//------------------------------// // Preparation and Evaluation // Story: Dispose of Carefully // by The Ancestor //------------------------------// A quiet snoring reverberated through the room Daniel occupied, the lack of furniture amplifying the sound. What was he dreaming of, you ask? Probably a warm bed and a raise. A loud slam jerked Daniel out of his no doubt pleasant dream, forcing him to look around. Plain white walls surrounded him on all sides, the floor and ceiling following the same pattern. To his surprise, Daniel couldn't spot a door in the room, but decided he'll cross that bridge when he gets to it. His most pressing problem as of right now, seemed to be an imposing figure leaning on the table, towering above him. He, and judging by the lack of breasts it was indeed a 'he', wore a strict black business suit, but his facial features were somewhat hazy, the only discernable thing was a big 4 covering most of his face. "Doctor Daniel!" The figure bellowed, prompting the aformentioned doctor to sit ramrod straight. The voice while easy to hear, sounded... changed. Like it was run through one of those pitch-change programs. "Sir!" Daniel yelped, coming to his senses. "I, O5-4 would like to congratulate you on the success of your mission, and award you with Foundation's Medal of Honor." The man stretched his strangely disproportional arms towards Daniel, pinning the medal on his white lab coat. "Furthermore, I promote you to Senior researcher, and allow you a six month paid vacation." Daniel raised an eyebrow. "What about Mike?" "Michael will be demoted to junior researcher for his unability to ascertain danger." Somehow, dispite not having a mouth, the figure smiled. "He'll be placed under your command." "Fucking sweet." Daniel smirked, kicking back in his chair. He blinked when he rememberd something, or rather someone. "My friend, Alex-" "Has been promoted to head of Security Department." The man's smile disappeared with a blink of an eye. "He also needs you to wake up." Daniel felt the earth go out from under him, plummeting into the darkness below. Wake up, Danny. "Wake up Danny, we're here!" Alex's voice bellowed from beside Daniel, forcing him to jump a liitle, hitting his head on the car's roof. Daniel groaned and turned to glare at his friend with as much strength as his sleepy body could muster. "I hate you." He mumbled, reaching for his thermos, only to find it empty. "I take it you slept well then? Can't fathom how you fell asleep with that kind of music on stereo." He smirked, pulling to a stop on the side of a relatively empty city street. Alex turned to Daniel, only to see him glaring daggers. "Don't give me that look, I'm the one who's been driving nonstop for the past-" He looked at his wristwatch. "-five hours, I needed that coffee far more than you did." "I suppose so." Daniel sighed, relenting. He looked out of the window, appreciating the scenery. Canterlot's surely grown since the last time he's been there, no doubt about it. Still, he appreciated the relatively small houses that stayed mostly unchanged. He fondly remembered the mom and pop shops that used to be there, the grassy lawns in front of Canterlot High. The familiaf campus with that odd horse statue- Wait a second. "Why are we at Canterlot High?" Daniel raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Isn't that why we're here?" Alex replied, stretching his sore limbs to the best of his ability. "You do understand we need a place to stay in? This'll likely take more than a few days to resolve." Daniel said, rolling his eyes. Alex snorted before replying. "Finding a hotel in this town is a pain in the ass, found nothing on the net." He rolled his window down and looked for passersby. "Our best bet is asking the locals for directions and hope there is a working hotel in this shithole." His eyes widened as he elboved his friend and pointed at something. "Danny, isn't that the girl from the video?" Daniel turned to see a pair of girls walking down the road in the direction of the school. One of them had bright red and yellow hair, their resemblence to bacon would've made Daniel smirk if not for the person they belonged to. She wore a black leather jacket, a purple skirt and black boots. Next to her was a stetson-wearing blonde girl, who wore a blue denim skirt as well as a white shirt with a picture of an apple. High cowboy boots, as well as her rugged appearance solidified the fact that the girl was most likely working on a farm. "Most likely, but what is she doing here? Wasn't she a demon, like a day ago?" Daniel said, scratching his stubble. "And who's that girl with her?" "Well, why