Sunset has had a hard life, but now its about to get a lot harder. Just what did Sunset's transformation between human and demon do to her?
Takes place right after Sunset gets the element of magic and places it on her head. The last thing that Sunset remembered is pain. Then a blissful numbness that settled over her. What happened to Sunset when she awakes in a crater with no feelings in her legs. How well she continue living when she can no longer get upstairs without assistance? Is she doomed to be as useless as she feels? Sunset, now crippled, will have a lot to learn from dressing herself to learning about friendship from Twilight friends and how to show her remorse and guilt for her actions. Luckily even if she believes herself to be alone, she'll find out just how many people actually care about her. ****** Inspired by A Wheeled Life by DisgracedHandPuppets. I got the idea after reading his/her idea but with my own understanding of human biology. So go give his/her story a read first before mine. I would like to point out though that his/her and my cause of the paralysis will be for different reasons. Also no attempted suicide or self-harm, but there will be thoughts of suicide. And on a quick note, I don't own MLP or MLP EG or any of the characters as none will be made up by me. So don't sue.
Cover art by Scampy. Go give them a look and read their stories. They are all really good and filled to the brim with emotions. Thank you Scampy for the awesome cover art!
Mind-numbing pain. That was the first sensation Sunset Shimmer felt after putting on the crown. It was unbearable she didn't even realize she was crying as she felt her body slowly change. She felt a bone-shattering pain as her bones elongated and stretched beyond her current size. The worst of it though was coming from her back and shoulders. It felt as though her back was splitting in two and being stretched to the point of it breaking. Finally, the transformation finished, but Sunset was no longer in control of her body. Her mind was taken over by both her negative emotions and the corrupted magic from the crown.
Her mind split into two as the corrupted magic created another being that took control. The corrupted entity pushed her to the back of the mental plane. Sunset Shimmer was forced to watch as it took over the mind of the students making them her slaves. Her spirit felt like breaking as they stumbled towards the portal. However, the worst was to come as she watched Twilight and her friends stood in her bodies way. She could do nothing but cry as she watched her demon create a fireball and fling it at Twilight. This wasn't what she wanted. Not at all. She wanted what Twilight had, was that too much to ask? She wanted a personal relationship with the princess. She thought that the only way was to become one herself. She saw how Celestia treated Cadence she couldn't understand why Celestia didn't treat her the same.
She pushed herself to learn magic as fast as possible because she wanted, no needed Celestia to praise her. However, all she got was criticism about how she should focus on making friends. She didn't want to be friends with other unicorns. She wanted a relationship beyond that of a student and teacher with Celestia. She wanted to have a relationship likes Cadence, but instead, she had to face a cold face and apathetic dismissals towards her attempts at being closer to her idol, mentor, and mother figure. Maybe it was just because she wasn't good enough both in the past and even now.
The despair was so crippling that Sunset didn't notice Twilight and her friends protected by a magically protective film over their bodies. She wanted to go back to Equestria as a princess so that she could try to approach Celestia again. The guilt and sadness were so heavy Sunset felt as if her soul was close to shattering. She was so overwhelmed by her sense of uselessness and regret. She didn't want this but how could one stop the Elements of Harmony? She was just one unicorn turned human.
Sunset wasn't sure what happened. One second she had been lost in despair the next she felt as though someone poured liquid fire on her before dropping her a building on her. Her body and mind screamed in pain, but no noise came out of her mouth. Sunset felt her body shrink back to her normal size and her new additions to her body being burned off. She could feel her legs and back slamming into something very solid, that feeling soon stopped. Her back and arms burned in agony, but it all led to pain. Although it was unwelcomed, she couldn't help feeling she deserved every bit of pain delivered to her.
However, the physical pain was the worse part of what was happening. No, it was much worse than that. It was the mental and emotional trauma that almost drove Sunset to wish for death. Whatever was happening it was forcing her to experience every one of her wrongdoings. She watched the bullying, the lying, the cheating, the fighting, the blackmailing, the manipulation, and the worst of all the betrayal of the only one that noticed her. She felt their pain, anger, sorrow, and hate as she also remembered how she felt at the time of such events. Sunset began to hate herself and wished for Death to come. Death, unfortunately, had other plans that night.
Soon enough Sunset could see again she was surrounded by smoke and dirt walls. As the smoke cleared, she saw Twilight Sparkle, who stood at the rim of the crater. She had pony ears and a tail with purple wings protruding from her back. Other than that she looked the same as she had when she showed up for the dance. Twilight's face was stern, and she angrily watched Sunset who shrunk away from the anger. Sunset's eyes overflowed with tears due to pain and guilt the shame she felt made it difficult for her breath. She tried to compose herself, but her emotions were just as out of control as the rest of her.
"You will never rule in Equestria! Any power you had in this world is gone! Tonight you've shown everyone who you really are, you've shown them what is in your heart."
Sunset Shimmer sniffed raising her head as tears flowed down her face, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't know there was another way."
"The magic of friendship doesn't just exist in Equestria. It's everywhere you can seek it out, or you can be forever alone. The choice is yours."
Sunset crawled her way to the rim too weak to continue, "But all I've ever done since being here is drive everyone apart. I don't know the first thing about friendship."
Sunset was surprised when she felt someone grip her hand. She looked up to see Twilight smiling down at her with the warmest smile, that was the first-ever been directed at her before. She felt Twilight pull her up into a standing position the odd thing was she didn't feel the ground underneath her feet. A quick glance down showed Sunset's feet were touching the ground, but no feeling had told her so.
She felt twilight shift her to be looking at her friends, "I bet they can teach you."
The students soon choose to head back inside after a moment. This left Twilight and her friends to stand in the courtyard with Vice Principal Luna and Principal Celestia. Sunset remained in Twilight's arms as she had yet to regain motor skills. Twilight was obviously straining to keep her on her feet. Sunset saw through her hazy vision that Luna was approaching. She didn't look happy, yet she didn't look mad either.
"Twilight hand Sunset over to me. Celestia and I will take care of her from here," Luna spoke authoritatively.
"Okay, just let me-" she was stopped as she felt Sunset tighten her shaky grip on her dress. "Uh, I don't think she'll let go."
(VP Luna) I looked at Sunset Shimmer white knuckling Twilight Sparkle's dress with her head leaning against the latter's shoulder. Her unfocused eyes moved erratically at anything within her field of vision. That worried me, at the least, the girl had a concussion. Though that was a minor issue compared to what really worried me.
The girl was shaking all over from exhaustion, or the cold were my guesses. She was putting most of her weight on Twilight, and her hair was sticking to both her neck and forehead due to sweat. Her breathing was coming out in quick pants. Her once vibrant amber skin tone was now an orange cream tone.
"Pri- I mean, uh, Vice Principal Luna maybe I can just walk her, Buck!" Twilight attempted to speak, but Sunset slipped out her arms when she was shifted.
While it wasn't that far from the ground, it would be enough to cause someone else to wince. However, Sunset didn't seem to notice all she did was adjust her hand to be holding Twilight's dress with an even tighter vice-like grip. She leaned against Twilight for supporting her limp body.
I rushed forward, and I heard Celestia, who had been staying back due to how uncomfortable she made the teen come closer to help. Sunset's once even panting became far more laboured, and she looked close to losing consciousness. I looked over to my sister for her thoughts. I was met with stormy eyes that held a grim gleam to them.
"Luna, we need to remove her jacket and shirt. I feel like those are the worst of areas."
I trusted Celestia's wisdom. She was always better at seeing the details. I just prayed for once that she was wrong. I nodded as I slowly attempted to remove her jacket, but with her hand gripping Twilight's dress, it made the task infinitely more difficult. Once I got on of her arms out of the jacket, I pulled the rest off her back instead of trying to remove her other arm. What I saw made my mouth fill with bile, but I swallowed it down to focus on the girl.
Her back was in shreds. Her shirt, if it could even be called that anymore, stuck to her back with dried blood. It looked like it was seared into her skin. Long gashes ran along her spine and ribs which filleted her skin. The real damage though was the long diagonal cuts on her shoulder blades. Around the cuts were anger red skin that leaked with blood. Although Sunset was sweating excessively, her skin was cold to the touch. I couldn't imagine the pain she must be going through.
I heard a gasp from the girls and moved to block their way from seeing Sunset's wounds. I pulled my jacket off to put it against the bleeding wounds. I heard my sister moving to look Sunset in the eyes. I glanced up to see my sister shake her head as Sunset gave no response. Celestia quickly withdrew her cellphone. I heard Applejack run off to get her family first aid kit from her truck. Must have been growing up on a farm that made her desensitized towards blood and gore.
Sooner than I had thought Applejack appeared with a bulky plastic toolbox. She sat next to me and began to pull supplies out. What surprised me next was Fluttershy coming up to help. She must have seen my questioning look as she hid a bit under hair and replying.
"I work at the animal shelter. Sometimes the animals don't come in in the best of health," she replied softly.
Fluttershy's actions proved infectious as all the girls around started to help out. Applejack and Rainbow Dash helping Luna with stopping the multiple cuts to stop bleeding. Rarity and Fluttershy handed supplies to the three of us. Pinkie Pie was helping Sunset with keeping her distracted, not that it was all that hard, but there were already enough hands tending to her back. While Twilight just placed her head on her shoulder and helped Pinkie Pie with keeping Sunset awake.
"The Ambulance is on its way. They said to keep her awake, which you're all doing wonderfully," my sister said with a warm smile, but her eyes betrayed the amount of worry and stress she was under.
"Celestia? Luna?" I heard Twilight calling to us, and I looked up briefly to show her that I was listening. "What about Sunset? She's not from this world? She won't have any documents. What are we going to say to the paramedics when they ask about her parents, or even about how she got her injuries? We can't say we blasted her with a laser beam because she was a demon, we'd sound crazy. What will happen to her then?"
I could tell that Twilight was trying to stay calm as Sunset seemed to react to her emotions. I also had been pondering these thoughts the minute my sister had called the paramedics. Sunset was an illegal alien, in more ways than one, not to mention her being a minor with no records. The impossibility of Sunset not being shipped off to another city wasn't that great.
"You need not worry Twilight. I've contacted some friends and have given them our dilemma. They are working on the problem as we speak. One of them will even be her surgeon. She will be in good hands, I assure you."
Friends? What was Celia talking about? They only friends we have are... oh them.
(Somewhere in a dark room surrounded by screens) A low laugh emanated from a man sitting in a chair. All the screens were placed in a chaotic mess. The man's chair was a hammock along strung across the room. His fingers flew across the two keyboards in a pace that would impress all that saw. On one screen a game that was being played, and on the other was a mess of symbols and letters.
"Oh how sweet this delicious chaos that has sprung up tastes. To think that Celey would call me to create such chaos. Hehehe, I'll need to get to work, how nice it is to have the old gang back together. Watch out world here comes Di5c0rd."
(Canterlot General Hospital, ER section) "Get those IV's ready with O negative. We have a teenage girl on hypovolemic. Get the cleaning solution in ER 1, along with polyglactin, polypropylene sutures, teasers, scissors, and morphine. Bring a roll of each. Let's go people chop chop, or I'll cut all your wages for the day if you don't get those supplies in the room before the ambulance arrives."
A tall and regal woman, with dark grey skin with moderate harlequin green eyes and long dark cerulean hair, barked and threaten the drones of nurses. She couldn't stop the small smile from reaching her face. Though the nurses were incompetent, basically the same as mindless drones. She loved all of them, even if they all looked the same with their medical gear at the ready.
Bring it Celestia my Children and I are ready for whatever you throw at us. Or my name isn't Chrysalis queen of the Hospital Hive.
(Third Person, Canterlot High School)
The dance was in full swing, most of the party goers weren't aware of the badly wounded girl in the front of the school. That would change, however, when students out in the hallways chatting caught sight of the flashing red and blue lights. Drawn by their natural teenage curiosity, they stepped out of the torn entryway to see an ambulance having just pulled up.
One of the paramedics rushed over to the group of heroes and principles huddling over the terror of the school. The other paramedics pulled open the back of the ambulance to grab the stretcher. They grab the necessary equipment, then rushed over to the other paramedics.
They ran over and dropped next to the other medic. The girl was fifteen to seventeen years old, with amber skin and bacon colored hair. The girl's eyes were cyan and tears rained down them uncontrollably. What shocked the paramedics were the gashes on her back. Angry red cuts surrounded by burnt and bruising skin. It was like someone had taken a burning sword to the girls back, then proceeded to beat her with a hammer.
The paramedics were just happy that the first responders had managed to stop the bleeding. One had just finished flashing the light in the girl's eyes and pursed his lips.
"What are we looking at?"
"We need to get her to the OR stat. She's lost about two or three pints of blood. We need to get fluids in her now before she goes fully into shock," replied one of the paramedics.
"Understood excuse me, everyone, we need to move out of the way. We're going to be putting her on the stretcher now."
The paramedics moved the stretcher next to Sunset who had been moved to lying facedown. As the paramedics moved Sunset over, though, her back became like wet tissue paper. It ripped open both old and new wounds on her back, which caused the paramedics to swear as they tried to rush her to the ambulance. That was when they ran into their first problem. Sunset still hadn't let Twilight go, despite being nearly unconscious she held on, her grip strong as titanium. Even the biggest medic couldn't pry open Sunset's hand from the girls dress.
Already running low on time, they asked her who she was to Sunset, her answer shocked many that knew the truth, "Sunset is my sister," Twilight said with such conviction that many that didn't know her assumed it was true. After a small and quick discussion, it was decided that Twilight would ride in the ambulance with Sunset and the medics, while the rest of the girls and the two principals would meet Twilight at the hospital. She climbed in the Sunset and soon they were being taken to the
(Waiting Room Canterlot General, 2 hours before portal closes)
Sunset had been in surgery for the past three hours, they had successfully removed Twilight from Sunset's hand, with a little help from pain killers, and were able to keep Sunset from shock. Everyone else had arrived minutes after Twilight got to the hospital. Thankfully the worst seemed to have past them as what Twilight could learn from the nurse was most of the time will be spent on stitching Sunset's back. They were going to do other tests to make sure that Sunset was fine, at least physically, for now.
Twilight was found pacing out in front of the doors leading to the operating rooms. Rainbow Dash wasn't doing much better as she was anxiously sitting in a chair tapping her foot on the floor. Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy were all group together in a comforting embrace. Applejack was leaning back against a pillar watching all the gathered girls with her arms crossed worry apparent on her face. Celestia has been on her phone talking with someone in a hushed tone, while Luna was much like Twilight in the pacing, though she looked over at Celestia every once and a while.
It was during this time that a person wearing blue scrubs with white gloves walked out, they looked at the clipboard before calling out, "Sunset Shimmer."
Everyone jumped from their spots and rushed towards the man. Twilight being the first to reach him Rainbow following not too far behind. Once the others had gathered Twilight switched into research mode and began to interrogate the poor man. Asking so many questions that he wasn't even able to speak. Once Twilight stopped to breath though he squeaked out quickly, "The head surgeon wanted to see you all in her office, fifth floor five doors down on the left."
"WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST SAY SO THEN?!!?!?!
The man sweatdrop as all those present vanished in the elevator, Holy stars above. That girl could give the queen a run for her money. I hope she doesn't find out about me thinking about that, I could get stuck with janitor duty. The man began a cheery tune as he moved on his way with his next task.
A short but agonizingly slow elevator ride later, the group of students and teachers reached the dictated place by the man downstairs. On the metal slot beside the door read Dr. Chrysalis Arnia. When the group went inside. The room was furnished with black leather chairs and wall couches. The lights shined with pale blue light, and the walls were colored cerulean blue. The back wall was furnished with filing cabinets. The wooden desk was neat and piled high with paperwork. At the dest was a harlequin colored desk chair that had a dark walnut stain. The walls were bare of pictures but five frames sat on the cluttered desk and sitting in the was a woman that Twilight both knew and didn't know.
She was the spitting image of Chrysalis, but her attitude and posture were completely wrong from Canterlot, which she had last seen her. This Chrysalis seemed more peaceful, more thoughtful, and patient than her Equestria counterpart. Even if that was the case Twilight was still very weary of this world's Chrysalis. She sat a little straighter when they entered her office. She looked at Celestia before briefly looking over Twilight and the girls. She focused her eyes solely on Twilight and cleared her throat, "You're her sister."
It was more of a statement than a question, Twilight shifted under stare, "Well, she's not my sister related by blood. More like we both had the same teacher and were basically raised by her, thus making us more apprentice sisters?"
Twilight finished unconvinced that she made any sense, but all Chrysalis did was nod then looked at Celestia. "What is the story that you're going to use to cover this up? You can't just say that a person from another dimension came a took control of the students, then proceed to destroy public property because she was angry."
"What? Princess- I mean Principal Celestia you told her?"
Celestia, choosing to ignore Twilight's question, focused more on Chrysalis, "I have a few ideas on what to use, but I wanted to hear the extent of Sunset's injuries so it would be believable."
At the mention of Sunset's name, the mood turned grim. "Yes, of course. While I like and loath that you involved Discord, it was a good thing you had him make records. However, I'll be blunt with you all. I don't believe Miss Shimmer will ever be the way she was before."
The room grew so tense it would take a jackhammer to shatter it. Everyone held their breaths and waited for the new to fall.
"There's good news and bad news. While I managed to save her life, there are many problems. She lost a lot of blood as you've all guessed by now. We've run tests on her blood and found that she was malnourished as well as anemic. We've hypothesized that her malnourishment is the cause of her anemia.
"We've scanned her brain and it shows signs of trauma. This is one of two things that I'm worried about. From the look of it, there are signs of both past as well as recent trauma on an emotional, mental, and physical scale. I really don't know how stable she'll be if she recovers she'll be very very fragile. Though this next new might shatter any hope in a full.
"Her back has massive bruising and will be heavily scarred for the rest of her life. Her both of her legs are broken, more specifically her patella, tibia, and fibula are badly fractured. Though not that it'll matter."
"W-WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'NOT THAT IT'LL MATTER'?" Rainbow stood aggressively.
"Because she won't be able to use her legs for the foreseeable future. Until she wakes up and I can run more test there isn't a way to know the full extent of her injuries. I don't know what really happened but all I can tell is that Miss Shimmers spinal cord is a mess. The signs all point to her being a paraplegic. Miss Shimmer will most likely never independently walk again."
Everyone lost their ability to breath. Tears brimming in everyone's eyes, even the stone face Applejack that cried on the inside had tears streaming down her face. However, none took it as hard as Twilight. She swayed on her spot looking close to falling over. She caught herself before she fell over, she looked over at Chrysalis how had been watching her closely, strangely though Twilight didn't have tears streaming down her face. No there were being held back, then Twilight did something she hadn't expected. She smiled at her before she began to laugh. Everyone stopped their own suffering for the moment to stare at her in befuddlement.
"HAHA... that was a good one Chrysalis. You almost had me there. So how is she actually?"
"I... wasn't lying to you."
"This isn't funny anymore! Tell me what wrong with her!"
"Please, Miss Twilight. I'm not lyi-"
"SHUT UP! IT'S IMPOSSIBLE THAT WOULD HAPPEN. THE ELEMENTS DONT WORK LIKE THAT!!! THEY WOULDN'T DO THIS TO SOMEPONY! I WOULDN'T WANT THIS TO HAPPEN TO SOMEPONY."
They could finally see it Twilight saw herself to blame for Sunset's injuries. She was grasping at straws trying to make it what Chrysalis said impossible. Before any of the other girls or teachers could think of comforting the distraught girl, the doctor already had her in a soft embrace. She pulled Twilights head into her shoulder, and placed a calming hand on the back of Twilight's head, "It's alright to cry. This is horrible news, you don't need to be strong right now."
That was all that was said before Twilight began wailing. She repeatedly apologized, begging to be forgiven to the one that couldn't hear her. In between her heartbreaking sobs, Twilight asked, "W-Who's going to watch over her? I've...I've got to leave soon... I won't be able to see her... for another 30 moons... *sniff* As much as I want to stay I have a duty elsewhere... I can't just not go back I have something that protects my home from dangers... I can't just. I'd be putting so many ponies at risk!"
"Let us figure that out. You'll be happy to know that Miss Shimmer, will at the very least be spending the rest of the month here at the hospital."
She spent the rest of the hour weeping softly after she was passed to her friends. Twilight looked at the clock and saw that she only had about an hour until she needed leave. She had one last request for Chyralis before she left. Normally, she wouldn't allow it with a patient as fragile as Sunset Shimmer, but this once she would allow Twilight to visit. It sounding like she wouldn't be able to see Sunset Shimmer for at least two years.
Searching the Stars (updated and edited, to the best of my ability)
Within a small room with orange painted walls, a slow constant beep signified the fighting victory over death. The drapes were drawn open, allowing the moon to shine through. Underneath the bay window was a couch made of the window seal. Near the window was a door marked bathroom. At the center of the room stood a bed surrounded by all types of machines. It had the standard heart rate machine and IV dripper stationed at the side of the bed closest to the door. To the side of the bed was an oxygen ventilator.
The machines all had one thing in common despite their vastly different purposes, and that was keeping a young girl alive. On her face, she wore a respirator that pumped air into her lungs, while an IV was placed in her forearm. There was a small clip on her right pointer finger connecting her to the heart monitor. Her skin was a pale amber, but the biggest change for those that knew her was her hair. What used to be long flowing hair was now shoulder length and straight, much like Twilight's.
She was silent except for a small whimper here and there. Whether it was from pain or unpleasant dreams, it was known only to her. The group of nine walked in quietly, Twilight needed help as she swore her feet were fused to the floor in shock. An overwhelming amount of guilt and pain bared itself onto her shoulders. The tightness in her chest made her feel like her chest was caving in.
It was only with the help of Applejack and Fluttershy that she managed to cross over the threshold. It seemed as though Sunset had lost that fire the burned within her, even if that fire was destructive. It was better than thinking of her as ash, weak and easily erased. She looked so cold and weak to Twilight that it took all of her will power not to sob where she stood. She was having a hard time believing that she might be the cause of such pain and emptiness.
