The morning soon swung around. The sun penetrating the windows as Sweet shuffled around, trying to avoid the light. Sour and Acidic were the two to get up, however tired that they were. Acidic stretched his wings as Sour got up and stretched his legs out to wake up; both looking at Sweet with some level of appreciation. “If only he wasn’t so… Unbearable when it came to Earthponies and Pegasi” Acidic said to Sour with a yawn added at the end. Sour nodded as he trotted into the kitchen. Whilst he was in the Kitchen, Acidic attempted to wake Sweet up. He ended up accidentally pushing Sweet off of the couch onto the floor. However, even still, Sweet wasn’t waking up. “Sour, get me a cup of water. We need to splash him" Acidic then requested.
About two minutes later, Sour came back into the front room. “Goodness this place is even worse than our bedroom. Have you seen that kitchen???” Sour asked Acidic with shock in his voice. “Never mind the cleaning problems. Just pass that to me” Acidic responded, pointing to the cup of Water Sour had also brought in. Within a split second a shriek of shock from the cold water that had landed upon Sweet was emitted. Shock turned to anger as Sweet began shouting about how cold he felt due to the water. “Why use COLD water!? Now I’m freezing!” was but one of the many sentences that Sweet uttered.
About two minutes of pure anger launched at Sour and Acidic is where they heard noises above them. “Must’ve woken Cluttered up… Whoops” Acidic muttered, his mind and in turn, Sour and Sweets minds filled with regret at the reaction that Sweet gave. All three having Acidic’s theory from the day prior confirmed yet again. Like an elephant, Cluttered stomped down the stairs. Although, unlike the anger the three presumed Cluttered had, it was instead drowsiness. “W-what’s the racket…?” he asked the three, adding a yawn at the end of his question. “Oh, well, we wanted to wake Sweet up” Sour responded. Acidic however, had trotted over to the window. They left the curtains open all night. When he looked out, he saw something odd. A bit of mist had built up from the outside. Although it wasn’t immediately an issue, Acidic remembered that the day before, mist enveloped them when Arcane and Dallasite were around.
“Mist? In Summer?” Cluttered then asked as he too had looked outside. Sour and Sweet, in turn, also looked at eachother as they recalled the experience and the mist from the day prior. “They could’ve found us…” Sour muttered to Sweet. Sweet however, didn’t seem to think so. “Well the mist ONLY appeared at the climax of our encounter with the pair. If you actually had a brain you’d realize that, Mudlicker” Sweet then responded. The term Mudlicker was a new term for Cluttered. However, he could tell that it was a taboo word as Sour immediately got in Sweets face. Sour having silent rage written all over his face. “Did you really have to say that? You know that word is a derogatory word for Earthponies…” Acidic asked Sweet; with a berating tone to his voice.
“Mudlicker? That’s a new one” Cluttered simply said to himself as he trotted out into the kitchen. “You three want something for breakfast? Acidic, Sour I’ll do us some toast if you want” he then asked the three. Sweet seemed to catch onto the exclusion however, as he instantly responded. “And what about me?” he asked. “As if I’m going to give you breakfast after the word you just used. I might not know what it is but I know it was certainly a bad word. Mudlicker, as if that’s even creative…” Cluttered responded; with a distasteful tone to his voice. The rest of that hour was spent waiting for the toast that Cluttered had said he’d make. By the end, Sour, Acidic and Cluttered ate full meals; whilst Sweet was left with a stomach rumble from the fact he didn’t have anything to eat. The other three saw this as karma for what he had said however; so they just rolled their eyes when he started complaining again.
After Sour, Acidic and Cluttered finished their food, Acidic offered to wash the dishes for Cluttered. Cluttered, thinking about the state of his kitchen with choice thoughts about it, happily allowed Acidic to wash the dishes in the kitchen. Sour, thinking of something for the pair to do together, asked a question to Cluttered. “Why don’t you two clean up the kitchen and any of the, uh, salvageable rooms and us two will head out. I think we need to have a talk. Just the two of us” he asked, looking at Sweet with seriousness in his eyes. It didn’t show after he had eaten, but he was still filled with anger over being called what he was called. Sweet simply rolled his eyes and, knowing he couldn’t really fight back or retaliate, simply responded with “Sure” before he trotted out into the hallway; sneezing at the dust that was prevalent in the hallway from a lack of maintenance or care to the house. “Alright fine. But, be careful. If this is something tied to your attackers, you’ll want to stay together” Cluttered said to the pair as both Sour and Sweet headed off. Neither speaking to eachother.
