//------------------------------// // Chapter 18 - Homecomings part 2 // Story: The Students from St. Everfree // by Morex25 //------------------------------// “I’m telling you, it wasn’t what it looked like!” Trixie claimed for the 5th time already. Luckily she had managed to catch up to her friends before they left the house entirely. Now the difficult part was to make them see that what they stumbled into wasn’t what they think it was. “Then what was it?” Her friend Fuchsia Blush or Feebee for short, raised her arms into the air to emphasize her disbelief. “Because what we saw was you, all over this shirtless boy with your hands on his pants!” “I told you, I was stopping him from taking them off!” The mortified girl explained once more. “Still, why was he trying to take them off in the first place?” Lavender Lance, or as her friends called her Lala, brought up another good point. “Because he wanted me to check him out.” Trixie blurted out not earning any convincing points with how that sounded. “I mean, for injuries! He was involved in a fight.” “A fight?/A fight about what?” Lavender and Fuchsia questioned at the same time; the former sounding worried while the latter was more skeptical. “I don’t know! These freaks wearing black jumped at him at the convenience store parking lot. He fight against these five guys at the same time, and then I had to rescue him from the leader who was about to poke his eyes out… it was a mess!” “Trixie, calm down.” Lala placed a hand over Trixie’s shoulders. “No need to get so anxious.” She tried to reassure her. “Sounds a little too fake to me.” Fuchsia crossed her arms humming. “Feebee!” Lavender admonished her before saying. “I believe her.” “Please, if he was in a fight with five guys and was hurt to need medical attention why didn’t you take him to the hospital.” Feebee questioned the logic behind the story. “Because I asked her not to.” A distinctive male voice cut in. “And I commend her for that.” Sombra slowly made his way towards the trio. Thankfully he was fully clothed but now he sported a black cane to help him walk. Once he was in front of them, both Lavender and Fuchsia could see his handsome features and impressive visage. He was no mere boy; he was positively charming at first glance. “Oh hey, my name is Fuchsia, Fuchsia Blush. Nice meeting you.” The girl with light muldberry skin and short fuchsia hair introduced herself first sounding a little too enthusiastic. “I’m Lavender Lance. Nice to meet you.” The girl with violetish gray skin and long light yellow hair, also give her name except she was more reserved than her friend. “Greetings to both of you, my name is Sombra.” He greeted formally since they greet him gracefully enough. After the proper salutations were completed he turned towards his unwilling hostess. “Miss Trixie, I’m here to inform you that my healing treatments have just finished.” “Ehm… that’s good to hear.” Trixie answered weird-out by the sudden formal tone he was addressing her with. ‘What’s this about Miss Trixie?’ “Also I need to let you know that I have taken this cane to aid me stride.” He referred to the walking stick he was holding. “I trust this isn’t a problem for you.” “Actually, that’s my dad’s…” “I understand.” He responded with a nod. “Then send my sincere apologizes to the lord of the house, and inform him that I shall repay him handsomely for the inconvenience.” ‘So you are still gonna take it then.’ Even when she just said it wasn’t hers to lend. Then again it wasn’t as if her dad was gonna notice a prop was missing, especially when he had several more at his disposal. “Sure, I’ll do that. Just return it back when you no longer need it.” “Then I propose an arrangement.” He suddenly said sounding keen to his own idea. “I shall return the cane the day you are finished with the tome I’m interested in. An exchange of lend possessions.” “Sure…why not.” Trixie ended up accepting, still perplexed by this sudden change of character. ‘Wait, is he trying to make himself look good in front of my friends?’ That would explain this proper attitude he was displaying. Acting nice so that when she told them about how much of a jerk he was, they wouldn’t believe her. “Excellent! Then I shall take my leave.” Sombra interrupted her inner musings. “Wait! Are you seriously going to leave like that?” She asked displaying a sense of concern for others that was kind of surprising for her friends to behold. “What if some more thugs jump at you again?” After witnessing the violence they were willing to come to, there was no telling if they would attack again; especially when Sombra barely escaped the first attack. “Your concern for my well-being is fully noted and very appreciated. Alas, I need to retire for the day.” He explained his motive and smirked before he continued. “Do not fret, Miss Trixie. I am well aware of the potential dangers that await me, and I’m prepared to face whatever obstacle that steps in my way.” Trixie was about to answer when she