//------------------------------// // Chapter 16 (Edited by: Moonriseoversunset) // Story: You Will Never Be Alone // by Leo Luce //------------------------------// After all the partying and fun from last night, Sunset and the older family members told Snowdrop about Sunset's origin, now that she is a part of the family. Needless to say, Snowdrop was shocked to learn about the alternate dimension. More surprising for Snowdrop was that Sunset was a unicorn, along with what she did at the fall formal. Despite Sunset's worry, Snowdrop was understandable and stood by the words she said when she first met Sunset. They bedded down for the night, with Sunset sleeping in Snowdrop's rooms until she became accustomed to her new room. Sunset originally planned on sleeping on the floor, but with the insistence of Snowdrop soon found herself snuggling with her new sister as they both slept peacefully. Sunset and Snowdrop were roused from their sleep. Sunset followed her quick routine for school when she was running late before she started to live with Celestia and Luna so that she could help Snowdrop get ready. She was careful not to overwhelm the girl, what with her being used to getting herself ready. Before long, the time came for Snowdrop to attend CHS for the first time. Celestia and Luna went to their office to get the school started while Sunset took Snowdrop to her class. "So, you ready for the day?" Sunset asked Snowdrop, which interrupted Snowdrop from her thoughts. "Uh? Oh, yeah. It's a little scary, to be honest," Snowdrop nervously said while playing with the folds of her skirt. "Why are you scared?" "Um… my old classmates didn't actually like me for my blindness. What… what if-" "Sh sh sh-" Sunset interrupted Snowdrop, covering Snowdrop's mouth with her finger. "Don't think about that. It's in the past. Your past is not today. Applebloom and her friends are good kids. They won't think anything bad about you. Plus, you've got me, mom, Aunt, Pinkie, and Fluttershy looking out for ya. So don't worry about that, okay?" Snowdrop nodded, thankful for her new place in life. "Um, excuse me… Sunset…" They heard someone calling out to Sunset. They turned to the speaker, revealing a head of crimson hair and a hot pink bow. Applebloom stood awkwardly with her arms behind her back, shifting from foot to foot. "Oh, Hi Applebloom, I didn't see you," Sunset said. "I-it's okay… um…" "O-oh! Right, Applebloom, this is Snowdrop. Snowdrop, this is Applebloom," Sunset said, introducing the two. "Um… Hi…" Snowdrop said, waving in the direction she heard Applebloom. "Hi, it's nice to meet you," Applebloom said. "Okay, I'll leave you two now. I have to get to class. Snowdrop, everything will be okay. I'll see you later, be brave, okay?" Sunset said, holding Snowdrop's shoulder. Snowdrop nodded with a nervous smile. "So… you know her?" Applebloom asked. "Mm-hm, I do," Snowdrop said. "Okay, so… I'm supposed to show you the school and help you with any-" "Hey, you two okay? We saw Sunset. Did she try to do anything to the new kid?" They heard Scootaloo shouting with Sweetie Belle right behind her. "Oh! Hi Scootaloo, nothing happened. You don't need to worry," Applebloom said. "You sure? I don't know why my sister and her friends are staying with her, but I know she's up to no good," Sweetie Belle said. Applebloom looked a little unsure about what she said. "Actually, she-" "D-don't talk to her like t-that. S-she's a very g-good person," Snowdrop said shyly. "What? Good? Do you even know who she is?" Scootaloo asked. "Um… y-yes… I know everything about her. I know t-that she was a bully a-and what she did at the fall formal… b-but she's not l-like that anymore…" "How can you be so sure? She just acts like she's changed," Sweetie Belle said. "B-because… because she's my sister," Snowdrop said hesitantly. "What!!" the crusaders all shouted with wide eyes, believing they heard it wrong. "What did you say?" Sweetie Belle asked. "She's my big sister," Snowdrop said. "But I thought… you are joking, right?" Scootaloo asked, still not convinced. Snowdrop shook her head. "I-I understand if you don't want to be f-friends with me. And I'm b-blind and probably m-more pain that what its wort-" "What! No! Who said anything about not wanting to be friends with you?" Applebloom screeched in nearly a shout. "Yeah, we don't care if you are blind either," Sweetie Belle said. "And, guys, maybe, just maybe… she's right. Let's just wait and see. If Sunset tries anything, our sisters can stop her." Applebloom said, which the other two crusaders nodded to. "Okay, Snowdrop. Let me properly introduce my friends. This is Scootaloo." "Sup, nice to meet you," Scootaloo said. "Hi." "And this is Sweetie Belle." "Pleasure to meet you, Snowdrop," Sweetie said. "Um, pleasure." "Okay, now that that's all over, allow us to give you a little tour around the school," Applebloom said, holding Snowdrop's hand. Throughout the class, Sunset's mind was elsewhere. It shows with near-constant glances she kept giving the clock. This caught Rarity's attention. Sunset was a model student in terms of grades and behavior in the classroom. Once the teacher started, they had Sunset's complete