Chapter 19: Poisoned By a Loved One

Authors Note: Whoa, long time no see. Like this was a huge hiatus. But I'm back! The chapter would've been up sooner, but I ran into a bit of a problem with writers block plus major cramming for finals and I'm pretty sure if I forced myself to write then it would've turned out as a big ugly mess. Probably more so than this chapter is now, I really need to get back into the groove. Hopefully that'll happen in the next chapter or so. Hopefully there aren't many typos, if any. I've been typing most of this on my phone and transferring it from my email onto the computer for editing, but it's late and I really wanted to get this up asap.

Also since I've been gone for a while now I must fan girl over whatever has happened in the last few months. Go ahead and fan girl with me if you want, hell grab your mother and tell her about the latest hoover model. That's what moms freak out about, right? Okay, are you all ready for this? OMG FROZEN, OMG THE LEGO MOVIE, OMG UNIKITTY, OMG SENIOR STATUS, OMG SUMMER, OMG 4 MONTHS SINCE MY JAW SURGERY, OMG EPIC MLP SEASON FOUR FINALE, OMG LITTLEST PET SHOP SEASON 3, OMG RAINBOW ROCKS IS COMING OUT IN SEPTEMBER, OMG SEASON FIVE OF MLP, OMG KINGDOM HEARTS 3 IS COMING OUT IN LIKE A YEAR I THINK OMG YAY, OMG I NEED TO GET A PS4 NOW, OMG I FINALLY UPDATED THIS STORY. Alright, I think that was about it. I think I'm done. Let's get on with it! –NinjaDino4

-Oh, by the way I'm gonna be in South Padre Island with my family for a week. We're leaving next weekend so I'll have to wait to update the story when I return. I'll try to write up as much as I can on my little vacation, but I won't have the computer with me so yeah. Sorry.

Disclaimer: I do not own MLP. We all know this.

"This is your mother?!" Rarity questioned hysterically. It was hard to put two and two together. The appearance between mother and daughter didn't quite match up. They couldn't be any more different in comparison even if they tried.

The pain excruciating beneath Emma's body gestures seemed almost stiff and awkward. Her face appeared unreadable as she locked eyes with the woman who she identified as her mom not, but a few moments ago.

Emma stepped back in hesitation making sure to put some distance between them. "Wha-What are you doing here?"

Her voice quivered, the tone was difficult for everyone to make out. Emma wasn't even sure if she herself was afraid, furious or confused, quite possibly a combination of them all. The arrival of her mom was one event she really did not need at the moment. It was enough work to deal with her dad and new friends let alone take on a problem she thought she left in the past. Though, life seemed to keep throwing curveballs at her whenever the chance was open for the taking.

The woman shrugged flicking her cigarette bud on the ground slowly stomping it into an array of scattered ashes. Inching ever so closer to the group created a lingering feeling of uneasiness in the atmosphere surrounding the area.

"Not happy to see me? It's been too long, Emma." She paused to wheeze and cough, the smoke from the cigarette clearly affected her lungs negatively. "How's your father doing?" She spat out rather disgustingly, the wrinkles on her face sagging around her mouth as she spoke.

"Just fine." Emma replied making sure not to stutter, her eyes squinted in deep thought. There was nothing positive that was going to become of the situation, all she wanted to do was escape as quickly as possible. However, before she could put forth the slightest amount of effort into even thinking of a plan, her mother forced her way into the group knocking back Twilight, Pinkie and Applejack in the process.

The three stumbled backwards nearly falling onto the ground if not for Jaden's truck being in their path to break their fall.

Jaden quickly tossed his eyes back and forth between his friends and the unwanted family member. Twilight recovered quickly and motioned towards the truck with her eyes to which Jaden nodded fully understanding what she was insinuating. Pinkie and AJ gave one another agitated looks mumbling harsh words about the extremely rude action to which just occurred.

He cut between Emma and her mother separating the two instantly. "Sorry to break up your little reunion, but don't you think it's about time we head home?"

