//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: In Recent Memory // Story: The first 6: Game Changers. // by frutineo //------------------------------// Chapter 3: In Recent Memory. Canterlot Castle; four and a half hours after the end of hostilities at the: “Apple Family Farmstead” near the outskirts of Ponyville. After what seemed an eternity of questioning1), misunderstanding and short healing and capturing spells all the Mares and the Familiars were on their way; due to the need to protect the mares and the fact that two of the assassins in the group were active members of the Royal Guard2) it was decided that Steven, Midoriya and Spiderman would go with Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie3), the other three were on another flying carriage, it had taken two more hours they had managed to arrive at the garden of the immense castle. In haste the humans and mares (and Spike at the rear thanks to Steven´s insistence and Spike´s lip licking) were escorted by the group of elite guards to the front door throne room. “What is it sir?” asked Twilight Sparkle. “We have orders to not move from here ma´am; you may enter, the Princess will be with you shortly” the commander of the elite forces said as he took a vantage position at the front of the massive doors. The group of would be familiars waited until their protected stepped inside the room so they could enter; the only one that stayed behind was Leonardo who stole a long glance at the guards, checking their expressions, sizing them up and checking for their trustworthiness. With their expressions unreadable he stepped into the room and closed the doors quickly, he heard locks settle in place and started walking to the group waiting for him with raised eyebrows. “Sorry, it seems that I was spacing out” “Yer lying” The mare known as Applejack said to Leo who looked surprised. “I saw that you were checkin´ the guards” Leo lifted his hands in a defeated fashion. “Alrigh´ you got me; I wanted to size them up a little, see how different they were from the others we fought” Aj squint her eyes. “You certainly improved, but that ain´t the whole thru” “A-Applejack; please would just let him be… please?” Applejack relented at Fluttershy´s petition. “Sure, I guess I can let it drop” “That is an important thing to learn Honest Applejack” a soft voice said from the throne part of the room. “Knowing not to press some-one for information until they are ready to share it, is by far one of the most important things to remember in any relationship, be it friendship or work relationship” All the mares bowed to the imposing equine with horn and wings, an alabaster pelt and taller than any of the equines or most of them would be murderers they had defeated; the mares and dragon instantly bowed before the imposing mare before them. “Princess Celestia” Rarity said as she bowed with the rest and that was the queue for the rest of the ones in the room to bow as well… except for Steven. “You look so COOL!” the youngest of the group said in awe, his irises turning to the shape of a star. “Your wavy hair looks amazing, how do you manage to do it?” Everyone raised their heads in haste and saw that Steven was at the heels of Princess Celestia and said princess looking at the boy with an amused expression, her mouth turned wry and finally she laughed, not a mocking laughter mind you it was more a laughter of joy. She snatched up the child and placed him above her back and smiled at him. “Why thank you young familiar, it´s good to see that I can still be surprised” she looked at her student. “Please rise my student; I must admit that you keep on surpassing my expectations” The princess looked at the familiars and without asking she transported all the present in the room to her own quarters; finely decorated and with ornate furniture and silk drapes, rugs of a thousand colors and pillows filled with the softest feathers4) in the center table a sphere that pulsed of a cloudy day; once settled upon the room and she scryed the room and applied a shield that acted upon the closed windows and doors overlapping just below the one she had set up before meeting them at the throne room and added a sound dampening spell. “Now we can talk freely” She said as she sat on the couch covered floor feeling little tugs at her hair coming from the young one sitting in her back. “First of all I feel it is fair to ask for your names” All the familiars introduced themselves by name and species. “Glad to meet you all; I suppose my student and her friends introduced their own selves already” “They did” Leonardo said. “Though I have a few questions myself, if you don´t mind that is” Princes Celestia beckoned him to continue with his inquiry. “As far as I know the girls are under threat of assassination by at the very least 5 other nations if not more in this world” the princess looked at him with a poker face that could earn her the title of world champion. “What did they do to get that big of a prize on their heads?” The princess didn´t visibly flinch at the question. “Fair enough” he motioned he student to the glass ball at the table and the young mare sat at the table and so did the rest of the attendees. “This sphere has been created to project memories and thoughts of all who touch it; a rare item whose original makers and process have been lost to time, in time each of you shall touch it and we shall see your exploits and abilities just so we can understand you a little better” -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- All the young heroes