Edge of Eternity

by FrostTheWolf

01- Not the End

Edge of Eternity- Not the End

---

The cheers of family and friends could be heard throughout the Canterlot Amphitheater. The graduating class of Canterlot High sat in the front rows of the theater while their families and friends watched from afar as each one was called up by name. Some were recognized for their academic performances, while others were acknowledged for their contributions to making the school a better place. It was a memorable moment that many people would cherish, especially for parents that got to watch their children walk down the aisle and obtain their diploma’s.

Well… memorable for almost everyone that was there. One of the attendees wasn’t exactly thrilled to be there. Not because he didn’t like what was going on, but more because he couldn’t be a part of it. Both of his siblings were up there with the graduating class, but he was a year behind. He really wanted to be there alongside them and wasn’t exactly happy with just watching the ceremony from the stands.

It was after the commencement speech was given that the speaker of the ceremony began to call up the graduating class alphabetically by their last name. Many of the names he heard were people that he was only somewhat familiar with or didn’t know at all. Though, as the speaker went down the list, there were particular names that he did know.

“Dawn Nocte.” That was followed by a blond haired woman with blue eyes walking up to the stage. She wore a black graduation gown alongside the rest of the class as she walked up to receive her diploma.

Many of the people that were nearby where he was seated began to cheer and wave at Dawn as she sat back down. Only to do so again when the next name was called. “Noctis Caelum Nocte.” In response, a blacked hair man wearing the same graduation gown and cap received their diploma too, before sitting back down next to Dawn.

It was shortly after those names were called that the one who was watching them chose to step away. He needed a moment to clear his head of the thoughts that were on his mind. Another student noticed this, and began trailing behind him. He didn’t go far though, just behind the stands as he leaned on the concrete wall and let out a deep breath.

The student that followed him stopped next to him, “Something the matter, Naoto?” The student asked as she leaned up against his side. Naoto, now addressed by his name, looked back to his friend, who was a much shorter girl with gentle yellow skin, orange curly hair with a yellow balloon hairpin and light blue eyes. She wore a blue turtleneck, an orange skirt with cyan ugs.

“Yeah, Pumpkin… kind of.” Naoto replied as he let out a sigh.

“Is it because your siblings will be leaving for college without you?” Pumpkin asked, giving Naoto a friendly smile. “You won’t be that far behind them!”

“I know, but,” he said, still feeling a bit uncertain, “I just really want to be up there with them too, you know? Wouldn't you feel the same way if you had to sit by while watching your own brother graduate?”

“Yeah, but that’s because we’re twins. You’re a grade younger than them!” Pumpkin was distracted from conversing with her friend when a name was called out. She turned around, and screamed at the top of her lungs across the gathered crowd. “Woo! Lily! You go, girl! Yeah!”

Naoto himself took a moment to clap along with the rest of the crowd and congratulate their friend, Lily Longsocks. It was only temporary, as when the purple girl left the stage the crowd died down. Once Lily got herself seated, Naoto then looked back at Pumpkin. “I know I should be happy for them. Sorry if I’m coming off as a downer, Pumpkin.”

“You are being a downer, but I get it. Hey, think of it this way. When you get to the college they’re going to, they’ll have the place ready for your arrival!” Pumpkin tried to cheer him up, poking his cheek all the while. “The emotion you’re feeling right now is called bittersweet. So right now, I guess you feel like lemon pancakes!”

He chuckled a bit in response, but in Naoto’s head, there was another thing that was bugging him. With his siblings going off to college, they won’t exactly be around to help him if he somehow got himself in trouble. That and he really did not want to screw up his senior year at Canterlot High. Though, that was a problem for another time. Right now, it was a celebration of life and joy. The last thing that he needed was to be a mood killer in front of his friends and family.

“Thanks Pumpkin,” he told her, “I think I needed that.”

“No, what you need is to at least seem supportive. I know you aren’t self absorbed, but they might take it the wrong way.” Pumpkin backed up a bit, but gave him a quick but friendly elbow to his gut. “But hey, at least you don’t have to deal with Rumble anymore~!”

“Thank god for that,” Naoto said, looking back at Pumpkin with a smile, “Let’s go back. I can’t exactly be ‘supportive’ of Dawn, Noctis and Lily if I stayed here for the rest of the ceremony, right?”

