Unfinished Business II
The living room was crowded. Sunset sat next to Twilight, Pinkie, and Gardenia Glow on the couch. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were standing in the archway leading to the foyer. Fluttershy had taken a seat on an ottoman. Rarity, of course, was still in her wheelchair.
Across from them, Shiny Stars, Firecracker Burst’s mother, was seated in an armchair. Firecracker’s father, Blazing Spark stood behind her. Shiny’s face was a mixture of shock and disbelief. Blazing, on the other hand, was clearly angry. Very angry.
“Magic,” he spat.
Sunset nodded. “I know it’s hard to believe, but magic is what’s been causing the strange things that have happened in town over the past year. The seven of us try to deal with it whenever it happens.”
“And Firecracker came in contact with it?” Shiny asked. Her hands idly played with the hem of her shirt.
“Yes,” Sunset said. “The magic is generated by friendship. But the problem comes when someone tries to use that magic on their own. It isn’t meant to be used that way but shared between a group of friends. If one person tries to use it by themselves, the magic overpowers them, starts playing tricks on their mind. The power becomes too much for them.”
“And this happened to Firecracker.” Blazing’s voice was still skeptical. While he and his wife had goggled at the sight of Rarity floating her chair into their house on one of her crystals, they seemed to be denying what they had seen was real.
“Her pendant became infused with magic,” Gardenia began. “She decided to use that power to get revenge on my behalf for what happened to me at the Spring Fling a couple of years ago. She started becoming unstable. She attacked Sunset and put her into a coma, then when I tried to get her to give up the magic, she did the same to me.”
Applejack cleared her throat and held her hat in her hands. “Mr. Spark, Mrs. Stars, I don’t want to put anymore grief on you than you already have, but Firecracker was plannin’ to kill Sunset outright. And we weren’t sure if she would stop there.”
“Firecracker would never do that!” Shiny shouted. “Never!”
Gardenia swallowed and leaned forward, taking Shiny’s hand. “Shiny, she already did. She killed my parents about a day after she knocked me out.”
Shiny’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, dear god… Gardenia, I’m so sorry.”
“So you put our daughter down like a rabid dog, is that it? Is that how you deal with magic?” Blazing snorted, his grip tightening on the back of the armchair.
“No!” Sunset snapped. She cut herself off and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to shout. No, that’s not how we deal with the magic. All the other times this has happened, the magic has either neutralized whoever was abusing it, or in one case, we were able to talk them into giving it up voluntarily.”
“But that didn’t happen in this case,” said Rarity. “For some reason we’re not sure of, Firecracker’s power increased with her anger. And the magic just seemed to feed that anger. Did you hear about the incident at the mall last week?”
The parents nodded. Rarity continued.
“Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and myself were all there. Firecracker had assaulted another CHS student. We still don’t know why.”
“She was getting revenge on everyone she thought hurt me,” Gardenia answered. “Beachberry circulated a couple of posts on MyStable about me after the truth came out.”
“I see,” Rarity said. She looked back at Firecracker’s parents. “We had to step in to stop her before she hurt Beachberry any more than she already had. That’s what led to the chaos and destruction. We were trying to keep her from hurting anyone else.”
“We took a few hits ourselves to make sure nobody else did,” said Rainbow.
“But without Sunset conscious, our own magic wasn’t enough to stop her,” Twilight continued. “And by the time Sunset came out of her coma, Firecracker had become powerful enough to fight us to a standstill.”
“Bullshit.” Blazing Spark took a step forward, causing Fluttershy to shrink back on the ottoman. The irate father didn’t notice. “You come into my home, announce that my daughter’s dead and expect us to believe she became some kind of magically charged raving psychopath hellbent on revenge for her girlfriend? Firecracker wouldn’t hurt a fly!”
Rarity’s eyes flashed. She wheeled forward. “Mr. Spark, I say this with all due respect to you as a grieving father, but does this, “ She gestured to her chair and the cast on Pinkie’s arm. “Look like ‘bullshit’ to you?”
