//------------------------------// // ...I'll clutch to the glimpse of that terrible illusion... hope // Story: Hell is for children // by dragenfire68 //------------------------------// Rainbow was running, she doesn't know where, nor did she care, she refused to look back, but no matter how fast she ran, she would always return to where she stared, she refused to look behind her, she refused to look. But running was no use, so she turned around, and saw Sunset looking at her expectantly, her hands tied with a cloth strap, and a rope thrown up over a branch, Applejack looked her expectantly, she walked over, and against her will, she took up the end of the rope as she started pulling, the rope jerking as the knot tightened and then, Sunset's feet were off the ground as she slowly turned with a broken smile on her face and tears streaming from her eyes, she fastened the rope, her hands red raw, as a metal bat was handed too her. She raised her arms as high as they would go, and swung with all her might, aiming for her legs, before it connected she shot straight up as she heard screaming, before realizing that it was her voice, she was the one who was screaming, but thankfully she didn't wake anyone. she tossed and turned, she couldn't sleep because every time she would sleep, she would dream, and each dream was her executing Sunset shimmer, she tried eating, and it didn't work, she's tried more warmth, and it didn't work, she tried everything nigh sleeping medication, but taking that would require an explanation too her parents, and she really didn't want to face her parents, she didn't want them too know she was a betrayer. She'll tell them tomorrow, maybe but for now she will sleep, maybe. *** Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough for Luna and Celestia, the Sisters each had something heavy on their minds, The next day would be the hardest thing either sister had too do. Celestia would have to willingly blackmail and coerce children into admitting that they are knowingly orchestrating and willingly participating in what amounts to a smear campaign with borderline identity theft, but Celestia knew that there was no other option, one slip up and the account is gone, one word and she would have too discipline only sweetie belle, since Luna has the pictures of her phone and her screen, she made sure too keep hard copies. Luna however, was afraid for a different reason, she knew what jealousy and hate did too a person, she knew what a cornered animal was like, and she feared what the girls were capable of since they might know that she has their friends phone, but looking at a certain photo made her feel a little bit better, it was something she treasured, since the day she got the news, the day she learned that Scorpan died, she clutched the photo to her chest. "You were always the more insightful one, I hope I'm doing the right thing." She said, putting the picture back in its secret place. *** Sweetie belle couldn't sleep, she tossed and turned with both worry and anger, she was worried that her and her friends have been found out, but she was angry that the teacher simply didn't let her off with a warning, it wasn't so bad until she realized that she wasn't getting it back until Tomorrow. "Alright sweetie belle, what are you going to do about it?" she asked out loud, since she thought better when she talked out loud to her self. "Plan B?" her inner voice answered "NO!!!" "But they know, and the other's will understand." "Can we live with it, we will condemn Sunset by doing so." "She deserves it, we both know what she did a the spring fling." "That was ages ago." "Look, we gonna go with plan B or what, we both know the risks, but this is getting too dicey." "Fine, I guess this will be the final nail in the coffin, so to speak, Sunset will be forced to leave CHS, regardless of the consequences." "And we'll keep this a little secret between yourself and yourself?" "Of course." *** A waif teenage girl, with ice blue skin, and a winter coat with a scarf wrapped around her face, phased through the School wall, her mind set on Luna's office, her skinny form gliding through the halls as frost seemed to follow in her wake, but she soon made it too the office and phased through that too, she applied the same power too Luna's desk, as she reached in and took the small phone, and pocketed it, before she phased out the wall opposite and made her way towards the farm on the far side of the city. The girl made it too the farm, her eyes set on the house, she used the same magic she used in the school as she phased her way through the door and made her way up the stairs, she phased her head through the first door she saw, and saw a orange teenager, with blonde hair, but she shook her head as she looked in the room one door up, and saw a small girl, with red hair, she smiled as she walked in and took the phone from her night stand as she quickly left. She smiled as she made her way to the orange girls room, and quickly and efficiently used turned it on, then a soft clicking noise was heard before she set the older girls phone down and returned the younger ones phone to its place, she quickly left, as a small smile was formed on her lips, as she made her way across the city, it being late, but not late enough to cause the more night savvy people to be out where she was going, she made her way over the bridge, as she let her winter coat hood down, her scarf pulled down, she was smiling, her long white hair blowing around her head, she looked down at the water and the knot she was standing next to, her eyes looked down on it as she touched a finger too the knot, flash freezing the rope so fast it broke into a hundred little pieces, and fell down into the water below. She sighed as she looked over at the condo's on up past the bridge, her eyes seeing something that no one else does as she stuck her hands into her pockets, her thoughts on the seemingly invisible trail she followed as she slowly made her way towards Tartarus heights, towards the girl that will make a huge difference, but doesn't know it yet.