//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Staying with Luna (updated) // Story: Aftermath Of The Formal // by Shimmeringsun //------------------------------// “Sunset, will you wait outside for a moment while I grab my stuff?” said Luna. Sunset nodded and made her way outside of the office.  After the two sisters watched Sunset shut the door, Celestia was the first to speak. “Are you sure you’re okay with her staying at yours?” she asked her younger sister. Still having a feeling of disbelief and shock in her system, it wasn't like Luna to jump at this length for any student. She did like to keep her distance from them. Luna raised her eyebrow at Celestia, not even processing why she would question such a thing. ”Unless you have a better suggestion? It’s the best option we have. She can’t keep living in homeless shelters.”  “Taking in a teenager is a big responsibility, Luna. I know you want to help her but are you sure this a rational decision?”  Luna stepped back, seemingly getting defensive. “What? You don’t think I'm capable of looking after her? You said it yourself, I'm the best option to help Sunset.” She pointed at herself. Celestia put her hand up and spoke firmly, “I’m not trying to say you’re not capable, Luna. I just hope you aren’t doing this in the heat of the moment. You’ll have a lot to think about. She’s a young teenager, who’s been emotionally damaged. She’ll be living under your roof and in your care. It goes way beyond the student-teacher relationship.” Luna folded her arms. ”Tia, I would much rather have her safe with me than having to worry about what she does after school hours. It's not like I do much anyway, maybe I'm ready for something like this. Maybe I'm needing someone else to think about.” Other things or a certain someone? Celestia thought to herself. Shaking her off thoughts, she sighed. Knowing how stubborn Luna was anyway, Celestia agreed to her terms. “Alright then, I’ll make a few calls.”  “Thank you, sister.” Luna smiled and pulled Celestia in for an embrace. ”Anyway, I better go, I don't want to keep Sunset waiting.” “Night sister. Love you,” Celestia called. “Love you, too,” replied Luna before she walked to the door and turned around. She gave Celestia a reassuring smile. ”Trust me, Tia, this will work out.” With that, she left Celestia in the office to close up for the night. As Luna stepped outside she smiled down at Sunset, who was sitting on one of the chairs outside the office looking extremely tired and droopy. Well, that was a given after the night she had. “Ready?” Luna caught her attention. Sunset stood up and followed Luna behind to the staff parking lot, not even daring to mutter a word to the woman. The walk wasn't long and soon enough they had gotten into Luna’s car. Before Luna had decided to drive off, she cleared her throat so that she could get Sunset to look at her, ”Sunset?” The teen turned around but didn't say anything, she just waited for Luna to continue. ”I know living with your Vice Principal might not seem great, but I promise you I will do my best to be there for you.”  Sunset gave Luna a weak frown, “Why? Why are you doing this?” She mumbled.  Luna gave a deep sigh. “Because you need help. You’ve been living by yourself! You can’t continue to do that, you’re fifteen!” She raised her voice and her hand a little. “Sixteen,” Sunset reminded Luna stubbornly.  ”That doesn't make it better! No sixteen year old should be out there fending for themselves. You're a child! Even with the damage you've caused tonight, you don't deserve to be left alone.” Luna said sternly. “Yes, I do... At least then I won’t end up hurting everyone again if they are near me,” Sunset screeched.  Luna's voice got softer, “No, Sunset. We’ve been over this. You’re not going to hurt anyone. I won’t allow it. I’m here to protect you.” Sunset scoffed and folded her arms. “You don’t want to protect me. You don’t want me. I’m not the one needing protection, it’s other people that need to stay away from me.” Luna reached over to place her hand on top of Sunset, though the young girl pushed it back and looked out of the window again. “Sunset Shimmer,” Luna said firmly. “look at me.”  “I do want to protect you and I want to help. Please, trust me; I will get you the help you will need and I promise you from this moment on I’ll be right here if you need me.”  Just then, Sunset surprised Luna by reaching over and grabbing her arm. Luna placed her other hand over the teenager’s and rubbed it with her thumb. She knew it would take a lot of reassuring for Sunset just to open up to her, but she had the first sign of contact which was a good start.  “Are you ready to get going?” Luna said softly. Luna took her hands off of Sunset and back onto the steering wheel, getting ready to drive back to the apartment. The drive to Luna’s apartment was quiet. Luna had many thoughts going through her head as she realized that it was going to be a struggle to get Sunset to settle in. However, she was determined that she was going to do everything she could to make her feel safe. Sunset must have not had much of a life since being in this world, so Luna was going to make her happy. Celestia was in the office by herself once Luna left. She decided to make a few phone calls to allow Sunset to get the paperwork she needed to have a life here. She picked up her mobile and made a phone call to someone that she hasn’t been in contact with for a while…. She hoped Luna wouldn’t be mad when she found out who.  A low feminine voice came through the phone. “Tia... why are you calling so late? You’re not drunk, are you? Not trying to get me and Luna back together?” “Ahh, Chrysalis, pleasant as ever…. And for your information, no, I’m not drunk, and for you and Luna I wish you two would work out your differences and finally tie the knot.” She sighed. Chrysalis chuckled. “She’s not with you, is she? Otherwise, you’d be getting slapped for that.”  “No. She’s not Chrys. She’s just left the office to head home. Look, you must be wondering why I’m calling, I... kinda need a favor. Well… it’s for Luna mostly. I know you two still have feelings for each other so could you help us?” Celestia asked. Celestia heard Chrysalis sigh on the other side of the line. “What is it?” Chrysalis said. Not even denying that she still had feelings for Luna, she knew Celestia wouldn’t believe her if she tried to hide it. They both knew the truth. “A student of ours, well, she’s not from here. She hasn’t had much of life, she’s been alone for god knows how long, and me and Luna only just found out now. After she destroyed the front of the school, she was shaken up badly by it and well, Luna... She’s decided to take her in.” Chrysalis seemed shocked by that. “Wait Luna has? How bad is this, Tia? You know as much as I that Luna wouldn’t take any students in.”  “Umm, it was pretty bad. Would you be able to make up some files?”  “Oh, goodie two shoes Tia wants me to make up some files. Ohhh, this is indeed great. Although I’m gonna need to know everything that happened.” Chrysalis agreed. Celestia let out a cough, “It’s a long story.”  “Throw it on me, Tia.”  As Celestia began to tell Chrysalis everything that happened at the Formal, she thought to herself, ‘Luna is going to kill me’. Luna’s apartment wasn’t far from the school, which made it easier for her to come and go from work. She parked her car up for the night in the residency lot next to the apartments. Once the two got inside the apartment Sunset looked in awe. The apartment had Luna written all over it, with decorations that showed her personality. It was a cozy two-bedroom apartment which was a big enough space for Luna. She had a dark-colored theme going on, colors such as midnight blues and purples on the walls. The ceiling was like a galaxy, with stars painted across the rooms. The sofa was L-shaped with a dark blue throw over it and cushions. An oak coffee table placed in front of the sofa with some comic books on top of it. Luna liked to read them as a pastime when she wasn’t busy with work. Across from the sofa was a flat-screen TV with speakers at either side that Luna set up herself.  The kitchen was on the other side of the room with a connecting door. The kitchen was small, but it didn’t bother Luna since she didn’t do much cooking anyway. She generally liked takeouts or she sometimes had dinner over at Celestia’s. Down the hallway was the two bedrooms and bathroom across of them. Luna hadn’t been living in the apartment for long, but she was happy with it. It was her own space. Luna insisted Sunset take a quick shower it gave her time to set up the guest room for Sunset. She gave Sunset a spare of her old PJs as Sunset didn’t have any clothes with her. The spare ones she did have were kept in her locker and only changed her clothes at school after she washed using the school showers. She didn’t want to take anything to the homeless shelters in case it got stolen.  After Sunset was in the shower and Luna set up the guest room, Luna got herself ready for bed. she checked her phone and noticed that Celestia had texted her to let her know that she will be popping around tomorrow. She sent a text back to Celestia to let her know they got home safely.  Luna sighed while sitting on her bed. It was getting late but she wanted to make sure Sunset was alright first. Sunset was staying with her now. It was her responsibility to make sure the girl was okay. As she heard the shower being turned off and the door opening, she made her way out of her room to see Sunset. The girl stood awkwardly at the door while holding her dirty clothes. “Um, I don’t know what to do with these,” Sunset eyed the pile of clothes in her arms. “I’ll take them and wash them tomorrow. This is your room,” said Luna pointing to the guest room next to hers. “Why don’t you head in while I put these in the laundry? Do you want me to bring you something to drink?”  