> Tell Me Baby
>  by Gpizano
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> What's Your Story
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Where do you think you’re going bitch?!”

A swift pain in the back of her head followed, a sharp pain from knuckle followed by a full bodied throb as the rest of the fist made contact. It made the girl see stars as she stumbled forward, the toe of her leather boot catching on a long groove in the cracked sidewalk that tipped the battle in favor of gravity and sent her to the ground. Her knees and palms ached from the impact, but it was barely noticeable, one of her hands going up to touch the back of her head. Teal eyes squeeze shut in pain as even the lightest of touches elicited more pain but she forced them open again as she heard her attacker skulk closer to her. 

“You think we’re stupid? We know you’re fuckin’ Anon-a-miss Sunset Shimmer!”

She looked up to the girl speaking to her, a tall, muscled, white haired girl that looked ready to kill her. She’d never paid Gilda much attention, the boorish girl was a relatively small fish that only knew how to get angry, get in your face, and punch. No finesse, not that finesse was a factor now that Gilda had her sights set on kicking her ass.

A grunt left her as she was picked up by the back of her shirt and lifted to her feet, followed by a wheezing, pained gasp as Gilda’s fist connected with her stomach and knocked all the air out of her body. As her arms moved across her mid-section, Sunset found it hard to breathe with the coughing fit she was going through, and even more so to choke out a few words.

“Please… not me.”

Why she thought that would gain her any mercy was beyond her because when she looked up, all that she could see on Gilda’s face was a look of pure contempt. Gold eyes glinted with malevolent intent as their owner pushed Sunset against the wall, holding her up by her leather jacket.

“Fuck your lying ass! I put up with your shit when you had dirt on me, I held back because Rainbow Dash would’ve stuck up for you. But now that you showed your true colors, it’s open season!”

Smirking, Gilda pushed her fist back, aiming to smash the red and yellow haired teen’s teeth, wrecking that pretty face of hers as Gilda had been dreaming of doing for so long.

“I’m just lucky I got the first shot!”

“Hey, step off man!”

Before the brute could even react, something collided into her side, hard. Sunset felt herself being pulled along at first until an arm moved across her chest and pushed her back. Gilda’s grip was strong enough that it actually tore part of the right side, leave a large hole on the chest where the zipper was now separated from that area. 

“What the fuck?!”

“What, you wanna try something?! I’m from So-Peg and I’ll fuck you up bitch!”

This gave Gilda pause as she eyed the newcomer before shooting a dirty look to her initial target.

“You got lucky, I’ll finish this later!”

With that she pushed herself up onto her feet and bolted, disappearing around the corner as Sunset Shimmer’s savior continued taunting.

“That’s what I thought! You better run!”

Then the person turned to her, grinning sheepish as they said.

“Honestly she probably would’ve kicked my ass but hey. How’re you by the by? Not too bad?”

Everything had happened so fast that the red head needed to take a moment to catch up, but once it did she took the chance to get a good look at the interloper. The first thing she noticed was the eyes, a startling silver grey in color and they stuck out more than the rest of her comparatively. Her hair was shaggy short and a sort of Cobalt blue color if she had to guess (she’d heard Rarity go on for hours about different shades of colors and some actually stuck). Her clothes were fairly common, a black t-shirt with a red and a blue electric guitars crossed at the necks, a pair of blue jeans, and black and white chuck taylor sneakers. Her skin was a shade of jade green and a black wrist sweatband with what looked like a red asterisk on it. 

“Uhhh, hey? You there?”

Not realizing she had been staring at the blue haired girl for too long a time, Sunset Shimmer snapped back to attention when the other waved a hand in front of her face.

“Er, yeah… thanks by the way.”

“Hey, no problem. I see someone in trouble, I gotta’ do something ya’ know? Looks like she messed you up pretty good though. You been crying?”

Aside from the tear on her jacket, the knees of her jeans were worn thin after having hit the sidewalk, her blouse was ruffled and dirtied and her hair was a mess. Sunset didn’t doubt that her eyes were bloodshot, having cried her heart out hours earlier after having fled from the school after the other students ganged up on her once again.

“It’s nothing…”

“Don’t look like nothing. Why don’t you stick with me? I’m Jackson Vibrato, friends call me Jackie.”

“… Sunset Shimmer.”

She’d only hesitated a moment but what could be the harm? She’d never seen this girl in school and it seemed like she wasn’t from around her. Yet the second she had given her name, Jackie’s brow furrowed in thought before her eyes widened. 

“Whoa, hold up. Sunset Shimmer… I’m visiting a friend out here, Treehugger, she-“

“I KNOW ALRIGHT?!”

At that moment Sunset Shimmer snapped, she’d thought she had run out of tears hours ago but a fresh wave began to flow from her eyes. The other girl stepped back as Sunset took a step forward, hands clenched into fists as her features warped into one of anguish and frustration. 

“I used to be bad, I turned into a fucking demon! I know that puts me at the top of the fucking list to be that Anon-a-miss that’s been spreading rumors and embarrassing secrets about everyone! But it’s not me! I SWEAR TO CELESTIA IT’S NOT FUCKING ME!!!”

Not able to bare the oncoming spite, Sunset Shimmer lowered her head and held onto her arms, trying to stop the shaking and choke down the sobs wracking her body. Completely at the end of her rope, she just wanted the other to spit her insults and leave. What she didn’t expect though, was a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, hey… I’m sorry, alright?”

After taking a moment to compose herself, the teary-eyed red head dared to glance up and was further surprised to see a soft, sympathetic smile on Jackie’s face.

“… you… don’t hate me?”

“Well I’m not gonna’ lie, after all the things Treehugger and the rest of her hippie friends told me, I was about to give ya’ a piece of my mind. But after a breakdown like that, I’m thinkin’ you’re telling the truth.”

Then after a moment of her seeming to mull something over, Jackie pulled her hand back and opened her arms. 

“I’m not much of a hugger but-“

Not even able to finish her sentence, Jackie found herself almost knocked over from the force of Sunset Shimmer rushing into her arms and found it a little hard to breathe from the almost desperate embrace. 

“Thank you! Thank you!”

“I’d say it’s no biggie, but if I’m right in guessing the amount of crap you’ve been through, I guess it is a biggie.”

While not comfortable with such a prolonged hug and the poor girl holding on for dear life, Jackie waited it out, giving the other a pat on the back every now and then until Sunset Shimmer finally let her go.

“Hey, I’m thinkin’ since you feel like a chili dog, how about we go get one? I’ll even get you one with cheese on top and a can a’ soda!”

“Um… I’m a vegetarian.”

“Really? Well, it’s not Los Pegasus but they veggie-tize things out here right? I’ll buy you a tofu dog or whatever it is they do.”

Although still apprehensive around a relatively complete stranger, just the simple act of a free cheap meal was already starting to lift Sunset’s spirits. A small smile came to her face as she thanks the other, who shrugged in response as she lead the way down the street.

“De nada. So tell me Sunset Shimmer, what’s your story?”





“DUDE! That is fucked up!”

A mother passing by with her child shot the duo on the bench a dirty look as she covered her child’s ears but Jackie couldn’t be bothered to notice since she was so engrossed in Sunset Shimmer’s tale. They had gone to the park and found a food truck that specialized in hot dogs and bratwurst, they even did a good veggie dog as well. Jackie had claimed that the food trucks back in Los Pegasus were more creative and varied but that the food was pretty good for the price. Jackie had wolfed down her chili-cheese dog almost immediately while Sunset took moderate bites at a slower pace, she was down to her last bite while Jackie was taking her last gulp of Dr. Pepper. 

“I mean, yeah you turned into a demon and had to be blasted by some rainbow power. But you fixed up, you were being nice and you broke even by saving their asses from some manipulative supernatural pop singers. And I mean, you’re not dumb, I can see that just by talking to you, why would you leave SO MANY clues pointing it back to you? What did you even have to gain from messing with people? I mean, was everyone in your school dropped on their heads when they were babies or were they just born stupid?”

“Honestly I’m surprised you’re just accepting that I’m telling the truth about there being things like magic and sirens.”

“Wellll, mixed feelings on that honestly. I mean, you say you got that crown from your hometown. How did no one find a mystical crown of power before now? And how is no one investigating your damn school after the front got blown off or when they saw like, the light show at the battle of the bands? I mean yeah you can discount videos but you’re telling me no one else saw that and no one else at the school is talking?”

Crushing her now empty can of soda and tossing it into the trash can by the bench, she was about to go on when she noticed the uncomfortable look on Sunset Shimmers face. So Jackie grinned and gave a shrug of her shoulders.

“But hey, what do I know about how the world works? Anyways, the point is if no one is going to believe you and keep giving you shit, what’re you gonna’ do? Are you gonna’ get proof if you really do know who it is or what?”

Instead of answering, Sunset Shimmer looked down to her can of Sprite as a sad, contemplative look came over her face.

“I don’t even know if I can get proof. Or if anyone will even believe me anyway. Unless they come forward and confess everyone will just think I’m lying. I… don’t know what to do.”

She continued looking at her can of soda, wondering if she could ever go back to school. If from now on she’d continue to be alone and forced to stay cooped up in her apartment, too afraid to show her face around town in fear of being verbally ganged up on or worse. Sunset dreaded even the thought of seeing her friends around town, knowing how fast they turned on her and how much they seemed to hate her now.

“Get lost.”

That caused Sunset Shimmer’s head to shoot up, looking wide-eyed and confused at Jackie, hearing one thing but seeing a completely different message from the way Jackie was grinning to her.

“Yeah, just get lost for awhile. Get a map, pick somewhere on this continent, and go there. I mean your school isn’t shit to deal with this, your friends up and ditched you, and it looks like this Anon-a-miss jerk isn’t going to let up. If you leave maybe this whole situation will calm down and people will actually use their brains for once and figure out this isn’t you.”

While Sunset seemed hesitant to accept the idea at first, the more she thought about it… why not? Hell, she’d done it before on a grander scale considering she had hopped dimensions back when she was angry and petulant towards Princess Celestia. Running off in the same dimension couldn’t of been hard, right? The only problem was where to go…

Deep in thought, Sunset Shimmer looked back to Jackie as an idea came to mind. 

“You said you were visiting right? From Los Pegasus?”

“Uh, yeah? Why?”

It only took a moment of the red head staring at Jackie before the blue haired woman’s eyes opened wide.

“Wait, what? Seriously? You’d want to come along with me? I mean, you know you don’t hitch hike with strangers right?”

“I know… but I don’t know anyone outside of Canterlot and I don’t have friends here anymore. Please, outside of one person whose out of reach right now, you’re the only one whose been kind to me. Please.”

Squirming in her seat, Jackie ran a hand through her hair and tried not to look at those pleading, pretty teal eyes. They were so sad, yet so full of hope as they silently pleaded to her. Harrumphing and hawing for a few seconds, Jackie finally tilted her head back as she groaned out.

“Okay, okay, okay! You can come with me. You can even crash with me at my place since I’m sure you’ll need it. I’ll swing by your place tomorrow morning to pick you up. Say about eight. So be ready by then.”

All the anxieties Jackie had over taking a stranger home seemed to melt away slightly at the smile on Sunset Shimmer’s face. She couldn’t help but smile as well as the red head thanked her profusely.

“De nada. Now come on, I’ll walk you home and then get going back to Treehugger’s place. She’s probably wondering why a trip down to the liquor store for some chips is taking so long.”

They both stood up from the bench and headed in the direction of Sunset Shimmer’s apartment, Sunset feeling in much higher spirits than she ever had been since this whole Anon-a-miss incident started. There was still a lot to worry about and she wouldn’t know how long she would be gone, but she had a feeling things were finally starting to look up.
	
> Where You Come From
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"... really? You got all the way out here to Canterlot City in that?"

"Hey, I could be asking you what's up with this situation too. I know the dirty, worn in look is considered "in" but I'm pretty sure you wouldn't step out in the same torn up clothes from yesterday."

After being rescued and then escorted last night, Sunset Shimmer had to think fast on her feet. When she came over from Equestria it had been on impulse, she didn't have anything of value on her except the clothes she'd magically attained and the magic book she had on her person from her time as Celestia's that had served as a link to Princess Twilight. This basically meant she'd had to move around from place to place, working within systems to gain food, extorting people for cash when she was bad, and crashing at Canterlot High's library more often than once when there were no other options available. For some reason she hadn't wanted Jackie to see how she lived, how she was basically homeless... maybe it was ego? That would make the most sense given her past actions. Or maybe it was because Jackie would try to get her to go with her back to Treehugger's and the last thing she wanted at that moment was to see someone from the school.

No... she didn't want Jackie running around for her anymore or seeing what was going on. Or drag her along when she had to sneak into the school after hours to get her bag from her lock. Or break down again as she left one last final note to her "friends" taped to her locker.

So she had simply stopped at an apartment building, slipped inside, and waited for Jackie to hurry off to finish her errand, probably pack, and get out of the cold. Then slipped away to get everything ready...

Although now admittedly, she was feeling apprehensive about the trip. No, she wasn't having second thoughts about riding with a near total stranger. Rather she was more worried they wouldn't be able to make it to Los Pegasus since it looked like their mode of transportation looked old and unreliable!

"Seriously Jackie, what model is this? I've never seen anything like it."

As she approached the car (a 1990 Honda Civic if she'd paid attention to when Flash or his friends talked about cars), she reached out and scratched some of the chipping black paint on the passenger's side door, revealing more of the silver metal underneath. Or at least whatever silver wasn't covered by splotches of rust. That wasn't even counting the bangs and dings and the over all dusty feeling the car had. 