Twilight allowed her feet to carry her over to the bed and kneel before Sunset's bed. She grasped the pale amber hand and brought it to her face while tears dripped down her face in silent sobs. She whispered apology after apology to the unconscious form on the bed. As Twilight's sobs slowed, she felt a small squeeze on her hands. Looking up she saw a sliver of Sunset's cyan eyes locked onto hers, though it looked like she was fighting just to do that little.
"S-Sunset, Are you... Are you alright?
"...Tired...forgive you." came a reply as quiet as death.
"W-what do you m-mean?"
"Heard apology...not you're fault."
"I'm sorry this happened. If only I had known. I could've found a different way."
"...It's fine...need to hurry...portal...closes...soon."
"I wish there was a way for you to come back to Equestria with me. I never got to ask."
Sunset was once again unconscious, the exchange barely lasting half a minute, and her grip on Twilights hand relaxed enough to allow Twilight to free herself without much struggle. Twilight leaned into Sunset's hand once more and wiped a few more tears before she looked behind her at Applejack. She was leaned back against the wall, her hat held weakly in her left hand uselessly. The others left the room sometime before Twilight and Sunset's conversation. Only Applejack remained solemnly.
"Applejack."
"Yea, Twi," her voice and eyes both holding the same pain.
"Would you be feeling up to driving me back to the portal?"
"Yea. What about the others? Do ya' want them to come with?"
"I-I would like that, but I understand if they want either go home or stay here. I won't force them to do something they don't want to."
"Well, alright. Ah'll head out first, while ya say yur last goodbyes."
With that, Applejack walked out into the hall, while leaving Twilight behind. She squeezed Sunset's hands one last time for what would be the last time in about two and a half years, as far as she knew. She breathed in a shuttering breath before she spoke so softly that even Fluttershy would be impressed.
"I'm sorry, Sunset. I have to go now. I wish I could've got to know the real you. The Sunset that was buried underneath all that anger. I feel like we could' be good friends. I hope you get well soon. Please, don't come to hate me and the girls. None of us thought that this would happen, least of all me. I'm sorry Sunset I've got to go."
Twilight rushed out of the room, overwhelmed by guilt as she raced down the hall to the sign marked stairs. Never did Twilight want magic more than right now. She wished to be able to teleport to the portal so that she might be able to seek comfort and advise from the Princess. If she could be told that everything would be alright from the Princess, then she knew that it'd be alright. The Princess never led her astray before and she wouldn't now.
Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie decided to stay at the hospital for as long as they could; while Twilight, Spike, Applejack, and Rainbow, mostly because she didn't know how to express the feeling she had at the moment, headed back to CHS. The drive had been quiet, all of them being in their own head as they processed the mess that was tonight. Only Spike seemed able to have processed and moved on as he tried, and mostly failed, to keep Twilight optimistic about the future of Sunset.
It was a relief to all when they pulled to the front of the school and parked in front of the statue. They all dismounted from Applejack's truck and made the depressing walk to the base of the Wondercolt Statue. Twilight clutched Spike with a firm grip and avoided looking at the gaping hole that Sunset had dragged herself out of. Before entering the portal, Twilight turned to face Applejack and Rainbow.
"Can I trust you all to look after her for me?"
"Course, Twi me and the girls will help her with anything that we can. Ah know Granny wouldn't mind making meals for her while she's at the hospital."
"Yeah, Twilight you don't have to worry at. After all, you've got one of the awesomest girls in the school watching over her for ya. Anyone wants to mess with Shimmer they haveta go through me first," Rainbow said as she punched her palm.
Twilight jumped forward and wrapped her arms around both of them. " Thank you. You don't know what this means to me."
"Okay okay. Can we stop now? You're squishing me Twilight," Spike complained, as he was at the center of said hug. The three had a brief giggle before they broke apart. Twilight and Spike then walked to the portal and touched the shimmering surface before they stepped through the doorway that'd be closed for the next two and a half years.
(Canterlot, Vice Principal Luna POV)
Vice Principal found a chair away from Sunset, she needed to think. It was overwhelming seeing the once strong girl, albeit manipulative, become so fragile that machines were the only thing that was keeping her alive at the moment. Though it wasn't just her physically that had become weak. It was her spirit, what used to be a firey unyielding spirit of anger and hate had become a meek and anxious one.
She had seen Sunset wake up and comfort Twilight. She could see the small details that Twilight most likely missed. She could see how Sunset brushed off any concern for herself and focused only on Twilight. She seemed unwilling to accept any concern and Luna could see self-loathing the girl held. After all, Luna saw that look every day she woke up and looked in the mirror.
If only she didn't get so jealous, so angry, maybe 'Tia could have had a kid of her own. She never should have gone out like that, drank what she did. She should have never gone back to her car, she should've never turned that key. She should have never ignored her sisters attempt to include her. It was her fault that 'Tia could never have a real family. 'Tia told her she'd never married due to never being able to give what both her and her partner what they wanted most. A child.
"There you are."
"Sister."
"Lu. What's the matter? You have that same look you had all those years ago."
"She has the same look as I do now."
"Who? Twilight? She'll get over it. She seems like a strong person. She won't let it affect her for too long."
"No. Not Miss Sparkle. I was speaking of Sunset. She's been 'purified', but she still holds much hate. Only it's directed at herself now rather than others. Much like I after the accident."
"I've told you Lu, I never hated you. I was too worried about you, I know that you never meant for anything that happened to me. I should have noticed that you felt left out. I should have made others be more accepting towards you. I couldn't sleep at the time that you were jailed. I couldn't help but think that it was my fault."
"No, sister. It was my fault. It was my car that crashed into yours. It was my car that hurt you. It was my fault that my sister can no longer have children. Meaning it was my punishment."
"It was my fault, and you took the consequence. I prayed that those thousand hours passed quickly. I missed you so much. It took me almost losing you to know the importance of family. It taught me that you can never say I love you enough."
"Sister, it wasn't all that bad. It was just community service."
"I know Lulu, but it must have been awful living in jail until those hours were up."
"I'll admit there were times that I missed you, but you came to visit often. So it wasn't as bad as it could have been and I love you as well 'Tia."
The two sisters embraced each other tenderly, while they did Luna began to think of the situation at hand. Luna had been thinking about it since she came to the hospital. If she went along with her plan, not only would it change her life but her sister's as well. It would change both of their lifestyles considerably, considering they lived together.
There were many problems with the plan. The expenses of the plan would be very high, and Luna would most likely have to tap into some of her inheritance. Being that her job was mostly a hobby due to her and 'Tia's parents having a large company, and their grandmother being royalty. She wasn't hurting for money, but the bills would definitely take a bit of her money that was set aside. Along with the changes to the house and school to allow for the plan and its changes to become successful.
The next would be the possible backlash of the plan. The backlash would come from both parents and students alike if they ever found out about it. Many things would have to be kept under wraps, and only a select few would know as a means to help if it was needed. Her family would need to be given a heads up, so they could give her their permission to be able to attend this Thanksgiving family reunion.
The last flaw in this plan would be being accepted by the one that its most directly involving. If they didn't accept, then this plan would all be for naught. Though the first obstacle to this would be getting 'Tia to accept her proposal. She didn't have a strong argument if it came to it, all she had was her empathy toward the person she was going to fight for.
"I have something to ask sister."
Luna and Celestia looked at each other in the eyes. They blinked surprise after saying the same as the other.
"You go first, Lulu. Mine can wait."
"Y-Yes, sister, you probably won't like what I'm about to ask. However, I must digress that I won't allow you to say no, I'll move out if that is what it takes. I don't wish for that, but I will if I must. So you have to take what I'm about to say at face value and must think about this serious sister."
"Of course, Luna. What is it that you need?"
"I wish-no I want to adopt Sunset Shimmer into our family. I wish to become her legal mother. If you could help me, I'd greatly appreciate it."
Celestia looked extremely uncomfortable, with what Luna had just asked for. It was definitely surprising to say the least, as Luna had made it abundantly clear that she didn't want children. Always stating that she got enough kid memories from her job. That and she wasn't exactly a role model for any future kids as she preferred playing online video games and being a recluse in her spare time.
"Luna- I... don't know what to say."
"Please, 'Tia it would be my only wish. It probably has something to do with what happened before she came here. Sunset has for the past three years, if she ever had a problem, a real problem, she'd come to me. Me, one of the most feared authority figure in the school, out of all the other teachers or even you, she came to me. It's something that has baffled me for the past three years, and now, now I have found that reason. In some way or form, we're connected to each other. She'll have the same problems that I had with my redemption.
"I'll be able to help her through all that pain because I'll be one of the only people that'll understand her. So please, Tia give me a chance to save a child's life. It's not much, but maybe then you'll forgive me for taking your children's life."
"Look, Luna, the only reason I don't know what to say is, I wanted to ask you the same thing. It would seem we have much to speak about."
Twilight Sparkle walked through the portal on two hooves. She stumbled slightly before she plopped down on four hooves. In the room were the princesses and her friends. The crown was placed in her satchel, she shuffled forward as her friends rushed towards her.
"Twilight," Fluttershy exclaimed quietly.
"You're back," Rainbow Dash said flying up to her face.
"Where's your crown?" asked Rarity.
"It's in my satchel," Twilight explained, barely stopping herself from crying in anguish.
"I knew you could do it," Pinkie Pie said suddenly hugging her.
"Oh we were so worried," Applejack had tears in her eyes.
"Sunset Shimmer is she alright?" Princess Celestia asked.
Twilight flinched away slightly at the question. She backed up until she bumped the mirror slightly. Just as Spike came shooting out of the mirror and pushed Twilight a step forward. She was shaking like a leaf, and her bangs covered her eyes from the rest of the group. Twilight was biting her lip trying to find the words to reply to her mentor's question.
She wrapped her hoof around her leg, she felt as though she was falling apart. She thought she could do this, but she didn't account the amount of guilt she felt into her explanation. Twilight was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice tears running down her cheeks, nor did she notice when Spike walked forward and placed a clawed hand on her leg.
"I've left her in good hooves..." Twilight managed to tell.
"Oh, that's wonderful. You had me worried when you didn't answer my question immediately."
"There's more... while she's safe with the ones I trusted. She's far from alright."
"Wha-what do you mean, my faithful student?"
"I'm sorry, Princess Celestia. Due to the circumstances, the magic from the Element ended up corrupting Sunset when she wore the crown. After some struggle me and the girls ended up getting magic from the element. We used it on the transformed Sunset. While we saved her, she was hurt, bad. From the exams that the doctors could do, they...they...they believe that Sunset will n-never be able to walk again."
After the confession, Twilight broke into tears as she fell to the tiled floors in a sobbing mess. Her friends and Cadence, who had been silent up until now, were shocked to hear what had happened to Princess Celestia's former student. They rushed to comfort Twilight as Princess Celestia stood unmoving from her spot. Princess Luna wrapped a wing around her sister's body.
"It's unfortunate what has happened to my sister's former student. Though it makes sense as to why this happened," Princess Luna spoke in an attempt to comfort her sister.
"What...*sniffle... what do you mean, Princess Luna."
"Well, you see the Elements of Harmony are relics that store great magic. Together they perform awe-inspiring feats, for instance, the lord of chaos, Discord was put in stone, the darkness in my heart was pushed out. However, if alone they have far worse consequences. For you see while the six together are strong, they act as a dampener. They more or less weaken the magic fired at its target."
"Weaken the magic? Then why do we use them together? If they are stronger on their own it makes sense to use them separate than together?" Rainbow questioned.
"Simple, it's in the name. The elements individually are just pillars, but together they create a palace as they fill in everything else."
"Right."
"The elements of kindness and honesty allow ponies to see their past mistakes and to learn from them. Generosity and loyalty show the possible ways to fix and become an ally with the elements. While laughter shows the pony the good memories that it experienced. Magic makes it all possible, however, you didn't have the others making your element strongest of them all. It's most likely what happened to that of Sunset Shimmer. It had nothing holding it back, magic is a tool it isn't inherently evil or good. It is here to be used."
The news shocked all that listened, Twilight and Princess Celestia were still stuck within their own grief. Princess Celestia walked out of Princess Luna's embrace and made her way out to the hallway. She allowed her hooves to take her where they wanted, all while Twilight's words echoed in her head. She soon found herself at the balcony overlooking the crystal city. She looked upon the stars that her sister helped to create. As she watched the stars twinkle, she spotted a shooting star. She was enraptured by the star streaking across the sky. She remembered the time before she started to be hard on Sunset.
It was a night much like this one, but there was going to be a shower of lucky stars. As they enjoyed watching the nighttime spectacle she couldn't help but remember when she told Luna to look for them. She wondered if Luna was looking for lucky stars like she taught her to all those years ago. It was that train of thought that caused Celestia to fold in on herself. It was her fear of losing those close to her that caused her to realise that she'd become too close to Sunset. If Sunset was to betray her she'd be destroyed. She had to remember that she was the teacher and the princess, she couldn't allow herself to become too attached with Sunset. She lost her patience that night with Sunset, which resulted in losing a part of herself.
It was after Sunset ran to the mirror when Celestia realised that it was her thoughts that caused her to lose both Sunset and her patience. She was overwhelmed with guilt much like when she banished Luna, she was the cause of losing both of the people that were the closest to her heart. She lost her sister because of her blindness and the one she considered her daughter was lost from her fear. When she lost Sunset she swore she wouldn't make the same mistake again, especially when she found one of Sunset's journals. When she read the journal she couldn't hold back the tears and wished for a second chance so that she could adopt Sunset officially and not just in her heart. It was two months later that she took Twilight as her personal student, the hurt of not having someone almost unbearable.
There were two reasons she took Twilight as her student, three if she was being honest with herself. The first being Twilight's cutie mark, the element of magic as a cutie mark was surely a sign of her potential. The second being her uncontrollable amounts of raw magic. The last and most selfish of reasons was Twilight reminded her of Sunset. Celestia thought she could have a second chance, but this time she'd be more involved and patient with her newest student. She hoped and that Sunset would return to her and Celestia could have a chance at reconciling with the pony that she came to think of as her daughter.
She gazed upon the sky above her, silently hoping for anything to give her advice. She felt numb even more so than when Luna was sent to the moon. She searched the stars looking at each one as if trying to gain the knowledge from their long existence. She barely registered another Pony''s presence, a small glance towards the pony revealed the newly crowned Twilight. She looked up at the sky, looking for what Celestia suspected she was doing. Together they both looked at the sky, looking for answers to their toughest questions. Celestia reached out with her wing and pulled Twilight closer to her side, Celestia's sister and Twilight's friends found them sitting on the balcony staring at the sky with wings wrapped around each other. Their cheeks were wet from the constant tears that leaked from their eye not that any of the two noticed. None of them spoke any words of comfort. They knew that nothing could make this situation alright, despite desperately wanting it to be.
(Canterlot General Hospital, two days after Fall Formal)
Rarity sat on the left side of Sunset's bed with a set of scissors and a mesh fabric. She held it up to the back of a material that she was working determinedly on. While she was determined, the dark circles under her eyes show the exhaustion that she felt. Fluttershy was in the bay window asleep, with Rarity's jacket covering her shoulders. They promised to keep watch and wake the other after a few hours of sleep. However, Rarity became too focused on her task and never woke Fluttershy for her shift.
Her task was cleaning and repairing Sunset's jacket, which proved more work than at first thought. The article of clothing was covered with cuts and scuff marks. While mostly destroyed, the leather spoke to Rarity on the extensive attachment Sunset had with the jacket.
Rarity could only imagine what Sunset felt, and restoring her jacket was the only way she could think of helping her. It also helped to keep certain feelings at bay until she could actually manage the guilt. While she measured the tears along the back, she heard a noise. Looking up from her work, Rarity saw Sunset's face scrunch up.
Rarity set her supplies and Sunset's jacket in her purse and approached the prone figure. Rarity's hand hovered over the call button, not wanting to cause an incident over nothing. That was when she noticed Sunset's hand reaching out for something. Rarity grabbed hold of Sunset's hand gently. This caused Sunset's fidgeting to slow.
However, that soon changed as Sunset began to breathe irregularly quickly. Rarity looked up at Sunset to see a look of pure terror. Sunset ripped her hand out of Rarity's and pushed herself back. She screamed both in terror and pain as her back hit the headrest. Rarity tried to come to her aid, but that proved to do more harm than good as Sunset began to thrash around to get away.
While this happened, Fluttershy had woken up to Sunset screaming. She quickly moved behind Sunset and began to hum softly. As she tried to calm Sunset, Rarity pressed the call button. Fluttershy rubbed circles on Sunset's hands, while she continued to hum.
It was a minute or so before a nurse came to the room. In that time, Fluttershy had successfully calmed Sunset down. However, she was still disoriented, neither understanding where she was or what was happening. She was asking Fluttershy questions with a slight tremble to her words.
"C-can somepony tell me what's going on? W-why am I here? Is Princess Cel- T-twi-light here? Why am I not home? This isn't my bed? I want to go home."
"Shhh... It's okay. You're here to get help from the doctors and nurses."
"No... that's not true," Sunset watched the nurse warily.
"What do you mean? Why do you think that, darling? These people saved your life." Rarity said with a grateful smile
"That can't be. They-they did something to me."
"W-what do you mean, Sunset?" Fluttershy asked as she rubbed Sunset leg.
"I c-can't feel that. It's numb. Why can't I feel your hand? Before I came here, I could feel my legs. So why can't I now? What did they do to me? What did you do? Why? How? How did they do this? P-please, tell me this isn't happening. It can't be like this. I won't be able to make friends. Ponies will think I'm weird. They need to fix this...whatever they did, they need to undo it."
Sunset began to ramble to the point that she was borderline hysterical. It was getting to the point that the nurse saw the signs of hyperventilation. She moved towards a drawer and grabbed a sedative, and walked closer to Sunset. She grabbed her arm and stabbed down.
However, at the last moment, Sunset jerked her arm, and it caused the needle to stab into the nurse. She yelped, but the damage was already done, the needle's sedative was already in her system.
"Oops," the nurse slurred as she tipped over.
"Ahhh," Rarity screamed as she pressed the call button like a gamer would to save their character.
"I'm s-sorry, she attacked me. She was the one that scared me. I'm sorry."
(Celestia POV Luna and Celestia's house upper Canterlot)
I walked into the guest room to see Lu sleeping while she leaned against the mattress. After the hospital, Lu came here to arrange a place for Sunset. I held in a small giggle as I watched my sister drool. Her hair was a wild nest of blue. If she was lying on the bed, I'm sure her limbs would be everywhere.
After a long conversation, it was decided that Luna would be her legal guardian, and I would become the godmother to Sunset. This way, both of us could be her mother. Plus, we wouldn't get any strange looks from others that didn't know the situation.
I sighed as I walked out into the hallway heading to the kitchen. I was intent on making coffee before Luna woke up. She's a grumpy person in the morning. After filling the machine with the grounds, I waited for two cups to be brewed. As I awaited the coffee, I thought of how Luna commanded she be the one to become Sunset's mother. It was so out of character for her.
Every year my mother would ask when Luna was going to have children, and without fail, Luna would always deny wanting any. With excuses such as childbirth would hurt too much, not finding the right match for her, having no interest in spending her gaming time worrying about a kid, or being Vice Principal allows her to see all the kids she needs.
However, Luna made a good point in her arguments for allowing guardianship to be passed onto her. Luna was right, I couldn't relate with Sunset, and she definitely preferred Lu over me. I just hope that Sunset gives me a chance to be the best aunt and godmother to her.
I finished making my coffee and set about making Luna's mocha, coffee being too bitter for Luna. She loved hot chocolate but was seen as too childish when she ordered it. While I was preparing the mix, my phone began to ring.
I fished it out of my pocket and answered, "This is Principal Celestia of Canterlot High."
"Hahaha, is that how you answer all your calls? You sound so stiff. You really must join in on some of my fun Cely."
"Ah Discord, it's you. Did what I ask for get done?"
"Oh, Cely, I'm hurt, truly hurt. I wouldn't be calling if it wasn't now, would I?"
"That's why I asked. You're too chaotic sometimes. It causes you to be easily distracted."
"Ugh, boo. It's not entertaining if everyone can predict what I'm going to do. I'm a spirit of chaos. It only makes sense that I'd be unpredictable. OW! Screwball, if you're going to help with yoga, you need to get my ice cream."
"Sorry, Papa." A small voice said over the phone.
"Now, where were we? Ah yes, the little one you made me create, it was quite fun, oh but so hard. I won't be doing it again. It's too much work. I'm all for a good challenge, but I prefer games much more."
"So, she's a person within the system?" I couldn't help but ask.
"UGH, yes. If anyone goes to look, they'll see files, and I'll know when that happens. So, it'll be no trouble. I'll give you access so you can add whatever you want. Oh, I've got to go. They're airing the new episode. I'm going to find out if Roberto will propose to Mara and fight Jack in a food fight to win Mara's heart." *Click*
What kind of show is he watching?
I shook my head and began to pour the boiled water into a cup. I was honestly surprised that Discord finished as soon as he did. I would have to send some cotton candy and chocolate milk to him. I'll just have to add Luna as her emergency contact, that'd make it easier for Luna to gain custody.
I just poured Luna's mixture into a cup with some creamer, when my phone rung once again.
"Hello, Principal Celestia of Canterlot High."
"She's awake, and quite the handful might I add," said the annoyed Doctor.
"What do you mean?" What could Sunset have done to cause a scene?
"She knocked out one of my nurses..."
"What?"
"She was freaking out, and the nurse tried to calm her down with a sedative. However, Sunset fought at the last moment and ended up making the nurse sedate herself instead of Sunset."
"Hahaha," I giggled softly at hearing that.
"IT'S NOT FUNNY! That fancy girl with purple hair caused mass confusion because she persisted hitting the call button, which caused Sunset to become even more agitated because of the people rushing to her room. It's only nine in the morning, and I already desire to sleep in my comforter."
"You're doing a good job Chrysi. I was just about to wake Luna and drive to the hospital together with her."
"Please hurry. I want to bury someone's head into a wall."
"We won't take long."
"Better not." *Click*
I sighed as I made my way upstairs to my slumbering sister. I walked into the bedroom and watched my sister inhale deeply once the coffee spread through the air. Her bleary eyes opened and focused intently on the beverage in my hands.