After the door closed, Cluttered got to work with Acidic in terms of the kitchen. There weren’t many cleaning supplies, but Acidic managed to use his wings to blow all the collected dust out of the small window within; keeping the window open to circulate some air into the room. Although, whilst this was effective, the mist from the outside looked like it was going to try and seep into the building. So, the window was only left open for a bit to get enough air into the room before Cluttered closed it. When they finished in the kitchen, they did the same with the upstairs bathroom and, after doing both of those rooms, they finally rested in the front room. “We should leave this room and the rest of the house to Sweet. I can’t believe he said that!” Acidic suggested; sounding very outraged by the end of his sentence. “Well, you three woke up in a strange place and all three of you were almost killed. Who’s to say that Sweet doesn’t feel scared or fearful?” Cluttered asked. However, he quickly added on to his response. “Of course, that’s not me trying to say him saying that to Sour was acceptable! Absolutely not! I’m just trying to get an understanding for his behaviors” is what Cluttered added. Acidic thought about it for a second or so, before responding.
“It doesn’t help that Sour got angry at me yesterday. Before I met you, he shouted at me because Sweet annoyed him…” Acidic then responded. “I’m sure it wasn’t intentional. Unlike Sweet’s clear distaste of anything without a horn” Cluttered assured Acidic. Although, Cluttered could tell that it was still bothering Acidic even after his words. Acidic looked around as he sighed; his emotions rising slightly. He didn’t know why, but his anger grew exponentially. It’s not like he was angry at Cluttered. That was, until he recalled the fact that Sour, Sweet and himself were emotionally tied together. So, he assumed that something was happening whilst they were trotting together. “We should probably head out… I think the other two aren’t getting along all too well” Acidic told Cluttered. Cluttered nodded as he looked outside and saw that the sun had moved significantly during their cleaning spree. “Yeah, you’re right. Let’s go to the park, it’s not too far from here. Knowing your situation, they wouldn’t want to stray too far at all” Cluttered responded; and so the pair exited the house themselves and began trotting to the park.
Two hours earlier…
The silence from the pair who had just trotted out of house was deafening. Sweet and Sour refusing to even acknowledge eachother whilst they trotted to find somewhere to just sit and discuss their issues with eachother; mainly with the issues Sour had with Sweet not too long ago as well as throughout the day before. Anger was slowly building up in Sour, and he knew that it was best to let it out before it became harmful and uncontrollable. About twenty minutes later, the pair found a park. The park looked to be incredibly rundown and rust on the park gates only exacerbated that claim tenfold. Opening the gate, with an enormous creaking from the lack of care, the pair trotted in and sat on the nearest bench they could find. The silence the pair had was still deafening, however after about ten minutes, Sour finally decided to speak up.
“How could you say that word…? It was disgusting” he said. His anger finally etching into his words. Unlike Sweet’s prideful demeanor before, he seemed very hesitant to respond. However, he did try. “It’s not like you two helped by throwing the water-“ but before he could finish, Sour immediately interjected. “That’s no excuse for what you said! It was just water!” he shouted out. It was clear Sour wasn’t going to accept any excuses as he got up, pacing back and forth. Sweet however, remained silent. He wouldn’t admit it to Sour, but he knew deep down that, there was indeed, no excuse for what he said. Every reason he tried to come up with was quickly shot down by his own thoughts; scenarios bouncing across and through his head as he tried to take some time to think about his next words. It didn’t help that the mist that they had seen earlier was incredibly strong in the park. They both couldn’t get too far away from eachother, because if they did, they’d be separated by the mist itself; it becoming so thickened and dense. Sweet and Sour remained mostly silent for the majority of their time within the park, only having decided to discuss the matter more when Sour had managed to think of how he would word his next sentence. Eventually, he was able to, as he took a deep breath and spoke.
