//------------------------------// // Chapter - 9 - When You're Going Through Hell, Keep Going // Story: Let's Rock 'n' Roll // by Hawker Hurricane //------------------------------// The Rainbooms were sitting in Sugarcube corner, completely unaware of the plight Forte and Sunset were in, looking as miserable as the weather outside. Each of them had been laughing stocks since Anon-a-Miss, whom they believed was Sunset, posted embarrassing secrets about themselves. They hadn't heard from either Sunset or Forte since they de-friended them. Something that hurt each of them more than they'd ever admit. "It's not the same any more without Sunset or Forte," Fluttershy whimpered. "I know, but they betrayed us and posted all that stuff about us," replied Rainbow, "We can't let it get to us." "Did they though?" The other looked to Pinkie, who's hair wasn't as puffy as it usually is. "Did they really post stuff about us? Even Forte was targeted." "To quell suspicion about him probably," Rainbow pointed out. "Really? Something like that? Do you remember how he nearly begged us not to tell anyone, or how embarrassed he was that night?" "Yeah?....So?" "So why would he humiliate himself to avoid suspicion?" The girls looked amongst themselves, none of them having an answer. "There's something else as well," said Rarity sadly, "Gilda attacked Sunset during lunch. Apparently she had to go to the nurse's office to sort it out." "How d'ya know that?" "Flash told me, he said he'd seen Forte take her and she had a bruise on her cheek." "That doesn't surprise me," replied Rainbow, "Gilda's always had a short fuse. It doesn't take much for her to lose it......I wouldn't be at all surprised if she ended up in prison one day." "Where do you think Forte and Sunset are now?" asked Fluttershy, "Maybe we could talk to them and try to work things out, I feel bad for what I said to them." Fluttershy looked down in shame as her vision began to blur. Rarity began to console her. "Don't worry darling, we'll sort something out." Just then the door bells rang, indicating someone had entered the cafe. Looking to see who it was, the girls looked up and were surprised to see Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Each looking particularly sad. "What's the matter girls?" asked Rarity, "You look like Christmas has just been cancelled." Apple Bloom sighed, "It might well be, for us any way." "What d'ya mean Bloom?" The CMC looked amongst themselves and had a silent conversation. Apple Bloom stepped forward to answer her sister. "Sunset isn't Anon-a-Miss." "She is though. All the evidence points to her." "No she's not........I am." Applejack blinked, "What?" "I said I'm Anon-a-Miss. I created the account and began posting all that stuff." Applejack sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Look Bloom, it's-" "Will you shut up and listen!" Everyone went wide eyed on shock at the sight of Apple Bloom speaking to her sister like that, even the other crusaders. Apple Bloom took out her phone and showed Applejack the Anon-a-Miss profile page. Applejack watched as her sister tapped away at her phone. In a few seconds, the girls phones buzzed. They each looked at each other nervously and took their phones out. What they saw, confirmed what Apple Bloom was saying. Do you believe me now, sis? The girls looked to the CMC with disbelief, shock and anger. Three young girls had completely fooled the entire school and made them believe that Sunset, with the help of Forte, had posted embarrassing and humiliating secrets about them and everyone else. "Apple Bloom," Applejack almost cried, "This can't be true!" Apple Bloom sighed and looked away in shame, "It is." "She wasn't alone though," Sweetie Belle said, "Scootaloo and I helped her." Rainbow and Rarity each felt like they'd taken a kick to the guts. The look of shock and betrayal evident on their faces. "No, Sweetie Belle, no," Rarity cried, "Tell me you're making this up." Sweetie Belle looked down to the floor, "It's true." "Scootaloo?" Rainbow said, almost crying, "Were you the one who exposed my bad science grades?" Scootaloo nodded, "Yeah." "Why?!" "Like Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, I was afraid I'd become nothing to you and you'd shut me out and hang out with Twilight instead. You're like a big sister to me.....and I was afraid I'd lose you." Scootaloo began crying and expected Rainbow, knowing she can be a little hot headed, to verbally berate her. Instead she felt herself being hugged tightly by the girl she idolises. "Damn Scootaloo, I don't think less of you just because I hung around with Sunset....or Forte." Scootaloo looked up to her idol, "You don't?" "No. But what you and your friends have done......" "We messed up big time didn't we?" "Yes squirt, you did." The CMC looked at each other ashamed