Dawn ran out the airport doors and hugged Xander with all the restraint of a stick of dynamite. Her luggage swung around and slugged him in the back as he struggled to keep the both of them upright, “Xander! You have no idea how much I've missed you!”
Xander returned the hug, “Hey kiddo. It's good to see you again.”
Vi silently took the bags and put them in the trunk.
Dawn stepped back and smirked, “I'm not a kid anymore. I'm 19 now, and I graduated with top grades last year.”
Xander made his way back to the limo, “So I'd heard. But you're not allowed to do that. See I'm not dead yet. And you're Buffy’s baby sister. You're not supposed to grow up until I'm old and wrinkley.”
Dawn climbed into the seat next to him, “Doesn't matter. It happened anyway. I could drive this car. I can go to bars and pick up boys.”
Xander suppressed the mental image, “Have you already forgotten what country you're in? This is the land of the free, as long as you're 21 or up. And I don't think your license is valid here either, so you can't brave the highway either.”
Dawn frowned as the realization hit, “Shit.”
Xander paused for a moment to let her stew in her non-adulthood, “If the land isn’t free and you're not allowed to be brave, What does that leave for you here?”
She laughed and hugged him again as the limo picked up speed, “Home.”
A minute or more later, Xander ruined the moment, “So now that you're back, how would you like to go back to high school again?”
He got a punch to the shoulder as his answer. He trained with Slayers every day and Dawn still somehow managed to make it hurt.
By the time they got back to headquarters he had finished briefing her on the situation.
Dawn recapped, “So you want me to act eighteen again and join this school as a student so that I can spy on some other students who may or may not be horrifying winged monsters?”
He nodded as he lifted her bags out of the trunk, “More or less. They're not so much horrifying as kind of grotesquely adorable, and you're more of an infiltrator than an actual spy, but yeah. That's the gist of it. Getting you in won't be a problem. As far as I can tell their student records consist of a face and a first name. They don't even track classes. You could probably just walk in tomorrow, but official channels are probably less suspicious.”
They got indoors and Dawn took her bags back from Xander, “Who am I spying on?”
He answered, “Six students. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, and Pinkie Pie.”
Dawn frowned as the list of names continued, “Are we sure there isn't just something in the water?”
“Pretty sure, unless something is making hallucinations show up on camera, which is worth investigating in its own right. Oh, one more thing. Keep an eye out for talking dogs.”
Dawn gave him a raised eyebrow.
“I didn't see it myself, but there was no-one else at the table with them. Might be an invisible boy, but I'm hoping it's the dog.”
Dawn challenged, “Care to make a bet on that?”
“You know it. Two hundred?”
Dawn considered for a moment, “Please. Better make it three.”
They arrived at Xander’s office just after Dawn realized she had been following him instead of going to her room to unpack. Xander walked over to his desk, “You drive a hard bargain kiddo but you got yourself a deal. Do you want to look at the files while you're here?”
She sighed and dropped her luggage in a corner, “Sure, might as well.”
Xander handed her the short stack of papers and she quickly flipped to the picture that had started the whole thing.
“You forgot to mention the horse ears, and tails. Is that the dog you think can talk?”
Xander nodded, “We don't know how or when they transform yet. There's only the one picture that proves they even can. They didn't seem dangerous when I was there, but that's why we're sending you in, to be sure. And hey, if they do turn out dangerous, decapitation usually works.”
Dawn flipped over to the next page, “I assume I can't bring in any weapons. Shit, those are their actual names? Who names a kid Rainbow?”
“I don't know Dawn, who names their kid Buffy? It's not like we’re in a place to teach anyone about normal names.”
She flipped through the pages repeatedly, as if looking for more, “Hey, at least my weird name isn't my fault, ‘Alexander'. Are there really no last names on these three?”
Xander flinched at the use of his birth name, “Apple Jack might be two names. The records are a little inconsistent on that bit. The records are inconsistent on a lot when they’re even there to begin with. The filing cabinet I raided those from would probably give Giles a heart attack if he saw it.”
Dawn nodded, “Well it should be enough to work with anyway. When can I start?”
The Watcher grinned, “Anytime this week. Why don't you go get unpacked and then we can meet up with Faith in the courtyard. We're teaching the Slayers stealth techniques today.”
Dawn smiled and picked up her bags, “Sure thing. See ya then.”
Once she got to her guest room, Dawn tossed her bags at an armchair. One bounced off the armrest and landed upside down. The other overshot completely. Dawn flopped face first onto the bed.
She sat up a few seconds later and looked through the papers in her hand again, now crumpled. The photograph caught her eye again and she examined the non-demonic traits of her future classmates. They seemed happy, friendly. Besides the obvious there was nothing demonic about them. Except maybe their sense of fashion. God did those colors clash.
She practiced with a forced smile, “Hello. I'm new here. You can call me Dawn. Rarity? What an interesting name! Is there a story behind it? You don't say! By the way I love your hair we have to hang out sometime.”
She stopped and shook her head, “No, too heavy handed.”
The young woman rolled off her bed and dropped the file on the bedside counter, making her way over to the armchair and recollecting her fallen things. She unzipped her main bag and got the crossbow out of the way so that she could get to her clothes.
When she got out to the courtyard Xander and Faith were already there. She looked around for any Slayers-in-training, and couldn't find any. She asked, “Hey guys. Where’re the Slayerettes? I thought you had a lesson around now.”
Faith smiled, “Hey little B. Yeah, We were just teaching some new recruits how to blend in to their environment.” The teacher Slayer turned towards the empty courtyard, “Keep up the good work girls!”
Dawn smirked with a glare, “Did you really think I'd fall for that?”
Faith snapped her fingers in disappointment, “Damn. Looks like you were right Xan.”
Xander held out a hand and Faith shelled out a fifty. He turned to Dawn, “I told her you were too smart for that. Kennedy is handling lessons today in the arena.”
Dawn smiled, “Cool. Then what are we doing?”
Faith shifted and rolled a shoulder as if her wallet being one bill lighter caused actual discomfort, “Xander dragged me and Vi into marathoning Blade a few weeks back. He knows vampires in leather is more B’s speed than mine. Wha’d’ya say we repay him by taking him to Phantom? Two straight hours with Gerald Butler and the music of the night.”
“Sounds fun.”
Xander muttered just loud enough to be heard, “I just can't get into musicals anymore.”
Back at Canterlot High, school let out for the day. Seven friends walked out side by side.
Sunset turned to Twilight Sparkle, “Are we still on for studying tonight?”
The girl in glasses grinned, “You know it.” She turned to Applejack and Rarity, “Are you two sure you don't want to join us? You know what they say, the more the merrier!”
Applejack and Rarity shared a glance and Applejack responded first, “Sorry Twilight. I already made plans with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. We're goin’ to the openin’ fer a brand new bowlin’ place downtown.”
Rarity declined as well, “If only you'd told me sooner, darling. Pinkie and I were going to the mall this evening for a haircut. Would you like to come with us instead? I think you've likely studied enough by now.”
Twilight frowned, “No, that's alright. I need to brush up on my Einstein-Rosen theory anyway. Maybe I can figure out how magic interferes with Higgs interaction while I'm at it. I'll see you tomorrow.”