Chapter 1

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Celestia felt a whirlwind of emotions going on deep within her, making her feel conflicted. She was angry because her school had been partially blown up and the fact that Sunset Shimmer had attempted to brainwash the student body and take over an alternate dimension [Which she was skeptical about and was convinced that she was instead dreaming the entire night's events up.] but sad because she finally saw the real Sunset Shimmer that she had been trying to find for three years. Three years. And in less than a few minutes, Twilight Sparkle, her friends, and magic light had managed to do more than she had ever thought possible. Celestia was also happy for; she had a chance; to connect finally to the real Sunset Shimmer and help her on her journey to turning over a new leaf, from the demon she had seen every day for the last three years to a smart, sweet girl that she knew hiding beneath her shell. And she was determined to take it. She had already invested three years into Sunset Shimmer and she wasn't about to give up yet.

All but one Canterlot High Student had left for home or the various after parties following the dance. That one who stood in front of the school with a wheelbarrow and a shovel, shoveling bits of concrete and plaster into the wheelbarrow and every so often taking it to the large dumpster behind the side of the school to toss it. The student, who went by the name of Sunset Shimmer was dirty and her clothes a bit torn from the earlier incident. Her hair was a tangled mess, and her face was red from crying. Nearby, Vice-Principal Luna stood guard, watching over the student, angry and yet slightly torn.

The night air, which was nippy and a bit windy, was silent save for the occasional howl of the wind and the soft sobs of a student in pain emotionally and a bit physically. Luna pulled her jacket around her tighter and silently cursed the gods for putting her on Sunset Watch. Rather, it had been Celestia who had done it, promising she would be back soon. Most likely in her office trying to call up the school board and local construction companies.

While both Luna and Celestia did expect Sunset Shimmer to assist in cleaning up the mess, they both knew she was most likely not skilled in actual construction. 'Celestia better have a good excuse to tell the chairmen of the board' thought the woman, rubbing her arms to warm herself up. No doubt the destruction of part of the school was going to attract attention; while she highly doubted that anyone outside of the school except for some nut jobs would believe the schools slightly destroyed state was from a magical blast; the school board would be curious. Perhaps Celestia could pass it off as structural problems, but then again, the surrounding walls of the blighted area were scorched. Bomb? No. That would just cause panic in the community and more problems.

During Luna's musings, she realized Sunset Shimmers sobs, which she was slightly concerned with, had begun to increase in frequency and volume. She turned her attention towards the young woman and noticed that she had stopped shoveling debris into the wheelbarrow and was now kneeling with her head hung low and her body shaking.

Before the blue skinned woman could approach her, the doors to the school swung open and in the dim light of the hallway light, Luna could make out the form of her sister who was drawn to Sunset Shimmer. She briefly debated before approaching as well, intending to take her sisters lead as she had done many times in the past out of habit. However, she decided to stay silent and watch the scene unfold.

Sunset Shimmer was barely aware of Luna's gaze on her back or the cold wind biting at her face. Nor was she aware of what she was doing. Her body was on autopilot; shovel debris into wheelbarrow, wheel, toss, repeat. She had followed this pattern for two hours without stop, even when Luna had suggested a break. She couldn't. Stopping meant to think and thinking brought it back. She was wrong. She had been so very wrong. When the light of friendship hit her, she realized everything she had ever done since coming here had been wrong, that she had messed up her chances of ever having... No, Sunset refused to think about that, at least for the moment.

Sunset finished filling the wheelbarrow and began the process of taking it to the garbage to dump. Briefly, she stopped to survey the damage and gauge how much work was left before her. She was only about a quarter of away done she decided before turning back to the wheelbarrow. She arrived at the garbage, which smelled of rotting meat, took a glance at the overflowing dumpster and sighed, shoveling debris into the trash bin. It had taken a tiring ten minutes before she was ready to wheel it back to be filled up once more.

As she pushed the worn, rusty wheelbarrow down the school's gravel paths, she became aware of soft shouts. She stopped briefly and noticed a quartet of people, around her age yet apparently not CHS students as she could recognize the face of almost all the students, walking back from what appeared to be Canterlot Park. She couldn't see much due to the darkness of night but from what little light nearby streetlights and the school provided, she could tell from the way their laughter echoed in the air and the way that they walked closely together that they had to be friends.

Sunset cursed herself. She had thought about it. She fought the urge for her mind to go down that patch and quickly as she could, she raced back to the pile of destroyed school, intent on distracting herself once more from thinking. But unlike before which had worked, her mind was already spinning and refusing to drop the topic.

“We could have had friends, but now no one will ever like us. You hurt everyone at this school and destroyed our chances of ever having a friend.”

Sunset pushed the voice away and hastily began shoveling debris once more, knowing deep down that this was pointless and that the voice was emerging.

“We had someone who cared about now they hate us."

The orange skin girl began shoveling even faster and tossing the debris sloppily, causing most of it to miss the thing she was putting the debris and into the grass behind her instead. Sunset was unaware that the tears she had been softly shedding earlier were not beginning to come in full force.

“We could have had a chance to apologize and redeem ourselves to Celestia but now it's too far gone."

At this point, she had dropped her shovel and had begun flinging the smaller piece of rubble with her hands in the general vicinity of the wheelbarrow. Her sobs were increasing in sounds, and her body was starting to shake.

“Someone took us in, sheltered us, offered to be our family. BUT NOW WE HAVE NO FAMILY AGAIN BECAUSE I WAS TOO STUBBORN TO SEE THAT SOMEONE COULD CARE”

Sunset let out a strangled sob and flung the rubble in her hand against the ground. Her whole body was now shaking from her sobs which were piercing the night air. She had failed. She had failed, and it hurt so much because she hated herself for what she had become and what she was going to do. She sunk to her knees, unaware of the gravel that pressed uncomfortably against her knees and the ground. She wasn't sure how long she sat that way. While in reality, it was most likely a few minutes, she felt like an eternity had passed when she was ripped out of her thoughts by a light pressure on her shoulder. She gasped and realized that it was a hand. The former pony followed the hand up to its owner and realized that in fact belonged to none other than Principal Celestia who was kneeling on one knee and seemed concerned and a bit sad.

Celestia silently wrapped her arms around the younger woman and pulled her closer. For some reason, this made Sunset cry even more. The woman with the multi-colored hair could barely understand her young student as she began trying to talk and cry at the same time. She couldn't understand a word she said except one phrase which she repeated in intervals. I'm Sorry.

“I know, I know” whispered Celestia. Not another word was spoken, for none was needed. It was evident Sunset Shimmer was in pain but perhaps, just maybe, with a little help, she would finally be okay.

Aside from her sister, nobody knew that Celestia had adopted Sunset Shimmer when she had initially arrived in this world. It was her who had found the dazed and confused girl in front of the statue located on the front lawn of the school. It had been after hours, and the sun had been starting to set when she saw the girl poking the front of the statue and occasionally herself. She had stared for a good few minutes before she had approached the girl. She knew right away that she was not a student at her school. The young woman had reacted badly, especially after she had introduced herself as “Celestia Solarias, Principal of Canterlot High” in fact, she looked both scared and angry.

Upon realizing that the young woman was refusing to discuss why she was on school grounds after hour or who she was, the cops were called in. They had taken her to the precinct and only then did they learn her name. However, they could not get her to tell them where she was from and searches in the national database turned up nothing. No birth certificate, no hospital records, nothing. She seemingly had no past, as if she had just crawled out of an underground cave or rather, came through a magic portal that led to a land of Ponies.

Celestia felt connected to the child. Concerned. She felt as if she should know her. The young woman was sent into foster care and from the reports the social worker was kind enough to give her, Sunset Shimmer was not doing well. Lashing out at her foster parents, stealing and breaking things, bullying the younger children. They even sent her to a group home briefly, in hopes to curb her anger and scare her by placing her with other wild children however it did nothing to stop her. Perhaps it was because of her own experience in the foster care system or the fact that she could clearly see that the teenager was lost and hurt, but Celestia felt compelled to try and fix her. To give her the love that she needed and the older woman was unsure she had ever received.

Sunset Shimmer did only slightly better in her home. Perhaps because she knew she couldn't get away with things without punishment and the fact that there was two stern woman always watching her. Celestia and her younger sister Luna. Neither were married...well, any more in Celestia's case, so moving in together had been easier. Sunset Shimmer seemed a little bit scared when she heard first hand from her while visiting the girl in her foster home that she would be living with Celestia from then on. And she also saw a few tears. That was only one of few times that Celestia saw a brief, fleeting glimpse of the real girl hidden underneath.

It was only a month before Sunset began running away and refusing to share a living space with Celestia and her family [ Her sister as previously mentioned and her little girl Scootaloo] and staying out till all hours of the night. It was a constant struggle. Eventually, though, Celestia made a deal with the girl. While Celestia wasn't incredibly wealthy, she did have a nice sum of money that she was sitting on. As long as Sunset Shimmer attended school, saw her shrink once a week and kept up at least a B+ grade average and stayed out of the darker sides of teenage life such as drugs, Celestia would provide her with a separate little apartment nearby the school as well as pay for food and utilities. Otherwise, she would end up back in the foster system and this time, she would most likely end up being sent to a stricter, harsher facility. Sunset agreed and that made her a little bit sad. She always wanted more children, and she had hoped that Sunset could be hers, not just in writing and that she would be a big sister to Scootaloo, something she desperately needed.

Three years passed and while Sunset kept up her end of the bargain when she entered her Freshmen year at Canterlot High School, she quickly became a menace and a bully, controlling the students through fear and intimidation. During that time, her anger clearly deepened and occasionally, she looked downright insane. Celestia watched as her attempts to set Sunset up with friends which would hopefully slow down her destructive path a bit, failed over and over. Even her brief fling with Flash Sentry, which she hoped would finally mellow her out a bit, did nothing to stop her desire and greed. And then when Celestia knew that Sunset was just reaching her peak of her descent into madness, it had happened. That beautiful, beautiful moment when hit by a giant surge of power, the real Sunset Shimmer who had been hiding beneath the layers of anger, disgust, greed and self-hate, finally emerged.

It wasn't going to be easy; fixing the damage that was clearly years in the making. Celestia highly doubted a single blast of “magic” could do that. At least that's what she assumed, she knew next to nothing about magic. Sunsets attitude towards the other students all these years was going to come back to bite her in the ass now that no one was afraid of her anymore. She would also have to deal with whatever skeletons in the closet she had. But Celestia was ready to help and perhaps she could finally be that missing piece of the family that Celestia needed.

Chapter 2

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Despite how awesome it would be to have Rainbow Dash drive her home, Scootaloo just couldn't allow it. Why? Because the eight-grader knew that if anyone at the school recognized where and who she was related to [The niece of Vice Principal Luna and daughter of Principal Celestia], she would be treated as the ultimate Teacher's Pet. And teacher's Pets were totally uncool. Or at least that's why Rainbow Dash said once during the rare times they hung out. They and anyone that played a classical instrument.

No, Scootaloo didn't want to take the chance of looking like a giant nerdy, egghead in front of her honorary sister. Her honorary sister who had totally butt whooped Sunset Shimmer, the Queen of PMSing tonight. Who was by law technically her sister despite them having only actually lived physically together briefly and the fact that she bullied Scootaloo around the school. Scootaloo scowled and chided herself. Sunset Dim-head was not her sister; never had, never would. Honestly, she didn't know why her mom was so determined to save her and had even gone out to stop her from going back into the system at all costs. It's not like the Junior student had ever done anything to deserve such kindness.

The night air was cold and nippy, and Scootaloo was regretting having not waiting around to get a ride from her aunt or mother or even accepting Applejacks offer for a ride home. Well not home, but at least in the general vicinity of her house. She would get Applejack just to let her out at the halfway point and continue from there. Scootaloo was aware that rumors were going around that she was an orphan and lived in Applebloom's tree house, a fact that was not true. Still, a little cold for her self-image being safe was well worth it. But perhaps next time she would bring a jacket to go over her dress.

By the time Scootaloo reached her house, a lovely four bedroom house located in the Upper-Middle Class area with a large backyard, a two door garage and pool. Scootaloo glanced around, making sure she saw no one from school walking the streets and quickly reached her hand down the front of her dress and pulled out the key she kept on a chain around her neck. After removing the necklace, Scootaloo let herself into the house and was greeted by the dark, loneliness of the house. The young teen kicked her shoes against the foyer wall and made her way to her bedroom.

Scootaloo's room was like most thirteen-year-old girls rooms. Messy. Right when you walked in, the far right housed a bed buried in blankets and clothes that had been tossed there earlier in the evening from when Scootaloo was hastily trying to get ready. What could be seen was a wooden sleigh bed covered and purple and orange checkered blankets. A worn yet sturdy oak desk sat next to the bed and on it set an older yet not completely outdated laptop that ran adequately for Scootaloo's gaming, social and homework needs. Her large ornate dresser was shoved on the opposite side of the room, and all its drawers hung open. On the walls and shelves hung and stood pictures of all Scootaloo's idols, the Wonderbolts, Rainbow Dash and the Flying Daredevil Lighting Dust as well as a fewer number of photos of Scootaloo with her friends or her Aunt and Mom.

Scootaloo sighed tiredly and dragged herself across the dark cranberry colored carpet and without bothering to get undressed or get rid of the clothes on top of her blankets, she crawled into bed and fell right asleep. However, her much-needed sleep was not going to last long.

It had taken every fiber of her body to convince Sunset to come home with them. Them being Luna and Celestia. After her tears had subsided a bit she tried to leave, vowing that she would never bother anyone again. And while Luna was silently wishing that the girl would so her sister could stop wasting her time on what she thought was a lost cause, Celestia was determined to bring the girl home and hopefully in the morning talk. Twilight had only briefly told Celestia about this supposed other world and who Sunset was when pulled aside shortly before the school showed her off to her portal back home.

From what she had learned, Sunset had supposedly been the student of her counterpart, a woman...well mare actually, named Princess Celestia. Twilight had also mentioned that this world was filled with magic and in her greed to master all magic and be the best, Sunset had defied Princess Celestia and had run off hopes of gaining new magical powers. She also got the gist that the crown that she had stolen was an ancient magical artifact capable of amazing feats. The giant burst of Rainbow light hitting the girl and turning her from a demon into a crying adolescence was a clear indication of that. There was much Celestia needed to know, and she was determined to get answers finally.

When they arrived home, Celestia could instantly tell her daughter was home as her mini-platform boots were tossed against the wall and she could hear the soft snores of her daughter. Luna quickly descended into the basement of the house, leaving Celestia and Sunset in the foyer of the house. No doubt she was going to load up her Xbox or PC and start playing Skyrim or something. If there was one thing Luna cared about more than family or her job, it was video games. As well as Drunken Friday [A name which had been given and used by Scootaloo on many occasions], which happened once a month on a Friday and involved the younger woman playing video games while getting drunk and eating tacos in her underwear. Thankfully while it was Friday, Drunken Friday had taken place two weeks ago. It used to happen more frequently, but Luna had realized she needed to cut down on her alcohol consumption and her late night Just Dance sessions.

“We need to talk” stated Celestia, who turned to look at Sunset, who was now sniffling instead of sobbing and was trying to dry her face. Sunset looked at her with fear, apparently unsure of what was about to transpire but believing that it couldn't be positive. Would she be punished? Was she going to be sent back to the foster system? Or was Celestia going to stop paying for an apartment for her as well as other bills and force her onto the street? Suddenly Sunsets fear spiked.

She had been a starving orphan on the streets before, back before she was Celestia's student and had ran away from the orphanage back in Washneighton after she could no longer stand the bullying and verbal abuse she and the other foals received. She was lucky, absolutely lucky that she didn't die or get maimed and raped on the streets and that she made the mistake of stealing a bag of bits from a wealthy mare on the same day Princess Celestia had been town. Had the princess not been visiting the market with the Mayor and talking to many of her subjects and not have caught her as she ran passed with a mouth full of the woolen fabric of the bit bag, she would have most likely died.

She had been thin, dirty and clearly alone. Perhaps that's why Celestia took pity on her and when she saw that she was capable of performing a great deal of magic as she managed to free herself from Celestia's grasp, decided to take her on as her personal student and have her come live with her in Canterlot Castle. Honestly, it should have been a dream and for the most part, it was but was the young mare had always wanted had been a family. Her family had died when she was barely three years old. And while there were a lot of eager young couples incapable of having biological foals or desiring a large family of mixed background, no foster family wanted her for various reasons, so she ended up at the orphanage. The rest was history.

“I get it; you just wanted to tell me that you're kicking me out. I don't blame you, but you could have done it back at the school,” said Sunset softly, tears beginning to fill her eyes again.

“Sunset, no. I want the opposite. I think it would be best if you moved out of the apartment and back into here.” stated Celestia, reaching forward and softly cupping the teen's cheeks.

“Why? Why do you want me? After all, I've done and all the pain I've caused, why?” the tears were falling once more as well Sunset was beginning to shake a bit as well.

“Because I refuse to give up on you. Sunset, I can see now just how hurt you are and the real you that has been hiding all these years. I want to help you. No, I need to. If you honestly plan on turning over a new leaf, then you will need help because we both know with all your past mistakes it will be nearly impossible to do alone. I want you to move back home so I can watch you and help you on the journey to discovering the full potential of the true Sunset Shimmer and I refuse to say no. I've already invested so much time and hope for you to call it quits. Your past mistakes no longer matter, all that matters is the path ahead of us.”

Halfway through her speech, Sunset had started sobbing again and once more Celestia found herself hugging the girl. Her mental state seemed to be that of a young child at the moment. No doubt she was fragile and in need of some love.

A loud bang resonated from upstairs which stopped both the crying teen and the high school Principal in their tracks. Scootaloo, tired and still in her fall formal dress, stomped down the stairs, tired and confused as to why there was what appeared to be a dying bird screaming somewhere in the house.

“What's going on. It's not Drunken Friday again is it?” she asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes and wondering why of all nights her aunt had to be up to her shenanigans. Celestia shook her head and motioned towards the basement.

“No, Luna is quiet tonight for some reason, which is strange seeing as her game systems are usually blaring. I was ju-What is SHE doing here!” exclaimed Scootaloo, interrupting her mother mid-sentence, now noticing the older girl who was currently wrapped in a hug from Celestia.

“She's going to be staying here from now on” stated the woman in a firm tone. Scootaloo didn't seem to like that answer as she clenched her hands and stomped her left foot against the floor. Celestia had a feeling Scootaloo was on the verge of having a teenager version of a temper tantrum.

“No! She's stupid and useless plus no one wants her around. Why should I have to suffer and live with her? Just throw her onto the street where she belongs!” demanded Scootaloo, sneering at the sight of the older teen who was acting like a newborn child the way she was clinging to her mother and crying into her chest.

“If anyone realizes I'm living with that she-demon freak, I'm going to be just as much as an outcast and loser as she is!” continued the girl, her teeth clenched tightly.

“Scootaloo, enough. This decision is final. You're going to have to get over your grievances. I understand you two don't have a relationship or get along but you don't get to decide this. I do.

“What about Aun- I talked to your aunt, who is also an adult and she decided to leave the decision to me and this is the one I am presenting. It's not the end of the world. As long as she lives here, I expect no bad mouthing or arguing over the matter. Now if you're going to throw a temper tantrum then you can go to your room” said Celestia, interrupting the girl.

“I'm-m s-so sorry for what I've done to you” Scootaloo looked at the dirty, disheveled girl who pulled herself away from HER mother and spoke to her, her words hanging in the air. She snarled and let out a small, dark laugh.

“Doesn't matter, take your apology and shove it up your fat ass, you cunt.” The moment she said it, she knew she had gone way over the line of no return. Her mother looked at her and pointed towards the stairs.

“Room. Now. No phone or Internet access for a week outside of school work and you can forget about attending the Wonderbolts show next week if you continue to press the subject.” Scootaloo opened and closed her mouth a few times before turning on her heel and stomping up the stairs to her room. It was at times like these; Scootaloo hated her life.

Chapter 3

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Luna was not happy about the fact that her sister had decided yet again to try and save the Shimmer girl. Honestly, she didn't believe the girl could change or had. She kept claiming she was sorry but Luna honestly felt that the girl was fibbing to lessen the backlash she would receive or if she was genuine in trying to turn over a new leaf, would end up acting the same way she had for the past three years. She had see it happen before with many problematic students at Canterlot High.

Luna pressed her ear against the basement door. She felt weird spying on her sister in her own house however she felt that she had to honor her sisters wishes and allow the older woman to continue her never ending task of trying to reform Sunset Shimmer. Celestia had asked her to get involved and help in the past and while she had, it had always failed and over time she decided that the girl was clearly not worth her time and told her sister that on more than one occasion. So while she would allow the girl to remain in their house [Not like Celestia would allow her to evict someone without her permission especially when that person was her child.] and act sweet, she wasn't expecting anything to happen.

Besides, at least it would give her a chance to spy on the girl and see if she was going to try anything. Like turning into a demon. Such power, if possible to repeat [Which Luna doubted as it seemed to be linked to that crown she had gotten her hands on.] needed to be watched carefully. Besides, she didn't know if the girl was able to preform other types of “magic.” Twilight Sparkle had mentioned magic existed in her dimension and that ponies used it but she hadn't explained what the limitations of magic was and what it could and couldn't do.

Luna admitted she was curious for another reason other than wanting to make sure Sunset Shimmer didn't attempt to harm anyone with such uncertain power. Having spent many years reading fantasy novels and playing games such as Skyrim, Luna was interested in the subject of magic and had often imagined herself as a powerful sorceress with power unmatched by any. The mere fact that magic actually existed, excited her beyond belief. Still, she wasn't going to go and ask the young girl about it, even if she really wanted too. It was then Luna realized that she really shouldn't be into this sort of stuff at her age. Sighing, Luna pulled away from the basement door from which she had been listening to the the exchange between Sunset, Celestia and Scootaloo. She winced slightly as she heard a door slam shut with a resonating thud.

Things were quiet for a moment before Luna heard her sister sigh and begin talking once more to Sunset Shimmer. Celestia talked about setting up the guest room for the girl while Sunset, from what she could hear, was still crying a bit. Luna moved away and picked up her wired Xbox Controller briefly before setting it back down. For the first time in forever, Luna was just not in the mood to play.

When Sunset awoke the next morning, the girl was both unsure on where she was and had briefly forgotten about the events of last night. It wasn't till the light tap on the guest room door and the eerily flat voice of Luna, did that Sunset remember where she was and what had happened.

“Sunset Shimmer?” Sunset felt it was a bit weird to be called by her full name though Luna had always been formal and tended to call people by their full or last name; she usually didn't call anyone by nicknames or anything like that. Sunset pulled back the plush, blue comforters of the guest room bed and made her way to the door, briefly taking notice of the rooms furniture and contents; something she hadn't done last night as she had been too busy crying in bed.

The room was modestly sized with a dark purple carpet and light cream walls. There was a double bed with plush blue comforters, sheets, and pillows. A desk sat unused and shoved in one corner next to a small closet that appeared to be empty save for the racks and shelves inside. There was also nice sized magon chest of drawers which Sunset guessed was also devoid of items, a chesterfield armchair and next to the room door was another door, which Sunset assumed was connected to a bathroom.

When she opened the door, she was greeted by a tired and irritable looking Luna, who clearly looked like she needed more sleep and didn't want to be talking to her. Her blue hair was tangled, messy and snarled in multiple places. There were bags underneath her eyes and the woman was only wearing a dark blue tank top, panties that had little smiley faces on it and a pair of worn, purple slippers. Honestly, it was a bit odd to see her Vice Principal in her undies, really, really weird.

“Take a picture; it'll last longer” snapped Luna, crossing her arms and mumbling something about coffee under her breath. Sunset blushed and coughed awkwardly.

“Oh...Um did you need something Vice-Principal Luna?” something told the girl that the women before her would not appreciate being addressed simply by Luna. She could tell that the woman did not like her and honestly, Sunset couldn't blame her one bit. Luna looked her over for a moment before jerking her head towards the stairs.

“Tia has sent me to get you for breakfast.” No sooner had Luna said that, did she turn on her heel and walk down the stairs at a fast pace, perhaps very determined to be out of her presence. Sunset watched her go and when she was gone she contemplated. On one hand, she wanted to go back to crying in bed but at the same time, she knew she couldn't run away from her problems, from her mistakes. Besides, she was hungry as she came to realize when her stomach growled loudly. She slowly made her way down the stairs and made her way to the kitchen which she remembered from the brief time she lived in the house three years ago.

To get to the kitchen from the upstairs, you had to go down the stairs, go right down the hallway, enter the dining room, pass by the basement door and foyer before coming upon the large and spacious kitchen. Sunset awkwardly stepped inside the kitchen and took in the sight of the kitchen and it's inhabitants. Luna was drinking coffee, still in underwear, sitting at the kitchen island with Scootaloo, who was also in underwear from the looks of it [A purple tank top with matching pajama shorts.], eating eggs and toast. Celestia was at the stove, only dressed in a short aqua robe and a pair of fluffy, white bunny slippers. She was flipping an omelet in the frying pan while reading the local newspaper, Canterlot Times. It seemed Sunset was the only one in regular clothes; having dismissed Celestia's offer for a pair of pajamas and instead choosing to just fall asleep crying in her day to day wear.

Almost as soon as she stepped into the kitchen, everyone turned toward her, taking her in. Scootaloo scowled at her and pulled her breakfast of Omelets closer, and Luna gave her a look that she could not distinguish. Perhaps a mix of annoyance and anger? Celestia was the only one who seemed happy to see her. She pointed Sunset to the empty spot at the kitchen island, next to Luna who was in the middle, where a plate of cheese and red pepper omelets, was waiting. Sunset hesitated, not sure if she should, feeling out of place and unwelcome.

Luna sighed dramatically and got up from her chair before dragging the girl to the counter and sitting her down before quietly resuming her meal. Celestia gave her a smile and gestured for her to eat. Silently, Sunset did and grabbed the half empty milk jug and poured a moderate amount of milk into the empty cup next to her plate. She dug in and realized that she was a lot hungrier than she thought and within a few minutes her plate was empty.

“Enjoying it?” asked Celestia, smiling at her as she turned the page of her newspaper. Sunset nodded, quite full and content.

“Aren't you going to eat?” asked Sunset, noticing that Celestia was without a plate of delicious, soft, cheesy goodness. Celestia shook her head as she turned another page.

“No, I tend to rise earlier than Scootaloo and Luna so I usually make myself breakfast WAY before they get up. Don't you remember? You did live with us before; I recall during those few months a few times where you got up around the same time as me.” spoke the high school principal as she finished cooking the last omelet and turned off the stove.

“Right, I think I remember that too.....um....Oh no thanks” said Sunset trailing off, dismissing the omelet that Celestia offered her. “I'm quite full but thank you for breakfast. Actually, it means a lot” Celestia smiled at her again and then offered the omelet to the other occupants of the house. Luna shook her head, getting up and leaving the kitchen [Coffee in hand], no doubt headed to the basement to play on of her systems or to do housework. Scootaloo also didn't want the omelet and left almost soon after her aunt, shouting that she was headed out to meet up with the other members of her trio, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle at the park. Of course, not before she changed her clothes which featured her usual outfit.

“Don't go wandering off with strangers and come home before dark or if anything happens.” said Celestia, as she watched her daughter zip by. Scootaloo stopped briefly in the kitchen doorway as she passed by [She was attempting to find her misplaced scooter] and snarled.

“I'm not a baby and I'm not stupid!” Celestia started to reply but the girl was already gone before she could open her mouth. The mother sighed and shook her head; she honestly had no idea what was up with that girl. Sure, Sunset suddenly re-entering the family picture seemed to anger the girl but last nights outburst was one of many. She was acting out more and more; throwing hissy fits over small stuff like being expected to load the dishwasher or not being allowed to have her nose pierced. It was the obvious the girl was going through a rebellious period but Celestia was not at all ready to deal with that.

Celestia shook her head and turned her attention towards the last remaining individual in the room; Sunset who was staring at the granite counter top of the kitchen island in silence, a mixture of sadness, fear and anger on her face apparently lost in thought. The older woman moved over to the island and sat down next to the girl.

“Sunset?” the girl looked at her, a look of dread on her face; a look Celestia didn't understand why she had. Was the girl worried she would punish her or something similar? Celestia guessed that's what the girl thought, from the way she seemed to be fidgeting with the hem of her jacket and looked at her in fear.

“Y-yes?” replied the girl softly, bracing for the worst. Honestly; she was unsure if Celestia truly meant what she said the night before about having Sunset be a part of the family and about not kicking her to the curb. She expected to be booted any moment, though she really couldn't blame Celestia if she did.

Celestia placed her hand on her shoulder. “If you're going to live here, we need to discuss some things.” the woman said this firmly, clearly sending the message that this was not negotiable. Sunset gulped and pulled her jacket tighter around her as if it would protect her.

“W-What kind of things?” she asked, nervously biting her lip.

“First, I want to say I do want you here. I know Scootaloo and Luna are un-inviting right now but they'll come around.

Second, you're still in trouble for blowing up part of the school. However, me and Luna both know that you are more than likely not capable of repairing a school or licensed to do so in anyway, but we do expect you to help out with the construction company we've contracted in terms of cleaning up the mess. Starting Monday, you'll be helping out the man I hired to do it, an old friend of mine by the name of Hard Hammer. You'll be helping out after school from three to six pm until he no longer has any need for you. Most likely you'll only be cleaning up the rubble, moving and discarding things and other odd things.

On top of that, while I highly doubt we can expect it at this point, no more bullying students; none of them, I will know if you do. Also regarding Doctor Lang; I think there is no point in you seeing her anymore. Honestly, she's gotten nowhere with you in the last three years, and all of us know it's a waste of time and money. Though in all honesty, I should have been more involved in that aspect.

Third, with you moving back, not negotiable, we'll need to speak to the landlord sometime this week and move your stuff here as well as end the lease. As a member of this family, I expect you to help around the house with chores. Cooking, cleaning, whatever. Everyone, including me helps out so you don't have to worry about suddenly becoming some sort of servant because you won't and aren't. You're also on a ten o'clock curfew from now on and no sneaking out like you used to do when you first lived here or anything like that, or there will be consequences. Got it all so so far?”

Sunset nodded in response, quietly taking in the information. Celestia being satisfied enough with the confirmation that the girl understood, continued.

“Now, of course, some people are not happy with you. Scratch that, a lot. I expect since you've been kicked off your “throne” of Tyranny in the school that many are going to retaliate after years of abuse. While I will protect you from anyone who tries to harm you, an apology for the student body is in order. How you deal with that is up to you. I won't put a time limit on it."

"Now. The second last topic I want to discuss with you and honestly one of the most important things on the table. You need to make some friends Sunset Shimmer-Solaris” spoke Celestia firmly. Sunset looked at her with her mouth agape and a look that clearly read apprehensive on her face.

“B-But how am I supposed to do that? I know nothing about friendship! Besides, no one will want to be my friend after....aft...after all that pain and suffering I've caused them.” Celestia wiped the tears that were running down Sunsets' face with the sleeve of her robe and pulled the girl into a hug.

“I know. It won't be easy, but if I've lived in Canterlot long enough, I know for a fact that there is in fact three other high schools in this city with teenagers that probably know little or nothing about you. You don't have to try and make friends with people solely from CHS. Canterlot is a big city Sunset, besides who knows? You could end up befriending someone from CHS down the line, but the fact is, you have options.”

Sunset was still unsure, but the woman did have a point. She had little interaction with students outside of her own school. The orange skinned girl when not in school or at her apartment, only really frequented places in the general area in-between. Given that CHS was actually the more secluded school, with it being on the edge of one side of the city and the other three on the opposite end or near the middle, most teens she ran into were from CHS. There had to be someone in this forsaken city that could be her friend....right? The teenager bit her lip and turned her attention back to the alternate-world version of her mentor.

