Something shoved my door open. Not gently either, so I shot upright in my bed.

The room was dark, but the hallway light made everything obnoxiously bright. Somebody was in my bed behind me- not super big. The person in my doorway is super big.

Threat. Threat. Threat. Dominic found me.

I jumped. My room was messy- multiple objects to trip other, large/heavy things. Weird. Off. Traps?! Maybe.

Bag? Out of reach. Manageable. Adapt.

I pulled my arms back. My feet were managing a landing. They couldn't do both.

Whoop, didn't matter. I tripped on something. It sent me down to the ground. My landing pad wasn't carpet, but something lumpy.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"OW!"

Something that could feel pain.

Wait what?

I took a moment to reassess.

The curtains were shut, the light of dusk came in through cracks. Human-turned-ponies were scattered around to relax for the night. Spike cuddled with Twilight. Lilac was in my bed. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie leaned on each other. Applejack and Rarity were gone.

"GET OFF!" Rainbow Dash shoved me away. I rolled onto the ground.

Ah. My landing pad.

"MORGAN!"

I jumped upright. It went better this time. The figure in the door was my dad, not Dominic.

Ah. So, big things to worry about but not the same kind of bad. This guy won't kill me. Probably. Maybe. It's a solid bet. The odds are in my favor.

"Why are they still here?!" Mr Spencer snapped.

I considered the best possible answer. Then, I just said 'fuck it'. A psycho murderer lives a ten minute drive away. I'm moving away from home after all of this. Darcy is still in my head. There's no real reason to keep being scared of Dad, because I was tortured two days ago. "They were kicked out of their homes, Dad."

"What?"

"Their parents kicked them out of their homes. All of them. It's been a rough week for all of them! I know! I know." I turned to Rainbow Dash at my feet. "I promised not to tell him, but it's too late. The jig is up, guys. He's gotta know. Dad, their parents kicked them out of their homes. I agreed to let them crash here until they could make their ways home. It's what the Bible says to do when people are in need. What kind of good Christian leaves people destitute?"

He grit his teeth. He believed me, that much is obvious, but he can still tell it's a lie. It's very annoying. I'm the best fucking liar, but this guy has zero trust in me to begin with. Fucking Darcy, what did she do? "The Bible also says He will provide all their needs. We don't have to. Why did their parents-?"

"We don't have to?! We don't have to?! Preposterous. Won't do it." Lilac climbed out of bed. She started stumbling towards me. "The Lord set me on their paths. It's the least I can-"

"Why did their parents kick them out?" Mr Spencer cut me off.

"Murder?" I tried, then I became more convinced. The story painted itself in front of me. "Murder."

"Murder." Dad deadpanned.

"Gang violence! You and Mom said it yourselves. Their families were involved in it, and these girls were brave enough to say 'no! No, moms and dads, we won't join in this violence! We won't lead kids to sin!' Then, after they escaped, they ran to the only friend they could trust! Me! The most Christian person they knew!" Weirdly, the only true part is that last part. Sure I'm the only Christian person they knew, but that still technically counts. "And are we gonna turn people away when they come to us seeking the favor of the lord?"

Dad glowered. It sends a tiny thing inside of me shivering away. The part of me that was my sister screamed, cackling in delight. My daughter continues to sleep behind us.

"Okay. I am just a halfway house until they can move to safer places. Two of them have already left for those places, it's okay." I pointed down at Rainbow Dash. "She's moving in with her aunt later today, those two have uncles. Faith there actually has a grandpa in North Carolina-"

"When are they leaving?" He cut me off.

"Tonight." I promised him.

"Where are their families picking them up?" Dad asked. "I won't have them coming to my house."

"The gas station by the highway. It's a long walk, but I knew you'd prefer that."

Dad narrowed his eyes on his surprise guest. His eyes widened at seeing one figure. I stepped to block his path to her. "Why is she still here? Her mother took her."

"Her mother is the person she's hiding from." Came the immediate lie, because of course that's the first thing I say. "Her mom is a bad person, dad, but social services haven't noticed anything! She's going to live with her aunt."

"She called for her mother. People that were abused don't call for their abuser."

"She's seven." I countered. "She doesn't think what her mom did was that bad. Her mother abandoned her. So many times. You know how many times we found her at home alone? At seven? At six? At five, even four? Dad, trust me, staying with her aunt is better."

My inner voice stopped cackling. The others in the room stopped glaring in confusion. Horror dawned on their faces. Heartbreak too. It's perfect for this performance!

"Then-"

"Same gas station." I promised. "Lunch time, everyone will be gone. Well. Actually. Lilac needs to stay with us a few more days. Her aunt is a couple states over, and can't get a plane ticket. Wednesday, at the latest. Promise."