suddenly hear a swoon and saw the faces her friends were giving him, as if he was some sort of Daring Prince or something. She didn’t know why but that ticked her off a bit. “Please, I’m not worried about you. I’m worried about not recovering my dad’s cane.” “They’ll have to pry it from my cold unmoving hands.” Sombra declared ominously yet also gallantly. Not an easy accomplishment for sure. “Now I have to take my leave.” He said before turning to Trixie’s friends. “I apologize for not being able to stay longer, and I hope we meet again under better circumstances.” “Of course!” Fuchsia responded happy to be noticed again. “I too hope we can meet again!” “It’ll be nice to get to know you better.” Lavender said with a smile. With that out of the way, Sombra turned towards Trixie one last time. “I thank you for all that you did for me today, Miss Trixie. I’m grateful.” He said with such a nice tone that for a second he made her forget about how much of a jerk he had been all day. “You are welcome.” “Goodbye to the three of you. I look forward to meet you at school tomorrow.” And with a respectful bow he made his way outside, leaving the three girls alone. “Well I can see why you tried to unbutton his pants.” Fuchsia said with a sly sideways glance. “Cut it out!” “He’s definitely a 10 in the looks department.” Lavender said. “I think he might be too verbose though. Like a walking thesaurus or something.” “Don’t let the appearance fool you, he’s a jerk and a massive pain in the neck.” It was better to let them know about his irritating qualities now so they will not prattle on and on about how dreamy he was. “He may look like one, but he’s not a prince charming.” “But he’s still hot though.” Feebee said causing Trixie to facepalm. Why did she even bother? [x-x-x] “I’m worried.” Sunset said as she watched over her unconscious form resting on a couch. “She should’ve waked up by now.” She had plenty of experiences with the fainting spells that Rarity would occasionally manage to pull for dramatic effect, and those didn’t very long. “I am too” Discord nodded comprehensively. “It’s entirely my fault. If I weren’t so darn charming and handsome this would’ve never happened.” He said so overly dramatic to even take seriously. “Would you cut that out! This could be serious.” She sent him and indignant look for not only causing this, but for not taking it seriously too. “I think you spook her into fainting, Discord.” “And what gave you that impression?” He crossed his arms pretending to be “offended” by the insinuation. “Maybe the way her face froze in terror before she lost consciousness.” “Well, I believe there are two schools of thought about that.” “Shh! Let’s chill out and like, maybe drink tea.” Tree Hugger, who was sitting on the couch next to Fluttershy’s head tried to quiet things down. “Aren’t you worried there’s something wrong with her?” Sunset questioned seeing as her friend’s co-worker was too blasé about the whole thing. “Don’t you have like smelling salts or something to wake her up?” “Yes I have.” “Excellent! Then let’s wake Fluttershy up!” “I wouldn’t recommend it.” The hippie girl said looking down at Fluttershy. “I believe it is best if we just let her rest.” “Why? Did her aura tell you so?” Discord asked, his tone openly mocking. “Not necessarily. I can see it with her physical appearance.” Tree Hugger answer earnestly not a bit bothered by the boy’s tease. “If you say so.” Discord let the issue drop when he didn’t get any reaction out of the hippie girl whom he had difficulty trying to read. That and the sideways glare that Sunny threw towards him was all his effort got him. Maybe at a later date he would have the chance to know what buttons to press against the Tree Hugger. “If you think that’s for the best.” Sunset stopped her glare towards Discord and sighed. If anyone had some idea of what to do was Tree Hugger since she was studying to be Doctor. An animal doctor, but humans were similar enough to animals, right? “Of course, leave it all to me.” Tree Hugger smiled. “I’ll stay with her as long as I need. You two can go home and rest. I see that you also need it.” “Now that you mentioned…I am kind of tired.” Sunset noted. After the events of the previous hours it wouldn’t be a surprise if she ended up falling asleep as soon as she lied on bed. “I think I’m gonna take your advice.” “Then let’s go.” Discord suddenly said. “I’ll accompany you home.” “T-That won’t be necessary.” Sunset was surprised by his unexpected offer. “Then let me call a cab for you.” He offered. “No. My home isn’t that far away.” She declined again and was about to continue until she saw the look look he was giving her. “No I insist.” He smiled, but the message in his eyes was pretty clear. ‘We better be cautious. Don’t know if they are still out there.’ “In fact I won’t take no for an answer.” “If you are sure, then I accept.” She nodded. “A cab might be a little expensive though.” “Don’t worry; I think our mutual acquaintance, Mr. Longhorn, has you covered.” Discord smirked as he pulled out a leather wallet with a very ‘western’ looking design. “Is that his…?” “Picked it up when we were leaving.” Discord clarified. “I don’t think he would mind, especially after he owes us for the ‘inconvenience’. Isn’t that right, Sunny?” He then took out all of the money the wallet had. “Of course, it’s the least he could do.” In any other occasion she would’ve protested this obvious thievery, but she couldn’t find it in her to oppose or even feel bad about it after what that sicko threatened to do. “Come on let’s go… Dizzy.” She agreed to go along with it before she turned around to say goodbye to Tree Hugger and thank her for the help. “Also tell Fluttershy that I’m sorry I couldn’t stay and that we’ll talk tomorrow at school.” “Sure.” She nodded and with a wave of her hand she saw both Sunset and Discord walk out of the premises. After a long minute passed and she was sure that they wouldn’t suddenly come back, she looked down at Fluttershy. “Psst. They are already gone.” Instantly, the previously fainted girl opened her eyes and sat up on the couch she had been laying on. “That’s a relief.” She sighed, thanking whatever luck she had for not getting caught. “Thanks for helping me, Treesie.” “Anything for a friend.” She said as laid back as ever. Not really questioning the motives her co-worker and friend had for pretending to be unconscious. Still, she noticed something about her, “Although I still see that you are troubled by something.” She pointed out. “I got this great tea that could help you with that.” “That would be nice.” She accepted the offer, “But I should check on our cute little friends first.” “Let me prepare it for you, while you tend the animals.” And to do that, she needed to get the electric stove to boil some water in the break room. “I should also get some rice cakes too.” As Tree Hugger went on to look for the electrical appliance to prepare the tea and a snack, Fluttershy kept sitting while she reflected on what just happened. She felt just awful for deceiving Sunset. Well, not completely; she really did faint when she came face to face with that scary transfer student Discord, but when she recovered conciseness just asTreesie was checking her vitals, she silently pleaded for her to go along with her façade. It wasn’t like she wanted to eavesdrop or anything like that. She was just too afraid of being near Discord. And why wouldn’t she, especially when she saw him arrive in such an alarming manner; being transported by the police like a dangerous criminal. Although her friends tried to comfort her and reason the troubling entrance, she was still scared of him; a feeling that Susnet didn’t appear to share. ‘Why was Sunset with him? And why did they act so familiar with each other?’.Especially the pet names that they have for each other: Sunny and Dizzy. ‘That means they are friends, or they know each other for some time’. If so, then why did Sunset never mention anything about him before. ‘Maybe because he was from that terrifying school?’. That was a good reason to not mention it at all. It was possible she didn’t want people to know she had friends with someone from a place with such infamy, especially now that she was getting accepted back by the rest of the school. Sunset social status could go back to the way it was before the battle of the bands. If word got out that Sunset was meeting with such kind of individual in secluded back rooms. ‘Know that I think about it… why were they meeting in the storage room?’ Several scenarios played on her mind but none had much sense. That is until her mid started to wander into more “hush-hush” thoughts. ‘Could it be…?’ No, she was simply thinking too much about it. ‘Sunset would never…’ Yet, the conversation with the girls back in Sugarcube Corner and specially Rarity’s words and scenarios about secret love lives and affairs kept ringing inside her mind. Was it possible? The pet names, the familiarity in which they addressed each other, at least more so in his case, and the vague way they talked at the end as if both had a big secret that was only privy to them. “Oh my…” [x-x-x] Applejack sighed as she made her way back home. Today had being one long weird day for sure. Not only did they get New Transfer Students that were the hot topic of discussion and worry throughout the day, and probably for the days to come. Band practice had been fine until the prospect of the future of the band was brought up. Sure playing and being part of a band was fun and all, but she doubted they had an actual future with it. Putting aside the whole ‘Pony-Up’ thing that happened when they played and the complications it could arise, she had an Apple Orchard and a family business too look out for. Not to mention her dilemma about whenever or not she should go to college or not. And the others girls were probably dealing with similar issues like her. So no, despite how much she enjoyed being part of it and all; she