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CHAPTER 10a
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“Yeah Bloom was there. About half a block behind Sunset. Recognized the jacket. Why do you ask?”
The message on the cell phone screen goes unanswered, and the screen dims. The backlight, set to shutoff after five minutes of inactivity, soon turns black. It rests on its owner’s chest as she simply stares at the ceiling. The heels of her palms are pressed into her temples.
“Flash could be lying. Bloom could be lying. Sunset may be lying. Micro and Pinkie could be lying. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle may be lying, but they wouldn't. But neither would Flash, Bloom, Micro, or Pinkie, unless Sunset had her talons in them. But what could she have on them? What is her plan? Lie about the suicide attempt, cut her wrists, and blackmail people into framing Apple Bloom. But why would she frame Apple Bloom if she required her cooperation? She relied on Apple Bloom as a witness. Is she pitting Micro and Pinkie against Flash and Bloom? What could she have to pit them against each other? Why would they agree to it if their deepest secrets were already revealed?” She sighs.
“If Bloom and Flash are telling the truth, Sunset tried to kill herself, or at least she put herself in a position to make herself seemingly in danger, but Sunset wouldn't put herself in danger like that. So they must be lying on Sunset’s behalf. Their story exists to bring sympathy to Sunset. Bloom tells Applejack the story at great personal cost. There must be something truly awful Sunset has over her to make her say that. Flash lying makes sense, who knows what else Sunset has over him. Micro and Pinkie can’t be telling the truth, otherwise either Bloom would be telling the truth about half of it or all of it. Micro will lie, of course, whenever he bothers to answer me. But he's a terrible liar.”
As if on cue her phone buzzes. She picks it up and slides on the MyStable notification, then waits for the app to open. Her message inbox opens automatically and allows her to read the message history.
Rare-indeed
Hello Micro. I believe that you and Pinkie recently had a conversation regarding the internet. I have been lead to believe that in your eyes, the person running the Anon-a-Miss blog created it through a certain IP address. Would you mind explaining in layman’s terms what exactly that means, please?
xxC007ranch-H4CK3Rxx
0h hi Rarity! I didn't think you would ever be curious about IP addresses. 0h well, I'm sure it's for something cool. Anyway, basically every single computer has a different set of numbers indicating its IP address. That's like a street address, where the number is your computer and the street name is your router- the box with the flashing lights on it. Whenever you do anything on the internet, the info is stamped with your IP address. All data traveling on the internet can be traced by this number. Lots of programs can even trace them to specific cities.
That's very interesting, Micro. But may I ask how exactly did your conversation with Pinkie Pie go?
Oh, she asked me to find the “parent email” which isn't really something that exists but I kinda knew what she meant so I checked out the blog and ran a scan on it real quick and found the address and I sent it to her and she thanked me, and... that's about it for that day. Then a while later she told me about how the first three numbers were the same as a video game console at Applejack’s house, so Sunset Shimmer wasn't actually Anon-a-Miss. I’m skeptical... but the numbers don't lie.
What does Sunset have over you?
...um. what?
What is she blackmailing you with?
I'm sorry, I don't really know what you mean. I don't have anything to be blackmailed with, not anymore.
Micro, please, my friends have all abandoned me because Sunset turned them all against me. She concocted a story about being sooooo depressed and suicidal, she’s blackmailing Applebloom and Flash into corroborating some sob story about an attempted suicide, she's got to be blackmailing you into giving Pinkie Pie false information, or both of you into corroborating this story. Fluttershy won't speak to me. Please, Micro, I need proof.
Whoa, that's a lot. Okay, so... you're saying that Sunset blackmailed Applebloom into pretending to be Anon-a-Miss, and blackmailed Flash into telling you she tried to kill herself, and either blackmailed me into telling Pinkie a random IP address that just so happened to match Applebloom’s OR both of us into making up this story, and you're the only one smart enough to know all of this?
Yes. That is exactly what I'm saying. There is no possible way on earth that all of you are telling the truth. There's no way that Anon-a-Miss is anyone but Sunset.
