Neglected

by FreedomRiders

Chapter 9

Sunset Shimmer reached home an hour and a half later, seeing a few police cars and several people on the sidewalks as they stared at the house illuminated by the flashing red and blue lights of law enforcement. Before she could even get close, she could see the damages - a fractured front door, porch and side windows shattered, and splatters of oddly colored gunk all over the walls and the roof.

Coral's vehicle was parked behind one of the police cars on the sidewalk, and Sunset pushed through the crowd as she got closer to the house. "Coral!" she yelled, frantic and scared. "Coral, where are you?!"

"Here!" Coral's voice shouted, and a hand raised in the air, waving. Sunset Shimmer rushed over, nearly bowling over a police officer in the process in order to get to him. When she saw him, unharmed and shaken up, she tackled him in a hug, arms squeezed tightly around his body. "You're alright...you're alright, you're OK..." she whimpered as she buried her face in the crook of his neck.

Coral hugged back, awkwardly but with just as much force. "How did you get home?" he asked.

"I took the bus," Sunset Shimmer whispered. "And I ran the rest of the way back. What happened? Were you attacked?"

"No, I got home to see the police here. Someone called the cops when they saw the house getting vandalized," Coral said as he broke the hug, a worried smile on his face. "We were both out today, lucky for me. Or unlucky. Maybe if I were here, they wouldn't rob us."

"What did they take?" Sunset Shimmer asked.

"All of the cash not in the safe," Coral said as he looked down. "A few hundred dollars and a dozen in coins. They destroyed the television and stabbed the video games. Tables and chairs are broken and the sofas are ripped up. Walls got hammered too. My figures were destroyed too."

"So they only wanted to destroy stuff?" Sunset Shimmer asked. "But who could...no..."

"I think so too, but I'm not saying a thing without proof," Coral said, and Sunset wanted to smack his face for such a dumb reply.

"Coral, you have to! If there's no leads, the police won't try and do anything!" Sunset Shimmer protested. "Make him a suspect, there's no way he isn't!"

"Sunset, I..." Coral said. "I really don't want him going after us again, even if it is him. Do you know how much money he has?"

"We don't have to lay down for him! We can fight him! Uhh, security cameras! Better locks, window protection, better insurance, I don't know!" Sunset cried, and Coral immediately took note of how frantically she was behaving.

"Sunset, calm down!" he finally said as he grasped her shoulders.

"I can't! I spent so long terrified that you'd be hurt or dead! I can't go through that again, I can't!!" Sunset screamed, before she stifled a sob with her hand, her body wracking as she tried to remain composed. Coral tensed up as he felt guilty at once for snapping at her. "You're my only friend now..." Sunset cried. "You helped me when no one else would...if you got hurt and I couldn't do a thing about it..."

"Sunset...I'm sorry," Coral whispered as he hugged her again, allowing her to break into full out crying in his arms. "I know you're worried...I just don't want whoever did this to come back again...otherwise you might be home and I won't be..."

"Excuse me." Coral looked up from the other side of Sunset's head to see a police officer awaiting them. "I apologize for interrupting you, but this is pretty important."

Sunset pulled away, wiping her eyes. "Talk to them...I'll be fine," she said shakily.

"Sunset, I-" Coral said before she shook her head, a sad smile on her face.

"I'm not mad, I promise," she said. "We can talk again later." Coral stared at her, before sighing and turning to the officer and speaking with him. Sunset Shimmer slowly took a deep breath with a shudder before she collapsed against the side of the house, hands wrapped around her knees as she tried to recompose herself.

Hours passed, and Sunset found herself questioned as well. She was questioned about why the house would be attacked and where she was when the attack occurred, which she found out was a mere half hour before she received the message of the robbery and vandalism in the first place. She answered every question she could and talked about the suspect with the most potential to do something about this.

She talked about Pounder and what little Coral told her in the prior week, how he was a horrible bully growing up, and how he had visited the house earlier, trespassing and breaking some things in the house before he tried to harass and hurt her on that same day.

When the questioning stopped, Coral and Sunset were recommended to stay at a hotel near the city - very much closer to Crystal Prep and a tad bit closer to the restaurant Coral worked at. It took two hours to pack their bags in the bedroom - which was fairly easy considering that only the living room, dining room, kitchen, and hallways were attacked. Apparently, they had been interrupted when the sirens started blaring.