“That word was hideous. As a prince, we should all know not to act like that. I don’t want to hear anything else about your thoughts about Earthponies and Pegasi. We’re all equal. No matter your- or rather our- old, jaded views on the world” is what he said to Sweet as he took a breath and sighed heavily to himself. Sweet, who had listened to it all, just responded with “It is our views… Regardless of what you say, we were once one alicorn” before he looked away. The words were sinking into Sweets head. However, he just couldn’t get rid of his views as quickly as Sour would’ve like. He knew what he did was wrong and all he could really muster after that was one simple sentence. “If it means anything, I …apologize” he said, with a hesitation to the word apologize. “I don’t accept fake apologies. You should know that… Show me you can change, don’t just apologize” Sour responded. However, Sweet wasn’t on the same thought process as he started getting angry. How was he even supposed to put in change?! It didn’t make sense to him! “I said I was sorry! What else do you want!?” he angrily responded. His mind clearly frustrated.
That’s when Sour responded with something that Sweet found to be, quite frankly, backwards. “If you don’t understand that words don’t mean anything without actions, I can’t help you to put the effort in” is what Sour said. “WHAT!?” Sweet immediately shouted back. His anger getting to him. However, he wasn’t the only one angry at this point. Sours anger had peaked, and he wasn’t about to accept himself being shouted at. “YOU HEARD ME! SAYING SORRY ISN’T ENOUGH! WHAT ABOUT THAT IS SO HARD FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND! AREN’T YOU A UNICORN?! THE BETTER OF THE-“ but before he finished, he paused. He was angry, that much was true. However, he realized what he was about to do and stopped himself. He didn’t want to stoop down to the level that Sweet was at. Instead, he took a deep breath and just responded with “You heard me” before noticing the gate they had come through creaked open again. Both of the ponies turned around and, to their relief, both Acidic and Cluttered appeared. Acidic having a concerned expression from what he had presumably just heard.
“I hope that you weren’t thinking of-“ Acidic began. However, before he could finish, Sour finished it for him. “No, I’m not going to. Nor did I do. He knows how I feel now” Sour responded. Cluttered and Acidic looked at eachother for a minute, before they looked at Sweet and noticed the anger. “So that conversation is what I felt, then” Acidic muttered to himself. The pair trotted properly over to Sweet as Acidic said something very surprising. He began with “Sweet, listen” before pausing. He didn’t know if, given the current situation, if his words would lessen or worsen the situation. However, he had to make his feelings known about what had happened earlier. “What you say, it affects everyone around you. I know you’re scared, probably. But you can’t resort to that behavior… Trust me, we’re all feeling the brunt end of-“ but before he continued, sudden sorrow filled his mind and heart. As he said his words, he recalled his family back in Manestralia; their father must’ve been so worried about them. They didn’t even know what happened to Stardew. Just that he seemed to be gone. The emotions affecting Acidic heavily, he teared up. Streams of sadness and fear coming from him as he blubbered the end of what he was saying. “We’re all feeling the effects of it all. But please, let’s at least respect eachother. If not anypony else. The last thing we need is to be divided and killed because we hate eachother”.
It took Sweet and Sour by surprise. The intensity of Acidic’s emotions seemed to have affected the pair of them as they began tearing up. Sweet took a moment to just think. Acidic had hit the nail on the head without even knowing it. Sour meanwhile composed himself as he spoke to Acidic, simply saying “I think you worded it perfectly. If it means anything to you Acidic, I do apologize about yesterday…”. Acidic smiled slightly. His little spark of relief coming from the words he had just heard. “Just promise me, the pair of you” he started as he cleaned off his tears and also composed himself. “That none of us will sit here and use the other as an outlet of our emotions. We all know what we’re going through. So we should all confide within eachother. We shouldn’t be fighting.” Is what Acidic then ended with.
“I can do that” Sour replied with a smile on his face. Sweet however, didn’t respond. Although, he did silently keep those words in his head. It was as if he was processing what was just said to him and couldn’t fully grasp it. However, in order to not start another argument, that being the last of his wishes at the present time, simply responded with “Alright” before they all turned to Cluttered. Cluttered, not having dared attempted to intrude on the moment, looked as though he had witnessed a major event in history as he stared. “Is he alright?” Sour asked Acidic. Before Acidic could respond however, Cluttered himself responded.
