"why you insist on these escapades, I really do not understand " I snort, breathing in the cool air and spreading my arms

"oh come now jesta, don't pretend like you don't love them and an eternity of simply staying in the equestria doesn't bore you " I say eyes on the street

the city was dark and quiet, most of the residents asleep.

we were on mortal ground.

"absolutely not " jesta defends and I roll my eyes before folding my arms and holding them to my chest

"then why come with me " I ask stopping infront of a tree, leaning back on it and turning around to face jesta who kept looking around

we weren't cloaked, could be easily spotted, but nothing about our appearance would be too out of the ordinary, except for the fact that I had long silver hair tied at the back of my head and up close my skin was alot more pale than the average human.

"because I am your beta and thank the heavens for that because apparently they realized you would need a voice of reason "

"whatever do you mean jesta? " I ask voice a pitch higher than it usually is

I look towards an ally close to where we were, it was empty, just like everywhere else here

I look back at jesta and the look in his eyes is unimpressed

"you push your limits far too much when left alone "

I sigh and push up from the tree, walking forward in slow strides, jesta follows suit.

"I have no limits " I look back at the ally

he snorts

"I know you'd like to think that amatin, with the stunts you pull and the little things we both know you don't have to deal with but still do anyway"

"you mean doing my job? " I ask and I know he shakes his head in that moment

"there are rules amatin, you've been Breaking them for millenias and someday I fear you'll find one you can't get around and it would break you "

I stop in my tracks, moving to throw jesta a look, joke about how fast his scolding had escalated

but instead of the completely done look I expected to find, all I find is worry, it's not a look jesta wears often

I sigh and turn to face him fully, ears perking up


"you know, there's always a method to my madness " I say and he furrows his eyebrows at me

I see his mouth open to speak but then he hears it too

the voices get louder

I snap a finger and we're in the ally with two boys, crowding the smaller shaking one into a wall

they all seemed to be in high school

jesta had gone quiet but I could see him throwing me looks, instead I kept my eyes on the boy cowering by the wall, large gash tearing his head open and eyes desperate

I bite my lip, eyes narrowing

he couldn't see us, none of them could.

"wh-why won't you leave me alone! I did everything you asked! please just go away! "

he gets a kick to his side for his efforts and he grunts in pain.

"keep it down would you, can't afford to attract any cop now can we? " the bigger boy says, sinister smile on his face

"please " the boy says voice more quiet, "please let me go "

they both laugh

I lean back on my legs and sneak a look at jesta, he was already looking back, like he was trying to read me

like he already figured out my need to explore the human world tonight wasn't just sporadic

"you're an idiot if you think you'd come out of this okay, I told you not to breathe anywhere near me or anyone in school, to remain the outcast you are, then you have the audacity to make friends with Jess? my own baby sister?? " the shorter spits out

the injured boys eyes widen and I can see real fear in them,

"she- she only talked to me to apologize, I d- I mean I didn-"

he gets slapped in the face and he reels into the wall

"what are you doing amatin " jesta finally says and I raise a hand, silencing him

eyes intent on the shorter one and the silver glinting in his back pocket

they beat him up, beat him up hard and I look at everything, face blank, hands tightening on my sleeves

I hear jesta inhale and feel a pang of guilt, he rarely ever leaves the equsteria, opens and closes the gate to time whenever I rush out without doing it myself

he never sees the things I do
only rarely

and each time he can't handle it

he and I are different in that sense, in a milenia of roaming this earth

I've seen the worst of men.

"we should go " jesta gets out, unable to look at the scene infront of us and I wish I could look at him to make him feel better, but I can't afford to look away so all I do is shake my head

the boy keeps begging

they don't listen

he curls into a futile position and whimpers and I hold my sleeve tighter

I wouldn't be able to do anything if I wanted too

I can't interfere, not in this.

the boy Finally catches sight of the blade just a stretch away from reach

and I see it in his eyes, when desperation turns into anger

when he grabs for it and pushes back with all his strength, catching both men of guard

when the tide changes and they notice the knife in his hand, eyes crazed, when he grabs for one of them and holds them by the neck, knife inches away from a vein

the immediate fear that enters both mens eyes

the promise of pain in his

jesta gasps, I bite my lip and look down at my watch

"what are you doing amatin, this isn't something you can interfere in, why are we here? "

I look towards the ally and back at my watch

I see the moment jesta hears it too

another heartbeat

"give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you both right now!all you've done is make my life a living hell "

the one in his hands had gone impossibly limp, like he was in shock

the other one had his hands raised and was regarding the boy with the knife carefully

"you don't want to do that, you'll go to jail "

he laughs "then let's all just die together "

I look back at the entrance

then at my watch, biting my lip before adjusting it by a minute

jesta narrows his eyes at me but I ignore him

he raises the knife, eyes showing every intent of pain when a feminine voice stops him

"noah! noah no, please "

the boy flinches and all eyes turn towards the entrance

there's a girl there, eyes wide in fear or shock

maybe both

the air is impossibly still for a moment and I think even jesta holds his breath

because the boy still has a death grip on his attacker and a knife poised in the air, but his eyes were on the girl who was taking hesitant steps towards them

"beks, Beks go home, right now "
it comes from the one being held captive

he's even more terrified now and very clearly confused as to why his sister is here in the first place

the last guy just stands inbetween both parties, hands still in the air, eyes closed tightly and breath coming out in short bursts

I refuse the urge to snort

"it's a universally known fact that bullies can't handle what they dish out "

I mutter and I feel jestas glare before I see it

I look towards him and he had already gone considerably pale, his eyes though were blazing

"do you consider this entertainment? it could turn into a blood bath real quick, I don't understand any of this amatin, why are you making us watch this, no matter what happens there's nothing we can do until something actually does, unless-"

he pauses, finally gets it

"it already did " he whispers and I look at him before looking back at the scene.