of their actions. "What can we do to fix it?" asked Apple Bloom. "Tell Principal Celestia first thing tomorrow morning," replied Applejack, "If you come clean and take responsibility, she'll go easier on you all." "Where's Forte and Sunset? Shouldn't we tell them first?" asked Sweetie Belle. "It wouldn't hurt to try," replied Rarity, hugging her sister, "I'll give them a ring." Rarity took her phone out and rang Sunset's number. Rarity put her phone down and sighed, "She's not answering. Can't say I blame her." "Let me try," Rainbow said, getting out her phone. A few seconds later she huffed and put her phone back, "No answer." Pinkie got her phone out, "I'll try ringing Forte, see if he answers." A few seconds later, she out her phone down. "No answer." The girls looked at each other with shame. What they said the other day coming back to them. "Well, we did say they weren't our friends," Fluttershy said, tearing up again. Pinkie consoled her friend, "Don't worry Fluttershy, everything will work out in the end." "It's gettin' late," Applejack said tiredly, "We should head back home an' deal with this tomorrow." "Agreed, come Sweetie Belle. You'll have some explaining to do to Mum and Dad." "Yeah, I know. They're gonna be real mad." "They would have been far angrier had you not come forward and admitted to what you've done." "Same with you Apple Bloom, Granny and Big Mac will be disappointed, but will be pleased you came forward." Scootaloo looked to Rainbow, "I guess you'll be taking me home to see my parents?" "Got to Squirt, but don't worry. Just tell them what you told us." The girls all left Sugarcube Corner, the weather having gotten worse. The wind was even colder and the heavy rain and howling wind made for a very unpleasant night. Pinkie and Rainbow having come in their cars, gave everyone a lift to avoid walking home in the rain. "Do you think Forte and Sunset are OK?" asked Fluttershy in the passenger seat of Rainbow's car. "I'm sure they're OK, wherever they are." A FEW MINUTES EARLIER Back in the abandoned warehouse, a furious Gilda seethed with rage. Anon-a-Miss had made another post, but the thing was, Anon-a-Miss was tied up and locked in a room. There's no way she could have posted it. Unless, she had other accomplices. That must be it, how else could they have gotten so much dirt on everyone. "What do we do Gilda?" asked Dumbbell. "I don't know, and we can't access their phones to find out who's helping them because they've locked them." "Helping them?" "Yes, they must've had help getting so much dirt on everyone. And I want to know who." Gilda clenched her fists. Even though she had Sunset in her grasp, she was still getting one over her. "But let's not waste time standing around. I want answers." She and her friends walked to the room holding Forte and Sunset. Removing the padlocks and unlocking the dead-bolts, they walked in and switched on the light. Satisfied that her two prisoners were still bound and gagged she walked over to Forte. Smirking in delight at realising he'd been crying, she gave him a wake up call by kicking him in the side. "WAKE UP DWEEB!" Forte moaned in pain through the gag. "You ready to answer our questions?!" Gilda put his hood down, removed the blindfold and the gag and tossed them aside. "Who's your accomplices?" "What?" he mumbled. Gilda slapped him hard in the face. "I SAID WHO ARE YOUR ACCOMPLICES?! WHO'S HELPING YOU POST SHIT ABOUT US?" "We're not responsible for the posts!" he moaned, "Sunset isn't Anon-a-Miss!" Gilda grit her teeth and got right into his face, "Yes she is dweeb! And YOU and others helped her!" "We're not responsible for the posts." Gilda got to her feet, reared back her boot and planted the heel right on his nose. Blood immediately began flowing out and trickling down his face. Forte, cried out in pain. Gilda just rolled her eyes. "Pathetic." She gagged him again and took out objects from her jacket. "Know what these are?" Forte looked at what she was holding. They were his and Sunset's phones. "It seems your dorky friends have tried calling you both, and Mummy and Daddy have tried calling their little pet also." Forte seethed at her words, mocking his relationship with his parents. "I was even able to glimpse at some texts before they disappeared," she said smugly. She got into his face again and began imitating his mother, "Forte, where are you darling? We're really worried. Just let us know where you are sweetie, love Mum." The tightly tied ropes were the only things stopping Forte from smacking her. Gilda cackled like a madwoman along with her friends, "Mummy's little pet seems to be getting agitated. Let's make things funny shall we, let's switch your phones off so so it looks like you're deliberately ignoring them." Gilda switched both phones off and put them back inside her