🎵What you see is what you get🎵
🎵Don't you ever forget🎵
Date: December 21st
Time: 9:50 am
Would Flash Sentry please report to the Principal's Office.
Flash sighed before grabbing his backpack and walking out of the classroom. Nearing the principal's office, he could hear an agitated voice muffled by the office door. Scratching his head in confusion, he opened the door to find Twilight Sparkle near conniption levels while her dog stayed hidden in her backpack, cringing a bit. In front of her were the principals struggling a huge deal to maintain their composure if their somewhat mortified looks were anything to go by.
Ah, okay. That made sense.
"Hey, Twilight." Flash greeted, waving at her. "How're you doing?"
"Flash!" Twilight nearly screamed. "You wrote to me in Sunset's book?! How?! That was supposed to be a secret! Ugh, never mind that! Sunset! You said that the Anon-a-Miss situation got worse, right?! What happened?! Where is Sunset?!" Grabbing him by the arms, she leaned in close so that their noses were touching. "Tell me!"
"Easy, Twilight." The smooth voice of Principal Celestia cut in. "Thank you, Flash, for coming here."
"No problem." Flash said. "Let me guess. It's about Sunset, right?"
"Unfortunately, yes." Vice-Principal Luna chimed in. "It seems that the Anon-a-Miss fiasco has elevated to such a degree that some of the students are willing to use physical means to deal with their problems. We've had to deal with two instances of bathroom fights, four gym fights, and Lord knows how many lunchroom fights. The only thing that united this school in one aspect, however, is pinning Sunset as the culprit."
"We've tried to contact Sunset to get to the bottom of this, but she's nowhere to be found." Celestia added. "Twilight arrived here just a few moments ago, saying that you know of Sunset's whereabouts as of this moment. Would you like to explain?"
Flash drew in a deep breath. This wasn't going to be easy, he could tell, but it needed to be done. So, he slowly recounted all of the events leading up to today. As he retold them, the memories began to crop up in excruciating detail from the hospital ride to Sunset's surgery. He could actually smell the disinfectant, feel his eyes sting from the bright fluorescent lights as well as Sunset's soft hand as they walked into the hospital. He could hear her sobbing for them, the Rainbooms, for help as they wheeled her into surgery. He couldn't do anything about it, why couldn't he do anything about it? Swallowing the newly formed lump in his throat, he slowly breathed in and out in order to continue.
The medical reports were mixed. Physically, Sunset was fine apart from the stitches that she needed on her head. All of the bruises were superficial at worst and by a week's time, the stitches would also fade. Mentally was another story. Due to the mixture of physical trauma on her head and unsolved emotional trauma, her mind suffered from a severe psychotic break through which only intense therapy could heal along with a few medications to get her started. If that didn't work, then the only other option was institutionalizing Sunset at the local mental hospital, which nobody wanted to take.
"...She's probably at home by now." Flash finished. "Mom's there taking care of her while Dad's sending you the paperwork and the medical records later today."
The room was like a frigid tomb. Twilight looked absolutely horrified with her hand over her mouth. She sunk down into a chair while her dog opened the backpack and leapt onto her lap. He was nuzzling her while looking at Flash with an equally pained expression. The principals, meanwhile, had equal looks of rage, sadness, and guilt etched onto their faces. After one too many minutes, Principal Celestia decided to break the silence.
"Flash." Principal Celestia began. "You can leave early today. The vice-principal and I need to discuss a few topics before we move ahead with Anon-a-Miss." She looked towards Vice-Principal Luna with a determined look in her eyes.
"Agreed. We cannot have anymore of this nonsense." The vice-Principal returned with equal vigor.
As Flash turned to leave, a hand stopped him. He glanced to see Twilight holding on to him with one hand while cradling the pooch with the other. Her face harbored a devastated look, complete with fresh tears threatening to drip down her face. He gently pulled her into a hug, being mindful of her furry companion nestled within her arms.
"Flash, is it okay if I see Sunset?" She whispered.
