It was a cold fall afternoon in Canterlot, Colorado. Orchid Bloom opened the front door slowly, trembling as she entered the house. She hadn't heard from her housemates, Rugburn and his adoptive son, Circuit Breaker, all day, so she was worried something terrible had happened to them while she was at school. "...hello?" she cried out, "Anyone there?" There was no response. Gulping worriedly, Orchid closed the door behind her and went towards the kitchen as a chill went down her spine. She was hungry, so she opened the fridge. Inside, to her horror, she found two corpses, stuffed haphazardly in the fridge where food would normally have been. Orchid screamed in terror as she realized they were Rugburn and Circuit's bodies. "Surprise, sweetie," said a male voice behind her. Orchid turned around, and sank to the floor. There, to her horror, was her father, Sangria, standing before her, alive and well, with a knife in his hand and a smile on his face. "Daddy's come to take you home," he said, in a tone of feigned reassurance. "...no... No... I'm not going back with you, you bastard!" sobbed Orchid in desperation, but her defiance fell on deaf ears. Her father's fake smile turned to a stern grimace. "A lion cares nothing about the concerns of sheep," he replied in an authoratative tone as he grabbed his daughter by the wrist. Orchid struggled to get away from him, but he was stronger than her. "You're coming home with me whether you like it or not!" he said as he kept tugging on her wrist. "No.... NO!!!!!" At that moment, Orchid woke up in her sleeping bag on the floor of the guest bedroom, with Circuit standing over her, holding her by the wrist with a worried look on his face. "Orchie, are you okay?" he asked, "I heard screaming and I wanted to make sure--" As Orchid realized that her ordeal was just a nightmare, she stood up and hugged Circuit, sobbing tears of joy into his shoulder.
Orchid continued to cry into Circuit's shoulder, just not long after Rugburn had quickly run into the room wearing a dressing gown. The poor girl was shivering violently in her hero's arms, sobbing loudly as the brown haired boy sadly comforted her. "I....y-you.....he was back and....you were all dead!" Orchid exclaimed as she struggled to speak, continuing to cry loudly. Circuit held Orchid as she cried, wrapping both arms around the girl and pulling her close. Rugburn also came around to comfort the grief stricken girl. "Orchid, this really isn't healthy for you. This is the forth nightmare that you've had in two weeks!" Circuit worryingly comforted her. "But they are only dreams, and they can't ever hurt you. We are always going to be here for you, Orchid. You are family to us" Rugburn smiled as he lovingly sat between the two teenagers and pulled them close into an affectionate hug. "That's right, and no matter what happens, family sticks together." Orchid began to smile a little bit, a sense of pride in her growing as her tears began to stop. She looked at her guardian and the very same boy who saved her, and pulled them closer in the same hug, closing her eyes. "I....don't know what to do without the two of you....thank you..." Rugburn smiled and stood back up. "It's not easy kiddo, especially with what you've been through. But I just want you to know that if you ever need to talk to someone, you've got Circuit and me. And maybe therapy, but that's way to expensive nowadays!" Orchid managed to giggle at Rugburn's comment, possibly the first time she's laughed in what has felt like days. "Anyway, I'm going back to bed. Goodnight Orchid, Goodnight Circuit." Rugburn said before switching off the lights, leaving Orchid and Circuit together. "Yeah....night dad" Circuit smiled before happily looking at Orchid, yawning as if on cue. "And speaking of sleep, I'm gonna sleep on the couch so I won't be far away from you, just incase it happens again" Orchid nodded timidly. "T-thank you.....for everything Circuit"
Orchid smiled happily as she was held by Circuit, turning around and burying her face into her chest for warmth, sighing happily in content
---- Canterlot High School parking lot 6:55 AM "So then the talent agent asks, "What would you even call an act like that?!", to which the father responds, "I call it, 'The Aristocrats!'"" Rainbow Dash's incredibly crass joke causes Crimson Lionheart and Pinkie Pie to burst out laughing, while Applejack tried to suppress a chuckle. Rarity, meanwhile, looked like she was about to throw up, and Fluttershy fainted in shock. Sunset Shimmer, however, was confused. "I don't get it," she said. At that moment, Circuit and Orchid walked over from their car. "Hope we're not late," said Circuit, smiling nervously, "Orchie here was having nightmares again."
Orchid weakly smiled at her friends before frowning, feeling only a little bit guilty that her nightmares were preventing her new family from getting a proper night’s sleep. “Oh, you poor thing!” Rarity said sadly. “What happened? Is there something we can do?” Sunset frowned. “This has been troubling her for a while. How many nightmares has it been within the last two weeks?” “F-Four....” Orchid meekly spoke, just as Fluttershy had was getting back up from the ground. “And it’s always about him.” Everyone looked at each other in concern, knowing that whatever mental state that Orchid was in, it definitely wasn’t a good one.
