//------------------------------// // Chapter 03 (Edited by:CheerDaLee ) // Story: You Will Never Be Alone // by Leo Luce //------------------------------// It was Monday morning and Sunset again woke up with a gasp and a cold sweat. It'd been three days since the Fall Formal and she still had those horrible nightmares. This made Sunset worry. Not much happened Sunday except she ran out of food to eat and only ate two meals. That is if you can even call what she ate a meal. Sunset got out of the bed and took a quick shower before getting ready for school. Vice-Principal Luna told her, Snips and Snails that they'll get in school suspension for two weeks plus they'll have to help rebuild the wall they destroyed. However, Sunset convinced Vice-Principal Luna that it was all her fault and Snips and Snails were only following her orders. So they got released from rebuilding the wall while Sunset still had to help the construction team alone. But she was completely okay with that. 'I probably deserve it.' She thought. After leaving her home, Sunset arrived at school early as usual. The construction crew wasn’t there yet but Vice-Principal Luna was standing near the statue waiting for her arrival. "So you came?" Vice-Principal Luna said in a disinterested voice. "Y-yes Vice-Principal Luna," Sunset said timidly. "Good. You'll be helping the construction crew until school ends. You get a break at lunch period. Is that understood?" "Y-yes." Sunset said. Without any more words, Luna turned around and went inside the school. Sunset then walked up to the Wondercolt statue where the portal resided and touched the currently inert portal. She released a heavy sigh and sat down, her back to the now cold stone and rested her head on her knees as she waited for the construction crew. Eventually, the students slowly started coming to the school and Sunset could already feel the hateful glares. She could hear the names she was being called. She looked up for a moment and saw Fluttershy looking at her. But, she had a concerned, sad look on her face completely unlike any other student. Sunset wanted to say something but stopped remembering what happened with Rainbow and dropped her head back onto her knees. Principal Celestia looked down at the fiery-haired girl through her office window with a thoughtful look. Just two days ago the girl in question was a bully who literally turned into a she-demon. But now all she can see is a girl who is the complete opposite. A girl who seemed filled with so much regret and guilt. "Tia?" The sudden voice snapped Celestia out of her thoughts. She turned around and saw her sister staring at her with a concerned look. "Oh...Luna. When... when did you come in? I didn't hear you." Luna let out a sigh before speaking again. "You're thinking about her aren't you?" Celestia nodded looking away. Luna followed her expression towards the window. "You sure she's changed?" "I'm sure of it. That night, she looked broken. Lost. You said it yourself, she didn't argue when you told her to clean the debris that night. Then she convinced you to let go of Snips and Snails from helping the construction team. Why would she do that if she didn't want to change?" Celestia answered before her face became more conflicted. "Then, there was the way she acted when I asked her to give her a ride home. It makes me worry Lulu. She was lying. Did you look into where she lives?" "Yes, I did. It's an old house in the far side of Canterlot and It's owned by an old lady. Sunset doesn't live there. It seems she gave us a false address." "I thought so. Princess Twilight came to me a few moments before she left and told me that Sunset is from that other world too. Which means she might be living alone since she came to this world three years ago." Celestia explained. "And with the state she's in, I can't let her live alone Lulu. I need to see if she has proper living arrangements." 'And take her in if she doesn't.' Luna thought to herself. "Very well. I'll see what I can do. It might be better if you talk to her though, Tia." Luna said. Fluttershy walked into the cafeteria after her morning classes and walked towards their usual table. Her friends were already there and were talking about something. After getting closer, she was able to make out that they were talking about Sunset. "I'm not going to be friends with her. She'll just stab you in the back the moment you turn around." Rainbow grumbled. "M-maybe she... won't?" Fluttershy offered, unsure about the girls' reaction. "She won't? Fluttershy, she shoved you to the floor at the mall." "She did what?!" Applejack asked in disbelief. "Yeah, and she was going to attack her. It's a good thing I was there or who knows what she could have done." "I-it was an a-accident, a-and she was going to help me up. N-not h-hit me." "Well I don't know what happened there but we did promise Princess Twilight that we will look after her. And we Apples always keep our promises." Applejack declared. "She's right. I too don't like Sunset one bit, but Twilight's the Princess of Friendship. So if she says Sunset can change, maybe we should lend her a hand." Rarity said. "Do whatever you want, but I'll keep my eyes on her," Rainbow said annoyed. Their conversation was cut short as they noticed that the cafeteria was suddenly quiet. They looked at the doors and saw the reason for the silence. It'd been a few hours since the construction crew arrived and they gave Sunset some work to do. They weren't some merciless slave drivers. They only gave Sunset small jobs, like filling blocks with mortar or carrying things around even if they knew that it was supposed to be her punishment. They didn't know what exactly happened, only that it was her fault. Even though it was light work, Sunset got tired quickly, which Sunset figured was a side effect of the Elements. Maybe they weren't quite done with her yet. After what seemed like an eternity, the school bell rang for lunch and one of the construction workers told her to get some rest. After a small nod, Sunset began to walk towards the cafeteria slowly, looking down. She could feel the glares and knew the quiet muttering was about her. She could make out some of them, but what she heard only made her wish she hadn't. After a walk that felt much longer than it was, she came to the cafeteria. It was full of noises. But as soon as Sunset stepped inside, It was suddenly so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Sunset glanced towards the students who were looking at her with hateful glares. Sunset slowly and carefully made her way inside the cafeteria and picked up a tray before joining the line, while the students kept their distance from her. After getting her food, Sunset turned to make her way towards a table far away from everyone else and walked there. She saw the girls that defeated her just last week looking at her. Each had variations of glares aimed at her, except for Fluttershy which puzzled her. Then again she's the kindest girl in the whole school, probably in the whole Canterlot so she concluded that she might be trying to be kind to her. 'A kindness I don't deserve. Especially from her.' She thought. Any other thoughts she might have had were cut off as the tray she had been holding suddenly flew into the air and dropped onto the ground with a loud clank. She turned her head to the side and saw Lightning Dust walking away with a smug look on her face. She looked down at her meal she had in a while, which was strewn across the floor. She honestly thought about picking out whatever was salvageable she could from the ground. Her pride was buried in the hole she crawled out of at the formal. But she was stopped by the sudden laughter that erupted from around her. She looked around and saw everyone laughing at her. She knew something like this would happen. Sooner or later, the students will be a lot less afraid of her and would want to get some revenge on her. She didn't think they'd try anything physical yet. But clearly, she was mistaken. It was just a matter of time before someone actually hit her. Rainbow already almost did. 'Maybe I should go. I can make it without food for a couple more days.' With that last thought, Sunset turned around and ran out of the cafeteria.