//------------------------------// // August 6: Consequences of Falling // Story: A Time of Reckoning: Seven Days in Sunny June, Book IV // by Shinzakura //------------------------------// The wind buffeted the city of Canterlot and its suburbs as the unthinkable happened: a hurricane had made it onto land this far in with all its strength intact. Rain slammed into everywhere it could like bullets, breaking windows and scoring stone, concrete and metal. Winds howled with force that turned anything loose into missile hazards, pushing flower stems to the speed of missiles and embedding them in poles, throwing cars all over the place and the like. Five cities lay in its path and though the major one, Canterlot itself, would be mostly spared, the poorer suburbs to the south and east would be hit hard. Though the hurricane itself seemed normal despite its freakish strength and its sustaining ability so far from open water, there would be few that could discern its true intent. Seated in the storage basement of the building both their businesses and home were in, Harmonic looked at her husband. “I hope the girls are okay,” she said, her voice a lilt barely above the whistling winds outside. “I’m sure they’ll be fine,” Cashflow told his wife. “Besides, aren’t they staying in the part of town that’s not in the path? Trixie will be fine, don’t worry. So will Lyra and Bon-Bon.” He loved his only child, and was fond of Trixie’s lifelong best friend, but his wife thought of Lyra as one of their own as well; probably because Lyra wasn’t as close to her own family as his daughter was to them, he reasoned. And now with Lyra having a girlfriend, Bon-Bon now occupied a quasi-filial position in Harmonic’s heart. “Ah hope yer right,” Harmonic said, slipping into her native accent as she did when she was nervous. Oftentimes he had to remind himself that “Harmonic Convergence” was just an act and that at the end of the day, he was really married to Dixie Flower. “They will be,” he said, putting his arms around her. “Our girls will be.” The skies were so dark that the SIRENs on duty required night-vision goggles to perform their watchstanding. Not that it mattered much; the storm was so strong that any of them were bunkered down with orders to stand at position in the event that it cleared. As that was unlikely, the groups changed in fifteen minute shifts in order to prevent gear degradation and getting soaked to the bone. It was during this shift that three dark figures slipped into the rain. With giddy, jubilant motions that somehow seemed to indicate their enjoyment of the weather, the first one leapt the fence easily and without an issue. Landing on the other side of the large brick barrier, she laughed. “This is awesome!” Contralto laughed. She was currently in her altered form, feeling the blood-and-magic mixture pumping through her veins, feeling each splatter of a raindrop against her scaly skin as a baby’s caress. “Yeah, this certainly is,” Canzione said as she then leapt the wall as well. Given that she was the strongest of the trio, she cleared the wall by nearly a third more than Contralto did, vaulting over it as if it were nothing but a bump on the ground. “So, we waiting for stupid?” the Black Team strongwoman asked the moment she landed. “Aren’t we always?” Contralto grunted. “She’s probably practicing masturbating techniques a—” A split-second later, Medley landed, joining them. She had a sad, dejected look on her face like a child with its hand caught in the cookie jar. “Sorry I’m late,” she said softly. “Had to clean up.” “What do you mean, clean u—” Canzione cut her thought off. “Nevermind, I don’t want to know.” Contralto, however, sniffed the air. “Wait, do you smell blood, Canzy?” “Now that you mention it, I do. The smell’s coming from….” Both SIRENs looked at Medley. “What did you do, Med?” “I didn’t mean to!” Medley stated. “Med, don’t make me order it out of you,” Contralto warned. “Fine. I was playing with Rie, and I got a little excited, and….” A tragic look came over her face, as if Medley had destroyed her favorite toy by accident. Which, Contralto wondered, might have been the truth. “Where’d you put the body, Med?” Contralto asked. “But I didn’t mean—” “It’s fine. I’ll clear it with the Captain – you might get your ass chewed out for it, but we’re too valuable for her to do anything serious to.” “Level 3, Room G321.” Medley fished a key out of her pocket. “Nobody goes on that floor, so there shouldn’t be any issues.” “Fine.” The team leader groaned; she did not need this kind of mess right now. “Canzy, you take Med and execute the mission. It’s just two lesbos wanting to bump uglies, so no harm there. I’ll clean up Med’s mess and talk to the Captain.” “Roger that, boss.” She looked at Medley with disgust. “C’mon, stupid. We’re going to be late.” With that, the two ran off, into the dreary distance. Hopping the wall once more, she made a beeline towards the main building, but as she got closer, she noticed one of the guards on duty. Well, well, well…Harmonica Slice. A petty officer second class like herself, Contralto never knew why Harmonica was in the SIRENs – she was too sweet, too kind, and too gentle to be in such a force. She should have been cashiered out, given a new identity and let free to lead her own life. Contralto had no use for those kinds of soldiers and the only reason Harmonica likely remained with the SIRENs was because she was extremely athletic and a spot-on medic when the need arose for it. Well, now she has a different use, Contralto mused as she dashed forward. Too bad she won’t be able to dispute it. In a dirty, broken warehouse, ALICORN met for their newest mission. Standing with them was Changeling, the mysterious Canadian intelligence officer who had been feeding them information. Smoking one of his stogies (especially as it tended to disgust Changeling), Blackthorn said, “Okay boys, here’s the threefold plan: Tomorrow night, we hit the SIREN base hard and fast. No survivors. Be clean about it – we don’t want to waste ammo – but if they’re still breathing after the two-step, then pop another two right into the heart. Body won’t survive the brain and the heart Swiss-cheesed.” “You sure, boss? You’ve been surviving just fine,” one of the other team members joked, and they all had a good laugh for a second about it. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, you were almost funny there, Gunbolt. Anyway, once that’s done, rig explosives and the gas cans. I want this to look like arson, like some little shit delinquent thought it’d be a good idea to burn a couple of acres of the Everfree and hope nobody catches his ass. If we play this right, we’ll have every law enforcement agency in the area looking for a firebug and not us.” Changeling looked at Blackthorn with an even glance. “You do know that they’ll find bodies, right? You’re taking out the bulk of the team, but they do have reserve units that we don’t know about. What are you going to do once they come hunting?” Blackthorn took another draw of his Cohiba and then blew a smoke ring. “Ah, Agent Changeling, ye of little faith. We did our homework. We’ll be carrying phosphorous rounds – Russian 7H51s. The Russian MVD still holds a grudge against those guntits for what happened back in Karachi two years ago and thanks to one of our boys there—” A big man of Slavic descent waved his hand, “—we got some of the Russkies’ toys in exchange for leaving the SIRENs a message. Our contact at the Company doesn’t give a fuck, so you shouldn’t either.” Changeling rolled his eyes. “So long as the job gets done, I’m willing to overlook the unorthodox methods.” Ignoring that, Blackthorn went back to his men. “Anyway, after that comes Phase II. He’ll be waiting for us, so need to move in quick and hard. I want both Loam and his fucktoy captured, not killed.” He then turned back to Changeling. “You still got us that flight clearance?” “Yes, but I wasn’t expecting you to kidnap two Americans. I’ll have to clear that with my superiors, and they’ll have to contact the CIA.” “Yeah, whatever. We can give the proper people a gift basket later,” he grunted. “Anyway, after that, boys, then we head off to Belize for some relaxation. We get to see if Sable Loam can land safely after we throw him out of the plane at 40,000 feet – betting pool opens now. Lastly, I’ll have me a nice cutie to take back to my place. Who knows? If the flight takes too long, I just might share.” Changeling narrowed his eyes at that. He was a professional, and