Two months have passed since the arrest of Sangira Bloom, who had come to be known as the 'Canterlot Reaper' for his horrific crimes across the city. In addition of confessing a staggering amount of kills, along with the inhuman treatment of his daughter that went from physical and mental abuse, along with possible unconfirmed sexural abuse, the killed was trialed and sentenced to life imprisonment in a maximum security jail at minimum. Within that time, Crystal Prep Academy and Canterlot High School participated within their 'Friendship Games', a sporting carnival that also doubled as a rivalry between the two academic centres. Canterlot also received some unwanted attention from the media from what could only be described as a 'Supernatural event'. Ghost hunters and investigators of the unknown originally started to probe out the city like it was Roswell, but soon, the government started to question things. During this time, Chief Winter Rush took a well-deserved vacation to Denver with her adopted son Crimson, leaving her lieutenant Copper Top in-charge of the forces for a while. For the Police Chief, life couldn't have been better, having met somebody when she came back to Canterlot. For her son, him and his current girlfriend Pinkie Pie decided to call it quits on their relationship and instead harness it as a powerful friendship. It didn't seem to bother the two of them at all... Orchid Bloom, the only daughter of the convicted serial-killer, had passed 'recovery' tests with flying colours and got the help she needed in the form of a newfound friendship with friends she met at her new school, something she desperately needed. She moved in with a boy she met at school.....after Winter decided against adoption papers due to Orchid's age. And eventually, life in Canterlot would take a moment to relax following the Friendship games.....for now.
Orchid Bloom had adjusted well to her new life in the intervening two months, almost as though she had always lived with Circuit and his adoptive father, Rugburn. Of course, some of her scars, physical and otherwise, would never truly heal, but at least she was happier. She had taken up a part-time job as a fry cook at the local Burger Shack to help pay for her room and board, and her shift was due to start in an hour. "So, are you driving, or am I?" asked Circuit playfully. Orchid sighed. "You know I don't have a license." "I was just kidding!" replied Circuit cheekily, "C'mon! You don't wanna be late, do ya?" "Not particularly," replied Orchid as she stepped into the passenger seat of Circuit's beaten-up dark red '83 Maserati Biturbo. "You have a weird taste in cars, y'know that?" "It's the best I could afford," said Circuit, stepping into the driver's seat. "Guy I got it from practically gave the damn thing away for free, and all I really had to pay for was repairs. Now let's get going, shall we?" Circuit pulled out a cassette tape with the words "Dankest Jams Vol. 3" and popped it into the car's stereo. Spoiler: Music on the tape After a little while of struggling to remember stickshift, Circuit shifted the car into drive and left the house. "So, how do you like our place?" asked Circuit. Orchid shrugged. "It's a lot better than what I had before." "No kidding," replied Circuit. The two continued to head towards the Burger Shack as they drove through downtown Canterlot, rain falling around them, watering the plentiful plants of the small Colorado city. "Hey, you heard about what happened at school, right?" asked Orchid suddenly. "Not really," replied Circuit, "Been home sick, remember?" "Oh, right..." "Yeah... a fever of 101 will do that to you."
"Yeah, whatever...." Crimson had just hung up on the phone, putting the smartphone back in his pocket and walking to school. His car, even with multiple trips to the mechanics, just wasn't able to come back from the dead. He had to buy a new one at some point, but recently, he'd have a bigger attitude then usual. Not between him and his friends, or his mother.....it was someone that his mother wasn't telling him about. Winter, upon returning back to Canterlot after their vacation in Denver, decided to get back into dating once again. Nearly most of the time, the studs that she ended up seeing merely wanted to have her for her body and nothing else, or were too awkward or just 'not her type' whatsoever. However, last night, Winter had met somebody new. Crimson hadn't seen his mother this happy in years, not since the two of them arrived in America. But she didn't tell him who it was, only saying that it was a surprise for tonight. Things between him and Pinkie didn't bother him either. The two had lost feeling for one another in some way or form, despite Pinkie finding love in him on first sight. Seeing her at school, just being good friends, seemed to at least calm his nerves at least. After all, Winter always said there were 'more fish in the sea', which made things funny to him considering his mothers dating spree recently. Soon, he walked onto the footpath of Canterlot High, just as the first buses were arriving....
Circuit stepped out of his car after pulling up to the school parking lot. "Hey Crim!" he said upon noticing his close friend, "Just dropped Orchid off at work."