"Home, huh? Alright, let's go." Emma's mother placed her arm around Jaden's neck causing him to freeze in his tracks. She pointed in the direction of the three that fell after she so rudely weaved her way into the group. "I'm guessing that's your truck."

Before Jaden could answer her he watched the woman hop up on the tailgate to hoist herself into the back of his truck. His face scrunched up at the sight, it ate away at him as she smugly sat not giving a single damn about doing what she did.

Rarity walked closer to Emma closing the gap between the two. She studied the expressions trying to escape the blank stare Emma gave to the ground. "Darling...exactly what is going on here? Her presence isn't...well brining about a positive outlook on you."

Emma took in Rarity's question contemplating it herself. She had no clue what her mother was doing in town. Memories were all, but a faded blur. Minuscule details filled her mind; however a vast amount seemed to have scurried away from her grasp. "I-I...just..."

Emma voice faded out with each attempt to speak. It was as if she didn't want to recall any part of mother. Flicking her eyes towards the ground she stared at the smashed bud.

"If only I could stomp away all my problems that easily..." Emma whispered to herself.

Fluttershy nervously tapped Emma on the shoulder. She slightly jerked at the physical contact causing Flutters to cower in fear. Emma looked Fluttershy in the eyes, their stare locked for what seemed like an eternity.

"I hope that I-I'm not bothering you or anything...but...um...could I maybe ride...with you..." Emma softly smiled at Fluttershy's timid nature. She totally understood where the poor girl was coming from. The situation was pretty frightening, nonetheless for someone already basically scared of everything in the first place.

"It's all cool, you're fine. You can ride with me." The smile soon faded to a frown as she faced in the direction of Jaden's truck. She looked on towards her group of friends who only gave her a worried glance, although Emma's mom was too busy puffing on a new cigarette to notice.

/

"What's a girl gotta do to get a damn drink around here?" Emma watched as her mom jumped onto the couch and kicked her feet up on the sofa's arms.

Emma nervously paced to the kitchen past the group of seven who looked on in confusion. Not even Jaden had heard much about the woman; Emma never talked about her in detail if at all.

"Um..right...what exactly would you l-like" She stuttered flipping open multiple cabinets in panic.

"Whatever, surprise me."

That wasn't exactly the response she was hoping for. Surprises weren't precise, and if she made the wrong choice it would deflect into dire consequences she didn't want to face yet again. She slammed her head into the fridge from frustration.

Jaden could sense as though the tense feelings were about to boil up into an explosion sooner or later. If any discussion was going to be made about their...new house guest...it was going to have to be done in private away from Emma seeing as though the woman decided to particularly be stuck like glue to her daughters hip.

"Riiiight. Well, uh you two have fun with this reunion." Jaden quickly swept Rainbow out of the wheelchair before she had time to make any sort of argument in the matter. She squeaked in fright for a split second, it wasn't as if she expected to be scooped up so suddenly. He bolted for the backdoor sliding it open and motioning the others to follow him. Finding no point in denying his request they quickly followed suit.

"Exactly why are we coming outside?" Applejack questioned taking a seat on the many chairs surrounding the pool.

"Yeah! You just went on and dragged us out here!" Pinkie paused for a moment and gasped in a sudden idea forming in her mind. "Oh my gosh! Are we planning a party?"

"I'm pretty sure that wasn't his intention, Pinkie." Twilight responded with an eye roll sitting down as well, the others taking their seats except Jaden who was in deep thought oblivious to the fact he was the only one standing at this point.

Rainbow nudged Jaden on the shoulder; he looked down quickly coming back into reality. She raised an eyebrow at him; he glanced around noticing that the others were giving off an odd look as well.

"First off, what's the deal? Why are you acting as weird as Emma is?" Dash paused, a moment later she resumed speaking, but with a more playful tone as opposed to the seriousness in her voice before. "Second off, are you gonna put me down anytime soon?"

Jaden sheepishly smiled placing her down on a nearby seat, the others giggled in his expense. He shook his head pacing back and forth in the process.