Rainbow Dash winced in sympathy, grateful that she had parents that loved her... though maybe they loved her a little too much, if you asked her. "Well, dearie," Rarity said to Orchid, smiling, "if there is anything we can do to help, please don't hesitate to ask!" Orchid smiled upon hearing this. "Actually... I was thinking..." She leaned over to whisper something in Rarity's ear, which prompted the fashionista's eyes to light up like a firework display. "Excellent idea!" Rarity replied, "I should have it ready for you by tonight!"
Circuit looked over to Orchid and looked at her, the level of enthusiasm and determination on the face of Rarity's face seeming to cause more then a few eyebrows to be raised at them. "Um....what did you just tell her?" Circuit questioned the small bookworm next to her. Orchid shrugged playfully and giggled. "If I tell you, then it won't be a surprise~" Just as the group of friends began to walk towards the school building, Fluttershy went over to Rarity. "So um...what did she say?" Rarity leaned over and whispered carefully about the details, as Fluttershy's expression went from one of curiosity to a joyful one. "Oh my.....that's absolutely adorable!" Fluttershy beamed happily.
"Speaking of adorable," said Circuit as he walked up to his girlfriend, "how's my Dashie-Washie doing?" Circuit hugged Rainbow Dash, which she responded to with a blush and a smile. "I'm doing alright. How about you, Cirkie?"
Some time later... Spoiler: Music for Scene After some time, the gang had been busy eating together during lunch. Noticeably absent was Crimson Lionheart, who for the past few days was eating on another table with a girl with cobalt blue hair, wearing a scarf. Some of the girls even noticed that, every now and then, the girl would enter several fits of laughter whenever Crimson seemed to say something funny. It seems that even when Pinkie and Crimson discontinued their relationship to be good friends, it seemed that it all worked out in the end. Rarity smiled and looked at the two. "It seems that he's been quite busy. I don't think he might be sitting with us for a while..." "And who can blame him?" Rainbow told Rarity. "I mean...didn't we all nearly die a couple of weeks ago? He must have had some time thinking about his life and all, or whatever he seen in those nightmares we all had." "It's not that he doesn't wanna come and see us, we're still his friends" Pinkie smiled, turning to look at the two lovebirds on the otherside of the cafeteria. "Besides...he must clearly like this girl"
Circuit noticed that the young woman Crimson was talking to looked rather familiar. "Wait a second..." he said, "Isn't she Golden Branch's kid? Y'know, the bigshot real estate tycoon?"
“Wait a second, you mean that Golden Branch? He’s the CEO of once of the biggest real estate companies in the Southwest!” Applejack gasped as she locked her eyes on the nearby table. “And ya’ll telling me that he’d send his daughter to Canterlot High when there are a ton of private schools? Like Crystal Prep?” There was an audible grumble of annoyance from Orchid when the words ‘Crystal Prep’ were muttered, being reminded of what it used to be like there. “I don’t think I’ve ever really noticed her around school that much.” Sunset said in curious tone. “She’s been the school president and a teachers pet, but now that you mention it....I don’t know who she is as a person.” Rarity couldn’t lock her eyes off from the cobalt blue hair of the girl, studying her looks and picturing the dollar signs in her head. “I wish my parents were billionaires.....the scarf looks really nice on her though.” “Wait, BILLIONAI-“ Pinkie almost screamed loudly before having her mouth covered by Rainbow Dash, quickly shushing her. “Pinkie, quiet! As cool as it’d be to have rich parents like hers, don’t forget that Crim told us that he grew up poor back where he came from.” Rainbow told her friends. “I don’t think this girl would like us talking about how rich she is growing up, just like how Crim wouldn’t like us talking about how poor he was.” Pinkie felt a little bit embarrassed. “Oh....sorry...kinda overreacted”
Circuit stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Guys," he began, "This has got me thinking... I grew up in an orphanage in San Bernadino until I was about 7 or 8, then Rugburn adopted me and we moved to Bakersfield before coming here. And yet, I've never known anything about my real parents." He sighed as he stared out the window next to the table in wonder. "What kind of people were they? Are they even still alive? If so, why did they give me up for adoption? Would they even recognize me? Would they even love me?" Applejack patted Circuit on the back. "Listen hun, ah know what it's like," she said. "Mah folks died in a car crash when ah was a young girl, a little after mah sister was born. But when they were alive... they were the best ma and pa you could ask for." She wiped away a single tear. "Mah point is, sugarcube... ah'm sure they did what they thought was best for ya." Applejack smiled at Circuit; a warm, comforting smile that would make even the most terrified person feel safe.
Rainbow also placed her hand onto his shoulder, smiling happily with her signature determined look in her eyes. “Maybe we can help you find them! Surely they put you into adoption for some reason” Circuit looked at his girlfriend for a moment, the cogwheels in his head turning. “I don’t know Rainbow....if they wanted to get rid of me, then it might be a bad idea....” Rainbow turned her gaze a little. “This must be bothering you, and everyone here cares about you. We want to help you even if we can’t find anything” All the girls smiled and nodded in agreement, all of them happily looking at Circuit. “Yeah! You betcha we can help!” Pinkie happily exclaimed. Circuit smiled happily at the sheer enthusiasm of his friends. “Wow...I don’t know what to say”
"Don't worry about it, hun," said Applejack, patting Circuit on the back, "Ya got some real good friends on yer side, and they'd do anythin' to help ya, come hell or high water!"