With a simple nod from Pumpkin, the two began heading back towards their seats so they could watch the rest of the ceremony. Once the final diplomas were handed out and the graduates returned to their seats, there was one last thing that needed to be done before the ceremony was officially over. “And now, for one last final send off for our graduating class, please welcome Principal Cheerilee.”

The crowd cheered and applauded the principal for Canterlot High as she made her way towards the podium at the center of the stage. She was dressed in a gown and graduation cap that matched the ones worn by some of the speakers that had already been on stage as well as the students. “Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Today is a rather emotional and exciting day. Not just for the students and their families, but for the teachers and faculty who have had the privilege to be with this year's graduating class for the last four years. We are all proud of you for making it this far.”

The people in the stands began to cheer again for the students as the principal waited for the noise to die down first before she continued with her speech, “When you first stepped through the doors of our campus as incoming freshman, many of you were probably nervous. Now though, all of you have grown and accomplished so much within the last four years. But this isn’t me telling you that it’s over. Instead, I want for you to keep pushing yourselves, even after today. One of my greatest friends that I had the privilege to work with would tell me that there’s always something new on the horizon, whatever that might be. I want for all of you, not just the graduating class, but everyone to pursue that horizon. Show the world what you can accomplish. Tomorrow’s a new day, so let’s be the best ‘me’ that we can be! Thank you and let’s give one more round of applause to this year's graduating class!”

The auditorium became deafening with applause from everyone as the graduating class all stood up and made their way towards their respective attending parties. When Dawn and Noctis reached their group, a pink blurr knocked them on their backs.

“I’m sooo proud of you two!” The blurr squealed, hugging Naoto’s siblings with bone crushing intensity. The offending woman was a decently sized woman with pink skin, darker pink hair that curled so much that it by far overshadowed Pumpkin’s, ocean blue eyes. She wore an ugly neon green t-shirt with the pair’s names bedazzled onto it, jeans that weren’t long enough to hide her ankles and flip flops with an assortment of accessories that made it hard to determine what time period she was from. In all regards, she was wearing what amounted to a migraine waiting to happen. “I can’t wait for you guys to see the graduation party I planned!”

As he watched, Naoto could only let out a small sigh, “Pinkie, I know you’re excited… but I think Noctis and Dawn need a bit of breathing room.”

“Right, right, five feet until asked!” Pinkie hurriedly backed off while reciting some mantra.

“It’s not like that, aunty, they’re just overwhelmed!” Pumpkin reassured, which eased the older woman’s tension.

“You can say that again,” Noctis finally spoke. “Still, I’m so glad that you guys made it.”

“Well, mostly everyone,” they now heard another voice speak up as they turned to see an amber colored woman with fire like hair that wore a navy hoodie, jeans and sneakers that was standing behind Naoto and Pumpkin. With her was another woman with lavender skin, glasses and purple hair that was tied up in the back, who wore a violet jacket black pants and a magenta shirt underneath, “Unfortunately, Rainbow and her partner had an emergency at the Canterlot Mall and Rarity’s flight from Manehattan got delayed because of a storm going on right now.”

“I’m sure they’ll be here soon though.” Fluttershy added supportively.

“Hopefully so,” Dawn now spoke up, “What about Apple Bloom and her friends? I didn’t seem to notice them in the stands at all. I thought they would be with you guys.”

“They’re holding down the fort while we’re here. They wanted Pinkie to see you guys up there,” Pumpkin gestured to the now sobbing pink woman. “But I wouldn’t trust them with the place that long.”

“If that’s the case, then we should probably head back,” Noctis then suggested, “Not sure if there’s anything else that we need to do here now that the ceremony is all over.”

“I can agree with that,” Dawn replied before looking back to Pumpkin and the others as they began to walk towards the parking lot. Naoto followed behind them, yet it was as he was walking that someone happened to step in front of him and separate him from the others.

“Um, excuse me?” He asked, only for them to ignore him and keep walking, “Well, that was just damn rude.”

