//------------------------------// // Chapter Seven: Family Day // Story: My Little Descendants // by Nerdz //------------------------------// Nyx gazed out the window, absently picking at the smiley sticker on the corner of her desk with her hoof. She watched the clouds drifting lazily over the sun, with only the sounds of pen on paper to disrupt her thoughts. She'd already turned her completed test in, and was simply waiting on the other villain foals to complete theirs. Bored with the fluffy vapor, she flipped open her binder and plucked out a sheet of plain white paper and a half dull pencil. She gripped the tip of the eraser between her teeth, rolling the pencil around in her mouth while deciding what to draw. Most ponies, she quickly discovered after arriving in Equestria, found her writing habits a bit odd for one possessing magic. What they seemed to forget, however, was that she'd grown up in a place where magic was either a distant memory or a foreign concept. Yes, she had magic now, but old habits die hard. Still pondering what she wished to sketch, Nyx let her mind wander to the previous afternoon. After they'd dried off, Will had walked her back to her dorm. 'I...had a really great time.' she'd said quietly before shocking both of them by wrapping her forelegs around his neck in a tight hug. 'Thank you,' she'd whispered, 'for saving me.' She'd slipped into her room after that, leaving him dumbfounded at her door. Now, sitting in Intro Into Goodness, the dark Alicorn replayed the events in her head. Something about Will brought out a side of her she'd never known existed. Save from keeping a terrifying air, she'd never cared about her physical appearance, she'd giggled and danced, something she'd never done before, and she'd never told anyone about her full name. She had felt her heart speed up when he talked, gotten flustered when he'd leaned close, she'd blushed for the first time in her life. He wasn't afraid or disturbed by her eyes, and he'd opened up to her about his half-equine-half-Draconequus appearance. And later, Will had gone swimming and she hadn't seen him resurface. Looking back, Nyx couldn't remember a time she'd ever been that scared, apart from a few childhood incidents. Flying over the lake, and seeing a shadow in the water, it was that same terror that caused her wings to lock up, sending her falling into the water. She was sure she would've died there, had Will not found her, pulled her above water. She had let herself act upon her fear, yelling at him for disappearing. He'd fired back with how terrified he'd been to see her actually motionless under water. She'd told him she didn't know what love felt like, and he'd promised to teach her. The filly shook her head, breaking her train of thought. In the few minutes that had passed, she'd created a beautifully detailed pencil image of her and Will, after the incident at the lake. In the picture, she wasn't wearing her glasses, and he was without his disguise. She had her head laid on his shoulder, while he appeared to be playing with her mane. His wings were wrapped around her. Trying to hide her blush, Nyx quickly, but carefully, slipped the drawing into her binder. Just as she closed the folder, her friends finished and turned in their tests. Twilight stood from her desk at the head of the room as the teens retook their seats. The mare lit her horn and used her magic to set a laptop on the podium in front of the board before turning back to the four students that made up the class. "Alright! I have a bit of a surprise for you four!" the teens looked to their teacher, slightly interested. The mare motioned for the foals to gather around the laptop, to which they willingly complied. "Now, as you know, Sunday is the annual 'Family Day' for our students, where parents get to come on campus to view projects, check out the facilities, and just catch up with their children." her smile faltered for a moment, "I'm...sorry to say that it won't be possible for your parents to attend, but me and some of the other teachers have come up with a little something to make up for it." she turned to the computer and powered it up, tapped a few keys, and then stepped back to reveal a video chat feed had been set up. Fear gripped at the foals behind their stony gazes at the sight displayed on the screen. Nightmare Moon was seated front and center, with Sombra and Sunset Shimmer to her left and right respectively. Chrysalis leaned over the dark Alicorn's shoulder. "Oh, there they are!" the Changeling pointed at the screen. Nyx was the first to recover her voice. "Hey! How are you gu-" "Speak up child, I can't hear you!" the filly's mother spoke. The filly raised an eyebrow. She leaned closer to the monitor. "Mother? Can you hear me now?" "What is wrong with this wretched machine?!" Nightmare scowled and tapped the screen with her hoof, "Your mouth is moving, but I can't hear a sound!" The sound of a single key being tapped repeatedly came through the speakers. "You need to turn the volume on, you imbecile!" Sombra's voice quickly followed, "I'm nearly a hundred years