Why Not?

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Twilight stared uncertainly onto her front lawn, glass door partly open as the midday sun beat down on her. She was stunned for a moment, as it appeared that, in all impossibility, there was a girl internally combusting on her walkway. Stirred by the clatter of her garage can she had left her lunch behind her to find a human form crumpled against the stone, skin peeling like lit paper and smoke billowing in thick black clouds.

Twilight wasn't sure what to do. She wasn't even sure what had happened! Tentatively she hurried down her steps to the girls side.

“H-hello?!” Twilight put her hand to the girl's back, careful of the flickering skin and trying not to gag at the smell of burnt flesh. “Are you alright?! What's happening?!” Twilight shifted around her, trying to find a better angle of observation when her shadow settled just over the exposed area of the girl's arm. The skin stopped burning and smoke settled. Before Twilight's eye the skin began to heal at an incredible pace.

Shocked Twilight shifted , exposing the arm once again, only for it to burst to flames, the girl whining as it did so. Twilight was frozen... could it be...

She shakily reached for the girl's hair, brushing back the red locks to find a black mark on the girl's skin. It had a striking contrast , swirling out elegantly in a detailed pattern, which was surprising for how small it was. Black lines crisscrossed along the junction of her neck and shoulder, all leading to, or originating from the same place. Two small puncture scars above her carotid artery.

Twilight ripped her hand back, jumping away from the 'creature' on her yard. A vampire, a vampire was on her lawn! Twilight had of course read about them, she had read about all monster races if only for interests sake, but she never expected to see one in real life.

Mostly because her gated community only allowed human residence.

It also didn't help that it was almost noon in the middle of March...

Half tempted to make a mad dash back into her house and lock the door, Twilight looked up and down the street to see if anyone else was out... Nothing indicated where this girl had come from, making it seem like she had just fallen out of the sky. Then again given what she had read about vampires that was entirely possible.

Twilight bit her lip... What she had read about vampires. Yes, she had read a lot of books, but most of the books on the monster race in her town were by humans. They were also not very flattering. Most indicated on how to weed out the races from humans to destroy them, or were history books on how much suffering the humans has endured at their hands. A few were anatomical, but a majority were to point out weak spots and didn't go very deep into their actual function. It was truthfully the internet where was where Twilight had found most of her reliable information. Along with something Twilight hadn't expected. Like a werewolf girl who had a youtube channel to show how to apply make over fur, or a fawn who had pretty good skateboarding videos.

From Twilight's gathered research, the races weren't much different from humans. Which meant the girl before her wasn't any different from Twilight herself.

Except that this girl could be dying.

Twilight went back towards her, trying to remember what she had read. Getting her out of the sun maybe all she needed. Twilight attempted to find a proper hold when a shout came from down the street.

“I THINK IT WENT DOWN THIS WAY!”

Twilight snapped her head around, not seeing anyone but hearing the chattering of an angry mob charging up the hill of her street. It wasn't had to figure out what they were after. Doubling her efforts Twilight hooked her arms around the girl, pulling her up. Choking on black smoke and struggling with the girls weight, Twilight was surprised when the vampire weakly raised her hands to push against her.

“no...no stop, leave me...alone, please..please...” The redhead moaned weakly, not having the strength to break Twilight's gentle hold. “i-i just...i wanna go home...please...”

Grimacing, Twilight dragged the girl up her path to the door, fumbling with the handle as the mob got louder, stomping closer with every rumble, and the girl in her arms had her hands drop to her sides in defeat, whimpering in Twilight's ear.

'i just...i want my m-mom...” The redhead released a sob as Twilight finally jimmied the door open and started in.

Only to be met with a block.

'Ough!' Twilight coughed when it felt like she was pushing the girl against a wall rather than through a doorway. She knew the door was open... Pushing again Twilight just couldn't get her in! The girl whined at the pressure Twilight was applying to her battered skin and Twilight had to pause to think, her ears ringing with the loud shouts of the mob still approaching.

Had the gated community built houses that repelled monsters from entering somehow!? Had her crazy grandmother done something to their house without her knowing?! Twilight racked her brain until an idea finally came to her wildly.

“Y-you can come inside! Welcome to my house! Please come in!” Twilight said, trying to keep her voice low, although she was a little frantic at this point.

Instantly the invisible wall vanished and both girls fell inside. The redhead sobbed loudly when Twilight landed on top of her, but Twilight had no time to apologize. She spun around, quietly shutting the door as the mob just began to reach her neighbor's home.Locking the bolt Twilight finally found time to breath.

Vampires need to be invited to enter a home. Well check that under fact then.

Looking down at the girl again, Twilight noticed the living room's bay windows were filling the space with natural light. Dam open floor plans! Taking the girl around the middle once more, Twilight dragged her down the hall, through the dining room and to the basement door. It was unfinished, and her parents had relinquished most of the small space to her to share with the laundry. Her lab was set up here and since it was in the basement that meant there was little sunlight to be had. She pulled the girl to the area under the stairs, then set to work making a fort around it. Setting up a few stored tarps to make a dark nest underneath. Twilight could hardly make anything out in the fort, but set up her brother's old cadet sleeping bag for the girl to lay on.

Just upon entering the basement had been a vast improvement. Most of her skin was back and she was breathing easier. Placing her in the fort on the sleeping bag had her almost back to normal.

Only she was still out of it, mumbling incoherently and whimpering. Thinking fast Twilight draped a blanket over her before hurrying to her laptop still on her desk. A quick search of google aaannnddd...-

Signs of Vampiric Sun Stroke- * Or why suntanning isn't a vampire's past time

Twilight quickly clicked the link, hoping for something useful.

Vampires are known for being creatures of the night, but in this new day and age that's almost impossible! While many modern advances have found ways to contradict the sun's rays on fragile vampiric skin, that doesn't mean it will always work. How easy it can be to forget your sunscreen SPF 1000, or to have your umbrella blown away. Maybe your injections just happened to wear off in the middle of that Las Vegas vacation you planned. Well worry not! This blog is here to point out the signs, symptoms and treatment of your Vampiric sun stroke!

Twilight quickly skimmed down, checking off the symptoms she had seen earlier to find the treatment phase at the bottom.

To start treating Vampiric Sun Stroke, begin by going to a dark, damp place. Anywhere the sun's grubby rays can't get you. Once you're healed, speed depending upon rank, it important to get a fresh feeding of blood. During Vampiric Sun Stroke, a lot of your body's fluid gets burned up trying to heal yourself while your skin boils away. As you know, the vampiric body is technically dead, so it won't be making more of its own blood anytime soon. Try to find something to siphon, such as if your are in a cave, try a rat.

Twilight pushed back from her computer, shutting down the site. Blood... oh god. She rose from her seat and quickly ascended the steps. Where was she gonna get blood? Stepping into the kitchen Twilight spotted Spike staring up at the counter, looking wistfully up at her half eaten sandwich.

Nope. The thought didn't even registered in Twilight's mind. Spike was many things, but a vampire snack was not one of them. She took the forgotten food and place it in Spike's bowl, the dog was quick to accept , licking at her finger before diving in.

Turning Twilight found herself looking at the knife block on the counter. She was transfixed for a few seconds before shaking her head. No, she wasn't about to offer herself as an all you can suck buffet. She hardly knew this girl....

Besides, that could the plan B if all else fails.

Thinking again Twilight turned to the fridge, opening it to look inside. And there before her was what she needed. Three Uncooked steaks were defrosted on a plate. Twilight snatched them up and took them to the counter. She took out a bowl, a cooling tray and a rolling pin, and set the objects up into a homemade press. Then she rolled out what little blood left in the stakes that she could.

Sadly it wasn't much, but it would have to do.

Putting the flattened meat back and carrying the bowl into the basement, Twilight slipped back into the darkness of the fort, finding the girl as she had left her.

Going around to her head Twilight lifted her into semi-seated, placing the bowl to her slightly open mouth. The first of the dark red liquid slipped in, a bit dribbling down her chin. At first Twilight was worried at the lack of response, perhaps the blood was too old...

Suddenly the girl's hands shot up, snatching the bowl out of Twilight's hand and swigging the rest of the liquid into her open maw desperately. She coughed, twitching a bit as the empty bowl slipped to the floor, her tongue lapping up the remains of the blood on her face it could reach. She whined softly.

“ma..Mom can I have more...”

Twilight paused, staring down at the girl sadly. “I-i'm sorry, but I don't have anymore...”

The red head's eyes wobbled open, a bit hazy but still comprehending. “Wha...”

“Uh, hello... Are you in any, uh, pain?” Twilight asked, leaning into her line of sight, pushing her glasses back onto her face.

The redhead stared up at her, eyes turning from confused to alarmed. “W-who are you?... W-where am I?...”

“Uh, I'm Twilight.... Twilight Sparkle. I found you outside my house, you were on fire, I think from the sun light?” Twilight winced when the girl weakly looked around her surroundings, eyes wide. “We're in my basement. You're safe here.”

The redhead blinked, turning back to Twilight wearily. “w..why did you help me...?”

“Why not?”

The redhead stared at her, eyes narrowed in thought. She made no response to Twilight, instead opting to look around once more, her gaze falling on the bowl on the floor. Twilight looked at it as well, only to snap her gaze back to her patient, who began to shiver violently in her arms. “Whats wrong? Are you cold?”

“N-naw, naturally cold...” The girl mumbled, wincing and placing a hand to her abdomen. “Just hurts...”

“What dose?”

The girl looked back at her, as though she were some kind of idiot. Yet the look lasted less than a second as it melted into a softer expression of realization. “W-well, vampires don't get enough oxygen from our own.. blood...Heart beats too... slow” She closed her eyes for a few seconds tiredly, taking a few deep breaths before continuing softly. “ Digestion tract is cut off from... rest of it to supply brain and muscles... need to eat blood so my organs will... get oxygen from it...” She frowned a bit as she opened her eyes. “W-without it they start to... shut down...”

Twilight leaned in to the girl quietly. “You drink blood every day?”

“N-no... Only every few... Body doesn't need much any more...heh..” She shivered again, curling in on herself with a whine. “T-that blood...”

“Beef, I drain some of our fridge meat... I don't think it was the freshest. Sorry...”

The girl shook her head. “Enough... Enough for now... I'm still.... Still need more but... I'll survive.”

“For how long?” Twilight asked.

“Hours...”

Twilight stared at the girl as she quivered in her arms, whimpering softly. “W-what should I do?!”

“T-twilight... Right?” She looked up at Twilight cautiously, relaxing when she received a nodded. “I'm, I'm Sunset.... Shimmer. I... need to call my-my mom... Phones in my b-bag.”

Twilight blinked owlishly. “You didn't have a bag when I found you.”

“...shit...”

Twilight shook her head. “Just tell me the number , I can call it.”

“Dunno... clan got...new phones... being harassed by ... someone... never got call.. myself.” She shivered again, rolling into Twilight side, who subconsciously held the girl closer. “D-dunno...”

“Sunset, what your mother's name, maybe I can find her number.”

Yet Sunset didn't respond. Twilight stared at her before frowning. “Sunset? Sunset!?” After giving her a little shake the girl lulled over in her hold. Twilight lay her back down, panicking for a moment, but when she set the girl down she found Sunset had simply passed out. “Ok...Ok. I can handle this... Uh, ok...”

“TWILIGHT!”

Twilight started, scrambling from the enclosure and looking up the stairs just as her father opened the door. “Twilight?! Oh there you are, come on, I'm starting dinner and I could use a hand.”

“Oh, coming right up...” Twilight shot one last glance under the steps before wandering up to the main floor.

“I just don't understand it.” Night Light grumbled for the fifth time in their meal. A fresh steak dinner with scalloped potatoes and green beans. Twilight was just pushing food around on her plate as her mother rolled her eyes.

“Night Light, just let it go.”

“No!” Her father pouted, looking at his wife. “He said they were the juiciest steaks they had!”

“They always say that. They're trying to sell a product. Don't get fussy, we'll just shop at the other grocery store instead.” Velvet Twilight spoke calmly, patting her husband's hand.

“M-maybe being in the fridge without a cover caused them to lose some moisture... or the grill was too high...” Twilight mumbled, knowing full well why the stakes were rather dry.

“Well I guess that could have happened... Let's give them another chance. Maybe we just got a lousy batch.” Night Light agreed. “ I was just looking forward to it so much. I love steak and we hardly get to eat it.”

Velvet smiled while rolling her eyes, but paused when her phone buzzed, causing her to retrieve it from her pocket. Twilight stopped shoving her food around long enough to take a mouthful of beans. Her mind, meanwhile, wondered to their unknown guest in the basement. It was starting to get dark outside. However she doubted Sunset would be able to leave in her condition, not to mention she could get caught in the process. Meanwhile the one thing that could fix her was both plentiful and unobtainable.

“Who is it Velvet? Is it Haiku again? I know she wanted you to edit those novels by Friday but she's crazy to expect all of them done in less than a week.” Night Light frowned, shaking his head.

“No, it's not her. It the president of the homeowners association.” Velvet spoke, looking down at her phone.

Twilight froze.

“Well what do they want? Another potluck at the civic center?”

“No Night Light. They apparently are sending out this message to everyone, so I suspect you'll get one to. Seems a vampire was seen around town today.”

“A vampire?” Night Light looked up, surprised. “I didn't think any of the monster races would ever want to come here willingly, I mean if they could even get entry past the gate.”

“Well I guess one got in.” Velvet said, frowning. “They say it just disappeared, so maybe it left...”

“Well that good I suppose.” Night Light stirred his beans with some fresh butter. “Putting one of the monster races in this neighborhood is like putting a puppy on a crab breeding beach.” Night Light lifted one of his hands, echoing a crab clacking its claws in warning.

“Speaking of puppies. Shoo Spike!” Velvet swatted at the dog begging by her feet. “Shoo! This foods no good for you!” Spike whined up at her, ducking her swatting hand and scuttling under Twilight's chair with a disappointed grunt.

“Twilight are you alright? You've been so quiet.”

Twilight jolted when her father spoke, looking at him wildly. “Wha...Oh, Yes, I'm Fine. Juuust.... thinking about my next experiment...”

“What are you thinking of doing for your March Break Twilight? I remember last year's experiment, that home made solar panel is still working out in the yard.” Night Light said.

“I'm not sure yet.” Twilight mumbled. “Maybe I'll take it easy this year... potato battery or something.”

“Or maybe you could try a 'Social' experiment.” Velvet spoke, frowning at her daughter across the table. “Honestly Twilight, I know you're not that sociable in nature, but you at least need someone to talk to outside us.”

“I...” Twilight swallowed, poking at her food again. “I dunno...”

“At least try to get out of the house, ok?” Velvet said.

“Ok. Im going to be researching subject tonight so I'll probably sleep downstairs in my lab.” Twilight looked up to her mother, catching her disapproving look before adding. “-and I'll take Spike for a walk tomorrow. Maybe into to town and see who I meet.”

“Sounds like a plan!” Night Light agreed, taking the last bite of his steak before grimacing at the dry texture.

After dinner was cleaned up and her parents were in their room, Twilight slipped back downstairs dressed in her pyjama bottoms and a more comfortable, older t-shirt. She carried a few spare clothes downstairs with her, saying they were in case she tried an experiment that night, but really it was in case Sunset wanted to change out of her soot smelling clothes.

However the girl hadn't moved an inch. She was just as Twilight had left her... only she was pale and still. Upon checking her Twilight was frightened, it seemed like she was dead... but then again as a vampire she might not have been alive in the first place, did that mean these were good signs?

She hurried to her computer again.

'How to tell if a vampire is dead.'

Vampires are a creature that have bodies that seems to exhibit features of being dead at all times. However this is not the case. While their bodies have changed Vampires are not actually dead, but in a state of 'lessened' living. Like a sort of hibernation state, their bodily functions have slown down, such as a lower heart rate (5 bpm.) and they have slower breathing. (1 bpm.). Unless monitored constantly, the signs that they are indeed alive are hard to miss, but as long as you know the person in question is a vampire then it's actually easy to tell a living vampire from a dead one. Dead vampires don't actually have a body! Their bodies, upon death, turn to dust instantly. It doesn't even have to be from exposure to sunlight. Upon their demise, natural or otherwise, a vampire will just turn to ash.

Ok. Ok she was still here so she wasn't dead. Yet...

Twilight crept back to the den under the stairs, looking over Sunset quietly. Now that she had calmed a bit Twilight could see that Sunset hadn't take a turn for the best in the hours she had been gone. She was defiantly paler than before and when Twilight shook the girl's shoulder she was met without response.

Twilight brushed a few stray hairs from Sunset's face, concerned about what step to take next. Maybe she could google Sunset's name. Find a social media account and find someone she knows from there.

However Twilight paused when she spotted some flecks of dirt of the girl's cheek. Most likely from the stairs. Twilight swept it away, but paused when, instead of clearing the area there seemed to be a bit more. She tried again and was met with the same result.

With no small amount of horror did Twilight realize when wasn't dusting off dirt, she was removing the beginnings of Sunset's deterioration. She really was dying then, or starting to anyway! Twilight whined tightly as she checked other areas of exposed skin. She found a similar build up on the girl's arms, her hands... oh god, now what!?

Sunset said she'd be able to survive a few hours on the blood Twilight had given her. However it had been a few hours since Twilight had left her, so time was running out. She needed blood, now! Yet the only place to get it was Plan B. Her. Why didn't she try to think up another plan sooner?! Then again what could she have done? Robbed a blood bank? Kill a neighbour's cat? Gather her parents for a rousing game of doctor, I.V edition? She didn't even know if it was safe to offer Sunset her blood. She knew nothing about this girl, what she was like or even if she was going to give a crap if she drained Twilight of all her blood or not.

While it wasn't something Twilight like to focus on, in the past it was well known that humans and monster races did NOT get along. Humans were like plaything for the most part and while many learned how to defend themselves to various monsters it didn't really level the playing field. Sure a stake soaked in garlic oils was better than nothing, but when a vampire has the power to snap your arm off one handed, there's only so much that toothpick will do.

However about two hundred years ago the humans had allied themselves with the witches, whom had shared some interesting extermination techniques in return for a place amongst the human strongholds. Nowadays there weren't any differences between witches and humans. Humans, even monster hating one's, loved witches. After all, the witch race had left the humans to their own devices for the most part before the alliance, and were seen as heroes afterward. Not to mention they had a common enemy.

The playing field was finally leveled. There could have been a full scale world war had the monster races not begun to reflect on past actions. With the sudden threat the monster leaders had convened, agreed they were kind of to blame and offered a peace treaty.

And a very shaky peace was forged, that had lasted since this day.

That didn't mean either side didn't have their opposers. Some monsters still had a sense of superiority that felt their pride wounded when the treaty was signed. Some humans and witches thought there should be steep reprimand to the injustices they had faced for so long.

The legacy of such feelings were laying before Twilight, dying on her basement floor.

Even with the fear of possible death, Twilight knew she couldn't just stand by while this girl crumbled to dust. So, not really knowing what she was doing, Twilight lifted Sunset into her arms again, ready to give her what she desperately needed.

Only... how did she do that?

Should she slit her wrist? That seemed a bit over the top, not to mention it would freak out her parents.She could imagine how that conversation would go. In the movies, vampires typically went for the neck.

So... then maybe...

Twilight shifted Sunset to the crook of her neck, offering the exposed skin to the unconscious girl. She pressed Sunset's mouth to the junction and shivered when Sunset's barely open mouth scrapped a stray fang over her flesh, the feeling akin to a sharp knife point. This might not have been a good idea.

Only there was no time left for second guesses, or rethinking or even backing out. It could have been the heartbeat in Sunset's ear, maybe the smell of food but whatever it was that roused Sunset, it drove her to feed on the food so graciously placed before her.

And from the first moment Twilight knew the movies were all wrong. What was typically shown as two small pinprick suckled out of like a straw were so far from the truth it was laughable. Twilight was frozen in shock as Sunset basically ripped her shoulder apart with her mouth. Fangs used to pierce needle like holes in movies ripped through the flesh of her shoulder. Muscles shredded and Twilight now knew the horrible feeling of teeth clacking the underside of her collar bone. Then two fangs sank into the area where the belly of her levator scapula muscle would be, holding both Sunset and her meal in place in order for her to feast at the geyser of blood that had erupted from the wound. The girl lapped, almost like a dog, swallowing blood down her throat at a ravenous rate, her tongue grooving into cuts and tears in the wounds to aggravate the injury more, drawing more nectar to her.

Twilight could safely say this was the worst pain she had ever felt in her life. Had she the power she would have started to scream or cry, or both maybe. However she was frozen, only offering a squeak when Sunset, her power returning, shifted herself to grab Twilight in an almost bone breaking hold with both hands. She again ripped into Twilight shoulder, seemingly unsatisfied with the feed she had gotten and plunged her ripping fangs so deep they drug on her first rib.

Here things had started to get blurry, even if the pain didn't dissipate any. Twilight could only hiccup weakly, whimpering as tears found their way down her cheeks. This was it then, this was how she was gonna die. Not in a lab accident, not on some scientific expatiation, not even as an old women, toiling over some research results in her offices, falling asleep on them and never waking up like she had statistically thought. She was gonna die without having done a damn thing with her life.

Twilight shuttered, pain stabbing violently into her and her view blurred by tears and blood loss. This was really it.

Sunset suddenly seemed to lax her hold on Twilight. Hands stopped gripping and were more just supporting her, her desperately lashing tongue slowed to a lazy licking, as she seemed to melt in relief of her suffering. Through the painful fog Twilight had the nice thought that at least Sunset would be ok.

Then Sunset froze. There was a few seconds of nothing before she shifted, hands clenching before they wrapped themselves around Twilight to hold her weight as Sunset drew her fangs away. If the girl was saying anything then Twilight couldn't hear her, but she did feel a hand in her hair, pulling a large strand from the side of her face and out of her wound , clearing her shoulder. Hands shifted again, swiftly, and at an almost frenzied pace, before Sunset's mouth was back. Twilight shivered, sniveling softly before Sunset's fangs punctured a little farther up her neck. This time they were still, not tearing or shearing like before. They held the spot before pulling out and sinking in again closer to her shoulder.

Sunset continued on like this, nipping around the wound's edges until Twilight could feel a change. Pain receded. Slowly it slunk away until the unholy burning in her shoulder had gone to a numb sensation, then to a comfortable warm feeling.

Twilight opened her eyes, finding things still blurry and that none of her limbs responded to the commands she gave them. She then felt the sensation of Sunset's tongue in her wound again, prodding the deepest area of the flesh with apprehension.

It felt freaking amazing. Had Twilight been more aware she would have blushed at the soft moan that left her lips, but right now she could barely register what was going on. The vampire that held her began to weave her tongue along the gash, much more organized than the pace before. As it rung around the depths of the cut Twilight could actually feel the laceration grow shallow. It only took a few moments for the grizzly sight to feel like smooth, unmarred skin. Twilight wasn't sure if she was imagining it or not but the shoulder didn't feel like it was damaged anymore. Of course it could have been whatever glorious substance Sunset had injected into her, but she was so woozy she couldn't ask.

She was shifted again until she was the one being held in Sunset's arms. Opening her eyes again she could see the other girl was talking to her, her mouth was moving. What was she saying? Twilight tried to read Sunset's lips but she just couldn't warp her head around it. The redhead looked upset and worried, and Twilight finally found some limb control so she could lethargically lift her arm enough to pat Sunset on the shoulder.

Twilight murmured softly, not really hearing what she said through a veil of cotton. Sunset seemed to relax a little and leaned closer to her with some of the blurriness melting away. Are my glasses on? Twilight lifted her hand enough to flop it down on her face. Nope. No glasses. Course had they been on they could have broken when she literally slapped herself.. She blinked accusingly at her hand, thinking for a morbid moment it had enjoyed hitting her. Not that that was possible....

Whoa, how lucid am I?

Twilight licked her dry lips, looking up again to Sunset who was inspecting Twilight's old T-shirt. Sunset's cloths had droplets of blood on them, she could only imagine her own top was soaked through. As Sunset set Twilight down on the sleeping bag she had once been resting on, the human started to nod off.

The rest of the night was a blur to her. Twilight would drift in and out of consciousness, waking to find Sunset changing her shirt, to being alone under the stairs, to being in Sunset's arms. At some point her hearing came back because she was awoken by Sunset humming nervously. Then whatever Sunset had given her had worn off. Her shoulder felt stiff and sore, sometimes when she shifted it would groan at her, stippling painfully.

Finally a few rays of sunlight slunk into the basement windows. Beaming a few stray rays across the room. Their lair was undisturbed and Twilight was finally feeling a little more... herself.

She stretched a little, cracking her neck with Sunset bristling at her her movement.

“Whoa, hey don't do that. You could pull on newly formed fibres. You wanna give it a few days to settle in and regain elasticity.” Sunset said, sitting the girl up in her arms. “...How are you feeling?”

Twilight looked up at her through her fuzzy vision, yawning a bit before flinching at the throat muscles that spasmed at the movement. “Sore... a little. I'm ok otherwise.”

I think.

Sunset assessed her again before grunting. “Yeah, you're gonna be like that for a bit...” Sunset looked away, frowning at the tarp nest around them. “Ah, dammit!” She swore loudly and tensed up. “I can't believe I did that! I'm so sorry, I mean-”

“It's ok.” Twilight said.

“It's OK?!” Sunset stared down at her, shocked. “Twilight, I almost killed you!”

Twilight frowned and lifted her heavy hand to her shoulder, feeling around under the new t-shirt she had on. Between her bra strap she found the skin unmarred. It was almost as if nothing had happened. She looked back up at the vampire. “Almost. Not quite though...”

Sunset looked away, with a shadow of self-loathing written on her face. Twilight stared at her before blinking. “How did you... heal 'that' anyway?”

“Healing saliva. We gotta activate a certain gland.” Sunset said, still not looking at her.

“What about that stuff you injected?”

“Kind of a paralyzing pain killer. It injects as we... tear in... but typically it's to stop prey from struggling...” Sunset frowned. “My mother taught me safely feed from others. She doesn't want anyone dead and sometimes if there's nothing else around you have to ask someone. Typically you want to drug the area before you... start. This time around...” The vampire scowled. “I just dunno. I couldn't even get up, how did I take you down and attack you.”

“Uh...” Twilight stared up at the girl, shocked. “You..You didn't. I lifted you up to my neck and let you?”

Sunset blinked, this time looking back at her. “What?”

“You were getting all... dusty. I was worried you were going to disintegrate. So I thought I could try...”

“Dammit...” Sunset threw her head back with a groan before glaring at her. “ Listen don't go around shoving your neck into random monster's mouths! If I was two more inches medial, it wouldn't have mattered how much spit I used. When you get the jugular it's usually unfixable.” Her glare softened. “That being said... Thank you. I must have been pretty bad if you saw me sulfracating.”

“Sulfracating-?”

“Turning to dust.”

“Oh.” Twilight wrung her hands, before realizing she was still sitting in Sunset's lap. She sat up, shifting onto the floor. “Do you want something to eat?”

“Sure. I heard your parents leave an hour ago.” Sunset spoke, standing up and opening the tarp for them. Twilight went to join her, but wobbled half way up when some vertigo set in. Sunset reached out to steady her, helped her stand and exit the enclosure, then assisted her up the stairs. When they reach the main floor Sunset took her to their kitchenette bar, seating her on a stool. Then fished around in her front jacket pocket before handing Twilight her glasses. “These might help.”

“Thank you.” Twilight set them in place before turning to her guest. “So what do you want? We have cereal, eggs, bread..”

“Cereals fine. Where is it? I can get it together, you just sit here.” Sunset quickly got started after some instructions from Twilight. As the vampire worked Twilight looked around, noting that all the blinds on the main floor were closed.

“Uh, Sunset... when did you close the blinds?”

“About three am. I kinda came up here to scope out where I was. Don't worry, I didn't touch the second floor, I just wanted to secure the area.” Sunset pulled the milk out of the fridge. “You have a cute dog by the way. He kind growled at me when he saw me last night but settled down when I started to scratch him behind the ear.”

“Thats his weak spot.” Twilight smiled, looking to the calendar to tell her what she already knew. Spike had a vet appointment today. Mom must have already taken him.

Sunset set the two bowls full of cereal down before them. As they started to dig in Twilight looked at the vampire beside her. Her wondering eyes ran to Sunset's exposed neck and the detailed black markings found there.

“Like it?”

Twilight jumped as Sunset began to laugh. “Relax, It tends to draw attention. It's my Ortus. Its represents the end of my old life and the beginning of my new one. You know... as a vampire.” Sunset took another bite of her cereal. “Vampire can't have kids themselves, so they have to adopt.”

“Oh.” Twilight put a hand to her neck quietly. “How easy is it to do that...?”

Sunset looked up at her before snorting. “Don't worry. You have to be pretty powerful to change people over. My mother is god-tier, which is pretty powerful, but most vampires need to hire someone her level to do it. I have a long way to go before that's a possibility for me.” Sunset shrugged. “I couldn't turn you if I tried and even if I could, it takes a while to set up for it.”

Twilight blinked at her. “What were you before?”

“Human. My mother adopted me when I was three but I was turned at fourteen, so two years ago...” Sunset looked back at her food. “Don't worry though, she asked me if I wanted to turn, it wasn't mandatory, she's adopted in the past but none of them took her up on it. I kinda understand why, I mean yesterday wasn't much fun, for either of us, but I still enjoy the fringe benefits.”

Twilight smiled back, eating the rest of her cereal quietly. Time ticked by as the two ate, side by side with Twilight looking to her guest every now and then. Ever curious by nature Twilight was almost bursting at the seems with more questions, but felt a little rude to just keep grilling her guest, especially after such a traumatic event.

However the silence of their meal shattered when Sunset dropped her spoon mid air, allowing it to clatter to the counter and spilling its contents without reaction. Twilight looked up at the girl, concerned. Yet Sunset was still, almost eerily still, hand poised in its previous motion. Suddenly she looked around the room behind them, movement jerky and hard.

“Uh, Sunset?” Twilight said, a little unnerved. “Are you...?”

Sunset snapped her head around to look at her. In the shadows of the dimly lit floor she could see the other girl's eyes glowing, whiting out her irises. Twilight froze but the vampire didn't even acknowledge her. Instead she looked back into the kitchen, then rose out of her seat, pushing the stool to the ground in the process and hurried to a counter area near the sink, her walking motion slight twitchy.

Twilight watched her go, still frozen in shock. Sunset snatched up the mail her parents had brought in the other day and began to shuffle through it. The glasses wearing girl blinked owlishly when Sunset dropped all of them but a letter from the home owner's association. From what Twilight could see it was addressed directly to her house, which meant someone living here had messed up. It happened from time to time, Twilight would blow something up in the house or her Dad would have his car radio on too loud.

Though Sunset was enthralled with it, and not even the contents, just the unopened envelope. She seemed to mumbled to herself, rereading the simple address and return postage a few time. Then she emitted and loud, grumbling growl.

Twilight had heard growls before. Spike growled, animals on tv growled, her father growled when his boss pushed him too hard that day. This growl seemed to vibrate in Twilight's very being, it rumbled deeply, echoing out the rage felt by its owner. Something small in Twilight screamed at her to get as far away from that angry thing as possible. Yet she remained frozen to the stool.

Then the growling stopped. Sunset stood still again, letter fluttering from her grasp before her knee quaked and she nearly fell over, managing to catch the counter just in time. The redhead shuttered before panting a little.

“Ah...” Twilight whimpered. “Sunset?”

The girl managed to regain control of her knees enough to stand again without assistance. She looked back at her host quietly, swallowing a little. “Yah...?”

“I don't mean to be rude but... what the heck was that?” Twilight asked, wincing slightly. Sunset wobbled to her side, righting the stool again.

“That was... my mom.”

Twilight blinked. “What?”

“My mom. She god-tier, like I told you, so she's pretty powerful.” Sunset slumped into the seat, looking a little tired. “She's a matriarch, which is a fancy word for being the leader of a vampire clan or a small collection of vampires. Ours is pretty small, but my mom is one of the most powerful vampires in the world, not to mention one of the oldest. So she knows and can do pretty much every vampire trick in the book. What you just saw is called puppeting.”

“Puppeting... So she was controlling your actions?”

“It's more than that... Puppeting pretty much hands over all body control. She could see through my eyes, control my body and if she wanted, speak through my mouth.” Sunset said, rubbing her eye. “Used to be for back in the day when you had a huge vampire army to control, you'd grab a random, far off underling, use their bodies to issue orders and then do it again in another body on the other side of your land.” Sunset groaned. “She doesn't use it cause unless you're high up power wise, you're pretty much drained afterward. Ergo why I'm suddenly so tired... I'll bounce back but it's not fun when it's happening either... She must be pretty worried if she use it...”

“Well she saw my address, maybe she going to come get you?” Twilight smiled.

“Oh, there's no guess work about that.” Sunset nodded. “She's probably already in the community, she might have been looking for me since nightfall...”

“She knows you're here? Wait...” Twilight looked at her. “Why are you here? Didn't you know this community is... not the nicest to people who are-”

“Monsters? Yah, I figured that out on my own, thanks.” Sunset grumbled, looking sour before wincing. “Ah, dammit, I'm sorry. Yes. I knew about this being a humans only town before I snuck in.”

“Then....”

“It was stupid.” Sunset sighed. “Two of my buddies and I were kinda nettled because we were harassed by some humans cops in Mid-Canterlot. You know, the intermixing area of the city.”

“I've never been there, but I've heard of it.” Twilight nodded.

“Well we weren't really doing anything wrong, maybe besides loitering, when they came up and started harassing us for no reason.” Sunset frowned. “To be fair the area usually pretty good and there are cops of all races, in fact most human officers before didn't bother us so I guess it was just these old ones. Anyway they pretty much left after yelling at us with a bunch of bigoted remarks before going back on their rounds. We were a little steamed...” Sunset grumbled slightly. “My one friend Rainbow especially so. Since she a bit of a hot headed daredevil she actually convinced us to follow the guys, then when they were talking outside a cafe she snuck up behind one and somehow looped a string through his belt without him noticing and tied him to a bike rack. Then, just as amazingly she snuck away and didn't get caught.

“How'd the officer react?” Twilight giggled.

“Well the bike rack was pretty flimsy, so he just broke it, and knocked over about twenty bikes. I've never seen so many people that mad at once.” Sunset smiled. However it dropped when she continued. “Then Rainbow get kicked up on adrenaline and dares AppleJack to do something to. So nothing doing we go to a store owned by some humans. It wasn't a random thing though, this store's owner had a daughter that picks on Applejack's little sister pretty bad... So Applejack goes in and asks to speak to the owner, cause they know each other pretty well and the guy is a nice guy. So Applejack starts telling him that someone stole a flower from from her family's garden, an important one, and she wants to put up signs. See, she's a tree spirit, which means she like a living plant person, so plants are very important to them.”

“Wow, I've heard of those. Isn't it true if you see some kind of hollow in their back you die or something?” Twilight asked.

Sunset snorted a little. “Oh no, trust me that's fake. Speaking of which Applejack starts to spin this tale to Filthy Rich, the store owner. Telling him the flowers are important because it is used to 'impregnate' their people in order to reproduce or something stupid. Told him her brother had been growing it because he had taken a shine to a girlfriend and wanted to be prepared if they decided to move their relationship along. Then she starts to describe the flower in great detail, explaining that in order to get pregnant with it you need to put it behind your ear and wear it in your hair.” Sunset chuckled. “Then Mr Rich goes all pale and Applejack runs out of there saying she'll be back with the posters later. Once she's outside she informs us that he sister had grown the same, basic old flower for show and tell three days ago, but Mr Rich's daughter had snipped it and had been lording it in front of Applejack's sister by wearing it in her hair, behind her ear! I have never see a man run that fast!”

Twilight smiled with her. “I mean, Mr Rich started to run around downstair, hyperventilating and Diamond Tiara, his daughter, was in his arms looking like she'd seen a ghost, the wife yelling like a crazy person. Applejack decided to let them off the hook and goes back in. Told them they had found the flower, it was under some brush they cut, and that it was all accounted for so she didn't need to put up the posters. They all almost melted with relief.” Sunset frowned. “It seems a little mean spirited now, but nobody was hurt.”

“Course...” Sunset looked down at her feet. “Then Rainbow decided to dare me...and I, like and idiot, decided to accept.” Sunset shook her head. “She dared me to sneak in here, go to the middle of the town and steal the flag from the flagpole. I mean with some basic vampire powers it was easy at first. I snuck in, slipped around without anyone seeing me, got the flag and stuffed it in my bag, then started to get out.” Sunset scowled. “Then some people saw me, but no big deal. I was almost home free, but then...”

“Then?” Twilight nudged patiently.

“The automatic sprinkler system turns on, like on every yard in town.” Sunset said. “I got splashed and it washed off most of my sunscreen lotion, then I started to burn up. It got pretty bad, people were chasing me and I guess I dropped my bag, or it caught fire, or something. Then I collapsed on your yard.”

“Yah, I heard my garage cans knock over and came to see.” Twilight stared at the vampire quietly.

“My friends probably waited a while before freaking out that I wasn't back, then told my mom what happened.” Sunset sighed. “She's gonna be mad... I mean she warned me not to come here, at least alone.”

“Yah, Everfree Estates isn't a welcoming community, not even for humans.” Twilight said. “The house owners association gets mad if you don't cut your grass to the right height.”

Twilight jumped when Sunset stood suddenly again. Yet before Twilight could asked the other girls spoke. “My mom's nearby.”

“You can tell?”

“Its weird. She says it'll go away once I'm twenty... Some kind of vampire youngling thing.” Sunset grunted. “Hey do you have a garage we can use?”

“Ah yes. Let me just open the door...” Twilight managed to her feet unassisted this time, crossing the main floor to the garage and tapping the door opener. Mechanisms whirled as gears pulls the door up, clanking slightly as it shifted to allow entrance. Twilight watched the quiet street, feeling Sunset shuffle behind her trying to avoid the light coming in the door. “Are you sure she's here?” Twilight craned her neck to look up and down the street.

“Yes, I'm one hundred percent sure.” Sunset spoke.

“Well I don't see anything-” Twilight paused when a black car started to pull up the driveway. It was quite a big, muscular car. Matching something of a Short Stretch Hummer. It drove right into the garage, and with the windows tinted black so she couldn't make out anyone inside. The driver door opened, and an elderly man hopped from the intimidating vehicle, needing to use the running board just to get down. Dress in an impeccable tux the man quickly made his way to the door where Twilight stood.

“Madam. Will you kindly shut the shop entryway?”

“Oh, uh right, of course.” Twilight pushed the button again, unable to take her eyes from the man.

Sunset looked over Twilight's shoulder as the door began to shut. “Carrion!”

“It is good to see you in good health Ms Sunset.” Carrion spoke, stepping back down to the ground quietly, just as the door closed. “If you would come with me, the Mistress would like to see you.”

Sunset slipped past Twilight and swiftly stood beside Carrion as the man opened the back car door. In an instant she leap inside. “Mom!”

“Sunset!”

Twilight couldn't see well with the dim light of the garage and the dark inners of the car, but she could make out the silhouette of a tall, lithe women holding Sunset closely. Sunset herself was clinging tightly back, whimpering. “Mom, oh god I thought I'd never see you again yesterday!”

The women simply held her tighter, mumbling something into Sunset hair.

“I know, I'm sorry....” Sunset spoke softly. “I didn't mean to scare you...”

“All that matters is your safe.” The women responded, her voice had an elegance to it Twilight had never heard. “I love you so much, I don't know what I would do if something happened to you.” She nuzzled Sunset's hair softly. “You mean the world to me...”

Twilight watched the two silently before her gaze was drawn to another figure inside the car. Shadowed as well the figure sat straight like a board, however a pair of glowing blue eyes stared out at her, narrowed into a sort of glare.

Twilight quickly averted her eyes from the car. She found Carrion scuttling towards her before the short man grabbed her elbow and began to lead her towards the vehicle. Any protest Twilight had was lost when he simple stood by the open door, holding her at his side.

The blue eyed figure slide to a seat near the door, leaning out just enough for Twilight to see her properly. She herself was a light blue in complexion. Having dark hair with what seemed like twinkling stars in them. Her eyes were still narrowed, a look of sharp thought on her face. She then breathed in with her mouth a moment, seeming to take in Twilight scent, much like a cat would.

“Who are you?” She asked coldly.

“Uh, I um...”

“She's Twilight.” Sunset spoke, looking up at her mother. “She saved me yesterday. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be here right now.”

The vampire matriarch seemed to think about this before looking to Twilight as well. Her eyes were soul pricing and suddenly Twilight had a feeling akin to an ant standing before a dragon. The glowing, golden eyes seemed to assess her before Twilight's attention was stolen away.

“Why did you save Sunset.” The blue women asked sharply. Twilight, shaken a bit, turned to look at her and answered without thought.

“Why not?”

Twilight squeaked when the blue woman snatched the front of her shirt with one hand, yanking her closer with a wordless snarl. “Insolence!” She barked in a loud voice that left Twilight's ears ringing. “I will NOT tolerate such complacency! When I ask a question, I want a actual answer, not this half assed dribble!!” The woman had her face inches from Twilight's, baring her sharp fang that had Twilight flinch. “Listen to me human! I will not take such bull from a being that has not seen even fifty winters! I could -”

“Luna.” The commanding voice in the car froze the blue women mid rant. She seemed to take stock of herself before grumbling, releasing Twilight from her grasp. “That is not how we show our gratitude.”

“No, it is how we get killed by a honeypot!” Luna sneered slightly. “If it were the-”

“It's not Luna. We are in the now.” The matriarch spoke in a finalized fashion, closing off all future conversation. Luna frowned but scooted away from the car door. Again the matriarch looked to Twilight, eyes glowing in the shadows of the cab, her hand loosely clasping Sunsets as the girl sat beside her. “You will have to forgive my sister. She has only recently rejoined our clan from a long slumbered exile, she isn't well versed in today's age.”

“N-no problem...” Twilight said softly, checking the slightly torn fabric at the front of her shirt.

“Come inside Twilight.” The vampire cocked her head. “We must talk.”

Twilight swallowed, but when she felt Carrion push her back a bit she got into the car, twitching when the door shut behind her. She relaxed a bit when the car didn't start, or the garage door didn't start to sound, emphasizing it opening. However the car was dark, and all she could make out were the glowing vampiric eyes staring at her.

As her eyes adjusted a bit she made out Sunset's mother patting the seat beside her, so Twilight nervously slipped into it.

“Twilight.” The vampire began, looking the girl up and down. “You have saved my daughter's life.”

“Uh, it was nothing, really-” Twilight froze when Luna hissed at her.

The matriarch silenced her sister with a look in her direction. “It was not nothing to me Twilight.” The women continued, looking back at her. “I have lived for a very, very long time. Much of that time without loved ones to share it with. I greatly value the ones I have now.” She looked again to Luna. “And the ones I have only just had returned to me.”

Luna was quiet, yet her eyes looked to the floor.

“What you have done for me is a great service.” The women leaned in a bit and Twilight could see the women's soft white skin and youthful complexion. “In fact, I would dare say miracle.”

“I...” Twilight blinked, swallowing harshly. “I understand, but really, to me I just was... doing the right thing. If it were me I'm sure you wouldn't have left me wounded outside your house...”

Luna scoffed slightly.

The matriarch didn't respond to Luna this time, her attention directly on Twilight. “ I see. Yet my gratitude remains, nonetheless. So it stands that I owe you a debt.”

“Celestia! You don't know a damn thing about her!” Luna nearly shouted, but this time her was voice soaked in fearful desperation. “You don't know what she will ask!!”

Celestia seemed to regard her sister now, though with a look of concern. She sighed gently before speaking. “I will assess her, then we will know for sure and you can be at ease Luna.”

Said sister slunk down in her seat, relieved greatly.

“Mom?” Sunset asked. “What are you...?”

“Nothing dangerous, I assure you.” Celestia spoke to her daughter reassuringly. “She'll be fine.”

“What?” Twilight spoke, nervous. When Celestia turned to her again she gently tilted Twilight's chin up with her fingers. “Whats going on? What are you going to-”

Her eyes met Celestia's once more but suddenly things... things were weird... like really, really weird. What was going on... her head felt heavy. It sunk down into a pair of cradling hands under her chin, which adjusted themselves to hold her comfortably. Eyelid drooped to a near close, and she was kinda... tired. Her head also felt strange... like she was thinking, but she wasn't really thinking cause thoughts weren't coming to her... It was soothing kind of.

She could make out a pair of far of voices.

“Whats she doing? Whats going on?”

“Hush Sunset. Let you mother work.”

Twilight could only focus on the glowing golden orbs before her, which stared back with an intensity the likes of which Twilight had never known. She felt someone brush a stray hair from her face before the eyes shut before her.

In an instant Twilight was fully aware once more. She jerked her head out of the soft, gentle hands that cradled it, Celestia leaning back comfortably before she looked to her sister, eyes opening only when she had broken sight of the human before her.

"She is clean of deceit Luna." When the starry haired woman opened her mouth, Celestia held up a hand. "She fed Sunset her own blood, Luna."

Luna's mouth opened and closed in a fish like motion before sighing and looking to the floor, defeated.

Celestia turned to look down at Sunset next, whom withered under the attention. "Sunset. I know the situation you were both put in, but I'd liked to remind you that your actions always have consequences. Even if it 'seems' like no one will be harmed, there is always a chance. We must make our decisions wisely."

Sunset joined her aunt in looking at the car's carpeting pattern. "Yes mom, I understand..."

"Good. Then you'll understand why I am going to double your workload at home?"

Sunset looked up at her, but quickly withered again. "Yes Mom..."

"Then all is forgiven. At least on my end..." Celestia looked to Twilight again. The girl blinked rapidly before swallowing tightly.

"Oh, uh.. no, I'm fine with it! I mean, I offered, so...."

Celestia and Sunset offered a small smile before the matriarch continued. "I should let you know, though Sunset, that your friend's families have been told about your shenanigans yesterday. They will all be over tonight for dinner, so we can talk, together about this."

Sunset swallowed tightly this time.

"E-even Granny?

"Yes, even Miss Granny Smith with be present, I hope you will think of a proper apology." Celestia nodded, watching her daughter fidget. "So we must be getting home." She looked to Twilight again, with a smile and lifted her hand. "It was a pleasure Twilight. You have my gratitude and thanks, once again, I owe a great debt."

Twilight blinked before accepting the handshake, freezing when the two hands glowed lightly in the dark car cab. She heard Luna huffed unhappily on the other end of the seats as the light started to fade. Carrion opened the door just as the glow disappeared. Twilight was half tempted to ask about the strange light, but the smile from Celestia put her at ease and had her shuffling from the car.

Partway from the cab Twilight stopped and looked back at the mother and daughter, the former having put a comforting arm over her nervous charge. "Uh.. Sunset..."

The redhead looked to her, as did everyone else. Twilight winced at the luminescent eyes staring back at her. "Yes Twilight?"

"Uh, I was just wondering if you want to... hang out? Sometime?... Not here... I mean NOT because I don't want you here! It's just with the neighbours- not that I care what they- uh..."

"That sounds fun Twilight. I'll message you online, kay?" Sunset said with smile.

"Y-yah, ok. " Twilight stepped from the monstrous vehicle, stumbling a bit before Carrion caught her arm to steady her. She turned back to the car before standing up a bit straighter.

If her grandmother had taught her anything, it was manners... Then again seeing to whom she was using them for, might have her grandmother in the midst of a heart attack.

"I-it was very nice to meet you! I hope to see you again soon!" Twilight said, bowing slightly to the open car door. Celestia looked amused by the display, while Sunset was slightly confused. Luna, however, cocked a brow in a mild expression of pleasant surprise.

"As to you." Celestia nodded just as Carrion shut the door. The small old man bow to Twilight slightly before scuttling back into the car, climbing the large gap to his seat. As the car started to pull out Twilight followed it the edge of her garage, watching it back out onto the street and drive away. Soon it had turned the corner and was gone, like it never happened...

Twilight scratched her head before she rubbed her sore shoulder.

It was a few days later....

Twilight moaned slightly as she sat down at her computer, Spike hopping into her lap eagerly. Scratching him behind the ear she scrolled down her Tumblr page. After cleaning up the nest under the steps and throwing away her two ruined shirt Twilight could have almost sworn Sunset and her family had been a vivid dream... The aches of her body had faded, and there was still no sign of Sunset online...

She hadn't tried to look for Sunset herself. As far as she was concerned, if Sunset didn't want to actually hang out with her, that was fine... She may have wanted to forget this fiasco all together and Twilight didn't blame her.

Almost dying was NOT fun to remember...

There was a knocking up at the top of the stairs that had Spike barking, and when Twilight swiveled around to see she found her mother looking down at her.

"Honey, you're still down here. What about what we talked about? You know, being more social?" Velvet frowned.

"I know..." Twilight said softly, shrinking a bit.

"Well I just don't want you to be alone Twilight... you may not notice it but the more you distance yourself the harder it is to reach out. Just try a little more... for me? You mother. Who never asks for anything?"

Twilight snorted as she mother laughed lightly, closing the door as she left. Spinning back around in her chair Twilight sighed. She couldn't really think of any girls at school that would hang out with her... She was the big nerd on campus at her private school. Most of them avoid her like poison. Which she was to their social standing...

Reaching the end of anything new on her feed, Twilight switched over the Facebook, pausing when she saw she had a message... Twilight tried to settle her excited jitters... Most likely more mean remarks from classmates or something... Opening the chat Twilight blinked.

Sent from Sunset Shimmer: 1:30 pm

Hey Twilight! Sorry it took so long for me to message you, I was too busy with all my new chores... and I lost my old phone so yeah, there's that.

I'm gonna be in Mid-Canterlot next Saturday with a few friends for a movie, you wanna join us?

Twilight blinked, rereading the message a few times... So Sunset did want to hang out, but Mid-Canterlot... her Grandmother would throw a fit, it wouldn't be easy to get to...

Quickly typing a response she sent it off, jumping when her father yelled from upstairs. "Twilight! Dinner! Steaks are WAY better this time!"

Giggling the girl turned and hurried upstairs, Spike barking behind her and racing her up leaving her computer behind.

Sent from Twilight Sparkle: 6:oo Pm

I'd love to!
-------------

Not Proud

View Online

The car rumbled softly over the black pavement, the soft noise reverberating in the cool interior of the car. The tinted windows blocked sunlight from entering and it was a comfortably cool temperature. Sunset nuzzled closer to the body beside her, an arm draped over her shoulder as Carrion drove through Everfree Estates.

Sunset paused to glare out the windows at the passing houses, each looking the same as the next. If she could help it, she would never come here again. The last twelve hours had been a living nightmare. She had almost died, then she had almost killed someone else…

The images of coming to with Twilight’s mangled body in her arms made her quiver in guilt. She never wanted to hurt anyone like that ever again, and while she had thankfully managed to heal the damage she had caused, Sunset could still see how pale Twilight was, even as she had stepped out of the car.

Sunset tilted her head when her mother ran a hand through her hair. "Tired my dear?"

"A little... I couldn't sleep after I almost-" Sunset shivered again. "Almost killed her, y’know?"
She looked up into her mother's golden eyes, "I'm still feeling a little guilty, even if Twilight forgave me."

"When I was your age, Sunset, I fed without remorse," Celestia spoke, stroking Sunset's hair again. "We didn't see humans as people, but as cattle. In a way, you are a far better person for feeling this; it shows you care for others, and I respect that." She shifted a bit in her seat, "There are some things I'm not proud of in my past. However I have found that the best way to ease guilt is to learn from your experiences and try to be better for them."

"That starts by never coming back here again," Sunset agreed.

"They’re quite pretentious little animals, are they not?" Luna grumbled as she stared out the window angrily. "Thinking that pigs living amongst pigs will make this place any less of a pigsty."

"Luna," Celestia warned before turning to Sunset. "While I agree that harming you was wrong, coming here was not the wisest thing, Sunset. Humans who fear monsters tend to live in groups. They section themselves off to create a 'safe space' for themselves and their families. By coming here you essentially invaded a place where they felt they were protected and made them scared. Scared for themselves and their loved ones... these fears are not unfounded either. As sad as it may be though, fear and hate go hand in hand, so they felt the need to defend themselves."

"I don't understand why they'd be so vicious about it," Sunset grumbled. "Trying to get me out is one thing, but they had bats and knives and things."

She felt her mother bristle slightly, but the woman continued softly, "Well, what would a monster be doing in this place, if they knew they were not welcome? Would most humans here think that such trespassing was just a joke, or a dare?"

Sunset sat for a moment before sighing. "No. A monster would likely sneak in here to hurt people or to steal something. I mean besides a grocery store there's nothing but houses here."

"Yes, but there may be more sinister reasons... Long before you were born, Sunset, there was a similar gated community that was completely obliterated. By monsters. They hated the fact that humans could deny them, they hated that humans had the power to keep them out, so they decided to go in." Celestia grunted a bit. "There were few survivors..."

Sunset looked up to her in surprise. "Really? How- how big was the place?"

"There were about a thousand people in there. Only fifteen made it out. Of course most of the perpetrators were caught and convicted, but scars run deep Sunset. Human fear runs deep...
When they realised you were in the community, they went on full alert, in case there was any more of us that had snuck in and were waiting till nightfall to attack. The police were out in full force. The only way we got in to look for you was by hypnotizing the guards. Speaking of, I'll need to do it again when we leave..."

Sunset lay against her mother quietly, mind reeling. "I really scared them that bad?"

"I'm afraid so, Sunset. However I shudder to think what may have happened if Twilight hadn't been there... It was very lucky that she found you before anyone else."

Sunset leaned into the woman's arm. What had seemed like a harmless prank had actually caused so much trouble... It was hard to remember what it was like to be human before, even if it had only been a few years ago. To be fair,she had never really lived like a normal human. Being raised by her adoptive mother since she was three had her used to the darkness of the house and the two fridges in the kitchen, one for food and one for blood. Heck, she was used to staying up late at night and going to school in the afternoon. She never knew anything else.

She wasn’t raised in an environment with an ever-present underlying fear, where she might be seen as a toy or a snack and could possibly be stolen away in a matter of moments.

"Yeah. I guess everything worked out the best it could, considering..."

Celestia hugged Sunset around the shoulders gently and pulled her back to her side, allowing the rumbling of the car to lull her into a light doze.
__________________

Frankly Sunset had never been happier to see the large, old chateau she called home. The building had been Celestia's for the last thousand years and was in great shape. It was well protected by a tall stone wall and gated entryway.

Carrion parked in the drive house before opening the car door for them, standing back as the women took the covered walkway to the side door. Once in, Sunset sighed, breathing in the smell of the kitchen's still smouldering hearth and old wood.

It smelled like home.

"Thank you Carrion. Please take some time to rest. We are already set for dinner," Celestia said, nodding slightly the short man.

"Very good, milady," the butler said, bowing before taking off to his room nearby.

"Now then, we have only a few hours before they get here. It's best if you get cleaned up before they arrive," Celestia said, stroking Sunset's head. "We'll talk more about your punishment later."

Sunset grimaced a bit, but nodded. "Yeah, ok mom." She smiled when Celestia kissed the top of her head. "Is it gonna be formal or-"

"I didn't state it when I called everyone over, but I'd do semi-formal, to be on the safe side," Celestia said. "Our guests might come in more regal attire because I called them before you were found. Originally I just wanted to talk about the possible fallout that might have occurred had any humans, or you yourself, been hurt. While that still needs to happen, this will be a good time for us to tell them you're alright, and to apologize," Celestia frowned slightly.

"Alright, I'll hurry and come back to help you set the tab- AHHHHH!!!"

Sunset had opened the door only to be suddenly hit with the light coming in from the windows. She choked slightly as she felt her body burn and shrivel in the sun, before being yanked back into darkness.

"Dammit! I forgot those were open!" Luna shouted from somewhere outside the shadows. "Carrion! Carrion! Where is that-"

"Luna," Celestia voice was stern and it reverberated in Sunset's ear. Shakily the girl opened her eyes and could see she was she was hugged tightly to her mother, the matriarch's cloak unfurled around her making a small, safe, dark place. "We have had those open for years. Sunset's lotion has been washed off." Sunset shivered as her mother turned to look at another person. "Carrion, there you are. I'm sorry to have to ask you this after I just dismissed you, but could you close up all the curtains in the house for the time being?"

"Of course ma'm."

Hands softly threaded through Sunset's hair again. She could already feel her strength returning as she healed from the burns. She turned into the comforting hands that held her. There was more shifting before the top of the cloak opened enough for Celestia to peer inside.

"Sunset, are you alright?" She asked in concern.

"Yeah..." Sunset looked up wearily. "Just tired of being a raisin ninety percent of the time."

Celestia frowned, but put her arm over Sunset's shoulders and lead her across the room, still covered by her mother's cape. Celestia slipped one of her hands out and Sunset heard the fridge door open before the hand returned with a package akin to a juice pouch. "You may need to drink some more blood. We're not sure how much you took from Twilight, but it can't hurt for you to get some more."

Sunset accepted the drink, finding the attached straw and poking it into the bag. As she took the first few sips she stalled, pulling back to look the pouch over in confusion.

"Is something wrong?" Celestia asked.

"Nothing, it just tastes strange..." Sunset squinted at the expiration date before shrugging, finding it still good. She took a few more tentative sips, confusion washing over her. Why was it tasting... off? As she drank Sunset thought, before she nearly spat out her drink when realization dawned on her.

"Sunset-?"

"N-nothing! Wrong - wrong hole" The girl coughed and pounded her chest.

Sunset leaned into her mother and caught her breath before taking the straw back into her mouth without complaint. Her mother seemed to question this for a moment before she looked back up at some approaching footsteps.

"Miady, all the windows have been covered, as per your request."

"Thank you Carrion. You are dismissed."

The dissipating scuttling signaled Carrion’s leave and Sunset went about finishing the bag. Only when she was done did Celestia open her cape. As Sunset blinked and let her eyes readjust she could hear her mother chortle softly behind her hand.

"What?" Sunset asked.

Celestia shook her head. "No, it’s nothing... just..." She gestured vaguely above her head. Sunset frowned and put a hand to her own, blushing when she found her hair frizzed up from the static of the cape. Celestia revealed a bit more of her smile as her daughter patted her hair back down. "Now you should go and get ready, your path should be clear. However, do try to get some more sun lotion on."

