After school, Myra, the twins', and Mike's parents were all called in to talk with the principal.

"Boba and Omega are good kids! They would never-!" Anakin shouted on the other side of the door.

"Ani." Padme said, trying to calm her husband.

"I'm sure it's a big misunderstanding." Master Luminara said. "I haven't been Vince's guardian that long, but I'm sure he never meant to start anything."

"Shows what you know," said Mrs. Adams, Mike's mom. "Your people couldn't even tell a dark version of you was running the Senate."

"That's really uncalled for." Mace said. "And this isn't about the Jedi, this is about the kids."

"Please, that half-Jedi girl must've started it."

"How dare you! That's my daughter you're talking about!"

The parents all started to argue until Principal Brenden whistled to get their attention.

"Alright, listen up. Regardless of who started it, the kids' behavior is unacceptable, and there are going to be consequences."

"Detention?!" Omega gasped earlier that day.

Now…Omega was breathing heavily. When she learned detention meant being stuck in a classroom for two hours like a prisoner, it made her think of what it was like on Kamino. She thought she'd never have to face that again, but now she had to spend time after school today in detention with her brother, Myra, Vince, as well as many of the football players and some other students as punishment for engaging in a food fight.

"How long have we been here?" Omega whispered to her brother.

"Almost two hours." Boba said, having been spending the whole time studying.

Boba hated being in detention, but it wasn't too different from being grounded, so he wasn't panicking like his sister was trying to avoid. Luckily, she had Vince's plush to keep her sanity.

Eventually, Ms. Rosen, the teacher supervising detention, dismissed the Jedi's children.

"I bet they got special treatment just because their parents are Jedi," mumbled one of the football players.

"Don't listen to him," said Myra to the twins. "They think they deserve to be treated like kings."

Vince walked out with his… acquaintances, and they all met with their parents to be picked up.

"Oh, Vince." Omega said, giving Vince back his plush. "Here's your plush back."

"Thank you." Vince said, accepting the toy.

The kids' parents were all relieved to see them again, but there was also a lot of scolding going on too.

"Myra, I thought we talked about controlling your anger." Mace said.

"You weren't there, Dad. Look what Lionel did to my jacket." Myra said, showing the stain on her expensive new jacket. "Do you have any idea how many diapers I had to change and how many dishes I had to wash to earn this thing? A lot! For two months, and Lionel ruined it in two seconds."

"Myra, let me see that." Padme said, taking the jacket. "Don't worry. I can fix this. With how messy of an eater Anakin is, I know how to get rid of a lot of stains."

"Hey!" Anakin whined.

"Vince, what happened?" Luminara asked Vince, but he said nothing. "Vince, look at me. What happened?"

Vince just got in the speeder and put a hood over his head, not saying anything the whole ride home. Luminara sighed and just thought to herself, "I hope whatever Marigold has planned helps him."

Vince sat in his room, doing his homework, when someone came knocking at the door.

"I'm busy."

But Comedia came in.

"This really can't wait, Vince." Comedia said.

When Vince looked up, he wasn't too pleased.

"Where were you while the rest of us got detention?"

"Let's see, a fight was about to start, so I went to Principal Brenden to get help. Then, I was told to wait, and then I did. Then I was told to get to class. And then I couldn't find any of you, and then my dad came to bring me home. As for why I'm here now, I think I can help you."

Comedia motioned for Vince to follow her, but Vince didn't look interested in doing so. Thus, Comedia decided to try something. She quickly grabbed Vince's backpack in her mouth and ran.

"Hey! My backpack!" Vince exclaimed. "Not again!"

Vince chased Comedia into the hall, where she practically taunted him with his backpack.

"Comedia, this isn't funny!"

Comedia ran really fast, and to her surprise, Vince wasn't even Force sensitive, yet he was keeping up with her. So, she kept on going and led him to another room where she put his bag down as the door closed behind him.

