A tomb. That was the most accurate description of the interior of Rose Luck's van. Though the absence of the vehicle's owner was a factor it was not the main reason for the uncomfortable atmosphere. That honor went to its current driver, and the unwillingness of her passengers to tread dangerous waters. Not too many people new this, but Derpy had a few visible "tells" when she was in a royally bad mood. One was an overly cheerful performance that would seem forced, even to a blind drunk. The other was her drinking a heavily caffeinated beverage. This was do to the fact that while caffein made most people jittery, it actually had a calming effect on the girl. As a result, it wasn't unusual to see her sip a thermos of coffee in the middle of important tests and other equally stressful events. What made all five of Derpy's friends nervous was the fact that even with a triple-espresso-mocha sitting in the driver side cup holder, the grey teen seemed about as calm as an eyeless hurricane.
As a result, Lyra Heartstrings, Bonbon, Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, and Lightning Dust didn't know how to safely break the tension. Especially Lyra, who was currently sitting shotgun and trying to look like she was busy doing something on her phone.
"So," Lightning said, awkwardly looking around. "Why'd ya call us all out Derpster?"
"Well," she responded, smile still as stiff as a board. "A friend of mine is staying at my place for a few days and she wanted me to pick up a few things from her place. I thought you guys could help me load some of it so she could get herself settled quicker."
Lightning let out an understanding grunt as she eased herself back into her seat. It did make sense, what with the van and all, but she couldn't shake the feeling that that wasn't the whole story. She could tell that the others got that feeling as well but still didn't know how to proceed. From her position, Lyra could see her friend making passing glances at a piece of paper in her hand as she drove. It didn't strike her as anything all that strange at first. That was, until they started leaving the residential district of the city.
Octavia was the first to say something.
"Uh, Derpy, love," she said tone a little shaky. "Where are we going?"
"You'll see," she answered, false joy barely maintained in her tone.
Vinyl put an arm around her nervous friend in an attempt to calm her nerves. Her eyes carefully scanned their surroundings from the car windows. Judging by the cross streets she saw, she was able to tell they were getting close to the Horseshoe Bay Docks.
"Why dose your friend live near the docks?"
Shocked, everyone pulled out there phones and activated their GPS apps to confirm the accuracy of the DJ's claim. To everyone's surprise, they did seem to be closing in on that district. Derpy's grip on the wheel tightened for a moment before she answered.
"Let's just say her living arrangements are a little different from ours."
"Define different," Bonbon demanded, finally finding her voice.
Derpy took a deep breath before answering.
"It'll be easier if I show you first."
With that, the car's earlier silence returned, only instead of holding an air of dread, it was laced with a sense of curiosity. Just what was the grey teen hiding from them? And who was this mysterious friend of hers? Whether they liked it or not, they were going to get the answers to these questions soon enough.
***
After a few hours of awkward silence, the teens stopped in front of one of the many abandoned warehouses in Horseshoe Bay's older district. It didn't look like anything special; just a huge sheet metal building with some bits of rust and peeling paint from neglect or being so close to the bay's salty water over the years. Even the graffiti sprayed in random parts of the wall failed to withstand the warehouse's abuse. The only thing not weather worn was a polished metal pate on its door that read Cargo Surplus 3 in bright gold letters.
A sense of unease washed over the girls as they stared at the abandoned building, not one of them liking the possible implications that it brought.
"Welp," Derpy sighed, undoing her seatbelt. "Looks like the place.
"WHAT!?" everyone exclaimed as their driver stepped out of the car.
"This is where your friend lives?!" Bonbon gaped.
Derpy nodded, then walked towards the abandoned warehouse. Worried for their friend, the five remaining girls got out of the car and fallowed, not entirely sure what to expect. As soon as the group of teens were a foot away from the door, Derpy turned towards them, false smile replaced with an unnerving look of cold resignation.