I held the cup out and waited. Luna groaned as she reached for it. She sipped it and made a face, cradling the mocha in her hands. She continued to sip on her concoction while blinking as if in slow-motion.
"It would seem that Sunset woke up this morning and made Chrysalis want to pull her hair out."
"Mmhmm...wait Sunset's awake? How? Wasn't she suppose to be placed into a coma until her wounds would allow her to move around?"
"I don't know. We'll have to inquire about this when we arrive. So go get ready, I'll be waiting in the living room."
I walked down and sat on our purple sectional sofa bed. I grabbed my tablet and began to go through the emails that I'd been ignoring. I shifted through complaints of parents and of the superintendent on how a section of the building is gone. I deleted my spam mail and declines from construction crews and a few acceptance contracts from other companies. However, it wasn't anything that couldn't be fixed with a nudge here and there.
Finally, Luna sauntered down the stairs while yawning as she grabbed an apple bagel from the kitchen. She motioned with her hand she was ready, and we both left our house ready to add another member to our family.
After I returned to a more conscious state, a nurse shooed Rarity and Fluttershy of the room. The nurses began to poke and prod me with various equipment. They raddled off numbers and readings that flew over my head. I studied magic, not biology. They flashed a small light in my eyes and checked the back of my head, which did little to help my headache and nauseous feeling. My mouth felt like cotton filled every inch. However, that wasn't my main concern. No, it was the people.
It felt like they covered every which of the room despite there only being five nurses and one doctor. The doctor had yet to say anything, and she only continued to write down the report from the nurses. However, I paid little mind. I couldn't stop myself from being distrustful, I didn't know them nor did I want to. They were talking too much, but they weren't telling me anything.
They were too close, and too many were there. The nurses kept nudging me. I didn't want them to touch me. I developed a wariness when it came to humans touching me. No matter what they did, it left me incredibly uncomfortable, though I didn't mind Fluttershy. I wonder why that it is.
While lost in thought, I just barely noticed everyone, except the doctor, leave. I studied her like a complex magic equation. I took in her black skin and shiny green hair and thought of what she could be on the other side of the mirror. I got the feeling that she wasn't a pony. She shined too much to be a pony.
I did know that I was unnerving her with my near constant stare. I blinked once and directed my attention to the clipboard. That seemed to break her from her tense daze. She coughed into her hand as she walked towards me. I read her name, which read Chrysalis Arnia.
"Ahem, I'm Chrysalis Arnia. I'm the one that was in charge of your operation. I've told both your friends and your principals. Overall, you've come out better than most would've. Though you'll have a long road ahead of you."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
I figured I would have to heal from where the wings cut through my skin and being burned off by the rainbow. But from the way she said that it seems very serious.
"I'm not a hundred percent sure if what I suspect will come true. As such, I would appreciate it if you'd allow me to perform one final test."
"Will it involve touching me?" I hope it didn't.
"Yes it will, but it will be rather rudimentary compared to other tests." She explained without really explaining.
"I-will-I supposes you could," I was very hesitant, but I was turning over a new leaf. I'd have to learn to trust others soon enough.
"Well then, can you please move your leg?"
That threw me through a loop? Why does she want me to move my leg? Anyone can do that, I mused with annoyance and moved my limb. Or I tried to. I thought of bending my knee and bring it to me. But despite all my effort, it remained motionless.
The only part of the limb that moved was where my hips met my legs. At this point, I started to panic. I tried to move my foot with just as much success as my knee. However, a hand on my shoulder broke me out of my panic-inducing thoughts. I looked at her with wide eyes. I could feel tears gathering, but what little pride I had refused to show this stranger my tears.
"Let me see something real quick. Okay?"
All I could do was nod wordlessly. I hope something salvageable. If what I was thinking was happening, I don't know how I could continue.
She placed her hands on my sides and looked at me with a questioning look. I nodded to convey I could feel her hand and understood her unspoken question. She slowly began to move her hand down, and I relished in every second of feeling beneath her fingers. My hope slowly grew, I watched with bated breath as her hands moved closer to my leg.
She touched my left leg, and I came close to having a breakdown. I could feel her fingers on the upper part of my leg. However, my tears spilled when she was halfway down my thigh. What started as her fingers putting light pressure on my leg progressively became a tingling sense sensation. It became no feeling at all by the time she reached my knee.
I hid my face from view and silent sobs wracked through my body. I couldn- wouldn't believe it. All the things that I wanted to are now impossible. The motorcycle I wanted the one I saved my bits for, gone just like that. Surfing? Gone, heck even a relaxing walk in the park or a snow-covered stroll to Mr. and Mrs. Cakes shop for coffee. Even the simplest of tasks such as getting out of my house or sleeping area would be next to impossible. My anger grew, but just as it reached the peak, it was gone.
A dark thought ran through her mind just as she was going to blame the six that stood against her. It's my fault. If I wasn't so self-centered and just stayed here instead of going back to Equestria. I was getting everything that I deserved. Though even if I deserved it, it didn't stop me from thinking that it was too cruel. My whole life ruined, finished before I got the chance to turn over that leaf. Who'd want to be friends or near someone that's crippled?
I took walking for granted, and now I won't be able to run. I'll never be independent ever again, or I'll be forever left behind to wither like ash. I don't want this, but I can't do anything about it because I deserve every bit of this numbing pain that has developed in my body, both the physical and emotional.
A soft embrace dragged me out from my self-destructive thoughts. I opened up my eyes and saw sapphire colored hair blocking my view of the room. I sniffled as I backed up and my eyes widened as I took in the familiar face of Vice Principal Luna. She had tears of pain in her eyes, but there was an underlying warmth to them as well. Confused by the affection in her eyes, I studied them intently.
I was shocked by who the warmth was to. I couldn't understand why it was directed. Luna smiled sadly at me and brought her forehead to mine and said one phrase that broke all reservations of crying all my pain out loud.
"It's okay Sunset, I understand. Cry all you need, I'll be there for you."
Dams broke after that. I hugged Luna desperately as I wailed years of suppressed pain, anger, heartache, hatred, but most of all, each loss every emotion caused. I wept for my failed relationship with all those I considered my parental figure. I cried for all those I tormented because of my uncontrollable anger. But most of all I cried, for how useless it all was.
I cried for my current position I found myself in, but this was towards the end. I could feel the edges of unconsciousness creeping in. I not sure how long I cried but, and honestly, I didn't care all that much either. I hadn't felt this ease and in control in years, which was saying something considering my lack of control of my own body. Eventually, I allowed my grip on my wakeful state to slip, and I welcomed the clouds my battered body relaxed on.
(Chrysalis POV)
I stared in wonder. The girl I thought would have to sedate was currently asleep peacefully on Luna's lap. Not only did I see the hysterical girl being calmed, but I saw Luna break that stoic mask of hers. Which was rare unless she played her late-night video game.
I couldn't help but think about her entrance when she came.
I attempted to calm Sunset down but made little headway in that regard. I was just thinking of grabbing a syringe when Luna came rushing in like a banshee from the canyons. Startled, I jumped back. A good thing considering she didn't slow her pace once inside. I watched as she called to Sunset softly but received no acknowledgment, except for a murmur not really directed at her.
Whatever Sunset voiced Luna heard and disapproved. I watched in stunned silence as the usually reserved woman hugged the young girl. This seemed to bring the awareness back to the teen before Luna spoke something only Sunset could hear. This ended in the breaking girl to wail the most heartwrenching sobs I've ever heard. My gaze softened with unshed tears as I looked at the touching scene.
I walked out of the room and looked to see Celestia leaning against the wall. Her hand covered her eyes, which lowered to look at me. I regarded her bloodshot eyes and black circles under her eyes. I sympathized with the woman, the little girl worried me as well. So young and so much potential, to have this heavy burden placed on her shoulders killed us as adults.
"Come on, I'll take you to the break room for some chamomile tea. That's where I sent the others as well. Might as well leave Luna, she'll come when she's ready to."
Celestia nodded at my suggestion, and I began to walk to the room. Before that, though we both paused a looked at the pair. One asleep on the lap of the other, while the other ran her fingers through the short flame-colored girl's hair. Celestia walked noiselessly to the door before shutting it softly. She turned and followed me to where the others were.
Sugarcube Corner
Pinkie Pie had just finished baking get well cookies. Hospitals were stingy about the sugary gifts she delivered. She had to get something small that was easily concealed. As she threw sprinkles on the frosted cookies, her phone rang. Pinkie dashed over with frosting covered hands and accepted the call without looking.
"Hey, Rarity. You will not believe what I did last night. So I went to bed like normal, then I got a twitchy left hand followed by eye shake which then finished with a spine shiver. Which obviously means that something I've been waiting for is about to happen. The only thing is that the only thing that I'm feeling really really impatient about is Sunny waking up. SothatobviouslymeansthatsheswokenupmeaningIhavetogethercookiesreadybutthanyoucalledsoisittrue?!?!?!?!ISunnyupyetisshealrightohmygoshImsorryImtalkingreallyfastagainhuhIneedtoworkonthatIllstopnowandletyouexplainwhatsgoing.ohdoyouthingshelllikethecookies?"
The line was silent before a sigh came across, "Pinkie, darling, I only got about half of what you said just now.
"Oh, I said-"
"But no matter, I'm just calling to let you know that Sunset is up. I've already let Rainbow and Applejack know about Sunset's awakening."
"Ooooh, that's great. I have get well soon super doper cookies for her, freshly made btw. None of my friends are going to get store bought cookies on my watch."
"Darling, that sweet of you. But I don't think some cookies will help in this situation."
"Huh? What do you mean? *Gaaaaaasp* Is it because she's a pony and they eat different things than we do? I didn't even think about that. Oh, what kind of friend am I? Not even knowing what my friend wants to eat."
"No, Pinkie it's not that. I just don't think Sunset will be in the mood to have cookies. I believe Sunset just found out she will be in a wheelchair for the rest of her."
"What? Why would say that?" asked Pinkie as she licked frosting off her hand.
"Well, I um, I did a very unladylike thing, and I stayed behind to listen to Dr. Chrysalis. Unfortunately, I didn't hear anything except Sunset crying once Vice Principal Luna rushed-"
"AAAAHHHHHH!!! WHAT?!? OH, No Sunny's crying. If we're not there for her, she won't believe we are her friends. Then she won't want to hang out, and she might hate us. But that won't be true, and it was just a misunderstanding, but she won't see it that way, and she'll never have friends ever! I'll be there, our new friend needs us right now. I'll bring the cookies anyway, they're her cookies to begin with. I'll get her coffee too. I know how much she likes coffee. I'll be there in as few shakes as I can drink in a day, Pinkie promise."
With that, she hung up and zoomed around the kitchen. What was once destroyed with various baking ingredients became a sparkling area. Set at the end of the table was ten bags of cookies, which were promptly stuffed in her hair while one was kept in her hand. With that, she zoomed to the front door and almost threw it off the hinges, before it was slammed shut again.
I wasn't sure how long I cried for, but it felt like hours. I only became aware of my surroundings after I felt a hand rubbing the side of my head. Startled, I opened my eyes to a baby blue tank top with navy blue stars. It was covered by a purple kimono-like shirt. I backed away quickly, and my eyes met light-blue green eyes.
On her face was an emotion that I'd only seen on Princess Celestia's face when Cadence first ascended. Concern. This caused me to become confused. Why would this woman, that I made every day a living hell, look at me with such emotion? I tried to build walls up to guard my wounded soul but discovered it put too much strain on my already depleted mental strengths. It was then, that I knew the exposure to such pure magic had led to side effects.
Frustrated tears demanded release as I looked away, but I stubbornly held them back. I hated this helplessness, the defenses that I spent years refining were reduced to ashes in a flash. I honestly didn't know if I could rebuild my once proud barriers. They kept the hurtful words, glares, and pain-filled looks from reaching her.
Now the walls that made me invincible were nothing but ash, to be whisked away with the wind. I couldn't help but laugh at the irony of what happened to me. It was when I was at my strongest that I failed. That I was defeated by those that didn't even know how to utilize the kind of power, not that I did either it would seem. Some student of Celestia I was, not even able to control magic. I should have never been accepted into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. I was trash.
Mother was right. I really am just a waste of space and resources. My own family didn't want me, that shows my worth. My parents wanted my brother but not me, and now all that pain I blocked for years is back with vengeance. It hurts, it would have been easier for that magic blast to hit her harder, annihilating her, it would have been less painful.
I was snapped from my thoughts when a hand seized my shoulder. Looking up, I was once again confronted by the gentle and concerned eyes of Vice Principal Luna. She must have seen the sadness in my eyes. For the next thing, I knew I was being cradled in her arms, and her hand forced my head into her shoulder.
"Sunset, I know that look in your eyes. You have to know that what happened was a blessing. You could have been destroyed by that blast, but instead, you were spared. You were given a second chance at a life that you were never offered, a chance to restart. So don't curse the chance you were given." She said to me, a glint of hope in her eyes.
My eyes widened as I felt a tear fall from my left eye. I put my arms on her chest and pushed. I couldn't take her being so close, no one would want to be next to me. I've been shown that many times. My father deciding his business meeting was more important than my birthday, my mother rejecting me because I got my cutie mark after my little brother, my brother leaving me behind to study, Princess Celestia becoming aloof after I thought she could be the mom I wanted. I clearly knew where I stood in life.
I furrowed my eyebrows and turned to glare at her. "LIAR! I know you hate me. Why wouldn't you? I won't let myself be tempted into thinking others care about me. I pushed and tried my hardest to get others to accept me, to show me affection. But the more someone shows me love or affection, the more I know I was never meant to have any.
"My own family thought of me as an eye-sore. I pushed myself until I passed out with exhaustion to please those I cared about." I let out a bitter laugh. "And what did I get in return? Disgust, hate, or criticized because of my results. I was chased out because I wanted to be the best instead of being friends with pony's that could care less about."
I turned my head away from her, and let more tears fall down my cheeks. "So go ahead tell me that you hate me. That you couldn't wait to throw me out on the street. Even if you didn't chase me out, I know you'd just keep me close so you could put me down if I ever turned into a demon. I'm not stupid, okay? Trusting others? Ha, I may be vulnerable, but I'm not weak enough to fall into another trap."
"It hurts too much to do that. I'm better off being alone, or never exist. Besides, why would anyone be stupid enough to have a pathetic weakling like me around? I'd just screw something up again, I'm a worthless, unimportant daughter that should just disapp-"
SLAP!!!!
I could only stare at the window as I felt a stinging on my cheek. I brought a trembling hand to my cheek and touched the forming handmark as I looked to the fuming woman in front of me. I could feel my body quiver in fear. Her eyes held a type of anger which I'd never experienced before.
Her anger was even more furious than Princess Celestia's when she found me in the Library. My bravado shrank to the size of a parasprite. If I could run, then not even Princess Twilight could've stopped me. She opened her mouth, and her tone left no room for argument.
"Now you listen here, young lady. I wanted to save this until everything was calm, but it would seem that now is just as good as any. First, I don't hate you. I hated your choices, I saw so much of myself in you. It left me more sad that such a brilliant young girl had to resort to such trickery." She paused, still fuming. "Second, your passion and determination are what make you, Sunset Shimmer. My sister and I have wondered how to deal with you. For your enthusiasm and confidence, while commendable, were being used in the wrong way. I had hoped to talk with you after the incident, but what's done is done."
The woman let out a sigh and continued. "Thirdly, I see you as a daughter, one that I've let go of too soon. Don't think that I never noticed the way you'd come to me instead of my sister when you needed help. I had already accepted you as a daughter in my heart. The only difference between now and then, is now I know more about you." She gave me a small smile, "So, I've decided to adopt you." She finished by staring down at me with such conviction that it left me stunned.
"That doesn't mean that you won't be disciplined. I see punishments as unbiased and uncaring. While discipline is done with love in hopes that you never make the mistake again. If you so wish, becoming my daughter means that I will teach you as my daughter, comfort you like one, love you like my one and only, but most of all I will protect. I will protect you from everything that could hurt you, even if the harm was from you. I will never part with you, and while one day you will inevitably have to leave, my love will never leave your heart."
I could only stare at her blankly. Why was she talking about me being her daughter? I was alone in this world, I was basically an adult back in Equestria. She was overwhelming me with this speech.
"I don't understand. Why are you saying things like 'daughter'?" I said, more baffled than ever.
"Sunset, I will be frank. I wish you to become my adopted daughter. I want to be able to look after you, to comfort you when you need someone. I've been down my fair share of a dark path. I believe that I could help you with forgiving yourself. We have a lot in common, you and I. Truth be told I wished to adopt you sooner, but I never felt like it was the time. Now I see, I was being cowardly, afraid that you'd reject me."
"For years, I've been telling my family that I hated the idea of having a kid. That I got enough at my job, but really I didn't just want any kid. I wanted you to be my daughter. You were brilliant, even if it was in the wrong way. I know this sounds like I just want to brag, but really I just want you to be happy. Even in the moments that you laughed, I could see the same pain I see now. However, the pain I see now seems fresher, as if the scar was ripped open and sprayed with acid."
"Sunset, would you become my daughter? I know there will be an adjustment period. I promise you I'll try my hardest to be the mother you deserve and desire. So, could you do this? Could you become my daughter in every sense but blood?"
(Luna POV)
Luna watched Sunset's face morph through several emotions before she realized her mistake. ' I'm overwhelming her. There's too much baggage at the moment to ask her to choose now. I need to let her know that I understand her, I can't be too hasty. There will be a time in the future to speak of this.'
"You don't have to choose now. Take your time to think this over carefully. I can wait, though I would very much like to be your mother, I won't rush you. Just focus on getting better. I'll leave you alone to think. I'll be back in an hour or two. Would that be alright?"
Luna saw Sunset give a small nod before she smiled and gripped Sunset's hand one last time. "It will be alright, Sunset. You'll get through this, I just know it."
She smiled at Sunset before she walked out glancing back to see Sunset looking out the window. She softly shut the door behind her and walked to the breakroom with a stoic mask covering her emotions. Luna knew Celestia would notice once she saw her, but this is how she coped with stressful situations. She entered the room and barely noticed the pink streak shot behind her.
Luna glanced back and saw nothing. Confused, she shrugged before closing the breakroom door. The girls, minus a certain bubbly girl were there, sitting at one of the tables. While Celestia and Chrysalis were talking on a green leather couch. Luna walked to the couch and sat in a chair to the left of it.
"Ah Luna, we were just discussing Sunset's options. As well as some classes that both you and Celestia could take."
"What classes?" She concisely asked.
"I want to but both you and Celestia in a class to help you prepare for supporting Sunset with the new changes that she'll experience. It will help you prepare for the tasks that Sunset will need help with." Chrysalis explained further.
"I understand. Is there anything else I need to know?"
"Actually, yes I'd like to put Sunset in physical therapy to avoid muscle atrophy. It will also help with sitting pains for the first little while. I'd also recommend massaging her legs at the end of the day. Though not definite, there is a chance Sunset will learn to walk again, but that'll be a long way down the road."
"Why do you say that?" Celestia asked as she focused her attention on Chrysalis.
"While I was testing her nerves, her loss of feeling started around the mid-thigh. However, I noticed that her leg still responded to my touch. That is why I hold hope, though even if she learns to walk again, she won't be able to move about independently again. Sunset will need someone to be there to catch her. "
"How long is her estimated stay at the hospital?" Luna inserted herself into the conversation again.
"While I'd like her to stay for three to four weeks to be safe, she'll most likely stay for a week or two as her lacerations will mostly be healed by then. However, with her becoming disabled, we can't really do much to keep her here."
"I see if you don't mind. I'm going to head back to Sunset's room maybe with some lunch from the cafeteria." Luna stood and left the room with complete determination.
"She's troubled by this," Chrysalis observed.
"I know, but who wouldn't in this situation," Celestia responded, watching her younger sister leave the room.
They were silent for a few minutes before Celestia asked a question, one that'd been bugging her for a while, "Tell me is it really possible for her to walk again?"
"It's possible, but it remains to be her choice. She will have to push herself to her limits and ascend past them."
Once Sunset was alone, the waterworks began. She hated how much she was crying lately. She was used to only allowing her tears to break the surface when she was alone. But it hadn't even been a full day, and she's cried more than she had in years. It baffled as well as frustrated her. Before she could spend any more time on her darkening thoughts, the door slammed open.
BAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMM!!!!
The door swung open so fast it was almost ripped from the hinges. It smacked into the rubber wall protector and bouned backward slamming shut with another aloud bang. In between the two actions, a pink streak zoomed across the room where Sunset's bed waited for the violent assault.
SLAM!!
Sunset flinched away from the intruder as she furiously tried, and failed, to wipe the cascading tears while attempting even harder to stop the pouring tears. Two firm hands stopped her movements and pulled them away from her face.
"Sunny! Are you okay? Don't worry, I'll make you feel better. I have get well cookies that are sure to help you get better faster than anyone here. I also have a party planned for you, but the party pooper of a nurse took my party cannon. Can you believe that? But don't worry cause that just gives me more time to plan for yours. It will be the bestest most spectacular 'Sunset got back from the hospital and is no longer a big scary meanie' party." Pinkie said all in one breath.
"P-Pinkie what are you doing here?" Sunset stammered out.
"Well, duh, you're awake. That and Rarity told me that you were crying. That means I have to turn that frown upside down," while explaining Pinkie grabbed Sunsets mouth and pulled up or down to the previously mentioned facial features.
"Shinkie lesh go of ma moush."
"Are you feeling better?" Pinkie asked innocently. She let go of Sunset's mouth, noting the frown still lingered.
"No," Sunset whispered as she looked outside.
"Oh," Pinkie slumped before she brightened up again. "Do you know what that means?"
"..." Sunset refused to answer hoping that Pinkie would just leave, even if she really didn't want to be alone. She wanted to be close to people, but every time she tried, she was always hurt more than the time before. It was undeniable that her life was meant to be spent alone. Her injury confirmed that much, who'd want to befriend a useless nobody that was a reject of her own world?
She knew that she was to blame for that rejection. That didn't stop the pain from clawing into her very soul and ripping it to shreds. Before she thought Celestia was the reason for the exile, but now she realized that everything was her fault.
Her thoughts were interrupted as Pinkie shouted, "group hug from a distance!"