The entire drive to the hotel was completely silent between Sunset Shimmer and Coral, the sounds of traffic and city life around them remaining as nothing but a blur between the two of them. It was midnight by the time they arrived at the hotel, and Coral checked in at once. "Payday was yesterday, so I got my paycheck a few days ago. Thankfully, I never cashed it in yet, and I have all my cards with me," he explained as they brought their bags inside. "Also, work knows about what happened."

"What now?" Sunset Shimmer asked as she set her backpack down by the somewhat television. The hotel room was moderate in size, with two twin beds, a desk, a small fridge, and a single chair. The bathroom was small as well, next to the window with the air conditioner and a closet across from said bathroom.

"They're giving me four days off. I have to talk to my college professors as well, maybe set up a counseling appointment for situations like this," Coral said as he pulled out his home laptop - which was thankfully in his room - before setting it on his desk. "Then I need to talk about payments from the insurance company, get back into contact with the police for investigations and stuff, all sorts of stuff. It's kind of a mess."

Sunset winced at all the work Coral got saddled with as a result of his being a victim. "Will you be alright?" Sunset Shimmer asked as she watched Coral open the laptop and turn it on.

Coral grinned. "I can handle this - that's what the days off are for," he said, his tone reassuring. "You worry about school and stuff."

"But what if it really is more than some robbery? What if they really are after us, and they come here? What can we do then?" Sunset Shimmer asked. Coral's grin dropped. And for once, he didn't have an answer.

As the two fell asleep on their own beds later that night, Sunset Shimmer stared up at the ceiling as the weight of everything that had happened remained on her mind. As she spent the next half hour drifting off, all she could do was wonder how she could help Coral.

---

Fluttershy looked away as Rainbow Dash entered her room. "Hey...Shy?" she said. "Sorry for...well, being such a stick up the ass."

"W-what do you mean?" Fluttershy asked nervously.

"I mean, I've been so obsessed with the whole Anon-A-Miss thing that I've been ruining our get-togethers," Rainbow Dash said, looking rather embarrassed. “I know you’re the Element of Kindness…and all I’ve done is rant and rant and make things hard on you too...”

Fluttershy immediately shook her head at her apology, a bit flattered. Crude as the sports girl may be, but she's one of the nicest girls Fluttershy knew. “You’re just angry. I know you don’t hate Sunset…just what has been going on.”

“I don’t know, Flutters,” Rainbow Dash said as she sat next to her childhood friend and leaned on the bed. “I really thought she changed for the better…”

“Because she has,” Fluttershy wanted to say, but knew she couldn’t - not yet. At least, not outright. But she needed to start standing up for herself, especially since her friends needed to know the truth. "I know, Dashie," she whispered. "It shocked all of us. But...I still think something's wrong with Sunset Shimmer being Anon-A-Miss."

"Fluttershy...look, I really didn't want it to be her either, but I don't see how she can't be-" Rainbow Dash began in exasperation.

"Have you seen her when she still went to school?" Fluttershy said, her voice shaky. "She was miserable. Why would she keep doing it if it would result in her being beaten around a few weeks back?"

"Beaten around? What're you talking about?" Rainbow Dash asked, confusion etched on her face.

Fluttershy blinked. "You didn't know?" she asked, before she winced. "Of course she didn't know...Rainbow Dash would never let someone get hurt, no matter how guilty that someone was."

"No! Sunset was really getting attacked? How did I not notice that?" Rainbow Dash said, a bit worried now.

"Yes...I saw it a few times," Fluttershy whispered as Rainbow Dash's eyes widened in surprise. "I tried to stop them once, but I got shoved."

"Why wouldn't you tell us this was happening, or that you got hurt?" Rainbow Dash asked, nervous and very concerned for her friend. "We would have protected you!"

"B-because Sunset Shimmer deserved to be defended!" Fluttershy blurted out. "And you wouldn't believe that it isn't her!"

"But the secrets, the only one who was at the sleepover-" Rainbow Dash protested.

"Why would she do that?" Fluttershy squeaked. "Why would she expose our secrets in a way that made her look like the bad guy? Why would she continue to do that if it meant everyone would turn on her and hurt her in so many ways?! Why?!" She began to break out into coughing, not usually used to her voice getting this loud.