don't we find out?" Alex said with a smirk, lowering his car's window. "Hey, miss!" He waved his hand at the pair, getting their attention. "Yes, you with the bacon hair, can you come closer?" The two girls shared a glance and shrugged, approaching the car. "Hi there fella, yall wanted somethin' from Sunset here?" The blonde asked, her friendly voice hiding her suspiscion well from an untrained eye. "Yes, I'm afraid we're in need of directions." Alex replied with a friendly smile. "We?" Sunset squinted at the man, trying to peek around him. "Yes, my friend and I were visiting Canterlot and wondered if there were any hotels availible." He sighed in mock frustration. "Unfortunately we couldn't find any on the internet, and I hoped to get some help from the locals." He finished with as sincere smile as he could muster. Daniel peeked from behind his friend and waved his hand to the two girls. "Why, of course Ahl help!" The blonde girl said, leaning on the car and giving directions to Alex. All the while Daniel continued staring at Sunset, who, after a minute or two, noticed it. She glared at the man, recieving a small smile in return. "What are you lookin at?" She growled at the man, catching the attention of both the blonde and Alex. "Sunset Shimmer! That's ain't a way to talk to a friendly stranger! " Applejack scolded, placing a hand on Sunset's shoulder. The fiery girl gave the blonde an angry glare, but sighed, her shoulders sagging. Applejack nodded towards the man and Sunset turned to Daniel with an apologetic expression. "Sorry, I'm new to this 'friendship' shtick. I'm not used to-" "Being nice?" Daniel teased, wincing as Alex elboved him in the stomach. He sent a glare Daniel's way before adressing Sunset. "Forgive my friend here, he's insufferable at the best of times, and his recent lack of sleep worsened the situation." He forced a smile, adressing the blonde girl. "I'm afraid we have to go, so many things to see in Canterlot!" He chuckled, pretending to be amused. "Thank you for your help, miss..." "Applejack." The blonde smiled, offering him a hand which he shook. "It was no trouble, really!" She was about to ask for the stranger's name, when the roar of an engine startled her, the two men driving leaving the girls to bite the dust. The two men were silent for the entire ride to the hotel, which, embarassingly, was a few streets away from Canterlot High. After paying an exorbetent price for such a shitty hotel, in Daniel's opinion that is, the thoroughly exhausted coworkers trudged into the room and plummeted onto two separate beds that were graciously made by the hotel staff. Both exhaled as they were finally allowed the opportunity to relax, although the comfortable silence didn't last long. "You just had to open your big mouth, didn't you?" Alex wondered with a due amount of annoyance. Daniel shifted on his bed, suppresing a yawn. "C'mon, Bacon Hair basically set herself up, it'd be a shame to pass such opportunity up!" The man pouted, eliciting an irratated snort from Alex. "This 'Bacon Hair' would probably mop the floor with you if it weren't for Applejack's guilt tripping her into apologising." Alex scolded. "Guess I'm lucky Hayseed came to my aid." Daniel retorted. "They have names, you know." Alex remarked. "'Sunset Shimmer' and 'Applejack' are not hard to remember." Daniel groaned in responce. "Every time I say one of those ridiculous names out loud, a part of me dies inside." He replied in a dead-serious tone, prompting Alex to chuckle. "For real though, I'm super glad dad talked mom out of naming me something ridiculous, otherwise you'd be talking to Olive Branch, or some stupid shit like that!" The two of them hollered with laughter. "You would've been one hell of a peace negotiator then!" Alex retorted. "For real though, I suggest you stop throwing our cover before we evan began collecting data on them." "Cover? We don't have cover yet." Daniel argued, rising into a sitting position and pulling out his laptop. "Although I can come up with one." "Shoot." Daniel replied in a tired tone. "Just remember that we'll need to get onto the school grounds to investigate, and we'll need to be there for some time. I doubt the school will let two thirty-something strangers wander its grounds." "Aha, but you're mistaken!" Daniel excalimed, typing away at his laptop. "If things go my way, by tomorrow we'll be two members of American Schools Association, sent to inspect the quality of Canterlot High's education." "You're a real bastard, you know that?" Alex replied with a smile. "I take pride in that fact." "I'm telling you Applejack, there's something fishy going