"Hey now, I got this car as a birthday present when I was sixteen, I know the person that fixed it up and they did a damn good job. This thing is gonna run until the end of time! Now put your stuff in the back, hop in and let's get going. And let me give you a jacket or something, you gotta' be freezing in that!"

"Oh come on, you were out running around in a t-shirt last night, what makes you think I'm not fine?"

Opening up the back passenger door, she tossed her pack inside before noticing that Jackie was heading back around to the trunk and opening it up. 

"Yeah, I ran out because I thought it'd be a quick trip down the block to the liquor store. I was freezing my ass off!"

Admittedly Sunset Shimmer had thought she'd caught Jackie shivering in the winter weather last evening but when the blue haired woman hadn't brought attention to it, she hadn't thought to bring it up. After all, she didn't exactly have the best clothes for winter either so what could she have done?

The red head's hand moved up to catch the article of clothing tossed to her and upon examination she saw that it was a black, zip up hoodie with a rather odd piece of art on the back. It was a red outline of a woman but with devil horns and a long tail, with four words next to her in white.

"Blood. Sugar. Sex.... Magic spelled with a K?"

"Not a typo. If you never heard of that album, understandable. I know most people these days only peruse the greatest hits album or they're checking out the latest album release. Now c'mon and let's get going. Winter in Los Pegasus is a lot better out here. Cold yeah but you don't have to worry about freezing to death."

Raising a brow at that statement, Sunset Shimmer's gaze lingered on the hoodie a moment longer before she finally took off her torn leather jacket and tossed it inside. Surprisingly, the hoodie was a lot warmer than she thought it would of been. It seemed like a thin thing but the material was good and protecting her from the winter chill. 

"I get the feeling you're exaggerating. Cold is deadly no matter what."

Slipping into the passenger's seat, she closed the door behind her with only the slightest of grimaces at the loud squeak it made. The inside seemed a bit better at least, with only a couple holes in the seat covers, some fast food trash in the back, and it was less dusty than the outside. 

"Yeah, yeah. Either way, you're packed, I'm packed, the heater in the car is working. Let's ride!"

With a shift of the stick the car pulled away from the sidewalk and drove down the street, neither saying anything for awhile as Jackie navigated her way to the the nearest freeway on ramp that would take them west. With it being so close to the holidays the traffic was moderately bad but at a level that Sunset Shimmer could stand, especially since the city slowly faded away into suburbs and eventually the suburbs too faded away until it was just snow covered countryside for as far as the eye could see.

"So... how long do you think it's gonna take for us to reach Los Pegasus?"

Glancing to Jackie out of the corner of her eye, she saw the blue haired woman give a shrug, something that made Sunset think she'd be seeing that a lot from her traveling companion.

"I don't got an exact number, especially since it depends on how much we stop and for how long. But if we're talking me driving late into the night or, assuming you have a license, we switch off, then I'd say we could reach it by the same time tomorrow morning. If not, I'd say give it about tomorrow evening. We'll be there in time for Christmas and all that jazz."

"I don't have a license to drive a car, sorry..."

"No worries."

After that there was a silence that stretched on for a time. Sunset wasn't sure how long since the clock in the car was busted but it felt longer than a few minutes. With how quick everything that had happened, they really didn't know much about each other... so why not start with the basics?

"So... you're not still in high school, are you? Otherwise I'm sure you're skipping classes for this road trip."

"Nah, I graduated about a year ago. Like, I didn't graduate this last summer but the one before that, I'm nineteen now."

"Oh. So holidays off from your job?"

"Psh, call it a long holiday. I got fired after I lipped off to the manager. I mean, have you ever worked retail in a toy store? Some lady tries to assault me because I'm the one to tell her the toy her kid wants is out of stock, I push her off me and she's crying about how I'm the one who started it by putting my hands on her. I swear, the holidays drive people fucking crazy..."

Once that small rant was over, Jackie gave a small sigh and rubbed her forehead.

"Sorry about that. But yeah, I got laid off. I got some cash saved up to keep me floating and I know I can call in some favors. But I figured it could wait until after the holidays and I hadn't seen Treehugger since she moved out to Canterlot City with her folks. I mean yeah we keep in touch with e-mail and all that but I remember it was fun hanging out with her, real mellow like. Course I forgot she can be a little out there but hey."

Another shrug of the shoulders and a wave of the hand in a sign that read 'whatever, right?' 

"I'm sorry to hear that. And you don't have to apologize, I unloaded on you yesterday so fair is fair right?"

"Yeah. And don't be sorry about me losing my job. It was a drag and I was planning on chucking it in the future anyway. I plan on making it big in my band.... or at the very least finally having some people respond to my fliers for free guitar lessons and making some cash."

"Really? That could only be more cliche if you were a high school drop out as well."

"Hey, cliches and stereo-types come from somewhere right? Besides, if I was a guy with a better car, you'd be all over me right now."

"Yeahhhh, been there, done that, no thanks."

With a small smile and a roll of her eyes, Sunset Shimmer crossed her arms and leaned back in the car seat, feeling more relaxed and at ease than she had in weeks.

"Awww, disappointing." 

Jackie retorted, a grin on her face as well as she moved over to get on another on ramp, heading in the direction of Los Pegasus. Aside from the long drive, they would have to pass over the White Tail river and make it through the mountains. Or around if the mountain pass was shut, they'd have to wait and see which one it would be. 

There would be more playful banter and getting to know one another along the way. Sunset Shimmer told of her time in the human world (leaving out the facts that she was actually from a pony dimension and homeless of course), the highs, the lows, some of the bad things she did and she even talked about her ex friends. Jackie wasn't keen on talking about them without adding how they were morons every now and then, but the guitarist had to admit they sounded nice otherwise.

In turn, the red head learned that Jackie lived in Los Pegasus all her life, being basically a good kid and then something of a troublemaker when she got older. Sneaking the car without telling her parents, going to parties with her friends either in the city itself or out to bonfire parties in the San Palomino desert. She found her passion for playing guitar when she was about thirteen and hadn't stopped playing since, working to get a band going and getting songs. Sunset was actually surprised that the other had managed to pass high school and get her degree but Jackie waved off that marvel by simply commenting on Los Pegasus's 'crappy school system'. Granted Sunset Shimmer always thought she was pretty book smart and that made her classes easier but now she wondered really if it was possible to fail unless someone went out of their way to do so.

Outside of grabbing snacks at a gas station when they needed to fill up, they didn't stop until it was well into the night and they were in a town past the river, halfway through their journey. Jackie got them a cheap enough room at the downside of the room only having one bed. As nice as it was for the blue haired woman to offer sleeping on the floor or in the tub, Sunset Shimmer hardly thought it fair the driver would have an uncomfortable sleep. So it was decided they would share but Sunset Shimmer could pick whether they got something from the old diner next door or the greasy gyro/taco shop across the street.





"You know, I'm sure they had salads at that diner."

A plastic fork picked at what had been called a carne asada gyro, but it looked more like a soggy mess with mystery sauce, veggies, and some tough to chew bits that Jackie guessed was the carne asada. At the very least it was edible and Jackie had eaten worse things, but that still didn't stop her from pouting as she took another bite.

"Oh come on, at least it was cheap."

"For good reason. Sunshine I've gambled at the table of cheap plenty of times that I can figure out the 'why' when something is cheap."

"Well if you didn't like it-.... Sunshine?"

Seeing the surprise and confused look on the red head's face, Jackie grinned and nodded.

"Yeah, wanted to give you a nickname. Sunny seems cliche and like you're some kind of mobster or something. So Sunshine, cause you've got a bright, pretty smile when you show it."

"Er... thanks?" 

Unsure of how to respond to such a compliment Sunset instead took another bite of her Greek salad before returning her gaze to the TV. There wasn't much they could get outside of a couple of channels but at least on one they had some sort of crime drama going on. Not her usual watch but Sunset found some entertainment in it at least. Jackie would quickly eat her meal, wanting more to get it over with than to be in a rush before she rolled off her side of the bed and unzipped her duffle bag. 

"I managed to get my laundry done at Treehugger's before today, I got a clean shirt and a pair of shorts if you like." 

Tossing a beat up looking concert t-shirt and a pair of cotton shirts onto the bed, Jackie took another pair of the same clothes along with her toothbrush and toothpaste before heading into the bathroom to get ready for bed. Once she was out, she'd unceremoniously flop down on her side of the bed. 

"If you need it, you can use my toothpaste. Not my toothbrush though, you use my toothbrush and it's on like donkey kong."

"Ugh, yeah that's not a problem."

Wrinkling her nose at the thought, the high school student took her turn in the bathroom before returning to lie down, guessing that Jackie would try to catch some shut eye since the lights and TV were off. 

"Night Sunshine."

"... night Jackie."

Rolling over with her back to the guitar player, Sunset stared at the far wall for awhile before closing her eyes and falling asleep. Despite the small amount of room, this was way more comfortable than a bed of books back at the library!





The next morning, just as Jackie and Sunset Shimmer were waking up and preparing to finish the last league of their journey to Los Pegasus, students were arriving for morning's first class at Canterlot High School. Many were still disgruntled and angry, especially after seeing the fresh wave of Anon-A-Miss posts. There were some on the look out for Sunset Shimmer to give her a piece of their mind... but no one had seen her. 

All day there was no sign of her for any of her classes or around the campus, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Sunset Shimmer's former friends. While many had wrote it off as her simply skipping for the day, there was one that had grown worried. 

"Um... shouldn't we be worried? I mean... I know what she did of course... but... I heard she was so upset yesterday and everyone ganged up on her again..."

"Ugh, will you drop it Fluttershy?"

The two friends were walking down the hallway, intending to head to their lockers and meet up with their friends again. Rainbow Dash, the athletic, rainbow haired girl was looking less than her usual awesome self, unhappy and over all just drained from hearing about Anon-A-Miss and her secrets being shared. Her friend Fluttershy, a timid girl with long pink hair and a lover of animals, shrunk back slightly at the look Rainbow Dash gave her, knowing it was one of those 'don't wimp out on me now' looks. Of course Fluttershy knew her friend wasn't being mean, just trying to make sure she didn't make a mistake on the matter.

"I mean come on. Yeah what she said was heart felt... but accusing Scootaloo of being Anon-A-Miss? Of Rarity and Applejack's sisters of being in on it too? That's..." 

Stopping short, Rainbow Dash just sighed, not even finding the energy to vent or work up her anger.

"Scootaloo looks up to me. She's like a little sister to me in everything but blood. Why in hell would she hurt me? Yeah I don't want to believe Sunset Shimmer is behind this but it makes a hell of a lot more sense than saying Scootaloo or the other two did it."

In face of this argument, Fluttershy couldn't help but give a hesitant nod. It was like being stuck between a rock and a hard place, both options seemed impossible to believe... but one did seem more so than the other.

"Excuuuuuuuse me!"

"Eep! Oh! Hello Mister Discord!"

Without either girl realizing it, the school janitor had snuck up on them. He was an odd, older gentleman, red eyes with one bigger than the other, a goatee and white, wild hair, and over all it seemed as if his body had been stretched out he was so tall and lanky. He had a broom in hand, suggesting he was off to get started on some work but he also had a piece of paper in hand.

"Hellooooo Fluttershy! I found this before school started this morning, addressed to you and your friends! Sorry it didn't get to you sooner!"

After handing it over and with a tip of his cap, the man ambled down the hallway whistling a merry tune as Fluttershy opened the letter.

"Ugh... you gotta' watch out for weird old guys like that 'Shy. I know you're nice and all but-... Fluttershy?"

Noticing the timid girl's hands shaking slightly, Rainbow Dash looked up to see a shocked and sad expression on her face. 

"... 'Shy?"

".... Sunset Shimmer's gone."

While Rainbow Dash looked on, stunned and Fluttershy looking as if she were working herself up over the news, there was another who had heard the news, hidden in a nearby empty classroom with the door cracked open. A girl with pink and purple hair and a stylish dress her older sister had made just for her for the holidays...
> And Where You Wanna Go This Time
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Sweetie Belle, are you sure you heard her right?"

Three girls were inside a room, the owner of which paced about as she ran a hand through her short, spiky purple hair and occasionally kicked aside the stray piece of dirty laundry or stepped around the stray sleeping bag they had set up for a sleep over. While Scootaloo was visibly agitated, her two best friends seemed both numb and close to crying respectively. Applebloom had sat down on Scootaloo's bed, not saying anything as she just stared at the floor while Sweetie Belle kept wringing her hands as she looked between the other two girls.

"I saw it! Fluttershy got a note from the janitor that's suppose to be from Sunset Shimmer and I heard her say that Sunset Shimmer wrote that she left town! What're we gonna do?!"

The pink and purple haired girl was starting to encroach on level one of Rarity hysterics. Scootaloo wasn't too worried about the noise since her mother wasn't yet home from her shift and her father was resting up for his night shift but the last thing she wanted to deal with was Sweetie Belle crying! So she reached out and took Sweetie Bell's shoulders, giving her a light shake to get her attention as her purple eyes bored into the other's light green.

"Look... whose to say this is a bad thing?"

Immediately Applebloom's head shot up, amber eyes as wide as could be at what the young soccer player suggested.

"Are ya' outta' yer mind Scoots?!"

"Oh come on! This is what we all wanted, right? To drive Sunset Shimmer out so I can spend time with Rainbow Dash and you guys could spend more time with your sisters! Now it looks like she's gone, we can shut down Anon-A-Miss and no one will even have to know we're behind it!"

