> Cold
>  by NightCoreMoon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 1: Dying Embers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

/x/x/x/

Winter is hardly known for its warmth.

It is a time for endless chill, life seemingly freezing in its tracks, both metaphorically and literally. It is a time for the mammals to enter hibernation, for the birds to fly to a more temperate region, and for the fish to stay slightly further away from the water’s surface. For humans, ponies, dragons, and all other sapient creatures, whether one refers to the holidays as Hearth’s Warming or Christmas, it's a time for staying indoors under several blankets in front of a cozy fire with your family and friends close by your side.

Well, for most sapient creatures, that is. Save for one in particular, one sitting alone in a dark room. No light, no blankets, no joy anywhere to speak of. Such is the life for a friendless traitor.

She stands up and walks to the window, pulling the curtain aside. Pale evening white bathes the room for a moment as she peers outside. More of the same. Zero visibility, just ice and snow. She presses her fingers to the glass. It may as well have been an immaterial force field, for all she could feel. The early stages of frostbite were beginning to set in.

She thinks briefly about sighing, but lacks the energy to even breathe heavily enough to allow for one. Instead she lazily lets the fabric fall, turning the room near black once again.

She kneels, eyes readjusting to the darkness, and sets her head against the wall. A few strands of crimson and yellow poke out from underneath her bleak gray hoodie. It holds tight around her wrists and shoulders. It and a pair of shorts are all that she’s wearing, showing her goldenrod skin. She absentmindedly rubs her leg, imagining fur for a moment.

A violent shudder racks her body, but her dead eyes show no sign of reaction. They merely stare at nothing.

Across the room her cell phone vibrates. Almost like clockwork she stands and walks over to it. Mechanical. Zombie-like. She picks it up to check the message, but it's just another warning from her bank for a low account balance of 0 dollars and 76 cents.

She swipes it away and stares for a moment at the picture on the screen. It's a photo of herself in a Sherclop Holmes-ian getup, and 5 other teenage girls in other wildly varying outfits. In days past when she performed the same action, a single tear would fall onto it, distorting the photo slightly. But not this time. There were no more tears left to cry.

“Tomorrow.”

She strolls over to the stairs leading to her loft bed, kicking aside a few empty pint containers and a broken piece of banister. She ignores both the ravenous hunger from her stomach, and the bitter dryness of her tongue and throat. She climbs the stairwell one step at a time, hands shoved deep inside her jacket pockets. At the top, she stares at the messy comforter and wrinkled pillowcases. She sniffs the air, smelling nothing. Noseblind. She falls forward.

As she hits the mattress, the phone rings.

She ignores it and stays on the bed.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

...

Silence.

“Finally...” she murmurs, drifting into the strange land that lies between consciousness and a lack thereof. Just enough to continue living without collapsing on the ground in pure unfettered exhaustion, but not quite enough to awaken feeling refreshed.

Twelve hours pass in what could have been thirty, or one, and she awakens.

“Today.”

Unceremoniously, she gets up out of bed and throws her jacket back onto the blankets, wincing as the fabric peels off of her arms. She walks back down the stairs, stepping over to a large pile of random assorted fabric. She absentmindedly reaches in and pulls out a shirt and a pair of pants, and slips them on. She rummages for two socks, one black and one white, and pulls them over her feet. The white one is upside down, but she either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care.

She walks over to her phone and reads the identity of last night’s caller. Anonymous. She grimaces. Her memories flash by. Anon-a-Miss. The nameless faceless bitch who ruined her life. Who cares. She reaches for the device, pauses, then begins to retract her hand. Better if it stays. Better for everyone.

She pulls up her sleeves and glances down at her wrists, more specifically at the red tally marks lining them. All of the physical scars had closed underneath the crusts of dried blood, which had run in rivulets down to her elbows once upon a time. She reaches a finger over to one such trail, tracing it down her arm. She grits her teeth and winces in pain, but doesn't stop.

“Definitely... today.”

She turns and walks to the door, purpose filling her every step. Misguided purpose, perhaps, but purpose nonetheless. Her pulse remains the same, however. She picks up her leather jacket off of the ground, and puts it on, followed by a scarf. She wraps it around her neck once, then pauses. She wraps it again, and again, and once more. She pulls tightly then takes a deep breath and exhales, before letting it go. She casts a wistful look to the piece of rope tied around the wood peg lying broken on the floor.

“Couldn't be that easy, could it...” she lets out a humorless laugh, puts on her boots, and reaches for the door knob.

She steps through, and gently closes the door behind her. Beige walls, eye piercing fluorescent lights, and an ugly maroon carpet with an even uglier green rug assaulted her eyes, which couldn't see them even if they wanted to what with the massive difference in brightness.

Blinded, she strolls down the hallway towards the stairwell. Despite the lack of eyesight for a hot moment, or should one say a cold moment, she makes the journey without hitting a wall. She takes the stairs one at a time, wasting no time at all to continue her way out of the building.

As she presses out the gold plated wooden slabs that this sorry apartment complex passes off as doors, a light dusting of white powder swirls around her feet. The wind tries to push her back in, but she shoves her shoulder forward and lurches her way outside.

The weather isn't so bad. Chilly and overcast and dreary grey with light snowfall but no more than any other mild winter day. The roads, however, are complete garbage. Grayish brown slush lines the edges, solid ice within broken only by thin lines worn down by tires, and what few patches of concrete which remain visible are slick with black ice.

She turns and continues to walk down the sidewalk. Her heart rate increases slightly, and despite the climate, small spots of uncomfortable warmth pop up on her underarms. She buries her chin in her scarf.

Six blocks pass with a relative lack of events.

Eventually, however, a pair of headlights appears in the distance. She stops in her tracks, and her breath hitches. Her pulse spikes, and her chest pulls tighter. Her shoulders and hips seemingly vibrate as adrenaline begins to course through her veins. She pulls her hands out of her pockets and places them on her temples.

“Today’s the day, Sunset...” she murmurs to herself. “Time to say hi to mom and dad.”

She waits until the headlights are closer. Her eyes scan the speed of the car and the distance it is away from her. There's only gonna be one shot at this, gotta make it count. Almost there. One more second. And, now!

She screws her eyes closed and jumps into the street. She hears the horn blaring, getting closer and closer and then... getting further and further. And stopping.

She opens her eyes to see that she isn't dead. Tire tracks move deftly around her, and as she turns to evaluate her surroundings, the red tail lights bid her farewell. She also sees that she isn't alone.

Still on the sidewalk is a familiar face.

“Sunset Shimmer!?” The new arrival asks, taken aback. Her eyes are wide and trembling, and quickly starting to shine with unshed tears.

Sunset grimaces, and looks away in shame.

“Hi Applebloom,” she quietly greets, stepping back onto the sidewalk. “I slipped... good thing that driver got out of the way, huh.”

Applebloom looks down and away. “Yeah...” she murmurs. “Real fortunate.”

Sunset reaches forward and plants her hand on the younger girl’s shoulder. “You're a good kid,” she whispers. “You...” she swallows, removing her hand. “You've got a good family, who raised you right... is Applejack doing well?”

The girl simply nods her head, keeping from making eye contact.

“That's good...” Sunset walks past her, back to the apartment. She says nothing else.

Applebloom turns to watch the former pony leave, watches her defeated and unconfident gait grow smaller. Hot stinging tears begin to run down her cheeks. A lump forms in her throat and a stone takes residence inside her stomach. Her fleece lined coat does nothing to shield her body from the icy chill of both the wind, and her guilt.

She screws her eyes shut, squeezing the tears fully out. She wipes them away then turns and proceeds along her destination, mind wandering back to the day she herself set this in motion.

/x/x/x/

One Month Earlier...

/x/x/x/

Scarlet background? Check. Marigold foreground? Check. Terrible photoshop of Sunset Shimmer’s stupidly shaped head and her even stupider hair? Check. Hilariously witty pun for a name if she does say so herself? Check.

Applebloom nodded, satisfied with her work. “This’ll do nicely,” she murmured to herself, typing out the MyStable post, her magnum opus to help her supplant Sunset as her sister’s favorite person in the whole wide world.

“Did you guys know when AJ was a kid she loved playing with her pigs? OMG! She sat in the mud for hours! Her whole family calls her “Piggly Wiggly” cause she loves them so much!”

Her fingers paused for a moment. True, Applejack wouldn't care too much for a little bit of teasing. She lets things like that slide right off of her back. But this seemed a bit cruel, spreading such a private secret like this. Especially insulting her big sister.

With a resolute sigh, Applebloom finished the post. Gotta break a few eggs to make an omelette, after all.

“What a PIG!”

With no hesitation she hit post, and with that, the damage was done, and her cell phone revealed the profile of one certain Applejack. She hadn't posted anything in over four days now, far too preoccupied during the weekend with her ~new friends~ to even bother checking up on social media. To even bother to remember her promise.

Still, it doesn't matter what a person posted to their own profile. What really truly mattered was what other people posted to the profile. Now, all 985 people on her friends list had pure unbridled access to the juicy gossip the likes of which hadn't been around since before Sunset’s ‘reformation’.

Teenagers in the rumor mill had the same sense of self-control as hungry sharks around fresh meat. This was no ordinary hunger, though: these kids were an army of sharks that hadn't eaten anything of sustenance in many many moons. Within minutes, they descended... and fed.

“Ha ha ha piggy!” Came a response almost immediately, from Silver Spoon.

A quick wave of panic gripped Applebloom as she put some actual thought into her plot. What-ifs and what-abouts coursed through her brain, her veins pumped with adrenaline. No no NO this wouldn't do at all! It needed to get more hits, more views, more heat. So much more. It needed to melt the very frost building up on Big Mac’s truck windows.

Checking to make sure that, yes, she was still logged into the Anon-a-Miss account, she brought up the share menu. Lots of tantalizing choices to select from were here: Diamond Tiara, Trixie, Gilda, all good choices to help spread the seeds of chaos. But that wouldn't achieve the best results.

This must be a controlled burn. This must only affect those directly within their own circles, to do as much mitigation as possible. The only one who should get seriously embarrassed, ostracized, or hurt, is Sunset. It should only be spread to those immediately within her own circle.

Applejack. Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie. Rarity... and Sunset. Eh, might as well put it to Applebloom herself. It'd make more sense. If Sunset wanted to hurt her new friends she’d go for everyone in the house at the time, and would surely honor the one who fed her the story base.

Of course Applejack would explain the backstory to Sunset. One didn't need to have a charm in sociology to know her sister’s penchant for trust and loyalty in those who earn it. That wasn't the problem. The problem lay in making sure that it was SUNSET who was blamed, and not herself.

If Applebloom brought it up to Applejack, with the concerned sibling facade up and running at full power, that would immediately defuse any and all suspicion placed on her. If she made the account, why would she point it out? It didn't make logical sense.

Of course, anyone who viewed the situation with an objective lens would see right through it. The jealous little sister feeling excluded, abandoned, and taken for granted, making a shallow attempt at framing the newly-made “good girl” and making her out to be the no-good dirty rotten lying two-faced secret-blabbing bee eye tea sea aych queen she always was and always would be deep down. Twilight Sparkle would see right through it.

But... Twilight Sparkle warn't here right now, was she...

Three hours passed in no time as the plague spread amongst the students of Canterlot High School, and maybe even in Crystal Prep and other rival schools in the district. Rainbow and Rarity knew some of them through sports and the fact that the fashionista and her sister used to go to middle school somewhere else. That was privileged information known through Sweetie Belle.

And speaking of Sweetie Belle, Applebloom made a mental note to talk to both her and Scootaloo about this plan as soon as she saw them and the three were out of earshot of any affected-

“Parties!” Pinkie Pie shouted from across the sea of students. Bingo. Applebloom started making her way towards the voice, which slurred slightly from the fatigue of a lack of restful sleep.

“Parties are my... my... my something important!”

Almost on queue, an unidentifiable voice shouted out “Hey Piggly Wiggly!”

Perfect timing.

“Sis!” She cried out, phone already pulled out and on the correct page, logged now into her own account. She started panting, as if she’d been running for a while. “Sis! You gotta see this! Look!”

Shoving her phone in her older sister’s face, Applebloom watched as Applejack took the phone and began to read.

“WHAT!?” She screamed, absolutely flabbergasted and more than a little vulnerable, with a heaping helping of confusion on the side, smothered in gravy. The gravy of shame. “How the... what the...?”

“It got posted a couple hours ago!” Applebloom continued, face not giving away any clue that she knew what was really up. So far so good.

Applejack inquired about the poster’s identity but luckily Applebloom had concocted a perfect response about an hour and a half ago.

“Her profile was created th’ same time as the posts. No clue who she is! She posted on your page, my page, all of you guys’ pages! The whole school probably knows about it by now!”

It was no exaggeration. Other voices joined the cacophony as the nickname and pig noises flooded the ambience. Applebloom kicked herself for dropping pronouns, but figured it was worth it if it helped to implicate Sunset.

“W... well this ain't gonna bother me,” Applejack proclaimed. “I can handle a little teasing.”

She didn't seem quite so sure of herself as she normally did. Applebloom could see a fragment of a crestfallen expression befall her sister’s face, and she felt the empathic pain like a knife in the chest.

“Fine, but what about Anon-a-Miss?” Rainbow inquired, voice thick with righteous fury on behalf of one of her best friends. “How did she know about your nickname?”

“And why would she post it online?” Asked Fluttershy, standing immediately behind Rainbow. “That's... that’s just cruel.”

The school bell interrupted anything Rarity would have said, and Pinkie Pie was half-asleep anyway, but jolted immediately awake. One hand slapped her own face, the other hand pushed the comic panel just a bit to the side as it was crowding her slightly, and the other hand pulled a mug of coffee out from behind it.

Applejack sighed. “I guess the questions are gonna have to wait until after school.”

Sunset set a hand on her shoulder, setting a jab of jealous anger through Applebloom’s mind, instantly wiping away the shame and regret.

“Let us know if we can help, AJ,” she murmured, before heading off to class.

Applejack turned to face her friend. “Sure thing, Sunset,” she said, quietly enough that only the two of them could hear. Then the two sisters headed down the hallway. Once they were out of earshot, Applebloom cleared her throat.

“So... this Anon-a-Miss person?” Play it cool now Applebloom, you're almost home free.

“What about her?”

“Well, the only people who knew about your nickname was us an’ your friends,” she said, putting extra emphasis on the word. “You sure you didn't tell anybody else?”

“Positive.” Applejack turned and eyed her little sister with an air of suspicion. “What are ya’ getting’ at, Applebloom?”

“Well, Sunset only heard the story last night,” roll the dice, play with fire, land the horseshoe right around the peg, “and the colors on Anon-a-Miss’ page are the same as Sunset’s hair-”

“Applebloom!” Applejack barked, offended at the insinuation. Still, something changed in her eyes, and her voice changed from that of anger to that of what seemed to be... hurt. “How could you- Sunset’s my friend!”

“Okay, okay, just a thought!” She turned and walked away, putting on a morose air to hide the sense of victory bubbling up inside her chest. “I'll see you after school.”

As she turned and walked away, a wicked grin began to spread across her face. The seeds were sown. All that remained was to till the soil and plow the field and offer plenty of water and sunlight and maybe some nutrient rich soil. Though admittedly the metaphor was veering a bit off course, victory was in sight. She would get her sister back.

She would win this fight.

/x/x/x/

Present Day

/x/x/x/

But at what cost?

Sunset had most definitely just tried to kill herself. Applebloom was watching from behind, having accidentally been following for six blocks. It was pure coincidence that her route across town took her past the apartment building, and a total fluke that they would be walking about at the same time.

And she had watched Sunset stop, look directly at the car, take a breath, and jump. Applebloom’s own heart had stopped for a moment as she feared for the worst, that she’d watch a horrible tragedy befall her sister’s former friend, a horrible tragedy that was all her fault. That she'd see Sunset die right before her eyes.

Luckily the car’s driver had an incredible reaction time, though, and Sunset was spared that day. But now, much like termites, the guilt eats away at her very foundation. Her mood, her mental stability, her appetite. All had been decreasing more and more as the day wore on until finally they were- are- all at their breaking point at the dinner table.

Sizzling medium-rare sirloin steak smothered in sautéed mushrooms and caramelized sweet onion, mashed golden potatoes filled with enough butter and salt to ruin any diet topped with a heaping helping of thick brown gravy, green beans with bacon, and... canned peaches, but the fancy kind with the cinnamon in it. The scent of baked apples floats through the air, cooking away in the oven and simmering in their own juice. A feast fit for a queen assails her senses, but Applebloom can’t bring herself to touch any of it, for fear her stomach would immediately reject it.

Her mood isn't lost on the others in the room.

“You feelin’ okay, sis?” Applejack asks, eyes soft as the day she cared for Applebloom back when she was just a toddler sick half to death with the worst flu of her entire life to date, when she had to be a mom to her sister when their real mother’s funeral had just passed earlier that year.

She doesn't deserve those eyes.

Applejack gets up out of her chair and rushes to her now-crying sister’s side, concern etched in the space between her lids and brows.

“Sugar, what's wrong?” She asks. “I ain't seen you this upset since...” she blinks. “Since ma passed...”

Big Mac and Granny Smith exchange an uncomfortable glance. That time was hard enough on all of them.

“Sunset...” Applebloom starts to say, before choking on her sob, unable to even say it.

A shadow crosses Applejack’s face. “Oh.” She stands up and cracks her knuckles before kneeling back down again. “What did that no-good dirty rotten lying two-faced secret-blabbing bee eye tea see aych queen say about you in that-” she slams her fist on the table, causing Wynona to jump and slink off to the other room. “That childish, ignorant, cruel, stupid, evil... frickin blog of hers. I swear-”

“N...nothing.” She sniffles, forces all of the guilt into a tiny little ball of fire, and lets it go. “Because I'm the one who made the blog.”

Applejack’s anger melts first into confusion, then realization... and then back to anger again. She stands up violently and takes a step back, clenching her fists. Mac takes this moment to step up and put his hands on her shoulders.

He turns his head and looks his youngest sister in the eye. “Go to your room.” He says, voice completely devoid of any emotion whatsoever. Somehow that cuts deeper than if he’d yelled.

Solemnly, Applebloom stands up and begins to do as she was told. In her periphery, Granny Smith merely shakes her head to either side. Somehow that stings more than if she’d tanned her hide with a rolling pin.

“Before you go...” Applejack whispers. “Why did you tell me this now? Why not a month ago when it started? Why not a few days after? Why not any time before now?”

Applebloom can't bear to look up as she speaks to the floor. “Because I saw her try to kill herself today... she tried to jump in front of a car.”

Silence fills the room, broken only by her heartbeat.

“...Ma and pa...” Applejack begins, voice broken. “Would be so disappointed in you.”

That drives the final nail in the coffin. Applebloom would have much preferred being slapped. She would have preferred Applejack beat her half to death. Instead she begins the slow dirge up the stairs to her room.

After she leaves, Applejack takes a deep breath.

“May I please be excused from the table?”

Mac claps her shoulder. “Take my keys.”

Applejack nods, grabs them off of the kitchen counter, steps over to give her weeping grandmother a hug, and shoves out the front door.

...

Before coming immediately back inside.

“I oughta bring a jacket, huh?”

/x/x/x/

Sunset sits in the middle of her living room.

“Tomorrow...”

She stands up and walks over to the window, repeating the same ritual she had every day for the past week. She doesn't even process what it was she sees through the glass, nor how much time passes when she does so. How long had she stood there, how many days? How long would she?

“Definitely tomorrow.”

This time she won't leave it up to chance. This time, she’ll push past the fear. The cowardice. The pansy-ass copout. She'll make the walk all the way to the bridge this time, and jump. Actually jump. Not just stand there and look down and worry how Twilight would feel for an hour before coming back home to warm up.

The Plan is set. It will be just one more sleep away.

A knock on the door tells her that maybe it will  take slightly longer than that. With a resolute sigh and a complete lack of care for her state of relative undress, she drags her feet on the way to the front door praying to Celestia that it was a very polite though still murderous burglar with a loaded handgun and a dead aim. Instead, it is probably one of the last people she’d ever expected to see again.

“Apple...jack?” She asks, opening the door just a crack. “Let me guess. Anon-a-Miss talked some shit about your dead parents and now you're, what, here to beat my face in?” She swings it the rest of the way open. “Be my guest, I guess. Just go for the head first so I pass out quicker.”

She almost turns before the last thing she expected Applejack to do to her any time soon.

She hugs her.

Sunset looks all around the edges of her vision, looking for the hidden cameras, and keeps a wary eye on the door in case Big Mac is about to step through with a crowbar or a baseball bat or some other heavy utility. When no such person with no such tool comes through the door, she is equal parts let down and relieved.

Applejack lets out a single quiet sob.

“I'm sorry.”

Sunset blinks, and awkwardly pats the farmer's back.

“...for?”

Applejack pulls back, sniffs the air, and gives Sunset a once-over. She sets one hand against Sunset’s neck, and another takes her hand.

“You're freezing!”

Sunset glances off to the side at where she imagined one of the hidden camera would have been.

“Yeah, no shit.” She states, bluntly. “It's pretty fuckin cold out.”

“Why ain't y’all wearin’ any clothes, ‘cept for this paper you call a jacket and that tiny thing you call shorts? Are ya tryin’ to freeze to death or something?”

Sunset shrugs. “Maybe I am. What's it to you, thought maybe you and the rest of my former friends would have a fuckin party if I did. Hell, the whole damn school probably would.”

Applejack pulls Sunset close again, causing the amount of confusion that the depressed horse is experiencing to escalate so far that it goes all the way around the world just to come back and hit 0, leaving her in a state of “well, human life is already so goddamn weird, this might as well happen”.

“My sister told me you... tried to die today.”

Oh, right, that did happen.

“Did she happen to tell you it was snowing, or that water is wet, or that I’m secretly Anon-”

“And she told me that she was Anon-a-Miss...” she interrupts. “Not you.”

A moment passes where Sunset can't believe that she heard correctly, and then a moment passes where she figures it out, and then one final moment passes where she wants to throttle that little bitch who made the blog and framed her, before she is back to the status quo. But... not exactly.

“Okay?” She asks. “So, what did you intend to accomplish here? Sorry I fuckin abandoned you when you needed friends the most? Sorry I didn't believe you when you said you wouldn't hurt me? Sorry I threw you away like-” she tears herself away from the embrace. “Like fucking garbage? Well golly gee whiz willickers Applejack, apology accepted.” She turns back and points to the door. “Now, please, get the hell out of my apartment.”

“Sunset...”

She waits for more.

“I...” Applejack rubs her hands together. “I kinda expected you to interrupt me, I didn't know what I was gonna say... but, I know that I messed up. Bad. I hurt you; I really, really hurt you. I let the temporary embarrassment of my nickname and those pictures of me blind me to the obvious logical fact that y'all wouldn't do me dirty like that. Or any of us.”

Sunset nods her head. “Yeah, you fucked up. Congratulations, you figured it out, what do you want, a goddamn medal?”

“Please don't cuss at me-”

“I'll say whatever I fuck shit damn ass hell well want to say, this is my property and you're now trespassing. Go back to your farm and to your lying little fucking bitch of a sister and let me die in peace. Is that too much to ask, Applejack? To just leave me alone now? It's too late, so save the rest of your sorry apology for my funeral.”

She sees the tears streaming down Applejack’s face. She just doesn't care.

“Oh, and save your crying. I've shed enough tears for both of us already, now you're just beating a dead pony.”

“Did you really jump in front of a car?”

Sunset snorts. “No, a windigo pushed me. Are you just gonna keep asking stupid questions or are you gonna make like I politely asked and please get out of my fucking apartment? Don't think I won't call the cops.”

“Twilight...”

Sunset crosses her arms and waits.

Applejack takes a deep breath and wipes her eyes. “Twilight would want us to make amends.”

“Twilight?” Sunset would have laughed if she could feel any emotion. “Twilight... don't say her name to me. Don’t you DARE say her name! You don't GET to say her name. You haven't talked to her since she was here. I've talked to her every single day since she gave me the journal.”

She storms over and rips the book off of its shelf, paying little mind to the new pages covered in frantic writing and constant questions about the nature of her well-being. Instead she flips back to about a month ago and begins to read it off.

“Dear Twilight,” she says. “My second slumber party with the girls, and I already feel so much closer to everyone. I haven't felt so loved, so accepted, in, well, ever. I feel like I finally have a family again. Without all of you to help and support me, I’d be, well, you know what I'd be. Anyway, I should get some sleep, but I wanted to let you know, before I do, that I... that I lo...” she swallows. “That I love you all. Sunset Shimmer.”

She then slams the book shut and tosses it to the side. It shakes the floor with a mighty thump as it lands.

“And then the next day you threw me away. So I don't feel the same way that I used to then. I used to love you girls, I used to care, I used to pray to Celestia that you would pull your heads out of your asses and think for one moment about the fact that I would never do what you accused me of doing, with no evidence... I cried. A lot. I blew all my fucking cash on ice cream and chocolate and booze just to make the pain go away. I owe rent three days ago and I have less than a dollar to my name. I can't go back home to Equestria because the portal is down, and even if I did Celestia wouldn't take me back. I'm stuck here, stuck with you assholes. I have nothing left to live for. I'm in the corner, I'm at the edge, I'm... I’m falling. I'm falling without you. I'm reaching anywhere I can to feel something, to feel anything... my arms look like, like a war zone. Freezing myself makes it hurt more, this jacket makes it hurt more. So I can focus on the physical pain instead of the emotional. Which is really easy to do when you're full of peppermint schnapps. But you know what, I'm ready for it to stop hurting now. My whole life has just been pain, and I've always wondered about the afterlife. So go home. Forget me! Forget I existed, forget we were ever friends, forget that I fucking love you! Forget everything about me!”

By the end she is screaming. She’s crying again, for the first time in weeks. She collapses on her hands and knees to the floor.

“Forget me so I can forget you...”

Applejack steps over and kneels, pulling her friend into her embrace.

“I could never forget you, Suns...” she murmurs as Sunset clings on for dear life. “Never ever. You're my friend, and I care about you, and I want to see you happy. That's why when you told me that you spent all those holidays alone for all those years I set up what should've been a week of slumber parties, all for you. Because I wanted you to feel like you belonged. Because I love you. Nobody deserves to feel alone, and... I know I hurt you. There ain't nothin’ I can do to change that. But I can do my best to repair the harm I've done. If that means holdin’ you in my arms until I know that you don't wanna kill yourself anymore, then so be it. Because like it or not you're stuck with me, until I fix what I broke.”

Sunset whimpers, spent, as she clings on. “Will you stay with me tonight?”

Applejack holds tighter. “Of course, sugar. I ain't leavin’ you alone again.”

Sunset wipes her eyes on the country girl’s shirt. “I'm... sorry for how I yelled at you. I never meant to be so... so...”

“Cold?”

“Well... I was gonna say bitchy, but that works too.”

The two let out a single chuckle each.

“Hey Applejack?”

“Hmm?”

“I think some of my scabs ripped open.”

/x/x/x/
> 2- Tiny Spark
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applejack blinks. “What.”

Sunset pulls back and strips off her jacket, now wet and spotted dark along the sleeves. Applejack blinks again and averts her eyes. She seems about to say something before a sea of red fills her peripheral vision, and all coherent thoughts left her.

“Sweet Faust...”

True to her words earlier, several trickles of fresh blood were dripping down Sunset’s arms. A good dozen and a half lined her left wrist, a dozen on her right. The left ones were neat, clean, organized, evenly spaced. The same could not be said about the right ones.

