//------------------------------// // Visit // Story: Zombie Chronicles: New School // by ZombieBrony22 //------------------------------// It was an hour after AB returned home with a cut across her chest. "DO Y'ALL KNOW WHAT HE DID?!" I heard Applejack scream from the other side of the house. "OF COURSE I KNEW! HE'S MORE THAN THAT!" AB said. God, I can't sit through this. I grabbed my phone and decided to give Diamond a call. "Hello?" I heard Diamond ask. "Hey, Diamond." I said. "Hey! How're things?" Diamond asked me. "Good, how about you?" I asked her. "Great! My dad's been home more. Say, you should come visit some time." Diamond said. "Sure. To be honest, I need to get off of the farm, AB's having some problems." I said. "Really? How bad?" Diamond asked. "Like... 'Harley Quinn' bad." I said. "Well, we do have some free time right now. Why don't you tell Granny Smith?" Diamond asked. I agreed and hung up. I noticed that the argument's died down and Applejack was out in the kitchen. "Hey, AJ." I started. "Yeah?" She asked. "How is she?" I asked. AJ sighed and took her hat off and set it on the table. "It's bad, Jason. She thinks she's in love with him or somethin'. I've never seen her like this, Jason, never." AJ said. I sighed, realizing I had to leave. "I'm thinking on visiting Diamond today." I said. "You should do that. Check on her, you know?" AJ said. "Wanna come with? I kinda need a ride." I said. AJ snickered and grabbed her truck keys. We arrived in front of the mansion. "This place is impressive..." I reminisced. "Yeah, it is..." She said. "What is it?" I asked her. "Nothin'. Jus' nothin'." AJ said. "Wanna come in with me? I'm sure Filthy won't mind." I said. AJ nodded and we rung ourselves in. As soon as we did, the giant gates winded open and we entered, careful not to touch the grass. We approached the door and I knocked using the giant handles. The doors opened and we were greeted by... "Mom?" I asked. "Jason! Uh, um..." She nervously said. "What're you doin' here? I thought you had therapy!" AJ said. "That's done. I've been staying here for the last few days. I was going to tell you, but..." Mom started. Our conversation was stopped by Filthy coming to the door. "Jason! How've you been? It's been years!" Filthy said. Filthy Rich has been more of a father to me than Gaverial's ever been. I knew him for many years, but not his daughter... "Hey, Filthy." I said. "Yeah, uh... Diamond's in the second room on the far right." Filthy said. I nodded and me and AJ started heading for the room Filthy mentioned. When we found it, we decided to knock first. The door was opened and I was met with the same girl who I saw back when me and Diamond first met. "You here for Diamond?" She asked. "Yeah." I said. "She's not here right now, sorry." Silver said. She started shutting the door when another hand held it open. "Hey, Jason!" Diamond said as she held me in an embrace. "Hey, Diamond." I said as I returned it. I heard a scoff and the door slam and lock. "Sorry about her, she's just... different lately." Diamond said. I chuckled. "I know how that feels." I said. "Yeah, I heard about Apple Bloom, I'm so sorry, Jason, that must be devastating." Diamond said. "What about it?" I asked. "How you worked so hard for her to notice you, only to lose her to your own father. Especially him." Diamond said. What followed was a long, awkward silence. It lasted for what seemed like hours until I heard Filthy call for us. "We should go see what he wants." AJ said. We went to the source of sound-- the kitchen-- where we saw Mom, Filthy, and two other kids our age who I've never met. "Please, sit down, Jason." Filthy said. I took a seat and Diamond and AJ followed. "So, Applejack, what happened at the Musical Showcase 3 months ago?" Mom asked. "Um.. well..." AJ started. "Invaders? Magic?" Mom directly asked her. AJ's eyes grew to the size of saucers as she gently nodded. "Wait, what? Magic?" I asked. "Jason, you missed a lot 3 months ago. Bad things went down." AJ said. "What happened?" Mom asked. "Well, see, there were these three girls, and then--" Mom jumped out of the seat in such a hurry that she almost broke it. "Come on Jason. AJ, go home, keep your family safe. We don't have much time." Mom said as she grabbed her car keys. "Where are we going?" I nervously asked. Mom took a sigh and turn her head slighty. I was able to get the best view of her tattoo. I never noticed that it now was a perfect "V". "Gardenia. Filthy, tell the butlers this is Code T-R-1-X." Mom said. "You got it, Jess. Come back safe." Filthy said as he paced to another side of the mansion. Code T-R-1-X? Who were those two kids we saw? Why was mom so suddenly