“Okay, I guess I can try....what was the last thing you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Tell me about Equestria.”

Sunset froze, and the hairs on her back stood on end. She honestly should have expected that the woman would want to know about that place now that her true origins had come to light. From the way Celestia looked, serious and a bit curious, that it was not something she could avoid.

“What...specifically?”

“How about we start with something simple? Who is the real Sunset Shimmer and who is 'Princess Celestia?' Aside from the fact that I assume she is my alternate world identity, correct?” The girl sat for a moment, playing with her coat before she delved into her tale

“My name is Sunset Shimmer. I was born Washneighton, the Equestria version of Washington, to Radiant Sunset and Shimmering Blaze. They named me after themselves, combining part of their names. I had an older sister of five years named Radiant Blaze. My mother was an abstract painter who was a bit known in the art world for her beautiful art pieces, and my father was an architect. I lived in a beautiful house like this in the hills; the house was built entirely by my dad from the ground up. “ Sunset paused briefly to catch her breath before continuing.

“When I was three years old, my parents died. A fire started in the basement of the house in the middle of the night and we only found out when it was too late. I awoke up to fire and smoke; my parents were trapped in their room by the fire that had spread to the upstairs and main floor by that time. My sister was the one who saved me; she burst into my room at two in the morning and lowered me outside through the window with her magic even though she didn't need to and could have probably saved her self. But she saved me. I tried to get help, I ran to the neighbors door and yelled but by the time the Washneighton Fire Squad arrived with clouds to douse the flames my father had died from his burns while my mother would wait another week while in a coma before dying. My sister died from smoke inhalation. I was the only one left.

Equestria does have foster families but for some reasons, even with the amount of couples who were looking for a mixed family or those that couldn't conceive, no one seemed to want me. So I was sent to the Washneighton Orphanage. I stayed there until I was only eight. The mare there. Ms. High Charm, was a shrewd woman who enjoyed verbally abusing me and the other foals in her care. The only reason she ran the orphanage was so she could take advantage of the money the Equestrian government gave the place. We often were forced to do chores upon chores with little food and poor living conditions.

When I left, I lived on the streets and was lucky I didn't die or worse. I stayed alive by rummaging through trash bins and stealing from market vendors or unlucky bastards who happened to make the mistake of carrying their bit bags on their saddles or out in the open where it could be easily stolen.

One day, I was starving. Actually, really starving. I was ten. I need food and not just a single piece of bread; I realized unless I got a large stash of food for the winter I probably wouldn't make it. Now a giant mass of food disappearing opposed to a single loaf or slab of cheese would draw attention but perhaps not a young filly picking up the groceries for her family. So I decided that the best course of action would be to steal the coin purse from this mare who was carrying it around on her saddle with the loosest of knots.

I would have gotten away with it hadn't it been for the mare's friend noticing me just as I was finishing undoing the knots. Naturally, I ran, but the town guard came to the aid of the mare and her friend and gave chase. That's when I ran into her; Princess Celestia.

Princess Celestia has been our ruling monarchy for a little over fifteen hundred years. I know, surprising to those who aren't familiar with Equestria. She raises the sun and lowers it later in the day so she can raise the moon. She is what we call an 'Alicorn' in my land, or rather former land. A winged unicorn capable of great feats of magic and is skilled in many areas. But don't be deceived, I have asked more than once and she has stated that she is not a god or even remotely close as she has had parents of mortal blood and has never traveled past the hemisphere of Earth even though she has tried. She has said that she will with time come to pass like many of the ponies before her have. When, I cannot say for I will most likely pass centuries and maybe even thousands of years before she does.

She was with the mayor of Washneighton, visiting the market when I ran into her, head first. I tried to run from her but even when I managed to teleport a foot away; she managed to catch me. She took pity on me I think or perhaps she truly thought I was one of the most capable unicorns she had seen in “over several centuries”, I honestly have no idea, so she offered me a chance at something I had always wanted: the chance to learn magic, to study and hone my abilities. I had spent the last few years learning magic from other homeless unicorns and from books I “borrowed” from the nearby Library. So she took me away to Canterlot Castle, where I became her student. I had honestly hoped I could become more; her daughter. Having not had a family in forever, I thought: this would be my new family.

But she refused to let me call her mom or consider her family. She kept me at an arms length. I felt...inadequate. I honestly thought that if I mastered magic, became the best unicorn magician since Starswirl The Bearded, if I could just do something worthwhile, she would turn me into an Alicorn then accept me as her own, would love me as I loved her. So even when she kicked me out of Canterlot Castle at the age of thirteen after I refused to stop trying to tamper with the portal to this world, I thought; If I just harnessed the power of this world, then I would finally be loved.”

But...Shortly after I arrived in this world and I meet you, I realized the truth. She would never want me; she never wanted me. And so, that lead to anger and hatred and instead I became determined with trying to destroy her instead. The rest is history you could say.”

Sunset became aware of the tears that were running down her face. When had she started crying? She couldn't tell, all that she knew was that a fresh wave of pain was hitting her as she remembered the rejection from the mare she once hoped could love her. Suddenly, she found herself in a tighter hug with her head practically smooshed against Celestia's chest. That's when she realized that the older woman was crying as well. Why though?

“Oh Sunset, I wish I had known this about you sooner. I honestly do. I can indeed see your pain now. But it's okay, sweetie; you don't have to be alone anymore.”

“Why? Why bother with me? Why don't you just get rid of me already! I know you hate me!” Celestia kissed her forehead as the tears began coming full force.

“No...No. I don't know what issues this other 'me' has, but I want to be your family Sunset. I didn't invest three years into you for no reason. But I can't if you won't let me. Please, let me be the family you need because after knowing you these last few years, even with your problems and setbacks, I can't be without you in my life even if you don't realize it.” If Sunset could cry any harder she would have because for the first time in a long time she had what she had always wanted above all else: love.

Chapter 4

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The weekend passed quickly for Sunset who had spent most of her time hiding away in fear, dreading Monday. By the time the day came, she felt like she had been punched a dozen times in the stomach. Sunset did not want to be at Canterlot High; But both Celestia and Luna had made it clear that she couldn't run away from this and she knew it was true. However, as she approach the school, her fingers gripping the straps of her backpack tightly, the desire to run and hide was overwhelming. More than that, she would have had Luna not been walking behind her, watching her like a hawk.

“I hope you're not getting any ideas Ms. Shimmer” Sunset sighed and turned to the vice principal and shook her head reluctantly.

“I don't think I would be able to get far before you or Celestia tracked me down” admitted the girl, turning back to the school and watching warily as students began arriving on campus and going about their business. Thankfully, having been driven to school by Luna [Who had only done it because her sister asked and the woman needed to take the morning off from her job to do something] they were parked in the Staff Parking lot which was a bit secluded by trees and shrubs and was also around the side of the school so that meant for now, Sunset could look around at the other students for a while before she was noticed....Hopefully.

It seemed Luna [Who had also been instructed by her sister to watch the girl which she wasn't happy about but she did love her sister] didn't want to stand in the parking lot all day so she nudged her along.

“I would prefer not to be standing here all day” Sunset summoned all the courage she had within her and slowly began walking towards the front of the school, her mind on edge. As she approach the front doors of the school she was more than aware that eyes were on her and that whispers has begun to be traded between students as well as more vocal insults and complaints.

“....hat's she doing here? I thought we wouldn't have to deal with her anymore......”

“...Oh look, it's her! It's Sunset She-Demon!

“I don't know why Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna just don't expel her.....”

“...I say we get our revenge!”

Almost everyone who heard that agreed and students began yelling in rage and advancing towards her. Fear rose in her stomach however before anyone could lay a hand on her, Vice Principal Luna stepped out from behind her from where she was watching silently and stood in front of her with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

“Students of Canterlot High. Let me make this very clear. I understand you have reasons to be angry with Sunset Shimmer. Honestly, I'm pretty angry myself as now I have to deal with the repercussions of her behavior. However, I will not allow any of you to harm her! Do you understand? This is a school and not some sort of underground fight club; both me and my sister have already punished her thoroughly and anyone who attempts to pull something will be disciplined severely. She may have done you all harm but you all know CHS does not stand for any type of physical assaults.” spoke the woman. Almost instantly the students began complaining and whining, claiming that the situation was unfair and that they deserved to exact revenge.

“We deserve justice!”

“Do you want to end up in detention Ms. Scratch?” Luna recognized the voice and easily spotted the young, blue haired girl in her hoodie, ratty sneakers and torn jeans in the crowd. The girl named Vinyl Scratch scowled and pulled her hood up.

“Now. Classes are about to begin, so I suggest you all get moving” Students whined and complained but the sharp looks of their vice-principal quieted down and slowly they began dispersing. Once the majority of the crowd was gone or had resumed their previous activities before Sunset had appeared, the girl turned to Luna and gave her a small smile.

“Thank you. You know, for not letting the mob get to me” Luna sneered at the girls remark and began walking towards the school at a brisk pace.

“I did it merely to prevent further problems for the school. It wasn't because I did it because I like you Ms. Shimmer. I don't.” shouted Luna over her shoulder as she walked away. That comment stung and Sunset found herself biting her lip to stop herself from crying. No, she wasn't going to cry even if she badly wanted to. The familiar chime of the school bell rang, signaling to the girl that she had five minutes to get to her first class of the day. Home Economics. With a sigh of defeat, the girl slowly trudged off towards her class.

Sunset managed to make it to her class just before the second bell rang to notify any and all that that class had officially started. Thankfully, while she still heard a lot of nasty comments, no one had tried to maim her after Vice-Principal Luna's threat which had been repeated over the intercom for the students that had not been outside. When she arrived in class, the teacher Mrs. Prestoff was just about to start class. She gave Sunset a stern yet small smile. Mrs. Prestoff had always been one of the nicest, forgiving teachers and Canterlot High and even when Sunset wasn't reformed, she found it hard to resist liking the woman. Mrs. Prestoff whose full name was Diana Prestoff was originally from Detroit and was always trying her best to help her students or anyone in need.

Sunset glanced at the blackboard and scanned for her partner. Today was Monday which meant a cooking lesson and groups where split up into pairs [Unless the class was an uneven number in which case there occasionally was a three member group or sometimes more] and that Sunset would have to work with someone. In the past, she forced the other person to do all the work through intimidation and blackmail but of course Sunset felt no desire to do so anymore and actually felt quite guilty as she thought about it. Her name was paired next to Roseluck's, meaning that was her partner. Honestly, Roseluck had been one of her more targeted victims and Sunset didn't think working with the girl was a good idea but she really didn't have a choice.

She turned her attention to her partner who stared right back to her from what should have been their cook station. Before Sunset could even approach, the other girl had crossed her arms and shook her head. Unsure, Sunset looked around the room at the other groups and from the way they looked at her with intense glares she knew that she would not be welcome in another group. Mrs. Prestoff seeing the silent scene unfold stood up from her desk and approached Sunset who was standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, rubbing her arm.

“Is there a problem Ms. Shimmer?” asked the thirty something woman, tucking back a piece of loose brown hair as she spoke. Sunset bit her lip out of habit and sighed.

“Well...” Sunset began. “I don't think I-”

“I don't want to work with her, that's what!” interrupted Roseluck, stepping out from behind her station and approaching the pair. She sneered at Sunset with disdain and hatred.

“Why should I be forced to work with a monster like her? She doesn't belong at CHS! Twilight Sparkle should have gotten rid of her when she had the chance! Better yet, we should!” spat the girl, ready to strike at the first opening.

“Ms. Luck, I will not stand such language! If you are honestly going to talk about potentially harming a student which is against the law may I remind you, then I'm going to send you to see Vice-Principal Luna” Roseluck fumed and let out a small high pitched angry whine before trying to reply however the teacher cut her off before she could do so.

“Office. Now.” the usually nice and sweet woman was stern and pointed the girl out the door. Rose balled up her fists for a moment before stomping out the door but not before turning around to utter a threat to Sunset.

“You better sleep with one eye open, you demon-bitch”

The rest of Home Economics was quiet. Since no one wanted to work with her, the girl found herself cooking alone. It wasn't too bad other than the other students whispering shrewd things when the Teacher wasn't near or pushing her when the teacher wasn't looking. The cooking assignment involved baking Chocolate Chip Cookies however given that Sunset never really learned how to cook properly [Back when she was an Orphan, cooking stolen food usually involved just cooking it over a makeshift fire till it was pretty much burnt then eating it. Besides, once she moved to Canterlot Castle her meals were made for her] they came out burnt. Still at least other then that she got the ingredients and amounts right...or so Sunset hoped. It was hard to tell if there was too much of one ingredient or not enough of another as all she could taste when she bit into one of the cookies was that familiar burnt taste.

After Home Economics, the girl found herself in History class. History was okay as well other than the fact that three of Twilight's friends and her former victims, Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were also in her history class. Sunset did her best to avoid them, especially after Rainbow Dash gave her a long, pointed look when she had walked into class which read: Stay away. That was okay though, Sunset didn't want to be friends with them anyway, even if Twilight Sparkle had instructed her friends to look after her.

Friends... Ever since Saturday morning when Celestia told her to make friends, the girl had been thinking about how exactly she could even begin to accomplish it. Celestia had suggested meeting people from Canterlot's other schools but Sunset felt apprehensive about that for different reasons. The other three schools where Chrysalis's School for Delinquents, Crystal Empire Private Academy and Starswirl's School of The Gifted.

The first school, was clearly a school meant for the rejects of normal schooling. Meaning, those who were usually expelled from their previous school ended up at CSD or those with problems both with the law and at home. CSD was known for being extremely strict and the headmistress Chrysalis was said to be one of the strictest around, even more so than Celestia and Luna. In the past, she knew better to avoid coming in contact with those types of students. Sunset had been a bully, yes. But she was strictly an emotional and verbal abuser who used intimidation and blackmail. She had heard enough horror stories around her own school from passing students that most students at CSD were thugs who did drugs, party and were a lot more physical with their abuse. Rumors perhaps but Sunset honestly didn't want to run with that sort of group.

Crystal Empire Academy was a private academy that was specifically for rich kids. There were little to no scholarships to get into CEA, you pretty much had to be super lucky or have money to be accepted. Sunset while she lived in a nice house, knew she was not rich by any means. Having lived in Canterlot [Equestria's version] she knew that the rich tended to stick together and looked down on those that didn't have as much money as them. So she didn't expect to find a lot of friends there.

The final school was also a private school however they cared more about talent than money. It had one of the best graduation rates in the country and most SSTG Students went on to do great things with their lives. Sunset wasn't particularly amazing at anything unless you counted magic however that was a useless talent in this world, so she felt a little inadequate and unsure. Sunset was unsure how to proceed; perhaps she should just start with something more simple: Scouting out the schools for potential friends, though she just might nix CSD from the list and look at the other two schools.

After a boring history class in which Mrs. Harshwinny droned on and complained once more how she was destined for greater things than being a High School teacher, Sunset found herself in the cafeteria. It was lunch time at Canterlot High School.

Sunset had been anxious about lunch time the most prior coming to school that day. That was the time when students had the most free-time as a large collective body and unlike after school when she could leave [Mind you she now had a new after school “job” but hopefully she would be safe], the girl couldn't go home.

Sunset, even though she wanted to avoid it like a plague, headed to cafeteria. It wasn't like she wanted to be there but she needed food. Besides, it would be easy. Keep her head down, grab her food from the lunch lady and then take it and bolt to somewhere a lot more secure. Yes, it would be easy....Hopefully.

Sunset slipped in behind some other [Female] students who were too busy talking to notice her. Hopefully they wouldn't notice her and they could provide enough camouflage for the time being. Sunset, who was glad to have picked up clothes from her apartment the day prior, was dressed in the most boring outfit she could find for that day. Simple gray hooded sweater, jeans, white sneakers and a soft blue shirt under her sweater. Entering behind the students, she quickly pulled up her hood and made sure be looking at the floor so no one saw her face.

Thankfully Sunset's plan worked out and she was able to follow them into the cafeteria line. As she waited in the long line, Sunset made the mistake of looking up and turning to scope her surroundings. The first thing she saw staring back at her was a familiar group of girls who were right behind her in line.

A sense of dread filled her stomach as she made eye contact with the two most vocal members of the group, Applejack and Rainbow Dash. They glared and sneered at her with disdain while Rarity pursed her lips, Fluttershy hid behind her hair and Pinkie Pie seemed to take a bit of a somber tone. The urge to run was so strong but at the same time Sunset knew that there was no point.

“So, you just can't help but follow us like some sort of black cloud can you?” stated Rainbow Dash, puffing her chest in attempt to look stronger and more threatening. Applejack stepped forward a bit and crossed her arms.

“Whatya you want?” asked the other orange skinned girl, trying to look just as intimidating as her friend. Sunset shook her head and took a step back.

“I'm just....I'm j-just getting lunch” the girl tried to shrink in to herself in an attempt to hide herself away from the group.

“We'll why don't ya' mosey on back to where you belong and leave us alone”

Sunsets lip trembled and she found herself biting down on it out of habit in order to try and stop herself from crying. Sunset desperately wanted to apologize at that moment but her fear and pride was getting in the way. She had planned to just get it over with; she had practiced all weekend in her new/old bedroom [the guest room had been given to her when she originally moved into the Solaris/Equium household and then reconverted back into a spare bedroom once she moved into her apartment] in her head and out loud, over and over. It was going to be easy, she just had to say it maybe once or twice, maybe even over the intercom if she could convince her mo-...Celestia and Luna to allow her. Yet as she stood here she could only stand in absolute fear; her palms clammy, nausea building in her stomach and a tight lump in her throat. Sunset did the one good thing she had always been truly good at and had done often back in Equestria but hadn't really done since she arrived in this world. Running away from her problems.

Sunset wasn't sure how, but her appetite for grass and hay and flowers somehow managed to make it's way into her human body. By all accounts, humans could digest grass or hay [She wasn't sure about flowers] but for them it had little to no nutritional value nor did they seem to like the taste of it. Perhaps it was because she was originally an Equine but she still loved the taste of her once normal diet.

As soon as Sunset had bolted from the cafeteria, even though she had been in line first and she didn't actually need to leave the line even if the girls demanded it, she ran near the back of the school near the faculty parking lot, to a group of shrubs which were positioned in front of one of the many fences that separated the school from private and commercial property in. You could only really see it if you looked, but between two shrubs there was small opening that once you squeezed past on your hands and knees, would open up to a small area between the fence and the back of the shrubs. It wasn't a huge space, it was actually kinda cramped and Sunset had to sit crossed legged but no one really knew about it because most students especially the smokers tended to avoid the faculty parking lot lest they get caught.

Sunset hadn't really eaten much grass since she arrived in Equestria; she found out soon enough that is a no-no after people would turn and look at her when she ate a flower or was seen stuffing hay into her mouth. Besides, Sunset was pretty particular about her grass and it was hard to find good grass around here that wasn't poorly maintained or covered in pesticides. Still, as she pulled clumps of grass from the floor of the small hiding place and bit into a few pieces, at least the source of grass she was snacking on was all right and it seemed to be devoid of pesticides.

. There wasn't a lot of grass in the clearing but once Sunset was content enough that she could go the rest of the day until she got home after she started her new “job”, she squeezed past the shrubs once more then stood up and dusted off any stray blades of grass off of her hoodie and pants. As she did this, she became aware of a familiar voice. Scootaloo? Stealthily Sunset followed the voice until she got to a exterior wall of the school and peeked around the corner.

Scootaloo, who had been [rightly] pissed off at her the entire weekend and had went out of her way to show her disdain by sneering at her and even once pushing her plate with her meal on it on to the ground, had been adamant about not riding to school with either Luna or Sunset. However, Sunset was convinced it had nothing to do with her really as she often saw the girl come to school on her scooter as she appeared to not like the idea of people knowing she was the daughter of the Principal. In fact Sunset wasn't sure anyone really knew.

As far as she knew, no one knew she was Celestia's legal daughter either [A word she was hesitant to use as she felt undeserving of such a title.] She never brought it up nor did Celestia and Luna whenever they had a public encounter at school which was usually about her behavior or how she had to stay after school for detention because she did so and so to one student or another. Sunset had only been suspended by the pair a few times; she tried to avoid their full wrath and most students she bullied didn't come forward.

Sunset had never really had a relationship with Scootaloo, as she often teased her around school but she had always felt a sense of...something. Scootaloo had always reminded her of herself when she was younger and because of that she teased and pushed her around a lot less than other students. However, even though it perhaps wasn't her place, she was both angry and shocked when she found the eight grader was with a group of freshman's [She had seen those students around school], talking and with a cigarette in her hand, coughing immensely as she took puffs. Her usual group of friends seemed to be elsewhere, where Sunset did not know.

Cigarettes were something Sunset was familiar with. They had existed in Equestria and she had encountered them in this world as well. Like most teens, she tried it during her time as Celesta's personal student and had been pressured by her acquaintances [not really friends] to try it. Needless to say, she never tried the stuff again but another acquaintance of hers got got addicted to it. She had always thought that while it wasn't the worse of addictions it was certainly a nasty one. Despite wanting to avoid people at all costs, Sunset felt a sense of sisterly duty come on to her.

Scootaloo had been elastic when the freshmen she had been sucking up to the past month [By carrying her books and doing odd tasks for her like fetch coffee and do her homework] during lunch time had invited her along on her smoke break. Lightning Speed was a freshmen that was on Rainbow Dash's soccer time, a new addition from the early fall try-outs. Scootaloo had hoped that if she looked cool enough and impressed the girl that maybe she could put a good word into Rainbow Dash for her and try to improve her reputation. Sure, she could have maybe tried Rainbow Dash directly but at the current moment, despite Rainbow Dash having agreed to be her honorary big sister, they never did anything together. The girl always claimed she was too busy or that she was too slow and whatever task she suggested they do together was usually shot down as being too boring.

She hoped that maybe since Lightning Speed was one of the most popular girls in her grade and because Rainbow Dash was always talking about her amazing soccer skills for a “dweeb of a freshman”, as she had said in her own terms, that maybe she would be able to help her get her idol to finally realize how cool she was and spend more time with her. Sunset was a bit jealous of Lighting as Rainbow Dash seemed to be acting as more of a sister to her as she was to the girl herself. However, it was just a matter of time. All Scootaloo had to do was prove her swag factor.

However, Scootaloo was a bit flabbergasted and unsure as Lightning and her group of friends egged her on to take the cigarette that she had handed Scootaloo. Since early childhood, Scootaloo had been told over and over by her mother, teachers and other various adults that she should avoid smoking, alcohol and any sort of drugs. And while she didn't exactly find any of those really appealing, she knew for a fact that Rainbow Dash herself smoked on occasion as she had seen her outside school with a cigarette or stuffing her smoke pack into her jacket pocket when she noticed Scootaloo or someone of authority like her mother nearby. Even though she was personally against it, Scootaloo was desperate to get her idol to notice her. Hesitantly she took the cigarette and placed it in her mouth, hoping she had put the right end in her mouth. She felt self conscious as she watched the older girls watch her silently with bemused smiles. Scootaloo took the offered lighter and fumbled with it; trying to remember how Rainbow Dash used it.

“Hold your thumb down on on the metal grinder then move down your thumb onto the button” explained Lighting Speed's friend, Smoking Kiss as she tried to stifle her laughs while she puffed her own cigarette. It took a few tries but she got the lighter light and quickly before she lost the flame she lighted her cigarette. She tried her best to emulate what the girls where doing; breathing in the end of the bud that was in her mouth and then exhaling. Scootaloo tried it and almost instantly the girl was thrown into a fit of coughing as the most disgusting blast of smoke hit her throat. For the love of McCarthy', how could Rainbow Dash or anyone else like this stuff? Despite her desire to spit the offensive item out of her mouth and to run and find a bin to puke in, Scootaloo took another puff. If this is what it took then she was just going to suck up her pride.

“Enjoying your cigarette kid?” asked Lighting, stifling her laughs. Scootaloo removed the cigarette from her mouth briefly to reply. Before she could however a booming voice echoed through the air and filled her stomach with dread.

“Scootaloo, what the hell are you doing!?”

Scootaloo stood in shock and horror as She appeared out of nowhere, with her hands on her hips and an angry look. Sunset Shimmer, the mistake her mother had adopted into the family and the source of some of Scootaloo's anguish. The older girl seemed enraged and temporarily Scootaloo forgot that she was holding a cigarette. The girl approached the group of girls and gave each one an icy look.

“What do-” started Lightning Speed before she was cut off by Sunset Shimmer.

“Leave, now. Or I'll make sure Principal Celestia knows you're smoking on restricted area. Not you Scootaloo” said the girl, grabbing Scootaloo as she tried to run. The freshmen were unsure how to proceed. On one hand Twilight Sparkle had kicked her ass and they wanted to know why the hell she was interested in Lightning's little stalker but on the other hand they were still scared of Sunset Shimmer. A sharp look and snarl from the girl however made their decision easier. The older girls ran off towards the school, leaving Scootaloo to face Sunset's wrath.

Once Sunset was sure they were gone, she released her hold on Scootaloo's shirt. The girl tried to leave but Sunset pulled her back by the wrist.

“What the hell do you think you're doing Scootaloo?” demanded the teenager, struggling to keep the girl from running away.

“Let go of me you She-Demon!” snarled the purple haired girl, attempting to remove Sunset's grip. Sunset ignored the insult and gripped the girl's jacket tighter.

“Why the hell do you have a cigarette? Are you stupid? Do you know what would happen if Celestia or Luna found out?” Scootaloo realized that she was still holding the cigarette in her left hand. She quickly dropped it and pretended as though the thing didn't exist.

“It's none of your business, I was just holding it for a friend!” Sunset rolled her eyes at such an obvious lie and sighed.

“Really, then why was it in your mouth and why were you smoking it?” Scootaloo didn't reply, she was much too agitated and annoyed with the situation. In a last attempt to get free, the girl kicked Sunset's shin, forcing the junior student to let go of her shirt as pain registered in her brain. Hair filled her vision as her hands immediately went to her knee in attempt to elevate the pain. Sunset cursed under her breath as she realized that Scootaloo had disappeared. Once her pain had subsided after a moment, the teenager decided her next course of action.

She really couldn't say she had any right to say anything to Celestia about the matter but at the same time the girl was only thirteen; she really shouldn't be getting into this stuff. Sunset decided to put it on the back burner for now. She wanted to try and have a talk with the girl later. Maybe somewhere easier to trap the girl and prevent her from running off. Sunset felt that if she was going to redeem herself; then perhaps building a relationship with Celestia, Luna and Scootaloo would be the best start.

The rest of the day passed uneventful. After lunch, the girl had her final two classes of the day, English and Drama. Aside from the stares and insults she was fine. When the final bell of the day rang, Sunset couldn't be happier. She practically ran towards Principal Celestia's office where she was supposed to meet the woman before she started her detention. When she arrived in the waiting area in front of her office, she quickly made her way to the secretary who was sitting idle behind her desk, seemingly bored.

“Is Celestia available? She told me to see her after school?” asked the girl, dropping the woman's title as she asked for her. The secretary, a thirty something mother of two by the name of Alice Fairview with soft green skin and rose pink hair nodded.

“She's expecting you, go right in” said Mrs. Fairview, motioning the girl to the office on her right-hand side which bore Celestia's name. She approached the door and opened the door before stepping inside. Celestia was sitting behind her desk, looking through some folders of some sort. At the sound of her office door opening she lifted her head to greet the girl she had been expecting. The woman quickly shoved the files aside which seemed a little weird to Sunset as it looked like she didn't want her to see what she had been reading. Something about her? Or another student? Deciding it wasn't any of her business, she pushed the topic to the back of her mind.

“Hello Sunset, I'm sorry I wasn't able to drive you too school today. I had... things to do. How was your first day back?” asked the middle-aged woman, rising from her desk to greet Sunset. Sunset hesitated briefly, wondering if she should mention the bullying she had received or Roseluck's threat as well as Scootaloo's new little “habit.” One part of her felt the need to bring it up but at the same time she didn't want to tattle and she also wanted to talk to the young girl nor did she want to get Roseluck in trouble either, she kind of had it coming.

“It was fine” lied the girl, turning her gaze away. Celestia saw through her lie and placed her hands on her hips, clearly not in the mood. Sunset squirmed for a moment before she admitted part of the truth. “Fine, some kids said some stuff and called me names but no one really did anything.” Yet, thought Sunset. Celestia stared at her for a few moments longer before begrudgingly accepting Sunset's statement.

“Well, if you're sure that's all, then that's good. Luna said she had to stop a mob of students from maiming you this morning” Sunset wasn't surprised that Luna had mentioned it; Celestia would have asked if anything like that happened anyway.

“Yeah I have her to thank for that” Celestia smiled and motioned for the girl to sit in the seat in front of her desk; a worn arm chair which was scratched and torn in a few places from abuse over the years. Sunset gingerly sat down; a uneasy.

“So what happens now?” asked the teenager. Celestia sat back down at her desk and folded her hands on the desk before her.

“Now we wait for Hard Hammer and his construction crew to arrive and then once he gets here I will introduce you and you can get to work.”

“Oh....Okay”

Before Celestia or Sunset could converse any farther, there was a sharp knock on the office door. A few seconds later, the secretary popped her head in and motioned out to the waiting area.

“A Mr. Hammer is here to see you Celestia” said the woman, glancing behind her to confirm that the man was still there, which he was. Celestia smiled and thanked her secretary. Turning to Sunset she motioned her forward.

“Well, looks like he's here.”

Work

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The first thing Sunset Shimmer noticed about Hard Hammer was that he was a stern, gruff looking man. The man that stood in the waiting room that was shared between Celestia and Luna's office was a middle-aged individual who stood easily a head taller than Celestia and had a large build, clearly built up from years in his profession. He had stern watery-blue eyes that were small yet sharp. His light blue skin was rough and the back of his arms were covered in thick purple hair flecked with white that matched his short, messy hair and his goatee. His clothes, which were clearly meant for working, consisted of a pair of steel-toed leather boots that were worn from use, a pair of denim overalls over top of a simple wrinkled black shirt and a belt that held many tools hanging from his waist. He carried a yellow hard hat underneath one of his arms, the other raised to his face in order to check the time on the cheap metal wristwatch.

Sunset felt a wave of unease as the man looked her up and down when he noticed her approach him from behind Celestia and then stood perplexed as he let out a loud laugh. “So this is my new employee Celestia? Can't say I was expecting someone who looks like they can barely lift more than twenty pounds on any given day. Much less a little, frail girl like the one behind you, Tia.” Sunset blushed angrily and looked down at the floor. She wasn't that weak!

Celestia smiled at the man and chuckled. “Oh Hard Hammer, don't be so quick to judge. Sunset may be a girl but I am confident she can pull her weight. Besides, I've seen and met some of your employees in the past and I can honestly say she'll do better than some of them. Like your nephew, Trevor, perhaps?” Hard Hammer scowled. He liked his nephew but he made it no secret that he was a poor employee, always late and always finding some reason why he couldn't complete a certain task whether it was because he was “sick” or one or more of his tools were “faulty.” If it wasn't for the fact that he was family, he would have fired the boy. Hard Hammer sighed.

“Fine, fine. I get it. So, how about you introduce me to your little shadow Tia?” referring to Sunset who was hiding behind the woman still. Celestia stepped aside and motioned the girl forward a few steps. She placed her hand on Sunset's shoulder and smiled.

“Sunset, this is Hard Hammer, an old friend and classmate of mine. Hard Hammer, this is my eldest daughter.” Hard Hammer looked surprised at this statement.