Dad nodded. He shifted gears. Instead of being against it, he began trying to play along with it. Better yet he was going to pretend all of it was his idea. Give him a second. He'll find a way. "Yes, good. The Lord did grant you his wisdom. Good to see my homework this week about respecting your elders finally sunk in."

"It has, oh it definitely has!"

"Good." He glanced at the others. "You were good guests. May the Lord continue to bless your path. Abide in His ways."

I nodded. "They will. Yep, they will." I glared over my shoulder. "Right girls?"

Pinkie tilted her head. "What are you-" I tossed her a cookie. "YES!"

"Uhh...sure?" Rainbow Dash tried.

Dad smiled. "Good! Glad I could help." He turned out of my room, leaving the door wide open.

It's fine. I won't be living in it by the end of next week. So I closed the door myself and turned on the light. I began stuffing things into my Bag, stuff off my shelves or from my closet. Packing is going to take the longest.

"What was all that about?" Rainbow asked.

Opening my bag, I pushed an entire row of books into it. "Better off not knowing. Just know we have time to get everything fixed. Sorry it took me so long to make the story- it's been a wild week."

Twilight shook her head. "What you said- about yourself-"

Great. They're going to make cleaning up my childhood bedroom difficult. It's probably for the best that they aren't here. I did tell Dad they'd all be gone by lunch.

I reached over for Fluttershy, gratefully taking her hand. My other hand grabbed Pinkie's shoulder. "Twilight! I'm so glad you paid attention to that!"

==DMLE==

Everfree Forest again. The early morning air was dense with humidity. The pegasi were working extra hard for the Harvest Day parade.

Fluttershy gasped. Her wings flared out, helping her gain balance. "Morgan-"

Pinkie jumped up, going above the trees. "Hey we're back!"

==DMLE==

Twilight had caught me.

I smiled up at her, ignoring the aches in my body. "Hi."

"You-" Twilight grumbled. "What are you doing?!"

I giggled. "You wanna know?" My arm lashed out to grab Spike.

==DMLE==

"GAH-" Twilight rolled onto the grass. Dew clung to her coat. "WAIT-" Spike landed on her.

"Twilight! We're back!" Pinkie cheered.

==DMLE==

Only one left. I eyed Rainbow Dash. She eyed me, pulling back from me.

"You just sent all our friends back?" Rainbow asked. "Just like that?"

That made me chuckle. "A full night's sleep does wonders. Hey, don't you wanna check on Scootaloo?"

She hardened her glare.

I leapt.

Rainbow dodged.

Expecting that, I quickly turned to jump again.

Rainbow jumped. She landed on my bed. My eyes widened so I leapt after her. She yelled. I clapped a hand over her mouth, rolling us both away from the bed.

She grumbled loudly behind my hand. A noise came from the bed, grumbling from the tiny girl. My hand tightened on Rainbow's face.

"If you woke that child up-" I threatened.

Darcy reached out. In the mind, her consciousness expanded again. She gripped and grabbed at things. It stung, so cold, like a dozen sharp stabs. I shook my head, pushing her down and away.

==DMLE==

The dense air of the Everfree Forest was perfect for Rainbow Dash.

"You-" Rainbow charged at me.

Twilight tried catching me with magic.

Escaping magic was just so much easier.

==DMLE==

It'll take a couple days for me to come back here for all the stuff in the house. Waiting until Wednesday gives me plenty of time. That's probably how long it will take us to fix everything else too.

My clothes needed a wash, actually. The ponies had been exchanging various outfits over the days- mine and borrowed from the Bellinghams. So I started organizing my clothes into piles. The borrowed clothes should be cleaned first, sneaking off to the laundry room to get them started.

It's best to stay in this dimension for a bit. It gives the girls of Equestria enough time to get away from that spot in the Everfree. Granted, it also gives them all time to plan a counterattack. It won't matter because I have the element of surprise. Given that Equestria's timeline is synced with that of Earth currently, then if I go in the middle of the night next Monday none of them should be there to jump me.

Lilac continued to sleep. She deserved the extra time. The next few weeks are going to be full of a lot of moving around.

Darcy was uncharacteristically silent. Getting her a body is on my To-Do list. All that moving around is going to be a lot of work. A second person to help babysit would be helpful. But if I go to Chucky now, time freezes in Equestria. There needs to be some hours putting distance between me and the others.

Getting away is the answer. Retreating far beyond what the ponies or even Chamberlin can reach. The madman could've been planning a long game from beyond this week. He must already know where I live, and I need to get as far from here as possible with my family.

I'll be gone by Wednesday. The Spencer's will hardly notice.