nodded while Steven was dictating how cool it all looked while brushing Princess Celestia´s mane with a brush that Rarity had ´Just in case´ when Twilight touched the sphere with her hoof which created a link to the crystal ball and a hologram enveloped the whole room. In the projection the heroes saw the dangers (most of them childish) of the mares, their encounters a reality warping abomination, the dethroning of a jealous princess, confronting creatures from myth and fairy tales; once it all ended the princess looked at the expressions of the ones in the room (Steven was awed and that was enough to make her smile, Midoriya and Leonardo were analyzing and making mental notes, Static was mildly impressed and Tsuna was curiously glancing back and forth between the images and the mares and Spiderman who still had his mask on was unreadable) At the end of the presentation Leonardo spoke. “I can see why you would need a bodyguard detail; I guess that you want them to take advantage of the diversity that summoned creatures bring as opposed as of those coming from this world…” “If we were to accept this endeavor we might get into real dangers…” Midoriya said carrying on were Leo had left. “I don´t want to be held up here, but I also know my duty as a hero; and that duty is to protect those that need me no matter where they are, if I turn my back on you now, knowing full-well what you are up against… I would never forgive myself; Count me in!” Spiderman spoke up for the first time. “My predecessor once held himself under an oath, an oath that I wish to uphold if I am to be worthy of this uniform” for the first time in the day he took off his mask revealing a young dark skinned boy beneath the skin tight suit. “With great power comes great responsibility; that is the oath of the original Spiderman and under those words I swear that I will protect you; not only as Spiderman but also as Miles Morales” “I left my city in good hands, and maybe they think I am dead so… what the heck! I´m in” Static said. “My brothers are going to try like mad until they rescue me, and I can treat this as an extended training exercise; I will be honored to be your bodyguard” Leo said with a respectful bow. “I will help too!” Fluttershy visibly flinched. “Tis way we can all be knights!” “But you are so young!” the butter colored mare said. “Making you do this is unthinkable and out there you almost got killed, you are barely 12 and you almost died” Maternal instincts were overflowing. “So? I am always getting in fights and saving the world” he saw the indecision in the mare. “I just need touch that thing and it will show my memories right?” he asked the Princess who nodded; he moved to hop down from the princess, before he could the flowing mane of the princess lifted him and deposited above the table where he touched the sphere (not before thanking the princess). -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- He reached and held the orb which flicked erratically for a second before working properly and all present saw the exploits of the young boy; in the memories they saw the group of aliens called the Crystal Gems; their exploits and adventures, their lessons and misfortunes; It began with his childhood and when he moved with the Crystal Gems, when he met his girl-friend Connie, when they fused for the first time5), the time Lapis Lazuli created a tower that almost stretched to the stratosphere, when he met Lion for the first time up to the point he began his training in sword-fighting with Connie and Pearl; once it all ended all present were left in awe and amazement. Fluttershy6) sat looking at the boy in a new way; Midoriya had something to say to the boy. “No wonder when we fused it didn´t even hurt to use ´One For All´ you are crazy strong, even for a child” “Thank you” said Steven. “I saw that you´ve never been to school” the boy nodded. “I can teach you a few things, I mean no one should go about without education; besides you also have magic and you will need to learn how to use it” “Wait… are you saying?” “Would you like to be my familiar?” Steven almost bounced on the roof from the excitement. “YYYYYEEEEEESSS!” when he landed he began to chant ´YESYESYESYES´ while running around the lavender mare. Mares and teens laughed at the display. “Now!” Twilight said raising her voice and getting serious. “My spell was used only for summoning; it was supposed to allow us to understand those summoned and ask them to be our familiars and in case they didn´t wanted or they were too violent a return trip home was available… but that was only possible when the crystal was complete; now that is broken I will have to wait for a replacement and that could take months to create, in the meantime we can carry on with the ceremony” “The other part of the familiar ceremony was to create a link with you; this link will allow each of us to summon you when we need your help and to boost your abilities in case you need it” “Wait” said Spiderman. “Boost our abilities! How?” “I don´t know… you see I found a bonding spell in the forbidden archives of the Canterlot library and the description in the scroll explained next to nothing about said boosting so it would have to be trial and error for the time being” she took a deep breath. “Now Steven, please step before me” Steven did so. “Now you must choose where I should place my hoof on; the place I place my hoof will create a mark of our bonding; so…. Where do you want it?” Steven placed a hand under his chin and stuck out his tongue, after a while he lifted his eyes to