“Alright, girls! It’s time for an age-old slumber party classic! It’s time to play ‘Truth or Dare’!” Rarity suggested.
The Rainbooms, consisting of six girls, were in Rarity’s room for their usual sleepovers. They were a girl band in Canterlot High, not to mention the school’s own heroes.
There was the aforementioned Rarity, Canterlot High’s top fashionista. When it came to style, elegance, and fashion, she would always know what was in and what was out. Some may see her as vain, and oftentimes she might act a bit conceited, but she had a generous heart.
Before Rarity suggested the game of Truth or Dare, they had done some pretty silly things, with Sunset taking pictures with her phone. Rarity showed off a wardrobe full of her failed projects and the girls also partook in some embarrassing slumber party activities, which would not leave this room. Sunset took pictures anyway.
“Oh, I have so many dares!” Rainbow Dash rubbed her hands eagerly. This girl with blue skin and rainbow-colored hair was none other than Canterlot High’s top athlete. She was captain of all the sports clubs and had the talent and skill to back up her position.
“Let’s keep them tasteful, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity warned.
“Boo! Boring!” Rainbow Dash jeered.
“Yeah, boo!” Pinkie Pie joined in. The pink girl with fluffy hair was Pinkie Pie. She was a girl who enjoyed parties and she also enjoyed organizing them. She loved attending them and making sure everyone had fun. She was also a talented baker. “Lighten up, Rarity! Truth or Dare ain’t fun without risks!”
“Yeah, you tell her, Pinkie!”
“Now, now. This here is Rarity’s slumber party, so let’s respect her rules,” Applejack spoke reasonably. The blonde and freckled cowgirl wore her stetson everywhere, and it looked like she also wore it to bed even in pajamas. This girl was not just as competitive as Rainbow, making the girls rivals at athletics, but she also had a good honest heart.
“Come on, Applejack! There’s so much fun we can have with Truth or Dare,” complained Rainbow Dash.
“Nope,” Applejack denied, shaking her head as she quoted her big brother.
“Yes, Applejack is right. I know Truth or Dare is a chance to get into some risky business, but I feel like we should not crossing any lines tonight,” said Rarity. She was thinking of Fluttershy, the shyest member of their group, who seemed so nervous she was nearly hugging the stuffing out of the stuffed rabbit toy she had brought with her.
Fluttershy had butter yellow skin and long pink hair that was a shade lighter than Pinkie Pies and also straight. Often she would hide behind her large pink locks to avoid any stares. She was not always so extroverted like Pinkie Pie, but she did enjoy spending time with her friends. Her friends had been trying to get her out of her shell, bit by bit.
She was not too keen on Truth or Dare, but she was eager to play if things didn't go too far.
“Yeah, I’d be careful about playing Truth or Dare,” said Sunset Shimmer. “Maybe I’ll use what I learned in this room to mess with you all.” She meant it as a joke. Sunset Shimmer was a teen with orange skin and hair the color of red mixed with yellow. Originally, she was Canterlot High’s top bad girl, but after the Fall Formal, she decided to change for the better. It took hard work since most of the students believe she had not changed, but at least she had her friends at her side.
She was not always comfortable mentioning her past deeds, but she was able to just look back and leave it all behind to move on. Sometimes the girls would mention it, but there was no offense intended.
The girls were having a slumber party to cheer Applejack up. Recently, some MyStable user called ‘Anon-A-Miss’ had somehow learned about a childhood nickname of Applejack’s and had spread it to the students of Canterlot High. It was Piggly Wiggly, and the students had fun making ‘oinking’ noises in Applejack’s presence. It was upsetting and annoying. After a week of suffering through all that, it was nice of the girls to throw another slumber party so that Applejack could take her mind off the matter.
Still, something was bothering her. It was something Apple Bloom had suggested. She glanced over at Sunset Shimmer who had popped another piece of marshmallow into her mouth. There was no way one of her friends could’ve been responsible for spreading that nickname, but then only the girls in this room and her family knew about the old Piggly Wiggly. It would be so easy for one of them to create that Anon-A-Miss profile then post the story, and it did seem to be like something Sunset would’ve done in the old days.
