> A Third Chance to Find a Family
>  by kitkataddel
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 0 - Origins
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Secret-stealer!"

"Not that person!"

"We don't want you here!"

"Don't need you!"

'Need you.' Sunset Shimmer had dreams of hearing those words from her throughout the year. Now she just had those dreams shattered by one word. That one word that escaped those lips.

"Don't." Her voice could barely croak it, but she needed to have it heard by anyone else. Not that it truly helped her pain, as the combining blizzard and previous beatings took her toll on her physically. After she had given up on getting her friends with her words, she had ran out, rumours reaching her years even as she left the school in a blind panic.

The weather had only worsened on her journey away. Here, in this foreign universe, the winds weren't formed by magical winged horses, nor was the snow that would've been made in a manufactory. In this universe, it was simply mother nature being herself. Sunset had previously thought of her as being this world's Discord - cruel, ruthless, and most of all, unpredictable, despite what she had been told otherwise by her otherworldly 'friend'. She still had yet to make her mind up about her. Maybe she was with them, maybe not, maybe she was blissfully unaware of this plight that was unfolding just a universe away. Regardless, she had left her contact back in her locker. But no way in all of her right mind would she go back there. Mind you, she supposed some would want to 'see' Sunset Shimmer at some point in the soon future. She couldn't run forever. So, she would hide. Hiding would work, since there are no living beings who were fully aware of where Sunset lived. Well, maybe some rats at the very least.

Snow continued to fall, strangling Sunset and her nerves with the stinging cold, stabbing at her brain. She somehow took comfort in this pain, allowing her hood to slip, giving her hair room to flow freely in the white specks falling around her. Though now her brain had space to think, she started to consider what she now could do. She supposed she could last a few more nights, but either way, whe would have to do something eventually. Turning her thoughts back to the current scenario, Sunset started to pass by the mall, grabbing the bits she stashes there for emergencies. They were a nice reminder of home, with a blazing sun on one side, and her old ruler on the other. She had a feeling she needed the pure gold disks for somthing someday, but she never thought it would be like this. Depositing them into a worn pouch, she continued on her way, slightly picking up her pace now she had something that represented a bit of hope.

Even so, she had to think about the past. How could they do that to her?

"Don't worry Sunset, you're our friend!"
"We'll never leave you behind!"
"We talk to you because we care Sunset. Not just because we owe it to the Princess. You're not just a charity case."

"Just" - she couldn't help but think that that particular word was spoken with false intent. If she wasn't simply a charity case, what else? Sunset thought they cared. All of them. Had she really left herself to be that gullible? Was she really becoming that stup- 'No. It isn't fair to talk about her like that. She was just guilt-tripped into it. Wasn't she?' Now, there was a multitude of questions flying through Sunset's frozen brain, but on top of them all, there was something imparticular - "Don't need you." - on repeat in the folds of her thoughts. She said it. She said it. No one else. Her.

Only her...





Eventually putting her worries behind her, Sunset slowly returned home, or at least the only place she could compare to it. It was next to the old libary, near a bus stop, very useful given her position. And there was her shelter. It had grown fairly impressively now that she could focus her efforts on it. A thick carpet she had stolen from a nearby stall, made the not-exactly-solid floor, and several layers of rough wooden planks were bound together by lashes of rope fed into the splintered jaws. A large sheet of folded metal perched on top of it all, it would be enough to set her back on her path to sanity, at least until the day had been ended. 

At least that is what she had led herself to believe. Now the shelter groaned and creaked, as they rubbed against each other, threating its own structure. Gradually, the structure then come to collapse, burying Sunset's possessions as it fell in on itself. She was sure she would've scrambled forwards, screaming "NO!", but if she was honest with herself, she was considerably too tired to do anything in response. Instead, Sunset slumped to the wall, sliding down it while taking brief delight in the respite she had gifted herself with. Grumbling incoherent gibberish, she wrapped herself in her jacket, but as the howling snow storm intensified, she found it now good. That was it for Sunset. She knew she would not be able to stay here much longer.

With little hesitation, she pulled out a short, slightly blunt knife from her boot, and started to slide it back and forth across the back of her hand, almost sawing at it as she turned her appendage over. It was strange - she was originally horrified by this limb, but has time went on, it had become her saviour. Now time for something different, as was needed.

Almost instinctually she dug down and hard at her wrist, sliding the blade across it. Sunset Shimmer then did the same for the parrallel limb on her other side. That was it. Quick, clean, sharp and simple. The red edge slid back into her high boot, and as she comforted herself that this is what her options were truly limited to, she allowed her head to drift into the snow, fading to a mix of white and black. One started to dominate the other, and then one of her senses shot open and a voice muttering in anger that she couldn't quite place. But she knew that didn't matter anymore. Not now...

It was over...

"SUNSET?!"
> 1 - Rejected
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Who brought her in?"

"Young girl. Probably Freshman. Couldn't see who it was, had too much clothing on."

"Damn blizzard. Didn't you ask her?"

"Didn't have a chance to. Shuffled out the moment she made sure she got attention, ignored us, all the while exclaiming how she's sorry, to no one imparticular. She could've at least told us who this is or what happened to her."

"The last one should be pretty obvious."

At this moment in time, one young girl, whose soul had lost their way just in the past day, was brought back to the world of senses.  A hand was grasped around her arm, turning it over, though she could only feel the top half of it, above the lower part of the elbow. A gasp opened her hearing, allowing her to start to regain consciousness, just in time to hear a clearly horrified gasp.

"As for who she is... Well, I'm almost postive I can answer that one myself."

Suddenly realising the voice was strangely familiar, a sudden shock overtook the girl, throwing her forwarded panting, staring into the void of a room she was laid in, but the bearer of the voice was not who she would've expected to use such a tone for their next words.

"She's the swine who ruined my daughter's dreams. Who broke her leg, permamently, then ruined my other child. Twice. She is someone who I would define as a complete b-"

"Doctor!" One of the nurses was now scolding the doctor, then turned to the girl in bed. "I'm sorry about the doctor dear. She seems to think you hurt her daughter, Scootaloo." Turning back, she sternly glanced at the doctor, telling her to behave.

"You're right, you're right. But you can't blame me for being angry at this Shimmer girl after what she did to Scootaloo. Still, I suppose she did seem to try and make up for it. Seemed to."

Sunset, finally regaining her breath, suddenly exclaimed in a slight panic, startling all the staff. "You're Scootaloo's mother?!"

While one would suppose that this should not be at the top of her priorities, she did have a point. Instead of the violet hair her daughter had, the doctor possessed a dark-ish blue mop of straighted strands, clearly left alone to never be touched again. Instead of the darker orange skin, she had a light yellow, almost akin to one of her friends. Ex-friends. One of the nurses, clearly serious about her words, stepped in.

"Dear, while we understand you are curious about those around you, we need to know what actually happened, particularly as you were carried here through a snow storm."

"Was dying from the storm. No shelter. Better to die quickly than slowly."

"Hmmm. I'm sure there's more to it than that. Sunset Shimmer, yes?" She was answered with a weak nod, since Sunset was too weak to speak much, and she was now taking in her situation.

Memories can flooding back to her. She had commited. After being left to rot in more ways that one, she had made a decision. What she didn't remember is being taken to an observational ward in a hospital and then being tied down to a bed, all the while having her lower arms and hands encased in a . Seeing her discomfort, the nurses shuffled out, hoping to give her room to breathe. That left the clearly angry doctor. After a long silence, Scootaloo's mother finally broke the silence.

"I am Dr. Turret. You most likely have at the very least of heard of my daughter Scootaloo. Now that we now know each other," Dr. Turret grew threatingly close, allowing Sunset to feel an enraged breathing. "why?"

Shrugging, Sunset weakly mumbled out a few words. "No shelter. Hardly any clothes. Almost de-"

"No. Why did you cripple my daughter?"

"Cripp- Wha-?"

"Defiant to the last huh? No matter. I'm sure I'll find out in due time."

"Turret!" A slam accompanied the newcomer. "This is a hospital, not a police station for crying out loud! And why's she still tied down? You think she's going anywhere?"

"She tried to commit suicide Velvet!" Sighing, Dr. Turret took a step back. "Look Velvet, do what you want, I cannot deal with you, nor her right now." And with that, the doctor simply stepped out of the lab with an air of frustration.

Rotating herself to face Sunset, Velvet started to introduce herself. "Hello, I'm Twilight Velvet. I apologise about Doctor Turret. I really don't know what's gotten into her. Sunset Shimmer isn't it? I would say pleased to meet you, but at the same time, it really isn't appropriate. Now I suppose I must ask the obvious question? Why did you do it?"

Repeating her earlier words, she explained her previous situation.

"Okay Sunset, I'm going to be honest, I know there must be alot more to it than that." Seeing the sudden unease on her patient's face, she swiftly added "Don't worry, I shan't push you for details now. You just rest. You need it."

With that Sunset allowed herself to pass out without any resistance, summiting herself to the darkness once more.





Storming out of the room, Doctor Turret almost sprinted to her office, gaining quite a few concerned looks along the way. Sighing heavily, she pulled out her opened phone, hesitating before clamping it to the side of her face with her hand, letting it buzz into her ear.

"Hey, this is Scoots."

"Scootaloo honey, I'm going to be home quite late today. The snow has caused more chaos than it noramlly does." For a moment, she thought about informing her daughter about her latest patient, but passed the idea as idiotic and simply unneeded.

"Uh, sure. I'll be okay with your other child." Her mother could hear Scootaloo pull back in regret as she realised her words. "S-so, any time we should expect you back?"

"Potentially midnight, perhaps even later dear. I really couldn't say."

"Well, if it's not too late when you finish, call us okay? I'll tell the others."

"Will do. Wait..." Pausing to think for moment, Turret suddenly thought about what she could hear past her child's voice. There we people shouting, perhaps at her, but that wasn't the worst part about it. It was the fact she was outside. In the snow, at night.

"...Mother?"

"Scootaloo, what are you doing outside at... ten o'clock at night?"

"Oh I was, err, I was with my friends, they wanted some help with something."

Hearing the masked tone in her voice, the doctor remained unconvinced, but let the matter pass. "Hmm. Listen, Scootaloo, you should go home now, and don't stop." Hearing steps outside, she knew what was about to come 'Oh great. I really do not want to have this conversation right now.'

"Okay, I've got to go now, so get going, alright?"

"Already on my way!"

With that, Doctor Turret hung up, and braced herself for the metaphorical and potentially literal storm she was about to face, head first.





"So what do you have against that girl?"

"She's the one who crippled my daughter! I'M SURE OF IT!" The supposedly good doctor raised her voice substantially, clearly proving her emotions.

"Turret, please, you have no proof of that!"

"I don't need proof! I know she did it! There's no way she didn't!"

"DOCTOR! TURRET!" Twilight Velvet had quite obviously had enough of her compainions outburst, as short as it was. "This is ridiculous! I should not have to scold you for being so full of rage because of a patient who has quite clearly been through alot, reminds you of someone else, otherwise she wouldn't be here because of what she's done. You still also have no right to believe in all of this if you have no substantial proof as it should be in this system of the law!"

Very clearly, Turret was taken aback by this rant, and she was starting to understand that Velvet had every right to be this angry. An attempt to compose herself later, she mumbled something completely incoherent and excused herself to take care of her currently 'mentally fragile' patient that was just brought in out of the snow.

Though if she thought she was shocked, she certainly could not read Velvet's expressions. she had not expected her compainion to give up this easily, and returned to her duties, in relative silence, all the while trying to clam the conflicting beliefs swirling in her head.





"'Tis almost time for morn sister."

"I am aware. But you never come visit me at this time, particularly after your duties."

"... We have experienced something you may wish to know sister."

"Oh? What is it?"

"It concerns one from thy past. And they are terribly, terribly lost."

"No... surely you aren't..."

"I am."

"Twilight..."

*thud*

"Hmm. Perhaps I was mistaken."
> 2 - Decision
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Doing paperwork is always an unenjoyable exprience for Twilight Velvet. Doing paperwork that details the symptoms of a variety of illnesses, such as Adiposis Dolorosa, really doesn't heighten the appeal of it either. At this point in time, however, she had other things on her mind, as well as the report currently in front of her. It contained an anonymous image - a greyed out face with a question mark on it. Next to it was a list of symptoms:





Deep lacerations and cuts along the underside of the lower arms, wrists and back of the hand.

Hypothermia

Possible frostbite - no observational signs as of 02:13 on 20/12/14

Possible mental damage - patient unable to take tests as of 01:56 on 20/12/14


Potential longer term effects of confirmed symptoms:



Inability to use their hands to their best ability

Permament loss of feeling in hands due to cut nerves

Pain when using hands

Hand muscles significantly reduced in strength





It was these last ones that really shook Velvet up. She couldn't imagine not being able to use her hands for any amount of time. But the worst part of it was that Sunset caused this to herself, it wasn't the cold, nor the wind that stung her on the way here. It was the edge of the knife. The bloodied blade in her boot that came from her bloodied hands.





"Listen Sunset. I saved your life, but that doesn't mean I trust you any. Still, I wish I could say I'm sorry but I can't. I realise I was rash in blaming you for Scootaloo - I can't prove it was you, but I can't prove it wasn't you at the same time."

"Wha- what happened to S- Scootaloo?" Sunset was awake now, but still in no way in good health.

"I honestly can't tell if you're lying or not. Either way, I guess you deserve to know. Scootaloo was in an incident. She believes she simply fell, but her friends say she got into a fight. I heard that you went after her during your... bully phrase. Yes I heard about that, but I still don't know if you're truly past it yet. Anyway, whatever happened, her leg got hurt. Really badly. She n-no longer..." Trailing off, she almost broke down sobbing. Composing herself, Dr. Turret finished her story. "She couldn't run. Ever again. I'm glad she found away around it by using that scooter, but it simply saddens me that she doesn't have that oppotunity, particularly considering her role model choice of Rainbo-"

Breaking from her look of sadness at Scootaloo's position, Sunset shot up as far up as she could, so she leaned into her Doctor, with a hateful glint in her eyes. "D- don't you dare say t- that name!"

Her target seemed unfazed by her sudden reaction. It was, perhaps, slightly ruined by the fact she was still forced to be restrained for safety purposes, albeit the bonds had been loosed, much to Sunset's comfort. "Okay, she's clearly a touchy subject. It's okay, I won't push the matter. Now. Back to business. I'm not convinced by yor reasoning to commit suicide. I can promise this won't leave this room. I just need to know for... physcological reasons."

"You want to know? Fine." Sunset laid back, closing her eyes, trying to calm herself. "I had friends. They were basically the only family I had. Then they abandoned me." Sunset opened her eyes, again, seemingly unfazed by her story despite her sombre tone. "Need any more?"

"Like you understand losing family."

"YOU DON'T GET TO SAY THAT ABOUT ME!" The girl rose up again, fierce anger clearly showing on her voice. "YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ME! I've been abandoned by family three times in my life, and I never regained any of them! My parents left me at an orphanage just because I was born differently! My mentor, who I treated like a mother, rejected me and sent me all the way here just because she couldn't help me! I've never seen her since, never heard word from her! Now, I finally fix my 'mistakes', get some good friends, I treat them like sisters, and they leave me in the snow for something I didn't even do! You have no idea what I've been through! NOTHING WHAT SO EVER!"

Sunset came down from her angry rant, relaxing once more. "Nothing leaves this room. I didn't say that. Ever."

Twilight Velvet once again unexpectantly burst into the bland room, this time much quieter, now that Turret didn't appear to be playing interrogator again. Regardless, the doctor instantly stiffened at her entrance, causing Sunset to assume there was quite alot of friction between the two. 'At least they haven't been through what I've been through.'

"Is she still restrained? She could've been freed half an hour ago." Velvet rushed in, swiftly moving to undo her bonds.

"I assume she'll have to go into a foster home?" The doctor queried, ignoring her companion's comment, and seemingly ignorant to Sunset recent outburst. Still, this did cause Sunset to squirm slightly - she knew of the foster homes they spoke of, having narrowly avoided one when she came here after she was made aware how they are basically a way of enslaving someone with a family. Overall, she understood how most foster families did it for the money that came with a foster child. She wanted to spit at the two if they were going to put her away, even after Doctor Turret saved her life. Mind you, she never wanted to live in the first place anyway, did she?

The next words put her at ease significantly - "That's the problem. Perhaps unsurprisingly, not many foster families are willing to take in a suicidal teenager who we have no records on." Sunset had earlier made it very clear she did not want to talk about her past, and she would continue to do so until she felt safe about it, which both people believed was a lie, and was hiding something. Regardless, they recognised her right to privacy, and would allow Sunset to speak of it when she felt comfortable about doing so, provided that was in the forseeable future.

"So, where she going to go? She can't stay here. We only need her here for one more day under observation, and we should be able to discharge her. Plus, we're busy enough. we really can't afford just to let people stay here."

"Hmm. I think I have an idea..." Twilight Velvet, exiting her state of intense thought, leaned into the doctor's ear, whispering something you'd have to have the hearing of a bat to hear.

The first expression out of anyone presently in the room to not be a look of neutrality, Doctor Turret's eyes shrank to pinpricks. Sunset was unable to understand if this was good, bad, or otherwise. Stammering for words, she frowned at Velvet, then shot a slightly shocked expression at Sunset. Taking a deep breath, Turret decided to reveal what little she could.

"Okay Sunset, this will be alot to to take in, so prepare yourself. We understand you are most likely homeless, since the only thing we were informed about you was that you were found passed out and bleeding next to what appeared to be a collapsed shelter you would typically find in a slum. We are also assuming that you do not have any family in the city, otherwise you would not be there in the first place. Is this correct so far?" Seeing Sunset's resigned nod, she continued. "We cannot locate a valid foster family for you, and we are unable to allow you stay here for too much longer. Is there anything else you would like to add to this?"

Considering her question for a moment, Sunset started to form weak words, carefully arranging them into a understandable sentence. "I will not go into an orphange." she hissed, "I know what they're like! I'd rather try and end myself again before somep-one forced me into going to one of those."

Velvet looked at her with considering eyes, but not before flinching at her claims of repeating her actions. "Honey, we aren't going to put you into one of those places. I've decided to take matters into my own hands. You are going to be staying with me until we can find you a proper home, certainly over the holidays and the very least."

Sunset started to work her jaw for words, but could find absolutely none so far. Even if the women had shown little personal emotion towards her, she had been exceptionally kind towards her, even in the face of Doctor Turret. She was about to answer, but Velvet swiftly turned to Turret, uttering something about 'easing off'.

Seing the doubtful look on her company's face, she attempt to reach out to her. "Look Turret, I understand things haven't been great between us recently, or for the past year for that matter. Still, can we call a truce for the time being? At least over the holidays?"

Turret stopped any movements in her body, devoting all her energy to think about this. Then, after what seemed to be an eternity, she sighed. "Alright, I concede Velvet. Call it... temporary friendship."

And with that, Velvet's new 'friend' was called out, as another patient had come in, apparantly having possible frostbite from falling into a pond... which was most likely frozen. Somehow. Leaving herself with this thought, Sunset allowed herself to drift back to sleep, leaving her future to decide itself.





Gasping for air, Sunset Shimmer acted as though she had just been underwater for an hour, panting as though her lungs were empty. Instead of contemplating what she'd had just seen - for she did not quite understand it yet - Sunset decided to call for Twilight Velvet. Since she was basically being forced into staying with her, she figured she might as well get to know the woman who would be acting as her guardian for at least a week.

"You called for me?" Velvet entered the room with a certain flourish, as though she was trying to make a good first impression.

"Yes." Sunset's voice had greatly improved, due to access to clean water, which was normally a luxury outside of school. "I realise that if I'm going to be living with you for a bit, I should at the very least get to know you a little, even if I don't really want to go with you. And yes, I know you won't allow me a choice in the matter. That's fair enough, considering what I've done, I suppose."

"Well, if that's it, I'll be more than happy to oblige." Velvet took a seat next to Sunset's hospital bed, as if she was about to read a bedtime story. "I guess I should start with my family. You already know I'm Twilight Velvet, I am married to Night Light, with whom I have had two children: Shining Armor, who is currently engaged to Mi Amore Cadenza, or just Cadance, recently pregnant. My other child is called Twilight Sparkle." Sunset's eyes instantly went wide, silent and still, yet somehow still having a small panic attack. While her brain did seem to acknowledge that this was most likely to be the Princess' human counterpart, just hearing that name made her think back to her earlier worries on what Twilight would think of this situation. On the positive side, Sunset would much rather have a freak out now rather than right in front of this other Twilight.

Velvet, seemingly oblivious to Sunset's odd reaction, continued on, while Sunset came to terms with what she had heard. "Shining's a high ranking police officer, while Twily is a very smart girl currently attending Crystal Prep with hopes of becoming a fully fledged scientist. Ha! As if she isn't one already..." She started to trail off as she realised she was about to ramble on about her dearest daughter. "Anyway, I'll introduce them to you and vice versa properly when you get back to my home. Though you shouldn't just get to know me, I want to know about you. I understand you really don't want to talk about much. So what are you willing to tell me?"

"Well I-" Sunset paused. She didn't know this woman, nor did she trust her yet. So she almost certainly would not be telling her that she actually comes from a land full of magical talking ponies and she came here after being disowned by the leader of the magical pony nation through a mirror which transformed her into what she thought was a naked ape. "I go to Canterlot high. I've been homeless for three or four years after I was kicked out of my family over a dispute. They left the county, leaving me here. Only continued going to school for the food and water." Taking a prepared breath, she braced herself for what she was sure would be a harsh reaction to the next part of her tale. "I became a complete bully. There was hardly no one I had under my control. I was arrogant and perhaps slightly egotistical. I would say it was out of desperation, but that would be a lie, I did it because I could, with illusions of grandeur. Not too long ago, somep-one else came along and removed me off of my seat of 'popularity'. I had what I guess you would call an epiphany, and made up for my mistakes. They forgave me. At least, I thought they had." Sunset almost smacked her head off of her hands, which were now thickly bandaged up.

'That's twice I almost reverted to equestrianisms. Am I really that shaken up?'

Velvet had perked up hearing of the girl's story. She clearly had pity in her eyes, but she was also confused. Clearing her throat to catch Sunset's attention again, she parroted Sunset. "Thought they had?"

"Rather not talk about that now." Seeing a understanding glance from Velvet, Sunset decided to ask a more practical question. "What of my belongings, by the way?"

Glad the subject had shifted, Velvet turned back around to face the girl. "All the clothes you were found with are fine, excluding your shirt, since they had to cut it off to check the rest of your body. Your bag was also brought here with you, but don't worry, no one's looked through it. You'll be able to take all of it, sans your knife - for what I hope are obvious reasons."

"It's alright. I don't think I'm going to be trying this again any time soon. Unless things get worse..." Sunset clearly seemed depressed at this point, facing down at her hospital covers.

"Sunset, don't have that attitude. I'll make sure you'll be okay." As if remembering something, Velvet's face lit up. "On a more serious note, were you living with anyone in that shelter? A young girl brought you in, but we have absolutely no idea who she was. No little sisters or anything?"

"None. Must have been someone walking past." Turning away from the woman, she started to grumble to herself. "Hope it wasn't anyone who knew me..."

"Okay Sunset dear, I have to go sort out your guardianship papers. But before I go, is there any reason we can't find any record of you or your family anywhere, at least in the contactable countries?" Seeing Sunset's reluctant silent refusal, Velvet headed out. She was very sure that this girl had a more than rocky past, but she was even more sure that she was hiding something big about herself. "Hmm. Guess I'll find out in due time." She said to no one imparticular, as she made her way back to her workplace, figuring it wouldn't hurt to stay the night.





"NEIGH, Sister, neigh!"

"So it's not my previous student then?"

"It is but not her! It's-"

"Oh, Cadance! I really wouldn't call her a proper student. And besides, she can take care of herself. She is an alicorn after all."

"Wa- bu-... I shall find a way to inform you without being interupted. This may take a while..."
> 3 - Transition
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

This was the day. Sunset hadn't been to sure if she wanted to go with this woman, but it must be better than this hospital. Now, she was getting prepared for this new experience. However, her own dignity was in doubt. While she had insisted she was able to dress herself, one of the nurses rightfully pointed out that her hands were still wrapped in layers and layers of thick bandages. So, to her reluctance, Sunset allowed the nurse to put on her boots, skirt and jacket, while keeping a hospital top on to replace her previous top, now shredded. The leather jacket that she had spawned with into this world was now heavily bloodied, only kept with strong insistance on her part. Sunset set a mental reminder to get a new one at some point.

One last time, she remembered what she had been told about her current condition...





"Okay Sunset, listen up. This is what we've been able to determine so far. You will not be able to use any muscles below the elbow due to severence of the nerves. When you can use your hands, you may or may not feel pain, we cannot be sure just from observence. On the positive side, these effects won't be permament, it will only last two to four weeks. By that time, your bandages should be taken off, or reduced at the very least. Your cuts were also very deep, and there will be heavy scarring all over the offending area." Sunset heard whoever was speaking take a deep breath, mostly likely through a sad smile. "Here's the bad news. Because of certain nerves you managed to dissect so badly, you will never be able to feel anything in your hands and lower arms again. We will be able to do tests to see what we can do for the future, and we would heavily recommend physical therapy. Regardless, it is highly unlikely we can do anything about this. I'm sorry."





'Just another thing I deserve for my past.' Now, she was in the waiting room, letting time tick by for a while, expecting her new guardian's arrival any time soon. Jerked out her thoughts by a new voice calling out her name, she shakily stood up.

"Sunset Shimmer?" This person was not Velvet. The man had a slightly faded blue tone for his skin, and a half-grey half-blue carpet of hair, clearly rigorously combed and cared for. He wore a very dark blue suit, with a card strapped to his lapel, giving him access to whatever the already blurry writing said on it.

"That's me." Turning the man's eyes widened at the sight of a young girl with flowing red-and-yellow hair, wearing a knee-length skirt and boots. She also sported a beaten and bloodied leather jacket, something that looked like it was out of a motor cycle shop, which also helped cover the thick bandages on her arms a substantial bit, but the coverings on her hands were still exposed, clearly earning a concerned look from the man. "Who are you?"

Snapping back to attention, the man met Sunset's eyes. "Oh yes, sorry. I'm Night Light, Twilight Velvet's husband. I'm here to take you home to live with our family. She couldn't be here because of her sudden increase in work today. She'll be taking the rest of the holdiays off though."

Night Light walked out of the entrance of the hosiptal, walking to a dull sedan parked near the entrance. He opened the passenger car door then bowed as if he was a chaffuer. "After you..."

Nodding in appreciation, Sunset carefully entered the seat, attempting to put on her seatbelt before giving up and just letting Night Light do it. "Just ask if you need anything Sunset. We live not too far away from here, shouldn't be too long."

"So what's going to happen to me at your home?"

"Well, due to legal reasons, we have to have someone with you at all time, at least until we decided you can be trusted not to try to... well, you know. So really, nothing, but someone had to be in the room with you most of the time. Obviously we can give you privacy but..."

"Yeah, I get it. It's not like I can at the moment." While Sunset did understand what they were doing, she couldn't make her mind up whether she liked Velvet and Night Light or not. Maybe it was because they were related to Princess Twilight, or she thought they were doing something kind to someone who didn't deserve it. The rest of the ride was spent in relative silence, as they both thought about their future together, however temporary it may be.





In the Twilight household, the three people prepared for the newcomers arrival. They had decided to do throw a party or anything similar, but they also wanted to make the place look nice, even if only one of them would be living with her.

"Hey Shiny, you think we should cook anything in advance?"

"We don't know what she likes yet, so lets not be hasty with anything. Just let her know she's welcome here over the holdiays. After all, Christmas is only in four days, so lets make it nice for her, okay?"

"By the way dear, you never told me what her name was."

"Oh, sorry! I think it was... Sunrise Sparkle?"

"Twilight has a sister?!"

"Shiiinny! It's Sunset Shimmer! And you knew that. Don't mess with Cadance like that. You know what happens."

"Do I eve- oof!"

Sunset had been listening to the voices through the door in the garage, as Night Light help her out of the car, even offering to carry her before Sunset refused with some venom. Sunset could guess the young girl as being Twilight Sparkle, and the man being Shining Armor, captain of the Royal Guard in Equestria, now married to 'Mi Amore Cadenza, Princess of Love', as Princess Twilight had informed her. 'Wait, what was it Velvet had said about Armor's wife?'

Night Light gently knocked on the door, before backing away, as if expecting an ambush to erupt from the entrance. Instead, and woman in a light blue suit with a crystal heart emblem on her collar. 'Hang on... pink skin, pink, purple, yellow and red hair...' "Pri- Cadance?!"

Quickly clamping her houth shut, waited for the envitable question - "You know Cadance?" A pale, stern looking man appeared behind the doorway, Sunset assumed this was Shining Armor, Prince-Consort in her world of origin.

Just the sudden realisation of who Cadance was made her instantly nervous. Back in Equestria, she was her first target as a bully. The weak princess who never spoke out against anyone, all too humble. The alicorn who could hardly use her magic. 'Just another pony I need to apologise to.' Now, Sunset had to make up an excuse. A good one. So she did the only thing she could. Lying. "T-that's.. uh- that's a long story. M-maybe... t-tell you later?"

"Uh, okaaay?"

Night Light got Sunset's attention once more, directing her towards a shy, albeit quite confused girl in the corner, giving a nervous wave. Between Princess Twilight and this other girl, there certianly was alot of resemblance. The same lavander skin, the same coloured streaks in her hair. The only clear differences were the glasses perched upon her nose, and her hair was in a slighty messy bun, and opposed to the straight and free hair that Princess Twilight had.

"T-twilight Sparkle, r-right?"

"Y-yes, t-that's me."

"Twily dear, could you show Sunset to her room? Your mother will be home soon."

"Okay Dad. Come on, this way."

Sunset had concluded that things were clearly going to be awkward around her and Sparkle, at least for the time being. Still, it was good that she was with someone she sort of knew, even if it was her magical pony princess counterpart from another world which was only accessable by stepping into a statue and/or mirror.

The room she had been introduced into was rather bland, clearly been looted of items not too long ago. While Twilight explained this had been Shining's room before he moved in with Cadance, who happened to live just a half a mile away. Leaving Twilight to ramble on about the position of houses in their family, the bed in middle of the room found itself being unexpectantly used by one Sunset Shimmer, somehow exhausted by the journey of sitting in a car then walking ten meters. Not bothering to ask for help about getting changed, she simply laid onto the luxury she had been deprived of for years, and slowly but surely drifted off into a deep, dark slumber.





"Well, she's asleep already Dad. Laid on the bed the moment she saw it." Twilight had been curious as to why Sunset seem so entranced by the piece of funiture. "Where did she come from? What happened to her?"

"Well, we don't know much, but I can tell you what we do know." A new voice had entered the room, one belonging to a grey woman, with half grey and half blue/purple hair, causing everyone present to rotate towards it, ears snapping to attention. "Sunset Shimmer, a girl who is believed to be homeless, was returning from school to her.... home, before finding it collapsed. Figuring she would not be able to last the night with the state of the current weather, she..." Velvet paused, not sure how she could say this next part. So, she went for being as blunt as possible. "She attempted suicide, figuring it would be a better death than one from starvation and the cold."

Several horrified gasps emmited from her audience, who had gathered around her as if she was telling a campfire story. "And please, don't ask her about her past. She's made it very clear that's a very sensitive subject." Lowering her voice, she leaned into the group. "I honestly suspect there's more to her reasoning than that, but she's clearly reluctant to say. So for the time being, leave her alone on that sort of stuff, alright?" Seeing saddened nods from the group, Velvet started to move past them, excusing herself to put Sunset's things in her room, since she left them at the hospital. The elder Twilight then called for her son to help move the recliner into the room too, so she would have somewhere to sleep with the girl, as per the legal requirements. Deciding to call it an early night after the never ending events at her job, she grabbed a blanket, and snuggled into the chair, adjusting it so she could almost fully lie down, helping her join Sunset in the unconscious state she was in.





The father in the family called to the remaining awake people in the building, including the family dog, who had just given up trying to get into the locked guest bedroom to register the new scent.

"Well, what do we think of her?"

"I don't know Dad. She's kind of hard to understand in her current state." Twilight had been trying to get some sort of a read on the new girl, despite never trying to know anyone before.

"Yeah, sis is right on this one Dad. She needs time to recover." Shining had resigned himself to think about the newcomer, only speaking when she was concerned in the converstation.

Cadance then spoke up, having been thinking about the possible emotional state of everyone after the reveal of what Sunset had done. "What are the possible effects of Sunset's... actions? Or do we not know?"

"Well, from what Velvet told me when I called her, she won't be able to use her arms properly for a while, anywhere from two weeks to an entire month. She also no longer has any feeling below her elbows. Mind you, she was apparantly very lucky she didn't have any hypothermia or frostbite, despite it being predicted, so it isn't all bad I suppose. Either, keep it in mind she will most likely need help with a great many things."

Strangely, everyone acted rather neutrally towards this news, since the after effects of the revelation of the attempted suicide were still stinging in their brains.

Then, everyone opted to slowly made their way either home or to their beds, with nothing else really left to say.





"Scootaloo, I'm home!"

"Great! How was work?"

"It was..." Frowning, Scootaloo's mother wan't sure how much to say. "different. Are you going to tell me what you were doing out so late?"

Suddenly slightly panicing, Scootaloo made several quick excuses, all the while making her way up the staircase. "Can I tell you in the morning? I'm kinda tired."

Sighing, the doctor gave in. "Fine, but I want to know first thing." She left the girl to scramble up the remaining stairs, allowing her attention to turn else where. "Now, where is my son..."





Sunset awoke in an unfamiliar place. She was in room, for starters. She was also in a bed. As she noticed the stained bandages wrapped a dozen times over her wrists, she remembered the previous nights, and what had happened. Dozing in laid back recliner across the room was Twilight Velvet, the one woman who had shown at least a little bit of care recently. Getting up to find the bathroom, she noticed a light coming from the living room. Entering the spacious room, she found Night Light Working on a computer, jotting down a extremely long equation on the spread out sheet pinned to the wall next to him.

Coming up behind the man, Sunset, focused on the screen, flicked her eyes through the lines that were being typed up. Stopping at a certain part, she noticed an error.

"31π is wrong on this. It's 97.3893722613, not 97.6523748821. That'll throw the rest of your sums off."

Clearly surprised, Night Light turned to her, as if in a horror movie, since he attempted subtly to hold back a scream. "Lord above, you scared the absolute hell out of me Sunset!"

"Sorry Mr. Light. But I'm pretty sure that is wrong."

Checking over his notes, the scientist gave quite a frustrated sigh, before admitting defeat. "Dammit, you're right. How the hell did you work that out in your head? I can hardly do that, let alone a senior in high school."

"Sunset?" Turning, the girl saw Velvet standing in the doorway, with a relieved look on her face. "Don't just run off like that."

"Sorry, Mrs. Velvet. But it's not like I can open the front door to get out." Sunset, sadly smiled, nodding at her bandages.

"Still, just wake me up next time okay?" Seeing a confirmation from Sunset, Velvet realised Sunset had just addressed her by name. 'Hmm. Maybe we're getting somewhere.' 

"So she helped you with with your science, dear?" Velvet noted what she had heard from the corridor.

"No, she corrected an equation that enabled me the calculate the exact mass and volume of EBLM J0555-57Ab." Night Light exclaimed, still slightly in shock. "I didn't think I could do it, and then you come along and help me complete it entirely!"

"Erm..." Now, Sunset had another mess to get out of. The equation Night Light had been working on was taught in Equestria to calculate an unicorn's magical aura's added mass. The 31π was an integral part of it. "I'm just smart...?"

"Clearly. I don't think even Twilight could work it out that fast." Noticing Sunset was now blushing quite hard, Night Light restrained himself from anymore compliments.

Interrupting the discovery was Velvets phone, which started buzzing with a number she hadn't seen before. Answering it, Velvet was greeted with a near regal voice.

"Twilight Velvet?"

"Speaking. Who is this?" Velvet walked out of the room leaving Night Light to interrogate Sunset for her academic background, and Sunset to awkwardly answer him, or attempt to avoid the question.

"Luna Khonsu, Vice-Principal of Canterlot High. You recently registered as Sunset Shimmer's legal guardian, right?"

"That is correct, though it might only be temporary."

"Regardless, my sister, Principal Celestia Ra, wishes to speak with you."

"Very well. Me and Celestia are old friends."

"I'll put you through."

Waiting a moment, a click and then a new, lighter voice was heard.

"Velvet?"

"Hello Celestia, it is good to hear your voice again. How are you?"

"I honestly wish I had time for pleasantries Velvet. But I'm more concerned with one Sunset Shimmer at the moment."

"What do you wish to know?"

"You may have heard that she used by essentially be a bully, ruling this entire school. Well now she's returned to her old ways. Recently a MyStable account called Anon-A-Miss has been posting over people secrets, and we have good reason to believe she is responsible."

"Hmm. I see. I shall help with this by reading one sheet of paper that is currently sitting in front of me." Velvet's voice had turned stern, as if calculating a strike, causing Celestia to simply listen. "The title is very interesting. It is Sunset Shimmer's latest medical record, from the hospital." And then, she proceded to read the text imprinted upon the paper, listening carefully for Celestia's reaction.



 

Sunset Shimmer

Held 19/12/14 to 21/12/14
Residence: None. Found next to a collapsed hand made shelter.
Reason for admittance: Left in snow and injuries on arms.

Summary of events:
Ms. Shimmer is believed to have been homeless, and upon finding her shelter broken, she attempted suicide using a knife. She was found by a passerby, who did not identify themselves, and was brought here. Due to the weather conditions, she may be suffering several cold related illnesses. Her arms were operated on by Dr. Turret, saving her life. Other injuries and illness are unknown as of 19:50, 20/12/14

Extent of injuries:
Somehow, Ms. Shimmer was able to avoid any major arteries, preventing major blood loss. She cut several nerves instead, leaving her lower arms and hands temporarily without an ability to properly function. Ms. Shimmer has also lost all feelings anywhere below the elbow permamently. It is considered a miracle Ms. Shimmer did not suffer from any form of frostbite or hypothermia.

Course of action taken after operations:
Held for two nights for observation. Ms. Shimmer will be called back every few days to determine her current status. Mrs. Twilight Velvet has become her legal guardian until a proper foster family can be found. She is ommited from school until it is determined she is of fit mind and body.

Report by Dr. Microscope Turret.




Waiting for a response, Velvet had assumed Celestia had begun panicking the moment Velvet read the word "suicide". Eventually, the Principal uttered her response.

"Is this a joke Velvet? Because it's sure as hell not funny."

"No it is not. I also thank you for informing me of why Sunset had been driven to do what she did. Have a good day, Celestia."

"No Velvet! Wai-"

"So you know now?" Sunset Shimmer stood in the doorway from which she came. "Though I would appreciate if you kept this between us for the time being."

"Yes and of course. Though I never believed something like that would go so far."

Shrugging, Sunset gave her far too casual repsonse. "I got abandoned by people who claimed they needed me. I'm over it. Been through it before. It's just..." Trailing off, Sunset muttered something about betrayal and being deceived, before Twilight Sparkle entered the conversation.

"Hi, Sunset."

"Oh hello, Twilight."

Velvet had already concluded that most converstations between these two would be among those which were the most generic conversations known to mankind. At least they didn't stutter around each other anymore. Looking back at the pair, they were examining an equation. 'I suppose that's one thing that they are similar in. Both insanely smart. Not quite sure how I feel about two potentially evil geniuses.' Starting to prioritsing her thoughts, she called out to Sunset.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we need to go shopping for you Sunset. Somehow, I don't think you can always go around in a bloodied leather jacket."

Looking down at her current attire, Sunset started to slowly nod. "Yeah, that'll be good. Can I eat first though? Haven't had any proper food for a long time."

"Of course dear. Any particular preference?"

"Uh, I'm a vegan."

Night Light stood up from his seat, a determined expression in his eye. "I'll see what we have." 

However, he was almost instantly cut off by his wife. "No you absolutely won't. Last time you tried to cook a meal, you made a hole in the ceiling. With pancakes."

"But that was-"

"No, you are not going in the kitchen to create anything that is meant to be edible."

Hanging his head in defeat, the would be chef sat back down, slumping in his chair, as if he was very slightly depressed over the matter.

Rolling her eyes, Velvet turned back into the kitchen, muttering something about gunpowder and pancake mix under her breath.

"Twilight, could I borrow some of your clothes for the shopping trip. I really don't want to have to wear this hospital top."

Tugged away from her state of amusement at the scene that just unfolded, Twilight registered what Sunset had said to her, and chose a response. "Huh? Oh, yeah, sure. Need any help?"

"No, I'll be fine." Seeing the unimpressed look leveled at her, her confidence caved in almost instantly. "O-okay, fine. I could use some help."

With that, the two young girls made their way back to where they had come from, discussing what else they may have in common for their time togther.





"SCOOTALOO! Are you going to come down or not?" The concerned mother went up to her daughter's room, only to find it empty, and the window fully open. "Oh dear. What on Earth are you hiding?"

'I'm sorry. But I'm just not ready to tell anyone quite yet.' thought a mind, just underneath a bedroom window where a mother stood...





"Look Sister, if you don't stop-"

"I could name about a thousand ponies that you may be talking about, and about 95 of them are alive."

"-cutting me off then I'll-"

"Seriously! And I'm not even counting any of me guards"

"-never be able to tell you-"

"My dear Sister, of course I know who you're talking about. I'm only jesting."

"YOU DO?!"
> 4 - Reset
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset had finally made her decision. She was making a new life. Whether it was in this world or the next. This family or none at all. Regardless, she will leave her past behind her. No matter the cost.

At the moment, however, she was in the mall, shopping for 'standard items', since she appeared to have none in her possession. 

"Here you go Sunset. Five hundred dollars to spend. I'll pay for your clothes, since you clearly need them." Velvet had a wad of small papers in her hand. She handed them to Sunset, who stared at the huge sum in her palm in complete and utter shock.

"A-are you sure? I mean, I- I don't want to be a burden to you or anything..."

"Sunset honey, let's recap. You've been living in a hand made shelter for the last, what four years? You need this shopping trip more than anyone else. You also should be able to spend as much as you want. So let's not argue okay?" Velvet put a quite stern starem making sure Sunset understood what she meant.

Sighing in defeat, Sunsets simply tucked away the newfound funds, and started to list off things she would need. And, before she knew it, Velvet was carrying about eight bags worth of various clothes, food, and a few other necessities. She had resisted going into the music store, since to how one of her previous friends, but the shop with her she decided that she did definitely want to play guitar again, once she could of course. After a few quick promises that she wouldn't play too loudly, and not at night, Sunset entered the shop with her new, albeit temporary guardian. Seeing that the DJ was working the cash register, tried to think positive. 'Vinyl hasn't given you any bad looks, Sunset. You mostly left her alone before the fall formal too. It'll be okay.' Regardless of her self encouragement, Sunset had hoped to avoid the employee as much as possible. However...

"Sunset, I don't exactly know what you're looking for. Perhaps you could give me an idea?"

"Don't worry too much Ms. Velvet. I'll look myself."

Vinyl had evidently been listening out for news about Sunset, as her head snapped up to attention at the mention of her name, causing Sunset to flinch. Mind you, at least she couldn't get shouted at, with Vinyl being mute and all. Still, Sunset was fairly afraid for the worst. Apparantly, she need not have worried, since the mute girl shot Sunset a concerned glance, then pulling out her phone, before being stopped by Sunset. 

"Phone got smashed." Sunset stated, reminding her of a student's 'attempt to stop the monster'. "Here's the new number."

Sunset wasn't quite sure why she decided to trust her DJ friend with her new number already, but somehow she did. Just did. Nothing more, nothing less. She simply did.



'u ok? been worried bout u grl!'



