The Dazzlings have been arrested for vandalizing Canterlot High.

According to the article Caramel gave me, they attacked the school around the time I was at Octavia's concert before a couple of police officers were driving by and caught them. They also turned out to be the culprits of food and blankets stolen from homeless shelters over the past couple of weeks.

It's odd that they weren't exactly subtle about attacking the school or that they weren't attacking very late in the evening. They were caught around 7:30 ish, which was about an hour into Octavia's concert. Did they hate that they were defeated so much that they would recklessly attack without people noticing? I honestly thought the leader with the ginormous orange hair at least would be smarter than that.

Regardless, it's no surprise that come Monday morning, it was the talk of the school. I had just been dropped off by my mom to find whole groups of students outside looking at broken windows all over the school. The Dazzlings apparently even tried to break into the building because one of the side entrances of the school had a broken doorknob. The windows are covered with wooden boards and the entrance is blocked with yellow tape and two policemen standing guard. Before long, the bell rings and the policemen told us to come inside and go to class.

But seeing as we are high school teenagers, going inside the school doesn't stop us from still going crazy over it. Packs of students are standing around in the halls instead of heading to their first-period class, talking about it or reading news reports on their phones. Rumors are already spreading, saying things like the Dazzlings were drunk or on really messed up drugs or just wanted revenge. One sophomore boy claims that the reason they were trying to break in was to burn down the building from the inside. Even the student photographer, Photo Finish is moving back and forth around the halls with her camera and her entourage, Pixel Pizzaz and Violet Blurr, taking pictures of the damage. She keeps shouting something about capturing "the dark magic of pure terrorism" or something.

Yeah...twenty bucks says they are going to get sent to Vice Principle Luna's office and get chewed out good before the second period if they're lucky.

But for me? I just quietly head to my first class, merely observing what everyone else is doing as I go. I'm as shocked about this as everyone else, but I prefer to keep my thoughts to myself until I'm having lunch with Soarin and Caramel. I really can't take anyone else seriously while all they want to do is make ridiculous rumors about it. I mean really? The Dazzlings wanted to break in just to set a fire inside when they could easily do that outside? Sophomore kids are weird.

I make it to my first class, which is English with Ms. Cheerilee. I sit in my regular seat at the back of the classroom while students still mindlessly talk about the attack. Finally, with the final bell, Ms. Cheerilee shouts for us to settle down, though it takes a few tries before everyone was quiet.

But before she can get started on her lecture, however, Principal Celestia starts talking on the intercom.

Good morning students and staff, I would like to take a moment to discuss what happened at our school last night. I want to confirm that we do have several windows that have been broken and boarded up, and we would advise students to keep away from them for safety. Also, the back entrance has been broken in, so all outside gym/sports activities will have to exit the building from the front entrance. We know that you are as ecstatic about this, but we advise that you do not discuss this in social media. We have already seen students posting pictures and links on their MyStable and other social media as well as Photo Finish and her entourage taking pictures of the damage and has already had their equipment confiscated by Vice Principal Luna.

Wow, even faster than I thought.

Any further phone activities revolving the attack will result in your phones taken away. That being said, I hope that we can treat today like a regular school day. Have a good day, and remember it's a great day to be a Canterlot Wondercolt.

After the intercom is turned off, Ms. Cheerlie starts her lecture, but even though class was in, that still didn't stop the other students from sneaking their phone out of their pockets and texting more about what happened. Some of them eventually did get caught and lose their phones of course, but students would still quietly talk about it during the lecture.

This is going to be a long day.

********************************************************************************************************

At the cafeteria, Soarin and Caramel are already waiting for me when I walk over to our usual table with my lunch. Once I sit down, Soarin wasted no time.

"Can you believe this is happening?" He asks.

"No, I sure can't," I respond plainly. "Honestly, I don't know what is harder to believe, that they attacked the school, or that they attacked the school so recklessly."

