HAY GAIZ I GOTZ NU CHYAPTURR :D Oh funny thing- Was I the only one who noticed that the word count for the last chapter was precisely 444 words? I hear that's like 666 in Japan... So sorry for anyone who might've been creeped out! This one's now 666. O_O


A small, mousy little girl sat hunched over in the grass behind the school building, trying her best to disappear. Images of the tall, mean girl with ruby eyes, pointing and laughing, flashed through her mind. "You're so ugly!" the strangely boyish voice cried mockingly. "Why are you wearing that dorky jacket? It's so dumb looking! And look at those braids, you look like Heidi or something!" she taunted with a shrill laugh.

Candace hiccuped, trying to hold back the hot tears rolling down her rosy cheeks. Why was Juli so mean to her? As far as Candace could remember, she had been nice to everyone she had met at school. Being bullied by the purple- haired girl in her class had all but broken Candace, who was so eager to begin school and make friends with the other kids. "I just don't understand," she sniffed miserably.

"Oh, well there's a surprise," taunted a familiar, haughty voice. Candace's head shot up, her eyes wet with tears but nonetheless hardened with determination and anger. "Go away, Juli! Find somebody else to pick on, or I'm telling!"

Juli rolled her eyes and propped one hand on her hip. "Puh-lease!" she drawled, "As if you'd ever have the guts to tell. Nobody would believe you anyway."

Her face twisted with rage, and Candace jumped to her feet. "I would too! You leave me alone, Juli! You're just a big, stupid, bully! I'm not afraid of you," she cried, her face wet with fresh tears.

Said bully crossed her arms over her chest, and cocked her eyebrow in amusement. "Oh, is that so? Well," she said lowly, scooping up a handful of mud from a nearby puddle, "You mean you won't be afraid of me if I do this?" and with a sudden fling of her arm, Juli catapulted a wet, smelly mud pie straight into Candace's hair.

A shriek echoed throughout the area as Candace felt the mud, cold and slimy, smack into her head and slither down to her back. She balled her small chubby hands into fists, trying to say something. To think of something, anything, to say or do. But she couldn't; she just hung her head, choked down a sob, and ran all the way home.

Luna watched her big sister as she sat perched on the countertop, Shelly working hard at scrubbing the almost dry mud out of her hair. As the dirt swirled down the drain, Luna couldn't help but feel angry. Whoever had picked on her must have been the meanest person in the world! How dare they do this to her sister? Even more upsetting was Candace's attitude. She did not shout, nor was she angry. She merely sat, shoulders slumped, already accepting defeat. 'Candi is always looking out for me, so why won't she stand up for herself?' Luna frowned. '...Don't worry, big sis. When I start school, I'll keep all those bullies away, and make sure no one ever picks on you again!' the pinkette vowed. She kept her promise, even years and years later.


I know it may be confusing because I refer to Julius as a girl in this chapter, but I only do that because this chapter is obviously leaning more towards Candace's POV. And of course, when Luna and Candace were kids, they thought Julius was a girl.

I hope my Luna's-inner-monologue at the end there was okay. I don't have much of a feel for her character, especially a younger version, so it was hard to write.