honestly believed there was no real practical future for the band. And being reminded of that kinda stressed her out a bit. And speaking about things that rustled her apples, the whole later conversation at Sugarcube Corner with the girls also ticked her off. At first everything was fine and dandy, even when Rarity started gushing about the whole romantic gossip about their Physics teacher and his secret admirer. But then the whole thing moved towards other peoples love lives towards their own, or in her case lack thereof. In the field of love and dating, Rarity was the self-proclaimed expert, to no one’s surprise. The fashionista did go on dates with guys and had lines of boys who tried to ask her out whenever a school dance or a party was announced. But in Applejack’s opinion, that didn’t give Rarity any authority to try and play matchmaker for everyone else particularly with her. It wouldn’t bother her as much if Rarity wasn’t so insistent and implied that she needed the most help of them all and despite how much she loathed admitting it, the fashionista was right. Sunset used to date Flash; Fluttershy got boys asking her out much to the poor girl’s chagrin; Pinkie party and hung around with many people, it was hard to tell if some counted as hook ups or not; even Rainbow Dash already “dated” a guy, it lasted around two weeks because he would take her out to eat after soccer practice when she was at her hungriest. All of Applejack’s friends had experience regarding the subject except her. Not a single date or an invitation for one. Heck not even gossip that a guy has crushing on her or similarly. As for dances and parties she usually went accompanying Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash as a group. She really wasn’t all that concerned about the issue, but it really felt like she was somehow left out. That and some of the ‘insinuations’ Rainbow Dash came up with were really annoying. Like when her cousin Braeburn came and visited, Dash would make jokes about how ‘nice looking’ he was and if she was planning on ‘keeping it in the family’. Never before had she wanted to smack athlete girl’s grin from her face. Nonetheless she gave her a very stern talk in the end that silenced her up. Her love life was only for her to bring up and no one else. And even then, she had so many other things to think and worry about than to waste time in romance. She wasn’t one to fantasize that one day she would meet ‘The One’ in some sort of fantastical way or fell in love at first sight or something. She only knew that if she was to find someone, it would just happen and that’s that. Ultimately, it had been a very tense day. That was the reason why she decided to have a nice slow stroll through the orchard to try and clear her mind of the stress that was that day. But now it was time to return home and enjoy some of Granny’s cooking. “I can’t wait.” Applejack said anxiously for something to bite as she stepped up the front stairs of her home. And as soon she was about to touch the door knob, someone beat her to it and opened the door before her from the other side. As she was about to thank whoever opened the door for her, Applejack eyes widen in shock when she noticed who the person on the other side was. “What the…?!” she jumped backwards, putting enough distance between them. “What are you doing here?” her eyes narrowing looking at the imposing figure of one of the new transfer students from St. Everfree. The transfer student gave her a cold look, making Applejack tense and wonder if he was about to try and attack her. After what felt like an eternity, the guy just grunted and did the unexpected. He just walked past her, ignoring her. “Hey! Wait just a darn second!” She called out for him, making him stop. “Do you mind explaining me what were you doing in my house?!” The mountain that was the guy just turned his head and gave her a condescending look. “I don’t have time to deal with you right now.” He said sounding annoyed. “Why don’t you go ask the old bat inside?” “What’d you say?!” Applejack got angry. One thing was giving her an attitude, but bad mouthing family like that was crossing the line. But her rightful indignation was once again ignored by the guy as he turned his head and started walking away. “Come back here and apologize!” “What this hollering about?” Granny Smith came outside from the same front door. “Granny!” Applejack was relieved to see her granny looking well. “Are you alright?” still she had to ask out of concern. “Why wouldn’t ah be?” “Because…” The middle of the Apple grandkids left the explanation hanging before she moved on with what she really wanted to know. “What was he doing here?” “That boy Tirek just came to visit.” Granny answered vaguely not really clearing anything. And before her elder granddaughter could question her more, she clarified. “Ah help him with an injury and we talked for a bit.” “About what?” “Just chit-chat.” Granny waived off her granddaughter’s worried tone. “That