Motherless, afraid, starving and alone. Nyx is only a little girl, forced to live on the streets of Canterlot City. Disregarded by everybody the young girl is sure to die, had she not been found by the only one who took time to notice her.
For one so young to be alone such as her would be to throw a child over a cliff. Darkness would surely take her and in the end starvation end her. She was alone in the world, nobody to care for her anymore, and just weeks after a tragedy that led her to this state. She was lost in the world, awaiting a fate she had no concept of.
She was wild when she found her, a little girl in rags, afraid of contact with strangers, with people who had showed her mistreatment since she had come to be homeless and in poverty. Still she took her in, and cared for her. They formed a bond that could be unbroken. A home provided, a person to count on, talk to, and care for her. Somebody to love her for who she is.
This is NOT supposed to be a rewrite or copy of Past Sins, some events in the first few chapters may be similar, or have some elements that mirror some of the events. Later chapters will be very different. Please be open minded.
Rain poured down all over Canterlot city; lightning flashed and thunder rumbled in the sky above. Cars drove by on the wet roads, and the streetlights glowed on the sidewalks and roads, illuminating the street and lighting the way for all who walked by. The sound of a child's coughing filled the ears of all who walked by with their umbrellas open to keep dry, oblivious to the turquoise eyes that watched them pass from a cardboard box, close to a bench which sat by a wall.
The child whose eyes watched the adult pass, hugged her knees, her hair a tangled mess which covered her face, and her clothes like rags. She had no emotion other than sadness, despair and loneliness. She was as silent as the dead, and if noticed, would surely look like she had died. But no one noticed, no one cared.
The girl simply sat there, unwanted, unloved, neglected, abandoned and alone. Her eyes grew heavy, and slowly the child's head came to rest on her knees, there she fell asleep. The rain continued to patter down all through the night and into the morning, where it was slowly coming to rest.
It was at this time, out in the countryside suburbs of Canterlot City, close to the Apple farms and orchards, that the girl with fire-colored hair had gotten up and out of bed.
Sunset Shimmer yawned and stretched her arms, she waited for her eyes to adjust to the light of her room. Her hair was a tangled mess, her clothes creased and loose. Her digital alarm clock beeped, its lights flashing until she brought down her hand, hitting the top of it with her fist before letting out another yawn.
She sighed and got up out of her bed, and showered quickly. She paced herself, a stop watch was running on her bedside table. She finished, dried and dressed in her usual attire.
“Ah! Much better.” She sighed, turning to a mirror to look at herself. Though cleaned and dried, her hair was still a mess.
She cringed at this, slowly but carefully with gentle care, she brushed the long strands of fiery hair which shone brightly in the light. Once it was finished, she turned to her bedside table and hit stop on the watch.
“Twenty five minutes…” She sighed. “Better, but not perfect.”
She left the stop watch where it was once writing down her time on a piece of paper with all sorts of times written in rows on it. She left her bedroom and sat against the railing of her staircase. She slid down it, laughing while she did than finally hopping off when she reached the bottom. A cell phone rang on the kitchen table, and as she was entering, she reached for it and flipped it open.
“Good morning, Pinkie Pie,” Sunset said in a cheerful tone of voice.
“Good Morning, Sunset!!! I wanted to ask if you were going to come shopping with us this afternoon? Are you up for it? Are you? ARE YOU?!?!” Pinkie spoke very loudly and very quickly.
Sunset blinked and thought about it. "Well... I suppose I could... But don't expect me to spend a lot. I’ve only got so much left.”
“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie replied with much joy.
“What was stopping you from asking me at school?” She leaned against the counter, her arm wrapped across her stomach.
“Well...” Pinkie started. “At first I was, but then I thought ‘What if you forget, Pinkie?’ So listening to my own advice, I decided to call you and ask instead!”
Sunset chuckled. “Sounds like an idea.”
“It does, doesn't it?!” the over enthusiastic teen asked. “Oh! By the way, did you manage to beat Rainbow’s wake up preparation time?”
Sunset sighed and banged her forehead on the table. “No, I got twenty five minutes... again…”
“And that’s all you’re gonna get, sleepy head! I hope you’re ready for our new song set to debut today!”
“Rainbow Dash?! Uh.. yeah I’ll be ready, don’t you worry.”
“Good, that’s what I want to hear. Catch you at school.” What followed was the sound of Pinkie reaching for the cell phone and giggling loudly.
“Sorry about that, Rainbow came by this morning. Anyway, I'll see you at school. Byyyeee!!!” And with that, Pinkie Pie hung up.
Sunset closed her phone and sighed, letting out a slight chuckle. “Guess I can't argue with them once plans are made, and now I have to go shopping with her, can't bail now.” She smiled brightly, putting her phone away and prepared a simple breakfast.
While she ate her mind turned to the emptiness of her home and how quiet it got. It brought on feelings of loneliness which bothered her greatly. She swallowed what she had scooped into her mouth and held her head between her hands.
“Maybe I should go back to Equestria, my Equestria... I haven't been back there in a long time…” She shook her head. “No, no, you have friends here, Sunset Shimmer. Though admittedly, it’s starting to feel even less exciting without you, Twilight.”
She sighed and looked at a picture of Princess Twilight, giving the peace sign while posing with Flash and the girls not long after the defeat of the Dazzlings. Putting the picture back, Sunset thought about sending a message to the princess; she looked over to the book which bore her cutie mark emblem and sighed.
“You know, as tempted as I am to ask you to take me back for a little while, I don't think I'd fit in anymore.”
Sunset drank the milk in her bowl and smiled in melancholy. She picked up the old book and set it into her bag before washing up. She slung it over her shoulder and went upstairs quickly to brush her teeth. A knock came at her door downstairs, twice in a row. This quickly caught Sunset's attention, who managed to gargle: “I'll be right there!”
She spat out the water that was once toothpaste and wiped her mouth. Another two knocks came and with those knocks, Sunset came running down the stairs, jumping the last four steps to reach the door. She opened it to see Flash Sentry on the other side.
“Uh… Hey Sunset. Would you like to walk to school with me?” he smiled.
“Hey, Flash.” Sunset smiled. “Sure, I’d… I’d love to.”
~~~
“So,I heard you’ll be playing a new song during that concert you girls have planned for the day. Are you excited?” Flash asked Sunset as they walked along the path.
The leaves of trees dripping with rain water loomed overhead, there were plenty of gaps to view the sky and sun which were covered by gray, dreary clouds.
“Excited isn’t the term I would use.” Sunset replied. “I’m not nervous either, I’m actually concerned. The song we’ll be performing isn’t quite finished.”
“Really? I thought you were the one writing it, did Rainbow Dash rush you?”
Sunset looked at Flash like this was nothing new. “She’s just as excited for the concert as we are, and while I don’t want to use the song in its present state, we can’t exactly back out now.”
“That’s right, you promised that the Rainbooms would have a new song ready by today's concert.” Flash looked at her.
Sunset nodded. “Yeah, but like I said, I haven’t finished it yet. We’ve rehearsed what’s been written already, mostly out of desperation. I just needed a little more time.”
The two teenagers passed by a pond with Koi fish swimming about, and Draconequus statues overgrown with vines which marked Tree Hugger's house. As they passed by Sunset took a quick glance at the statues, only to shudder with a chill up her spine.
After almost a full hours walk, Flash and Sunset left the countryside suburbs behind, and entered into one of the outer districts of Canterlot City. Cars whizzed by on the roads and buildings towered high in the distance, including the mountainside ruins of Castle Nightstone, visible in the distance along the Canter hills; some ways beyond the city limits.
Flash and Sunset, now only a few blocks away from Canterlot High School had stopped by the Cake family cafe for a quick bite. Yes, upon entering into the store the smells of fresh pastries, hot, cold or lukewarm wafted into the nostrils of Sunset and Flash, as did the smell of coffee and tea enjoyed by small group of Canterlot High students.
“Did you want anything, Sunset?” Flash turned to look at Sunset and awaited her reply, but she shook her head.
“No, I’m fine, Flash. Thank’s anyway.”
Flash smiled and Sunset and turned back to Mrs. Cake whom took Flash’s order.
Meanwhile, Sunset took a seat by the window and waited. At the table across from hers, Sunset’s ears caught wind of Lyra, Bon Bon and Minuette discussing something they must’ve heard on the news. It grabbed at Sunsets attention, and while she knew eavesdropping was rude, she couldn’t help but get closer to the girls, if only to hear what is was they were discussing, but all she could make out was something about the Metroplex Mall.
“I highly doubt that, Lyra.” Bon Bon replied to her ‘best friend’. “There’s no way a child that young could have a self sustained lifestyle in an environment like that. Stuff like that happens around the Metroplex Mall anyway, so the odds of a child committing crimes would be nothing too unique, or realistic.”
The conversation came to a sudden end upon the interjection of Lemon Hearts.
“Schools going to start shortly, we should get going.”
And without another word, the girls gathered their belongings and left the store, just as Flash returned to a rather curious and somewhat concerned Sunset Shimmer.
“Hey, Flash?” Sunset called to as she followed him outside.
“Yes?” He replied with a little bit of coconut slice in his mouth.
“I just overheard Lyra, Bon Bon and Minuette talking about something, I didn’t catch enough to get an idea about what they were saying something about the Metroplex Mall.”
Flash swallowed his ‘breakfast’ and Looked at Sunset dumbfounded. “You haven’t heard?”
Sunset held her arms out to her sides cluelessly. “Heard what?”
“Well.. it’s just a rumor that’s been going around the school lately, but apparently, a little girl has been sighted in the Metroplex area, in rags and with wild hair. Not much older than four or five. Mostly sneaking into stores and taking whatever she can. She always seems to get away.”
Sunset looked shocked. “A homeless little girl? Who would abandon a child like that?”
“I don't know, but if you ask me, I think it's wrong. Nobody's doing anything about it either. No police, no child care services, nothing.”
Sunset was too shocked to even say another word. It was a very big surprise to her, to have heard of a child that young committing petty crimes. This shock lasted until she arrived at Canterlot High School. Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Applejack all sat around the fully repaired horse statue where the portal to the other Equestria lay dormant. Flash passed them, waving to Sunset Shimmer, who didn't wave back. She simply stared off into space, thinking. She pondered what sort of circumstances could have put a girl in such a position, but her train of thought would soon be broken.
“Did we miss a starin’ contest or somethin’?” Applejack asked jokingly with a snicker.
Sunset blinked and shook her head. “Huh? N-no, sorry. I was just wondering…”
“Wondering what, darling?” Rarity inquired.
“W-well... have any of you girls heard of a four or five year old girl committing petty theft around the Metroplex Mall?”
A majority of the group simply shook their heads at Sunset Shimmer, except Fluttershy and Applejack.
“I've heard a thing or two about it, the poor dear must be so lonely out there…” Fluttershy said in a sympathetic tone.
“If Ah had mah way, Ah'd find the parents, and string ‘em up by their hair for abandonin’ the poor thing.” Applejack's tone was more angry than that of Fluttershy's.
Sunset looked down, placing her hand on her free arm in thought. “I just feel sorry for the girl. Four years old, no parents. I'm surprised she's not... you know…”
“That’s just luck, she probably scavenges. Eat out of the bin, stuff like that,” Rainbow theorized.
“Maybe... Even so it seems very cruel to just disregard her and pass her off as a nuisance. Authorities won't even look for her, apparently…”
The five teens noted Sunset's feelings toward the topic and looked at one another to decide on what to say next to change the subject.
“Hey, you’re not going to let this distract you from playing that new song of ours in the gym, are you?” Rainbow Dash smiled.
Sunset shook her head, her face brightening with a smile. “No way, I’d never let anything distract me from this. It’ll be the only time we can play for a crowd before the school festival. I don’t want to see our time setting it up put to waste on account of my feelings.”
The girls smiled at Sunset who felt a tonne better now. Thunder rumbled loudly in the distance, making the girls jump. They all looked at each other and laughed as the rain started to fall, forcing them to make a run for the door. Rainbow Dash held it open just long enough for the teenaged girls to come in, closing it when there was no one else in sight. The whole foyer area was crowded with almost all students from all walks of life. Yet the staircase was surprisingly empty, save for three shapes hunched over and staring hatefully toward the Rainbooms.
Sunset quickly noticed the three, and kindly waived, only for her to be met with cold stares from the Dazzlings, Adagio and Aria. Sonata, however, was scooping up chocolate chip ice cream from a small tub and eating it. Sunset Shimmer put her hand down, unfazed by the Dazzlings’ stares, though she was cautious about them. She turned to her group who were talking among themselves.
“So, anyone else going shopping with me and Pinkie this afternoon?”
“Naturally I'll be tagging along, darling. I wouldn't pass up the chance to get new clothes, if only to get some ideas,” Rarity chimed.
“Ah need to get some gardenin’ tools fer Apple Bloom.” Applejack said with a smile
“I ain't interested.” Rainbow shrugged with disinterest, a tone of uncaring in her voice.
“I’ve got to go to the animal shelter later this afternoon.” Fluttershy frowned regretfully.
“That’s cool, we'll each buy you something, if you'd like?” offered Sunset.
“I’d like a bunny plush, if that's okay…” Fluttershy smiled.
“Maybe a new pick for my guitar?” wondered Rainbow Dash.
Sunset nodded. “Easy enough.” She smiled widely.
Over by the stairs, the Dazzlings continued to watch their enemies like vultures. Though mostly Adagio and Aria, the leader had her arms folded whilst leaning on the railing, while Aria was sitting down, hunched over and resting her arms on her knees.
“Look at them, all happy and cheery as if everything was alright,” hissed Aria.
“But it is!” Sonata exclaimed with positivity.
“No it isn't. Our pendants are broken, and we’re starved and powerless. Would you get a clue for once…” Aria gritted her teeth in frustration toward Sonata.
“Cut it out you two. It doesn't matter that much, even without our pendants we can still get our power back. If their magic is strong enough to destroy our pendants, then it is more then likely to repair them. We just need to figure out how to make it work.” Adagio interlocked her fingers and flattened out her hands between her mouth and nose.
Aria rolled her eyes, while Sonata dug into more of the ice cream.
“Even if that was so, and we figured out how to fix our pendants, we still don't have enough power to sing everyone back to their negative selves.” Aria folded her arms.
Adagio caught sight of Sunset Shimmer as she approached them. The lead siren motioned to her sisters to keep quiet, to which they did.
“Hey… Adagio, Sonata and Aria... I know we don't get along but Pinkie Pie wanted to know, and I wanted to know, if you three would like to come shopping with us this afternoon, to make up for beating you a while back?”
Adagio scoffed at this. “Why would we want to mingle with you and your pals after foiling our plans!”
“You brought that on yourselves.” Sunset kept her calm.
“I’ll come along.” Sonata offered, only to be whacked on the back of the head by Aria. “Ow…”
“Idiot…” Aria turned away and folded her arms.
Sunset sighed. “Be that way. But the door is always open if you want to make amends.” She turned around and walked back to her friends while Adagio sneered and sighed.
Pinkie looked over at the returning Sunset Shimmer and smiled. “Any luck?”
Sunset sighed. “No, they're still bent on hating us.”
“That's a strong word, sister,” Tree Hugger said as she passed.
The girls watched the hippy pass by harmlessly before sighing.
“Well, that's their decision. Too bad for them.” Rainbow Dash folded her arms and closed her eyes.
“I can't help but feel Adagio has it out for me personally. It's worrying, like she'll suck my power right out of me in my sleep.” Sunset hugged herself and shivered.
Applejack put a hand on Sunset's shoulder. “Relax, Sunset. Without their gems, they're powerless. And besides, Ah don’t think they’d be able to do much with voices as bad as manure.”
Sunset blinked with a sudden realization and looked around. “By the way, where is Twilight?”
“She called in sick. I don’t think it’s too bad for her.” Rarity folded her arms. “ After all, she’s always caught up in all those books, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was hardly a thing left for her to learn.”
“Such is the life of an egghead,” sighed Rainbow.
The bell rang loudly for the first period of the day. The girls looked at the bell and started to disperse, each to their different classes. The Dazzlings stood up and descended the remaining three steps, each one tossing a quick glance at the other before going off in a different direction to three separate classes.
~~~
The day went on as it usually did. Sunset was like a grade A student, the rest of the Rainbooms were themselves for much of their lessons, except the ones they were good at, in which they excelled.
The Dazzlings did as best they could in their lessons, despite the scorn they got from their classmates. At random points during the day she thought back to that conversation she had with flash earlier that that morning, the little homeless girl, for some reason bothered her. She would have kept this train of thought had she not caught Aria humming a tune to herself and mumbling some lyrics. It was a slight instance of paranoia that kept her eyes fixated on the siren.
Aria could tell Sunset was watching her and rolled her eyes. She turned back to look at her enemy with exasperation running rampant.
“Would you not look at me when I'm trying to work?!” she hissed.
Sunset turned her eyes back to her textbook while Aria turned back to her own book.
“They’re beaten... There’s no more need to worry, Sunset... As if that were easy to believe,” Sunset thought to herself.
Aria sighed and rested her forehead against her wrist as she wrote down in a book, she then moved her free hand to where her crystal had once been, and she touched her neck as if caressing the now destroyed jewel. The siren sighed as if to be in total disappointment at the loss, but not too disappointed as to be discouraged from future plans.
After the second period finished, Sunset Shimmer hurried to the gym to play with the band, the rain outside having subsided for the time being. Sunset pushed open the Gym doors and walked over to the other five Rainbooms who were setting up their instruments and checking the mics.
“Yo! This is a mic check, helloo!!!!” The whole room shook as the microphone rang out loudly from the feedback with Rainbow's voice.
Everyone had covered their ears as a result and Vinyl pulled off her headphones. They all shot a bemused glare at Rainbow Dash who grinned and blushed in embarrassment.
Rainbow laughed and shrugged. “Hehe, whoops.”
Sunset picked up her guitar and strummed on the strings a little before adjusting them and trying again. Pinkie beat on her drums for a moment, Rarity played a small tune on her keytar, Fluttershy shook her tambourine, all together making a rather unique tune. Vinyl stood by the soundboard and made sure the girls were set at the right tune and frequency.
In due time students started entering the gym. Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna came in to see the performance as well and stood by the back behind what was becoming a massive crowd. The Rainbooms looked out toward the large audience and smiled at each other and the audience.
“Good afternoon Canterlot High!!” Rainbow shouted into the mic, a cheer came as a result.
Sunset spoke into her microphone next. “A big thanks to Canterlot High’s favorite Gym teacher, Iron Will, for letting us borrow the Gym for this! As well as smelling like a jock.”
The crowd laughed, even Principal Celestia couldn’t help herself except stifle her oncoming giggle as Iron Will lifted his arm up and sniffed.
“And a big thanks to our principals for allowing us to go through with this performance!!"
"You ready Rainbooms?!" Applejack asked the band.
The answer came with the sound of Rainbow's guitar starting off, followed by Fluttershy's tambourine and the rest followed each confirming with their sound, Sunset leaned into the mic swaying and moving as she did.
“I sat in my bed And it was late at night, And I look up at the bright stars. Maybe we can make a wish On one just like the sun!
I lost all my hope in the following void as dark as a moonless night! Then I found it again with my friends, That’re by my side!
Can you stand in darkness, with the light gone out Could you stand to stare with no one in sight!
Can't for once we hope In this world of hate! Where the darkness is like a blanket. The people call for us to wash away the dark.
The group's instruments seemed to pick up the tempo. Rainbow Dash and Applejack’s strummed multiple times, Pinkie Pie beat on the drums while Flutteshy and Rarity provided back up sounds Each of the teens pony features appeared.
“And as I sit alone In my bed at night! I look up to the stars. And I smile, as they shine down on me.
I can see a brighter world Without a shred of taint. One we can go without fret.
I wish upon the brightest star To hope and dream again!”
The band replayed the same sound as before, than they joined in with Sunset, all five of them.
“And as I sit alone In my bed late at night! I look up to the stars. And I smile while they shine down on me.
I can see a world that is bright, One without a shred of hate, and one without the dark!”
And the song concluded with the guitars playing, and the band was quickly met with a roar of applause which filled the room. The Rainbooms took a bow and thanked everyone for coming and thanked the principals and gym teacher once again.
“Thank you everybody for coming! Stay awesome!!” Rainbow Dash shouted over the mic, everybody cheering once more.
~~~
Adagio, Sonata and Aria sat around on the roof of the main school building, overlooking the gym where their enemies sang. The three were training their voices to be nearly as perfect as they once were. So far they had only managed to get it a fraction better than it was before their gems broke, but the difficulty proved to be exasperating. Adagio was hell bent on learning to sing once more, so much so she would keep going until her own throat burned. And Aria quickly grew tired of it. She groaned out load and clenched her fists.
“Why do we even bother doing this, Adagio?! Learning to sing is even worse than having our necklaces broken! We’ve barely managed to attain natural perfection, and it's starting to look like a lost cause!”
“Now, now Aria, this is only temporary, at least until we can find a substitute for our old necklaces.”
Adagio held her hand to where her pendant once hung, only to clench her own fists which cracked and hurt from her finger nails.
“As if we'll find others like them. Our gems came with us from Equestria, remember?!” Aria gritted her teeth.
“I remember! Probably better than the both of you!” Adagio shouted and stood up. She walked over to the railing, and looked down at the Rainbooms with their music blaring through a sky window.
“Equestrian magic is spreading throughout this world, each time the portal opens and only small strands of it barely escape when the bridge is closed. I can feel it like warm wind on my bare skin. The magic is seeping through and will fill this world to the brim. But by then we will have our powers back, and this world will finally be ours.”
Adagio turned back to her friends and approached them with a sinister smile. "Until then, we must ensure that we aren’t too hasty, and not so rash in our actions; until the time comes.
“In the meantime, we must do what we can to strengthen our voices. We are of Equestria after all, and our powers will work to some degree, even without the necklaces.” The siren smiled as maliciously as ever.
Aria rolled her eyes and stormed back inside just as it started to rain. Adagio and Sonata got pelted with raindrops and followed Aria inside as quickly as they could. Aria waited for them. She leaned against a wall with her arms folded and a somber expression on her face.
“Nice of you to join me, you two.” Aria’s tone sounded more depressing than usual.
Adagio simply gave her an unphased look, her mouth became crooked and her eyes formed an unpleasant stare before she and Sonata headed down to the school foyer. Aria followed silently, keeping her eyes fixed to the floor. During this time the Rainbooms met up in the music room, smiling and cheering for each other as the energy was high.
“That was awesome! We’ve totally got to revamp it for the school festival!” Rainbow practically screamed and suggested in her hyperactivity. She flapped her wings and did a mid air backflip despite the small space.
Sunset put her guitar away in its casing and turner her head to look at the group behind her. “I'm still kind of figuring out which lyrics fit, hope, moon and dark don’t really fit together you know? I was lucky enough to have a working version in time for the debut.”
Sitting on a stool nearby, Rarity read the lyrics out of Sunset’s book. Her eyes moved scross the pages and occasionally she would cringe. She put it down and looked at Sunset whilst rubbing the back of her neck.
“Well, while it is rough around the edges, I for one adore this song. Give it some some time, and though and I’m certain it'll be beautiful. However I feel that it's a tad unsuited for our band.”
Sunset cheeks went red. “I-I know, I still have a lot of work to do on it. I figured it would be a fine addition to our growing number of songs.”
“That may be, darling, but doesn’t it seem a bit…odd?”
“And Ah suppose ears, wings and pony tails ain’t?” Aj asked from nearby.
Rarity paused and closed her eyes. “Fair enough.”
Rainbow came to land and her wings, ears and ponytail vanished. “Odd choice of words or not, the song was liked well enough, and it's our first original piece since the Battle of the Bands. We have Sunset to thank for that.”
Sunset blushed further as each of the Rainbooms praised her for her good work. Just as the group stepped out of the music room, they paused in their steps as they caught sight of the Dazzlings passing by.
“Princess Twilight told us to keep an eye on them in case they decided to stick around,didn’t she?” asked Pinkie Pie.
“She did,” replied Sunset. “And I think she was right to tell us. I get bad feelings watching them, there's nothing all too foreboding, but it's sometimes good to be on edge, especially when you have an unshakable hunch.”
“Guess we ought to start takin’ heed to Twilight's suggestion, one can never know if they are really up to anything or not,” Applejack said with a furrowed brow.