Sunset nodded and headed towards the room. Why is she being so nice to me? Sunset thought to herself as she entered the room. Luna quickly put the clothes in the laundry basket and then went to get a glass of water. She would do the laundry in the morning. When Luna went into the room with the glass of water for Sunset, she noticed that Sunset already got herself into bed. Luna pulled over the chair that sat next to the desk so she could have a quick chat with Sunset before they both went to sleep. “Sunset, I want you to know that I want you to feel safe here. I don’t want you to think one minute you can’t come to me for anything. I know this is a big change for both of us but I can’t think of anything better to do than to bring you here. I want you to know you will still be punished for what you did but that doesn’t mean I’m punishing you for badness. I’m doing this to help you. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?” Luna said softly. Sunset nodded tiredly while she sat up under the covers on the bed. “Thank you, Vice Principal Luna.” She managed to get out giving Luna a weak smile, taking a sip of water. Luna smiled back. “Just Luna is fine, Sunset.”  Luna vowed to herself that she was going to do everything she could that could help Sunset. It wasn’t a lie; she did feel guilty for not knowing Sunset’s situation sooner. What Sunset did was out of desperation, a cry for help and the only thing she could resort to. She wanted attention. If she knew about Sunset’s situation sooner maybe all of what happened tonight could have been avoided. “...I don’t understand why you didn’t come to me sooner Sunset. You know I would have helped you, right?” “I-I think I was scared. I-I didn’t think you would care.”  Luna’s head hung sadly. “Wouldn’t care? Of course, I would care, Sunset. Out of all the staff in the school, you always came to me for things and you think I wouldn’t care about something like that? You know, only finding out about your situation has hurt me. I thought we had a better relationship than that Sunset.”  “S-sorry. I mean, not many people wanted anything to do with me and I don’t blame them. It’s why I tried to hide everything about myself. It was easier for me to find out information about the other students and use it against them so all the focus wasn’t on me.” Sunset said. Luna sighed and looked down. For the past three years that Sunset had been at CHS, she had put up a barrier. She was protecting herself from others by emotionally bullying the other students and getting information out of them to use it against them at their weakest. It was quite sad really. Most students feared Sunset so much that they avoided her at all cost, but in reality, Sunset wanted them to fear her so she could protect herself from not getting hurt if they got close…. “I honestly wished you talked to me about how you felt sooner. I’m sorry if I ever came across as uncaring or unapproachable. I promise I’ll make up for it from now on.”  “I was so stupid... I wish I didn’t steal that damn crown.” Sunset slapped her face as she let a few tears out. “You’re not stupid Sunset. We’ve all made mistakes that we regret, but we will learn in time.”  Sunset smiled. Luna was being so caring towards her that it made her wish that she did go to Luna for help instead of being too prideful, but she was glad that she had Luna now when she needed someone the most. “Thanks for not kicking me out. I promise you I’ll work on being better.” Not only was Sunset was making a promise, it was a promise to herself. She wanted to change. She didn’t want to shut people out anymore, as it was only ever going to result in her feeling lonely or hurt again. She was preparing herself to let people in. She was ready to show them the real her. Luna shook her head. “You don’t need to thank me Sunset. Just because you did something bad I wasn’t going to give up on you just like that. I’m reaching out to you to help you.”  “I want to change. I don’t want to be like the person I was once.” “Then, we will get through it together. You won’t face this alone. For now, though, I want you to rest, I think we both need it,” said Luna as she got up from her seat. She smiled at Sunset and placed her hand onto her arm. Sunset laid herself down and got comfortable to try and get some sleep since she did feel exhausted. She watched Luna walk over to the doorway where she turned around and turned off the lights, saying a quick goodnight to Sunset. “Remember I’m right next door if you need me,” Luna said as she stood at the doorway. “Kay... Night.” Sunset said tiredly as she was closing her eyes, Luna smiled as she closed the door and went into her room.  Things were going to be changing from now on. Maybe, this change was going to be a good thing for both of them. Maybe the two of them needed each other more than they both knew it.