though he did distasteful things, he did it for Queen and Country, not for pleasure. This barbarian sellsword was an amoral bastard who didn’t seem to have a single kind molecule in his body. They were supposedly highly effective, but he took no pleasure working with the bastardly Blackthorn, neither him nor any of his mongrels. For a moment, Changeling almost hoped the SIRENs would win their fight against him. Almost. In the living room of a house in San Palomino, a bunch of games were going on. One group was playing Monopoly, while a second group played Uno, a card game that Pinkie always seemed to have on her. A third group were watching movies on the TV, leaving Sunset, Minuette and Rainbow to lounge in the chairs, sofa and loveseats, reading books. Upstairs, a girl with long plum hair and with shocks of purple and magenta in it moved quietly towards a door. Her hair tied in a ponytail and gauze around her neck, she paused just before the door as if to knock, moving the hand down to rap softly against the fiberglass surface, but stopping before flesh connected with simulated wood. She backed off, then walked away, headed towards the stairs and back towards the others. Minuette looked up from her book. “Sunny, that’s the third time she’s done that today. Aren’t you going to do something about that?” Sunset slipped her bookmark in its place, then looked at her friend. “What should I do, Minnie? I just saw my cousin choking my sister and shouting at her as if she hated her. And instead of explaining anything, she just ran upstairs and locked herself in her bedroom for the past seven hours. My parents aren’t even sure what the hell to do, though I think they’re trying to call Paris right now.” “Sorry. I’m an only child, so I guess I really don’t know how to react,” Minuette replied. “I know, and I appreciate the words, Min. But until she comes out, what can we do?” “Personally, I’d bust down her door and drag her ass out here to explain,” Rainbow said, shutting her book. “It’s bullshit.” “Rainbow, dear, that’s the wrong action to take, and you know it,” Rarity said, looking up from her game of Monopoly against Trixie and Applejack. “Octavia is probably afraid that something’s wrong.” “No shit, Rares – ya think?” “Look, I’m no psychologist,” Lyra said as she laid down a Draw Four, “but something had to happen. If you want, I can go up there and check her chakra out. Maybe she just needs someone t—” “God, you sound just like my mother,” Trixie groaned. “Are you sure we weren’t switched at birth?” “I’m just trying to help, Trixie!” Lyra shot back. Trixie wilted under her best friend’s glare. “I know,” she said in a soft whisper. “I’m sorry.” Lyra reached over where she was to give her friend a hug. “It’s okay. We’re all just a little on edge now, especially since we’re stuck here for the next two days.” “Still, we should do something,” Pinkie said. “Maybe we can bake her a cake?” “A cake that says ‘Congratulations on Not Killing Your Cousin’?” Applejack replied. “Not a smart move, sugarcube. Not smart at all.” “We have to do something, though, girls,” Fluttershy insisted. She was about to say more, when Twilight reached the bottom of the stairs. Everyone was quiet as the scholarly teen walked over to the empty spot on the couch, curled up into a ball and put her head on her sister’s lap. “It’s okay, Twily,” Sunset said softly as she stroked her sister’s hair. “You’re safe.” “She didn’t mean it, she really didn’t….” Twilight said to no one in particular, her eyes filling with tears. She winced slightly as a sting went through her neck where she’d been scratched by Octavia’s nails during the whole incident. “She didn’t mean it.” “I know she didn’t,” Sunset said, reaching down to hug her sister as best she could. “I know.” “Twily…” Bon-Bon began. “Don’t, Bonnie. Please don’t. It wasn’t her fault, I know it. Something…happened. I don’t know what it was,” Twilight said as the tears fell. “But I love her. She’s just as much a sister to me as Sunny is. And family’s always been important to me.” Bon-Bon didn’t know how to respond to that, so she said nothing and went back to the movie she and Fluttershy was watching. In a bedroom on the opposite side of the house, a door was closed and the lights were off. Against that door was a chair. And the dresser. And the nightstand. The bed would have been as well, but it was too big to move, even in her panicked state. The sheets were ripped off the bed, though. And under the bed was the proverbial monster, covered in sheets, sleeping fitfully on the ground. The wind howled outside and the rain slapped against the glass of the window repeatedly, enough to make it difficult for anyone to doze easily. But the girl didn’t rest easy. Even if it had been a perfect day out, she couldn’t rest easy. She’d nearly committed an act that was pure insanity, and she had no idea why. And she knew she was hated – damned – for it. Her life had begun to unravel and spiral out of control and now it had reached the point where there was no going back unless she grabbed onto the last bit of reason. She was going insane, she knew it. And the people she loved most – her family – would suffer for it. But these were thoughts she would have had if she’d been awake. Instead, she moved through a daytime nightmare, a torturous and twisting dream, one that wouldn’t let her out until it had wrenched free the last of her sanity. But Octavia Melody didn’t know that. All she did was dream. The elegant strains of Hip Harp’s 1965 jazz classic “Elegance of Sapphire” played through the Brentwood Museum. Dressed in a black gown with long gloves, Octavia walked through the galleries, admiring the works of art. There were others there, but they seemed vague and indistinct and as she approached them, they seemed to vanish into the ether. She stopped in front of a painting entitled “The Goddess of Purity”, though she didn’t know the author’s name. In it was a beautiful girl her age, dressed in the purest white robes imaginable. She carried a huge amethyst cut like an irregular star, and it seemed to bring out the light in the girl’s own violet eyes. The girl had long, flowing hair the color of ripe plums, while two single locks of purple and magenta graced the left bangs of her hair. She had a smile that was pure and innocent, so much so that it made Octavia feel like a part of herself was missing, though she knew not why. Moving on, she glanced at other works of art, nothing catching her attention until she came across a huge work of marble. Entitled “The Confusion of Transformation”, it was made of three pieces of marble. The first part was a horse running forward – or rather, half a horse, the latter end. Finely detailed in its sculpting, the yellow Sienna marble would have seemed real had it not been for the strange brand on the horse’s flank: a yin-yang sunburst. In any case, the yellow horse raced through the second part of the installation, an archway that seemed to be carved of the most delicate blue-gray Carrara marble available. The craftsmanship on the portal was so precise, Octavia could almost see it as a gateway to another world. Lastly, the final part came forth, a delicate rose Ruschita marble, depicting a young girl, no more than twelve, stepping from the mirror. She was nude, and the look on her carved face was one of confusion and anger. The striking contrast between the beauty of the whole sculpture and the frozen rage on the face of the horse-turned-girl cut Octavia to the core, making her turn from the statue once she’d taken a final look at the whole artwork. From there, she moved over to a painting called “The Abandonment”. In it, the sky changed from a sunny, perfect day to a stormy, brutal one. On the perfect half, a couple strolled, breezy and happily, as if they had nothing to care for in the world. The picture, however, revealed it to be a lie, as a crying girl no older than ten tried to reach out to them as unnatural, evil hands threatened to drag her off the nearby cliff. This one resonated deeply within Octavia, though she wasn’t really sure why. She felt that she wanted to wrench the girl from the unnatural grasp and hand her off to the security of the clueless parents – though maybe, given their actions, that might not have been the best course, either. Regardless, touching artworks such as this was prohibited, so she gave it no further thought and moved on. She moved on from the artworks, crossing a bridge leading from one part of the museum to another, the open-air