//------------------------------//
// Chapter 20 
// Story: Blamed 
// by Madox 
//------------------------------//

Canterlot City was busy with activity. Everywhere, people were walking around doing last-minute purchases for the upcoming New Year celebrations. Barely anyone paid any attention to the lone girl walking down the snow-free sidewalk without a destination in mind, aside from a  few teenagers who recognized her but didn't dare to approach her after everything they did to her over the last two weeks of school, even if they couldn't tell which one she was.

Not that Shimmer had any intention to talk with any of them. She was content with being left alone at the moment, giving her the time and peace to think.

The previous day had been the first court day regarding Anon-a-Miss,  focusing on the attempted murder charges, and to say that Shimmer had been nervous was an understatement. She was technically an illegal alien after all, and there was always the fear in the back of her mind that it would take a bad turn and she would get arrested.

At first,  that fear seemed close to realization when the judge was eyeing her and  Sunset curiously after first introductions, believing they were trying to trick them all with the twin appearance, but Principal Celestia and  Vice Principal Luna both vouched for her, Shimmer having been a student at CHS for years while Sunset had been miles away in a different state at the same time. The judge seemed satisfied by that and waved it off as one of nature's oddities.

The trial continued as the judge listened to everything that happened. Gilda remained silent for most of the time, seemingly having realized it wouldn't help her case if she began talking about Shimmer being a pony from another dimension. With the evidence piled against her, she was not about to make it worse by getting sent to an asylum. 

One of the biggest surprises of the day was when Shimmer spoke in favor of Rainbow Dash and the three girls.  She stated that while they did start Anon-a-Miss, she doubted that they had any intention for it to go the way it did and that they had never before acted in any malicious way. She also stated that while Rainbow had a very short fuse and was known to act without thinking from time to time, she would never cause harm of this magnitude to anyone. Principal  Celestia and Vice Principal Luna reinforced those statements later on when asked by the judge about their judgment of character from their behavior at school.

The judge listened to everything with a stoic visage, only interrupting if something needed clarifying.

In the end, Gilda had been found guilty on all charges, with the specifics of her sentence being determined on a later date. The last Shimmer saw of the girl was Gilda sending death glares at Shimmer and her twin while being escorted out of the room in cuffs.

With no evidence of her involvement in Gilda's actions besides Gilda's statement of her being the one telling her to go after Sunset, Rainbow had been declared not guilty, but the judge advised her to maybe look into help for anger management.

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had also been declared not guilty thanks to their young age, lack of involvement with  Gilda's actions, and underestimation of the consequences of the page they started. The judge made sure to emphasize that this only applied to the charges regarding attempted murder, not for the rest of the damage caused by Anon-a-Miss, the trial of which was set for a different date.

The girls only nodded in acknowledgment, just happy to be free of the attempted murder charge. Court was adjourned soon after, and Shimmer left with Sunset and her family before Rainbow or the girls could try to talk with them.

Shimmer sighed deeply. She was glad that the most important part of this madness was finally over and that Gilda got what she deserved, while the brats would get their punishment later, but it also meant that there was nothing left to distract her. Now she had the time to think about what might be the biggest decision in her life.

Should she accept Desert’s and Northern's offer to live with them and Sunset in the human world, or should she return to Equestria to build her own life there?

Turning the corner, Shimmer stopped for a second in surprise when she realized where her feet had taken her, only to shake her head and chuckle to herself. "Of course I end up here," she quietly said to herself as she resumed walking towards Canterlot High.

Deciding against sitting on the cold stone steps of the front entrance like she did last week, Shimmer made her way towards one of the benches positioned nearby, which had been cleared of snow, facing towards the statue with the school's parking lot behind her.

Looking over the schoolyard, Shimmer thought about everything that happened here, from her rise to power as the queen bee and her fall and defeat at the Fall  Formal, to her fighting beside the same girls she antagonized against the sirens…to those same friends abandoning and betraying her. However,  while most she experienced at CHS was bad, she still thought back to the few good times she had and cherished them.

She smiled while thinking back, resting her chin on her palm as her eyes roamed over the yard.

"Sunset?"

Pulled out of her memories, Shimmer looked over her shoulder to the parking lot, where she saw a single white car had parked recently without her noticing and the familiar woman making her way towards her from said car.