“Now, I know we haven't seen each other in the last few years but last time I checked you only had one daughter, by the name of Scootaloo. Now correct me if I'm wrong, this is clearly a high school student while Scootaloo I think is only in middle school now, correct? Did she change her name, dye her hair and have a growth spurt or something? Or have you been hiding this one away?”

Celestia laughed. “Oh no, you're right but not about hiding her away. I adopted Sunset a few years ago.” The multi-colored hair woman paused and smiled at the girl beside her who stood awkwardly. “Unfortunately though, Sunset here is in a bit of trouble as she is responsible for destroying a part of the school.”

“Right, well congrats on that. Now, this damage…How bad is it and how exactly did it exactly occur?” Sunset and Celestia shared a brief glance. Honestly, mentioning that Sunset had destroyed the wall whilst as a magical demon with powers in an attempt to enslave another world was out of the question yet Celestia knew she needed an excuse which would be reasonable so she pulled the same one she gave to Superintendent Faust.

“Part car malfunction, part her fault. She…err...left the car in um…drive while she was grabbing books from her locker and the car suffered a malfunction where it thought the break was being pushed.”
–

“So, what type of car was it exactly?” asked Hard Hammer as he surveyed the damage from the Friday night incident. While a car could cause a lot of damage to a school depending on just how fast it was going and the size, there were scorch marks on the walls which were a little odd. The damage which had been partially cleaned up by Sunset and by the school janitor over the weekend had been sloppily covered up by large tarps; it did little to keep the fall chill out of the school.

“Mini-Van” stated Sunset Shimmer, looking away from the wreckage. Hard Hammer grunted and muttered something indecipherable under his breath.

“Huh. Well, I assume since I see kids milling about that you're not going to close down the school during renovations?” stated the construction worker, pulling out a handkerchief from his pocket and blowing his nose before shoving it back in.

Sunset scrunched her nosed at the sight but ignored it. “Yes, while I have no doubt more than half my student body would absolutely love to have school off, we just can’t afford too. So yes, I will need you to do construction alongside classes however, If possible could you try and kept it to a minimum? I know construction is loud and what needs to be done will but with classes I don’t want to cause more problems than needed for the teachers and students.“ said Celestia, explaining the situation.

Hard Hammer mumbled under his breath and stroked his beard. “Well we can try but don’t be surprised if you get complaints. Now, on terms of the actual project; clearly the damage is pretty bad; in fact it’s dangerous. You got rebar sticking out of things, some of the support beams are cracked as well as one or two which have been snapped in half. On top of that the hole is so wide that it affects both the main and second level of the building. For both legal reasons and for the safety of students and the faculty, we’re going to need to stop students from using this as a front entrance as well as prevent those areas from being accessed. Those rooms up there, which I assume are classrooms, should not be used for the time being as well as that particular hallway and that nearby ones. We don’t need a collapse and some kids getting hurt or worse. Is that going to be a problem?”

“No, we do have a back and several side entrances we can use. As for those classrooms, I get it. We do have spare classrooms that aren’t used for other than clubs or groups and if it’s really a problem we can combine classes temporarily.”

“Well then, shall we get to work?”

Celestia had left Sunset in Hard Hammer’s hands, telling the teenager that she had errands to run. In truth, while she trusted her old friend, she wanted to see how the encounter would go so she went back to her office and watched from the window. As soon as she left, Hard Hammer’s construction team arrived, consisting of five people, and he put her to work.

“Now, obviously, the rubble needs to be cleared away first. Your mother says you're good so let’s get right into it. You’re going to be helping my nephew, Trevor with that. However with renovations, that means more debris will need to be cleaned up in the coming days. So while you and Trevor clean rubble, me and the rest of the team will be assessing the foundation and what needs to be done. Now, that’s him over there. Get to it girl.” Sunset sighed internally but made no outward attempt to show her disdain. Awkwardly, Sunset made her way over to where the young adult who Sunset assumed was Trevor, was standing; by the large horse statue on the front lawn of Canterlot High School which also doubled as a magical portal on occasion.

Trevor, if Sunset was to guess, was in his early twenties and something about him said that he would rather be at home but anywhere but here. Trevor had long black hair that was pulled into a messy ponytail; his skin was a light yellow as well his eyes were a darker shade, nearly an amber color. He wore a pair of ripped jeans and dirty t-shirt underneath an even dirtier orange safety vest. He was leaning against the statue, smoking and flipping through his phone. Upon hearing Sunset approach, he looked up.

“Oh, you're that brat I’m supposed to babysit.” Sunset instantly snarled, her inner demon coming out to play.

“Really? Because from the way your uncle described you, it seems that it’s the other way around. Now, does will the ‘ittle baby need hwelp finding the way to the bathroom?” asked Sunset in a sickly sweet voice, batting her eye lashes. A part of her berated herself from acting like an asshole and in fact felt guilty however another part of her didn’t care and countered that he had started being an ass first.

Trevor scowled at her and glanced over her shoulder towards his uncle. “Whatever, let’s just get this over with. The faster we’re done, the faster I can go back to doing something more important.”

“Like giving yourself cancer and pretending like someone would actually call you?” Trevor said nothing; he just tossed his cigarette to the ground and started towards the wreckage. Sunset followed after him, dragging her feet behind.

They worked for a good two hours, filling and dumping the wheelbarrows with debris from the wreckage site and bringing it to the garbage with to be thrown away. After a few hours, the debris was mostly cleaned up. Sunset wasn’t surprised, it was just one wall and a lot had already been cleaned up. Still, it would be at least a month before the wall was fixed completely; longer if there were foundation issues or something similar. During this time, neither Trevor nor Sunset really said anything to each other, both preferring to keep to themselves and just focus on the task at hand. Sunset could honestly say she wasn't going to be friends with him anytime soon, not for his age but his attitude. Eventually though, Hard Hammer came over and told them to take a break from hauling the garbage and to help him with another task.

“I need you to go check out the boiler room. Apparently, there have been some issues with the plumbing and the best place to start would be there."

--
To get to the boiler room in the basement, one had to actually go through the teacher lounge. The reason why was because the staff didn’t students going down to the basement so they had locked close the other stairwell to the basement and left only the one that was attached to the Teacher’s Lounge unlocked.

However, since Teacher’s Lounge was also locked up for the night, they had to find the janitor, while suspicious of Sunset, grudgingly handed over the key. “Don’t mess anything up and I suggest staying away from the old furnace. “ While CHS had a modern day heating and cooling system which was located on the main floor of CHS, next door to the Staff Lounge, the basement still had an old coal furnace that hadn’t been in use for a number of years. However for some reason despite upgrading the heating system, they still used the old boiler instead.

The stairwell to the basement was next to the main stairway leading up to the second floor. The door connecting to the stairwell was actually four, large connected doors that had multiple, and heavy locks to prevent people, mainly students from going down. Sunset put the key in one of the worn locks and after a few minutes, the door was unlocked. Sunset nudged it open and was greeted by a large stairwell descending to the basement along with a familiar musty smell that came with a room being locked up.

Wrinkling her nose and coughing as dust hit her in the face; Sunset took the lead and switched on a lightswitch located next to the door. The lights flickered on and revealed the cracking and chipped, yellow paint that covered the brick walls. If Sunset was to guess, those walls had been white once upon a time. She descended down the stairs with Trevor behind her. When she got to the bottom Sunset was greeted by another pair of doors and once those had been unlocked she door gave way to a hallway which spanned in three directions, a head, left and right.

“So which way kid?” Sunset ignored the man behind her for a second and instead approached an old worn floor plan layout on the nearby wall. She scanned it quickly. It seemed the area a head was mainly used for storage; the old furnace was down the right hallway, the janitors’ office was down the left hallway and yet, it gave no indication on to where the hell the boiler would be.

“Right” decided Sunset, deciding that the boiler would most likely be near the furnace. They headed down the right hallway and Sunset’s guess had been correct as a large heavy door with the words ‘Boiler was right next to another door that read “Furnace.”

When they approached the room however, they realized they had a problem. Water was seeping out from a door, into the hallway. How had she not noticed the water before? Upon opening up the door, they realized that one of the many pipes in the room, a large one, had come slightly unattached to the connecting pipes allowing water to spurt out the opening in a small, steady stream.

“Worse than we thought. This is clearly recent; I think the janitor would have noticed otherwise and there would be a lot more water.”

‘Probably an aftermath of the battle, I guess the explosion rattled the school enough that these old pipes were pulled apart. They look like pretty old pipes.” thought Sunset, standing behind Trevor as he surveyed the leaking.

“Yeah, we’re clearly going to need to replace all these pipes if they are any indication of how the entire system is. I’m surprised these things haven’t been replaced before; they look at least a few decades old. Anyway, I need to grab my uncle. Stay here brat and watch the pipes; don’t do anything.” Trevor trotted out of the room leaving Sunset in her devices. Not wanting to stand in the water any longer then needed, Sunset made her way over to a desk that was for some reason pushed into a corner and sat on top of it.

--
Sunset sighed for the fifteenth time in the last three minutes and pulled her phone to check the time. The guy had been gone for like…thirty minutes. The basement was not that large and shouldn’t be hard to navigate.

‘He should be back by now’

Bored, Sunset removed herself from the table and made her way over to the loose pipe, suspended from the ceiling and pulled the desk’s chair over with her to step on. The chair swayed dangerously as she stepped on it; clearly not meant for anything other than sitting but Sunset steadied herself and ignored the swaying. While she knew better than to touch the pipes lest she worsen the situation, she was bored. And when she was bored she had a habit of messing with things just to pass time.

Honestly, Sunset had only meant to look however the chair’s swaying should have been a clear indication that she shouldn’t have been stepping on it. Not surprising to anyone but Sunset, the chair gave a loud crack as the old seat succumbed to the weight on top of it. The chair started wobbling uncontrollably and Sunset was thrown forward in surprise and in an attempt to stop herself from falling she did what most people would do in this situation.

Grab on to the nearest sturdy object like a table in an attempt to stop herself from falling or to lessen the fall. Unfortunely for her and for the school, she subconsciously grabbed for the protruding pipe and as she fell off the chair, she pulled the already loose pipe with her, along with the connecting pipes. What sounded like an explosion filled the air as the water which had been mostly contained began bursting forward from the now empty pipe sockets. At that moment, Principal Celestia, Hard Hammer and Trevor walked into the room, confused and alarmed as they saw the amount of water that was filling the room and the hallway.

‘Crap’ was all Sunset could think.
--

Sunset sighed as she waited in Celestia’s office, her ear pressed against a wall. Both Celestia and Luna’s offices were right next door so they shared a wall. Both women were in Luna’s office and the younger woman did not sound happy to learn that they now had even more damage to deal with. A few harsh words were tossed between sisters as they discussed the matter.

Luna clearly wanted her sister to add on more detention due to her causing more damage while Celestia claiming that the pipes probably would have blown eventually anyways and that not only was Sunset’s punishment her business only, that it was most likely an accident. ‘It had been an accident’ thought Sunset. It wasn’t like she wanted to fall on her ass and cause more problems for herself but it seemed Luna didn’t care.

“Whatever, fine. See if I care. But if these problems keep happening, you know the superintend and board of Education is going to want to investigate the situation and we don’t need them to find out about you-know-what.”

“Oh yes, because Faust is clearly going to believe that my kid turned into a demon and destroyed the school. I’m sure she’ll alert the news and the government when she finds out. I mean clearly, a woman of her intelligence and stature is going to believe instantaneously from some high school kids that magic exists.”

“She could.”

“She will most likely laugh or ask us what we are feeding the students. Regardless, this story is pretty farfetched for anyone sane to believe in this day and age little sister.”

Sunset pulled her ear away and made her way over to Celestia’s guest chair and waited for the women to return. She didn’t need to wait long as a moment later, the door to Celestia’s office and Celestia stepped inside with Luna behind her. “Sunset, can you tell us what happened?” asked the Principal, calmly walking over towards her. Luna snorted and mumbled something which only Celestia seemed to hear as she gave Luna a deadly look which caused the younger woman to pout and shut her mouth.

“I know it looks bad, but I didn’t mean to cause more problems. I was looking at the pipe and the chair I was standing on broke so I grabbed on to the first thing I could find. I didn’t mean to do it. “

“I doubt that.”

“Luna.” Luna whined slightly as she was ordered to be quiet by her sister who tossed her a look.

“Why were you even looking at the pipe?”

“I was bored. That guy, Trevor left me for thirty freakin’ minutes and I thought there would be no harm in just looking. I didn’t stop to consider the chair would break. I'm sorry, okay?” Sunset sighed and looked down at her wet sneakers. Celestia reached forward and lifted her chin.

"It's okay; most of the pipes are in need of a replacement anyway. Maybe this will finally convince the board to give us funding to replace the damn things. Besides even if they don't, it's a quick and easy fix. Hard Hammer is already on replacing the pipes in the boiler room and the water is being cleaned up." explained Celestia. The woman paused for a second to think over the matter.

“I see no point in adding on more detention; I think we can both say it was an honest accident. Now, Hard Hammer and his crew are going to leave soon and will be back in the morning. I think it’s time we go home; besides Scootaloo is probably wondering where we are. Shall we?” So the trio left; heading for home in Luna’s car. When they arrived home, Luna almost instantly headed down to the basement, shouting over her shoulder as she did.

“Call me when dinners ready.” Sunset was starting to think Luna was a teenager rather than adult given how much time she spent in the basement. Shaking her head, Sunset directed her attention elsewhere, more importantly to the younger girl who came around the corner and stopped to glare at her. The two girls stared at one another, silently passing along a message to the other. Sunset’s was one of seriousness and gave Scootaloo the impression that the girl wanted to speak about the incident that had happened earlier or something similar. Scootaloo’s expression read: Fuck off and say nothing.

“Hello Scootaloo. How was school sweetheart? I’m sorry we're home so late.” said Celestia as she noticed her young daughter; Scootaloo however just grunted in response, her eyes locked onto Sunsets.

"Everything okay girls?” asked Celestia, who noticed the two girls staring at each other. Sunset’s face went blank and Scootaloo decided to retreat to her bedroom, not saying anything.

“Everything is fine” said Sunset, turning to face the older woman. ‘At least it will be after I talk to that girl’ Sunset thought. Celestia gave her an odd look before seemingly accepting the answer. She had noticed the odd exchange of looks; which gave her a feeling of uneasiness but she pushed it aside. It could wait.

“Help me in the kitchen?” she asked Sunset, as she took off her boots and placed them on the shoe rack. Getting the impression it was non-negotiable from the look the woman threw her. Sighing, Sunset followed the woman. Her plan of following Scootaloo and talking to her would have to wait till after dinner it seemed.

By Celestia's.....

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Dinner was a meal of seasoned chicken legs, corn on the cob, macaroni salad, green peas and pumpkin pie. However in Sunset's case, dinner was extra corn on the cob and macaroni salad as she wasn't really into meat being originally an Equine. She didn't mind eating chicken or fish on the rare occasion but when it came to beef, venison or anything else that shared the same level of sentience as her back in Equestria, it was a no-no. Sure the common chicken was slightly more intelligent than their human world counterparts but as long as they weren't anywhere near humans or ponies, heck even Diamond Dogs, in development she was fine.

It was was eaten quietly with Luna shoveling food in her mouth while she multitasked, moving between drinking, eating, playing her Nintendo 3DS XL, and looking over teacher reviews. Scootaloo was surprisingly quiet, slowly eating her food as she stared into space. Celestia was awkwardly trying to make conversation yet it was only Sunset who really replied; the others obviously distracted.

"So how is the meal?" Luna mumbled something and Scootaloo just grunted. Sunset gave an awkward smile as she sipped from her glass of apple juice.

"It's good Celestia, I really like it, it's delicious thank-you."

"You're welcome but you did help me so you do deserve some credit." said Celestia, between a spoonful of macaroni salad.

"Well I only put the corn in the water and waited for it to cook. It wasn't hard....." Said Sunset trailing off, feeling awkward.

"Still, you were a great....Is something funny Scootaloo Solaris?" Said the woman changing her attention towards the younger girl who had started snorting and giggling. Scootaloo tried her best to feign innocence and smother her giggles.

"Nothing Mommy, I was just thinking about a joke Applebloom told me today." Celestia said nothing, her eyes just swept over her daughter for a moment. Luna and Sunset fell silent, one feeling out of place and awkward, the other wanting to watch the situation unfold.

"Well then, if you're going to lie. Perhaps you'd like to wash and dry all the dishes for the next two nights? Unless of course you want to tell me what's so funny?" Said Celestia, clasping her hands in front of her and leaning forward, with a brow raised. Scootaloo sputtered in response.

"I-I'm not lying! I'm telling the truth!"

"Scootaloo. I carried you in my stomach for nine months, I pushed you out of my vagina, feed you, cleaned your diaper and have raised you from a newborn baby to a thirteen year old girl. After all these years, I think I know when you're lying or not. Now, I know whatever your lying about has to be pretty significant if you're going to lie about it."

"Siste-"

"Don't sister me Luna, this doesn't involve you." Said Celestia, interrupting her younger sister who in response gritted her teeth yet shut her mouth and returned to watching.

"Scootaloo, you know how I feel about Honesty, so you have two options. A. Tell me the truth B. I add on to your grounding. Now which is it?" Celestia spoke calmly yet there was an undertone of threat and seriousness. Scootaloo squirmed in her seat before she gave in.

"Fine! You want to know what's so funny? You pretending that Sunset is even remotely good at something when we all know she's just a stupid waste of space!"

"Scootaloo Melody Harmony Solaris! Apologize at once!"

"No!" Scootaloo stood up from her chair and ran out of the dining room but not before she kicked the leg of her chair, causing it topple over on to it's back. Celestia stood up from her seat and gripped the edge of the table.

"Scootaloo, get back here!" But Scootaloo being as fast as she happened to be was nearly half way up to her bedroom. Celestia sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index finger. She mumbled something increshinable under her breath and shook her head in defeat before sitting back down at the table.

"Shall I?" Said Luna, glancing at her sister and feeling uneasy. Celestia merely waved her off and Luna taking that as indifference, left the dining room and headed upstairs to talk to Scootaloo. That left Sunset and Celestia alone once again. Awkwardly, Sunset got up from the table and began collecting plates and dishes.

"You don't have to do that, I'm sorry how Scootaloo treated you." Said Celestia, looking towards the girl and watching as she moved to take the dishes to the kitchen."

"It's okay....Celestia?" The woman cocked her head at the orange skinned girl.

"Yes Sunset?" Sunset paused for a moment, once again wondering if she should come clean but once again she pushed that thought aside.

"Don't feel angry at Scootaloo. I deserve it."
-

Once Sunset had finished cleaning up the dining room and putting the leftovers in the fridge, that house had long since gone quiet and most of the houses on Ponyville Road had turned off their lights. She glanced at the clock; the worn and out of place Hello Kitty clock read: 9:49 PM. 'Is it ten o'clock already? Well I suppose we did have dinner pretty late.' thought Sunset putting down her cleaning rag and taking in her work.

The dishes were in the dishwasher, the crock pot was washed and the table and counters were so shiny you could practically see your reflection. One thing Sunset always prided herself on was being clean; in fact she loved cleaning. Sometimes she would trash her room just so she could clean it all up. There was just something about organizing things and putting them in their place that made her happy. It was one of many abilities that helped her in being Celestia's Personal Student, once upon a time ago.

At the thought of her old teacher, the girl's mood deflated and she sighed. It seemed like only yesterday she had been living in Canterlot Castle, studying under her mentor and being a young filly. Those were good days, before the desire for power went to her head. Some days she just wanted to go back to those days even if she knew she couldn't.

A soft creak came from behind Sunset, bringing her back to reality. Someone was coming down the stairs from the sound of it. Normally this wouldn't attract her attention but she had assumed that everyone had gone to bed.

"Celestia?" Sunset put down the rag and exited the kitchen and headed to the stairs. Instead of Celestia, she found Scootaloo who seemed to be trying to walk down the stairs as quietly as possible. The girl was dressed in dark clothing; black jeans and grey sneakers was wearing a thick hooded sweater which was also black and had the hood done up. On her back was a backpack which seemed to be carrying items, seeing as it was quite fat.

"Going somewhere?" Asked Sunset, raising an eyebrow as she watched the girl attempt to avoid the creaky spots in the stairs. Scootaloo stopped in her tracks and swung her head around to look at Sunset. A large sneer appeared on her face almost instantaneously.

"What do you want?" Demanded Scootaloo. Sunset said nothing for a moment, merely weighing her options. She could wake up Celestia but she didn't even know what the girl was up to yet. She also needed to talk to her.

"Well for starters I'd like to talk..and I'm curious as to what you're up to."

" Talk? No! And it's none of your business Sunset Shitter." Sunset looked at her with a blank expression. Really? That's the insult she came up with?

"Really? You couldn't think of a better insult? You think I haven't heard of that one before?"

"Whatever, just get out of my face." Said Scootaloo, clenching her fists and trying to look threatening by puffing her chest and standing up tall. Sunset merely arched an eyebrow at the girl in response.

"Well I suppose then I should go upstairs and wake up Celestia. I'm sure she'd be also curious as to why you're wearing a backpack and dressed in all black."

"You wouldn't" hissed Scootaloo, gripping the arms of her backpack. Sunset smirked, as she watched the girl's eyes fill with fear.

"Maybe, maybe not. I might be persuaded not to. All will it will cost you is to sit and talk."

"Fine, what the fuck do you want? To insult me? Get it over with cunt." Sunset growled softly under her breath. An urge to slap the girl was growing in her gut. She clenched her fists and stopped herself from gritting her teeth.

"Today? I want to talk about today. What the hell were you thinking? Smoking? You're thirteen kid, do you want lung cancer by the time your forty?"

"It was just one cigarette, god I'm not going to get addicted. Besides, your not the boss of me and Rainbow Dash smokes them all the time and she's fine!"

"By Celestia's sagging tits....", mumbled Sunset under her breath.

"Wait, what did you just say about my mom's tits?!?" screamed Scootaloo, feeling insulted.

"What? No! Not your Celestia! The Celestia from my world; Princess Celestia! It's actually a very common...You know what? Never mind, the swear words and phrases of my world are unimportant. Just because Rainbow Dash smokes doesn't mean you should! If she jumped off a cliff or asked you to break into a building and steal stuff would you?"

"Well maybe I would! It's my life and I can do whatever the fuck I want!" screamed Scootaloo. By now, Celestia and Luna had both woken up from the yelling and both were curious and angry over the fact that the two were fighting.

"Girls? What are you doing? And why are you wearing a backpack at this time of night Scootaloo?" asked Celestia, coming down the stairs, her robe loosely tied around her and her hair disheveled.

"Sunset is talking about your tits and how they're saggy!" said Scootaloo, trying to deflect attention away from herself.

"I already said, I'm not talking about this Celestia! I'm talking about the Celestia from my world, "By Celestia's sagging tits", is a popular phrase where we come! It's been around for centuries. This world's Celestia's breasts are perfectly fine and perky!" If Celestia wasn't turning red in the face before, she was now. She tightened the strings of her robe and coughed.

"Why are we talking about Celestia's tits?" Everyone turned to look a Luna who had appeared behind Celestia, confused as to what the hell was going on. Her hair was just as messy as her sisters and she was dressed in a pair of white cotton shorts and a soft blue shirt that hung loosely off her frame.

"We're talking about how Sunset is a pervert!' stated Scootaloo.

"I'm not a pervert, it's a phrase!"

"You just said my mom's breats were perky! Pervert!"

"I was being nice! Do I look like I want to look at her breasts? Or have actually seen them? NO! Nor do I ever fucking want to!"

"I have to add to the matter. I've seen them before and I can assure you my sister's breasts are quite perky." stated Luna who joined into the conversation.

"Though I admit they're starting to sag." Celestia at this point had her teeth clenched and her head was throbbing, with a headache beginning to appear.

"THAT. IS. ENOUGH." Like young pups being barked at by their mother, the other three members of the house hold stopped in their tracks and if any of them were to actually have tails, they would have been tucked between their thighs out of fear. Celestia could destroy armies with single glances when enraged.

"I don't care how this started, but no more talk about my breasts. From any of you! I don't care if it is some phrase from a different world, if anyone else mentions them I will take them over my knee and spank them and yes that goes for you sister!"

"I'm an adult! Not your child!" stated Luna, crossing her arms and scowling.

"Don't care, I'm older and I practically raised you when I was younger. I've done it before and I'll do it again. Now. EVERYONE GET THE FUCK TO BED." Even an idiot knew it would be stupid to to infuriate the woman anymore. Scootaloo and Sunset pretty much ran to their rooms while Luna slowly slinked away to the basement, attempting to avoid her sisters gaze. Once everyone was gone, Celestia sighed and ran her hands over her face and pinched the bridge over nose.

"Fuck my life.....My breasts aren't really saggy, are they?"

Regression

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There was nothing more unpleasant then having gym as the first class of the day and having a P.E teacher who liked to teach his students outside, even when it was cold out and winter was around the corner. Sunset shivered and shifted from foot to foot, trying to to gain some warmth as she stood with her classmates in the Soccer field dressed in only a Canterlot Wondercolt T-Shirt, a pair of drawstring shorts and an old pair of sneakers. The air was colder the usual and Sunset wasn't the only student feeling the effects.

"How the fuck do they expect us to stay out here? I'm fucking freezing." Sunset glanced at Vinyl Scratch, a budding disk jockey and also one of her classmates. She was complaining to Octavia Melody, her on and off girlfriend. The two loved each other to bits but they were always breaking up because their personalities tended to clash. Still, they were almost completely attached to the hip. Octavia rolled her eyes and snorted.

"Really Vinyl! There is no need for such crass language. It's not that cold." said the grey skinned teen, though internally she was agreeing and hoping the teacher would show up so they could get started. Being in the cold wasn't so bad when you were moving about and exercising.

"But I don't like the cold!" Sunset silently watched the two bicker with Vinyl whining about how she would rather be at home and Octavia saying how the blue haired girl needed to stop complaining. She soon turned bored and decided to listen in on her other classmates. It wasn't hard, she had good hearing all she had to do was stand in the same vicinity, pretend she was just waiting for the teacher but in actuality she was eavesdropping. In this case she found herself listening in to the conversation of two ma...girls, that she was actually hoping to avoid. Fluttershy Gem and Rainbow Dashington.

They were talking about her, she knew that. She had seen a few looks her way when she had entered the girls changing room to change from her normal school wear to exercise wear. She had also heard the whispers that had come when she passed the rest of their friends in the hallway during the morning. The duo was slightly secluded from the bulk of the class; in total their were twenty two people including Sunset in her gym class. Sunset made her way towards them but didn't approach them. Once she was close enough away that she could listen in but not enough so they would feel the need to move to avoid her or stop whispering, Sunset began pretending to do stretches, her ear eagerly listening.

".......But Twilight said to look after her....." whispered Fluttershy, rubbing her arms in order to get warm. Rainbow snorted in response.

"Yes but Applejack, Rarity and I agree she isn't worth it. Why should we be forced to babysit her?"

"But Pinkie and I think we should give it a chance. She's been different since the dance. Have you seen how she acts? I think she's sorry for how she's acted.

"Different? You mean acting like some victim by hiding in bushes and running away from the cafeteria and crying? Please darling, don't be so naive. She is obviously just trying to gather sympathy so people will feel sorry for her and then she won't have to face the consequences of her actions. She is a selfish idiot, who probably has had a pampered life and has had everything handed to her. I bet her family is exactly like her, selfish idiots. Maybe that's she's here in our world because her family got tired of her and got rid-AAUGH!"

Rainbow Dash felt air leave her lungs as she found herself on the ground, a large red hand print on her cheek.

"SHUT UP! YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ME!" Sunset had been growing tenser and tenser during the conversation and when her upbringing and family had been brought up, something had cracked inside of her. How dare she talk about her like that, how dare she make her assumptions. The way Rainbow talked about her brought her back to her days as Princess Celestia's students who would mock her and say that the only reason she was Celestia's student in the first place was that the Princess felt bad for her and that her family probably abandoned her. It made her blood boil, red filled her eyes and all she felt was pure rage. They had no idea what she had been through. SHE had no idea.

"I've put up with people like YOU for years. Assuming I have the picture perfect life, poking jabs at the fact that I'm an orphan, going on about how my family probably set the house on fire so they wouldn't to live with me. Have either of you had to live on the street, scourage for food from the trash bins? Then be adopted by a mare, a princess who refused to acknowledge your accomplishments outside of a superficial pat on the back? I don't care what you say about me or what you do to me, you superficial cunt. BUT DON'T YOU SAY ANOTHER WORD ABOUT MY FAMILY OR TRY TO TELL ME HOW MY LIFE HAS BEEN!

"Sunset Shimmer! Stop this instant!" Sunset was pulled from her ranting and raving, the red in her eyes subsiding. She became aware of the stares of her classmates, some smirking cause they knew Sunset would slip up eventually and others like Fluttershy who were cowering, never seeing the girl that angry before. She became aware that she had been gripping Rainbow Dash by the collar of her shirt, her fist red with blood from punching Rainbow in the face. What was she doing? Sunset released her grip on backed away.

She was supposed to be turning over a new leaf, this was supposed to be her new start and she was already screwing it up. A hand landed on her shoulder and she found herself being turned around to face her gym teacher, Mr. Biceps. He opened his mouth to say anything but Sunset didn't hear anything, all she could hear was a buzzing in her ears. She saw the sneers, the faces that read I knew it and her lip began to tremble. Mr. Biecpes was speaking but she still couldn't hear. He attempted to pull her, perhaps towards the office but Sunset wasn't having it, she pushed away and turned away. He tried to pull her back but Sunset jerked away and began running. She didn't know where but she just ran.
-

Sunset wasn't sure where she was, but she knew that she was around the middle part of Canterlot, a little ways past the tall skyscrapers and buildings of downtown. Actually she had started to enter the richer part of Canterlot. She could tell from the way people carried themselves and the expensive things they wore and displayed in store windows. She didn't come down here much, preferring to stay near home. Her calves hurt from running and her eyes stung from the dried tears on her cheeks. She knew she was earning a few odd looks, mainly because she knew she was supposed to be in school and also she was the only person really in shorts and a t-shirt. Most were wearing long sleeved shirts and pants and sweaters or jackets. There was also the fact her face was puffy, hair snarled and looked like some homeless kid which you really didn't see in that part of town. A few people had sneered at her and others had tried avoiding her by

Sunset was lost. She had an idea where she was but no idea how to get back home by foot. She would need ethier a map or a bus to get back but unfortunately they're didn't seem to be any libraries nearby and she didn't have her wallet on her, something she hadn't really thought about when she...left...oh. Oh Faust! How could she forget about Celestia and Luna? They were going to murder her for both running off and for punching a student. Suddenly, she wasn't really caring that she was lost. She wanted nothing more then to escape their fury, especially after the awkward incident the night before. Celestia had been pretty tight lipped during breakfast, though she had been that way with everyone. In the back of her mind, she knew she was already beginning to regress into the demon she used to be, only after five days but she pushed it aside, ignoring it.

As she traversed the streets, she guilt began gnawing at her. She really should return, Celestia while she might unleash her anger on her was probably worried and she didn't deserve to suffer for her consequences. Sunset stopped and sighed, causing an older man to nearly run into her. The man snarled at her and pushed past her.

"Don't stop in the middle of the sidewalk! Children these days! HUMPH!" Sunset opened her mouth to say something but instead closed her mouth. It wasn't worth it. Sighing she continued along her way.

In a matter of a minute two things happened, one Sunset made the decision to cross the street, not bothering to check for on coming vehicles and at the same time a car came flying around the corner of the street, the driver focused on his phone rather then driving.