jacket pocket. "Don't worry dweeb, I'm not going to damage them. They've got information on them I need, and if you really love the bitch over there...." Forte scowled at the name she called his girlfriend. "...You'll do as we say. Or SHE, will be the one we 'teach a lesson'. Sleep tight dweeb, we'll be back tomorrow morning." Gilda began to walk away, leaving her prisoners alone once again. "Are you going to blindfold him again?" asked Dumbbell. "No point, he can't go anywhere." Her friends shrugged their shoulders and followed Gilda out, switching off the lights on the process. Forte watched as the door was closed and locked. Several minutes passed as Forte just sat there, unable to do much else, and wondered what his parents would be doing. From the text he got it sounded like they were getting very concerned and by switching his phone off, Gilda made it look like he'd pretty much told his parents to 'get lost'. His thoughts also drifted over to Adagio, Aria and Sonata. He dismissed any thought they were involved. This didn't seem their style and from what they told him earlier, sounded like they were trying to turn their lives around; just like Sunset. What would they do when they realised he and Sunset had disappeared? And the other girls, were they involved somehow? He musing were interrupted by groans from across the room. Forte tried to speak but forgot the gag in his mouth. He once again tried to free himself but the ropes held him firmly in place. He could hear Sunset grunting and groaning, probably trying to free herself.....or make herself as comfortable as she could. Sunset fidgeted as much as her bindings allowed. Pain coursed throughout her body, her black eye and split lip still very painful from her earlier 'talk' with Gilda. Sweet Celestia the pain is so bad, I hope Forte's OK. I swear Gilda and her idiot friends will pay for this. Just then she heard muffled noises. Forte? He might be awake, but if he's gagged like me then he can hardly speak properly. If only I could free myself, she mused, tugging at the ropes again. But with her fingers numb from the cold and the knots so tight, any hope for escape was slim to non-existent. Damn knots............I really hope someone finds us. Alive. THE FOLLOWING MORNING Fioritura had been restless all night. Her son didn't answer her calls and later switched his phone off. She was in tears thinking she had done something to upset him. Travertine did his best to console her, but until she saw her son again she wouldn't sleep soundly. Both were clueless as to why he didn't return home as he said he would. But at 16 he's at the age, they felt, where he can go off without permission. They just would have appreciated him telling them if he was staying at a friends house. Like he usually does. "Darling, we'll see if he turns up at school, and if he doesn't then we'll call the police. I'll ring the school now and get them to tell me." "OK," she replied quietly. Travertine picked up the phone and rang the school, the receptionist putting him through directly to Principal Celestia. "Mr Heldentenor, I understand you wished to speak to me?" "Yes, it's about Forte." "What about him?" asked Celestia, confused about why one of her best students would be the topic for conversation. "He didn't come home last night. We don't know where he went as he didn't tell us. We tried ringing but the calls weren't answered and he ended up switching his phone off." Celestia let this sink in. It was certainly unusual behaviour form Forte, "What do you wish me to do? What he does outside of school hours is not my responsibility." "Could you ring us and let us know if he turns up or not?" "Of course. What will you do if he doesn't arrive?" "I'll call the police and report a missing child. This is extremely unusual behaviour from Forte." "Indeed. I will pass a message onto my staff to tell hem to keep an eye out for him, and to report to me at once if he is seen." "Thank you Principal." "Is there anything else Mr Heldentenor?" "No thank you. I'll hopefully hear from you later." "Hopefully. Goodbye Mr Heldentenor." "Goodbye Principal." Travertine put the phone down, a little more optimistic than before. "Forte you daft lad, what are you up to?" he muttered to himself. Back in the freezing confines of the abandoned warehouse, a sleeping Forte and Sunset were given a wakeup call by Gilda with the customary kick in the ribs. "Wake up dweebs!" Both of them groaned in pain and blearily opened their eyes to see Gilda and her friends again. "It's breakfast time. You better eat up, you won't be fed again until tonight." Gilda walked away leaving Sunset and Forte with her friends. Two walked over to Forte and another two walked over to Sunset, the others standing guard and observing. "Open up Pixie Princess," one of the gang said, removing