> Seven Saviors
>  by Arcanum -Phantasy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset stood on the edge of a bridge that overlooked Canterlot City, a completely dull look in her eyes as she watched the people go about their business. All of their happy cheers and warm smiles gave Sunset a rather strange feeling, like she was a ghost among the living. A sad smile crossed her face as the irony of such a thought sunk into her mind. She cast her gaze to the clear night sky, drinking in the natural beauty of the stars and full moon.
So pretty, she thought as she took off her coat letting the winter chill caress her body as her gaze shifted to the dark water in the stream below.
It's like a giant mirror.
Immediately, memories of Equestria jumped to the front of her mind.The time she spent with Princess Celestia, learning all kinds of spells as her personal student. All the late nights she had a nightmare as a foal and snuck into the solar Monarch's bedroom for comfort. There was even a time she helped the Princess pull a prank on her personal aid, Raven, that backfired brilliantly. Then she remembered how it all ended, and a grimace crossed her face. At that point, she didn't need anymore reasons to go through with her decision. It was funny in a way, not everyone knew how their story was supposed to end, but now that Sunset found herself closing in on her own final chapter, she found that there could be no better way for it to end.
Not wanting to have any regrets, she leaned up against the bridge's guardrail and yelled, "I AM NOT ANON-A-MISS!!!"
Her voice echoed across the otherwise silent landscape, taking her last display of defiance with it. With all of her obtainable regrets fulfilled, she climbed atop the railing, took one last look at the sky and closed her eyes. 
It's a beautiful night to die.
She jumped.
Or at least she tried to. At the last second a feminine voice screamed and Sunset felt the kind of pressure around her chest that only a pair of arms could give as she was slowly pulled back onto the safety of the bridge. With a loud flop, the two landed back on solid ground, Sunset's savior panting heavily for her efforts.
"Whew! That was close!" she said, voice shaky as she continued to hold Sunset tight. "If I had been just a second late-"
She finished her thought off with a shiver.
"Anyway, are you okay Sunset?"
The girl in question laid there atop the other girl, her mind running at a million miles an hour trying to piece together what had just happened. Slowly, she lifted her head to get a look at her rescuer only to be met by the mismatched golden eyes of the last person she expected to see. 
"D-Derpy?"
The grey girl gave a weary smirk and said, "That's my name."
Sunset blinked, her head still a mangled jumble of emotions slowly processed what was happening.
"B-But why?"
"Huh?" Derpy asked, head tilted in confusion.
"W-Why did you save me?"
Derpy gave Sunset a gentle smile and said, "Because you're not Anon-a-miss."
As Derpy's words sunk in, the shield Sunset held over her heart finally broke. Right there, in the arms of someone she had treated worse than Fluttershy in her darkest days, the damaged girl cried. Cried in shameful sorrow for her situation and what she tried to do on this god forsaken bridge, but also in joy. Joy that in spite of everything, there was at least one person who believed her, who knew that she wasn't Anon-a-miss. As the tears fell, Derpy held her tightly, giving her both the warmth and security she desperately needed. As she did, a single thought ran through her head.
I don't know who you are Annon-a-miss, but when I find you, I'm gonna make you pay for what you did to Sunset.
"D-D-Derpy?" Sunset sniffled.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you."
"No prob," she smiled. "Now, think you can walk?"
Still shaking, Sunset nodded then rose to her feet.
"At'a girl," Derpy smirked as she got to her feet."Now c'mon, lets get out of here."
Again, Sunset nodded. 
With that, Sunset put her jacket back on and the two girls made the long trek down the path off of the bridge and into a nearby parking lot where a light grey bug with blue bubble decals on the sides greeted them. Without saying a word, Derpy opened the door for Sunset before quickly walking around to get into the driver's seat. Not even a second after putting the key in the ignition, the gray teen turned on the heater, more for Sunset's benefit then her own as the poor girl had been shivering the whole way. Granted, how much of that shiver was from the cold was something Derpy wasn't willing to explore if Sunset wasn't. For a while the two sat in silence, basking in the warm air Derpy's car produced, but eventually, the awkwardness of their situation became too much for them
"So," Derpy said, tone forcefully cheerful. "Where do you live?"
"Huh?" Sunset mumbled.
"Where do you live?"
Sunset grimaced, then in a tone that was a strange mix of shame and resolution said, "The corner of 4 and 7."
Derpy rased a brow, confused.
"Like 4th street and 7th street?"
"No," she answered, trembling as she fought to hold back tears of shame. "Dock 4 and 7."
The awkward silence from earlier returned with a vengeance as Sunset turned her attention towards the passenger side window when the implications of Sunset's words sunk in.
No way. Are you kidding?
"Well," Derpy said, aggressively shifting the warmed car into drive. "That makes this a bit easier."
"W-What?" Sunset asked, jolted out of her doldrums by the vehicle's sudden roar to life. "Where are we going?"
"My place, silly," Derpy smiled. "I'm not gonna save you just to let you freeze to death in some warehouse."
"Y-You really don't need to do that," Sunset stuttered, shocked by the girl's act of kindness after being denied such a curtesy for so long. 
"Nonsense, I've got more than enough room."
"B-But-"
"Nope, my car, my rules. And I say you are going to sleep in a warm bed in a nice safe house. You got that?"
"Y-Yes ma'am....."
With that, a smiling Derpy and thoroughly floored Sunset drove off into the night, but as the two closed in on what was going to be the first comfortable bed in days for one of them, the other was silently seething.
When I find you Anon-a-miss, I swear I am going to end you!
> Ch.1 Please Smile
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few streams of Saturday morning sunlight trickled into an otherwise dimly lit room. It's only inhabitant curled up like a cat wrapped in a cocoon of blankets and warmth. With a soft groan, a rats nest of red and gold hair emerged from the heart of the blanket fortress. Groggy green eyes scanned their surroundings as Sunset tried to make sense of her current situation.
Where am I? How'd I get here?
As her mind started to wakeup, her memories of last night rushed to the front of her mind.  Her heart sank like a lead weight. In a futile attempt to ward off her internal chill, she pulled the blankets in on herself. After all of the pain, all of the hate, it had finally became too much. It finally happened. She tried to kill herself. Even though it was all her own choice, she hated herself for it. She hated that she was so weak that she let her despair rule her. That she let herself break so easily with a few cruel words from her now former friends. But in the darkest corners of her shattered heart, she felt something else; disappointment. She was disappointed that her attempt was stopped, that she was denied the right to end her pain. That she had to endure both her old wounds, and the rage of attempting to bring it to an end the way she did.
Why couldn't I die?
But then, something else came to mind. A kind embrace, a warm smile, and a pair of caring mismatched golden eyes. As she thought of those eyes, the void surrounding her started to dissipate, quickly replaced by the warmth of the comfy bed beneath her and thick comforter wrapped around her. But one thing shattered the abyssal prison around her heart, four little words that held the weight of the world to her; You are not Anon-A-Miss. 
Thank you Derpy, she thought, a soft smile gracing her lips, and a single happy tear trailing down her cheek.
A knock on the guestroom's door snapped her out of her musings.
"Sunset? Are you up?"
Hastily, Sunset wiped away the tear	 before saying, "Y-Yeah, I'm up Derpy."
"Can I come it?"
"Sure."
The door slowly opened, revealing a smiling while slightly cautious-looking Derpy. In her hands was a small tray holding a large muffin, stick of butter, and a glass of Orange juice. Sunset eyed the tray with more then a little interest as her savior approached. Derpy noticed, and a sheepish smile graced her lips.
"I made a few muffins this morning and I thought you'd like one."
It was as transparent a lie as they came and Sunset knew it. The warmth and heavenly aroma that the confection gave off was evidence enough of that, but for that moment, Sunset didn't care. The last time she had a decent breakfast was the morning after Rarity's sleepover, and this single muffin made that seem like the stale box of doughnuts she salvaged out of Joe's back ally dumpster. Of course, her stomach wasn't afraid to voice its opinion on the matter as well.
"T-Thanks Derpy," Sunset blushed, silently cursing her stomach.
Still smiling, Derpy placed the tray on a cabinet by the bed and took a seat next to Sunset.
"No prob bob. How're ya feeling?"
Sunset, thought over her condition, hand all the while closing in on her freshly baked prize. It wasn't until she closed her fingers around the muffin's cup that she finally found a word that best described her feelings.
"Scrambled."
Derpy tilted her head in confusion.
"I mean," she continued. "On one hand, I'm glad I'm alive, but on the other........"
Having heard enough, Derpy gently grasped Sunset's free hand with both of her own, momentarily taking the orange skinned girl's attention away from her breakfast and towards the misaligned golden orbs looking at her.
"Sorry..." she sighed, casting her gaze to the ground.
"Hey," Derpy said, a slight edge to her tone as she let go of Sunset's hand to guide the depressed girl's face back towards hers. "Listen to me. None of this is your fault. You haven't done anything wrong."
"But-"
"No 'Buts' except for the one that really needs to get kicked."
Again, Sunset found herself surprised by her companion's display of strength. The shift from happy airhead to stern commander was honestly jarring to her, but at the same time, a trait that she found rather endearing. It made her wonder why she never met this part of her back in her dark days.
"Now," Derpy sighed, returning to her more cheerful persona. "Eat up before it gets cold."
With little argument, Sunset returned her attention to the momentarily forgotten treat in her grasp and took a bite. What fallowed was the biggest explosion of pure deliciousness and joy to ever grace the troubled teen's tastebuds. It was light as a feather and warm as the sun with a gloriously lemony sweet-sour zest. Tears of pure bliss trailed down Sunset's face as she rode out her moment of euphoria from just the first bite of her muffin.
"Sunset? Are you okay?" Derpy asked, concerned for her crying neighbor.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," Sunset said wiping her happy tears away with her free hand. "Thanks Derpy."
At that moment, Sunset smiled, and for the grey girl, it was the most beautiful thing she had seen in a long time. No sooner had the moment come did it get spoiled by the thought that someone had tried to destroy that very same smile. Such an unforgivable crime could never go unpunished, and in time, she would personally make sure such a thing wouldn't happen. But that could be sorted out later. At the moment, helping Sunset get through this tough patch in her life was more important.
"Hey, Derpy," Sunset asked, snapping the silently seething teen out of her thoughts. "Can I ask you something?"
"Shoot," she smiled
"Why were you......on the bridge last night? How did you know I was going to jump?" 
For a moment, Derpy stared at Sunset in stunned silence, eyes wide. She knew Sunset was going to ask at some point, but not this soon. She quickly noticed Sunset's demeanor tense and gave her a gentle smile.
"Well," she sighed, laying on the bed, a far-off look in her eyes. "Would you believe it was dumb luck?"
"Huh?" she asked, tilting her head.
With a sad chuckle, Derpy rested her hands under her head and began the story of what led the gray teen to become her hero.



***



Sugarcube Café was normally a bustling hub of activity. Regardless of whether it was gossip or a bunch of friends blowing off steam from a long day of classes, the place was always alive. That was, until Anon-A-Miss came along. In just a few days the blogger had turned the happily united student body of Canterlot High into a grim cesspool of distrust and paranoia. As it stood, there appeared to be only three types of students; the prideful type that were hungry for payback, the spited that wanted to takedown the ones they thought had betrayed their trust, and the thick-skinned few who didn't care much about the school's social dynamic and weren't afraid to tell people where to stick it when given the chance. Unfortunately, when the first two types made up almost ninety-percent of the student body, it was only natural that not a lot of spirits where high.
As a result only three tables were currently occupied. One held five very depressed teens quietly sipping their cocoa, another sat three elementary schoolers tinkering on their phones, and the last catered to a lone gray girl who was also fiddling with her device, only with much less enthusiasm than the trio.
How could all of this happen, Derpy thought listlessly as she scrolled through her Mystable page. Everything looked like it was getting better after the Battle of the Bands. Why would somebody do all this? Maybe its time for me to come out of retirement. 
As she thought this, she took a small bite of her Cheesecake Muffin and grimaced. While she could admit that the café's baked goods were of high quality for a local shop, the muffins always disappointed her. They just never came out right for some reason. 
Maybe they don't use the right flour, she mused, bored expression plastered across her face as she glanced at her barely touched pastry. 
The bell above the Café's door chimed, briefly snapping her out of her dull thoughts as she glanced at the newcomer. What she saw shocked her. It was Sunset, only, she didn't quite look like her usual self. The strong and bright aura she normally radiated was nothing more than a pale imitation of its original glory. In its stead was a dim shade of desperation, the same fading light in her bloodshot green eyes as she turned towards the table of five not far from the front of the door. Derpy watched as she made her way towards the table, pretending to look at her phone to make it a little less obvious. 
"Guys, please listen to me," Sunset begged as she pulled a thick book out from the confines of her heavy winter coat. "I've been talking with Princess Twilight and I think-"
"What the hell do you think you're doing here?" Rainbow snapped as she stood, eyes attempting to glare a hole through the girl. 
Sunset flinched, what little courage she had when she stepped into the Café wavered slightly by her former friend's cold stare.
"What?"
"Yah heard her," Applejack growled, also rising from her seat. "What the hell do yah think yah'll r' doin' here?"
"I-I-"
"Give it a rest traitor," Rainbow growled, taking a step towards the now trembling Sunset. "We know its you're fault Canterlot High's the way it is!"
"B-But-"
"Shut it, Anon-A-Miss!"
With just one sentence, all of the color in Sunset's face drained away, and with it, what little fire her demeanor held. 
"So that's it then," she said, voice trembling. "No matter what I say, none of you are going to listen."
Derpy watched in horror as Sunset's friends either refused to look her in the eye or answer in the contrary. Then, in a hallow tone that sent a chill down the gray teen's spine she said one word. "Fine."
With that, she dropped the book and with dead eyes and slumped shoulders, stepped back out into the unforgiving cold of Canterlot City. For a moment, Derpy just sat there in stunned silence, her mind not quite able to process what she just saw. But one thing did register with absolute clarity, the look of absolute defeat in Sunset's eyes, and the many possibilities that could lead to. That was enough to pull Derpy out of her trance. As she shot to her feet, only one thought screamed through her head.
Please let me be wrong! 
With that, she quickly gathered her things and fallowed Sunset into the cold streets, but a quick glance around reveled no such girl. Panicked, Derpy bolted to her car, hoping that she was close enough that if she cruised the neighborhood she would find her. As luck would have it, not even a foot away from her car, she saw Sunset start to cross the street. Not willing to waste her good luck, Derpy jumped into her car and started it up.
Okay Derpy, what's the plan? she thought as she began tailing the abandoned teen. Well, besides the obvious.
That last thought made her cringe. 
Relax, Derpy. You don't even know if this is even gonna go that route. For now, just focus on keeping her in your sights. For all you know, she's just going on a night time stroll to clear her head. 
She knew this was nothing more than wishful thinking on her part, but unless the fates said otherwise, she was more then willing to accept it. As it was, they were being unusually kind to her tonight, gracing her with thin evening traffic and having Sunset's zombie-like stroll be in the same direction as her lane. Eventually the traffic completely disappeared leaving nothing but dark streets and mostly abandoned buildings. A bad feeling settled into the pit of Derpy's gut as she divided her focus between her quarry and the road. 
Is this the kind of neighborhood Sunset grew-up in? No wonder she was so aggressive back then. 
A twinge of pity filled Derpy's heart as she stared at Sunset's back. 
Oh, Sunset.......
A tear started to form at the corner of her eye, but she quickly wiped it away. She could cry about Sunset's situation later, right now she needed a shoulder to cry on, not someone's pity. As she pulled her hand away from her face, she was just able to see Sunset walk into a nearby parking lot  before she stepped out of range of her car's headlights.
"Shit!" Derpy whispered as she quickly tried to pull into the parking lot, but by the time she got her vehicle into position, Sunset was already gone.
"Shit, shit, SHIT!" Derpy muttered as she parked her car and looked around. "Where'd she go!?" 
As she frantically looked around for any sign of the missing girl, various horror stories started playing through her mind each more horrible than the last. Her panic was so great that she almost didn't notice the giant bridge towering over the lake next to her. As her eyes took in the massive structure before her the dread she felt from before doubled.
She wouldn't.
No sooner had that thought crossed her mind did she notice someone standing on the bridge's main platform. A person with red and yellow hair. Every drop of blood in Derpy's body turned to ice as she took in the situation.  Not wanting to waste a nanosecond, Derpy bolted towards the stairs leading towards the bridge's main platforms. Her head and heart raced as she ascended the stares, all the while she hoped that this was all just some kind of sick joke. That this was just a bad dream and she wasn't going to watch someone kill them self. Her hopes were dashed as she heard a familiar voice scream to the heavens that she was not the one who tore the school apart from the inside out. A second later, Derpy was standing on the bridge's main platform and in front of her stood Sunset, jacket abandoned and standing on the guardrail. Then, she watched as Sunset gently jumped.
"SUNSET NO!!!"
That was all Derpy had time to say as she ran to the guardrail.



***



"And you know the rest," Derpy sighed, bringing herself into a sitting position.
Sunset just stared at Derpy as she tried to process what she was told. How was she supposed to take the fact that not only had Derpy saved her, but Sunset's last act of rebellion allowed the grey teen to find her in time to do it. It was almost as if the fates had arranged it so that her death could be prevented by any means necessary. And that Derpy had to be the one to do it.
"Sunset?"
Sunset snapped out of her trance.
"Uh, yeah Derpy?"
"Were have you been living this whole time?"
"I thought I told you," she grimaced, cold glare cast towards the ground. "Why?"
"Well," Derpy cringed. "If you're going to be staying here, I think you're going to want at least one change of clothes. Maybe?"
Perplexed, Sunset shifted her attention back towards her companion. 
"You mean, I can stay?"
"Yes," Derpy sighed. "Although, I'm going to have to tell my folks what happened last night. You don't have any problems with that, right?"
She shrugged.
"Honestly, you could tell them my bra size if it means having a warm place to sleep for a little while."
"I doubt it will come to that," she chuckled, face turning red. "Right mom!?"
A loud bump accompanied by several muffled curses could be heard from beyond the bedroom door. A moment later, it opened to reveal its sheepish eaves-dropper. It was a cream colored woman in her late twenties-early thirties with bright red and pink two-toned  hair dressed in a lime-green bathrobe.
"Oh hey sweetie," she chuckled. "Fancy meeting you here."
"Mom, I live here," Derpy deadpanned. 
"Why yes. Yes you do."
Derpy sighed mortified by her mother's antics.
"Just because you play one on TV doesn't mean you're a super spy in real life mom."
Derpy's mother let out a dry laugh.
"Right, right. So Dear, are you going to introduce me to our new house guest or will I have to measure her first."
Both girl's faces turned scarlet.
"W-Well," Derpy coughed, desperate to get out of this situation before someone's head caught on fire. "Mom, this is Sunset Shimmer. Sunset, this is my mom Rose Luck."
"You can just call me Rose," Rose said, stepping forward with her hand out.
For a moment, Sunset stared at the offered hand, almost at a loss of how she was supposed to react to the offer of kindness before a light seemed to just as quickly ignite in her head before she raised her own hand. 	
"It's nice to meet you Rose," Sunset smiled, excepting the handshake.
"Likewise," she smiled briefly before taking a seat next to Sunset opposite of her daughter.
"How did you sleep?"
"Good," Sunset stiffly replied. "Like a baby."
Rose Luck nodded, a knowing look in her eyes.
Sunset sighed, gaze shifted once again to the ground and eyes hidden by the shadow of her bangs.
"How much did you hear?"
"Enough," she sighed, posture becoming more somber. "To know that you need help. How much of it I still need to know."
Sunset nodded, knowing well enough that the woman sitting next to her knew more then she was letting on.
"Will you tell me Sunset? Would you like my daughter and I to help you?"
The room was eerily quiet as Derpy and Rose Luck waited for Sunset's answer. In some ways it reminded Derpy of the silence she experienced at Sugarcube Corner, a memory that sent a slight tremble down her spine. But before she could further explore that unpleasant memory, Sunset gave her answer.
She nodded.
Derpy let out a relieved breath she didn't even know she was holding, while her mother gave Sunset a gentle smile. Now freed from the previous sense of tension, Derpy noticed the now abandoned food tray she brought in earlier. Smiling, she stood up and took the tray.
"I'll take this to the kitchen so you guys can talk."
"Okay dear," Rose smiled, gently rubbing Sunsets back. 
As she left the room, she ran the events of last night back through her head. How toxic the atmosphere of Canterlot High had become.  All because some jerk with a chip on his shoulder decided to air everybody's dirty laundry. It just didn't make any sense. Why go to all the trouble? What was their motive for doing all this? Derpy knew most people didn't really need a reason to do bad things. Some people did things just because they could and no one could stop them. But that didn't seem to be Anon-A-Miss's goal. Just what was their game plan?
It wasn't until after she put the tray in the kitchen sink that it finally hit her.
"She was framed," she whispered, body lightly trembling.
The profile, the first set of secrets, all of it was so Anon-A-Miss could do as they wished to the student body while dumping all of the blame on Sunset. Anon-A-Miss didn't want to destroy the school, he wanted to destroy Sunset's good name. As this knowledge circled through her head, anger and disgust began to boil in the gray teen's heart until it became something she hadn't felt in a long time; pure white-hot hate.
In a matter of seconds, Derpy ran from the kitchen to her bedroom and as soon as she found her phone on her nightstand grabbed it. With shaking hands, she scrolled through her contacts until she found the number she needed. With a harder then necessary jab, she selected the number and brought the phone to her ear. After three rings a groggy groan answered her.
"Lyra?" Derpy asked, her voice a monotoned whisper.
"Derpy?" Lyra yawned from her end of the line. "What's going on?"
"Could you do me a favor?" Derpy continued, tone still icy.
"Uh, sure," she said, concern decorating her tone. "What do ya need?"
"Call up the girls for me and tell them to meet me at Starebucks in two hours. We need to talk about a few things."
Not waiting for a response, Derpy hung up the phone before flopping onto her bed, desperate to get her anger under control. Once she won that battle, she let out a weary sigh and a single thought floated to the front of her mind.
This was going to be a long day.
> Ch.2 Declaration of War
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A tomb. That was the most accurate description of the interior of Rose Luck's van. Though the absence of the vehicle's owner was a factor it was not the main reason for the uncomfortable atmosphere. That honor went to its current driver, and the unwillingness of her passengers to tread dangerous waters. Not too many people new this, but Derpy had a few visible "tells" when she was in a royally bad mood. One was an overly cheerful performance that would seem forced, even to a blind drunk. The other was her drinking a heavily caffeinated beverage. This was do to the fact that while caffein made most people jittery, it actually had a calming effect on the girl. As a result, it wasn't unusual to see her sip a thermos of coffee in the middle of important tests and other equally stressful events. What made all five of Derpy's friends nervous was the fact that even with a triple-espresso-mocha sitting in the driver side cup holder, the grey teen seemed about as calm as an eyeless hurricane. 
As a result, Lyra Heartstrings, Bonbon, Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, and Lightning Dust didn't know how to safely break the tension. Especially Lyra, who was currently sitting shotgun and trying to look like she was busy doing something on her phone.
"So," Lightning said, awkwardly looking around. "Why'd ya call us all out Derpster?"
"Well," she responded, smile still as stiff as a board. "A friend of mine is staying at my place for a few days and she wanted me to pick up a few things from her place. I thought you guys could help me load some of it so she could get herself settled quicker."
Lightning let out an understanding grunt as she eased herself back into her seat. It did make sense, what with the van and all, but she couldn't shake the feeling that that wasn't the whole story. She could tell that the others got that feeling as well but still didn't know how to proceed. From her position, Lyra could see her friend making passing glances at a piece of paper in her hand as she drove. It didn't strike her as anything all that strange at first. That was, until they started leaving the residential district of the city. 
Octavia was the first to say something.
"Uh, Derpy, love," she said tone a little shaky. "Where are we going?"
"You'll see," she answered, false joy barely maintained in her tone.
Vinyl put an arm around her nervous friend in an attempt to calm her nerves. Her eyes carefully scanned their surroundings from the car windows. Judging by the cross streets she saw, she was able to tell they were getting close to the Horseshoe Bay Docks.
"Why dose your friend live near the docks?"
Shocked, everyone pulled out there phones and activated their GPS apps to confirm the accuracy of the DJ's claim. To everyone's surprise, they did seem to be closing in on that district. Derpy's grip on the wheel tightened for a moment before she answered.
"Let's just say her living arrangements are a little different from ours."
"Define different," Bonbon demanded, finally finding her voice.
Derpy took a deep breath before answering.
"It'll be easier if I show you first."
With that, the car's earlier silence returned, only instead of holding an air of dread, it was laced with a sense of curiosity. Just what was the grey teen hiding from them? And who was this mysterious friend of hers? Whether they liked it or not, they were going to get the answers to these questions soon enough.




***



After a few hours of awkward silence, the teens stopped in front of one of the many abandoned warehouses in Horseshoe Bay's older district. It didn't look like anything special; just a huge sheet metal building with some bits of rust and peeling paint from neglect or being so close to the bay's salty water over the years. Even the graffiti sprayed in random parts of the wall failed to withstand the warehouse's abuse. The only thing not weather worn was a polished metal pate on its door that read Cargo Surplus 3 in bright gold letters. 
A sense of unease washed over the girls as they stared at the abandoned building, not one of them liking the possible implications that it brought.
"Welp," Derpy sighed, undoing her seatbelt. "Looks like the place.
"WHAT!?" everyone exclaimed as their driver stepped out of the car.
"This is where your friend lives?!" Bonbon gaped.
Derpy nodded, then walked towards the abandoned warehouse. Worried for their friend, the five remaining girls got out of the car and fallowed, not entirely sure what to expect. As soon as the group of teens were a foot away from the door, Derpy turned towards them, false smile replaced with an unnerving look of cold resignation.
"Here we go," she sighed as she pulled a key out of her pocket and stuck it into an until now hidden padlock that kept the warehouse's door sealed. With a loud creak, the partly rusted door opened to reveal a rather shocking scene.  While the exterior of the building was decrepit, the interior was very well maintained. The solid cement floor was positively spotless with only a few bits of aged furniture being the only things that stood out. These consisted of an old leather couch, a dented coffee table, a sun-damaged mini fridge, a patched sleeping bag, and a gas powered generator. In addition, countless strips of duct-tape covered random parts of the walls like a sad attempt to keep the elements from completely taking away the shelter. As Derpy led her shocked friends into the improvised dwelling, she noticed a few more things. A pile of neatly folded clothes sat in a corner by the door accompanied by a dented aluminum bat. Hidden in the shadows by the couch was a tall lamp that had seen just as much abuse as the rest of the furniture, yet still seemed functional enough. Both it and the mini fridge were linked to the currently silent generator by a sun-bleached extension cord.
As her friends took in the tragic scene with slack jaws and wide eyes, Derpy's face was a blank slate. Or at least, it was on the surface. As her eyes took in her surroundings, a flurry of emotions flowed through her; anger, sadness, disgust, shock, but one emotion reigned supreme in the torrential  ocean of emotions that was Derpy's heart; resolve. With that one emotion guiding her hand, she gave her fingers a sharp snap, an acton that brought her friend's wandering eyes to her. It was time to get this thing started.
"I'm sure you've all got a ton of questions, but I think you guys have one that tops them all. Who's been living here and why did I bring us here?"
Her friends nodded, more than a little surprised by the gray teen's militaristic air.
Derpy let out a weary sigh then began to slowly pace in front of the door.
"The person who lived here was someone who did some bad things. They ruined friendships, crushed hearts, and manipulated an entire school from the shadows with a smile on their face. They we're taken down eventually, like most bullies, but instead of trying to get their power back, they tried to start over. To become a better person and for a while, it looked like things were finally looking up for them. They had friends, respect, and all the happiness in the world, even while living in this hole in the ground."
As she said that, she gestured towards their general surroundings.
"But then," she continued. "Someone decided to take all that happiness away from this person. They spread rumors and personal secrets all across the school and made it look like this person was the one behind it. So, with no friends, respect, or joy this person decided to put an end to it all. That death was better than living in loneliness and pain."
She stopped her pacing and turned towards her friends, her face a cold, emotionless mask.
"The person who lived here was Sunset Shimmer, and I'm going to help her any way I can."
The five other girls in the room stared at Derpy in stunned silence as their brains struggled to process what they were just told. The thought that the former Queen of Canterlot High lived in this hovel was an incredibly large pill to swallow by itself, but to hear what Derpy said she tried to do was the equivalent of trying to swallow a mountain. Bonbon was the first to recover, though she didn't look like she was going to be able to keep her breakfast down for very long.
"I-Is she-"
"She's fine. Physically anyway," Derpy sighed, shaky smile decorating her face. "Mom and Dad should be able to set her up with a good doc to help her get through this."
Bonbon and the rest let out a collective sigh of relief.
"But," Derpy growled, smile a distant memory now. "That only solves half of the problem. As long as Anon-a-Miss is on the loose, any progress Sunset makes in her recovery would just get reset the next day. As much as we all hope that he's gonna grow a conscience and stop, we all know that that's not gonna happen anytime soon."
"Tsk! No kidding," Lightning growled, glaring at the floor. "The jerk's got the whole soccer team at each other's throats."
Octavia let out a depressed sigh.
"The same could be said for the music clubs. I had to help Vinyl pull Neon Lights off of Bulk Biceps the other day. It was a miracle the boy didn't get hurt."
Vinyl nodded.
"Bulk's big, but he's a real softy. If Neon tried that shit with anyone else, he'd be in the hospital right now."
Lyra and Bonbon cringed at that.
"My point exactly," Derpy frowned. "But what makes this all worse is the fact that Sunset's the one that's taking all the blame! This cannot continue!"
A bight smile spread across Lyra's face as she took in the meaning of Derpy's words."
"You mean-"
"Yep!" Derpy grinned. "I'm coming out of retirement."
Lyra let out a triumphant cheer while the other girls in the room gave wide smiles.
"About time," Lightning grinned, slamming her right fist into her left palm. "What do ya need us to do Captan?"
Derpy smiled as she saw the determined fire in her friend's eyes.
"For now," she laughed. "Help me get some of Sunset's stuff into the truck. I think she might want to change into something other than a white T-shirt and sweats."



***



What the six girls found when they returned to Derpy's house was a true sight to behold. There were two figures sitting at the dinning room table playing a game of cards. One was Sunset while the other was a mocha-skinned man with messy brown hair, wearing a white dress shirt and black slacks. But that wasn't the strange part. What was strange was the collection of dollar bills both players held on the table. They appeared to be just ones, but the ten inch difference between Sunset's pile and her opponent's half inch one was an obvious tell on who was winning.
"Hey Doc," Lyra cheered as she stepped into the kitchen. "How's it hanging?"
The man flinched and looked up at the mint green teen. 
"Ah, Lyra! good afternoon," he smiled.
As Lyra stood there smiling, the rest of her group stepped into the kitchen, each of them carrying a laptop and a box of Sunset's clothes. When Sunset saw all of the new girls in the house, she hid her face behind her hand of cards. She new it was a feeble attempt at concealment, but it was one of the few she had sans running out the front door like a cornered animal. Bonbon noticed Sunset's withdrawal and handed her cargo to Vinyl before approaching the table.
"Maybe I should step in Mr. Turner," she said, nudging towards the shrinking stack of dollar bills on the table.
"Oh pish-posh," he laughed. "I'll have you know I have the matter perfectly under con-"
"Time Turner Dear," Rose Luck sighed. "Let the girl win back your money. Or do we have to wait until you bet the house...again?"
Time Turner chuckled awkwardly.
"My luck isn't that bad, is it?"
Rose gave him a half-lidded smirk as she gently dragged him out of his chair.
"You used up all of your luck when you found me. Push it to much and I'll make you regret it."
As she said that an aggressive smile crossed her face that made Time Turner blush.
"V-Very well dear," he sighed before he shifted his attention back towards Bonbon. "Careful now, she may not look it, but she's a terrifyingly good player."
Bonbon merely shrugged as she took Time Turner's seat.
"I'm no slouch myself. Don't worry Mr. Turner, I'll get your money back."
Conflicted, Time Turner let his wife lead him out of the kitchen.
Bonbon looked back at her friends and smiled.
"You guys get all set up. I'll be there in a few minutes.
The five girls returned the candy maker's smile and left the kitchen.With that, she shifted her attention towards Sunset. The fiery teen gave her a cautious glance as she looked at her own hand of cards.
"Do you want to start with a fresh hand or do you want to continue from where we left off?"
Bonbon looked over her hand.
"I think I can work with what I have," she sighed. "Let's do this."
Sunset nodded and their game of twenty-one commenced.
For that moment, it was just the two of them. All outside distractions pushed into the background as they clashed. What most people didn't know was that there were three different types of twenty-one players: The type that recklessly play with luck, the type that like to play strategically, and the type that count cards. It was clear to both girls that this was a battle between type 3s.
"Your pretty good at this," Bonbon commented as she drew a card.
Sunset shrugged.
"I had to be when money was tight."
Even with the casual tone, Bonbon could hear the shame in that comment. 
The two of them played their hands with Bonbon's twenty beating Sunset's nineteen. The result being ten dollars taken off of Sunset's stack and added to Bonbon's.
"Do you play any other games," Bonbon asked as she set up for the next hand. "Like Poker or Slapjack?"
Sunset shook her head then looked at her new hand.
"If it didn't get me what I needed I didn't really give it much thought."
Bonbon nodded at that. It was probably hard to maintain a hobby when all of your money needed to be used sparingly.
"How were you able to afford a phone?"
Sunset sighed.
"Where I come from, most things are payed for with gold coins called Bits. As it turns out, I happened to have a few on me when I came here."
Bonbon nodded in understanding as she drew a card.
"How long did that last ya?"
Sunset flinched, then drew a card.
"One year."
Bonbon's heart sank at that
"So you spent the last three years making money playing twenty-one?" she asked, hand trembling.
Sunset shook her head, then said, "Six years."
The candy maker's eyes widened, the shock almost making her drop her hand of cards.
"Call," Sunset muttered.
Both girls played their hands again, this time Sunset won with a twenty. As three bills were taken off of Bonbon's pile, she couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl. Being trapped in such a cruel situation for six years with no one to turn to? No wonder she was so ruthless in her early years. She probably felt like she had no choice in the matter!
The two continued their game in relative silence, only breaking it to enable plays from time to time. Eventually, the silence became to much for Bonbon.
"Hey," she said, momentarily drawing Sunset's attention away from her cards. "You want ta spend the night at my place sometime?"
Sunset raised a brow at that. 
"Why?"
Bonbon flinched at the bluntness of her opponent's question.
"Well... I want ta get ta know you better. See if maybe we could be..."
Bonbon was going to say "friends", but the look in Sunset's eyes told her that such a word was almost a taboo. Instead, Bonbon let out a sigh and shifted her attention back to her hand.
"Never mind, forget I said anything."
A moment of silence passed before Sunset cleared her throat to get Bonbon's attention.
"I'll think about it."
Bonbon smiled.
"That's all I ask."
At that moment, Octavia stepped into the kitchen.
"We're all set. Are you ready?"
A determined glare replaced Bonbon's smile as she stood.
"Absolutely."
Sunset looked back and forth between the two girls.
"What's going on? Ready for what?"
Octavia looked at Sunset, a kind smile gracing her lips and a glint of mischief in her eyes.
"Come with us and find out."



