//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: Blamed // by Madox //------------------------------// Winter Break passed way too quickly for Sunset's liking. She wanted to spend as much time with Shimmer as possible before the fateful day. The day before, Shimmer left for Equestria, promising to return a few days later after making some preparations for her return (namely, living arrangements and the like). However, Sunset knew it was only a matter of time before Shimmer left entirely. Sunset knew that Shimmer would come for a visit every now and then, but she already knew she would miss having her friend around. Now, she found herself standing in the entrance hall of Crystal Prep Academy, waiting for her tour guide to arrive. She had already met Dean Cadance, a very nice woman judging from her short encounter, who had accompanied her to her homeroom. Dean Cadance was supposed to show her around the school during the next free class while Sunset’s class schedule was being finalized, but she sadly had to attend to a problem that had popped up earlier, so she would be unable to show Sunset around. But Cadance had assured her that she would not be left alone. She had asked a student she knew who also had a free period to give Sunset a tour. Sunset just had to wait until said student arrived. By now, Sunset has been waiting for five minutes, and she began to grow bored. She had already looked around the hall to occupy herself or watched some of the other students walking past who eyed her warily or simply ignored her existence. So far, Sunset didn't like the impression she got of the other students. The few she had seen or interacted with had been the snotty, bratty, holier-than-thou type. It reminded her too much of her previous school in Manehattan, but this time, she would make sure not to let school dictate her life like her previous one had. Her thoughts on the school uniform, however, were better kept to herself for the time being. Idly walking around the hall, Sunset decided to peek around some corners, looking down the corridors without leaving the entrance hall to see if she could spot anything of interest to ask later once her guide arrived. The first two had been ornate but otherwise boring, with nothing of interest to see. When she got closer to the next corridor, she heard hurried footsteps coming closer, but it was too late for her to react. Before she could do anything, someone rounded the corner in haste, colliding with her. Sunset fell back with a yelp of surprise. She tried to regain her footing but to no avail. Soon enough, she found herself on the floor, groaning from the light pain of falling on her butt and from hitting her head against whoever ran into her. "Oh no, I'm so sorry!" a female voice said, one that sounded oddly familiar to Sunset, but with her aching head, she couldn't place it. "I shouldn't have run around the corner like that. Here, let me help you up." Sunset opened her eyes to see a lavender-colored hand in front of her. It appeared that the girl who ran into her had more luck with staying on her feet than she had. Sunset reached for the offered hand with a chuckle. "It's alright, things like this happen all the—" Sunset stopped speaking once she followed the hand up to look at the girl’s face, her expression turning to surprise. The girl looked down at her with a nervous smile, as if she were unsure whether or not Sunset would bite her hand. She wore her dark blue hair, accented by pink and purple streaks running through it, in a bun, with two curled strands framing her light-lavender face. "You gotta be kidding me..." Sunset whispered. The girl seemed to have heard her, as she slowly pulled her hand away, worry now on her face. Before she could pull back completely Sunset smiled and took her hand. The girl looked surprised for a moment that she accepted her help before she helped her to her feet. "Sorry about that," Sunset said once she stood on her own again, dusting off her uniform. "You look a lot like someone I know. That's why I was surprised when I saw you." "Oh, I see. Sorry again for running into you," the girl said with a hesitant smile. "My name is Twilight Sparkle." 'I know,' Shimmer thought to herself. "I'm Sunset Shimmer. Nice to meet you." 'The universe seems to have mercy on me,' Sunset thought. Maybe attending Crystal Prep wouldn't be as bad as Sunset thought. ~*~ Fluttershy sighed deeply as she walked down the hallway of Canterlot High. It was only the end of the first week after winter break, but it was clear that things would never be the way they had been before Anon-a-Miss. While it was not even close to how it had been during Sunset’s reign, many former close groups of friends had been broken apart after Principal Celestia revealed that many students had been the source of nearly all of the posted secrets. Celestia revealed no names, but it didn't take long until students confessed or those who had been hurt figured out who was responsible for their revealed secrets. Much to the surprise of many, Principal Celestia stood true to her words that she would take off the kids’ gloves from now on. Celestia was still looking out for her students, giving them advice whenever needed, the opportunity to change their behavior, and offering programs for help, but she was no longer willing to let them get away whenever they showed no will to change. The times someone got away with a stern word or a figurative slap on the wrist were over, replaced by increased detention times and suspensions. Overall, the mood at Canterlot High was in a state of neutrality, somewhere between how it was before and after the Fall Formal. It wasn't a bad environment but neither was it a good one. Fluttershy hoped that things would at least get back to a more positive note over time. Ultimately, though, she mostly hoped that things would get better for her and her friends. Outside of the dreadful feeling of being a terrible friend, not much had changed for Fluttershy. She was still as quiet as ever, maybe just a little more so than usual, and the other students left her alone. Applejack and Rarity both tried to not let the others see how much of a toll everything was taking on them. With their sisters being behind the whole mess, they had to endure some harsh words directed at them from other students. More than once during that first week