//------------------------------// // You're So Lovely // Story: Tell Me Baby // by Gpizano //------------------------------// It was somewhere in between sleep and being fully awake that Sunset Shimmer felt a jolt of panic in her chest. This didn't feel like any of her usual "beds", it was way too soft. Then there was the scent, not a disgusting one but more that someone lived here instead of the stale sort of smell from the school library. And coffee? That last scent made the red head slowly open her eyes, the dark room coming into focus as she began to recognize it by the strange posters. Right... this was Jackie's room. Slowly pushing herself up into a cross-legged sitting position, Sunset Shimmer simply sat there for a moment or two before sliding off the bed and approaching the covered window. Once she pushed aside the black blanket and let the light shine through, she managed to spot the sun in between some buildings, the celestial body having made it a good ways above the horizon line. A different city where no one knew her or what she had done, endless possibilities. The high schooler hadn't realized she'd been smiling until she had stepped away from the window and was halfway towards the door. When she made it back to the living room she noticed two things. One that Jackie was cooking eggs in the kitchen where the coffee was and there was a guy who obviously hit the gym, reading a textbook on the couch and wearing nothing but boxer shorts. Some would probably notice the lean muscled guy on the couch first. Quickly averting her eyes, Sunset Shimmer thought about retreating back to the bedroom but was already noticed by Jackie. "Look who's finally up. Thanks for locking me out of my own room by the way." "... sorry." Still looking anywhere but in the guy's direction, Jackie easily noticed the other's behavior and lightly rolled her eyes. "Look, don't worry about looking at Bobby. He never goes around the apartment without his undies on and you get used to it." Hearing himself be mentioned, the guy looked up from his book and smiled to Sunset Shimmer. He set his book aside before standing and approaching, holding his hand out for Sunset Shimmer to shake. "Hey there! I'm Luca Bookkeeper, but everyone just calls me Bobby." While the situation was still a little weird and slightly uncomfortable, Sunset Shimmer still reached out to shake his hand and finally take a proper look at him. In addition to being muscular, he was also on the tall side with short, jet black hair, dark red eyes and skin with a dark shade of purple to it. He also seemed to be a couple years older than Jackie if she had to guess. "Sunset Shimmer. Er... why do they call you Bobby?" "Dunno, just seemed to stick since high school. Hey, lemme' go put on some pants, you look uncomfortable." As he moved to retrieve a pair of jeans that were draped over the couch as Sunset Shimmer struggled for something else to talk about. "Thanks... so uh, Jackie told me you were in college. So you there on a football scholarship? What are you going for?" "Oh nah, nothing like that. I'm actually working a job and on student loans. And I'm working towards a masters in business." Business? And he had that physique but didn't play a sport? Sunset blinked once before glancing over at Jackie who shrugged her shoulders in reply. "Hey, it just is what it is. Although I guess you could see him being like, a personal trainer instead of handling your money, huh?" Once the eggs were finished, toast popped up from the old, grimy looking toaster and quickly buttered. They joined the scrambled eggs on the plate along with a cup of hot coffee that looked to have either milk or creamer in it. "Anyways, happy first day new roomie. Couldn't afford bacon, maybe another time in a couple weeks." As Sunset had reached for the coffee, the kindness made her hesitate and think back to last night. She knew she hesitated too long when Jackie asked if anything was wrong, to which the red head didn't answer but instead picked up her coffee and took a small sip. "This is nice of you. But I'm thinking about trying to get my own place. I mean it's probably going to be way too crowded with me here..." "Oh come on, crowded is waking up to find twenty other people passed out around you in a studio apartment after a day long party. This'll be fine." Setting the coffee down, Sunset Shimmer used the fork given to her to move the scrambled eggs onto her slice of toast, wanting to just eat fast so she could slip back to Jackie's room. "It's fine, I'll get a job and start making money..." "What, right now? Isn't that like... impossible to do?" Grimacing as Bobby, now wearing jeans, had decided to participate in the conversation before it went back to Jackie giving her two cents. "Well it's most likely that right now most places have already hired everyone they need to deal with the holidays. And even if you do get a job it'd probably only be temporary and you'd be fired once they no longer need the extra help. Look Sunshine, just relax and wait until after the holidays to try job hunting if you're really set on staying here instead of going back to Canterlot and don't worry about it." "Look, I'll do what I want alright? So just let me handle my own damn business!" The unexpected snap had both Jackie and Bobby's eyes widen, neither