"It does sound pretty far fetch," Caramel says in agreement. "But do you think they were intoxicated in some way?"

"I don't know for sure, but according to Rainbow Dash, she and the rest of the Rainbooms are thinking the Dazzlings had some plan that may have more to do with them than the school. Like this was all a part of a plan to get revenge or something," Soarin says.

"That is probably the best theory I've heard all day," Caramel says. "They were the ones that defeated the Dazzlings, so it makes sense to use the attack on the school to get to the Rainbooms. If anything else, it sounds more like something the leader of the group would think of."

"But that still doesn't explain why they would do such a thing so early at night," I point out. "What could have gotten into them?"

"Well does it really matter, though?" Caramel asks. "After all, even if they did plan this for some kind of payback, they're still captured, right? They are nothing but teenage girls without their powers, and for all we know, maybe they did take their defeat so hard that they turned to drugs or something. So doesn't that mean that the important thing is that we are still safe from those three?"

I give Caramel's question some thought. As ridiculous as most of the rumors are, I can't deny that it does look like something was very wrong with them. Maybe they did drug themselves, or maybe they were hit really hard in the head after losing their power, maybe both. Maybe there's more to this than we can guess. But at the same time, the fact remains that they've been captured.

"You know Caramel, you may have a point," I say plainly.

Both of my friends look at me, shocked.
"Did you just agree with me?" Caramel asks.

"Well...yeah," I answer.

"But you never agree with us," Soarin says with a quizzical look. "How do we know you don't have another crazy theory that has to do with them bidding their time until they strike? Or maybe you have one that has something to do with Sunset Shimmer still evil and you're just not saying it to your best friends for once?"

"Heh, I guess I do tend to say things like that a lot with you guys, don't I?" I titter. "But Sunset Shimmer isn't the one in jail, and even then, she was able to get things her way long before she had any of those she-demon powers."

"Oh, there it is," Soarin says to Caramel with a smirk. "For a moment there I thought some of The Dazzlings' magic stayed in his mind so that he can say things like that to let people's guard down."

They both chuckle, and I give them a half-hearted laugh.

"Cute. Real cute guys. You really are the only people I can count on to make fun of me at all and have it only be out of playfulness," I say.

They both make another brief chuckle before Caramel asks, "But all joking aside, do you really mean that?"

"Well, the key thing to my statement is that you may have a point," I reply. "I don't think it's wise to let our guard down anymore than I think people should with Sunset Shimmer, but you're right that they are powerless and imprisoned. So this might not be as big of a deal as everyone is making it out to be apart from the fact that three people who hypnotized us are starting to get what they deserve."

"Yeah, I think that's a reasonable way to look at it," Caramel says with content. "If anything else, I'm glad we can discuss this much more maturely than everyone else has today."

"Ugh, I know," I say, annoyed. "I can't believe how much of a thing everyone has made of it. Just when I thought we teenagers can't be persistent enough with texting in class."

"Well on the bright side, we only have so much information that we can blabber about," Soarin says optimistically. "So, how much longer can this go on?"

Oh no.

Almost as soon as Soarin said it, one of the hipster students, Sandalwood, stands on one of the tables in the middle of the cafeteria, holding his phone up high as he announces for everyone to hear, "Oh dudes, Flash Sentry just got a text from his dad at the police station; they already made a date for the Dazzlings' trial!"

Immediately, students left their lunches and crowd around Sandalwood, exclaiming various signs of excitement.

I turn back to Soarin, giving him a hard glare. He scratches back of his head as he says, "Heh, that will do it," with a nervous laugh.

I roll my eyes before we both look back at Sandalwood.

"Flash's dad says that they are having the trial at the Canterlot courthouse downtown, after school," Sandalwood says. "They're only going to let a few people in, so plan ahead to go there right after school and see the fate of our attackers!"