"Heh, at least someone cares."



'dont say that! still wat happened?'



"Long story. But seriously, I've been avoiding CHS like the plague. They figured out who the poster is yet?"



'ppl still think its u. i dont believe them'



"Well, thanks I guess. Any others believe it's not me? And any who I should avoid at all costs?"



'me, tavi, bon bon, lyra and i think maybe fluttershy. shes been real antisocial when she realised u were missing. avoid the usuals - trixie, dumbbell, gilda, lightning dust. hate to say it, maybe rd.'



"A-again thanks."



'anytime. tho srsly? tell us when ur happy to say whats been goin on. Those who actually care, really are scared for you. Can I tell the ones I mentioned?'



Frowning at Vinyl's sudden use of proper punctuation and grammar, nodded in confirmation adding "Can you keep this number between us for the time being though? And maybe try and keep this secret outside of those people. And do not tell Fluttershy."



'Yes, sure and yikes okay.'



"Appreciate it." Seeing Velvet waving her over near the exit, Sunset purchased the guitar she had hastily decided on. And started to head out. "Catch you later." Seeing Vinyl wave in acknoledgement, she exited the store.

"Who was that Sunset?"

"An old friend. I hope." Seeing Velvet's slightly confused expression, Sunset decided to move on. "Let's go home Mrs. Velvet."





Sunset really had a good look at the house, now that she had a chance. It was rather large - the family must've been well funded from their jobs. It had a garage, part of the original structure, on top of which sat an extension, which was most likely built for the children of the family, since she could see Twilight peering out the window, waving enthusiastically. Giving a simple nod of her own, Sunset continued to examine her current shelter. It was rather plain on the outside, having a faded grey colour, not unlike Velvet's own skin. The doors and windows were painted blue or and sort of purple, very reminiscent of the other family member's colours.

The garden was fairly small compared to the house, being dominated by a shed with all sorts of technology impaled within it. She had been told that it was Twilight's lab, her becoming a sort of a mad scientist while being inside of it.

The interior of the house was very spacious, since having few rooms for a building of its size. With three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, dining and living room, they family had all they needed, and only a little bit more. Any unsed spaces appeared to be used for Twilight's and Night Light's various instruments, since they were both being avid scientists. Sunset had never asked what Velvet did for a living, but since there were several books around the house with her name imprinted onto it, she assumed the elder Twilight was an accomplished author, despite never having heard of her before meeting her in person.

Now, Sunset sat in her room, fast becoming filled with various items, as Velvet unpacked everything for her.

"Sunset..."

"Yes, Mrs. Velvet?"

"Have you thought about if you'll stay at Canterlot High?" Sunset had indeed thought about, but was unsure yet. If she found a way to salvage her reputation there...

"I have, but I'm honestly not quite sure yet." It was the simplest answer she could give. And it was also the truth. Sunset had noticed she was feeling... free around this woman. Not only did she not feel like she had to lie to protect herself, Sunset also had started to revert her language. Just during their shopping, she had to stop herself from saying "somepony" at least a dozen times. This, however, presented another problem. She figured they may find out about her being an ex-unicorn at one point, so should she tell them before that? 'Just remember, you won't be living with these people for too much longer.'

"Well, I'd like to take you to see Principal Celestia at some point. We need to sort this out. It doesn't have to be at CHS though. I knew Celestia Ra before she became a teacher, let alone a principal."

Seeing little point in avoiding the confrontation, she accepted the proposition, but not before adding the condition that they should not meet when students could see her.





Before she even knew it, Sunset was in the car again, on the way to Canterlot High, just as classes would be finishing. Soon, the hallways would be near empty, and Sunset would feel relatively safe, at least for someone in her situation. So, Sunset entered the school at the allocated time, all the while in the company of Twilight Velvet. Fearing someone would decide to come into the school corridor at just the wrong moment, Sunset picked up the pace towards the principal's office. Reaching the office, she almost slammed the door behind Velvet, before turning to see the woman in question sat at her desk, with a concerned glint in her eye. As Sunset and Velvet made their way into seats, their appeared to be a cold silence running between all in the room. Before entering into a full conversation, Celestia leaned across the table and whispered something so quite only Sunset could hear it, only for Sunset to shake her head, which even that was quite subtle.

"So, have you decided about your current status in terms of academics yet. I would ask you if you're alright, but suspect I know exactly what you'll tell me."

"I have not made my mind up, mainly because I am not entirely sure what the situation here is. And before you tell me, I'd rather hear it from one of the students, no offense."

"Well, when you do, be sure to come to use. If you do end up transferring, and rightfully so, you need to be here in person, no matter how much I'm sure you don't want to come back here."

"I understand. But is is really that bad here? As far as I know, only around four students don't think it's me."

"I honestly wish I could give you a honest answer on that. But as far as I know, most students just blame you, and put no thought into it. And I must say..." Celestia trailed off, her face suddenly becoming a storm of emotion, mostly directed at herself. "That I'm sorry."

"What for? You didn't cause this. You-" A strike of realisation lit up Sunset's face, as Velvet solemnly nodded in the corner of her eye. "You thought it was me too didn't you?"

Sighing and laying back in submission, the typically grand Celestia ground her head into her hands. "I was rash. I already was sick of stuff like demons and bullies and even an emotionally abusive family, and then this gets dumped on my desk. I wanted a scapegoat, just like most of the students. But now, I swear, I am going to see this through and find out who it was." She was near in tears by the end, clearly filling up with regret and rage, while Sunset was staring at her in confusion, before switching to a more concerned face, leaning forward towards the teacher.

"You don't need to do this. I frankly do not care, as long as the culprits accept what they've done. Besides, whether I stay here or not, I'm renewing my life here. If not, I guess I'll go..." Sunset paused, glancing at Velvet with some suspicion. "somewhere else."

Before Velvet could question what they were doing, her phone buzzed, and when she checked it, it caused her to cry out in frustration. "Oh for- sorry, it appears a supposedly urgent matter has arisen and I am needed immediately. Can I trust you to take Sunset back home, Celestia?" Seeing a sharp nod from the principal, Velvet swiftly exited, leaving Sunset and Celestia to conclude their conversation.

"Just let me know when you're ready to make a decision, I'll be waiting." Just talking to Celestia reminded her how much she had abandoned back in- 'This is not the time to think about that. Compose yourself, Sunset, damn it.'

"I know this meeting didn't exactly accomplise much, but I suppose we know we can talk to each other comfortably if we need to." Standing up, they prepared to leave. "But before I go, could you help me get my stuff from my locker? I can't with my current condition."

"Oh, of course. Mind telling me what your... aftereffects are?"

"Can't use lower arms and hands properly for a while, lost all feelings in the same areas permamently." Swiveling her head to face the principal on the way to her locker, she was surprised when she didn't appear shocked in the slightest. "I'm surprised you aren't more concerned."

"I try to look for the positives. You're alive and aren't missing any limbs. I think that's good enough, don't you?" Celestia gave a sympathic smile, and was met by a sort of shy grinfrom Sunset, thankfully for being reminded how lucky she was.

"Yeah, it's kind of incredible. I would comment on not getting hypothermia or frostbite, but I suspect that's due to me being magical." Almost becoming smug in tone at the last part, it quickly faded, knowing the principal's response.

"Have you thought about going back then?"

"I mean, I have, but I-" Sighing, Sunset struggled for a coherent response. "I just don't feel ready yet. In the future sure, and if any chance of a life here gets ruined, it'll porbably be sooner than later."

"Okay, it's your choice. I just need to know in case you suddenly go missing and everyone panics over it."

"By the way, how did you find out Mrs. Velvet took me in?"

"The hospital called us. After you told them you went here, they simply told us you won't be in for a while due to an... incident, and you would be in the care of Twilight Velvet, who I knew from before my days teaching."

Suddenly, Celestia's bowed looked up to gaze sternly, opening her mouth to speak, before being cut off by Sunset motioning to a nearby locker. "Combinaton's 247." Nodding, Celestia scooped up all the belongings in the metal container in one swift motion, closed, at then went back the way they came, to the car park.

"I must ask - why haven't you told those people about yourself yet?" Celestia wondered, cocking her head to the side in curiousity.

"Well, for one, two of them are avid scientist, and the truth may or may not blow their minds. Also, I do want to earn their trust first. I doubt they'll kick me out if I say something like that, but I want them to trust me." The rest of their journey was spent in relative silence, until they were interrupted yet again, by a text message, this time the ring tone emitting from Sunset's new phone. Deciding it can wait for when they were on the journey home, she left it to vibrate.

And, before long, they were on the way home, with Sunset expertly using her phone with nothing but her teeth and nose, earning an odd look from Celestia, before she made a quite 'oh' in unsderstanding. 'Suppose they don't have hands back where she's from.'

Letting curiousity get the better of her, Celestia spoke up. "Who is it?"

Caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the voice, Sunset sharply turned to the woman. "Huh? Oh, it's Vinyl Stratch, one of the few who don't think this whole MyStable mess is my fault."

"Good to see there's at least one of your friends who stuck by you."

Flinching at the word 'friends', Sunset nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I guess that's another positive, I just wish it wasn't needed in the first place..."

Understanding where Sunset was ultimately going with this, Celestia didn't comment further, to avoid any futher grief, allowing Sunset to see what the message was.



'Remember, if you want to restart your life, we'll be right behind you, because it's never this easy.'



Once again Sunset was confused at the strangeness of Vinyl actually typing properly, since she usually shortened everything for quick communication. Also wondering what 'this' meant, her curiousity was swiftly answered, as Vinyl sent a link to a song. Sunset linked the chorus with what Vinyl must have meant:

Runnin' out of lives so we hit the Reset like...
Dark thoughts, Grey Skies...
Hit a little button everything will be alright like...

Smiling at Vinyl's sympathy and understanding, Sunset tucked the phone away in her pocket, flicking it from her teeth, letting the rest of the car ride pass in relative peace.





Arriving at the house, Celestia quickly left claiming responsibility for her duties. Pressing the doorbell with what can only be described as her face, Sunset waited for someone to  answer the door.

"Sunset?" Night Light appeared round the door, peering at her in confusion. "Why didn't you use the key we ga- oohh. Sorry."

"It's fine Mr. Light. I can't do much in this state. I can get by with my mouth if I have to." Ignoring the slightly confused look the scientist was giving Sunset, she brushed past him to get to her room, where she slowly slipped off the bag that was perched on her shoulder, carefully avoiding her bandages as she did so. Eventually, she managed to fish out her journal out of her belongings, since it was the true reason for wanting to empty her locker. That and she didn't trust the rest of the students would leave it alone much longer. Checking no one was at the door or in the room, Sunset realised something - 'I'm supposed to have someone with me at all times, aren't I? Does that mean they trust me already or... nonono, think about what Celestia said. Positives.'

To take her mind off of the worst possibilities, Sunset started to write.

Dear Princess Twilight,
Sorry for not writing for a few days things have been hectic recently. I would explain what has happened, but I'd rather tell you in person so you can see. But before you jump through the mirror, let me tell you a couple of things - my writing might seem worse, and that's because I can't use my hands, so I'm using my mouth instead. And I'd rather not see you now because I'm currently staying with a family. That family so happens to be one that includes the human Twilight Sparkle, and since they currently don't know that I'm actually from any universe, I'd rather avoid them meeting you. And I can't meet you elsewhere due to various... restrictions.

Regardless, what I'm trying to say is that alot has happened recently, and while I'd appreciate your help, it most likely will make things even more confusing.

Your friend,
Sunset Shimmer.

"You keep a diary?" A bespectacled Twilight Sparkle was poking her head through the door.

Sunset, suddenly on the alert, quickly put the book back in her bag and stood to face the girl. "It's more of a journal, but yeah. I guess I do."

Smirking, Twilight beckoned Sunset over. "Nothing to be ashamed of. I was simply wondering. Anyway, my mother's back and starting dinner, so be sure to come out in a few minutes."

Nodding, Sunset turned her attention back to the book, awaiting the response. It came sooner than expected, but it was also not what she expected at the same time.

Hey Sunset, this is Spike. (The dog remember?)
Twilight's away right now to sort out yet another friendship porblem, this time in Trottingham. I'll be sure to tell her when she gets back okay?

Ok, that's great, thanks. Be sure to stop her from going through the portal before finishing the first sentence!

Already boarding it up!

Smiling at the response, Sunset closed the book, knowing that Spike knew Twilight much better that she did, and would probably be blocking the portal at this very moment. She was snapped out of her thoughts by a bark at her door. Turning to entrance way, found a small, purple and green dog, strangely similar to the one she was just communicating with. Smacking herself on the forehead, she realised that the family dog was Spike counterpart. 'I can't believe I only just realised that. Mind you, he was usually in Twilight's lab, for one reason or another. Maybe one day I'll be allowed into it!'

It was almost sad at that last thought, since Sunset knew she would not be staying with this family forever. She was only with them until someone would be happy to take her in on a longer term. Making her way to the dining room, since Spike was most probably alerting Sunset to the presence of food, shr made a decision. She would be much more open with the family from now on. Starting with who she was.





"Why, of course I know it's Starswirl! He went to another universe and I had to teach him who he was all over again! Of course he's stil alive. Let me guess?"

"Neigh! 'Tis not-"

"Well I'm going to guess anyway!"

"Don't-"

"He's in limbo stuck fighting a huge shadow-y pony for all time! And we have to rescue him! Come sister, we shall save our teacher when you are ready!"

"Bu- tha- wh- ju- no-....... ARGGGH!"
> CHS Intermission 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


~SCOOTALOO~


"Wha's gotten in to ya, Scoots?"

"Yeah, you really wanted this yesterday!"

Looking up, I saw my two closest friends staring at me in concern. We were looking through the emails we had recieved for the account, when I had made my statement.

"I'm not doing this anymore."

"I'm not. This is already going too far. If you two want to continue this, go ahead but I'm just not." With my point made, I walked with my typical stumble out of the libary, leaving my compainions in shock. 'I'm sorry. I just... I'm sorry...'


~VICE-PRINCIPAL LUNA~


"Why would Twilight Velvet take her in? Sunset Shimmer is nothing but a deceptive bully!"

Back then, I was watching what must have been my sister's fifth rant since the hospital had informed her that Sunset had been in an incident. Now she was slumped at her desk, with a very, very guilty look on her face. She had been talking with Velvet, or rather listening to what she had to say. So far, she had been holding the phone to her ear for five minutes without saying a word, a very guilt look on her face. I retired to my office after another two minutes, as it seemed I would not be needed any more, but only minutes later I was called back. Celestia was sitting there, staring gravely at a screen. 

"We've made a serious mistake Luna."

"Let me guess: Sunset's innocent." Seeing my sister's questioning gaze, I answered her question before she asked it. "I was roughly in her position once. I took it too far though."

"No. Sunset took it further than that." 

She swiveled the screen around so I could see it. It was titled 'Sunset Shimmer' had been marked by the Canterlot hospital. I skimmed through the text, picking out a few words. they included "Suicide" and "homeless". Taking a step back, I made a semi-surprised gasp. When I had to make a choice like that, I never saw good reason to take myself. I only started it, Sunset had actually tried to finish it. Still...

"I hate to say it, but I sort of expected this. Not to this extent though. This is actually ridiculous."

"What do you mean you expected it?!" Celestia almost erupted into a deeply upset fury. I kept my cool.

"Remember, I was in her position. I understand it better than most, and that sometimes, you can't stop it. If I had known she was homeless, I would have spoken to her myself earlier. You must remember that I told you it was not Sunset, and we should talk to her. You then rejected it as ridiculous, claiming that it must be her, and no one else." I hadn't moved an inch since I read the report.. I needed to make a point, and this was how I was going to do it. As simply and as sternly as I cold, I walked out of the office, into mine, and locked the door. This was how I was going to resolve this. Not by sulking for another person. By standing up for them.


~???~


"There they are! Those seven! I mean six! Oh now, wait, there's only five. Did I miss something?" A high pitched voice squeaks in my left ear, though there is no living being to my left. Her name was... is Screw-sphere. Or was it ball? She's there now, as she always will be. She used to be something else, and I long for that time once more. But I don't know if that time will ever come. I look to what it- she's talking about. And she's right. There are only five of them. The two missing are those I yearned for. I am over one of them, but they may not be seen again. Screw-something used to be the other, with two S's to her name. She went once, and then returned. Then, yet again, she is gone.

I return to my home, I hear my mother return home, calling to my sister, who makes excuses to speak tomorrow. I wonder if she will actually believe those excuses, or if sister will do as she said she would. The doctor who I call my mother tells me I will have to see a comrade of hers soon. She calls her a psychiatrist. I have not been to one before. It will, 'help heal me', so my mother says.

"Wow! She didn't keep her promise! That's rude!" I see my sister with two others, the others emit a poison, a cancer to spread throughout. They have decided the only verdict is vengance, a vendetta against the falsely accused. The one I wait for, and the Screw-person knows it. My sibling is shy, unlike her normal self. The contrast is remarkable from yesterday. I don't know what has happened to her, but now she is more like me, more... how did they put it? "Insane." Yes, thank you.

There is another group, one who helps comforts me, bolsters my patience. It encourages me to have faith, and for that I am thankful. But there is one amongst them. She can't understand her. "She begins with a M, ends with a N, but is a D and a Y. Waitwait-nonononono-what?!" It... doesn't make sense. It's all Screwball (it's definately 'ball') will tell me, or herself.

Then, my gaze looks back to those I first saw. And she says it again. They cause a cycle, one they have created. And I have tried to break it. And failed. But three of them are guilty, and they do not know it. I dislike them. Then there are two other. One is sad, shy, but she is taking it head on. The other is reclusive. They have swapped their places
> 5 - Revelations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a peaceful thing to wait through, eating simple food. Sunset knew she'd come to this point, but she wasn't sure if she should actually tell them about herself quite yet. So, in a last minute decision of cowardice, she decided to lay off the fact that she was a unicorn from another universe. Instead, she was actually going to be completely honest about why she tried to end herself for good.

"Sunset? Are sure about this?" Velvet was staring at the girl who had just spoken her thoughts out loud, perhaps knowingly, perhaps not. Twilight Sparkle

"Yes. I trust you now, and I want to show that. You've cared for me, and I never saw a reason why until now." It was true. They had brought a great many things for her, and she always asked why. They had simply said that it was because they should. Even when they took her to the hospital to check on her progress, and it had gone nowhere, they were there to comfort her. It was nice. It was more than she felt she deserved. And even with the holidays coming up, they helped pick out gifts Sunset could give to them. It was amazing. If Sunset where to put them into a story, one chapter alone would have to be dedicated to their short trip to the mall to buy clothes. 'Heh, that would be a pain to write.'

"And I feel I should explain why I didn't feel I deserved it. I- have a troubled past, and honestly? I'd rather not talk about it now. Maybe another time. But let's skip to the part where I start to attend Canterlot High. It was about three years ago, where I started to become really popular there. I got a taste of it, and because of what happened before that, I really liked it. I became near addicted to it, and would do anything to keep it. All in all, I became a complete bully, even keeping blackmail on alot of people, causing popularity to turn into power. And while I'd say I regretted some of those actions, stealing lunch money probably kept me alive while I was homeless." She was interrupted by a raised lavender hand. Nodding at Twilight to convey that she could speak, Sunset waited.

"Why were you homeless in the first place?"

"No family in the city, and no way out of the city either. As for why? That's much more complicated, so let's stick to the topic at hand." Seeing Twilight was content, Sunset continued. "So I kept on being awful and such until someone decides to go against me. I naturally tried to stop them, and well... I went a bit too far. After an incident earned me the nickname of 'raging she-demon', I had a sort of an epiphany. I tried to turn my life around, and survive in different ways. I made friends, even helped them stop a group of people from doing the same thing I did. Then..."

This was the worst part of her story. She would regret saying this, but knew it would work out in the long term. "Something happened. There was a MyStable account. It started to post other people's secrets, my friends first. They blamed m-me. It got out of control. People were at each others throats. When my closest friends c-confronted me. I-I just couldn't take it anymore. I was g-going to t-try and sort it o-out the n-next day. b-but when I came to w-where I had b-been making a shelter for t-the b-blizzard, when, I-I saw it collapse... I just gave up." It was almost impossible how Sunset had become so serious at the end, and Velvet had clearly noticed this.

"Sunset, are you okay? This isn't exactly something you should be so... calm about."

"Well, yes. But I made a decision during my... reformation. Hell, I even sang a song about how 'my past is not today' on top of the roof on the school, all throughout the night, about how I had been reborn. Hm... I might have to sing it again..."





After this rather unexpected confession, the next few days passed rather peacefully, with Sunset fully building up relationships with the family who had cared for her, and with consistant conversations with Vinyl and her friends, now including Derpy ('Or was it Ditzy?'), since it appeared she had been 'away' during the start of the Anon-A-Miss, Sunset had been building back up her social life, even if it was with only half a dozen people over a phone.

Soon, it was Christmas Eve, and while Sunset had never properly celebrated Christmas before, if ever, it was shaping up to be that not bad at all. Velvet had instructed Sunset what she should get everyone, even after assuring Sunset that it wasn't needed. 

In Equestria, there were not such things as 'Hearth's Warming miracles', but it appeared that there really were Christmas miracles.

It was a typical afternoon for Sunset by this stage. Shining and Cadance had come over to prepare for the upcoming family dinner and Sunset had just returned from a hospital check up, which showed a bit of improvement, but unfortunately nothing noticable would appear for a while. Or at least that was what the doctors predicted.

Sunset had just returned to her room, before checking her journal. She was not expecting to see anything - she could understand that Twilight was already busy enough preparing for Hearth's Warming in her kingdom. She still found it strange that there wasn't any message from Spike though, since he said he would keep her updated. Assuming he was busy helping calm Twilight from one of her usual panic attacks, Sunset bent down with her hands to pick up the journal, putting it back in it's place. 'Wait, my hands?'

Experimentally, Sunset tried wriggling her fingers on each hand, and when that was successful, she tried grasping the door handle and opening it, as opposed to shoving it with her shoulder like before. When Sunset accomplised that, she let out a gleeful squeal, earning the attention of the passing Twilight Sparkle.

"Sunset? You okay?"

"Twilight!" Sunset continued to let out overjoyed, but also childish noises while rushing forward to grab Twilight with her newly functioning appendages. "I can use my hands! Yes!"

Twilight expression shifted from being slightly scared to complete excitement in an instant. "Oh my God! That's great! But how? I thought you said the check ups said nearly no improvement?" The young scientist started to frantically wave her hands about, motioning in every possible direction at once.

"Exactly! Hang on, let's be calm about this. We need to get this checked out. Let me tell Mrs. Velvet."

And that's exactly what they did, in a more frantic, overexcited, panicked and joyous manner than what they had intended. Regardless of how they stated what had happened, Sunset was on her way to the hospital once more, and after some very thorough checks and alot of head scratching, a number of things were declared:



Some of the bandages would come off, leaving a few to protect the cuts until they either became scars or started to properly heal.

Sunset would not need to come back to hospital for another two weeks.

Her hands were fully functioning, and she would not need any help with anything.

She still was not able to feel anything below the elbow, no matter how deep the feeling should be.

She would not be required to go to school, since mentions of it clearly held deep mental pains, and until they could be resolved the experience could prove damaging to Sunset's mind.

Her ability do to more technical things, like writing or playing guitar, she would need to relearn in a different way. Why Sunset could write with her mouth baffled the doctors.

She would be offered to be held under observation, to research this 'miracle'. Sunset hastily declined.



And then before she knew it, Sunset was out of the hospital, With the two Twilights who had accompanied her in tow. The trip felt like it had hardly been twelve minutes, but it was almost dinner by the time they came out.  Sunset didn't really care about that though. She was just glad she could use all her limbs again, and that she never had to go back into that putrid building for a while. She kicked out of her thoughts by a small argument occuring between her comrades.

"I told you not to bring Spike!"

"I didn't - he must've followed us here!"

"Well, either way, lets take him home."

In between the mother and daughter was a small purple and green dog with long, floppy ears Sunset had seen scampering round the house before. The younger Twilight scooped Spike into her arms and then deposited him onto the back seat, motioning Sunset to join him. Doing as asked, Sunset graciously slumped into the back seat next to the canine, who was humming a quiet tune. 'Wait, what?!'

Lowering her voice to to low whisper, Sunset hissed to the young pup. "Did you just..." She trailed off when 'Spike' gave her a sly smile and extended a claw so it pointed up over his mouth. "Right, right, of course Spike would suddenly grow exteremly intelligant when I regain use of my arms." Sunset uttered to no one imparticular. Seeing the canine's confused gaze, she just whispered "Later." and attempted to make sense of the situation.





Sunset arrived at the house, still completely and utterly baffled by the recent events, and just retired to her room, Spike following her all the way.

"So what do you want?"

"I'm worried about you, stupid!" Sunset's eyes widened in shock at the sudden vocal ability of the dog, before relaxing almost instantly. 

"How- oooh. You're Spike from Equestria aren't you?"

Spike the ex-dragon spread his arms wide, as if he was trying to glorify himself. "That's me! The one and- well, I guess not quite only, but still..."

"Could you keep it down? These people don't know that I'm actually a pony!" Sunset levelled a very stern look and the creature pacing below her. Spike was not going to be swayed, almost looking unimpressed. "Fine, fine, talk all you want. I'm going to eat."





"Twily, can you see what's taken Sunset so long?"

Jumping from her seat. Twilight nodded before hurrying towards her destination. Before reaching it, however, Sunset burst out the door, with a small look of defeat in her eye. "Sorry. got distracted. By that." Sticking a thumb behind her shoulder, Twilight followed it to see Spike, happily wagging his tail at the pair. "Come on. I'm hungry."

Glancing back at the dog as they left, Twilight called out to the 'pet'. "Food is ready Spike." The canine moved so fast he might as well of teleported.

Upon reaching the dining room, Sunset joined Twilight's parents as they eagerly chatted about Shining's and Cadance's upcoming baby. Upon hearing of Shining mentioning a disturbance at Canterlot High, Sunset cringed. When she heard a substantial amount of barking come from the doorway, she cringed even further. IF she could cringe anymore, she would at the next sentences she heard.

"AW COME ON! It was going so well!"

All but the former unicorn, swiveled in shock at the voice, which was eminating from one of two purple dogs from across the room. "SPIKE! You couldn't at least be a bit discreet?"

"What was I supposed to do? He started to bark at me and then sniff me!"

"Dogs do that!"

"It's weird!"

"You're still a dog! You look like a dog! You smell like a dog! Everything about you is like. A. Dog. That means, you act like a dog, even around another dog that so happen to be your... counter... part..." Sunset trailed off as she noticed everyone staring at the strange spectacle of a 18 year old girl getting into a heated argument at a talking dog, which an identical version of which was standing right next to the bewildered family, since the canine appeared to be just as confused as they were at this point.

"Well, I'm making all the confessions recently aren't I? Do you want to start Spike or should I?" An evil grin flashing across the canine's face, he simply barked. "Ha ha. Very funny. Funny dragon. Explain that."

"Good to see you still have your manipulation techniques in case of an emergency, little miss unicorn. You guys are okay with us just talking for a bit about stuff that probably won't make sense to you at all?" He got a general chorus of 'Uh-huh.' as a yes. "Good, let's begin."

"Hello, I am Sunset Shimmer, and this is Spike. We hail from another universe, specifically the country of Equestria."

"Equestria is mostly populated by magical creatures called ponies, and most of the beings that exist in that universe are mythical here, such as griffins and hydras."

"You'd think you've done this before."

"I have, thank you very much."

"Anyway, I am one of these ponies, specifically a unicorn. The other main types of ponies that exist are pegasi and earth ponies. Unicorns can freely use and manipulate magic using their horns, making them powerful spell casters compared to the other tribes. Pegasi have wings, and they can fly, rather obviously. They can control the weather and walk on clouds, as their two main features. Earth ponies have a strong connection with the bond, allowing them to grow crops and care for animals much better than most other ponies. They are also incredibly strong."

"I am a dragon (I know right?) and I faithfully serve Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, as her number one assistant. I am currently here on mission of my own accord to check on Sunset, particularly since Princess Twilight is managing the Hearth's Warming -"

"Equestrian version of Christmas."

"- celebrations in her kingdom at the moment."

"Wait that's why you're here?"

"Stay on topic. That and she doesn't know yet."

"Anyway, I, Sunset Shimmer, am the ex-student of Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria and the alicorn (a mix of all three pony races) who controls the sun and moon."

"Just the sun now, Sunset."

"Oh yeah, I forgot Princess Luna returned. Anyway, I ran away to here from the Princess after she caught me trying to ascend to an alicorn. Long story short, I got arrogant and angry over the fact than Celestia made Princess Cadance into an alicorn so she could be the Princess of Love, and she kicked me out. Found this place, ran over here, stole a massive source of magic belonging to Princess Twilight a few years later, tried to take over Equestria with an army of teenagers. Stupid I know. Got consumed by dark magic, then saved from it. I reformed, helped stop a trio of brainwashing sirens that Equestria had dumped here a few centuries ago, and the rest is sort of history. Oh, and if the talking dog duplicate isn't enough proof..." 

Sunset quickly rushed off, returning with a bag of golden coins, dumping them on the table.

"There's the equestrian currency, bits. Princess Celestia's depicted on one side if you're wondering."

"So, any questions?" Spike was now casually lounging in a a nearby chair at this point, used to lectures from Twilight it seemed. "Or is this still too weird?"





"Stupid sister... can't say an entire sentence... who needs the sun anyway? Wait, what's that? A letter from Twilight? Hmmmm... Maybe that will work..."
> 6 - Reminder
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sunset, we don't want to upset you..."

"Or hurt you..."

"Or make it seem like we're rejecting you..."

"But we must..."

"Absolutely must ask..."

Bark!

"ARE YOU INSANE?!"

Sunset was barraged by all members of the family at once, asking if she was of right mind. She was ready for this though. She was even ready for the inevitable long silence that would follow. Or at least that's what she would have expected if Spike (the dragon) wasn't there.

"Seriously?! I alone am not enough proof for you?" The ex-dragon's face was full of semi-surprise. It was clear he had heard this before, but thought they would believe it at least a little bit due to the presence of a talking dog.

First to break the eerie stillness of the room was the younger Twilight, with slightly casual shrug. "It was worth a shot." Noticing the odd looks be given to her by the rest of her family, Twilight was quick to justify herself. "What? The talking dog is pretty hard to deny. Even I'd struggle to find an excuse for that."

Again, way too relaxed for what they had said, the family talked in unison, generally content with the fact that if Twilight believes it, anyone can.

"I ask again," Talking-Spike once again spoke up, having declared himself the director of the current flow of events. "any questions?"

Strangely enough, the family actually struggled to find a valid question, before Shining, previously the most reserved of the group, found one. "Did you say, 'Princess Twilight Sparkle'?"

"Finally." Sunset had been leaning against the nearest wall, inspecting her nails while she waited. "Yes, everyone in this world, or at least Canterlot, has a counterpart in my world of origin. and I suppose you would like to know about your counterparts?" Sunset was met with nods from all, with Spike commenting that he'll update any out dated information.

"So the Twilight Sparkle from my world..." And so, the next hours was filled with an complete information dump, which was accompanied by frantic scribbling, as the scientists in the family took notes, producing 2,528 words of transcript, filled with details of Equestria, particularly the adventures of Twilight Sparkle, the element of magic. It was strangely relaxing for something of such a strange topic, allowing the evening to pass with relative ease.





When all was said and done, everyone concerned was exhausted. With few words exchanged between anyone, they agreed they would sort out this in the morning, and the dragon would go back to Equestria, all the while assuring everyone he wouldn't get run over at all. The fact they wanted to think about this, created doubt in the thoughts of Sunset, who then struggled to sleep as a result, taunting thoughts swirling around in her head.

'Why did I say say all that? They not going to help me anymore.'

'They'll reject you. You're an alien. No place among them. You should just go. No point in staying.'

Her own thoughts continued to plant seeds if doubt throughout her conscious, until the equestrian finally succumbed to her tiredness, drifting into a deep black vision.





Now, Sunset awoke in a dungeon, back as her original species of an unicorn. It was a cold still cube, with only the barred door offering any change from the dullened brown bricks. Noting the lack of any furniture, Sunset recognised this as the cells dedicated to those who have commited great criminal acts, such as direct treason against the crown.

'It was only a matter of time, I suppose. Someone sent for guards to fetch me, and bring me here. Now I'm facing potential banishment for an act of rebellion.'

Silently, the minutes ticked by, only broken at long last by hoofsteps coming down the row of cells, stopping at the door that Sunset was staring at constantly, awaiting news of her inevitable punishment. Instead of opening like the prisoner expected, the door shimmered with a vibrant blue, allowing entry of a tall alicorn. As the light from the entrance died down, Sunset was able to get a good look at the assumed royalty. The pony was a dark blue, with her mane and tail flowing not unlike Celestia's pastel hair, only with the night sky depicted on it instead.

"Hello Sunset." Recieving only a submissive nod in return, the regal pony bent down to reach under Sunset's chin, lifting her head up. "I am Princess Luna. I would introduce myself more, but my time here limited, so let's get to the point." Seeing Sunset's ears fold down, afraid to hear what was next, the princess of the night decided to check some very important information with the unicorn in front of her. "You are aware this is a dream, yes?"

"A drea- wha- wh-?"

"Well now you are, so listen." Sighing, as if in slight frustration, Luna simply sat down in front of Sunset, beginning to say what she needed to say. "I have been aware of your predicament, and despite my best efforts, I have been unable to inform my sister due to various... complications. Princess Twilight is now also aware of your situation, having sent a very panicked letter to Celestia commenting that Spike is missing, you may be in trouble, and she is seven ribbons short for the town decorations, as well as the breakage of a box of baubles. My sister has not seen the letter yet, and when she does she will most likely come over. I am also aware that Spike was in your world, since he sent a message to me to intercept the forementioned letter."

The amber unicorn, blinked several times, processing a new bit of information with each one. "O-okay... You are telling me this because?"

"I wanted to ask your permission to actually tell Celestia, because she will most likely rush over to your world looking for you. And don't think about it for too long. Since I am literally crossing dimensions to speak to you, my power's limited. As you can see, this dream is already disintergrating." Nodding to the wall next to them, Sunset could certainly see that the stone was being replaced by a void.

Sighing, Sunset was certainly reluctant to see Celestia again, but she knew it was going to be inevitable. "Well, go ahead. It's going to happen sooner or later."

With that, Luna dispersed the dreamscape, since it was starting to strain her power, but not before leaving a message. "Please remember that Celestia has..." Her words were drowned out as the crackling energies flowed back into her.

'Celestia's done what?!'





Slowly but surely, Sunset was shocked from her slumber by the rather panicked voice of Twilight Sparkle. Forcing her senses to activate, the buzzing sounds were converted into coherent words. "Sunset!"

"Urrhh. What is it Twilight?" Looking around the room, she noted that Velvet was missing from the recliner, and it was late in the morning. In her dream, she had been able to feel her forehooves, but any hope of that being reflected in real life was demolished as she pushed herself off of the bed, not feeling the covers.

"There's this crazy woman shouting at the house, saying something about her.... son...."

"What? What is it?" Twilight only directed a finger in a general direction past her shoulder. Craning her head around, Sunset found herself facing a wall of fire, seemingly sprouting from her back. "....Oh."





"I DEMAND THAT YOU RETURN MY SUN THIS INSTANT!"
> 7 - Together
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

While the mystery woman shouted, Sunset found herself more focused on the folded pair of wings made of fire that was attached to her back, directly where two scars were streaked down next to her spine. Muttering various swears of suprise to herself, the ex-unicorn started to recognise the wings. "The phoenix flight spell..."

"What?" Twilight Sparkle, still panicking from the verbal attack on the house, was standing in the doorway, clutching the frame as if there was an earthquake.

"It's the phoenix flight spell. First piece of magic I ever mastered. It's what got me my cutie mark." Sunset found herself hovering with the wings at this point, delighted to be able to use magic properly again.

"Cutie mark? The symbol on your flank, right?" Sunset nodded, once again reminded of the lecture from yesterday, how Spike had helped left a great amount of tension on herself but also make her worry. A lot. And judging by the rather royal tone the person was using to scream at the house, Sunset's fears from her dream may have become realised. Nevertheless, Sunset gathered the various accepting feelings she had been using for the past couple of days to deal with the dramatic changes, and walked out, wearing the blood stained leather jacket, which the wings had phased through, just to make a point to the stranger, who continued to scream at the house, unrelenting in her verbal assualt.

"RETURN HER!"

"Sunset!" Velvet was almost cowering against a wall, next to a window that displayed the perculiar scene. "Do you know who... she... is..." The already pale woman turned even palier as she eyed to fire sprouting from Sunset's back.

"I'll explain the fire later. And no I don't know who she- wait." Sunset eyed the raging woman with careful examination, letting out a small exhale as she started to note the colour of hair, the way she moved, and the odd glow being given off. "No- it's- I-"

"Who, Sunset? Who is she?!"

"That's..." Struggling for composure at this point, Sunset made a decision, stiffening herself. "Get me out to the back yard." Seeing that Night Light was about to ask for an actual answer from his hiding spot, she made her objective clear. "Now."





"LET ME SEE MY SUN. I DEMAND IT!" 

'I wish it didn't have to come to this, but I traced her life force here. Judging from what I've been told, she needs me.' The woman, more frustrated than angry by this stage, started to stomp the ground, not caring for the other people in the neighborhood, who had either gone into hiding, or went somewhere to call the police, only to be met with static, with only a few select messages able to get through the mysterious field.

"CELESTIA!" The white skinned woman shot her head up to the source of her name. One Sunset Shimmer, complete with a pair of fiery wings and still glowing pony ears, even a horn made of light, stood upon the roof, looking down on the princess. "I am not going back to Equestria! I will not rot in one of your dungeons! And I don't care if I have to face a sun goddess to accomplish this, for I have earned my freedom!" With a yell of frustration, Sunset used her wings to her full advantage, grabbing Princess Celestia and rocketing them both up to the heavens, away from the only pair of eyes watching them. And the owner of the eyes was pink. Very pink.

The resulting fight lasted what seemed like a decade. Though, if one was able to see them past the clustered storm clouds that surrounded them, it would appear that they were caught in a loop: Sunset would dive at Celestia, who was now levitating, only to miss the target as Celestia teleported out of the way. A blast of fire was then directed at the Princess, who absorbed it in a shield, blasting it back at Sunset. She, in turn, absorbed the fireball with her wings, using the new energy to release a blinding light from her horn, only to charge at Celestia again, repeating their agressive dance.

Gradually, both sides started to sense something was up. Sunset noticed Celestia was only going on the offense when she had to, while Sunset was not putting that much fight into her attacks, rendering them useless, despite clearly having the power to form near-fatal attacks.  Changing from their routine, they both decided to test each other's power, firing a thick beam at their opponent at the exact same time. It met in between them, clashing as each attack struggled for control. Trying to put more power into the beam, they both came closer to each other, making the beams instify, before they both spluttered out of existence.

The two magical beings floated away from each other, almost mirroring their own movements. Seeing that they were both misunderstanding of the situation, they both asked each other for the same wish.

"STOP!"

All fighting tensions ceased, just as they had commanded. However, just as much tension was reintroduced as they engaged in silently looking at each, examining the contrasting appearances of the two.

Sunset was still wearing her jacket, symbolising many signs of the past. Bearing the scorch marks from her defeat at the fall formal, blood stains from her recent suicide attempt, two holes in the back of her jacket, caused by both the dark magic wings and her current phoenix wings. Light bandages were wrapped around her lower arms and hands, there to allow the scars to form properly. Her face was one of mixed emotion, but she was clearly in pain because of them, as she was crying fiercely. Her current magic potential was also apparant because of this, looking more and more like a phoenix - her hair had started to shine and flow, giving the effect of being on fire, and her wings were glowing tremendously, radiating heat at a great rate. But most noticable were her eyes, glowing, their colour shifting between a deep red and pure white. And there were the tears. They flowed from the heated pools, almost floating as they left Sunset's face. It appeared she was crying actual magma, both from the heat and the colour.

Princess Celestia, on the other hand, was still using a more stoic expression, attempting to remain calm, but the twitching of her face betrayed her conflicted emotions, though it was impossible to read exactly what emotions were fighting. She was in regal robe, reflecting her status of royalty. The white sheets that flowed about her whipped in the wind, while the crown she was wearing reflected the light her opponent was giving off, as if attempting the balance out the power between them. Her pastel hair freely shook, as the air wrapped around it, going in every direction possible, while still maintaining the sky-like look. Starting to grasp the reality of both parties, Celestia gave a signal in the form of a carefully placed nod, to which Sunset only looked down, almost in shame, and they then descended together, each avoiding eye contact, and remaining a steady distance apart.





"Are they still fighting?"

"Who was it?"

"Where are they now?"

By this stage, Cadance and Shining Armor had answered Night Light's frantic messages, which had gotten through during a momentary lapse in the srambling spell Celestia had cast, and arrived, along with a complete myriad of questions. Spike the dog had managed to sleep through the entire ordeal, but was now in a confused state, almost attmepting to drown out the noise with his barking.

"STOP!" Velvet's voice shook throught the household, silencing all. "Let's be at least slightly calm about this."

"Alright," The younger Twilight was already thinking up a way to go about this, about to present it to her family. "Let's recap. Again."

Night Light slowly crawled out of his cowering underneath the table, starting off the listing of recent events. "We took care of Sunset, who attempted suicide after being abandoned by her friends." Velvet had accidently let slip of the reasoning behind Sunset's injuries as they were preparing for Christmas, but they had agreed not to mention it to Sunset. Velvet had hoped not to to something like that, but with the pressure she was under, she had no choice.

"Sunset then claimed, and kind of proved she was from another dimension, where she was suppossedly a unicorn." Twilight spoke up next, thinking of herself as being the best one to take apart fact and fiction.

"She then proved that further by waking up the next day with wings made of fire, and horse ears on her head." Velvet was still recovering from witnessing actual magic, which was strange considering the scientists appeared to be hardly phased by it.

"Sunset then flew using those wings and grabbed the random woman who was shouting at the house and was dressed like some kind of greek goddess, flying above the clouds." Shining finished off, using the only piece of information he had been told since arriving.

"Okay, so we know Sunset is magical, and there's nothing wrong with that, she still a human. But..." Cadance then asked the question everyone was wanting to know. "what do we do with her?"

The silence that ensued was agonising. They were even ignorant to the thunder that erupted from above them, as the two equestrians were engaged in their immense battle, it sounded as if reality was being reassembled around them.

"I can answer that." A small voice spoke, seemingly emmitting from Spike, who looked just as confused as the humans, only he was barking at the hidden magic duel, only to stop, then sniffing the air in search of the new speaker. Who turned out to be himself. Again. "You accept her."





"Pinkie! Ya'll called us here, it's Christmas day, and yes, only two of us turned up, but what did you see?!"

"TherewasthisbrightlightandsomeonewaslevitatingandtheotherwaswingsandfireandstuffandIdidn'tknowwhattodosoIgotyoutocomehere'cosIthinkit'smagicandwedomagicalotbutIdunnoanymore'costhisisconfusingevenmoremeImeancanyouevenunderstandmerightnownoprobablynotIdon'tevenknowsocouldyouhelpmeandsomeonejustcutmeoffalre-."

"Darling, while I appreciate you are probably worried, could you please say words me and Applejack can understand?"

"Okay. Right. So there was these two people, there was one with wings, and it looked like she was on fire but not actually on fire, and she grabbed the other one up, the other one didn't have wings but could float, so it must be magic, and the other one was all royal looking and stuff! She was shouting at the house that she needed her son or something, but no one was answering until the fire one was on the roof. OOO! Do you think she's looking for Charles?!"

"Charl- nevermind. Do y'know what the other one said, if anything?"