“A week ago, I was able to walk. Now, I have to struggle to adapt to this. I am very fortunate that there was no damage to my spinal cord, so I have the potential to walk again, but the fact remains than in her magically driven mania, Firecracker caused this to happen to me.”
“So it’s a shakedown, then. Sue us for your injuries, claim ‘magic’ is responsible, and make sure Firecracker can’t defend herself?”
“No!” Sunset stood up. “This isn’t a shakedown! This isn’t a scam! We don’t blame Firecracker for what happened to Rarity, or any of us! We know she wasn’t in her right mind, and I wish we could have saved her. But the magic became too strong and there was too much in the air! It… exploded is the only word I can think of, and Firecracker got caught in the backlash! I watched her get obliterated by an out of control magic surge! I still see it when I sleep!”
Sunset’s friends exchanged a worried glance. They hadn’t known about this part.
Sunset felt tears running down her face, but she couldn’t stop talking. “I wish I could take it all back! I wish I hadn’t ever done what I did to Gardenia and stop this whole thing from ever happening! I wish I could have found a way to save her, but she just wouldn’t stop! If she had stopped, I know we could have done something else. I’m sorry! I am so sorry! I wish it had never happened! You can hate me, you can even try to send me to jail if you want, but we had to come here. We had to let you know.”
Sunset slumped back on the couch, she rested her elbows on her knees and looked at the floor. “You deserve to know what happened to your daughter. I don’t expect forgiveness. I don’t deserve your forgiveness. But I had to be sure that you didn’t spend the rest of your life wondering what happened to her.”
Sunset put her face in her hands and tried to get herself under control. Pinkie and Twilight leaned over. Pinkie rubbed Sunset’s back while Twilight put and arm around her shoulders, whispering words of encouragement.
Gardenia spoke again. Her voice was soft but firm. “Look, I know you don’t want to believe it, but the girls showed you some of what they can do when we got here. Magic is real, whether you believe in it or not. Which means the rampage at the mall is going to attract attention.
“I know you’re both good people, and no matter how angry you are at these girls for what happened to Firecracker, I know you don’t want to see them hauled off to some government lab for what they can do.No one deserves that.
“So this is my suggestion. You report Firecracker as a runaway. We can claim that she had a massive fight with me and it caused her to do something rash. You report the last time you saw her was the morning before the mall rampage. I know she didn’t go home that night, because she was at my place knocking me out. She wouldn’t have left me alone that night, I know that much. That should be enough to clear Firecracker of any suspicion of being the one rampaging at the mall. The magic changed her appearance so she shouldn’t be identifiable on any cameras that may have been in the areas where she went ballistic.”
“And what happens to them?” Blazing Spark demanded, pointing at the girls. “They just walk away scott free?”
“It was self-defense,” Gardenia replied. “I know you can see that, Blazing. They had no idea this would happen. Firecracker had injured two of them already. Three if you include Sunset’s coma. That’s not even mentioning Beachberry and Pepperdance.”
“What?” Shiny Stars asked, horror in her voice.
“Yeah, my friend Pepperdance caught a glimpse of her attacking Sunset,” said Rainbow Dash. “A couple of days later, she realized that, even with the changes the magic had made to her, it was Firecracker. She set up a meeting with her to be sure. Firecracker put her in the hospital as well.”
“Oh, my god.” Shiny looked away. Blazing looked down at his wife.
“Honey? Are you all right?”
Shiny nodded and took a deep breath. Blazing Spark looked back at the group of girls.
“Get out.”
Sunset swallowed hard. Her friends had similar looks of shock and dismay on their faces. Gardenia Glow sighed and got to her feet, indicating that the others should as well. Blazing Spark had walked away from the chair after issuing his order and was now standing at the living room fireplace, looking at the pictures of the family on the mantle and pointedly ignoring the eight teenage girls.
Shiny Stars looked over at him. “Blazing, this isn't easy for them either. These girls --”
“Killed our daughter, Shiny. Excuse me if I don't want them under my roof anymore.”