Applejack shook her head. There was no way. It just had to be a coincidence. Maybe the nickname slipped out somehow and someone decided to have fun at her expense. Sunset Shimmer was their friend. She had proven herself when she helped them defeat the Dazzlings.
Rarity set some ground rules for their little game of Truth or Dare. They would not ask any questions that were too personal or issue dares that were too humiliating. It would all be pure and wholesome.
Rainbow Dash thought that was lame, but she was pretty much vetoed. The girls sat in a circle on the floor, with a bottle lying in the middle, some eager and some nervous about their game of Truth or Dare. For this game, they would take turns spinning a bottle. Whoever the bottle pointed to would be asked a question they would have to answer truthfully or to complete a dare issued.
“OK, so we’ll start with clockwork order, starting from me,” Rarity started as she took hold of the bottle.
“Alright, fine,” Rainbow Dash huffed. She had so many fun dare ideas, but she would have to keep them to herself.
Rarity smiled and spun the bottle. It went around and around and around, with Pinkie Pie’s eyes following its rotation. Its spin soon slowed down before it finally came to a halt in front of Fluttershy.
“Oh, my,” Fluttershy blushed.
“Well, Ms. Shy. Guess I’ll just have to ask: Truth or Dare?” Rarity challenged.
“Um...truth?” Fluttershy answered with a hint of uncertainty.
“Oh, well...” Rarity’s eyes narrowed as she asked her question. “Is your brother, Zephyr Breeze, adopted?”
Rainbow Dash groaned.
“Seriously? Out of any question you could ask, you ask that?”
“Just wondering, darling. So, Fluttershy, can you answer?”
“Zephyr is not adopted,” Fluttershy answered with a sigh. “Trust me, he’s my brother.”
“Yeah, I can vouch for it, even if he does not take after his parents,” agreed Rainbow Dash. “Dude’s a bit of a slimeball, but he’s still Fluttershy’s little brother.”
“Unfortunately,” Fluttershy mumbled.
“Yeah, he tried to ask me out on a date once a long time ago,” Sunset Shimmer added. “I told him I wasn’t interested, but he would not stop bugging him, so I threw him into a dumpster to make my point.” She noted the way the others were looking at her. “Look, I’m sorry about a lot of things I did in my past, throwing Fluttershy’s brother into a dumpster is not one of them.”
“Yeah, I’d give this to Sunset. Even I’ve been tempted to do some nasty stuff to Zephyr,” Rainbow Dash agreed. She was usually the focus of Zephyr’s unwanted attention. He thought he was some kind of ladies man, but he just came off as some kind of creep. Hard to imagine that he was related to Fluttershy by blood.
“OK, so with that mystery solved, I guess it’s your turn, Pinkie Pie,” said Rarity as she offered the pink party-lover the bottle.
“Oh, sweet! This will be so much fun!” Pinkie Pie spun the bottle and it spun fast like a blur. It was a miracle that it hadn’t flown off the carpeted floor. The bottle’s spin slowed down before it eventually came to a stop in front of Sunset Shimmer. “Oh, Sunset Shimmer! Truth or Dare!”
“Dare! Try me!” Sunset Shimmer crossed her arms.
Pinkie Pie pulled out a can of whipped cream from her poofy hair and handed it to Sunset Shimmer.
“I dare you to eat whipped cream from your hands, and make it look sexy!” Pinkie Pie challenged.
“Do you always carry a can of whipped cream with you?” Sunset Shimmer asked quizzically.
“Only for whipped cream emergencies! Now, eat it! And make it sexy!”
Sunset Shimmer shrugged. The first thing she did was to pull off her pajama top, revealing a black tank top with her cutie mark emblazoned on it. Then, she sprayed the whipped cream across the fingers off her left hand and began to eat it, digit by digit, in a slow and teasing manner. She even let out a moan of satisfaction with each lick and she also sucked on her fingers.
Fluttershy blushed, fanning herself as she watched the display. Nobody blinked as they watched Sunset perform Pinkie Pie’s dare.
And once Sunset Shimmer was finished, she smiled.
“So, how was that?” she asked.
“That was perfect!” Pinkie Pie cheered. “Wow, I had no idea you could make eating whipped cream seemed so sexy!”