Why not Applebloom and her friends?
Because they're family. Family wouldn't do that.
Pinkie Pie wouldn't lie to anyone to keep them away from their friends. She would die for any random stranger who smiled at her because she's a ray of sunshine. Flash Sentry wouldn't lie to anyone to help Sunset even if she threatened to kill him. Applebloom is the world’s second worst liar behind only her sister. And I would never lie to you. You know that. You've known that I've been in love with you since before I ever even asked you out back in middle school. I respect that you don't return the feelings, because I'm just glad to be your friend, but you know how I feel about you. And I would never lie to anyone, especially not to you, if it ended up hurting you.
Then what am I supposed to believe, Micro? That my sister uploaded my private photos just to make me hate Sunset? I trust her more than I trust you. That isn't to say anything negative about your character but Sweetie Belle would never hurt me like that.
And I would? And Flash? Applebloom? PINKIE PIE?
Pinkie didn't need to be blackmailed to hate me before Twilight came. Applebloom has no special attachment to me beyond being her friend’s sister. Flash barely spoke to me until Twilight came. And maybe you aren't being blackmailed. Maybe you're being bribed with, I don't know, say, the nudes that she's threatening me with exposing? All of you are capable of lying to me for any number of goals or reason, especially if Sunset is pulling your strings.
You really think that little of us?
You're the ones stabbing me in the back for the bitch queen. You have no room to pass judgment.
k
<this user cannot be messaged>
Rarity resists the urge to throw her phone into the wall, and instead tosses it down the bed towards her feet.
“Of course he'd block me...” she murmurs bitterly, as she rolls over to glare at the morning sun. “It's easier than maintaining a façade with me. If only I could find out what she had over him... perhaps if we speak in person at school he'll be much more inclined to cooperate.”
She pulls her blanket up over her head. “I certainly have the time free to do so...”
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Sunset pulls the bathroom door shut and follows Rainbow Dash down the hall to her bedroom.
The athlete nudges the door open with her foot, and flips on the light switch. Above, the ceiling fan sets alight and begins lazily circling in place.
The right corner is occupied by a bed, its frame in the shape of a cumulus cloud. Teal sheets and a cerulean comforter sit rumpled but somewhat straight-ish if you squint. A guitar and the journal sit on top. A nightstand and dresser sit on either side of the bed. The rest of the room is pure chaotic hell.
Laundry, sports equipment, food wrappers, various video game accessories, and guitar tablature books are strewn across the floor. It’s nearly impossible to tell if there is any furniture underneath the mess. A decently sized CRT TV sits hung up on the wall.
“Make yourself at home,” Rainbow invites, sitting on her bed and putting her guitar in her lap. It was a cool electric blue with a scarlet fretboard, with three dials and a whammy bar on the base.
“That looks cool,” Sunset tentatively murmurs, finding a spot next to her. “Hearth’s Warming present?”
“Yup!” Rainbow proudly proclaims. “This baby is my new pride and joy. Fender Stratocaster, just like all the legends. Blackmare, Claptrot, Neighndrix, Vaughandalusia... oh, uh, sorry, you probably don't know who those people are since you're, well... not from here.”
“Actually, uh...” Sunset lets out a short, melancholy laugh. “I know some of those names. Flash would talk about them a lot.”
“Oh yeah... right.” She strums. “I know we literally just talked about that. I just didn’t think you really had an interest in anything besides world domination back then...” She strummed again.
“G flat... minor?”
“E flat, but I might be out of tune. So whaddaya wanna do? Dinner won't be ready for a few hours.”
“I don't know, I... uh. I'm new to the whole solo hangouts thing. It's always been with all of you, or most of you anyway. I'm not really sure what two people even do. You know, when there's not a crisis, or sexual tension, or studying magic to do.”
“Sexual tension, eeeehh?” Rainbow asks, with a smirk and a dramatic wink, and puts the dorsum of her right hand against her forehead. “Oh, SUNset, why didn't you say anything before?”
