//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8 
// Story: Neglected 
// by FreedomRiders 
//------------------------------//

Pinkie Pie sat with Coral and Sunset Shimmer at the dinner table, looking down awkwardly. "And so...you believe her now?" Coral asked, an expression of doubt and concern on his face. Sunset Shimmer looked pretty cautious, her gaze no doubt scrutinizing as she eyed the girl.

Pinkie Pie nodded wordlessly. Coral and Sunset Shimmer looked to each other for a few seconds, before turning back to face the upbeat girl turned downbeat. "And why did you change your mind?" Sunset Shimmer asked. She knew her wariness must have shown because Pinkie Pie more or less winced.

"I...I thought about it," Pinkie Pie whispered. "And I realized it doesn't make sense for you to do something like this-"

"Oh, now you realize that!" Sunset Shimmer snapped, immediately causing Pinkie Pie to jump in her seat in a brief spout of fright. "You didn't even let me say a word and you just believed what everyone else said! I'm not surprised that you're just now thinking about this!"

Pinkie Pie's mouth gaped open and shut for several seconds, as if she were trying to find an excuse for her behavior, before she stopped. "You're right," she said. "I didn't think. All I thought about was how  much I...I wanted payback..."

"And you didn't think at all that it couldn't be her?" Coral asked, raising an eyebrow. Pinkie Pie just stayed still, and Coral sighed. "Where did all this go wrong?"

"Look...say you really think it isn't me," Sunset Shimmer began, hands clasped together as she stared down Pinkie Pie.. "What makes you think I can trust you to not lure me into some stupid means of false payback with your friends?"

"I...I don't know," Pinkie Pie said. "But I wanna fix things-"

"Fix things?!" Sunset Shimmer cried as she stood up, almost leaning over to the already terrified pink haired girl, before Coral grabbed her arm and pulled her back down, shaking his head. Sunset Shimmer's anger gave way to closed eyes and a few deep breaths. "Sorry...I lost control for a second..."

"No, you have every right to be angry at me...what I did was worse than breaking a Pinkie promise," Pinkie Pie whimpered, and Sunset Shimmer raised an eyebrow at that. One of the worst things that Pinkie Pie thought could possibly exist was someone breaking one of her most fabled Pinkie promises. If she said what she did was worse than that, then there was no room for any thought that this was faked.

Sunset Shimmer couldn't forgive her, but she could at least give her the chance. Fluttershy got one, after all. "Listen. I don't want to be friends with you again," she said, and Pinkie Pie's face fell - which was somehow off-putting, considering how depressed she already looked. "BUT. But, I will give you a chance. Just...don't tell the other girls. They'll go after me and Coral again, and they might do something worse to you."

"But...the girls-" Pinkie Pie spoke up, ready to defend her friends.

"I know, they're your friends. But they won't believe that I'm innocent," Sunset Shimmer said as she sighed. "Look, I'd just rather not risk it, is that alright with you?"

Pinkie Pie looked down, clearly thinking about this, before gulping. "Yes," she said, a bit more determination in her voice as she straightened up. Her hair looked flat and depressed, but at least she no longer looked like she was on death row anymore.

Sunset Shimmer sighed as she leaned back in her chair. "I don't know if this is a good idea or not," she groaned.

"We'll see," Coral said. He still distrusted her, though not as much as Sunset still did. Still, he could see Pinkie Pie's honesty fairly clearly as well. "Anything else you wanted to talk about?"

"No. I just wanted to talk, is all," Pinkie Pie said as she got up from her seat. "I'll get out of your hair. Homework and stuff to do."

"Hey, Pinkie?" Sunset Shimmer called as their guest walked to the door. Pinkie Pie stopped to turn and face Sunset, who had a small grin - an uneasy grin, but a grin nonetheless. "Thanks. For what it's worth."

Pinkie Pie smiled back - a sad smile, before she left, closing the door behind her. As Pinkie Pie walked down the sidewalk, she heard the door lock, before she got on her phone and opened up the messages app. Picking a contact, she began to text as quickly as she could.

Pinkie Pie: Fluttershy, I think I know how we can help sunset

About a few minutes later, Pinkie Pie got a reply.

Fluttershy: How?

Pinkie Pie: We find out who anon a miss is ourselves

In the house, Sunset Shimmer sighed as she gulped down a glass of water. "Jeez, I swear, I can't wait for all this to be over," she sighed.