“Well, I did keep Flash wrapped around my finger for a long time,” Sunset Shimmer confessed and then her mood dropped, remembering how that relationship ended. She might’ve been using him to raise her popularity, but she did kinda like him. It was a bit complicated. Right now, they were trying to be friends even with all the excess baggage.
“...Alright, so after that very interesting display, I guess it’s your turn, Applejack,” Rarity said as she wiped her handkerchief across her forehead.
“Alright, here we go,” Applejack reached for the bottle but then paused as her eyes went up to the window. “Um, girls?”
“C’mon, Applejack! Spin the bottle!” Rainbow yelled impatiently.
“Yeah, spin! Spin! Spin!” Pinkie encouraged.
“No, look out the window!” Applejack pointed. It was Sunset who first turned to look out the window and she saw an emerald glow in the distance. Soon, the girls crowded around the window to see what it was.
“Ooh, shiny!” Pinkie’s eyes sparkled.
“Hey, isn’t that in the direction of the school?” Rainbow inquired.
“Oh, my! What do you think is happening?” Fluttershy asked, panicking inside.
Before any other comments could be made, the green glow they saw pulsed outward and rushed toward them. The group leaped back as the green pulse washed over them. It did not feel harmful. In fact, it did not feel like anything. They didn’t burst into flames and the flash was not so bright as to cause blindness. It was just completely harmless. Then, as soon as it happened, it stopped.
The Rainbooms took a moment to gather themselves from the experience.
What just happened?
“OK, I have to ask, what the heck was that?” Rainbow demanded.
“Magic, I believe,” said Rarity.
“Well, I know that! But what did it do?” Rainbow questioned. She had experienced more than enough magic in her young life, but she was no expert at it beyond using it to blast their enemies with rainbow lasers.
“You’ve got a halo, and you’ve got a halo, and you’ve got a halo,” Pinkie pointed at each girl. Pinkie was always so random, but sometimes she was worth listening to.
“Pinkie Pie, what are you doing?” Sunset asked.
“Pointing at everybody’s new halos,” Pinkie answered.
“Wait, halos?” Sunset’s eyes went up above Pinkie’s head and there floating over her was a big white ‘0’. She did a quick scan and saw that everybody had the same number ‘0’ hanging above their heads. “Well, guess we know what that magical pulse did.” Everyone soon noticed the 0’s.
“Wait, so it just put 0’s above our heads?” Rainbow waved her hand over her head.
“Are you sure it’s nothing dangerous?” Rarity asked worriedly.
“What could they mean?” Fluttershy asked anxiously.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not familiar with this kind of magic,” Sunset confessed. She might’ve studied a lot of forbidden magic before she left Equestria, but she had never come across anything that would cause this phenomenon.
“Well, maybe it’s nothing to worry about,” said Pinkie Pie jubilantly. “It’s just some numbers. If it’s nothing else, let’s get back to the game?”
“You seriously want to get back to Truth or Dare even after this?” Applejack pointed at the 0 hanging over her head.
“We can’t let every magical mishap ruin a good slumber party,” Pinkie Pie smiled like nothing was out of the ordinary.
“Maybe I should write about this to Twilight when I get back home,” Sunset suggested as she took her journal out from her backpack.
“You actually brought a book to our slumber party?” Rainbow asked. Besides the Daring Do series and the occasional comic book, Rainbow’s opinions of books were not very high. And bringing a book to a slumber party just seemed lame.
“It’s a magic journal that lets me write to Twilight back home,” Sunset deadpanned as she took out a pen.
“I know, but do you take it with you everywhere?” Rainbow questioned.
“Just in case something like this,” Sunset said as she pointed at the 0 hanging over her head. “Happens and we need to figure it out. At least in Equestria, Twilight has access to books that can shed some light on the subject.”
“Do you think she knows how to make these zeroes go away?” Fluttershy asked, not comfortable with having a big number 0 floating above her.
“She might,” Sunset started writing. “We’ll just have to wait until she answers.”
“Well, if there’s no problem, then let’s continue! Applejack, it’s still your turn,” Pinkie said.
