When Ponyboy woke up, he felt as if the world had been lifted from his shoulders. It would have been more perfect if he was home and didn't feel like he was stuck in an icebox right now. When he met with the gang before his first class, they looked at him with worried expressions. Well, everyone but Steve, who looked like he didn't give a damn about him.

"What's wrong?" Ponyboy asked, cocking his head to the side in confusion.

"When we went to check on you, you were asleep. You've been sleeping for three nights," Soda informed, frowning deeply: a look that Ponyboy wasn't used to seeing his face.

Ponyboy's eyes grew wider in shock. "I have?"

"Yeah, it's a good thing that it was the weekend after the test," Darry muttered, loud enough to be heard by the group.

"Golly, I must have been really tired."

"You look dead. You really shouldn't push yourself that much. You need to remember that you can actually kill yourself if you use a spell that your body can't handle. If you slept like that, you were probably on the brink of dying," Soda said, pale. Ponyboy nodded. He had to be more careful.

"Now get to class. Make sure to let your body relax for a while," Darry said, making a shooing motion with his hands.

Rolling his eyes, Ponyboy left the gang to go to his class. He was running late since he spoke with the gang a bit longer than usual, but just about made it in time. As soon as he stepped a foot inside of the classroom, he noticed something was missing. He looked around and noticed that half of the students were missing. They were probably expelled... It seemed really empty without them...too empty.

He sat down uncomfortably as the teacher strolled inside. "The class is so small now. Congratulations on making it this far. You are now considered safe unless you die or do something absolutely idiotic. Now that you have passed, we can start the more advanced spells for this year. But first, we are going to go in and pick your familiars."

The class erupted in uproar and cheers. The solemn atmosphere was long forgotten. They pushed away from their desks in excitement, rushing to the door. However, their joy was shortlived when they found themselves standing in front of the Forbidden Forest.

"The Forbidden Forest?" one of the students gasped. "Isn't this too dangerous?"

"Yes. You will all go in and find your familiars. They had been informed of your arrival today so the forest is safe... mostly. Do not force them. They will attach to you if they feel you are the right one. I advise sticking near the smaller sized familiars instead of a large one. You may begin. This session ends at sunset. When you find one that attaches to you, bring them back to me and we will finish the ritual," the teacher said.

Tentatively, the students entered the forest, separating from each other. Ponyboy crept through, still wary of his surroundings. Like last time, the forest felt alive, energy filling him as if he were a tree rooted in its earth. It felt different than the night... almost enchanting.

He stepped over a root, watching as fairies flew above him, giggling. A movement in front of him made him stop in his tracks. Was that a cat? Big, gray eyes stared at Ponyboy. Its brown fur was scruffy and messy. But this wasn't a normal cat. Its back two paws were talons and its tail was that of a crocodile. It definitely wasn't as pretty as a cat. In fact, it was almost creepy...

Before Ponyboy's eyes, the animal disappeared in a poof of smoke. Okay, then... Shrugging, Ponyboy continued searching the forest. He came across goblins, elves, whisps, and a pegasus. All of which ran away before he could get even remotely close. The day went by quickly and the sun was setting. What would happen if he couldn't find a familiar? His hope started to go down the drain as the forest grew eerier. He had minutes at best before he had to return back.

A loud screeching replaced the melancholy sounds of the forest. Ponyboy's head snapped around as the screeching persisted. The creature, if it was one, sounded like it was in pain. He searched around, wanting to help whatever was making the noise. When he found the area, he saw the cat-like creature from before trapped inside of a thorn bush. He approached the afraid creature, kneeling. It hissed at him. Ponyboy rose his hands to show that he was weaponless and meant no harm. Slowly, he reached out, saying soothing words to calm it down. He pulled the thorns away, but before he could untangle the create from the plant, the tree branches were pulled apart above them.

Ponyboy's mouth gaped as he peered at the troll-like beast that glared at him. If Ponyboy could name it, it would be a giant. Its large hand shot towards him and he scrambled backward before he was grabbed by its large hands. The creature he was trying to free screamed again as the giant stepped over it.

