Goodnight Sunset, Good Morning Sunrise-Update

Sorry all my little ponies, but I have been away with my family over the holidays and since getting back a few days ago, we have been really busy. I haven't gotten much work done yet, but I do have the whole first Chapter rewrite done for this story, plus some of chapter 2 which I have scrapped several times deciding to show her week leading up to finding Sunset as well. Below is the raw, unedited, unspell checked version of Chapter 1. I am hoping to have everything rewritten for the story by the end of this upcoming weekend if all goes well, just depends how busy I get. At the latest, it will be done by next weekend. If a lot of you comment and say you like the original version, I will just go back to it and continue where I left off. Otherwise, I will be continuing working on a rewrite.

Raw Version for Chapter 1

‘I hate my life…’ Was the prevaliant thought coursing through Sunset Shimmer’s mind as she took one painful step after another. She no longer had anything but the clothes on her back consisting of a dirty black skirt with several rips along the bottom hemline and an old tee, one of her oldest shirts that was white with her cutie mark printed across the front proudly reminding her where she came from though now she wished she was still there. Her boots was actually in better condition that her clothing and kept her lower legs warmed, but she couldn’t help wishing for anything such as tights, stockings or even hose to provide even a little warmth in the chill night air. At least her now mostly ruined leather jacket provided some warmth for her upper body, even if she was still hugging herself trying to warm herself.

The weather wasn’t the reason she was chilling so much, it was the fact that she had finally hit rock bottom and knew it. She had no other choices but accept the offer that some sleazeball offered her earlier in the week. It was something she had never dreamed she would be forced into and it was killing her on the inside. She had nowhere else to turn though as not one person wanted her around after what she had done…and she couldn’t blame them. If she was honest with herself then she didn’t really want herself around either.

Painfully taking one step after another, she forced herself to cross the road in the worse section of Canterlot. It was on the outskirts of town where drug sellers and prostitues could be found on almost every other corner. It was also the location of where she would possibly be working from now on as neon lights washed over her illuiminating some of the darkness.

For what seemed like the thousandth time over the last week she found herself crying as she looked up at the vulgar looking signs. Neon lights glowed brightly, taking the shape of a woman’s body reminding Sunset once again just what he place was. It was what some people called a gentleman’s club…but it was much worse than that. It was a strip joint that catered to the darker side of things with rumors of drugs and the exchange of money for favors running rampant throughout the area…yet nobody stopped it.

There was no one to stop the things that went on inside of the building…and no one to stop her from being forced by circumstances to come here seeking the owner who promised her a job. A job that he promised would only be stripping, but no matter how much she told herself that she could believe him…a small voice inside of her cried out that it was a lie…that if she set foot inside that door things would spin faster out of control than she could handle and she would be trapped.

Not that she wasn’t already trapped…

Once again she tried to think of a reason not to kill herself, but she couldn’t really find anything…just a voice that seemed to beg her not to give up hope just yet…

6 DAYS AGO…FRIDAY…

Sunset crawled from the deep crater in the ground she found herself in, the pain every movement caused as well as the confusion sweeping through her entire being make tears flow as if they were twin rivers.

“You will never rule in Equestria.” Twilight had said advancing on Sunset who looked up in fear, knowing who this person…who this pony was though to her it was more like a dream. She could see everything going on, knew everything that she did, yet to her it was as if someone else was doing it. It was like she didn’t have control of her body until…now. It felt like she was being punished for the sins of someone else…yet she knew they were her sins. “And any power that you may have had in this world is gone. Tonight you’ve shown everyone who you really are. You’ve shown them all what is in your heart.”

“I’m sorry…I’m so sorry…I didn’t know there was another way!” Sunset sobbed out, meaning every word since she didn’t. For so long all that was inside of her was hate and anger, something that fueled everything she did even if she wanted to deny she did it. She wanted to claim that it wasn’t her…yet it was…wasn’t it? She had did it…every single, hateful and hurtful thing…she was a monster…

“The magic of friendship doesn’t just exist in Equestria…it’s everywhere.” Twilight had said waving her hand behind her where the only thing Sunset saw was the mistrust and nervous shuffling of the girls that helped stop her. Only Fluttershy looked down at her in pity for her, a spark of something in the shy girl’s eyes. Twilight never noticed any of this though as she continued, “You can seek it our or you can forever be alone…the choice is yours.”

“But all I’ve done since I’ve been here is drive everyone apart. I don’t know the first thing about friendship!” Sunset sobbed out, shaking as Twilight gave her an encouraging smile while helping her to her feet.

“Then I’m sure the girls would be happy to help teach you.” Twilight said, giving an encouraging smile while the girls surrounding her all seemed to shake their heads once again being missed by Twilight. The only person who wasn’t looking at Sunset as if she was a monster was the one who probably had the most reason to see her as one, Fluttershy…

Sunset watched as Celestia approached drawing all of them except Sunset away from the now ruined main entrance of the school. Watching everyone move away from her, most of them shooting hateful glares her way, Sunset couldn’t help feeling more alone than she had ever been in her life. Sure she felt alone before now, but the dark negative emotions filling her being until now filled that void. Now there was a huge voice inside of her that felt as if it would swallow her up at any moment.