Repercussions

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The redhead idiot was lucky she had bothered to look up, other wise she might have become a human pancake. The day had been pretty sad; her on and off girlfriend had broken up with her over a text message. Not that she hadn't expect it, she knew that her girlfriend Lightning Dust had been screwing around with one of their classmates but it still stung. The one good thing was at least it was a Teacher Education Day; meaning she had a day off from school. Instead of hanging out at her usual places like the arcade on Cadenza Avenue, she had decided to go downtown and check out the Canterlot Stadium, to see if Spitfire was there.

The girl had once been her next-door neighbor and had babysat her more then once during her childhood. Despite being busy with training, touring and signings, Spitfire always made time for her when she came by the track. However it turned out the Wonderbolts had departed the day before for a convention in Boston. Dejectedly she had decided to just walk around town. She stopped by a cafe for a coffee, even briefly stepped into a bookstore to look for the newest Power Humans comic, which they fortunately had. As she stepped outside, and walked down the sidewalk towards the crosswalk, her attention focused solely on the open comic book in her hands, the girl looked up, if just to make sure she wasn't going to walk into traffic. That's when she saw her. A girl around her age in a t-shirt, shorts and sneakers, her hair disheveled, her eyes puffy and a look of defeat on her face. But that's not what set her off; it was the girls recklessness, stepping into traffic before the light said to and the car that whipped around the corner, the driver ignorant of the girl a head of him.

Sunset heard shouts, confused she looked upwards to see why people were yelling. That's when she saw the car and her eyes connect with the driver of the car who looked up briefly from his phone. Time seemed to slow down to a point where she was sure it was nearly frozen and for that time, Sunset seemed frozen herself, bewildered by the car headed towards her. She tried to move but she was paralyzed, then time speed up and something hard hit her in her side, sending her rolling and tumbling. Sunset gasped as her brain registered pain. Had she been hit? Sunset realized two things, one she had not been hit by a car and two that she was now on the side of the road and someone was on top of her. The person who turned out to be a female [as she realized when the girl pulled herself away and got up] stood up angrily and started screaming at the driver of the car who had come to a stop.

"What the fuck are you doing asshole? Are you trying to kill someone?"

"You kids shouldn't be in the damn road!" replied the guy, getting out of his car, his face red with anger.

"You could have dented my car! Do you know how much this care fucking costs?"

"Car? Seriously? I think the fucking lawsuit you would have faced would be more important rather then a dent on your fake Lamborghini replica. Besides, you're the asshole who was texting and driving. Last time I fucking checked that was against the law. Now who are the cops going to arrest if something did happen? Probably the guy who hit the kid!" The man sputtered and stammered before stomping back to his car and getting in and driving off. Once he was gone, Sunset who was still laying dazed on the side of the street, felt herself being helped to the ground. That's when she finally got a good look at her savior.

The girl was around her age if she was to guess and had light brown skin with white hair that had light purple highlights. The girl was dressed in a pair of ripped jeans, an old bomber jacket and a tank top with a pair of combat boots. She was taller then Sunset, at least six feet tall where Sunset was only 5"4; she also had a very athletic frame and her face was quite hawk like with large narrowed yellow eyes and high cheekbones and a low brow. The girl scowled at her and gave her a once over.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed? You could have been ran over!" exclaimed the mysterious girl. Sunset opened her mouth to say something, intending to reply with a snide comment but instead she found she couldn't speak and instead she kicked the ground lightly in shame, unsure what to do. The girl sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Not going to say anything? What about your name? Can you tell me that?" Sunset mumbled her name under her breath but the girl was not able to hear it so she repeated it slightly louder, barely enough for the other girl to hear. When had she become this shy.

"Sunset Shimmer eh? Well....oh wait, I know you! You go to CHS don't you?" Sunset froze. Another CHS student just her luck yet...she didn't recognize this girl. She tried her best to put a name to the face in front of her but came up empty. Seeing her confusion, the white haired teen clued her in.

"I don't expect you to remember me; I used to go to Canterlot High, back in the 9th grade but lets say shit happened and I was forced to "transfer" to Chryssie's School for Delinquents half way through the school year. But I remember you, we had gym and you seemed to enjoy bullying the other students in our grade. Hell, you were bullying older students as well."

"By transfer do you mean expelled?" Instantly Sunset regretted what she said and snapped her mouth closed and tried her best to brace herself from the backlash she was about to receive. One thing she knew about people is that they did not like when asked about personal stuff. However she was surprised that the girl merely shrugged and waved her off.

"Huh so you do speak. Yeah, honestly I'm surprised I wasn't expelled earlier. It probably was because of Celestia, is she still the principal? I wouldn't be surprised if she is, if it hadn't been for her, her bitch of a sister would have tossed me out sooner. I'll be honest, I did some stupid shit while I was a student there. I harassed the eight and seventh graders, skipped class, heck I even stole stuff constantly from the supply closets. I was....arrogant in those days, anyway long story short I got it in my head that it would be awesome to steal one of the new Macs from the computer lab, thing must have been worth nearly four thousand with all the software and accessories it had. Anyway, I got caught and Celestia expelled me. On her recommendations, my dad decided to enroll me into CSFD. Not that I had much choice, the nearest public school is all the way in Poneville and that's three hours away."

Sunset blinked as she took in all of that information and as she did she vaguely recalled the girl. They actually fought for dominance over the ninth grade if she recalled, both wanting to control their classmates and the younger students. Honestly she hadn't payed much attention when the girl stopped coming to school, she had been glad because she had less competition to be Queen Bee but at the same time she was distracted by her desires. What was her name? As she stared into the girl's face she realized she couldn't even remember that. She struggled for a few minutes before it hit her. Gilda. Her name was Gilda. Sunset repeated the name a few times until she was nearly positive that it was the girls name.

"Y-your names Gilda right?" The girl nodded in response.

"Yep, Gilda Hawk. Glad yo re-meet your acquaintance. So, we should probably not keep standing in the road." Embarrassed, Sunset followed Gilda on the sidewalk and coughed awkwardly. They stared at each other for a few minutes, wondering what to do before Gilda spoke up.

"....Wanna get a coffee? My treat."

"....So yeah, so my parents had just gotten divorced the year before and my dad was getting remarried and I had just realized around that time that I was into chicks. Honestly, I'm glad I ended up the way I did. Sure, it sucked being expelled but at least it straightened me out." The duo had made their way to a nearby coffee shop, the same one Gilda had been in earlier. On their way, Sunset awkwardly began conversation which eventually lead to Gilda discussing the circumstances involving the reason behind why she had turned to acting out during her freshmen year.

"Anyway, I realize now it's not so bad. My step-mom isn't nearly as bad as I used to think and I admit it's kinda nice having a little sister and brother even if they do crap and cry a lot. So, what about you?"

"W-what about me?" said Sunset, stammering as she gripped the hot beverage in her hands and tried her best to eat her doughnut without getting too much of the icing on her hand [I mean seriously, you eat a glazed doughnut with your hands and the next thing you know it's all over and when you have no napkin it's annoying when you want to touch things like your phone.]

"Well, school I guess? I assume from your t-shirt that you still attend Canterlot High? Also that reminds me, isn't today a school day for your school and why are you in shorts in this weather?" Sunset sighed and put down her coffee. On one hand she didn't want to talk about it but on the other hand it would be rude, especially when the other girl had saved her from being smushed and had bought her food.

"I....I punched another student and then ran off."

"Why?"

"Sh...She pissed me off by making an assumption about my family. Well my biological family anyway."

"Lemme guess, your parents don't love you because they gave you up for adoption."

"Kinda; Me being adopted probably wasn't my parents attention. They died, in a fire along with my older sister, I was three at the time and after that I ended up in foster care. Sunset paused and sipped her coffee.

"Oh sorry, I did-"

"It's okay, anyway she went on about how I was raised pampered princess and then suggested my parents abandoned me in this wo....town because they didn't want me." said Sunset, interrupting Gilda when she tried to apologize. Gilda frowned briefly, had that girl nearly said world? 'Nah, probably just got words mixed up and corrected herself.' thought Gilda as she sipped her own coffee.

"I assume that isn't the case?" Sunset snorted and rolled her eyes before sighing and putting down her donut again, turning to reply to the courageous girl who had saved her earlier that day.

"Far from it; It isn't something I like to think about it but there was a time when I lived in an orphanage and another time when I lived on the streets, before I...was taken in by a woman after which I ran off and then I was adopted by Celestia." Gilda nearly spit out her coffee, actually she did a bit. She wiped her mouth on her jacket and straightened up.

"Hell Celestia, she adopted you? Huh, small world....I guess then then Vice-Principal Luna is your aunt...Sorry uh about calling her a bitch." Sunset waved her off.

"Don't feel bad, we don't have a relationship anyway. She doesn't particularly like me anyway."

"Mind telling me why?"

"Let's just say, I only recently had my own epiphany a few days ago and came to realize what I've become. For the last three years I've bullied, blackmailed and bribed students while I pretty much controlled the school and students. Another student and her friends kicked me off my 'high throne' and showed me the light."

"Showed you the light? What they'd do, blast you with a bunch of high beams?"

'No, they blasted me with alternate dimension magic and ripped the evil from my soul with the power of friendship' thought Sunset though she didn't say this out loud.

"Uh figuratively, they...uh showed me the pain and suffering I had been causing other students. Anyway, Luna doesn't like me because of what I've done. Honestly though I'm not surprised, I kinda deserve it.

"Must make living with them awkward." said Gilda, who pulled out her cellphone to check the time. 12:32 PM. Sunset shook her head then nodded then stopped and bit her lipped.

"Yes and no. I only really started living with them a few days ago, before I was living in an apartment."

"Wait so Celestia just adopted you?" asked Gilda, confused.

"No, she adopted me in the summer before ninth grade. Long story short I was acting out so she supplied me my own apartment in exchange for agreement that I would keep my grades up, stay away from drugs and trouble with the law."

"Huh, pretty nice of her but I hope you don't mind me asking, how did she afford that I'm pretty sure High School Principals make much in terms of money." Sunset suddenly felt sick, honestly she had never thought about the matter. How did Celestia pay for the apartment over the last few years? With mortgage payments, bills, groceries, cable, internet and other general fees, where had she managed to find money to pay for an apartment and all the fees that came with it? She felt extremely guilty.

"I...I don't know. I never thought and I never asked." said Sunset.

"I'm sorry, I have to go. Celestia is probably looking for me, I should probably get back to school. She's probably called the cops, thanks for the coffee."

"No problem but I don't think you have to worry about Celestia being worried." said Gilda, putting down her coffee and looking over Sunset's shoulder at something behind her.

"Why?"

"Because I used the tracking feature on your phone to find you."
-

The drive back to school was quiet. Celestia said nothing, instead gripping the steering wheel and silently fuming. Sunset merely sat in her seat and kept quiet, lest she face the wrath of the high school principal. It was only when they were nearing the school did Celestia finally release her giant tidal wave of pure, unfiltered anger.

"What the hell where you thinking? Punching a student, running off and then I find you in a coffee shop with some stranger? Do you realize how lucky you are that you weren't kidnapped or worse?" Sunset didn't say anything and despite the need to mention how she was nearly ran over, she decided against it as It would merely fuel the woman's anger.

"Honestly, you should be glad that you had your phone on you or I would have had to call the police. I was going to call the police! I thought this was over Sunset, I thought you were turning over a new leaf, but then you go and do this! Do you have anything to say?!"

"...Why?"

"What!?!?" Celestia swerved and abruptly stopped the car, parking it on the side of the road. A few drivers behind her honked their horn in annoyance but she ignored them, her attention focused on the teenager.

"How and why would you pay for an apartment for me?"

"What? Suns- I need to know!" Celestia immediately wanted to snap at being interrupted but the teary face made her heart soften a bit. Sunset felt her eyes cloud over with tears and she struggled to keep them in.

"Why would you do that for me?!?"

"Sunset..."

"I n-need to...." Sunsets body shook as she released sobs and released a tidal wave of pain and sadness. She hugged her sides and brought her knees up to her chest and in response Celestia sighed and rubbed the girls back, slowly feeling her anger disappear.

"It's not important Sunset but if you must know I tapped into the inheritance that I received when my aunt died, it doesn't matter."

"How much of that did you waste on me?" 'Nearly all of it' thought Celestia but she didn't say it outloud, Sunset didn't need to know.

"It wasn't a waste Sunset and not much, now can you tell me what caused you to beat up Rainbow Dash"

"I-I didn't mean to-o, sh-she just made me so angry. I-I was listening in on her t-talking to Fluttershy and then she started going on about how my parents must have abandoned me in this world because they didn't want me and I just couldn't s-stop myself, I'm sorry!" Celestia pulled Sunset into a hug and consoled her. She was still angry but she was also extremely sympathetic. She allowed Sunset to cry into her shoulder for a few minutes before she pulled away. The woman sighed and patted her on the hand.

"I still have to suspend you, you know what the school code is and I can't play favorites." She stopped briefly to see if Sunset would react but she didn't so the woman continuted on.

"Three days, meaning you'll be out of school till Monday. However, that's too much of a privilege for you. Your still going to be helping Hard Hammer after school hours. I'm going to drive you home and then I'll drive you back once school is out. We are also going to need to talk about the other punishments your getting for running off and making me worry but we'll talk about that at home. Before that however, I'm taking you to school and you're going to make an apology to Rainbow Dash. " Sunsets jaw clenched but she otherwise said nothing, it irked her that Rainbow Dash was probably going to get away for badmouthing her but she knew it would be pointless to complain.

Celestia nearly had to drag Sunset with her to Rainbow Dash's classroom. It seemed Celestia wanted to humiliate her as she had no problems opening the door to Mr. Magnet's Art Class and pulling Sunset alongside her. The teen cringed as all eyes fixated on her. In the back of the room, Rainbow Dash, who had a bruised cheek and a bandage over her nose, grinned at her smugly.

"Celestia, my what a surprise, what brings you and Sunset Shimmer to my classroom" said the man, standing up and subconsciously twirling the long orange strands of his mustache.

"Well Steven, Sunset here would like to say something." Celestia stood behind Sunset and placed her hands on her shoulders, staring down at her expectantly. Sunset blushed and clenched her fists, how humiliating! She mumbled an apology but Celestia seemed unsatisfied and encourage her adopted daughter to speak up. Sunset sighed and dejectedly apologized.

"I'm sorry Rainbow Dash." Said the girl in a robotic voice, trying her best not to let anger fill her voice as the blue skinned teen grinned even more from her desk.

"For..." said Celestia, urging her on.

"For punching you in the face and the fact that your mother didn't realize you were a mistake till after she gave birth to you." Rainbow didn't hear the last part but Celestia did or least Susnet assumed by the way she tightened her grip on her shoulders, giving the silent gesture to keep her mouth shut.

"Is that all?" said Mr. Magnet, standing awkwardly. Celestia nodded for a moment and then paused briefly, remembering something.

"I almost forgot. Rainbow Dash, please see me after school for your detention." The teen stood up unexpectedly and gaped at Celestia, confused and suddenly very angry.

"Why? I didn't do fucking shit!"

"Well one for swearing and the other for badmouthing a fellow student. From what Mr. Biceps told me you started spewing a bunch of rumors and started telling people inappropriate things about Sunset. There is also the fact that that your badmouthing led to this altercation in the first place. Good day Mr. Magnet, I apologize for the disruption."

Rainbows sputtering red face was enough to make Sunset's day as she left the classroom, even if she was still in trouble.

Gifts

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Following her "apology" to Rainbow Dash, Celestia had taken Sunset home where she fell asleep for a few hours before she was awoken for her detention. Once Celestia drove her back to school, she was once more in the hands of Hard Hammer and he set her to work assisting Trevor and several of the other workers from removing broken rebar and brick. From the way the man explained it, a good section of the front wall needed to be stripped down to the plaster underneath.

That was the first part of the plan; actually assessing whether or not the the pillars were load bearing or not and if the second floor area might collapse but they determined that most of the pillars were merely cosmetic. Sunset was in charge of removing the bricks as Trevor drilled the mortar between them, loosing them. It was a boring tedious job, but it was pretty easy. They had only been at for ten minutes when Celestia appeared, however what surprised Sunset is that Rainbow Dash was with her. Sunset frowned and stopped briefly to survey them. They were a bits away so she couldn't hear them but she did see them approach Hard Hammer.

They spoke for a few minutes while Rainbow Dash stood next to them, bored with her arms crossed, shifting from foot to foot. Once they were done they approached Sunset.

"Sunset. Given today's incident it would be best if you and Rainbow Dash worked through your problems. You and Rainbow are going to be serving detention together. And I mean together, as in working together." said Celestia as she reached her adoptive daughter. Sunset pouted and internally she was raging. She did not want to work with Rainbow! Rainbow Dash didn't seem anymore happier about the issue. Suddenly she realized something, perhaps she could discuss the topic of Scootaloo emulating her dirty habits? She highly doubted the girl would listen but it was worth a try.

"What are you looking at?" asked Rainbow, managing to look even more annoyed then before. Sunset shook her head, she hadn't realized she had been staring.

"Nothing." The girl with the rainbow colored hair opened her mouth to say something but then quickly snapped it shut, realizing that it wasn't the best time seeing as Celestia was still there.

"Well, I need to get going, I have to pick up groceries and run errands. I'm sure you'll both behave and I'm sure Hard Hammer will make sure that you do. I'll be back in a few hours to pick you up Sunset." Out of nowhere, Celestia pulled Sunset into a hug and kissed her on the forehead before leaving with no further words but a curt nod towards Hard Hammer. Sunset blushed, embarrassed by the public display of affection.

"Well, back to work eh? Rainbow Flash, you and Sunny will be prying the bricks as Trevor removes the mortar. Try not to break anything, Trevor watch them." said the man, slapping his nephew on the back as he left. Trevor scowled in response and went a head and quickly instructed Rainbow Dash on how to remove bricks. Wait for him to drill the mortar then use their hands or a crow bar to remove the bricks which was to be tossed in the large wheelbarrow nearby. He handed Rainbow some gloves and a pair of googles which she refused to wear until Trevor threatened to get Celestia.

"Can I use the drill?" asked Rainbow, gleefully as she watched Trevor use the device. To Sunset it was clear she didn't want to use it in the traditional manner; wanting instead to play with it. Fortunately for everyone, while lazy Trevor was not stupid.

"And then have you do something stupid with it? No thanks. Besides I'm pretty sure you don't know how to use this thing and no I'm going to show you." he said in response, pulling down his googles and going back to drilling the wall. Sunset and Rainbow glanced at each other before slowly starting to work. They worked silently for a while, not paying any attention to the other until Rainbow Dash spoke up.

"So Sunset Shitter what was that all about." So that's where Scootaloo had stolen the entirely unoriginal joke. Sunset rolled her eyes and turned towards the ever so cocky Rainbow Dash who had stopped pulling bricks and was standing with one hand on her hip and her crowbar in her other.

"Oh how original. And what was what about?" said Sunset as she pried a brick free and tossed it into the wheelbarrow. Rainbow leaned into her which made Sunset step back a bit.

"Why'd Celestia say she'd pick you up. And why did she kiss you. What, did you brain wash Celestia into being your girlfriend or something? Cause really that is absolutely disgusting, even for you." A part of Sunset wanted to punch Rainbow again but the stern voice of Celestia was pounding in the back of her head, telling her to behave.

"Ew, gross! What are you into thinking about that shit? You must be if you bothered suggesting it. And no, I am not in a relationship with Celestia. I'd rather shove dog crap down my throat before that happens!" stated Sunset angrily, ripping out bricks and tossing them into the half-full wheel barrow.

"Then why else would she do that?"

"Because she's my mom you fucking pervert!" Sunset found herself surprised at her words. Mom? Did she really think of Celestia as her mother. I mean sure she had taken of her since she arrived in the human world but she felt undeserving, like she wasn't worthy enough to consider her as her mother. Besides, she had a mother, once upon a time even if she could scarcely recall her, the way her orange hair swung in the sunlight and how her sandy brown face was always smiling at her.

Still, wasn't that why she had been so adamant in getting Princess Celestia's attention in the first place? To get her to be her mother so that she could be her daughter? Still, this Celestia had done more things a mother would do then Princess Celestia had done while she studied under her. Payed for an apartment, groceries, cellphone, internet, clothes and spending money. More recently she had become a someone she could lean on, going out of her way to make Sunset welcomed even after all that she done. That's not to say Princess Celestia was a horrible surrogate mother, they had a meal together at least once a day and she provided everything Sunset needed but that was about it. Mostly their relationship consisted of school work and new spells to master. She would admit, she probably had some doing in why she was so isolated from that Celestia by the way she acted but still, the woman and mare who shared a name were vastly different.

"Celestia is your mother? No way! Besides didn't you just say your parents are dead this morning? I knew you were a liar!"

"A.D.O.P.T.I.V.E. Adoptive. Are you forgetting I'm not from here? My birth family is dead and if you insult them again with your stupid comments I will punch you again and I don't care how much Celestia grounds me or Vice Principal Luna makes my life a hell." A fight would have ensued had it not been for Trevor interjecting into their fight.

"Seriously? I don't want to listen to you two bicker; get back to work."
-

The next two hours flew by, the girls working quietly. Well they both threw insults at each other when Trevor wasn't paying attention but other then that they left each other alone. Sunset knew that if she wanted to ask about the smoking that she should probably do so as their detention was ending.

"So I hear you smoke?" Startled, Rainbow dropped her crowbar that she was using to pry out a stuck brick. She blinked at Sunset as she processed the information and attempted to formulate an answer.

"Yeah, whats your point dipshit?"

"My point is that your a shit role model because I see Scootaloo is attempting to emulate you." This made Rainbow suspicious, why did the former She-Demon care about Scootaloo. She picked up her crowbar and slowly looked Sunset up and down for a moment.

"Yeah so? How does this concern you and why do you care?"

"I care because I saw her puffing one up behind the school yesterday and everyone knows she is obsessed with you. It wasn't hard to figure out where she got the idea that smoking is cool. I think that your a horrible role model. Besides, if I'm turning over the leaf that means I should at least try helping people."

"This is helping? Also it's not your problem, she's my sister not yours you cunt."

"Yeah well I'm just saying, you're a shitty role model and you should stop doing shitty things before Scootaloo or someone else decides to start copying your more stupid ideas and actions.

"Whatever, just mind your own fucking business." Sunset sighed and shook her head; this entire conversation had been pointless and was worse was she knew it but had went with it anyway. Sighing she turned back to her work and admired it. The construction crew had been working all day and most of the work had been done by them but she was still impressed by the amount of bricks they removed. The only thing she wished out of all their hard work was that it wasn't going to last much longer. At least with Rainbow Dash attached as she knew she would be serving detention for a while. It seemed that the beloved Faust was in a good mood because Celestia appeared, with her coat and car keys in one hand.

"Your detention is done for today, I hope you both learned your lesson. Rainbow you can leave. Sunset we need to go, I forgot that I booked a doctors appointment for you and Scootaloo so we're going to need to stop by home and pick her up. Assuming she's there of cours...Is something the matter Ms. Dash? You might catch flies if you keep your mouth open like that." Rainbows mouth was open in surprise. Pick up Scootaloo for a doctor appointment? Did that mean....

"YOU'RE Scootaloo's mom?" Celestia merely stared at her student and cocked her head.

"Yes, I am. I don't know why that's a surprise. Surely given how attached Scootaloo is too you I thought you'd know. Besides it's not exactly a secret Ms. Dash."

"Are you kidding? Half the school thinks she lives in Applebloom's clubhouse or in an orphanage! I can't believe SHE is Scootaloo's sister!"

"Ms. Dash, I don't have the time and this conversation is inappropriate. I can assure you, Scootaloo does not live in a clubhouse nor is she an orphan. Now, you are still on school grounds and I'm your Principal right now. Unless you want detention for tomorrow, I suggest you go home. Good day Rainbow Dash. Sunset, come along."

No one in the family really liked Dr. Screwball. No one knew why but there was just something about her that made them uneasy, the way she walked which was almost a hop or the way she smiled a lot. And I mean a lot. Even Celestia felt a little weirded out when in her presence. It didn't help that she had the habit of surprising her patients with vaccinations for diseases only needed if you had visited a third-world country. Still she her office was close to the house and her fees weren't too bad.

Sunset and Scootaloo followed behind Celestia as they entered a modest sized waiting room nearly packed to the brim with patients. Ah, Celestia always forgot that Screwball liked to overbook. Sighing, she motioned for her daughters to sit while she signed them in. Unfortunately there weren't a lot of seats. There were enough for them to sit down but they were all next to someone else which made things awkward except....At the same time the girls spotted an empty, isolated chair next to a magazine rack. Other patients stared as they ran towards it and fought over it. Unfortunately Scootaloo was faster and she got the chair, leaving Sunset to sit next to a stranger.

Sunset wouldn't have paid attention to her seat mate if it wasn't for the fact that she recognized her. She was from school. The she in question was a girl Sunset knew was a year older then her but in her grade due to being held back. She had grey skin and light blond hair and she was dressed in a white and green polka-dotted t-shirt with bright pink pants. Her hair fell at her shoulders but the most interesting thing about her was her eyes. One stared right at Sunset as she approached but the other was pointed upwards. She had a some sort of eye problem if Sunset recalled, the disease started with an S but she couldn't remember the name. Sunset plastered the biggest smile she could on her face

"Can I sit here?" The girl named Derpy Hooves, looked her up and down with the eye that was actually focused on her and after a moment of consideration, she nodded.

"Yeah I guess." Sunset sat down next to her and awkwardness began forming between the two. Should she talk to her? Would she want to talk to her? Sunset wasn't very good at initiating small talk. Maybe she should just sit and say nothing...but wouldn't it be rude? They knew each other well actually they didn't but they recognized each other from around school. Wait had she been one of her victims? Well everyone had been a victim really but some were regulars and others only faced her wrath a few times.

Sunset thought it over, if she recalled she had little to no interactions with Derpy. There paths never really crossed, except in the hallway. Well there were a few times where she had deliberately tripped her in the hallway but that was the gist of it. You would think a girl with a disability would have been a huge target for Sunset but the fact was Derpy was never around Sunset and they didn't share classes. She should say something.

"So you uh come here often?" Sunset cringed and nearly slapped herself in the face. What had been an attempt to start small talk sounded more like a cheesy pick-up line. Derpy looked at her school mate and frowned.

"No, not really. Why, do you?"

"Uh no....." They ;lapsed once more into silence, this time both were feeling even more awkward as before. Sunset tried focusing on her nails or even the old magazines on the coffee table but she found herself restless. Should she attempt to continue talking?

"Want a muffin?" Sunset nearly jumped in her seat from the sudden voice. She turned towards Derpy who had opened her purse and pulled out two blueberry muffins, keeping one for her self and offering the other to Sunset. Derpy stared at her intensely as she awkwardly accepted the slightly mushed muffin. She really didn't want to eat the muffin but she had already accepted it. Derpy was still staring at her but with each passing second it was becoming more intense. Was this a trap? Was this thing laced with poison?

"Go on, it's not posioned" said Derpy, who seemed to be able to read Sunset's mind. Hesitatingly she took a bite and to her surprise instead of poison she was greeted by pure bliss. Sunset moaned. This muffin was...PERFECT! The buttery cake, the fresh blueberries baked into it and the creamy blue frosting was all delicious. She practically shoved the muffin in her mouth. Derpy laughed as she watched the girl eat the muffin the way a starving person would eat a piece of bread.

"I assume you like it?"

"It's delicious, where do you get these muffins?"

"I make them myself! You could say it's a special talent of mine."

Sunset stared, home made? These things were like bakery muffins and not the type of bakery you'd find in a grocery store but a true bakery with expensive desserts and breads.

"Thank you for the bread but can I ask, why me?"

"Why you what? Why share my delicious, awesome magical muffins with you?" Sunset nodded, her eyes trained on Derpy's other muffin. She wanted another one but she wasn't sure if she should ask for another.

"Well duh, why else? Sharing muffins is the secret to making friends! Besides, I've seen how sad you are at school and if it's one thing my mom always taught me is that you should always give people a second chance if they try to turn over a leaf! So that's what I'm doing!" exclaimed the girl. Sunset was surprised, someone actually wanted to give her a second chance? After all she had done?"

"But, why would you want to give me a second chance?"

"Like I said, second chances for those who wish to turn over a new leaf."

"Delphine Hooves?" Nurse Redheart, a woman with snow white skin and pink hair pulled back in a bun, held a clipboard in her hands reading off the name of the next patient. Derpy stood up and grabbed her bag but not before shoving her uneaten muffin into Sunset's hands.

"That's me! See you later!"

"But what about your muffin? Don't you want it?

"Sure but I got a million of them on me besides you seem to want it more. Later!" As she left, Sunset began to feel something, she wasn't sure what it was but it wasn't exactly unpleasant. The muffin sat in her hands for a few minutes as she stared at it, unable to eat it like it's counterpart which she had devoured with vigor. No, it was to precious to be eaten.

Guilty by relation

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Sunset didn't like being stuck with needles. Not one bit. Needles, while they weren't rare in Equestria, weren't as common. Most vaccines in Equestria were ingested or Doctors used magic to determine if someone had a disease or an illness. Sure, there were Pegasi and earth pony doctors but either they did extract blood and it got tested via magic or they had a Unicorn Doctor or Nurse to assist them. It was a step above Human medicine but it wasn't perfect and Humanity managed to out do Equestria in many places. Like moon travel; No pony in Equestria had been on the moon before [Unless you counted Princess Luna but that was a different matter] or any other species for that matter. Nor did they have cars, internet, cellphones, computers and the beginning of android life. Humanity was quite amazing in it's own way.

Sunset squirmed as Dr. Screwball stuck her arm again; the energetic doctor had been searching for a vein for five minutes and so far had been unsuccessful. It was a painful time with Sunset wanting to scream at the woman and tell her to ' Just fucking take my blood or fuck off!' but she bit down on her tongue to stop herself from speaking ill, even if she was starting to taste a bit of blood.

"There we go! Finally, a nice juicy vein!"

Sunset was tempted to look as the needle entered her arm but she knew better as she was squeamish when it came to blood and gore. Fake blood in video games? She could take it. But when it came to the real stuff or even the stuff in modern day movies, she always felt a little faint. She shouldn't look, she would regret it. Curiosity got the better of her and she took a glance and instantly she felt quite light headed as she watched her blood fill the large syringe.

"H-how long till we're done?"

Her gaze was fixated on it, and she felt the muffin in her stomach beginning to come back out the way it went in. Luck seemed to be on her side because Dr. Screwball removed the needle. She gave Sunset a cotton ball and instructed her to press it against the injection hole. She left to get up, eager to flee but Dr. Screwball stopped her.

"We still have to do your pelvic exam."

Sunset Shimmer absolutely hated doctors.
-

Being suspended was boring. No television, no computer, no cellphone, no video games of any sort. Sunset was essentially left with only her books and school work. Her computer, cellphone and Wii had been confiscated and Celestia had disconnected the cable boxes for all of the TV's. She had left the DVD player however, but Sunset didn't really want to watch any of the movies they had. Of course the rest of the family had their own computers and Luna had a bunch of gaming systems but 1)The computers were all locked and 2) To touch Luna's stuff was to invoke her wrath. Besides, she would know that Sunset touched her consoles if she tried. Game consoles tended to display the users most recent gaming history and all log in attempts to the user.

She spent the morning napping, well she had gotten up when everyone else had but then had promptly went back to sleep when they all left. When she awoke again around eleven am, she found herself extremely bored. She attempted to read a book or rather several books but she found herself unable to sit still. She cleaned the house excluding the bedrooms and Luna's cave but by one o'clock she had finished and the house was practically sparkling. She considered tackling the bedrooms briefly when she realized she had nothing left to do but she dismissed it for the same reasons as before. Not to piss any one off by touching their stuff. When one-thirty came around, she was practically ready to bang her head against a wall just so something interesting would happen.

"There is nothing to do!"