“I’m… Fine. Look, let’s just go. I have to go check on my shop. Even if it’s a day off. Gotta make sure it’s not been burgled or anything!”. Acidic, Sour and Sweet looked at eachother with a thought of unison as Acidic spoke. Saying “Sure, let’s get going” before the four of them left the park. The gate creaking closed as they trotted to the city insides. Unbeknownst to them however, a figure was watching them from the shadows. This figure quickly molded into a physical form from the mist, and the mist around them quickly dissipated as they spoke. In a rough, deep voice, the figure simply muttered to himself. “Such trivial and worthless emotions…” Before they dispersed back into mist; the mist becoming as thick as it had done before they molded. As if they were the center of the mist, the mist thickened wherever they went. The mass of mist that had spread citywide coming from where they traveled.
It had been about half an hour before the four had finally reached the main heart of the city. The mist being so dense within the streets that the four had to essentially move as one unit. It didn’t help that the streets were silent. Nopony being around. A sense of eeriness to the air. That didn’t stop them however as they passed by the library. The library being a tall, olden styled building that could’ve easily have passed as the city hall opposite of it. “That’s huge! It could easily rival Coltney Central Library!” Sour remarked as the building imposed a major sense of awe within the three. That is however, until they were distracted by a stallion fleeing the library. “Duskfall? What’s got his head out of his books? That’s a rare sight” Cluttered asked himself as the three looked at eachother. “Duskfall?” Acidic asked. But before he could get an answer, Duskfall had fallen infront of them, screaming out “THE BOOKS! THEY’RE ALL ALIVE!” before he tried to gallop off himself. Duskfall had a mint green coat which contrasted his vivid purple mane. His horn sticking up just like Sweets but without the curvature. The back of his mane being tied up in a tail of it’s own as it flung backwards as he galloped away, frantically screaming out of fear. “That’s concerning. I’ll get him. Could you three at least peek inside and see what’s happening in there? After that, go to that building” Cluttered asked; pointing to the city hall.
“But wouldn’t it be better to-“ Sour began. However, before he could go on, Cluttered had vanished in the same direction as the mist enveloped his body. “Well, no harm in checking” Sweet said to the others as they trotted on up to the now open doors. That’s when they saw someone. The aforementioned figure from before that had been watching them. “Who-“ Sour began. However, the figure immediately bolted his head at the entrance. “Stupid Unicorn… Should’ve Petifious’d him…” he said with pure malice seeming to come from his words. Before any of the three had any time to react, the figure immediately turned back into mist, lobbing a book at Sweet so fast that it rendered him unconscious for a moment before the other two were swept away by the sheer force of the fleeing mist; the figure having turned into a ball of mist to flee. “Sweet!” both Acidic and Sour shrieked as they shook him to the conscious world again. “W-what…?” Sweet responded as he came back, his head swirling. The other two felt the swirling themselves as they shook their heads to get rid of it. Which, when Sweet looked downwards, is when they found the book that had been thrown at Sweet. When they looked down, they saw that it had a title.
ANCIENT STRUCTURES OF THE OLD WORLD – By Scribe Notes
“Scribe Notes?” Sour asked the others. Sweet, using his magic, lifted the book and turned to the first page, where it had been dated 987AC.EU. “AC.EU? What’s that?” Sweet asked. “That would be After Ceyonait-Ellestros Unity” said a voice from behind them. They instantly turned around as they looked up. There, an orange stallion was looking down at them. This stallion had a deep blue mane, which seemed wild and windswept. His wing being semi-furled as a pair of headphones sat around his neck. “Well get up then” he then said to the three on the floor. The three took a moment to get up, most of that being spent on making sure Sweet could get up. “Before you ask, my name’s Soundwave. I heard what happened to Duskfall through Cluttered. I actually bumped into him because we were supposed to meet at his shop. Now the question remains…” Soundwave then said. “Who’re you all and why’re you here…?” he then asked.