All the red head could do was stare at Scootaloo, almost unable to comprehend what the other was suggesting. Then Applebloom quickly stood up, fists clenched as she glared at the tomboy. 

"No, we gotta' tell 'em! This's gone too far, ya' e'er hear stories 'bout runaways? Who knows what could happen ta her!"

While Sweetie Belle seemed to at least consider this was a good idea, it was Scootaloo's turn for her eyes to go wide, shaking her head and crossing her arms to make an 'X'.

"No way Bloom! No way in hell! Do you know how angry they will be if we tell them? Rainbow Dash will never forgive me for this!"

"Well tha's a price we all gotta' pay Scootaloo!"

"NO!"

As Applebloom took out her phone, no doubt to text Applejack about the whole Anon-A-Miss situation, Scootaloo reached out and tried to take it away from her. This resulted in them both struggling for the phone while Sweetie Belle watched from the sidelines, having no idea what to do or whose side to take but continuing to shrink back against the far wall a the fight got worse. It escalated to the point that Scootaloo had the farm girl pushed up against the opposite wall, her shoulder pressing into Applebloom and pushing her full weight on the red head as her other hand held the cell phone out of reach.

"Give it back!"

"No! Not until you promise you won't tell anyone!"

"GIVE IT BACK!"

"NO!"

As she struggled to slip away or try to reach her phone, Applebloom began to think of a scene a couple days earlier. Of Sunset Shimmer, surrounded by an angry group of students, her running off in tears, and then a new image conjured up by her imagination. That of Sunset Shimmer, lying face down in a pile of snow, having frozen to death during the night. This set her blood to a boil, her first taste of the Apple temper as she pulled her hand back and curled it into a fist.

"Give. It. BACK!"

It happened so fast Applebloom wasn't sure she had done anything until she looked down and saw Scootaloo on the floor, one hand still holding onto the cell phone as the other hovered over a big, red angry spot on her cheek that was already starting to swell. They stared at each other for what seemed to be an eternity, both waiting for the other to make a move. Finally Applebloom's fist opened, shaking slightly as she held out her hand to Scootaloo.

"... give it back."

After a moment Scootaloo finally moved, slowly and cautiously rising to her feet before placing the cell phone back in Applebloom's hand. 

"... why can't you understand that it's different for me?"

Looking up from her cell phone to Scootaloo, Applebloom waited patiently for the other to continue.

"You and Sweetie Belle? You're related by blood. I'm not. I don't want Rainbow Dash to cut me out of her life forever. If you do this, I'll lose the best older sister I never had and a great friend. Don't do this Bloom..."

There was a moment's hesitation hearing the pleading tone in Scootaloo's voice and seeing the sad, desperate look on the other's face. But only for a moment.

"Ah have to. Ah should've known this was wrong from the beginning. But Ah was jealous n' actin' like a brat, Ah didn' think 'bout who would get hurt."

Seeing Sunset Shimmer run off crying and hearing that she had run away... it made her realize how disappointed Applejack would be. How disappointed... her parents would have been. And not just them but the rest of her family. Apples were supposed to be honest and respectable, she never truly took those words to heart until now. Wiping her eyes, Applebloom squared her shoulders before she sent a text to her sister, saying that she needed to be picked up from Scootaloo's and that they needed to talk. Once it was done, she looked up and gave Scootaloo a hard look.

"Ah won't tell 'em 'bout how you two were involved. But ifn' they start thinkin' 'bout it, Ah don't doubt they'll figure it out."

"B-But they'll want us to come clean and clear Sunset's name, right? What about the rest of the school?"

All this time Sweetie Belle had her back to the wall, having been horrified while watching the two fight and too shocked to speak up until now. Applebloom simply stared at the other girl before letting out a sigh.

"I dun' doubt there'll be heck ta' pay. But this's gotta' be done."

For the next stretch of time, Applebloom busied herself by packing away her sleeping bag and other things she had brought for the sleep over. By the time she finished it only took a couple more minutes before Applejack texted her, letting her know that she was parked by the sidewalk and waiting. The young farm girl headed for the door and stopped, turning to look one last time at her two friends.

"It's over girls. Jes' come clean so it's a lil' less worse for ya'."

Then she was gone, leaving Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle alone in the room. Scootaloo was eerily quiet while Sweetie Belle was starting to fret up a storm.

"Oh gosh, oh gosh... come clean? B-But with what they did to Sunset Shimmer... we can't! I don't want to have to face that! It's already going to be bad enough from Rarity!"

"... so you're saying we should do something about it."

The girl looked over to Scootaloo, confusion clear on her features while Scootaloo seemed contemplative, glancing over at her desk where her laptop sat. 





"Ya've bin awful quiet Applebloom, what's wrong?"

Applejack glanced over to the other side of the truck, having caught movement out of the corner of her eye that suggested her younger sister had flinched. The other had been acting strange since she came out of Scootaloo's house, anyone could see that and the blonde farmer was determined to get to the bottom of this. However before she could start pushing for an answer, Applebloom took a deep breath before taking out her phone.

"Sis... Ah...  ya'd love me no matter what... right?"

".... yeah?"

That right there had sent up a flag. Applejack was used to her little sister getting into trouble with the antics she and her friends got into but this sounded serious. The blonde patiently waited for the other to continue as she continued navigating the truck down the icy streets on their way back to Sweet Apple Acres. 

"... Ah'm Anon-A-Miss."

".... yer' kiddin'."

There was a wry smile on her face as she looked over to Applebloom, knowing it had to be a joke. A pretty inappropriate joke with all of the Anon-A-Miss drama and now them searching for Sunset Shimmer. Yet no laughter came, no words to assure her that it was a gag, just Applebloom staring down at the floor of the truck, looking guilty as sin.

Suddenly the truck swerved, the motion making Applebloom jump and hold onto her seat as the truck came to a stop at the side of the road, only minutes away from home. Applejack turned off the engine but kept the power on so that they still had heat and the light from the dashboard could still give them some light. The blonde kept one hand on the steering wheel but it was so tight that her knuckles were losing color, piercing green eyes staring at the younger sibling, who could only look away in shame.

"Tell me this's jes' some sick joke, Bloom."

"I'm sorry!"

Applejack felt the life start to drain out of her as Applebloom started crying, the smaller girl's entire frame shaking as the words rushed out of her.

"Ah-Ah din't mean for her ta' jes' runaway! Ah jes' wanted ya' ta' spend more time with me! It got outta' hand!"

Seeing the cell phone held out to her, Applejack snatched it up and saw it was on the MyStable page, logged in to the Anon-A-Miss account. The farmer lost her grip on the steering wheel as she slid back against her seat, it being the only thing holding her up right now. 

... how? How could Applebloom do this? How could she not consider this option? 

No, she knew how... it was because she took the simplest, easiest answer instead of sticking with a friend. She should have stuck with her gut the first time and believed Sunset Shimmer wouldn't betray her like that! But no, when the evidence seemed to all point to Sunset Shimmer she went with it because the simplest explanation was always the right one, right? It was what a dumb hick like her did, wasn't it? And Applebloom knew she wouldn't believe blood family would do something like this. Wouldn't believe that Applebloom, the little sister she had raised from a baby, an apple to the core, would do something so dishonest and cruel.

"... sis?"

Applejack had been as quiet as the grave the entire time, just staring at the cell phone. Applebloom was used to Applejack yelling at her when she deserved it, she only had reason to worry when her sister became so quiet like this. 

"... yer gonna' tell e'eryone 'bout this 'n show 'em it was you. Ya' understand me?"

Furiously nodding, Applebloom fumbled with the phone as it was tossed back to her before looking back to Applejack. She could see the other's jaw jumping as she started the car, could see how tightly her grip was on the steering wheel, and she could see the hard as steel look in her eyes as she watched the road. The youngest Apple shook softly as she tore her gaze away from her sister and to her phone, seeing the Anon-A-Miss page and knowing that none of this had been worth it.

Then the page refreshed....

"Huh? .... no.... no! No, no, no, no!"

Ignoring Applejack for now, she tried refreshing the phone but the same message came up.

The account had been deleted...





"Here we are! Casa sweet casa!"

Having parked her car in the lot behind the building, Jackie had gotten out and was retrieving her dufflebag from the back. Sunset Shimmer was simply taking in her surroundings, the neighborhood that most likely wasn't safe to go out in after dark, the old looking building before her that was probably run down, and what looked to be a case of projectile vomit on the side of the building near the back stairs.

"Hey, what did you honestly expect I could afford?"

The look Sunset gave her hadn't slipped by Jackie, who simply shrugged her shoulders before tossing her bag over her shoulder and heading to the back door after Sunset got her things out of the back.

"Well, when you said you already had a roommate I expected maybe a little nicer neighborhood."

"Yeah he's a college student Sunshine. If he was one of those rich boy college students then he wouldn't be rooming with me."

Using her key, she opened the back door and held it open for the red head to go in first before following, the door immediately slamming shut behind them. The inside was at least clean and it looked pest free. Otherwise Sunset noticed the wall paint chipping and the outlines of mystery stains on the floor that was probably best not to think about. She followed the blue haired woman up the stairs, feeling a bit on edge due to her surroundings.

"Maybe I should've thought this over..."

"Hey, you begged me to give you a ride and a place to stay. And, as you may or may not be told, I am a very kind and generous friend."

Having been about to correct Jackie's memory on the whole 'begging' thing, Sunset stopped mid-way up the second flight of stairs.

"... friend?"

This made Jackie stop as well, a quizzical look on her face as she looked back down to the high school girl.

"Uh, yeah? I mean we had good talks along the way, I know about your current situation and you mine. I mean, that's how some friendships start, right?"

"... right."

For the rest of the climb up the stairs, Sunset Shimmer was quiet, deep in thought as she mulled the situation over. She'd latched onto Jackie because the other hadn't scorned her, she was a way out for Sunset Shimmer but... they did have some good talks during the drive and it had been nice to have someone to vent to. But the thought of actually calling Jackie a friend after everything she had been through with her ex friends... she felt her chest tighten up and a gnawing in the pit of her stomach. Sunset was only snapped out of her thoughts when she nearly ran into Jackie, the guitar player having stopped in front of a door and using her key to unlock it.

"Ugh, fuckin' Bobby..."

Once she stepped inside, Sunset Shimmer easily found the source of Jackie's frustrated sigh. This place was a mess! The living room had pizza boxes here and there, along with big gulps and papers all over the coffee table. There were a couple stains on the shag carpet near the couch and a glance over to the kitchen showed some dishes that were looking fairly neglected. But other than that it wasn't bad.

"Bobby crashes on the couch, you can share my room for now. It's the door towards the back, to the right of that is the bathroom and then you got the closest on the left. Go ahead and make yourself comfortable."

"Sure thing."

That being said, she headed right for the bedroom, ignoring the fact that Jackie had just opened one of the pizza boxes and was taking a bite of pepperoni pizza that looked like it had been left out for awhile. When she closed the door, she hesitated when her finger was on the lock before opening it up and calling down the hallway.

"Is it alright if I'm alone for awhile? I... need some time to think."

"Sure, but when I'm ready to sleep I'm coming in. And even if Bobby comes back don't go out! You never go out by yourself at night, understand?"

"Got it."

When she closed the door again, Sunset Shimmer stayed at the door for awhile longer before finally locking it. As she turned and leaned against the door, she finally had an opportunity to take in Jackie's room. It was messy but it was more from clutter than actual trash, with a fairly filled laundry bag in the corner, some errant socks that hadn't quite made it, and even a couple books here and there. The small, beat up desk in the corner had stacks of CDs on the edges, surrounding stacks of paper that from a glance Sunset could guess that some had lyrics and others were music sheets. The CD player was on the dresser along with a couple of pictures, one with a group of people, one with a pair of adults and a younger Jackie, and even a picture that had Jackie and Treehugger in it. 

There were some random accessories on the nightstand, mostly wrist bands and necklaces, but what was noticeable were the posters hung up around the room. There were about six in all and four of them seemed to be for the same band. One had green graphics with a large, red pepper prominently displayed, one had that red asterisk that Sunset had noticed was on Jackie's wristband, then there was a concert poster with a naked angel sitting on a perch and looking away, but the final one was the most bizarre. It showed four naked men, staring straight on at the viewer with their arms crossed and only tube socks covering their privates. Such a wide range of images, with the name of the band printed somewhere on all of them...

"The Red Hot Chili Peppers, huh?"

While Rainbow Dash and the others had introduced her to a range of music, this was a band she was not familiar with but that Jackie was obviously a huge fan of. 

Shaking her head, Sunset Shimmer sat down on the queen sized bed and winced when she heard a rusty squeak. She was willing to bet that if she stripped back the bed cover, this mattress would have signs of age. At this point Sunset was growing to accept that most of Jackie's things were probably second hand used and simply started taking off her boots before stripping off her jeans and a white, clean shirt that the blue haired woman had insisted she wear that morning. The dresser managed to produce a clean pair of cotton shorts and a black tank top that Sunset Shimmer slipped on before returning to the bed, lying down on her back and staring at the ceiling for awhile. 

Now that she was finally here it all seemed... surreal. She was far away from everything familiar, she had her phone turned off since the night Jackie had saved her from Gilda and she hadn't even checked her book for messages. She rushed into this, she wouldn't deny that, and now she was still taking help from a stranger who thought that they were friends. Now that she really had time to think about it... yeah, it seemed like they were there. Sunset had been able to relax and smile for the first time in days and Jackie had been so nice... just like her friends had been nice before they left her. 

"Why did she have to bring that up?"

