//------------------------------// // Chapter Fifteen // Story: The Day My Life Continued // by Authora97 //------------------------------// After Tracy heard about the incident (because Jimmy’s mom heard and called) she ordered me back to the Centre. Jimmy had told me he would call in the morning, to see if everything was alright with me and if I had Darcy back. It was well past the girls bedtime, but I was disappointed to hear they hadn’t woken up. I would’ve liked a little support right now. My office was still in the Wonderland setting. It was the best bit of comfort right now. Tracy asked I bring Twilight here, the only bit of Traveling I was allowed. The glorified babysitter proceeded to wake up my mother and have her come down to the Centre. Dad was apparently needed for church tomorrow. Mom was standing behind the mushroom arm chair, glaring at Tracy because she was only normal thing in this room. Twilight was looking over her notes on a table that looked like a really big blade of grass bent over. Tracy was going over her clipboard, which had a copy of the scans Twilight had been giving me in her basement. I was reclining on the mushroom couch, though relaxing was the furthest thing from my mind. It wasn’t even for the same reason everyone else was worried. My foot was hopping in my desire to run after the Heart of Damballa. It was an ancient voodoo necklace with the power to move souls. All I needed to do was get it, and a doll, and use it to awaken Darcy. I had already memorized the spell (I was superstitious, okay?) There were some drawbacks, of course. The Heart of Damballa was with a new owner, Tiffany (aka, the woman now possessing Jennifer Tilly). She would have recently used them to transfer the souls of her twins into the bodies of...her twins (it’s complicated). She’ll be hesitant to give me the Heart. There was also the fact that Darcy had been dead for five years (on Earth, though, seven months) so her body was useless. The biggest drawbacks was that no one was letting me go save my sister. The three other women were arguing in front of me. Their conversation had been tuned out for the most part. I listened back in, finding it just as interesting as when I first came in. Tracy had looked up from her clipboard, annoyed at the results if her face was anything to go on. “You said she was getting better.” “She was! I had thought with the use of the Elements that Morgan’s powers would have fixed themselves-” Twilight tried to explain. “Well they obviously didn’t.” Mom snapped, hands on her hips. “So now what do we do? I can’t let her come to school and risk the lives of the other students.” Here I am, Queen of the Travelers, almost 200 years old, mother of two, and apparently I’m not needed in a discussion about myself. What a time to be alive. “I ran more tests after the Princess Summit.” Twilight explained. “The data showed no drastic changes. Raspberry was fine!” “Was Morgan?” I countered, speaking for the first in time in (if my wall clock that looked like a pocket watch was right) twenty minutes. Twilight was the only one capable of hearing me. I’ll attribute that to her equine hearing. “Huh?” “Your Majesty, you’re in enough trouble as it is.” Tracy advised, giving me a look to respectfully shut up. I carried on, talking purely out of spite. “Well, it would make sense if my alicorn self could handle the magics of the Elements. She’s Equestrian. My human self would have some obvious difficulties. The most magic I’ve dealt with when in this body was...in January.” Twilight looked ready to slap herself with a book (The ultimate betrayal). “Of course. The human body, or the Traveler one in this case, would naturally have some resistance to the magic. That’s why you haven’t made a portal by accident yet. The Elements were too powerful, so your body had to expunge it with the most powerful spell it had; portals.” “Okay. That’s good and all.” Mom said. “But I’m not understand it.” I had to hold back from rolling my eyes at my mother. “My human body can’t cope with the magic of Equestria, so it expels it into the air however it knows how. Moving clouds, growing plants, creating portals. Once the magic is cleared from my system, it retracts.” I hopped up from the couch. My shirt needed to be fixed, from the odd position lying on the couch made. “I’ll be back to normal in a few days.” Mom stared intently at me, ready for an argument. “Is there any way of proving it?” A groan fought to be free from my throat. Tracy also added “We can run tests in the lab downstairs in the morning-” Tracy’s tests sent chills down my spine. With the way she said test I had the sick feeling it wouldn’t be like Twilight’s in her basement. Images in my head of being strapped to a table, or wrapped in a straight jacket with IV’s peaking out. That kind of testing has always been my main fear, and why from age ten to fifteen in Earth years I flinched at the mention of the word. Sometimes I’d even have a panic attack. It may seem silly, but really think about it. Everything I had heard up until my discovery of the Travelers has been negative towards the unknown. I was always scared of being dragged away from home by men in black SUV’s, of ding forced into strenuous tests to figure out how my powers worked. For one horrible year in a Travel to a book, it wasn’t even a silly fear it was my reality. Course, I blew up the