Shiny sighed and stood up. “Thank you for telling us what happened, girls. We'll go along with your suggestion.”
“We will consider it. Would you please leave now?” Blazing stormed out of the room. “I expect them to be gone when I get back!”
“Yes, dear.” Shiny turned back to the group. “We'll go along with it. For now. We're going to need a longer term solution at some point.”
“We'll work on it,” Sunset said. “This isn't what any of us wanted, Mrs. Stars. If there was any way we could have saved her --”
“I know. Thank you.” Shiny's voice was pinched. Sunset shut her mouth, aware that while Firecracker's mother was sympathetic, that didn't mean she wasn't angry. “I think you had better go now.”
Sunset nodded. “Thank you for your time.”
Shiny escorted them to the door. As they left, she reached out and touched Gardenia's shoulder. “Could you stay for a minute, Gardenia? It won't take long.”
“Sure.” Gardenia looked at the girls on the front porch. “Get situated in the cars, I'll be out in a minute.”
“Okay,” Sunset said. She looked at Shiny Stars. “Thank you again, Mrs. Stars.”
Shiny nodded. She disappeared into the house, allowing Gardenia to close the door. Sunset's shoulders drooped and she turned to face her friends.
“Let's go.”
She began walking down the path to the sidewalk, not really paying attention if her friends were following her or not. She walked down to where Fluttershy had parked her parents minivan and leaned one shoulder against it, folding her arms.
“Sunset?” Twilight came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.
Applejack appeared next to her. “You all right, sugarcube?”
Sunset sighed. “I'm okay... I guess.”
“Yeah, that was pretty brutal,” said Rainbow Dash.
“Not surprising though,” Rarity added quietly. “Honestly, it went better than I expected given the circumstances.”
Sunset groaned and rested her head against the van. She blinked as Fluttershy came up, took her face in her hands, and tilted Sunset's head to look at her.
“Sunset, look at me,” she said. “They are not angry at you. They're angry because they lost their daughter. We showed them the magic. Gardenia told them everything and they have no reason not to believe her. This is not your fault.”
“I know it isn't,” Sunset said. “I just wish this hadn't had to happen.”
The front door of the house opened and Gardenia appeared on the front step. She waved goodbye and walked to the minivan. Sunset looked up expectantly. Gardenia sighed and tucked a stray hair behind her ear.
“Okay, it took some talking, but they're filing the missing persons report on Firecracker now. And yes, I made sure to stick around until they were talking to the cops.”
“Her mom's right though,” Twilight said. “We're going to have to figure out something else for the long term.”
“Probably. But until that happens, I have things to do.” Gardenia hitched her bag up onto her shoulder. “Pinkie? You still have my number?”
“Yeparoonie!” Pinkie chirped. Gardenia nodded.
“Call me if there's an emergency. Until then, all of you try to lie low for a while, okay?”
The girls all made noises of assent. Gardenia smiled.
“All right, see you all later.”
She turned and began walking away. The girls began heading to their own cars, when Sunset suddenly broke away and chased after her.
“Gardenia, wait!”
Gardenia stopped and turned around, her expression stern. “What do you want, Sunset?”
Sunset caught her breath. “You didn't have to do this. You could have just left us to deal with it.”
“And?”
Sunset swallowed. “I know you don't like me, and I know you want nothing more than to never see me again, but thank you.”
“I don't want thanks for saving your ass, Sunset,” Gardenia sighed.
“No, that's not what I mean. I know you couldn't care less what happens to me, but thank you for doing this... for them.” Sunset tilted her head back, indicating her friends.
Gardenia looked at the other six girls as they helped get Rarity into the minivan and her expression softened. “They didn't have anything to do with this. They're good kids.”
Sunset gave a small smile. “Yeah, they're the best. I don't know where I'd be without them.”
“Dead, probably.” Gardenia's voice was flat. “I hope you appreciate what you have, Sunset. Because you never know when it'll be gone.”