With a sigh, Sunset Shimmer turned over and stared at the window, any light from outside blocked by a think, black blanket. It had been so simple to just think she'd get here and do her thing. Yeah she'd take Jackie help until she could stand on her own feet or when she went back to Canterlot... if she ever went back. 

No, she hadn't wanted to think about all this... didn't want to think about all of this. She didn't come here to make friends, just to get away. As nice as Jackie was Sunset wasn't sure about it and it disturbed her how she had gotten so low due to her ex-friends she just opened up to Jackie. She hadn't thought about it, she just needed to vent... and talking about good memories wasn't getting close, hell she didn't tell Jackie everything.

With a frustrated huff, she turned onto her back once more, too tired and determined not to think about this right now. Slowly her eyes closed and eventually she drifted off to sleep.

Tomorrow was another day...

> You're So Lovely
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It was somewhere in between sleep and being fully awake that Sunset Shimmer felt a jolt of panic in her chest. This didn't feel like any of her usual "beds", it was way too soft. Then there was the scent, not a disgusting one but more that someone lived here instead of the stale sort of smell from the school library. And coffee? That last scent made the red head slowly open her eyes, the dark room coming into focus as she began to recognize it by the strange posters. Right... this was Jackie's room.

Slowly pushing herself up into a cross-legged sitting position, Sunset Shimmer simply sat there for a moment or two before sliding off the bed and approaching the covered window. Once she pushed aside the black blanket and let the light shine through, she managed to spot the sun in between some buildings, the celestial body having made it a good ways above the horizon line. A different city where no one knew her or what she had done, endless possibilities. The high schooler hadn't realized she'd been smiling until she had stepped away from the window and was halfway towards the door. 

When she made it back to the living room she noticed two things. One that Jackie was cooking eggs in the kitchen where the coffee was and there was a guy who obviously hit the gym, reading a textbook on the couch and wearing nothing but boxer shorts. 

Some would probably notice the lean muscled guy on the couch first. 

Quickly averting her eyes, Sunset Shimmer thought about retreating back to the bedroom but was already noticed by Jackie.

"Look who's finally up. Thanks for locking me out of my own room by the way."

"... sorry."

Still looking anywhere but in the guy's direction, Jackie easily noticed the other's behavior and lightly rolled her eyes.

"Look, don't worry about looking at Bobby. He never goes around the apartment without his undies on and you get used to it."

Hearing himself be mentioned, the guy looked up from his book and smiled to Sunset Shimmer. He set his book aside before standing and approaching, holding his hand out for Sunset Shimmer to shake.

"Hey there! I'm Luca Bookkeeper, but everyone just calls me Bobby."

While the situation was still a little weird and slightly uncomfortable, Sunset Shimmer still reached out to shake his hand and finally take a proper look at him. In addition to being muscular, he was also on the tall side with short, jet black hair, dark red eyes and skin with a dark shade of purple to it. He also seemed to be a couple years older than Jackie if she had to guess.

"Sunset Shimmer. Er... why do they call you Bobby?"

"Dunno, just seemed to stick since high school. Hey, lemme' go put on some pants, you look uncomfortable."

As he moved to retrieve a pair of jeans that were draped over the couch as Sunset Shimmer struggled for something else to talk about.

"Thanks... so uh, Jackie told me you were in college. So you there on a football scholarship? What are you going for?"

"Oh nah, nothing like that. I'm actually working a job and on student loans. And I'm working towards a masters in business."

Business? And he had that physique but didn't play a sport? Sunset blinked once before glancing over at Jackie who shrugged her shoulders in reply.

"Hey, it just is what it is. Although I guess you could see him being like, a personal trainer instead of handling your money, huh?"

Once the eggs were finished, toast popped up from the old, grimy looking toaster and quickly buttered. They joined the scrambled eggs on the plate along with a cup of hot coffee that looked to have either milk or creamer in it. 

"Anyways, happy first day new roomie. Couldn't afford bacon, maybe another time in a couple weeks."

As Sunset had reached for the coffee, the kindness made her hesitate and think back to last night. She knew she hesitated too long when Jackie asked if anything was wrong, to which the red head didn't answer but instead picked up her coffee and took a small sip.

"This is nice of you. But I'm thinking about trying to get my own place. I mean it's probably going to be way too crowded with me here..."

"Oh come on, crowded is waking up to find twenty other people passed out around you in a studio apartment after a day long party. This'll be fine."

Setting the coffee down, Sunset Shimmer used the fork given to her to move the scrambled eggs onto her slice of toast, wanting to just eat fast so she could slip back to Jackie's room.

"It's fine, I'll get a job and start making money..."

"What, right now? Isn't that like... impossible to do?"

Grimacing as Bobby, now wearing jeans, had decided to participate in the conversation before it went back to Jackie giving her two cents.

"Well it's most likely that right now most places have already hired everyone they need to deal with the holidays. And even if you do get a job it'd probably only be temporary and you'd be fired once they no longer need the extra help. Look Sunshine, just relax and wait until after the holidays to try job hunting if you're really set on staying here instead of going back to Canterlot and don't worry about it."

"Look, I'll do what I want alright? So just let me handle my own damn business!"

The unexpected snap had both Jackie and Bobby's eyes widen, neither saying a word and waiting for Sunset Shimmer to make the next move. For a moment the red head seemed frozen in place before she grabbed her place and coffee, retreating back to Jackie's room where the door was promptly shut soon after. It would be about fifteen minutes before Sunset left the room, dressed in jeans, her boots, t-shirt and black hoodie and empty dishes in hand. Without a word she deposited the dishes into the sink before exiting the apartment without saying anything to Bobby or Jackie.

"Ugh, I don't get what her beef is. But if she wants to act that way, fine."

Still grumbling and taking a sip of coffee, Jackie noticed that Bobby was staring at her with a sort of puppy dog look that just screamed 'you have to do the right thing'.

"What? After I drove her ass all the way out here, she locks me out of my own room and then pulls that. And I mean yeah she doesn't know her way around... and I don't have her cell number to contact her... and she's not in a good headspace to look out for herself- god dammit Bobby..."

With a defeated sigh, the guitarist set down her cup of coffee and quickly put on her sneakers as she stuffed her wallet, phone and other necessary items into her pockets before she rushed out the door.

"Sunset, wait up!"





Even though it was the last day of school before the holidays, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Applejack and the others excluding Scootaloo had made it to the Sugarcube Corner cafe where Applebloom came clean about Anon-A-Miss. Her sister vouched her her since she had seen her logged into the account and Sweetie Belle spilled about her and Scootaloo's involvement. The effects were instantaneous and devastating for the other four. Fluttershy had broken down into tears, Pinkie's hair had completely deflated and Rarity looked both horrified at the news and appalled that her sister had a hand in it. The reaction that had been the most worrying had been Rainbow Dash, when they had reached the point of saying how the account had been deleted, the athlete seemed to lose it. She slammed her fist on the table before storming out, her whole body shaking as she disappeared and hadn't been seen since.

Perhaps the worst part of this was that there didn't seem to be anything they could do. Applejack had called in to MyStable to try and get the account put back up so that they would have proof but two problems came up when they were contacted the next morning. One had been the password and security questions had been changed before the account was deleted so Applebloom really didn't have a clear way of proving that she was Anon-A-Miss. Not that it seemed to matter, the head of MyStable had called them, going on about some legal jargon of 'user privacy' and how he would defend that right all the way to court. Something the Apples could neither afford and would be dragged out far too long.

With nothing to do and none of them talking to Applebloom or Sweetie Belle, the two girls just left and headed for school, having no idea what else to do. They made it back just in time for the last class before lunch to let out, students flooding the halls and seeming much happier than they had in days. Why not? The Anon-A-Miss account was gone, so was Sunset Shimmer, they all thought their lives were looking up now. Applebloom fished her phone out, checking to see if her sister Applejack sent her a text saying... anything. But also just to stare at one of the tools she had used to destroy Sunset Shimmer's life and the lives of so many others. How easy it had been when she tried justifying her actions and she hid behind another identity.

Gripping her phone tightly in hand, Applebloom looked up in time to see a familiar purple haired girl just down the hallway, sporting a fresh bruise on her cheek. The fire of rage grew in her chest. Sweetie Belle didn't say anything but she knew it had to have been Scootaloo! Without a second thought, Applebloom arched forward, ignoring whatever Sweetie Belle was saying as she drew her arm back and chucked her phone as hard as she could towards Scootaloo. The crowd had parted just in time to avoid the projectile but the youngest Apple was so enraged that her aim was off, the phone exploding into pieces as it collided against the lockers and showering Scootaloo in the debris.

"What the f-!"

Not even having time to finish, Scootaloo soon found herself tackled against the lockers, Applebloom's hands gripping the front of her t-shirt and holding it up so tight that it actually started to choke her. 

"HOW COULD YA' DO THAT?! YA' KNEW IT WAS THA' ONLY WA TA' CLEAR HER NAME!"

"Applebloom! I didn't-!"

That earned Scootaloo another slam against the locker, the young farm girl clearly not willing to believe whatever she said and ready to beat the truth out of her. By now a crowd had started to form as word of a fight spread like wildfire, some students went to go find a teacher, but the majority looked on with some even placing bets and jeering them on.

"Don't ya' feed me none o' that horse shit! Ya' took down tha' Anon-A-Miss account ya' lo-down no good-!"

"Oh please, like that dumb jock could do something like that?"

Came a voice from the crowd, one of the absolute last voices that Applebloom wanted to hear right now. She kept Scootaloo against the lockers but looked over to her left, glaring as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon stepped out from the crowd. 

"Well, I was going to announce this at lunch, but I suppose a little earlier won't hurt. You can all thank me for taking down the Anon-A-Miss account."

A hush fell over the crowd, Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle all staring in shock while Diamond Tiara looked like a cat that ate a canary, flipping her hair and examining her nails.

"... you?"

Applebloom couldn't believe it, she had to clarify this. But it all became crystal clear when Diamond Tiara explained.

"Mm-hm. I wasn't too happy about what Anon-A-Miss was posting about me. So I had daddy call into his lawyers and threaten to sue those simpering morons at MyStable. If they let Anon-A-Miss, or should I say Sunset Shimmer, keep posting such inflammatory, derogatory things that defamed my character, among others, then they would be sued so hard not even their grandchildren would have a penny to their name. If they ever got out of prison."

Although Applebloom felt that was an exaggeration, she knew Filthy Rich had more than enough money that he could take the people of MyStable to court, possibly keeping them shut down indefinitely as they dealt with a trial that could go on forever. Hit with the facts that Diamond Tiara had blown their chances of clearing Sunset Shimmer's name while doing something both selfish and noble, she also realized that she had been about to beat the tar out of Scootaloo for thinking she had been the one to do it. When she hadn't... like how Sunset Shimmer hadn't posted all of those things...

Her grip slipped as Applebloom felt sick to her stomach, the crowd starting to disperse when they realized the fight was off and instead following Diamond Tiara as she strutted off, beaming in the shower of praise she got for her actions. She hadn't even realized she was being pulled into an empty classroom by Scootaloo until she heard the sound of Sweetie Belle closing and locking the door behind her.

All three were silent for a long time, a great tension still lingering in the air between Applebloom and Scootaloo, even as the farmgirl seemed to be staring off into space while the scooter rider stared down at the floor. 

"... what 'bout the password and security answers bein' changed?"

Looking up from the floor, Scootaloo stared at Applebloom for a long time as the red head continued staring ahead of her.

"I changed them after you left. I was going to keep you out and put up one last post saying she was shutting it all down. She'd disappear along with Sunset Shimmer."

Closing her eyes as a fresh wave of anger hit her, Applebloom was silent as a slew of thoughts raced through her mind. The anger, the anxiety, the guilt... but most of all, how much she hated herself for considering how easy it would be to just let this matter finally die. But then she saw the image of Sunset Shimmer crying, and Applejack, silent but her face showing just how disappointed she was in little sister.

"... Ah'm gonna tell everyone."

"Without any proof? And you're going to rat me and Sweetie Belle out when you started all of this."

Amber eyes snapped open, a mad dog glare in them as she stared at Scootaloo, the tomboy looking unimpressed and crossing her arms in response.

"Ah gotta' try. It ain't right Scootaloo. We hurt a lot o' people... an' if'n any good can come outta' this, it'd be maybe we can find Sunset Shimmer n' set e'erythin' right. If'n ya' won't come forward, Ah won't tell ya' participated. But ya' can consider our friendship over."

Without another word Applebloom left the classroom, her course set for the lunch room where most of the student body would be and where she could try to tell them the truth and hope they would believe her.

A few seconds after she was gone, Sweetie Belle turned to Scootaloo, tears beginning to run down her cheeks.

"What is wrong with you?! Why don't you go after her?!"

"I don't see you doing anything princess! If you're so concerned then why don't you go after her?!"

"BECAUSE I'M SCARED ALRIGHT?!"

The outburst silenced Scootaloo, feeling an ache in her heart as she watched the pink and purple haired girl break down.

"I-I'm scared... I'm so scared. To face all those people we hurt... I don't want anyone angry at me b-but I liked the attention, e-even if they didn't know it was me and n-now they'll hurt us like they hurt Sunset Shimmer!"

Sweetie Belle had always felt starved for attention, her sister Rarity was talented, smart, and popular while she just... wasn't. And she had jumped at the chance to get her sister's attention and then from the power they had over the secrets given to them. But it wasn't worth it. It hadn't been worth it at all and she had been too stupid to realize what would happen. There was probably only one smart thing she had ever done during this whole Anon-A-Miss incident.

Still sniffling, Sweetie Belle pulled her phone out of her pocket and turned it on.