“I hope you know how to use one of these.” A very angry sounding vice-principal Luna growled out, Snips and Snails following the older woman with venom filled glares for Sunset. It reminded Sunset that she may not have been alone as she thought as she had the boys, but seeing the look in their eyes made her swallow nervously. She had lost any chance of salvaging her relationship with her cronies who she should have treated as friends instead of lapdogs.

“I…you can’t be serious…” Sunset sputtered out. Did this woman actually expect a teenager, a teenage girl to know how to do construction work?

“I am very serious Miss Shimmer. You and your friends will be cleaning this up the rest of the night until the dance ends.” Luna snarled, getting into Sunset’s face scaring the girl a little. She had never seen the vice-principal this angry before…then again angry didn’t even begin to describe the levels of rage the woman was feeling if the angry flush and hate filled eyes was any indication.

“And then?” Sunset asked, feeling afraid of this woman for some reason.

“And then you better watch your step.” Luna snapped before spinning around and stomping off. Sunset couldn’t help watching in shock until Snips stomped on her foot as the two boys walked by pushing a wheel barrel making her cry out in pain.

“Oops, sorry about the Sunset.” Snails laughed out, the sneer on his face saying he didn’t mean it one bit.

“Look guys, I’m sorry for…everything…” Sunset sighed, looking hopefully at the two boys who only glared back.

“Save it, we don’t want to hear it.” Snips growled out shocking Sunset. Not to be mean to them, but just when did they grow a spine? For as long as she knew them they had done everything in their power to please her, but now that she had fallen from grace they were rejecting her. She couldn’t help wonder if they ever cared about her or if they only cared about being powerful as Sunset’s attack dogs.

Sighing, Sunset stared at the oddly looking tool that looked almost like a long triangle made of metal with a handle. It truth she didn’t really have any idea what to do with it so she dropped it on the ground and with a heavy heart started picking up the mess she created.

4 DAYS AGO…MONDAY…

The morning, as usual on Monday’s, was a pain to Sunset as she went about her morning routine getting ready for school. After showering and washing some clothes off in the bathroom sink, she hung them up around the room with most of it draping off the shower rod. The apartment was pretty small, an efficiency really that had the most basic of essentials. There was only one room and a bathroom, though a small fridge and microwave was provided. Not that she had any food anyways, you need a job to have money to buy food after all when not bullying others.

After pulling on a skirt and shirt that had seen better days, she looked at her jacket regretfully again. It was damaged beyond repair which was a shame since the air was a little crisp out, but she wanted to get to school early. If she was going to be expected to work on the stupid school entrance that she wrecked, she wanted to make sure to get breakfast first. Once again she was happy that the school provided free breakfast and lunch to the less fortunate students.

After making sure the door was locked behind her, Sunset stuffed the key in her purse before heading down to the bus stop. She was debating taking some of the money from her savings to just buy something to eat and avoid the cafeteria, but she only had enough for rent this month and the landlord would not allow any late or partial payments. It was the last of her money from stockpiling stolen lunch money and gifts from the few guys wanting to date her after breaking up with Flash. Now that she was trying to turn over a new leaf, which a part of her wondered why she should even bother. She needed to save the money though and intended to look for a job, keeping the money hidden under her mattress until she needed it.

“Hello, Miss Shimmer.” The bus driver said, his voice cold as he looked down from his perch in the driver seat as Sunset pulled herself up into the city bus. Looking at him she couldn’t help regretting the pain she caused him by blackmailing him for free rides. Not that he made it difficult to get blackmail material after he cheated on his wife, but now that Sunset was trying to understand what exactly was wrong with herself, she just couldn’t bring herself to keep doing so.

“Hi Mister Fastlane.” Sunset said softly, pulling an envelope from her purse and handed it to him.

“More blackmail?” Mister Fastlane snarled as he took the package making Sunset shake her head.

“No…I mean it is blackmail material. All of it actually.” Sunset said as she avoided looking into his eyes. “I won’t be blackmailing you again…I’m really sorry I did it to begin with. If you please drop me off by the school as usual I promise I’ll pay you as soon as I can. I’m going to the mall tonight to try and get a job.”

“Are you serious?” Mister Fastlane asked, his face turning red in anger as he breathed heavily while studying Sunset. Eventually he finally let out a long, drawn out sigh. “Fine, just take a seat. Don’t worry about paying me anything.”

“Thank you.” Sunset said as she hurried down the mostly empty bus, ignoring the strange looks the few people there was giving her. She recognized some of the faces though she didn’t really know them. They were mostly the regulars on the bus at this time of day before the bus started getting packed.

Dropping into an empty bench like seat she hugged her bag to herself and watched out the window. The cool glass felt good against the bare skin of her cheek as she leaned up against it. She was dreading going to school today since she was sure most, if not all, of the student body would be against her. She intended to apologize to all of them, just as she had apologized to the bus driver after thinking about it all weekend. She wasn’t sure how it got out of control…well that wasn’t entirely true. She remembered when she had found those books on dark magic. They promised her a way to contact the only other alicorn that she knew of, besides from Cadence and Celestia.

