//------------------------------// // Lost thoughts // Story: Sirens of the Night II // by The Crazed Werewolf //------------------------------// Sunset looked nervously around the cafeteria. While the truth behind Anon-a-Miss had been revealed, now someone was spreading rumors that Sunset known all along what had been happening, and that she had been a part of the conspiracy. As she looked toward the table where Scootaloo and her friends sat. Vice-Principal Luna sat at the table with them. She was worried, a few months earlier, shortly after the Fall Formal, Sunset had hit rock bottom. And she had hit hard. She even thought about ending it all. Luckily she had discovered a support system. She was worried about what was going through the Crusaders heads. "Penny for your thoughts, Sugarcube," Applejack asked as she took a seat across from Sunset. "I'm worried Applejack," Sunset said. "Worried about what?" Pinkie asked as she and Sonata both took their seats at the lunch table. "Anon-a-Miss really screwed everybody up," Sunset explained,"and now Gilda is trying to expand her little empire into the breach left by my fall. And if that wasn't enough, somebody calling themselves Incognito is persistent on attacking me and my family." "That does sound like a problem," Rainbow Dash said from where she was sitting, "but we've got this, we're awesome!" "Rainbow," Rarity replied, "do I need to remind you that just last week we all thought that Sunset was Anon-a-Miss?" "I said I was sorry about that," Rainbow grumbled. Sunset reached out across the table and took Rainbow's hands into hers. "And I've forgiven you." Sunset said as she looked Rainbow in the eyes. Rainbow knew that while Sunset had forgiven her, she hadn't forgiven herself yet. She was supposed to be the Element of Loyalty after all, and she hadn't been loyal to Sunset. She was starting to think that maybe she wasn't worthy of being an element bearers in this universe. "Well hopefully this will all blow over next week during the holidays." Applejack said hopefully. "What is everyone doing during the holidays?" Fluttershy asked hoping to change the subject to something more cheerful. "Well my family is going to spend the holidays with our cousins on their farm." Pinkie said looking at Applejack. "My mom is taking me to Manhattan to visit her sister." Rainbow said. "We're going to be visiting some of my father's former teammates." Rarity answered. Rainbow had been excited to learn that Rarity's father had once been a professional athlete. "Zephyr talked my parents into celebrating all the different holiday traditions this year." Fluttershy simply sighed. Everyone turned to look at Sunset and Sonata. "We're going out of state to meet our grandparents." Sunset said. "They apparently travel a lot but they have a cabin in the national forest." Sonata added. "Mom and Luna have been telling us about it all week." Sunset said. "Can't wait to meet 'em." Aria added, "they sound so cool." Sunset was glad that Fluttershy had managed to get the group talking about something else, but she just couldn't escape the feeling that trouble was close at hand. Thankfully she had a plan. I hope they don't mess this up, Sunset thought to herself. Like she normally did, Gilda decided to eat lunch in the gym, as did the rest of her little gang. She felt like a Queen of old, ruling over her empire with an iron fist. "Snips, Snails," she called out, "tell me again how Sunset set up Rainbow Dash and Applejack's falling out." "Applejack was having a bake sale," Snails said, "or was it a yard sale?" "Anyways, Sunset got a hold of Rainbow's email account and sent Applejack a message that the entire soccer team was gonna be there," Snips said, "and then she told Rainbow Dash that the bake sale had been rescheduled for a different day." "Why do they call it a flea market if they don't actually sell any fleas?" Snails asked. Scootaloo hid in the bathroom. She couldn't take the glares that she kept receiving from her classmates. This tiny cubicle had become her fortress of solitude. Earlier in the week she had heard Ms. Celestia teleconference with her social worker. She hadn't been able to make out much of what was said, but she knew from past experience that it wasn't good. It never was. One of the few things she had been able to make out was Celestia telling the social worker about Scootaloo's role in Anon-a-Miss. Maybe things would be better if I wasn't around. Scootaloo heard the door to the bathroom open and she held her breath, with any luck, whomever had just walked in wouldn't know that Scootaloo was there. "Are you finished Scootaloo," Vice-Principal Luna said, "it's time to go back to the In-School-Suspension room." "Coming Ms. Luna," Scootaloo said with a sigh of relief, "I've just got to wash my hands." The last part was a lie. Scootaloo knew that no matter how hard she scrubbed, she would never be clean. "You look upset," Pinkie said as she took a seat next to Sunset in their first class after lunch. Pinkie didn't enjoy seeing her friends upset, and Pinkie considered everyone to be a friend. She still felt bad about abandoning her friendship with Sunset when the whole Anon-a-Miss fiasco had begun. "I just can't shake this feeling that a storm is brewing," Sunset said, "and that I'm going to be at the center of it." "You know that we'll stand by you," Pinkie said, "we may have stumbled hard, but we picked ourselves up forged our friendship even stronger!" "Thanks Pinkie you always know what to say to make a person feel better," Sunset said. "The only thing that could break us now is if we suddenly lost our memories or something." Pinkie said with a laugh. "If you two girls are finished," Ms Cheerilee said, "we have an important lesson to get to." "Luna," Celestia said after Luna had dropped the Crusaders off at the In-School-Suspension room, "do you think that I am doing the right thing, or am I moving to fast?" "Tia," Luna replied, "I think that you've already given your heart to her, it's time to make her officially part of the family." "But I just adopted Sunset, " Celestia said, "and I don't want a repeat of the incident a few months ago. I still find myself checking her room for razor blades." "Sunset is doing much better now," Luna reassured her sister, "plus I don't know if you have noticed, but Sunset and the Sirens watch over Scootaloo like mother hens." "So you think that I should do it?" Celestia asked. "Of course," Luna sighed, "make this adoption official. Scootaloo already is a part of all of us."