“Oh, Naoto, is that you~?” A sickly sweet voice cooed from behind. Naoto turned around, only to find himself looking at a somewhat familiar face. A teen girl with a dark pink skin tone, golden eyes and slightly frazzled orange hair tied up in a ponytail, wearing a dark purple vest over a white dress shirt, a black pair of skin tight jeans with lime green and white shoes. She also had a silver watch on her left wrist, grey rectangular earrings and a necklace of a sunflower. “I was wondering if you’d show up around here. I keep forgetting you’re a highschooler though, what with… well, you know~”

That had Naoto twitch in a moment of weakness, before looking back at the familiar face, “What are you doing here, Luster Dawn?” He asked her, “I don’t remember you taking part in helping with graduation for the seniors, so what gives?”

“My mommy’s the vice principal, she’s here to make sure Principal Cheerilee’s taking her ‘happy pills’,” Luster replied with a shrug. “But I guess we were both dragged here by family, huh Nocte?”

“I chose to come here and support my siblings,” he corrected her, “I wasn’t forced to do anything.”

“Keep telling yourself that to make yourself feel better.” Luster rolled her eyes. “I was just wondering, how does it feel knowing you’ll be an only child soon? Or, well, the only Nocte in town, I suppose.”

“You mean being an only child like you?” Naoto shot back, before looking back behind him to where everyone else is before facing her, “Look, I don’t have time for this right now Luster. So could you just leave me alone and let me rejoin my friends?”

Luster began again, giving off an air of false remorse. “Oh, did I upset you? It’s fine, I was just worried since they’re your last family members.”

At first, Naoto was going to say something. Though, instead, he noticed someone coming towards them as he let out a breath. “Speaking of family… your mother is behind you. And she doesn’t look happy.”

Luster spun around. Standing not an inch away was a woman whose skin was a gentle lilac, eyes were a piercing dark blue and hair a lavender with a teal streak through it, she wore a purple dress shirt with black dress pants. She folded her arms with a disapproving look. “Young lady, you have some explaining to do.”

“Eek! S-sorry mother, I was j-just talking to an acquaintance of mine!” Luster folded her hands behind her back and straightened her back.

“I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for the last five minutes and you answered none of my calls,” the woman replied back, “You had me worried that someone tried to kidnap my daughter on the most crowded night of the school year, Luster!”

There was an awkward moment of silence before Luster replied, “I didn’t mean to worry you, mother. And my phone died.” She avoided eye contact with her mother as she said that. “I-I’m fine, really.”

The woman just let out a heavy sigh as she looked back at her daughter. Though, it was then that she noticed Naoto and then changed her tone. “Let this be a warning, Luster. Please don’t do anything like this again. I would feel awful if something happened to you,” she said, before looking back to Naoto with a look of suspicion on her face, “And you… Naoto Nocte, was it? You weren’t trying to do anything funny with my daughter now, were you?”

“N-no, absolutely not, Ms. Glimmer,” Naoto shook his head as he looked at Luster briefly, before looking back at the woman to finish his sentence, “I was just with my family, then Luster found me and she wanted to… catch up.”

The woman, otherwise known at school as Vice Principal Starlight Glimmer, just let out a sigh as she looked back to him, “Well, you two will need to catch up another time. Right now though, Luster and I are heading straight home,” Moments after she said that, she pressed the button on an electronic key and unlocked the doors on a nearby car. Luster seated herself in the front passengers seat while the vice principal opened the doors to the drivers side of the car. But not before telling Naoto one last thing, “Have a safe evening, Mr. Nocte.”

As Starlight closed the door and began to pull out of the parking lot, Naoto turned back around. Though, just as he was about to start walking, he began to hear the ringtone on his phone as he picked up and answered the call. “Hello?”

“Naoto, where are you?” he heard Pumpkin’s brother, Pound Cake, say on the other end of the line. “We were about to get going before Pumpkin realized that you weren’t with us.”

“Sorry about that, I kind of got a bit sidetracked,” he replied, “Where are you guys all parked at?”

“Lot G, aisle 4,” Pound told him, “And hurry up! Pinkie’s getting antsy waiting for you.”

“I’m on my way,” Naoto said, before ending the call and making his way over to the other end of the parking lot to join up with everyone else.

---

In the city of Canterlot, there were many things to do and places to see. Everywhere you would go, you would find numerous restaurants, local businesses and entertainment outlets whether they were on your local street corner or they were part of the Canterlot Mall. No matter where you looked, there was always something new around every corner and surrounded by people who would want to visit. Whether it be to meet with friends or just to try something new.

