//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: Theories // Story: The Chronicles of Sunset: Crimson Promise // by VioletNightWriter //------------------------------// Twilight went to her next class. Her mind was replaying Sunset's hand around Trixie's throat. She felt sick to her stomach knowing that could easily be her. As she walked into the classroom, she spotted Rarity. She tried to find a spot that wasn't next to Rarity. Seeing no other open seats, She sat next to Rarity. "Hello dear. I know how you must feel. But we never meant for our lies to hurt you." said Rarity. She wanted to attempt to make amends for her actions. She hoped that in due time Twilight may come to forgive her and her friends. She could tell that the lies had hurt her. Twilight looked at Rarity, unaware that her purple eyes were wet with the beginnings of tears. She could tell that Rarity was sincere in her words. "I know. But I can't forgive you or Sunset just yet. I want to know the truth, and until I do, I'm going to keep my distance." replied Twilight. Rarity gasped at the harshness in Twilight's voice. She felt a pang of sadness wash over her. She knew that she and the gang deserved that. She also knew that welcoming a new friend meant that the lies were bound to hurt them. "Okay. We will still be here for you if ever you need us," said Rarity, her once confident voice now a mere whisper. Twilight nodded. She went back to her desk, acting as though the violet-haired girl didn't exist. Class went on usual, but Twilight noticed that Trixie wasn't making snide comments about her. She wondered if the hallway incident had shaken her. Class soon ended, allowing Twilight to get away from Rarity. She couldn't help but feel mad at her supposed friends for lying to her. As she went to her locker, she caught sight of Trixie. She noticed that Trixie's friends weren't with her. She wondered why that was. As she kept looking at Trixie, their eyes met. For a brief moment, Twilight could see Trixie's fear. What Sunset did to her truly frightened Trixie. But as quickly as their eyes met, Trixie ran off, breaking the eye contact. Twilight closed her locker door to see a smiling Pinkie. "Hey Twilight, I was wondering if you want to hang out at lunch today," asked Pinkie, her cheerful demeanor rubbing off on Twilight. Twilight looked at Pinkie. Seeing how happy Pinkie was made Twilight consider saying yes. She didn't want to make Pinkie sad. "Okay. Sure, I would like to sit with you," replied Twilight. Pinkie let out a small squeal of joy. She jumped up and down as she said, "Great. I will let the gang know." After that Pinkie gave Twilight a quick hug before running off to her next class. She saw her vision go blurry for a second as she began to feel a bit lightheaded. She steadied herself against her locker. She assumed that she was lightheaded due to her nerves. She wasn't too happy about agreeing to sit next to Sunset. Once the lightheadedness was gone, she went to her class. Meanwhile, Starlight was cleaning up after last night's dinner. She was about to start the dishes when a series of loud knocks came. She immediately went to open the front door. "Flim. Flam. What are you doing here?" asked Starlight. She looked around, making sure that no one saw them. She motioned for Flim and Flam to come in. "Starlight, we have come here to tell you that we have received a disturbing letter from Filthy Rich," said Flam. He and Flim looked at each other before Flim handed Starlight the letter. Starlight read the letter. As she finished reading the letter, she unknowingly crumpled the letter. "How is it that when I trust you two to protect the staff, that Filthy Rich finds out about it?" asked Starlight. Flim and Flam looked down in shame. They knew that Starlight entrusted them with the one she held sacred. "We are truly sorry, Starlight. We hadn't expected for him to see it, " said Flim. Starlight sighed. She could hear Flim's sincerity in his voice. She turned back to face him. "I know that you are. But that still doesn't change that he now knows of the staff," said Starlight. "So what do we about Filthy Rich?" asked Flam. Starlight thought about moving the staff into a more protected area. But she quickly tossed the idea away, noting that it would be impossible. Then as she stared at an old safe she had hidden away, an idea came to her. "You guys are good at making exact replicas, no?" asked Starlight. Flim and Flam nodded, wondering what Starlight was getting at. "Good. I am going need you to make a very realistic copy." continued Starlight. Flim and Flam gulped. Flim was worried about Filthy Rich's anger towards finding the replica he was to be handed, to be a fake. Starlight didn't hear any response from Flim of Flam. "Something wrong?" asked Starlight. "It's just that Flam and I are concerned about what happens when Filthy Rich discovers the lie. I mean, how do you suppose we keep him away?" replied Flim. Starlight smirked. She always thought two steps ahead. She knew that Filthy Rich didn't always think ahead. "The decoy should provide me with enough time to cloak the staff. I just need you guys to do a good job. And keep him from ever being able to place a shop