” “How loud does a changeling crunch when its shell is crushed?” “You're a parasite, you’ll only ever live off somepony else.” “Kiss your mother with that mouth?” Thunder took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly, venting the anger the scornful messages inspired. He made haste to dump the bricks into one of the two metal trash cans before moving onto some general waste, like used bottles and food packaging. The bottles at least brought back some nostalgia, he examined them and found they still had the special label on them. If he gathered enough he might be able to exchange them for a quick bit!  “Another time though, but if Raining’s family make frequent use of these I could probably just keep them when they get used up, no dumpster diving involved.” By now Thunder could sense that Gleaming’s anger had quieted down, the longing guilt of regret coming in to fill its place. She threw another bundle of destroyed Hearth’s Warming lights away, her movements losing momentum as she continued her work. “I shouldn’t have shouted like that.” She squeaked, making an attempt to conceal her downtrodden expression. Thunder’s ear perked over in her direction, just about able to catch what she said. He deposited another hoofful of frozen cardboard before turning to her. “Yeah, you did kind of let yourself loose on him. Though, I can more than understand why, especially after meeting Lance.” The mare’s guilt grew with the comment, not entirely expecting him to reply. She sighed and resigned herself to conversation with the colt. “Wouldn’t be the first time, Copper was right, I think too much with my heart.” “It’s okay, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I’ve heard of some ponies who think don’t think enough like that.” “I know but, I don’t like letting my emotions take control like that. It leads to me being an idiot and…shouting at my little Lead, he didn’t even do anything wrong.” Again, Thunder found himself comforting and even giving advice to the older pony. “Again that’s okay, the fact you're able to recognise that means you’ve got a good conscience. It’s only if your unable to stop yourself from doing that regularly there’s a problem.” Gleaming’s brain readied a reply but the cogs of thought stopped her short, instead she slowed down. Her sense of suspicion coming back as she contemplated. “You know, you’re still quite young, how do you know these things?” “I’m a changeling, I can sense emotions. I took a whole course on them back at the hive, if there’s any-creature out there who knows how you feel it’s me.” She paused entirely at that, a new wave of realisation washing over her. “Damn it I completely forgot he could do that! Goodness, actually that reminds me, what else have you been hiding?”  Despite the trust and repor they’d built up in the short space of time, Gleaming knew if she didn’t ask, it would eat away at her sanity on top of everything else.  “You didn’t actually come to Canterlot with a group of travellers, did you?” Now it was Thunder’s turn to give pause for thought, his sympathetic streak dimming as he remembered the botchy lie he told. His expression had already given him away and he sighed, dreading the thought of poking Gleaming’s wrath but seeing no other good way out of this. “No, I was…part of the invasion.” Her eyes narrowed as she slowly picked up another broken lawn ornament to throw away, “So then what happened?” “I hated them, the other changelings, the adults, even Chrysalis to some extent.” Thunder angrily stomped his hoof on the ground. “I got bullied for being different and vowed to be better than all of them. That eventually led to me becoming a scout, but the training was horrible. It felt cool for a while but the way they just kept pushing me, it was like I was back in school again. During the Invasion, I just ran, as fast as I could, until I got underground. I was sheltered from the blast but…well I think you already know the rest.” “You were part of the attack itself? What was Chrysalis thinking?! Sending a child into a warzone like that.” Lucky for Thunder, Gleaming seemed more angry at his Queen’s poor parenting then the whole spy angle.  “To her credit I don’t think she liked the idea either, but she was…what’s the expression? Putting all your eggs in one basket kind of pony?” Gleaming nodded, scooping up the half smashed head of a clay reindeer. Briefly sighing as she realised it was one of the first she’d collected. “Oh I really liked that one!” “I bet you must’ve been scared, having to live on the street for that long.” Thunder nodded, as he lifted up part of the broken reindeer’s body.  “At first I was doing fine, I finally felt free after living for so long with those jerks. But I quickly got scared of the guards and soon, gathering love became difficult. I found out pretty quickly you could exchange bottles for a few bits so that’s how I got most of my water. Still I…I feel spoiled.” “Spoiled?” Gleaming asked with a start as she dropped the reindeer head in the trash. “How? Sounds to me like you’ve been living an uphill battle your whole life dear.” “Well you're right, everything I ever got I’ve had to work for. Then suddenly you take me in, warm me up, feed me, shelter me, give me a bath. I-I don’t know what to say, even with all of-” Thunder then pointed towards the garbage littered lawn, “-this! You’ve still kept me around. Despite the risks!” Gleaming smiled in between rubbish pick ups, a warm satisfied pride trickling in from his statement. “Well what can I say? I wasn’t about to let you freeze was I?” “No, you want me here for a reason, don’t you?” Thunder now returned Gleaming’s suspicion. Casting away that pride in exchange for the very same hoof in the cookie jar guilt he’d just had. “I can feel Raining’s emotions, remember? I know he’s troubled, whenever he gets sad he forces himself to be happy again. That’s not healthy.” Gleaming sighed, admitting defeat on her own end. “Okay, you got me there dear. Ever since Lance drove away Raining’s friends I’ve been concerned about his wellbeing. He has my sense of fun and his father’s humour, but his confidence is rock bottom. Whenever we go out somewhere it’s always been with one of us. I briefly thought things would change when he offered to go out with you for a snowball fight but…” Gleaming grimaced, “You know the rest.” Thunder cringed as he remembered Copper’s last few words before leaving, the pain he’d endured that night and her mental anguish of the morning after. He didn’t reply, choosing to instead carry on with the cleanup. Gleaming took the cue and followed suit, picking up more bits and pieces of rubbish and destroyed decor. The metal bins didn’t take long to fill to capacity and soon the lawn didn’t look nearly as bad. The worst offender was now all the frozen toilet paper that hung from the roof. Gleaming spread her wings out and flew up to where all the toilet paper had been flung onto the snow covered clay tiles, iced over and stuck. “Damn it, I’m going to need the kettle for this.” Thunder joined her and poked one of the hanging lines of frozen paper. It broke off and smashed into the ground in a rather satisfying way that made him giggle. “Thunder, I’m going to go put the kettle on and grab some more bin bags, would you be a dear and try gathering up all this paper?” He nodded and she flew back down inside the house, leaving Thunder to continue breaking all the frozen lines of paper. It was cathartic in the same destructive way one would get throwing bottles around or smashing icicles, at least until he ran out of paper to smash. “You know, if this wasn’t used as a way of being mega disrespectful, I’d be down for doing this some more.” Moonlit Mirror sat down behind the backroom dining table, a steaming bowl of freshly made porridge awaiting her appetite. The morning sun peering over her back from the cracks in closed blinds. Her brother sat not far from her with a much larger bowl of the same, the scent of golden syrup filling her nostrils, promising a sweet start to the day.  That was until Moonlit Lamplight walked in, her eyes half lidded and her mane still somewhat scruffy despite her attempt to clean up. Already fastening her shoes whilst floating her spare keys off a nearby rack. Their mother addressed them with little to no energy. “Kids, I’m off to work, I’ll be back at ten.” Lance almost choked on his mouthful as he struggled to speak. “You work on Hearth’s Warming too?!” Lamplight slowly nodded as she bit off a chunk of buttered bread, her morning breakfast no more than a single slice. Mirror lowered her spoon as she followed her brother’s example. “But it’s Hearth’s Warming! They’re really not giving you a day off?”  “It’s Hearth’s Warming Eve Mirror, tomorrow I can spend the day at home. But today I’m working, have a good day Mooncakes.” With another bite of her hastily made meal she left the two and made for the front door, slowly at first but gaining momentum as she made distance from the kids. Walking past darkened wallpaper and faded photos, spider’s webs and ceiling cracks. The echoes of a once loved house now aging and neglected. Mirror’s heart skipped a beat as she heard the front door close, left for another day with her brother inside this lowly building. She stared down at her porridge stirring it with her spoon, the urge to eat no longer so strong. But knowing she’d only be hungry later she forced herself anyway, taking a spoonful of the sweet milk drenched oats. “You shouldn’t have done that Lance,” She spoke between mouthfuls. The colt paused his chewing to look at her. “How’s defacing their front yard meant to help expose a changeling? What if his mom reports you to the Guards?” “That was a distraction, keep them occupied for the morning so once we have breakfast we can go tell the guards.” Mirror glared at him as he shovelled in another mouthful. Trying to avoid giving him a suspicious look. You just wanted an excuse to attack Raining again, didn’t you? She forced another helping to conceal anything her expression might’ve given away. Lance didn’t seem to be paying much attention, more concerned with filling his