Rainbow Dash immediately grabbed a water bottle from her bag and handed it over, and Fluttershy grabbed it and drank it down, all while her rainbow haired friend stared, a bit concern but most importantly, in deep thought. As Fluttershy set down the bottle, which was now at half capacity, she sighed. "I don't believe it's Sunset Shimmer," she finally said after a few minutes of silence. "Because I think someone else is trying to frame her for this...someone who probably still hates her."

"I dunno, Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash muttered, a bit less confident now. "She was the only one who could have heard about those secrets. Applejack said so."

"Maybe someone else was spying on us, then," Fluttershy said, uncharacteristically stern. "But it doesn't explain why Sunset Shimmer would ever do this. I saw her, she was put through the worst pain anyone could possibly go through before she moved, and-"

"Moved? What do you mean, moved? Her house?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Wait, how come we haven't seen Sunset in the past week?" Fluttershy took a deep breath as she looked down. "Fluttershy?"

"That's because she transferred to Crystal Prep Academy. I...I heard that Principal Celestia did it..." Fluttershy confessed, shocking Rainbow Dash.

"Then why didn't you tell us?!" Rainbow Dash cried out.

"Don't you remember the last time we went to find Sunset Shimmer?!" Fluttershy cried back. "We invaded someone's home and yelled at her! If you went to Crystal Prep to do that..." She fell silent, and Rainbow Dash found herself slowly calming down at those words.

"...yeah," Rainbow Dash whispered.

"Dashie...we're still friends. I'm not betraying you for Sunset...I just want Sunset Shimmer back, because I know for a fact that she's innocent, she's always been innocent," Fluttershy said as she sighed, finally calming down. Rainbow Dash was silent for a minute, and Fluttershy's brow furrowed in concern. "R-Rainbow Dash?"

"I just need to think, alright?" Rainbow Dash said. "C-can we clock out for the night? Busy day tomorrow and whatnot."

Fluttershy looked down. "Yeah. Good night..."

"Good night..."

---

"I'm gonna go out and get a job on the weekend!" Sunset Shimmer announced the next morning.

"Bwuh?" Coral said as he woke up moments later. Snorting and wiping his face, he coughed once and sat up, eyes half closed as he felt how heavy his eyelids were. "Huh?" he said as he slowly woke up. Sunset Shimmer stood at the side of the bed closest to him, hands in her pockets as she waited for him to properly respond.

Sunset Shimmer was wearing purple pajamas - which were a pair of slim fitting purple sweats and a purple top with a sun emblazoned on the front. Her hair was the ultimate definition of bedhead, sticking up, left and right, some of it covering her face while the rest seemed wrapped around her neck at awkward angles.

"I'm going to try and get a job so I could start bringing in some more money," Sunset Shimmer said as Coral rubbed his eyes. "Something simple, easy to work and part time so I don't mess up my school schedules."

“I mean, are you sure?” Coral asked, a bit more awake. It was super early in the morning, and his vision was too blurry to look at the alarm clock. “School and work can be pretty painful. And Crystal Prep has a lot of schoolwork.”

“I know, but I need to help. I think I’ll go mad if I let you do everything,” Sunset Shimmer said as she crossed her arms. “Plus, the schoolwork over at Crystal Prep is manageable, and I'm a good learner. Is that alright with you?”

Coral looked confused before he sighed and rubbed his eyes once again. “You know, you actually don’t need my approval for this. And I guess I’m being dumb if I think I can actually keep us afloat by myself.”

"So, you're actually going to accept help?" Sunset Shimmer asked, feeling rather victorious that her words came through.

Coral smiled sadly. "With everything that's happened...what choice do I have?" he asked. The feeling of victory seeped away from Sunset at once, and she frowned.

"There's nothing wrong with saying yes to getting help, you know," Sunset said. "It doesn't have to be a last resort in any situation."

"I know, I'm just used to doing stuff on my own," Coral sighed. "It's not a bad feeling, just weird."

"Well, get used to it. I'm gonna be helping out for a long time to come," Sunset Shimmer said, smiling brightly. Coral smiled back, this time a bit more positively before he got out of bed, stretching his arms and legs. "So, what now?"

"We get breakfast, then we see about finding you a job," Coral said. "There's some pretty nice places to work at near my work. Fast food, retail, easy stuff."

"That sounds simple enough," Sunset remarked. "So, what's the plan for after?"

"Like I said last night: calling college, then the insurance company, then the police, then a few other things," Coral said as he yawned. "Man, I need a shower."