Vince grabbed his bag, but then looked up to see people sitting in a circle of chairs. People he knew. Myra, Boba, Omega, the Heartwoods, and a few royal family members. Anakin, Carmine, Gabby, and Lamenta. And everyone's horses were there too.

That was when Marigold stepped up.

"Hello, Vince. My name is Marigold Hoofworth."

"What is all this? Did someone die?" Vince said.

"No. This is a little something called a Support Circle."

"Oh, so it's an intervention."

"Sort of, but we're here to help you. Let me explain."

Marigold explained to Vince that Queen Reigna, the leader of Equinaro, where she was from, sent her for Vince through a special ritual called the Ride of Love, where people in need of a special friend got matched with a horse who often, in turn, needed their person without even realizing it. And when Marigold learned how Vince was upset about something and letting his anger out on other people, she decided she needed to do something to help out.

"From what I know of most bipeds, humans included, emotional support groups are often helpful for those who struggle with their emotions."

Marigold got Vince to sit down and got everyone's attention.

"As we all know, everyone here has faced a tough time in his or her life. One of the most important ways to confront negative emotions is to realize you are not alone. Who would like to share their feelings first?"

Naturally, most people seemed nervous, but Carmine raised his hand first, and he stood up.

"Okay, my name is Carmine, and… I've been through a lot. When I was little, I was bullied for being poor and for wearing glasses, and then I lost my grandma and had to go through foster care, where I faced a lot of horrible people who saw me only as free money. Through that time, I felt insecure, sad, lonely, and angry too. Though I later gained a new family, I still face nightmares of memories from those days, and I wanna do my part to help those who have been through similar times."

Everyone clapped for Carmine's story.

Emeraldi took a turn next.

"When I was a filly, I never got to just… be a kid. I grew up with very snobby parents. A duke and duchess, and they forced me to be the perfect child. Sure, I gained many great skills, and I learned I was naturally talented and beautiful, if I do say so myself, but in the process, my parents were controlling everything I did, and it prevented me from earning my beauty mark."

"Can't you just use makeup for that?"

"Not that kind of beauty mark. In Equinaro, we each earn a special change in appearance we call our beauty mark, when we unlock the key to our true inner beauty. Like these gold markings you see on my head and my mane. I earned these by finding my voice."

"Or this pinwheel symbol on my flank." Comedia said, showing the mark on her side. "It's different for every pony."

"But, back to my story. I wasn't able to find my sense of self because of my controlling parents, and more importantly, it cost me my relationship with my baby sister and drew us apart for a long time. I'd already lost my cousin, and losing my sister to a fate worse than death, I had to force myself to feel nothing. To this day, I'm still full of regrets for all the things I never got to do, and all the lost time with Comedia."

A few others took turns sharing their stories of terrible tragedies they'd faced in their lifetimes. Anakin facing the loss of many loved ones and PTSD from the war, Lamenta feeling lonely because so many kids saw her as a ticket to a big pop star, Gabby for the trauma she'd faced from the times she'd almost lost her family in the war and when she was kidnapped.

Vince couldn't believe all these terrible stories he was hearing. Everyone here faced some kind of tragedy that had them feeling so many emotions at once, all of them heartbreaking. And then, Mariposa stood up and did something no one expected.

"I'm Mariposa, and I had to raise myself from when I was a child… because of this."

Mariposa removed her cloak and exposed her wings, which startled Vince.

"Whoa! Big butterfly!" Vince said.

"I'm actually called a maricamba. Or, as the Enchanted community has so rudely renamed us, doresho gypsies. My people were framed for terrible crimes long ago by a king who didn't want his son to be married to one of our kind, and we've been labeled as Public Enemy #1 for centuries. No doresho gypsies can walk the streets safely. We all have to hide our wings just to stay alive."