"Yes mom," Sunset agreed, stepping out into the now darkened hall. Past the old furniture and portraits that lined the living space walls and up the stairs, Sunset arrived at her bedroom. It was large and spacious, with one stone wall that faced the front yard and three wooden ones that were painted a soft teal, dividing up the inner rooms of the house. On her walls were posters of a few bands she enjoyed, and some pictures of her friends and family. Walking in, she moved a few random articles of clothing from the ground and threw them in her hamper. She recalled being in a rush to meet Rainbow and Applejack yesterday, so she hadn't cleaned up after herself. Going to her dresser Sunset yelped, and jumped back a bit when her hand sizzled. Waving it around, she quickly realised there was still some sun coming in through a crack in the curtains on the other side of the room. Once she maneuvered around the beam she started looking for clothes.

Hemming and hawing over a few articles, including some dresses from the closet nearby, she finally settled on a purple dress shirt with billowing sleeves and black jeans, all of which were provided by her friend Rarity. Laying them out on the bed, Sunset yawned before she pulled off her jacket and her shirt, shifting out of the fabric. She paused at a strange sound, one akin to sand running in an hourglass. Sunset wrestled out of her shirt, looking down in time to see a large line of dust, slipping from her shirt and down to the floor.

Ah yes. She had been sulfracating yesterday. So that means there’s a lot of ash hidden in the crevices of her clothes… Sunset shook the shirt out on the floor, quickly changing clothes before she took up her jeans to shake them as well.

A small pile of ash, sizeable enough to be noticed if one were to look for it, sat in the corner of the room at her feet. Sunset uneasily eyed it, uncomfortable to essentially be looking at what was burned up pieces of her flesh. She swiftly fished out the sunscreen from her side table.

Best to not make a repeat performance.

All this skin broiling was making her wonder if she should finally take her mother up on her offer... Sunset still hadn't moved into the basement catacombs where her mother and Aunt Luna held residence, despite her mother asking if she wanted to shortly after Sunset had turned. It was a little too dark down there for her taste, and while it had become a comfort for her family over the many years they'd been alive, Sunset wasn't jumping at the chance to join them.

Only given the recent turn of events she may want to rethink that.

Then again, sunlight wouldn't be the only thing she'd have to give up. She’d also have to give up her beautiful, antique, queen sized, canopy bed with large white drapes set against the side wall of her room. If she were to move into the basement she'd need to start sleeping in a coffin too, as the rooms were specially made for one and a bed wouldn't fit. Sure she had tried her mother's for a few minutes, but it was a little... claustrophobic.

After checking her appearance in the mirror she smiled and fell back on her bed, nestling into the soft blankets. Sunset hadn't really intended on it, but the moment she lay down she was out. After what felt like a few seconds Sunset was roused by a knocking at her door. She sat up, getting the sand out of her eyes and wiping a small line of drool off her chin, before she looked to the clock on her bedside table.

Holey crow, she had been asleep for two hours?!

Standing up she noted the knocking had become more frantic. Sunset dusted off her shirt, praying it hadn't wrinkled, as she went to answer it. "Coming! Sorry, I kinda fell asleep so-"

Nothing else got past Sunset's lips before she was tackled to the ground. Taken by surprise, she hadn't had the time to activate her powers for anything useful, like super strength. However when her attackers pulled back, Sunset found there wasn't really a need.

"SUNSET!" Rainbow shouted, looking extremely relieved. "Oh my gosh, we were so worried about you!"

"Cheese and crackers girl, we was up to our armpits in worry!" Applejack agreed.

"Good to see you too," Sunset smirked before sitting up so they could all have a group hug. The way her friends tightly gripped her back spoke volumes…

"What happened back there?!" Rainbow asked, helping to pull Sunset back to her feet. "Last thing you said was-" Rainbow stood back, mocking a confident pose Sunset would subconsciously take sometimes, hand on her hip and a knowing look on her face. "Relax guys, this is gonna be a cakewalk for me, I'll be back before you know it." Rainbow turned back to her, arms crossed and a pout on her face. "We waited about an hour before we got really nervous-"

"Then about one more before we got scared enough ta call our folks." Applejack spoke, looking more concerned than the expression Rainbow was sporting.

Sunset sunk her head down a bit, a little sheepish. "Yeah, about that, sorry, but when I was in there the yard sprinklers turned on and my sunscreen washed off so..." She noted the alarmed look on her friend's faces. "Yeah, Sunset, extra crispy."

"Are ya alright?" Applejack asked, eyes darting up and down Sunset's form worriedly.

"Yeah, I got lucky, but I dropped the flag and lost my bag in th-"

"You got the flag!" Rainbow said suddenly, cutting her friend off. "Like the one from the dare, right?"

"Rainbow!" Applejack frowned.

"Well, yeah! Not like it matters now but..."

Rainbow edged closer, looking excited. "You still got it, right?" When Sunset nodded Rainbow Dash whooped, jumping into the air for a moment, her wings flapping wildly. "Yes! You did it! In those jerks’ faces!"

Applejack groaned, facepalming as Sunset let out a chuckle at her friend's antics.

"Yeah, but to be fair they're not all jerks in there," Sunset explained. "Like I said, I got lucky and was saved by one of the residents. Most of them would have left me to fizzle, but I found what was likely the only human in there who would harbor me."

" You can't just leave it like that! You gotta tell us, from the beginning!" Rainbow shouted, swooping to Sunset's bed eagerly and bouncing in her seat. Sunset looked to Applejack, who tilted her hat with a smile before they joined her.

So Sunset weaved her tale of woe at Everfree Estates, about getting the flag, then being chased through town, the sprinklers and the almost dying…

"Ah geeze!" Rainbow interrupted. "I didn't know it would get so bad in there for you. I actually wanted to go in there after you before we called our folks, but I don't really blend in as well as you." Rainbow gestured down to her wings and taloned feet, feathers the same colour as her skin ending at her elbows and dotting the exposed nape of her neck,

"Ya sure don't, Harpy girl," Applejack smirked before putting her hands up in surrender at Rainbow’s displeased glare. However the mood turned somber again as Applejack looked back to Sunset. "We're real sorry about daring y'all to go in there, Sunset."

"Yeah, I didn't know you'd be in so much danger or I wouldn't have said it." Rainbow frowned.

"You guys seem to forget that a dare works both ways. I could have said no," Sunset sighed, putting a hand to her chest. "The blame is partially on me too."

They were all quiet for a moment before Applejack spoke. "So, what happened after you... uh-"

"-Became a barbque roadhouse special?" Sunset deadpanned before smirking. "Well-"
Next came the introduction of Twilight, dragging her into her home and to a safe space in the basement. How Twilight had tried to help her but was foiled by Sunset passing out, with Twilight eventually having to give Sunset some of her own blood to survive.

"-Then my mom basically came to pick me up after she figured out Twilight's address with the puppeting technique I told you about- uh," Sunset blinked. "Are you guys... ok?"

Both her friends were gaping at her, eyes wide in disbelief. Applejack was the first to find function again before she spluttered. "Y-you drank fresh human blood?"

"Uh, yeah. Not too proud of how I went about it but..." Sunset rubbed the back of her head, gauging her friends’ reactions.

They both looked to each other, eyes wide and sporting uncertain and uncomfortable looks. They seemed to share some kind of conversation, as Rainbow withered when Applejack nodded to her, seemingly volunteering the rainbow-coloured harpy to act.

"Ummm," Rainbow looked down to the bedsheets, picking off a bit of lint and rolling it in her fingers, before she spoke quietly. "Hatiditaslik..."

Sunset was pretty sure she hadn't even heard Fluttershy speak so softly. "Uh, excuse me?" The vampire asked, a brow raised.

Rainbow rocked on her knees, chewing on her inner cheek before groaning loudly, looking back up to Sunset's eyes.

"What did it taste like?"

Sunset was thrown by the question, looking to Applejack to find the farmer looking embarrassed but intrigued as well. "What?!"

"We're... we're curious, sugar cube," Applejack nodded, catching Rainbow's gaze before looking back to Sunset. "Only one alive long enough to have ever had a taste of human blood was my great grand pappy. We hardly ever eat meat, but when he was alive he kept saying that... as horrible as it sounds, that human was the best." Applejack looked squirmish, ducking her head. "I know better than my Grand Pappy, I mean he was almost two thousand years old before he died, he was a product of his time. I wouldn't eat human meat myself, but I'm just curious what it... tastes like, I guess. If it really was all that."

"Me too, I mean my family is basically carnivorous, we hardly eat any plants... and I don't have any relatives older than a hundred and thirty, which is up there for my grandma too, but I have heard that humans taste... good. I just was curious." Rainbow nodded.

Sunset grimaced. She couldn't fathom eating a human like one would a cow. Consumption of flesh and the drinking of blood were two very different things. Sunset herself was a vegetarian, but blood was not like meat in her eyes. It was like a byproduct, akin to milk. If the host was still alive after the substance was taken and could live on as usual then it was a byproduct to her. However...

"Blood isn't like meat. It's all coppery, no matter who you get it from." Sunset said, trying to look uninterested.

"True, but as a vampire you have heightened senses, taste included," Applejack said, Rainbow nodding beside her.

Sunset flinched, mouth a thin line as she looked down at her bedspread.

Once again Rainbow and Applejack shared a look, but this time of concern. "Sunset?"

"I, ummmm, I don't wanna talk about it," Sunset mumbled, bringing her knees up to her chest. "I mean, there wasn't much of a difference I could notice at first, but when I got home I had another pack and..." Sunset set her forehead to her knees. "I knew."

"Knew what?" Applejack asked softly.

"That human blood is better than the old stuff we have," Sunset ground out, ashamed. "I actually thought the bag was bad at first, but when I realised... What if this is some kind of slippery slope or something? I don't want to hurt people, I don't want to hurt anyone but-" Sunset groaned loudly. "What if human blood really is so good I keep trying to get it? No matter the cost? I-"

"You are not like that." Rainbow said, eyes narrowed. "I know you, and you wouldn't stoop so low because of a craving."

"You never knew me before..." Sunset mumbled so quietly that neither heard.

"Well, what if it's not the fact that it’s 'human'?" Applejack suggested, catching Sunset's attention. "What if it's because it was fresh?"

"Yeah, you said you didn't notice a difference. Not to mention you said, word for word, 'that human blood is better than the OLD stuff we have,' " Rainbow shrugged. "Maybe all the stuff we hear is old world nostalgia? Maybe human meat tastes like chicken, but since it's illegal it's like a forbidden fruit, or whatever?"

Sunset tilted her head in thought, cheeks puffed a bit before sighing. "Maybe..."

"Look, if you should talk to anyone about this, it's your mom." Applejack said. "She's been alive for practically longer than anyone, or anything, else on this planet. If anyone would know about stuff like that, it's her." Applejack sat back on the bed and hummed. "I reckon she's seen practically everything at least once."

"Yeah, beside you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. Kinda a morbid subject any way, and since we'll never taste anything like it, for good reason, why should we know about what we can't have?" Rainbow added.

"Thanks." Sunset smiled lightly.

"So long as you and this Twilight gal made it ok, I'd say thing went well." Applejack said.

"Course..." The cowgirl twitched at the memory. "Granny was not happy."

"My dad neither." Rainbow nodded with a scowl. "No sports, for a month. Not to mention I gotta help him at the race track for the next few weeks."

"Don't you like the track?" Applejack asked.

"To watch the cars race, yeah, not to clean litter. You know how much litter there is there? A LOT!" Rainbow groused.

"My mom is going to have me doing double the work too," Sunset sighed. "She said we'd talk details later."

"Well Granny practically tore my ear roots off." The girl pushed back the vines and leaves that work as her hair, dotted with yellow flowers, to show the slightly elongated, curled, green root that was her ear. "Dragged me home and made me scrub every floor and surface available. Then it was off to usual chores and whatever else she could think of."

"That sounds sucky." Sunset said.

"Oh it gets worse. I ain't allowed ta talk to the trees until Granny says." The girl almost literally wilted, leaves shriving and flowers curling. "She told them what happened and now they don't talk to me."

Rainbow looked uncertainly to Sunset, who shrugged a little. "Applejack, uh, I may not understand how that feels... or works, but I'm sorry you got into that much trouble over me." Sunset frowned.

"Oh she wasn't just mad about that. She heard about the incident at Filthy Rich's store and the bikes, and you being missing didn't help, or the fact that the humans there were fussin' and frettin'. She kept talking about how we may have severed the fragile balance of human-monster relations and how your mom was gonna be plenty upset with us," Applejack swallowed hard. "I ain't never seen granny so mad. She was more ticked than a lyme disease research facility."

"A what?" Rainbow asked and squinted slightly.

"She made some good points though," Applejack sighed. "We coulda really screwed the pooch on this misadventure."

"In more ways than one," Sunset said, wincing. There was a silence all around as the girls seemed to collectively agree in thought.

Never again.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinner was a subdued affair.

Celestia watched everyone from her place at the head of the table, Sunset on one side, Luna the other. Their guests were stiff, and slightly sweaty…

No doubt nervous about what someone with Celestia's influence could do to them.

Only one other person, besides the matriarch, was their usual self at the very long and half empty table. Granny Smith glared at the three girls with a scowl, poking at her salad angrily. "I's got no idea how much brains you three have, but you'd think there be enough for a full one between ya!"

Applejack sunk in her chair, embarrassed. She was missing her stetson right now, which had been removed due to dinner table edicate. She started to play with her hair instead. Sunset looked embarrassed but disappointed in herself while Rainbow kept poking around at her food, a little angry but submissive to the elder before her.

"Granny," Big Mac began from his seat beside her. "I don't think-"

"That's the problem with all you kids! Ya don't think!" Granny shouted, waving a hand in her grandson's direction, making him slink back. "All you kids never wonder what your actions will do!"

"I think before I do stuff, Granny," Applebloom said loudly, looking out around Big Mac's form.

"Hush up, AppleBloom and eat your dinner. I'mma trying ta talk to the Darin' Do sisters." Granny frowned, looking back the three grumpily. "I hope you three are happy."

"No," Sunset said as the two other girls shook their heads.

"Honestly, scared me half ta death, that's not accountin' for Celestia and Rainbow's father!" Granny gestured to to Rainbow Blaze sitting opposite her at the table, who froze, pulling on his nice dress collar nervously.

"N-now don't you worry about us, haha- uh! I've already set Rainbow straight and handed out some punishment-" The harpy man was sweating buckets, looking to the head of the table he caught Celestia's gaze and jumped a bit, quickly looking to his silverware and inspecting it. "This will not be happening again, I assure you! I-"

"Oh calm down Blaze, Celestia ain't gonna do nothin. She and I go way back, least for me, I know she'd never ruin your life over a toddler fight like this," Granny said dismissively. "You're a good father, I don't doubt you got this covered, but a good verbal lashing will help drive this point home!"

Rainbow Blaze looked to Celestia again, whom watched him quietly with a empty expression before she smiled softly to him. Blaze sunk down into his own chair, relieved and dabbed at his forehead with a napkin.

"You three do realise how easily startled humans are, don't ya?!" Granny growled, hands on her hips. "They’re like rabbits! You even so much as growl near a crowd of them and they'd rather walk through midday traffic then look at cha'!"

"I know..." Applejack mumbled.

"You know?!" Granny's voice was blunt and Applejack winced, realising her mistake. "You know and you still did it?!"

"Well, it's just, those cops and-" Rainbow started, but winced herself when Granny looked to her.

"I heard all 'bout them. They talked to ya without respect and what you three do? Ya do just what they said and prove them right. You destroyed property by breakin' a bike stand and all the bikes on it," Granny frowned, pointing to Rainbow.

"Well the cop kinda-"

"You lie to a good family friend and an honest man, not ta mention a customer, cause his daughter still has some growin’ up ta do, like all children do," Granny snapped, looking to Applejack, who slunk in her chair even more, eyes visibly cringing over the table.

"You break and enter into a private, gated community, steal a flag-which is a not only stealing but flag desecration-and you almost cause civil unrest amongst the humans-" Granny finally turned to Sunset, who withered.

"-all so you could win a game of dare?!"

All three girls ducked their heads, ashamed.

Granny grunted, pulling her shirt straight and sitting up in her seat.

"Is there anymore dressin?"

All eyes turned to Applebloom, who froze with tongs in hand as she was midway through refilling her plate, a mess of dressing around her mouth. She looked back at everyone, shocked that she was the center of attention all of a sudden.

Granny groaned again and put a hand to her face.

"What? I'm eatin' dinner like ya'll told me to," AppleBloom pouted, looking at her grandmother in confusion. She looked to Celestia with smile. "It’s real good Lady Celestia!"

The matriarch smiled and inclined her head to the youth in thanks.

Applebloom smiled back before turning to her family. "So, about the dressin'," Big Mac rolled his eyes as he handed the bottle off to her.

"Right." Granny frowned before turning back to the older girls. "Now listen, I agree what those officer did was wrong. You girls don't deserve anything like that, y'all are good girls." Granny nodded. "But that doesn't mean you should act out. I hope you understand."

"Yes Granny Smith," Applejack said as Sunset and Rainbow nodded.

"Well good, I suppose I should pull out the pie then?" Granny said, pulling a basket from under the table.

"THERE'S PIE!" Applebloom shouted.

____________________________________________________________________________

Dinner finished and Sunset, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash were left cleaning up. As Sunset finished washing the last plate she handed it off to Rainbow, who was still behind on drying while Applejack put things away.

"Told you, no time flat if we did it together." Sunset smiled as the other two kept working.

"Right, just don't forget to wipe the table, Applebloom splattered food all over it." Applejack sighed, shaking her head.

"I don't blame her, pie was good," Rainbow laughed as she handed off another plate. Sunset rung the washcloth out and made her way to the dining room and quickly wiped down the table, even the areas where no one had sat…

It was good to get some brownie points.

However, when she got to the end of the table, she paused, looking up to the nearby door leading to the parlour, where the parents had retreated for tea and coffee.

"-ot a good thing, Celestia-no idea what they'll do."

Sunset stopped wiping and went closer to the door, listening in on the conversation.

"They know it was a vampire, and it's only your clan and a few others in the city. Only a matter 'ah time before they come a knockin'."

"I agree Granny. It won't be long, however they would need to prove that Sunset was the one in there before anything can be done. I do worry as she left her bag behind, but besides her phone there was nothing to indicate her identity." Celestia sighed and Sunset could make out the creaking of old furniture.

"Shouldn't we maybe just tell the police what happened?" Rainbow Blaze asked quietly. "They may just give them a slap on the wrist."

"They may, but given my vast history and some families that I don’t have the best past with, they may push for harsher punishment, perhaps even to just get to me. Or they may think that I am reverting to my old ways... I'm afraid there is too much at stake, even for your girls. They could be pulled in as accomplices."

"Humans worry about a lot of thing, They may not forgive too much but they usually forget. If we keep quiet and nothin' comes of this li’l stunt, they may think it was a prank or an accident and just up security," Granny said. "If this gets out, who knows what high standin' family or rich Shyster may try to take advantage of our misfortune. I know some people that have been trying to buy our farm, wanna make factory land out it. If they see this chance they may pull us into court however they can, take up our time so we can't work the land and eat up our money with lawyers, so we ain't got no choice but to sell," Granny sighed. "Course it’d be worse if we didn't even try. I don't know what would happen to Applejack if we left her to the system. They might give her community service or they may spin it so she's in jail for life. All this highfalutin string pullin’s given me a headache." Granny grunted and a chair squeaked. "And don't think they won't try and use this over you too Blaze. That track a' yours makes a lotta money, they might try and pull it out from under you with this."

Rainbow Blaze swallowed loudly.

"That being said we may be over analyzing this, but it's better to be safe than sorry," Celestia said.

"All this quarreling over such trivial nonsenses," Luna growled. "This why humans shouldn't be allowed to make decisions for themselves, they mess everything up for everyone, including themselves."

"Luna, how many times must I tell you? It is different now."

Sunset pulled back from the door, nearly screaming when she bumped into something. Turning, she found Rainbow and Applejack, both of whom looked worried.
_________________________________________________________________________

“Well thank ya kindly for havin’ us Lady Celestia,” Granny said as everyone stood outside, the dinner concluded and guests leaving for the night. “I do hope the next time we all see each other will be under better conditions.”

“As do I,” Celestia agreed, patting the elder root on her shoulder. “You all drive safe, and I will call you all later if anything new surfaces.” She placed an arm around Sunset. “For now though, let's say business as usual.

“Alrighty, good night everyone, come on Rainbow, we got an early morning tomorrow,” Blaze turned to his daughter, who pouted a bit. “That litter won’t pick itself up.”

“Yes dad,” Rainbow sighed as the two flew off into the sky. “Bye guys!”

There was a pop as Big Mac drove the family truck up from its parking spot by the garage. Applebloom was already asleep in the back, her face resting against the window as she snored softly. As her brother hopped out to assist Granny in getting into the passenger side, Applejack turned to Sunset. Celestia pulled her arm away as the two hugged.

“Ah geeze,” Applejack sighed. “Lets never play any dang ol’ dare games, unless they keep us in tha’ house,” Pulling back the girls chuckled.

“I can agree to that.” Sunset smiled, patting her friend's shoulder. Both girls jumped when Big Mac honked the horn. Looking back they could see the rest of the Apples piled in the old truck, Applebloom blinking groggily as the horn had awoken her.

“I best be goin’,” Applejack sighed. “We can talk more later.”

“See you.” Sunset watched as her friend climb into the back seat of the car, the vehicle slowly making its way down the long gravel driveway. Celestia and Sunset stood side by side, waving until the truck was gone.

“So you heard us in the parlour, did you?” Celestia spoke, eyes staring quietly up at the moon.

If Sunset was surprised at being found out she didn’t show it, she only looked down to the rocks about her feet. “Yes.” Sunset admitted, her voice unwavering. “I kind of expected that you’d know, but I wasn’t sure.”

“Small feet on my floors always creak. Something I’ve learned over the years.” Celestia said. “It’s best not to worry about that for now though, I suspect that Everfree Estates will be too embarrassed that their high-priced security was foiled so easily for them to get too vocal. They may get the police to investigate, but it's likely they’ll want to keep any gossip about their failings to a minimum. The Estates gets paid a lot by their residents to ensure their safety, something like this would be bad for business if they blew it up too big.”

“Then… What was with all that talk about taking advantage of the situation to hurt you or get Applejack’s farm?” Sunset asked, looking up at her matriarch.

“I never said the humans wanted to hurt me or take the Apple Farm,” Celestia said softly. “All they would do is most likely charge for trespassing… The only reason humans now wield so much power is because they have the ability to start a long and, quite frankly damaging war if they wanted.” Celestia shrugged. “They are, however, by no mean old money or powerful in the upper crust of society as a whole. Monsters are still a large majority of the population, at least sixty percent. We still hold the most wealth and the most power. Monsters would be the ones who would try to escalate it, if they knew they could benefit from it.”

Sunset looked down again, thinking. “I know you said you had some less-than-great connections in the past, but I thought you meant humans…”

Celestia shut her eyes, face stern. “I have lived a very, very long time Sunset. Yet that doesn't mean I am the only one with that sort of lifespan. In order to become as powerful as I am, I had to get my hands dirty, and I had to make friends where I found foul creatures, and foul friendships I wanted to keep. Though human live short lives, they keep memories by passing tales to the next generation, but the pain lessens with each telling until it is hard to distinguish truth and legend.” Celestia frowned deeply, eyes opening with a dark glow about them. “However, when one can live for an eternity, you NEVER forget what hurts the most, whether because someone hurt you, or you hurt someone else… The pain doesn't fade until you let go, and some won’t let go unless they’ve gotten satisfaction for their grievances, one way or another.”

Celestia turned to Sunset, the girl looking up at her with a small expression. “As I said Sunset. I have done things I am not proud of.” She put a hand to her daughter’s shoulder. “But I will not allow you to pay for my sins.”

___________________________________________________________________

It had been a few days after that fateful night, and thankfully no police had come knocking. Celestia’s thoughts seemed to be correct, Everfree Estates was trying to make as little a fuss as possible. Yet that did not mean Sunset’s woes were over.

Sunset moaned as she stumbled back into her room, flopping onto her bed. “I never want to clean the floor with a toothbrush again….” She groaned and rolled over onto her back. The last few days that week had been nothing but housework. All digital life was gone for the entire grounding. That wasn’t to say her mother was a task master, as she allowed the girl moments to read some books or call her friends, all of whom had rung her the few days after her return, worried but happy to hear she was okay.

Pinkie swore that once Sunset was back, she was throwing the three an ‘Officially Ungrounded Party!’. Whatever that entailed… Thankfully though the grounding had not affected the movie night next week the girls had been planning for two months. The release of that new action thriller Rainbow wanted to see had them all abuzz. Most of the girls didn’t even know the name, but Rainbow was hyped and wanted to share it with them, so they shrugged and made the date clear.

“Sunset.” The redhead looked up to see her aunt standing in her doorway. Getting up to her elbows Sunset sent her a smile.

“Hey Aunt Luna. What can I do for you?”

“Your mother requested that I give you this, once the kitchen floor was as shimmering as your name,” Luna said, lifting an object from behind her back with a puzzled expression. “She said that since you were working so hard, your chastening was to be lessened to an extent. Though I do not understand how this object would symbolize that…”

“Chastening?” Sunset frowned, squinting at the small object in Luna’s hand before she gasped, a large smile taking up her face. “My portable wifi adapter!” She leapt up, taking the object form Luna’s hand and kissed it. “Oh thank you!”

Luna blinked, eyes wide at her action. “I am still unsure how that object brings you so much elation.”

“Oh well, you see…” Sunset paused, face froze in her smile as she puzzled how best to explain wireless internet to a vampire, who had slept through a thousand years of technological evolution. “It, uh, makes my computer work.” Sunset pointed to her laptop on her desk quickly.

“Ah, you mean your large, compact magic mirror device you spend so much time on?” Luna asked.

Sunset eyes shifted as she sweat. “Sssssuuuureee?”

“Well, be very careful Sunset. Such powerful magic devices are commonly cursed,” Luna looked to her laptop suspiciously, Sunset sweating a little harder. “Are you certain no souls were sacrificed for its construction?”

“Pretty sure,” Sunset said but continued in an uncertain voice under her breath. “Unless you count sweatshop workers maybe…”

“Hmmm…” Luna mumbled, glaring slightly at the computer. “Mayhaps I should hire an exorcist, just in case.”

“Maybe wait until mom’s home,” Sunset said quickly. “I’m sure she can explain it better than I can.”

“Very well, young one, I will hold on action until more information is available, but be wary.” Luna put a hand to Sunset’s shoulder, and the girl paused. “Though we have known each other a short amount of time, I find myself quite fond of you, my niece.”

Sunset blinked before smiling again, this time a bit more genuine. “Thanks, Aunt Luna.” The two shared a quick hug before the older woman pulled back.

“Now then, I-” Luna paused, bristling slightly. “Someone is on the property.”

“What?” Sunset blinked, following her aunt to a window. They both looked out, Sunset sighing as she did so. “Oh it’s just the mailman…”

“I am well aware of the creature’s gender, Sunset! What is he doing here?!” Luna turned and hurried from the room. “I shall handle this interloper, post haste!”

“What!? No, Aunt Luna! He’s a mailman! I mean he’s a, uh… oh geeze what do you call an old timey mail man…. Ah, m- messenger! He a messenger, Aunt Luna!” Sunset shouted, running to her door way to catch Luna half way down the stair. Her elder looked back at her, clearly hearing her, thinking for a moment before continuing down stairs.

Sunset sighed, at least she didn’t look like she was gonna kill the guy anymore. Celestia had said to take progress where she could find it with her Aunt and be patient… The girl turned back into her room, spotting her Wifi adapter again with a smile.

Time to see what she had been missing on the web.

After looking over her new messages and inbox, Sunset rolled over to Facebook, pausing to check her wall before noticing her friend, Pinkie Pie, had messaged her.

Hey Sunny! :D
I found Twilight’s Facebook page for you!!! ;) :) Just in case your forgot!! :P
Love Pinky <3 XOXO!

Sunset blink and clicked on the link, finding the human girl’s timeline. Ah dammit, she had forgotten! Tapping her finger against her desk she thought for a moment…. When would be a good time to get together with Twilight again? She wanted her to meet all her friends, maybe even get her involved with her group… Well the movie was the next time they were all together… Sunset was sure the girls wouldn’t mind, so she typed out a quick message.

Sent from Sunset Shimmer: 1:30 PM

Hey Twilight! Sorry it took so long for me to message you, I was too busy with all my new chores... and I lost my old phone so yeah, there's that.
I'm gonna be in Mid-Canterlot next Saturday with a few friends for a movie, you wanna join us?

Five friends was a few, right? Well, Pinkie would agree.

“Sunset, behold!” The girl jumped and wheeled around to face her aunt, who stood in her doorway again. “The messenger you spoke of was indeed carrying letters for us. He seemed rather surprised that I demanded to take them right from him, rather than toil with that box.”

Sunset looked down, paling a little. “Aunt Luna… You weren’t supposed to take his bag.”

“Why, are these not our letters?”

“Not all of them!” Sunset said, standing. “He delivers to more houses than ours!”

“How is that secure? What if valuable information was dropped to the wrong home? Are these ‘messengers’ properly screened to assure they won’t spread the secrets under their care if tortured?!” Luna asked, clearly confused again.

“L-lets just call mom for a second. Is the guy still out there?” Sunset asked, leading her Aunt back down the stairs.

“Yes, though he seems to be crying for some reason,” Luna said.

“Oh boy.”

Sunset didn’t get back to her computer till much later that night, but when she did…

Sent from Twilight Sparkle: 6:00 PM

I'd love to!
_________________________________________________________________________

Movie Night

View Online

Twilight double-checked and triple-checked her bag quickly as she stood at gates of Everfree Estates. Sunscreen, check, water bottle, check, wallet, check. As she went through the objects she had brought along, just in case they were needed, Twilight knew they were already in there. She had checked her bag at least thirty times now…

It was just that doing this helped settle her nerves.

Twilight blinked as she produced her dog whistle, one she had gotten long ago to train Spike. So that’s where it had been. She hadn’t really needed to use it since it turned out her little pup was actually very intelligent. Seeing as how there was no place to put it she dropped it back into her bag.

Really need to clean this thing out.

When she had told her mom a few days ago she was going to hang out with a few friends, her mom had practically gone to break out some champagne. It had been a while since Twilight had hung out with, well, anyone. In fact, besides the playdates her mom set up for her as a child, she hadn’t had any friends in general. Twilight Velvet had eagerly allowed her to go, even spotting her some extra money, not that it was needed. Twilight hardly bought anything to begin with and her allowance had been building up in her bank account.

However, in Velvet’s rush of excitement, Twilight had neglected to tell her where she was going and who her new friends were. Twilight wasn’t sure if her mother would let her go if she knew Mid-Canterlot was her destination. Their safe and secure little subdivision was a far cry from the wild and crowded skyscrapers.

Even so, Twilight was determined to go and meet Sunset. Even if it didn’t work out between Twilight and her possible new friends, it would still be an adventure. Only…

Twilight checked her bag’s contents for the thirty-first time.

She was nervous.

In order to get to the theater, she needed to first leave Everfree Estates, which she had never done on her own before, and take the bus, which she had looked over beforehand but still wasn’t sure of…

Twilight rocked back on her heels quietly, thinking over her options. Both her parents were out, so she couldn’t ask for a ride now. She could just send Sunset a message online, saying she couldn’t come… but it had been nice talking to the other girl. She hadn’t realised how much she missed talking to other, nice people until Sunset had come and gone.

Well, you don’t discover new things inside your comfort zone, as her old science teacher used to say.

Walking to the first obstacle, Twilight pulled her photo I.D. from her wallet, handing it to the guard. The fortified wall of Everfree Estates was made of thick stone and iron bars, all leading to the various guard stations as the only legal exits and entrances for both cars and pedestrians. The man looked over her card before typing into his computer.

“All by yourself today, Miss Sparkle?” he asked curiously.

“Ah, yes. Meeting some friends…” Twilight said, watching as he looked over the monitor before nodding, handing her I.D. back to her.

“Well have fun and be careful out there,” he said, pulling his newspaper back up, ignoring her once more.

“Ok,” Twilight said, walking through the stone arches and out onto the sidewalk of the outside world. She looked up and down the street, seeing Canterlot clearly in the distance, the soft sounds of cars honking and police sirens echoing from the metropolis. It wasn’t so far that Twilight couldn’t walk, but the bus was a far easier and faster solution.

Sitting down at the stop Twilight tapped her feet in a jittery fashion… She checked her bag for the thirty-second time, this time pulling her phone from the bag to look at the time. The movie was in an hour, that was enough time for the bus to get there and for her to wait for Sunset and the other girls.

The other girls… Twilight had no clue who they were, or what they were. Sunset had mentioned a Rainbow Dash and Applejack before, though she only really knew about Applejack. Sunset said she was a plant person, but hadn’t given a species name. She mentioned Applejack had a brother and sister, but that was the extent of her knowledge on any of her new friends.

Twilight just hoped she didn’t screw up with some kind of social taboo she didn’t know about or something.

She should have researched more.

Twilight went for her bag again, only to pause when the rumbling of a bus came up the street. The large vehicle rolled to a stop before her, doors opening. After checking it was the right number, Twilight clambered on, dropping her coins into the slot and smiling up at the driver.

The man smiled back, waving a-a fin back at her?!

She started, staring at it before she could catch herself, she quickly looked back up at him with an apologetic smile and hurried towards the seating.

Right, this was Mid-Canterlot now… She had never been around monsters for an extended period of time. Between being a homebody in Everfree estates and being bused to her private school Crystal Prep, a school attended only by human children, Twilight didn’t get out much.

Of course, once she saw the seating area she had to pause and grip the side rail. In the seats were a wide array of creatures, ranging from a large blob looking monster at the far back, taking up three seats by itself, to a beautiful fairy with bright pink, translucent wings, adorned in heavy, hardcore goth clothing.

A minotaur in a business suit was reading a newspaper, while across from him a cervitaur was strewn across a few seats, passed out and snoring loudly. His four cloven hooves splayed out in different directions as a headset played loudly over his ears, and his antlers appeared to be stuck in the bars over the backs of the seats.

Twilight jolted as the bus started up again and she quickly slid into a nearby seat. It was far away from everyone else, not to say that was her intention in picking it, at least at the forefront of her mind. As the bus turned and made its way back to the city, Twilight’s eyes wandered around again, watching the goth fairy pull her phone out of her small black purse. She scrolled through something as she blew a gum bubble and sucked it back in a moment later.

The cervitaur twitched in his sleep as the music blared loudly from his headset, hooves moving back and forth slightly as if walking in his sleep. The minotaur looked up from his paper at the sleeping passenger, only to roll his eyes and turn the page.

The bus crawled to a stop again, the door creaked open and a fawn stepped in, holding the hand of her son. She paid her fare as the small boy wandered into the seating area, looking around before staring at Twilight herself.

She stared back.

The boy cocked his head to one side, then the other. Puffing out his cheeks before he came up and sat right beside her. Twilight could only blink back at him as the fawn boy stared unflinchingly. His mother was sorting through her purse and came to sit next to him.

The bus started again.

His mother was so preoccupied with looking in her purse she didn’t seem to notice her son staring at Twilight. The teen looked around the bus uneasily. Should she move seats? Would that seem racist or something? Looking back down the boy was still staring. He hummed softly before he looked down her figure to her legs, then back up at her before he whipped out his hand, pointing to her.

What?! Twilight flinched back to keep distance from the kid’s hand. She could only fathom what the child would say. Were humans not allowed on buses or something?! She hadn’t read that on the website anywhere!

The boy, still pointing at her, spoke in a high pitched warble, “What's wrong wich your legs, lady?”

Twilight blinked. “P-pardon?”

“Yours legs. They’re all weird and not fuzzy.” The boy pointed down at her legs before gesturing to his goat half. “Did jah get a shave or somethen-”

“Clem!” The woman finally noticed her son’s actions and took his hand in her’s quickly, pulling it away. “It’s rude to point!”

“I’m just wonderin’ was wrong with her, mum.” Clem said, using his other hand to point across his body to Twilight again. “She don’t gots no hoofs.”

Twilight heard a soft chuckle and looked across the bus to the goth fairy, who held a hand to her mouth and was smiling behind it, amused by the exchange before her.

“Clem!” The woman hissed, pulling her son closer. “She’s human, not a fawn like us. They do not have hooves.”

“Why?”

The woman picked her son up in her arms and deposited him on the seat on her other side swiftly. She frowned down at him and turned back to Twilight. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine…” Twilight said, watching the mother scold her son quietly.

The bus rolled along quietly, getting closer and closer to the busy inner city. With each stop more people got on and off. The goth got off in the clubbing districts, standing up and putting her things away before lifting up a few inches in the air and gliding out of the bus. Then in a more historical area an anubis-style cynocephalus woman got on. She had a book bag stuffed with tomes on her arm and glasses on her snout. She was on her smartpad, reading something.

In a business area the Minotaur and blob creature stood and left, the former leaving a trail of goo in its wake. Clem tried to crawl off his seat to investigate, but his mother held the four year old to his seat. Pouting, the boy stood up and looked out the window as the bus started again.

All in all it was a normal bus ride, if not a bit quieter than Twilight’s school bus. Everyone was so busy with their own lives they didn’t seem to care about the goings on around them. With that thought the cervitaur awoke groggily, trying to sit up in his seat before grunting, realising his small antlers were caught. Detangling himself, he looked out the window blandly, pulling off his head set. With the next stop he went to leave.

Twilight looked down at her phone again, checking the time. She still had half an hour before-

BLEEEET!

All the occupants looked up to see the cervitaur standing in the middle of the bus, legs almost buckled as he tried to keep balance on the slimy floor. He reached out and grabbed the nearby pole and tugged himself to dryer floors. With a little hop he left the bus, pausing to give himself a little shake and right the saddlebags settled on his lower deer back before moving on.

“Hahahaha!” Clem laughed as the bus doors creaked again, his mother hushing him, though she too had a smile on her face.

_____________________________________________________________________________

The bus finally rolled up to Twilight’s stop, though she had to pause for a elderly couple, both ogres, who came on before her. As she stepped out and watched the bus drive away, she was startled momentarily by the height of the buildings. Looking up at them, she suddenly felt a little uneasy.

She squeaked when someone bumped into her, and turning, she found a woman wearing sunglasses, frowning at her. “Watch it yah stupid stock!” She growled and her hair, which now that Twilight looked at it was actually made of SNAKES!, looked up at her and hissed angrily.

“S-sorry.” Twilight whimpered as the gorgon walked off in a huff. The human girl quickly made her way to the theater before slumping against the side of the entrance. Well, besides that recent encounter everything was going fine thus far… Now all she needed to do was look for Sunset.

Looking around the girl tried to see if she could spot the red-headed vampire in the crowd, but in the midst of the sea of creatures of varying shapes and sizes, she couldn’t make the girl out.

Did she get the wrong theater?

Maybe Sunset had just been messing with her, and wasn’t actually coming… It wouldn’t be the first time that happened.

Twilight checked her bag for the thirty-third time.

Shuffling around her wallet and phone, Twilight sighed. Why would anything change just because these girls were new? Anyone could see what a nerd she was. The last time she had been invited out …

Uh oh.

Twilight swallowed tightly. She deeply hoped that wasn’t the case this time. She didn’t want to be humiliated again and have it posted all over the web. Maybe she should just leave? Twilight pulled her phone out thoughtfully. Get out before these girls had a chance to even-

“Hey!”

“Gah!” Twilight yelped, fumbling to catch her phone before it fell out of her hands to the ground. However, there was a flash of yellow before the device was held out to her.

“Whoops. Sorry Twilight,” Sunset said, placing the phone back into her open palm with a sheepish smile. “I didn’t mean to scare you like that.”

Twilight pushed her glasses back up her nose and pocketed her phone. “Ah, it's fine. I’m fine,” she smiled back at Sunset with a shrug. “So, uh, hey!”

“Yeah, hey. It's good to see you again, you know, in public without either of our lives in danger or anything,” Sunset said airily, waving her hand in the air. She smiled a bit bigger when Twilight laughed.

“Yes, it is.” Twilight nodded.

“Yeah, but hey-” Sunset said pointing behind herself. “A few of my friends are right over there! Come on, I’ll introduce you.” Sunset took Twilight’s hand and pulled her across the crowded entrance towards the area where the posters were displayed. As they drew closer, Twilight could see they were narrowing in on two girls standing before a particular movie poster.

One girl was sky blue with rainbow hair, she had wings for arms with hands on each end, feathers forming out starting at her wrists and linking along to her back. They were mostly the same blue as her skin, with the primaries matching her hair. Her feet were that of bird talons, clacking on the ground with sharp scratching as she seem to jump around in a rather animated fashion, gesturing wildly as she told a tale to the girl in the cowboy hat.

The other girl was seemingly made of plants. Some of her skin looked similar to that of tree bark, and her hair was made of vines and leaves, dotted with small yellow flowers all over her foliage that ended in a tied, braided looking pony tail. Her eyes, which were watching her rainbow friend in disinterest, had black sclera, making her green eyes pop.

That might be Applejack. The other could be Rainbow Dash.

As they got closer the plant girl looked up, smiling at Sunset and then looked to Twilight with a curious expression, though the smile never dropped. The harpy noticed her friend's inattention before turning around herself.

“Hey Sunset,” the feathered girl said, looking at her friend before turning to Twilight. “Is this her?”

“Yep, my hero,” Sunset smiled, bringing Twilight forward. “Twilight, this is Rainbow Dash and Applejack.” She gestured for effect. “Guys, this is Twilight Sparkle.”

“Well howdy!” Applejack said. “Its nice to meet cha.”

“W-well thank you, it's nice to meet you to-Ah!” Twilight yelped when Rainbow Dash stepped closer, cocking her head from side to side quizzically. She was squinting down at Twilight, as her talons gave her just enough height advantage to do so.

Well actually, Twilight was the shortest one here but-

“So you saved Sunset huh?” Rainbow asked, cocking her brow and her head tilted to one side.

“Uh… yes?” She murmured, ducking her head into her shoulders when Rainbow came a bit closer, neck craned to look down at her more than she already was. Twilight’s eyes darted to Sunset and Applejack swiftly, but both girls were just standing nearby. Applejack looked bored again, rolling her eyes and Sunset had a bemused smirk on, hand on hip as she watched. When she caught Twilight’s eye Sunset’s made a slow motion of bringing her hands up to her chest, interlacing them together, bring her shoulders in closer. Her body language spelt out a sense of nervousness her face didn’t match.

Subconsciously, Twilight echoed this motion before looking back up.

Rainbow was still scrutinizing her, eyes narrowed. There were a few tense moments where Twilight actually felt like turning around and booking it, before Rainbow blew a red strand of hair from her face and smiled slightly, stepping back.

“That’s pretty cool, not super amazingly cool, but pretty cool.” Rainbow said, dusting her hand off on her shirt and shrugging a bit.

Twilight was frozen in place, eyes darting left then right before swallowing. “Thank you?”

There was a sigh before Applejack came over to playfully punch Rainbow on the shoulder, who chirped in surprise at the motion. “Alright Rainbow, enough struten’ around! What were you going on about before?”

“Right, the game last night!” Rainbow smiled and she turned to the farmer again, wings fluttering slightly. “So I was saying that Speed Demon was way outta bounds, but the ref just let it go-!”

Twilight was still frozen as she watched Rainbow ruffle herself into another tizzy over the plays of a sporting event. Well, she was until Sunset subtly bumped her with her hip, making her twitch. “You ok Twilight?” She asked, still smiling, if not softly.

“Ugh… Yeah.”

“She was just asserting herself, nothing to worry about.”

Twilight blinked, looking back at her friend. “A-asserting herself?”

“Some monsters species do it, specially if they're known for living in large groups.” Sunset explained, swatting a hand in a dismissive motion. “Whenever a new person is introduced to the group, it kinda shuffles the dynamic. Once they sort out who goes where, it all goes back to normal, usually in less than a few minutes.”

Establishing hierarchy?

Fascinating!

“So she was just checking to see if I was trying to go above her in the pecking order?” Twilight asked, stepping closer to Sunset.

“Kinda, she was also just testing to see if you have any edge to you. She likes to challenge others to shows of athleticism,” Sunset explained.

“Oh, I see. So where do I rank?”

“Bottom.” Sunset laughed when Twilight flinched. “Nah, don’t worry about it. Only she and two other friends of mine do this kinda stuff. There's not really any bottom rank, in fact it's mostly subconscious with meeting new people. Just don’t assert yourself over them and boom, done.”

Twilight cocked her head. “Well, ok, if there's no bottom, then who's on the top?”

“Changes. Like I said, it's not really noticeable. Nobody will get mad if you suggest an activity to do, or if you don’t want to do something. Most problems happen when you single each other out or there’s some outside offense.” Sunset shook her head. “Just don’t worry about it, all you need to do is not act defiant when first introduced.”

Easy enough.

“So uh, are we going to see the movie?” Twilight asked, curling a finger through her hair.

“Not quite yet. We’re still waiting on three more.” Sunset explained.

“Oh, ok,” Twilight said, looking back to all the movie posters. “So what movie are we seeing?”

“Wellll…” Sunset rubbed the back of her head. “Mmmmm- Applejack, what's the movie?”

Applejack jerked out of the dull expression she was using to humor Rainbow’s ranting, looking to Sunset. “Huh?”

“The movie. What movie are we seeing again?” Sunset repeated.

“Movie. Uh, yeah. We uh- were uh seein’- uh…” Applejack mumbled, wringing her hands.

“WHAT!?” Rainbow jumped between them. “You don’t remember?! I’ve been waiting for this movie to come out for months! How could you forget?!”

“Well yah see, uh- we just don’t, ummm…” Applejack puttered off incoherently, a bored look on her face. When Rainbow turned to Sunset, the vampire shrugged, disinterested.

“UGH!” Rainbow groaned, slumping her shoulders and throwing her head back. Once she righted herself she crossed her arms in indignation. “We’re watching ‘Nightmare Moon 2: Attack Of The Tantabus’!”

“Oh! Right, right! THAT’S the movie. Loved the first one,” Sunset said, looking around nervously.

Rainbow squinted at her with a scowl, she leaned in closer to Sunset’s side. “What's the plot of the first movie?”

“Uh-”

“A banished demon princess returns from her imprisonment in the moon to bathe the Earth in eternal darkness. However, she was defeated by six teenage demon hunters, who then purified her evil so she could return to help her kingdom… Princessdom?” Twilight paused, pulling out her phone. “I need to google that-”

“You’ve seen the first one!” Rainbow shouted as she came to Twilight’s side excitedly. “ I couldn’t get anyone to see the first one in theaters with me besides ‘Shy, and she wasn’t too keen on it.” Rainbow shook her, Twilight yelping as she did so. “What did you think of it?!”

Rainbow released her suddenly, Twilight wobbling before she could find her balance again and righted her glasses on the bridge of her nose. “Uh, well I thought it was well written, had good world building and character building. The lore was a nice touch as well as a way to introduce an overall theme.” Twilight shrugged. “Buuuut I think the middle lagged a bit and had a few forced moments, not to mention a kinda anticlimactic end. Course, it was just the first one, they didn’t know if it would take off anywhere, not to mention the time constraints they had to work with, so I’m a little more forgiving of it… I’d say it was good, seven out of ten?”

“I guess that's fair, I think it's a ten out of ten though,” Rainbow sighed, crossing her arms.

“Wait, so what's this one about then?” Applejack asked, thumb pointing to the poster of a large monster poster.

“Well, If I remember right, It's about the Demon Princess coming to terms with the evil she’s done with the help of the demon hunters. That's all I know though.” Twilight said.

“With an awesome scene where they slay a whole bunch of dreamons!” Rainbow squealed.

“Wait, slay? I thought demons were monsters?” Twilight said in confusion, the other girls looking to her quickly.

“They are.” Sunset said quickly. “Some are just feral. Dreamons are little demons that enter the mind and feed off energy there. They’re mindless, they just consume to reproduce to consume, etc, etc.”

“Yah, like phoenixes, or hydras or-” Rainbow added.

“Or pegasi and unicorns.” Sunset said.

“Pfft.” Applejack put her hand up to laugh behind it. “Those last two aren’t the brightest animals almost left off the ark.” The cowgirl chuckled. “I don’t imagine they’d live long without interference from monsters.”

Rainbow snickered. “Yeah, I remember seeing that video of the pegasus flying into the plexiglass window.” Rainbow swooped her hand around like it was flying in the air before smacking it against her other hand with a ‘plonk’ making a squeaking noise as her hand slowly slid down. She and Applejack laughed loudly at the display. Twilight giggled softly along with them, imagining the video in her mind as Sunset shook her head in bemusement.

WHAM!

Twilight didn’t have time to cry out when she was tackled in the side. She did, however, lose her breath for a moment as she toppled to the ground, glasses flying off in the confusion. While she thankfully hadn’t hit her head, she was still trying to regain air when she looked up to see what had slammed into her, though through her blurred vision all she could see was a black nose and a-

-A VERY LARGE SET OF SHARP TEETH!

“Pinkie!”

“Oh my gosh!”

“Woah there!”

The teeth seemed to be surrounded by a mass of pink fuzzy that panted down at her excitedly. “It’s her! It’s our soon-to-be new best friend!!” The teeth and tongue moved like they were speaking, getting closer. “This is so super exciting!! It's not everyday you get to make a new best friend!!”

“Not if you hit her with a move that's outlawed in most football games!!” Rainbow shouted, pulling the pink mass off of Twilight as two sets of hands hoisted her to her feet. She still struggled to breath as her hands went to her bag.

“You ok Twilight?” Sunset asked in concern.

“I-” Twilight coughed as her hand blindly shifted through her belongings. “Need- Glasses.” She wheezed tightly, still shuffling.

“Right here sugarcube.” Applejack said, offering them in her sights. Thankfully however her hands finally found the familiar shape of her inhaler, so she could take a few puffs before accepting the offering.

“T-thanks!” Twilight said, putting them on, taking a deep breath.

“Are you ok?” Sunset repeated, coming closer.

“Fine, j-just my asthma, I can get the wind knocked out of me pretty easy,” Twilight explained, putting the inhaler away sheepishly. Looking over to Rainbow she twitched at the large, unmistakable pink wolf seated beside the Harpy. It was whimpering, hunched over in a sad position like it was being scolded for digging holes in the back yard. “Ahhh-”

“I’m sorry.” The wolf stood up, tail wagging a bit. Twilight blinked in confusion when she realised the wolf was the one talking.”I was just super excited to see you cause Sunset told us about you, and IsawyouonFacebookandIreadthepostsyoumade,andIwantedtobeyourfirendsobadlythatIguessIjustdidn’tthinkaboutwhatIwasdoingcauseInevermentto-”

“Shush!” Applejack said, stepping over to the wolf. “You’re ramblin’ there hun.”

Twilight, still processing, opened and closed her mouth before sputtering. “I-it's fine.”

“YAY!” The wolf jumped up, tail going ninety miles an hour when, before Twilight’s very eyes, it shifted shape. It happened so fast Twilight nearly missed it, but less than a moment later a pink girl stood where the wolf once had. There wasn’t much different from a human about her, save for the still-wagging tail, ears, and sharp nails. “You're gonna have so much fun today Twilight! I’m gonna throw you a BIG party for winning that Science Fair two weeks ago and a welcome to our friend circle party! It’ll be a congratulations on winning the friend circle party!”

“Congratulations on- Friend circle? I- Wait!” Twilight shook her head slightly. “How do you know about the science fair?”

“Your mom posted about it on her facebook page, and she’s your friend on facebook, so I basically found her, through you and read her post!” The girl laughed. “Easy peasy!” Twilight stared at the girl as she plucked a very large day planner from her hair and pulled out a pen. “Lets plan the party after everyone’s done being Grounded Groundhoggersons, so a month.”

Twilight gaped at her as Sunset smiled next to her. “Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie the werewolf.”

“Yup yup yup!” Pinkie smiled as she placed the ledger away, bouncing in place. “And it is super fantast-ulistic to meet you! I love meeting new people! Love it, love it, love it!” The girl began running around excitedly, transforming between a wolf and a human at whim.

“You get used to her excitement,” Rainbow said.

“Just not to her… eccentric nature,” Sunset added.

“Well, dang, Pinkie! Where are the others?” Applejack said, catching the wolf girl’s attention for a moment. “S’not like Rarity to be late for anything unless it’s fashionable.”

“They’re right behind me, we carpooled!” Pinkie explained, morphing back into a human with a small hop. “Only when I smelt you guys I got really excited and raced ahead of them.”

“And raced you did, darling!”

Turning Twilight watched as two more girls came to the entrance of the cinema, both rather graceful and elegant looking, though one was hiding behind the other. At the forefront was a girl with curly, purple tresses. She had a horn coming out the top of her head that was long and slim. Where her feet should be, two horse hooves stood, though they were dainty and poised with a small ruffling of fur stockings. Behind her was a lion-like tail with purple frills on the end and her ears were more like a horse’s as well.

“Uh, Twilight this is-”

“No need Sunset.” Rarity spoke, stepping forward slightly to offer Twilight her hand. “Rarity at your service my dear! I am a unicorn satyr, a high school student and an aspiring fashion designer. So lovely to meet you.”

Twilight stared at the hand for a moment before moving forward to take it. “Uh, likewise. I’m Twilight… uh Human and, uhm, also in high school...”

Rarity’s grip was tight, not enough to hurt her, but Twilight couldn’t help but sweat a little. The satyr stepped forward to, oddly, sniff her proximity before pulling back and letting her go. When Rarity started to circle her, Twilight’s head sunk into her shoulders again.

She had been circled like this before, at school. The popular girls rounding above her like vultures, looking for a weakness they could pull apart and diving in at the first sight of an opening. Narrowed eyes and smirks flashing whenever they came back into Twilight’s sight.

Rarity, though, circled her more thoughtfully, lips slightly pursed in consideration. When she came back in front of Twilight she smiled kindly, catching the nerd off-guard. “That complexion, that hair… You’d look quiet fetching in a white or dark blue. Tell me, what is your favorite colour?”

“Gahh…” Twilight watched Rarity as the girl circled again. “It, ah, changes… Depends how I feel and stuff…”

Rarity paused before clapping her hands together, startling Twilight. “Well that's it then! I must get your measurements!”

Twilight blushed, hiding her chest slightly. “W-what?”

“She want to make you an outfit,” Sunset supplied, smiling at her.

“She does it for all of us,” Rainbow added, looking a little bored.

“AND you love it, come on now, you know you do!” Rarity said, waving her hand. All the other girls looked at each other before chuckling and nodding, Rainbow looking sheepish. Rarity came closer to Twilight, humming softly. “Looks like a petite body style… could be a little pear… Maybe a Pouf would be nice… hmmm…”

Petite? Pear? Pouf?!

“Alright Rarity, I know you like to make new designs but maybe give the girl some breathin’ room?” Applejack suggested with a smirk and a raised brow. Rarity looked back at the farmer before taking stock of her position and pulling back with a yelp.

“Oh my! I’m so sorry, my excitement can get away with me,” Rarity said, stepping away. “It's so rare that I get someone new to make clothes for, well, for now at least.”

Twilight smiled at her as Rarity back up, until she stumbled into someone. Rarity turned around swiftly. “Oh Fluttershy! I’m sorry dear.”

There was a mumbling behind Rarity and the satyr’s ear’s perked a bit.

“What was that? I’m afraid I couldn’t hear you-”

“Gah!” Rainbow grunted before grabbing someone behind Rarity and pulling her out. “Come on Fluttershy! She won’t bite or anything! We're gonna miss the movie!”

“Eeep!”

It was a fairy girl just like the one she had seen on the bus earlier, only this one was softer and more fragile looking than the goth before. She had long pink hair and light yellow skin. Her wings had also a yellowish tinge, glowing lightly behind her back. Most of her hair was in her face and she was studying the ground intently, looking up for a moment before catching Twilight’s eye and darting them down again.

“Go on!” Rainbow encouraged, pushing her forward. The girl glided over the ground toward Twilight, still intent on looking everywhere but the girl before her.

“Uh, hello,” The human smiled. “My name’s Twilight.”

The fairy looked to the ground intently, rubbing her shoulder. “I’futsy…”

“Sorry, what was that?” Twilight asked, leaning in a little to hear her.

“M’namiflshy….”

“I didn’t quite catch that,” Twilight said, trying to smile sympathetically.

“Utterhy…” The girl was basically squealing in a high pitch tone, clearly anxious.

Twilight knew that feeling all too well. “Well, uh…” She looked behind the fairy, surprised to notice she could see through the girl’s slowly fluttering wings to the others. Rainbow was holding her head in her hand as Rarity shook her head, clearly concerned for her friend.

Something nudged her side. Looking down Twilight found Pinkie in wolf form, sniffing her clothes. “Oh! Oh!” The wolf panted happily. “I smell a dog! Do you have a dog!?”

“Well yes I-”

“You have a dog!?” The fairy girl practically threw herself into Twilight’s face. “Is he a cute little pug, or maybe a big Great Dane? Oh, he might be a lovely labradoodle!” Twilight looked back to Pinkie as the fairy rambled. While Twilight knew she had never seen expressions on a wolf’s face before, the sly smirk and single raised brow was enough to convey the wolf girl’s victory. “What kind of dog do you have?” The fairy asked, bringing attention back to her.

“Oh, a mutt actually. I’m not sure of his genealogical heritage…” Twilight explained. “He’s a small breed though, with floppy ears and a short tail.”

“Awwww! Could be a Cocker Spaniel mix.” The fairy said. “Did you rescue him?”

“Yes actually,” Twilight said. “Just about a few years ago.”

“It's so nice when people adopt rescue animals! I volunteer at a shelter right nearby actually-”

“Fluttershy!” Rainbow swooped in, both girl’s jumping back as the harpy glared at them. “We’re gonna miss the previews!”

“Twilight, this is Fluttershy. She’s a Grand Fairy,” Sunset explained as she came forward, gesturing to the pink haired girl. “She can be a little shy, but give her some time to warm up to you and you won’t have any problem.”

“Or mention you have a pet,” Rainbow added. When she spotted Fluttershy’s nervous expression she elbowed her. When the fairy looked up Rainbow offered her a confident smile that had the fairy straightening her posture a bit.

Twilight smiled a bit herself before she blinked, turning to Sunset in confusion. “Wait, Grand Fairy?”