“In any case, our suspicion may seem needless. they might truly be powerless,” said Fluttershy.
Sunset sighed. “Maybe... Maybe not... It’s pointless to just watch them after all. They’re harmless.”
“Ah know you want to find the good in them, Sunset, but Ah think they’re far from harmless” Applejack sighed. “Still, we should still be careful.”
Suddenly the bell rang, and everyone began to split up and head to their respective classes. Just before she took off, Sunset stopped and turned her sights on Aria. Something seemed off about her, her posture and body language seemed to suggest something was wrong with her. But Aria didn't take kindly to being looked at. She grit her teeth angrily toward Sunset and barged past Adagio and Sonata down the hall and out of sight.
This left Sunset to wonder if Aria was stable at all. Meanwhile, Adagio seemed to give off a spiteful aura toward Aria, potent enough to feed on.
They didn’t linger long. Adagio and Sonata parted, and it left Sunset to wonder.
~~~
The remaining hours flew by and in turn, so did the lessons. Adagio, and Aria felt as if they were being watched with the carefulness of a lion stalking its prey. Aria was bothered by it, Sonata was oblivious to it, but Adagio was amused. She had anticipated that the Rainbooms would keep an eye on them, per Twilight's instruction in case they decided to stick around.
The bell rang for the end of school and the Sirens each came to meet one another in the foyer as The Rainbooms came from their lockers to meet in the same place. They started talking amongst themselves when the Dazzlings arrived. Both parties exchanged cold glances toward one another, but Adagio kept her cool, a confident smile plastered on her face. Meanwhile Sunset watched on with neutrality, her eyes mostly fixed on Aria.
“I’m so sorry we can't go shopping with you, Rainbooms. Maybe next time.” Adagio laughed to herself as she and her cohorts passed them by and left the school.
Rainbow showed great dislike toward them, her anger at a simmering point. “I really don’t like those girls, why do they even hang around here, anyway?”
Rarity shrugged at Rainbow's words, while Sunset started to think long and hard.
“I’m not sure if they’re trying to spite us, or just be unpleasant. I’m all for forgiving them and all, but it’s almost annoying when they do that...” sighed Sunset.
“Come to the darkside, where the dazzlings are despised,” Rainbow said in an old man's voice while she twiddled her fingers and laughed.
Sunset rolled her eyes. “Very funny…”
Pinkie hopped and skipped and twirled over in front of Sunset. “So are you ready to go?”
“yeah, I have my shopping bags ready and waiting.” Sunset held up enough bags for herself, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rarity.
“Great! We can get going now!!” Pinkie Pie said loudly and dashed out the door like a pink lightning bolt.
“Guess we’ll catch you later, girls.” Rainbow waved and walked out, Scootaloo followed not far behind.
Fluttershy waved to them and followed Rainbow Dash with a smile. Sunset, Aj, and Rarity glanced at each other and started walking out through the doors. They looked around for Pinkie Pie, only there was no sign of her. That was until they heard the beep of a car horn.
“Hey girls! Over here!” Pinkie called out and waved from the window.
“Least we won’t be walkin’ in the rain.” Aj hurried over to the car. “C’mon you two.”
“Best not to waste any time. Wait for us!” Rarity called out and ran over to the vehicle with Sunset in tow.
~~~
The four teens laughed at each other’s jokes and looked at all the clothes on sale. Many of the students from Canterlot High frequented the Metroplex Mall whenever school was out, and Sunset was no exception. She looked around in windows at clothes and shoes, while Applejack had gone off to get those gardening tools for Apple Bloom. Meanwile, Pinkie Pie and Rarity were off staring at their own interests, though not too far.
“These boots look cool, What do you think, Rarity? Would these look good with my jacket?”
Rarity thought about it for a second. “Hmm... if they studded knee length boots with some chains attached to the neck than maybe. But personally, I think these would look nice as casual wear”
“Fifty-five dollars?!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she examined a showgirl style looking dress.
Sunset and Rarity looked at Pinkie then at one another.
“Maybe we should look in another shop,” Sunset suggested.
“Oh! How about Hoity Toitys Metroplex branch Boutique. I believe they’re having a sale.” Rarity looked out toward an extravagant looking store just over yonder.
“I don’t see anything wrong with just a look.” Sunset said with a smile.
“Splendid!” Rarity cried. “Pinkie Pie, we’re going over to Hoity Toity’s store, won’t you join us?”
Pinkie seemed to instantaneously snap to attention at the mention of another store and eagerly joined the two. Thunder rumbled above outside. A storm that had been predicted earlier that day was coming closer and closer.
“Hopefully we'll be out of here before that storm hits.” Rarity said, while she looked up at the ceiling and frowned.
“Hopefully…” Sunset whispered.
Rarity lead the two over to the clothes store; in the windows there were clothes on display, the likes of which made Rarity green with envie.
“Waahh! Look at how finely made they are... Oh how I wish I could make outfits as grand as those... Those frilly skirts, flower petal sleeves, the large bows that look like wings, the—”
“Massive ego that went into makin’ them?” Applejack put in quickly after having rejoined the group.
Sunset and Pinkie Pie burst into laughter, but Rarity was not amused.
“Say what you will, Applejack. Hoity Toity's works are classics and works of art!”
Applejack put her hands up in surrender, smiling in amusement.
“Well let’s not wait around. I want to try on some clothes.” Pinkie Pie grinned.
Rarity put on a grin of her own. “Of course, Pinkie Pie, let's not dawdle, we mustn't wait another moment! Life is a runway when you see it my way, and we mustn't keep the audience waiting.”
And with that, the four of them headed into the store. Rarity was all too eager to force all manner of clothing on the girls, under the pretense that they’d look divine. Of course, Rarity looked through all the available ensembles until a few caught her eye, and like the fashion diva she was, turned to Pinkie Pie and Sunset with two dresses they’d like and hurried them into changing rooms; with herself moving back and aiming her phone at the doors.
“Okay dears, whenever you’re ready!” She called.
“Rarity, is this dress really okay?” Sunset asked; distressed.
“Well of course it is, Sunset. I picked out because I thought you’d look wonderful in it.”
Sunset came out in a purple, sparkling top and white jeans. “I am not a fan of exposing my midriff, it’s embarrassing…”
“Oh please, with all that talk about nudity being common place in your world, one would think you’d have no problem showing off a bit of skin.” Rarity chuckled.
“I look ridiculous!” Sunset retorted, flustered.
“you look ravishing, darling!” Rarity's grin was ear to ear.
“There’s nothing wrong with a little sex appeal!” Pinkie seemed to sing.
She came out of the second changing room in a frilly skirt, pink blouse with a white buttoned up vest that had a candy theme to it. The arms were sleeveless to a point just before it reached the elbow. There were pink leggings that came with the dress and a small top hat.
“Lookin’ mighty formal there, Pinkie Pie. You look like a natural candy girl.” Applejack smiled.
Rarity took photographs of Pinkie Pie and Sunset Shimmer. She marveled at the beauty of the dresses and was almost on the verge of tears. “You girls look simply gorgeous. Applejack, are you certain you don't want to model some of these gorgeous ensembles?”
“Ah’m certain, Rarity. Ah got what Ah came for, and Ah took the liberty of getting what Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy wanted.”
“That was nice of you to do that, Applejack.” Sunset smiled.
Applejack smiled brightly then saw the time. “Five thirty already?! We've been so busy modeling we hardly noticed the time. Probably best if we grab a meal and go before the Mall closes.”
“But we only tried on two costumes...” Pinkie whined.
“Let us change back first.” Sunset turned and walked back into the changing rooms.
“And while you do that, I think I'll buy these!” Rarity held up some beautiful foreign dresses from Hoity Toity's eastern styles range.
Sunset picked up three dresses, and with reluctance, the outfit she wore just then, per Rarity’s urging, maybe having it wouldn’t be so bad. Each dress was scanned and paid for, and finally the girls left the store with something to be happy about. The thunder clapped once more and rain started to fall hard. The stores of the mall started to close for the night.
While she looked around, Sunset wondered if there really was a little girl stealing from the people who came to this place. Having seen nothing of this, she started to doubt whether this child was real.
In only a few moments, the rumor was about to become real.
The mall was on its slow way to closing down. People had started to clear the premises as thunder cracked loudly in the distance,as it made its slow approach. Sunset could barely hear the approaching storm over the noise of the busy mall. Even her friends were talking loud enough that it mixed in and become indistinguishable from the noise made by the crowds.
“So Ah was thinkin’ our openin’ act should be Awesome as Ah Wanna Be.”
“Why not Shake Your Tail? I think that’d be a more appropriate start.” Rarity suggested.
Sunset in the meantime tried to hear them, but through all the noise that was hard enough. She sped up and got behind the both of them, and could finally listen to them as they passed by the stores closing down around them, and when the suggestions hit her eardrums she would roll her eyes.
“The school festival is a few months away, Rainbow will call a band meeting to discuss this when the time comes,” Sunset said to remind the girls.
Pinkie let out a loud whine, pouting to her friends. “Band meetings are boring sometimes…”
“Ah think Rainbow shares that same opinion, Pinkie.” Applejack replied. She then paused to see a sandwich shop, still open with plenty of people lined up to order. She motioned for the girls to stop and one by one they came to a halt..
“Hey, mind waitin’ here? Ah’m just gonna grab us a few subs, be back in a jiff” said the apple farmer as she turned and jogged over to the sandwich bar, leaving her friends to wait up for her.
“I’ll have a salad sub, thank you!” Rarity shouted as Applejack took off.
“And I’ll have mine with marshmallows!!!” Pinkie shouted as well, earning confused looks at her friends standing next to her.
“What?” Pinkie asked with a shrug.
Following that brief moment, Pinkie Pie and Rarity proceeded towards what looked like the eating area belonging to the sub shop. They put down their shopping bags and took some seats, sighing as they stretched their arms and legs . Sunset, in the meantime, continued to stand and look around the large space. She seemed to look anxious, perhaps hoping to walk home before the storm hit.
“Why don’t you sit down, darling. You’ve been walking around all afternoon. Surely your feet must be tired.” Rarity suggested.
Sunset blinked twice looked over at Rarity. “Huh..? Oh… yeah, just a little” She set down her own bags and sat down beside them with a deep sigh.
Pinkie Pie bent down to look at the bags of clothes Sunset carried. She couldn’t help but smirk and scooch closer to Sunset until she could lean against her shoulder.
“So what happened to not spending so much, hmm?” She wore a very smug smile. Her chin dug into Sunsets shoulder.
Sunset shrugged Pinkie off. “I didn’t get time to try on two of those. I hope to try them on when I get home, if they don’t fit I can bring them in and get my money back.”
“That’s rather impractical if you ask me,” Rarity remarked.
“You’re both just as guilty!” Sunset retaliated.
“Now that’s enough out of ya’ll! ”Applejack called out to quell the fighting. She was walking back over to them, sandwiches in hand. “Here ya go, fresh sandwiches for the girls who rock minus two!”
The girls took a sandwich each, and tossed a grateful thanks to Applejack.
“Twasn’t a problem, Ah’m happy to help out. Now, we’d best not dawdle anymore than we already have. Let's get going,” Applejack said, already prepared to go.
“Yes, we mustn't tarry. I wouldn’t want to be locked in after dark after all.” Rarity chuckled to herself, nervous, perhaps a little too concerned.
“We're not going to be locked in, Rarity. We'll be alright. And besides, they do a mall check just in case there are people hiding before locking up completely,” Sunset said reassuringly.
“Yeah! So stop being such a worry wumpus!” Pinkie giggled.
As the sub shop started to close, Sunset put her half-eaten sub back in its wrap, than away in her bag, and like the others, she stood up, just as the thunder roared with a tremendous clap. Pinkie’s hair frizzled up, while the others jumped and Rarity squealed.
“That storm’s getting awfully close.” Rarity remarked as she looked up to the ceiling.
“She ain’t wrong, girls. We ought to hurry on out’a ‘ere.” Applejack started to walk in the exit’s direction, all the girls but Pinkie pie following behind.
Pinkie watched them go, aware of her dawdling she quickly scarfed down her sub and licked her lips in delight. “Mmm-mmm! That was a goood sandwich!” She exclaimed before fixing up her hair.
Rarity turned around and motioned to Pinkie to follow. She grabbed her bags and followed behind the group with a light skip. By the time they had exited the mall the clouds were just about ready to unleash their tear drops of icy water.
“I guess I should get a move on before it starts coming down,” Sunset sighed.
“Walk? With the sky like this?” Rarity asked, flummoxed at the very thought. “Darling, I’m sure Pinkie Pie would be more than happy to give you a lift.”
“Yeah!” Pinkie exclaimed, “wait right here!”
With a quick spin and a jump, Pinkie Pie hurried out into the car park and disappeared amongst the brightly colored vehicles that dotted the often cramped area. Applejack, Rarity and Sunset Shimmer looked out to see where she was but not one of them could see her, that was until she came driving out between cars and over speed humps toward the group in her brightly colored vehicle.
With a smile on her face, she rolled down the window and leaned out like some Applewood celebrity. “Anyone need a ride home?!” she shouted with a grin.
“I would like a lift if that's no trouble, dear,” Rarity beamed.
Pinkie was elated and opened the door. “Hop on in,” she beckoned.
Rarity turned to look at Sunset who looked to be deep in thought, perhaps concerned about the storm moving swift and sure. Rarity couldn’t tell, but Sunset’s mind was turned toward something innocent and no doubt lost.
“Sunset, will you be accompanying us?” Rarity asked.
Sunset blinked and looked at Rarity. It took a moment for Rarity’s words to register, but when they did she put on a modest smile answered thusly; “No, thank you for the offer. I can walk home, there's no trouble really.”
Sunset’s suggestion was off-putting to Rarity, who couldn’t beleive Sunset would even want to walk in the soon to come downpour. “R-really? Are you really sure about that? W-well, alright. But if you're going to be walking home in this weather, you might as well carry this.” She reached into one of her bags and presented Sunset with an umbrella.
Sunset took the umbrella and thanked Rarity, who brushed it off as merely generous help. She patted Sunset on the shoulder and walked around to the other side of Pinkie's car,and got in beside her.
“Are you sure you don't want a lift home?” Pinkie asked, “those clouds don’t look friendly.”
Sunset nodded. “I’ll be fine, girls, don’t worry. Besides, you don't live down my way so It wouldn't be practical for you to take me there.”
Rarity glanced over at Applejack then back to Sunset. “Applejack lives further down your way, I’m sure she could offer you a ride.”
“Sorry girls, Big Mac and Ah got some things t’ do before we head back.”
Thunder rumbled once more in the sky and lightning flashed in the distance. A cold wet wind blew around the teen’s legs and blew their hair around. Sunset Shimmer put a hand on her cheek where her hair was longest to pull it over her shoulder, and with one eye closed she looked up at the gray clouds as a shiver rippled through her skin.
“Are you really, really certain, dear?” Rarity pressured, “I’m sure it's no trouble, really.”
“I'm positive, I’ll just walk and hope it doesn’t rain before I get back, don't worry.” She smiled reassuringly.
“Well… if you’re sure about this… Get home safe, Sunset.” Rarity smiled.
“I will, Rarity.” Sunset replied, slinging her bags over her arms and waved to Pinkie Pie and Rarity as they drove off.
Sunset watched them until they were out of sight, sighing once they were before AJ placed her hand on her shoulder.
“Are you really sure about this, sugarcube? Big Mac and Ah would be more than happy to give you a lift home once we’re done.”
Sunset turned and faced Applejack, taking her hands into her own. “Thank you for the offer, Applejack. But I really just want to go home and get some rest. I’ve had a lot on my mind since this morning. Something sensitive came up and I really just want to be alone to think about it if that’s alright.”
Applejack gave an assuring smile and let go. “It wouldn’t be any trouble.” She said as she pat Sunsets shoulder and looked over as a truck pulled up along the sidewalk. “Well, Ah better get going. Be safe, and don’t get wet.”
Sunset gave a slight nod and watched as Applejack hurried over to the car, Big Macintosh sitting behind the wheel and watching her get in. They drove off and with a heavy sigh, Sunset began the long walk under the dreary sky which colored the white pavement in a depressed steely gray.
On her way the water from the heavy clouds started to patter down lightly in small sprinkles which forewarned the coming rain fall soon to flood the streets and fill the drains with a wave of sky water. Sunset hopped across some raised stones to the next sidewalk path. She stepped along the stretch of concrete that lead to an even longer walk home through the countryside.
It was at this moment that she couldn’t help but think about the rumour of the mysterious little girl that was supposedly hiding around in the area. Sunset felt pity for the little girl, to be alone and abandoned, with the whole world against her. She knew what it was like to be alone, she remembered being betrayed by those she trusted.
“Celestia…” Sunset whispered under her breath.
She shook her head, hoping to get those sorrowful thoughts out of her head. She than looked to her surroundings. There weren’t many other people walking along the dark street. Cars drove past, splashing up cold puddles, freshly made as the rain came down harder. Each time sunset would jump back, her umbrella open with rainfall pattering upon its canopy. She never expected it to start pouring so soon.
She breathed a heavy sigh then looked out onto the road and watched many cars pass as the thunder rumbled overhead and the lightning flashed. Sunset looked at the sky when it happened, her mouth became crooked to one side and she appeared irritated at the state of the weather.
“Don’t you worry, Sunset,” she told herself, “No rain, nor thunder bothered anyone”
She sighed and groaned, not very assured and continued to move. Her shoes made slight splashing sounds on the wet path, in sync with the tapping they made on the concrete. The thunder was louder now, but by that time Sunset had come a sizeable open space near a large alley. She paused to look at the long dark corridor housing unseen shadows between a large chain link fence and an old run down store, the wall and ceiling of which had since collapsed and fallen into disrepair.
By the broken and crumbling brick wall were boxes, stacked up with their openings turned frontwards like little doors and windows. They were wet, some of them had pieces torn away exposing the cardboard beneath.
Closer to the alleyway was a large box with a torn cloth above the entrance, held up by two steel bars that seemed embedded into the ground; which all together formed a kind of crude canopy . It was a curious sight to Sunset who paused to look at it for a moment.
She thought it was quite peculier something like that would even be present, actually she thought it was odd that there would be so many boxes littering this small area. She quickly glanced around at the mess, keeping pause for what was seen as a few minutes before she turned to move on. She would have kept going, following the dark path along the the dark street, when another flash of lightning and a clap of thunder forced a terrified scream which caught the girl unawares. Sunset paused right on the spot once more and strained to hear what sounded like whimpering, though faint and almost inaudible through the downpour
She turned her attention back to the boxes and stared out toward them. She knew ashe heard something, and now it tugged at her curiosity. With all the noise the storm had made she had barely given a thought to the little girl, however now it started to ebb at her like Timberwolf eating her up.
“I’m probably hearing things,” she told herself, in an attempt to turn her thoughts away from the clutter, only her curiosity continued to tug at her so much it was almost overwhelming.
She stayed paused in place, undecided and paralyzed. After a brief moment of conflict Sunset set her bags inside one of the side-turned boxes which now shielded the contents from the rain. She whipped out her phone and turned on the flashlight feature to find her way through.
Taking not another moment to remain still, Sunset stepped into the field of boxes, half expecting the source of the sounds to be a rat. She stepped over rotten cardboard, flat and blackened on the ground. Meanwhile, the sounds grew quiet, and the rain poured soft, breaking down its wall of sound.
Sunset looked around at all the boxes and strained to hear for anything more. Then came another flash of lightning and a clap of thunder, accompanied by more of the frightened whimpers of a child hiding among the clutter.
Sunset took a few more steps, accompanied by a second set of footsteps. She heard the sounds of running and splashing,it couldn’t have been a person, there was no one around. Slowly a tense feeling crept up on Sunset until caution ruled her every motion.
Sunset's eyes darted all around in the darkness. She aimed her phone and shone its light in every direction. The whimpering stopped and all became still. She aimed her light at the ground during her search. When she drew close to the farthest boxes pressed against the wall, she could make out a shape in the darkness, and feel the stare of frightened eyes cast upon her.
“H-hello? Is somebody there?” Sunset drew closer, and as she did, a small form draped in darkness darted quickly from behind a large box and pushed Sunset over with its weak arms.
The teenager merely stumbled back, only to slip in a puddle and fall to the wet ground, dropping her phone and umbrella in the process. Sunset screamed which only frightened her assailant and made them run. She rubbed her forehead and looked around for her phone which lay beside her. She picked it up and turned its light to the alleyway entrance to see a large plume of flowing purple hair vanish around the corner.
Quickly gathering her wits, Sunset got up and started a clumsy pursuit of what she had deduced was a little girl, dangerously running on the wet concrete at a quickening pace. The fence beside her had barbed wire at the top, though she took no time to notice how it was sagging the further along it went, as if one end of it had broken away and fallen onto the ground.
“Wait, please! It's dangerous out here!!” Sunset called out to the girl, gaining more speed as she ran. Her shoes became slippery and would surely force her to slip.
Half way down the alley there was a loud shriek, and the sound of wire twanging and moving as if an animal had been trapped. Sunset came to a stop and felt her stomach churn as bad thoughts raced through her mind.
She hurried herself further into the alley, shining her light forward until it shone on a little girl, tangled in the barbed wire. Sunset stood and stared at this child, struggling to get free and cutting her legs, arms and hands on the sharp metal spurs which grabbed at her rags and tore them bit by bit. The thunder roared overhead and the girl let out a frightful cry and covered her ears, curling up and cutting herself further.
“Stop, please, you're only going to hurt yourself even worse,” Sunset said in a gentle tone as she made a slow approach.
The little girl watched as Sunset got closer to her. Her eyes were filled to the with fear and pain, fear that Sunset Shimmer would do her harm, and pain as the metal spikes dug and tore at her skin.
“I'm going to get you out, okay? But you must promise me you won't move unless I say so, okay?” Sunset asked, pleading to the frightened loner.
The little girl could not reject her help, she was stuck and she realized that she wasn't going to get out, she stopped struggling, accepting the stranger’s aid with much reluctance. Sunset put her phone down, leaning it against the wall to give her some light while she carefully removed the barbed wire from around the girl's arms and legs, being mindful of her while she waited, trapped within its coils.
However, when Sunset went to move the girl’s legs to pull them free, the girl winced and cried out in pain. Sunset recoiled at the child’s agonized cries and realized that this wasn’t going to be easy. She could have easily summoned one of her weapons, or used her powers to melt the wire, but then she risked heightening this girl's terror, and at worst burning her. She squatted down, rain pouring over her while she thought desperately for a way to get the girl out. Maybe she could lift her straight up? No, the wire around her legs was too thick and hard to bend, not to mention difficult, she would need to avoid getting cut herself while simultaneously stopping the wire from wrapping around again.
She looked at her phone in the hope of calling Applejack but the thunder and lightning made that risky, if not difficult. She looked at the girl long and hard and winced at the sight of the steel prongs digging into her soft flesh. It became ultimately clear, she had to cut the wires. The little girl looked up at Sunset with her crystal blue eyes, pleading for help, but fearing it at the same time.
Looking around for something to use, Sunset spied a shape in the darkness, over by the wall. She picked up her phone and aimed its light over to wall to reveal a door frame, the door itself appeared to have been removed already. Some small glimmer of hope sparked within Sunset, she looked down at the nameless child and told her calmly: “I’ll be right back, don’t move.”
She left the child and stepped into the broken down and desolate store. The floor was water logged, the second floor had given way and sloped at the the store front. Sunset walked down the small hall, passing two rooms before she came to the old and decayed countertop.
It appeared to be a hardware store,quite convenient that it should be right beside Sunset and the child when one was needed exactly. She quickly searched through the fallen wood and under the counter for wire cutters, the odds of finding a pair were against her. Only after a minutes search did she happened upon a pair in one of the backs rooms she passed on her way in, hidden beneath a few fallen floorboards and rusted nails. They weren’t pristine, they were rusted, the blades had chips in them as if the metal had corroded here and there, but Sunset had no other choice.
With the cutters in hand she returned to the girl and repositioned her phone. “Now I need you to remain as still as you can, I’m going to cut through now.”
The girls eyes fell away from Sunset and she looked ahead to the end of the alley. Meanwhile, Sunset opened and closed the cutters against one of the wires around the girl's legs which snapped in half upon the third snip. When it had come loose she grabbed the loose wire and bent it back, freeing the girl’s legs and allowing her to get off, only with the help of her savior.