"Look, I don't know much about this chick, but she's bad news. Emma hasn't really told me much about her; I don't think she's ever even told me her mom's name." Jaden scrambled hastily racking through many possibilities tumbling around in his head.

"How can you be so sure that she's here to cause trouble? I mean sure…she hasn't been exactly…" Rarity placed a hand on her cheek trying to think of a word to sum up the behavior of the alleged woman.

Twilight cut in with a sour tone. "Amiable." To which the others looked questioningly at her in confusion.

"Ami-what now?" Jaden raised a brow trying to wrap his head around the term.

Twilight grunted feeling as though she was talking to Spike having to use lament terms for everything. "Affable?"

"Aff-A-Bowl." Pinkie snorted in response. "That's a silly word! But not as silly as kumquat."

"Gregarious?" But yet again was only met with equally confused looks, except for Pinkie who was still giggling over kumquats.

Finally reaching wits end Twilight pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes in frustration. "That she's not a very nice person!"

"Well why didn't you just say so?" Rainbow groaned. "It's like you're speaking a whole different language half the time."

"I can speak a different language too! We could totally make our own secret codes for talking to each other." Pinkie grabbed Twilight around her shoulder and tugged her close.

Twilight rolled her eyes and wiggled out of Pinkie's grasp. Choosing to ignore her friend she continued on. "What are we supposed to do? How are we going to solve this problem?"

"It's most definitely going to be a challenge." Rarity glanced towards the glass door and placed her sight on the blurred figure she easily identified as Emma. "It seems the poor dear is bending over backwards for her mother. I don't see her making much of a difference in getting rid of this ghastly barbarian."

"I sure hope she'll be okay. She's been on edge ever since this whole thing started, more so than she usually is." Fluttershy stated in concern.

"And the way she's gettin taken advantage of is completely wrong. Especially by her own kinfolk." Applejack narrowed her eyes on disgust.

"We've gotta pull something together, I'm not sure how, but that women scares me. If she scares me and she's just been a bunch of bark, well I don't wanna think of what her bite is like. Especially with the way Emma's acting." Jaden shook his head as he spoke.

The seven were desperately trying to come up with a resolution to the issue, although there was no apparent reason that was visible as to why they needed to take action. The proof wasn't there, little did they know, but they were being watched by two individuals.

/

"What are they talking about? Some mean girl...wonder what's going on." Spike stated laying in the grass.

"Looks like they're not even sure about it." Sweetie Belle dropped to the ground quietly. The two were completely out of view from the seven gathered around the pool and she intended to keep it that way. "Actually...maybe we can find out for them!"

Spike grew unsure at the proposal. He wasn't much for putting himself in danger, especially with Sweetie Belle. Not that he knew exactly what he would've been getting himself into. "I don't know...shouldn't we just let everyone else handle it?"

"Pish posh. It'll be like an adventure." She crawled over towards the side of the house and felt the siding causing Spike to grow increasingly curious.

"What are you looking for?"

"I'm trying to find an entrance." Spike only let his mouth open slightly giving her an unsure look. Sweetie Belle smiled once her hands felt a small change in the siding. "Pinkie Pie told me all about the secret tunnels in the house. She said something about one that led into the house from outside. Looks like I found It."

"Wait...so you really wanna go through with this? Isn't it a little...oh I don't know...crazy?" Spike quietly stated holding back any emotion as to not be heard.

Sweetie Belle lifted the secret opening crawling inside. "Of course not! We're just...playing a game. A game where we try to get Intel." She replied mischievously. "You coming?"

Spike sighed and followed behind. "I suppose. Just don't do something to get us in trouble."

"Are you doubting my stealth skills? Cause I'm the stealthiest spy in all of spy history." She took a deep breath coming to a realization. "Maybe my talent is being a spy! CUTIE MAR-"

Spike bolted in front of her and put both front paws over her mouth. He growled quietly only loud enough to be heard by Sweetie. "What happened to your skills in being stealthy?"