skyway too bright to look at in the Los Angeles sunshine. It was odd, she knew; she had been born in Los Angeles, but had lived nearly all her life in Canterlot, her parents deciding to move back to the place where her father was born so that the young couple could have support. This was the city of her birth, and it felt as empty and soulless as people often described Hollywood to be. Perhaps that was the truth of the City of Angels: the angels were looking away, and all that was left was silence. Moving into the next room, she noticed it was bare, save for a singular mural that took up one of the long walls. Across from the artwork, however, were a few dozen chairs, and a screen that displayed video thrown from a ceiling-mounted projector. The video was blurry, surrealist; this felt like it belonged more at the Los Angeles Museum of Modern Art downtown than a place that specialized in the classics, such as the Brentwood. Ignoring the video, she decided to turn her attention to the mural across room. It was an artist that truly spoke to her, though she could not recall the name. It was a compilation of the three earlier works she had seen, tied together by the hand of a new painter. The Goddess of Purity moved hand in hand with the girl from the marble statue, now with colors added to her: eyes as cyan as aquamarine gems, hair with gold and scarlet that burned as fire; they accompanied the wings of flame on the back. The two women looked as though there was love between them, not that of two lovers but of two who were very close – sisters, perhaps? They moved on together because they seemed so familiar and comfortable together and a part of Octavia felt as though she belonged, as if her heart ached with an unyielding pain because she was not part of the duet. At the far side of the mural, away from the brightness and purity of the two girls were hands, outstretched. The hands – though almost vaguely more like claws – were almost attached to a mist that seemed to vaguely take form and shape. There was something primal, elemental about the intangible being – yes, it had to be some sort of being there – that reached in the direction of the two girls that made Octavia want to reach in and pull them to safety. She wasn’t sure why – it was obviously a painting and they were clearly fictional characters, but if the artist could engender such feelings in her, he was a master at his craft. But most of all it was the figure in the center that truly took hold of Octavia’s soul. She looked to be an older version of the girl from the earlier painting, right around Octavia’s own age. She was in the nude, with cuts and bruises – but she bled no ordinary blood. What dripped from her was as black as oil or tar, giving her an inhuman, unnatural appearance that layered over and contrasted with her very human shape and form. She seemed to be desperately crawling towards the other two girls, and away from the shapeless figure that Octavia now realized was after her. The girl wanted them to stop and help her, hoping her to escape with them, but the girls were too busy in tune with each other to really understand. The creature knew that and so it bluntly stalked the girl in the middle, knowing that sooner or later, it would have its due…. Octavia turned away from the mural, taking advantage of one of the seats by the video presentation to collect her breath. This painting was, by far, the one that spoke to her the most and she couldn’t understand why. It felt like it was a part of her, like a telling of her own life. But that couldn’t be possible, could it? “Everything is very possible, granddaughter.” Octavia turned towards the voice to see another young woman sitting next to her. Wearing a gorgeous dress that seemed to be out of style in this day and age, she nonetheless looked good in it. She had long ivory hair in the same style as Octavia’s, save for two jagged shocks of scarlet and gold in her hair – the same colors as the transformed girl, but the same layout as the Goddess of Purity. Her skin was dark; not enough to be of African descent, but clearly enough to be Arabic. Her light blue eyes seemed that they would be normally bright, but at the moment, they seemed to hold the world’s sadness within them. And lastly, her facial features, surprisingly, were the same as Octavia’s own. “Granddaughter?” Octavia spoke. The girl smiled. “Well, it would probably take too long to say all the ‘greats’ in between, wouldn’t it?” she said with a giggle. “Besides, this is how I remember myself as: the girl who stepped out of the waters of Lake Sanabria and surprised a viscount spending a day on the lake trying to impress a ladyfriend. I suppose I was the one who impressed him; he married me, even though I later turned out to be pregnant.” She sighed. “I loved Almirante, and when he claimed my son Lutier as his own. We then had Cuerda Dulces, Toccato, Gran Valz, Adagio and Canto Allegre as well. They grew up as performers like myself, becoming great composers and the spouses of royalty and nobility. Even now my progeny is everywhere and are mostly in music. It is a life I never expected, and a blessed one at that.” She smiled sadly. “I wish my parents could have known. I wish I knew what became of them. But I guess such is the mystery of being La Musica, isn’t it?” Octavia’s eyes finally widened in shock. “You’re—” “I know. There’s a lot of distance between us, but even still, I’m glad someone in my family inherited my looks. My daughters got theirs from their father, and I suppose descendants from theirs. I guess that means my genes were weak and had to be supported, in a manner of speaking, before they came to the forefront in you.” “Gr…I….” Octavia wasn’t sure of how to refer to the woman beside her. “Musica is fine,” she giggled. “It makes me feel young again, Octavia. When you grow into an aged grandmother, you’ll understand.” “Musica, what is all this?” Octavia asked. “This is magic. Or maybe it’s the fevered mind of a girl with too many problems dropped on her at once. Maybe it’s just the magic that wants me, a grandmother many levels removed, to see what I can do to help her lookalike granddaughter, again many generations removed. Or maybe you can’t cope with the fact that you strangled someone who is like a sister to you and you’re sliding into insanity just to hide from the world. What do you feel?” “I don’t know what to feel.” Octavia looked away from Musica and then at the screen showing the blurry video. She realized, with clarity, that the video was showing her scenes from her own life: How she’d started to become jealous of Sunset. How she’d murdered Twilight’s pet owl. How she’d lied repeatedly to Rarity, who only wanted to help. The list ran on, and on, every scene for the past few months, all trading the light for the dark. What had happened? She blinked…and when she looked around, she was standing around in a desolate field, waist deep in what appeared to be coins of a tarnished, blackened metal. Standing next to her, a heartbroken look on her face, was Musica. “Octavia, you can still turn away from this madness,” Musica pled. “As your ancestress, I beg you: please, do so! I would not want you hurt!” “You don’t know her, you bitch,” another voice echoed from nowhere, and somehow, Octavia recognized it from the depths of her nightmares. “You spoil me, you know that?” Celestia said as she lay down on the bed, naked as a jaybird and sipping from a margarita. The room was filled with nothing but candlelight, and giving her a massage was Sable. He too was undressed, and was right now rubbing on her back. “You were tense, Tia. That, or maybe old age is getting to you,” he cracked. “Well, if I make my boy toy keep up with me,” she replied in a nonchalant voice, just as whimsical as he, “then I must be doing something right.” “I’ll say you’re doing something right if you landed me,” he said, whispering in her ear. “Careful, Sable – I might just wear you out,” she chuckled. “It would probably be the first time I’ve been worn out over something I liked,” he said soberly. Both looked at each other and the even looks lasted long enough for both to start riotously laughing together. “Well, here I am, in the middle of a hurricane, spending time with the man I love,” she sighed. “Hardly how I expected my life to go, but I’m glad it did. Now I’m glad it didn’t work out with Frozen Plains.” “Oh? Well, I’ve told you a story about a previous love, so now it’s your turn,” he egged her. “Sable, you’re here giving me a