***



Scootaloo casually skimmed through the many posts on her phone, mildly surprised by how many people were willing to rat each other out. It disgusted her to some degree, but if it helped them succeed in their goal to get rid of Sunset, then she was more than willing to take advantage of it. As she continued to skim through the messages her phone let out a small ding as a message alert appeared on her screen. With a sigh, she reluctantly tapped the icon.
So, who's on the chopping block this time?
What she found was something unexpected.

Your time has come Anon-a-Miss. I don't know who you are or why you've done what you've done, but I can no longer stand idly by and watch you destroy a young girl's life. You will pay for what you've done to Sunset and I will be the one to destroy you. A war is coming Anon-a Miss, and I will be the winner in the end.

Scootaloo smirked.
This wasn't the first death threat she and her friends received on the page. It was something they had come to expect after making it after the first couple days. Most of them were hollow threats that the three knew the posters couldn't fallow up on. It was for this reason that the sporty girl did what they always did when this happened.
She tapped the respond icon and went to work.
Oh, yeah? You and what army? Their's nothing you can do to stop me from ruling the school and you know it. But hey, I like a challenge, so go ahead. Try and catch me if you can. I just know the schools going to love whatever I can dig up on you.

For a moment, nothing happened, but then, her phone dinged again. And again. And yet again. Until suddenly her phone began letting out a chorus of message alerts. Scootaloo stared at her phone in shock, not sure of what to do beyond wait out the tsunami of message alerts. After five minutes, her phone finally stopped dinging. Nervous, she tapped the message icon. All of the alerts were from replies to their previous posts. She looked through a few of them and all of them said the same thing.

Challenge accepted.
-Meme Queen

Scootaloo, stared at her screen in stunned terror as she let what just happened sink in. As this process continued, Scootaloo's phone rang, scaring her out of her shock.
"H-Hello? Sweetie Belle?"
"What did you do?"
"Huh?"
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
Scootaloo tried to explain herself. All the while, a certain gray teen sat in a well lit room with six laptops linked to a single keyboard as she happily ate a lemon muffin with a grin that a cat would have after it ate the family canary.
> Ch.3 Game Plan
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sweet Apple Acres was always a sight to behold. In the warmer seasons it was an endless ocean of green with countless red jewels floating in its surface. In the winter, it was an ever expanding land of crystals from horizon to horizon. However, this testament to nature's beauty was wasted on the only few able to witness it. More specifically, a trio of elementary schoolers that took shelter in a treehouse on the orchard's grounds. As it stood, the three pre-teens didn't take the events of the previous evening all too well. While Scootaloo and Applebloom were a bundle of nerves, Sweetie Belle, the one who gathered them all together for this meeting, was in near hysterics.
"This is bad! Very bad!" she panicked, pacing back and forth within the confines of the clubhouse. "Really really bad!"
"Okay! We get it! We're in deep crap!" Scootaloo snapped, bringing Sweetie out of her mini mental breakdown. "Care to fill us in on just how boned we are or what?"
Applebloom nodded.
"She's right, Sweetie. Ah don't git why you're makein' such a huge thing out a' this. So some yahoo said they'r gonna get us. It ain't the first time someone sent a message like that."
Sweetie gawked at her two friends.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!" she screamed, both girls cringing at the pitch her voice reached. "This is Meme Queen we're talking about here! MEME QUEEN!"
Both girls glanced at each other, shrugged, then shifted their attention back towards their friend.
"Who the sam hill is Meme Queen and why should we care?"
Sweetie face palmed and with a groan, gave her farmer friend a hard glare.
"You remember those twins who tried to steal over half of your family's land about four years ago?"
"Yeah?" she said, brow raised. "What of it?"
"Well, do you remember how the cops said they couldn't get enough evidence to take them in until the last second?"
Applebloom nodded.
"Meme Queen  tipped them off to someone who could."
Applebloom's eyes widened at that.
"No way. Yer pulling my leg."
Sweetie shook her head.
"Its all true. She even requested herself be reveled as an independent informant under that name. And that's not all, she also blew the whistle on Diamond's mom for trying to steal money from the school about a year later."
Scootaloo's jaw dropped.
"She did that?! I thought it was some sting operation or something!"
Sweetie Belle gave her friend an odd look before shaking it off to continue.
"The point is, now on top of Sunset trying to find out about us, we have a super hacker out to get us. I think its pretty obvious that this whole thing has gone way too far."
"Are ya thinkin' what Ah think you're thinkn'?" Applebloom asked.
Sweetie nodded before she continued.
"We pull the plug. We need to shut down the account and do it quick. If we do it now, then it should be almost impossible for her to figure out its us."
Applebloom nodded in agreement, but just as she was about to reach into her pocket for her phone, Scootaloo jumped to her feet and grabbed her hand.
"Whoa whoa whoa, hold on there. We can't do that."
Applebloom and Sweetie Belle stared at their sporty friend in shock.
"Why not?" Applebloom demanded, jerking her hand free. "Yah heard Sweetie. We need to make the gettin' while the gettin's good!"
"Yeah!" Sweetie squeaked. 
"Because," Scootaloo sighed, face turned serious. "The old Sunset wouldn't do that."
The two girls looked at Scootaloo in confusion, as if she had suddenly spoke in an alien language.
Scootaloo let out an annoyed groan.
"Look," she continued. "What did Sunset do when someone stood-up to her? She shut them down. If we shut down the account after this 'Meme Queen' stood-up to us, then everyone will know that it wasn't Sunset behind the whole thing. That means not only will we be back to square one, but then they're gonna wanna find the real Anon-a-Miss. And it didn't look like Meme Queen's gonna leave us alone if we shut it down. So not only will we have her to deal with, but the whole school and our sisters and their friends!"
Sweetie sighed. While she didn't like the idea of them pressing their luck against a legend like Meme Queen, she liked the idea of giving said legend all she needed to find them even less. Reluctantly, she looked at her sporty friend and nodded.
"Okay. Then what do you suggest we do?"
"Easy," she smirked. "We figure out who Meme Queen is before she finds us."
"And then what?" Applebloom asked, 
"Beg her for forgiveness?" Scootaloo shrugged.
Both girls face palmed.
"I guess we can cross that bridge when we get to it," Sweetie sighed as her gaze shifted towards the view outside one of the clubhouse windows. "I just hope we can pull it off. I bet she's already closing in on us."



***



"Aw, Damn it!" Dust groaned, giving the television in front of her the finger. "Drop dead Nameless King!"
Her couch-mates, Lyra and Bonbon, chuckled at their friend's antics.
"What's wrong Dust?" Bonbon grinned. "I thought RPGs were for idiots and a brain-dead chimp could beat them."
Lightning Dust gave her smirking friends a death glare. Such a glance would've made lesser people cringe in fear, but all it did to the two girls was make their grins widen.
"Yeah," Lyra continued. "And I thought dragons were just stupid flying lizards. The King of Storms must've went to Medical School cuz it looks like you got an electric colonoscopy."
That set the two girls over the edge in laughter. Dust continued to simmer in her anger, but even she couldn't deny that the way the game boss blasted a bolt of lightning at her character's butt to kill her was pretty funny. And humiliating considering it was the twelfth time she tried to kill it, each loss more embarrassing then the last.
"Okay, fine!" she snapped. "I get it! I was wrong!"
The two girls crossed their arms, mocking smiles replaced with triumphant grins.
Then, with a grimace, Lightning thrusted the controller towards the two girls and growled, "But I'd love to see you two do any better against that jerk."
Bonbon glanced at her mint colored friend.
"You wanna have a go?"
Lyra shrugged before she took the offered controller.
"Eh, why not. It's been a while since I played."
Dust raised a brow at that.
"What do ya mean?"
Lyra just gave a cheeky wink then responded with a casual, "Watch and learn."
As the trio enjoyed their game, four girls sat at the dinner table staring at a chessboard.
Vinyl let out a chuckle as she watched the trio.
"I take it Dust's never seen Lyra play before," she sighed as she moved her rook across the board. 
Derpy smirked as she moved her knight into a more favorable position.
"Nope. Dust doesn't do Game Night that much."
Vinyl passed another glance towards the three Dark Souls players. While Lyra looked relaxed almost to the point of boredom, Lightning Dust's wide-eyed and slack-jawed expression was priceless.
"Welp, looks like she's seen it now."
Sunset and Octavia looked up from the board game only to confirm the DJ's assessment.
"That's Lyra for you," Octavia chuckled. "When it comes to fantasy she reins supreme. Although," she sighed as she shifted her attention towards her neighbor. "Things like magic isn't the stuff of fables and fantasy for you, is it?"
Sunset nodded.
"Yeah, but thankfully its not like it is in that game. Most of the time anyway."
This got a raised brow from everyone at the table. Sunset let out a sigh.
"Magic at home is like science here. You can use it to do great things or destroy the world. Luckily, most ponies-"
"Wait what?" Vinyl interrupted, glasses sliding down the bridge of her nose enough to show shocked red eyes. "Ponies? What?"
Sunset let out another sigh.
"Right, forgot you guys didn't know that. Yeah, the world I come from is inhabited by talking ponies. The only reason I look like this is because of the portal's magic. Otherwise, all of you would be talking to an orange unicorn right now."
"Did somebody say Unicorn?"
Everyone let out a startled yelp as Lyra suddenly appeared at the table. As she tried to get her heartbeat back to normal, Sunset looked at the TV and the green teen standing across the table from her.
"When did you-"
"Beat the boss?" Lyra asked, eagerness in her eyes. "About five minutes ago. He's not that tough if you know what your doing."
"No damage," Dust mumbled, her voice only just reaching the fiery haired teen's range of hearing. "She kicked his ass in no time at all and didn't get hit once."
"Anyway," Lyra chimed, grabbing back Sunset's attention. "What was all that about Unicorns?"
Shaking off the eerily familiar display of impossibility, Sunset began to fill in her new comrades on how things were in her native world. She told them about how not only did ponies dominate the land, but dragons and griffins did as well. She also mentioned that some creatures that her audience considered fairytales such as phoenixes and manticores were as real as cats and dogs in this world. She even told them about how the leader of her country had control over the sun and moon and was several thousands of years old. While most of the girls showed signs of skepticism, Lyra looked more ecstatic by the second.
"So, you mean if I hopped through the portal, not only would I get to go to a world of magic, but I could have magic?"
"Um....Yes?" Sunset cringed, slightly unnerved by the mint teen's intense display of interest.
With stars in her eyes, Lyra gently grasped Sunset's hands with a wide smile that would give Pinkie Pie a run for her money.
"I don't care what it takes, TAKE ME!!!"
Sunset reared back at the girl's display of enthusiasm. Before she could comment on Lyra's antics, Octavia and Lightning Dust grabbed the eager teen and pulled her back into a chair.
"I apologize for that, love," Octavia sighed. "Lyra's a bit of a nut when it comes to legends. Why, Bonbon could write a book about all of her exploits to 'prove the existence of the fantastical' as she put it."
"The truth must be set free!" Lyra  declared from her seat, her excitement reduced from manic to eccentric.
Derpy gave her a bemused glare before looking back at the game board on the table. "Maybe we should shutdown Anon-a-Miss before we start thinking about visiting Sunset's old home."
As she said this, she moved her queen then flashed Sunset an apologetic smile.
"If that's okay with her, that is."
Sunset blinked at that. While the gate was still open, she had never considered returning to her native land let alone letting anyone from this world accompany her should such a visit ever take place. A part of the reason being that she had no idea what doing so would do to Equestria or the portal as a whole. However, it did seem possible for multiple beings to pass through the portal safely if the need ever did arise.
I should probably ask Twilight if it's possible.
But no sooner had that thought crossed her mind did she come to the unfortunate realization that she was missing an ever important tool.
The sudden drop of enthusiasm didn't no unnoticed by her gold-eyed friend.
"Sunset? Are you okay?"
"Huh?" she flinched, mind returning to reality. "Oh! Yeah. I'm fine. "
Derpy and Vinyl gave her a skeptical frown. 
Sunset sighed. She knew her new friend wouldn't let it end with that, but it was worth a try at least. After all, as amazing as Derpy seemed to be, even she had her limits. Unless the grey teen could pull magic artifacts out of the aether it seemed highly unlikely their was anything she could do to change the situation.
"Okay, so, you know that book you saw me carrying in Sugarcube Corner?"
She nodded.
"Well, that wasn't a normal book. It was a special journal that let me communicate with Princess Twilight. Anything I wrote in it would appear in an exact copy that she has."
"Oh," Derpy sighed. "I guess that'll be one more thing to add to the list."
Everyone present tilted their heads in confusion as she moved another piece across the monochromatic board in front of her. 
"List?"
With a tired smirk, she glanced at all of her present friends before letting her mismatched eyes settle on Sunset. 
"The list of things that I need to do to help you."
Sunset's face turned a little warm in response to her friend's declaration.
"W-Well, uh, that's.....Thanks Derpy."
Derpy just giggled then shifted her attention back to her game.
Dust, Lyra, and Octavia traded glances then flashed mischievous half-smiles.
"So, Derpy love," Octavia smirked. "Care to share what else might be on this so called list?" 
Derpy's hand paused for a second as she reached for her knight to move it in to intercept Vinyl's rook. With a sigh, the girl's entire demeanor changed. Gone was the happy-go-lucky teen with the strange eyes and in her place was the calm and collected tactician from the night before.
"Well, at the moment," Derpy started, tone level. "It's only got two things on it: Get Sunset's journal back and crush Anon-a Miss."
"I see," Octavia frowned, not expecting this shift in conversation.  "Any ideas on how you plan to do this?"
Derpy gave her a hallow smile.
"Well," she sighed. "After stopping to take a look at how Anon-a-Miss has been doing things until now, I've come to a simple conclusion."
"And that is?" Dust sighed, crossing her arms and leaning against a nearby wall.
"They're a coward," she said, her tone as cold as ice. "It's obvious that they have some sort of vendetta against Sunset and are willing to use the whole school as a weapon against her. That way they can get rid of her without getting their hands dirty. As clever a strategy as that may sound it all hinges on one thing; the whole school has to think it's Sunset using the account. And that's what's gonna do them in,"
That got a raised brow out of Octavia.
"How so love?"
Derpy's smile turned almost predatory as she moved yet another piece across the board, her opponent letting out a faint growl of irritation as she had her queen taken.
"Simple, the old Sunset didn't like it when people challenged her. Everyone in Canterlot High knows that. So what did the old Sunset do when someone tried to stand up to her?"
"I would try to take them down," Sunset sighed, the ever-present shame her past brought to her pressing down on her. 
A comforting gray hand rested on her orange one, apologetic smile gracing its owner's lips. Sunset nodded, a silent signal that she was okay and that Derpy should continue. Slightly conflicted, Derpy nodded her own understanding and returned her attention towards the conversation at hand.
"Exactly," Derpy continued. "And with such a public display of defiance, Anon-a-Miss will have to strike back as a means to keep their best lie going. This will make things pretty easy for us in some ways and a real pain in others."
"What do ya mean," Bonbon asked, finally joining the conversation.
"The open challenge will divide how everyone sees Sunset. The one's that still think she's guilty will keep their distance to keep her from thinking their us, while the others that think she's innocent will try to find out who the real snake is."
Vinyl looked up from the board to gawk at her opponent.
"So that's why you mentioned Sunset in the challenge message. You wanted to use everyone's doubt to make an intelligence network."
Derpy nodded, then moved one of her pieces on the board into position.
"It'll also reduce the chances that someone'll try to attack Sunset directly, but that also leads to a major problem. Using this trick prevents any of us from acting as open support for Sunset."
"What?!" Dust exclaimed, no longer in her casual position with hands tightly clenched into fists.
Derpy responded with a glare of her own.
"If we make it obvious that we're helping her, we run the risk of the real Anon-a-Miss figuring out who we really are and our network will get corrupted more then it needs to be."
"But," Derpy said, just as Dust was going to protest. "That doesn't mean we're going to leave her unprotected. Until we have a better way to protect her in the open, I want us to keep an eye on her at a normal enough distance. If it looks like someone's going to do something stupid, then we act. Otherwise, we need to try to gather as much info as possible from the social groups around campus to get a better idea of possible suspects. And once all of the pieces fall into place, we'll strike."
As she said that, she slid her queen into a place at the center of the board.
"Checkmate,"
Vinyl flinched, then looked down at the board in indignation, her gaze scanning it for any possible escape method for her king. All the while, her opponent dropped her serious aura and gave Sunset a warm smile.
"Maybe I'll be able to find out what happened to your journal while we're at it."
Sunset nervously nodded and gulped, yet again wondering where this Derpy was during her rein as the Queen B of Canterlot High. The thought that the grinning, normally friendly girl in front of her was such a social tactician was both terrifying and in a weird way endearing. It reminded Sunset of Celestia in some ways; a kind and gentle being that gives others hope and had more than enough power to destroy countless ponies with little to no effort. If Derpy wanted to, she could probably do to others what Anon-a-Miss was doing to Canterlot High with interest. Instead, she was using her skills to help Sunset get back on her feet when she had every reason to let her fall to her death. She gave her a place to stay, food to eat, and her friendship. But out of everything that the gray teen gave her, one thing outweighed and overpowered the rest of the gifts Derpy gave her. It was hope. The hope that justice would be served and that this whole thing would finally be over. That she could finally be happy again.
"Thanks Derpy," Sunset smiled as she fought back the happy tears that built at the corners of her eyes. "I'd really appreciate it."
"No prob Bob," she smiled before she turned to face the slightly annoyed DJ sitting across from her. "So what do ya say, best out of fifty?"
Vinyl stuck out her tongue.
> Ch.4 Lightning Strikes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was the usual organized chaos in Canterlot High's Elementary department. Kids from grades three to six intermingled as they made their way to their respective classrooms. Among the swarm that moved through the halls, three Fifth Grade girls gathered close to each other, voices just above a whisper and guard at the highest it could be.
"So," Scootaloo said, stress leaking pass her relaxed mask. "Any idea who MQ might be?"
Sweetie shook her head as she let a shaky sigh slip pass her lips.
"Aside from her being someone in the High School section of the campus and the obvious, I've got nothing."
"The obvious?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Like, she's really good with computers and has a bone to pick with us."
As she said that, she leveled a harsh glare at Scootaloo.
"What? How the heck was I supposed to know I was dealing with some super hacker?"
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle maintained their glares for a minute longer before they let out resigned sighs.
"Yeah, okay," Sweetie said, face palming. "We can't really blame you for that. Luckily, I think we're safe for the time being."
"REALLY!?" Sweetie's friends exclaimed.
"Yes," Sweetie hissed, frantic expression reminding her friends of their situation.
The two smiled sheepishly as they offered an apology.
"It's fine. Anyway, what I was trying to say was that since none of the posts Anon-a-Miss made had anything to do with kids from our own section, MQ probably won't think to look for us here. Meanwhile, we can keep an eye on the High Schoolers and see if any of them start acting strange around Sunset."
"That's gonna be hard," Bloom sighed. "Ever since Meme Queen put up that post, everybody's actin' weird around her."
"Yeah," Scootaloo sighed. "We should probably find a way to narrow the line-up a bit."
Sweetie nodded, as she put a hand up to her chin in thought.
"I guess the best place to start would be the computer clubs."
"That's a great idea," Apple Bloom smiled as they entered their classroom. "If she's so big on computers, then she has ta' be there!"
"Assuming she's one person," Scootaloo frowned.
Both her friends faces went pale as that prospect crossed their minds. It was a possibility, considering their own circumstances.
"Let's not assume anything until we have more facts to work with," Apple Bloom sighed as they took their seats. "And NO posts. The last thing we need is more gas gettin' dumped on th' fire."
Both girls nodded in agreement as their teacher stepped into the room, signaling the beginning of class.



***



Lightning Dust wasn't happy. The whole day, her thoughts kept drifting towards Sunset and her situation. As a result, every time someone so much as mentioned Anon-a-Miss a fresh wave of anger filled her. While a small part of her could understand it, it really boggled her mind that everyone could be so easily suckered by the blogger. Granted, before she went to the warehouse the fiery haired girl called home for god knew how long, she didn't have too many good things to say about her, but the whole Siren incident did paint Sunset in a better light in her eyes. So long as she didn't give her a reason to do otherwise, Lightning was more than happy to let Sunset's transgressions go. But things were different now. She saw the warehouse. She saw the half-dead way the girl carried herself. And while she may not agree with her on the matter, Sunset was now one of her friends. It was that fact alone that made Lightning's situation all the more frustrating as Derpy's words echoed in her head.
We can't openly help her.
"Fuck!" Lightning growled under her breath as she navigated the halls to get to her next class. 
"How are you doing, love?"
Lightning turned her head to the left and spotted a concerned Octavia.
"Terrific," she snapped. "Can't you tell? I'm just all sunshine and rainbows. Wait a few minutes and I'll start DANCING A FUCKING JIG DOWN THE HALL!!!"
Octavia flinched at the outburst, which forced her fuming companion to take a calming breath. It helped, but only slightly.
"Sorry," Lightning frowned. "I just can't stand not doing something, you know? I feel so helpless!"
"I understand that," Octavia said with a sad smile. "Trust me, we all want to do more for her, but we have to do this carefully. This isn't like the last few times we brought someone down. Back then we had a clear idea who our target was, but this time we're flying blind."
"I know that," she growled through clenched teeth. "I know that we can't just run through this blindly, but it still pisses me off!"
Lightning let out a frustrated growl and punched a small dent into a nearby locker they passed. Octavia let out a weary sigh.
"I knew you would be like this," she frowned. "Considering..."
"Yeah," Lightning grimaced. "But this is different. She's got people who actually give a crap about her."
With that, the two exchanged confident, yet tired smiles as they parted ways for their next classes. Two friends more then willing to be what their newest party member truly deserved.
I know at least one way I can back her up without making it obvious...



***



"You're doing what?!" Rainbow Dash gaped, her voice echoing through the now empty locker room.
"You heard me," Lightning growled. 
"B-But why? You're one of our best players!"
Lightning sighed. She knew this wasn't going to be easy, but as long as things stood the way they did, their was no way she could be a part of Dash's team. At least, not if she wanted to be able to look at herself in the mirror each morning. In addition, ever since Anon-a-Miss came around, the atmosphere around the soccer court became more toxic then the rest of the school. Infighting and pointless drama turned what was once one of the city's best teams into a pack of angry dogs ready to tare each other apart at a moments notice. Lightning had already left one such environment years ago, and was in no real hurry to return to that again if she could avoid it. Besides, she always liked track more then soccer anyway and this was as good an excuse to transfer as any.
"I've got my reasons," Lightning shrugged. "See ya around, I guess."
As she said that, she turned and walked away. Desperate to hide her anger, she shoved her trembling fists into her jacket pockets. A great deal of her rage was burnt out in the soccer field but a few flickering embers of it remained. It was the main reason she waited until after class to talk to Rainbow. If she hadn't, things would've ended with one girl keeping less teeth in their mouth at its conclusion. A fight wouldn't help Sunset. It wouldn't make all the damage Anon-a-Miss did to everyone go away. As much as knocking Rainbow Dash on her ass would brighten Lightning's day she wasn't eager to deal with the attention doing so would draw to herself. No. For Sunset's sake, she had to play nice.Of course, life seldom let things end peacefully.
"Sunset's behind this, isn't she?"
Lightning stopped.
The small embers of anger inside her started to reignite as she processed what her now former captain said.
She's got nothing to do with this," she growled, her anger barely kept from contaminating her tone.
Rainbow shook her head and sighed. Believing she was in the right, she crossed the gap between herself and Lightning Dust to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. This only served to feed her growing fury as she listened to the blue girl talk.
"Hey, don't worry. We'll find a way to stop her. Maybe the cops'll get her and she can finally get what's coming to her."
Lightning, back still turned towards Rainbow struggled to keep the growing inferno inside her contained. Her thoughts on the other girl's words did little to aid her.
What the hell did she know?! She's chasing after the WRONG FUCKNG PERSON! Calm down Lightning. Remember, she didn't see the warehouse. She doesn't know anything about Sunset's situation. That's no FUCKING EXCUSE!  She was her friend! She should've heard her out! But she didn't. SHE ALMOST KILLED HER!!!
Her body started to tremble with barely contained rage. This didn't go unnoticed by Rainbow, but she mistakenly identified it as fear. A miscalculation she would soon come to regret.
"Hey, c'mon, just tell me what dirt she has on ya and me and the girls will help ya get her off your back. I promise, once I find her I'll get her to leave you alone. One way or another."
Red. That was all Lighting could remember in between the moment she was facing away from Rainbow and her present  circumstances. She was now towering over a stunned soccer team Captain, her right fist sore from colliding with something. Fresh blood trickled from Rainbow's nose as she stared up at Lightning with wide eyes. Taking advantage of the girl's shock and the rage now fueling her body, she grabbed her by the collar of her shirt then pulled her to eye level. The glare she gave her could burn a hole through the sun as she looked into her victim's magenta orbs.
"Listen closely cuz I'm only gonna say this once," Lightning snarled. "If I ever hear you say anything like that about Sunset again, I'll beat you so far into the ground, you'll need a passport to get back up! YOU HEAR ME?!"
Stiffly, she nodded.
"Good," she sneered as she let the stunned girl fall to her knees. "See you around.
With that, she walked away, well aware of the possible consequences of her actions. But at that moment, she had absolutely no regrets. She also failed to notice a lone figure hidden in the shadows that witnessed the whole ordeal. A figure with purple hair and orange skin.