“You know how humans have right handed or left handed?” Sunset asks, completely unaffected. “Higher level unicorns tend to be either right or left hooved. Earth ponies, pegasi, and lower level uni’s are usually what you girls would call ambidextrous, because they use both their hooves for all sorts of stuff. But unicorns at my level of magical prowess, well, we usually use our magic for everything we can get our hooves on. Er, hands on. So I'm a righty.”

“Quit ramblin’ and get up,” Applejack commands, pulling the two of them standing. “Tell me you got a first aid kit in the bathroom.”

Sunset shrugs. “I got a half full box of bandaids and a roll of gauze. Maybe a couple drops of whiskey somewhere. It’s no big deal, just a little blood. I think you warmed me up just enough for the skin to open beneath the scabs. In any other circumstances I'd think that was cool from a scientific perspective but judging by the panicky look on your face you don't share the same sentiment.”

“Well I can't fault ya for your observation skills,” Applejack huffs, dragging her charge to the bathroom. “Let’s at least get the dry blood washed off so I can see whether I have to take you to the hospital or not... what's that look for?”

Sunset, who had winced from the time her southern bred friend said ‘washed’, takes a sharp inhale. “Yeah, um. They kinda shut my water off. A week ago. It’ll dry and flake off eventually, I just...” she sighs. “I should be freaking out right now, shouldn't I...”

Applejack pushes back the bile rising into her throat. “Freakin’ out is the normal reaction, yeah, but you're long past that. Which is good, y'all can think logical and rational. It’s probably best in this situation. How much gauze?”

Sunset shrugs again. “About half a roll. Probably enough to wrap my arms once.”

Applejack nods and pushes the door open, bringing the two inside the cramped bathroom. She turns the light on, revealing the tacky red wallpaper. The left corner of the room has a tiny sink, the far corner a toilet, and the right corner has a shower with barely enough room to stand in. A plain brown shelf sits above the toilet.

She reaches in and finds the aforementioned supplies- or, supply- pulling out the roll. She turns and carefully takes Sunset’s wrist, pulling the girl’s arm straight. “I'm gonna wrap this up and take ya to Fluttershy’s apartment, since it's the closest trustworthy place to us.”

Sunset complies but squints suspiciously. “I'm sorry, but did you just say the words ‘Fluttershy’ and ‘trustworthy’ in the same sentence in regards to me? You know she hates my guts for the drunk singing video and the hair extensions, right? Not to mention all the other shit I did-”

“That wasn't you.” Applejack chides, pulling the fabric firmly- but gently- over the blood-mottled skin. “And she doesn't hate you. You'd have to torture a bunny or somethin’ to make her hate ya. Plus, think about it. Once I explain that it was my sister she’s sure to be on good terms with you again.”

“Oh yeah... that reminds me.” Sunset winces slightly as the gauze tugs at her scabs a little. “I wasn't really thinking clearly earlier, on account of blind fury. You said earlier she saw me jump in front of a car. You sure she wouldn't just, I don't know, take the fall because she didn't want me to die?”

Applejack nods. “I know my sister better than anyone else. I'm the closest thing to a mom she’s got. And I can tell when she's lying by intuition. But also she's a really bad liar. Really really bad.” She winces and apologizes for accidentally pulling off yet another scab. “She was upset, too. More upset than you were when you learned I put down horses before.”

“Alright...” Sunset replies, not quite convinced. “But that doesn't really make sense. The day you all yelled at me and accused me and abandoned me, it was because of the pictures of the costumes. Did Applebloom, what, hack my phone via radio and download its wifi and copy the pictures through the, uh... the firewall? Help me out here.”

Applejack finishes the left arm and pauses for a moment, pondering this.

“Okay first off, ouch. Second off, that ain't how phones work. Like. At all. You can't... you can't download wifi. And a fire wall is... its for viruses. I think. And it's only for on a computer. You'd have to ask Micro about how that works. Anyway, while that is a good point, it don't mean you did it. She could’ve had help... wait. What about Sweetie Belle.”

Sunset blinks. “No.”

“...yeah.”

“NO.” Sunset barks, gritting her teeth. “No way.”

Applejack purses her lips.

Sunset adamantly nods. “No, she wouldn't... do that...” she processes the notion for a second, and then sighs. “Okay, yeah, no, she absolutely would, I was fucking horrible to her. She was a good way to get Rarity riled up. I guess I never really did apologize to her directly for anything that I did to her. But even still, I can't believe either of them would hurt their older sisters just to get to me, let alone hurt the whole entire rest of the school.”

She readies her other arm, pre-emptively preparing for the pain. Though there were less wounds in number, they were a fair bit rougher to look at.

“I don't wanna get in the middle of family, ever...” a melancholy look crosses Applejack’s face, before being replaced by a resolute gaze. “But Rarity’s gotta know this too. I can only imagine what those sisters are gonna go through when-”

“Wait. You're telling Rarity?” Sunset asks, bewildered. “You... you can't do that.”

“I gotta!” Applejack says, taken aback. “Why wouldn't you want Rarity to know that it wasn't you who posted those pictures?”

Sunset looks down, hair covering her face. When she speaks, it's only a mumble. “She’ll just call us liars. She’ll never believe Sweetie Belle would do that to her.”

“Do what?” Applejack asked. “They're just costume pictures-”

“Did you even look?”

“Look at what?”

Sunset huffs. “At Anon-a-Miss’ blog. Did you notice anything suspicious?”

“Suspicious how?”

“The M switch.”

Applejack blinks.

“Your MyStable account has age restricted turned on. Anon... she kinda...” Sunset frowns. “Okay, you have got to keep a secret.”

“I'm better than most at that.”

“Rarity and I... oh boy. We haven't done anything sexual or romantic or whatever and we’re not gonna, but I have- or had- some photos of Rarity in her underwear.”

“You WHAT?”

Sunset presses her free palm into her eye. “Okay so Rarity and I went shopping for human clothes a little after the Fall Formal because I had no idea what I was doing and, well, I'd apparently been wearing men’s underwear and no bra the entire time I'd been a human. So Rarity taught me how to check my bra size and stuff and I took a few pictures of hers as reference material because she told me to. And I mean at the time I was like, Rarity I can't do that, that'd be an invasion of your privacy, and she was like ‘no no darling we’re both girls here and I trust you’ and I was like oh okay when you put it that way, click. Plus I'm a pony and human bodies are shaped weird. And, eh... those pictures showed up on the blog.”

Applejack pulls out her phone and scrolls through it. She taps and swipes a few things. “Okay I hit the gear thing, and the three lines. Uh... view adult content.” She waits a moment, scrolls and swipes, and her face blanches. “Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh.”

“No wonder she started only wearing turtlenecks and long skirts.”

“She's going to literally fucking murder Sweetie Belle if she finds out that she’s the one who posted those.”

Applejack sighs and continues wrapping. “Well if I had any naked pics of myself and Bloom posted them on the internet I might murder her too. Not that I’d have any in the first place. But regardless, Rarity thinks you did that. She needs to know the truth... it'll lessen the blow if she sees it as her sister being nosy and downloading stuff from your phone rather than you betraying her trust like that. That's worse than anything you did to her the entire campaign last year.”

Sunset cocks her head to the side, pondering acquiescence. “You know, when you put it that way, I guess I do want Rarity to feel less violated... I know earlier I sounded like I hated you all for what you did to me, but I do still love all of you. It was just... lashing out because it hurt.” She looks down. “I'm sorry I cussed at you so much.”

Applejack holds her place on the gauze and reaches an arm over for a hug. “That wasn't you speaking. That was a month of loneliness and abandonment manifested as a torrent of profanity. And anyway it coulda been a lot worse. Besides, Rainbow says worse to me when I make her bench more than forty pounds.”

In spite of herself, Sunset laughs at this. “You mean she doesn't love all exercise equally?”

“Heck no! She’ll play soccer all day long and then go run a marathon, but the girl’s got noodle arms.”

The two chuckle before the mood turned melancholy. “I miss Rainbow...” Sunset murmurs.

Applejack squeezes for a moment before letting go and finishing the gauze. “You'll see her soon, and make amends. I'm gonna text everyone and say friendship emergency at Fluttershy’s, which will give everyone enough time to show up by the time I get you clean.”

“I don't want you to have to lie on my behalf,” Sunset mutters.

“It ain't lyin’, sugar. You tried to kill yourself today. That's an emergency if I ever heard one.”

Sunset solemnly nods. “Right. I forgot about that. It's weird, it just... completely slipped my mind. I've been thinking about suicide so often it's almost as normal as brushing my teeth: I forget if I did it or not.”

Applejack finishes wrapping and stands up. “Okay, no offense, but you forgot to today. And probably yesterday too. I suggest givin’ it a quick once-over before we leave. How's your movin’ range?”

Sunset slowly bends her elbows a bit, and the fabric holds. “Stings a lot, but it works.”

“Okay. good. Brush your teeth and I'll brush your hair. It looks like it ain't been washed in a week or more...” Sniff sniff. “Smells like it too.”

“Sorry...”

Applejack pulls her up and flashes a reassuring smile. “I don't blame you for slippin’ on hygiene. I can't imagine the state your mind’s in if you wanna die so bad. But you gotta at least do the basics, at least now. Teeth, hair, CPB. Or at least the CP.”

“CPB?” Sunset asks, reaching for the toothbrush and paste on the sink. “What's that?”

“Chest pits butt. Otherwise known as, I only have 30 seconds to not smell like something died.”

“Oh, you mean TPA.”

Applejack narrows her eyes, but her smile doesn't change. “If ya wanna be crass about it then yeah. I swear, you n’ Rainbow are gonna be the death of me.”

Sunset winks mischievously before reaching her hand to her mouth. She encounters a problem.

“AJ. I can't bend my arm enough.”

Applejack sighs. “Alright. I'll get your teeth for you. And... I guess everything else.”

“I hate to be a burden-”

“Ain't a burden sug. You got bad breath n’ BO. It's as much for my benefit as it is yours. I'm gonna help you clean this apartment next week too, it’s... bad. Like a dairy farm up n’ died.”

Sunset nods in understanding, her eyes expressing equal parts offense taken and vicarious agreement. She then opens her mouth and experiences two very uncomfortable, very awkward, and very weird minutes that can only be described by someone else who experienced the sensation of another person brushing your teeth for you. Especially with a dry toothbrush.

“And spit.”

Sunset does as she is told, before moaning.

“That was so weeeeeeird!”

“Ah, it wasn't that weird ya big baby. I did that for Big Mac when he broke both his arms a few years ago. You want weird, help your brother use the bathroom when he ain't got use of his hands.”

“Oh Creator...” Sunset shudders. “Alright. I feel less bad. Although this next bit might be weird.”

Applejack shrugs as she grabs a washcloth and squeezes a little bit of soap into it. “More for you than me, I’m afraid.” She then spits onto the soap.

/x/ One CPB Later… /x/

As Applejack pats Sunset’s armpit dry, she fights the urge to shudder again.

“That's the worst thing I've ever experienced in my entire life.”

“Again,” Applejack says, setting the cloth over the sink’s edge. “It wasn't that bad, ya big baby. Now, this was just a quick little let’s make you not smell bad.” Sniff. “Well. As bad. We’re still gonna give you a proper bath when we get to Fluttershy’s.”

“I feel like we should’ve cleaned me and then put the gauze on afterwards.”

“Oh yeah, and get fresh blood all over your body. By the looks of it, it would've been a lot of it.”

“Eh, point taken.” Sunset follows Applejack out of the bathroom and over to the giant pile of clothes in the kitchen.

“Is this dirty or clean?” Applejack asks.

“... Yes.”

“Got it, I'm also helpin’ you do laundry next week. Alright, we can't have you walking around in just boyshorts all day, much as lots of people might want you to. Because face it, girl, you’re one tall drink o’ water. But we’re goin’ out in public and it’s cold outside, so you gotta put some clothes on.”

Sunset shrugs yet again. “I appreciate the compliment but to be honest I really don't care too much about clothes. I don't care who sees me. I never wore clothes in Equestria. But, you know, social norms. I might also need help with this part too.”

She is presented with a plain black t-shirt, plain black leggings, and a black faux-leather skirt.

“You're goin’ goth today because black holds heat better. Now here, step in.”

The clothing process isn’t too arduous, and after an only slightly awkward adjustment around the hips and groin, Sunset appears presentable. Like a goth mummy.

“I feel like Hot Topic…” Sunset darkly mutters.

“You look like Hot Topic,” Applejack responds, not quite catching the subtext. “Alright Suns, let’s go.”

Her face blanches. “Like... right now right now?”

“No, next week. Yes now!”

Sunset takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. “Alright. Lemme just steel myself.”

“It's only Fluttershy,” Applejack murmurs, sending out the friendship emergency text to everyone but Fluttershy, and they ‘hey I'm on my way’ text to Fluttershy. “Honestly she’s probably gonna be more stressed to see us on short notice than you will be to see her. Everything’s gonna be alright, okay Suns?”

She nods and opens her eyes. “If not now then I have a little bit in the car to get to being okay. Oh, uh. Before we go, can you please send a message to Twilight for me?”

“Can do.” Applejack strolls over to the book, while Sunset grabs her phone. Applejack picks it up and sets it on the nearby counter, and readies a pen, turning to the most recent page. “Ready,” she says, eyes scanning the most recent messages. Concern crawls across her face as she sees that Twilight had been asking more and more desperate questions in more and more frantic handwriting before she just wrote in simple small manuscript ‘please answer soon. please tell me you're ok.’

Sunset sees that she has a message on MyStable. “Tell her that it’s you writing, and that I’m okay, and getting better. And that I'm sorry for worrying her. And, if you wanna say anything to her you can. I'll let you know what she says back.” It's from Applebloom and it just says ‘I didn't mean to hurt you that bad’.

That bad?

“THAT BAD?”

“What's bad?” Applejack asks, in the midst of relaying the message.

“Your sister...” Sunset huffs and glares at the screen. “Didn't mean to hurt me THAT BAD.”

Applejack pauses for a moment before continuing. “That girl knows when she's grounded she ain't allowed to have her phone.”

Blip!

“...and it was wrong of me to hurt you in the first place.”

“Ah. Mac must be makin’ her apologize.”

Sunset clicks her phone off and stomps towards the door.

“And, done.” Applejack blows on the ink before flipping the book closed. “Can't imagine that non apology makes you feel any better.”

“You're right. It makes me feel worse. You know what would've been better is literally just saying sorry. Lowercase with no period, just five letters. Faust, just... not that bad. Not that bad, I'll kick her ass but not that bad.”

“Please don't threaten my sister,” Applejack says, without condescension or sarcasm. “I know you're mad and you have every right to be, but beating her up ain't gonna make you feel better in the long run. Two wrongs don't make a right.”

Sunset huffs. “Alright. I know. I won't hurt her or anything. But I won't accept her apology unless it's sincere. I know that's a lot to expect from a twelve year old but... but that just makes it worse. She's just a kid, and she managed to fuck me over so hard I...” she swallows. “What if the car hit me...”

Applejack hugs her from behind. “I wanna choose to believe that the car missing you was the Creator’s way of saying it just wasn’t your time, and that only happened the way it did so that Applebloom would see the consequences of her actions.”

Sunset turns and cradles her head in the farmer’s shoulder.

“I... I...” she shudders. “Can we go to Fluttershy’s now?”

“Mhmm. Let’s go.”

They then head out the door and towards the elevator. They take it down to the sub-basement level into the parking garage. A rusty red pickup truck sits parked haphazardly across two spaces.

Applejack grins sheepishly. “I was worried.”

Sunset pulls herself up into the passenger seat and pulls the door shut before waiting. On the other side, Applejack does the same, and buckles in. A moment passes where she freezes in place, then she unbuckles herself and leans over to buckle Sunset in.

“Almost forgot.”

After that, she puts the keys into the ignition, and the engine screams at them. She backs out and zooms off, and in no time at all they're on the road.

“So, uh… what do you listen to?” The driver asks, shifting into third. “I only really listen to country and rock but there’s also stations for pop, r&b, rap, and uuuhhh... classical I think. There’s talk radio, but that’s boring.”

Sunset sighs in relief, leaning back into her seat as the heater bathes her. “Whatever you want.”

“Okay.” Applejack turns it on, and crunchy guitar punctuated by sharp snare is accompanied by a man singing.

~You are the antidote that got me by, something strong like a drug that got me~

“Boring!” Applejack yells, changing the station.

~How'd you get so high, why you're keeping me low, you don't know, you don't know~

“Nope.” Click!

~With every breath you breathe, I see there's something going on, I don't understand why you're so~

“Ugh.” Click!

~Show me how defenseless you really aaaare~

“Eh.” Click!

The next station features a man going absolutely ham on a fiddle, and Applejack breaks out into a huge smile.

“Yay!”

Sunset grins as she absorbs the ride, and as AJ dances in place to the song. As it eventually fades out, a mellow blues-y tunes starts to play.

“This is nice,” Sunset murmurs.

“Y'all like blues?”

“No... I mean, well yeah I like the way that these chords sound, but that's not what I mean. I mean, like. Being around another person. It's nice... it's not so lonely when someone’s sitting next to you, even if you're just driving around and listening to music. I really missed this.”

Applejack sets a comforting hand on Sunset’s leg. “If I'm bein’ completely honest, Suns, I’ve missed you too. We all have. It’s like we’re hexagon but with a side missing.”

“You guys are a pentagon?”

AJ chuckles. “I can't do perfect similes every time. Anyway, we’re here.”

~Once was a sweet thang baby, held out her lovin' in our hands~

She turns the music down before settling into a parking space. She turns the car off and wastes no time popping out, running around, and helping Sunset leave the vehicle. They didn't have any trouble with ice, as Applejack’s boots had a lot of grip.

The trip into the building and up the elevator was an uneventful one, and after they got off, it was only a matter of moments before Applejack knocked on Fluttershy’s door.

“One second!” They hear, muffled behind the door. It then opens, revealing Fluttershy.

“Hi Applejack!” She greets, exuberant though quiet. “It's really good to see you. I'm glad I was looking for something to do when you texted me, and-” her smile disappears instantly as she spots her second visitor. “What… is SHE doing here?”

Sunset sighs and looks away, as Fluttershy pulls the door mostly closed, showing only her face.

Applejack pulls Sunset closer to her side. “Look, I’m sorry I didn't give ya the full truth when I sent you that text, but this is why I’m here. Sunset ain’t Anon-a-Miss. My sister is.”

Fluttershy gapes. “Applebloom? But she couldn't be... what about the pictures at Rarity’s? And Rainbow Dash’s grades?” Beat. She gasps. “Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo!”

Within the same split second she rips the door open, bursts into tears, and comes as close to tackling Sunset as, well, a Fluttershy was physically capable of doing.

The words “I'm so so sorry Sunset I can't believe I ever doubted you I know you must hate me now but I swear I'll do whatever I can to help make you feel better in any way I can!” all came out in a blur.

Sunset gingerly pats the sobbing girl’s shoulders, heaving a sigh in relief. “You could start by getting some peroxide, some clean gauze, some aged Hanoverian whiskey, and a towel for me to bite on.”

“Okay, but wh-” Fluttershy nearly asks as she looks down at the crimson stains on Sunset’s arms and immediately passes out.

Applejack and Sunset share a bemused glance before the two manage to pull her over and set her gently on the couch. Fluttershy would be out for several minutes, which is more than enough time to get Sunset patched up before anyone else shows up. AJ’s phone buzzes.

Rainbow sent a text indicating that she borrowed her dad’s car to pick up Rarity and Pinkie, and extraneously mentions that Pinkie lives on the outskirts of town, so the journey in all would be about half an hour for now. She also said she’d have Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo in tow as per the request, but was curious as to why they were also needed.

Applejack grimaced, thinking about having told anyone that Sunset would be there too, but the guilt over not telling Sunset that Sweetie Belle was coming overpowered her subconscious. Still, it was for everyone’s own good to clear the air, so to speak. There was a significant difference between secrets, lies, and technical truths. after all

“Is Rainbow on her way?”

AJ nods. “Yeah. Now, uh. If you want good whiskey that’ll kill the pain, you don't want Hanoverian. You want Neighponeese. Rainbow don’t know what she’s talkin’ about. She thinks everything it or Konik is the best on account of it bein’ her bloodline, but I actually brew whiskey myself on occasion, so I know a bit about the process.”

“Don’t you distill whiskey?”

“Ah, whatever. Potato potahto. Either way, Neighpon brews it best.”

“Neighpon... huh. There's a Neighpon back in Equestria too, way east. Must be a coincidence. Never had it before, just what Rainbow showed me. That was mostly a joke though, Fluttershy told me her dad doesn't drink.”

“No.” Applejack reaches under the pantry and pulls out a dusty bottle. “But Zephyr does.”

There are some crossed squiggly lines on the label, over a washed out map of a group of four islands.

“That's weird...” Sunset murmurs. “I mean, of course Zeph would have the dumbest hiding place, but those islands look just like what I remember maps of Neighpon to look like.”

“Probably a coincidence,” Applejack supplied. “Maybe not, either way it ain't important right now. So come on, take a drink if you need. Peroxide stings like a mother.”

Sunset eyes the bottle as Applejack holds it in her palm and swirls the dark brown liquid inside. “Okay, well... bottoms up I guess.”

AJ unscrews the cap and manages to get some in Sunset’s mouth. About a shot or two’s worth makes it in before she pulls away.

“Oh man,” Sunset rasps, coughing. “That burns so good. Gimme a minute and you could punch me in the face without it hurting.”

“As long as you ain't gonna be as big a baby about this as you were when I brushed your teeth.”

“Ha!”

The two head into Fluttershy’s bathroom. This one is a lot more well stocked than Sunset’s own, and roomier too. There are also plenty of first aid supplies. Q tips, peroxide, bandaids, saline solutions, antiseptics, ointments and creams for every ailment, even medicine for animals that obviously weren't inside of the apartment but honestly very well could have.

They settle down and get to work. The gauze is soaked with crimson and therefore useless, and is dumped in the garbage. Sunset had stopped bleeding for the most part, but her skin was still bound to be sensitive, and there was very little space between the cuts proper. It will take a while.

Sunset bites a towel as Applejack gets to work. Time passes in silence until the whiskey sets in proper, and the towel becomes unnecessary.

“It's a good thing winter break is goin’ on,” the makeshift doctor mutters as she tosses the 27th scarlet-tipped Qtip into the trash. “Although that just means y'all have been havin’ even less time socializin’.”

“Well, I- ow- wouldn't call it social- ow- izing if I'm- ow- ostracized from liter-ow-ally everyone, and they- OW, FUCK! Hate me.”

“Sorry darlin’, this one’s a little bit deeper than the rest of ‘em. Ya know, forgive me for askin’ this, but what in tarnation were ya’ thinkin’ carvin’ yourself up like a jack o lantern?”

Sunset shrugs. “I was thinking, ow heart hurts, make wrist hurt instead, ooga ooga eat another chocky bar me hungee. I haven't exactly been a paragon of good decisions lately. Guess I'm just lucky that I never learned how to sharpen knives without magic.”

Applejack sighs. “I still can't believe I believed you were her, when all along it was my sister... I shoulda known right from the start. She showed it to me, and then she told me she thought it was you.”

“She did?”

“Mmhmm. I mean for Faust’s sake, the colors were your hair. Only a twelve year old would think that was a clever idea. You’re one of the smartest and most intelligent unicorns in all of Equestria, I... looking back, all of this smelled funnier than a dead clown.”

“PFFFT!” Sunset cackles.

Applejack smiles in spite of herself. This is the Sunset she missed. The Sunset who was in the dark apartment, cursing up a storm and insulting her and being rude, that wasn't Sunset. That was severe clinical depression running unchecked. Speaking of which...

“Hey Suns.”

“Yeah AJ?”

“...how’s your mental health doin’?”

Sunset’s mood dims slightly. “You mean right now or in general? Because if you mean right now then I'm great, but if you mean in general, well... I did try to kill myself earlier today.”

“I don't know. Both, I guess. You already seemed real down when you told me about bein’ alone for the holidays all these years. And now what with the cuts and the, uh... suicide attempt. And with your living situation being what it is, both your apartment and your hygiene, I'm worried that maybe there's more to the story.”

Sunset shrugs, wincing as the peroxide stings her arms. “Could be. I don't know much about human psychology. It interests me though. Maybe after I get better I can look at some psych textbooks other than, what, how to manipulate people for dummies?”

“Heh...” Applejack frowns. “Get better how?”

“I mean like. My arms. I can't exactly do books well. Why do you think I haven't talked much to Twilight?” She sighs. “Feeling like sh... like crap is only part of it, I just can't really read books well right now. In fact I'm pretty sure picking it up earlier might actually be what tore these open again. I know I've probably had some mental issues going on before all this Anon-a-Miss stuff happened, and this just made it worse. So it's definitely up there on the to-do list. I just hope you'll be able to help me if I need it.”

“Of course.” Applejack smiles again. “Always.”

The moment is interrupted by the apartment door being thrown open.

“Fluttershy!?” Rainbow Dash cries from the other room. “AJ!”

She then appears at the bathroom doorway.

“Dude, AJ, is Fluttershy oka-” her eyes zero in on Sunset. She cracks her knuckles and takes a threatening step forward. “Shimmer? You’re dead.”

/x/x/x/
> 3- Combustion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applejack quickly stands up, placing herself between Sunset and Rainbow.

“Easy there Dash,” she warns, putting one hand forward, palm out. “Sunset didn't hurt Fluttershy.”

Rainbow squints her eyes, but she crosses her arms and adopts a slightly less aggressive pose.

“Alright...” she says, quietly. “So she didn't hurt Fluttershy. Today. But the lying bitch hurt all of us with that blog. So why the fuck is she here?”

“She didn't do it.” Applejack steps back and sits on the toilet lid. “Go on sug, tell her.”

Sunset lets out a dark chuckle. “‘Shimmer, you're dead’... Funny you phrased it that way, Rain. But it doesn't matter. Like I said a hundred times before, I’m not Anon-a-Miss. I just have proof now.”

Rainbow snorts. “Still in denial, huh? I'd have been less pissed with you if you were just up front and honest about it.” She leans forward. “And I see you slashed the shit out of your arms to get sympathy points.”

Applejack stands and puts a warning hand on Rainbow’s shoulder. “Applebloom told me that she’s Anon-a-Miss. Not Sunset.”

“Bullshit. Applebloom couldn't have posted any of the stuff from our phones.”

“May I interject?” Sunset asks.

“No.” Rainbow smacks Applejack’s hand away. “Applebloom’s lying because she feels bad. But whatever. I take it Fluttershy passed out when she saw the blood?”

Applejack sighs. “Yeah, she's fine. But my sister is not a liar.”

“Right.” Rainbow nods. “So for that entire month where she allegedly ran that blog and framed Sunset, that wasn't lying? Really? Please. You're so gullible, AJ.”

“Don't insult me.”

“Insult you?” Rainbow laughed. “If I wanted to insult you I'd call you a liar for staging a friendship emergency when there was none, just so you can try to feed us a sob story about the bitch queen herself. She's manipulating you like she always has, since we first even came to school here.”

“She is not! You weren't there in her apartment!”

“Let me guess. She was sitting in the cold and the dark in just a hoodie, covered in blood, trash and dirty laundry thrown everywhere, they shut the water off, I have no money left, whatever. But I bet her phone still has service.”