"Here we go," she sighed as she pulled a key out of her pocket and stuck it into an until now hidden padlock that kept the warehouse's door sealed. With a loud creak, the partly rusted door opened to reveal a rather shocking scene. While the exterior of the building was decrepit, the interior was very well maintained. The solid cement floor was positively spotless with only a few bits of aged furniture being the only things that stood out. These consisted of an old leather couch, a dented coffee table, a sun-damaged mini fridge, a patched sleeping bag, and a gas powered generator. In addition, countless strips of duct-tape covered random parts of the walls like a sad attempt to keep the elements from completely taking away the shelter. As Derpy led her shocked friends into the improvised dwelling, she noticed a few more things. A pile of neatly folded clothes sat in a corner by the door accompanied by a dented aluminum bat. Hidden in the shadows by the couch was a tall lamp that had seen just as much abuse as the rest of the furniture, yet still seemed functional enough. Both it and the mini fridge were linked to the currently silent generator by a sun-bleached extension cord.
As her friends took in the tragic scene with slack jaws and wide eyes, Derpy's face was a blank slate. Or at least, it was on the surface. As her eyes took in her surroundings, a flurry of emotions flowed through her; anger, sadness, disgust, shock, but one emotion reigned supreme in the torrential ocean of emotions that was Derpy's heart; resolve. With that one emotion guiding her hand, she gave her fingers a sharp snap, an acton that brought her friend's wandering eyes to her. It was time to get this thing started.
"I'm sure you've all got a ton of questions, but I think you guys have one that tops them all. Who's been living here and why did I bring us here?"
Her friends nodded, more than a little surprised by the gray teen's militaristic air.
Derpy let out a weary sigh then began to slowly pace in front of the door.
"The person who lived here was someone who did some bad things. They ruined friendships, crushed hearts, and manipulated an entire school from the shadows with a smile on their face. They we're taken down eventually, like most bullies, but instead of trying to get their power back, they tried to start over. To become a better person and for a while, it looked like things were finally looking up for them. They had friends, respect, and all the happiness in the world, even while living in this hole in the ground."
As she said that, she gestured towards their general surroundings.
"But then," she continued. "Someone decided to take all that happiness away from this person. They spread rumors and personal secrets all across the school and made it look like this person was the one behind it. So, with no friends, respect, or joy this person decided to put an end to it all. That death was better than living in loneliness and pain."
She stopped her pacing and turned towards her friends, her face a cold, emotionless mask.
"The person who lived here was Sunset Shimmer, and I'm going to help her any way I can."
The five other girls in the room stared at Derpy in stunned silence as their brains struggled to process what they were just told. The thought that the former Queen of Canterlot High lived in this hovel was an incredibly large pill to swallow by itself, but to hear what Derpy said she tried to do was the equivalent of trying to swallow a mountain. Bonbon was the first to recover, though she didn't look like she was going to be able to keep her breakfast down for very long.
"I-Is she-"
"She's fine. Physically anyway," Derpy sighed, shaky smile decorating her face. "Mom and Dad should be able to set her up with a good doc to help her get through this."
Bonbon and the rest let out a collective sigh of relief.
"But," Derpy growled, smile a distant memory now. "That only solves half of the problem. As long as Anon-a-Miss is on the loose, any progress Sunset makes in her recovery would just get reset the next day. As much as we all hope that he's gonna grow a conscience and stop, we all know that that's not gonna happen anytime soon."
"Tsk! No kidding," Lightning growled, glaring at the floor. "The jerk's got the whole soccer team at each other's throats."
Octavia let out a depressed sigh.
"The same could be said for the music clubs. I had to help Vinyl pull Neon Lights off of Bulk Biceps the other day. It was a miracle the boy didn't get hurt."
Vinyl nodded.
"Bulk's big, but he's a real softy. If Neon tried that shit with anyone else, he'd be in the hospital right now."
Lyra and Bonbon cringed at that.
"My point exactly," Derpy frowned. "But what makes this all worse is the fact that Sunset's the one that's taking all the blame! This cannot continue!"
A bight smile spread across Lyra's face as she took in the meaning of Derpy's words."