building after a year along with the people inside it. Before you look at me like that, they had killed an eight year old child with a modified super virus, they did it to themselves. No. Twilight wouldn’t let them test me that way. She would be in charge, as the leading expert on Equestrian magic she would better understand the readings. She wouldn’t let them endanger me, or traumatize me. She had learned her lesson on going to extremes for a test. Another thing I found wrong with Tracy’s solution was the time frame. “The morning?! No way!” I shouted. “My sister needs me now. If I just pop into Seed of Chucky, grab the Heart, I can bring her back!” Tracy looked at me with a deadpan stare. She knew since we met that I was a bit off kilter, so she had long since stopped calling me crazy. It helped that I was 199 so way passed the teenager stage. Mom disagreed. She had no such qualms arguing with me on my lifestyle. “Morgan, honey, you need help. This sounds unsafe.” “No I need my sister back!” I argued, a hand going to my hip while the other waved in the air to help make my point. “Darcy died. You of all people know that.” Mom said, in an reassuring yet demeaning voice. “But with the Heart of Damballa I could bring her back!” I argued, feeling insane going in circles like this. Why weren’t they getting it? My sister could be brought back. I didn’t need to make a deal with a Shadow Man, or with a Crossroads demon, or even trade my life for her’s. One spell with that necklace and my sister would be by my side. I let her down once, I wasn’t about to do it again. Twilight seemed ready to join my cause. There was sympathy in her large purple eyes. She had known Darcy, better than my mother and Tracy did. “I can be there and back in five minutes.” “Then you’ll surely be able to wait until morning. After the testing.” Tracy said. She was smiling smugly, as if playing a trump card. My lips curled up into a snarl. “No. I can go now and be back in five minutes, three if Tiff’s in a good mood.” Tracy scoffed. “The girlfriend of a serial killer, in a good mood? That’s with you lying dead.” “No! She swore it off for Glen and Glenda.” I argued. This argument was starting to piss me off. “Didn’t she murder the nanny on their birthday?” Tracy countered. I huffed. “Tracy, can you just-” “If that’s what you view as reasonable behavior from a mother of two, then I worry about your daughters.” Tracy said. Twilight gasped, hand flying to her face. She hugged her results closer, while I was plotting Tracy’s accidental murder. “You have another daughter?” Mom asked, crossing her arms Mom style. I paused, remembering Mom hadn’t heard that bit of news. “...yes.” “I have another granddaughter, and you didn’t think to tell me?” Mom questioned. “Her name is Cookie Eleanor.” Tracy said, looking over her paperwork. Mom turned all her attention to my babysitter. “She was a kitten, age three months at find of adoption. She is now a human child, slash griffin, who according to the math is four human years.” Mom gave me a look. “You were busy. I was getting around to it-” “Morgan, you expect me to believe you’re responsible enough to go after this Heart of whatever, when you go and take in another child without any conference with your father and me?” Mom asked. I was feeling properly scolded, and a sick case of deja vu from my fight with Twilight. The purple alicorn seemed to be on the same track as me. She didn’t intervene, as this was obviously between my mother and myself. “Mom, this is my sister.” I pleaded, changing subjects back to my original problem. Mom would have to cave if my sister, her daughter by proxy, was at stake. “I want her back. I’m better with her there, can’t any of you see that?” I asked the three of them. Mom shook her head. She hadn’t bonded with Darcy that whole week they stayed with me. It could’ve been because Darcy was the extreme of everything Mom disliked about me. “All I see is my teenage daughter, being grounded.” I blinked. “...what?” “You heard me. You’re grounded, for a month. My time.” Mom said. My jaw dropped. “No more Traveling, except to take Princess Twilight home. You’re not to leave the house except for school and work. You’re fifteen, Morgan. Most importantly, no more talk of that Heart thing. You already have so much on your plate, with this weird magic sickness thing and your crown and school starting back up for you and Lilac. Why did you just add onto it?” “I’m a hundred and ninety-nine!” I said, defensively. Mom continued giving me a hard look. “My daughters are my business, a-and I don’t even live in your house anymore! Dad turned my old room into a home office.” “Then no leaving your shack.” Mom amended. She put her hands on her hips, saying how done she was with the argument. What, I take in a kitten, that gets turned into a griffin, so I’m in trouble? “It’s the Hut!” I corrected, already knowing I lost this fight. “And I shouldn’t have to consult you and Dad on adopting Cookie-” She threw a glare at me, and I was silenced. A mom had hundreds of superpowers, and one was the ability to silence her children with a look. My hands nervously clasped in front of me, and my shoulders sagged. It ended differently than my fight with Twilight, in that I couldn’t raise my voice to my mother. Could anyone of you? Though, I wanted badly to raise my fists at Tracy. The drive to my house was quiet. The