Sunset stands up. “I tried to kill myself today.”

“I'll bet.” Rainbow rolls her eyes. “Remember the year before last when you wanted to take over the soccer team and you pulled the same stunt to me then in order to make me miss out on the practice where you planted weed in my locker? Almost got me expelled? ‘Oh Rainbow Dash, I know I've been mean to you in the past but I really need a friend right now.’ You don't fool me for a second.”

“I’ve already apologized for that!”

Applejack steps over and forces Sunset to sit. “She ain't gonna listen to you. Save your energy.”
She turns to face the athlete. “What can I do to make you believe that I ain’t- that WE ain't lying?”

Rainbow shrugs. “I dunno. I’ll let you do this friendship emergency but I'm not doing anything for her unless there's solid actual evidence. Give me the IP address, then I'll believe you.” She turns and leaves the bathroom.

Sunset kicks the wall.

“That ain't gonna do anything but make your toe sore.” Applejack kneels down. “Come on, let’s finish these last couple cuts, okay?”

Sunset nods, dislodging a single tear. “...Okay.”

It only takes another minute or so, before the job is done and Applejack wraps Sunset’s other arm with fresh gauze. The two walk back into the living room.

Rainbow had pulled Fluttershy’s head into her lap, and is now gently rubbing her scalp with her thumb.

“Rare and Pinks should be here in a sec,” she says when they emerge. “I had Rare park the car while I came up here solo. Thought Fluttershy was the emergency...”

The two take a seat on the couch opposite Rainbow. An awkward silence emerges.

“I'll be civil,” Rainbow eventually says. “If everyone else believes you then that's fine. I'll go along with it. I won't say anything negative. But don't expect me to be all buddy-buddy about it. You hurt my friends and betrayed their trust.”

“That's fair,” Sunset says. “It's a step up.”

“But.” Rainbow points an accusing finger. “If you do anything like this again, and hurt Fluttershy, AJ, Pinks, or Rare... I will hospitalize you.”

“Dash,” Applejack warns. “Don't say things you'll regret.”

“I don't think I'm gonna regret saying I'll hurt someone if they hurt my best friends. I've said the same thing to lots of people and I meant it each time. Luckily they all believed me and never did anything. So if Sunset is a good little girl and stays pretending to be good from now on, there won't ever be a problem.”

“It's fair, AJ,” Sunset murmurs. “I really don't think Bloom or Belle are gonna do anything else with this.”

“Belle?” Rainbow sighs. “You're dragging Sweetie Belle into this too?”

“It makes sense-” Applejack starts before being cut off.

“Oh yeah, Sweetie Belle posting her own sister’s underwear pics from Sunset’s phone. That makes sense. You know, it's believable that Applebloom would share that story about your family nickname because whatever, but there's a huge difference between piggly wiggly and everyone slut-shaming Rarity. Sweetie Belle wouldn't do that. What next, Scootaloo, the one person in the whole world who idolizes me more than my parents, photocopied my progress report to show everyone I have all Ds?”

Applejack shakes her head and looks off to the side, pressing her fist to her mouth.

Sunset continues to stare glazey-eyed out the window, silently willing the rest of the group to arrive. Luckily her prayers are answered somewhat as Fluttershy begins to stir.

“Shy?” Rainbow asks, voice instantly softening. “You awake?”

“Nnnn... Dashie?”

Rainbow grins and leans in closer. “Yeah, it's me. I heard you passed out.”

Fluttershy slowly leans up and scoots over, staying in her oldest friend’s embrace. “I did?”

“Me an’ Sunset are here too,” Applejack chimes in. “We came here, you saw the blood, and passed out.”

“Blood?” The sleepy teen rubs some grit out of her eye. “Sunset?”

Rainbow rubs her shoulder. “Pinkie and Rarity will be here any second now. For the... emergency friendship meeting.” She spits these last words as though they were poison.

Fluttershy finally opens her eyes and blinks a few times, bringing the world into focus.

“Oh... right. Sorry Sunset.”

“It's okay,” she says. “I'm not upset.”

Rainbow shoots a dagger or two at her before returning her focus to the friend in her arms. “So... you believe them when they say Anon-a-Miss was Applebloom?”

She nods, yawning. “It makes more sense. And anyway, if Applejack says Applebloom said something, I believe both of them. I just don't understand what could have driven Applebloom to start the whole business in the first place. Sunset didn't deserve any of what happened.”

Rainbow bites her lip. “And the other two?”

“What other two?” Fluttershy asks, turning her head to the side slightly.

“You know, Belle and the squirt. Their involvement in this mess. You really think they'd be in on it too?”

“I... I don't know honestly. I feel like it would make more sense that Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were jealous of all the time we started spending with Sunset, than it would that Sunset would just go and post all of our secrets online like that. I really truly believe Sunset is a good person now, and that she just got framed.”

Rainbow sighs and pulls her oldest friend close. “I won't tell you to change your mind but... please just be careful. I don't wanna see you hurt ever again.”

“You mean you don't believe it was the kids?”

“All I'm saying is, Sunset’s done similar to this before. I personally believe it's just another stunt.”

“Warn’t no stunt,” Applejack snipes, refusing to make eye contact. “You weren't there.”

“I was there before, AJ,” Rainbow volleys right back. “Last time she did this whole charade. But hey, you wouldn't know that, since you just up and shut me out after the bake sale mixup.”

Sunset snaps her attention to the altercation. “Don't.” She growls. “Rainbow, you're upset with me for Anon-a-Miss, so don't take it out on AJ. Besides, the bake sale was my fault anyway, remember?”

“Yeah, maybe you sent those fake texts,” Rainbow accuses, standing up. “But she didn't even talk to me. At all. You know how long I was beating myself up over every little thing I might have said to make her upset with me, upset enough to give me the cold shoulder over a suspicion? Probably not, because you were too busy fucking over the rest of us!”

“You're choosin’ NOW to bring this up, Rainbow?” Applejack stands as well. “Right now when Sunset needs us? In Fluttershy’s apartment no less. Oh, c’mere hun,” she coos as she steps over the coffee table to comfort Fluttershy, who had begun to cower as Rainbow started yelling.

Rainbow glances down and then away, guilt written on her face. She then turns her attention back to Sunset.

“You wonder why I don't trust you...” she mutters, before turning and pulling the front door open. She then walks directly into Pinkie Pie, and the two fall to the floor. Rarity shrieks at the sudden movement.

Sunset murmurs a curse to herself as she steps over to the tangle of limbs. “Need help up?”

“Hi Dashie!” Pinkie greets from the floor. “Vertical hugs are new but hey whatever works!”

“Gah... sorry Pinks,” Rainbow regains her footing and reaches a hand out, pulling Pinkie back to her feet. “Sorry Rare, didn't mean to scare you.”

“It's quite all right dear,” she placates, putting a hand over her chest, clothed in a black turtleneck sweater. “I just wasn't expecting anyone to barge out of the door. But what on earth was that about?”

Rainbow huffs. “Ask her.”

She then turns, and the four new arrivals notice Sunset. Their expressions changed instantly. Pinkie’s to confusion, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle’s to alarm, and Rarity’s... to pure blind rage.

“It's okay!” Applejack whisper-shouts from the couch. “She's with me. Sunset, get over here and sit down, let ‘em in.”

Sunset obeys, as everyone slowly filters into the room. Scootaloo, who takes up the rear, closes the door. Sunset takes the side of Fluttershy opposite to that of Applejack’s, and gently rubs the timid girl’s shoulder.

“Explain.” Rarity snips, voice curt. “Someone bloody well better explain what in the hell SHE is doing here.”

Silence rings as Applejack, Rainbow, and Sunset share a silent conversation through their eyes. After a few moments, Rainbow sighs. “Applebloom told AJ that she’s Anon-a-Miss, AJ and Fluttershy believe that, I don’t, and the three of them also assume that Belle and the squirt were part of it. Which is, of course, bullshit. Sunset is the so-called friendship emergency... she tried to kill herself today, apparently.”

Rarity snorts. “What are you blackmailing Applebloom with?” She pointedly asks Sunset. A few seconds pass with no response, and she takes an aggressive step forward. “You disgust me, traitor.”

“I didn't post your fucking pictures, Rarity,” Sunset spits. “And I'm not blackmailing-”

“And you!” Rarity growls, whirling on Applejack. “How can you just abandon your sister like this? For Sunset Shimmer? If it were anyone else I might understand, but this? What is wrong with you?”

“Can ya tone your voice down a smidge? Fluttershy-”

“It wasn't Sunset,” Fluttershy murmurs. She looks up and wipes the tears away. “And even if it was, that's no reason to be mean to Applejack!” She glances over to Rainbow. “And that goes double for you. We’re supposed to be friends. Friends don't yell at each other like this!”

“Friends also don't accuse people who didn't do shit,” Rainbow retaliates, before turning her attention to Scootaloo. “Squirt, according to them, you’re in on the Anon-a-Miss gig too.” She turns back. “I don't wanna be mean to you, you know this, but right now you're... making a really bad decision. And it's hurting everyone in this room.”

“The only one in this room who’s hurt is Sunset!” Fluttershy puts her arms around the former pony. “She’s been hurting herself for weeks because of us.”

“She's even to the point of suicide,” Applejack adds. “And we don't even have any hard proof whether she did it or not. All we have to go on is that Anon’s colors look like her hair, Anon had access to pictures on her phone, and my sister full-on admitted to runnin’ the blog. All signs point to her bein’ the mastermind and us bein’ a bunch of ignorant fools.”

Rarity clenches her fists. “Do you really think that your sister is capable of hurting all of us as much as she did? That Sunset isn’t above blackmail and cutting for attention and concocting a fake story  about killing herself-”

“It ain't a story!” Applejack roars. “Applebloom told me she saw it!”

“Then you're just gullible,” Rarity responds, crossing her arms and looking off to the side.

“Thank you!” Rainbow cries. “Tried to say that earlier.”

“Applebloom didn't lie about that.” Applejack takes a breath. “She was upset today. More than she’s been in years. It was the guilty kind of upset, not the helpless kind of upset. Y'all don't know my sister like I know her. And she was tellin’ the truth. We made all her favorite foods, and she didn't touch a thing. That's how she shows guilt. And anyway, she ain't got nothin’ to be blackmailed by.”

“Then threatened.” Rarity narrows her eyes at Sunset. “Maybe what you saw as guilt was fear. What was it, Sunset? What did you threaten her with?”

“What...” Sweetie Belle asks before clearing her throat. “What exactly did Applebloom say?”

“She said she's the one that made the blog.”

Sweetie Belle shares a glance with Scootaloo, who nods. “I... don't believe that. She'd have told us about it.”

Sunset turns her head and glares at them.

“And besides,” Scootaloo continues. “She has been acting a bit distant recently. Come to think of it, that's about the time when... when Sunset started following me around town.”

“You LYING BITCH!” Sunset screams, standing.

“Don't fucking cuss at her,” Rainbow warns, putting a warning finger up. “Or I'll throw you out the fuckin window. Don't even think I'm playing.” She turns and nods at Scootaloo. “Go on, kid, you're safe here.”

She glances between Sunset and Rainbow before taking a breath and turning back to Applejack. “A couple weeks back she told me something like, we need to stop hanging out together, or something... said she didn't want me to get hurt. I didn't know what that meant at the time, but the next day I thought I saw Sunset behind me. She followed me into an alleyway. She was far back, but it was... scary.”

Applejack sighs. “I gotta make a phone call.”

Sunset puts her hand out. “AJ-”

Applejack nods her head. “Guilt ain't fear, Suns. I trust you. I just need to call Bloom and see if the story checks out. If you really are innocent, you ain't got nothin’ to fear, okay?”

Sunset sighs and nods, but something behind Applejack catches her eye.

“Who ya texting, Belle?” She asks.

“Don't talk to my sister.” Rarity snaps. “And Applejack, I can't believe you can sit right there and believe Sunset over Scootaloo. What cause does she have to lie?”

Applejack narrows her eyes. “Hold up Rare. What, may I ask, could be more important to you than Scootaloo’s safety and well-being?”

“I'm...” Sweetie Belle gulps and sticks her phone back in her pocket. “I’m telling mom and dad that... I'm... with Rarity. Because they... don't know where I am.”

Rarity turns at this. “...Why?” She asks. “They already knew you were at Rainbow Dash’s house. That's what I told them. And then I texted them in the car.”

Rainbow stands as well. “Yeah, and your dad called my dad to check in. Because they're, like, drinking buddies. The fuck’s going on, Sweets?”

Scootaloo makes a quick hand signal.

“She's texting Applebloom,” Pinkie says from the kitchen. She's swirling around a glass of water as everyone turns in her direction. “She typed her number as soon as AJ said she was gonna call someone.” She drained the glass fully before clunking it back on the counter. “And while you all were fighting like a bunch of meanypantses, I had Micro Chips do a trace on the Anon-a-Miss blog to find the parent email. He just told me he tracked it to an internet connection he recognized...” She points an accusing finger at Applejack. “It was the same one that your GameStation 360 uses when we play Star Destroyer 6. I remember it because I typed it in so many times.” She turns her finger to Scootaloo, and a single tear falls down her face. “Why are you lying just to hurt Sunset?”

Silence runs through the air so deep, the only sound any of them could hear was Sunset’s slow but heavy breathing becoming slightly less slow.

“Pinkie...” Applejack murmurs. “What does the 360 have to do with any of this?”

“Not your 360, AJ. Your wifi domain. Anon-a-Miss’ blog was first made on your internet. The Piggly Wiggly post was uploaded through your internet connection. So unless Sunset was in your house that day... it wasn't her.”

Applejack slowly dials her sister’s number, and puts the phone to her ear.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

Ri-

“Eeyup?” Big Mac’s voice says through the device.

“Mac, did Sweetie Belle just text?”

“Eeyup.”

“What’d it say?”

“Says here... uh... AJ call. scot lie. say sun threaten scot. say you no hang scot no want get hurt. they're onto us... looks like a bunch of paranoid gibberish, sis. You need to talk to her?”

“Mhmm. Put her on,” Applejack whispers, putting it on speaker. After a moment passes she locks eyes with Rarity.

“...sis?” Applebloom asks.

“Did Sunset Shimmer threaten to hurt Scootaloo if you didn't tell me that you made the blog?”

“What?” She asks, confused. “N... no. Like I said, she jumped in front of that car. I hadn't seen her before that since y'all stopped bein’ her friend... Is she okay now? Can I talk to her?”

“I...” Applejack turns her head to see Sunset’s eyes boring holes into the kids. “Don't think that's such a good idea right now. She's okay. Just... she’s more angry than sad now. That's all I needed to know.”

“Okay... can you tell her I’m sorry? I ain't got the right words that she deserves right now, but I want her to know that...” she sniffles. “That if I could take it all back, I would?”

Applejack nods. “I can do that... now do as your brother says. We will talk about this whole mess later, okay?”

“...okay sis. I love you.”

“I love you too...” and with that, she hangs up, and slips her phone back in her pocket.

“So that means...” Rainbow murmurs. “She wasn't lying?”

Applejack nods. “Not today. For the past month she absolutely was, but as for today... Sunset really does need our help.”

Rainbow puts her face in her hands. “Damn it...”

“Big deal,” Rarity murmurs. “So Sunset has dirt worse than I thought-”

“Oh, are you fucking kidding me Rarity?” Rainbow snips, throwing her hands down and standing up. “She didn't do it. Unless, what, you think she’s also blackmailing Belle, Scoots, Applejack, Pinkie, and Micro? Really? Applebloom’s the fuckin blog.”

“Oh please!” She drawls, stepping over to her sister. “You and I both know exactly how deep her tendrils can crawl, how complex her schemes can run, how much influence she has over people. Do you really think that my own sister would dig into Sunset’s phone, send them to herself, send them to Applebloom, and have her post my pictures? My personal, private pictures that I entrusted to her like a fool? You think my sister would invade my privacy like that? Then you really are as stupid as everyone says you are.”

“Rarity!” Pinkie yells.

Rainbow’s mouth falls open as she takes a step back. Her eyes glisten and her face darkens. She clenches her fists and seethes. She takes a step forward, but is held in place by Applejack.

“Don't!” She snaps. “Not here!”

“But she-”

“I know... grr, Sunset!”

Sunset walks on the coffee table to jump on Rainbow’s other side, helping contain her.

“The fuck is wrong with you?” Sunset growls at Rarity. “Why would you say that?”

Rarity rolls her eyes. “As if you're one to talk. Or have you so easily forgotten the past fall formal?”

Fluttershy stands. “That has nothing to do with Rainbow... I want you to leave.”

Rarity scoffs. “Very well then. Fluttershy, please accept my apologies for overstaying my welcome in your home. I will be waiting in the car. Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, let’s go.”

Rainbow stops struggling, and slumps her shoulders.

“Whore.”

Rarity freezes in her tracks.

Pinkie gasps, covering her mouth.

Fluttershy turns and gapes.

Applejack widens her eyes, and Sunset closes hers. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo push past and out the door.

“Well, Sunset...” Rarity whispers. “I hope you're proud of yourself.”

Rainbow rips out of Applejack’s loosened grip and hurls her keys just to the left of Rarity’s head.

“Fucking drive yourself home. I'll walk.”

Rarity takes a deep breath in and lets it out. “I ought to slap you. But that's what you want... isn't it? A fight? Whatever. I'll be waiting to accept your apology.”

Rainbow waits until Rarity picks up the keys and gently closes the door behind her. Then, she falls to her knees and begins sobbing.

The remaining four standing girls exchange glances between each other, Rainbow, and the door.

“Rainbow...” Fluttershy murmurs, coming down to her knees and pulling her crying friend’s face into her lap. “You shouldn't have said that... but she shouldn't have said that either. Stay here tonight.”

Applejack follows her down, and puts a hand on Rainbow’s back. “It'll be okay darlin’...”

Pinkie comes to Rainbow’s other side and offers support herself.

Sunset just sits down, her face a blank slate.

“Great...” she murmurs to herself. “Just great.” She glances at her arms and sighs.

‘If the car didn't miss... this wouldn’t have happened.’

/x/x/x/

Rarity stands with her arms crossed as the elevator brings the trio down to the parking basement. At her side stand Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, who simply hold hands and stare at the floor.

“The nerve...” she bitterly grumbles. “Call me a whore... she’s probably had more sex than I have. Walks around braless in crop tops. No shame in the girls locker room after gym. Wears yoga pants every day she can get away with. Just wants to show off her ass to all the boys. She's the slut.”

The elevator dings, and the three exit.

“Not my fault you've never had a sister you can trust. Not my fault you believe any lie that bitch spoonfeeds you. Not my fault you blamed my sister for something she wouldn't do... Sweetie, Scootaloo, go ahead and warm the car up, I'm too restless to drive, I need to pace a bit.”

She hands them the keys before continuing on past the dark blue SUV on down the parking lot. The two kids exchange a glance and so as they are asked.

Once inside the car, Sweetie Belle groans.

“What’s wrong?” Scootaloo asks.

“Applebloom’s gonna be grounded forever because of us...”

Scootaloo sighs. “Yeah, probably... what's worse is the plan kinda blew up in her face. Now AJ is gonna spend way more time with Sunset than before.”

“Right... and I don't really think you'll see Rainbow that much any more.”

“Eh, it's fine... I have you.”

“Pfft, whatever...”

“And hey, it worked well for you. You'll probably have all the time in the world you wanna spend with your sister.”

Sweetie hits her head against the window. “Yeah, I guess. I just feel bad that I'm the only one who benefits from the whole ordeal. And that Rainbow cried.”

“Rainbow’s strong, and she has friends. She’ll get over it. Besides, they're just low grades and a few mean names. She'll be fine. Nothing she hasn't been able to handle before.” Scootaloo flashes a confident smile. “And Applebloom will only be grounded for so long."

“You think she’ll forgive us?”

“Well duh. If she didn't, she'd have sold us out by now. She knows the risk. Problem is she cracked under the pressure. Of course Sunset was gonna try to hurt herself, but like, that car couldn't have been going more than twenty five on the street since they're all so icy. She'd have broken a few bones, maybe. It was just bad luck that Bloom was there when it happened.”

Sweetie leaned her head into her companion’s chest. “Yeah, I guess so... you don't think Rarity is suspicious?”

“Suspicious? Nah. If she was suspicious she’d have killed you. You're in the clear.”

“Still, I feel bad... you saw how she reacted in there. Plus, you weren't there when the photos got posted. She cried for hours. I feel like maybe that was going too far.”

Scootaloo shushed her and started stroking her hair. “It's fine, they're just underwear pics. Not like they were actual nudes. Man, lucky for you that Sunset doesn't know how to encrypt files on her phone, then we’d have been majorly effed. But you hit gold.”

“I don't know... Sunset looked pretty messed up. You don't think we went too far?”

“Really? Feeling bad for Sunset Shimmer? She's been an evil bully the entire time we’ve gone to school here. She's a jerk, and she deserves it. Even if she did end up dying.”

“Yeah...” Sweetie closed her eyes and snuggled in closer. “I guess you're right. Evil once, evil always.”

“That's my girl...” Scootaloo leans in and kisses her temple. “At least OUR secret will stay secret.”

Sweetie nods, smiling. “Love you.”

“Love you too.”

/x/x/x/
> 4- Smoldering
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

/x/x/x/

Rainbow’s sobs soon subside. She takes a few deep breaths and sits up, pulling herself from Fluttershy’s embrace. Pinkie and Applejack remove their arms from her back, and scooch away slightly to give her room. Sunset remains still on the couch.

“Sun...” Rainbow rasps, before wiping her eyes. “I really, really owe you an apology. Big time. A lot, actually.” She turns around, looking up, and places a hand on Sunset’s knee. “If what Applebloom says is true... and I believe her, now that there's solid hard evidence... then I guess I am pretty stupid after all.”

Sunset nods and leans forward, setting a hand over Rainbow’s. “No, not stupid. Given the circumstances I guess I understand your trepidation. If there's anything I'll let you get away with calling yourself, it's... reckless and hotheaded. And you talk without thinking. But not stupid.”

“Still... I just. Came in here guns blazing, and threatening to hurt you, and... fuck, I was a real bitch. Making fun of your cuts, and... jumping in front of a car. God, I can't believe I said those things...”

“It’s whatever,” Sunset murmurs, shoving down the burning sensation in her throat. “Heat of the moment.”

“Are you sure?” Rainbow asks, a pleading tone to her voice. “You really don't look like it's whatever.”

“I'm fine.” She snaps, before wincing and sighing. “Okay, no, I’m not fine. You really hurt me, Dash. I understand why, but... that's the problem. You don't trust me. I'm sick that you don't, but like, I get why you don't. I'm torn between expecting you to accept me because I guess that's what friends do, and forgiving your caution because I was horrible to you for so long. I don't know how I feel. I'm just so caught up in, in catching up to the fact that I'm here with you girls, that... I feel like it isn't real, almost.”

“It is real, sug,” Applejack murmurs, putting her hand on Sunset’s other knee. “I firmly believe that everyone in this room is here for ya, and ready to do what we can to get ya outta this mess. Right, girls?”

Pinkie firmly nods instantly, but Fluttershy hesitates.

“Shy?”

Fluttershy tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “I know that logically, Applebloom did it. There's the proof. But there's still that feeling that... maybe Rarity is right. I don't mean that she is right, just that there is a chance- no matter how teensy tiny- that you are Anon-a-Miss. But there's no denying that whether you did it or not, you hurt yourself. Bad. Which means that if you didn't do it then you didn't do it, but if you did do it, then you must feel awful about it, awful enough to try to take your own life. And that means you feel remorse, which means that there's hope for you. So whether you did it or not, I forgive you, and I'm willing to put it all behind us, and help you become the person that you deserve to be.”

Sunset gives a little smile at the speech. “Thank you Fluttershy... that really means a lot, despite the doubt. Maybe because of it. I just wish Rarity was the same way... but I guess in her mind I did hurt her horribly. And, like I told Applejack before, she just thinks we’re lying. I can only hope that she comes around soon, or the brats tell the truth...” her smile disappears. “The kids, I mean. I... ugh. I haven't called them that in months.”

“Trust me hun, brat ain't strong enough a word to describe what those varmints did to you. Strong enough’d be somethin’ I won’t say.”

“Bitches.” Rainbow offers.

“Well...” Applejack shrugs. “If the shoe fits.”

Pinkie sidles up next to Sunset on the couch, and puts her arms around the girl. “For the record, I’d always hoped that you weren't Anon-a-Miss. I wanted so bad that we’d find proof somehow that a secret-stealing ninja was stalking us and blaming you, or a big bundle of black magic took over your brain while you slept and made you do those things sleepwalking, or that all five of you were staging a really long and mean prank together, or any other explanation than you betraying our trust. But...” she sighs and pulls tightly. “No, there's no buts. I was a bad friend for not trusting you, and I hope one day you'll forgive me. Plus I was really really reeeeeally looking forward to our sleepovers at everyone’s house and now we can have them!”

Sunset offers a bittersweet smile and returns the embrace as best as she can. “I appreciate that, Pinkie... and honestly out of the five of you, you and Fluttershy did the least retaliation so you two are the least in need of apologizing... can't say the same about Rarity though.”

Fluttershy takes her other side. “Speaking of the sleepovers, why don't we have one tonight? Here. It's getting pretty dark, and Rarity might be waiting for Pinkie, if she hasn't left already...”

“She probably did,” Pinkie bluntly states. “I did kinda blow the lid open on her sister being in on the operation, and I did kinda admonish her for being mean to Dashie, and I did kinda annoy her a little bit on the way here in Dashie’s car, and-”

“Ah fuck!” Rainbow interrupts, standing up. “I gotta call my dad and tell him Rarity’s got the car. I'm gonna be... well I mean I'll be fine but they're gonna worry about me if I don't. Our dads can sort it out but they should know before it gets dark. Be back in a second.” She heads off to the hall before stopping for a second and turning around. “Sorry to interrupt you, Pink... and uh. Sorry for saying I was gonna throw you out the window, Sunset.”

Pinkie gives a thumbs-up, but Sunset hesitates. After a moment of deliberation she offers one as well. Seemingly satisfied, Rainbow nods and heads off into Fluttershy’s bedroom.

After she leaves, Applejack sidles forward and rests her elbows on Sunset’s knees. “Okay so Sunset, you are my number one priority right now. You understand that, right?”

She nods.

“Okay good. Now, while it's just the four of us, I gotta ask y'all. What in tarnation went down between those two? It just ain't like Rarity to off an’ insult Dash like that, even on her off days. And Rainbow... I ain't ever heard her talk so vulgar to her friends before. I'm concerned for ‘em both. Now, I just found out today that some lewd photos of Rarity got leaked in this whole business, so I can kinda understand why she's so on edge, but what about Rainbow?”

Sunset shrugs. “I know nothing about you girls this month beyond what you’ve posted on MyStable. Honestly I'm as lost as you are, but something’s gotta be wrong because she was digging up dirt from back before, when I actually was evil.”

“What kind of dirt?” Pinkie asks.

Applejack scratches the back of her neck. “The, uh. Bake sale incident. When she said the softball team was gonna come Saturday but they came Sunday instead.”

Pinkie puts a finger to her lips. “Well, on the way here, she did kinda seem a little flustered.”

“It's because she thought it was me,” Fluttershy murmurs. “She thought I was in trouble. So it's gotta be something else. I honestly couldn't tell you because she hasn't talked about anything like that with me recently. But I don't know why she’s acting like that. It was... scary.”