The entire cafeteria goes crazy. Students run back to their tables to send out texts and discuss plans to come to the trial. Eventually, of course, one of the staff notices this from one of the halls and had Sandalwood sent to Vice Principle Luna's office. But we all know that this reignited the high school buzz tenfold, and there wasn't anything that the teachers could really do to stop it.

Soarin, Caramel, and I turn back towards each other, still processing what we had just learned. Eventually, Caramel breaks the silence.

"So...anyone for going to see The Dazzlings get sentenced?" he asks awkwardly.

"Uh, I don't know. I'm for it if you guys are," Soarin replies with a shrug. "Rough Draft, are you in?"

I'm not quite sure how to respond. On the one hand, it seems pointless to go just on account on who will actually be able to enter the courthouse, let alone witness what is going to happen to the three girls that hypnotized us and attacked our school. But at the same time, it may give me a peace of mind to see at three of the people who have brainwashed me get their just reward.

"Yeah, I'm in," I say. "I don't know if we're going to be able to come inside, but if it means a chance to see them get taken down for good, I'm all for it."

"Sweet. Then let's make sure to meet up after class on Monday, and I'll drive us over there," Soarin announces.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Caramel says.

"Me too," I confirm as we all nod our heads in agreement and go back to our food.

************************************************************************************************************

As expected, news of the trial kept anyone from really caring about anything the teachers were saying for the rest of the day. Even Mr. Iron Will with all of his intimidating demeanor, couldn't get everyone to focus during gym class. The teachers would take away phones or send students to Vice Principal Luna and it still wasn't enough for everyone else to stop spreading the news and making new rumors about the trial.

We teenagers are a persistent bunch.

Finally, school ends for another day so I head to my locker, grab the rest of my stuff, and head home so that I can hopefully stop thinking about the trial for the rest of the day.

"Hey, Rough Draft, wait up!" I turn around to see Caramel catching up with me. "I forgot to ask, why didn't you have your phone on last night?"

"Oh yeah, I was invited to go to a concert Octavia was performing at, so I had to have my phone off," I reply.

"What? Why didn't you tell Soarin or me that you were doing that?" He asks. "Soarin could've given you a few pointers for that or something."

"Well, I was too focused on hoping that I wouldn't fall asleep since it was a classic concert."

"Oh. Yeah, that would do it," Caramel says understandingly. "But did you?"

I take a second before I hesitantly reply, "I might have fallen asleep long enough that I would have missed her performance if it wasn't for this rude, snooty, rich, teenage couple sitting right next to me who woke me up."

"Does she know this?" He asks worriedly.

"Yeah, she eventually found out," I say hesitantly. "But thankfully she forgave me, seeing as how it makes us even after she laughed at me when I told her about my stories."

"Well, that's good news," Caramel agrees. "But do you think she would have been so forgiving if you did sleep through her performance?"

I wasn't sure how to answer that question. One the one hand, Octavia and I both handled our feelings about each other's interests badly, but we forgave each other and that is that. But on the other hand, she made it clear how much it meant for someone she knew to watch her performance, and I almost let her down.

"Rough Draft."

I snap out of my train of thought to see Caramel looking at me, still worried. I quickly regained my thoughts and answer, "I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. I'll probably have to ask her. But regardless, I enjoyed her music. And I'm not saying that to be nice, I really mean I was intrigued the whole time she was playing."

Caramel looks at me, confused.

"Seriously? How could one night of watching her play music all of the sudden get you interested in that kind of music?" He asks suspiciously.

"I don't know," I answer. "I can't help but be fascinated when I watched her play. She puts a lot of emotion to her music and it's...astonishing to watch her be in her own little world while she plays. Honestly, she makes me feel pathetic by comparison with my stories. I know she eventually was encouraging me about my writing after she stopped laughing, but I still write fanfiction while she pours her heart out with her cello. I wish I knew why she's interested in me when I'm nowhere near her level."

For a couple of minutes, nothing is said. Suddenly Caramel is snickering. I look at him in disbelief as I ask, "What's so funny?"

