//------------------------------//
// Ch.6 The Seventh Savior 
// Story: Seven Saviors 
// by Arcanum -Phantasy 
//------------------------------//

The halls of Canterlot High were silent as a tomb, the sun just barely rising past the horizon. Aside from the Janitorial staff, only a small handful of people were dedicated or insane enough to come to work at such an unholy hour. Principle Celestia and Vice Principle Luna were two such individuals, though to say they had been sleeping lately would be the biggest lie ever told. The two worked tirelessly to deal with the new plague that had infested their school, but every time they seemed to be making any progress, a new rumor or update to that accursed blog would drop them all the way back to square one. Contacting the people running the sight didn't do any good, as they weren't able to act unless something illegal was posted. As it turned out, spreading small rumors wasn't bad enough for them to get involved, no matter how much they personally wanted to. Until then, it was all up to the two of them to keep the school from tearing itself apart. In addition, Blueblood was doing everything he could to work the courts in their favor, but the progress was slow going. 
I just don't know what went wrong, Celestia thought with a long sigh as she stared at her computer's monitor. In less than a week, the whole school has become a war zone! How could one blogger cause so much damage?
A knock at the door dragged Celestia's attention away from her computer.
"Come in," she sighed wearily. 
The door opened and when she saw who walked in, all the blood in her veins turned to ice. Standing before her was a towering man in a light-grey suit that added an extra layer of definition to his pale-blue skin and eyes. His short white hair was styled into a manner that could only be described as professional. The man's cold expression hid his impressions of his surroundings behind a mask of indifferent professionalism as he stared at the scared Principal.
"Good morning Principal Celestia," the man said as he stepped closer to her desk.
"G-Good morning, Windago Slate," she said, throat suddenly dry. "To what do I owe this visit."
"Business I'm afraid," he sighed as he reached into his suit pocket. 
In one fluid motion, he drew a small folded piece of paper and placed it onto the desk. Celestia stared at the folded paper as if it was a coiled cobra. Windago Slate is an investigator for counseling cases that his sister took on. His job was simple; confirm if his sister's client was in her line of work's main focus, and just how bad their condition was. While this was a noble venture between the siblings, there was a single fact that made the Principal uneasy. They focused on cases centered around failed suicide attempts. The last time she received a visit from the aged man before her, she was informed of her sister's failed attempt. Those were the most heart-wrenching three years of her life. She helped Luna heal and while they were now closer, it was still something that never should've happened. Now, it would seem, that time had repeated itself. But instead of her beloved sister, another poor soul had tried to end their life.
With trembling hands, she took the paper and unfolded it. As she read the words printed across it, her fear shifted to confusion.
"You want access to the student records room?"
He nodded.
"My sister's newest client is a student of this school. Normally, I would investigate more open networks of information, but for some reason, no such information exists. It is as if she simply emerged from the aether."
Celestia's heart sank at that. A theory formed as to who Windago may have been investigating, but she refused to acknowledge it until she had more information.
"I see. Any idea who she might be?"
Windago's eyes narrowed slightly as he responded with a cold "No. The client requested that they remained unknown to anyone not related to the case."
"I understand," Celestia sighed. "I hope your sister's client will have a speedy recovery."
"Likewise," he intoned, a faint trace of a smile decorating his ancient features. "Good day Principal."
With that, he turned to leave, but just as his hand touched the doorknob, the Principal said something that made him pause.
"Please help Sunset recover."
After a brief pause, he glanced over his shoulder and answered, "I don't know any 'Sunset', but if she ever makes it to my sister's office, we will do everything we can to help her."
With that, the man made his exit, the empty hallways echoing with his steps as he went on his way.