stomach at the moment then with Mirror’s private thoughts. “I’ll go to the guards, give them the resin chunk and point them to the house, easy.” “And if they don’t believe you? What if they think you’re just trying to stir up trouble, then what?” “Look if it doesn’t work, then we’ll handle it ourselves.” Mirror was again given pause for thought, not liking the idea of getting involved directly one bit. She took a bite to hide her nervousness and help sooth her brain, trying to focus on the flavour of her food over the implications of Lance’s statement. Already, she’d seen him do some terrible things, but ever since the encounter with Copper, he’s been showing just how increasingly far he’s willing to go. The disguises at the carnival and the arcade, the raid last night, and now this? When’s he going to draw the line? By this point Mirror had been following through with her brother’s plans out of loyalty, but even that only went so far.  “Lance, I respect that you're doing this for the good of everypony, but don’t you think you might be taking things a little too far?” “If Raining and his family are housing a changeling that means one of two things, either their under some kind of hypnosis spell, or worse, are willingly taking care of it. If that’s the case they’re traitors to Equestria, and they deserve everything that gets thrown at them.” “And what if they’re being controlled? What do you think’s going to happen if they wake up and realise you’ve been hurting them this whole time? You seriously think after what you did to Copper you’ll just walk away?” Lance actually did look a little off guard at the idea, and even a little nervous as he thought about it.  “Wouldn’t there be some kind of effect or way to tell? The Element of Magic figured it out didn’t she?” Mirror fought back a scowl as she tried to remain reasonable with him. “Their queen took control of the Captain of the Royal Guard and even the princess couldn’t tell, you really think we’d know if the changeling casted mind control magic?” “If it had access to that kind of magic, which I doubt because of its complexity, then why didn’t it cast it on me back at the arcade?” Lance snapped. “Maybe because there were ponies everywhere? That it didn’t want to draw attention to itself? Plus I heard it takes a moment to work and with you beating them up, I doubt he could’ve.” Mirror took another spoonful, trying to avoid her brother’s growingly intense glare. “Your not sympathising with traitors are you?” “No Lance I-I…” Mirror shut her eyes and hung her head, she couldn’t this it anymore. The wrath he was inflicting, the risks he was taking and the pain he’d put her through. It was all too much and she couldn’t stop herself from releasing her pent up frustration at her brother. “I don’t want you doing something you’ll regret!” She shouted. Mirror hoped she’d get through, some shred of her calling out to the princess that he’ll finally see reason. But as the seconds ticked by Lance’s expression shifted. First came the initial shock of her outburst, followed by his glare, his pupils gleaming like a dagger’s point. Frustration turned to anger and anger turned to rage, the sleeping dragon she’d been so scared of waking finally rising from its slumber as he rose from his seat. “Regret?! Look beside you!” He pointed towards a stand on her right, a makeshift memorial covered in photos and wilted flowers. A folded up Equestrian flag framed inside a wooden casing with a glass screen inside sat beside a copper plated half-heart pendant. An enlarged picture of a huge earth pony sharing some time at a daycare standing as the centrepiece. “I regret not being able to help dad protect Canterlot, I regret not being able to defend him when he needed us, I regret not putting that damn bug down when I had the chance! It knows we know about Mirror and if we don’t get it first it’ll get us. I’m doing this to protect our family and our home!”  Mirror shrunk under Lance's voice, comparable to the roar of a dragon in its oppression yet leading into desperation near its end. “If you don’t have what it takes to follow me through this then I understand, not everypony is cut out for that kinda stuff. But I’m doing this with or without your help, I’m not letting his sacrifice be in vain!” Mirror shut her eyes and quietly exhaled in defeat, doing as little as she could to convey her disappointment. He’s not listening…he’s not listening…for pony’s sake why does he never listen? She took a deep breath and returned to her cooling porridge, she saw no more point arguing about it he wasn’t going to listen. Welling up emotions left her wanting to cry, but she held it back, focusing all her willpower on just eating her food without complaint.  Her quietness bled into Lance as he was given room to calm down, his heart slowing from the spike of zealotry her words had inspired. A tinge of guilt came in from shouting at his sister, but his reasoning brushed it aside as he lowered back into his seat, refocusing on his breakfast.  “I’m sorry Mirror,” He admitted. “But it’s my duty.”