"It began with a C... uh... I think- hey is that Twi-"

"You're talking about Celestia. Now... What. Did. You. Do?"
> 8 - Confrontations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You're the Spike from the other universe aren't you?" The human Twilight Sparkle had her head cocked to the side, not unlike her pet.

"Yeah, yeah it's me. Unlike yesterday, where I came to comfort Sunset and instead spilled alot of secrets, I'm here for more... official reasons."

"But what do you mean 'accept her'?" Spike wasn't even sure who said that, just that he knew it was coming, and he knew exactly what to say.

"She's still a living being. An intelligent one at that. One with a strange past, and an even stranger family. A being that may have a bad life recently, and needs others to get back on track, but is getting there, slowly but surely. And most importantly, she deserves a good life. She has been through things no other being can imagine. Everyone is unique, just she is more than others."

It was perfect. Spike said it just how he rehearsed, and the reaction was... different. Mainly, by the time he had finished, they had noticed Sunset was coming down with the mysterious woman, and they weren't fighting either, so none of them were giving their full attention to Spike, much to his frustration.

"HEY! Look, I know my inspirational thingy wasn't that good, but there is actually quite a serious point to all this!" At this, the entire family turned to him, slowly, with a raised eyebrow, their curiousity taken. 'Ooookay...that's creepy...'





"Whaddya mean what did we do?" Applejack was certainly not expecting this surprise entrance by her other worldly friend.

Instead of the usual nerd dressed in the plain attire the portal gives Twilight Sparkle, the trio of friends was confronted by an extremely angry looking Princess Twilight Sparkle, who appeared in a much more regal attire, consisting of a purple wrapped robe, her crown, and scattered pieces of armour, which gave off a multicoloured glint The portal had evidently decided she was here for much more serious reasons, and not to help a group of friends. Perhaps even more intimidating was the two dozen men behind her, who were all clad in golden armour. All had a mohawk sticking though their helmet, which changed colour depending on their skin colour, creating a very uniform look. To add to the threatening look, each of them grasped a gleaming spear, all planted on the floor, ready to charge, if the need arose.

"Do I really have to explain the situation? Alright, one moment." Turning to the armoured unit behind her, the princess of friendship sternly gave out orders. "Find and locate Princess Celestia. Do not approach her, she is likely to be rather volatile. When you do find her, use the communicators to signal your location, where everyone shall converge. Try to avoid attention, but Celestia takes priority. Am I understood?"

Getting a chorus of 'Yes, Princess', Princess Twilight gave a satistfied nod and allowed the soldiers to disperse in various directions.

Rarity was the first to speak out, leaving Applejack and Pinkie in a slight daze. "Not that we don't appreciate you visiting, but who were those people? And, as Applejack did ask, what did we do?"

"Those soldiers were part of the elite royal guard, trained to protect the princesses in any situation, including other dimensions. As for what's going on..." Twilight gave out a very long sigh, pinching her nose, venting some of her frustration. "Okay, right. Not fifteen minutes ago, Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria, rushed into the portal on the edge of furious tears, in response to letter I sent to her concerning Sunset's situation. I immediately alerted the royal guard, who sent this unit to assist the princess in a potentially hostile enviroment. From what I learned from Spike, you three plus Rainbow Dash and possibly Fluttershy are responsible for Sunset being hurt, and as a result this entire mess. Now if you'll excuse me, it's time for my questions, and then I shall leave." Twilight never broke her stance, utilising her position as a princess to assert her power.

"Twilight!" Spike dashed in, panting furiously, just like a... well, dog.

"What is it Spike?"

"I just came from where Sunset and Celestia is. Come on, we need to go!" Spike immediately sprinted back out of the cafe, waiting for Twilight to follow.

Twilight started to march out a some speed, but not before she had pulled a blue crystal from an almost invisible pocket, and touched it in such a way it started to glow, allowing it to float in her palm, focusing on it. All the while, Twilight fixed the trio with a glare that said 'I'll deal with you later.'

"Guards, this is Princess Twilight Sparkle, home in on my location, I'm currently on my way to the Princess." Twilight put the gem back in the pouch, as it ceased to glow. Seeing that the trio was about to stand, Twilight paused at the door, glancing back at them will a cold stare. "Do not follow me."

The three friends stood in shock, ashamed at themselves, as it dawned on them something was, or rather is, very, very wrong.





"I'm sorry, Princess..."

"We both are, Sunset, we both are..."

The two equestrians embraced in the back yard of the house, while the rest of the family simply stood in awe in the sight - both of them were glowing intensely, melting the snow around them, but no one of them noticed that there was a slight bit of music emmiting from the guess room...

"There they are!"

Yet another yell at the front of the house roused them from their trance - where perhaps an either stranger scene was playing out - a girl, dressed not that dissimilar to Celestia, led a large group of armoured men to the front of the house. Night Light was the first to scream in panic.

"Who are they? Are they going to arrest us?" All of which was quickly followed up by Velvet, who had the common sense to assure him that they were here for the Princess, he was absolutely fine, and someone should go answer the door before they knocked it down. Shining, putting on his 'policeman' stance, obliged, with a suprisingly calm and expecting tone.

"Let me guess, you're from Equestria and are here for the two people glowing fire in the back? There's a side gate to the left, it's unlocked." Normally, anyone would be shocked by the way Shining turned around after instructing the burly men just to use 'the side entrance', but the Royal Guards were too duty bound to care. Princess Twilight, who was more suprised by the appearance of her brother in this world, instructed the soldiers to remain here, out of sight of anyone who might happen to pass by. Obeying their orders, the guard took various positions around the house, carefully remaining out of sight of the princess of the sun. However, one remained, one different from the rest of the squad - and not only because he was heavily panting for breath.

Instead of the polished gold that made up the rest of the unit, this man wore a lavender armour, bordered by a dull gold, and instead of just the spear the others had, this man also carried a purple shield, which contained are pink star in the middle. He was also pacing on all fours, for some reason.

Taking the sign of the open door as a sign of being allowed in, the two remaining people at the front of the house went in, but not before the girl had helped the armoured 'idiot' to a standing position, informing him that hands are not used for standing.

Once inside the house, the girl confronted the family, who were previously cowering behind the table, near terrified of the armoured man, despite him still attemtping to recover his breath. 

"So. Can I assume you know of Equestria?" Only getting nervous nods from three of the family, the robed girl decided to introduce herself, only to trail off, as she slowly started to recognise who she was talking to. "I am Princess.... oh. Oh."

"Yeah, yeah, Twilight meet Twilight, Shining meet Shining, Spike already met Spike, we're all happy, can we get on with this please? It's Hearth's Warming and I want my rubies!" The impatient voice turned out to be Spike the Dragon, who had been pacing around the house ever since he got back from fetching Twilight, claiming he got help, which no one really believed.

The next few minutes consisted of the two Shinings staring at each other, the Twilights rapidly asking questions, all the while avoiding proper answers, and Spike the Dragon attempting to prevent his counterpart from sniffing... him, while complaining that he had to go to another dimension on a holiday. They were only interrupted when Sunset and Celestia finally came inside.

"Right. This is confusing." Sunset was the first to speak her opinion. "Okay, wait before anyone asks anyone anything, I don't know. This is moving too fast for me. So I'm just gonna pass out now." And she did, leaving the rest to stare in shock.





Once everyone had calmed down, and after the fire made by the wings on the unconcious Sunset was extinguished, Celestia revived Sunset, who woke up mumbling something about Luna's powers. Seeing the strange situation that she had been placed in, Sunset decided to try and sort out everything herself, giving her a tiny level of control. "Right. So. Princess Twilight Sparkle, Prince-Consort Shining Armour, Princess Celestia, Spike, meet Twilight Velvet, Twilight Sparkle, Night Light, Sergeant Shining Armor, Cadance and Spike." All the mentioned names merely nodded in acknowledgement, still too stunned to react properly, excluding Celestia, who Sunset turned to remorsefully. "Princess, I know we sorted out out difference back there, and we forgave each other but you never told me - what are you doing here? It's Hearth's Warming, I'd thought you would be busy with that."

"That's... complicated, Sunset." Celestia clearly showed strain as a result of their conflict, showing Sunset that she may have fought harder than she intended. "Well, I think... I think I'd rather let Princess Twilight explain, if that's alright." Celestia turned to Twilight, only to reliese it was the human one, before rotating further to Princess Twilight, who did indeed open her mouth to speak, only to be cut off by her brother.

"I hate to interrupt, your highness, but the only reason the rest of us are here is to fetch you. you weren't exactly... subtle in how you got to the portal and that caused quite a bit of disturbance, and now rumours are flying round that there's some new disaster. We'd need to dispel these before there's some sort of riot, and it seems they'll only listen to you."

"Then go back throught the portal. I shall join you soon enough. And do take the guards there, I know they were sent here too, and I am more than able to fend for myself, thank you very mu-"

"Captain!" A guard had appeared in the doorway, while Prince Shining wobbly stood up, only just balancing against the wall behind him, before motioning to the solider to continue. "We caught three girls. They recognised you and the Princesses. They also recognised us as Royal Guards."

"Then bring them in, Private." The guard turned to do so, swiftly returning with three girls that were easily recognisable thanks to the plastic looking necklaces that contained very poorly repaired gems.

"OWOWOW! Let go! Hey is that-?"

Deadpanning, Sunset spoke up. "Oh look, it's the sirens. Come for more magic have you?" Sunset flared her wings for effect.

"No that's not what we-" The purple one was quick to defend herself, carefully clamping the blue one's mouth shut, which failed as she got cut off.

"We needed magic to fully repair our gems so we could try again and we saw the magic releases and-"

"Ahem. Yes, we wanted to repair our gems, but we didn't realise it came off of the ruler of Equestria herself, along with two of her pets." The third one, who was yellow, attempted to justify herself, unsuccessfully.

"Guard, get them out of here, and ensure they don't come back." Sunset did not want to deal with this at all. Today, she had found she possessed powerful magic in this world, met up with her old teacher, then fought her, then silently settle their differences, and then she may have to deal with some old enemies. 'Avoiding the last one would be nice.'

Looking for the Princess for approval, she nodded, before the solider did a small bow, pulling the intruders out of the room. A series of small thuds could be heard outides, followed by a variety of equestrian curses.

"Princess, it's nice to see you and all, but would it be better if you came back tomorrow? It's a holiday in both universes, and Equestria needs you more than me." Celestia was about to object, but stopped when Sunset put up a bandaged hand. "Look, if we can meet up tomorrow, I'll explain everything that has happened. Lets just enjoy our Christmas or Hearth's Warming, and we can work everything out tomorrow." Sunset prepared to stop Celestia again, expecting her to make some statement about how she is much more important, but instead the princess simply nodded. 

"If that's what you want. You mean a lot to me, maybe more than Equestria, but I shall respect your wishes." With that Celestia simply nodded her farewells, motioning for the rest to follow her, which they did. Celestia gave one last look at Sunset, who was just staring into her lap, before reluctantly leaving, creating one big anticlimax.
> 9 - Festivities!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once all of the Equestrian visitors were back through the portal, and Sunset got her magic to die down a little so she wouldn't accidently set stuff on fire, the family attempted to get on with Christmas Day normally. However, there was one complication they hadn't taken into account: Twilight Sparkle.

"Did you actually need the horn? Why was it made of light? What were the wings? Why does Equestria have so much gold? Who-"

"Waitwaitwait. What was that about gold? I mean I know gold is in mass abundance in Equestria, but why would..."

"These coins." Twilight held us the hefty bag full of bits, before dropping it with a gasp, leaving it to spill out onto the table. "24-carat gold. Must be worth... $1375 a piece. And there's about, what..." Sunset left her to count the golden coins out, still processing the information she had been told. "199, 200, 201, 202," Twilight continued to count, before finally reaching her total. "345, 346, 347! So that's...$477125! That's... Sunset?"

The girl was holding one of the coins, staring at it with a wide gaping mouth, with eyes even wider. 'I could've... I am... oh Celestia...'

"Are you saying... that I could... that I didn't need to be... oh Celestia... I really had no reason to be homeless after all of that, did I? Almost close to half a million. Heh. Ha. Hhahah, HAHAHAHAA!" Slightly, actually no, very concerned for Sunset's wellbeing, the family looked around at each other, then back at the girl who was now laughing, dangerously close to being mistaken for a maniac. "Oh... heheheeeha! That is SO ironic! I spend all my time taking over a school, then all my time making friends, so I never fouind out anything about that! I mean I knew gold was worth something, but... wow!"

"S-Sunset?" Night Light was staring at her with scared eyes now, perhaps even slightly intimidated. "You g-good?"

"Woo, yeah. I'm fine. Haven't laughed like that since... eeheeheeee! Okay, NOW I'm good. Thanks, I needed that." She looked up to the family, having doubled over in her fit of laughter.

"I wasn't joking."

"Oh, I know. That. Is. Hilarious!" Sunset slapped a hand over her mouth to prevent it from letting loose another bout of giggles. "Sorry to be an inconvinience, but could you possibly bring me somewhere? I need to fetch some more of my possessions. Just realised I left some stuff I'd like to have back."

"This wouldn't happen to do with you new found wealth, would it?" Velvet raised an eyebrow at the girl, not wanting to encourage greed.

"Only because it reminded me of something." Sunset let out a knowing wink, before whirling around to no one in particular. "So, anyone going to take me? Or is it too much to ask?" Despite becoming comfortable with asking for things from her adoptive family, she still didn't want to impose.

"I'll take her." Shining Armor stood up, with Cadance copying him. "Provided Dad can be trusted not to destroy anything while we're gone." The father shot a glare at his son, but when he didn't get a reaction, Night Light slumped in defeat, allowing the blue haired man to walk out the door, with his wife and Sunset.





After a few 'detours', which eventually led Cadance to take over driving, Sunset was driven back to the area were she previously took shelter. After parking and locating the alley that used to contain a makeshift shelter, Sunset walked over to a large mound of snow, which she presumed covered the wreckage. Shining, meanwhile, appeared to be examining a dark patch of ground, which was devoid of any snow. Cadance paced up behind him, with a curious look on her face, but she shook it off, turning to walk to Sunset.

"Come on dear, you can use your police skills later."

The officer's head shot up and his wife, trying to look stern. "Maybe, but I think there was blood here." Rubbing the ground, he found dark red spots showed on his gloves momentarily. "Hmph. Fairly recently too."

"That's most likely mine." Sunset was crouched down in front of the mound of whiteness, slowly freeing it's contents. "Hurn. This was where I used to li- stay. Someone help me clear this mess?" She gestured to the pile of scrap laid out before her.

Shining stood up and slowly made his way over to her, reaching down to a heavy wooden beam and starting to heft it up. Cadance was helping Sunset move a large sheet of metal out of the way, but she also had a concerned look in her eye. "This is where you lived?!"

"For almost three years, yeah. Or at least until it collapsed, which was just before... yeah. Got away with the excuse that I was from a bad foster home, and refused to go into one under any circumstances. Now, I know I could go through the portal as of a month or two ago, but I made a life here, and I don't want to leave it behind."

"Sunset..."

"While I would appreciate the grand speech on asking others for help and so on and so forth, I understand now. I really do. I wouldn't have asked to come here otherwise."

"No, it's something else. Velvet wanted me to ask you this in a more private scenario, so I suppose this is as good time as any." The woman put a hand on the girl's back, and ran it down the jacket in two spots inparticular. "The medical report said there were three scars on your back, much older than the ones on your arms, and in almost impossible locations for you to do it yourself."

Sunset pulled away from the gentle touch, and turned. "Remember what I said about turning into a demon? That's the price of dark magic. Any extra appendages are removed forcefully, including wings and tail. The wounds turned into scars instantly, that's it. They don't hurt, they're just yet another reminder of my mistakes."

They spent the rest of the work in relative silence before most of the collapse roof was shifted, and Sunset was digging through the snow in search of lost possessions. "Ah ha!" Sunset tossed a bag over her shoulder, not that dissimilar to the pouch of bits from earlier. Only this one was much larger. Not paying much attention to it, she continued to root through random objects.

"Is that more..." The couple were eying the package, curious to its contents.

"Bits, yes. About three times as many, making me own two million dollars. I figure if I'm going to lead a proper life here, I might as well get the funds to do it. I kept these, thinking I could sell them to a museum as artifacts, and the others were back up if I ever had to stay in Equestria." Sunset continued to scrape the snow away from the ground, before shaking her head in dissapointment. "Dammit. Not here, or broken. Oh well."

"What were you looking for?"

"Personal items, both from here and Equestria. Nothing too important, but nice reminders of the past. Not that it matters too much anyway." Sunset sighed again, but did not continue to search, instead opting to drag the sack of gold back to the car. "Come on. This was a bust."

"So the huge amount of gold wasn't worth the trip?"

"Money means power in this world, and as you should know by now, I hate having power. Or at least now I do. Still, I can use it to do some good in the world, at the least stop the bad." Sunset finished hauling the bag of coins into the car, gesturing for the others to get in too. Seating herself in the back, she chuckled to herself before peering into the bag. "Better get to counting. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7..."

"You'd better not keep on counting out loud." With those words, an devilishly evil grin spread across the young girl's face.





"212, 213, 214..."

"Yeah, yeah we get it you're rich, now shut up!"

"Now I lost count. One, two..."

"NO!"

"Skip a few, 99, 100!"





"746, 747, 748..."

"SHUT UP!"

"Tsk. One, two..."

"NOOOOO!"





"1039, 1040, 1041! Exactly three times the smaller bag! So that's...1431375! And..."

"We're here, Ms. Multimillionaire."

"$1908500 total! Which does not make a multimillionaire, thank you very much."

"Yeah, yeah. Now get inside!" For about the seven billionth time, Shining Armor rolled his eyes, ushering his passengers into the house.

The three other family members were waiting patiently at the table, talking about the recent events. Before they noticing Sunset doing a poor imitation of Santa Claus, hauling a small sack over her shoulder. "Ho-ho-ho. Merry Christmas." With that, she slung the bag onto the floor, exposing the treasure within.

"That's what you were looking for?" Velvet looked at the haul in a dissapointed way, giving a quick glare to Sunset.

"No, I couldn't find anything I was looking for. This is literally all I could salvage. Not the most personal value, but still..."

"How much?" Twilight was already reaching for the gold, before her father smacked the hand away.

"Almost $2 million, in total." Seeing the other family members' reactions, she shrugged. "I probably should be reacting more to this, but money isn't of as much importance in Equestria as it is here. We barter, alot."

"I suppose I should ask: What are you going to do with them?" Night Light was almost drooling at the sight of such a valuable figure.

"If I stay here: donate some to charity, some to friends, use it to create an actual life for myself. Hey, it could even be used to get actual records. If I go back to Equestria, then I'll take most of it, since it isn't worth nowhere near as much over there, and probably give the rest to people I know." Sunset was becoming more and more casual by the second, showing almost no sign of being excited over becoming one of the richest people in Canterlot.

Night Light just nodded, causing Sunset to start to drag the two masses of gold away. "Look, I thought we'd agreed to leave this magic stuff -" Sunset took the time to glance at Twilight in annoyance. "- behind us for today. It's even a holiday in Equestria, for Celestia's sake, so maybe we just ignore this and go about today normally?" Grunting, Sunset gave one extra large tug before falling into the room she was staying in. the other occupants of the house could here the light metallic clanging of the coins against each other and the floor, as well as the quiet giggling that their owner emmited.





Once everyone had gotten over the revelation of a complete treasure trove now residing in her house, and Sunset had attempted to stop Twilight's questioning with duct tape, the household settled down for the afternoon, eating lunch out at a local restaurant that had managed to be open on Christmas Day.

"Sunset, have you decided if you're going to stay at CHS, or go to Crystal Prep like Twilight?" Sunset knew this question would come up, and had given it some thought as a result. She knew what she wanted to do, but she didn't know what was best for her.

"Well, I haven't decided yet. While I'd like to salvage my life and Canterlot High, I honestly don't know if it'll be possible. I might go back the first week, and see how it goes." Sunset continued to eat her meal, having developed quite an appreciation for good food over her years of homelessness. 

It was the only real question directed at Sunset throughout the meeting, since all the other questions were banned due to them being magic related, and Sunset simply busied herself with what she was eating, letting the other conversations continue around her, until one query imparticular picked up her attention again.

"Cadance, you said you had something to say concerning Twilight and Cinch. Now's a good time as any."

"Alright. You know I took you to that meeting with Cinch?" Twilight, almost surprised by the sudden question, just nodded. "Well, it was bugged. We know what she said, all of it."

The younger girl's eyes lit up in hope, swiftly turning to her sister-in-law to hear what she was about to say. "Does that mean?"

"Cinch is now being investigated by the school board for various possible offences." Twilight just gave out a victorious gasp, seemingly delighted with what she had just been told.

Night Light put up his hand, as if looking for attention from a teacher. "Uh, can we get some context?" He looked to Twilight, though he got no response since she was hyperventilating from yet another surprise. Shining Armor filled in for her.

"Cinch was attempting to blackmail Twi into entering the Friendship Games later in the Spring. Her application to university came up multiple times."

"Twilight..." Velvet had reached over and put her hand on her daughter's shoulder, comforting her. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"It was Christmas, and I just- I don't know, didn't want anybody's holiday to be ruined, that's all."

"Twilight." Sunset was standing now, and had wandered over to where Twilight was sitting. "You should never hold anything back from your friends, and never, ever your family. I didn't have any family, and I drove all possible friends away from me. When I finally did get some friends, I kept everything about me to myself, and ended up becoming completely homeless, even managing to get myself kicked out of an abandoned factory! Eventually, all that secrecy built up and led to all of... this!" By this stage, Sunset was gesturing with her bandaged arms, making less and less sense, but still keeping a firm tone in her voice. Susnet was broken out of her encouraging rant by a lavender pair of arms wrapping around her waist.

"Thanks, Sunset." Twilight smiled warmly up at the other girl, letting any negative emotions slip away from her. After a short while, Sunset gently slipped away from the embrace, and returned to her seat, earning soft looks from everyone. While she had everyone's attention, she decided to bring up a matter that had been eating away at her for days.

"Sorry to spoil to mood, but can I ask something?" Several nods. "I appreciate what you've done for me, but this is only temporary. What's going to go on after the holidays." Night Light shot a glance at his wife, earning a response in the affirmitive.

"When we were out, we were talking about some subjects, and you deserve to know..."





As soon as Sunset had left the house to fetch some possession, the remaining three people were around the table, talking about the plans for Christmas day. They decided to open presents after lunch, then turned their thoughts to other matters. "Dad..."

"Hmm?"

"You know how Sunset is only meant to be staying with us until a proper foster home is found, right?"

"Well, that's what's meant happen, but..." Night Light trailed off, acting like he was losing hope.

"What?" Twilight returned his deflating look on her father's face with one that showed confusion.

"What he's trying to say is that we might adopt her. If she want to of course." Velvet entered to room having gone to get snacks, and seeing Twilight's still confused expression, she decided trying to attempt to get a reaction out of her. "So what do you think? Is she... sister material?"

The younger girl's face instantly lit up in excitement, and it took all of her willpower not to yell. "Of course she is! Yes! I mean she-"

"Twilight." Her father put a firm hand on her shoulder. "Lets not think about it too much now, eh? No point in making plans if she says no."

"A-alright."





"So you want to adopt me?" Sunset raised her eyerbows while she sipped from her drink. "Alright. It would be nice to have a family here." Sunset took another sip, before her eyes went wide and she almost choked on her drink. "Not that I would take you for granted, it's just that-"

"Is everyone finished? Because I think it would be better to do this in private, hm?" While slightly offended about being cutoff by Cadance, Sunset was quite thankful about it, unless she wanted to start hyperventilating. Regardless of her reaction, everyone agreed this was not the place to make a fuss, and decided to table the matter until they got home. Which was starting to become a habit for all of them.

Soon enough, they were on their way home, while Sunset was humming a small tune to herself, something that Twilight picked up on. "What's that song, Sunset?"

"Huh? Oh..." Sunset shook her head clear of thoughts, finding the answer to her possible sister's question. "Something from Equestria. I told you about Heath's Warming?"

"The equivilant of Christmas which celebrates Equestria's founding?"

"Yeah, that. It's just an old carol, one that's my family used to sing. Haven't heard it for over a decade."

Twilight scratched her head sheepishly, and looked to Sunset. "We have this tradition where we sing old carols. Do you think you could.. do that with us? With maybe one of the Equestrian ones?"

Sunset brightened up at the thought, not that she could be much happier at this point in time. She had come to enjoy teaching Equestrian history and other facts, so much so that Sunset considered become a teacher if she returned to Equestria with a fresh start. "Sure! Not that one though. I don't remember the words. I think I might be able to do something with my guitar too..."

The rest of the ride was spent in relative silence, mostly with the occupants thinking of what was to come.





Sunset got in, happy to be back in the full warmth of a house, and stretched fingers out. While she was happy she could move them again, she was still annoyed at herself was losing all feeling in her hands, permamently. She knew it wasn't just her fault, but the shred of selfloathing that had survived the battle of the bands forced itself upon her. She was ripped from her negative thoughts by Twilight who was calling her to do the carol, which she seemed very excited about. Maybe she was just being very excitable as a result of recent events. Still, Sunset said she'd so this, and would continue to do so, as soon as she'd fetched her guitar. Once everything was set up, and Sunset had decided on a song, she started to strum her guitar, idly setting on a chair. This wasn't the best instrument to play this song, nor was it meant to be sung by one person, but she improvised nevertheless. Getting into the tune of the song, she put it onto loop through her speaker, allowing to start to sing to her audience, now including Spike, facing them directly, swaying her now free hands gently.

"As dawn shines on us every morn
The fire of friendship is reborn
And all the friendships we have made
We cherish in every way"

Sunset paced over to the family, shaking grabbing Night Light by the hands, much to his surprise.
"Loyalty binds us and makes us strong" 

She then shook Shining Armor's hand gently, giving a soft smile all the while.
"Honesty shows that we belong"

Velvet was next, as Sunset locked arms with her and gave a small embrace.
"And kindness shared will unite us through each day"

Wandering back to her guitar, Sunset added in a quiet melody to go with the next part of the song, moving so she was illuminated by the window light.
"The fire of friendship lives in our hearts
As long as it burns, we cannot drift apart
Though quarrels arise, their numbers are few
Laughter and singing will see us through
We are a circle of pony friends
A circle of friends we'll be to the very end"

She could feel the magic all around her, wrapping itself around it's user. A new kind of warmth rose from within Sunset, not one from any magical wings, nor natural fire. It was something being loved, but magical none the less, as evidenced by the pony ears that emerged from the red and yellow hair.
"Though the winter brings all its cold and storm
The glow in our hearts keeps us warm
The friends we now call our family
Will always see us through"

The girl grabbed Spike, tossing him slightly up in the air, as her smile started to widen.
"Loyalty binds us and makes us strong"

Sunset gently threw Spike to Twilight, letting her set him down, before moving to Cadance, hugging her as warmly as possible, giggling a little.
"Honesty shows that we belong"

Spinning her way to Twilight, she locked arms, rotating each other around themselves.
"And kindness shared will unite us through each day"

Sunset moved back to her instrument, adding a little more to the music, creating a setup for the finale. By now everyone was participating in some way, singin, clapping or dancing along with the carol.  More mgaic flowed around, and to Sunset it felt wonderful. It was not intense like the fight earlier today, nor was it gentle like the other times she played music. It was just... warm. Nice even. It was welcoming, accepting, and just made Sunset want to embrace it, so she did, creating her various magical appendages to appear, and she teleported out of the window, above the garden to really finish off the performance.

"The fire of friendship lives in our hearts
As long as it burns, we cannot drift apart
Though quarrels arise, their numbers are few
Laughter and singing will see us through
We are a circle of pony friends
A circle of friends we'll be to the very end!"

Flourishing with all her blazing glory, Sunset twisted around in mid air, allowing the heated snow to melt as it fell, creating quite a light show for the occupants of the house, but no one else, since the illusion spell around the garden prevented any snoopers. qaround of applause erupted from the window, which framed a selection of smiling faces, clearly impressed by the performance.
> CHS Intermission 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


~SCOOTALOO~


"Okay Scoots, ya'll called us here, what did ya want ta do?" Apple Bloom was almost eager, she wanted me back in their little coup. So I granted her wish.

"I want to do something to the account." As much as I would've liked to go along with what she wanted, I said it as sternly as possible, making Sweetie Belle, at the very least, curious. 

"But I thought you said you were done with Anon-a-miss!"

"I did." No one really talked after that. All I did was type on the computer, logging into the page that had caused so much hatred in the school. With three simple clicks, I was presented with a error. It was exactly what I had hoped for. The others leaned in, to read what it said.

In typical unison, they read its contents. "This user has been dele- WHAT DID YOU DO?!" It was the response I had hoped for. I repeated what I had said several days earlier in school.

"I'm not doing this anymore." And I was making sure they didn't wither. It had gone too far. They hadn't seen what I had, and hopefully they never will. "And yes, I did just delete it." It was a weird sense of repetition, as, once again, I walked out of the room, leaving my 'friends' in silence, only this time it was in anger as well as shock. Maybe this time Rainbow would answer the door.


~FLUTTERSHY~


"SHUT UP ZEPHYR!" I was so done with him. First he actually made the MyStable account his homepage, and now he actually submitted stuff to it. Even I had to refrain myself from spouting several long cursing insults at him.

I wonder if there a universe where he wasn't a complete and utter dick... Nah, he'd have to be a completely different species. 

Anyway, I had had enough of him. Without even realising it, I was already storming out of the house. I would 'deal' with him later. Right now, I had to see Rainbow. I didn't care what the others were doing, but I hadn't seen her for days. Or rather, I hadn't seen her face. She was always hiding it now. I can't figure out why. She did mumble something though. Something about how 'we've swapped places'. I didn't understand what she meant, however.

I was approaching her house - an appropriately multi-coloured building, though it seemed empty, held a singular occupant. Before it was possible to get close to the door, a purple and orange bundle almost slammed into me.

"And there goes the other leg... Ow." It was Scootaloo, apparently rushing to see her idol, who I assumed she hadn't seen in at least a week.

"You okay Scootaloo?" Despite my recent argument, I still had my personality - wanting me to be kind, even if it was suppressed by various... individuals. Seeing her nod as a confirmation, I helped her up. "Good. Now go home."

"NO! I can't! I know Rainbow doesn't want to see anyone, but I've got to tell her the truth!" This was... new. Typically, Scootaloo just wanted to stare in wonder at Dash. If she wasn't here for that, something was... wrong. I motioned for her to continue. "Well... you see..." She already was breaking down in tears, while I just stood here. It didn't feel right, but it was what was happening. "No... wait. Why are you here?! If you think it's Sunset who posted thse things, you should be going home, not me!"

I wonder what caused that sudden outburst... "Hmm. It seems we're on the same page. I don't know about that damned MyStable page, I'm just here to check on Rainbow." That much was true. Anything else, I would have been lying. Granted, I don't think it's Sunset, but at the same time, I don't really care who it is at all. Only that it's still up. "Okay, you can stay. Let's see if she'll answer." With Scootaloo in tow, still crying, we made our way to the door, which was unlocked - curious, considering no one else should be home. Dash's parents had been called away for serious legal reasons, a shame, since it was Christmas Eve. Still, none of our business, I guess.

Letting ourself in, I called for her to come out, only to get a small thump from a nearby room, something that neither of us ignored. Walking up calmly to the door, I made my... demands. "Dash! Let us in or I will break this door down!"

Scootaloo was staring at me in shock the moment I finished my statement. I couldn't imagine why. And when Rainbow seemingly chose the second option, I made good on my words, leaving Scootaloo to simply gape even more. It was strange. At least, it was from my perspective.


~RAINBOW DASH~


All I heard was a mumble, and then a softened crash. I didn't know who was here, I didn't care. I wanted to be left alone. I betrayed her, ignored my loyalty to her, and I don't like it. At all. I wish I could make it up to her. That account gets deleted, the culprits are revealed, and she's safe and happy. If it's with me or not, I don't care.

"Dash!"

Oh look, someone came to help me. I don't want to talk. And that's what I tell them, through the pillow my head is buried in, of course.

"Go away." It probably came out as a mumble, but frankly, I don't care. At least, until they forcibly turned me over. Seeing that I was going to have to deal with them, I cracked open my eyes to see who has come to me, all the while hding my face. No one shoudl see my like this.

Of course. Fluttershy and the squirt. Except... she had been crying? And why was the door hanging off it's hinges? Okay, I'm gonna need some help understanding this.

"Oh. Hi Flutters. Why's the door broken?" Normally, I would be concerned that Fluttershy didn't even seem concerned of the wrecked entrance, but neither of us have been acting ourselves recently, I suppose.

"I broke it down. Now, what's going on with you?"

She... broke the door down? No... she couldn't... Wow. We really are messed up from all this aren't we?

"Wait. Fluttershy. I need to..." Scootaloo had something to say, as always, but this time she looked... guilty? Summoning up all my sapped strength, I said something I knew she'd be honest to.

"You've done something squirt. What is it?" With that she broke down instantly, refreshed tears remarking the streaks down her cheeks. Slowly, she managed to shuffle her way over to bed I had practically bound myself to. 

"I- I- I d-deleted it."

Looking to Fluttershy for any help, all I got was a confused shake of the head. So I decided to address the problem directly. "Deleted what?"

"T-they guilt tripped me into it, got me think Sunset crippled me, and I- I-"

"Scoots, I realise you're upset, but you came to tell me something. So say it? Please?" Despite how weakly I said that, I hoped acting quite kind to Scootaloo would get her to come out.

"M-my frie- Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, t-they made t-the Anon-a..." Scootaloo was basically curled up in a ball on the floor by this point. I wouldn't normally do this, but she needed it more than anything. So, slowly, weakly, and really wobbly, I made my way over to her, freeing my self from the soft prison I confined myself to. And, perhaps in a unexpected twist, wrapped myself around the quivering, albeit breathing, wreck.

Suprise showed in Scootaloo's face. She clearly did not think I'd ever do something like this. I didn't either, but deep down, everyone needs something like this. I'd come to accept that, even if I had isolated myself. I needed this, and so did she. 

"Go on. But take as much time as you want."

"They made the Anon-a-miss account. They kind of dragged me into it. Kind of tricked me, but I'm still at fault for letting them. But I- I just came here from d-deleting it..."

She hardly stuttered. Amazing how much an embrace can help. but, there was still questions to be answered. Flutterershy decided to chime in, having calmed down from her hidden worry. "Why?" Both me and Scootaloo, now in a standing hug, looked to her to elaborate, which she did. "Why'd you delete it?"

"Couldn't take the guilt any more. Too much pain."

I pulled back looking Scootaloo in the eyes with a firm stare. "Guilty of what? And don't say of all the arguments, because I know that's not the truth."

"I- I- s-saw..."

"Compose yourself, and then try again."

"I saw Sunset... must have been staying in the shelter she was lying next to in an alley. It must have collapsed in the snow storm. I was just wood and sheet metal. B-but Sunset w-wasn't sleeping... she was bleeding out. Just in a pool of b-blood. Deep cuts all over her arms. Bloody knife in her boot. I-it was just..." She let out a wail of pain. I couldn't blame her. I knew Sunset must have been hving some troubles in this world, but I didn't think it was that bad...

"Flutters..." As I mentioned her name, Fluttershy looked up, tears staining the portion of hair she had been crying into. "Did we do this?"

Fluttershy's expression turned firm. "No. But we didn't know about it. That's on Sunset," She held up a hand beofre I could defend the accused. "but nothing else is. So we need to fix this. Scootaloo. Where is Sunset?"

"I t-took her to the hospital. I could... I could ask my mother. She works there."

"WAIT!" By this time. I had regained my confidence. We needed to do something about this to prevent further suffering. Now. "I know what we need to do."


~PRINCIPAL CELESTIA~


I had taken Luna's advice of just forgetting about school for the holidays. I felt bad about just leaving Sunset in her situation, but along as she was safe with Velvet, I would be content. For now, I would relax and enjoy Christmas Eve with my sister. At least, that's what I had hoped to do.

"I'll get the door." As if Luna would answer it anyway. Regardless, I opened the door, and all hopes of a peaceful holiday dispersed in a matter of seconds. At the step were three girls: Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. All three appeared to have been crying heavily. Deciding it was none of my business, I greeted them normally. "Can I help you girls?"

They all cried out in unison, all at varying levels of noise and emotion, but they all said the same thing: "It's about Sunset!"

Hoping they didn't know about her current situation, I montioned for them to continue. Fluttershy started. "We know she was homeless and tried to commit suicide." Damn it.

Dash was up next, unsually quiet for her. "We want to at the very least apologise to her. We- we also have other news..." She motioned to Scootaloo.

"Me, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are Anon-a-miss. I got roped into it by the other two, Doesn't excuse a-anything though." I should've expected it. 

As much as I'd like to do something to Scootaloo right now, "I can't do anything in the holidays, but when we get back..." Seeing her guilty look, I knew I didn't need to continue. "Forgive me, but how did you know about..." I really didn't want to put this into words. "...Sunset?"

Scootaloo looked even more nervous than before, something I did not think possible. "Well I, uh, I kinda was the one who, uh, got her to hospital."

"Oh...okay... I mean-" Sighing, I tried to just leave the conversation at that, as wrong as it felt. "Look girls, I appreciate you telling me this, but I can't do anything about it at the moment, and I can't tell you anything to find her without me getting in big trouble."

Fluttershy, far from her usual self, was the first to turn, motioning for the others to follow. "Thanks Principal, good luck with this whole mess."

And you, Fluttershy, and you.

"Who was that, Celestia?" I turned to see Luna standing in the hall, holding a mug of coffee.

"Later, Luna. Right now, I need tea. Badly. And right now."


~DOCTOR TURRET~


Scootaloo was late coming back. Much later than usual, in fact. Must've gotten distracted by something. Again.

"MOM! Are you home?!" Or not. Sighing, I got up from my desk chair with minimal fuss. I didn't know where my son was, only that he was in the house, while I silently hoped he wouldn't show his face right now. Which was rude, I suppose, but I still had my reasons.

"I'm here, dear." Seeing that my daughter had two older girls with her, I knew something was up. "Isn't it a bit late to bring friends?"

"Well, we kind of got-" Rainbow Dash cut her off. The girl is a great inspiration, but she does get a bit... dominating.

"Well you see, Miss Turret, we were kind of wondering if..." Lacking her usual confidence, the athlete trailed off, while the other girl finished it for her.

"We know you work at the hospital, and we must ask, did you treat a Sunset Shimmer recently? On the day of the blizzard, to be precise."

How did they know of that? Did they hurt Sunset, make it look like a suicide? I suppose I must ask to find out. "I did. Do you know of... what she did?"

"I told them."

Oh that makes- wait what?! Scootaloo told them... how did she know? "Scootaloo, dear, how- how did you find o-out about it?"

Sighing, my daughter stiffened her composure, all the while balancing on her working leg. "Well, you see, this is what's been bothering me. I-I was the one wh-who brought her in."

"Y-you brought her... w-why?! I t-thought..."


~???~


Hey! Mate! There's a conversation we have to listen in on happening in the hall! We need to do it for the readers! Read- nevermind. And sure, I'll go listen in creepily, if it'll shut you up. YAY!

"What? You thought I hated her?"

"W-well yes! That's what you said less than a week ago." My sister was home, apparently.

"You see I- well I-" There was a long sigh. "I was kind of tricked but not really tricked into thinking she was the one that... hurt me."

"Right, I see." My mother - I think it was my mother paused, letting out a deep exhale. "You told the staff you found her next to a collapsed makeshift shelter?"

"..."

"And you're sure it was Sunset Shimmer?"

Sunse- SUNSET SHIMMER?! Quick talk to them now! What why- oh. Ooohhh. This is starting to make sense now. Thank you, Screwball, though you might not be around for much longer. You're welcome, Brad!

"My name's not Brad! It's Flash, God dam-" I clamped my mouth shut. But it was too late. The damage had been done.

"Flash... that you?" Now I could see the group I saw there were two others from the group. 

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy! Again, thanks. I could hide no longer, I stepped out into the hall. For the first time in too long, I would speak.

"What was that about Sunset?"
> 10 - Meetings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After Sunset's performance, Christmas proceeded normally, since the entire family generally agreeded upon the decision that everyone would just leave all 'this magic business' until tomorrow, as much as they'd like to discuss it now. And so they did. Everyone got presents, including Sunset, though her presents weren't as personal, since

Despite the fact that Velvet had helped Sunset pick out presents for the family, everyone complimented her for managing to pick out such appropriate gifts for Christmas, and Sunset returned the comment, despite there was really much that she got. As much as she'd like to have taken this positively, it only heightened her worries, particularly about what Celestia may talk to her about. Instead of allowing the family to give her even more questions about magic, Sunset headed to bed extremely early.

The next night didn't entirely help.





"This is the part where We get to say 'I told you so', isn't it?"

"Har har. And Luna? Stop with the royal voice. You're not in court, and all does is agitate me." Instead of the dungeon cell she had previously been in, it was instead a simple night sky, with the two ponies being suspended in it.

"Ah. Of course. How was my sister?" The princess had been stiff up until now, keeping with her regal image, despite Sunset already knowing better.

"Honestly? I don't know. I asked her to leave and come back tomorrow, which, surprisingly enough, she did. She said..."

"We'll see what happens after this. A much as I want to respect your wishes, there is something I must do."

Sunset looked up with worry at the princess of the night, who responded with a look of uncertainty. "I just don't know what she means by that." Luna opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by the unicorn in front of her. "You know what? I'd rather not talk about it. As much as I'd like to trust you, I have literally never met you in pony."

"...Alright. I can understand that. Can I ask a few questions though?"

"Only if you answer a few of mine." There was sense of determination in her voice, perhaps out of defying a princess again.

"That's fine. Why do you always become a pony in you dreams."

"Look Luna - you can probably tell this already, but I'm near terrified of going back to Equestria unless I must. Dreams, or even nightmares may be the only time I get to become a unicorn." Sunset shivered at the thought of being a pony in real life, since she knew it would be under the worst circumstances. 

"But why?" Recieving only a head cocked to the side, Luna elaborated. "Why are you so scared?"

Sighing, the amber unicorn reluctantly answered. "Okay, listen. I highly doubt I'll actually get thrown into a dungeon for all time or get banished, but I can't help but let my... demon side convince me slightly otherwise." To exaggerate her point, she utilised the power she wielded in the dream to create a construct which represent her dark magic form she had at the fall formal, which proceeded to silently mock Sunset, before dispersing in a great rainbow.

"I...see. You said you had questions." Her voice didn't show it, but Luna's face twitched slightly, perhaps in fear of the demon.

"Ah. Yes. Okay - one, how did you mange to come into my dreams?"

"I can only connect with indiviuals with substantial Equestrian magic inside of them. Did you suddenly have a lot more magic recently?"

Sunset merely gave a nod of the head, not wanting to create any questions she didn't want to answer about her... confrontation. "I'll ask you not to press the why on this question, or mention it to Celestia. But I... I can't feel my fore ar- hooves in the real world. Why can I here?" She gingerly used the hoof in question the poke the non-existant floor, feeling an odd tingle, now slightly unfamiliar to her.

"Dreams are created by the brain. As longas that isn't damaged, the dream should give the person a normal body, unless it decides not to." Luna put a hoof to her chin, stratching it slightly, thinking. "Well, that's what it's meant to be. Maybe things are different in your world."

"I suppose that makes sense. Same way an amputee could have all their limbs in a dream. Okay last- actually no. It doesn't matter."

"Are you sure?" A violent shake of the head was what she got as a response.

"I'd rather save it for Celestia. I have my reasons."

"Fair enough. I... think I shall leave everything else to my sister. And rest assured Sunset, even if is the day after Hearth's Warming, she will be coming." 

With that, the dream once again started to vapourise into nothing, taking Sunset with it, who only appeared to blink at her own destruction.