“Pff...” Sunset gently shakes her head. “Not with you, you're not my type. But if you want I could go and call up Blossomforth for you.”
“Oh Sunset. You're so naive. I am everyone’s type. Even the straight girls would want me if they knew I was open for business.”
“My type is... ponies.”
“Would... would it help if I put on a horse mask?”
“Are you actively trying to get in my pants? Or, uh, skirt, in this case?”
“Nah. You're not exactly my type either. I can respect the leather biker aesthetic, and Fluttershy, but I don't wanna get in bed with either of those, and you're kinda wearing Fluttershy’s clothes.”
“Oh yeah... so what songs do you know?”
“A couple. I'm not amazing right now, I just barely started. But I know a couple chords.” Rainbow strummed three times, four times, then five times, left fingers climbing the fretboard in an ascending then descending pattern. “Smoke on the Water, baby’s first song.”
“I think I recognize that one. Flash tried to teach it to me. It was pretty easy, it was just the pull-off that gave me trouble. I'd show you right now but...” she glanced down at her forearms. “I'm not in the best shape for music making at the moment.”
“You'll have time. We've still got several years of high school left. And now that you're back with us again, this time for good, I’ll totally teach you stuff if you want.”
“I’d like that... thanks.”
Rainbow nods and turns her attention to the instrument. She starts playing a series of three arpeggios, playing the highest, a lower one, and a second lower one, before playing the middle and then the highest again.
“Blue Öyster Colt?”
“Bingo.”
A knock at the door has both girls turn their head. It opens to reveal Rainbow’s mom.
“Hey girls, I don't mean to interrupt, but Sunset, you're vegetarian, right?”
Sunset nods. “I avoid eating meat if I can. I mean, I can digest it, and I'll eat it if it's there. I don't want anyone to go through trouble on my part.”
“Oh don't be silly, dear, with how often Fluttershy comes over it's honestly more convenient to just make everything vegetarian anyway. Mushroom tastes better than beef too, and being honest it’s easier to digest for Bow. Oh, wait, do you like mushrooms?”
“Yeah, mushrooms are good.”
“What about cabbage?”
“That’s fine.”
“Beetroot?”
“Yeah, it's fine.”
“Or asparagus-
“Everything sounds fine,”
“-or onion, or pickles-”
“I'll eat whatever, okay!”
Windy takes a slight step back. “Okay... I just want you to feel at home, and make food that you like.”
“I appreciate your hospitality, ma’am,” Sunset says, wringing her hands. “I’m not picky. I appreciate that you're cooking. I just...”
“I understand. You two have fun.” She closes the door.
Sunset waits a few seconds before putting her head in her hands.
“Mom’s aggressively polite,” Rainbow murmurs. “She would apologize for hurting you if she took a bullet out of you. She's a lot like Fluttershy like that.”
“So... she's just. Like that? All the time?”
Rainbow shrugs. “She's like that with all of the company I bring. AJ, Pinkie, Rare... uh, I haven't brought over Twilight, we just never had that opportunity. But I'm sure if I did she’d be the same way.”
Sunset sighs. “So it's not just... pity?”
“Pity? Why?”
Sunset motions with her bandage-wrapped arms. “Is everyone just gonna coddle me now? Oh you poor baby, sad little depressed girl cutting herself up, better handle her like porcelain so she doesn't just shatter everywhere, I don't wanna be the one who sets her off.”
“Sunset, that isn't what happened. Nobody who matters is gonna think less of you or try to put on kid gloves. Mom is neurotic because she’s got ptsd from seeing hundreds of people die. If she’s giving any extra attention to you it's because she knows mental illness when she sees it, and she’s one of the best people to deal with this kind of stuff. She helped out Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie through their depression stuff, and she just wants to help you. Okay?”
Sunset purses her lips. “Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie? Had depression?”
Rainbow leans back, bonking her head onto the wall. “Oops. Yeah. They did.”