The spell was laughably simple to pull off for a unicorn as powerful as she was, only it didn’t just open a line of communication to Nightmare Moon. Something had happened, a dark shadow was pulled from the magic circle she created and seduced her with promises of power if she let the thing feed off her emotions. She wasn’t stupid, but she couldn’t really see how that could have been bad really. How could letting something feed off your emotions actually hurt you?

It did hurt her though, it flowed into her eyes and mouth, choking her and making her cry. It somehow possessed her, filling her with so many negative emotions such as jealousy, hatred, resentment and finally a sense of entitlement beyond that of even that fool Blueblood. She did try going to Celestia once just after it happened, but something prevented her from telling her mentor. Something was telling her so many things, such as being shunned if she told any pony, as well as somehow asserting some kind of power blocking her from seeking help.

Since then her anger and hatred for every pony and everyone around her grew. It was little things at first, but at time went on it grew worse and worse. Up until the time she ran to this world and took over the school using blackmail and fear. She was slowly drowning in the darkness until Twilight Sparkle had saved her. She hated the princess so much for what she had done, yet she also loved her so much for giving her this second chance. She thought it was undeserved though.

“Hey kid, this is your stop.” The bus driver called back as the bus jerked to a stop. She kind of hated that, hated the way the vehicle had practically no suspension. Every turn it made caused her to slide back and forth on the cheap vinyl seats. Every single bump was felt by everyone on board, making her bounce some…making parts of her antimony to bounce a little despite wearing a bra, which drew some people’s attention.

In some ways she was proud of her body, back in Equestria she was known as both smart and beautiful. Here it the human world, she was still smart, though some classes she had trouble with because she mixed Equestria’s closely related subject matter up with the humans. She was still beautiful by human standards, heck she was downright sexy which helped her control the hormone fueled boys.

It was also sometimes a pain in the neck as she sometimes got a lot more attention than she wanted at times. There was also the fact that some idiots seemed to have the belief that the bigger the bra size, the lower the IQ. What kind of human came up with that she had no idea, but if she ever got a hold of them she would make them regret it. It was these times she hated her body, sometimes actually feeling a little ashamed when teachers or some of the braver, or dumber, students implied that something was beyond her grasp. It…hurt to be honest. It hurt to be disregarded just because she was naturally gifted in more ways than one.

“Thanks.” Sunset said, giving the driver a smile as she got up from the bench seat and walked by him. She sopped though when he grabbed her hand, making her look back questioningly.

“Thank you, for giving me this stuff. I don’t know what’s going on, I can see something is, but I’m not really the best person to talk to.” The driver said giving her a sympathetic look. “Your school is supposed to have a very good counselor, maybe you should go speak to them.”

“I might do that.” Sunset said softly, actually meaning it as she smiled in gratitude to the man. It felt weird to be able to do so after so long, to actually mean being nice and not acting. With the hate and anger gone from her system, with that dark spirit gone, she felt almost like a new person.

“Good, you do that. And if you need a ride home, I’ll give you a lift for free.” The driver said making Sunset nod as he let go of her. The look he gave her made her feel so good as she disembarked the bus, it made her feel hopeful for things to come. If he accepted her apology, then maybe everyone else might actually give her a chance.

It didn’t take too long to make her way across the school’s campus, coming close to statue that housed the portal in front of the main entrance. Several men were working on laying brick, repairing the damage she had caused. A very upset looking Vice-Principal Luna stomped towards Sunset making the girl’s hoped fall, a look of worry crossing her face.

“You! Do you know how much this is going to cost the school?” Luna demanded, shoving Sunset’s shoulder, making the girl gasp in surprise that the woman would do something like that. It didn’t look like the woman slept well though as she glared at the teen.

“I’m sorry.” Sunset said softly, almost resembling Fluttershy as she tried to hide behind her long hair.

“Not yet you aren’t, I doubt you ever will be!” Luna snarled, so much anger filling her as she stared down at Sunset. “You are very lucky young woman that my sister is covering for you. I would rather have called the cops and sent you to jail, but in her never ending quest to let little delinquents like you take advantage of her, my sister deemed to give you another chance. She wouldn’t let me expel you, but I am suspending you for the week.”

“No…please, don’t.” Sunset begged, seeing her only real source for food vanishing into thin air. If she was suspended and not allowed on campus, she couldn’t get her free breakfast and lunch.

“Get away from me, and if I see you on school property this week at all, I will call the cops no matter how my sister feels about it!” Luna yelled at her making Sunset take a step back before spinning on her heel and running as fast as she could, without falling, away from the enraged woman.

She didn’t stop until she was a couple blocks away from the school, standing in front of Sugarcube Corner. She wanted to cry at being chased away like that, feeling so defeated as she looked up at the garishly pink building decorated like some demented witch’s house from Hansel and Gretel. She hadn’t really had any real food since Friday night, looking forward to getting her breakfast this morning. Now she had no way to not only get breakfast now, she had no way to get lunch either, or either one for a whole week. She would have to dip into her savings at this rate, but she needed that for rent.