Sunset slowly awoke, this time before everyone else due to her early end to yesterday. Looking around, her presents were littered everywhere, particularly some guitar equipment. She had hoped to relearn the guitar when she could, since her scars were getting in the way. So, for now, Sunset simply lay there, awaiting for Velvet to wake up, as it was still a requirement that she had to be accoimpanied at all times. At least, that's what would have done, until a loud crash was heard from the front room.

"Don't make to much noise, someone'll wake up! What? Nevermind, lets go find her."

'Was that one of the-' Pulled out of her thoughts by further movement, the ex-unicorn saw two pair of pink eyes and one pair of violet eyes peeking though the opening in the door.

"Oh no she's-"

"SIRENS!"

"See Sonata! This is what we get for not going though... the... window..." At long last, they had a good look at their 'target'. She had risen above the bed, and once again had her flaming wings and horn, using her powers to keep her self aloft. Her eyes were glowing less this time, and her pony ears were less responsive. The three intruders were now illuminated by the sudden light, which also woke up everyone in the house, generating a slow groan throughout the building.

"Run. Run!" With the simple command, the trio scampered out of the door, with the hairpin still sticking out of it, closely followed by the prey turned predator.

"AND STAY OUT!"

"Errr, Sunset?" Rotating around, the floating girl saw Twilight standing there, partially in confusion, partially in annoyance that she had been woken up.

"Yes?" Sunset raised her eyebow, as if there wasn't anything to question.

"Mind telling us who they were?"

Sighing, Sunset came down from her almost godly looking form, shrinking any extra appendages with an extreme amount of concentration. "Well, you see, they were-" Any futher words were halted - the moment her feet touched the floor again, she collapsed onto it. Feeling her back being gently yanked up, she gave out small whimper of appreciation. 

"You okay?" A voice whispered into her ear. Again, a small whimper, followed by a mumbled request for food.

"Sunset? It's me, Twilight. Sparkle? Can you hear me?"

"Mmmmrrm. I-I'm good. Just exhausted." The words hardly could be heard, only slightly amplified by the fading magic slightly.

"I'll see if I can find something for you to eat and drink. You probably need it." Sunset's senses were still being returned to her, so the only indication someone did anything was the fact that she was propped in a chair, as well as supressed foot steps getting quieter. As her hearing was gradually returned, the girl picked up on a hushed conversation.

"What was that?!"

"I don't know! Ask her, not me!"

"Sunset? Can you hear me honey?"

"Hrrr- whu?" As yet another one of her senses returned, this time her sight, Sunset saw Twilight Velvet standing over her, not that dissimilar to their first meeting in the hospital. "Yes, yes, I'm okay, I can hear you now. Just completely exhausted."

"Mind explain what that was?"

"Well, those three were the sirens I mentioned a few days ago. They were probably after my magic. Maybe sensed the light show I put on. As for me... my magic used to be linked with my emotions, and since I may have gotten a little angry when I saw those three, I might have used a little too much magic, particularly considering yesterday."

"Okaaay...? Is that a good or bad thing?" Night Light had come back from inspecting the house for any possible scorch marks, adding his own confusion to the mix.

"Heh, dunno, depends how much you want to feed me. I need the energy."

"Speaking of which," Twilight Sparkle appeared in the doorway, holding a variety of vegatarian food on a tray. "here's some food for you. By the way, one of those... sirens? They knocked opened the door again."

"Let me guess: the blue one?" Twilight was about to answer, before she was cut off by a distant voice.

"Can we have some magic? Pleeeease?"

Sunset didn't even need to look at the window, she just made a gesture which involved a certain extended finger, and directed it at the siren, hoping none of the family would noticed.

"Well, that's just rude. Fine, fine, I'll go."

Sunset made a mental note to find a way to keep the sirens away, even if it meant giving them a bit of magic. "Celestia, they're annoying and persistant." Returning to her meal, the equestrian saw the others looking at her quizzically. "We swear by Celestia in Equestria. She's basically a god to us." Realising what she had said, Sunset almost rushed to elaborate. "Right. Sorry. I don't know why I've been using equestrianisms so much recently. I've been way too relaxed, I guess. That or I really am thinking about Equestria that much."

Her small rant and self contemplation about her homeland was cut short by a few sharp knocks on the door. Velvet went to answer it. While a distant conversation happened at the door, Sunset finished her meal.

"Sunset, it's the other Twilight." 

'Great. Let's see if I can prevent her from being too freaked out. Probably didn't have a good chance to find out about anything outside of the journal.' 

"I'll probably be gone for a bit, then. See you later, I guess." Sunset knew Twilight was probably having a small anxiety attack, but judging by how the human Twilight was acting, she shouldn't be too freaked out. Yet.





'Well, I was wrong.' Twilight was just coming down from an extreme panic attack, the cause being Sunset had to deal with the sirens again, even if they didn't have magic.

"Buh- but you had to- it was-" Princess Twilight was dressed in her typical blue blouse this time, since the portal didn't seem to think she was here on serious business.

"Ssh. It's fine. They're harmless at the moment. You came here awfully early, so you must've had something to say." Princess Twilight looked up with her with bleary eyes. At this, Sunset almost rolled her own eyes in response. "Look, if you're going to say you're sorry for not coming sooner, I know, and it's okay. You have more important duties in Equestria, particularly at this time of year. It's why I asked all of you to come back yesterday - you had more important stuff to do. And anyway, I'm fine now, so it's nothing to worry about."

"B-b-but-"

"But nothing. Now come here would you?" They promply pulled each into a tight hug, comforting each other. After a few moments, they pulled away from each other, but kept their grasp on each other. "I'm sure we both have at least some questions so let's answer them."

"Yeah. Okay. Thanks. So. Yes. Questions." Taking a deep breath Twilight was fully prepared to oblige to Sunset's request, before she was halted by and extended index finger.

"There's only so much time in the day, so let's cut down the number of them, hmm? We can't just ask the sun goddess to leave the sun up for longer here, alright?"

"Sure. I- actually no. I can ask my questions later, and their not that important. But," This time it was Twilight to stop Sunset from unleashing questions, and she continued. "we do need to find out about all this magic stuff. Safety first."

"You're right, You're right. So..."

Their conversation eventually drifted into terms only a student of Celestia would understand. All in all, Sunset learned that her sudden healing was a result of Spike crossing over from the mirror, and her sudden increase in magic abilities were a result of Princess Celestia coming over too. Why she naturally grew the horn made of light and the wings they attributed to her body making up what she was missing to cast proper magic, as well as some instincts.

"I asked Celestia to come back today. I was assured she was but... will she?"

Twilight nodded slightly sadly. "She'll be waiting at Sugarcube Corner. To be perfectly honest, the main reason I'm here is to offer you the chance to back out of this."

"No. I need to do it. But I'd rather be by myself with her. I... owe her that much."

"Sunset. You don't owe her anything. But... any idea where I can stay for the time being."

"Just go back to your counterpart. And be expected to answer a multitude of questions." Sunset sighed once again, showing a sign of reluctance this time. "Just be careful about what you say about me. I'd rather tell them about my past myself."

"Alright. Come back when you're done." Twilight turned but something caught her eye. "Is that jacket really what you're going to wear?" Just as before, the jacket looked like it had been through a war.

"Yes. It represents my past. Something I'm about to face." Sunset waved Twilight off, and started to journey to the cafe, making sure to be subtle in her approach.

And, of course, there was a massive argument going on. Between Princess Celestia. And Scootaloo. And Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. 'No... no!'

This was not what Sunset wanted. It appeared the cafe was empty - it was closed for the day, but it was unlocked for people to meet up or take cover from the snow, which was starting to melt. This was rather convinient for Sunset, as it allowed her to stop this debate almost immediately. As she approached the doors, she felt the heat built inside of her, her back imparticularly. With all her might. She slammed the doors open, once again lighting her powers, and shouted. Loudly.

"ENOUGH!"

A chorus of whimpers was the response.

"What is all this for?!" Her patience had already run thin.

"We didn't want to let her take you!" Fluttershy, dressed as if she was going to a funeral, said rather loudly.

"Take her?!" Princess Celestia snapped out her stance of awe at Sunset's rage, turning to her accuser. "You're the ones that drove her out!" The professional looking suit that the portal had given the princess of the sun threatened to tear, as its wearer became more and more agitated. The only thing differenciating her from her human counter part was the various regalia that was worn both over and under the clothing.

"That's exactly why we're here! If you'll just listen-" And now Rainbow had joined in again, envoking a rather profane and sarcastic thought from Sunset. The only one who hadn't reentered the grand debate was Scootaloo, who rather strangely had dropped to her knees, only to wince and shakily bring herself back up again.

"Scootaloo? Are... you okay?"

"I'M SO SORRY!" Scootaloo threw herself around Sunset's waist, sobbing wildly, before repeating choked out apologies.

"Sco- wha-" Sunset was more than surprised at the freshman's outburst, allowing for a very shocked expression to form on her previously infuriated face. Composing herself, she levered off Scootaloo, and knelt down slightly to be level with her. "Scootaloo." The younger girl continued to look down and cry. "Scootaloo, look at me." She did so, giving an extra sob when she noticed the older girl's eyes were still glowing. "What are you sorry for, Scootaloo?" Sunset spoke with all the authority she could muster, but not enough so she would sound angry.

"I- I- iahauhhh" Was all Scootaloo could manage before she broke down in tears again.

"I think what she's trying to say is," By this stage, Rainbow had managed to break free of the heated argument between the princess and Fluttershy. "she helped make the Anon-a-miss account." Seeing Sunset's fire start to burn even more intensely, Dash quickly rushed to defend Scootaloo. "But! She's also the one wh- who..."

"What?!"

"She got you out of the snow..." Rainbow almost looked away in shame, but managed to keep her brave stance between the two, before stepping out of the way, seeing what was about to happen.

'She got me out of... no... she's the one who-' Sunset allowed her glowing wings to die down a bit, before joining Scootaloo on the floor, whispering mumbled thanks to go with the apologies. 

However, Sunset was torn out of her emotions, by the... conversation that was still raging behind her.

"But you-"

"Both of you, enough. Give Sunset some damn peace already." Perhap surprisingly, Rainbow, the only emotionally stable person currently in the room, was the one who broke them both up. "Just give her some time to recover alright?!"

"...Alright."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you..."
> 11 - Gathering
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was no shop. 

Not to Sunset. There were no seats, tables, windows. No Sun Goddesses, no magical ponies. Right now, it was her, and the girl she was wrapped around. Nothing else.

The air was filled with choked apologies, and equally mumbled thanks, both coming from the pair of curled up bodies on the floor. Scootaloo had adopted the foetal position, while Sunset had even curled her flaming appendages around both of them, creating a protective wall of fire from all intruders. Both girls continued to cry, oblivious to what was around them, as the world turned slowly. They were there for what seemed like an eternity, only halted by the entrance of even more people. If it weren't for them, Sunset could have stayed there forever, until the end of time.

Eventually, curiousity got the better of her, and she opened her still glowing eyes, directing her gaze upwards towards the intruder. "F-Flash?"

There he was. His once spiky blue hair had lost its looks, becoming faded and uncared for. Hi face was a different story. It was very happy, there really weren't any other words for it. It was simply happy - Sunset had knew Flash almost all her life in the human world, but she had never seen him this overjoyed. He was almost giddy. "Sunset? That yo-" His expression turn to be annoyed, as if he had been rudely cutoff. In his mind, I guess he had. "Shut up, Screwball. This is for- Jus- No-"

"Flash?" Sunset was shaking on her feet, leaving Rainbow to tend to Scootaloo. All the while, her magic flickered, a moment of unsteadiness. "Are you..."

"Thank you, Sunset..." Almost immediately, Flash was around Sunset in a second, not caring for the fire erupting from her back, or the other people witnessing the scene. And, just like Sunset a moment before, Flash Sentry was enveloped in a feeling of carelessness, making him oblivious to everything around him. The shrinking voice in his head, the cars, the slowly closing doors behind him, nothing existed. "Thank you..."

Sunset, while appreciative of the gesture, was still confused to by his actions, looking to Rainbow for any help. She merely gave her look that simply said 'Later.'

So, the girl just let it happen, while Rainbow went over to the Princess and Fluttershy, who had been silent the entire affair, but were threatening to burst out in rage again. Sunset couldn't hear what was happening, but it visibly calmed them both down, and once the younger girl in the group composed herself off of the floor, all four of them sat down at a 
nearby table, patiently waiting for the remaining pair to pull away.

They eventually did so, giving each other soft shows of comfort, mostly out of understanding for what each other must have went through. Joining the others at the table, they sat in awkward silence for a while, before Sunset found the courage to speak up. "I- Okay, I'm going to be honest, I'm really confused. Anyone want to help me catch up?" All of them opened their mouths to give them perspective, but Sunset cut them off. "Actually, better question," Sunset turned her head to Fluttershy and Celestia, who were almost lokcing horns again. "Why were you two fighting?"

They had no real response. It was just stutter after mumble after stutter.

"So you two just saw each other and instantly started fighting?" She was met with two ashamed nods, who didn't even bother to look at Sunset's lit eyes. They were sure of the look they would receive. Seeing anything else would be fruitless, the girl only sighed."I can't believe this. Regardless of your... argument, I do need to be caught up. First off," Sunset swayed her arms in such a way to encompass all of the native humans. "How did you find out what-" Pausing, Sunset attempted not to be too explicit. Everyone was in a fragile state at the moment, and reminding them of her attempted suicide would only make it worse. "...I did?"

"Well, it was like this..." Scootaloo, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash spent the next few minutes sharing their various perspectives of the story, far too calmly for what they had just been through. Sunset assumed they had already had their time to grieve, and while they weren't over it, they wasn't any need for them to break down. Yet. Instead of trying to play psychologist, Sunset paid her full attention to the tale, which included how Scootaloo deleted the account, ran into Fluttershy at Rainbow's house, which led them to Principal Celestia's home, and finally to Scootaloo's where they found Flash.

"I... I suppose I should thank all three of you."

"Us?! Why?" Rainbow Dash, suddenly quite aware of her past actions, put on her most confused face, even though she was expecting what came next.

"Let me put it this way: you three are here, and the others aren't you actually regretted what you did before you found out the truth. And while that may not apply entirely to you Scootaloo, you still saved my life, and I owe you everything. So, again, thank you." Sunset finished her miniture rant with her arms folded, exaggerating her seriousness. Celestia, on the other hand, sat with an eyebrow raised in amusement, something which did not go unnoticed by the ex-unicorn. 'Yes, I copied one of your inspirational speeches, sue me.'

"Wow, we, uh, we..." Flash was struggling to get words out, even though he had not been directly addressed.

"Flash, I'm not even going to pretend what's going on with you." He winced at the words. "I'm sorry. But really, I hadn't seen you like how you came in, since... well, never."

"Sunset?" Scootaloo was tugging at her blood stained jacket, almost flinching at the feel. "Can we talk 'bout... this outside?"

"It's still cold out. Let's go into the back of the shop. I'm sure the Cakes won't mind, since they're not here anyway." Getting up, the two girls slipped behind the counter and into the connecting corridor between the kitchens, leaving the others to talk amongst themselves, usually interrogating Celestia for princess-y facts, who in turn attempted to make light of the conversation. Turning back to Scootaloo, sunset saw her head was slightly bowed, and nervously looking away. "Is this a bit too much of a... sensitive topic?"

"No, no, it's fine. It's just that..." The younger girl looked up at Sunset, showing a broad smile across her face. "this is the happiest I've seen him in years!"

"Really?!" Taking a step back at Scootaloo's sudden enthusiasm, Sunset steadied herself. She honestly wasn't sure if she was ready for what she might hear next.

"I suppose I might as well tell the whole story." The smaller girl leaned against a wall, allowing her to take her weight off of her crippled leg. "Well, you know how you and Flash were a thing? He was so happy then. He claimed he saw the 'real' you one time, and he was overjoyed. When you said you had to split up for personal reasons, he was devastated, but he mnaged to hold it together. After the Fall Formal, he... there's no other way to say this..." The girl looked into her open palm, before clenching her hand into a fist. "He lost it. His mind. No one could figure out what happened, but he just wanted to find 'her'. Who that was, we didn't know. Maybe it was Twilight, maybe you, hell, it could have been my mother. Flash did eventually start to get better, kinda going along side your reformation..." Sighing, Scootaloo tensed up, bracing herself for what she was about to say. "I... the day your fr- Twilight's friends confronted you, and you..."

"Broke down."

"...Broke down, yeah. But basically, Flash saw that, he lost himself further than before. Started talking to no one. Might've been voices in his head, we simply don't know. But he said the word 'Screwball' like it was a name, and acted like it used to be some one. I think it was the one he was looking for, or something. But after what happened on Christmas Eve, I think he was definitely talking about you, regardless of how he was thinking of Twilight for a while."

"Question?" Scootaloo hummed in the affirmitive. "How'd you know so much?"

"Didn't we tell you? I'm Flash's half-brother." Sunset's mouth slowly shrunk, letting out a silent 'oh'. "Yeah, I know we don't look alike. We share a father. My actual mother left a while back. Don't even know who she is. Can die for all I care."

Shaking herself out of her daze, Sunset started to join dots together. "Die? Why- nevermind. None of my business. But does that mean Flash's mother is Dr. Turret?" When Scootaloo nodded, an almost ironic thought came to the equestrian. "Heh. Seems your family has a knack for saving my life." Seeing the younger girl's tilted head, Sunset opened her mouth to elaborate, but was cut off by a male voice from the entranceway.

"She means I got her off the streets while we were together." Flash Sentry approached the pair from the doorway, having escaped the conversation. "And I suppose I owe both of you an explanation. One that is more than just 'I was insane, and now I'm not.'"

"Yeah, that would be appreciated."

"Okay, this might take a while. I was hearing voices, thought I wouldn't be suprised if it had something to do with magic. That 'Screwball' was one of sad voices. Sh- it claimed to be a mix of Twilight and Sunset at first, then it said it used to be Sunset. I think that was when you... yeah."

"I hate to be so blunt Flash, but I tried to kill myself. Might as well just state it."

"Yeah... right. Anyway, I really don't know what caused all of it, but Sunset was definiately part of it." His face suddenly got more aggressive, facing Sunset. "And don't you dare feel guilty. This happen to myself, I-"

"Flash." Sunset put her hand on his shoulder, gripping it tightly despite not being able to feel it. "We all did this to ourselves. We've accepted that, so there's no point in putting more on our consciences. Alright?"

"A-alright. Regardless I-" A darkened peach hand waved in front of him.

"Flash. Maybe later? We do have alot of time."

"And I do have several questions, one of which you two are in the perfect position to answer." Seeing the half-siblings motion for her to continue, she discharged the problem that had been nagging away at her for a long time. "Why does your mother hate me?"

"Ah."

"Right."

"That's..."

"Should've seen that coming."

"Yup, totally."

Listening to the uneasy agreement didn't exactly sooth Sunset's worries. "Could I get an answer? Please?"

"Right, right sorry. You do deserve at least one." Flash smiled sheepishly, a look that wasn't exactly a rarity on his face.

"This comes in two parts, one for each of us."

"You know my part already. Our mother directly blamed you for my mental screw up. You'll have to ask her why." The boy gave a casual shrug, before looking to his sister.

"Well, you know how my leg's screwed up, right? Well the day it got messed up was the day before you broke up with Flash. Don't know why those two linked together in her mind, but they did. Not much else other than that, actually."

Sunset nervously glanced at the forementioned leg, before looking up to it's user. "You mind if I ask what happened to it? Not that'll make a difference."

She was met with a dismissive wave of the hand. "Nah, it's fine. It's a long story, but it involves my friend and sap. Lots of sap. Maybe once this is all over I'll tell you in more detail."

Slightly frustrated at the lack of detail, the older girl turned back towards the main area of the cafe, where the remainder of the group were awaiting their return. "Come on, they've waited long enough." Silently agreeing, the others followed them back to the table where they had previously been gathered. "Hope we didn't keep you guys waiting to long."

"Naw, it's fine." Rainbow Dash was looking as arrogant as ever, attempting to give herself an air of superiority, despite being next to a ruler of an entire nation. It wasn't working.

"Heh, good to have you back, Dash."

"And you, Shimmer."

"Hey, why are all you guys here? I mean, I know why the Princess is here but..." Sunset also took the time to chuckle at Flash's reaction to the knowledge he was with high royalty. 'Not that dissimilar from my reaction, if I'm honest.' His jaw was open wide, and his eyes were at least three times as big as they should've been.

"Um... we were actually here to discuss the situation with, uh, you, Sunset. We wanted to see if, uh, we could see you. If that was okay with you, anyway..." The amber girl rolled her eyes at Fluttershy's response. 'Aaaand now Fluttershy's back to normal.' Sunset could hardly be annoyed at the girl, however, as everything was starting to feel as it did before Anon-a-miss.

"Yeah, we wanted to see if we could help at all. Guess we didn't even need to bother."

"Hey Flash," The boy turned at the mention of his name, seeing Scootaloo rise shakily from her seat. "should we get going soon? Ma's gonna come looking for-" Yet another loud slam interrupted her. "Nevermind."

"There you are!" A woman, dressed in a thick coat, with the same sort of colouring of Flash Sentry entered the closed cafe, walking up to the table. Now that Sunset knew Dr. Turret was related to Flash Sentry, she did look remarkably like each other, just with a different gender. "You could've at least told me where you're going!"

The doctor abruptly grabbed her two children and started to pull them towards the exit, but not before glancing at Sunset, muttering something to herself until she finally spoke up. "I- I'm sorry Sunset. I jumped to conclusions. Though I can clearly see you have more important things to sort out right now. You must have alot of questions, but save them for later, alright?" And, with the shortest cameo appearence in history, the doctor walked back out of the building, awaiting for her children to follow.

Sighing, Flash motioned for Scootaloo to get her scooter (which was going to be impossible to ride in the current conditions) and go. "Sorry about that. Our parents are very protective, but can also be understanding. Even so, she had a point. You came here to talk to her, not us." The boy motioned to Celestia, before finally turning to join his sister.

"Well, that was... sudden."

"Yeah, I... y'know what? We should probably get goin' too Flutters. Let the magical ponies do... whatever they usually do."

"Um, okay..." Fluttershy nodded her farewells to the two equestrians, and she joined Rainbow Dash in her exit, just as abrupt as the last.

"So..." Sunset turned her attention back to her former teacher, gazing at her with attentive eyes. "This has been put off for too long."
> 12 - Talks
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A pale woman, with flowing pastel hair, and a younger girl, with a particularly fire like colouration sat across from each other in the empty shop of Sugarcube Corner, sitting in relative silence, oblivious to the snow starting to fall outside. The older looking of the pair, secretly Princess Celestia, decided to break the silence.

"This has indeed taken too long to happen, hasn't it?" Celestia took a deep breath, and looked down, almost in shame. "It's a pity what caused this to occur in the first place though."

The shorter girl, Sunset Shimmer, nodded in agreement, struggling to contain her emotions. "Certainly. Though let us try to avoid the darker parts."

"Of course." Both equestrians were trying hard to make the meeting as calm as possible. "I must ask a question though - what did you think I was going to do to you when I showed up at the house? I grant you that my reaction might've been a bit much, but..."

The girl let out an exaggerated sigh, embarrassed at her own reaction. "If anyone overreacted, it was me. I saw you, and instead of using the courage I had gathered over the past few weeks, I let all my fears go to my head. It's funny, I used to pray to Princess Luna that I wouldn't have nightmares about being punished when you finally decide to see me. Funnily enough, I never had any bad dreams about it. Then, when you come over, I instantly freakout."

"I wouldn't be too suprised if the dreams actually had something to do with my sister herself. She had mentioned she was sensing great distress from someone in another dimension, but only recently connect her descriptions with you. Hmm. That is something to think about." Celestia noticed her ex-student's head had dropped, and extended an arm to direct it upwards. "And I did act rather agressively, so both of us are to blame. Shall we leave it at that?"

"It's still-" A quick glance at the royal's face told Sunset she was not going to win this argument. "I suppose I can accept that." Not knowing where to take the conversation next, Sunset spread her arms out on the table, examining the bandages on them. She was intending to keep them on for a long time. Her scars were deep, and would most likely be noticable for the rest of her life. Due to some over exuberance on her part, her hands were also bandaged, which was more than inconvinient, now she could use them again.

"I haven't really been told much. Might I ask what happened to..."

"Can't expect you to ignore it forever..." The girl held up her fore limbs in front of her, slowly turning them over. "Long story short, I was stupid."

"Ahem."

"Right, right, long version it is. Judging by what you were doing when I found you here, I'm guessing you already know about the 'Anon-a-miss' stuff. That's at least partially sorted out, for the moment. This is where I got stupid. Now I'm ashamed to admit that I was... I was homeless. There was a blizzard. I was highly depressed, and I doubted I could last the night, only made worse when I saw my shelter collapse. I could've gone back to Equestria, but I wasn't thinking straight. So I tried to commit suicide. No real way to soften the blow there, but that's what happened. Found by Scootaloo, who you met, and brought to hospital, where I was taken in by this world version of Twilight and her family. Wish there was more to say than that, but..."

Celestia hadn't reacted the entire time. She was using a stoic perfected over centuries worth of practice, letting no hint to what she might be feeling. Even so, the immortal ruler had to steel herself from the sheer volume of emotion building up in her, unless she wanted to weep with varying feelings. "Sunset. I would be lying if I said I wasn't angry. That was a very foolish thing of you to do. However. We should not dwell on the past. You are here now, and nothing can change that. What we should worry about, is the future. And perhaps the present." While most onlookers would have thought Celestia was still acting impartial, Sunset knew better. There was a stern look in her eyes, one that automatically denied any objections, but also showed endless amounts of care.

"I- Yes, I guess that is the most sensible course of action." Sunset tried to maintain her composure, but eventually cracked under the pressure, and all but jumped over the table, hugging Celestia in the process.

They stayed like that for some time, both letting their tears flow freely down their faces, not caring for anything else. No one came into the abandoned shop, leaving the equestrians with only the howling wind as their companion. Reluctantly, Celestia gently pulled away, but kept the deep concern in her voice. "Better?"

"Y-yeah, thanks."

"Good. We really shouldn't hold onto our emotions like that. It's just not healthy." The princess settled back into her seat, getting comfortable once more. "How's your situation? I understand the basics, but not much more."

"Well, They are really nice and everything, but I'm honestly not sure how I see them. I suppose I should tell you about this..." Sunset slumped back, unwilling to keep up the formality. "They want to adopt me, and I already said yes. That's because I like them, and they like me. It's just that... I don't know if anyone considers me family, or if they're hoping adopting me will make them feel that way."

"In my opinion, they do love you. They wouldn't of done most of the things they did if they didn't. It's more the question of if you love them back."

"That's the thing I-"

"Do you?" Celestia glared at Sunset, forcing a response.

"...Yes. But I can't tell if that's only because they took me in when no one else did. I just-" The girl abruptly slammed her face down, setting it on the table. "I just don't think I'm ready now, if ever."

"Then be patient. You of all ponies should know by now that waiting for something is a suprisingly effective strategy, rather than hungrily seeking it."

"Right, right. Patience is a virtue." Sunset brought her head back up, and rubbed her forehead in thought. "I'm not waiting months though. I honestly don't have time for that. Tell you what: I'll tell them I'm happy to stay with them, but give me a week back at school to think about it."

Celestia nodded in approval. "That seems like a valid course of action. Speaking of your school, however, what are you going to be doing about that?"

"And that's the main problem. I'm not going to Crystal Prep, the only other school in the area, since it's morally corrupt. I'd rather stay here. But that brings yet another problem - so far, there are only eight people who don't completely hate me, or rather, they don't think I'm behind that blasted page. Regardless, I'm staying at CHS. And before you mention it, I might be visiting Equestria more often now, but I won't be staying there, or at least not until I've finished school here. If things get too bad here, I'm definitely going back to Equestria. Maybe permamently, may not. We'll see."

"Again, sounds reasonable."

"Yeah, but that's really all I can do anyway. Run or actually try to do something about it. Not really much of a choice. Besides, if I ran, the school would probably tear itself apart without knowing the truth."

"You're choosing the better option, you have learned from your mistakes. You're doing well not to regress back to what you were."

"I guess. I just know my first few days will be absolute Tartauraus."

"I'm not going to pretend I understand this world's culture, but if you ever need any help coming to terms with it, there are a lot of people who'll help, both this side of the mirror and the other."

"I know, and while I understand the importance of friends, everyone needs to do some things one their own to become stronger - a better friend, if you will."

"Fair enough. Just don't be too afraid to ask if it becomes too much." Celestia tapped the table with her knuckles. "Not to sound impatient, I can stay as long as I'd like, but is there anything else you wish to discuss? My sister can only stay awake for so long."

Sunset's eyes went wide, and start scrambling to her seat. "Don't let me keep you waiting! I need to talk to Twilight anyway."

Nodding, the pale woman also stood up, nodding to her ex-student. "Very well. You know how to contact me."

They gave each other one last hug, before walking back out into the snow, giving their farewells.





"Well, that was an experience." Princess Twilight had just emerged from the house of her human counterpart, and was on her way to Sugarcube Corner, where Sunset and Celestia would be. Her time with her counterpart had been filled with questions, from both sides. It seemed Spike had come over on Heath's Warming Eve, and had revealed Equestria to the family. Still, the human Twilight did seem very eager to do some tests, and also was very curious about how she might be in the future, since Princess Twilight noted how many similarities between the human and her past self.

"Hey, Twilight!" Ahead, Sunset was walking towards her.

"Hello, Sunset. Where's Celestia?"

"She's making her way back to the portal. And before you panic, she's an ancient being that controls the sun. Magic or not, she can survive on her own." The girl had correctly guessed what was going through her friends head, and prevented her from hyperventilating prematurely. "Come on, I'll walk you to the portal. I need to talk to you anyway. Mostly magic."

"That's not something I'd expect from you." Sunset was an expert when it came to magic, whether it be in Equestria or the human world. Granted, Twilight was probably more experienced at this point, but that shouldn't really matter, considering the situation..

"Sure, go ahead."

"On Christmas Eve, or rather Hearth's Warming Eve, my arms healed. I could move them, and the formation of my scars was accelerated. They were a bit slower than before, but in terms of the use of my hands and arms, they're entirely back to normal now. I suspect magic, but I'm curious why."

"Most likely as a result of your connection to magic, and how Spike reopened the connection to Equestria the same day. Still need to talk to him about that..."

"Yeah, that's what I thought, just checking. But one of the things that confused me more..." Sunset wriggled her fingers, moving them in a particularly way. "The more refined things, such as writing or guitar playing, I was told I needed to relearn due to various complications. They were right, I find it next to impossible to write with my hands, but I can write better than ever with my mouth."

"Again, probably your magic connecting to Equestria, and therefore your pony side."

"Then here's the bit I don't get. I can play the guitar perfectly well, despite the predictions. And guitars don't even exist in Equestria!"

Twilight put a hand to her chin, entering a state of deep thought. "Hmm. That is strange. In this world, magic seems to have some sort of connection to music. I don't know why, but it just does. Only explanation I can think of, at the moment. I can do some tests, if you-"

Sunset put up a bandaged hand to halt her friend. "It's fine. I was just curious. Once this whole debacle is over, maybe. If it ever does end, that is."

Soon enough, they reached the statue that contained the portal back to Equestria, its colours swirling around slightly.





"It's now or never. Come on, lets go!" A yellow girl rushed forwards, reaching into a back pocket, pulling out a short blade. Her two companions reluctantly followed her, preparing to do as they were told. The blue girl rushed up behind one of their two targets - a lavender girl, named Twilight, stood in front of a statue. With a little hesitiation, she grabbed onto the girl, holding her still, while she struggled against the sudden attack. The purple girl went to her own opponent, one Sunset Shimmer. She was swiftly pushed into the statue without any time to react, and disappeared into the base of it in a flash of colour. "Very good, girls." The yellow one approached the captured girl, waving the blade about. 

All Twilight could do was gulp.
> 13 - Complications
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset, upon opening her eyes, found her muzzle was pressed up against a crystal surface.

'Wait, 'muzzle'?'

Picking herself up, on all fours, Sunset found herself back in the form of a pony. No matter. She had simply tripped into the portal by accident, nothing more to be worried about. Or at least that was what she was trying to tell herself.

As her memories came back, she remembered what had happened on the other side of the mirror. A purple girl - one of the sirens, she could not remember their names, pushed her through the portal. Frantically looking around, Sunset found there was no Twilight in sight.

"HEY TWI! You back yet?!"

"Spike?!" The mare looked around once more, but he was no where to be seen. At least, he was, until he entered the room and quickly as possible.

"Sunset? What are... You..." He trailed off, staring with an unhinged jaw at Sunset, his already large eyes widening even further.

"Spike? What are you- oh. Right. Dragon. Spike?" It seemed the baby drake had wandered off, but he soon returned, pushing a mirror on wheels. "What is this for?"

His only reponse was to rotate the reflective surface so Sunset could see her own reflection. In the mirror, Sunset of course saw herself. But there were a number of changes. Most noticably, she was wearing her leather jacket, something that was normally not kept whenever she crossed over. Sunset was also significantly taller, and looked slightly more muscular too. Her horn was longer, and the grooves in it gave off a bright glow of pure sunlight. Turning to examine the rest of her body, Sunset found her mane and tail appeared to shimmer slightly. The most shocking alteration was the blanket of flame that was draped over the mare's back. Suspicious, the unicorn attempted to feel them, and when she did, they extended, flapping slightly. Realization quickly came to her, as she recognized the strips of fire as the wings that she had been given in the human world. Experimently, she started to move them in a steady motion, causing her to rise off the ground, before she let herself drop back onto her hooves.

"Woah." By now, Spike had snapped out of his trance. "That's cool. But why are you here?"

"No time! I think-"

"Sunset?" It appeared Celestia had been waiting around for Twilight to return. "Not that's not nice to see you again already, but why are you here?"

"I think Twilight's in trouble! I need to-"

A golden-clad hoof found its way to the amber mare's shoulder before she could work herself into a panic. "Then we shall go."

Celestia didn't waste any time striding back into the portal. Not wanting to get left behind, Sunset dashed after her blindly, leaving Spike to comprehend what had just occured. "So that happened..."





Twilight slowly came back to her senses, letting out a soft groan. There was a throbbing sensation on the back of her head, and once she could see again, she found herself in a dingy room, dimly lit by a single light. Attempting to move, Twilight was prevented from doing so, as she was secured to a chair by several pieces of rope. Recalling her memories, the girl attempted to make sense of the situation. More pieces fell into place as a trio of girls entered the room, one looking extremely smug, and the other two quite guilty.

"Ah, the princess is awake. Tell me, do you know why we kidnapped you?" The confident, yellow one spoke. Her captive could only shake her head, too scared to do anything else. "No? Fine. We want our magic back, and we think you're the one who can help us. If you can't, then you can lead us to someone who can."

"What?! No one can do magic in this universe properly!"

"Oh, don't play the fool. We saw what happened yesterday. Both you and that other girl were there. And besides, if you don't tell us anything..." She brandished the same knife as before, guiding it towards the bound girls neck. "You know what'll happen. And what a shame that would be, hmm?"

"I didn't do anything there! I didn't even know what was going on!"

"Then what were you doing there with the ruler of Equestria?"

"Because she ran off in the middle of court! What was I supposed to do, just let her-"

"Alright, we get it." The purple girl was certainly reluctant to speak, but felt the need to nonetheless. "We don't need a lecture."

The yellow one shot a glare her way, before turning back to Twilight. "We want our magic back, and we'll do anything to get it. So are you going to help us, or are you going to sit there and be stubborn."

Twilight was too frightened to answer properly, and simply let her head drop, staying silent. Seeing she was getting nowhere, the captor removed her knife, and told the others to leave the room, which they swiftly did.

"Do you really have to be this difficult, princess? It's not this hard. You at least point us in the right direction, and we might let you go."

Something moving past the window caused the captive girl to smile, knowing what was coming. "In that case," She raised her voice, making sure she could be heard. "You should look up."

Right on cue, a flash of light came from just above them, and two figures now floated there. One, a pale woman with flowing rainbow hair far too long for what should be possible effortlessly levitated, and wore the same armoured robe she had been seen in before. The other figure, a younger girl, was kept aloft by a pair of great wings made of fire, and had a horn made of light coming out of her forehead. Her hair shimmered in any and all light, while her eyes glowed intensely. She wore a battered and bloodied leather jacket, but the rest of her clothes were armour of some sort, some had runes on it, some didn't. Both people had a fierce scowl on their faces. Twilight could only smile.

"Y-you tw-two, b-back in here n-now!" The yellow girl called for her companions while in a panic.

"No chance, 'Dagi! This is what you get." The two flying people glanced at each other, and they descended, the older exiting the room in search of the other voices. The remaining girl remained floating slightly, glaring at the free girl.

"So, siren, was this worth it?" The siren growled softly, finding new courage, once more taking out her blade, lunging at the girl. "Fine, be that way." She seemed to emit an even brighter glow, as she literally melted the knife, and surrounded the other girl in a red aura, causing her to rise into the air and stay frozen in place.

"Sunset? Any chance of being freed?"

"Huh? Oh, of course." Sunset landed, and after a flash of light, Twilight was able to stand, rubbing her wrists to work out the aches from the ropes. "Now..." The god-like girl rotated the face the yellow girl, approaching her. "What did you hope to gain from this, huh?"

The siren struggled against the invisible force holding her, before deciding it was futile to put up any resistance. "We wanted out magic back, was that too much to ask?!"

"I don't know what you're talking about 'Dagi. It was you who forced us into trying to get magic." The other two sirens, along with Princess Celestia, were standing at the door. "We were fine with living normal lives after that fiasco with CHS, to just become another few faces without names, but nooo, you wanted to go back to Equestria with magic."

This caught Twilight's curiousity, and took the oppotunity. "Why didn't you go through the portal, then?"

"I don't know if you knew, but those stones essentially acted like our hearts in Equestria. If we got magic here, our hearts would reform, and we'd be able to actually survive in Equestria." One of the free sirens shrugged. It was actually hard to differenciate the two at this point. "Don't feel bad for us. We're okay living here like any other human. We have a steady income, and we're able to just blend in."

"If we had magic, we'd be able to live again!" The bound siren snarled at her compatriots, causing some very unimpressed looks.

"Yeah, no. Rather stay like this than get what might happen to you. By the way, did you ever tell us why we decided to make two immensely powerful beings angry? Doesn't matter anyway. We've got our own lives to live. Seeya." The other sirens turned back into the door from which they came from, leaving their sister to her fate.

"Siren." Celestia stepped forward stiffly, letting no hints of her emotions show. "What did you seriously expect to come of this?"

"Magic, what else?" The captive was almost spitting by this stage, furious at how her endeavour had ended.

"You're blinded by your goals. You set your mind on one thing, and it stuck." Sunset stepped forward, using all her knowledge from her own experience from being a reformed villain. "The question is, what are we going to do with you? You could've just become another face, your fellow sirens did it quite well, but just had to go back for more. We need to make sure you don't do that again. You're the resident villain reformer here, what do you think, Twilight?"

"Resident vill- nevermind. But you're right. This is going to be a tough decision to make..."





"So what gonna happen?"

"Her sisters are going to keep an eye on her. Give them your phone number, so they have a way to contact you if things get out of hand." Twilight had just just finished her discussion with the other sirens, and they had reached a conclusion. Once Sunset had written down her number, and given it the the other Equestrians, they went back to the portal, preparing for the trip. "You're going back too?"

Sunset nodded, confirming Twilight's suspicions. "When I was pushed through, something happened to me. It'll be easier to show you rather than explain. But first... Hang on, be right back." 

The girl ran back to the house, not bothering to activate her magical abilities and teleport, and quickly explained what was happening to the family. She also took the oppotunity to change out of her jacket and armour, claiming she wanting to keep it for a later date. She rushed back as fast as possible, not wanting to leave the princess' waiting





Once back in Equestria, the three ponies was quick to orient themselves, and Twilight was quick to stare in wonder at Sunset's new form, and then bombard her with questions.

"How much more powerful do you feel? How fast can you fly? Can you-"

"Twilight, please. Lets take this one step at a time." Sunset was flexing her new muscles, looking at the white fabric wrapped around her forehooves, stretching out her wings as far as possible. "Besides, before we do some testing, I'd like to go around of my own free will, test everything out." Sunset could've sworn she heard Twilight deflate in disapointment, before composing herself, smiling hopefully at the amber mare. "Plus, I want to know what it's like to properly fly."

She shot a quick grin at the alicorns, before dashing away, leaving them in a wave of heated air. They shared a brief glance, before taking flight and rushing after her. Celestia could already tell her ex-student was going to enjoy herself immensely, and that wasn't just from the loud laughter sounding from outside. Once the royal ponies did emerge, they were treated to the sight of Sunset's antics.

The mare was doing various stunts in the air, leaving behind a trail of fire where ever she went. Using the flaming wings, Sunset shot up into the sky, doing a loop in the process, then rotated in the air, twisting her self around, then diving down as sharply as possible. A shrill cry escaped her lips, something similar to a yell of pleasure, as she reve'led in the excitement.

"KIYIYIYIYAHAHAHA!" Sunset was certainly enjoying her wings, manuvering with all the skill of a Wonderbolt. Before she got too caught up in herself, however, she paused in midair, hovering. Her head snapped to the side, and she shot off once more, ignoring the alicorns now frantically trying to keep up.

Once they did eventually catch up, they found she was conversing with a particular cyan pegasus, and then they disappeared in a burst of flame and rainbows.

'This would be much easier if we could see things from Sunset's point of view.' Twilight mused, while in pursuit.





Sunset raced alongside a rainbow-maned pegasus, both starting to push themselves to their limits. They occasionally gave each other a competitive smirk, before focusing on their flying. Two loud bangs sounded. The cyan pegasus had a ring of rainbows expand outwards from her, while Sunset let out a burst of harmless flame, forming the world's biggest Venn diagram in the sky. At this stage, they weren't even looking where they were going, so they just went faster and faster. At least, that's what they were doing, until they reached Canterlot. Where they quickly reached the mountain. And crashed into it. Well, Sunset didn't, but that's only because she teleported herself so she would stop moving. The other racer, however, had no such ability, and smashed straight into the wall of rock, creating a pony shaped tunnel at least a foot deep.

"That. Was. AWESOME!" The mare's voice came from within her creation, sounding a bit too giddy for her own good.

"Yeah, great race, Dash." Sunset leaned into the miniture cavern so she could levitate the pegasus out in a deep red aura. "Draw?"

"Oh, no way! I was going so much faster than you when we stopped! You didn't even stratch the mountain!"

"That's because I didn't hit it. I can do this thing called..." Rainbow Dash found the other mare leaning into her face. "stopping! I know! It's great, you should try it sometime."

The pegasus pushed Sunset away, brushing off her comment. "Race you back? First one to reach the star on top of Twilight's palace?"

"You're on. Last one there has to explain to Celestia and Twilight what we were doing."

"Wait, Celest-"

"Three two one go!"

Neither of them missed the mark, and soon enough the world had transformed into a blur, greenery flashing by, and mountains being left in the distance. Letting out another pair of booms, two particular shapes flashed by - one purple, one white, tinted by gold. Not that either of the racers noticed. Instead, they focused on the tall spire that was coming into view. With one final push, Sunset extended her wings as fast as possible, causing her to rise up a little bit, before tucking them in as much as possible, shooting her towards the castle. If Sunset could turn her head around right now, she would see the most gobsmacked expression on Rainbow Dash's face, who was clearly not used to be beaten. Like a huge dart, the amber mare headed directly to the center of her target, her eyes, horn, and wings glowing even more fiercely.

Without warning, she extended her wings again, and tilted her self roughly upwards. The sudden resistance caused Sunset to slow down at a significant pace, and she came to a gentle stop just as her hooves touched the middle of the star. Wisely deciding to move out of the way before celebrating, she scrambled up the surface, balancing on the top spike of the star, and spun to view her opponent.