massage, we’ve been intimate, and it’s you I love now,” she told him. “Can’t I leave this one in the past? I’ve got a much more interesting prior relationship.” “If you’re talking about Discord, Luna already told me,” Sable replied. “That you told Velvet that you guys broke up while in high school but you kept up with the on and off until your junior year of college. Plus, one of your students is his daughter, according to her.” “Damn, caught,” Celestia said, taking another sip from her margarita. “Okay, fine, I’ll mention it. I was thirty and had just transferred from Everfree Glades High to Bella Vista High to work as the Head of the Humanities Department. There was a guy there, Frozen Plains, recently divorced, with this cute as a button daughter named Stained Glass. She was just adorable. Anyway, Plains and I tended to work afterschool a lot – you know I tend to overwork – and so did he. Eventually we had working dinners together, which turned into dinners out and dates and before I knew it, he and I were together. There wasn’t just any one thing that did it, until we leaned over the table and kissed. “Anyway, he and I were happy and Glass really adored me. I adored her as well, and I honestly began to wonder if I was stepmother material. Obviously I don’t have children of my own, but being a teacher is a teaching moment as well, and for the four years we were together, I think we were leaning towards marriage.” “What happened?” She closed her eyes. “He had a family emergency that required him to move back to his hometown of Fairview, in Alaska. He asked me if I’d marry him and come with him, but right about that time I received the offer to take over as vice principal of County High. I was torn – really torn – it was the chance of a lifetime, and I knew where he was, at best I would be promoted to the position I was. The unified school district, because he had connections, even offered me the position of vice principal of one of the elementary schools there. It wasn’t really my style. But I was torn – I had to choose between the man I loved and the little girl who had become my daughter, a girl who had already had a mother figure walk out of her life. Then on the other hand was the position at County, being offered to me especially at a time when the rest of my family had followed me and Luna north from San Diego.” She downed the rest of the margarita. “I stayed. Two years later, Plains rekindled his relationship with his ex-wife and they remarried. That hurt. But the part that hurt the most was that I let Stained Glass down. She needed a mother, and she looked to me – and I failed her. We still talk occasionally, especially now that she moved to Horseshoe Bay, but it’s never been the same. And after that, I stopped dating until I met you.” He took the message immediately. “I’m not leaving, Tia. I’m not leaving and this isn’t going to be a repeat of your past relationships.” “Heh, if you think my love life is bad, you should see my sister’s.” “Well, I promise, I’m not leaving. And I guarantee that we’re going to see this through to the end. Don’t know where that is yet, but I’ll be with you every step of the way.” “Even if it means a ring and kids? I’ve probably got about a decade or so more left in my childbearing years. Don’t get me wrong – the outside doesn’t age normally, but some parts of me still register as a fifty-six-year old woman. Though I wish I was still thirty-one.” “Why’s that?” “Well, what if I asked you to go elope right now and that I want a child soonest – that the bomb on my biological clock’s about to go off. We’ve only known each other for two months, and we’re already living together. We’re moving faster than many so-called ‘whirlwind relationships,’ and I can’t imagine that I’m being fair to you.” “Who said anything about fair?” Sable asked. Celestia was caught off-guard about that. “I…I don’t understand.” “Age aside, Tia, you’re a woman who has been hurt by love and choices. I suppose that defines us all, but I can hear the haunting loneliness in your voice. You see what Velvet has on a regular basis and you’re craving it. You hear about the loving married life that Sombra and his wife have and you want it for yourself. And you’re afraid that you’ve thrown yourself at the first person who looked at you, as if there’s an expiration date on you. Trust me, there isn’t.” He grinned and added, “I’m familiar enough with your body that I haven’t seen one yet.” The educator couldn’t help but break out into a full-body blush at that. “Flatterer.” “Maybe, but you’re being unfair to me in the fact that you’re forgetting one thing: I came after you, not the other way around. I didn’t know your age, and obviously I didn’t care after you told me. I just saw the beautiful woman that caught my attention and would have even if some of our delinquent students hadn’t, ahem, ‘introduced us’.” He leaned close to her. “Fairy tale relationships may be just that, but sometimes we have to believe in love at first sight. So if you’re asking me, given that you already want me to move in, if I’m interested in making that relationship permanent? I do, and I don’t – and that last part is that we probably should wait at least a year before thinking about engagement, because otherwise both your family and mine are probably going to think we absolutely lost it.” She laughed at that. “I hadn’t considered that point,” she admitted, “but I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather lose it over.” “Oh, when it comes to you?” he stated. “I lost it long ago.” Octavia Melody turned around to see a girl standing there wearing what could be best described as an “organic dress”. She recalled the time Rainbow and Applejack were playing this one shooter with aliens, and one of them looked like some sort of freakish zombie alien witch, whose robes of station were embedded onto her body as if it was an exoskeleton. The dress the newcomer wore seemed very much the same: grown, not fabricated. “Maybe it’s time you listen to my side of the story,” she said. She looked up and Octavia saw that, like Musica and herself, the newcomer had the same facial features. But that’s where it ended. The newcomer had shock-white hair in the same style as Octavia, and had eyes that seemed to be of a pale shade of violet almost as to be translucent. But it was the pupils – thin dark lines that seemed more reptilian than anything else – that seemed to echo within Octavia. “After all, it’s the very least you owe me, you cunt.” “She owes you nothing, demon,” Musica told the newcomer. “This is all your fault, you twisty bitch, so just shut the fuck up,” Newcomer said. “This is all because you had so many stars in your eyes that you let any old dick squirt into you. And then you ran and let someone else squeeze the manpaste into you. So you don’t get to say shit about what I have to tell little miss frigid pants here.” Newcomer then turned to Octavia. “You owe me, you twiceborn freak. You owe me for every moment you breathe, and every second you last. You owe me, and I don’t see why I don’t get what’s due.” “What do you mean ‘what’s due’?” Octavia asked. “I don’t know who you are—” “You should,” Newcomer snarled, cutting her off. “After all, it’s my fingers you slip up your taco when you think of how you want to make Twily sing like an opera star. Oh, wait – you’re not the one thinking of that, I am. Because it’s my mind. You’re just a parasite on the body, the stupid fuck who got handed the keys to the car that ain’t hers.” “I don’t—” Now it was Octavia’s turn to pause as she realized with horror. “You’re….” “Yes, yes I am. Congratulations, you’re not as stupid as you seem. That’s right – I’m your unborn sister. The one that should have lived. The one that your stupid zygote decided to play Pac Man with and absorbed me, denying me my life. All of this is your fault as much as that ancient slut’s!” Newcomer swung her hand out and backhanded Octavia hard, sending her crashing to the ground. “Stop it!” Musica shouted. “I will not let you harm my descendant—” “Of which I was one – or was going to be!” Newcomer shouted at her. “That is until Octy here did the octopus thing and absorbed me like she was The Blob!” She turned back to Octavia, who was still on the ground and took advantage of it, kicking her in the side. “So how does it feel to hurt? Just like you hurt me, you skank!” “I didn’t…I didn’t mean….” Octavia gasped through the pain. “You didn’t mean what? To take away my body? My life? Didn’t you ever wonder why you were named