the mare and took off his shirt and placed a finger above his gem. “This is my mom´s quartz” Rarity frowned a little. “I want it to be the symbol of our bonding just as it was the symbol of her rebellion” Twilight nodded and placed her hoof above the gem and started to chant. Contract of ultimate protection. Hear of my affliction. Drive away fear and harm. And make of him my protective charm. Magic of crimson color enveloped the two individuals and unseen wind began to swirl around the room. BY THIS COVENANT´S INCANTATION! THAT STEVEN HAS ACCEPTED! IF MY ENEMIES LOOK FOR A CONFRONTATION! LET THEIR INTENTIONS BE REJECTED! The wind and magic picked both boy and mare as a rune appeared around the boy´s gem depicting the symbol at the mare´s flank and likewise did an image of the boy´s gem appeared at the mare´s shoulder and both Steven and Twilight started to chant AS WE TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHERS SECURITY! WE WILL PROTECT THOSE WHO WE LOVE! WE SHALL RISE FROM THIS TERRIBLE OBSCURITY! AND PRAY FOR YOUR SOULS, TO THE STARS ABOVE! The magic and wind gathered around the two tightly and an explosion of light sealed the union of both mare and familiar that gently lowered them to the ground. “In light of this recent development let us make a rule of not do any more bonding before we see the rest of their exploits” Said princess Celestia with a fluffed mane because of the wind and motioned to Steven so he could brush her mane once again. “Then if you don´t mind” Midoriya said lifting himself and holding the crystal ball with his hand. -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- In a flash they all saw: A world once devoid of anything beyond normal abilities, that in the blink of an eye ended up gaining people which powers rivaled those of comic book heroes; They saw as only a small fraction of that population was left out of such a gift, Young Izuku was one of those children, with a promise to his mother he would strive to become a hero no matter what. Then after a faithful encounter with his favorite hero ´All-Might´ he gained an ability never heard of; an inherited superpower, and the secret that such a power conveyed. The acceptance into the academy, his first fight against a supervillain team showed his limitations as a superhero, the sports festival allowed everyone to see his prowess as an analyst of dangerous situations and leadership potential. The secret of the ´One for All´ lay bare to the spectators in the room, how it had become a danger and at the same time it was a legacy that he carried and that drove him even further to achieve his goal: to become the hero he promised his mother he would become. Once he finished Static and Spiderman mentioned how oddly similar yet different his world was with theirs. After a snack break (filled to the brim with cake) Leonardo was then looked upon by the rest. “You know” Miles said. “I am curious as to your backstory, you being a turtle and all” a chorus of yeah and you are right forced the mutant teenager to reach for the sphere reluctantly. The crystal ball flickered once again but this time it affected the teenager in a way that was not intended; the images shown where not of the turtle… or so it seemed at the beginning. -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- In the memories they encountered a man devoted to the training of deadly assassins from a clan that called itself ´The Foot´7) ruthless murderers and skilled at stealth, the man despised every waking moment he spent training them and so he made a bow to train his 4 sons to follow a path of righteousness and honor, where their abilities could be used to change the world for good and not evil. It was that bow that led to the murdering of his wife and forced the man to take his four sons to the wilderness. They saw how the four were trained in different weaponry, the oldest son taking twin swords as his main weapon of choice; it felt as if they would be able to live life as their father intended… Destiny had the last laugh; the father and his children were discovered in due time by the infamous Foot clan. The image shifted to a first person perspective of the eldest son in a flicker; even when the images were gruesome, the mares and teenagers never took their eyes off of what happened next. The eldest son looked upon his brothers and father as they were forced to their knees, ninja executioners with raised swords above their heads; the father begged and the youngest child cried, the eldest kept his tears back; the leader of the group of ninjas, a man covered in armor that made him look like a demon motioned the executioners to kill the boys; the eldest saw as the heads of each of his brothers fell in succession leaving him for the end, making his father ´Hamato Yoshi´ suffer the agony of having to see his children dying; The oldest son began to tear up as the blade came down upon him and darkness enveloped his vision. That darkness lasted seconds but it had felt as if hours had passed for the ones watching the memories; in a blink the memories began once more but this time gone were the four human children and in their stead crawled 4 newborn turtles. Princess Celestia and Tsuna spoke at the same time tears streaking down their eyes. “Rebirth” the word broke the concentration of all of the gathered that now saw the turtle in a new light. The turtles always were next to an old rat in a laboratory that had the name of ´StockGen´ one faithful day they were taken by a couple of ninjas that attempted to steal them and kill a teenage