The teen picked up the small figure and held her, but she struggled like an animal, desperate to get free. Sunset couldn't hold onto this wild child who leaped from her arms and onto the ground, the child looked back at Sunset for a moment before attempting to run, only for her legs to give out and make her fall with a cry.
“Don't run, you'll hurt yourself!” Sunset cried out, “You can't run, not without your hurting yourself all over again.”
With the knowledge in mind the child started to crawl away, whimpering helplessly while Sunset slowly approached and took her in her arms, holding her still so that she would not run again.
“Please! Let me help you... please,” Sunset pleaded.
The little girl ceased to struggle after only a few moments then looked at her bleeding legs. She stared at them for a while then turned her sight back up to Sunset and sniffled. As the rain started to pick up once more and pelt down Sunset and the child in doses of cold water, Sunset held her hand out to the little girl. The child looked at Sunset’s hand and didn’t know whether to reach or not.
She moved her hand to take it, but she was apprehensive. She looked into Sunset’s eyes again and she saw she had no other choice. Stay out there alone to die in the cold, or go with this strange girl someplace she could find warmth and food. She didn’t have to like it, and the expression she wore as she took Sunsets hand could not express the mounting displeasure she felt.
Sunset smiled with gratitude and helped the little girl up. The child leaned against Sunset who supported the child. The girls legs shook and shivered in pain, she could hardly walk properly, but Sunset fixed that. Gently she lifted the girl up and over her shoulders, giving her a piggy back.
“Come on, I’m taking you home with me. I’ll fix you up.” Sunset smiled and did exactly that, she returned to the umbrella and shopping bags, and continued on the long two hour walk back home.
~~~
The walk home was wet, and depressing.
Sunset walked down a narrow path beneath overhanging trees, the little girl held onto sunset tightly. She was alarmingly light for a girl who couldn’t look older than twelve, an equally alarming contradiction to what Flash had said. Her arms were skinny, bony and thin, a sign of malnutrition and anorexia. The child’s legs continued to bleed, but had been bandaged crudely only to last the walk home.
The girl winced and whimpered, crying at the pain in her shredded calves. Sunset could do nothing to calm her which was frustrating to no end. In time, they reached a long stretch of mountain road that lead to Sunset’s cliff side house, a beach was down in the valley below beside a massive lake that shined crystal blue on sunny mornings.
“Just a little longer,” she said in as soft and gentle a voice she could muster.
It took no longer than a few minutes at a quickened pace to get there. Sunset hurried herself to open the gate and unlock the front door, her concern was the child's legs which by this point, bled slightly less. She unlocked the front door of the house and stepped inside, ducking to avoid hitting the girl’s head on the door frame.
Once inside she set the girl down against the wall and turned on the lights, and in a flash the foyer was illuminated. The sudden flash hurt the girl’s eyes. The child closed them tightly and held her hands to them, gritting her teeth and shaking from it.
“I’m so sorry!” Sunset cried out, and got down on one knee. “I didn’t mean to do that honest.”
The child didn't respond, she simply frowned and removed her hands to gave Sunset an irritated look in response. She blinked, and squinted. Meanwhile, Sunset inspected the girl’s legs and couldn’t help but cringe at the sight of them.
“Those look really bad…” Sunset said with a tremble. “Wait here, I'll run you a bath.”
Leaving the girl for a just a few moments, Sunset proceeded upstairs and set up everything necessary for a bath, taps were turned and water flowed freely, the tub was filled shortly thereafter. Meanwhile, with her bony fingers clinging to the rail, as if trying to prove something, the nameless girl stepped up the individual platforms, shaking like a leaf as waves of stinging pain coursed through her legs. She had made it halfway up before crying out in agony and collapsing on the sixth step up. All of her efforts to move had been in vain and she hated it.
“Let me help you.” Sunset said to the girl, in a way she pitied her and felt responsible for the pain the girl was forcing upon herself. She picked her up, propping her up on her back and made sure to keep her hands away from the cuts. “The bath's ready. Let’s get you out of that old dress and clean you up, okay?”
The girl started to glare once more and reluctantly nodded. Sunset carried her her up the stairs and shortly thereafter into the bathroom. The girl didn’t fidget or struggle, she was still and obedient, to Sunset this was likely out of fright, but to the girl it was for lack of another choice. The room they entered was alien to the girl but carried some form of familiarity which perked her up a bit. White walls and a tiled floor, a large mirror at the center of the back wall and a white tub and sink which completed the set. Maneuvering her carefully, Sunset set the child down on the counter top. She was light so she didn’t have too much trouble moving her. But now under the bathroom lights, Sunset could see just how bad this girl looked.
Her eyes were shrunken into her skull, her arms, legs, hands and feet were bony, barely any fat was there to be seen; she was malnourished and starved. The rags she wore was gray and ripped, practically shredded and torn. Her hair was long and messy. It was tangled and covered the girl’s face at times. Her body had scratches, healed wounds, bruises and her face and back bore evidence of recent abuse, although Sunset speculated that they may have been a result of that night’s encounter. Speculation aside, all of this made Sunset guess with dread at what the girls past must have been like.
Sunset stared at the girl in utter disbelief, her shock only magnified once she removed her rags and saw how emaciated she truly was. Gathering her wits, she set the rags aside and helped the little girl into the tub. The girl sat in the water and held her legs close to her chest, hugging them tightly as her body was warmed by the shallow water which clashed with the chill of her cold skin. Sunset got some soap and a small towel and started to scrub off all the dirt that seemed glued on the girl’s body. She used a cloth soaked in disinfectant and cleaned out the wounds as well, and occasionally triggered winces of pain from the girl.
“You don't talk much, do you?” Sunset sighed and started to wipe away the thin layer of dirt on the girl's face. “I bet, under all this dirt is the face of beautiful little girl.” Sunset smiled and lightly rubbed under the girl’s eyes, which closed each time she got near.
Sunset took a long look once she was done. It became easier to spot the brown and dried dirt that covered the little girl’s dark skin. Satisfied, Sunset started pouring water it into the girl's hair, wetting it and washing the filth from her hair. The little girl shrugged and glanced at Sunset with an annoyed look about her. She started biting her lip, as if to say something only to hesitate, but for the time being, she elected to keep quiet and soon turned her gaze from her.
“So... do you have a name?” Sunset asked while she tended to the long purple hair which seemed brittle rather than bushy to the touch.
“Nyx…” came a sound as if it were a whisper. Sunset paused for a second then looked up at the girl in stunned silence.
“E-excuse me..?” Sunset said at last. She didn’t expect to hear a voice out of the child but she didn’t disapprove of it.
“My name....” the girl said with slight frustration. “M-my name is... is Nyx…” she repeated in a low voice that sounded as beautiful as a bell bird, and chimes blown in the wind.
Nyx… Sunset recalled the name from a book of historic figures at the Canterlot High Library and smiled, and in turn was reminded of an old Equestrian folktale from her world. “Like Nyx of the Night, a historical warrior who protected villagers from wild animals. She lived five hundred years ago, famous for defending a village from monsters. It's a lovely name. My name is Sunset Shimmer, it's a pleasure to meet you.” She smiled.
Nyx just stared at Sunset in confusion. She didn't understand what it was Sunset was saying. Words like ‘warrior’ and ‘folktale’ were alien to her. She turned her head away as if trying to shut Sunset out.
Sunset didn't know what to do, gaining Nyx’s trust would prove to be a long and arduous task for certain, but at the very least she trusted Sunset enough to provide her name.
“Stay right here, Nyx. I'm going to find you some clothes.” Sunset turned and left the room.
Meanwhile, Nyx remained still, moving only to look at her hands. She was used to the sight of her skeletal fingers by this point. They shook and shuddered then she quietly rested her head on her knees and tried to remember her life before being cast out, to no avail. It was like there was nothing to remember. During this time, Sunset dug through her wardrobe until she found suitable garments Nyx could wear in the absence of proper clothes befitting her age and stature.
“These'll do the trick,” she said with a smile.
Sunset left her bedroom and returned to the bathroom. Nyx glanced up at her and shuddered as a cool chill came over her. Sunset put the cloths on a nearby hamper and grabbed a towel off of a rack on the wall.
“Let’s get you dried up.” She held the towel up in Nyx's view.
With some help Nyx stood up and stepped out of the bath. Her hands were held by Sunset and her legs rattled. She was quickly dried off and dressed with Sunset help. While this happened, Nyx's wounds reopened on her arms and legs. She whimpered and shed tears from the pain. Seeing this, Sunset knelt down and opened up a small cupboard under the sink. She pulled out a first aid kit, it was colored white with a dark pink cross on the center. She put it on the table, then sat Nyx on top of the counter just beside the sink.
Sunset at first set about sterilizing the wounds. She dripped antiseptic into them then set about bandaging them. They oozed red plasma like fresh dripping water. Nyx’s face became twisted with pain as it stung, but it was worth it, if only to stop the bleeding which plagued her so. When they were bandaged, Sunset cleaned Nyx's legs, wiping away the trickles of blood with a wet cloth to both their welcomed relief.
~~~
Nyx sat in the kitchen as Sunset made dinner. Nyx’s health had become lodged in the back of her mind, compounded by her pale complexion and her shaky movement. She was weak, malnourished, her body was emaciated and even now as Sunset prepared something soft for Nyx, she wondered if her body could handle it. And she hoped it could. She pulled out her uneaten sandwich and offered it to Nyx, who looked at it curiously, tilting her head and sniffing it, almost like a curious animal before she reached for it with a trembling hand and took it.
Meanwhile Sunset watched from the counter where she watched as Nyx examined the sub. She turned it in her fragile hands and peeled away the paper to see what was underneath and sniffed it once more. She then raised it to her lips, and opened her mouth to bite it, only she couldn’t, and instead of wasting it, she put it back on the table and continued to sit there, hunched and exhausted.
She didn't do much. Aside from saying her name, she hardly said a word. Occasionally she would wipe tears from her eyes, sniffle and keep her head down. It was pitiful, pathetic and sad, but Sunset did not see it that way, she was empathetic to Nyx’s plight, having no family herself, she felt it was up to her to give Nyx somewhere to belong. Sunset looked down at the floor then to two bowls of soup which had just finished boiling. She turned her back to Nyx and started stirring the pot, in it was a mix of orange and yellow colors, with bits of meat and vegetable in small amounts, Sunset assumed it would be good for the little girl to have some, and it would certainly be easier for her to digest.
She scooped up some of the brew in a ladle and poured it into two small bowls then turned her attention back to the little girl. Nyx sat like a statue. Her hair had been brushed over her left eye while her hair at the back was made into a ponytail. She remained motionless, unsure of what to do here in this new place. Nyx, in her motionless stare, seemed to squint and blink frequently. Her vision seemed to blur which frustrated her, although she didn’t show it.
“Hey…” Sunset spoke in a calm and gentle voice. Nyx glanced at her, she saw the stranger’s smile and felt it was warm, but it could not thaw her cold exterior and chilling glare.
Sunset put the bowl of soup in front of her, the steam trail carried the smell which graced Nyx's nostrils. She looked at the bowl and regarded it with curiosity.
“It's chicken and celery soup, it's a little different from the celery soup my teacher used to give me. I thought you’d like some.” Sunset smiled to the child while she poured herself some soup and joining Nyx at the table.
Nyx moved a shaking hand over to the spoon and grasped it lightly by the handle. She scooped up a little of the soup and tried to bring it up to her mouth, but her fingers loosened like they had a will of their own and she dropped the spoon which struck the floor with a metallic ding. The top she wore as a dress became stained, and what soup which poured as the spoon fell burned her leg aslight. Nyx clenched her fist lightly, tears welled up in her eyes and she let out a light audible hiss.
“It's okay,” Sunset said. “Here let me help.” She picked up the spoon and placed it back on the table. “I'll feed you, you need all the help you can get.” She smiled.
Nyx didn’t give a reply, nor her consent to Sunset, but she wasn’t going to complain if Sunset took the initiative. Sunset cleaned the wet soup mess off of the dress and Nyx’s leg before feeding Nyx herself. The child opened her mouth with little fuss and took in what was offered to her. She chewed and swallowed the celery which was soft and was easy to bite into, and chicken pieces which was hard and hurt her weakened teeth. She found the soup, mushy and watery to be quite pleasant. Sunset was careful not to be too quick, nor to hasty when feeding Nyx. Seeing her as almost a skeleton was heartbreaking.
“How old are you?” Sunset asked, as she was feeding Nyx the last few spoon fulls of the soup.
Nyx didn’t answer immediately. She glanced around the room then finally at Sunset, before shifting her eyes to look down to the floor. Sunset didn’t coax an answer out of her, and she did she pressure her Sunset took Nyx's bowl and walked around to the sink to put some more soup in it.
“Seven…” Nyx whispered with barely enough volume for Sunset to hear.
The teen paused and turned back around to look at Nyx. The child was quiet again, her arms in her lap and her head facing away, showing the side of her face covered by long purple locks, which curled around each other like snakes and hung low below her shoulders.
“Sorry, Nyx. I didn’t quite catch that.” Sunset looked at Nyx the same way she looked at Twilight on the night of Pinkie’s sleepover, although it wasn’t quite so sympathetic. Warm and inquisitive were words which came to mind when Nyx glanced toward it fleetingly.
Nyx’s voice became shaky as if she had started to cry again. “I-I’m seven!” Nyx at last shouted.
Sunset flinched and looked at the girl, shaken up from the sudden rise in tone. She thought to herself quietly, and remarked on how much younger Nyx appeared to be than her stated age. She took Nyx’s bowl and poured some more soup into it before placing it back down again.
“Here. You mustn't have had a decent meal in forever. Have as much as you’d like.”
Nyx nodded slowly and stiffly. She glanced up at Sunset then the bowl in front of her and sighed as if resigning herself to her circumstances. Reluctantly, Nyx ate what sunset fed her, all the while fearing that she would be a prisoner to the seemingly larger teen. It was a slow start to her recovery, and Nyx knew Sunset wanted to help her more than anything else.
~~~
Nyx's bowl rested in the drainer, cleaned with the spoons, pot and ladle drying beside them. Sunset prepared the spare bedroom for Nyx to stay in. Her jacket rested by the bedroom door while she put a cover on the mattress, the color of which was a dark navy blue. The bed sheets that would follow had stars on it,, the star-burst symbol of magic decorated a large portion of the covers center, while other artistic symbols and constellations decorated the remainder of it like fantastical art.
“All done.” She wiped sweat off her brow and sat down, leaning against the end of the bed with a satisfied sigh. She glanced up at the window and saw it was raining again, thunder and lightning cracked and streaked in the distance and seemed to be moving in the direction of Canterlot City. Sunset groaned.
“The weather here is so unpredictable…” She put her hand to her forehead and relaxed for the moment.
The door squeaked as it moved slightly ajar,, Sunset moved her hand and looked up to see Nyx standing under the arch-way. She looked down at Sunset with her one visible eye then looked to the bed. The various patterns and shapes interested the child, who walked limply over to the bed and touched its smooth, un-creased surface. Her eyes scanned it, she took an interest in the starburst at the beds center which she looked to recognize but didn’t say what it could be. It filled her with emotions she didn’t know she had, with an almost incomprehensible rage building in her chest at the sight of it.
Sunset stood up and stretched, tossing a smile in Nyx’s direction. “Do you like it? This will be your room.” Sunset spun around, motioning to the entirety of the room which left Nyx reasonably surprised.
She looked at Sunset then glanced down to her right toward the bed in silence.
“Shall I tuck you in? I don't have any pajamas for you so you'll have to wear the clothes I’ve fashioned for you. I'm sorry it has to be that way.” Sunset let out a nervous chuckle, as if everything was coming apart when the reality was in contradiction to her own perception.
Nyx pulled the sheets back and slid her bandaged legs under the covers. Sunset set about pulling the blankets over her and making sure the child was comfortable in her place. The teen smiled at Nyx and looked into her only visible eye.
“I know you don't trust me, but I want you to know that I want to help you.I think our meeting was an act of fate.” Sunset chuckled. “You can trust me. I promise, I won’t hurt you.”
And with that, Sunset moved away from the bed and over to the door. She turned out the light and bade Nyx goodnight, right as the thunder roared and split the night. And to the winds howls and the storm's wrath, Nyx shrank down under the blankets almost out of sight. Sunset pulled the door shut, and tended to a few more things before she retired for the night.
Soon the home was quiet, save for the patterning of droplets on the roof which soothed the former Equestrian to slumber, but kept Nyx wide awake. She shut her eyes and willed herself to sleep, only to reopen them as a flash of lightning briefly revealed a shape flying by her window, searching.
"Dear Princess Twilight, I haven't been at school in a week since taking this little girl under my wing. Not that I had any to begin with. She's opened up to me bit by bit, but I know she's still tight in her shell. She's a little more vocal since we first met, it took four days before she was doing that. Anyway, it finally stopped raining after a week of depressing downpour, and fall is coming. I don't know what has been happening in Equestria but I guess things have been pretty good. I hope your castle is working out. ~ Sunset Shimmer."
Sunset Shimmer closed her book and let out a sigh. She turned her head to her left, looking out at the lake from her bedroom balcony. It was probably seven o'clock in the morning, she didn't check the time before getting up so it was hard to tell. Sunset turned her head toward the door at the sound of Nyx's foot steps. The little girl opened the bedroom door and peered inside, her right eye clearly visible while her hair covered her left eye. She looked directly at Sunset Shimmer, then looked over to where the bed was, she pushed the door open and stepped in carefully. Sunset Shimmer's smile was crooked, she had an eyebrow raised in curiosity as to what Nyx was doing.
"Nyx..?" the teen called out.
Nyx went rigid, as if caught like a thief. She looked around the room for Sunset Shimmer as if she were lost. "S-Sunset Shimmer..?" Nyx spoke softly.
Sunset Shimmer's smile dropped, her expression was now of suspicion. She got up from her chair and entered the room, setting the book down on a table and approaching Nyx while she did.
"I'm right here," Sunset said to the dark skinned, purple haired girl.
Nyx turned around and looked up at Sunset Shimmer. "Oh.. t-there you are..."
Sunset Shimmer got down to Nyx's height and tilted her head. "Is something the matter, Nyx?" She asked with concern.
Nyx did not smile, she had a blank face for most of the time she was around Sunset Shimmer. She rubbed her eyes and looked toward the door.
"Is it time to eat?" She yawned, having just woken up.
Sunset Shimmer chuckled. "I think so." She looked at Nyx's makeshift dress fashioned from one of her best shirts. "I think it might be time to visit a friend of mine soon. I can't keep giving you my tops for dresses."
Nyx stared down at the floor. "...I'm sorry..."
"It's not you, don't worry. Come on, lets get some breakfast ready." Sunset Shimmer got up and headed for the door. "You coming, Nyx?" She put a hand on her hip as she stepped out of the room.
Nyx put her left hand on her right arm and followed, hitting the door frame and hitting her head. She stumbled back and rubbed the spot that hurt, moving her hair out of her face while she was at it. She looked straight at the frame she had walked into and widened the door opening, exiting afterwards. The young girl stepped carefully down the stairs, everything was a blur. Nyx gripped the railing for support. Sunset Shimmer watched Nyx from the living room entrance, she observed the girl's wobbly steps, the way she held the railing as if afraid to fall. She poked her cheek with her tongue in thought and turned into the living room, walking over to the fire place where she picked up a set of old glasses, she looked over her shoulder toward Nyx who was just entering the room.
Nyx took a few steps forward, before getting her foot caught beneath the carpet and falling into the back of the arm chair. She bounced off of its covering and landed on her bottom. Sunset Shimmer rushed over to Nyx quickly, the little girl rubbed her eyes and head, she grit her teeth slightly and was wiping her eyes of tears. Sunset got down on one knee, holding the glasses in her left hand which rested on her left knee.
"Nyx, look at me, how many fingers am I holding up?" She raised up her right hand with her index finger pointed upward.
Nyx looked and squinted. "Um... Um... S-seven? No! Three?" she answered with uncertainty.
Sunset Shimmer sighed. "I thought so... Hold still, Nyx."
Nyx did not move. Carefully, Sunset Shimmer fitted the ugly rectangle glasses onto the child's face, and all of a sudden, her vision which was blurry before had improved. Nyx blinked and looked around in surprise. She could see everything properly for the first time in possibly ages. Sunset Shimmer smiled.
"Is that better?" She folded her arms on her knee.
Nyx quietly nodded, she jumped back a bit when she saw Sunset Shimmer's face. Seeing it properly, seeing her eyes properly, helped the youngling better then seeing without glasses. This time she could read her saviors heart, and it was as pure as diamond. Nyx's trust was still not given. The child continued to shell herself away. She adjusted her glasses and looked up at the teen who stood before her.
"Thank you..." she said in a soft tone of voice.
Sunset Shimmer smiled. "Maybe I should take you to an eye doctor..."
Nyx blinked and shuddered at the mention of doctors.
"Do you remember what doctors are?" Sunset Shimmer asked curiously.
Nyx bit her lip, her right hand to her chest and her left hand on her right arm. She nodded and stared down at the floor.
"M-My eyes have... have always been this way..." Nyx admitted whilst fidgeting with her sleeves.
Sunset Shimmer stood up. "In that case, you probably needed glasses before I found you. But those old things don't suit you. They make your eyes bigger that's for sure," the teen giggled.
Nyx gave Sunset Shimmer a silent, emotionless look before turning away, and finding her way to the kitchen. Sunset Shimmer watched her with a sigh, staring down at the floor.
"It's only been a week. She'll open up," Sunset Shimmer thought to herself, hoping that eventually Nyx would talk to her.
It wasn't some motherly or sisterly desire, it was simply to know her better, make things more comfortable for the little girl who had no home. Sunset Shimmer simply left the feeling in the room as she left to join Nyx in the kitchen. The child was much better now that she could see, however the design of the glasses forced Nyx to adjust and fidget with them to the point of frustration. Sunset Shimmer occasionally glanced at Nyx while she examined and fiddled with the glasses.
"Are they uncomfortable, Nyx?" Sunset Shimmer gave a slight smile.
Nyx looked up at Sunset Shimmer and put the glasses back on, shaking her head in denial. Sunset Shimmer chuckled at this and continued to make breakfast. The past week had been different compared to the mundane weeks of school. Nyx was quiet everyday and had taken interest in the small selection of books that Sunset kept on some shelves.
She had attempted to read them many times but her now apparent poor sight would deny her the basic right to read. Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had no idea what was happening while Sunset Shimmer was at home with Nyx. Many times the teen thought about sending the child to an orphanage but the threat it posed toward the innocent purple haired child was too great.
Nyx didn't start calling Sunset Shimmer by name until Thursday, before that she didn't address her, or talk to her at all, only when spoken to; a habit that appears to have stuck. Sunset Shimmer had gotten used to it by this stage. Nyx's health had improved over the week, she had gained some more meat on her once bony arms, her eyes were no longer sunk and her skin was starting to show its true dark color, like midnight it was dark, dark enough so that she could blend with the shadow's.
Nyx could now look at fine, fit fingers instead of the bony sticks that she once had and smile, but she still had a long way to go before she could look like a normal, healthy seven year old. Sighing and pouring milk into the cereal bowl, Sunset Shimmer returned to Nyx and gently placed the bowl on the table in front of her.
"Here you go, Nyx. I hope you like Fruit Bit Cereal. It's really healthy." The teen interlocked her fingers and rested her elbows on the table while she waited for some toast to cook.
Nyx ate her cereal but shuddered when she bit into a piece of the dried fruit. She screwed her eye's shut and scrunched her mouth, shaking her head and darting from her chair, rushing to the nearest bin and spitting the little piece of fruit into the garbage.
"I-It's sweet!" Nyx cried out.
Sunset Shimmer laughed and clapped, earning a cold, contemptuous look from Nyx who squinted in bemusement toward her. Sunset Shimmer reached over and plucked a piece of milk covered water Mellon cube from the bowel, eating it once it was within reach of her mouth.
"I think it's yummy. Mmh, yup..." She starred up at the ceiling, moving the cube around her mouth with her tongue to get into the sweet flavor. She nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I like this, it's fruity delicious, you don't know what your missing Nyx." She swallowed.
