“Fascinating.” Alphys scribbled onto her notepad and flipped to a new page. “But you’re still unsure how your magic is channeled?”
“I’ve barely even grasped the catalysts for it here,” Sunset sighed. “Back home, the theories are much more sound and the biology adds up.”
Alphys clasped her chin. “Hmmm, it’d be easier if your magic were purely based in acoustics. A few monsters have magic like that. The recent displays have more in common with the old human variants though.”
Twilight tapped a pen to her lips. Her eyes widened and she leveled the pen at Alphys. “Could it possibly be a derivative of Determination?”
“That’s…” Alphys twisted to the left and swiped a bunch of papers from the teetering stack at her side. Her eyes raced over the lines. Her pupils shrank. “Ohmigosh! I’ll need to actually write out the formulas and proof them, but that could work!”
Alphys then glanced down. “We’d need a constant to test it against though and I’m not sure where we’d get the Determination from.”
A skull pressed up nears Alphys’ ear. “forgetting someone?”
Alphys rocketed out of her chair and cartwheeled into a nearby bookshelf. A few book wobbled out of their shelves and slammed into the ground. One flew open and flopped onto Papyrus’s head. He threw down the coloring book in his hands and stood up, stomping at the ground.
“DARN IT, SANS!” he yelled. “THE LIBRARY IS NO PLACE FOR SPATIAL JOKES!”
“Also not a place for your volume,” Undyne chuckled. “Now I know why they gave you looks in Snowdin.”
Setting her comic book down, Undyne leapt off the shelf she was perched on and strode over to Alphys. She extended out a hand which Alphys grasped with a smile. Undyne then glanced at Sans.
“Don’t think I’m not ticked at you too, lazy bones,” she said. “Popping in like you own the place.”
Sans’ fingers clacked against his phone. Undyne flared her nostrils.
“Hey!” she shouted. “Pay attention when I’m talking!”
“sorry, just thought i’d help out a bit.” Sans flopped into Alphy’s seat and leaned back. He glanced over at Sunset and Twilight. “hope you don’t mind. i asked a friend to swing by later.”
“Why don’t we take a break for lunch then?” Sunset suggested. She reached below her chair and pulled out a small paper bag and a larger more ornate one with streams of colorful ribbons flowing out of the top. “We can finally try whatever Pinkie dropped off.”
“I can do without that pink whirlwind’s sugary masses,” Undyne said. “I’ve had too much human food as it is lately. The royal guard must maintain a strict diet!”
“YES!” Papyrus proclaimed. “SPAGHETTI FOREVER!”
Sunset shrugged and opened up Pinkie’s gift bag. She tossed out a few bunches of the ribbons, which Papyrus watched closely. Buried under the decoration was a letter and an array of cupcakes with mountains of frosting atop them. A thin grin came to her lips while she read the letter. Undyne squinted her eye at Sunset.
“I guess we’ll just have to try her new ‘monster-approved’ cupcakes then,” Sunset teased.
“So this is how the Royal Guard was truly defeated,” Undyne sighed. A big smile then spread across her face. “Oh well, now it shall be a quest to keep my body in shape!”
~~~
“Hmmm.” Rarity stroked her chin. She raised up the string of sequins in her right hand. Then, she lowered them and brought up the pile of small gems in her left hand. “Fluttershy, dear, I simply can’t decide. You have a bit more experience with scales, which do you think looks better on them?”
“T-they’re both nice,” Fluttershy squeaked. She drew arms a little tighter across her stomach.
Rarity frowned. “Dear, no one is forcing you to stay here. Four of us is more than enough to keep tabs on things.”
“No no!” Fluttershy threw her hands in front of her faces. “That’s fine, Rarity! I ju—”
The door jingled and Fluttershy seized up. She threw herself to the side and crouched behind a rack of costumes. Rarity shook her head and then turned toward the door. She planted a smile on face.
The painted on grin and cross-shaped eyes of a mask looked at Rarity from across the room. The monster’s cloak flowed over its feet while it made its way over to Rarity’s desk.
“Greetings…” Rarity looked the creature up and down. “Sir?”
“Hello,” said the monster. “I heard you take gold.”
“Indeed!” Rarity’s smile widened. “Now what can I do for you today?”
The monster lifted up its right side. The cloak still engulfed its body, but now the cloak’s frayed edges glistened under the light. “I could use some new clothes. The t-shirts aren’t really my thing. Do you do masks as well?”
“But of course!” Rarity pulled open a drawer and slid a sheet and a pen onto the desk. “If I could just get your measurements.”
The monster bowed, its horns skimming past Rarity’s nose. It clasped the pen through its cloak and scribbled into boxes that divided up the sheet. After a moment, it slid the sheet back over to Rarity.
“How much will this all be?” it asked.
“Oh, how about five gold for the cloak and two for each mask?”
The monster tilted its head to the side. “Huh, the others really weren’t kidding about how easy clothing is to get here.”
“Now it may take a bit to get done though.” Rarity glanced at the stack of sheets to her right. “I’ve had quite the influx of business lately. I can give you an estimate of around Saturday. Does that work?”