He keeps on laughing before he eventually answers, "You're sounding just like me and Soarin whenever we compare ourselves to Applejack or Rainbow Dash."

I stare at him for a moment before I process what he said and start chuckling myself.

"Heh. Yeah, I guess I am."

We laugh for a little bit before we settle down and Caramel speaks encouragingly, "Seriously though, maybe you're being too hard on yourself. After all, she may have laughed at you when you told her what you write, but if she really apologized and later wanted you to come to a concert that probably meant a lot to her, then maybe you shouldn't worry too much about what she thinks about your writing."

"I don't know," I say reluctantly. "I don't see myself sharing her my writing anytime soon; leastways not after the Spring Fling."

Caramel's face falters at my mentioning of the Spring Fling. It takes another minute before he eventually says, "Well why not give it a try? I mean I know you're not comfortable with the idea, but you did say that it's possible that you two could work something out based on why she is interested in you. Maybe at some point, you should show her your work and she might enjoy it. If anything, at least you'll probably be less embarrassed than I was with Applejack at the party."

I don't say anything at first. We just stand next to my locker while fewer students are passing us by and heading home. I debate in my mind whether or not to take Caramel's advice. I'm still uncomfortable with the idea of showing my stories to someone who isn't Caramel and Soarin since the last time I opened up that much to a girl was before the Spring Fling. But at the same time, the more time I've become more comfortable with Octavia the more time I spend with her. I admit that I wouldn't mind dating her if it goes that far, but if that's ever going to happen, I may have to open up to her with my stories sooner or later, but will I be ready for that?

Before I can say another thing to Caramel, a high pitched voice fills the nearly empty hall.

"Get back here, Octavia!!!"

We both turn around and who should we see but Octavia running towards us with a look of horror on her face, breathing heavily. She looks behind her to see Pinkie Pie perusing after her with the same fiery eyes she had at Sugarcube Corner.

Oh yeah. Pinkie did say she would get Octavia for breaking her promise.

Octavia is so focused on Pinkie Pie that she only turns around for one second before our eyes meet, and we realize precisely what is going to happen next.

*WHAM!*

We both fall to the ground, landing right next to each other. We barely have a moment to groan in pain before Pinkie Pie catches up with us. The psychotic look in her scares the crap out of both us and Caramel.

"Octavia Philharmonia Melody, you broke your Pinkie Promise and hurt Rough Draft really, really badly!" She says with venom in her voice. "As such, I demand that you apologize!"

"But I already apologized to him," Octavia says half out of fear and half in pain from the hit on the head.

"A likely story!" Pinkie Pie responds.

"She did apologize Pinkie Pie," I intervene, still in a bit of pain myself but able to get up and start helping Octavia up. "After we ran away from you, we had a talk where she apologized and I forgave her. We're good!"

For a moment, Pinkie Pie does nothing but keeps her angry look. Then right out of nowhere, the look is replaced with her usual cheery smile.

"Oh, that's great! See? Everything gets better when you apologize!" she says bubbly.

I had just finished helping Octavia up and am about to comment on how childish Pinkie Pie sounds before Pinkie grabs Octavia by the vest and pulls her towards herself, so they are face to face.

"But I'm warning you, Ms. Melody." Pinkie Pie says, her venomous voice back. "Don't ever, and I mean ever break a Pinkie Promise ever again. Got it?"

Octavia barely makes out a gulp before she lets out a quiet, "Yes, Pinkie, I got it."

Almost immediately, Pinkie Pie's happy demeanor returns again.

"Great! Well, I'll see you guys later," She says before she skips away, humming a simple tune.

For a few seconds, neither of us do anything but watch Pinkie Pie skip away to the end of the hall. I turn to my right to see Caramel still staring at where Pinkie was with a look of shock on his face.

"Feel free to have helped us anytime there, Caramel," I say sarcastically.

This snaps him from his state of shock before he looks at me and chuckles nervously.