Applejack cocked an eyebrow but seeing as the pulse had not caused any negative effects. They soon sat back in a circle and Applejack took hold of the bottle. She soon spun it and it went around and around before stopping, pointing at Rainbow Dash.
“OK, lay it on me, AJ!” Rainbow dared, folding her arms confidently across her chest.
“Truth or Dare, RD!” Applejack challenged.
“Well, usually I’d go with a dare! But I think I’ll mix it up a bit, so how about truth!”
“Truth, huh?” Applejack cocked an eyebrow as she considered what to ask Rainbow. “Alright, here we go. Rainbow Dash, have you ever had a crush on Big Mac?”
Rainbow’s blue face suddenly turned bright red as she sputtered at the question. Well, she did choose truth, so she had no choice but to answer, but it wasn’t like she’d have to be completely truthful, right?
“What? No! Of course not!” Rainbow Dash denied. “A crush on Big Mac? No way!”
As soon as she finished giving her answer, an audible chime was heard in the room. Everyone jumped a bit at the sound when they heard it.
“What was that?” Rarity asked.
“It wasn’t me,” claimed Pinkie. Usually, when something weird and/or random happened that was not magic related, she would be the cause.
Sunset looked over to Rainbow and then at the flashing number hanging over the rainbow-haired girl’s head. Instead of a 0, it was now a big flashing 1.
“Rainbow, your number just changed. It’s ‘1’ now,” Sunset pointed.
“Wait, what?” Rainbow asked. “Hey, I can’t see! Does anybody have a mirror?”
Rarity pointed to the full view mirror hanging on her wall and Rainbow Dash went over to it. She saw the 0 had changed to a 1.
“Well, that’s weird,” Rainbow murmured. “Maybe this means I’m number 1!”
Applejack was not convinced. It happened soon after Rainbow Dash answered her question. She needed to check something.
“Rainbow, when you told me you didn’t have a crush on my brother Big Mac, were you telling the truth?” Applejack asked.
“Of course I was!” Rainbow answered. There was another chime and the 1 above her flashed into the number 2. “I don’t like Big Mac like that!” The chime rang again, and this time the 2 turned into a 3.
Sunset was starting to see a pattern. Each time Rainbow denied her attraction to Big Mac, the number above her went up. It was like a counter, but what was it counting?
“Applejack, could you stop grilling Rainbow Dash about her non-attraction to your brother for a bit? I want to try something,” said Sunset.
“Try what?” the cowgirl asked.
“Just trust me for a moment,” Sunset responded as she thought about what she wanted to say. “Alright, here we go. My name is Sunset Shimmer.” The red-yellow haired girl paused as she waited for a chime to ring but there was none. “I am a human girl that was born in Canterlot City.” As soon as she finished her sentence, there was a chime similar to the one heard each time Rainbow Dash denied her attraction for Big Mac, and the number 0 that hovered over Sunset flashed and became a number 1. “I was never a student of Princess Celestia.” This was followed by another chime as the 1 morphed into a 2. “And I never turned into a she-demon.” This was followed by a third chime as the 2 changed into a 3. “I thought so.”
“Wait, what was that?” Applejack asked. “You just said some things that we know aren’t true and the numbers changed.”
“I had a theory and it was proven, Applejack,” answered Sunset. “These numbers aren’t just numbers. They’re lie counters.”
“Lie counters?” Pinkie asked. “So, wait, when Dashie said she did not have a crush on Big Mac, that meant she was lying?”
“Well, I told a few lies and my number went up,” Sunset pointed above her. She could not see the number, but everyone else could.
“3 for three lies,” Fluttershy counted.
“Fine!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “OK, so I fibbed a little! I kinda have a crush on Big Mac, but can you blame me?”
“I think a lot of girls at school have crushes on Big Mac,” said Pinkie. “It’s not much of a secret, Dash.”
Applejack took in everything she heard. She did not really care if Rainbow had a crush on Big Mac, only that she lied, but the revelation that the numbers floating over them were lie counters made her think of what she could do with them. She looked at Sunset while biting her lip. There was something that was just something she had to know.
“Say, Sunset,” Applejack spoke up.
“Yes, AJ?” Sunset asked.