However, there was one exception to this. One place that was abandoned, empty and several in the community would go as far to say that it was haunted. The old Canterlot High building. Several years back, when Principal Celestia was still at the school, building inspectors found that the foundation that the original school was built on was unstable. Part of the building sank to the windows, the right wing of the structure was crooked and sections of the school were already halfway submerged into the ground. If they were to follow through on demolishing the building, it would’ve been a nightmare to pay for.

Though, instead of going through with demolition and rebuilding the campus, it was decided that CHS would have a new school built at a separate location. One that was on more stable ground and that was bigger than the original to take on more students. Yet, over time, the state of the original building began to deteriorate even more to the point that it had to be closed off to the public. Even more so that the building was haunted where several people have claimed to see shadows of people moving along the windows of the building.

Yet, even though the foundation was seen as a hazard to everyone who had laid eyes on it, there was one that called the old building home. She was a young girl who enjoyed walking through the halls of the school and exploring the different rooms. Though, this young girl was special… for she did not have a body. Instead, the form that she had was entirely of magic and only those who could be able to see magic could see her.

This didn’t bother her though. No one really came in order to visit or see her and she was fine with that. The last thing she wanted was to put others in danger because of who she was and the kind of power that she had. It was her choice to stay out here and the people that she had met before respected her decision. In her mind, with the way that the old building was, no one would come looking for her here.

That was… until tonight. It started when she noticed a white van pull up to the front of the building. From her perch overlooking the school, she saw four people come out of the van. Two of them appeared to be male while the others looked to be female and they were all dressed in black clothes. The girl became even more concerned when she saw one of the figures carry a crowbar as they went up to a window next to the entrance and smashed it open.

Fear slowly began to creep in as the girl turned into a wisp and retreated to the air vents that led to the second floor. She did not know why these people would be here, but she had a feeling that it wasn’t good. The girl hid there, but slowly made her way down when she began to hear voices from the intruders on the floor below her.

“Okay, does everyone have what they need?” One of the women, who had white hair and light navy skin asked, “Because I am not in the mood for setbacks tonight.”

“When you told me that the boss had a job for us, did she say that it had to be here?” One of the males, who had azure blue hair and light cyan skin spoke up, “I mean… do you even know about the rumors of this place?”

“Yeah, but don’t tell me a grown ass man like you is scared of playground rumors.” The other male, a pale faced man with equally pale hair teased. “It was closed because the foundation was poorly constructed, nothing more.”

“Okay, but the rumors of the place started after it was closed. If you ask somebody about this place, they’ll tell you that it's haunted,” the first male countered.

“Look, we came here because there’s a job to do, not to hear you complain every ten seconds. Now you can either go back to the van like a scared puppy and complain about being here,” the white hair woman told him, “Or you can suck it up and maybe do something useful. You’re a grown man, Favor. Act like it.”

The girl watched as ‘Favor’ let out a deep sigh, before looking back to the woman. The look on his face was all that the woman needed to see before turning to the other one that was nearby, “Belle? Are you ready to go?”

“I could be worse.” The last one, a woman with pink skin and pinker hair replied meekly. “No, I couldn’t…”

The white haired woman then looked back at the pale man, before letting out a sigh. “Alright, everyone put your specs on,” she instructed as each one of them got out what looked to be a pair of glasses and put them on their faces, before looking at the pale one, “Would you like me to continue or did you want to say something?”

“Nope, you’ve pretty much got it, Night. Let’s go in teams of two and corner our prey. We’ll walkie each other if we spot it.”

The girl tensed up for a moment. Could they be talking about her? Were these people hunting for her?

“Um… quick question,” they heard Favor speak up, “What exactly is it? We were told that we were looking for something, but not exactly what that something was.”

That had the woman named Night let out a deep groan of disapproval as she looked at Favor, “Listen. Our boss has found that there’s a high amount of magic here. We’ve been told to find whatever that source is, get it and bring it back to her,” she simplified, before looking back at the pale man, “And I agree with you. We got two floors to cover and not a lot of time to do it. Belle, you’re with Double while I have Favor with me. Capture only, we don’t want any accidents.”