triggered? Magic? What the hell? We were driving in my mom's minivan. AJ drove back home to watch Apple Bloom. "Mom, what the hell's going on?" I asked. She didn't answer. She just looked at me, sighed, and turned back to the road. "Mom. What's Code TR1X?" I asked. Mom sighed before answering. "You'll see soon enough." Sure enough, a sign for Gardenia came into view. Gardenia A place of magic. "We're almost there. Here, put this on." Mom said, handing me a straw hat. "Anyone looks near you, tip it down." Mom said as she but on a bandana. "Mom, what did you do?" I asked. "Jason, please." Mom begged. I hesitated, but put on the hat. "Okay, here are some rules. Anyone asks you a question, ignore it. Anyone follows you, lose them. Anybody calls you "Witch", keep walking. Got it?" Mom asked as we pulled over near what seemed like a clear path into the city. I nodded and we started walking. I took note of the city, it seems more like Metropolis than anything else. The city was on the far cide from where we were entering. "Stay close to me." Mom said. I nodded and we started walking down the streets. People seemed rather friendly. Mostly smiles all around, most of them were looking down at phones, but as for the rest, they were just... talking. "How long was it since--" "I'm not saying they're dead, it's just--" "After what happened with the Trix, no more--" "I heard that group at Frutti Music--" "Bloom was great! I swear, it's as if she isn't even human--" That last one got her. She picked up her pace as she seemed to change directions. After almost an hour of walking, Mom came up to one house and knocked. "Who is it?" A man on the inside asked. "Mike? It's me." Mom said. "Who's 'me'?" Mike asked. "It's... Jessica." Mom whispered. The door swung open and we were greeted by a man in his early 50s, blonde hair, a blue collared shirt. "Jess! What are you-- come inside! Quick, Bloom's not back yet." Mike said. We came inside and Mike shut the door and started shutting the sheets. "Who's this?" A woman, possibly Mike's wife, asked. "Vanessa, it's me." Mom said. "Jessica?! Oh my, I'll call Bloom, tell her to stay out longer." Vanessa said. "No. In fact, get her here. I need to talk to her immediately." Mom said. "But the Headmaster--" Vanessa said. "I know. I'm willing to face whatever punishment as long as this gets out." Mom said. A short silence followed as everyone collected their bearings. "I'll give her a call." Vanessa said. Vanessa went in another room, which let us with Mike. "So, this must be Jason." Mike said with a voice of what seemed like sorrow. "Yes. Jason, meet Michael Peters. He's... an old friend." Mom said. "Nice to meet you, Jason." Mike said as he held his hand out. "Nice to meet you, too." I said as I took his hand and shook it. "Look, what has your mother told you about your father?" Mike asked. I hesitated, remembering what Gaverial had said. "I'm not your father. I never was." "...Nothing." I said. "Really? Nothing?" Mike asked, looking up to Mom. She shook her head. "I hoped I'd never had to." Mom said. We were stopped by Vanessa on the phone. "Yes, I know she was exiled. She says she needs to talk to you." She said. Mike cleared his throat. "So, let's start this with a question. Do you beleive in magic, Jason?" Mike asked. "Wait, what do you mean 'magic'?" I asked him. "I'm not talking about cards or shows. I am talking about the pure word 'magic'-- science we do not understand, something we can't wrap out heads around. Do you, Jason, beleive in magic?" Mike asked. I never really asked myself that. I never got involved with anything related to any form of magic. Yeah, there were some of the shows I watched, but other than that... "I never saw a reason not to." I shrugged. "Oh good, no pure opinion. I guess the reveal won't be hard then." Mike said. All conversation was stopped by the door quickly opening and shutting. We all looked up and saw a red headed girl, close to my age by the looks of it. "Where is she?" She simply asked. "Right here." Mom said. The girl turned her head to her, than to me. "Hmm. I didn't expect them to send a rookie." Mom said. "I'm no rookie. You wanted to send a message, now send it." The girl said. Mom cleared her throat. "We have reason to believe that three more witches are in Earth." Mom said. "Wait... witches?" I asked, totally confused over the past few hours. A silence followed as the sun started to slightly set. "You must be Jason." The girl said. "Yeah, but... how do you people know my name?" I asked. Mom sighed. "Remember those stories I told you as a child? About magic and witches?" Mom asked. "Y... Yeah?" I asked. "Well... they were real. Every. Last. One." Mom said.