Octavia Melody? Because you’re two people in one: you, Octavia; and me, Melody! You stole my life! You took everything from me! And now I’m going to take it back!” “What? I don’t—” Octavia asked but instead got kicked in the face for it. “You will speak when spoken to, bitch,” Melody told her. “You’ve already had a lifetime more than I ever did to say something.” She then turned to Musica, pre-empting her interruption. “And I told you to shut the fuck up! The only reason you’re here is because little miss too-sweet’s mind is fracturing, letting both you and me in.” “She is my precious grandchild,” Musica said sharply to Melody. “You are nothing more than an abomination. What, you don’t think I’ve seen what you’re doing to her mind? You’re twisting her love for her cousin into something sexual and abhorrent!” “Yes, well, someone has to appreciate that hot bod Twily has. Especially the times we’ve seen her in delicate situations? Oh, that makes me creamy, I don’t know about you—” “SHUT UP!” Octavia screamed. “Leave Twily alone! Leave Sunny alone! They’re my family!” Tears came to the girl’s face. “Why are you doing this?” “Because you’re damned,” Melody said. “Twice-child of your parents. Twice however many greats-grandchild of this bitch here,” she cooed, pointing at Musica, who huffed. “All of us carry her curse, and lucky you – you got it twice, because one of your great-grandparents had kids with someone who was also a descendant of Musica. That meant one of us would be free, and one of us would have the curse – maybe if I was born, I’d be locked up in the funny farm because I would have made Twily my love slave. Hell, could’ve been a three-way between you, me and Twily.” Melody polished her fingers against her body-dress, then continued. “But you took my birthright and made it yours, pretty much literally. So you get the whole package, both the good and the bad. But I think you’ve had enough time at the wheel – it’s my turn to drive now.” “How do I know you’re not lying?” Octavia said. “How can I believe anything you say?” “You’re the one dreaming here, frosty vag,” Melody told her. “You tell me.” It was odd, Sunset decided, to be knocking on her own door. From within, she heard somebody say she could come in, which still felt odd to Sunset in needing another’s permission to enter her own room. “I brought you some soup, Blossom,” she said as she set it down on her desk. “You feeling okay?” “Yeah, just tired,” Blossomforth admitted. “Thanks for lending me your room while we’re stuck here.” “Hey, I’m just sorry that you can’t sleep down there with all of us,” Sunset told her. “After you eat, if you want, I can help you downstairs.” “Thanks. I hate feeling like a useless, bloated shut in,” she admitted. “Thankfully, this should all be over soon.” “Wow, next month,” Sunset said, giving her friend a smile. “Motherhood – the challenge of a lifetime.” Blossomforth nodded. “Yup – a daughter. And I know that little Sunset Blossom will love her auntie for all she’s done.” Sunset blinked at that. “You’re naming your daughter after me?” “Sunny, I’ve said it before: you’ve been there every way that Flash hasn’t. He doesn’t care, and he doesn’t want to be a father. But you have never let me down. You have given this little girl the chance she needs to be what all little girls should be: better than their parents. So I had to name her after her role model: an auntie that would never let her down.” She closed her eyes briefly and said, “I know you’re not religious, Sunny, but I am – I’m a pastor’s daughter, so it’s in the blood. And there’s a position known as a godparent, someone who always looks after a child, up to taking her in if there’s no one left. I want you to be my daughter’s godmother, Sunny.” “You mean that?” Sunset asked. She knew what a godmother was, sorta: while there wasn’t anything of the sort in Equestria, Sunset had come across the concept over the years here on Earth. What she discovered was that it varied depending on culture and situation; what Blossomforth was asking was for Sunset to in effect become a second mother for her child and that was something that made Sunset blush inwardly – it was a huge honor. Blossomforth smiled. “Sunny, with all you’ve done for me…if you were a guy, I’d be seriously considering a marriage proposal instead of asking you to be the godparent.” “Not planning that anytime soon, I’m afraid,” Sunset said with a laugh, “but I accept being Sunset’s godmother.” Blossom leaned over and hugged her friend. “Thank you. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without you.” “Anytime. Go ahead and eat the soup and I’ll come back in ten minutes to bring you downstairs, okay?” “Okay. Thanks again.” Sunset leaned on her doorframe and nodded. “Hey, that’s what friends are for, right?” As Sunset headed towards the stairs, she encountered her mother-to-be. “Sorry to intrude, dear, but I heard what Blossom said. It’s a big responsibility – are you sure you’re up for it?” Sunset nodded. “I want to. I know I shouldn’t, but I feel partially responsible for what happened to Blossom. It’s taken months for her and Minnie to parse what they’ve been through and know it wasn’t either of their faults, but there’s a part of me that keeps saying that if I had cared more, Flash wouldn’t have done what he did to them.” “And maybe you would have been a victim instead, Sunny,” Velvet told her. “The guilt isn’t yours and taking it on is neither healthy or helpful. But if you truly wish to take the responsibility of being the godmother of Blossomforth’s daughter, then I’m proud of you, Sunny.” The teen blushed. “Thanks, Mom.” “I just wish I knew what to do with your cousin,” Velvet said aloud, and Sunset caught that. “Mom, is there something you’re not telling me about Tavi?” Velvet nodded. “We were able to get a hold of your aunt and uncle this morning. They want us to take Tavi in for counseling. I know she’s already been through that in the aftermath of what happened back in January, but I fear this is worse.” Her eyes moistened with pre-lacrimal fluid. “She’s hurting, Sunny, and I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if I can go through another round of what we went through with your sister.” “Speaking of which—” “I’m going to take her to the doctor late next week, after they’ve had time to settle down from the hurricane. That’s of course assuming that everything goes well, and I doubt it will.” “Mom, if there’s anything I can do to help….” “Take care of your sister. This will hurt Twily; she’s not as strong as you or Tavi. This will probably hurt all of us to some degree or other, and I may need to rely on you.” “All part and parcel of being adopted,” Sunset said with a smile. Velvet laughed and hugged her daughter close to her as the tears for her niece flowed. Sandalwood leaned back in the bathtub, feeling both a mixture of pride and shame. Pride, because he had two girls at his beckon call tonight, two that would do anything he wanted – anything. Shame, because this is what the younger girl wanted – she wanted this, or else she’d expose everything that he and Coffee had, ruining them both. It was a fucked up situation all around. It didn’t help things that he’d probably enjoyed having fun with Prismatic, and he was sure he was going to be in the doghouse with Coffee just for that. But he couldn’t help himself – it was just biology, and he wasn’t entirely willing! His heart still belonged to her, and he still loved her more than anything. He was sure that after this, Prismatic would find someone new to entertain herself with, and he and Coffee could begin rebuilding their relationship together. He thought about it and thought that maybe once school started, they could go somewhere together for Columbus Day weekend. He knew his father and stepmother would be out, and that meant they would have the weekend to themselves. He stepped out of the tub, reaching for the tub drain switch, letting the hot water flow out. It was one of Prismatic’s stupid idiosyncrasies: she didn’t want to have sex with anyone that was dirty, so that meant that every time he rested, he was going to have to shower before they did anything again. It was beyond stupid; he really didn’t want to do anything with her to begin with! He wanted to spend time with his Coffee, love her, then fall asleep in her arms like true couples did. Prismatic was only using them for her own needs, and it made him angry to think about that as he toweled himself off. Well, she wanted him to give it to her and her