"Sorry," he says. "It just was too much for me to witness Pinkie Pie like that."

I roll my eyes before I turned to Octavia.

"Are you alright?" I ask.

"Well, I got chased by a maniacal Pinkie Pie, and I head collided with you for the second time in less than a week," she says in a snarky tone. "But other than that, I'm okay."

"Yeah, we gotta stop meeting at school like this. We're starting to act like Flash Sentry and that Twilight Sparkle girl," I comment.

Octavia looks at me with an unamused look.

"That was not one of your funnier jokes," she says.

"Sorry," I say. "How about we text each other whenever we are running for dear life in the halls next time just to get a heads up."

"I say that's a fair deal," she replies with a smirk. I smile back, staring into her violet eyes and can see she's looking into my eyes as well.

Just then, Caramel clears his throat, reminding us he's still there. We snap out of our staring moment, and I clear my throat.

"Yes, well," I begin. "Octavia, this is one of my best friends, Caramel."

Pleased with my change of focus, he extends his hand, saying, "Pleasure to finally meet you, ma'am."

Octavia chuckles before she shakes his hand.

"Good to meet you too, good sir," she says before something clicks in her mind. "You know, I think I've heard of your name before."

"Oh really? Maybe you did when I was in a band with Soarin and this guy right here back at the battle of the bands," he says with a confident smile, not noticing my hand gestures telling him not to bring it up. "Surely Rough Draft told you about Revan and the Soaring Revanites."

"As a matter of fact he did, but -" Octavia says before she remembers. "Wait, I did see you. You were the drummer, weren't you? No offense, but you all looked so silly performing the way you did."

Caramel's proud face falls.

"W-what?"

"It's true," I say reluctantly. "Apparently we didn't get in because we were out of tune and no one could hear what I was singing through my Revan mask."

"I think there's a video on MyStable of your 'performance," Octavia adds.

Both Caramel and I wave our hands, saying, "no."

"Suit yourself," she responds, sounding amused.

Caramel's phone vibrates soon after.

"Ah, that's my mom," he says quickly. "Nice to meet you, Octavia."

"And you, Caramel," Octavia replies.

"See ya, Rough Draft," he says before leans over and whispers in my ear, "Think about what I said, man. Give her a chance," and runs out of the hall.

We wait a moment before Octavia, and I turn and smile at each other.

"So..." Octavia begins.

"Yeah, so..." I say back.

"How about this whole thing about the Dazzlings?" She asks.

"Ugh, don't remind me," I reply, groaning. "If I had a nickel for every time someone said something about the matter throughout the day, I would have made enough money to move to Manehattan."

Octavia chuckles at my statement.

"I know what you mean," she says. "I can understand being angry over them hypnotizing us, but it seems like our school decided to make a thing about The Dazzlings now after the campus is attacked. It's incredibly ridiculous."

I look at her with a hint of hope at what she said. Did she just critique about how everyone has been acting after these magical occurrences? But that's my thing! Am I not the only person who thinks about that?

"So do you feel that our fellow students shouldn't be acting like all the brainwashing never happened?" I ask.

Octavia looks at me like I said something odd.

"Are you joking?" She asks, bewildered. "If it weren't for my friends, I would get the sense that I'm the only person in this entire school who thinks that we shouldn't be acting like all the brainwashing at the Fall Formal and the Battle of the Bands never happened."

At that moment, my mind is trying to process what she just said. Then without realizing it, I walk over to Octavia and wrap my arms around her, giving her a tight hug. She squeaks in surprised as I lift her up and start spinning her around, laughing maniacally. After a few spins, I pause a moment and kiss her on the cheek.

It was just a few seconds into the kiss that I realize what I just did, and I immediately let her go and turn around, blushing furiously. I dare to turn around to see Octavia blushing as well.

I clear my throat and awkwardly say, "I apologize for that. It's just that you're the first person to feel the same way about how everyone is handling both events. I don't even have the luxury of my friends feeling that way l do."