saying a word and waiting for Sunset Shimmer to make the next move. For a moment the red head seemed frozen in place before she grabbed her place and coffee, retreating back to Jackie's room where the door was promptly shut soon after. It would be about fifteen minutes before Sunset left the room, dressed in jeans, her boots, t-shirt and black hoodie and empty dishes in hand. Without a word she deposited the dishes into the sink before exiting the apartment without saying anything to Bobby or Jackie. "Ugh, I don't get what her beef is. But if she wants to act that way, fine." Still grumbling and taking a sip of coffee, Jackie noticed that Bobby was staring at her with a sort of puppy dog look that just screamed 'you have to do the right thing'. "What? After I drove her ass all the way out here, she locks me out of my own room and then pulls that. And I mean yeah she doesn't know her way around... and I don't have her cell number to contact her... and she's not in a good headspace to look out for herself- god dammit Bobby..." With a defeated sigh, the guitarist set down her cup of coffee and quickly put on her sneakers as she stuffed her wallet, phone and other necessary items into her pockets before she rushed out the door. "Sunset, wait up!" Even though it was the last day of school before the holidays, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Applejack and the others excluding Scootaloo had made it to the Sugarcube Corner cafe where Applebloom came clean about Anon-A-Miss. Her sister vouched her her since she had seen her logged into the account and Sweetie Belle spilled about her and Scootaloo's involvement. The effects were instantaneous and devastating for the other four. Fluttershy had broken down into tears, Pinkie's hair had completely deflated and Rarity looked both horrified at the news and appalled that her sister had a hand in it. The reaction that had been the most worrying had been Rainbow Dash, when they had reached the point of saying how the account had been deleted, the athlete seemed to lose it. She slammed her fist on the table before storming out, her whole body shaking as she disappeared and hadn't been seen since. Perhaps the worst part of this was that there didn't seem to be anything they could do. Applejack had called in to MyStable to try and get the account put back up so that they would have proof but two problems came up when they were contacted the next morning. One had been the password and security questions had been changed before the account was deleted so Applebloom really didn't have a clear way of proving that she was Anon-A-Miss. Not that it seemed to matter, the head of MyStable had called them, going on about some legal jargon of 'user privacy' and how he would defend that right all the way to court. Something the Apples could neither afford and would be dragged out far too long. With nothing to do and none of them talking to Applebloom or Sweetie Belle, the two girls just left and headed for school, having no idea what else to do. They made it back just in time for the last class before lunch to let out, students flooding the halls and seeming much happier than they had in days. Why not? The Anon-A-Miss account was gone, so was Sunset Shimmer, they all thought their lives were looking up now. Applebloom fished her phone out, checking to see if her sister Applejack sent her a text saying... anything. But also just to stare at one of the tools she had used to destroy Sunset Shimmer's life and the lives of so many others. How easy it had been when she tried justifying her actions and she hid behind another identity. Gripping her phone tightly in hand, Applebloom looked up in time to see a familiar purple haired girl just down the hallway, sporting a fresh bruise on her cheek. The fire of rage grew in her chest. Sweetie Belle didn't say anything but she knew it had to have been Scootaloo! Without a second thought, Applebloom arched forward, ignoring whatever Sweetie Belle was saying as she drew her arm back and chucked her phone as hard as she could towards Scootaloo. The crowd had parted just in time to avoid the projectile but the youngest Apple was so enraged that her aim was off, the phone exploding into pieces as it collided against the lockers and showering Scootaloo in the debris. "What the f-!" Not even having time to finish, Scootaloo soon found herself tackled against the lockers, Applebloom's hands gripping the front of her t-shirt and holding it up so tight that it actually started to choke her. "HOW COULD YA' DO THAT?! YA' KNEW IT WAS THA' ONLY WA TA' CLEAR HER NAME!" "Applebloom! I didn't-!" That earned Scootaloo another slam against the locker, the young farm girl clearly not willing to believe whatever she said and ready to beat the truth out of her. By now a crowd had started to form as word of a fight spread like wildfire, some students went to go find a teacher, but the majority looked on with some even placing bets and jeering them on. "Don't ya' feed me none o' that horse shit! Ya' took down tha' Anon-A-Miss account ya' lo-down no good-!" "Oh please, like that dumb jock could do something like that?" Came a voice from the crowd, one of the absolute last voices that Applebloom wanted to hear right now. She kept Scootaloo against the lockers but looked over to her left, glaring