“Really?” Sunset follows suit. “Never would have guessed.”
“Why’s that?”
“I just can't picture either of them being... in my position.”
“Well, I mean, personalities can change over time. You... you're a big example.”
She nods. “I suppose so... did... was some of it my fault?”
“I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, yeah. You tormented everybody. I hated you for hurting my friends.” She gives a melancholy smirk. “That's kinda why I sorta went berserk yesterday. You hurt the people I care about, then you turned good so I could forgive you. But then this whole mess happened and I thought you betrayed the trust and forgiveness I gave you. But, hey, now we know that's a lie and we can all move on.” She absentmindedly started playing more arpeggios. “We just need everyone else to get that now.”
“Three Stables Down?”
“Mmhmm.”
Sunset pauses. “Wait. Why the fuck is every single band name a horse pun?”
Rainbow shrugs. “Well, God’s a horse. People are religious.”
“Just because Faust created this world doesn't make her a God.”
“She's a space horse from a different dimension who made the universe, I think that makes her God.”
“Why do you keep saying God as a proper noun rather than as a descriptive noun?”
A blank stare answers her question.
“Alright, uh. Why do you keep saying ‘God’ but not ‘a god’?”
“Well, cuz there's only one. Probably. I dunno if she's real or not but if there was any god there’d be only one.”
“Interesting.”
“You believe there could be lots of them?”
“I've done lots of research on paranormal, occult, divine, and other such phenomenae. Uh. Ghosts, demons, and holy junk. And there's still so much about the world we don't understand. I mean, all the books and scrolls and tomes in the ancient library I could find about the mirror that lead me here, not a single piece of information about this world exists over there. And I'm sure nothing in this world says anything about magic or talking ponies. If I had never gone on my power trip, if I'd stayed a good little obedient filly, both of us might have gone our whole lives never knowing there was an entire world just inches from our fingertips. Before I came here I was really skeptical but now I feel like anything is possible. Making decisions and assumptions about the natural world around us based solely on our own experiences and opinions is academically dishonest, and that's why I can have this disagreement with you without turning it into an argument.”
Rainbow slowly nods. “I... understood maybe half of that. But basically, yeah, the world’s weird and we shouldn't fight each other just because we have different opinions.” She sighs. “What am I, an after school special now?”
“A kids book. Teach me how to count to ten now!”
“Red is spelled r e d. Reeeeed.”
“How do the ABGs go again?”
“...”
“What?”
“What in the FUCK is ABG?”
Sunset cocks her head to the side. “You know... the alphabet. A B G D E Z-”
“Okay first you think biscuits are cookies, now you think the alphabet is out of order-”
“You call scones biscuits-”
“It's A B C D E F G-”
“Wait, what?”
“A B C D E F-”
“OH!” Sunset looks wide-eyed in realization across the room. “Is that why music notes and letter grades are in that weird order?”
“Weird order!?” Rainbow sputters. “It's the alphabet!”
“I guess our worlds use different alphabets... why do you skip E in grades but not music notes?”
Rainbow blinks. “I... don't know.”
“All I know is in Equestria, your A is an HD, your B is a D, your C is Cr, your D is P, and your F is, well, F.”
“That is... confusing as shit.”
“It is not confusing! There's high distinction, distinction, credit, pass, and fail. It makes perfect sense!”
“I like A B C D F. It makes sense to me.”
“Eh... that's fair I guess.” Sunset folds her hands. “You... do you want help studying?”
“I'm fine.”
“I'm just saying, if you need help, I-”
“Suns. Please. I've got it. I appreciate the offer but I don't need help. I just need to pay better attention in class so I can get a good grade on the exams.”
“Alright. I know that your grades are a touchy subject so I won't push. And I'll drop it. Okay?”
Rainbow nods. “Thanks.” She strums again, then begins a series of slow and deliberate climbs and rapid falls. “If I did need help studying I’d ask for it. And anyway, my grades are the least of your concerns. You should worry about your health and stuff, you know?”