“Scary doesn't cover it,” Sunset replies. “I've never seen her talk or act so violent in such a long time. Probably since she, uh... figured out I planted weed in her locker.”

“I'd never heard that story,” Fluttershy says. “I do remember her being in trouble and having to be her alibi, but she didn't wanna talk about it. What exactly happened?”

The door in the hall opens, and Sunset exhales. “I'll text you later,” she says, before turning to face Rainbow.

She pockets her phone and leans against the wall. “Hondo’s gonna pick up my dad and they're gonna go to the bar. I forgot there was a game on tonight, completely slipped my mind. Then dad’s gonna drop him off and go home. Mom’s gonna be watching her soaps but she’ll feed Tank. So yeah, Fluttershy, I'll stay tonight like you said.”

“If I'm bein’ completely honest,” Applejack chimes. “I’d really prefer that both myself and Sunset not come anywhere close to my house for the sole reason of, one of us might try to kill my sister. Y'all mentioned earlier that we could have a sleepover here, you sure about that Fluttershy? I dunno ‘bout your parents or brother.”

“Oh, they’ll all be gone until tomorrow evening. Mom and dad are doing, whatever, and Zephyr is...” she sighs. “He's being an idiot. Like always. But I'm sure you all probably already knew that.”

“Harsh...” Sunset mutters.

“You ain't met Zeph,” Applejack chuckles. “He's as idiot as they come. The whiskey under the pantry is as smart as he gets.”

Rainbow’s ears perk up. “Whiskey?” She asks.

Sunset lets out a nervous laugh. “I needed a shot of liquid courage to steel myself for getting some peroxide an inch deep into my arm.”

“Oh, it wasn't that bad, ya big baby. How's your arms by the way?”

Sunset offers her limbs. “You'll have to check.”

Fluttershy politely excuses herself from the room as Applejack takes the longer gauze band. She unclips it and starts to unwind, ignorant of the guilty expression on Rainbow and the fearful one on Pinkie.

“Looks better,” she murmurs as some of the wounds reveal themselves. “Still hurt?”

“Eh, a little. Maybe a two? Three if you touch it.”

“I’ll take your word for it. Let’s leave the gauze on for a spell. Shower’s probably out of the picture but I said before, I’ll bathe ya. How’s the worse one?”

“Three, four if you touch it.”

Applejack unwinds the other arm, and winces. “Yup, these got infected. I'll put some ointment on ‘em and we’ll see how it does overnight. For now, at least you ain't bleedin’ anymore. Promise me you won't do nothin’ stupid like this again?”

Sunset was torn between being offended and agreeing, but leaned more towards the latter. “Yeah... promise you won't abandon me again?”

The two let out dark chuckles as they re-wrapped the bandages. It was only after they finished that they took notice of their company’s somber expressions.

“What?” Sunset asks.

Applejack pinches the bridge of her nose. “Right, I forgot to tell you, Pinkie. Sunset’s-”

“I know.” She whispers, resting her head on Sunset’s shoulder. “I... Fluttershy mentioned it earlier but I just didn't put two and two together. I didn't know it was that bad...”

“Hey, I’ll get better,” Sunset promises, taking Pinkie’s hand in her own. “I have you guys now.”

Pinkie nods, but Rainbow just shakes her head. “We shouldn't have let you get that bad in the first place... I'll get Fluttershy.” And with that she leaves the room again.

Sunset sighs and leans back. “Great, now you guys feel bad because I feel bad...”

“No, no,” Applejack shakes her head. “We feel bad because of our own mistakes and transgressions. That's guilt we’re entitled to. Your arms... that was you feeling bad because of lies and us believin’ them. Don't you feel bad for our feelings. You only need to focus on you. You are the important one here. The rest of us, we’ll get along fine. Right Pinkie?”

She nods, pulling closer. “Yeah...” she puts on a brave face and smiles. “Yeah, you're right AJ. We should be happy because Sunset and us are friends again!” She gasps. “I should throw a happy welcome back to the friend group party!”

Sunset smiles back, though it doesn't reach her eyes. “Yeah... you should do that, it sounds like a lot of fun... even though Rarity probably won't go.”

“If we give Rarity time I’m sure she’ll come around.” Applejack cracks her knuckles. “If she don't come around on her own, Sweetie Belle’s guilt will eventually burn her up inside and she’ll confess and corroborate my sister’s story. Once she admits to postin’ those pictures, Rarity won't have no reason to be mad atcha no more.”

“What if she doesn't?” Sunset asks.

“She will.” Applejack pats Sunset’s knee. “Belle n’ Bloom are two peas in a pod. Belle’s a good kid, despite her parents. She’ll empathize with Bloom’s punishment. She ain't the type to just let Bloom take the fall alone.”

Sunset sighs, but begrudgingly nods. “Fine, I’ll take your word for it, since you know them better than I ever will...” after a second she furrows her brows in confusion. “Wait, what do you mean despite her parents?”

Applejack never has the opportunity to answer because Rainbow enters the room again with Fluttershy in tow.

“We want pizza or Chineighse?” She asks, phone in one hand and wallet in the other. “I'm paying.”

/x/x/x/

Rarity pulls the driver door open with one hand, eyes glued to her phone in the other. She types out sentence fragments then deletes them over and over again. Eventually she huffs, murmurs ‘forget it’, and pulls herself up into the SUV.

“I see you two were cold,” she says, glancing at the two huddled kids in the back seat. “Tired, too.” They appear to be asleep.

“Can’t imagine you would be, after a day like today...” she sighs and adjusts the heater, the mirrors, the seat, the everything for a minute before finishing with her hair. She then buckles and turns on the radio.

“I FEEL MY SOUL GO COOOOOLD!” It screams, as she presses her palms to her ears. “ONLY THE DEAD ARE SMILIIIIING!”

“Oh for the love of-”

She cranks down the volume but yet another angry metal song assails her ears.

“THEY COME FOR ME!” It screams. “DISCOMFORTING!” The confused Rarity realizes she turned the tuning, not the volume. “THEY MAKE ME FEEL LIKE I’M ONE STEP AWAY FROM DOING IT!” Where the hell is the volume knob? “IM THROUGH WITH IT!” Damn this car to hell! “I CAN’T DO IT!” She finds it and cranks it down. “Can't get through it- CLICK!” And finally changes the station.

“Faust almighty!” She huffs, before turning back to see two very groggy preteens glaring at the radio. “Sorry.”

They merely grumble in response before settling back into their previous positions.

~enough to chill my bones, it feels like I don’t know you anymore, I don't understand why you're so~

“This song is so overplayed...” she murmurs, manually turning the dial to a different station she trusts not to have broken glass in a blender.

~dying is easy, it's living that scares me to death~

“Not exactly in the mood for that...”

~it feels like you don't love me anymore~

“Oh come on now, do you have to play the only songs I don't want to hear?”

~the coldest shoulder cast in metal, frozen to the bone~

Satisfied with the musical selection, Rarity puts the transmission into R and begins to back up into the admittedly spacious garage.

~to rely on hook, line, and sinker, what a sinker, sinking like a stone~

She pulls into D and begins the drive towards home.

~you'd be better off alone~

She frowns as the lyrics hit a little too close to home. She contemplates changing it again but decides to drown out the lyrics and simply focus on the upbeat melody and her own inner monologue.

“Admittedly, I shouldn't have called Rainbow stupid...” she mutters to herself. “That was certainly uncalled for, even if I’m defending my sister. There was no rational reason to resort to name-calling anyone other than the slimeball traitor responsible for the mess in the first place. It was a brief slip of judgment but honestly can you blame me? My head just wasn't in the right place... I'll certainly have to apologize. More than just words though, I’ll have to buy her a gift. But what to buy? Food? Concert tickets?” She sighs.

“Heh, right, concert tickets. I don't even listen to rock and roll, let alone metal. Maybe I'll ask Scootaloo. She knows what bands Rainbow Dash listens to. In due time...” she cracks her neck and adjusts her grip on the steering wheel. “Surely she’ll apologize for calling me a... trollop. It isn't like her to say that off-hand. Surely she only said that because I insulted her intelligence. I don't hold that against her. I do expect an apology though and I feel I deserve one in return. None of us are thinking clearly right now. In a few days surely S... Sun... done... grunt? Bitch queen will slip up and everyone will see her as the lying cheating thieving scheming conniving fraud I know she is.” She huffs.

“Oh, Applebloom saw her attempt suicide. Oh, she was sad and depressed. Oh, Micro said the wifi signal of the IP router came though Applejack’s playbox three thousand. Oh, Sweetie Belle texted her and said she lied about something. Pfft. As if Sunset wouldn't use them as pawns in her sick game to get back at us. Ever think that maybe Sunset told them to lie bad on purpose? Ever think that maybe Sunset wants to turn us against our own sisters? Ever think about that, Applejack? Gullible, gullible, gullible!” She grits her teeth and smacks the steering wheel with each ‘gullible’, then sighs.

“Well I suppose that's dumber than trusting her with those pictures. Creator, Rainbow isn't the dumb one, I am. Oh Rarity I don't know how to buy girls’ underwear, please show me how. Oh, I don't understand, it's just so hard. I'm a horse and I don't wear clothes. How do I know what size it is? Oh it's okay says boo boo the fool, I’ll just show you and give visual references for measuring sizes. Here, take this gun and six bullets! Here, aim them at my head! Here, have some photos of me in my bra and panties, no way can you abuse that! Here, take this and post them all over the internet so every horndog in a fifty mile radius can wank off to you! You stupid bitch!” By the end she is screaming, foot practically to the floor on the gas.

“And now let me take your friends away from you! Great! Fantastic! Wonderful! How can this possibly get any worse!?”

Suddenly she sees some flashing red and blue lights through the back window.

“Oh, SON OF A-”

/x/x/x/

“Alright, we’ll take an extra large pepperoni, an extra large meat lovers supreme, and an extra large vegan veggie delight, some crazy bread sticks, a dozen wings, one two-liter each of mountain fizz, diet mountain fizz, sunshine cola, and whatever the spring water is that you got- okay yeah, glacier freeze, that, and um. You guys want garlic, cheese, ranch, or marinara? You know what, screw it, I’ll take two of each. No, three. And. Hm. Brownie or cookie... both. Yes, a fudgalicious chocolate brownie and a carnival sized chocolate chip cookie-zza. You got all that, Flash? Mhmm? Yeah, I trust you. My total is... oh dear lord. Eh. Yeah that's fine. I'm at Fluttershy’s. Yeah, we’re having a sleepover. You know the address? Good. See you in an hour. No, look, don't strain yourse- okay fine, see you in half an hour, but I swear if you crash your car because of me I am gonna shove your guitar so far up your ass you’ll be belching power chords, got me? No, that's not a threat, that's a promise. Heh. See you when I see you, buddy. Bye. Alright girls, pizza’s ordered... what's with the faces?”

Rainbow pockets her phone as she looks back at Fluttershy, Sunset, Pinkie, and Applejack giving her suggestive looks.

“What?” She asks again.

“I'm tellin’ Twilight you’re mackin’ on her man.” Applejack says with a wink.

“What?” Rainbow asks again, in a slightly different and more muted tone.

“So when is FlashDash gonna be a thing?” Pinkie asks. “That's right, I already coined the ship name.”

“What.” Rainbow asks again, except more of a say than an ask because of the inflection.

“You two would honestly be really cute together,” Fluttershy murmurs, pressing her forefingers against each other. “You both like the guitar, after all...”

“Oh come on!” Rainbow huffs and eyes Sunset. “Alright, your turn. What do you wanna say to make fun of me?”

Sunset shrugs. “I don't know, sounds like you just ordered pizza from someone who happens to be your friend. Dunno what these girls are all about.”

Applejack leans forward to lock eyes with her. “Really?” She asks. “You don't think judgin’ by that conversation Rainbow don’t got the hots for mister Sentry?”

“Well... no.”

“I don't wanna fuck Flash!” Rainbow defends, stamping her foot down. “I don't even like... him.”

Pinkie cocks her head to the side. “Why not?” She asks. “He's cute and fun and talented and nice and wait a minute is it because he likes Twilight?”

Rainbow puts a hand out towards her. “Bro are you guys seriously gonna say I'm the one who likes Flash when the first word Pinkie uses to describe him is the word cute?”

“Pinkie describes everyone as cute,” Fluttershy points out. “You, me, Applejack, Sunset, Principal Celestia, Disciplinarian Tirek, the really nice janitor everyone says is weird, Mister and Missus Cake, Angel, Winona, even random strangers.”

“Well duh,” Pinkie says. “Everyone’s cute in their own way. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If I dug Flash I’d say he was sexy because booty is in the eye of the holder. But uh. I don't think Flash is sexy. I'd be his friend though!”

“Well, Sunset,” Applejack begins to ask. “Why don't you think Rainbow likes Flash?”

Sunset blinks a few times before giving the farmer a confused glance. “Because Rainbow doesn't go after that type?”

“Thank you!” Rainbow blinks. “Wait, what type of guy do I go after?”

Sunset rolls her hands. “Well, I mean. You know. None of them.”

Rainbow freezes, and Sunset immediately purses her lips, eyes wide.

The room is silent.

After a moment, Pinkie coughs.

“Well none of the guys at CHS are in the same league as our Dashie,” she says, pointing at the ceiling. “Except maybe Soarin’, but everypony knows Soarin’ doesn't feel that way about Dashie. Especially after... oh, uh. Sorry Sunset, we’re not supposed to talk about stuff you did before.”

“I can't say the guys at Crystal Prep are any better,” Applejack adds. “They're all a bunch of pretentious idiots. Except for the one who’s datin’ the Dean. Shiny Armor? Somethin’ like that. So, what, you go after college boys, Dash? Farmers? Professional athletes? Gamers? Musicians?”

“Girls,” Fluttershy curtly interrupts, drawing surprised glances. “Rainbow is uncomfortable with the conversation. Let’s change the subject, okay?”

Applejack and Pinkie both see that she's telling the truth, and nod. “Sorry,” they both say in unison.

“Thanks Fluttershy...” Rainbow murmurs. “Anyway, uh, Sunset? Can I chat with you in the kitchen for a second?”

Sunset nods and stands, following her over. Fluttershy begins to tell them something about how Rainbow had an ex-boyfriend once that broke up with her or something, but Sunset doesn't hear the individual words. Instead she kicks herself for almost letting it slip.

“Dash, I’m sorry-”

“Suns, no, I’m sorry.”

Sunset blinks. “Come again?”

Rainbow shakes her head and leans in closer, whispering. “I should've known you weren't Anon-a-Miss from the start. I really am an idiot.”

Sunset blinks again. “We’re past that, I thought.”

“No, you don't understand. I just realized that, like. You know about me. You're like the only one who knows right now, besides Fluttershy. If you really were Anon-a-Miss, you'd have used that instead of my grades. But I never talked to you about my grades, just to Fluttershy and Scootaloo. Right?”

“O...kay?” Sunset replies, not exactly following. “What does what me knowing about have to do with Anon?”

Rainbow exhales out her nose. “Anon-a-Miss’ plans were to expose us all for our deepest and darkest secrets, right? If you really were evil, then you'd tell everyone that I was actually gay. Make sense?”

Sunset bites her lip and looks away. “I see...” she looks back. “You realize that even when I knew I was still evil, I didn't tell anyone? Even though it could have worked, and I could have gotten my hands on the role of Team Captain more easy?”

It is now Rainbow’s turn to blink, and she leans against the counter. “Huh... never thought of that before. Well... why not?”

“Why not?” Sunset asks, putting her arms out. “What do you mean why not? I'm not gonna out you. That'd be incredibly disrespectful and just, you know, beyond evil. I wanted power through legitimate means, psychological warfare and bugs, spies, wiretaps, intel, not through bigotry. I was an evil asshole, not- oh wait I see, no, you're right, that makes sense.” She nods and puts her hands on her hips. “Okay look, I’m only telling you this because it's relevant, but I had relationships with both mares and stallions in Equestria. It's pretty normal over there for mares to be in relationships with other mares because the population is like three quarters female. Princess Celestia herself had some female consorts in the past-”

“Celestia’s gay?” Rainbow asks.

“She prefers the label omnisexual but... basically. I don't know what that means about this world’s Celestia. Anyway, it doesn't matter, the point is, that... liking girls is something that I take for granted, even though it's not quite as widely accepted as it is here in the human world. And I fucked up just now, when I almost accidentally outed you to the others. And I wanna apologize for that.”

Rainbow nods somberly. “Apology accepted, but it's fine. You didn't say too much. And honestly, I feel like everyone would be fine with it. AJ isn't the type to judge people based on their sexuality. Uh, Pinkie’s parents are super anti, but like. Pinkie is Pinkie. And Fluttershy already knows, she’s always known. There's probably more she knows about me than things she doesn’t know. I'm the one who should be sorry for just assuming you would be an anti gay asshole when you were evil.”

“You don't gotta-”

“Then neither of us have anything to be sorry for. No blood no foul. We good?” She asks, putting her hand forward.

Sunset nods, smirks, and takes Rainbow’s hand in her own. “We’re good.”

“Cool.”

Rainbow’s phone starts to ring.

“Hold on, lemme take th- Rarity.”

Sunset puts an eyebrow up. “Rarity’s calling you?”

Rainbow rolls her eyes. “She shouldn't be talking on the phone when she’s driving my dad’s car. She knows better than that. Whatever, I'll send her to voice mail. I don't wanna talk to her right now anyway. If it's important enough, she’ll text.”

/x/x/x/

“Pick up, you daft idiot! Ugh, I swear, of all the days to leave my purse at home...”

“Ma’am,” the police officer coughs, and moves his chewing gum to the other side of his mouth. “Ya know she can't hear you if she didn't answer.”

Rarity huffs. “Yes, officer, I’m aware. But I’m sure you can imagine the level of stress I’m under.”

“I'll bet,” he says, glancing down at the pad of paper in his hands. “Speeding, reckless driving, driving without a valid license on hand, driving without proof of insurance, and all this without any proof of ID. Oh hey,” he writes something else down. “The headlights are off too.”

Rarity’s eye twitches.

“Do you mind if I send a text instead?”

He shrugs, and adjusts his sunglasses. “You can send whatever you want... hmm.” He gazes at her over the rims. “Have we met before?”

Rarity clacks away at her phone. “No sir, I don't believe we have.”

He blinks, then leans back and puts his thumb and forefinger to his chin. “You wouldn't happen to be an underwear model, would you?”

Rarity sighs. “I’m going to kill Sunset. I am literally going to murder her.”

The cop cocks an eyebrow. “For your sake I’m gonna pretend I didn't hear that. I'm gonna have enough paperwork processing your ticket as it is, don't wanna add threats or conspiracy to commit murder too.”

“No, no, we wouldn't want that, now would we... dammit Rainbow Dash will you pick up the bloody phone!”

/x/x/x/

“Oh for the love of...” Rainbow pulls her phone back out of her pocket and glares at the vibrating device.

Please answer.
It's important.
Rainbow please.
I'm serious.
I need you.
Answer your damn phone!
I require your assistance!
Please!
Rain.
Bow.
Dash.
Omg.

Rainbow huffs and literally turns the device off, gently tossing it onto the kitchen table. The screen turns black a split second after the final message.

RAINBOW THE POLICE PULLED ME OVER AND I NEED YOU TO TELL THEM THAT I DIDNT STEAL THE CAR SO I DONT GET A TICKET!

“Unbelievable,” Rainbow mutters. “She's even texting and driving. That's just reckless and irresponsible.”

“Seriously?” Sunset asks. “With the kids in the car?”

“I know!” Rainbow nods her head and walks back into the living room. “People these days...”

/x/x/x/

Rarity fumes at her phone.

“So uh,” the cop says, chewing loudly. “Do you have any proof that this, uh, ‘Rainbow Dash’,” he says with air quotes. “Gave you the keys to Mister Hot Hoof’s ride?”

Rarity grits her teeth. “No.”

Scootaloo leans forward from the back. “Does it count for anything if I said that we were there?”

Sweetie Belle scratches her head. “Didn't we leave before that happened?”

Rarity slumps her shoulders, then slams her forehead into the steering wheel, accidentally honking the horn.

The cop blinks. “Now that was just unnecessary.”

/x/x/x/

Rainbow sprawls out on the loveseat, and Sunset takes her place back on the couch between Pinkie and Fluttershy.

“Rarity’s texting me nonstop,” Rainbow says with a sigh. “Texting while driving is the one thing you're not supposed to do, especially with kids in the car, and double especially when it's not even your car!”

“Seriously?” Applejack asks. “That's just... does she do that when Bloom’s riding with her?”

“Hope not.”

“What about y’all?” She asks. “She ever text n’ drive in her own car?”

Pinkie nods, then reconsiders. “Well, I've never ridden in her car.”

“She did once,” Fluttershy murmurs. “But it was at a red light so it doesn't really count.”

Applejack’s phone buzzes, and she checks it. “It's Rarity.” She clicks away for a second before setting it back down. “I told her to quit textin’ and drivin’.”

“What did it say?” Fluttershy asks.

“It said, uh... tell Rainbow to answer her... blanking phone, before she shoves it... somewhere that I ain't apt to repeat.”

“Wooooow,” Rainbow puts her hands behind her head and her legs up on the couch back. “Bet she texts Fluttershy next.”

A faintly audible buzz comes from Fluttershy’s bedroom.

“Called it.”

/x/x/x/

“This is ridiculous...” Rarity texts Pinkie, fruitlessly. She contemplates texting Sunset but simply goes to the home screen and opens the phone app.

“Look, uh... ma’am.” The officer slips his notepad back on his belt. “I’ve been patient, and at first this was kind of amusing. But now... you know, it's cold out here, and it's almost the end of my shift, and I wanna get dinner before I go home. Everything’s gonna be closed. So I really need you to get in contact with Bow Hot Hoof within the next thirty seconds or I’m afraid that a ticket is gonna be the least of your problems tonight. Because if I don't eat dinner...” he puts his sunglasses up into his dark blue hair. “I get real hangry.”

“Look, officer, I’m terribly sorry,” she says as she scrolls to her dad’s name. “I really don't mean to inconvenience you in such a way but there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for this. My friends and I were all at one of our apartment, and we had a bit of an... altercation. And Rainbow Dash, Bow Hot Hoof’s daughter, told me to drive myself home. They're all a bit upset with me, and that's why they're ignoring my texts...” she dials and puts the phone to her ear. “I swear, my father is close friends with Bow, and he can back me up that I'm trustworthy!”

The cop appears unimpressed. “If I had a nickel for every time I've heard this story, I could afford to send my oldest to art school. If your dad doesn't answer the phone, we’re gonna have a problem.”

“Um...” Sweetie Belle leans forward. “Rarity?”

“Not right now!” She snaps. “Sit down.”

“Rarity, dad’s at the bar right now!”

Rarity blinks. “You're fucking joking right now.”

“It's Thursday... buckball night.”

Rarity sighs as her phone goes to voicemail. “Great.” She drops the device on the passenger seat. “And I don't even have Bow’s number. Scootaloo, please tell me that you know it.”

Scootaloo coughs. “Uh. I have it written down... in my address book... at your house.”

Rarity groans and presses her palms to her temples. “Why does the universe hate me so this night.”

The officer pulls his hand to his belt, specifically to a set of two silver rings. “Alright, you know what, by the time we’re done here it's already gonna be too late. So if I'm not gonna have a nice night, then neither will you three delinquents. This has gone on far enough. Ma’am, I’m gonna need you to step out of the car.”

She nods. “No, please don't do this.”

He shifts his weight to the other foot, and spits his gum out into the road. “I would really prefer if you came willingly.”

Rarity lets out a single sob, but keeps her breathing under control.

“Please.”

The cop turns around as headlights turn the corner. He turns back and places his other hand on his taser. “Cooperate, or we will do this the hard way. This is your last chance.”

The dam breaks and Rarity closes her eyes as her mascara begins to run. She unbuckles, opens the door, and steps down, all without opening her eyes.

“Thank you kindly. Now, place your hands on the roof of the car.”

She complies, refusing to open her eyes.

“I'm assuming you don't have any weapons on you?”

“...no.”

“Now that, I believe. Ahem. You have the right to remain silent...” he takes one wrist and pulls it behind her, clicking on half of the bracelet. “Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law.” He pulls the other one down, fully restraining her. “You have the right to an attorney-” the passing car suddenly brakes, skidding slightly. “Stupid fucking kids... wait- wait a minute, that's MY kid!”

“Dad!?” A familiar voice cries out.

Rarity gasps and turns around. “Flash!” She cries.

Flash Sentry steps out of his running car, donned in his work uniform, a pizza delivery outfit. “Dad,” he says, stepping over to the officer. “Dad, what's going on, what happened?”

“He thinks I stole Rainbow’s car!” Rarity cries, stepping towards her hopeful savior. “Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are in the back seat, I’m driving them home. I can't get a hold of anyone, and I can't prove that I didn't steal the car!”

“Flash,” the cop ambles forward and takes Rarity’s shoulder in one hand. “You know this girl?”

“Yeah, dad, she’s a close friend. What’d you pull her over for!?”

“Speeding. Oh, and headlights.”

“Those are just ticketable offenses- oh, whatever. What’s she being arrested for? Stealing the car?”

The cop rolls his head. “Well...”

“Alright Rare, lemme call Dash. Okay? Can I do that, Dad?”

He sighs. “No. No, that's not necessary. I trust you, son. So, this girl’s a friend of yours, she goes to CHS?”

“Yeah, she’s friends with Rainbow Dash too. The kids in the backseat, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are best friends, Belle’s Rarity’s sister and Scoot is Rainbow’s shadow, basically sisters. And their dads are drinking buddies.”

The cop nods somberly. “Alright. Alright. I can see that this is all just one big misunderstanding. My bad.” He unlocks the cuffs and takes a step back as Rarity embraces Flash. “I'm still gonna have to ticket you, but I won't take you to jail.”

Rarity doesn't respond, as she’s too busy soaking Flash’s shoulder. Flash awkwardly sets his hands on her back.

“Flash, drive safe. Miss Rarity... I'll just leave the ticket on the front seat. No more speeding, no more reckless driving, and for pete’s sake turn the damn headlights on when it's dark out!”

“She gets it, dad. I'll see you tomorrow.”

He nods and heads back to his car, leaving the two teens in the middle of the frozen street.

“Thank you...” she whispers. “Thank you.”

“Jesus Rare, why are you speeding in the dead of winter without your lights on!?” He admonishes, firmly but gentle. “And with the kids in the car?”

She nods.

The cop honks his horn, prompting Flash and Rarity to step towards his car.

“And anyway,” he adds. “Why aren't you with the girls? Draw the short straw or something?”

Rarity wipes her face with her sleeve, further smearing her makeup, though she is far past the point of caring anymore. “How...” she sniffs. “How do you know the girls are together? It's Thursday.”

“Well, Rainbow just ordered a shit-ton of pizza, about enough for five starving teenagers plus leftovers for a week. That's why I was able to come by here. I assumed you were with them but then I saw my dad arresting you in front of Rainbow’s car. Had to stop, can't just leave you like that. So what gives?”

She nods again and huffs at the bitter night air. “Well apparently,” she spits. “Applebloom and her friends were Anon-a-Miss, and Sunset was innocent all along. So now they're best friends with Sunset again, and when I called them out on falling for the same old trick as always, they drove me out of the apartment. Rainbow Dash called me a whore.”