***



"So," Scootaloo whispered as she kept an eye out for eavesdroppers. "Have you found out anything yet?"
"No," Sweetie Belle sighed as she skimmed through her phone. "None of the leads I found were close to the kind of things Meme Queen can do."
Applebloom let out a frustrated groan as she glanced at the empty classroom. The three decided to meet-up for class early to compare information. Unfortunately, there wasn't very much to discuss. The only thing they managed to determine was that Meme Queen wasn't someone from the Elementary Department or any of the Computer Clubs. This was thanks to Sweetie Belle's own hacking skills and Scootaloo's careful observation of the students in the club rooms. Meanwhile, Applebloom investigated Lightning Dust as a possible lead, but turned up nothing beyond the fact that she was completely convinced that Sunset was innocent. 
"Ya'll think maybe Lightning's the one after all?" Applebloom said as she laid her head down on her desk.
"Not likely," Sweetie sighed as she set her phone down on her desk. "Lightning Dust isn't all that good with computers, right Scootaloo?"
Scootaloo nodded.
"Yeah. Before all this started, I remember Rainbow saying something about how Lightning needed her help just to change her phone's wallpaper. There's no way she's Meme Queen."
"That's good ta' hear," Applebloom sighed as she sat back in her seat. "Given her reputation, I'd hate to see what she'd do to us if she was!"
The three girls trembled, as rumors and pictures of Lightning's infamous fights came to mind. One especially brutal fight from the girl's Junior High years came to mind. Even now, Gilda walked with a limp, even though her legs were completely fine. A scar the retired bully would have to live with for the rest of her life. Of course, Gilda's parents tried to go to court, but given their daughter's reputation and all the evidence that favored Lightning's case as self-defense, the sporty girl got off with community service while Gilda was given a chance to rethink her life. It also didn't hurt that the former bully was given mandatory counseling sessions as an alternative to going to a Juvenal Detention Facility.
"Hey, I heard there was some mess down at Sweetie Drops yesterday," Scootaloo said, eyeing Applebloom. "Are things okay?"
Applebloom flinched, then responded with a nod.
"Apparently Miss Drops wasn't happy with her shipment o' apples this month and demanded a refund. Somethin' about how they didn't taste right. Ah heard she had her daughter give AJ the bad news. She was even gonna go so far as ta' sever ties with our farm for a while."
Sweetie and Scootaloo gasped.
"She wanted to break away from the Apple Family!?" Sweetie exclaimed.
Applebloom shook her head.
"Nah, just Sweet Apple Acres. Luckily, Granny was able to work something out with Miss Drops and she'd only get a refund for the crates that hadn't been opened while the rest 'll be used for mulch. She also agreed to lift the boycott once February comes around, but only if Big Mac or anyone other then AJ makes the delivery."
"Well, that's weird," Scootaloo frowned. "What's Miss Drops got against Applejack?"
Applebloom shrugged.
"You think that's bad?" Sweetie sighed." Yesterday, my big sis lost her biggest client."
"How'd she manage that?" Applebloom asked.
"No one knows! She just walked in yesterday and decided to cancel all her orders! She even said she would go to Seri instead. Can you believe it? SERI OF ALL PEOPLE!"
"Wasn't she the one who stole someone's designs to beat your sister in a fashion contest?" Scootaloo asked as Applebloom tried to get Sweetie to calm down.
"YES!"
"Ouch," she cringed.
After they managed to get their well dressed friend to calm down, the three girls lapsed into quiet contemplation. As it stood, none of them had any way to find Meme Queen before she found them. As a result, they were constantly on guard of every interaction they had with any of the high schoolers, especially when it came to their sisters. The stress of trying to keep their collective secret from them was an olympic ordeal even before they were targeted, but now it took everything they had not to run out the door screaming the second they saw their family. It was especially difficult for Applebloom, as her older sibling had a real knack for spotting lies. In more ways then one, it was a miracle that she was able to fool her for so long. But how long could they keep up the charade?
"I guess we have no choice," Sweetie sighed, drawing the eyes of her two friends. "We need more information. More information then we can get with our flimsy resources."
They nodded, unsure of where this conversation was leading.
"So...let's get some better ones."
With that, she turned on her phone and showed it to them. Applebloom and Scootaloo gaped at what they saw and what it meant. Sweetie frowned as she turned off the screen before she put her phone away.
"Let's meet at my room after school today," Sweetie said, face unreadable. "It's time for plan B."