“Yeah, I see where you're coming from. I just hate knowing that my friends aren’t in the best of circumstances. Even when I thought you girls hated me. Oh, Red Hot Filly Pep-” Sunset sighs. “Another... another goddamn horse pun.”
“Are there any horseland musicians that aren't horse puns?”
She shrugs. “There's Sapphire Shores, Countess Coloratura, Songbird Serenade. There's a lot of alliteration but maybe I'm only remembering the ones with the same letter names because of that. There's plenty more, but I never really listened to pop music. I was always more into symphonies, orchestras, the occasional musical. Princess Celestia loved musicals, and I wanted brownie points so I told her I wanted to come because I loved them too even though at first I didn't, but eventually I really got into them.”
Rainbow nods, fingers absentmindedly performing a heavily syncopated riff. “I can't say I like any of those, personally. I've always been into punk and rock. Started getting into metal recently, like this one. It's fun. Something about the raw aggression and technical mastery is just right up my alley, but. Uh. Rarity... doesn't like it. At all. And neither does Fluttershy, she gets bad anxiety cuz of all of the distortion and screaming. AJ and Pinkie like some of it though. Actually this one,” she pauses to accentuate the notes. “Is AJ’s favorite right now, but she likes their more mellow songs a bit more.”
“What's it called?”
“Oh, they're Five... uh...” she stops in her tracks. “You're not gonna like this.”
Sunset closes her eyes. “What's the pun?”
“It's, uh. Um. Oh man. Five hoof death kick.”
Sunset leans back against the wall. “What.”
“They got the name from a movie about an assassin who retired but then her boss beat her into a coma so when she woke up she wanted revenge so she got on her horse and she made it kick him to death five times.”
“It...” Sunset opens her eyes and furrows her brow. “It kicked him to death five times?”
“Yeah.”
“He died five times?”
“No, the horse kicked him five times. To death.”
“So the horse kicked him four times and he didn't die, but the fifth time killed him?”
“Yeah.”
“How?”
“Well, the horse knew a secret hidden forbidden technique from an ancient master who lived in Chineigh, and the first four kicks were just to activate certain chi energy points, and after the fifth one when you take five steps then your heart explodes.”
“So he died from the heart explosion?”
“No, the horse was just really strong.”
“That's stupid. What’s the point of the exploding heart if he just died from getting stomped to death by a horse?”
Rainbow rubs her left temple. “Because the boss knew that she deserved to have her revenge so he let himself die honorably in combat. It was poetic, and it subverted expectations.”
“But she didn't have her revenge, because the horse is the one who killed him. Is this movie a comedy?”
“No, it's an action movie!”
“It sounds silly.”
“It's not silly, it's awesome, she has a samurai sword and a motorcycle and she goes to Neighpon and fights off eighty eight guys all by herself and then has a showdown with one of her former partners.”
Sunset cocks her head to the side. “So she fights eighty nine people and wins? Seems a little bit unrealistic.”
“Well she was a highly trained assassin.”
“Well, so was the partner, right? She was tired from fighting eighty eight people, she’d have been at a constant disadvantage.”
“Exactly, so the partner underestimated her, and her pride was her downfall!”
“Alright, I guess that makes sense. So, wait, if she has a samurai sword and a motorcycle then why did she have a Chineighse horse in Neighpon?”
“Well she didn't have the horse until she went to the desert back home. The thing in Neighpon was first and then she came back.”
“Why did she go to Neighpon first, wouldn't hearing about eighty nine dead people set the boss on high alert?”
“Sunset it would make more sense if you actually watched the movies, do you wanna watch the movies?”
“Movies? There's more than one?”
“It's parts one and two. Wanna have a double feature sleepover?”
She shrugs. “Never had one before. Might as well try it now.”
“Alright, awesome! You're gonna love it, it's really cool. Why don't we do it after dinner?”
“Yeah, sounds good. When... when is dinner?”