"... You're the only one here."
"Exactly!"
"..." Sunset had no words for how confused Pinkie made her. Pinkie decided to capitalize on her distraction as she moved for a soft but firm hug. It exuded a warm that left Sunset speechless. She had isolated herself to such a point that any positive support and affection confused her.
Excluding Celestia, she'd never once been shown affection the concept so foreign that she believed that any support or praise had a hidden agenda. Ponys would talk with her to get close to Princess Celestia, her parents gave her "presents" to get what they wanted from her, or Celestia's affection towards her to gain a pawn against Nightmare Moon.
Instead of being taken advantage of Sunset shut off her heart and allowed her head to take over her decisions. After all, she had one of the best teachers in manipulation and deceit. Celestia had hundred of years to perfect the art. They say that imitation is the best form of flattery, Sunset thought Celestia would be proud of such flawless work. She couldn't have been more wrong.
While thinking all this, Sunset didn't even realize that she had started to hug back and had a small smile gracing her face. While she may not have noticed Pinkie did and couldn't help but grin like her lovable self. When she pulled back, Pinkie pulled out her phone and snapped a photo and showed it to Sunset.
"Look at that smile! You look much brighter when you smile, Sunny. You can't be all sad, sure things are changing, but if you can get through it, you'll be the strongest girl out of any of us. Especially if you can do all that while proudly showing that smile of yours."
Sunset was shocked, to say the least, she never could see Pinkie as a speaker and here she was proving her wrong again. It seemed once the girls were all together, she'd been proven wrong over and over again. Perhaps this magic of friendship had some credibility.
She looked at the photo that Pinkie had taken and was shocked at what she saw. Her face had small gauze pads along her cheeks and forehead. She had bags under her eyes despite sleeping for two days straight. A small smile had worked its way to her face. However, it wasn't her face that had shocked her to such a point.
No. Her face she could deal with no it was the fact that her once flowing hair was now nothing short of a small birds nest. The short hair stuck up at all angles while the bigger clumps fell onto her shoulders. Sunset touched her hair as a fresh wave of guilt and remorse settled, its way onto her shoulders.
It truly felt as though she was losing bits and pieces of her life with each passing moment. First her magic, the portal, her legs, her freedom, her privacy, and now her hair. Would she be able to keep anything from her past? Or did turning over a new leaf mean that everything that remained of her life needed to burn?
"Sunny? Are you alright?" Pinkie asked, unsure of where her blank expression came from.
"O-of course," Sunset said with a forced smile.
"Well, you are smiling. So that means you must be happy. Oh, I know what we can do."
She began to go through her apps as she looked for what she had thought of. Once, she found what she was looking for she pulled the chair over, and showed Sunset her phone. Sunset raised her eyebrow before silently accepting the phone. The video screen was black with a white play button. She looked at Pinkie questionably who only nodded enthusiastically, before she pressed play.
The video began to play, and she watched a dog walking on the deck before it disappeared in the snow when it ran off the wooden structure. Video after video played as she watched as animals reacted to such outrageous things. It was halfway through the video when Sunset couldn't contain her laughter anymore and began to laugh in earnest alongside Pinkie.
Sunset smiled as she thought. At least I know that if I'm doomed to be an anti-social vegetable, I'll at least have one friend. Though it being Pinkie its a given. Though not one I dislike all things considered.
Luna had walked back to Sunset's room and began to open the door when she heard laughter from inside. She slowly peeked inside to see. Sunset's eyes leaked with tears as she laughed at whatever was on Pinkies phone. Luna smiled before she silently shut the door again while laughter sang from inside.
Her smile slowly dropped as she moved towards the stairwell. She fished her phone out of her jacket, and shot a text to Celestia, saying that she'd be out for a few. After a moment of thought, she sent another asking if she could explain the adoption to Sunset as she'd already let the cat out of the bag.
Not waiting for a reply, she pocketed her phone and walked out a side entrance to the hospital. Luna strolled down the sidewalk, she stopped to read the street signs. While growing up in Canterlot, she tended to be out at night. So the streets looked a little different to what she was used to.
After a lengthy, but enjoyable, walk Luna arrived on Poni Street. Luna found the name ironic and couldn't help but chuckle at the silent connection Sunset was making with herself. She began to look over all the buildings on the street and noticed that, while not mansions, the houses her very expensive looking.
Luna's brow furrowed as she thought of how Sunset could afford such places with no apparent job or money, seeing as she'd only seen the girl in two or three different outfits. She hopped that Sunset wasn't doing anything illegal, not that it mattered she'd soon find out for sure. As she looked for the house, she unconsciously tensed. Soon she saw the build.
It was a tall bricked townhouse with large windows and a yellow roof. The house had a wooden door with a beveled window. It had a classical feel as if the house stayed locked in time while the rest of the world moved on without it. Its bricks had an aged look to it, and off to the right side, a small garden grew with Thunberg's Bushclover in full bloom.
Luna walked up to the door and saw an aged metal doorbell. She pressed it twice and waited. When no reply came, she looked around and found the street deserted. She dropped down to her knees as she took out Jackknife pick and began to work on the lock. After a few moments, a satisfying click resounded from the door. Luna smiled as she turned the lock and strolled inside.
She pocketed her pick in the entryway, she looked at the coat rack and walked into the main part of the house. Luna was stunned if she was being honest. Two large windows ran down the length of the wall with rolling blinds. The interior walls were the same as the bricks outside, giving the room a sturdy yet cozy feeling.
Near the windows was the place deemed the living room with a TV set up that made Luna slightly jealous. A large flat screen sat on a curved TV stand, stereos surrounded a soft couch with a blanket draped across the back. Game systems and stereo controls were placed underneath the flat screen. A lone controller led to the couch. There was a table that sat off to the left side of the couch.
Luna looked at the wall near her and saw a light switch. She walked over and flipped it. Nothing happened. She flipped it again with the same result. She sighed and looked down and saw an extension cord unplugged. Following the cord with her eyes led to the loft.
Shrugging Luna plugged the cord in and gapped in awe. Globe string lights weaved around the loft post and bathed the space below in warm yellow light. The strand weaved around the upper banister. The space below the loft must have been deemed the office and kitchen area. Two computer monitors were placed on the desk along with textbooks. A mini-fridge and microwave made up the kitchen.
It wasn't strange to see that Sunset had made an attempt on making this space comfy. Though what she didn't expect was the plants that littered the place. Every section of the house not taken up by paper and books seemed to be dedicated to plants. There were hanging pots, cacti, and regular potted plants placed on shelves tables. Hell, there was even a plant on one of the stereos.
Focus, Luna. Don't get distracted.
She walked up the stairs and ran her fingers along the three different guitars strings. The puttering of strings sounded when she entered the loft. She walked to the banister to admire the window's view. She turned around and saw a soft bed with messy bedding. Luna laughed on the inside at the scene, imagining Sunset rushing out of bed to get to school.
Luna went to the dresser and took some change of clothes and two jackets. One a fiery red and the other a grey with a celeste colored hood. Luna walked down the stairs about to head out when she paused. There was another door, she walked over and tried the knob. Locked, undeterred Luna pulled out her lockpick and tried the door.
Minutes passed as Luna tried to unlock the door, with no luck. Annoyed, Luna walked away from the door and walked underneath the loft. On her way out she spotted a phone. She walked over and grabbed it, she pressed the home button and watched the screen light up. She slid her finger across the screen and was amazed by the home screen.
Rolling fields of green grass surrounded by trees while the sun cut through the clouds. A beam of light shined down on a unicorn and a winged unicorn. The unicorn bore a striking resemblance to that of Sunset and the winged one that of her sister. The winged one had the other wrapped in a wing as they gazed out into the meadow.
Luna was amazed by the artistic flow of the work, and though she wanted to study the piece more, she looked in the contacts of the phone. Luna found snip, snails, and a Lt. Set (ICE) in Sunset's contacts. Frowning, Luna pocketed the phone and walked out of the house, turning everything off before locking the door and pulling it shut.
It was an hour before Pinkie left, with much insistence from the nurse, to allow Sunset to rest. Sunset had barely noticed how exhausted she truly was until she leaned against the pillows. She was out before the nurse had a chance to ask if she wanted anything to eat. As she laid there, her body twitched along as her dream played out.
Sunset found herself at the bottom of the crater. She was burning up, everything felt scolding to the touch. The ground smelled of burned grass and burning flesh. As she looked around, she noticed she wasn't alone.
Six bodies were littered in front of her. Burns coated the bodies and blood flowed from their mouths, empty eyes stared daggers into her body. One of the six drew in a shuddering breath and started to cough on the blood that choked her.
Sunset scrambled up to her feet but stumbled and fell forward. She dragged her body of the prone figure and cradled the broken body of the purple princess. It took a few seconds but eventually the princess's focused on Sunset and asked the one question Sunset feared she would.
"W-Why?" Twilight stammered out.
"I-I wanted power. I wanted to show Celestia that I could handle that power. I wanted to be better than you," Sunset answered with guilt-filled eyes.
"I see," Twilights tone suddenly shifted to emotionless. "You stole, cheated, and murdered for jealousy."
"I-," Sunset stammered as she backed away, suddenly gain the ability to walk again.
"Its all your fault, the pain, the sorrow, the hatred that plagued the school? All of it?"
As Sunset backed away only to slam into a body that felt as if it was made purely of flames. Spinning around, Sunset came face to face with her demonic self. She towered over Sunset, despite being only a few inches taller unlike the time right after her transformation, smirking as Sunset trembled like a leaf.
"How? How are you here?"
"I live inside you foolish little girl. The elements may have weakened my hold, but I'm still very much alive inside you. You may think of me as your pet parasite. HAHA!"
Sunset's demonic self suddenly rushed forward and clasped Sunset's wrists. There was a loud clank sound of metal meeting metal as Sunset's demon slide behind her, dragging her claws across her face as she went. Sunset could feel the claws digging into her skin, though the worst part was the blood boiling when it met her claws.
"Enjoy the love of your subjects."
Then with a gust of wind, the demon vanished. Looking down, Sunset saw a chain connecting to her wrist. Following the chain, she saw it staked in the ground with a giant metal stake. That was when she heard the first moan. Quickly glancing to said moan, she watched in horror as Twilight's broken and bleeding body pull itself off the ground.
Her back was the last part to straighten upright. Her arms hung loosely in front of her, though that wasn't the part that terrified her. Not it was Twilight's eyes, one look and you could see they were the eyes of a corpse, and yet there was a glowing teal that bathed her eyes.
Sunset heard other moans beginning to sound all around her now. Glancing in frantic circles, she watched in pure terror as the students and teachers of Canterlot High came closer to her. They all had the same teal covering over their eyes. The six girls she personally murdered were amongst them, crawling on the ground desperately reaching out to her.
Sunset's instincts took over, and she began to tug on the chain with a fear only those about to die could muster. The results though were fruitless and, yet she continued to pull on the chain in a vain attempt or hope that maybe she could escape. Her body froze when she felt the first hand grab her ankle.
Looking down, she saw Rainbow Dash hugging her leg while looking up at her. Her right eye was sealed shut with burns and blood caked the side of her face and flowed down the left side. Soon the others and grabbed her arms and legs all covered in blood smearing the crimson liquid all over her. More and more hands grabbed onto her, while her eyes shrank to the size of pinpricks.
Sunset felt a hand grasp her own and looked at the owner. Twilight's glazed eyes stared back, before uttering, "It's your fault. You murdered us, so let us be apart of you. Murder."
"Monster."
"Killer."
"Demon."
"Murder."
"Cheater."
"Bitch."
"Bully."
"Freak."
Without realizing Sunset began to chant words as they all began to pile on top of the suffering girl.
Sunset woke with a strangled gasp before she looked around for something she desperately needed. When she found what she was looking for she reached for it. She grasped the container and brought it towards her mouth as she emptied everything that her stomach contained and more. After a few minutes of dry heaving, Sunset placed the can on the floor.
Sunset threw the blankets off her, still feeling the hands grabbing her, and rolled onto her side. She hugged herself with one arm while the other found its way to her mouth. She bit down hard on her knuckles, not even noticing when the blood started running down her knuckles. She was too locked within her own mind to notice much of anything. Except for the silent tears that flooded down her face despite her fighting every single one that fell. Small scratch marks all over her body went unnoticed.
I was walking down the halls of Canterlot General, my sister-in-law was thought to have been going into labor. It turned out to be a false alarm. My brother is such a worrier sometimes. Honestly, I'm so not ready to be an aunt, and the baby would have been born a month earlier. I decided to take a walk, to calm down, it's not every day your sister-in-law goes into labor, even if, technically, she wasn't.
I was wandering different hospital rooms, around when I watched a nurse leave a room. As I moved out of the way, I caught a glimpse of the patient inside. An amber skinned girl with blazing hair was in a bed sleeping. It wouldn't have caught my attention, but I mesmerized by her. The fire-themed girl had bandages covering her face, and what little I could see underneath her gown, bandages covered her chest as well.
She appeared fragile but underlying that weakness, she had this hardened unbreakable quality. The contrast was interesting, how was it possible, for such conflicting characteristics blend in perfect harmony? They were complete opposites of each other. Why would I be able to sense that anyways? I wasn't exceptional when it came to dealing with people outside of my family.
Someone cleared their throat, caught my attention. I looked to see the nurse from before staring at me. My nerves immediately got to me, I stood straight up, not realizing I was leaning as the door shut to get one last glance inside. The nurse had sea-green hair that was up in a neat bun. Her skin was a cornflower blue, and her eyes were a soft orchid color. Her glare showed her strength and conviction to keep her patient safe. On her shirt, a name-tag read Nurse Tenderheart.
"Can I help you with something, Miss?" her voice was cold with suspicion.
"Sorry, I-I didn't mean to be in your way," I said, trying to think of excuses.
"You're not in the way, though I'm wondering what you find so attractive about my patient?" She said patiently.
"I don't kn-I don't fully understand why myself. Could I ask what's happened to her? If you don't oppose the idea, of course." I knew it was against the rules, but it was worth a try, something was attracting me to this girl.
Tenderheart sighed. "I can't really say, hospital policy. Though, I can say she was in an accident that'll leave her unable to look after herself." Nurse Redheart explained without filling in the blanks.
I put two and two together and came to a conclusion. "Oh, it must be hard to be like that."
"Like what?" The nurse asked, tilting her head.
"Completely paralyzed like that. She strikes me as someone really independent, you know?"
"Who said anything about her being paralyzed? If you must know, she's hurt her back and is paralyzed from mid-thigh to her legs. Though, there might be a chance for recovery if she puts enough effort in."
"I see. Thanks for letting me know."
Her glare turned to a confused look before what she mentioned came to the forefront of her mind. Nurse Tenderheart grew flustered as she realized she gave out information to the young ward in the small hospital room. She stuttered for a moment before declaring that she needed to complete her rounds. and left.
I stood there for a moment before I turned my attention to the door. Sunset Shimmer, room five-hundred sixty-five ICU on the fifth floor down the right hallway. She's piqued my interest. I'll need to ask mom if I can come to find more about her. As I mused about the fragile girl, I turned back towards the stairs to join my family upstairs.
(POV Luna)
I had just finished lunch from a small diner, eager to get to my last stop before heading back to the hospital. I planned to meet up with Cup Cake and Joy at Sugar Cube Corner, then talk with Tia, Chryssi, and Granny Smith when I got back to the hospital. I wanted to get as much support as possible, and some advice. After all, they managed to deal with me when I was in my 'Nightmare Moon' stage.
I needed advice on how to deal with the troubled teen. They had been through it once, and I hoped they would lend a helping hand to me and Sunset, though I didn't have any doubt about Tia giving me some advice. I also wanted to know if I had messed up by telling Sunset of my plans so prematurely as I had. There was also the fact of this unknown Lt. Set that I found mildly concerning. I'd need to ask Velvet for a favor.
I pulled up to the store, which was, thankfully, empty seeing how it was Sunday. I grabbed my purse and switched off my car ignition. I walked in and heard the classic jingle of a bell. Every table was empty except for one that Vinyl Scratch occupied. She sat eating her baked goods with music blaring from her headphones. Cup Cake was at the register standing dutifully for the next customer.
Cup Cake locked eyes with me and walked to the other side of the store, chaser doors led to the back. She poked her head inside, and a moment later, Carrot Cake stepped out and worked the register. She walked up to me and gave me a comforting embrace, which I returned before we moved to a table away from Vinyl.
"How are you, Hun?" Cake asked worriedly.
"I'm not the one in the hospital," I replied in an attempt to deflect the question.
"I know, trust me, I do. Just as I know this isn't easy for either of you. Don't think I don't remember the times you'd come in here and talk for hours about Sunset getting first in a competition, or how all the time she was the top student in her grade. Why I remember the first time, you came singing praises for her."
"She had just won the Equestrianism Essay Contest by a landslide. Oh, how you went on about her writing it all in cursive with a quill. Wrote twice as much as any of the other, and the other contestants all used computers. I don't think I've seen you so happy, even before your years of 'Nightmare Moon'."
Oh, how I remembered that day. I remember getting the plague in a box. I praised her nonstop for a week, it was just before Sunset's first Fall Formal. It was one of the reasons that she won the crown that year. From there, Sunset began to win more awards. Every time she did, I would come and tell Cup all about it. I didn't know what drew me to Sunset, but I never regretted it.
Looking back on it now, I couldn't help but chuckle. I was acting like a mother that praised her child any chance she got. Though unlike those snot-nosed kids, Sunset earned every bit of recognition. I had seen how hard Sunset worked, most of the days I'd have to kick the young girl out of the school, and tell her to head home. She worked constantly burning the midnight oil some would say. She reminded me of myself in all honesty. We had more in common than I'd like to admit, sadly, as we had both seen our fair share of the dark abyss.
I wish I could have saved her from falling so far into that darkness that ruled her younger years. Before I could stop myself, I asked, "Do you think I'll be able to help her?
Cup was silent for a moment, "I don't rightly know, dear. For it to work, both of you will have to be willing to try. I've always seen Sunset as a stubborn, clever, and furiously independent girl. To have that ripped away and be stuck in a wheelchair will bring her great pain. It's really too bad to see such a bright girl will be disabled for the rest of her life."
The door leading outside opened to reveal Joy Redheart. She wore a blush-colored dress with powder blue leggings, an oversized dark blue jacket with white mittens. She had white high top sneakers and wore a red scarf around her neck. Curiously, even though she wasn't at work, she still wore her nurse cap atop her head.
She ran over and embraced me, "How is she?"
"She's awake, been up since early this morning," my voice strained from the conflicting emotions.
"I thought she was in a medically induced coma 'til the wounds on her back healed more, to allow as little pain as possible when she moves." Cake responded with a gasp.
"She was, but it would seem her body has been fighting off the isoflurane. While it's affecting her by making her more sluggish, overall it is ineffective. Chryssi wanted to put her on some numbing medicine to help with the pain, but she refused. She said something along the lines of, 'I've already lost enough feeling. I want to cherish every feeling I have, even if that feeling is pain.'"
Redheart sighed and smiled, "Well, she is quite the stubborn and independent type of girl. Those two never mix well when it comes to being hurt. Though I don't doubt that Moon over here will have much trouble. You are just as, if not more stubborn than that girl," Joy laughed, covering her mouth with one hand.
"Pfft, Joy, you are not funny," I scoffed. "I may be stubborn, but that girl wouldn't move an inch even if a jet pulled her. On a serious note though, I was hoping to get advice from both of you."
They nodded on for me to continue. "Both Tia and I will help as much as we can, but I know everyone helped me put my life back together. I...I won't be able to do it alone, and you all have experience with troubled teens, so I thought you could help. Though, I understand if you can't, you all have your own lives. You have your job and classes," I looked at Joy, "and you have the twins and the shop to look after. I was just wondering if maybe you could help when you have time."
"Luna, you never have to worry about that. We are here for you." Joy said, grabbing my left hand.
"She's right, hun. We're your friends will be there for you whenever you need us," Cup said, grabbing my other hand.
"Th-thanks, I'm such a mess right now." I slumped against the table.
"We understand, Lu, you're stressed out. Who wouldn't be in this situation?" Joy reassured.
"I wish Sunset didn't have to deal with being crippled on top of everything. It's bad enough she may never walk again, but the fact that she'll most likely be bullied on top of that is, concerning. I fear she may be overwhelmed rather quickly. I can already hear it the constant 'she deserved it for what she did to us'. I have a feeling I won't want to come into work for a while."
"You'll do fine, Luna. You're smart and cool-headed, I'm sure you can handle it." Red said, rubbing my shoulder.
"Thanks, Red. Oh, by the way, have any of you heard the name Lt. Set?"
"No, can't say I have."
"Sorry, hun doesn't ring a bell. Why do you ask?" Cup asked.
"Sunset's living with someone named Lt. Set. I just want to make sure nothing will interfere with my plans."
We continued to talk for a few minutes. Catching up on recent events and what not. I was so intertwined in the conversation that I didn't notice the shocked look from a certain DJ a few tables over. Nor did I notice the quick departure, half-eaten baked good forgotten, as she ran out the door. She was completely enraptured by her phone screen, as finger and eyes flew across the keyboard.
At Canterlot General
I walked up the stairs to the fourth floor to talk with Chrysalis and Tia. After my talk with them, I'd go see Sunset. I walked through the door and into Chrysalis' office. I reached her office and knocked twice before entering. Chryssi looked up from her computer, I looked around to see Tia was not in the room. Before I could ask, Chrysalis answered, "Tia went to get both herself and I some food from the local deli."
"I see... look about my earlier actions, I wish to apologize for how I acted. I shouldn't have reacted to the news like that by running out. I... I just hoped the results would be different. I was out of line, sorry Chryssi, can you forgive me?"
"...I guess I could. That is under one condition."
"W-what kind of condition?" I wouldn't admit it, but her conditions, when used, can be scary.
"You have to take me out to dinner for a free meal-"
"That doesn't sound so bad." I sighed in relief.
"While allowing me to use your old nickname both during that date and the rest of today."
Faust damned everything!
"Or you could just kiss me, and I'd only use Moon Stamp on the date," she smirked evilly.