alone all weekend, and to make Coffee watch. Well, he would do just that – and he’d be sure it would hurt. Tying a towel around his midsection, he left the bathroom, headed towards the guest bedroom where it was all happening. As he walked in, he was surprised to see two new girls standing there. And then he saw the blood – sprays of it everywhere. And laying on the bed, their eyes as wide open as the gash in their throats, was Coffee and Prismatic. He gasped in shock, and the spasm of motion his body made caused the towel to fall off. One of the girls looked at the other. “See, I told you I know when I can smell these things, Canzy.” She then looked at Sandalwood appreciatively. “Well, I can see why I can smell those sorts of things.” Canzione looked at Medley. “Yeah, well, let’s just kill him and get out of here.” Sandalwood turned and was about to run, when he suddenly was pushed down on the floor. “Oh, honey,” the first girl commented. “You don’t get to run. What you do get, is me. I’ll make you a deal: I haven’t had a guy in a while, so give me the best time a girl’s ever had and I’ll make sure you die easily. If not…well, I can do slowly and painfully.” Canzione facepalmed. “We don’t have time for this, Med.” “We don’t have to report on station for the next four hours. We have all the time in the world, Canzy, and I want to have some fun! Tell you what: go make a sandwich or twelve, and leave me to be with my temporary boyfriend here, okay?” “Fine, whatever. Just don’t leave any trace when you’re done.” “W-what are you going to do to me?” Sandalwood asked, the horror of what was happening getting exponentially worse by the second. He tried to struggle, but this girl pinning him down was too strong. She got to her feet, and with a single hand, she effortlessly dragged him over to the next room – his parents’ bedroom – throwing him on the bed and leaping right atop him again. With him snuggly pinned under her body, she reached into a pocket on her belt, pulling out some wire. She then tied his wrists to the headboard. “I usually use these to strangle people, so be careful; you don’t want to hurt yourself.” She then got off him and tied his legs to the footboard, giving him just enough clearance to squirm. “Now then,” she said as she closed the door, “my name is Medley Trance, and I’m your new girlfriend. I like what you have as a boyfriend, and the longer we have fun here, the longer you get to live.” She unzipped her vest, revealing that she wore nothing underneath. “Now, I understand you just lost a girlfriend—” she looked at the wall between this room and the other one, “—or two, and I feel for you, I really do. I just lost a girlfriend myself. But I have to admit, the best way to get over a bad relationship is a nice, long, fun time.” She then kicked off her boots, removed her socks, then removed her web belt, pants and underwear, standing there as nude as he. “Normally I want to go on a date before getting this intimate – I am a traditional kind of girl at heart – but we’re in a rush here.” She leaned over him and kissed him; though he tried to squirm out of it, it just seemed to interest her more. “All I’m going to say is this. Give it your best shot, don’t worry about me, and if I get a bun in the oven, I’ll think of you fondly – though it might cramp my style for a bit.” Walking into the kitchen, Canzione opened the fridge, staring at all the shit inside it – or rather, the lack of shit inside it. She hated to admit it, but she was feeling hungry. Again. She’d always been the kind of girl that burnt off a lot of calories, but since she’d taken the serum, she’d felt a lot hungrier. Just as Med seemed a lot hornier, and Alto seemed a lot more machiavellian than previous. Maybe it was the serum doing it to them, intensifying who they were at the cores, but Canzione didn’t really care – she wasn’t the member of the team paid to think. “Didn’t these idiots know there’s a hurricane going on?” The fridge was nigh bare. Fine during a normal situation, but there was that aforementioned hurricane, where the stores would likely be closed for a few days because nobody would be able to get to them. Canzione figured that they were lucky she and Medley were here to kill them; the three little rabbits would’ve starved to death beforehand. Still, there was nothing to put together to eat, nothing to feed on out of the package…and she was getting really hungry, and when that happened, she got really cranky…. She then felt a lump on her foot, and she looked down. A cat purred gently, rubbing against her. The critter had to be the family’s housepet, and in a house where the occupants would be very dead soon – well, at least the one not already dead – leaving this poor animal here to starve would be a crime. Canzione felt herself naturally sliding into her altered form as she smiled. She could take care of two problems at once, now. The medics carried the covered stretchers out, scowling. This would cost them overtime, and it was on one of their own, too. Meanwhile, Cantata gave orders for security to double the watchstanding, hurricane or no. “I want everyone that Petty Officer Slice talked to in the past forty-eight hours in my office in ten minutes. I want to get to the bottom of this immediately, understood?” The guards on site saluted her and went off to carry out her orders. “Petty Officer Rush, please, tell us, what happened again?” Rhapsody Blue asked. Contralto stood there, having her arm wrapped by one of the medics who were on-site. She looked in pain, a sign that something had happened to her. “Yes, ma’am. I was jogging down here as part of my workout, since we’re not authorized to go outdoors due to the weather, and the gym is full at the moment, so I figured I’d be out of the way. As I was running past, I heard some giggling and someone scream, ‘This is what happens when you betray the Crown!’ Wondering what’s going on, I opened the door and there I saw Harmonica – that is, Petty Officer Slice – slamming down on Commander Thrust with an axe. There was blood everywhere, and….” She shook her head as if to shake out the nightmares that would come. “She then turned around and she had a gun on her. She shouted that she was assigned deep undercover by CSIS to infiltrate and destroy us if we ever went rogue.” “I have a hard time believing that,” Rhapsody stated. “We’ve been airtight with checking our group for moles.” “And yet we've had two senior officers killed in a matter of days,” Canata countered. “XO, they got someone close to us and we just paid the price. I want to find out whoever is responsible and whoever else might be a part of this.” She then turned to Contralto. “Please, Petty Officer, continue.” “Yes, ma’am. She pulled the trigger, but I guess something went wrong, because the round never went off. So she attacked me with the axe, and I wasn’t quick enough, so it hit me in the shoulder. She then rushed forward with her knife, but I dodged it and threw her into the wall. When that dazed her, I grabbed her pistol, wrenched it away from her, and fired two shots, killing her. I was able to make it to pull the alarm before I passed out.” She winced again at the shoulder injury. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I know I should have tried to subdue her….” “No, you did what you had to, Petty Officer Rush,” Rhapsody said. “Thank you for your report. Captain, if you don’t mind, I need to go talk to Sublieutenant Madrigal Storm. She’s the only one who can take over the Intel position.” “Do so,” Cantata ordered. “Also tell her that she’s getting a promotion to lieutenant, effective immediately – her first assignment is to sweep all records for any discrepancies. This disaster not only puts us in danger but our benefactor as well, and we cannot afford for the Prince to be harmed by any potential threats, understood?” “Understood,” Rhapsody said with a salute, then wandered off. Cantata looked at the medic and said, “I’d like a couple more minutes to talk to Petty Officer Rush, so I’ll escort her to her quarters. You can head back to station.” The medic nodded and left. As she did, Cantata looked at her testily. “Truth. Now,” she ordered. “Well,” Contralto said with a shrug, “would you rather what I just told everyone, or that your Intel Officer got fucked to death by Seaman Trance, and that I had to kill Petty Officer Slice and fake everything to make it look realistic?” “So she didn’t hit you in the shoulder with an axe?” Contralto rolled her eyes. “She probably couldn’t hit