Family Begins With You

by Jmaster49

Arc XX Episode VII: Artistry

Meanwhile, in the art period class that was taking place at the same time…

Keiji was mindlessly tapping his fingers against the side of his face with his chin in his hand as he stared at the blank canvas. Not only was no inspiration coming to him, but he was more focused on the pains of his experiences in this world thus far.

“Dammit…some people really just don’t wanna be saved, huh? Guess there’s not much I could’ve done for her. Unless I approached it a bit differently…? What if one of my closest friends turned evil like that? Gah…so many potentially shitty outcomes.”

“Hey, pard--”

“DON’T TOUCH ME--!” Keiji screamed at the top of his voice as he entered a defensive judo stance with his arms raised…only to realize that he had earned the attention of every student in the room who stared at him for a few moments of awkward silence. “...”

Thankfully, it didn’t last long as everyone slowly turned their heads and resumed their idle chatter as they painted on their canvases--save for the individual who spoke up to Keiji in the first place.

“...Keiji--ya got any extra red?” Applejack asked in a more hushed tone as she leaned over. “...Also, are ya feelin’ okay?”

“M’fine,” the boy huffed as he offered her the red paint, “Just thinking about stuff. Don’t worry about it.”

“...” Applejack silently accepted the paint from him and returned to her canvas. “Wonder what’s up with the lil feller today…”

“Relax, Jacks,” Aria got up from her seat nearby, “I think I can get through to him since we’re a bit closer.”

“Just be careful, ya hear?” the Apple girl warned her, “When Big Mac gets in a funk like that, it usually don’t mean nothin’ good.”

Aria shrugged her shoulders as she walked past Applejack, “I’ll take my chances. He’s my little brother after all.” A few moments later, she stepped up to Keiji and asked, “...Hey bud. How are ya feelin’?”

Just as she predicted, Keiji was more willing to speak with her than Applejack due to how close they had gotten thus far. “I’m…just worried about some stuff,” he muttered, “Can’t quite put my finger on it, but I’m just…I dunno.”

“Hmm…could it be that you’re worried about the future?” Aria asked as she pulled up a stool and sat next to him. “Maybe in regards to other Equestrian bullshit?”

“...Yeah, that’s about right,” he replied with a sigh, “Just can’t shake my head clear of these thoughts. I’m…worried that I might have to do what I did to that lady again to someone else in the future. As well as how soon that future might be…”

“Yeah…I feel ya,” Aria replied, “But living in fear ain’t gonna getcha nowhere.”

He raised a brow in response. “For real? Ms. Grumpy’s gonna lecture me on emotional balance?”

Aria couldn’t help but giggle thanks to Keiji’s quip. “Heeeeh. Fair point. But that’s why I’m like this all the time. Helps me appreciate the happy moments more. Not to mention, our childhoods essentially made us into who we are. I was never exactly an excitable Siren--even back then, I mostly kept to myself, ya feel? But even then, I still open up to ‘em so I know what they’re feeling, ya know? Helps me get mentally prepared to kick some ass.”

“Huh…” Keiji thought about what she had said for a moment and cupped the side of his face with his hand. “So you keep up your ‘hardass’ tendencies to stay on alert as much as possible for the sake of everyone else…”

“Pfft,” she scoffed at Keiji’s analysis as she casually put her hands behind her head, “That’s one way to look at it, sure. That’s just how I’ve always been. My point is: Don’t be afraid to let others in. Not everyone is out to get us, okay?”

“Yeah…I guess you have a point,” his nerves were eased by the siren’s words of encouragement. Keiji started to smile ever so slightly. “Not much else I can do but keep moving forward, right?”

Aria patted him on the back and replied, “That’s the spirit, lil’ bro. That aside, I’m hearing some crap about this Eastern-style Summer Festival or whatever. Think you’d be interested? It’s got similar stuff to the place where Mistmane came from.”

“Yeah…” Keiji nodded in response, “I’ve been hearing about that lately. Might be a great place to spend time and unwind. Especially if they have those little fish games…”

Now intrigued, Aria would lean in and ask, “Oh? So you’re into them, eh?”

“Er…somewhat?” he replied while idly rubbing his finger on his cheek, “I don’t mind. Been meaning to pick up a yukata at some point. Now’s the perfect time.”

That’s when Aria fell silent as she got an idea. “Ooh…I know just the thing to get him excited.”

---

Meanwhile, outside on the school’s soccer field…

The students were seated on chairs as Aidon gave his lecture.

“The way magic works in Equestria is by channeling one’s inner mana and expressing it outwards,” Aidon lectured his class on how it worked, and looked at Sunset for a demonstration. “Ms. Shimmer?”

“Yes sir,” Sunset stepped forward and stretched her arms, interlocking her fingers. Then, with a snap of her fingers, she generated a flame in her hands that everyone immediately fixated their eyes upon. “See? Easy. Just think of what you wanna create, and it’ll appear.”

Flash Sentry would then ask a question, “Okay but like--how do you do that without burning yourself?” Such a question caused some interested murmurs among the students.

“Good question--basically it just amounts to keeping your mind in check as you use it. It’ll come naturally, passively,” she then looked at Adagio, “Dagi. C’mere. I wanna experiment with something real quick.”

The orange siren had been idly kicking her leg one crossed over the other. “Wait--me? Seriously? What are you planning, Shimmer?” she questioned her as she stood up.

“Trust me, this is gonna be good,” Sunset replied with an eager grin on her face, earning and concerned shake of the head from Aidon.