“Hello dearie, shouldn’t you be at school?” Mrs. Cake asked as she carried a sidewalk sign out advertising the shops daily specials.

“I kind of got suspended.” Sunset explained, looking up at the woman. She was a little shocked that this woman was being nice to her after what happened with Luna, then remembered that while she knew the woman’s name, neither of them knew the other. Sunset often avoided the place since Pinkie Pie worked there and it was a popular hangout for many of the students.

“Whatever for dearie.” Mrs. Cake asked in shock, looking the girl over.

“Because I messed up big time, but…I want to fix it. I guess I can’t now until next week, but…I need a job. I don’t suppose…are you hiring by chance?” Sunset asked, pleading the woman for anything with her eyes.

“Well, we could use a little extra help I suppose, but we can’t pay much.” Mrs. Cake said, giving the girl a sympathetic look. “We can offer minimum wage, tips and free meals for a few hours during the lunch rush while you are suspended. Then we can talk about your work schedule when you can go back to school if your parents are okay with it. What’s your name dearie, I’m Mrs. Cake.”

“Sunset, my name’s Sunset Shimmer.” Sunset said softly, flinching as an angry look crossed the woman’s face.

“The same Sunset Shimmer that has tormented my niece for the last year?” Mrs. Cake growled out.

“Y-Yes Ma’am.” Sunset whimpered out as she took a step back.

“Forget it, I’m not giving a job to you. Is this some kind of sick joke? What are you planning to do to my poor niece now?” Mrs. Cake demanded, “Actually, just go! I don’t want you on our property!”

“I…I’m sorry!” Sunset cried as she turned and ran again, not noticing the shocked look on the older woman’s face. She didn’t hear the woman’s cries for her to come back either as she fled the angry woman who had every right to hate Sunset.

For the next hour Sunset wandered aimlessly around, not really paying attention to where she was going. After trying to decide what to do, while trying to fight off the hunger that was only growing, she decided to not let the first failure get her down. Instead she headed the few blocks to the mall after realizing just how close she had ended up to it. Surely there was a place in there to find work, she would do anything.

Anything turned out to be a bigger problem than she thought several hours later. Actually she wasn’t too sure how long it had been, but seeing students start to filter into the mall made her realize it was a lot longer than she expected. It didn’t matter now though, every place she went to turned her away. Some told her to get out as soon as she entered being friends or family of people Sunset had blackmailed or hurt. Others had heard only bad things about her through mall gossip of teens and when they heard her name they also turned her away. Not one place would give her a chance, and she wasn’t sure what to do.

Milling through the crowd, heading towards the exit through the foodcourt, Sunset spotted the group of girls who were supposed to be giving her a chance. The girls who were supposedly tp teach Sunset how to be a good friend and how to turn away from her destructive path of power. The way they were arguing though made her wonder how a group of friends that were arguing so much actually teach her to be a better friend? Slowly Sunset made her way over to where the group was sitting, overhearing their conversation the closer she got.

“I’m telling you girls that she is different!” Fluttershy said, her voice louder than Sunset would have imanaged with her shy attitude.

“Well, I sure as heck am not going to just believe that girl can turn over a new leaf so easily.” Applejack said, eating a soft pretzel that made Sunset’s mouth water.

“I agree with AJ, Sunset is more trouble that she’s worth.” Rainbow Dash agreed.

“While I must agree to some extent darling, it isn’t lady like to at least give her the benefit of the doubt.” Rarity said, “Still, I don’t want to give her a chance to stab me in the back either.”

“Maybe she just needs a party!” Pinkie Pie cheered making the other girls, minus Fluttershy, all roll their eyes at the suggestion.

Sunset didn’t care though, she had heard enough. The only one from the group that seemed to want to give her a chance was Fluttershy…and maybe Pinkie Pie. The others wanted nothing to do with her apparently, so Sunset once again found herself running, tears falling the entire way out of the mall.

She didn’t stop running until she was several blocks away from the mall, unsure of why it hurt her so much. Sure she wanted to be friends with them, but she wasn’t sure if she really completely expected it. She tore their friendship apart, there was no denying that, which meant that she may not even deserve another chance anyways. Just because Princess Twilight Sparkle said they would help her didn’t mean that they would.

It was dark by the time she walked home, her feet killing her from the long trek. She could have headed to the bus stop by the school, but she just didn’t feel like being around anyone right now. She just wanted to get home and just sleep the rest of the night away in hopes for a better tomorrow. What she didn’t expect to find was ‘monster,’ ‘demon whore,’ and ‘bully trash’ spray painted across her broken door and her landlord and his bodyguard waiting for her.

“I want the rent now, Shimmer.” The landlord demanded, handing his hand out expecting her to just hand it over. She had plenty of time though to pay it, so she wasn’t sure why he was pushing for it to be paid now. The balding, overweight man watched her waiting for something.

“What happened to my place?” Sunset asked, feeling a little intimidated by the way the big man, the landlord’s bodyguard, was letting his eyes roam over her body while grinning.

“My place was broken into and vandalized by a bunch of snot nosed punks. Since you are renting it, you are responsible for it and the rent. I want double your rent right now to repair the place, or you can get out.” The landlord sneered, the greed clear in his eyes.