***



The atmosphere in the classroom was so thick, it could be cut with a chainsaw as its inhabitants tried to focus on the teacher's lesson. In the back corner of the room, one student was barely paying attention to what was being covered. Instead, her focus was on a list of names in her notebook sitting on her desk. Fluttershy sighed as she gave the list a weary once-over for what felt like the fortieth time. While it was an impressive collection of fifty, all but a small handful of them had lines drawn through them, her friends among them. Again, she found herself trying to find some kind of link between the names, but none of the few links she could see made any sense. 
As she let out another frustrated sigh, her gaze drifted towards her backpack, and the leather-bound journal inside. Thoughts of the night that it came into her possession moved to the forefront of her mind for not the first time in the past six days. When Fluttershy saw the dead look in Sunset's eyes as she left, it stirred something in her, something that made her start to rethink this whole situation she found herself  and her friends in. It was also this very same thing that lead to her taking the journal that Sunset left behind. For the first two days after sheltering the book, Fluttershy waged an internal war with herself. One half of her refused to believe that Sunset was innocent while the other half was in league with the strange feeling that something wasn't right. By the third day, Fluttershy found herself drawn to the journal by the strange feeling, as if the answer to what she had to do next was somehow contained within its pages. Naturally she resisted, whether it was because of fear or stubbornness was a mystery to her at the time, but eventually the urge became too strong. Justifying it as a form of revenge for violating their trust, Fluttershy opened the journal. At first she didn't see anything too unusual, just some simple back and forth messages between Sunset and Princess Twilight, but when she skimmed to the more recent entries, things took a drastic turn. Not known to most, Sunset had a very particular way of writing. In fact, she was almost fanatical when it came to her penmanship. Apparently, it was a tick she developed and hung onto from when she lived in Equestria due to everything being written with permanent implements such as quills. As a result, she took special care to keep her writing in the same formal cursive she used in her native land. But in the later entries, the writing was shaky and unfocused, like her hands were trembling. Something that also caught her attention were the dried stains on the pages. Much like the condition of Sunset's words, the water damage to the pages was barely noticeable at first, but as she closed in on the last entry in the book, the pages were almost dominated by them. By the time she made it to the last entry, it was covered with what Fluttershy quickly noted as tear-stains and Sunset's beautiful calligraphy was replaced with sloppy chicken scratches. Princess Twilight's writing was the only thing that held any kind of consistent grace as it told her about having trust in her friends and to believe in family. Those words hit Fluttershy like a punch to the gut, while what she read next was a bullet to the head.

I'll try Twilight. But if they reject me again, I don't know what I'll do.