as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon stepped out from the crowd. "Well, I was going to announce this at lunch, but I suppose a little earlier won't hurt. You can all thank me for taking down the Anon-A-Miss account." A hush fell over the crowd, Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle all staring in shock while Diamond Tiara looked like a cat that ate a canary, flipping her hair and examining her nails. "... you?" Applebloom couldn't believe it, she had to clarify this. But it all became crystal clear when Diamond Tiara explained. "Mm-hm. I wasn't too happy about what Anon-A-Miss was posting about me. So I had daddy call into his lawyers and threaten to sue those simpering morons at MyStable. If they let Anon-A-Miss, or should I say Sunset Shimmer, keep posting such inflammatory, derogatory things that defamed my character, among others, then they would be sued so hard not even their grandchildren would have a penny to their name. If they ever got out of prison." Although Applebloom felt that was an exaggeration, she knew Filthy Rich had more than enough money that he could take the people of MyStable to court, possibly keeping them shut down indefinitely as they dealt with a trial that could go on forever. Hit with the facts that Diamond Tiara had blown their chances of clearing Sunset Shimmer's name while doing something both selfish and noble, she also realized that she had been about to beat the tar out of Scootaloo for thinking she had been the one to do it. When she hadn't... like how Sunset Shimmer hadn't posted all of those things... Her grip slipped as Applebloom felt sick to her stomach, the crowd starting to disperse when they realized the fight was off and instead following Diamond Tiara as she strutted off, beaming in the shower of praise she got for her actions. She hadn't even realized she was being pulled into an empty classroom by Scootaloo until she heard the sound of Sweetie Belle closing and locking the door behind her. All three were silent for a long time, a great tension still lingering in the air between Applebloom and Scootaloo, even as the farmgirl seemed to be staring off into space while the scooter rider stared down at the floor. "... what 'bout the password and security answers bein' changed?" Looking up from the floor, Scootaloo stared at Applebloom for a long time as the red head continued staring ahead of her. "I changed them after you left. I was going to keep you out and put up one last post saying she was shutting it all down. She'd disappear along with Sunset Shimmer." Closing her eyes as a fresh wave of anger hit her, Applebloom was silent as a slew of thoughts raced through her mind. The anger, the anxiety, the guilt... but most of all, how much she hated herself for considering how easy it would be to just let this matter finally die. But then she saw the image of Sunset Shimmer crying, and Applejack, silent but her face showing just how disappointed she was in little sister. "... Ah'm gonna tell everyone." "Without any proof? And you're going to rat me and Sweetie Belle out when you started all of this." Amber eyes snapped open, a mad dog glare in them as she stared at Scootaloo, the tomboy looking unimpressed and crossing her arms in response. "Ah gotta' try. It ain't right Scootaloo. We hurt a lot o' people... an' if'n any good can come outta' this, it'd be maybe we can find Sunset Shimmer n' set e'erythin' right. If'n ya' won't come forward, Ah won't tell ya' participated. But ya' can consider our friendship over." Without another word Applebloom left the classroom, her course set for the lunch room where most of the student body would be and where she could try to tell them the truth and hope they would believe her. A few seconds after she was gone, Sweetie Belle turned to Scootaloo, tears beginning to run down her cheeks. "What is wrong with you?! Why don't you go after her?!" "I don't see you doing anything princess! If you're so concerned then why don't you go after her?!" "BECAUSE I'M SCARED ALRIGHT?!" The outburst silenced Scootaloo, feeling an ache in her heart as she watched the pink and purple haired girl break down. "I-I'm scared... I'm so scared. To face all those people we hurt... I don't want anyone angry at me b-but I liked the attention, e-even if they didn't know it was me and n-now they'll hurt us like they hurt Sunset Shimmer!" Sweetie Belle had always felt starved for attention, her sister Rarity was talented, smart, and popular while she just... wasn't. And she had jumped at the chance to get her sister's attention and then from the power they had over the secrets given to them. But it wasn't worth it. It hadn't been worth it at all and she had been too stupid to realize what would happen. There was probably only one smart thing she had ever done during this whole Anon-A-Miss incident. Still sniffling, Sweetie Belle pulled her phone out of her pocket and turned it on. "I... I know we agreed to delete the really bad ones... but... but I hung onto them. Incase you and Applebloom changed your minds. These would be ones only the real Anon-A-Miss would know..." Eyes widening, Scootaloo was quick and snatched the phone out of Sweetie Belle's weak grip. "Are you nuts?! If they wouldn't kill us before they would now! Just let it go! It's bad enough Rainbow Dash