"That's okay," she says in an equally awkward tone. "Truth be told, I know what it's like to feel like it's just you who feels that way. Even Vinyl doesn't understand because she was never hypnotized either when Sunset Shimmer or The Dazzlings attacked."

That's true, actually. I do recall Vinyl Scratch joining Applejack and Rainbow Dash and the rest of the Rainbooms in fighting The Dazzlings.

Then suddenly, a serious question enters my mind.

"How do you do it, Octavia?" I ask, making her look at me, confused. "How do you deal with the fact that you were hypnotized? That you went to a dance or competed in a musical tournament, unaware that you were losing who you are mentally even if it was only for a short while?"

I don't get an answer right away. Octavia lets out a big sigh, her face showing a look of unease and. I feel like I shouldn't have asked her that question.

"I'm sorry," I say hastily. "I shouldn't have -"

"No, it's fine, really," she says quickly, but still sounding uncomfortable. "It's just that it's not something that I like to dwell in. Please understand Rough Draft, when I moved to Canterlot, I wanted to use it as an opportunity to escape everything I was leaving behind from Manehattan. The attention I was getting, the pain over what happened between me and my tutor, everything. I wanted to just leave it behind for a normal life in a suburb where I can spend my senior year in a relatively humble environment. But instead, we're not even halfway through the fall semester and I experience she-demons, sirens, students fighting each other and literally blowing each other away with music, all of which took away everything I wanted out of starting over. The most uneasy thing about it is I was a part of it. I competed in the Battle of the Bands. I remember wanting to desperately win the competition with my cello. The Dazzlings used what I love against me. All I can do to keep myself together is express how that makes me feel through my music. For a couple of hours after school, I'm either in the music room or I lock myself in my room at home to just play, thinking about what they did and what I would do to them if I had the chance."

For a moment, there is silence. I don't know how to reply to that. I feel bad thinking I was having a tough time with everything that transpired when it ruined Octavia's chance for a quiet life by comparison.

Suddenly, a thought comes to my mind.

"You know, now that I think about it, I might do the same thing with my writing," I say.

Octavia raises an eyebrow, unamused.

"Rough Draft, you had just told me not four days ago how all you bring yourself to write is Star Wars fan fiction. How in the world does that relate in any way to how I deal with this whole bloody matter?" She asked in an annoyed manner.

"Well, it isn't the same way," I began, "but I think it has helped me let out how I feel about what these...magical beings did to us did to me. I hated that there was nothing I could do to save myself, let alone others from these sirens and demons, and what have you. Now that I think about it, I have been writing these stories about fighting Sith more than usual because at least there I can take care of myself and be able to stop whatever evil magical being is doing. I think I've become more passionate about it because what we have gone through was real. Magic is no longer something that is only in folklore and movies and literature; it's something that exists and can be used against us, and there is nothing we can do about it that we know of, but at least in my stories, I can do something. I can make a difference."

Silence filled the hallway again. This time, it is Octavia's turn to be deep in thought about what I just said. We just opened up to each other even more so than before. It looks like the more we open up, the more we find out that we have more in common, even if it's in different ways.

Finally, Octavia speaks again.

"You know, when you put it that way, I suppose we do, do the same thing to get through it," she says. "Though I do believe we have not even shown each other's work in the matter. Perhaps we could go to the music room and fix that?"

I gave her a small smile.

"I'd really like that," I reply. "Though I thought you said most of your work is improvisation."

"It is," she confirms. "But that doesn't mean I can't do it now. I was planning on playing to think about everything that transpired today anyway."

I smile again and say, "Then, by all means, lead the way, Lady Melody."

She lets out a giggle before we start walking to the music room.

****************************************************************************************************************

Shortly after we drop by Octavia's locker to retrieve her cello, we enter the school's music room, and Octavia turns on the lights. She pulls out a stool and gestures me to sit on the benches as she starts setting up her cello. At setting up her cello, she takes out her phone and starts setting something up with it.