For a moment, Ponyboy thought about escaping before any harm came his way, but he couldn't just leave the creature behind. He had to save it.

Ponyboy dove out of the giants reach again. He stared at the bush before sprinting towards it, running under the giant's legs to give him some more time. He reached the bush, pulling the last strands of branches away, scooping up the creature before high-tailing out of there. Fortunately, the giant didn't chase after him, but he noticed that it was dark. The sun had officially set and he didn't find a familiar. He sighed, slumping down against a boulder. He cradled the creature carefully. It stared at him with its big eyes, cocking its head in confusion. It didn't seem tense and distrustful like it did before, much to his relief, but he knew that it was uncomfortable.

"Sorry," Ponyboy apologized, letting the creature go. "I failed in finding a familiar. It's past sundown. Everyone's probably gone now."

Again it cocked its head, and Ponyboy swore he saw a mischievous grin spread on its face. Suddenly, the world whirled away and Ponyboy's stomach flipped. The next thing he knew, he was outside the forest, flopped out in front of his teacher.

"Ponyboy!" the teacher gasped in shock. "There you are. Everyone already came back."

"I'm sorry. I couldn't find a familiar," Ponyboy said, getting to his feet dejectedly.

The teacher gave him a strange look. "Yes, you did. You found one."

"Huh?" Ponyboy looked at the creature that was on his shoulder, nuzzling his neck. Its scaly tail was wrapped around his shoulders like a scarf.

"A spriggan. I don't see those as familiars often. They usually aren't compatible with mages and choose to stay alone. Mischievous little things. Is the spriggan your choice?"

Ponyboy and the spriggan held eye contact. He smiled. "Yeah, if she'll have me." The spriggan chirped.

"Then I'll perform the ritual now." The teacher raised his hands and a soft glow covered both of them. "What would you like to name her?"

"Hmm... How about Sunset?"

"Then, Sunset and Ponyboy Curtis, I shall completely bind you together. As long as you both live, you shall live forever together. You will mirror each other and feel each other's emotions and pain." The glow subsided and Ponyboy felt like the spriggan was like another limb.

"I'm glad to be by your side," the spriggan said.

o-o-o

Sunset clung to Ponyboy's head, purring as he walked down the hallway.

"So what can you do?" Ponyboy asked."I mean, besides teleportation."

"Oh, I can do many things. I can turn into whatever you desire. I can give you immortality if you wish."

"I don't think I would want to be an immortal, but turn into whatever I desire?"

He could hear the spriggan cackle before she jumped over his head, a veil of smoke covering her body. She landed in front of him, waiting until the smoke dispersed. Ponyboy's jaw dropped when he saw what was in front of him: an exact copy of himself staring back at him. The copy could have fooled anybody. The only element that didn't settle right was the mischievous glint in his copy's eyes.

"Whoa..." he breathed out. His copy smirked, lips curled up like the Cheshire cat. Sunset went into a poof of smoke again and turned back to normal, climbing his body to settle back on his head.

'I'm glad you like my ability. Do you wish to get to your destination quicker?"

"Sure?" He shut his eyes, preparing himself to go into a spiral of a tornado. The ground disappeared from under his feet. He reappeared in the cafeteria in a poof of smoke.

"Shit!" Steve cursed when the boy appeared in front of him suddenly. Ponyboy fanned the smoke away, coughing.

"Where did you come from? Did Two-Bit teleport you here?" Soda asked after getting over his initial shock.

"I was here the entire time," Two-Bit admitted. The spriggan shifted on his head, catching all of their attention. "You have your familiar!"

"What is it?" Steve asked, scrunching his nose up in disgust. Ponyboy could feel the insecurities and annoyance of Sunset. He reached up, picking her up, and cradled her in his arms to calm her down.

"It's a spriggan," Darry answered.

"Her name's Sunset. I almost couldn't get her in time. It was sunset so I named her such. Plus, I like to watch sunsets." Sunset crawled out of his arms and onto the table. The other familiars warily approached her. Sunset chuckled as the lupin got too close. Her body was consumed in the familiar smoke, turning into the lupin that was before her. All of the familiars gasped and jumped back (minus the gargoyle who just froze in place like a statue). The lupin slowly approached the spriggan again and she chuckled again. Her body expanded into a snake, scales appearing and pupils turning into slits. Her reptilian body wrapped around the lupin, still slack to not hurt it, sharp teeth dripping with venom. But as soon as she transformed, she turned back, reclaiming her comfortable spot on Ponyboy's head.