your senior, and even I know that!" "Can you hear us now?" Lady Bug regained her ability to speak. The former queen leaned over Nightmare's shoulder so that her face occupied the whole screen. "Ah, is that my daughter I hear? Oh, why, you look almost presentable for once!" "Uh, thanks?" A squeal sounded from the background, followed by a buzzing sound and a child's voice. "Lady Bug!" A young Changeling popped into view, pushing Chrysalis out of her way. She held a smaller Changeling in her forelegs. "Larva! Pupa!" Lady anxiously leaned closer to the screen. She'd been so worried that without her there to hunt and care for them, her sisters would wither away to nothing, yet they looked almost better than they had when she'd left. Larva shifted the filly in her forelegs so that she could see the screen. "Say hi to sissy, Pupa!" the tiny, malformed filly reached out a slobbery hoof to touch the screen, gurgling happily as she recognized her sister. "Hey, baby!" Lady cooed as she reached to touch her sister's face through the screen. "Larva! You get yourself and that filthy excuse for offspring out of here this instant!" Larva clutched her younger sister protectively to her chest. "But Mommy, I wanna show Lady my disguise!" the filly quickly transformed herself in a flash of sickly green flame. Her disguise sported a pale pink coat and a mane a few shades lighter than Lady's. Unlike her sister, her disguise portrayed her as a Pegasus. Her cutie mark was a red heart surrounded by purple lace. "Can't you see Mommy's talking?!" the elder Changeling growled, aiming a smack at the child's direction. Larva let out a squeak, curling herself around the younger filly as she rolled away, her mother's hoof grazing the spot beneath her wing. Tightening her grip on Pupa, she bolted away. Chrysalis leaped up in pursuit. There was a flurry of sound, ending finally with the sound of a slamming door. Seconds later, the former queen plopped back in her previous seat, muttering under her breath. Twilight glanced about uncomfortably, clearing her throat quietly. Nightmare narrowed her eyes. "Ah, Twilight Sparkle, is that you?" The lavender Alicorn forced a smile. "Hello, Nightmare. How are you?" "As well as I can be. And what happened to you? You look terrible! Still running senselessly towards villains?" Twilight flushed a deep red. "That was one time!" The villains each gave her a raised eyebrow look, their children mimicking the gaze. The lavender mare coughed. "Okay, maybe two or three...I'm going to grade papers..." she scurried to her desk, out of site of the camera. "So, Nyx," Nightmare began, giving her daughter a pointed look, "how has school been?" The younger Alicorn understood the meaning behind her mother's words. How was the plan coming? "Pretty good, so far." "That's so nice to hear! So, As much as I love, love, love talking to my daughter through a mechanical screen, I'd love it even more if I could see you in person. When can that happen?" "Um..." Nyx mentally kicked herself as she glanced over at Twilight, "Uh, there's this thing on Monday, so I think sometime after that." "Good to hear." Nightmare let a smirk play on her face. A muffled squeak emitted from Flare's coat pocket. Twilight's head shot up. "Flare," she set down the papers, "I certainly hope that's not Berry in your pocket. We allow pets in dorms and on the outdoor parts of campus, but you know they're not allowed in the educational buildings." "N-no, miss, it's not...because that would be-" a small, furry head popped from the colt's pocket, "Sorry, Miss Sparkle." he said dejectedly. "Flare!" Sunset cooed as she leaned closer to the screen, "Is that a bat?" "Uh..." "He's so tiny! He'd be a very inconspicuous minion!" Flare's terrified gaze hardened to a stiff glare. "He is not a minion! He's my friend!" "Excuse me?!" Sunset seethed, "Is that any way to speak to your mother?!" "You had minions for like two seconds before being defeated! Why do you even care so much about it?!" "He...does have a point..." the yellow mare turned her rage to the only stallion in the room. "Don't you have some over-priced toilet brush to sell, Mr. Pawn Shop?!" "Don't you have some demented gibberish to be spewing, Miss 'I'm Totally Mentally Sound'?!" "How about you take that toilet brush and shove it up-" The window holding the video feed suddenly shut down. Four pairs of eyes turned to Shade. "WiFi must've dropped." he said quietly, a red mist near his horn being the only indication of what he'd done. He turned a small smile to Twilight. "Thank you for the treat." The mare opened her mouth to apologize. Shade looked especially stung that his father hadn't spoken to him. How do you apologize for something like that? "You're welcome." she whispered hoarsely instead, "Class dismissed." The foals mechanically gathered their stuff and prepared to leave. As they headed for the door, Lady whispered what they each were thinking. "What're they going to do us if we can't pull this off?" "I think," Nyx gulped before continuing, "that they will be disappointed, but they'll understand that we tried