Noticing my curiosity, she states with a smile, "This particular piece is not one of my own. I found it online and thought it would be the right kind of song to play; it comes with some background music to play along with my cello."

I frown a little at her statement.

"I thought you were going to go all improv on me with just your cello," I say.

She makes small chuckle in response and says, "I know, but this particular tactic helps me play this kind of general tune to express these feelings. Plus, Vinyl tells me it helps me be more comfortable with playing different genres. I'll tell you what, after you show me some of your stories, I'll play another song, just out of nowhere without any backup music at all."

"Alright, deal," I say with a satisfied smile.

She smiles back before her face changes into a focused yet calm expression. She straightens up and takes one deep breath before she touches the play button on her phone, and with the first beats of the music, she began to play.

When she finishes, I stand still, unsure of what to say. Octavia gives a worried look.

"Did you not like it?" She asks.

I said nothing right away, but when I did, I say, "No...I don't hate it. If anything, I'm more taken aback at the sort of... ferocity you put into that piece. Though to be honest, it seemed to go back and forth as to whether or not your cello had a purpose to the track."

"That is understandable," she says plainly. "I guess I am used to not always be the focus of a musical piece after being in the school orchestra back at Manehattan. But you're right about the ferocity. I truly hate what both Sunset Shimmer and The Dazzlings did to me. And while Sunset Shimmer may be good now and The Dazzlings are arrested, I can't help but think that there's going to be the next time. That any day another magical being is going to use the school for their evil purposes for reasons we don't even know, and we might get brainwashed again no matter what we do. I want to be able to fight back if that happens. That's why I chose this particular piece; I use it to express how I want to fight back. I don't want to be some means for someone else's magical gain."

I ponder at her argument. I never even considered the possibility that there could be more magical beings that would want to take over the school or something, or even if there's a real reason why these people keep focusing only on Canterlot High. Does it have to do with Applejack and Rainbow Dash and their friends with their... friendly magic or whatever they call it? And what does that mean for the rest of us? Would we be nothing more than just pawns used for some struggle of power that mostly takes place in our school? I already feel insecure over how I have been unable to do something about our past encounters with magic, but I never thought about it all happening again.

Finally, Octavia clears her throat and speaks again.

"But I digress, I believe it is your turn," she announces.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that...again. I start to feel uneasy again, and Octavia doesn't hesitate to notice.

"You're not going to try to go back on your part the deal again, are you?" She asks suspiciously. "I will make another Pinkie Promise again if I have to."

I make a nervous chuckle in response.

"No, it's not that at all," I answer. "I just feel a little...intimidated. I mean, I don't normally show my writing to anyone apart from Caramel and Soarin, and...well, it's nothing compared to what you do."

Octavia rolls her eyes while smiling.

"You don't have to be so intimidated by me, Rough Draft," she says. "Just because I have gone so far as performing in front of people, doesn't mean I'm not someone who is trying to figure things out with my profession like you are."

I hesitate for a moment before I nod, giving in to her point. I reluctantly open my backpack and take out one of my notebooks containing some of my stories and offer it to her. But then she pushes the notebook back to me.

"Ah-ah-ah-ah," she says in a singing voice. "You are reading to me."

I lean back in surprise.

"W-w-why?" I stutter.

"Because I would like to hear you read it out loud, seeing as it's only fair as I performed for you," she answers with a smirk. "Also, I think it could do you some good to be a little more open in that way. And besides, odds are I probably wouldn't understand some of the words anyway, seeing as my knowledge of Star Wars is frankly quite limited."

I have my mouth open, trying to think of a comeback, but nothing comes out. Octavia has me cornered, and we both know it. I let out a long sigh and open my notebook, flipping through the pages until I get to a story that seems like the right one to start with.

Now seeing as this story is a rather long, I'll give you the basic plot summary.