girls had been awaken and taken to my car, Mom having left before me so she hadn’t met Cookie yet. It was for the better anyway, with how the fight thing went with Mom. I carried Cookie passed Mom’s house, not even looking up at it. Grounded? My mom grounded me. She didn’t even ground me in January. Lilac was walking with Twilight, rubbing tiredly at her eyes. Cookie hadn’t even stirred. They were in their pajamas. Lilac was in a light purple nightgown with Disney princesses on it, and Cookie was in some pajamas with weird driving dogs on it. Her wings were limp on her back in her exhaustion. “Raspberry, why aren’t we going into the house?” The bookworm asked. “Mom said not to leave the Hut.” I said, feeling bitter again. “So we go to the Hut.” “Morgan, how are we all going to-” “Remodeled it. We can fit.” I stated, ending the conversation. The Princess sighed behind me. My eldest daughter whispered “Princess Twilight, did something happen between Mom and Grandma?” Twilight paused. I held Cookie tighter, pulling out the key to the Hut. “Yes. They had a fight, and I really don’t think it’s a good idea to talk to your mother about it right now.” “Oh.” “She’ll tell you and Cookie in the morning. I’m sure of it. Raspberry just needs time to process it.” I unlocked the door, pushing it open for Lilac. She was looking at me with uncertainty, and hesitation. I couldn’t look her in those big blue eyes, ashamed of myself for letting Mom get to me. Lilac walked on by in the new Hut. She reached up for her sister, and I let myself smileys the four year old woke up. “Uhh.” Cookie groaned. “Wanna bed.” Lilac laughed to, holding her arm around her sister to keep her up. “Sure thing, Cookie. Mom made you your own room here, and I have one too.” Cookie yawned, resting her head on her sister’s shoulder. The four of us walked inside. The Stardusts were used to the new landscape, but the Sparkle was surprised. “Woah...” Twilight said, gaping at all the new surroundings. “You...” “Remodeled.” I grumbled, sitting on my new couch. “Made room for Cookie.” Said child was being carried up the stairs to her bedroom. The two girls looked so precious in their pajamas. “Mom’ll come tuck us in, Cookie.” Twilight walked toward the kitchen. Her voiced echoed. “And all of Equestria.” She commented. I snorted, letting my hands lie on the couch in my apathy. “Sure.” The house was bigger on the inside. It had a wide open living room, with a staircase in the back that lead to the second floor. There was a door to the kitchen just a few yards away from the stairs, and just a little ways away from the front door was one to a side room that I would use for Planning and various experiments. The only door you could see from the stairway was my room, and it wasn’t an accident. Lilac had worked for about five minutes with Cookie on the color scheme (lots of brown and blue). It was adorable to see them working together. Though not even their adorableness was helping me get over the fact that I was grounded and their aunt would stay dead. Cookie didn’t even know she had one. My friend sat by me. The couch was large enough so she could sit comfortably without much difficulty in her wings. “Morgan, you’ve been quiet since we left your office.” I took a breath, letting myself sink deeper into the couch. “I already know the answer, you’re not good at hiding it, but I still need to ask. Are you alright?” Twilight asked. “No.” I said, staring at the wall like it did me a personal injustice. “No, I’m not.” She sat up straighter, hyping herself up. “We’re trying to be more honest with each other, right? At least I hope so. Tell me what’s bothering you.” She asked, putting her hand over mine in comfort. I looked up at her, trying to make it look like I didn’t care. Her eyes were just reminding me of what I’m losing. “And not as a fellow Princess, as a friend.” My heart ached, tears burned in the corners of my eyes as I thought of voicing my concerns. Twilight was just looking at me with such patience and understanding, it made me happy we were friends. She is going to make a perfect Princess. “I...I need to get my sister back.” I admitted, voice watery. “My sixteenth birthday is in two months, I always wanted to turn sixteen with my sister here with me. I want her to meet Bumblebee and give him the break her heart they never find you body speech. I want to hear her make jokes about finally getting a boyfriend at 200. I...I want to talk to her like we used to, we shared everything. I want her to meet Cookie. Cookie! I have to get both my daughters ready for school, and myself, in both worlds. My powers are out of whack in my human body, so I have to be tested-” Twilight moved her hand to my shoulder. “Oh Celestia. You weren’t scared of the tests at school. Of course you weren’t. You were scared of being tested on.” I flinched, shrugging her hand off my shoulder. “Whe-When you’re ol-older than your mo-mom, and loo-look ten, the weirdest things scare you.” “It’s a perfectly viable fear-” “You’re only saying that because you know what I am!” I argued, sitting up straight on the couch to look at Twilight in exasperation. “It didn’t make sense to Mom when I was ten, how I was scared of any sort of t-test, because I’m different than anybody else. Then, then the thing with the stairs and I wake up in a hospital.” Twilight sighed in sympathy. “When those kids