girl by the name of April; they were dropped into the sewers of the city of New York alongside a mutagen substance that mixed with the sewer water. The scene cut to more than a year later and they saw as the rat and the sea turtles had developed into humanoids, the rat seemed to be the most changed of them, wise and patient he trained the four brothers in the ancient art of the ´ninjutsu´ They saw as how the brothers fought against other mutant animals and robotic enemies; the new and improved ´Foot Clan´ and what seemed to be the rebirth of their ancient leader ´The Shredder´; April O´Neal and Casey Jones forming a bond of friendship with all the turtles, their injuries and ultimately the defeat of the Shredder at the hands of Leonardo and his brothers; the discovery of an ancient underground temple and the fight against an interdimensional ninja that Leonardo ended up defeating. The light faded and the room grew silent; Leonardo fell to his knees, his mouth agape and his eyes filled with tears; he whispered two words, those words conveyed the pain and sense of betrayal he felt as the memories of a past life filled his mind. “He knew”; in a heartbeat all the mares and the young Steven enveloped him in a bone-crushing hug, eyes red and swollen from their crying. The other boys in the room had to recover as well; once everything settled down once more Leonardo thanked them all, and asked for someone else to take the stand. Spiderman took off his gloves and held the sphere. -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- In the memories they saw a young boy; obedient, easy going, kind hearted a good friend and naïve for he was barely an adolescent. It showed how he tried to look for the good in his criminal uncle and they saw a world filled with heroes that helped those around them. In one visit to his uncle´s place Miles was bitten by a spider that had been altered genetically. Soon enough Miles discovered that he had developed strange abilities; the abilities of the ´Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman´ he could crawl walls, was super strong, and had a sixth sense for danger; at the same time he also developed different abilities, near invisible camouflage, a poison sting, and sometimes a future sight. None of his abilities came with a sense of responsibility and he had heard of his father´s distaste for mutant and superhero figures; Miles hid his abilities until the original Spiderman died in battle, images of his death flashed before their eyes. In the wake of his new identity he fought against some of the original Spiderman´s not so… competent villains, due to Miles inexperience they were hard to beat. In the rising of his career as a hero he was kidnaped by one of the many Spider themed superheroes and he met the leader of S.H.I.E.L.D.8) ´Nick Fury´; when the electric supervillain Électro´ woke from a coma Miles was the one to put him down with his venom strike and it was that moment that he was deemed worthy of using the name of Spiderman in Nick Fury´s eyes and so he send the once lover of Peter Parker ´Gwen Stacy´ to give Miles his new uniform. Finally came the time his uncle showed his true colors and fought and threatened to expose him, in the middle of the battle one of the items his uncle was wearing ended up malfunctioning thanks to Miles´s venom strike; this ended up mortally wounding the older man. Time passed and the superhero work became harder and then, out of nowhere he met what seemed like an impostor of the original Spiderman: to everyone´s surprise it was a Spiderman, just not the one from his dimension. After helping defeat the villain known as Mysterio. Once it ended the mares and the half alien boy crashed over him with teary eyes and promises that what had happened had been just an accident; Miles felt no need to correct them… He accepted their signs of affection. “Static” said the ruler to the dark skinned teenager in blue cloak. “Mind sharing your story with us?” “Ok princess, no problem” Static said as he rose to touch the sphere and the memories played flawlessly. -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- In the memories they met young Virgil9), An all-around good boy, excellent student and good son, losing his mom at the age of nine he strived to be a good person, rejecting the idea of violence on the forms of bullying or gangs. He was getting by his high school life without trouble until a couple of gang members helped get two bullies away from him, the price of such an action was at first a curse that became a blessing for he was forced to participate in a gang fight that was stopped quickly, in his haste he was caught in a cloud of mutating chemicals that granted him the power of electricity. That cloud also gave several of the gang members and nearby teenagers powers as well, unlike Virgil however they started using his powers for their own purposes; Virgil unable to cope with all that evil created his own costume and started fighting the newly dubbed ´Children of the Bang´, in his adventures he fought alongside the greatest heroes of his world, saved several lives and became a beloved hero of his town. After his memories of how he had arrived he was cheered upon a little and they finally had to look at the last boy in their roster; with no other choice he leaned over, and touched the stone. -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Sawada Tsunayoshi; only child of a father that spends most of his time away from the country and ad overbearing and rude mother, his daily life was met with