Divine Intervention

by Snowflake Dissonance


Debriefing

“Demons.”

Celestia’s head dropped to her desk in utter disbelief. Why was it always her school? She always encouraged open doors and welcoming everyone, but so far, she’s had unicorns that turn into demons, mind-controlling hippocampi, alicorn princesses, and what could possibly be an evil entity behind Anon-a-Miss. If this kept up, she’d have to put a ‘Species’ tab on the enrollment forms.

Luna took a deep breath and pressed a hand to her forehead. “Correct me if I am wrong, but are you telling us that you two are demons sent here to investigate Anon-a-Miss?”

“Almost exactly right!” Shadow Wings chirped. “I’m a demon. Big Sis is an angel.”

“But… you’re siblings?” Celestia wanted a drink. Desperately.

“That’s correct.” Morning Star nodded. “Now, for the issue at hand-.”

Luna interrupted. “Wait, is that why you’ve been enrolled here for so long?” Morning Star had been at the school for as long as Celestia and Luna could remember. It was almost as if her presence at CHS was eternal. They hadn’t known how correct they were until now.

“I am the guardian of CHS,” the angel responded calmly. “Mom got a strange feeling the day Celestia was appointed principal, so she sent me to keep an eye on things.” She rolled her eyes. “Not that I’m really needed with the ‘Elements of Harmony’ around.”

“Yes, well, I doubt even the Elements of Harmony can save the school from whatever is causing Anon-a-Miss,” Celestia sighed.

Shadow smiled and leaned down to look the tired woman in the eyes. “Don’t worry, Celestia. Ten and I will get to the bottom of things. All you’ll have to worry about is patching up the aftermath!”

The ivory woman nodded wearily. “Very well, then, Morning Star, Shadow Wings. Luna and I will assist your investigation as you need us, but please try to be inconspicuous about the whole thing? We don’t want the students thinking another magical phenomenon is building.”

“We will try to be as secretive of our true purpose as we can be,” Morning Star agreed. “Come, Shadow. School will be getting out in a few minutes. Let’s see if we can gather some information before talking to any of the students.”

Celestia could only sigh as the two celestial beings strode from her office. She hoped CHS could survive through this. Was it too much to ask for them to have a regular school year? She snorted. With magic about, how could anything be regular?


“Alright, Ten,” Shadow Wings piped up as they strode down the empty hall. “What’s first on the list? Beat up some bullies? Going undercover? Interrogations?

“We need to print out a copy of the Anon-a-Miss page.” Shadow frowned with a soft groan. “Don’t be like that,” Morning Star admonished. “We need to have the evidence with us at all times. Otherwise, how are we going to piece things together?”

“Still doesn’t sound like any fun,” the younger of the pair pouted, crossing her arms petulantly as she headed into the library.

Star shook her head at her sister and settled at a computer. Typing in the Anon-a-Miss page, she noticed that it was one of the suggested websites already. Whoever was running the blog must use the school computers in order to post things during classes. Or so many students have looked up the blog that it just automatically came up now. Still, she would take note of that.

Printing out a few copies of the Anon-a-Miss page, Star handed one to Shadow and stored the rest into her messenger bag. The pair settled at one of the tables and looked over the page. Star handed Shadow a red marker. “Circle anything you think is a clue to this being a frame-up.”

“Does this have to do with that Shimmer person you still haven’t told me about?” Shadow watched the way her sister froze up again and she raised an eyebrow. “Oh, now you gotta spill!”

Morning Star rolled her eyes and explained lowly, “Sunset Shimmer is a girl who arrived here six years ago. She’s in her sophomore year, but she’s been attending Canterlot High in all that time. The funny thing is, she’s eighteen this past year, which means she should have graduated by now.”

“Maybe she was held back?” Shadow suggested, only for Star to shake her head.

“She’s the smartest person in CHS, so that’s not a plausible reason. I’ve been pondering it ever since she arrived, but it wasn’t until this past August that I finally found my answer. She’s not from here.”

Shadow Wings snorted. “So, what? She stayed at the school because they lost her transcripts or something?”

“No, she’s a unicorn from a different dimension.” Star wrote something down in her notes as she waited for her sister to absorb that little fact.