"Mmps." She muttered into Spike's paws, blushing from the stunt she had pulled.

/

Emma plopped onto the recliner happy to have one second to rest after her mother's constant requests. Her muscles were tense and her emotions seemed to be as tweaked as her body.

She could have sworn there was some sort of screech from inside the walls. It seemed as though somebody was listening in on her. "Man...I'm starting to go insane..." Emma closed her eyes, slowly, but surely she felt herself melt away into sleep.

Emma's mother crept into the living room only to see her daughter passed out on the recliner.

"Now that she's out of the way I can move on and start the next phase." She muttered under her breath. "Stupid child. As clueless and dumb as ever."

Unaware of the dog and small girl hiding in the wall she tip-toed down the hall into Emma's room for a little privacy. She pulled out a pre-paid phone and dialed the numbers quickly, holding it to her ear afterwards.

"Yeah, everything is all set for tonight. A bit of a setback, seems my worthless excuse of a daughter has some house mates. I worked her to the bone like I planned to, she's down and out. As for her friends, well it won't be long till they fall asleep; when that time comes I'll let you know. Make sure you've got your part of the plan all set and-" The woman stopped mid-sentence when she heard a squeak come from the wall. "And it seems that you'll have for them to hit the hay."

As she hung up the phone Emma's mother pulled a sheet covered in chloroform from her pocket. It hadn't been of any use, until now that is. She already knew of the tunnels inside the walls from long ago when she still lived with her ex-husband.

She wasn't sure if there was more than one person eavesdropping on her conversation, so she had to think strategically about her next move. It seemed like no movement what so ever was happening in the wall, holding her breath she noticed the wall start to pop open.

To her surprise a small girl she had not seen before jumped out of the wall followed by an even smaller purple dog. Luckily they had not seen her as they started to tip toe towards the door, believing that she had actually left the room.

"I can't believe what I just heard. I mean...what's she planning?" Sweetie Belle whispered. Spike shrugged and ran ahead scoping out the hallway leaving Sweetie Belle not far behind. Emma's mom took this chance to take out one of the two.

She snuck up quickly behind Sweetie Belle and covered her mouth before she could scream. Not a moment later a cloth of chloroform covered Sweetie's nose causing her to breathe in the chemical and be swiftly knocked out. Her unconscious body was dragged into the closet for the time being as the mother hid upon hearing tiny footsteps draw near the room again. She assumed it was most likely the dogs, probably from the sudden disappearance of the girl the woman thought.

"This isn't funny...not funny at all." Spike thought to himself. He started to get nervous as he entered Emma's room; a sudden chill ran down his spine.

Before he had to time to even catch a breath he was pounced on, a hand covered his muzzle. His eyes grew wide with fear, his tiny legs scrambling to escape from the grips of the woman. His eyes drifted to the closet resting on Sweetie Belle, just as a cloth was forced onto his nose.

"Sweetie Belle..." He could only watch as the world faded into black before his very eyes.

The woman let go of the dog and backed up slightly taken aback. "D-Did that mutt just talk?...no...I'm just imagining it. My god, what's wrong with me?"

/

"I can't shake the feeling that she's terrible, but we've got nothing on her except her big attitude." Jaden complained sliding open the door with his hand while holding Rainbow.

"You do know my legs aren't completely useless, don't you?" Dash said with a smug smile.

"Don't act like you don't appreciate the opportunity to be lazy." He replied back, which she playfully rolled her eyes to.

Pinkie hopped over towards the recliner upon noticing quiet snores. "Hey guys, looks like Emma finally got some time to relax."

"At least it's quiet enough for her to sleep in peace." Rarity cut in, but processed what she said making her very nervous. "A little too quiet if you ask me...come to think of it, I haven't seen hide or hair of Spike or Sweetie Belle for quite some time."

"They couldn't have gone too far. I mean it's not like they could've gotten into any trouble. The house isn't exactly the Everfree Forest or anything." Twilight inferred.