"T-that hasn't b-been used since I was in my Nightmare Moon stage. I don't even know what I was thinking at the time of getting them."
I subconsciously rubbed my hips. I had gotten them once I completed my Nightmare Moon transformation. The inked clouds behind a white waxing crescent moon covered both of my hips and upper thighs. I had openly flaunted them in high school when I attempted to overthrow my bigger sister's reign. They were a constant embarrassment, but I kept them to remind me what I almost lost.
"It doesn't matter, I want to tease you, plus I enjoy people suffering from embarrassment. It tastes delicious, a hint of shame mixed with love and regret is as sweet as honey."
Frustrated, I walk over and straddle her lap, "How about you don't use that nickname and I'll give your date and maybe even a beach day with a new bikini I bought. I'll even give you your kiss."
I smirked as I saw her gulp and give a deep and passionate kiss on the lips. I pulled back slowly, and smirked as she leaned forward following my lips. I get off her lap and swayed my hips seductively as I sat in the chair with a neutral expression.
"You filthy tease."
"Oh, so you decline, such a shame. I'll have to send the bikini back, it was a little small on me in certain areas-"
"NO!!! I-I mean... fine, I'll agree to your terms. But as soon as its a warm day, you're taking me to the beach."
"Looks like I won this battle," I said with a small smile.
"Yea, keep smiling. You may have won the battle, but I'll win the war."
"If that will help you sleep at night. Go ahead and believe it."
"You-"
Knock Knock Knock Knock Knock
Chrysalis settled back into a neutral expression and typed away on her computer. Moments later, Celestia walked through the door, holding two paper bags. She shut the door and walked over to Chrysalis' desk. She placed one of them down in front of Chrysalis' computer screen, and the other on her lap.
"Did I miss anything," Celestia asked, biting into her smashed chickpea and avocado sandwich.
"Nothing special, we were just waiting for you, sis."
(Third person view)
Luna apologized once again for the way she acted and promised to keep them to a minimum. Once she was finished, she proceeded to ask the same favor she asked Cup Cake and Joy. It was meet with affirmation that they'd help as much as they could. Chrysalis already having a therapist by the name of Calming Song ready for her the week after she was released.
Now it was time for her to confess that she let Sunset on the plan, "That was not all I wanted to talk about though, sister. I... well... I-Sunset knows that I wish to adopt her."
"That's good. What did she say?" Celestia asked.
"She didn't... wait, you're not mad or think I told her too soon?" Luna stuttered, confused.
"Not at all, Luna. It was probably for the best that you told her this early. She's very independent, so to let her know that you want her to become your daughter is the best thing you could have done. It shows that you trust her and that you want to have an open mother/daughter relationship with her."
"On top of showing your trust in her, it shows the biggest sign that she'll notice sooner or later. You rushing in like that shows that you want this. You desire this relationship that speaks volumes of your character that I always knew you had."
"Sister, you're passionate, its a trait you share with Sunset. That passion will shine through the dark times ahead of you. While I'll be there to help, but it will have to up to you to help pull her through those times. I have faith in you."
"Tia... I-I don't know what to say. For you to have such faith in me... its overwhelming in an away. I feel as though I might mess up at any moment. It could ruin all that's been built by my passion, it's not the first time my passion hurt me in the end."
"You'll do fine, Lu. If you stumble, I'll be there to catch you and pick you up again. It's my job as an older sister. You're the only family that we have in the state. We have to stay strong for each other. When I'm weak, your the one that pulls through. When you fall, I'm the one that pulls you from the water. We were given this life because we're strong enough to carry it."
"You're right. We're the willow. We will bend from the wind, but we will never break." Luna concluded the encouraging speech with a hug that Celestia returned. Chrysalis made a gagging face and coughed when she saw Luna look over to her.
"That was nauseating." Chrysalis summed up.
Luna stuck her tongue out and sent a look that said, 'You're just jealous you don't get to hug me.'
Chrysalis glared, 'Bring it, Moonbutt!'
"I'm going to check up on Sunset," Luna said as she extracted herself from Tia's embrace.
"I'll meet you at home," Celestia said.
"Maybe, I might stay with Sunset tonight if she needs me," Luna said as she walked out and headed to Sunset's room. She knocked lightly before peeking inside. What she saw broke her heart a little at a time.
(POV Luna) I felt tears well up as I looked at the trembling figure of the young girl, I saw my daughter. She was hugging herself, silent sobs shuddering across her body. I noticed the blanket had been tossed off of her, and she was faced away from the door. I looked to see her heart monitor beeping at an increased rate than her normal sixty-five beats at a resting. It was actually over twice as much as normal, sitting at around one-hundred-fifty-three. I was half tempted to call a nurse.
Though something stopped me, it was like a hand guiding me to stay. After stopping and listening I realized that Sunset was apologizing repeatedly under her breath. Lost within the thundering beeps. I was broken by the repeated sorry's that escaped from her quiet breaths. It made me doubt if I could support such a brokeness. That was when I felt that same presence from before sweep past me and it seemed to beckon me forward. I wasn't sure what it was but I find get shivers from this feeling. In fact, I felt comfort and safety from this strange feeling that guided me in this short time.
I silently walked over to her bed and gently placed my hand on her shoulder. She flinched away at my touch and looked over her shoulder. Tears flowed like miniature waterfalls. Small scratch marks decorated her skin, the worst places were her face and arms. I allowed a single tear to fall before I smiled softly and asked, "Would you like me to stay with you?"
A long moment had passed before a small nod showed her acceptance and acknowledgment of my question. I sat down in the bedside chair and looked at Sunset's bandaged back. While being told that they'd been changed two hours prior there were splotches of pink in some areas of the bandages. I looked up from her back to the curtained windows. They were closed darkening the room considerably, a pale red shined through with soft bits of gold. The sunset must have looked gorgeous today. It reminded her so much of the girl lying there, the strength she had to continue on, and the beauty her name suggested she had. That sunset showed all the things Sunset could become and more.
I never realized this, but Sunset lived up to her name more than I previously knew. Much like a sunset that was forever changing and lasted but moments, so was the emotions she showed others. Sunsets were moments of passion, of intensity, but most of all they were moments of change, transformation. That is what Sunset was going through right now. The changing of her core beliefs, her desires, and the transformation of not only her body but her mind as well. The very thing she scoffed at proved to be the very thing that defeated. I couldn't even believe what she must be feeling, the fact that all that she believed was true being proven false and a waste of time. It was no wonder she was broken as much as she was. Though, now she had me to help her pick those pieces up and build something new and stronger out of them.
"Would you like me to leave so you can get some sleep?" I asked gently.
Sunset looked over her shoulder revealing a brief look of surprise on her face before she turned away. Her shuddering had subsided for now. She stared ahead and spoke in a quiet whisper, "I don't want to sleep again."
"Is it nightmares?" I asked.
"...Yes."
"I see, well then give me your hand. I know something that will keep them away. I promise I'll stay here all night if I have to, I'll keep them away."
Sunset laid there for a few moments before turning around, but pointedly keeping her head from looking at me, and stuck out her hands. I gently grabbed one of her hands and rubbed circles on the back of it. I began to hum a soft melody that my mother would sing as a lullaby when I was younger. I gently rubbed her hair with my other hand and continued my soft hum.
I smiled when I saw Sunset's body begin to relax and not too long after that she was out. I held on to her hand and continued the rhythmic ques of the song. I was glad I was a night owl as I didn't think I would be getting much sleep. It was peaceful and all, but I wouldn't allow myself to be distracted from my vigil. I promised to stay with her, and that's exactly what I plan to do.
Sunset awoke slowly. The grey ceiling looked down at her softly. Everything around her had a stark modern feel, and yet there was an undertone of softness. A small clock with shining white numbers cut through the darkness, it read five in the morning. She rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes with her right hand. She sighed heavily as her hand flopped above her head as she once again stared at the ceiling above.
She stayed like that for a few moments before she glanced to her left and looked outside the window. The mountains to the west seemed to glow as the sky lightened up with blues and a small amounts of pink. The morning birds that had yet to head south for the winter sang their melodious tunes. At some point, someone must have come in and opened the window. This allowed a lemon-scented breeze to make its way to Sunsets motionless form.
Sunset began to stir from her prone position, however, as she rolled over as searing pain stopped her. She paused her movements as she sucked in both from the pain and soreness she felt. Once she regained her composure, she once again began to move. However, she was far more reserved then she had been before.
She struggled for a few minutes before she was finally sitting up. She was left panting from the strain and pain with tears gathered at the edge of eyes. It was only through pride that she kept them from rolling down her cheeks. After catching her breath, she straightened her aching back, causing a noble-like air to envelop her.
This cloak covered her pain and exhaustion. It was only at that point that she noticed that she wasn't alone. Glancing down to her right was a familiar mope of mixed blue hair. Reaching over, she brushed the hair out of the woman's face. Sunset's hand shook as she quickly moved her hand back to her lap.
Vice Principal Luna?!? Why was she here?
Memories of last night began to surface. How she had asked Luna, no, made Luna promise to say with her all night. Made her promise not to leave her. She had fallen asleep with Vice Principal Luna holding her hands. That small amount of contact seemingly warding off any nightmares for the rest of the night.
What did the Elements do to me? Why don't I feel like me? What's wrong with me, why am I so...sensitive now?
Sunset looked over at Luna again before she focused on her hands. Her grip changing the more her anxiety climbed. She never had to deal with a situation like this. It felt like she was sailing in a sinking ship on a fog-covered sea that had never been charted before. It felt like one wrong move would cause the rest of her life to sink before the waves. For Sunset, it may already have, and she was desperately clinging to a stray wooden board. It was frustrating.
She glanced at her blanketed legs, and an overwhelming sense of uselessness crashed on her crumpled form. The more her thoughts ran, the more the weight of the world seemed to settle on her shoulders. That is until a voice cut through her blackening thoughts.
"Mmm Sunset, don't eat the cookie dough. We need that for— Ah, no stop you're getting flour everywhere," Luna mumbled in her sleep.
Sunset stared at her vice-principal in shock. Luna was dreaming of Sunset. Of them. Making cookies and her throwing flour. Sunset couldn't help but be shocked by how much Luna seemed to be hoping on the idea of them being close. To have a mother and daughter relationship. The idea seemed ridiculous for Luna to want anything to do with her. Her mother said so herself. Her father only criticized her for everything. And her brother? He was praised by everyone. He stole her whole life from her. It was 'that' argument that showed her what her parents thought of her. It was 'that' moment when she decided she'd devote herself to magic and the princess. It was then that she decided that if she wasn't going to get her parent's love, then she'd be sure as Tartarus get their respect.
Maybe it'd be different this time. Sunset thought about the past experiences she had Luna, and a small smile broke free despite the bleakness of what her future held. She really didn't mind her future if Luna could help her through it. She wasn't dense enough or prideful enough, not anymore, to deny that she and Luna had a bond that neither of them seemed to understand. Nonetheless, they always seemed to have silently acknowledged this bond between them. Maybe this could work, they say the forth times the charm....right?
It was an hour or so before Luna began to stir. She yawned as she stretched her arms above her head. She stood up and leaned back, her spine popping as it realigned itself. She rolled her shoulders they let out a satisfying snap before she sighed in contentment. She peered over to Sunset, only to see her awake.
She was staring intently at her hands. Luna looked over her charge, hopefully. Her red and yellow hair was a rats nest of snarls. Her usual amber skin was still pale, but it no longer looked deathly, which Luna was thankful for. Though she did notices the small pink lines that looked like nail marks decorating her arms. The only other difference was the deep dark circles under her eyes. It seemed like the nightmare took more out of Sunset then she had thought.
After she was done looking over Sunset, Luna realized that Sunset was watching her. In an attempt to keep her composure, Luna cleared her throat. She was about to apologize when she noticed Sunset was rubbing her arms.
"Oh, sorry, I tend to sleep with my window open. The air outside has a calming effect on me. I should have shut it last night, its beginning to get colder now sense falls right around the corner. I'll go shut-", Luna began, only to be suddenly interrupted.
"I'll do it."
Luna froze in her walk as she glanced at Sunset, "...what?"
"I'll sign the papers that will make you my legal guardian," Sunset said as she stared Luna dead in the eye.
Luna blinked. "...Oh, Sunset. You don't have to decide now. Give it a couple of days. There's no need to rush, we have plenty of time to decide on that."
Sunset looked down at her hands. "I did think about it. I can't... there's no one I'd rather have. I just have two requests. One of them is a deal-breaker, the other is more common courtesy."
"O-of course. What is it that you want?" Luna asked stoically, while inside she was dreading the next words.
"The first is I want to call my employer and tell them I can't work for them anymore." Sunset began.
"I didn't know you worked. What did you do?"
"I'd house-sit. Though this employer is away on tour."
Luna blinked again in realization. "So, you mean that..."
"The address that I put on the school files was the place I worked at yes." Sunset nodded. "They provided food and all other necessities. They were really nice, and they looked out for me. They even paid me extra, so I could pay whatever I wanted. It'd feel wrong to stop without telling them."
"Sunset, do you mean to say that in-between 'jobs' you're homeless?" Luna asked in undisguised horror.
Sunset lowered her head and let out a small whisper, "Yeah, but they've been good to me, promise. They've been gone about a year and a half. I think they're just trying to stay away as long as possible, so I have a reason to stay."
"All this time, and I didn't even know. Not once did I look into it. I'm sorry, Sunset," Luna said, hanging her head in shame.
Sunset shook her head and gave a sad smile. "It's fine. I was okay. At first, it was rough getting used to things, but eventually, I did."
"Still-" Luna said with a pained look on her face.
"Let's agree to ignore the details. I was looked after, even if I was by myself most of the time. I still have another request."
"Of course, what was the second one?" Luna asked.
"I don't want to have to call you mom. I had one before, and it didn't end well. If I want to and you're okay with it, then maybe one day. But until then, I've lost hope in ever finding someone that I can call my true mother."
Celestia was seated at the head of the table. She was currently in the conference room of Canterlot High School, waiting for the last teacher to arrive. On Celestia's right was Flash Magnus, the sports coach, Dr. Hooves, the physics teacher, Mr. Cranky, the math teacher, Ms. Cheerilee, librarian and language teacher, Bill Neigh, the chemistry teacher.
On Celestia's left, was Mrs. Inkwell, the art teacher, Ms. Fourstep, the physical ED teacher, Zecora, the history teacher, Ms. Harshwhinny, the language arts teacher, and finally Ms. Tree Hugger, the health teacher. They were just waiting on Sunburst, the computer teacher. As if summoned by her thought, Sunburst, true to his name, burst through the door. He scrambled to an open seat and thumped down. Celestia took a calming breath through her nose and cleared her throat. She tapped on her computer to get the latest medical records pulled up and briefly scanned them before she did the same with the estimated costs of fixing the front of the school.
"As you all can most likely tell, our school has had a rather interesting Fall Formal," Celestia began, there was a couple of scoffs and nods. "Nevertheless, we must go over everything that's been happening the past few days."
"Did they catch the purp that caused all the damage?" Cranky asked
"We don't know much, as only you, Luna, and I were at the formal as the chaperones. I was in the mess hall, grabbing refreshments when everything went down. Now that I mention it, where is Luna, she should be here," Cheerilee spoke up.
"Luna is busy and will be for the next while. She'll be scarce for the next three to four weeks. It's one of the things we'll be talking about. I can't tell you much of what happened, as both Luna and I were leading and keeping the other students safe. What I can tell you is that it was an attack on our school and only one student was injured. I do know the full story, but due to the sensitive details, I cannot reveal everything. Not unless you swear complete secrecy." Celestia replied.
"Not a word leaves this room. Is that understood? One of the student's life could be at risk should anyone start snooping around." They all nodded in agreement. " Luna and I have decided that a firework prank is what caused the damage. However, that is not true. Now, before I say anything else, this part of the conversation didn't happen. Nothing, and I mean nothing. I can not stress this enough. The last thing we need is a student becoming a science project for the government or the courtyard becoming ground zero for an inter-dimensional war. Do you all swear to keep this under wraps?"
After a few nods and other forms of agreement, Celestia began to explain the situation. Needless to say, many were shocked. If not for video from several security cameras, that Celestia was planning on destroying, many wouldn't believe it. The video cut out right after the rainbow-colored ray engulfed Sunset's transformation.
"This is what we're dealing with right now. We're planning on having the courtyard fixed as well as provide many other adjustments to the school." Celestia said.
"How are we going to pay for all of this?" asked Sunburst.
"Yes, and what happened to Sunset Shimmer?" asked Cheerilee.
"Luna will be helping pay for the front entrance while I cover a portion of the courtyard. I'll be arranging many fundraisers with some of the more well members of the city to cover the rest of the cost." The principal replied. "There might be some cuts from certain areas of the school. I'm sorry to say that new martial arts and sports equipment will have to wait until later."
"As for Sunset... she was the student that was injured. The crater was an impact made by her body. As far as punishment goes, I'll be giving her detention for the rest of the semester."
"Forgive me for being extreme, but Celestia, what the hell are you thinking? You're going to keep that thing here? Are you insane?" snapped Fourstep.
"I have to agree with Fourstep, Ma'am. This is foolhardy," said Ms. Harshwhinny.
"Look, I understand your concerns, but my decision is final. Besides, Sunset has been punished enough." Celestia responded patiently.
"Celestia, you are my friend, expelling her is the only way to straighten this bend," Zecora said, speaking for the first time.
"I can't. I can't punish her any more than she already has been punished." Celestia said again.
"Celestia, you need to tell us why you keep saying that," Flash Magnus spoke up again.
Celestia shook her head. "Please, trust Luna and me to take care of it."
"Celestia."
The principal thought for a bit, and let out a sigh. "...Sunset was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. The doctors did all they could, she's alive. But... she'll no longer be able to walk again. She basically paralyzed from the waist down. She has feelings in some spots, but she won't be able to walk again. That is why I've been saying she's been punished enough."
The effect was instantaneous many paled at the implications of Celestia's words.
"That is why Luna will be so scarce these next four weeks. She will be with Sunset trying to help her as much as possible." Tree Hugger stated. The known hippie vibe she usually would carry was now gone, her voice a solid monotone.
"Yes, that is why Luna will be absent for the next while."
"I see," was all they said.
After Sunset's little bomb about how she felt about the word mom, a heavy and awkward silence settled over Luna and Sunset. Luna glanced at the clock to see it was around seven. Hopefully, that'd mean breakfast was going to be served in the cafeteria. With a goal in mind, Luna stood, catching Sunset's attention, Luna smiled.
"I'm going to go get some breakfast for the both of us, okay?"
Sunset answered with a nod.
"Is there anything that you want?"
"Anything is fine, except meat though I'm okay with eggs. Sorry about making your dream of us being mother and daughter harder," Sunset said while avoiding Luna's eyes.
"Sunset, it's fine. If anything, I'm just glad you're giving me a chance. I just ask one thing."
"What is it?" Sunset asked curiously.
"Talk." Luna said in her 'Vice Principal' voice.
"Talk?" Sunset was startled when Luna sat again and grabbed her hands in a firm and reassuring hold.
"Yes, if there's anything that's bothering you need to tell me. I'll be the first to admit that I don't know how to take care of a kid. So, if I'm doing anything that you don't agree with, let me know. I want you to see me as your mother, to be honest, I already consider you my daughter. I loved to see you win competitions, get good grades." Luna trailed off.
Sunset blinked. "Really?"
Luna nodded. "Yes, I could see the joy, the real joy, in your eyes when you completed something. I did see your 'darker' side every once and a while. However, I chose to ignore it, I always convinced myself that it was you just having a bad day. You were the pride and joy of the school, and I didn't think I could be happier. But now you're my pride and joy, that's all I need."
"I-I don't know what to say," Sunset spoke in a flustered tone.
"You don't need to say anything. Just know that I'll always be there for you, okay?" Luna gave her hand another squeeze.
"Yeah," Sunset said softly.
"I go grab us something to eat," Luna said while standing up and heading towards the door.
Just as Luna was about to open the door, Sunset spoke again. "Vice Principal Luna?"
Luna turned around and smiled. "Just Luna is fine, Sunset."
"Right... I was just wondering if maybe, you know if you wanted to, that is, um could you get me a three-shot vanilla latte shaken into a caramel macchiato and lightly stirred with a white chocolate mocha with extra whip cream with granola on top with a cherry, it's from Sugar Cube Corner?" Sunset requested, fidgeting with her hands.
"... I don't think that I could possibly remember all that," Luna deadpanned.
"...Oh, um, you can just ask for a Sunshim Special. I made it with Mrs. Cake."
Luna looked Sunset over and then gave her an unsure smile. "I see. I'll try my best, I'll be back soon." She said as she proceeded out the hospital room door.
Sunset stayed still for a full two minutes before she allowed her shoulders to slump. She brought her hands to her face as silent tears streamed down her cheeks. She was terrified, she was letting another person into her heart. She couldn't help but wonder just how much they'd destroy her already chained and grounded spirit.
She needed a minute alone. She needed to think. To plan. No. Planning is what happened when she was defeated by Twilight and thrown out of her family. But to not plan wasn't good either. She was clueless right now. How do you trust people after thinking everyone was holding a knife of betrayal behind their backs? She gripped her head, enough for it to become painful. However, that pain helped to distract her from the overwhelming despair and guilt. The pain kept her focused. Helped her feel in control.
It was break time for the students of CHS. The break sent some students speeding down the halls to get to the vending machines for 'breakfast' before their choices ran out. The other students went to their lockers or their usual hangout spots at the time. One group, in particular, was meeting at an apple farmer's locker.
They all rushed to get to their friend's locker for there was an emergency. When they reached the locker, they saw the farmer glaring at the locker beside hers. They soon recognized what the problem was when they took a closer look at the locker that had Applejack's attention. Their reaction varied after taking a closer look.
Fluttershy hid her tears with her hair after reading the graffiti. Rarity looked on in disgust and a lady's fury. Pinkie had a magnifying glass, trying to see if she recognized some of the handwriting. Applejack had her arms crossed as she read the words as a frown deepened on her face. Rainbow Dash growled with clenched fists, making the other students keep a wide distance away.
"Who would do something like this?" Rainbow growled.