and his possible employment here at the Orchard.” “Employment?!” “Harvest season for cider is coming and we’ll need help.” She reminded. “But…!” Applejack wanted to protest, but Granny was having none of that “No but’s.” She cut her off. “If he wants to stay and work he can, and that’s all.” Granny ended with a look that her decision was final. “Okay…Granny…” AJ gave in while a little put off by her granny’s unexpected firmness in the matter. “Good. Now why don’t ya go wash up while ah prepare dinner?” Granny Smith suggested with a smile, going back as if nothing in the last two minutes had happened. “Yes, Granny.” Applejack nodded,and then turn her head to look at the boy's large figure slowly disappearing into the distance. [x-x-x] Scorpan walked next to one of his recently acquired pupils, who roped him into teaching them about being delinquents, in what could be considered an awkward silence. After his whole introductory lecture that consisted of the “History of Delinquency” and promises that next lesson would tackle the “first steps into becoming a Delinquent”, Scorpan said goodbye to his pupils before he remembered one of the many lessons his mother taught him and offered to walked them home. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, both declined with good reasons. Sweetie was to meet her big sister Rarity on a boutique and the two would go back home together; meanwhile Applebloom, after making sure to ask where he lived at, adviced against it since they lived at opposite directions and didn’t want Scorpan to be late returning home. So by process of elimination, that left Scootaloo as the Crusader he ended up accompanying. Scorpan debated with himself if he should try to break the silence between them. After all, if he was supposed to be teaching her and the others they should all get along, right? Even then, he was at lost as to how to accomplish that, since he really wasn’t all that good at socializing, even more so when it came down to girls. And he meant girls as in nice, normal girls, not delinquents that would threaten to get rid of his manhood if he ever walked pass too close to them. Pushing back those unpleasant memories, Scorpan couldn’t help but sigh at how hopeless he was when making small talk. Still, he had to try something. Anything was better than the awkward silence between the two of them. “S-so…?” He began somewhat nervous still. “How exactly did you settle on for trying to become delinquents?” He asked the first thing on his mind which was the topic they had been interested in. “Didn’t we already tell you?” “No, what I meant was, how did you managed to convince the Applebloom and Sweetie Belle to go along with your idea?” He corrected his question. “What makes you think it was my idea?” Scootaloo gave him a suspicious look. “Well…” Scorpan rubbed the back of his head nervously before continuing. “Even though I just met you three, I noticed that neither of your friends are the type to come up with an idea like ‘learning to be delinquents’.” “What does that mean them ‘not being the type’?” Her tone changing to a more offended one. “What type am I then?” “I-I didn’t meant to imply anything!” Scorpan quickly apologized. “I just…” “If you have a problem with us, then why don’t you say so?” She demanded although by her tone, he could tell that the ‘us’ was more akin to ‘me’ instead. “I don’t have any troubles with you or the others.” He clarified not wanting to create some sort of misunderstanding. “I’m just asking because… I was curious…that’s all.” He explained rather feebly. “F-forget I even said anything. I was trying to small talk, but I-I’m just terrible at it.” “I can tell.” Scotaloo answered rather serious only to snicker a few seconds later. “What? What’s so funny?” “It’s just… for someone who is teaching us how to become delinquents, you are very…” “Feeble? Weak? Pathetic? Meager? Lame?” Scorpan offered some of the many words people around him frequently used to describe him. “Hard on yourself.” Scotaloo ended up saying, surprising Scorpan. “I would've expected you to be more confident.” ‘Who is supposed to be the teacher and the pupil here?’ The boy thought to himself. “Well, after living what I did back at Everfree; those experiences do a number on what little self-confidence you may have.” He tried to spin his reply to sound like a joke, but it didn’t come out funny at all. “You sounded confident when you were giving us a History lesson.” She recalled. “That’s different…” He reasoned. “Back there I was trying to be instructive. Teaching you three the history of the field, otherwise you could get into trouble.” Was sort of trouble, you may ask? Well that isn’t really important, what matter’s to be prepared. “Sorry if the History lectures bored you.” “Not really. I think it was interesting.” “Don’t patronize me.” Scorpan sighed not really buying into her ‘sincere’ tone. “It’s true though,” She insisted this time with a small laugh, “You really made it sound really