Flash blinks. “Are you fucking for real?” He asks. “Sunset said Sweetie Belle posted your, uh... the pictures?”

“Well... no... Applejack said that.”

“What.”

“Applejack said that Applebloom said that she saw Sunset try to kill herself earlier today, which is of course a lie, and then she confessed to being the real Anon-a-Miss, and Pinkie said that Micro said that the blog’s wifi was from Applejack’s playbox five thousand or whatever, but... my sister wouldn't do that. So obviously Sunset is manipulating them into lying to cover for her and take the fall, and now Sunset is trying to reap the rewards of our friendship while destroying our relationships with our siblings.”

Flash purses his lips. “Well... Sunset did kinda try to jump in front of my car earlier today.”

This time Rarity blinks and says “What.”

He scratches his head. “Well, she also might've slipped. But she could've jumped. Anyway I really wasn't going fast enough to seriously injure her if I did hit her, but like. Imagine how ironic it would be if I ran over my evil ex-girlfriend. Explain that away in court. Manipulative sociopathic bitch... oh well. Anyway, if that was a real suicide attempt it was a pretty pathetic one. Hm...” he pauses in thought. “I have a theory, actually... look. I'll keep in touch with you, okay? But tonight, just get home safe.”

“I will... thank you.”

“It's whatever. Anyone would've done it. Just be careful, okay?”

“Okay. Goodbye, Flash.”

He nods. “I'll text you when I get home. We’ll talk about how to get your friends back.”

She nods in return. “I appreciate you.”

He offers a thumbs up and gets back in his car, before continuing on his way.

/x/x/x/

Sunset had excused herself to the bathroom. When asked if she’d needed any help she’d said she could handle peeing by herself, thank you very much. All in all it was easy, as she didn't have to bend her arms very much. Presently she dries her hands and looks at herself in the mirror.

Her eyes are bloodshot, clearly a product of all the sleep she hadn't been getting. Her hair is a frizzy unkempt mess, hair sticking out in every direction. Dark bags sit under her eyelids, as if someone punched her in the face. Honestly she feels as if such happened regardless. Her lips are chapped and cracked, and dry as hell.

She sighs and tries to smile. It's fake. Hollow. A shell. She sets her face neutral again and sighs.

“I look terrible...” she mutters, before splashing some water on her face. She looks back up and more of the same, except now she’s wet. The water soaks through the gauze in places but she pays it no heed. She grips the ceramic of the sink top and glares at the drain. A few very pale brown drops spackle it.

She screws her eyes shut and counts to ten.

When she opens her eyes, she feels no different than she did before.

“Stupid Celestia...” she murmurs, shaking her head. “Didn't work then, doesn't work now.” She looks back up and sees herself as a pony again. She reaches a hoof forward and touches herself through the mirror. It holds for a moment, before shimmering away and fading back to her human form.

Except now there are fresh tears on her cheeks.

“I... I wanna come home now...”

She is interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Y'all okay, Suns?” Applejack asks, voice muffled slightly by the wood.

Sunset quickly splashes some more water on her face before pulling the door open.

“I'm fine,” she says, fake smile affixed again. “Got my gauze a little wet but otherwise I'm okay.”

“That’s good... glad to hear it.” Applejack returns the smile. “Come on, Pinkie wants us to vote on what movie we’ll watch.”

“Sounds fun!” Sunset takes a step out the door, takes one final glance at the mirror, and pulls it closed.

/x/x/x/
> 5- Glow
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

/x/x/x/

Sunset and Applejack walk out into the living room together. The other girls are sitting on the couch, hunched over a laptop. It's pale yellow and has a pink butterfly decal on the back, as well as a small rectangle with red, yellow, and green stripes. It sits in Fluttershy’s lap, sandwiched between Pinkie and Rainbow.

“We gotta do a comedy so Sunny’s in a better mood quicker,” Pinkie whispers.

“Nah,” Rainbow murmurs. “It's gotta be a mindless action movie so she feels empowered and stuff, and distract her from mood in general.”

Fluttershy taps her chin. “What about a horse girl movie? Or, wait, would she find that racist?”

Sunset chuckles softly. “Girls, go ahead and watch whatever you want. I won't care what kind of movie it is as long as I watch it with you...” she pauses as a thought strikes her. “Although I do kinda like sci-fi.”

Applejack shakes her head. “Y'all ain't got no love for westerns... sad.”

“Sci fi?” Rainbow asks, putting her arm on the couch back. “Excuse me for asking but, why? Do they even have science over there in horseland?”

“Equestria...” Sunset kneels to the ground in front of Pinkie’s legs. “But, I mean, yeah. Science is just a system of asking questions about how the world works and figuring out ways to answer those questions. Our Magic is a lot like your physics and chemistry and stuff. There are rules, regulations, limits. Coming here for the first time, there was stuff everywhere beyond what I could ever hope to imagine. Computers, television, refrigerators, I was completely lost. When I did research on human culture and customs, I watched alien movies and thought they were documentaries, heh... so I have a place in my heart for those.”

“Aliens?” Applejack plops down in the loveseat across the room. “That sounds fun.”

Rainbow shrugs. “Sounds cool.”

Pinkie pats Sunset’s head with one hand and gives a thumbs-up with the other.

With a resolute nod, Fluttershy types ‘alien’ into the search bar and clicks the first result that comes up. “There. I'll let it download and it should be ready by the time we all get dressed.” She leans forward and sets the computer on the coffee table, an ominously-glowing green egg emblazoned in the center above the progress bar. “Aww, what an adorable little egg. Do we get to see it hatch?”

Sunset nods. “Yeah, the series goes pretty in depth about their breeding patterns, evolution, and feeding. It's pretty interesting. I've seen the movie a dozen times probably, and it never gets old.”

Pinkie squints her eyes at the screen as she tries to shake the feeling that this might be a very bad idea. Luckily she is distracted by a knock at the door.

“I'll get it,” Rainbow says as she walks to the door. She opens it as Sunset stands up. “Hey pizzaman, you're at thirty five minutes.”

Flash returns her jab with an empty stare. “My apologies for the delay. Traffic.”

Rainbow blinks as her smile melts slightly. “Hey, I'm not actually upset with you. I'm just glad you got here in one piece. Lemme grab that for ya...”

She takes the plastic bags of soda from his hand, handing them off to Applejack, then reaches for the smaller stack of boxes. Sunset steps over to take them.

“Hey, Sentry...” she greets, cautiously. “Haven't seen you in a bit.”

“Shimmer.” His voice is curt. “I see Rarity was right. You are back in the friend group.”

Rainbow cocks an eyebrow and takes the boxes in her hands. “Y... yeah. You talked to Rarity just now?”

He pulls the larger boxes out of their crimson nylon sleeve. “Oh yeah, we had a great conversation. She was getting arrested, luckily the officer doing it is my dad or, heh, she'd be goin’ to jail right now.”

An unpleasant wave of awkward silence passed over the girls.

“Oh, you didn't know?” He asked, a mocking inflection creeping into his voice. “Oh, well I guess I'm the bearer of bad news... I guess your phones are just all dead or something.”

“Back up,” Rainbow interjects, handing off the boxes to Pinkie. “What’s up with Rarity?”

Flash huffs. “Dad thought she stole the car since her ID didn't match the registration and for some reason she couldn't reach you. Any of you. So yeah I pulled up right as she was getting cuffed and I guess she's lucky that you ordered when you did. But that isn't any of my business. I need you to sign this,” he finishes, offering the receipt.

Fluttershy rushes off to her room as the others glance around at each other. Rainbow signs the paper, filling out a substantial tip. Sunset hides her face behind her hair.

“Thanks for the delivery...” Rainbow leans against the door. “Oh, and Flash, Sunset-”

“Yeah, she isn't Anon a Miss...” he stuffs the signed receipt into his pocket and gathers his things. “So I heard. Enjoy your food.” He turns on his heel and heads down the hallway out of sight.

Rainbow slowly clicks the door closed with her foot.

“So... did anyone know his dad’s a cop?” She asks.

“That ain't the point, Dash.”

Fluttershy steps back into the living room, phone pressed to her ear. Her eyes are wide and her breathing comes in short bursts. Pinkie comes to her side, setting a hand on her shoulder.

“Rarity?” Fluttershy asks, voice trembling.

“Oh, hello Fluttershy,” Rarity’s voice responds through the device, sickly sweet. She comes out on speaker. “So glad to know your phone works.”

“Flash told us what happened. Are you okay?”

“Me?” She laughs, not a care in the world. “Oh, I’m absolutely delightful, dear. Made it home safe and sound. I'm just wonderful. You know how the post anxiety attack adrenaline just makes everything feel nice? It's just fantastic. Wouldn't you agree?”

Rainbow steps to the phone’s other side, hands now clear as she’d deposited the boxes on the table.

“Rare, you don't gotta be sarcastic-”

“Rainbow? Oh, Fluttershy, you had me on speaker, didn't you. That means all five of you can hear me. Isn't that swell? Anyway, I want to thank all of you for completely stonewalling me when I had an emergency of my own. But I guess that Sunset takes precedence over me. You know, the Sunset who terrorized us all for years? That one.”

Applejack slips the phone out of Fluttershy’s hands. “Okay, we get it, we messed up. We’re sorry. But you know you coulda had your sister or Scootaloo text us instead-”

“Excellent idea Applejack!” Rarity cuts, laying down a sickly sweet tone. “Why don't I have the girls who released our secrets to the world contact you. That would go over well. You wouldn't just assume that everything they said was a lie- oh wait, you would do that, wouldn't you!?”

“Alright, so what if we would? How many times didja message Rain and not once did you actually mention the entirety of the situation instead of just beggin’ her to call you, knowin’ full well that she hates talkin’ on the phone? ‘Specially after callin’ her stupid.”

“I never- I didn't call her stupid, I merely said that IF she believed my sister posted my... things, then she would be as stupid as people call her, only in that instance.”

“Semantics.” Applejack pinches the bridge of her nose. “Irregardless, she called ya a slut and threw a ring o’ keys at your head. Do you really think she was in the mood to look at any messages from you and not literally any of the rest of us here?”

“First of all, darling, it’s regardless. Irregardless is not a word. Second of all, she called me a whore, not a slut. Still, admittedly that is indeed semantics and I won't dispute that point. But Rainbow Dash is the one who had the information that Officer Sentry needed so I could take the precious cargo home. So sorry I wasn't thinking clearly in this extremely stressful situation! My mistake!”

Pinkie reaches a hand out, silently asking for the phone. Applejack gently hands it over, biting her knuckles.

“Rarebear?” She asks.

Rarity is silent for a moment. “Pinkie. What would you like to say?”

“I...” Pinkie takes a breath. “Why didn't you text me? You did Rainbow, AJ, and Fluttershy...”

“What?” She sputters for a moment. “But I did! I sent you a- here, I'll even take a screenshot and send it to you. Right... oh.” She says nothing for a short time. “I never hit send. I'm terribly sorry dear, I didn't mean to not message you. That was one hundred percent my mistake.”

Pinkie nods, solemnly. “Dashie thought you were texting and driving. So did AJ. Fluttershy’s phone was in her room, and... I had my phone out the whole time, waiting to see if it was an emergency or something. Because I know you wouldn't put the girls or Dashie’s car in danger. It isn't because we were mad at you, so there was no reason for you to act like that towards us. Besides, even if you're right and Sunset is still an evil meanie head, you still took your anger out on your friends. I think that you owe them an apology.”

Rarity groans. “Yes, yes... right. Fluttershy. What I said was completely tactless and insensitive to you, and I'm sorry. Truly. Applejack. I was just argumentative and rude, and you didn't deserve that. My anger is with Sunset and Rainbow, not with the rest of you. Please forgive my transgress.”

Applejack and Fluttershy nod.

“We accept your apology...” Pinkie frowns. “Do you wanna say anything to Dashie and Sunny?”

“No, not particularly.”

Rainbow ambles over and takes the phone.

“Rare.”

“Rainbow.”

“I'm sorry I called you a whore. Especially because of what everyone says to you now. I was mad at you but you're my friend and I shoulda treated you better.”

Rarity sighs. “I accept your apology, Rainbow, as I know you were partially motivated by my insult to you. I'd like to apologize for that now, free of any excuses. I wish to put the unpleasantness of this afternoon behind us, because I do of course care about you girls.”

Rainbow glances over to Sunset, who is still standing at the front door holding the smaller boxes.

“Apology accepted...” Rainbow steps over and puts her free hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “And look, about Sunset-”

“I would prefer not to discuss her at the moment. Or at all. I would still like to have a friendship with the rest of you but I'm afraid that you'll have to schedule time with her separately from time with me. And as for the kids, they don't want to see or hear from any of you right now. I hope we can all be professional about this.”

Rainbow pulls the phone from her ear and grunts.

“Professional!?” She mouths, shaking the phone as she jerks her arms around in rage. After a moment she composes herself and brings the device back to her ear. “I understand. And I think the rest of us do too. I just wish things didn't end up this way.”

“Me too, Rainbow. Me too.”

Rainbow hands the phone back to its owner, before returning to Sunset’s side. She tenderly leads her friend over to the table to relieve the burden, and hugs her from the back.

“Rarity...” Fluttershy takes a breath. “I need to be perfectly honest right now. Rainbow didn't speak for all of us when she said we understand. I can't in good conscience continue to be friends with you if you can't understand that Sunset is not Anon-a-Miss. So until such time passes...” she lets out a quiet sob. “Please just... consider me someone who goes to your school. And nothing more.”

“Flut...” A shuddering gasp comes in through the line. “Please don't do this to me.”

“To you?” Fluttershy wipes her eyes. “You're doing this to yourself. Sunset is innocent. Despite all of the proof in front of you, despite Applebloom’s confession, despite Sweetie Belle’s thinly veiled lying, despite Pinkie Pie and Micro Chips’ discoveries, despite Sunset’s scars and mental welfare, despite the fact that Anon-a-Miss posted things about everyone except for the kids, you're still blaming Sunset for the invasion of your privacy even though deep down you know that she didn't do this. I am so, so disappointed in you. And...”

She puts the phone down and wipes her eyes again, but can't bring herself to say anything else through the tears. She hands the phone to Pinkie and falls into Applejack’s arms.

“Rarebear it’s me... did you get all that?”

Silence on the line.

“Rarity?”

“Yes, dear... I got it. I'm sure she can text me the rest of her reasoning later. I'll leave you five to your sleepover.” She sighs. “Enjoy your pizza.”

Click!

Quiet would settle over the girls but a nearby train rolls by, rattling the floor slightly. Its horn pierces the black night air.

/x/x/x/

Rarity slumps her shoulders and drops the phone onto her bedroom floor.

She falls to the side, laying her head just short of the pillows on her bed. She turns over and pulls her knees into her chest. She has no energy to cry properly, but tears begin to stream out of their own accord.

Her throat closes, like a piece of aluminum foil rolled into a ball. Her veins turn to ice as her heart drops through the floor. Her belly squirms, pulling at her heartstrings.

The small lamp on the desk casts a black shadow on the wall, and Rarity hides herself inside of it.

Outside her bedroom door, Sweetie Belle pulls the cup away.

“She's crying...” she murmurs.

Scootaloo thumps her head into the wall. She crosses her arms and sighs.

“I can imagine...” she whispers, looking back down the hall. “Who'd have thought Fluttershy would grow a backbone for once.”

Sweetie Belle glances over. “That's... mean.”

“Mean?” Scootaloo walks, her companion following her. “Fluttershy just abandoned Rarity and you're saying that I’m mean for being surprised by that. Yeah it's mean. That deserves being mean.”

“Well... Fluttershy didn't do anything to us. And the only reason why she’s doing this is because of what we-”

“Hey here's an idea let's wait until we’re in your room before talking about this?” She turns and sighs. “Oh, don't... don't cry, I’m sorry. I just don't want your sister to hear you and be mad at you.”

Sweetie Belle nods. “I know, I just... I'm not sad because of what you said, I'm sad because now, Fluttershy and Rarity are both sad, and it's all because of us and our lie. It was only supposed to be Sunset, and now it's everyone.”

“And it will be Sunset!” Arriving at their destination, Scootaloo pulls the door closed behind them. “Just. We gotta figure out what to post next.”

Belle raises an eyebrow. “Post? You mean you're still gonna be doing the blog?”

Scootaloo blinks. “Uh. Yeah. We just gotta make it really convincing, enough that we all make sure that Sunset gets blamed. And we CANNOT tell Applebloom. She’s compromised, so it can only be us now.”

“I don't know...” Belle wrings her hands together. “Is it even worth it anymore?”

“Of course it's worth it! It has to be! Sunset is... she has to pay for everything she did.”

“What, tearing friendships apart? That's what we’re doing! We’re just like her now!”

“We... are not. Anything like her.” Scootaloo cracks her knuckles, and her neck. “We aren't enslaving people and summoning demons. We aren't lying and cheating and playing dirty. We aren't seriously hurting anyone.”

“Sunset tried to kill herse-”

“Sunset is not relevant!” Scootaloo shouts, then breathes and apologizes. “Sunset might not have even actually tried to kill herself. Like Flash said, it could've been fake. But even if we were, Sunset... she hurt people just as bad. Like me. Before I met you, she... she made me suicidal. Like, actually.”

The two sit on the bed.

“...how?”

She shrugs. “It's not something I really wanna talk about right now, but she’s directly responsible for a lot of bad shit that happened to me before I met you and Applebloom. Things you don't know about, things I don't want you to know about. But basically, she's the reason why I lived with my...” she swallows. “With my dad.”

Sweetie Belle nods in though.

“That... that makes sense. He was not good for you.”

“Yeah. And then on top of it she made fun of me for it. She poked and needles and prodded for so long, I... I didn't ever try to jump in front of a car, but I did try to open my dad’s gun box. A lot. I’m glad I never succeeded because then I never would've met you.”

Sweetie Belle hugs her. “I'm glad too.”

Scootaloo nods. “And I'm not the only one Sunset hurt. Who knows how many others felt the same way I did? She was more than just mean and rude. She was evil. She literally turned everyone into zombies, and tried to take over the world. Getting blasted with magic rainbows may have fooled everyone else, but not me. She needs to pay for what she did. And when we do it right, everyone will be happy. Us, your sister, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, every single kid she bullied. We’ll be vindicated when she gets what she deserves. When she feels the same hurt and pain we all felt because of her. When she understands what she put us through. I wish so much that there was a way to do that without hurting everyone else but there isn't.”

Belle rests her head on her partner’s shoulder. “It's a hard choice to make... but I guess it makes sense. I didn't know she made you live with that jerk.”

“Heh... she probably doesn't either... and that's the saddest part. She never bothered to learn.” The two lean back onto the bed. “But she will learn. There's one secret I know that's sure to really put Sunset on everyone’s shit list.”

“And what's that?”

A wicked grin crosses Scootaloo’s lips.

“As soon as I know that Sunset knows that Rainbow Dash is a lesbian... Anon-a-Miss will know. And then, everyone will know. And then there won't be anywhere for Sunset to hide.”

/x/x/x/

Flash grips the steering wheel, knuckles white. He glares at the red light hanging above him. He huffs and grunts.

Come on...”

Scarlet light taunts him.

He leans back in his seat and glares at the roof instead.

“Hey, Sentry...”

‘omg did u guyz no that flash sentry’s dick is only 4”? how pathetic HAHAHA’

“Haven't seen you in a bit.”

Flash lets out a humorless laugh.

“Least I don't neigh like a fuckin’ horse when I cum...” he mutters before leaning back forward to glare at the red light some more. “That's way more embarrassing. Lucky yours is the only one that other people can agree with. You didn't go out with anyone else...”

A truck passes the intersection in front of him. The crosswalk orange handprint flashes. Hope?

He leans forward and rests his chin on the steering wheel, banging out a beat on the center console with his hand. He enunciates a guitar riff with his mouth.

The orange handprint stops flashing.

“Oh...?”

And then it starts flashing again.

“Ugh, damn it...” he slams his forehead into the wheel. “Why.” Slam. “Won’t.” Slam. “You.” Slam. “Frickin.” Slam. “Turn.” Slam. “Green.”

He snakes his hand over to the radio dial, clicking it on.

~You're as coooold as ice~

“Nice...” he murmurs, leaning back and strumming along on a guitar made of air. “Willing to sacrifice, our love~”

The light turns green.

“Yes!” He finally peels off the street and crosses the infernal intersection, before immediately pulling over to park in front of the first house.

He wastes no time in getting out and taking the steps up the stairs two at a time. He slips a little at the top, but balances out, and heads to the porch door. He pulls it open and steps inside, pulling it closed behind him. He wipes his shoes and steps into the house proper, before sighing, content in the heat.

“Hey bro!”

Flash nods and waves. “Hey bro.”

“How was work?”

Flash slumps into a nearby chair. “Spearhead, I swear, horrible doesn't even begin to describe it. But at least my last order I made bank. More tips from Rainbow Dash and crew than from everyone else put together today.”

Spear nods, and runs a hand through his long dark blue hair. “Nice. I started work on a new piece today. I call it, dark force snake apparatus. It's a red splatter job. Dad told me he saw you today.”

“He tell you the whole story?”

“Said it was a friend of yours and it was a big misunderstanding.”

Flash nods. “That's basically it. Heh. I'm probably the only guy in the world with a story about a hot chick in handcuffs that doesn't end with getting lucky.”

“Ha!” Spear runs a hand through his hair again. “Well at least you have a story about a hot chick in handcuffs at all. More than I have. Man, I really need to get a haircut, this isn't working for me at all. You think I'd look good in a mohawk?”

Flash shrugs. “I dunno. Do whatever hair you want. Dad home yet?”

Spear points into the kitchen. “He's watching the buckball game in the mancave. Shame, really, since sixteen candles just started. So uh. How’s things with, uh. The girl. Forgot her name.”

“What girl?”

“Oh, uh...” Spear snaps his fingers a few times. “Sunburn... Shine... I know it, I just don't know it, you know?”

Flash raises an eyebrow. “Sunset Shimmer?”

“Yeah, her!”

Flash rubs his forehead. “You remember your meds today, bro? She dumped me a couple months ago.”

He blinks. “Yeah. I think. It's Wednesday, right?”

“Thursday.”

“Ah crap. Be right back.” He gets up and walks into the kitchen. Rattling, running water, and a loud gulping noise emanate from the room. He comes back and sits back in his chair. “Sorry I forgot. You talk to her still anymore?”

“We used to.” Flash leans back in his chair. “Then, uh, just last month she started a blog that started leaking everyone in the school’s secrets out. She, uh, told everyone I have a small dick, among other things.”

“Ooohh, man. Tough break.”

“Eh, what can you do.”

Spear pulls his recliner out. “It's a shame. I liked her. She was nice.”

“Nice?” Flash blinks twice. “Spear, she was a total bitch to everyone in school.”

“I only knew her a year, when I was a senior. She sat by me at lunch some days. I showed her my art. She said it was cool. Said I reminded her of someone back home. Asked me if I was friends with Captain Shining Armor. Which was funny since he wasn't even captain of the football team yet. Asked me if I had a brother. I said yeah, you. Hm. Never saw her again after that. Oh, I love this part!”

Flash grips his armchair a little tighter.

“...hm.”

He pulls out his phone and taps his notes app. He scrolls down to a section labeled “Twilight <3” and taps it. He scrolls a bit more to one section in particular.

Family: Older Brother: Shining Armor

He clicks his phone closed and leans back in thought. A small smile crosses his face.

“Hey Spear... you got Shining’s phone number?”

/x/x/x/

Sunset settles into the cushion next to Fluttershy, opposite Rainbow Dash.

“Shy...” she puts a hand on the crying girl’s knee. “I'm sorry.”

Fluttershy pulls back and presses her sleeves on her eyes for a moment, then puts her hands over Sunset’s. “You don't need to apologize... it's my decision who I want to associate with, and it's Rarity’s decision to keep implicating you. Here is a mean and dumb decision. As much as it hurts me to be mean back, she needs to know that there are consequences to her actions. If she can't take all of us together, then she... she can't just cherry pick from all of us. She can't just stop being friends with you and expect the rest of us to be okay with that. Especially since...” Fluttershy’s hands move to Sunset’s wrists. “...since you hurt so bad.”

Sunset nods and leans in. “I get it... I just wish you guys didn't have to hurt each other just to help me. It's almost like... like it'd have been better if-”

“No!” Pinkie bounds over to Sunset and straddles her lap. “I know where that sentence was going and that's illegal! It's a lot better for us all to have short term disagreements than it is for any of us to be dead. We love you alive, and we love you, and we aren't gonna let you finish that sentence. Can I get a wahoo?”

Sunset nods. “Yeah... alright. I won't finish that sentence.” Pinkie waits expectantly, so Sunset sighs. “...wahoo.”

“Eh, I give it a B because of a distinct lack of exuberance, but it's eighty percent participation, so it's all gucci fam. So who’s hungry? I know I am!”

Sunset looks across the room at Applejack, and they nod at each other.

“I paid good money for everything,” Rainbow proclaims, reaching down to pull two people up. “So you guys better eat a lot. We can only eat so much cold pizza for breakfast tomorrow.”

Fluttershy and Pinkie take Rainbow’s hands, and pull Sunset up with them. With no hesitation, the paper plates and plastic cups come out. In no time at all, the horde descends like a pack of wolves on its prey.

The laptop is set on the coffee table facing the group. Applejack and Rainbow take the floor in front of Pinkie and Fluttershy. Sunset takes the center, Applejack and Pinkie on her left, and Rainbow and Fluttershy on her right. Every girl has a cup and plate in her lap, and the warm scents of bread, cheese, and spiced tomato fill the air.

Rainbow reaches over and taps the play button, and the girls settle back to watch the movie.

Sunset’s eyes glaze over as she watches the film for probably the twentieth or so time. She could close her eyes and still know what was happening, and plug her ears and imagine how it sounded. But that isn't why she finds it difficult to pay attention. That isn't why the food tastes like paper and cardboard in her mouth. That isn't why the warmth surrounding her feels like icicles stabbing into her skin.

‘This should feel good...’ she muses to herself. ‘So... why doesn't it?’

Because you don't deserve it.

‘But I do!’ She silently defends. ‘I was wrongfully accused!’

Were you though? Maybe you didn't do it this time in this particular instance, but how many secrets did you expose that were never made up for? How many friendships did you destroy that remain broken to this day? How many times, Sunset? Your penance is due.

‘No. No! I've become a better person! I've done my penance by destroying my arms. Freezing my ass off for weeks. Cutting myself off from everyone else. I've suffered enough. Go away.’

You can push me away all you'd like. But you know I'm right.

‘Leave me alone.’

Deep down you agree with me. You know you don't deserve this, and that's why your body won't let you watch the movie, taste the food, feel your friends.

‘Fuck off.’

Celestia would agree-

‘FUCK. OFF.’

Oh, but Sunset... I can't. After all...

‘I'm you.’

Sunset stares at herself in the mirror at the Wondercolts statue. In one hand she's holding the sledgehammer. In the other she holds Twilight’s crown. The face she sees is glaring back at her. It's smiling. It's seething. It's giggling. It’s screaming. It's sobbing. It can't make up its mind. It's evil.

Celestia steps in view.

“As I said... You weren't ready.”

Sunset turns around to face her, but only sees more mirrors.

“I know...” Sunset falls to her knees. “I want to come back!”

Twilight appears from her left.

“It's too late...” she murmurs, wings unfurling. “Twenty eight more moons from now? You’ll be dead anyway.”