Mariposa told Vince all about how when she was a little girl, she watched as doresho hunters attacked her father and she was forced to run for her young life all alone, and for thirty years she thought her father was dead. And in all that time, she had to figure out everything on her own. She never got to school, didn't have parents to teach her things, and she sometimes went days without eating or was forced to dig through garbage just to avoid starvation. And when she finally got wings, she had to figure out flight on her own, but if anyone saw her wings they either ran away from her or attacked her. Even her own husband was afraid of her when they first met, and he was half-werewolf.

"Unfortunately, despite there being many innocent and good maricambas out there, a few dark ones exist too, such as Mariverde… my sister."

"Wait a minute! You mean the crazy lady who's been turning people into villains everyone's talking about?" Vince said. "She's your sister?!"

"Unfortunately, yes. We've never been close either. Neither of my sisters chose the path of good. Until that fateful day I lost my father, it had just been him and me, and we did our best to lead a peaceful life. I could've chosen the path of revenge after my father supposedly died, but I didn't because I knew he wouldn't have wanted that. But, the things I faced didn't make that easy. And I might've turned had I not met and fallen in love with Garrett."

"And… Mariverde is also…. My mother." Mona said shamefully. "It's not what you think. I'm nothing like her. And that was why she made me a prisoner. She would have people hit me all the time, yell at me, and I never once got to be outside. But then, one day, Hunter found me and took me to a new home where people took care of me, and I got to see the real outside world at last. But, I still have trouble socializing because I spent most of my life by myself, never knowing what tomorrow would bring, and not in the great adventure kind of way, more like the I-don't-know-if-I'll-live-after-tomorrow kind of sense."

Marigold stepped in front of Vince to say something else.

"So… Vince… as you can see, everyone here has been through a great tragedy. They all feel for each other, and they'll feel more for you if you talk about what happened when you were younger. I've heard tell that all of this began with your mother."

Vince seemed triggered by that.

"It's okay, Vince. This is a safe space. You know, I lost my mother too. When I was a very small filly. She'd gotten terribly sick. Father and I were devastated. And then, two years later, my father was murdered by his own sister, and I spent thirteen years imprisoned by Mokko."

"Don't remind me of that guy." Vince said.

"Benni said you were the guy who punched him and lived." Omega said. "But… how'd you end up there anyway?"

"Well, it's kind of a crazy story."

A few days ago…. (Vince's P.O.V)

I couldn't take that Dad wasn't listening to me, and I had to get away from my brothers, mostly Derek, and that awful stepmother of mine. The only solution I saw was to run away. Ever since Tatiana came around, my grandparents were never around either. I thought that if I ran anywhere, I could go and live with them. They have a great country house on Naboo, so I decided to head there.

It was a dark night like any other. My dad was away for work, Derek had been out drinking again, as if there were any nights he wasn't. Jacob was already in bed, and Tatiana was getting her beauty rest, so it was just the right moment to sneak out. So, I packed what I could in my backpack, snuck out my bedroom window, and walked to the nearest space port. Unfortunately, I fell asleep on the port and got off on the wrong stop, and I didn't have enough money to take the ship back. And to make matters worse, I left my phone behind so my dad couldn't track me, which meant I couldn't use my tracking apps to figure out which way to go. I didn't know where I was, and I didn't have enough food or water on me to last very long. I was scared.

Wherever I was, it was hot. I decided I needed to find a phone or another port so I could get to Naboo and find my grandparents. But, since I didn't have a map, I wasn't sure where to go.

Eventually, I came up on this canyon, I guess, and there were people there who looked like they were digging for stuff. I thought they might've been on a job, and someone there might be able to help me. Except, when I got too close to the mine, they attacked me instead.

These masked guys grabbed me, took my backpack and then tied me up, put a cloth bag of some sort over my head and threw me into a ship. I tried to fight back, but they were pretty quick, and it's kind of embarrassing, but… I was a little rusty in my karate practice.

Eventually, they took the cloth bag off, only to reveal me to some cyborg guy.