Sunset sprawled out on the living room floor, staring up at the ceiling. She was so bored. She whined and sighed as she desperately thought of something to do. There had to be something to do in the house. Maybe sh-

The familiar muffled bang of a car door closing attracted Sunset's attention. She got up from the floor and made her way to the front door and pulled back the curtain that covered the small window next to the door and glanced out. She saw Scootaloo and Luna in the driveway, Scootaloo storming towards the house enraged and Luna following behind her, unamused. Sunset backed away from the door and just in time because Scootaloo threw open the door and stomped inside, kicking her shoes against the wall. Her face was puffy and red, the clear indication that she had been crying. Her lip was also busted and she had several bruises beginning to form on her face. When she set her eyes on Sunset she began crying.

"This is all your fault! You ruin everything!"

She lunged at Sunset and attempted to push her over. However, Sunset managed to stop her from doing so; The duo became locked in a scuffle, one trying to harm the other with feeble kicks and punches and the other trying to push away her attacker. Their fight ended as quickly as it started as Luna entered the house only a moment after her niece.

"What are you two doing?" she demanded, setting her eyes on the two fighting sisters.

Luna's voice was calm yet there were undertones of aggression and a deep coldness. Her eyes narrowed and swept over the pair who stopped their scuffle.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out. I have no idea whats going on but Scootaloo seems to want to fight."

"You know exactly what you did!" stated Scootaloo, stomping her foot and crossing her arms like a young child.

"No I don't! You came in here and started hitting me!"

"Enough!"

Both the girls froze and turned towards Luna. Though not scary as Celestia when enraged, Luna was by no means a push over and was in fact quite stubborn and imposing.

"Scootaloo, go to your room. I need to go back to school. Your mom will be home soon to speak with you. Ms. Shimmer....just don't cause any more problems."

The older teenager took offense to that. It's not like she was deliberately causing problems! Besides, she didn't start the fight if that was what Luna was suggesting! Sunset sighed and nodded and made her way upstairs, intending to retreat to her bedroom and maybe reorganize her closet but instead she found herself outside Scootaloo's shut door, pressing her ear against it to listen in. She heard nothing but the soft sobs of a sad little girl.

Feeling a tad awkward but concerned, Sunset knocked on the door in front of her. Only seconds later was the door thrown open by a still crying and angry Scootaloo.

"Leave me alone!"

"You know what? I came to be nice and ask you if you were okay but you seem more interested in screaming and crying at yelling at me for some random reason that I still don't understand."

"You know exactly what you did!"

"No I don't! How would I know? I've been home all day and then you come and start attacking me! Am I supposed to be a mind reader?"

"Fine, you want to know? I'll tell you!"

Scootaloo knew something was different when she walked into Canterlot High School. There were the glances, the frowns, the whispers. And each one was directed towards her. She tried listening in on conversations and even asking why everyone was looking at her but each time she got even remotely near or asked everyone would hush up or exchange looks with their friends and silently walk off. It was only the students that seemed to be looking at her like you would an animal in a cage. The teachers seemed ignorant to the gossip and whispers.

Scootaloo entered her first class of the day, Eight-grade art and found herself all by herself at one the large art tables where she was usually in company of Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and occasionally Twist. Instead she found all her friends at another table, sitting with Pipsqueak, Rumble and Berry Pinch. It honestly looked a tad crowded. She approached their table and the once animated chat that was going on between them ceased.

"Uh hey guys. Uh, is something wrong? Why aren't you sitting at our usual table?"

Glances were shared between the members of the group. It went over Scootaloo's head but she could see that something was wrong and that something was her.

"Guys?"

"Uh look, Scootaloo. We're sitting here today." Applebloom stood up from her chair and spoke to her spunky friend, who looked back at her confused.

"Okay?"

"Not you Scoots, just us. It's nothing personal." said Sweetie Belle interjecting quietly as Scootaloo put her bag down on the table. She didn't meet her eyes or look up, she just stared at the surface of the table. Scootaloo picked her bag up and hugged it to her chest. Her lip was beginning to tremble. She didn't understand, what was going on?

"I don't understand, did I do something wrong?"

"Look Scoots, don't make this harder then it is."

"But I...I....

"GO!" bellowed Applebloom. If Scootaloo wasn't on the verge of tears, she was now. Slowly she backed away from the table, any desire to fight or protest extinguished and went back to the other table. She was aware Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were making snide comments to her as she past and she was also aware that Ms. Silence, their art teacher attempted to speak to her. But she didn't hear a thing and she didn't speak a word. She just sat at her desk and stared into space and not even the force of an earth quake could move her. For she was focused on one thing and one thing only. Not crying.

The eight grade time table consisted of eight periods a day, one of those being devoted to lunch and the other seven being composed of classes which switched order everyday of the week. Each class ran for roughly forty-five minutes however sometimes the seventh and eight graders would have a duo class in which two periods were used such as English or Gym. There were two classes Scootaloo had to get through before lunch, Art and a double period of Math. When Art ended she went to math and like in Art, she didn't say anything or do anything for the entirety of the class. She was lost in a whirlwind of emotions and the real world ceased to exist. Before she knew it the lunch bell was ringing and she was briefly pulled back into reality when she realized that she didn't know what to do.

She still wasn't sure what the hell what up with her friends or why everyone was looking at her and if she was honest it was making her anxious. Usually she wouldn't act so sissy but the morning's events had taken her back. Slowly she got up from her desk and began putting her things into her back pack. As she left the classroom, she was greeted by the familiar rush of students heading towards the cafeteria. She followed them, not really wanting to eat but at the same time with nothing else to do. When she reached the cafeteria, she entered the line and slowly began edging towards the head of the line. When she finally got to the cafeteria lady, Applebloom's grandmother, Granny Smith, she was starting to feel a bit exasperated.

She piled a burger and fries on to her tray and allowed Granny to hand her a side of macaroni salad. As she left the line, she was faced with the problem of where to sit. Her friends didn't seem to want to speak with her and outside of them she had no other friends really. While cafeteria tables were not reserved and you could sit wherever you want it was taboo to sit where another group of people already occupying it were. Still, what else was she to do? So she located a nearly empty table and sat down on the opposite side of where a trio of three girls, Roseluck, Lily and Daisy all sat. She paid them no mind, instead choosing to play with her food.

"Kid."

Scootaloo looked up from her burger she had taken to staring at and turned towards the voice. The leader of the trio of girls Roseluck was speaking to her and she seemed quite unhappy with her arms crossed against her chest and her face covered in a sneer. Scootaloo blinked at the older students and cocked her head.

"What?"

Scootaloo was not in mood for small talk of any sort or just talking in general. What she really wanted was to just go home and crawl into bed but she highly doubted her mom or aunt was just going to let her do that.

"We don't want you sitting here, leave."

Scootaloo blinked and looked the older student up and down. She said nothing, instead turning back to her meal and deciding to push around the fries with her fork. The silent dismissal seemed to enrage the girl further because she stomped her way over from her side of the table and tried pulling Scootaloo off of the cafeteria table bench. Two things happened. One, anger that had been building up since the early morning exploded, the other was that Roseluck suddenly found herself with a new temporary tattoo.

"Fuck off!"

Everything seemed to slow down as a resonating slap echoed through the air. Almost everyone in the cafeteria ceased talking and their attention focused on Scootaloo and Roseluck who was now wearing a red hand print on her face. Scootaloo got up from her seat, her fists clenched and anger radiation from her.

"I've had enough. All day you people have been whispering and pointing and staring at me. I've had enough. What's so funny? I have shit on my face? Are you all so cowardly that you can't say anything to my face? What the fuck have I done to deserve your shit?"

"Your sister. That's what."

A student a few tables away from Scootaloo's stood up and addressed the eight grader. Scootaloo recognized her as Trixie Lulamoon, the schools aspiring magician and a girl known to have an ego that rivaled that of Rainbow Dashes. Scootaloo clenched her fists tigher.

"I don't know who you're talking about. I don't have a sister."

"Oh please! Trixie and everyone else now knows that Sunset Shimmer is your sister and you're probably just as bad as her."

Scootaloo froze. How did anyone figure out that Sunset Shimmer was living with her? Did that mean they also knew she was Celestia's daughter? Her blood began to boil even hotter then before. Fueled by anger, she turned and climbed onto the cafeteria table and stood up so all could see her.

"SHE. IS. NOT. MY. SISTER. She is a stupid, pathetic, cunt that my mother decided to take pity on and adopt! AND I'M NOTHING LIKE HER!"

Scootaloo kicked her lunch tray on the ground, sending it flying to the ground and the contents splattering against the ground. Trixie pointed a finger at the girl.

"See? This is exactly what I mean! She is clearly acting exactly like Sunset Shimmer! She's no better then her sister!"

Scootaloo was honestly not sure what happened after that. All she knew that one minute she was in the cafeteria, seeing red the next was that she was in the Principal's office having her face tended to by her mother.

"W-what happened?"

Scootaloo was quite confused and found herself growing excited as she tried to figure out what had happened and why she was suddenly in the nurses office. Celestia shushed her as she pressed a ice pack to the young girls face.

"It's okay."

"I don't understand, what happened mom?'

Celestia sighed and used her free hand to pinch the bridge of her nose, a thing that was starting to become a common thing. She stared at her daughter for a moment, torn between two moments. On one hand she did not condone what Scootaloo had done but at the same time she was didn't like to see her child in pain.

"From what the other students told me, you jumped off a cafeteria table and ran at Trixie Lulamoon and well.....let's just say you pack quite a punch for your age. You attacked her and while the other students managed to pull you away in the short time that you had, you broke her nose and did some damage."

Celestia paused and shook her head. All of them. All of her children were acting out and whats worse was....

"I'm going to need to suspend you."

"What?!?!"

Scootaloo stared at her mother, mouth agape, both confused and angry. She still couldn't believe she took on Trixie and at the same time she felt like she shouldn't be punished even if she had attacked the girl. She had started it with all her nonsense!

"You don't seriously expect no consequences do you? You beat on another student! Honestly I don't know what I'm going to do. You and your sister are just causing me all sorts of problems."

"She's not my sister! She's a stupid retard!"

"Scootaloo! That's not the kind of language I expect out of you!"

"I don't care!

"Well you should!"

Celestia growled and robbed her temples, feeling a migraine coming on. What was she doing wrong? Why were her children all running around punching people and starting fights? She used to think she was lucky that she had daughters because it meant she wouldn't have to worry about any sons she might have had from getting into fights and problems. It's seems she was sadly mistaken. Celestia turned towards her child and began addressing her but a sharp knock on her office drew her attention. She glanced at Scootaloo and decided she wasn't going anywhere. She took a few long strides to her office door and opened a bit.

"Uh hey Principal Celestia....Can I...talk to Scootaloo? It's kinda important...."

Scootaloo perked up but at the same time froze, recognizing the voice as her idol, Rainbow Dash. She did not want Rainbow to see her crying. Crying was totally not cool. She rubbed her face and tried her best to remove any traces of crying. Celestia munled something under her breath but allowed the student to enter her office.

"You have two minutes. You're supposed to be in class Ms. Dash."

"Yeah yeah, I'll be back in class before you know it.....Uh hey kid."

Rainbow Dash approached Scootaloo, however her normal confident attitude was gone, instead replaced by a girl who seemed incredibly awkward. It was odd to say the very least. Rainbow Dash sighed and rubbed the back of her head.

"Uh look kid, I just came to say sorry."

"S-sorry for what?"

Scootaloo was confused and beginning to get a bad feeling in her stomach. This couldn't be connected to the way she had been treated, was it?

"Uh I...look....um...Principal Celestia do you-"

"No." said Celestia, interrupting her student. She had an idea where this conversation was going and at that moment she was Scootaloo's mother and not her Principal. She wanted to hear what the girl had to say and she wasn't about to eavesdrop on her own office. Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to reply but closed it under the intense glare of Celestia.

"Uh right....Look, I may or may not be the reason why everyone is treating you like crap."

"What!??!"

"I uh figured out you were Celestia's kid yesterday when I was in detention with Shit...Shimmer. Principal Celestia appeared at the end of it and said she had to take you to to the doctors or something? So I put two and two together. Anyway I kinda told the girls and one thing lead to the next and Applejack and Rarity were saying they didn't want Applebloom and Sweetie Belle to hang out with you because they were worried that you were going to turn out like Sunset and then Pinkie Pie started texting everyone because she couldn't keep her mouth shut and well you know the rest."

Scootaloo felt tears beginning to fall and her lip was trembling. Of all people, it was Rainbow Dash who went and let the cat out of the bag?

"Why would you do that? My friends don't like me any more!"

"Hey I didn't do it intentionally! It just happened!"

"I HATE YOU!"

Scootaloo was now sobbing, she pushed herself out of the chair she was sitting on and launched herself into her mother's arms who wrapped her arms around her.

"I suggest you head back to class Ms. Dash. You've caused enough problems." she said, looking up at the older teenager. Rainbow Dash clenched her fists in response and straightened up, ready to retaliate but Celestia silently yet assertively pointed towards the door, motioning her to leave. The girl walked out angrily, slamming the door closed behind her. Normally she would give detention to anyone who would dare to do that but she was just more concern with her daughter. Celestia sighed, it seemed things were just getting crazier in the Solaris Household.

"And then let me guess, Celestia got Luna to take you home correct?" guessed Sunset as she finished listening to Scootaloo telling her day's events. It was sad that the girl was facing backlash for her actions but she wasn't the one who had went and told everyone that they were related...technically speaking. Sunset attempted to state her point but Scootaloo merely slammed the door in her face.

"This is all your fault! If you hadn't tried to enslave the school, none of this would have happened! I wish you would just leave!"

Maybe she intended for it to sting or maybe she didn't, but either way it hurt and at the same time Sunset knew that it was probably true and that Scootaloo's suggestion was pretty valid.

Whiskey and Talk

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The Solaris household was quiet. Too quiet and the fact that it was made Celestia a little bit uneasy. Not even the sound of Luna yelling at one of her games could be heard. No, it was near silent save for the house giving the occasional shudder or the hum of the fridge. Still at the same time she welcomed it, the last week had been hectic and the quiet was good for her pounding headache. Ever since word got around earlier that day and the night before that, emails and phone calls had been coming in from outraged parents, calling for Sunset to be expelled. No it wasn't because of the dance, parents were convinced that Celestia had played favorites and allowed Sunset to bully the other students with little to no consequences which was far from the truth.

Sunset had rarely been punished not because of favoritism but because it was hard to catch her in the act or get students to step forward. To others it would seem horrible that she would encourage students to come forward and get her daughter in trouble but the fact remained that while she loved Sunset, she wouldn't stand idly by and watch her abuse other students. There were consequences for her actions and she expected both of her daughters to own up to their faults. While she would protect them from harm, she would not protect them from facing the results of their actions. She of course mentioned this in the mass email she had sent to the parents of the student body but few seemed to believe her. More and more problems seemed to be appearing with every passing day.

Celestia sighed and pressed the power button on her monitor, switching it shut off. She couldn't take another moment of reading emails from enraged parents. She got up from her desk and made her way to her king sized bed, and laid down, her face in the pillows, not sure what to do. She honestly felt like she needed a vacation. A knock on her door pulled her away from thinking.

"Yes?" she called, turning her head towards the door.

"'Tis I! Your sister who has come bearing the gift of the gods themselves!"

"I have no idea what you mean but come in."

The door to the bedroom opened and Luna poked her head in before pulling the rest of herself inside with her. She closed the bedroom door and made her way to her sister's bed which she climbed into uninvited. It was then Celestia noticed that she had a paper bag with her, with the logo of the local convenience store slopped on the front. Luna must had of gone out at some point [Which she wouldn't have noticed either way because she had been too busy with the emails and phone calls and just thinking to check up on her sister] which would explain why Celestia didn't hear her usual yelling in the last few hours. .She rolled over to face her sister who placed the bag in front of her with a grin on her face.

"Is that wine?" she asked hopefully, she could use a drink. Luna shook her head which made her sister a bit disappointed. She reached into the bag and instead pulled out whiskey.

"I figured after this last week, you could use something stronger." Celestia pursed her lips. It's not that she hated whiskey it just was a little low on her preferred alcoholic beverages to drink. Truth be told she was a bit of a light weight and a wuss, preferring to either drink coolers, which were essentially fruit juices such as mango or peach mixed with alcohol, or wine. Her little sister often teased her about her inability to down tequila shots without sputtering and whining about how it burned. Luna laughed, seeing her sisters disappointment. She put her hand in the bag and pulled out two bottles of Coca-Cola. Ah, soda, while she didn't like whiskey much on it's own she enjoyed it quite a lot when mixed with delicious soda.

Celestia waited impatiently as her sister pulled out plastic cups and poured the drinks on her end table. She nearly snatched the drink out of her younger sister's hand and began eagerly sipping the cups contents. Oh how she needed this.

"So, how is everything going?"

Celestia rolled her eyes at her sister as she sipped her drink. Seriously? Was her sister oblivious or something?

"How do you think? I got emails coming left and right from angry parents, my oldest child attempted to take over the school and an alternate world, both of them are now suspended and I got an email earlier today requesting our presence in a board meeting. With Superintendent Faust and the board of directors. Not good sis, not good. "

"Ah yes, I remember getting that email too.....I assume they want to discuss the recent.....incident?"

"Why else would they call us in? Our teacher evaluations aren't due till the end of November and our quarterly review just passed. I highly doubt Lauren would drag in the board unless it was important."

"What are we going to tell her?"

"Same thing we told the parents and the students to go along with: Sunset's car malfunctioned and it drove into the front of the school."

"I still don't see how parents are believing that; Sunset doesn't even have a car or had one for that matter. Besides, aren't people curious about how large the whole is or why there are scorch marks?"

"Eh, I figure we'll just say the car exploded."

"And if the school board tries to hold us responsible and files an insurance claim and they discover that a) Sunset does not have a car in her name or b) that both of our cars are completely fine?"

"If that happens I'll think of something."

"Sister...."

"Don't worry, you know white lies are my specialty. Now.... about you...."

Luna glanced at Celestia confused, she set down her drink and raised an eyebrow. This was going to be interesting, she could just tell from the way her sister grew so cold and serious.

"What about me?"

"I need you to stop treating Sunset so coldly." The blue woman sighed, she should have been expecting this.

"Why? What matter does it make?"

"Well she's apart of the family, yes she's in trouble and I don't except you to dote on her but she lives here and she's your niece and I'd like you to spend some time with her."

"She's not my child though!"

"I didn't say she was now did I? I said she's your niece. Besides, are you not an adult? You're treating her like a child would treat another child who wronged them!"

"I am not a child!"

"Well the way you're acting towards her makes me think otherwise....Please Luna? She is a very nice girl underneath it all, you just gotta believe in me okay?"

Luna grumbled and crossed her arms and pouted. The sight made Celestia grin a bit, her sister was a bit of a child even if she denied it. The other woman relented and sighed, uncrossing her arms and picking up her drink.

"Fine, fine! I'll give her a chance." replied the younger sister in between sips of her whiskey and sprite.

"Good, that's my little sister. Now can you take her and Scootaloo clothes shopping and out on the town on Saturday?"

"Why don't you take them? Also wouldn't that be awarding them?"

"Because it will be a good bonding experience....and because it's going to be the sixteenth Saturday."

"Sixteenth? What doe...Oh. Oh.....I see. I understand but....I thought I was going to go with you?"

"No, I need to do this alone. I love you Lulu and I would love to have you there but I think it's time to tell her. Afterwards, when I come back. But I don't want to bring her along, it would...."

"I get it. This is big and it's going to be so sudden for her and she might not take it well. Might as well make it up to her with a good day to counteract the bad news."

"Exactly, and it might not go well either. I just hope the board knows better."

"They will, don't worry. You will tell me though, won't you? How it goes?"

"Of course little sister! Why would I keep that away from you?"

"Good, just making sure."

The sisters lapsed into silence. Suddenly, neither of them wanted to finish their drinks and fatigue was beginning to set onto both of them. Luna glanced at the blue oval, digital clock on the wall opposite of her sisters side of the bed which read 11:30 PM.

"I should probably be heading to bed." Luna started to get up from the bed but Celestia stopped her.

"Stay little sister? I don't want to be alone."

"You're having the nightmares again."

Celestia said nothing in response, at least at first, she merely began pulling back the blankets and crawling in, not bothering to get out of her suit. She pulled the blankets around her and breathed in the scent of the covers, lilac scented fabric softener.

"I thought I put it behind me years ago. I thought I was done, the nightmares, the episodes, the relapses but every time I think I've gotten past it, every time I have to go back to the court house and sit there and watch, I find myself back there. In that place. With him. Why can't I just forget Lulu? Why can I just live my life? Why can't I get up to pee in the middle of the night and not scream when I mistake my own reflection in the mirror for him? Whats wrong with me?"

Luna watched sadly as her older sister, the woman she admired above all [And was a tad bit jealous of] buried her face in the blanket and let out a strangled sob. She reached out and pulled her sister into a hug who eagerly accepted the contact. For once, she found herself as the shoulder to lean on instead of the other way around like it usual was. Despite being awkward when it came to comforting people, Luna managed to succeed in easing her sister's pain.

"Shhhh, it's all going to be all right. I promise, nothing is wrong with you." But both woman knew that was a lie because life was a tamed, forgiving thing. No, it dealt curve balls around every corner that it could and while it had it's ups, it also had many downs. And not even Luna could guess if a ball was coming around the corner of not for life was unpredictable.

Outings

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Before everyone knew it, it was Saturday. Scootaloo and Sunset had spent the last few days in solitary confinement, though it was mostly a personal choice for both of them. One felt guilty and the other felt sad. However what was different aside from the sad atmosphere was that while they usually clashed when they talked, they had been surprisingly calm towards each other, not a single fight concurring since neither of them were in the mood. Though, they hadn't spoken much due to them hiding away in their respective rooms. Celestia had also been off during the last few days, a lot more snappy and she always tired. If Luna was to guess, her sister was getting no sleep. And she would be right. When Saturday morning came around and Luna watched her sister throw her overnight carrier into her trunk, she could tell that her sister was a ball of nerves and was running on fumes.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come?" Celestia just shook her head as she closed the trunk and made her way around to the front
of her car.

"And who would watch the girls? I'll be fine sister, I love you."

"I love you too sister. Come home soon."

The younger sister had watched as her sister drove away in the early morning light, wondering if she would be fine on her own or able to handle the trip. Luna however wasn't too concerned because she had a back up plan. She had a feeling her sister would need someone to lean on, even if it wasn't her.

Celestia stared at the building in front of her, fingers clenching her steering wheel and knuckles beginning to turn white and hurt from her grip. The building was large, very large with thick concrete walls and high barbed fences that she would guess were also electrified. She glanced around and tried to take it all in, it had been a long time since she had stepped foot in this place. If she craned her head up a bit she could see watch towers and various personnel walking the ground. Memories began flooding back to the middle-aged woman and she felt the growing desire to upchuck beginning to form in her stomach.

"Ma'am? Identification and car registration please. I've already asked you twice."

Celestia jerked her head around. A concerned looking man with sandy brown hair and light lilac colored skin stood inside a tool-both window, placing his hand on his taser out of habit and concern. She shook her head and sighed as she stared into the rear-view mirrors. From the enraged expression of the driver behind her, she assumed that they were not happy about being forced to wait.

"Sorry sir, I didn't mean to space out....it's been a long time, since I've been here."

"No need to apologize, you're not the first Ma'am. I've seen that look on many faces before. I still need your I.D and registration though."

Celestia said nothing, she just reached over and grabbed the required items off of her dashboard where she had put them earlier and handed them over. Several cars behind her started honking but she ignored them. The man took the documents and read them over for a moment before handing them back and handing Celestia a ticket.

"Put it in your front window and make sure the number serial is facing upwards so that parking lot security can see it. You can go in." said the man as he handed back the items. She still didn't speak, she just shoved the items into her glove compartment and drove through the gate, entering the parking lot out front of the building. Parking was easy to find and she found one close to the front doors. She turned off the ignition and sat in her car for a few minutes, staring at the building once more.

This was it, this was the day. She was....not ready. Not one bit. But she had no choice, well she did but she knew it was time she faced this and if she didn't then it could mean that his chances of freedom were greater. Celestia grabbed her purse and open the door of her car. The air was a lot like her emotions. Cold, numbing and biting. With the grace of a newborn kitten, Celestia began her walk towards the large doors, their presence intimidating. Once she stepped through those doors, there was no going back. Slamming the car door behind her, Celestia began the walk towards the doors to Cloudsdale Maximum Security Prison.

"Where's Celestia?" Celestia's disappearance did not go unnoticed by Sunset and it would have been surprising to Luna if it had. Luna set down her coffee and her newspaper briefly to glance over Sunset who stood in the kitchen doorway, dressed in a purple tank top and black yoga pants; her choice of pajamas. She rubbed her eyes as she entered the kitchen, confused as to why the woman who always was up before dawn making breakfast wasn't there.

"Cloudsdale."

"Cloudsdale? Why is she all the way in Cloudsdale? Isn't that two hours away? It's only eight o'clock in the morning."

"She had....business to attend to. Which is why she's already gone; as you said it's four hours away. Don't worry about it, it's nothing important." That was a lie of course but what Celestia was really doing was no ones business but her own and to an extent Luna's. Sunset locked eyes with her and both knew Luna was lying but thankfully, Sunset didn't seem too concerned or interested in getting to the bottom of the mystery, which Luna was grateful for.

"Now. Can you go wake up Scootaloo please and get ready?"

"Ready? Are we going somewhere?"

"Yes, the outlet mall in Wakefield to start, we have a full day of things to do."

"Why are we going to Wakefield?" Luna sighed, this girl and her natural curiosity! She had no time to play twenty questions. She sipped her coffee and gestured for her to leave with a wave of her hand.

"Celestia wants me to buy you both new school clothes and I thought it would be fun. Besides, Wakefield has that old fashioned 50's diner. You know the one with the roller-rink? It will be fun. Now, Sunset please go wake up your sister. I want to be out of here by nine thirty at the very latest."

Not soon long after, they piled themselves into Luna's 1994 Saturn SL. Honestly she could use a new car as the current one barely ran and cost thousands of dollars in repairs but Luna was attached to it. It brought back memories, both good and bad. The trio flew down the highway with Sunset and Scootaloo in back and Luna in front. Luna, who rarely wore anything but business suits in public, was wearing jeans and a soft blue sweater and she had also put her hair in a ponytail. It was a quite rare sight to see her hair up and in such casual clothing....Well outside of the house anyway, she was always in her underwear or pajamas at home. The car was silent save for the sound of chewing; Luna had decided McDonalds would make a better breakfast then whatever she could make. There was a reason why Celestia made most of the meals. It wasn't that Luna didn't try cooking for the family, it was that every time she did an angel died.

Sunset finished off her breakfast sandwich and placed the wrapper into the bag Luna was using as their trash bag. With her breakfast over, she found herself wondering what to do. She had no music to listen to nor had she thought to bring a book to read. Plus, she wasn't one for staring out at the window at the scenery. So that meant either sitting in awkward silence for the duration of the trip or attempting to talk to Luna and Scootaloo.

"So uh.....You said we're going to be doing other things, like what?"

Luna glanced back at her in the mirror briefly; trying not to spend too much time looking away from the road.

"Well, Celestia says we need to make arrangements to get the rest of your personal items from the landlord and give him the release form."

"Release form? What is she, some sort of criminal?" spoke up Scootaloo who was still eating her own sandwich. Bits of food flew out of her mouth as she spoke, hitting Sunset in the face. Her face was grimace as she rubbed her face with the sleeve of her jacket in an attempt to clean it.

"You don't need to spit food at me. And no, it's a legal document to protect a tenant and their landlord. By signing it, I can't go and file a claim saying I was kicked out with no cause but it also prevents Mr. Rich from charging me with additional fees or holding my items hostage. Not that he would but he likes making sure everything is airtight."

"What happens if you don't sign it?"

"Well I don't sign it. I'm a minor, Celestia signed it, we just have to give it to him. But if we don't give him the form, then Mr. Rich could continue to charge rent or maintenance and all that, legally until the release form was signed or the lease ran out."

"Huh."

The car lapsed once more into silence and it stayed that way until they arrived in Wakefield, a small little town roughly an hour away from Canterlot, in between the city and the town of Poneville. Wakefield had everything a small town usually had; a few churches, restaurants, plenty of businesses and residences even a police station, town hall and fire station. It however did not have a high school oddly enough. It had a two daycares and two elementary schools but no high school. Meaning teenagers had to go to one of Canterlot's schools or to the high school in Poneville. Buildings in Wakefield were a tad on the shabby side but not in a bad way; the old stone buildings covered in ivy gave off the feeling of coziness and quaintness. However, one building stood out, with it's smooth, new walls that didn't fit in with the other buildings. The Wakefield Outlet mall, a recent addition to the town that had been welcomed eagerly by the residents because it meant more jobs and revenue.

The mall had sixty-two businesses inside, ranging from clothing stores, to video game and tech stores , to various fast food outlets that offered their food in the food court. One of the most popular stores in the mall was Silence. A clothing store that tailored to males, females, kids and elders. What made it so popular were the prices; Silence resold items but not like a second-hand shop did, they bought sale items and various leftover items from other stores for cheap and sold them for a higher price. Though the prices were still lower then what they would be if in another store. The only downside was that sometimes sizes or choices were limited depending on what the store managed to get in but most of the time there were some really nice things.

Like any other weekend, the mall was full of students and people alike, going about their business. Luna managed to find a parking spot though it took them a good ten minutes and then they headed inside towards the Silence, which was their intended target. As they stepped into the store they discovered that it wasn't any less filled with people, all trying to get the best deals. The changing rooms and check outs were both backed up. Luna sighed. Nothing she could do; they would just have to deal with it.

"Okay. Game plan girls. Your mom has instructed I buy you clothes. School clothes. So, here's what's going to happen. I know you're both teenagers but I'm still responsible for you, I don't mind if you run around the store but please don't leave it without telling me. I don't need your mother finding out I lost her children. Now, let's get this over with before the afternoon wave of people start arriving and we have to deal with longer lines."

Celestia stood awkwardly as she felt a female prison guard pat her up and down, looking for contraband and any item that could be potentially dangerous. It was awkward to say the least, to be felt up even if it was for legitimate reasons. After a few minutes and many instances where a hand was placed in an area where she preferred it wasn't, the guard was satisfied that she wasn't a risk.

"You're clear ma'am. You can now return to the waiting room and wait for someone to get you for the hearing." Celestia nodded and followed the woman out of the small room, one of many that they used to search visitors in and into the waiting area. It looked like any other waiting room with plush looking chairs that were actually uncomfortable, potted plants and old magazines. She didn't bother to pick up a magazine like she would normally do when in a waiting area. Instead sat down and began clenching her fists and breathing heavily.

It was going to be okay, it had to be. But yet, as she stared at the door that separated visitors from the rest of the prison, she knew that it wasn't. For the first time in thirteen years, she was going to see him. Panic was beginning to set in and she was feeling as though she could collapse or find herself bolting at any minute though she would have welcomed either at that moment.

"Well if it isn't Celestia! Oh and I see you're trying a new look! Loving the startled deer look!" Celestia didn't have to even look up to see who was talking to her, she could recognize that voice anywhere. She turned her head towards the entrance of the waiting room. In the doorway stood Discord. Discord was an old friend of Celestia's who happened to be an abstract painter and a talented one at that, though they did have their problems. Like always, the man with the white hair and scraggly beard was wearing an odd outfit. Today it was a brown tweed suit that looked a little wrinkly. Under his suit, he wore a purple polka-dotted shit and looking down, she discovered he was wearing sandals with socks.