attention. "Are you alright, dear?" Rarity asked. "What?" Sunset asked, snapping out. "You seem, what's the word I'm looking for, troubled," "What… oh no, I'm fine just, just thinking about something. It's nothing to worry about," Sunset said while she glanced quickly at the clock as she tried to go back to the lesson. After the lesson ended, Sunset was the first out of the class. She quickly made her way through the mobs of roaming teens as she headed over to Snowdrop's class. She was glad that she found paths with very little foot traffic in her time as the Queen Bee as she saw Snowdrop's room. She waited outside the class and waited for Snowdrop to leave. When she finally saw Snowdrop leave the class, she saw Snowdrop was with the crusaders, and she seemed happy enough with her possible new friends. Sunset released a breath and turned back to go to her next class when a voice made her stop. "Oh, who is your new friend, another loser like you?" Sunset turned around and saw it's Diamond Tiara. "Back off, Diamond Tiara, what's your problem?" Scootaloo asked, defending Snowdrop. "Oh nothing, just wanted to say hi to the new kid. Though I suppose you're right, I should leave you losers. Besides, what am I going to do with a blind girl anyways," Diamond Tiara said, as Silver Spoon chuckled next to her. Snowdrop lowered her head in sadness, causing Sunset's blood to boil. It's one thing when the students hated her. But when they try to do anything to her family, she couldn't stand there and do nothing. "Diamond Tiara, jus-" "Hey! Who do you think you are?" Applebloom got interrupted when they heard the angry voice of Sunset. They turned around and saw Sunset walking up to them. "W-what! Sunset, I- I was just-" "You what? Huh, let me tell you something, if I ever, ever see you doing anything to Snowdrop, I'm going to make your life a nightmare, understood? You all forget I still have dirt on everyone here," Sunset said to Diamond Tiara, looking dead in the eye, with her face inches away from her. That last part was a lie, as Sunset had gotten rid of everything the day after the fall formal, but Diamond didn't need to know that. Diamond Tiara could swear that she saw Sunset's eyes flashed orange for a split second before she nodded repeatedly. She quickly ran away with Silver Spoon close at her heels as they fled from them, leaving only a dust cloud where she was before. "Hey Snowdrop, you okay?" She asked, kneeling beside Snowdrop. Snowdrop nodded, still holding her head low. "Hey, don't be sad. They are the losers for not seeing how great you are." Sunset looked up at the crusaders and saw they are looking at her in fear. "Uh… you okay?" "W-what!" Applebloom asked. "I asked, uh… nevermind." "Sunset?" Snowdrop called. "What happened?" "What do you mean?" "Well, when you yelled at Diamond Tiara, I felt a lot of heat… like you are on fire." "I, was what?" Sunset asked, dumbfounded. "Y-yeah… I felt that t-too," Applebloom said, still looking at Sunset in fear. "I… I don't know…" Sunset said, looking at her hands. "You should go back to class. And don't worry, Diamond Tiara won't come to trouble you again." Sunset said quickly before leaving for her next class, all the while wondering what had happened. The rest of the day went by without any more incidents as Sunset tried to focus on her lessons. The keyword was tried, as she was otherwise distracted by a more pressing matter than learning how to solve cosecant formula or something about Chancellor Puddinghead and carrots. She couldn't help but think that maybe her inner demon was back. Sunset made a mental note to talk to Celestia about it. It's better to be safe than sorry. After all, they are her family. Also, Sunset decided it's time to reveal her secret to her friends, as she walked into the music room with Snowdrop. The girls were getting ready for practice when they saw them coming. "Hey! Snowdrop!" Pinkie shouted as she ran and hugged the blind girl. "Hi, Pinkie," Snowdrop said. "So, yer the new kid Applebloom got to show around the school. Well, I'm Applejack, Appleblooms sister. It's nice to meet you," Applejack said, tilting her hat. "Hi, Applebloom told me about you." "Hello darling, I'm Rarity, Sweetie Belle's sister. It's a pleasure to meet you," Rarity greeted herself. "Um… pleasures mine?" "Hey kid, name's Rainbow Dash, you've probably heard of me," Rainbow said. "Um… yeah… Scootaloo talks about you, a lot," "Hehe, of course, she does. I'm only the coolest person in school." "Anyway, what brings you here? Want to listen to our awesome music?" Applejack asked. "Actually, I want to tell you girls about something," Sunset said. Everyone looked at her with raised eyebrows. "About what? And what does it has to do with Snowdrop?" Rarity asked. "Oh, my… are you going to…" Fluttershy said as she helped Snowdrop to a seat. "Yeah, it's about that," Sunset said. "Uh… what are you talking about?" Rainbow asked. "Oh! Oh! are going to tell them about it? It was killing me the whole time, trying not to say anything about that. I JUST CAN'T KEEP A SECRETE IF THERES NO PARTY INVOLVED." Pinkie shouted. "Yes, Pinkie, I'm going to tell them about it," Sunset said. "Okay, so...um… I… well… we