***



Sunset navigated the mostly empty halls, lost in thought as she ignored the looks she was getting. While Derpy's plan made it easier for her at school it made getting back home a bit more difficult. While she was in no hurry to go back to her old "home", she couldn't deny that it had its advantages. One being that it was harder for someone to tail her there without her being aware of it. Now that she was living with Derpy and her family, she would need to find a new set of routs to make it so her new friend couldn't be linked to her.
I guess I could take a look at the nearby streets and plan a rout from here,  she thought as she pulled out her phone.
Before she could activate her phone a light-green arm draped itself around her shoulders and pulled her into a friendly half-hug.
"Hey boss, how's it hanging?" Lightning grinned as she took in Sunset's stunned demeanor.
"Lightning Dust? What are you-"
"I'll explain later," she whispered. "Just play along for now."
Sunset gave her a subtle nod and still wrapped in Lightning's arm, the two stepped out of the school's main entrence. With a gentle nudge, Lightning guided Sunset towards the parking lot and a lime green camaro. Sunset stared in slack jawed  amazement as Lightning pulled away from her and pulled out her keys.
"Want a lift?" she smirked as she pressed the alarm button on the ignition key.
Sunset nodded dumbly as she staggered over to the sports car's front passenger seat and let herself in. Lightning let out an amused snort as she took her place behind the wheel. A minute later, the two were pulling out on the open road away from the school.
After a couple of minutes of silence, Lightning let out a sigh before saying,"I know you've got questions so shoot."
"Okay," Sunset nodded. "How about what happened to 'not openly supporting me'?"
"There's no point. With me anyways," she sighed as she made a turn.
"How come?"
"Well," Lightning cringed. "I may have decked Rainbow in the face after PE today."
A heavy silence filled the car for a moment as Sunset wrapped her head around that tidbit of information before she let out a loud "WHAT?!"
"It wasn't my fault!" Lightning exclaimed. "I was telling her that I was leaving the soccer team and then she started talking shit about you and I just snapped!"
Not willing to cause an accident, she pulled up to a nearby curve to park. Already she could feel her hands tremble as Rainbow's words ran through her head.
"She was talking about hurting you. Or something like that. I don't know. I really tried to do this peacefully but-"
"You lashed out. Just like you always do when anger controls you."
"SHUT UP!" she bellowed, hands covering the sides of her head as she willed the voice away. 
It was then that she remembered the girl in her passenger seat. Eyes wide, she slowly cast her gaze towards Sunset. She was met with eyes that held equal parts concern and fear as their owner placed a hand on Lightning's shoulder.
"Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah," she sighed as she shifted her attention towards the steering wheel. "Just some thing I've had to deal with for a few years. It's not that bad, I swear. Just something that happens when I get too worked up sometimes."
"What is?"
"The Voice," Lightning sighed before she rested her head on the wheel.
Sunset tilted her head in confusion as Lightning tried to organize her thoughts. This was going to take all of her remaining strength to bring to the table. Something that a day like today didn't leave her with much of to begin with.
"If your gonna be hanging with Derpy, I guess you should know. The rest of the gang knows, so why not?"
As she said that, she leaned back in her seat and stared at the car's ceiling, vision distant.
"When I get all worked up, I hear a voice in my head. Docs say it's some sort of minor case of schizophrenia brought on by extreme cases of stress. I've got meds to keep me balanced, but sometimes they aren't enough and it slips in."
Sunset was silent as she processed what she just heard, then asked, "And what does it say? The Voice I mean."
"Nothing I don't already know," she snorted. "It doesn't tell me to do stupid shit like kill myself or hurt others. It just takes my most recent fuck-up and rubs it in my face."
Sunset nodded as she let out an internal sigh of relief.
"You said you've dealt with it for years. Were you born like this or did something happen?"
Lightning chuckled.
"I wish I was born screwed-up. Might've made my life a bit easier. Or not."
Sunset frowned, then said, "What happened?"
Lightning glanced at her from the corner of her eye then looked back at the roof of her car and sighed through her nose.
"My folks weren't the nicest people in the world. No" she said, holding up a hand to stop Sunset from voicing the conclusion she knew was coming. "They didn't beat me or anything like that. Let's just say they were really competitive. Came with the territory I guess. Mom was an Olympic runner and dad was in the military before I was born so for them, winning was everything. And that meant I had to win at everything I did. And I mean everything. Classes. Sports. Life. Everything I was involved in was a competition to them, and I had to win. By any means necessary. If I didn't get an A in a class, I was failing. If I didn't get a better time then the rest of the class, I was slaking off. If I got in a fight and didn't put the other guy down, I was the one at fault. For a while, I was fine with the arrangement. How could I see it was wrong? It was how things had always been since I was five for fucks sake! But then things got real bad. My grades and times started backsliding by a ton. I think I was starting to burn out from all the pressure and do you know what they thought was a good idea? Drugs. They tried to get me on a steroid regiment to give me the "boost" I needed to get my grades back up. Can you believe that? Instead of maybe getting me a tutor or a trainer, they tried to shoot me up! Anyway, I knew things were bad at that point and before they could stick me, I got the fuck out of there and called my Grandpa. Shit really hit the fan at that point, but it was my folks who got the shaft this time."
With a sad sigh, she turned to face Sunset and was startled to see tears running down the other girl's face. It was those tears that gave her the strength she needed to continue.
"The worst part about all that was not having anybody to turn to. Aside form my Grandpa, nobody had my back and the thought that you were in the same boat was killing me! So from now on Sunset, I want you to know that no matter what happens, even if the whole school turns into a lynch mob, I've got your back."
With that Sunset threw her arms around Lightning Dust, a fresh set of tears rolling down her cheeks and dampening the girl's shirt. No, dampening her new friend's shirt.
> Ch.5 Decisive Play
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Derpy deadpanned the screen in front of her, the main focus of her ire being one of five live-chat windows on the display.
"Care to explain why I've got rumors that you're guarding Anon-a-Miss running through my intel network?"
Lightning gaped at her friend through her screen. 
Are you fucking kidding me? HOW?! No one else was in the locker room!
Stunned, she fished her phone out of her pocket and logged onto Mystable. After a few seconds she managed to make it to the Anon-a-Miss account page. Sure enough, there was a new post titled: Talk Shit About Me and My Dog Will Take You Out! Just beneath it was a muted video that showed the moment Lightning Dust punched and then held Rainbow up by her shirt collar. Her mind struggled to find the right reaction to what was shown to her for a moment before it settled on aggravated exhaustion.
"Alright," she growled. "You want to know what happened? Here you go."
Lightning sighed as she recounted the events that led to her attacking Rainbow Dash. Derpy's eyes widened in disbelief as the gravity of Sunset's situation hit home.
"No Fucking way," Vinyl growled from her chat window. "The next time I see Dash I'll knock her teeth out!"
"Easy love," Octavia said, tone cautious. "I'm sure Lightning's punch was more than enough to get the point across."
Bonbon and Lyra nodded in agreement from their respective screens.
The DJ let out an irate sigh then leaned back in her seat.
"Fine, but next time something like this happens I want first dibs."
"Let's hope there won't be a next time," Bonbon frowned.
Lyra was silent, but a visible shiver ran up the mint colored girls spine that was noticed by the rest of the Skype callers.
"You okay there, Magic Girl?" Vinyl asked, a thin layer of concern decorating her tone.
"Y-Yeah," she said, a shaky smile decorating her face. "Just didn't think The Voice would make a comeback."
"Tell me about it," Lightning sighed. "Just wish I could've told Sunset about it before I had a breakdown."
"Speaking of which," Bonbon frowned. "How is she?"
Lightning frowned as she looked at the couch to her left and the sleeping girl that occupied it. 
"She's good," she smiled as she shifted her attention back to the computer screen. "Passed out an hour ago after she did her homework. Turns out she's a real bookworm."
"Maybe she can help you bump up your math grade," Bonbon smirked.
"Shut up," Lightning chuckled. "A C's still passing Bony."
"She has a point," Lyra shrugged. "We can't all be Number Gods Bons."
Bonbon rolled her eyes, but otherwise ignored her friend's antics.
"Fine," Bonbon chuckled. "But seriously, what are we gonna do now?"
"What do ya mean?" Lightning asked.
"Well, now that you outed yourself, the whole school and Anon-a-Miss are gonna keep an eye on ya. Isn't that gonna make things harder for the rest of us?"
A thick silence filled the air as the six teens let that question hang. But that silence didn't last for very long. A light chuckle drew the attention of the whole chat towards the group's wall-eyed leader. They watched as her smirk and giggle turned into a broad grin combined with a matching stream of laughter.
"Uh, you okay there Derpster?" Lyra asked, slightly unnerved by her friend's behavior.
"Yes love, care to share," Octavia smiled awkwardly. "You're kind of scaring me."
"Ditto," Vinyl and Lightning said in unison while Bonbon merely nodded with an uneasy frown.
"S-Sorry," Derpy gasped as she managed to pull herself out of her laughing fit. "I just never thought Anon-a-Miss could make this so easy for us."
"HUH?!" the whole group said in unison.
"Well," Derpy continued. "Not only did they make it so at least one of us can protect Sunset directly, they also made it easier for us to narrow down possible suspects."
Everyone gaped at the beaming teen. Lightning Dust was the first to recover.
"How?" she asked, eager to take any kind of good news she could get in regards to her new friend's situation. 
"From what you told us," Derpy grinned. "You and Rainbow Dash were the only ones in the locker room at the time, right?"
Lightning nodded, eager for the other girl to cut to the chase.
"That means that Anon-a-Miss has to be someone who has access to the girl's locker room. That fact alone takes half the student body off of the suspect list. They also have to be someone who's been there so many times that no one would give them a second thought if they showed up?"
"How come?" Bonbon asked.
"Coach Spitfire," Derpy and Lightning said in unison.
The rest of the girls raised a brow, confused.
Lightning let out an annoyed groan then said, "Right, none of you guys have sixth period PE. Basically, Spits is a real stickler for gym rules. Normally, you can only get into the gym if you're one of her students and anyone who tries to get past her without permission gets a week's detention. You don't even want to know what happens to repeat offenders."
"Ouch," Vinyl cringed. "Glad I never tried to visit."
"Anyway," Lightning continued. "She'll make exceptions for people related to her students or anyone who can get on her good side."
"So then, that means Anon-a-Miss is someone on that list?" Lyra asked, a grin creeping onto her lips.
"If not her directly then someone linked to her," Derpy smirked. "It's a huge step in the right direction at the very least."
Everyone let out various cheers as Derpy's revelation washed over them. Among them, Lightning smiled the widest at the news presented. Not only did her actions give them more options, but it also helped them move closer to bringing this to an end in a big way. It took everything in her power not to run over to the couch to wake Sunset to tell her the good news.
"Anyway," Derpy yawned. "It's getting pretty late. Unless theres anything else we need to talk about, I need to get some shuteye."
"Nah, I'm good," Lyra chuckled. 
"Same," Bonbon yawned. "Though I think I'm gonna need to do some things after school tomorrow."
"Ditto," vinyl frowned.
"I concur," Octavia sighed. "In light of current developments, I feel I may need to burn a few bridges as it were."
"Right," Lightning chuckled. "Talk to you all later."
With that, the chat windows blinked out of existence until only Lyra and Lightning's windows were the only ones active. Lightning was about to deactivate hers but stopped when Lyra let out a shout.
"Hey, think maybe you and Sunset can stop by my place tomorrow after school?"
Lightning blinked, then said "I don't know. It all depends on her. Why?"
"Well," Lyra giggled awkwardly. "Since she's going to be a part of our group and all, I thought we could have a little fun for a while. You know, help her get her mind off things for a while."
Lightning thought about it for a moment, then said, "I'll try, but I make absolutely no promises."
"That's fine," Lyra smiled with a sigh.
"Hey," Lighting snapped. "Don't get all mopey on me. I said I'd see what I can do. Just promise me that if she says yes that you'll dial back your craziness a bit. The girl's been through enough as it is!"
"I'll try," Lyra smiled.
"I guess thats all I can ask," she groaned. "Anyway, see ya when I see ya."
"Yeah!"
With that, the two logged out at almost the same time. As Lightning closed her laptop, she couldn't help but glance at her sleeping guest. Even knowing her situation, it disturbed her how quickly Sunset accepted her current arrangement. While the one bedroom apartment her Grandfather payed for wasn't the greatest place in the world, she kept it in pretty good shape. The place was in a relatively safe neighborhood as well, with the only real crime being the occasional shoplifter or lawn thief. Though if one were to compare her simple home to Derpy's, she was practically living in a slum. But Sunset treated the place like it was a sacred temple and the faux leather sofa like the softest feather bed in the world. The second Lightning gave her a blanket, Sunset looked like she was in heaven until she finally fell asleep watching TV. It broke her heart to see how such simple luxuries seemed like precious gold to her friend. That all should've been things she was supposed to take for granted.  But to Sunset, they were sacred treasures that she had to enjoy while she could. With a sad smile, she placed a hand on her sleeping friend's shoulder.
One way or another, she was going to help her get through this.



***



"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"
Scootaloo cringed away from her phone as Sweetie's voice blasted out of it. 
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she whined as the ringing in her ears started to fade.
"YOUR SORRY?! YOU THINK THAT'S GOING TO MAKE THINGS BETTER?!"
Scootaloo groaned as she set her phone to speaker mode to spare her ears. She saw this coming when she posted the video, but that did little to prepare her for Sweetie Belle's verbal assault. 
"Yah really dug a hole this time," Applebloom sighed through the phone.
"What did ya expect me to do!" she exclaimed. "She hit Rainbow Dash!"
Two sighs could be heard from the two lines. While they couldn't really blame their friend, it didn't make their decision any easier.
"Look Scoots," Applebloom sighed. "We get why you did it. Heck! If something like that happened to AJ, I'd probably do the same thing if I got the chance. But we can't afford to be reckless with the account anymore."
"So," Sweetie continued. "As of right now, we're changing the account's password."
"What?!" Scootaloo yelled, jumping to her feet.
"We can't trust ya with access to the account anymore," Applebloom said, tone somber. "With Meme Queen running around, every move we make with it could be life or death for us."
For a moment, the sporty girl was a silent torrent of emotions. Anger, shock, sadness, and many more feelings whirled through her core as she struggled to accept what her friends had told her. Eventually, she took a deep breath to calm the storm inside her until a strange mix of sadness and resolve took its place.
"Okay," she sighed, tone hollow. "I get it."
"It's not a total cut-off," Sweetie amended as she picked up on her friend's tone. "You'll just have to let us know when stuff like this happens."
"Yeah, sure," Scootaloo sighed. "Anyway, can we talk about this tomorrow? It's getting kind'a late."
"Yeah, ah think we can do that," Applebloom yawned. "Might be easier ta' figure out what all that was about after a bit  of shut-eye."
Sweetie let out an affirmative grunt from her end.
"Yeah, night Scootaloo, Applebloom."
"G'night."
"See ya."
With that, the phone let out a soft click, signaling the end of the call. With a groan, Scootaloo picked up her phone off of her bed, hooked it up to its charger on her bedside desk, then tuned off the light. As she walked back to her bed, her body felt like a bolder was dropped on her back. All of the stress from the whole ordeal today really weighed on her. But what really added to her anxieties was what she witnessed in the locker rooms. She could see it in her mentor's eyes, hear it in her voice; she wanted to hurt Sunset.
The memories of what happened today sent a chill down her spine. As such, only one thought crossed her mind as she threw herself on the bed.
Hopefully, Lightning Dust can keep her safe.
And with that, Scootaloo's mind faded into the land of dreams.



***



Sunset navigated the school hallways with a little more pep in her step than she had in days. While this was partially due to getting a full nights sleep in an actual warm bed for the second time in a row, the bulk of her joy came from the green girl walking at her side. After she was abandoned by her former friends, Sunset had accepted the hand fate had dealt her and let herself fall back into a life of loneliness. That was, until she was pushed to her breaking point and added a new regret to the long list she already had in her mind. But now she had Lightning Dust at her side, a friend that was willing to put her reputation, and maybe even more, on the line just to keep her safe. While she hoped that it wouldn't be tested, Sunset was more than happy to have such a loyal friend in her life.
"So," Lightning sighed as she threw an arm across Sunset's shoulders. "Where's your next class?"
"Just up ahead," Sunset smiled. 
"No. I mean the next class," she sighed, giving a staring student a death glare. "The only class we share is third period History. Need to make sure you get to the other ones safely."
It unnerved her a little how serious Lightning was taking her new role as her open protector, but after she got the whole story about what happened with Rainbow in the girl's locker room, it was greatly appreciated. To say Sunset was shocked was an understatement, though it did make one thing crystal clear; they were not friends anymore. In fact, they probably never were friends to begin with. And they never would be.
"Room 204," Sunset whispered.
Lightning winced.
"Miss Harshwhinny? Wow, that sucks."
Sunset giggled.
"Oh come on, she's not that bad."
"She teaches Honers Physics and gives enough homework to build a house bigger than my apartment," Lightning deadpanned. "Hence the nickname 'Math Devil'".
"She's always been nice to me," Sunset shrugged.
"Only cuz you eat math for breakfast with a mug of genius each morning," she smirked. 
"Whatever," Sunset smiled.
As she closed in on her first period class, she couldn't help but marvel at how good it felt to laugh again. Just the simple act of interacting with another living being just seemed to fill her with new life in these trying times. Even while she felt like she was under constant observation by her fellow students, just these small moments gave her a small semblance of normalcy that she thought Anon-a-Miss took from her. It was a breath of fresh air that she desperately needed to heal.
As she was about to step into her first class, Lightning tapped her on the shoulder.
"Hey, so, what do you think about Lyra's offer?" she whispered.
Sunset frowned.
"Tell her... I'll think about it."
Lightning nodded with an understanding smile and headed off to her own class. All the while, the fiery haired teen mulled over the mint colored girl's offer. Carefully, she weighed the pros and cons such a proposal presented to her and wondered if it was really even worth the few risks she could find as she texted her class schedule to Lightning.



***



What do you mean you're canceling your gigs with me?! Pinkie typed, hands shaking as they clutched her phone.
About an hour after she came home form the roughest school day she had in years she received a message from her favorite DJ informing her that she no longer wanted to work with her.
Her phone vibrated and Pinkie gawked as she stared at her phone.
Just that. I don't want to have anything to do with you're parties. I think Cheese could give me a WAY less toxic rep than you.
Struggling to find the words needed to describe what she was feeling, Pinkie frantically typed a response, desperate to find a way to salvage this situation. While Pinkie's parties were massively popular she knew that a large percentage of their appeal came from Vinyl's reputation. The young DJ could turn a great party into a fantastic one with her wild beats and amazing charisma. The second she got her hands on a turn table, it was as if she filled the room with magic and you couldn't help but let it take you away form all of your problems.
Is it because of what Sunset's posted lately? Don't worry! I'm sure Meme Queen can bust her and that big meanie pants can get what she deserves!
She waited a few minutes and was shocked when instead of a text, she got a call. With a relieved sigh, she accepted the call and put the phone up to her ear.
"Yeah?"
"Listen," Vinyl growled. "If you say anything like that to me again, I swear I'll PUNCH YOUR FACE IN THE NEXT TIME I SEE YOU!!! DO YOU HEAR ME?!"
Pinkie flinched  away when Vinyl's voice roared out of her phone's speaker.
"Y-Yes," she squeaked. "B-But I-"
"Good!" Vinyl snapped. "Now do me a favor and FUCK OFF!"
With that, the call ended leaving a silent room with a trembling Pinkie Pie standing in the center. It took everything she had not to breakdown in tears.



***



"Excuse me?!" Rarity exclaimed, voice echoing through the now empty boutique.
"Did you not hear me?" Octavia asked, tone neutral and arms crossed. "I would like to cancel all of my orders."
Rarity shook off her shock then immediately shifted to damage control. Of all of her clients, The Melodies were her biggest and most influential of them all. Not even The Riches could hold a candle to the prestige Octavia's family could give Rarity's business. In addition, the girl was one of the few clients the budding fashion designer had formed a kind of bond with. Not quite a friendship, but she was very hopeful that with enough time that would change.
"I see," she said, anxiety hidden behind a polite smile. "Any particular reason?"
Octavia's calm mask cracked slightly as a trace of a glare bore into Rarity.
"Does a lady need a reason, or is a simple change of heart not good enough?"
Rarity flinched at the barely contained rage in her client's features and venomous tone. While she knew the girl was capable of it, she had never seen Octavia angry before. Something that she considered a blessing as she took in her soon to be former client's visibly restrained display. 
"O-Of course," she said, a nervous chuckle slipping pass her lips. "I was merely curious."
Octavia sighed and with slightly less aggression held in her features said, "To be honest, recent events have lead me to question the character of this establishment. As such love, I feel it is for the best that I sever such a questionable tie from my family's name. I'm sure you understand dear. It's nothing personal, I am simply doing what I think is best for my lineage."
Every word that left Octavia's mouth was like a dagger to the heart to the now stunned designer. While a small part of her was relived that no apparent malice guided the musician's actions, it still crushed her to hear that her name had been damaged to such a degree that it would've caused harm to Octavia's social standing by mere association. Trembling slightly, Rarity struggled to find her voice as she tried to continue the conversation.
"Y-Yes darling, completely understandable. But if I'd be so bold, where will you be sending your business if not with me and my family?"
"Hard to say," Octavia sighed. "It will take some time to find someone with your skills, but I think I can manage. I have heard rumors of a talented seamstress in Canterlot City's southern district. I believe she went by Polomare or something to that effect. Anyway, have a good day Rarity. Hopefully the next time we meet it will be under better circumstances."
With that, she turned and exited the building, leaving a stunned Rarity to fall to her knees as all the strength seemed to drain out of them.



***



Sweetie Drops was one of the biggest candy shops in the city. Unlike most shops like it, all of the products are hand made by the owner and her family using methods and recipes passed town from generations of confectioners. In many ways, this made it the candy equivalent of the Apple family. A fact that lead to the two forming a kind of alliance of sorts where one would supply ingredients to the other in exchange for advertising and distribution. It was for this precise reason that the atmosphere in the titular candy store was so tense as the heiresses of the two families clashed.
"What the sam hill are ya talking about!?" Applejack gaped. "Our apples are just as good as they've always bin!" 
Bonbon raised a brow at the apple farmer.
"Really, then mom and I must be pretty stupid, cuz they taste way too bitter for us to use to make our caramel apples. In fact I think most of them are too rotten for us to use for much of anything."
"B-But what do you expect us to ta to with ten crates of sold apples? They ain't something we can just resell!" Applejack exclaimed desperate.
Bonbon shrugged from her position behind the cashier's counter.
"Beats me. Maybe you can use them all for fertilizer. Honestly, I could care less. Regardless, Sweetie Drops prides itself on making the best quality candy in the city and we can't do that with subpar ingredients. That said, you have ten days to pick up the crates before we make arrangements to have them disposed of. We will also be expecting a full refund for all apples not used as part of our family's agreement in regards to customer satisfaction no more than a day after the removal of the defective product. We also will not be accepting anymore products from Sweet Apple Acres until you can prove to us that you can provide us with quality ingredients again."
Applejack was floored. Granted, this wasn't the first time someone talked ill of her family's main crop, but for one bad bushel of apples to do this much damage to such a loyal business partnership was a huge pill to swallow. Desperate, she racked her brain to find a way to turn this around. While they had Barnyard Bargains as a powerful business ally, Sweetie Drops helped bring attention to the farms baked goods and more experimental ventures such as their apple jam. But now, not only did the farm stand to lose its biggest form of advertising, they now owed said sponsor a considerable amount of money. 
"T-There's nothing ah can say that can change this, is there?" Applejack asked, fear gripping her heart.
"No," Bonbon said, tone as cold as ice and face equally readable. "There isn't."
With that, Applejack slumped her shoulders in defeat then said, "Ah get it. Ah'll send word to the farm and make the arrangements to get the apples out of here. No point lettin' them go to waste, right?"
"Right," Bonbon said, giving the cowgirl a sympathetic smile. "And thanks for being such a good sport about this whole thing."
Applejack nodded and with the shadow of her hat hiding her face, turned and left the store. As soon as she left, Bonbon's smile turned into a triumphant smirk as she stepped away from the counter and into the store's back room. There, she found her mother standing not too far from the door dividing the two sections of the store, a big grin plastered across her face. The two looked almost identical with the only main differences between them being the obvious age gap and that while Bonbon had a more beige tone to her skin, her mother was more of a light gray with spirals of white decorating her pink and blue curls. 
As Bonbon got close to her she asked, "You enjoyed that, didn't you?"
Bonbon's grin grew slightly.
"More than you know."
Sweetie Drops' smile rivaled her daughter's as she threw her arms around her in a proud hug and said, "Let Sunset know that the next time she comes here, there's a bag of sweets waiting for her."
Bonbon smiled and said, "I will mom. I will."



***



"I can't believe I'm doing this," Sunset sighed from the passenger seat.
"Aw c'mon, it won't be that bad," Lightning chuckled as she drove through the busy city streets. "Lyra's a pretty cool girl once you get to know her."
Sunset let out a sigh as she stared out the passenger window. After she gave it some thought, she decided that it wouldn't be so bad to at least try to be friends with the rest of Derpy's group. And when she considered how well things turned out with Lightning Dust, she didn't see the harm in giving Lyra a chance. It also brought Bonbon's proposal to mind, but she decided to shelve her thoughts on that matter for another day. For now, she had to deal with a mint green girl who wanted to "Prove the existence of the fantastical." Assuming she didn't turn into some lab experiment, this could be a very interesting day.
"If you say so," Sunset groaned. "But if she does anything weird to me, I can't be held responsible for what happens."
"Deal," Lightning smirked.
After a few minutes of silence, the two pulled into the driveway of a two-story condo. Standing by the door to greet them was none other then the infamous Lyra herself, a shy smile decorating her face. The second Lightning killed the engine, the two girls stepped out of the vehicle and stepped towards their hostess. 
"Hey Ly," Lightning smiled as she approached the girl.
Lyra frowned.
"You know I hate it when you call me that."
"Yep," she said, smile turning slightly sinister. "Your point?"
Lyra shrugged, her own confident smirk creeping across her face.
"None really. Though I could always let Sunset know your team nickname if you want."
"I'll-be-good!" she said stiffly, body turned tense.
The sound of someone clearing their throat snapped the two girls out of their verbal sparing match and reminded them of why they were here in the first place.
"Right," Lyra laughed awkwardly. "Shall we?"
With that, she held open the door for her two guests as they stepped pass her into the house. Lyra's house was surprisingly plain for someone so eccentric. Simple white walls and the standard furnishings one would normally find in a house. It was such a drastic difference from her host that Sunset couldn't help but feel a little unnerved. When they got to Lyra's room, Sunset felt a little more at ease. The door was painted white like all the others she saw, but it was decorated with posters and stickers of various mystical creatures. Some of them were easily recognizable to Sunset as dragons and griffins while others were a little more obscure and bizarre. 
Lyra turned towards her two guests with an sheepish smile and said, "Sorry if the place is a little messy. I didn't really give myself a chance to clean up."
With that, she opened the door. What caught Sunset's attention was the sheer volume of fantasy world paraphernalia that filled the room. Posters of all kinds of strange creatures covered the walls to such a degree that Sunset had to actively try to find a gap to see the white paint. In addition to a bed and dresser, three bookshelves loaded with various figurines and tall stacks of what looked like cards lined the far wall opposite the door. A coffee table stood about two feet away from the bed with a dragon-covered table cloth decorating it. HIdden away in a corner of the room hung a twenty inch flatscreen TV with no less then three game consuls hooked up to it from below.
The three girls walked in and took a seat at the coffee table on the floor. Lyra seemed a little anxious while Lightning's body language told anyone who payed any attention she was quickly starting to grow bored. Sunset, meanwhile, was taking in her new surroundings with growing intrigue as she took note of each of the exotic creatures on display around her.
"So Ly, what's on the schedule tonight?"
"Well," Lyra nervously giggled. "To be honest, I didn't think I'd get this far, so I thought I'd just wing it and see how things go."
Lightning groaned.
"Really Ly? I mean, yeah I'm okay with hanging out and stuff, but I don't know if Sunset's cool with just sitting around all night, right Sunset?"
When she didn't get a response, she looked and spotted the girl in question not sitting next to her but instead standing in front of one of Lyra's bookshelves.
"You okay there Sunset?" Lightning asked, making the girl flinch.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, setting something back on the shelf. 
This didn't go unnoticed by the mint teen, and a small grin decorated her face.
"Their called Magic cards by the way."
Sunset stared at her, brow rased in confusion.
"The cards you were checking out just now."
"Oh," Sunset said, a trace of interest in her tone.
"If you want, I could teach you how to play."
"Are you kidding me," Lightning groaned. "I remember the last time you tried to teach me to play. It took forever to build a deck let alone play the damn game."
"That's just cuz you didn't get the rules," Lyra huffed. "Besides, I have a few pre-made decks just incase something like this happens. So what do ya say Sunset?"
After a moment of thought, she decided to give it a shot. If nothing else, the artwork on the cards looked interesting and it wouldn't hurt to at least try her host's hobby.	
"Sure, why not?"
Lyra practically glowed with joy as she jumped to her feet while Lightning sighed in defeat.
This was going to be a long night, she thought as she pulled out her phone.
With a few light skips, Lyra made it to her closet and slid the door open to reveal a clear plastic dresser. She quickly pulled one of its shelves open to reveal dozens of multicolored rectangular boxes about the size of a soda can. Frantically, she trailed a finger across them all the while muttering, "Where is it? Where is it? I know its in here somewhere." 
After a few minutes, she let out a happy, "Ah hah!" and pulled out two of the small containers, one purple and the other white.
"Alright! lets get to the table and we can get this thing started," she cheered.
Once they got to the table, Lyra explained the rules of the game and how to use the cards. Once Sunset assured her that she understood, the game was on. At first, nothing really spectacular happened as the two players slowly set their fields with land cards, but as soon as Sunset summoned her first wizard, things took off. It wasn't long after that that Lyra summoned her first knight and then the two girls began performing combos to get an edge over each other.  Both made this an incredibly close match with Lyra's knights and solders fighting as a unit and Sunset's wizards holding a strong presence on the field and granting her more spell utility. The match was so close, even Lightning was pulled away from her phone with baited breath as she watched the proverbial tug-o-war that the game had turned into. Eventually, the two players were down to the last sliver of their life, with Sunset holding onto a measly 2 life while Lyra held 6.
"Looks like this is the end," Lyra smiled as she looked at her as she eyed her solitary creature. "I send my Pegasus Courser to attack you. And since none of your creatures can fly, you can't block me. Plus, I activate Adamant Will to turn him into a 3/5 with Indestructible. Game over!"
"Not quite," Sunset smirked as she tapped four of her own land cards. "I cast Blink of an Eye. Pegasus Courser goes back to your hand and since I payed the kicker cost, I get a free draw."
Lyra gawked at her opponent as she took in what happened, then returned her card to her had as Sunset drew from the top of her deck.
"Nice," Lyra smirked then tapped her remaining land to resummon her Pegasus Courser. "That's all I've got this turn, all yours."
"Thanks," Sunset smirked, as she drew a card from her deck. "Now its really time to end this."
Lyra raised a brow at that.
"Uh, Sunset, none of your creatures are strong enough to kill me this turn, even if I don't block with PC."
"Who said I was going to attack?"
With that said, she tapped all of her remaining land and with the biggest smile ever slapped a card onto the table.
"I cast Fight With Fire, and since I payed the kicker cost, I can deal ten damage distributed as I want among any targets on the board. I win!"
The room was silent as everyone processed what happened. Then, a light snicker filled the air and in a matter of seconds Lyra fell into a massive laughing fit as she fell onto her back.
"T-That was the greatest match I've had in a long time," she said, pulling herself back into a sitting position and wiping happy tears from her eyes. "You sure you've never played before? You're a freaking natural!"
"Thanks," Sunset smiled, a laugh slipping past her lips. "That was a lot of fun Lyra. I don't think I've ever played anything so intense before."
"No kidding," she said, her smile suddenly more sad. "I really owe a lot to this game."
"Huh?"
"Uh, don't worry about it," Lyra blushed a slightly forced smile replacing her glum one as she turned toward Lightning.
"Hey, what time is it?"
Lightning looked at her phone and her jaw dropped.
"Shit! It's already seven-thirty! We need to go or Derpy's gonna kill me!"
Quickly, the two girls scrambled to get all their cards together to put them back into their respective deck boxes, but when Sunset handed hers back to Lyra, she shook her head and pushed it back towards the fiery haired teen.
"Keep them," she smiled.
"But-"
"I can always build another one if I ever get the urge and besides, I built it with you in mind to begin with. Think of it as an early Christmas gift from one Planeswalker to another."
Speechless, Sunset took the small purple deck box, and help it in a gentle embrace, happy tears leaking down her cheeks.
"Thanks Lyra."
"No prob, Sunset" she smirked.



***



A soft clicking filled the air as a lone teen sat, her computer the only source of light in the dark room. In its light her yellow skin and pink hair showed her stress as her teal eyes scanned the screen before her.. Sitting open on her desk by her keyboard was an almost ignored faux leather bound journal filled with entries written with two different styles of penmanship.
"Don't worry Sunset," Fluttershy muttered to herself as she examined yet another old post. "I'll prove to everyone that you're not behind this. I swear."
> Ch.6 The Seventh Savior
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The halls of Canterlot High were silent as a tomb, the sun just barely rising past the horizon. Aside from the Janitorial staff, only a small handful of people were dedicated or insane enough to come to work at such an unholy hour. Principle Celestia and Vice Principle Luna were two such individuals, though to say they had been sleeping lately would be the biggest lie ever told. The two worked tirelessly to deal with the new plague that had infested their school, but every time they seemed to be making any progress, a new rumor or update to that accursed blog would drop them all the way back to square one. Contacting the people running the sight didn't do any good, as they weren't able to act unless something illegal was posted. As it turned out, spreading small rumors wasn't bad enough for them to get involved, no matter how much they personally wanted to. Until then, it was all up to the two of them to keep the school from tearing itself apart. In addition, Blueblood was doing everything he could to work the courts in their favor, but the progress was slow going. 
I just don't know what went wrong, Celestia thought with a long sigh as she stared at her computer's monitor. In less than a week, the whole school has become a war zone! How could one blogger cause so much damage?
A knock at the door dragged Celestia's attention away from her computer.
"Come in," she sighed wearily. 
The door opened and when she saw who walked in, all the blood in her veins turned to ice. Standing before her was a towering man in a light-grey suit that added an extra layer of definition to his pale-blue skin and eyes. His short white hair was styled into a manner that could only be described as professional. The man's cold expression hid his impressions of his surroundings behind a mask of indifferent professionalism as he stared at the scared Principal.
"Good morning Principal Celestia," the man said as he stepped closer to her desk.
"G-Good morning, Windago Slate," she said, throat suddenly dry. "To what do I owe this visit."
"Business I'm afraid," he sighed as he reached into his suit pocket. 
In one fluid motion, he drew a small folded piece of paper and placed it onto the desk. Celestia stared at the folded paper as if it was a coiled cobra. Windago Slate is an investigator for counseling cases that his sister took on. His job was simple; confirm if his sister's client was in her line of work's main focus, and just how bad their condition was. While this was a noble venture between the siblings, there was a single fact that made the Principal uneasy. They focused on cases centered around failed suicide attempts. The last time she received a visit from the aged man before her, she was informed of her sister's failed attempt. Those were the most heart-wrenching three years of her life. She helped Luna heal and while they were now closer, it was still something that never should've happened. Now, it would seem, that time had repeated itself. But instead of her beloved sister, another poor soul had tried to end their life.
With trembling hands, she took the paper and unfolded it. As she read the words printed across it, her fear shifted to confusion.
"You want access to the student records room?"
He nodded.
"My sister's newest client is a student of this school. Normally, I would investigate more open networks of information, but for some reason, no such information exists. It is as if she simply emerged from the aether."
Celestia's heart sank at that. A theory formed as to who Windago may have been investigating, but she refused to acknowledge it until she had more information.
"I see. Any idea who she might be?"
Windago's eyes narrowed slightly as he responded with a cold "No. The client requested that they remained unknown to anyone not related to the case."
"I understand," Celestia sighed. "I hope your sister's client will have a speedy recovery."
"Likewise," he intoned, a faint trace of a smile decorating his ancient features. "Good day Principal."
With that, he turned to leave, but just as his hand touched the doorknob, the Principal said something that made him pause.
"Please help Sunset recover."
After a brief pause, he glanced over his shoulder and answered, "I don't know any 'Sunset', but if she ever makes it to my sister's office, we will do everything we can to help her."
With that, the man made his exit, the empty hallways echoing with his steps as he went on his way.



***



"So," Scootaloo whispered as she kept an eye out for eavesdroppers. "Have you found out anything yet?"
"No," Sweetie Belle sighed as she skimmed through her phone. "None of the leads I found were close to the kind of things Meme Queen can do."
Applebloom let out a frustrated groan as she glanced at the empty classroom. The three decided to meet-up for class early to compare information. Unfortunately, there wasn't very much to discuss. The only thing they managed to determine was that Meme Queen wasn't someone from the Elementary Department or any of the Computer Clubs. This was thanks to Sweetie Belle's own hacking skills and Scootaloo's careful observation of the students in the club rooms. Meanwhile, Applebloom investigated Lightning Dust as a possible lead, but turned up nothing beyond the fact that she was completely convinced that Sunset was innocent. 
"Ya'll think maybe Lightning's the one after all?" Applebloom said as she laid her head down on her desk.
"Not likely," Sweetie sighed as she set her phone down on her desk. "Lightning Dust isn't all that good with computers, right Scootaloo?"
Scootaloo nodded.
"Yeah. Before all this started, I remember Rainbow saying something about how Lightning needed her help just to change her phone's wallpaper. There's no way she's Meme Queen."
"That's good ta' hear," Applebloom sighed as she sat back in her seat. "Given her reputation, I'd hate to see what she'd do to us if she was!"
The three girls trembled, as rumors and pictures of Lightning's infamous fights came to mind. One especially brutal fight from the girl's Junior High years came to mind. Even now, Gilda walked with a limp, even though her legs were completely fine. A scar the retired bully would have to live with for the rest of her life. Of course, Gilda's parents tried to go to court, but given their daughter's reputation and all the evidence that favored Lightning's case as self-defense, the sporty girl got off with community service while Gilda was given a chance to rethink her life. It also didn't hurt that the former bully was given mandatory counseling sessions as an alternative to going to a Juvenal Detention Facility.
"Hey, I heard there was some mess down at Sweetie Drops yesterday," Scootaloo said, eyeing Applebloom. "Are things okay?"
Applebloom flinched, then responded with a nod.
"Apparently Miss Drops wasn't happy with her shipment o' apples this month and demanded a refund. Somethin' about how they didn't taste right. Ah heard she had her daughter give AJ the bad news. She was even gonna go so far as ta' sever ties with our farm for a while."
Sweetie and Scootaloo gasped.
"She wanted to break away from the Apple Family!?" Sweetie exclaimed.
Applebloom shook her head.
"Nah, just Sweet Apple Acres. Luckily, Granny was able to work something out with Miss Drops and she'd only get a refund for the crates that hadn't been opened while the rest 'll be used for mulch. She also agreed to lift the boycott once February comes around, but only if Big Mac or anyone other then AJ makes the delivery."
"Well, that's weird," Scootaloo frowned. "What's Miss Drops got against Applejack?"
Applebloom shrugged.
"You think that's bad?" Sweetie sighed." Yesterday, my big sis lost her biggest client."
"How'd she manage that?" Applebloom asked.
"No one knows! She just walked in yesterday and decided to cancel all her orders! She even said she would go to Seri instead. Can you believe it? SERI OF ALL PEOPLE!"
"Wasn't she the one who stole someone's designs to beat your sister in a fashion contest?" Scootaloo asked as Applebloom tried to get Sweetie to calm down.
"YES!"
"Ouch," she cringed.
After they managed to get their well dressed friend to calm down, the three girls lapsed into quiet contemplation. As it stood, none of them had any way to find Meme Queen before she found them. As a result, they were constantly on guard of every interaction they had with any of the high schoolers, especially when it came to their sisters. The stress of trying to keep their collective secret from them was an olympic ordeal even before they were targeted, but now it took everything they had not to run out the door screaming the second they saw their family. It was especially difficult for Applebloom, as her older sibling had a real knack for spotting lies. In more ways then one, it was a miracle that she was able to fool her for so long. But how long could they keep up the charade?
"I guess we have no choice," Sweetie sighed, drawing the eyes of her two friends. "We need more information. More information then we can get with our flimsy resources."
They nodded, unsure of where this conversation was leading.
"So...let's get some better ones."
With that, she turned on her phone and showed it to them. Applebloom and Scootaloo gaped at what they saw and what it meant. Sweetie frowned as she turned off the screen before she put her phone away.
"Let's meet at my room after school today," Sweetie said, face unreadable. "It's time for plan B."