And not matching socks either, one had stripes and the other simply blue. Under one arm he held a black top hat and the other he held a suitcase. His odd attire attracted the attention of everyone else in the room who in turn looked at him warily. Celestia however was used to it; Discord had always been eccentric and strange but she had grown used to the artist's attitude ages ago.

"D-Discord what are you do-doing here?"

"Well my dear Celestia, nice to see you too! I am doing great, thank you for asking!" said the man in return, making his way over to Celestia and sitting down next to her.

"Discord it's not that I'm not glad to see you it's just....unexpected."

"My dear, my middle name is Unexpected! Or was it Sheogorath? I can never remember."

"Sheogorath? What type of middle name is that?"

"Oh well, my parents were very insane you could say. Liked giving their children odd names like the one they gave my brother, Cthulhu. You'd like him." Celestia raised an eyebrow at that statement because as far as she knew Discord was an only child.

"I didn't know you had siblings."

"Hmm? Siblings? Oh no, I don't have any."

"But you just....never mind..." Celestia always forgot how confusing and odd conversations with Discord could be. And disturbing as well, honestly sometimes she wondered what went on in that brain of his but she preferred not to know.

"You never answered my question."

"Hmm? Which one? Oh, why I'm here. Well why else, to see my dearest friend Celestia! What other reason would I have?" Celestia stared at him, her eyes burning into him. He sighed and awkwardly relented.

"Okay, okay. Luna sent me. She knew I would be in the area because of one of my art exhibits so she asked me to keep you company." Discords voice got quiet and silence entered the space between the two. Celestia was honestly surprised Luna had sent someone to watch over her and while she wanted to be angry with her sister for treating her like a baby, she didn't have enough energy to be angry. She was too exhausted from the emotional toil that this day had caused her in the days leading up to it. Nightmares, paranoia, crying every time she found herself alone with her thoughts.

"Celestia?" She didn't reply, she just looked at him in response to her name being said. Discord took that as a silent 'what?' and continued speaking.

"It'll be fine. Don't worry!"

"N-No. No Discord, I don't think it's ever going to be over." Her lips quivered and her body began to shake as the first of the tears began spilling forth from her eyes. Celestia let out pitiful sobs as Discord let her rest her tired head on his shoulder. It was going to be a long day, he could just tell.
-

"For the last time no!"

"Oh come on!"

Sunset stood a few feet away from Scootaloo and Luna who were engaged in a heated argument. Their argument was situated around a very nice looking scooter that stood on display inside Scootalong, a store that sold bicycles and scooters. The scooter was apparently called the Mars: LLX Supreme. It was twice the size of Scootaloo's scooter which was a little dinky thing that was barely held together by it's nails and bolts. This scooter was made of a light-weight steel frame and it had a chrome finish with fire painted on the sides. The box next to the display item read that it was one of the fastest scooter models on the market and it had precision breaking and steering.

"No, no, no, no! I will not spend money on a Scooter for you! Not only am I not, your mother, nor do I have the money!"

"But Aunt Luna, I don't need clothes! Can't we return them for money? Please? I'll love you!"

"Are you deaf? I've told you nearly twenty times; no! I'm not getting yelled at by Celestia when she finds out I spent the money on a three hundred dollar scooter!"

"But my current scooter is useless and I need this! It's worth it Aunty!"

"Scootaloo, ask me again and I will call your mother!"

"But..."

"No! Now if you don't stop I'm taking you home and I will ground you."

"You're not my mom, you can't ground me!"

"Your mother left me in charge!"

Sunset at this time had lost all interest in the conversation and now was instead looking at the other various display stands. Honestly, bicycles and scooters didn't interest her much and she found herself bored as looked through the merchandise. She briefly turned back to look at Scootaloo and Luna but was not surprised to find that they were still fighting. She also doubted they noticed her walk off. A soft gurgle attracted Sunset's attention. Her stomach was growling and that meant she was hungry.

She took a second glance at her family. Perhaps she should get some food? If she recalled there was an ice cream shop a few stores down and her purse had a twenty dollar bill in it. Satisfied they wouldn't notice her in the short time it would take to get a cone, she headed out of the shop and into the mall. Besides, maybe if she brought them back some ice cream Luna wouldn't be too mad.
-

Sunset smiled as she stepped up away from the counter to Dairy Queen, a tray of hot, delicious chocolate sundaes in her hands. Maybe the sundaes would put them all in a better mood, she knew everyone had been a bit down the last few days. Happily she began the short walk back to the store, hoping that Luna and Scootaloo were in the same place as before. 'I hoped they aren't still fight, it's really-' Sunset's train of thought was cut off when she found herself tripping on a seemingly invisible object, sending her and the sundaes flying.

Sunset hit the ground with a thud and her delicious frozen treats made a large 'splat' sound when they hit the ground with force, spilling everywhere. Sunset growled as she grasped her shoulder which stung from the force of hitting the ground. She turned to examine the cause of her fall but found that it was a person rather then an object that was responsible. More specifically it had been someone's foot. And that someone was Beatrix Lulamoon.

The girl grinned down at Sunset and not in a nice way, no her expression was malicious and dark. Sunset snarled and started to get up but Trixie pushed her back down with her foot, resting it on her stomach.

"Hey, fuck off! Let me up!

"Not so tough when you're on the bottom now are you Shimmer?" The blue teen grinned as she kicked Sunset in the ribs. She gasped as pain racked her body. Trixie smirked as she watched her nemesis roll over and grab her sides. She reached out to kick her again but instead found herself against the floor, letting out a small scream as a object hit her in the back of the head. A few feet away from the pair, a young woman stood, with a high heel in her hand. A woman who seemed incredibly familiar yet unplaceable. Her other high heel was missing from her foot though Sunset surmised that was what used to hit Trixie.

Her hair was a light pink and flowed gracefully down her back and her skin was snow white and incredibly smooth and unblemished. The new girl had light purple eyes which were furrowed in an angry expression. Her face was beautiful, unlike anything she had seen with full lips, large eyes and a slender nose and a heart shaped face. Sunset knew her, at least she was sure she had seen the girl somewhere. Then it clicked in her mind. She didn't know her! Not personally but still! It was....

"Fleur De Lis?!?" Trixie gaped in amazement as she too recognized the young supermodel. Sunset had seen her fashion spreads in a few magazines like vogue. She was a recent, up and coming teenager who had been catapulted from rich heir to even richer supermodel. Oddly enough, she was still in school and eager to go to college and become a doctor. Or so the news article she had read about her had said. Sunset was surprised that a model like her would be at a mall and not shopping at some high end boutique in upper Canterlot.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she said, yelling at Trixie. The girl gaped in horror and astonishment as the beautiful woman made her way over to the pair.

"I-I don't know what you mean!"

"No! I saw you tripping and kicking her!"

"But...I..."

"I suggest you get out of here, I'm sure security is on their way."

Trixie scrambled to her feet and dashed away, pushing past people who had been watching on the scuffle but hadn't gotten involved which was a little annoying. Once she was gone, Fleur reached out her hands towards Sunset, gesturing for her to take her hands so that she could let her up. Blushing from embarrassment, Sunset accepted the help up.

"U-uh thank y-you." said Sunset, looking away to hide the redness in her cheeks. Fleur gave her a full smile which seemed to be practically glowing given how white her teeth were.

"No problem. Here, you have blood on your face." said Fleur, opening her Louis Vuitton hand bag and pulling out an elegant embroidered handkerchief, handing it to Sunset who sheepishly took it.

"Is that her?" Both of them turned and noticed a group of security guards that were looking at them. Next to them was an annoyed Luna who had her arms crossed and an amused looking Scootaloo. 'Aunt Lulu' was not happy and none of the security officers seemed happy other.

"Sunset, what did you do?" she said as she approached the girl. Of course, Luna naturally assumed that just because she had disappeared that Sunset was responsible for the scuffle between her and Trixie.

"Nothing, believe it or not. I was just getting ice cream for us, when guess who suddenly appeared and decided tripping me and kicking me in the ribs would be fun? Don't answer, I'll tell you. Trixie Lulamoon."

"So she just attacked you out of nowhere? I find that hard to believe."

"Actually that is what happened. I witnessed the entire event." Luna jerked her head and took notice of the girl next to Sunset, looking her up and down with a critical eye.

"And who would you be?" she asked after a moment, suspicious of this mysterious woman.

"Fleur De Lis, Crystal Empire Academy junior student and local model." Her response was meet with a blank stare from everyone. Clearly they seemed to be unconvinced or unimpressed by her answer. Silently, Fleur reached into her hand bag and pulled out a card and a magazine and handed them to Luna.

The card was a student ID card for Crystal Empire Academy and read Fleur's name as well as displayed her picture. The magazine was a recent issue of the Canterlot Socialite, a local magazine which had a picture of the girl on the cover sitting in a a chesterfield chair in an elegant sleeveless sundress and expensive looking jewelry. Inside the magazine there were a few more pictures of her and a small article about her rise to stardom in the short time she had been a model. Luna blinked and handed the items back to Fleur after a moment of studying them.

"You look a lot older then your age."

"I get that a lot. Most people assume I'm in my mid-twenties and can't believe I'm nearly seventeen."

"Uh I hate to intrude, but we need to know what happened." They turned their attention to the security officers who were standing around a bit impatiently. They obviously were not happy.

"Like I said officers, I can tell you what I saw. I'm sure others can collaborate or at least hopefully they will. I was headed towards Starbucks when I looked up in time to see that a girl with blue skin following around this girl. At first I thought nothing of it, assuming they were friends but I noticed that she seemed to actually trying her best to make sure that s...I'm sorry, this is is rude. I don't even know your name and I feel awful referring to you as 'she' or 'this girl.' Can I get your name?"

"Oh, um..it's uh...Sunset Sh-shimmer."

"Right, well Sunny here was being followed by that other girl....Trixie right? Who was going out of her way to make sure that Sunny didn't see her. Every time she turned around or looked up, she would hide behind other people or the kiosks. Honestly, it made me suspicious so I started following them and then when Sunny bought some ice cream, the girl slipped behind her as she walked away and deliberately tripped her by putting her foot in front of Sunny's. Then she started kicking her when she was down then I admittingly threw my shoe at her which was not exactly the smartest thing to do and then she ran off. And now we're here."

"Okay....Uh can anyone disprove this story?" Silence greeted Mark, the security guard asking the questions and the head of the mall's security force. He sighed and shook his head.

"Well no one seems to be objecting to the story so I won't throw you out of the mall today. And I'll keep my eye out for the other girl but next time we might not be so forgiving. Uh, don't worry about the ice cream. I'm sure some one from the cleaning crew has already been paged. Carry on." The guards left quickly, returning to their stations and patrols. Once Luna was sure they were gone she turned to Sunset and began ripping her a new one.

"Didn't I tell you not to run off?!?"

"I'm sorry! I just thought I'd get us some ice cream because we've all been a bit...off these last few days."

"Well why didn't you tell me?"

"You seemed to be pretty....engaged with Scootaloo." Luna scowled and rolled her eyes. Honestly, she was in no mood to fight. They still had so much shit to do that day and she actually thought Sunset's intended gesture was a bit touching though she would not admit it.

"Well, we should be going but I'm afraid we must be going. Good day Ms. De Lis." said Luna, dismissing the teenager who was in the midst of putting her shoes back on and straightening her dress.

"Actually, I was wondering if you three would like to have lunch with me."

"What?" Aunt and nieces all looked confused to as why they were being offered a meal invitation. Sunset was grateful for her help but they were essentially strangers and usually it was the person who had been attacked that offered the meal, awarding their hero for saving them. Not the other way around.

"I don't think that that would be appropriate."

"Why not? My treat. If you're worried about me being some crazy murderer, might I remind you that I'm just a teenager and you know who I am?"

"Still, we cannot accept your offer. It would just not be right."
-

Luna smiled politely as the waiter showed them to their table. A very posh waiter who was wearing an expensive suit and seemed to be turning his nose up at the sight of her and her nieces in normal, middle-class clothing. Obviously this place was for rich people and the little family couldn't be more out of place with their attire. Luna and Sunset felt while their host and Scootaloo who seemed completely comfortable. One of them because she was used to expensive dinners in equally expensive buildings and the other not being really impressed by a expensive outfits and little appetizers that contained foreign ingredients. Luna sighed, this was going to be a long lunch, she could just tell.
-

"Celestia Solaris?" Her heart was in her throat and her body was shaking with fear. Celestia removed her head from Discords shoulder which she had been laying against for the past twenty minutes and got up to greet the security guard holding a clipboard. This was it, it was time. Discord got up to follow her as they began entering the actual prison but the guards stopped him."

"Sorry, sir you're not allowed in. Unless....you are a Ms. Solaris correct?" asked the security guard to Celestia who let out a bitter laugh in response.

"Are you asking if we're married? No. Not by a long shot." said Celestia. She loved Discord intensely but the thought of being intimately involved with him made her shudder. It wasn't that he was unattractive, he was actually very handsome in his own way but it was the fact that she thought of him as a brother and like any actual siblings would, it was extremely disturbing think about your brother or sister naked or being in love with them.

"Well then, he is going to have to wait here."

"Don't worry Celestia, I'll be here when you get back and when you do we can discuss what color yarn to braid into our hair when we have our sleepover tonight!" She tried giving him a smile but she failed to do so. With no further words, Celestia allowed herself to be lead through the halls of the prison. The entire time, she had begun sweating and she felt the hysteria setting in. It was going to be fine. Completely. He would be in cuffs, sh'd be sitting away from him and she didn't even need to look at him. All she had to do was read the letter she had written and stuffed into her pocket and then she could fade away and never come back. It was going to be easy.

"We're here." Celestia shook her head clear of any thoughts and took in the site of a new door. They had passed many doors to get to this one but this one stood out because it contained her greatest foe on the other side of it. Outside, waiting for them was a single individual. Well, prison guards were outside but they weren't waiting for Celestia like the man in the dark grey suit and slicked back hair was. The two shook hands as Celestia came to a halt in front of him.

"Celestia, great that you're here. I honestly didn't know if you'd show up."

"Neither did I."

"Well, before we go in, we sh-" the nameless man was cut off by Celestia.

"No, I already know what I need to say and do. I don't need any more preparation. Let's get this over with before I upchuck and start crying like a little baby."

"Are you sure? He is already inside with his lawyer."

"No but let's get this started Mr. Leroy." The man who who went by the name of David Leroy glanced worriedly at her but other wise kept his mouth shut. He opened the door and gestured Celestia inside. When she entered, she was essentially faced with a miniature court room. Around her, people were waiting, silently watching her. Out of all the faces, the members of the parole board, the guards and the lawyers, one face stood out among the rest. His face. He was staring at her with such amusement and happiness. He was enjoying the tormented look on her face as their eyes locked.

"Hello Celestia. It's been a long time hasn't it?"

"Tirek."

Thirteen years had changed them both. Celestia was older, worn and not nearly as carefree and spirited as she had once been. She had once been a happy woman without a care in the world. During high school she had been a stereotypical dumb cheerleader who cared more about her weight then her grades. Now, most of her spunk had died away, replaced with sobriety and determination. Once she wore short skirts and low cut shirts, now she mostly wore mom jeans or suits.

Tirek who had once been a fit, attractive man with large muscles and a charismatic bastard was now a lot thinner though he still had some of his muscle mass left. The man had let his white and black hair to go from luscious to dirty and flat. For the occasion, he was dressed in a black suit and surprisingly he was clean shaven. In all the time she had seen him in the past, he had always had some sort of beard whether it was a goatee or a full beard. He also no longer wore his nose ring which was odd but not unexpected because prisons didn't allow inmates to have piercings.

The two held direct eye contact for a few seconds before Celestia looked away. Staring at him was a lot like staring at the sun. Not because he shone brightly but because when she looked at both of them, it brought on pain. Tirek gave a small smirk but Celestia greeted him with silence. Mr. Leroy stepped into the room and took Celestia's arm, directing her over to one of the seats that was placed facing a table that sat six individuals, all holding papers and looking important. The parole board members. They would decided how this hearing would end and whether or not Tirek would continue to wasting away or his freedom, which he did not deserve. Next to the table for the members was Tirek's table but thankfully it was also set forward. She wouldn't have to deal with him staring at her during this thing, not until the end when they dragged him back to his cell.

One of the people on the parole board got up, a man with a short salt and pepper hair cut and a fine grey suit and faced the people in the room. He motioned for Tirek to sit and face forward and urged every to find their places. Tirek and his lawyer sat and Mr. Leroy took his place next to Celestia. He said something to Celestia but she didn't hear it, she was too busy staring off into space, trying to will herself away and focusing on keeping her emotions inside.
-

Any one who said that the more expensive something got, the better it was, happened to be right. Scootaloo moaned contently as she popped a fork full of lobster in to her mouth. Fleur laughed as she watched the girl devour the food with such vigor. Nearby a middle aged couple looked at them with disgust but if any of them had noticed, they wouldn't have had cared.

"So, you're a CHS Student?" asked Fleur, turning her attention to Sunset who was trying her best to eat her salad without embarrassing herself like Scootaloo was. She nodded as she stabbed a baby tomato with her fork and popped it in to her mouth.

"Yeah, so is Scootaloo."

"Let me guess, freshman and senior?"

"Actually, eight grader and junior."

"Really? Well I guess I was close."

Small talk had been relatively awkward for Sunset and Scootaloo at first, with both awkwardly trying to think of something to say. When their food arrived, it had been slightly better because they had an excuse to focus their attention elsewhere. It had been Luna who had initiated small talk with Fleur, both talking about Crystal Empire Academy and various other things. Along the way they managed to rope in the two girls and slowly the awkwardness died away. Sunset was surprised about how nice the girl was.

During the course of their lunch she learned that Fleur was not only a model and a rich heiress, she also was extremely compassionate and almost all of the money she made from modeling, interviews and photo shoots went towards a multitude of charities. She had originally taken up modeling for that purpose, not out of the desire to be adored by all like Sunset had imagined. And to top it off, she was also from France and live there until her freshman year in High School. Honestly, that confused her as Fleur seemed to have a perfect American accent.

"It'z all about zee practice. Most American', 'ey all seem to 'ate foreign accents so I mask my accent." she had said, switching to her true, unfiltered voice when Sunset asked. It was surprising how different she sounded with the French accent but it made Fleur seem even more gorgeous and lovely then she already was. Sunset would admit, there was a small possibility she had a crush on the other girl. After all, how often did a beautiful French model come to your rescue and then take you out to lunch? Not often, that was sure!

"In truth, I've got it down to an art. I actually no longer have to think about it. I do occasionally have a slip up but for the most part, it's as natural as breathing."

"I actually think your accent is quite lovely, it's a shame that accents hold such a stigma in our country." said Luna, shaking her head and sighing.

"Oui. But at least it allows people to understand me better. Besides, I don't mind much anymore. Oh, this salad is divine, no?" said Fleur, changing the subject.

"Yes, it is quite delicious." said Sunset agreeing. Excluding Scootaloo, who had decided to get lobster of all things, everyone else had decided on the same salad for lunch along with a soup, though they all got different ones. Sunset couldn't remember the fancy name for it, but it had thick lettuce leaves, some sort of vinaigrette dressing and a variety of vegetables like tomatoes and cucumbers. It had to be one of the best salads she had tasted, and Sunset had lived in a castle! 'It goes nice with my mushroom soup' she thought, which was sadly nearly gone. Soon, everyone was done their lunch and reluctantly everyone got up to leave, gathering their things.

"So this is where we part ways I suppose?" said Sunset to Fleur as they watched towards the exit of the resturant, Café Lune Rouge.

"Perhaps....Say do you like pool parties?"

"Pool parties? In the fall?"

"It wouldn't be outside silly, My family has an indoor pool and garden. My parents are having a pool party next week and I would love for you all to come."

"I don't think that would be right Ms. De Lis. I highly doubt your parents would appreciate us at your...soiree." spoke up Luna.

"No, no! They would love it, trust me. I expect to see you all there, don't worry you won't be out of place. And bring some guests!" Before anyone could say anything, Fleur opened her purse and pushed a small card into Sunset's hands.

"My mother's business card; not really important, it has my address! See you soon!" No sooner then she had, did she turn on her heel and leave through the large, ornate doors to the parking lot, leaving Sunset with a blush on her face. One thing was clear though, she most certainly did have a crush on the model!
-

"Mr. Tirek, would you like to give a statement in conjunction with your appeal for parole?" Celestia was pulled back from her imaginary world that she had spent the last hour in, as both the Tirek's and his lawyer debated with the board on what they wanted out of the hearing and what his release had entailed. She had barely paid attention, more focused on mapping out constellations with the dirt stains on the ceiling. She quietly directed her eyes towards Tirek, the chains on his cuffs clanking as he straightened his tie and stood up at his table.

"Yes I would, if you'd allow me."

"Very well, you may proceed."

Celestia couldn't read what was on it, but she saw him take a piece of paper from his lawyer, no doubt his testimony wrote out on paper. She wondered if the lawyer had written it for him, or he had done it himself. It didn't matter either way at the end of the day. Celestia watched, or rather listened as he gave his speech.

"Members of the Parole Board. I have spent a little over thirteen years in this prison, wasting away and paying for my crimes. I won't lie, I feel I deserve to be here after all that I've done but I also feel like I'm a changed man and I should have my chance at freedom, to turn over a new leaf and have a life outside out of these walls. In the last few years, I have found god and have taken the steps to repent my sins. I know I ha-" Celestia zoned out once more. Found God? Changed man? She honestly had never heard bigger bullshit in her entire life. Did any one actual believe his lies? She knew Tirek hadn't changed, she could see it in his eyes and demeanor. A person like him, did not change, they merely developed new ways to fool people.

"Celestia?" She glanced to her left, Mr. Leroy was staring at her, concerned. She realized that she was gripping the arm rests of her chair and her teeth were clenched. She scanned the room and realized most everyone had their eyes on her, including him. She released her grip and straightened her back.

"Yes, Mr. Leroy?" she asked, trying to feign that anything had been wrong by dusting off imaginary dirt from her pant leg.

"The board members want to know if you're going to put forward a victim testimony." he said, whispering to her. Ah, that would explain why everyone was looking at her expectantly. She stood up, her back stiff from sitting, both in the room and in the car and began walking towards the parole board members."

"Yes, yes I would."
-

Discord was absolutely bored. There was nothing to do beside read old magazines in the little prison waiting room and old magazines did not interest him in the slightest. Sure, there was an old, barely functioning coffee machine that gave out watered down espressos or teas, if they could even be called that due to the fact that it was absolutely horrendous stuff but that was it. Still, it had been the only thing remotely interesting enough to distract him. So he had taken to sitting on the uncomfortable seats, sipping away at a coffee while trying to entertain himself by pretending that all the prison guards and staff were all characters on a soap opera. So far, he had came to the conclusion that the cranky old woman behind the secretary desk was secretly the mother of the other, younger secretary and had been forced to give up her daughter because she had been the result of an affair with a rich sugar daddy.

The two guards guarding the door to the actual prison, were actually twins Discord decided. The bigger one, had been in a tragic accident, perhaps involving a hot woman and a jet-skii and had been thought to have died but in truth he had lived and received facial surgery. His brother most likely had no idea that his dead twin was standing next to him or that he was secretly plotting his demise because he wasn't actually his twin but his evil uncle who was planning murdering him.

The young woman with the brown hair and pink skin, dressed in sunglasses and a dark grey suit, was most likely there to blackmail the warden of the prison into leaving his wife and marrying her by revealing their affair to the wife if he didn't. Too bad she didn't know that the warden never had a wife to begin with and it was all a guise to learn all her secrets and exploit her when the time was right.

Discord was just about to create a background story for the old man in the checkered suit when the door separating him from the rest of the prison swung open and Celestia stepped out, followed by a prison guard. In a matter of a few hours, she seemed to have aged ten years, the bags under her eyes more prominent and the creases on her face wider then before. She paid him no attention as she entered the room, she just walked past him and made her way out of the prison. Discord scrambled after her, trying to get her attention.

"Celestia...Celestia?"

The woman with the multi-hued hair paused briefly and swung herself around to face Discord. There was a coldness in her eyes, in her face. It was as if all the life had been sucked out of her and been replaced by a never ending void of darkness.

"I have to get home Discord."

"But-"

"I'm going home. I suggest you do the same. Have a good day Discord." With no final words, she turned on her heels and quickly continued on her journey back to her car, leaving Discord behind to figure out her sudden change of demeanor. He could only guess that something went wrong with the hearing. He just hoped it wasn't as bad as he feared.
-

"...god damn it, that's cheating!"

"Using a blue shell isn't cheating, if it was cheating it wouldn't be in the game!"

The woman known as Luna Equuis laughed as she watched her nieces fight over the game of Mario Kart Double Dash that they were playing. After returning from their shopping trip and lunch with Fleur De Lis, they had stopped by Mr. Riches office and made arrangements to have the apartment furniture dropped off on Wednesday afternoon while they took the smaller things like Sunset's books and bedding. It was while they were shifting through her closet did they discover an old Nintendo Gamecube complete with cords, controllers and a few games. Sunset had been honestly confused to find it, not sure where she had acquired it. Still, they brought it home with them anyway and with none of them with anything to do, they had decided to fire it up in the living room. It surprisingly still worked and they soon found themselves lost in the game of Mario Kart Double Dash.

That was when Luna realized something, that her nieces were worthy competitors. Luna prided herself on being an extensive gamer even if she would never admit it to anyone outside of her sister. If one were to start up her Xbox or PlayStation, they would realize she had many awards and achievements for her superior skills in games. Regardless if she was playing against others in Halo or Call of Duty, she had always been a fierce player and only occasionally came upon someone she couldn't defeat. So the fact that her nieces had managed to beat her in several races so far was both unacceptable and prideful. Still, no matter what the cost, she would destroy them.

So far they had played through many of the classic maps like Luigi Circuit but now they were going toe-to-toe on the infamous Rainbow Roads map. No guardrails, no smooth track, just sheer insanity. Currently, Sunset was in the lead, after having used a blue shell to knock Scootaloo out of first place and off the track. Luna was close behind and Scootaloo was struggling to catch up with them after she had been knocked off. Luna smirked as she approached Sunset, merely centimeters behind her cart. Her grin became bigger as they passed over the item blocks and she picked up a red shell. She let out a loud cackle, the finish line was close and she was about to secure her victory. Sunset let out a small whimper as she realized that Luna was about to unleash the shell upon her. With only a banana at her disposal, Sunset knew there was a chance that if she didn't use the banana quickly and if she didn't place it properly behind her, she could lose the race, allowing Luna victory.

A silent match took place between the two, as both got ready to unleash their attacks on the other and cross the finish line which was visible up a head. With a shout of triumph, Luna released her shell, sending flying towards Sunset. But at that moment, Sunset also had thrown the banana behind her. In a matter of seconds, Sunset was hit with the shell and Luna drove into the Banana. Both of them went spinning and flying, throwing them off the side of the road.

"NO!" screamed Luna as she watched her character, Toad, plummet to his death. She had been so close to securing victory! Sunset wasn't fairing any better as she sadly watched Peach and her cart respawn. Unfortunately for them, Scootaloo had managed to catch up in the small time it took for their characters to respawn on the track and by the time they did, Scootaloo had zipped by them and across the finish line.

"YES! HA HA! VICTORY IS MINE, ALL MUST BOW BEFORE MY AWESOMENESS!" screamed the purple haired girl, going from sitting on the sectional couch to standing on it. She thrusted her arm in the air and held her controller up like a warrior would with a sword. Luna pouted as she crossed the finish line behind Scootaloo. This was not acceptable, she was the Queen of Gaming! Like a child, Luna threw down her controller and crossed her arms. Sunset wasn't as a sore loser as her aunt but she still felt a little bummed out. However, as she watched Scootaloo do her victory dance, an idea began forming in her head. Scootaloo had won fair and square buy who said they couldn't dethrone her?

Quickly, Sunset leaned over to Luna and mumbled something in her ear, a large grin on her face. Scootaloo at once noticed this, her euphoria from winning dying down as she watched a feral smile grow on her aunt's face as she listened to whatever Sunset had to say. What was going on? Scootaloo was getting a bad feeling, that something was about to happen. And she was right. No sooner did Sunset remove her mouth from Luna's ear, did the two launch themselves at her. With a strangled cry, Scootaloo found herself being pinned down on the couch by Luna.

"W-What are you doing?!"

Her attackers said nothing. They just gave her some smirks and then began tickling her, laughing as they watched her try to escape.

"You traitor-Heh hehe he, stop tickling m-me!"

"Never! Your boasting will not go unpunished!" cried her aunt as she continued to attack her young niece with tickles. The continued their assault for a few minutes before it came apparent that she was becoming agitated. And very close to accidentally peeing herself if they continued any further. She glared at her sister and aunt as she pulled herself upright and got off the couch. She quickly created a plan in her head to get back at them. If she was quick, she could take down Sunset and return the attack. As she got ready, a soft thud echoing from outside the house attracted all of their attention.

"That's probably your mother." said Luna as she glanced at the clock above the television. It was nearly six o'clock in the evening. Scootaloo seemed to perk up exceptionally at the idea of her mother being home.

"Great, now I can get her to buy me that scooter!" she said, running towards the front door with Sunset and Luna not far behind. No sooner did they reach it, did the door swing open and in step Celestia.

"Hell...." greeted Sunset , trailing off mid word. Something was wrong. Celestia who was usually as vibrant as the sun seemed dimmer then a dying flame. Her hair was messy, her eyes were blood shot and she seemed rather out of it. Never in her three years of knowing Celestia, this Celestia, had she seen her in such a state. Sure she was occasionally angry, and once or twice she had seen her sad, but never like this. Sunset glanced over at Luna, who seemed to be just as aware of Celestia's demeanor as she was but was weird was that Luna seemed to gain her own weird look on her face, as she looked her sister up and down. Did Luna know why Celestia was like this? She seemed to by the way she was reacting to her sister. Scootaloo seemed to be oblivious, distracted at the idea she could possibly get a new scooter if she played her cards right.

"Mom, you're home! Hey mom, you'll never gues-"

"Not now Scootaloo." Celestia's cold voice hit Scootaloo in the face, stopping her in her tracks as she attempted to give her mother a hug and speak with her. The woman quickly walked past her children and sister and disappeared up the upper staircase, leaving everyone standing in the foyer. Luna followed after her sister a moment later but not before turning to Sunset and pulling her wallet out of her back pocket.

"Sunset, Scootaloo, why don't you go get some ice cream from the corner store?" she said as she handed the older teen a crisp twenty dollar bill. Sunset took the money reluctantly and looked back at her aunt in confusion. What was going on here?

"But what about Celestia? I don't think she's okay."

"She's fine."

"Bu-"

"Ice cream, go now!"

The two teenagers looked at each other. None of them really wanted to leave but they could tell that it was none negotiable. Whatever was going on, Luna wanted to keep it between her and Celestia. Reluctantly, they put on their jackets and shoes and left for the corner store, leaving Luna to deal with the woman upstairs. Once she was sure that the two were gone, she quickly climbed the stairs and made her way to her sisters door.

"Tia'?"

For a few minutes, she merely stood outside the door, waiting for her sisters reply or any sound of movement. With each passing second that she was greeted with nothing but silence, she was becoming more and more concerned. She had a sinking feeling in her stomach that the hearing had went the opposite way that they intended. She hoped she was wrong, she honestly was but with the way her sister was acting was making her believe otherwise. Finally, Luna couldn't take it anymore, the silence killing her and her worry for her sister building. She reached for the doorknob and jiggled it, happy to find that the door wasn't lock. She pushed open the door and poked her head inside, not sure how to proceed.

