//------------------------------// // Does this run in the family? // Story: Mane 6: The Next Generation // by Dark Nightshade //------------------------------// Aurora said nothing as she was dragged into her first class. When she got there, she was relieved to see that the teacher wasn't there yet. Cherri pulled her down into a seat, that she realized was next to her. One of the girls from before, Iris, was on her other side, feet propped up and hands behind her head. Behind her was the other of the two, Avalon, who was glaring at Iris. In front of her was a tall, rather shrunken girl with light pink hair. She wore an oversized yellow hoodie, and a magenta beanie. Aurora tapped her. "Uh, hi. I'm Aurora. I'm new here. What's your name?" The girl stared at her in horror, starting to tremble with fright. "I'm, Faith." She whispered, panicking. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that." Aurora responded, feeling a strange sense of deja vu. As if she heard about the way this played out between two people before. "I'm Faith." She said a little louder now. Cherri giggled. "Faith is really shy. Don't mind her ‘Ror. She'll warm up to you sooner or later. " she assured her, patting her back. Aurora smiled. "Just like another person I used to hear about." Faith's ears perked up. She slowly turned around, as if she was being cautious about what she was about to say. "Y-You knew my mother?" she asked. Aurora smirked. "Not exactly. But my mom did." Faith looked a bit confused, looking from Aurora to Cherri before looking at the pink strands of hair in Aurora's hair. "Oh! I should have known! How could I be so unobservant!" Faith scolded herself. Aurora laughed. "It's okay, it took me a while too. Fluttershy was the one that actually reformed Discord, right?" Aurora asked. Just then, the late bell rung, and in walked the teacher. She was tall, and severely clumsy, nearly tripping over her own two feet and dropping all her books. As she places everything down, she turned to the class and smiled. “Hello!” She called to the class, smiling innocently. Aurora saw that her eyes were a bit...out of place. “Can she see?” She whispered to Cherri, who was taking out her notebook. She shrugged. “Yeah. I think. If she can’t then she’s doing a good job of hiding it.” She giggled. Aurora shook her head and turned back towards the board. Ms. Derpy began calling out names for attendance, and when she got to her, she asked, “Oh, we have a new student?” Aurora reluctantly raised her hand and the teacher gave her a warm smile. “Oh! You’re Aurora then?” Aurora slowly nodded, feeling her cheeks burn with embarrassment. “Why don’t you come up and introduce yourself?” Ms. Derpy asked. Aurora got out of her seat, and shuffled to the front, gripping at the strings on her purple hoodie. “Ah, um. Hi. I’m Aurora Estrella, and I just transferred from Hoofington. And yeah, that’s it.” She nodded awkwardly before hastily returning to her seat. She never felt so embarrassed in her whole life. “It’s nice to meet you Aurora!” Ms. Derpy told her before turning around to face the dry erase board. She wrote an equation on the board and wrote the word “algebra” next to it. “Okay class, who can answer this for me?” Aurora’s hand shot up. “Thirty four, squared.” Ms. Derpy was a bit surprised. “Very good, Aurora. I haven't even taught the class that yet.” “Egghead.” Iris snickered. Aurora turned to face her. "Iris, is it? Hi, if it wasn't evidently clear, I just heard that. And I'd like to inform you that I'm nothing like my mother, and I'm pretty sure you're nothing like yours. So can we not repeat the past? I would love to befriend you without having to punch you in the lip first." She finished, smiling. Iris looked at her stunned before stuttering, "U-Uh, yeah, sure. Sorry." Avalon let out a laugh. "She sure shut you up, didn't she, Ris?" "Shut up, Avie." Iris grumbled. Cherri giggled. "You're a sarcastic one, aren't you?" Aurora shrugged. "It's about the only thing besides the hair that I inherited." The rest of the period was spent in silence as they had a pop quiz on algebraic formulas. Aurora of course, breezed through it with ease, while Iris looked like she wanted to kill herself. The bell rung, and the girls got up to hand in their papers. "I could tutor you, you know," Aurora said as they walked to their next class. "What?! No way! I don't need help from you!" Iris shouted. "Didn't Ms. Derpy say that if you didn't get at least a seventy on the next major test that she was going to fail you and make you take summer school?" Faith asked. "Plus, coach said if ya don't pick up yer grades, yer gonna be off the team all season long." Avalon added. Iris smacked her forehead. "Fine! Okay! Aurora, you can tutor me!" Aurora gave her a skeptical look. "Did you just use me as a last resort?" “Don’t flatter yourself.” Iris responded coldly, pushing passed her. She continued down the the hallway, not once glancing back at the girls. “What’s her deal?” Aurora asked, rolling her eyes. She had only just met Iris and could tell she was just as stubborn and prideful as her mother. Cherri shrugged. “Beats me. She’s been acting like this ever since Radiance joined the soccer team.” “Radiance?” Aurora