"Whoa! I've never seen anything like her!" Soda exclaimed.

"That's because you don't listen in class," Darry explained, rolling his eyes.

"It's boring. Seeing them in person is better." Soda reached up to place his arm around Ponyboy's shoulders, but Sunset snapped at him. He reeled back, looking at the spriggan in surprise.

Keith chuckled. "It looks like she has a crush on you!"

"Oh, shut your trap, Keith," Ponyboy said rolling his eyes. The group fell into silence before Ponyboy decided to test his luck, changing the subject. "Why don't we invite Johnny and Dally to sit with us soon?"

Steve scoffed. "Why would you say that?"

"They're not bad people at all. Well, I mean they do reckless things from time to time—especially Dally—but I think a lot of their judgment comes from rumors and not the truth." He was stretching it because Ponyboy knew that Dally had been in a lot of trouble, but that doesn't mean anything.

"Why not, then? Bring them over," Soda said, smiling brightly.

"We shouldn't," Darry objected.

"Darry, stop being such a worrywart,"Two-Bit joked. "You never give anyone a try."

"I'm going to bring them tomorrow. But, I need to find them first."

Ponyboy left the table, walking over to the hole in the wall where the secret room was. He glanced around, and when he deemed it safe, he transformed into a hamster and entered the room.

"Hey, Dally," Ponyboy greeted upon entering. Dally smirked for a second in return. "Where's Johnny?"

"I don't know. He wasn't with you?"

"No. Did he have anywhere to be?"

"Again, I don't know."

"Hmm... maybe I should look for him..." Ponyboy muttered to himself. "I'll be right back."

Ponyboy left the room, looking around for the puppy-like boy. He listened to the conversations around him, making the process a lot quicker. It was a few minutes (minus the time it took him to figure himself around the school) until he heard a weak cry for help.

"You fucking little shit!" someone screamed when Ponyboy got closer. He rounded the corner, instantly zeroing in on Johnny's curled up form that was being pummeled by a group of towering people.

"Hey, knock it off!" Ponyboy screamed rushing towards them. The group turned and raised their eyebrows with a smirk.

"What's a first year going to do to us?"

"He's the first year that did all the older year magic," a female warned.

"I bet it was all adrenaline. There's no way that he could do that. Not even the headmaster could do that in the first year."

"Kill them," the voice in his head hissed. Ponyboy tilted his head in a twitching manner as anger developed inside of him. He glared at them, piercing his stares through their brains. All of a sudden they started to scream, clutching their heads. "KILL THEM!"

"Ponyboy..." Johnny muttered, snapping him out of his trance. The students fell to the ground before running away in fear, pure terror in their eyes.

Ponyboy turned around and quickly and rushed to Johnny's side. "Johnny, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. What was that?"

"I... don't know. I just got really mad when I saw them. Are you sure you're fine, though? I can take you to Soda and he can heal you."

"I'm alright. Thanks for helping me."

Ponyboy pulled him up to his feet. "Is this why you're always covered in bruises?"

Johnny looked at his feet and nodded. "I don't get into fights like people think."

So he's not much different than the Johnny from his world. "Why don't you and Dally try to hang out with the gang and me? Maybe it'll help because you wouldn't be so alone all of the time."

"Or maybe it might drag them in the same fate as us."

"You should give it a try. Come on, man. I talked to them and they are willing to give you guys a chance."

"Golly, they are?"

"Yeah. You should try. They're really good people. You'll fit in."

"Alright, I'll try. How did you manage to convince Dally?"

Ponyboy smiled nervously at Johnny. "I didn't. I was hoping that maybe you can convince him...?"

"Me?"

"Dally doesn't listen to anyone... besides you. Please try to convince him."

Johnny sighed. "Alright, I'll try. I hope you're right about this."