Sunset shakes her head. “No, I'll make it! I can make it!”

“Two years? Ha! You couldn't make it two months, let alone one. Even with my help.” Twilight squints her eyes. “And then you ignored me. You made me worry, panic, and stress for days. Weeks! What kind of evil pony does that to her friends? Do you really think I'd take you back after all that time?”

Sunset stands and runs, but Twilight dissolves into dust.

“Twilight!” Sunset screams, but there is no answer. The mirrors surrounding her grow taller, casting their long shadows over her, blotting out the moon. Knives poke out from behind them, turning the pale grey around her a burning crimson. “Celestia!”

Ropes slither out from behind the mirrors like snakes.

Celestia’s voice echoes around her. “Sunset Shimmer, I am removing you from the position of my pupil.”

The rough fibers tangle themselves around her legs as she struggles to get away. She falls to her knees as Celestia approaches.

“If we cannot get past this, your studies end here.” The ropes pull her forelegs together, burning her skin.

“You are welcome to stay in Canterlot, but you are no longer welcome in the castle.”

The ropes wrap themselves around her neck, stifling her cries.

“The guards will escort you out.”

The ropes pull tighter.

She can't breathe.

”This is the worst mistake you'll ever make in your life.”

The parting words echo through Sunset’s head as everything fades away.

“Sunset...”

Her ears ring as all coherent thoughts leave her.

“Sunset!”

That's not Celestia-

A sharp pain in her abdomen distracts Sunset from the world around her. In an instant she’s back in Fluttershy’s apartment. Her legs are wet, and she's on the floor. Someone’s arms are wrapped around her-

“!” She soundlessly yelps as the pain returns, and a piece of bread comes up out of her throat. She coughs and breathes in equal parts, before the arms leave her stomach and wrap around her shoulders.

“Sunset!” Applejack’s voice yells. “You okay, sug?”

Sunset rubs her throat, still in pain. Slowly she feels her limbs as human, rather than equine. She notices that on the computer the movie is paused, and everyone is standing up around her save for Fluttershy.

“Wh-” she coughs again. “What happened?”

“I think ya fell asleep chewin’,” Applejack murmurs, kneeling closer. “You started chokin’. Lucky you, Fluttershy knows the Heihemlich maneuver.”

“I learned it in case dogs choke at the animal shelter...”

Sunset coughs again, and feels her pulse return to normal. “Thanks Fluttershy...” She leans back against the couch. “I think I’m tired.”

Fluttershy nods and strokes Sunset’s hair. “I think you are tired. You had a long and stressful day. I, um. I'm gonna put you in my bed, and since you probably shouldn't be alone right now, we’re gonna go to sleep, okay?”

Sunset screws her eyes shut and tries to open them again, but the lids refuse to part. “What about the movie?”

Fluttershy rapidly shakes her head. “Oh, I've had my eyes closed since the monster ate the guy’s face. And I've had my ears plugged since the monster came out of the guy’s stomach. I didn't know this was a scary movie and I really don't wanna watch the rest of it because I really don't like scary movies.”

Sunset chuckles lightly at this. “Sorry Shy... I’m kinda desensitized to horror because of my case study on wildlife in the Everfree Forest. My bad.”

“Oh, it's okay... it's a really cool movie other than all the scary parts.”

Sunset leans over and rests her head in the crook of her friend’s neck. “I... I wanna go to bed now. I had a...” she swallows. “I had a nightmare.”

Fluttershy nods and kisses her forehead. “I have an essential oils diffuser in my room, and one of them helps with dreamless sleep. Can you stand up?”

Sunset nods and allows herself to be pulled up. She stays attached to Fluttershy.

“Good night everypony...” she murmurs. “Thanks for being my friends.”

The other three make a group hug before pulling away and letting the duo slink off to the bedroom.

“Do you wanna talk about the nightmare?”

“No.”

“Okay. I won't ask about it.” She fiddles with something for a short while, before something starts to hum. “Do you wanna talk about something else instead?”

“I... uh... brain is not doing too good with ideas at the moment. But I like hearing you talk. You have a really pretty voice... reminds me of my mom.”

They sit down on the bed. “Well, I can do plenty of talking if you want me to,” Fluttershy murmurs. “As long as you're happy.”

Sunset pulls her arms tighter. “Happy’s not the right word... safety and security are closer. Thanks for making me not die. Imagine the irony if the suicidal unicorn accidentally chokes to death on a breadstick.”

“If I can't make you happy then safe and secure work just as good.”

Sunset nods and begins to drift off again.

“Do you want to sleep in your clothes, or should I get you some pajamas?”

“Eh. Uh. I dunno. I usually sleep naked. But if you don't mind sharing pajamas I could do that. I think. You're soft.”

Fluttershy, who is furiously blushing, lays Sunset back. “Okay,” she says, standing up. “I'm gonna get you a pair of mine. We seem to have similar sizes. Do you mind the color?”

“Nnn.”

“Um. Is that an affirmative nnn or is it a negative nnn?”

Sunset moans. “I don't care the color.”

Fluttershy nods- fruitlessly- and pulls out two pairs. She closes the door and quickly changes her own clothes, then steps over to her sleepy friend.

“Okay, here you go. Do you want me to turn around or leave the room or-”

Sunset waves her arms in the air. “Can't bend enough. Need help. Applejack can help if you don't wanna.”

Fluttershy takes a deep breath and steels herself. “No, that won't be necessary. Here, I'll... I'll help you.”

The process is about as easy as taking a sack of potatoes, removing the potatoes, and putting them into another sack, except all of the potatoes are stuck together, and Fluttershy didn't wanna touch at least half of them.

Eventually, however, with some semblance of cooperation, Fluttershy manages to strip Sunset of her clothing. With a teensy bit of haste, Fluttershy gets the pants on, and slips on the blouse. She buttons up the shirt trying to keep her friend modest. With the job done, she gives a resolute nod.

“I'm gonna get you under the covers, okay?”

“N.”

This part comes much easier, as Sunset weighs a little less than the average Saint Bernard, which Fluttershy could easily lift two of on a good day. Plus it's a bit easier to lift up an unconscious teenage girl than it is to dress her.

Fluttershy sets Sunset’s head on the pillow and pulls the covers up to their chins.

“Are you comfy?”

Sunset moves her head forward to the edge of the pillow and puts her arms in front of her. “N?”

Fluttershy moves forward into Sunset’s embrace. Sunset snuggles up, and lets out a content sigh.

“Tomorrow will be a better day, okay Sunset?”

She nods. “Can... you sing some... thing?”

Fluttershy leans forward, and begins to sing a quiet lullaby from her childhood.

“~Hush now, quiet now, it’s time to lay your sleepy head, hush now, quiet now, it's time to go to bed~”

In no time at all, Sunset drifts off. This time, she is free of nightmares. Fluttershy smiles and gently bumps Sunset’s forehead. Before long, she too falls asleep.

“Hey Shy, I forgot to-” Applejack murmurs from the bedroom door, but cuts herself off as she sees that they're already asleep.

“Eh... I'll do ointment tomorrow... good night, girls.”

And with that, she pulls the door back closed.

/x/x/x/
> 6- Enkindled
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

/x/x/x/

CHAPTER 6

/x/x/x/

Applejack steps back into the living room and cocks an eyebrow at the commotion in the kitchen.

“Dash?” She asks, confusion coloring her voice. “What the hay are you doin’?”

Rainbow Dash, who is holding the entire kitchen knife block in one hand, and Applejack’s car keys in the other, just gives her a weird look.

“I'm putting these in your car.” She says this as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. “Duh.”

Applejack presses her first to her mouth and takes a deep breath. Out of the corner of her eye she can see Pinkie holding the entire silverware drawer.

“And you're putting all of Fluttershy’s kitchen utensils into my truck because...?”

Pinkie looks down and to the side. “There shouldn't be anything... sharp.”

Applejack’s eye twitches. “Can y'all stop bein’ cryptic and be clear for just a second?”

“I mean...” Rainbow leans against the wall and sighs. “If Sunset’s here, she shouldn't have access to, well, you know... knives. Or she might... you know.” She draws her hand across the opposite wrist in a cutting motion.

“Oh.” Applejack puts her fists on her hips. “Okay, yeah, that makes sense actually.”

Rainbow nods and pulls the door open, leaving it wide enough for Pinkie.

“But why,” the farmer asks, holding Pinkie back. “Are you taking all the forks and spoons too?”

Pinkie hefts the drawer in one hand against her hip, like she would a child or a particularly heavy laundry basket. “Well... if you stick a fork into an electrical outlet you might die.”

Applejack facepalms. “And the spoons?”

“Because they’re dull, you twit, they’ll hurt more!” She begins to giggle at her own joke, which is lost on both other girls in the room.

“Alright, so what about the toaster?” Applejack asks, unamused, crossing her arms. “A digital bath kills you too. What about the blender, what with the sharp bits and all? What about the bleach under the sink? What about the extension cord in the closet, or the string for the blinds? What about the fact we’re on the seventh story and there's a balcony right there over concrete?” She huffs. “If we get rid of every single thing Sunset might conceivably think to kill herself with, it ain't gonna get her mind off anything. It'll just make her feel worse. She already feels like a burden because she can't do stuff herself easy right now cuz of her wrists. This is just gonna make her feel like we don't trust her even with all of us in here!”

Pinkie, who had abruptly stopped laughing once the rent began, is nearly in tears at the end of it.

“Dude, AJ...” Rainbow slowly closes the door. “I feel like it'd be better if they weren't around, so she doesn't get, uh... Pinks, what's called when something makes you have a panic attack because you remembered the bad thing?”

She sniffles and readjusts the drawer to hold its weight on her stomach. “A trigger.”

“Yeah, that. That's why I'm moving the knives.”

Applejack nods. “The knives makes sense. I get that. But that ain't what I got an issue with. The problem is, is it really necessary to move all the forks and spoons too? Let alone the whole dang drawer?”

Pinkie shifts it around before sighing. “No...”

Applejack takes the drawer into her own hands. “I know you mean well, Pinkie. I know that you care about Sunset. But we gotta be grounded and reasonable about this, don't you think?”

“Yeah...” she sits down on the dining room table. “I guess I wasn't really thinking from her perspective. I'm just doing what I needed when I...”

Rainbow wraps a comforting arm around her friend’s shoulders. “You don't gotta talk about that stuff if you don't wanna. It's in the past.”

Applejack manages to slip the drawer back into its proper place before furrowing her brows. “What are y’all talkin’ about?”

The two exchange glances before Pinkie rests her head on Rainbow.

“Look, uh...” Rainbow clears her throat. “Back when you and I weren't on speaking terms, Pinkie kinda had some... what should I call it?”

“Issues works, I think.”

“Okay. Some issues. Mental health stuff. And she, uh...”

“Dashie saved my life.”

“Wha?” Rainbow lets out a nervous chuckle. “Don't be dramatic, I just did what any friend would do.”

“I had lots of friends, Dashie... you were the only one who did anything for me. Fluttershy and Rarity ignored me, AJ was busy, I wasn't really that close to anyone else... you talked me down.”

Rainbow shrugs. “Alright, if you put it that way, yeah. She called me, crying, and I... I went full on mom friend. Turns out she was gonna... you, uh. You wanna tell this part?”

“I had a handful of pills and a bottle of my daddy’s whiskey. I was gonna take them. But then I didn't because Dashie told me, you know, the whole ‘if you die then everyone who loves you will miss you’ thing.”

Applejack sits next to her on the table. “Why didn't you ever tell me?” She asks, unable to make eye contact. “I would've...” she sighs. “So did you hide your vices so they didn't make you do nothin y'all woulda regretted?”

Pinkie nods. “Yeah. Maud helped me a lot. She also made me eat, because I... wasn't eating.” She grabs her stomach with both hands. “I was always a real skinny kid but then when puberty happened and all this came in and people bullied me about it, it was just a lot. Especially when Sunset showed up back when she was evil. That was most of why. I'm better now, a lot better, and I don't feel that way any more. But sometimes I have really bad dreams about when I was still depressed. I can remember how it felt back then, and sometimes it still hurts in memories. Does that make sense?”

Applejack reaches for her necklace, fingering the locket holding the photo of her parents. “Yeah. I understand what you mean more. I can see why you were doin’ what you were doin’. But in the future, maybe y’all should ask Fluttershy before dismantling her kitchen, ya know?”

Pinkie nods, smiles, and pulls the two in for a hug. “Yeah, that's probably smart. But we’re still gonna move the knives to your car, right?”

“Oh yeah, definitely. Knives and cars are the two things Sunset definitely shouldn't be around this weekend.”

The three share a dark chuckle that masquerades the unpleasant feeling that had been pervading the room since they'd all arrived. Well, only slightly.

Rainbow is the first to pull away. “Well, I'll go ahead and put this away. Be right back. By the way, we should talk about how we’ll handle sleeping tonight as soon as I'm back. See you in a second-”

“Don't run!” Applejack and Pinkie both exclaim.

“Alright, fine. See you in a minute.”

Rainbow pulls the door shut behind her, leaving the two farm-raised teens alone.

“Hey, uh...” Applejack coughs awkwardly. “Sorry I wasn't there for you back then.”

“Oh, it's okay AJ. You had your reasons. Just like I had my reasons for ignoring you. But it's all in the past now, where it belongs. Where are we gonna sleep?”

Applejack shrugs and collapses over the arm of the loveseat. “I could sleep here, you n’ Rainbow could sleep on the couch if it pulls out.”

“I can't let you do that,” Pinkie says, crossing her arms. “If the couch pulls out then I'll take the loveseat since I'm shorter than both of you. Also I take up more room.”

“Oh, whatever, you ain't that big. Besides, I ain't fixin’ to share with Rainbow Blanket-hoggin’ Dash anyway. And ain't no way she’ll take the loveseat.”

Pinkie puts a finger to her lips in thought. “Do you think that all three of us would fit?”

Applejack cranes her neck and glances at the couch. “Eh, maybe. Here,” she leans forward and stands up, then steps over to the coffee table. “Let’s move this and figure out what space we got.”

The girls take either side, lift, and swing it out of the way. Satisfied that there would still be room to maneuver to the all-important kitchen, they then strip the couch of its cushions before encountering a slight problem.

“That ain't a pullout.”

Pinkie pulls out a magnifying glass from... somewhere... and begins to thoroughly inspect the piece of furniture.

“Hmm... an excellent deduction, mister Watson. My, what a pickle of a predicament if I do say so myself.”

“A gotdang bit of an unsatisfactory situation. So now what?”

Pinkie taps her chin. “We could sleep in Fluttershy’s parents’ bed if we just change the sheets and pillowcases and stuff, right?”

Applejack sighs. “Well, unless there’s any sleeping bags somewhere in the zero storage space, I really don't see much else in the way of choices. Unless we stack up two of us on the couch, or join the sleeping beauties in there.”

“I wouldn't mind that. Human blankets are the best blankets.”

“Be that as it may, I don't much care for human mattresses. But then again I did say I would take the loveseat anyway. Just depends on what Rainbow wants.” Applejack looks over Pinkie’s shoulder into the hallway. “Sunset?”

Pinkie turns and looks at Sunset, who is standing in the middle of the hall.

“Sunny?” She asks, taking a slow, cautious step forward. “You okay?”

Sunset doesn't respond, or give any indication that she heard. She just continues to stand.

Applejack slides past Pinkie and attempts to put a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. She is stopped when Sunset puts her fingers forward onto the wall, staring at nothing.

“Suns.” Applejack leans forward into her field of vision. “Anyone home?”

“Tomorrow.” She quietly rasps, voice barely audible. She pulls her fingers away and drops her arm to her side again, then clambers down to her knees. She rests her forehead on the wall. “I'll do it... tomorrow.”

“Sunset!” Applejack barks, coming down to her level. She shakes her shoulders. “Sunset, wake up!”

Sunset gasps and leans back, clambering away. Fear fills her eyes. “Don't... don't hurt me, I didn't do it...” she begins to tremble, and her eyes start to shine.

“Suns...” Applejack reaches a hand out, voice gentle. “Suns, I ain't gonna hurtcha. Don't you see where you are? Don't you remember today at all?”

Sunset pulls herself into the corner, bracing her back against Fluttershy’s parents’ door. She scrapes her arm against the floor, then hisses and grabs it. She stares at the gauze, and freezes. In a moment she turns her focus back to Applejack.

“AJ...” she murmurs. “That was real? You believed me?”

“Yeah...” Applejack crawls forward. “Yeah, my sister admitted to makin’ the blog. I came to your apartment. I took you to Fluttershy’s. We had pizza and watched a movie.”

Sunset pulls her knees to her chest. “I...” she shudders. “I thought that was a dream...” she glances at the walls around her. “I thought... just now I thought you were... that you came to my apartment and...” she wipes at her eyes. “You really believe me now?”

Applejack sits next to her and puts an arm around her shoulder. Her free hand takes Sunset’s in her own. “Yeah. That warn’t a dream. I believe you, Fluttershy believes you, Pinkie n’ Rainbow believe you. Only one who doesn't is Rarity, but she’ll come to her senses soon.”

Sunset sobs and leans into her friend’s embrace. “I've had... dreams. Where you took me back. They were so real. But then when I woke up and you were gone, and I was cold and alone, it... it hurt. It hurt so much.”

Applejack pulls Sunset’s body in tighter. “I know, sug. But it ain't gonna hurt anymore. You're awake now. I promise you. I ain't lettin’ ya wake up alone again for a long time yet. If it's me or Fluttershy or any of us, we’ll be there for ya. We love you.”

Sunset nods. “I love you too... so much.”

They sit in silence broken only by Sunset’s weeping.

Applejack and Pinkie exchange a knowing glance. They knew that this was only the beginning. There would need to be a lot more than just one day of food and festivities and one night of cuddling to fix their mistake. They exchange resolute nods. They can do it.

They have to.

/x/x/x/

“Hey Twilight. This is Applejack writing. Sunset says she’s okay, and getting better. She says she’s sorry for worrying you. I made a mistake. We all did. We’ve been terrible friends to Sunset, and we hurt her bad. But I swear to you, I'll do everything in my power I can to right this wrong.”

Twilight heaves a heavy sigh.

“Well, there's one less thing to stress out about.” The alicorn turns her head and glances over her quill collection. A flash of magenta flows from her horn to the .37 quail, pulls it out, and dips it into the inkwell. She enunciates as she writes.

“Sunset, I'm glad to know that you're okay. Things over here have been a bit rough, to say the least, but surely not as hectic as your end must have been over this past month. There is much I wish to discuss with you about so many things, so I am very glad to know that we may resume with our correspondence, and that you are in a much better place. It sets my heart at ease that you're okay now. This next part, I wish you to confer upon Applejack as well as Rainbow, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie.”

She pauses to take a drink of tea and dip her quill before resuming.

“I’m quite sure that I don't need to say how severely disappointed I am in all of you for your behavior during this entire Anon-a-Miss incident. I expected much better out of all of you. Not only am I furious on behalf of Sunset herself, but I feel incredibly betrayed and devalued considering just how much magical energy I spent harnessing the powers of the Elements of Harmony, especially considering I put the care of Sunset’s reformation into your hooves.”

She pauses for a second, then scratches that last word out.

“Hands. Now, from what Sunset has told me, you have all gone above and beyond the call of duty and the magic of friendship since I left you, for which I am eternally proud and grateful. Do not mistake this for chastisement, as I am glad to call all six of you my friends. I am merely shocked and upset over this recent development. Still, mistakes are made by everypony, myself included, and I do forgive all of you, especially considering all of the extenuating circumstances. I know that you're all strong and capable enough to recover from this momentary lapse in judgment and come out the other end stronger friends and ponies because of it.”

She sighs and scribbles out ‘ponies’, writing ‘people’ below it.

“I sincerely wish you all the best, and hope that the trials and tribulations of high school don't become too much to bear. These years are the best and most important of your lives, and though I wish I could join you during them, I have my own place here in Equestria, with my own responsibilities as Princess. I love you all. Twilight Sparkle... oh, and PS, please give Flash my regards.” She nods and sets the quill back in its place, before sighing.

“Why did I say that last part...” she covers her head with her hooves. “Stupid... uuuuggghh.”

She fruitlessly blows on the ink before closing the book. The morning sun shines a perfect square, framing the design of Celestia’s cutie mark perfectly. She steps away from her writing desk and surveys the room with a frown.

“This... isn't right.” She sighs, clacking her hoof against the crystal floor. “I miss Golden Oaks...”

A knock at her bedroom door calls her attention.

“Spike?” She asks. “It's open.”

The wooden slab swings inward, followed by the small dragon.

“Hey Twilight, you ready?” He asks. “You know, for the whole, let’s talk about why the tree made the castle thing you've gone over every day for the past week?” He chuckles at his oldest friend’s expression.

“Why yes, Spike,” Twilight replies, eye twitching. “I am ready to perform my duty as Princess.”

“Heh heh... you said duty.”

In spite of herself, Twilight chuckles. “Yeah... I did. Now come on, head down to the throne room and wait for me. I'll wait for the girls at the front doors and we’ll try to figure some stuff out. Now, uh, don't fall asleep like you did yesterday.”

“Don't ask me to make promises I can't keep.”

Twilight smirks. “Duly noted.”

“So uh...” he crosses his arms as they walk. “I kinda heard you talking. You journaling to Sunset?”

Twilight nods. “Yes, she finally responded to me. Well, Applejack did. The human Applejack.”

“Of course.”

“She says that Sunset’s better now.”

“Oh, good,” Spike yawns. “Glad to hear that. I've missed her. And Rarity. She gave really good ear scratches. Do you think you can teach Rarity a spell to focus her magic like a hand?”

Twilight shoots him a mischievous glance. “Maybe I'll teach her to focus it into a palm and smack you when you're being silly.”

He gasps. “You wouldn't dare!”

“I would!”

He yawns again. “Yeah, you probably would... how many moons away are we?

“Hm. About twelve? I think... that's weird.”

“What's weird?”

Twilight stops in her tracks. “It's... winter. Hm.” She puts her hoof to her mouth. “For some reason this feels wrong. I haven't been there for a year but it seems like she and I have only been talking for a few weeks.”

“Why’s that?”

Twilight sighs and puts her hoof back down. “I don't know. I'll have to chat with Sunset soon and get the time differentials between Equestria and Terra. There might be interdimensional quantum transmutation forces at work. And if that's the case, judging by my research on Star Swirl the Bearded, the Sirens, the Mirror, and Limbo, there’s a very big chance that three unpleasant visitors will show up in Terra very soo- oh come on.”

Spike, who had fallen asleep in place, interrupts her rambling with a very loud snore.

“You, sir, stayed up past your bedtime last night!” she levitates him onto her back as she ambles her way to throne room. “Oh well. First, figure out this castle. Second, read up on the Sirens. And third, talk to Sunset as soon as she responds.”

/x/x/x/

Applebloom gazes wistfully out the window from beneath her nest of blankets. The door creaks open from behind her.

“...granny?” She asks.

“Nope.”

The young girl turns over to see her big brother striding into her room, a plate in one hand and a glass in the other.

“Mac?”

Macintosh, or Big Mac as his family calls him, sets the glass down on the nightstand, and sits down on the edge of the bed. He hands her the plate, and sits in silence.

Applebloom sighs. “Thanks.”

“I put it in the microwave so ya didn't have to eat it cold.” He turns back and looks at her out of the corner of his eye. “I'm sure the guilt you feel right now is worse than any punishment any of us can give ya. An’, uh, I wouldn't feel right if I sent you to bed without supper.”

She nods. “I appreciate that...” she makes no move towards the fork and knife in the middle of the plate. “Even though I don't deserve supper.”

“Ain't nobody deserves to starve.” Mac puts his hands on his knees. “Even if Sunset Shimmer at her worst came to our house, ain't havin’ eaten in days, I’d still feed her. Maybe it wouldn't taste like the best thing in the world, but she’d have a full belly. Plus I kinda spent a long time cookin’ and didn't want it to go to waste. We don't get to spend nights as a family too often what with my work and y'all’s school and granny’s goin to bed at four in the afternoon.”

“Yeah... I kinda messed that up, didn't I?”

He shakes his head. “Actually, that's kinda what I wanted to talk to ya about. Now, don't get me wrong, makin’ that blog was a downright awful thing to do. Sunset Shimmer did enough bad things to last a dozen lifetimes, but she’s doin’ her best to atone for ‘em. And the fact that it got so outta hand, well... I know it warn’t just you doin’ it.”

He turns to face his sister, crossing his legs on the bed. “I can't express my disappointment enough that you'd be complicit in sharin’ everyone in the whole school’s secrets, even if your friends Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were in on it too. Don't look so shocked, there ain't nothin’ any of you do that the others don't also do.”

“I guess that makes sense...” Applebloom picks up the fork and pokes at her mashed potatoes. “We’ve always had each other’s back even when we knew it was a bad idea. Because ain't nobody else would. You n’ AJ n’ Granny always had your hands full with the farm after ma n’ pa passed so when I met Sweets n’ Scoots it was like a breath of fresh air.”

Mac nods. “The three of you have always been ride or die. Y'all keep each others’ secrets better than y'all keep your own. Which is why... I'm proud of you.”

Applebloom drops the fork. “You're what?”

He lets out a dry chuckle. “Now let me explain. I know that it's easy to justify your actions. Sunset was a bully, and she got let off too easy. She took your sister away from you when you ain't had enough time with her already. That's all well and good until you see the consequences of your actions. And, you say that this afternoon you saw that Sunset’s hurtin’ enough to try an’ off herself? You came clean in record time. You ain't been home an hour before y'all told us what happened. Any later than that, it might’ve been too late, ‘specially judgin’ by what seems to be a mess and a half. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle lyin’ to try an’ cover their butts, tryin’ to get you in on the lyin’. Out of all the different ways you coulda handled this situation, you've done it in as responsible and mature a manner you could given the context.”

Applebloom wrings her hands together. “But... I hurt Sunset in the first place.”

“Yup. You messed up big time. And, uh, you can bet you'll be grounded for a long time. You really hurt Sunset bad through your deceit. But with that bein’ said, you're barely twelve. If I was held accountable for all the dumb stuff I did when I was your age, I might even be in prison right now. And that's all that this was, is a dumb decision. But once you saw that it was a dumb and harmful decision, you came to us and came clean. And because of that, Applejack is over there with Sunset. You've made the first step on a long, long journey of penance and atonement. And every journey starts with a first step. The fact that you made the step, well... it means that I raised you as right as I could alongside Granny n’ our sister. It means I know that ma and pa are lookin’ down on us from the stars an’ smilin’.”

“You... you really think so?”

Mac nods. “I know so. Because of you tellin’ us what’s what when you did, you may even have saved Sunset’s life. Regardless of the severe, severe consequences- of which there will be many- you confessed your involvement with the lie. I can respect that.” He sighs. “However, we got a little bit of a problem.”

“What kinda problem?”

“Well...” he coughs. “Now, this is gonna sound heartless. But you’re also responsible for your friends’ actions from this point on. Since you made the blog, this is your beast to tame. Which means that anything Anon-a-Miss does or says or posts is your responsibility. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo ain't liable to come clean about their side of things any time soon on your own. Which is why...” he pulls her phone out of his pocket and sets it on her bed. “I ain't groundin’ ya from your phone. You'll need it to fix this mess.”

“But how?”

He purses his lips, as Applebloom makes the realization.

“I... I gotta rat ‘em out?”