are friends now… right? So maybe it's time… I tell you about my… family…" Sunset said, unsure about how they would react. "Your family?" Applejack asked. "Yeah… well… um, deep breaths Sunset, in, out. Okay, first of all, Snowdrop here is my… sister…" "She's what?" Everyone asked except Pinkie and Fluttershy shouted. "Well, it's a long story. I'll tell you from the beginning," Sunset said, as she began to tell her tale. She began from the day of the fall formal, of how Principal Celestia came to her that night. How she found out about Sunset's living condition, hearing this made all the girls gasp. "You lived in an abandoned factory?" Rarity asked dramatically. "Uh… yeah… remember? I'm a unicorn from another world. I was fortunate enough to find that place and enough money to forge papers to attend CHS." Sunset said. "Anyway, after she found me, she took me to her home-" "More like a mansion," Pinkie said, giggling, interrupting Sunset. "Wait, you've been there?" Rainbow asked. "Yeah, so has Fluttershy." "Why did you two get to go there?" Applejack asked. "I'm getting to that," Sunset said. "As I was saying, Principal Celestia took me to her home to stay until we figure out what to do. I had to stay there for a few more days." Sunset said. Then, her face suddenly changed, brightening it a bit. "Then, on Saturday, the most wonderful thing happened to me. That day, I came home after working at the Sushi Restaurant in the mall. Everything was normal until after dinner. Vice-Principal Luna came to my room and told me that Principal Celestia was looking for me and to wait in her room till she gets back. Once I went to her room, I saw something that I never thought I'd see. Luna planned it all along." "What? What did she plan?" Rainbow asked. "Luna's a bit of a prankster. It was obvious afterward." "What? Luna and a prank? You sure we're thinking of the same Luna?" Rainbow asked again. "Yeah, both Luna and Celestia are quite different when they're outside of school. Anyway, I saw a manila folder on her table, and a paper was poking outside of it. The word on the paper made me curious, and I went to check it out. And I saw they are adoption papers. Right then, Celestia came inside and saw me. After that, I found out she was going to adopt m-" "Wait, Principal Celestia adopted you?" Rarity exclaimed as she looked for something to 'faint' on. "Yeah, she did. I couldn't believe it at the moment. But it was true. Mom didn't want anyone to know about it at the moment because she thought it could cause problems, considering my reputation here." Sunset said, moving closer to Snowdrop. "After that, Pinkie took me to the orphanage, where I met Snowdrop. And yesterday, we adopted her. Pinkie and Fluttershy helped to make the welcoming party. So now, Snowdrop is my little sister," Sunset said, hugging Snowdrop. "And that's about it, anything you want to know?" "It's all a lovely story, but… how did Celestia actually adopt you? I mean… you are a unicorn from another world, and whatever paperwork you had was forged. Didn't that cause a problem?" Rarity asked. "Well, one of Luna's friends helped me. She works for the government, I guess, and she did my legal paperwork," Sunset explained. "Okay, so how did you have money to live?" Rainbow asked. "Well, would you believe if I said gems don't have any value in Equestria?" "What?!" Everyone shouted. "Yeah, they are everywhere there. Ponies even farm them. I had a handful of gems with me when I came to this world, and they worth a fortune here. But it was too late when I knew that. I got scammed, but the money I got was enough to forge the paperwork and live for a few days. After that, I started attending CHS, I… um… b-bullied for money…so yeah…" Sunset said, ashamed at the last part. "You bullied for money?" Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah… not the best option, but without legal paperwork, I didn't want to get any job. I'm in a lot of trouble if people found out about me… sorry…" Sunset said, looking down. After that, a long silence fell upon them. The group all thought of what Sunset had to go through. It made sense why she became so aggressive and controlling in the later years. The stress of her situation and fear of what could happen to her caused her to lash out. Many of them couldn't imagine what Sunset went through these past years. Especially considering that the winters had been particularly harsh. The small two experiencing four blizzards and record-breaking cold fronts. It was thoughts like these that caused them to look at Sunset, not as a bully turned friend, but as a survivor that was now safe and surrounded by people that care for her. For a while, they sat in thoughtful silence until it was broken by Pinkie. "Well, you have us now. That's never going to happen again. We'll help you whenever you need it. You know what that means? Now that everyone knows your secret, I can at last throw a big, SUNSET AND SNOWDROP GOT ADOPTED PARTY!!!!" Pinkie shouted while jumping and throwing confetti out of nowhere to the amusement of everyone. "Um… maybe-" "Save it, Sunset, Pinkie going to throw that party no matter what," Rainbow said, picking confetti out of her hair.