"I... I know we agreed to delete the really bad ones... but... but I hung onto them. Incase you and Applebloom changed your minds. These would be ones only the real Anon-A-Miss would know..."

Eyes widening, Scootaloo was quick and snatched the phone out of Sweetie Belle's weak grip.

"Are you nuts?! If they wouldn't kill us before they would now! Just let it go! It's bad enough Rainbow Dash and the others already know but we'll be saving our necks if we let this die!"

"But what about Sunset Shimmer!? I can't take it anymore, the thought of letting her take the blame and something bad happening to her! How can you be okay with letting that happen?!"

"Because she was a bad person that turned into a damn she-demon! She wrecked lives too you know! Or have you forgotten how she wrecked Rainbow Dash and the other's friendship? How she tried to kill them, blew up the front of the school and tried to brainwash all of us?! How do you forgive that even if she did come in last minute to save us from the sirens?! To just forget all that and move on?"

"Because if she can't be forgiven then none of us can!"

Frustrated and with frayed nerves, Scootaloo turned around to face the teacher's desk, placing the phone on it before placing her hands on it as well, needing something to lean against as her emotions roared against one another.

"We all make mistakes... horrible mistakes. Mistakes we wish we could take back and seem to be hung over our heads for the rest of our lives no matter how hard we try to make up for them. Yes, Sunset Shimmer did bad things, but she changed, she worked so hard to make up it up to all of us and survived being an outcast. But we couldn't let go of it. I don't know how long it will take for us to be forgiven, if ever, no matter how hard we try to make up for it. But I have to hope that we can bring her back and make up for what we did. No matter how long it takes. So please, Scootaloo, give me back my phone..."

Forgiveness... they'd never be forgiven, no matter how much they were punished it would never be enough. During her time as Anon-A-Miss Scootaloo saw just how spiteful and unforgiving people could be. When someone who was normally good slipped and did something bad a lynch mob could be expected. Why should she care if the truth died here? She had her own life to live and Sunset Shimmer was already gone. Sunset Shimmer, the she-demon, the big sister stealer... she hated... she hated...

A few drops fell to the desk as tears dripped down Scootaloo's face before it was covered by her hands. She hated how she was actually justifying this. She hated having to make up all these excuses to keep doing bad things and she hated herself for having done all of this! One lead to another as she had to comfort herself at night, having to convince herself every time that the end justified the means. How she had to in order to sweep aside all of Sunset Shimmer's good will, as if it were nothing. And all because she wanted to selfishly take more time to be with her idol Rainbow Dash. Who now probably wanted nothing to do with her for what she had done.

When the wave of tears finally passed, Scootaloo wiped her eyes before picking up Sweetie Belle's phone and turning it on, accessing the secrets hidden on it after her friend gave her the password.

"... Sweetie Belle, go get Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna, get them to the cafeteria and tell them that they'll probably need back up."

Eyes widening, Sweetie Belle tried to protest but a steely look from Scootaloo silenced her. It was only until after the purple haired soccer player promised to name her as an accomplice to Anon-A-Miss did she leave, racing as fast as she could and praying that she would make it back in time. Which left Scootaloo to hurry to the cafeteria, where upon entering she heard Applebloom, trying to convince everyone that she was Anon-A-Miss and the rest of the room basically laughing at her. But now that she was here, all the noise seemed to fade away, time appearing to slow down as she moved to the nearest table and stood up, calling the attention of the entire room as she held up Sweetie Belle's cellphone.

"It wasn't just Applebloom! Me and Sweetie Belle were Anon-A-Miss too! And I even have some untold secrets sent in that no one but Anon-A-Miss, the sender and the person whose secret was told would know!"

With all eyes on her, Scootaloo looked over to Applebloom, the farmgirl's eyes wide and glued to her as well. Moving the cellphone to eye level, Scootaloo began from the top. And then the sound returned, rushing forth as the entire cafeteria seemed to explode and growing with each secret read.

Each secret spilled had it's effect. Spitfire looked horrified before she turned to her teammate Fleetfoot and grabbed her by the front of her shirt. Bulk Biceps burst into tears before he ran out of the room and Silver Spoon looked ready to kill Diamond Tiara. Despite the roar around her, Scootaloo stood in the middle of it all, still reading through the secrets until someone grabbed her by the back of her shirt and pulled her down. A glance behind her showed it was Dumbell, his face red from anger before his fist collided with the side of her head.

"YOU MISERABLE LITTLE CUNT! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Others seemed to catch onto the idea, wanting to silence her before one of their secrets possibly came out. As Scootaloo was thrown to the floor, she tried desperately to block the punches and kicks that reigned down on her. She thought she heard Applebloom screaming out her name, and Principal Celestia's voice... the last thing she saw before she blacked out was someone leaning over her, shielding her from the furious punches and kicks of the other students. 

> Are You Lonely
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	
Ugh, it was going to be time to wake up for school, wasn't it? Scootaloo was not looking forward to getting out of bed, she felt way too comfortable right now. Her mom would probably be up to head out for work though, maybe she'd leave some breakfast in the microwave. Maybe some waffles made in the toaster... with scrambled eggs... and bacon so she had something to dip her maple syrup in.

... wait... this didn't feel right. Hadn't she... already gotten up and went to school today? And that didn't sound like her mom...

As the young teen was slowly brought back to consciousness, the memories started to return... fighting with Applebloom... the cafeteria and Dumbbell attacking her... someone protecting her...

Her eyelids felt like they weighed a ton, fighting against her as she willed them to open. Everything was a blur at first until her eyes focused on someone familiar hovering over her. Right, Nurse Redheart. That meant she was in the in the school infirmary. 

"Scootaloo, how do you feel? Do you know who I am? Do you know what day it is?"

As she asked the questions, Nurse Redheart moved over to her desk, returning with a small flashlight and shined it in Scootaloo's eyes while keeping the girl's eyes open.

"Uh... groggy... you're Nurse Redheart. And today is Friday."

Once the woman was done, she shut off the flashlight and gave a small nod.

"Alright. And do you remember the cafeteria? You hit pretty hard a couple of times."

Oh yeah, she definitely remembered that. Scootaloo gave a nod but winced as a dull throb made it's presence known. It felt like the entire Wondercolt soccer team was practicing drills in her head. Hopefully it didn't look as bad as it felt.

"Your friends are waiting outside my office. Would you like to see them?"

"Yeah... I'd like that."

With a nod, Nurse Redheart headed to the door and opened it, allowing Sweetie Belle to rush in as Applebloom slowly followed after her. The nurse closed the curtain around her bed, probably to give them privacy as Sweetie Belle began to fret over her.

"Oh my gosh, Scootaloo I thought you died and oh my gosh your face!"

The other was speaking so fast it was starting to make Scootaloo's head hurt! Luckily, Applebloom placed a hand on the frantic girl's shoulder and managed to stop her from continuing.

"C'mon now, she's prob'bly not up fer' all that. Jes calm down."

This earned a grateful smile from Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle stopped and took a deep breath before nodding. All three were silent afterwards though, unsure of what to say next until Applebloom sat down on the edge of the bed.

"... that was dang foolish ya' know. Ah wanted ya' to come through but seein' them swarm all over ya'..."

"Yeah... but you were dying out there. And it kinda feels nice to come clean, even if I feel a little concussed."

That earned a small, half-hearted chuckle from all three of the girls before silence reigned once more. It felt like they should say something, anything, but nothing seemed to come to mind, all they could think about was everything that happened, how everything had changed, what the future would hold for them...

"... we really messed up."

Both Applebloom and Scootaloo nodded in agreement with what Sweetie Belle had said, the pinke and purple haired girl starting to tear up slightly.

"Ah thought what Ah started would jes' be harmless. But Ah kept goin' ta' get what Ah wanted..."

"Hey, we're all to blame for our own reasons Bloom. We didn't handle ourselves right and it came back to bite us, we can't do anything about that now."

Applebloom hid her face in her hands, seeing all the angry faces of her fellow CHS students, haunted most of all by how angry and disappointed her sister had been. Then she took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, looking over at Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.

"We gotta' make this right. Ah dunno how we can make it up to CHS... but we gotta' help somehow findin' Sunset Shimmer. We can at least do that ta' start makin' it up to our sisters."

"Yeah... might have to wait though. I'm sure we're gonna have to face punishment for what we did."





It was a little after noon and already Sunset Shimmer was ready to punch something! Or rather a certain someone walking next to her that had been following her since this morning. She had thought that she would be left alone to explore on her own, maybe find a new place to stay (probably some run down, abandoned place to start, there was plenty nearby), and look for a job. The guitarist had been quiet at first but started becoming more vocal when she started checking out abandoned buildings, pointing out how dangerous it was since she had a high chance of running into drug users, alcoholics, and rats. While that had definitely soured Sunset Shimmer to the idea of becoming a squatter, she started feeling annoyed when Jackie kept trying to start a conversation. The red head finally reached a breaking point between Jackie's attempts and the gnawing hunger at her stomach reminding her she hadn't had lunch yet.

"You know what I like to do when people are ignoring me? I like to talk. REALLY. LOUDLY. CAUSE IF I'M TALKING TO MYSELF THEN I CAN BE AS LOUD AS I WANT SO I CAN MAKE SURE I HEAR MYSELF-"

"JACKIE! SHUT. THE FUCK. UP!"

"Hey, she can hear."

Red-faced, Sunset was about ready to snap when she saw the grin on Jackie's face, but was interrupted by a very loud growl coming from her stomach. The shade of red dimmed to something lighter, the girl looking away in embarrassment as Jackie's grin grew.

"Hungry? Well since I'm assuming you don't really have any money to eat out, I'll buy you lunch."

"Yeah, no thanks, I'll be fine."

This made the blue haired woman scowl and cross her arms, raising a brow as Sunset crossed her arms as well and stared back. The intense stand off lasted for all of two seconds before Jackie sighed and began walking away, Sunset not seeing the sly smile that came to her face.

"Too bad, I was going to go to my favorite place to eat. It's a little taco shop just down the way and man, you have not lived until you have tried their street tacos. Yeah you wouldn't go for the carne asada meat, but I know they make a potato street taco. Most people like to cut the potatoes into cubes but they do it in long strips so nothing spills out, crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and they flavor it with these spices man. Then they put bell peppers on top and man! They taste sweet but they also have a little spice and heat to them, it's like, perfect because you get the flavor without burning your mouth. Ugh, and the queso fresco cheese? That is the freshest man, not to mention the delicious corn tortillas they make fresh in the back..."

"... damn you."

Hearing the delicious details made Sunset Shimmer's mouth water and her stomach grumble so loudly it was like a hungry dog had taken up residence in it. Defeated by her own body's need for sustenance, she hung her head and followed Jackie, the guitarist grinning in triumph as she lead the way a couple of blocks over. What they saw was something new for Sunset Shimmer, a little strange and yet intriguing at the same time. The whole building was small, sitting in between two tall buildings and looking only big enough for the kitchen itself. The customers were outside, either standing around, sitting, or ordering their food at the small, sliding window, apparently not letting the winter cold bother them as they enjoyed their meals. 

Jackie sauntered up to the window after the person ahead of them finished and banged on the side.

"Ey Tino! I'm starving so tell those lazy good for nothings in the back that it's Jackie and she wants her order fast!"

"Psshhhh, just cuz' you lead guitar and you been coming here forever, you think you can order us around Jacks? You get your food when I'm damn well ready to give it to you!"

This exchanged was followed by laughter from the two and Jackie soon let Sunset in on just what was going on when they finished.

"Sunset Shimmer, this is Tino Chayote, he's the bass player for my band and cashier at Papa Chayote's, the best place in the city to get a taco and various other delicious food. Oh yeah and he's been my friend since we were little."

Now that she was close enough, she could make out that Tino seemed to have cream tinted skin, mustard yellow hair that was short and spiked, and lime green eyes. He looked to be wearing a dark t-shirt over a light, long sleeved shirt, a black apron. He seemed nice enough and she returned the smile given to her as she reached out to shake his hand.

"Nice to meet you. Any friend of Jackie's is a friend of mine man."

There was that word again, it made Sunset Shimmer's stomach twist into knots as she thought about it. But before she could protest, Jackie placed an arm around Sunset Shimmer's shoulders.

"Totally, so you you know the deal with how it goes."

"Right, right, you don't gotta' worry about it. Anyways, what can I get you guys?"

Once they have given their orders and had been given their drinks (Sunset had gotten horchata but she was intrigued by the hot served horchata Jackie had gotten), Jackie managed to snag a table that just opened up and Sunset Shimmer took a seat across from her. 

"So what's this deal you mentioned with Tino?"

"What, that? Basically, you're my friend, so Tino's gonna look out for you, and so are his friends and so on. This way, if you ever get in trouble then you got a great chance of someone looking out for you and word can get back to me and I can help. You know, it's like a network thing. It's important to look out for your own and each other. You know?"

Instead of immediately responding, Sunset Shimmer mulled over Jackie's words as she took a sip of hot chocolate. While that sounded ideal, she still had her doubts about it. 

"How can you be so sure someone will have your back like that? That's a lot of trust."

"Dude, unless a friend screws you over, you don't screw over a friend and you always look out for each other. We take that shit seriously out here on the west coast."

"Yeah, right, that's what you say..."

The way Sunset Shimmer just seemed to blow her off really agitated Jackie, to the point that the woman was full on glaring at her. 

"Seriously, what the hell Sunshine? You've been acting off so what's up with you?"

Returning the glare, Sunset Shimmer then looked away and continued sipping on her hot chocolate. She took some small satisfaction in seeing this make Jackie even more agitated, a little payback for earlier when the guitar player had been trying to get her to talk. 