Mac nods. “If you can't convince ‘em to come clean themselves, yeah. You are, as of this moment, grounded for one month plus however long it takes for Sunset to be absolved of all blame for this whole silly blog business. That means no TV, no video games, no havin’ friends over, no goin’ anywhere but here n’ school, no dessert, no readin’ books. An’ if it takes any longer than one week, no door either. I'll also be monitoring your internet usage. If you do anything but homework, comin’ clean on MyStable, or talkin’ to Sweetie n’ Scootaloo about this ultimatum, it’s two months. You got me?”

She sighs, slumping back into her pillows. “Yeah... I got you. It sucks but it's fair. What I did was pretty lousy.”

He pats her knee. “Good. I'm glad we see eye to eye on this. Just let me know if you need me to drive you to Rarity’s so you can have a face to face conversation. Otherwise, you know what you can and can't do.” He stands and heads to the door. “Bloom. I love you.”

“Love you too, Big Mac.”

He nods and pulls the door shut behind him, leaving his sister alone with her thoughts, the moonlight, and the scintillating aroma of a steak dinner.

She grunts. “Stupid blog...”

/x/x/x/

Scootaloo grunts. “Stupid blog!”

She struggles with her phone. “It keeps signing me out! Are you signed in on yours?”

Sweetie Belle is also fiddling with a phone. “No, I’m signed into my own MyStable account. I don't see why you're having trouble getting in because Anon-a-Miss looks fine from my perspective.”

Scootaloo grits her teeth. “This is dumb, I just need to access the messages and drafts.”

A knock at the door causes the two to exchange panicked glances, and their thumbs go flying.

“May I come in?” Rarity asks, voice calm.

“Uh... sure.” Belle pulls her knees to her chest and points her phone screen away from the door.

Rarity steps inside and gently closes the door behind her.

“What's up?” Scootaloo asks.

Rarity slowly steps over to the bed and sits down on the corner.

“You girls know that I trust you, right?”

They nod, piecing together where the conversation was surely heading.

Rarity sighs. “Here's what I know. Sweetie Belle, you texted Applebloom. Big Macintosh- who is an impartial party who I trust as he is untouchable by Sunset’s influence- informed us that the contents of that text message were coded and sounded roughly like informing Applebloom on the state of whatever lie the three of you are concocting. You then lied to me about doing so. And then, on top of all that, Applebloom failed to corroborate the allegation that she was threatened to stop being friends with you.”

She turns on the bed to face them.

“Again, I trust you. But I must know the whole truth. I need to know what Sunset told you to do, and what she has threatened, blackmailed, extorted, or bribed you with. And I swear that whatever is said in this room will stay in this room. I'm sacrificing so much to guarantee your safety, but I need your absolute honesty.”

The girls are silent for a moment. Eventually, Scootaloo clears her throat.

“Like I said before,” she begins, cracking her knuckles. “Sunset started following me around town recently-”

“How recently?”

“Uh... like two or three weeks ago. I don't remember the exact dates, they've all kinda blurred together.”

“Right.” Rarity nods. “I know that the passage of time comes... difficult to you. Continue.”

“So she hasn't, you know... done or said anything directly to me. You know, if what Pinkie said was the about the wifi maybe she ghostwrote through Applebloom or something, to deflect blame? And then made her lie about jumping in front of the car?”

Rarity shakes her head. “No, no, she did jump in front of a car, so Flash said... hm.” She reaches into her collar and pulls her phone presumably from her bra. “I wonder, though, if Flash saw Applebloom as well. Or, better yet, if Sunset is also blackmailing Flash into saying that he saw that happen.”

As she types, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle have a quick silent conversation that mostly consist of wide eyes and light head movements.

“Okay, I asked Flash if he saw Bloom. I'll hold off on the second question in case Sunset has him sending screenshots. I don't want her to know that I'm on her scent. Anyway, Sweetie Belle. Has she done or said anything to you at all?”

She nods. “No. Last time I talked to her was before this whole thing happened.”

“Ah. Then this conversation is utterly pointless in regards to gathering intel. However, I'm glad to know that you two are safe. Still, I am relatively worried about Applebloom, as I’m sure you all are as well. Clearly she’s being threatened with something, as that's the only rational explanation for her actions...” she frowns. “Hold on. That can't be true. If that were true then you wouldn't be clueing in Applebloom on whatever lie that you're all involved with. I told you I need you to be open and honest with me. I can't help you if you don't let me know.”

“She threatened you, not us!” Scootaloo quickly interjects.

Rarity cocks her head to the side. “Okay, now that I can believe. So she’s threatening me with what, exactly?”

“Your...” Scootaloo clears her throat. “Your more... unsavory photos. She said that if the three of us don't take the fall for the blog then she’ll post them. I'm not sure if she was bluffing or not.”

“I don't think she was,” Sweetie Belle chimes in. “If she got the underwear pictures then who knows what else she has access to?”

Rarity stands up and takes a deep breath. “It was absolutely a bluff. I have not ever taken a nude photograph of myself with any device. Now she has nothing on either of you. Correct?”

They share a nervous glance.

“Yeah...” Scootaloo leans back into the pillows and heaves a faux relieved sigh. “Wow, that's a real load off.”

Rarity nods again, before whirling on her sister.

“Then why, pray tell, did you tell Applebloom to tell us that Sunset threatened her? In fact, why were you texting her anyway? What would you have to gain from telling her to lie?”

“Uh...” Sweetie Belle looks over at Scootaloo, who had frozen in place. “Um...” she fidgets heavily, and feels her armpits grow moist. “She... I...”

“I'm a lesbian.” Scootaloo whispers, leaning forward. “Sunset threatened to out me if we didn't tell-”

“No she didn't.” Rarity seethes. “When I took her to buy clothes we talked about sexuality. Sunset told me she's bisexual. She's an evil bitch but she isn't a bigot.”

“Yes she did!” Scootaloo argues. “All this talk about Sunset lying and manipulating and you believed her when she says she's gay? Even though out of all the people at CHS she could've dated, she chose Flash Sentry? Don't tell me that I'm a LIAR!” Tears stream down her face as she yells. “She said she’d tell my dad if one of us didn't take the fall once she got caught! But the lie changed when Sunset fake tried to kill herself in front of Flash, which she obviously did so there would be a witness you would trust, and that's why Sweetie Belle texted her while I distracted you guys by lying about her following me around town!” She presses her palms into her eyes, and wipes away the offending moisture. “She was gonna tell my dad, your parents, everyone at school... I had to do something-”

She is interrupted by Rarity hugging her.

“I'm so sorry dear... I had no idea.” Rarity pulls her tight. “That explains so much about this whole mess... that explains everything.” She pulls back and locks eyes with the crying girl. “I understand. And I accept you. Your secret is safe with me, okay?”

Scootaloo nods. “O... okay... I’m sorry I lied.”

“No, don't be sorry for that. You were in a scary and dangerous situation. With your father being the way he is about gay people, and my parents as well, you didn't really have much choice.”

Sweetie Belle crawls over and takes Scootaloo’s hand. “Is that why you told me that Sunset threatened Applebloom? So I wouldn't find out you were gay?”

Scootaloo nods, screwing her eyes closed. “I was scared it would mess up our friendship.”

The three girls group hug.

“I could never judge you for that, Scoots...” the two girls wink with the eyes facing away from Rarity.

Rarity then leans back and looks over her two sisters, both the one in blood and the one in spirit. “I swear, I will ensure justice is brought to Sunset. You have my word. I won't stop until everyone knows the vile, sadistic, and depraved monster behind Anon-a-Miss.” she claps their shoulders. “It's been a long night, and it's getting very late... I'm going to bed. And don't worry, we’ll talk about this more in the morning, okay?”

The two younger girls nod.

“Very well then. I'm sorry I was so rough with the both of you. But I'm sure you can understand why?”

“Yeah...” Scootaloo sniffles. “Especially because your friends abandoned you for that... that bitch. I don't hold it against you... you're sure you're okay? With me being, you know...”

“As I said before,” Rarity soothes. “I accepted Sunset when she told me she was bi. Sexuality doesn't bother me in the slightest. If Fluttershy, or Applejack, or even Rainbow Dash turned out to be gay, I would accept them too, and I'd still love them just the same as if they were straight. Just, you know... don't date my sister.” She winks. “Ha, as if. Anyway, good night, girls.” And with that, she leaves the room, closing the door behind her.

The girls wait an entire minute in complete silence, before Scootaloo cracks a huge smile.

“Oh my Faust that was amazing!” Her body shakes as she noiselessly cackles. She whispers between chest shakes. “That was priceless! Did you see that? Hook line and sinker! This is perfect! Now, it doesn't matter what Applebloom says, and you don't gotta come up with any more lies. This is just- OMG!”

Sweetie Belle snakes her hand over that of her paramour. “Well, you just outed yourself. Are you sure you're okay?”

“Okay? Psh, I’m better than okay! We've got an out with Rarity! Plus, now we can use Sunset’s bisexuality against her. We just gotta figure out who else she told, and then BOOM we've got the perfect weapon to keep her under control.”

Sweetie frowns at this. “Wait, you're gonna out Sunset?”

“No,” Scootaloo waves her off. “I’m not actually gonna out her. I wouldn't do that. But she doesn't know that. I mean, think about it. She knows that I'm gonna lie my ass off and say she stalks me into dark alleys. That's a criminal charge. She knows, or at least thinks she knows that I won't stop at any walls to bring her down. What’s to stop her from thinking I'd out her? No, the threat is way more juicy and priceless than the actual act itself. It's literally the perfect crime.”

Sweetie continues to frown. “I don't know... this is getting into territory I don't think I'm comfortable with now. Isn't it enough to make everyone know she's still evil? It just seems... cruel.”

“Cruel?” Scootaloo puts her arms behind her head. “To Sunset? Come on. How many people do you think she used their sexuality as blackmail before? It's just a taste of her own medicine. If she didn't wanna drink it then she wouldn't have made all of us drink it.”

Sweetie Belle sighs and leans back as well. “Well what if... what if she told the truth to Rarity, and she really is bi, and she wouldn't actually have done that?”

Scootaloo shrugs. “Eh. She did plenty of other bad stuff to make up for it. Remember that time that she had Snips plant weed in Rainbow Dash’s locker? Rain almost got expelled for it. That would've completely ruined her life, way beyond a little bit of teasing over being gay.”

Sweetie Belle wrings her hands together, but reluctantly nods. “Okay...” she pulls the covers out from under her body and slides into bed. “I’m sure you're right...”

“Yeah, I’m sure too. G’night.”

As Scootaloo leans over to turn the lamp off, Sweetie Belle gazes off out the window into the stars. She purses her lips, and tries to push down the gnawing, wriggling sensation in her stomach.

“Scoots...” she silently muses to herself. “What are we getting ourselves into?”

/x/x/x/

Princess Luna gallops through the hallways of her dreamscape, countless doors rushing by on either side.

“Where was it!?” She cries, panic fueling her voice and adrenaline fueling her limbs. “It was right here!” Eventually her hooffalls stop and she skids to a halt in front of an empty part of wall where a door should be.

She clops a hoof against the empty space, panting heavily. She wipes the sweat off her brow with a navy blue wing.

“Celestia...” she taps her horn against the wall. “You were here. You were just here, I swear I felt it...” she opens her eyes and glares at the wall. She punches it with a hoof.

“Who are you?” She asks the emptiness. “Who are you that you dream of my sister?”

A white hoof lays itself upon Luna’s shoulder. She follows it to its owner, to her sister standing in regal white.

“Luna...” she greets. “It's nearly midday.”

“Celly...” Luna turns back to glare at the not-door. “Somepony beyond Limbo dreamt of you. I fear it may be a great danger to this world beyond that of my ability to perceive or comprehend.”

“Luna, please...” Celestia sighs. “You must rest. Also you’re sleeptrotting. Your body is in the middle of the throne room.”

“I cannot rest when you may be in danger, sister...” Luna presses her hoofs to where the knob should have been. “I cannot focus on the tantabus when this mystery is abound.”

“It is no mystery, Luna. I...” Celestia nuzzles her sister. “It's Sunset Shimmer. This is where her door was when she still lived in Equestria. Many moons ago, long before you returned to me, I would catch fleeting glimpses of my presence, small flecks of dream magic calling my name. It was a bittersweet reminder that sometimes she remembered me just as I remember her every single day. I am not in danger by any stretch of the imagination, nor is Equestria.”

Luna nods, somberly. “I understand... but... were they always nightmares?”

Celestia pulls back. “Nightmares?”

“That's a no then.”

Celestia places a hoof on the wall. “Sunset...” she sighs. “Have I really become the product of your bad dreams?”

Suddenly a spark appears from where her hoof made contact. It glows white, pink, green, blue. It matches the shades of Celestia’s mane. It then flashes scarlet and cadmium yellow, before fading out entirely.

“Sister...” Luna returns the earlier nuzzle. “If what you say is true, which I believe it to be, then surely the nightmare didn't feature you, but rather the guilt and regret of leaving you in the state she did.”

Celestia rests her head on her sister’s. “Perhaps. In any case I trust she is doing well in the capable hands of her newfound friends.”

Luna blinks. “Hands?”

Celestia chuckles. “Perhaps I'll explain that to you in due time.” Her expression then turns serious. “Now GO TO BED.”

Luna sighs in only the way that a younger sister could. “Fiiiiiine...”

/x/x/x/

Applejack cradles the back-asleep Sunset in her arms, as she waits for Rainbow Dash to unmake the bed. Rainbow carefully moves around Fluttershy so as not to wake her. Eventually the path is clear, and Applejack slides her way under the sheets.

“You guys are a sandwich...” Pinkie whispers, giggling.

“Yeah, yeah...” Applejack maneuvers herself so Sunset lays comfortably between her friends. “And hey, Dash, sorry again about your shin.”

“Well you should be,” Rainbow mutters, eyeing the dark purple splotch on her leg. “Why did you put the coffee table right in front of the door?”

“Sorry I didn't think y'all wouldn’t walk slow like a normal person.”

Rainbow offers a rude hand gesture and stuck-out tongue in response.

“Okay that ain't fair,” Applejack replies, silently huffing. “My hands are both occupied.”

Sunset stirs, and everyone freezes before a gentle smile crosses her face.

“Awww...” Pinkie murmurs, putting her hands against her cheeks. “So cuuuute~”

“Eh.” Rainbow shrugs. “I've seen cuter.”

“Will you two varmints get out?” Applejack whispers urgently. “Don't wake Fluttershy or Sunset!”

“Alright, alright,” Rainbow placates, holding her palms out. “Hold your horses.”

Pinkie snickers. “She literally is holding her horse.”

AJ and Dash share a groan.

/x/x/x/
> 7- Torch
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

/x/x/x/

The night passes without incident.

Applejack is the first to awaken. Her eyes adjust quickly, as the bedroom door seemed to be open. The hall light just outside is off, but residual light from the kitchen bleeds through, painting a single stripe of pale beige across the bed. The streak passes right across the space between Applejack’s face and the crimson-and-yellow hair of the girl resting in her arms.

Over Sunset’s head, Applejack can just barely make out Fluttershy’s forehead. She doesn't dare move for fear of disturbing the quiet sleep before her, but simply allows her mind to wake itself up. Through the curtains on Fluttershy’s window, the sun just begins to rise. Clearly, years and years of waking up at dawn have firmly set her circadian rhythms in place.

Perhaps because of this, in no time at all, Applejack's limbs grow restless. They yearn to perform manual labor. Still, momentary discomfort will be worth it if Sunset slept, so suffer in silence she does.

Not that it is such a terrible fate, or anything like that. There are much worse sensations in the world than cuddling. The bedding is soft, Sunset is soft, and the only thing Applejack can really criticize is the fact that due to a variety of reasons, she had to skip bathing Sunset. Not this time though. That will be the first thing on the ledger for the morning, aside from ointment and fresh gauze.

Thinking beyond that, though, puts Applejack in a mood difficult to describe in words. She frowns, as her mind wanders to the events of the previous night. Rarity, Scootaloo, Flash, and who knew how many other people will stand opposing Sunset’s innocence and recovery. Still, hopefully it wouldn't be too terrible for too long. Surely the worst must be passed by now.

Across the bed, Applejack feels movement.

“Hey Shy,” she whispers. “You awake?”

Fluttershy merely grunts in response. Applejack suppresses a giggle, as before this moment, she didn't think that noise was even capable of coming out of that girl.

“I'll take that as a yes, then.”

“Apple...jack?” She asks, sitting up and rubbing the grit out of her eyes. “You... slept here?”

“Mmhmm. Sunset had a... sleepwalkin’ incident last night. So I put her back to bed and got on her other side, to make sure she stayed. Hope that's okay with you.”

Fluttershy nods. “That's okay. I just didn't expect to hear you when I woke up. She sleepwalked?”

Applejack sighs and feebly attempts to extricate herself from Sunset’s iron grip. “Yeah... I woke her up and she was scared to death I was gonna hurt her. Said she thought last night was just a dream.”

“Oh...” she puts a gentle hand on Sunset’s head. “Poor thing...” she sighs. “I... we really messed up. Didn't we.”

“Mhmm. But what's done is done. Past is past. Now we just focus on what to do next, and help her one day at a time. And on the schedule today is definitely... a bath.”

“Yeah, I wasn't gonna say anything, but it smells like she hasn't taken one in a while. I'm gonna go ahead and wash the sheets and pillowcases today. Where, um...” she slips out of bed and stands up, faded grey nightgown trailing behind her. “Where is everyone going to be today, actually?”

Applejack shrugs, or at least tries to. “I definitely gotta go home an’ talk to my sister. Whether Suns comes with me home is gonna be up to her. Dash an’ Pinkie, I dunno their schedule. It's probably up in the air now that Rare is...” she trails off.

Fluttershy frowns. “Right... Rarity.” She huffs and crosses her arms. “That girl really peeved me last night. She came to my house, she insulted my friends, she instigated with them, and then after a simple misunderstanding she called me and...” she leans against her dresser and glares at the floor. “I don't know what I'm going to do when school starts up again on Monday and I have to see her again.”

“It'll be fine,” Applejack assuages. “I'm sure she got the message to steer clear of you. At least until she apologizes for what she did, and... well I can't say she’ll ever believe Sunset didn't do nothin’ we accused her of if she ain't already, but hopefully sooner rather than later she forgives Sunset for the illusion of wrongdoin’. For now though, there's still a whole weekend left before we gotta worry about that.”

“Yes... you're right. Right now Sunset is more important than me or Rarity. I might start to make breakfast. I think there are english muffins in the refrigerator. And eggs, but...”

“Don't worry none, if I want eggs I'll make ‘em myself. The muffins sound just fine for right now. I'd come with, but I'm... otherwise occupied.”

Fluttershy nods and heads out of her room and down the hall. Once in the living room she smiles at the sleeping forms of Rainbow and Pinkie. The former lay atop the latter, sprawled out on the couch. Both were snoring loudly.

Fluttershy enters the kitchen and makes busy with the toaster. In just a few minutes she has two perfectly toasted muffins coated in just the right amount of “butter”. It's made of soy, not animals, and tastes (almost) the same. She sets one on a paper towel and takes a bite of the other.

Before her, she notices Rainbow beginning to stir. She sets her own breakfast down and readies another set. Once the toaster begins working its magic, Rainbow pulls herself up from her human mattress.

“Toast...” she murmurs, before yawning. She pulls herself off the couch and migrates into the kitchen, throwing an arm around the shoulders of her oldest friend. “Mornin...”

“Not had your coffee yet?”

Rainbow nods.

“I can get some running for you if you'd like.”

“Nrr... I got it...” she pulls away and slinks off into the corner. She pulls out the big pot of grounds and sets off on making the wake-up juice. By the time the machine is ready, her ‘toast’ pops up.

“Margie’s here already,” Fluttershy murmurs, pulling a jug of orange juice out from the fridge and setting it on the counter. “I'll bring Applejack hers then be right back.”

Rainbow pops her a thumbs-up before setting to work with the toaster.

Fluttershy swiftly returns to her bedroom and delivers the breakfast.

“Thankee kindly,” Applejack greets, taking a bite. “Oh, that ain't bu’er. Ain't had mar’rine since I was a kid.”

“Rainbow’s making coffee.”

“Coffee, eh?” Applejack swallows. “I'll be out once this one wakes up.”

“I could stay here with Sunset while you go out there.”

“I appreciate that gesture but I ain't movin’. This girl’s got a trap like iron.”

Fluttershy sits. “Then I'll just sit here with you until she does.”

They eat in silence. Applejack is conscious of the crumbs she can't help but leave behind, but lets the tension go free as she remembers the sheets would be washed anyway. After all, Fluttershy didn't seem to mind. But then again, she never actively seemed to mind anything. You could pour soup into her lap and she'd apologize to you, so last night’s actions towards Rarity were entirely uncharacteristic. However, considering the extenuating circumstances, AJ not only understood but also agreed with them.

Sunset eventually stirs.

“You awake, Sunshine?”

She groans and nestles deeper into the embrace. “Yeah...” she murmurs. “I think so. Unless this is a dream again...” she chuckles lightly at this. “Nah. I didn't really dream last night but I did feel magical presence emanating from alicorns. Must have been the princesses. Or, eh, the main two, not including Twilight and, uh, whatsherface. Forgot.”

“How's that?” Applejack asks. “That'd be Celestia and Luna, right? Aren't they the princesses over in Equestria?”

“The very same.” Sunset turns over, freeing AJ’s arm in the process. “I think Luna must’ve flipped out because I dreamt of Celestia, which I haven't done since, well, the time of Nightmare Moon.”

“Who's that?” Fluttershy asks.

“Oh, hey Shy,” Sunset greets. “Didn't know you were still in here. Eh, I don't really know too much, just that she was an ancient legend that turned out to be real. But sometime between me coming here and Twilight coming here, Luna was evil and tried to take over the world, but Twilight stopped her and turned her good again. Heh. She sure does that a lot, doesn't she...”

“Heck of a coincidence that she did it twice. I'm sure glad it happened to you though, Suns, ‘cuz I like ya a whole lot better good.”

“I like me better good too.” She sniffs the air. “You making coffee?”

“In the kitchen,” Fluttershy answers, holding a hand out. Sunset graciously accepts the help, and allows herself to be pulled up. “And toast.”

“Is it the whole grain kind of bread?”

“Oh...” Fluttershy turns and looks away. “Yes but it's not bread, it's English muffin.”

Sunset blinks. “What the heck is English?”

“It's named after a country called Anglo.” Applejack stretches, and cracks her spine back in place. “It's somewhere across the ocean near Saddle Arabia. Maybe. I dunno, it doesn't matter. I got a hankering for some coffee, we can talk about geography later.”

The three trail down the hall and into the kitchen proper, to find that Pinkie Pie had not only awoken, but was eating a short stack of pancakes that was covered in whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and sprinkles. She waves, mouth full of sugar.

“Pinkie?” Fluttershy asks. “Where did you-”

“Don't ask,” Rainbow warns, a shellshocked expression adoring her face. “You really don't wanna know. Oh, and uh, I toasted the rest of the package.”

“Thanks Dashie.” Fluttershy steps next to her, letting the other two at the counter. “I'll just buy more with the card this week. How's the coffee?”

Rainbow flashes a thumbs up as she chugs down from the mug.

“You know,” Sunset slowly says as she looks at the bread. “When you said muffin I thought something completely different. This looks more like a... like a flat crumpet.”

Rainbow cocks a brow as she wipes off her mouth with the back of her hand. “WTF is a crumpet?”

“It's like a biscuit,” Applejack adds. “And I guess it kinda looks like a flat biscuit.”

“What?” Sunset leans back. “How does this look like a biscuit? It's...” she pokes one. “It's bread. Biscuits are, like, crunchy cookies. Or crackers.”

“Biscuits ain't crackers!” Applejack cried. “You eat ‘em with gravy.”

“You put GRAVY on your COOKIES?” Sunset asks, bewildered.

“And they sure as heck aren't cookies either!” Rainbow’s eyes bulge out of her skull as she says this.

“I'm just saying what they look like to me!” Sunset defends.

Pinkie dips her head in. “Hold on a sec. Hey Sunset, what am I eating?”

She looks over at the plate. “Uh... pancakes. Or, uh, is this a trick question? Really thick crepes.”

“Not flapjacks?” Pinkie asks.

Sunset nods. “No, aren't those like granola bars or something?”

Pinkie puts a finger to her chin. “What do you call the fried potatoes that come with hay burgers?”

“Chips.”

“Guys.” Pinkie looks around the room. “I think that Equestria’s british.”

“Ooohhh...” chimed everyone- excluding Sunset- at the revelation.

Sunset merely blinks. “What.”

“We call scones biscuits here.” Pinkie explains.

Sunset snaps and points her finger at the muffin. “Yes, it looks just like a flat scone! That could definitely go good with gravy for a savory angle but I usually use raspberry jam... why do you guys call things the wrong name? Is that a regional thing?”

“No,” Rainbow corrects. “You people in horseland call things the wrong name. Here, we get the names of food from all the immigrants who came here dozens of decades ago. Like the Koniks and the Hanoverians. You know, my people.”

A beat of silence passes before Pinkie snickers. “Nerrrrrd!”

“It's not nerdy, it's history!”

“That’s pretty nerdy, sug.”

Rainbow gapes. “Wha? Come on! Fluttershy, help me out here!”

Fluttershy purses her lips. “I am an impartial mediator.”

Rainbow slumps her shoulders, defeated. “Maaaan...”

“I honestly didn't know that,” Sunset says, ‘butter’ing a muffin. “I never really studied geopolitics or socioeconomics. I'll have a discussion with Twili-” she gasps. “The journal!” She turns. “Hey, uh, AJ, can we go get it at some point soon? I wanna answer Twilight as soon as she replies.”

“We can get it today, darlin’,” she promises, clapping a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “We actually gotta talk about who’s gonna go where today anyway, all of us, because uh... I've got the only car now that Rarity is... away.”

Everyone continues preparing their breakfast before transitioning the conversation to the table in the dining corner. Applejack takes the corner seat, and sitting clockwise from her is Pinkie, then an empty seat, then Rainbow, then Fluttershy, and finally Sunset.

“Fluttershy,” Applejack begins. “First off, please let me thank you for bein’ such a gracious host today n’ yesterday. We all appreciate it, especially Suns.”

“Oh yeah,” Sunset says, nodding. “Definitely. Thanks Shy.”

Pinkie and Rainbow offer their thanks as well.

“Oh, it's nothing. I enjoy having you girls over... for a while. I might need a quiet night alone tonight though because of... all of the drama.”

“Alright,” Applejack continues. “That brings us to the second point nicely. Dash, Pinkie, Sunset, the three of you need to figure out where I'm takin’ y'all tonight to stay. Ya don't gotta go home but as Fluttershy says you can't stay here. Now, Sunset, I ain't lettin’ ya stay in your apartment alone. You understand that it's because I want you to have a friend around and not because I don't trust you to be alone or anythin’ like that, right?”

She nods. “Yeah. I also don't want me to stay in my apartment alone. Not yet, anyways.”

“That's good to hear. Here's the main issue I’m seein’, though. Now, y'all are more than welcome to stay with me for the night. But with that bein’ said, Applebloom is there, and I don't know where you are, mentally, to be around her considerin’ what she did to you.”

Sunset grips the table, turning her knuckles white. “I can't see her. Not tonight. Sorry.”