"So… you're the one who was peeping in on my business." Mokko said. "Hmm… you look awfully young to be out in these parts alone."

"I'm sixteen!"

"He was carrying this too." said one of the workers, tossing over Vince's backpack.

"Hey! My backpack!"

Mokko picked it up and started digging through it to see if Vince had anything valuable or that he could use as a weapon, and that was when he took Cookie Monster. He laughed at me, and would've ripped his head off had I not broken out from the grip and sucker punched him. If he'd destroyed my childhood treasure, I was seriously going to lose it!

I got worried though when he recovered from the blow to his head. But instead of having his droids attack me, he told me he liked that I had spunk, and that I was unbelievably strong for someone so young. Guess he's never met a lot of athletes.

"What's your name, kid?" asked Mokko.

"Vince."

"Vince… where are your parents?"

"I… don't have any. Or any money, so I'm not really good for a ransom if-"

"Oh, no… you misunderstand. I could use someone like you on my team. My workers lack the strength and the spunk you have. You work for me, you get a place to sleep and everything else you need. It's not much, but I won't leave a talented child like you to be wasted in a cruel world."

I thought he meant well… how stupid was that?

Present day… (No P.O.V.)

"Eventually, Boba found me. I didn't want to come back because I didn't want to go back to the very people I ran away from. I still don't wanna go back there. I mean, if it were just with my dad, maybe I would. But I can't go anywhere with Derek or Tatiana."

"Have you and Derek always been at each other's throats?" Anakin asked.

Having brothers himself, Anakin knew a thing or two about how challenging it could be at times. He and his biological brother Carmine had their disagreements time and time again, and Obi-Wan acted as Anakin's big brother for as long as either of them could remember. They'd fought many times, but never to the point where one of them was hitting the other one… aside from when Anakin got into a pillow fight with Obi-Wan, and the only thing that was splattered around were feathers.

"Yes. And it's because of him that I'm basically a prisoner in my own home!" Vince said, angrily thinking of his brother.

"How so?"

Vince opened a section from his journal and pulled out a picture from when he was five years old. In the picture, he was with his father looking at the lion cage at the zoo.

"My mom took this picture. Back then, my dad and I were close, like fathers and sons should be. But when Derek got into high school, and my mom died, things began to change for the worst."

No one in the Hall Family was sure why, but Derek was a very troubled kid. Maybe it was because he was angry that his own mother abandoned him when he was just a toddler. Mr. Hall sent him to therapy, but it didn't do any good. And when he married Jasmine McCafrey, a veterinarian, and Vince's mother, Derek really got pissed. He didn't like the woman one bit, which was hard to understand.

Lydia was an amazing woman. She was beautiful, intelligent, kind, and she loved animals of all kinds and took care of them like her own babies. For the longest time, she'd wanted a human baby of her own. Or at least half-human, she wasn't picky with what biped species she would wed someday. She and Armando met when he brought in a new patient. He found a loth kitten that had been injured, and he brought it to the nearest animal hospital, and Lydia treated it before getting the animal back to its owner. But, when Armando learned Lydia was being treated badly and…. inappropriately by her boss, he rescued her. One thing led to another, and eventually they got married, and found out they were going to have a baby.

That day when Lydia held her baby boy in her arms for the very first time was the happiest day of her life. She named him Vince, after her late father Vincent. Lydia loved Vince very much, and she hoped her stepson Derek would too… but he didn't. After Vince was born, Derek started causing even more trouble. Breaking stuff, jumping on the furniture, stealing from his dad's wallet, and playing nasty pranks on his stepmother. But, Lydia never resorted to spanking or yelling like other parents did. She tried to settle things peacefully with Derek, telling him that just because she didn't give birth to him didn't mean she couldn't be his mother.

"If you are really part of this family, then you need to clean up your act and start being nice to your baby brother. He's going to need a role model when he gets bigger, and being a big brother is an honor not every boy is blessed with." She had said.

But Derek didn't care. He just kept being a real troublemaker.