"I mean, come on. I can let it slide you locking me out of my own room for the night but you try and go out on your own and you try and ignore me today. I mean you hear people say 'the honeymoon' is over but what is up with you?"

"Well excuse me for wanting some privacy. Geez, we spent two days in a car together, why do you care if I go off on my own?"

"Uh, in a city you've never been to, walking around a sketchy neighborhood, I don't have your cell number and you don't have a key to my apartment yet? Of course I'm going to care, what sane human being wouldn't care?"

"Because you're a god damn stranger alright!? It's my friends who should care this much but even they stabbed me in the back!" 

Not having realize that she stood up and she had near shouted her words, Sunset Shimmer became very aware that all the eyes in the lot and from the small food shop were staring at her. She couldn't bring herself to look up at Jackie, instead staring hard at the table as her vision started to blur slightly. It wasn't until she noticed Jackie move that she looked up, seeing that the other had gotten up from her seat and was starting to shout at people.

"What're you all looking at, huh?! We're rehearsing a play so mind your own damn business!"

After she had made the others look away, Jackie came back to Sunset Shimmer and pushed her cup of hot horchata over just as Tino called their order. 

"Drink that, s'better than hot chocolate."

Watching Jackie walk away, Sunset Shimmer hesitated before taking a sip as instructed... milk and cinnamon? Kind of? It seemed like it would taste just as good cold. The red head found herself taking more sips before Jackie returned, the blue haired woman having their food and another drink in hand. She'd set the containers down before retaking her seat, seeming deep in thought while Sunset eyed her warily. 

"... okay, I don't know shit about psychology... but I'd say that's what they'd call a slip right?"

Sunset Shimmer could only nod, not reaching for her food just yet as she continued to watch the other.

"Okay... so I'm trying to figure this out and I think I got something. This all is going back to your friends. They were supposed to look out for you with that Anon-A-Miss thing but they bailed. So you think me and my friends are gonna do that?"

Another nod.

"Well I ain't gonna do that Sunshine. I do not bail unless I know that it is the one hundred percent factual truth that you fucked me over. And even then you'd have to do something pretty damn bad for me to want to never have anything to do with you again, alright?"

"... but how can I trust that you'll do that?"

A soft sigh came from Jackie, the guitarist staring off at some spot behind Sunset Shimmer for awhile as she tapped the edge of her drink against the table.

"I guess you can't until it's time I prove it. I can get you're sketchy after everything that happened in Canterlot, you got hurt bad, I saw that after I chased off that one chick beating on you. Look, if you're not comfortable being friends that's fine. But just take the damn help I'm offering until you get on your feet, then you can go ahead and do whatever, okay? We don't have to share anymore or nothin', but I'd like it if you didn't shut me out, alright?"

There wasn't a nod this time but instead total silence as Sunset Shimmer stared down at her lap, contemplating everything that Jackie had said. The other seemed sincere, but so had her friends. It had hurt so much when they turned on her and she didn't think she could go through that again. If she kept getting comfortable around Jackie they might just really become friends and she'd leave herself vulnerable again. Sunset glanced up for a moment to see Jackie waiting patiently for her to reply, silver eyes betraying the concern and anxiety she felt. 

As her own nerves worked up at the possibility of being hurt again, Sunset Shimmer finally raised her head.

"... okay."

"Okay... now dig in, all this drama worked up my appetite."

Smiling to show she was just joking around, Jackie opened up her contained and was quickly taking a bit bite out of her carne asada taco. The red head was slower opening her own but picked up the pace when the wonderful, delicious smells wafted out to greet her. Tino even joined them, claiming to be on a break as he gulped down a large soda and began joking around with Jackie. Sunset Shimmer was content to watch them, joining in only when prompted and couldn't help but find herself smiling softly at the playful banter.

The tacos really were the best...
> The Thing We Need Is
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	After they left Papa Chayote's taco shack, Jackie would take out her cell phone and start talking to someone. Even with only half the conversation, it seemed that the guitarist was arranging to meet with this person and it seemed that they would be able to come to a place called Wholesome Foods. When she inquired about it, the blue haired woman simply waved off the question and said that Sunset Shimmer would get the answer soon. Soon being about a thirty-minute walk where they began entering a bit more of a nicer neighborhood, more up the ladder of middle class and where Sunset felt her chances of being jumped after dark dropped about to about forty-five out of ninety percent. Some of the people even waves to her and she saw some kids playing street hockey down one of the less busy streets. Over all not a bad neighborhood to live in...

"Alright, we're here!"

Looking over, the red head saw a fairly big shop, the 'Wholesome Foods' that had been mentioned over the phone. Based on the size and the fact that she had never heard the name before, it definitely wasn't a chain. Even the feel of it was different when they stepped inside, there was an electronic chime to signal they had come through, there was a sort of freshness in the air and taking a glance at some of the nearby products they just shouted 'healthy'. A bit more intrigued by the store, Sunset absentmindedly followed Jackie until she bumped into her from behind. She blushed softly as she took a step back before looking around to see they were standing in front of the counter where a woman stood behind it.

"Sunset Shimmer, this is Sandra Lupine, I just call her Sandy. Sandy, this is my new f-... roommate slash acquaintance Sunset Shimmer. She's knew to town so you know, you and yours look out for her okay?"

"Of course! And it's a pleasure to meet you Sunset Shimmer."

It was easy for Sunset to pick up that this woman, it was hard for her to judge the age since it looked like she took very good care of herself. Her skin had a royal blue tone to it, she was a bit taller than Jackie and herself, with cotton white hair that tied into a braid that hung down the front over her shoulder, probably long enough to reach mid-back if she had to guess. The orange/gold eyes were warm and friendly and Sandy wore a dark, turtle-neck sweater and what looked to be a long skirt.

"Yeah, Sandy's working here until her fancy acting career takes off and she ditches us for Applewood and Manehattan and Bridleway and all that."

"Oh come on now, I am sure I couldn't shake any of you even if I tried. Not that I'd want to after everything we've been through."

Sensing a definite story behind it all, Sunset Shimmer looked between the two, expecting one of them to fill her in.

"So... you two went to school together?"

The resulting snort from Jackie and giggle from Sandy seemed to give her the answer.

"Hell no, Sandy is like, six years older than me. She moved out here from Manehattan when she was fourteen and baby-sat me until I was old enough to look out for myself. And even after that I could usually give her a call to pick me up or get me out of some bind."

"Yes, and if I remember my calculations correctly, you owe me what I believe you would term 'a shit-ton of solids'. By the by, I'll be needing an acting partner again this weekend, I need to get ready for an upcoming audition."

While Sandy rested her chin on her folded hands, leaning against the counter and looking slyly at Jackie while the younger woman rubbed the back of her neck and coughed. Seeing Jackie under the woman's thumb made Sunset Shimmer chuckle softly.

"I guess it's been hard to get an acting gig around here, huh?"

"Oh like you wouldn't believe. After high school I took a couple years of community college to refine my skills, but there are so many people around looking for a break with many more seeming to arrive each day. But I certainly haven't given up hope."

Momentarily gloomy over her situation before smiling once again, Sandy pushed herself up from the counter and looked between the two of them.

"Now, will either of you two be buying anything? I'm sure I can use my discount if either of you need it like I do for Poppy. Speaking of which..."

The door chime had sounded before Sandy finished her sentence and Sunset Shimmer turned to see a woman about Jackie and Tino's age had come in. She wore torn up jeans, work boots, and had on a thick, fur lined jacket. Her hair was a shade of mulberry and in a pixie cut while her eyes were a pale gray lavender, her skin having an ash grey tone to it. She could just make out what looked to be the edge of a tattoo on her neck that was mostly hidden by the fur lined hood of the jacket and a stud in her nose.

"Ey, I'm here. Whose the girl?"

"Sunset Shimmer, new acquaintance I want you and yours to look out for. Sunset Shimmer, this is Poppet Valve, we just call her Poppy. She's our bands drummer and the one who got my car up and running like a dream!"

"And all it took was a shit load of duct tape and a miracle."

Ignoring Jackie rolling her eyes, Poppy instead looked Sunset Shimmer up and down, seeming to appraise her before giving a nod.

"A'ight, I'll let the guys at the shop know. They're old school Shimmer, so if anyone fucks with you bad, they'll put the guy in a hole out in San Palamino somewhere."

Hearing this made Sunset Shimmer's eyes widen as she looked to Jackie and Sandy, wanting to see if the mechanic was joking. To which Sandy only smiled nervously and Jackie gave a nonchalant shrug. 

This was... an interesting group she had gotten caught up with.





Four days would pass since then and Sunset Shimmer had settled in more comfortably. She and Jackie shared the room and the bed, not a bad deal since Jackie came in after she fell asleep and usually didn't wake her up. She'd also gotten a bit more used to Bobby walking around in his boxers and was thankful he'd put on some pants when asked. When she spent time talking to him, he wasn't the sharpest when it came to most things outside of business but he was considerate and always meant well. 

Things had only hit a snag two days ago when Poppy and Tino had been over, going over new songs and possible venues for their band the The Dune Dog Runners (but they were thinking about changing the name). After a heated debate over a pair of lyrics and how they would either sound too much like Red Hot Chili Peppers or Hole, Sunset Shimmer had simply been passing through to get a snack when she asked off handedly who either of them were. Tino looked pretty stunned, the stoic Poppet Valve even raised a brow and Jackie... Jackie seemed to be comatose with her mouth open and eyes staring. To the point that Poppy reached over and patted her on the shoulder in an attempt to console her over her roommates 'lack of knowledge'. The next thing Sunset Shimmer new, she was banished to their room, the CD player was on the bed and she was given a stack of CDs that she had to listen to under threat that if she wanted pizza she'd have to pick off the toppings she didn't like instead of getting what she wanted.

And she had to say... she liked what she was given.

It was quite a selection, Red Hot Chili Peppers, a band called Alice in Chains, Hole, The Smiths, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Waits to name a few... but there was a band she drifted towards the most and found to be her favorite. A band called Nirvana.

While Jackie was a bit disappointed that Sunset Shimmer didn't like RHCP more, she was happy to fill the red head in on the band's history in brief. It was sad to hear the lead singer had killed himself but she was happy that between Jackie, Tino and Poppy, they easily had all the CD albums ever put out. Tino had burned her copies and Jackie had even pimped Poppy to lend a bit of cash so they could buy Sunset Shimmer a poster to hang up in the bedroom.

The high schooler was currently lounging on the bed, dressed in one of Jackie's shirts and a pair of jeans. Bobby was out for classes and Jackie out trying to get a job (or at least to play guitar on the street corner for some quick cash while she put up more fliers for music lessons). The CD player was on and running through Nirvana's Unplugged in New York disc that Tino had burned for her. She had Bobby pick her up a newspaper, still intent on looking for a job until something caught the corner of her eye. The music was so loud that it drowned it out, but from under the bed part of her magic book had slipped out, flashing and vibrating. Having mostly been dealing with ignoring her phone and basically blocking out her ex-friends, it had slipped her mind it had been about a week since she last contacted Twilight!

Tossing aside the newspaper, Sunset Shimmer quickly picked it up and grimaced upon opening it. Princess Twilight had messaged her many times, growing more and more panicked sounding with each message, the words scribbled out more frantically. But it was the last message that really worried Sunset.

"... aw shit."





It was about this time back in Canterlot city, a woman sat alone in her office at Canterlot High School. She had just gotten off of the phone and had slumped back in her seat, the dim light filtering through the window shades only a small reflection of the mood she was in. For a long while she just sat there until there came a knock at the door and, already knowing who it was, she bade the person enter.

"... you can't be so hard on yourself 'Tia."

Vice Principal Luna closed the door behind her and took a seat across from her older sister, trying to be firm but looking sadly upon the woman. Principal Celestia seemed a former shell of herself right now, normally vivacious and bright, she looked so down and listless. Almost lifeless pink eyes finally looked to her sister, even in the dim light Luna could just make out how hard her sister had been crying. Hating to see the other like this, Luna squared her shoulders as she prepared to continue.

"We've never dealt with a situation like this before, we were unprepared."

"Oh?"

That alone made Luna silent, feeling a bit nervous as Celestia tilted her head and continued to to stare at her.

"Unprepared... or rather I was foolish. To say the least."

Before Luna could speak up, the older sibling raised her hand, silently requesting the other not speak just yet. Then she pushed herself out of her seat, in a manner that made her seem so tired and worn out that it tugged at Luna's heart strings to see. Celestia moved over to the window and moved the shades so that she could see out them a bit, having a view of the athletic field and seeing one lone student there, appearing to kick a ball around.

"I believed... I truly believed in the goodness of my students Luna. I trusted that no matter what, they would always do the right thing. I had my complete trust in them and I let that blind me. And where did my naivety lead us? Six students were expelled for attacking an underclassman in the cafeteria, twenty more were suspended and kicked out of their clubs for starting fights. The underclassman and her friends were given the same punishment as the twenty others except detention for the rest of the year, no use of cell phone or computer usage on campus simply because they cannot be trusted... and they framed an innocent student by using her past and flimsy evidence against her and now no one knows where Sunset Shimmer is or if she's... okay."

Towards the end Celestia's voice started to crack, a hand raised to her mouth as she shut her eyes tight and fought to regain control of her emotions. It was at this point that Luna had enough, angrily rising from her seat with her fists clenched.