the inside of the toilet bowl when she craps. No, I did it to myself to make it look convincing. She was already dead by then.” “I see.” Cantata looked at Contralto evenly and said, “Next time, you are to clear it with me before you do anything like this again. Furthermore, Seaman Trance is to keep her pants on until further notice. I don’t want her so much as to blow a kiss at another SIREN, understood?” “Crystal clear, ma’am. Anything else?” “Yes. Go find your two fellow troublemakers and hide out somewhere else overnight. But you have until tomorrow to capture the targets. We have a defined window tonight before the next part of whatever Prince Divine wants, and you already know anything he wants, he gets.” “Understood, ma’am. You have a nice rest of the day.” Octavia lay on the ground in this place, feeling herself kicked and kicked repeatedly by the being that called herself “Melody” – the entity that claimed to be her unborn sister. Meanwhile, her ancestress, Musica Allegra, kicked and scratched in vain, in an attempt to pull Melody off of Octavia. “I hate you, do you know that?” Melody screamed at Octavia as she delivered another kick to her. “Why won’t you just die and let me live?” “Leave her alone, you monster!” Musica screamed as she pulled as hard as she could to save Octavia. “Help me,” Octavia whimpered. She was alone, abandoned. Her parents had abandoned her. Her aunt and uncle, who were practically her other parents, ignored her. Her cousin, Twilight – her sister in practically all but name – ignored her. And the one person who was responsible for it all wasn’t here. She didn’t even figure into this. And why should she? She was a stranger until recently, and though Octavia had grown to love her, things were changing. “I bet when Twily moans, she calls out Sunny’s name, huh?” Melody jeered, kicking Octavia between the legs. Though it reportedly would hurt a guy more than her, she still felt the pain of the strike and screamed out. “You fiend!” Musica shouted. “I’ll end you! I will en—” “Okay, I think I’ve had enough of your shit,” Melody snarled, turning on Musica. Melody’s arm burned with green fire, and with a punch that would have made a heavyweight boxer proud, she punched through Musica’s chest. She withdrew her arm, her hand pulling out a beating, pulsating sphere of light. Musica looked at the sphere of light in Melody’s hand, then at Melody, then whispered, “Please save yourself, granddaughter,” before falling to the ground and breaking into nothing but ash. Still holding the ball, Melody pulled Octavia to her feet. “So, cunt, or is that…big sis? Or little sis? Which one are you? Eh, doesn’t matter, it’s just you, me and your insanity now.” “No, leave me alone,” Octavia begged. She felt her strength failing. With Musica gone, her will had all but capitulated. “Oh, no. You and I are going to have some fun. You’ve wanted this for the longest time. And so have I.” Melody brought the sphere to her hand and with a few bites, ate it. “Please, you can harm me, do whatever you want – but leave my family alone,” Octavia begged. The last refuge of the defeated, she knew, but if this monster was going to destroy her and harm her loved ones, Octavia had to try. “Oh, no, sister, dear. You get to watch. You get to watch as I have,” Melody said, bringing her face closer to Octavia’s. “You get to see it all, and feel everything, just as I have. “I’m tired of your goody two-shoes life, ‘Tavi’. Time to show you how life is really lived!” With that, Melody, leaned forward and kissed the individual that was supposedly her sister. She pulled her into the embrace, tongue probing and holding her tight, despite Octavia’s attempt to fight back… …a struggle which soon ceased as Octavia suddenly joined in the kissing. Their clothes melted away, leaving the two sisters bare. Melody smiled viciously. “Now it’s time to show you that it’s better when sisters are together,” she said as kissed Octavia’s body, heading downwards…. Reality shattered into a billion pieces. In a futile attempt to dodge the rain, Shining left the SUV he’d been issued by the FBI for the duration of the storm and waded into the diner. One of the few places that risked remaining open while the weather raged outside, it was a little Greek slice of heaven that catered heavily to first responders. As he walked in, he grabbed a towel that had been laid out on a table by the entrance so he could dry his hair. “Coffee. And a beef gyro, if you please,” he told them. He looked around at all the other cops and emergency responders from various agencies and gave them all a friendly nod; due to the emergency they were all pretty much serving as a semi-unified force. He wandered over to a booth where he saw a familiar face. “Hey, Mel, thought you’d be home with the family.” Melati Jasmine grinned. “Thought you’d be home, snuggling up to Cadance. So since your answer is the same as mine, we’ll just have to split the difference and moan and whine together, right?” He laughed. “Anything new on your front?” “No, not really, though it sucks not having you there to joke with back at the station. Anything new with the Feebs and the Dead Hand case?” He shook his head, then looked out the window. “All we’re doing is finding them just after they’re killed, with no indicator of who’s next or why beyond another tarot card. There are some parallels with a case that happened down south in LA during the 80s, but there’s nothing clear that indicates that they’re related or even the same killer. Still, we have some promising leads and we’re hoping for a breakthrough.” “Good. The fucker needs to be put away for good,” she insisted. At that point, they brought Shining his gyro and her the Greek salad she’d ordered. She took a bite or two and said, “So how’s your partner doing? Sandalwood, I recall her name?” “Sandy’s taking it hard. One of the victims was her next door neighbor – Ruby Tuesday– and she’s putting in practical overtime to get this done. She’s a bit on the obsessed side, and I think there’s something else going on, but she won’t tell me what it is. I think Cady knows, but she’s letting Sandy handle it in her own way.” “I…see,” Melati said, taking the bear-shaped honey dispenser and pouring a little in her tea. “Well, all I can say is that I hope it all works out before everything goes to hell or you get a clue.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” She laughed. “You’ll figure it out someday, Shining.” Octavia opened her eyes. She felt…released. Great. With a purpose once more. She felt a part of her mind scream out that something was wrong, something was terribly, horribly wrong, but she ignored it. She’d paid attention to that part of her mind for too long, and now she was well overdue for some fun. She withdrew her hands from underneath her pajama bottoms. Her hands were sticky, as were her undies and said pajama bottoms, but that was okay. There was clarity in that. A gate long closed had been opened and she was a new Octavia. Let the old one scream in her mind, she thought, mentally flipping off that part of her persona; she had plenty of ideas and thoughts now. She opened her closet, trying to figure out what to wear. Frankly, what she saw disgusted her. Feminine – but not too feminine – clothing was in, all conservative and bland and as interesting as watching mold grow in a laboratory culture dish. Why should she hide her body? She was a sexual being, with all that came with it. She wanted to peel back everything, because right now everything felt soooooo good. She began to look through her clothing. Stuff she’d bought a while back, but never wore because it was too risqué, too conservative for Octavia Melody. No more. She was now the person she was destined to be, and if someone said she was high, oh yes, she was. High on her own libido. Slipping the clothing on, she felt giddy for the first time. She looked at herself in a mirror: midriff shirt she’d considered too high, pants cut too low, drawstring panties, and stiletto heels. Moving over, she saw something that had defined so much of her life: her contrabass. Good little miss Octavia, who played the instrument that her parents wanted her to. Good little Octavia who always did what the adults in her life wanted. Good little Tavi who was always a perfect older sister for Twily and never the girl who fucked, who toked, who sucked, who drank, who flipped off the cops and didn’t give a shit about anything or anyone. Good little Tavi needed to be taught a lesson. Grabbing the