Celestia was laying on her bed, her face buried in her pillows. From across the room, Luna could see her body shaking and hear the muffled sobs. She approached slowly, unsure if she would face backlash by entering the bedroom without an invitation. Quietly, she climbed onto the bed and sat next to her sister. No words were spoken between the two as Luna pulled Celestia's head into her lap and began petting her hair in an attempt to comfort her. Celestia let out a strangled series of sobs as she let the other woman comfort her. Her fingers latched onto Luna's shirt, and she

"Is he getting released?" said Luna, after a while had passed. Celestia gave a small nod then after a few seconds gave a small shake.

"I...I don't know. Th-he parole board members are undecided Lu'. They reached a tie. A tie! They said that the had to adjourn the hearing and that they would make a decision in the next few weeks. He's going to be free Lulu, I know it." She let out a whimper and buried her face deeper into the embrace.

"Hey, hey no, don't speak like that big sis. I'm sure they'll come to their senses, you're going to be fine, we're all going to be fine. I promise."

Yet as Luna spoke these words, she knew that her sister didn't believe her and honestly, she didn't believe herself either. They both know what Tirek was like and that if he got free, that it would be only be a matter of time before he sought revenge and finished what he started thirteen years ago.

My Bad!

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".....And that is how Christopher Columbus accidentally discovered America. Now, that covers today's lesson, does any one have any questions before the bell goes?"

Silence greeted Samantha Harshwhinny as she addressed her class. The twenty or so students that sat before her at their desks, most feigning interest while in reality texting or looking at the internet with their phones, looked at her with blank stares. If Samantha was most teachers, she would care but she didn't. As far as she was concerned, she wasn't being payed enough to care. The day she did, was the day Celestia and Luna gave her a substantial raise or she finally found a teaching job she actually cared about. The shrill whistle of the school bell echoed through the classroom, signaling to all that class had ended. As soon as the bell rang, the students began eagerly collecting their items and repacking their bags. Samantha didn't bother to tell them to wait for her dismissal, she too was eagerly packing up her things.

Sunset Shimmer was no different, eager to leave the boring, dull history classroom. She practically bolted out of the room and into the crowded hallway, not paying any mind that she had shoved a few students in doing so. Once in the hallway, she allowed herself to be carried with the moving crowd towards the cafeteria, like the last week at Canterlot High, she really didn't want to go to the cafeteria but she needed food and the sooner she was fed, the sooner she could run off and hide until lunch was over.

Besides, she had ulterior motives for going to the cafeteria; them. She was aware of how Scootaloo was being treated and she was about to have a stern conversation with Rainbow Dash and her friends. There was no reason why they should make the younger girl suffer for Sunset's behavior.

Like the previous days, Sunset felt the eyes on her as she stepped into the cafeteria. Whispering commenced, small shoves from people as they walked past her and people trying to trip her. She ignored them and silently entered the line to get food. When her turn came to grab food, she picked the first things she could get her hands on, not even paying attention to what she had grabbed and began the painstaking process of finding a place to eat. Naturally, no one wanted to sit with her and there weren't a lot of free tables that weren't being snatched up for every second she stood waiting.

So, she stood awkwardly in the middle of the large room, her tray of food in her hands as she took to turning and scanning every nook and cranny that she could. Finally after several moments of looking, she realized that there wasn't anywhere safe to eat. Nobody looked even remotely inviting and there were absolutely no free tables. However, it seemed she wasn't the only one in the boat, because she spotted Scootaloo out of the corner of her eye, looking around for somewhere to sit.

Sighing, Sunset decided to make her way over the younger girl. Perhaps if they couldn't find their own places to sit,t hey could find a place together. Normally, Scootaloo would turn her down or laugh at the idea, but she had been a lot less hostile the last few days. Most likely because she was dealing with the fallout with her friends.

"Scootaloo?" The girl in question, snapped her head up and turned to Sunset as she heard her name being called.

"What?"

"I see we're in the same predicament."

"And?"

"I was thinking maybe we could sit together."

Scootaloo sighed and looked around the cafeteria again. While she didn't want to be seen with Sunset, she was aware that she didn't exactly have anyone else to sit with or talk to. Part of her wanted to lash out, but mostly she just wasn't in it. Besides, it wasn't like anyone hasn't heard that they were related, at least legally. Scootaloo opened her mouth to reply but found herself cut off by a shrill, awkward sounding voice.

"Hey, hey, Sunset!"

Both Sunset and Scootaloo, turned towards the voice. As did everyone else. Standing several meters away was Derpy Hooves, who was waving madly in an attempt to gain Sunset's attention. What was odd was she was wearing a dress that was covered in muffin pattern, with the muffins having little cute faces. She was also wearing polka dot socks and a pair of converse sneakers that were a bright pink.

"Come sit with us! Bring your sister too!"

'Us?' thought Sunset, as she stared at the girl. That's when she realized that Derpy wasn't alone. At the table she was standing by, a younger girl, around Scootaloo's age was sitting, eating lunch. She looked nearly identical to Derpy, with her golden eyes and blond hair. The only difference was that her skin was a grayish-purple while Derpy's was only grey. Sunset assumed they were related, probably sisters. And she would be correct. As she began walking over, Scootaloo grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Really? You're going to sit with Ms. Derpy eyes? You do realize she's THE biggest klutz around right? Plus she's weird."

"You don't want to be seen with Derpy, but you don't mind sitting with me?" said Sunset, arching an eyebrow at the purple haired girl. Scootaloo stammered and opened her mouth a few times before shutting it. She had a point, it couldn't be any worse.

"Fine."

The two made their way over to the table. When the reached it, Derpy flashed them a big smile and gestured for them to sit down. Sunset found herself sitting next to Derpy while Scootaloo awkwardly set down next to the other girl. It was awkward because they were classmates yet they rarely interacted. Dinky Hooves as she was known, was one of the loners in her age group. She never seemed to hang out with any one else and was always alone. Honestly, no one in any of Scootaloo's classes really knew her. She tended to fade into the background and become forgotten to any and all. Dinky and Scootaloo shared a moment of awkward eye contact, not sure what to say.

"Um....Hi?" said Scootaloo after a moment of silence between the two.

"Hello." Dinky diverted her gaze and began staring at her food, poking it with her fork and trying to look small. Clearly, she wasn't much of a talker. That was okay though, Scootaloo didn't really want to talk either. Scootaloo went to start playing with her own food when a muffin was shoved into her peripheral vision.

"Lunch isn't complete without a muffin! Or several muffins in my case! Heh heh he!" said Derpy, laughing as she pushed the muffin into Scootaloo's hands. Much like her sister once had, she started at the muffin as if it was some sort of foreign object.

"What is with you two? Sunset reacted the same way when I gave her a muffin. Have you never seen one before? Wait...." Derpy let out a huge gasp and covered her mouth, tears beginning to form in the corner of her eyes.

"Your from an alternate world aren't you? Is your sister as well? Do muffins not exist from your world? Oh my god, please don't tell me that's true! No wonder you came here and went mad!" said Derpy, rambling on about how horrible it would be to live in a world without muffins. Scootaloo look at her like one would look at a snake with double heads.

"What are you talking about?"

"Muffins silly!"

"I got that but....never mind...."

"Well Derpy, Equestria, the place I'm from has plenty of muffins. And no, Scootaloo is from this world. I'm adopted." explained Sunset who eagerly took a muffin that Derpy offered her. Her mouth was practically watering as she held it in her hands. Who knew something so simple could be so delicious and perfect?

"Huh, well that's good to hear. Muffins existing in your world I mean. Dinky, blueberry or chocolate chip?"

"Chocolate." Derpy gave her sister a smile and tossed her a muffin, which she caught with ease. Everyone lapsed into silence as they munched away on their muffins, though Scootaloo was quite hesitant until she took her first bite.

"Hey this is pretty good!" Derpy let out a laugh.

"Ha! My record is still unbroken!"

"Unbroken?" asked Sunset confused as she stopped eating her own muffin and turned her attention towards the elder blonde.

"Record for how many people I can win over with my muffins! To this day, there has never been anyone who could say that my muffins are bad!"

"Well duh sissy, who could hate your muffins?" said Dinky, speaking up for the first time since Sunset and Scootaloo had sat down at the table. Derpy smiled and reached over to pat her sister on the head and ruffle her hair a bit.

"Well it helps that you're such a good muffin-making assistant!" Sunset felt a pang in her stomach as she watched the two interact. It was quite cute to see how the sisters interacted, they seemed to get along much better then Sunset and Scootaloo did, that was for sure. Perhaps, Derpy would be the key to learning how to be a sister.

Lunch passed fairly quickly, with the group downing a seemingly never ending supply of muffins. Dinky, who was reclusive and Scootaloo who felt awkward and out of place had awkwardly began small talk and surprisingly they found they had something in common. That thing was that they both seemed to like the Power Humans comic series.

"...please, everyone knows that Millisecond is the weakest member of the Power Humans!" said Scootaloo, trying her best to sound serious and authoritative. Dinky shook her head and pointed at Mistress Marvel-ous on the cover of Power Humans comic book that she had pulled out of her backpack.

"Nah, at least she has a power. Mistress Marvel-ous only has a lasso and throw able boomerang. Sure they're magical, but she doesn't have any super powers herself. If you took those away she'd be pretty much as useless as hum-drum. At least Millisecond can use her speed while Marvel-ous just has a stupid lasso."

"Yeah well...."

The two quickly began bickering about the respective powers of each of the superheros and who was superior and inferior then the other members. That left Derpy and Sunset to interact with one an other. Sunset found that Derpy had the tendency to talk a lot, her mouth seemed to be going a mile a minute. One minute she was talking about her classes, the next she was suddenly going on about the different flavors of muffins that were available. Sunset struggled to keep up with the conversation, trying her best to understand. Derpy seemed to realize something was wrong because she stopped chattering on.

"Oh sorry, am I talking to fast? Sorry, I have a habit of doing that."

"It's okay."

"Nah, I'm being inconsider-" Derpy let out a bloodcurdling screaming as she trailed off mid sentence. Crawling up her arm was a large, black spider. Derpy did not like spiders or bugs of any sort, especially after a traumatic event during her childhood in which a group of older kids had locked her in a spider infested cellar. To have one touching her skin was on par with being stabbed in Derpy's eyes. She jumped up from the table and began squirming and hitting her arm with her other one. Unfortunately, to say Derpy was a klutz was an understatement, no matter how much she tried or how many precautions she took, something was always happening. This instance was no different. Mid-dance, Derpy's foot came in contact with a chair leg, tripping her. With a loud yelp, she found herself falling forward on her face, knocking a lunch tray on her way down.

What happened next was something out a movie. And Sunset wasn't sure exactly what happened. All she knew was that the tray and the food on it went flying through the air and despite not going far, the food managed to land on several nearby students. The tray, smacked into the janitor's forehead. That janitor who had been moping the floors, accidentally pushed over the large bin of water he was using to clean the floor which in turn, came in contact with a power cord that was connecting a vacuum to one of the wall sockets. Water and electricity never mixed safely, not once. The two coming together, forced the cord and the vacuum to explode in a fiery shower of sparks and sending kids running. The explosions was big enough that it managed to reach one of the many hanging tapestries around the cafeteria, setting it on fire. The fire moved between the tapestries, setting the entire cafeteria on fire. All of this happened in less then two minutes.

"My bad!" called Derpy, her face still planted against the floor.

The kicker was that the moment the chain of chaos went off, a very tired looking Celestia and concerned Luna had stepped into the cafeteria, capturing every single moment. Celestia gave a sigh and turned and left the cafeteria, leaving her sister to deal with the chaos. Just another thing to mention to Faust. As the shrill bell of the fire alarm echoed through the halls and the sprinklers activated, showering everyone, both sisters knew it was going to be another long week.

Afterschool Blues

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Lauren Faust was not happy. Not in the slightest. And Luna was well aware of that fact. She had spent over an hour on the phone with her boss as she chewed her out and demanded answers and explanations.

"Damn it Luna, what the hell is going on at that school of yours? This is the second incident!" shouted the woman over the phone, which caused Luna to wince at the sheer volume of the voice and remove the phone from her ear slightly. She let out a sigh and shook her head. This was honestly the least of her problems but she wasn't going to tell Faust that.

"I realize that. It's not like we wanted this to happen. It was an accident, as I already mentioned. The student accidentally set off a chain reaction that caused water to spill on to a power cord and cause a vacuum to explode."

"And you've suspended her correct?"

"For having two left feet? No. I saw the entire situation unfold; this wasn't a second-hand report. This was not intended malice." the voice on the other side of the phone went silent for a moment. Luna swore she could hear the red haired woman thinking.

"And what does your sister say? You know, the principal? "

"Principal Celestia is busy dealing with the students and the fire department." lied Luna, trying her best sound believable. Truth was that her sister had seemed to have turned off and headed to her office. Ever since Saturday night, Celestia had been off and quiet, often retreating to her bedroom or office when things happened or she felt the need to do so. Luna was left basically running the entire school as Celestia seemed to difficulty completing paper work and staying awake. The most frustrating part was that she refused to go home and rest; as if being home alone was on par with being thrown into a cage of hungry wolves. There was not to mention the fact that Celestia was getting even less sleep then before. In fact, she had been up for nearly thirty two hours straight which was worrying Luna to no end.

"She asked me to fill you in on the details of the situation." continued on Luna, one hand clutching the phone while the other twirled a long piece of blue hair and pulled apart knots. Lauren let out a sigh over the phone.

"Fine, fine. How bad is the damage this time?"

"Nothing too bad, the sprinklers activated pretty quickly and the fire department got here in time. Mostly some scorched walls and a few spots on the ceiling. Oh and a chair or two caught fire. But the fire is out now and there seems to be no structural damage; it's all cosmetic. we're probably going to dismiss the students for the day."

"The board is going to want to have a meeting you know."

"I thought we already were going to have one." stated Luna.

"I mean a lot sooner and a lot more intense."

"That should be fun." mumbled Luna under her breath.

"What?"

"Nothing. I have to go, Celestia is calling me on line two."

"But I-"Luna hung up the phone mid-sentence and allowed her self to be pulled into oblivion as she leaned against her desk and rubbed her temples. Their meeting was going to be pushed up? 'By McCarthy!, this is annoying!' thought Luna as she shook her head and processed the situation. Just another thing that would need to be taken care of. Dejectedly, she headed out of her office and towards the gym where the students and teachers had been gathered. Inside, students were buzzing about, talking about the latest incident at Canterlot High. The teachers were having a hard time getting everyone to quiet down and sit down on the gym floor. When Luna stepped into the large gymnasium and walked up onto the stage, everyone quieted down and the students sat down on the floor, waiting for her to speak.

"Canterlot High Students, as you know, there was a incident today in the cafeteria, resulting in a small fire. Fortunately, it was put out quickly and most of the damage is shallow but given the circumstances, school is canceled for the rest of the day." Students began cheering in excitement and the gymnasium quickly began filling up with chatter and talk of what to do now that school was being let out early for the day. Luna made a gesture for the students to calm down and after a few minutes, the chattered died down enough that she could once more speak and have everyone hear her.

"Of course, your teachers will make sure you get all your homework from your afternoon classes before you leave."
-

Sunset was in a hurry. She was currently in the midst of traversing the condensed and packed corridors in pursuit of a familiar group of girls at the other end. Her objective was to stop them before the left her sight and Canterlot High so she could have a chance to talk to them both about Scootaloo and to apologize if she got the courage. More specifically she wanted to talk to two girls in particular, Applejack and Rarity. She spotted the group turning a corner up a head and in an act of determination, began pushing her way agressively through the crowd to get to her target.

"HEY!" shouted someone as Sunset pushed past them.

"Sorryneedtogetsomewhere!" she said hurriedly as she continued on her journey towards her targets. She managed to catch up to them just as they were exiting one of the schools side entrances.

"HEY! Wait!"

The group which consisted of five girls, all stopped and turned towards the voice. They were both surprised and defensive when they realized who was speaking to them. Sunset groaned as she reached them, out of breath from having run to catch up with them.

"What do y'all want?" demanded Applejack, taking a threatening step forward and attempting to look intimidating. Sunset payed her no attention, too focused on catching her breath. She doubled over and let out several gasps, trying her best to get air to enter her lungs.

"Need...to..tal-lk to you about Sc...Ne..eed more e-excercise!"

"You want to talk to us about getting more excercise? Hmmph! How rude!"

"N...o. Ne..ed to t-talk to you about S-Scootaloo."

"What about Scootaloo?" Sunset straightened herself up, still breathing heavily and cursing herself for having neglecting gym glass during the last three years. She really needed to get in shape.

"L-look. I know I've made your hell life these last few years..."

"Hell? Hell don't even begin tah' describe it Sugarcube! You bullied us, blackmailed us, you've done everything to make us miserable!"

"Hell, Tartarus, whatever. I'm not here about me. Yes, I'm sorry I did all that stuff I really am. But I'm here for Scootaloo, not me."

"Huh, so the brute actually knows the word 'Sorry.' How quaint." said Rarity, speaking up and flipping her hair out habit and donning a sneer.

"Huh. So I guess friendship is only magic when Twilight's around."

"And what is THAT supposed to mean?"

"It means from what I recall, Twilight tasked you, and you promised, with trying to help me to understand friendship and while I wouldn't expect you to actually do that after all I've done, you had the audacity to go and punish Scootaloo for my crimes. Not hers, and I'm guessing the only reason you are is because we're related and not because you and Applejack are actually concerned about your sister's safety.

"Are yah' sayin' we're being dishonest?" demanded Applejack. The nerve of that girl, Applejack was anything but dishonest! Stubborn maybe but not that!

"No. I'm saying you're dishonest AND petty for punishing Scootaloo for no reason!" stated Sunset, crossing her arms. Applejack let out a snarl and raised her fist, aiming to punch Sunset. However she found herself blocked by Fluttershy who grabbed her arm and gave her a disproving look.

"Applejack! What are you doing!"

"Defend mah' honor!"

"Jackie, I know you don't like hearing that sort of stuff, but you know Shimmer has a point." said Rainbow, who had been quiet up until that point, which was odd of her. Applejack turned and stared at the cyan colored girl.

"Really, Sugarcube, you're going to side with her?"

"I'm not....look, she's right, you two shouldn't be blaming Scootaloo and stopping Applebloom and Sweetie them from seeing her, they've been friends since the sixth grade!"

"I gotta also agree. Scoots is awesome!" said Pinkie Pie, her hair seemingly deflating a little and turning a tad straight.

"No! I will not have my sister be influenced by that little ruffian! I know for a fact she was hanging around with those little thugs from the ninth grade, those ones who smoke and drink! Plus there was that incident in the cafeteria last week! I have no doubt Sunset has managed to corrupt Scootaloo and while it may seem unfair, I must protect my sister!" exclaimed Rarity angrily, which in turned pissed off Sunset.

"I'll have you know I have had little interaction with Scootaloo up to a few weeks ago and the genius who got her into smoking is her awesome role model, Rainbow Dash."

"Hey!"

"It's true! She worships you and I highly she doubt she would do anything, even breathing, if you didn't do it or agree with it. Besides she explicitly mentioned your name when I questioned her about it!"

"I'm trying to help!"

"Well thanks, but you caused this problem to begin with!"

"STOP YELLING!" The group fell silent as Fluttershy raised her voice, something that only happened when she was truly enraged. The yellow skinned girl was red in the face and also appeared to be very ticked off as she had her fists clenched. She stared at all six individuals surrounding her, staring at them with a dark, unending abyss of rage. Everyone stood rigid as they waited for Fluttershy to speak.

"I can't believe you all! Fighting like this and making a nuisance! I know we don't get along with Sunset and she doesn't get along with us and I know we all have our problems but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try! Twilight tasked us with helping Sunset and here we are, going against her word when we promised her!"

"Look, I don't care about that. I care about Scootaloo!"

"Why though?" asked Applejack, crossing her arms.

"Y'all obviously never cared about her before."

"Because despite what you think, I'm actually sorry for what I've done to you all most of all, I'm sorry that I wasn't the sister Scootaloo deserved."

".....and there you are Ms. Hooves!" Nurse Sweetheart, a curvy, homely woman with light magenta colored skin and white and purple hair smiled as she handed over a ice pack to Derpy Hooves, who had sustained a rather nasty bump on her head. Fortunately, it didn't seem to be a serious concern nor was it a concussion, so Sweetheart was satisfied that she could let the girl leave. In her ten years as Canterlot High's main nurse, she had never seen another student even remotely as klutzy as Derpy. The young girl was prone to many accidents and over the years, she spent almost as much time in the nurses as she did in class. Which was probably why she had been held back.

"Thanks Sweet..."

Sweetheart frowned, the normally exuberant girl had been quiet during her entire time in the Nurses Office. It wasn't like Derpy to be quite and out of it.

"Something the matter deary?" she said to Derpy who looked at her for a moment and then shook her head cautiously.

"Oh, I'm just thinking about Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna. They're probably not happy with me right now."

"Don't worry about that sweetie, Celestia and Luna are very understanding people. Now, scoot along. Class has been dismissed early today."

As she stepped out of the Nurses Office, the thought of Celestia and Luna was far from her mind. Sure, she was concerned about possibly getting suspended, but more then anything, Derpy was dreading the inevitable confrontation she was going to have with her mother when she got home.

Cracks

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If there was one thing Derpy Hooves hated was disappointing and causing her mother, Delilah Hooves, problems. Now, it wasn't like Delilah hated her daughter or was generally malice towards her but Derpy knew that her disability of Strabismus had caused much friction between the two. Delilah didn't blame her for it, Derpy didn't ask to have it it but she also knew that because of her problem she had bad vision which often caused her to have accidents. Accidents that resulted in expensive things being broken.

Broken things that people expected Derpy and her family to pay for. A slide at the park when she was eight, a six hundred dollar tablet at the mall which she somehow managed to snap in half while sneezing, the list was quite long. But this had to be her biggest disaster yet. Causing a fire. Up until now, Derpy had been lucky that none of her accidents had resulted in damages that were in the tens of thousands of dollars. Now, if she were to guess, the damage was anywhere from ten to thirty thousand dollars. That number made her wince.

Every time Derpy returned home and had to tell her the unfortunate news that she had destroyed something or she arrived home and her mother was waiting for her, having gotten a phone call, she hated seeing the look on her face. The look of disappointment, anger and tiredness. Today was most likely going to be any less different.

Delphine "Derpy" and Dinah "Dinky" Hooves lived a bit away from their school. In fact, they lived roughly an hour and a half away by bus. They also happened to live in the poorer part of town. Canterlot didn't really have a ghetto but it did have a poor area, with several trailer parks and plenty of subsidized housing located on the western outskirts of the city.

The Hooves house was a small two-bedroom bungalow that was slightly run down due to the lack of funds and time needed to keep it in tip-top shape. The outside walls wear a faded yellow that was chipped and peeling and the door had a large crack in it, that had been caused six years earlier when the now absent Mr. Hooves finally got feed up and left for good, slamming the door behind him in an enraged fashion. The yard while not horrendously over-run with weeds, did have a a few spare patches in the grass which was five inches tall. On the side of the house there was a flower-bed with half-dead flowers; someones lazy attempt to plant flowers in an attempt to spruce up the outside of the house. Around it was a old, white picket fence and a cracked stone path going from the side walk to the steps of the patio.

The inside of the house was in a similar state though it wasn't too bad. The walls which varied in color from light coral to green, occasionally had a white spot where holes had been filled in with plaster yet hadn't been sanded down and painted over despite the fact that some of the patched holes had been there for years. Most of the furniture in the house was worn though in relatively good condition. Pictures dotted the walls and the side tables and misc things like books, school bags or DVD cases were littered in the corners of room or stacked all over the dinning room table which saw less use for meals then it did homework.

The bungalow, which lacked a basement, had nine rooms: Two bedrooms, one which contained a worn iron-cast bunk bed, a desk and a dresser, the other a queensized bed which took of two thirds of the room, two baths though they were small and cramped just like the bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, small dining room and a laundry room which was more of a walk in closet. The last room was the foyer which had an opened concept closet which was filled to the brim with shoes and clothing.

The moment Derpy and Dinky walked up the cracked path and opened up the front door, they were greeted by the familiar smell of baked goods. The forty-three year old mother of two helped manage a catering company and was constantly making various foods for jobs she had coming up in the week. Things like hot foods were made on the day of the event or the night before but any thing that could be refrigerated or frozen a few days in advance was. Since the family of three only had one car which was parked in the driveway, the garage was converted part way to house several fridges and two freezers to hold all the food. Giving a deep sniff, Derpy determined that her mother was most likely making sugar cookies. Years of living in the company of foods baking constantly allowed her to pinpoint most of which was being made.

True enough, they found their mother cutting out various shapes of sugar cookie dough, her hands, clothing and even her hair covered in dough and flour. Their mother did not notice them at first when they stepped into the kitchen; cooking was her special talent and she had a tendency to get lost in her work. It usually took some physical prodding to get her back to reality and away from her baking.

"Mom." said Dinky, poking her mother in the elbow with a finger as she tried to draw her attention. Delilah blinked and looked around, confused, before she spotted her youngest daughter next to her and her other daughter in the doorway. Frowning, she glanced at the clock. Was it all ready four-thirty? The clock read two-thirty .

"What are you girls doing home early?"

She struggled to remember if she had gotten an email or letter from the school about a half-day but her mind came up blank. Had the girls mentioned anything? Again, nothing. She turned her attention to towards her girls and realized that none of them seemed eager to answer her question. Dinky stood awkwardly, scratching her arm while Derpy was hiding in the background, her eyes staring at the kitchen floor and her arms crossed tightly, trying to look small. Something was wrong. She knew that look. The averted eyes, the trying to look small. Delilah closed her eyes and began rubbing the bags underneath her eyes.

"What happened Delphine?"

She knew that the girl had another incident, which was most likely resulted in her being sent home though that didn't explain why Dinah was home. Derpy kicked the floor with the toe of her shoe and meekly mumbled something under her breath which was incomprehensible to Delilah. She gave her daughter a stern look, her eyes narrowing and lips pressing into a thin line.

"What. Happened."

"I....I tripped."

"You tripped?"

She knew her daughter was being vague. While she tripped a lot, Delihla knew her teachers would only send her home if she had done something, not for just tripping. She gave her daughter another look. Sighing, the teenager relented, staring at the ground as she did.

"I tripped....and then some stuff happened and things started flying....and...."

"And....?"

"A vacuum exploded and the cafeteria was set on fire so Vice-Principal Luna sent everyone home." said Derpy, her mother barely able to hear her.

"How. Bad." Delihla could feel a full-on migraine beginning to to form.

"I-I....I don't know. It's not....The damage isn't very ba-"

Derpy found herself interrupted by the shrill ring of the house phone. Delilah drew her attention away from her eldest daughter and walked out of the living room to pick up the old, corded home phone they had in the living room. Derpy and Dinky stayed where they were, one looking down at her feet while the other gave her sister sympathetic looks. The heard their mother quietly greet the person on the other phone, though they made no move to eavesdrop on the conversation as they could hear most everything where they were without trying.

"Yes...I....."

"....I see... Well then do you think....."

"...How extensive......Oh.....Yes, I understand."

The conversation went on for a few minutes before they heard their mother say goodbye and the loud bang of a phone being slammed into it's carrier. Delilah Hooves stormed into the kitchen, her eyes filled with rage and disappointment. Something was wrong though, sure it wasn't the first time that she had been enraged but something about her was different. Her pupils were dilated, her hands were shaking and her hands were clawing the hems of her apron. Before either of them could speak, the woman walked past them, grabbing the keys to their old, 1998 Ford Winstar and walking out the door, slamming it behind her like Mr. Hooves had done years before.

Backstory

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Ticking. It was always ticking. Time. Celestia slid her eyes towards her bedroom walls, her eyes following the needles of the clock as time slowly crept by. Both in a literate and figurative sense. Could time ticking even be figurative? It was always moving, never stopping and always pushing in one direction. She often contemplated that she should have been a philosopher instead of a teacher. The steady rhythm of the clock was therapeutic and put her mind at ease and yet at the same time the clicking sound put her on edge. Every sound put her on edge. A sudden door opening or closing somewhere in the house, the ringing of her cellphone, the thuds of Scootaloo running up and down the stairs or the blaring of the television or one of Luna's games.

She supposed it wasn't that surprising. When he had first been incarcerated, she had been the same way, always looking to the shadows, jumping at the slightest raised sound and over all irritable. Now, with his inevitable release, she had reverted to a similar state. Always on edge. She sighed and sifted under her blankets as she tried to make herself comfortable. Her attempt to take a nap was not working; she had been trying to fall asleep for the last half an hour to no avail. She let out another sigh and pushed back her blankets and got up from her bed. Sleep had been a fleeting thing in the recent days. She made her way out of her bedroom and found herself descending the stairs and in the kitchen. Standing in front of the stove, oblivious to her sister, was Luna who was trying and failing to make dinner for the family, a meal of canned beans and salad with pieces of chicken. Somehow, the salad seemed to be burnt. She wondered how that happened.

"Tia! How was your nap? Did you get any sleep?" asked Luna, when she realized that her sister was there. Celestia shook her head and sat down at the island and laid her head in her hands.

"No, I couldn't sleep." said Celestia, rubbing her eyes and mumbling a profanity under her breath. Luna shot her a concerned look and briefly stopped stirring the pot of beans to address her elder sister whom she was greatly scared for.

"You need to sleep."

"I would love to. But I can't Lulu. I....I'm lost, I'm scared and all I want to do is cry....Am I acting like a child?" Luna hesitated briefly before she replied, not sure what to say and uncomfortable with the role of being the pillar to lean on.

"I think it's reasonable that you're feeling like this. After all you've been through and how far you've come, having your sense of safety dangerously close to shattering well I think anyone in your position would react the same way, if not worse. But don't worry, I'm sure everything will be all right."

"What will be all right?" Scootaloo sauntered into the kitchen, dressed in a pair of grey yoga pants and an orange hooded sweater, opening the fridge to rummage for food but also slightly interested in her aunt's and mother's conversation.

"Nothing, we were just talking about the school board. They're unhappy about the recent incidents at school....Now, I do believe Luna is making dinner so put that pie back. You can have a piece AFTER dinner." said Celestia, lying through her teeth and deflecting Scootaloo's attention to something else.

"Awww, but the salad is burnt!"

"Your aunt tried. Besides, it's not all burnt and I'm sure I we have left over spaghetti if you want to forgo the salad."

"But then who's going to eat my salad?" asked Luna, heart broken at the prospect that her food would possibly go to waste. Celestia gave her sister a forced smile, one she usually gave when she struggled with eating Luna's cooking but was too polite to say no too.

"Oh I will eat it of course....I'm sure it will be....delicious...."

"You're lying and we all know it." said Luna, playfully sticking her tongue out at her sister. Honestly, she appreciated the effort her sister went through even though she often told Celestia that she didn't need to eat the food. Sure, she was bad at cooking but her sister had more or less always been there for her and been like a second mother. Well except that phase in her life, during her late teens where she joined a gang and began going by the name of Nightmare Moon of all things. Odd time that was, putting both sisters at odds ends with each other. Honestly though, it had been a boring gang. Mostly all they had done was sit around and talk about all the crimes they wanted to commit but where too scared to actually do. Speaking of which, she really needed to have a drink with Sombra and Chryssie at some point in the future. Odd how they had all became school principals.....

"Eh leftovers? Well better then burnt salad...I mean...thanks for the food Auntie Luna but I'm going to pass." said Scootaloo, correcting herself when she realized her mother was giving her a disapproving glare. She gave gave the two woman a smile and dashed off, probably to listen to music in her bedroom until dinner was announced. When she was gone, Luna gave her sister a frown and Celestia let out a sad sigh.

"Have you talked to her yet?"

"No. And I don't think this is the time."

"Celestia. I don't think he'll get out but on the small, very small chance he does, she should be informed. Because we all know what would happen if he get's loose."