The words. The look in Sunset's eyes. All of it hit her hard, but the pain and guilt she felt at that moment as her doubts towards Sunset's innocents were ground into dust were nothing compared to what happened next. As her fingers traced across Sunset's shaky letters, they touched one of the tear-stains. The effect was instant, as the most unbelievable wave of sadness washed over her. This was not the pain of something as petty as being denied something you want or being told something moderately hurtful, this was the pain of loss. The loss of love. The loss of hope. The loss of the will to live. It was pure, unbearable agony beyond anything the pink-haired teenager had ever felt in her young life, and she knew that this was what Sunset felt just moments before she stepped into the Sugarcube Café. There was no doubt about it now; Sunset was innocent.
With this new revelation came a new sense of resolve. She had to make this right, but to do that, she needed to get a better look at the situation. So for the next three nights, she looked over each and every post Anon-a-Miss made up until Meme Queen challenged her and what she found was actually very shocking. Much like with the journal, Sunset was very particular with the font she used in her texts almost to the point of it being a compulsion. None of the posts used Sunset's preferred font even once. While this was a good start, she knew this wasn't going to be anywhere near enough to clear Sunset's name. Afterwards, she decided to make a list of all the post targets and see if any of them had any kind of links to Sunset or any of her friends before the whole mess started. Her first suspect was Trixie, but that didn't seem very likely due to there already being a post dedicated to a failed magic show she preformed in that resulted in her hat getting lit on fire. The next person on the list was Fleur De Lis, but that was even less likely due to the girl having transferred to Crystal Prep a year ago after some nasty rumors of her were spread around the school. As the nights went on, the list continued to grow before it just as quickly began to shrink. Now Fluttershy sat in class with a suspect list that had been reduced to a set of names that she only added as a means to completely cover her bases. Unfortunately, her friend's seemed to be the most likely suspects of the crimes against Sunset. There was only one question that made her hesitant to place blame on them. 
Why? she thought for the hundredth time. Why would they do this now? They had plenty of chances to do this after the Fall Formal so why wait until now? What changed?
No sooner had that thought crossed her mind did the bell signal the end of class and the  start of lunch. With a frustrated sigh, she gathered her things to leave. Normally, this would be one of the more pleasant parts of her daily routine, but after her most recent revelation it felt more like an uncomfortable chore. As she reluctantly left the classroom and made her way towards the cafeteria, her mind continued to try finding links. This proved to be a futile venture as even when she got to the point of collecting her loaded tray from Granny Smith, she couldn't find any that made any real sense. With an aggravated sigh, she slumped into her usual spot at the table she shared with her "friends". As she took in her surroundings, she noticed that they seemed more out of it than usual. All of them were slumped in their seats, food completely ignored. The only one who at least seemed to be attempting to pretend to eat was Rainbow Dash. But as she picked at the contents of her plate, it was obvious her focus was elsewhere. 
An annoyed sigh slipped pass her lips as she took her seat.
Great, She thought bitterly. What are they going to blame Sunset for now?
As if on cue, Pinkie let out a melancholy sigh.
"This sucks," she groaned. "I can't believe I lost my best DJ."
Everyone at the table looked at her, two in shock and two indifferent.
"How did that happen?" Rarity asked.
"I don't know!" Pinkie exclaimed, throwing her hands up before letting them flop down onto the table. "She just messaged me yesterday out of the blue and told me she didn't want to work with me anymore!"
"There had to be more to it then that," Rarity pressed.
"Well," the pink teen hummed. "She said something about me giving her a toxic rep and that she would do better with Cheese."
This got a reaction out of Rarity and Applejack. 
"Really?" Rarity frowned. "Funny. Just yesterday I lost my biggest client for similar reasons."
A deep growl emanated from their farm working friend that grabbed all but Rainbow's attention.
"I take it you experienced something similar, dear?" Rarity asked, brow raised.
"Damn strait Ah did," Applejack growled. " Ah was called over ta' Sweetie Drops cuz the boss lady wasn't happy with the latest shipment of Apples. Said they tasted bitter or some nonsense. Now we got a bunch of crates full of apples we can't sell and a few we gotta figure out what ta' do with before they spoil!"
In spite of herself, Fluttershy couldn't help but crack a slight smile at their misfortune. While she normally would feel bad about that, even a person with her saintly patience had her limits. In her eyes, they deserved every bit of misery they received, and so did she. Yes, she was doing everything she could think of to help Sunset, but that didn't change the fact that she contributed to the pain she knew the fiery haired girl had to endure. When this was all over, she was going to do whatever it took to earn back Sunset's friendship. No matter what it took.
"Do you think this is Sunset's doing?" Rarity sighed, the name said as if it was some foren swear.
"Ah know it is," Applejack growled as she turned to glare a hole into the girl in question several tables away. "Ah don't know how she did it, but Ah'd bet apples ta' oranges that she had something ta' do with it!"
A spark of anger took form in Fluttershy as she heard Applejack's declaration. Part of her wanted to scream at them for how stupid they were being, but she knew that it would be a pointless endever. Just like all the other times she tried to talk some sense into them. She even showed them the journal and the tear stains, but they refused to listen. It was clear that unless she found the real culprit, the girls would continue to believe that Sunset had gone back to her old ways. And as long as they thought that, blaming such grievances on the poor girl was going to be the norm. At the moment, Fluttershy was happy that Sunset had Lightning Dust to watch over her and keep her company. In addition to being able to breath some life into the girl, Lightning was an extremely capable fighter if the rumors were anything to go by. With all of that kept in mind, Fluttershy was sure that her former friend was in good hands.
"She even turned Lightnin' on RD for peet's sake!" Applejack continued. "Right Rainbow?"
Rainbow flinched out of her trance as everyone's attention was centered on her. A second later, her shock returned to indifference as in a toneless voice said, "Yeah, whatever," before she resumed picking at her plate.
Applejack growled as she went back to glaring at Sunset.
"That damn snake crossed a line this time," she grumbled as she speared a large chunk of her potato salad. "And Ah'll fix that."
As she watched Applejack eat her food, a sense of dread washed over Fluttershy as her mind processed what she said. A single thought echoed through her mind as she forced herself to eat her food. A promise she swore to make a reality if it came down to it.
Over my dead body!