exciting.” Unlike the history teacher she had before. “And you told us things that teacher never did or would’ve taught us.” “Lots of things are left out of the history books at school.” He pointed out. “And that kind of peeves me. I mean, how many great and exciting stories weren’t told and would later fade away from memory? How many acts of valor were reduced to mere footnotes in the annals of History?” If that ever happened to him; if after doing or being involved in an event of great importance that changed the course of history, and the only who ever knew he participated in or even existed were those who read it in a rare dusty old book no one else knew about; that would be really disappointing. “The most interesting things were all those things I didn’t know about the Joe’s.” Who almost everyone idolized and whose exploits were taught and talked about a lot. “They are everyone’s heroes, including me.” ‘Not everyone’s.’ There were lots of people, especially on the internet, who view their actions and patriotism as wrong and outdated with the times. But hey, those are bloggers for you. “They are mine too.” “Do you have any more stories about them?” “Sure. I have tons of them.” Scorpan answered enthusiastically. He was happy that he managed to find something to talk about with ease, not realizing that he managed to hold the conversation and act confident all the way towards Scootaloo’s home. [x-x-x] Discord held on to the door of the cab waiting for Sunset had climbed on. Sunset thanked him for the gesture as she hopped on to the backseat. “Sunny, before you go I want you to have this.” Discord said as he handed her a piece of paper. “It’s my phone number. Just in case you see our ‘acquaintances’ lurking around; give me a call and I’ll help.” “Thanks…” She took the paper and then looked at him worried. “Do you really think I’ll need it?” “Like I said, take it just in case you find yourself in trouble…or if you are looking to get into trouble.” “I’ll keep that in mind.” She chuckle thanks to his little quip prior to turning to a more composed manner. “Discord…” “Ah! Dizzy!” He reminded her waiving a finger. “Dizzy…” she rolled her eyes at his insistence for that silly nickname. “I just wanted to say… thank you.” “Like I said before, there’s no need to thank me.” He answered putting aside the jokes and quips. “Yes I do. I also wish to apologize.” “For what?” “For… misjudging you.” That was one way of putting it. “When I saw you arrive I thought you were some kind of monster…” more like a diabolical magical tyrant bend on sinking the world into chaos. “Now I see that you aren’t much of a bad guy.” Not precisely a Good Guy in her book yet, the jury was still out on that. “Thanks Sunny!” He gave her a nice smile before lowering his voice a bit. “Just don’t tell anyone. I got a reputation to maintain.” Now this caused her to laugh. “Sure, I’ll do just that.” She said with a nod. “I guess I’ll see you around.” “See ya tomorrow at school Sunny.” Having said their goodbyes, the cab started moving and rode on into the distance, leaving Discord behind. “Now that was…something.” Discord said as he started walking away in the opposite direction, intent on going home. It was sort of strange having people genuinely say thanks in appreciation. It fell kinda…nice. Yeah, it felt nice being the ‘good guy’ or at least the ‘not-so-bad guy’ for once. “My reputation is going to suffer for this.” If word got out that he was acting all buddy-buddy with Canterlot High kids, people would start thinking he was going soft. “Then they wouldn’t keep taking me seriously.” Well, more like a serious contender to all those delinquents out there trying to make a name for themselves and take control of what once was Everfree territory. “Better keep an eye out.” Then again, he wouldn’t mind keeping the other eye on Sunset, even if it meant his rep taking a few hits. “The price of being a gallant, I guess.” Discord wasn’t trying to be cute when he offered his phone number in case she wanted to get into trouble. He could tell that Sunny wouldn’t follow his advice to stay put and not get involved. She was the sort of girl that didn’t hang around waiting for others to do something she could do herself. “And here I thought she was just another frail pretty face.” Then again, she did dare stalk him around without knowing anything about him besides him being a dangerous person. Not to mention she also was ready to walk up to the lion’s den that was the conflict of the gangs. Even after he tried to dissuade her, he could still see determination in her eyes. “Who would’ve thought that a nice girl like her had so much fire inside?” And as soon as those words escape his mouth, Discord stopped still, his eyes blinking several times perplexed, unable to process his very own words. Snapping out of his momentarily bewilderment, Discord turned his head towards the direction the cab had gone off. “No way…!” It couldn’t possibly be true. “There’s no way she’s…!” [x-x-x]