Nyx folded her arms childishly and watched, rolling her eyes at Sunset Shimmer who seemed to be teasing her. Sunset Shimmer put her index finger up and continued nodding.
"Yup, satisfy's the sweet tooth, it's good eating." She looked at Nyx all smug like with her right hand under her chin, holding her head up.
"You only had one bit of it!!" Nyx shouted, she stomped her foot on the floor and pointed at Sunset Shimmer accusingly.
Sunset Shimmer nodded. "True... So I'll eat it all." She smirked and reached over to grab the bowl.
"Nuu!!" Nyx cried out, quickly running back to her seat and climbing onto it, she picked up her spoon and started eating her cereal before the teen could take it.
Nyx looked at Sunset Shimmer who continued to be smug about it. Sunset poked her tongue out at Nyx who simply shut her eyes and turned her head away. She continued to eat her cereal which made her eyes water and lips pucker, the sweetness was too much, but just to show up the former Equestrian, she ate it all up.
Sunset Shimmer smiled properly, it was wide and proud. "Not so bad now, is it?"
Nyx swallowed, her eyes watering. She nodded reluctantly as the toaster popped, signalling to Sunset Shimmer that it had been done. Sunset Shimmer got up, and retrieved her crunchy toasted goodness, buttering it up and placing it on a plate. Nyx watched her from the corner of her eye before taking her glasses off and rubbing her eyes.
"You know, I was thinking of taking you to Rarity's today, to get you some new clothes, and hopefully, a set of glasses you can enjoy. Rarity always knows what's best in the field of fashion." Sunset Shimmer returned to the table with her toast as she spoke.
Nyx looked at what she was wearing, she had been using Sunset Shimmer shirt's and jackets as dresses for a week, and the amount remaining was small and Sunset Shimmer couldn't continue to lend them. Nyx looked at Sunset Shimmer and sighed, lowering her gaze to the ground. Sunset grew a little worried that Nyx would not like to meet Rarity and rubbed and held onto her hair to cope with that thought.
"S-She's really nice, and I trust her. She'll make you a really nice outfit, that isn't a top- now a makeshift dress." She smiled nervously.
Nyx stayed silent much to Sunset Shimmers annoyance. The teen ate her toast and stood up, putting her plate in the sink and going upstairs to brush her teeth. Nyx watched Sunset Shimmer leave before finishing her sweet fruity bits, much to her chagrin. Her eyes watered and her lips were sealed tight because the more of them she ate, the sour they got, like the application of milk made them go from sweet to sour.
"...This is a cereal..?" Nyx mumbled to herself in disappointment.
She picked up her bowl and hopped out of her chair, she walked over to the sink where she rinsed it out and put it in the drainer. She let out a deep sigh and removed her glasses to rub her eyes, putting them back on afterwards and looking toward the door. Upstairs, Sunset Shimmer changed into a copy of her usual attire, leather jacket and all, though with this one she had a tonne of belts around her waist and arms, some loose belts looped around from her hip, around and up her back, down to the waist again. She put a red headband in her hair, it was like a ruby mixed with the colors of light cherry pink and strawberry. She smiled at herself in the mirror and turned to her right where her bag hung from her desk chair.
"Probably should wear this on special occasions, Rarity suggested it. This is a visit to get new clothes so it is a perfect occasion!" She clenched her fist and fist pumped with a wide smile like she was going to see a foot ball game.
But slowly her smiled faded and she sighed. "But first, a trip to the eye doctor."
Sunset Shimmer let out a deep sigh and exited the room, she headed down the hall toward Nyx's room, when she passed the bathroom, just barely catching a glimpse of Nyx out of the corner of her eye. She paused in her steps, and stepped back to look inside, she saw Nyx was trying to brush her teeth, only she had no tooth paste and seemed bothered. Sunset Shimmer leaned on the door and chuckled.
"What are you doing?" Sunset asked in amusement.
Nyx stumbled and dropped the tooth brush, thinking fast she leaned on one leg over the falling toothbrush and grabbed it, falling onto the floor immediately after. Nyx sat up and rubbed her forehead. Sunset Shimmer approached Nyx and knelt down to her level with a smile.
"I could teach you how to brush your teeth... if you'd like?" She offered.
Nyx looked at her then at the brush, she stared at it before glancing back to Sunset Shimmer with a blink. Quietly she nodded and stood up with help from her carer. Nyx stood up on a small stool to see herself in the mirror while Sunset Shimmer put some tooth paste on it, and wet it beneath some running tap water. She took a cup and rinsed it out before putting more water into it, turning off the tap when she was done. She placed the cup back on the counter beside the sink, and looked at Nyx.
"When we brush our teeth, we always have a glass of water nearby so we can spit out the paste once we are finished." She pointed to the cup, so Nyx knew what she was talking about. "Now, let's put some tooth paste on that brush."
Sunset Shimmer picked up the paste, and showed Nyx how to apply it. She squeezed the end of it, pushing white minty paste out of the tip and put some of it on the bristles, wetting it under the tap again. After this, Sunset Shimmer showed her teeth and using an invisible tooth brush, showed Nyx how to brush her teeth.
She did the motions of brushing the front of her teeth and back of her teeth, her back gums and molers. Nyx watched Sunset Shimmer and did the same thing, copying the teenager exactly the same way. Nyx tasted the toothpaste with the tip of her tongue and whimpered, her eyes watering. She had just gotten the sour taste out of breakfast her mouth, now she had an even worse taste then before.
Sunset Shimmer cringed. "S-Sorry... I should have warned you. Tooth paste doesn't taste nice," she smiled nervously
Nyx glared at Sunset Shimmer and sighed, continuing to brush her teeth until her mouth was frothing with suds. She looked at the glass, and picked it up. She sipped the water before swishing it around in her mouth and spitting into the sink. Sunset Shimmer turned the tap on and washed down the remains of the yucky mess. While Nyx had spat, the horrible minty taste lingered in her mouth.
"Will this taste go away..?" She looked up at Sunset Shimmer, hoping to hear something good about it.
"It'll pass, just give it time. You may want to avoid eating and drinking for an hour, or at least until the taste goes away, trust me," Sunset warned Nyx, her cringe ever present.
Nyx poked her tongue out in disgust and shook her head with the same thought of tasting apple juice with tooth paste taste in her mouth. "Bleugh," she muttered.
Sunset Shimmer chuckled and headed for the door, placing her hand on the frame as she looked back over her shoulder. "We're going to Rarity's soon, Nyx. Grab what you need and meet me down stairs. The earlier we are, the better the chance we could get clothes for you first."
Sunset Shimmer moved away and headed down stairs. Nyx watched after her, before turning, and looking at herself in the mirror. She looked at the "dress" she was wearing, and felt it was out of place. Reluctantly she started to agree with the teenager that she should consider getting some new clothes, but what kind was yet to be decided.
~~~
Nyx was beside Sunset Shimmer on their walk. Her curiosity was limitless as she looked at the tree's, the grass and flowers that could be seen all over. She had remained inside for the most of the week, seeing the plants, the sun, the clear blue sky and the tree's was a breath of fresh air. She took particular interest in the pink leaved cherry blossom tree's that hovered over large ponds in certain areas, the animals that scurried about, and the overgrown statue's that would line the left side of the path. It was all so fascinating to Nyx, and Sunset Shimmer was happy that the little girl had something to do while on the long walk.
"Before we go to Rarity's, I want to get your eyes checked out. I can't exactly give you any old pair of glasses without knowing what type you need."
Nyx looked up to Sunset Shimmer, confused. "But these ones work fine, I can see good."
"Those aren't normal glasses though," Sunset thought to herself. "Even so, a professional opinion would be a good idea."
Nyx looked away from Sunset with reluctance and fear. She couldn't help but think of all the things eye doctors would do. Having never seen one, Nyx fretted over what they might do and with that she stood slightly closer to Sunset.
They arrived at the Optometrist in a short span of time. Sunset had already booked an appointment earlier that morning not long before making breakfast for Nyx. Sunset was nervous throughout the check up, she had no ties to Nyx other then having found her and looked after her for only a week. Sunset was honest for the most part, but she left out details of how she came to find Nyx.
After nearly an hour of testing, the doctor prescribed glasses for Nyx and berated Sunset for giving Nyx glasses without first getting her checked, even if it was only temporary. Even so, the glasses were by coincidence compatible with Nyx, despite their concealed nature.
~~~
Rarity toiled away in her thinking room, making new outfits for the Rainbooms in addition for her customers. She had mannequins covered in fine clothes of silk and cotton among many more, they were stylish, and each had a professional touch, one that Rarity had, exclusively.
"Perhaps this would benefit from an addition of ruby's along the collar, or perhaps the shoulders... no?" Rarity tapped her chin with her left index finger in thought, holding a ruby in her free hand. "No, No, No, that certainly won't do."
She put the ruby down and folded her arms and sighed, removing her glasses and pressing her left index and thumb against her forehead whilst her right arm was wrapped around her chest, her red glasses in hand.
"No, none of it works. Oh what would I give to be inspired and try a new design. Something stylish, plain, rebellious!" She gasped. "That's it, a rebellious outfit! It would be marvelous!" She squealed in delight.
She put away her spools and ruby's, and put her mannequins aside, taking out another designer sheet and getting started when the bell to her store rang with the opening of the door. Rarity looked toward the entrance of her store and stood up.
"Hold on, I'll be right there," she called from her thinking room.
Nyx looked around at the dresses on display in the store, Sunset Shimmer stood beside the child, waiting for Rarity with arms folded. She watched Nyx as she looked around, a small smile formed as she did. Nyx's curiosity reminded Sunset Shimmer of her own when she was a filly still living in Equestria. Sounds came from the back room, Nyx moved over to where Sunset Shimmer was and stood close to her as Rarity came out and approached the counter. Her eye's immediately fixated on Sunset Shimmer, a look of disbelief on her face.
"Sunset Shimmer? Where have you been, darling? Every body has been worried about you. We thought you weren't coming back," the white skinned teen said with concern.
Sunset Shimmer rubbed the back of her neck with a hand on her hip. "I've been a little busy lately."
"Busy? With what, darling?" questioned Rarity who failed to notice the little girl hiding behind Sunset Shimmer.
Sunset Shimmer blushed and looked down to her left. "A little girl." She pressed the back of her hands on her hips, her hands closed while she did.
"A-A little girl..?" Rarity was dumbfounded, she thought her friend must've fallen and hit her head in the rain a week ago.
That was until Nyx stepped out and looked up at Rarity, who noticed and gasped. Nyx blinked and tilted her head, adjusting her glasses once more, and licking her dry lips. Rarity stared at the filly whose eyes were searching, once again she was trying to see the good in Rarity, to determine whether to trust her or not.
"Sunset.. could I have a word... in the back room?" She motioned for Sunset Shimmer to follow her.
The teen with the fiery colored hair nodded with a sigh. "Wait here Nyx, and don't touch anything."
"I won't," Nyx responded compliantly.
Sunset Shimmer left Nyx's side and walked over to the counter, where the gap was to get in behind it. Rarity waited by the door to the hallway close to where her thinking room was. Sunset Shimmer stepped into the hallway with Rarity who looked baffled by Sunset Shimmer's decision.
"You adopted a child?" Rarity was quick to ask so bluntly.
Sunset Shimmer chuckled and shook her head. "No, I found her on my way home after going to the mall with you, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack," Sunset Shimmer's tone became grim as she went on. "She was hurt, wrapped in barbed wire which cut into her legs..."
Rarity peered into the room from around the corner toward Nyx. She glanced down at her legs and saw bandages, fresh and clean. The white teen looked back at the amber skinned girl.
"Why didn't you take her to a hospital, or hand her over to an orphanage?" Rarity's eyebrow's slanted and became sad looking.
Sunset Shimmer moved a lock of hair out of her face and sighed. "If I took her to a doctor they wouldn't release her to some stranger, I don't even know her. They would have called the child care services and they would have taken her away; you know orphanages are bad places for kids, all the beatings and other awful stuff that goes on, it's frighting... She's far too sweet, to be subjugated to that, Rarity," Sunset Shimmer was serious, from her voice to the look in her eyes.
Rarity removed her glasses and looked to the floor in thought. "I... I suppose you're right... I'm sorry, I should be a little more open minded," Rarity looked regretful and sighed.
Sunset Shimmer placed her right hand on Rarity's left shoulder. "Hey, don't beat yourself up about it. Anybody with common sense would have done what you brought up, I felt what I did was better for her."
Rarity smiled at Sunset Shimmer, feeling a lot better about herself.
"Speaking of her, would you like to come out and meet her?" Sunset Shimmer stepped back behind the counter, walking back to Nyx who was on the other side.
"Well I don't suppose there is anything wrong with that." She said as she followed.
Nyx stood in one spot, her arms behind her back with one foot forward. Rarity stood before the little girl, before getting down on one knee.
"Hello sweetie, my name is Rarity. I am a good friend of Sunset Shimmer's, it's a pleasure to meet you," Rarity greeted Nyx courteously.
Nyx smiled, instantly taking a liking to her, she squeaked when she couldn't think of a reply but shortly overcame that and smiled at Rarity in turn. "H-Hello M-Ms. Rarity...M-My name is, Nyx." She squeaked once again.
Rarity giggled. "That's quite an adorable squeak you have there."
Nyx hid her face from Rarity shyly, Sunset Shimmer leaned against a wall, watching them. She was surprised to hear Nyx squeak, something she had not done before.
"I must say, your name is quite powerful, Nyx. Named after a dashing heroine who saved villages in the dead of night, with the moon as her ally," Rarity spoke as dramatically as she placed her right hand to her forehead.
Sunset Shimmer rolled her eyes and chuckled, while Nyx giggled. Rarity smiled humbly and stood up.
"So, Sunset Shimmer, how may I help you today? You didn't come for a visit I'm sure, not while this little one is wearing one of the tops I made for you." Rarity turned to look at Sunset Shimmer as she spoke.
Sunset Shimmer approached Rarity and handed her a scroll with a crude sketch of an outfit. "Where do you want to start?"
Rarity took the scroll over to the counter and unfolded it, she glanced over what Sunset Shimmer had sketched and quietly looked back to her.
"You designed this outfit?" she said in surprise.
Sunset Shimmer shook her head. "I drew it, Nyx designed it herself."
Nyx blushed modestly. "N-No I didn't..." She put on a slight smile.
"There's nothing to worry about dear, these designs are simply gorgeous!! I will do these for you, come with me, Nyx. We can get to work on my work room," Rarity urged Nyx to follow, and she did so, cautiously.
~~~
Nyx stood still on top of a stand while Rarity took measurements. The expression on Nyx's face was one of bemusement and annoyance.
"D-Do we have to measure me?" Nyx whined.
"But of course, dear. I cannot make your outfits without first making sure of your size and weight. This make's it incredibly easier for me to make it fit; otherwise it'll be too tiny," Rarity educated the child.
Sunset Shimmer watched from a chair nearby the door. A smile adorned her face as Nyx continued to react childishly toward the measurements, Rarity chuckled when she did, making Nyx crack a genuine smile every now and again. Sunset could see the trust Nyx had in Rarity that was sorely lacking with her. She made a steeple with her fingers as she rested her hands in her lap. her mind flashed back to that night a week ago, the barbed wire coiled around the child the way it was, like a snake constricting its prey. She started to zone out, her head lowered slowly until she looked like a soon to be father in a waiting room. During her deep thinking, Rarity came over to her and tried getting her attention.
"Sunset Shimmer, excuse me, Sunset Shimmer!" she called twice.
Sunset Shimmer lifted her head and shook it. "Y-Yes, Rarity? Did something happen?" She rubbed her eyes and blinked.
"You were falling asleep. Nyx wanted me to wake you, you started to worry her..." Rarity's voice was soft.
Nyx stood where she was on the stand, her eyes hazy with worry, clearly something had bothered her as Sunset Shimmer was thinking. She looked over to Nyx and frowned apologetically, but the little girl ignored it and turned away, sitting on the floor and hugging her knees.
"Perhaps we should continue with the design process." Rarity looked back at Nyx as she spoke, and walked away from Sunset Shimmer back to the child.
Sunset Shimmer watched Rarity go back to Nyx, she sighed and got up to get a closer look at what was going on. Nyx stood back up for Rarity who smiles at her.
"Alright Nyx, lets get started on your new clothes, I will have them done within the hour. Please, wait out in the foyer until I am ready to unveil my newest creation," Rarity smiled brightly with excitement.
Nyx nodded, she looked over to Sunset Shimmer, that smile dropping like a rock into water. Sunset Shimmer held her hand out to Nyx, but the child did not take it, instead, Nyx walked off the stand, out into the hallway and into the main foyer of the boutique. Sunset Shimmer put her hand down and hugged her arms with a sigh, following Nyx and coming to sit beside her in the foyer.
Rarity watched them and sighed; she got ready all of her spools, her cloth, and materials to make a vest. And in no time at all she was on her way. She spent hours sewing pieces together, using a mannequin as reference for the arms legs, shirt and skirt. Far into the process, she began to notice that Nyx's outfit had no emblem and tapped her chin in thought of this.
"Sunset Shimmer, Nyx..." Rarity came out of the back room and into the foyer to see Sunset Shimmer and Nyx were sitting apart, Sunset was clearly saddened at this, while Nyx seemed to be shoving her away. Nyx rested her head on her knees and hugged her bandaged legs closely.
Rarity felt that she shouldn't say anything, but still, she spoke up, clearing her throat and garnering the attention of both Nyx and Sunset Shimmer.
"I'm sorry to bother you both, but what was the emblem supposed to be?" Rarity asked inquisitively.
"E-Emblem..?" Nyx asked softly, she did not know what emblems were, though one had been staring her right in the face when she would look up to Sunset Shimmer.
"I'll let you explain this one, Rarity. Nyx doesn't want to talk to me..." Sunset Shimmer, folded her arms and leaned back, her head turned away from Nyx.
Rarity could see the animosity between the two but said nothing of it. "W-Well, Nyx; an emblem is what identify's us. Mine is on my skirt." Rarity came into view where she showed the child. "See my three diamond emblem? That's what an emblem is, do you understand? "
Nyx nodded and thought. "I-I don't know what type of emblem I want... " Nyx said regretfully.
Rarity smiled and clapped her hands together once. "It's quite alright dear, we can always think one up down the line." Rarity turned and returned to the back room where she continued her work.
While she did, she thought about the way Nyx, and Sunset Shimmer were treating each other. She then compared Nyx's name to the ancient heroine, Nyx of the night, and figured Nyx's isolation of herself was like a shield, and her name was like that of the moon's champion. Rarity's eyes sparkled with rainbow, her ear's and pony tail forming as she got to work on an emblem, a shield of steel grey, with a dark blue inside, with a turquoise colored crescent moon just to the left of the center.
"That will work, by the goddesses it will work!!" Rarity exclaimed just loud enough for Sunset Shimmer to look toward the door behind the counter.
"Is everything okay, Rarity?" called Sunset Shimmer.
"Everything is just fine, darling!" Rarity called back as she placed the emblem on the center of the dark blue top she intended to give Nyx.
Rarity grinned from ear to ear, grabbing the top and ironing on the emblem to the center of the shirt, the shield of the moon, to show that Nyx was a protector of not just herself, but other's close to her. At least that was what was going through Rarity's mind. Once she had ironed on the emblem, she moved the iron off and let the steam clear before gazing upon a perfectly created emblem for Nyx. It filled Rarity with much happiness, she wiped some sweat from her forehead and sighed contently, she placed the shirt, warm and toasty on the mannequin, moving on to the vest.
She took different purple colored fabrics, a zipper and padding, and quickly got to work. Rarity spent thirty minute's stitching it together, placing the zipper in the right place and making the pockets. She excluded sleeves and contemplated adding the emblem to the back. She looked at the back of the vest in thought before shaking her head and placing the jacket-like-vest on the mannequin, over the toasty warm shirt, it brought out the rebellious look she was going for. Now it was time to move on to the skirt.
~~~
Sunset Shimmer couldn't help but wonder what Nyx was thinking. The sounds of Rarity working in her thinking room would be a welcome change to the silent dreariness that occurred in this room. Nyx was staring at her finger's, thing but not bony, fat enough to almost look normal. The child sighed and twirled her long hair around her left index finger, she blinked and let out a sigh, unwrapping her right arm from around her legs so she could plant her feet softly on the floor. She stood still from there, resting her hands in her lap and staring down at the floor.
Sunset Shimmer turned her head slowly to her right, to look away from Nyx, who would soon soon speak the moment she found her breath. The teenager pulled her legs close to her and hugged them. The silence became unbearable, Nyx's voice cut through the silence, however, it was soft, quiet, but it sure put an end to the incessant ticking of the clock on the wall, and the mundane nothingness that had lingered in the air like a shadow in the sun for thirty agonizing minutes.
"Y-You scared me..." Nyx had her head down, her hands together, fingers interlocking one another and closing over her hands.
Sunset Shimmer looked at Nyx, she tilted her head in confusion, but frowned. "I-I'm sorry if I did, I didn't mean too, I never meant to,"she said earnestly and sincerely.
Nyx finally looked up at her, she looked as if she had started to cry. "W-When you were sitting down like that, I thought you were hurt..." Nyx's voice rang with sad quiver of held back sobbing.
Sunset Shimmer let her legs down and came over to Nyx, kneeling down in front of her. "Hey, I'm alright, I'm not hurt. I was just thinking. I never meant to make you upset, or to make you cry, okay?"
Sunset Shimmer spoke in a soft voice that carried a caring vibe that helped the child fine the calm she had been need this half hour.
Nyx quickly hugged Sunset Shimmer for a brief, if not slight moment before letting go and returning to her facade of locking the teenager out of her life. Sunset Shimmer's face lit up with a smile at knowing Nyx really did care. But one question remained, why? Though as much as she would like to ask, she first had to wait. Rarity had stepped into the room with a bright smile.
"Sunset Shimmer, Nyx. it is ready!"
~~~
"Well? What do you think, it's not too plain is it? Not too much purple? Oh I do hope you like it, Nyx," Rarity showed much enthusiasm about the dress.
Sunset Shimmer smiled in admiration of Rarity's work. "It look amazing, Rarity. Don't you think so, Nyx?"
Nyx looked at it from the bottom of the skirt, to the shoulders of the vest. She inspected it from all angles and thought long and hard about it. Sunset Shimmer and Rarity looked to one another happily, then looked back and watched Nyx while she examined the outfit. The dark skinned child smiled happily and turned to Rarity.
"I love it!!" Nyx exclaimed.
Rarity clapped in delight. "I'm so pleased you do, now, I must insist you try it on, at once. I must know if I should tailor it to accommodate your size, just in case it is too big."
Sunset Shimmer sat up on Rarity's desk. "Yeah, go on, Nyx try it on." She smiled with her hand son her knees.
Nyx smiled. "O-Okay." She took the clothes off the mannequin and retreated into the change rooms, while Sunset Shimmer and Rarity waited happily.
"I really do hope I didn't over do it," Rarity admitted to Sunset Shimmer, her hands to her chest, closed.
"You have nothing to worry about, Rarity; it looks great." Sunset Shimmer adjusted herself on the spot, her left hand pressed on the table while her right rested on her leg.
"Um... Rarity.. H-How do I look?" Nyx stepped out of the change rooms.
Sunset Shimmer and Rarity looked at Nyx, the dark skinned child stood in front of them in her blue top, purple vest, bright violet skirt, long knee high boots and rectangle glasses. Rarity's face absolutely lit up with happiness, her eyes sparkled and her smiled reached the edge of her ears. Sunset Shimmer had a smile admiration.
"It's simply perfect on you dear, just perfect!" Rarity squeed her loudest but quickly stopped and looked at the child's hair and glasses.
"There's just one more thing missing." Rarity folded her arms, her right hand on her cheek with her index finger up.
"And what would that be, Rarity?" Sunset Shimmer inquired.
Rarity turned to the amber skinned teen quickly. "Oh just a haircut, and a new set of glasses. The current pair she has are a tad ugly, and clash with the style of clothes she's wearing, and her hair... too long I'm afraid." She shook her head as she counted the many reasons.
"So you're going to cut her hair?" Sunset Shimmer looked unsure of this, glancing at Nyx who appeared a little worried about losing most of her long hair.
"Well of course I am, darling. If it gets any longer she'll be dragging it on the ground, that's an awful thing to happen to ones hair." Rarity touched her hair and brushed it slightly as she explained.