“I can explain that!” a voice behind Soundwave and the trio responded. It was Cluttered, along with a lagging Duskfall trotting slowly behind them. “Has… Has it…?” Duskfall asked Soundwave with fear still in his voice. Soundwave nodded. “It’s alright now Dusky” he then responded. Duskfall took a sigh of relief as both himself and Cluttered then trotted into the library. That’s when Sweet spoke; seemingly to himself. “I’ve seen this door before!” he said, looking at a sketch of the very same door he had seen in the mines they had been in the day before. However, the door wasn’t alone. There were two more doors on the pages he had flipped to. “I didn’t think this book held anything of value so I flipped through it. Lucky I spotted these doors!” Sweet cheered to himself. Sour and Acidic looked at eachother and then to the other trio as they looked confused. “Door…?” Soundwave asked. “There’s tons of doors everywhere. What’s so special about this one you saw?” he then asked in addition. “We’ll explain everything… But first I think this library needs some organizing” Acidic then responded as the six of them, now turning their attention to the mess behind them, headed properly in.
About thirty minutes of cleaning up the damaged books later, Duskfall commenting about the state of the pages that seemed to have been ripped out. “Thankfully I have my magic” he said to himself as he got to work repairing all of the remaining torn books. Acidic and Soundwave worked on a pile of the books that was accumulating in mass as they flew around in the individual rows of shelves inside the library. Meanwhile, Sour had explained to Duskfall through a series of pauses what had happened from the beginning of the day prior to the current time At the same time, repeating what he had said to Soundwave when he left Acidic to clean up the remainder of the books once the pile shrunk enough. At the same time, Sweet was busy reading about the doors he had seen on the pages. In addition, he also read about structures linked to the doors; known as Springs. “Spring of Body, Mind and Soul… How curious…” he said to himself as he read the passages. The passages in question absorbing Sweets attention as they read out as followed:
Built by what can be presumed to be a now extinct race of light, the Springs of Body, Mind and Soul remain mysterious and illusive. The Spring of Body being located in the gorges near the town of Gulfmane. The Spring of Mind being located in the seas around the Southern coasts; those of which are now inhabited by the resort location of Trotquay. The last Spring is the most mysterious however, as even though the Spring of Mind is protected by an unknown barrier that strips every magical breathing spell away from exploration teams, the Spring of Soul is located in the Whistleheight mines.
Being located in the Whistleheight mines, one must also mention the tragedies that occurred from trying to get past the door guarding the Spring of Soul. It is reported, but not confirmed, that spirits of the workers in the mines now guard the door. It is theorized that the Springs will never be truly ‘unlocked’ so to speak. This, in turn, means that nobody will know the true purposes of the Springs.
The one with the least amount of guarding is the Spring of Body. Located in the Gorge, a few select figures and adventurers have managed to reach the Spring of Body. One being myself. As one who has managed to find the Spring of Body, the current hypothesis most of us who have seen the Springs have is that they served as trials of sorts. Warding off those who were unworthy in the days of old. It is also theorized that these Springs are related to the last King of Ellestros. His history is muddied with tyranny. However, what IS known is that the King valued the Springs beyond anypony else’s understanding. It is also believed that a prophecy foretells the fates of the Springs. The prophecy being as follows from the prophet Foreseen Future of the old world;
“From the tragedy of a father and mother, one child with three sets of eyes will venture to the Springs. Their heart being repaired, and their true power being revealed to none once the child of Winds prevents the devouring destruction of the Undermension. This is when truth that is so obviously infront of the child of the Springs will be made obvious.”
“Undermension?” Sweet asked himself; flashing back to the brief thing Dallasite said before Stardew disappeared.
“Tepalethium Undermensia”
“But what’s…?” Sweet then tried to ask himself. Before he could question it further however, Sour interrupted his deep thought. “You alright…? You seem curious about what you’ve read” he asked. “Sour, get Acidic, I think this might have something to do with what happened before… Well, yesterday” Sweet responded. When Acidic got back from the final barrage of books, Cluttered, Duskfall, Soundwave, Acidic, Sour and Sweet all sat down to discuss what Sweet had discovered.