“There- ah…” Twilight shifted her stare back to Fluttershy, who was struggling to get her thoughts in order, but when Rainbow craned her neck to offer the meek girl another smile and Applejack placed a hand to her shoulder, Fluttershy pushed on. “There are many types of fairies… Cousins are also under the name like leprechauns and water nymphs, but -ah- Grand Fairies are the most basic fairy, and the biggest. There are lots of tiny ones, like Pixies and Breezies…”

“Wow, that's really interesting.” Twilight said. “I should read more on that, thanks Fluttershy.”

The girl blushed and hid behind her hair again, though a small grin was visible on her face.

“Read?” Rainbow said quickly, looking to the human. “You read? For like, fun?”

“Well yes I-”

“Ahhhh!” Rainbow groaned. “You’re an egghead! Not another one!”

Twilight flinched. Sunset sighed and rolled her eyes before stepping to the human’s side. “We book loving folk need to stick together, Dash.”

“What is there, a built in radar or something?” Rainbow bemoaned.

Twilight looked between Pinkie and Sunset before speaking. “I’ll take it you haven’t read the book the movies are based off?”

“This was a book first?!”

Sunset shook her head and Pinkie laughed at the harpy’s shocked look. Twilight shrugged. “Well yeah, but they were called ‘The Nightmare of Equestria’ series. A little less action packed and more insightful, the movies are loose adaptations.”

“Wait, I’ve read those,” Sunset said. “That's what these movies are from? Huh, maybe I’ll like it after all.”

“I hate ta be the bearer of bad news girls, but if we don’t hustle we're gonna miss the movie all tagther’ “ Applejack said, pulling her phone to show the time.

“NO!” Rainbow gasped, grabbing Fluttershy’s arm and dragging her to the ticket booth. “I don’t want to miss a second!” The rest exchanged glances before following after her, Sunset taking Twilight’s arm and leading her towards the ticket booth, hanging back a bit from the group.

“Enjoying this?” She asked, watching the group assemble and start ordering tickets. “So far I mean?”

“Uh, yeah,” Twilight nodded as they got in line. “It’s nice.”

Much better than being stuck in her basement.

As Twilight got to the front of the line, the horned teenager with bat wings in the booth looked at her. “Uh, one ticket to Nightmare Moon 2: Attack Of The Tantabus, please.”

“What kind of theater?” The employee asked.

“Theater?” Twilight asked, surprised.

“Make it two, for the medium theater,” Sunset said, leaning in. As the teen got the tickets set Sunset nudged Twilight. “Three kinds, one for small creatures, one for big and one for everyone else in between.”

Twilight stared at her in thought as they were handed their tickets.

_________________________________________________________________________

Twilight’s eyes scanned the snack bar, eyes wide at the assortment of candies and treats. Sure there were popcorn and chocolate bars like the theater in Everfree Estates, but there were so many more options here.

Chocolate covered Crickets, Rawhide chips, Marrow-chews (whatever those were…), A-Positive gushers, Bird Seed, Hay, and-

“Baboon Bites?” Twilight said with a curious undertone, holding up the small bag.

“S’like Slim Jims or Hot Rods… Whichever you know of,” Rainbow said, munching noisily on a large popcorn. “Made of monkey meat, that’s why it’s so expensive.”

Twilight had to agree when she saw the ten dollar price tag, only… “Why monkey meat? Wouldn’t cow be more cost effective?” She said, looking at the Harpy.

Rainbow looked from Twilight to the bag in her hands a few times, her crunching getting slower and slower with every glance, face morphing from the neutral expression to one of slight horror. “Gahhhhh.” Rainbow mumbled through her mouthful, eyes darting away. She swallowed the large mouthful with a painful gulp, coughing a little. “I- No reason. I dunno.” Rainbow spoke quickly, snatching the bag from Twilight and throwing it back on the shelf. “Just grab your food, ‘kay?”

Twilight scratched her head in confusion as the harpy turned and scurried to Sunset and Applejack. Sunset had a large drink that she was slurping as Applejack poured some aforementioned chocolate crickets on her popcorn. The harpy glanced back to Twilight with trepidation before leaning in to speak with her friends, both of whom listened for a moment as they ate before freezing with uneasy looks on their faces.

Ok.

Twilight turned back to the snack bar, studying the Baboon Bites for a few more moments. She noticed there was a slogan on the corner…

‘You Won’t Even Taste The Difference.’

What? This is the original right? Why that motto?

Oh well. Twilight shrugged, pushing it aside for now. She didn’t want to miss the movie so she’d better grab her food. Bypassing the assorted candies she ordered a popcorn and soda, watching the teen fawn as they got the snack together over the counter.

Suddenly there was a hand on her back and it was drifting towards- “Ah!” Twilight jumped, looking back behind her.

“I'm sorry!” Fluttershy whimpered, gliding back a bit. “I- I wanted to know if you’d like to split m-mine!” She held up her popcorn bag timidly.

“Oh!” Twilight twitched. “Uh, thank you Fluttershy, but I just ordered some myself.” When the fairy examined her shoes Twilight frowned. “It was ,uh, nice of you to offer though…”

“IT SURE WAS!” Pinkie hopped up between the girls, making them both stumble back. “Just like it’s nice of me to offer to share MY tasty treat!” The girl held up a bag of Rawhide Chips in a victorious fashion. ‘Now I’ll just- ugh!- just open- nah!- it up- dah!” The girl tugged the bag every which way trying to open it, growling a little when it refused to give.

“Do you want some help Pinkie? I know you have trouble with bags like those…” Fluttershy offered.

“Nope, nope, nope! I’m gonna open THIS one on my own,” Pinkie said happily before starting to squeeze, tug and shake the bag, concentration spelt out on her face.

“Well, ok…” Fluttershy mumbled, looking a little unsure as the wolf girl put a corner of the bag under her foot and started to tug it angrily upward. Twilight watched as well, taking her food as it arrived.

“Come along everyone! The show’s starting soon!” Rarity said, holding her small cup of frozen yogurt and leading everyone to the theater.

“Aww man, I’m so excited!” Rainbow smiled as she followed after. “I can’t wait for this movie!”

“I agree, the trailer was quite interesting,” Rarity said. “While I didn’t see the first one until Sweetie brought it home on DVD, I think this one will be much more intriguing!” The satyr looked down at her yogurt thoughtfully. “Of course Sweetie wanted to come as well today, but with that 14A rating and both our parents at work it was not meant to be.”

“Yeah, Scoots too.” Rainbow nodded. “What about you Applejack? Applebloom want to come today?”

“Ain’t a moment that girl would spend without me if she could.” Applejack said. “Though I dunno if she’s seen the first movie ta this one.”

“Who’s Applebloom?” Twilight asked curiously.

“Oh! My little sister.” Applejack said, looking a little proud.

Applebloom...Applebloom… “Oh! Right, I Think Sunset mentioned her.” Twilight smiled.

Applejack smiled and tilted her hat a bit. “Eeyup! She hangs out with Rarity’s sister Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Scoots is Rainbow’s unofficial sister.”

“There's no blood, but our families are pretty close,” Rainbow explained. “I practically watched her grow up, so I’m a little attached to the squirt.” She laughed when Applejack punched her shoulder. “Ok, so more than a little.”

The group piled into the theater, choosing some seats near the back. They trailed in with Pinkie leading them down the aisle. She was still struggling with the bag, trying to pull on it half-angrily. When Fluttershy reached out to try and help again the wolf turned away with a pout, shaking her head. Yet when Fluttershy instead offered some of her popcorn Pinkie smiled excitedly, tail wagging wildly and smacking the person next to her. The cyclops shot the pink girl a glare, but sighed in defeat when he was ignored and moved a seat over.

Twilight chose the seat on the end next to Sunset. The girl smiled at her as the human sat down and offered some of her popcorn. The red head took a handful before the theater dimmed the lights.

There were a few advertisements for the theater flashing by as Twilight ate, however she perked when an ad for Baboon Bites came on. It was just a still of an old monster woman eating from an open bag, a smile on her face. The caption below her stating ‘It's just like when I was a girl! You can’t taste the difference!’

Twilight looked to Sunset, who was oddly interested in watching her straw squeal as she shimmied it in the lid hole. Blinking, Twilight looked back to the screen to see the upcoming movies were advertising. Twilight gasped a bit. “Their making a Daring Do movie!?” Twilight whisper shouted.

“I guess so,” Sunset said.

“Eggheads,” Rainbow grumbled next to them.

“I think you’d like those books Rainbow,” Sunset said, brow raised at the feathered girl.

“Only way I’d read a book was if I were locked up in the hospital,” Rainbow chuckled, rolling her eyes. “And that will only happen if I get hurt, which I don’t plan on.”

“Nobody ever does,” Rarity muttered beside Rainbow, mashing up her yogurt.

“Huh?”

“Nothing, darling.”

The movie started with the Princess reverting to her old ways and fighting the demon hunters again. This was however revealed to be a dream and a monster trapped in the Princess’s mind, the Tantabus, broke free.

The movie only took off from there. Rainbow was practically vibrating in her seat at all the action scenes and Fluttershy seemed to hide behind Pinkie at some scary moments. The wolf was just panting happily as the show went on. At some more exciting moments she would shift a bit, features looking more wolf like, however she mostly stayed in her seat, save for a few moment when she would try to open her bag again with the crinkling sound filling the air, though it never lasted long.

Halfway through the giant dream sequence Twilight went to take a drink from her soda, only to sputter and almost cough some out her nose at the copper taste she got. She looked at the cup before realising she had picked up Sunset’s . The vampire looked at her as she hacked and Twilight forced a swallow before smiling sheepishly. “Sorry… Wrong cup...”

“S’fine.” Sunset smiled as she whispered back. “It's just O positive.”

Twilight quickly put the cup down and took her own, slurping a generous amount to hopefully get rid of the taste of blood.

The climax was much more rewarding this time around, and by the end of the movie Twilight had to say this was her favorite of the two. The Princess character was much more fleshed out now. As the lights came back on, Sunset grumbled and shielded her eyes. They all got up and headed down the steps with the rest of the crowd.

“Well darn, that was a great movie. I shoulda watched the first one.” Applejack said as she fished a cricket from her bag and popped it in her mouth. “Reckon Applebloom would like it to.”

“The dream sequences with the demon hunters were funny,” Rarity smiled and threw out her bowl. “I especially liked the one dream where the fighting girl had to endure those singing flowers.”

“It was so sad when the Princess told everyone she couldn’t forgive herself,” Fluttershy sighed. “I almost cried at that part.”

“What did you think Pinkie?” Sunset asked looking around, only to find the wolf girl still trying to open her bag of chips, this time using a Whack-A-Mole hammer from the arcade. “Oh boy…”

“Welp, I’d love tah keep hangin’ out all night with you girls, but I gotta be home before seven, Granny’s orders,” Applejack sighed. “I’m still technically grounded.”

“Me too, but my dad said I had to be home before the street lights came on,” Rainbow shrugged. “I’m kinda lucky he still let me come see the movie and I don’t want to piss him off anymore than he already is.”

“Well we will have to meet up again at school. March Break ends after tomorrow,” Rarity said, brushing some hair behind her ear. “I’m sure we could grab a quick coffee after band practice.”

“Granny wouldn’t mind.”

“Well I guess we should get going,” Rainbow sighed. “Think you can drive me out of the city limits again AJ? I’m still not allowed to fly around here until I get my license…”

“Course. I’m already droppin’ off Sunset,” Applejack said, looking suddenly to Twilight. “You got a ride home Twilight?”

“Uh. Yes, I took the bus in. I have enough for a lift home too,” Twilight said, righting her glasses.

“The bus? Oh my, quite unsanitary,” Rarity frowned. “Not to mention it can be crowded and slightly unsafe at this time of day. All sorts of monsters are headed home from work.”

“Everfree Estates is right by my house. I could drop ya off,” Applejack said.

“That's really not necessary.” Twilight gave an uneasy smile. “I’m sure the bus will-”

“She’s not gonna bite, you know,” Rainbow grunted, brow raised. Sunset nudged her disapprovingly.

“I-Ughhh…” Twilight started to sweat a bit at the thought of being alone with these new girls in a car. “I-I need to use the bathroom really quick, just a second,” Twilight spluttered out before speed walking to the restroom, the girls she left behind looking at each other in confusion.

She stumbled into the washroom, turning on the sink to splash a small amount of water on her face.

Uhhhhh….

While nothing thus far had insinuated ill intentions, Twilight was far too used to girls who were good actors. The girls before had seemed nice at first as well, asking her to join them one night out for some fun. That fun, unfortunately, had been at her expense. They had humiliated her and posted photos and videos online for her school to see on sites only visited by her classmates. Things had quieted down since then and Twilight hadn’t the courage to tell her parents or teachers what had happened. Every once in a while she’d run into the group in school but she had learned to avoid them rather quickly... All were popular and had great influence over the other kids of Crystal Prep, even those that felt sorry for Twilight stayed back in fear of retribution.

So the idea of getting a ride from a girl she didn’t know that well made her chest tight.

Twilight looked at herself in the mirror, sighing before drying her face off with a paper towel and leaning back on the sink counter, trying to think of a way out of this. She looked dully to the bathroom area before stopping to look at all the different sized amenities. There were two large stalls that Twilight was sure, if she tried to use them she’d just fall in. The rest were normal sized, but a few were small ones for people even shorter than Twilight herself. Then on the wall were some stalls that looked liked they bellonged in a doll house. All were set up with shelves and ladders for access and when one opened a tiny, fluttering fairy flew out. She was no bigger than Twilight’s hand and quickly washed her hands at one of the miniature sinks before she headed for the exit.

However she paused to look at Twilight. The fairy cocked her head, one side to another before she mumbled. “Hmmm.”

“Uh, yes?” Twilight asked wearily.

“Huh? Oh!” The fairy’s voice was squeaky and high pitched. “N-nothing, I’ve just have never seen a human up close before.” She turned and flew out of the bathroom, wings making a twinkling noise as they sped up.

Twilight watched her go before looking back into the mirror. It never stopped surprising her how different Everfree Estates and the city were, even just by bathroom standards. She saw humans, and nothing but other humans every day. Some creatures had only seen photos of human beings due to their withdrawn nature.

“Twilight?”

Sunset peeked her head around the doorway as she walked inside, Twilight turned to face her as the Vampire looked at her in concern. “Are you feeling ok?”

“Uh, fine.” Twilight tried to flash a reassuring smile.

Though it apparently didn’t work, as Sunset frowned. “Are you sure? You seem nervous.”

Twilight swallowed tightly. She wasn’t sure how to respond to that… How does one say they’re just worried your faking kindess to put them in a false sense of security. Seemed a bit rude. Should she just stick to her story and sneak off to take the bus?

“It's ok if you're uncomfortable. I know you’ve lived in Everfree Estates pretty much your whole life. If you're uneasy being around us, then we understand, you know?” Sunset looked a little uncertain but thoughtful. “You must be pretty overwhelmed and-”

“What?” Twilight blinked. “What do you mean?”

Sunset paused, looking confused. “Well, I mean… you seem a little uncomfortable in our company Twilight, you haven’t been around monsters a lot. I know Rainbow kinda started off a little unnerving and-”

Oh.

“Oh no!” Twilight said quickly, raising her hands. “I don’t mind any of that!”

And it was true, she didn’t. She didn’t mind Rainbow’s posturing, Applejack’s fresh forest smell or even Pinkie Pie’s dog-like tendencies. Things that would have had her ancestors running for the hills barely bothered her.

She wasn’t afraid of these girls because of their species, she was afraid because they were teenage girls…

It was actually quiet ridiculous when Twilight thought about it. Not just the revelation, but the whole ordeal. These girls hadn’t done anything to her-well Sunset, but that was her own doing anyway.

“It's just….” Twilight scratched the back of her head. “I haven’t had the best track record with girls my own age…”

“Why’s that?” Sunset asked, tilting her head.

“Well, most girls don’t like hanging out with me… or at least being nice when they do… So I don’t always, uh, trust well?” Twilight wrung her hands. “Lets just say I’m nervous when interacting with other girls I don’t know very well...”

Sunset studied her before smiling sadly. “Well, for all its worth, I trust my friends with almost everything. They won’t hurt you Twilight, or at least not because they want to.” The redhead put a hand to the human’s shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll say the same thing if you hang out with them a bit, Twilight.”

Twilight smiled softly. “Yeah, I guess I think so too. I just need to put myself out there a little.”

“That's the spirit. I’m going to go tell the others everything's fine, they're a little worried.” Sunset shrugged. “We’ll be out there when you're done ok?”

“Alright,” Twilight nodded as Sunset made her way back out. The vampire paused to look back at her with a serious face. Twilight twitched when the vampire pointed at her.

“And Twilight.”

“Huh…?”

“Whatever those other girls said, it's a load, you got that?” Sunset kept her serious face a moment.

“Oh. Ok. Yeah.”

Sunset studied her again before smiling. “Good. See you in a second.”

Twilight watched Sunset disappear around the corner before sighing. She looked back into the mirror to tidy herself up before she went after her.

Put yourself out there.

Twilight turned the corner, pausing when she heard the group talking around the bench. She was just out of view behind a cardboard standee as she heard the girls gabble.

“-just washing up when I got in there. Said she’s fine.”

“Oh, that's good,” Fluttershy spoke softly. “I was afraid we scared her.”

“Well I suppose it would be natural for humans to be a little on edge around us. We can be a tad intimidating to those whom don’t know us, can’t we?” Rarity said. Twilight looked through a hole in the board to see them. All the girls were on or around the bench, Rainbow had perched on the arm of it and was looking a bit bored as Rarity, Applejack and Sunset all took the seats. Fluttershy was floating nearby and Pinkie, who had abandoned the toy mallet, had now taken to trying to open the bag with her teeth, looking a little haggard.

“Afraid? Why would she be scared of us?” Rainbow asked, her large talons flexing of the bench armrest. “We’re not that scary-”

“GRRRRRR!!!!” Pinkie snarled angrily, the loud sound echoing in the theater as she transformed into a wolf again. The bag still in her maw she started to shake it wildly like a wild animal, whipping her head back and forth. Growling she began to slam the bag on the ground violently, with it still in her mouth until, under the pressure, the bag ripped open, rawhide chips flying this way and that.

The girls on the bench were leaning back, wided eyed as Pinkie returned to normal form, panting heavily, the empty bag fluttering from her mouth. She spat out a few stray shreds before looking around at the chips on the floor. She coughed for a second before laughing a little. “Hahah...hahahah….HAHA!” She jumped up, hands in the air. “I did it! I opened the bag!” Pinkie rubbed her hands together. “And to the victor go the spoils!”

“PINKIE NO!” Rarity leapt up and hooked her arms around the once again wolf girl in an impressive sort of full nelson. “DO NOT EAT FOOD OFF THE FLOOR!”

“AWW!” Pinkie whined in a dog like fashion, struggling to get to the broken chip remains on the floor. “But I just got it open!”

“A lady doesn't eat food off the floor!” Rarity insisted. “Especially in a public location such as this! Who knows what bare footed monsters have hobbled in here!”

Rainbow inspected one of her bare talons before crossing her wings with a pout.

“But-” Pinkie watched, heart broken as an underpaid teenage employees came by with a push broom, sweeping up all the junk food in one sweep and pushing it away, ignoring them all the while. This time Pinkie did just whine like a dog, almost melting through Rarity’s arms in disappointment.

“I’m sorry darling, but I had to put my hoof down,” Rarity said, stomping one of her hooves on the floor for emphasis. She released the wolf, who just sat on the ground ears drooped.

“Here.” Fluttershy spoke, flying back over from where she had disappeared to. She produced another bag of Rawhide Chips from behind her back and with the quick flick of her wrist opened it on her first try. Holding it out the pink wolf stared at it for a moment before jumping to her feet, human once more.

“Thanks Fluttershy,” Pinkie said, taking the bag and ramming a large handful into her mouth, a few stray chips falling to the floor. “An-wodie want wne?” She asked, mouth stuffed and holding out another handful. When all her friends shook their head Pinkie shrugged, mashing that handful into her mouth as well.

Twilight put a hand to her mouth to stifle her chuckle. It seemed like these girls didn’t have a malicious bone, at least if they weren’t in danger or anything. Twilight dusted off her skirt before stepping out.

Put yourself out there.
______________________________________________________________________________

“Thanks again for the ride Applejack.”

Twilight, Sunset, Rainbow and AJ were all piled into her family pick up, driving out of the city limits. Applejack looked up into the rearview mirror quickly before putting her eyes back on the road. “Aw shucks, ain’t no trouble there Twilight. It's just a hop, skip and a jump from my house. We’re practically neighbours. In fact when you’re in my little sister’s bedroom you can see Everfree from her window.”

“Really? I didn’t know that you were so close.” Twilight said, surprised.

“You mean you never noticed the large honking apple farm right near your community?” Rainbow asked, looking back to Twilight with a surprising amount of neck flexibility.

“Oh, I never usually leave like this. Everfree has most of the amenities we need to just not leave, and anything we really want we can just order in.” Twilight shrugged. “I even go to a private school that buses us in on Monday morning and takes us home on Friday afternoon. It’s all humans too and it's just out a bit in the country for privacy.”

“I thought it was against the law to segregate schools,” Applejack said, more curious than insulted.

“It is,” Sunset spoke. “They just find loopholes. Like if the neighbourhood you get your students from is a predominantly, let's say, harpy neighbourhood, then it's mostly, if not all harpy kids. As for private schools you just say the people you don’t want to come to your school didn’t make the cut.”

“Well that kinda sucks. Guess Canterlot high is pretty good about that then,” Rainbow said.

“Canterlot High was actually made with that idea in mind, that’s why it’s in the middle of a bunch of different districts,” Sunset explained. “You need to read the plaque on the wondercolt statue outside, Rainbow, it explains it a lot more.”

“Pass,” Rainbow grunted before looking back to Twilight. “So this was kinda your first trip out into the world huh?” She smiled when Twilight nodded, ignoring the grumpy look Sunset was flashing her. “What did you think of it?”

“It’s nice. I saw a lot of new things and learned a lot more about the city. I never knew that they had to accommodate such a wide range of creature sizes.” Twilight said. “ I also saw a lot of different creatures. There were some fawns on the bus, a cervitaur, a cynocephalus…” Twilight petered off, wondering if she was prattling too much.

“Sounds like an adventure,” Applejack laughed, turning off the busy road way onto a quiet street.

“Oh, I also bumped into a gorgon, quite literally outside the theater.” Twilight explained, righting the bag on her lap.

“Didn’t bump her shades off, did you?” Rainbow asked, looking out her window.

“How did you know she-”

“It's the law, they have to obstruct their eyes.” Rainbow said. “One goes to our school, she wears glasses though, like normal ones, so they work. If they don’t have something over their eyes they can turn other creatures to stone. Some of them wear contacts that cancel it, but they apparently can bug your eyes.”

“I do know a thing or two about that,” Twilight chuckled.

“Well, as long as her glasses stayed on she shouldn’t have caused too much trouble,” Rainbow shrugged.

“Well she was not happy,” Twilight said. “She told me to watch where I was going, course it was my first time in the city so I was taking in the buildings and didn't see her, so she had a point,” Twilight shrugged as she continued, conversationally. “She called me a ‘stupid stock’ and then her snake hair hissed at m-”

SQUEEEEEE

Twilight yelped when the truck jolted to a stop, bracing her hands on the front seat as her seat belt tugged around her body. The other girls grunted as they got the same treatment, Applejack forcing the truck back into its lane.

“Jimminy! Sorry, I just- I just- What!?” Applejack whipped her head around to look at Twilight before looking back at the road. “What in the hell?!”

Twilight was still frozen, clutching the seat tightly. “What?”

“WHAT?!” Rainbow shouted, practically spinning around until she was belly down in her seat. “How could she say that to your face?!”

“My face?” Twilight asked, looking around the truck. “What do you mean?!”

“She called you stock Twilight!” Rainbow yelled, slamming a fist down on the armrest.

“So?” Twilight said, getting a sinking feeling in her gut, which doubled at the uneasy look the girls shared.

“Twilight…” Sunset started, staring at her sadly. “Do you not… know what that means?”

Twilight fell silent. She had no clue what it meant, and something told her she didn’t want to. Shaking her head negatively she watched Sunset sighed.

“It, uh… goes back to when humans were still considered… animals. Like…” Sunset chewed on her cheek a moment. “Like stock cattle or farm animals…”

Twilight puffed out her cheeks as she thought about this. Stock cattle was all cattle other than beef cattle and steers over three years of age….

Especially cattle for breeding purposes…

“Oh.”

“Yeah…” Sunset mumbled.

“She said that to your face, in daylight, in front of people?” Rainbow asked, still trying to process this information. “I-I can’t even…”

“Don’t pay that tart any mind Twilight. For every spoiled apple there is a bushel of good,” Applejack grunted. “You just need to pick your way through all the bruised and wormy ones first to find them.”

Twilight nodded as Applejack turned off the road to a large gated driveway with a thick stone fence surrounding a large, old stone chateau.

“That’s me,” Sunset said as she unbuckled herself. Opening the door she smiled again. “It was nice hanging out with you Twilight.”

“Yeah, we should totally do it again!” Rainbow added, opening her own door. “I’m good here AJ, I can fly home from Sunset’s place.”

“N’alrighty.” Applejack said, looking to Twilight in the rear view again. “Come on up and sit shotgun Twi.”

“Ok.” Twilight clambered out, circling the vehicle to the front seat as Rainbow flexed her wings out and gave them a few tests flaps. The force of the wind pushed out from under her wings was enough to almost launch Twilight’s glasses from her face. She held on to them as Rainbow managed to leap to the top of Sunset’s 10 foot stone fence, then off into the air with the help of the added height. It was rather impressive how quickly she was gone, and how much lift she could get.

“See ya later!” Rainbow shouted before she was high in the air and out of sight.

Twilight waved to Sunset as the girl approached the gated entry, but instead of buzzing in she merely found a foothold on the lower bar and jumped over the 10 foot gate in a single jump. She landed on the other side with a thump, then stood as if nothing odd had happened. She looked back to give the two a thumbs up, Twilight gaping at her and AJ laughing.

“10/10 Sunset!” Applejack snorted.

“Thank you, thank you.” Sunset said, single brow raised and a smirk on her face as she bowed. “I do try my best.”

Applejack just laughed again as Sunset waved and started up her driveway to the house. Twilight watched her walk for a moment, still holding the door before she climbed back inside. With her seatbelt on again the farmer started down the road again, this time for Everfree.

“So,” Applejack started, looking to the girl momentarily. “What’s Everfree Estates like?”

“Not too interesting,” Twilight shrugged. “Just subdivisions and a few stores. Nothing out of the ordinary… though I suppose ordinary to you is living in a city with lots of different creatures, instead of just your own kind.”

“There ain’t too much a’ my kind around here,” Applejack said, keeping her eyes on the road. “Most of ‘em are out in the country, my family that is. Not too sure where unrelated Timburr Dryads could be, not that it’s all that important.”

“Oh? Why not?” Twilight asked.

“Oh, you know. Health class and all that. We’s all got the same number of ah... I forget what them things is call… Chrome somethin’.”

“Chromosomes.”

“That’s it,” Applejack nodded. “Anyone can have kids with any other species they want, humans included, so it's not like I NEED to find someone like me… probably make it easier though. More in common in the way of culture I suppose.” Applejack shrugged. “It's just a little too toxic here for most of ‘em. S’why most of mah aunts and uncles moved away. Granny’s a tough ol’ gnarled root though, and we take after her, so we’re there to stay.”

“Toxic?” Twilight asked.

“Pollution, from tha city,” Applejack jerked her head back from where they came. “Most plants can’t take absorbing that much, that includes mah family, but so long as we ain’t exposed for a long period or there isn’t a whole lot of it in one place we’re fine. I mean, if you're used to it like me.” Applejack checked her blind spot, changing into a turning lane. “Mah aunts and uncles left just as the city started to get too big, so they can’t stay more than a week here. Course my Auntie and Uncle Orange have to be the toughest of the family to live right in the heart of Manehattan. Though they do have an air purifier in their apartment…”

“Wow, that's interesting. Do you only harvest apples on your farm?” Twilight asked.

“Got some animals. Sheep, pigs and stuff. Mostly for wool and truffle hunting though. Got some chickens….” Applejack smiled. “Mah dog Winona.”

“Lots of pets huh,” Twilight smiled.

“Yessum,” Applejack nodded. “Course we need ‘em much more than just for what they produce.”

“Why’s that?” Twilight questioned. “They give you lots of love?”

“Course, but we ain’t like Changlin’s or nothin’. They give off lots of carbon dioxide. If it weren’t for them the trees could make thing a little harder on us,” Applejack chuckled.

“Why would the trees make things harder for you?”

“We’re plants too, Twilight. Breathe in carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen. Trees just suck most of it up first,” Applejack said. “Animals just make sure there's enough to share between us.”

“You must have a lot of trees then.”

“Lots? Haha!” Applejack slapped her steering wheel. “Try oodles, a whole bunch and THEN some. I dunno if I can count ‘em all,” Applejack chuckled, looking proud again. “I can tell you all of their names though.”

“Names-?” Twilight started, only to stop when Applejack pulled up near the Everfree Estates entry. The lights at the guard station were on and the street lights were just starting to activate.

“Here we are. I’d drive you to your house Twilight, but…” Applejack gestured her hand for explanation, looking more sheepish than insulted.

“I understand, thanks again Applejack,” Twilight said, opening the door and hopping out.

“Now don’t you even mention it,” Applejack said happily. “It's what friends do.”

Friends…

“Oh hey!” Applejack smiled to Twilight. “If you get a free moment, come on down to the farm and I’ll show you around. I’m usually there if not for school or hanging out with the others.”

“That sounds nice,” Twilight agreed.

“Great, I’ll message you on Facebook or something,” Applejack said, putting the truck back into gear. “So I guess we’ll hang out again.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you soon!” Twilight nodded. After closing the door she waved, watching Applejack drive off. She stood watching the pickup disappear into the distance, hands in her pockets. After a moment she looked up at the stars as they started to appear before starting towards the guard house.
___________________________________________________________________

Twilight pushed open her door, hearing Spike starting to bark excitedly and running for her. She shut the door just as he rounded the stairs landing and beelined for her, hopping up excitedly. She laughed as she kicked off her shoes and put her bag away. “Easy Spike! I need a minute to get settled!”

“Twilight!” Velvet hurried downstairs excitedly, a glass of wine in one hand. “Oh honey! Did you have fun with your friends?”

“Yes, it was a lot of fun and they're really nice,” Twilight said as she picked Spike up, laughing as he started to lick her face.

“That's great!” Velvet smiled and lifted her glass up. “I’m so happy you're starting to get a little more social, Twilight!”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Yes mum. I know you are.”

“This calls for pizza!” Velvet went for the kitchen. “I’ll order one!”

Twilight shook her head, following her mother into the next room, watching her take the landline from its jack on the wall. “Can it be a Hawaiian pizza?”

“Anything you want honey,” Velvet said, dialing the number. “I’m just so glad you’re making friends, finally you’ll have someone to hang out with at school.”

Oh. Oh yes… Mom didn’t know yet…

It wasn’t so much that her mother was racist, or as racist as others. To be fair, everyone is, a little bit. It was more of the fact that her mother and father were known to be a little overbearing. If they knew she was leaving Everfree Estates then they might want to accompany her everywhere she went, or not even let her go at all…

“Yes, friends at school…” Twilight managed without sounding suspicious. Her mother smiled back at her before talking into the phone. Twilight hugged Spike a bit closer…

Sometimes you need to put yourself out there and sometimes you need to fly solo to do it...

Appledisiac

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Another week of school had come and passed. Thankfully everyone was too enthralled in the recounting of their March break adventures to notice Twilight shifting through the shadows of the halls. She had been left unmolested by her peers, and for Twilight that was a pretty good week. In fact no one had so much as glared at or taunted her.

The situation only got better in her dorm. Through the week she slept at school, having a small single room to herself that attached to a small kitchen, sitting area, and bathroom shared with four other girls. That week one of the girls she bunked with, who was nasty person in general but was twice as abusive with Twilight, had moved away, so she was gone for good at a new school on the other side of the country. Lemon Zest was busy preparing for a big violin recital, so she didn’t surprise Twilight by plopping her head phones over the nerd’s ears to show her another rock song she found. Moondancer had a test in her advanced science classes, and was studying all week in her free time. (Twilight had proudly passed that class before, though Moondancer was even less social than Twilight was, and didn’t want help.) Twilight had the run of the place, if you didn’t mind the muffled violin playing or cursing from Moondancer’s room.

Not to mention Twilight had been messaging her friends on Facebook. Some, like Rarity and Pinkie, had sent her their numbers so she could text them. Applejack and Rainbow were still grounded from their computers and Sunset’s phone was lost in Everfree Estates, so until she got a new one it was tough tootsies. Fluttershy had also given out her number, but had shyly explained she didn’t like to get calls, so to only ring her in an emergency.

Twilight could understand that feeling.

It was nice to talk with them. Even if it was just instant messaging. They weren’t best friends by any means but it was getting somewhere.

Guess Mom was right, we are hanging out at school, even if they aren’t technically here.

Friday had come at last and Twilight was bussed home for an eventful weekend. Though not because her mother wanted it to be…

“Damn Pristine Clean and her community events.” Velvet scowled as she hustled around the kitchen. “If it’s not one thing with that woman it’s another!”

“Mmhmmm,” Night Light mumbled affirmatively from the couch, face buried in the newspaper.

“I mean, it's not like anyone has time for these things!” Velvet flipped through a cook book on the shelf, grumbling. “Fundraising bake sale. Mandatory involvement due to lack of previous participation…” Velvet groaned. “Why do we live here again?”

“Your mother bought the house for us as a wedding present.” Night Light explained. “You know, when we didn’t have any money and you were pregnant with-”

Twilight watched both her parents wilt a bit at the mention of their eldest child. Twilight herself frowned and looked back down to Spike as she scratched him behind the ears.

The last time they had talked they hadn’t had the best conversation…

“Yes. Well,” Velvet sighed, “I’m getting really sick of that woman…” Twilight’s mother threw a dish cloth over her shoulder. “Chairwoman of the homeowner’s association be damned.”

“What does she want us to do this time?” Twilight asked.

“A bake sale fundraiser, sweetheart. She wants me to bake some things to sell,” Velvet grunted. “To make up for our ‘somewhat unenthusiastic contributions’ over the years, she wants ten baked goods to sell, or we’re going to be fined. “

“We can’t be ‘somewhat unenthusiastic’ if we never even contributed anything at all,” Night Light chuckled.

“Well she’s up my butt this time,” Velvet sighed. “What can I make…”

“Just make apple pie. Remember two weeks ago? Your mother sent us all those pre-made pie shells?” Night Light said.

Velvet groaned again. “I remember. I do not know how she could insist that baking fresh pie ‘everyday’ is a wifely duty.” Velvet opened the freezer, looking inside. “We should get rid of these. Make more room in here…” Nodding Velvet turned to her daughter. “Twilight, go out and buy me a whole bunch of apples, would you? Try and make sure they’re fresh. God knows that Pristine would know if they weren’t...Take forty dollars from my purse.”

“Sure,” Twilight said, scooping Spike up in her arms and heading for the door. She kicked on her runners and shrugged on a coat before leashing her pet. As Twilight stepped out into the bracing spring air she stretched, smiling down at her canine companion. “You ready Spike?”

“Bark!”

Twilight lead him down to the sidewalk before pausing again. “Do you think we should go to Vittle’s market or local grocer?” She asked, watching Spike sniff the ground, circling around. The dog looked up, cocking his head quizzically. “Well, mom did say fresh as I could get… Vittles usually has a great product… but it could cost more.” Twilight hummed in thought. She stared down at her shoes before looking back up. “Freshest I can get…”
___________________________________________________________________
It wasn’t hard to get her bike out of the shed, or to attach the bike trailer her mother had bought when she was just a little kid. She pulled it to the front yard, popped Spike into his front basket, and after crossing the Everfree Estates gates again she was off. Thankfully the weather was good, and the temperature was mild. Usually she couldn’t bike too far without her asthma acting up a little, but with the fates being this kind she was able to make it all the way without stop. Spike was happily leaning out of the basket slightly, ears flapping in the gentle breeze. Just as Twilight crested the hill and the walls of Everfree Estates ended, there was a small stretch of remaining woodland, and then-

“Whoa.” Twilight muttered, stopping her peddling to admire the rows upon rows of mature apple trees. Many different kinds and colours were visible as the trees stretched over the horizon. Clean, green foliage as far as the eye could see. She could even make out a few apples that had fallen here and there.

She peddled on for a few long moments, admiring the lush beauty of the trees, until she came across a dirt driveway with a mail box perched on the end. The large sign over it spelt out ‘Sweet Apple Acres’ in beautiful calligraphy. Twilight and Spike looked at each other, both clearly enjoying the atmosphere, before moving on down the driveway.

It was surprisingly long, taking several more minutes before Twilight got to the house. It was a large farm home with two stories, dull red in colour with white accents and a large, wrap-around porch.

“Bark! Bark!” A brown and white border collie ran out of the nearby barn, hearing their approach. It approached them with its head held high, tail wagging. Twilight cautiously got off her bike and watched the dog come closer, sniffing around her front tire.

“Bark!” Spike lean out of her basket, both dogs sniffing each other for a moment before the collie licked him.

“You must be Winona,” Twilight said as the dog looked to her. Winona sniffed at Twilight’s leg, then at Twilight’s offered hand before licking it as well. “Aww, nice to meet you to!”

“Bark!” Winona responded, tongue lolling out the side of her mouth. Twilight stepped back to look around the farm again.

Should she start with the door?

Heading for the porch she climbed up the steps, looking this way and that for anyone she could talk to.

SNOOOOOOO-

Twilight jumped at the loud noise, realising it was coming from around the corner of the porch. Twilight turned away from the door, heading for the noise curiously. As she turned the corner she found an old woman in a rocking chair who was obviously related to Applejack.

She was a plant person, though her age clearly showed. Her bark was cracked in places and slightly mossy in others. The leaves and vines making up her hair were slightly weathered and gnarled, blackened on the ends in a few places. Her flowers were white, though slightly droopy, and any odd leaf growing from her body was brown or red, like autumn leaves ought to be. She was snoring, clearly napping in her seat and looking rather peaceful.

So much so that Twilight didn’t want to disturb her.

Twilight looked back out to the barn for movement, wondering if she may have more luck knocking on the door of the house. Turning back around Twilight gasped, stumbling out of Winona’s way as the collie bounded past and jumped up to the old woman’s lap.

“Bark! Bark, Bark!”

The old woman made a snorting noise, sitting up in her chair shaking her head. “Wha in th- wha?!” She smacked her lips, looking around before finding the dog in her lap. “Winona! What’dacha think yer a doin’ !? You ain’t a puppy no mores, now off mah lap!” As the collie slipped off her lap the woman stood, groaning a little and stretching her arms up with the sound of creaking wood. “Ough… I gotta get a pad for this thang. I’m gonna grow a crick.” She snuffled before turning around. “Now where did them kids get t-”

She paused, looking Twilight in the eye. There was a few moments of silence, save for Winona's panting. After a few more seconds the woman sighed, shaking her head and scowling. “You’s ain’t with that development company, is ya? I’s told you people at least a hundred times-”

“Development company?” Twilight blinked. “Uh, I’m sorry I don’t know what your talking about.”

In an instant the woman went from cross to the picture of hospitality. “Oh! Well why didn’t cha say so! I’m Granny Smith, and this here is mah farm. My family’s been growin’ crops here for nearly a full millennium,” Granny said conversationally, waving her hand to the trees.

“M-Millennium?” Twilight gasped.

Granny started to chuckle slightly. “Oh! Oh, I keep forgettin’ how short you human’s life spans are there, hun. That ain’t so as impressive to our kind. I was just a lil younger than you when we set up the farm here.” Granny smiled fondly. “Course the land was alot younger then too.” Granny frowned suddenly, scratching her head. “But, ah, what are you doing here, uh….”

“Twilight, Twilight Sparkle,” she responded. “ I came here because I was hoping to buy some… apples…”

Without calling ahead to see if you had any available… ah shoot.

Granny looked thoughtful. “Well, lemme see here.” She turned to looked behind her at the large ,lush fields of apple trees, all bearing fruit. “Ah huh.” She then turned to the barn where, through the slightly open door, one could make out boxes, upon boxes of apples in storage. “Mm hmmm.” She then turned to another field of apples, just as plentiful as the last. “Hmmm. Welp, I think we’s can help you,” Granny said at last, wiggling her eyebrows as she chuckled.

“Oh, thank you!” Twilight smiled.

“Ah, it’s fine. We’s gots so many apples they're comin’ out my ear roots!” Granny said. “Though that's a high class problem to have, if’n I say so myself.” Granny teetered down the porch steps towards the fields. “Let's go find Applejack. She can get cha sorted out. I’d try to get some out, but mah eyes ain’t what they were. Could give yah one of ‘em Morsus Apples by mistake…”

“Uh, my latins a little rusty,” Twilight said softly. “What is-”

“S’an apple thats got teeth,” Granny explained. “No good for eattin’. They’d just bite cha back! Good for replacing dental work though.”

Twilight looked at the trees surrounding them, nervously. “T-these trees, are they-”

“Gala deary. They won’t hurt cha. These trees are as sweet as ya please. Right Reginald?” Granny turned to a tree nearby, almost expecting a response. Oddly enough the woman nodded, like the tree actually did say something, before holding out her hand. An apple dropped cleanly into her open palm, much to Twilight’s surprise.

“Ya see? Reggie here’s an old soft wood,” Granny laughed as she pocketed the apple. Twilight watched as ‘Reggie’s’ leaves seemed to start curling. Granny stopped laughing and sighed. “Ah, he hates bein’ called Reggie. Alright! Alright! Calm down REGINALD.” Granny shook her head as the leaves uncurled, she lead Twilight along through the fields before chuckling again. “The Gala trees is all prim and proper. Their apples aren’t as sweet unless yah keep the trees trimmed and pretty.”

“I never knew that” Twilight said, looking back to the galas quietly.

“Don’t reckon you ever could dear. We Timburr Dryads can hear what the trees want. They say a little off the top you get the shears out.” Granny shook her head. “Course trees can only sense things around them a little ways. They can tell what shape they is and what shape we is. So long as you got the basic shape they like then they don’t complain too much.”

Granny lead Twilight through the Galas to the Red Delicious, then through the Braeburn to an orchard of what seemed to be trees growing rock apples. They passed through a crop of miniature apple trees with fruit the size of cherries before traveling through a group of bright white apple trees with silver leaves, golden apples hanging from the branches that shone so bright Twilight had to shield her eyes. Not watching where she was going Twilight hit one of the apples that had fallen from their perch with her foot, stumbling and yelping in pain.

“Ah dear!” Granny said, helping steady her. “Do be careful!”

“Sorry, its just- I hit that with my- oh! My toes!” Twilight whined as she shook her foot, trying to disrupt the pain receptors in her leg.

“These are the Apples Of Goddess Iðunn,” Granny said. “Or as they're also called, Gold Apple, on a count that they're made of solid gold!”

“Solid gold?!” Twilight said, squinting up at the trees.

“Yessum they are. Don’t try and smelt them though. They rot like any other apple. Unlike gold they’re not forever,” Granny grunted as she took the fallen apple and lifted it into her hands with a small amount of difficulty. “They’re only good when they start to soften and go past their prime. Taste like crap, but they’re good for age reducin’ creams.”

Granny held the apple out to Twilight. Though the moment she accept she nearly fell over at the weight in her own hands. She struggled to hold the apple up in both hands, just barely hovering it off the ground, back arched and legs quaking.

“Just put it in the basket there,” Granny said off-handedly. “But hurry up!”

Twilight struggled the few feet to the basket as Granny started off again. With a few deep breaths she managed to heft the apple up and over the rim with the others before taking hit of her inhaler. By the time she managed to catch up to Granny Smith the elder was waiting by a gated area.

“There you are! Now in here you want ta stay nearby me. The trees here is a little more fiesty,” Granny explained as she unhooked the fence. Twilight noted a sign a little to the left of the gate.

DANGER. DO NOT ENTER.

Oh dear.

Granny pulled the entry open and motioned Twilight through. The girl looking around in apprehension as Granny secured the gate behind them. “I-is it safe here?” Twilight asked.

“Ah course. The trees is just non too pleased to let you pick their fruit… or come near ‘em. In fact I think they enjoy inflicting pain on others for some reason…” Granny scratched her chin thoughtfully as Twilight began to sweat. “Well anywho, Applejack and Big Mac is just around the bend.”

They went deeper into the fenced area towards the trees. They were grey with black leaves, vines crept down from the branches and scattered across the ground like snakes. As Twilight walked she almost stepped on a vine, only for it to slither out of her way. Twilight inched a bit closer to Granny as they crested a hill and came upon Applejack and her brother, who seemed to be having trouble.

“WHOA THERE!” Applejack shouted, holding a few vines down as her brother, a large, red-barked character with orange tinted leaves for hair with a few flowers dotted around in them (though far fewer than his sister) was busy picking some of the smokey grey apples from their places in the tree. A vine leapt out to try and stop him, but Applejack grabbed it in her hand and put it under her arm. “Ah no ya don’t!”

The tree shook a little, leaves curling as it let out a haunting, creaking noise.

Applejack looked less than impressed by the display. “Barkly! You stop that! Y’all need to be picked and you know it!” One of the vines in her arms smacked Applejack square in the face. She winced, but otherwise just rolled her eyes up at the tree. “Really!? You’re over a hundred years old! Act your dang age!” As Applejack held the vines a little tighter she looked up, spotting her brother backing off from the tree with a full basket. “Got ‘em all?”

“Eeyup,” Big Mac nodded.

With a grunt Applejack threw the vines away from her, scampering back as they rose back up and came for her. Thankfully she was out of range before the tree could get her. ‘Barkly’ creaked angrily, vines coiling tightly under their branches in, what even Twilight could see, was an act of displeasure.

“Ah, you’ll feel better in a minute! Those apples just weighed your branches down.” Applejack scoffed. She looked to Big Mac as he piled the collected apples into a trailer. “Next time, I pick.”

“Eeyup,” Big Mac nodded again, making his way to the next tree.

“Now hold it there Applejack. We’s got a customer here. Ms… ah…” Granny turned to Twilight, scratching her head. “What’cha say your name was again?”

“Twilight!” Applejack spoke before Twilight had a chance, stepping up the hill to greet her. “Well pluck my leaves and call me a stick! I didn’t know you were coming over!”

“Oh, you know each other then?”

“Granny, this is the girl who saved Sunset and went to the movies with us last weekend,” Applejack explained.

“Oh, so that’s her huh!” Granny looked Twilight over again quickly. “I thought she’d be taller.”

Applejack sighed and put a hand to her face. “I- Never mind. What do you need Twilight?”

“Well my mom is making some apple pies for a fundraiser bake sale and asked me to buy some apples. She wanted them as fresh as I could get and since you said your apple farm was almost next door, I thought I could pop in and buy some,” Twilight said, pausing before looking uncertain. “I-if you have any for sale-”

“Well a-course we do!” Applejack said happily. “We got a whole bunch of bushels in the barn to be sold at the market on Sunday. We can sell you one of ‘em.”

“That be great! How much do you need?” Twilight asked, reaching for her bag.

“Ah nah! Put that away!” Granny spoke up, swatting lightly at Twilight’s hand. “If’n it’s fer a fundraiser, we can just give ‘em to yah.”

“Really? Thats so nice of you!” Twilight smiled.

“We ain’t so hard up on money that we can’t give away a bushel or two,” Granny joked. “Now Applejack, what apples are best for a pie?”

“Well-”

“Oh! I know! I know!”

Twilight leapt back as a small plant girl jumped up from hiding in the applecart, waving her hand excitedly. “Its Jonagolds or Honey...Crisps… or ah…” The girl petered off and shyly sunk down a bit in the cart as her family glared at her.

“Applebloom!” Applejack chastised. “You're not supposed ta be in here with the Whompin’ Apple Trees!”

“I can help!” Applebloom pouted, crossing her arms and rising from the cart again. She had similar leaves to applejack, though hers had red flowers instead of yellow. Her bark was a bit brighter than Applejack’s as well, and her eyes were more of an amber, like her granny’s.

“No ya can’t,” Granny said, “You're still too little of a sproutlin’.”

“Don’t you worry Granny. I’ll take her back while I get Twilight her apples,” Applejack frowned and hoisted her sister out of the cart one-handed, Applebloom still pouting. “ Now let’s get goin’, I still need to finish pickin’ the Whompin’ apples with Big Mac-”

“Applejack!”

Aj paused to turn back to Big Mac, finding him wrestling with some tree vines. “What you couldn't wait a second?!” Applejack groaned.

Big Mac glared at her as he struggled to hold the vines steady, though it was clear that he was taking two of the trees at a time. Comically, one of the tree vines snuck up behind him, tapping him on the back. When Big Mac truned in surprise, the vine poked him in the eye. “Ah!” he yelped, putting a hand to his eye, losing all the vines in the process. They quickly overpowered him, dragging him to the ground. One of the trees creaked in a laughing fashion.

“I’ll help you Big Mac!” Applebloom shouted, running over before her sister could grab her.

“Applebloom!”

She kept going before a vine intercepted her, a third tree joining in. Applebloom rolled up the sleeves on her shirt before shaking her fists at the vine. “Alright! Come an’ get it!” The vine went for her eyes as well, but Applebloom had the sense to smack it away. “Wise guy eh?!” Applebloom shouted as the vine came back. It weaved a bit before going for her eye again. This time the girl grabbed it in both hands. “Gotcha yah varmint- Ow!” Applebloom yelped as another vine smacked her on the head. She rubbed her face for a moment before scowling. “Mmmm! That’s it!” She took the vines in her hands again, this time missing the third vine behind her that slipped around her ankle. Before Applebloom seemed to know what was happening, she was hanging upside down, the tree shaking her, though not enough to hurt her. “Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!” She grunted with each shake.

“Now that’s why you can’t-! Mmmm!” Applejack ran forward as well, grabbing at the vines around her sister’s ankle. “Now you stop that Larry! You hear me! Why I ought- ah!” One vine shot out, clutching her chin as another made a grand show of arching up before clonking down on Applejack’s head. “Ahh!” She stumbled back as the tree released her, causing her to fall back into a waiting vine, which quickly scooped her up.

“Ah shoot,” Granny rolled her eyes at all her struggling grandchildren. While none of the trees seemed intent on hurting the kids, they also looked like they were enjoying themselves and wouldn’t release the Apple kids anytime soon. All creaking in amusement, or at least Twilight thought they were. Granny hardly seemed alarmed. More annoyed than anything. “Darn kids. Just stay here Twilight.”

Granny marched forth next, though the little old woman was nothing intimidating… She stopped before the trees, scowling and just out of reach. “Larry! Curly! Moe! You let my grandchildren go! NOW.” The woman held quite a bit of venom in her voice, and the three trees quickly deposited the kids on the ground, clearly unnerved by the elder. The one holding Applebloom lowered her to a meter off the ground before dropping her, the young girl grunting unhappily. Granny huffed and crossed her arms, the three trees curling up their vines and wilting under her gaze. “Bunch of stooges,” Granny frowned.

Tap. Tap.

Twilight turned herself to find a vine right beside her. She squeaked as it came forward, only to poke her in the middle of her chest. Unwittingly, Twilight looked down, only for the vine to swing up, bonking her nose and nearly throwing off her glasses. She clapped her hands over her nose quickly and twitched as the vine came back.

“Don't think I can’t see you back there Shemp!” Granny shouted, the vine spasming before drawing back quickly. Granny came back to Twilight, cross. “Why I have never seen you trees misbehave so much! Maybe I should skip yah when we do the fertilising next year.” All the trees around them curled up, almost shaking. Granny held no sympathy for them.

The three Apple children came up the hill, slightly frazzled with random twigs sticking of everywhere. Which were theirs and which they had picked up in the misadventure was uncertain. Both AJ and Applebloom were missing their respective bow and hat, and their hair leaves were a mess. Big Mac frowned before he spat a whole apple out of his mouth. The three and Twilight stared down at it in shock.

“What have you kids learned?” Granny asked.

“Don’t let anyone harvest the Whompin’ apples alone?” Applejack suggested tiredly.

“Keep your mind on your work?” Big Mac spoke, he and Applejack sharing a small glare.

“Don’t be afraid to ask fer help?” Applebloom added. “Like from me? Cause I can help!”

“No, you learned to stay outta the Whompin’ patch till I say you're grown enough!” Granny snapped, shaking a finger down at her granddaughter. Applebloom didn’t try to argue this time, just looking down to the ground glumly. She sighed before jolting.

“What the- mah boot!” The girl stuck out her sock covered foot. “That dalgarn tree has mah boot!”

Thunk.

Applebloom yelped as her missing boot was flung at her back. She grumpily picked it up and glared at the apple trees behind her as she pulled it on.

“Your lucky these ain’t Whompin’ Willows there Applebloom. They’d sooner rip yah apart then toy witcha’ like this,” Granny frowned. “Close a’ cousin as they are, at least the Whompin’ Apple trees are just mischievous. Now get back to the farm. I’ll talk which you later.”

Applebloom moaned before starting back to the gate.

“Wait a second,” Applejack shouted, picking her hat up and putting it back on her head. “Take Twilight with you and help her get some apples.”

“What?” Applebloom groaned.

“You wanted to help, so help. I’m needed here to help Big Mac,” Applejack ordered, stepping on a wandering vine, which promptly tried to curl in on itself. “You apparently know what apples she needs, don’t cha?”

“Well, yes- I mean-but-!”

“Ahh! Ahh! Ahh!” Granny chided. “You take her and get her the apples young sprout. NOW.”

“Yes Granny,” Applebloom sighed before waving Twilight over, though she didn’t wait for the teen to catch up. Twilight sent Applejack and Granny a wave before following after, as they approached the gates Twilight looked around nervously at the trees.

“What a- what are Whomping Apples for?” she asked.

Applebloom sighed, but shrugged and untied the gate. “They’re supposed to help accelerate healing. I guess you need it if you're pickin’ Whompin’ apples in the first place…” Applebloom opened the gate, letting Twilight pass before securing it again. “I dunno what happens after we sell ‘em.”

“Oh.”

Applebloom lead Twilight back to the barn, though she seemed a little too cross to try and be very conversational. Twilight could make out some of her grumbling as they walked. Something about how she was big enough to help with the harder trees, or like that.

As they came to the barn Twilight could see Spike asleep in his basket before Applebloom pulled open the doors and went inside. “Where abouts do you live?” Applebloom asked as she looked over the first bushel of apples.

“Oh, Everfree Estates,” Twilight said as she paused at the door, looking in at the high shelves packed with full baskets of apples, with plenty still stored around on the floor.

Applebloom paused, looking back in surprise. “You mean that Human subdivision, just down the street?”

“Oh, yes. Your sister said you can see it from your room, I suppose.”

“Oh yeah I can…” Applebloom grumbled, rolling her eyes. “Diamond Tiara says it's quite the place, her mom wants to move them there… notthatI’lleverknow,likeshesays…”

Twilight cocked her head, not catching what the girl said. “Uh, is Diamond Tiara a friend of yours?”

“What kind of apples did you want?” Applebloom asked grumpily, moving a heavy looking bussel out of the way with ease.

Twilight was a little lost with Applebloom’s attitude. However given the way her family basically shooed her away when the rest of them were all working together, Twilight chose not to take it personally. “I'm sure whatever ones you think are best,” Twilight shrugged.

Applebloom paused, a thoughtful look on her face before she hurried behind a shelf of apples and disappeared. “Ah? Applebloom?” Twilight called in confusion.

“Hold on! I’m getting you some … fresher ones!”

Ok.

Applebloom returned after a moment, holding a basket in her arms. As she brought it forward Twilight looked down at them. They were a soft rosy pink colour, though their shape was rather odd, as they were more pointed on the end than any apple Twilight had seen. The top had two bumps.

“Looks like little hearts.” Twilight said, picking up one.

“They’re Sweetheart apples,” Applebloom explained, “Sweetest apples there is.”

As Twilight looked closer she detected an irresistible fresh apple smell. It was sweet and almost made her mouth water. “They do smell good.”

“Come on!” Applebloom carried the basket to Twilight's bike, setting the apples into the bike trailer for the human. “There ya are! Sweet Apple Acres are the best apples guaranteed,“ Applebloom said, this time a little more cheerfully.

“Well thank you for your help Applebloom,” Twilight smiled. “I’ll see if I can bring you guys something from the bake sale as thanks.”

“Ah we don’t need you ta do that,” Applebloom said, smiling a little oddly now that Twilight really looked. “Your thanks is enough.”

Twilight blinked as Appleloom turned and hurried back to the house. She watched the girl wave before disappearing inside. “Ummm, ok?” Twilight shrugged before climbing back on her bike, petting Spike as the dog woke up with a yawn. With a little difficulty Twilight started peddling, turning the bike around and heading home.
______________________________________________________________________________

“Twilight I do not know how you found apples this fresh,” Velvet said as she chopped the fruit up as her daughter peeled them. “Why I can almost smell the orchard with every cut.”

“Oh, well there is an apple farm nearby…” Twilight smiled nervously as she grabbed another apple to peel.

“Is there?” Velvet looked shocked for a second. “Well I suppose I don’t leave the community very much. I didn’t even know there was a farm of any kind nearby… When was the last time I left?” Velvet looked thoughtful for a moment, pausing her chopping. “We couldn’t go on our honeymoon… Uh- Oh! Yes of course! Two years before you were born we went to an amusement park out of state. That was nice.”

“And you’ve never left since then?” Twilight asked in confusion.

“Well I work from home as an editor, you know. So there's really no need to leave all that often.” Velvet started to cut the apples again. “Your father’s work is just a quick drive from the gates, and you’re bused from school to home. I don’t even think you’ve been out of the community besides for school.”

Twilight swallowed tightly.

“Well I think those are enough. We’ve almost finished the basket off,” Velvet said as she looked down at the couple of Sweethearts left. “I’d say we can move onto the baking. Go grab the brown sugar for me Twilight.”

The teen did as instructed, pausing as she opened the cupboard. “Uhhh... Mom.”

“Yes Twilight?” Velvet said as she measured some butter on the cutting board, chopping off the size they needed.

“How do you… feel about monsters?” Twilight took the sugar over, setting it on the counter.

“Well that’s an odd question. What brought that up?” Velvet asked, putting the butter into a sauce pan. “Oh, measure out five cups of that Twilight.” Velvet paused at her daughter's shocked look. “We’re making ten pies, we need to double the recipe.”