"I don't know, darling. But this is simply the most unforgivable act I've seen," Rarity frowned, reading some of the graffiti.
"It's a good thing that Sunset had that extra lock. I don't want to think what could've happened without it," Fluttershy commented.
"I'll say. Sunset got an industrial-style lock. Them metal bits there make it near impossible to cut the shackle with bolt-cutters. Heck, you need the key just to open the passcode panel." Applejack stated.
"So, wait, you mean it has a key and a password? It seems a little overkill for a school locker, don't you think?" Rainbow questioned.
"We can always ask her when we go to see her later today." Pinkie Pie pointed out.
"Are you here to add to the masterpiece," a voice called from behind.
The group turned to see a boy with marshmallow-colored hair with chocolate-colored skin. A sinister smile crept across his face, making his blue eyes sharp with gleeful revenge. Rainbow straightened up as the muscles in her arms tensed. She was grinding her teeth as Dumbbell moved through the small crowd that was forming.
"Dumbbell," Rainbow gritted.
"Hey, it's our favorite soccer fail Rainbow Crash, did you score any goals on your team? Hahaha," Hoops laughed.
"I was six then," Rainbow grumbled.
"That doesn't mean anything, Crash. We know how you act when you're under pressure. Though, that doesn't matter right now. You want to add something we have a sharpie right here for you," Score pulled a sharpie out of his khaki pants.
"No, we won't take part. It's mean, and it can really hurt someone's feelings," Fluttershy said in a small assertive tone.
"Who's feelings? Do you mean Sunburn? Ha, the raging she-demon will be expelled by the end of today. We just want to send her a farewell gift. Besides, she's the demon bitch. I doubt she has any feelings anyways." Dumbbell chuckled darkly.
"This locker is a message to that manipulative monster. That she's just a waste of space." Score scoffed.
"Yeah, that bitch would be better off killing herself. Though, seeing how much of a cry baby she is, I doubt she could actually do it. She'd probably try to jump into traffic."
Rainbow Dash tried to make a move on the pair of bullies, only for Applejack to stop her. "Now, you listen here. Sunset may have done wrong in the past, but she don't deserve to die. No one does, how are they suppose ta' make it up for those they wronged if they died?" Applejack said while keeping one arm on Rainbow's shoulder.
"That's easy. They wouldn't be bothering them anymore. It'd stop them from ever committing the same mistake again," Dumbbell said, absently, brushing his hair out of the way.
"But that's wrong! Everyone deserves a chance at life," Fluttershy said near tears.
"Ya, besides, Sunset has been punished enough as it is," Rainbow said, jumping in the argument.
"You do realize that you're defending Sunset Shimmer, right? The very girl that you were all enemies with last week?" Sandalwood joined the argument, standing by the other three bullies.
"Yeah, what's wrong with all you?" another student asked.
"Come on. I mean, sure, Sunset was a meanie weenie, but she's changed. Let's all take a breath and calm down. One day, we'll look back on this and laugh," Pinkie said, trying to stop the situation from getting worse.
"Oh, go shove a cupcake up your ass. You probably do that already. You hyper freak," Score glared at Pinkie with disgust.
Pinkie flinched back, and her hair went straight. She backed up with tears brimming. As Fluttershy comforted Pinkie, Rarity stepped forward, but before she could speak, a voice called out behind the forming crowd.
"Shut up, you heathens. You have no room to talk, you've bullied just as much as Sunset did in the past." a black haired girl with grey skin walked in front of the group of friends. With her a white-skinned girl with blue gradient hair.
"I have to agree, she was a bitch, but that doesn't mean anything. If Celestia and Luna gave me a chance, then why shouldn't Shimmer have one? I stole and beat other students up, but they gave me the chance to make up for it. They found me a good place to get away from the negative shit that was going on in my life." Gilda pointed out.
"Gilda is right. Wow, that's a line I never thought I'd say," Flash muttered.
"What was that?" Gilda glared at Flash.
"Nothing," Flash answered while edging away from her.
Gilda shook her head. "That's what I thought, dweeb."
"Why are you all defending that poisonous snake with your sweet words? It's not like she'll be here any longer, others have been expelled for much less." Dumbbell shouted.
"That is because those students were, regrettably, deemed un-savable," a stern voice explained. "Much like I find you three being right now."
Everyone turned to see a dark silhouette standing in a darkened hallway. Their eyes seemed to glow with cyan color. They stepped out into the light hallway, they looked back, muttering something about getting the light fixed.
The Rainbooms looked baffled.
"Vice Principal Luna? What are you doing here? I thought you were with Sunset." Rarity asked.
"Sunset wanted me to get... a drink. I thought to come in to see how everything was running," Luna explained.
"Oh, you mean the SunShim Special? Where you put that into there with a little of this and a lot of that with granola and a cherry on top?" Pinkie burst into the conversation while making a SunShim Special with drink items that appeared out of nowhere.
Luna blinked before stuttering out a reply. "I-yes. Anyways I believe I was speaking to the students that will be suspended for the rest of the week." Luna said, steering the conversation back to the original topic as she looked at Score, Hoops, and Dumbbell.
"WHAT?!?!"
"Do raise your voice at me. You are getting off lightly. For the remainder of the week, you will be in isolation. You will report to Principal Celestia's office every day. Each day you miss two days will be added to your time. One to make up for the one you skipped, and another as punishment. You will be excluded from your clubs until the week is done. You will all go to different testing rooms and will be watched by Miss. Cheerilee." Luna basically recited.
"You can't do this to us. We didn't do anything wrong," Hoops exclaimed.
"I can and I will, you admitted to your crimes. Those crimes being vandalism of school property, destroying student property, talking back to an authoritative figure, using profanities, and saying things like 'she should kill herself.'"
"But-"
"Butts are for sitting on," Luna interrupted. "Count yourself lucky that I'm not your parents. If I were you wouldn't even be able to sit, now head to the office."
"Vice Principal Luna-"
"OFFICE. NOW," Luna spoke in a deadly tone as she stared at the three quivering teens.
The three made their way to the office, with Luna glaring at them as they went. When they rounded the corner, the air that was as thick as butter vanished, and Luna sighed. As she stood in silence, the student's regular traffic began again.
The ones that supported the actions of Hoops, Score, and Dumbbell slipped out of the hall before Luna's anger was directed at them. Only the supporters of Applejack and her friends stayed behind. Gilda was the first to move. She walked into the nearest classroom.
"Thank you."
The group looked at Luna as she turned to face the group, "Truly, you all have my gratitude."
"T'was nothing Vice Principal Luna." Applejack smiled.
"It was not nothing, Applejack. You and your group of friends have been so good to Sunset in such a short time. So many people are focused on the past and what happened. They never consider the future and what it could hold. They never think to consider that people can change if they have the right hand to lead them. They only need a chance to move in the right direction. I want to thank you all being those that give those people a chance."
"You're most welcome, Vice Principal Luna," Rarity took over the conversation. "It was our pleasure to stick up for our friend. Oh, I have something for you to give to Sunset. I stayed up last night to finish the repairs, but I believe that I've done a smashing job fixing it up. I was going to give it to her myself, but I feel like it will have more meaning coming from you than it would me."
Rarity pulled a familiar looking leather jacket from her purse. It looked brand new in a way that seemed to aim for worn-out. The damage from the transformation was fixed with the scruff marks looking intentional to the design. She passed it to Luna, who handled it like it was made of glass.
"Your generosity knows no bounds, Rarity." Luna admonished.
"Please, helping people look chic, unique, magnifique, is my pleasure. Oh, that's good. I should keep that."
"So, are we just going ignore the unexpected help we got?" Rainbow asked.
"Huh, what do you mean, Dashie?" Pinkie said while slurping her drink, with a look of ecstasy.
"What I mean is that I get why we stuck up for Sunset, but why did you all stick up for her?" Rainbow clarified.
"I found out what happened to Sunset through Octavia," Flash admitted.
"I learned it from Vinyl. She saw Luna talking with Mrs. Cake and some other lady about it," Octavia explained.
"How did she do that?" Luna questioned Octavia.
"Well, you know that Vinyl is selectively mute, and with her always listening to music, she's learned to read lips. She likes to see what people are talking about, so she unconsciously starts to read people's lips. Derpy and a few others have heard about it as well. Is it true?"
Luna frowned. "Unfortunately, Sunset is paralyzed from the waist down. It would also seem that there was more nerve damage than they previously had thought. The areas around her back have been damaged to the point that they are incredibly sensitive. She also has nerve damage from her elbow down, this will make holding objects harder, taxing to hold anything for extended amounts of time."
"Wow, I didn't think that she was hurt so much," Flash spoke, after digesting the news.
"The next couple of months will be tough for her," Luna said, but it seemed more directed to herself than anything else.
"I can't imagine what she must be feeling right now. She was so independent before, now she'll need help with everything. This must be so hard for her," Fluttershy quietly spoke.
"Well, I must be getting back to Sunset. Are any of you coming to the hospital later today?" Luna asked.
"I think all of us were going to head over after school. 'Parently, Pinkie here has a surprise activity that everyone can take part in," Applejack answered.
"It'll be so much fun. I have to go before I spill the beans. I'm not good at keeping secrets. I mean, I can't go telling everyone Shining Armor and Cadence are going to have an alicorn baby named Flurry Heart now can I? Bye," Pinkie said from the hallway corner.
Not a second later, Gilda walked back from the class, with a spray bottle and a worn-out rag. She proceeded to spray the locker before cleaning the graffiti that covered the green surface.
"G, what are you doing?" Rainbow asked.
"I'm part of the janitor crew. I help them clean the school grounds after school. As a way to repay Vice Principal Luna and Principal Celestia for helping me escape the dump that I lived in before," Gilda said. "We usually keep the supply refills in the chemistry rooms."
"Here, why don't I help you, um if you don't mind that is?" Fluttershy said uncertainly.
Gilda glanced over before handing Fluttershy the rag she was using. She walked back into the class before returning with another rag. She and Fluttershy both began to clean the locker together. After watching the scene, Fluttershy's friends went and grabbed a rag to help clean the locker. Luna smiled at the scene before she made her way to the office to tell her sister what had happened.
Sunset was zoned out when Luna entered the room. She had eaten very little of what the hospital staff delivered. Granted, most of the meal consisted of meat, which Sunset refused to eat unless it was absolutely necessary. She was lost in thought, comparing Luna's actions with all those that had betrayed her trust.
Luna had been supportive of her at every turn, but so had Princess Celestia. Sunset had already let her hope get smashed twice. She didn't really know if she could handle a third. On the other hand, all Luna asked was a chance to show her that she cared for her. Plus, all she had to do was talk with her when she felt uncomfortable with something.
Sunset had been asked to do more by her biological mom and the Princess. All Luna wanted was to make her comfortable. Luna always checked on her when she came back to school from being sick. Luna gave Sunset the slightest flicker of hope, and while she was terrified of having her heart completely broken. Sunset couldn't help but feel like this time it would be different. Maybe even better than it had ever been.
"Here you go, Sunset. I have your drink."
Luna's voice snapped Sunset out of her thoughts. She looked to see Luna handing her a tall drink, steam wafting up from the hole in the lid. She took the offered drink, with shakey hands. Before she could bring it to her lips, Luna slid a long straw into the hole. Sunset looked at her quizzically.
Luna smiled when Sunset looked at her, "So you don't have to hold up to get a drink."
Sunset blinked before saying a quiet 'thank you'. She was about to drink some of her beverage when she saw Luna give a hesitant glance at her own drink. It was only then that Sunset saw that Luna had gotten two SunShim Specials.
"Why did you get two?" Sunset asked curiously.
"Well, I thought that since you like the drink, I would try it too." Luna smiled.
"You didn't have to do that," Sunset countered.
"But I wanted to, Sunset. You like this drink, and as someone that wants to get to know you better, that means trying the things that you like, even if I question how good this tastes."
"...You still don't need to try it. I don't want to make you regret trying something of mine." Sunset muttered.
"Yes, I do. You care about this. That means whether I like it or not, I will automatically care about what you like. So long as you don't get hurt, I don't see any reason why I should hate it."
"...Okay."
"Well, then, time to experience the SunShim Special," Luna said while hesitantly looking at the travel mug in her hand.
Sunset watched Luna worked up the courage to drink it, and before she could say anything else. Luna threw the drink back like it was a shot glass. The reaction was immediate. Luna's cheeks puffed out as she struggles to force the sugary beverage down. Her eyes watered as the scolding, sugary drink sat in her mouth.
Sunset watched in fascination as Luna made a momentous attempt to swallow the drink. After three gulps, Luna was finally able to open her mouth only to pant like an Olympian sprinter. Sunset was silent for a moment before a quiet sound escaped her.
"Pfft." Sunset chuckled. "What was that? You're not supposed to chuck it down like cider. Hahaha, this is a sipping drink. You only drink a little at a time. Hahaha!"
"Why didn't you tell me before," Luna said with a pout.
Sunset broke into more laughter, and Luna joined her seconds later. It was minutes before their laughter died down.
In Equestria
Princess Celestia sat upon her throne. Her mane flowed breezily behind her. Her eyes had the thousand-yard stare. It had been four days since Twilight returned from the other world. She was taking the injuries that she inflicted on Sunset hard. It had only been yesterday that she had finally convinced her to return to Ponyville with her friends.
Celestia herself was taking it hard herself. She didn't know what to think. It was like a cruel joke the universe wanted to constantly play on her. It was Luna all over again. Only now she couldn't help but believe that it was too late to make amends. She didn't have a thousand years to think of how she was going to make it to Sunset.
While she was lost in her self loathing, a guard walked in and approached the Solar Princess. He bowed before her and waited for her approval to stand. When no command was given, he risked a glance up to see her not paying attention. He quietly cleared his throat, catching her attention. "Oh stand," She beckoned with her hoof.
Once he was upright, he monotonously said, "Your highness, an earth pony is looking for her daughter."
Celestia narrowed her eyes slightly. "Who is this pony?"
"She says her name is Snare Flare, and she is looking for her daughter Sunset Shimmer."
It was a ten past noon when the train from Ponyville rolled into the Canterlot station. A certain alicorn stepped off as soon as the doors were opened. Behind her was a small purple dragon who struggled to keep up with the alicorn as she bolted towards the front of the station. She galloped to the front of the station in a frenzied state. Her hair was poking up in certain areas, and she shuffled her feet nervously as she scanned the many carriages out on the front.
It was then that a chariot landed from the sky, startling quite a few ponies in the immediate area. It settled quickly, banging its metal trimmed wheels against the cobblestone street. The pegasus guard's hooves thundered as the grounded to a stop. Their hoofsteps seemingly echoed across the plaza. Their armor added to the pounding, seeing the ponies pulling the cart were the royal pullers a tense quite began.
The locals could clearly see the urgency and alertness of the guards. It didn't put the locals at ease as they noticed that these were the personal guards of Princess Celestia. That was when everyone else saw the purple alicorn make her way to the carriage. The guards snapped to attention as she clambered up inside Princess Celestia's carriage. The small dragon was no sooner inside when the pegasus guards flapped their wings as they took off towards the palace.
Celestia stood anxiously from her raising balcony. She watched the courtyard of the castle for her precious student's arrival. Celestia had asked Snare Flare to wait while she called for the one pony that would know where Sunset was. And while Snare Flare accepted her course of action, Celestia couldn't help but feel like there was resentment towards her when she had asked her to wait. Snare Flare was then taken on a tour of the castle gardens while they waited for Twilight to arrive. As Celestia kept her vigil over the sky, she couldn't help but think of the times she brought up Sunset's family. Sunset was very hesitant to tell her anything, much less spend time with them when holidays would arrive. She seemed much more content on staying at the castle alone. At the time Celestia never thought much of the interactions, she was too caught up in her own business to notice the plight of her failed student.
Though it's not like Celestia could call her student out for the failure of not talking about her emotions. It would be hypocritical for her to get mad at Sunset for not speaking about her feelings. Afterall, Celestia never spoke about her emotions. It had been years since she last attempted. It was easier to remain emotionless and stoic, then to feel the pain of each broken relationship. The failure laid in her alone for not being able to teach her students. Meaning that it was her fault that Sunset failed.
It was these habits that doomed the relationship between Sunset and herself. If she let that mask fall like she did when Cadence was around, would she have been able to keep Sunset here and happy? When Cadence ascended to her alicorn princess post, Celestia had lost her ability to hide her desire to have somepony close. Cadence answered that call correctly. She was an alicorn, she would grow old with Celestia and be able to keep her company when she was lonely. She was the poisoned medicine that kept her alive, and with each encounter with her led Celestia wanting to spend more time with her. It was one of the reasons that she named Cadence her niece. So that she could forever have the link to somepony that would live as long as her.
Celestia was about to be swallowed by her thoughts when a gleam of gold caught her eye. Looking down, she spotted her chariot with a familiar lavender mare stepping out. Celestia flared her wings and gave powerful pushes of her wings and glided down. She landed in front of her faithful student and beat her wings slowly to come to a rest as she landed softly before Twilight. Her wings kicked up stray dirt and rocks before she tucked them against her side. Celestia met Twilight with soft eyes but a pained smile. Twilight gapped at her for a moment before she raced forward and in a very Twilight mannered greeting.
"Princess! I got your letter, what is it? You mentioned that it is urgent. Are the other Princesses already inside? Is there a threat to Equestria?"
"Twilight, my most precious student, calm yourself, and I will explain," Celestia chuckled lightly, but she hated herself, for she had a topic that she knew hurt Twilight as much as herself.
"Oh, yes, of course. Fwaa...haaa, I'm ready, Princess." Twilight said after her breathing exercise was completed.
"I... I regret to say, but it concerns a topic neither of us wants to visit again so soon. Sunset's mother has come to the palace looking for her. I only know what you told me, and I had hoped you could help me with some parts as you were there, not me. Do you understand what I'm asking of you?"
"Y-Yes, it's just that I just started to accept what happened to Sunset. How can I tell a pony, a mother, that I, a princess, crippled her daughter and left her in another world? I don't even know where to begin."
"Twilight, I will be there every step of the way to help, but don't you agree that she deserves to know what has happened to Sunset as her mother?"
"Thank you, Princess. I know that I'll be able to do it with you by my side."
"You're most welcome, my faithful student. Though, you have taught me a great many things as well. Like, we must fight for the ponies that we love no matter the circumstance. I will not make the same mistake a third time. I didn't fight to get Luna back, and I abandoned Sunset, let it be known that I will not make the same mistake twice." Celestia vowed with an intensity rarely seen by Twilight.
Celestia and Twilight were in the throne room. Celestia in her usual spot while Twilight stood off to the right of Celestia's throne. The two stayed quiet while they waited for Snare Flare to arrive. Twilight constantly shifted in her spot. It was then that the herald announced Snare Flare's name.
She walked in with a purpose, and Twilight would have questioned her being Sunset's mother as she looked little like her. She had a cyan coat with a starking yellow mane. Her eyes were a sharp red that seemed to pierce everything that was glanced at.
It was the walk that convinced her. She's never seen anyone besides Sunset walk like that. Not even the nobles of Canterlot could walk with such confidence and pose. It was this line of thought that reminded Celestia that Sunset wouldn't be able to walk like that for the rest of her life.
A small shuddering breath escaped her to calm her nerves. A quick glance towards the Princess showed Celestia being rather quiet. Her wings slightly flared up as if to intimidate Snare Flare in her presence. Unfortunately, it seemed that Snare Flare wasn't one to be intimidated by such a display.
Snare flare bowed towards Celestia and Twilight. Before, she focused on Celestia and began to speak.
"Your Majesty, I have waited patiently. Where is my daughter?" Snare Flare demanded.
The bluntness of the question took Twilight off guard, while Princess Celestia showed no outwards emotions other than folding her wings. She looked at Twilight and gently brought her hoof down on her shoulder. While Celestia's face was devoid of emotions, her eyes spoke volumes to Twilight. Having been raised by Celestia, Twilights knew things that only those so close to Celestia would know.
Straightening and clearing her throat, Twilight began, "Mrs. Flare, I know you've been patiently awaiting news on your daughter, but it not that simple."
"What's so complicated about wanting to know where my daughter is?" she asked Twilight before turning to face Princess Celestia. "She was your student before her, and yet, Princess Twilight is already graduated. So, my daughter must have already graduated, right?"
"Snare Flare, Sunset left from under my tutelage before Twilight started her first day. She hasn't been my student for a little over a decade now."
"WHAT?!? THEN WHERE HAS ALL MY BITS BEEN GOING? I've been paying for her school since she got here! Where have they been going?" Snare all but snarled.
A brief look of confusion passed over Celestia's face, "I don't know what you mean. Sunset worked part-time in the library to pay for her schooling. She said she wasn't expecting any help paying for school. Thus, I offered to pay for it, but she denied stating she would like a job to pay for school while also studying. With this in mind, I gave her work at the library as it would help her pay and study at the same time."
"That's ridiculous. Where did all my bits go than?!"
"Guards, please summon Raven."
"At once, your majesty."
"Bits aside, you said she would know where my daughter is. I grow tired of all this dodging the question. Where. Is. My. Daughter?"Snare Flare said, taking a step forward forcefully.
Twilight looked at Celestia, silently asking permission to tell her about the portal. Celestia regarded the question with silence as she rested her stare down on Snare Flare. Minutes passed in silence as she stared at the mare, her eyes gradually narrowing. Her once purple eyes had turned a fiery red and yellow.
Outside the castle walls, a sudden heatwave fell over the land of Equestria. The suddenness of the heatwave caught many off guard. The effects were so prominent that even those in the Crystal Empire felt the changes. Cadence stepped out on her balcony and looked towards Canterlot.
"Some pony just made Auntie mad."
She went inside to look for Shining about a shield. While in Cloudsdale, ponies scrambled to get rainclouds. A call out to Rainbow Dash had her blasting off to get rainclouds from Everfree forest. Slowly, Equestria was covered in rainclouds. While this happened, a certain sleeping princess woke up.
For her part, Snare Flare stood her ground, though she did glance outside a couple of times at the darkening throne room. Quickly the tension was broken by Raven stepping in seemingly oblivious to the emotions of the ruling Princess, or perhaps she was just used to it by now. She stepped around Snare Flare and approached her angered Princess. She bowed and moved her bangs out of the way. "Your Majesty?"