Once she heard that, the girl immediately left the vent and began to panic. These people weren’t ordinary people, they were hunters… and tonight, they were coming after her. Quickly, the girl took some of the old desks and blocked off the stairs on the left side of the building. Her first thought was to block off any potential ways that these people could enter and was going to do so with the right side as well.

Unfortunately for the girl, her actions did not go unnoticed. For it was as she lifted up another desk with levitation magic that the girl heard one of them speak, “Double, my specs are picking up readings near you and Sugar. It must be nearby.”

“Roger. Sugar, get ready, we’re close.” Double said, pulling out a brass handheld box with a blue crystal in the center of each side. As he held onto it, the crystals slowly began to illuminate as his partner got a similar contraption. The girl watched in fear as she backed away from the door and lowered the desk she was levitating. The boxes were glowing brighter with each step that the hunters took, until they reached the top of the stairs.

Sugar was the first one to see her, and immediately began to scream. Double himself turned to see what his partner was looking at and instantly tried to use the device in his possession. Though, the girl did not let him as she took the desk that she was levitating and threw it at them. “S-Stay away from me!”

Quick on his feet, Double jumped and pushed Sugar out of the way to avoid the desk as the girl ran off down the hall. She could hear the sounds of their walkie talkies going off as she slipped under the door for the janitor closet, “What the hell’s going on up there, Double?! I just heard Belle scream!”

“Whatever we’re after, it’s headed your way!” Double shouted, before giving chase and leaving his partner behind.

“You heard him, Favor. Get ready!”

The girl held her breath, hoping that her hiding place would be enough for her to avoid her pursuers. However, as Double was walking, he stopped in front of the door. The girl inside watched as the hunter that was chasing her tried to force the door open. There were no vents for her to escape through and if she did slip through the door, she would end up getting caught in the contraption that he was carrying.

It was as she shuffled her feet though that the girl found a way out. The floor under her had a crack that was hidden by a floorboard, which she immediately slipped through as the lock on the door gave way and Double forced the door open.

As the girl landed though, she did not have enough time to get back on her feet as she felt herself getting pulled back. “Contact with the target! Attempting to capture now!!”

When she turned around, the girl saw Night with the same contraption that the other two had as it glowed brightly and tried to pull her in. She tried resisting, but the harder she tried, the more that the device fought back. The girl was looking for a way out, yet could only think of one possibility. With as much strength as she could muster, she applied her magic to a set of school lockers that were nearby and used her magic to unscrew them from the wall.

As the girl was pulled closer, she threw the lockers at the one that was attempting to capture her. “Night, look out!!!”

When Night realized what was coming for her at, she immediately ducked as part of the locker hit her shoulder. In that brief moment of pain, the girl broke away from the contraption and pulled more lockers off of the wall and blocked them off before racing around the first floor. “Double, this is Favor! Whatever you just saw, it hurt Night and blocked off the hallway down here. W-We need help-”

“F-Favor, shut up!” Night then snapped at him, “We are NOT coming back empty handed! Double, you and go after it!”

As the girl continued to run, she heard two pairs of footsteps coming down from upstairs. The one named Double was the first one she saw as he activated the contraption upon immediately seeing her, while Belle was right behind him. She felt the device pull her in and the more that it did so, the more that it felt like it was tearing her apart.

“W-who are you people?!” She asked out of fear as pain was felt throughout her makeshift body, “W-why are you doing this!?”

Double said nothing in response to her pleas, focusing more on apprehending the girl with the cube he was holding. Yet, as he pulled her closer, he noticed that she was beginning to glow brighter and that the blue light on the capture cube had changed to red. Which meant that the device was beginning to overload because it was taking on too much magic too fast.

“Leave. Me. ALONE!!!”

In a split second, a bright flash went off that sent a powerful shockwave throughout the area that shattered nearby windows and shook the building, knocking Double to the floor and having the cube slip out of his hands. When he got back up, the girl was nowhere to be seen, the backdoor of the school was blown wide open and the capture device that he had stopped glowing.

“Double, what the hell just happened!?” he heard Night shout over the walkie talkie.

“She got away, but she can’t have gotten far!” Double barked, giving Belle a disapproving glance. “We’ll pursue, but try to cut her off!”

“Just hurry up and chase it down!,” Night told them as both Belle and Double heard the sound of another window breaking farther down, “Favor and I will follow you in the van! Don’t lose sight of it!!”