***



The atmosphere in the classroom was so thick, it could be cut with a chainsaw as its inhabitants tried to focus on the teacher's lesson. In the back corner of the room, one student was barely paying attention to what was being covered. Instead, her focus was on a list of names in her notebook sitting on her desk. Fluttershy sighed as she gave the list a weary once-over for what felt like the fortieth time. While it was an impressive collection of fifty, all but a small handful of them had lines drawn through them, her friends among them. Again, she found herself trying to find some kind of link between the names, but none of the few links she could see made any sense. 
As she let out another frustrated sigh, her gaze drifted towards her backpack, and the leather-bound journal inside. Thoughts of the night that it came into her possession moved to the forefront of her mind for not the first time in the past six days. When Fluttershy saw the dead look in Sunset's eyes as she left, it stirred something in her, something that made her start to rethink this whole situation she found herself  and her friends in. It was also this very same thing that lead to her taking the journal that Sunset left behind. For the first two days after sheltering the book, Fluttershy waged an internal war with herself. One half of her refused to believe that Sunset was innocent while the other half was in league with the strange feeling that something wasn't right. By the third day, Fluttershy found herself drawn to the journal by the strange feeling, as if the answer to what she had to do next was somehow contained within its pages. Naturally she resisted, whether it was because of fear or stubbornness was a mystery to her at the time, but eventually the urge became too strong. Justifying it as a form of revenge for violating their trust, Fluttershy opened the journal. At first she didn't see anything too unusual, just some simple back and forth messages between Sunset and Princess Twilight, but when she skimmed to the more recent entries, things took a drastic turn. Not known to most, Sunset had a very particular way of writing. In fact, she was almost fanatical when it came to her penmanship. Apparently, it was a tick she developed and hung onto from when she lived in Equestria due to everything being written with permanent implements such as quills. As a result, she took special care to keep her writing in the same formal cursive she used in her native land. But in the later entries, the writing was shaky and unfocused, like her hands were trembling. Something that also caught her attention were the dried stains on the pages. Much like the condition of Sunset's words, the water damage to the pages was barely noticeable at first, but as she closed in on the last entry in the book, the pages were almost dominated by them. By the time she made it to the last entry, it was covered with what Fluttershy quickly noted as tear-stains and Sunset's beautiful calligraphy was replaced with sloppy chicken scratches. Princess Twilight's writing was the only thing that held any kind of consistent grace as it told her about having trust in her friends and to believe in family. Those words hit Fluttershy like a punch to the gut, while what she read next was a bullet to the head.

I'll try Twilight. But if they reject me again, I don't know what I'll do.

The words. The look in Sunset's eyes. All of it hit her hard, but the pain and guilt she felt at that moment as her doubts towards Sunset's innocents were ground into dust were nothing compared to what happened next. As her fingers traced across Sunset's shaky letters, they touched one of the tear-stains. The effect was instant, as the most unbelievable wave of sadness washed over her. This was not the pain of something as petty as being denied something you want or being told something moderately hurtful, this was the pain of loss. The loss of love. The loss of hope. The loss of the will to live. It was pure, unbearable agony beyond anything the pink-haired teenager had ever felt in her young life, and she knew that this was what Sunset felt just moments before she stepped into the Sugarcube Café. There was no doubt about it now; Sunset was innocent.
With this new revelation came a new sense of resolve. She had to make this right, but to do that, she needed to get a better look at the situation. So for the next three nights, she looked over each and every post Anon-a-Miss made up until Meme Queen challenged her and what she found was actually very shocking. Much like with the journal, Sunset was very particular with the font she used in her texts almost to the point of it being a compulsion. None of the posts used Sunset's preferred font even once. While this was a good start, she knew this wasn't going to be anywhere near enough to clear Sunset's name. Afterwards, she decided to make a list of all the post targets and see if any of them had any kind of links to Sunset or any of her friends before the whole mess started. Her first suspect was Trixie, but that didn't seem very likely due to there already being a post dedicated to a failed magic show she preformed in that resulted in her hat getting lit on fire. The next person on the list was Fleur De Lis, but that was even less likely due to the girl having transferred to Crystal Prep a year ago after some nasty rumors of her were spread around the school. As the nights went on, the list continued to grow before it just as quickly began to shrink. Now Fluttershy sat in class with a suspect list that had been reduced to a set of names that she only added as a means to completely cover her bases. Unfortunately, her friend's seemed to be the most likely suspects of the crimes against Sunset. There was only one question that made her hesitant to place blame on them. 
Why? she thought for the hundredth time. Why would they do this now? They had plenty of chances to do this after the Fall Formal so why wait until now? What changed?
No sooner had that thought crossed her mind did the bell signal the end of class and the  start of lunch. With a frustrated sigh, she gathered her things to leave. Normally, this would be one of the more pleasant parts of her daily routine, but after her most recent revelation it felt more like an uncomfortable chore. As she reluctantly left the classroom and made her way towards the cafeteria, her mind continued to try finding links. This proved to be a futile venture as even when she got to the point of collecting her loaded tray from Granny Smith, she couldn't find any that made any real sense. With an aggravated sigh, she slumped into her usual spot at the table she shared with her "friends". As she took in her surroundings, she noticed that they seemed more out of it than usual. All of them were slumped in their seats, food completely ignored. The only one who at least seemed to be attempting to pretend to eat was Rainbow Dash. But as she picked at the contents of her plate, it was obvious her focus was elsewhere. 
An annoyed sigh slipped pass her lips as she took her seat.
Great, She thought bitterly. What are they going to blame Sunset for now?
As if on cue, Pinkie let out a melancholy sigh.
"This sucks," she groaned. "I can't believe I lost my best DJ."
Everyone at the table looked at her, two in shock and two indifferent.
"How did that happen?" Rarity asked.
"I don't know!" Pinkie exclaimed, throwing her hands up before letting them flop down onto the table. "She just messaged me yesterday out of the blue and told me she didn't want to work with me anymore!"
"There had to be more to it then that," Rarity pressed.
"Well," the pink teen hummed. "She said something about me giving her a toxic rep and that she would do better with Cheese."
This got a reaction out of Rarity and Applejack. 
"Really?" Rarity frowned. "Funny. Just yesterday I lost my biggest client for similar reasons."
A deep growl emanated from their farm working friend that grabbed all but Rainbow's attention.
"I take it you experienced something similar, dear?" Rarity asked, brow raised.
"Damn strait Ah did," Applejack growled. " Ah was called over ta' Sweetie Drops cuz the boss lady wasn't happy with the latest shipment of Apples. Said they tasted bitter or some nonsense. Now we got a bunch of crates full of apples we can't sell and a few we gotta figure out what ta' do with before they spoil!"
In spite of herself, Fluttershy couldn't help but crack a slight smile at their misfortune. While she normally would feel bad about that, even a person with her saintly patience had her limits. In her eyes, they deserved every bit of misery they received, and so did she. Yes, she was doing everything she could think of to help Sunset, but that didn't change the fact that she contributed to the pain she knew the fiery haired girl had to endure. When this was all over, she was going to do whatever it took to earn back Sunset's friendship. No matter what it took.
"Do you think this is Sunset's doing?" Rarity sighed, the name said as if it was some foren swear.
"Ah know it is," Applejack growled as she turned to glare a hole into the girl in question several tables away. "Ah don't know how she did it, but Ah'd bet apples ta' oranges that she had something ta' do with it!"
A spark of anger took form in Fluttershy as she heard Applejack's declaration. Part of her wanted to scream at them for how stupid they were being, but she knew that it would be a pointless endever. Just like all the other times she tried to talk some sense into them. She even showed them the journal and the tear stains, but they refused to listen. It was clear that unless she found the real culprit, the girls would continue to believe that Sunset had gone back to her old ways. And as long as they thought that, blaming such grievances on the poor girl was going to be the norm. At the moment, Fluttershy was happy that Sunset had Lightning Dust to watch over her and keep her company. In addition to being able to breath some life into the girl, Lightning was an extremely capable fighter if the rumors were anything to go by. With all of that kept in mind, Fluttershy was sure that her former friend was in good hands.
"She even turned Lightnin' on RD for peet's sake!" Applejack continued. "Right Rainbow?"
Rainbow flinched out of her trance as everyone's attention was centered on her. A second later, her shock returned to indifference as in a toneless voice said, "Yeah, whatever," before she resumed picking at her plate.
Applejack growled as she went back to glaring at Sunset.
"That damn snake crossed a line this time," she grumbled as she speared a large chunk of her potato salad. "And Ah'll fix that."
As she watched Applejack eat her food, a sense of dread washed over Fluttershy as her mind processed what she said. A single thought echoed through her mind as she forced herself to eat her food. A promise she swore to make a reality if it came down to it.
Over my dead body!



***



The halls were quiet as Sunset stood outside the Gym's locker room. Lightning had just finished Track and Field practice for the day and was in the middle of changing out of her PE uniform with the rest of her new team. Since Coach Spitfire was so particular about who entered the Gym, she was forced to wait outside for her bodyguard/friend. As she did she closed her eyes and took a moment to enjoy the tranquility of the empty halls. Many thought the school was creepy when there wasn't anybody around, but Sunset found it soothing. Part of that was probably because the empty halls use to be her home at one point. She chuckled a bit as she remembered how her past self struggled to make sense of the new things in her environment. Before then, she lived in an abandoned apartment complex ten blocks away from the portal, a young teen moving with the grace of a drunk as she tried to find some shelter. Those first three years were hell as she forced herself to learn the rules of survival in this world. Eventually, she found a way to make some quick money using her mastery of mathematics and a set of stolen poker cards after she ran out of bits and found the school to be a much more preferable shelter than the shack of an apartment she had prier. In time, she figured out how to use a computer and with a bit of tweaking here and there, was able to make some fake papers so she could enroll into her new home. It didn't take long, unfortunately, for her to see just how much of a hassle living in the school was going to be. That was around the time she discovered the abandoned warehouse and decided to divide the use of the two shelters for her needs; the school for its internet and the warehouse for everything else. About a year later, the Fall Formal came and Sunset entered what she thought was a better chapter in her life. 
Where did it all go so wrong?
She was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the presence of another person until they were right in front of her. Suddenly, she felt two strong hands grab and pin her shoulders to the wall behind her, shocking her eyes open. She was immediately greeted by the furious green eyes of her former friend Applejack.
"W-What" she stammered.
"Shut up snake!" Applejack snarled. "Ah' don't know what ya got planned, but Ah'll be damned if Ah'll let ya' mess with mah family's friends! Now what dirt do yah have on the Drops?! Tell me!"
"I-I," Sunset stammered, body trembling as she tried to find a way out of her situation.
"Ah said TALK DAMN IT!"
"LEAVE HER ALONE!!!"
Before either girl could react, a yellow and pink blur slammed into Applejack. The stunned farmer stumbled away from her victim as Sunset slid down the wall to her knees. Both girls looked at the newcomer with wide eyes as they struggled to accept who they saw standing before them.
"F-Fluttershy?" Sunset stammered.
For a moment, Fluttershy gave her a warm smile before she shifted her gaze back towards Applejack, warmth replaced with cold fury. Applejack watched the brief interaction between the girls and let out a frustrated growl.
"Y'all too Flutters?"she snapped. "What's she got on ya'? Cuz Ah know Ah can-"
Before she could finish, Fluttershy closed the gap between them and in one lightning fast motion slapped her across the face. Stunned by the sudden attack, she didn't have time to brace herself for the arm lock the normally timid girl put her in. 
"Wh-Shy? What the sam hill are ya'-"
Again, Applejack was interrupted, this time by a harsh tug on her bound arm.  With a yelp, the cowgirl was guided away from her target, all the while cursing a storm big enough to flood the whole city. All the while, Sunset watched in shock as the two girls drifted away from her until they came to a turn in the hall. But just as they were about to make the turn and disappear  from her line of sight, she locked eyes with her timid former friend. Time seemed to freeze as they held each other's gaze until Fluttershy gave her another warm, yet sad, smile before she pulled Applejack that final few feet away.
A minute later, Lighting Dust dashed out of the locker rooms, a fusion of worry and fury decorating her features as she bombarded the still kneeling Sunset with questions. Sunset didn't answer, but one question echoed in the the forefront of her mind.
Did Fluttershy just...save me?



***



Derpy yawned as she stared at the glowing screen in front of herself. She had been working for six hours strait, carefully  sorting through her intel. In all that time, she was able to narrow down who's Mystable accounts she should investigate. This was mostly thanks to the lead she was able to get from Coach Spitfire's favored list. There was only one slight problem; most of the names on the list were past Anon-a-Miss victims and a sixth grader! In addition, the remaining students were people she already hacked and found innocent the day before. Doing a direct hack of the Anon-a-Miss account proved to be just as useless as it was linked to a dummy email account that could only receive messages but not send them, effectively leaving next to no digital trail for her to follow. 
Grrrr! God damn it! she thought bitterly as she glared at her screen. Whoever this person is, they know how to make it harder to find them. If i could just find one IRL link to them, I could shut them down faster than Sunset could ace a test!
"Sunset," she muttered as thoughts of her new house guest crossed her tired mind.
For the hundredth time, Derpy found her thoughts drifting towards her. She couldn't help it! There were just so many things she found so amazing about the girl. The warm brilliance her eyes held as they took in the world around them. The smile she seldom gave that brightened whatever room she was in. Her nice sleek figure that showed she took good care of herself. Her laugh and the cute way she blushed. Derpy quickly shook herself out of her treacherous thoughts before she gave her computer her undivided attention.
Get a hold of yourself Derpy, she thought with a grimace. You need to focus on this. Sunset's already got a ton of stuff on her plate as it is. She doesn't need you to add more to it all.
A slight stinging from her left eye reminded her just how long she had been working. An irritated groan escaped her as she reached for a small bottle of medicated eyedrops on her desk by her computer. While it had been years since the accident, it never got easier for her to deal with this part of her routine. Six years ago, Derpy and her sister Dinky were hit by a car on their way home from school. Thanks to some quick thinking on Derpy's part, Dinky managed to get through it with a few bumps and scrapes, but Derpy wasn't quite so lucky. After three days of tireless work, the ER staff were able to get her stable enough to let her body heal on its own, but it was a process that left her in the hospital for three weeks under careful observation. After two more months of rehab, she was able to leave the hospital, though it was with a souvenir that would remind her of the incident for the rest of her life. While her prosthetic eye didn't normally give her too much trouble, it did make her a constant target of bullying. It also made being a hacker difficult due to needing to be moisturized every so often if she stared at a screen for too long. Though as much of an inconvenience as it could be, she wouldn't go back to prevent the events that lead to her receiving her injury. If it meant protecting her sister, she'd do it again in a heartbeat. Thankfully, Dinky was off at their Grandparent's house for the holidays and wouldn't be exposed to all the drama coming from CHS. One of the few small blessings she could count in this circumstance.
I wonder how she'd react to Sunset living here? she thought idly as she applied her medicine. 
At that moment her computer let out a soft ding, indicating that someone had sent her a PM on the Meme Queen account on Mystable. This brought a frown to her face as she glared at the screen. As it stood, she made sure to have the account blocked from receiving posts from anyone except for her friends, Sunset, and Sunset's former friends. While the first two were aloud access for obvious reasons, the last set of people were a new addition. After what happened in the girls locker room, Derpy thought it would be a good idea to keep an eye on the Rainbooms digitally while Lightning did the same IRL. The reason she allowed them access was because it was easier and faster for her to hack an account when the flow of data was a two-way-stream. Of course, she made sure to have the account linked to a false email account, dumped a tone of firewalls to keep people out  and as a last line of defense, linked the account to an IP address for an abandoned factory in Detrot.
Her frown softened slightly when she saw who the message was from.
How did Fluttershy know she had access and how did she get the password?
Shaking her head, she checked the PM for viruses or any other hacking software then opened it. In it was a short list of names accompanied by a collection of information on each person. What took her back a step was that the list consisted mostly of Sunset's original gang, sans Fluttershy herself. While Fluttershy had recently been removed from Derpy's list of possible suspects due to reports of the shy girl's actions at school today, it still left her a little suspicious that she would turn on her friends so suddenly. She noticed an additional file attached to the message and clicked it, expecting another list of names. What she got instead almost made her fall out of her chair in shock.


Dear Meme Queen



The following list is of people that I think might have something to do with Anon-a-Miss and all the evidence I've been able to gather. I don't know how else I can help aside from giving all of this to you. I hope this can in some way help you clear Sunset's name and bring the real Anon-a-Miss down for what she's done. Please stop all of this madness and bring the school back to how it use to be. I want to see everyone happy again, even if Sunset never wants to see me again when this is all over, I want to see her smile again. I want her to be happy. Please let her know that, even though this isn't even close to enough for her to forgive me, that I am sorry for abandoning her when she needed me the most.


Sincerely, Fluttershy.

As Derpy reeled her emotions back in, she smiled then proceeded to compare her notes to the ones provided by Fluttershy.
Looks like things are looking up. 
> Ch.7 Secrets
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nice, peaceful mornings were something that Sunset enjoyed in the smallest of quantities. At least, that's how it was before Derpy dragged her into her home. Gone were the nights spent sleeping with one eye open with the fear that someone would sneak into her shelter and kill her in her dreams. Gone was the worry that her food would spoil from not being able to feed fuel into her generator. Now she had a place that she could call home without any of the fears she grew accustomed  to. She didn't even need to sneak into the school to use their computers for assignments like she use to. The biggest and best change by far was that now she had a group of friends that she knew had her back. Granted, it would still take some time for her to open up to them completely, but as things stood, it was a very good start. At the same time, there were a few things that happened recently that made the girl's head spin. The biggest of these being the incident the day before involving Applejack and Fluttershy. While she was a little happy to see the shy teen had a change of heart, she couldn't help but be leery of her motives. But that little inquiry was quickly put in the back of her mind as her host brought the most unusual proposal to the breakfast table. 
"A rave?" Sunset asked, brow raised. "You want me to go to a rave?
"Eeyup," Derpy smiled over her breakfast muffin. "Vinyl's got a gig tonight and I think it would do you some good to have a bit of fun."
"But what about-"
"The club Vinyl works at is very exclusive," Derpy interrupted with a tired smile. "You have to either break the bank or get invited to get in. Kind've hard to do if your a high schooler."

Sunset gawked at her for a moment. She knew that the DJ had a good reputation and if that car she used to help her defeat the Dazzlings was anything to go by, very well off. But for a girl her age to be preforming at a place like what Derpy described was too big a pill to swallow.
"Besides," she continued. "I think you'd get along with Vinyl and Octavia."
"Wait," Sunset blinked. Octavia's going too?"
"Yep," the walleyed teen shrugged as she took a sip of her coffee. "She comes to perform at some of Vinyl's gigs every so often"
Sunset's mind temporarily froze as it tried to process that little tidbit of information. While her interactions with the classy girl was all but nonexistent, she couldn't imagine someone like her even looking in the same direction as a rave let alone preform at one. Just attempting to do so caused her brain to crash instantly. Once she was able to think clearly again she stared at her host, face stuck in shocked skepticism.
"What?" Derpy laughed. "Is it that hard to believe?"
She nodded, which made her laugh harder.
"Why would she even go to a rave?" 
"Why wouldn't she want to support her sister?" Derpy asked with a casual shrug.
Sunset choked on her coffee.
"They're sisters?!" she coughed.
"Technically," Derpy sighed. "If you want to know more you'll have to ask them about it yourself."
I guess that's one reason to go out tonight, Sunset thought as she struggled to get her coughing fit under control.
"Arn't you going?" the fiery haired teen asked, coughing mostly stopped.
Derpy shook her head, much to Sunset's chagrin.
"I just got an influx of info from a new informant last night and I want to see if they found something i might've missed."
"Oh, okay," she sighed.
In the short time she spent with the gray girl, Sunset couldn't help but develop a fondness for her. How could she not? In one foul swoop, the girl gave her a home, three square meals a day, a warm bed, and protection. She was even going the extra mile to help her bring down Anon-a-Miss. The gaping darkness that sat inside of her was quickly filled with the warmth of Derpy's true and honest friendship to the point that Sunset was afraid that this was all a dream. To hear that her now closest friend wasn't going to be with her tonight was a massive disappointment. But at the same time she understood the situation. The longer Anon-a-Miss was on the loose, the longer it took for her to have a normal life at school again. Not that she didn't enjoy Lightning's company, but it would be a breath of fresh air to be able to walk through CHS without the need for a bodyguard.
"Maybe next time," Derpy winked with a smile.
A soft blush graced Sunset's face as she quickly shifted her attention down to her half-finished breakfast.
"R-Right!" she squeaked. "Next time!"
How can she be so cute?! she thought as she tore into her food. Wait...did I just think she was cute?



***



Somethings not right, Sunset thought as she played with her lunch.
The whole day, everyone seemed to be walking on eggshells around her. It was as if they were afraid she would do something to them if they so much as breathed wrong around her. At first, she thought it was because Lightning was near her, but the odd behavior continued even when her friend wasn't around. While she was happy she wasn't getting death-glares anymore, she couldn't help but find the crowd's new behavior to be very unsettling. It was like being stuck in the eye of a hurricane and just waiting for the calm to make way for the coming disaster in the horizon.
Deciding to push the feeling aside for now, she took an absentminded bite out of her salad. With a light sigh, she took in the site of her surroundings. Like always, the only people that occupied the lunch table was Sunset herself and Lightning Dust. One of the many curses of being a social leper. A soft clunk to her left made her jump as the unthinkable happened. Someone outside her new circle of friends took a seat next to her. What made her jaw drop was who took the seat.
"F-Fluttershy?" she gawked.
"Oh, hi Sunset," Fluttershy smiled. "Is this seat taken?"
"Uh, no," she said, casting a quick stunned glance towards a leery Lightning Dust. "Go ahead?"
Fluttershy gave an appreciated nod before she dug into her own food. An awkward silence fell upon the group as Lightning and Sunset tried to piece together what was happening. Again she found herself questioning what brought this sudden change in her former friend's perception of her, but couldn't find the words needed to ask her directly. Luckily, Lightning Dust had no such difficulties.
"So," she deadpanned. "What did it take to help ya pull your head out of your ass?"
Sunset's eyes widened as she turned towards her friend and bodyguard. Before she could say anything about the light-green teen's comment, a defeated sigh from Fluttershy made her pause.
"No, she's right," Fluttershy said, lips curved into a sad smile as she stared into her food. "I've been a terrible friend, and I deserve everything you have to say about me." 
Sunset frowned as she took in the girl's features. She looked tired, as if she hadn't had a decent night's sleep in days and was only holding herself up by shear force of will. Her pink locks looked to be on the verge of turning white, the healthy shine they normally exuded now faded to near nonexistence. The butter yellow tint of her skin was now a sickly pale imitation of its formal glory and served to only accentuate the large bags under her eyes.
As she turned her head towards Lightning Dust, a small fire burned behind her tired eyes as she said, "As for what it took, it was this."
Eyes still locked with Lightning's, she reached for her backpack and opened its main compartment. What she pulled out made Sunset gasp.
"My journal?" she gawked. "How did you get that?"
It was then that Fluttershy broke eye contact with Sunset's protector to give her former friend another sad smile.
"The night you came to Sugarcube Café. Remember? You left it behind after-"
Fluttershy cringed as memories of that night came to her. The anger her "friends" aimed at Sunset. The utter despair she saw in the fiery teen's eyes. Her own fear and helplessness as she watched the girl walk out into the cold.
"Anyway," she continued. "After you...left the girls were debating on what to do with it. Rainbow wanted to burn it while everyone else wanted to hide it from you so you couldn't turn Princess Twilight against us."
Lightning growled at the mention of Rainbow's intentions, but kept her own intentions to herself.
"Let her continue."
Shut up! I know!
"I chose to take it for safe keeping so no one would do anything to it," she sighed as what little strength she held seemed to drain out of her. "But then I got curious about what you and Princess Twilight talked about."
"So, what?" Lightning frowned. "You read the journal and suddenly you don't think Sunset's Anon-a-Miss anymore?"
Fluttershy paused, took a deep breath, and the fire from before returned as she stared at Lightning.
"Yes and no."
Lightning raised a brow then motioned for her to elaborate.
"When I read the journal," she continued. "I could see that Sunset couldn't be Anon-a-Miss. She just didn't have it in her to do something like this. But that wasn't the most damning evidence."
As she said that, she opened the book to the latest used pages and presented it towards Lightning.
"Touch the stains."
Lightning did a double take as she let what the shy girl told her set in. When she saw how serious she was, the light-green teen reluctantly complied. The effects were instantaneous. Waves after waves of pure despair washed over her.  Tears poured from her eyes as she let the pain pass through her, The Voice reduced to incoherent ramblings as even it tried  and failed to process the darkness drowning it. With a quick jerk of her hand, the pain stopped and she was once again back in the cafeteria, the only evidence of her recent trauma being her heavy breathing and the wet trails of tears on her face.
"W-What the fuck was that," she gasped as she wiped the moister from her eyes.
"That," Fluttershy sighed as she took the book back. "Is what confirmed Sunset's innocence for me. I think it was Sunset's pain when she wrote that message."
"Is that possible?" Lightning asked, turning towards Sunset.
She nodded.
"Sometimes, magical artifacts take in the emotions of those that use them. It was because of that that the crown reacted so badly towards me at the Fall Formal. I was so full of anger and selfishness that when the magic linked with me, I corrupted it and turned into a monster."
All the girls shivered as they each relived memories of that night. It wasn't an experience the three of them, or any of the students of CHS were eager to relive. 
"Okay, so you know Sunset's innocent,"Lightning sighed. "What do ya want ta' do now?"
"I want to help her," Fluttershy said, determination mixed with her tired frame.
Lightning chuckled a little as she crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat.
"Okay, how are ya gonna do that?"
" I can protect her. I've already sent all the evidence I had to Meme Queen last night. Plus, I'm in most of Sunset's classes so I can be a second set of eyes when you can't be around her."
"I see," she nodded. "But can you actually protect her? No offense, but you don't strike me as the fighting type."
"That's true," Sunset sighed as she cast a cautious look at the girl sitting next to her. "I know you took care of Applejack yesterday, but can you really hold your own in an honest to god fight?"
"It's true," she sighed. "I'm not a fighter, but I do know a few tricks."
To prove her point, her hand shot forward and jammed a finger into the joint connecting Lightning's left arm to her shoulder. 
"Hey, what the he-"
She stopped talking when her arm went completely limp at her side. Lightning stared at the appendage in growing panic as she tried to move it. All she managed was a few weak twitches for her trouble.
"W-Why can't I move my arm?!" she exclaimed, staring at Fluttershy in terror.
"I hit your pressure points," she said calmly. "Don't worry, the effects will ware-off  in a few minutes."
While the girl's words made the duo let out a sigh of relief, the fact that she had the ability to do that to someone in the first place was a little concerning.
"Who taught you to do that?" Sunset asked, shocked.
"W-Well," Fluttershy fidgeted awkwardly. "Before she married dad, my mom was a field medic for the special forces. One of the skills she learned while on tour was pressure point martial arts. Three years ago, she taught me how to do it to keep me safe."
Her mom was a soldier?! both girls thought as they struggled to process what they just heard.
"Okay, so you can take care of yourself. Cool," Lightning said, voice leveling out. "How do I know your not going to go back to your friends when things look bad."
Fluttershy's face immediately darkened as a cold glare graced her features.
"I'd rather die then go back to them."
A chill shot down Sunset's and Lightning's backs as they took in the venom in their guest's words.
"O-Okay," Lightning chuckled unevenly. "I guess you're on bored. Just let me give you my number."
As she watched the two girls exchange numbers, a single thought passed through Sunset's mind. Don't make an enemy out of Fluttershy.



***



Sunset sighed as she waited in the living room for Vinyl and Octavia to pick her up. While she still had her reservations, Lightning Dust was insistent that she went to the rave. Even Fluttershy encouraged her to go. After some time, she decided she might as well give it a try. While big social functions weren't her cup of tea even before her life hit the fan, she figured that she could use the distraction. For one night, no Anon-a-Miss or a school full of people who hated her guts. Just her, a group of strangers, two new friends, and music.
"Are you sure I don't need to change?" Sunset asked as Derpy entered the living room.
Derpy sighed and took a seat in a lounge chair across from her.
"For the tenth time, yes Sunset," Derpy groaned, her tone torn between exasperation and understanding. "Most of the people who come to Vinyl's club are the Edgy-type so the tough-girl look you normally wear should fit in just fine."
"O-Okay, sorry," she said, face turning towards the floor.
Derpy sighed, then got up from her seat and joined Sunset on the couch.
"Hey," she smiled, putting an arm around the girl's shoulders reassuringly. "Don't be so tense. Your just going to a party with a few friends. Nothing to get so worked up over."
Sunset nodded, though she still kept her gaze aimed at the floor.
"Besides," Derpy continued, gently tightening her embrace. "You and I both know you need this."
Sunset sighed as she leaned into the embrace. Much like that night a few days ago, she felt herself relax as Derpy's warmth enveloped her. Slowly, Sunset felt her fear and anxiety start to disappear in the wake of her friend's act of kindness.  In its place burned determination and strength, not as much as when she was at her prime, but enough to hold her insecurities at bay. It was at that time that a knock at the door brought the two girls back to reality.
"I'll get it," Derpy said, face turning a slight shade of red as she pulled herself away from Sunset to answer the door.
Timing, thy name is Vinyl Scratch! she thought bitterly as she reached for the doorknob. 
As she opened the door, she kept her irritation under wraps as she greeted the two girls behind the door.
"Yo, Derpster! How's it hanging?" Vinyl grinned as she gave the gray teen a quick hug.
"About as good as I can considering," Derpy smiled. 
"Well," Octavia sighed. "I suppose that's to be expected. You're not overworking yourself, are you?"
Derpy laughed awkwardly, suddenly more interested in something behind the two girls. 
"Derpy?" Octavia intoned, eyes narrowing.
"Um....Hey Sunset," she called over her shoulder, tone a little shaky. "Your ride's here!"
Sunset chuckled a little at her friend's antics as she rose from her seat and made her way towards the open door. She knew that Derpy could be a bit of a workaholic. The times she had to pry the girl away from her keyboard turned pillow for the past three mornings could attest to that. A fact that seemed to be a point of contention between her and the rest of the gaggle of oddballs she called friends. She did worry that Derpy may be pushing herself too hard for her sake, but nothing Sunset said could get past the girl's stubborn desire to end Anon-a-Miss as soon as possible. So far, the only trick she found worked to get the her to rest was giving her a cup of coffee when she worked herself close to her limit. A tactic that confused her to no end.
"Hey girls," Sunset smiled.
"Hey Sunny," Vinyl cheered as she pulled her into a one armed hug. "Ready to have the best night of your life!"
Sunset chuckled awkwardly while Octavia just rolled her eyes.
"Yes love," she grinned. "I do hope you're ready to have your eardrums blasted out of your head."
The sarcastic response was met by a grinning Vinyl sticking her tongue out at the musician.
"You're just jealous people like my music more than yours."
"Yes, yes, whatever helps you sleep at night love," she laughed, smile turned smug.
Vinyl laughed then looked at Sunset, eyes shining with excitement.
"Welp, no point sitting around here. Let's head out!"
With that, she started power-walking towards her transforming car, Sunset and Octavia not far behind.
"Have fun you three!" Derpy called as they pulled open the car doors.
"That's the plan!" Vinyl cried, cheshire grin still decorating her face.
Then, in synch, the three teens got in the car and closed the doors. As the engine started, Derpy's smile faltered slightly, a single thought echoing through her as she watched the vehicle drive away.
Seriously, have fun. You deserve to be happy more than anyone right now.
With that, she closed the door and walked towards her room, her lips pulled into a cold smile.
"Time to get to work."