So a long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away, (yes, I really did start my stories with that, and yes, Octavia did let out a giggle when I said it), the all-powerful Jedi Master named Rough Draft was infiltrating a Sith fortress at the Sith homeworld, Korriban. Inside the fortress was the latest threat against the galaxy: the Sith Emperor, Morphan-itas. He snuck inside with the help of my companion, Entalmorphias, and tried to reach Morphan-itas' throne room without being detected. Unfortunately, they did get detected and so they had to fight off a few hundred Sith guards. Eventually, Entalmorphious told Rough Draft to just go and face the emperor while keeping he keeps guards occupied. Thus, Rough Draft raced his way to the throne room, taking on some extra guards in the process. Finally, he made it to the throne room and went face to face with Morphan-itas. They said a little bit of dialogue here and there about taking over the galaxy and/or stopping him before they ignited their lightsabers and began fighting. It was a fierce battle of jumping and clashing the blades of their swords together going back and forth over who was on the offense or defense. Finally, however, Morphan-itas made one fatal mistake, giving Rough Draft the opportunity to elbow him in the face and then stabbed him right in his stomach, killing him. The end.

I close the book and raise my head up to find Octavia completely confused. I let out a disappointed sigh before I say, "None of that made any sense to you, did it?"

Octavia snaps out of her frozen state before she clears her throat to respond.

"No, no, I get it. You infiltrated the Sith emperor's fortress, fought of guards, and then killed him," she says. "But...well...please don't take too much offense when I say this, but...it's just that there was no conflict whatsoever during that entire story."

Confused, I ask, "What do you mean? I was going against a legion of guards and an all-powerful Sith Emperor."

"Yes, but there appeared to be no real threat," she answers. "The guards were no match for you and your companion despite their numbers and this... Morphan-itas was only powerful enough to delay his inevitable, easy demise. It sounded like you were in no danger at all. In fact, do forgive me for asking such a question, but are all of your stories written like this?"

I hesitate before I gave her an answer that I was not entirely willing to say.

"Not until after what happened with Sunset Shimmer at the Fall Formal. I don't really feel comfortable to talk about why I still feel the way I do about her, no offense, " she shakes her head and holds her hand up gesturing "none taken" before I continue. "But I was really happy that she was defeated and that we could continue the dance afterward just like everyone else. But after thinking about it in retrospect, the idea of what happened to us - what happened to me, really sunk in. I started to realize that in a sense, I am weak by comparison. I know I shouldn't be too hard on myself since this is all magic and demons and sirens and stuff that has no part in our world, but I still feel vulnerable after losing who I am not once, but twice. No one should experience what the whole school went through, and I guess that's why my stories have a less real conflict. At least in there, I can take care of myself and make a difference."

Nothing but silence fills the air for a long while. Then without a word, Octavia stands up, walks over, sits next to me, and puts her arm around me from behind.

"You don't have to be strong like that to make a difference," she says kindly.

I turn to Octavia and give her an appreciative smile that she returns with her own smile. We stare into each other's eyes before suddenly, we find ourselves leaning our heads toward each other. I don't know what is getting into me, but whatever it is, Octavia is drawn to it too.

The next thing either of us knows, our lips connect.

It only lasts a few seconds, but after we part, we lean on each other's foreheads.

"So..." Octavia begins, "I suppose this makes us boyfriend and girlfriend, doesn't it?"

"Well...only if it is alright with you," I answer bashfully. "I mean that was kind of out of the blue, and we've only known each other for a couple of days, so we don't necessarily -"

Before I continue, Octavia puts her finger on my mouth and smiles.

"It's okay," she says sweetly. "I'd like to be."

I stare at her, surprised.

"Really?" I ask.

She nods and says, "Very much so."

I don't say anything at first, but then I smile and bashfully say, "Alright then. I guess we are."

"Lovely," she says, pleased with my answer. "Shall we kiss again?"

"Uh, yeah. Ladies first," I answer with my cheeks turning red.

With that, we press our lips together again.