“What? You can’t do that!” Sunset gasped out, she barely had enough for the rent, but there was no way she could get double.

“Well then sweetcheeks, you have ten minutes to get your stuff and get out.” The gruff, muscular man snorted. His bald head seemed to glean from the little bit of light coming from the security light. The way his shirt fit, it looked like it would rip any second with the way it stretched around his muscles. Sunset had to smack his hand away when he reached out to caress her cheek with the back of his hand. “Unless you want to make other arrangements. You know, I have been feeling a little lonely.”

“Not in a million years, pig!” Sunset snapped out at the jerk who was now openly leering at her.

“Fine then girlie, if you don’t want to play, then you have five minutes. Get what you want and get out!” The big guy chuckled, seeming assured that her would get Sunset to do whatever he wanted.

“I’ll be out in three!” Sunset snapped shocking the man and stomping into her apartment. She refused to let these creeps see her tears, not that she had many left after the long day she had. Seeing the devastation upon entering the splintered door almost made her lose all resolve. She had some decent clothes, gifts from Flash and a few others she actually had been close to at one time or another. Almost everything was scattered across the floor, cut up with a knife by the looks of it. Not even her shoes escaped the devastation, not that she had that many to begin with.

“Two minutes left, girlie, unless you want to rethink my offer.” The gruff bodyguard said. Refusing to even dignify that with a response, Sunset grabbed her duffel bag which thankfully escaped the devastation. Digging through her clothes she finally found a couple clean sets of underwear and a couple changes of clothing. Stuffing them into the bag, she went to her mattress, just now noticing how it wasn’t even with the box spring anymore. Fear gripped her heart as she kneeled down beside it and pushed up enough to look under it. The money was gone.

“Where is my money?” Sunset demanded as she turned to look at the hulking form of the bodygauard standing over her.

“Don’t even pull that with me, girlie.” The bodyguard growled, grabbing Sunset’s bag and purse in one hand, yanking her up by her upper arm with the other. She struggled to get lose, but even with her higher than average strength, the steroid freak dragged her roughly from the apartment. She was already feeling shocked at everything, but she wasn’t prepared to be thrown down on the ground and her bags tossed at her. “Go on, get out of here.”

“What about my money?” Sunset whimpered as she pulled her bags to her, looking up with teary eyes at the man glaring down at her.

“If you had any money, it would be where you put it. I see trash like you all the time come through here, thinking they can claim they have money with no proof. If you used a bank like a normal person, then you idiots wouldn’t have to worry about it.” The man said, pulling a knife from his back pocket and idly pointed at Sunset.

“I hope you trip on your stupid knife!” Sunset sobbed as she grabbed her bags and jumped to her feet to run off. Her feet were killing her, but she was too scared to stay there any longer. That man looked like he wanted to hurt her, and he didn’t care how he did it.

It was already late though, and with no money other than maybe a few dollars in her purse, she didn’t have anything she could do. No way to get a room for the night at even the cheapest hotel, and nobody to turn to to beg a couch to crash on. She was alone, completely and utterly alone in the world.

As she cut through the park she noticed that the hiking trail had a lot of trees and no signs of anyone going back through the bushes. It was warm enough out tonight that she supposed it couldn’t hurt. Slowly she made her way back through the bushes, walking around several dozen trees until she could no longer see the trail. Finding a spot with a good patch of grass, Sunset sat down on the ground. Using the duffel bag as a pillow, she laid down and hugged her purse to her. After a few minutes she couldn’t hold it back any longer as one sob after another racked her body. The last thought before she could get to sleep was, “How much worse can things get?”

3 DAYS AGO…TUESDAY

Waking up at the first rays of the sun was never something Sunset enjoyed doing, despite what her cutie mark was. Waking up on the cold hard ground, her neck hurting from the lumpy makeshift pillow, didn’t help in the least. She wasn’t sure just how long she stayed there, hugging her purse tightly to her, as she tried to figure out what to do. Would Principal Celestia help her if she went to the older woman? Probably not with the way Vice-Principal Luna had reacted to her presence. Then again Luna did say that Celestia was more willing to give her a second chance.

A second chance though wasn’t help in finding a place to stay or food though, it was letting her come back to school when her temporary banishment was lifted. She highly doubted Celestia actually wanted to see her after all the trouble that Sunset caused until the older woman had plenty of time to cool off. Even then she doubted Celestia would really want to do much to help her until she could prove she wanted to be a better person. And even then a small part of her whispered that Celestia still wouldn’t forgive her.

Sitting up she clutched her purse to herself as she looked around. She wasn’t too sure what to do, yesterday was a bust on job searches, and she checked about every job that hired teens. She was sure that she wasn’t going to find a job easily now, and despite being in the world for a few years, she had no idea what she could do. She could possibly go to another city, but it would be a long walk, not that she could. She was afraid to get too far away from the mirror since she could feel its magic, and if it somehow opened early, she wouldn’t make it back before it closed again. Yes, she wanted to go home to Canterlot and face the consequences. It was better than being stuck here like this any longer.