"There is nothing wrong with trust 'Tia! If you hadn't trusted me back then during that nightmare of an incident I had gone through, I don't know where I would be now. Even good people can make mistakes, terrible mistakes 'Tia. But many mistakes can never truly be undone and rarely can any person ever be forgiven. We both know this... everyone at this school made mistakes 'Tia, you had no control over what they chose to do in handling this situation."

A tense silence fell between them, Celestia still having her back to Luna with the vice principal wondering if the other woman would ever answer her. Then finally, after what seemed like a small eternity, Principal Celestia turned back to her younger sister, a soft, smile on her face but her eyes holding such a sadness to them.

"But if I had intervened. Then perhaps Sunset Shimmer would still be here. No Luna... saying that 'mistakes were made' is not going to cut it. And I'm afraid I've already made the arrangements to ensure that Canterlot High School will endure."

Made arrangements? Luna had to think about what possible 'arrangements' could have been made. But as she continued to gaze at the sorrowful woman before her, something clicked and her eyes widened.

'Oh shit...'





There was a noticeable sound that echoed across the field as her foot connected with the soccer ball, sending it flying in an arc before it hit the net of the goal halfway across the field. Despite the impressive kick, Rainbow Dash felt nothing... no sense of joy or triumph. After all, with everything that happened with the Anon-A-Miss incident, what did she have to be proud of? Before she could jog over to retrieve her ball, a voice called from behind.

"Not bad. Thought ya'd be takin' it easy after the way Dumbbell pounded on yer' back n' head."

A look over her shoulder revealed it was, in fact, Applejack, her best friends dressed in jeans, cowboy boots, and wrapped up in a fur lined jacket and a scarf. With her usual stetson hat of course. Compared to Dash, the farmer was dressed a lot warmer, the athlete dressed in only sneakers, sweat pants, and a work out shirt. When she got going it got way too hot for winter wear, to the point were steam was coming off of her body but she had been so down that she had barely worked up a sweat so far.

"Didn't feel like staying in."

Turning, she jogged off to retrieve her ball, opting to carry it back instead of kicking it as she returned to Applejack.

"... ya' still haven' talked to her, have ya'?"

"Nope..."

The blonde let out a long sigh, the air in front of her mouth fogging up as they stood together in silence for a short time.

"... s' hard to talk ta' Applebloom too. Dunno how ta' talk to someone who used mah trust 'gainst me without bein' angry."

"... yeah."

For a time Rainbow Dash looked off towards the school, her expression unreadable before she looked over at Applejack, seeing that the other was looking at her almost expectantly.

"... what?"

"Ya' haven' talked 'bout it since Applebloom came clean ta' you girls at Sugarcube Cafe."

"So?"

"So..."

"So maybe there's nothing to talk about."

Another sigh, this time one of frustration, Applejack gave a light glare to Rainbow Dash as the athlete turned and began walking towards the bleachers to collect her gym bag.

"Oh that is such bullshit Dash. It's eatin' at ya', we haven' seen ya' since that day at the cafe and when Scootaloo near got the tar beat outta' her. We're all worried 'bout ya' n' we need yer' head in the game if we're gonna find Sunset!"

"Since when does anything need to be said!? It's all right there!"

With her gym bag over her shoulder, Rainbow Dash had suddenly turned around to face Applejack, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"I turned my back on her, Twilight said I was supposed to be the element of freaking loyalty and I turned my back on her! I got so caught up in protecting my reputation I didn't think twice when the evidence seemed to point to Sunset Shimmer and now she's gone! Out of all of us, I should have stuck by her side but I didn't, and maybe if I had she wouldn't be gone... and on top of it, the girl I thought of as a little sister... was the one who betrayed me."

Having said her peace, Rainbow Dash wiped away the tears in her eyes before taking a deep, shuddering breath. Applejack sad nothing but continued to sadly watch the other, waiting to see if she would continue. 

"... don't put it all on your shoulders Dash."

Looking up and giving the taller girl a half-hearted glare, Applejack wasn't in the least bit fazed and continued.

"Element of Honesty 'member... ya' think Ah'd know she was telling the truth n' stuck with her. But Ah'm so thick and Ah was feeling so embarrassed Ah took the easy solution too. Ah let mah own sister get me angry thinkin' a friend Ah gave a chance to betrayed me, nearly lost it when Sunset suggested it was Applebloom. We're all ta' blame Dash. N' we all need ta' fix it n' bring her home."

Only giving an nod in reply, Rainbow Dash began walking off the field and towards the front of the school where she had parked, Applejack following along in step. There was nothing more to be said at the moment, both knew their mistakes and knew what had to be done and they were both determined to find their friend.

Their attention was caught when there came a frantic yelp from the statue, both exchanging a puzzled glance before hurrying over. There at the base of the statue was a girl with purple toned skin, long indigo hair with a pink and purple stripe through it, and way under dressed for the weather in a purple skirt, purple boots and light blue blouse. Along side her, a light purple dog with green ears.

When Princess Twilight spotted them, the look of nausea was replaced with concern dialed all the way up to eleven as she got to her feet and rushed to them. 

"Applejack! Rainbow Dash! Thank Celestia! I've been trying to contact Sunset Shimmer, she was really upset about this whole Anon-A-Miss thing but I haven't heard from her in a week and I got so worried! Do you know where she is?!"

Applejack leaned back as Twilight grabbed the front of her jacket, the pony turned girl looking almost manic and very desperate for answers. The blonde swore she was actually starting to sweat as she glanced over to Rainbow Dash, the athlete looking equally as worried.

... shit. 
> Never All That Hard To Find
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"So... she's just been sitting there since you left?"

"Yes. It would appear so."

Standing outside and looking through the window into Sugarcube Cafe, Sweetie Belle could see Twilight Sparkle sitting in a corner booth, elbows resting on the table with her fingers folded together, hiding the lower part of her face while her bangs hid her eyes. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie sat on either side of her, nervous and appearing not to even attempt engaging in a conversation. From what Rarity had told her upon picking her up from home, Twilight had come to their world searching for Sunset Shimmer. She had run into Applejack and Rainbow Dash who had no choice but to tell her the truth. According to Rarity who had heard it from there, Twilight had looked completely shocked, then ready to explode, but then it all just seemed to diffuse... and then she became very quiet, only asking if they knew who Anon-A-Miss was and then to go to Sugarcube Cafe where she could meet with Anon-A-Miss and the rest of the girls.

Sweetie Belle could feel her stomach twisting into knots and she looked to her older sister in hopes of comfort. Only to be disappointed when she saw the older girl wasn't looking at her. It was different from being ignored when the other was busy, she was purposefully putting distance between them. She hated this more. The awkwardness, how glib Rarity was with her, Sweetie Belle would have given anything to have things back to the way they were but she knew that wasn't going to happen for a long time.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Applejack and Rainbow Dash walking up with Applebloom and Scootaloo respectively. Scootaloo still sported a black eye and a couple bruises on her face from the assault in the cafeteria four days ago but at the least the swelling had gone down. It looked like there was just as much distance between them as her and Rarity. But at least they could give each other moral support as they were herded into Sugarcube Cafe and made to walk all the way up to the table where Twilight Sparkle sat. All five of the older girls looked nervously to Twilight Sparkle, her eyes still shadowed by her bangs as Spike jumped up onto the table, sitting to Twilight's right as he simply stared at the three girls before them.

"... I guess I shouldn't be surprised it was you three. Your counterparts in my world did something similar, yet they never drove anyone away. I'm curious to know your reasons for doing this."

All three girls shivered at both the way Twilight spoke and when she finally raised her head enough that they could see her eyes. The way in which she spoke was reserved and coldly analytical, her eyes holding the same glint but Applebloom almost swore it was like she was guarding against something. Under such a gaze, they didn't dare to look at each other, didn't dare to move and it was almost tempting to stop breathing. Finally, Applebloom took a deep breath and a half step forward, catching the the princess of friendship's full attention.

"It was all mah idea Twilight. Ah started all o' this 'cause Ah was jealous of all the time mah sister was spending with Sunset Shimmer. Ah wanted her time n' attention so badly Ah thought makin' her hate Sunset Shimmer again would do the trick. It was a selfish, bad thing to do, it was the wrong way ta' go 'bout it."

Before Twilight could speak up though, Scootaloo took a step forward as well.

"I know we can't undo the damage and saying sorry won't cut it, but we're going to do our best to make up for this for as long as it takes. We know we screwed up and whatever you want to say, go ahead cause we deserve that on top of everything else coming to us."

"And we feel really bad okay?! We've just felt like the worst and we want to try and make up for it and help find Sunset Shimmer but we can't because we're grounded and stuff and we're just feeling even worse. So please just say what you have to say, I don't think we can feel any worse but you sitting their silently is really scary!"

Really Applebloom and Scootaloo wished their friend had been a little more composed but they could share the sentiment. They didn't think that Twilight could make them feel more horrible than how they had made themselves over the past few days, but they certainly deserved the oncoming tongue lashing.

... which didn't seem to be immediately coming...

Instead, Twilight gave out a long, low sigh as she leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms as she continued to study them.

"Saying that was the wrong way to go is perhaps one of the biggest understatements I have ever heard Applebloom."

Her finger tapped against her arm a moment as she looked to some spot on the other side of the cafe, still quite reserved but seeming to contemplate what she would say next.

"... so. Are you angry?"

Mentally both Scootaloo and Applebloom face palmed.

"Angry? Of course I am. You three destroyed my friend's life for the most petulant of reasons and you kept the charade going to the point the school tore itself apart. To see so many friendships destroyed because of your actions... yes. I am very angry." 

A pause, the three could feel their hearts thudding hard against their chests as they waited.

"But where would be the point in me taking that out on you? After what you did, I'm sure you've alienated yourselves from just about everyone in school. You've received punishment both there and at home. And you may very well have irreparably damaged the bond you had with your siblings. What more can I do when you have already succeeded in destroying yourselves?"

All three girls stared at the ground, a lead weight in their stomachs and hearts heavy since they knew what Twilight had said was true. 

"As for the rest of you..."

Now it was time for the five older girls to stiffen, unsure what to expect but full of dread after what Twilight had said. The pony turned human closed her eyes and rubbed her right temple, taking a deep breath in through her nose before exhaling softly. 

"I am... so disappointed in all of you. I told you to watch out for Sunset Shimmer, to be her friends. She pulled us all together and helped us succeed in defeating the sirens at the Battle of the Bands. Did you even wonder why she would share your secrets? What possible gain that she had from doing it? And just how uncharacteristically sloppy it was that all clues pointed to her? Or that someone could have stolen it without her knowing or hacked her phone? I spent so little time in this world but even I learned about your technology and how there are those that could bypass it's methods of security if they really wanted to."

All five girls looked very low at this point, looking anywhere but Twilight and with Fluttershy literally almost so low she could almost hide under the table they were sitting at. Twilight gave a hollow, whispery laugh as she shook her head, eyes still closed and a bitter smile on her face.

"When Applejack and Rainbow Dash first told me that Sunset Shimmer was missing and how none of you stuck by her... I just wanted to explode. Because I had thought I'd been wrong when entrusting humans to teach the values of friendship. I've read the history books at the library, I've known of the violence. But then I realized... I should have seen this coming a mile away since this situation has happened before."

Once she opened her eyes and saw the curious looks, she was about to explain when the door opened, a strange man she vaguely recognized as the high school's janitor stepped in. He spotted them and gave a crooked smile as he approached and as she got a better look at him, she realized he looked a bit like her world's Discord.

"Twilight Sparkle! So good to see you again! Back for a romp through our dimension?"

Blinking once, Twilight felt a tad uncomfortable since he was interrupting and sticking his nose in, but kept cool as she gave a nod.

"Yes. I was here to find Sunset Shimmer-"

"Oh yes, terrible news about that. First the Anon-A-Miss thing, then she runs off and now our dear Principal Celestia is resigning and being thrown to the mob. Not very happy holidays so far."

"Wait, what?!"

"Happy holidays? Oh none around here I'm afraid-"

"No! The other part, about Principal Celestia resigning!"

Jarred out of his random train of thought, the man sighed, appearing genuinely sad now.

"Yes. I'm afraid it's true. After the incident Friday, she's had no choice but to resign and catch hell for it. At least this way we won't run the risk of CHS closing and she has managed to wrangle a successor, but to see her leave on such a sour note..."

All the girls were aghast at the news, Applejack needing to take a seat, Pinkie Pie's hair completely deflated as Rarity burst into silent tears. Twilight Sparkle leaned back against her seat, staring down at the table while Spike whimpered softly, concerned by the devastated look on her face.  Even if it wasn't her world's Celestia... to see a version of her put through this...	

"By the by, have any of you simply tried calling Sunset Shimmer?"

This smart aleck quip from Discord was enough to break Rainbow Dash out of her trance and glare angrily at him.

"Of course we have you moron! We can't get through!"

"Hmmm... then let me try!"

His hand raised up, holding a cell phone that suspiciously looked a lot like Applejack's where he flipped through the contacts as he fished out his own phone from his jacket and dialed the number. He held it to his ear and waited patiently before a big, toothy grin came to his face.

"Helloooo, Miss Sunset Shimmer yes? I'm calling to offer you our fabulous clearing house prize-"

"Hey, gimme that!"

Standing up, an angry and almost hopeful Applejack reached out to swipe her phone back but stopped when Twilight spoke up.

"Discord. Please give me the phone."

"Welllll, since you said the magic word."

Fluttershy quickly scrambled out of the booth to let Twilight slide out, the princess calmly reaching out and taking the cell phone from Discord before stepping outside to privately chat with Sunset Shimmer. As much as all five of the girls wished to speak with Sunset, to apologize or at least even hear the one half of the conversation, they all stayed where they were. A thoroughly depressed Pinkie Pie glanced over at Spike.