Surprisingly, Rainbow Dash was hovering at least fifty meters from the finish point, eyes wide and mouth open in a gape. A full minute passed, where the cyan pegasus continued to float and stare, and the cause of her dumbstruck look used various tricks to try and get her attention, to no avail. After even more time passed, two alicorn flew up to them, the smaller of the pair panting heavily, breaking out of her exhausted state when she noticed the look on the cyan mare's face.

"Rainbow? What happened to you?"

"I thiiink I might've broken her." Sunset gave a small giggle when she noticed a small stand of drool escaping the shocked mare's mouth. "I guess she isn't used to being bea-"

"You have got to tell me how to do that! It was sooo cool! I can't even be mad at losing! I have to-" Rainbow Dash rushed forwards, muzzle to muzzle with Sunset, and just as quickly has she had started, she halted herself, staring at the white alicorn floating next to her. "Oooohhh. That's what you meant earlier."

Now out of her trance, the cyan pegasus started to piece things together, and started to understand the situation, she perched on another one of the points, letting her wings rest. Seeing no one wanted to speak next, Princess Celestia approached her ex-students.

"I think I know what happened to you, Sunset. Come, I believe the answer to this will be in Twilight's library." 

Leaving their multi coloured friend to calm down, the three horned ponies flew down to the entrance, Sunset still taking every oppotunity to enjoy her newfound ability. Soon, they found themselves looking for a book called 'Predictions of the Everfree', recently delivered to Twilight's library, and as a result unsorted. Never the less, Twilight's talents almost immediately located it, passing it over to Celestia, who nodded in appreciation. Quickly flicking through the pages, the royal stopped at a particular section, and then laid it down on a tatble in front of her.

"This book is where the most likely predictions are documented, typically taken from the words of some great mystic. It started when the rumours of my sister's... return were revealed to have stemmed from some sort of magical source. Any similar claims were documented in here. Most of the ones in this copy have been met, there's even one about how there will be six different element bearers, as opposed to the one. Anyway, read this." She tapped the open book lightly, prompting the other two to read on.



There will be a pony who possesses a great number of qualities. The start of the possibilities will be avarice. These qualities will be varied in type, both ones that could be linked to the Dawnbringer, the Chaos King, or a mere victim of society. A treasoner, a protector, a lost soul. This pony will achieve all of this while not a pony.
Once these quotas are met, there will be a short period of recovery, then, once the sacred magic of Horse-land Equestria reaches this being, they shall ascend, but not reach immortality. Their magicless form will regain a soul, a family, a bond, and they will use that bond to regain what they have lost.



"I believe this is relating to you. I could be mistaken, but it seems to match. The 'treason' most likely relates to you rejecting me and your bully period in the other world, the 'protection' being when you fought the sirens, and the 'lost soul' part is most likely reffering to... recent events."

"Just call it what it is, suicide. No point in hiding it." Sunset winced at how harsh it came out, but knew it was fruitless to apologise to Celestia.

"Ahem. Yes. Either way, you did most that while 'not a pony', a human rather, and these new abilities did emerge when the portal was next used, yes?" Sunset confirmed this, and started to work out the rest of the prediction.

"Does that mean I'm an-"

"Alicorn? No. I know not who wrote this, but the rumours claim he had a very close natural connection with phoenixes. As a result, I have reason to believe you have been infused with some sort of phoenix..." Celestia twirled her hoof around, looking for the right word. "essence. I would like the try and confirm this with Philomena-"

"Oh! Yes!"

"-but at a later date, once this fiasco is resolved."

"Awww."

It was hard not to smirk at Twilight's disapointment, even if it did perk up when she realized she could still do research later. Her changing expressions morphed into confusion, as she noticed Sunset was adjusting her bandages awkwardly in her dark red aura, letting her wings twitch irritably. "Something wrong, Sunset?"

"Just want to go back. The others must be getting a little impatient, at the very least."

"No one's stopping you from leaving. Just keep us informed, that's all we ask." Twilight gestured towards the whirring portal, giving a reassuring smile to the phoenix-unicorn. Thanking the alicorns for the chance to leave, Sunset quickly departed, feeling, much to her suprise, homesick.





"Starting to worry for your sister, eh?" Twilight was sat on her bed, nervously twiddling her thumbs, when her father came in to check on her.

"Dad! She hasn't properly confirmed anything yet! But yes, I'm kind of getting nervous. Not just about Sunset."

"You're right. I shouldn't make such assumptions. But what else is bothering you?"

"I was talking it over with Shiny earlier, and I don't really know what to do about Crystal Prep. I'm just-" Twilight buried her face in her hands, shaking her head in even more stress. "The thing is, I want to leave. That's not the problem. It's just that the only other place is CHS, and from what I gather from Sunset..."

"It's not the best place to go at the moment. Talk it over with Sunset, when she gets back. Speaking of which, I think she-" A blinding flash of light came from the nearby window, causing them both to groan at the sudden interruption. "She'll be back soon, or rather, now."

The both approached the window, only to find Sunset was inside already. Entering the corridor, they could hear the conversation from up the stairs.

"So what was that about? You just rushed in, tell us you'll be gone a while, in some armour at that, quickly change, then leave."

"Yeah, I should've explained properly. What basically happened is I got pushed into the portal by one of those sirens from earlier, they kidnapped Princess Twilight, I discovered I had this new form in Equestria, me and Princess Celestia went through the portal, saved Princess Twilight, made a deal with two of the sirens, came back here, went to Equestria to find out more about the new magic, had a race, almost crashed into a mountain, pulled someone out of a mountain, raced back, didn't hit anything that time, did research, found out I might be infused with phoenix essence, and now I'm here. Wow, that's a lot when you say it out loud."

"I-I... that's... Yes, I mean yes, it is."

A snigger was stifled at Twilight Velvet's dumbstruck reaction. "I'm going to head to bed, if you don't mind. This magic business takes alot out of me, and the sun's going down anyway."

Steps were heard coming up the stairway, and a red haired girl emerged, giving her greetings to the father and daughter. "Hey Twi, Mr. Light." With the simple acknowledgement, Sunset passed the pair, and swiftly moved to the room she had been staying in. Within moments, a soft thump was heard, followed by a sigh of content, and then snoring, which quickly turned into heavy breathing. Pushing back their laughter, the two people glanced at each other, before calming themselves.

"I should probably get to sleep too. I really need to get some rest." Twilight went into her own bedroom, and performed a less dignified repeat of what Sunset had just done, leaving her father to go downstairs, chuckling to himself. His wife noticed his descent from the stairs, and gave him a small smile.

"I didn't think I'd ever say this on such a day, but this has been fairly relaxing, at least for us."

"Agreed. No immortals shouting at our house, nor are there any mythological creatures breaking in. Only the foster child rushing in wearing armour."

"Now now, that sounded a little harsh. Sunset say anything concerning that? She already said yes, and casually at that, but I still suspect that was a heat of the moment response."

"We'll see in the morning. Both her and Twilight have a lot to work out."

The couple sat in the dining room, as the sun set outside, and they tried to leave the thoughts of magical ponies, sun goddesses, and magical phoenix girls behind them, and attempted to imagine a future without anything supernatural.
> 14 - Induction
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contary to her name, Sunset could wake up quite early, even before sunrise, if she got to sleep early enough. This was one of these days, particularly since she had gotten to sleep the moment she got back. This, however, left her with a problem: she was awake, and no one else was. Now, with nothing else to do, Sunset flicked through her journal, in the small hope Princess Twilight would write to her.

"Woke up early too, huh?" Twilight Sparkle, of the human world, stood at the doorway, looking no less frustrated than Sunset was. "Might I ask: what actually is that book?"

"I wasn't lying when I said this was journal, though I don't keep track of my day in it." The girl patted a bandaged hand on the bed next to her, prompting Twilight to sit down on the bed. "I can communicate with Princess Twilight with this. There's another book in Equestria, which is basically just a duplicate of this one. If I write something in this, it appears in the other book, and vice versa. How it works? Magic."

"Why do I suspect that's going to be the answer to a lot of things these days?"

"Because you're right. I imagine magic does have some really complicated science behind it that explains how it actually works, but I don't think anypony knows." Sunset couldn't help but giggle at Twilight's frustration. "Hey, by the way, where's the scientist in you lately? I haven't known you for that long, but still..."

"Frankly, I'm just trying to take one thing at a time. Let's see all of the things I could be worrying about and/or researching right now. Why a girl I recently met has magic, where the girl is from, a literal sun goddess visiting us, meeting a exact duplicate of yourself, magic, magic, magic, that armour over there, and my own situation at Crystal Prep. Which one of those sounds most appealing?"

Sunset sniggered at Twilight's mini rant, before nodding her head in acknowledgement. "Alright, I get it. Aren't you panicking over this though?"

The purple girl dramatically put hand up the her head in exhaustion. "Trust me, I am on the inside. Ever since Shiny talked to me the other day, he kinda helped to convince me to take things slowly. Anyway, could I ask you something?"

"Of cour-" The book in Sunset's lap started to vibrate, glowing with a faint purple. Opening it to the most recent page, new writing swirled and glowed, taking shape on the paper.

Sunset,
We did some digging around on the prediction, and we were able to draw a number of conclusions. We believe the phoenix-master that the prediction came from was also very able in curses. You aren't cursed, but rather under a sort of reverse curse. We're not quite sure to make of it.
As far as abilities go, we were able to draw up a list, but I'd rather tell you that in pony/person, because then we'll be able to test them. Regardless, we know your magic potential had increased to just below an immortal alicorn's magic, so you're probably more powerful than me, since I'm still mortal. You're also significantly stronger physically to, probably akin to a stallion earth pony. One of the ones we are completely unsure of, is that you might have to ability to be reborn, like most phoenixes. 

Anyway, I hope you get past your problems in the human world, please remember that you can ask others for help, whether it be me or someone over there.
Your friend,
Twilight Sparkle

"Well, you wanted to know what it was. I'll write back later. Actually..." Sunset, still not able to write properly with her hands, took a pen in her mouth, and brought the book up to her face, allowing her to write on it.

Great! Now get to sleep!

Fine, fine. You let me have no fun!

"So it's basically a magic text message."

"Yeah, I guess. Never thought of it that way. I've been thinking too much like a pony recently. Anyway, you wanted to ask a question, yes?"

Shaking off her fascination of the book, Twilight quickly turned to Sunset. "Oh! Yes, right. I'm not sure if I want to stay at Crystal Prep. It gives you great exam results, but other than that..."

"It's really bad, got it."

"Yes, but the only other school in the area is CHS, and from what you've told me..."

"To be fair, the whole school's been really paranoid ever since a literal demon showed up at the school. Plus, with their history with the other Twilight, they should treat you just fine, if a little bit weird. When we can, we could speak to Principal Celestia, try and sort something out. Not now, obviously, it is the holidays."

Twilight let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. "That's great! I really don't want to have to go back to Crystal Prep. And it would be nice to have someone there I know."

"Awww. You're too kind to me sis!" Sunset wrapped an arm around Twilight, gently stroking her shoulder, jerking it away when she heard a small hum of approval from the door. Night Light stood there, with a soft smile on his face, nodding slowly.

"So, you've decided?"

"Y-yeah. I want this. Something that I've never had before."

"You sure this isn't from pressure? We don't want to force anything upon you."

"No, no, this is entirely my own decision." Night Light leaned in closer, a mischievious smirk growing on his face.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Are you su-"

"Just go do the paperwork, or call the lawyers, or whatever you need to do." Sunset was attempting to contain her laughter at her own teasing, only succeeding when she slapped a hand over her mouth.

"Are you-"

A pillow was flung in the man's direction, causing him to duck into the corridor, swiftly going down the stairs, fearful for any more soft projectiles. Sunset gave out a victorious laugh, while Twilight rolled her eyes at her father's antics. "Don't need magic to deal with that!"

Leaving Sunset to relish in her father's defeat, Twilight got up and walked out of the room, joining her parents down stairs. Her mother was stretching her amrs out, as if they hadn't been used in days. "Ahh, it's nice to sleep in a bed again. You sure Sunset isn't just doing this out of peer pressure?"

"Well, I did ask her several times until she attacked me, soooo..."

"Right, right, your annoyingly successful test of being a complete pain." Velvet was tempted to smack her husband over the back of the head, but she resisted the instinct. Twilight chose this moment to make her entrance, about to add her own comment when the doorbell rang. Velvet went to answer it, and was greeted by the sight of a pale woman in a light brown suit, a sun symbol pinned to her lapel.

"Good morning, Velvet. I hope I haven't interrupted anything this early in the morning." The visitor frowned when Velvet dipped her head slightly. "Why're you-"

"That's Principal Celestia, not Princess Celestia. Besides, both Celestias would hate someone bowing to them in such a way." Sunset sat at the bottom of the stairs, slightly amused by the display, before nodding to the pale woman. "Hello, Celestia. What brings you here?"

"Thanks for calling me 'Principal' when not at school, for one. Luna's out of town visiting friends, so I thought I might as well do the same. Might as well get some work out of the way while I'm here anyway."

"Work?" Velvet enquired, having believed the issue with Sunset was resolved.

"I heard from my niece that Twilight here might want to transfer." The purple girl brightened up at the possibility, smiling in confirmation.

"Wait, if you already knew about human Twilight, why'd you allow the other Twilight into the school?"

"I realized something was going on, given how she was acting. Let her in, mainly because the cameras caught you sneaking around. I figured the two events were related." Celestia shrugged off the question as if she had already been asked it several times. The conversation moved to more pleasant matters, generally updating each other on how their lives were going, followed by a long winded apology from Celestia, that could basically be summed up as 'I'm sorry I thought you were Anon-a-miss', which was swiftly accepted. Soon enough, the topic shifted to what Twilight wanted to do.

"So you're thinking you should go to CHS?"

"It depends. I don't know what's happening to Cinch, what's happening with CHS, and even how my own transfer is going to work out."

"I can answer two of those. From what I gather, Cadance may become the principal, but all the issues at the school will take a while to sort out, more than a few years, perhaps. Your transfer is should be absolutely fine - nothing out of the ordinary, particularly since the other Twilight was never officially enrolled. As for Canterlot High..." Celestia took a deep breath, before shaking her head. "I can't exactly do much about it over the holidays. The deletion of the blog will either be good or bad. I wonder why it was deleted?"

"I ca-" Sunset quickly cut herself off, not wanting to get Scootaloo in trouble. "I know who created the blog. But... only two of the creators are really to blame, and the other... I owe them, a lot. Can we try and sort this out when school's back? Not only will it be much eaier, it'll give me time to figure out what I actually want to do."

Celestia sighed at the unsurity of her pupil. "While I would normally tell you to give me their names, it is your choice. You've already been through so much, I don't want to force you through more."

"I appreciate that. How are you going to attempt to deal with this?"

"That's the question of the day, isn't it? I honestly want you to decide that, and I'll do as much as I can to help. But you know this will take a while."

"Yeah, I do." Sunset grimaced when she started to think of next monday, when she would go back to school. "I can't exactly plan ahead, so I'm just going to deal with it when it comes around. Not much else I can really do."

Celestia nodded and looked at her watch, suprise showing on her face when she saw it was eleven o'clock. "Well, I must be going. I do hope we can resolve this entire mess soon. Oh, and I'll be at school on the second of January, if you want to see me. Usual times." The woman quickly departed, excusing herself over meeting her sister.





It was a normal day for Paper Gavel, and he was working on the day after Boxing Day, when few other business were open. He sat at his desk at the offices of Gavel & co. Lawyers, awaiting a client, one Twilight Velvet, who had consulted him on multiple occasions before. It was a couple of minutes before the scheduled appointment, and the receptionist buzzed him, informing the lawyer that Mrs. Velvet had arrived, which he responded to by sending her in. When the woman did enter his office, a younger girl followed her, with bland clothing that had sleeves that were far too long for the girl. "Mrs. Velvet! Take a seat. And this is...?"

"Sunset Shimmer." The girl gave a simple nod as her name was said.

"Right, right. 'Tia told me to expect someone to come in with a young girl, but didn't have time for specifics. Anyway, what can I do for you?"

"Funny. Celestia said I should come here."

Gavel shook his head at his friend's cleverness. "That woman..." He turned his head back upwards to look at Velvet. "I owe Celestia a big favour, and she hinted this might be it. So I'm going to assume this is going to be harder than getting a young lady into her school. You're welcome for that, by the way, Sunset."

"You're the one who-" Sunset sighed in disbelief, before wisely deciding to let the lawyer just do his thing.

"Yes I am. Once this is over, maybe you can help me fill in the blanks on your profile? The only thing I've got other than visual stuff is your name, and potentially age."

"We'll probably be able to answer most of that in the process of this...'favour'." Velvet cleared her throat in preparation. "I for one don't know how far Sunset's legal statistics go in terms of what she can actually do, but we intend to adopt her."

"Right. Okay. That will be... difficult. But not impossible. First off can you fill in as many blanks in this form? Just as a start, I'll fudge as many of the details I can, might even be able to do this in a day." Velvet started to add to the piece of paper, inputting such things as the scars on Sunset's forelimbs and back, and correcting Sunset's age, among other facts. 

Not much else appeared to be required of them, with Gavel constantly claiming that he would 'handle it'. However, once all the official documents had been signed, he promptly stood, walked around the table, and shook Velvet by the hand. "Congratulations, Mrs. Velvet, you are now the legal guardian of one Sunset Shimmer, and-" He moved to pat Sunset on the shoulder, tactfully avoiding her arms. "- well done to you, Ms. Shimmer, since you are now the adopted daughter to one Twilight Velvet. I wish you both luck in the years to come, no matter where they take you. Now I suggest you go celebrate, I opened just for you, and I'm not being paid at all for this."

"Wait, that's it? Really?"

"Yep! Now go have some tea. Or coffee. Or water. Or milk. Or whatever the hell you drink. Just have a good time! Merry late Christmas!" Gavel shooed off the two stunned clients out of his office, then took out his phone, dialing a number labelled as 'Sunny'.

"Paper?"

"'Tia, you're gonna have to get me a job at your school. I can't keep up with this."

"Aww, is the self-proclaimed 'King of Chaos' sick of spreading order?"

"I was thinking drama teacher. Need a new name too. I think...I'll get back to you on that."

"Are you going to tell me the real reason for calling or..."

"I am glad to inform you that Sunset Shimmer is now legally part of Twilight Velvet's family. Now, about that job..."





"I... can't believe it was that simple!" Sunset sat in the car, still processing the breakneck speed at which the adoption had taken place. Her adoptive mother nodded her head in silent agreement. "So... where do we go from here, dearest mother?"

"Oh for- you do not get to call me stuff like that. It's 'mum' or 'mom' or however else you want to pronounce it! I had a hard enough time with Cadance calling me stuff like that." While Sunset was suprised by the outburst, she could help but chuckle at Velvet's reaction.

"Heh, alright Mum. Home?"

"Home. And thanks for not wearing that jacket."

"No promises for the future, though." Velvet allowed herself to mumble to herself about awful clothes, concentrating on the drive home, letting Sunset think about her own future.

It was a short drive back, the office only being twenty minutes away from home, only slightly slowed by the lingering snow, which was quickly melting away.Sunset pasted the time by practicing her hand writing, something that had become a sort of hobby since she lost her ability to write with her hands. Writing with her mouth was very good and all, but looked quite weird to anyone who witnessed it. Plus levitating anything used to write would cause Sunset to sprout magical wings and a horn, something she wouldn't mind to avoid from now on.

For what felt like the thousandth time since Sunset had been taken into foster care, she was standing next to the door, patiently waiting for Velvet to unlock it. The door swung open, revealing Night Light, with a hopeful look on his face.

"Hi dad."

"Does that mean...?" His hope increased, and when he was met with a confirming nod, the man's emotions increased a hundredfold, and it took all he had not to squeal like a toddler recieving candy. Less than a moment later, Sunset found herself wrapped in a loving hug, a giddy smile on both faces. Velvet warmly smiled at the scene, closing the door behind her, then taking the papers and moving to another room top organize them. The father and adopted daughter broke apart, and walked into the living room together, greeting Twilight Sparkle on entry.

"Well?"

"Congrats on getting a new sister, Twi."

Twilight gasped in amazement, then giggled merrily. "What a Christmas gift, eh? Now about th-"

The girl was interrupted by Sunset's phone going off, leaving Twilight with an annoyed frown. "Sorry Twi. No experiments today."

"How'd you kn- nevermind. What's it say?"

"Hmm. I guess I know what I'm doing for the rest of the day. My current friends what to try and help me, and it doesn't say it here, but I know they want to know what's been going on." Sunset looked up at Velvet with a glimmer of hope in her eye. "Can I go? You don't ned to follow me around any more, right?"

"Yes, you can go. Can you take Twilight with you, though? It would be nice to get her a head start in terms of friends."

"Great! Come along, Sparkles!" Sunset grabbed Twilight by the arm and practically dragged her upstairs to get changed.

"But- but- but-"

"Have fun, sweetie!"

Twilight whimpered, resigned to her ghastly fate of a social life...
> 15 - Reveal
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You said she'll be here?" Octavia, Lyra, Bon Bon, and Vinyl were sat around a table in a coffee shop, next to a old libary. It was fairly quiet, not many people would be out while the snow was still melting. Vinyl nodded at her friends, then returned to flicking through her phone. The bell above the entrance ringed, and a golden-skinned girl entered, wearing a hoodie several times to large for her, followed by a nervous purple girl, glancing around the shop at nothing imparticular. The first girl glanced over to the group, face lighting up in recognition, and made her way over to them.

"Hi girls. Sorry I'm a little late. Someone forgot it was freezing outside." She glanced back to the other girl, who approached while sheepishly rubbing the back of her head.

"Eheh, sorry."

"Before you all go into a panic or party or whatever, this is the Twilight from the human world, not Princess Twilight. I'll explain later." They both took a seat, recieving various greetings, mostly awkward ones. "See Twi? Not that hard."

"Fine, you were right. I still don't see why I had to come along though, Sunset." Twilight gave an annoyed pout, still reluctant to be there.

"Because you can't make every new friend part of your family, so best start now. And I'm older than you, so you bet I'm going to be a big sister to you from now on." Sunset playfully nudged Twilight, elicting a quiet giggle.

"Okay, we're clearly missing something here, what's going on?" Lyra held up a hand, interrupting the exchange.

"Heh, I suppose I owe you an explanation, don't I? Very, very, very long story short, I got adopted. Again. But this time, by Twilight's family. So I'm one of them now. Go me."

While it wasn't as shocking as past events, it still suprised the group that the ex-school bully had been adopted by the interdimensional counterpart to their school's multiple times magical saviour. Vinyl made some quick gestures with her hands, causing Sunset to snigger slightly. "Yeah, that's exactly what I thought at first too." Vinyl made some more movements, this time directing them at Sunset. "Yeah, I know sign language. First thing I learnt how to do with my hands when I first... came here."

Octavia was also following the movements, having been slowly learning sign language ever since meeting Vinyl, but was not as talented as the other two girls. The rest of the girls, on the other hand, were just sitting there confused, miserably failing to understand anything in the exchange, unti Lyra spoke up again.

"Eerrrrm, you said there was a really long version, could we just have the 'not quite so long but more than just a few sentences' version, please? There's kinda a lot missing."

"Sorry I'm late girls! I got caught up in the snow!" A blonde, grey skinned girl rushed up, wih a similar looking younger girl, looking to be around Freshman year. "Oh, hi, Sunset! You're the actual Twilight, aren't you? Nice to meet you!"

Seeing Twilight's shellshocked expression, Sunset leaned in and said, "She has a... different way of saying things. And her eyes are usually like that. It's not a sore spot, but she does get frustrated when people constantly mention it." Turning back to the newcomer, she cheerfully greeted her. "Hi Ditzy! Didn't know you were coming."

"That's because someone didn't give your number." She shot a mismatched glare at Vinyl, who nervously shuffled her arms, before slipping a piece of paper into the grey girl's hands. "And call me Derpy, all my friends do."

"Sis... why do I have to be here?" The younger girl whined from behind Derpy.

"Because you said you're gonna be spending your time with me during lunch, so you'd better get used to the other people you'll be around. Plus, you said you wanted to meet Sunset. Sunset, this is Dinky, my little sister."

A pair of golden eyes poked out from behind Derpy. "S-Sunset's here?!"

"Is she here to try and break my hand for what I used to do to you or-" Sunset was interrupted by a soft thud, finding Dinky had taken the comment as an invitation. If Sunset could feel her hand, she probably would say she was actually doing a good job, as Dinky had managed to bend a finger into an awkward position. Taking advantage of Dinky's small size, Sunset lifted her arm, the little girl still holding onto it. It was almost adorable, if not lined with malicious intent. Still, it was hard not to giggle at the display. 

"Or what?"

"...Doesn't matter."

"Humf, Suffseth?" Dinky was just holding the bandaged arm in her mouth, dangling by her teeth.

"It would help if you didn't speak with your mouth full."

Unwilling to part with her 'victim', Dinky grasped the limb in her arms, before looking to its owner once again. "Are you not feeling anything because of these bandages?"

"That's-" Sunset sighed, knowing she would have to give an proper explanation now. "That's kind of the focus of this entire story. Take a seat, Derpy? Dinky, are you..."

The younger girl swung herself from the arm onto the table, settling on it. "I'm good."

Sunset leaned over to Derpy, whispering, "I'm not gonna lie, this involves suicide, is she gonna be alright with this?"

Sighing, Derpy shook her head. "She's more... familiar with the subject than she should be. Don't ask."

Pulling away, Sunset nodded in confirmation. "Right. This is going to be... I..."

Twilight put a reassuring hand on Sunset's shoulder. "Just take your time, Sunset."

"Look, I'm just going to straight out say it, I tried to kill myself."

Unsuprisingly, a loud round of gasps went round, concern showing in her friends' eyes. Fully expecting the oncoming questions, Sunset prematurely put up a hand to stop them. "I can assure you, I'm fine now. And please, I've already feel like I've answered enough question in past few days, so save them 'til the end, alright? Alright."

Taking an extra deep breath, Sunset steeled herself for her tale.

"You know what happened in the hallway? All the crying and stuff like that? I left the school and well... I used a knife to... yeah. It wasn't just because of that, though. Revelation number two: I was homeless. Living in a tiny hand made shack quite close to here, actually. The snow caused it to collapse, and well, I... I lost hope. Completely. And I commited, there and then. I was found by - you're not gonna believe this - one of the people behind Anon-a-miss. I'm not going to name them, at least not yet. I need to properly sort things out with them first. Went into hospital, some stuff happened that I'll tell you later, and I eventually got taken into foster care by Twilight Velvet, Twilight Sparkle's mother.

"It was pretty normal for a while, apart from the fact that I couldn't move my hands or lower arms. Then, Christmas Eve comes around, and I can move my arms and stuff again. I'm having trouble doing some stuff, like writing, but I'm good otherwise. I've also got some really deep scars, and a lot of them. The talking dog, Spike, comes to visit. Then, Christmas Day, I wake up with magical powers - I'll show you later Lyra - and end up fighting a literal sun goddess, who also happened to be my old teacher. Christmas proceeds normally, I sing a song (marvelously, of course), and all is well. Boxing Day, I meet with the deity, then talk with Princess Twilight. Princess Twilight gets kidnapped by the Dazzlings, me and the sun goddess goes back and rescues her, everything's good with them now (I hope)."

Sunset thoughtfully put a finger to her chin. "Errm... what else was there? Oh, then I got adopted. I think that's everything..." The girl almost lost herself in thought, before noticing the varying expressions gathered around the table, all of them still processing what they had heard. Twilight, having been through something a few times before, simply waited, drumming her fingers on the table.

"THAT'S SO COOL!" Dinky was the first to break the silence, unable to contain her wonder and excitement any longer. "Can you show me a trick? Can you?!"

"Heh, lets wait for the rest of them to come to their senses first." She gestured to the rest of the group, waving a bandaged hand in front of Octavia's eyes. She started to blink, shaking her head, bringing her mind back to reality. "You good, Octavia?"

"Y-yes, I am- I think... Give me a minute."

Sunset smiled, shaking her head, then turning to Twilight. "This is what I had to deal with when I said everything to you."

"And how long was I out?"

"About ten minutes. So give these people five. They're nowhere near as science-y as you." She surveyed the stunned girls, smirking a little. "Maybe three for Lyra. Oh, maybe you should move away fr-"

"MAGIC!" Lyra jumped forwards across the table, grabbing Sunset by the shoulders, jerking her violently. "SHOW ME!"

That snapped everyone else out of their trances, and the group as a whole, rushed forward to pull Lyra back, Vinyl tactfully putting a hand over the turquoise girl's mouth. She flashed an apologetic look at Sunset, before settling Lyra back in her seat, only for her to try and rush forwards again. Seeing she would not give up, Sunset stood up, gesturing for the others to follow. "Let's get this out of the way. Better sooner than later."

Stepping out of the shop, hoping no one was too disturbed by the outburst. Finding an alleyway just past the adjacent library, Sunset stepped into it, motioning for the others to follow, only to burst out laughing.

"Of all the places to come to! Of course it's here!"

The rest of the group looked at each other, confused at their friend's exclamation. To them, it was just a standard dead end alley way, with a thin blanket of snow covering the ground. Looking to Twilight for an explanation, she just gave the same clueless expression, shrugging.

"Uh, Sunset? Where is 'here'?"

"Well, to you, it's a random alley. To me, it was my home for a few years. That imparticular." She pointed to a bump in the snow. Noticing the expressions worn on the other girls, she giggled a little. "Hey, it's not all bad. Last time I was here I became a millionaire."

"What?!"

"Another story for another time." Noticing one of her friends was crouched down near the entrance for the alley, Sunset called out to her. "Hey, Bon Bon, what're you doing?"

"What's this red stuff? Is it blood?"

"Yeah, mine. Anywa-"

Sunset was interrupted by a loud stomp on the ground, and Vinyl, seeing she had her attention, started to sign.

<This is not something you should be calm about. Are you OK?>

"Meh. I've had time to get over it. I've been through a similar experience before. Granted, I never took it this far, but that's not the point. And anyway, I need to accept the past, and move on. 'My past is not today', I guess."

The DJ nodded, content with the answer she had gotten. Lyra calmly approached Sunset, a wanting look in her eye. Slightly intimidated, the girl backed a bit, now sporting a nervous grin.

"Now..."

"Uh, Lyra?"

"Now. Magic."

"Lyra..."

"Magic!"

"LYRA!" The light blue girl had Sunset pinned in a corner, only a foot away from her. "I can't do magic in a tiny space!"

"Oh." The lyrist blushed, before backing away, standing next to Bon Bon. "Right. Sorry."

"It's fine. Let's put on a show now, hey?"

Almost of instinct, Sunset reached out to the magic infused in her, and instantly, she felt a warmth rising throughout her body. As the others watched in wonder, Sunset felt her extra appendages appear. The horn, made of pure light, stuck out from her head, glowing softly. Two great wings made of fire shot out of her back, lightly flapping to keep the girl aloft. Her hair extended, and a pair of pony hear replaced her human ones. Most noticably, however, was the complete change in clothing. Instead of the plain hoodie and jeans she had been wearing earlier, her leather jacket had appeared on her body, battered and bloody as before. Under the jacket was a full suit of armour, the same set from when she had confronted the sirens earlier.

Deciding to show off a little, Sunset started to levitate the wreck of her shelter, sorting through it, reassembling it to its original state. Something glinting in the light she was giving off caught her eye, and she glided down to the small shack. Locating the shining item, she brought it out using her magic, floating it towards her hands.

It was a gem, red and gold in colour, not to dissimilar to Sunset's cutie mark. Her eyes lit up in recognition, and she automatically fed some magic into the jewel, causing it to suspend itself in the air. A purple string formed around it, threading though a miniscule gap in the gem. A tiny orb of light formed in the center, the two colours of the gem shifting and fighting against each other. Smiling at the jewel, Sunset reached out to take in her hands, and placed it around her neck, warmly grinning at her new neckpiece.

It gave Sunset a nice feeling, one which can only be described as pleasant. It tingled every inch of her body, causing a sigh of satistfaction to escape her lips. She stroked it affectionately, as if it was an old friend.

"I must say, it's very beautiful, my dear. Not to mention, impressive." Broken out of their awe induced stance by the voice, coming from the entrance of the alleyway, the group turned to face it, only Sunset recognising its owner. A man, dressed in what would usually be a extremely smart suit, ruined by various colourful patches smothering the clothing. He had yellow eyes, and greyed skin. His lanky body leaned against the wall, tapping his odd shoes on the ground, and twirling the cane in his mismatched gloves.

"Mr. Gavel?!"

"Pluh-ease! Call me Discord."

Sunset almost choked on nothing upon hearing the name. "D-D-Discord?!" It started to make sense now. All the passing comments he made when he was creating her adoption, his past with Celestia, they did seem to mirror his interdimensional counterpart. And while Discord was the man who did do alot for her, he was still the spirit of chaos.

"Now, now, just because I have a pony counterpart that you might've known, doesn't mean you have to be scared of me."

"Alright. Alright. Alright. You're a different person. I don't know how you know about Equestria, but you're human. But forgive me for being paranoid - your counterpart ruled the world ruthlessly for centuries, spreading complete disharmony and harm."

Sunset was forced to cast a calming spell, allowing her to think straight through her panicking mind. Even so, a billion questions were swirling around her head uncontrollably. 'Why does he know about Equestia? How? Does his past mirror the Equestrian Discord's past? Is he a criminal? He must've been a criminal. He's seen me do magic? How's he here- wait. How actually is he here?'

"Okay, Gavel, Discord, whatever, how are you here?"

"What you mean, 'how am I here?' Why, I simply walked through that empty space over there, and leaned against this wall." The man gave that look that made it seem painfully obvious.

"What- I- nevermind. I cast a spell which made anyone who walked by ignore what was going in here, and not enter under any circumstances. Evidently, it isn't perfect." With a quick flash of red, Sunset recast the spell several times, just in case anyone else happened to wander in. She dropped to the ground, folding in her wings, but keeping them at the ready, in case Dinky or Lyra decided to rush her. Luckily, they were still a little bit stunned by the magic to do anything, allowing Sunset to focus her attention on Discord. "First and foremost, how in all of Tartarus do you know about Equestria?"

"How does one cover up a huge hole in the front of the school without knowing the truth? You don't. Somehow, a student accidently mixing fireworks and propane on the night of the fall formal didn't seem true to me. I don't know how 'Tia knew so much, mind you, but that doesn't really matter now, does it?" Noticing Sunset's thoughtful expression, Discord helped fill in some of the blanks. "I've been the one covering for you legally. Your entry into the school, the papers sent to the hospital literally last minute, everything. But now, I'm retiring from all that. Gavel is closing down, and I'm getting a new job!"

"And you are telling me this because...?"

"I'm going to be teaching you drama! And it's going to be great! Oh! And you have got to tell me about magical pony land! I can only imagine what happens over there!" He clapped his hands together in giddy joy, hopping with enthusiasm. "Speaking of which, I'm meeting Celestia to sort out everything. I suspect you have a number of things you might want to sort out. And yes, I know she said she wouldn't be open now, but she will not turn you away. Ever. Now come on!" He rushed over, tapping his cane on Sunset's shoulder. "We should teleport there now."

"Girls, something tells me I'm going to lose this argument already. Continue this later?" She got a series of nods, some more reluctant than others, before turning to Twilight. "I trust you can get home?"

"Uh..."

Sunset rolled her eyes, knowing Twilight was completely clueless about the way home. "I'll teleport you." Not even able to get the chance to protest, the purple skinned girl disappeared in a sudden red flash, leaving the rest of the group to slowly disperse, all of them saying to Sunset that they'd better get more later on. She hated just to send them away like that, but something about Discord told her he wasn't to be argued with under any cirumstances. It might've been because she owed Discord alot, or it could've been the terrifying reality that his magical counterpart was thought to be completely evil. 

"The school, Sunset. The office... Remember? Principal Celestia's office... any one home?" Discord waved a yellow glove infron tof Sunset's unmoving expression, before her lips parted slightly.

"Quiet. Concentrating." She barely mumbled, only just loud enough for the man to hear, and move away. Another few seconds passed, and they both disappeared in another flash, the world melting around them.





"Where is he?" Principal Celestia Ra sat at her desk, drumming her fingers on the surface infront of her.

"Relax, 'Tia. You can't expect him to be on time." Vice Principal Luna Khonsu stood behind her, placing a comforting hand on her sister's shoulder. A deep red light came from the other side of the door for a split second, a quiet zapping sound accompanying it. While Luna looked slightly stunned, Celestia simply rolled her eyes.

"Luna, please inform our latest employee that he is not allowed to set off flares in the school corridors, and then invite him in." She stopped tapping on the desk, and Luna went to open the door, gasping a little when she did.

"Erm, sister, you might want to see this. And by that, I mean stand up and join me at the door."

"And make sure you open your mouth in astonishment!" A man's voice called from the other side, childlike excitement tinting the sentence.

Smirking slightly at the unimaginable prank that she expected to come, Celestia rose up from her seat, and strode, with a little reluctance, to take a place next to Luna, and directed her gaze out of the door.

There, an oddly dressed man, who she knew as Discord, stood next to Sunset Shimmer. In addition to that, Sunset was floating slightly, great wings made of fire flapping to keep her aloft, and a horn formed out of what appeared to be pure light extended from her forehead. The girl's eyes, usually green, glowed slightly, a dark shade of red appearing to tint them. A leather jacket was worn over what appeared to be a suit of armour, symbols decorating some of the plates.

Celestia took a step back, unsure how to process the sight, as the girl giggled, before tapping the gem that was being worn around her neck. It let out a flash, and every trace of magic, including the armour, disappeared, the protective clothing being replaced by a plain looking hoodie and trousers, and the necklace glowed in a maginificent glow of gold and red. Nodding in satistfaction, Sunset chuckled to herself, smiling.

"I'm really doing a terrible job of hiding this, aren't I? There's now at least a dozen people who know." She shrugged, as if not truly caring about anything. "Oh well. I suspect I'm not going to be able to hid this from the school anyway. Hello, Principal, Vice Principal. Good to see you again."

"H-hello, Sunset. Care for an explanation?"

"I think 'magic' will suffice."

"Of course." Celestia rubbed her head, already feeling a headache coming on. "Come in, Discord. We have much to discuss."

"And Sunset, could you please join me in my office. While you're here, I need to speak to you about a number of things." Luna walked over to a nearby door and entered it, holding it open so the girl could follow her. Looking behind her, Sunset noticed Discord was now sat at the desk opposite Celestia, and opted to do the same in Luna's office. Settling into the seat, the girl looked across the table, seeing the vice principal take the seat. "I'm going to ignore the magic, because, quite frankly, I think I've had enough of it. /instead, lets start off with more... mortal matters."

"Anon-a-miss."

"Yes. I think the first thing would be finding out who it could be."

"Right." Sunset paused, planning her words carefully. "I'm going to be honest, I know who it is, but I haven't got proper evidence, save for one of them, who came forward and deleted the account."

"So who are they?"

"I'm not going to say yet." Seeing Luna was about to protest, Sunset held up a bandaged hand, letting her continue her argument uninterrupted. "Look, the one that told me everything, quite frankly, needs some time alone - without the entire school on them for revenge. If I expose even one of the group, the rest will automatically assume the rest of them are involved. I need hard evidence that only a certain number of the group are involved. First though, I'll probably confront them in private. I wouldn't be suprised, however, if they reopened the damn blog again. They're desperate. For what, I'm not entirely sure."

"Alright. Usually I'd insist to tell us all you know, but something deep inside me tells me I should let you handle it. Before it was an act of bullying and framing. Now, it seems personal." Luna could see the sort of emotions that were in the girl's eyes, and from personal experience, knew not to press it further. "Might I ask if you've found anyone who actually believes you're not Anon-a-miss?"

"I didn't think I'd ever be able to say this, but I can actually draw up a list."

"Oh? Do tell."

"If I'm honest, I've literally no clue why any of these people believe me, but they do. Let's see, there's Bon Bon-"

"Could you use full names please? I do intend on using this information in some way." Luna was poised with a pen above a notepad.

"Sure. There's Sweetie Drops, Lyra Heartstrings, Der- Ditzy Doo, Vinyl Scratch, Octavia Melody, eerrrr... Rainbow Dash, Flutter Shy... I think that's it. Oh, yeah, there's Flash Sentry, Scootaloo Turret, Dinky Doo, and my new sister, Twilight Sparkle."

"Congratulations on that. Oh, while we're on names, I need to ask you - does the name Sonata Dusk mean anything to you?" The darker woman tapped a nearby form, the title being the forementioned name. "We got an application from her, and it seems rather... wild."

"Sonata? She's one of the Dazzlings, currently trying to live a normal life without the influence of the other sirens." Sunset put up a thoughtful hand to her chin, remembering the brief conversation she had with the other equestrians. "She did say she still needed qualifications, now that I think about it. Probably trying to get them here. Terrible idea, considering her past here, but still. I doubt most of the students will actually recognize her. They've become just...there. Anyway, I'll vouch for her, if that's what you're asking for."

"I'll keep that in mind. Anyway, I note among that list is Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Are the others...?" She left the question unsaid, unsure of the girl's feelings about it.

"I'd rather not talk about them. At all. Not right now, anyway." Sunset's face gave away none of her emotions, but it was hard to mistake what she was feeling at that moment from the strained tone of her voice.

"Understood. I believe the human Twilight will now be attending here? Do you... want us to do anything about everyone thinking she is the princess?"

"I believe our parents are going to be coming over in a few days time to sort out the transfer. I'll tag along, do what I can. Best save it for then. By the way, are you just here for Discord?" Something sparked inside of Sunset's brain, a plan. The thoughts could been seen in Sunset's green eyes, burning with desire.

"Other than some pieces of paperwork we needed to do, that is correct."

"Then might I do something here? Over the course of my bully stage, I got extremely paranoid with my blackmail. I've disposed of most of it, but I stashed physical copies all over school, all very well hidden, and I can hardly remember were any of them are. With this new magic, however..." She gave a grin, one which could've been on a evil villain's face.

"You want to get rid of all of them now?"

"Correct."

"Go ahead. I need to tell Celestia first, though. Heavens knows how tired she is of magic messing with he school." Luna stood, pacing back towards her sister's office, poking her head inside for a minute or so, before striding back over to Sunset. "Go ahead."

"Great!" The girl all but jumped out of her seat, already making her way out of the office and down the hall, heading for the gymnasium at a swift walk. Luna, not wanting to be left behind caught up to Sunset at a jog, before slowing to match the girl's speed. Suddenly, Sunset paused, stopping at a door to a classroom, and reaching to the top of the doorframe, retrieving a black cuboid covered in tape. "One of the sticks. They're all identical, so this shouldn't be too hard."

"Sunset, question."

"Yes?"

"You were homeless with next to no money. How did you afford any of this?"

"I didn't. I was resourceful. I basically survived off of the school water and lunch meals. One day, I was passing a tech shop. They were throwing out a bunch of these sticks because they were 'obsolete'. Used the computers in library, and voilà! Blackmail on every single person in this school, all at my long, dishrivelled fingers. Mwahahah. Fear me." She stuck her hands out dramatically, putting on her best evil grin.

"Riiiight. So what's the plan here? Just become magical and poof, all the memory sticks appear in front of you?" Luna made a explosion with her hands, causing Sunset to giggle a little.

"Ha! I wish. Even magic isn't that easy. This shouldn't be too hard either, though. Provided nothing happened to any of the memory sticks, thet all should be exactly the same. I just need to make a spell which searches for more of these, and bring them to me. I also need to make sure they don't force their way through walls. That would be bad. Not to mention expensive. Mind you..." She trailed off, not quite willing to say that she had almost two million in golden coins. Instead, she opted to tap the gem again, making the armour, wings and horn appear again.