"I know," Coral said, yawning as he flopped back down in his chair. "Things have been crazy as hell since this started."

There was an awkward silence for a few moments before Sunset Shimmer coughed and spoke up again. "Hey...I'm sorry about all this," she said. "I'm super grateful for you helping me all this time, but I don't blame you if you wanna get rid of me. Especially since I'm taking up so much of your time..."

"Hey, don't say that," Coral immediately interjected. "You needed the help, and I wanted to help. Simple as that. And if that comes with some baggage and a bit of inconvenience, then so be it. What doesn't come with problems?"

Sunset Shimmer looked down, before she spoke up once again. "You mean problems like Pounder?" she asked. Coral's reassuring smile dropped immediately, and Sunset Shimmer's heart leapt into her throat. "L-look, I didn't mean to-"

"No, you have a right to ask. Pounder is an asshole," Coral explained. He was spoiled rich and had equally entitled parents. I don't know if things are still like this now, but if your dad is on the school board of a district, then you can basically ask for anything and everything you want. Good grades, free lunch, etcetera."

Sunset Shimmer winced, remembering how the uptight nobles of Canterlot tended to be super demanding, as well as very bitchy when they didn't get what they want. She hated most rich ponies when she was in the city - she had a firsthand - or firsthoof back then - look when it comes to ponies or people born with a lot of money, and the tendency to throw it around.

"Eugh," Sunset grumbled. "Trust me, I get a lot of stuff like that where I grew up. Parents and their spoiled rich brats demanding this and that."

"Yeah. If I recall, Pounder's dad was born into the millionaire life. Was probably super annoying and spoiled as a kid too. I hated it," Coral said as he leaned his upper body on the table, resting his head sideways on his folded arms. "And that meant his 'sweet angel of a son' could get away with everything, including bullying. Pounder didn't know when to stop either."

"What do you mean?" Sunset Shimmer asked.

"It means he became the cruelest son of a bitch out there by middle school. He and his cronies would steal lunch money and anything remotely cool from other kids. He did things like throw garbage in other people's yards, tell other kids to off themselves," Coral said, and Sunset Shimmer knew exactly why he winced like that. "I didn't see him again when I got to high school, good riddance. But I doubt he ever did anything good."

"That's pretty obvious," Sunset muttered, shuddering at his horrible flirting, then his forceful behavior when she said no to the smug guy. "I still can't believe someone could have the audacity to do...that..."

"I know. I don't really what his problem is, but I'm pretty sure he picked on us because we were 'poorer' than him. He used to call us pretty shitty names too. Stuff like garbage and broken," Coral said. "Look, he did all sorts of crappy things to us, but that was before. I'd rather not deal with him - it brings up a lot of problems for me."

"But he's back," Sunset pointed out. "Ignoring this won't do anything anymore."

"And if he shows up again, the police gets involved," Coral replied with a frown. "No school will keep him safe from the law if he tries something stupid. I meant it when I said I'd call the cops."

Sunset Shimmer didn't seem very convinced, but she decided to let it go. "Alright. Just...when you need help, let me help. I know you say I don't owe you anything, but I really do, let's face it," she finally conceded.

Coral sighed tiredly. "Alright," he said as he got up. "Come on, let's focus on something else. Like homework. Or video games."

Sunset Shimmer wanted nothing more than to help Coral with his past, but she instead nodded - looking away awkwardly as they changed the subject.

- 1 week later: after sports practice in Canterlot High - 

Gilda frowned as Pounder approached her from across the street. "You. What do you want?" she mumbled as she shoved her basketball inside her bag before slinging it over her shoulder. She'd just left basketball practice with the Canterlot team about ten minutes prior, planning on driving home right away.

At least, that was her plan before he showed up.

Gilda was built more muscularly than most girls in Canterlot. She was very toned in terms of her thighs and arms, and she went for a more rough look for her hair as well - dying the naturally white tips of her hair dark brown, while cutting it very short.

"Just wanted to catch up, that's all. Don't be such a sourpuss," Pounder said as he grinned at the basketball player, eyeing her jersey and shorts with a hungry eye. Gilda stifled down a shudder as she angrily looked back at him. "So, what have you been up to, lately?"