did Fluttershy find herself by Rarity’s side in the bathroom, comforting her crying friend. The first week of school after winter break was usually a very busy time for Pinkie Pie, who chatted with most students about their activities during break, greeted new students that had transferred to CHS over break, and threw her yearly "Happy New Year" party in the lunchroom. Now, Pinkie seemed to have lost her fire as she walked through the school, not interacting much with other students on her own. She was still cracking jokes over conversations, but it was clear that the entire situation affected her greatly. Rainbow Dash had been hit the hardest thanks to her involvement in the entire situation with Gilda. True to Sunset’s words, even after she had been declared not guilty, the shadow of doubt hovered over her head. Many students avoided any interaction with her, to the point that they got out of her way while walking down the hallway. No one spoke about it, but most feared what she might do to them if they crossed her path. It got to the point that Rainbow resigned from every sports team, since many of their members decided to leave so that they wouldn't have to play with her. Now, Rainbow barely did anything at school besides sit in a quiet corner whenever her friends had classes or other things to do. Reaching her locker, Fluttershy replaced the books she was carrying with her for those she needed next. Just as she was about to close the locker again did her gaze fall on the two pictures she had taped to the inside of the door. The first was the old picture of her and her friends, the same picture Twilight had found and shown them to remind them of their old friendship back when Sunset Shimmer ruled the school. Fluttershy had made her own copy of that picture and taped it to her locker door to always remind her of the first of her biggest mistakes, the time she did not even try to figure out why they had all drifted apart. The other was a more recent picture, taken after their victory at the Battle of the Bands, with all members of the Rainbooms, including Sunset Shimmer and Princess Twilight. This was to remind her of the second of her biggest mistakes, when she once again did nothing to find out the truth and believed a lie designed to tear her friendship apart. "I hope that someday you can forgive us, Sunset, and that, just maybe, things might go back to how they used to be," Fluttershy said quietly to herself before she closed her locker and walked towards her next class. ~*~ The sun shone down brightly on Sunset Shimmer while she trotted down the road in Fillydelphia. It has been four weeks by now since her return to her homeworld, and while she missed having her counterpart and her family around, she felt it was the right decision to return. Leaving Sunset alone had bothered her greatly, more than she admitted to her doppelganger, but she was relieved that Sunset had met new friends quickly, even if Shimmer herself was still wary of their intentions. None of that mattered to Shimmer—or simply Sunset now since there was just one of her in this world—at this moment. The last few weeks all centered around this moment, the moment she had hoped to reach for as long as she could remember. Tracking down one of the names Desert Sunrise provided her with would have been near impossible on her own, but with the help of Twilight, it only took a couple of weeks, but the problems didn't stop there. Knowing where he lived was more than Sunset ever hoped for, but contacting him was a different matter entirely. Sunset had been afraid. Afraid of how he would react upon learning about her. Actually, no, “afraid” wasn't the right word to describe it; she was terrified. Would he accept her? Would he acknowledge her as who she was? Or would he not even believe who she claimed to be? Those questions haunted her every time she tried to write a letter to him, to the point that she was close to giving up entirely. In the end, it was once more her dear friend Twilight who helped her out by writing the letter for her and vouching for everything with her title as princess. The letter had found its destination, and within a few days’ time, an answer arrived with an invitation to his home in Fillydelphia with the desire to meet her. Now, Sunset stood in front of the small suburban home, her nerves once more trying to get her to turn around. Twilight had offered to accompany her to this meeting, but Sunset had declined; her friend had already done so much for her, but this was something she had to do herself. Sunset closed her eyes and took several deep breaths to calm her traitorous nerves before she walked up to the door and knocked. Sunset heard the sound of approaching hooves from inside the house, and moments later, the door opened to reveal a pegasus stallion, his coat a sandy yellow and his mane a bright gray with white streaks. They both stared at each other, silently observing the other. "D-Desert Gale?" Sunset finally managed to ask. The stallion nodded, his eyes fixated on her. "That's me. And... you must be who Princess Twilight mentioned in her letter..." Sunset nodded as well. "Yes, I'm Sunset Shimmer... your niece. I... It's..." Sunset stuttered, losing her nerves again. Before she could say or do anything else, Desert Gale had stepped forward until he stood right in front of Sunset. Not knowing what to do Sunset lowered her head and took a step backwards, but stopped when he lifted her head again with one of his hooves under her chin. Both looked deep into each other’s eyes for what felt like hours to Sunset. "You know," Gale began, a smile forming on his face, "you have your mother’s eyes." Tears began to form in Sunset’s eyes, doubling as Gale had wrapped her in a hug, one she returned moments later. "I... I don't know what to say..." Sunset muttered. "It's alright. We have all the time to talk later," Gale said quietly, stroking her mane before letting go of Sunset. "In fact, how about we go inside? I'm sure my wife and daughter would like to meet you." Sunset perked up, smiling brightly with her tears now falling freely. His wife and daughter, her aunt and cousin. "I would love to." Gale nodded before he stepped back, holding the door open for her. Without hesitation, Sunset walked inside, her fear gone now that she had found the family and the acceptance she so desperately sought.