"You mean-"
"Yep!" Derpy grinned. "I'm coming out of retirement."
Lyra let out a triumphant cheer while the other girls in the room gave wide smiles.
"About time," Lightning grinned, slamming her right fist into her left palm. "What do ya need us to do Captan?"
Derpy smiled as she saw the determined fire in her friend's eyes.
"For now," she laughed. "Help me get some of Sunset's stuff into the truck. I think she might want to change into something other than a white T-shirt and sweats."
***
What the six girls found when they returned to Derpy's house was a true sight to behold. There were two figures sitting at the dinning room table playing a game of cards. One was Sunset while the other was a mocha-skinned man with messy brown hair, wearing a white dress shirt and black slacks. But that wasn't the strange part. What was strange was the collection of dollar bills both players held on the table. They appeared to be just ones, but the ten inch difference between Sunset's pile and her opponent's half inch one was an obvious tell on who was winning.
"Hey Doc," Lyra cheered as she stepped into the kitchen. "How's it hanging?"
The man flinched and looked up at the mint green teen.
"Ah, Lyra! good afternoon," he smiled.
As Lyra stood there smiling, the rest of her group stepped into the kitchen, each of them carrying a laptop and a box of Sunset's clothes. When Sunset saw all of the new girls in the house, she hid her face behind her hand of cards. She new it was a feeble attempt at concealment, but it was one of the few she had sans running out the front door like a cornered animal. Bonbon noticed Sunset's withdrawal and handed her cargo to Vinyl before approaching the table.
"Maybe I should step in Mr. Turner," she said, nudging towards the shrinking stack of dollar bills on the table.
"Oh pish-posh," he laughed. "I'll have you know I have the matter perfectly under con-"
"Time Turner Dear," Rose Luck sighed. "Let the girl win back your money. Or do we have to wait until you bet the house...again?"
Time Turner chuckled awkwardly.
"My luck isn't that bad, is it?"
Rose gave him a half-lidded smirk as she gently dragged him out of his chair.
"You used up all of your luck when you found me. Push it to much and I'll make you regret it."
As she said that an aggressive smile crossed her face that made Time Turner blush.
"V-Very well dear," he sighed before he shifted his attention back towards Bonbon. "Careful now, she may not look it, but she's a terrifyingly good player."
Bonbon merely shrugged as she took Time Turner's seat.
"I'm no slouch myself. Don't worry Mr. Turner, I'll get your money back."
Conflicted, Time Turner let his wife lead him out of the kitchen.
Bonbon looked back at her friends and smiled.
"You guys get all set up. I'll be there in a few minutes.
The five girls returned the candy maker's smile and left the kitchen.With that, she shifted her attention towards Sunset. The fiery teen gave her a cautious glance as she looked at her own hand of cards.
"Do you want to start with a fresh hand or do you want to continue from where we left off?"
Bonbon looked over her hand.
"I think I can work with what I have," she sighed. "Let's do this."
Sunset nodded and their game of twenty-one commenced.
For that moment, it was just the two of them. All outside distractions pushed into the background as they clashed. What most people didn't know was that there were three different types of twenty-one players: The type that recklessly play with luck, the type that like to play strategically, and the type that count cards. It was clear to both girls that this was a battle between type 3s.
"Your pretty good at this," Bonbon commented as she drew a card.
Sunset shrugged.
"I had to be when money was tight."
Even with the casual tone, Bonbon could hear the shame in that comment.
The two of them played their hands with Bonbon's twenty beating Sunset's nineteen. The result being ten dollars taken off of Sunset's stack and added to Bonbon's.
"Do you play any other games," Bonbon asked as she set up for the next hand. "Like Poker or Slapjack?"
Sunset shook her head then looked at her new hand.
"If it didn't get me what I needed I didn't really give it much thought."
Bonbon nodded at that. It was probably hard to maintain a hobby when all of your money needed to be used sparingly.
"How were you able to afford a phone?"
Sunset sighed.