“One child with three sets of eyes… Certainly mentions us. Child of Winds… That’s Stardew, he’s always had a connection to the Skies. Remember the Sea VS Sky Alifest?” Acidic spouted off as he eagerly remembered the Alifest that he had mentioned. “Who’s Stardew?” Cluttered asked as Cluttered, Soundwave and Duskfall seemed confused. “You never mentioned a Stardew” Soundwave then added in, eyeing the three with suspicion. Sour, Sweet and Acidic looked at eachother. They didn’t know how to respond. They never did mention Stardew after all. “I think it’s time we told them” Sour said to the three confused stallions sitting opposite of them. The rest of the, now afternoon, was spent explaining what had actually happened to cause their sudden appearance. About their father, their brother and their Alicorn heritage. This lasted for a long time, the three native Ceyonaitians posing several questions about Manestralia, Alifests, Stardew, Crimson and why they’d never heard of Manestralia before. By the time they were done, the night had just about set in. Soundwave lighting a lamp as the six of them finally took a deep moment to process everything that had been explained, witnessed and experienced.
“That’s… A lot” Duskfall simply sighed to himself as he grabbed the book and seemed to look at the passages about the Spring of Body. “Gulfmane… We have to get you there then. I assume that prophecy is about what’s happening right now… I’ll see if my brother can join us tomorrow. I actually need to attend to something that I’ve been putting off for… A while now…” Duskfall then said as he got his head out of his book. “You’re not thinking of-“ Soundwave began. “I indeed am. It’s time they knew about us hun” Duskfall interjected. Sour, Sweet and Acidic looked confused, however before they could question it Duskfall changed the subject. “Say, how would you like to stay over mine tonight? Cluttered that means you too” Duskfall then asked. “Alright but don’t be surprised if I’m gone by morning. The shop needs maintenance and its owner for it to be open on the days it’s supposed to be open on!” Cluttered responded; laughing.
“Then it’s settled. All six of us will stay at ours then!” Soundwave responded as both him and Duskfall trotted off to the library entrance. “Come on! We don’t have all night!” he chirped. Sweet, picking up the book with his magic, trotted off, followed by Sour, Acidic and Cluttered. “I don’t think we agreed to this” Acidic whispered into Sours ear”. “Don’t worry, it's better than Cluttered’s place… I’m sure of it” Sour whispered back. “What was that?” Cluttered asked as he looked at them, swearing he had heard his own name. “Nothing! Don’t worry!” the pair then responded with haste as they began speeding up. As they all trotted down a different street to the one they came from during the morning, the figure that had thrown the book looked at them from a distance.
“This could work…” he said to himself as he turned around. Behind him, Arcane and Dallasite stood. “You two are to make sure they make it to that Spring. It’s happening. He’s coming back to us. We’ll have him back by the end of the year at this rate” the figure spoke to the two alicorns. Arcane and Dallasite looked at eachother, filled with eagerness and excitement at this. “You mean, I could-“ Dallasite began. Before he could continue however, the figure lifted his hoof and placed it on Dallasite’s cheek, responding. “Yes Dallasite, Bounded Time will come back to us. We’ll have him back if you two don’t falter. Tomorrow… Tomorrow is when they depart for Gulfmane. Just do as I ordered or else” the figure then said, with an etching warning in those last words. Together, the three departed back to the northern mountains.
About half an hour passed as the six stallions trotted down to a house in the suburbs of the city. The two owners of the house trotted up to the door of a certain house as the trio got a view of the house; Cluttered just trotting past the three gazing at the house. This house, which was nicer than Cluttered’s already by default, had a clean structure. The windows weren’t bordered up and the house itself from the outside and overall, the house looked wonderful. As the trio trotted inside, they were in awe at just how clean the place was. Spending the night in Cluttered’s house, the immediate lack of mess or clutter was a sight for sore eyes. The furniture looked well kept, and the place looked spotless to the standard pony’s vision. “Wow! You really like your place clean, huh” Sour spoke in awe as he was busy gazing around at the place. “You’re surprised? I guess I don’t blame you, Cluttered’s… Well, he’s…” Duskfall began. Before he finished however he seemed to stop himself. Which is when Soundwave cut in. “You three stink. You smell like dead fish. The shower is upstairs. Dusky hun, can you get them towels?” Soundwave then asked Duskfall. Duskfall giggled to himself as he simply replied with “Sure!” before escorting the trio upstairs with him.