"D-Do I have too?" Nyx whined.
"Well even I must admit, it is rather long for someone your age," Sunset Shimmer admitted.
Nyx sighed and frowned, lowering her head to look at the floor. "I don't want to..."
"Really Nyx it's no trouble. You'll love your new hair style when I'm done, I guarantee it." Rarity spoke with a hint of truth in her voice.
Nyx looked at Sunset Shimmer and sighed. "O-Okay... B-But not too short. I don't want to look like a boy."
"Splendid!" Rarity cried out before turning to Sunset Shimmer. "Now Sunset, I'm going to get started on Nyx's new hair style; but I have a favour to ask."
"Sure, what is it you needed help with?" Sunset Shimmer smiled, hopping off the table.
Rarity reached over to Nyx and took off the rectangle glasses, handing them to Sunset Shimmer along with a bag of bits. The amber teen looked at them as Rarity placed them in her hand, then looked back at the white skinned designer who wore an absolute smile.
"I want you to go to Spyglass's Glasses store, and pick up a certain pair I think would suit Nyx perfectly," Rarity said with optimism. "That bag of bits should cover the cost."
Sunset looked at the bag, then at Rarity with uncertainty.
"Relax darling, Spyglass knows me. Where do you think I get my frame-less glasses for my designs? He's used to me coming by, and you're not the first I've sent that way."
"Okay... w-what kind are they?" Sunset Shimmer tilted her head with a raised eyebrow in wait of Rarity's answer.
"Well, they have to be circular, clear, a purple rim around the frames and arms. Too much purple?" Rarity asked, unsure if the purple was too much or not, it seemed to be the most stylish thing ever to her.
"They have to be a certain type though, don't you have a set on hand?"
Rarity shook her head. "Well, no dear. You don't expect me to keep glasses lying around, do you?" Rarity put her hands on her hips, her own glasses resting plain on her face.
Sunset Shimmer sighed and chuckled. "Alright then. I'll be right back." She smiled and left the room, heading for the front door of the Boutique. With the jingle of a bell and the closing of a door, Sunset Shimmer was on her way.
A sense of deja vu overcame Rarity but she shook it off and turned to Nyx. "Now Nyx, how would you like your hair?" A large smile formed on Rarity's face.
Nyx gulped and stared in Rarity's direction, a look of concern and worry on her face.
~~~
Sunset Shimmer walked just up the street from the Boutique, carrying the rectangle glasses in their case so they weren't broken in her grip. She passed by many of her school friends and random people. Waving at her friends and staying clear of passerby's. The teen stopped mid walk to see Ditzy coming down the street on Rollerblade's, Vinyl and Lyra following her and trying to stop her.
"Whoa watch out!" Ditzy cried.
Sunset Shimmer quickly put the glasses case in her pocket and jumped in the way of Ditzy, catching her and falling over, the grey skinned wall eyed girl doing the same. Vinyl and Lyra looked at one another and quickly hurried down toward them as Ditzy sat up and rubbed her head.
"Ow... Oh, hey Sunset Shimmer, sorry to bump into you like that," Ditzy said cheerfully.
"I-It's okay, Ditzy." She sighed and got up, rubbing the back of her head.
Lyra, reached down and helped Sunset Shimmer up, the amber skinned teen thanking her and looking back to Ditzy. The grey skinned teen had her hands behind her back and was turning her heel slightly on the ground in front of her.
"You should be more careful, Ditzy. You'll get yourself hurt..." Sunset Shimmer placed her left hand on Derpy's shoulder, giving the wall eyed girl a warm smile.
"I will be, I got Vinyl and Lyra here to help me." Ditzy grinned.
Sunset Shimmer smiled. "Well, be safe, have a good day." Sunset Shimmer passed them and continued on to Spyglass's store, waving to the three friends who skated away.
Sunset Shimmer put her hand down and continued to the store, at the end of the street on the corner. She looked up at the giant glasses shape at the top of the building, before opening the door and walking inside. The bell above the door jingled and announced the teenagers arrival.
"Hello? Is there anybody here?" Sunset stepped into store, closing the door behind her.
"Hello there!" Came a voice from the back room behind the counter.
Sunset Shimmer jumped back startled at the sound of the wise, old and spry voice. Spyglass emerged from the back room and came up to the counter.
"Sorry to startle you, come on in." Spyglass waved Sunset Shimmer to come over to the counter, which she did.
Sunset Shimmer walked over to the counter and stood in front of it, and Spyglass.
"Welcome, Ms. How might I help you today?" Spyglass asked with quite the merry tone of voice.
Sunset Shimmer opened her backpack and pulled out her written description of the glasses Rarity asked for.
"I'm looking for the pair of glasses that match this description. Round lenses, purple arms with a purple rim around the lens, do you have that in stock? Rarity was very specific on the type." Sunset Shimmer looked at Spyglass with a questioning and hopeful look on her face and in her eyes.
Spyglass adjusted his glassed and read the note. He gave a happy smile and looked back up to Sunset Shimmer, nodding. "I have only one box left in stock, please wait here."
Sunset Shimmer beamed and waited by the counter, while Spyglass went into the back room to retrieve these glasses. Before she forgot she quickly yelled out to spyglass what type was needed to compensate for Nyx's eyes.
The fire haired team looked around the room and at the glasses for a moment, then her bag started to vibrate and flash. Quickly noticing in surprise she unzipped the bag and took out her cross dimensional message book. She smiled brightly and quickly opened it to read Twilight's reply. Her eyes scanned both of the newly written pages, but were quickly drawn away when Spyglass came back, the reply remaining unread.
"Here are the glasses you wanted. That will be ninety nine bits." Spyglass placed the case with the glasses on the counter and waited for Sunset Shimmer to pay.
Remembering the sack of bits Rarity gave to her, Sunset Shimmer reached into her pocket, pulling out that same sack of bits. She glanced it over before handing it to Spyglass.
"I think this will cover the expenses... hopefully," she said optimistically.
Spyglass took the bag and opened it, he poured it into the register which read the amount paid, bringing a smile to Spyglasses face. "Thank you, Ms. Have a nice day." He smiled.
Sunset Shimmer picked up the glasses and put them in her bag beside the book. She gave Spyglass a smiles and a wave of goodbye. She approached the door and opened it with a jingle, exiting the store and closing the door behind her.
~~~
When Sunset Shimmer returned to the Boutique, she could hear Nyx and Rarity laughing together in the kitchen. Raising an eyebrow with curiosity sweeping over her, Sunset Shimmer went into the hall and down a door to the kitchen. Here she saw Nyx and Rarity putting frosting on a cake they had started while she was out.
"Now very carefully spread the frosting all about the top so it coats it like a blanket, understand?" Rarity smiled at the dark skinned child.
"Mmhm," responded Nyx.
Sunset Shimmer chuckled and cleared her throat. Nyx and Rarity turned to see Sunset Shimmer, Rarity smiled, Nyx was neutral in her expression. The little girls hair was now shoulder length.
"Did you get the glasses, darling?" Rarity asked, putting down the spoon to frost the cake.
Sunset Shimmer nodded and opened her bag, pulling the newly bought glasses out in their case, which bore a moon symbol on it.
"Ninety nine bits." Sunset Shimmer sighed.
"I knew it would come to that, that's why I gave you the bag." The white teen giggled with a smile.
Rarity opened the case and picked out the iconic glasses. She turned to Nyx and bent down to her level. "Nyx, I have one more thing to add to your attire."
Nyx tilted her head and came over to Rarity, standing just a few inches away. Rarity with a happy smile put the glasses on the child's face, and immediately her eye sight was perfect. Nyx looked at her hands, her boot covered feet, then to Sunset Shimmer, a large smile on her face. Sunset Shimmer returned this smile.
"You look amazing, Nyx," Sunset said softly.
Nyx blushes and looked to the floor, kicking the carpet in an embarrassed way, her arms behind her back.
"Th-Thank you..." she spoke nervously.
Sunset Shimmer glanced at Rarity and sighed. "I'll be more then happy to take her home. How much would you like for the materials used?"
Rarity waved her hand. "No need to pay darling, this on the house."
"Are you sure?" Sunset Shimmer 's pupils shrank, surprised at Rarity doing this for free.
"Well of course I am dear, don't tell anybody else I did this, this is for Nyx; who while you were gone told me about her life before you found her. No spoilers of course." Rarity smiled.
Sunset Shimmer nodded. "That would be best, to be honest I want to find out these things by myself."
Nyx looked up to Sunset Shimmer and thought quietly. Rarity continued to smile at Sunset Shimmer, sighing happily.
"Then my dear, I think you should start bonding with her."
Nyx and Sunset Shimmer said their goodbye to Rarity and started on the long trek home. Sunset Shimmer would look at Nyx from time to time, admiring her new outfit. Nyx carried a purple bag beside her with extra copies of her clothes, now her regular attire.
"You look good in that outfit, your glasses brings out the color of your eyes really well." Sunset Shimmer smiled with a slight chuckle.
Nyx looked to her right so that Sunset Shimmer couldn't see anymore. "T-Thank you..." The child removed the glasses and looked at them curiously.
"So Nyx, I was thinking just now..." Sunset Shimmer started.
Nyx turned her eyes to her left where Sunset Shimmer stood. "Y-Yes..?"
"Since you have your new clothes..." She stopped in the middle of the side walk. "how would you like to come to Canterlot High School with me?" Sunset Shimmer smiled.
Nyx stared at Sunset Shimmer for a moment in disbelief, but then her eyes sparkled as a smile appeared on her face, her answer was yes.
Nyx sat at her bedroom table, staring into the mirror at her reflection. She leaned forward and tilted her head slightly right, blinking, as blank as a white void. She analyzed her face, her hair, and her eyes, blinking once more before returning to a proper sitting posture, her eyes strained at her attempt to see her reflection. She looked down to her left and picked up her new glasses, sliding them on and looking into the mirror again, the blur was no more, and now she could see herself as clear as the day. But as she stared at her reflection she couldn't help but feel incomplete, she looked to her left in thought before jumping out of her chair and approaching her bedside drawers.
Her vest laid on the bed side with her boots side by side on the floor. Nyx passed them on her approach to the drawers, stopping at the front of the table and opening the top drawer. It was filled with small clothing, children's underwear mostly. The dark skinned girl frowned and started taking out the folded clothing, placing them on her bedside neatly until she spotted something underneath the final pile.
It was a blue color, a blue-like-turquoise colour with a swirl pattern on either side. She lifted her left hand, her bone-like-fingers now healthy and normal, and put it into the tub, picking out what she now could see was a headband. She looked at it, manipulating it around her fingers with intrigue. She held onto the sides of the band and stretched it wide, letting it go and letting it fly back into her left wrist. She furrowed her eyebrows as she began to think, poking her inner cheek with her tongue before going back to the mirror and sitting on the chair.
With the headband in hand, she raised and widened it above her head, bringing it down around her forehead and letting go with a slap. She flinched, shutting her eyes for a moment before reopening, blinking softly and looking up at her reflection in the mirror. The band made her hair look funny, the sides and back of her long mane like hair were sticking out from underneath her new choice of accessories. Nyx snickered at her appearance and started to carefully pull her hair out to that is was over band, not under it. She sighed at the finished result.
"Still... there's one more thing..." She looked to the drawers of her desk and reached down to open the top one, inside was a hair brush, some hair ties and hair clips.
She smiled at the brush and picked it up with the gentleness of a butterfly; bringing it up to her head and began to brush it back a particular way until it was neat, tidy and didn't look like a messy bush.
Nyx looked at her hair in the mirror, her glasses, her head band, all of it came together and she put on a slight smile. She turned her attention to the bed, her purple vest and light pinkish-violet boots. She got up from her chair and approached the bed again, picking up her vest and unzipping it, putting it on and smiling with satisfaction. She sat on the bed and picked up her boots, sliding them on over her sock covered feet, wriggling her toes once they were firmly in place. A knock came at the door, Nyx looked up to her, her smile vanishing into a neutral frown as she looked away.
"Come in ..." she spoke softly.
The handle of the door turned and the door itself opened. Sunset Shimmer looked into the room, spotting Nyx on the bed she smiled.
"Ready yet, Nyx? We'll be going soon and I just wanted to make sure." She glanced at Nyx's forehead and hair, she chuckled in surprise and approached the bed. "I like your new look, and that headband looks lovely on you."
Sunset sat on the bed and looked at the neatly brushed hair, hardly a string of it was out of place. "You styled this all by yourself?" She looked to the little girls face in surprise.
Nyx turned her eyes in the teens direction and nodded silently and slowly. Sunset looked over to the piles of underwear neatly placed on the bed behind Nyx.
"Um.. W-Why are they on the bed and not in the drawer?" she asked in a confused tone.
She pointed at the underwear where they lay, Nyx followed Sunsets index finger and turned to see them laying where they were. Eyes wide, she blushed and put on an embarrassed cringe of a frown.
"T-t-the headband was in there, at the bottom of the drawer. I'll put them back," Nyx stammered and explained, hiding her face from the embarrassment.
Sunset Shimmer giggled and pat Nyx on the back. "Better hurry, we're leaving in eight minutes." She stood up and headed for the door, she took one last look at Nyx and proceeded around the corner, out of sight.
Nyx's blush went away, leaving behind only a sad frown. She shook her head and hopped up off of the bed, turning to her left and proceeding to neatly store the folded clothes, back into the drawer. Sunset Shimmer walked into her room where she gathered her books, dimensional message book and her red, raspberry and cherry colour headband, fitting it into her hair and giving a smile to her reflection. Finally she picked up her bag and left the room, proceeding downstairs as Nyx was making her way down the hall from her room, her own bag under her arm.
Sunset paused at the second last step to look up to Nyx, who was making her way down.
"Are you ready now, Nyx?" she asked in a playful tone of voice which earned Sunset Shimmer an amused smile from Nyx while she passed.
Sunset Shimmer smiled and sighed, descending the last two steps and proceeding toward the door. Nyx stood nearby and waited, the fiery haired teen opened the door outside, letting Nyx out first before closing and locking the door behind her. Birds chirped in the tree's, the sky was a pale blue, almost gray with a pinkish light to it. The wind blew in the trees, many of the leaves had started to change colour with the turning of the season; though cold, it was still quite warm. Nyx looked around at the scenery, the hedge fences of Sunset Shimmer's home, the trees hanging over the path to Canterlot City, the fallen leaves decorating the ground and finally the lake at the back of the house, surrounded by a white beach. The water was a clear blue, beautiful like a pearl.
Sunset opened the front gate and stepped out onto the path. She looked around for Nyx who had disappeared behind the house. Chuckling and leaning against the hedge, both elbows being used to prop herself up, Sunset Shimmer took a deep breath and called out.
"Nyx! We have to go, we don't want to be late."
"Sorry!" Nyx called back, hurrying quickly to get back as quickly as she could.
Nyx opened the gate and opened it, stepping out and closing it behind her. Sunset stared at her with a smile, her right hand holding the strap of her bag while Nyx stared back at Sunset Shimmer with a glimmer of excitement; excitement to be going to school, a highschool in fact. The dark skinned girl walked up to the amber teen who smiled and started the walk. Unwilling to get any closer to her anymore, Nyx made sure to stay back a few meters, uninterested in staying close to her.
~~~
"You didn't enroll me..?" Disappointment resonated from Nyx's gentle voice.
"I'm sorry, Nyx. I can't stay home all the time to look after you and I can't leave you at home alone. I thought it would be better to bring you along instead, you could spend time in the library; now that you have your glasses you can read without further strain." Sunset Shimmer smiled in the hope that would make Nyx feel happier.
Nyx frowned and looked to the ground in disappointment, she folded her arms and closed her eyes, turning away from Sunset Shimmer. Sunset Shimmer put her face in her left palm.
"I'm sorry, okay? I'm just trying to look out for you... I don't mean to upset you, or put you down, Nyx." Sunset Shimmer's voice was riddled with regret.
"I-It's.... fine... Just fine..." Nyx was insincere, her trust had once again been lost on Sunset Shimmer, after just barely building for her a week ago.
"Doesn't sound fine to me," came a soft, almost posh voice from behind Sunset Shimmer.
Sunset gasped and quickly turned around to see Rarity-standing straight and tall, her bag held in her left hand.
"Hey Rarity," sighed Sunset Shimmer.
Nyx perked up at Rarity's name, glancing back in Sunsets direction, her eyes fixating on Rarity in an instant.
"Rarity!" Nyx cried out with a grin.
Rarty giggled and smiled. "Good morning, Nyx. Is Sunset Shimmer being a meany again?"
Nyx fell silent and folded her arms, childishly turning away much to Rarity's surprise. The white skinned lady-like teen turned to Sunset Shimmer and sighed with a frown.
"What happened this time?" she didn't sound surprised at this, as if she had witnessed it once and gotten used to it.
Sunset Shimmer glanced at Nyx then back at Rarity, she wrapped her left arm across her stomach while using her right hand to move a strand of hair out of her face. "Nyx is angry at me because I-"
"Because I'm not a student..." Nyx finished Sunsets sentence, her eyes focused on the statue she stood before.
Rarity fixed her sight on Nyx, her mouth open slightly, she closed it when she looked to Sunset Shimmer.
"Well, I can understand why..." she started.
Nyx froze up as Rarity's words entered her ears.
"You are only seven years old, five years too young to enroll, Sunset Shimmer couldn't enroll you even if she wanted to." Rarity gasped. "Speaking of age and enrolling!" She quickly turned to Sunset Shimmer.
"Why in Twilight's name are you bringing Nyx to school?!" Rarity's jaw dropped, her back hunched as she held out her arms to Nyx in total confusion.
"It was either I leave her at home alone, or I bring her with me. To be fair Rarity, I think Nyx has been alone long enough." Sunset looked Rarity in the eyes, her hands on her hips and her face, serious and stern.
Nyx opened her eyes and slightly turned her head to her right, listening to what Sunset Shimmer was saying. Rarity smiled with a sigh.
"Thank goodness you're redeemed, how are you going to break the news to the others?" Rarity regained her composure, folding her arms and pressing the front of her left boot on the concrete, eager to hear what Sunset had in mind.
Sunset Shimmer chuckled nervously, eyes closed with a large toothy grin. "Well you see, I didn't really think that far ahead. I was content to let Nyx stay in the library under Ms. Cheerilee's supervision."
"Darling, if I reacted as bad as you say I did to discovering you plucked her off the streets and took her home; then I shudder to think of how Rainbow Dash and Applejack would react."
"It was the right thing to do, they'd understand," Sunset protested.
"I'm not saying there was anything wrong with it, we trust you, we have no reason not to, anymore. However, while Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack and Rainbow Dash would be more proud of you for helping Nyx, being unrecognized as her guardian would be strikingly odd to Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna. They are what concerns us most, if you ask me."
Sunset Shimmer groaned a sigh and face palmed. "I totally forgot about them... What do you suggest?"
"Well, if I were the principals, I wouldn't be impartial to bringing family to school if there was nobody home to look out for them." Rarity winked with a smile.
Sunset Shimmer turned to Nyx, the seven year old was bending down, arms behind her back and looking at a white dandelion with curiosity. Nyx blinked, tilting her head slightly left and slightly right, a sight of peaceful innocence which Sunset Shimmer admired for a moment.
"Nyx!" she called out to the little girl.
Nyx turned her head in Sunset Shimmers direction and tilted her head curiously to her right, looking directly at Sunset who waved her over. Sighing with exasperation, the young girl turned away from the flower and approached Sunset Shimmer, her gaze lowered to the ground, away from the teenager.
"Y-you called..?" she muttered softly.
Sunset Shimmer squatted down to eye level with Nyx. "So, Rarity and I were talking about how to get you into the school, without the principals getting involved with your visit."
Nyx perked up a little and blinked surprised. "Really?"
Sunset nodded. "Mmhm, I can only bring a young family member with me if there is nobody home to look after them. My idea was to pass yourself off as my cousin."
Nyx's eyes glanced to her right in thought. She thought carefully about it and nodded, looking back to Sunset Shimmer. "Okay." She smiled.
~~~
Sunset Shimmer shared Nyx's smile, only for a moment until a sonic boom echoed through the sky. Sunset stood up quickly at the sound, Rarity looked to the sky; Nyx doing the same. Rarity let out a sigh, catching Nyx's attention.
"Rainbow Dash is at it again..." her tone was unimpressed and bothered.
Nyx looked up to Rarity. "Again? Who?" She tilted her head curiously.
"Rainbow Dash," answered Sunset Shimmer. "using her wings and flying again no doubt..."
Nyx was perplexed by this, flying? It was impossible for anyone to do that. "But.. people can't fly. T-there's no way..."
A rainbow streaked across the sky, the teenagers watched it form while Nyx removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes, she then cleaned the lenses with a cloth from her right pocket, putting it back shortly after and sliding the glasses back on. The streak of rainbow was still moving, suddenly nose diving and slowing down, the silhouette of a person appearing in the bright light of rainbow as it touched down on the ground, kicking up some dust. Nyx, Rarity and Sunset Shimmer coughed as the streak of rainbow vanished; followed by the cocky laughter which belonged to Rainbow Dash.
The dust cleared, a sparkling glow from Rainbow's back and head dimming until its light was no more. Smiling with total arrogance she jumped up and pointed to an orange child- who looked about Nyx's height but older, riding a scooter up the hill, huffing and panting from the long ride.
"Ha!I beat you, Scootaloo! Five points go to the Rainbow Dash!" Rainbow jumped up, lifting her right leg with the bend of her knee and fist pumping before touching down again, quickly spinning around to face Nyx, Rarity and Sunset Shimmer.
"Sup?" Rainbow put her hand up, fingers together.
"Don't you 'sup' us, Rainbow Dash. You used magic!" Rarity stopped her foot.
Nyx turned around to look at Rarity, her confusion only doubled. "M-magic..?" she whispered.
"So what if I did? I've used magic many times before," Rainbow said defensively.
"You know we can't afford the entirety of our world knowing we have Equestrian magic. We're lucky only the teachers and students know of it, we cannot flaunt it about like so," Rarity chastised.
Rainbow placed her left hand on her right arm and looked down. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I'll be more careful." She looked up to Rarity, then down to Nyx, the sight of the child caught Rainbow by surprise, she couldn't help noticing her glasses, vest and overall appearance. "So who's the new kid?"
Nyx lowered her head to the ground and backed up toward Sunset Shimmer, she hid behind the amber teen shyly. Sunset looked down at Nyx, then back to Rainbow Dash.
"This is Nyx, she's my cousin visiting from up north," she said while trying to sound as honest as possible.
Rainbow looked at Sunset Shimmer, lifting an eyebrow. "Cousin? Are you sure about that? Last time I checked your not exactly from here." Rainbow folded her arms.
Sunset rubbed the back of her neck. "U-um.. w-well s-she's... um..."
"Visiting!" Rarity quickly put in.
"Y-yeah, she's visiting, she arrived just last week." Sunset put on her her best fake smile to make her claim seem genuine.
Rainbow, however, was not totally convinced and doubted this very much. "Cool..." she said with uncertainty before bending down, resting her hands on her knees. "Nice to meet you, Nyx. My name is Rainbow Dash."
Nyx looked at the blue skinned teen from behind Sunset Shimmer, her eyes looking down to her left. "L-Likewise..."
Rainbow stared at Nyx for a moment, turning her gaze to Sunset Shimmer afterwards. "She's not shy is she?"
Sunset looked back at Nyx. "Are you feeling okay, Nyx?"
Nyx glanced up to Sunset Shimmer, then back down to her feet, nodding and adjusting her glasses. "I-I think she's scary..."
"Scary? Why am I scary?!," huffed Rainbow Dash, folding her arms.
Nyx started to tear up at this, she kept her head lowered and stood closer to Sunset Shimmer as a result.
"Rainbow Dash!" Rarity growled.
Rainbow Shrugged. "What?" Suddenly there was a twinge in Rainbow's left arm, she cringed and held the area that had been hurt, rubbing it and turning to see what had caused it.
Scootaloo was pulling her right arm and fist back, looking mighty unhappy. "You cheated, you said no magic!"
Rainbow chuckled "You didn't say I couldn't fly, sorry sis, you weren't specific."
"I was so specific!"
Rainbow poked Scootaloo in the forehead, poking out her tongue at the same time, winking and grinning. "Sorry sis, maybe next time."