and the others already know but we'll be saving our necks if we let this die!" "But what about Sunset Shimmer!? I can't take it anymore, the thought of letting her take the blame and something bad happening to her! How can you be okay with letting that happen?!" "Because she was a bad person that turned into a damn she-demon! She wrecked lives too you know! Or have you forgotten how she wrecked Rainbow Dash and the other's friendship? How she tried to kill them, blew up the front of the school and tried to brainwash all of us?! How do you forgive that even if she did come in last minute to save us from the sirens?! To just forget all that and move on?" "Because if she can't be forgiven then none of us can!" Frustrated and with frayed nerves, Scootaloo turned around to face the teacher's desk, placing the phone on it before placing her hands on it as well, needing something to lean against as her emotions roared against one another. "We all make mistakes... horrible mistakes. Mistakes we wish we could take back and seem to be hung over our heads for the rest of our lives no matter how hard we try to make up for them. Yes, Sunset Shimmer did bad things, but she changed, she worked so hard to make up it up to all of us and survived being an outcast. But we couldn't let go of it. I don't know how long it will take for us to be forgiven, if ever, no matter how hard we try to make up for it. But I have to hope that we can bring her back and make up for what we did. No matter how long it takes. So please, Scootaloo, give me back my phone..." Forgiveness... they'd never be forgiven, no matter how much they were punished it would never be enough. During her time as Anon-A-Miss Scootaloo saw just how spiteful and unforgiving people could be. When someone who was normally good slipped and did something bad a lynch mob could be expected. Why should she care if the truth died here? She had her own life to live and Sunset Shimmer was already gone. Sunset Shimmer, the she-demon, the big sister stealer... she hated... she hated... A few drops fell to the desk as tears dripped down Scootaloo's face before it was covered by her hands. She hated how she was actually justifying this. She hated having to make up all these excuses to keep doing bad things and she hated herself for having done all of this! One lead to another as she had to comfort herself at night, having to convince herself every time that the end justified the means. How she had to in order to sweep aside all of Sunset Shimmer's good will, as if it were nothing. And all because she wanted to selfishly take more time to be with her idol Rainbow Dash. Who now probably wanted nothing to do with her for what she had done. When the wave of tears finally passed, Scootaloo wiped her eyes before picking up Sweetie Belle's phone and turning it on, accessing the secrets hidden on it after her friend gave her the password. "... Sweetie Belle, go get Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna, get them to the cafeteria and tell them that they'll probably need back up." Eyes widening, Sweetie Belle tried to protest but a steely look from Scootaloo silenced her. It was only until after the purple haired soccer player promised to name her as an accomplice to Anon-A-Miss did she leave, racing as fast as she could and praying that she would make it back in time. Which left Scootaloo to hurry to the cafeteria, where upon entering she heard Applebloom, trying to convince everyone that she was Anon-A-Miss and the rest of the room basically laughing at her. But now that she was here, all the noise seemed to fade away, time appearing to slow down as she moved to the nearest table and stood up, calling the attention of the entire room as she held up Sweetie Belle's cellphone. "It wasn't just Applebloom! Me and Sweetie Belle were Anon-A-Miss too! And I even have some untold secrets sent in that no one but Anon-A-Miss, the sender and the person whose secret was told would know!" With all eyes on her, Scootaloo looked over to Applebloom, the farmgirl's eyes wide and glued to her as well. Moving the cellphone to eye level, Scootaloo began from the top. And then the sound returned, rushing forth as the entire cafeteria seemed to explode and growing with each secret read. Each secret spilled had it's effect. Spitfire looked horrified before she turned to her teammate Fleetfoot and grabbed her by the front of her shirt. Bulk Biceps burst into tears before he ran out of the room and Silver Spoon looked ready to kill Diamond Tiara. Despite the roar around her, Scootaloo stood in the middle of it all, still reading through the secrets until someone grabbed her by the back of her shirt and pulled her down. A glance behind her showed it was Dumbell, his face red from anger before his fist collided with the side of her head. "YOU MISERABLE LITTLE CUNT! I'LL KILL YOU!" Others seemed to catch onto the idea, wanting to silence her before one of their secrets possibly came out. As Scootaloo was thrown to the floor, she tried desperately to block the punches and kicks that reigned down on her. She thought she heard Applebloom screaming out her name, and Principal Celestia's voice... the last thing she saw before she blacked out was someone leaning over her, shielding her from the furious punches and kicks of the other students.