"Say no more, Twilight. I think she'd be delighted to see you."
30 minutes later...
When they arrived there, Bright Shield was on the couch taking a nap, glasses askew and papers strewn all over the place. A small smile sprung on Flash's face as he turned to Twilight, who showed slight disapproval at the scene. After tucking her in carefully, the trio made their way upstairs. When they reached the end of the hallway, Flash opened the door slowly so that he wouldn't startle the occupant inside. Twilight made her way inside eagerly only to be stopped cold by the girl on the bed.
Sunset Shimmer was lying there peacefully, breathing softly to the rhythm of the clock. The white bandages stuck out in the tresses of the red-yellow hair strewn all over the pillow like a sore thumb. Her eyes, closed in drugged bliss, developed light bags and the visible bruises all over her skin were mixed in a ugly shade of puce. Twilight's hands clenched in agitation and worry. Who would do this to Sunset? Why did this happen now of all times? Most importantly, why did her friends, the same friends that she trusted with all her heart to take care of Sunset, just abandon her and left her to the wolves? She shook her head. That would come later.
Kneeling next to the bed, she smiled sadly as she stroked Sunset's head, being mindful of the bandages that covered it. She felt Spike jump on the bed and nuzzle Sunset's undamaged cheek. For a few minutes, the only sounds that were heard were the soft pangs of the clock and Sunset's breathing. Twilight looked outside to see white, crisp, tiny snowflakes fall delicately outside.
"It's so nice outside, Sunset." She whispered as she continued to stroke the other girl's head. "I wish you could see it." Tears began to fall down her cheeks and she hurriedly wiped them away. She couldn't lose herself like this; her pupil needed her. "You were waiting for me, weren't you? Waiting for me to reply, to help you out in your time of need. But I didn't and now it has gotten worse. Much worse than what we both expected." Her voice trembled with each word. "I failed you as a teacher, but I'm not going to fail you as a friend. Not anymore."
With new determination, she looked to her pupil and gave her one last stroke on the head before getting up and motioned her loyal assistant to follow suit. Giving one more nuzzle, Spike followed her to the door where Flash waited for them. For a few seconds, nobody exchanged a word, opting for silence as the two made their way downstairs to the kitchen. At first, the princess declined bashfully but Flash and Bright Shield insisted with Spike wagging his tail enthusiastically. Eventually, she'd relented and the four were gathered around the table, drinking hot cocoa (with a special one made just for Spike).
Despite the warm cheer exuded by Flash and his mother, Twilight was still incredibly seethed at the whole school and most importantly, her friends the Rainbooms. Her knuckles turned white with cold fury and tears pricked at her eyes once more. It was hard enough seeing her friend in this state, but now she needed to tell Princess Celestia of how her one of her pupils lay in dire straits.
"Twilight, dear, are you alright?" Bright Shield's voice snapped her out of her reverie.
"I'm sorry, ma'am. It's just that Sunset is a really close friend of mine." Then, why didn't you reply? Why did you leave her there to fend for herself? "I just arrived today and this information has been a lot to take in. On top of this happening to her, I have to inform her former teacher of this situation as well as address a school worth of monsters of their actions recently. Which happens to include her former friends unfortunately. So, please forgive me if I'm not as cheerful during this holiday as I want to be." At this, everyone else flinched at her words and looked at each other nervously.
"I just wish I could turn back time and prevent this from happening." Twilight mumbled to herself. "Maybe if I brought her to Equestria again, then none of this would've happened. She would've been sane and happier under the Princess again."
"Twilight, you didn't know this was gonna happen." Flash retorted.
"No. But it doesn't ease the pain of knowing that I failed her in her time of need." Twilight replied wearily. "If I could, I would just send the whole of Canterlot High to Tartarus or at least a dungeon for the next hundred years. If I told the Princess, she wouldn't disagree one bit, seeing what happened to Sunset."