“Well…” Twilight shuffled as she started to measure the sugar into a large mixing bowl. “I was just looking around online and there were a lot of… monster videos on youtube, and grandma-”

“Your grandmother is so lost in the past I swear she could get sick with the black plague at any moment,” Velvet rolled her eyes. “Honestly, I have no idea what monsters did to her to make her hate them so much…” Velvet sighed as she set the butter on the stove to melt. “Maybe it's just the way she was raised.”

“What about you, though?” Twilight asked, rolling up the rest of the sugar to put away. “How do you feel about them?”

Velvet opened a cabinet. “Well, I can’t say I have an opinion dear. I’ve never really had enough contact to form one. I know some of the writers I work for are monsters. Their stories are quite good, though they’d never sell around here sadly.”

“And dad?”

“He works with some. Says they’re friendly enough if I recall.” Velvet poured some pre-measured flour into the butter. “Course he and I are still cautious. You never know with anyone, even humans.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Twilight said, knowing that fact all too well.

Velvet sighed as she poured the sugar from the bowl into the saucepan. “Honey does this have anything to do with your brother?”

“What?” Twilight looked up. “What would this have to do with Shiny?”

Velvet looked uncomfortable for a moment, scratching her head. “Well, you were there the last time we … talked.”

“I don’t remember it too well. I was ten,” Twilight said sadly.

“Yes well, your brother and your grandmother had a little… disagreement over his choice of schools. He wanted to go to the Canterlot City University, a well respected school. Only your grandmother wanted him to go to a school that wasn’t as, uhhhhh… Diverse?” Velvet groaned and threw up her hands. “Oh why beat around the bush, one that was only for humans, what few there are.”

“Ok, but why did he…” Twilight trailed off sadly.

“Leave?” Velvet asked sadly. At Twilight’s unhappy nod the woman sighed. “Well, your father's work in astronomy wasn’t paying much back then, and while we could support ourselves fine the community’s security and building upkeep bills were falling behind, so your grandmother helped us out.“ Velvet shook her head as she took the defrosted pie shells from the counter and started to line them with apples. “Your brother asked us to stand by him and his decision, but you know how I am with my mother… and your father felt like he was a failure for not being able to pay all the bills… So while we didn’t support his decision, we also didn’t forbid him.”

“So he left?” Twilight frowned.

“You need to understand Twilight. This wasn’t the first time. We sent him to a sleep away camp when he was seven. He made some monster friends and when he got home my mother told me it was dangerous from him to keep friends like that, so I stupidly did as she said, and never let him visit them. He wanted to go backpacking in high school, across the country but I listened to my mother and didn’t let him. It happened so often then not that, well, that moment was the final straw that broke the camel’s back.” Velvet frowned as she finished the pie and started to pour the gooey sugar mixture into it. “Fast forward five years and we’ve still not heard from him…”

“Do you think he’ll ever come back?” Twilight asked sadly.

“Maybe… He wanted to be there when you graduated. He might come back for that… Or when my mother dies, whichever comes first.”

“Mom,” Twilight said with a simper.

“I know, I know. I love my mother, but even when I was a girl she could be quite controlling,” Velvet grunted.

“I don’t really have that much trouble with grandma,” Twilight said.

“Of course you don’t Twilight. You do everything you're told for the most part. Your grandmother doesn't have any fuss with you,” Velvet sighed. “Why I bet she thinks you're the most sane of all of us.”

As Velvet set the first pie in the oven Twilight turned away.

“So long as she doesn't meet my new friends…” She mumbled quietly.
______________________________________________________________________________

“Why if it isn’t Velvet Twilight!”

Twilight didn’t know if she had ever seen her mother so tense in her life. Velvet stood rigidly as she forced a tight smile and shook hands with another woman. “Pristine, it's good to see you again,” Velvet forced out pleasantly, eyes slightly narrowed.

“So good to see you taking an active role in the community Velvet,” Pristine said with a smile. Flipping back her white and soft pink striped hair, the tall, thin pink woman placed a hand to her hip over her business suit.

“Well…. You know me,” Velvet chuckled dryly.

“N’yes, but today you proved that there is a first time for everything.”

Velvet’s eye twitched.

“Ugh, hello Pristine. Where do you want the pies?” Night Light asked, pointing down to their rolling cooler.

“Oh, pies! Not many of those on the tables yet! I may need to snatch one up… See how your cooking is,” Pristine smiled at them, raising her brow. Velvet simmered. “Take them to Mrs Vittle, she’s in charge of placement and sale,” Pristine nodded to the slightly pudgy woman manning a few open tables. “She’s such a doll, three kids, her own business and still time to volunteer.” Pristine looked Velvet out of the corner of her eye. “Weekly.”

“How… nice,” Velvet said, teeth close to grinding.

“Uh, Twilight, why don’t you take these over to Mrs Vittle? Your mom and I can take a look around at the tables,” Nightlight said swiftly, putting an arm around his wife’s shoulders. “We can find some sweets for later on tonight!”

“I'm on a no sugar diet,” Velvet grumbled, squinting at Pristine in a fashion that could have lit her on fire.

“So good to hear you’ve started to take an interest in your appearance Velvet. Some of the other women were worried you were depressed or something,” Pristine smiled before she looked to the entrance. “Oh! Mr Luscious and his family are here! Excuse me.”

As Night Light was forced to tighten his grip on his wife, Twilight watched Ms Clean greet the arriving family. Twilight frowned when she realized who they were.

Sugarcoat wasn’t…. Well she wasn’t horrible. She was almost as socially awkward as Twilight herself and they could have been good friends, if not for the fact that Sugarcoat tended to not notice or care about the emotions of other people. She played hardball with the truth and could throw a mean pitch back into your face. Not to say she did it vindictively, but…

As Sugarcoat, her parents and her brother came into the community center Twilight ran for the sale table.

She didn’t want to spend the night with her.

“Twilight,” Mrs Vittle smiled as the girl approached. “So good to see you dear!”

“Hello Mrs Vittle.” Twilight noted the three year old eating some cookies at the woman’s side. “Hey Little Vittle!” As the child waved to her and stuffed more sweets in her mouth, Twilight laughed. “Here's the pies my mom made for the sale.”

“Lovely!” Mrs Vittle said as she pulled the first few out of the cooler. “These look delicious Twilight. I’m sure your mother worked very hard on these. They’ll sell in no time at all!”

Twilight twitched as something pulled on her skit. Looking down she found Mrs Vittle’s oldest child, Tasty Vittle.

“Oh, hello T,” Twilight said.

“Hi Ti-light,” He said softly. “I’m seven now. My birfday was last week.”

“How… nice?”

“Oh Twilight these smell amazing. I think I’ll have to buy one right now!” Mrs Vittle said, putting a pie down by her bag. “My husband Big just loves apple pie!”

“Is there a price chart I can look at? I want to buy something for a friend of mine,” Twilight explained.

“Why of course, right over there. It’s hung up on the wall.”

Twilight made her way over and looked at the list quietly. There were some nice looking cupcakes, cookies and pies for sale. What would Applejack and her family like? Do they get sick of eating apples after working with them all day? Well, chocolate is usually a safe bet, maybe a cake or something...

“Hi Twilight.”

“Gah!” Twilight jumped back as Sugarcoat stopped at her side, observing the startled girl with a blank face.

“You’re very easily startled, like a rabbit,” she said.

“Y-yes, thank you Sugarcoat…” Twilight sighed as she placed a hand over her heart. “H-how are you?”

“Fine. Well, as fine as one can be, coerced into an evening of looking after one’s brother and making useless small talk,” Sugarcoat huffed. “I’d ask how you are due to social protocol, but I don’t really want to know.”

Yep, that’s Sugarcoat.

“Uhhh, ok?” Twilight shrugged. “So... uhh-

“Is Kamikaze still toying with you?” Sugarcoat asked suddenly. Twilight flinched violently at the name. “I’ll take that as a yes. Indigo Zap asked, her family is going for dinner with them, apparently their siblings are dating, and she wanted to know if she should keep her guard up.”

Twilight swallowed tightly and looked at the floor, wringing her hands.

“Shall I take that as a yes as well?”

“Mmmm…” Twilight mumbled. “I don’t know if… if it's the same. Indigo is more popular than-than I am. She may not try anything-”

“Better safe than sorry,” Sugarcoat said, whipping out her phone to make a quick text. “Ok. Bye.”

Twilight sighed as Sugarcoat turned to leave, but the blue girl groaned when she did so. “Sweet-talker...”

“Tsk, Tsk, Tsk!” A younger boy with Sugarcoat’s colours said as he came around the older girl. His hair was dark blue instead of white and his eyes were the same purple as his sister’s. “That’s no way to treat someone Suggie.”

“Sugar. Coat.” Sugarcoat grumbled.

“Let’s not be so formal,” Sweet-talker said, putting an arm over Sugarcoat’s shoulders. “We’re family after all Suggie!” The boy looked to Twilight before stepping forward, hand out. “Sweet-talker, though I’m sure my sister has mentioned me.”

“Oh, hello Sweet-talker…” Twilight mumbled, shaking his hand.

“Please, such formality. Call me Swee. Much more relaxed,” Swee said in an upbeat voice. “So tell me, you ladies looking to buy some confections?”

“Well I am, but I’m not sure what to get yet…” Twilight said, uncertain.

“I get it, you don’t know what's good. Well, if you want, you could get something and I could taste test it to see if it's any good.-”

“She’s not buying you anything Sweet-talker,” Sugarcoat frowned, scatting at him like a stray animal. “Shoo.”

“Well, I never,” Swee said in indignation. “I would never ask a lady to buy me anything I couldn’t reimburse her for myself! I merely suggested-”

“No,” Sugarcoat grunted.

“But I-”

“No.”

Swee scowled. “Really, Sugarcoat.” He gestured and looked up to Twilight. “I’m sure this beautiful young lady can speak for her-self- ah….” Swee stared at Twilight, who looked nervously back. “I- Have I seen you before?”

“No. I don’t think so?” Twilight said in confusion. Crystal Prep separated the High School and Elementary students. She’d never seen him at school and she had never been to Sugarcoat’s house.

“Wait.” Swee looked closer. “I know I have…”

“Around town, maybe?” Twilight tried, unsure of what the boy was talking about.

“No, my father drives me everywhere.” Swee shook his head. “I’m not sure how, but I know I’ve-” Swee stopped, frozen in place, gawking at Twilight before throwing his hands over his mouth to hide a guffaw. He snorted and snickered for a moment before lowering his hands to look at her. “Oh lord, I remember now.” He chuckled in amusement.

“Really?” Twilight asked, not liking this turn of character.

“Oh yes… That- That-” Swee let out a loud laugh. “That video online! It was hilarious!” Swee wiped at his eyes and chuckled darkly. “I know why I didn’t recognize you! You have a shirt on!”

Slap!

Swee yelped when his sister smacked the back of his head. “Ow! Sugarcoat!”

“You're being too casual,” Sugarcoat snapped, looking slightly angry. “Go back to mother.”

“Fine!” Swee scowled and turned away from her with an angry wave of his hand. “I’ll be sure to tell her of your attack on my person!” Swee looked to Twilight again before leaving, giggling a bit as he went. Sugarcoat also looked back to Twilight, her look of boredom and annoyance twisting in a slight pang of sympathy at Twilight’s embarrassed and upset expression, staring at her shoes and her shoulders slumped. Sugarcoat shuffled in indecision before she sighed and stepped forward uncertainly.

“Nobody really talks about that video anymore… Least the circles I’m in,” Sugarcoat said.

Twilight shrugged sadly.

“They let you keep your bra on,” Sugarcoat offered in an even more awkward fashion than usual, clearly unclear on how to comfort someone. “In the video, that is…”

“They weren’t going to…” Twilight murmured.

Sugarcoat griminced. “Ah.”

She ran a hand through her snowy white hair. “Well, all the more reason to warn Indigo Zap of what that sadistic Kamikaze could do.”

“Yeah.”

Sugarcoat rubbed her arm and studied the floor tiles as well. “Hmmm… Twilight I’m not good at this stuff,” she admitted, tapping her foot. “I happen to know for a fact some students were tempted to show the principal at least. However given Kamikaze’s… Infamous reputation…” She scratched the back of her head. “Nobody wanted to, shall we say, risk their personal safety with that psycho.”

“I understand…” Twilight mumbled.

Sugarcoat shifted back and forth on her feet before patting Twilight on the shoulder awkwardly. “Welp, bye.”

“Bye,” Twilight sighed and she watched Sugarcoat’s shoes disappear from sight. She stood staring at the floor for a long moment of time before a pie was put in her sights. Twilight looked up from the lemon meringue to see her father.

“Hey honey, look what I bought!” He said proudly, leaning in a bit to whisper. “It’s sugar free.”

“Yeah, that’s nice…” Twilight said with a heavy voice.

“Twilight what’s wrong?” NightLight asked in concern. “Your looking a little upset.”

Twilight wrung her hands again. ‘Well, uh-”

Kamikaze’s infamous reputation…

Nobody wanted to risk their personal safety with that psycho.

“Nothing. I was just hoping there would be… chocolate cake,” Twilight sighed.

“Oh there is! Somebody made Lava cakes!” Nightlight said, however he paused when Twilight didn’t light up as expected. “Honey are you sure you're ok?”

“Yeah dad, I just- I think I need to get out of here, too many people.”

“Your mother’s been saying the same thing. I swear that Pristine gets too far under her skin- Oh no!” Nightlight gasped, quickly handing the pie to his daughter before running off. Twilight, alarmed, looked up to see what her father was so upset about.

Twilight wasn’t sure if she’d ever see her mother holding a pie up in a throwing position again. She just hopped her father could get to her in time before the pathway to Pristine cleared of innocent people.
______________________________________________________________________________

The event was a humble success. Apparently all the baked goods had sold in record time and Pristine was pleased to announce that the new decorative fountain would be arriving as soon as possible.

Whoo hoo?

Just before Night Light had managed to drag his wife home, one side of his face covered in berry peach pie, Twilight had bought a Lava cake with the intention of taking it to the Apple family the next day.

However she ended up going earlier than even she expected.

Twilight was dressed and shoving cereal tiredly into her maw when the phone rang. Her mother put her coffee down and answered the cordless phone quickly. “Hello?” She asked fighting back a yawn. “Mmmm, yes. Yes…. Ok.” Velvet covered the phone. “Twilight. It’s for you.”

Twilight looked up in surprise, reaching across the table to take the phone. She put it to her ear. “Uh, hello?”

“Hello Ms Twilight Sparkle. This is Chainlink at the eastern guard post. We have someone here who needs to see you.” There was a pause as the man sighed. “Immediately.”

“Who would that be?” Twilight asked, intrigued.

“Well, she’s a very insistent, non-allowable visitor- HEY!”

“Fer dog gonnit sake! I need ta speak to her right-”

“Away, yes. I know! Stop grabbing for the- stop!” Chainlink grunted. “Ms Twilight, please come out here and get rid of this looney! She’s attempting to break into my guard post!”

Oh dear.

Twilight stood, pulling on a coat. It sounded like Applejack. Only why would Applejack come to Everfree? Thinking quickly she took the Lava cake with her in its plastic tub.

“I’m going out really quick mom!” Twilight shouted as she put on her shoes. She caught sight of Velvet raising her cup up with a tired nod before she took off out the door. Grabbing her bike, Twilight started for the east entry.

What could Applejack want? Did they need money for the apples now? She did still have it if that was the case. Maybe Applejack needed her help with something now. What could that be?

Twilight slowed to a stop at the crosswalk, waiting for the light to turn when, out the corner of her eye, she spotted a young couple on a park bench…

Making out.

It was very unusual to see public displays of affection. Usually it was just frowned upon in such a tightly kept, family oriented community. Not that there was a written law mind you, but anything beyond hugging and quick pecks were a rare sight.

Wow. They're really, really into that…

Twilight shook her head clear, looking back up in time to cross the street and keep riding. As she peddled she spotted someone up ahead. It was Tasty Vittle. Sitting on his yard, alone.

Odd.

Twilight stopped beside him, looking down at the boy and parking her bike for a moment. “T?”

“Hi Ti-lightt,” the boy said, lifting up two of his toy cars. “Wanna play?”

“Uh no, thank you though.” Twilight looked around. “Where are your mom and dad? Are they watching you?”

T shook his head, pointing back at the house. “Nuh uh. I was gonna ask them to play, but they’re busy.”

“Busy?” Twilight asked, confused.

“Wrestlin’ in bed-”

“OK!” Twilight kicked her stand back up. “Look, go back inside and- ugh- play with your sisters!” Twilight said quickly, voice squeaking. When the boy started to protest Twilight grimaced. “Just go inside, ok? No playing in the road…Bye!”

An olympic cyclist would have been envious of the speed Twilight took off with.

What the heck?! Mrs Vittle is usually so diligent with her kids… Not- gah! Dead kittens. Dead Kittens!

Twilight shook her head to dislodge the incredibly unwelcome images…

She turned up the main street, peddling for the the gateway in the distance. As she neared the end of the residential area somebody walked out into her path. With a squeak she slammed on the brakes, skidding to a stop just inches before crashing into Pristine Clean.

“Oh! Ms Clean! I’m so sorry, I know I was going over the regulated bike speed but-”

“Hmm?” Pristine grunted, looking down at her before shrugging. “Oh, Twilight. Yes hello. Can you keep your voice down?”

Twilight clamped her mouth shut, confused. After a moment she spluttered. “But- but the bike speed?! You always-”

“Shh!” The woman hushed quickly, seemingly crouching behind the bush in front of them. There was a few moments of pause before Pristine looked back up at the teenager, swiftly ushering her to hunch down with an air of emergency. Confused, Twilight got off her bike to crouch with her, the two were silent for a moment.

“Ughhh, Ms Clean?” Twilight whispered. “What are we doing?”

“Just look Twilight,” Prisine said.

Twilight looked up over the shrubs quietly. She didn’t see anything odd, it was just a park area with a playground, some flowers… There was a mother and child at the swingsets and a gardener tending to a flower bed.

“Ok?” Twilight said with a shrug. “Sooo…”

“Isn’t he magnificent?” Pristine sighed, resting her head in one hand. Twilight looked back out over the park, watching the gardener wipe his brow before starting to edge.

“Mr Green Thumb?”

“That chiseled jaw, those muscular arms…” Pristine whispered. They watched as he got to the end of the garden and put the edger away, taking his shirt off afterward.

“Isn’t not wearing a shirt against community parameters?” Twilight asked.

“Those abs are well within my parameters,” Pristine said happily before shooting Twilight a glare. “Don’t get any ideas, I plan to ask him to the community get together next weekend.”

“He’s twenty eight, right?” Twilight asked, highly confused. When Pristine fixed her with a heavy glower Twilight blinked. “Ummm, ok? Yeah, sure. You called dibs.”

“Excellent.” Pristine’s emotions switched at the speed of light, frown turning to a smile in an instant. She wrung her hands together. “Just think Twilight. Soon enough, if I play my cards right, it will be Mrs Pristine Clean.”

Twilight blinked owlishly. “Uh, Ms Clean, is there anything you need me here for?”

“No, no. I just didn’t want to rouse his suspicions. You may go and… uh, tell your mother about next weekends- weekends… thing. That thing I just told you about before,” Pristine mumbled, she eyed Twilight sideways before sighing. “Nevermind, knowing her she’ll likely duck out of it any way she can. I swear your mother would sever her own head clean off if it meant not participating.” The woman sighed, looking back out to the gardener, who was taking a drink from a bottle of water, a drop of which ran a line down his pecs. “Mmmmmmm….” Pristine sighed before swatting Twilight away.

Twilight shuffled, looking around awkwardly before standing back up and getting on her bike. She watched Pristine for a moment before pedaling off again, brow raised. She rounded the corner and rode past the gardener, who looked at her, eyes darting to where Ms Clean was poorly hiding before looking to the teen again, looking slightly confused.

Twilight shrugged with a sheepish smile before pedaling off again.

Ok, what the hell is going on? Everyone is acting strangely.

As the entry gate came into sight, Twilight started to peddle faster. As far as she could see, the gate house wasn’t swarming with guards, so that meant that Applejack wasn’t causing too large of a fuss. However as soon as she got close enough she spotted the Timburr Dryad leaning against her truck on the other side of the road, looking a bit ruffled. The guard was keeping an eye on her, but more out of boredom than actual alarm.

Twilight supposed so long as monsters peacefully came to the gate house, there wasn’t too much they were worried about.

The guard noticed her first, standing straighter as Twilight stopped her bike. “Ms Sparkle?” He asked gruffly.

“Yes it is,” Twilight said, whipping out her I.D card. The man looked it over before sighing.

“Yes, I’m Chainlink, the one who called you. That girl says you two are acquainted and needed to speak to you as soon as possible.” The guard shrugged his shoulders. “However she refused to disclose what about.”

“Oh, well thank you I-”

“Twilight!” Applejack had finally seen her and was quickly coming back up. “Twilight I really need-”

“Behind the line please.” Chainlink grunted duly, pointing down at the yellow painted line on the pavement. Applejack shot him an unimpressed look, but did as instructed, stepping back a bit.

“Twilight I need to talk to you now.” She looked the guard quietly. “Privately. It's important!”

“May I leave my bike here?” Twilight asked. When the guard pointed to a bike rack nearby she swiftly went about locking it up before following Applejack out to her truck. As the two piled in Twilight looked to her friend cautiously.

“What’s going on?” Twilight asked.

“It’s about them apples.” The monster explained, turning on the truck and starting to drive. As Twilight put her seatbelt on the farmer groaned. “Ah, this ain’t good….”

“What? What’s wrong with the apples?!” Twilight asked, panicked.

“Ahhhhhh…..” Applejack gulped. “I just want Granny there to talk to you too. She knows more about this then me..”
___________________________________________________________________

Driving up to Sweet Apple Acres Twilight could already see a difference. All the trees were slightly curled up, almost fearful as the truck came to the house, parking by the barn. “What’s wrong with the trees?” Twilight asked nervously.

“They can just tell Granny is none too pleased right now,” Applejack said, running a hand through her leaves.

Twilight shrunk a bit. “W-with me?”

“What? Oh no!” Applejack blinked and put her hands up assuring. “Not you. She just, well, it’s a bit of a tadoo now…”

“Why? What’s going on with Granny? Or these apples?” Twilight asked in growing confusion. “Do you want me to pay for the apples now, or-”

“Naw, not that either,” Applejack grunted. “She, well, it's just… come talk to her with me.” Applejack finally just opened her door and jumped out. Twilight wasn’t sure why but the flowers on her cheeks were slightly pink instead of their usual yellow.

As she and Applejack walked up to the house porch, Twilight could see Applebloom standing, facing the corner of the house with a bored expression on her face. She was pouting a little, arms crossed tiredly.

“What’s Applebloom doing?” Twilight asked.

“She is in time out,” Applejack said with a grunt before speaking a little louder. “And she is gonna stay there for a while!”

“I didn’t do it on purpose!” Applebloom argued, still facing the corner.

“You knew what those were!” Applejack snapped with a tone of finality in her voice, stopping the budding dispute. Applebloom was still pouting, but now she looked a little depressed. “Granny!” Applejack shouted, keeping an eye on her little sister crossly. “Granny she’s here!”

“About time!” The elder scuttled from the barn quickly, Big Mac following diligently and setting down a basket of apples at the door. The elder hurried to Twilight, looking nervous. “Twilight what did you do with ‘em apples?! Please tell me you didn’t sell ‘em whole!”

“Uh! No, we made them into pies…” Twilight said, slightly alarmed.

“Do you still have them?!” Granny asked, now looking hopeful.

“No, the sale was last night…” Twilight frowned.

“Ah hell!” Granny grunted and turned, kicking a rock in the driveway. It flew up and over the house a good ways, startling a few birds.

“Granny,” Big Mac chided, however he too seemed a bit uneasy at the news.

“Let’s not panic. I mean she did say they was baked,” Applejack mumbled, not sounding a sure as she usually did.

“Ah, excuse me!” Twilight said loud enough to get their attention. “I’m so sorry, but I just want to be sure. Did I just poison anyone?!” She felt like there was a large knot in her gut as they exchanged looks.

“No, no, no dear. Nothin’ like that,” Granny assured her, taking her hand and patting it. “No poison. This ain’t life threatening or nothing…. I hope.”

“Hope…?” Twilight gaped.

The three older Apples looked between each other again. Applejack was uncertain and Big Mac slightly alarmed.

“Twilight hun, those apples that Applebloom gave you… They were-” Granny trailed off, thoughtfully before grimacing. “Special.”

“Special how?” Twilight asked in worry.

“Whelp, they were…” Granny rubbed her hands. “What did Applebloom tell you they were called?”

“Sweetheart Apples.”

Granny gave a sideline glare at Applebloom, who hunched over in her corner. “Well, that's their nickname. They’re true name is Appledisiacs.”

“Ok… wait.” Twilight paused as the name sunk in. “That’s not a pun on-”

“Aphrodisiac, yes, yes it is,” Granny said. “We grow ‘em for perfume companies. They’re very expensive little apples, but they’re quite potent.” Granny scratched the back of her neck with a frown. “However, as a smell it's only alluring. It’s not mind or morally meddling, but more of an ice breaker. If you like someone this will just make talking with other people easier. However-” Granny grunted, looking at the ground. “-if you eat it….”

“You get more horny than a honry toad,” Big Mac spoke up loudly, the flowers on his cheeks turning pink. Applejack’s followed suit as she looked down at the ground.

Oh, so that was blushing…-

WAIT!

“Wh-wha-wh-what?” Twilight gurgled out, eyes wide.

“Eat a whole, raw Appledisiac and you’re insatiable,” Granny said pointiently. “Any thought, rhyme or reason- poof! Gone.” Granny echoed her hands out, miming an explosion. “It’s dangerous! Which is why we need a permit to grow them! It’s also why we sell them at such an expensive price.” Granny tapped her boot and looked at her youngest grandchild once more, unimpressed.

The girl had turned slightly to watch them, and ducked her head a bit.

“T-then- oh my god!” Twilight gasped.

“Don’t you fret dear.” Granny said soothingly. “Baked, them apples just stir thing up biologically. You know what I mean… All the usual thought that goes into these things are still up and running, if a little hot and bothered.”

Twilight let out a relieved sigh at that. “Oh good… so nobody…”

“Nobody wouldn’t do something so long as they wouldn’t do it before. Course it may push some people to start flirtin’ if they were too nervous to before…” Granny sighed. “I expect your community will be a little more lively for the next few days. At least until all the pies are eattin’ up.”

“Oh boy,” Twilight swallowed. “That does explain a few things I saw today…”

“I suggest you take any apple you got left and throw ‘em out!” Granny ordered.

“You don’t want what's left?” Twilight asked. “I thought you said they were expensive…”

“Ah, we been deliverin’ on time in full fer years. Those perfume makin’ paper pushers can take one missing bushel. Sides, those few of apples won’t be missed.” Granny shrugged. “So long as no one was hurt, I think I’d say it's the best case scenario.”

Twilight nodded in agreement. Everything had turned out alright, the pies had been good, money was raised and nobody was hurt… maybe besides their pride.

“Only one last thing to do now,” Granny said. “APPLEBLOOM!” Said girl looked over her shoulder to her gesturing grandmother, who pointed down at the floor beside her. She quickly scuttled to Granny’s side. “Applebloom. You apologize right now.”

Applebloom looked pointedly at the ground. “M’sorry.”

“ERHM!” Granny grunted, tapping her foot.

Applebloom looked up at her grandmother sadly before sighing. “I’m sorry Twilight…”

“It’s ok. Nothing bad really happened…” Twilight said.

“Alright. Applebloom, you’re joining your sister in Grounded Town. For a whole month it’s school, chores, bed. Repeat until sentence is done,” Granny spoke, watching Applebloom slump. “Understand?” When she received a nod Granny pointed back to the barn. “You can start by sorting the apples back out!”

Applebloom walked gloomily to the barn. They watched her go before she disappeared into the barn. “I’m so sorry for all this Twilight,” Applejack frowned.

“It’s ok, really,” Twilight said. “I’m sure it was just a misunderstanding.”

“T’weren’t no misunderstandin’,” Granny growled. “That girl knows apples better than some people know their own feet! I suspect she thought it was a funny ol’ joke. She still gots some growin’ to do.”

Twilight shrugged as she looked around at the remaining Apples. “Like you said, nothing bad happened. Though I should go home and get rid of those apples I have left.”

“Good idea girl! Applejack go give her a lift would you?” Granny said quickly. “The sooner those apples are gone the better.”

“Alright I-Oh!” Twilight jolted a bit. “Oh I just remembered, hold on!” She hurried back to the ruck and lifted out her tupperware. “I got you guys a cake at the sale.”

“Ah shoot Twilight, you didn’t have ta do that!” Applejack chuckled as the human handed the sweet over to Big Mac.

“It’s ok, I wanted to!” Twilight smiled. “To thank you for the apples.”

“I suppose you may want to take that cake back now,” Granny chuckled as her grandchildren rolled their eyes.

______________________________________________________________________________

After returning home and throwing away the apples, the weekend went relatively as normal, though a few community members were more touchy feely than they usually were. The sunday before
school Twilight was packing up her bag for the next week when her phone buzzed.

‘Hey Twi, This is Sunset. I got your # from Pinkie. My new phone is here!’

Twilight smiled as she texted back.

‘Great! Is it a nice phone?”

‘Yup, mom spent a good amount on it. So Applejack said you had a wild weekend because of her sister?’

‘Just the start.’

‘You can’t leave it like that! Tell me about it, what did she do?’

Twilight thought for a moment before chuckling lightly. ‘What do you know about an Appledisiac?’

School and Wolf

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Crystal Prep was a strict school. You got to class on time, you were in bed on time and you did everything right the FIRST time. Principle Cinch, known for her old fashioned techniques, was a punish first, ask questions later sort of principal. However, she did get results. Grades never slipped below a 90 average and the school was one of the top rated, well funded schools there was.

Sure most of the students hated one another for different reasons, or were run ragged through their classes, being forced to study well into the night to keep their grades up, but dammit if anyone who got out alive didn’t do something worthwhile with their lives. The result of graduating this place was the world on a platter. Well, at least as much as a human could get.

The grades Twilight had no trouble with, the clubs she was in were small but interesting, and the electives she took had her far past a high school education level. It was the social stuff she had issues with, but to be fair, everyone hated each other to begin with. Sometimes it had to do with family issues, divorce here, half-sibling there. Sometimes it was parental occupation. There were more than a few times a kid whose parent was a police officer got chased around by a kid whose parent was in prison. Whatever the issue was, friends in Crystal Prep were hard to get, and once you had them, you held on tight..

Twilight didn’t have any friends at Crystal Prep. Well, she had a few acquaintances but when push comes to shove they didn’t pick you back up. They did help out in small ways though. When that video came out and Twilight was the laughing stock of the campus, Moondancer stepped up and brought her some food from the cafeteria so she could hide in her room. Fleur De Lis, a prefect who could be a bit moody at times but was pretty nice otherwise, was like the school’s martial law. Whenever she was around the other kids either stopped teasing her, or found out why Fleur was the fencing champion of the state. Lemon Zest tried to help Twilight take her mind off it and watched movies with her till late at night.

Twilight sat back on the couch in her dorm an hour before her first Monday class. She looked over her computer as she pulled up her messaging system. With the other girls likely at school, there was nothing new to note, but she could see a few she had gotten last night. Word spread quickly about the apple disaster and it was funny with all the different reactions it got. There was some concern, but for the most part they just joked around a little. Such as how Pinkie requested a few of the apples for her Valentines day party next year.

Applejack had responded with a simple ‘NO WAY.’

The dorm door rattled as it opened and Twilight looked up to see Lemon Zest walking in, her duffle bag was under her arm, with her violin case in her hands. Her uniform top was wrinkled and her hair was getting in her face, headphones around her neck.

“Hey Lemon Zest,” Twilight greeted. “Are you just getting in? You didn’t miss the bus did you?”

Lemon grunted and dropped her duffle on the ground. “Hey Twilight,” She said easily. “Yeah, plane just got back in this morning, had that freakin’ recital contest this weekend.”

“Oh, right,” Twilight smiled. “Did it go well?”

“Gahhhhh….” Lemon Zest moaned, making a face and scowling.

“Did you lose?” Twilight winced.

“Oh no. I won first,” Lemon Zest sighed before dropping her violin case haphazardly to the floor. “Just hate this stupid thing.” She slumped onto the couch beside her roommate, rubbing her face with her hands. “Give me a guitar. Hell I’d play the banjo. Anything to get away from THAT…” Near the end her voice turned venomous, pointing to the violin case like it was the devil incarnate.

“Oh…” Twilight blinked in surprise. She knew Lemon wasn’t a fan of her instrument, she just didn’t know she hated it so much. “Well, why not play guitar then?”

“Can’t, my dad says it's ‘Not aH ReAl InstrUment,’“ Lemon Zest grunted, mocking her father’s words before puffing unhappily.

One of the bedroom doors opened and Moondancer stepped out, holding her empty cup from her morning tea. She had her thick-rimmed glasses on and unlike her classmates, she wore her school’s winter uniform, no matter the season. She spotted the two on the couch as she went for the kitchenette. “Oh, you’re back.”

“Sup Moony?” Lemon Zest smiled.

Moondancer raised a brow at the nickname disinterestedly, only to yelp when she tripped over something and thumped to the floor.

“Oh my gosh! Moondancer!” Twilight gasped as she and Lemon Zest stood up, waiting to see if their roommate needed help.

The girl righted her glasses, glaring down at what tripped her. “The f- Lemon!” Moondancer shouted, pointing to her things. “Don’t just leave your junk where you please! You broke my mug!”

“Sorry Moony-” Lemon Zest paused when the fallen girl glared harder. “-uh, Moondancer.”

“Sorry will not fix my favorite mug,” Moondancer frowned, looking at the broken ceramic. She managed to stand wincing a bit and looked down again. “Oh god, I landed on your damn violin case! Why did you put this here?! I could have dislodged a vertebra.”

“My violin? Did it break?!” Lemon Zest asked with ill-concealed hope.

Moondancer blinked before opening the case under her.

“No.”

“OH COME ON!!!”

After helping clean up the mess that had once been Moondancer’s mug, the three parted ways for their first class of the day. In the hallways it was a proverbial mad house as kids tried to slip past each other to get their things, see friends, or go to class.

While she tried to stick to the quieter halls if she could, Twilight’s first class was Calculus, which was right in the middle of the busiest hall of the school. She took a breath before pushing through the crowd, getting a few dirty looks but was thankfully ignored by most. She tried to avoid touching anyone, grimacing when she did, the person in question glowering at her as she passed.

At the first chance she got, Twilight zipped in the door, settling down at her seat closest to the teacher’s desk, where she was less likely to be bothered. The last few students trickled in somewhat lethargically, the first day of the week had that effect on people, and when the bell rang their teacher shut the door.

“Alrighty, today we're starting a new chapter in your textbooks,” he said, writing on the blackboard. “Turn to page 403, ‘The Integral Calculus On Manifolds’.”

Most of the class groaned, a few rubbing their face tiredly.

Twilight excitedly pulled out a pencil. What followed was an hour and thirty minutes of intense lecture and practice equations. As usual Twilight found these classes a breeze, so when the bell rang she skipped from the door with a beat in her step.

Her classmates followed like stumbling shells of teenagers.

Such a wonderful way to start the week! A little challenge.

Twilight paused at the drinking fountain to get her bearings. She had english next, it was across the quad in the Literature building. She went out the usual door, dodging a group of older classmates and out into the open air.

The quad was a beautiful open park area between the main buildings of Crystal Prep, where all classes were held. The grassy area was surrounded by oak trees, which were old, perhaps even older the school itself, and had beautiful gardens surrounding a large fountain.

Sadly for such a calm, natural place it was usually packed with students, and on a sunny day like this, it was no different. Students were seated in the shade and on benches, chatting and laughing and studying. The quad was fit to burst, as it always was this time of day, and Twilight knew trying to traverse that battlefield of teenage antics would likely have her fishing for quarters at the bottom of the fountain.

Thankfully Twilight had been going to this school for quite a long time, so she knew there was a way around the chaos. She darted towards the Art and Physical Education building, knowing there was a never-used path behind it that cut across the school. It was old and not very well-maintained, in fact it was almost a tunnel with how the stone wall of the building was on one side, and the tall stone fence was on the other. The fence was used to block off the woodlands behind the school. Students rumored it was because monsters used to hide out there to pick off kids, but Twilight had read the school’s history book and found that it was erected because students would sneak off to make out in the trees.

Nowadays everybody just used the private study rooms.

However Twilight knew why this path wasn’t the most used. It had a creepy vibe to it… The building looming overhead, how it became unnaturally quiet, how cold and dark it was. Twilight knew it was safe though, so she didn’t hesitate to round the corner and keep walking. Mentally she tried to remember what was going to happen in English today.

She believed there was a test, followed by a book report handout.

Wonderful!

She clapped her hands excitedly, the sound echoing. As she hurried down the path she was half way behind the building when something clanged. Twilight froze, looking around quickly. There was no one around… Both sides of the opening were clear.

Another clatter made Twilight jump, and she realized where the noise was coming from. She looked to the stone fence wearily. She couldn’t see through the ten foot tall stone but by the sounds of it, somebody was jumping up on the dumpsters behind the wall…

“H-hello?” Twilight frowned.

There was more clanging and banging, the sounds of claws skittering on metal. Twilight took a few uncertain steps back. Was there a wild animal rooting around in the trash? Suddenly there was a clang from something large, empty, and metal, making Twilight jolt. Then another something poked its head up over the top of the wall. Twilight squinted, not being able to make out what it was as the morning sun was directly behind it.

Definitely an animal. Pointed ears twitched as it looked down at her and Twilight could make out the glinting of its eyes. Suddenly it lifted itself up over the wall, jumping down towards her!

“Ahh!” Twilight yelped, stumbling back defensively until it landed in front of her.

“Twilight!”

“Pinkie?!” She gasped as the pink wolf bounded around her excitedly, tail wagging.

“I knew I smelt you Twilight! I found you! I found you!” Pinkie barked, bounding around her. “I win! I’m the best smeller!”

“Wait, hold on!” Twilight managed to get out as she kept an eye on her quardrapedial friend. “What are you doing here?! Shouldn’t you be in school? I mean, it's a Monday!”

“Wwwweeeeellllll….” Pinkie started, pausing to think. “Normally I would be at school on a Monday, but you see one of my sisters just broke up with her meanie, bo beanie boyfriend. So my Papa Pie decided to pull us out of school today for a pack exercise! Help take her mind off it.”

“Pack exercise?”

“That’s just a fancy way of saying mini family holiday!” Pinkie smiled, panting a little bit. “We did it all the time as kids. Basically we go to a random woodland area and have little challenges! Today is a hunting race! First one back with the biggest kill wins!” Pinkie spun around in a circle, clearly excited. “So I was out in the woods, sniffin' for things to hunt, when I smelt you! I mean I didn’t expect to, so when I did I was all like ‘What's Twilight doing out in the woods?!’ Then I saw the school and could smell all the people! So I thought I’d come in and say hi!” The wolf paused to pad closer, smiling again. “So hi!”

“Yes.. Hello.” Twilight blinked.

“SOOOOOOoooooo. What’s this place?!” Pinkie asked, looking around a bit. “Smells like a lot of humans!”

“This is Crystal Prep, Pinkie.” Twilight explained, righting her glasses a bit. “You know, human private school?”

“That makes sense!” Pinkie barked. “This place looks waaaay older than my school! Plus it’s bigger! My schools all erh!” Sher put her paws together in the air, showing the minimalism of her school. “And yours is so whoa!” She then held her paws out, showing the size difference between them. “Course my schools in the middle of Mid Canterlot- huh, middle middle Canterlot. Thats funny to say! Oh! Imagine if you were in the MIDDLE of the school! Then it would be middle, middle, middle Canterlot-”

“Uh, Pinkie!” Twilight said quickly, putting a hand to the wolf’s shoulder. “It’s not that I’m not happy to see you-”

“I’m glad to see you to Twilight!” Pinkie smiled.

“Yes, well, it’s just…” Twilight circled her free hand in the air, trying to think of what to say. “This is a… a private school…-”

“Yah, just for humans, right!” Pinkie added, still smiling.

“Well, yes, yes thank you. Umm, its just that, if they find YOU here- not that you mean anything bad of course! It’s just, um. Well… They might not… uhm.” Twilight started to struggle and Pinkie’s confused expression wasn’t helping. “They may not react well…”

“How so?”

“Oh! Uh, you remember what happened to Sunset? Not that they might do anything bad either it’s just…” Twilight trailed off here, still grasping at straws, when Pinkie’s eyes lit up.

“OH! You mean humans might get scared and then try to hunt me down and no matter how this situation works out there COULD be an interspecies incident that could respark the war between our kinds?” Pinkie sounded cheerful throughout the explanation.

“Uh, yes,” Twilight blinked. “I mean maybe not war but-”

“Say no more!” Pinkie smiled. “I just be back to my hunt and on my way!” Pinkie said as she turned to leave. Twilight sighed and wiped her brow.

“Oh good, I don’t want either of us getting into any trouble-”

“-And I can’t.”

“WHAT!?” Twilight yelped, looking up at the wolf wildly. Said wolf just pointed to the stone wall.

“Nothin’ to climb up on to get out this side,” Pinkie explained with a carefree shrug. “I’m stuck.”

Twilight threw her hands up to hold her head in panic. “Oh no! Oh no! Ohnonono!” She started to pace a bit. “Oh god, how are we gonna get you out of here! If they catch you, nothing good will come of it, even if you don't mean any harm!”

Both girls jumped when a bell rang shrilly in the air. Twilight groaned when it ended.

“And now I’m tardy!” Twilight gasped.

“Don’t worry Twilight. We’ll be fine!” Pinkie said easily. “Besides, if we can get out of here and go back to my families picnic, then we can have some tart-ies!”

“Oh my gooood why…” Twilight moaned softly. She took a few deep breaths before speaking again. “Ok. Ok… Pull it together! Come on Sparkle! We can do this! I mean, how hard is it to get a pink wolf through a high security location?! Hahahaha…..” Twilight stared into space.

“Don’t worry Twilight! I can just change into my human form! Easy peasy!” Pinkie stated, starting to shift.

“Oh yes! You CAN do that can’t you!” Twilight sighed again, relieved. “Maybe this won’t be as difficult as I thought-” She petered off when Pinkie finished shifting. Pinkie smiled back, not sensing anything wrong, her wolf tail wagging the back of her skirt and her wolf ears twitching out of her hair.

“C-can you change back?”
______________________________________________________________________________

Twilight huffed as she led Pinkie along the side of the building, holding a hand to the back of the wolf’s head. She figured it would be easier to explain what appeared to be a giant canine to people who saw them, rather than a girl with real animals ears and a working tail… That would be a dead giveaway. At least Pinkie looked like a very large husky when she was in her wolf form.

“What’s that?!” Pinkie asked excitedly, Twilight stifling a groan.

At least she looked like a dog when she didn't talk!

“It's a statue of the founder from out front. They brought it back here for repairs, because this is the art building.” Twilight whisper shouted, pulling the wolf along past the defaced stone human. “Pinkie, remember you can’t-”

“Talk, yeah! I know, don’t worry though! You won’t hear a peep out me!” Pinkie smiled. “Not a yelp or a squeak or a yip or a-”

Oh this doesn't bode well…

Twilight paused at the end of the building, looking out around the corner to the quad. It was much emptier than before. A few stragglers were running for their classes and a few people who had spares were seated out in the sun, reading or studying. A group of boys were tossing around a frisbe-

“Oh! That looks fun!” Pinkie commented, her head sticking out around the corner. Twilight winced each time Pinkie’s tail jackhammer her in the side. “Can we play?!”

“No! Pinkie please!” Twilight frowned desperately. “Listen there are a lot of rules at Crystal Prep and not all of them are written, but they are followed! There are a few things not allowed on campus! First on that long list is monsters! Then pets.” Twilight put a hand to her head. “And technically, I’m breaking both of those right now!”

“And you're skipping!” Pinkie added unhelpfully.

“Yes, that is also a factor here!” Twilight groaned. “That’s not to mention what they could do to you! Do you want to be stuffed up on the wall of the library?! We have a hunting club here!”

“Do you mean stuffed with lots of delicious fooo-” Pinkie paused when Twilight looked down at her, scowling and very desperate. The wolf looked away dejectedly. “Ooo- Yeah no, I know what you mean.”

“Listen, we just need to go around the back of the Literature building, then follow that to the cafeteria. They have some dumpsters back there you can climb on and get out.” Twilight explained. “Then you're in the clear!”

“Sounds like a plan!” Pinkie nodded.

As quickly as Twilight could she lead the wolf across the open area towards the next building. It was less than twenty feet. However there were still a few people running around that could see them. Pinkie was much more agile than her human companion, and beat her to the next building easily. As she waited for Twilight to catch her breath and take a hit of her inhaler, there was a shrill voice.

“Hey!”

Twilight practically inhaled the entire puffer in fright, choking a bit. She turned to see two underclassmen walking up to them from the quad. “Is that a dog?” The yellow haired girl asked excitedly.

“Dog? What dog?!” Twilight tried poorly to hide Pinkie behind her. “I don’t have a dog! I- I’ve never even met a dog!”

Both girls giggled, a little amused. “We won’t tell!” The green haired one smiled. “We just love dogs a lot! Can we pet it?”

Given that Pinkie was a sapient being, Twilight worried for a moment the girl might be a little insulted by the question. Instead Pinkie sped out from behind her to bathe in the shower of affection.

She panted happily as both the girls pet her head. “She so cute!” The green haired one commented, scratching Pinkie’s ear in a way that the wolf seemed to melt into.

“Aww, what a friendly girl!” The yellow one cooed, Pinkie’s tail going a mile a minute. “Is she yours?”

“Yes! I mean, no! I mean...” Twilight trailed off. “She’s… I- I’m pet sitting her! Yes, that's it!” She shuffled nervously. “She followed me to school, so I’m trying to get her home before I get into trouble… Speaking of, we need to get going.”

“Awww…” The girls moaned, disappointed. Pinkie echoing the look on their faces.

“Well I guess we don’t want you in trouble… Thanks for letting us pet your dog.” The yellow haired girl conceded, giving Pinkie one last pat.

“Bye guys!” The two walked back out to the quad.

Twilight held her breath until the two disappeared inside one of buildings, groaning a bit and holding onto the wall for support.

“They were nice, are they some of your friends?” Pinkie asked, tongue lolling out the side of her mouth.

“No, I just… They must like dogs, because I’ve never seen them before now.” Twilight sighed.

“Well of course everyone likes dogs, everytime I see one I’m just like ‘Hey! It's a cute dog! Woof Woof!’ “Pinkie spoke. “Like this one time at the park-”

“Are you ok with them just… treating you like a dog like that?” Twilight asked, a little overwhelmed by the situation and just wanting to stop Pinkie’s rambling.

“Of course. It's not the first time that's happened!” Pinkie nodded. “I just see it as people being friendly! Plus sometimes you get treats! Like those ones that make their own gravy!” Pinkie started to drool a bit. “Yummy!”

Twilight shook her head, a little amused by the response. “Do you find people friendlier when you're a dog?”

“Kinda? I mean, there's good in everybody! Sometimes you just need to be a dog and it comes right out!” Pinkie thought for a moment. “Course, I find the same thing works as a person, act friendly and people seem to respond to it.”

Twilight righted her glasses on her nose. “Is that how you do everything?”

“Yeppers! If you have a good mood then most people try to have one to! They’re infectious, in a good way!”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of something being infectious in a good way,” Twilight chuckled a bit.

“See! Right there! You’re happy now too! Just like me! Infectious!” Pinkie barked, tail wagging.

Twilight paused for a moment, dumbfounded before laughing. “Yes, I suppose I am. You should write a book Pinkie.”

“I’ve never tried writing a book. That could be fun! I’ll try it out when I get home!” Pinkie said with a smile on her muzzle.

Home. Home. Ho-

“OH! Right!” Twilight looked around nervously, but they were thankfully still not seen. “We need to get going before somebody sees us!” Twilight continued on, Pinkie wandering after her. “Just around the corner here and then it's straight to the cafeteria-”

Twilight ran around the corner and found the very last group of people she ever wanted to see. Standing by an AC unit and smoking a cigarette was Kamikaze. A red skinned girl with orange and red hair. All her friends had frozen in place when Twilight came upon them, looking at their smokes nervously. However Kamikaze just took another leisurely drag, looking Twilight up and down in amusement. “Well… Look who it is.” She said, blowing a cloud of fumes into the air.

Twilight opened and closed her mouth wordlessly.

“Twilight fuckin’ Sparkle. What a pleasant surprise.” Kamikaze smirked, stepping out of her group towards Twilight slowly. “You’ve been weaseling your way out of my sights so much, I don’t think we’ve talked in ages.”

As Kamikaze got close Twilight started to back away, ducking her head a bit, eyes wide behind her glasses.

“Kami, she won’t tell right?” One of the girls by the AC unit asked nervously, all of them putting out their cigarettes. “My mom would kill me if-”

“SHE WON’T!” Kamikaze practically shouted, shutting everyone up and stopping all movement. The red skinned girl grimaced for moment, eye twitching before she let out a small amount of unsettling laughter. “Oh ho.. She won’t tell. Will you, Twilight?” The bully shot Twilight a piercing gaze, one that ripped through her and left her quivering in fear.

“N-n-n…” Twilight whimpered.

“OF COURSE she won’t.” Kamikaze smiled,taking another breath of her cigarette. “I don’t think you have the guts to do anything worthwhile on your own, do you?” Kamikaze tilted her head, grinning. “You can’t even say a word to save your own worthless hide, can you?”

Twilight swallowed. The orange and red haired girl suddenly bolted up to her side, sending Twilight stumbling away into the wall of the building. Kamikaze chuckled as she flicked her smoke in her hands to dispel any ashes on the end. She kept getting closer, and closer…

“I know you won’t ever tell, Twilight. I know, because you know what I’m like.” The bully made a mock face of worry. “I mean, even after alllllll this time apart, you still remember how I can get right? When I’m unhappy… or bored…”

Twilight nodded her head wildly, glasses scewing on her face at the intensity of the motion.

“I don’t know if you do Twi-Twi.” Kamikaze said, still getting closer. “I mean you still don’t know enough to lick my shoes when we meet up like this. All those lessons I gave you, for not…”

Twilight’s eyes flickered down to the girl’s soccer cleats unhappily, frowning deeply at the mud-covered footwear. Of course she had practice this morning! She looked nervously back up at the girl, hoping she could get out of this without doing that…

Again…

Suddenly Kamikaze snatched Twilight’s glasses from her face. Twilight yelped, squinting at the blurry girl in front of her fearfully. Now that she was practically helpless before her, there was no telling what Kamikaze would do.

“I think I need to remind you how much respect I deserve, Twilight,” Kamikaze said lowly. Twilight flinched when she felt heat near the side of her face. She quickly realized it was the girl's cigarette. Kamikaze was slowly bringing it up to level with Twilight’s eye. She tried to lean away but Kamikaze shot her arm out, bracing it on the wall and keeping Twilight in place.

Twilight could only think to curl up a bit and clench her eyes shut, feeling the heat get closer and closer-

GRRRRRRRRRRRR!

“Whoa!” One of Kamikaze’s friends gasped and Twilight felt the heat disappear. She looked up to a blurry pink blob between her and Kamikaze.

GRRRR!!!! Pinkie was snarling, fur raised and tail curled angrily. Twilight couldn’t make anything else out…

“What do we have here?” Kamikaze asked, not sounding fearful in the slightest. “I thought you only had one ugly dog.”

“H-h…” Twilight stuttered, chest feeling tight.

“Kami! That thing is huge! Lets just get out of here! Sparkle won’t tell!” One of Kamikaze’s friends said urgently and sounding scared.

“Yeah! She’s a big pussy, like you said! Lets just go back to our dorm!” Another added, equally unnerved.

“I’m not afraid of this pink fair prize,” Kamikaze snorted. “What do you say puppy?! You wanna dance with me?!” The girl sounded crazy and gleeful at the thought of fighting this extra large canine.

“Kami! It’s not worth it! She won’t tell now that we know she brought a dog on campus!” One of the girls whined. “Come on! We’ll watch one of those Saw films you like!”

“I’ve already watch them enough this week,” Kamikaze huffed.

“What about that Centipede movie?” Another offered.

“Oh god, I don’t wanna see that again… Creepy as hell…”

“SHHH!” The same girl as before hushed the other violently.

Kamikaze hermed and hummed for a moment, ignoring the snarling animal before her. “Oh alright, I guess… We watch the uncensored version though.”

“Ok! Let’s go!” The girl said, and Twilight could hear them walking away over Pinkie’s growling. Kamikaze however stayed behind a moment longer.

“See you around Twi-Twi. Maybe next time we can try and make a sequel video? I know your fans have been asking for one,” Kamikaze laughed cruelly before she followed after the others.

Twilight found it hard to stay standing. She slid to the ground, wheezing a bit and rubbing at her eyes. That was close… Kamikaze never tried to burn her before… Every moment with that girl took a year off her life. Twilight panted a bit before realizing she needed to use her inhaler again. She reached into her bag for it.

Then something wet poked her arm and Twilight jumped, her puffer flying off in another direction. “‘Orry!” Pinking said around something, dropping an object in her lap. “I’ll get it.” The wolf wandered off and Twilight plucked the offering from her lap, finding it to be her glasses, though a bit more slobber covered than before. She wiped them off, still huffing and puffing when Pinkie came back with her inhaler.

“T-thanks,” Twilight wheezed before she took a few hits. The wolf sat beside her quietly until she had finished and put it away. Twilight tried to avoid her gaze.

“Who was that?” Pinkie asked.

“Umm, Kamikaze.” Twilight mumbled. “She’s kinda… crazy…”

“Does that happen a lot?” Pinkie frowned.

Twilight looked away, face scrunching a bit before she huffed, getting to her feet.

“We should keep moving. We’re close to the cafeteria now…” Twilight said simply, leading the wolf down the walkway once more. She didn’t look back but she knew Pinkie took a minute to follow. The more subdued pair walked along the literature building to the small gap they needed to cross before the Cafeteria. They paused when the clock tower sang out a short tune, echoing a soft song out as the hour turned.

11 o'clock. Guess I’ve missed my test. Twilight sighed, checking the opening. Thankfully this area of the school was much quieter. She took Pinkie across to the smaller building, leading her around another corner. From here Twilight could see the dumpsters set up against the outer wall. Hopefully they would be tall enough…

There was a cluttering noise and Twilight looked over, almost groaning in aggravation. It was Lemon Zest, buying a drink from the vending machine. While the cafeteria did have an eating space behind it, near the dumpsters, not many people used it due to the smell. However the vending machines were set here for easier refilling...

Lemon Zest took a swig of her energy drink before looking over to Twilight, seemingly still jet lagged. She smiled tiredly and waved, but paused upon noticing Pinkie. Twilight heard Pinkie let out a soft growl, so the human girl shushed her before approaching her roommate.

“Sup Twilight. You kinda got a dog following you…” Lemon said, pointing down to Pinkie.

“Yeah, she followed me from home.. I’m pet sitting for somebody.” Twilight said back, just as exhausted. “I just want to get her over the wall and she’ll know the way home.”

“Oh cool. I was gonna say if you had her in the room this morning and I didn’t notice her, then I must be really sleep-deprived…” Lemon chuckled softly, reaching out to pet the wolf.

Pinkie seemed suspicious this time around, and after Kamikaze who could blame her… but allowed Lemon Zest to pet her a moment, then she returned to her usual happy self with just a few ruffles. Lemon smiled when Pinkie leaned into her touch. “Aww! What a nice lil’ pup! I wish I could pet sit a dog. Especially one as nice as you!”

Twilight was pretty sure that if you could see through Pinkie’s fur, she’d be blushing. “Yeah, she’s pretty amazing.” Twilight admitted, watching the wolf look to her happily. Twilight smiled back before blinking and turning to Lemon. “You want a pet dog?”

“I wish I could. Pet anything would be nice, but my dad says they just make a mess,” Lemon sighed. “My dad used to have tropical fish in the house, but after my parents split up he got rid of them. Said they reminded him of her…” Lemon shook her head to dispel some thoughts. “Anyway, what’s her name?”

“Pinkie,” Twilight said without really thinking.

Lemon leaned back a bit to study the ‘dog’ before her. “Not very imaginative, buuuuuuttt accurate,” She laughed, pausing when Pinkie raised a brow. “Wow, that's really human-like.”

“She’s ahhh… a very smart dog,” Twilight said, scratching the back of her neck nervously.

“Oh, well. I’m sorry Pinkie, you have a very nice name. Its very cute,” Lemon said with a nod to the dog below her. She smiled even larger when Pinkie went back to her dog like smile, tail wagging. “Aww! SO cute!” Lemon took another sip of her drink before she knelt down, scratching the sides of Pinkie’s neck, much to the wolf’s delight. “Aren’t chu! Yes you are!”

Pinkie panted happily and Twilight could help but smile, shaking her head.

“Ooh! You're so precious!” Lemon Zest said excitedly. “Who's a good girl? Who’s a good girl?!”

“ME! I AM!” Pinkie barked, getting up on all fours energetically.

The two humans froze. Twilight’s smile dropping in a matter of seconds. Pinkie seemed to realize her mistake after a few seconds, as she stopped panting to look between the human uncertainly. Twilight couldn’t see Lemon’s face, as the girl wasn’t facing her. Yet the green haired girl stood up, taking her drink with her. When she did turn to face Twilight, she hadn't lost the smile she had had on before. Lemon studied the can of energy drink, then promptly turned it over, spilling its contents out on the ground. She waited until it was empty before holding it in her hands. “Twilight,” Lemon said softly.

“Y-yes Lemon?” Twilight asked, nervous.

“I’m… gonna go see the nurse,” Lemon said, face finally melting into a look of confusion and slight concern. “I think I may be more tired than I thought.... I’m hearing shit, man…” She put a hand to her head.

“Oh, ok….” Twilight said, trying to not look guilty.

“See ya later tonight. Hopefully…” Lemon muttered before slipping into the cafeteria.

Twilight sighed a bit, figuring she make it up to Lemon later. She’d just have to think she’d gone sleep deprived crazy a bit longer…

“Was that a friend of yours?” Pinkie asked again.

“Uh, more acquaintance,” Twilight said with a huff.