"I followed you guys when I saw you grab him, what's wrong with you Jack?? why didn't you just leave him alone, he's my friend! "

the boy, jacks eyes widen and it's almost comical how she's yelling at the person being held at knife point

"tha-i- look it-"

"shut up " she then says and he promptly does, but her eyes are on the scared boy

the one with the knife

the look in hers is pleading

"what are you up to amatin? you know we can't interfere with the choices humans make, they have free will " jesta tries again and I ignore him again

I knew the rules

couldn't say the same for the rules though.


"I'm sorry for all they've done to you noah, for how much they hurt you and everything they made you feel, but this is not the answer, this isn't who you are

the boy, Noah shakes his head rapidly as if trying to block out her words, but the look on his face is pained, the blood on his forehead not helping matters

when he looks back up there are tears in his eyes, but he only presses the knife deeper

Jack gasps

the other guy looks about ready to faint

Rebekah takes an hesistent step forward eyes going wide, slowly shaking her head

"they made me want to die Rebekkah! what did I ever do to the both of you! "

he directs it to both men, the second one flinches and can't even look up

the first looks like he's struggling to breathe

"I was just trying to live, to go to school, to have friends, was that so wrong? what about me made you hate me so much, you've been torturing me for years, I wanted to die so many times "

his voice is lower when he says this, like he truly wants an answer, the guy seems to realize that because he starts to speak

I eye the knife in Noahs hand

jesta had gone completely silent, I sneak a glance at him and find his eyes on the scene

hand forming a fist on his chest, the guilt hits me again

if only he hadn't insisted on coming with me

as uninvolved jesta tried to be with the human world, he was the most sensitive of the both of us, it was his nature.

"you were new " the boy stutters and I see him gulp

"it was hu-easy, and I-i I was bored "

the silence that fills the ally is deafening

a shrill laugh rings out and it's from Noah, he looked ready to commit murder

"you broke me cuz you were bored!? " the knife presses closer to his neck and the man looks ready to faint, legs going weak

the other one had already collapsed on the ground and was watching everything play out, hands shaking so much it was hard not to notice

"Noah! " it comes from the girl again and his eyes snaps to hers

there's a placating smile on her face and she had gotten much closer, but slower so as not to frighten him

Noah keeps looking at her but it's obvious he has a death grip on Jack still

Rebekkah ignores all of that and moves closer, keeping her eyes on Noah

I hold my breath

"remember what I told you yesterday? huh?? " she asks gently, hands reaching for him even though the boy kept flinching back

his eyes widen at her words and he whimpers, looking away from her as tears fall from his eyes again rapidly

I tighten my hands on my sleeves again and listen to jestas breathing who was still silent

so much was banking on this moment

her hands finally reach for the knife till it rests on his, both of theres holding it

the look in her eyes is still warm as she regards him

noah chokes on a sob, his tears increasing in volume as his grip on the knife and her brother slackens,

the latter immediately collapses to the floor, coughing and breathing hard

Rebekkah gets a hold of the knife instead and pulls a shaking, crying Noah to her

I hear jesta release the breath he was holding

the boys cries are loud, not loud enough to draw attention, but they're gut wrenching and sad as he cries into her shoulder, she just pets his hair

her brother and his friend looking up from their position on the ground, still alittle bit in shock

well they did almost die.

I look down at my watch and breathe out in relief

"that I'm not broken " the boy finally chokes out, crying harder.

"you're insane " jesta says later, when we get back to the equestria, and I throw him a grin

"took you what? a thousand years to figure that out? " I joke and he glares at me but there's no real bite behind it

"I have questions amatin " he says and I turn to look at him

"ofcourse " I say and he fixes me with a quizzical look

"just tell me if I'm wrong " he says and I nod

"the boy did kill them the first time around " he says and I nod, face grim

today had been close

"but that would have been a choice, something you could not interfere with or change, but you found a way around it " he says again and I smile before nodding

he was getting pretty good at this

"factors jesta, variables that can make a difference "

he narrows his eyes but I see when understanding dawns in them

"the girl didn't show up at the ally the first time around, you brought her there " he says accusingly and I smile before shrugging

"just made sure she was there when he got dragged away, she did everything else herself "

jesta sighs

"you based this entire thing on the possibility that she could have changed his mind? " he says and I nod firmly

jesta looks at me like I'm crazy

"it was still his free will not too jesta, humans make different choices based on the littlest of change " I explain

"what if he hadn't, what if he had still killed them " he asks carefully and I meet his eyes

"then I would have failed " I reply and jesta regards me with a searching look

"but he didn't, I didn't interfere either, well not directly, and they're all alive so everything is good " I say turning to walk away and I hear jesta sigh

"one more question " he says and I stop in my tracks, turning back to look at him, eyebrow raised

"who's desire was it? the boy? the girl? " he asks, gaze curious and I hold his eyes for a minute

"his mother " I say before turning to walk away. the first parallel playing in my head

the sobbing mother speaking to her son through a phone, a window glass separating them.

he had been in jail after killing both boys

given a life sentence

and all his mother had wished for everyday has she talked to him through the glass barrier with tears in her eyes, is that someone would have helped her baby when she couldn't.


© tonnaV