Jade didn't know exactly how late it was since her phone was dead, but it was getting rather dark as she headed home. She was feeling pretty good about The Blood Dragons' sound and felt positive they were just about ready for their upcoming show, so that had improved her mood a little. Although, she was still a bit upset with her parents for supposedly favoring Citrine over her.
All her life, it seemed that Citrine could get away with anything. In fact, Jade was almost certain that she could commit a brutal murder and the worst she'd get would be having dessert taken away. Jade on the other hand, would be lucky to get away with eating a chocolate bar right before dinner. She didn't hate Citrine, but she often wished that she could have her good fortune.
Jade's train of thought was interrupted when her stomach gave a loud rumble. Suddenly, she actually wished that she had eaten more of her dinner before she left. She thought about getting home and having the rest of that spaghetti, assuming her parents had saved it, which she was certain they had. But then she decided that she didn't really feel like going home and facing the folks just yet, so instead, she went to a nearby outdoor fast food place and bought a hot dog, fries and soda. She sat down at the closest available table, but just as she started to eat, she caught sight of something that she couldn't believe.
Across the street, sitting at a table at another restaurant, was none other than Citrine herself, talking to some guy that Jade had never seen before. An earth pony with a grey coat and a silvery mane.
"What the...?" Jade said, not completely sure if what she was seeing was real. She didn't know who the guy her sister was talking to was, but he definitely wasn't her friend Pearly Shores and she was pretty sure they weren't there to do a science project together. "'Science project' my ass," she cursed under her breath. This was incredible! Jade had actually just caught her goody-two-shoes sister in a great big lie. She was half-contemplating whether or not she should take this opportunity to tell her parents and finally see Citrine get punished for something. Her better judgement, however, was telling her not to and she didn't quite know which part to listen to.
But then she noticed that the conversation the two were having, while she still couldn't quite make out what they were saying, seemed to be getting a little heated. The stallion stood up, angrily slamming his hands on the table, while Citrine was looking rather scared. She was apparently trying to talk him down, but then all of a sudden, the stallion raised his hand and SMACKED her clear across the face.
"Hey, whoa! What the hell?!" Jade stood up in shock and anger and marched right up the pair. "Hey!" she shouted, getting their attention. "I saw that, dude!"
"Jade? What are you doing here?" Citrine asked, a little embarrassed.
"I was gonna ask you that." Jade replied. "Weren't you supposed to be at the library doing a science project with Pearly?"
"Citrine, who is this?" The stallion demanded. Citrine was obviously nervous. She took a deep breath and started with introductions.
"Jade, this is Silver Shine," she said hesitantly. "He's my boyfriend."
Jade's jaw practically touched the ground after hearing that. "Boyfriend?! What?!"
"Shine," Citrine continued. "this is my sister Jade."
"Sister?" This revelation seemed to soften Shine's tone a bit. He turned to talk to the still angry half-dragoness. "Okay, listen. I know what I did looked pretty bad, but..."
"You're damn right it looked bad, asshole!" Jade cursed.
"Jade! Stop it!" Her sister demanded. Obviously, by now, pretty much everypony in the vicinity was watching, which only added to Citrine's humiliation. "I'm sorry, Shine. I think we need to have a private chat."
Citrine grabbed her sister's arm and pulled her around the corner into an ally where they could be alone.
"Alright, sis," Jade started. "Time to level with me. Who is this guy?"
"Look, it's not as bad as you think it is," Citrine answered. "Silver Shine plays on the soccer team at my school. We have six classes together... including gym." That last part she said in a bit of a sensual manner, which sort of annoyed her sister.
"I'm sure he's got a great flank, but I saw him slap you right across the face. How can you like a guy who would do that to you?"
"He didn't mean it, Jade. Trust me. Most of the time he's really sweet, caring, charming, funny and he loves my cooking. He just... tends to lose his cool sometimes. That's all. He's even been getting better controlling it."
"Uh huh." Jade could see where her big sis was coming from, but she still didn't like it.
"You know, when I saw you with some strange guy when you said you'd be studying with your friend, I was thinking about telling Mom and Dad just to see you get in trouble for once, but now it's because I can't in all good conscience let you keep this up."
"No!" Citrine pleaded. "Please! You can't tell Mom and Dad. They wouldn't understand. You have to promise me you'll keep this between us."
"Oh yeah? Give me one good reason why I should," Jade dared her.
"Because you don't know Shine like I do. He's really a good pony, even if you can't see it yet."
Jade was about to argue, but she could see in her sister's eyes how desperate she was. She was very conflicted at the moment and wasn't sure what to say next. She realized that she didn't really want Citrine to be miserable, but suddenly, she didn't really know what would be the right thing to do for her.
"Well, so what? He's... I mean you..." She couldn't even find the right words.
"Please, Jade. I know how you feel about me, but promise me you won't say anything." Citrine held up a fist for Jade to bump it. After briefly thinking about it, Jade gave in.
"Fine. I promise." Jade bumped Citrine's fist and then they both spread out their claws and growled. It was a secret handshake that they and the rest of their siblings shared as a sign of unity.
After Citrine gave Jade a hearty thanks, she suggested that they get home soon before their parents started wondering where they were. The two of them said goodbye to Silver Shine, with Citrine making a quick plan to see him again soon and kissing him goodbye, and made their way back home.
----
When the girls finally made it home, they found their parents and their two-headed brothers waiting for them in the living room. The parents didn't look too mad, just expectant.
"What took you girls so long?" Spike asked. "We thought you'd've been home at least an hour ago."
"Sorry, Dad," Jade answered. "Band practice ran a little longer than we thought."
"Yeah. So did my study session." Citrine added.
"We tried to call, but both of our phones are dead."
"Yeah. We ran into each other on the way back, so we figured we'd just walk home together."
"Ha! Yeah right," Onyx laughed.
"You were probably out drinking and hooking up with guys." Obi continued.
"Dude! I was gonna say that!"
"Boys!" Their mom shouted at them. "That's enough. Upstairs. Now."
"What? But it's only nine-thirty." Obi complained.
Rarity and Spike glared at them, so they just groaned and headed upstairs. The parents turned their attention back to the girls and Rarity took a deep breath.
"Well, it's alright," she said. "You're both home now and you're safe and that's all that matters."
"Right," Spike agreed. "Now go on and get ready for bed."
Both girls nodded and headed upstairs. "Thanks again, Jade," Citrine smiled. "I'll totally pay you back."
"Damn right." Jade said, knowing full well she was going to regret making her promise.