“Seems like she wants to be friends to me,” Pinkie stated, cocking her head to one side.

Twilight blinked, turning to the wolf in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Well, she did start talking about how her parents split up and she seemed kinda sad about that. People don’t normally talk about that unless they're comfortable with the other person,” Pinkie said, shrugging the best she could in her form. “She seems like she’s trying to be open with you.”

“I never really thought about that,” Twilight frowned, looking back at the door Lemon had left out. In fact the more Twilight did think about it, the more she realized that Lemon did that a lot. This morning she had talked about how her father made her play violin, despite her hatred for it… Maybe Lemon really was trying to open up to her, and Twilight had been accidentally rebuking her offers. Maybe all those times Lemon had plopped her headphones on her head at full blast hadn’t been to bother her, but Lemon trying to share her love of music? Or maybe she was reading too much into this.

Twilight sighed, righting her glasses. At any rate she should do what they came here to do.

“We should get you back to your family,” Twilight said gesturing to the dumpster. The wolf ran over to them, sniffing around.

“Wow, you guys got pancakes? We never get pancakes at our school!” Pinkie spoke, still circling the dumpster. “I can still smell the syrup!”

“Yeah, they serve up breakfast, lunch and dinner here,” Twilight explained.

“Ooooh! Yesterday you had sloppy joes!”

“Pinkie maybe you should stop sniffing around down there…” Twilight said uneasily. “It's a little… unsanitary.” The wolf stopped a moment to look back at Twilight, unimpressed. Twilight could only chuckle back.

Then a howling filled the air. Pinkie’s ears perked and she looked around wildly before starting to howl herself. Twilight was startled by the action but ran over, trying to shake the pink wolf to her senses. “Pinkie stop! Someone will hear you!”

Pinkie did stop, looking to Twilight in confusion. “Well yeah! My family is looking for me, that's why they’re howling. When I howl back they can find me. It's like Marco Polo! Just with no pool!”

Twilight ran a hand down her face tiredly.

“PINKAMENA DIANE PIE!!” A voice roared from the other side of the wall. Pinkie jolted, running up onto the dumpster to look over the wall. Twilight, though a little frightened by the deep angry voice, followed her up and looked down the stone wall.

Whoa.

A huge brown wolf stood at the base of the wall, staring back sternly, ears pinned back. He seemed to be greying in places, and had a lot of tufts of fur around his muzzle, indicating some kind of beard. He was so large that, Twilight guestimate, if she was standing next to him he would be taller than her on all fours!

“What in the world do you think you're doing?!” He snapped, baring his fangs a bit.

“Visiting my friend Twilight!” Pinkie smiled back, pointing to the human beside her. “This is Twilight! Twilight, this is my Papa Pie!”

Pinkie’s father spared Twilight a glance, but he seemed more interested in his child at the moment. “PINKAMENA! You are not supposed to be in there!” He growled. “That is private property!”

“Well I didn’t know that!” Pinkie whined, looking a bit culpable right now. “How could I?!”

Twilight took a moment to look back down, finding the stone wall littered with quite a few warning signs about that very thing. She looked back at Pinkie with an unimpressed frown. Pinkie’s father seemed to share that feeling. “Down. Now.” He ordered bluntly.

“Awww…” Pinkie moaned, but hopped over the wall and to the ground below.

“Honestly, I would think you’d have learnt from your friends’ misadventures,” Pinkie’s father scolded, the pink wolf before him whining, tail between her legs.

“I’m sorry…” Pinkie frowned.

“Hey! Dad did you find her?” Someone barked from the wood foliage. A greyish purple wolf stepped out, frowning. “There you are!”

“Hey Limestone..” Pinkie sighed.

“Hey yourself! You just wandered off on your own in the middle of the hunt! We’re trying to cheer Marble up as a family!” Limestone snarled, ears pinned. “Or did you forget?”

“I didn’t forget! I just uh… got distracted.” Pinkie explained, looking sheepish. “I smelt my friend Twilight and I wasn’t expecting it…”

Limestone glowered up at the human for only a second before scoffing. “You went in there? Man are you gonna get it!” She smirked toward Pinkie. “You're gonna be grounded for like, ever.”

“Am not!” Pinkie frowned. “I didn’t mean to get stuck in there… Besides Twilight helped me out!”

“It wouldn’t have happened if you stuck with the pack like you're supposed to-”

“Girls,” Their father barked, silencing them. “Enough! Maud and Marble are back at the picnic with your mother. Head back and get some lunch, this will be discussed later.”

Limestone sent Pinkie one last scowl before darting back into the woodlands. Pinkie just shook her head before looking back up at Twilight. “Bye Twilight! See you later!”

“Bye Pinkie,” Twilight nodded, waving as the wolf followed after her sister.

“Thank you, young one, for your assistance with my pup,” Pinkie’s father said, looking sternly to where she had left. “She has a wandering mind and even worse paws. They have stirred up trouble many a time.”

“Oh uh, no problem…Happy to help,” Twilight smiled. “I mean, Pinkie’s so nice, why wouldn’t I?”

“Verily I agree, Pinkamena has her strong suits. However she is quite ‘wild’ when it comes down to it…” The father sighed, sounding exhausted. “Now though, you must excuse me. For I must return to my pack. I bid you farewell.”

“Uh, bye…” Twilight muttered as the last wolf wandered off into the forest. Twilight sunk a bit in relief, happy that there hadn’t been any incidences while Pinkie was galavanting around in here…

“Hey!” Twilight jumped a bit, turning to see a lunch lady holding a bag of garbage. “What are you doing here kid?! Don’t you have class?”

Twilight stared at her, a little lost on what she meant, until she gasped.

“My test!”

Twilight moaned a bit as she walked up the steps to her dorm room. Thanks to her excellent reputation of punctuality in the past, her english teacher had believed her when she said she had been held up, though he still had her come back and write lines at the end of the school day, he did allow her take her test.

She aced it, of course.

Going back to her room for a good night of homework and sleep sounded great right about now… However when she got to her level she spotted Moondancer sitting outside their room, having pulled one of the arm chairs out into the hall. She was scowling, reading a book quietly and drinking tea out of a mug, which it seemed like Lemon bought her as a replacement for her broken one, as it read ‘I’m addicted to pot.’ with a coffee pot where the o in pot was.

Twilight was betting Moondancer was sorry she only had the one mug before. As much as this mug wasn’t in her tastes the only other mugs in their dorm were also owned by Lemon, and they were even more ‘colourfully comical’ than this one…

“Moondancer, why are you out in the hall?” Twilight asked, concerned.

Moondancer sighed, jutting her thumb to the dorm room door. Twilight frowned, leaning in a bit to listen. She heard the tell-tale soft rock music floating around inside. “Oh no, what happened?” She moaned.

“Her dad called her, that's all I know.” Moondancer frowned, taking a sip of tea. “Lemon took the call in her room, I didn’t hear anything they said, then Jefferson Airplane’s hit song ‘White Rabbit’ turned on.” Moondancer scowled a bit. “I think she’s smoking but she has the decency to blow it out the window. I can’t stand that music so I came out here.”

“Why not go to the common room?” Twilight asked.

Moondancer scoffed, turning a page. “Its game night down there. You know how sad game night is.”

Yep, it was pretty sad. The people who did show up pretty much begged others to play with them. Every Monday night people avoided the common room like the plague…

“I’m gonna check on her,” Twilight said, opening the door and slipping inside.

“Whatever,” Moondancer said as the door shut.

The song was one Twilight had heard many times with Lemon Zest as a roommate. David Bowie’s ‘When The Wind Blows’. She stepped up to Lemon’s door, knocking lightly on the wood.

“S’open,” Lemon said from inside.

Twilight pushed open the door and the music from Lemon’s stereo got louder with the barrier gone. The pink girl was sitting on her dresser, leaning a bit out the window to blow some foul smelling smoke into the night. Twilight tried not to scrunch up her face at the smell as she entered.

“Lemon?” Twilight asked, walking in. Lemon looked to her, mildly surprised and tired.

“Oh, hey,” She responded before taking a drag off what appeared to be a hand rolled blunt.

“What are you doing?” Twilight asked, concerned.

“Blowing off steam,” Lemon responded, exhaling out the window again. Lemon paused before giggling a bit at the pun she had accidently made.

Twilight started to speak but stopped herself, figuring Lemon wouldn’t like being lectured and that it wouldn’t help… Instead she walked a bit closer. “Moondancer said you got a call from your dad. Did something happen?”

“No. No nothing. I’m just signed up for ANOTHER violin performance this weekend. You know, like every other weekend, no biggy,” Lemon grounded out, staring up at the starry sky. “Don’t matter I have a big test next Monday either. I can just study on the plane home again.” She sourly took another hit.

Oh.

Twilight couldn’t do much about Lemon’s father or her violin playing, but… “What's the test on?” Twilight asked.

“Science,” Lemon grumbled. “It's about electricity…”

“I can help you study for that, if you want.” Twilight said.

Lemon looked up again, surprised once more. “You will?” She asked.

“Yeah, I know a bit about electricity. I made a solar panel last year. I can help you get ready for your test,” Twilight said. “Though maybe we should wait till tomorrow. When you're more... focused?” Twilight winced slightly, pointing to the smoke in Lemon’s hand.

Lemon looked at it before blinking. “Ah yeah, that sounds like a good idea…” She smiled back up at Twilight. “Thanks.”

“No problem. So how's about you put that out and we can, uh, watch a movie?” Twilight said.

“Sup with you? You're not usually like this. I mean you're nice but you usually just stick to your own thing,” Lemon frowned.

“Let’s just say I’m trying to be more upbeat lately, be more sociable.”

“Ok.” Lemon smiled again. “What movie did you wanna watch-”

“Lemon Zest!” A voice shouted from outside. Lemon scrambled a bit, looking down at the courtyard. “That better not be what I think it is!!”

“Oh crap, it's prefect Fluer!” Lemon moaned.

“Lemon!”

“It's not! I swear!” Lemon shouted back, putting the blunt out in a dead potted plant on her windowsill. “I’m not doing anything!”

“Mmmhmm.” Fleur responded, sounding like she didn’t really believe her. “Well you better shut that window and get back to your homework!”

“Yes’um…” Lemon grunted, pulling the window shut and getting off her dresser. “Man, I need a pick me up.”

“Finding Nemo?” Twilight suggested.

“Finding Nemo. Look who’s speakin’ my language,” Lemon agreed. “I’ll get some popcorn and let Moony know she can come back in.” The green haired girl turned off her player and went out into the main space.

Twilight chuckled a bit before heading after her. In the end Moondancer had joined them for the movie and they all had a surprisingly good time. After it was over and they had all retired to their rooms for the night, Twilight was brushing up on her electrical science in preparation for tomorrow before checking her online messages.

It dinged that she had some mail. Upon opening the message Twilight found a very large file of poorly edited writing… It was a story about a walrus. A walrus named Koby? Who wanted to be a sumo-wrestler.. Ok?

Looking farther down Twilight found a message to her.

‘Look Twilight! I took your advice and wrote a book! It was soooo much fun! Let me know what you think!

P.S. Thanks for helping me escape your school before possibly starting the downfall of society!

From
Pinkie.’

Twilight chuckled a bit before looking back over the story.

This friendship was going to be interesting.

Author's Notes:

Better late than never! This story is starting to get interesting, maybe more on my side than yours... You see I've been using some elements from other story ideas I've had for MLP fan fictions, but never wrote cause I'm a lazy curmudgeon. Its fun to think about how I can work things in and where some inspiration came from. If you guys are interested maybe I'll do an inspiration blog.

Featured in today's fanfiction is a song that I enjoy listening to "When The wind Blows" by David Bowie. (I thought about giving him a pony name, but its not really Equestria anymore, so nah!) I'll put a Link in my Blog!

HOWEVER before you ask, yes there is a animated movie its from. I should warn you though that 'When The Wind Blows' (The movie and song share the title) is in the same realm as 'Grave of the Fireflies' in that oh my god this is sad way. Tread lightly.

Please enjoy and thanks again to my betas/ editors Blazeblast4 and Ladrian!

Monster's Best Friend

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“This is the stupidest thing EVER!”

Twilight winced a bit as the class of students around her talked and gossiped. The teacher had stepped out for a moment after the morning announcements, leaving behind a worksheet for them that no one else seemed to be bothering with. Twilight turned in her seat to look back at Indigo Zap, the girl crunching up her worksheet angrily.

“It’s volunteer hours Indigo,” Sugarcoat said from the seat next to the sporty girl. “You knew we needed to do so many a semester to graduate. You did the necessary hours last semester and the one before that. What made you think this semester would be any different?”

“Why do we have to volunteer so much?! This is gonna cut into my sports!” Indigo grumbled, holding her head in her hands angrily. “Why do we have to do this to graduate?! Isn’t this a form of punishment for criminals?! Is this a prison now?!”

“Of course not,” Sugarcoat said simply. “If it were we’d be better funded by the state instead of mainly being funded by our collective tuitions.”

True to form it was getting close to the due date for their yearly volunteer hour quotas. Unlike many school, Crystal Prep demanded fifteen hours a year, rather than the usual forty by graduation. The extra hours made the students look good on college admissions, and demanding the yearly hours kept students on track, even if some of them didn’t like it.

There was a week left before the hours were due. Thankfully Twilight had most of them done. (Thank you sorting canned goods for the food bank!) However, Twilight still had five hours to do this year, and she had forgotten all about it until now.

Spike had chewed up her day planner…

Darn him and his cute little face! He managed to go unpunished every time he ripped something up. Next time she scolded him, she’d need to wear a blindfold.

Well, there was nothing she could do about the hours right now. Maybe after school she could concoct a plan to finish them off. Turning back in her seat Twilight decided to try and focus on her worksheet for the moment.

“Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!”

Twilight scowled, attempting to tune Indigo out. Sadly it wasn’t working. It never did with Indigo.

“How am I supposed to get anything done if I’m volunteering!” Indigo moaned, putting her head down on her desk. “I’m the captain of the soccer team for god sake! We have a game this weekend, I can’t waste time with this!”

“You had a YEAR Indigo,” Sugarcoat said. “What did you do last year?”

“Helped my mom with a mail charity she works for, I licked stamps for a week. Ech!” Indigo said. “Can’t this year though, she had to stop volunteering when she broke her arm from our family ski trip.”

“Well I’m sure something will come up. After all, if it doesn't you're screwed,” Sugarcoat shrugged.

“Thank you, Sugarcoat,” Indigo muttered into her desk.

“No problem.”

After class, Twilight sat back in her dorm. Lemon sat beside her, chewing on her pencil nervously.

“So what's the difference between conductors and insulators on an atomic level?” Twilight asked, watching Lemon fidget beside her. Lemon’s eyes darted around, squinting as she tried to remember. She began to bite her nails as more time passed, leg bouncing a bit.

Twilight tried to hide sigh, she had never tried to tutor anyone before. This was a new experience for the both of them and sadly Lemon had a lot more trouble retaining information than Twilight did. She was slightly worried she may have overloaded the musically gifted girl, as Twilight basically went over about four chapters before she noted Lemon’s perplexed look.

“Ummm…” Lemon started, frowning a bit. “Conductors have weak nuclei bonds? Insulators got strong ones?” Lemon looked back with a wince, uncertain of her answer.

“Yes!” Twilight said excitedly. “That’s right!”

“Oh sweet!” Lemon smiled. “At least I got one right!”

Twilight forced a smile, yes she had gotten one question right, out of the twelve she had asked her… However progress was progress. They still had a few days before Lemon had to leave on her recital and it was a step in the right direction.

“Well, hows about you name some conductors and insulators?” Twilight asked, leaning in a bit.

“Uh, metals like gold and copper are conductors… And plastic is an insulator.” Lemon said confidently. “That's just common sense though.”

“To some,” Twilight chuckled. “Not everyone.” She stretched a bit, rolling her shoulders. “Now what is Ohm’s law?”

“Ooooo….” Lemon frowned again. “Ohm’s law is… Watts equal Volts times Amps?”

Twilight’s shoulders slumped, a bit disappointed but not upset. “No that’s the Power formula. Remember? The Power formula spells Pie?” Twilight pointed to one of their papers. “P= Power or watts. I = Intensity of Current or amps and E = Electro-motive Force or volts.”

“Shouldn’t it be WAV?” Lemon asked, confused.

“If that helps you remember better then sure,” Twilight shrugged. “Just remember PIE in case it shows up as a question.”

Lemon groaned a bit, putting her head into her knees where she sat. “Ahhh, I’m never gonna get this.”

“Of course you will. The rest of your classmates can do it. So can you!” Twilight insisted. “It’s very basic Electricity.”

“Great, I can’t even understand the basics…” Lemon sighed, looking back at her.

“You got some of it,” Twilight said quickly. “You know the difference between Volts and Amps and Ohms.”

“I guess so,” Lemon said, looking uncertain again. “Why do we need to learn this?”

“It’s important. A lot of humans go into electrical or magical workplaces,” Twilight explained.

“Magical? What do magic and electricity have in common?” Lemon frowned.

“They work slightly similarly. Power transportation, conduction, and stuff like that. If you understand electricity then it can help you understand magic,” Twilight explained.

“So why do humans go into the magic field so much if we don’t have any?” Lemon asked.

“Well you know the two types of magical energy right?” Twilight said.

“Yeah, basic first grade stuff. There's dark magic and light magic,” Lemon sighed.

“Well, magic comes from a being’s soul. The type of magic depends on race. Some, like vampires, make dark and some, like fairies, make light. Almost all beings have a magic producing soul, even if it only helps with small things. For example, helping creatures fly when they should be scientifically too heavy, or for natural transformation,” Twilight explained, slipping back into a lecture mode. “Humans are one of the few beings to have a neutral soul. While we produce no magic of our own, we can manipulate both dark and light magic without hurting ourselves. If a vampire tried to touch something laced with light magic, like holy water, then they would get hurt. Same vice versa. This is handy for humans as we can work with either magic in the field or in study, such as the magic power plant on the outer city limits.”

“So wait… they can turn magic into electricity? Hows that work?” Lemon frowned.

“Beings with souls that make magic radiate it, especially if they are powerful enough. It can be collected and turned into pure magical energy, which is very dangerous in that state, and can be used to make electricity. Similar to a nuclear plant, the magic burns enough energy to boil water and make steam, turning a turbine and making electricity,” Twilight explained. “By combining a small amount of both magics in a controlled area under water basin, it causes a release of energy that heats the water to a boil, but if a large amount of pure dark or pure light magic ever made contact with each other, the results would be catastrophic.”

“So it explodes? That boils the… then it just… magic...electricity…” Lemon blinked before she screwed her face up, confused. She thought for a moment before she groaned and stood up. “Look, thanks for your help tonight Twilight but my dad wants me to practice violin for this weekend to. Is it okay if we call it a night?”

“Sure. We can pick up again tomorrow,” Twilight agreed, watching the girl start to walk back to her room dejectedly.

“Thanks Twi, I owe you,” Lemon said before shutting the door. A few minutes later a very complicated violin song started up, muffled by the walls. From what Twilight could hear it sounded lovely, though it was a bit soured by how much she knew Lemon hated playing. Leaning back and listening to the music Twilight sighed, pulling her laptop from the side table and putting it on her lap. She signed into the chat her friends were having.

‘Twilight!’ Sunset typed, noticing her addition first. ‘Hey!’

‘Hey guys. Whats going on?’ Twilight asked, not being able to see the past conversation.

‘Not much.’ Rainbow responded. ‘Pinkie was grounded off the internet so she won’t be on for a while.’

‘Oh yes, her parents are being rather strict about it. Maud picks her up after school to take her home to work. Seems she got herself into a lot of trouble.’ Rarity typed, her font was some fancy looking cursive.

‘I haven’t seen hide nor hair of her.’ Applejack added. ‘So we haven’t even got to ask what happened.’

Twilight blinked. ‘I think I know. She was on a family outing in the woodlands around my school and decided to stop in and see me.’

‘So she just walked into a human private school...’ Rainbow said. ‘Where no monster could go without starting a mass panic?

‘What have I started?’ Sunset typed next.

‘Well that mystery is solved.’ Rarity added. ‘Goodness knows what my parents would do if I trespassed into human territory without permission. It would put my family into a tight corner, that's for sure.’

‘Well other than that, what's new with you Twi?’ Sunset asked.

‘Nothing much.’ Twilight leaned back in her seat quietly. ‘Tutoring a classmate after school for the week. I’m not sure if I’m making a connection with her and the subject though… I may have overloaded her.’

‘You ever try visual aide?’ Applejack chimed in. ‘That's what we do when we’re studying. Really helps Rainbow.’

‘I don’t need that much help.’ Rainbow responded only two seconds after the farmer.

‘Who founded Canterlot city?’ Applejack wrote back.

‘How should I know?’

‘We’ve been learning it all week.’ Applejack typed. ‘It was on today’s test.’

‘WE hAD A tEST?!?!’

Oh boy… Twilight winced a little and shook her head as all the other girls in the chat started to chime in at once in response to the athlete.

‘Imdeadimdeadimdead!’ Rainbow typed desperately.

‘Now see what happens when you nap in class?’ Applejack wrote.

‘My species is nocturnal! Its not my fault!’ Rainbow wrote back.

‘I don’t think that will work twice Rainbow.’ Sunset entered.

‘Anywho…’ Rarity typed. ‘Moving along from Rainbow’s spiraling academic life, I would also back the visual learning method darling…’

‘I can try it. Nothing to lose.’ Twilight agreed, already working out some diagrams in her head. ‘Now I just need to remember to complete my community service hours.’

‘Aren’t those due at the end of high school?’ Rarity asked

‘My school likes its students to do a certain number a year. I need five hours before the end of next week.’ Twilight began to think about how she could fill the hours.

‘My family heads down the orphanarium every week to do stuff.’ Sunset responded. ‘My mom loves kids and we read to them and stuff. Sometimes we take a week or two off, but it’s mostly because someone new there gets worried we’re going to steal one of the kids off to drain them of blood. Its stupid, but I guess I can see why that would be a concern… with them being orphan children and us being vampires and junk. Can’t be too careful.’

‘I help out at the flight camp sometimes.’ Rainbow added, seeming calmer. ‘Reminds me of when I learned to fly, its great!’

‘Yes, I collect clothes for the homeless or downtrodden. I also make suits and donate them to the shelters for people to wear at job interviews.’ Rarity typed. ‘ I do blankets as well. I’d offer you to join me Twilight, but I’m afraid that I just recently dropped off a bunch of things and they like me to space it out, for organization and distribution. Not to mention I can drop off a bigger load when I wait longer.’

‘I’d offer to, but flight camp is in the summer.’ Rainbow wrote. ‘Plus you can’t fly. That’s a deal breaker…’

‘The orphanarium actually has less kids than usual, so they don’t need anymore help right now.’ Sunset typed. ‘But I’m sure something will come up.’

‘Hopefully.’ Twilight responded, adjusting herself on her seat. She wasn’t sure what she’d do, but if she didn’t make it in time they may push back her due date, if only as a last resort. Twilight let her eyes drift down lower on the page.

Fluttershy is typing.

Fluttershy? She was on this chat group? She hadn’t written anything since Twilight had come in. Twilight watched as Fluttershy is typing disappeared without adding anything. Then started again. Then it was gone again. Starte-gone… St- Gone.

Twilight wasn’t the only one who notice. ‘Fluttershy? What are you doing? Post whatever you wanna say.’ Rainbow typed. There was a solid thirty seconds of written silence in the chat before Fluttershy started to type again.

‘Sorry.’

Ok.

“Fluttershy come on!’ Rainbow entered, seeming eritated.

‘We won’t bite darling. Do you have an idea for Twilight?’ Rarity added a bit more kindly.

Fluttershy is ty-

Fluttershy i-

Flu-

‘Fluttershy it isn’t going to be a bad idea.’ Sunset wrote.

‘Cue Pinkie to write something odd and hilarious here.’ Rainbow typed. ‘If she wasn’t grounded.’

‘Well…’ Fluttershy finally put something up and it seemed like she had the steam to keep going. ‘I was going to suggest that-’

She stopped, seemed to collect herself, then kept going.

‘-That maybe she could join me at the animal shelter?’ Fluttershy wrote. ‘The East Canterlot Shelter is always looking for volunteers.’

Animal shelter. Well she did like animals and if she could do five hours this weekend then it could work. However in the few seconds Twilight had taken to think it over was long enough for Fluttershy to start back-peddling rapidly.

‘You don’t have to. I just thought it was a good ideabutifyoudon’twanttothenthat’soktoo.’

Twilight tried to jump in before she could post more. “No, that seems like a good idea. What time should I show up?”
Fluttershy is-

Flutters-

“She goes there at nine on Saturdays. Be there then.” Rainbow sent up simply. “She can work there all day on Saturdays almost, and with most of us grounded something tells me she will.”

Twilight waited to see if the fairy would disagree with her friend but she said nothing. Twilight frowned. “Is that ok with you Fluttershy?”

“Yes, it’s fine. That day is good… Sorry..”

“If you're sure. I mean, if you don’t need the help on Saturday I can do it later on.” Twilight typed.

“Oh no! The shelter is always looking for helpers. They’d be glad to have you Twilight. I’ll pick you up at nine o’clock.” Fluttershy replied.

“Alright, I’ll be out in front of Everfree Estates at nine.” Twilight smiled as she leaned back in her seat. Glad to have squared that away.

“Wear something fire retardant.” Fluttershy added.

Fire retardant?!

Tutoring with Lemon carried on for the rest of the week. She got better… at least better than she had been. Twilight wasn’t sure if she had a future in electrical work, but she knew the basics, so it was a start. When Friday came Twilight bid her student goodbye for the weekend, hoping the girl would find time to study.

On Saturday morning she got up, showered, and headed off after informing her parents she was doing some community service. After a quick walk to the gates she stepped out to find Fluttershy waiting in her car, a soft yellow punch buggy, parked at the side of the road. The fairy caught sight of her, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. When Twilight opened the car door the quiet girl seemed to come out of her stupor and smile softly.

“Hi Fluttershy,” Twilight smiled and put on her seatbelt.

“H-hello,” Fluttershy responded, the car starting under her hands.

“Thanks for helping me get my final volunteer hours, Fluttershy,” Twilight said. “I really appreciate it.”

“Well the shelter appreciates you helping out. Not many come down to volunteer anymore… It's on the edge of town and a bit of a walk,” Fluttershy admitted. “That’s why I saved up for this.” She shyly patted the steering wheel.

“Oh, can’t you fly with your wings? That would seem faster than walking… right?” Twilight asked, pointing to the glittering wings poking out of Flittershy’s back. The human girl blinked in confusion when she noted that they were phasing right through the seat behind her.

“Well, flying is actually a little more strenuous than walking. It's like a jog. I know it must seem silly to creatures without wings, but when you’ve had them since birth, flying is just exercise after a while,” Fluttershy explained softly. “Rainbow flies everywhere but she like to keep fit. Plus, hers are made for longer trips, mine are more for hovering and expelling excess energy.” Fluttershy kept her eyes on the road but lifted a hand to wave it through the top of one wing, it phased through like nothing was there. “It’s not really wings anyway but magic being naturally released out of my back. We fairies make a lot of it. It just looks… like...wing…” Fluttershy clammed up, blushing suddenly. “Oh my… sorry I started to ramble…”

“No, no! It’s interesting,” Twilight said quickly. “I don’t know much about monsters or how they live. I’m very interested in what you have to say.”

Fluttershy blinked her eyes before blushing softly. “Well ahm… There's not too much else to know about fairy folk… I already told you we have many cousins. It’s an umbrella term used to describe human-like creatures who possess light magic. That's why witches aren’t considered fairy folk, they’re dark magic. Plus they look just like regular humans, fairy folk usually have something different like wings or being far smaller.”

“What about fairy circles?” Twilight asked, excited to have the opportunity to ask questions.

Fluttershy made a small snorted laughed, “Oh that’s fungi growing underground, that sprout a tangle of tube like threads which spread out horizontally in all directions making a circle around the main spore. Nothing to do with fairies. “ She hummed as she pulled into a parking lot beside a large building. The sign near the building read ‘Canterlot Animal Recovery East’. “I suppose Fairy circle is just a cute name,” She stated as she put the car in a spot to park.

“Oh,” Twilight said, a little embarrassed.

“N-not that it's not a good questions! I was just as confused when I first heard about them!” Fluttershy said nervously. “I asked my grandma about them when I was younger, she knows all about plants and stuff, she’s who told me about what they really were.”

“I’ll have to meet her some time, she sounds nice,” Twilight smiled.

Fluttershy paused getting out of the car to make a small scowl for a moment.

“Uh, Fluttershy?” Twilight started.

However Fluttershy returned to her normal self and looked at Twilight in surprise before coughing into her hand. “Oh sorry! Just thinking!” She stood out of the car and Twilight saw her looking grumpy again. “Yes... she’ll love you…”

Before Twilight could question it Fluttershy smiled down at her once more and motioned to follow her into the building. They came to the front and slipped into a small waiting area. It had adoption instructions on the walls with pricing and a large wall of pamphlets. In the corner was a counter, manned by a secretary with her back to them as she looked through a filing cabinet. Fluttershy floated up to the counter with a smile.

“Morning Ofelia!” Fluttershy said softly.

“Oh Fluttershy!” She turned and had thick bangs covering the upper part of her face. “So good to see you back!”

“Yes, and I brought my friend Twilight to volunteer today!” The fairy said, looking to Twilight for a moment. “We just need our volunteer tags and I can help her get started!”

“Hold on, let me take a look at you,” Ofelia said, putting down her papers and lifting up her free hands.

Eyes. She had eyes. In the palm of her hands.

Twilight was frozen but the woman smiled back at her. “Oh so nice to meet you! We’re always happy to have more hands around here.”

“Uh, yes. T-thank you!” Twilight said.

“Oh I forgot! Twilight’s from Everfree Estates! She’s never met a Tenome before.” Fluttershy said.

“Ah,” Ofelia said, still smiling at them. “Well I’m sure I look a little odd.”

“No! I mean, not at all,” Twilight insisted, wincing at her slightly insulting behaviour.

“Don’t worry. The eyes on the hand thing is something a lot of people, human or monster, take a little time to get used to. There’s not alot of Yokai around here,” Ofelia said easily. “Most of us are in the far East, where my grandparents came from.”

“Well, I’m very happy to meet you-” Twilight started too reach out a hand before she could think about it. She stood frozen, her hand stuck out to receive a handshake as Ofelia looked down at it.

Oh god.

Yet the yokai smiled again and took the hand to shake it. Twilight couldn’t really feel the eye so it was most likely closed, still she tried not to squeeze too hard in the handshake.

“Well, let me give you two your volunteer tags!” Ofelia smiled and pulled some from under the counter. “Here we go! Just write your names with the dry erase marker and go through that door, not that I need to tell you, eh Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy chuckled as she plucked a marker from a cup on the counter, writing her name on her tag. Twilight followed her lead and did the same on her own. After returning the markers and clipping the tags on they both went for the door, Ofelia waving them off.

“Have a good day!” She shouted just before the door shut.

“She’s very nice,” Twilight said, still feeling a little embarrassed by her sloppy interactions.

“She’s been volunteering here and manning the front desk for almost fifteen years. She loves animals!” Fluttershy explained.

“Then why is she always behind the desk? Is it hard with her eyes?” Twilight asked.

“Oh no! Her eyes are quite durable. It’s because she’s allergic to most pets with fur,” Fluttershy shivered. “Oh, I’d hate to have that.”

As they walked farther down the hall Twilight could make out the muffled sounds of animals barking and whining. Looking around she noted that many of the doors to the pens were larger than usual.

“We’re starting off here,” Fluttershy stated, opening an average sized-door. It lead to a kennel and Twilight could already make out a few dogs scattered around inside the closest ones. “Hello everyone! We’re here to clean up and fill your bowls.” Fluttershy smiled at the cacophony of noises the animals greeted them with and opened a cupboard filled with cleaning equipment. “We just sweep and mop. Then we collect the bowls to clean them and then fill them back up. You wanna start with Lucky over there and do that side of the room?”

Twilight looked over at the scruffy green Terrier who was pressed against the chainlink, nub-like tail wagging. “Sure!” She took the offered supplies over and went into the cage managing to keep the little dog inside as he started to jump around her excitedly. “Hello there little guy!”

The dog barked back at her, sniffing at her shoes. Twilight easily cleaned the space, even if Lucky insisted on being underfoot the whole time. She made sure to get under the pet bed and took the bowls with her after she left. Looking over her shoulder she noted that Fluttershy was closing the door on her second cage.

Well she was much more acquainted with this work than Twilight was. She moved to the next cage, taking the supplies with her and opening the door-

“Hiissss!”

“Gah!” Twilight leaped back as the giant rat like animal that stood waiting for her at the door made a noise. It was big, bigger than Lucky, and covered in wiry brown fur with a thick hairless tail. The animal slipped out of its pen and started to sniff around. “Uh oh!”

“It’s alright Twilight,” Fluttershy said, joining her, “Buttercup is a sweet lil’ girl. She won’t bite.”

“Ok, but what is she?” Twilight asked, trying to persuade the animal back into her cage with the mop. Buttercup merely started to nibble on the wood like it was a treat.

“She’s a R.O.U.S.” Fluttershy explained.

“A Rous?” Twilight looked up, confused.

“No no. R.O.U.S. Rodent of Unusual Size. They’re a relative of the Capybara, but they come in a more complex array of looks. Buttercup here looks more rat like, while some are a mix of a few different rodents. We had one that looked a mix of a squirrel and a mole a few weeks ago. He got adopted though.”

That surprised Twilight. She knew of a few animal species humans didn’t interact with, but none like this. Things like unicorns or Foo Dogs weren’t kept by humans for a variety of reasons. Their size, their dangerous abilities or even a general monster like looks tended to make humans wary of certain pets. Others were not kept by humans historically because they were only kept by monster owners; they were too expensive or too regal back in the day to be a human’s pet. Now humans could own whatever pet they wished, but in Everfree Estates they had strict guidelines for everything. Many humans saw unusual animals as dangerous, even if they were harmless, so they had a firm cats and dogs only rule.

“It’s actually quite interesting!” Fluttershy smiled and pet Buttercup on the back. “They were only discovered one hundred years ago. Many didn’t think they existed, that they were just Capybara seen from far away. They hail from a very dangerous swampland so not many would venture out so close.”

“Really-” Twilight jumped when something snapped, she looked down to find that Buttercup had just finished gnawing through the mop’s neck. Wood splinters were all over the floor.

“Oh dear, we’d better get another mop!” Fluttershy stated and glided back to the cupboard gracefully. “Just give the rest of the mop handle to her, she uses wood to keep her teeth short.”

Twilight eyed the rat uncertainty, it was large enough that she could probably sit on its back and ride it around, if it were strong enough. However she could see the big brown eyes looking from her to the stick excitedly. She tossed it into the cage and Buttercup scrambled after it.

“I’ll clean Buttercup’s cage Twilight. She’s acting a little moody today,” Fluttershy said as she returned, mop in hand. “She’s never done this with cleaning supplies before.”

“If you're sure?” Twilight asked before the fairy nodded and ushered her to the next cage. Inside this one was another dog, a lab mix. It was a good thirty minutes of cleaning and while the kennels mostly held dogs in this room, there were a few odd animals that made it more interesting. There was a Foo Dog in here, a large lion like animal with a wide jaw of hooked teeth and huge clawed paws, laying on his large bed as Twilight cleaned, watching her with dull disinterest. Then there was a Chamrosh, which Twilight had to read the papers on the cage to find out. It was an animal with a dog’s body but the head and wings of a bird, as though a nightingale and a Saluki dog had a baby together. It had hopped around the cage as she cleaned, at one point flying off the upper walls in excitement and singing wildly.

In the final cage was a Qilin, a strange looking green serpent like animal with a thick mane of red hair. It had a luxurious looking tail and the head of a dragon with a red beard and long thick whiskers. On its head was a single deerlike antler. It came up to her hip and looked sturdy and inflexible. He proved this by waddling around the cage slowly. She checked the paper on his cage. “Ok Baobei, lets get this cage cleaned up for you,” she said, starting to sweep it out. Baobei watched her do so, moving around the pen out of her way and sniffing her intently. The pet was seemingly litter trained as it was a quick clean and she soon found herself mopping up.

“Hello.”

Twilight paused, looking out in the hall. Only Fluttershy was out there, putting the cleaning supplies away in a closet. The voice that spoke, however, definitely wasn’t hers.

“H-Hello.” The voice came again and Twilight found herself looking down at her side. Baobei was looking up at her. He cocked his head before his mouth moved. “Hello.”

“Oh my god!” Twilight gasped, eyes wide. She stepped back a little as the creature looked up at her quizzically.

“Everything ok Twilight?” Fluttershy asked as she came over to take the bowls from the cage to wash them.

“It- He!- This is talking!” Twilight pointed down at the animal frantically. She couldn’t help but wonder if this was how Lemon Zest had felt a week ago.

“Oh yes, Qilin do that,” Fluttershy said fondly.

“Is it- Is it intelligent?” Twilight asked, shocked and wondering how a creature like that could be kept as a pet.

“Well all animals are in different ways, but Qilins aren’t as smart as people,” Fluttershy explained, she scratched Baobei behind the ear, the creature churring cutely under her hand. “They can only understand simple commands and repeat words back. They’re like parrots, but to be fair, parrots have a better understanding of what the words mean… Qilin just echo.”

“Shit,” Baobei said in his high pitched voice. “Shit Hello!”

Twilight tried to not show she was laughing. Fluttershy just looked unimpressed. “Oh I don’t understand why some people would teach such a sweet thing dirty words. It’s making it very hard to adopt him out.”

“Well I’m sure he’ll get adopted one day. He’s very interesting to look at,” Twilight said, patting the creature on the back. It turned to her and snuffled around her hand with its snout.

“He is very handsome,” Fluttershy smiled and stroked his mane.

“Hello!” Baobei barked between the petting.

They finished cleaning the bowls and refilled them for the animals after that. Leaving the room to the sounds of happy chewing the two went down the hall through a hallway with large windows.

“I never knew how many different types of pets there were,” Twilight smiled. “Everfree tends to have a short list of animals we can keep. So I didn’t know what kinds were kept other than cats and dogs.”

“Well it also depends on the owner and where they live too,” Fluttershy said. “Like those who often have fire around their homes, like fire nymphs and magma people, tend to have fire breathing pets. They already live in a neighbourhood that's pretty well fireproof and they like the warmth.” She pointed out towards a building through the window, surrounded by fencing. “That’s where we keep the larger, hoofed animals. We have some Unicorns and a Hippogriff out there right now. They’re tended to by special handlers. They need lots of space to graze and run, so city living isn’t good for them.”

“Like horses,” Twilight said. “That makes sense.”

“There are some Hellhounds and Orthros in that room. That’s the cat room there. Then that's the puppy/baby room, it's so cute! We have some Orthros puppies in there and they’re still trying to work out control between their heads,” Fluttershy explained as she floated on. “I would have given you the tour first, but that room back there is specifically mine to take care of in the morning and afternoons, so I needed to give them breakfast first.”

“I understand, Spike can be pretty grumpy if I don’t feed him first thing in the morning,” Twilight started with a laugh.

“Oh, that’s right! Your lil puppy!” Fluttershy looked excited. “Do you have any pictures?”

Twilight pulled out her phone. “Only every second picture on this thing is of him,” She said and started to flip through a few, the fairy leaning over her shoulder to look. “Here he is begging for table scraps and this one he was just caught chewing on my mom’s slippers.”

“Aww, so rascally!” Fluttershy giggled.

“Yep, he’s my little troublemaker,” Twilight agreed as she showed the next picture of Spike, running after a squirrel at the park. “Oh, I have a really old one in here I’ve kept.” She took a minute to flip to some of the earliest pictures on her phone. “Here it is! This is when we first brought him home!” The picture was one of her holding a young puppy Spike back when she was ten, when he was so small he could fit in her hands.

“Aww!” Fluttershy cooed at the picture but to Twilight it brought back memories. Spike was brought home shortly after her brother left. She didn’t have any friends back then other than her family and when he left she had become a little downtrodden… Still, Spike had helped fill the hole in their life, even if it was just a little.

“So do you have any pet Fluttershy?” Twilight asked, putting her phone away.

“Oh yes!” Fluttershy said excitedly, looking for her own phone now. “I foster so many for the shelter, but I have one all for myself. My cute lil bunny, Angel.” Twilight looked down at the picture, trying to hold her smile. In the picture was Fluttershy, smiling and happy, but in her arms was a rabbit that looked grumpy. It had its arms crossed, a very dark scowl painted on its face. Twilight swallowed, what kind of rabbit looked like that?! She looked back to Fluttershy, realizing the girl expected a response.

“He’s so cute,” Twilight said, and it was somewhat true, the tiny grump was cute in his own way. She just hoped her voice could play along.

It seemed to as Fluttershy smiled. “Thank you! He’s a big part of my life at home. My parents are often working right now and my brother’s a little…” She paused, looking thoughtful before she sighed. “Annoying.”

“You have an older brother too?” Twilight asked.

“Younger actually,” Fluttershy moaned. “I have no idea what runs through his head, other than that he think he’s a ladies man. It's actually the opposite.” She and Twilight shared a giggle.

“That bad huh?”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Fluttershy shook her head. “ Zephyr Breeze is a story all his own…” She leaned against the window. “You have a brother?”

“Yeah… I haven’t seen him for a while though,” Twilight frowned.

“Oh no, why is that?” Fluttershy asked, looking concerned.

Twilight paused, biting her lip to think. “He… my parents and Grandma had a disagreement with him.”

“That’s horrible,” Fluttershy said in a comforting tone. “I’m sure you’ll meet again someday though.”

“I hope so. He and I were close,” Twilight admitted glumly. He was pretty much her only friend before Spike had come along.

She looked to Fluttershy quietly, studying the girl. She didn’t know anything about the fairy beside her other than she liked animals, but here she was, having an open conversation… There was something about Fluttershy that conveyed that she could be trusted. Maybe it was her kind, calm demeanor. Maybe it was their similar social struggles…

Her sight drifted past Fluttershy’s form, out the window. She noted a far off building on the premises that piqued her interest. It was dark and windowless, surrounded by barbed wire fencing. “Fluttershy, what's that?”

The fairy looked out where she was pointing. “That's the Contraband building,” She said, looking back at her friend. “Illegal animals that are seized for a multitude of reasons go there before being shipped away. They’re not supposed to be pets in this country, they’re dangerous, that kinda stuff.” She sighed sadly. “Not their fault though, the poor little things.”

“What kinds of animals are in there?” Twilight asked.

“Right now? I’m not sure, I’m not allowed in there. I have heard of some Nifflers coming through. They’re small little mole creatures that like shiny things. However, due to that quality, criminals have trained they to steel gold and jewels,” Fluttershy frowned. “Then, last year, someone was transporting baby Sandworms illegally over the borders. They grow very large and can eat people, so they’re a no no.” She paused, tapping her chin. “Then, when I first started, there was that story about an old blind Nagini who bought a pet from the back of a van, turns out it was a Basilisk. They only found out when she hired a Home Care Helper, killed the poor man with one look.”

“Oh my god,” Twilight gasped, shocked.

“Well that's why we have rules like this,” Fluttershy shrugged sadly. “Some animals are just too dangerous.” She looked up at a clock on the wall, jolting when she noted how long they had been talking. “Goodness! We need to get to the inferno room! Time to clean up more cages.”

“Inferno room?” Twilight asked as they walked to a red door. It had a glass window in it and a fire hazard warning sign next to it.

“Fire breathing animals. We got some dragons and phenoxies.” Fluttershy explained, she paused to look Twilight up and down. “Oh, I forgot to check. Are your clothes fireproof?”

“I tried to find some,” Twilight said sheepishly. She had found some clothes in her wardrobe that were fire-ish proof. Other than that…

“Well it helps, but we have some extra talismans here,” Fluttershy said, taking a necklace off the hanger by the door. She slipped one over her head and gave one to Twilight. “They’re hexed so fire has a harder time staying lit. It isn’t always enough, but it’s better than nothing.” She smiled as Twilight put the object over her head. It was a chain linked necklace with some kind of gemstone on the end, strange symbols etched in the surface.

Fluttershy pushed the door open with a great amount of effort. The moment the seal cracked a sweltering heat rushed out, making Twilight almost stumble back. Fluttershy ushered her in and the human looked around as Fluttershy closed the door once more.

It was very, very, very, very, very ,ver- erhm. Very warm. Not to mention humid. Twilight tried to keep her breath and watched as Fluttershy opened a nearby cage. She reached in and pulled out a very large green lizard looking beast, with bug eyes and horns. A row of spikes going down its back. “This little guy came in a few days ago. He’s very well fed and loves being held, so it’s safe to say he has an owner. Likely just got out of his yard somehow.”

Twilight came closer, eyes wide. “I thought dragons were sapient,” Twilight said, puffing a little.

“Well some are, others are like our friend here. It’s like humans and monkeys or werewolves and dogs,” Fluttershy explained. The dragon in her arms shot its tongue out, licking its own eye. “This kind of dragon is called a Terror, though that name doesn't suit them. You want to hold him?”

“Well uh…” Twilight started uncertainty, looking down at it. The large reptile stared back at her with an uneven gaze. Swallowing slightly the human reached out her arms and allowed Fluttershy to transfer it to her hold.

He was heavier than she expected. He croaked and held onto her with his claws a little, shuffling in her arms until he was comfortable. He felt very warm and the weight of him in her arms was nice.

“He doesn't wriggle like Spike does,” Twilight said, smiling up at the fairy before her.

“Terrors are a very energetic dragon compared to their larger cousins. They have to be handled a lot as hatchlings to be this content in someone’s arms,” Fluttershy explained. “Besides, I think he likes you.”

Twilight looked down to see the Terror had nuzzled his big head into the crook of her arm and shut his eyes. She smiled at the sighed. “Awww.”

Then the dragon jerked his head up and sneezed.

Fire flew down her side in a frenzy of embers and Twilight yelped. She handed the dragon over to Fluttershy at lighting speed before attempting to bat out the tiny flames holding to her clothes.

“Oh are you alright?!” Fluttershy asked, worried.

"F-fine, just—" huff "—just startled—" huff "—just startled m-me," Twilight coughed.Thankfully the necklace did its job and the embers didn’t last long on her clothes. They snuffed out after less than ten seconds and Twilight was left puffing and out of breath. She rummaged around in her bag, pulling out her inhaler.

“Are you sure?” Fluttershy frowned, floating closer.

“Y-yes.” -cough- “Just the humidity in here mixed with the sudden panic,” Twilight wheezed. “Just give me a second.” She took a hit from it after shaking it thoroughly.

“Is it too much in here?” Fluttershy questioned, looking around. “I could handle it by myself.”

“No, no. I can help,” Twilight managed to say finally, standing up straight. “It’s fine, let’s get started.”

Fluttershy still looked uncertain. The Terror stared off into space with a cloudy gaze.

It took a while to clean the cages of ash and soot, wash the bowls, then put everyone back into their place. Partially because Twilight was a little nervous around the animals. They both needed special gloves to handle the phoenixes. A fire fox pup had pulled on Twilight’s shoelaces and nearly caught her whole foot on fire. Then a cage at the far end of the room held a bright white and blue dog like creature that zipped around the cage faster than she could follow with her eye. Fluttershy called it a Raijū and said its body was made of lighting. They both agreed to let Fluttershy handle that one alone.

“I’m not much help am I?” Twilight asked as they exited the Inferno room. Fluttershy turned to her after the door was sealed.

“Of course you are. I’ll admit the inferno room took longer than normal, but the first kennel takes me much longer to do myself,” Fluttershy said. “Besides…” She looked sheepishly to the floor. “It’s nice to have someone my age around here to help me.”

“Hopefully you're not too far behind schedule.”

“Nonsense, I’m actually a little ahead,” Fluttershy smiled. “Next we need to take the pets from the first room out for a play. Each of them get a half hour.”

“How do we keep the Chamrosh from flying away?” Twilight asked.

“Oh you mean Sweetums? We have a pen that's fully enclosed. No way she’s getting out,” Fluttershy smiled. “They’re more interested in playing fetch than anything else though.”

“Fluttershy!”

A door banged open a ways down the hall, a lizard woman stood poised in the doorway, panting. “Fluttershy I need your help for a mom- ahhh!” She yelped when a large animal pushed her over and pinned her to the ground. Thankfully it didn’t seem to mean any harm. However Twilight did note that it was a little odd looking. The dog had four heads. Two were taking turns licking at the woman’s face as the third was looking around, grumpy and snorting. The last head was barking like crazy in a deep voice.

“Boys!” Fluttershy said sternly. All the heads snapped up to look at her. “Stop that! Eeny, Meeny, Miny, and Moe, you are all in serious trouble, misters!” Three of the heads wilted and started to crawl back into the room. The last one, the grumpy one, glared at Fluttershy but allowed his brothers to lead him back into the kennel, but not before grabbing the woman by her pant leg and dragging her with them. The woman yelped, more surprised than worried, until she conked her head on the door frame.

“Taryn!” Fluttershy frowned, fluttering towards the door. “Twilight, you stay there! The boys can be a little rowdy. I’ll handle this!”

“Uh, ok!” Twilight called after her, watching the large door close. The girl looked around the hallway quietly, now she had a moment alone to reflect. So far the day had been going well. Fluttershy had turned out to be a wealth of knowledge on animals and she was more than happy to share, so long as she knew you well enough. She was really nice and seemed just as socially awkward as Twilight herself at times.

It was comforting to know that she wasn’t alone in that regard.

The back door pushed open as Ofelia step out wearily. She was flipping through a thick ringed pile of papers, written in small print. Twilight immediately perked up.

She knew a computer’s systems control manual when she saw one.

Ofelia looked frustrated and was trying to hold the book in one hand and read with the other. “Darn things,” She muttered softly, the eye in her palm fluttering. It then started to water a little, going pink. “Gah!”

“Are you ok?” Twilight asked, coming closer.

“Yes, ugh… Just my allergies acting up. I never usually come back here, but the computer is fussing up on me. They got a new system at the beginning of the week. It’s supposed to be easier to run the rescue, but I’m just flummoxed by it. I was trying to file a new batch of kittens in the adoption website and, well, just come look.” She lead Twilight back into the front room, to the computer behind the desk. On the screen were a smattering of windows with different functions. “I pressed one button and it all went to heck… excuse my french. I was hoping to grab Taryn or Dr. Fauna, our resident vet, but I don’t even know if they have a better grasp of the computer than me.”

“Let me see the manual,” Twilight said, taking the heavy papers with a grunt. She started to look through it, starting at the index. Ofelia, meanwhile, put a few eye drops in her palms and rubbed them together. “Ok, I think I see what happened. You pressed this to open a new window, but you accidentally selected all and opened everything.”

“Oh darn it.” She leaned over Twilight’s shoulder. “Then why can’t I escape?”

“You locked the selection, so everytime you click it opens more. You just need to de-select command and open your task manager.” Twilight spun around to Ofelia. “Then it should work.”

“Well I can try that.” She reached around the girl, left clicking the mouse to bring down the option bar, safely stopping anymore windows from popping up. “Then… I just…”

“Use the search bar,” Twilight said.

“Got it. Then.. oh here we go. Exit all.” Ofelia smiled when the desktop reappeared. “Oh perfect! I was worried I’d have to restart the whole thing!” The yokai took her seat again. “Now I can just put that up online and-uh oh.”

“Uh oh?” Twilight echoed, leaning over the woman’s shoulder again.

“It logged me out!” She frowned, turning her body back to Twilight. “I haven’t had to log into the website in five years! I dunno the password. I used to have it written down, but then we moved buildings and got a new email domain and… oh boy.”

Twilight hummed softly before looking at the computer, thinking. “I could try.”

“Try what?” She asked.

“Well, I take a lot of computer classes in school. Plus I just love reading about them so I have a pretty good grasp on it. I could try and hack in, if you want,” Twilight offered.

“Well I suppose so. I can’t think of much else,” Ofelia said, standing up to let Twilight take a swing. As soon as she sat down she tried to focus in on what she was doing. A little coding here, download a bootable password reset disk…

“Oh there you are!” They both looked up as Fluttershy came over to them, looking relieved. “I was worried you had wandered off and gotten lost.”

“Sorry for worrying you Fluttershy, but your friend here is a huge help!” Ofelia smiled. “She’s hacking our systems because I may have accidentally forgotten the password.”

“I didn’t know you were good with computers Twilight,” Fluttershy said, surprised.

“I can hack almost anything, not that I usually need to,” Twilight admitted sheepishly. “Or want to.” She leaned back over the computer, smiling a few clicks later… “Done!”

“Look at that!” Ofelia said, holding her hands up to see the screen. “We’re back in!”

“The password was puppylove<3. You’ll need to reset it,” Twilight said, standing back up to hand the chair back.

“I never would have gotten this done so quickly! Thank you Twilight,” Ofelia said and sat back down. “Now I just need to put those kittens up… Say, we need some names for them. What do you two think?”

“Really?! We can name some of them?” Twilight asked, excited.

“They have to be odd names though,” Fluttershy told her. “They catch the attention of potential adopters.”

“Hows about Flip-Flop? It’s almost summer,” Twilight said with a smile.

“That’s cute! The orange tom is getting that one!” Ofelia stated quickly.

“Sandy is nice for that cream one,” Fluttershy offered.

“Say, let's just do summer names for the bunch of them!” Ofelia said, she filed in a few name slots with Seashell and Splash.

Before any more name suggestions could be offered, the front door opened. Twilight looked up and paled when two fiery monsters entered the building. At first she was worried the entire rescue would go up in flames, but it seemed that the creatures could control their blaze and walked up to the front desk. There was a man and a very young girl, likely three or four. Now that she could see them closely Twilight could tell that they were actually made of magma, not fire, though the girl’s long flaming hair could say otherwise. The child looked very distraught and the man squeezed her hand.

“Excuse us, but we’re looking for a lost pet,” the man said quickly.

“Can you describe the pet for us?” Ofelia asked.

“Well he’s a Terror dragon. He’s very friendly and-”

“His name is Scaley!” The little girl piped up, interrupting her father. “He likes to sleep in the fireplace and he’s green like the dragons in story books and he’s cute!”

“Honey, calm down,” The man said softly. “Sorry, my daughter is very concerned. He should have a chip. Registered to the Ahi family.” He showed his driver’s license as he spoke.

“I’ll check the computer,” Ofelia said, typing into the system. She looked around for a minute before smiling. “Came in a few days ago. He’s in the back.”

“I’ll grab him,” Fluttershy said quickly, fluttering back to the Inferno room.

“Hear that, they found Scaley here!” The father said with a grin. The little girl looked up at him, her body starting to glow a bit brighter and the temperature in the room raised a little.

When Fluttershy returned she set the dragon down. He shuffled around a bit before pausing. Sniffing the air he scuttled around the counter quickly and the girl caught sight of him. “Scaley!” She squealed. The dragon ran over to her and she was quick to scoop him up. “Where did you go!? We were lookin’ fer you!”

The dragon said nothing but Twilight flinched when it breathed a large flame out of its mouth, right in the girl’s face! The child merely blinked before laughing, her hair growing a bit bigger for a few seconds. “I missed you too!” She squeezed the dragon in a hug, but Scaley just nuzzled down in the hot magma contently. It was a rather cute scene.

“Thanks very much!” The man said, picking up both his daughter and pet at once. “We appreciate it.”

“No problem. You folks have a nice day,” Ofelia said as they left out the door.

Fluttershy sighed happily at Twilight’s side. She leaned over to her human friend. “This is why I do this.”

“It is very rewarding,” Twilight agreed. She followed Fluttershy back to the kennels and waved to Ofelia as she went. They were going back to get some of the animals out to play and Fluttershy was explaining what order they went in when something banged in the cat room. They both looked at each other and went for the door.

Going inside they could see no one inside but the cats. Some of the cages held normal cats, while some were more mystical in nature, like a cat that was made out of stars. In a large cage was a Manticore, who was napping lazily. Twilight noted that a food bowl was thrown out of a big cage in the back. She walked over and picked it up carefully, looking into the cage that had held it.

“GAH!”

“Hey,” The human-cat person was hunched over in the cage in front of her. His clothes were kinda messy and he was holding his head. “Don’t uh, don’t yell like that. Kay?”

“Gah-!? Nahhh-? Huh?” Twilight blinked.

“Oh not again!” Fluttershy groaned as she flew in.

“Again?!” Twilight blinked.

Fluttershy sighed and looked in the cage in disdain. “Hello Mr. Capper.”

“Fluttershy, please, Mr. Capper is my father,” The cat said, wincing and holding his head harder. “Call me Mr. Capper Jr. We know each other well enough.”

“Huh?!” Twilight gocked.

Fluttershy looked at her helplessly but sighed. “Mr Capper… Jr. here is a were-cat. He goes to Canterlot City University. Sometimes when the weekend parties get too… wild. The shapeshifting students get mistaken for strays and are brought in.”

Twilight stared at her, slack jawed before looking back down at the cage. Fluttershy frowned and glared down as well. “He’s been in a couple of times.”

The were-cat looked up at them. “Yh, so Flutters, what happened to the the food that makes its own gravy? Breakfast was terrible today.”

Fluttershy rolled her eyes. “I’m getting a security guard. Don’t move.”

“Couldn't if I wanted to,” He shrugged.

“It’s like seeing my brother in five years… give or take,” She muttered and flew out of the room.

“Hey, pretty human girl.”

Twilight turned, blushing a little at his words. The cat man held out an empty silver bowl. “Mind getting me some more water? I swear service in this place has gone down hill. I’ll need to edit my Yelp review.”

Twilight slowly took the bowl.

The day went by rather quickly after that. A guard came and escorted Mr. Capper… Jr. out, then everything went as usual. Or as usual as Twilight could find this day. A Foo Dog bowled her over during play time, a miniature Chimera nearly took her finger and Twilight was pretty sure a kitsune fox had engaged her in a silent conversation.

All in all, it was one of the best days ever!

She was definitely interested in coming back to help out. When she mentioned it to Fluttershy the girl made the biggest smile she had seen on the fairy all day. When it was time to leave Twilight did so feeling a bit depressed. She had wanted to stay longer, but Fluttershy was needed at home that afternoon. Besides, Twilight’s mom was expecting her. After getting her paperwork filled out by Ofelia, validating her hours, Fluttershy started to drive her home.