"The only time he's ever wanted to celebrate anything was when…. when…." Vince paused and started to breathe heavily, tears starting to form in his eyes.

"When what?" Boba said.

Unable to hold back anymore, Vince started to cry and replied, "When my mom died."

"How did it happen?" Lamenta asked as gently as she could.

Vince felt himself freezing as he'd tried so many times to forget, but instead found himself tormented by nightmares and triggers that brought back what was perhaps the most terrifying memory of his young life.

Ten Years ago…

Long ago, Vince Hall was once a happy young boy, the son of a successful record producer and a veterinarian. Vince loved his parents very much, and they loved him too, and always did their best to keep him happy and safe.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Six-year-old Vince exclaimed when his parents came home.

Mr. and Mrs. Hall were both very busy people, but they somehow made time to be with their children. And the best times were when they both came home and had a surprise of a family outing.

That day, Mr. Hall had a special surprise for the whole family. In honor of his and Mrs. Hall's seventh wedding anniversary, Mr. Hall announced that he bought a brand new luxury yacht, and they were all going to take a private cruise.

When the whole family got to the docks, everyone was astonished. It was a beautiful boat, and Mr. Hall named it after his beloved wife. At first, the cruise went really well.

Vince remembered enjoying the scent of the ocean breeze, feeling the wind in his hair, and he and his mom spotted dolphins jumping nearby to say hello. Vince even went to the lower deck to get a closer look, and one of the dolphins splashed him with water.

"I think the dolphins like you, Vinnie," Lydia had said. She used to nickname him Vinnie all the time.

Back then, Lydia had also told Vince, "You know, Vinnie, there are a lot of things people believe about dolphins. Some say they are nature's life guards, and they help clean the ocean by eating all the sick organic life in the ocean before it spreads, and that helps the environment on land as well. That's why we have to do everything we can to protect them. Every animal has its purpose in the world, and it's up to us to protect as many as we can."

Vince took those words to heart; his mom had a very special dream to open a free clinic for animals. Knowing how expensive veterinary services could get and not everyone with a pet could afford it, she thought it would be a great idea to start a charity to help less privileged families take care of their furry, scaly, or feathery friends without having to go bankrupt in the process.

It was a very sweet moment between mother and son then. But then that moment ended.

That very night, Vince was asleep in his berth, when he heard a noise coming from outside. He thought it was one of his parents probably getting up to get water or go to the bathroom or something, so he tried to go back to sleep. But then he heard a loud crashing sound that scared him awake.

Carefully, little Vince snuck out from his room and crawled down low on the floor so no one would see him. But, they were out in the water; there was no way someone could've broken in in the middle of the night… unless the intruder snuck on board before they set sail!

Vince looked around and found the room where the captain steered the boat, but when he got there, the door was open, so he took a peek inside and found the captain laying on the floor.

Being only six, Vince thought the captain was just sleeping, so he tried to wake her up. But, the captain didn't wake up. Vince didn't understand it then, but the captain was unconscious!

To make matters worse, Vince heard the sound of thunder booming outside. He looked out the window and saw that the boat was heading right for it! Vince didn't know a lot about sailing, but in every movie he'd seen where a boat got in a storm, it never ended well. So, he did the only thing he could think of.

"Mommy! Daddy!"

Vince ran straight to his parents' room and woke them up.

"Mommy! Daddy! There's thunder clouds, the captain's sleeping, and the boat's heading right for it!" Vince panicked.

"Vince, I'm sure it's nothing." Mr. Hall said tiredly. "Captain Lane knows what she's doing. Let's just go back to-"

But that was when an alarm went off, as the boat had started to get closer and closer to the storm.

Vince pulled his dad out of bed, and then he ran to the captain's chamber to find Captain Lane was indeed "sleeping," but he found she was actually unconscious.

"Vince, go back to Mommy and get to the life vests." Mr. Hall told him.