"Oh hey Circuit!" Crimson happily said. "Hope she's doing well at work. Mum hasn't caught a break since the two of us got back from Denver." "Orchid doesn't have a big shift today, so she'd be taking the bus straight to school after work. Thankfully Principal Celestia gave her special privileges since the school found out about her...." Circuit told him. "Oh...yeah." Crim's tone changed. "Her father...the one who got a life sentence. Wouldn't be surprised if he'd be on death row."
Circuit sighed as the painful memories came back to him, but he didn't have time to think much about it, for at that moment he was suddenly hugged from behind. "Circuit..." said Rainbow Dash somberly as she embraced him, "thank goodness you're okay..." Circuit wheezed slightly. "Too... tight..." "Oh... sorry..." Circuit turned around as his girlfriend let go of him. The school was undergoing serious repairs, as it had been heavily damaged. Entire sections of wall were missing or laying on the ground, and shattered window panes were scattered throughout the rubble. "Looks like a bomb went off in this place," said Circuit. "I take it I missed something?" Rainbow Dash sighed. "Yes... you did..." ----- "Tiger Squadron, this is Leader-1. Do you read, over?" "Loud and clear, Leader-1. Awaiting orders." "Tiger Squadron, move to intercept target and fire at will." "Roger that, Leader-1." A trio of F-22 fighter jets flew through the air towards Canterlot High School. On the ground: chaos. What could only be described as tears in the fabric of reality itself were sprouting up left and right, as another dimension could be seen on the other side; the school itself taking damage from either the holes or collateral damage from missed shots from the tanks and infantry surrounding the building. Principal Celestia oversaw the evacuation process as paramedics rushed into the building to rescue those who were unable to leave the building themselves. Firefighters were hard at work attempting to extinguish the flames, and six young women were busy trying to help with those who had fallen into the portals. The source of all the madness was another young woman; her crazed eyes glowed an icy shade of blue, framed by glasses of lavender fire. A jagged horn protruded from her forehead, and dark violet wings extended out from her back. Her face was consumed by a maniacal grin as she blasted magical bursts from her hands at the military forces on the ground beneath her. "Our weapons are ineffective!" shouted one soldier, "They just pass right through her!" "Bull*squee!*, keep firing!" replied another. The agonized and panicked screams of civilian and soldier alike could be heard for miles away. "Twilight! Please, stop this! You don't know what you're doing!" shouted Sunset Shimmer in desperation. "And throw away my chance to learn about Equestrian magic?!" replied the demented adolescent, "Not happening!" ----- Circuit sank to his knees. This information was a lot to take in. "..." He took slow, deep breaths as the shock swept over him. After a few moments, he got up and hugged Rainbow Dash tightly. "I'm just happy you're still here," he said, as tears began to form in his eyes.
Crimson looked visibly confused. "How the hell did me and mum not hear about this? Why is it that things always happen here while I'm out on vacation?" Rainbow shrugged, going along with his story. "I don't know Crim. Things got pretty bad here, there was fires and screaming everywhere." Crim sighed. "Even during all of this, the school decides that you can still have classes." "Well....only on the left wing." Circuit replied
Circuit sighed. "Hey Crim..." he said, "at least you weren't home sick in bed. Orchid had to look after me because Rugburn's been looking for a proper job lately."
The bell went off, or what was left of it, as a disorientating noise alerted the students of their first period of class. "I hope Orchid's been settling into your home at least. I feel like ya'll appreciate the extra help and cash she brings in" Applejack said to Circuit. Circuit nodded. "Yeah, she's really been helping alot. I feel bad for getting sick in the first place, because when I was at my worst, Orchid actually watched over me for at least three days to keep me entertained." Sunset smiled at the selfless actions of their new friend. "Maybe she's trying to repay you somehow?"
"Oh, believe me, Sunset, I would have done the same thing," said Circuit, smiling back. His smile faded for a second. "Wait, have you guys seen Pinkie-" he began to ask, before she popped up suddenly from a nearby manhole cover. "WHAT THE--" shouted a very startled Crim. "Hope I'm not late!" she said in her typical excitable fashion. Applejack gasped. "Did ya really just..." she began, before realizing that this was far from atypical behavior from Pinkie Pie. "Never mind. But what ah wanna know is, why the sewers?" "I missed the bus," Pinkie replied matter-of-factly. Applejack rolled her eyes slightly. "Of course ya did."