That seemed to break Celestia out of her staring match with Sunset's mother, and she focused on Raven. Celestia noticed, with a hint a pride, that the mother flicked the cold sweat off her back with her tail. She smiled sweetly at Raven, "Ah Raven, I have a few questions that I hope you could answer."
"Of course, Your Majesty."
"You remember my student, Sunset Shimmer, yes?
"Of course, the sweet dear, how is she? Is she back? We always had enjoyable talks."
"No, unfortunately not."
"A shame. I know Your Majesty was hurt by her leaving."
"Fear not my little pony, I'm okay. Now, did Sunset ever tell you about money coming from her mother, Snare Flare?"
"Oh yes, Your Majesty! Sunset came in one day with a check. She told me that this check was money for a scholarship and that if any more like that came to give it to ponies that really needed it at the school. We even came up for a name for it The Flare Scholarship for exceptional ponies that couldn't pay to come to the school for financial reasons."
"...Thank you, Raven. Why don't you take the rest of the day off? Guards escort Snare Flare out. We'll reconvene to continue this talk in two hours time."
"Of course, Your Majesty."
"Understood."
"Wha-"
"MRS. FLARE. We will reconvene in two hours. That is final, don't test my ire. You would not like us when we are angered. Twilight, you will stay with us."
"Y-yes, Princess."
Soon the throne room was empty of all but Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight. It was silent inside the room, while thunder rolled outside. Twilight tentatively placed her hoof on her teacher's back. She flinched at the touch but otherwise stayed still as if she became one of her statues in the garden. Soon she spoke, and the phrase she uttered broke both Twilights and Luna's, who had appeared at her sister's side silently.
"Oh my sweet Little Sun, I'm so sorry, Sunset."
The rain pattered against the window as Sunset slowly woke up. The first thing that she noticed was the pain. The throbbing pain in her back made her groan. Sunset inhaled sharply as she adjusted herself to ease the pain off her back. She was slowly losing the battle between having pain relievers or not. It burned where her skin was torn open and froze deep beneath her surface. It was as if her bones were made of ice forever freezing her from the inside out.
Her labored breaths and slight sounds of discomfort were all that came from her. Her hand shakily reached out to the bed controls and pressed the up button. She slowly raised into a sitting position only then did the pain lessen. She closed her eyes leaned heavily on her left side, and her trembling body finally calmed. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and finally was able to sigh with relief. At least until she quietly cried to herself. She was exhausted. She was tired of being in pain and tired of feeling so useless. Her emotions didn't help the matter, they were all over the place, and she didn't know what she was feeling anymore. Sunset just hoped that it would come to an end.
Opening her eyes made it known to her that it was ten minutes after twelve. The state of her room floored her. Ballons with 'get well' sentiments on them dotted her room. On the table just behind the clock was a beautiful array of dark center poppies, pink orchids, and protea. In the center separating the other three flowers were long stems of Craspedia with spiked grass in a stylized green pot. A small card read, "You never bothered me, hope you get well. Enjoy the flowers, WB."
She sat up and reached for the flowers, but they were just out of reach. She slid over a little more and placed her right hand on the bed. Pins and needles feeling danced throughout her palm and fingers. With a scowl on her face, she reached across while putting her weight on her right hand. She touched the pot, and her expression of concentration gave way to joy and determination. If only her hand shared the sentiment. It chose at that moment to give out.
"Eh?"
An azure-skinned girl sauntered into the hospital, her hand whipped her hair back. Her walk was confident and meaningful. She had gotten her hands on some very sensitive information, and she planned on using it. She walked to the nurse station and waited for a green-haired and skinned girl to finish talking with the nurse.
"-room is?" the girl asked.
"I'm sorry. She's still in a fragile condition. We're not allowing anyone unrelated to her. May I ask what your relationship to her is?" the desk hand asked.
"Uh, well, you see. I um think you should forget about that, don't you think?" There was a brief green glow before it suddenly vanished.
"Oh, sorry about that, dear. What did you need?" the nurse asked again.
"You just telling me Sunset's room number when you spaced out for a second. Could you just tell me which room she's in?" she asked.
The azure-skinned girl straightened up and started to pay attention to the girl. Her eyes narrowed as she pulled out a notepad from her jacket. She began to write down what just happened.
"Oh, I was? Hmm, I must have her files pulled up. Let's see, ah yes. She's in room five sixty-five on the fifth floor. What was your relationship with her again?"
"It's better if you forgot you saw me." The glow happened again, and suddenly the green girl was gone.
"I'm sorry, miss. I didn't see you there."
"That-That's all right. The Grreat and Poowerful TRIXXXIE is a master illusionist I can appear and disappear with ease."
"...I see. What can I do for your Miss Trixie?"
"The Wonderful and Mesmerizing Trixie would like your help. Actually, Trixie is humbly begging for it."
"What do you need help with?"
"Trixie was wondering if it is at all possible to perhaps help her arrange a show for a patient here. Others are welcome as well to her show. However, the show is specifically for her. It's a get well gift, Trixie is good at magic, no not good, the best at magic and maybe a little singing."
"Well, we normally don't let people do anything crazy in the hospital." the nurse answered back.
"I- Trixie sees. Trixie will be going then," Trixie began to turn around.
"Wait. Please," the nurse called after Trixie.
"Yes, asks the Pathetic and Defeated Trixie?"
"I... While you can't perform in the hospital. The building does surround a garden courtyard. You could do your show there so long as you get the head of the hospital advance notice about it."
"OHH, this is so exciting my first real magic show. What room is Sunset Shimmer in?"
"What is your relationship with her? Are you family?"
"Well, no. Buuut, Trixie goes to school with her. Trixie admired her strength and confidence. Also, Trixie's show is for Sunset. It is Trixie's way of wishing her luck. Trixie just wants to go invite Sunset Shimmer personally."
The nurse was quiet for a moment before she sighed, "I suppose that if you're quick about it, I there's no problem with that."
"HAHA behold the magician's exit!"
POOF
"*cough cough. Huh, She's gone... wait there she is," the nurse said as she watched Trixie run up the stairs, "Kids nowadays."
"Ah, ow," Sunset said on the floor of the hospital. She was sprawled on the ground, luckily, as much as falling on the ground is lucky, she didn't fall in on her back and was able to catch herself from falling too hard. That didn't, however, mean that she went unscathed her wrist ached, and her head swam from the sudden rush of blood to her head.
Sunset pushed up to a sitting position, or at least she tried to. While she could move her arms, strength wouldn't come to her. As she laid there, she couldn't help but remember the last moments with her family and how her mom told her this would happen. She remembered it like it was yesterday. She had just been accepted into Celestia's School. However, she took the entrance test in secret and did so without her parents' knowledge. That proved to damage what little relationship she had with her family. Magic school wasn't apart of Sunset's life according to her parents' plans, and they were furious about it. They didn't even let her explain that she would be Princess Celestia's personal student. After that, Sunset gave up on her family being there for her. She bit her lip as the memory resurfaced.
"I DON"T CARE. I'M LEAVING THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP ME!" Sunset bellowed as she shoulder through her parents and out her door.
"You come back here, young lady. I'm not done talking to you. We still have piano lessons, and we need to talk about your marriage to Jet Set," Maestro Ardor called after Sunset.
"No. There's nothing to talking about. I'm not marrying some pony that has an influential family you can use to further your name and power. I'm a pony, not some chess piece in one of your games, father. I'm going to study at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. I hate the piano by the way," Sunset scoffed as she headed for the stairs.
"Sunset, dear, listen to your father his looking out for you. Please, mother, just wants what's best for you. I know what best for you," Snare Flare smiled at her daughter.
"You don't know what's best for me. You're not a unicorn, mom. You don't know what it's like having to deny the very thing that makes me me. You just want to control me like a puppet or one of your musicians. Too bad for you, I want to do magic. I like it, and I'm really good at it."
Snare Flare glared, "I see. I've let you have too much freedom, but fine go. Go chase some ridiculous dream, but I'm warning you. Life doesn't care about how good you are, it will break you, and when it does, don't say I didn't tell you so. You don't need to worry about coming back either. Your father and I have our own problems. Don't go dragging us into yours. So if you walk out that door, don't bother coming back. I won't have a daughter anymore if you walk out that door."
Sunset paused at the door, her hoof on the handle. She looked back at her parents, both of them glaring at her. Behind them was her little brother, Golden Note, who was practicing the violin. She looked at her hoof then dropped it on the welcome mat in front of the door. She could feel the satisfaction of her parents. They knew they won.
Sunset glanced at her parents and saw that smile. That ugly, smug smile that hung like a guillotine over her head. She hated it. Sunset faced forward, looking at the door as she made her choice. She wrapped her saddlebag with her magic and dropped it on her back. She pointedly grabbed the door in her magic and flung it open. She glanced back once to see the shock on her parents' face before facing forward saying, "Snare Flare and Maestro Ardor, thanks for your hospitality I will no longer bother you with anything in my life. Good day."
With that, Sunset walked out and quietly shut the door, shutting her off from her parents. She let one teardrop to the ground before trotting to the train without looking back. If her parents didn't want her for her, then she'd make others want her instead. She never once saw her parents in all the years after she left. She never let herself feel the pain that came from the experience. They weren't worth her time.
"Sunset, are you okay!?" a voice broke her out of the memory. She shifted her head towards the voice and could only see jean pants with grey and white flats.
"Who...?"
"That's not important right now. Can you move?"
"I-I can, but I can't get up. Sorry, I'm so useless right now." Sunset sniffled.
"It's fine. You have nothing to be sorry about. This... what happened to you, it wasn't anyone's fault," the girl said.
"Sorry."
"Okay, okay, calm down," the girl said again.
"I am calm."
"I was talking to myself. What happened? How'd you end up on the ground?" the girl asked, reaching to help Sunset off the ground.
"I was trying to grab the flowers, but my hand slipped," Sunset said, pointing to the flowers on the table as best she could.
"Those are..."
The girl went silent as she looked at the plants. Just as she was about to say something, a knock sounded from the door. Seconds later, Trixie entered the room and looked at the scene. Quicker than most would have thought Trixie was at the mysterious girl's side. Trixie slapped the girl's hands off of Sunset's arm. She quickly looked at Sunset then whirled around on the mysterious girl. She pointed at the girl and growled, "Are you crazy? What do you think that you were doing?"
"I was just helping her up, what's wrong with that?" Clearly offended by Trixie's words.
"Sunset has a back injury. Your helping her could have hurt her even more," Trixie explained to her.
"How would you know that? You are either too self-absorbed or have your nose buried in a book about stage magic car about other people's well-being."
"Trixie know more about first aid than you. Your mother isn't a doctor. While Trixie's mom is and she even thought Trixie basic medical practices. So, yes, I do know more than you, and I can do a better job at it than you."
"Well, I... I can bring dying plants to life..." she said with confidence. "That sounded better in my head."
"I'm sure it did, and I'm sure you can, but Sunset isn't a plant now, is she?
"...No. I'll just leave," the girl said as she turned around. She looked at Sunset before she said, "Those flowers were from me. Though I doubt you'll remember me. Anyways, hope you get better soon," she walked out after that, not giving Sunset a chance to say anything.
"Hmph, Trixie is not self-absorbed. She is just confident in her abilities."
"You could have been nicer. She really was just trying to help," Sunset lightly scolded.
"I don't care. Trixie will not let that girl ruin her first show by hurting the guest of honor," Trixie said, crossing her arms.
"Guest of honor?" Sunset parroted.
"That can wait. Trixie will go find a nurse to help you," Trixie got up and walked out before Sunset could get a word in.
"But, clack* you can just press the call button," she said to the empty room.
Sunset POV
I had been checked over by the nurse, and once I was deemed healthy enough to move. I was put back in bed by Chrysalis and Trixie, along with Nurse tender heart. Although, I was okay despite a few bruises that she would have on her knees and hips, along with a sore wrist. Emotionally and mentally, I was a mess. Three people. That was how many people it took to put me into bed. It was a sobering thought that broke through the previous low. It seemed with everyday life found a way to drag me deeper into the inky darkness of depression. Sure, I had friends, but were they really. I wouldn't be surprised if I was just a charity case to ease some of the guilt that the girls had. I wouldn't be surprised if they all left after I was released and given a clean bill of health. The very thought filled me with dread and fear. I had no idea why I was so distraught over them leaving me.
Monsters didn't deserve to be happy. Considering that I turned into a demon, there was little hope of me being anything but a monster. Some may say that I was just hiding my true self behind all those actions during school and that I have a chance to show the real me. It showed how little they understood what was going on. Twilight said so herself. That night I had revealed what I truly was, what was in my heart.
I'm a monster, and there was no changing that. I was already too far gone. A lost cause, a breath monster that forever had to be alone. I would end up hurting them. I would forever be alone. People caring for about monster only happened in fairy tales, and even those that did were few and far between. I still have to wonder what was the purpose of the element of magic saving her from her own heart. I'm a threat to Equestria. It only makes sense that I would either be killed or, at the very least, imprisoned like Nightmare Moon or Discord. Imprisoned... It all made sense now I ended up like this because this is my prison. This broken body, this world, it was all cut off from Equestria. I was exiled here, I was never to return to Equestria. Even if I did, I'd be weak and useless, barely able to walk. What happened today was proof of that. The most I could do if I went back was waste away inside some house that I could scrounge up or be sentenced to life in prison for treason against the crown. Perhaps, even turned to stone as a way to pay for my crimes.
Either way, stay or return when the portal reopened I'd still be a prisoner. It is best if I remained in exile for the rest of my life. Sure no longer having magic will be hard, but I believe that I lost that right. To use magic would just bring back old desires. I saw where that lead, and I'm better of the dead. I almost killed people because of those desires. It's better to seal off my wants and desires. It might not do much, but perhaps it can keep the monster from inside from ever escaping. Besides, monsters need to be caged. What better cage than one that's a world way?
"I ask that you don't interrupt," Twilight said with a slight chill to her voice. She was not happy. After consoling her teacher, basically her mother in all regards but blood, she asked Princess Luna to take her sister to her room so that she might recover. Something ponies didn't think to consider about the Solar Princess was that she was despite her looks, she was old. At times of emotional stress, time hung heavy on her. Heavier than most could bear, it was why there were so few princesses. Ascension wasn't the hard part, nor was creating a new spell. She did it many times during her stay in Ponyville, sure ascent was still rare. Usually one or two per century. It was because most that ascended couldn't bear to watch their loved one die; thus, they often time went to join them.
It was one reason Celestia adopted Cadence. As an orphan, it was easy for the Princess of love to see Celestia as her mother, despite her calling her auntie. That meant that she would always have a family she could depend on. Twilight herself would have the many friends she made throughout the years to consol her on the inevitable losses. It was why Celestia didn't adopt her, Celestia believed that Twilight was stronger than most and with the help of her friends, both old and new, that she could overcome the hardships to come.
It was for this reason that she was so upset by this mare. She was hurting a pony that she would grow very close to in the coming years. Snare Flare did deserve to know what had happened to Sunset, but that didn't mean that she had to be nice about it. She would tell her the details, answer the question to the best of her abilities, then have the guards escort the mare out. After that, she would go help Princess Luna comfort Celestia in her time of grief.
Snare Flare nodded, and Twilight continued, "A week and a half ago, during the night before the Princess Summit. Sunset snuck into my room and stole my crown, replacing it with a replica. She was discovered, and I gave chase. I tackled her, which caused the Element of Magic and my crown to fly into the place she's called home since leaving Celestia's tutelage." "I've asked Princess Celestia if you could know where that place is, but because the gateway is sensitive information, Princess Celestia won't allow you knowledge of the entrance to Sunset's plane of existence now. You are entitled to know that Sunset doesn't live on this plant, and she is no longer reachable for the next thirty moons. During the short trip to her world, I, with a small group of friends, managed to band together and help take away what power she had there. This, however, caused her to grow angry, and she stole my crown and placed it upon her head. This action, along with the anger in her heart, corrupted her. Luckily, the girls I mentioned earlier and I were able to purge of her the blackness in her heart." "However, it came with a price. The price was it took away her ability to walk. She'll never be able to walk with aid, and she'll have several problems with returning to Equestria. I'm sorry for your loss, I truly am, but I must go consol my teacher now," Twilight closed softly in closing.
She stood up from the throne before she vanished in a flash of violet light. Snare Flare stayed standing in the spot for a few moments before she slowly turned towards the door. Her hoof steps were wobbly, and she couldn't walk in a straight line. She walked as though she was drunk. As luck would have it, she didn't run into anypony on her way out of the castle. Her face was entirely composed to show little to no emotion. The only faults were the slight trembles along her body, her pale face, her inability to walk in a straight line. Other than that, her face and eyes showed no hint of the emotions she was feeling war inside her as she continued home.
Sunset stared at the dark ceiling, her mind blank as she replayed everything that happened to her after she attempted to gain power. Sunset was relieved that she was stopped before doing something that she would truly regret. However, she couldn't help but be bitter, as virtually all the years she'd been here meant nothing. If she was entirely honest with herself, Sunset felt numb. Like a part of her was missing. Her anger, which burned brighter than the sun, was too hard to comprehend. It felt like a part of her was missing altogether, this should have concerned her, but it took too much effort to even care.
Ever since the fall, Sunset's dreams took a turn for the worst. In her dreams, she got the crown from Twilight. She placed the crown atop her head just like she did at the Fall Formal. However, unlike the Fall Formal, the change was so much slower. She could feel things being ripped out of her and replaced by the swelling of anger, pain, and fear. She could taste the blood as she bit her lip in an attempt to keep the pain from vocalizing itself.
Sunset could feel her teeth sharpen as they sliced through her lips. Then the slow pushing as her wings grew through her skin, covering them in fresh blood. She felt her spine elongate as it pushed out of her lower back to form her tail. The last bit of transformation would complete as she felt her muscles grow, and her blood boiled. The world became too sharply focused, and the moments before Twilight fired that rainbow blast flew by like lightning. That was when the Elements purified her with just as much intensity as her transformation. However, unlike in reality, all it did was separate Sunset from her demonic self.
As Sunset laid on the ground, her demon would berate her with the girls' blood she just murdered. It made her feel everything from what she felt when she committed those past wrongs past. If that wasn't enough, the Elements forced her to feel the victims' pain. Sunset's disgust soon followed after the first victim. She was disgusted with horrid self, and she was barely holding on at this point. The final straw was the Elements ripping out her negative emotions and putting unknown emotions into her that she had no idea how to process.
To say Sunset felt raw after those dreams was an understatement. She honestly had no idea how to feel; thus, she gave up on trying to feel anything. What was the point if all you felt was either pain or something you couldn't even begin to process? This, however, didn't stop one emotion from showing its face. When guilt reared its ugly head, it could overcome any apathetic state that Sunset tried to enforce on herself.
Guilt, however negative, was surprisingly the only thing that could keep Sunset going. It baffled her and left Sunset wondering, once she was 'redeemed,' would she be dropped? Would she no longer be needed? Would it end as it did with Princess Celestia? The loneliness? The shame? The longing for attention, even if it was negative? Though thinking about it, she realized she no longer could control the school, not with her legs the way they were. At best, she'd forget about it, and Sunset most likely would never leave the house.
That reminded her, today was the day of her release, meaning she'd be moving in with Vice Principal Luna. Sunset held no true feelings about the matter. No, that wasn't entirely true. She had feelings on the issue, but felt like she didn't deserve a choice, so why bother voicing her opinion. It didn't help that her stance on the matter was constantly shifting—the hope of not being alone, even though she would never admit to being so. Fear of being broken again, the betrayal that inevitably happened with each of her relationships. However, a new feeling joined the previous ones, the doubt. The doubt that she had changed, that she could change. Everything was against her, and she knew that, from her reputation to her financial standings.
There was no way for her to get money. She didn't know if Mrs. Maki would allow her to continue working if she was disabled. She couldn't rightfully ask Luna to pay for the school and all the things she destroyed from her classmates back in her tyrant path at school. Sunset didn't doubt that anything she got would either be tossed out of pure hate or refused on suspicion of it being tampered with to give her more information on the students. Sunset couldn't even blame them if this did happen. It wouldn't be the first time that she 'gifted' something to someone, only to backstab them later with it. On top of all those things, her current position made anything infinitely more difficult for her.
Sunset knew she'd have a long road to go if she ever wanted to be redeemed, and it would take a miracle, that she doubted would ever appear, or someone bent on the destruction of the world before anyone forgave her past transgressions. She was never going to them live down, and that even before the Fall Formal, when she turned into a literal demon, a raging she-demon, that turned the students into her zombie army. She had no real direction to point her life except for trying to make friends with the girls like Princess Twilight wanted her to. The thought alone scared her senseless.
Canterlot General, Chrysalis' Office, 9:21 A.M.
Luna walked into the Chrysalis' office with a pep in her step. She couldn't wait to get Sunset moving in with her. The process of her moving Sunset's stuff filling her heart with endless excitement. Luna furnished Sunset's room with a bookshelf and the basics of a bedroom. Luna also repainted the room to match her color scheme. She couldn't wait to go shopping for things that Sunset wanted. Luna hoped that a shopping trip would help her learn more about her soon to be adopted daughter. Perhaps, if she learned more about Sunset, she would begin to see her as her new mother that it was worth having someone there for her.
Just the possibilities made her giddy beyond belief of Sunset accepting her. She couldn't wait to get Sunset a gaming set, and the two could bond over it. Perhaps she could get Celestia into games if another person pushed her towards video games instead of books. With all her internal musing Luna almost missed Chrysalis glaring at her when she realized that she was unintentionally ignoring the stunning doctor.
"Are you finally in touch with reality?" Chrysalis loured while she straightened the papers on her desk.
Luna blushed, "Can you blame me? It's so exciting!"
"Yes, yes, I know. It's all you text me about nowadays," Chrysalis dismissively waved her hand. "But that's not what I called you in to talk about, babe. You need to focus and take this seriously."
"Sorry, Chryssi. What do you need to tell me?" Luna breathed out as she regained her composure.