the gag. "If you untie me I can feed myself." The thugs laughed, "Nice try, but if we did that you'd escape and rat us out to the police. No, you're staying tied up and we will feed you. Now open up, or you'll go hungry." Forte reluctantly opened his mouth. If he wanted any chance of escaping, he'd need all the energy he could get. Whatever he was being fed was absolutely revolting. It tasted like undercooked food that had been liquefied into a paste and warmed up under a radiator. Grimacing at the revolting taste, he resisted the urge to spit it back out all over his captors. That would no doubt, he felt, result in a severe beating. After he finished his 'breakfast', he was then given a drink of water. Sunset got the same 'meal'. Once breakfast was over, they were gagged again and Gilda walked back into the room. "Did you dweebs enjoy your breakfast?" Sunset and Forte just glared at her, Gilda only laughed. "Well aren't you two ungrateful, I give you breakfast out of the goodness of my heart and you glare at me? Well I was going to permit you a visit to the toilet, but because you're both being ungrateful, you've forfeited that right." This prompted her thug friends to laugh whilst Sunset and Forte just looked at each other, both sharing an intense hatred of Gilda and her friends. "As much as I'd love to stay here and torment you dweebs, we sadly have to go to school. Try not to enjoy yourselves too much." She and her friends left and like before, securely locked them in. Because it was daylight and because their blindfolds were off, they were able to get a good look at each other. Both saw each other battered and bruised with numerous injuries between them. Sunset was still sporting a split lip and black eye. Forte's nose, whilst no longer bleeding, looked like it was broken. Both of their raincoats had spots of blood on them, but nothing that couldn't be wiped off with a damp cloth. Forte looked at his battered and beaten girlfriend, he wanted to do nothing more than hug the stuffings out of her and never let go. He wanted to tell her that he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Despite the situation he was in, he forced himself to remain optimistic. They would get out of here eventually, and Gilda and her thugs would feel the cold merciless might of the law. Looking at Sunset, he saw the she was looking at him in return. Despite the gags, they each smiled at each other; or at least they did as well as they could. In the Downtown Shopping Centre car park, a lone figure walked through the level heading towards the centre itself. On the way, the person spotted something out of place, and on closer inspection; recognised it. "What is this doing here?" Principal Celestia was very concerned. Two of her students, Forte and Sunset, had not turned up for school. No-one had seen them since last night and no-one could get hold of them on their phones. It was highly unusual for them to not turn up for school. To make things worse, the Anon-a-Miss fiasco had made another interesting turn. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were sitting in her office, having come forward and admitted to being behind Anon-a-Miss. "I must say girls, that I am sorely disappointed in all of you." The CMC looked ashamed. "You created a false account for the sole purpose of causing distress, exposed personal information and framed an innocent person." The CMC were on the verge of tears as Celestia rattled off their infractions. They knew they had done wrong, but hearing their principle say what they had done seemed to make it worse. "But, you did come forward of your own volition, and as such, though you will still be punished; I will be more lenient." This brought some relief to the crusaders, and a small smile on their faces. "But I want to know everything. The more you tell me, the better it will be for you three. Understood?" "Yes Principal Celestia," they answered in unison. They began to tell her what they told their sisters. About how they felt Sunset was taking their sisters away from them, and how they felt Forte was a risk in that he was working with Sunset to track 'Anon-a-Miss' down. They told Celestia they targeted Forte to make it look like Sunset had betrayed him, hoping he would leave her. But that didn't happen. It was only after seeing Sunset get set upon in the hallway at the end of the school day before, that she decided to come forward. Her guilty conscience overwhelming her. After finishing their telling of events, Celestia told them they would be under the supervision of Vice-Principal Luna until winter break in a few days. They would also receive detention for the next six months, and have their school computer activities closely monitored. First though, Celestia arranged an impromptu assembly. It would take place in the auditorium