***



The halls were quiet as Sunset stood outside the Gym's locker room. Lightning had just finished Track and Field practice for the day and was in the middle of changing out of her PE uniform with the rest of her new team. Since Coach Spitfire was so particular about who entered the Gym, she was forced to wait outside for her bodyguard/friend. As she did she closed her eyes and took a moment to enjoy the tranquility of the empty halls. Many thought the school was creepy when there wasn't anybody around, but Sunset found it soothing. Part of that was probably because the empty halls use to be her home at one point. She chuckled a bit as she remembered how her past self struggled to make sense of the new things in her environment. Before then, she lived in an abandoned apartment complex ten blocks away from the portal, a young teen moving with the grace of a drunk as she tried to find some shelter. Those first three years were hell as she forced herself to learn the rules of survival in this world. Eventually, she found a way to make some quick money using her mastery of mathematics and a set of stolen poker cards after she ran out of bits and found the school to be a much more preferable shelter than the shack of an apartment she had prier. In time, she figured out how to use a computer and with a bit of tweaking here and there, was able to make some fake papers so she could enroll into her new home. It didn't take long, unfortunately, for her to see just how much of a hassle living in the school was going to be. That was around the time she discovered the abandoned warehouse and decided to divide the use of the two shelters for her needs; the school for its internet and the warehouse for everything else. About a year later, the Fall Formal came and Sunset entered what she thought was a better chapter in her life. 
Where did it all go so wrong?
She was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the presence of another person until they were right in front of her. Suddenly, she felt two strong hands grab and pin her shoulders to the wall behind her, shocking her eyes open. She was immediately greeted by the furious green eyes of her former friend Applejack.
"W-What" she stammered.
"Shut up snake!" Applejack snarled. "Ah' don't know what ya got planned, but Ah'll be damned if Ah'll let ya' mess with mah family's friends! Now what dirt do yah have on the Drops?! Tell me!"
"I-I," Sunset stammered, body trembling as she tried to find a way out of her situation.
"Ah said TALK DAMN IT!"
"LEAVE HER ALONE!!!"
Before either girl could react, a yellow and pink blur slammed into Applejack. The stunned farmer stumbled away from her victim as Sunset slid down the wall to her knees. Both girls looked at the newcomer with wide eyes as they struggled to accept who they saw standing before them.
"F-Fluttershy?" Sunset stammered.
For a moment, Fluttershy gave her a warm smile before she shifted her gaze back towards Applejack, warmth replaced with cold fury. Applejack watched the brief interaction between the girls and let out a frustrated growl.
"Y'all too Flutters?"she snapped. "What's she got on ya'? Cuz Ah know Ah can-"
Before she could finish, Fluttershy closed the gap between them and in one lightning fast motion slapped her across the face. Stunned by the sudden attack, she didn't have time to brace herself for the arm lock the normally timid girl put her in. 
"Wh-Shy? What the sam hill are ya'-"
Again, Applejack was interrupted, this time by a harsh tug on her bound arm.  With a yelp, the cowgirl was guided away from her target, all the while cursing a storm big enough to flood the whole city. All the while, Sunset watched in shock as the two girls drifted away from her until they came to a turn in the hall. But just as they were about to make the turn and disappear  from her line of sight, she locked eyes with her timid former friend. Time seemed to freeze as they held each other's gaze until Fluttershy gave her another warm, yet sad, smile before she pulled Applejack that final few feet away.
A minute later, Lighting Dust dashed out of the locker rooms, a fusion of worry and fury decorating her features as she bombarded the still kneeling Sunset with questions. Sunset didn't answer, but one question echoed in the the forefront of her mind.
Did Fluttershy just...save me?