"You must think we're the worst, huh?"

"Well... honestly I can say I can understand what you're going through."

All eyes stared curiously at the small, smiling dog, even Discord who wasn't even the least bit fazed to hear a talking dog on a Tuesday. Then Spike frowned before speaking again.

"But yeah, you all screwed up pretty bad."





After seeing the last message in her book, Sunset Shimmer had just been staring at the ceiling for the past hour, not knowing what to do. She had no way of contacting Twilight now, outside of contacting her ex friends and there was no way she was doing that. The red head literally felt stuck and had no idea what to do until her train of thought was interrupted by a knock at the bedroom door.

"You decent in there?"

After Sunset answered in the affirmative, Jackie opened the door, sighing softly as she shrugged off the case to her acoustic guitar and put it in the closet next to the case holding her electric guitar.

"Today sucked. No jobs and some asshole tried to steal money out of my guitar case. Looks like yours sucked too, what's up?"

When she was met with silence, the blue haired woman let out another sigh.

"Fine, one of those things more personal than 'the asshole upstairs is being too loud again', right? I'll leave you to it."

Once Jackie had close the door behind her, Sunset Shimmer sat up and stretched out her back. She had decided not to drag Jackie further into her drama, there wasn't a point since she definitely didn't want to be friends. Sure, it would of been nice to have a long talk with Jackie again like they'd had on the drive out to Los Pegasus. But this also hit a little too close to home, a friend from her hometown, would Jackie get suspicious with how vague she was being? Magic was one thing, at least she only sounded weird, but alternate horse dimension? If Jackie told the wrong person then who knew what would happen to her. Even though Jackie hadn't told anyone else about Anon-A-Miss as far as she could tell...

Her thoughts were interrupted when her phone began to ring. She'd taken to leaving it on recently and just blocked out her ex friends, but this ring tone was different. Signaling an unknown caller. Out of curiosity, she took it off the night stand and looked at the ID. No recognition. Who the hell was calling her? Finally she decided to satisfy her curiosity and answered.

"Hello?"

"Helloooo, Miss Sunset Shimmer yes? I'm calling to offer you our fabulous clearing house prize-"

Raising a brow, the red head thought that she recognized a voice on the other side until it seemed as if the phone was handed off before more background noise followed.

"Hello?"

"Sunset?"

Her heart stopped.

"... Twilight?"

"Thank Celestia! I thought something had happened to you. Where are you? Are you okay?"

Knowing that she couldn't avoid the deluge of questions, Sunset Shimmer rubbed her forehead and steeled herself.

"I'm fine. I just... I left town and I'm staying with someone. I'm fine Twilight, I promise, I just... I couldn't stand to be there anymore."

"I know..."

"No, you don't... Twilight, I know what you're going to say. How that it was bad but I should try to make up with my friends and all of that, but you don't know how it feels to-"

"To be abandoned? To think that your friends would be on your side no matter what? To feel crushed knowing you were wrong as they leave your side? To feel angry at them, to feel disappointed... maybe even to feel that there was something wrong with you that they wouldn't take your side? As it felt like your entire world was crashing down even as it felt everything was suffocating you?"

"...  how?"

"I know I told you about my brother's wedding..."

Teal eyes widened considerably as Sunset Shimmer recalled the story. Of course. Twilight had, correctly, accused her brother's fiance of being an imposter, having seen all signs that she was not acting as the real Cadence would. But she had burst in during the rehearsal and the fake had used it to her advantage, ultimately causing all of Twilight's friends, her brother, Celestia, and even Spike to turn against her and abandon her. 

"... how did you deal with it Twi?"

There was a pause on the other side, long enough that Sunset Shimmer had leaned back against the wall the head of the bed was against as she waited. Finally, there came a soft sigh.

"It was hard. I still cared for them, we had a duty to function as the elements of harmony. And I wanted to give Cadence the best wedding she ever had after all she had been through. But I could still feel all of those negative feelings gnawing away inside of me. Even though they had been fooled by the Changeling queen and acting like a jealous brat had worked against me... I still felt at least one of them should have stuck by my side."

There came a sound from the other side, soft and hard to hear, but Sunset Shimmer thought it sounded like a sniffle.

"Sunset... I understand what you're going through. I'm still disappointed and angry with them, and I'm not going to ask that you forgive them now. But... I know there's still good in them, otherwise they wouldn't be so remorseful. And I know their counterparts. Sunset, if in the future you find you still care for them and if you want to. Just talk to them, that's all I ask. From there it's up to you to decide if you want to be friends again."

"... I'll think about it."

"Good. I have to go, I'm using Discord's phone. And I'll return to Equestria so that we can talk more... okay?"

"Okay."

"And Sunset... please don't close yourself off. Wherever you are I'm sure there's at least one person you can trust to be your friend."

"Right. I'll talk to you by book later Twilight."

"Bye Sunset."

After she hung up, Sunset Shimmer slid down so that she was lying on her back, an arm over her eyes and cell phone clenched tightly in her hand. 

... when had the damn CD reached the end and stopped playing?
> The Innocence You Left Behind
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


"You know, when I said I wanted to talk, I meant inside where it was warm Jackie."

"Yeah? Well tough. This is what me and my friends do when we need "to talk". It's like, what they do in the movies or on TV or whatever."

"And the beer that you some how acquired despite being under the drinking limit?"

"Look, Bobby is a good dude but he's too good. I had to pay the usual guy by the liquor store down the way to get us the two packs."

"Lovely."

"Hey, if you don't like beer I got Tino to get a thermos of hot horchata since you're so picky."

It had been three days since Sunset Shimmer had talked with Princess Twilight over the phone and she had become more reclusive than normal as she thought over everything that they had talked about. She hadn't spoken to anyone except Jackie or Bobby in passing when she ventured out to get food from the kitchen but now she was ready to have a talk. She knew it had to be Jackie and she had told the guitarist so yesterday. What she hadn't expected was for the blue haired woman to come home from playing guitar on the streets with beer and horchata in hand, telling her to get two of the lawn chairs in the corner and head to the roof.

At this point the sun getting low and the temperature was starting to drop, as warm as the comfy jeans and Red Hot Chili Peppers hoodie she powered from Jackie were, it was still freaking cold! Yet she still helped to unfold the old, worn out lawn chairs, positioning it as Jackie directed before sitting down and feeling herself sink about an inch. Jackie placed her guitar case to her right and set the drinks in between their chairs. Sunset turned down the bottle of beer offered to her, watching Jackie take a bottle opener out of her pocket and take the cap off before taking a swig. Sunset instead opted to reach down for the thermos of horchata.

"Remind me again why we can't do this in the nice, warm apartment?"

"Look."

The annoyed sigh caught in her throat when the red head finally took a look at the view ahead of her. They were facing west and had an unobstructed view of the skyline, the tall buildings nothing more than silhouettes against a wonderful palette of fading yellows, oranges, pinks and reds that were giving way to the rich purples and blues of night. 

"... huh."

"Right?"

For awhile they just sat their, watching the sun sink lower in the west as they sipped their respective drinks. It was... comfortable. Despite the cold, Sunset Shimmer found she felt at ease as she had during the car drive only... different. She didn't feel a need to unload her troubles, she didn't feel her nerves were frayed around all edges... it was nice. It was almost a shame to have to break it.

"... why are you so... nice? So willing to help me?"

"Come on..."

"No. You didn't have to drive me out here. You didn't have to walk me home or buy me a cheap meal. You didn't even have to step in to save me from Gilda."

"You know, decent people do step in to help others."

"And the rest?"

The guitarist slightly tilted her head to look at Sunset Shimmer, the high schooler mimicking the action as they sort of stared at each other through the corners of their eyes. Finally, Jackie turned her gaze ahead and drained the last of her beer, setting it back in the case as she reached for a second one.

"That's... on the personal side, Sunshine."

"Oh come on, I've told you about myself."

"Bullshit, you haven't told me everything."

That earned Jackie a glare that she returned right back.

"Come on. Yeah, you told me about how bad you were in high school but I heard about the main stuff from Treehugger. What about before that? Where you come from? What was up with you a couple days ago? I might not be the sharpest pick in the rock star's pocket but I'm not stupid. I'm not saying we need to swap secret for secret but you don't get to pull that bullshit card on me."

"... sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

The sun was slowly disappearing but there was still enough good light that Sunset could look over and see that the other was deeply contemplating something. It was only after the second beer was gone and a third had been opened that Jackie finally spoke again.

"... I can't stand to see girls cry."

When guitarist saw the questioning look on Sunset's face, she continued.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not like, a sexist, I don't want to see guys cry either. I beat the shit out of some guy that made Bobby cry once. Granted at the time I couldn't tell if it was the guy who made Bobby cry, but I digress. I helped because I fucking hate bullies and I wasn't going to let you keep getting beat up. But there's a reason that makes it so I can't stand seeing girls cry. And seeing you just... break down... it made me want to go that extra mile and beyond for you I guess. Cause if I left you there then... I dunno, I guess I just thought you'd be hurting even worse than that."

At this point Sunset Shimmer was quietly staring at the other with an unreadable expression on her face. Jackie started to squirm some as those teal eyes stayed locked on her, nervously draining the last three-fourths of her bottle.

"Look, say something? Call it a bullshit reason, say I'm horrible and you don't need my pity. But you're kinda just staring and it's making things like... really tense."

"Why... do you have to be so damn nice?"

Looking over, Jackie watched the red head stand up and take a few steps away, running her fingers through her long hair in agitation.

"I don't know what the reason is, but it can't be so important that it makes you this nice! I made you drive me out here, I'm making you give me a place to stay and clothes and food! I bet you'd just let me stay forever if I worked you like I worked you for a ride back in Canterlot!"

"Whoa! Back up a couple steps, Sunshine. I did what I wanted to do! And second off, yeah I'd let you stay here but you have to get a damn job!"

"STOP IT!"

By now tears were starting to stream down her face for the first time since a week and a half ago when this all started. The sight made a lump start to form in Jackie's throat but she stayed put in her seat for now.

"You... have absolutely no reason to be nice to me. You look out for your friends right? Well, I tormented Treehugger and her friends for years! I became something horrible that nearly ended lives. You heard about it from her! It's because of all that... Anon-A-Miss... my friends... but you..."

Setting aside her beer bottle, Jackie stood and stepped closer to Sunset Shimmer, the high schooler holding herself again much as she had the day they met. The guitarist gently placed her hands on the others shoulders and tried to look her in the eyes.

"Talk to me Sunshine..."

Sniffling softly, Sunset Shimmer kept her gaze to the ground as she wiped away the tears from her eyes.

"I tried so hard to make up for what I did. I thought that I could. And it hurt so much when they threw my past back in my face. I... I wanted to hate them. But... there's this small part of me that feels it's my fault. If I hadn't made those choices and done those horrible things... I hurt them so badly in the past, how could I expect that they would just... get over it? That I deserved kindness..."

"So what? Them hurting you back isn't okay! Especially after you saved their asses at the battle of the bands!" 

"Maybe for the Fall Formal but not for the three years before that!"

"Dammit, you're not that person anymore!"

"But everyone thought I was when Anon-A-Miss came around!"

"WELL THEY FUCKING SUCKED OKAY?!"

Now it was Sunset Shimmer's turn to stare at the other, Jackie slightly red faced from having shouted but seeming to mentally take a step back and a deep breath. It took her a moment to think over her words, her face visibly going over in her mind what would be right and what would be wrong to say.

"Look... when people keep being angry and hating each other... where does it end? I've seen it where it just keeps going and it's not right. Someone has to be bigger and just finally let it go and move on. The people at your school should of let it go, but they didn't... and your friends should of been real friends and stuck by you because they knew you changed... but they didn't because deep down, they couldn't let go either. That's their failing, not yours. No one can tell you who or what you are except you. And who you are is a good person Sunset Shimmer. I could see that even though we only hung out for like, an hour or so the day we met. So don't you ever let anyone else ever make you feel bad again, alright?"

It was hard to swallow down the sizable lump that hard formed in her throat, so the best that Sunset Shimmer could manage was a short nod. 

Once the tears dried they sat down in the lawn chairs again, their time in the setting sunlight growing to a close as they sat in silence for a few minutes. This time Sunset Shimmer did accept a bottle of beer... and quickly gave it back, opting for the warm horchata since it didn't taste so terrible! After the taste of beer was out of her mouth, the high schooler finally spoke.

"So... you'd let me keep living here if I got a job huh?"

"Yeah... and you plan on finishing high school right? Cause if even I've got a high school degree then you should make sure to get yours."

"Mm-hm..."

"... so you're not going back to Canterlot?"

"I don't plan on it... but I am thinking about contacting one of them there."

"Mm.... if that's you're choice to give one of them another chance."

"Well... I don't know about being friends. But one day it's got to be let go, right?"

"Yup..."

After a moment, Jackie smiled as a thought came to mind and she reached for her guitar case. 

"I know you don't dig 'em as much as Nirvana but... you know Soul to Squeeze by RHCP?"

With a light snort, Sunset Shimmer gave a nod, closing her eyes as Jackie took out her acoustic guitar, adjusted and strummed a few notes before playing the opening chords of the song. Jackie started, softly singing the first two lines before Sunset Shimmer picked up on the next two. Through the song they switched off and even sang together, all in a soft key as the entire seemed to glow in the last rays of the sunset before them. 

When Sunset glanced over at Jackie, she swore she thought she saw a... glow?

.... nah, must of just been a trick of the light.

For now she was at peace and tomorrow was another day.