Climbing to her feet, she shouldered her duffle bag and clutched her purse to her. It was going to be a long day, but if she could make it to Monday she could at least get some food. For now though she needed a place to clean up, and without a bathroom she had little choices in the matter. Remembering that the park had a public restroom she guessed that maybe she could clean up in the sink a little at least.

The bathroom wasn’t exactly the cleanest, but with only one person locked in the stall Sunset sat her things down on the floor next to the sink and started the water waiting for it to warm up. After it was at a decent temperature, she squirted some soap from the container bolted to the wall and washed her hands. Getting more soap, she latered it up and started washing her face. It was kind of nasty smelling antibacterial stuff, the scent very strong, and she wasn’t really expecting just how bad it would sting her eyes.

As she cried out, furiously spashing water in her face in an attempt to wash away the spap, the door opened on the stall and a girl slowly made her way out, eyeing the bags on the floor and Sunset. Faster than Sunset could get the soap washed away, the girl grabbed the bags and ran off. By the time Sunset managed to get the soap washed away, leaving her eyes red and bloodshot, she saw that her things were missing. With a cry of surprise Sunset looked around the restroom before running out of the exit, not seeing anyone near by.

“You can’t be serious!” Sunset cried out in frustration as she turned and punched the wall behind her. Screaming in pain as she cradled her hand, she was glad that it didn’t seem to be broken, but it would be sore for a day or two.

She wanted to break down and cry right there, what little she had left had just been stolen, including what little identification she had. Without that there was no way to keep looking for a job, even if there was very little chance of finding one with her reputation. She literally had nothing but the clothes on her back as even what little hope she had was gone.

“Good morning, dearie.” An older woman with graying hair, a brown sweater and old, stained slacks said in greeting. “Are you okay?”

“Let’s see, I haven’t really eaten since Friday, I lost my apartment, and someone just stole what little I had left.” Sunset snapped out, an old familiar feeling that she was once used to flaring up for a moment. The anger quickly flowed out of her though leaving an emptiness deep in her soul.

“I’m so sorry to hear that, dearie.” The woman said sadly, “I too have fallen on hard times. I was just going to get breakfast if you would like to join me.”

“I don’t have any money.” Sunset whimpered, her stomach growling, demanding to be fed.

“Oh honey, you don’t need money if you know where to look.” The older woman chuckled, giving Sunset an amused look. “Come along child, I’ll show you how to survive on the streets. My name is Maria.”

“My name’s Sunset.” Sunset said softly as she walked with the woman through town. It was strange that this woman seemed happy to help her, but she couldn’t help being a little weary of her.

“So child, want to tell me how you ended up homeless?” Maria asked kindly, the two of them waiting to cross the street to a Burger Queen. Sunset was about to deny being homeless, but the stark realization hit her like a ton of bricks. She was homeless with nowhere to turn, no one she could really trust.

“I…I don’t want to talk about it.” Sunset sighed, a look of annoyance crossing the older woman’s face for a moment. The crossing signal finally changed to green before the woman could respond making the two hurry across the street.

“You will have to talk about it sometime dearie, but for now we have arrived.” Maria said confusing Sunset. They were standing behind the restaurant, in front of the dumpster. The smell alone was making Sunset queasy as she watched the woman walk forward and climb up on a ridge on the dumpster to look down inside of it.

“You can’t be serious.” Sunset gagged, covering her mouth as she watched wide eyed as Maria ripped open one bag after another before pulling out a wrapped sandwhich and some fries covered in a couple pickles and mustard that possibly came off something else.

“Dearie, when you are hungry with no money, you sometimes have to do things that aren’t very pleasant. Maria said eating one of the fries before holding the container out towards Sunset. The smell coming from the yellow substance didn’t smell like mustard, and she wasn’t sure what caused it more, the stench or the thought of it, but Sunset spun around and started dry heaving making the woman angry. “This is good food! If you think your so good to be homeless with no money, and not have to eat things like this, then maybe yoy need a reality check!”

“I’m sorry!” Sunset cried out, stumnbling back away from the woman. She couldn’t take the smell, true it may have been partly mental, but it didn’t matter. It was too much for her making her flee the scene. She really didn’t mean to upset the woman, Sunset knew she angered Maria, had offended the woman. What was she supposed to do though? She wasn’t used to this, she was used to getting her looks or blackmail to get what she needed. Now she was lost, no map or directions to find a way out of her situation.

2 DAYS AGO…WEDNESDAY

Tuesday had been a bust, nothing to eat and the only person who may have been a friend upset at her. The morning she had tried looking for a few more jobs, but met with the same trouble as the day before, with the new addition of not have identification even if someone did even debate about hiring her.

Now, she was looking through the park trying to find something to eat. Maybe some apples growing off a tree or some wild berries growing on a bush. Over an hour of searching she was ready to give up when she did find something. It wasn’t food though, but it was something that she could use.

Sitting on a park bench, nobody around her, Sunset studied the dull pocket knife in her hands. The handle was black plastic that had several chips and cracks, while the blade was dull with a little rust. The metal was cool to the touch as she traced it up and down her arm, following where she knew her veins were. It would be so easy to just apply a little pressure. Sure it would hurt for a few minutes, but if done right, then it shouldn’t last very long at all. All of her pain and problems would be over. All of her humiliation over every single cruel thing she did to people would be forgotten as it couldn’t haunt a dead body.