***



Derpy yawned as she stared at the glowing screen in front of herself. She had been working for six hours strait, carefully  sorting through her intel. In all that time, she was able to narrow down who's Mystable accounts she should investigate. This was mostly thanks to the lead she was able to get from Coach Spitfire's favored list. There was only one slight problem; most of the names on the list were past Anon-a-Miss victims and a sixth grader! In addition, the remaining students were people she already hacked and found innocent the day before. Doing a direct hack of the Anon-a-Miss account proved to be just as useless as it was linked to a dummy email account that could only receive messages but not send them, effectively leaving next to no digital trail for her to follow. 
Grrrr! God damn it! she thought bitterly as she glared at her screen. Whoever this person is, they know how to make it harder to find them. If i could just find one IRL link to them, I could shut them down faster than Sunset could ace a test!
"Sunset," she muttered as thoughts of her new house guest crossed her tired mind.
For the hundredth time, Derpy found her thoughts drifting towards her. She couldn't help it! There were just so many things she found so amazing about the girl. The warm brilliance her eyes held as they took in the world around them. The smile she seldom gave that brightened whatever room she was in. Her nice sleek figure that showed she took good care of herself. Her laugh and the cute way she blushed. Derpy quickly shook herself out of her treacherous thoughts before she gave her computer her undivided attention.
Get a hold of yourself Derpy, she thought with a grimace. You need to focus on this. Sunset's already got a ton of stuff on her plate as it is. She doesn't need you to add more to it all.
A slight stinging from her left eye reminded her just how long she had been working. An irritated groan escaped her as she reached for a small bottle of medicated eyedrops on her desk by her computer. While it had been years since the accident, it never got easier for her to deal with this part of her routine. Six years ago, Derpy and her sister Dinky were hit by a car on their way home from school. Thanks to some quick thinking on Derpy's part, Dinky managed to get through it with a few bumps and scrapes, but Derpy wasn't quite so lucky. After three days of tireless work, the ER staff were able to get her stable enough to let her body heal on its own, but it was a process that left her in the hospital for three weeks under careful observation. After two more months of rehab, she was able to leave the hospital, though it was with a souvenir that would remind her of the incident for the rest of her life. While her prosthetic eye didn't normally give her too much trouble, it did make her a constant target of bullying. It also made being a hacker difficult due to needing to be moisturized every so often if she stared at a screen for too long. Though as much of an inconvenience as it could be, she wouldn't go back to prevent the events that lead to her receiving her injury. If it meant protecting her sister, she'd do it again in a heartbeat. Thankfully, Dinky was off at their Grandparent's house for the holidays and wouldn't be exposed to all the drama coming from CHS. One of the few small blessings she could count in this circumstance.
I wonder how she'd react to Sunset living here? she thought idly as she applied her medicine. 
At that moment her computer let out a soft ding, indicating that someone had sent her a PM on the Meme Queen account on Mystable. This brought a frown to her face as she glared at the screen. As it stood, she made sure to have the account blocked from receiving posts from anyone except for her friends, Sunset, and Sunset's former friends. While the first two were aloud access for obvious reasons, the last set of people were a new addition. After what happened in the girls locker room, Derpy thought it would be a good idea to keep an eye on the Rainbooms digitally while Lightning did the same IRL. The reason she allowed them access was because it was easier and faster for her to hack an account when the flow of data was a two-way-stream. Of course, she made sure to have the account linked to a false email account, dumped a tone of firewalls to keep people out  and as a last line of defense, linked the account to an IP address for an abandoned factory in Detrot.
Her frown softened slightly when she saw who the message was from.
How did Fluttershy know she had access and how did she get the password?
Shaking her head, she checked the PM for viruses or any other hacking software then opened it. In it was a short list of names accompanied by a collection of information on each person. What took her back a step was that the list consisted mostly of Sunset's original gang, sans Fluttershy herself. While Fluttershy had recently been removed from Derpy's list of possible suspects due to reports of the shy girl's actions at school today, it still left her a little suspicious that she would turn on her friends so suddenly. She noticed an additional file attached to the message and clicked it, expecting another list of names. What she got instead almost made her fall out of her chair in shock.


Dear Meme Queen



The following list is of people that I think might have something to do with Anon-a-Miss and all the evidence I've been able to gather. I don't know how else I can help aside from giving all of this to you. I hope this can in some way help you clear Sunset's name and bring the real Anon-a-Miss down for what she's done. Please stop all of this madness and bring the school back to how it use to be. I want to see everyone happy again, even if Sunset never wants to see me again when this is all over, I want to see her smile again. I want her to be happy. Please let her know that, even though this isn't even close to enough for her to forgive me, that I am sorry for abandoning her when she needed me the most.


Sincerely, Fluttershy.

As Derpy reeled her emotions back in, she smiled then proceeded to compare her notes to the ones provided by Fluttershy.
Looks like things are looking up.