***



Something Sunset discovered pretty quickly was that Octavia and Vinyl interacted in an interesting way. By all accounts, the two should hate each other due to how opposite they were. While Octavia was calm, collected, and direct, Vinyl was energetic, boisterous, and blunt to the point of seeming tactless. In many ways, she reminded her of Lightning when she talked, but while her bodyguard had a more aggressive weight to her words, Vinyl was more playful, like she held all the cards and just wanted to see you try to take them.
"Hey Tavi, what are you gonna play when ya lose?" Vinyl asked with a teasing smile.
"Well," Octavia smirked. "I don't know what world you live in, because you are the one who will lose tonight, love."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever, sis."
That got a slight flinch out of Sunset as the conversation she had with Derpy brought a question back to the front of her mind.
"Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but are you guys really sisters?"
"Yep!" Vinyl responded without a second of hesitation.
"Technically," Octavia corrected as she gave her sibling a sharp glare.
Sunset raised a brow at that.
"What do you mean "technically"?"
Octavia sighed then looked back at her from the front passenger seat.
"First off, who told you?"
"Derpy mentioned it, but told me to ask you two for details."
Vinyl laughed while Octavia let out a relieved breath.
"Good," Octavia smiled. "The last thing we need is for you to have your perceptions of us tarnished by slander."
"Don't get why you're so jumpy about it," Vinyl smirked as she changed lanes. "Its not like it's some kind of deep dark secret. Besides, who wouldn't want ta be my sis?"
Aside from an eye-roll, the elegant girl didn't react to her sister's antics.
"Regardless, I would like to think that she should hear the tale from us as opposed to...other less reliable sources."
"Oh," Vinyl frowned, her grip tightened on the wheel. "Right."
Sunset curled in on herself as she took in her friend's change in demeanor.
"S-Sorry. If you guys don't want to talk about it, we can just drop it."
Octavia gave her a sad smile then said, "No, no, it's fine love. It's just that that story has more than one teller and let's just say that the other author is-"
"Full of bullshit," Vinyl interrupted, tone colder than ice.
"Yes," Octavia sighed, casting an understanding look at the DJ behind the wheel. "It's because of that that I prefer it that we tell it with as little outside impurities as possible."
Sunset nodded, though she still felt like she was stepping in on something a bit more personal then she initially thought. Just what kind of things did these two girls get involved in that their family lines would be so touchy? Curiosity waged war with her decorum, but before a winner could be decided, Octavia made the decision for her.
"Now let's see," she said, eyes becoming distant. "It was five years ago, correct?"
"Yep!" Vinyl said, her tone a touch more warm as a gentle smile played across her face.
"Thank you," she smiled as again as she searched her memory. "Back then, I was much more focused on my craft than I was in regards to socializing. For as long as I could remember my daily routine consisted of school and playing my cello with my only breaks being eating and sleep."
"In short, a real workaholic," Vinyl added, lips pulled into an impish smirk.
"Yes, I suppose that is the the best way to describe me back then," Octavia said, an embarrassed blush coloring her cheeks. "Sometimes I would get so focused on my playing that I would forget to take care of myself. One summer break, I pushed myself far too hard and had to go to the hospital."
Sunset's eyes widened in disbelief . Granted, she could understand how you could loose yourself doing what you love, but to get dragged so far into your own world that you get hospitalized seemed a bit excessive. Though, considering the girl in question was sitting in front of her and in good health was perfect evidence that such events were rare moments in the girl's present life.
"But as odd as it may sound," she continued. "I'm glad that I went to the hospital that day."
"Same," Vinyl smirked. "Now quit jerking the girl along Shakespeare and tell her how we met!"
"Very well," she giggled. 



***



A light buzzing filled the room as its only conscious inhabitant stared blankly at the ceiling. A dull throbbing filled her whole body as her thoughts floated through her muddled mind. It was a simple plan; a basic routine that even a five-year old could follow. Wake up, eat, practice, rest, practice, rest again, practice, then turn in for the night. Then rinse and repeat the next day. Granted, she may have pushed past her scheduled breaks the last few days, but how could she not? Her form, her harmony, everything had to be perfect. Even if her hands grew numb and her vision blurred, she had to be more than her best. She had to be perfect.
	My, isn't this quant, she thought bitterly as she stared at the dull white ceiling. The least they could have done was bring my cello. Even if I can't play immediately it would be a productive way to kill time when I am able.
With a sigh, she turned her head to get a better look at her surroundings. While there was a great deal more to see then what she had observed on the ceiling, none of it was anything of any real merit. From her observation, she was in a two bed hospital room with an open dividing curtain between her bed and its occupied neighbor. Beyond that were the standard hospital furnishings such as heart monitors, wastebaskets, a wall mounted television, and several dozen pieces of medical equipment that the young musician couldn't identify with any certainty. Be that as it may, most of her attention was on the patient that laid in the bed five feet away from her. While Octavia herself had nothing but a IV stand feeding her a combination of water and some sort of tranquilizer, her neighbor was hooked up to several different devices in addition to an IV of her own feeding her five different clear liquids of unknown purposes. With so many machines surrounding the person, Octavia could barely see more than a few trace details beyond the short two-toned blue hair on the crown of the patient's white head. With some effort, Octavia was able to force herself into a sitting position to get a better look at her mystery roommate. What she saw knocked the metaphorical ground out from under her feet. It was a girl, not much older than her, but her condition was far less stable from the looks of it. Her complexion was pale and sickly as opposed to the glistening shine of Ivory that Octavia often associated to people with her tone. Thick bags hung under her sunken eyes like she had been drained to the point of near mummification. In short, the poor girl looked to be knocking on death's door with her heavy, labored breathing and the rhythmic beeping of her heart monitor functioning as the only proof to the contrary.
What, in the name of god, happened to her? she thought, mouth agape and eyes wide.
Suddenly, the barely alive girl's eyes fluttered open, the red orbs nearly giving the refined girl a heart attack. She watched as she groggily took in her surroundings before her pale hand shakily reached for a small device on her lap. A soft click filled the air as she pressed a button on the device.
"Nurse!" she croaked, voice as rough as sandpaper. "I need some water! Think ya can get off your lazy ass and get me some?!"
Octavia grimaced in the wake of the girl's vulgar tongue. How could someone be so rude to people that make it their busyness to help others? The very people who, most likely, were the very reason she was still alive at that! The young musician shifted into a more comfortable position to continue to glare at her roommate, an action that drew said occupant's attention.
"What?" she snapped.
"You should't be so rude to the staff here," Octavia chastised, her brows furrowed.
"Says who?" the girl growled, her dead frame giving her glare more impact.
"No one. It is just a common courtesy."
"Oh yeah?" she snapped. "Then let me tell ya what ya can do with your 'common courtesy'. Piss off bitch!"
With that, the rude zombie turned her eyes towards the ceiling, all the while Octavia silently fumed. While she was not a violent person by any stretch of the imagination, nothing would make her more happy then having a chance to make the mouthy teenager eat her own IV stand.
Fine! she thought as she turned to face away from her in her bed. Go rot in a sack for all I care you damned delinquent.



***



Sunset stared back and forth between the two girls, their lips pulled into nostalgic grins while a slight trace of confusion decorated her features.
"So you guys met in the hospital? How the heck did that happen?!"
"Dumb luck and even dumber circumstances," Vinyl sighed. "Tavi over worked herself while some asshole tried to drug me. The fucker apparently didn't know how much to use on someone my size and almost ODed me."
"What?!" 
"Yep," the DJ growled."The whole detox process was a total bitch and I almost died about four times. Tavi got shacked up with me after I was put through an activated charcoal procedure, so I wasn't in the best mood."
"Oh please Vinyl," Octavia laughed, eyes rolling. "Even when you recovered you were difficult."
"Yeah, I guess," she laughed. "I was kind of a bitch back then, wasn't I?"
Octavia nodded.
"Though to be fair," the classical musician continued. "I wasn't the most civil of people at the time either."
"God," Vinyl grinned, shaking her head. "The two of us made a sport out of arguing back then. We fought over some of the stupidest things. Food, sports, clothes, you name it!"
"The only thing we could talk civilly about was music," Octavia sighed. "While our tastes differed by significant magnitudes, we could still respect each others views of our craft as musicians."
"Course' things didn't really start ta' get good between us until about a week later when Tavi showed me she had balls."
"What?!" Sunset exclaimed as she gave the classy girl a wide-eyed once over.
"She means in a metaphorical sense, love," she said, giving the driver a stony glare.
Vinyl burst with laughter as she continued where Octavia left off.



***



Silence. That was what dominated the room as its two inhabitants recovered from their latest verbal sparring match. The artillery the two combatants armed themselves with was their opinions on movies. While the battle ended in a stalemate, they couldn't help but admit a small part of themselves enjoyed the arguments. It wasn't often that either girl met anyone who could match them in their stubbornness, and while they could live without the raised blood pressure, it was refreshing to finally meet someone who could. 
The two girls recovered well in the week they spent together. Octavia managed to get back enough strength to leave her bed for short periods of time. Meanwhile, Vinyl was still bed bound, but had filled out some and had a more healthy glow to her complexion. While these were all pluses to the two of them, it became a minus to the hospital staff in the form of longer arguments. At one point, Vinyl's doctor tried to move her to a different room, but that lead to an argument between her and the poor physician. Granted, it was a lot quieter then the ones the roommates had, but it was equally heated. In the ocean of swearing and death threats, a simple declaration made Octavia question the true arrangement she had with the crude teen.
"I don't always meet someone cool enough ta' be my friend. Don't take that from me."
When she asked her about what she said some time later, Vinyl told her not to think too hard about it before turning to face away from her in her bed.
As she laid there in her bed staring at the ceiling, her thoughts kept cycling through that moment. Unaware to her, Vinyl was doing the same thing.
Why the fuck did I say that? she thought, her exhaustion catching up to the adrenaline rush her recent fight burned through. I barely even know her, so who cares if I never see her again. Hell, the second one of us checks out of this shit hole that's a given.
As much as she hated to admit it, she knew why it was such a big deal to her. It had always been a big deal to her and in a weird way was the reason she was in the hospital to begin with. Loneliness. For as long as she could remember, she had always been alone, even when her parents were right next to her. In fact, it was when she was with them that she felt the most alone. It was the loneliness of an outsider being forced to convert to a groups way of life. Her family gave her love when they felt she earned it. When she did what they wanted and expected of her, but the second she did anything that they thought was strange or otherwise outside the norm, she was punished. It was always "walk like this" or "Talk like that" with the most transparent forms of affection that she couldn't help but see through them. 
Eventually, she found her passion; modern music, and her whole world changed. What she couldn't express with words she could through song and rhythm. She could create something that was all hers and give it to the world on her own terms. Finally, finally she was free to be her true self. It was liberation that became the ultimate form of euphoria to the shackled teen. But of course, even that didn't last long before her family decided to invade her paradise. Before long, they tried to determine how her music should sound. As their claws started to sink into Vinyl's craft, she could feel the magic start to leak out of it. She felt the pure love she put into it become tainted. So, for the sake of the only tether of freedom she had to her name, she made the most important decision of her young life; she escaped.
After weeks of careful planning, she gathered enough money to get the best gear she could then searched for the biggest party she could find. It took some work, but eventually the guy running the club decided to give her a shot. It was at that night, under the flashing lights of a shady nightclub that Vinyl Scratch tasted true freedom, and DJ-PON3 was born. The lights, the sounds, the people, all of it filled the void in her heart and made her forget the solitude that waited for her at home each night. It was amazing! In time, she established such a massive following that when her folks discovered what she was doing, she had enough of a steady income that she didn't need to come back to the house. 
She chuckled a bit as she remembered the look on her mother's face when she finally told her to take a hike when she left with her gear. That was priceless! she thought with a smirk. The weeks of stalking that followed? she thought with a  frown. Not so much.
For the weeks that followed, her parents would sneak into the crowds at her gigs. She knew why they were there. They wanted to put her back in her cage. They wanted to see her fall and drag her back. But she wouldn't give them that benefit. Especially her harpy of a mother. As they watched her, she locked eyes with them and played. She mixed harder songs together into more complex beats. She filled the room with cheers of excitement with her craft as her ultimate form of defiance. Her mother's frown turned into her driving force as she earned her own money and fame without Record Scratch's influence. And then it happened, a drugged drink made it to her and her life almost ended. If she wasn't quick enough to get her phone out, she would've died at her turntable.
Even though she had to go through hell to recover, she had to say, her time in the hospital was probably the most relaxing she had in a long time. She even met a cool person that could match her temper blow for blow. In short, she was in a pretty good place all things considered. But like all things in her life, something had to come and spoil it for her.
"Well, well, well," a smug female voice said. "What do we have here?"
Vinyl froze, eyes wide, blood a strange mix of furious flame and frozen dread. Stiffly, she turned her head to face the door. Standing with the poise of a professional, was a tall woman in a perfectly ironed business suit. Her pale skin and blue hair marked her as the mother of the recovering entertainer, but that was only in the most technical of standards as far as Vinyl was concerned. While her narrowed red eyes locked with the cold violet orbs of her progenitor, Octavia's own lavender eyes took note of the tension between the two.
What in the world is she doing here? the cellist mused.  
"What do you want?" Vinyl growled.
A cold grin graced the women's face as she ignored Vinyl's hostility.
"Why, wouldn't any good caring mother come to visit her daughter in the hospital?" she said, true care absent from her tone.
A cold laugh slipped past Vinyl's lips.
"Yeah. They would. So what's your excuse?"
A grimace replaced the cold woman's smile. 
"I see almost dying didn't improve your vile behavior. No matter. I suppose finding a new life will do a better job of that."
Vinyl raised a brow at that.
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
A look of false shock graced the woman's features as she beheld her daughter.
"Oh my, you don't know? Well," she smiled. "After what happened, I took the liberty of informing all of your employers and fans about what happened. How you foolishly indulged in some offered drugs at one of your performances and nearly died."
Vinyl's jaw dropped like the stone she felt fall into her stomach.
"Y-You're lying," she said, voice a dry whisper.
"Now why would I do something like that?" the woman's smile turning predatory. "After all, your employers  have every right to know that they have a potential drug user on their pay-role."
Vinyl was doomed. She knew that there was no way to get out of this. Without a good reputation she can't get a gig. Add to it, she probably lost all of her fans that she managed to acquire so quickly seeing as she hadn't been performing long enough to earn any loyalties yet. She was done. Her career was killed before it could even take flight.
Tears. Actual tears started to run down her face as everything she wanted was taken away from her and torn to shreds.
"Oh don't cry my dear," Vinyl's mother cooed, her caring tone a mockery of true compassion. "If you come back home, and do as you're told from now on, I'll make everything all better. You can even continue to play music if that is what you want. Of course, it will have to be something other then those travesties you've been playing lately."
Vinyl stared at her mother, her heart and mind broken. She could have her freedom and nothing else to her name, or she could go back to her cage and be well taken care of. She could have her wings in a sky full of raptors or have them clipped to be someone's song bird. There was no way to win.
"I-I-"
"SHE WILL DO NO SUCH THING!"
Both girls flinched at the declaration as they turned towards its source. Standing, as tall as she could manage, using her IV stand as a makeshift cane, Octavia glared daggers at Vinyl's mother.
"Excuse me?" she frowned. "Do you have any idea who you are talking to?"
"Of course," Octavia said, glare sharpened. "You are Record Scratch; CEO of Scratch Music Incorporated. You have one of the largest music production companies in the country and are the matriarch of one of the big five families in the city's musical industry."
"Correct," she smirked, both impressed that the girl was educated in her achievements and annoyed that she didn't know her place in spite of what she knew.  
"You are also the most vile woman I have ever had the displeasure of meeting."
Record's eyes narrowed.
"Excuse me? Who do you think you are?"
A smile colder than any Record could've produced graced Octavia's lips as she said, "I am Octavia Melody, granddaughter of Philharmonic Melody. The very same Philharmonic that is the matriarch of the Melody Performance Academy of Music as well as the strongest member of the five families."
Record's face shifted to pure terror, before she regained her composure.
"My, that certainly is impressive, but I fail to see how this is any of your problem. This is a matter between my daughter and I. Now perhaps you should go back to your bed before you hurt yourself."
"Oh, I intend to, but before that, I have a few questions."
"Such as?" Record intoned, brows raised.
"Were you involved in what lead to her current condition?"
"I fail to see-"
"Answer the question!" Octavia barked.
Record flinched. For a moment, she felt that she lacked power over the situation. A flash of anger ran through her at such an indignation as she locked eyes with the weakened girl that stood before her.
"You will need to clarify," she responded, jaw tight.
"Very well. Were you responsible for her being in the club where she was drugged?"
"Again, you will need to be-"
"Answer!"
Again, Record felt her grip on the situation weaken as she answered with a, "Yes. Vinyl and I had a disagreement and she left the manor six months ago. Since then, I have been a witness to all of her performances."
"I see," she said, her demeanor stone cold and impossible to read. "Then you were also present at the performance that lead to her present condition."
"Yes."
"Quite the coincidence," Octavia grimaced. "That your daughter would have no problem holding her own in such a rough environment for so long only to recently fall victim to circumstances that benefit you so perfectly."
"As you said, it is a rough environment that my little girl put herself into. It was merely a matter of time before something happened."
"Yes," Octavia frowned. "And what better way to capitalize on your daughter's weakness then to wait for such a world to provide you just the blade needed to cut her ambitions short."
"What are you implying?"
"Oh, it is quite simple, love," she sneered. "You failed to take control of your daughter when she found her independence and left her in an unstable environment so that you could sink your claws into her while she was most vulnerable. A twisted yet effective tactic for a conniving shrew such as yourself."
Record glared at the young girl, but then let out a small laugh as she tried to regained a sense of authority.
"Very well. You managed to figure me out. But what of it? Even if you are from a powerful family, its still the word of a child against the head of a major company. You can't change anything."
"Your not wrong," Octavia sighed. "I personally can't do anything meaningful. Luckily, you did all of the work for me."
As she said that, she reached into the pocket of her sweatpants and pulled out a phone. A phone, that was currently sending a call out to a contact titled Grandmother.
"Did you know," Octavia smiled as all blood drained away from Record's face. "That some phones could record voice messages and send calls at the same time? Personally, I never understood what the purpose of such a function could possibly serve. But now I find such a feature to be a truly blessed coincidence."
The room was quiet, each inhabitant silent for their own reasons. Shock kept Vinyl's mouth sealed while fear did the job for Record, but confident victory prevented Octavia from violating the silence. What did, was a clear and cold voice that came out out of the phone's speaker.
"Octavia dear, could you please set the phone to loudspeaker mode?"
"Gladly Grandmother," Octavia smiled as she activated the requested feature.
"Mrs. Record Scratch," Philharmonic said, tone as cold and absolute as an arctic gale. "I want you to listen and listen clearly because I have no intention of repeating myself. You will leave this room and never come near either your daughter or my granddaughter. You will hear from my lawyers shortly. In addition, young Vinyl will be living with my daughter and her husband until she is able to live on her own."
"Y-You can't do that!" Record exclaimed. "I am her mother! No one can take her away from me!"
"We shall see about that," Philharmonic said, a sharp edge to her tone. "I will look forward to seeing you in court."
And with that, the call ended.
Record was livid, as she glared at the young lady before her. The one responsible for ruining everything she so carefully put together for this moment.
"Checkmate," Octavia smirked as she returned to her bed.



***



Sunset's jaw was in her lap as she processed what she just heard. The two girls just laughed at her reaction as one of them tried to find a way to navigate the busy streets of Canterlot City safely. 
"Are you okay, love?" Octavia asked as she regained her composure.
Sunset just blinked as her eyes shifted their gaze between the two girls.
"Yo Sunset," Vinyl called, concern lightly coloring her voice. "You alright?"
Sunset blinked again, only this time, her mind managed to resemble itself enough to bring her back to the land of the living.
"Oh! S-Sorry," she chuckled awkwardly. "That was just a lot to take in I guess."
Octavia nodded while Vinyl just sighed.
"Yeah. Life was total shit for me for a while, but it all worked out in the end."
"Indeed," Octavia smiled as she placed a comforting hand on her sister's shoulder.
"Yeah! I got a family that actually loves me for me, and Tavi got the coolest sister in the world! Total win-win!"
"While I would not have worded it quite like that, yes. Yes it is."
For a moment, Sunset just watched the two girls and marveled at the sheer level of care the two shared between them. It was clear to her that the two had a strong bond that would be difficult if not impossible to break. Octavia had Vinyl's back and Vinyl, Octavia's. This was what a real family bond looked like, and compared to what she had with most of her former friends, was like comparing gold to lead.
No wonder my friendships died so easily,  she thought, her heart sinking into a dark pit. Except for Fluttershy, they never really cared to begin with. And even saying that is a stretch when you really think about it.
She was quickly brought back to reality when the car gently pulled into a parking place and came to a stop. The three girls exited the car, two of which were filled with excitement while their fiery-haired friend was a bundle of nerves. She had never been to a rave before, though most of the things she heard about them were rarely good. Yeah, they could be fun, but for every exciting story, there was five tales about people selling drugs or disappearing into the night only to be found in a gutter somewhere. But as she followed her two friends towards the building that the rave was going to take place, her jaw dropped for the second time that evening.
Towering over her was a massive five story building crafted in the shape of a cube. All across its surface were large music notes as if the gargantuan box was made of sheet music with a single blue and read glowing sign that read String Record dominating the front of it. A one hundred person line stood in front of a set of chrome doors guarded by a bouncer covered with more muscle than a bull. 
Still a little stunned, Sunset barely registered it when they approached the hulking man.
"Hey Willy," Vinyl cheered, giving the bouncer a playful swat on the back. "How ya' been?"
"Iron Will's been doing fine Miss Scratch," the bouncer, Iron Will smiled.
"Aw, c'mon man," Vinyl groaned. "I told ya' not ta' call me that."
"My apologies," he smirked as he opened the doors for them. "Force of habit, boss."
"'Boss'!?" Sunset exclaimed as she followed her friends into the building. "You own a club?"
"Kinda'?" Vinyl shrugged. "Technically, Grandma owns it, but I'll get it when I graduate. Till then, I'm just their DJ."
Sunset was going to ask more but then she saw the club's main room and gawked. Red, blue, and purple neon lights weaved through the walls in long thin streams like radioactive vines of ivy while illuminated  black and white floor tiles in the shape of records filled the room with light from below. From the ceiling above, theater lights lazily rotated as means of adding to the already amazing spectacle. Scattered throughout the room were several mini bars that were already catering to guests with servers dressed in white suits or what appeared to be lolita-style dresses for the waitresses. At the farthest wall in the back stood a huge stage, easily big enough to hold ten bands. One half of the stage was dominated by a veritable fortress of speakers and electronics, while the other half was filled with various types of string instruments with a beautifully polished cello at the center.
"Like what ya' see?" Vinyl smirked, snapping Sunset out of her stupor with a playful nudge.
"This is amazing!" Sunset exclaimed.
"Indeed," Octavia smiled as she took her place at Sunset's left. "But just wait until you see the main event, love."
"Yeah! Just you wait! It'll blow you away!"
"I'm looking forward to it," Sunset laughed.
"Well then, I guess we'd better get set up," Vinyl said, giving her sister a playful glare. "Hope you don't lag behind this time."
"Me? Lag?" Octavia chuckled, returning the expression. "Perish the thought. If anything, you should worry less about me and more about yourself my dear sister."
The two girls laughed then turned towards Sunset.
"You'll want ta' get as close to the stage as you can get for this before all the good spots are taken."
"And do make sure to avoid the mosh pit," Octavia continued, cringing. "It tends to get rather rough in there, even during a slow performance."
"Got it," Sunset smiled. "And thanks."
With a nod, the three girls separated, Octavia and Vinyl to get ready to perform and Sunset to find some way to kill time. As she did, she noticed that Derpy had been right when she said she didn't need to worry about being underdressed. Aside from the staff, everyone was dressed in what could be best described as formal tough. Black leather jackets and jeans seemed to be the more common outfits, but even Sunset's undisciplined eye could tell that they were all high quality name brand goods. Be that as it may, she couldn't help but notice a few approving gazes from some of the other guests as she made her way towards one of the bars closest to the stage. A small part of her was happy that people weren't looking down on her based on her appearance, but a larger part was sure it wasn't just her jacket some of them were admiring.
"So, what can I get you miss?" the server asked.
"A Sprite please."
"Right away," he said, quickly getting to work.
As soon as he set the drink on the table, Sunset asked how much and was shocked when he said that it was free.
"Only booze costs money here. Stuff like soda and water is free so long as it's by itself."
"Oh, well, that's neat," Sunset said, taking a sip of her drink.
For the next five minutes, Sunset just stood there by the bar enjoying the atmosphere while she waited for something to happen. Fortunately, she didn't need to wait long as the over head lights suddenly shifted their light towards the stage. Sunset looked and saw Vinyl sitting in a chair at the center of the the tower of electronics as if it was a throne, and she, its Queen. Standing at the center of the circle of string instruments on the opposite side of the stage stood a lone figure that Sunset suspected to be Octavia, but appeared to be wearing some sort of disguise. A green hooded vest covered her top half while a pair of ratty brown shorts covered her bottom. A thick gray scarf covered the lower half of her face like a mask. Before she could marvel at the spectacle before her, her two friends began to speak to the crowd.
"Hey everybody! Who's yer favorit DJ?!"
A resounding "Pon-3!" echoed through the room.
"I can't hear ya!"
"PON-3!"
"LOUDER!"
"PON-3!!!"
"Now that's more like it!" Vinyl cheered.
"Oh please," 'Octavia' sighed, rolling her eyes. "You know the real reason they're here is because I add some class to that boorish swill you call music. ISN'T THAT RIGHT?!"
As she said that, a part of the crowd chanted a single word.
"Strings! Strings! Strings!"
"See Vinyl?" 'Strings' taunted. "They love me. You may as well just go home."
"Ah bite me Strings," Vinyl snapped. "Or better yet, let's get this show on the road."
"I couldn't agree more."
With that, Vinyl turned on her machines, Strings grabbed a violin, and the two began to play. It was incredible! As the two artists brought everything they had to the contest, the crowd was driven even further into a frenzy. Vinyl would use one combination of songs to create a new rhythm at the drop of a hat while Octavia would counter by alternating between different instruments whenever she could to change her performance at almost the same speed. In a lot of ways, it reminded Sunset of the battle she had with Lyra, but while that was a battle to decide a victor, this was a battle to improve. As the two musicians clashed, they pushed each other to outshine the other while at the same time, the two were gradually harmonizing with each other. By the time Octavia brought her cello to the forefront of the battle, the two were no longer competing, but performing together, using their combined music to bring the crowd's excitement to a fever-pitch before ending it with a grand finale that literally shook the ground. When the music stopped the room was deathly quiet, but then, a resounding chorus of cheers and whistles filled the air, Sunset's cheer among them. For the first time in days, the girl felt truly alive.



***



Scootaloo, stared at the ceiling in her room, eyes glazed as she let the weight of their latest actions settle in her. It wasn't often that the girl felt guilty about something, but the past few weeks had changed that by considerable degrees. But as bad as she felt the last few days, the way she felt now was borderline disgust.
Earlier, the three of them snuck out of their homes and into the school. It wasn't the first time they did it, seeing as the school had next to no security, but while the previous times had been to pickup things they had forgotten the day prier, this time had been for more nefarious reasons. She still remembered what Sweetie had typed in the message she sent to no less than fifty people just two hours ago.

I have a feeling that Meme Queen is closing in on me and while you may not care, that means she's closing in on you too. I'm sure you're too stupid to figure out the logistics of this by yourself so I'll make it simple for you. If she busts me, you will be busted too for giving me secrets. And if you think I'm getting grief now, just wait until the whole school finds out you helped me. And don't bother trying to track me through this message seeing as I'm using a dummy account to send it in the first place. Anyway, like it or not, we're in this together so if you help me, you guarantee that the whole school won't turn you into a punching bag. How can you help me? Simple. Just keep an eye on me and send me a message every time someone from school gets close to me other than my dog. Do that, and everything should be all sunshine and rainbows. Understand? Good.

Scootaloo groaned in frustration as she rolled over in her bed, desperate to get some trace of sleep. But no matter what she tried, her guilt refused to let her rest.
> Ch.8 Something Lost Something Gained
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset sat in the empty waiting room, nerves on high alert as she took in her surroundings. She'd never been to a therapist before, even in Equestria. Part of the reason was that she saw it as a sign of weakness or insanity that she felt was beneath her. The biggest reason though, was that she was scared. Back then, she was scared of having to come to terms with her actions, now she was scared of what would happen if she didn't get help. So far, her mental state was stable thanks to her new friends, but she knew that there was always the chance she could backslide into a second attempt at what she tried to do on the bridge. 
She flinched as she felt a hand rest on her own. 
"Nervous?" Rose Luck asked, lips turned into a gentle smile.
Sunset nodded.
Rose sighed then wrapped the teen in a calming one-armed hug.
"You have nothing to worry about. Hearths Warming is the best at what she does. Sure, her brother is a little scary, but she's the nicest person you'll ever meet."
"I heard," Sunset smiled. "Vinyl praised her when I mentioned her last night. Still a little nervous though."
Rose nodded in understanding, holding her a little tighter to help her charge relax.
"Does she know that I'm..."
"Living with us?"
"I was going to say 'an orphan'" Sunset sighed.
Rose grimaced, then said, "Most likely. Thankfully, Soprano is currently working with her mother to get you formally adopted into our family."
"Soprano?" Sunset asked, slightly familiar with the name.
"She's the Vice-Principal of The Philharmonic Music Academy. While she doesn't hold her mothers power, she does have access to a lot of powerful lawyers. At the worst, we'll be your legal guardians, but I think that would be far more preferable to having to live on the streets."
Sunset nodded, glad that her status as a ward of the state was being taken care of. Though one thing made her raise a brow.
"How are you connected to Octavia's mom?"
Rose gave the girl an impish smile, then said, "I think it would make sense that I'd be friends with the people my daughter helped in one way or another."
Sunset sighed, a weary smile gracing her lips.
"Derpy was involved in Vinyl's case, wasn't she?"
Rose nodded.
"You'd be surprised how many cases my little girl was has dipped her foot in. The second she found out how to use a computer, she made it her mission to help anyone she could. One time, she helped the cops find the evidence needed to put a serial killer behind bars by hacking into all the cameras in the city to look for any cars that matched the slimeball's description. She not only helped them find him, but gave them a trail to follow in order to find the body. It wasn't a bad debut for a twelve-year-old White Hat, don't you think?"
Sunset smiled, proud of her new friend's success, and while a small part of her was shocked that she was so skilled at such a young age, it wasn't all too surprising. Considering everything she saw the girl do in the brief time she lived with her, it would've surprised her if Derpy didn't do amazing things before they met. It did raise one question though. One that had been nagging at her off and on since she was taken in.
"Hey, you know how I was before the last Fall Formal, right?"
"I'd heard rumors," Rose frowned. "Why?"
"Well," Sunset gulped, not quite sure how to continue her question. "Back then, I was a total witch to Derpy. I would belittle her over her eyes and how clumsy she could be. I guess what I'm wondering is, why didn't she try to bring me down?"
Rose thought for a moment, then said, "If I had to guess, you weren't worth the effort."
"What?" Sunset asked, her pride slightly wounded. "I had the whole school under my thumb!"
"True, but that was just High School drama. Derpy was never the type to let that kind of thing get to her. If something a little more serious falls on her lap, then she'll attack it with everything she has, but a few mean words won't leave a dent in her armor. Compared to those twins who tried to take over Sweet Apple Orchard, a High School bully was small potatoes."
Sunset let out a sigh. When she really stopped to think about it, it did sound kind of stupid. Derpy had bigger fish to fry and Sunset was just some spoiled brat of an anchovy throwing a temper tantrum because she didn't get what she wanted. It was worse than stupid, it was pathetic.
Someone as amazing as her probably had more important things to occupy her time, she thought, a slight mope taking her features. Maybe a new muffin recipe or something.
As she thought that, an image of Derpy in the kitchen flashed through her mind. Her smiling face, covered with flower and flecks of mix as she prepared a bowl of batter. A light chuckle slipped past her lips as the mental picture played out in her mind. Something that didn't go unnoticed by her soon-to-be legal guardian.
"She can be a real goofball, right?" 
"Wha? Huh?" Sunset squeaked, a light blush coloring her cheeks. "Who do you mean?"
Rose laughed then pulled the flustered teen into a one-armed hug.
"Don't worry dear, I can keep a secret."
Sunset just grumbled, her blush still firmly plastered across her face.
At that moment, a woman dressed in a light blue blouse and dress skirt stepped into the waiting room, lips pulled into a warm smile. Her hair was a bright orange and yellow like Sunset herself, but while the teen had a peach tone to her skin, the lady that stood before her was ruby toned. She looked to be in her early thirties and maintained a graceful figure that most models would kill to have, but her posture was that of someone who didn't hold an ego to match. Instead, she gave off a kind of warmth that only a caring mother could give. The kind that let others know that everything was going to be okay. That they were loved.
"Sunset Shimmer," she asked.
Sunset nodded.
"Greetings," she smiled. "I am Miss Hearths Warming. Are you ready to get started?"
Sunset gave Rose Luck a hesitant glance, then took a deep breath and said, "Yeah, I think I am."
Hearths Warming nodded then guided Sunset through the door to her office. As they made what felt like a mile long journey, Sunset's nerves started to build again. By the time they made it to Hearths' office, she could only manage a stiff impersonation of walking. The Therapist gave her a sad smile before she placed a hand on Sunset's shoulder.
"There's nothing to worry about," she said, tone full of patient warmth. "I'm just here to listen and guide. You are the one that decides what we talk about today."
Sunset nodded, a large amount of tension suddenly melted from her frame. She was the one who had control of what goes on in the room behind that door. Within reason, of course. She was here to get help, not relive her "glory days" after all. So, with lightly shaking hands, she let Miss Warming open the door and guide her into her office.
The hour that followed was a rocky one. Not wanting to waste Miss Warming's time, she dove straight into the night she was on the bridge, and the events that led her there. Well, minus the magic of course. The last thing she needed was to be brought to a different type of Therapist at this point. That aside, it was painful for her to revisit those memories. The pain of being abandoned by those she thought were her family. The loneliness of being avoided and hated by the entire school for a crime she never committed. All of that combined with the last thing to finally push her over the edge; the cold, heartless realization that no matter what she said or did, no one would believe her. It felt like having crudely wrapped bandages torn away from an infected wound then to have alcohol pored on it. It was excruciating, but much like a disinfected gash, the pain soon gave way to comfort. A warm blanket and shelter from the cold. A game of twenty-one and an invitation of friendship. A promise of true loyalty from another damaged soul. A nerdy gift with a playful smile. Proof that one member of her former family believed her. A blast of music that rattled her to her core and brought her back to life. With each memory, each bond she allowed herself to remember, a new layer of bandages were wrapped around the wound in her heart. But it wasn't crudely slapped into place with the intent of hiding the injury. Now it was done properly and  with care. Now it could heal properly.
But even then, with what little of her heart that had already mended, a single truth was painfully obvious to the fiery  haired teen; that with the exception of Fluttershy, what she had with her former friends was dead. A fact that she knew but now, after all this time, she accepted. 