insults and a really bad school life; bad grades and almost no real interactions between him and his fellow students made life pretty much miserable… that is for the one person that made everything bearable; Kyoko Sasagawa, his crush. His life took a turn for the worst when a strange baby garbed in a neat Italian suit appeared at his household claiming to be a personal teacher, said teacher was unlike any other for he was there to educate him in the ways of the Mafia as he was the next in line to inherit the title of head of the most notorious family of the mafia in the world… The Vongola. Trials awaited, and with the trials came friends and enemies alike; Gokudera, Yamamoto and Kyoko´s own brother, Ryohei came to his side as allies against the immortal Rokudo Mukuro and his gang of powerful characters; the times he spent training and meeting other strange babies known as the ´Arco Baleno´ Then came the news he had never expected to hear; the reason he became the next in line for the Vongola, his own grandfather was the ninth leader of the mafia family, so did his father, a fact that shocked as much as gave him great discomfort. Not having another option he was trained to endure his ´Hyper Dying Will´ mode and the next battles proved to be the most difficult thing he had ever faced, friends suffered, children were hospitalized but in the end he persevered, the Vongola had their new successor… even when Tsuna wanted nothing to do with the mafia. It finished in a flash of light and the room stayed silent, Princess Celestia had her head racing a thousand kilometers per hour just as she had learned to do through the tens of thousands of years she had lived and ruled. The princess drew a deep breath. “I feel that we need to discuss some things before moving further into matters, so… who wants to have dinner?” The other teenagers had to admit their own hunger but none of them spoke at the moment… except for Steven who had to tell Tsuna how cool he was with the childish mannerism that had the room laughing and relaxing in an instant. -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- After a few awkward moments on what do the humans normally eat, dinner was well under way. “With increasing rise of Mafia families trying to gain power and territories in Manehattan I would like it if you could hold that information back; no need to let them gain any more momentum” the Princess said to the wild haired boy. “No problem your majesty; I am not really pleased with that either I would like it if I were to never hear from the mafia ever again” “I don´t know; looks perfectly fine with me” Miles said. “I mean; in my world they are really a bunch of criminals, your family at the very least look like they could become superheroes” “I don´t want that either. What would happen when people start attacking my mom? Worst is that I have no way of hiding my identity like you and Static… *sigh* I wish none of those other guys had died before me” “Not like you have a choice now; I mean look at me and the other ´children of the bang´ we came to have powers and so long as I can, I will keep on fighting for what is right” Rarity changed the subject. “Well dears I do hope that you are free tomorrow, I would like to take some measurements” The humans (and turtle) looked at the marshmallow white mare. “I think it is certain that you all need clothes, not only your superhero suits” all but the turtle agreed to her reasoning. “In your memories I saw that you need many kinds of clothes and some sort of undergarments and it would not only be an honor but a challenge to create those clothes if you will allow me” All the humans agreed wholeheartedly at the prospect of fresh underwear. “Ohohohoho! Thank you my dears I need to start designing so many outfits; bathing suits, ball suits, your superhero costumes! Oh my goodness; I MUST MAKE A REDESIGN! I can only imagine them…” she took pencil and paper and started drawing several sketches for each boy. “And your memories just gave me even more ideas; do not worry for I will stay true to your original designs” The white mare unnerved the humans a little until Princess Celestia came to the rescue. “While generous Rarity might not be professionally prepared to create battle attires I know of somepony that is more suited to the task, I will see if she can instruct miss Rarity so both can implement an armor that can work well with your abilities; If that is okay with you” It was an unspoken agreement as the teenagers fingered or looked at their thorn clothes or smelling the sweat that impregnated it. “Deal” all of them said. Conversation kept going with the superheroes talking about their respective villains and encounters for a while when Twilight remembered that since the boys were a new species to Equestria they had to apply for citizenship, the princess declared that she would take care of that part as long as they were kind enough to fill in (Twilight filled Steven´s) a few forms she had conveniently lying around. “Now that is taken care of” Princess Celestia said. “The next few weeks I would like for you to get checked by our medics and to place you under specialized training by some of my most thrusted soldiers so you know what to expect in the near future; now without further ado… let´s continue with the familiar ceremony” “Midoriya” Applejack said. “I know somepony that might be able to help you with yer power problem, and farm work is a lot of exercise which shall be good for you all in case ya need training” With no real options Midoriya accepted the proposal. Appraising