Soon, a familiar looking girl appeared nearby the boundaries of the school wearing a skirt and uniform, reluctantly making her way towards the group of friends. "HEY TWILIGHT!" Pinkie Pie screamed happily. "Boys, this is the Twilight Sparkle of our universe. Why don't you introduce yourselves?" Rainbow nudged the two of them. But still remembering the horrible infestation of the worms, and his unintentional treatment of the other universes Twilight, Crimson hesistsntly looked away as the real Twilight appeared.
"Uh... hi..." said Circuit nervously, though he tried to put on a smile. He also remembered the incident with the mindworms, which was almost as bad for him as it had been for Crim, because while he hadn't been nearly killed by a possessed family member, he was possessed himself, and he still had nightmares about what had happened. "I'm... Circuit Breaker," he continued, holding out his hand.
After Twiligt shook Circuit's hand, Crimson hesitantly shook the hand of Twilight. He'd never forget the day that his possessed mother tried to kill him, or losing his mind at Twilight, or seeing the saddened expressions of his friends. "G'day Twilight" Crimson shook her hand. "I'm Crimson Lionheart, but just call me Crim." Twilight Sparkle nodded as she shook the hands of the two boys. "Hello you two. The girls have told me a lot about you..."
----- Later that day... "Guys, guys, we got a letter!" Pinkie Pie seemed more energetic than usual that afternoon as she approached her friends at Sugarcube Corner. "Who would send us a letter?" said Rainbow Dash dismissively, "Nobody sends those things anymore." "Not even Ivy?" Suddenly, the group's intrigue was raised. "Well, dear, let's see it, then!" said Rarity gleefully.
The group opened up the letter, showing a glamorous card. Inside was elegant writing, very cursive and neatly written. Rarity picked it up and cleared her throat, it said.... "Bonjour à tous, I hope this letter finds you well. I'd had such a magnificent time during my vacation in Yellowstone, and not a moment goes by when I think about reuniting with my best friends. I apologize for my absence, I'm incredibly sorry that it's taking so long to return. We've had a major family incident back in Quebec that I had to attend to, and we've had to delay our plans of returning to Canterlot by a week or two. It's been nearly two months, and I'm missing all of you terribly. By the time you receive this letter, we will be preparing to leave Canada and we will be driving the entire way back to Colorado. I hope you see you all again. I miss you so much~ À bientôt, Ivy Wind. Xoxoxoxo"
Rainbow Dash's eyes widened as she came to a realization. "Uh-oh," she said quietly. "Um... if you don't mind me asking, what's wrong?" asked Fluttershy, concerned. "She's gonna be back in a few days, right?" replied Rainbow Dash. "And she doesn't know what happened here at school!" "Ah dunno 'bout that, hun," said Applejack skeptically, "it's been all over social networkin' and such." "Yes, but she hasn't met Twilight!" Rainbow Dash explained. "Oh, right..."
Circuit looked confused. "Well....maybe we can just tell her? Not about the school, about Twilight?" "Wait....we're taking about th-" Crim began to speak. He was met with the quiet glares of the the girls, quickly making him shut up. "Oh....sorry" Crim sheepishly said.
"Rainbow Dash has a point," said Sunset, "Ivy doesn't know anything about magic, nor has she met Twilight. I think the best thing to do is let Ivy meet Twilight, but not tell her about what she did."
"Ah reckon that everything should be alright around Ivy." Applejack told them he group of friends. "Although, seeing how the boys fainted when we explained it to them, I'm sure we should be prepared for Ivy's case" Fluttershy meekly spoke up. "Well..that's if we tell her at all." The girls nodded in agreement.
----- "How was it, Dad?" asked Circuit as his adoptive father walked into the dining room that evening. "I can't believe how hard it is to find a job these days..." Rugburn replied somberly. "Guess I'll have to look the old-fashioned way." He pulled out a newspaper and flipped to the classifieds section. There, as he browsed through the countless ads, he heard something on TV that caught his eye. "Circuit! Orchid! You might wanna take a look at this..." Circuit and Orchid both peered over Rugburn's shoulders as the announcer spoke. "SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY!! It's the Lethal Force IX video game tournament at the Canterlot Canterdome!! Come and take on the world's greatest Lethal Force players!! The grand prize for first place: over $1,000,000 in cash winnings!! Do YOU have what it takes to win?!? The Lethal Force IX tournament at the Canterdome, this Sunday only!! Sponsored by Sugarcube Corner Bakery and Deli." Rugburn turned around. "Do you know what we could do with a million bucks?" "Um... donate it to the high school to help them rebuild?" replied Orchid matter-of-factly. Rugburn shrugged. "I was gonna say 'pay off the credit card debt and put it in our life savings,' but that works too."