“It was so nice of you to come in today Twilight. It was wonderful to have the company and the help,” Fluttershy smiled as she headed back towards Everfree Estates. “The animals really responded to you.”

“Like I said, I wouldn’t mind helping out again sometime,” Twilight said.

“My family is running a big adoptathon later in the year. Maybe you could come down.”

“If I don’t have any prior engagements then that sounds good.”

The car slowly rolled to a stop just outside Everfree Estates. It was still early afternoon and Twilight could see some bustling just inside the gates as people went about their normal day.

“Is it nice in there?” Fluttershy asked, interested.

“Well, everything is pretty much the same looking and not much happens. So it’s nice. Boring, but nice,” Twilight explained. “Though the homeowners association can be a little overbearing.”

Fluttershy looked thoughtful. “Do you like it?”

Twilight blinked in surprise. “Well, it’s ok, like I said.” She frowned in concern. “Why do you ask?”

Fluttershy paused, looking flustered, but still tried to respond. “I-uh- don’t want you to think I’m prying but… when I picked you up you seemed so happy to go out, and now you just looked hesitant to go back in.”

Twilight looked back at Everfree. Before she had met Sunset and the other girls, the large stone walls had made her feel safe. When she had first ventured out of them she had been so nervous, afraid of anything bad happening to her. Now... Now they felt restrictive in a way.

Had she grown so much in such a small amount of time? It had been only a few weeks since she had dragged Sunset into her house.

“I think I just had a nice day with you, I’m just sorry it’s over so soon,” Twilight said, looking back to the fairy.

Fluttershy blinked, surprised. It quickly morphed into a sheepish expression. “Well maybe we can all hang out again after the others aren’t being grounded.”

“That sounds fun.” Twilight smiled and opened the car door. She stepped out and waved to Fluttershy before shutting it. Fluttershy waved back then drove off down the road. The human watched her go, looking back at Everfree Estates after her car disappeared.

Maybe she was getting tired of this place...

High Fashion

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“Punch out, step, stance, elbow! Punch, step, stance, elbow! Put some oomph in it, you’ll never break a hold like that! Punch, step, stance, elbow! Better! Now do it all together! Strike! Strike! Don’t shortcut, you won’t break the hold half assing it like that!”

“Remember the eyes are always weak! However, you may not know what a monster is capable of, so never look them in the eyes! The throat is your next best bet, but good luck getting through a golem’s skin! Lastly, if they have exterior reproductive organs, those are extremely effective but if you don’t finish it or run away, you’ll have one pissed off foe!”

“Yes, Ms.Trunchbull,” Twilight echoed the others, dying to get out of her sweaty gym clothes and back to her dorm. Two long hours of physical education a day was killing her, and if it wasn’t for the requirements to graduate, she’d have left it all behind long ago. Thankfully this wasn’t a usual gym class. The school offered a multitude of options for phys-ed, including sport-centric ones, basic body building and others. Twilight had chosen one she could actually use, self defense. It was a basic overall course, never really delving into too many detailed moves. They usually repeated actions until they were reflexive and then moved on to new techniques. The instructor, Ms Trunchbull, was a large, muscular woman. She was bossy, stuffy and had a temper to boot, but she knew what she was talking about.

You just didn’t want to cross her; she was the school’s correctional teacher, so if you did something wrong you were in her hands. Say what you will, the woman was creative.

“Good! Keep practicing how to break out of different grips, Monday we’ll focus on what to do after. If you can’t break out of my grip by then, you’re going to have a lot of trouble. We’ll be dealing with how to evade different shapes and sizes, and if you can prove capable of escaping, I may even teach you how to fight back.” She rolled her thick neck, making a loud popping noise that made all the girls grimace. “Now get out of here and be back on time next Monday!”

The girls quickly went for the changing rooms, most whining about how tired and sweaty they were. “Damn requirement,” Moondancer muttered beside her as they changed.

“I know, but this is somewhat useful,” Twilight said.

“Better than throwing a ball around,” Moondancer huffed. “Still makes me stink though. I call the shower first.”

“Dang it!” They left for the dorm quietly, shifting through the excited crowds of hurrying students.

“Who have you been talking to on your computer?” Moondancer asked suddenly, surprising Twilight as they exited the building. “The message thing pings all the time these days, never used to before.”

“Oh, just some new friends of mine…” Twilight explained, blushing a bit when she thought about it. Friends… She and the girls were getting pretty close. She had had one-on-one time with all of them almost.

“I figured. They go to school here?” Moondancer questioned, pulling the door to the dorm rooms open for the both of them. Twilight started to head up the stairs before her roomate.

“Uhhhh-” Twilight thought for a moment. “Noooo… They’re in the city.”

“Like public school?” Moondancer raised a brow. “Which one?”

“Canterlot High. In the Mid Canterlot area,” Twilight said as they entered the hallway and walked to their room.

“Mid Canterlot? Not too many humans live there.” Moondancer blinked and opened their dorm.

“Well-”

“GUYS!” The two looked back as Lemon hurried up the stairs behind them. She panted, out of breath and doubled over on her knees trying to calm her labored breathing. “Oh my god! Oh-”

“Lemon? Are you ok?” Twilight asked, holding the door for her two roommates to enter.

“G-great! Fantastic!” Lemon heaved a breath and straightened back up, excited. “Look! Look at this!” She waved a paper around frantically until Twilight took it.

“Is this-”

“My science test!” Lemon said giddily. “Look at what I got!!”

“A seventy one percent,” Twilight managed before smiling the best she could. Had it been her grade, Twilight wouldn’t have been so eleated. Still, it was an improvement from what Lemon had previously.

“I passed! I passed!” Lemon shouted, jumping up and down. “All that’s left is biology and I can ace that for sure!”

“Lemme see,” Moondancer spoke, snatching the paper from Twilight. She looked it over boredly. “Well this is just great Lemon Zest.”

“I know right!” Lemon smiled, pumping the air and going to sit on the couch.

“You know what?” Moondancer said, walking to the kitchenette with a tired expression. “I’m gonna put it right here. RIGHT on the refrigerator,” She held it up, placing a magnet over it to keep it in place. “That way we can see it everyday.”

“Alright!” Lemon cheered, missing her roomie’s tone entirely. “I’m gonna go call my dad!”

“You do that.” They watched as Lemon headed for her room, leaving them alone in the main area before Twilight looked at Moondancer, scowling a little.

“Come on, can’t you put a little enthusiasm into it?” Twilight grunted.

“It was a seventy one percent.”

“It's better than she thought she’d do. Besides, she’s really proud of herself, she did work hard.”

“What are you suggesting?” Moondancer asked, brow raised. “A parade?”

“You could at least drop the sarcasm,” Twilight responded, cocking an eyebrow back at her.

“Alright. Alright. I suppose I could…” Moondancer admitted, looking vaguely guilty. “I’ll ‘encourage’ her academic endeavors without my usual mirth.”

Twilight looked at the fridge. “You do know we can’t take this off the fridge ever again.”

“Well that is a given,” Moondancer sighed. “Just like the time we let her plant that seed that a squirrel SPECIFICALLY gave to her and her alone. Especially after we told her it was a magic seed.” They now looked at an oak tree planted in an old pot, taking up a large corner of the living room by the tv. It seemed to be growing toward the window, like it was trying to subtly escape the room. “That ain’t going nowhere.”

“It grew so quickly when she blasted that heavy metal,” Twilight muttered, wincing.

“That was interesting, to a point,” Moondancer grimaced but shook her head. “But such is the price we pay for tomfoolery.”

Twilight glowered at Moondancer, “I wasn’t the one who told her that-”

“At any rate,” Moondancer spoke, ending the conversation; Twilight just frowned, as that wasn’t unusual with Moondancer. “I think we’re forgetting something important.”

Twilight swallowed, remembering the questions Moondancer had been asking before. “What's that?”

“That I called the shower first.”

Twilight blinked, but the bathroom door was shut before she could process the sentence. As the shower started in the other room Twight sighed and went for the couch.

It was hard to live with two extremely different people. Kept things interesting though…

Ping ping

Twilight looked around the room before she spotted her laptop on the coffee table. The device was letting her know that she had a massage on her chat site, and seeing no harm in checking in as she waited her turn for the facilities, she opened it.

Private Chat Opened.

‘OH TWILIGHT! ITS HORRIBLE!’

Was the text she first read when it opened. Twilight almost dropped her laptop in her haste to answer.

“Oh my gosh, what happened Rarity?!”

Rarity responded in an instant.

‘OH IT’S JUST TERRIBLE!’

‘What?!’

‘Twight! Do you realize everyone has had some time alone with you but ME?!’

Huh.

‘We cannot let this stand! I want to spend time with you this weekend, maybe do some shopping downtown?’

Twilight’s neck felt sore from the whiplash of this conversation. That's what the fuss was about?! She almost had a heart attack! Twilight had to take a second to steady her thoughts. There wasn’t much going on this weekend…

‘I guess? Ok? When?’

‘Oh excellent, darling! Let's say Saturday, we can meet up around 10! There's a beautiful mall on the North end that I want to show you! I can pick you up.’

Money wasn’t something Twilight was short on. She got a pretty good allowance from her parents for keeping her grades up and doing chores around the house. Plus, with no place she wanted to go but the house and school, she didn’t spend it much. The last time she had spent money was at the movies, and that had been a month ago. If Rarity wanted to do some shopping then Twilight saw no issue with it.

‘Sure, I’ll see you then.’

‘Wonderful! I’ll text you when I arrive!’

Well that was saturday squared away.

Twilight was surprised she had been spending so much time out of the house lately. Just last year she had practically locked herself in the basement with her studies, now she was making movies plans and shopping day trips. It was honestly something Twilight didn’t think would ever happen to her.

At that moment Lemon came back into the room, looking significantly less excited than she had before. The girl flopped down on the couch beside her.

“What’s wrong Lemon?” Twilight asked, wincing at the girl’s somber expression. “Was your dad not happy?”

“No, he was ok with it,” Lemon shrugged. “He just found out I only placed second at the contest last weekend. He couldn’t come because he was working…”

“Oh.” Twilight blinked. “Wasn’t that contest for the entire state? Like with humans and monsters?”

“Yeah, it was,” Lemon sighed, playing with her hair.

“I think that's pretty good. I mean your the second best young adult violinist in this state. Not to mention all the monsters you went up against. Were any of them demons? I hear demons are very in tune with the musical instruments.”

“There were a few,” Lemon admitted. “And a girl with six arms…”

“And you beat them?” Twilight asked, smiling when Lemon nodded. “See, I could never even get close to that!”

“Yeah, well, I wish my dad could be as enthusiastic. He’s a musician too, first chair in the Canterlot orchestra. Nothing impresses him unless it’s played off violin strings.”

“Oh, well what does your mom think?”

Lemon stopped playing with her hair and puffed. “I haven’t seen her since the divorce. She’s busy with her new family.”

“Oh,” Twilight finched.

“Look Twilight, I know you're trying to cheer me up, I appreciate it,” Lemon said, sitting up a bit more. “Sometimes it's just nice to bitch about things though. You’re helping just by listening. Don’t beat yourself up.”

“I’m still sorry I brought it up.”

“Yeah but you didn’t know,” Lemon said, looking at her. “I know it's hard to listen to people vent. Drains you and I really appreciate you listening. Whenever Indigo does it to me I know I’m really worn out afterward.”

“Indigo? What does she have to vent about?” Twilight asked, surprised that the popular, sporty girl had anything too arduous to complain over.

“She comes from a big family,” Lemon said. “She’s the youngest of six, and all her older siblings are champions at something.” She looked at the ceiling. “I think she feels like she always has to prove herself.”

“I never knew that,” Twilight frowned. “ I guess add in that she might be family with Kamikaze soon…”

“Shit. I forgot Navy and Shurui were dating now.”

They sat in silence until the bathroom door opened and Moondancer came out, hair wrapped in a towel. She paused at the doorframe, getting some water out of her ear and looking around suspiciously.

“What the hell happened?” She frowned. “Tensions thicker than pea soup in here.”

Twilight sighed.

The next morning at home Twilight awoke early and got ready for the day. She went downstairs and found her mother at the table, groggily eating an uncooked bagel.

“You’re up early…” She murmured as Twilight got a quick breakfast together.

“Hanging out with a friend of mine,” Twilight explained before taking a large bite of a banana. She swallowed it and went for a glass of milk. “Were going to do some shopping.”

“Oh fun,” Her mother said, taking a sleepy drink of her coffee. “You know I haven’t met these friends of yours yet. You should have them over sometime.”

Twilight paused in drinking her milk, looking back with a nervous smile. “I… should… I’ll ask them. Gah- later on. They’re busy these days…”

Velvet was too tired to notice anything off about Twilight and took another bite of her bagel. “Good, good…” She mumbled.

Twilight turned to pour some kibble into Spike’s bowl, the dog barking excited. She wasn’t entirely sure how she was going to explain her new friends to her parents, but hopefully she could stave off any questions until she was ready…

As she put the dog food away her phone pinged and she checked it.

‘I’m just a tiny bit early and at the gatehouse! Get here whenever you can.’ Rarity had texted and Twilight hurriedly threw on her bag, heading for the door.

“I’ll be back later!”

“Have fun!” Her mother called.

Taking her bike Twilight had a quick trip to the gate house, especially since it was saturday morning and most people were still inside, sleeping in and enjoying their day off. After parking her bike and getting through the gates she looked up and down the street, spotting a black SUV across the road. Rarity waving at her from the window.

“Hello Twilight!” Rarity said when the girl got in. “So good to see you again!”

“Yeah, good to see you too,” Twilight nodded, looking around the large vehicle in amazement. “Is this your car?”

“Oh, oh no, no, no!” Rarity chuckled. “I do wish, but it's actually my father’s. He let me borrow it for the day, but not without a little bit of pleading mind you. He loves his cars.”

“He has more than one?”

“Well one’s just for sport. A mustang he keeps fiddling with in the garage,” Rarity explained, starting to pull away. “That is one I will never touch, I can say that much.”

“My dad’s not a car nut, but he has an antique telescope upstairs that I’m never allowed to touch unless the house is on fire and I can manage to save it,” Twilight smiled, Rarity laughing with her. Twilight found this excursion much more relaxed than the others had been, and wondered if she was just getting used to this kind of interaction. Not to mention being out of the community. “So what kind of stores were you thinking of going to?”

“Oh well, the mall is an older one, but it has lots of good deals. I shop there a lot for material. They have a very large fabric store in the back.” Rarity looked back at her. “I was thinking I could make you a dress if you wanted.”

“Really?” Twilight blinked, surprised by the gesture. “You don’t have to do that-”

“Nonsense, I insist!” Rarity said quickly, waving a hand. “I love to create them and I would love to put another dress in my portfolio. Not to mention a human dress is one I’ve never made before.”

“Human dress?” Twilight asked. “How is it any different from any other dresses?”

“With so many different creatures to make clothing for, there’s a lot of things to keep in mind. Take yourself and Rainbow Dash for example. Your arm girth is much smaller than her wingspan. She’d never wear a long sleeve anything. Not to mention her gait and yours are very different. Rainbow’s is much longer and wider set, not to mention her talons would catch on anything looping or frilled. All her dresses need to be short and sleeveless, which would seem boring until you add in other elements. A cloak in the winter. Headpieces. A fashionable belt. Add in that Harpies historically liked wearing bones and shiny objects as accents, which Rainbow also enjoys, and you have a much different dress from what you would wear.” Rarity smiled. “If I have read right, humans hate to wear real bones on their outfits usually, fake is ok for some though. Not to mention all the fads that come and go, some of them crossing races. A while ago it was popular for rebellious teens to wear collars. Werewolves and other monsters did it, but oddly enough I’ve read humans started that one...”

“That’s a lot to take into account for fashion designing,” Twilight said, impressed by the level of detail.

“There are two kinds of fashion designers. Those who create wearable art statements and those who make art you can wear anywhere,” Rarity stated. “I shift more towards the latter. Understanding the physiology of a creature will help keep them comfortable and natural in an outfit. Understanding the different histories and societies can not only help appeal, but also stave off any faux pas. Whereas humans, harpies, and most other creatures love wearing shiny gems, rock golems and the dwarfish races find wearing them to look condescending. They’d never wear anything shiny.” Rarity nodded behind her. “Not to mention you have to mark the right height for the tail holes and not make them loose enough that people get a look at your undergarments.”

“You must study a lot,” Twilight said.

“There are many books on the subject. Most designers choose a few races and work with them, some races have a hard time shopping in stores because they’re not represented or their numbers are too low. Others, like slime creatures, wear no clothes at all, save for accessories for special occasions. Then a few only wear half clothes, like shirts for centaurs.” Rarity smiled. “Whenever I do manage to get someone to wear my outfits, I make sure to create one just for them! No two dresses are alike.”

Rarity looked back at her. “Is there any store you wanted to look at Twilight?”

“Well I’ve never been to this mall… I guess we’ll have to see what there is.” She smiled, “I wouldn’t mind looking in the book store.”

“We’ll go there first, there’s a lovely section on history I wouldn’t mind looking at while we’re there. I want to find a book about mummy society. I saw a dress on one in public and I wanted to see if I could find out what it’s called.”

“I’ve read a little about mummies, but they were human books so I wouldn’t believe everything they say,” Twilight frowned. “They’re not … flattering. human books about monster tend to be a little skewed towards bad things.”

“Mmm, I suppose that's fair. I’ve found a few old history books about humans that were a little disturbing in perspective myself. You don’t want to know what the orc wrote about humans, I’ll say that much. I suppose history is always going to be skewed, depending on who wrote about it.” Rarity turned onto a new road and Twilight could see the city out her window.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Twilight nodded, looking back at her driver.

Rarity smiled as she pulled into a parking lot in front of a large building. “Here we are! Such a big mall, isn’t it? I think they used to have one of those department stores in here, but it closed. Had to chop it up into smaller areas.”

“Economy’s changed since they started to build these,” Twilight agreed. They both stepped out, the parking lot pretty empty at this time of the day. Rarity led her towards a double door entrance and they went inside. It was a pretty typical mall, though the hall and store ceilings were much higher than Twilight was used to. Then she saw a large owl creature with long legs, looking into a store window, holding some bag and checking for molted feathers.

“That’s a stolas. Not many of them around.” Rarity whispered to her as they walked past, so as to not alert it of what they were talking about. “Demon folk, nice monster over all though.”

“Wow,” Twilight looked back as the stolas walked into a store called ‘Herbs and More’. “What kind of store is that?”

“Sells dried, fresh, and frozen potion ingredients. Lot of creatures like to make their own at home, but store brand is still good.”

“They never sell potions in the Estates,” Twilight admitted. “They’re kind frowned upon, anything magical kinda is.”

“Well that's a shame, it's basically just herbal remedies mixed with a bit of magic. I cannot go out for the day without ‘Wizard Master Zoid’s Hair straightening serum’! It just takes the tats and knots right out of my hair, and my fur!” She gestured to her hooves, where her fur stockings grew long. “These are horrible for tats.”

“It’s cool you can just walk around without shoes on,” Twilight commented. “Must be easy when you go outside.”

“Well I do have some kind of shoes on Twilight.” Rarity lifted a hoof, showing off her silver horseshoe. “These things are delicate. Not to mention we have to hose down whenever we come in, especially when it rains and these things are soaked with mud!” She grimaced. “You don’t want to know what it feels like when mud gets between the two.”

They came to the bookstore first. Heading inside Twilight took a deep breath and sighed. “I love the smell of a bookstore.”

“It is nice. Fabric stores have an excellent smell too, if a bit dusty,” Rarity said. “Was there anything you were looking for in particular?”

“I just love to look around, there are always new books you’ve never seen before at any store,” Twilight said as they walked around. “I once found a very good mystery story at a gas station.”

“I’d rather pay at the machine than go into the store. I know the staff do try but the stores are always grodie,” Rarity shuddered.

They passed some different shelves, all sorted by type of books. Twilight read some of the titles as they went.

‘Snaclula. Blood Recipes and desserts.’

‘Believe In Yourself. Motivation for the Mythological.’

‘Making Yourself a Livelihood After Death. Undead Business Strategies.’

They came to the history section, both looking for a book Rarity could use. The satyr hummed. “I can see some about architecture and illnesses, but nothing on society studies… Well besides this Egyptology book.” Rarity tapped it on its shelf. “Very good books, the ‘ology series, but a bit too low on the detail I’m looking for.”

“What about this? ‘Unravel the History of Mummies by D- D… ummm … Dje-hut-im-esu….?’” Twilight asked, pulling it from the bottom shelf.

“Let’s take a peek,” Rarity said, taking it to flip through. “Oh this is quite nice. Very detailed on the customs- Oh! A kalasiris, that's what that dress was called.” She put the book under her arm. “Yes this will do nicely. Thank you Twilight.”

“Happy to help,” Twilight smiled. They milled around the store a little longer, Twilight finding a few new books about studies she had never seen before. Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and a few medical books on different species.

“My you do love to read about a wide range of subjects Twilight,” Rarity commented, looking shocked at the variety of books the girl was carrying, the pile so big the human was practically hidden behind it. “When I come in here with the other girls, they go right for their respective sections. Fluttershy and her animal books, Applejack likes those Soup for the Soul books, and Pinkie goes right to where the humorous ones are shelved,” Rarity shook her head. “Gets her going for a solid four hours of puns.”

“What about Rainbow?” Twilight asked behind her stack.

“She just complains,” The satyr said with a smirk. “It seems like staying in a bookstore will turn her into dust. Or an egghead, whichever is the end for her.”

Twilight chortled, books jostling.

They went to a few other stores after buying their books. Rarity pulled Twilight into a pharmaceutical-like store that sold a variety of healthcare products. Including horn polish, scale cream and talon sharpeners.

“Have you ever done your hair down?” Rarity asked as they looked around the aisle of hair care products and potions, some of which were glowing and bubbling. “I think it would look quite nice, not that your bun isn’t cute.”

Twilight touched her hair and blushed. “Well, I usually do this to keep it out of my face. My hair doesn't look as good down as it does up.”

“Oh I’m sure that’s not true!” Rarity said. “A little curl here, a little shimmering glitter potion there and it will be like the night sky.”

“I’m not even sure how to curl it first, let alone use any products on it.” Twilight admitted.

“Well when Pinkie Pie can finally have us all together, I’m sure she’ll want to do a little sleep over! I could mess around with some styles then if you want.”

“Well I have read that doing each other hair is an important ritual at a sleepover.,” Twilight hummed.

“Read? Haven’t you gone to a sleepover Twilight?” Rarity asked.

“Um, I sleep away from home at my school dorm all the time,” Twilight said. “I spent some nights at my grandmother’s when I was little.”

“Oh darling… We are going to have an amazing sleepover once the others are free!” Rarity spoke excitedly. “The first one should be important! We’ll do each other’s hair, makeup, have pillow fights and all the stereotypical fun! I’ll message Pinkie when I get home and have it all hooked up!”

“Really?” Twilight asked, a little excited herself.

“Of course! Pinkie may be the party monster but I can do a little planning of my own. We could do so many different hairstyles! I’d never wear a beehive outside like my mother does, but they are very fun to try out!”

After that they looked around a jewelry store. It had a wide variety of necklaces and rings, there were even special items to adorn horns and tails and spike rows. They were widely ranged in price, depending on the metal and gem. Not to mention you could apparently get charms put on them. Twilight decided to pick out a nice necklace for her mother, for Mother’s Day, before turning to Rarity, only to not see her nearby.

“Rarity, where are you!” Twilight called out, scanning the store.

“Over here, darling!” Rarity answered, waving from the other side of the store.

Confused, Twilight grabbed the pearl necklace with onyx butterfly pendant she was looking at and went to Rarity. “Why are you all the way over here, is there something wrong with those?” Twilight asked, holding up the necklace. When the necklace got close to Rarity, the air started to get blurry. Just as Twilight was about to ask what’s going-

“Twilight, get that thing back!” Rarity shouted. Twilight yelped and ran back to where she got it, putting it back and glancing at Rarity, who had calmed down. “You need to be more careful, dear.”

Twilight trudged back, looking at the floor. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what it is, I wanted to know if it would make a good present for my mom.”

Rarity sighed. She put one hand on Twilight’s shoulder and lifted Twilight’s chin with the other, but Twilight wouldn’t meet her gaze. “It’s okay, you didn’t know. That’s the section with Dark magic charmed jewelry. I forgot you’re not used to magic.”

Twilight finally looked up at Rarity, mind churning before it clicked. She stepped back, eyes wide. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry Rarity, I could’ve hurt you!”

Rarity tilted her head in confusion, then burst out laughing. The sudden laughter broke Twilight’s train of thought, leaving her to stare blankly at Rarity. After reeling in her laughter, Rarity said, “That wouldn’t have done more than a small zap, it’s just a basic charm. If it got too close to me, it might’ve been damaged and you’d have to pay for it. They wouldn’t leave anything strong enough to hurt someone out in the open.”

“Oh.”

“There should be an item number near it, we can check it in the catalogue.”

With the number in hand, Rarity guided them to a table with binders near the register. Some were labeled Light Charms, others Dark, and a few General. Rarity peaked at the number, opened one of the Dark Charms binders, and flipped through.

“Ah, here it is,” she said, pointing to a picture of the necklace. “Is this the one?”

Twilight nodded and Rarity put the binder on the table, the two of them huddling to read it.

VC122007 Social Butterfly

$1100

Made from natural pearls and onyx, this classic piece from Vampire Crafts is a real conversation starter, in more ways than one.

Not only is it a stunning piece, it’s also charmed with a general purpose social charm, helping wearer relax and be more charismatic.

Charge Time: 50 hours while being worn

Recharge Difficulty: Basic

“Aaaannd I have no clue what this means,” Twilight said, shoulders slumped.

Giggling, Rarity answered, “Oh, it’s pretty simple. This rather charming necklace is charmed with a little spell that makes whoever wears it have an easier time conversing with others. This particular kind is popular in upper class events. It’s got a battery life of 50 hours, and anyone who’s had some basic training with Dark Magic can recharge it.”

“The one I saw was $500, are they the same?”

“It’s most likely on clearance, with a new model coming in soon. That’s a very lucky find, I think it would make an excellent gift!”

“Is that what the binders are for, finding gifts?”

“Yes, it makes it much easier to buy presents for the opposite alignment, though they do tend to be expensive.”

The prices did seem pretty steep. Sure, Twilight had plenty of money, but she thought she was more well-off than average. “Is it common to buy charmed items?”

“Usually it’s only for special occasions, like baby showers, weddings, and graduations, though people who can afford them do tend to buy more.”

“Everfree Estates doesn’t have anything on charms, the closest we have is books on cursed objects. What kind of charms are there?”

“Technically, there are all kinds, though more powerful ones need licenses to use. Most that don’t require a license are either like that necklace, giving the wearer more charisma or more stamina, maybe make them a bit stronger. Then there are ones that are more long term, like ones that ward away disease or bring good fortune. Their effects are harder to measure, but they do definitely seem to help. I got this one that’s supposed to bring inspiration when I was born,” Rarity said as she pulled up the gold necklace she was wearing, revealing a white gold pendant with three diamonds.

“I think I’ll get it, my mom could definitely use some help when dealing with some of the people at the Estates. Do I bring the necklace to the register?”

“Oh no, just bring the number. They have them packaged and safe to handle for anyone in the back. The display is for those who want to see or try them out.”

“Oh, so that’s how the clerks handle them… Say, how do you tell if a monster is light or dark?”

“That’s… a bit complicated. We normally just learn them over time, and if needed, we ask. It’s possible to guess based on what the monster can do, but that requires understanding Light and Dark magic. Do you know the difference between the two?”

Twilight shook her head.

“Well, the most I can tell you is that Light magic tends to be more focused, while Dark tends to be more vague and general. The way I think of it is that Light magic is like gemstones, they can be used in specific ways and are very strong. On the other hand, Dark magic is like fabric, it can be used much more freely, but the end result is easier to break. I’m sorry, I don’t know much about how magic works, only Sunset from our group has studied it.”

They chose to have lunch next and both went to a fast food booth. Twilight was fully expecting Rarity to order a salad or veggie burger, but instead-

“A double meat deluxe, with bacon and cheese please.” Rarity said, a hand on her hip as she placed her order. “And a diet soda.” As they walked back to their table, Rarity caught Twilight staring. “Whatever is the matter dear?”

“Oh nothing…” Twilight blinked. “It’s just, your food…”

“Yes I know, it does look quite fattening doesn't it?” Rarity said, staring at her food. “I usually don’t go for the bacon but it smelt so tantalizing today, so I thought I’d treat myself, you know.”

“Oh it’s not that, it’s just…” Twilight blinked. “Meat.”

“Meat? Why is that- OH!” Rarity laughed. “Oh yes, the half horse, unicorn thing! Yes I see how you could be confused!” They found a table and set their things down, sitting to eat their food. “As odd as it must sound, we satyrs are actually much more carnivores than what you might think! Horses do eat more meat than one may expect. They’re omnivores.”

“How do you know about horses?” Twilight asked.

“I used to ride them as a child.”

Twilight was momentarily taken by the image in her mind, but swatted it away.

“Oh yes, never did it competitively, but I did love it… After my horse Jasper passed however I never really got back into it, it was a hard blow at such a young age,” She took a bite of her burger and patted her lips clean with a napkin. “Do tell me about yourself though dear! Any hobbies?”

“I tinker with science equipment and machines. And play with my dog Spike.”

“Nothing else?”

“Not usually. To be honest it's been awhile since I’ve even gone to a mall. Usually I get my clothes online and have a seamstress fit them for me in Everfree Estates. Though I’m betting there wouldn’t be much clothing for humans here anyway.”

“Oh we don’t usually have stores for just clothing in this area. Too many diverse sizes and shapes. I mean there are a few, but they have to cater to a wide range. Usually people do the same as you or they hire someone like me to make clothes for them personally. Very lucrative business. Speaking of, we should go see the fabric store and pick out something I can use to make you a dress! I was thinking a nice black or blue would be good. What do you think?”

“Thats sounds good. I like pink and purple sometimes, and white.”

“Lets see what they have. Sometimes I find just the perfect material hidden away, like behind a large roll or in the wrong section! It almost awakens a hunter instinct in me!” Rarity said. “Why I remember just last month-”

SCREEEEE!

Twilight almost jolted off her seat when something slammed into the back of her chair. Rarity jumped as well, letting out a sharp whinny before panting. Twilight was also shaken and out of breath, and paled when she saw sharp talons on the back of her chair.

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity gasped, voice a little rough and angry. “What in the wide world do you think you are doing?!”

Twilight heard a familiar laugh and looked up to see the harpy perched above her. She ruffled her feathers and hopped off the chair. “Ah geeze! You should have seen your faces!” She chortled. “It was so easy to sneak up on you!”

Rarity snorted. “Well thank you for giving Twilight an asthma attack.” She pointed to the human, and Twilight had her puffer shoved to her mouth. “I’m glad we could be of amusement.”

“Aww, I didn’t mean anything by it! I couldn’t help myself!” She said, moving to Twilight’s side. “You ok? Not too much of a scare?”

“N-no. No I’m fine,” Twilight puffed out.

“See? Fine,” Rainbow echoed back to Rarity, talons clicking on the floor. “What are you guys doing here anyway?”

“Just a little shopping.” Rarity shook her head, but seemed to calm down with a sigh. “I would have invited you and the others but most of you are grounded and Fluttershy is helping out at the shelter again... Wait, what are you doing here today Rainbow? I thought you were still grounded.”

“I am,” Rainbow said with a shrug. “I’m just here to pick up some stuff for my dad. Kitchen sink disposal has been acting up. Too many fish bones down it I guess. We needed a new one.” She held up a shopping bag from a repair store. “I was just on my way home when I saw you. Thought I’d drop in, say hi.”

“You mean swoop in I suppose?” Rarity smiled.

“Well yeah. Got my cousin’s wedding next weekend so I won’t see any of you for a bit and-”

“Wedding?” Rarity asked, brows raised.

“Well yeah I-” Rainbow froze. “Oh no…” She held her winged hands up quickly. “Rarity, don’t you dare-”

It was, however, too late. The satyr was lost in thought, muttering to herself and trying to think up outfits that would make suitable wedding attire. Rainbow ran a hand down her face and Twilight inched back up her chair.

“She’s gone,” Rainbow sighed.

“You don’t want a dress?” Twilight asked.

“Rarity’s dresses are the best,” Rainbow said with no hesitation, though she was wincing. “It’s just so soon and my dad kinda surprised me with it… or he kinda told me and I forgot… either way I didn’t want to bug Rarity with it. She tends to take on orders, even if they mean long nights or no sleep…” Rainbow leaned it. “It’s a little scary…”

“Oh I have the best idea Rainbow!” Rarity said suddenly, drawing their attention back. “We could make a skirt with a Semi-transparent lace trim and some talon rings with gems to match the strap buckles- Oh where is the wedding? The seaside? Oh what am I saying, they’re always seaside with Harpies! We’ll need a cloak then, for when it gets cold-”

“Rarity, it’s fine!” Rainbow frowned. “I can wear my other dress, the one you made for the dance last-”

“That’s hardly wedding attire!” Rarity interrupted, taking Rainbow’s hand. “You must come with us to the fabric store! I will find you the perfect material!” Rarity gasped. “Oh! Black and white! That would be amazing! I could call it the prism! With you as the rainbow coming out of it!!”

“Yeah I’m not getting out of this now,” Rainbow said, blowing her bangs out of her eyes, though she was smiling.

“And Twilight! We’ll get some for you as well, though I may not have it done as soon as Rainbow’s-” Rarity said, starting to eat faster, though she never spoke with food in her mouth. “It will look divine though, I promise!”

“Take all the time you need Rarity. It will look amazing I’m sure,” Twilight smiled, starting on her own food.

The fabric store was something to behold. Shelves spanning the floor to ceiling were stocked with a wide range of materials, so much so that it dimmed the lights. Everything smelt old and dusty, like the store was somehow older than the city it was in and there was a hokey, old timey song playing over the speakers. However it carried an appeal of some sort, like a welcoming feeling, even if it was also a little overwhelming at the same time.

Twilight was taken with some kind of shiny fabric roll nearby. She pulled a bit out to look it over, eyes widening when it shimmered and turned invisible. Twilight waved her hand behind it and found she could see it clearly, though the movement was lagging a little.

“The see-through satin is a nice fabric Twilight, but not good for clothing,” Rarity chuckled a little down the aisle. “Trust me, it show everything behind it, including undergarments.”

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Twilight gawked, putting it back. The fabric shimmered again and returned to normal. “How do they make that?”

“Wild chameleon worms. They make silk that camouflages them into their surroundings,” Rarity stated, taking some black fabric off the rack. “Much more into baromez wool products myself. Of course some people are allergic…”

She turned to Rainbow and held the fabric up to the girl’s side. “Oh this will do nicely. Not too dark as to be for a funeral, but not too light to be grey.”

“It’s all black,” Rainbow frowned.

“HA!” Rarity scoffed, pointing to the rows of black fabric before her. “That’s black, that one is charcoal,” She pointed to a few others. “Ebony. Oil. Midnight.” She pointed to one that Twilight actually had a hard time seeing, it was so black it almost seemed to be sucking the light out of the room. “And of course, the blackests of blacks, Vantablack.”

Rainbow squinted at them.

“This, my dear, is sable,” Rarity said, holding up her swatch.

“That’s some Mantis Shrimp, art student levels Rarity,” Rainbow said, looking confused.

“Mantis what?” Rarity asked, squinting in confusion.

Rainbow groaned and rolled her eyes. “What I’m saying is my eyes can actually see more colors than yours, and I don't see any difference between those two fabrics."

“Well just trust me dear, it’s perfect!” Rarity nodded. “Now we need some white.”

“How many of those are there?” Rainbow asked, rubbing her head.

Now Rarity looked confused. “What do you mean? There's only one.” She waved her hand. “If it changes it’s officially a creamy colour or on the spectrum of another color, like pink or blue.”

Rainbow put a hand to her face.

They wandered from aisle to aisle, looking at fabric colors and patterns as they went. Rarity would find one or the other two would suggest one they liked, then the unicorn satyr would hold it up to see how it matched their colors. Twilight was having fun, especially when she found fabric she had never seen before.

They passed some rolls of fire resistant cloth and a leather section that had dragon hide and tanned unicorn. Rarity said she tried not to use animal fibers in her works much.

“What's dissipating cotton?” Twilight asked as they passed a large display of it.

“You know how, when Pinkie Pie transforms into a wolf, her clothes disappear? Then they come back when she shapeshifts into a human? That's what dissipating cotton does darling,” Rarity said, placing another bunch of fabric into Rainbow’s arms, the harpy peering out from behind it dully. “If they were regular clothes they would remain after she transformed, and probably wouldn’t fit her wolf form well. They may even rip or fall off, quite embarrassing for when she turned back,”

“I dunno if Pinkie would care, honestly.” Rainbow shrugged, a fabric roll falling to the floor from her arms.

“Well I’m sure she- I mean… She must…” Rarity blinked. “Ahh, maybe your right…”

“How does that work?” Twilight asked, eyes wide.

“Charms, transformation materials, and a little of the creature’s own magic thrown in,” Rarity explained. “I’m not sure how it all comes together after the outfit is done but- OH! Twilight, look at this teal, it would be amazing on you!”

Twilight smiled as Rarity placed the teal roll in her arms.

“I was thinking of trying halter neck for both of you! Would that bother either of you? It will look quite nice!” Rarity looked over a few more options as she wandered the aisle. “As for the skirt styles I was thinking about making it a Gypsy one for Twilight and a Box pleated for you Rainbow.”

“Anything you choose sounds good.”
“I dunno what those even mean.”

They both spoke at once.

Rarity took no notice. “Well it's settled! We have all the fabric we need, we can get started on the design phase!”

“Thank goodness, I can’t hold anymore,” Rainbow winced.

“Here darling, allow me,” Rarity said as she took some rolls. “Now we need to go somewhere we can measure you girls for your outfits. Rainbow, I know your wingspan has gotten bigger, you keep knocking against doorways.”

“Maybe a little,” Rainbow smiled, flexing a wing.

“Why do we need to go someplace else?” Twilight asked.

“This is a public place Twilight, most people want privacy when measuring their body, right?” Rarity said. “Besides, there is no room here.”

As if to prove her point Rainbow tried to step out of the tightly packed alise, knocking against the wall and sending a few rolls to the floor. Rainbow stumbled back into the other shelf, knocking even more down.

Rarity sighed as she and Twilight began to clean up. “See what I mean…”

“We could go to my place. It’s just a quick Skyrail ride,” Rainbow said, shifting her hold on the chosen fabric.

“Skyrail?” Twilight blinked.

“Oh you’re going to love it!” Rarity smiled.

They put their things in Rarity’s car before walking to the edge of the parking lot where there was a subway entry. They walked down the steps into the underground and while it was a little dirty, it was actually better than what Twilight expected to see. Everything was a light blue and there was a mural of Canterlot city on the wall, only small and cartoony. As they put their coins into the turnstiles Twilight frowned.

“Hey Rainbow, how come you use the subway when you can fly? If it’s so close, I mean.”

“Would if I could Twilight,” Rainbow said, flapping her wings a bit. “But it’s just inside the city’s sky limits. I need to get a flyer’s license to do that, cause there so much pedestrian air traffic in the city.” She paused with a grimace. “I did try to get one before… but I didn’t pass.”

“There’s always next time.” Rarity smiled. “Your dad’s said he’d help you.”

“He’s a busy harpy,” Rainbow sighed.

“What about you mom?” Twilight asked.

“Dead- and don’t do the whole, ‘Oh I’m sorry, I didn't know’ thing. She’s been gone a while.” Rainbow said. “I kinda have a hard time remembering her, but we got pictures up so that helps. I was like three.”

“Oh…” Twilight winced.

“Like I said, no need for sympathy. My dad’s pretty good on his own. He just runs the racetrack so he’s very busy.” Rainbow shrugged.

“What kind of racetrack? Cars? Dogs?”

“Nah, it’s up in the air. It’s called The Empyrean Track. They race things like small planes, mid sized flying animals and things called Aerodynamics. Its like acrobatic sky racing, where you have to go through hoops and do tricks while you race,” Rainbow smiled. “I’ve done that one, it’s fun! I was in the junior races.” Rainbow sighed. “I didn’t win though. Probably for the best since dad owns the place, but still steams me a bit.”

“Fluttershy said you were athletic,” Twilight said as they went to wait at the station for their train.

“Heck yeah, it’s my life I do Aerodynamics, soccer, baseball, volleyball, Swoop Drop, Basketball, Football, Air and Earth hunting-”

“Wait, Swoop Drop and Air and Earth Hunting?”

“Swoop Drop is when you free fall from a certain height and try to pull out at the last second you can,” Rainbow said. “It's usually over water so the trick is to get the longest drop, but to not hit the water. It's pretty common amongst flying monsters.” Rainbow waved her hand. “Then Air and Earth is a two person team sport, one flying one not. Basically you work together to hunt something without being able to talk to each other. They spice it up by giving you challenges. Like only the air partner can touch the prey, or the earth partner had to be guided completely by the air partner. “ She said. “I team up with Pinkie Pie. She’s really good and we’ve even won a few tournaments.”

“What do you usually hunt?” Twilight asked, wincing a bit.

“Now a days? A drone or RC thing usually. Sometimes the more richy rich home teams will use a rabbit or something. Nothing unusual for me and Pinkie though. She hunts with her family and we both can eat raw meat. It's just culture.” She looked thoughtful for a moment. “Though Fluttershy made a good point. We really shouldn’t hunt animals unless we intent to eat them, it's kinda messed up otherwise.”

“Attention. Skytrain 4 is now approaching the station.” A message began to play on the PA system. “Please stay behind the line and a keep an eye on children, pets, and tails.”

Rarity reached her arm down, swinging her tail up into her grasp to hold it safely at her side. She caught Twilight staring and smiled. “One cannot be too careful.”

The train clipped in, screeching a little as it slowed to a stop, doors swooshing open. A large assortment of monsters stepped off, most of them with wings of some sort. There was one odd pair that had Twilight blinking, eyes wide. It looked like the grim reaper was stepping off the train, black cloak and all. However he was holding the hand of a smaller grim reaper, dressed in a pink robe with a tutu. She was holding a pony toy under her arm and had a large backpack on her back that looked like a unicorn. They glided off the train towards the exits when the little girl stopped dead, yanking on her parents arm and pulling it off from the elbow down. She didn’t notice as she jumped up and down excited.

“Daddy! Daddy ‘ookit!” She squealed. “Unicorn!!”

She was pointed at Rarity, who smiled and waved back.

The elder grabbed his arm and popped it back on, his voice was very deep and had a creepy vibe, though it was hard to take seriously when he said. “Yes pumpkin, very good. Now we must hurry up and go drop you off at grandma’s so I can go to work.”

He almost had to physically lift her up and carry her out the girl was so excited. Chanting ‘Unicorn! Unicorn!’ as they left.

They all boarded the train and Rarity chuckled. “You wouldn’t believe how often that happens.”

They all sat down on a row of seats, Twilight taking the chance to look around. The train was practically see-through, with plexiglass windows on the sides, ceiling and even floor. Twilight watched a rat scuttle by below before continuing to the wide arrangement of seating, including perches and wide, open areas between bars for larger creatures to stand. When a pregnant bat woman stepped on the train, Rainbow hopped up on the bar arm rest of her seat and the two other girls moved a seat over so she could sit.

“Thank you,” She said, smiling, puffing a bit as she sat, rubbing her stomach.

Movement caught Twilight’s eye, she looked down, wincing when she saw another rat scampering around the bottom of the tracks. “Why do they have windows down there?” She asked, slightly perturbed.

“You’ll see,” Rainbow said with a smile.

The train jerked into motion, lights flickering a little and wheels squeaking under the weight of the car. Slowly they went back up to a traveling speed, train turning through blackened tunnels. They traveled on as normal for a few moments, when there was a flash of light.

Twilight winced, rubbing at her eyes. When she looked around again she gasped. The train was about three stories up in the air over the Canterlot Bay, a large body of water at the edge of the city. The train was traveling through transparent tunnels along the rocky coastline, every window giving a breathtaking view. Seagulls flew out over the cold water on one side, white crashing waves rippling in the distance. On the other were beautiful, naturally carved cliffs, the city visible over the tops.

“I love the look on a newbie’s face their first ride,” Rainbow snickered, adjusting her grip on the rail. She looked around too, before spotting something in the distance. “Oh Twilight look! That's the race track, up there!”

Following where the harpy was pointing, Twilight could make out what looked like a building in the clouds, floating over the bay peacefully. There was a neon sign in front, spelling out “The Empyrean Track”. Now that she was looking in that direction, Twilight could see a few buildings in the clouds, some looking like mansions.

“Do you live up there?” Twilight asked in awe.

Rainbow made a ‘guffawing’ noise. “What do I look like, the Monopoly guy?! My family isn't rich. I mean were good, but not THAT good.” The train rounded the cliff bend and Rainbow pointed behind her. “One of those is mine.”

Built into the cliffside were homes that opened out to the bay with large windows. While beautiful, they were also skinny and looked rather small. Twilight smiled at them. “You must have a good view!”

“Aw yeah! You should see it when a thunderstorm rolls in on the water!” Rainbow said quickly. “Out of this world cool!”

The ride was less than ten minutes before they got off at a new station, this one also built into the cliffs. When they came back up onto the surface Twilight blinked, surprised by the tiny houses on large plots of lawns. “They look so small,” Twilight said. “Like they’re one-room.”

“They are one-room. This neighborhood is called the Warrens. Teeny, tiny one-room houses on top. Big dug out burrow houses underneath. Some creatures feel more comfortable underground. The cliff houses are more for flying monsters, like me and my dad, or sea monsters, like merfolk,” Rainbow said as they walked down the street. “This one is mine.”

They came to a small house where the yard was littered with sports equipment. Rainbow knocked a soccer ball off the walkway before leading them to the door. “Yo dad! I’m home with some friends!” Rainbow shouted as she got the door open and took them inside. The room of the upper building was nothing more than a staircase leading into the earth. Natural rock made up the walls. As they walked down Twilight realized the bottom revealed an open concept kitchen/dining room, another staircase going down into the overlooked living room. Making up the entire wall on the other side of the room was the plexiglass window she had seen before, with a gorgeous view of the bay. All the walls seemed to be just carved cliff rocks, and the floors sturdy wood.

“Rainbow, wipe your talons!” Her father called from the kitchen, boiling some pots. “Now who said you were ungrounded enough to have friends over?”

“Ugh, no one?” Rainbow winced.

“Hello! Mr. Rainbow Blaze! It’s me, Rarity!” The satyr said cheerily from Rainbow’s side. “I invited myself over, terribly sorry, I wasn't thinking! Rainbow just told me she was going to a wedding and I wanted to make her a nice dress for it!”

“Rarity?” He looked up with a smile and came over. He had a striking resemblance to his daughter, though he was a touch more purple in skin. “Well that’s nice of you, with you in charge of it I’m sure Rainbow will look great at the wedding.”

“Thank you sir,” Rarity smiled.

“And whos this?” Rainbow Blaze asked, smiling at Twilight.

“This is Twilight dad. She’s the one who Sunset met, you know, on her adventure?” Rainbow winced.

“Ah! So your the girl who helped Sunset out,” Rainbow Blaze said, holding out his hand. “Pleasure to meet you.”

“L-likewise!” Twilight said quickly, shaking his hand. “You have a lovely home.”

“Aw, it’s fine!” He laughed. “Nice that we can just swoop off the cliffs and catch fresh fish for dinner. Rainbow loved doing that for years!”

“I do like raw fish,” Rainbow nodded.

“Too bad the disposal isn’t fond of it,” Blaze chuckled. “You got the replacement kiddo?”

“Right here!” Rainbow gave her father the bag and he looked it over.

He nodded but still looked expectant. “And the change?”

Rainbow sighed and handed over the wad of bills.

The man laughed and patted her head. “Alright, I’m gonna cook dinner and fix the disposal. You girls have fun.”

“Thank you Mr Blaze!” Rarity said as they walked down the steps to the living room. The went down at least two more levels before Rainbow opened a door to her room. The walls were still natural stone and the floors wood. However the room definitely gave off a different vibe than the main space. It was smaller, with a mirror and a wardrobe. Posters of sports teams covered the walls and there was a pile of clothes on the floor in the corner. What really drew Twilight’s gaze though was the bed.

Well, nest.

It was circular, with the edges higher than the middle. Multiple blankets made up the insides, and a ton of pillows were scattered around. The main material of the nest seemed to be foam padding, forming its shape.

It struck Twilight then that she was actually over at one of her new friend’s homes. This was the first time she had ever gone to someone’s house without her parents dragging her there for a forced playdate. In fact this was the first non-human house she had ever been in.

There were some things stack on the edge of the nest however. Glinting in the light. Twilight went closer to look. There were shiny, rough stones. A few rings and… bottle caps? “Hey Rainbow, why do you have these-”

“Mine! Those are mine!” Rainbow practically squawked, hopping onto the bed and putting her wings around the objects protectively. Her pupils had slimmed into narrow lines, like a feral cat’s eyes. Twilight took a few steps back and heard Rarity chuckle.

“Oh now Rainbow, she’s not going to take any of those,” The satyr said and she put a hand to Twilight’s shoulder. “Never get between a harpy and anything ‘shiny’,” She sighed. “They love shiny…”

“It’s an Achilles’ heel!” Rainbow moaned, putting her wings down. She eyes her objects, using her talons to pick up and arrange the bottle caps to her liking. “Even awesome monsters have them.”

“But bottle caps? Really?” Rarity asked, making a face. “You treat those like they’re currency…”

“I finds them, I keeps them!” Rainbow said, finally getting out of her nest. “We gonna measure ourselves or what?”

Soon Rainbow stood in front of her mirror as Rarity circled her, taking her measurements down on a piece of paper with a pencil. Both of which Rarity carried everywhere.

“You gained four inches on your wings Rainbow! How are you not ripping your tops up?” Rarity asked.

“I didn’t notice but I just though they shrunk in the wash. I just make sure to go slow,” Rainbow admitted.

“Well I appreciate it, just make sure to come to me when you feel like your clothes are getting too tight for comfort. It’s not like I mind making more!”

“Well yeah, but I like the tops you’ve made me already…”

“And you’ll like the ones I have yet to make even more! Ok, Twilight! Your turn.”

Twilight took Rainbow’s place, shivering a little as Rarity started to measure. The last time she had someone’s hands this close was when she hung out with Kamikaze… and they made that video. She chewed on the inside of her cheek, trying to ignore the impulse to flinch when Rarity measured her bust.

“You alright Twilight? You’re shaking a little,” Rarity asked behind her.

“Oh yes, just cold,” Twilight said, biting her lip.

“Yeah sorry, rocks don’t keep too warm and my race can handle the cold pretty well,” Rainbow commented. “You should see me bulk up in the winter.”

“Fluff up you mean. She gets so many winter feathers,” Rarity chuckled over Rainbow’s outraged noises. When Twilight kept shivering, Rarity hummed. “Are you sure you’re ok dear?”

“I-”

CRASH

Twilight jumped a bit when a wave slammed against the window.

“Whoa. High tide almost already? Must be four practically,” Rainbow blinked. “Oh crap. Tank!”

“Tank?” Twilight asked as the harpy walked out of the room. She went to the bottom of the stairs and yelled up.

“Yo dad! Lettuce me!”

Two heads of lettuce rained down, one Rainbow caught, the other hitting her in the face. She blindly nabbed it in her free arm and glared up the stairs, her dad giving a quick apology before Rainbow came back. She kicked open a hatch in her floor, which lead down even more steps. “You wanna meet Tank?”

Twilight looked back at Rarity, but the girl just smiled and nodded. They followed after Rainbow down the steps, which were a little slippery with slime and water. “This fills up when the tide comes in,” Rainbow shouted back up to them. “Use the railing!”

Twilight took hold of it and they continued down, Rarity yelping and sliding a bit more than the other two. “Damn these hooves,” She sighed.

They came to a cave at the bottom, with a small amount of stone that opened out to the bay. There was a large amount of stones poking up out of the water before the opening. Rainbow put the lettuce in her talon and flew over to the largest rock, which was almost as big as her. She landed on it and whistled.

“Tank! Feeding time, come on up!”

Twilight jolted when the rock she was on shifted, then from the murky depth came a reptilian head. It blinked sleepily and yawned.

“Twilight, this is tank,” Rainbow said, holding the lettuce out over him. The turtle eyed it before opening its maw and eating it whole.

“He’s certainly… big,” Twilight said, eyes wide.

“He’s a Dragon turtle! A thousand years from now you could build a city on his back!” Rainbow laughed, petting his head. The turtle made a deep noise and nuzzled into her. “Till then, he’s just a bitty baby.”

“That’s is a baby?” Twilight asked, eyes wide. The thing was bigger than her.

“Yup. Maybe more toddler? He’s forty right now.” Rainbow threw the other cabbage into the air, Tank snagging it in his mouth. “Fluttershy’s family brought him in as a rescue from somewhere else and I offered to take him.”

“How many of them are there, if they can get so big?” Twilight asked.

“Egh, not all of them grow to full size. Most of them don’t survive that long actually.” Rainbow shrugged. “Something else usually eats them first, but once they’re past five hundred they’re in the clear!”

“Four Hundred and sixty to go…” Twilight said with attempted optimism.

“It is a long time, I won’t live to see him that big, but just imagine the look on my great, great, great, great… ugh, you get it, granddaughter’s face when she’s living on the back of a giant turtle!” Rainbow chuckled. “Course so long as Tank is taken care of, I don’t mind.”

The turtle chewed on his food and stared vacantly into space, Twilight edged a bit closer, watching her footing on the slippery rocks. “Is he friendly?”

Rainbow responded by whistling again. Tank looked back at her sleepily, following Rainbow’s gesture to glance at Rarity and Twilight. He slowly swam over to the shore side, within arm’s reach. “See for yourself.” Rainbow offered.

Twilight put a hand to his large, scaly neck. He was warm and surprisingly dry for having just come out of the water. She gave him a few light pats and he churred happily. “He is.” Twilight smiled

“He’s a big sucky baby,” Rainbow said fondly, rubbing the reptile on his head.

“Just like his owner,” Rarity agreed.

“Yeah, just like- HEY!”

After they finished measuring for their new dresses, Twilight and Rarity decided to head home. They didn’t want to get Rainbow into any trouble if they stayed too late and Rarity wanted to get home and start on her new projects. One Skytrain and car ride later, Twilight was back at Everfree Estates. A far cry from the beautiful bay side she had seen today.

“I’ll text you when your dress is done, darling!” Rarity smiled, waving from the car. “Take care until next time!”

“See you!” Twilight smiled. As the car drove away, Twilight walked up the gate house with her bags. She flashed her card at the guard, ready to just go back inside-

“Hold on there Ms. Sparkle,” The guard called out, making Twilight come back. “I can see you made some outside purchases, we just need to check for contraband.”

“Oh,” Twilight blanked and handed her bags over through a wall shoot. Her books were no issue, he didn’t even read the titles as he scanned them with an odd wand. When it got the necklace though, it beeped loudly.

“Charmed?” He asked, looking tired. When she nodded he sighed. “Sorry Ms. Sparkle, charmed objects are banned for the safety of the residents. I know most aren’t dangerous but the council is made up of a lot of paranoid elders and they just banned all of them, to be on the safe side.”

“Oh…” Twilight frowned. “Then what happens to the necklace?”

“Well it cannot go in, but we have a protocol,” The guard said. “We make a duplicate of the receipt and send it back to the store for a refund. Meanwhile you get an I.O.U from the community and they pay you back once they get the refund money in the mail. Unless you just want to take it back yourself now.”

“There’s no way I can take it in? No inspection available?” Twilight asked, shocked.

“No ma’am, I’m sorry. I have no sway in such affairs, I’m paid to follow the rules to a T,“ He explained. “However you’re free to take it up with the council at their next meeting. Not sure how well that would go, but you’re free to do it.”

Free my patoot.

“Guess I have to do the I.O.U…” Twilight sighed.

“Again I am sorry for the inconvenience,” The guard said, taking the receipt out of the bag and writing up a paper for her. “We do have a list of banned objects online if you’re interested in checking before you shop again. I know this is a hassle.”

“It’s ok. You’re just doing your job…” Twilight sighed. She took her bags back and the I.O.U.

“You have a fine day Ms. Sparkle,” The guard said and waved her off.

Twilight sighed as she unlocked her bike and started for home. This place was getting more and more constraining every time she left… When Twilighted got home she arrived to find both her parents’ vehicles parked in the driveway. Odd, Mom usually grocery shopped at this time and dad went to the local planetarium to do volunteer tours.

Twilight was puzzled until she spotted a clean, white coupe parked on the road.

Grandma.

Twilight hurried to the door and let herself in. “Hello?”

“Twilight!” Her mother hurried over, looking haggard with her hair a bit out of place and jaw clenched into a smile. “Welcome home honey! Why don’t you go say hello to Grandma?!”

That translated to ‘Your grandmother is driving me crazy, tap in!’

“Of course,” Twilight smiled, setting her bags down and making her way to the living room.

Soft Twilight was, ironically, a hard looking woman, with her clothes nicely pressed and her hair cemented in style with a pound of hairspray at least. She was pink with white hair with purple streaks, glasses perched on the bridge of her nose. She was staring at the wall harshly until Twilight came in, and she softened with a smile.

“Hello dear,” Soft Twilight said, lifting her arm to give Twilight a small hug.

“Hi Grandma! How are you?”

“Fine, Fine,” She patted Twilight’s shoulder. “Just got back from a community meeting and thought I’d drop in.” She straightened her lapel pin as Twilight sat next to her on the couch. “So many people got so touchy-feely the last few weeks, we we’re talking about writing new bylaws about public displays of affection.”

Twilight tried to not look guilty. “Really?”

“People hugging and kissing in public is a crime now, is it?” Twilights mother sighed, coming in.

“It is when they start to get too… erhm… enthusiastic,” Soft Twilight frowned. “Course it won’t be anything too severe. Kissing for longer than ten seconds outside of your own property and that kind of thing. Quick pecks and hugs are fine, it’s just when you have someone pinned to a wall for more than five minutes, I start to get uncomfortable.”

Velvet Twilight opened and closed her mouth before sighing. “Fair point.”

“Well it's still just an idea. We’re having another meeting about it next week if you have anything you want to add. Even if you’re not on the board you can still have your opinion heard as a speaker.”

“Well I- I don’t know if I’ll have time...” She muttered.