all the boys in the room Rarity locked eyes with Tsuna. “Then I will take young Sawada under my roof” Surprised at Rarity´s directness he had to ask. “Why?” “Because you simply look outstanding in a suit and I realized that you desperately need to learn the proper way to woo a lady; believe me darling if you want to impress that girl Kyoko you must lern to present yourself” she said with a wry smile that left Sawada gulping a knot that wasn´t in his throat before. “I will take Rainbow Dash then” Leonardo said taking the rest by surprise. “Sorry but why would I; Rainbow Dash; Arguably the fastest, coolest and bravest” ‘Most modest’ said Twilight under her breath. “Pegasus in the entirety of Versel, consider you as a partner when Static Here! Is the one with thunder powers?” “Because!” Leo answered. “You are reckless, hot headed and basically a knuckle head that needs to have serious training, I will not let anyone else have fail in the task on protecting you; you need a lot of patience and control or else you will die! End of discussion” Rainbow immediately tried to hit him but the mutant turtle moved with reflexes of a true warrior and had her pinned down to the floor in a blink. “Once again, only for you; I will train you, do you understand?” Reluctantly; more so than ever in her life, Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and with disgust flowing in her voice said. “I understand” the room fell silent as the mare was released from the grip and walked back to her seat. As she plopped down on her seat Miles jumped and latched to the ceiling spinning to see where his seat was. “You are too slow!” the magenta mare known as Pinkie Pie was there pointing at him with her hoof, everyone in the room looked and raised their eyebrows. Spiderman used his hand to see what was happening and felt something, he removed the something and saw that it was a sticker that had somehow the mare had placed in his back while barely alerting him of her presence. “It seems that you lose focus quite quickly, worry not Spidey matey, I will correct that” It seemed that only Fluttershy was left with Virgil as a partner. “I suppose we can carry on with the ceremonies” Steven climbed on her back and tied her hair in a bundle quickly before the mares started to do their chanting. -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Once the ceremony had finished the mares and familiars took to the rooms they would share (‘Better get used to it from now’ the Princess had said. Once inside Twilight told Steven to go to the shower and start running the water. “If you need anything you can call me and I will be there to help you” Steven nodded and stepped into the bathroom, as soon as he was out of sight Spike spoke to the mare. “Twilight Sparkle!” The mare shuddered as she knew that the use of her full name only meant that the young dragon was going to start talking seriously. “Yes Spike?” “Don’t think that I didn’t notice the paperwork you filled before; why are you all using adoption papers for the boys? You all are barely 20 years old” “Since the laws of underage protection services anyone below the age of 18 can be considered for adoption no matter nationality and (weirdly enough) extra-dimensional beings, extent of any law and with protection to their identities because of said laws” Spike was having none of it. “And the truth is?” Twilight flinched at the accusation, Spike was getting dangerously receptive. “During the letter you wrote at the farm I saw Steven and I had an epiphany; I wanted to try and raise a child… I know that Steven IS older than I would have liked but it seems like a good idea at the time” He was still suspicious. “Besides, the Princess and I have been in discussion about doing this kind of experiment; you know how strict the laws are about single mothers, let alone homosexual ones” “You and Pinkie” “This way we get to prove that single mares or otherwise with an income can be allowed to adopt an infant, even those that are of different species” the mare said as she looked at the baby dragon. “Besides, wouldn’t you like to have a younger brother?” Spike perked at that. “Someone to teach about the goings and comings of life or the best places to eat a donut, or how to survive a Cutie Mark Crusaders Mining Expedition” “UGH! Don’t remind me of that one again” “Point is: Would you be willing to help me educate Steven while I device a way to get him back home?” “Wait; you are not going to keep them?” “That would be unfair Spike, I never intended for the familiars to be so young or for this to be a permanent summoning and I would rather have them home as soon as possible… Hey I don’t hear the water running.” -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Steven had entered the bathroom and disrobed before noticing the conversation coming from the other room, he listened with interest and mist formed in his eyes as the conversation went on, once he felt Twilight coming and climbed inside the tub and looked for something to have as an excuse and found it in the shampoo and soap bottles. Twilight stepped inside the bath. “Having problem Steven?” “Y-yeah! I don’t know what to use for my hair, would you help me out?” “Of course Steven! Here let me see” The bath wasn’t long with Twilight helping Steven and in less than 30 minutes they were already in their respective beds. “Good night Spike! Good night Steven!” the mare said as she turned off the lights. “Night Twi!” said the young dragon. “Good night…” Steven said and added in a hushed voice that only he could hear. “Mom”