“Should be soon, we’ve been chatting for a while.” Rainbow strums one last time before getting up from the bed, crossing the room, looking around a large pile of clothes in the corner, and setting the instrument down on top of it. “My guitar stand is somewhere under all these t shirts.”
“Why don't you do your laundry?”
“I only wear these for like two hours every day, this pile is shirts I've worn for four hours total... or six hours... no, this one is six, and that one is four. Or that’s the two pile. Oh, unless it’s the eight pile. It doesn't smell like the ten pile.”
“Rainbow-”
“Yeah?”
“Why don't we go to the laundromat together soon so we can get all of our clothes clean?”
“I don't need the laundromat, I just gotta run it here first.”
“And why haven't you yet?”
“Because I... have other things to do. Like. Uh.” She slumps her shoulders. “Alright, fine, we’ll have a laundry date. We just need a couple quarters. Or, maybe a lot of quarters. Okay, you know what, I’ll just bring a twenty.”
“I might have to borrow some money if it's soon, I don't have much left. I had it all rationed out for three months but then I spent it all on ice cream, chocolate, and razor blades. I wasn't sure what I was gonna do when it came spring time so I could get my job at the sushi place in the mall again but honestly I wasn't planning to live that long.” She follows Rainbow’s gaze over her shoulder to see that Windy had silently opened the door while she was talking.
“Hey girls,” she murmurs, quieter than normal, about at the volume of Fluttershy’s loud voice. “Dinner’s ready...” she trials off and stands in silence for just slightly longer than an awkward moment before pulling the door back shut.
Sunset turns and her body falls onto the bed. “Well that was terrible timing.”
“It's fine, she just...” Rainbow pinches the bridge of her nose. “You won't have to owe me anything. You've been through a lot, and I can afford to help. All of us can. And I know that if I was in your shoes you'd help me too. So don't stress about finances and don't stress about mom. She isn't gonna judge you, worst she might do is ask you if everything’s okay about three or four thousand times. But she does that all the time anyway. Don't worry about money right now, until you're okay, okay?”
Sunset nods gently. “All right... I won't worry.”
“Good.” Rainbow claps her hands together. “Now come on, let’s go eat, and then when we come back we’re gonna watch the sickest movies that were ever made.”
“That sounds like a great idea... hope I don't choke on bread again.”
“Well if you do mom knows CPR...” she leans in suggestively and waggles her eyebrows. “And I know mouth to mouth.”
Sunset rolls her eyes, and replies deadpan. “Ooohh, mother daughter action. Nice.”
Rainbow jumped back, cringing. “Ew! Oh god, please never say that again!”
“If you can't take the heat, get outta the kitchen.”
“All right, all right, you win this round.” Rainbow pauses with her hand on the door knob. “Oh, uh. We have a knife block in the kitchen. You good?”
Sunset ponders for a moment. “I think so. It's not surprise razors, just the handles. I can see them no problem, but if I need help cutting something-”
“Blame your bandages?”
She nods. “Yeah. I don't trust myself holding a knife right now, but I think I'm okay seeing other people holding them.”
“That's totally cool, whatever you need.”
Sunset leans in and hugs Rainbow. “Thanks.”
Rainbow is frozen for a few seconds, but then returns the gesture. “No problem.”
“Not just for the knife thing. I may not be back to normal, but you've helped me at least feel back to normal, at least for a little bit. And I appreciate that a lot.”
“Yeah, sure. You're my friend, Suns. Whatever bad shit happened between us in the past is in the past. What matters right now is that you need normalness, so that's what I'll give you.”
“Normalness... yeah. That's a good word for it.” Sunset pulls away. “No drama, no discourse, no angst. Just two friends chatting about random stuff. It's a nice change of pace. It just took a lot longer to get here than I wanted it to take.”
“After the hell you went through, you deserve it, no matter how long it's been.” Rainbow finally pulls the door open and steps out.
Sunset follows her, taking one last glance at the journal before the door clicks shut behind them.
/x/x/x/