"It's Sunset's injuries. Her CT scans have shown the extent of the damage. It isn't good. Her L2 vertebra has a compression fraction, while her L3 vertebra is a burst fraction, with the L3 being a complete injury while the L2 is incomplete."
"This means that Sunset could regain feeling and the ability to move her hips, but any feeling or motor control from the knee down is gone. We do have some luck on our side though, as the wounds on her back were not as severe as we initially thought. Most of them are two-degree burns, with only three-degree burns being around the two major gashes on the back. There will be significant scarring along her back, but most will fade in time."
"What about her hands? I noticed that she has trouble grabbing items heavier than a mug." Luna asked, worried that Sunset had more spine injuries that were affecting her hands.
"From what we can tell and what you've told me about her transformation, the I deduce the cause is trauma to the cerebellum. Nothing major. She'll have to retrain her brain until she no longer needs them. Now she mentioned that she could fill pins and needles along her arms. I have a theory as to why she feels them. I believe she strained and temporarily damaged the nerve endings. Hopefully, in a couple of weeks, the sensations should stop."
Luna sat there for a moment in silence, "It's so much worse than I feared. I was hoping it was a side effect of the dark magic that she experienced. I knew it was going to be bad, just never to this degree."
"As I've mentioned, Lu, I did all I could. There were bone fragments that were too close to some spinal nerves to risk removing them. I'm hoping once the swelling goes down in about six to eight weeks, we can do surgery again to remove them."
"Hopefully, it will be good news when the time comes."
"One can only hope, now, to get back on track. I'll prescribe pain medication as well as antibacterial cream and burn cream for her back. I'll also have her take muscle relaxers to help keep the tension out of her back. This will help the healing process and help her with the stiffness that she's going to experience. I'm also going to prescribe her to a physical therapist once her swelling is gone. We need to keep her from developing muscle atrophy, her muscles will shrink, but I'm hoping that we can keep the muscles from deteriorating too much."
"Is there anything else I need to worry about?" Luna asked as she kept a mental checklist.
"No, I don't-actually yes. Sunset will be very susceptible to the temperature. So make sure to keep a close eye on the weather. If she gets cold, she'll need a blanket and a warm drink. If she gets hot, cold water and get her somewhere cold with flowing air to help cool her faster. Temperatures aren't the only side effect that she will face. She'll also need a therapist for the emotions she's likely to face down the road. It will help her heal faster with a positive; perhaps positive isn't the right word, a healthier mental grounding. You'll also need to take care of possible thrombosis, which is caused by blood clots developing in the veins. I would recommend massaging her legs every two or three days."
"There's so much," Luna muttered, and couldn't help but say so. She was expecting some problems, but she never considered how many health issues Sunset could have without the use of her legs.
"What did you expect, Luna? This isn't exactly a situation where everything will turn out alright. This is serious, so is the adoption. Both are going to take a lot of your attention. You need to decide right now what that means. Who are you going to be to Sunset? A caretaker or mother? Because only one can get what you want."
Canterlot General 10:06 A.M.
Celestia walked into the hospital while looking at her phone. She walked by the counter without an upwards glance. Celestia had been walking the halls throughout the week, all leading to the same destination. Almost every day, she came to the door of her goal, and each day it would be a new excuse as to why she shouldn't go inside. But this time, she swore that she would walk through that door.
Celestia raised her hand to knock on the door when she paused. Her hand lowered as she stood outside the door. Would Sunset want her to be there?
In all of her time at the school, Celestia couldn't remember having a meaningful conversation with Sunset. The last conversation she could honestly remember having with Sunset before the Fall Formal events would be just as she enrolled at Canterlot High. Sunset caught her attention right away; the girl knew her before she even introduced herself.
Sunset feared her and avoided her at all costs. Whether that meant grabbing a teacher's attention, going to the bathroom, or completely walking away from Celestia getting lost in the crowded halls. At first, she believed Sunset came from a troubled home, which made her fear any authority figure.
However, her blatant avoidance of her sister and how Sunset would talk to the other authority figures like the teachers and herself made her question that notion. It was during these musings that Celestia feared she might have a relationship with him. The time table would fit that of the incident. Despite the wrong he did to them, he did give them a home. She took that away, and she believed she took away from Sunset, with Chrysalis and Discord's help. Celestia's fear of him and guilt of putting Sunset through so much so young is what kept her away from Sunset. It came as a pleasant and guilt-ridden surprise when she found out that Sunset was from another world. As it implied that Celestia never purloined anything from Sunset, but it also entailed she allowed Sunset to drift so far off the path out of fear.
"Ma'am, are you going inside?"
Interrupted out of her musings, Celestia glimpsed to her right. She scrutinized the young man in blue scrubs. He had green skin and wild orange hair that had a streak of purple in it. He had purple eyes blue specks that shined like gems. Around his neck was a necklace with three smoothed glass stones that seemed to pronounce his blue iotas in his eyes. His hair was wild and, for some reason, added to his uniqueness. Altogether, it painted the young man as naïve and a carefree person. Perhaps because of her continued staring, he visibly grew apprehensive and timid towards Celestia, who put on her Principal mask as she looked him up and down. It was only once she finished that she answered his question.
"Yes, I am." Celestia answered.
He nodded. "Ah, then you must be Sunset's aunt?"
Celestia hesitated for a moment before answering, "That I am. Though if you need me to stay out, I understand."
"Nonsense, family is allowed in to see her. Besides, she's leaving today anyways. I bet she can't wait to see you," Thorax, babbled while going to the door as Celestia moved away.
Celestia muttered under her breath, "I'm skeptical of that."
"Did you say something?" Thorax questioned as he glanced behind him.
She shook her head. "Oh, no. I just said I want to see how she's doing."
Thorax was quiet for a moment before somberly, "You know for what its worth. She's taking this well. That could change, though when she home, just try to be patient. It will be a lot for her to adjust to her new life, but she will adjust. Just give her the time to adjust and the support that she'll need. She's far to young to be experiencing something like this."
After those words of advice, Thorax held the door open for both Celestia and himself. Celestia squared her shoulders and hid her tightly clenched hands together behind her back.
She walked in and stepped aside to let Thorax go about his duties. That was when she got her first real look at Sunset since the night of the Fall Formal. Celestia was shocked by the change of her wayward student. Sunset had a body that commanded attention at times and not in the way that sought attention. No, she had a physique that naturally drew people's attention to it.
It was bright, furious, and firm, almost like it was unconquerable. What Celestia saw before her when she looked at Sunset could only be described as dim.
Sunset's bright hair that flared and moved like a cascading blanket of fire now hung in a messy tousled mess at her shoulders. It seemed lifeless; it was disturbing as it once seemed to flow with an ever-present wind that made it move like a flame. Her skin, which used to glow like a burning embers, now was paled and more washed-out, almost like someone rubbed a light layer of ash on her skin.
Her once independent eyes that seemed to calculative now were sunken and burdened by exhaustion. Her cyan eye's looked out of place on the teen. They spoke so much and yet said nothing at all. They gave Sunset the sense that she was older than her fifteen years of life would suggest.
But that wasn't all that caught her attention. Even if it had only been a few days, Sunset seemed thinner in a way, almost like she lost more than just her spirit. Her hands wrapped in white bandages sat on her lap, and her legs remained under the blankets, hidden from view. Celestia also noticed Sunset's lack of presence, which worried her the most. Sunset could fill a room with her aura before the Fall Formal. Her presence made it fill like she was in control of anything. Whenever she subbed for a classroom, the first she'd notice and the one that had her attention the most was Sunset. Her power, her control seeped into everything that she did, and now it was like an ember buried under the ashes of her life.
Celestia took all this in as Sunset turned her head towards her. Sunset had been looking out the window when she has walked in. She glanced at the new arrivals, pausing at Celestia for a moment before she once again looked out the window. Glancing outside revealed a trio of birds flying around each other in what looked like a game of tag.
Luna was sitting next to Sunset, looking over papers of various medicines and processes that she'd have to do to help Sunset get comfortable. Celestia walked towards Sunset. Laying a comforting hand on Sunset shoulder, Celestia went to say something but stopped when Sunset flinched away. Celestia moved her hand away and attempted to do, well, anything but stand there like an idiot, but she guiltily brought her hand to her side when she realized she couldn't.
"Sorry," Celestia apologized. "I'd also like to apologize for not coming sooner. I've been busy."
Sunset looked over at Celestia before she looked down at her hands, saying in a voice just above a whisper, "It's okay. I know you're busy; you always were."
"Sorry?" Celestia asked, not hearing the last one as it was more mumbled than the rest.
Sunset just shook her head as she continued to look at her hands. She was doing an incredible job of avoiding Celestia's analytical gaze. Celestia's brows furrowed, looking at the guarded Sunset. Her walls were firmly in place the second she spotted Celestia. Celestia straightened her shoulders and back at the cold dismissal she was getting.
She cleared her throat and asked, "Are you alright? How are you, Sunset?" Celestia caught a glimpse of Sunset's eyes as they dashed up to look at her before they were gone again.
She looked back out the window as she answered, "I'm fine."
"You know you can always-" Celestia was interrupted as Luna's voice rang out.
"Ah, sister, when did you get here? You should've said something," Luna said as she gave Celestia a look that said, 'Drop what you were going to say. Now is not the time.'
Celestia didn't miss a beat in her response and dropped the conversation altogether, "You looked busy, sister. I didn't want to interrupt you."
There was a rising tension in the air as Celestia stared at Luna, both sporting smiles as they stared at each other. The tension was broken by none other than Sunset as she glanced at them. She rolled over so that she was facing away from them and watched out the window as a bird land on the windowsill. Sunset spoke in the same tone as before as she said, "If you're going to argue, leave, it's loud enough with Thorax."
The tension broke as Celestia looked at Sunset with shook. In contrast, Luna looked at Sunset with pride. Luna couldn't help but feel happy for Sunset, as despite her situation, she could still stand her ground and show some strength to command both her and her sister to leave.
Luna cleared her throat as she spoke her thoughts, "I'm sorry for that, Sunset. That was inappropriate of me. Can you forgive me for the slip?"
"...I don't get to make that decision." She answered blandly.
"...I see. Celestia, I'm sorry for the way I acted."
Celestia was taken aback and gave a flustered response, "No. No, I was in the wrong sister. I should have said something to you. That wasn't very grown-up of me."
"Well, Miss Shimmer and Ms. Luna, everything looks to for Miss Shimmer to leave the hospital. We only need to wait for the Que- I mean Dr. Chrysalis to sign and release Sunset."
BANG!
"Hey, Thorax, did you get everything I needed. How's the little trouble maker?"
"Speak of the devil, and she'll appear," Celestia muttered.
"Ah, the prissy one. How douth your kingdom be, Your Highness?" Chrysalis sneered, Sunset looked over from the window watching the interaction.
"I see you're still the same Chrysalis," Celestia spat, failing to see flinch at the tone.
"Why change perfection, my dear?" Chrysalis asked in a sultry voice before she moved closer to Celestia. "You may not believe that I've changed from my past, but I assure you the past me is a shell of the current me. She didn't understand perfection, so I've leashed her. Though, she's still there if I ever need her. She made everything here possible. You should count yourself lucky. I could care less about you. Only one thing matters to me, and you're not privy to the details."
Celestia glared at Chrysalis with a gaze that could freeze people to stone. Chrysalis met her glare with a look of condescendence. The two looked ready to brawl when both found themselves slapped with water. The room went dead quiet as a faint plunk echoed. The two looked over at Luna only to see her holding her hand over her mouth, shaking from mirth as her eyes shut to contain her laughter. Chrysalis looked over at Thorax next only to see him pointedly looking in a cupboard.
Celestia and Chrysalis both looked at Sunset to see her looking at them with a bored expression. On the table was a small pitcher, empty of water. Sunset looked at Chrysalis and asked, "Can I leave now?"
"...PFFT! HAHAHA! You have some real guts there, kid," Chrysalis guffawed. "Now, let's see here. Hmmm, besides the stuff that I already talked to Luna about, you're free to go. You'll be weak for a couple of days, so let Luna help you as much as possible. You'll also need to keep a close watch on those burns lacerations on your back, so they don't get infected. Be very careful about where you go, and don't sit up for too long lest you want to strain your back and be in even more pain. "
"Make sure to wear warm clothes when going outside in the cold, and don't forget about your prescription, its at the pharmacy on Trot Lane, the same as Luna's. You'll need bedrest for about four more days. Then you can begin going out for a small amount of time. I don't want you going to school until I give the go-ahead on your health, is that clear. My estimate is anywhere from three to four more weeks—two at the bare minimum until you can go back to Canterlot. Thorax, help Sunset into her wheelchair. I have another patient I need to check in on."
Chrysalis looked at Sunset for confirmation and was satisfied when she received a head nod. She hummed as she rounded on her heels and walked out the door. As she did, she sent a glance to Luna, that did not go unnoticed by Sunset, and was gone before the door shut. Sunset looked at Thorax, as he seemed to have found what he was looking for and walked towards her.
He went to her side and gently removed the tape, holding the IV, and proceeded to unhook Sunset from the various medical equipment. After having a bandage applied to her arm, where Thorax removed the IV, she was completely free from the constant monitors. Thorax next pressed the button to lower the bed and walked the wheelchair over as it descended. Grabbing a board and lifting one of the armrests out of the way, Thorax removed the blankets from off of Sunset's legs. Sunset refused to look at her now useless legs.
Bending down, Thorax slid Sunset so that her legs hung over the side of the bed. Letting her sit there, Thorax did a quick check to make sure the wheelchair didn't roll. He placed the board on the mattress and the seat, creating a bridge. After that, he grabbed Sunset under one shoulder and grabbed Sunset under her legs. Thorax then in one graceful move, slid Sunset over and into the wheelchair.
Sunset closed her eyes. This moment marked the beginning of a new life. A third chance Sunset was entirely sure she deserved. The feeling would be with her for the rest of her life. Like a sandcastle against the crashing waves, her fall would destroy her. The feeling she felt was that of complete defeat. As she opened her eyes, a small tear escaped her right eye as she resigned herself to her prison of wheels.
Luna walked behind Sunset's wheelchair as she pushed her new charge along the halls of the hospital. Celestia walked alongside her to her right, reading emails from her phone and answering texts from Doodle and Zecora. As for Sunset, she leaned against the back of the chair with a pair of headphones in her ears. She leaned against it lightly, being mindful of her stitches in her back. She had a fluffy blanket wrapped around her shoulders and a light blanket on her legs. She was quiet as she stared ahead. The group entered the elevator at the end of the hallway. Sunset looked at her bandaged hands, deep in thought, while music played from her headphones.
Before leaving her room, Chrysalis gave her a list of activities that she would need help with for the first six months or until she grew accustomed to her new lifestyle. The list of extensive, especially for the first couple of weeks while she had stitches. It was overwhelming and made her question if she could even do it. Could she really move on with life? The list was so overwhelming that she wondered if she could do anything at all. She never realized who much walking was a part of daily life and all the struggles she'd now face in her everyday life. Sunset questioned if she was strong enough. Sure, she was, intellectually speaking, leagues above most people she knew, but that'd mean nothing if she could get in the building. Not to mention she somewhat feared where her thoughts could lead her. She wasn't naive enough to believe that her mind wouldn't go down that path. It terrified her because what once was her greatest asset could now be the thing that kills her. Like a poison prescribed as a medicine, she had read the stories about using one poison to treat another, but the person had to continue to use that poison to live, and it slowly killed the person.
She wondered if she could trust her thoughts or if it would be better to become numb to not feel anything at all. At that thought, six teenage faces appeared, as did the faces of Celestia and Luna. She lightly shook her head to banish any more thoughts from her mind. In an attempt to stop more thoughts, her hands reached shakily to her phone and pressed the volume button to try and block out her thoughts. Sunset couldn't help but remember a saying Zecora said, "The mouth is quiet, yet the mind, screams like a riot, this I will remind." Sunset looked ahead as the elevator opened with dread hidden in her eyes, using the music to drown out her mind. This would be more challenging than she thought, as she now feared the future more than ever.
Luna pushed Sunset out the doors, and it took a lot not to storm ahead of Luna. Not because she was excited, but she didn't want Luna's pity. She hated pity, loathed it, really. She wouldn't allow others to pity her. Sunset didn't let her mother pity her with money sent to her. Why would she let Luna? Yet, Sunset couldn't find the energy to complete the action. All she wanted to do was sleep. At least in her dreams, she could pretend she was still in her pony form.
Sunset was wheeled to the front passenger seat. Luna opened the door for her and gently removed her legs from them their holders. She looped Sunsets around her neck as she quickly transferred Sunset from her chair to the passenger seat. Sunset unwrapped her arms from around Luna's neck before she began to fold the chair up. Luna lifted it up on the rack and strapped it down. She walked around the front, opening the driver's seat. As Luna sat down and began to check her mirrors, Sunset removed her earbuds.
"Alright, you set to go?" Luna asked as Luna put her seat belt on.
"Yea, I guess? Do you live far?" Sunset asked as she too buckled her set belt, a small frown built at the tingling in her hands.
"Not at all. We live about a mile from the school. We walk everyone morning except during the winter. It helps keep the environment a better place and keeps both my sister and me in shape. Especially with Celestia's diet, mine isn't that much better, what with the junk food I eat late at night, but at least I don't have cake with every meal, like Tia," Luna said in an attempt to lighten the mood and joke at her sister expense.
Sadly, Sunset wasn't quite in the joking mood, "She really eats cake with every meal?"
Deciding to roll with it, Luna laughed, "Yes, a fruit cake for breakfast and a cup of chai tea. For lunch, it's a tiramisu with whatever she decides to have, for the "caffeine boost," as she claims. For dinner, it's usually whatever she wants when she goes to SugarCude Corner before and after dinner."
"Sounds like she eats a lot. How is still in such great shape?" Sunset asked in genuine curiosity.
"I'll tell you it's completely unfair she has such a high metabolism. Though considering how little I move around, it's probably a good thing. I usually skip breakfast except for coffee. I have a small salad with some chips or baked chicken wrap with a small side of rice at lunch. For dinner, that's usually when I eat the most. Then I had a bag of chips throughout the night while I'm up. What about you whats your eating habits?"
Sunset shrugged, "I eat whatever is served in the cafeteria for breakfast or lunch. I usually eat the leftovers from my job at the sushi restaurant at the Canterlot Mall."
"Then what are your favorite meals? Surely you've branched out with eating, right?"
"No, not really. I like to eat fish, but I don't like any other meat because of my home culture. I do like eggplant parmesan. I was introduced to it by someone," Sunset said, growing more reserved towards the end.
Frowning, Luna asked the first thing that came to mind, "What do you crave the most to comfort yourself?" Luna wanted the ground to swallow her when she realized what she asked.
Sunset did a double-take before growing red in the face that matched Luna's face perfectly, "Wha-"
"Forget it! Forget it! Forget I said anything! I'm so sorry," Luna spoke fast and nervous as her face and neck flushed with shame. This was her newly adopted daughter and one of her students! She can't just ask that question! What is wrong with her brain?!?
A tense silence overtook the two as Luna focused her full attention on the road. Sunset twiddled with her thumbs and debated with herself if she should just put her music in. However, just as she was reaching for them when a wave of anger overtook her. It wasn't directed at Luna, though. No, the anger was directed at herself. She could answer a question! Sure it was uncomfortable, but to Tartarus, with that feeling, she wasn't so weak. Besides, she can deal with that topic. She was a few years older than Twilight back in Equestria. She could talk about her cycle if needed.
"I... I usually like honey-rhubarb ice cream when it's in season. Otherwise, I like lemon and whatever berry is in season, with mint leaves to chew."
"I see... do you take any pain relievers for the cramps?" Luna asked quietly.
"No... I never knew how much I needed to take, so I stayed clear of medicine."
"You mean you've never had pain relievers?"
"No."
Luna frowned, "Why didn't you ask one of your seniors for help?"
"Well, besides the part where everyone hated me, I couldn't ask for help that would make me weak," Sunset explained.
"I'm not sure I follow," Luna said as she turned right.
"Well, if I asked for help, they would know I don't know a lot about...that. I didn't want anyone to know where I came from, and if I asked, then people would start looking. It was safer for me not to mention it, plus they would have something over me. If that happened, I would lose my hold on the school. I couldn't, wouldn't allow that to happen. That's why on some days, I was more irritable than others."
Luna glanced over at Sunset, her eyes filled with sadness, "Why didn't you ask any of your teachers or me for help?"
"I don't know. Well, no, I do. It was because I thought I was stronger on my own. Who cares about a little pain? So long as I kept my kingdom and power, I would go through anything. No pain, no glory, though I suppose I don't have to worry about that in either case, do I?" Sunset tried to joke in a light tone, but it came out like a broken sob. Sunset fiercely wiped at her tears.
Luna quickly glanced at Sunset, and her heart broke for the girl that was desperately trying to appear strong, calm, and collected. She looked forward, watching the road as she spoke, "Sunset. You know that you can cry without care around me, don't you? This isn't an easy series of events to swallow. You can cry whenever you want to me. You don't need to be strong around me. That's my job, not yours."
"I-I'm fine," Sunset stuttered out.
"Sunset, I think," Luna stopped mid-sentence when she thought of the event today. She decided that was enough pushing on Sunset for today. Luna vowed she'd try to make this day end on a positive note. Luna cleared her throat before speaking again in a soothing tone, "Okay, Sunset. I respect your judgment, but if you need anything, and I mean it anything, I will be right here for you."
Sunset was quiet for a moment before a hushed, "Thank you," made its way to her.
Luna smiled as a quick glance towards Sunset showed her staring out the window pointedly, keeping eye contact to a zero. Which was fortunate when Luna a shop that caused her to adopted a look of horror. Looking back up and taking into account her surroundings. Luna tensed when she confirmed her fears by passing a familiar traffic cop. In her flustered and distracted state, she had unconsciously head home on her usual route. Which she was supposed to do, but along another route, and now it was too late. For a certain building was just around the bend behind the trees and bushes. That building was none other than Canterlot High School. It loomed in front of them like a dark shadow, and Luna wasn't prepared for the fallout, this lapse in attention could cause. Luna didn't even want to imagine how Sunset would respond. The light of day did little to make the courtyard and front entrance look any better.