"What is that gem?" Luna, irritation in her voice, was shielding her eyes from the flash that the girl emitted.

"This? It keeps my magic under control. Something from my days in Equestria, when I would accidently cast spells, and destroy stuff. Very useful when your speciality was pyromancy. Heh. Good times..." She drifted off into memories, before clearing her head with a shake and entering to hall. Luna, slightly disturbed by the fact one of her students apparantly had a fascination with fire and potentially explosions, chose to stand to the side, away from the door way, but also away from the magical girl. "This might take a little while. You may want to take a seat."





"I believe that ends our talk, Discord."

"Always a pleasure, 'Tia. I shall look forward to teaching here for at least a few years."

Celestia and Discord, having concluded the introduction into the new job, stood, Discord enthusastically shaking hands with the woman. "Not planning on staying long?"

"I'm an old man, 'Tia, despite my looks. There's only so much energy I can expend before I wither away, lost to the ages." He dramatically waved his cane about, suddenly pausing in his movements, before crouching to look under Celestia's desk. "Hmm. Magic. Magic magic magic."

Before Celestia could ask what's wrong, his face was suddenly illuminated by a red light, and the source flew out from underneath the desk. It was a black cuboid, held in a red glow, heading directly for the door. Discord, acting like it was the end of the world already, quickly chased after the object, frantically reaching out to it and grasping it in his hand. Digging his heels in, the man found himself unable to halt the levitating item, and was dragged hopelessly along with it. Glancing around, Discord found himself joined by dozens of identical objects. A sly grin worked its way onto his face, something which did not escape Celestia's notice.

"Discord! Don't you dare!"
> 16 - Research
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"WHEEEEEHEHEHEEEE!"

Sunset, who had cast a spell that attracted all the blackmail in the school to her, had her concentration shattered once more by Discord. This time, however, he appeared to be riding on top of what appeared to be a swarm of memory sticks, giggling like a maniac, waving his cane about as if it was a cutlass. The reactions to his performance were varied, to say the least. Sunset just had some added strain to carrying extra weight, Luna couldn't help but laugh at his antics, and Celestia put her head in her hands, sighing in part disappointment, part confusion.

"I must say, Sunny, I do believe we make an excellent team. I do look forward to completely and utterly abusing your powers in my drama lessons." When Sunset gave him a flat look, he got the point, and hopped off of his magical surfboard. "Don't worry. I won't force you to do anything. Paying you on the other hand..." He gave another devilish grin, one that earned him a light slap on the back of the head from Celestia.

Now that the added weight was off of her magic, Sunset could manipulate the objects she was levitating, and she moved them all into one large ball, the black items swirling and grinding against each other.

"So, Sunset. What are you going to do with all of this?"

"Well, first off, This is for you." She reached forward, plucking out a singular memory stick from the shifting mass, and pushing it towards Celestia. "I tended to stay out of illegal stuff, but some stuff in there are definitely against the law. I should go to Shining with this, but you're here now, and can give it to him if you think you can't handle it. I'll be honest, most of it is just stuff like X is cheating on Y with Z, but they're pretty easy to spot. I marked the really bad stuff at the bottom. Oh, and the password is Philomena. P-H-I-L-O-M-E-N-A."

"You should just destroy this. It could be used to incriminate you too." Celestia looked at the device now in her hand with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, but I need to pay for my mistakes, right? Besides, some stuff on there is seriously bad. I rather it actually be used to lock some people up for their crimes, rather than let them run free. As for the rest of it... hang on, meet me on the roof. I can't do it in here." She and the sphere of memory sticks vanished in another red flash, reappearing on the roof. Sunset waited for a minute until the other three people joined her. "Ready?"

"Ready."

Sunset closed her eyes, and then opened them again, replacing the red tinted eyes, with slightly orange pools of energy. Her wings and horn glowed even brighter, and she stuck out her hands, the black mass in front of her being surrounded by yet another red glow. It intensified, almost obscuring the ball, before seemingly melting onto its surface. It grew bright once more, matching the brightness of Sunset's eyes. Slowly, it appeared to melt away, taking the memory sticks away with them in a white hot flame. It didn't stop there however. Once the technology had been reduced to what looked like a miniture sun, Sunset started to shake, perhaps with power, perhaps with stress. The molten glob started to disintegrate, slowing fading away into nothing, dissapating into thin air, and, before long, it had completely disappeared, the only clue of it ever having been there was the man clapping with giddy joy and the two women standing in awe.

"That was amazing! I must say, Sunset, if this wasn't something you had to hide, you could make a fortune off of this!" Discord practically squealed, laughing like a boy riding his first bike.

"What..." Luna trailed off, completely unable to put her question into words.

"Vanished out of existance. Actually much easier here than it was in Equestria. Or at least, how it used to be. Maybe I've gotten stronger. I dunno." Sunset floated down, tapping her gem once more, trapping all magic back in the jewel. "Regardless, they won't be coming back."

"So that's it? They just got vapourised, nothing more needs to be done?" Celestia was slowly coming to her senses, and had regained the brain power to form words.

"Nope. That's all. Anyway, I should be off. Twilight's probably freaking out over being teleported. See you in a few days, Principal Celestia." Without any extra flair, Sunset calmly walked down the stairs, as if nothing out of the ordinary happened, leaving to stunned school teachers and a giggling man, whispering to an object in his hand.

"Now, little black box, what can I do with you?"





"So if I was transfered approximately eight hundred and seventy two meters at a probable speed of-"

"Twilight! You know you won't be able to work out magic now! Come out!" Sunset stood before a shed door, located in the snow covered back yard of her adoptive family's house.

"-which means that the energy was-"

"For Celestia's sake... That's it, I'm coming in!" She sharply twisted the handle, and pushed against the door, causing it to swing open. Sunset stumbled inside, taking in her surroundings, consisting of a fair amount of machines, most with some sort of flashing lights, screens or buttons. Twilight was hunched over a keyboard in the corner, face only a few inches from a screen. "And you were wondering about why your eyes were bad..."

"Mhm."

"Twi..."

"Mmphm."

"Twilight."

"Mmm?"

"Twilight!"

"Uhmmhm."

"For the love of..." Sunset stomped up to the other girl, and shook her shoulders. "Twilight! Sparkle! Stop trying to research magic and, for all that's holy, stop typing!"

"Wha? Oh, hi Sunset. What's up?" Twilight jerked up, snapping her head to attention.

"Other than the fact that when I left Equestria, the mechanics behind teleportations weren't fully figured out yet, you." She walked over to the computer, where characters were still appearing on the monitor. "I recognise almost none of this from my own studies, so it is highly doubtful this would actually get you anywhere. Besides, I'm hungry, there's food currently being cooked, and I don't care how 'not hungry' you are, you still need to eat to do this even more magical thing called 'surviving'."

"Well let me just-"

"Nuh-uh. Not happening. Look, you said it yourself a day or so ago, you need to focus more on your own problems, not something that'll take you years to figure out." Sunset practically dragged her adoptive sister out of the shed, before her captive stopped protesting.

"Fine fine, I guess you're right. Plus, I am actually a bit hungry, I could do with some food." Twilight paused to lock the shed, before joining Sunset in the house.

"There we go. See, you're smart, you just need to prioritise what you need to apply that ridiculously high brain power to." They made their way to the dining room, where Twilight Velvet awaited them. 

"Ah, there you are. You took your time with your friends. How'd it go?"

"I think they're a bit... shellshocked after a brief show of magic, and I've made a... what's a good word for it?" Sunset twirled her hand around in a exaggerrated show of thought. "An interesting acquaintance."

"Oh? Who might that be?" Velvet laid some plates of food down, and the girls eagerly dug into their meals, Sunset pausing to give a response.

"You remember Paper Gavel? The lawyer? Turns out he's actually called Discord."

"Not news to me, I'll admit, but I sense there's something else."

"Yeah, well, you see, in Equestria, Discord was the spirit of chaos, the literal avatar of disorder." The ex-unicorn told the story of Discord, how he ruled Equestria spreading disharmony. "Supposedly, he's recently been reformed, the same as most of Equestria's villians. I'll quadruple check with Princess Twilight later."

"Don't trust her? I mean, this world's Discord wasn't the best person, but he's not a criminal, as far as I know..."

"Everything here's downsized."

"What,wdsawa like magic barely existing?" Twilight asked.

"No, like immortal princesses being school principals, or what is considered adults by pony standards becoming teenagers here. For example." Sunset dove back into her meal, before Velvet asked another question.

"What is that necklace, Sunset? It looks absolutely stunning, but it shines rather unnaturally." 

Sunset held it in hand, inspecting it. "Something I took from Equestria. I had thought it crushed by my collapsed shelter, but it managed to survive. It helps my contain my magic, since it only seems to go away. Used to be used when I couldn't hold onto my magic, and I released it uncontrollably. Quite bad when I specialised in pyromancy. I miss that though. Blueblood's face when I set up." She drifted off into some long lost memory.

"Riiiight. Anywayyy..." Velvet nervously twiddled her thumbs, evidently thinking over the possiblity that her adopted daughter might be a pyromaniac. "What were you doing with Discord? Did something happen?"

"Other than discovering he knew a lot of things about me, including Equestria? He's Canterlot High's new drama teacher. Joy of joys..." Sunset could not be any for sarcastically enthusiastic.

"Wait, how did he know about the magical stuff?" Velvet was having a hard time keeping track fo the situation

"Apparantly, he's been the one covering for me legally. Got me papers, thought they aren't completely legit, and he covered me for blowing up half the school. Even though I didn't do that, now I think about it. A giant rainbow beam caused the huge crater. But that's a story for another time. And it's one that I've already told." Sunset finished her food, handing Velvet her plate.

"Sunset! Can you come here a second?" Night Light called from another room, concern tainting his voice. Getting up, the magical girl went to locate him in the living room, looking at a computer.

"What's up?" The man turned the laptop so Sunset could read the screen. It showed a MyStable page, one called 'Anon-a-mous'. "Very creative name, guys. Did you have to go to Google for that one?" She looked up at Night Light. "Mind if I have a look through this?"

"Go ahead. I need food anyway." He walked away, leaving Sunset alone with the computer, finding the first post. It was an update, saying this is the same account as Anon-a-miss, and the original account was deleted due to 'technical difficulties'. Instead of the red and gold theme the account was customised with last time, it appeared to be focused on mystery, with various symbols denoting the account as being anonymous. Regardless, the comments were filled with wild accusations that Sunset was still indeed guilty, including the real culprits announcing that she was still 'back to her old ways.' More posts were up, though there were now mostly harmless things, rather than the more borderline legal things that were being posted than before. Sunset took note of the fact, but didn't think it mattered. The point was still standing: Anon-a-miss, or rather Anon-a-mous now, was posting again, and everyone still believed it was Sunset Shimmer, the equestrian fugitive that currently was attening Canterlot High School.

'Still, all things considered, this could be so much worse. In fact, I'm lucky no one outside of CHS had come to 'investigate the magic'. That's me. Magical Lady Luck herself.' 

Suddenly, an idea struck Sunset, and she called out, "Dad! I'm going to have to go out again!"

Night Light stuck his head back through the doorway. "What for?"

"Just going to try and end this early. Doubt it'll work, but it's worth a shot." 

"Go ahead. The less I have to hear of this mess, the less I have to worry about. But before you go, why don't you talk to Shining about this?"

"They haven't done anything that illegal yet. If it ends up getting that bad, trust me, I'll go straight to him." Once more, Sunset's face lit up with another idea. "And I think I know how to get there..."





"And this is legal because..." Night Light stood in front of an all black motorcycle, recently magicked into existance, while Sunset sat on it, putting on a purple helmet.

"Because when I sold my old bike as parts for food for over the holidays, I never took away its registeration. Thank for that, Discord. And besides, isn't she a beauty? Laverda Jota, fastest bike of its type from 1976 to '81. And no, I'm not taking it to school, I won't force Twi to ride it, etcetra. Thanks for the permission, and goodbye, see you later, farewell, so long, 'til next time." Without any further delay, Sunset revved the engine, and zoomed off, leaving Night Light standing in the driveway, struggling for words.

In contrast, Sunset was having the time of her life. She only had the bike for a few weeks, and never had the chance to show it off. She found it in a scrap yard, and managed to get it registered, at the time, she had no idea. Now she had it back, and was already making plans for it.

'Maybe I'll do it up with a paint job. Hey, if I get a mask, I could be a superhero!' Sunset almost immediately mentally kicked herself, remembering her earlier advice. 'Priorities, Sunset, priorities!'

Soon enough, the motorcyclist found herself trundling down a farm road, orchards rolling by, and before long, Sunset came across a sign. She flipped up her visor to read it. "'Sweet Apple Acres'. Huh. Wonder if I'll have to deal with a shotgun or not. Okay, no stereotypes, they're going to be angry enough as it is." She took off her helmet, letting her red and gold locks flow freely once more, but also revealing her face once more.

"AND WHY DO WE HAFTA LET 'ER IN?!" A shout came from the house, followed by very faint mumbling. "AH DON'T CARE! SHE'S STILL THE ONE WHO-" More incoherant words. "FINE! BUT AH AIN'T SPEAKIN' TO 'ER!" Louder obscured words were heard, before an old woman exited the household, and approached Sunset.

"Sorry about that young'un, Applejack has been mighty stubborn of late, with all this 'ere internet business."

"That's fine, Missus Smith. Fully expected that. I know where Apple Bloom stands, but is there any chance MacIntosh doesn't completely hate my literal guts?" Sunset dismounted the bike, secretly crossing her fingers.

"Now, he says he's just 'neutral' 'bout the whole thing, but Ah think he's thinkin' yer as clean as polish'd glass." Granny Smith started to walk back to the house, where Big Mac was watching with a warm smile, which Sunset returned.

"I'll add him to the list." Sunset pulled out a notepad, where several names were written down, and scribbled 'BIG MAC' at the bottom.

"List?"

"Of everyone who doesn't depise me, not including any adults, since anyone of age seems to actually act their age too. Unsuprisingly, it's quite short. I think Mac's number twelve." Sunset hastily stuffed away the paper in a pocket, following Granny Smith to the door of the farm house.

"So what are ya'll comin' down 'ere for anyways? With all the spitting cats flyin' around, Ah woulda thought ya'll would be hidin' out somewhere."

"I'm done running. I need to speak with Apple Bloom, if she hasn't set up anti-Sunset traps."

"HA! Ah wouldn't be suprised! She 'n' one of them friends of hers are in their lil' treehouse in th' orchard, thatta way." She pointed to the left, where a small structure built around a tree stood.

"Great, thanks. Don't be suprised if you hear screams." Sunset walked towards the building, all the while secretly fretting over what might happen. Footsteps sounded behind her, and Sunset whirled around, hand on her gem.

"Calm, Sunset. Ah'm here to make sure things don't get outta hand, 'cos trust me, you don't want ta know what Bloom builds in there." Big Mac was following Sunset, smile still on his lips.

"Thanks for, y'know, not wanting me to drop down dead."

"Yer welcome. Frankly, Ah think AJ's just been stupid, clingin' on to the past. Ah don't know what Bloom's problem is, might jus' be her bein' immature." He gestured to the small door they were now in front of. "Yer want me to tell 'em or..."

"I'll do it." Taking a deep breath, Sunset readied herself, and called into the treehouse. "Hey, are you guys okay to talk to me, or are you going to...?" She left the sentence unfinished, truly unsure what they might want to do.

"Get in." A young voice answered, with fake bravery. Sunset did so, crouching to fit in the small entrance. Once inside, she found Apple Bloom, standing up in an false so of defiance, while Sweetie Belle cowered in the corner, trying to stop herself from shaking. "We just want ta know one thing. What happened ta Scoots?"

"That's not for me to say. Ask her yourself." Sunset said as calmly as she could. In truth, she was rather unnerved by how the two younger girls were behaving.

"Tha's the thing. She won' answer our calls, and she never told us where she lived. Fer all we know, she could be homeless." Apple Bloom remained motionless, but she was still clearly uncomfortable with Sunset's presence.

"Well, I can tell you that Scootaloo is not homeless. But seriously girls, she'll tell you when she's ready. I don't know what she's been doing, I don't know why she's not talking to you." Sunset feigned ignorance, despite believing that it was doubtful that the girls would belive her.

"Right. Did ya'll do something?" Without any warning, Apple Bloom rushed forward, grabbing the gem around Sunset's neck. "Did ya?!"

"Wait! Don't-" A bright flash engulfed the room, and once again, Sunset appeared with pony ears, etheral horn, flaming wings, and so on. "-touch the jewel." Sunset sighed, waiting for a reaction.

"D-D-D-DEMON!"

And before she knew it, Sunset was left alone in the room, face in her hands. "Well that went as well as could be expected."

Big Mac stuck his head back in, seemingly unfazed by the new appearance of magic. "Ah guess she ain't gonna be trusting you any time soon."

"Unlikely. Can't say I tried." Sunset shrugged - she knew that going after Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom would prove fruitless. No doubt that those two would be spreading rumours that Sunset had become a demon once more. "The list of people who know I have magic is far longer than the people who trust me. Ah well, it was worth a shot."

"What did ya'll even want ta talk to 'em about anyway?" 

Sunset opened her mouth to answer, but quickly clamped it shut. She had wanted to talk to them about stopping Anon-a-miss/mous, but now any attempts at that would most likely be futile. It was a certainty that their over active imaginations were already creating various false claims. While trapping her magic back away inside the gem, Sunset had an idea. "How much can I trust you not to say a word of this to anyone?"

"Ya'll are a troubled soul, Sunset. If yer need to vent something, Ah'll keep it to mahself."

"Thanks." Sunset crawled out of the structure, and motioned to the barn. "Rather do this somewhere that I know no one would listen."

They made their way there in silence, trudging over the thin layer of snow that was melting. Once there, Sunset slumped into some nearby hay, while Mac simply stood nearby,  waiting. "Look I-" She trailed off, unsure where to start. "Before I say this next bit - I don't want any sympathy. I got over it. Anyway. I got hurt. I'm not going to say how, but it was of my own doing. And I almost died because of it.

"Only reason I survived is because Scootaloo found me - lying in the snow, pool of blood forming around me - and took me to hospital. She couldn't take it. Found out her mother has trust issues, her brother has - or rather did have - schizophrenia. Hasn't seen her father for ages. Brother has a different father. Leg was crippled by an accident, possibly my fault, probably not. She had some sort of falling out with the other crusaders, or whatever they're calling themselves now. I'm not going to say what happened - not my right to, but she came to me.

"The problem is, I just not sure where to go from here. Let's list off my problems: Anon-a-miss, Anon-a-mous, my new family, this new magic, friends abandoning me, new friends who are somehow even more diverse than my old ones, the entire school hating my guts, some people who might be friends having really big problems, I got adopted, I'm no longer homeless, I'm with a new family I hardly know, I have to deal with a police officer as a brother, a over enthusastic scientist as a sister, said sister also happens to be the inter dimensional counterpart to a purple pony princess, I had a fight with a literal sun goddess, purple pony princess got kidnapped by the dazzlings, two dazzlings turned on the other dazzling because they were being forced into it, one good dazzling might be going to CHS-"

"Sunset."

"-I had to deal with the human counterpart to the spirit of chaos, who now also happens to be our drama teacher-"

"Sunset."

"-not to mention the gang that are supposedly out to kill me! And that isn't even-" A wail, Sunset couldn't contain her emotions anymore. "Look at me. A mess, that's what I am. A complete and utter mess. The bad overwhelms the good, but right now it feels like vice versa, and then vice versa again, and again, and again."

"Sunset. Take a breath. Get yerself under control. Ah know ya'll want to solve all of this, but ya can't do that in your current state." Big Mac placed a firm, but comforting hand on Sunset's shoulder.

"Right. Right. That's my problem right now. Control. It's funny, I've been so composed for the past couple of days, and now I'm breaking down." Sunset flashed Mac a fading grin. "Shouldn't be suprised, I guess. Never had this much going on at once."

"If ya ask me, ya'll need to take yer time, and move along. How ya'll are meant to that, on the other hand..."

"Exactly. I can make a motorcycle appear out of thin air, but I can't stop a school from descending into chaos. Always look on the bright side of life, I guess."

"If ya'll ever need to talk ta me again..."

"I've got your number, I'll call you. Got it, thanks." Sunset stood, all the while thanking Big Mac again, before setting off out of the barn and back to her bike. "I needed that. You aren't suprised by any of the stuff I said?"

"Ah'd be lyin' if Ah said Ah didn't have questions, but it ain't any of mah business at the moment."

"I answered what felt like several million questions of the Christmas holiday, a few more can't hurt. I'm currently with Lyra and Vinyl's group, don't be afraid to join us." She picked up her helmet, and put it back on her head. "See you later, Big Mac. Thanks again for letting me vent."





"Cady, please! I know it's snowing, but I'll be okay. I doubt there's going to be a car chase- What? No, it's- No... Don't worry so much, it'll be fine..." Sergeant Shining Armor was sitting in his patrol car, listening to his wife on the phone, when a female motorcyclist drove past, before stopping at some roadworks, presumably cursing. What struck the police officer, however, was the familiar red and gold hair escaping from the purple helmet. "Hang on, I've got to go... Thanks, love you too..."

Hanging up, the police officer rolled up next to the motorcyclist, who had paused, seemingly spotted the police car. He opened his window, but the girl spoke first.

"Good evening, Sergeant Shiny, what atrocious crime am I guilty of? This bike is perfectly legal, as much as it has been magically summoned into existance. Registered and everything. You can go look it up in that little database of yours if you need to." She flipped up her visor, revealing a pair of green eyes.

"I believe you, it depends if you're going to actually use this to do anything illegal. Still, that's a nice bike, Sunset."

"How could you accuse me of such a thing officer?!" The sarcastic offense was obvious, as evidenced by Shining's unamused expression.' "But it's nice to know my big brother can appreciate good machinery, such as this Jota."

"Where were you going anyway?"

"I was going to see if I can resolve this MyStable mess. Instead, I went and freaked the culprits of the account out, there's now renewed rumours of being being an actual demon, and I made a new friend. I think."

"And now..?"

"Home, unless I'm under arrest for whatever reason." Sunset flipped back down her visor, and prepared to continue her journey.

"Drive safely, Sunset. We don't get many road accidents in Canterlot, not much crime in fact, but I'd rather not have to make a report about someone I know." He closed his window again, nodding his farewells at Sunset, who responded in kind, before driving off. "I wonder how many times I'll run into her now, knowing my luck."





"Ahh, it's nice to be home." Finding space in the garage, Sunset wheeled her bike in, leaning it against the wall and placing her helmet on top of it. She stretched her arms out, yawning at the same time. 'I'll take an early night.' She walked up to the door, unlocking it, before entering and locking it behind her, relishing the use of her hands. She had taken the magical recovery in stride. She was sure if it was some sort of scientific miracle, she would have been much more concerned. She passed Velvet, commenting, "'Evening. I'm taking an early night. G'night." and made her way upstairs to her room, collapsing almost instantly, preparing to drift off into sleep before a quiet buzzing interrupted her attempt at rest.

Leaning over the bed, Sunset grabbed her journal from the nightstand next to her bed, sighing, then opening it to the latest page. It read:



Hello Sunset,
Other than the usual social greetings, that say "I hope you're doing well", I have news for you.

We did some research into the prophecy, and something turned up.
It was originally made by a pony called Foínix Róst. As we said when you were in Equestria, he was the leading figure of phoenix research, and had some sort of special bond with them. He died a couple hundred years ago, and that prediction was the only one that he made. We're still trying to get Philomena to cooperate in this but she remains... annoying uncooperative.
There's more. He had a sister, called Hiru Hikari Shimā. We think. The trouble is, everything we've got on her seems to be in an ancient form of Neighponese, even Celestia's having a hard time translating it. The thing is, she made a prediction too, we think it might be related. Once we've got it all in a language we can all understand, I'll send it to you.

Anyway, from what we can work out from Róst's work, your powers are, simply put, all powerful. Instead of your life force being regenerated like a phoenix, it's your magical potential. It gets depleted, and after a tiny bit, it comes staight back after a tiny bit of rest. As a result, you may have some trouble keeping those wings and horn of yours under control. 

And it should be mentioned: you may be attracting equestrian magic from the portal. I got some strange readings the other day, and while it hasn't caused any trouble, it seemed to do something with the elements in the throne room. I suspect it's getting confused as it detected multiple element bearers. Shouldn't be anything more than that, I'll contact you otherwise.

Remember, if this business comes too much for you, don't be afraid to contact me for help.
Your friend, Twilight Sparkle.



Sunset smiled at the message, just another reassurance that her friends were helping her in anyway they could. She was about to try to go asleep again when another message started to appear on the page.



Sunset, we did some more research on Shimā, and, well, I'll let you take this in whatever way you please.
Shimā was a campainer for legal use of dark magic. But not for any evil reasons. She managed to get an unique permit to research positive uses of dark magic, and she did well in that aspect. Supposedly found ways to heal using dark magic, ways to tame the side effects of dark magic: mostly the malicious ones. Her most important discovery was how to combat other forms of magic - including dark magic and chaos magic - using dark magic. It was ground breaking.

The worrying part is that Shimā and Róst supposedly collaborated on research in both dark and phoenix magic. If that prediction was based off of something with dark magic, well...

To round off Shimā's story, she died in a fire, taking almost all of her research with her. Witnesses reported they say a phoenix start a fire. When Róst died, they found traces of dark magic. Take that however you will.

-Twilight



Slight disturbed by the new pieces of information, Sunset once again closed her eyes, finally getting to sleep, fifteen minutes after she had meant to.





"So. Hello again." Sunset, in her new equestrian form, sat in a cozy study, across from a dark alicorn, Princess Luna.

"Greetings. I hope you are well?" Luna took a sip from the mug of coffee in front of her.

"As well as I can be. We haven't spoken since Celestia and I fought."

"You had a fight?" Luna looked mildly shocked - apparantly she hadn't been told of what happened.

"Yes. I wasn't that big. I shoot, she blocks, the opposite then happens, we both fire beams, they deflect each other, occasionally there's a teleport and a physical charge..." Sunset was making motions with her hooves, as if she was trying to mime it out, before Luna stopped her.

"Wait. You had a physical fight? I had believed you meant an argument, a disagreement." The alicorn's expression turned even more shocked, but soon returned to be more neutral, similar to Celestia's typically stoic face.

"I preferred the physical fight. It was much more easily resolved, so I cannot complain. She seemed really riled up when she first got here though. Any ideas why?" Sunset remembered how Celestia was shouting in the sreet, with complete disregard for other people. A simple spell had solved any problems, but that in turn had caused even more problems.

"Ah that, that might've been my fault. I had been aware of your situation, as I told you before, and I attemted to tell Celestia of the situation. I know not why, but my sister was being rather...ignorant. There are less stars in the sky, than the amount of times Celestia tried to guess what I was trying to say. She has already apologised for cutting me off many times, but she still seemed slight frustrated by it. I only managed to tell her via Princess Twilight's letter about your plight. I think we are all ashamed to say, your situation could've been started to have been combated much earlier. My apologies for that."

"Well, the situation is stable, at the very least. If it'll stay that way is another matter." Sunset offered her assurances that it was not Luna's fault, which she accepted. "Besides, this mess has been caused by humans, and therefore it needs to be resolved by humans. Even if I have to get my hands dirty."

"Hmm. I have also got news on your new powers. As I'm sure you're aware, both Twilight and Celestia have been researching to origin of them. This old form of Neighponese, I recognise a good portion of it. It's still locked in my memory, but I'm having a hard time remembering some of it. I can give you the translation of the prediction within a month or two. Not the quickest time, but it's significantly shorter that what it would be."

"Thanks for that. If this new magic is somehow linked to dark magic, I'd much rather know sooner than later."

"Yes, about that. I managed to translate a portion of it already, and it read: '-In unison with my brother's chosen one, there shall be another, a polar opposite, yin and yang, one who falls for the first time, and then rises for the first time. They shall be possessive of-' And that is all I have. If you make anything of it, I shall be surprised. However, we have reason to believe that you have phoenix magic, and this other one will have dark magic. You are the pure one, and the other might be purified. It is merely a speculation."

"Well, I'll keep it in mind for when I find my opposite. Not top on my list of priorities, though." Sunset scratched the back of her head with a hoof.

"Right. I'm not going to pretend I understand any of the humans' culture, but I don't think you'll be able to get through it alone. I know that advice would be obvious, but I somehow sense that you are not going to be the one to uncover all of this." Luna, offered a small smile of comfort throughout. "Good luck in your quest, it seems my power here is fading. I still do not have a proper connection to the human world."

"I'll remember the advice, I'm going to need as much of it as possible in the next week." The world started to crumble, black voids filling in the gaps. Luna did the same, her form dissapating into nothing. Before she went, she gave a warm smile, one that reminded Sunset of Big Mac. "Lucky I've already got a lot."

The dream collapse, sending Sunset into an empty void, letting her sleep in perfect peace.
> 17 - Return
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, you excited Twilight?"

It was the first day back at school. Twilight had transferred to Canterlot High, and left Crystal Prep far behind in her memory. The day before had held an interesting conversation, and proven that not all school principals were as manipulative and Cinch was, and Twilight had concluded she would be quite happy at CHS. This conclusion was slightly confused, as Celestia had called them and asked them to come to school an hour later than usual. This meant that Sunset would have to show Twilight around the school during her chemistry lesson, which was good, but also meant that her first lesson would be drama, with Discord. Which could either be good, or very, very bad.

"No. Nervous would be more like it." Twilight replied.

"Eh, it'll be fine. As long as I don't walk in hugging you and singing songs about how close I am with you, you should be able to avoid being stoned to death by an angry mob." Sunset shrugged, not commiting to the action as much as she should've. "Seriously Twi, you'll be fine. I know for a fact Luna probably put us in classes together. She mentioned she was making changes to the classes to 'accomodate' us, which is basically the professional way of saying she's not putting us in with the bullies or any of the so called 'tough people'."

"I know, I know, it's just, I can't help but feel worried." Twilight idly fiddled with her hands.

"About what though?"

"That's the thing! I just don't know!"

"It's just something new Twilight. You shouldn't worry too much over all this. You'll get used to it soon enough." Sunset comforted her sister. "Besides, the only annoying thing that'll happen to you is people confusing you with Princess Twilight, or perhaps them avoiding you because you're not the princess. Oh Celestia, I just realized, I'm not looking forward to Flash Sentry meeting you." She didn't even want to imagine the awkwardness that would happen.

"Why?"

"Flash has a crush on the other Twilight, though I must be honest, that might be part of his mental... difficulties. Not my business to share, he'll tell you about it if he wants to." Sunset noted she was saying that a lot recently, maybe she was starting to learn more and more secrets.

"Okay, that seems..." Twilight tried to sound respectful, but was unable to find the right words, so she abandoned the sentence. "Why are you wearing the jacket again anyway?"

"I want to make a statement. Look at it: it contains my entire human life. The jacket itself was literally my first possession, the scratches are mostly from various fights, the tears in the back are from when I was a demon, the scorch marks from my defeat by a huge rainbow laser, the faded stains are from gaining my friends, and now my very own blood is on this jacket." She stroked the faux leather fondly, as if it was some long lost friend.

"But what about the bandages? I thought they could come off." Twilight pointed to white wraps covering her palms and forearms.

"I'm... still feeling a bit self conscious of my scars. It's not that they're there, more just how many there are. I can't die from cutting my palms and the back of my hands, except from blood loss, and I knew that at the time, so I was being really stupid, and that just lingers in the back of head." Sunset also had another reason - she found herself unable to get past the mental block that prevented her from writing. She could still write earth pony style, with her mouth, but it was far from convinient, not to mention weird.

"I suppose that makes sense, but you can't hide them forever."

"I have enough problems, I'm going to take them one at a time."

"GIRLS!" Velvet called from down stairs, "Time to go!"

"Coming!" They called back in unison, before exiting the room to go to school.





Sunset and Twilight climbed out of their mother's car, saying their goodbyes, and approached the front entrance of CHS. The car park was already filled with the teachers and  students' vehicles, but it appeared to be deserted apart from one blue girl, absently fiddling with some non existant neck piece with a solemn expression on her face, which switched to a welcoming smile when she saw the two other girls approaching.

"Hey, Sunny!" She waved them over, "And you're Twilight! Nice to meet you! I'm Sonata, you might've heard how I might've mind controlled the entire school just a teensy little bit. Okay, a lot. But bygones be bygones, right?"

"Sonata, what are you doing out here?" Sunset asked, noticing the sad expression momentarily reappearing.

"I... I'm skipping music. It just makes me depressed. I want to sing, but I just can't any more. I don't care about losing my powers, it's just the fact that I can't sing any more. Simply put, I'm just... urrrrgh!" Sonata stoked the part of her neck where her red heart would've rested.

"Hmmm, you know, I might be able to help you with that." Sunset offered a small smile to the ex-siren. "But that's for later. We've got stuff to do in the mean time. Tell you what, if you prove you're genuinely trying to get a good education and a good life, and I'll see what I can do about it, I'll try my best."

"Really?!" Sonata practically squealed with hope.

"Really. Now come on, we've got a chaos god to get taught by. Well, I have, I don't know about you." Sunset almost winced at the thought of Discord. She had no idea how he would act.

"Waitwaitwaitwait. Wait." The siren waved her hands about, "That Discord is the same one as the..."

"Well, his counterpart anyway. Though from the way he acts, I'm not so sure." Sunset shrugged, before starting to make her way to the entrance. "Though we really should get moving. It's almost time for drama, I'll show you around later, Twi. We have to be in drama class."

They made their way through the empty corridors, arriving to the drama room early, before any of the other classes had been let out. Almost instantly, a man poked his head out of the door. "Come on in girls. You're early, but that's no reason to wait out there."

Discord went back in, but left the door open, and the three girls cautiously entered, not entirely trusting the man quite yet. Sonata whispered to Sunset, "I remember talking to Discord during his reign, we got along well, but... he was more the 'me and only me' type. I get that he is different here, but in Equestria, we would rather ally ourselves with the ponies rather than Discord."

"Did you know he's been reformed since? He supposedly broke free, was imprisoned by the elements again, before being let free and made friends with the element of kindness. I honestly doubt he'll hold a grudge, or so I've heard. And if he does, I know Fluttershy would be mad."

"It's not like I can go back to Equestria anyway. Our hearts, while not vital to survival here, was actually an organ in our hippocampi forms. We'd die in an instant if we crossed over to Equestria." Sonata sighed sadly, once again touching her neck.

"I feel like I've said this advice so many times before, but take it one step at a time. At the moment, the current step is..." Sunset flailed an arm at human Discord, "that. Whatever it is."

"Hey, as you're here early, can you help me work out how to operate the curtain and lights? They've literally told me nothing about using the equipment. For good reason, I may have blown up Celestia's stove at one point, sooo..." Discord called the girls over.

"Twi, can you handle the lights? Should be full of technology to work out. Come on Sonata, lets see if we can move some curtains." They set to work, temporarily forgetting their troubles for the time being.

The two equestrians easily figured out the curtain, and had set about helping Twilight and Discord work out the lights when more students came, and some of Sunset's fears returned. Luckily, a quick survey of the new students relaxed her worries, proving to be the same group as the one Sunset had met at the coffee shop a few days earlier, excluding Dinky.

"Yay, we're all back together! Happy happenstance!" Discord jumped merrily, clapping his hands together in joy. "Right! Register time!" He practically leaped over to his laptop, giggling all the while. "Rainbow Dash." Silence. "Rainbow Dash? Off to a great start, absent..." Before he could continue, a blue haired boy poked his head in, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"Sorry I'm late, sir."

"Don't worry about it, I just started early. Nothing to worry about. Anyway, Ditzy Doo?"

"Here sir."

"Sonata Dusk?"

"Here!" 

A series of whispers went around, leading Sunset to announce, "She's cool guys, don't worry. I'll explain later."

"Thank God I didn't have to clean up that mess..." Discord mumbled under his breath. "Sweetie Drops?"

"Present, but call me Bon Bon."

"Okie! Lyra Heartstrings?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Erm, Octavia Melody?"

"Present, sir."

"Vinyl Scratch?"

Two thumps on the ground, and a thumps up.

"Just so you know, Vinyl, I know sign language. Flash Sentry?"

"Yes, sir."

"Discord? What are you doing here?" A yellow skinned girl with pink hair entered the room, a rainbow haired girl in tow.

"Fluttershy? Didn't realise you were at CHS, let alone in my class! How wonderful! I haven't seen you since... well, then!" His face lit up in recognition, and smiled happily.

"'Then'?" Lyra asked.

"Me and Fluttershy go a while back. She helped me out while I was in a bit of an... oppressive mood, collectively known as 'then'." Discord made an exaggerated action with his hands, gesturing away from himself. "Let's stay on track. I assume you are Rainbow Dash? I'll let you both off for being late -"

"We're on time!"

"- but next time..." He jokingly tutted, before turning his attention back to the register. "Fluttershy, yes... Sunset Shimmer, yes... and Twilight Sparkle, yes! We're all here now, all eleven of us. Why this class is so small, I don't know, though judging by this email I just recieved from a Ms. Khonsu, I suspect it has something to do with your vice principal."

"Of course." Sunset mumbled, rolling her eyes at the same time.

The rest of the lesson passed with out any more personal drama, instead focusing on educational drama. Discord was kind enough to end the lesson ten minutes early, allowing Sunset to catch up with the group, confirming 'who's good and who's bad'. It hardly did anything to improve Sunset's mood, but made it easier to deal with her current situation, something that did relieve at least some of the pressure.

All of that, however, vanished the moment she got out of class and into break. In the presence of Twilight, everyone stopped themselves from any obvious physical actions, and even the name calling died down a fair bit, but the looks Sunset was getting was enough to make her shake. She fidgeted with her bandages, going so far to lightly stroke the blood stains, feeling the unusual texture on the faux leather. 

Sonata, who was following Sunset, leaned in, whsipering, "Kinda amazed no one recognizes me."

"They're too busy hating me. If anything, it'll help them get used to you." Sunset shrugged, still nervously glancing around.

"Pssst! Sunset! Over here!" A young voice called Sunset over, seemingly from a rarely used fire exit.

Sunset turned to Sonata and Twilight, "Go find the rest of the girls or something. I'll deal with this." She walked over to the doorway, narrowly avoiding a paper plane on the way.

Once she was in the stairwell, Sunset found herself confronted by three young girls - the Canterlot Mystery Club, or the CMC for short. Scootaloo had a concerned and slightly hopeful look, while Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom stared at the floor, finding it very interesting, purely out of guilt.

"Hello Scootaloo, I hope you're well." Her tone turned harsh in an instant, turning her gaze on the other girls. "You two, you'd better have a good explanation. I'll give you a chance to explain yourselves, but I'm already on an extremely short fuse. I don't even want to think about what will happen in the future."

"I told them about what happened. All of it." Scootaloo started, "They also didn't create that new account."

"We... never wanted it to go this far. We were almost drunk on the influence we had, and just kept on going. We had intended to delete the account by Christmas, but then..." Sweetie Belle trailed off, almost as if she was going to cry.

"Yeah, it all got outta hand. We knew yer weren't a demon or anythin' when ya'll came to speak to us, but jus' the shock of it..." Apple Bloom did the exact same thing as her friend.

Sighing, Sunset worked up a response. "Scootaloo, you quite literally saved my life, so I'm going to exclude you from this. Plus, as far as I can work out, you don't deserve this anyway. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, I'd be lying if I said I wanted to forgive you here and now. But I suppose I should give you a chance, like everyone else did for me. But I'm not willing to blast you with a huge laser and put you into a crater, so you're going to have to do a number of things for me." Her expression was cold, but unreadable. "One: do you have any idea who this 'Anon-a-mous' is?" Everyone shook their head. "Right. I believe you. Secondly, you're going to own up to what you did, and face any consequences you may be given."

"But, but, but they'll kill us!" Apple Bloom protested.

"Look, you have up until the easter break. If you don't do it by then, I'll report you myself, and I won't defend you at all. I've made sure I've kept it secret from everyone, but that won't happen if you can't take responsibility. I really shouldn't be give you this chance - I hypnotized a bunch of students, you made me try to commit suicide. That's the harsh reality of it, and yet, here I am, not trying to beat your faces in, or magicking you into nothing. Come talk to me, try to work something out, we'll see. But first, I'm going to try and sort out this mess out." Sunset furrowed her brow, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Aaaand now I've got to talk to Luna about this. And I don't have any clue who this account might be. Celestia, take me now!"

"Uhhh..."

"Sorry girls. Try and talk to me again in a few days, maybe next week, I really have been running low on patience." Sunset walked out back into the hallway, not letting the girls respond in any way. 'Okay, step one: find a quiet place; step two: scream. Simple.'





"Who d'you think was calling Sunset?" Rainbow Dash was sat at a table with Fluttershy, Derpy and Dinky, all of them attempting to block out the arguments happening around them. "I hear Gilda's gang, the griffons, are looking for her blood. Doubt she'll be dumb enough to fall for one of her traps."

"As if Sunset couldn't just melt them!" Derpy chuckled at what Dash had said, as if it was completely ridiculous.

"What?" Fluttershy put on a confused expression, not fully understanding what the other girl meant.

"Oh you don't know?!" Dinky spoke up, voice going even higher in disbelief. "She does this really cool thing where-"

Derpy slapped a grey hand over her sister's mouth, earning her a glare from the smaller girl. "Sunset will tell you soon enough. Long story short though: magic."

"Rrrright." Rainbow Dash shook her head, already slightly sick of magic. "I wonder if this new account is run by the same people?" She feigned ignorance, knowing who was behind the first account.

"They aren't." Sunset took a seat next to her. "Just had a talk with them. Worked out a deal. They have no idea who's behind 'Anon-a-mous'. Which I maintain as being the most ridiculous name ever."

The bell rang before she could get another word in, signaling that it was time to go the class. Standing up, they all departed their different ways, Sunset and Rainbow Dash moving together to their english class. The teacher, Mrs Harshwhinny, brought the class in the moment they got there, sparing Sunset from any torment. A quick survey of the class lessened some of Sunset's worries - Lyra and Bon Bon were still in the class, but so was Trixie. Everyone else was the typical Canterlot High student, shooting glares at Sunset the moment they saw her. Sunset took a seat at the very back corner of the class, so she could at least see any on coming projectiles. Rainbow Dash sat to her left, and Bon Bon and Lyra were in front of her. Looking for Twilight, who was also meant to be in the same class, Sunset found she was absent, presumably called somewhere else for whatever reason, shrugging off the issue.

The lesson started, being fairly mediocre throughout, students afraid to misbehave in this particular teacher's classroom. So far, no one was required to write anything, a relief for Sunset. Halfway through the english lesson, however, someone threw something through the air. Sunset only noticed it when it exploded in a great puff of smoke, and a dramatic and triumphant 'HAH!' was called from across the room, while Sunset's desk and Sunset disappeared in the smog.

"TRIXIE! Outside!" Harshwhinny shouted from somewhere at the front of the room. The smoke started to clear, and Sunset found everyone was staring at her.

Confused, she asked, "What?" before Harshwhinny came over, whispering in her ear.

"Your left arm is on fire." 

Looking, Sunset saw that the bandages on her left arm were indeed flicking out licks of orange. "Oh, Tartaraus." She cursed, before Rainbow Dash, ever the quick thinker, sprayed the flames with a fire extinguisher. Once the fire was out, Sunset noticed her bandages were slipping, revealing her scars, and she cursed again.

Unraveling the loosened bandages, Sunset started to reapply them, hoping no one would notice the many red marks littering her hands and forearms. The scars were still there, but they had healed up as much as they could, meaning Sunset could still wear the now charred bandages without risk of infection. She didn't even wince when she wrapped a still glowing part of the fabric around her palm, before Dash sprayed that as well.