Shimmer smiled. "Good afternoon, Principal Celestia."

"Good afternoon," Celestia replied with her own smile as she came to a stop behind the bench, "but there is no need for you to call me principal anymore. As much as it pains me, you are not one of my students any longer. Just Celestia is fine."

"Right," Shimmer admitted, her smile falling slightly at the reminder. "So, what brings you here during the holidays? And how did you know it was me and not my double?"

"Well,  I can't think of any reason why the other you would sit here, looking over the yard lost in thought," Celestia said. "And I just came to grab a  few documents I need to look through over the break. What about you?  You never struck me as a person who comes out here just to reminisce."

"True,"  Shimmer said as she turned back towards the statue. "I was just taking a  walk and ended up here somehow and decided to take a break." She remained silent afterward until she heard steps and saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Looking to the side, she saw Celestia walking around the bench and sitting down beside her.

"Got something on your mind?" Celestia asked, her eyes focused on the statue.

"You could say that," Shimmer said with a sigh before she smirked at the woman, one eyebrow raised. "But you already know what it is. Desert and  Northern asked you for help and advice after all."

"That's true,  but I didn't know if they had talked with you about it yet," Celestia said. "I didn't want to spoil anything. So, I assume you are trying to  figure out what to do?"

"Yeah, it's not an easy choice to make.  Staying in this world that had been my home for the last several years,  or going back to my original home and being a pony again."

Celestia nodded beside her. "I can't imagine how hard it must be."

They fell into silence, neither of them saying anything until Shimmer snorted. "You know, every second that passes, I expect you to give me  some clever advice which leads me to make the right decision or  whatever."

Celestia smiled. "Like the other me would have done?"  Shimmer's eyes widened as she looked towards the woman, who kept smiling. "Don't be so surprised. While you never mentioned her by name,  you told me enough about your mentor since the Fall Formal to allow me to piece a few things together. And thinking back to your behavior around me the first time you came to school helped as well. But I'm not  an immortal, centuries-old ruler of a country who controls the sun with  huge amounts of experience and wisdom." She turned to her former student. "I'm just a high school principal in her forties. I make  mistakes like everybody else, as recent events show."

Shimmer frowned. "Celestia, I want you to know that I don't blame either you or your sister for what happened."

"Thank you, Sunset. And I want you to know that while Luna and I did follow any lead we had, which includes everything that pointed at you being Anon-a-Miss, none of us believed that you were the one behind it," Celestia said. "But going back to the beginning, I'm afraid there is not much I can help you with. While I  have been in situations where I had to make a hard decision between two options, nothing comes even close to choosing which world to live in.  This is something no one in this world has gone through. None that I know of, anyway."

Shimmer chuckled. "Yeah, that's true."

"You are the only one who can make this decision," Celestia continued.  "Everyone you ask can only give you advice on what they would do or what  they assume would be what you want, but you are the only one who knows  what you want, even if you are still trying to figure out what it is."  Celestia placed her hand on Shimmer's shoulder. "Listen to your heart.  It’s the only place where you can find this answer."

Shimmer remained quiet, thinking about what Celestia said before she smiled. "Thank you for the advice, Celestia."

Celestia gave Shimmer a smile of her own. "It's no trouble. I will always help  those around me if I can, be it student," she said, waving her hand  towards the school building before placing it once more on Shimmer's  shoulder, "or friend."

The girl and the woman smiled at each other before Celestia rose from her seat. After stretching her limbs for a moment, she spoke up. "I'm afraid I have to go now; those documents won't gather themselves, as much as I would like that. I hope  that you will come to visit Luna and me sometimes, no matter what you  decide to do."

"Of course. I won't let you wait too long," Shimmer said as Celestia began walking towards the school entrance.

Shimmer watched her walking for a few moments before she rose from her seat. As she was crossing the yard to get back to her temporary home, she stopped. She turned towards the entrance just as Celestia was about to enter the building.

"Celestia!" she called out, catching the principal's attention. With a smile on her face, Shimmer bowed her head slightly towards her. "Thank you for giving me a chance after the Fall  Formal." Celestia smiled back and gave her a nod before she stepped inside and closed the door.

Shimmer stood in place and sighed.  While she still wasn't sure what to do now, the chat with her teacher of two worlds felt good. One more time, she let her gaze wander over the building before she buried her hands in the pockets of her jacket and began the walk back towards her friend's home.