***


An endless dark void. That was all Rainbow Dash could see as she looked around. Much like every night for the past two weeks, she was tied to a chair at the center of the dark abyss. And just like every night, she wasn't alone.  Standing before her was an almost exact copy of herself. At first, the clone was completely identical to the sporty girl with the only difference between them being that the clone had her eyes covered by a black strip of cloth. But as the days went on, things changed. Little by little, the clone's skin changed from blue to a light shade of green and its hair started to change into a dark shade of yellow. The end result was a Rainbow Dash with giant patches of green covering her body and a mostly yellow head of hair, but one thing didn't change each night.
"Are ya' gonna' listen?" the clone growled as she cracked her knuckles.
Rainbow gave her copy a cold glare.
The copy's jaw clenched as she returned the favor.
"Well?"
"Fuck you," Rainbow growled.
With a furious howl, the copy slammed its fist into Dash's face. Rainbow only had enough time to spit out a tooth before another blow was delivered, this time to her chest. Again and again, blows rained down on her from all conceivable angles, all the while, the copy screamed its criticisms at the girl.
"HOW STUPID CAN YOU BE?! WHY WOULD SHE GO BACK TO HER OLD WAYS? SHE HAD EVERYTHING SHE COULD EVER NEED! SHE HAD FRIENDS! SHE HAD LOVE! SHE HAD YOU! WHY THE HELL WOULD SHE GIVE ALL THAT UP JUST TO GO BACK TO SQUARE ONE!? HOW COULD MY BEARER BE SO STUPID?!"
After what felt like an hour, the Dash clone halted her assault, her blindfolded brow frowned in barely contained anger. Dash, now a battered and bruised mess, turned her gaze up towards her copy. Her blackening eyes locked with where the blindfold hid her assailant's , defiance replaced with fear. This was the first time the copy had ever attacked her so brutally. The last few times, she would punch her once or twice while berating her for how she treated Sunset, but this was different. The copy wanted blood.
"Last chance Dash," she growled. "Give me a reason why Sunset would betray you or I'm done."
A minute of silence passed between the two. Then another. And another. With a sigh, the copy turned and walked away from the bound girl.
"Pathetic," it growled as it faded into the darkness. "Maybe my next bearer will be worth my time. See ya........traitor."
At the last second, just before the darkness consumed the clone, she saw what little bits of blue that still covered the girl finally turn green. 
With a blink, Rainbow was no longer in the void. Instead, she was lying in bed, staring at her ceiling. All of the wounds from the beating she took were left behind in the dream she had, but as she stared at her ceiling, a strange feeling washed over her. She felt as if a part of her had been removed, some piece of her soul that she had taken for granted and only then realized how precious it was. It was then, for the first time in ten years, that Rainbow Dash cried. Cried for the part of her that was gone and would never be coming back.



***



Furious scribbling filled the air of a dimly lit room as its soul occupant struggled to complete her task curled up in the corner. As she worked, a portion of her mind continued to wander to places that raised her ire. A weary sigh slipped past her lips as she reeled in her wandering thoughts only for an angry snarl to fallow when she saw what her unfocused mind had created. The dress was simple, yet designed for someone with a more athletic build that lacked the reinforcements needed for one made for Rainbow. It was elegant, while also bold enough to allow its owner to wear certain accessories that would normally clash. An accessory such as a black leather jacket.
Rarity grabbed the sketch and ripped it out of her sketchpad. With a snarl, she crumpled it and threw it into a growing pile of similar designs before she once again attempted to create a new design.
How could she betray us?! she thought as she furiously scribbled across the clean sheet of paper before her. 
"She didn't, love," a voice echoed from the walls, the contempt in it as thick as a country.
Startled, she looked around herself for the voice's source, but found nothing.
"Wh-Who said that?"
"I did," the voice said, now coming from the sketchpad .
She glanced down at her pad and what she saw made her jaw drop. Standing in the middle of the previously blank page with its arms crossed was small cartoon of herself. The only major difference aside from the size was that large parts of her were colored gray instead of white. But it wasn't the illustration's sudden appearance that shocked her. It was the fact that it was moving.
"Wha-How-HUH?!" she exclaimed.
"Not important," the mini Rarity said as she leveled a harsh glare at her larger counterpart. "What is important is how much of a total fool you have been these last few days."
"Tell me about it," she groaned, ignoring the irony of her situation. "Only a fool could've believed someone like her could ever change."
"You are right about one thing love. You were tricked, but it wasn't by that poor dear."
"Excuse me?" she exclaimed through a humorless laugh. "Clearly we are talking about different people, darling."
"Agreed," she grimaced. "I am talking about Sunset Shimmer. The one who fought tooth and nail with you to defeat the Sirens. The one who went through hell and back to earn the forgiveness of the entire student body for her past transgressions. The one who would sooner die than betray the people closest to her. Who are you talking about?"
For a moment, Rarity's anger was replaced with doubt as each of her double's points struck home. She had seen the lengths Sunset went to to prove herself. Plus, something about the whole situation had bothered her. What would Sunset stand to gain from such a stunt as this? Or was everything just a means to get revenge on those who wronged her?
Rarity shook the doubt from her mind and glared at the sentient drawing.
"Clearly the girl is an excellent actress. Not to mention opportunistic if her past deeds are anything to go by. In fact, calling her a traitor is too generous a term. To be a traitor she would've had to have been a friend in the first place."
The illustration's glare deepened for a moment, before she let out a defeated sigh.
"So that's how you choose to see her. And I thought you were the smartest among us."
"Pardon?" Rarity blinked, anger replaced with confusion.
"You are the one with the sharpest eyes and the most precise wit. Surely you noticed it too. The frayed form of her jacket. The fact that she never let you or the girls come to her place. How she never seemed to have more than five outfits. Need I continue?"
"What's your point?" she asked, brow raised. 
"Why would a person with nothing throw away what they worked so hard to get?"
Rarity stared wide-eyed at her double as all of the pieces presented to her fell into place.
"Y-You don't mean..."
"Funny," the drawing smiled sadly as a door appeared next to her. "The most generous thing you did for her was call her a traitor."
With that, what little white was left on the animated drawing was taken by the gray as it opened the door and left. The second it was gone, Rarity felt like a part of her went with her. That combined with the grief of her most resent revelation, brought tears to her eyes. Tears that fallowed her all the way to the waking world.



***



The air was heavy with the scent of apples and leaves as two figures stood in the heart of a massive apple orchard. One was a orange skinned girl with blond hair wearing a red and white flannel shirt and blue overalls. Sitting on her head was a hand made stetson style hat handed down from her father. Across from her stood a girl that looked a lot like her only with a few key differences. The figure was dressed in clothes made of a collection of leaves arranged in the same shapes as her own, minus a hat. Her hair was made of long strands of dried straw that looked as flexible as Applejack's own, but had patches of blue and pink dominating most of it. The figure's skin looked to be made of bark and was mostly cream colored with small specks of orange scattered across what parts of its body weren't covered with leaves. Its face was identical to Applejack's with the absence of a mouth being the only abnormality.
Applejack glared at the wooden effigy.
"You're wrong," she growled.
"No. Ah'm not," the tree girl replied, tone empty of emotion. "You are."
Applejack growled furiously as she stepped closer to her double.
"How else could my secret've ended up on that account? How else could those picture's've gotten out? The damn account even had her profile on it for pete's sake!"
For a moment, silence dominated the orchard, only Applejack's angered breathing serving as the only sign of life. Then, with a tone that sounded slightly disappointed, the tree girl said, "Ya' don't believe that."
Applejack flinched as if her double had slapped her and stepped back.
"If you did," it sighed. "You wouldn't be doubt'n yourself so much. You know somethin' ain't right about this. C'mon gal, get a grip of yourself and focus. Surely you can see that your being railroaded."
Applejack glared at her double, then, with venom on her tongue, said, "I'm through being a pawn fer tha' snake."
A sigh made it past the double's nonexistent lips and she gave her human counterpart a sad glance.
"Ya' took the words right out of my mouth. Y' know, they say there's no worse lie than the one's we tell ourselves. Guess you're livin' proof of that. I hope ma'h next bearer is less of a rattler."
With that, all of the remaining patches of orange on the double faded into cream and the few small patches of blond were devoured  by blue and pink. Then the figure faded away like a ghost.
A second later, Applejack awoke with a start, a tearing pain in her chest and tears streaming down her face. She knew that something was wrong, but her mind couldn't figure out what, only that what she lost was never coming back. And it was her own fault. 



***



Pinkie tossed and turned as she tried to get some sleep, but her restless mind would't let her. No matter what she did, her thoughts would drift back to that night at Sugarcube Corner. To the destroyed look in Sunset's eyes as she was yelled at by Dash. With a frustrated groan, she dragged herself out of her bed and towards her bedroom door.
"Maybe a glass of water will help," she sighed as she staggered into the kitchen.
After she pulled a glass out of a cabinet, she moved to the sink to pour herself a drink, but paused when a movement in her left peripheral got her attention. When she turned, she saw her phone sitting on the counter. Confused, she set her glass down by the sink and approached the device. When she picked it up, she saw that a video was paused on it. Curious, she tapped the play icon on the screen. What she saw made her blood turn into ice. On the screen was someone that looked like Sunset standing on the guardrail of a bridge, a look of absolute despair on her face as she gazed upon the frigid water below. Pinkie watched with wide eyes, breaths coming out in gradually faster panicked gasps as a stone began to grow in her gut. Silently, she prayed that what she thought was going to happen wouldn't, but a large part of her knew what was coming. Then, with dead eyes closed, the girl jumped. It was at that point that Pinkie lost her grip, both on the phone and her stomach as she dropped the device and ran to the sink, her most recent meal decorating its interior. For a moment, she just stood there with her head over the sink, shaking as she waited for the shock to work its way out of her system. Still shaking, she managed to gain enough control of herself to move away from the sink. What greeted her was no more of a comfort than the phone had been.
Standing five feet away from her was a girl that looked like her, but with many noticeable differences. The girl's hair was long and straight with many tangles running through it. Her features were frail and bony, as if she hadn't eaten in months with only a thin layer of will keeping her standing. Her eyes were sunken into her skull with heavy black rings surrounding them like rotting flesh.  Her thin, dry, lips were pulled into a quivering frown as she stared at Pinkie as with bare feet she approached her, a single, shaking question aimed at her.
"Why did you take her smile?"
"N-No! G-G-Get back," she stammered as she backed away from the emaciated clone. 
The staggering pat of bare feet behind her drew her attention away from the clone only for her to notice another one walking towards her from the other end of the kitchen. Panicking, she shifted her attention back to the first clone only to see five more had appeared, all of them asking the same question. Paralyzed with fear, she watched as more clones oozed out of the shadows of the kitchen to join the mob already present. Soon, she was completely surrounded, "Why did you take her smile?" repeated like a depressed mantra as Pinkie trembled in absolute terror. Eventually, it all became too much for her and with tears in her eyes she screamed, "I WAS SCARED!!!"
The clones stopped their chanting and stared at the now sobbing girl.
"I was scared that she had gone back to her old ways! I was scared that all the fun we had was a lie! I was scared that the smile she would always show us was fake and that we weren't really friends!"
For a moment, the only sound in the kitchen was the sound of  Pinkie sobbing, but that didn't last long.
"So that was it?" a voice identical to Pinkie's said, mild irritation decorating it. "You were scared?"
Pinkie turned her head towards were she heard the voice and gasped. Standing just outside the sea of clones stood a copy that looked significantly more healthy than the rest with the only other differences being most of its body being white with only a small bundle of pink patches noticeable among the two tone blue locks on its head. The clone glared at her while the others crept back into the shadows, leaving the two alone in the room.
"How scared do you think Sunset was?" it growled. "The whole school hates her and you turned your back on her. You are supposed to bring smiles to people, not take them away. You were scared? GOOD! A GUTLESS COWARD LIKE YOU DESERVES TO BE AFRAID!!!"
Pinkie flinched at her discolored doppelgäner's tirade, more tears flowing down her face.
"You know," the clone continued with a sigh. "I thought maybe you had a better reason for abandoning a friend, but now I see that I was wrong about you. You really are just a waste of time. Goodbye."
With that, what was left of Pinkie's colors on the clone melted away as she blinked. When her eyes opened she was in her bed staring at the ceiling. As she laid there, tears streamed down her face. She didn't move. She hardly breathed. She didn't do anything. It hurt far too much to do anything but weep.



***



Fluttershy sat on her bed, a dull glaze in her eyes. Laying on the bed next to her was a large pile of knives of various sizes. Slowly, her head turned towards the pile and her lips contorted into a faint grimace. Almost mechanically, she grabbed one of the larger steak knives, then jammed it into her right thigh. She pushed hard to push the blade deeper and deeper into her leg until only the handle was visible above her skin. The pain should've been extreme, but only equated to getting a pinch on the shoulder. Her grimace grew as she grabbed  another knife and jammed it into her leg. Again, the pain was minimal compared to what the blade should've delivered. She repeated this again and again, until her whole right leg was covered with knife handles. By this point a frustrated glare covered her face as she reached for yet another knife.

"Not enough," she muttered as she aimed her new blade at her left thigh. "She suffered so much more than this."
Just as she was about to bring the blade down, a gray hand grabbed it and held it in place.
"That's enough!" the hand's owner said, drawing the damaged girls gaze away from her leg.
What she saw was a copy of herself, only completely gray with blond hair and golden eyes.
"You don't need to do this anymore," she said, tears falling from her eyes as she gently took the knife from Fluttershy. "You don't need to suffer anymore. You have already been forgiven. You have already proven yourself to her."
Fluttershy shook her head.
"No. I know how badly I hurt her. I know how awfully I treated her. I deserve so much more than this."
"No, you don't," before Fluttershy could respond, the gray girl pulled her into a tight embrace.
"You accepted your failings. You tried to help Meme Queen find the true criminal. You chose to become one of her protectors. And now you want to make it up to her. If you want to do that, this isn't the way to go about it."
"Then how?" Fluttershy asked, voice coming out in slight sobs.
With a sad smile, the gray duplicate released her and said, "Through forgiveness. You need to forgive yourself for your failings and strive to move forward to better yourself. Only then can you truly make amends for your past. Unfortunately, I no longer have the power to guide you, but someone else does."
As she said that, another figure entered the room. This one also looked like Fluttershy, but only in the most basic of senses. She shared the timid girl's skin and hair colors, but instead of clothes, this version of her was covered in light silver armor. Strapped to her left hip was an ornate rapier with a fine jet-black leather sheath. The copy's eyes were a bright ruby red with slitted pupils that held a strength that Fluttershy didn't feel matched a person with her face. The gray Fluttershy smiled then approached her armored counterpart.
"I leave her in your hands," she smiled.
"I will not fail," the armored copy said with a slight bow.
With that, the gray Fluttershy turned towards the wounded original and said, "So long. And good luck." before she faded away. Once the first copy disappeared, the second one approached her. 
"As she said," it said, glaring at the knives still planted in Fluttershy's right leg. "These will not be necessary."
With a wave of her armored hand, the knives disappeared  with not even a trace that they were ever there to begin with. Fluttershy stared at her healed limb in amazement before she stared up at the knight that stood before her from her seat on the bed.
"I will not lie," the knight sighed. "The path of forgiveness is not an easy one. It will be long and hard. You will stumble and fall, but only you can choose to stand back up. Will you stand to walk this hazardous road?"
"Will you be my guide?" she asked, a trace of strength in her tone.
The knight smiled, then said, "To the end and beyond, milady."
With that, Fluttershy rose to her feet and with a fire in her teal eyes that matched the rubies of her knight's said, "Yes." as the shy teen took her first steps on the path of true forgiveness.



***



All was peaceful in the Castle of Friendship's second floor library. At its heart sat a lavender Alicorn enjoying a bit of late night reading. Or at least, that was the plan. At random points, her gaze would drift away from her book towards the portal ten feet away from her desk. For the last few days, she felt that something was wrong. At first, she shook it off as her over thinking things. But as the days passed, the feeling only grew. She couldn't explain it, but she knew that something had happened on the other side of the portal. Sunset's last message didn't make her feel any better, mostly due to the fact that it was the only message she received from her since the feeling started.
Maybe I should go take a look. Just to make sure she's okay
No sooner had the thought entered her head did she suddenly find herself wrapped in the coils of the God of Chaos's body. Anything beyond a startled yelp was blocked as he clamped his lion's paw over her muzzle. It was then that she saw the look of sheer terror plastered across his face. That fact alone turned her blood into ice. 
"Talk later," he cried, as with a snap of his free fingers, both he and the Princess of Friendship vanished.
For a moment, only silence filled the room, but then came the heat. It was subtle at first, a slight rise in temperature that some would consider pleasant in the frigid winter weather. That didn't last long as soon, blank sheets of paper started to curl and smolder. Then the few candles in the room started to melt. Then, a massive torrent of white-hot flames erupted from the middle of the library, completely obliterating anything not protected by Twilight's magic. Just as suddenly as its arrival, the flame geyser vanished and in its place stood Princess Celestia. Her normally flowing mane and tail fell limp, the excess magic that normally animated them being put to other uses. Her jaw was set in a furious clench as her eyes, wide with fury and shrunken pupils, scanned the room. Finally, they settled on the portal and her brow furrowed.
"There will be no ashes to mourn," she snarled, her voice echoing with power. "That I PROMISE!!!"
> Ch.9 First Impressions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In a busy street, ten blocks away from Canterlot High stood a small candy shop. The Sweetie Drops was one of the biggest sweets shops in town, with all of their goods made by hand and with recipes that had been passed down for generations. If one wanted to get their hands on a top quality batch of candy, that was the place to go. If one were to stop by the shop on that bright day, they would also see the shop's owner attempting to hug the life out of a fiery haired teen in a black leather jacket with tears in her eyes.
"Bonbon," Sunset gasped, desperately reaching out to the mortified cream-colored teen. "A little help, please!"
Bonbon sighed as she approached her weeping mother.
"For god's sake mom," she groaned, grabbing one of her mother's arms. "Let the poor girl breath!"
"R-Right," Sweetie Drops sniffled as she reluctantly released her prey. "Sorry. Welcome to The Sweetie Drops, where quality smiles are our top priority," she smiled. "Feel free to check out our wears and if you find something you like, don't hesitate to bring it to the register."
"Uh, sure?" she said awkwardly. 
With a smile and sniffle, the older woman nodded then headed to the back of the shop. Sunset let out a relieved sigh as she watched her leave. While it was a better reception then she was used to outside of her new circle of friends, it was still a little too personal for her. 
"Sorry about that," Bonbon sighed as she walked towards the same door behind the register desk. "My mom's not usually like that."
"Really?" she asked as she fallowed the cream colored girl. "What's she like normally?"
She paused just outside the door with her right index finger resting on her chin as she thought for a moment then said, "Like that only less weepy and huggy."
"Ah," Sunset nodded.
With that, the two girls entered the back room and what she saw made Sunset's jaw drop. While the shop's main floor was impressive, the countless laboratory-style setups that filled the room was on a totally different level of awe-inspiring. Beakers, test tubes, and various types of equipment needed to handle an equally diverse collection of chemicals dominated the room, with large bundles of completed product gathered near unused packaging.
"Impressed?" Bonbon giggled as she saw Sunset's slack-jawed expression. "Here at Sweetie Drop's, all of our candy is hand made using centuries old recipes passed down from matriarch to matriarch. While we don't have the marketing of some of the bigger chain stores, our reputation has made us one of the biggest businesses in the city."
"What about wrapping?" Sunset asked, snapping out of her stupor. "You don't wrap and package all of your candy by hand too, do you?"
With a smug grin, Bonbon nodded.
"Just the two of you?!"
"Well of course not," she laughed. "Normally we have the whole family here making and packaging the candy. You didn't really think my mom and I were the only people that worked here did you?"
"Well..." she pouted with a slight blush. "Maybe? But then were is everyone?"
"Day off," she said with a smirk. "The shop isn't open on Sundays. Gives everyone a chance to catch their breath."
"Oh, that makes sense," she said, mentally face-palming. 
And the only reason her mom and her are here is because they live on the second floor.
"Anyway," Bonbon said walking towards a set of stares in the room's back left corner. "let's get out of here before you try to make a love potion or something."
"A what?!" she exclaimed, chasing after the blue and pink haired girl. "Why would I want something like that?!"
"Oh please," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "I've seen the way you look at Derpy."
"I-I have no idea what you're talking about," Sunset stammered, face turning as red as her hair.
"Whatever you say," she said with a playful smile. It turned positively cheshireish as she added,"Good luck with that by the way. The two of you would be absolutely adorable together."
Sunset could only sputter random sounds as her frazzled mind struggled to come up with a functional counter argument. That proved to be an impossible feat, leaving the fiery haired girl a blushing mess as she ascended the stairs to the shop's second floor. At the head of the two girl parade, a grinning Bonbon observed her handy work with a victorious smile.
Looks like Octavia's hunch was right. That settles it then. When all this Annon-a-Miss BS is taken care of, were gonna help get these two together. Well Octavia's gonna do it. I don't even want to think about the kind of crazy plans Lyra would come up with.
Instantly, memories of her thirteenth birthday came to mind, and with them, a shiver down her spine. They never did find the clown that was supposed to pop out of the cake.
Once they reached the top of the stairs they stepped into a dimly lit hallway with three doors. One was at the opposite end of the hall while the other two were at the middle facing each other. Bonbon casually walked to the door on the left and  gently pushed it open.
"Well, here we are," she smiled as she held the door open to her.
Sunset let herself in to what had to be the most generic looking bedroom she had ever seen. The walls were painted a light brown with nothing decorating them beyond a light-blue wall mounted clock. A blue dresser stood against the wall to her left with a traditional wood-framed queen-sized bed on the opposite end of the room. Directly across from her stood a simple work desk with a pink laptop positioned at its center with a desk lamp just behind it. A straw hamper was positioned  right next to the door. A light trace of lemon and laundry detergent filled the air as Sunset took in her surroundings.
It reminds me of my room at Derpy's, she thought, taking a deep breath.
"Pretty bland, huh?" Bonbon smiled, letting herself in and closing the door. "Mom keeps bugging me to decorate, but I don't really see the point."
"Yeah, I get it," Sunset sighed, taking a seat on the bed. "If you don't need it, it's just clutter, right?"
"Exactly," she exclaimed, taking a seat beside her guest. "Finally someone who gets it!"
Both girls laughed, Sunset enjoying the simplicity of her surroundings and Bonbon's company. It was then that Sunset noticed a previously missed blue deck box sitting on the bed's headboard. 
"A gift from Lyra?" she asked, pointing at the headboard.
"Kinda," Bonbon said, a gentle smile gracing her face as she picked it up. "The deck box came from Lyra, but the cards are all me."
"Really? No offense, but you don't look like someone that would be into that kind of thing."
"None taken," she laughed. "And you're right, I don't play all that much. Not as much as Lyra anyway."
She stared down at the small cardholder, her gaze distant as a faint smile decorated her face.
"You know," she continued, eyes still locked onto her deck box. "It's thanks to Magic that I became friends with Lyra."
"Really?" Sunset asked, intrigued. 
She nodded.
"Back in Junior High, I wasn't the best at making friends. I was really awkward and shy, so when lunch came around, I'd spend most of my time wandering the school looking for ways to kill time. Some of the teachers that had classes after lunch would let students use there rooms to hang out. Sort of like mini cafeterias or clubs as long as the student's didn't get too rowdy. One of the teachers that did this was a music teacher towards the back of the school. I went there once to take a break from all the noise in the cafeteria, and that's when I saw Lyra for the first time."



***



At the heart of the otherwise empty music room stood a green girl with messy gray and white hair wearing a light blue shirt and gray shorts. In front of her were two desks facing each other about two inches apart. On each desk was an assortment of cards arranged in some sort of pattern that only made sense to their mint handler. Bonbon watched the strange girl for a moment, intrigue drawing her to investigate further. Three feet away from the sight, the unnerving stillness of the girl in addition the intense levels of concentration she exuded prevented the shy tween from moving any further. Then, as fast as a cobra, the girl's hands flew between the two desks, each changing card positions and locations. It was almost like she was in a trance, moving with the speed of someone at the mercy of a higher power. Then, just as suddenly, she stopped, an irritated scowl plastered across her face. With an annoyed grumble, she picked up all of the cards, put them into their own individual stacks, placed those stacks into small colorful plastic boxes, put them into her backpack, and left the room with a distant look in her eyes.
What the heck just happened? she thought as she watched the strange girl leave.



***



"Later, she told me it was a mock battle," Bonbon smiled, opening up the deck box and pulling out her cards. "She takes two decks and pits them against each other. She told me its like fighting herself over and over again so she can make the best deck she can."
Sunset nodded in understanding, her hand drifting unconsciously to her own cards in her jacket pocket. Ever since Lyra gave them to her, she kept them close. It felt like having a piece of one of her friends with her at all times.
"Ever since that day," she continued,  slowly sifting through her blue-sleeved cards. "I would go to that room at lunch. At first it was because I had nowhere else to go, but then I started to get curious about her. What was she doing? What was with those cards? Why was she all by herself everyday? Was she the same as me? I really wanted to know, but every time I tried to ask her, my nerves would get the best of me."
Then, a gentle smile spread across her face, she stopped filing through her cards to pull out one in particular, a nostalgic gleam in her eyes.
"But one day, I was walking through the mall and something amazing happened."
"What?" Sunset asked.
She faced her guest, still holding her nostalgic smile and said, "I got to see the real Lyra and get my answers all in one go."



***



Bonbon let out a sigh, the crowds tuned out as the music from her earbuds flooded her with the zen only opera could provide. It was the only way she could deal with being surrounded by so many people at once. Not every time of course, but sometimes the suffocating feeling of being surrounded by people was just too much. With her anxieties mostly tamed, she casually strolled through the stores, not really looking for anything in particular. It was as she was looking at a mannequin on display at a department store that  the green girl with gray and white hair caught her attention.  To Bonbon's surprise, the girl was dressed completely different from how she was at school. Instead of her usual light-blue shirt and gray shorts, she wore a white dress shirt tucked into a pair black jeans with a matching summer jacket draped around her shoulders. Slung over her one shoulder was what looked like a single-strapped backpack with a strange star-shaped pattern on the top. 
She seemed a lot more relaxed, with a giddy smile decorating her face as she navigated the labyrinth of stores and kiosks. Curious, Bonbon decided to fallow her, not really sure what to make of this new development. After a few minutes, the girl in black stepped into a store, Bonbon not far behind her. A quick look around added more questions to the growing pile in Bonbon's head. The store was full of various card and gaming paraphernalia, with the wall being dominated by wall-mounted displays showing a wide variety of cards. At the checkout stand were even more diverse merchandise such as the same colorful plastic boxes she saw the girl put her cards in as well as different colored versions of the bag she had wrapped across her shoulder. At the heart of the store's main area were a cluster of chairs and tables evenly spaced in an eight-by-eight grid pattern with two chairs a piece. Most of the tables were occupied, all by people who were using the same kind of cards as the girl she followed.
What is this place?  she thought, gently plucking her earbuds out. 
It was then, that what little background chatter the removal of her earbuds exposed her to was cut off as, one-by-one, each of the store's inhabitants took note of Bonbon's unknowing guide. She was silent as she moved towards a table in the farthest corner of the table grid, her back towards the other patrons. With practiced ease, she slid her shoulder bag off onto the table. Silence owned the room, then, with a confident smile and golden eyes that burned with determination, she turned to face the staring crowed.
"Hope you guys didn't miss me too much! Don't worry, Queen Lyra is ready to take all of ya on!"
The room filled with cheers as those that weren't already playing against someone moved over towards Lyra's table.
"Bout time you showed up, champ!" said one kid, taking a seat. "I've been working on my deck since our last match. I bet I can take ya this time!"
"Heh, we'll see about that," she grinned as she unzipped the top of her bag. "Don't think I've been sitting on my butt this whole time either, Button."
With it open, Bonbon saw that its interior was divided into evenly spaced plastic brackets. Each section held a plastic box of varying colors ranging from bright red to pure white. Everyone watched with baited breath as the girl, Lyra, selected one. When she pulled out a white leather-bound container, excited grins filled the room.
"Let's go all out," she grinned, as she deftly placed her prize onto the table.
Her challenger stared at her, jaw slacked before it made way for an excited smile.
"Alright! This is gonna be awesome! 
What followed could only be described as a blur of activity as Bonbon watched the two card sharks go at it. When she got close enough to get a better look at what was going on she was able to notice a kind of pattern involving the cards the two were using. Lyra's cards were all relatively normal looking with a vast majority of them depicting human warriors and knights, while her opponent's all looked like twisted corpses or demonic horrors. She also noted a correlation between the two putting cards that depicted variations of terrains into a horizontal position with playing more detailed cards from their hands. It also seemed like a kind of score was being kept using twenty-sided dice as counters for some reason. As the game continued, Lyra seemed to become more animated, egging on 'Button' to play better cards and try getting past her defenses. Eventually, Lyra's half of the table was absent of anything beyond land cards and only three cards remained in her hand.
"Hah! I've got you now Champ," Button grinned. "In my next turn, my Salvage Titan's gonna take out what's left of your life."
For a moment Lyra stared at the table, her face blank, then, she looked at the three cards in her hand and laughed.
"Wow Button, you've really stepped up your game," she smirked. "But like I said, I haven't been slaking off all this time."
With that, she tapped three of her land cards and placed a new card on the table.
"First, I pay three white manna to summon Wall of Resurgence. This allows me to turn one of my lands into a 0/0 elemental with three 1/1 counters on it and haste."
As she said this, she moved one or her tapped lands into position next to her creature.
"And next," she said, her grin widening. "I pay seven white manna to summon Angel of Glory's Rise."
The second she placed her card, the whole room grew deathly quiet, as if everyone were holding their breath. Bonbon couldn't help but to get drawn into the tension of the situation. She knew that something big had happened in terms of the match in front of her, but she had no idea what. And it was driving her crazy. Fortunately, Lyra was more than ready to answer her unasked question.
"The second Glory hits the field, all of the humans in my graveyard return to the field. All twenty-four of them!"
With that, she reached for her graveyard and put twenty-four cards onto her side of the table, lips pulled into a smug grin.
"Oops, sorry," she giggled. "I meant Twenty-eight. When Attended Knight is summoned all four of them create a 1/1 Soldier token. And my two Crusaders of Odrics gain power and toughness equal to the number of creatures I have under my control. Also, my Captain of the Watch gives everyone else a 1/1 power boost and vigilance. This is my new ending move: THE GRAND BATTALION!!!"
Button gaped at the variable army at Lyra's disposal, frantically looking at his meager hand for any way to turn the tide in his favor.
"W-Wow Champ, that's pretty good. I hope I can get a board wipe next turn."
"Next turn?" Lyra blinked. "What do ya mean? My guys are taking you out right now."
"Huh? But summon sickness-"
"Don't you remember that land I turned into an elemental?"
He nodded.
"Well, it gained the haste ability and this guy," she said, pointing to one of her cards. "Odric, Lunarch Marshal, can give all my creatures the same printed ability as one of them. In short, since my elemental has haste, all of my creatures have haste. Get it? You've lost."
Button's jaw dropped, then he picked up Odric and the first card that Lyra played that turn. Once he confirmed that she was telling the truth he, politely returned the cards to her and let out a frustrated yell.
"Dang it! I was so close that time!"
"Like I said, you've really improved," she shrugged as she picked up her cards. "You're just not quite at my level yet. Keep it up. You'll get there eventually."
As she said that, she put a hand on Button's shoulder and flashed him an encouraging smile before shifting her attention to her crowd of fans.
"Alright, who wants to take a crack at me next?"