are best." Shade raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Really?" "No." the young Alicorn whispered ruefully, "No, they're going to kill us." *** The noon sun stood high above campus, shining down at the ponies milling about in the gardens. Students and parents alike were dressed in their Sunday best, clothes crisply pressed and manes expertly styled. Will lead the choir, who all had donned horn-and-antler headbands, in a cover of a song he'd heard from one of his father's stories about wanting a drink, which roused a chuckled from many parents. It was as the song ended the the newest students made an appearance. Standing at the school entrance, they surveyed the area, hoping fear didn't betray their stoic expressions. It was one thing to go to school with ponies who had heard stories of their parents crimes, but it was another thing entirely to mingle with the ones who experienced firsthand the horrors their seniors had dealt out. Taking a shared breath, the teens made their way to the garden. Like everypony else, the villain foals were dressed in their best clothes. Lady wore a short gran-and-blue dress, with a sparkly silver headband sitting atop her mane which had been expertly curled. Nyx was dressed in a glittery dark blue blouse, her mane teased to amplify her natural waves. Flare's wild mane had been tamed with a comb so that it fell neatly over his eyes. He wore a maroon button up with a Berry-sized pocket on the chest and a black bow tie. Shade had dressed in a black blazer over a crisp white shirt and slicked his mane back. The teens made their way to the food tables. Shade and Flare bolted for the fountain spilling over with chocolate while the girls opted for the trays of bite-sized sandwiches. "Hey!" Nyx looked up at the voice, smiling when she saw who it belonged to. "Hey Will." she replied, turning to give him a quick hug, "The choir sounded great." "Thanks." the colt's grin grew. "The headbands were a nice touch." the young Alicorn added with a smirk. Will let out a laugh. "Yeah, that was Doub's idea. Speaking of which," he directed at the Changeling, "he was looking for you, Lady." he hadn't even finished the sentence before the filly had taken off. "Gee, it almost looks like she wants to see him!" Shade muttered sarcastically, his mouth coated in chocolate. Flare looked up, his face fairing similar conditions. "Yeah, I think she mentioned something about wanting to meet his parents." the Earth Pony replied, having missed the sarcasm. "On the topic of parents," Will said to Nyx, taking her hoof, "I'm gonna go catch up with mine, then I'd really like you to meet them, okay?" The filly gulped silently, choking down her nerves. "Sure." The colt smiled, giving the hoof he held a quick squeeze before hurrying away. "Will!" Fluttershy wrapped her son in a hug once he walked up. "Hey Mom." he smiled, returning the embrace. Once he was able to break away, he turned to his father. "Dad." he grinned, offering a hoof bump which the stallion accepted. "How's life treating you?" Discord asked, clapping his son's shoulder. "You mean in the few days since you've last seen me?" Will laughed before going over what'd happened in the past week. "Sound's like a busy few days." the mare commented after a while. "It has. But, there's one more thing. I have a new marefriend." "Oh, thank heavens you and Sunrise broke up!" "Discord!" "What? You didn't like her either!" "No, I guess I didn't" Fluttershy conceded, "She was so full of herself. And rude! So, who's the lucky girl?" Fluttershy and Discord watched as the colt looked towards the food tables and motioned for somepony towards them. A pretty dark filly made her way forward. Will moved forward to hug her. After the embrace, he walked her back to his parents. "Mom, Dad, this is Nyx Moon. She came here from the Isle." he eyed his temperamental father as he tightened his grip on the filly protectively, "She's my marefriend." "Hi." the filly whispered, hoping her voice wasn't as timid as she felt. The yellow mare smiled warmly. "Hello, dear. It's very nice to meet you." Discord gave a polite smile, though it almost looked a bit strained. "Yes, quite. So, we'll be eating lunch soon. Would you and your..." he looked up at the colts, still eating from the fountain, and Lady, who was standing next to Scifresh, "friends care to join us?" "Um, sure, that'd be great. I'll just go let them know." Will flashed his father a grateful smile, then walked away, foreleg still wrapped securely around her withers, nuzzling her mane. "I'm proud of you." Fluttershy laid her head on her husband's shoulder, "For not blowing up." The stallion sighed. "He had to pick a villain's daughter, didn't he?" "I think she'll be good for him." "How so?" "Look at him. Have you ever seen him so happy?" *** Nyx took a sip from the plastic cup she held in her magic. Lunch had been a bit strained and awkward, resulting in Nyx using the punch bowl as an excuse to escape. She looked back at the table. Fluttershy's hoof rested on Will's shoulder. The colt's mouth moved with words unheard to her. Discord