“I do. Believe me.”
Gardenia quirked an eyebrow as she looked at her former enemy. Her lips curled up on one side. “Funny enough, I do.”
She sighed and looked around the well kept neighborhood. “This kind of thing should never happen here.”
“I agree,” said Sunset. “Sometimes I think the best thing that could have happened was if I never came through the portal in the first place.”
“Maybe. But this is where we are now. Like it or not.” Gardenia sighed again. She turned to Sunset and extended a hand. “And I may not like you, but that doesn't mean I want anything bad to happen to you either.”
Sunset looked at the older girl, then down. She extended her own hand and the two shook.
“Good luck, Gardenia.”
“You too. Have Pinkie call me if you need me to back up the story.”
Gardenia turned and began walking away. Sunset watched her go for a few moments before a car horn sounded.
“Sunset!” Pinkie called from the driver's seat of her sister's car. “Come on! We're hitting the Twisty-Freeze before the sleepover!”
“Coming!” Sunset looked back down the street at Firecracker's house. She took a deep breath and headed for the car. Whatever happened had happened, and whatever was going to happen was something she would deal with when it came.
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Why do I have a feeling tempest is instantly going to connect all the dots. And that the dad isn't going to play nicely with all this.
*Waits in shitstorm bunker*
I know the father is gonna spill everything. That guy sounds like a person with no care to anyone cept his family.
If he does so, he's ruining not only his daughter's memory, but also ruining six families as well. Meaning if they know it was him he would be dead in a week.
8792551
Any more room in that bunker just in case?
8792600
Sure thing, though the price of admission is some non-perishable foods. Gotta live through this.
8792615
Thank fuck for couponing
I'm not going to lie, After all the build up it had I'm rather disappointed that we didn't get to see the conversation itself. Sure we got to see the aftermath but it was so short it just feels anti-climatic. I guess just after all this build up it had I was hoping to see more of the parents reacting to the news about what happened, like disbelief to the existence of magic or their initial reactions to learning what happened to their daughter. Instead all we got to see was the father getting mad and the mother saying "Thank you for telling us."
I'm sorry if it seems like I'm asking for too much here, I am really enjoying this story, but the more I think about it the more this chapter just leaves me disappointed.
Why does this story not have a Sunset Shimmer tag? She’s like the main character.
8792803
I agree. After the buildup at the end of “Repercussions”, I was hoping for a longer chapter that actually showed the discussion from beginning to end. I wanted to see the reactions of the parents when they learned of magic, and ultimately their daughter’s fate. I wanted to read about their emotions, the shock, disbelief, anger, and despair when they learned the truth. This was a bit of a letdown.
8792551
It wouldn’t surprise me, given Tempest success rate. With a little digging, she’ll most likely discover the connection between Firecracker’s “disappearance” and the “magic pony girls.” She may go the father to confirm, and given his current emotional state, she may get him to willingly give the girls up if he’s convinced that they would pay for taking his daughter from him.
And despite Fluttershy’s assurance, Sunset is somewhat at fault for what happened to Firecracker.
By coming through the portal, bullying and blackmailing the students, and eventually stealing Princess Twilight’s Element of Magic, Sunset Shimmer set a lot of things into motion, resulting in a lot of unfortunate occurrences.
8793020
It has the mane 7 tag instead.
8792803
8793028
Your concerns have been noted. A revised version of this chapter will be posted later this week.
8792803
8793028
The chapter has been revised. Thank you for your feedback.
8793807
Thank you for listening.
Yeesh. Heavy chapter. In the emotional sense and length (Not criticizing the length of the chapter, that was perfect.)
Why do I get the feeling that's not the last time Sunset's shed tears? She's been through hell and I bet that's all heaven compared to what may be in store for the Mane 7...
8793807
Yes, this one, I felt, made more of an impact than the previous version. Thank you for listening.
Revised version is so much better. Thanks for listening to our feedback.
That sure hit hard.
Well this bodes poorly.