Nyx took a deep breath and sighed, feeling a little better. Sunset knelt down to her height, placing her left hand on her shoulder.
"Are you feeling better?"
Nyx nodded. "Mhm..."
"I'm just making sure, you know?"
"I know..." the irritation in Nyx's voice started to grow.
Sunset Shimmer stood up as Scootaloo approached, unbeknownst to Nyx.
"Hey, I haven't seen you around before."
Nyx jumped and turned quickly as she took a step back to face Scootaloo. The orange skin girl put on a bright smile, her hands behind her back.
"My name's Scootaloo, what's yours?"
Nyx stayed silent, she looked at Scootaloo before turning her gaze away to the pavement. Scootaloo's grin slowly fell, she lifted an eyebrow in confusion and opened her mouth to speak.
"Are you... okay?"
Nyx continued to stay silent, she had her hands behind her back, unwilling to utter a word at the moment.
Sunset Shimmer, Rainbow Dash and Rarity watched the two, as other students passed them by, on their way into the building behind them. The three teens looked at on another, then back to Scootaloo who sighed and walked away
"Weird... I'll see you inside, Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo waved to her sister, heading for the doors of the school building.
"Catch you later, Scootaloo." Rainbow waved.
Nyx sniffled and took her glasses off, covering her eyes. "I'm not weird..."
Rainbow Dash folded her arms, while Sunset Shimmer and Rarity looked at one another and frowned.
"Nyx," Sunset said softly.
Nyx looked up to Sunset Shimmer wiping tears from her eyes.
"Why don't we go inside and take a tour of the school?"
Nyx looked to the building between Sunset and Rarity, Trixie, Twist, Snips and Snails were all entering the school building, Twist held the door for them before stepping inside and letting the door close behind her.
"D-Do I want to..? It looks big..." Nyx sounded hesitant.
"It's supposed to darling, it's supposed to accommodate approximately seven hundred and nine students, plus classrooms, gymnasium, pool and cafeteria, to name a few." Rarity put her right hand on her hip, twirling her hair with her left.
Nyx's eyes widened. "H-how can one building house so many rooms?"
"It's built that way, kiddo," answered Rainbow.
Nyx looked over to Rainbow Dash with contempt of the word 'kiddo'. "I'm not a "kiddo", I'm a girl..." She gave Rainbow Dash a sassy look with her hands on her hips.
Rarity covered her mouth to contain her slight bit of laughter, Sunset Shimmer face palmed with a smirk and shook her head.
"Looks like Nyx has a sense of humor," Rarity remarked.
Sunset chuckled in agreement. "Shall we get going, Nyx?"
"Hey, I thought we were waiting for Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy," voiced Rainbow.
"We'll have to catch up in the cafeteria, later." Sunset adjusted the strap of her bag and turned to start her walk toward the school, Nyx following behind.
"Okay darling, we'll meet up there later!" Rarity waved with a sigh.
~~~
"I've only ever given this tour twice, this is my third time."
"Twice?" Nyx looked up to Sunset Shimmer curiously.
Sunset Shimmer nodded. "Yeah, my first time giving students a tour was strange, but my second one was stranger."
Nyx and Sunset Shimmer were walking about the school building together, passing by students who took the time to stop and wave to the amber skinned teen, her likability having grown much more since the Dazzlings defeat, though this was not as apparent to Nyx, she had assumed her guardian was always so well liked.
"So... what made them strange?" Nyx looked up to Sunset Shimmer curiously.
Sunset rubbed the back of her neck. "Well my first time was when the Dazzlings showed up, they acted really weird, but it wasn't until the battle of the bands when we discovered what they really were," her tone was contemptuous but forgiving.
"Then for my second one, I showed Tree Hugger around the school, she's one of the Eco kids, a nature lover. She, Fluttershy and Councilor Discord get along well enough. The weird thing is that she always mentioned clearing her chakras and she kept forgetting my name."
Nyx giggled. "Tree Hugger sounds like a nice person."
"She is, she's... a gem, a unique person." Sunset smiled.
Nyx smiled. "Am I unique?"
Sunset Shimmer stopped and turned to look at Nyx. "Well... um...well.."
Nyx put her hands together in front of her, waiting with her eyes sparkling to hear what Sunset had to say.
"I... I found you in a box?" she said in a nervous voice with a shrug.
Nyx was not amused, she sighed and adjusted her glasses. "Really..? Is that it?"
"No, you have an adorable squeak." Sunset teased.
Nyx blushed and covered her face in an embarrassed fashion, walking right into the leg of somebody in front of her, causing both to stumble back. Nyx removed her hands and opened her eyes, looking up to the teen she had bumped into.
"Hey, watch where you're going kid!" a fuchisa skinned teen with purple hair and aquamarine streaks growled at Nyx.
"Aria, hurry up!" Adagio's voice came from behind Nyx, further down the hall.
Aria looked up in Adagio's direction. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." She glanced back at Nyx before continuing on her way.
Nyx turned around and watched as Aria Blaze walked away. Sunset Shimmer, having seen Aria yell at Nyx, approached the child and sigh.
"That was one of the Dazzlings, Aria Blaze." Sunset put her hand on her hip.
"She didn't sound very happy... did I do something wrong?" Nyx looked up to Sunset, misty eyed.
Sunset shook her head. "No, Nyx. Aria is just a very angry girl. Shall we continue the tour?"
Nyx nodded with a new smile. "Yes please."
~~~
Aria Blaze rounded the corner at the end of the hall, turning into another corridor of lockers. Just ahead of her was Adagio and Sonata. Sonata was eating a hamburger while Adagio was taping her foot, her arms folded, an unhappy smile on her face. Aria kept her eyes fixed on the lead siren as she passed to her locker just past Sonata.
"It doesn't take much to distract you, does it?" Adagio sneered.
"I would have kept up if some brat walking around with Sunset Shimmer hadn't got in the way, Adagio," Aria scoffed, arms folded, leaning against her locker.
"You mean that new kid? She looks more like a nerd. I don't think she's bratty." Shrugged Sonata.
"You don't even know her you air-head," hissed Aria, eyes focused on the floor.
"If you two are done, I'd like to show you something that might turn your minds off of the Rainbooms and some little kid." Adagio sighed, turning the combination of her locker to open it.
Aria rolled her eyes and turned her head in the direction of the lead siren. "Ugh.. fine then, don't keep us waiting, oh great and glorious, Adagio."
Adagio gave Aria a spiteful look before opening and reaching into her locker, pulling out a big brown book of antiques and artifacts.
"Oh! A book!" Sonata beamed with excitement.
"A book, how exciting. We're going to read them under our spell. Great thinking, Adagio." Aria smirked with amusement.
Adagio sighed. "No you idiots, not the book! It's what is inside the book, page eight ninety..."
The lead siren opened the book to the exact page, revealing to her companions what was printed in word and pictures. "The Sister's Ruby's, better know as the Triplets Pendents."
"Whoa... they look just like ours." Sonata made a kissy face, her hand pressed to her cheeks.
"That's because they are our Pendants counterparts in this world," Adagio informed. "That is, these would be our pendents in this world, in case you didn't understand that, Sonata. Though unlike our real ones, these are not enchanted."
"So we're ditching the original plan to steal counterparts that don't even work, some plan, Adagio," Aria said sarcastically.
"We're not abandoning anything! This is just in case the original plan doesn't work and we can't fix our pendants."
"Whatever, when did you even find the time to find this out?" Aria put her left hand on her hip, leaving her right arm hanging by her side, she was crooked to one side, a look of bemusement on her face.
Adagio grinned and chuckled. "You would be surprised at what I do, when neither of you are around for me to babysit."
"So the reason you kept bailing on Sonata and I the past week, was so you could hang at the library and find some book on artifacts and antiques?" Aria asked impatiently.
"It's better then sitting around and doubting if the first plan will work, this is a back up but a hard one at that."Adagio let Sonata hold the book while she crossed her arms.
"What do you mean by hard one?" asked Sonata.
"If we take the Sister Ruby's they will be without magic." answered Adagio.
"But you said that "Equestrian magic is floating into this world and filling it to the brim." Couldn't we use our voices as they are now to enchant them with what magic lingers?"
"If only it were that simple, Aria Blaze. I've only just found out that Equestrian magic mingles with the forces of this world and dissipates quickly. If we're going to charge the ruby's it would have to be when the Rainbooms are showing off their magic, or if we're standing by the source."
Adagio looked Aria in the eyes, they were filled with doubt.
"That is if it comes to that, I still feel that repairing our original pendents is our best option. Trust me girls, I know what I'm doing. For now, we have to bide our time." Adagio gave Aria and Sonata her most devilish smile yet and laughed.
~~~
"This is the computer lab, and down there is the History block." Sunset Shimmer smiled, walking through the halls with Nyx close by.
"Com-pu-ter?" Nyx asked in confusion.
"Yeah, that was what I thought about it when I arrived, I had never heard of a computer before." She smiled sheepishly. "To sum it up, it's a box with glass on a bigger box that has pictures."
"S-so... what else is there?" Nyx looked up to Sunset Shimmer.
"Well, the answer to that question lies outside." Sunset smiled and lead Nyx outside and into the school yard where they stood earlier that morning.
Students were all over the place, exchanging gossip, songs, cards and Eco tips, depending on the group. Such varieties were astounding to Nyx, who knew only the passing of people and cars, which she would watch from her box home in the city.
"Up their is the roof top, artists enjoy going up there to paint the view, other students play music or just sit there and enjoy the view. Sometimes crushes meet up and confess their love, so romantic."
Nyx poked her tongue out and pointed into her mouth at the sound of love. "I guess it is romantic... but..."
Sunset looked back at Nyx. "But what?"
"But... ew.." Nyx giggled.
"Oh right, you're at that age where boys have cooties, and boyfriends and girlfriends are icky, am I right?"
Nyx nodded, bringing Sunset Shimmer to laughter.
"I can understand, I felt the same way when I was a little filly growing up in Canterlot." Sunset's slip of the tongue had escaped her, causing great confusion to Nyx.
"Anyway, lets move on." Sunset Shimmer motioned for Nyx to follow, which she did.
They followed the path around the school toward the oval, a large field big enough to house sporting events behind the school. To Sunset's surprise, there were students marking the field, the principals surveying the operation with another lady with a purple coat and a scowl.
"This is the sports field, usually we host the Gym classes here when not in the Gymnasium, it looks like they are planning for some big event."
"Big event?" Nyx tilted her head.
Sunset nodded. "I don't think its been announced yet, we'll wait and see." She smiled down at Nyx. "Now, the tour moves on to the Gym." She approached a set of doors and pushed them open, stepping into a large room with Nyx doing the same.
Vice Principal Luna turned and noticed the two girls just before they entered, squinting in curiosity before turning back to the survey.
"Wow... big room..." Nyx said in amazement.
"This is nothing compared to the pool room." Sunset chuckled, moving across the large room to the exit door into the hall.
"Pool room?" Nyx followed the teen as she stepped out into the hallway.
"Yeah, that's usually where swim classes are held, they start heating it up this time of year."
"You swim in hot water?!" Nyx's eyes went wide with shock and confusion.
The look on her face was enough to make Sunset laugh again. She held her stomach and covered her mouth, trying to contain her laughter.
"I'm sorry Nyx, really. " She cleared her throat and recomposed herself. "We don't swim in hot water, the water is heated just enough so it's not cold. Come on, I'll show you."
Sunset turned and ventured down the hall, turning left at the gym doors and eventually coming to a set of silver doors with windows. Nyx looked up at these doors and tilted her head.
"Windows?" she asked.
"They usually help to identify if it is the right class room, usually by recognition of a classmate's face or the teacher. So, shall we go in?"
"It sounds more like they interrupt lessons... and okay." Nyx smiled.
Sunset Shimmer opened the doors and stepped inside with Nyx, the room was dark, but the light coming in from the windows toward the ceiling illuminated enough to see. With curiosity, Nyx approached the water and knelt down, putting her left index finger into the clear, chlorine filled liquid to feel it was warm. Sunset Shimmer watched from the entrance in wait.
"It's warm..." She looked over to Sunset in surprise.
"They're probably going to use it today. Anyway, come back over here Nyx, we shouldn't really be in here." Sunset opened the door to leave.
Nyx quickly stood up and carefully made her over to the door, afraid she'd fall in. Once they were both outside, Sunset closed the door and stretched with a smile.
"And that Nyx, concludes the tour of Canterlot High, any questions?" Sunset crossed her arms, a joking look on her face as if expecting Nyx's question.
"Um.. y-yeah... W-where's the library?" Nyx's hands were behind her back, her eyes fixed on Sunset.
"Oh you wanted to know where the library is? I must have missed it." The teen scrunched up her face as she spoke sarcastically.
Catching on to the joke, Nyx folded her arms and gave Sunset one of her bemused glares. Sunset chuckled.
"Come on, lets go to the library."
Nyx's eye's sparkled, her face brightening. She happily jumped up and down, following Sunset Shimmer as they began their walk to this last stop on the tour.
"And last on our tour is, the library." Sunset Shimmer pushed open the windowed doors of the Library, stepping into the rotunda with a gob smacked Nyx.
The room was large, shelves of books rose high around the gigantic room, matching the shape of the walls. The area upstairs was no different, curved shelves against curved walls, shelves lined with book upon book. The rooms center was dominated by a round table, a golden headed horse statue rising in the center, laptops resting on the desk awaiting use. the ceiling was a giant glass dome, sunlight flowing through the crystal-like glass and illuminating the room as brightly as the grass outside.
Nyx stepped into the room, turning around to look at everything there was, books, more books then she could have ever imagined. The child looked at Sunset Shimmer who looked back, a smile on her face as Nyx's expression remained the same. Sunset chuckled and pulled out a chair to sit in, watching Nyx approach a shelf of history books, some were big, others were small, different covers, different titles, the same went for the rest of the books in the library.
"Big... library... big..." Nyx turned to Sunset Shimmer, surprised.
"Well yeah, it's a library. It's got books mostly for study, there are some novels and children stories you might like."
Sunset Shimmer's attention diverted from Nyx to the door, another girl had walked in, described as having a brilliant azure skin colour and pale cornflower blue hair; her name was, Trixie. The teen wore a hat atop her head, a light pinkish violet colour with stars, a matching cape tied together around her neck, forming her magician outfit. Sunset rested her head on her hand which held it up, her elbow pressed on the arm of the chair.
"Good morning, Trixie." Sunset smiled.
Trixie looked at Sunset as she strode in. She stopped and sighed, folding her arms. "Hello, Sunset Shimmer. What can the great and powerful Trixie do for you?" She spoke with her usual arrogant tone of voice.
"I'm just saying hello, that's all, Trixie." Sunset waved her hands to avoid trouble.
"Very well then, Trixie has noted your greeting." Trixie held her head high as though trying to impose royalty, turning her back to Sunset Shimmer.
"Are you still upset about the battle of the bands?" Sunset raised an eyebrow.
Trixie took a deep breath before turning back. "Of course not! Trixie is over that defeat! She now wishes to read a book on alchemy."
"You're still mad..." mumbled Sunset. "I don't know where the book your looking is, maybe it's in the A section."
"Really? Do you think the great and powerful Trixie is stupid? I would never have known to look there at all, I thought it was in the U section." Trixie said in a contemptuous and sarcastic tone of voice.
Sunset Shimmer sighed and stood up, approaching Trixie and coming to a stop when close enough. "If you have a problem, just tell me. Holding it in isn't going to help you any better then standing here like a statue."
Trixie grit her teeth. "There isn't anything wrong, Sunset Shimmer. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a book to find." She turned away and started walking in Nyx's direction.
Nyx rounded the corner carrying a book about the founding of Canterlot. Not expecting Nyx to suddenly appear around the corner, Trixie stopped just inches away from walking into her. She watched this new girl pass her, approaching Sunset Shimmer and showing her the book.
"Sunset, look at this, it's about animals." Nyx looked up at Sunset with an interested smile.
"Well, well, well. The great and powerful Trixie was unaware that you've become a babysitter, Sunset Shimmer. Is that why you were a no show last week, hm?" Trixie put her hands on her hips and bent forward slightly, biting her lip and making a kind of smug grin.
As much as Sunset Shimmer wanted to deny it, Trixie was right, looking after Nyx the past week had been on the grounds of babysitting, as much as it pained Sunset to admit to herself. She sighed and folded arms at Trixie.
"Yes, Trixie. I stayed home last week to look after my cousin here."
Trixie chortled in amusement, shedding tears which she quickly wiped away. "Your cousin? I highly doubt that."
"Why? What is there to doubt?" Sunset folded her arms.
"Well... uhm..." Trixie couldn't think of anything she could say to cast any kind of doubt. "Oh never mind, the great and powerful Trixie care's not for your family."
Sunset sighed loudly. Footsteps came from the library entrance, Nyx, Sunset Shimmer and Trixie turned to see who it was, a smile formed on Sunsets face when she saw it was Ms. Cheerilee.
"You two should head off now, class will be starting soon," the librarian told the girls when she passed.
Trixie watched the teacher pass by, returning her unhappy look to Sunset Shimmer before making her way out. Sunset watched with Nyx as Trixie left. With a sigh she turned around and approached Cheerilee by the computer table, Nyx following quietly as her excitement died down.
"Ms. Cheerilee." Sunset stood behind the teacher.
Cheerilee turned her head in Sunset's direction, her body turning slightly. "Is there something I can help you with, Sunset Shimmer?" she asked in a cheery tone,
"I need to ask a favor if it's not too much." Sunset had her arms folded, a hopeful smile on her face.
Cheerilee turned around completely to face her, it wasn't until she looked down and saw Nyx that she realized what kind of favor it would be.
"You want me to look after her?" Cheerilee held her hand out to Nyx during the conversation, confused and unsure.
Sunset stammered. "N-Not exactly... You would be in a sense as you are the librarian. I'm only asking if Nyx could stay here."
Cheerilee blinked in surprise, Nyx's purple hair caught the teachers eye and she looked down at the child. "I-I'm not sure, is she related to you?"
"She's my... cousin." The honesty in Sunset's voice was not as believable as it had been when she told Rainbow Dash.
Cheerilee raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that, Sunset Shimmer? You aren't fibbing are you?" She placed her hands on her hips, making herself look big.
"N-No, no, I have nothing to hide, Nyx is visiting from up north and my aunts didn't know the semester was still going, I can't leave her at home, so I thought here would be the best place for her for the day."
"Great... now I sound even more dishonest then ever; somebody hit me, please..." Sunset thought to herself, smiling as convincingly as she could.
Cheerilee regarded Nyx carefully, she was only a child, what harm could she do if she only read books? The librarian smiled and knelt down in front of Nyx, putting her hands together in a prayer like way, pointing the tips of her fingers on the floor.
"Hello there, Nyx. I'm sure you already know me as Ms. Cheerilee. Welcome to Canterlot Highschool. Feel free to read whatever takes your fancy." Cheerilee put on a kind smile, the first truly genuine one Nyx had seen in ages.
Nyx smiled brightly and stepped forward a little. "Thank you, Ms. Cheerilee."
Cheerilee stood up slowly and looked at Sunset Shimmer with that same smile. "Alright, I'll let Nyx stay in the library during your classes."
"Thank you, Ms. Cheerilee. Nyx won't be any trouble at all, I promise." Sunset smiled assuringly.
Nyx looked up to Sunset Shimmer. "S-so how long will I be in here?"
"Six hours," Sunset replied.
Nyx blinked and looked around the library, a small smile on her face, six hours without Sunset Shimmer was perfect. "Alright then... I'll be good."
Sunset made a big side smile and folded her arms. "You better, we'll go get an ice cream when the day is done, do you like the sound of that?"
Cheerilee watched the both of them, taking note of how Sunset Shimmer was talking to Nyx.
Nyx's eyes sparkled. "Deal!"
With a look to Cheerilee, Sunset Shimmer adjusted her one strap bag and headed for the library doors, the bell ringing the moment she stepped out. The ringing had startled Nyx, she fell back and onto her bottom with a groan, holding her ears until the bell stopped.
"What's the matter, Nyx? You're acting as if you hadn't heard a bell before." Cheerilee looked at Nyx with a puzzled expression.
Nyx removed her hands from her ears and stood up, brushing herself off and blushing with embarrassment. "I-I have heard one before... it's so loud."
"Well they got to be if it's going to get the students to class." Cheerilee smiled. "Otherwise we'd have slackers in the halls."
"Slacker?" Nyx tilted her head.
"It means lazy. But thankfully, the students here at Canterlot High are very literate, and enjoy coming. Though, those Dazzlings are something, I wasn't here when they arrived, I was away all through the Battle of the Bands."
"Why?" Nyx tilted her head.
"Family matters, I was in the hospital." Cheerilee's smile was warm and proud. "By the way Nyx, how old are you? I can pick out books that fit your age range."
"I'm seven, and it's okay. I'd like to choose for myself, thank you for offering." Nyx put her hands together behind her and crossed her legs over.
Cheerilee continued to smile, this time at Nyx's manners. "Such polite manners. Your parents must be proud."
Nyx's expression changed quickly to sadness and she slowly lowered her head.
"If you need anything, just let me know, I'll be right over there at the reception." Cheerilee picked up the books and made her way over to her desk.
"O-okay." Nyx's expression changed back to a happy one, a fake smile across her face.
She looked around the room and let out a deep sigh. "Where should I start?"
~~~
Sunset Shimmer's foot steps echoed through the halls as she ran into the foyer, turning right and heading up the slightly rounded staircase to another row of lockers to the left and right of a hall with more corridors. The teen stood still and sighed.
"Sunset Shimmer." A voice came from the stair well.
Sunset turned around at the sound of her name being called almost in panic, the voice belonged to Vice Principal Luna. The vice principal approached Sunset Shimmer, a look of suspicion on her face, her tablet in hand.
"Would you care to explain what you are doing outside of class?" She folded her arms, lifting an eyebrow and waiting to hear what the teen had to say.
Sunset rubbed the back of her neck. "I don't exactly know what lesson I have." She gave an unsure look to Luna.
The vice principal sighed and pulled up the tablet. She pulled out the stylus and started tapping on the screen in search of a timetable. Sunset waited, and while she did; Applejack poked her head out of the door of English class two B and into the hall. She looked down the corridor one way, then looked the other, toward the stairs where Sunset Shimmer and Luna stood. Noticing the two, she quickly exited the classroom and approached them.
"There you are, we have our English lesson now, and here you are runnin late." Applejack put her hands on her hips.
Luna lifted an eyebrow and tapped the screen of her tablet, putting her stylus away afterwards. "Off to English then, Sunset. I don't want to catch you out of class again."
"It won't happen again, Vice Principal Luna, I promise." Sunset Shimmer turned around and followed Applejack to the class room.
Applejack sighed and looked back at Sunset, stopping in front of the door and facing her.
"I heard you brought your cousin, but Rarity also said there's more to it then that."
"I'll tell you later when all of us are in one place, talking about it in class around others isn't a good idea." Sunset gripped the strap of her bag, avoiding Applejack's eyes as if she found telling her un-trusting.
"Probably for the best, especially when she's in class..." Applejack stood aside and allowed Sunset to see into the room.
Adagio sat in the third seat of the middle row, her eyes fixated on her workbook, her hand where her pendent once laid. A look of worry appeared on Sunset's face, she looked at Applejack before going inside and taking her seat, Applejack doing the same. Adagio's eyes shifted to look at Sunset while she sat down, a small sneer forming at the corner of her mouth before looking back at the open page before her.
As Sunset laid her textbook out on the desk, Applejack sat in her chair backwards to face Sunset. She folded her arms on the chair's back part and rested her chin on them.
"I know you don't have cousins in this world, Sunset. I'm just a little concerned and it's buggin me," whispered Applejack.
"I told you I'll fill you all in at recess... Please Applejack, just let it go for now."
"I can't... Sunset I trust you and all; but this feels like some kind of cover up. You're not from here, and there's no way anyone can come and go through the portal, not since Twilight left a year ago."
"I know that. That's why I want to tell you, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy at recess. Please let it go for now."
Applejack was hesitant and stubborn. She grit her teeth and looked to the floor, sighing and looking much calmer. "Alright, I ain't goin to push it any further, not while class is on anyway."
"Speaking of which, where's the teacher?" Sunset rested an arm on the back of her chair, a puzzled look on her face.