Did she really want that though? She had never given up before, but she really didn’t see any outs for her. There wasn’t really any help out there for her, and she doubted she would be allowed on school grounds smelling the way she was starting to. Her clothes were getting dirtier and dirtier, and with the few changes she had stolen, she couldn’t change. Still, she was stronger than this. Wasn’t she?

With a heavy sigh, Sunset stood all of a sudden and began walking away from the park. It was maybe a fifteen minute walk, but there was a bridge going cross a river running through Canterlot. It separated some of the worse parts of Canterlot from the main area where the school was. Standing on the bridge, she thought for awhile, weighing all the pros and cons of just ending it all as she hugged herself. It was a little chilly, and she didn’t have a jacket or anything to help protect for the cold.

Looking out over the now peaceful waters below, Sunset took a shuddering breath as she tried to stop the tears. It seemed that was all she had done since her sound defeat at the Fall Formal. She wasn’t sure how she had so many tears, but maybe it was holding them back for so long, storing them up. Still, lost or not, she couldn’t bring herself to end it. Not like this. Taking a deep breath, Sunset drew the knife back and hurled it with as much force as she could off the side of the bridge into the waters below. She knew if she kept it, then she may end up doing something stupid. Maybe not today, but soon. Desperation was a powerful motivator.

~~~

“What the hell do you mean she lived here alone?” Celestia demanded as she glared across the desk of the apartements manager’s office. The overweight man just leered at her, giving a smirk as he shrugged his shoulders.

“Not my place to be asking who is living in the apartment as long as rent is paid.” The man chuckled, “The little tramp didn’t get enough work this month to pay her rent, so she’s out.”

“You jerk.” Celestia growled out, balling her fist up. She was upset with her sister for chasing Sunset away before Celestia got a chance to speak with her. If only she came earlier when she couldn’t get an answer when she tried to call, but it looked like it may have been to late still. If that didn’t anger her enough, the way this…this sick bastard talked about her student was angering her beyond belief.

“I may not poke my nose in my tenants business, but I know what little brats like that do to make money. It doesn’t take much of an imagination. I’m surprised she didn’t jump at the chance Henry here gave here. She probably does it all the time after all.” The man said as the muscular man standing near Celestia laughed.

“Too bad, the girl would have been fun.” Henry snorted, before he stumbled back a few feet holding his nose. Blood was seeping from between his fingers while Celestia held her hand in pain.

“This isn’t over.” Celestia snarled before stomping past the man who most likely had a broken nose. She ignored the yelling as she made her way back to the car, trying to figure out where to start looking for Sunset. She refused to leave the girl on the streets, not to mention that she felt a bond with the girl. It was something that Luna didn’t understand, and what drove her sister to try and protect her. In a way it touched Celestia that her sister cared enough to try and keep Celestia from being hurt, but it had to stop at some point.

1 DAYS AGO…THURSDAY

Once again, Sunset stood on the bridge from the day before, looking over the edge down into the waters below. Unlike yesterday, she was standing up on the railing as wind whipped her hair back and forth threatening to blow her over the edge. She didn’t really care though as tears fell freely as she shuddered from the biting cold. It was much colder than the previous day, and the hunger pains was beyond anything that she had ever felt before. They were staring to go from being highly uncomfortable, to actually painful. She was practically at the end of her rope, regretting throwing the knife away. At least she had the bridge…

“What the heck do you think your doing?” A male voice cried out in alarm, grabbing her around the waist and yanking her off the railing and onto the firm floor of the bridge. Squirming away Sunset took a few steps away to turn and look at an incredibly handsome, if sleazy looking man. He had slicked back blonde hair and a pair of dark shades over his eyes. He was wearing what looked to be a very expensive suit, a cigarette hanging loosely from his lips. He had a bit of stuble, a soul patch on his chin. All in all he seemed kind of sleazy to Sunset for a reason…maybe it was the way she could just feel his eyes slowly tracing her body up and down, despite his sunglasses, before smiling as if he hit the jackpot.

“Don’t touch me!” Sunset screamed out, slashing her hand through the air angrily. How dare he but into her life? Yet, she couldn’t help feeling a little thankful that he had stopped her as she realized that if he didn’t, she may have just jumped. It was enough to make her legs start to feel weak.

“Hey, no problem. Just thought it would be a waste for such a cute thing like you to just jump like that. I mean surely, I bet it would shatter some poor guy’s heart. Or is he the reason you were doing that? If so, then he’s an idiot.” The man smiled, “Name’s Jack West, I own a club not far from here.”

“Uh…it wan’t over some stupid guy!” Sunset snapped out, fighting off the blush that his compliment caused. She couldn’t figure out if he was looking at her like a piece of meat or something that was broken. Either was, it sort of made her mad. It was hard to be sure though without actually being able to see his eyes. “I…if it’s any of your business I can’t find a job and lost my apartment!”

“That’s horrible!” Jack gasped, sounding as if he was genuine with his concern. Something about the whole thing was bothering Sunset though, a voice whispering inside of herself that was begging her to walk away. “A cute thing like you, I’m sure you could get any job you wanted.”

