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Labyrinth looked up at her Uncle Noble Born. He and her mummy Willow Wisp were speaking to each other and they kept glancing down at her. She blew a strand of purple hair out of her face and kicked a tiny pebble on the ground.

This would be the fifth relative's house they'd been to that morning. Mummy Nocturne was asleep and Wisp had somewhere she had to be and couldn't take her youngest daughter with her. She'd gone home to home, looking for some phony to watch the foal for the afternoon. Grandma Spica wasn't home, most likely on a date with Rosewrite. Her Granddaddy Brulee was working and her Grandmommy Royal just gave the pair of them a vacant stare as five foals shouted, chased, wrestled, and fought in the house behind her. Wisp's mother wordlessly shook her head and closed the front door slowly.

Both of Labyrinth's siblings were no where to be found, which was just as well in her opinion. Fanta would just try and dress her up, Nightshade would try to be attentive but get lost in his work.

And so here they were at the last resort, the home of her Uncle Noble Born and Aunt Nevermore.

Lab sat awkwardly in foyer with her uncle. Noble and Nevermore were the strange ones of the family. Neither were very often heard from and even less often seen. Wisp had once explained both her siblings had night jobs which mean they were usually asleep when she and Lab were awake. It explained a lot, Mummy Noct was like that as well but still, Lab always thought it was a little unusual, that they were a little unusual.

There were, of course, also rumors. Rumors that Labyrinth didn't fully understand, but she knew they weren't good.

"So...." she began hesitantly. "Where is Auntie Nev? Can I say hello?" She began to look around the house, she'd never been inside it before. "Wow, there sure are some interesting things in here!" Whoa, that shelf was huge and some of those books looked pretty old. Purple magic grabbed up one of the bigger volumes and she began to float it towards her.

"Aww.." Lab pouted a bit when the book was pushed back into place. It'd looked really fascinating too! Something something Poisons in Ancient Times, she coulda learned something really interesting.

"Now that you mention it.." her stomach growled. Wisp has bustled her out early with a promise that Grandma Spica would make her breakfast. Five houses later, now it was nearly lunch. "I am actually." she confessed, still looking curiously around the main room. "Are those Auntie Nevermores'?" she trotted over to the saddle bags by a hallway opening. "Wow they smell weird, what does she keep in here?!" she leaned down to them, sniffing, reaching with one hoof to flop the top flap over.

Wow, Uncle Noble was fast. She looked up at him and past him to the now hanging saddle bags. Well, he DID have a point.

"You're right, I'm sorry." she said. "You're house is just so neat, I want to see all of the things in it." She gave him her cutest toothy grin in hoping to smooth over any ruffled feathers.

"Oh uhm, actually...." she put on her biggest, sparkliest puppy eyes. "Could we go to get a Happy Foal Meal? Please Uncle Noble! They have Pixelmon toys in them this month! Please please?" she did a little eager dance.

"Yay!" Labyrinth didn't even notice the distaste Noble was struggling to cover up and pronked out of the door, waiting for him to lock it and easily matched his pace going into town.

At the restaurant, when it was their turn, Labyrinth popped up on her hind hoofs and pointed to the menu. "Happy Foals Meal with a Pixelmon toy please!" she chirped happily. As the cashier rang up the meal, Labyrinth nuzzled into Noble's side. "Thank you Uncle Noble, you're the best!"

She had no way of knowing that just Noble (or Nev) making a public appearance was enough to start some phony whispering, but when the filly identified him as someone related to her, the whispers got more frantic and jeering giggles began.

"Oh he's without his sister, did they break up?" Tittering.

"His niece now? Is it just anyphony from his family when they're old enough then?" Mumbles and snickering.

Labyrinth walked over to the condiment counter, picking up a packet of ketchup and a straw. As she pondered whether to also get some extra mustard for her foal burger. some words filtered through her ears.

"...poor thing, she has no idea.."

"He's soooo creepy! Even if he isn't..."

"Hey, doesn't she have a brother too? Maybe it runs in the family.."

"Noble is so cute, if only..

Labyrinth glanced over her shoulder. A table of mares looked away or were suddenly interested in their fries. Her ears flattened a little and her nose crinkled a bit. What were they all whispering about? Why were they talking about her family like that? She huffed, collecting her napkins and found a booth on the other side that section of the store. She plopped onto the seat and looked expectantly over at Noble, waiting for him and her Happy Foal Meal to arrive.

"Hooray!" Labyrinth popped open the top of the meal box. She started to dig to see which Pixelmon she'd gotten when the giggling mares caught her ear again.

"Is that whole family messed up? Look at her ears!"

"The teeth! Just like that dippy mom of hers!"

"Maybe no one will have any of them, that's why.."

"...one weird family..."

"They're just awful..."

That does it!

With a single bound (hey tumbling lessons came in handy!) from her seat, she landed in the middle of the table of mares, crushing fries and nuggets under her hooves. She bared her teeth and her fur stood on end.

"HEY!" She stomped her hoof on the table, smooshing more food. "How about you guys just shut your stupid mouths! You don't know anything about my family and you just spout off like a buncha tw.." the word she used was not kind, ladylike, or anything a filly should say out loud, let alone know. Jaws dropped all over the restaurant, hooves went over ears, giggling started. "My family is the best family in the world and if you keep talking s.." another blue word she probably learned from Nightshade. "...when I'm old enough, I'll find a way to make you regret every word! So, if you would, SHUT UP!!!"

The whole dining room had been reduced to silence. The mares whose table Lab was seething on were various shades of pink and pale. Seeing that she'd gotten her point across, she turned, back kicked some of the squashed food off her hooves, (and onto their laps) jumped off the table, folded her Happy Foal Meal up and headed for the door, head high, meal box in her mouth.

Labyrinth shoved open the door and headed to the park. She was sure Noble would catch up whenever he recovered from his shock or, since he WAS related to her, hysterical laughter. She popped her cold Happy Foal Meal back open, grabbed the burger and bit into it, dumping out her apple bits and the toy.

"Damn..I already have this one.." And she was pretty sure she wouldn't be allowed back to try and get new ones. Oh well.