//------------------------------//
// Bureau of Science Memorandum #113 8/12/532 
// Story: Ms. Shimmer Goes to Castellot 
// by RangerOfRhudaur 
//------------------------------//

Dash,

Listen, I have a job for you. Something strange is going on in Cloudsdale, and I'd like you and Fluttershy to check it out. Take as many of the others as you want, but I want both you and Fluttershy to go for sure; you two are locals so I figure you should have an easier time getting in. Take stock of the situation, but try not to start any fights; I don't want you to risk your life by trying to stop whatever it is without us. Once you figure out what's going on, send word back to me and I'll see what I can do. And whatever happens, Dash, please, ask Fluttershy first if something's more likely to be 'awesome' or 'incredibly stupid'; we don't want to have a repeat of the roller rink on our hands.

Your's, Sunset Shimmer

Sunset sighed as she stared back down at her copy of the memo. She'd sent it off about a half-hour ago, giving the copy to a 'designated courier' who moderated it before typing it down electronically and sending it off to Principal Celestia to give to Rainbow. She groaned as she rubbed her knuckle into her skull; maybe Chip was right and having more people in government was a good thing, but that didn't mean simply hiring people and having them stand in the way was the best way to go about it. Idly, she mused about how to make her department and the areas it interacted with more efficient, and found several horrifyingly simple and easy ideas of ways to go about it.

She woke up to two hooves of rising water...

She shook her head; Chip's stupid digging had dredged up old, unpleasant memories, ones that she would have been only too happy to have left in the past. Setting Star, Silver Blaze, and Uncle Lightburst began dancing behind her eyes as they had when she was younger.

She shook her head; she wasn't a scared little foal anymore, the dead had no power over her now. She'd conquered her fear of water, and now she'd conquer the stupid anger that swelled up in her chest whenever someone brought up her parents. She had the strength and the will, she knew she did, now all she needed was to put in the effort. She wouldn't fail them.

Just like she hadn't failed them before?

"Shut up," she growled at herself. The old her was dead and gone, she wouldn't make the same mistakes she had then. She'd seen the light, and now she'd follow the path it showed her to make her parents proud.

Sadly, Radiance had determined that that path would involve political lessons with Chip for the next few days, meaning she would likely have to deter more attempts at digging up things that should have stayed buried. Chip should have listened to her, she should have heeded the signs, should've stopped before Sunset lost her cool.

"Politicians," she angrily snorted. "don't care about the word 'should,' even when it would be really helpful to them if they did."

***

Chip sat in her office, nervously twiddling her thumbs as she waited for her phone to ring.

Poor Miss Shimmer. She'd found a raw nerve there, one that Inkheart would find and pull on relentlessly if Sunset poked her head up. Her previous autocratic tendencies had been at least somewhat resolved, but the sheer emotional force Chip found under the subject of her parents was just as crucial to deal with; if they didn't, it could prove just as deadly to her work as her potential susceptibility to Starlight. Unfortunately, Chip doubted Sunset would be as forthcoming about her reasoning for this, and finding information from sources on this side of the mirror had already proved fruitless. No, if she wanted to help the girl and prevent her from turning into a timebomb, she needed to find another way.

Her phone rang, and she quickly picked it up.

"Hello, Principal Celestia?" she asked. "Do you still have that journal Sunset agreed to keep with you? If so, I have some questions I'd like you to ask this Princess Twilight. No, no, nothing about magic or the portal, don't worry, I remember Princess Serena's warning regarding that. No, it's more...personal. Ask her," she crossed her legs. "what she can find on Sunset Shimmer's past, especially her parents. Why? No, not curiosity. No, not because I'm trying to snoop on her," she sighed. "I'm trying to help her, Celestia. Why? Because I asked her about her parents and she almost exploded, Celestia, and I can't risk her doing that in front of others who are less friendly to her than I am. No, trying to isolate her won't work; my guess is she's already tried hiding the pain for a while, for too long. No, this boil needs to be lanced." She paused. "Very sorry," she apologized as the other woman shouted over the phone. "Poor word choice on my part. My apologies. Don't worry, I'll keep her safe. As safe as I can, anyway. What?" She sighed, holding her face in her hand. "Celestia, please see if you can't find anything about her parents; if you can't, I won't be able to help her with her savior complex. Yes, the two are connected, I'm sure of it. Positive. Her parents have something to do with her desire to save people, I know they do. I just need to find out what that connection is."