in an hour and finish just before lunch. Their sisters helped the make a Powerpoint presentation proving beyond irrefutable doubt they they, the CMC, were Anon-a-Miss. "I'm telling you girls, that was Forte's car." "Yeah, so? You sure you're not overreacting to Forte liking you?" asked Sonata "No! It's exactly as he described and there was a parking fine tucked under the windscreen wipers, that and it was his school bag on the back seat. I'm telling you girls, something is wrong!" Aria was becoming more and more concerned. The car she saw was definitely the one Forte described. A Citroen DS3 in electric blue and carbon fibre alloy wheels. "Aria, calm down. I'm sure there's a reason his car is still there." Aria face palmed in frustration, "Why would he walk to the car park, clearly with the intention of going home in his car, only to leave it there? Neither Adagio or Sonata could answer. "I'm going to go out, find some answers." "Sure, whatever," replied Adagio, "I've got to go to work. I'm taking some businessmen to the abandoned warehouse outside of town." "The old sugar mill?" "Yeah." "Have fun," Sonata replied cheerfully. APPROXIMATELY TWO HOURS LATER Sunset watched her boyfriend sleeping who'd fallen asleep not long after Gilda left. She gave up trying to free herself. The ropes were tied too tight and too well. That and the bitter cold had frozen the ropes slightly, so even if her fingers weren't numb the frozen ropes would still be frozen together. With nothing to do, she decided to get some sleep herself. Just as she closed her eyes, she heard people below. They're back early, I think. I wonder what they have in store for us now. As the footsteps got closer and the voices louder, she realised something. THAT'S NOT GILDA OR HER FRIENDS! Whoever it was she realised, could be the difference between life and death for herself and Forte. She began slamming her feet up and down against the floor and screamed as loud as her gag allowed her. She had to do something, anything......to get their attention. Elsewhere in the warehouse, a small group of men were being shown around by an estate agent. The men were from a property development company looking for redevelopment projects. Their plan was to convert the old sugar mill into one and two bedroom apartments. As they were been shown around, one of the men thought he could hear noises. He dismissed the notion, putting it down to the lengthy journey getting to Canterlot. As they were been shown around, they came across a room containing several items and a sleeping bag. Bewildered, the estate agent turned to the business men. "This is unexpected. I had no idea anyone was here." "Look at the stuff though," said one of the men, "They look like school books." Getting closer for further examination, they saw several textbooks and a few clothes. "It looks like someone's been living here." "A girl," said another man, "If the clothes are anything to go by." Just then they heard a very faint banging noises. "Did any of you hear that?" Another bang was heard. "I heard that one!" "Where's it coming from?" Sunset screamed and slammed her feet up and down with all the might she had left, her eyes flowing with tears as she desperately tried to call for help. Forte had fallen asleep and Sunset feared the worst. The men, including the estate agent, walked towards the source of the noise. After a minute or so walking around, the came to a door that had a deadbolt lock and a couple of heavy duty padlock locks. Stepping closer, they heard the the banging from inside. "It's coming from in there!" The men looked to each other in shock. This was most certainly not expected. But whoever was in there, needed their help fast. One of the men stood right in front of the door and yelled loud and clear. "WHO'S EVER IN THERE, DON'T WORRY! WE'LL GET YOU OUT AS SOON AS WE CAN!" Inside the room, Sunset cried in relief. They had been found. Though still tied up, she felt like she was free again, very soon they would be out of the room and Gilda and her cohorts would be in for a very nasty surprise. The men quickly looked around to find anything to pry the padlocks off. But even if they did, they'd still have the deadbolt lock to deal with. The estate agent meanwhile, had ran to the taxi driver to inform her of the situation. Adagio, who happened to be the driver, followed the estate agent to the room. She really wished it wasn't so, but her gut feeling told her two new friends were inside. Running to the door, she banged on it hard. "SUNSET! IT'S ADAGIO, ARE YOU IN THERE?" All she heard was muffled sounds. "Do you know who's in there?" asked the estate agent. "If it is who I think it is then yes, her name's Sunset Shimmer." "What does she look like?" "About my height, slim build, red and yellow hair." "You mean like this?" the estate agent