***



"And you know what the crazy thing is?"
"What?" Sunset asked, captivated by her friend's tale.
"She beat all of them."
"Really?"
"Yep!" she smirked. "It was amazing. It was like she had some kind of bond with her cards. Each time she looked like she was going to get overwhelmed, she would draw just the card she needed to turn it all around. It was like her cards wanted her to win just as much as she did."
Again, Sunset's hand drifted to the deck box in her jacket pocket, only this time it was with a bit more intent. To her surprise, she could feel a small trace of magic in it that didn't belong to her. It made her wonder just how much of Lyra's bizarre fascination with magic was truly based on a love of fantasy.
"It was amazing," she sighed. "No matter what happened, she had such confidence in herself through out the whole thing. I admired that about her, and decided I'd try to become like her, if I could. So, I did as much research on the game as I could; focused on what kind of strategies worked best with me so I could face her. I thought, if I could match her then maybe I could be as cool as her."
Bonbon let out a light chuckle at that before she continued.
"Guess I got more than that."
Sunset nodded, a wistful smile on her lips as her thoughts drifted to Derpy and the bridge.
"As you could guess, she beat the tar out of me. A new-b versus a city champion? No contest. But each day, I'd challenge her and with each match I got more confident. Eventually, we started hanging out and before I knew it, I had my first friend. She even gave me this as a birthday gift."
As she said that, she handed a card over to Sunset. She took it and gave it a slow look over and was surprised  by the amount of print it had on it.
"Morphling?" she asked, reading the card's name. "Looks pretty powerful."
"It is. It's one of the strongest blue cards in the game and one of the hardest to get. She said I'd need it more than she did."
Sunset gave the card another look, this time with more appreciation. She also noticed a trace of magic surrounding it, though it didn't feel aggressive or wild. It felt impatient, like a child eager to get back to its friend. With a light chuckle, she returned the card to Bonbon who gently returned her cards to their deck box.
"You know," Bonbon smirked. "I think Lyra said she was gonna head to the mall today to update her deck. Want to stop by and say hi?"
She pondered it for a minute, then with a smile she nodded
"Sure, let's do it."



***



A thick layer of snow covered the ground, the early morning's rays coating the entirety of the Canter Canyon mountain range with a faint aurora. At the heart of a clearing among the mountains, an Alicorn and Chaos God flashed into existence.
"Okay," Discord sighed, letting go of his captive Princess. "We should be far enough ."
Shock shifted to irritation as Twilight turned towards her capturer.
"Discord, what the hay are-"
Her anger turned back into shock as she got a good look at him. The Dragonequis was covered with a wide variety of injuries ranging from deep scratches to massive burns. In addition, one of his eyes was black and swollen shut along with his Griffin arm appearing to be dislocated at the shoulder. 
"What happened to you?!" she exclaimed, horn already glowing with no less than twenty healing spells at the ready.
"Your former Teacher," he groaned as he fell into the snow. "That's what happened to me. Remind me to never do anything permanent to her family in the future."
Twilight paused, letting the spells do their work as she tried to process what he said. While she knew that Celestia was powerful, she just couldn't see her doing this to anypony, especially Discord. At least, not without a good reason.
"What did you do," she groaned.
"Hey!" he snapped, pulling his now mostly healed form into a sitting position "I'm not the one who screwed up this time! That honor goes to your friends on the other side of the portal!"
"What?!" she exclaimed, taking a step back from the irritated being before her. "What do they have to do with this?!"
Discord let out weary sigh then gazed at the Princess of Friendship with a broken frown.
"This is what happened."



***



Laughter filled one of the castle's private guest rooms as its two occupants enjoyed each others company. A single candle was the only source of light in the dark room, Illuminating just enough of the room to reveal Discord, Celestia, and the bottle of two-thousand year old wine right next to it on a silver table. The infectious nature of the season dominated the atmosphere as the two immortals told tales from their pasts that the other hadn't been able to find out about, as well as a few hilarious rumors that had come to light. It wasn't often that they allowed themselves to unwind like this, especially with alcohol as a factor. The main reason being that it was hard to find any liquor that could actually effect them, but the other was because of the Solar Diarch's hectic work schedule. But when they could have these moments, it was always a pleasure. More so for Celestia than Discord, as the Chaos God's antics had started to grow on her a little bit over the years.
"Oh, Discord~" she purred, cheeks flushed from the wine. "Do you think we could...you know?"
"Why Celestia, what kind of question is that?" he asked, talon on his chest in faux shock. "Of course we can!"
With a wide smile, he snapped his fingers and a five foot tall ornate mirror appeared in beside the table. A happy squeal slipped past her muzzle as she poured herself another glass and turned to face the mirror. Ever since it was confirmed that she was alive on the other side of the portal, Celestia had taken steps to make sure Sunset was safe in the other world. In addition to putting up several barriers and security spells around Sunset's home asking Discord to open a window between the two worlds was the most reliable of these methods. Of course, it needed to be adjusted at first, after all, there was only so many times Celestia could watch her daughter sleep before it became both boring and introspectively creepy. As such, the spell was reworked to only show events in Sunset's life that held strong emotional attachment to her between uses. 
For the first few minutes, everything was fine. They watched as Sunset bonded with her friends, a smile brighter than Celestia's charge threatening to split her head in half. But then, things took a turn for the worse. Before her very eyes, the beautiful life that her daughter fought for began to crumble. Her friends abandoned her, the students she protected turned on her, and her precious sun fell further into despair. A tornado of emotions were warring for dominance in her heart; sadness, fear, confusion, but creeping into the position of Commander was an emotion that the Solar Ruler tried to contain on a daily basis and was failing spectacularly. An unstoppable inferno of rage filled her, causing her hold on her wine goblet to tremble before the unfortunate object was crushed into an atom. Tears were falling down her face as she saw her long lost pride prepare to take her own life.
No......No please......Don't.......Don't do it....PLEASE DON'T!!!
She jumped.
"SUNSET!!! NO!!!"
The dam broke and with it, the hold Celestia had on her magic. The torrent of emotionally charged magic shattered the mirror while countless ageless enchantments built into the castle's very core held back Celestia's enormous magic flare. Discord watched, terror paralyzing him as the grieving mother let out a wail of pure agony, her eyes glowing with power and running tears.  Surrounded by a hurricane of power, she let the heavens hear her pain for what felt like hours, the name of her now truly dead daughter repeated like a morbid mantra. Soon, the strength in her legs disappeared , forcing her to her knees. As she sobbed, Discord tried to figure out what he could do to fix this. As great as his powers were, even he couldn't bring back the dead. It was one of the reasons he only messed with everypony as opposed to killing them. Death was permanent, something he never liked and never would. He didn't need to ponder his options for long, as after a few minutes Celestia had stopped her crying, though her magic was still trying to tare the world apart. She slowly rose to her hooves, a look of murderous fury plastered across her tear stained face.
"They took our Little Sun," she growled, voice echoing as she slipped into her old form of speech. "We shall rain down damnation upon them with the fury of the Eternal Flame. To leave ashes would be too glorious a funeral for them. WE SHALL BRING THEM THE GIFT OF OBLIVION!!!"



***



"I've spent the past week fighting her nonstop to keep her from doing something stupid! She shattered three pocket dimensions, two black holes, and a completely different reality made of color! None of that should be even possible! And coming from me? That's saying something!"he exclaimed as Twilight stared at him, eyes wide and jaw slack.
There's no way they would do that, she thought, mind raising as she tried to digest what she had just heard. My friends would never just abandon somepony like that. My friends would've heard me out and tried to get to the bottom of this. My-
It was then that she realized her error, and it made her sick to her stomach.
"They're not my friends," she muttered, her whole body trembling from more than just the cold. "They were so much like them that I started treating them like them. How could I be so stupid? I did this...I killed her...I killed Sunset."
"Twilight, stay with me," Discord said, grabbing her by the shoulders and giving her a hard shake. "I already have one unstable Alicorn running around and I don't need another one!"
"R-Right," she said, forcing her thoughts of Sunset to the back of her mind for later. "Assuming the portal is the only way she can get to the other world, she shouldn't be able to cause any real damage. The portal strips away a pony's magic when it turns them into a human. Even if she took an artifact with her, its power would be severely weakened."
"Unless she took the Ring of Eternal Mana, right?" Discord said matter-of-factly. 
"Exactly," she sighed.
A moment of silence fell over the duo before, with a trace of dread in her tone, she asked, "She has the ring, doesn't she?"
He nodded.
Twilight grabbed him by the head and pulled it within inches of her own, eyes wide with panic as she said, "Discord! Take me home right now!"
"Or," he said, holding up a hand, fingers prepped to snap. "I could take us to the other world myself."
"DO IT!!!"
With a snap and flash, the clearing returned to its original state of peace, faint imprints in the snow the only evidence of any visitors.



***


Canterlot High was completely deserted, like most schools would be during the weekend. The only person that could be seen on the school grounds was a truly divine sight to behold. She had the general appearance of Principal Celestia, but several key features separated her from the woman. This Celestia was half a head taller then the Principle and had an air of command to her seen in seasoned Generals. She wore an elegant golden ball gown that reflected the light of the sun with a thick lion hide coat protecting her from the cold. Her long, quad-colored hair hung loose around her shoulders, trailing down to the middle of her back. Finely crafted white leather boots with intricate silver ornaments kept the chill of the streets off of her feet as she stood before the school's statue. With cold, hate-filled eyes, she took in her surroundings before casting a glance at the gold ring wrapped around her finger. While it did allow her to keep her magic, it wasn't anymore than a small fraction of her true power. At most, she could level a small city before she would need to rest as opposed to radiating the whole planet with its own sun in one foul swoop.
It's a start I suppose, she thought bitterly as she raised a hand towards the sky, all of her diminished magic gathering into her palm in preparation to grant its master's desire. Let this accursed city be wiped from their maps!
Just before she could form her spell, a warm hand grasped her arm at the bicep, its grip gentle as the rays of the setting sun.
"Please, don't," the hand's owner pleaded, her voice hauntingly familiar. "No more."
The rage in Celestia's heart shattered as the voice entered her mind. In its place stood a monument of joy and despair as she turned to face the being that stood beside her. It was a teen girl wearing a flowing silver cloak, a cascade of arcane symbols decorated it from the base all the way to the hood that was draped loosely over her head. A violet ceremonial robe  could be seen through a vertical opening in the cloak, a two-toned red and gold sun sitting proudly on the figure's chest. What brought tears of joyful agony to Celestia's eyes was the girls face, her strong sky-blue eyes, and the beautiful locks of gold and red hair. 
"My Little Sun," she gasped, reaching a hand out to caress her cheek.
"Not quite," 'Sunset' sighed, pulling Celestia's hand away from her cheek to gently hold in her own. "I'm an Element born from her heart. I'm Acceptance, Sunset's shield and, when necessary, her sword."
Disappointment briefly flashed across Celestia's face before hope took its place.
"Then does that mean-"
With a kind smile, Acceptance nodded.
"Yes, she's alive."
Celesta let out a long sigh of relief as all the tension poured out of her.
"Thank the maker. Please, take me to her. I need to see her!"
"I will, but not yet."
"What?" she asked, taken aback. "Why?"
"You're emotions are still unstable. If something sets you off now, you might hurt someone or worse. Once you've calmed down, I'll take you to her."
Celesta glared at the spirit for a moment, before she let out a defeated huff. As much as she hated to admit it, Acceptance was right.
"Very well, but in the mean time, could you tell me how my daughter is still alive? Last time I checked, she threw herself off of a bridge."
"Well," Acceptance smiled, a slight blush coloring her cheeks. "It all started with a girl named Derpy.-"




***



The mall was a madhouse as usual, only now a sense of urgency was mixed with festive feel in the air. Everyone was rushing to get that one last gift they needed for the people they loved. An expected development with Christmas being just over a week away. Bonbon and Sunset casually weaved their way through the crowds all the while looking at what the stores had on display.
"Any idea what you're going to get everyone?" Sunset asked, giving a department store mannequin a once-over. 
"Eh, I already got gifts for everyone," she shrugged. "What about you? Got any idea what you want to get everyone?"
Sunset froze for a moment, then said, "I have something for Fluttershy, but I'll need to return a few things before I can get everyone gifts."
Bonbon cringed as she recognized her mistake.
"Oh. Right. Sorry."
Before Sunset could respond a pair of familiar voices caught their attention.
"Come on Fluttershy, please?"
"No," they heard her say, a faint tint of annoyance in her tone.
"Why not?! Do you have any idea how many fights I could end?"
"Because, Lightning, if you hit the wrong nerve ending, even a little, you could kill your opponent. Do you want to take that risk?"
At that moment, the crowd parted enough to let Sunset and Bonbon see an annoyed-looking  Fluttershy level a flat glare at a cringing Lightning Dust.
"For real?" she stammered, taking a half-step back from the normally shy girl. "Like Fist of the North Star type stuff?"
"More like Naruto," Fluttershy sighed with a cocky smile. "Mom never made anyone's head explode."
"I don't know if that's any better," Lightning shuddered. "Think I'll stick with Grandpa's Kajukenbo."
"Lightning? Fluttershy? What are you two doing here?" Sunset asked as she and Bonbon approached them.
"Hey guys," Lightning smiled. "Just getting some gift shopping done. Thought I'd get to know the latest member of our team a little better while I was at it."
"That's nice," Sunset smiled.
Bonbon gave the two of them a scrutinizing look before shrugging and saying, "Eh, I ship it."
"What?!" Lightning exclaimed. "I don't swing that way Bons."
"She's not my type," Fluttershy deadpanned. 
They laughed for a bit before Lighting tried to change the subject.
"So, what brings you guys out here?"
"Just thought we'd say hi to Lyra and do a bit of Christmas shopping," Bonbon shrugged. "Wanna come with?"
"Sure," she smiled.
With that, the four girls made their way towards the card store on the other side of the mall. As they did, Sunset took a more detailed look at Fluttershy. She still looked pale, but instead of looking sickly, it looked more natural on her. Her hair was also a little messy, though in a way that showed a more natural appeal as opposed to a lack of care. She also seemed to be holding herself with a little more confidence then Sunset remembered ever seeing her exhibit before.
"You seem, different." Sunset whispered, getting Fluttershy's attention. "Are you okay?"
"No," she muttered, a hand drifting unconsciously to her right thigh. "But I will be."
"Huh?"
Fluttershy smiled.
"Don't worry about it."
Before she could inquire further about her friend's words, they found themselves in front of a store called Card Kingdom. A familiar, excited voice from within caught all of their attention as Lyra stepped out to greet them.
"Hey everyone! Come for a game?"
"Sort've" Lightning grinned. "Thought we'd watch you kick some ass the only way you know how."
"Says the girl to got railed by the Nameless King," Lyra smirked.
"Hey!"
Everyone laughed good naturedly as Lightning grumbled to herself. 
"Anyway," Lyra said once she regained her composure. "Can I borrow Fluttershy for a minute?"
"Huh?" the newest member of the group asked, owl eyed. "Why?"
"You're a member of the team, right? Well, I think it's time we got to know each other a bit."
As she said that, Bonbon and her shared a knowing smile while Lighting Dust gave a weary sigh as the girls walked into the store. At Lyra's lead, the group walked towards an unoccupied table with a square shoulder bag sitting on top of it. Lyra took a seat and gestured for Fluttershy to take the seat across from her. Confused, she took the offered seat as Lyra reached into the bag.
"Magic is a really cool game," she said as she pulled a green deck box out of the bag. "There are millions of different cards and as a result, millions of different kinds of decks out there. No two decks are exactly the same and can even change over time as players get better. It's a lot like people when you think about it. When I think about a person, I can build a deck that matches them almost perfectly. So when I make a new friend, I build a deck for them as a mark of friendship for them. So, this one is yours."
As she said that, she handed the deck box to the shocked girl sitting across from her.
"But I don't play," she stammered, staring at the cube of plastic.
"That's fine," she shrugged. They're still yours if you ever want to. Think of them as an early Christmas gift from a new friend."
"Okay," she said, taking the offered cards. "Could you teach me?"
"Totally!" she smiled, pulling a white deck box out of her bag.
As the two set up, Sunset stared at the cards in Fluttershy's hands. As she expected, they were coated in a faint yellow glow of magic.
That's  definitely magic, she thought as she watched the two girls set up. But it doesn't look like Lyra's aware that she has it. Given what I know about her, I think it would be a good idea to keep it that way for a while.
The practice match that followed was a close one to be sure. Like Sunset, Fluttershy had a real knack for the game, even managing to knock Lyra down to two life while maintaining a high level of field presence with her hulking green creatures. But Lyra wasn't pulling any punches either. The second Fluttershy started to show that she understood how to play, she went back to full battle mode, summoning knights and support creatures as quickly as she could to match the pale yellow girl's growing army of beasts. At the final turn, Fluttershy tried to finish it with an attack from her Thorn Elemental, but Lyra was able to counter with two Gidion's Reproach cards and two Healing Grace cards at the last second, taking out Fluttershy's best attacker and replenishing her life at the same time. With one attack from her Pegasus Courser , Lyra won the battle, both with big grins on their faces.
"That was awesome!" Lyra exclaimed. "I guessed you'd be good with green, but holy cow! Do I know how to pick 'em or do I know how to pick 'em!"
"Thanks," Fluttershy smiled as she delicately collected her cards. "That was a lot of fun."
"Wanna go another-"
She stopped mid-sentence as someone stepped into the store, her smile replaced with an indifferent frown. The sudden shift in mood was noticed by everyone and as they all turned to look at the store's new customer, it was quickly made apparent why.
"H-Howdy y'all," Applejack said sheepishly, hand up in a timid wave.
Lightning quickly put herself between Sunset and the farmer, not willing to take any chances. Fluttershy's eyes were locked onto her former friend, whole body tense like a spring. Bonbon and Sunset watched with cautious intrigue, not sure just how this was going to play out.
"What the hell do you think you're doing here?" Lighting growled, fists clenched.
"Easy now," Applejack said, hands up in surrender. "Mah little sis spotted this here shop and wanted ta' check it out."
As she said that, Applebloom stepped out from behind her on-guard sister. For reasons beyond everyone present, the second she saw Sunset, Applebloom was on high alert, looking at each person in the room. To Sunset, it looked like she was trying to take note of everyone present, but didn't ponder on the girl's odd behavior for long, as Fluttershy rose out of her seat to stand beside Lightning Dust, drawing her attention back to her most recent aggressor. A heavy silence fell over the room as the two groups stared each other down, both waiting for the other to make the first move. Suddenly, Lyra rose from her seat  and slammed her hands together, making both parties jump.
"Okay, enough of that," she said, tone neutral as she walked over to the shop's counter.
"Hey Card Stock, is the private room open?"
The purple man behind the counter nodded before he reached into the pocket of his gray slacks and handed her a key.
"Thanks."
With that, she took it then turned towards Applejack.
"You. Follow me. I've got a few bones to pick with you and this is too public a place to pick at them."
"I'm coming too," Lighting growled, a quick nod from Fluttershy showing a matching sense of resolve.
"Fine," Lyra huffed. "But no throwing the first punch. I'm doing this to keep the peace, not start a brawl."
With the ground rules set, the three girls followed Lyra to a locked door three feet to the left of the counter. Once she unlocked it, she held the door open for them and gestured for them to step inside. What greeted them was a ten-by-ten square room with white walls and matching tile floors. A florescent light in the ceiling hummed as it hung over four expensive-looking ornate wood tables with a matching set of chairs to accompany them.
"This is a room Card Stock reserves for big city tournaments," Lyra said casually as she took a seat at one of the nearest tables. "It soundproofed to keep the noise from the mall out so the champs can concentrate."

As she said that, Fluttershy and Lightning Dust flanked Lyra on each side, their arms crossed and glares leveled at the lone farmer. With steepled fingers, the card shark gave her an unreadable look, before delivering an order with the finality of a Judge.
"Now. Take a seat."
With an audible gulp, she took the seat across from Lyra. For several minutes, a dense silence dominated the room, Lyra's party displaying varying degrees of calm, while Applejack was sweating bullets.
"You know," Lyra said, tone neutral in the face of Applejack's flinch. "When you really suck at something, most people either don't do it or try to get better at it. I'm guessing you never learned how to lie."
Applejack sighed, then looked away in shame.
"It wasn't a total lie," she muttered. "Bloom really did want ta' check this store out."
"Well, that's good for her," Lyra said, a faint smile creeping onto her face. "But what about you?"
Applejack cringed, but otherwise didn't react.
"Well?" Lightning growled. "What did you want?!"
Tears started to form at the corner of her eyes as Applejack looked Lyra in the eyes and said, "Ah want ta' talk ta' Sunset."
Both Fluttershy and Lightning Dust leveled a hard glare at her, with Lighting's hands balled into tight fists while Fluttershy's fingers stiffened.
"Do you really think you deserve that?" Fluttershy said, voice on the border of a snarl and a growl.
Applejack shook her head.
"No, Ah can't rightly say Ah do, but Ah still want ta'. Ah was a right mule to her these last few days. We all have."
Fluttershy's glare narrowed slightly at that.
"Most of us have, Ah mean," she amended. "All the same, Ah want ta' apologize for everything."
"I see," Lyra said, her pokerface once again hiding her emotions. "And what brought this on? Last I heard, you wanted to turn Sunset's face into a hand puppet."
Again, Applejack flinched, then answered.
"Ah, woke up this morning and stopped to think about everything, Ah mean really think about everything. And the more Ah looked everything over, the more it all didn't add up. Sunset always had somethin' ta' gain when she pulled this kind of stuff in the past and she was never this sloppy. She was a lot of things back in the day, but stupid wasn't one of 'em."
"Tsk, took ya' long enough ta' figure it out," Lightning muttered bitterly.
"Must've taken a lot of lube to pull your head out of your ass," Lyra sighed, stunning all present with her choice of words. "While I can commend you for swallowing your pride, I can't make any promises that Sunset will want to look in your general direction let alone talk to you. I can't say all that much, but believe me when I say you guys really fucked up."
"Ah-Ah know," Applejack sighed, a tear finally slipping past her defenses. "All Ah ask is for a chance to make up for it."
Lyra's eyes bored into Applejack, looking for any sign of deception in her body language. Finding none, she let out a tired sigh.
"I'm not going to make any promises," she said, tone hard as steel. "I'll let Sunset know that you want to apologize to her, but its all going to be on her terms. Do you understand? I don't think you're a bad person Applejack. Just someone who got duped and royally screwed up."
Applejack nodded, a sad smile gracing her lips. Even if there was only a slim chance that things could be mended between her and her former friend it was well worth any price.
"Good. Now let's get the heck out of here. I'm starving!"
As she said that, she rose out of her chair, her two bodyguards letting go of all of their built up tension. As the trio started to walk out the door, Applejack called out to another of her former friends.
"Yes Applejack?" Fluttershy asked coldly. 
She gulped, then said, "Ah, just wanted ta' say.......well......about what happened last week after school....Ah mean-"
"I forgive you," Fluttershy sighed.
"Thanks," Applejack sighed.
"Don't thank me," she replied, tone ice cold. "Just because I've forgiven you, doesn't mean we're friends again."
With that, she left the farm girl in the room, a heavy silence once again falling over her as she let what Fluttershy said sink in.
"Right," she muttered before she followed the group out into the card shop's main room.



***



Derpy's house was a buzz of  activity as the now group of eight enjoyed their weekly game night. The inclusion of Fluttershy was barely an argument as Sunset, Lyra, Bonbon, and Lightning all vouched for her. The biggest deciding factor was when Fluttershy revealed she was the one who gave Meme Queen the extra intel a couple days ago. So, over a game of Uno, Derpy filled her in on the situation, officially adding her to the group. Of course, when the already regretful girl found out about what happened on the bridge, it took everyone to pry her off of Sunset as she held the girl in a surprisingly strong embrace with tears in her eyes while begging for forgiveness. Fortunately, they were able to free her before she turned purple.
"And I thought Sweetie Drops could hug," she gasped as Lightning tried to get the hysterical girl to calm down.
"No kidding," Derpy chuckled. "I was just about to run and get the crowbar."
The two gave a little giggle at that, her walleyed friend helping her stay level in her hour of need. As she did, she couldn't help but notice how cute the gray teen's smile was. 
"But yeah, things have been going really well lately," Sunset sighed, giving the room a happy once over to hide her blush. "I have a home, real friends, I really can't see how things could get much better than this."
As if on cue, a soft knock at the door got her and Derpy's attention.
"I'll get it," Sunset smiled as she approached it.
When she opened it, she got the shock of a lifetime. Standing before her was none other than Principle Celestia, but she was dressed in a manner that wouldn't look out of place in a medieval fantasy film. The regally dressed woman looked at Sunset with barely contained tears, while Sunset's eyes held confusion.
"Principle Celestia? What are you-"
Before she could finish, Celestia threw her arms around her, trapping Sunset in her third hug for the day. But while the first two people to do this seemed hell bent of loving her to death, Celestia's hug was gentle, like she was afraid that if she held her too tightly, she'd break.
"I'm so sorry. I should've never left you in this world. I'm so, so, sorry my little sun."
Sunset's eyes widened as realization sunk in. With shaky hands, she returned the embrace, happy tears trailing down her face as she buried her face into the woman's fur coat.
"H-Hello.......mom."
For a moment the two stood there, wrapped in each other's arms. The only thing that was real for them was the warmth of each other and the tears of joy they shed. The cold outside and the stares of the people outside was nothing more than an afterthought as mother and daughter shared a hug for the first time in years. 



***



After Sunset and Celestia had their moment, the solar Diarch wanted to meet the woman responsible for giving her daughter a place to live. It was for that reason that the two women were sitting across from each other at the kitchen table, waiting for Time Turner to serve them tea. Naturally, Celestia thanked her for her hospitality as well as keeping Sunset safe as best as she could. It wasn't until the conversation shifted towards the origins of the two Equestrians in the house that things got a little strained.
"So, you say you're from another dimension," Rose Luck said, a trace of skepticism in her tone. 
"Yes," Celestia smiled.
"And Sunset and yourself are actually talking magical horses?"
"Ponies actually," Celestia clarified, still smiling serenely.
"Uh-huh. Sorry if I'm having a hard time believing you," Rose said, eyes narrowed as her husband arrived with their drinks.
"I don't see why," she said, nodding her thanks to Time Turner. "Your daughter has quite a lot of magic within her as it is."
As she said that, she casually gathered a bit of her magic and levitated her cup to her lips.
"My," Celestia smiled, admiring her cup. "This tea is really good! Any idea where I could get some?"
Rose Luck's mind froze as she watched the literal impossible happen in front of her. She wasn't alone as Time Turner stood gawking at the floating cup as if it was an alien life form. The teens in the room all took in the event with mild curiosity, with one in particular looking to be on the verge of exploding with excitement.
"Mrs. Celestia," Lyra beamed, suddenly appearing beside the High Royal. "I will marry you right here, right now if you take me to Equestria!"
Startled yelps came out of everyone at Lyra's declaration while Celestia herself gave the girl a smirk with a raised brow.
"As flattered as I am with your proposal, it won't come down to that."
"You mean?!"
Celestia nodded.
"YES!!! LAND OF MAGIC, HERE I COME!!!"
"And not just her," Celestia said as she addressed the rest of the room. "Everyone present is formally invited to come visit Equestria as honorary citizens. Just a small present from me to the ones who saved my little sun."
"Mom," Sunset groaned, face turning red.
That got a laugh out of everyone as well as an elated cheer from Lyra.
"That reminds me,"Vinyl said, turning towards Derpy. "How close are we to busting Annon-a-Miss?"
"Not very," she sighed, pulling her laptop off of the living room coffee table and turning it on. "From what I've been able to gather, she's someone who has access to the girl's locker room, has a decent level of computer skills, is able to gather very intimate intel on people, and is trying to make it look like Sunset's the culprit. Even Fluttershy's suspect lists can only give me so many leads."
"I'm sorry," Fluttershy muttered.
"Hey, it's okay," Bonbon smiled, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You at least gave her something to work with."
"Did a better job than I did," Lightning sighed, remembering the last post Annon-a-Miss uploaded.
"And that's just it," Derpy groaned, looking over her notes. "The way she goes about gathering her intel doesn't make sense. The way she got the pictures from Sunset's phone shows that she's patient and calculated, but the picture of Rainbow's test was such an amateur move that it makes her look like an idiot! Then there was that whole nickname thing with Applejack that started this whole thing. That was a deliberate attack on her that would only work if she was close to Applejack. But none of Applejack's friends would have anything to gain from doing something so petty! It's as if she's more than one person!"
"What if she is?" Celestia asked, more than eager to lend what aid she could. "A group effort could explain the different approaches."
"I thought about that," she sighed. "And in a way, it makes things easier for us and harder at the same time. If I can identify one member of the group, I can find the rest of them in a matter of seconds. The trick is trying to find that one stooge in a mob of crazies."
Silence reined over the room as everyone processed what Derpy told them. As they sorted through it, something didn't sit right with them. It was Vinyl who figured out what that something was.
"Hey Sunset, was anyone else at Rarity's place when you took those pics?"
She shook her head.
"No, it was just us."
"Actually," Fluttershy said, a look of realization coming over her. "Wasn't Sweetie Belle staying the night?"
"Sweetie Belle?" Derpy asked.
"Rarity's little sister," Sunset replied. "And yeah, she was now that I think about it."
A thoughtful look crossed Derpy's face before she turned back to her laptop, fingers flying across the screen. 
"I swear," she muttered. "If I'm right about this."
With one last tap of the keyboard, she looked at the screen and froze.
"No way," she muttered, eyes widening. "It all matches. But why? Why would they do this? Wait..."
She pulled up another window on the screen and skimmed through what looked like a list of names before pulling up another four windows. Her hands moved with incredible speed and precision as all four windows became a flurry of activity, images changing in them faster than anyone could process beyond the room's soul hacker. When she finally stopped, six images held dominion over the screen. Derpy stared at the screen, her breathing labored as she gave her data a long, hard look over.
"No way," she muttered. "The answer's been in front of me this whole time. HOW COULD I HAVE BEEN SO STUPID!!!"
Before anyone could ask her to elaborate, she set the computer down onto the coffee table and stomped into the her bedroom down the hall. A minute after they all heard her close the door, a loud muffled scream could be heard followed by a stream of expletives.
"What's got her so worked up?" Lightning asked as she gave the abandoned computer screen a look. 
After a moment, Lightning let out an irritated sigh.
"Oh. Yeah. That'll do it."
"What'll do it?" Vinyl asked, tired of all the suspense.
With pursed lips, Lightning turned the screen to face them. What they saw made there jaws hit the floor. On screen was a long list of digital trails linking Annon-a-Miss to three very throughly busted sixth graders. In addition to that, there was also a collection of circumstantial evidence that linked them to specific posts such as surveillance camera footage of them entering the school after hours within the timeframe of each post from nearby stores and speed cams. The evidence was as damning as it could be; Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were Annon-a-Miss.
"This whole time," Derpy sighed, staggering back into the room and staring at the floor. "I never thought that Annon-a-Miss could be a grade schooler. More than one person? Sure. A bunch of kids? No way."
A smile started to creep onto her face as she then started to turn her gaze towards her friends and family.
"But now things are different. Now it's time to go on the offensive!"
She turned to face her mother, determined smile plastered across her face.
"Mom, do you think you could get your Costume and Makeup Artist on the phone?"
"Chrissy?" she asked. "I don't see why not. What do you have planned?"
"Not much," she said, smile turning predatory. "Just a bit of a shake up."
As Derpy explained her plan to her mother, Celestia leaned down to her daughter's level.
"I take it that she's Derpy, correct?"
"Yep," Sunset smiled.
"I see," she said with a knowing smile. "Just so you know, no matter what happens in the future, I approve."
Before she could inquire as to what her mother meant by that, a bright flash of light filled the room as two figures appeared at its center. One was a man with gray skin and red eyes with yellow irises. He was dressed in a dapper black suit with a matching tail coat and top hat as well as finely polished dress shoes. The other was none other than Princess Twilight Sparkle herself, also in her human form curtesy of her companion's magic. The Princess had a wild look in her eyes as she quickly took note of her surroundings, only for her eyes to lock onto the other princess in the room.
"Princess Celestia! Please don't-" her words died on her tongue as she took in her former mentor's happy demeanor.
"Hello Twilight, glad you could join us," she smiled. "And you too Discord."
Both new arrivals were equally flummoxed. They half expected to see a world on fire, but instead got a happy Princess sitting next to a very confused-
"SUNSET!!!" Twilight cried as she flew towards the girl and trapped her in yet another bone-crushing embrace.
Again? she thought as she struggled to catch her next breath. If this keeps up, I'll have to start charging people.
> Ch.10 Checkmate
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The cafeteria was a buzz with activity and gossip. All of its inhabitants were currently occupied with an odd scene. Not only did Sunset have her bodyguards to keep her company at what had been come to be known as "her table" but the rest of her till now secret posy. The only member of their group not present was Derpy, but that didn't bother the group of friends all that much. What added to the strangeness of the group was how relaxed they were. It was as if they weren't sitting in a pressure geyser just waiting to explode, a fact that put the surrounding students on edge.
"Are you ready?" Vinyl smirked over her lunch. "Derpster told me its gonna happen at two."
"Yep," Sunset sighed happily as she looked at the clock just above the cafeteria's entrence. "I can't believe this is almost over."
"I know what you mean," Octavia sighed, putting a comforting hand on Sunset's shoulder. "In just three minutes, Meme Queen's going to remind everyone what made her a legend."
"Reminds me of my first world tournament," Lyra smiled as she took a swig of her soda. "I worked so hard to get there and when I finally did, I thought I was dreaming the whole time."
"At least until you got to your first opponent," Bonbon smirked, giving her friend a playful elbow jab.
Lyra laughed and nudged Bonbon back before she went back to trying to shove a whole cheeseburger into her mouth.
"I'm just glad things can go back to being peaceful again," Fluttershy sighed, lips turned into a small smile.
"At least until the next crazy thing happens," Lighting said as she shoveled a forkful of spaghetti into her mouth.
Everyone gave her a questioning look.
"What?" she said around a mouthful of food. "The way I see it, we've had two magical incidents and a cyber attack. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if we got attacked by a fallen angel with the power to summon black holes or something."
"I think you've been spending too much time with Lyra, love," Octavia chuckled before taking a sip of her cranberry juice.
"Yeah, yeah," she muttered. "You know I'm right."
At that moment, Principal Celestia came into the Cafeteria pushing a fully loaded computer table with a thirty-four inch wide monitor set up on it. As everyone watched her move it into the front of the room, Sunset gave the clock a quick glance.
Just on time.
"Show time," Vinyl smirked.
When Principal Celestia turned on the monitor, she took up position at its left like a guard with an unreadable expression on her face. The screen was blank for a time, then an image flickered onto it, indistinguishable at first but that quickly changed. On the screen was a black hooded figure, their face hidden behind a masquerade mask and gauze wraps. The figure's eyes were cold and black with no visible pupils as they glared through their mask at the student's in the cafeteria.
"Good afternoon students of Canterlot High," the figure said, voice hidden behind a synthesizer. "For those of you who don't know me, let me introduce myself. I am Meme Queen."
The room became as silent as a tomb, all eyes set on the screen and the unnerving figure it displayed. 
"For the last two months, a blogger named Anon-a-Miss has been terrorizing the school, spreading secrets, and doing everything in their power to destroy one of the very students that saved us from three ancient terrors from another world. For a while, I thought this whole thing would pass on its own, but recent discoveries has forced my hand. Today I have some good news for all of you; I have discovered Anon-a-Miss' true identity. However, I will not reveal who they are today. Instead, they will be revealed at the end of the week, just before Christmas break in an assembly that will bring in all students from both the High School and Elementary departments. Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna have agreed to do this and have already taken steps to make this happen. In addition, I have something I want to say to Anon-a-Miss. I know that you're watching this and I know that you're scared. Good. This is exactly how you made Sunset feel this whole time. But as much as I pity you for the hole of despair you've dug for yourselves, I can't let what you've done slide. So instead, I suggest you make the most of the the time you have left. That's the only mercy I'm going to give you."
With that, the screen cut to black. The silence still remained, with feelings of the announcement divided three ways. Some of the student's were thrilled to finally see a possible end to all the madness that had consumed the school. Others were terrified for what would happen to them due to their involvement in said madness. But one group was happy that justice was going to be served and a friend was going to finally get the closure she deserved. 