instrument by the neck, she swung it as hard as she could on the ground. The instrument cracked on the first strike, then busted open on the second. Not enough, she grabbed her acoustic guitar and swung that against what was left of the contrabass, hammering one stringed work of art against the other until they both shattered like twigs. She then reached for an electric guitar, a gift. She raised that over her head, ready to smash it to bits as well— “You shouldn’t have!” “We thought you’d like it. I know you don’t have one, so we saved up to get one for you.” “I love it! Thanks! I love you both, you know that?” Octavia held the instrument above her head, trying to find the strength to break it. She couldn’t. She didn’t know why, she couldn’t. She threw the guitar on the bed, then went back to moving the stuff away from the door. Moving what she could, she finally freed herself and opened the door. “And I’ll always love you, Setsuna.” “Kiss me, Hideo!” The girls were at the moment watching an NHK drama piped onto the television via Fluttershy’s laptop. A hobby of hers, Fluttershy had fansubbed it personally; and while the translation was spot on, there wasn’t something about two young lovers in Tokyo that quite translated to the gaggle of teens and one adult watching. “Can we watch some anime next?” Lyra asked. “At least that’s in English.” “Flutters is a sub purist,” Rainbow grunted. “She’d watch it raw if she could.” “Well, maybe we can get Bonnie to translate, right hon?” Lyra suggested, leaning into her girlfriend. “Yes, because all us of Asians are just the same – we just swap out our ethnicities when we’re bored,” Bon-Bon groaned. “Well,” Velvet said, sitting on the couch next to her daughters, “personally I find this fascinating, Fluttershy. Do you have any more of these?” “Yes, Mrs. V,” Fluttershy said with a soft smile. “I can burn them to a DVD if you like.” “Well, let me go get my flash key and we’ll copy whatever you recommend – then I can watch upstairs in my room so I don’t disturb you all, and—” She heard footsteps on the stairs and looked up. Octavia walked down in a sultry manner. Her shirt, or what little of it there was, seemed to barely float above her breasts, not that that was easily discernable, given that the shirt was cut from the bottom up to a point just barely covering her nipples. Her pants were of a cut so low that it made her drawstring panties obvious. Bon-Bon and Lyra – the lesbians present – looked at her as if the goddess of sex had descended onto the earthly plane. Without taking her eyes off Octavia, who knew she was being ogled, Lyra said, “Bonnie, you know I love you, right?” Not taking her eyes off the sexpot in front of her, Bon-Bon said, “I love you too, Ly. And yes, I’m thinking the same thing you are right now.” “Tavi?” several girls said at once, unwilling to believe what they were seeing. Octavia instead went up to Bon-Bon and whispered something in her ear, then whispered something in Lyra’s. “Okay, now I know this is bullshit,” Bon-Bon said, as if getting a joke. “I remember you telling me that there was this guy that you like over at Munchinger. And now you’re telling me all of a sudden you bat for the other side? Yeah, right.” “Want to test me?” Octavia purred. “Trust me, right now, I don’t care what gender it is.” Several girls blinked in surprise. This was not the snarky but overall quiet girl that they knew. “Okay, cuz, I don’t know what game you’re playing,” Sunset then interjected, “but you owe Twily an apology for what happened last night.” Octavia then turned her eyes on Sunset, and the look in them was murderous. “You want to know what game I’m playing, you lying, good for nothing bitch?” Octavia then reeled back and slugged Sunset in the face, as hard as she could. As Sunset reeled back, Octavia then took a lamp from the nearby stand and smashed it over the flame-haired girl’s head, drawing blood as Sunset collapsed to the floor. “Tavi, what the hell are you doing?” Applejack said, grabbing her friend’s arms while the others went to see to Sunset. Twilight, however, was the exception. She actively stood in front of Sunset, as if to shield her from Octavia. “Tavi, what’s gotten into you?” Twilight cried. Pulling at her restraints, Octavia screamed, “Twily, if you have any sense, get away from that backstabbing skank before she hurts you too! That lying cunt needs to be put down!” “She’s your cousin! My sister!” Twilight shouted back. “SHE’S A CANCER THAT NEEDS TO BE KILLED OFF!” Octavia roared. She continued to squirm and push against Applejack’s grasp, and the look in her eyes was barely human. “Octavia Melody, what has gotten into you?” Velvet shouted. “It’s none of your Goddamn business what’s gotten into me!” she shouted at her aunt. “If you actually give a shit about this family you’ll take a kitchen knife and slit that scumbag’s throat before she ruins us all!” Shocked by her niece’s behavior, Velvet reacted on automatic, doing the one thing she had never done to any of her children – Octavia included – before. But she was stunned by her niece’s insensate behavior and irrationality fed irrationality. By the time Velvet horrifically realized what she’d done, the red mark of her palm had already appeared on Octavia’s cheek. But that was nothing compared to what happened next: enraged by her aunt’s apparent betrayal, Octavia broke free of her friend’s restraints and threw another punch, hitting Velvet right in the stomach. That seemed to snap Octavia out of her behavior as she saw the stunned look on her aunt’s face before Velvet crashed to the ground. Pinkie moved to Velvet’s side in an instant. Looking at Octavia, Pinkie said words that cut the musician to the core: “She raised you. How could you?” “I…I didn’t… I….” Octavia had become lost for words, but a second later found them. Looking at the unconscious Sunset with pure hatred, she snarled, “This is your fault!” She took one step towards Sunset… …and that was all it took as Applejack pulled her back and Bon-Bon moved into a striking posture, aimed right at Octavia’s throat. “One more step and you’ll be breathing out of a straw for the rest of the month,” Bon-Bon hissed. “WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?” Everyone turned to see Night Light step out of his office, an angry look on his face. It only took him a second to see Octavia being restrained, Velvet and Sunset on the ground and Twilight shielding them both, tears in her eyes. “Get to your room, Octavia Melody,” he said in a cold voice. “I don’t know what you did, but apparently being grounded isn’t anywhere near enough. You are not to come out of that room until I tell you, understood?” Still not believing what had just happened, all she could do was numbly nod. Bon-Bon and Applejack took a look at each other and nodded in silent agreement. “Ah’ll take first watch,” she said, sadly. Wrenching Octavia’s arm behind her back, she said, “C’mon. Let’s not make this harder than it already is, Tavi. Please.” With that, Applejack led the silent girl back to her room. Night found himself in the middle of a bunch of shocked girls, his unconscious daughter and his dazed wife. “Girls,” he said to all present, “I don’t know what just happened, but I’m sorry you saw that.” “It’s okay, Mr. Light,” Trixie said, unsure of what else to say. Picking up the unconscious Sunset, she said, “Someone grab her feet and help me carry her to her room.” Rainbow nodded and helped her friend carry their precious cargo upstairs. “Go, Twilight,” Rarity told her friend. “Your sister needs you now.” Teary, Twilight nodded and followed Trixie and Rainbow upstairs. The fashionista looked at Pinkie and Minuette, who were tending to Velvet. “How’s she doing, girls?” “Well, I’m no doctor, but I know enough first aid that I can say she looks okay,” Minuette replied. As Pinkie helped Velvet to her feet, Minuette said, “I’m going to go check on Sunny. You guys got a first aid kit anywhere?” “In the girls’ bathroom upstairs,” Velvet numbly mumbled as Minuette nodded and rushed up. Night helped his wife to the couch while the girls tried to clean up the mess. “What happened, hon?” “Tavi’s in trouble,” was all Velvet could say. “She’s worse than we thought. What’s going to happen to our girl, Night?” The tears came to the woman once more and her husband held her in comfort. Outside, as if a symbol of the chaos that had unfolded within the house, the rain and winds continued to howl and lash at the whole of Canterlot, portending worse things to come.