here." replied Starlight. Flim and Flam breathed a sigh of relief, glad to know that Starlight had everything planned. "Okay. We will set to work on that. By the way, would happen to have a ruby? Diamond Tiara has requested that we get her a real ruby." replied Flam. Starlight sighed. She sped to the attic and grabbed a medium-sized ruby. She sped back down and handed it to Flam. As Starlight handed Flam the ruby, she said, "Here, this should please that brat." Flam grabbed the ruby. He saw how the light hit it, making it sparkle in the afternoon sun. "Thanks, Starlight. We'll repay you," said, Flam. "There's no need. As long as you help me keep the staff safe from Filthy Rich. And keep him out of town." replied Starlight, enforcing the fact that Filthy Rich was to be kept out of Canterlot. Back at CHS, Diamond Tiara was walking into the last class of the morning. She spotted Twilight Sparkle. As she sat down, she noticed that a rainbow-haired girl and blonde haired girl were exchanging glances at Twilight Sparkle. "Why are they doing that? Did she do something wrong? Or is she avoiding them?" thought Diamond Tiara. Suddenly the teacher spoke. "Okay students, today we have a new student with us. Please welcome Diamond Tiara." said the teacher. Diamond Tiara cleared her throat as she stood up. "Hello everyone, My name is Diamond Tiara. My dad is Filthy Rich. Yes, that Filthy Rich." Everyone was in awe, well everyone except Twilight. She was looking at her work, not paying attention to Diamond Tiara. Diamond Tiara was annoyed at Twilight's ignorance. She sat back down. She looked at her, who was still into her work. "Why exactly does she focus more on work rather than her friends?" thought Diamond Tiara. Twilight, unaware of what just happened, finished her work. She looked up to see the teacher talking about the lesson. She looked back at her paper, noticing all the notes she jotted down about Sunset. But the note that caught her eye, was the one she had underlined and circled in red. She had written Sunset's name with an equal sign next to it. At the end of the equal sign, was the word vampire. It was the word underlined and circled in red. "That is the only explanation for what I saw." thought Twilight. She shook her head, not wanting to think about Sunset or the lies. "Miss Sparkle, care to answer this question?" asked the teacher, interrupting Twilight's thoughts. "Yes, Ms. Cheerlie," replied Twilight. She got up out of her seat. As she walked past Trixie, Trixie stuck her foot out. She tripped over Trixie's foot, stumbling into Diamond Tiara. "I am so sorry." apologized Twilight, grabbing her glasses off of Diamond Tiara's paper. "It's fine, really," replied Diamond Tiara. Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked at Diamond Tiara as she spoke. They were amazed that she seemed nice. They knew that her dad was, as his name stated, filthy rich. Twilight managed to walk up to board without further incidents. She solved the equation in a matter of seconds. "There you go, Ms. Cheerlie," said Twilight, handing back the dry erase marker. As she walked back to her seat, she avoided Trixie's second attempt at tripping her. She sat back down, still avoiding any eye contact with Applejack and Fluttershy. The class ended in the next 30 minutes. Fluttershy and Applejack grabbed their stuff and went to lunch. "Wow. I guess we should have realized that our lies would hurt her," said Fluttershy, her voice a whisper. Applejack nodded. She agreed with Fluttershy. She wished that the lies they had told Twilight didn't exist. It took her a while to accept that she had to lie to protect Sunset. AppleJack didn't approve of lying to anyone, especially to her friends. "I know, sugarcube. We may have to accept that she isn't going to trust us again, at least not for a long while," said Applejack. Soon Fluttershy and AppleJack met up with the rest of their friends. As they went to the lunch line, they saw Sunset standing alone. "Something wrong, Sunset?" asked Rainbow Dash. She placed a comforting hand on Sunset's shoulder. Sunset looked at Rainbow Dash. She was glad that she had Rainbow was there. She took a deep breath, explaining what happened. "She saw me lift Trixie up off the ground with my hand around her neck. When I turned to look for her, she was staring at me," said Sunset. She placed her palm on her forehead. She hit it her head a little too hard though, resulting in her letting out a small groan. Rainbow felt bad for Sunset. She knew that Sunset cared for Twilight. She looked at Sunset as she said, "You know, Pinkie invited her to join us for lunch." Sunset looked up, a surprised expression on her face. She couldn't believe the words out of Rainbow Dash's mouth. She wasn't completely surprised to hear that Pinkie invited Twilight to hang out. "What did she say, Rainbow?" asked Sunset, eagerly wanting to the answer. Rainbow Dash smiled at Sunset. She was glad that she had good news to offer. "She said that she would gladly join us," replied Rainbow Dash. Sunset just stood there stunned. She couldn't believe that Twilight actually agreed to join them. She was about to jump up with joy when her eyes caught sight of Twilight. "Hello," said Twilight.