“No problem.” The monster placed nine thick, scratched up coins on the table. “You’re sure this is enough?”
“Quite,” Rarity said while trying to keep her eyes up on the monster.
“Then thanks.” The monster turned around and shuffled out of the room.
When the door closed, Rarity’s smile widened to a giddy grin and she scooped the gold into the a drawer already heavy with coins.
“I’ll be able to finance graduate school too at this rate,” she giggled.
She left her seat and went over to the nearby rack. Fluttershy looked up at her with a deep blush on her face. Rarity extended out a hand but Fluttershy turned her head away and whimpered.
“It’s okay, Fluttershy.” Rarity crouched down and gently placed a hand on Fluttershy’s back.. “Just another happy customer.”
“But the horns, Rarity,” Fluttershy muttered. “A-and what was under its cloak?”
“Nothing I need concern myself with as long as I know its measurements.”
Fluttershy tucked her head and stared at the ground. Rarity gave her a pat on the back.
“If you’re more comfortable back here, that’s fine. And if you just want to go home, I’d be happy to take you.”
“It’s fine.” Fluttershy hugged her knees. “I’m with friends and I’m safe.”
Rarity frowned and gave Fluttershy another pat. “Of course, dear.”
Rarity pulled back and sat back down at her desk. She lifted up the sequins and the gems again and watched them glisten. Biting her lower lip, her vision narrowed down to the small space in front of her.
Fluttershy sniffled. With a deep breath, she placed her knees beneath her and closed her eyes. With each inhale, the monster’s mask and its ethereal cloak faded and were replaced by the vision of a clam stream. The chirps of a golden warbler sounded from some nearby trees. The sun shimmered off the water and produced a pale blue glow.
Fluttershy’s eyes flared open.
The glow slipped between the racks of costumes and props. It grew stronger amongst a thick stack of boxes that walled off a corner of the room. Ice flooded Fluttershy’s veins.
She twisted her head toward Rarity. A few sheets from the towering stack on Rarity’s right were now in front of her. A pen tapped against her tight lips.
Fluttershy sucked in the air through her nose and balled up her fingers. When she exhaled, her eyes glistened.
One of her hands traveled out toward the glow and trembled to ground. She lifted up the opposite knee and crawled a little closer. She inched toward the glow until she was right beside the boxes.
She peaked past the boxes. Her breath caught in her throat.
A translucent blob floated near the corner. Upright, it might have stood as tall as Fluttershy. A pair of pupiless eyes attached to it gazed upwards. A thick set of headphones clamped against the sides of what appeared to be its head. Their wire curved around the monster’s body and disappeared behind it.
Fluttershy’s ears perked up. The headphones were vibrating a bit. A faint electronic beat could be heard every few seconds.
I should get Rarity. Fluttershy spun and bumped into box.
The stack shuddered. Pieces of plastic and wooden props clattered and bounced across the floor. Fluttershy’s hair stood on end. She dared not breathe.
A whispy moan chilled her to the bone. “I should have know this spot was taken.”
The glow coming of the monster shifted a little.
“Sorry for the trouble. I’ll go feel awful elsewhere.”
“W-wait!”
Fluttershy shot up from behind the boxes. With her head peering over the stack, she could see that the monster was floating upright. The headphones had vanished, eliminating any discrepancy between the monster and a very convincing bedsheet ghost costume. It was slightly hunched so that its eyes faced the ground. Fluttershy could also now make out a small gap below its eyes that resembled a dreary frown.
“S-sorry if I d-disturbed y-you,” Fluttershy stuttered. Her heart pounded in her chest. “Y-you d-don’t need to l-leave or feel b-bad.”
“I like feeling bad,” the ghost sighed. “All these old costumes reminded me of the dump… but cleaner. I thought it was a good place to feel like trash.”
“W-why would you do that?” Fluttershy asked. “I t-thought monsters were happy to be on the surface.”
“We are, but sometimes I just need to lie down and feel like garbage.”
“Oh…” Fluttershy glanced down. “Have you ever tried lying down and feeling happy?”
The ghost corked to the side. “Why would I do that?”
“W-well.” Fluttershy gulped. “I… I’ve been very scared lately, b-but I feel better if I lie down and think of happy things.”
“That sounds nice,” the ghost moaned. “Oh… but this is still your space. I’ll go now.”
“You don’t ha—”
Fluttershy was left with only dust motes floating in front of her. She stared at the empty space for a second, but then smiled.
I guess monsters are nervous about meeting people too.
~~~
“Ha!”
Dash’s foot collided with the soccer ball. It blasted off the ground, flew across the courtyard, and ricocheted off the oak tree that marked the divide between the front of the school and the sports field. The ball rolled away from the trunk with a few tiny splinters clinging to it.
An orange and purple blur darted through the falling leaves and scooped up the ball. Scootaloo raced back to Rainbow Dash and presented it to her with a grin.