asked, holding out a photo. Adagio's eyes widened in shock. "Where did you find this?" "It was in another room in this warehouse. It seems like she's been living here." Adagio's shock turned to rage, but her confusion about Sunset living in the warehouse would have to wait. She went back to the door and got her message across loud and clear. "Don't worry Sunset, we'll have you out of there. Just sit tight." Adagio took out her phone and called Aria. "Aria, no time to talk. You and Sonata get your arses over to the old sugar mill now!" "Why? What's wrong?" "Just get over here! Sunset is in danger and possibly Forte!" "We'll be there ASAP!" The call abruptly ended and Adagio turned to the men. "My sisters are on the way, they also know the people in there." "School mates?" "Yeah." "Do you know who's responsible?" "No, but my first port of call would be Canterlot High School." "Why?" Adagio retold the events of CHS as they were told to her, minus the details of the secrets exposed. "If someone thought they were responsible," said one of the men, "They may have decided a little revenge was in order" A few minutes passed until Adagio's sisters arrived. "ADAGIO!" She turned around and saw her sisters approach, having being lead to her by the estate agent. Another one of the men waited at the entrance to guide the police and paramedics. "Aria, Sonata, I'm glad you're here." "What's wrong?" asked Aria. "Sunset, and possibly Forte, are locked in there. We're assuming they've been bound and gagged because neither can answer properly or get to the door." "I guess this explains why Forte's car is still where it is." Less than a minute later, police and paramedics arrived. Within a minute or so of arriving, the police and paramedics were outside the room. The police, having been provided information on the situation, brought a battering ram with them. With an almighty whack, the officer with the battering ram forced the door open. Police and paramedics rushed in and were stunned at what the saw. The Sirens forced their way in and nearly vomited at the sight of their new friends' injuries. "Excuse me?" They turned around to see another police officer approach. "I'll need to take a statement from the three of you." "Sure," replied Adagio, a little pale in the face, "What do you want to know?" "Do you know who's in there?" "Yes, we've met before. We saw them last night actually, had dinner together at Nando's. We left around 6pm I think and headed to the Downtown Shopping Centre car park. That was when we last saw them." The officer wrote all this down in his note book, "Anything else?" "Yeah," replied Aria, "I was in the same car park this morning and his car was still there. It's an electric blue Citroen DS3 with carbon fibre alloy wheels in black. I hadn't seen it myself last night, but it's definitely his. His and Sunset's school bags were on the back seat and the parking ticket time corresponds to last night." "That's very unusual, to walk to the car park; seemingly with the intent to drive away, only to leave his car there." He called the control centre over the radio and requested an officer be sent over to review CCTV footage of the car park last night, to see if it would identify the kidnappers. "Before I go, I'll need your names." "Adagio Dazzle." "Sonata Dusk." "Aria Blaze." "Thank you. We may need to take further statements in the future." The officer left the sisters who watched on shock and anger as paramedics and police freed their friends. Inside the room, a barely conscious Sunset was able to give police vital information on who was responsible and what they did. He wasted no time in calling for 'assistance'. Sunset had been freed, but having being tied up for so long her muscles were stiff; and the cold weather had caused a small amount of frostbite on her hands. Paramedics had to move her, being very careful as she may have busted ribs from when she was repeatedly kicked. They tended to her injuries, wrapping plenty of bandages around her hands. Placing her onto a stretcher, they wheeled her out of the room where she saw the Sirens. She'd never been so overjoyed to see them. "Wait," she whimpered out. The sirens rushed over to their friend. "Sunset, who did this?" "Gilda," she croaked out before losing consciousness. "We've got to go NOW!" The paramedics wasted no time and rushed her away. The sirens, knuckles clenched and seething with rage as their friend was taken away. They walked over to the doorway to see Forte, who'd suffered just as badly. Without warning, Forte suddenly lashed out and hit one of the paramedics with surprising force and tried to lash out at the other paramedics. The ropes still tied around his waist and legs preventing him from hitting others. "Keep away from me!" he cried out in fear. Without thinking, Aria rushed in and tried