“As usual,” Soft Twilight sighed, rolling her eyes.

Twilight Velvet scowled.

“Well I suppose you do have work to do,” Soft said, sitting up straighter. “And that's just a small issue compared to the incident we had more than a month ago.”

“You mean the vampire thing?” Night Light asked, sitting in the chair in the corner.

Twilight felt her mouth dry.

“Well of course that's what I mean,” Soft said quickly. “We’ve been discussing the increase to security spending on the annual budget. Keep the monsters out like they’re supposed to.”

“S- Uh, the vampire didn’t do anything to hurt anyone, right?” Twilight frowned. “Maybe it was just an accident.”

“Oh Twilight, you’re so naive. There is no way a monster could ‘accidently’ come in here. Not with walls on all four sides. We have them clearly marked and guarded. One would have to knowingly sneak inside.” Soft frowned. “Whatever that thing wanted it thankfully didn’t get far. I shudder to think what could have happened had it gotten to the preschool, or a more populated area of the estate.” She looked around at them. “Of course, that leaves the question of how it disappeared like it did. One minute it's almost caught, then poof into thin air. Wouldn’t put it past them to have that ability. I’ve been meaning to come by and ask if you had seen anything.”

“Well Nighty and I were both out when that happened,” Velvet said. “I didn’t even know until I got home for dinner.”

“I see, well it's good you were out of harm's way,” Soft said, patting Velvets hand. “And what about you Twilight? It was March break, was it not?”

“Oh, I ah-” Twilight swallowed. “I was in the basement all day, experimenting.”

“I see, I expected as much,” Soft nodded. “Well wherever it went, let’s hope it’s learned a lesson.”

Twilight looked around at her parents before asking. “Grandma. Why do you dislike monsters so much?”

Her parents both winced, sensing the woman's lecture a mile away. Twilight was too, but she wanted to know.

“What do you mean why? They enslaved and killed our ancestors for centuries!” Soft gasped. “Why our freedom wasn’t even a right until two hundred years ago, and we had to fight tooth and nail for it! Your five times great grandparents were living in the city of Underlot, for crying out loud!”

Twilight winced. Underlot was a ‘city’ the humans secretly founded under the city of Canterlot, in the sewer system. It was no longer in use, as after the treaty was signed they all hesitantly came out to live on the surface again. The space was now a historical area and had tours, but to Twilight's family it was a kind of heritage area.

Their ancestors had hidden there for hundreds of years, living off bean sprouts, chicory, Dandelions and whatever else could survive with little to no sunlight. Not to mention all the rats.

They had a lot of relatives that still liked the taste of rats at holidays dinners. Twilight couldn’t get into it…

“Your six times great grandmother had never even seen the sun! Now we have the freedom to do as we please, but for how long I ask you? Sure a treaty was signed but it’s just a fancy piece of paper. All it would take is for them to change their minds and WHAM! We’re back where we started!” Soft snapped, shaking her head.

“Mom, they would not do that. Don’t scare her,” Velvet said, shaking her head.

“Who says they wouldn’t?” Soft asked, brow raised. She took a breath before sighing. “Ah well, Twilight wanted an answer and I gave her one! My mother taught me what her mother taught her and so on. If you want to survive in this world you need to keep your guard up. Never trust the monster races if you can help it,“ Soft scoffed. “Why would we even try? It’s in our blood to stay away from them. We hail from the greatest monster slayer to ever live-”

“Oh enough with monster slaying bloodline, mother!” Velvet sighed. “We don’t even know if we actually are! There's no written record of human society until two hundred years ago! That story is all spoken history!”

“It’s all we have,” Soft said. “We didn’t have time before the treaty was signed, what with being hunted and treated like animals!”

“SO!” Night Light said loudly, catching the women off guard. “About that kissing law, what kinds of fines were you thinking of setting?”

Soft Twilight and Velvet Twilight shared a glance before relenting to Night Light’s less tense conversation. Twilight herself sat on the couch, tuning it out.

If you want to survive in this world you need to keep your guard up. Never trust the monster races.

“Well, for all it’s worth, I trust my friends with almost everything. They won’t hurt you Twilight, or at least not because they want to,“ Sunset had said. “I’m sure you’ll say the same thing if you hang out with them a bit.

Could she really trust her friends? Even if they were monsters? Her grandmother may be a little racist and have an older worldview, but those worries didn’t come from nothing…

That was so long ago though. Sunset and the others had been nothing but nice and friendly the entire time she was with them. They had interests and passions. They had flaws and issues, just like anyone else. Trying to destroy all of humanity seemed far from their comfort zone. Not to mention their morality.

An image came to mind of the angry gorgon she had seen outside the movie theater.

Watch it yah stupid stock!

Twilight swallowed tightly. Even if her friends were trustworthy… That wasn’t the same for all the monsters out there…

Some of them liked things the way they were, three hundred years or so ago.

And would likely try to change it back, any way they could…

They won’t hurt you Twilight, or at least not because they want to.

The two worlds Twilight had been juggling lately were getting harder and harder to keep separate. Sooner or later they were going to collide, and she would have to tell her parents and the rest of her family about her new friends.

She could only hope she had her feelings ironed out by then.

Just A Taste

View Online

As with most of her grandmother’s visits it was short and memorable. Soft commented on her daughter’s lack of homemaking skills, politely asked Nightlight about work, and listened to Twilight talk about her recent experiments. Sure her visits were sometimes spiced up by one piece of gossip or another, but they all end the same, Soft leaving in her expensive car and Velvet pouring herself a glass of wine.

Twilight usually didn’t mind her grandmother’s visits. Today however she was conflicted. She knew she couldn’t hide her friends from her family forever. She really didn’t want to either,she was just worried about how they would react.

Last time they hadn’t accepted the concept of monster friends and Shiny had left the family…

Twilight didn’t know if she could make that choice.

It was a few day later at Crystal Prep and Twilight still wasn’t sure how to approach the problem with her family and friends. She had been pondering a solution and it was starting to make her anxious. Should she even bring it up? Should she just keep hiding it until it all blew up in her face? Was it better to live a lie?

No. Twilight didn’t think so. It was always better to live true to yourself. However, she didn’t have to exactly live honestly either. So long as it wasn’t brought up or argued over she could just feign naivety. Her parents didn’t have a rule about leaving the Estates alone or about monsters. To be fair, they likely thought she wouldn’t do either of her own free will anyway.

Well… they’d have been right a month ago.

At any rate, it wasn’t the time to dwell on such things, as she was currently in the midst of a minor celebration.

Twilight chuckled from atop her dorm bed, laptop open as she watched her chatroom explode with a chorus of cheers. It was midnight and all the girls were still up and typing, at Pinkie’s insistence, because-

“Its OFFICIAL! Everybody is officially ungrounded!!!” Pinkie typed, a small emoji blowing a noisemaker beside it. “Break out the shovels!”

“FINALLYYYYY!!!! I can stop picking up litter at the track on my weekends!” Rainbow added, and Twilight could imagine her pumping her fist in victory at the announcement.

“Yay,” Fluttershy piped up.

“Thank god, my knees are sore from scrubbing the floors.” Sunset typed in.

“Now that everybody's dug up, Rarity and I have a surprise!!” Pinkie wrote, her words getting bigger and bigger. “WERE HAVING A SLEEPOVER!”

“Sleepover!” Rainbow cheered.

“Indeed!” Rarity’s fancy font appred. “It will be one for the ages! Food, music, games-”

“Food!” Pinkie repeated.

“Yes, yes.” Rarity responded. “Not to mention I plan on doing hair and makeup for everyone!”

“So wheres this hootenanny takin place?” Applejack asked.

“My place this Saturday!” Pinkie pinged. “My folks are out of town but Maud will be here to watch us! So we can have all sorts of fun and make pizza!”

“Aww sweet! Can we make Crazy bread to!?” Rainbow asked.

“So long as there's no garlic!” Sunset added quickly.

Twilight smiled as food plans were made and toppings argued over. It was her first ever sleepover and she was pretty excited. From what she had read in books and online, this should be a lot of fun! She couldn’t wait to do some of the traditional canon sleepover activities she had studied.

“Will you be able to come Rainbow? What with your cousin’s wedding and all?” Rarity asked in her fancy type.

“Oh well, kind of a good news, bad news thing with that.” Rainbow typed. “Weddings still happening but later on in a month or two, turns out my Cuz is unexpectedly expecting, and she wants to lay the kid before the big day, so her dress will fit right again.”

“Rainbow’s gonna be a second cousin!!!” Pinkie seemed excited at the prospect. “Oh! Oh! You gonna teach them to fly and how to hunt and look for worms and-”

“I would, but they live about four hours away. So I may just see the kid every once and awhile.” Rainbow cut in quickly, stopping Pinkie’s rambling. “So yeah, I can come to the sleep over.”

“That give me more time to fix up this dress!” Rarity typed. “I can add so much more to it now that I have a larger time frame to work with! Oh Rainbow, you will be the best looking one there-! Ah, besides the beautiful bride of course. Must make sure to not go ‘All’ out, it is her special day after all.”

“Just don’t lose sleep again.” Applejack wrote. “Last time that happen’ you looked like you needed a bag check fer your eyes.”

“Yes, I do not plan to let that happen again, I assure you.” Rarity responded. “Those wrinkles were horrible…”

“Well I was kinda worried ‘bout yer health.” Applejack entered. “But whatever’ll get ya to bed at night, I suppose.”

“Hey Twilight, you coming to the sleepover?” Sunset asked.

Twilight sat up on her bed and pulled the computer closer. “Of course, sounds fun!”

“It will be! Thats the Pinkie Pie Party Promise Guarantee!“ Pinkie typed.

“Well if you need a lift I bet my family could swing around to get you, from the gate of course.” Sunset wrote. “They’re driving me anyway, plus we could get you to Applejack, so your brother can have the truck for the weekend.”

“I’d be obliged if your able to Sunset. Big Mac needs it to go into town.” Applejack said.

“Why?” Rainbow asked.

Applejack started to type, then stopped. Started again and stopped again before just responding, “Nona your business.”

“I’d appreciate the lift Sunset.” Twilight added, snuggling into her pillow.

“No prob! Anyone else need one?”

“Nah, I’ll probably just skim the city limits till I get to Shy’s, she lives right near Pinkie’s place and we can fly over together from there.” Rainbow messaged. “Right Shy?”

“Sure.” Fluttershy wrote.

“I’ll be over early to help with the preparations.” Rarity typed. “So don’t worry about me!”

“Yeah and I live there, so I don't need a lift!” Pinkie jumped in.

“NP.” Sunset entered.

Twilight leaned back from her laptop contentedly, but she noted that it was almost 12:30, which was when the student WiFi turned off, a policy that was implemented to try and get the students to sleep at a decent hour.

“My WiFi’s about to go off, I’d better get to bed.” Twilight wrote, then checked the alarm on her phone. When she looked back at her computer she found the responses.

“A good Idea Darling. I should also get ready for bed. I have a big day at school tomorrow.” Rarity agreed. “Good Night everyone!”

Fabulous Has Logged OFF

“See you guys Saturday!” Pinkie Pie piped in. “Goodnight!’

Party-Pie Has Logged OFF

“Night.” Rainbow wrote quickly. Sunset , Applejack and Fluttershy also hopping off without a word.

XxXLORD_D4NG3R_Z0N3XxX Has Logged OFF

RedSkyAtNight Has Logged OFF

Whats_A_Username_Rainbowdash? Has Logged OFF

Fluttershy123 Has Logged OFF

Once all the girls had logged off Twilight shut down her laptop and lay back under her blankets. She felt a little giddy at the thought of Saturday. Who would have thought, Twilight Sparkle, at a sleepover, as an invited guest!

As she stared at her dark ceiling Twilight silently pumped her fist in excited determination. She was going to try and make this the best sleepover any of the girls had ever attended!

Which meant she should do more research.
__________________________________________________________________

It was the Friday before the sleepover and Twilight was spending her lunch in the library. It was much quieter than the cafeteria, though nobody could eat in here, so that could be why it was so empty. The library was large and spacious, made to cater to the entire school’s classes, from cooking to engineering to anything it between. Not to mention it boasted a rather generous display of entertainment reading.

Twilight herself was seated by a window near the back, surrounded by books. Miss Manners Social Etiquette By Cloud, How to Win Friends and Influence People By Dale Carnegie, and of course SleepOver 101. She had the latter in her hands at the moment, studying the words closely…

Twilight covered her eyes. “A Dutch braid is the same as a French braid but…..” Twilight pursed her lips in thought. “...the only difference is that the Dutch braid is inverted?” She quickly looked back at the page before cheering. “Yes! I’m right!”

“What are you doing?”

“Ah!” Twilight jumped, throwing her book up in the air before a hand caught it. Looking up Twilight watched as her classmate studied the cover. “Oh! Moondancer.”

“SleepOver 101… Why are you studying this?” Moondancer asked curiously, holding the book up to Twilight in confusion.

“N-no reason…” Twilight said, putting her hands up in surrender. “Just in case I need the knowledge later.”

“Just in case, huh?” Moondancer hummed. She opened the book to a random page. “What is the proper size of pizza to order for a sleepover?”

“Enough for each person to have two slices, so that way they don’t feel bad about eating it and the snacks.” Twilight sat up straighter. “Self-consciousness about food consumption in a public setting is a very serious concern.” Twilight patted the Miss Manners book. “It’s best to not strain the host but you also want them to feel like their provisions were sufficient.”

“Very nice.” Moondancer nodded in agreement. “What’s the proper amount of sleep to get at a sleepover?”

“Twice the total runtime of movies shown minus the morning arrival of parents for pickup.” Twilight quotes.

“Aww man you guys can make math for anything…” Lemon moaned, appearing on Twilight’s other side, making her jump again. Beside her was Sour Sweet and Sunny Flare, both of whom looked confused.

“What are you two doing here?” Twilight blinked.

“Looking for the two of you,” Lemon said. “What the heck are you two doing?” She looked over the assembled books. “What is all this?”

“Were buffing up on social interactions,” Moondancer shrugged.

“Pretty sure you learn that by doing, not reading,” Lemon chuckled. “It’s easy anyway! Just go with the flow. Do what the group’s into and don’t be afraid of new opportunities.”

“Isn’t just following the group a bad thing?” Moondancer asked, raising a brow.

“If nobody follows then how can anyone lead?”

Moondancer and Twilight blinked at her, eyes widening.

“That must be some of that stoner wisdom I’ve heard so much about,” Moondancer frowned.

“Damn straight!” Lemon gestured to her ears. “If I was too scared, then I never would’a pierced my ears at a sleepover once!”

“You did that?” Twilight asked, shocked.

“Oh yeah, it was easy,” Lemon nodded. “You just need a sewing needle, ice cubes, rubbing alcohol, and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of cotton balls.”

“Holy crap,” Moondancer muttered, Twilight wincing at the thought herself.

Sunny Flare coughed pointedly into her hand, making Lemon look back at her. “Huh?”

“We shouldn’t keep these girls from their ‘important’ studies, Lemon,” Sunny said, rolling her eyes a little.

“We really need to get to lunch before it ends.” Sour Sweet added sweetly, putting her hand together in a pleading motion. However her peaceful expression melted to anger. “So ASK them.”

“Right, right,” Lemon blew some hair out of her face, turning to the table. “You guys get that email this morning?”

“Email?” Twilight asked, feeling worry build in the pit of her stomach. Usually when someone forwarded an email around, it wasn't for anything good. Especially for her.

“From the school,” Lemon explained and Twilight felt the knot release. “They want students to start seeing the counselor, Ms Lock n Key, next year. Something to help with the pressures of society or something.” She shrugged. “I was just wondering if everyone got it, or just some of us. If you two did then that means they’re just asking everyone.”

“I did,” Moondancer said. “I haven’t arranged for a preferred time yet though, seems like a waste.”

“I haven’t seen my emails yet today,” Twilight admitted.

“Well if Moony got one then I bet everyone did,” Lemon smiled, looking relieved. “I was worried for a second.”

“Well I don’t need to see any more psychologists!” Sour spat loudly, making them all flinch. “I’ve seen enough for my lifetime!”

“Settle down Sour Sweet, you heard them, they got the emails to.” Sunny spoke, resting a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Let’s get you down to the lunch room and get something to eat.”

“Oh it’s Sloppy Joe Day!” Sour said happily, following after the other girl to the door.

‘Sorry,” Lemon said quickly, looking back to her roomates. “Sour takes her meds with food and she gets a little funny without them.”

“It’s fine,” Twilight nodded.

“Yeah, but what’s she got going on?” Moondancer asked. “Bipolar? Multiple personalities?”

“I dunno, she don’t want to talk about it,” Lemon said, scratching her head and looking to the floor. “I’ll see you guys tonight, before we go home, I should get to lunch.”

“Right.”

“Cool, see you!” Lemon started for the door, but turned back to them while still walking away. “And remember! Just go with the flow!”

Moondancer shut the book in her hands. “Well, as much as I hate to agree with Lemon about any study subject, she has had more field experience with social interaction than either of us,” she sighed. “I’d just do what she suggests if the books don’t cover it.”

“She is the expert,” Twilight chuckled.

“Had to be an expert in something….” Moondancer smirked. “Let me quiz you a bit more though, so it doesn't come to that.”

___________________________________________________________________________

Nice pajamas, check.
Extra glasses, check.
Inhaler, Check
Pillow….

Twilight grabbed it off her bed and chucked it into her duffle bag.

Check.

Twilight rubbed her hands together excitedly, looking at her phone again to make sure Sunset hadn’t texted her arrival yet.

Her very first sleepover, ever, was about to begin and Twilight was beyond ecstatic! She had done everything she could to make sure it was perfect, studied and tested until she knew everything there was to know about sleepovers. She had even looked up a few monster social edicates online just in case.

Now everything was coming together!

She picked up her bag and set it over her shoulder. Twilight looked herself over in the mirror before turning to Spike, who lay on the bed sleepily.

“How do I look?!”

Spike gave a prolonged yawn.

“Great!” Twilight smiled, scurrying for the door. “I’ll be back on Sunday, be good for my parents and mom knows your little trick to get the treat cupboard open, so don’t even try!” She looked back sternly, but Spike just had a bored, unimpressed expression on his face. “I mean it!” She snapped, shaking her finger.

Spike raised one eyebrow.

Twilight held his stare as she slowly walked out the door.

He was gonna get in there.

She came down to the main floor, opening the treat cupboard, which had a few scratch marks, and put the food on higher self, shutting it again with her foot.

There.

“Off to your friends?” Night Light asked from the living room, seemingly studying some star charts.

“Yep, sleepover this time,” Twilight said, setting her bag by the door.

“Sounds fun So who’s house will you be at? Is it near the store or…”

Ahhh… Twilight paused, looking back at him. “Well, I’m gonna be at Pinkie Pie’s…”

No use in lying.

“Pinkie Pie’s? I don’t think I know their family,” Night Light said, slightly absentmindedly. He frowned, measuring again.

“Well they’re…-”

“OH FOR-!!!” Night Light leaned back from his map unhappily. “The measurement on this is way off! Venus shouldn’t be that close—oh and this is way off…” He mumbled, marking errors on the map in red marker. “I’m sorry Twilight, my coworker ask me to review these but I can see he’s made some egregious errors! We need this done by Monday.” He looked back to her. “Just write the phone number down so we can call if we need you. I know I started this conversation, but this cannot wait.”

“It’s fine dad. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Twilight smiled, slightly relieved. She found a notepad to scribble Pinkie’s number on.

“Will do. Love you honey,” Night Light nodded. He pulled out his phone, holding it to his ear to call his co-worker, walking out of the room.

Twilight finished writing down the number and sighed. She was thankful that she didn’t have to have the ‘My friends are Monsters’ conversation right now, especially since it may interfere with the sleepover plans she had.

She had best do it soon though, her family was getting curious on why they hadn’t seen her friends yet, or why they didn’t even know their family, given the close-knit community Everfree estates was.

Scratch, Scratch, Scratch.

Twilight paused before frowning, spinning around, hands on her hips. “What do you think you’re doing Mister?”

Spike froze, nose shoved into the treat cupboard door. Looking back at her slowly he pulled his muzzle out and sat down on the rug, eyes looking to the ceiling naively. Twilight supposed that, if he could, Spike would have whistled innocently as well.

“Mmm hmm.” Twilight clicked her tongue, picking the notepad back up without taking her eyes off him, ripping the page and putting it on the fridge. She squinted at him before leaving the room.

Just as she got to the front door her phone buzzed, and Twilight pulled it from her pocket.

‘We’re here! :D’

She quickly collected her things, throwing her bag over her shoulder. As she hurried from the door she could hear Spike growl unhappily from the kitchen.

Somebody just found out his snacks were moved.

She chuckled as she shut the door.

Forgoing her bike this time, Twilight made a fast paced walk to the entry, flashing her card to the guard and hurrying out onto the sidewalk. A little ways up the street, not in view of the guards house, was a SUV-like limo, similar to the one Sunset had gotten picked up in before. However this one was silver and seemed brand new. When the window rolled down Sunset peeked, out, waving to her.

“Come on!”

Twilight didn’t need to be told twice.

“It’s good to see you,” Twilight smiled as she clambered in. Sunset and Applejack gave her a wave as she sat down, Sunset taking her bag and putting it with the others. “Thanks for the ride!”

“Happy to,” Sunset smiled. “I mean, we have the best vehicle for it.”

“This thing could fit the entire Apple Clan and then some,” Applejack whistled, tilting her hat back.

“It’s very impressive,” Twilight nodded, looking around as the car began to drive. “Is it new? I-” She froze when her eyes rovered to the far corner of the backseat, where a pair of blue, glowing eyes leered.

“Yeah, after our last ‘visit’ my mom bought one that could take off some suspicion,” Sunset sighed. “Course they’d just need to run the plates anyway…” When Twilight didn’t respond, the vampire looked to her, following her gaze.

“Oh, right…” Sunset frowned softly. “You remember my aunt Luna right?”

Oh yes, Twilight did indeed remember Luna. The starry haired woman sat, relaxed, with her legs crossed and her eyes narrowed. She said nothing when Twilight looked back at her and the girl felt a chill go down her back.

“She wanted to come along for the ride,” Sunset explained, looking to her aunt. “For some reason.”

“These horseless carriages amuse me,” Luna stated plainly.

Sunset shrugged, looking confused and unconvinced, but Twilight’s eyes darted between them. She offered Luna a small smile. “It’s—ah, it’s good to see you again! I hope you’re doing well?”

When in doubt, be as polite as possible.

Luna’s eyes slowly moved to Twilight, and she seemed to study the girl before nodding in acknowledgement.

Oh god.

“Well are you guys excited for the sleepover?” Applejack, blessed Applejack, sliced through the tension in the air as easily as a hot knife through butter. She adjusted her hat a little as the car drove. “I know I’m ready to play some video games! I been meaning to beat Rainbow’s butt at ‘Them’s Fightin Herds’ again!”

“If memory serves, I beat you after you beat Rainbow,” Sunset laughed, looking back at her.

“If mah memory serves—No you didn't,” Applejack snorted, cheekily.

“I must have beaten you so bad you repressed it in your memory.”

“Or it didn’t happen.”

Both girls playfully puffed up their chests, squaring off in a sort of fun-intended face down. Twilight leaned forward, looking around Sunset’s form. “Do you do a video game tournament at your sleepovers?” She asked, interested. A video game tournament was something she had prepared for.

“Never a proper tournament, more like a random VS game here and there,” Applejack shrugged.

“But we should look into that,” Sunset smirked.

“Oh yes, indeed we should,” Applejack nodded. “Put all this to rest, once an’ fer all.”

“Do you braid hair, or have pillow fights, or tell scary stories?” Twilight questioned.

“Hair occasionally,” Sunset said, turning to her. “Some of us like it, other don’t. The pillow fights can be crazy, but not unusually so…”

“Unless you count that time Pinkie somehow had a pillow cannon,” Applejack sighed.

“As for the scary stories, that’s more Rainbow’s jam,” Sunset nodded. “She loves to tell those.”

“Like the headless horseman murderer. Or The Olden One….”

“Or the one about a monster who steals all your ‘shiny things’!” Sunset held her hands up menacingly.

“Yeah that’s a story only a Harpy could get frightn’d over,” AJ agreed. “Course I was the only one spooked by the Locust story.”

“And then Pinky Pie told that one where the thing chasing her ended up being the vacuum cleaner,” Sunset chuckled.

“You enjoy telling tales of woe that you have experienced? That is a pleasurable pastime in this era?” Luna asked suddenly, looking around the cab in confusion.

“Well… Kinda,” Sunset winced, clearly struggling on how to explain the horror genre to her puzzled aunt. “It’s just fun to be scared sometimes?”

“I see. A moment to excite the heart and stir the blood. Much like hunting a dangerous beast back in the day,” Luna mumbled. “Not to mention it passes lessons on to others…”

“Mmmmmnah?” Sunset made a noise of ambiguous nature, hand doing a so-so gesture at the same time.

“Well mayhaps I can assist you with your recreational education,” Luna said. “I’m sure you have heard of the beast, Final Stand?”

The car felt like it had gone cold.

“F-final Stand?” Applejack echoed, eyes wide. “B-but he’s not real…”

“He was as real as I am before you,” Luna tsked. “The beast that slew a thousand creatures, the butcher of the brave and cleaver of the innocent alike. His glinting blade's every stroke was death. His boots stained crimson by a river of blood left in his wake."” Luna scowled. “I myself met this beast, face to face one dark night… after he had hunted a group of our clan on the fringes of our land. I intended to destroy him, the filthy worm….”

She winced. “But while I did not fail, I also did not succeed.”

The three exchanged wary glances. “What happened?” Applejack asked.

“I was too powerful for him destroy, but he managed to weaken me. In a final effort to save his miserable hide, he pulled some gems from his cloak tried to use with them against me. Had it not been for my own charmed apparel he’d have likely succeed. The combined forces ended in an explosion. I barely survived while his body was left battered and broken. I knew he was dead—No heartbeat to be heard in the slightest and his injuries were horrific,” She grimaced heavily at the memory. “But… SOMEHOW his body rose. A twisted, bleeding, putrid corpse, having to claw its way back up the walls with broken arms. How it walked on mangled legs I will never know, how it outmaneuvered me with them I can’t even imagine. Yet it somehow cut me open and shoved something inside of my body. Whatever it was, it managed to seal me away for a millennium and all I saw as I my consciousness was swallowed by darkness was him, dead eyed with that twisted grin.” She narrowed her eyes, “If I can take any solace from it, Final Stand’s body never left that place… and whatever dark curse that boiled inside it.”

“Thankfully my sister was able to find me about two hundred years ago, though I remained asleep until the curse ran its course,” Luna scowled. “However, though his body is but bone and dust, I know the wrongness inside him lives on to this day… Perhaps a curse he himself willingly bore. His final resting place has long been sealed so it won’t infect the masses.”

“Wow… I knew you had been in a cursed sleep, but mom never told me about that other stuff…” Sunset winced.

“It is likely too painful. She lost me for eight hundred years. Celestia believed I was dead for a good number of them.” Luna sighed. “Truly the only real horror in life is when you think you’ve lost something forever.”

Sunset and Applejack looked at each other in concern.

Twilight stared at the floor pointedly, biting her lip.

“Well, I suppose we are here,” Luna said, car coming to a stop. “Have fun at your nightlong carousing event.”

“Sleepover, Aunt Luna…” Sunset gave her a simper, grabbing her bag. ‘It’s just an overnight party.”

“Well just don’t consume more spirits than you’re able to handle.”

“Aunt Luna, again, there is a drinking age now and I’m not at it.”

Twilight took her bag, stepping down from the high riding vehicle. Looking around she realized they were actually even farther out from the city than Applejack’s farm. They were closer to her school, Twilight knew because she recognized the train station in the distance. It was a space just outside the woodlands surrounding the school, filled with barren grasslands for farming and working.

Pinkie’s land was dirt and rocks. Like fields of rocks actually. Her house was a little plain looking, not to mention it seemed kinda lonely in nature with how it was so isolated. Out behind it was a large steel storage building and besides that… well… that was it. There wasn’t much about her house to describe.

“Bye Aunt Luna! Bye Carrion!” Sunset waved as the car drove off.

“Do you think she’s ready for us?” Twilight asked as they began up the walkway.

“You tell me.” Applejack pointed to the front window.

There was Pinkie, pressed up against the glass so her face was smooshed on the surface. She was panting in excitement, tail wagging faster and faster the closer they came. Once they were just a few feet away she slid across the window toward the front door, disappearing for only a few moments before throwing it open.

“You’re here, you’re here, you’re here!!!” She shouted, bouncing it place. “YOU’RE HERE!!!”

“Yes Pinkie,” Sunset laughed. Twilight and Applejack clambered in, putting their things down, but when she turned around, Sunset was still outside, watching Pinkie run around her in excitement.

“Sunset?” Twilight said in confusion. Sunset just offered her a tired smile.

“Ah Pinkie, you need to help Sunset!” Applejack shouted, leaning out the open doorway.

“Huh?” Pinkie stopped, spinning around until she zeroed in on Sunset standing by the door patiently. “OH!! Right!” She ran over, taking Sunset by the shoulders and pushing her inside. “Welcome, welcome, welcome! Come on in and make yourself at home Sunset! Mi casa de fiesta es tu casa de fiestas!!”

“Thank you Pinkie,” Sunset smiled, finally getting in and putting her things down.

“No problem! We’re gonna be up in my room, but we’ll wait for everyone to arrive before starting!” Pinkie lead them down the hall to a living room. It was plainly decorated and had some old couches, which seemed a little worse for wear. Twilight looked at them, pushing her glasses up her nose.

“You guys have a dog?” She asked, point to a gnawing mark on the leg of the couch.

“Nope, that was me,” Pinkie chuckled. “I was a rambunctious pup.” Sitting down Twilight jumped when Pinkie handed her a framed photo from seemingly thin air. “See what I mean?”

The picture was one of a rather dull looking girl with grey skin and purple hair, staring at the camera with a neutral expression. In her arms was what looked like three newborn puppies, one of which looked very familiar.

“That one’s me!” Pinkie said, pointing to the pink puppy in the middle, who was squirming out of grasp. “Then we have my younger sister Marble, older sister Limestone, and finally my oldest, oldest sister-”

“Maud.”

“Ah!” Twilight jumped, spinning around to see the same bored looking girl from the picture. Though she was easily now in her early twenties.

“Sorry, I’m usually not so quiet,” She said in a monotone voice. “I just came to see if any of you wanted drinks.”

“Oh I knew I forgot something!” Pinkie said, dashing for the kitchen and transforming into a wolf halfway there.

“Hey Maud, how's your schooling going?” Sunset asked at Twilight’s other side.

“Fine. I may make the dean's list,” She said flatly.

“Oh congratulations, that can’t be easy!”

“I try,” Maud shrugged, looking to Twilight suddenly. “You’re new.”

“Oh, uh… yes, sorry!” Twilight blinked when Maud leaned in oddly close. “I’m, ah, Twilight…”

“Hello.”

“I-... yes, hello,” Twilight winced.

“My name is Maud.”

“Uh, yes! Ummm…”

“Maud, tell Twilight about your university classes,” Sunset suggested, leaning back on her seat.

“Ok,” Maud stated. “I’m going through for my rockderet.”

“Your going to have a rockderet!” Twilight gasped. “That’s the highest honor the field of geology has to offer! Getting one is very difficult.”

“I know,” Maud said. “That’s why I’m going to school to get it.”

“Wait, rockteret?” Applejack asked, looking confused. “What kind of job can you get with that-”

“Drinks here!” Pinkie came in with a tray balanced perfectly on her wolf head. She stopped at each person so they could take a glass. “We got water or soda!”

“Thanks,” Twilight smiled, a little happy when Maud gave her some more space to take a drink herself.

“Thank Maud! She took me out to get all sorts of supplies with my parents out of town!” Pinkie smiled. “Plus she agreed to keep an eye on us, so we could still get together!”

“It’s no trouble.” Maud took a sip from her cup.

“Plus my other sisters will be out for the night, they’re leaving soon so we can have the house to ourselves!” Pinkie smiled and put the tray down. “They’re doing some overnight hunting out in the woods.”

“And WE’RE gonna be more productive than you EVER were on a hunt with us!!” A familiar raspy voice shouted from the floor above, something pounding on the floor.

Pinkie Pie sighed. “It’s hard to get any privacy in this house when everyone has super dog hearing…”

“WOLVES! We are WOLVES!” Limestone shouted.

Pinkie snorted out her nose.

“I heard that!!”

“SOOoooooo,” Sunset cut in quickly. “What’s on the agenda tonight Pinkie Pie?”

“Ooooo! Lots of fun stuff!” Pinkie smiled. “I figured we’d each make our own personal pizzas! We got all sorts of good stuff in the kitchen! Plus we got the movies library upstairs, and Rarity is bringing stuff for makeovers! I also got to move our Gamestation upstairs and got it all set in my room!”

“This is gonna be so much fun!” Applejack smiled.

“I know! I’m so excited!!” Pinkie clapped her hands together. “As soon as everyone else arrives we can get started-”

DING DONG

Pinkie spun around, claws scrambling on the floor as she began to bark wildly. As soon as she made it to the doorway, Twilight jolted when two more large canines came barreling down the back stairs. Yapping filled the air as they rushed the hallway, headed towards the front door in a thunder of slamming paws until it ended with a resounding bang, all of them plowing into the closed door. Another wolf walked out from behind the couch, fur grey with a purple tinge.

“I am also excited to see who is at the door,” Maud spoke, meandering forward.

There was more banging and thumping, a yelp came, followed by annoyed growls before Pinkie’s muffled voice came forth. “Get off! Limestone! Off!”

“Tell Marble to move her tail!”

“Mmmm!”

“Why do we do this every time!?” Pinkie snapped. “One of us always gets buried at the foot of the door!”

“It’s incase there are intruders on our territory!”

“Who rang the doorbell?!” Pinkie shouted.

“Then why do you come running?!”

“Honestly it’s just nice to have company.”

There was another yelp and a small, grey wolf skittered into the living room again, tail between its legs.

“Ah, Limestone! You kicked Marble!”

“She was on top of this damn dog-pile!!”

“Oh so now we’re dogs cause it suits you.”

“Shut it!”Limestone growled.

“There are people still outside,” Maud spoke flatly.

Limestone growled, stalking into the room and heading back towards the stairs, Marble timidly following after. Limestone’s eyes scanned over their guests, pausing upon Twilight. “Oh it’s you,” She sniffed.

“Hello Limestone,” Twilight gave a shaky smile. “Nice to see you again.”

“Hmm. You too or whatever.” She marched for the stairs and Marble gave Twilight a shy look, then hurried up after her older sister.

“You know Limestone?” Applejack asked.

“I met her briefly when Pinkie stopped by the school to see me,” Twilight chuckled.

“Oh right,” Applejack smiled. “The unexpected campus tour.”

“I still can’t believe it ended so well,” Sunset said, taking a drink from her cup. “Especially given my experiences.”

“Yeah but she can turn into a wolf,” Applejack shrugged. “You can’t.”

“Plus it’s hard to hide when you're literally on fire,” Sunset smirked.

“Welcome, Welcome, Welcome!” Pinkie sang out, hurrying back into the room, tail wagging wildly. “Come on in! I’ll make more drinks!”

“Pinkie you are a doll!” Rarity came in holding a few plastic bags. “I’m terribly sorry I wasn’t in early like I said I would, but Sweetie was just impossible today!”

“No prob! Maud gave me a hand and besides, you brought all those beauty products for me!” Pinkie barked from the kitchen. “Everyone's gonna look so goooooddddd!!!”

Rarity chuckled and took a seat, a hand on her chest modestly. “Well I can only enhance all your natural beauties, you can only polish a perfect gem so much.”

“So what was going on with Sweetie Bell?” Applejack asked.

“Your guess is likely as good as mine,” Rarity sighed, running a hand through her hair. “My parents went out shopping this morning and I was supposed to leave to get here early. Sweetie is usually fine to stay home alone for a bit, but she started saying she didn’t feel very good.” Rarity shook her head. “Next thing I know there’s puke in the toilet.”

“Sounds like the flu,” Twilight said.

“I thought so to. However I put a thermometer in her mouth and went to get her some ice, but when I came back, she had the thermometer under a light bulb,” Rarity huffed. “Then it turns out the puke was actually wet cat food. I found the can behind the toilet. Of course it took an hour to figure this all out.”

“Why in the hey did she do that?!” Applejack frowned.

“I have absolutely no idea!” Rarity threw her hands up into the air dramatically.

“Maybe she wanted you to stay home and spend time with her?”

Everyone jumped when Maud appeared out of nowhere with her comment. Rarity blinked. “E-excuse me?”

“I know my sisters tried to keep me home because they wanted my attention. They even hid Boulder.”

“ONCE!” Limestone yelled from the upper level.

“I’d say she just wanted you to stay home,” Maud finished, undisturbed by the interruption.

“Well I don’t know why she didn’t just say that,” Rarity sighed. “I suppose I should make more time for her…”

“Ah heck, Applebloom’s been actin’ up too,” Applejack frowned. “I don’t care how much attention she feels she needs, half the things she’s doing make me less inclined to spend time with ‘er,” Applejack snorted and looked to Twilight. “Speakin’ a which, did anything come of that little Sweet Heart apples prank a’ hers?”

“Nobody got hurt,” Twilight said, slowly beginning to smile. “Though my mother has apparently gotten hints that there maybe some baby showers later on this year. And a few weddings.”

“Hub-boy…” Applejack pulled on her shirt collar and Sunset let out a laugh.

“Oh my god, I really am contagious!”

“Only thing contagious here is fun!” Pinkie barked, coming back with a drink on a tray for Rarity.

“Thank you,” Rarity smiled.

As she took a sip Applejack’s expression turned to confusion. “Wait a minute… Pinkie how can you get those drinks together in your wolf form?”

“Oh it’s easy!” Pinkie Pie said. “You see, first what I do is-”

DING DONG

BARK! BARK! BARK!

Pinkie spun around for the door again, but this time Limestone and Marble were quicker to the draw. They bounded down the stairs and met up with Pinkie at the hall entryway, all three of them scrambling over each other to get down the hall first, claws clacking on the floors. They went for the door in an avalanche of fur and paws.

BANG!

Maud padded slowly towards the hall as the scabbling (and squabbling) began.

“Goddamnit Pinkie! Get off!”

“Look who’s top dog now huh?!”

“Pinkie Pie!!!”

“Mmmm!”

BANG! Scrabble. Klunk!

“Owww! Limestone, that hurt!”

“Sucks to be you!”

There was growling and snarling, but Maud's voice rang out.

“Heel,” She commanded in a monotone voice. However it seemed to work, as the argument ended and so did the sounds of struggle. “Limestone, finish packing for your trip. Pinkie, let our guests in.”

Limestone snorted, stalking back to the living room and up the stairs, Marble quietly behind her. Neither looked at their guests this time and Pinkie could be heard opening the door.

“Welcome, Welcome, Welco-”

BANG!

A swirl of pink and blue tumbled into the doorway of the living room, Rainbow Dash having, apparently tackled the other girl at the front. They were wrestling lightly, Pinkie pretending to snap at her.

Or at least Twilight hoped.

“You gotta keep your guard up!” Rainbow shouted, giving Pinkie a rough looking noogie.

“Nooo! I had my guard up! Honest!” Pinkie whined, trying to regain control. They fought a little more, Pinkie wriggling in Rainbow's ‘merciless’ hold. Legs were kicking out and a table near the entry wobbled until Applejack reached out to steady it.

Maud came up behind them, back in her human form. She watched them, fighting below her on the floor for a few seconds, then took her foot, shoving the two’s tussling pile to an out of the way corner, which seemed made for the activity given the scratch marks on the floor and walls nearby. Maud stepped aside so Fluttershy could float in.

“Thanks.”

“It’s fine,” Maud shrugged, walking to the kitchen. “Have fun, I need to set some stuff up.”

“Do you want any help Maud?” Rarity called out. “I’d be happy to assist!”

“No need.” Then she disappeared into the kitchen.

Pinkie cried out in triumph when she finally wriggled out of the trap, jumping on top of Rainbow, who gave an undignified squawk. As they fought, Rarity spoke up.

“I say, Rainbow, have you noticed Scootaloo acting odd?”

Rainbow acknowledged her with a quick glance, but didn’t let up on her onslaught. “What-? Scoots?” Rainbow grabbed Pinkie around the middle and flipped them, so she was on top again. “I- I dunno! I haven’t seen- ah!- seen much of her!” She put Pinkie in a headlock. “Between cleaning the track- gah! - and school and sports I haven’t had- nah!- t-time!”

“Mmm.” Rarity and Applejack shared a look.

“Why, is something wrong?” Rainbow huffed, the two finally halting their combat.

“Well it’s just that Sweetie and Applebloom seemed to have been acting up, but it might be because they want our attention,” Rarity explained.

“Well between our social life, work life, and school life, what are we supposed to do?” Rainbow asked. “There's only so much time in a day. I mean I guess I could spend a day with her sometime, but baseball season just started up and I wanted to spend some time with you guys too.”

“That’s always the issue isn’t it? Lack of time,” Rarity sighed.

“Time’s just a construct of perception.”

Every looked to Pinkie when she finished speaking, eyes wide. She just panted happily under the attention until she turned to look up at Rainbow, who flicked her lightly on the nose.

Then they started to wrestle again.

“Alright.” Maud almost couldn’t be heard over the noise, but she managed. “Pizza stuff is ready.”

“Pizza!” Rainbow leapt up and hopped in a bird like motion to the kitchen, Pinkie stumbling after her.

“Maud! No fair, you’ve done so much work already!” She whined. “I call clean up!”

“We’ll see.”

Getting into the kitchen Twilight could see a large dining table covered in pizza toppings. There were things she was used to, like pepperoni, cheese, and basil, but a large majority of the objects she had never really had on Pizza before, and for a good reason… Twilight eyed the bowl of dried crickets on the corner of the table as everyone grabbed plates.

“Ok, so we have enough pizza crusts for everyone to have three!” Pinkie held up a premade pizza dough, about the size of a typical small pizza. Pinkie waved her hand over it. “We made them earlier! Just load ‘em up with whatever you want! We can put them in the oven and then enjoy!”

“Alright! Where’s the sauce!” Rainbow asked.

“Wellllll-” Pinkie sunk under the table and inexplicably rose from behind the island on the other side of the room. “We have regular, spicy, and goats blood mix!” She pointed at three very similar looking sauces. “You can tell which is which because of the smell!”

Uh oh…

“And if we can’t smell as well as you Pinkie?” Applejack asked, making Twilight relax.

“Hmmm.” She sniffed over each one before smiling. “Spicy’s in the middle. Goats blood is to the left here and regular is to the right, right over here!” She clapped her hands. “And then-” She disappeared below the island, reappearing from the side of the fridge. “The cheese is over here! We got white cheddar, mozzarella, and parmesan!”

“Can werewolves teleport?” Twilight asked as Sunset handed her a plate.

“No, that’s just Pinkie Pie,” Sunset laughed. “I’m not sure- GAH!” Sunset jumped when she turned and Maud was suddenly on her other side.

“There’s garlic in the regular sauce, just so you know.” Maud said plainly, face inches from Sunset’s own.

“I- ok!”

Maud picked up a plate and let them be, going about making her pizza. Twilight leaned into Sunset’s ear. “Are you sure?”

“Gah….?” The vampire shrugged.

“Quit with the slack jaw or your gonna miss out!” Rainbow shouted, piling a mountain of sardines on her pizza, intermixing them with cheese and sauce. “I’m not holding back with mine so get stuff while you can!”

Twilight threw on some regular sauce and cheese before looking around at the plethora of topping. She sidestepped a collection of what appeared to be uncooked, stringy flesh and began to place pepperoni on hers.

“Oh Twilight, do you want to try some rabbit?” Rarity asked, pointing to a bowl of raw meat near her.

“Uh… No thanks… I kinda need cooked meat.”

“Of course! How could I forget,” Rarity said quickly, waving her off. “Not everyone can have it right off the bone! Please excuse me!”

“Bones? We got bones?” Rainbow asked, head poking up over the crowd to look around the room like an owl.

“Here!” Pinkie’s hand shot out with a bowl of small, broken white bits. She shook it a little, pieces rattling inside. “We just grabbed a mixed bag at the store though! I think it’s mostly small mammals.”

“I just like the crunch!” Rainbow took a handful, shaking it over her pizza. “I don’t chew them for flavor like you Pinkie.”

“Hey pass the brain bits!” Sunset shouted.

“Pork , chicken or vegan?”

“Vegan.” Sunset received a small bowl of something rather visceral looking.

Twilight was so happy they were doing individual pizzas...

“Weee!” Pinkie pushed over to Twilight. “Look at my pizza Twilight!”

The human hesitantly did so, curious as to what the werewolf wolf would put on her pizza…

“Pinkie…” Twilight gasped, a little horrified.

“It’s a family recipe!” Pinkie smiled holding it closer to her.

“Is… Is that…” Twilight squinted and winced. “Frosting?”

“Yeaha.” Pinkie pointed to the pink and blue frosting. “Buttermilk! With M&Ms and Skittles and chocolates chips and graham crumbs and-”

“And sauce and cheese and hot peppers…” Twilight continued, forcing a wobbly smile. Honestly it was the most horrific pizza Twilight had ever seen.

Out the corner of her eye Twilight saw Rainbow throwing full frog legs on hers.

Nope, Pinkie’s was still worse…

“Wait till you try a bit! It’s sweet and ‘spiceay’! Not to mention chewy where it should be crunchy and crunchy where chewy!” Pinkie held up a hand. “Then, near the end when you’re just about to swallow, there's this taste that nobody in my family could ever put a name to.”

Good lord.

“Rainbow, let’s put yours in first.” Maud ordered, opening a wall oven. She turned it on and blue flames came to life at the bottom, sparkling softly. “It will take a while to bake through the layers.”

“Sweet!” Rainbow pulled off the top rack and fit her rather heavy pizza in.

“Hi Twilight.” Fluttershy floated over softly, feet inches from the floor.

“Hey Fluttershy, are you done with your pizza?” Twilight looked around for the fairy’s plate.

“Yes.” She smiled and grabbed it off the counter.

Plain cheese.

“Oh, you didn’t want anything else?” Twilight asked, looking over the ocean of possibilities.

“I’m not fussy,” Fluttershy blushed. “Well, not that the others are! I just like plain cheese pizza…”

“I’m not too adventurous myself…” Twilight smiled and held up her pepperoni one. Meat evenly spaced to an almost mathematical degree.

“Looks yummy Twilight,” She nodded. “I’m not a big fan of processed meat, but…” She looked to Rainbow with a smile, the harpy eating sliced sausage by the handful as she watched her pizza cook. Or at least until Rarity smacked her hand with a tisk.

“Do you not eat meat at all?” Twilight asked.

“Sometimes, we tend to just be an insect and plant eating species, but we do love sweet foods like apples and tomatoes.” She waved a hand. “Honey and maple syrup are a staple too… just not on pizza.”

“Says you!” Pinkie barked, pouring a helping of both on her own pizza.

“Oh my…”

“Hey Pinkie you want any pineapple?” Sunset offered.

“Pineapple?!” Pinkie asked, shocked. “What am I? An animal?!”

Then she dumped an entire industrial package of sprinkles on her pizza.

(Nobody noticed when Twilight snagged a handful of pineapple for her own)

____________________________________________________________________

Once the pizzas were done they moved onto a movie to watch as they ate. After a bit of argument in the group it was decided that they would watch the first movie of the Nightmare Moon series.

“Now see, the plot of the second one makes more sense,” Applejack said halfway through, sitting on the bunk bed.

“Well you’re supposed to watch the first one ‘first’’” Rainbow smirked, latched to the rail of the top bunk.

Applejack took a pillow and thumped Rainbow in the face.

“Hey! I almost dropped the last bit of my pizza!” Rainbow whined.

“It’s been an hour, just eat the darned thing,” Applejack scoffed.

Pinkie’s bedroom had a bunk bed and a tv set up across from it. Everything was slathered in pink and there were balloons all over the place. Between them one could see party plans and cake recipes pinned to the wall. Twilight sat on the rolling desk chair, sipping a soda as the movie went on.

“Who wants chips!?” Pinkie asked, picking up a bag. She tried to open it, only for her smile to drop when the bag refused to give. She started tugging and yanking, a small growl beginning in the back of her throat before Rarity reached down.

“Let me see darling, we don’t want chips all over the floor again.” Rarity frowned when Pinkie pouted, holding the bag away from her. “Ah! Ah! No.” The satyr shook her finger and echoed a ‘give it here’ motion with her other had. “Drop it, drop it!”

Pinkie whined, holding out for a few moments longer, before reluctantly giving the bag up. Rarity opened it and handed the chips back in less than a second.

“There! Wasn’t that easy!” Rarity smiled. Pinkie didn’t respond as she had pushed her entire face into the bag to eat, muffled munching coming from the plastic, the wolf resembling a horse with an oversized feed bag. Rarity sighed in a good natured way. “Well it's nice to make you happy- SPEAKING OF-” Rarity turned to Fluttershy, seated on the floor below her. “What do you think!? Is it too much?”

The fairy felt at her large hairdo that Rarity had constructed for her. “It’s… nice.”

“There’s not too much volume is there?” Rarity asked, eyeing the hair style.

“No… It’s- It’s nice,” Fluttershy winced.

“Not too much Magical Glitter Spray?” Rarity ask. “Or Star pins?”

“No. It looks… good,” Fluttershy said softly.

“Well that’s funny, because I didn't use either of those,” Rarity said plainly. Fluttershy froze until she heard the satyr laugh. “Oh come now Fluttershy, if you’re going to try and spare my feeling, at least pretend to use the mirror!” She chuckled. “Let’s get this abomination off your head, hows that sound?”

“Sounds good,” Fluttershy let out a twinkling twitter of amusement.

Sunset shifted in her seat on the bottom bunk. “Is it just me, or is the characterization of the main Demon Hunter way better in this movie than the sequel?”

“Well some years were supposed to pass between the two.” Twilight said, looking to her. “Things change.”

“Yeah, but this character is way more interesting as a bookish introvert.” Sunset hummed.

“You’re not alone, a lot of the fandom feels that way.” Rainbow commented.

“But she’s a person, not a character, you can’t say stuff like that to a person,” Fluttershy frowned

“No, she is a character. A fictional character,” Rainbow said. “Not real.”

“We’re all not real sillies,” Pinkie spoke suddenly, silencing everyone.

“Ok, creepy…” Sunset frowned.

Twilight blinked when she spotted movement nearby her, realizing Pinkie was offering her the bag of chips. Twilight reached out, taking one from the bag to sniff. It was some kind of BBQ flavour, but the chip was clearly one of those rawhide style one. Shrugging she took a bite.

She took a bite.

SHE TOOK A BITE-!

Ah damn!

Twilight kept trying the bite into the chip, but the rawhide’s almost plastic surface was too thick. The powder was definitely coming off though and was actually pretty good… If only she could eat the darned thing… She kept trying for a few moments, using her hand to put pressure on both sides by twisting and bending it, but the chip held firm.

She heard Pinkie giggle.

“You look like me when I’m just trying to open the bag!” The wolf smile. “You wanna just naw on it, or should I take it?”

Twilight sighed. Defeated by a junk food product. “Here you go.”

Pinkie popped it into her mouth without a care in the world. She chewed it up in less than a second, making Twilight wonder how strong Pinkie’s jaw was. Looking to the others, it seemed like they hadn’t noticed her struggle.

Thankfully.

“AND-!” Rainbow shifted up on the top bunk, groaning a bit when she stretched. “I’m bored of the movie.”

“Aw come on, I ain’t seen it!” Applejack said quickly.

“Well you could have if you came with me when it was in theaters,” Rainbow said. “Besides the twist ending was ruined by watching the sequel first. The demon monster is clearly the lost Princess.”

“SHE IS?!?!” Pinkie Pie gasped.

Rainbow ran a hand down her face.

“Alright, alright. When you get like this there's no pleasin’ yah until you get what’cha want,” Applejack sighed. “So what do you want to do?”

Rainbow looked thoughtful as Pinkie shut off the movie. When she went to speak, Fluttershy suddenly spoke over her.

“No scary stories!” She squealed out.

Rainbow looked like she wanted to argue against the fairy, but stopped at the other girl’s nervous expression before sighing. “Fine. No scary stories.” Then, however, she began to rub her hands together in maniacal excitement, a grin slowly growing over her face. “Instead, hows about some Truth or Dare?”

“YEAH!” Pinkie smiled. “That’s so fun!”

“I’m down for that,” Sunset said with a nod. “Just no more dangerous ones? We all remember the last time.”

“Yeah, yeah, no human communities,” Rainbow huffed quickly. “We’ll keep it in the house.”

“Bottle me!” Pinkie ordered, taking Applejack’s empty root beer bottle and wiping away any left over liquid. “Circle up girls, while the gettin’s good!”

“You ok with this Shy? Twilight?” Sunset asked as she knelt to the floor.

“So long as it’s safe,” Twilight smiled, having brushed up on some good dares and truth questions in her books.

“It’s ok,” Fluttershy nodded quickly.

“GREAT!” Pinkie panted, putting the bottle down in the middle of the circle. “I spin first!”

Before anyone could fight her for it, the werewolf gave it a twist, everyone watching as it twirled. It went a few circles in before slowing, gradually crawling to a stop.

Everyone looked to Rarity.

“Truth…” Pinkie leaned in a bit to the satyr before making a grand, and dramatic flourish with her hands “Or DARE?!”

Rarity looked between Pinkie and the other girls before sighing. “Oh, well if I must go first it might as well be good. Dare then.”

“I-” Pinkie pointed to herself. “-DARE you-” She pointed back to Rarity-” To wear Rainbow’s sweaty arm bands for the rest of the game.”

“GOOD LORD!” Rarity recoiled. “Have you no mercy Pinkie?!”

Pinkie just gave a wicked laugh in response.

“Aw come on, they aren’t that bad,” Rainbow frowned, plucking at some ratty looking armbands around her wrists.

“When did you put them in the laundry last?!” Rarity asked nervously.

“Uh, never? Washes off the luck if you do it that way!” Rainbow stated. “I just wear them in the shower. Just as good.”

Rarity shuddered, making some kind of soft nervous whiny noise in the back of her throat.

“If you back out of the dare, you gotta do a double truth!” Pinkie said in a sing song voice.

“You have been after that secret family bundt cake recipe of mine, haven’t you,” Rarity said suspiciously. She eyed the armbands again before groaning. “Oh very well, give them here Rainbow.”

“Ally-yoop.” Rainbow pulled them off and tossed them over. Rarity caught them, holding them between her fingers and wincing. After a quick sniff she gagged.

“Oh! Rainbow, when did you shower last?!”

“Thursday night?”

“You had two sporting events yesterday!” Rarity gasped, looking closer at the offending cloths. “And why are they oddly stiff?!”

“You gonna wear them or not?” Pinkie asked playfully.

“I shall,” Rarity finally conceded, looking determined. However it morphed a bit into a sly expression. “However I shall not wear them on my arms.” Rarity stuffed them both over her lion-like tail. “You didn’t say where I had to wear them.”

“Oh touché!” Pinkie barked happily.

With the dare over with, and her tail as far from her nose as she could make it, Rarity took the bottle to spin. After a few rounds the bottle stopped, pointing to Rainbow.

“Ah yeah!” Rainbow bounced in place. “Dare! Dare!”

“M’alright,” Rarity smirked. “I dare you to let me give you a complete makeover before your cousin’s wedding.” She leaned in. “Cosmetics included.”

Rainbow groaned. “That’s not a dare!”

“They are ifn they’re something you don’t wanna do and make ya miserable,” Applejack said coyly.

“You!” Rainbow pointed to the plant girl darkly. “You are not helping!”

“Better you than me.”

“Well Rainbow?” Rarity asked, badly hiding her excitement. “Are you backing out?”

Rainbow inhaled, looking thoughtful for a few seconds and put her hands together. She looked back at Rarity. “Makeup has to be skin tone, nothing ‘dangly’ and I only have to wear most of it until after the ceremony.”

“Ooooh! Deal!” Rarity said, bouncing in place. She grabbed a sketchbook from her bag. “I need to start making up some ideas to go with the dress!”

“We’re in the middle of a game!” Rainbow whined.

“So long as she’s not in play, she can do whatever she wants,” Sunset sighed. “It’s your turn.”

“Oh right!” Rainbow’s smile returned and she took the bottle, whipping it around. It twirled wildly under the intensity of the spin, wobbling a bit and moving off center before pointing to Applejack when it finally stopped.

“Now before you get all excited, I’m choosin’ truth,” Applejack said quickly, looking to the girl at her side.

“No problem,” Rainbow responded, turning to face Applejack a little. “For my question, why did your brother need the truck this weekend?”

“W-what!?” Applejack blinked. “That ain’t your business!”

“Yeah but you gotta tell the truth!”

“The truth is that it ain’t none of your business!”

“Come on Applejack, It can’t be that bad,” Sunset blinked, brow raised.

“It’s not bad, its just his personal dealings,” Applejack frowned.

“Come on! We won’t tease him or anything!” Rainbow added.

“But…” Applejack looked at them all before sighing. “Well, I suppose it’s not a huge secret or anything… he’s got a girlfriend a few towns over.”

“Oooooooh!” The girl echoed in chorus. Applejack rolled and eyes as Rainbow grabbed her shoulder.

“Man I was starting to think he’d never start looking! Who is she?” Rainbow asked.

“Now you ain’t getting more from me!” Applejack said, shaking Rainbow off. “Bad luck in our culture to go gabbin’ about relationship before they’ve had a few months to take root! They’ve only been dating a week.”

“But-”

“No butt but yours on mah boot! ” Applejack ordered, taking the bottle. “It’s mah turn…”

She spun the bottle, watching it circle around, until…-

“Oh come on!” Rarity whined when it stopped at her. “Is your floor slanted Pinkie?!”

“Maybe?” The wolf shrugged. “One time we had to rebuild the floor cause I was wrestling with Limestone on the bed, and she body slammed me down to the second floor.”

“Holy crap, were you ok?” Sunset blinked.

“I broke my collar bone and it also made it so my elbow can do THIS now!” Pinkey put her left arm out and elbow joint folded back slightly in the wrong direction, and EVERYONE winced.

“Aw nasty!” Rainbow laughed, not looking directly at it.