***



Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle stared slack-jawed at their phones, the live video from Meme Queen force-played against their input commands. Fortunately, the Elementary Department held lunch at the same time as the High School Department, so none of their classmates could hear what was being said as they stood under the shade of their favorite tree.  While Applebloom and Scootaloo looked uneasy, Sweetie was starting to turn a little green as she stared at her screen.
"I-It's a bluff, right?" Scootaloo asked with a shaky smile. "She's just trying to fake us out, right?"
Before either of her friends could respond, they all got a message alert from their Mystable apps. Nervous, they tapped the icon and went to their messages.  What they saw chilled them to their bones. A simple one word message from Meme Queen on their own personal Mystable accounts.
Checkmate.
Sweetie dropped her phone, clutched her stomach, and ran to a side of the tree to throw up while her friends stared at their devices in a cold sweat with shaking hands. As the weight of their situation sunk in for her, Scootaloo summed up the group's thoughts with one of her own.
Shit!



***



Rarity had no idea how she felt about the most recent turn of events. On one hand, all of this messy business was finally going to be put to an end. On the other, at least two of her friendships were dead as a consequence of the latest scandal. To add to it, she had been feeling like a part of herself had died as well for the past few days. She saw it in the cafeteria yesterday, someone managed to discover Anon-a-Miss' identity. She should've been happy! She should've been singing her joy to the heavens! But she didn't feel happy. In fact, she didn't feel much of anything lately. She was, empty. No other word could describe the hollow feeling she had in her chest. Not even her craft could fill the void in her soul. As such, it came as no surprise to her that as she sat in her bedroom, drowned in evening darkness with only her desk lamp giving her light, she stared blankly at an empty page of her sketchpad. No matter how hard she tried, nothing came to her. No dresses. No accessories. Not even a hat or pair of shoes.
"What's the point," she sighed as she flipped her light off. 
Her shoulders sagged from a phantom weight as she forced herself out of her chair and staggered towards her bed. She placed a hand to her forehead and groaned.
Perhaps I had too much, she thought, her gaze drifting towards a hidden bottle of wine under her desk. With an empty sigh, she shelved the thought. It was pointless anyway. Besides, the drink served its purpose.
She dropped onto her bed, not even bothering with her usual evening decorum of sliding into her covers. She was too tired and drunk to care. It was liberating in a way, not caring. It made things so simple when everything had become so complicated lately.
A cold breeze washed over her, bringing a shiver through her spine.
It's cold. I should get covered.
In spite of her thoughts, her body refused to move.
I see. Maybe I deserve to be cold. Who knows how many cold nights Sun-
She stopped her line of thought before it could go any further. She had already spent the past four hours after school beating herself up over her idiocy. Everyone had, but while Applejack and Pinkie Pie tried to find a way to fix what little remained of their friendship with Sunset and Rainbow Dash was struggling with finding where she stood on the matter, Rarity returned to bad habits.
Just sleep Rarity. You won't feel the cold if you sleep. You won't feel so empty if you dream.
	Just as sleep began to set in, the sound of her bedroom door opening roused her. With heavy eyes, she looked at her door and saw her sister stepping in, a nervous look decorating her face.
"Sis? Can I sleep with you tonight?" she asked, tone cautious.
"Sure," Rarity said, smile forced for Sweetie's sake as she dragged herself to her feet and lifted the blanket.
Eyes pointed at the ground, Sweetie nodded her thanks as she scurried towards the bed. Once she was curled up on the mattress, Rarity joined her, now enveloped in the warmth of both her little sister and her thick comforter.
Perhaps I can be cold tomorrow night, she thought, the alcohol finally striping away the last of her strength as sleep began to claim her. 
But just as she was about to fall into the land of dreams, Sweetie said something that made the void in her heart shrink just a bit.
"Sis, I love you."
"I love you too Sweetie."
And it was with that, that sleep finally took her, as she held Sweetie close. Close enough for Sweetie to smell the wine on her breath.
And I'm so, so sorry! she thought, tears running down her face as regret filled her heart. She cried herself to sleep that night. Wrapped in her sister's arms and love, she cried until she had no more tears left to shed as she tried to enjoy it while she could. Because she knew that after Thursday night, it was going to be gone forever.



***



How could I have been so stupid?
It's all her fault!
She had nothing to gain from all this.
She's a trator!
I'm the scum of of the earth.
She's nothing but a lying monster!
	I was supposed to have her back.
She stabbed us in the back!
It's all going to be over in a few days.
"Heads up!" Scootaloo cried, kicking the soccer ball with all her might.
Rainbow snapped out of her daydream just in time to see the ball whiz past her into the goal she was supposed to be guarding.
"Damn it," she muttered as she ran to retrieve the ball.
Concerned, Scootaloo ran to her idol's side as he picked up the ball, snow crunching under her violet boots all the way.
"Are you okay Rainbow?" Scootaloo asked.
Rainbow sighed, then took in her surroundings, a far off look to her eyes. In the winter months, the school's soccer field was a ghost town. Only the most dedicated on the sports teams came out to practice in the frigid weather. Since that usually meant just Rainbow herself, she spent the time to get her thoughts in order or blow off some steam when she could. Lately, she found herself doing the former before doing the latter. It was in the middle of her introspection that Scootaloo found her. As a means of saving face with her pseudo-sister, she asked her if she wanted to help her with goalie practice. It was fun for both girls, but it quickly became clear to Scootaloo that Rainbow wasn't putting her all into it.
"Scoots," she sighed. "Think we could talk for a bit?"
"Sure," Scootaloo said cautiously. 
"Thanks."
For a moment, the two stood there, neither willing to break the silence in favor of the serenity and privacy given to them by the late afternoon chill. The silence was both soothing and tortious to the two girls as one searched for the right words to voice her thoughts while one waited for the other to speak. Finally, after an hour, Rainbow found her voice.
"I don't know what to do with myself Scoots," she said, eyes unfocused as she stared at the ground. "Part of me thinks Sunset's innocent. I've had a feeling that she was since Lighting decked me. But at the same time, a part of me doesn't. It's like in some weird way, I want her to be Anon-a-Miss. It's like I'm stuck in some stupid tug-o-war with myself and I can't stand it! I wish I could just go back to when things made sense! When I didn't have to knock my head against a wall to know who my friends were!"
As she said that, frustrated tears started to trail down her face, her jaw clenched with barely contained fury. At Sunset? At herself? She didn't know. All she knew was that she was angry and she had nothing to take it out on. The only thing she could do was dump her baggage on the sporty sixth grader at her side, something that gave her just as much regret as relief. That was quickly replaced by confused appreciation as she felt a pair of small arms wrap themselves around her waist.
"I-I'm so sorry Rainbow," Scootaloo sniffled, her own tears dampening her mentor's winter coat.
"F-For what? You're not the one who royally screwed up here," she smiled sadly as she returned the hug.
"J-Just because," she cried, ignoring the unintended stab she felt in her heart from Rainbow's comment.
For a moment, the two held each other, their own pain and anger melting out of themselves in the form of tears. It was something the two needed, but while Rainbow felt like a part of herself was being cleansed, Scootaloo felt more and more dirty. She was the reason Rainbow was so scattered. She was the reason things were so complicated. She was the reason that she was going to loose the closest thing to a big sister in two days.
I'm sorry Rainbow. I'm sorry I couldn't be a good little sister!



***



A gentle breeze passed through the snow smothered trees of Sweet Apple Acres the early morning sunlight giving the orchard a picturesque view one would find in a postcard. At its heart, in the oldest part of the orchard stood the most bizarre scene anyone could ever hope to see. It was a clearing with two trees that were intertwined with each other at its center. The two trees had grown together in such a way that it looked like their trunks had twisted together as a desperate attempt to form one whole trunk between them. One half of the union tree had under ripened apples while the other had pears, both defying the laws of nature in the name of the love they represented. Applejack and Applebloom stood before the tree, memories of their long departed family  drifting through their minds and hearts. While most of Applebloom's memories of her mother and father were hazy, Applejack's were sharp enough to fill in the blanks for her. At least, they were hazy anywhere else. When she was near the Memorial Tree, her memories became clear, as if they happened yesterday. It was something that filled the Apples with joy and sorrow every time they came to visit. This time was no different, as the two Apples looked at the tree and grave marker, though sadness weighed heavily on their hearts more than it usually did.
Applejack walked forward and placed her hand on the united tree.
"Hey Ma an' Pa. Been a while, huh?" she said, empty smile matched by the empty humor in her voice. "Ah really wish ya'll were still around. Ah' could really use some advice. Or maybe a couple whacks across the head."
She chuckled at her own self-deprecating joke before taking on a more serious expression.
"Thing's've been bad the last few weeks. All my friend's and I have been put through the wringer by some yahoo online and we may've lost an important friend in the crossfire. Ah, don't know if there are anyways Ah can fix things, but Ah'll be damned if Ah'm not gonna' try ta'. Ah'll find a way ta' make  thing's right. Even if it takes me years of grovelin' and beggin', Ah will make things right."
With that, she let her hand fall from the tree's bark to her side, a flicker of her old self burning in her eyes as she walked away from the tree.
"Time ta' head back Bloom," she said, passing her sister.
"J-Just a minute," Applebloom said, staring at the tree. "Ah have a few things Ah want ta' say to them."
"Alright," she nodded. "Don't be too long now."
"Ah won't."
With a sigh, the older Apple made the long trek back to the family home. Once she was out of hearing range, the youngest Apple approached the tree. 
"Hi Ma, Pa," she said, a lump forming in the back of her throat. "How are things for ya'? Probably pretty good, being in heaven and all."
She chuckled at that. Of course things were good for them. How could heaven be bad? Though, the way things were going, she couldn't really see herself joining them in the future. Her smile melted away as she continued.
"Ah......Ah really messed up. My friends and Ah aired out everyone's dirty laundry to the whole school and framed a girl named Sunset for it all. All so we could spend time with our sisters. Pretty stupid, huh? Well, now things are coming to bite us. We've been caught, and now someone's gonna' do to us what we've done to the school. Tomorrow, the whole school's gonna' know that we're Anon-a-Miss."
Applebloom's face fell to the ground, tears making dents in the snow beneath her boots.
"Ah'm....Ah'm scared. Ah don't know what's gonna' happen tomorrow and it scares me. But if it helps sis make things right, Ah'll take whatever punishment Ah'm given. Ah just hope that when this is all over, sis'll love me again someday."
With that, she turned and walked back to the farm. All the while, a gray man in a suit hidden in the shadows of the memorial tree let out a sigh as he snapped his fingers, the space he occupied suddenly becoming vacant as he disappeared in a silent flash of light.



***



The halls of Canterlot High were a buzz with students whispering amongst themselves. Some were enthusiastically muttering about having things going back to normal. Others were nervous, their involvement in the incident most likely about to be revealed. Regardless of the standing, today was the day; the day of the assembly that would reveal Anon-a-Miss' identity and put an end to all this.
Lyra let out a loud yawn as she leaned against the side of the school, headless of the chilly weather. All the endless chatter in the halls had become too much for her. It wasn't anything that really held her interest anyway, being one of the people "behind the scenes" so to speak. Luckily, she had a ton of games on her phone to keep her company, but those could only distract her for so long. Her battery wasn't immortal after all.
"Great, I forgot my portable charger at home," she grumbled, patting down her pockets. "Guess I'll stick to chatrooms today."
Before she could tap in a site, the sound of someone clearing their throat caught her attention. When she looked up from her phone, she saw one of the last people she wanted to see. 
"H-Hey, Lyra right?" Applebloom asked, whole body tense.
"Yeah, and you are?" she asked, trying to keep her venom out of her voice.
"Ya'll know who Ah am," she said. "And Ah know who you are."
"Duh, you just said my name, like, ten seconds ago," Lyra said, brow raised.
"Yah know what Ah mean, Meme Queen."
Lyra flinched, then let a faint smile decorate her face.
Derpy, you scare me sometimes.
"Not bad," the light green teen sighed. "A bit late, but I guess I can give you credit for figuring it out. So if we're using User Names, should I be calling you Anon-a-Miss?"
Applebloom looked away, shame heavy in her features. The two stood in awkward silence for a few minutes, neither sure how to proceed. Lyra looked down on the sixth grader before her, feelings swirling in her body like venom from a snake. Part of her wanted to smack the girl while the other felt legitimately bad for her. When Derpy found her mark, she didn't hold anything back. When someone tried to hurt her little sister, she brought enough evidence on the guy to the cops that it would be years before he saw the light of day. With the kind of crimes Derpy had on these three, there was no telling how bad things were going to get for them. At the same time though, they made their bed and now it was time for them to lay in it.
"Ah want yah ta' leave my friends out of this," Applebloom muttered, eyes still trained on the ground. "Ah was the one who made the account. Ah was the one who started this whole mess. They were just dragged along for the ride."
She stared up at Lyra, tears starting to fall from her face.
"Ah'm the one ya' want. Just leave them out of this!"
Lyra stared at the crying girl, all the while, a strange image entered her mind. Deep, mirky swamps merged with bright vibrant plains with strange, demonic creatures roaming the wastes alongside majestic spirits of light. Cruel selfishness mixed with a selfless sense of sacrifice. That was what she saw in the little girl. It almost brought a smile to her, but the endless plains that guided her knew that justice had to be served.
"I'm sorry," Lyra sighed. "But you guy's brought this on yourselves."
As she said that, she walked past Applebloom, a heavy weight in her heart as she let the girl's words settle. Now she knew what it was like to see someone before they went to the gallows. She hoped it would never happen again.



***



All of the kids in the auditorium sat in dead silence, none of them sure how to act in this moment. Fear and relief warred with each other in the atmosphere as they stared at the podium at the room's heart. On it stood a mic stand with two large speakers at its sides five feet apart. Near it stood four people, three of which the students were familiar with while the tall man in a suit was a mystery. Twilight beheld the crowd with cold indifference, a part of her upset with the fact that her magic was weakened while a greater part of her was relieved. A trace of anger entered her features when she spotted her friend's human counterparts. They all looked like they had seen better days, but that did little to reduce her anger with them. The only exception was Fluttershy, who she was happy to see had regained her healthy glow in spite of her paler hair and skin tone.
Things are going to be a lot worse for them soon, she thought as she turned her gaze over towards the collection of Elementary schoolers seated on the left side of the room.
A hand on her shoulder tore her attention away from the students. She looked up and was met by a stone faced Discord, his eyes telling her to fight her regrettable urges. She sighed, then nodded in understanding. There would be time for that later. What mattered was putting an end to this. Once and for all.
A stirring in the curtains at the back of the stage was all the signal Principal Celestia needed and made her way over to the microphone.
"Hello everyone and thank you for attending this assembly today. As you all know, a blogger going by the name of Anon-a-Miss has been spreading rumors and privet information through Mystable. For some time now, the identity of this individual was thought to be Sunset Shimmer, but I am here today to tell you all that this is not the case. Through the efforts of another individual going by the name Meme Queen and the special skills of Sunset's family, there is evidence that not only proves Sunset's innocence, but reveals the identities  of all individuals involved in the incident. For starters, you will be shocked to know that not all of the secrets Anon-a-Miss revealed were ones she found on her own. Most of them were provided by some of the very same students in this room. For their safety, I will not make their names public, but don't be surprised if some of the people around you aren't present after Winter Break."
Some of the students looked disgusted at the very idea that the person next to them could've contributed to this, while others made a conscious effort to not make a break for it.
"Now," she continued. "Before I reveal Anon-a-Miss' identity, someone has a few things they would like to say to you all."
With that, she stepped aside to pass the mounted mic to the next person to speak. From behind the curtain, Sunset entered the stage, her face a mask of stone to all who beheld her. None of the student's said a thing as she took up the mic, her piercing teal eyes cutting through them like a razor through thread.
"Hi everyone," she said, tone heavy with fatigue. "I'm sorry that this all had to happen. If I had it my way, this whole thing never would've happened. I don't want to see everyone at each other's throats. I hated seeing it during the Battle of the Bands and I hate seeing it now. In fact, I thought I would never see that again when The Dazzlings were defeated. But no. Instead, I had to sit by and watch as everything I fought so hard for fell apart all because someone didn't like me and everyone wanted to hold a grudge. And do you know what the sad part is? That was all it took to break me."
She paused, leaving a heavy silence to fill the room before she continued. Then, she took a deep breath and let the hammer fall.
"Two weeks ago, I went to the bridge over Canter Creek and tried to jump to my death."
A gasp filled the auditorium as her audience processed what they were told. A certain pink teen lost all her color as the weight of her and her friend's actions sunk in while said friends simply sat there with their mouths open. None of them wanted to believe what Sunset said, but they could see it in her eyes; every word out of the girl's mouth was the gospel truth.
"Obviously, I failed, but that was because someone out there gave enough of a shit about me to look past my crimes and be a decent human being. Dumb luck and kindness, that's why I'm here right now, talking to all of you. So you see, if I had it my way, none of this would be happening. Because Anon-a-Miss wouldn't've been an issue or I'd be at the bottom of a lake. So to all of you who helped Anon-a-MIss I have one thing to say, I hope you all get exactly what you deserve."
With a cold glare, Sunset stepped away from the mic and took her place at Twilight's left. Once again, Principal Celestia stepped up to the mic.
"Now for the core of today's assembly," she sighed, pointing a remote at the ceiling. 
On cue, a large projector screen came down, stopping a foot above everyone on the stage. With a press of a button, the lights dimmed to allow the projector above the bleachers to function.
"Will Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo from Elementary Class Five report to the stage?"
The whole room, Elementary and High Schooler included, watched in shock as the three girls rose from their seats. As they made their way to the stage, their heads hung with shame, like three criminals on their way to the noose. Many didn't want to believe it. That these three kids were the source of all their grief, but the guilt that seemed to ooze off of them was so thick, they would all have to be blind not to see it. When they finally stood before the Principle they raised their heads to her level. The disappointment they saw in those eyes made them all tremble in shame and fear, but it was Vice-Principle Luna, who had been silently moving to her sister's side that spoke.
"These three are the ones who used the Anon-a-Miss account to tear the school apart. With the help of several students, these three turned you all against each other and forced a girl to attempt suicide. But if you all still have your doubts, a brilliant individual named Meme Queen has presented us with plenty of evidence to backup these claims."
As she said this, she nodded to Celestia, who pressed another button on her control. Instantly, countless videos and photos appeared on the screen showing them taking pictures or spying on other students that, according to the timestamps, were used in posts just minutes later. The most damning evidence came in the form of videos showing the three girls sneaking into the school just seconds before a large number of posts. Looks of pure rage started to blossom among the students as they shifted their attention away from the screen to the three girls. 
Before any of them could act on their emotions, Discord took a step forward and said, "I would advise you all stay in your seats. Otherwise you'll all get to see what Equestrian Magic can do when the caster doesn't have much of a conscience." 
None of the students dared to call his bluff, not sure if he really was bluffing to begin with.
"Thank you," Luna said as Discord stepped back into his previous position. 
She looked at the trembling girls and continued.
"Deformation of Character. Cyber Bullying. Inciting a Hate Mob. Mass Hysteria. And finally, Attempted Murder. These are just a few charges that could be leveled against you three for your actions, most of which are felonies. If this is brought to a court, the three of you will lose everything."
The three girls stared at the woman, shock keeping their eyes and mouth wide with silent panic.
"Fortunately for you three, someone else has different plans for you."
The curtains blew apart as another being made herself known. Princess Celestia walked to the front of the stage, her majestic ball-gown and lion hide coat filling the dim room with a near blinding light like a second sun as she moved. Her poise was flawless, her face a mask of pure serenity as she took in all of the people in the room. In spite of her calm demeanor, all of the High Schoolers broke into a cold sweat. They could sense it, the intense rage hidden behind the woman's kind facade. It was for that reason that they felt sorry for the three girls standing at what they deemed ground zero.
Celestia stared down at the three girls, the room seeming to grow two degrees hotter as her amethyst eyes drilled through them.
"You three have no idea just what kind of trouble you are in," she said, tone icy. "Not only did you push my daughter into ending her own life, but you destroyed countless friendships and ruined the lives of others in this world forever. I would ask you what drove you three to do such things, but frankly, such a question would be pointless. No reason could be worthy of such deplorable actions. As such, you should consider yourselves lucky of two things. That you are children and that Sunset is not my sister's daughter. Her ideas on punishment tends to be on the archaic side of things."
A cold chill ran through Sweetie's spine at the thought of what such a person was capable of with such a mindset while her friends looked confused as well as nervous.
"However," she continued. "This was still an act of cruelty against an Equestrian High Noble, and as such, it is only fare that we should be the ones to deliver your punishment."
Princess Celestia's eyes narrowed as she stared a hole into the three girls, the intensity of such led to Sweetie wetting herself in fear.
"You three will be brought to Equestria to preform community service for my sister and I. You will do so as ponies to give you a taste of what my daughter had to live with on your side of the portal. My former student will also be teaching you math, science, and english during the week until your sentence is over while you will be given supervised visits with your families on weekends if you so wish. Should you refuse to come back here on those days, you will continue with your punishment as if it was any other day of the week. This is not negotiable. Do you have any questions?"
Hesitantly, Sweetie raised her hand. 
"Yes?"
"H-H-How long are we going to be in Equestria?"
Princess Celestia's glare hardened, then, with a tone heavy with finality said, "Until you're punishment is complete."
All three girls cowered before the towering being before them, her presence more than a mere judge. This was a force of nature in human form. This was an angry mother with command over the sun, and they were the ones responsible for almost killing her child.
"You have one hour to collect what you will need. Once that is up, you will be transported to the portal and I will personally bring you to my homeland. That is all."
With that, she turned towards Discord and nodded. With a snap of his fingers, the three girls disappeared on a flash of light. Slightly shaken by her counterpart's presence, Principle Celestia approached the abandoned microphone.
"That concludes this assembly. You are all dismissed."



***



As the shellshocked student's filed out of the auditorium, Sunset wandered to the back of the stage. A waterfall of emotions ran through her, leaving her mostly catatonic as she was embraced by the gloom behind the curtain. Joy, sorrow, anger, confusion, and countless other emotions swirled through her in a wild tide. It would've made her faint if it wasn't for the voice of a certain walleyed teen that waited for her.
"Sunset!" Derpy exclaimed, running to her side as she started to fall over. 
"Are you okay?"  she asked as she pulled the girl's arm over her shoulder to keep her stable.
"Y-Yeah," Sunset sighed, an exhausted smile gracing her lips. "Thanks."
"Anytime," Derpy smiled.
For a moment, the two stood in silence, enjoying the quite in the soundproofed backstage area. A silence that was broken by Sunset as she leaned into Derpy's side.
"It's finally over."
"Yep."
"And it's all thanks to you," Sunset smiled.
"Nah," Derpy shrugged. "It was a team effort."
"All the same. Thanks Derpy. For everything."
With that, she used the last of her strength to give Derpy a light peck on the cheek before exhaustion took her. And just like that, she fell asleep in Derpy's arms. In the arms of one of her seven saviors.
> Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Celestia stepped out of the portal, once again in her normal form.  Hovering next to her in her golden magic were three defeated looking fillies, each equipped with a set of sattle bags on their sides. They barely reacted as The Princess of the Sun moved them through the room. A sigh slipped past her lips as she took a step to the side to make way for the others making their way through the portal. The first to step out was Sunset, and while it took her a moment to get reacquainted with her old body, it was only for a second. For a moment, she just stood there, taking in the feeling of the magically charged air that surrounded her. A familiar tingle passed through her horn as parts of herself she had long forgotten came to life for the first time in years.
I'm home.
The moment was ruined as a mass of ponies not quite as familiar with their new bodies tumbled through the portal on top of her.
"Who's idea was it," Lightning groaned as she tried to move someone's hoof out of her face. "To go through as a group again?"
"That would be Lyra, love," Octavia sighed from the bottom of the pony-pile. "Now could someone get their foot off of my leg!?"
"Magic world!" Lyra cried, desperate to pull herself out of the pile of ponies.
"I think I broke something," Bonbon moaned. 
"Did everything stop spinning yet?" Derpy said, sounding slightly delirious. "I think I'm gonna be sick."
Everyone paused for a second at hearing that, then desperately tried to pull themselves out of the pile.
"Oh hell no!" Lightning cried as she managed to wiggle herself free. "I like ya Derpy, but I am not wearing your lunch!"
"Ditto!" Octavia and Bonbon chorused as they managed to free themselves.
Now that the number of tangled limbs had slimmed, Lyra and Vinyl managed to side-roll out of danger with little trouble.  Derpy laid with a hoof pressed to her face, just barely holding back her lunch as she started to get her bearings. After a moment, she was able to get a grip of herself and let her nausea pass.
"Are you okay?" Sunset asked, putting a hoof on Derpy's back.
"Yeah, I'm good," she said, turning her head towards Sunset. "That was cra-"
her voice trailed off as she got a good look at Sunset, shock dominating her features.
"Sunset?"
"Y-Yeah?" she asked, slightly nervous.
"You are absolutely adorable!"
Before she could react, Derpy threw her arms around the stunned Unicorn and pulled her into a tight hug.
"Th-Thanks," Sunset stuttered, face turning as red as her mane. "You too."
"Huh?" she asked pulling herself back from her possible girlfriend.
Sunset gestured towards the now gray Pegasus  that was holding her. It was then that Derpy took note of her new body.
"No way," she smiled. "What am I? Am I a Unicorn too?"
"No," she laughed. "Looks like your counterpart's a Pegasus."
"Really?!" 
With a wide smile, she tried to look behind herself and was greeted by a pair of slowly opening wings.
"Awesome!"
"What about me?!" Lyra cried, her whole body almost vibrating a hole in the ground.
"A horse with a brain tumor," Lightning said flatly. 
"What?! the light green Unicorn exclaimed, excitement replaced with panic.
"Or a Unicorn," she shrugged.
Lyra leveled a glare at her Pegasus friend then said. "Hey Sunset, that means I can use magic, right?"
"Yeah," Sunset responded, not sure she liked where this was headed.
"How do I shoot lasers?"
"Lyra," Sunset and Bonbon both sighed.
Lightning glanced over her shoulder and a slight smile graced her lips.
Pegasus huh? Sweet! Take that Mom and Dad!
"So I guess I'm a Unicorn here," Vinyl smirked, tapping at her new appendage. "God that feels weird."
"Since I lack wings, does that make me a Unicorn as well?" Octavia asked.
"Not quite," Sunset sighed. "You and Bonbon are Earth Ponies. You can't use magic the same way Unicorns can, but you are physically stronger than one and have tougher bodies than Pegesi."
"How tough?" Bonbon asked.
"An Earth Pony can survive a bolt of wild lightning  and break a bolder down to pebbles."
The two Earths in the group stared at her in shock, before a cocky smile spread across Bonbon's face.
"Now that's more like it!"
"Let's hope I never need to test that claim, love," Octavia shivered.
A simple question from Derpy led to the next topic the fiery Unicorn saw coming. 
"Hey Sunset, when did you get the tattoo?"
"She's not the only one," Vinyl said, staring at her friend's flank. "Looks like we've all got them."
Sure enough, when everyone looked, they saw that they did indeed have a mark on their hindquarters. Bonbon had a piece of wrapped candy in a beaker on her flank while Lyra had a silver harp covering what looked like a blank playing card. Octavia had a treble clef with a theater mask hanging from the top most point. On Vinyl's flank was a record with an inverted bass note plastered on top of it. Lightning had a tornado with two lightning bolts crossing over it while Derpy's mark was what looked like a collection of chat bubbles.
"Those are your Cutie Marks. They show a pony's special talent and a part of their true selves."
"Cutie Mark?" Lightning asked, not impressed. "That's what their called?"
"Yep," Sunset smiled.
"That is so lame."
Sunset shrugged, then turned towards her mother, who had remained silent through out the whole chain of events. She was greeted by a Solar Princess that was just a step away from falling over laughing.
"Mom," she groaned. 
"I'm sorry my little sun, it's just so cute watching you interact with your friends," she chuckled. 
"Mom!" she growled. "Not now!"
"Fine, fine," she sighed. "We need to get these three sorted out anyways."
As she said that, she lowered the three fillies gently onto the floor. None of them made any attempt to run or really do more than look up at their warden.
"That reminds me," Sunset said, glaring at them. "What are you going to do to them?"
"Well," Celestia frowned. "First we're going to help them get used to their new bodies, then they are going to be helping the staff around the castle."
"How so?"
"Nothing too strenuous," the Solar Diarch shrugged. "Cleaning floors mostly. Once they have cleaned all the guest rooms and the throne room's floors, they can return home. Honestly, their parents could be quite gladiatorial when it comes to corporal punishment."
"You talked to their parents?"
"Of course," Celestia said, taken aback slightly. "It was over tea in my private chambers. Very lovely mares and stallions, though they did seem rather easily startled."
"You brought them here?!"
"Sunset dear," she smiled. "Do you honestly think that a race without magic is going to take a Princess' word at face value?"
"Good point," she muttered. "And they were okay with it?"
"Yes. In fact it was their idea to have them help the staff. I believe it was Ms. Smith who said that it would help build character. She also has a very vibrant vocabulary when angered."
A shiver ran through Applebloom at the mention of her Grandmother's temper and a slight pang of sympathy entered Sunset's heart at the sight. 
"By the way," Celestia continued.  "It seems you are one friend short. Is Fluttershy not going to be joining us?"
"She should be coming through soon," Sunset said, turning towards the portal.
As if on cue, the mirror rippled like it was made of water as another figure fell through. What they saw fall to the floor was a little shocking to everyone present, Royal family included. Laying dazed on the floor was a light yellow Thestral with a pale pink mane and tail. Her Cutie Mark was a pink bat with a red moon half hidden behind its left wing. When she opened her eyes, everyone could see that they were bright red with slitted pupils before they slammed shut and she put her hooves over them.
"C-Could someone turn down the lights?" she whined. "They're too bright."
It was while she was talking that everyone became aware of her fangs poking out of her muzzle. A moment of silence passed as everyone took in what they were seeing. Then, with the grace of a meteor, Lightning broke the silence.
"Huh. So I'm friends with a vampire. You know what? I'm cool with that."