Footsteps drew near causing the stomachs of the seven to sink. Fluttershy cowered behind Applejack trembling in fear.

"Sweetie Belle? Spike? You must all be talkin about that little girl and the dog." Emma's mother spat out, acting as if she had not just drugged them not too long ago.

"And how would know that?" Rainbow glared defensively getting angrier by the second. She didn't trust the woman at all.

"They just went to bed in the guest room. I passed by them not too long ago." She replied innocently.

The awkwardness lingered in the air, silence striking them all. Applejack coughed breaking the unbearable tension.

"Mhmm. Whatever you say, we'll just be on our way then." Applejack held eye contact as if studying the emotions hidden in the woman's eyes as she made her way with the group to the guest room.

They all made their ways to their respective beds. Rarity, Fluttershy and the unconscious Sweetie Belle shared the bed. Applejack, Twilight and Spike had the air mattress on the floor which left the dilemma of only a sofa remaining and three people to split among it. Usually it's just Rainbow and Pinkie, but Jaden didn't have the nerve to leave for the night with the strange woman among them.

"One small sofa and three of us. How is this gonna work?" Pinkie questioned filling her cheeks with air as she pondered for an answer.

Jaden let out a sigh. "It's not gonna work. You two can have it, I'll just sleep on the floor."

Rainbow looked at him with concern. "Sleep on the floor? You don't have to do that. I'm sure we can come up with something. Cause that doesn't really sound comfortable."

"Neither does squishing all of us on that sofa." He laughed helping Dash get onto the couch.

"He's got a point, Dashie." Pinkie bounced in place for a moment. "You can take my space if you want."

"No thanks, Pinkie. I'm fine with the floor. Besides, that wouldn't really be polite if I stole the couch from you two." Jaden grabbed a blanket and pillow from the closet and made a little area on the ground next to the sofa, as it was the only open space available not that he didn't oppose to the idea of sleeping next to Rainbow, well not really, but close enough.

"How chivalrous." Rarity cooed clasping her hands together.

/

It wasn't long before they fell asleep one by one, well most of them anyway. Jaden had trouble keeping his eyes shut, he felt as if any moment now Emma's mother was going to burst in the room. He tossed and turned, the snores coming from the others acting as a sort of harmonious music to calm his nerves.

Rainbow turned on her side to face Jaden. "You up?" She whispered careful not to wake anyone that still sleeping.

"Yeah, I can't fall asleep. This whole thing is stressing me out. I can't trust myself to even close my eyes with this chick in the house." He responded quietly fiddling with his fingers to contain his energy.

"I don't blame you. She's plain creepy. There's something off about her, I don't really understand why she came here. It's not like Emma wants to see her. Seems odd to me." Rainbow sighed stretching her arms over her head then letting one dangle over the side of the couch while the other acted as support under her head.

"You're telling me. I just wish I knew more about her. Maybe I'm just being paranoid…maybe it's only weird because there's a complete mystery wrapped around this lady." Jaden closed his eyes for a mere second.

Rainbow twisted her body as slowly as she made sure she wouldn't wake Pinkie in the process. She leaned over until she was face to face with Jaden giving him a reassuring smile which he returned to his best ability.

"Don't sweat the small stuff. Everything's gonna be fine." Rainbow balanced one hand on the ground and placed the other hand on Jaden's shoulder. His heart stopped as soon as she made physical contact with him. He could feel his face flare up and his stomach felt as though it dropped off a cliff.

Rainbow drew closer, however a noise from within the house startled her to which she fell off the couch and landed on Jaden. He suppressed coughing as he was basically being strangled and suffocated by Dash who clung onto him like a cat being forced into a kennel.

"I th-think someone's in the house…but everything's gonna be fine…right?" Rainbow asked a definite tone of fear shaking in her voice.

Well, I'm glad to be back to writing for this story! I have so many things planned for the future for it, but first I gotta get to that point. Not much Fluttershy in this chapter, but she'll get some more time next chapter!