“Ew! Eww! EWWWW!” Rarity choked. “Pinkie stop! Let’s just get back to the game please!!” When Pinkie’s arm moved even farther in the wrong direction the satyr gagged. “Truth Applejack! For the love all that is good! Truth!”

“Ask about her family Bundt!” Pinkie said quickly and put her arm down.

“Yeah cause I’M the one to go asking about other family’s secrets?” Applejack said plainly, brow raised in amusement. “Alright Rarity…” Applejack paused, looking thoughtful about her question. “Tell me which dress is your favorite, but you can’t say all of them!”

“F-favorite?!” Rarity put a hand to her chest. “I- what?! I could never choose! It be like choosing a favorite child!”

“You gotta be yankin’ my primaries here,” Rainbow said, staring at Rarity like she grew a second head. She tiredly groaned. “A child?!”

“To me yes! I made them didn’t I?”

“Criminy Rarity, I didn’t ask yeh to burn all but the one,” Applejack sighed. “Look, how's ‘bout one you remember the most fer… some special reason.”

Rarity paused. “Mmm, well… I suppose that would be one of my first dresses. I made it for Sweetie Belle's baptism,” Rarity smiled. “It was a beautiful little white cotton dress with lace. I even tried making a bonnett and tested out embroidery methods.” Rarity frowned. “Was not ready to make a bonnett…”

“Nah! Cute!” Sunset smiled.

“This is truth or dare, it's not supposed to be cute!” Rainbow said grouchily.

“Too late!” Pinkie panted, tongue out the side of her mouth.

“Let’s try this again shall we?” Rarity asked, taking the bottle again. She spun it and the glass bottle circled a few times before landing on-

“Eep!” Fluttershy winced.

“What will it be Fluttershy? Truth or Dare?” Rarity asked. Fluttershy seemed to be trying to suck her head into her torso, judging by how her shoulders raised. Her wings fluttered and she mumbled something unintelligible into her shirt. Rarity sighed at the display. “Come now Fluttershy, I’m not unreasonable. I promise not to be too harsh with you.”

“Mmmmm.” Fluttershy poked her head out. “D-dare?”

“Oh, feeling rather brave tonight are we?” Rarity smiled. “Well then, I dare you… to sit in someone’s lap for the rest of the next person’s turn! Your choice.”

Fluttershy went red, but didn’t hesitate to pick her way across the circle and settle onto Rainbow’s lap. Rainbow peered out from around her.

“How's the bird’s nest?” She asked, grinning with her sharp teeth. When Fluttershy started to actually glow a soft pink colour, her face completely blushed, Rainbow laughed. “Alright, alright! Enough of that, it's fine Shy! Calm down!”

“Yeah, it's your turn to spin now!” Applejack added.

Fluttershy, still red as a cherry, reached down to spin the bottle. She barely even gave it enough power to spin once, the slow moving momentum ended with the bottle pointed at Twilight.

Twilight looked up. Honestly she had never done this before, but the other girls hadn’t been too mean to each other…

“I’ll do Truth,” Twilight smiled.

Fluttershy curled in on herself a little, mumbling.

“Huh?” Twilight leaned in a bit.

“Pull your head out of your ribcage Shy, and try a little bit louder,” Rainbow ordered, looking out from the otherside of Fluttershy’s form.

Fluttershy gave a tight swallow and straightened her posture. “What was it like… when you found Sunset?”

Oh.

Twilight binked, surprised by the serious question. “Why do you ask?”

Fluttershy started to mumble again, but Rainbow leaned back out to answer. “We’re all kinda curious. Sunset gave us the details from her end, but we’re interested to hear yours!”

“There’s not much to tell. I found Sunset on my lawn, I took her in, gave her some blood and she went home in the morning,” Twilight smiled with a shrug. “It was rather exciting and nerve wracking at the time, but I’m afraid I’m not much of a story ‘teller’.”

“You weren’t scared at all?” Fluttershy asked. “I mean, you must have had limited interactions with monster before.”

“None actually. So it was a little scary at first but I mean I couldn’t let her die, right?” Twilight asked. “The only part that actually got bad though was when she bit into my shoulder.”

“More like tore into it,” Sunset admitted, wincing a little.

“How much did you tell them?” Twilight asked, looking to the vampire.

“Everything. No point in leaving anything out,” Sunset shrugged. “It was a tough situation. Helps if you talk about it.”

“Yeah, except she kinda glazed over the subject about taste,” Rainbow said, looking over Fluttershy’s shoulder, the harpy squawked when Applejack jabbed her with their elbow. With Fluttershy still sitting on her, the girl couldn’t react to the assault more than a glare.

“Why would you ask that?” Twilight questioned.

“Oh- well…” Everyone looked to each other nervously. “You see Twilight... before the Treaty, way before we were born… Monsters kinda… Ummm,” Sunset stammered. “You see monsters would…”

“Wait,” Twilight held up a hand. “Your talking about how they used to eat humans right?” They all froze and Twilight actually gave a small chuckle. “Geeze guys, it’s not that bad. I mean, sure, it was horrible back then, but it's completely illegal now. I don’t think I’ve even heard about it happening since the Treaty.”

“So you’re fine talking about it?” Applejack asked.

“Well I grew up pretty sheltered. To me it's just an interesting and scary history tidbit. I’m willing to bet other humans would have more trouble, but… meh for me?”

“Well ugh…” Applejack scratched the back of her head. “The reason we asked it because, well, all the older members of our family talk about how they… sometimes miss it?”

“Not like they’d go out and kill a human just cuz,” Rainbow added. “More nostalgia. Like some messed up, discontinued, old timey candy.”

“This is kinda morbid,” Sunset added, dodging the question entirely. “We should keep playing! Go ahead Twilight.”

Twilight looked around the circle. Her friends still looked curious but hesitant to ask more. The human hummed, looking down at the bottle. She put her fingers around it, lifting it slightly and gauging its weight…

Add in the slant of the floor… Divide by the number of people…

She gave it a calculated spin.

The bottle twriled, light from the lamp nearby glinting off its surface until it came to a stop, pointed at Sunset…

“Oh!” Sunset smile.”My turn!”

“Truth or dare?” Twilight asked, crossing her fingers subtly.

“Uh…. Truth.”

Twilight smiled.

“Tell me what I tasted like.”

The rest of the girls looked to Sunset, like they were observing a tennis match.

Sunset stared at her, sweating a little. “Huh? Why do you wanna know that?’

“Scientific curiosity,” Twilight shrugged, still smiling.

“Well… I mean it was just blood…” Sunset shrugged.

“There must be more than that,” Twilight said.

“W-well…” Sunset winced. “I guess you were… good?”

“You flatter me,” Twilight smirked.

Rainbow let out a laugh from behind Fluttershy. “Ah, good one Twi!” She looked to Sunset. “Come on Shimmer! Just a few details?!”

“Ugh…” Sunset wrung her hands. “Well. Kinda stringy? Fatty a little but not like bad. Super moist…”

“Well hey now, if it makes you uncomfortable, you don’t gotta go on,” Applejack said, leaning over to put a hand to Sunset’s shoulder.

Twilight paused, taking in Sunset’s uncomfortable stance before a wave of guilt came over her. “Yeah it’s ok.” She nodded. “You don’t have to keep talking about it.”

“It’s fine, I just don’t know how to explain it to you all properly.” Sunset gave a small smile. The rest of the girls returned it, but there was an underlying feeling of interest still...

Twilight looked around the group again, biting her lip.

‘Just go with the flow. Do what the group’s into and don’t be afraid of new opportunities.’

“What if you didn’t have to explain?” Twilight asked.

“What do you mean?” Sunset questioned suspiciously and everyone turned to look at Twilight.

“Well, I mean… I’m here.” Twilight’s eyes darted between everyone. “And… I’m full of blood?”

“Are you suggesting we eat you?” Rainbow chirped, looking back at her from around Fluttershy’s back.

“No, but all it would take is a little cut or a pin prick…” Twilight shrugged.

“Twilight have you recently hit your head at all?” Sunset frowned.

“No, I’m just saying that your all curious about what humans taste like, I’m here and offering, you guys may never get another chance like this…” Twilight explained. “You don’t have to if you guys don’t want to, but I thought I’d offer, then you can say you did.”

“That would be pretty badass…” Rainbow mumbled.

“What?! No! No!” Sunset said, sitting up on her knees. “I cannot believe I have to say this, but friends don’t eat their friends!”

“Unless they’re special friends.” Rainbow chuckled.

“We’re special friends!” Pinkie barked, sitting up. “I say we try it out! Twilight’s trying to open up to us-”

“Opening up her arteries!” Sunset added quickly.

“It would be nice to stop wonderin’,“ Applejack said, wincing under Sunset’s look. “Sorry, but it’s true.”

“I don’t know if we should…” Rarity muttered, eyeing Twilight beside her.

“Aw come on, we got Twilight’s permission! Besides, It’s a four to three vote!” Rainbow smiled.

“But that’s- I can’t- We didn’t even have a proper tally!” Sunset scowled.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Twilight added again for emphasis. Silence enveloped the group, everyone holding their breath. Sunset glanced around the circle, still frowning, until she threw her hands up in defeat.

“If you’re all so set on it, then I guess I can’t stop you but it’s gonna go like this.” She shuffled over to Twilight on her knees, nudging the bottle off to the side, game forgotten.“ I’m gonna freeze Twilights finger with my teeth, I nip a hole and everyone tries, but they only try once!” Sunset pinched her nose. “I do not want to have this go south…”

“Yeah, killing guests at your party is a mood killer… Unless that’s why you held the party in the first place?” Pinkie said.

“Sounds good to me,” Twilight nodded, holding up her arm. Sunset slumped down beside her, begrudgingly taking her arm in her hands.

“You’re an idiot, I hope you fully understand that,” Sunset said flatly.

“Oh… well uh…”

“I was being semi-sarcastic Twi,” Sunset sighed.

“Ah, I see.”

Sunset held her arm and looked it over, eyes narrowed. She sighed and held it out straight. “You had to have such visible veins didn’t you,” She muttered and looked up. “You sure about this?”

Twilight smiled, a little nervous but still invested. “I trust you guys!”

“Gah! That smile! My heart!!” Pinkie whined. “The innocence!”

Rainbow’s head bobbed around Fluttershy’s form before grunting. “Uh Shy, you were just supposed to sit here until Twilight finished her turn.” Fluttershy looked back at her, blushed again and slowly slid down off Rainbow’s lap to the floor. Rainbow patted her back and rolled her eyes in a good natured way.

Sunset leaned closer, using her thumb to dust off the area of elbow, then opened her mouth. Twilight couldn’t see much else when Sunset’s head got in the way.

She felt the slight pinch though. It just made her jump a little.

“You alright?” Applejack asked, worried.

“Fine.” Twilight could feel Sunset holding her teeth in. “Just like getting an injection.” Unlike with an injection though, she couldn’t feel anything going in. That didn’t change the effect of the venom though and it didn’t take too long before Twilights arm went numb… along with something else.

Twilight blinked when her vision went all blurry. “Are my glasses on? Where d’ey go?” Twilight put a hand to her face roughly, finding her glasses still in place.

“Oh crap, what’s wrong with her?!” Rainbow asked, frantic, and the others leaned in closer.

“I may have overdone it a little,” Sunset winced. “Should we not?”

“WHAT?” Twilight turned to look at Sunset, wobbling a bit. “‘M fine, let’s do this!”

“You sure?”

“Let’s do iiiitttt!” Twilight put both her arms in the air, almost falling backward at the weight shift. “Trans’ferm and roll out!”

“Well, ok…” Sunset muttered, still uncertain but taking Twilight arm again and pulling her hand close to her mouth.

Twilight felt nothing, but when she got her hand back, there was a large trickle of blood trailing down from her ring finger. She wiggled it for a moment, a smile slowly growing on her face. “I can’t feel a thing!” She said, glancing at Sunset.

“Good… good.” Sunset mumbled, looking out at the crowd. “Ok, who’s first?”

Nobody moved.

Sunset eyed them before raising a brow. “Oh what, now you don’t want to?”

Rainbow puffed up, indignant. “Well!!- I mean!- It's different when you’re just talking about it!” Pinkie seemed to scent the air and Applejack took a closer look.

“It’s red,” The plant girl spoke.

“Yeah, blood’s red,” Sunset sighed.

“Not fer me. Mines a cleary, green.” Applejack frowned.

“That’s not the majority. The majority of creatures bleed red,” Rainbow stated.

“Its true, we’d know,” Pinkie nodded.

“Focus.” Sunset snapped her fingers, getting their attention back. “Are we doing this or should I seal Twilight’s finger back up?”

Everyone was quiet, but surprisingly Fluttershy got to her knees and crawled closer. She studied Twilights finger before scooping a bit of blood off with her own and taking a taste.

“Shy?”

“I thought fairies were vegetarian!?”

“Shh! I wanna see what she thinks!”

Fluttershy paused, swishing the liquid around in her mouth before swallowing, then gave a full body shudder.

“Well?” Rainbow asked, bouncing a bit.

Fluttershy smacked her lips and frowned. “Not good. Not bad.”

“What do you mean?” Rainbow asked.

“It's… just metallic blood,” Fluttershy frowned. “My kind don’t eat that much meat. I can’t tell.”

“Then why did you try it?!”

“It seemed rude to keep her waiting…”

“Gah!” Rainbow came over next, pushing Fluttershy carefully off to the side. “Scoot Shy, I’m giving it a try.”

“That rhymed.”

“Quiet Pinkie.”

Rainbow leaned in closer to Twilight’s hand and took a breath, her pupils thinning at the scent of blood. She inched closer, mouth opening a bit and-

Oh wow.

Twilight hadn’t really seen the inside of Rainbow’s mouth before. I mean honestly, who really looks too closely at their friend’s mouth anyway, but Twilight digressed. Inside were what looked like two- no, three rows of razor sharp teeth, all serrated on one side and pinprick points on the tips. The back layer seemed to just be emerging from the gums, while the front ones were chipped and worn. Her tongue was also a little strange looking. It looked barbed with large bristles, almost similar to her teeth but not quite as hard.

Neat.

Rainbow looked like she was gonna try to lick the blood off at first, but took a moment to reconsider. Probably a good idea given her tongue’s texture. She wiped some off on her hand and licked it off that.

Rainbow hummed, swirling it around in her mouth. She blinked a few times. “Wow. It’s actually kinda sweet?”

“Sweet?” Applejack blinked, frowning in confusion. “Now how in tarnation is blood sweet? Ain’t it all coppery and metalish, like Fluttershy said?” The plant girl pointing to Shy as she finished speaking.

“Ah, Shy’s mouth isn’t made for savoring fresh blood and flesh, like I am. I can tell, it’s sweet.” Rainbow smacked her lips. “And kinda fatty?- NOT that Twi’s fat! Just… It’s an overtone.”

Twilight’s mind, though still muddled, shot forth a cliff note for the conversation. “Hu-mins have a 20 per-cent body fat rac-ie-o,” She slurred out and everyone looked back at her as she struggled for balance, just sitting in place.

“That’ll do Twi,” Sunset sighed, rubbing her shoulder. “That’ll do.”

“Look if your not gonna get a full effect unless you’re a carnivore then maybe I shouldn’t go,” Applejack said, looking to her human friend nervously. “I mean, my great grandpappy was a little loose in the roots if you catch my meanin’. Maybe he never had human before and was just huffin and puffin?”

“Only one way to find out,” Rainbow said, gesturing to Twilight’s hand grandly before hopping out of the way. Applejack seemed unimpressed by the display, but crawled over.

“I guess I can try it,” She sighed, looking over the blood with a grimace. “If nothing else than fer the braggin’ rights? Not that I usually do.”

“Whatever you say,” Sunset mumbled, looking subtly away when Applejack frowned at her.

Applejack came a bit closer, looking over the offered finger with hesitation. Then she wiped some off with her own finger and brought it up to her face, grimacing.

“Are you gonna be ok?” Sunset asked, squinting. “You don’t have to.”

“No, it’s fine, just…” Applejack looked her finger over. “Have not had meat in a while…”

After a few more seconds Applejack seemed to steel herself and stuck her finger in her mouth. She held it there for a few moments, everyone frozen around her. When she didn’t seem to react at all, Rarity leaned in.

“Well?”

Applejack pulled back and hummed. “It is sweet, somehow? I mean it’s metal-ish and acidy too, but not completely? It’s like a Sour Key but the taste is completely different.”

“Ah geez, we’re all over the board here,” Rainbow chuckled. “What is this, Vegemite?”

“My turn!” A pink blur leapt over Applejack’s lap, causing the girl to yelp and fall back. Pinkie, wolf form, dove for Twilights hand and lapped at her injury vigorously with her tongue. After getting a good amount in her mouth Pinkie stepped back. She made a show of swishing the liquid around in her mouth, cheeks puffed up. Then threw her head back and gave an open mouth gargle. She smacked her jowls before swallowing and her face went neutral.

“This-” Pinkie began. “Is a fine vintage, aged about fifteen to sixteen years in a dry environment. It has an expressive, if not somewhat tart taste but coattails a sweet after flavour, with an undertone of salt like fat throughout. The viscosity is a bit on the thicker side, meaning it would likely leave very long legs in a glass and its somewhat fruit like end taste could be the result of time spent out in the sun, however it’s weak, meaning not much time outside was had.” She licked her lips. “It likely pair best with a red meat dish or a rich dessert.”

Everyone started at her, but Pinkie just panted, a somewhat aloof and happy expression on her face. She seemed to notice the attention after a moment and glanced around in confusion. “What? I said she tastes good didn’t I?”

“I dunno. Did you?” Rainbow asked, frowning slightly.

“Hey, come on. We’re almost done!” Sunset said, snapping her fingers. Clearly wanting to be finished already. “Rarity, you’re up.”

The others pulled back to let the satyr through. She shuffled over on her… haunches? Knees?- before pausing in front of Twilight, staring at her bleeding finger. The unicorn hesitated.

“Darling are you sure you’re ok with this?” Rarity asked, though she seemed to be scenting the air.

Twilight just scoffed, feeling oddly offended. Maybe her head was a little off-kilter still… “A’courses’Idon’tt! Everyone gets-s-s one!” She shook her injury and made a ‘one’ motion with her good hand. “It’s fair!”

“Alright, easy,” Sunset mumbled, holding the human by her shoulders.

Rarity bit her lip, but leaned in closer. She watched a line of blood run down Twilights hand, licking her lips before getting a little bit closer-

BANG BANG.

Everyone jumped, whipping around to find Maud standing in the doorward, arm raised to knock on the frame and headphones around her neck. She was looking over the room with the same empty expression she had had on before, however when she zeroed in on her sister, Pinkie Pie withered.

“Pinkie Pie,” Maud said blandly.

“Yeah?” Said girl winced, ears pinned back.

“Are you quite sure this is a good activity to do?”

“Ahhhhhh….” Pinkie Pie looked from Twilight back to her sister. “Well, i mean it was -”

“Are you quite sure this is a good activity to do.” Maud repeated in almost the same tone, face never changing.

Pinkie Pie whimpered, drooping heavily. “No.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t.” Maud said and while her voice didn’t change, it was clear there was an air of finality to her word. She gave them all one more glance before walking back down the hall.

“How in the heck did she know what we was doin’?” Applejack asked, eye wide.

“She probably smelt the blood,” Rainbow sighed, head in her hand. Rarity, meanwhile, looked back to Twilight’s finger, giving her head a little shake.

“Yes, well, I suppose it was a silly thing to do anyway!” Rarity pulled away with a nervous chuckle. “Honestly, drinking a little human blood would never give you a proper taste anyway- of course that doesn't mean it wasn’t kind of you to offer Twilight!”

Twilight made a small motion to wave the compliment off, splattering a little blood on the floor.

“Ok, let’s seal this sucker back up,” Sunset said, reaching for her hand.

“I can do-itttt.” Twilight spluttered out, jamming her finger in her mouth. “It’llcloseonitssown.”

“Are you sure?” Sunset blinked. “I can just lick it and it will-”

“Nahnahnah…” Twilight shook her head. “S’my turn ta taste!”

“Mmm,” Sunset hummed before turning her back and pulling out her phone. Twilight lifted a bit to see over the vampire’s shoulder and could see the internet search open.

‘How much Vampire Sedative is too much?’

“OOOOH! I know what we can do now!” Pinkie Pie smiled and dashed to her TV console. “Video game tournament!”

“Oh yeah! Time to kick butt!” Rainbow and Applejack quickly joined her in helping set up the system. “Which game are we gonna do?”

“Them’s Fightin’ Herd, that one’s fun!” Applejack smiled.

“Can we play Tetris?” Fluttershy asked.

“Tetris?!” Rainbow asked, looking to her friend in shock. However at the sweet expression on the fairy’s face, Rainbow deflated. “I guess we could? Later?”

Fluttershy clapped her hands together lightly. “Oh yeah! I’m good at that one!”

As things settled back into normality, Twilight sucked on her finger before standing up, slightly unsteady. “C-C-can I go get a soda?” She asked Pinkie. “I’m thirssssty.”

“Help yourself Twi!” Pinkie looked back. “I’m gonna set up the tournament board, but if you go downstairs it should be in the fridge!”

“Hokey Dokey.” Twilight staggered to the door.

“Ugh! Twilight!” Sunset spun to the human, alarmed. “Maybe don’t go near the stairs like that?”

“I’ll take her. Video games are not my forte,” Rarity stood up and went to help the human girl before she fell. “We’ll just sit this one out, right darling?”

“I’m pretty good at video game,” Twilight slurred out, but allowed Rarity to take her down the hall. “I play a mean Rollercoaster Tycoon.”

“I have no idea what that is dear,” Rarity smiled.

Getting down the stairs was a bit of a tight rope walk. Twilight highly doubted she could have actually gotten down on her own, so it was a good thing Rarity was there to help. It was a bit hard, because when Twilight stumbled the satyr’s hooves had a hard time holding ground. However they made it to the ground level unharmed.

“In we go!” Rarity helped her to a counter near the fridge. “You grab your drink. I’m going to get a glass of water.”

Twilight stumbled over to the fridge and yanked the door open, still holding her finger in her mouth. Inside was a variety of things. Most of the fridge was packed with aerosol whip cream cans… weird… There were also paper bags with a plastic lining on the insides that she could tell from the folded tops. Curious, she pulled one out a bit and found a label.

‘Dead Bird. DO NOT EAT! Its mine!! ~Limestone.’

Twilight was tempted to look inside, but she kind of knew what to expect, so she passed. Assuming the rest of the bags had similar contents, she kept looking for the soda, finally finding it on the door beside a bottle of Heinz goat blood sauce.

Shuffling back she shut the door, struggling to open her can one handed before giving up and just using both. Her injury was still bleeding somehow, Twilight suspected something in Sunset’s venom or spit likely thinned the blood. As she got the tab open Rarity came back.

“Is that still going? We should get you a washcloth darling,” Rarity frowned, looking to the sink.

Twilight nodded and her friend pulled open a few drawers, slightly lost in the unknown kitchen. However she managed to find a clean one a few drawers in. Rarity handed it to Twilight and as the human was about to wrap her finger up, she paused.

“You still wanta try?” Twilight asked, holding her hand up. “It’s still going so it’s just gonna be wasted.”

“I don’t know Twilight,” Rarity frowned. “I think Maud was right. It’s not the best idea.”

“Ooookkkay,” Twilight frowned. “BUT you’re da only one who didn’t get ta try! S’not fair fer you.”

Rarity paused. She seemed uncertain, but when she locked eyes on the blood she was somewhat entranced. “Well, I suppose it’s still just bleeding. A taste won’t hurt.”

“Der you go,” Twilight smiled brightly and thrust her finger forward to give Rarity a chance to take a sample.

Only she was a little too enthusiastic as, instead of just holding it up to Rarity’s face, she pretty well shoved the finger right into Rarity’s open maw. Whoops.

It was actually kinda comical. Rarity’s cheeks were puffed up, eyes wide in shocked at the unrefined interaction. Twilight was tempted to laugh.

Crunch.

It was a wet, muted noise and Twilight blinked in confusion. Rarity was frozen, but her eyes seem to dilate a little bit, nose flaring. Twilight pulled her hand back, not sure what was going on.

Only half of her finger came with the hand.

Twilight looked at it in astonishment. Half her finger was just, gone...She jumped when blood squirted out like a fountain, only to die down for a second, then jet out again with the rhythm of her heartbeat. She looked back at Rarity, still not as alarmed as she could have been.

Likely Sunset’s venom still acting up in her system.

Rarity still hadn’t moved, but there was a thin trickle of blood rolling down from the corner of her mouth. She shifted something in her cheek, still stunned and dumbfounded by what had just happened as Twilight tried to puzzle it together.

Finally the pieces clicked into place.

Oh. Rarity just bit my finger off.

Twilight looked down at her hand again, blood running a river down her arm and puddling a bit on the floor.

Huh.

Rarity seemed to twitch to life a little, she shifted her feet and put a hand to her mouth, like she wasn’t sure what to do. She did lick up the blood from her lips, taking a very deep inhale. Her eyes a little feral.

Their gazes locked.

Then something rammed into Rarity’s side and took her to the ground.

Twilight was staring at the empty air space where Rarity had been before realizing what happened. She turned to find Maud, pinning the satyr under her, one hand around the girl’s horn and the other around her mouth.

“Drop it,” Maud ordered in a neutral tone.

There was a banging sound upstairs.

“Drop it,” Maud repeated, trying to pry Rarity’s mouth open like she was an unruly pet.

“Maud!?” Pinkie Pie called out, clearly running down the stairs. “Why are you screaming!?” She skidded around the kitchen arch away and stared at the scene before her. “OH!”

“WHAT?!” The rest of the girls scrambled around the corner and Sunset gasped. “OH SHIT!”

“What happened?!” Rainbow shouted.

“She bit Twilight’s finger off,” Maud stated, pulled on Rarity’s head to get her to open her mouth. “Now drop it.”

“What the hell?!” Sunset was at Twilight’s side in an instant and threw a dish cloth over the stump. “How did this happen?!”

“It was still bleedin’, and she didn’t have a turn,” Twilight fumbled out, still pretty calm, given what was happening. “SO I put it in her mouth.”

“TWILIGHT!!” Sunset moaned, throwing her head back. “BACK when we first met, what was the one thing I TOLD you not to do?!”

“Ahhhhhh…” Twilight squinted, unsure of what the other was talking about, until her brain managed to open the memory file. “OH! You mean how I shudn’t put-pu- shove my limbs into monster’s mouths?”

“AND WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?!?!”

“I-” Twilight frowned, starting to get a bit dizzy. “ -shove-ed my limb into a monster’s mouths?”

Sunset gave her an expression that basically read out ‘Hello?!’.

“You need a wet cloth, that stems bleeding better,” Fluttershy said, coming over with one and switching the bandages out.

“Rarity! Come on now!” Applejack frowned at their friend. “Just drop the darned finger so Sunset can stick it back on!”

“Dude, this is not like her!” Rainbow frowned.

“I’m not too surprised,” Fluttershy said from where she was helping Twilight by putting pressure on the wound and holding it above the human’s head. “Back in the day a satyr’s main choice of prey was human.”

“WHAT!?” Rainbow’s head 180’d around on her neck to see the fairy. “THEN WHY DID YOU LET HER TRY?!”

“I figured blood wouldn’t do much and we were all there to stop her,” Fluttershy said. “I think getting actual meat and bone may have activated a bit of a primal instinct, but nothing she should let get too much control. Rarity's probably still trying to figure out what just happened.”

“Got it,” Maud said, holding something bloody in her hands. “She didn’t get a chance to chew on it yet.” Maud stood, making sure Pinkie and Applejack were helping the other girl off the floor before delivering the lost appendage. Sunset desperately began to try and figure out what end was which as Maud watched. The grey werewolf cocked her head.

“You know,” She drawled out. “I’ve heard about giving people the finger, but I don’t think this is what they mean by that.”

“This is no time for jokes!” Rainbow spluttered.

“Jokes?” Maud asked, a tinge of confusion in her voice.

“Oh-OH MY GOD!” Rarity spluttered, starting to shake a little. “Oh my god! OHMYGODohmygodOHMYGODohmygodOH-”

“Alright now, calm down,” Applejack said, ushering her to the living room.

“I bit off her finger!”

“I know sugarcube. It’s ok. It ain’t nobody's fault,” Applejack assured her.

“Well…” Rainbow muttered until the dryad shot her a look.

“How could I DO this?!?!” Rarity sobbed, she looked to Twilight, but couldn’t hold her stare. “Ohgod!!!”

“Lets sit you down,” Applejack said, taking her out toward the couches. Her voice could still be heard in the other room. “We need to collect our thoughts, ok?”

“Ok! I think I got this!” Sunset took Twilight’s wounded hand back from Fluttershy. Twilight could only watch as Sunset began to lick the raw end of her severed finger, like she was trying to wet a broken object and piece it back together with a quick fix. Sunset desperately aligned the finger to its base and cleaved them together, holding them in her fist as steady as she could for a few minutes, until she swallowed and pulled away with a nervous hesitation.

The finger looked like nothing had ever happened to it. Sure it was covered in blood, but when she gave it a test bend, it worked perfectly fine. Of course, speaking of blood, there was a good layer of it everywhere. The floor. The counter. Her clothes. Sunset’s clothes. Fluttershy’s clothes. Likely Rarity’s as well.

“How are you feeling?” Sunset asked, nervous.

The human gave her hand a few more flexes, then shot Sunset a smile. “Right-a-roonie!”

Sunset seemed to release a breath. “Ok, good… because if you do this again, I SWEAR TO GOD!” She threw her hands up in the air, only to end up with them running down her face. “Why am I the mom? Why am I the group mom?!”

Maud came up with a wet washcloth, holding it out for Twilight to take. When the human did so, and began to wipe of her hands, Maud blinked. “So… should I call the police? Or do you wanna go home, or stay?”

“Police?” Twilight asked.

“Well, your finger did get bitten off,” Maud shrugged.

Twilight just chuckled, still a bit loopy. “Oh, pffft! Nah! I’m good! I’mmmm Gooooood.”

“You’re sure?”

“S’all good!” Twilight had managed to cleaned off down to her elbow. “I mean, I put da damn thing in there! S’mah own fault!”

“No, but it’s sweet of you to say so,” Maud said. “But no more tricking out your blood. House rules.”

Twilight gave her a thumbs up.

“Damn kids,” Maud said, voice still monotone, but the corner of her mouth seemed to perk up a millimeter. She walked out to the living room, where Rarity could still be heard crying. Maud watched her for a few seconds, turning to Pinkie with a raised brow.

“Rarity’s emotions bubble close to the surface,” Pinkie said, glancing back at her sister. “You should know Maud, you’re the same way.”

“It’s a curse,” Maud blinked. “Should I call her parents?”

“Ahhhh, give us a minute to try and calm her down maybe,” Pinkie frowned, ears pinned back.

“‘Kay.” And like a stray black cat wandering in the night, Maud disappeared back from whence she came.

As Rarity’s garbled crying continued, despite Applejack best efforts, Twilight slowly came to a very important realization.

“Rarity’s sad,” Twilight said, looking to Sunset unsteadily.

The vampire stared back at her for a few seconds before sighing, nodding her head in a defeated sense. “Yes Twilight. She is.”

“But she shouldn’t be sad,” Twilight tacked on, raising her hand back up. “Lookit!”

“I see that Twilight, but-” Sunset winced and held her hands up in confusion of how to explain while Twilight was still out of it.

“But she can’t lookit!” Twilight supplied quickly, grasping at what Sunset seem to be trying to say.

“Well, not just that but-”

“She needs ta see!” Twilight started for the living room-

“Whoa! Oh, wait, Twilight, hold on!” Sunset carefully pulled her back. “Lets wash the rest of this off huh?” She gestured to the remaining blood around them. “That may help her see you better.”

After a quick scrub Twilight was looking much better, and while there wasn’t much they could do for her clothes, she at least didn’t look like a horror movie victim anymore. Sunset helped Twilight out into the living room and- whoa!

Rarity was a sight. Mascara was running down her face, mixed with tears and snot. Her hair was disheveled, likely from Maud tackling her to the floor, and her ears were tightly pinned back. She currently had her face buried in Applejack’s shirt, sobbing loudly. Rainbow was perched on the back of the couch, awkwardly patting her friend on the back.

“There, there,” Rainbow pushed out, looking uncertain about what she was supposed to do.

“Ho-ouldIdo-cha-fing!!!!!” Rarity’s muffled voice didn’t make much sense and when she pulled back from Applejack’s shirt, it didn’t help much. “Ibid-ff’eringer!!!”

The satyr went back to sobbing and Rainbow Dash fumbled. Hands hovering over the other in confusion, until she just went back to patting.

“T-there, there?”

“Rainbow!” AJ waved her off, the harpy flapping her wings back at the farmer, disgruntled.

“I’m trying!” She whispered angrily.

“Rarity!” Pinkie called out, bouncing to Twilight and Sunset’s side. “Look Rarity! Look!” When the satyr glanced to them Pinkie gestured to the human grandly. “She’s right as rain and put back together again!”

Twilight displayed her completely unharmed hands. “Look’it!”

“Oh Twilight!!!” Rarity seemed to choke on her emotions and she staggered to stand with Applejack’s help. “Oh, Twilight I’m so sorry! I have no idea what happened back there! One minute things were ok and then- MmmmM!” Rarity wept loudly. “I’m so sorry darling! Can you ever forgive me?!”

“Hmmmmm.” Twilight put on a mock face of thought. “I’subose. On one condition.”

“Anything you want!” Rarity sniffled. “Anything at all!”

“I want ‘chu to-” Twilight guestered to her head. “-give me that hair styling your promised.”

Everyone stared at her.

“What?” Twilight blinked. “She said she could make it glitter! Like da night sky! I think it sounds fun!”

Every just kept staring at her until Rarity gave a watery giggle. She came closer to Twilight, though she still seemed uneasy. “Darling, I’ll make you the envy of supermodels!”

“Yus!” Twilight reached out and took Rarity’s hand, leading her towards the stairs with a strength that seem to surprise the others. “To the hair products!”

“To the hair products!” Pinkie barked, scrambling after them. “I wanna do your nails! Please, please please!”

As the three disappeared upstairs, Sunset shifted uneasily on her feet, looking to her remaining friends. “That’s what I was afraid would happen…”

“Yeah, but it was a freak accident,” Rainbow frowned. “It’s hard to not bite things shoved into your mouth, and some of us just have a more powerful jaw than others.”

“All it takes is one freak accident,” Fluttershy spoke, starting to head back upstairs.

“Just one…” Sunset muttered, shaking her head a little.

“We just need to keep alert and wary,” Applejack sighed, looping her arms over Sunset and Rainbow’s shoulders. “But we can let thing settle down for now. Like granny says, it’s easier to swim out in the water once the storm has settled. Besides,” Applejack smirked. “You two got a vid’ya game tournament to lose.”

“Excuse me?!” Rainbow squaked, indignant. Sunset allowed herself to be led back to the stairs.

Though she still seemed worried.
______________________________________________________________________________

The next morning Twilight awoke in a mild haze. She was dehydrated from salty snacks and soda, had glitter all over her face and her hair, and nails were done up in crazy fashions. She sat up, pulling a random cucumber slice from her cheek and looked out over the carnage of the sleepover from the night before. The room was a mess.

So that meant the sleepover was likely a rousing success!

Twilight yawned, scratching at some dried hairspray on her neck. She had come down from Sunset’s venom a few hours after her hair was finished and the makeovers were still going. Thankfully the night still turned out to be great fun!

However.

Now that she had her wits about her and the time, Twilight looked over her finger. It had kinda felt like a dream, but Twilight knew that wasn’t true... She’d never be able to wear that shirt again.

Twilight blinked when she realized something was off. She brought her finger closer to her eyes to make sure what she was seeing was really real.

Indeed it seemed that Rarity had bitten her finger off a little below the first joint, so thankfully none of the movement was affected. However in Sunset’s desperate panic to put the finger back on, it seemed she had attached it just a little twisted.

Her finger nail and upper finger were twisted just a little inward, and near the base was a white, scar like ring. It almost seemed ironic, considering that in human, and some other monsters cultures, the ring finger was for just that. The wedding ring. And was a symbol of commitment.

Only Twilight wasn’t sure what this scar committed her to.

She turned to see Rarity sound asleep a few feet away, a mask over her eyes and what looked like a few rings over her horn, a piece of pizza in her hands. Honestly Twilight couldn’t blame her for last night anymore that she could Sunset for last month. The vampire was right, Twilight really needed to keep her limbs out of monster’s mouths. Well meaning or no.

One thing was for sure: the scar was a grim reminder. Even if these girls were her friends and didn’t mean her any harm, she still needed to be careful. They were way more powerful than she was and that demanded caution.

However, if it weren’t for the girls she may have lost the finger all together.

Maybe it was better to remember that, should anything ever happen, they all had each other’s backs…

A tune rang out from a nearby cell phone. All the other girls awoke with groans and moans. Rainbow, who was sleeping in an odd position, growled deep in her throat and stuck her head under one of her wings.

Sunset arched, then reached out a hand from her blankets and began to claw for her phone. She missed a few times before finding it and pulling the device under a curtain of thick, red hair.

“N’ello?” She mumbled sleepily. There a few seconds of silence. “Mmmm’wha?” Sunset lifted a little. “S’everything ok?” She listen for a few more minutes, then lay back down. “Oh, ok. Yeah. No that’s fine. I’ll check, thanks, bye.”

“Whats going on?” Pinkie yawned, head covered in an old blanket with only her snout sticking out.

“Something came up at my mom’s work,” Sunset said, pushing her hair back. “She can’t get me later and it’s a school night, so she’s justs gonna get me now.” Sunset sat up, rubbing at her eyes. “She wanted to know if you guys still need a lift back…”

Twilight paused to think before humming. She didn’t know if she wanted to leave yet, Sleepovers 101 had said the breakfast afterward was a very significant ritual. However she didn’t want to inconvenience the others or worry her parents by walking home.

“I’ll take the ride,” Twilight said, stretching out.

“Alright, what about you Applejack?” Sunset asked. At the silent response, the vampire looked around the room. “Applejack?”

“Right here!” The farmer came in from the hall, fully dressed in her everyday clothes and made up for the day. “Hope you don’t mind Pinkie, but I put on a pot of coffee!”

“What ungodly time is it?” Rainbow mumbled under her wing.

“What are you talkin’ about Rainbow? It’s nine! Ya’ll missed half the day practically!” Applejack smiled. “Besides, don’t you normally get up early for practice?”

“Not when I stay up so late…” Rainbow grunted, still not moving.

“Coffee. Need coffee…” Pinkie whined, crawling for the doorway, still covered in her blanket.

“Be a dear and grab me some as well, Pinkie,” Rarity moaned out miserably. “Black if you would be so kind.”

“Wakie Wakie Rarity! It’s a beautiful morin’ ta be alive!” Applejack grinned and pulled on the girl’s sleep mask until snapped back into her face, making the satyr startle.

“If you say so…” Rarity grumbled.

“♪ Good Mornin’! Good Mornin’! Good Mornin’! Good Mornin’, toooo Rainbow Dash! ♪” Applejack nudged the harpy with her foot as she sang. She was apparently quite the early bird.

Rainbow, the actual bird person, was not. She hissed ferally under her wing but didn’t come out.

“My mom is on her way AJ, you want a lift?” Sunset asked as she brushed out her hair.

“Mighty kind, but I’ll stick around. Big Mac should be home soon and I can call in fer a lift. I wanna stick around and kick Rainbow’s butt a few more times at the game,” Applejack smiled.

“Maybe I’ll just ask Big Mac who his girlfriend is myself,” Rainbow snickered, still under her wing, only to squeak when Applejack nudged her a bit harder than the last time.

“♪ Gooooooooooooooooooood Mornin’♪!!!” Applejack sang a bit louder and more obnoxiously.

“Applejack. Please!!” Rarity groaned. “I didn’t sleep well…”

“♪ IT’S great to stay up late! Good Mornin’! Good Mornin’, toooo you! ♪”

“Good lord make it stop!” Rarity rolled over, face in the pillows. “I can’t take this without coffee!”

“Somebody say coffee?” Fluttershy asked, floating into the room with two cups. “Pinkie sent me up with these. She’s eating hers out of a bowl and I think she keeps burning her tongue?”

“Fluttershy, you’re an saint. A god amongst monsters,” Rarity mumbled, reaching a hand out until Fluttershy put the cup in its grasp.

“What about you Rainbow?” Fluttershy asked.

“Put it at the end of my bed like an offering.” Rainbow mumbled from her hiding place.

“Can you believe these two?” Applejack asked with a chortle. “Sleep the day away if they could.”

“I’m nocturnal,” Rainbow mumbled.

“Get dressed Twi, my mom will be here soon!” Sunset said, pulling out her bag to look through.

“Sure!” Twilight quickly grabbed her spare set of clothing. Thankfully she packed some just in case of spills. Of course she hadn’t counted on her own blood staining her clothing but…

By the time they were dressed Sunset’s mother had arrived and was waiting outside. They managed to get downstairs, and the rest of the girls followed them down to say goodbye. Even Rainbow emerged, drinking her coffee with her eyes squinted shut.

“Goodbye darlings,” Rarity said, her beverage clasped by both hands. “I hope you have a safe drive.”

“Thanks Rarity,” Twilight smiled. “I’ll see you later.”

“And Twilight, uhm… I know I already said it, but I am really sorry about, well…” Rarity lifted a hand and flexed her fingers.

Twilight took in Rarity’s guilty expression before offering her a simple smile. “Hey, what’s a few fingers between friends?”

“Twilight,” Rarity groaned, but seemed to brighten a bit.

“Twilight,” Sunset tsked, flicking her lightly in the base of the neck. “Do not.”

“Alright, alright!” Twilight laughed, waving her off.

“Fanks fer comin guths!” Pinkie said, her tongue clearly swollen and a little burned.

“Thanks for having us Pinkie,” Sunset said, picking up both their bags with ease. “I’ll see you all at school okay?”

“See you guys!” Twilight waved as the two walked out the door and down the walkway, the girls all shouting out farewells after them.

Carrion was waiting for them by the car, opening the door to let them inside.

“Hey mom!” Sunset said as she set their things down. “Busy day ahead?”

“You have no idea,” Celestia spoke from the back shadows. She was dressed in a pantsuit and was drinking out of a togo cup. “Apparently these budget meetings cannot wait. Such is the life of a politician.”

“Mmm, that smells good,” Sunset said, zeroing in on her mom’s drink.

“Blood Cider. Have a sip.”

“Thanks.” Sunset took the cup in her hands and tried a little.

“And how are you Twilight?” Celestia asked, looking to the human on her other side, eyes glowing in the darkness. Twilight went to speak, jolting a little when the car started to move before collecting herself.

“Good, thanks so much for the ride!”

“It’s my pleasure. I am always happy to help out where I can,” Celestia nodded.

“This is sooo good!” Sunset sighed and handed the cup back to her mother. “Who made that?”

“Old family recipe. I’m sure Luna will make you one if you ask,” Celestia explained, taking a sip for herself. “She loves stewing with the kettle. When the holidays roll around we should make her special reindeer, ginger blood cider. Very festive.”

Sunset hummed. “That does sound good…” She looked to the floor of the cab in thought, cheeks puffing out a little. “Um, mom?”

“Yes Sunset?”

“On the way to the sleepover, Aunt Luna mentioned something about how she was cursed.” Sunset frowned. “She said the beast Final Stand did that to her, but you never brought that up when you told me about Aunt Luna’s past. Honestly I didn’t even think Final Stand was real…”

“Did she?” Celestia asked, voice lowering slightly.

“So Final Stand was real?” Sunset asked.

“He was real, but some of his reputation is not,” Celestia said vaguely.

“So he didn’t kill other monsters?” Sunset asked.

“He did. His path was always one of blood and despair, but that wasn't unusual a thousand years ago,” Celestia spoke softly. “Of course Final was an outlier. He often hunted indiscriminately between young or old, male or female. Powerful or weak. He made quite a name for himself, before his end…”

“Did you know him well?” Sunset asked.

“I never met him face to face. However I like to think I had an understanding of his thought process, especially now.” Celestia took a sip of her drink. “I hated him.” She looked out the window. “Still do, now that I think of it.”

“Oh,” Sunset blinked.

“Oh,” Twilight winced.

“Mmm, but why I hated him before, and why I hate him now aren’t really for the same reasons,” Celestia continued. “He took Luna from me for a long time, that’s a big one that spans the times, but when I first hated him… well lets say its because of arrogance. Both his own and mine.” Celestia closed her eyes. “Now? I hate him the same way one hates their reflection. He and I had a similar mind, but his action were for a far different purpose.” Celestia looked back down at her daughter. “Sunset, the funny thing with beasts is they are usually cultivated, not born. Remember that.”

“I… ok,” Sunset said.

“I know many of my lessons seem odd, and you may not understand them for a while, but you have a long life to live, and when you do live as long as we do, it can make a big impact,” Celestia sighed. “Humans have a similar thought process but they compare it to generations. What is that old human saying Twilight? Facti sunt…?”

“Oh! I know that one.” Twilight looked up quickly. “They go over it in history. Facti sunt fluctus unda reductos. It’s latin. Means ripples make waves or the belief that small actions now, have big effects later.”

“Indeed a wise saying,” Celestia nodded. “However instead of a large group over many generations, vampires have the opportunity to see the actions out to the end. I believe you kids call it ‘playing the long game.’“

“Mom, no one says that.”

“Well I am over a thousand years old Sunset, you can’t expect me to keep up with all the modern lingo,” Celestia laughed. She looked back to Twilight suddenly. “So did anything interesting happen at the sleepover?”

“Huh?! Oh... no? Just normal sleepover stuff… ma’am,” Twilight said tightly, rubbing her hands nervously.

“I see.” Celestia leaned in a bit. “Why Twilight, what an odd scar you have on your finger, and is that finger actually off-kilter a bit?”

Twilight stared back at her, mouth agape.

“Oh look! We’re here!” Sunset spoke loudly, gesturing to the window where they could make out the Everfree Estate’s sign. “Isn’t that great?!”

“Mmm.” Celestia shot Sunset s quick glance before looking to Twilight again. “Well, I’m sure it’s fine. Though you may want to be more careful the way you reattach things -” Celestia turned back to her child. “SUNSET.”

“Ok, it’s just weird how you know things like that.” Sunset frowned.

“I have my way,” Celestia smirked. “Since things seem to be ok, I suppose I won’t punish you this time Sunset, but do try to keep from panicking the next time.” Celestia paused. “Oh, and do try to make sure there isn’t a next time.”

“Yes mom…”

Twilight grabbed her bag from the floor and hefted it over her shoulder. Celestia chose to push open the door for her, but stopped her from leaving for a moment. “You are alright, aren't you Twilight?”

“I feel fine,” The girl smiled.

“Well good, but don’t be afraid to ask me for help.” Celestia offered her one more smile. “After all. I do owe you.”

Twilight stepped from the car and watched the door close, car driving off back to the city.

Huh.

________________________________________________________________________

“I’m home!” Twilight called as she came in the door. She threw her bag to the floor and looked down to see Spike sleeping in the hall. He spared her a glance before scowling. “Aww, not happy to see me?” Twilight asked in a playful tone. “Is this about the treats?”

Spike snorted and turned away from her.

“Well then, I suppose you won’t want a treat from me now?” She asked, brow raised.

Twilight only laughed when the dog beelined it for the kitchen. Coming in she retrieved the treats from the upper shelf, giving Spike a few at once. “There we go. Still hate me?”

Spike barked up at her, licking at her hand when offered.

“That’s what I thought.” Twilight smiled slyly, then offered him a few more.

“I thought I heard you Twilight!” Velvet called from the upstairs. She came down to see her child with a small amount of excitement. “So how was your first ever sleepover?”

“Good. Things got a little crazy from time to time, but…” Twilight looked away thoughtfully, but was still smiling softly. “Nothing we couldn’t handle.”

“That’s good honey.” Velvet went to the fridge. “I’m so proud of you, spending so much time with your new friends! I can’t wait for you to have them over for a sleepover sometime! Maybe in the summer?”

“Yeah.” Twilight grimaced, knowing there would likely never be any such thing.

“Well you better make sure you’re all set for school tomorrow,” Velvet said, taking out a yogurt to eat. “I’m sure you’re prepared but you like to double check all the time and the last thing we need is for you to do that just as the bus gets here.”

“Yes mom,” Twilight sighed, going to head up to her room to check her things. Halfway up she noted a few of the family photos on the wall. Stopping at one of her grandmother, posing with an award she had gotten from the community. “Uh mom?” Twilight called out, looking back downstairs.

“Yes dear?”

“Who is that guy Grandma always says we’re related to?” Twilight asked, biting her lip.

“Who?” Velvet sounded confused, before she made a sound of realization. “Oh, that monster slayer stuff. I have no idea if that has any truth to it Twilight. He was alive a long, long, long time ago…”

“Yeah, just… what was his name?” Twilight asked again, leaning over the banister.

Velvet hummed, stirring up her yogurt.

“I think… it was Final Stand.”

“Really?” Twilight winced.

“Yup, my mother says he was greatest human to ever live,” Velvet sighed. “Killed a lot of monster back in the day. I think they kept attacking his village and he somehow beat them all.”

“Mmm.”

“Why do you ask?” Velvet frowned, looking back to her daughter.

“Oh, just a school report. No reason,” Twilight said, starting to walk back upstairs.

“If it’s for a family history report, just write about your grandma. She’d love that,” Velvet said. “And to be fair to her, she has done a lot for Everfree Estates in her life.”

“Yeah, I suppose I’m just gonna get my stuff ready.”

“Alright sweetie. I’ll be here.”

Twilight stepped into her room, shutting the door before looking to the floor worriedly.

Things were starting to get even stickier…. Not only would she have to, eventually, tell her parents about her new friends, she’d also have to tell her friends she could be related to their version of the boogie man!

Twilight absentmindedly began to rub the scar on her finger. She was starting to get in too deep. Soon enough she wouldn’t be able to touch bottom and she could only flounder for so long… Her thoughts returned to earlier that week. Was it better to live a lie or tell the truth? It was only getting harder to tell which was the right answer… if there even was a ‘right’ answer.

________________________________________________________________

Later that night
___________

Soft Twilight stepped from the Everfree Council board room, smiling contently as the meeting adjourned. After such a long and difficult amount of back and forth, they had finally ironed out those pesky ‘Public Affection Rules and Regulations’ in a way that was fair, but strict enough to keep everyone in line.

While it seemed a bit severe, especially to some of the younger members of the council, Soft knew it needed done.

Lest they be thought less of.

“Soft Twilight!” Came a greeting, making her turn. The elder smiled when she saw Pristine Clean approaching, putting on her coat.

“Pristine, so good to see you,” She said, turning to her. “You did some excellent debating out there, I was very interested in that argument you made in favor of the new laws. Like pointing out how it will decrease awkwardness in professional relationships? That I hadn’t even thought to bring up.” Soft cocked her head. “However did that come to you?”

“Oh, well…” Pristine blushed a bit and looked to the floor. “I suppose it was just… something I thought would be best to avoid.” Pristine grimaced. “In the future anyway…”

“Well it’s nice to have some younger people taking charge in the council,” Soft said, inclining her head. “Though most of the other junior members didn’t seem keen on this idea.”

“They just think it will effect dating, make it awkward for the kids,” Pristine sighed, leading them towards the exit. “Honestly if the rules are plainly laid out then there shouldn’t be any issues with it. I just hope it will transition cleanly into implementation.”

“Shouldn’t be a problem. Beside, if the rules start to get out of date then they can be looked at again for retooling,” Soft smiled. “That’s why the council meets so regularly.”

“True.” Pristine pulled her keys from her purse. “Any luck getting Velvet more active?”

Soft groaned in response.

“I see…”

“I don’t know what to do with that girl…” Soft muttered. “It’s like I only have one sane member of my family.”

“Ms. Soft Twilight?”

Both women paused, looking back at a rather tall, burly man dressed in a security uniform. They shared a looked before Soft waved Pristine off politely, going back to speak to him. Pristine shrugged and went for her car.

“Hello Mr. Code Red,” Soft smiled once she was close enough. “Now what would the head of Security possibly want with the likes of me?”

“Nothing serious,” He said, locking up his office. “I just wanted to give you this. Easier than sending it in the mail.” Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out an envelope and handed it to her. Soft righted it so she could read the cursive on the front.

“Twilight Sparkle?” She asked, confused.

“That's your granddaughter right?” He asked.

“Yes, but…” Softly looked the envelope over, back to front. “What is this? Did she get fined for something?”

“Nah.” He righted his heavy security belt. “Just the refund we got for her contraband.”

“Contraband?” Soft echoed, allowing Code Red to walk her to the doors.

“Well she apparently came back into the community with a charmed object. Nothing malicious, course, but we still gotta take all of them, just in case.” Once they were outside, he began to lock the building up for the night.

“Came back in…”

“Yeah, apparently she’s been a real regular at the gatehouse for a while, constantly going in and out.” He shrugged, turning back to her. “I think she’s seeing friends or something from the reports I’ve seen.”

Code Red went down the steps towards the parking lot. “Well I got a little girl to tuck in back home Soft, I’ll see you!”

Soft didn’t respond, staring down at the envelope thoughtfully. Very slowly her mouth turned to a thin line.

“It’s like I only have one sane member of my family…?” She mumbled, looking back out over Everfree Estates.
______________________________________________________________

Meanwhile

Sitting at a writing desk was a young man, mumbling and tapping a pen up and down on the surface. He hummed, thoughtful, as he reread some notes he had made on his paper. Between that he would look idly to his laptop, shifting through what appeared to be case files.

A door behind him opened slowly, someone padding inside. Once behind him they raised their hands, going for his neck-

Only to slide past them and over his shoulder, pressing herself against his back and kissing the top of his head. “Hey you,” She cooed sweetly.

“Hey you,” The young man said in return, turning enough to kiss her arm. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Just checking in,” She chuckled, looking over his shoulder. “Are you working or are you ‘working’?”

“A little of both,” He smiled, looking to his laptop. “You know how busy it can be at the station.”

“Well I do feel much safer when your on duty honey,” The woman chuckled. “But I need you to get these invitations sent out soon. We want people to know the decided date a few months in advance. The last thing we want to do is surprise anyone.”

“Well I’d have to be a pretty big jerk to do anything else,” The man scoffed. “Could you imagine getting a wedding invitation just a few days before it was supposed to happen?”

“Unless it was a mix up with the mail system or invitation maker, I can’t imagine,” The woman said. “So make sure we aren’t our own worst nightmare and get them out huh? I already set up the venue and the flowers.”

“Yeah, I got most of them done.” He looked to a large pile of fancy, sealed envelopes by the edge of the desk. His smile then turned to a frown, looking down at the notes on the table. “I… I just keep rethinking the guest list.”

“Hon…” The woman frowned too, but pressed another kiss to his neck. “I know you’ve had your problems with each other, but it’s one of the most important days of your life.” She put a hand to his cheek. “They’ll want to be there.”

“I know… You're right. Of course you’re right, I should invite them,” He said, turning back to the woman behind him. “It’ll just be kinda awkward.”

“Well maybe you should deliver it in person? That may help ease tension at the wedding if you do it beforehand?” She gave him another kiss. “Just make sure you send those out, no matter what. I need to check in with my side of the family.”

“You can count on me,” He said, watching her leave again. Looking back his list he hummed.

He erased the names Velvet Twilight and Night Light, replacing them with Mom and Dad.

____________________________________________________________
Elsewhere

Lock N Key, the Crystal Prep school counselor, grumbled as she staggered out of the building and into the darkened parking lot, arms laden with files and papers. She had been working all weekend and still had a some to take home with her! It was never ending at this school…

“I swear, if one more of these parents gets divorced this semester, I am quitting altogether…” She scowled. Making her way across the lot, cursing that she had parked so far back. “Not to mention what will be happening later! Whoever decided that I had to council all the girls in the school was high on something, that’s for sure!”

Arriving at her car, Lock N Key looked between her full arms and the latch. “Uh oh.” She grunted, puzzling for a second. After a moment of deliberation, she reached out with a few fingers from the pile, desperately trying to snag the mechanism to open her car. It clipped it a few times, unable to get a grip, when finally three fingers stuck, painfully pulling until the door unhooked. She nudged it open with her leg and hip, sighing in relief when she could put her pile inside on the seat.

“Thank goodness…”

However it seemed she spoke too soon, as a random gust of wind snatched a few strays on top and blew them out of the car, into the lot. Lock N Key cursed, closing the door so none of the others would escape and ran after them. She snagged a few, and spotted the last one, a thin manilla envelope sitting in a puddle.

She groaned, going over and picking it up, giving it a little shake to try and dry it. “Really?!” She shouted to the heavens. “Honestly, was today not bad enough?”

Rustle, Rustle.

Lock N Key froze, looking behind her at the shadowy forest at the end of the parking lot. Everything was still, eerily still, and as her eyes scanned over the darkness she swallowed. “H-hello?”

Silence.

The woman took another quick peek around, but saw nothing to indicate that anyone was near. Squinting a little she huffed, before finally shrugging and looking back at the envelope. It was impossible to read what was written on it now… Hopefully everything inside was ok.

She gave it another stubborn shake, starting back to the car-

There was a strangled scream and the parking lot light flickered. Leaves crunched as Ms. Lock N Key was dragged into the brushes by a dim, green light.

When the lights turned back on, all that was left was her car and a few stray, wet pieces of paperwork….
________________________________________________________________

Silence.

Deep within the earth, where the air was old and stale, where the sun never came, was a cavern made of rock. Walls bore signs of an age-old struggle. Dried blood, left behind for hundreds of years clung to jutted rock. Claw marks and weapon scuffs were etched into others. Some areas showed ash, signs of small explosions, while others had sigils and runes carved into them, of traps that remained untriggered…

At the center, was a large stain of blood under a pile of bones, turned brown, almost black, by age at this point. However, rising from the pile, pierced and standing in the ground at a slight angle, was a tall, unblemished, black iron sword. Around its grip were the skeletal remains of a hand, somehow still clinging to its weapon of choice.

Though enveloped in darkness, shadows so thick they could drown a man, it shimmered for a moment.

Because it knew its millenium of slumber would soon be disturbed.

Things were about to get interesting.

Friendship Is Monsters

by spotty8ee

Why Not?

Not Proud

Movie Night

Appledisiac

School and Wolf

Monster's Best Friend

High Fashion

Just A Taste