Applejack shrugged just when the teacher walked in, wearing a blue suit and carrying books.
"Okay class, sorry I'm late. Lets get this lesson started shall we, the teaching starts when a word of knowledge is lent, to be kept and never returned, you go forth in your lives with the things you have learned." The teacher spoke in a very calm, and smooth voice. A wide smile on his face.
Smiles appeared on the faces of the pupils, Adagio's not-withstanding. Applejack faced the correct way around and opened her book to a page on poetry. Sunset Shimmer did the same.
"I hope Nyx is keeping herself occupied. She's not a bad kid but I suppose with kids her age you expect chaos," Sunset thought to herself.
~~~
Cheerilee was looking through piles of returned books the students had borrowed, she placed each one on a trolley before getting behind it and pushing it along to put the books back on the shelves. She started sorting the books by shelf, then she glanced over to Nyx and noticed she had already amassed quite a large number of books, stacked in small piles around her. Cheerilee blinked in surprise before approaching, her footsteps alerting Nyx to her presence. Looking up from a book, Nyx turned her head in Cheerilee's direction.
"H-hello again, M. Cheerilee."
"Hello again, Nyx. It looks like you got quite a lot of reading to do." Cheerilee looked at all the books that formed a kind of fort. She then noticed the book Nyx was reading, large, with many words and few pictures. She recognized the book, having seen Fluttershy read it many times.
"I see you have a book on animals there. It's quite a big book." Cheerilee looked over Nyx in thought, "You know, I could still get you some books that fit your age range. That book is much too advanced for a little girl your age."
Nyx looked at the front page briefly, before looking back to Cheerilee. "It's okay, I need to learn how to read. Sunset Shimmer has been encouraging me to read more, I started out with the Dr. Stroke books, they've got funny rhymes. My favorite is the one with the kitty."
"The Cat and the Box?"
Nyx nodded, a smile on her face. "Mhm. At first I didn't like reading, but Sunset Shimmer helped me. She's been helping me a lot."
"You two must be very close then." Cheerilee felt warmed at hearing Nyx talk about Sunset Shimmer positively.
Cheerilee smiled down at Nyx before returning to sorting the books, Nyx looked back down to her book and sighed sadly.
"...To be honest... I don't... I don't like her..." Nyx touched one of the barb wire scratches on her legs. "And I don't know why..."
Nyx sighed and closed her book, putting it aside and picking up another. The process of reading continued for quite a while. Cheerilee watched as Nyx went through one book after another, putting finished reads on top of a pile that almost made a pyramid, the little fort of books Nyx had made was slowly coming apart. The first period bell rang and disturbed Nyx until it stop, and when it did she would go back to reading, oblivious to other students who came in during the second period. Shortly after, Nyx frowned and whined softly and took off her glasses, rubbing her eyes which watered.
"Maybe I should stop for a moment..." she sighed, putting her glasses back on and blinking.
She looked around at the books and frowned, then she looked at the pile she had made and cringed. She stood up and started to pick up a lot of books from the pile, taking them over to Cheerilee's desk when she did before turning around and repeating. Two students took notice of Nyx, they glanced at the pile of books then looked at one another. The two girls approached Nyx and the pile and started picking up books.
"Let us help," said one.
"It'll get done a lot faster like this," said the other.
Nyx watched the two girls pick up books and take them over to the counter. She picked up the last few books and put them on the desk with the others, the two older girls stopping to look at Nyx, a smile on both of their faces.
"T-thank you f-for helping me...." Nyx smiled slightly, her hand on her arm and her gaze to the floor, her voice soft with shyness.
"It was nothin, you looked like you needed the help," the first girl said. "Name's Apple Bloom."
"And I'm Twist." Twist pushed her glasses back into place, waving to Nyx with a big smile.
"What's your name?" asked Apple Bloom.
"M-my name's Nyx..." Nyx looked at them, keeping her head lowered.
"Cool name," Twist remarked.
"I've never heard of a name like that before, who gave it to ya?" Apple Bloom leaned in slightly, eager to know.
Nyx looked at Apple Bloom with uncertain eyes, before looking down at her own feet and falling silent. Apple Bloom and Twist watched Nyx do this before looking at one another then back at her. They frowned, Apple Bloom rubbed the back of her neck while Twist held her hands in front of her, resting them against herself.
"I'm sorry, I guess you'd rather keep it to yourself then," Apple Bloom apologized Apple Bloom.
Nyx continued to stay silent, keeping her gaze away from Apple Bloom. A pair of voices drifted into the library, accompanied by the footsteps of Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Nyx looked past Apple Bloom at the noticing the two approaching girls.
"Hey Apple Bloom, Twist!" called Scootaloo.
Cheerilee gave Scootaloo a harsh look, putting her finger to her lips and informing her to be quiet. Scootaloo flinched with a nervous chuckle and continued forward. Apple Bloom and Twist turned to see their friends, greeting them while Nyx stood back.
"Where were you two? We've been waitin all lesson for you to show up," Apple Bloom frowned and sighed. She put her hands on her hips and bent forward questioningly.
Scootaloo rubbed the back of her neck. "Sorry, Apple Bloom. We got caught up in Principal Celestia's office. Turns out the new rules state I can't ride my scooter around inside the building."
"Wasn't that always a rule?" Twist asked with a raised eyebrow.
Sweetie Belle noticed Nyx and was surprised. "Hello, I didn't see you back there until now."
Nyx looked down at her boots shyly, going silent and holding onto her arms behind her back. Twist and Apple Bloom moved beside Nyx so she wasn't obscure behind their backs.
"This here's Nyx, we were just helpin her put some books away," Apple Bloom said with a smile.
"She's shy," Twist added.
Scootaloo recognized Nyx instantly and leaned close to Sweetie Belle and whispered: "That's weird girl I told you about..."
Nyx looked over to Scootaloo and took a deep breath. "I'm... I'm not weird... I-I'm not a weirdio." Nyx furrowed her eyebrows, looking angry even though she wasn't.
"My name's Sweetie Belle, it's a pleasure to met you, Nyx." Sweetie Belle had her arms behind her back. She had a welcoming smile which Nyx slightly warmed up to.
Scootaloo smiled and folded her arms. She appeared relaxed for no reason at all. Nyx noticed this and was confused. She asked herself why Scootaloo looked so relaxed. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Twist-a-loo looked at each other and rolled their eyes at Scootaloos' laid back look.
"Here we go..." Apple Bloom giggled.
"W-what? What is she doing?" Nyx hunched her shoulders as if cowering.
"She's trying to see if you're "cool" enough to hang with the Crusaders. Don't worry though it's just her way of letting you know she likes you." Sweetie Belle assured Nyx who wasn't so sure.
"I-I only said one thing..." Nyx looked up to Sweetie Belle, even more confused then before.
A corner smile formed on Scootaloos' face, her eyes were half lidded, her teeth visible at the corner of her mouth. "So Nyx, you wanna hang with us, the Crusaders?"
Nyx blinked in confusion. "Crusaders?"
Scootaloo nodded then was joined by Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.
"When Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and myself are together, we are the "Canterlot High Crusaders!!" The three girls struck bizarre poses, as if they were costumed rangers with giant robots.
Twist clapped at the conclusion of the C.H.C's little show. Nyx stared blankly in confusion, her glasses sliding down the bridge of her nose slowly, while Cheerilee harshly shushed the girls, causing them to wince.
"Sorry," said Sweetie Belle to the disgruntled teacher.
Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle approached Nyx, when a loud sound came over the intercom, followed by a kind voice.
"Attention students, this is Principal Celestia. I would like to take this moment before recess to remind you all that the sports field is currently out of bounds following preparations for an upcoming event. I urge you all to stay away during this time until further notice, thank you."
Then the voice was gone with a loud click and the buzzing of static. Following this, the bell began to blare, loud was its ringing, it made Nyx cover her ears which hurt from hearing it.
"I really don't like that sound..." muttered Nyx.
Scootaloo patted Nyx's back and looked at her. "You'll get used to it eventually."
"Hey Nyx, would'ya like to hang out with us?" asked Apple Bloom.
Nyx tapped the tips of her index fingers together. "Um... well... Sunset Shimmer asked me to stay here... but... um... I suppose with Cheerilee's permission I could—"
"Excuse me, Ms. Cheerilee," Sweetie Belle said over the counter to Cheerilee. "Is it okay if Nyx hangs out with us for recess?"
Cheerilee looked at Sweetie Belle, then at Nyx. She put her closed hand to her chin in thought. "I-I don't think that's a good idea... She is my responsibility and I promised Sunset Shimmer I'd look out for her."
"We'll bring her right back before the bell rings, Sunset Shimmer doesn't have to know, we promise," Apple Bloom tried to assure Cheerilee.
The girls were met with a moment of silence then a deep, exasperated sigh. "Alright, but Nyx is not to leave school grounds and is to be brought back here immediately before the third period bell, understood?" Cheerilee crossed her arms and lifted an eyebrow at the three.
The girls smiled with halos aglow above their heads. They turned back to Nyx and took her hands.
"But what about the books I'm reading..?" Nyx asked with worry.
"They won't be touched, I assure you Nyx," Cheerilee said with a smile.
"C'mon, lets go sit by the old oak tree," Apple Bloom beamed as she, Nyx and the others girls walked out of the library and down the hall.
From a nearby table, a girl watched the Crusaders with the lower half of her face obscured by a book, her friend with glasses was highly engrossed in hers.
~~~
Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Twist all chattered among themselves as they walked through the corridors past classrooms. Nyx followed them, her mind wandered elsewhere as her interest in their conversation mattered little to her. Her eyes crew a little misty, her head pointed down at the floor as her thoughts were deep.
"Nyx..?" Apple Bloom said, placing a hand on her arm.
Nyx blinked and looked at Apple Bloom, stopping in front of a door that was slightly opened. "D-did you say something..?"
"I was just makin sure you weren't goin to run int'a things. You weren't exactly focused just then."
Nyx flushed brightly. "I'm a deep thinker... I'm sorry."
"Don't sweat it, now c'mon, you're gonna fall behind." Apple Bloom let go of Nyx, and with a smile she ran after her friends who had made it a fair way down the hall.
Nyx took a step forward to follow, only to stop as a voice emerged from the room beside her. the voice sounded young but wise, he spoke much like a preacher addressing a hall of people. Nyx approached the door quietly and peered inside through the small opening. She saw other students, still sitting and listening to their teacher. Intrigued, Nyx opened the door just a little more to behold a light blue skinned man with a bright blue finely tailored suit. His white hair had been gelled back like a mullet and on the pocket of his suit was a symbol. Round with a silver crescent moon in the center, ringed by an eight corner star colored white. The inner areas of the emblem was black.
The man sat up on the teachers desk, his back covered half of the name on the name plate, but one word could be seen clear as day... Nexus.
“We all have a calling, and everyday we strive to answer it, even as our flesh weakens and tires after a day's activity. My calling was to be a teacher, a poet of sorts. I do what I must for they have entrusted unto me the duty of guiding your hands into futures to which may change the lands we live. I would not be who I am otherwise.”
The blue-suited man took a deep, calm breath and sighed. He placed both hands on his desk and lifted himself off, revealing the full name on the plaque to the spying Nyx.
“But I believe I have taken up enough your time. By all means, go, enjoy your recess, please,” Nexus chuckled. “You’ve been sitting in my lesson for an hour now, don’t let me take up another minute. We will continue this tomorrow. Class dismissed.”
Some students stood and gathered their equipment, while others stayed to question the teacher out of interest. Nyx continued to watch the teacher, a sense of familiarity bubbling from within which seemed to distract her.
The students left through another door further up from Nyx, all the while Nexus answered questions asked by the remaining few students. Nyx went deaf to all that was around her and she looked to her feet in thought, oblivious to Scootaloo’s calls.
“Nyx? Hey Nyx? Yo? Nyx are you listening?”
Scootaloo waved a hand in front of Nyx’s face, and after a few blinks and the shake of her head, Nyx snapped out of her trance and blinked.
“Huh, Scootaloo? Did something happen?” Nyx asked innocently.
“You were staring out into space like you just saw an explosion of rainbow, come on, the others are way ahead of us.”
Nyx smiled. “Alright!”
Nyx and Scootaloo continued on their way, they passed by the Dazzlings once more who took no notice of them. However, Nyx found herself unable to look away from the sirens, especially Aria Blaze. Aria, arms forward and stoic, disinterest on her face looked at Nyx from the corner of her eye as she passed, only to look forward once more.
Nyx turned around and walked backwards, interested in the group but at the same time cautious; she was not keen on bumping into them again like she had earlier. She faced forward again and kept pace with Scootaloo. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Twist stood at the end of the hall in wait. Sweetie Belle tapped on her folded arms as she leaned against the wall, while Apple Bloom stood, hands on hips.
“Where do ya suppose Scootaloo went? It ain’t like her to suddenly disappear like that,” Apple Bloom said with much confusion.
“I think she went back to grab Nyx, she disappeared before Scootaloo after all,” said Twist.
“We’re back!” Scootaloo called out to the three friends, who looked to them and smiled.
“There you two are, what happened?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Sorry to break off like that, girls, Nyx was staring into Mr. Nexus’s classroom and she weirded out again.”
Nyx pouted and folded her arms childishly. “I’m not weird, I’m special.”
The C.H.C giggled at Nyx’s response, but Apple Bloom was curious; what had been so interesting about Nexus that would make Nyx break away from the group?
“So what was so interestin’ about Mr. Nexus?” she put the question forward.
Nyx looked at Apple Bloom, her face seeming to imply she had no idea at all on what to say. She looked at Scootaloo then back to Apple Bloom and lifted a finger, opening her mouth to speak, only to close it and lower her finger. She repeated this twice before finally saying with a shrug: “I don’t know.”
“Remember girls, she’s a lot younger then us,” Sweetie Belle reminded them.
“We know,” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo said in unison.
“So where are we going?” Nyx asked as she looked around the group.
The C.H.C and Twist looked at Nyx, then at each other.
“Weren’t we going to spend recess by the tree outside?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“I thought it’d be by the statue,” said Scootaloo.
“Definitely by the tree,” confirmed Apple Bloom.
Twist only nodded in reply to Sweetie Belle. Nyx, however, was thinking of something else, her mind was preoccupied as now she thought of that feeling she got when seeing Nexus, but again, the Canterlot High Crusaders broke her train of thought.
Scootaloo and Twist took Nyx’s hands and the group of five walked together down the hall toward the front of the school.
~~~
Sunset Shimmer sat at the usual table in the cafeteria; five of them were currently present, all except Pinkie Pie. Applejack watched Sunset closely, who had begun to feel nervous about the consistent staring that came from the former.
“So, when are we gonna meet Nyx?” Applejack asked, cocking an eyebrow.
“I’m sure she’s just busy, Applejack. We’ll see her soon, maybe…” said Fluttershy.
“You’ll be able to meet her soon, I asked Ms. Cheerilee to look after her while I get through the day. I’ll go get her, but I wanted to make sure everybody was present before I did.”
Rarity looked over to Pinkie Pie’s spot. “Well, I have no hope for Pinkie Pie, she’s already late as it is. I didn’t even see her come in this morning, or call in sick.”
“I’m not sick!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she burst out between Rarity and Applejack, starling them both and causing Fluttershy to squeal and fall out of her chair. Rainbow Dash laughed, as did Pinkie Pie whilst Rarity and Applejack found this less then amusing.
Rainbow Dash calmed herself, and helped Fluttershy back up; while Sunset Shimmer recovered from her own bit of shock.
“Where have you been, Pinkie Pie?” Sunset asked as she took deep calming breaths, her hand to her chest as if to still her thumping heart.
“Oh, I was just thinking up a way on how to surprise you girls, and it worked!”
“Like a slap to the butt,” added Rainbow Dash.
Sunset Shimmer sighed and shook her head with her fingers over her closed eyes, “Okay, so Pinkie Pie is here, where’s Twilight?”
“Oh…” Fluttershy stammered, “Y-You weren’t here when she told us, She’s been chosen to compete in the Griffonstone County High School maths contest. She won’t be back until later this afternoon.”
“Well, there’s always tomorrow,” Sunset Shimmer said with optimism. “I’m going to go get Nyx, can you girls wait here while I do?”
Sunset Shimmer nodded to her friends and went for the cafeteria exit. She quickly flattened herself against the wall as the door swung open with Lyra and Bon Bon entering and waving.
“Hey, Sunset!” said Lyra.
“Good morning, Lyra, Bon Bon,” replied Sunset Shimmer as she squeezed through the door.
Once in the Library, Sunset Shimmer looked around for Nyx like she had lost a valuable piece of jewelry. Cheerilee meanwhile, stepped out for a moment before she came in which only made things difficult. She passed by the pile of books on the table, and the pile on the floor, approaching the rows of books with different genres on their shelf.
“Nyx, where are you? Nyx?” she asked in a hushed, quiet tone. She moved down the aisle and could see which books Nyx had taken out to read, though she had no idea that it was even her taking the books out.
Sunset looked under tables, around the computers and in the toilets nearby. She checked under the librarian's desk and by the advanced economics books. She inspected the book pile that laid nearby the librarian's desk and found nothing…
“This is just what I need… a missing child who is ultimately my responsibility is now missing and I have no idea where she could be…” Sunset held her head and paced back and forth in worried contemplation.
Students entering gave Sunset looks as she spoke out loud to herself and acted like Twilight in a stressful situation.
“Responsibility does that count for orphans off the street?” Sunset questioned herself.
Finally, tired of her own ramblings and stress, she took a seat by the librarian's desk, right as Cheerilee was rounding the corner and walking through the doors. Sunset looked over at Cheerilee and stood up once again almost instantly. Cheerilee looked up from some folders she held and smiled.
“Hello again, Sunset Shimmer. I’m sorry to say it, but Nyx isn’t here right now.”
“What?! Not here? Where is she, do you know?” Sunset’s voice was raised a few pitches in her alarm.
Cheerilee put her finger to her lips and shushed Sunset. “Not so loud. Nyx went with Apple Bloom and her friends, I’m sure Nyx is fine, I hope…”
Cheerilee sounded uncertain, which only made it all the more stressful for Sunset. She dragged her hand down her face, messing up her hair and giving her quite the grin with her eyes parted with crazed worry.
She quickly snapped out of her little change of face, and quickly left the library with a thanks shouted to Cheerilee. Sunset could think of a few places the Canterlot High Crusaders could be, and thus the few places they could be had been narrowed down.
First, Sunset checked the computer lab, aware of the crusaders’ habit of surfing YouShare for music videos and a variety of other stuff, including their own videos. Sunset looked around the busy room, seeing only the geeks and the diligent school-working teen.
Sunset rubbed her chin before calling out: “Hey, Doc!”
A brown coated teen suddenly stood up from a blue-colored computer, adjusting his long multicolored scarf and his hat. “Good day, Sunset Shimmer, how might I be of assistance?”
“I’m looking for the crusaders, have they been by?”
“Well, no. I’m afraid they haven’t been by in a while. I thought that perhaps Ms. Cheerilee’s scoldings had gotten to them.” Time Turner turned to his computer and picked up an odd-looking model.
“While you’re here perhaps you’d like to—”
SLAM!!!
Sunset Shimmer quickly closed the door as if in a hurry, startling the students and bringing Time Turner to disappointment. “Aww… I only wanted to discuss the relativity of the wind force projected onto the paddle of my gear warp wheel protractor.”
“Next time, dude,” Micro Chips said to Time whilst typing away at his computer.
“I’ll ask Derpy later, in the meantime!” Time Turner sat back down and started to type at his computer once more.
~~~
“I don’t have time for this, why of all times did those three have to get involved? This is irritating...” Sunset let out a sigh and started to power walk her way to the foyer. “Canterlot High Crusaders, where are you?!”
“Couldn’t you yell anywhere but in here?” asked Aria, leaning against the wall with arms folded against her chest, without a care or a regard for anything but Sunset’s unnecessary noise.
“You haven’t seen them by chance have you, Aria?” Sunset sighed and folded her arms with one hand against her forehead.
Aria blew some air out of her eyes and looked toward the front doors. “Yeah, I saw them as the girls and I walked past. That brat with the vest was with them too. If you want to know where they went, then you’re out of luck, I was going to see Councilor Discord with the girls.”
“Speaking of the girls, where’s the rest of you? Off singing, are they?”
“N-no! You killed our voices, remember?” Aria sighed and facepalmed; a bead of sweat trickled down her forehead at the mention of singing. “Sonata is eating in the cafeteria and Adagio’s doing research. As for me, I don’t care. I’m happy to waste my time anywhere I please.”
“That... sounds like a drag,” Sunset remarked hesitantly.
Aria sighed and hugged herself, looking to the floor, “Yeah… well… it is.”
“Is… are you feeling okay, Aria? You don’t sound like yourself, is there something going on with you and the girls, or what?”
“Go away…” Aria muttered.
“Aria, you can talk to me about anything, I want to help, I’ll listen.” Sunset approached Aria only a little and was met with a cold glare from the fuchsia siren.
“I said go away..! Leave me alone, Rainboom…” she lowered her head once more and looked away from Sunset Shimmer, gritting her teeth and shutting her eyes.
Sunset frowned and started to walk away. She noted Aria’s sad expression before facing forward and making her way to the ball courts just outside the gym. Though, out of concern, Sunset looked over her shoulder at Aria. The siren looked as though she was wiping her eyes before walking away, her arms still tightly draped around her chest in self assurance.
“Aria, what’s going on in that mind of yours..? What’s wrong?” Sunset faced forward again and continued on her way.
The ball courts were crowded with spectators watching some of the more athletic students play a game of basketball. Flash Sentry held the ball, his band mates behind him, and at the front was the imposing Bulk Biceps, Big Macintosh and Fido.
The atmosphere was tense, Flash Sentry stared at Bulk Biceps, he dribbled the ball in front of him, hunched over and ready to move. The only sound to be heard was the bouncing of the leather sphere, ceaselessly bouncing with every tap of Flash’s hand. Bulk closed his fist, knuckles cracking while he did. Big Macintosh was expressionless, he only chewed on a piece of wheat which hung out of his mouth, while Fido impatiently tapped his foot, hunching and hitting his fists together.
Flash narrowed his eyes as he stared, Brawly Beats waited patiently, a drop of sweat trickling down his face, Ringo adjusted his glasses and wiped the sweat out of mustache, shaking as the fifth minute had reached its start.
“Oh come on!! Just play the stupid game already!!” Rover shouted at the top of his lungs from the stands.
It was after Rover’s outburst that Flash bounced the ball back to Brawly Beats. The opposite team mobilized and started their attempts at getting the ball, meanwhile Flash and Ringo were waiting on the opposite side with only Big Mac catching wind of their plans.
As Brawly was cut off by Fido, he took a step to go one way, catching him off guard as he moved to compensate, only to have Brawly push the ball to the ground and bounce into Ringo’s mits. He dribbled, pursued by Bulk and Fido whose attempts at gaining the ball proved futile as he nimbly dribbled below and past them.
the cheers of the surprisingly large crowd spurred Ringo on, even as his opponents got ahead of him in vain attempts to block him. While this was happening, Sunset Shimmer arrived and paused to see the game. Flash on the court was waving and shouting to Ringo, the way to Flash was narrowed by the brutes who stood together as the obstacle in the plan.
“I’m clear, Ringo!” Flash called out.
Taking the risk, Ringo passed the ball to Flash, throwing it over the tops of the pair’s heads and towards Flash, who looked certain to take it. As the spectators watched on the edge of their seats, and Sunset sitting to watch, the ball was taken by Big Mac. He grabbed it, twirled around, and dribbled it up the opposite way.
Ringo and Brawly tried getting it back, only Big Mac would pass it to either of his teammates. Sunset looked at the scoreboard and saw that both teams were tied, only now they weren’t. Fido put the ball through Flash’s hoop and won the game. The crowed cheered, and Sunset smiled, though not for long as the brief distraction became less so.
“Good game, you six!” Iron Will praised the teams. “I hope to see more of that in Gym later.”
“Sure thing coach,” Flash said as he passed by the large man.
He picked up his guitar by the stands and put it over his shoulders after slinging his bag on. He didn’t look up as he started to walk, and Sunset Shimmer became the victim of his carelessness. She fell back from the bump, only to be grabbed by Flash.