to console him. Kneeling down and cupping a hand around his swollen cheek, she spoke softly and quietly. "Forte? Forte it's me, Aria." Forte, turned his head slowly and saw a familiar looking girl. "Aria," he cried out quietly. "It's me Forte, don't worry. It's over now. You're safe, Sunset's safe," she replied with a smile, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him gently, before her face turned angry, "And Gilda will pay for what she's done." Forte sobbed quietly as he was held in Aria's arms, what had been done having taken its toll on him. A few seconds passed when Aria gently let go and spoke softly to him. "I'm going to move out of the way and let the paramedics treat you now," she said as she got up, but suddenly felt a hand grab her. "Don't leave me!" Aria crouched back down to his level looked at him sympathetically, "OK, I'll stay with you; but let the paramedics treat you." She hugged him once more. Noting the pony ears on his head, she attempted to remove them. But as she pulled them, Forte cried out on pain. "Sorry Forte, I don't know why they won't come off." "Gilda glued them on." Aria, her sisters, the police, the paramedics.....everyone present was stunned into silence. "Gilda glued them on with industrial strength super glue, and she didn't use a modest amount either. If you try to force them off, you'll take my scalp along with it." The lead paramedic turned to his team, "Make certain the hospital is informed and leave clear instructions that no-one is to try and remove them." The police also made a note of this. This Gilda, would be facing some very serious charges. Like Sunset, Forte's hands had begun getting frostbite so his hands were heavily bandaged. The paramedics also did what they could to his nose and carefully moved him onto a stretcher, being careful as like Sunset; he could have broken ribs. "Sorry for hitting you," Forte said to the paramedic he hit. "Don't worry about it kid, considering what you've been through.....I won't hold it against you. You just focus on your recovery." MEANWHILE AT CHS The assembly had just finished. The vast majority of students were stunned. The CMC had shown them irrefutable proof that they were behind Anon-a-Miss. Sunset, and Forte, had been vindicated. The students were outraged and vented their anger at the CMC. But Celestia, ordered silence and told them they were in no position to abuse the crusaders when they themselves targeted abuse at each other; including Forte and Sunset. Begrudgingly realising she was right, most accepted the apologies of the crusaders. Most, but not all. Diamond Tiara was one such example. As everyone was making their way to the canteen for lunch, Rainbow saw Gilda. Being told what happened the day before, she went over to get an apology on Sunset's behalf. "Gilda!" "Oh look who it is. Rainbow Crash!" Gilda's friends laughed at the nickname. Particularly Hoops, Dumbbell and Score. Rainbow ignored the name-calling and got straight to business. "Just apologise for hitting Sunset and accusing her of being Anon-a-Miss and then I'll be on my way!" "No. I don't believe those little dweebs." Rainbow, Rarity and Applejack shot dirty looks at Gilda for insulting their sister's like that. "Where's Forte and Sunset?" Rainbow demanded. "How should I know? Now if you'll excuse me, I have some business to attend to." Well, prisoners to be more exact, she thought. Gilda suddenly felt herself being flung against a wall. "WHAT THE FUCK?!" she yelled, standing up, "YOU WANNA DO THAT AGAIN, CRASH?!" Gilda looked around and realised everyone was looking at her. "What are you all staring at?!" Rainbow walked slowly forward with clenched fists and flared teeth. "Dash?" Rainbow bent down and picked up two items. She held them up for everyone to see. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH FORTE'S AND SUNSET'S PHONES?! WHERE ARE FORTE AND SUNSET?!" Gilda laughed nervously, "Well, you see.....I was-" "WHERE ARE THEY?! As if on cue, the entrance doors of CHS opened in walked a well dressed man that gave out an aura of authority and obedience. Hearing all the commotion, Celestia and Luna walked into the corridor. "What is going on, what is all the noise?" Celestia asked, before looking to the well dressed man in a suit and fedora, "And who are you?" "I am Supreme Royal Justicar Amicus Lex of Canterlot," he replied, getting out his ID badge, clearly displaying his status as one of the highest authorities in the land. He looked around the sea of students and very quickly spotted his targets. One of them, the top priority target, was just a few feet away. Mustering the dirtiest look humanly possible, he looked directly at Gilda. Gilda, looked like she was about to shit bricks. The Justicar turned his head around to his armed back up. "GUARDS! SEIZE THE SUSPECTS!"