That reminded Sunset of how everyone was indeed staring at her scars, even Mrs Harshwhinny. She didn't even have time to shink away from all the shocked stares before the PA system was turned on.

"C-can Sunset Sh-Shimmer please come to the Principal's office?"

"Saved once again." Sunset mumbled under her breath, but frowned at the announcement. The thing that worried her was how Celestia stuttered. Celestia didn't stutter when announcing anything, whether she was a pony or human. The only time Sunset had ever heard Celestia stutter was in disbelief, and even that was quite rare. She picked up her stuff and started to make her way to the place she had been summoned to, ignoring Trixie look of anger and disbelief, probably because Sunset acted like she hadn't felt a thing, which was true.

She approached the door which led to Principal Celestia's office, nervously opening it, finding the pale woman looking worriedly at a photograph.

"Principal?"

"Sunset. You should take a look at this." She passed the photograph over. Sunset looked for less than a second before her emotions ran high. "They say they'll be in the hall when lunch starts. Go look now."

Sunset stormed out of the room, breathing heavily out of anger. The photograph floated to the ground. Celestia looked at it, resting on the floor. She picked it up, looking at the picture of Twilight Sparkle, being held by Gilda's cronies. "What has happened to this school?" She asked to no one in particular, before sighing solemnly.
> 18 - Conflict
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset sat, magic activated in preperation. She looked over herself once more, attempting to distract herself from her rising anger. Her gem shone very dimly, as it had channelled all the magic in it into Sunset. Her horn almost seemed solid, yet still maintaining its form of pure light. Her wings twitch irritable, lick of flame occasionally leaping off of them. She had figured out why the armour kept on appearing on her at this stage, and knew how to control it, so she didn't appear like a knight anytime she used her magic. Regardless, she had it on now, as she wanted to prove a massive point, a point that might turn out to be painful. Sunset obviously couldn't see her eyes, but just by waving a hand in front of them, she could tell that they were glowing intensely, causing Sunset to ponder if they somehow pooled magical energy, before dismissing the thought as low priority.

The girl was currently sitting in the rafters just behind the stage curtains, where Celestia said they'd be. She fiddled with her almost astral like red and gold hair, as it shimmered in the darkness. The armour plates grinding against each other as Sunset swung her legs back and forth, her growing impatience fueling her now righteous fury. Her pony ears suddenly twitched, as voices were heard from below.

"Well?! Where is she?!"

"Why would she care about this knock off Sparkle, Gilda?!"

"You heard the demon! She called her her sister!"

Sunset didn't even bother to wait to listen to what else the voices below her had to say. She dived downwards, slamming into the floor, before rising back off of it, hovering above Gilda and her gang. "Why?" She whispered, before raising her voice, "Why?!" Orange tears streamed down her face as she waited for an answer. She didn't even notice the previously unconscious Twilight coming to, staring at her with wide eyes.

The powerful girl's anger couldn't be hidden for any longer, and she let out a powerful ear piercing shriek, something similar to that of a bird. Her animal instincts appeared to kick in, as she rose up higher, projecting a red bird like silhouette behind her, increasing her visual size tricefold. She screamed again, this time coming out with much more fury than before.

At last, her opponents restarted their logical part of their brains, and the vast majority of the gang fled in every possible direction. Infuriated, Gilda called out, "Get back here you cowards! You're seriously afraid of some... lights... and..." She trailed off, as Sunset moved to hover just infront of the dumber members' heads. She stuck out a hand, closing it into a fist, apparantly casting a spell which caused everyone but Twilight and Gilda to go unconscious.

Suddenly, Gilda saw sense in her cronies' actions, and made a mad dash for the stage curtains, with the knowledge that lunch had begun. Hopefully, Sunset wouldn't want to expose herself the the entire school, as they slowly shuffled in. However, Gilda did not factor in how blinded by rage Sunset was, and, as she raised a gauntleted fist, she charge after her, stunning several students at the certain approach.

Sunset let out an emotion filled roar, and grabbed Gilda shoulders, slamming her into the wooden floor. She moved her face to be an inch of her opponent's, and growled, "Before I smash your face in, tell me why you did this."

Spluttering, Gilda answered, mostly out of fear, "Li-Lightninh D-Dust got a-arrested, the c-cops got bl-blackmail th-that you pro-provided."

"So that's what it is? Trying to get revenge by any and all means? Pathetic." Sunset's face turned into a sneer, clearly displeased with the reasoning. "See, Gilda, this is a problem now. I am angry, and my soul is lost, drifting through a void. I'm trying to put it back in place, but people like you are preventing me from doing so. What I should do is pummel you until you can't think at all. What I am going to do, well..." She gave out an irritating sigh, which still somehow sounded aggressive.

"Sunset..." Twilight had managed to break out of her daze, and approached Sunset.

"One moment Twi." She started to breathe heavier, before releasing Gilda, who scrambled away, yet remained on the floor, still shocked. Sunset started to rise higher, her wings flapping erratically. She rose up further, and her armour disappeared, replaced by her usual purple and orange attire. Her leather jacket remained, but seemed to be more prominent. She bent her head back, closed her eyes, molten tear still flowing, and opened her mouth.

She screamed.

It was full of pain, full of anger, hating almost everyone around her but also hating herself. Emotion poured out of her mouth, as if it had been making Sunset ill. The sound pierced everything it met, metaphorically and literally. The entire school heard it, and every single living being felt it in their ears, whether it was a subtle buzz or a stab in the eardrums. Some of the closest students had to cover their ears, Gilda especially, as she was almost squirming under the sound.

Even as Sunset started to run out of breath, the scream never decreased in volume. It just got higher and higher pitched, until finally, Sunset's lungs felt empty. Instead of simply stopping, she disappeared in a flash of light, leaving a multitude of confused students in her wake.





"Hmmhm hmmm mmhmm mmm..."

As Celestia opened the door to the roof, a gentle humming reached her ears, and a perfectly normal looking girl sat, looking into the horizon. She glanced backwards when she saw the door opening, but soon continued to gaze at the landscape, still humming her song. 

"Thought I might find you up here." Celestia said as she approached, "Might I ask what the scream was about?"

"Well, apparantly, my magic increases the levels of my emotions, and therefore I needed to vent really badly." Sunset explained, before asking, "Believe it or not, Gilda wasn't after me for the MyStable pages, she was after me because Lightning Dust got arrested after the police recieved what looked like my old blackmail material. Know anything about that?"

"I haven't even started to look through it, as important as it is, I simply haven't the time. Maybe someone else had found it." Celestia offered.

"Doesn't matter. It's happened, and it's over now. We can find out later, if it becomes a problem. I doubt it will though."

"Right, the police have been called about it." She lowered her voice, starting to mumble, "Should've done that in the first place, now that I think about it."

Sunset stood, but still continue to stare at the sky. "My biggest problem at the moment is getting Anon-a-miss to come clean, and find out who Anon-a-mous is."

"So they're not the same people?"

"Nope. I assume the original culprits will come out soon enough, they're already filled with regret. The new account, well, I honestly have absolutely no clue. The worrying thing is, they're doing illegal stuff to get content. One of them was about some toy Caramel Joy has. Literally no one knew about it. And guess what she found when she woke up? A smashed window, specifically the one in her bedroom." She gave out a worried sigh, fiddling with her red and gold hair. "Things are starting to look up, and that's great, it's just the question of for how long. How long before it all comes tumbling down again? How long before someone else comes after me? You get the idea."

"Mmm. I suspect no one's going to try and mess with you now though, particularly after you pulled that stunt." Celestia subtly chided, "Now most of the school knows about your magic."

"Look, you can't blame me for being angry, alright?!"

"Right, right. Come down when you're ready, I'm not going to force you to go back to lessons after that." The older woman turned and walked away, going back down the stairs.

Sunset sat back down, leaning so she was on her back, and continue to admire her surroundings, letting any and all remaining anger escape from her soul. She was examining the colours of the sky, and the cold grey clouds occasionally gave way to a deep blue. The snow had melted, but the air felt no warmer than before, and the chilling wind bit into Sunset's skin. 

After another fifteen minutes, Sunset heard the door open again, and said, "Is there a problem, Celestia?"

"Um..." An unusually high pitched voice mumured behind her. Almost acting on instinct, Sunset turned, reaching for her necklace, before relaxing.

"Oh, it's you three." Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Applejack stood there, all of them seemingly slightly fearful about their own presence. "If you're asking for forgiveness, try again next week. But I have to know: why this sudden turn about? Be honest now. I heard what you had to say when I showed up at your farm, Applejack. And don't think I can do anything magical. That stunt depleted my reserves completely."

"Ta put it bluntly, we actually listened to other people. Mac had ta literally smack me outta a rant Ah was havin' 'bout all this. Finally got it into mah thick skull how far Ah'd gone."

Pinkie spoke next, looking through deflated hair. "Maud talked to me. Actually got angry. Realized I did bad. Not much more to it."

When she started her explanation, Rarity didn't even bother to act sophisticated. "Again, same thing, just with my new shop assistant, Coco. Drilled some sense into me."

"Look Sunset, from what we've heard, we don't expect you to forgive us anytime soon." Applejack once more became the focus of the conversation. "We don't expect ya'll to be friendly towards us either, but we just want ya'll to know we don't hold any ill will towards ya'll anymore."

"We doubt you'll come to us first, if at all, but just know we'll help you if you need it. We'll leave you in peace now." Rarity finished, before they all turned to leave, until Sunset stopped them.

"Before you go, I want you to know this: I still do believe I can trust you, but you're right, it might be a cold day in Tartaraus before we become close again. And for the sake of all of us, don't defend me too much in conversations. Celestia in both universes knows there's already enough strife." Sunset's words were void of emotion, as if she really didn't care at all. "Try to talk some sense into your younger sisters' for me. They don't hate me like the rest but..."

She left the sentence unfinished, then returned to humming, letting the others go without any interruptions. Sunset waited for another few minutes, taking in the air, before she too decided to return.





"Okay Gilda. Usually I'm more formal with my students, but in this case I'm going to make an exception. Mostly so I can say, WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING?!"

A very stressed, frustrated and mostly furious Luna sat up in her chair, yelling at the girl across from her. Gilda was shrunk down as small as possible, almost curled up into a ball. "You know what? Don't answer. I don't need to tell you you're going to be expelled, but what I do need to tell you is that you're most likely going to be arrested. You kidnapped someone, Gilda. I don't know how else to put this to you. You have a criminal record now. That's going to be with you for the rest of your life. This was all revenge for Lightning Dust, wasn't it? Now you're going to be in more trouble than her. The police have your address. Go to Celestia's office to wait. I'm sure she wants to have words too." 

Gilda stood, but start to fidget in place, until Luna gave her a harsh look, when she completely disappeared out the door. Luna pinched the bridge of her nose. She had already spoken to the rest of Gilda's gang, and informed them of their own punishments. All of them were also too scared to even mention the fact that Sunset had magic again, something which made the vice principal relax a light bit. Still, it was not enough to deal with the recent stress that came from handing out dozens of punishments as a result of the recent conflict.

Luna slumped back in her chair, sighing from mental exhaustions. She checked the time - three o'clock, end of lessons.

"Vice Principal Luna? We have an admission to make..."
> 19 - Breakthroughs
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Would everyone please come to the hall after fourth period for yet another assembly."

For once, everyone in Canterlot High had the exact same reaction of groaning to show their dislike of the announcement. Even the tone in Celestia's voice showed the stress and general reluctance to even speak. Sunset, however, just sat back, as Celestia finished her announcement in front of her, still processing the recent events.

"Are you sure this is how you want to go about this?" The pale woman asked Sunset, whose head snapped upwards to look at her.

"Celestia. If you reveal them now, they will quite literally be lynched. As much as I should despise them, I don't wish that suffering upon them. No one deserves that. And besides, the school might be able to think a bit clearer and help figure out who the other account is. Them, on the other hand, can rot in Tarta- hell for all I care." Thinking for another moment, she added, "After this is all over, I might be okay with their identities being released. And don't get me wrong, I hate Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle with every fibre of my body right now. But I really should be mad at the one who decided it would be a wonderful idea to continue this clusterf-"

"Ahem. Right. I'm just not sure how much this will enrage the populace. They'll want to take their anger out on someone."

"I'll take the blame. After my not so little stunt, everyone is terrified of me. I doubt even Trixie would go up against me, particularly after her small round of pyromania." Sunset nodded towards her charred bandage. "Besides, I'm leaving you to punish them."

Celestia nodded in confirmation. "Indeed, detention until easter break and more if they cause any trouble whatsoever. Excluding, as per your request, Scootaloo."

"Have you made a descision to tell their families?"

"No. If they can find a plausible explanation for why they have a load of detention, they deserve an award. If they somehow manage to do that, I'll give them a damn award and then tell their families. At the moment, I'm done being kind." The woman's frustrated expression hardened as she spoke.

"I know the feeling." Glancing at the clock, Sunset saw fourth period was almost up. "Well, I'm going to head to the assembly. I want a front row seat for this."

She stood, saying her goodbyes, and started her journey down the corridors. As she walked, the few students who were currently in the hallways subtly tried to move away from the girl, clearly wary after her earlier display of power. Still, it gave Sunset some room to think.

While she had definitely expected the CMC to confess under the pressure she had placed upon them, she almost certainly didn't believe they would give themselves up so instantly. Not that she was complaining, of course, this just made things easier for her. Now the next biggest thing she had to deal with was Anon-a-mous, who she would like to have some very selective choice words with. But that was after the assembly. Plus, she had a few other things on her mind, more personal issues that she needed to at the very least sort out, and completely solve, if possible. Upon entering the assembly hall, Sunset was greeted by rows of benches and chair, all completely vacant, facing the stage, where a microphone had been set up. Striding down the center of the room, she noted a spot where the floor appeared to be slightly dented and burnt. She made a mental to pay the school a few bits once this was over.

Reaching the front row, she took the seat closest to the stage steps, as waited for the rest of the school to arrive. Careful not to activate it, Sunset brought the gem to in front of her face, and examined it. It had a rich history in the girl's mind. The combination of her powerful magic potential and her running emotions caused a large number of magical outbursts, so Celestia had given her the jewel to control her power. She had originally fled with it to the human world in the hopes of being able to use its magic there, but it had become a sort of memento from her old days. She never dared bring it to school, unless she wanted it to get lost. Now, however, it kept even more powerful magic locked away, protecting those around her from potentially catastrophic effects. Now that she knew that her emotions were influenced by the magic, she made another mental reminder to write to Princess Twilight about it, to aid in her research.

Someone took a seat next to her, and Sunset dropped the gem back to her chest. Looking across, she saw Twilight - the human one - had joined her, but wore a throughly confused expression one her face, which conflicted with the warm smile she was giving Sunset. She leant in, and whispered, "What's happened?"

"Shouldn't you still be in the medical room?"

"It was just a bump on the head. Only just enough to knock me out, but nothing more." She winced as she ran a hand though her hair, before returning it to her side. "Seriously though, why this assembly?"

"Anon-a-miss gave themselves up." Sunset answered, "Wait until the announcement is made, and then I'll tell you more. No point in having you hear something twice."

"And the other one?"

"Nope. Still no clue. I'm giving them a day or two before I go full magical Bryan Mills on them."

"Uh?"

"Nevermind. I'm just saying I'll find them, and then... perhaps something more." She was slightly disappointed Twilight didn't get her reference, having learnt so many to blend in, but all in good fun, she supposed. "We'll see. Now shush, I believe everyone's here."

She pointed a thumb over her shoulder, and the students automatically flinched at the action, proving Sunset's earlier words of how everyone was scared of her. Regardless, everyone had indeed gathered inside of the hall, with mixed expressions on their faces. Some were nervous and anxious, others were simply bored, and a few appeared to be terrified, shaking in their seat. No one, however, appeared to be aggressive or hateful at all. 'Probably pacified by my show earlier.' Sunset thought, almost giggling at the thought of how easily a previous hateful group of people were so stunned in submission. Still, the way everyone was acting around her reminded of her of her old days as the school bully, something she'd rather leave behind completely.

Vice Principal Luna appeared on the stage, behind the microphone on the lectern. Without any delays, she spoke, gaining the attention of everyone in the room.

"I'm not going to delay this at all, so here's the reason for why this assembly is being held. The people behind Anon-a-miss came forward. But-" She cut off the enivitable chorus of shouts, "due to the request of a very prominent victim of this entire ridiculous mess, their identities will not be released yet."

"Yes, that's right, I'm stopping you all from ripping someone to shreds in a blind revenge fueled rage. That's me, go on, complain." Sunset called out, and when utter silence followed, she added, "No? Fine then, buck you all."

"Ahem. Anyway, I can assure you that they will be severely punished for what they have done, along with their family's own punishments. They have also kindly provided us with a rather long list of those who sent in material to the account. The number of those is... disappointing, to say the least. While we would also hide their identities, it simply isn't possible due to the sheer volume. The more minor offenders we will send a notice to, since their punishments aren't very substantial. However, here are the more serious offenders." The projector flicked into life, and a list of at least fifty names were displayed. The absence of annoyed growls disturbed Sunset - there must have been more guilty people than she had thought, or at least everyone believed themselves to be guilty in one way or another. "We will be calling you to discuss what you have done, among other things. The rest of you, take the day off. If any of these names wish to speak with me or my sister now, you may line up outside of our office. If anyone has any clues to who is behind the other account, please contact us. Dismissed."

Luna walked off of the stage, leaving the student body to nervously shuffle out of the hall. Even Sunset's friends were walking awkwardly, perhaps to avoid bringing even more attention to themselves. Sunset waited until a particular student had started to exit, scratching the back of their head nervously, as per usual. She made to follow them, Twilight trailing behind. "Flash." The red hair girl came up behind her ex-boyfriend, and gave him a small smile.

"Hey, Sunset. Can this wait? I need time to think..."

"Just asking if I could talk later, actually."

"Come round to my house at four thirty. I pretty sure Scoots will want to talk to you to. Don't be surprised if her friends show up too. As fractured as they may be at the moment, they still will talk to each other about anything." Flash briefly sniggered as he thought of the CMC's complicated relationship, which seemed to change on an hourly basis, even in these troubled times. "You still have my number, don't you? You remember where I live, just come round. In fact, I do believe my mom also would like a word. Good or bad, I don't know."

"Got it, thanks. See you then." Sunset gave a short wave, before wandering off, Twilight once again in tow. "Well, Twi, this has been an interesting, but productive, first day at school. Let's get home."

"R-right." The purple girl gave a shaky nod, causing her sister to frown.

"Are you sure you're okay after that who fiasco?"

"I'll be okay, don't worry."

"Hey, I'm just making up for all the times you'll say similar things in the future. Because trust me, you will." Twilight gave her a pointed look, to which Sunset responded with a good natured giggle. "Relax. I may get into a lot of trouble, but I'm tough."

"Want me to call mom or are we going to walk?"

"Walk. I need to time to think. We can always catch the bus, no need to bother mum." Exiting the school, they started down the pavement, ignoring the various looks they were recieving from the other students.





"Ah ha, the one person who acted as if they had no part in any of this..." A girl stalked down the corridors, following her prey with great stealth. She wanted to prove herself. She knew Sunset was perfectly okay with her being around, but she needed to earn her full trust. And, as far as she was concerned, this was a perfect oppotunity to do so. Her target wandered out of the school, smug grin appearing on their face the instant they were outside. They happily strode down the street, walking about half a mile, before they came to a block of flats. Before entering the building, they pulled out their phone, pulling up a certain web page. Peeking over his shoulder, she saw the title.

'ANON-A-MOUS'

Thinking fast, the girl took out her phone and snapped a picture of the page and of their face, startling to culprit. She ran, not listening to whatever they were saying, preumably threats. Making sure the pictures were saved, she made her way straight to her home, ignoring the questions of one of her sisters. The girl flopped onto her bed, pulling out her phones again, and flicking between the two images.

"Gotcha."





"Alright, I'm off!"

"Have a nice time at Flash's!" Sunset waved goodbye as she wheeled her motorbike out of its place, adorning her helmet, and starting it up. She made her way to her destination on the vehicle, thinking back over the past few days, and what the future may hold. She was imparticularly concerned about how the blackmail that got Lightning Dust arrested got out. Celestia was the only one who had that material, and Sunset had no reason to think the woman a liar when she said she hadn't yet done anything with it. She doubted Luna had done anything either and Discor-

'Discord.'

Of course it was him. Why wouldn't it be? He hadn't thought it through, and someone got kidnapped as a result. Sunset would have words with him later, however. This came first. She felt as if she had neglected Flash for too long, and she did need to speak with his mother too, to work out Scootaloo's past, which had brought her brain much confusion. Not only was she a cripple, Sunset was apparantly the cause of said disability. She typically avoided anything physical concerning younger kids during her bully days - everyone had standards. She also didn't remember any sort of incident involving Scootaloo, or at least anything that didn't involve Rainbow Dash.

"Hey, Sunset!" A voice snapped her out of her thoughts, as Flash came up to her, having been looking at her parked outside his house for at least a minute. "You okay?"

"Sorry, just thinking. Had hardly noticed I had arrived." Sunset took off her helmet, letting her hair hang free once more.

"Clearly. Come on in. We probably won't be eating with my mother. She's still coming to terms with my, quote, return. Not that I ever truly left..." He trailed off, ending a complicated converstation prematurely. "Anyway, what did you want to talk about?"

They entered the house, immediately heading up the stairs. Entering Flash's rather bland room, Sunset gave her reply. "A number of things. I've cleared up most of my relationships in one way or another, but you and your family, well... At the risk of sounding cryptic, I don't fully understand what's happening with you. Between your mother previously blaming me for things I may or may not have done, the basis of the aforemention accusations, and the recent grand reveal, I'm not sure what to make of it all."

"Hardly surprising. You do deserve an explanation, though. Here, sit." He patted his bed, on which Sunset sat down on. "Sorry for the lack of... well, almost everything. I want to redecorate. Leave behind the, 'old me', I guess."

"Speaking of which, how long since?"

"Good, good, you don't feel the need to ask permission. No, don't apologise, as I said, you have a right to know. Anyway, right. Explanation." Flash took in a deep breath, preparing himself for what was to come. "You know what I told you about when and partially why? We're still having trouble really come to terms with all of it. I personally want to just put it behind me, and move on. New brain, new me, et cetera. But I can't do that when my family is still dealing with it. So to answer your question, I've only really 'banished' it, for lack of better term, a week ago, so I suppose I shouldn't really be so impatient."

"You said you had voices in your head. You kinda sounded sad when you said they were gone. Why?" Sunset asked, before she snorted in laughter briefly. "Listen to me, I sound like a news journalist."

"Heh, yeah." The short tone of amusement vanished, being replaced by a slightly more sombre voice. "Seriously though, I sort of gave it a name. I forgot it a couple of times, but it was Screwball. Sh- It sounded rather crazy, but almost lovable. It didn't really care at the time, not with my state of mind, but I did realise that once I became, er, sane again, I wouldn't ever be able to speak to her again. She just felt different. It didn't seem anything special, just like an actual voice of sanity in a sea of confusion. Not that she brought much sanity with me, of course, but still...

"The reason I almost regarded it as a proper person was because she actually helped me. Helped me remember things at first, then pointed things out I wouldn't normally notice due to my state. She just became something I felt I could trust, for once. Someone who literally couldn't betray me." Flash groaned, hearing his words himself for the first time. "It sounds ridiculous, but I honestly think it wasn't just something my brain made up to stay sane, but she might've been something more."

"Tell you what, Flash, once the rest of this entire fiasco is over, I'll look into it. See what I can find, at the very least." Sunset unconcsiously went to activate her powers, before silently scolding herself, and lowering her hand.

"Yeah, about that, care to explain the wings and stuff?"

"An explanation for an explanation. Fair. I don't really know myself. Did some research on it, back in the other world, and supposedly I'm a 'chosen one'. Not like saving the galaxy and all that schtick, but I'm just special. Supposedly I had to view the world from every perspective, and I did so, and here we are. Flaming wings and a horn made of light. Yay." Sunset shrugged, as it was the best honest explanation she could give. Now that she thought about it, she really would like to know much more about her newfound magic. She would have to write to Twilight when she got back. "It's supposedly phoenix magic, would you believe it?"

"I would, actually. After all we've been through, I think I can believe that."

"Heh. Right. Right. Well, in my world it's hard to believe, anyway. Which probably sounds weird to you. But trust me, it's almost unheard of." The conversation became simple small talk after that, generally just catching up with each other and sharing their thoughts on recent events. It continued on like that, until Doctor Turret came into the room.

"Hey you two. Food's ready for you, Flash. Sunset, I may or may not have made cooked pork, but I need to talk to you anyway." Nodding, they all went downstairs, where Turret pulled Sunset to the side just before Flash entered the dining room. "I'm sorry." She muttered.

"What for?" Sunset responded, her curiosity ignited.

"Making assumptions. I was rash in accusing you in everything I said. I don't know you, and I have literally no solid proof that you did what I claimed you did."

"Eh. Apologies accepted. I'm kind of used to random accusations. It was a daily thing for a while, after all. It's not like you could've known, unlike some other people..." Sunset trailed off, not wanting to guide the conversation in the direction it was already going. "I really should be going, Mrs. Turret."

"Go ahead. Oh, and my name's Microscope. Call me that, or at least when outside of a hospital. Let's try and dial down the hostility, alright? No need for that anymore." Smiling at the tiny show of trust, Sunset said her goodbyes, and exited the household, turning to her bike only to find a short girl sitting on it.

"Hey!" The girl looked up, and pulled her hood down, revealing a mop of violet hair.

"Hi Sunset."

"Scoots! Thought you were a vandal for a sec. Just got this bike back, don't want it ruined already." Scootaloo hopped off the bike, stepping forward to meet Sunset.

"It does look nice, I'll grant you that." The younger girl's look morphed into one with hints of confusion. "But we wanted to know this. Why did you even bother to defend them?"

"You heard me in the hall. I frankly couldn't care less what punishment you get, but I don't want to see you endless hunted down for something you didn't even take too far. Besides, if you ask me, I owe you, Scootaloo. That's why you only have two weeks worth of detention, isn't it?" Sunset, donned her helmet, preparing to leave.

"Yeah, I guess. But before you go: this other account, Anon-a-mous?  They posted something when they first set up, something that the account itself claimed credit for. It was something literal seconds before by leg got messed up. And now that we know it's not Bloom or Sweetie..."

Sunset's eyes lighted up in recognition and hope. "Then we can find out who the account is! That's brilliant!"

"Not only that, but I'm pretty sure that person, in their rush to get away, might've been the on who ended up crippling me."

"Jeez, talk about catching the guilty. Can I ask about what happened, or is it a bit, y'know..."

"No, no, it's fine." Scootaloo sat on the ground, wincing as her bad leg was bent into an awkward position. "There's not much to tell. I don't remember that much, but I do remember a bike of some sort ran over my leg as I was lying on the ground after a, well, crash. Half the joints essentially buckled under the pressure. You know the rest, can't run, yadda yadda."

"Oh, who ever it is, I am so-" Her phone rang, cutting her off, checking it, Sunset found someone had texted her two images, and an address, with the words 'Have fun!'

"What is it?"

The older girl's grin grew. "Scootaloo, how much do you want revenge on whoever was on that bike?"

"A lot. Like, more than ever."

Sunset's grin went to massive proportions, with a hint of malice to it. "Then go ask your mother if you can come with me for the evening. I'll even buy some food. It's time to haunt a bastard."
> 20 - Vengence
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The human behind Anon-a-mous sat at his desk, thinking about what had happened on his way home earlier today. This woman, she didn't know who she was, ran up to her, and, simply put, took a selfie with him. It was strange, but not something to be concerned of. That would be, if he hadn't been checking his latest project at that exact moment. However, there was nothing he could do about it, and he believed that waiting until the storm passed was a fairly good strategy, one that had worked out well so far.

Still, the recent announcement was either really good or really, really bad for him. Regardless of what will heppen, Anon-a-mous was still going to update. He had come so far, he was not going to stop now, or ever. 

He was sitting in relative darkness, only his face illuminated by the computer screen in front of him, proudly displaying the latest post on his new MyStable account. It was also fairly silent in his appartment, so when two quiet thuds sounded, he instantly picked up on it. Sighing, he stood up, striding to his door, and opened it, only to be met with nothing but an empty corridor. Looking around, he found no one there, so he shrugged off the sounds as him imagining things, and went back to his computer. He could hear more footsteps, however, and the moment he was about to stand up again, he paused, feeling a tremendous heat on his back. Turning, the tempreture dropped back to normal levels, causing him to shiver at the difference.

Cautiously, and in a shaky voice, he spoke up. "W-who's there?"

Silence reigned, until he turned back around, and gasped at what found. The email for the account was open, containing a message, telling them who he was, along with some evidence. He moved his mouse to close it, when a eerily familiar voice whispered in his ear.

"You know what to do."

"WAH!"

"No, not scream. You know who I am. I just want this to be over." The heat moved locations, becoming fainter, before appearing on his other side. "Don't you? All this pointless suffering. You're the only one, now. You're trying to slander and slaughter, but it's being drowned in the sea of guilt that's now going on. It's a flood, and you're a tiny, hateful droplet in it all. Frankly, it's rather pathetic."

The voice grew slightly kinder, even a little understanding. "Now. I know this might be a big descision in your mind, the entire world rests on what you do next! Newsflash: it doesn't. Still, I shall show you a little bit of leeway. You have until the end of school the next day to confess. I'll say this now: I won'tbe as merciful as the others. But enough of that!"

They moved away again, always staying out of his line of sight. "I have someone who would like to speak to you. Debatably, they have a far, far, bigger grudge against you than I do."

His wheelless chair rotated on its own, and he came to face the doorway. He glanced at the mirror, hoping to confirm the intruder's identity, but only found his own, frightened, sweaty face. "Any moment now..."

The doorway remained remarkably empty.

"Give me a moment." He felt the burning presence leave, and, taking the initiative he span around, flinging the chair away in the process. He eargerly hit away at his keyboard, deleted all that he could. In fact, he was so determined, he barely looked up from his keyboard. "Ooohhh, what a shame I unplugged the keyboard. Ah well, things happen."

He stared at the screen - it was exactly the same as before. Not even the cursor had moved. He would've growled in frustration, had the intruder not returned. Instead, he felt hands - no, claws, grasped at his sides, rotating him back around. Instead of merely seeing an empty doorway, however, a short girl instead stood there. She had a mop of fuschia hair, and light orange skin, with violet eyes that stared with a maelstrom of emotions. Her right shoulder supported her as she leaned on the door frame, her expression completely neutral.

"You do recognise who this is, right?" He nodded in response the the disembodied voice. "Say her name. Don't just nod because you believe you do."

"Sc- Scoot- Scootaloo."

"Take one of the Scoots off and we're there. Anyway, I'll let her take it from here."

Silence reigned for a good minute. His face never changed from the terror filled expression, while Scootaloo's face went through the sublest of changes, as if it was still deciding how to react. Finally, the girl's face twisted into a sort of disappointed expression.

"I'm going to be honest with you here - I dunno what's meant to come out of this for me. Not my idea in the slightest, as much as I agree with it." She shrugged, a slightly more positive voice momentarily surfacing before being crushed. "I suppose I should ask if you have any idea why I'm here?"

He didn't respond, other than shaking a little more than before, earning a sigh from Scootaloo. "I'm gonna take that as a 'no'. You mighta noticed that I have a limp in my right leg. I got crippled a couple of years back. I say 'crippled', it's really just that I can't run. 's why I go around on my scooter so much. Now, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not sure if you're involved in this, but..."

She trailed off, eyes flicking to look at something behind the boy, before sighing. "Right. Long story short, my leg got run over. Just before that, my and my... friends were talking about some embrassing stuff. Now, that exact same stuff - which we never told anyone else, mind you - has recently appeared on that profile. Now, just after we were talking about that, we heard a loud laugh from one of the nearby bushes. We were gonna go have a look about what it was, when a motorcycle - a moped, now that I think about it -  came from around the bushes. The driver ran me over. Better yet, no one else was around..."

"Do you see where she's going with this?" A shaky, almost unnoticable nod. "Good. Look, we both want some closure, and perhaps some reasoning. But, we'll give you time. I imagine you might want to explain some stuff to some people. Family members, perhaps."

Scootalo started to shuffle out, a sad look adorning her face, and the door closed. He sat there in silence, waiting for the other being to speak, but it was not so. Instead, he sat there, thinking, as a tsunami of emotions rushed in and out of his mind.

More over, he thought of his sister, Fluttershy.





"Well, what do you think?" Sunset asked as they exited the building, her pendant still lightly glowing.

"Still think it was a little much..."

"I want to make sure this is over with already. I've had it up to the friggin' sun with this whole mess. Still not the worst Christmas I've had, however." The older girl shrugged as they made their way down the street, descending into silence, before Scootaloo spoke up again.

"Why do you think he did it?"

"No idea. Fluttershy completely shoved him out of her life before I even came here. The rest of his family, while pitying him, also won't take direct care of him." She put a hand to her chin, as if she was thinking something over. "Did, er, you post anything about it."

"Nothing that's common knowledge. Which is basically him being a complete... yeah. Y'know. Creep."

Sunset nodded in approval at Scootaloo. "Mmm, nice censorship."

"Err, thanks?"

"You're welcome."

Silence reigned once more as they walked, remaining without words until Scootaloo's snow covered house came into view, where the younger girl finally talked once more.

"...D'you think Breeze'll actually do it?"

"Hope so. If not, I'm forcing this upon him. Already got enough evidence to put him behind bars. If he straight up admits it now, he'll get off light. If he doesn't... he'll see why I ruled CHS." Scootaloo only nodded at Sunset's firm statement. They entered the driveway, and the redhead declared, "This is where we part. You have my number, call me if you need anything."

She wandered over to her bike, grabbing the helmet that was resting on it before donning it. She climbed onto the vehicle, looking to Scootaloo, who had already opened her mouth to ask something. "No, you can't have a go on my bike, Scoots. Not until you actually get your mother's permission."

"Aww, man."

With a short chuckle, Sunset flipped her visor down and sped off back home, leaving Scootaloo to enter her house with a relieved sigh.

Meanwhile, in a small flat, its occupant panted uncontrollably, clutching his head until his hands turned red.
> 21 - Solace
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Did I ever tell you of my personal life before my time as Princess Celestia's student?" Sunset sat outside in the garden, casually leaning against a tree, while Twilight sat cross legged across from her. She had gotten back from Scootaloo's house a while ago, and had promptly laid down on the grass, basking in the sunlight.

"Don't think so. You haven't said too much about your time as her student either, excluding the part where you grew too arrogant and stuff."

"I want to now. After all that's happened, I just now know how close I got to going completely full circle." The equestrian momentarily gazed off into the distance, remembering her past life in another world, before continuing. "I never knew my parents. No clue who they were, or are, anything. I just know I was dumped on an orphanage's doorstep just as the sun was going down. No note, nothing. Just my parents going 'Hey, we had this foal, and we don't want it. You take it!' Even Celestia couldn't find anything, so chances are my parents are dead. Not that I ever knew them anyway. I honestly can't tell you how long I was at the orphanage for. Everthing I have and am about to tell you I've heard from other ponies, so forgive me if I'm vague.

"I was the most anti social filly you could ever meet in the orphanage. Never spoke to anyone what so ever, always looking for something else to do. Princess Celestia came round one day and, I quote 'saw the potential stored in that short little stubby horn.' Most unicorns would take that as an insult. However, coming from the ruler of the nation that also controls the freaking sun..."

"It made you giddy beyond belief." Twilight finished off.

"Understatement, but yeah, basically. She gave me some books on magic, and said she'll return a year later. I think I would've been twelve by then, pony relative of course. I think there's some minor time dialation of calender differences between the two worlds. Anyway, when she did come back, I was determined to make a huge impression, idol worship and all that. I had been preparing a spell all week, I was sure it would get me into her good books, as if it were. It was a simple fire spell, but one most unicorns learnt at around eighteen, five years more than what I was. Instead of creating a small ball of fire that I could float around and change shape, I got wings. The fire wings, the same ones that I get when I transform here. Celestia knew there was something special about them, so she took me in there and then. I was overjoyed, Celestia hadn't taken in anypony as her student in literal centuries. She saw so much promise within me, and I returned that by becoming as much like her as possible. Over time I realized that was both unhealthy and a really bad idea. Then... well, either you already know it, or it's a story for another day."

They sat in silence as Sunset finished off her story, enjoying the fresh air, as their brother came over, a worried look on his face. "Something's eating away at you, Sunset. What is it?"

Glancing up at Shining's stern face, Sunset knew he wouldn't let the matter drop, and let out a long sigh. "You might as well sit. This could take a while. It's just- You know what annoys me the most about this whole thing?"

"Hmm?"

"The fact that while any of this really should not have happened in the first place, I'm actually better off because of it. Now, don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change anything that happened. I have a full family, new friends, magic - magic! - and yes, well, I might have even more scars now, but that's beyond the point. However. There are so many things that could've, and should've, stopped this entire fiasco. Only, what, a dozen or so people actually stopped to think when the first accusation was made. I never denied that I wouldn't do something like that if I wanted to cause grief in the school, but I always had at the very least plausable deniability! Putting that profile picture up like that was just saying, 'Hey guys, want to bully the bully yet again? Well here's an excuse, have fun!' I mean, come on! At least Breeze had the extra brain cell not to do that! And speaking of Breeze, what possessed him to do that in the first place?! I know it's not a ridiculous 'I want my sister back, wah wah wah.' Which, by the way, was kinda dumb in the first place. There's this thing called talking to your sisters about it... Anyway, I'm getting off topic. Breeze has basically been disowned by Fluttershy, for a long, long multitude of reasons. First and foremost is harrassment, and not far behind is being a complete creep. Nothing criminal, Shiny, before you say it."

"Yeah, about that, I did actually do some digging into this guy. There's no solid evidence, but he's been reported many, many times."

"One of them's probably me. 'Master seductor', my two toned flank." Sunset snorted at the thought, before being interrupted by Shining's phone going off.

"Hello? Yeah, of course I know about it... Really? You did comfirm this, right? No, I'm not doub- No, no, it's- Right. Got it. Thanks." He hung up, with a look of disbelief on his face. Turning to his sisters, he gave a small smile. "Would you believe Gilda was being fully blackmailed?"

"Yes." Sunset answered instantly.

"Huh?"

"I've been thinking about it. Me and Gilda had a sort of unspoken agreement. 'Stay out of each others' way, and we're good.' Even after I got blasted, we both kept to that, though we never spoke to each other then. Plus neither account posted anything about her." Sunset looked up in thought, before continuing. "I don't know what she would've been blackmailed with though. She's already had a rough life, she's real low down, so low no one else can touch her with dirt."

"It wasn't blackmail, per se, it was more threatening. Believe it or not, but that gang of hers was actually threatening their own leader." Shining took on a more serious expression. "They were gonna burn all of her possessions, house, and all of that. If she still didn't do anything then, they probably would've attacked her."

"That's one hell of a plot twist. But it makes sense. All Gilda's ever wanted to do was survive, and she at the very least needs a home to do that. She's not getting off scot free though, right?"

"No way." The officer shook his head. "She's gonna be getting a few months in juvie, and we'll be keeping a much closer eye on her from now on. But compared to the rest of the gang, she's getting off fairly light. They've all got criminal records now, but when you compare two to six months in juvie to at least a year in prison, Gilda definitely comes off on top. Who knows, maybe she'll be able to reconcile with some people."

"Why'd she pretend to be so guilty for so long though? From what VP Luna told me-"

"Trust me, Sunset, the guys said the moment she was away from her gang, she spilled everything. Whatever they did to get her cooperation, it really worked. If she's lying about all of it, well, she's the best liar anyone at the station has ever seen. They're probably interrogating the rest of the gang now, we'll see how that works out tomorrow. Right now?" Shining stood up, starting to walk back to the house. "Let's go have some dinner."

As if on cue, their mother called out a window, "Dinner's ready!"

"Coming Mum!" 

Also now standing, Twilight turned to her sister, asking, "Why do you pronounce 'mom' like that?"

"The matron of the orphanage was from Trottingham, guess I picked up the acc- what?"

"Sorry, sorry, just- 'Trottingham'? Really?!"

"Heh, guess that does sound a bit stupid. Oh but get this. Name a horse pun."

"What?"

"You heard me."

And so, the rest of the day was spent talking about the puns that make up the Equestrian language.





It was the next day, and Sunset was feeling... good. Excellent, in fact. As she walked through the corridors of CHS, without her jacket for the first time in a while, she actually had to force herself to keep a skip out her step. Everyone stared at her, but for a different reason than before. They all wanted to apologise, beg for forgiveness on their knees, but either believed they wouldn't be forgiven, or didn't have to right to even speak to her. So, the girl happily strode to her first lesson.

It was quiet. Everyone had heard the revelation that Sunset was not Anon-a-miss, and how many of them were hypocrites. Which was a lot, to say the least. Not much was whispered, though one topic did stand out.

"Who really was it?"

To say the decision for Anon-a-miss to stay, well, anonymous was an unpopular one was an understatement. Everyone wanted to know. Absolutely everyone. But, they respected Sunset's wishes, if nothing else. It was the least they could do, she supposed. Some of the less violent students were actually quite content with the result. They knew the real culprits would be lynched if things got out of hand. Even so, for all the break ups that the account caused, every student seemed to get along fine, so long as they didn't feel Sunset's judging gaze upon them.

Another lesson came and went, and Sunset pulled Rainbow Dash aside as they exited the room.

"Dash, I need you to be stgraight with me here. Are you still gonna be hanging out with AJ and the rest of them?"

"Uh, I mean, if that's-" Dash stuttered under the pressure of the sudden question.

"Nevermind what I think. Just yes or no?"

"i- I wanted to but-"

"Good."

"Huh?" The prismatic girl stated her confusion at the opinion.

"Look Dash. If it's just going to be those three, they're gonna be breaking up within days. I'm not going to let this whole thing ruin their relationship." Dash opened her mouth to respond, but stopped when she saw Sunset's steely gaze. "I'm not up to talking with them again yet. If that's me being a coward, or me being fully justified, or perhaps both, it doesn't really matter."

The ex-unicorn sighed, frustrated. "I want you to do this as a favour. Enough relationships have been torn apart here, no matter who caused it in the first place. Please, talk to Fluttershy about this too. I have no qualms with either of you talking to them. They're still your friends, but me? Right now? I just can't."

Rainbow gulped at the sheer emotion, or perhaps lack thereof, in Sunset's tone. This was a side of her she hadn't seen yet. It wasn't the meek girl who was trying to make up for her past, it was the unstoppable determination of the girl who had ruled the school for years. And yet, there was no malice in her voice, face, nothing. It was something she was doing out of kindness, and she was going to see it succeed. Nodding, Dash swallowed any arguments and responded.

"I get it, you just can't trust them right now. Sure, that's fine, I didn't intend on abandoning them on this anyway. But can you answer a question for me?"

Sunset beckoned for ther other girl to follow her to a less busy area. Wandering to a corner of the school, they stopped, at the amber skinned girl waited expectantly. "Why'd you forgive Scoots?"

"To quote you: huh?"

"I mean, she helped start this whole mess in the first place. You could've left her to rot with the rest of her friends, she's only feeling guilty because she found you. Anyone could've."

"If I'm honest, I don't expect you to fully understand. For one, she actively went and deleted the account herself, then looked for the rest of us. Same reason why I forgave you and Fluttershy, you actually thought about and gathered the courage to go out and try and face me. But you can't understand what it means to owe someone your life. Sure, she started the thing that made me try and commit, but she then managed to haul me to hospital. I still don't understand how she managed to drag a girl almost double her size to hospital."

"She's far stronger than she looks. So what your saying is that if someone goes and break your nose, but then sets it minutes later, you're always going to be thankful to them in the end?"