~*~


Shimmer looked in silence through the crack of the doorway into the living room, where Desert and Northern were lying on separate couches, watching a movie. She had been standing behind the door for several minutes now,  ever since she excused herself from Sunset to visit the bathroom. She knew she had to tell them her decision, but part of her wanted to let it be for now, to wait maybe another day or two to think about everything.

Shaking her head, Shimmer took a deep breath. It had been two days since her talk with Celestia and one day since she had made a decision and began stalling herself to tell them. She would not remain silent any longer. 

With another deep breath, she lifted her hand and knocked slightly before she slowly opened the door. It felt to her like the knock was way too light for anyone to hear, but when the door opened, she saw both Desert and Northern looking at her.

"Hey," she said quietly. "Could we talk for a moment?"

Desert and Northern shared a look before Desert took the remote and shut off the TV. "Of course, sweetie," Northern said while she rose from her couch to a sitting position, with Desert doing the same.

Taking her time, Shimmer moved towards the free couch, the same place she occupied on Christmas morning. She sat down and looked at the two adults but remained quiet. For what felt to her like an eternity, she sat in silence, while Desert and Northern both waited patiently, silently telling her to take all the time she needed.

Shimmer's mind was racing. She had thought long about what to say and how to say it, but now the words just didn't come to her. In the end, she just decided to wing it.

"I wanted to thank you," she began, letting the words come out on their own, "for everything you did for me over the last week. Even with everything happening that led up to it, this Christmas has been one of the best I can remember. I'm also very grateful for your offer to stay with you as a part of your family. But...

"During that week I spent with Twilight in Equestria before I met you, I  realized how much I missed being a pony. I missed my soft fur, feeling  the grass beneath my hooves, and the ever-present feeling of magic  everywhere that you only notice when it's gone."

Shimmer looked down at her lap, frowning. "I made many mistakes before I left, and I  think it's time I make it up to those I wronged." Slowly, she began to smile as she looked up and made eye contact with the two adults. "And  thanks to you, I even have new hope of finding my parent's relatives,  which I honestly had given up on long ago."

Closing her eyes to take a deep breath, Shimmer sat up straight and looked at Desert and  Northern. "Thank you again for your offer, but I have to decline. I’ve decided to go back to Equestria. I'm sorry."

For a moment,  Northern and Desert looked in surprise at Shimmer. They shared a look before Desert spoke up. "Sunset, there’s no need for you to apologize for anything," he said. "We knew from the beginning that you might  decline, and as we said, all that’s important to us is that you are  happy, be it with or without us by your side."

Northern rose from her couch to take the place beside Shimmer, placing her hand on  Shimmer’s right shoulder. "Desert is right. Your happiness is all that  matters."

Shimmer chuckled, wiping a tear from her eye. "It still  felt like the right thing to do." Before Shimmer could continue, a pair of amber arms wrapped themselves around her from behind the couch, and she could not help but smile. 'Of course, she came looking for me and listened in once she realized I was gone too long,' she thought.

"I'm gonna miss you..." Sunset said, her head now resting on Shimmer's other shoulder. "You’re my only friend in this town."

"I  know, but I think it's for the best," Shimmer said calmly while Sunset released her to walk around the couch and take the seat on her free side. "I'm sure you’ll make new friends soon enough once school starts up again, and besides, I'm not leaving right now. I still want to stay  for a while longer until I can take care of everything necessary." She quickly looked at Desert. "That is, if you don't have any problems with  it."

"Of course not," he said without hesitation. "You are free to stay as long as you want."

"And should you ever need anything, feel free to ask us," Northern said while she pulled Shimmer into a hug, which Sunset copied from the other side. "Our door will always be open for you, because as far as we are  concerned, you will always be a part of this family."

"Indeed,  there is nothing more to say," Desert said while he walked around the couch to take Sunset's previous place behind them and wrapped his arms around all of them, joining the hug.

Shimmer couldn't help but smile, tears flowing down her cheeks as she melted into the hugs.  "Thanks," she mumbled. "It means a lot to me."

That was all Sunset could say to express her gratitude, too overwhelmed by the family's love. It was good to know that no matter what, she always had a safe place to return to, but for now, she knew it was time.

Time to go home.