on with those two!" Sunset poked today's porridge unenthusiastically as the pair sat in the school's cafeteria. The bell just rung, and the cafeteria was rapidly emptying, but the two girl's weren't in any hurry to attend class, there was a window in their schedule, after all. "Darn it Sunset, I'm telling ya for the hundrenth time, just 'cause a guy spaced out doesen't mean they're up to somethin'!" Applejack retorted, choosing to ignore the porrige in favor of Granny Smith's special apple jam. "I didn't say they're up to something." Sunset retorted. "I'm just... wary, you know? With all that's happened lately, I can't help but feel... helpless." She sighed, pushing the food tray aside. "Not too long ago if I wanted to know something, all I had to do is pull a few strings to get the full picture." She grasped her head in her hands an leaned on the table. "Same thing if I wanted to get things done, but now?" She shook her head. "Those days are over." "An' that's good, right sugarcube?" Applejack questioned with a supportive smile. "Of course!" Sunset nodded frantically. "I didn't mean it in a bad way, I just..." Sunset went quiet for a few seconds, searching for the right word. "Miss being in control, I guess." Applejack patted Sunset's shoulder, trying to comfort her. "Ya don't need to be in control all the time, Sunset. Not when ya got friends!" The cowgirl flashed Sunset an honest smile, but all she got in responce was a mirthless chuckle. "Has anyone told you you're a terrible liar?" A pained smile graced Sunset's lips. "None of the girls even tried to approach me for the past few days, barring you, of course. And when I try to talk to them they always find an excuse to leave." Sunset shook her head. "I'm not saying we should become best buddies right off the bat... But I'm not blind either." Her shoulders sagged, promting a frown from Applejack. "Now that just ain't right to avoid ya like that! I'll talk to the girls and ya'll be good friends in a week or two!" Applejack was pleased to see an honest, if small, smile for on Sunser's lips. "Thank you, Applejack." Sunset's smile receded. "Do you think I'm worrying over nothing? With those guys, I mean?" Applejack wanted to say yes, by Faust she did. But in this very moment, when she stared into Sunset's hopeful, cyan eyes that pleaded her to tell the truth, she found she couldn't lie. "Ah... Ah'd like to say that you've got nothin' to worry about... But ah' can't." Applejack shut her eyes and exhaled. "The fella that asked for directions, he wasn't truthfull, not fully, at least." "What do you mean?" Sunset inquired. "He said that he's just visitin', right?" Sunset nodded. "Well, that's not all they're here for. Ahm' sure of it." Four girls were quetly chatting in a small classroom. That classroom was usually reserved for after-hours activity, such as club meetings, board game tournaments, or additional lessons for students struggling with school program or those that want to better prepare for their exams. On rare occasions, however, when the classroom was left unattended, the key easily obtained from a security guard on the first floor. All you had to do, was to write your name in the guard's journal and return the key before going home, simple as. Fluttershy wasn't sure why Applejack asked all of the girls to gather here after class, but as a good friend she arrived in time. Perhaps Sunset's done something? Something Applejack couldn't talk about in public in fear of Sunset overhearing her? Whatever it was, Fluttershy was there to listen and help. The door opened a little too forcefully, and in came an angry-looking Applejack, a single look at her made Fluttershy wince. Rarity the next most startled by Applejack's entrance next to Fluttershy, was the first to speak. "My Goodness, Applejack! Was there really a need for such an... uncouth entrance?" Snapping out of her momentary stupor, Rainbow followed her friend's example. "Yeah, AJ, what's the matter? First you call us to gather here after class without explaining anything, then you barge in here like you own the damn place!" The colorful girl complained. "Ooh! Ooh! I know what's the matter!" Pinkie perked up, practically shaking in anticipation. "Are we throwing Sunny a 'Elcome To The Bright Side, So Glad You Didn't Destroy The School As A Scary Demon' party? I think she could really use a party right now! I've actually been planning one for her aaaaall day, so much so I didn't have time to talk to her!" She babbled exitedly, stopping when she noticed Applejack's serious expression. "W-what happened, Applejack?" Fluttershy inquired meekly, hoping her calm approach would diffuse the situation. "Is it something Sunset has done? Because if it is-" Her euestion was cut short by a rather harsh retort. "Nah, this here meeting ain't about Sunset." Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief, one that wasn't menat to last. "It's about ya'll! Or rather, your treatment of Sunset." The room remained silent, three out of five occupants having nothing to say. The first one to break this silence was, of course, Pinkie. "I know I might've been a little dismissive of Sunny-" Pinkie's hair deflated a little, her poofines coming back with a vengeance a moment later. "But I only did it so she wouldn't suspect I'm planning a party for her! Besides, she's got you girls to keep her busy, right?" Pinkie searched her friends for confirmation. Fluttershy hid from Pinkie's gaze behind her hair, not wanting to admit she was too scared to approach the bacon haired girl. Rarity pursed her lips and decided that the ceiling patterns were quite unique and divinely fitting for the room. Rainbow was the only one who met Pinkie's now accusatory gaze head on, crossing her arms with an unapologetic expression on her face. Finally, Pinkie looked to Applejack, who was standing in the middle of the room with a stern expression on her face. "W-were you the only one who talked to Sunny?" Pinkie's question came out more like a plea. "Eeyup." Applejack answered, causing Pinkie's hair to deflate. "Bu-but that means..." "Ahm the only one who's been talking to Sunny all day, right after promised to teach Sunset about friendship!" The room was silent again, as Applejack stared down her friends. "Why are yall doing this to her?" "I don't want to talk to her, plain and simple." Rainbow retorted angirly. "She kept the people on this school at each other's throats for what feels like forever! She manipulated others for her own gains! She drove us apart!" Rainbow all but yelled. "After all that, do you think she deserves this second chance?" She snorted. "Forget it." "I'm afraid I'll have to side with Rainbow, for once." Rarity began, somewhat unsure of herself. "I remember how... daunting it was to attend Canterlot High when Sunset was a 'queen bee' as it were." She shifted in her seat a little at the memories. "She was exceedingly good at manipulation, darling. All I'm saying is... What if it's just another scheme of hers?" Applejack turned to Fluttershy who eep'd from the sudden action. Applejack's features relaxed slightly at that, giving the shy girl enough courage to speak. "I-I was too afraid to approach her." She began, tweedling her hair in the process. "She could be very mean if she wants to, and I can't get over that this quickly." She hid further away behind her hair. "Sorry." Applejack sighed and shook her head. "Now listen here yall, ahm' not saying yall should act buddy-buddy with her, and ah understand that it isn't easy to get over all the things that she's done, but for Faust's sake, give the girl a chance!" She turned to Pinkie with a kind smile. "Pinkie, it's harder to not expect a party from you, no offense, so I'd say it's safe for you to talk to Sunset." Next on the line, Fluttershy. "Shy, I get that Sunny can be intimidating at times, but she's trying her best." She offered the shy girl a warm smile, one she returned in kind. "Rarity." The word came out harsher than she expected. "Ah'll agree that live 'under' Sunset was hard, and it's hard to give the benefit of the doubt to someone like her." She put a hand on the seamstress' shoulder. "But people change, and Sunset can change too. Just give her a chance." A loud snort from her side brought Rainbow to mind. "And you, Rainbow! Don't think ah don't remember your sophmore year!" She jabbed a finger at the rainbow-haired girl. "You've been an arrogant, self-centered and boastful hoofball player, and some would argue you're still are." Before Rainbow could say anything, Applejack continued. "But ah know better. Because all of us gave you a chance, we got to see a side of you that no one seen 'fore." She circled the girls present in the room with her hand. "We saw a girl who'd do anything for her friends, who'd protect the weak even if it meant getting over her own ego. In short, we saw a loyal, reliable friend." Mere inches separated their faces. "Where's that friend now?" She finished, turning sharply and returning to the center of the room. Silence fell over the room, one that lasted for a while as Applejack waited for a rebuttal that never came. "Tomorrow, yall would at least try to give Sunset a chance, promise?" She held out a hand, and soom enough four more hands joined, overlapping eachother. "Promise."