pushed you down the stairs.” I shuddered, my arms wrapping around me as the child abided. Even now, a century later, and I can still recall the skips in my heartbeat as seeing myself in a hospital with no idea how I got in. The nurses running in, because of my excited heart rate and loud screams. It was like waking up from a nightmare, only to find out if was only a worse nightmare. For a month, I was walking around with casts on my body and stitches in my head. At the time, I thought it was a miracle they hadn’t noticed what was wrong with me. I didn’t-couldn’t-risk another trip to the ER. I was super careful after that. No sports in case of injuries, no extracurricular stay could involve high places or stunts, not even riding a bike. Even worse, no talking at school, because if they got away with it once they could get away with it twice. “I’m still planning the Feud.” I admitted, a tear leaking from my cheek. “With Seth. I’m still planning it.” I turned to my friend, seeing disappointment covered in shock. “They hurt me, Twilight, badly. I lost a childhood, and what most people at the Centre call my real childhood. The one universe I should have felt safe only made me feel dread.” “Morgan. I had no idea it hurt so much.” Twilight said, tears on her own cheeks. “I...I was scared to change in the locker rooms, because of my scars.” Whatever was making me spill out the truth to Twilight, I didn’t want it to stop. ‘If I can just explain to one person why I need me sister, maybe I still have a chance.’ “I was a freak to them, having scars I couldn’t explain would only make things worse.” Twilight then pulled me into a hug. Hugs weren’t really my thing, but I was thankful for it anyway. It hid my face well enough. “Darce never thought I was a freak.” I hiccuped. “Ever. I was her superhero. She was my rock. She was always ready for a fight, especially when it was about me.” Twilight added a wing in the hug. I broke down into sobs. “So that’s why you let the Feud go on. You were doing it for her.” Celestia’s Faithful student put together. I cried an affirmative. “I remember that week, when you were missing and Darcy made us go into boot camp.” Twilight laughed fondly. “Darcy got us all into this song, and she said she wanted to take down Dominic so his crown would go to you.” I must have done something to show confusion, even in the crying, because Twilight understood. “Yeah, I know. She loves you, Morgan, and she always wanted the best for you. Even if you didn’t know it.” “I always knew.” I sobbed into her shoulder. “She’s my sister. I love her.” “The connection between siblings sure is a strong one, I mean Shining and I still call each other BBBFF’s.” Twilight said. “And you and Darcy...well I know what you called each other.” “Bitch and witch.” I sniffled, fondly remembering we preferred to use them in every conversation. “Merciful Storyline, I can’t wait to see what she calls Bee. *sniffle* It’ll probably be the worst nickname she can think of.” “She called me by my hometown.” Twilight laughed. “Oh Celestia. I almost forgot. She was the one always pranking Rainbow Dash.” “Yeah. Rainbow was definitely her favorite of you lot.” I laughed tearfully, face still buried into Twilight’s shoulder. “I remember, one time, she tried covering Rainbow in poison joke and it fell on her instead. She-She turned gray.” Twilight laughed loudly. “You’re joking!” “N-No.” I pulled away for a second, wiping at me eyes. “I-I kept missing the paths to Z-Zecora’s because I was l-laughing so har-hard.” There was a heavy pause, the two of us reflecting on memories of Darcy. My last happy night with her, prepping for the Gala. When she was six, and first found out about my powers. The day I bought her the pink necklace now resting over my neck. All those years in the foster system, having each others back come heaven or hell. The many birthdays the two of us shared, some with murder and some with...more murder. Then the not-so-happy memories came. The time her doll came to me in a graveyard with the intent to kill me. When I saw her in Doctor Who, Journey’s End and she swore to kill me. The fights we got into, about my powers and my family. She always wanted to tell my family, saying it couldn’t be hidden forever. When it did, she died for me. It hurt...but it hurt less than before. Then came the daydreams, of what the two of us would be doing right now. Darcy would be moving her stuff from any of our vaults around town into her new bedroom. She’d be working with Pinkie on planning our birthday, because there was no way Darcy would want this one to be a surprise. She’d be telling Cookie all the cool stuff they could do once Cookie was older. Darcy and Bumblebee, together in the same room. My mind wouldn’t even come up with the scenario, it was just too odd. I never had a boyfriend before, Darcy just teased me about never going on a date. “Darcy Anderson.” I murmured. “What did I do to deserve you?” There was another heavy silence. Twilight pulled me out of the hug, looking me intently in the eyes. She was smiling, but a reassuring smile. “Go.” Twilight said. “H-Huh?” I said, wiping my eyes and wishing I was in my pajamas. They had longer sleeves. Twilight held my hand, smiling so widely it stretched to her ears. “Go tuck your daughters into bed, come back here, and go bring your sister back.” That time, I didn’t flinch in the hug.