Applejack remembered how Sunset used to be. All the girls in the room had been her victims during her rise to power. She had manipulated them, split them up, broken their friendship and nearly killed them during the last Fall Formal. It was Twilight Sparkle who asked them to befriend her, and while Applejack had her doubts about Sunset ever being their friend, she had proven she was during the final battle with the Sirens. But this whole thing with Anon-A-Miss was casting doubt on Applejack’s mind, so she needed to know.
Applejack took a deep breath and asked the question.
“Sunset, you’re not Anon-A-Miss, are you?” Applejack asked. Everyone became silent and Sunset’s eyes widened as if she had been stricken.
“Why do you ask, Applejack?” Sunset asked.
Applejack took out her phone and brought up the MyStable page to show Sunset.
“Remember when I said the ‘Piggly Wiggly’ thing got out?” Applejack asked. “Well, Apple Bloom suggested it might’be been...you.”
Sunset’s eyes narrowed as she took the phone and looked at the profile picture. It was her silhouette over a background that was the same color as her hair. Sunset let out a sigh. Of course, her past would catch up to her. The other waited for her to answer.
“OK, I think I can understand why she’d suspect me,” Sunset said as she handed Applejack her phone. “I was a terrible person. I did bad things and I hurt you all. But trust me, AJ, when I say that I did not do this.”
Applejack looked at Sunset. There was no chime ringing and the number 3 hanging over Sunset had not changed. She was telling the truth. Everyone looked relieved.
“It’s not you.” Applejack was happy. “Thank goodness.”
“Yeah, I mean, even at my worst, I was never this obvious,” said Sunset. “I mean, the silhouette as the profile pic, kinda points right at me. When have I ever been that blatant?”
Everyone shared thoughtful looks. Sunset was smart and she was always careful when she was bad. There was suspicion, but never proof. This Anon-A-Miss page just seemed to want to point at Sunset as the obvious culprit.
“You’re mad, aren’t you?” Applejack asked.
“Yes, I am, and not at you,” said Sunset. There was a chime and the 3 turned into a 4. “OK, maybe I’m a little mad at you for doubting me. I’m just mad at this Anon-A-Miss for trying to frame me.”
“So, now that we know it ain’t Sunset, what now?” Rainbow asked.
“I suggest we sleep on it, darling,” said Rarity.
“Wait, what about the game?” Pinkie asked, disappointed.
“I doubt any of us will be playing with these numbers hanging over our heads,” said Rarity.
“Do you think it only happened to us? I mean that pulse did seem like it covered the whole city,” inquired Fluttershy.
“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see,” Sunset replied. “We know what these numbers are for, at least. Now we have to wait for Twilight to tell us what’s causing them.”
After exchanging good nights, the Rainbooms turned in for the night.
As the Rainbooms slept in their sleeping bags, none of them noticed as someone opened the door and entered, silently tiptoeing across the floor. The person had their phone’s flashlight app on and using it to light their way.
They were looking for something as they scanned the room and finally came across Sunset’s backpack. The person knelt down and carefully opened it. They started to rummage around it for something.
Smiling triumphantly, the person found Sunset Shimmer’s phone.
Anon-A-Miss was going to be getting some new posts.
It was a new day in Equestria as Princess Twilight Sparkle woke up in her crystal castle. It took some getting used to, seeing that she lived in it with only Spike, but the huge space did have its advantages. But she still missed the Golden Oak Library. It had been cozy. Some might say that the crystal castle was the perfect home for a princess, but Twilight would much rather be in a nice cozy library.
At least the castle had its own library, with so many books on various subjects. Speaking of which, maybe she should pay it a visit this morning. There were some books she wanted to take a look at again.
As she entered the library, she noticed lying on the table was her copy of the magic journal that allowed her to communicate with Sunset in the other world. It was glowing and vibrating.
“That must be Sunset again,” said Twilight. She approached the table and opened the journal to see what other news Sunset had to share. Twilight read the latest entry and she let out a gasp of surprise. She picked up a quill and began to write a reply. Sunset was smart, she would be able to figure out the purpose of the numbers, but Twilight had experienced the same phenomenon as well. “How can there be another Wand of Walling?”