"Do you know how to steer a boat?"

"It can't be that hard. Just go!"

With no time to argue, Vince did run back to his mom, and she took him to where the emergency life vests were kept, but the boat started to rock very roughly as the storm wasn't the only problem the Halls were facing. The water was getting very rough, and the waves were pushing the ship back and forth and back and forth. Poor Vince was beginning to get seasick, but his mom managed to get his life vest on, but Derek didn't seem anywhere to be found.

"Don't worry, Vinnie. We're going to be okay if we stick together." Lydia said.

Lydia got her own vest on and held her son as they moved as quickly as they could to get to the lifeboats, except when they got there, the lifeboats were all gone! They must have malfunctioned and gotten launched off when the storm and waves hit.

Heavy rain fell and the winds got louder and stronger by the second! Vince held onto his mom the whole time, while his dad kept trying to steer the boat out from the storm, to no avail.

"I'm scared, Mommy!" Vince said.

"We'll figure something out, Vince." Lydia said. And luckily, she found something she hoped would give her family a fighting chance. There were emergency kits all over the yacht. With two boys on board, the Halls figured they couldn't be too careful.

Lydia brought out an emergency flare gun and shot one up, hoping someone would see it and come to their rescue. But in the midst of all this, the waves were getting even bigger! And before their very eyes, a humongous wave flipped the boat over entirely, sending the whole thing and everyone on it underwater!

Vince didn't know how to swim, and even though his life vest helped keep his head above the water, the strong waves were still there! This was definitely not like sitting in the bathtub or a kiddie pool. Vince kept screaming for his mom and dad, screaming for help, but it didn't seem like anyone could hear him. The waves carried him and threw him around for a long time, sometimes sending him below the water before he somehow managed to get up to the surface and gasp for breath. But then, he was thrown underwater again, and this time his life vest broke off, and he sank.

Fortunately, Vince found himself waking up in the arms of a kind Mon Cala who'd seen him sinking in the water and pulled him up to the surface where he was taken by a rescue team to the hospital. Vince coughed the whole time. He was pretty sure he'd swallowed some sea water too.

When Vince was checked by the doctors, he kept crying and asking where his parents were. And then his father came in, refusing to finish his checkup until he knew his sons were both okay.

Mr. Hall held Vince in his arms and hugged him in relief.

"Where's Mommy?" Vince asked.

But, Armando looked devastated beyond belief. No father wanted to be the one to have to tell his children what he reluctantly said next….

"Vince… Mommy…. Didn't make it. She's gone."

Vince couldn't believe his ears. He immediately broke down crying when he learned what became of his mother. According to the rescue team, his mom drowned in the rough waves and was terribly injured, which caused her to sink.

Vince would never forget that day. His father held him the whole time they were in the hospital, and Vince couldn't stop crying no matter how hard he tried. But Derek, he couldn't care less about any of this.

"Finally, we're rid of that witch." Derek had said. (Actually, he referred to her as something else, but Vince couldn't say it in the presence of children)

Vince was never the same after that fateful day. Kids at school made fun of him for not having a mom, or for crying because he missed her. And Derek made it ten times worse by telling the whole school Vince was scared of water, and some mean kids threw water at him, which only added to his trauma. And as a result, he got so angry, he started acting like a bully to scare the other kids into leaving him alone. But all the while, Vince never got to just grieve for his mother. Dad was almost never home after that; with only one parent in the house, it fell to him to provide for the family. And for a while, Armando's sister Elena came to stay with the family to help them get back on their feet. But, Derek was such a troublemaker, Elena could only stick around for so long. And every time Mr. Hall hired a nanny, Derek chased them away too. Thus, it was fitting that Derek got shipped to boarding school. Melody Academy to be exact. Mr. Hall thought perhaps time in a place where he would learn to play music and dance would get him to channel his energy and emotions into something productive. It didn't, but at least Vince's nanny stuck around as long as Derek was away.