Family Begins With You

by Jmaster49

Arc XXVI Episode VII: Witnessing New Power

“Hm? Fluttershy’s calling me…” Sunset took her buzzing phone out of her pocket and answered it. “Yo.”

“So, um…hi, Sunset. Diamond Tiara and I have apprehended some of those Yakuza goons. I think we should take them in for questioning.”

“Perfect. If they tell us where their base is located, we can use Starswirl’s presence to bait them out.”

Fluttershy responded hesitantly. “...are you sure that’s a good idea? You’re not putting him in danger or anything are you?”

“...I’d be more concerned for the people who wanna talk to him,” Sunset replied with a chuckle, “He still has most of--if not all of his magic. He may look old, but he’s far from a pushover.”

“If you’re sure. I’ll go ahead and take these guys back to the police station where they belong. Meet you there,” Fluttershy hung up her phone.

Sunset looked at Starswirl and Aidon. “Alright. We’re headed to the police station. The guys we’re looking for are gonna be waiting for us there.”

“Alright. Let’s get this done,” Aidon added.

“Very well,” Starswirl replied, “Lead the way, Sunset.”

---

Meanwhile…at Keiji’s apartment…

The boy was busy swirling chemicals together in his self-made laboratory. “Hm…if only there was a way to trace that stuff. Then we’d be able to figure out who killed her parents…”

ZZZZ!

His buzzing phone interrupted his train of thought, causing him to nearly drop the beakers he was holding. “Wh--shit--”

Luckily, he caught the red liquid in another tube before it spilled onto the floor and set it aside before answering his phone. “Yello?”

“Hey, Keiji,” Silver Spoon spoke from the other end, “Turn on the TV right now. You’ll never believe who’s on the news!”

Puzzled, Keiji stopped what he was doing and removed his white labcoat and goggles before heading into his living room where he turned on the television and flipped to the news. There, he would see helicopter coverage of Fluttershy and Diamond Tiara apprehending those rogue Yakuza agents.

“...holy crap, she’s out there fighting, huh?” Keiji muttered with an impressed tone, “I guess the magic of this world musta finally deemed her worthy of holding some power.”

“It’s super cool,” Spoon replied, “She got this neat axe and made quakes so strong that she didn’t even need to chop anyone’s head off! Hope I get something like that soon. I wanna be able to keep you guys safe too.”

Before, Keiji was apprehensive in regards to his friends fighting out in the field. But now that the evidence showed that Diamond Tiara was more than capable of defending herself…

“Yeah,” he admitted, “I’d like to see that happen someday too. Wonder what kinda crazy-ass power you’d get.”

Not one to let things slip, Silver was quick to point out how quickly he had accepted her words. “Ohhhhh, wait a sec. I thought you were worried about DT and I getting hurt. Now you’re curious as to what sort of ability I’d possess? What changed, big guy?”

Keiji groaned to himself before responding, “Hrmmph…I just…figured that I’d be able to protect you two much better if you were out there alongside me instead of waiting for me to come back. Keeps you from being captured and such.”

Spoon simply snorted and continued, “Ah. You’re adorable you know that? Keep that up, and we’ll all stay great life partners even as we get older. Speaking of which, you’re coming to my birthday party, right?”

“Oh shit yeah of course, uh…” Keiji paused for a moment, “How old are you turning?”

“Seventeen ya bat-snack,” Silver teased, “Same age as you two and most of our other friends. I’m pretty much inviting our whole class and their older siblings if they wanna stay. It’s gonna be at my mansion that overlooks the city.”

“Sayin’ hwat?” Keiji asked in a confused tone, “That big ass military base on that hill is yours?!”

Spoon simply rolled her eyes and giggled. “Ha-ha. Very funny. But yeah, that’s the one. I’m gonna ask our chefs to make pizza. You like blood sausages, right?”

“It’s only the best food in the world…and it keeps my stamina up, so yeah.”

“Great. I think those will go great on pizza-”

Keiji paused for a moment and eventually replied with utter bewilderment. “W…wait--you can put that on pizza??”

“...Yyyyyeah?” Spoon answered in a slow tone, “You can put almost anything on pizza if you chop it up small enough. Some people like pineapple but I don’t get down with people who’re factually wrong.”

“That’s…good to know. Didn’t know pizza was so versatile. Anyhow, I need to get back to work.”

“Hm?” Spoon asked, “Whatcha working on?”

“...Just trying to see if I can discover a way I can trace a certain chemical,” he replied with vague information, leaving out the details regarding Applejack’s parents. “Nothing major you need to worry about.”

“...Working hard for yourself, huh? That’s a refresher,” Spoon commented. “Too many kids out there who just lean on their rich parents to get anything done. They all end up being fake.”

“Don’t I know it,” Keiji said with a snicker as he recounted his days as a batpony noble. “One minute everyone loves you, then the next, they’re hiring sellswords to come slit your throat for a bounty. Though it seems like that’s not a thing here, huh?”

“Not since the 1800s,” Spoon replied with a shudder, “Eegh…glad you feel safer here, Keiji. If someone tried to hurt you I don’t know what I’d do to them…”

The thought of Silver Spoon viciously beating someone up made his heart race. “Erm…well…yeah let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Anyway, I gotta get back to this synthesis. Call Deets for me when you get a chance, Spoon.”

“Pfffftt--yeah, I’ll do just that,” she said with a laugh.