---

Meanwhile…

By the time that they returned back to Sugarcube Corner, Naoto realized that Pinkie went above and beyond in order to make sure that this was a graduation celebration that his siblings would never forget. Not only was the dining area organized with enough food, drinks and snacks for everyone that came to the party, but there were also games, activities and live music as well. Many friends that they knew were there to celebrate and congratulate Noctis and Dawn on their accomplishments throughout the school year and wish them good luck as they prepared for college.

Even though the party itself was fantastic, Naoto personally found it hard in order to keep up with everything that was happening. He felt as if his senses were being barraged by the flickering lights and sounds from all around him and felt as if there were too many things happening at once. When talking to his own siblings, he found it hard to understand them because the music that was being played would drown out their voice and only catch pieces of what they were trying to say. So much so that he had to step out through the back door of Sugarcube Corner to take a moment in order to catch his breath.

Before he had the chance to head back in though, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He turned around and leaned against the building, before looking at the caller ID. “Huh? Why would she be calling me?” he asked himself, before accepting the call and putting the phone up to his ear. “Hello?”

“Hey, Naoto… are you busy at the moment?” he heard the voice of Rainbow Dash on the other end of the line, “I could really use some help right now, if you’re not busy.”

Right away, Naoto was confused. It wasn’t like Rainbow to be asking for help. If anything, she was the kind of person who would try to solve her own problems without any assistance at all. “What do you need?”

“Well, it… kind of has to do with the party,” she began to explain, “I ordered something special for your brother as a graduation gift and I was going to pick it up before coming to the party, but I’m right now held up in traffic and won’t be able to make it there in time before it closes.”

At that point, he was beginning to piece together what exactly Rainbow needed, “So you would like for me to go to the post office and get it before it closes?”

“Yeah,” she replied back, “A friend of mine works at the front counter of the post office nearby Sugarcube Corner. Just tell her that you’re picking up a package for me and she’ll help you with the rest. Thank you very much, Naoto.”

With that, the call ended as Naoto put his phone away. For a moment, he thought he should go inside and tell someone that he needed to help Rainbow. Though, with how close the post office is and how busy the party was, he thought that no one would notice if he stepped away for a few moments to help take care of this.

After crossing the street and walking down a few blocks, he soon found the post office that he was looking for. It was a local branch that had a small office and it didn’t seem to be busy at all when he looked at it from outside. When he walked inside, the office itself was barren and empty. Something that made Naoto concerned because he thought that he was too late.

“Oh hello there,” he heard a voice from behind the counter. Turning around, he found himself looking at a blonde haired woman with light grey skin and a pair of yellow eyes that were a bit off centered. She wore a light blue collared shirt with a nametag on there that said ‘Ditzy Doo’ as the woman looked back at Naoto, “Welcome to the Post Office. It’s almost closing time, but is there anything I can help you with?”

“Uh yes actually,” he told her, “Someone I know asked for me to come pick up a package for her. I think it’s under her name, Rainbow Dash.”

“Oh, um let me check real quick,” Ditzy replied, stepping away into the back room where the packages are for a short bit. After a couple moments, she came out with a thin rectangular cardboard box and handed him a clipboard, “Alright, can I have you sign here for me please? It’s to confirm that the package has arrived and that you picked it up.”

Naoto nodded his head, taking the pen that Ditzy offered. He was going to sign it, though that was when he realized that the paper she was asking for him to sign was placed upside down. Though, instead of saying anything about it, he just took a moment to flip the paper back around first and signed the form before handing the clipboard back to her. “Thank you,” she replied as she gave the package to Naoto, “Is there anything else that I can help you with, sir?”

“No, I think that’s it,” Naoto shook his head as he looked back at the clerk, “Thank you very much. Have a good evening.”

As he left the post office and began to walk home, he took a detour through an empty alley. He needed a moment to release his frustrations as he looked up at the sky for a moment, “Dammit… why the hell is everything like this?” He said, kicking a rock on the ground and watching it ricochet off a nearby wall, “Why is everyone happy that Noctis and Dawn are going to be leaving soon!? No one even knows the college they picked! They could be going to someplace in Japan and they’ll still be happy for them! And they’re… leaving me without a second thought.”