"High school, what else? What about you, still sucking at getting a life?" Gilda spat as she walked down the sidewalk, away from Pounder and towards the parking lot. Unluckily for her, Pounder started following her. "Look, I already warned you, I don't wanna see your ugly mug again."

"Come on, we had good times, remember?" Pounder goaded as he caught up to her stride - which more or less caused her to go faster, at least until he grabbed her arm and yanked her back. Gilda spun out and shoved him away with her other hand, her face contorted in an ugly snarl. "Come on, you don't wanna talk about it?"

"Not after what you did, asshole," Gilda snarled.

Pounder growled before he sighed. "Fine. Nothing about that then. But I have heard about something else," he said as he changed the topic. "I heard about all the shitty dates you had. And I mean all of them." Gilda spun around at once and stormed down the sidewalk. Once again, Pounder caught up with her, refraining from grabbing her again like last time. "I'm guessing it's bad, huh?"

"Bad? Pounder you piece of shit, it was all supposed to be secret!" Gilda ranted as she clenched her fists - her sneakers being anything but sneaky as her steps pounded the pavement. "Then that Anon A Bitch goes and spreads them?! She ruined everything, the fucking bitch!"

Thanks to Anon-A-Miss, Gilda now had a reputation for being a "player", a girl who hooked up with guys and girls left and right on the weekends on dates, and sometimes more. When Anon-A-Miss had posted the pictures that blatantly exposed the things she did with who she did them with, her scholarship with the college of her dreams was revoked, and her parents had punished her very harshly - taking away her allowance and confiscating all the checks she made at work, as well as taking away any opportunities to partake in any basketball tournaments in the foreseeable future.

It definitely didn’t help that Gilda had lost most of her friends because of this - some because they were dealing with their own problems caused by Anon-A-Miss, but others because of her wide orientation.

Pounder just grinned. "And who's this Anon A Bitch?" he asked.

"Sunset Shimmer," Gilda growled as she reached the parking lot. Getting to her car, she unlocked it and practically forced herself into the driver's seat, throwing her backpack angrily in the back seat. "Piece of fucking shit, once I get my hands on her-"

Pounder held the car door open as Gilda started her vehicle, the engine sputtering on with a rumble, then a roar. "I don't know, you might have the chance very soon," he said. "I happened to meet this Sunset Shimmer a while ago."

“So?” Gilda grumbled.

“I know where she lives,” Pounder revealed. 

Gilda's eyes turned to face the buff young adult. "You're fucking with me," she said.

"I'm not," Pounder retorted, his grin widening. Gilda's eyes narrowed as she thought over his words, wondering if they were truthful or not. On one hand, he was an absolute dickhead and a womanizer with a really bad penchant for bullying, having seen and experienced some of it when she knew him, even when compared to someone like Sunset Shimmer. He could easily be lying just to have some more fun with her.

On the other hand, Sunset Shimmer had started her old ways, targeting everyone on the basketball team and exposing her own horrible secret. Her hands clenched over the old steering wheel as she thought about how much she wanted to tear Sunset Shimmer a new one for utterly destroying her future and much of her privileges at home.

After a few minutes of thinking, Gilda finally turned to look at Pounder, a gleam in her eyes. "You'd better not be fucking lying to me."

- Crystal Prep Academy's Main Library: several hours later - 

Sunset Shimmer couldn't help but yawn as her watery eyes burned through the pages of her textbook, one of several books she had to read through for the weekend assignments. Despite spending a week at Crystal Prep and its class material, she found that it was much more difficult in terms of lessons and learning material than Canterlot High ever was.

Wiping her eyes, Sunset Shimmer sniffled as she attempted to stay awake long enough to finish the page. She could always do her work at home, but Coral did take a while to get here, especially since he worked in such a demanding job. Despite that, she could only think about how above and beyond he'd been for her, especially since her former friends had barged in his house.

As she wiped her eyes a second time, she looked over the page once again, before looking to her open notebook and scribbling something in it - physics formulas for her weekend project. Surprisingly, Sunset Shimmer found that she wasn't actually struggling with the classes or the lessons themselves, just the workload and the amount of time she had to dedicate just for the homework alone.

She was so distracted that she didn't feel her chair shift. However, she did hear the little *thud* and the squeaky little "Oof!" behind her. Shaken out of her stupor, Sunset Shimmer found that a girl - a fellow Preppie - had tripped on the legs of her chair.