“Yeah…you’d think that.” Sunset sighed, knowing full well that if she didn’t have the reputation for being a monster, or had proper identification, she may have found a job.

“Well, I’m always hiring, but the job may not be up your alley. A sweet girl like yourself, I mean surely you would want something better than I can offer.” Jack said, all of a sudden becoming unsure of himself as he stuffed is hands in his pocket. “I always need dancers and waitresses.”

“I can waitress.” Sunset said softly, more warning bells screaming in her head as she forced herself to ignore the dancer comment.

“Well, you see, my club caters to a certain clintelle. While none of my dancers or waitresses have to do anything they don’t want, there is a certain dress code you see.” Jack explained, looking up into the sky for a moment before looking back down at Sunset with a heavy sigh. “You see, all of my waitresses have to be topless during work, and have to dance at least once a week. The more you dance though, the more tips you make. And of course, there is private booths for…more private dances.”

“What?” Sunset asked, her mouth opening and closing, making herself resemble a fish.

“Just think about it, cutie.” Jack said, taking a card from his pocket and putting it in Sunset’s hands, closing them around it. “If you decide you want to give it a shot, come by tomorrow night. I’ll let you try dancing then waitressing, and see how things go.”

“I…I don’t want to do something like that!” Sunset cried out, watching the man start to walk away.

“Keep the card just in case, cutie! I pay cash nightly, no need for ID or anything.” Jack called out, waving back over his shoulder. She wasn’t sure what she was thinking as she pocketed the card, her face burning hotly in embarrassment at even doing that. There was no way she would do it though. The card was black with silver type, the outline of a woman’s bode with the letters ‘XXX’ proudly printed across it. She knew what kind of place it was, and knew the neighborhood it was in. There were dealers and prostitutes all over the area there, and most sane students from Canterlot stayed far away from it.

“Pervert!” Sunset finally cried out, but the man was out of sight by then.

CURRENT DAY…FRIDAY

All day yesterday since her run in with Jack, Sunset thought about his offer. She hated the fact that she couldn’t push it out of her mind, the thought of having to strip in front of a crowd of strangers unnerved her. Serving drinks and food topless was even more disgusting to her. Yet, it was the only thing she could see herself doing. Everyone hated her, she had no money and no identification. What else could she do?

Maybe if she wasn’t so hungry she would be able to figure something else out. She was filthy though, no food and no options. She felt that if she didn’t get something to eat by end of the weekend she may end up very sick. She was already feeling very light headed and nauseous all day, having very little strength.

It was growing dark as she crossed the bridge, going to find the club that jack supposedly owned. She was hoping that he would provide her with a place to clean up, and some hot food in exchange for doing just tonight. And maybe, just maybe, if things went okay she might actually think about staying on longer. Not that she planned to, just thinking about it was humiliating enough. She was actually starting to hate herself for coming here, even if she had finally broken down and saw no other way.

Finally finding the address on the card, Sunset stumbled into the street as her eyes locked onto the neon lit signs. Night had finally fully fallen, the blinking lights giving her the only illumination she had. She hugged herself tightly in disgust, shaking a little as she tried not to cry. Somewhere deep inside she knew that if she stepped inside this building that she would be trapped. She wouldn’t be kept as a prisoner, at least she hoped not, but she felt that if she stepped inside then she would be stuck doing this for more than just one night.

Stumbling a little, almost falling onto the middle of the road as she tried to get to the parking lot. She shivered more, the chill air mixing with her hoplessness. She tried to get across the street, she really did, but she felt so disgusted with herself and so weak at the moment that she didn’t care when a pair of headlights blinded her.

She didn’t pay attention to the car though, averting her gaze when the tires squealed as the car skidded to a stop. She wasn’t sure what to expect, maybe the driver cussing her out. When it didn’t come, Sunset stumbled a few more steps toward the building, trying her best to keep on her feet.

“There you are!” A very familiar voice called out from behind Sunset, just before a hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her around to look up into Celestia’s worried eyes. Sunset tried to look away, but she heard the shocked gasp from Celestia. Sunset knew she looked horrible, besides being filthy, her eyes were red and bloodshot, as well as having bags under her eyes from lack of sleep. Despite having a spot away from the main path, Sunset still had trouble sleeping on the uncomfortable ground, jumping at every noise. “Sunset Shimmer…what are you doing at a place like this?”

“What do you care?” Sunset sobbed out, stepping toward Celestia as she sobbed out. She intended to get in the woman’s face and yell at her, but instead a dizzy spell washed over her, forcing her to pitch forward into Celestia’s arms. The older woman held her, trying to steady her until she finally lost the battle with conciousness.

Comments

[ShippingIsMagic]

..... I like it!!!! It's so much more detailed than the first scrap of this chapter. Now I'm waiting for the editing of ch 2

[Twilight Nightmare]

2708750 Thanks, I'm getting pretty far in chapter 2 so hope that you like it as much as this one when I'm finished.