"He'll finish up loose ends."

"Exactly."

".....I hate it when you're right Lulu."

"Sometimes, so do I."

Dinner came and passed and evening turned to nightfall leaving the inhabitants of the house to settle into their evening routines. Mostly. While Sunset retreated to her room and soon after Scootaloo, Celestia descended the stairs and approached her youngest daughter's room hesitantly stopping in front of it. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Luna who was shadowing her while pretending to rearrange the linens in the small linen closet located between Sunset and Luna's bedroom with the big bathroom.

Briefly she glanced at Sunset's door. This really didn't involve Sunset well....Actually it did. They were all at risk; he would hurt anyone dear to her and she was quite partial to her other child. But Celestia would tell her after, the conversation with Scootaloo had to be one just between the two of them and was more important. She gave a gentle knock on the door before her and called softly to the child residing within.

"Scootaloo?"

Shuffling came from inside the room and the door opened soon after, revealing Scootaloo who had her MP3 in her left hand and one earphone inserted into an ear; the other dangling.

"What's up mom? Something the matter?" asked the girl as she studied her mother's face which was filled with a sadness and and void. Celestia sighed and without a word she pulled her daughter into a hug and placed a kiss on Scootaloo's head. The teenager blinked in confusion and tilted her head towards toward her mother's face, cocking it slightly.

"Mom?"

"Scootaloo honey....I need to tell you something important.

--
To be continued....

NOT :D
--
Celestia took a seat upon Scootaloo's bed, taking in the sight of all the Rainbow Dash pictures. It was actually kind of concerning how obsessed with the older teen her daughter was. Scootaloo hesitantly sat down next to her, unsure to what was causing her mother's odd behavior. Had she found out about the smokes? Or was something else going on? Wait....she wasn't going to have another one of THOSE talks was she? She was positive that sex education in school and her mother's initial lecture at the age of ten about how people were created was sufficient and she didn't need any more information.

"Did I do something wrong?" asked Scootaloo. She seriously hoped it wasn't about the smoking. Celestia shook her head then paused cocked her head slightly to the side like Scoots had done minutes before.

"No...Unless there is something I should be aware of?"

"Nope!" said Scootaloo, a little to quickly and defensively. Celestia raised an eyebrow but she ignored it. Clearly something was going on but that wasn't her concern right now. She grabbed Scootaloo's hands and held them in her own, brushing her thumb over her daughter's soft hands.

"Mom?"

".....You know that it takes two people to create a child right?"

"Seriously, I already know how babies are made! I don't need another lecture Mom!"

"That's not what I'm talking about. Scootaloo.....have you ever wondered why you have no father?'

"I kinda always assumed he bailed out or I'm adopted since I don't have the same skin tone or hair as you or Auntie Luna...wait, am I adopted!?"

"No. You're mine. Genetically wise I mean; even if you weren't I'd still love you before you start getting any doubts. I have the stretch marks to prove it and you've seen the photos of me holding you shortly after giving birth. I know your genetics are odd; but odd hair and skin combinations that have not appeared in a family tree before are actually fairly common. Look at the Jones down the street; they both have blue skin and yet their daughter is bright pink. Or the Cakes."

"Then...so is this about Daddio' then?" asked Scootaloo, growing more and more confused and worried as the seconds passed. Celestia winced as her daughter jokingly called that man Dad. She obviously didn't understand or know but it made Celestia boil inside to hear him being referred to with a title he did not deserve.

"Yes, basically that....him."

"So did he ditch you? Oh did he die in a super awesome accident or something? What was he like? Wait, why are you telling me now?" asked Scootaloo, a flurry of questions spewing out of her mouth. She had always been a tad curious and she recalled she had asked a few times when she was young but whenever she asked her mother would yell at her and one time she began sobbing on the kitchen floor when making lunch for Scootaloo. She had been six at the time and that was the last time she asked. After that she stopped caring though the occasional thought popped up here and there."

"No, no....later and because of my sanity."

"I don't understand."

"Your....father is not a nice guy Scootaloo. Not at all."

"Like how not nice?"

"Very."

"Is he alive?"

"He's imprisoned in Cloudsdale Penitentiary but yes, he is unfortunately still alive."

Scootaloo felt a pit growing in her stomach. Her hopes of suddenly discovering an awesome, long lost dad had turned to dust. She stared at her mother's face watching as tears collected and a few rolled down her face. She leaned against her mother, breathing in the familiar scent of lavender.

"What was he convicted for? Was it something really bad?"

Celestia blinked and stared into her daughters eyes. On one hand Scootaloo was only thirteen and didn't need to know the explicit details but at the same time she was a teenager now and she was already in deep, not being able to press the back button on life and make her daughter forget what she had said. How would one phrase her answer? Bluntly?

"He....he w-was convicted for kidnapping and sexual assault."

Scootaloo blinked for a second, letting the information sink in. She had never met this man or seen him but the fact that she was related to someone capable of such things was causing a pit to form in her stomach.

"Who did he do that to?"

Celestia did not answer her daughter's question, instead choosing to avoid her gaze. The pit within Scootaloo's stomach deepened and she could feel her dinner beginning to back up into her mouth. Scootaloo wasn't as sheltered as Celestia wanted. Occasionally she stumbled upon some horrific story online about a mass murder or the news would be turned on and a story about a girl older or around her age had suffered rape or something similar. She was aware the world could be a cold, dark place. That was one of the things about Scootaloo, despite having C or B grades in school or having a bit of ADHD, she had the tendency to study the world and her surroundings. She had an inkling in her stomach that she knew where her mother was going with this conversation.

"Am I....?" Scootaloo trailed off, not sure if she wanted to ask the question or not.

Celestia sighed but didn't answer, at least not at first.

"Possibly but also possibly no."

"What?"

Celestia pulled Scootaloo into her lap, despite the fact she was much to big. She pushed her fingers through Scootaloo's hair and brushed it to the side, much like she had done when she was small. The young girl leaned into her mother's embrace and for a moment they were transported back in time to when things were simpler. After a few minutes, Celesita spoke.

"Do you want to know the full story? You don't have to if you don't want to...it's....not something I want to re-experience and it's not pleasant but I feel you deserve the right to know."

Scootaloo tilted her head from side to side as she internally debated. On one hand, she was curious, on another she didn't want to bring her mother pain and on a third, non-existent one she wanted to pretend like she had never learned about her missing parentage. She went back and forth for a good five minutes, during which Celestia shifted uncomfortable below her and waited patiently for her child's answer. Finally, she decided that perhaps it would be for the best and gave her mother a nod. Celestia laid her head atop the girl's and slowly began recanting the events of her past.

When I was in my early twenties, I decided to leave home and attend Cloudsdale University despite the fact that it was more expensive then Canterlot University and that I'd be away from Luna who was going through a bad period. But I needed to 'spread my wings' and adventure out from the comfort of home. During my first year at Cloudsdale University, I met and made many friends. You could say I was a very big part of the social secene at university; I was always going to sorority parties or little dorm room shindigs when I had the chance. If there was a party, I was there. Thats where I met your father, Tirek.

"Tirek? That's his name? Really? Did his parents hate him?"

"Yes, I know. He was the quarterback for the Cloudsdale Wendigos and we had meet at a celebratory party, after a big game where the Wendigos managed to beat the Everfree Manticores. He was the type of guy who had a new girlfriend on his arm every other week and was sought after. He could never keep them, he would grow bored and then shove them aside to find someone new. Someone attractive, yet desperate to be loved and naive to think that they could be the one who finally be the girl that steals his heart. Someone....like me. You could say there was something different between our relationship compared to his previous ones. We started dating in my junior year while he was in his senior year and It lasted a whole four months but it was far from perfect.

He was a demanding man both mentally, physically and.....well you know. He was also constantly jealous, if I so much as walked past another male, he would instigate a fight with me, claiming that I was unfaithful. He would set unrealistic rules like picking up my phone whenever he called and even when I was allowed to leave to do things with my friends. We had many explosive argument and I admit, there were more then a few times where he shoved me or even hit me. Near the end, it was becoming more frequent. Still I put up with it because I thought it was love. Finally, one night we had a very big fight that ended in him attempting to choke me to death in my apartment. My roommate walked in on this and Tirek ran off when she screamed causing the next door neighbors to come running. I broke up with him the next day.

"But?"

"But, he was not a happy man. Not only had I defied him and walked away, there was an impending investigation with the police and college which could possibly get him expelled. Your father came from a rich family, who had a history of attending and graduation from Cloudsdale University. They were not happy that he was being investigate and that their name was being tarnished. He....grabbed me when I was walking home from my evening class around a week later. He.....dragged me to his father's hunting cabin and....held me for half a day where he did....things before the police arrived and he was arrested. He was only ever convicted of....and attempted kidnapping.

The doctors were unable to precisely pinpoint how far along I was with you. Given that I was both....and I...well you know, with your father consentually a week or two prior, there was no way to tell. And then you know the rest of the story, I moved home into a small apartment where I raised you for a few years, both me and Luna decided to become teachers and we moved in together when you were five and ever since then we've been in this house. "

"....That's sad, I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"S-So am I Scootaloo. But I'd do it a thousand times again if it meant having you, my little roly poly butterfly."

"Hey! I'm not roly poly!"

"Are you sure? I think you are!"

Scootaloo growled and turned around in her mother's lap and without hesitation began attempting to tickle her. Celestia let out a laugh and quickly turned herself over and pinned her daughter beneath her. Scootaloo stared at her with startled eyes. With a feral grin, Celestia lifted the girl's shirt slightly and began unleashing a torrent of raspberries on her stomach.

"St-top!" demaned Scootaloo as she laughed and struggled to get away.

"That's what you get for trying to tickle me you little monster!"

"P-please!"

"Okay, but only because you were so polite."

The moment Scootaloo was released she straightened herself out and then climbed on to her mother's back, wrapping her hands around her neck and giving her mother a kiss on the cheek. Celestia laid her hands on Scootaloo's and titlted her head upwards to give her child a bright smile. For a brief moment, Celestia forgot her worries and past and relished the moment with her daughter. But eventually reality came crashing back and reminded her both of her troubles and that it was bed time, at least for Scootaloo.

"Well my little butterfly, it's time for bed."

"Ah come on mom! I'm not a baby anymore, it's only 9:30!"

"Yes, but you have school in the morning." stated Celestia firmly, moving to pull back the covers for her daughter. Begrudginly Scootaloo relented and crawled into bed, to lazy to change into her pajamas, giving her mom the weird eye as she tucked her in.

"You can leave you know, it's kinda creepy and I'm not a baby."

"True, but you're my baby and I miss being able to tuck you into bed."

"Are you going to ready me a story too?" asked Scootaloo, sarcastically.

"Well I could probably read you Green Eggs and Ham."

Scootaloo glared at her mother, not appreciating the humor one bit. Celestia merely laughed and patted her daughter on the head before heading towards the door and switching off the light.

"Goodnight Sweetheart."

"...'Night Mom."

Celestia closed the door behind her and as soon as she did, a wave of guilt and tiredness came over her. She had fully intended to inform her young daughter about her...father's parole hearing and possible release but she just couldn't bring herself too. Recanting her past was bad enough but the last thing she wanted was to make her daughter feel threatened or unsafe. Besides, nothing was definitive, there was only a slight chance he would get out. Why tell her now when she could tell her when it wasn't a problem? Still, the threat loomed over Celestia and once again she had a restless night of tossing and turning as she dreamed of memories of past events and the fear of what the future would hold.

Plans

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If one were to describe Rainbow Dash in three words or less, those three words would be: Stubborn, Egocentric, Selfish. And Rainbow Dash while Rainbow Dash would argue if anyone said that to her, she admitted to herself and to only herself that there was a bit of truth to it. But only a dash, at least that's what she believed. What she would admit out loud was that she had messed up. Not just with the contributing of Scootaloo's isolation from the people she called friends, but also with Sunset. She didn't like Sunset Shimmer, not one bit however she felt disloyal to Twilight Sparkle by ignoring her wishes in helping the friendless girl. Sure they had only known each other for a few days, but Rainbow Dash could honestly say she considered Twilight Sparkle to be a best friend, and she had gone to great lengths to help her and the girls with repairing their relationship. So grudgingly and guiltily, Rainbow had agreed to meet up with Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie at Sugar Cube Corner to discuss how to help Sunset Shimmer and fix the problem with Scootaloo.

Applejack and Rarity were absent, one too stubborn and the other to blinded by her hatred after years of abuse and bullying. Having gotten out of school early due to the fire, the girls found themselves at the bakery in the midst of the deflating lunch rush. Upon entering the shop, Rainbow Dash was greeted by the familiar scent the bakery had of cinnamon, sugar and chocolate. Mr. Cake, one of the two owners of Sugarcube Corner, the other being his wife, gave the girls a smile as they entered as he recognized Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy as old regulars but Pinkie Pie his employee and surrogate daughter.

The three girls found themselves a small, unoccupied table in the back of the bakery and sat down. Uncharacteristically, Pinkie Pie was twirling a strand of her hair nervously and biting her lip. To acquaintances it would be weird as the girl was always bouncing but to close friends and family, it meant she was thinking. Deeper then usual that is. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy sat awkwardly, waiting for the girl to speak. After a moment she did, still twirling her hair as she did.

"We need to do something about Sunset Shimmer." she stated. Rainbow rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Well no shit, isn't that why we're here?" she exclaimed, crossing her arms. Pinkie Pie could be stupid when she wanted to, like a right now or so Rainbow thought.

"No, what I mean is we need an actual plan. We just can't do this willy-nilly silly!" said Pinkie Pie, her playful and funny nature showing. Fluttershy nodded and then quietly spoke up.

"Well....um...I think we should start with trying to spend time with Sunset and introducing her to friendship. I know it might be easier if we had Rarity and Applejack on our side but until they agree to help there is nothing we can do."

"Ugh, spend time with Shitter? I can't say I'm excited for that."

"Dashie! I know she's been mean to us but that's no reason to be rude. Beside, if you don't want to help then why are you here?" asked Pinkie Pie, who stopped her hair twirling to stare at Rainbow Dash with a dark look. Rainbow Dash sighed and slouched in her chair.

"Because I know it's the right thing to do and I also know that by helping Sunset we can probably help Scoots'."

"Hmm. Well then, I guess we just have to figure out how to become friends with Sunset Shimmer. "

Roseluck was not the strongest or most confident person. In fact she was quite timid and shy, much like her cousins Daisy and Lily, though she could honestly say she was more forward then they are. Still, she was the type to keep a grudge. Even if she was too afraid to speak up and say something when someone walked over her, the moment someone double crossed her, regardless of her relationship with that person, it was near impossible for her to forgive that person.

When Sunset Shimmer had been dethroned by Twilight Sparkle and her friends, something had awoken inside of Roseluck. The teenager came to realize she was tired of holding back. She wanted revenge. Against everyone who had ever hurt her and Roseluck believed that Sunset Shimmer was the perfect target given the fact she was weak and vulnerable. Thinking of the girl brought back every memory of torment since Roseluck had entered High School. The times Sunset Shimmer had stolen her wallet, pushed her in the hallway, stole her iPod. Her blood boiled as she recalled.

Which was probably why she was now at the Kentucky Taco Hut near the school, sitting in a booth and waiting; Waiting for Trixie Lulamoon, an obnoxious, self-centered girl who Roseluck disliked. Disliked because she was always speaking in third person for no reason and the fact that she had stolen Roses cookies in Kindergarten. Normally, she would have never have agreed to meet up with the other teen but what Trixie had said when she pulled her aside in P.E was enough to get her curious. Trixie wanted to put Sunset Shimmer in her place, much like Rose and needed help. It wasn't a surprise that Trixie knew about her distaste for the orange haired girl, having complained about her constantly since the dance. In fact, everyone by now had probably heard her bad mouth Shimmer and mention vague threats.

Half past two, thirty minutes after Roseluck had arrived at the establishment, Trixie walked through the doors, one hand on her hip, the other clutching a laptop against her waist. She strutted up to Rose, a cocky grin on her face as she plopped down next to her, a little too close for comfort.

"Seriously? You told me to meet here and yet you're the one who is late?"

"Hush! Trixie had prior engagements!"

"Then maybe.....look, what do you want?"

"Like Trixie said in P.E, I want revenge on Shimmer! But Trixie need helps and she's heard that you have quite the problem with Shimmer as well."

"You said that already, you haven't stated what sort of help."

"Trixie is a brilliant person, with brilliant ideas but she needs help with....smoothing out the details of her brilliant plan and someone to help her enact it."

"You have no plan." guessed Roseluck, crossing her arms and shaking her head. Trixie huffed and slammed her fist on the table. Nearby customers and the staff of Kentucky Taco Hut looked over, some with concern and others with worry. Roseluck blushed in embarrassment and faked a smile towards those that looked towards them, trying to feign that nothing was going on.

"Trixie does too have a plan!" the blue girl said, raising her voice slightly.

"Look, whether you do or don't have a plan, what makes you think I will help you?"

"You're here aren't you? Speaking to Trixie? Besides, you know you want this almost as much as Trixie does. Revenge on Shimmer. Now, this is Trixie's genius plan....."

Applebloom was not a happy person. Not one bit. Applejack wasn't either but she was more annoyed then angry unlike her younger sister. The two stood in the threshold of their worn farm house, both with their hands on their hips and an temper on the verge of exploding.

"It ain't fair!" stated Applebloom, stomping her foot on the ground.

"I don't care if yah' think it's wrong or not, it's still no!" Applejack was quickly loosing her temper. For the past hour, the younger sibling had been demanding to leave to see her friend and had not stopped pestering for even a moment. She could feel a headache beginning to form and the need to crawl in to bed was intense.

"But why, I didn't do anything wrong and neither did Scootaloo! I don't understand why I can't hang out with her!"

"Because she's a bad influence!"

"That's stupid! You never cared before but now that she's Sunset's sister?" Applebloom could feel tears beginning to build up. The last week of school had been horrid without her second friend in her life. She missed Scootaloo's companionship and longed to have both of her friends with her instead of one. The fact that Applejack had went and banned her from seeing her friend or even interacting with her at school enraged her. Even worse, their older brother agreed and her other friend Sweetie Belle was going through a similar thing with her sister and parents. For the most part she had complied due to fear of punishment, but now that fear was gone and anger was in it's place.

"This has nothing to do with Sunset Shimmer!" exclaimed Applejack.

"It is...you know what, I don't care! I'm going to go to Scootaloo's house!"

"No you're not Sugarcube!" Applejack moved in front of the door that lead to their porch, blocking the exit. The friction between the two was nearly at a breaking point. Applebloom clenched her fists and gritted her teeth.

"You're not my mother or even my legal guardian! You can't tell me what to do, Granny didn't say I couldn't see Scootaloo at all!"

"Hell I can! I don't care what Granny says, I'm protecting you!" retorted the elder teenager.

For a moment, Apple Bloom stood there as if analyzing the situation. Then, she quietly turned on her heel and walked out of the threshold. Applejack was surprised, not expecting her sister to just let a situation go. However, what she didn't expect was Apple Bloom to turn around a few meters away and take a running leap at her.

Morning Visit

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Sun. She couldn't find the sun. No matter how hard she looked, up and down and left and right, she could not find it. Instead, she found a void and intense darkness. No, there was no darkness, there was nothing. No light, no shadows, there was simply nothing. She wasn't even sure if she existed. She tried to look down at her hands, her feet but found nothing. She could feel her body as she ran her hands over her legs and her breasts but she couldn't see. Fear began setting in as she blindly tried to figure out where she was and why she was in this emptiness.

Had she died? Was this purgatory? Was she blind? She thought and thought but could not come up with a possible answer. Then, she remembered her voice.

"Hello? Is anyone here? I-I...I can't see anything...." she called out, her voice cracking due to fear. Then, she realized there was no sound either. Or lack of sound. Was she speaking out loud or was she thinking? She couldn't tell. The fear was now rapidly building and a dizziness began over taking her, her breath becoming shallow and a struggle. She had to get out of there, where there was.

But trying to leave proved pointless. With no way to see where she was going or sound to guide her, she stumbled along. She did realize however that where ever she was, it was never ending and there was smooth surface beneath her, or so thought. When she tried to touch it with her fingers she touched nothing yet still she could feel the ground beneath her bare feet. So she continued on and seconds turned to minutes and minutes to what seemed to be hours and she could still not find the Sun or anything else at all. Her voice had long since grown hoarse from screaming for help or for any one else. Eventually, her feet grew too tired and she found herself gasping for air.

By this point she was delirious and hysterical. Was this a test? Was this punishment for her crimes? She collapsed on the invisible ground, the sensation of tears falling from her eyes.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, please, someone help!"

Then she saw it. The sun. It appeared from nowhere, big and bright, illuminate everything. Sunset could now she she was in a never ending meadow, the ground covered in a thick green grass and a few trees here and three. But something was wrong. The sun was too bright. It burned. It blinded her nearly as much as the void, bringing her pain and forcing her too look away completely and shut her eyes.

'Sunset.'

Though she could not look at it, she knew the sun called her name. It's voice was both cold and warm at the same time and burned just as much as the light it emitted. The voice bore an intense similarity to the voice of her former mentor and adoptive mother, Principal and Princess Celestia. But this was not their voice or rather voices because Sunset knew that their voices were regal and never burned.

"Sunset."

The sun called her name once more, but this time it was even more intense. She could feel an anger in it's voice and she knew without a doubt it was directed at her.

"Look at me, Sunset Shimmer."

The voice commanded authority. The burning sensation was increasing, consuming her entire body. Intense pain overtook her senses, causing a scream to form in the lower regions of her throat. With each second, the light got brighter and brighter and the pain intensified. Bile began rising in throat, threatening to force it's way out of her mouth.

"I said LOOK. AT. ME!"

It was like some unknown being forced her eyes open and turned her head towards the sun. She let out a bloodcurdling scream as pain the pain reached it's climax. Before her, barely visible due to the light, Princess Celestia hoovered in place, her eyes ablaze and her hair on fire. She looked upon Sunset with an anger stronger then a thousand manticores.

"Sunset Shimmer. You have commit some greatest crimes against Equestria; stealing Twilight's crown, abusing an ancient artifact and attempting to enslave all of Equestria. Betraying me. The sentence is immediate death."

"I'm sorry! It was a mistake, I've learned my lesson!"

"That does not excuse your behavior. Your death shall be carried out in the manner of decapitation."

"Please! No! I don't want to die! I won't ever do it again!"

"Don't worry Sunset. It's not like anyone will miss you when you're gone."

Celestia raised her arms towards Sunset, a scythe appearing out of thin air. She grabbed it and then raised it above her head. Sunset tried to run but found herself frozen. Celestia approached her and looked down on her with malice, with a cold laugh she swung the scythe in a downwards motion and Sunset's exploded from pain."
-----

Sunset awoke in a cold sweat, a scream forming in the base of her throat. She gasped for air as she sat up, her hair failing into her face and her heart pounding. Slowly, she calmed herself down as she realized that she was both safe and alive. It has been a dream and yet it had felt very real and scared her. Would Celestia actually do that? Sunset knew her old mentor had an endless supply of kindness and generosity but she would protect her ponies if she needed to.

A soft buzzing echoed through Sunsets bedroom, drawing her attention away from her dream. She quickly recognized it as the sound of her cellphone, muffled by an unknown assailant. She turned her head to her window and through the small slit in between the closed curtains she could tell it was still dark out. Was someone calling? Before dawn? She climbed out of bed, the fall cold seeping into her bones as she fumbled around her room for her phone. She checked her bed and in her end table where she usually put it. After five minutes of searching, she found it in the back pocket of the pants she had been wearing the day before.

Turning on the screen of the phone, she learned two things. One that was 5:45 and the second was she had a notification that she had a text on her phone. Now even more confused and a tad bit curious, she unlocked her phone and opened her messages. At the top, was an private number. 'Sunset Shimmer. Be afraid, your time is coming.' Sunset blinked. Was this a threat? Better yet, who the fuck was texting her at 6:00 AM? She quickly composed a text back, her thumb briefly hesitating over the send button.

'Who the hell is this? Do you know what time it is?' she asked, sending along her message. A moment later, her phone buzzed in her hands as a new text appeared on the screen. 'We are the the Templars. We shall bring justice soon to the people of Canterlot.' Sunset was becoming increasingly worried. What if her dream was real? Had Princess Celestia somehow sent ponies through the portal come and bring her to justice? Was this just someone messing with her?

"Sunset?"

The familiar, soft voice of Celestia called to her gently through her door. For a moment, she thought it was the Princess before she realized how stupid she was being. Princess Celestia was not here but her earth counter part was. Sunset hid her phone as the door to her room open and a tired and concerned looking Celestia, dressed in her signature blue bathrobe and slippers, poked her head in.

"Oh, hi Celestia....uh, can I help you with something?" greeted Sunset, as she stood awkwardly in the middle of her room. The woman frowned at her as she glanced between Sunset and her room, noticing how the girl was just standing in the middle of her room in the dark. She flicked the light next to the door and stepped inside, closing the door behind her. Sunset winced at the bright light, not ready for it.

"I heard you walking around and I was curious as to why you were up so early." said Celestia, a hint of concern in her voice. Sunset opened her mouth to tell Celestia about the odd dream and threatening text messages but quickly closed it, chiding herself for getting worked up over a dream and text most likely sent by some asshole trying to get back at her.

"I....I couldn't sleep so I started pacing I guess." lied Sunset, tucking her phone nonchalantly in to her pajama pants pocket. Celestia squinted at her, as if she was trying to determine the legitimacy of Sunset's answer.

"Pacing? In the dark, what for?" asked Celestia.

"Oh, school." said Sunset, lying again and pretending to be focused on scratching an itchy spot on her arm. Celestia clicked her tongue and shook her head. Sunset could tell that Celestia was seeing through her lies and yet at the same time she wasn't pushing it which made Sunset happy. "So what are you doing up? Shouldn't you be asleep?" asked Sunset, trying to change the subject from her to Celestia.

"Getting ready for work. I'm a high school principal remember? That means I'm usually there for seven. You know, before the students." stated Celestia, answering a pointless question Sunset already knew, with a small smile on her face. "Of course it would be fantastic if the Vice-Principal arrived at the same time I do but I suppose Sleeping Beauty needs her sleep." joked Celestia, shaking her head.

"Well, don't let me keep you." said Sunset, eager to be left to be left alone. Celestia shook her head.

"Actually, I have a bit of time and I've been meaning to talk to you." said Celestia, crossing her arms and giving Sunset another smile. "I wanted to ask you how your quest for making friends is going; I know you've managed to make friends with Miss Hooves." continued on Celestia. Snset looked down at the ground and rubbed her arm.

"We aren't really friends...I mean, she's been nice to me and we had lunch but I'm not sure that counts as friendship." explained Sunset, thinking about Derpy and the other two females she had encountered in the last week, Gilda and Fleur.

"Perhaps not yet, but it certainly sounds like you're off to a good start....What about other students? Have you tried making friends with anyone else?" Sunset sighed and sat down on her bed, crossing her arms.

"...Not really, I mean I tried talking to a few people in my classes but it's gotten me nothing but the cold shoulder, besides I don't know anything about friendship, I'd probably just mess it all up." said Sunset dejectedly. Celestia let out a sigh and sat down on the bed next to Sunset, giving her a one armed hug and pulling her close.

"I think you'd make a great friend to someone, you just need a little bit of help and practice. What about Princess Twilight's friends? I was under the impression they were going to help you out in the Friendship field." Sunset snorted at her adoptive mother's mentioning of Twilight's friends. Like those girls were interested in actually helping her. Besides, she wasn't particularly fond of them anyway so it wasn't really a loss.

"I don't think they're interested." said Sunset, simplifying the situation. Celestia squeezed her tighter and kissed her on the forehead.

"Well I'm sure you can figure it out and if not, I'm always here if you need me, though helpful suggestion, if you plan on looking outside of Canterlot High for some friends, Starswirl's School of The Gifted is having their Open House day on Friday, most of their student body will be there as well as many students from both here in Canterlot and out of town. It would be a great chance to make some friends." explained Celestia.

"Can I do that, just show up at an Open House? I'd be out of place." said Sunset, uncomfortable with the situation. Celestia let out a small laugh.

"It's Open House for a reason; anyone, so long as they don't go and commit a crime or misbehave, is allowed inside. You won't be the only teenager from another school walking around. Besides, it's more fun then it sounds. They have free tours, lectures, you can sit in on the classes and then at around two or three, they have luncheon which of course isn't free, but I can spot you some money there." stated Celestia, very familiar with what could easily be Canterlot High School's biggest rival.

"Isn't that during school?" asked Sunset, trying to find a way out of the situation. It just felt wrong, even though her old self probably wouldn't give two fucks about it. Or anything. That was a new thing about her, she felt a sort of desire to not piss people off which was why she was so reluctant to befriend people at her school. Still, Celestia's plan was a good one mostly because it had been hers originally; scope out the other schools and look for any potential friend candidates. That plan had been pushed into the back of her mind due to school and her encounters with the trusting Derpy, the brave Gilda and empathetic and beautiful Fleur. True, Gilda and Fleur were nothing more then casual strangers and Sunset knew she was unlikely to see either of them again....well, Gilda anyway, but despite their brief encounters she had felt something when she had been with them. Happiness? It was strange, she couldn't place the feeling.

"Well I'm sure your studies won't suffer if you miss one day." stated Celestia, which in turn cause Sunset to stare. Celestia, condoning her to skip school? Mind you it was to go to another school but still, it was for non-Academic reasons. Unless you were sick, someone died in the family or another family emergency, Celestia didn't like students playing hooky especially when two of those students were her children. "Besides, I'll make sure you get all your homework from your teachers as well as all class notes." Sunset groaned, of course there was a catch. "Well you don't have to give me an answer now, but if you do want to go I'll drop you off and pick you up. Now, I need to get ready for work before I'm-"

Celestia found herself cut off by the familiar chime of the doorbell. Almost instantaneously, she was on guard. While she had no reason to feel for her safety, having someone ring the bell at 6:00 AM was not a everyday event. Briefly her mind turned to Tirek but she pushed him out of her mind. He was in jail and he wasn't likely going to notify her of his arrival if he was out.

"Stay here." she commanded Sunset as she hesitantly made her way out of Sunset's room. Sunset, ever curious debated on following through with the order before curiosity got the better of her and she followed after Celestia, to her annoyance. Celestia gave her adoptive daughter a disapproving look over her shoulder but chose not to push it as the doorbell rang again, this time followed by heavy knocking. She descended the stairs and made her way to the front door, Sunset shadowing her all the way.

As she approached the front door, the knocks and ringing got a little more insistent. Whoever was on the other side of the door was desperate for an answer. As she stopped in front of the door, she considered a series of scenarios on to who was on the otherside. A burglar? Unlikely since they had rang the doorbell. And probably not an early morning ding-dong ditcher because they were still ringing it. Someone looking for help? 'There is only one way to find out.' thought Celestia. She fumbled with the locks, paranoia gently eating away at her.

The moment she opened the door she was greeted by both confusion and concern. Standing on her stoop was a pair of police officers, one male, one female, both looking annoyed and tired. Behind them, Celestia could see their police cruiser parked next to her curb. "Can I help you officers?" she asked, wondering what would warrant an early morning visit from the police.

"Are you Celestia Solaris?" asked the male police officer, adjusting his hat and straightening up. She hesitantly nodded in response, unsure where the conversation was going.

"If it's alright with you, we'd like to come in. I'm afraid we have important matters we need to discuss."

Dawn of the New Day

by QueenOfTheSilence

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Work

By Celestia's.....

Regression

Repercussions

Gifts

Guilty by relation

Whiskey and Talk

Outings

My Bad!

Afterschool Blues

Cracks

Backstory

Plans

Morning Visit