"Oh, are you alright? Sorry, I didn't mean to leave my chair out so far-" Sunset Shimmer asked as she got up to help the girl up, before she froze almost immediately.

Looking back at her was Twilight Sparkle, wearing a Crystal Prep uniform with her hair tied up into a messy bun - with a few locks of hair on either side of her face. Sunset Shimmer gulped immediately, almost stepping back as fear overtook her features.

"Wait, why is Princess Twilight here? How did she find out? Did the girls take her notebook and call her? Oh no, what if she's here to drag me back to Canterlot? What if she unleashes some princess punishment on me? Will I get banished from both realms? Will I get sent to the moon? WILL I GET SENT BACK TO MAGIC KINDERGARTEN?!! How could I convince her that I'm innocent? What do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do-" Sunset Shimmer's thoughts were running at over a thousand miles a minute, thinking of nothing other than how utterly screwed she was.

However, she was once again shaken out of her stupor when she heard a grunt. "S-sorry, I didn't mean to trip! I just need...I just need to get my glasses," Twilight Sparkle said. Sunset Shimmer saw now that she was on all fours, her hands patting the floor as she looked for something. That something became obvious when Sunset Shimmer spotted a pair of thick eyeglasses with black rims sitting a few feet away from Twilight's groping hands.

"Oop! Sorry, that was still kind of my fault. Here, let me get those for you," Sunset said as she went around Twilight and snagged her glasses, before putting them in the half blind girl's hands. Her face lit up as she did so, and she got on her feet at once - putting her eyewear back on her face.

Squinting for a few seconds, Twilight Sparkle blinked several times before she sighed. "Phew! I'm not losing those again," she said with relief before she turned to see Sunset Shimmer awkwardly waiting in front of her. "Oh, hello," she said with a shy wave. "I'm Twilight Sparkle. And you are..."

"Oh! Uhh, Sunset. Sunset Shimmer," Sunset introduced - trying to keep her voice from shaking as she fought down the urge to ask how Spike was, or if Princess Celestia was still being a good teacher. "I'm a new transfer from around last week. I don't think we share any classes though."

"Me neither," Twilight said with a slight grin before she reached her hand out. "Still, it's nice to meet you! Heh heh..." The awkward giggle caught Sunset Shimmer by surprise, but she thought very little of it as she reached over and shook the lavender skinned girl's hand.

"This must be the other Twilight - the Twilight Sparkle of this realm," Sunset Shimmer thought as she looked at the shy girl in front of her, still shaking her hand. "That's a relief, though I'm surprised she's at Crystal Prep. Actually, never mind, some fancy rich school would definitely be her kind of school."

"R-right," Twilight Sparkle said awkwardly, and Sunset then realized she didn't answer Twilight yet. "O-oh!" she finally said, jolting Twilight as she spoke up. "It's nice to meet you too! Sorry, I'm just lost in thought is all. I've been stuck on physics and it's been super annoying.."

"Oh, if you'd like, I can help you with that!" Twilight said a little too eagerly. "It's one of my best subjects. I'm not too sure if I can be a good enough tutor, but I have plenty of notes, and I have really neat handwriting. And if your assignments include experiments, I can totally-"

"Twilight, you made your point. You don't need to ramble," Sunset said as she giggled at the nerdy response. Twilight's cheeks flushed in a cute and embarrassed burn as Sunset just smiled. "I'd be happy to-"

She felt her phone vibrate in her blazer pocket, and Sunset's smile dropped as she was interrupted. "Sorry, just gotta take this," she said. Pulling out her phone and opening it, Sunset read the notification she had just received. As a few seconds went by, her expression morphed from confusion and irritation to shock and horror, her fingers trembling as Twilight immediately took notice.

"S-Sunset? Is everything alright?" Twilight asked nervously as she peered over Sunset's shoulder, before her eyes widened at the message.

"I-I gotta go!" Sunset cried, ignoring the several "Shhh!" noises from the other occupants of the library as she packed up her things as quickly she could before booking it out of the library. Twilight gulped as the girl bolted through the door before sighing.

"I hope she's alright," she thought as she recalled the few words she managed to read out before Sunset broke into a panic.

"HOUSE ATTACKED. ROBBED."