repeated. Just then, a soccer ball whized past them, Aurora nearly dodging a hit to the face. Avalon caught it, smirking a bit. “Radi, you know that you can’t play soccer in the hallway. Yer mom would throw a fit.” She said, the smirk becoming wider. A girl in black skinny jeans and a soccer jersey ran up to them. She snorted, throwing some of her purple-green hair out of her face. “I would just love that.” She grinned, an oddly familiar Trans-Atlantic accent traced in her voice. She spoke with amusement, an equally mischievous smile on her face. “You’re mom loves to throw some tantrums. Especially about the way you dress.” Cherri told her, laughing a little. She had been there way too many times when Radiance’s mother lost her cool, whining like she was the teenager. “She wants me to wear these frilly dresses and ‘act like a lady’ but I don’t have time for that crap. I have games to win.” Radiance said, bouncing the soccer ball on her knee. Aurora was astounded. This was Rarity’s daughter? The Rarity? She thought since the other girls almost mirrored their mothers personality that Rarity’s daughter would too. But she was wrong, oh so completely wrong. And she couldn’t wait to tell her mother this. “Hi, I’m Aurora, daughter of Twilight Sparkle.” Aurora introduced, sticking her hand out for a shake. “Radiance, daughter of Rarity Belle.” Radiance responded, shaking it. “You’re Rarity’s daughter? I would’ve thought you would be a lot more...uh, like her. No offense.” Aurora told her, trying not to sound as surprised as she was. The girl in front of her scoffed. “I get that a lot. I may sound like her, but there is no way in hell I’m wearing some stupid dress and acting like I’m from Canterlot.” “You’re from Canterlot.” Faith corrected her. “Technically, no. My dad is. My mom’s from Ponyville.” Radiance corrected her back. “Speaking of my father,” she added, turning back to Aurora, “Do you know any guys with green hair?” Aurora’s face stayed neutral, but on the inside she was screaming. Spike? Her uncle Spike? Had a daughter with Rarity? That her mother didn’t know about?! Impossible! Her mother always talks to him! Just the other day Aurora herself was telling him all about her new school! But...something did seem off. At the mention of the rest of the members of The Elements of Harmony, his voice suddenly became less enthusiastic. “Oh, our old high school?” He had asked. “Yeah! Where you, mom, and the girls went! Maybe I’ll be able to meet their kids! Isn't that cool?!” Aurora had told him excitedly, twirling around the living room with the cordless phone. There was a brief pause, and she for sure thought he had hung up. Then: “Yeah. That’s pretty cool.” He sounded deflated, as if he was remembering something cumbersome and tiring. After that he change the subject, then asked to speak to Twilight. At first it bugged her, but then Aurora thought nothing of it. Until now. “Why such a specific question?” Aurora responded, her voice almost shaking. She couldn’t believe it. One of these girls could be her cousin. “Mom said my dad had green hair. Also your mom has a brother with green hair. At least that’s what my mom said.” Radiance replied, rubbing her chin. Okay, now things were getting really freaky. “I- uh, well, you see-” The late bell rang, literally saving Aurora from a severely awkward moment. “Can we pick up on this later? I really don’t want to be late for any of my classes.” Aurora told her quickly, thanking the stars above that she didn’t have to try and explain something she knew nothing about. Radiance nodded, then turned on her heel and continued down the hallway. Avalon shook her head as they watched her leave. “My Ma said that yer mama’s brother just up and disappeared after they all stopped crime fightin’.” Faith nodded. “My mom said the same thing. She said that Radiance's mom was pregnant all of a sudden after he left.” Cherri nodded also. “I remember my mom said she threw a baby shower for everyone except Rarity. I wonder why?” She wondered out loud, squinting in thought. The gears were turning in Aurora’s head and her heart was leaping through her chest. All the signs were there. Sudden uprooting. Mysterious pregnancy. The green hair. Come to think of it, Spike being Radiance’s father would explain her tomboyish behavior. Aurora shook her head clear. No, she wouldn’t say a word of this. At least not until she got home. Her mother should know. But if they all went their separate ways and haven’t contacted each other in years, there’s a possibility that she didn’t. And that scared Aurora. Because that meant her uncle was hiding a very deep dark secret. “Yo! ‘Rory!” She heard Avalon call, snapping her back into reality. She realized that she had been staring into space and that the other girls had begun to walk to their next class. “You coming?” Cherri asked, looking a little worried. Aurora realized that she must’ve looked really crazy staring at nothing like that. Aurora ran to catch up to them. “Yeah, sure,” she responded as they turned down the hall. As they walked, a shiver ran down her spine. Whatever was happening wasn’t just a coincidence, and she felt like there was more to the reason why she was here. She just couldn’t quite put her finger on it.