Several Hours Later After school, the living room was in a bustle of activity. Sitting in the middle of the room were two big suit-cases, filled to the absolute brim with clothes and other utensils. From toothpaste to towels, everyone at least had a bag to themselves. Rugburn was spending most of his time wondering around the house stockpiling on food and making sure all of the powerpoints in the house was turned off. Pinkie Pie was upstairs in the bedrooms with Orchid, grabbing warm blankets incase a motel along the way didn't have any nice ones available. And on the couch, a determined Circuit Breaker was sitting with Rainbow Dash, a feeling of confidence and yet a mixture of confusion. He had a feeling that he was going to find his parents one day, he just didn't know where to start. He didn't want to waste anyone's time afterall on a wild goose chase.
"Say, Circuit," asked Rainbow Dash curiously, "I saw a sheet of paper on your desk, what's it about?" "Oh nothing, Dash, just nerd stuff," Circuit replied with a sigh, "You wouldn't be able to understand it..." Rainbow Dash smirked. "Try me." Circuit shrugged. "Well, if you insist... it's an essay about how a quantum computer could work, in theory." Rainbow Dash smiled and said, "Oh, like in science fiction?" "Exactly," Circuit replied. "Basically, computers operate on yes-or-no questions; 0 being no, and 1 being yes. However, a quantum computer wouldn't be limited to just "yes" or "no", because it can answer with a "maybe," or 2. And if it can think in terms of "maybe," then it can be far more efficient than a normal computer." "Sounds fair," Rainbow Dash said. Though she was often prone to making impulsive decisions, she was far from stupid. Circuit sighed again, burying his face in his hands. "What's wrong, dude?" asked Rainbow Dash with concern. "I'm worried about our trip," Circuit replied, "What if we don't find them? Or what if we don't like what we find?"
Rainbow scooted closer to him on the couch, gripping Circuit’s hand. “Well...I guess that’s just something we’ve got to consider. The destination doesn’t always mean that the journey wouldn’t be worth it. I mean, all of us are going with you!” Circuit shook his head, feeling less tense then before but still having his hands buryed in his face. “When my real parents had delivered me to that orphanage, they must have had a good reason to consider it....was there something wrong with me?” Rainbow rested her head on his shoulder and gripped his hand. “Thinking of what could have been or happened was just in the past. Sure, obviously it sucked that your parents pretty much gave up on you until Rugburn stepped in” Circuit muttered under his breath. “Given up on me immediately....” Rainbow shook her head. “They’d given up on you because they didn’t see the amazing man that I see in you. And not just me, but all of us as your friends do. I mean, if your parents had seen you now, they’d be kicking themselves. “ Circuit kept silent, looking up at Rainbow. “Keep your chin up. We’ve got a big journey ahead of us and I don’t want to see my Cirkie always sad and miserable.” Rainbow smiled happily before pecking him on the cheek.
Circuit blushed as Rainbow Dash gave him a friendly kiss. "Aw, shucks." Suddenly, there was a knock at the front door. Circuit looked out the window to see who it was, and saw a very familiar looking purple-skinned, bespectacled young woman. He walked over to the door to greet her. "Hey Twi, what's up?" Circuit asked. "Hi Circuit," she replied, smiling. "Rarity wanted me to stop by and bring this over," she added as she handed Circuit a small plush doll. "It's for Orchid. Rarity made it for her." On closer inspection, Circuit noticed it was a plushie representation of himself, with brown button eyes framed by black pipe cleaner glasses. "Well, the hairstyle's a bit off, but it's otherwise a pretty good likeness," he said. At that moment, Orchid ran downstairs with an excited grin on her face. "Is it here?! Is it here?!" Circuit turned to her and said, "I think so." He handed her the plushie, and at that moment, Orchid's eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store. She cradled the plushie in her arms as if it were her infant child.
Orchid quickly ran up the stairs again in giddy excitement, pulling the plushie close to her chest as she went up the stairs in blistering speed, vanishing around the corner a second later. Circuit blinked in a little bit of surprise before turning to face Twilight. "Um...I'm gonna point out the elephant in the room. Why does it look like me?" "Well, ever since that Orchid has come to live with you and Rugburn, she's been having nightmares about her childhood. It disrupted your sleeping patterns where you never got a good night's sleep, and you had to sleep out in the loungeroom with her so that she settles down." Twilight formally told him. Circuit nodded in response. "I gotta admit, it can be difficult to calm her down when she's like that." "So...Rarity had the idea of making the plushie resemble you. The reason being that, in a technical sense, you can always be with her. She can cuddle her Circuit plushie as she's sleeping, and you can sleep in your own bed and catch up on a good night's sleep. Not only would this restore your sleeping patterns, but this could potentially stop her nightmares all together" Circuit had a sheepish grin on his face, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. ".....That's actually pretty adorable."