"Where I come from, most things are payed for with gold coins called Bits. As it turns out, I happened to have a few on me when I came here."
Bonbon nodded in understanding as she drew a card.
"How long did that last ya?"
Sunset flinched, then drew a card.
"One year."
Bonbon's heart sank at that
"So you spent the last three years making money playing twenty-one?" she asked, hand trembling.
Sunset shook her head, then said, "Six years."
The candy maker's eyes widened, the shock almost making her drop her hand of cards.
"Call," Sunset muttered.
Both girls played their hands again, this time Sunset won with a twenty. As three bills were taken off of Bonbon's pile, she couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl. Being trapped in such a cruel situation for six years with no one to turn to? No wonder she was so ruthless in her early years. She probably felt like she had no choice in the matter!
The two continued their game in relative silence, only breaking it to enable plays from time to time. Eventually, the silence became to much for Bonbon.
"Hey," she said, momentarily drawing Sunset's attention away from her cards. "You want ta spend the night at my place sometime?"
Sunset raised a brow at that.
"Why?"
Bonbon flinched at the bluntness of her opponent's question.
"Well... I want ta get ta know you better. See if maybe we could be..."
Bonbon was going to say "friends", but the look in Sunset's eyes told her that such a word was almost a taboo. Instead, Bonbon let out a sigh and shifted her attention back to her hand.
"Never mind, forget I said anything."
A moment of silence passed before Sunset cleared her throat to get Bonbon's attention.
"I'll think about it."
Bonbon smiled.
"That's all I ask."
At that moment, Octavia stepped into the kitchen.
"We're all set. Are you ready?"
A determined glare replaced Bonbon's smile as she stood.
"Absolutely."
Sunset looked back and forth between the two girls.
"What's going on? Ready for what?"
Octavia looked at Sunset, a kind smile gracing her lips and a glint of mischief in her eyes.
"Come with us and find out."
***
Scootaloo casually skimmed through the many posts on her phone, mildly surprised by how many people were willing to rat each other out. It disgusted her to some degree, but if it helped them succeed in their goal to get rid of Sunset, then she was more than willing to take advantage of it. As she continued to skim through the messages her phone let out a small ding as a message alert appeared on her screen. With a sigh, she reluctantly tapped the icon.
So, who's on the chopping block this time?
What she found was something unexpected.
Your time has come Anon-a-Miss. I don't know who you are or why you've done what you've done, but I can no longer stand idly by and watch you destroy a young girl's life. You will pay for what you've done to Sunset and I will be the one to destroy you. A war is coming Anon-a Miss, and I will be the winner in the end.
Scootaloo smirked.
This wasn't the first death threat she and her friends received on the page. It was something they had come to expect after making it after the first couple days. Most of them were hollow threats that the three knew the posters couldn't fallow up on. It was for this reason that the sporty girl did what they always did when this happened.
She tapped the respond icon and went to work.
Oh, yeah? You and what army? Their's nothing you can do to stop me from ruling the school and you know it. But hey, I like a challenge, so go ahead. Try and catch me if you can. I just know the schools going to love whatever I can dig up on you.
For a moment, nothing happened, but then, her phone dinged again. And again. And yet again. Until suddenly her phone began letting out a chorus of message alerts. Scootaloo stared at her phone in shock, not sure of what to do beyond wait out the tsunami of message alerts. After five minutes, her phone finally stopped dinging. Nervous, she tapped the message icon. All of the alerts were from replies to their previous posts. She looked through a few of them and all of them said the same thing.
Challenge accepted.
-Meme Queen
Scootaloo, stared at her screen in stunned terror as she let what just happened sink in. As this process continued, Scootaloo's phone rang, scaring her out of her shock.
"H-Hello? Sweetie Belle?"
"What did you do?"
"Huh?"
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
Scootaloo tried to explain herself. All the while, a certain gray teen sat in a well lit room with six laptops linked to a single keyboard as she happily ate a lemon muffin with a grin that a cat would have after it ate the family canary.