He then let out a groan as he slouched against the nearest wall, “Why…? What part of any of this is there to celebrate about?! What part of leaving me alone here do they not understand!?”

Just seconds after he said that, a loud explosion went off not far from where he was. An air conditioning unit that was on the side of the building was now burning and a giant hole had melted through a nearby fence. The hole itself was big enough in order to crawl under and the metal was still hot, yet Naoto was having trouble trying to process what could’ve caused this to happen.

Eventually, he came to the realization that the only real way to answer such a question was to see what was on the other side. At first, he thought he had to jump over the fence in order to do that. Though, when he saw that the metal had cooled down significantly, he began to carefully step through the fence and make his way over.

Once he was through, Naoto began to recognize where he was. It was a dog park that was part of the community center at the park. When he was younger, he and Dawn would take Spike here for walks whenever Twilight was on travel. He had not been here in some time, but right now, the dog park was in rough shape. It looked as if something had crashed in the middle of the park and dirt was scattered everywhere because of it.

“Just what exactly could’ve caused all of this?” Naoto thought to himself as he looked around the park and tried to find whatever it was that could’ve melted off that section in the fence. His original assumption was that something crashed into the air conditioning unit on the nearby building before bouncing off and colliding through the fence of the dog park. Though, it was as Naoto was looking around that the teen realized one thing.

What he was looking for was not something… but someone. “W-Who’s there? H-hello?”

“The hell?” Naoto thought to himself. He looked towards where the hole in the fence was, only to find nothing there. “Okay, my mind must be playing tricks on me. I swear I heard someone just now-”

It was as he turned back around though that he found someone in the center of the park. At first glance, she looked almost like a spitting image of Twilight, just with a few differences. When it came to her appearance, this girl’s skin was a darker shade of the lavender color that Naoto had seen before and her hair was longer in length. As for her clothes, she had no glasses and only wore a strapless top and skirt that were dark violet with a bit of magenta mixed in.

Before he could say anything though, the girl lifted her head and looked straight at him. Her eyes widening in horror as she stared at the teen, before getting enough courage to say one thing. “R-run.”

As she said that, Naoto heard footsteps from the other side of the fence that were getting closer and closer. When he looked towards the fence, he saw two figures emerge from the same opening he came through. The first was a pale man with white hair and light eyes while the other was a woman with light pink skin, dark magenta hair and eyes that matched her skin. Both figures were in dark clothing, wore glasses over their eyes and the male appeared to be carrying a strange looking brass box with a blue circle in the middle.

The larger of the two slowed his movement, donning a confident smirk. “Hey kid. It’s not safe for you to be around. Why don’t you run along? My friend and I are busy with something.” He hid the box behind his back, and spared a couple anxious looks towards the strange girl in a panic.

“Who are you people?” Naoto then asked, glancing over to where the girl was for a brief second before returning his focus to the two of them, but was surprised when the man barreled into him, knocking him to the floor.

“Sugar, deal with the kid!” He shouted as he pursued the girl. The woman meanwhile nervously stepped towards him, reaching behind her back.

As Naoto tried to get off the floor, he watched as the woman pulled out a taser. His heart was racing when he saw the weapon as he tried to stand up, “W-what the hell? All I did was ask a damn question and-”

He never got the chance to finish what he was saying as the woman pushed the taser against his chest, shocking him with volts of electricity as the teen fell back down to the ground.

“Oh my stars, I’m going to hell for this!” She yelped, pulling out her communicator. “H-hey Party Favor, c-could you swing by with the van? We had a witness.”

“Oh d-dear. W-we’ll be right there,” she heard from the other end, before hearing something else, “N-Night, Belle says that they had a witness.”

“Brilliant… as if this night couldn’t get any worse!” Night groaned at the other end before the communicator cut out. Belle then noticed the white van her companions had pulled into the nearby alley as the doors opened up. Party Favor was quick to rush over to his friends side and help carry the teen into the van. Though, once they set him inside, Party Favor had a new question to ask.

“Belle, where’s Double? Wasn’t he with you?”

“H-he’s going after the magic thingy.” Sugar replied.

“A-alone?” Favor shivered at the thought, “D-does he need help?”

“Obviously,” they both heard Night from the front of the van as she grabbed hold of her communicator from the dashboard of the van, “Double, come in.”