leaned closer to his son, as if to better hear whatever story the yellow colt was telling. Moments later, he grinned, gently clapping his son's back as he laughed. Nyx's smile faded as she watched the scene with a pang in her chest, one she was unfamiliar with. "Excuse me," the young Alicorn turned to see a white mare with a long multi-colored mane standing behind her, "have we met?" The filly shook her head. "No, I don't think so." "Oh. I'm sorry to bother you, but, you look so familiar, but I can't put my hoof on where I've seen you before" "I know what you mean..." Nyx's eyes narrowed in confusion, "I don't recognize you, but you seem so familiar." "Mother!" a yellow filly bolted towards them, placing a hoof on the mare's foreleg once she reached them. "Mother, trust me, you do not want to be talking to this filly." "Sunrise, don't be rude." the mare reprimanded, "Why, she seems perfectly..." the mare turned back to the dark filly, her voice trailing away as she gave Nyx a once over. "You..." she breathed finally, fear spreading across her face. The mare stepped closer. "You, you look just like her...apart from your eyes...you could be her." "Princess Celestia," Will greeted warmly as he wrapped a foreleg tightly around his marefriend's withers, "Is there a problem here?" Nyx could feel the tension in the hug. Was he worried? The mare didn't seem to hear the colt, her attention solely on Nyx. "But how could that be? Unless...you're her..." it was when Lady, Shade, and Flare walked up that the mare made the connection. Her head jerked up as she stepped back. "Princess, are you okay?" Will asked, concerned. By now, everypony had grown quiet, staring. "How could she be a mother?" Celestia's eyes squeezed shut as she ranted under her breath. "She's not fit to be a mother. Sh-she killed...she killed my sister...Luna! I should've paid more attention...Moon was just an imaginary friend...not real, just imaginary...I should've realized..." tears began streaming down the mare's face. "I'm so sorry-" Nyx moved to rest a hoof on the mare's shoulder, shrugging off Will's hoof as she stepped forward. Sunrise stepped in the filly's way, jabbing her hoof in Nyx's face. "Now look what you've done!" she turned to comfort her mother, still glaring at the dark Alicorn. "What? This is hardly my fault!" It was at this moment that Silver Stocking stalked up. "Save it!" he growled. "Silver." Will's voice hardened, "Don't." "Will, wake up!" the white colt punctuated his sentence with a stomp, "What did you think would happen?" The four Isle foals crowded together. "They're the sons and daughters of villains! It's in their DNA! They. Are. Monsters!" "That's enough." Flare growled threateningly as he stepped forward. "Or what?" the white colt countered. He shoved the younger colt. "Back off!" Shade slammed his shoulder into the colt's side, knocking him sideways. Lady, without thinking, flared her horn. Instead of an aura, her horn was enveloped in crackling green lightning. She fired at the white colt. His eyes spun wildly in their sockets, then settled into a dazed look. The colt shook his head vigorously, shaking off the effects of the spell, but the damage had been done. Shade helped the red-headed colt to his hooves, pushing him and the girls towards the building. "Go, go!" he whispered hoarsely. Will moved to follow them. "Guys wait!" "I was afraid something like this would happen." the yellow colt turned towards his father. "Dad, it's not their fault." he whispered. "No," Discord turned away, surveying the shaken ponies bored looking back at his son, his disappointed gaze boring into the colt's skull, "no it's not." *** "Hey, there you are." Will found the Island teens at a table outside. They were surrounded by a ring of empty tables, getting the stink eye from the cliques seated far away. The colt came to a stop behind Nyx, settling a hoof on the filly's shoulder. "Hey, look, just, just forget about today, alright? It's okay, everything will blow over soon, I promise, everything...everything will be okay." The teens stared at their plates, refusing to respond. Will sighed quietly. He leaned down near his marefriend's ear. "I gotta go look over some things for tomorrow, but I'll see you later, okay?" he nuzzled the top of her head then stood back. "Bye, guys." "Lady, Ah am so sorry." the Changeling's head shot up to meet familiar green eyes. "Ah saw what happened, and Ah shoulda said somthin' but Ah didn't, and Ah'm really sorry." "Wanna join us?" Lady asked, scooting over. "Doub!" gazes turned to the white colt at a table across the garden. The blue-grey colt turned back to the filly, regret ringing in his voice. "Ah kinda promised Silver that Ah'd sit with the guys today." "It's my fault, I cast the spell." Lady whispered as the colt started away. "Please..." "Doub!" Silver yelled again. "Sci..." she begged. "Ah'm sorry." and he was gone. Lady pushed her tray of untouched food away with a mumbled "M'not hungry." Sunrise passed the Isle teens' table, Nova at her side. "How long do you think it'll last?" she raised her voice for them to hear. "Not long, I'm sure." Nova added with uncharacteristic cruelty, "He's just living out some adolescent bad-girl fantasy." Nyx stared hard at her plate. 