Whilst the three were showering, Duskfall came back downstairs where he made his way to the kitchen. The kitchen being as tidy as the rest of the house. There, Cluttered and Soundwave sat. “Made you your fave! Just how you like it!” Soundwave spoke with happiness as Duskfall took ahold of the cup of oat cocoa that Soundwave made for him. “So, do you believe those three?” he then asked the other two. “It’s not like they would lie about something like this… Still, it’s suspicious. How come we never heard about Manestralia?” Cluttered responded. “Yeah, as far as I know Manestralia isn’t on any world map we have in our records…” Duskfall responded. “Let’s just… keep an open mind I suppose?” Soundwave then rhetorically asked as the other two looked at eachother. Cluttered speaking up next as he asked something. “So, who’re you visiting tomorrow?” he asked with a curious tone.
“My parents” Duskfall responded.
Meanwhile, upstairs, Sweet had just finished showering as the other two waited in the bedroom adjacent to the bathroom. They looked at eachother in unison as Sweet began drying himself off. “So, those three. Not what I expected!” Sour said, with surprise laced in his words. “It’s not like they’re bad” Acidic responded. “I never said that! It’s just this has been such an eventful day…” Sour responded back with a frown. “Let’s not argue like old grannies… For a Pegasus and Earthpony they’re… Alright” Sweet then interrupted. Immediately the other two looked at him. Sweet, looking back, simply responded with “Sorry, sorry. Force of habit I suppose…” before he focused on drying himself. The other two, having dried off already, simply rolled their eyes, maintaining themselves as they just headed downstairs; with Sour responding “Just dry off”.
Back downstairs, Soundwave, Duskfall and Cluttered had apparently been to work. In the front room, the grey couch that presumably sat in the center of the room, had been moved to the corner of the room. On the floor, three sleeping bags were stacked. One in Orange, one in Purple and one in Blue. “Where’s Sweet?” Duskfall asked the two that had just come down the stairs. “He’ll be here soon. Hopefully not sitting upstairs focusing on drying his mane…” Acidic responded. “Right, well, Cluttered gets the couch. The three of you get the sleeping bags. We obviously have our bedroom. Tomorrow we set out for Gulfmane” Duskfall then added on. That’s when Sweet finally came downstairs, his mane still being wrapped in the towel it was held in. “What’s going on?” Sweet then asked as he entered. “Nothing. Here, catch!” Acidic then responded, throwing a sleeping bag at him; the colour being purple. “Oh lovely, sleeping on the floor” Sweet muttered to himself, but when he saw that Sour and Acidic were staring him down with daggers, he didn’t continue.
“Right, well we’re going to get to sleep. Stay up if you want but you might want to take this time to sleep. Especially you, Cluttered. Life for you is bad enough as is” Soundwave then said as Duskfall had already disappeared up the stairs. Soundwave, looking one last time at the quartet, disappeared up the stairs as well. When Sour, Sweet and Acidic looked at Cluttered however, they saw him looking upset. “Are you alright?” Acidic asked Cluttered with concern. “I’m… Fine” Cluttered responded; not even looking at the three as he grabbed the blanket on the couch and laid into it. The trio soon following as they got out their sleeping bags and all four of them fell asleep soon after. Although, Acidic took longer than the other three. He felt concerned for Cluttered. He gathered vaguely what Soundwave meant, but decided to not press about it any further than it already had been pressed.
Upstairs meanwhile, Duskfall and Soundwave were sitting up. Soundwave was the first of the two to speak. “Are you sure it’s a good idea speaking to your parents about this? You know what they think of us and who we are” he asked, concern and worry lathered in his voice. “It has to happen eventually… Hopefully they aren’t too unreceptive…” Duskfall simply responded as Soundwave leaned in for a hug. “Whatever happens, I’ll be here. Just know that Dusky” Soundwave assured as Duskfall embraced the hug; calming him as he had been shaking for the duration of them being up in their room. “You also have your brother. I’m sure Dawnrise will join us” Soundwave then added. His voice calming Duskfall as he broke from the hug. “Let’s just get some rest, alright” Duskfall then said. Knowing that Duskfall didn’t want to deal with any of what was going to happen the next morning until it happened, Soundwave simply nodded and kissed Duskfall; both of them then getting into bed and falling to sleep soon after.