“I’m here. She slipped into a building, and I can’t go after her. Bring that boy back to base while I get the stationary magic from the school.” Came Double’s swift response.

“Double, we’re too exposed and in the open right now,” Night told him, “Tell us where you are so we can come pick you up. If we stay around any longer, someone’s going to call the police if they saw Belle capture this kid.”

“Just get out of here, you’re in a back alley. Stop dawdling and get the kid out of there.” He sounded a lot angrier this time around. Something that sent a chill down Favor’s spine as he looked back at Belle. She looked to be more a nervous wreck now that they were talking about the teen that she had tazed. Though, Night was not in the mood for this as she turned off her communicator.

“Favor, Belle, hurry up and get back in here. We’re leaving.” She said, anger off the tip of her tongue as she prepared to pull the van out of the alley. Night had no idea what the hell Double was thinking, but he was right about one thing. They had to get this kid out of here before someone realized what happened and called the police.

Both Party Favor and Sugar Belle immediately slammed the doors to the back of the van and hopped in shortly afterwards, prompting Night to hit the gas as they left the alley and started to drive towards their hideout. Everyone tried their best to stay calm, despite the circumstances of their situation as they drove through downtown. They were careful not to do anything that would attract the attention of onlookers as they followed the traffic lights and tried their best to act normal.

It was as they passed by an old school building though that they unknowingly got the attention of one person. Ironically, it was the same person that Night and the others had been going after all night. As she watched from the top of the building, the girl looked towards the white van. She overheard the conversation that her pursuer was having with his companions and was horrified to learn that they had captured him.

The girl felt that she had to do something to help him. The boy did not deserve to be treated like this. So, while the van was waiting at a red light, she softly floated down onto the roof of the van, before channeling her magic so she could sink through. She found him lying face down on the floor of the van, groaning in pain as he clung to his chest.

At first, the girl wanted to get his attention and let him know that he was here. Though, it was as she tried to tap his shoulder that the vehicle pulled off to the side of the road and stopped, “Favor, drive the rest of the way,” she heard the driver tell the others, “I got a few questions that I would like to ask this kid.”

Immediately, the girl gasped. If she was seen now, then she couldn’t help him. Acting on instinct, she hid inside a nearby bag that was full of mechanical tools and parts as the driver opened the back of the door and climbed inside. “Get up,” she ordered the kid, who was still trying to come to his senses. “I said GET UP!”

“W-what the hell-?” he groaned, before Night grabbed hold of his shirt collar and forcefully yanked him. “W-where am I?! W-who the hell are you!?”

“I’m the one who’s going to be asking the questions here, kid,” Night snapped, before she pulled out a knife from her back and held it to his arm, “First off, how the hell is some pipsqueak like you able to see magic?”

“W-what are you even-!?” The boy’s question was cut off when Night pulled back the sleeve on the right side of his shirt and placed the edge of the blade against his skin as he yelled in pain. A fresh cut on his arm trickled blood down his body as he looked back at him, “AAGH!”

“If you don’t start giving me answers I want to hear, then that cut on your arms will be the least of your concerns,” Night threatened as she moved the blade to his right shoulder, “Now… let me ask again… How the hell… are you able to see magic!?”

“L-lady, I don’t even know what you’re talking about!” The teen told her, “I w-was just picking up a package for my-”

He couldn’t even continue his explanation as Night dragged the blade around his shoulder, forcing him to emit another cry of pain as she kicked him at his knees. The teen was forced to the floor of the van, knife now at his neck and his left arm being held down by Night’s free hand. “One last time, kid… If you don’t answer what I have to ask, then this is not going to end well for you.”

The girl watched in horror as she saw this play out. If this went on any longer, the boy would surely be killed. She tried to figure out how to help him, but the very few ideas that she had fell up short. Which left her with only one remaining option.

If she were to save him, then she would need to bond with him.

“Alright, I’ve had enough with your bullcrap, kid!” Night snapped, raising the knife closer to his neck, “If you’ve got any last words, spill it!!”

Before the teen did anything, that was when the girl made her move. In an instant, she touched the boy's right hand as her body glowed and began to merge with the teen. “Don’t be afraid… I am here to help you.”

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Author's Note:

Author's Notes for this chapter and the next will be in Chapter 2