“Whoa! Hey, sorry, Sunset. That doesn’t usually happen.”
“To me,” Sunset said with a blush.
Sunset brushed herself off and looked up to Flash.
“You saw that last game right? We were pretty cool up until that last run.” Flash clenched his fist in his excitement over the game.
“I came in at the last second, it was close, but there’s better luck next time.”
A brief moment of silence befell them until Sunset spoke again. “So, have you seen the crusaders by any chance? I’ve been looking for them all recess and they’ve managed to find a good hiding place.”
Flash cocked an eyebrow. “I saw them earlier heading out by the big tree at the front of the school.”
Sunset grit her teeth, her hair spiking up like flames. “Of course, that’s the least place I’d have looked!”
“Did AJ, Rare and Dashie ask you to find their sisters or something?” Flash asked with a shrug.
Sunset sighed. “No, you could say they’ve… borrowed somebody I know.”
~~~
“This is a really big tree, and really old,” remarked Twist, looking up at the tree which the C.H.C sat beneath.
“I could’ve told you that,” quipped Scootaloo.
Nyx squatted down nearby the circle of girls, all the while Twist rejoined her friends and looked over to the little girl. Apple Bloom looked over to Nyx as Twist did, the conversation between Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle seemingly far from their mind.
“What do you think she’s doing?” Twist whispered.
“Ah dunno,” replied Apple Bloom with a whisper.
Nyx looked at them from the corner of her eye and adjusted her glasses which had started to slide down the bridge of her nose. She blinked and looked back at the ground, a stick in hand. She drew a star-burst in the dirt, with small stars surrounding it. She added beside it a moon and the shape of a dragon. She sighed and put the stick down.
“So, whatcha doing?” Twist asked as she came and sat down beside Nyx.
Nyx glanced at Twist then back at the dirt drawing. “Drawing, with a stick.”
“Are we boring you, Nyx?” asked Apple Bloom who sat beside Nyx opposite of Twist.
“Well… not boring.. I guess I’m just not very interested… There’s not much to do.”
“Oh...” Apple Bloom looked to the ground and saw what Nyx had drawn. She tilted her head and shifted her eyes to look at Nyx. “So what did ya draw”
“Oh, just some stuff…”
“What kind of stuff?” asked Scootaloo, leaning over Nyx’s shoulder like a creep.
“Can you tell us, Nyx?” asked Sweetie Belle.
Nyx started and tense up and hunched her shoulders to make her head appear less prominent, like a turtle retreating into its shell.
“Could you girls explain to me why you are crowding that student?” a voice came from behind the older girls, all of whom stood and turned around to be faced with figure that was Spell Nexus.
“I-it’s okay, s-sir. I didn’t feel crowded at all,” Nyx said as she stood up and turned to look at Nexus.
Nexus looked at Nyx up and down and lifted an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, I don’t believe we’ve met before. You’re not any student I know of.”
“I-I’m Nyx,” she said shyly.
“Well then, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Nyx. I’m Spell Nexus, but the students here call me Mr. Nexus.”
Nexus thought to himself for a moment and looked unsure. “Tell me, how old are you exactly?”
“I-I’m seven,” she responded shyly.
“I… don’t think you should be here on school grounds.” He looked at the other crusaders and Twist. “You girls shouldn’t be out here at all.”
“I didn’t know there was a rule against it,” Sunset said whilst approaching the group.
Nexus looked at Sunset with the girls and smiled. “There isn’t, I’m only looking out for their wellbeing. There’s not another teacher nor student around to come to their aid should they be abducted or hurt.”
“I’m sure they’d be fine, as for you, crusaders…” Sunset eyed them with an intense glare.
Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom all tensed up. Twist backed away and stood beside Nexus along with Nyx and watched.
“Do you three realize how hard it is to find you! I’ve been looking all recess for for you, I checked all of your usual hanging spots, only to find you weren’t there!”
“We’re sorry, Sunset Shimmer,” apologized Apple Bloom.
“Please don’t be mad at them, Sunset…” Nyx said as she frowned and stepped forward.
Sunset smiled kindly and with a slight snicker. “I’m not mad, just a little tensed. I wanted to know if you’d like to meet Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy.”
“You have more friends..?” Nyx asked and looked down to her feet shyly.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to, I can understand if you want to stay by the crusaders, they’re an interesting bunch,” she looked at the three main crusaders after squatting down to Nyx’s height.
“Could they come with us when I meet your friends?” The child tilted her head curiously.
She wanted to stay with her own new friends, at least until they returned to class for another two periods. As for Nexus, Nyx didn’t know why she felt strange in his presence, feeling familiar but being unable to remember was like having one's mind go numb and trapping any further thoughts.
“You know this child then, Sunset?” Nexus gestured to Nyx, cocking an eyebrow.
“She’s my cousin.”
“Another Equestrian, I take it. Hmm, well then you’d be the second Equestrian I’ve met in my time teaching here, Nyx.” Nexus hunched himself over and bent his knees as he looked at the young girl.
“E-ques-trian?” She looked at the teacher with great confusion, which he instantly noticed.
Nexus looked at Sunset and chuckled. “Well then, I hope you enjoy your stay in our world, Nyx.”
Nexus adjusted his collar and proceeded away from the group toward the school building. Sunset stood and watched with the crusaders as Nexus left. She thought highly of the teacher, a man of poetry and goodwill, traits which made Nexus a likable man. Nyx was especially interested in him and placed one hand to her head as if trying to remember something.
“Shall we go? We have like five minutes until the bell rings.”
Nyx looked up to Sunset and nodded, she then turned and looked at the girls, offering to bring them along, to which the C.H.C accepted.
~~~
“Wait, waait I know, oh! I know! You’re name is Black Snooty! I knew it! It’s Black Snooty!!” Pinkie Pie danced about on the cafeteria table in celebration of her guess.
Nyx hid behind Sunset and the girls, staring up at Pinkie Pie like she was a monster out of hell. She shook like a leaf, frightened by the enthusiastic teen who didn’t realize what she was doing. Other students around the cafeteria looked at the group of six, some smirking and others trying to contain their laughter.
Applejack grabbed onto Pinkie Pie’s leg and looked up at her. “Now that’s enough, Pinkie Pie, yer scarin’ her.” Applejack looked over to Nyx, “Don’t mind her, darlin’, she’s just over excited to be meetin’ somebody new”
“I’m not that scary!” Pinkie said with a giggle and a snort.
Fluttershy came around to greet Nyx, squatting down to the child's height. The crusaders moved aside to let her see Nyx. “H-hello there, Nyx. I’m Fluttershy.”
Nyx slowly came out from behind Sunset and approached Fluttershy. “H-hello, y-you sound nice. I like your name.”
“Thank you, I like your name too, it sounds very pretty.” Fluttershy smiled with joy at Nyx’s kind comment.
“Thank you, Fluttershy,” Nyx said with no hesitation.
“I thought you and Fluttershy would get along well,” Sunset said with a smile.
“Ah’m Applejack, nice to meet you, sugarcube.” Applejack tipped her hat in greetings to Nyx, to which the child returned the gesture with a curtsy.
“And you already know me, Pinkie Pie!” The pink teen back flipped off the table and landed perfectly on her tippy-toes with arms stretched straight like a T.
Nyx shrank back nervously from Pinkie Pie and backed up slowly behind Sunset again. Pinkie watched Nyx and let her arms rest at her side, after which she shrugged.
“I’m not that scary, am I?”
“Yer not scary, Pinkie Pie, yer just a little over-excited and energetic,” said Applejack, rubbing the back of her neck.
“And hyperactive,” added Fluttershy.
“I-If it’s all the same t-to everybody else, it’s actually n-n-nice to meet her…” Nyx peeked around from Sunset’s legs toward the group.
Pinkie Pie started to compress like a spring, shrinking down until she was low to the floor before launching herself up and through the roof. Nyx’s jaw hung agape as she saw this, Sunset put her hands on her hips while the rest of the girls looked on, unsurprised and dismissing this as normal.
“There she goes again,” remarked Rarity.
“Think she’ll pony-up?” asked Rainbow Dash.
Nyx looked at the two and cocked an eyebrow in her confusion. “Pony… up? You ride ponies?”
“Not exactly,” Applejack started to explain. “Ponying up is a term we use fer our transformations.”
Nyx stared at Applejack, her cheeks puffed up, her lip quivered and she started to laugh as if what Applejack was saying was a joke. The teens looked at one another as they quickly realized that telling wasn't going to do what showing would.
“Y-you do know there’s no such thing as m-magic!” the little girl giggled and held her hand to her mouth in an effort to quiet her chortle.
“There’s not? The how do you explain these?” Pinkie Pie asked out of nowhere from behind Nyx, pointing to the pink pony ears atop her head.
Nyx squeaked loudly and jumped forward, spinning around to look at Pinkie. Her turquoise eyes locked onto the pony ears, which sent her speechless. Nearby, Sonata listened and watched what went on, her mouth covered in the remnants of her burrito.
“Um, Pinkie Pie, ya might want to pony down now.” Rainbow Dash hinted at Sonata sitting nearby, to which Pinkie relented.
Her ears turned white and shrank back, replaced with human ears, while her hair shortened as well.
“H-how… I-I don’t understand…” Nyx looked so confused, and a little scared of what she was seeing.
Sunset came around and got down to Nyx’s height. “It’s just a trick, Nyx. Don’t worry.”
“A-a trick?” Nyx looked at Sunset, and then at Pinkie Pie.
“A trick, Sunset what are you talking—” A well-timed nudge to the shoulder stopped Pinkie Pie from talking further.
It soon dawned on the group that Sunset might not want Nyx to know about their powers just yet, not until she was willing to trust them. Nyx looked back to Sunset Shimmer, then down to the floor. She pulled away from her and went over to the Crusaders.
“I‘m going to play with the girls a little longer, is that okay?”
Sunset nodded. “It’s okay, Nyx. But when the bell rings, come and find me, okay?”
Nyx nodded and rolled her eyes. She and the crusaders left the cafeteria while Sunset Shimmer sat down with a groan.
“I’m sure everythin’s goin’ to be just fine, Sunset. It’s a big thing raising a child.”
“It’s not just Nyx, Applejack. While I was looking for her, I ran into Aria.” Sunset held her head in her hands and let out a deep, tired sigh.
“What was she up to?” inquired Rainbow Dash, an eyebrow lifted in suspicion.
“That’s just it…” Sunset lowered her hands and looked at Rainbow Dash, “she wasn't up to anything. She was alone, there was nobody with her and when I offered to lend her an ear, she yelled at me and…”
“‘And’ what, darling?” Rarity pressed.
Sunset glanced down at the table, then over to Rarity. “She started crying…”
The girls looked surprised at that, even Sonata, who sitting nearby eavesdropping was surprised enough to almost choke on her food.
“I think there might be something going on within the dazzlings. Maybe Adagio is giving them a hard time.”
“Maybe they’re up to something, and Aria is just trying to have her say,” wondered Fluttershy.
“Perhaps. I didn’t think I’d ever see one of them like that, though, Aria was worked up really bad.” Sunset interlocked her fingers in thought.
“She’ll get over it,” said Applejack, shrugging off the topic in favour of a new one.
“Yeah… she will.” Sunset sighed.
“So, here comes the part where you tell us what we want to know.” Applejack leaned toward Sunset from across the table. “Is Nyx really yer cousin?”
Sonata had gathered her bag and left the cafeteria, the timing was perfect now that a potential threat had just upped and left the room. Sunset twiddled her thumbs and avoided looking at the girls.
“No.. she’s not… I found her out in the street on my way back home after we went to the mall. She was anorexic, frail, scared. She wore rags, and she was hurt…”
“So you just took her in? Just like that?” Rainbow was next to speak and from her question, Sunset could see they thought it was a little odd.
“I know it was wrong of me, but how could I just notice her and brush her off? She’s only a little girl and she was living in a box. I couldn’t walk away from that, I doubt any of you could either.”
“But darling, this does raise some complications that could arise in her future. She might not be apart of any system of any kind. Medical, school, social media, she’d be totally invisible and off the grid. She would be treated as an anomaly.” Rarity spoke truth there.
“And she might’ve been diseased. If she was malnourished like you said then you should’ve taken her to a doctor.” Fluttershy didn’t lie either.
Sunset knew all this stuff already and it got to her. “I know already! Girls, you know what orphanages are like in the city, and you’ve heard the reports that come out of there. Paedophillia, abuse, starvation. I wasn't going to subject her to that, something clicked, girls… and it clicked when I saw her. Whatever it was, it’s driving me to try and know her... to understand her…”
The five friends all stared at Sunset, each one frowning, thinking or looking concerned. The bell rang and the students started to clear out. Sunset Shimmer bade her friends goodbye for the time being and they dispersed.
~~~
Nyx sat on a park bench, not too far away, Sunset Shimmer approached, holding two ice creams in her hands. Nyx looked up to her guardian, who sat down and offered one of the two ice creams, which Nyx took.
“Cheerilee said you were well behaved, so you get ice cream,” Sunset said with a wink.
“Thank you, Sunset.” Nyx licked the frozen treat resting neatly on the cone, the strawberry flavour brought a sweet and fruity taste to Nyx’s tastebuds. She sucked on her tongue, gaining some extra flavour, and looked at the treat in her hand in surprise.
Sunset nibbled on the rim of the cone, looking at Nyx from the corner of her eye, the ice cream barely touched at all. “You okay there, Nyx?”
Nyx looked up at Sunset, eyes wide. “It’s sweet, but it’s not so sweet like that yucky cereal you eat. It’s fruity too…”
“It’s strawberry flavour, it’s supposed to be.” Sunset smirked in a silly way, a suppressed chuckle escaping.
Nyx got right into her treat, she bit into the frosty dessert and started taking big gulps of it, savouring what she could before her ruin took hold. Her head started to ache from within, she shut her eyes tightly as tears escaped and she held onto her head.
“Owaahh…! S-Sunset…” Nyx whimpered, her noise bringing Sunset to kneel down in front of Nyx.
Immediately Sunset could tell what ailed her. Large bite marks in the ice cream and Nyx’s reactions all pointed to the infamous brainfreeze.
“Listen to me, Nyx. I want you to press the tip of your thumb to the roof of your mouth, okay?”
Nyx opened one misty eye to look at Sunset, who demonstrated with her own thumb. Unwilling to let the freeze run its course, Nyx opened her mouth wide and mimicked Sunset Shimmer. Nyx’s eyes tightened harder, and she pressed her thumb harder until finally, the freeze was gone. She wiped her eyes and sniffled.
“Thank you, Sunset…”
“You’re welcome, Nyx,” Sunset smiled and returned to eating her treat.
Nyx felt odd, like her animosity was lifting. Sunset didn’t seem so bad now. As much as she tried to dislike her, she was slowly coming round, all over a simple trick to dealing with brainfreeze. But it wasn't enough, Nyx didn’t know whether she wanted to like Sunset, or continue to distrust her as if she was still the bad girl she was a year ago, it drove Nyx to exasperation. She quickly gobbled up what remained of her treat and stood up.
“Are we going back to your place yet..?” Nyx asked, her tone rude and obnoxious.
Sunset recoiled at the harshness of Nyx’s voice, she cocked an eyebrow in surprise and stood whilst finishing her chocolate mint ice cream. “Erm… sure..?” she said, baffled at Nyx’s sudden change in behaviour.
Nyx waited for Sunset to lead the way, she followed behind her only a few steps back, much to Sunset’s dismay. Nyx draped her arm across her chest and gripped her other arm as they walked, she stared at the ground and thought long and hard, mostly about why she had this strange feeling that nagged at her.
Nyx tilted her head to the side and looked at Sunset not a moment later. “So… will I be enrolled into Canterlot High?”
Sunset looked back at Nyx, confused by her sudden change in attitude. “Are… are you feeling alright?”
Nyx nodded. “I feel fine, why, is something wrong?”
“Hmm...” Sunset pondered to herself and looked ahead, she wondered if Nyx’s noggin was alright, or if she was playing her. Sunset noticed a string of reactions like this from Nyx, perhaps they were a message from the child implying she didn’t want to be around her, yet at home she fit in perfectly fine and got along somewhat great.
But outside, sometimes at complete random Nyx would act anti-social and disinterested in what she had to offer at times; she knew these were just masks to cover up what was an insatiable curiosity that books alone could not sate, but perhaps she really knew little of Nyx’s masks and facades that left her mind to wonder.
~~~
Watching, spying from behind Spell’s desk, Nyx kept her turquoise eyes on the teacher who acted oblivious to her presence. He continued to draw on the chalkboard the names of many poets and writers, all of whom had works revered and remembered. Nyx recognized each of these from the books she read and could recall few of their works which spoke to her.
Nexus tried to keep his calm. He was, admittedly, on the verge of laughing and revealing to Nyx that he was aware. Once he had finished writing down the topic and the people his class will be studying, he picked up his notes off the desk, causing Nyx to hastily find a new hiding spot to avoid being caught, and he left through the second door as the Crusaders passed, looking for Nyx.
Nyx peeked around the corner and squinted, eyes flashing briefly before she slipped through the narrowing crack in the door and joined up with the crusaders. The three didn’t notice her at first, she shadowed them, walking between Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle before being noticed, but by then they had already arrived at the library.
“Hi girls!” Nyx blurted out suddenly and without warning, which startled the girls into noticing her.
Apple Bloom quickly spun around to face Nyx. “Gaah! N-Nyx?”
“Good morning!” Nyx smiled and waved.
“Whoa, you snuck up on us really good!” Scootaloo said in praise.
“Were you following us this whole time? If you were, then you’re really stealthy,” complemented Sweetie Belle.
“I guess I’m really good at keeping quiet, I could sneak around Sunset’s house without getting caught if I tried. Just now I was sneaking around that Nexus guy’s classroom.”
“And ya sure he didn’t pretend, right?” asked Apple Bloom.
“I think so…” replied Nyx, “Why?”
“He’s not very easy to trick, it’s like he has eyes at the back of his head, it’s creepy,” Scootaloo said with a shiver.
Nyx giggled. “People can’t have eyes at the back of their head.”
“It’s just an expression,” explained Apple Bloom, however, brief.
“I don’t get it,” Nyx frowned.
“When you get older you’ll understand more.” Scootaloo pat Nyx on the back, which made Nyx burp and Scootaloo to quickly pull her hand back in surprise.
Nyx blushed and buried her face in her hands in embarrassment, her glasses coming loose and falling off, only to be caught by Sweetie Belle.
“Excuse me…” Nyx said softly.
“It’s okay, just as long as nobody saw that, we should be fine.” Sweetie Belle gave the glasses back and looked around for Trixie or Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.
“That would be bad…” Nyx cringed.
“I’d say, it was a wee bit babyish,” Diamond Tiara said snidely. She and Silver Spoon came out from around a corner and were immediately met with glares from the crusaders.
“What do you want, Diamond Tiara?’ Scootaloo spat, confronting her.
Diamond Tiara folded her arms and held her nose high. “I’m certainly not here to consort with you dweebs. I’m here to meet the new girl.”
“New girl is a subjective term, do you mean the school's new girl, or the visitor?” Apple Bloom asked confused.
“The visitor, of course,” Silver Spoon specified, pushing her glasses back in place much like Nyx would on occasion.
“Y-you want to meet me?” Nyx stepped forward slightly and with caution. She stayed close to her three friends even as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon introduced themselves.
“My name is, Diamond Tiara.”
“And I’m, Silver Spoon,” both girls announced to Nyx pridefully.
“N-nice to meet you, I’m Nyx.”
The Crusaders watched while Nyx exchanged greetings with Diamond and Silver Spoon. Oddly enough, neither of the prissy girls were mean or hurtful toward Nyx, and Nyx found them likable but didn't take kindly to their mean comments toward Apple Bloom and the others.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon didn’t stay too long, they kept the meeting brief before taking off elsewhere into the school. The crusaders watched them go then looked at Nyx, who didn’t frown; she was smiling instead.
“Silver Spoon liked my glasses,” Nyx told them, much to the surprise of the the three.
Scootaloo’s jaw dropped and Sweetie Belle looked back at the now out of sight Diamond and Silver duo, while Apple Bloom cocked an eyebrow.
“Seriously?” said Apple Bloom, still reeling from the out of character behaviour of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.
“Yes, seriously. They were friendly to me. But... why aren’t they friendly to you?”
Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were ready to answer that question, but before any of them could open their mouths, the bell had rung and a voice came over the loudspeakers.
“All students proceed to your home rooms for roll call.”
“Guess we better go then,” Sweetie Belle said with a sigh.
The girls said their farewells to Nyx and walked off to find their home rooms. Nyx, however, walked into the library and found a book to read in silence. Nearby, unaware to Nyx, Spell Nexus watched from behind a bookshelf, he chuckled to himself and left without attracting Nyx’s attention.
“I shall endeavour to find out more about you, Nyx. You intrigue me.”
~~~
“Attention students!” Luna’s voice boomed over the loudspeaker. “In a week's time we will be hosting a school athletics day, much like the Friendship Games, but on a smaller scale to show visiting students from other schools that Canterlot High is a co-operative and friendly place to receive an education. That is all.”
And with a click, the loudspeakers shut off and in each classroom the students started talking about the upcoming event. Nyx on the other hand, was bothered beyond belief by the sudden interruption and quickly searched for the sentence she was reading before losing it.
Sunset was worried, however. She wouldn’t be able to keep Nyx out of the way while the events were on and because Nyx couldn’t be a student, getting her to participate was nonsense, even her age was an issue. She breathed a heavy sigh and looked over to Adagio, half expecting the siren to look at her from the corner of her eye only to see to her surprise she was absent.
There was, however, another who was watching Sunset Shimmer. Trixie; she was suspicious of Nyx and was full of wonder if Nyx was even legally under her care, something that worried Sunset, if Trixie should talk then there would be trouble.
Lessons started and Sunset was on her way to gym class when Trixie pulled her aside and into a dead end corridor.
“Trixie!’ hissed Sunset.
“Trixie yourself, Sunset Shimmer,” Trixie replied, arms folded, a questioning look on her face.
“That little girl that’s always with you couldn’t possibly have any relation to you. I thought it was odd at first, but then I remembered you aren’t from this world. That little girl, what was her name? Nyx? She’s not your real family. Once Principal Celestia hears you’ve been bringing an urchin to school, for whatever reason, you might as well consider yourself expelled!”
Sunset was frozen and flabbergasted at Trixie’s sudden accusations and truths. Like she had figured it all out and now, Sunset was in deep trouble for it. In her eyes and her voice, Trixie had an unwavering determination to see that the principals were told.
“Trixie, please don’t…” Sunset begged.
“Why shouldn’t I?” Trixie shrugged and smirked snidely until the intervention of Nexus.
The teacher placed his hand on Trixie’s shoulder and looked down at her with a warming smile. “Now now, Trixie. Let’s not be rash here. I’m sure Sunset Shimmer has her reasons. And I’m certain they are just, and reasonable.”
“But sir—” Trixie started only to be interrupted.
“I’m sure you would think there was something in it for you to turn in a student breaking school rules, but would that benefit you at all?”
Trixie stammered, already struggling with what she wanted to do.
“I do hope you reconsider, Ms. Lulamoon. Now, off to class with you.” Nexus insisted and nudged Trixie along.
Trixie rejoined the river of students down the hall and out of sight, and once Sunset started to leave Nexus stopped her.
“Not you, Sunset Shimmer. I wanted to talk to you.”
“Now, sir?” she asked with confusion.
“Yes, now, before the first lesson starts. I’m currently on break for the period so I’ll try and keep this short. But first, your question.”
Sunset looked surprised at Nexus, having guessed she had questions. For a teacher, it would be easy to tell, but Sunset hadn’t given off the slightest hint of wanting to speak or talk. “How did you— Nevermind… Why did you help me just now?”
Nexus smiled and chuckled silently. “I won’t deny that I am intrigued by, Nyx. You pass her off as family, yet she is not from your world and she is not a student. One, a girl her age belongs in an elementary school, yet you’re bringing her here.”
“S-she—”
“And don’t tell me that she ‘was’ going to a school before all this, I made sure to check the school database, there are no traces of a little girl called Nyx on any file.”
Sunset gripped the strap of her bag tightly and felt cornered. She shrank back and bit her lip as now she knew she had no way out.
“This begs the question, who is Nyx, and why are you making her your responsibility?”