"Same, I feel like I stink," Sunset Shimmer said as she stepped back, allowing Coral to get out of bed. There, she got a good look at what he was wearing - a pair of loose and knee high shorts and a T-shirt that was half hiked over his stomach - a relatively flat stomach. He had no abs, but he did seem relatively toned.

Sunset banished that thought immediately and coughed. "Hey, what do hotels usually serve for breakfast?" she asked.

"Uhh, you haven't stayed at a hotel before?" Coral asked curiously as Sunset began to sweat. Sighing, he wiped his forehead and sniffled. "Never mind, I keep forgetting not everyone else travels. It's mostly the same at every other hotel - eggs, hash browns, cereal and fruits, coffee and stuff, biscuits and gravy if you're lucky. Bacon and so on, blah blah blah, generic American breakfast items and whatnot."

"Uh huh," Sunset Shimmer said as she made her way to the bathroom, before her phone began to chime. Blinking, Sunset Shimmer turned to see the little device chiming on the bedside table between their beds. "Uhh, you can go shower first, I need to take this."

"Sure," Coral said as he grabbed a change of clothes and walked to the bathroom while Sunset walked over to the bedside desk and grabbed her charging phone. It was an incoming call from Pinkie Pie, and she waited for Coral to walk into the bathroom and lock the door before answering.

"Pinkie?" Sunset Shimmer asked.

"Morning, Sunset! I heard about what happened, are you alright?" Pinkie Pie chimed in with a worried tone, Sunset wincing at the volume before she sighed.

"I'm fine," Sunset replied. "Coral and I weren't home when it happened. But still. We're staying away from the house until the police can get it sorted."

"That's good," Pinkie Pie said as she calmed down. "I think it might be someone from our school. News that you were robbed somehow got around on social media."

"Uh huh. And anything on Anon-A-Miss about those claims?" Sunset asked.

"Not really. They just released a post saying that they didn't wanna talk about it," Pinkie Pie said. Sunset Shimmer scoffed at that, and Pinkie continued. "Look, be careful, alright?"

"I know. Don't worry, I am," Sunset said before falling into an uncomfortable silence. "The other girls...did they say anything about what happened?"

Pinkie Pie was silent for a few seconds before she spoke up once again. "Fluttershy wanted to ask if you were alright. I think Rarity was worried too. Applejack didn't say anything yet. And Rainbow Dash..."

Sunset furrowed her eyebrows. "What about her?" she asked.

"She wanted to know if you were hurt, and if she needed to step in. She doesn't know that we're still talking to you, but she said she didn't like that you were targeted for real pain," Pinkie Pie finished. Sunset Shimmer blinked in surprise at what she was just told. An offer of protection from Rainbow Dash?

"...I don't know," Sunset said. "Just keep it quiet for now - please?"

"Alright," Pinkie said. "Stay safe." And with that she hung up. Sunset Shimmer looked down at her phone as she thought over that conversation.

"Rainbow Dash wanted to help? No, she's Rainbow Dash - she still believes I'm Anon-A-Miss. But she's also the type to not let anyone get hurt. This is just her being helpful like she usually is..." Sunset muttered to herself. As much as she wanted to believe Pinkie Pie, she knew Rainbow Dash was one of the more stubborn girls in the group.

Better to not risk facing her again, especially with how nasty she could be when she's mad. Her thoughts were once again interrupted by the door opening. Coral stepped out, fully dressed in a long sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans. His hair was wet and steam wafted out of the bathroom doorway. "Everything alright?" he asked.

Sunset grinned. "Yeah. I'm fine..." she said as she took her change of clothes from her bag and walked towards the bathroom.

Comments

[Theresa]

At least rainbow is starting to doubt. She hasn't decided whether she believes sunset but she doesn't want anyone getting beat up. And coral needs to admit that he needs help against his bully and tell the cops.

[CRS2018]

11386916
Wealthy families usually have influence over law enforcement in whatever area they are residing in. So just telling the cops without definitive proof and the backing of the general public won’t do anything.

[Theresa]

11387242
Maybe but they might keep an eye out for him and see if they can find something. Some cops actually do have a conscious and try to do the right thing even if those guys are rare. I just hope rainbow realizes what huge mistake she made by refusing to trust.

[Emmal]

Sunset Shimmer is my favorite character. I like brave and daring people. It's like part of my personality to participate in trap the cat. Let's try it!