"To more significant end result, but yeah. You'll always focus on the final result instead of the initial one, because that's the one you're stuck with." The bell sounded, signaling the end of break. "Welp, we'd better get going. What even is it?"

"P.E."

"Horsefeathers."

Sunset had not been looking forward to P.E. She had agreed to take it to build up her physical strength, something she had greatly neglected in recent months. But she knew what she'd have to do now. She'd been advised to take her bandages off while exercising as to not agitate her scars anymore than they already were. She had previously also avoided the class at all costs - she really didn't like showing the scars on her back, but she'd have to change clothes now, and therefore reveal her back. As far as she was concerned, only the hospital and her family knew about them.

'No use complaining now. Let's get it over with.'





Fleetfoot entered the changing rooms, eager to get the lesson started, even if the mood in general was subdued. The vast majority of the football team had stayed neutral on the the recent debacle, with only Rainbow Dash (on Sunset's side) and Lightning Dust (against Sunset) having different opinions. Of course, now it was all over, but that didn't mean there was a bit of tension between everyone. Hopefully everyone could use this time to calm down. Fleetfoot looked over who was in the room: most of the football team was already here, and a few other students, such as Derpy and Tennis Match. Other girls started to enter behind her, Rainbow Dash and then-

The entire changing room went quiet as an amber skinned girl with red and yellow hair entered. Noticing this, Sunset rolled her eyes, before making her way to a secluded corner. Conversation slowly started back up, mostly between the football team. Several gasps were heard, and silence reigned once more as everyone turned to see what was wrong.

Sunset stood, facing the wall, topless. On her back were two reddened scar running down her shoulder blades. Then, near the bottom of her spinal cord was a smaller, circular scar, seemingly older than the others. She threw on her P.E. uniform, ignoring the sudden silence behind her. Sighing, she started to shed her bandages - she would rather not have them soaked with sweat anyway.

Several students' breath hitched, as the remains of her suicide attempt were on full display. Sunset had, by her own admission, gone over board on her arms. Still, there's no kill like overkill, or so she told herself at the time. What she had done, was stab the knife in, and then drag it through her flesh. It's how her major nerves were cut. They criss crossed all over her lower arms, wrists and even her palms. There was no true reason to cut her hands, but she did it anyway, perhaps for the pain, perhaps just to make sure. As a result of all of that, anyone could see it was excessive.

Sunset didn't really care what they thought - it was more how soon absolutely everyone else knew about her additional scars. She didn't really mind people knowing, it was more how the entire school would now talk behind her back, and she could do nothing about it. If nothing else, it was just frustrating.





An hour later, and Sunset had found out she was as strong as ever, but her stamina had definitely gotten worse. It was something she would have to work on in the future, if she wanted to keep in shape. Mind you, the reason she was so out of shape was because she had been missing out on many meals, and was border line malnourished as a result.

The next lesson passed uneventfully, but Sunset's mind was elsewhere. It was nearing the end of the day, and she hadn't even seen Zephyr yet, let alone an announcement involving his account. She fidgeted nervously as she waited for lunchtime to come around, hoping to talk to some friends so she could put her mind at ease. The bell sounded, causing the girl to rush out of the class and straight to the hall. What she wanted to do was curl up into a ball and cry herself to sleep.

So many things could go wrong. Someone could get hurt. Everything could go out of control. What if-

"Hey Sunset!" Bon Bon's voice pulled her out of her worrying thoughts. She was sitting at a nearby table with Lyra and Twilight, the rest presumably still on their way. Nodding a greeting, Sunset have a questioning look, gesturing towards the angry looking Lyra. "Sunset, could you please ask Lyra what is wrong with that?"

Bon Bon waved an arm to her right, were several people were sitting. "Uhh, sure. Lyra, what's up?"

"You're not angry?" The mint girl's face morphed into confusion, but the fire in her eyes remained.

"You're gonna have to be more specific there, Lyra. What did you think I'm angry about?"

"That!" Lyra flailed a hand in the same direction as Bon Bon, causing Sunset to frown.

"That was as helpful as you throwing a fish to your right. Actually explain with words, please."

"You're seriously okay with Dash hanging out with the rest of them?!"

Sunset turned her head, scanning for the rainbow hair, and sure enough, it was surrounded by purple curls, a stetson and straight pink-grey hair. Looking back to Lyra, she simply shrugged. "I asked her to."

"Why?!"

"It's depressing to see them like that. They're gonna start fighting soon if someone doesn't help, and then I'd feel even more guilt over it, even if it isn't my fault." Seeing that Lyra didn't fully understand yet, she sighed, before elaborting. "I'm not ready to converse with them yet. But, if someone will do it for me, then I'm definitely not going to stop them. Plus, even if I did, would that remind you of anyone that was around, say, a year ago?"

Bon Bon started to catch on to what she was implying, and answered, "You?"

"Me. I'm not going back to that, but I'm also not letting people walk all over me."

With that, the topic turned to more normal subjects, and before long, lunch was at an end. Standing up, they made their way to drama, picking up a few of their friends on the way. Sunset was feeling much more at ease after that, and was sure the next lesson would further that. 

She didn't notice the pair of dark purple eyes looking at her from a nearby stairwell. Nor the frightened pair of the same colour below them.
> 22 - Cycle
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Sunset approached the drama studio, she spied Flash leaning against the wall, while Rainbow appeared to be talking to him, though she had a far more frustrated look on her face. 

"I'm just wor- hey!" Noticing Sunset's approach, the girl called out to her. "Sunset! You seen Scoots around?"

"Nope. Actually, I saw her on the way to school with Flash, but not after that."

"Figures." Flash spoke up, a more subtle look of worry on his own face. "Same thing here. She went off to find someone, haven't seen her since. I asked the teachers, she turned up for the first lesson, but not after that."

"I went to Luna when I had the chance, and it seems she's overlooking any absenses for the first week back." Rainbow Dash added. "Seems too many people are still on holiday or sorting out family issues."

Discord's head popped out the door. "Sorry if I'm interrupting anything, but it's time to start lessons." He retreated back into the room, pushing the door further open. They filed in, the trio having thoughtful expressions. Everyone else slowly arrived, most looking exhausted from the presumably long day that was not yet over. The rest of the small drama class trickled in, and Sunset couldn't help but be reminded how much the principals had done for her. Perhaps she should get them a present, a sort of late Christmas gift, she mused.

The drama teacher began counting students, frowning when he finished. "It seems we are missing a student."

When he looked towards his students questionally, Octavia supplimented an answer. "I believe Sonata's the missing student. I think I saw her during lunch, no idea where she is now though." Shrugging, Discord rummaged through his drawers, the frown returning to his face.

"Talk amongst yourselves. I appear to be missing something. I'll be right back." He walked out, leaving the students to glance at each other. 

Bon Bon and Lyra started up a conversation, prompting the others to do the same. Vinyl in particular sent a flurry of hand motions Sunset's way, leading the equestrian to raise her hands in defeat. "Woah, woah, woah. I'm versed in sign language, perhaps profficient, but I am not fluent."

Octavia quickly picked up on the conversation and quickly translated. "She wants to know what the deal with Sonata is. I am also wondering the same thing."

"Well, she's here because she needs educational records, which the other sirens already have. But I suspect that's not what you're asking. I think - think - that the reason that she's isn't trying to do anything... I dunno, bad, is because she genuinely feels remorse from her reactions. That, and she seemed to be really controlled with the other sirens. When she and Aria saw an oppotunity to live a more normal life, they completely bailed. Other than that? Dunno, have to ask her yourself."

Happy with the answer, Vinyl took out her phone, putting on some music, nodding her head to the beat immediately. Octavia, on the other hand, wanted to know more. "What happened with the other sister? What was her name... Adagio?"

"...That's not something I'm entirely sure I'm comfortable talking about." Sunset nervously glanced about, looking for a shift in topics. "Hey, what's taking Discord so long?"

Without any hesitation, she made her way to the door, intending to peek out of it. The girl almost stopped when she heard heavy footsteps, but continued when some sort of distressed humming reached her ears. The muffled sounds became louder, seemingly cracking on occasion, before dying down. Suspicious, Sunset gently put an ear against the door, while the rest of the room looked on curiously. A high pitching hummed, at high volume.

"What's-"

"Shh!" She put a hand up to halt any more interruptions. Focusing her hearing though the wooden door, Sunset made out words.

"Scream all you want, bitch, no-"

Eyes widening, the equestrian slammed the door open with a hard kick, similtaneously activating her magic, only to freeze up at what she saw.

Zephyr Breeze, with a crazed looked on his face, stood snarling in the middle of the hallway. In his right hand, he held Scootaloo's skull, his neglected nails leaving red trails across her face. In his other hand, a kitchen knife, dripping a red substance, was grasped, some of the green fingers twitching violently, much like both his eyes. His mouth, as twisted as it was, held the distinct look of a maniac, his frazzled hair only adding to the factor.

But on the ground, next to his bloodied bare feet, was a young looking girl, the streaked blue hair covering her face giving away her identity. There, Sonata Dusk lay, blood coming out of several openings in the flesh of her abdomen. Some of her now pale limbs faintly shivered, though that was all Sunset saw before she acted.

Horn and wings shining brighter than ever, she charged forward at immense speeds, cracks sounding as her fist made contact with Breeze's chest. She slammed him down magically, a pain filled groan escaping his lips as he went limp. Leaning over the bleeding girl, Sunset started barking out orders to the staring students. "Flash, call your mother and anyone else from the hospital. Dash, ensure that barstard isn't getting up. Twilight, get the police here. Someone check if Scootaloo is okay, then anyone who doesn't have any medical skills back off!"

When the stunned crowd remained still, she roared, "NOW!"

It had the desired effect, many students scrambling away. Surprisingly, Derpy came over, examining the wounds with skill. While Sunset wanted to know why the wall eyed girl seemed to be a medical expert, she acknowledged that this was not an appropriate situation to ask. Derpy looked up, both eyes straight staring into Sunset's own.

"Can you cauterise the wounds?"

Nodding, Sunset formed a solid magical pole in my mouth, clamping the ex-siren's jaw onto it. Her hand glowing with heat, she pressed down on the bleeding flesh. Sonata gave a muffled unconcsious scream, as the blood was trapped inside of her body once more. The ex-sirens's eyelids started to flutter in a weak attempt to open, though Derpy softly burshed them closed again, whispering in her ear to rest.

"Sonata, I'm gonna cast a sleep spell, alright?"

Instead of directly answering, the injured girl managed to choke out some words, which Sunset strained to hear. "...Sisters..."

Not willing to question it, the redhead magicked her phone to her ear, rapidly dialing Aria.

"Hel-"

"I don't give a crap if you bring Adagio or not, but get to CHS now." Not waiting for a response, Sunset hanged up, before levitating Sonata off the ground so she'd be at waist level. Casting the spell, she looked to Derpy for any sort of diagnosis, only to get a grim answer.

"Probably lost too much blood." She gestured to the large pool of blood around their feet. "Can't tell if there's any internal injuries either. I don't have th-"

A grunt cut her off. Looking up, she saw Sunset channeling a fire-like light into Sonata's body, most of the energy gathering in one particular place in one of the girl's skirt pockets. Slipping a hand in, the conscious equestrian pulled out an expensive looking box, and gazed at it questioningly. Carefully, she opened it, revealing many grey shards and a black band, the latter confirming to Sunset what it was. Before she could think on it, however, a rage filled shriek assaulted her ears.

"YOU!"

Aria stood there, eyes fulling of blazing anger, directed at Zephyr's sprawled body. "You αλάτι γλείψιμο, κώλο ψαριών, τρελό βράχ-"

"ARIA! You can insult him all you want later! Right now, answer me this:" Sunset held up the shattered pendant in her magic. "If I fix this, will she live?"

"I don't-"

"Will she?!"

"...Do it."

With a firm nod, the subtle glow around the shattered crystal carefully manuveured all the shards together, forming a solid, if very fractured, grey pendant. Placing it on Sonata's chest, she started to channel her magic into it. Aria, confused, panicky asked, "What's that meant to do?! Your magic isn't dark!"

"No. It's life." The white glow of the magic intensified at the words, and Sunset started to grunt, concentrating. "C'mon, c'mon, live dammit..."

Gradually, the grey gem started to regain its red hue, but the numerous cracks remained. Frowning in worry, Sunset cut the flow, before putting one bandaged hand on the injured girl's forehead and one on the stone. Magic rushed out of the appendages, flowing straight into the surfaces they were on. "Come on! Live!" She commanded, increasing the magic density, yelling out, "LIVE!"

The breaks in the gem started to seal, the fragmented look fading as the red colour seemed to become more pure, though some cracks remained. Feeling the magicless void in both Sonata's body and her gem become full, she stopped forcing magic into both of her targets. The crystal seemed to burn with some unknown fire, not too unlike the necklace Sunset now wore. "Come on..."

"She needs equestrian magic." Sunset looked to the new voice, finding Adagio held Sonata's hand, worry plastered on her face. A few surrounding students immediately cried out in alarm, and the ex-unicorn threw up a silencing bubble. "It's what we originally had, and we still need it."

"My magic isn't equestrian..." Seeing the other two siren's sad looks, Sunset fell back into deep thought, snapping her fingers after a few moments. A blinding flash enveloped her body, and when it cleared, the same armour Adagio had been attacked with before, this time without her trademark leatherjacket, as she had gone without it today. Quickly, Susnet started to shed the protective plates, both with magic and by hand. "Help me get this off!"

The conscious sirens obliged, but Aria still wasn't sure what was happening. "How is this gonna help?!"

"The armour was made by the portal." Sunset started to explain as the last of the protective clothing was removed, leaving Sunset back in her hoodie and jeans. "I figure it's got enough equestrian magic left on it. If that fails, we'll go to the portal."

"Well come on! We need to get it on-"

"No." Adagio interrupted, simply resting pieces of the armour on her sister. "We don't have time. Besides, we may need to heal her physical injuries manually."

'Good to see she actually cares.' Sunset thought, before returning to the task at hand. Already, most of the armour was touching Sonata, and soon, it seemed to melt into her body, bringing some colour into her face. Within a matter of moments, all the armour was gone, and her previously pale skin regained its natural blue colour. Sunset's gaze was brought back towards the gem, her eyes following the remaining fractures. Holding out a hand, the life magic started to flow from her fingers once more, funneling into the broken pendant, to no effect. Opening the metaphorical floodgates, Sunset pushed as much magical as possible outwards, starting to pant in exhaustion. 

Hitting her limit, the ex-unicorn stumbled back, her magic retreating back into the crystal around her neck, while Sonata ceased to levitate. She looked to the fallen girl's own gem, and saw the glow that had erupted from within was starting to fade. When the red pendant was completely dim, it started to lose its colour once more, visually softening as it did so. Rushing over, Sunset ran her fingers over the gem, only for a dark grey dust to come off. "Oh, no no no..."

The pendant, which Sunset had pinned all her hopes on, was starting to disintergrate before her very eyes. It was rapidly becoming nothing but dust, threatening to fly off in the slightest breeze. Everyone stared on with wide eyes, fearful of what had just happened. Slowly, Sunset dropped down to the floor, the other ex-sirens looking on with tearful eyes.

"No..."





Sonata awoke in a great wind. Shooting upwards, she quickly made sense of her surroundings. Another dream, she quickly concluded. One she had control over. Normally, she would live out some fantasy, or just generally have fun. Right now though, she felt oddly... serious.

It was a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time. Back before...

She shivered at the thoughts, swiftly banishing them to the very back of her mind. Right now, the siren decided to look around at her surroundings. She was on the side of a mountain, underneath a white arch, overlooking a vast sea. The waves crashed against rock just a dozen meters below her, creating a roar that could only belong to nature. She spotted something move under the surface, and almost on instinct, called out, "Κράκεν! Έχω την τροφή σου!"

It was a language she hasn't spoken for many years, and yet, it came to her tongue with ease. The wonders of both dreaming and being immortal, she supposed. She sat, awaiting for her words to be heard, breathing in the sort of air that she missed dearly. It was times like these that allowed her to fully think straight. She was always in control of her actions, of her mind, but that didn't mean she always acted how she felt she could.

Sighing, Sonata lowered herself to the ground, getting comfy, before looking to the stirring waters, tossing a large fish down into the darkening sea. Before it impacted the vast ocean, however, it seemed to rot, and disintergrate. Sonata couldn't place it, but the sight seemed familiar. Warily standing up, she gazed into the shadow in the water, which started to turn a hellish red.

Eye widening, she fled with as much speed as possible, away from the being that would surely follow her. And it did. Everywhere she looked, a blazing flame seemed to flourish, licking at whatever surface it could. Sonata moved in whatever direction she could, finding paths she didn't know was possible, all leading to the same destination, as the heated being behind her followed with a cry.

Her eyes snapped forward, seeing two blurred shapes nearby, one purple, one orange. Giving a gasp, muffled by her exhaustion, she rushed forwards, the colours get closer, almost forming recognisable objects.

Giving a finally burst of speed, Sonata shot towards her target, all for naught. A solid wisp of flame curled around her, pulling her back. She scream hoarsely, not out of fear but anger. She briefly contemplated fighting, but ended up sinking back into the tendril of fire, almost on instinct. It was warm, but not hot enough to cause any discomfort - the kind of heat one would want to cuddle in bed. 

Without a second thought, she closed her eyes, curling up, as the life giving fire gently pulled her away.





Sonata awoke to a gentle beeping, the kind that while bearable at first, would start to become irritating if it went on for too long.

The siren internally slapped herself, setting her thoughts on priorities. Like finding out where she was, for one. Cracking open her eyes, she found herself looked at a dull, ever so slightly grey surface. The ceiling, she supposed. Sitting up slightly, she managed to turn her head on the uncomfortable pillow it was resting upon. Again, Sonata smacked these thoughts out of her head - she always took note of her surroundings more than others, but this was ridiculous even by her standards.

Regardless of her inner conflict, her gaze met a sleeping face, one she was glad to see. Sprawled awkwardly across three different plastic chairs, was Sunset Shimmer, shifting about as she attempted to find a nice position in her sleep. A small commotion rbought her attention to the door, where two siliouettes outside of the door appeared to be bickering about something, though the argument was too quiet for Sonata to make out words. She recognised the voices as her sisters, however, and couldn't help but smile a little. It was almost like old times, as Adagio would call it.

She opened her mouth to call out to them, but before she could, something felt like it was bubbling up inside of her. Like a geyser blocked by a boulder, just waiting to escape. Ignoring the sensation, she tried to speak.

Words did not come out, but instead, a very soft note of music. Sonata frowned at the unexpected result, as it was not what she had intended. Before she could try again, however, she realised what she had just done. Breathing in, she prepared to let more music flow out of her throat, but when she did, something inside her broke.

Sitting up, she clutched her chest, feeling something swell up from within her body, her very soul threatening to burst. 

And it did. 

A soothing, wordless melody came into existance, and Sonata became slightly aware that she was floating in place. The song wasn't anything special, not showing off, but the way the sound seemed to flow in the air captivated any who heard it.

Sunset, on the other hand, awoke with a start, frantically looking for the source of the sudden noise. Turning her gaze upwards, she saw Sonata floating, but with a few additions. She had the fin like wings like before, though they matched her skin colour this time, and were definitely bigger. Pony ears poked out from her blue hair, and small fins replaced her human ears similtaneously. Her eyes had a menacing blue gleam to them, and her teeth were visually sharpened. Her legs had taken on a scale like look, and her hands did seem to sport claws. The intimidating look, however, was almost destroyed by the calm, peaceful expression on her face. She closed her eyes, leaning her head back as the melody passed through the equestians' ears.

A whole minute later, and the soothing song tapered off, leaving the room in stunned silence. Sonata gave a friendly smile, looking from her gaping sisters to the half-asleep Sunset as she laid back down on the bed, and asked, "Anyone want t-"

She doubled over, grimacing in pain, as she clutched her midriff. "Sonata!" Sunset cried out, "You need to rest. You're lucky enough Fluttershy had some fish blood we could use in a transfusion."

"Wait, fish blood? We have human blood." Adagio asked, her voice clear of malice.

"You, maybe. But Sonata definitely doesn't. I wouldn't be suprised if I had K type blood when I transform, since that's what I am in Equestria." The ex-unicorn explained, turning her attention back to Sonata.

"Wh-what happened?"

"You got stabbed." Aria snarled out, Adagio putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I know that. I mean, y'know," Sonata gestured at her throat. "my voice."

Glancing at each other, Adagio nodded, and stepped towards reached to the collar of Sonata's shirt and pulling down. There, a few inches below her neck, was a red jewel embedded into her flesh, shining with a slightly blue fire within. As it's owner gasped, the flame flickered momentarily, earning a look of fascination from Sunset.

"From what I can work out, that thing is now your voice. Tartarus, for all I know, that could be your soul."

Sonata couldn't help but smile at the sight and feeling she had before her. Next to her were three beings from her homeland, all sympathic to what she had gone through, and if she looked towards the door, she saw a number of smiling faces, all of them helping her move on with her life.

She laid her head back on the pillow, the fire in her chest giving a warm feeling, and the siren let out a small giggle. Sunset looked at her fellow equestrian, knowing they were both thinking the same thing.

'Life just couldn't get better.'
> 23 - Okay
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------




Quick note; all but the last horizontal rule (the lines) indicate the start/end of flashbacks, as opposed to the small time skips they would usually represent.




Sunset sighed, absently poking at the fire in front of her with a stick, before throwing it onto the flammable junk that acted as fuel to the flames. Her shelter was holding together suprisingly well, holding off the wind with ease, though it did nothing to negate the cold, hence the fire she was currently warming her hands on. While the combination of the fire and the roof above her stopped most of the snow from bothering her, occasionally one slipped through, this one landing directly in Sunset's eye.

Blinking rapidly to dislodge the intruder, the homeless girl glanced up as she heard footsteps in the snow, subconsciously bringing the filthly blanket closer around her. Looking to her right, she saw a silhouette stalking down the alley. It was not called a silhouette because of the lack of light, but rather the fact that it was pitch black, despite the moon shining clearly onto the figure. Coming closer to Sunset, his face was lit by the fire, revealing the sole definable features of two white eyes, irises only noticable due to two black rings outlining them. Wordlessly, the unnamed figure sat down at the fire, shifting awkwardly in the melted snow he sat in. Looking through the fire at Sunset, he opened his mouth, revealing jet black teeth mouth, gums, everything, and spoke.

"Who are you?"

"Who are you?" Sunset echoed, though with much more caution in her voice.

"...Leon." The man answered, maintaining his monotone, before repeating, "Who are you?"

"Sunset." The girl answered without much thought, knowing that she still didn't exist on paper.

"And what about the others? How have they treated you?"

"Well..."





Bon Bon, Lyra, Octavia and Vinyl waited inside one of two music rooms that CHS contained. Upon the discovery of Bon Bon's talent for brass instruments, the musical quartet had decided to form a group, each of them using there own musical skills, which appeared to cover a broad basis. However, upon their first try out, it was revealed that none of them could truly sing. As back up vocalists, perhaps, but as lead singers, they were all useless.

So, this had led to the four of them waiting for who would soon be their fifth member - Sunset. As she had proven in the Battle of the Bands, she had a powerful vocal range, and was very skilled with a guitar, something that was mostly lacking by the rest of the group.

For now, the group was filling the silence with various discussions, ranging to musical plans to other people.

"Well, if we get someone who's purely a vocalist, or focuses mainly on any kind of vocals, then we might be able to-"

"But who?" Lyra cut Bon Bon off, "Sonata's agreed to join once everyone stops giving her, and I quote, 'unhappy looks'. I don't know what that actually means, but if we introduce her too soon..."

"Got it. She still needs to recover anyway. No one recovers from being stabbed that quickly. What if-"

"Vinyl says we need a beat. Preferably a drummer. Any ideas?" Octavia gently cut in, turning away from Vinyl, before the pale girl walked forwards and made some more gestures, moving her limp fists up and down. "...Apparantly, someone is a skilled drummer? Sorry, do that again?" More signs. "Someone will be a skilled drummer? Just spell out who it is, Vinyl. I know you like to sign the word that they are named after, but this is getting nowhere."

Vinyl only got through one sign - the letter 's' - before the door swung open. She waved her hand dimissively, instead directing her attention at Sunset, who was walking through the doorway with a new looking guitar case slung over her shoulder. Nodding at her friends, she deposited her intrument next to the electric piano, leaning it against the stand. Grabbing a nearby chair, she pulled it over to the square that the four had formed, sitting back on it. "So."

"So?"

"I got a text. All it says is to come here and bring my guitar. So come on. Is this some insane sceme, or what?" She glanced around almsot fearfully, whispering, "Lyra didn't try inventing something again, did she?"

"Har. Har har har. Funny." Sunset only smirked in response. "But no. You know how we're thinking of starting a sort of band? Nothing big, just we play together, maybe we perform if we're good enough. I know Vinyl plans on making a 'Tube channel."

"And you want me to join with my guitar?"

"And your voice." Octavia added, before shuddering. "My ears still ache after that."

"'That'?"

"We don't talk about that." Bon Bon added, give Sunset a cold stare.

Chuckling, the equestrian pushed herself off of her chair, exclaiming, "Well then, what's the plan?"

"We figured we'd just experiment with what we can play. Y'know, find out what we can actually use, what sounds too bad, and so on."

And so it happened. Vinyl went around recording various pieces created by their group, each discovering their own capabilities. Octavia was brilliant on anything that could be considered 'classical', but tended to lend her skills most towards anything in the violin family, particularly the cello. Lyra was, as always, affectionate to harps and lyres, but was happy to play almost anything that involved strings, though she flat out refused to play an electric guitar, citing the reason as being 'past experiences'. Bon Bon shot a warning glance to everyone at those words, causing everyone to drop the subject. The confectioner was actually fairly talented in all and any wind instruments, going so far as to play the bag pipes, much to Octavia's chagrin. Vinyl, was of course most skilled in electronic manipulation, showing off in some dubstep she had created on a pair of portable turntables, though she also proved to be skilled in any type of piano, her hands being very swift from years of sign language.

As for Sunset, she proved to live up to expectations, her skill in guitars being matched by none, though she refrained from singing - for now. If she was honest, it was nice, even if it evoked bad memories. She was talking with friends, interacting in a way that she enjoyed, nothing felt forced. It was simply somewhere in which she could blend in, not living in any amount of fear, nor was any guilt brought upon herself.

Sunset could only feel comfortable in this situation. She could only feel like she actually fitted in.





"So you're happy there?"

"I guess you could say that." Sunset had shed her blanket, instead using it as a seat, the fire in front of her warming her. Leon continued to look through the flames, his skin seemingly unaffected by the light they were giving off.

"That isn't all though, is it? I can't just be them, can it?" Leon continued to question, though no questioning tone was found in his voice. "There are others?"

"But of course."





Derpy climbed into her classic mini cooper, painted light grey with yellow stripes, reminiscent of her own colouring. Sunset got into the passenger seat, remembering the first time she had found out the clumsy girl drove. She had turned up to school with an armchair tied to the small car's roof, having picked it up early in the morning and had no time to return home with it before coming to school. While she had been mocked for it at the time, Derpy was a surprisingly good driver for someone with a visual disability like the extreme case of strabismus that the blonde possessed. She made sure to be careful when ever any other cars were around, and even then she rarely drove with no one else in the car.

"Thanks for doing this." Derpy said as the car set off, its motor slowly humming.

"For doing what? Keeping you company?" Sunset responded, unsure if she was saying that jokingly or not.

"Well, kinda." She set off, pulling out of the school car park and onto the road. "I just like actually company, but there's something else... I dunno. You know how everyone used to do that 'no offence' thing to you?"

"Hard to forget..."

"Well, it's not as blantant with me, but it just happens everytime. It's not snide comments about how I can't see straight - most of the time - but it's just how people subconsciously draw attention to it. Absolutely everyone does it. Even people like Bon Bon, she looks from eye to eye, instead of just looking at my face. The only other one who doesn't do it other than you is Vinyl, but that's out of understanding and sympathy, as everyone looks at her hands when conversing instead of her face. You're not pitying me-"

"Red light, slow down."

"Thanks. But anyway, you're not pitying me or anything. You're just doing it because you can. Not because you feel a need to do so. Not because you're feeling the mob behind you, torches lit and pitchforks held. You don't want to join them, you're not only able to swim against the tide, you can see through the white water, the kind of stuff that would normally push you under and leave you for dead. Maybe that's because you've been there,-"

"Turn."

"Turn? Oh, right. Thanks."

"No problem. It might be because you know what it's like a little bit, it might simply be because you understand what people like me have to go through and what we want. Either way, it's not like everyone else. You treat me like anyone else, instead of how everyone else would. It's... I dunno..." Derpy's head rolled from side to side as she tried to think of the right phrasing. "Nice. Accepting. Not forced. I'm sure you can relate to that last one."

"Sis!"

Derpy's head turned to look out the side window momentarily, spotting Dinky waving at her sister. Slowing to a stop, the younger girl quickly got into the back behind Sunset, pushing the older girl's seat momentarily forward to do so. "Sorry, Sunset."

"...My knees..."

The driver of the car couldn't help but snigger slightly as she set off again, her oldest passenger rubbing her knee caps in a desperate attempt to negate the pain. And yet, despite the pain filled grimace that was on her face, Sunset couldn't help but smile internally at Derpy's earlier words. It was oddly philosophical for the bubbly girl, but it was comforting all the same. As she had said, it was nice. Nice to be helpful, instead of useful.





"You should listen to her." Leon commented, looking up from the base of the fire.

During the story, Sunset had taken to lying down on her side, before rolling over to face away from the fire, intent on going to sleep. "You can go now. I'm tired."

"Not quite yet. Tell me of your family. It seems they are far closer to your heart than any... previous family members."

Sighing, Sunset sat up, throwing some more fuel onto the slowly dying campfire, before turning to see Leon was now sitting next to Sunset, leaning slightly against the shelter. "Fine. Only because I can't be bothered to argue."





Books.

If there was something Sunset's new family all had in common, it was books. Velvet was an author, and as a result often looked through other books for help when stuck, and Night Light often read science books to make sure his own knowledge didn't dull. Shining and his wife had a thing for detective and romance novels respectively, while Twilight just ate any sort of literature she could lay her hands on.

Back when she was Celestia's student, Sunset rarely ever reread books, and had a custom spell she herself designed to automatically read the knowledge that was in them. As a result, the unicorn had threw herself straight into practice whenever she believed she knew everything there was to know. Once she had entered the human world, however, Sunset had found herself studying in the library that she lived next to for many hours, learning all she could about this world and commiting it to memory.

This was why Sunset had readily agreed to going on a short trip to the same library - she had not had the oppotunity to do so since before Christmas, and now intended to see if there was anything new she could look at. When the equestrian had been walking alongside one of the bookcases, her eyes rapidly reading each title, Twilight had come up to her, asking what she was looking for.

"Something new," She had answered, "I've read all of these books already. Excluding a few topics I absolutely refuse to delve into, and I never really liked any fiction. When you come from a place where many fairy tales here are real or even bigger, it kind of loses its charm." Twilight had opened her mouth for a counterargument, but seeing the book Sunset indicated that she would not read, the bookworm instantly conceded the point. She could see why that particular part of horse anatomy could be very weird.

That, in turn, had lead Twilight to presently ask, "Do horses exist in your world?"

"No," Sunset responded, gesturing for her sister to join her at a small table, away from any visitors, "at least not anymore. It's why I take being called a horse as an insult. The horses of the other world were the ancestors of the vast majority of hooved creatures. Calling a pony a horse would be like calling a human a monkey. Ponies were created when horses were exposed over time to different forms of energy, also known as magic. Almost every other hooved species were evolved from horses the normal way. Camels were horses that needed to adapt to the desert, for example. It should also be noted that horses were a slave race to some other ancient species, and the remainder of those slaves evolved into donkeys - magicless ponies were extreme amounts of stamina and strength equal to an earth pony, sometimes more. Of course, there are other reasons why the hooved species of my world became the way they did, but that's a story for another day. Mainly because I don't feel like explaining how all goats were stripped of the majority of their intelligence because of some ridiculous necromancer. A powerful one at that, but still stupid in my books."

Sunset stood, allowing Twilight to take in the new knowledge as the ex-unicorn went off in pursuit of new knowledge, or failing that, entertainment. Her eyes briefly wandered to the detective and mystery section. They were the only sorts of books Sunset even thought about reading, since they could probably pass for a novel in Equestria too. Shrugging, she made her way over, glancing about for any sign of Shining in his preffered genre.

Sorting through the various stories, Sunset found nothing that caught her immediate attention. She was about to pick out a book to briefly flick through when her brother's voice caused her to look away.

"Hey Sunset!" The man was making his way back into the library, apparantly having stepped out to do something momentarily.

"Shh!" Sunset put a finger to her lips. She had once been scolded by the librarian, and while fairly nice, she was very insistant on the rules to an extreme degree. Once Shining was closer, she answered, "Hey Shiny. What's up?"

"Thought you might want to know about Breeze." The police officer practically spat out the name, as Sunset had a similar reaction of disgust. "Been declared unfit of trial. He's going straight to the looney bin, family hasn't even bothered to help him."

"Good." The girl did have a twinge of guilt for allowing Fluttershy's brother to be taken away, but it was soon washed away by the anger Sunset had for the boy. While Sonata was up and about in less than a week thanks to magic, the mental effects don't always go away so easily. She flinches at the mere mention of a 'breeze', and was clearly no longer comfortable around Fluttershy. She did have plenty of support, most of all from her sisters - even Adagio had given up her petty plotting to give help to Sonata - but Sunset knew first hand that it isn't always enough.

In truth, Sunset had no idea how to actually help Sonata. Her sisters were the only ones who knew how a siren's mind works, but even then, they admitted that Sonata's past was a bit of a mystery. They weren't even entirely sure of their origins, though they were certain she did know. Aria had then grabbed Sunset by the neck and warned her not to even mention their pasts before the human world to Sonata. Sunset had hurriedly agreed.

"And about Gilda..." Shining brought Sunset out of her thoughts with a sour voice full of distaste. "The rest of that gang eventually confessed. Mostly after it was reiterated many times that their reaction was idiotic and extreme. The guys reckon she'll be in juvie for a few months if she's good, over a year if not. Too soon to say for sure."

"Thanks for letting me know." That was another thing that was bothering Sunset - Gilda. She honestly had no clue how to react to her. On one hand, she kidnapped Twilight and held her hostage. But on the other hand, she had been blackmailed into it. It made Sunset's think back to her own blackmailing times. The look of horror some people had when confronted with their own dirty secrets had given Sunset a new perspective on it. She knew how desperate teenagers could be over their social life - paranoid like their life depended on it. It's why Anon-a-miss was so effective, after all, as much as Sunset hated to admit it.

Nodding, Shining turned his attention to the bookcase they were next to, quickly picking out a book and taking it to a table, flicking through it. Sunset moved away, intent on finding something interesting to read, or at the very least look at. 

Alas, it was not meant to be. A quick word to her adoptive mother, and Sunset was wandering outside the library, clearing her mind. She sat on the steps, having a quick look through the journal, reading through her ealier correspondence with Princess Twilight. Other than the 'dark magic prophecy' that Sunset more or less ended up ignoring, Sunset found that the alicorn almost felt the same way about her own friends not too long ago. 

During her brother's wedding, and the subsequent invasion, she found that the normally friendly and outgoing mare had been feeling rejected after her friends had not believed her suspiscions, and when she was proven right, they just continued on when the changelings were defeated. Judging by the tear stains that had appeared on the pages, it had been something that had tormented the princess for a long time, and really needed to vent. Sunset was more than happy to provide sympathy for her interdimensional friend, but it also brought back thoughts of her own friends, and how conflicted she still felt. While she told herself she needed time to forgive, she honestly doubted she would ever truly forgive her three other friends.

That was yet another thing that was on her mind - why did she forgive Dash and Fluttershy so quickly? It couldn't of been just because they came looking for her. That played an important part in it all, but it just didn't seem enough...

Shaking her head, Sunset stood, absentmindedly meandering into a nearby alley. She couldn't help but chuckle at the shelter that had been collapsed once more. It was almost nostalgic, at least it had been until-





"Waitwaitwait. Wait." Sunset pinched her nose, sighing. "Dream?"

"Dream." Leon answered, giving a short nod.

"Luna?"

"Tis- It is so."

Giving a brief chuckle, Sunset slumped back, carelessly using the still burning fire as a foot rest, without a hint of pain in her body. "So, Princess, what's with Mr. Tall D. Scary?"

"'Mr. Tall D. Scary'?" Luna echoed, her voice fading back to a female tone as she morphed into her normal equine form.

"Tall, dark and scary." The girl said dimissively, waving a hand to dismiss the matter. "But seriously, why the disguise?"

"I am sorry for deceiving you. I had intended to test my abilities in this realm, and from what I have heard of you, I doubted you'd take offense at it." The alicorn gave an apologetic look to Sunset, but she just brushed it off with another wave.

"It's fine. I can respect someone testing their limits." She attempted to give a snort of amusement, momentarily forgetting she was still a human. "Unlike most of Equestria, it seems."

"Indeed, but this is not what I have come to ask of you."

"Oh?"

"My sister's dreams have been very... troubled recently. Usually I do not directly influence Tia's dreams, though I feel this calls for different measures." The blue mare gave Sunset a serious stare, causing the girl to sit up, returning an equally serious look. Seeing she had her companion's attention, Luna turned to face the fire once more, watching it lick the air. "It is not something I can solve myself. I shan't bore you with some speech on responsibility, but I would ask of you to enter my sister's dream."

"...Sure, lets do it." 

Luna released a breath she didn't even know she was holding. Wordlessly, the entrance to the alleyway became a mass of stars, floating and moving about, before shifting to present a dark, empty room. The alicorn of the night gave a gasp on exhaustion, the creation of the portal taking a lot out of her. "The... C- Celestia's dream is only just starting. You should have until it ends before you wake up. Go, and do not tarry. I do not know how much longer I can keep this up."

Nodding, Sunset promptly stood up, and walked through the portal without any exceptional flair.





"Look into this mirror and tell me what you see." Celestia led her student into the room, presenting a mirror with a brief hoof gesture.

"I see a mare who almost never got the chance to forgive herself, and a mare who is struggling to do the same for herself."

The alicorn turned to look at the teenage pony, an ever so slightly confused expression on her face. "Explain. Elaborate."

Sighing, Sunset trotted to the side, levitating out two large cushions, taking a seat on one of them. "At one point, we both though the same thing. We both wanted to earn forgiveness, but we were both scared of rejection, fearful that we didn't deserve the other's forgiveness." She gave a short, humourless chuckle. "Sounds like a bitter break up in a romance novel."

As Celestia sat down on the other cushion, she continued. "But I digress. My point is, neither of us were willing to confront each other because of false beliefs. And even when we confronted each other under more... unexpected circumstances, it was, let's be honest, half hearted. Neither of us wanted to push too hard lest we lose the other. So now, let's sort it out. Oh, and would you kindly wipe that annoying mask off your face and figure it out?"

"Buh?" The princess eloquently responded, before her face melted into an expression of understanding. "This is a dream. Of course. Come to haunt me, apparition?"

Rolling her eyes, Sunset leaned over to her mentor, and promptly hit her with a hoof. "Did you feel that? Does it sting a little? Yes? That means either something is influencing the dream, or it's not a dream at all. And no, it's not metaphor for anything, nor am I Luna in disguise." Everytime Celestia opened her mouth to say something, 'Sunset' seemed to state and answer. "It is me. I am Sunset Shimmer. Believe it or not, it doesn't really matter. What does matter is that you listen. Got that?"

The solar princess could only nod dumbly. "Good." Sunset sighed again, this time more sadly. She lifted a fetlock, looking at the numerous scars that had appeared on beneath the amber fur. "You know, there's something I heard recently. It was about injuries. There's three types of injuries. First is things like cuts. At the end of the day they're going to heal without a trace. These you can easily get past as if nothing happened. Barely anyone will remember it, and even those who do will shrug it off when brought up in a painful way. For example, our heated conversation about organisation. Seems stupid and silly now that we look back on it. Of course, enough cuts and it will eventually leave a scar, or worse. Enough conversations, can become something much worse. Several small fights in a boxing ring can eventually lead to murder if it isn't a friendly relationship.

"Now, a scar, or perhaps broken bones. They don't heal properly. Both can become discreet, but they will always be there. Whether it be a red line on skin, a wobble in a step, or a miniscule crack on a bone, someone will always be able to tell it was once there. For us, I suppose that would be me running away. We both have gotten over that initial act, or will definitely do so soon. I don't know which is the case for you, if I'm honest. But we will always remember it, we'll be reminded every so often that it happened, and won't completely laugh it off. And again, enough scars can end up becoming something so much worse, or, if you're lucky, just a ever so tiny mark, unnoticable to almost everyone.

"And finally, we are the more permament injuries. May it be paralysis, an amputation, or even brain damage. Any living being can find ways around these injuries using machinery, surgery, and the like. But that doesn't mean they simply disappear. They will always be there, always in some part of the being's mind, constantly being a hinderence. You believe our current relationship is like that, your guilt being the cause. You shall never forget it, always having it nag you in the back of your mind, forever leaving you worried, scared, traumatised." Sunset stood up, coming over to Celestia, bringing her muzzle inches away from the alicorn's. "That is not what it is. It is a scar. You can move past it, but only if you stop rubbing the scar and constantly agitating it. You're opening wounds over and over again. And for what?"

Sighing, she moved back to her cushion, lifting up a foreleg to show the scars once more. "It's going to take me a while to move on from me trying to take my own life. The scars run deep, both mentally and physically. They will be with me for the rest of my life. But I've accepted that, faced it and decided I can live with it. It's not something that you get over easily, but I can get over it, and I know I will. I've done well so far, actually."

She put her hoof back down, grunt with annoyance. "But you're not doing that, are you? What you need to do is accept that what happened, happened. There's nothing more to it than that. You understand that the past isn't going to change, and you forgive yourself. Those simple little things. It's all you need to do."

Sunset appeared to stretch, groaning a little as she did so. "Now that that's ingrained into your ancient mind, I've got more important things to talk to you about."

Celestia stared straight ahead for a long moment, her eyes unfocused, before she nodded her head softly. "I understand what you mean. But... after it happening so many times, I'm not sure I can."

The smaller mare snorted, before fixing Celestia with a short glare. "Horsefeathers. That's because you do the same thing each time. Well, in the past anyway. Say what you want about Princess Twilight's methods, but she is remarkably efficient at instantly reforming the so called evils of the world, elements of harmony or not. What you need to do is be more accepting both past and present, and not shove stuff in the back of the closet until it comes back out, murderer's axe and all."

Closing her eyes, Sunset gave a small chuckle, smiling at some passing thought. "You know, I remember when we wanted to be family. A mother and daughter. I think it was clear to me now that you thought the same, despite me thinking otherwise. I was just too... difficult to be treated with any sort of mothering instinct. And now, after, what three, four chances? After three chances at finding a family, I've got one. But, to me, I honestly don't want to exclude you like that. So what do you think, aunt Celestia? Do you think you can maintain a long distance relationship?"

A thin smile broke out on Celestia's face, and she nodded slowly. "I think that shall work, my niece." She leaned over for a hug, both parties gripping the other tightly. Sunset nuzzled the white fur, and Celestia rested her head on top of the red and gold mane protectively. Both ponies stayed like that, until a distant rumble drew the unicorn's attention, and she pulled away, much to the alicorn's displeasure.

"I think that's my cue to leave. But remember what I said." Sunset looked up with fierce green eyes, staring into the sun princess' soul. "The cuts are gonna heal and the scars are gonna look okay. Words to live by, if you ask me."

She practically lunged forward again, rolling Celestia over and embracing each other with every ounce of strength in their bodies as the dream around them disappated, leaving the two of them suspended in an empty void.

"It's going to be okay."