“Here you go, Rainbow Dash!” she huffed. “You’ve gotta be up to a hundred kicks now!”
“Eighty-four, squirt.” Dash hefted the ball out of Scootaloo’s hands and bounced it on her knee. “Think I’ll switch to doing some upper body stuff to end my shift out here.”
Scootaloo’s eyes widened. “Oh! Can I train too?”
“Course you can. Can’t be too careful with how things are going.” Dash let the ball fall to the ground and placed her foot on top of it. “You wanna get a few kicks in?”
Scootaloo paled. “I think I’m good. Don’t want a repeat of that time with the mascot.”
“Fair.” Dash shrugged and kicked the ball again. Scootaloo raced out to retrieve it, but a blue hand clamped onto her shoulder. “I can get this one. Why don’t you take a seat and grab something to drink. You’re looking a little red.”
Scootaloo wiped some sweat from her brow and nodded. Dash grinned at her and then sped off towards the ball. Scootaloo turned to the bench. She then froze.
Right beside her and Dash’s bags sat a monster with a bulbous, scaly head. Its legs kicked back and forth in the air. Three teeth glistened in the center of its gaping grin, giving it a doofy but ecstatic look. Scootaloo scrunched up her face at the way the monster’s t-shirt flapped in the wind where is should have brushed against arms.
Scootaloo couldn’t quite pronounce the name printed onto the white shirt, but the rest of the text was readable.
I wanna meet heroes!, it read.
“Uh, Dash?” Scootaloo called out.
“Yeah, squirt?” Dash shoved the ball between her arm and her side and turned around. “Wh—”
The ball dropped and rolled across the grass. Dash flung herself between Scootaloo and bench. She widened her stance and glared at the monster. Its grin widened.
“This area’s off limits,” Dash said. “No monsters allowed.”
“I know!” the monster beemed. “Everyone says there’s a really strong human defending this place!”
Dash’s muscles slackened.
“You’re the one right?” The monster jumped off the bench. It teetered on its legs and crashed to the ground. Scootaloo winced watching it scrape itself off the ground. The scales disguised the scrapes and bruises, but Scootaloo now realized the monster’s blackened eyes probably weren’t natural.
Dash stooped low and got near the monster’s eye level. It squinted past its swollen eyes and smiled at her with the same doofy grin. Dash’s lips curved down.
“You should go get your face checked out, kid,” she said. One of her eyebrows raised up. “You are a kid, right?”
“Well, that’s what everyone calls me.” It glanced down at its shirt. “My name’s kinda hard to pronounce.”
“Okay, then go back to your parents or whoever and get some ice or something.” Dash furrowed her brow. “Like now.”
“Oh, got it.” The monster kid’s grin widened. “It was super cool to meet you though, Ms. Human Defender!”
“Name’s Rainbow Dash, kid.” Dash stood back up and pressed her hands against her hips. “Now scram.”
“Right!” The monster kid turned and scampered away. A few yards away, it fell again, but picked itself up.
Dash shook her head it at it while it got further and further away. “Sheesh, they can’t even watch over their kids.”
Scootaloo glanced at the ground. “I mean, it just wanted to see how awesome you are.”
Dash clasped her chin. “Well, you got me there. Plus it’s gotta be worth some cred for an actual monster to be a fan of yours.”
Dash’s eyes sharpened. “Don’t go getting the wrong idea though, squirt. Monsters could still be dangerous.”
~~~
The monster kid skipped down the street. Despite how much it stung, they couldn’t help but smile. They’d met a hero. A real one. This one was a brave and courageous defender of the human’s gathering spot. She had fans too. From what the kid had heard, she’d even stood up to Undyne.
The kid’s head was filled with visions of Dash and Undyne squaring off while they hopped down the street. Even when a towering figure appeared before them, they were so lost in their thoughts that they just kept springing forward.
Their whole body rattled when they slammed into the figure. They slowly slipped down its side, they scratched scales brushing against a smooth and flowing fabric.
“My goodness!” a voice cried out.
Something reached around the kid and held them up. They bristled when a warmth flowed over them and stung their face. The collision had blurred their vision but they could feel the heat radiating out from something right in front of their face.
“My child, hold them steady just a moment longer,” said the voice. “Poor thing, I wish I could do more, but we mustn’t be late!”
“Hmmm?” the voice asked even though the kid had said nothing. “Oh, yes, I know Sans wouldn’t mind, but the others will. And what would the humans think?”
“Uh, I don’t really know, ma’am.” The kid's vision cleared and their face no longer stung as badly. Yet now their sight was dominated by a large furry hand as white as snow.
The hand pulled back to reveal a monster with a large smile that stretched to each of her floppy ears.
“Oh young one, I was not talking to you,” she chucked and looked down to her left. “My child was merely reassuring me that our meeting is not in jeopardy.”
A small hand tugged at the monster’s flowing dress. The monster then blushed deeply. “My child, do not look at me that way. You know today’s meeting is not like that.”
The monster kid looked away to their right. Their eyes widened as did their smile.
“Yo, dude! It feels like it’s been forever!”