“You’re… joking?” Shadow searched her sister’s bright red eyes, but found them completely serious. “She’s really a unicorn from another dimension? But… how? Mom hasn’t approved interdimensional travel yet!”

Star shrugged. “Apparently some unicorn in their dimension created a portal a thousand years ago and used it to banish things here. Sunset hopped through one day, but the portal only ever opened once every year and a half, so when she came through, she was stuck.”

“But if it opens every year and a half, why didn’t she go home?”

“Turns out, she liked it here. She was in charge, she ruled the school, almost everyone was under her command. The control went to her head and she didn’t bother going back.”

Shadow blinked. “So, she’s the one turning the school on its head like this?”

“Nope,” her sister stated matter-of-factly. “After turning into a minor demon during the Fall Formal this past August, she let magic loose in this world. One of the princesses from her dimension utilized the doppelgangers of some of her friends to use the 'Elements of Harmony' and turn Sunset back into herself. Ever since then, Sunset has been trying her hardest to prove to everyone she’s trying to change. Her reformation was ultimately proven this past October, during the Battle of the Bands.”

“The school had a Battle of the Bands?” Shadow gasped. “And you didn’t tell me?

Star gave a noncommittal shrug of her shoulders. “Some Sirens, banished here from Sunset’s universe a thousand years ago, showed up looking for the magic. Unfortunately, I was ‘suspended’ at the time for punching someone through a locker, so I couldn’t be of any service.”

“You know Mom hates it when you hurt her 'babies',” Shadow snickered. “How long did it take your wings to grow back?”

“A few days,” Star grumbled before clearing her throat. “Thankfully, Sunset helped the Rainbooms defeat the Sirens. Don’t know where the cuties went off to, but it’s not my problem, so long as they aren’t causing trouble for the school.”

They stopped for a moment and looked to the MyStable page printout. Star sighed, “We’ll go find them once school lets out for the day.”

“You think this could be a revenge plot for being beaten?” Shadow inquired softly.

“No clue, but we can’t rule out anything just yet.”

“So, how did this Anon-a-Miss thing get started then?” the demon prodded, circling a few things on the printout and looking back up at her sister.

Star pressed a hand to her forehead. “The account just appeared. No warning, no hints. One day, everything was fine, the next, Applejack is getting taunted over a childhood nickname. Unfortunately, it was revealed that Applejack had told her friends the nickname the night before, so they suspected Sunset, but ignored the account.

“The day after, though, Sunset’s friends confronted her in the hallway over some pictures she’d taken at their latest sleepover. Anon-a-Miss had posted them. They did ask her if her phone had been stolen, but when she confirmed it hadn’t been, they immediately jumped down her throat about Anon-a-Miss, barely even gave her time to speak before leaving her in the hall. I don’t think I’ve seen Sunset cry like that since the Fall Formal.”

Shadow’s fists clenched. “Well… that certainly sheds some light on the situation.”

“We’re not here to pass Judgement, Shadow,” Star warned her. “We’re only here to find the true culprits. Unless Mom gives the signal, we don’t pass Judgement on anyone. We need to look at this from every angle. Clear?”

“Fine,” Shadow growled. “But I’m sticking around town after this is done. After something like this, the students here need to be watched.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Star chuckled, taking the red marker and circling the silhouette of Sunset in the avatar, as well as the creation date of the blog. “Come on, before you start raining hellfire on everything. School lets out for Winter Break next Friday and I want this wrapped up before then.”

“So, we’re going to go see those ‘cuties’ you mentioned?” Shadow asked, perking up as Star put the last printout in her messenger bag. “Are they actually cute or are you just saying that to string me along?”

Morning Star licked her lips as she remembered returning just as the Battle of the Bands was finishing up. She’d watched the three young women flee from the stadium and wondered what was going on. It wasn’t until later that she heard some of the students singing their songs and found a few of the photos the tech students had captured. Even if they couldn’t sing anymore, those girls were more than easy on the eyes.

“Let’s just go,” Star huffed, not voicing her thoughts to her sister. “We don’t have much time to investigate.”

Shadow snickered as she followed her sister out. “Looking forward to Christmas? Got a date this year?”

“Shut up and let’s go.”

Laughter was her response as her little sister followed.