"N-Now, Twilight. Don't you think that's going a bit far?" Bright Shield asked. "What they have done is appalling, yes, but why would a dungeon bring them back to their senses?"
"I don't see why I shouldn't fight fire with fire." Twilight barked. "They took it upon themselves to maim Sunset's reputation, ego, and sanity at a time where she was building her reputation from scratch and with genuine intentions. Why shouldn't I punish and hurt them the same way that they hurt her?"
"Because it isn't going to bring Sunset back, Twilight."
It was a simple statement, yet it was one that rocked her to her core. Flash was looking at her with a hardened stare, though he was a bundle of nerves on the inside. He knew that if he continued to oppose her while she was on a rant, the possibility of him dying due to magical lasers would increase tenfold. Yet a small voice in the back of his head told him that he needed to stop her in her tracks before she did something that she would regret.
"I told you about her screaming for the Rainbooms. But you didn't get to hear them as I did. It hurt, Twilight, it stung. I never thought that she could scream like that, like a banshee, when they took away the dolls. But she did. And I don't think getting revenge on her behalf is going to make her feel better in any way, shape, or form. Especially not when she still thinks of the Rainbooms as her friends."
Twilight's lips pursed in dark recognition and she glowered into her mug. He was right, she couldn't risk Sunset's happiness and mental health in pursuit of revenge disguised as justice. It didn't stop her from being angry, but she'd have to control it for now. Besides, she needed to keep a cool head if she wanted to inform Princess Celestia of the situation. She'd also need to control herself in front of Sunset when she wakes up, considering the state that she was in. Flash noticed and softened in reply, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Sunset's under the best care this side of Canterlot City." He assured. "I promise that she will get better."
At this, Twilight nodded and finished the rest of her cocoa. At first, her plan of action was to meet with Sunset and take her to Sugarcube Corner to get this Anon-a-Mess resolved. However, seeing her pupil's state, she decided to head for Princess Celestia immediately. She needed to be informed sooner or later and although she wouldn't have been keen to be the one to deliver the news, it would at least give Sunset another platform of support in her recovery. But before that...
"Flash, Mrs. Bright Shield, let me be the first to say thank you on both my behalf and Sunset's behalf." Twilight smiled softly. "This must not have been an easy thing to do and the fact that you stepped up for Sunset gives me relief that at least some people here care about Sunset's well being." She paused, then continued. "Like I said, I must return to Canterlot and inform her previous mentor about her condition, but rest assured that I will be back to help Sunset's recovery. If I somehow cannot return for some days, then I will at least write in the other journal to monitor any updates."
"Okay, Twilight." Flash said, with a nod. "We'll keep you posted."
"Alright." Twilight picked up Spike and began to head out the kitchen. However, a new thought occurred to her and blinking back tears, she turned to Flash. "Before I go, I want to see one more thing. The dolls. Is it okay if I see them?"
Twilight traced her finger over the yarn and felt that was the Rainbow Dash doll, noticing how every stitch was handled as if it was crafted by a professional. In some aspects, it was as if Rarity abandoned her dreams of making dresses to pursue doll making. She bet that both versions of Rarity were shivering in thought at their names being used for improbable metaphors and quelled a grin itching on her face.
Studying the doll, she noticed how everything, from the individual strands of hair to the details on the clothes, eerily reflects that of the real Rainbow Dash. She then inspected the Rarity doll, the Applejack doll, etc. and saw such uncanny details. She shivered at someone stalking her friends and using their likenesses for objects that fueled Sunset's imagination. Glancing at Sunset, Twilight briefly wondered Sunset's reaction if she was normal.
"Dolls? That's creepy, Twilight. Maybe we can use the book to see whether or not it contains magic from Equestria.
If only magic could fix her mind.
Shaking her head, she carefully placed the Fluttershy doll down and walked over to Sunset. She smiled, stroked her hair one more time, and headed for the doorway, aiming to tell Princess Celestia what happened. Before she did, she also made one mental note to her plan about finding out the creator of the dolls and how this tied in with Sunset.