'Keep quiet. Speaking now won't help.' "Well duh!" Sunrise smirked, tossing her mane, "She's a villain! Definitely not queen material. He'll realize that soon enough." The fillies laughed as they made their way to another table, joining the other fillies in their class. Nyx took a sip from her juice box, flaring her horn. There was a gasp from the clique of fillies. Nova's hair had reverted back to the original pixie-cut style, but the ends were uneven and jagged, the whole thing a frizzy mess. The filly's face turned a deep red as the others began whispering and pointing. "This is just a warning." Nyx stood up, eyes blazing behind her glasses. "Who do you think you are?!" Sunrise screeched at the filly. "Somepony you don't want to mess with." she seethed. She stepped forward, sending the other teens scrambling away. She huffed, turning to her friends once they were gone. "Come on. We have tonight to come up with a plan. Then we can be done with this place." *** Sketches and diagrams of the Elements and the Canterlot Cathedral, where, like most important royal events, Will's ceremony was being held, were spread out on the table in the colts' room. Different colored X's represented each of the teens and where they would be. "Okay, so I will be here with Will, his parents, and the Representatives of the Elements." Nyx tapped a purple X with her hoof. Lady pointed at three X's, blue, black, and red. "We sneak out here to the carriages, and I use my magic to knock out the guards," "me and Flare hook ourselves to the carriage," Shade added. "and then you get the crown, and we get the heck outta dodge." Flare finished. "Okay, good. So, we'll just get our stuff and head back to our room." Nyx began gathering papers while Lady organized everything into files and bags. "Go ahead and pack up your stuff tonight. We're getting out of school early for the ceremony so we won't have time tomorrow." Shade nodded, grabbing a bag and opening his drawers. He stuffed a few jackets and electronics into the bag before stopping at his hoofball jersey. He ran a hoof over his name before carefully folding it and settling it into the bag. "Think I could take Berry?" Flare rubbed the little bat's head. "Um, have you met your mother?" Nyx looked up. "Yeah," Lady added, "do you really want Berry near her?" "No...no I guess not." he said quietly. "Okay, so we'll see you guys tomorrow." Nyx said as she and Lady exited the room. As the girls headed to their dorm, Nyx pulled her spell book from her bag, opening to a marked page. Lady peeked over her roommate's shoulder. "Nyx..." the Changeling stopped walked, reaching out a hoof for her friend to do the same, "you're going to break Will's love spell?" The filly lowered the book, glancing at her hooves as she pinned her ears back. "Uh...y-yeah. After the ceremony." "Why?" "I just think, that when we free everyone from the Island and they come to destroy Equestria, I'd rather see Will's reaction to having been duped and having him know that he did it to himself by bringing us here than have him blindly be in love with me while the world is falling apart." Lady put a hoof on her friend's shoulder. "He really cares about you...we both know he does." "Yeah, he has to. He's under a spell." Nyx deadpanned. "N..." The girls stopped outside their door. "Look, I'm headed to the kitchen. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Nyx opened the door and dropped her bag inside before trotting away. Lady Bug sighed as she entered the room, closing the door behind her. She packed her things, leaving out what she would need for the next day. She went over to her desk glancing over to see if she had missed anything. A paper head with a large 'B+' caught her eye. She used her magic to lift it up from the desk as she moved to sit on the edge of her bed. She gently slid it into her bag before climbing under her covers. *** Alone and lonely in the kitchen, Nyx stirred the batter with the wooden spoon held in her magic.. Her glasses were set safely out of the way. The spell book was open beside her. The potion to break the spell recommended a cupcake. She stared down, dazed and absent. Putting her front hooves up on either side of the bowl, she took in a shaky breath. "A million thoughts running through my head I can't let my heart keep denying it." The young Alicorn stopped stirring, leaning heavily on the counter. She thought of Will. His smile. His laugh. His voice. The way her chest fluttered whenever she saw him. She hadn't wanted to lie to her roommate, but she couldn't admit the truth to herself, let alone to the Changeling girl. "I know it's time for me to say 'good-bye'. But I can't seem to let go." A strangled cry escaped the filly's mouth. She felt something wet trickle down her face and drip off her chin. She slowly sank to the floor, her back against the counter as she buried her face in her hooves. For the first time in her life, Nyx allowed herself to cry.