“Don't apologize to me, Suns. You ain't ready, you ain't ready. So now, it falls to...” she turns her attention to her left. “You two. Dash, Pinkie. What were and are y’all’s plans for the weekend?”

Rainbow sighs. “Well, the three of us were gonna go to the mall, but that isn't really gonna happen. My plans are all up in the air now, but I can do whatever. Mom and dad are home all weekend so I can use the car, assuming it made its way back home safe. Pink?”

Pinkie shrugs. “Mommy, Marble, and Maud are home, Daddy and Limestone are still at the farm conference, I can do whatever too but I can't drive. Ball’s in Sunny’s court!”

Sunset begins to fidget her fingers together. “So like... my choices are to stay at Rainbow’s or to stay at Pinkie’s then?”

The two nod.

“I mean, you’ve been to Pinkie’s house already,” Rainbow says, gazing intently upon her finger nails. “It would only be fair if you stayed the night with me.”

“Nuh-uh, that doesn't count!” Pinkie defends. “That was everyone, it wasn't just Sunset. She hasn't had a chance to see what my house is like when it's not party central. To just have a nice and quiet night away from the noise and traffic of the city.”

Almost on cue, a train rolled by, rattling the walls of the apartment. Conversation effectively halted for a minute before it passed.

“Okay you make a fair point,” Rainbow replies, resting her head on a fist, elbow propped up onto the table. “But consider this: Sunset’s never even seen my house. Granted not very many people have. Except Fluttershy. The number of times she’s been to your house? More than zero.”

“Okay miss smarty pants, counter-counterpoint. It wouldn't be fair to me or Applejack if Sunset got to spend the night at your house and we didn't. Therefore, I get her tonight. You can get her tomorrow.”

Rainbow taps her fingers on the table for a second before sighing and leaning back. “Okay fine, you win, but only because I probably need to clean my room before anyone comes over anyway. That and if we’d gone Rock Paper Scissors you'd win anyway because you always win.”

“Yay!” Pinkie exclaims. “I win Sunset for the night!”

Sunset frowns in confusion. “So, wait, you guys were debating about which one of you... ‘gets’ me? Not which one of you has to have me?”

“What do you mean?” Pinkie asks, tilting her head to the side. “What's the difference?”

“Hold up.” Rainbow leans back forward. “Sunset, did you think we were trying to pawn you off on the other or something?”

Sunset hesitatingly shrugs.

“Dude, we like being around you. We...” Rainbow sighs. “Well, I know it seems like we don't, or at least didn't, all this past month. But that was just because of stuff that wasn't true. Like I told Fluttershy, you're more than just a friend to us. You’re family. And now that all the Anon a Miss stuff is behind us, I wanna start to make it right. I wanna be as good a friend to you as you've been to us. I...”

She pauses as she drinks her coffee, and sits pensively for a moment before continuing.

“You know, AJ has Mac and Bloom. Pinkie has Maud, and Limestone, and Marble. Rarity has Belle. Fluttershy has Zephyr- well, he hardly counts- but she also has me, and I have her. And I would give anything in the world to keep that even if I lost everything else. But you... when you were bad, and you drove that wedge between us, I was alone. I had the team, but that was about it. And when I went home I had nobody. So I know what it's like to be alone, and miss having had close friends. I know what you must feel like. And I care about you and I don't want you to feel like that any more. I don't know about Pinks but as for me... you're my friend and I... and I love you. I wanna prove it to you. I wanna spend time with you, I wanna hang out with you, I wanna just sit and do nothing while you're there next to me. And I don't want you to feel like you've clearly been feeling these past few weeks. I need to do my part to fix what I helped broke, you know?”

She wipes her eyes with the heels of her hands. “Sorry, I...” she sniffs. “Ugh, that was so sappy.”

Sunset stands and strides around the table, taking the empty chair between Rainbow and Pinkie, then puts her arms as not-awkwardly as she could given her semi-limited mobility around Rainbow.

“I don't think it was sappy, I think that's sweet. I didn't know that I made that much of an impact on you. On any of you. It... makes me feel so much better. I honestly thought you guys were having a, ‘let's try to make the other person have a better reason to take me on’ type of deal. This whole conversation kinda seemed like... you know, AJ saying ‘not it’ because of Applebloom, and Fluttershy saying ‘not it’ because I was here last night, and... kinda went a little crazy. But that whole ‘I need to fix what I broke’ thing, let me tell you that as much as you say you felt my isolation, I feel that. I was so terrible to all of you for so long. Especially to you, Rain... I mean if you all can forgive me and get past all the evil things I did, I'm having no problem at all forgiving all of you. The lie the kids put together was airtight when all three of them were working together, so given all of the circumstances and evidence I understand why you did what you did and said what you said. I guess I just had a little trouble just now in getting back into the mindset of, not everyone hates you, you know?”

Rainbow grips back, burying her face in Sunset’s hair.

“Even when I hated you I didn't really hate you, until you planted the drugs in my locker. But even then after Twilight came, and you apologized for that, and we moved on, I... I don't want you to think that we’re trying to unload you onto each other. I'm actually legit bummed that I've gotta wait another night before you and I get to have a sleepover. But I do hope you have fun with Pinkie tonight. And I can just wait an extra day.”

“Dashie...” Pinkie murmurs. “You can have her tonight if you really want to. I can wait. I didn't know it was that important to you.”

Sunset pulls back slightly- not enough to leave Rainbow’s embrace, but enough that Rainbow and Pinkie could have an unobstructed view of each other.

“Really?” Rainbow asks. “But what about you?”

Pinkie shrugs. “You need Sunset more than I want her. And, uh. Being completely honest, I haven't told Maud that Sunset’s not Anon-a-Miss just yet. Maud kiiiinda might try to destroy Sunset on sight.”

Everyone chuckles at this, except for Pinkie.

“No, girls, I’m serious. Maud knows capoeira!”

/x/x/x/

Rarity wakes up to a gentle hand on her forehead.

“Are you awake?”

Rarity moans, turning away from the voice.

“No...”

The hand begins stroking softly.

“I heard from your sister that you had a bad night.”

“Yes, mother.”

Cookie kisses her daughter’s forehead. “Bow picked up his car last night when your father got home. You shouldn't have to deal with those girls for a while yet, until they get some sense about them.”

Rarity turns at this. “Sense how?”

“Well, of course, by realizing that that absolutely awful Shimmer girl is lying and manipulating Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo’s little friend.”

“Ah...” Rarity sighs and turns back away. “Yes. I’m sure they will. Eventually. I'll be here waiting for an apology, exchanging it for forgiveness. I just wish I wouldn't need to wait. How are the girls?”

“Oh, they're fine. A little bummed that Applebloom is grounded, but otherwise in decently high spirits. They're watching Neightflix in the living room while I watch my soaps on the computer.”

A meow interrupts their conversation.

“Hello Opal,” Rarity greets, putting a hand over. “Psspsspss?”

Opal ignores her, and steps over her body to curl up in the corner of the bed.

“How are you feeling?” Cookie asks. “Sweetie mentioned that your friends insulted and cursed at you.”

Rarity huffs and crosses her arms. “It wasn't entirely unprovoked, but yes. Rainbow called me a... a whore-”

“No!”

“Yes. To be completely fair it was in response to my insinuation that her intelligence was low for believing in Sunset’s lies. But she also threw her car keys at me, and used profanities that I won't repeat. And then when I got home, Fluttershy told me over the phone that she and I aren't on speaking terms until I believe Sunset.”

Cookie nods as she strokes her daughter’s head. “Sounds rough. I wish there was something more I could do to help. The things I would do to that vile Shimmer... and to top it all off, making up rumors about Scootaloo’s... sexuality, ugh. After everything she’s been through with her mother...”

Rarity blinks. “Her mother?”

“Oh, you... didn't know?”

“Didn't know what?”

Cookie retracts her hand and stands. “I've said too much already. I didn't know she hadn't told you. In any case, it’s best not to discuss such matters at a time like this. Is there anything you need? I can get a tub of that vanilla oatmeal ice cream you always turn to when you're in a low mood. Or just some space if you need some time alone.”

“The vanilla oat swirl... the vanilla oatmeal is a different kind altogether. But that would be delightful and appreciated. Thank you.”

“Wonderful! I'll head out to the market in a little bit, just gotta do a load of laundry first. I'll see you in the evening, I'm making fried meatloaf tonight. Oh and don't worry, I know you don't eat fried meat so I'll get that cranberry salad you like too. I love you!”

“I love you too, mother...” Rarity turns and faces the wall as her mom shuts the door behind her.

“Scootaloo’s... mother?” She muses silently. “Come to think of it, I know nothing about her parents other than that her father is anti gay. Hm...” she buries her head back into her pillow. “Five more minutes won't hurt anyone...”

/x/x/x/

“Alright sug,” Applejack says with a sense of finality as the meal concludes. “We’ve delayed long enough, but ya smell bad. It's bath time.”

Sunset shrugs. “Might as well. Got nothing else to do. And uh. I'm sure if it’s as bad as you say it is, then it is. Hopefully this one involves less of your spit than the last one did.”

Fluttershy and Pinkie give each other a strange look as Rainbow cracks a smile. “She gave ya the ol’ spitshine TPA, huh?”

Sunset snorts laughing at this, but Applejack glares like a stern mother, even balling her fists and placing them at her hips.

“Yes,” she says, disappointment flooding her voice. “But I would prefer you call it something more family friendly. Such as CPB.”

“Pffft, okay square.”

“Square? Oh, you varmint-” Applejack grabs some leftover whipped cream from Pinkie’s plate and tries to wipe it on Rainbow’s head. “Come here, see how ya like scrubbing sugar outta your hair!”

“Party foul! Party foul!” Rainbow manages to fight off the onslaught of milky aerosol and keep it from besmirching her multicolored locks. “Keep the hair out of this!”

Their play-wrestling brings them to the floor, Applejack straddling the athlete to keep her held in place. Rainbow began to blush furiously, clearly due to the blood rushing to her head from the sudden physical activity and for no other reason.

“Okay, okay, you win, uncle! Just... go for the face, not the hair!”

Applejack does as asked before winking, removing her hat, and placing it on Rainbow’s head. She leans back and pumps her fists in the air, victorious.

“Wholesome language wins again!” She cheers, before sliding herself backwards a little. “Now say it.”

Rainbow motions to find a place to put her arms, and settles for flat against the floor. “Okay, CPB. CPB. Now come on, get up, you're... look, muscle weighs a lot.”

Applejack does so, and Rainbow scrambles to get back up. She wipes the cream off her face and steps back to the table to wipe off her hand. She exchanges a glance with Sunset, with Fluttershy, and with Pinkie. Sunset and Fluttershy give her looks of concern, while Pinkie just confirms that she got the schmutz.

“Alright,” Applejack exhales and tries to catch her breath. “That's enough exercise for the morning. Hoo-wee!” She takes her tank top and wipes her face with it, unknowingly causing Rainbow’s face to blanch. She drops it back down and sets a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “Alright, filly, that's enough delay. Time to get you clean.”

The two head off to the bathroom, Sunset sparing a quick glance back. Rainbow just gives her a half hearted smirk and a nod before the two head inside.

Applejack clicks the door behind her, before quickly opening it back up. “Oh hey, Shy, hope you don't mind picking out some clothes or something you don't wear anymore that Suns can try on when she's out. I ain't apt to make her wear the same stuff twice. That okay with you?”

Fluttershy nods and takes Rainbow by the hand into their bedroom.

“And... I'll wash the dishes!” Pinkie supplies, as the two doors pull themselves shut.

“Alright Suns, let's take a look at those arms first.”

The two sit down, as Applejack begins to unravel the gauze. She goes for both sides at once, fingers lithely dancing as they unwrap. She raises her brows as the cuts began showing.

“Oh, that's a good sign, they ain't too infected. I'm gonna press on ‘em gently to see what your pain tolerance is like, if that's okay?”

Sunset nods her consent and braces for the pain. And yet surprisingly, it doesn't come.

“You do it?” She asks.

“Mmhmm. Did you feel it?”

“Well I felt your finger but I didn't feel any pain. Well maybe a little but like not enough for me to register anything.”

“Well that's most likely good. I ain't a doctor so I don't know, but these don't look as bad. I feel like they healed on their own somewhat over the course of this happenin’. They look clean too without all the dry blood. I mean there's still some fresh, but it's mostly just congealed splotches. Here’s hopin’ we can just use water to get it off, but we’ll go gentle, okay?”

Sunset nods. “Yeah. Oh, and um. I know you saw me topless yesterday but are you sure you're fine with seeing me, you know... bottomless?”

Applejack shrugs as she brings Sunset up to standing. “It's just a vagina, hun, it ain’t gonna bite me. Unless y'all in Equestria really do have teeth down there, heh... and anyway, like I said before. I helped Mac pee when his arms were broke. This ain't gonna be nothin’ for me, so don't worry, okay?”

Sunset sighs. “Alright. With that outta the way let's get this over with I guess.” She puts her arms forward as Applejack gets to work removing her clothes.

Needless to say it was a lot easier getting everything off than it was getting it all on. Especially seeing as Applejack didn't really have any qualms having her fingers brush up against Sunset’s less-platonic bits. She didn't react or comment and so it didn't particularly bother Sunset. It just felt... clinical. Natural. Normal.

After less than a minute Sunset stood before Applejack wearing as much as she did back as a pony. Which was nothing. Applejack stepped back and removed her tank top, sending Sunset’s eyebrows up.

“Uh...?”

“Well I'm gonna get a little wet,” Applejack explains, also removing her pants. “Hope it ain't gonna bother you. I mean, you did see Rare in her underwear so it shouldn't but if it does I suppose I can try to be a bit more careful or borrow some of Fluttershy’s-”

“Oh, that isn't necessary. I get it. I was just, I guess confused? Back in Equestria we had public bath houses. The real upper class places had unicorns and pegasi with hydrokinetic tendencies moving the water around without it touching you. No big deal.”

“Hydro what now?” Applejack asks, turning on the hot water.

“Hydro, ki-net-ic. It means, sometimes pegasi are born with the innate ability to move water with their minds. In small quantities of course. Typically about as much as a cloud. Most of them either go to work at the rainbow factories, where we make rainbows and clouds and snowflakes and lighting bolts and all sorts of stuff, or they find work in Canterlot, spas, bathhouses, et cetera.”

“Oh, that's cool.” She adjusts the cold water a bit. “How do you want the water?”

“Whatever’s best for you and isn't ice, I'm not picky.” Sunset steps into the tub, letting the water warm her feet. “Oh, that's nice... I forgot how good hot water feels on the skin. Anyway, yeah, like I was saying, we didn't have to worry about getting wet, and I just forgot for a second that there isn't any magic in this world.”

“Well, there's some magic. It's just not, you know, from unicorns.”

“Right, right, the latent magic. Just, you know what I meant.”

“Mhmm. Just givin’ you a hard time.”

Sunset gasps in mock offense. “Hoooow could you?”

Applejack playfully splashes her with her fingers. “Because I'm eeeeevil~”

“Gasp. Oh no. What ever shall we do. Hey Twilight, we got another one! Work your magic!”

Applejack snickers as she turns the water off. “Heh. I guess we do have our very own purgin’ stone just a dimension hop away... I just wish we could see her sooner than two and a half years from now.”

Sunset crouches and sits in the water, stretching her legs forward. “Purging stone?”

She shrugs. “It's from a video game. It's an item that removes curse, a status effect that halves your max hit points.”

“Hit... points?”

“Your, uh. Your health. The number of times you can get hit before you die.”

“Oh. So uh. Why not just... not get hit?”

“That's where the fun comes in.” Applejack reaches for the soap. “Do y'all want the cucumber melon, the kiwi lime, the rosemary mint, or the... uh... sawdust grinder?”

“If it's for hair, I like mint.”

“Mint it is.” She grabs the bottle and squirts some into the palm of her hand. “You able to get it wet yourself?”

Sunset nods and maneuvers herself forward, partially submerging her head in the water. She emerges, hair drenched and sticking to her body halfway down to her back. Pale brown rivulets drip down into the tub, staining the water.

“Your hair’s real pretty,” Applejack says, ignoring the spread of the grime. “What do you usually use to condition it with?”

Sunset gives a little melancholy half-smile. “Mane and tail... yeah, the horse stuff. But my hair’s so thick and coarse that it's basically the same deal. I'm not really sure how much of it to use. Probably not enough since it’s usually so rough and wiry.”

“Girl, don't sell yourself short.” Applejack begins to massage the shampoo into Sunset’s scalp. “Your hair gives you character. It's, uh. Got volume. I think that's the word for it. Sometimes I overhear girls at school talkin’ about it, and they're a mite bit envious of ya.”

“Hmm...” Sunset closes her eyes and leans into the sensation. “I'll take your word for it then. Back home in Equestria, my mane style was in a league of its own. All the mares were jealous of my mane, behind my magical talent and closeness to the Princess. I knew it, too, which is why I always strived for it to be the biggest and fullest I could make it. Only problem is, well, it drew a lot of attention from the stallions. Luckily I was good at brushing them off.”

“You weren't much for datin’, huh?”

“That's not really the case, it just-” she pauses and opens her eyes, then mulls over her next words before sighing and closing them again. “I didn't really care much for stallions. To be honest I was more looking for mares. I mean, if I ever found a stallion who could keep up with me that’d be fine because I like stallions, but mares were, you know. More easy to dominate in a relationship.”

“You're... that way?”

Sunset shrugs. “I mean I guess so. It wasn't really anything special to talk about, just a normal part of our society. It's not really a certain ‘way’ for us, it's just life.”

“Oh. Well I ain't got a problem with that. I got two cousins who are lesbians. Well, one of them’s my second cousin once removed, an’ the other’s her partner, I don't got two cousins who are together, but uh. I ain't gonna treat ya less for it. It's your business.”

“I figure you're not an intolerant ass like some other people we go to school with. That's why I trust you enough to mention it.”

“I get that.” Applejack’s hands migrate down to the ends of Sunset’s hair. “If any of you girls were gay I'd be okay, really. I mean, maybe I wouldn't get naked in front of you, if it made you uncomfortable, but it wouldn't change nothin’ in our friendship. Okay I think I got it, let’s rinse.”

Meanwhile in the room across the hall...

“But what if it makes her uncomfortable and changes things in our friendship?” Rainbow whispers. “I just got AJ back into my life, I don't wanna lose her again. I already lost a friend in Sunset before, and now with Rarity...” she presses her palms to her eyes. “Gah, why can't I just be straight? This would be so much easier!”

“It might make some things easier,” Fluttershy soothes, laying outfits out on the bed. “But then you wouldn't be the Rainbow Dash we all know and love. And trust me, I really don't think you'll lose Applejack. Don't you know about her cousins?”

“Yeah, I... I know. But that's family.”

“And we’re family too.” Fluttershy steps over and pulls her friend’s head to her stomach. “And once Sunset is back to her normal self, you'll have all the time in the world you need to figure out when and where and who to tell. Although, you could talk about it now, and Sunset would feel better and be glad that you trust her enough.”

“Oh she... she already knows.”

Fluttershy blinks. “Oh. I didn't know that. Well. Okay then. So who else knows?”

Rainbow shrugs. “You. And probably Twilight if the pony version of me is out. And also a lesbian. Huh. I wonder if our horseland versions are the same in that way too... anyway, yeah. I told Sunset before, when she came to me that time to plant the weed in my locker.”

“Oh, I see. That makes sense...” she pauses for a beat. “What kind of cannabis?”

Rainbow pulls back. “What?”

“I'm just curious what kind of strain it was. It must have been purple hydrangea since it’s grown local by Tree. I could ask her if she sold to Sunset back then but I don't think she remembers that far back.”

Rainbow glances over to the poster on the wall of the red, yellow, and green stripes. She looks back to the other wall at the poster with the teddy bears and the skull over a red and blue background. She looks down at the 100% pure hemp threaded sheets she’s sitting on. Something in her brain clicks.

“Oh my god. Fluttershy, are you a stoner?”

She shrugs. “It helps with my anxiety.”

Rainbow shows no expression for a moment, and bursts out laughing.

“You... I... it... this...” she takes a breath. “Okay, I absolutely did not expect that at all. How long have you been like this?”

Fluttershy gives her a weird look. “What do you mean? Since middle school, of course. Just look at the other eco-kids.”

“...holy shit.”

Fluttershy looks over the outfits laid out on the bed. “These aren't really Sunset’s aesthetic, unless she likes wearing sheltered middle school girl with body image issues dresses. But I like this one,” she fingers a thin periwinkle dress with patterned white dots and a little bit of lace ruffles at the collar. “It would go really well with some white tights, this jean crop jacket, and maybe this charcoal newsboy hat. The color palette would contrast really well with her skin and hair, and make her eyes really pop.”

“Yeah, sounds good, how come I've never seen you smoke? Like, when do you do it?”

“Oh? Um. Usually in the mornings I might take a few hits... I don't do a lot. I don't get high, I just do enough to calm my nerves. Although recently I've been doing more of the oil. Um, I made a batch of cookies recently with some butter, and one or two of those is usually the same THC as a hit. I didn't know this meant so much to you.”

“Hm? Well, no, I don't really care about getting high. I'm just curious; you're my oldest friend and I still don't know everything there is to know about you. I like learning things about my friends.”

“Ah.” Fluttershy sets the outfit together on the bed. “Yes, this looks really good. It's a bit short on the thigh now which is why I stopped wearing it but I know that won't bother Sunset... do you think it would help her?”

Rainbow tilts her head. “What would help who?”

“What if I had Sunset smoke a little, or have a cookie. Do you think maybe it would help her out mentally and emotionally?”

“Help out how?”

Fluttershy sits at the edge of the bed. “Applejack told me Sunset sleepwalked last night. What exactly happened?”

Rainbow leans back, resting her head on her hands. “Oh, I wasn't here when it happened. I was putting your knives in AJ’s truck.”

“...what.”

“I took the block of steak knives and put ‘em in AJ’s truck. You know, in case they trig’d Sunset.”

“Trig’d?”

“You know, uh... if they made her think about the cuts and she had, like, war flashbacks.”

“Oh, trigger. Yes, that... that makes sense. I get it now. So, Pinkie and Applejack saw what happened?”

“Yeah, just not me. Sorry.” Rainbow leans back forward. “I should probably go get ‘em before too long, huh?”

“Yes, that might be for the best. If she sees them in the truck when you all leave it'll probably just make her feel bad. She already has a complex about being a burden on us, we don't wanna give her any justification for it.”

“Right. Got it. BRB. Oh, uh, you can ask Pinks while I'm gone. Win win.”

Back in the bathroom...

“Feel better?”

Sunset leans back against the wall, sighing contentedly. “Much... it's nice to feel clean.”

“And ya smell better too.”

Sunset splashes her. “Yeah, whatever... thanks.”

“Ain't a problem, sug. Happy to help.” She pulls her hair out of her ponytail and lets it down. “Once I getcha out I might go ahead and shower myself. But for now, let's get you medicated up.”

Applejack pulls her legs out of the water and sets them on the floor towel. She uses it to dry off, then stands and steps over to the medical cabinet. She pulls out two bottles of ointment and stares at them. After a bit of deliberation she puts one back, grabs some fresh gauze, and comes back over.

“Okay, we got this ready. Now we just wait for y’all to soak and then once you're dry, we’ll make sure all those scars heal up nice.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Sunset closes her eyes. “If I don't fall asleep first.”

“You ain't slept enough last night?”

Sunset shrugs. “I haven't really slept at all since before Anon a Miss. I mean I've went to sleep but I never woke up rested. Just slightly less tired. Like. I could sleep for twelve hours, one hour, three days, and it would all just feel like five minutes.”

Applejack frowns at this. “Right... depression makes ya feel that way. Sorry to tease ya for that.”

“Oh, it’s fine. It's over now. I'm getting better... I don't wanna die anymore, really. I mean I still have some residual thoughts about how, like. You girls got along fine without me, so I could just go ahead and do it and you all would be okay.”

“Suns,”

“I won't do it.” Sunset sets a hand on Applejack’s arm. “Now that I have concrete proof that you guys actually wanna spend time with me, that you all really do care for me, I'm not gonna kill myself. It would hurt you all so much for me to do that. So I would never put any of you through that pain. The only thing is...” she sighs and drops her hand. “I'm just... not ready yet to have any reason other than that yet. I don't really have any abject desire to live for myself. Not quite yet. I know I will, one day, but it's just that for right now, I just see a long and hard road full of trying to salvage my already ruined reputation in the wake of all the lies. I don't see a light at the end of my tunnel. You girls...”

She leans her head forward, into Applejack’s side. “You're my light.”

Applejack caresses her head.

“I got no problem bein’ the light in the dark until you find your own. I'll be with ya long as I need to be until that happens.”

“Well... if it never happens?”

“Then I'll be your light until I get snuffed out.”

/x/x/x/
> 8a- More Tinder...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

/x/x/x/

“And then after Sunset fell back asleep in AJ’s arms Dashie came in and slammed her shin into the coffee table and then she dropped an F bomb and asked why the heck the coffee table was in front of the door and then she and I helped AJ put Sunset in bed with you and then I put ice on her leg and we watched the rest of the movie and fell asleep.”

Fluttershy nods. “That's illuminating. Poor Sunset. I hope she doesn't forget that we love her again. That would just be awful...”

“Luckily AJ was right there and ready and she knew just what to say to make Sunset know that last night was real and did everything right. I guess she’s really good at all this older sister type stuff. I never really got the experience because Marble is really independent and even when she wasn't there was Limestone and Maud to step in and do all the older sistering, and Dashie is an only child, and Zephyr is a younger brother and that's different than having a younger sister and also Z is kinda... um... well if you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all.”

“He's an idiot.”

Pinkie nods. “Hey, you said it, not me. Oh hey by the way what outfits did you have picked out? Can I see ‘em?”

“Sure, they're on my bed.”

Sure enough, as the two girls proceed down the hallway into the bedroom, the outfits are laid out. The blue dress Fluttershy seems to have her heart set on takes up the majority of the room, while a few others decorate the edge.

A maroon blouse sits in one corner, accompanied by a black pleather miniskirt. In another is a black t-shirt patterned with a pair of lips and some short jean shorts. In one more is a flowy top with some black butterflies and grey flowers in the shape of a skull, and a long white skirt.

“You wore these when you were younger?” Pinkie asks.

“Not really... mom and dad bought me some of these when I was going into middle school because they knew that it was trending, but...” Fluttershy puts her fingers together. “I didn't wanna show a bunch of skin, or wear anything sexually suggestive or occult. I've never worn any of these before. But I think Sunset might like at least one of these, right?”

Pinkie picks up the dress. “What about this one? It looks nice, like something you'd wear.”

“I did, once. Maybe twice. But then I hit puberty and it started being really, um. Form fitting. Around the chest area. And hips. It started to show a lot of thigh. I haven't worn it since then.”

Pinkie sets it back down and puts her hands on her hips. “It's really nice of you to offer all this stuff to Sunny like this. Even if she doesn't like any of it I'm sure she'd appreciate the gesture. Back home I basically just wore what Maud and Limestone didn't fit in anymore until I was bigger than them but I started wearing stuff from my older cousins. All hand me downs, no hand me to the sides, you know?”

“I think I understand. And, thank you. It's really nothing. I don't wear it, she needs a change of clothes, and I felt like giving her something. She deserves to have something new, anyway, since I know she ruined some of her other clothes with b, um. Blood.”

“Right...” the two girls share a moment of somber silence before Pinkie breaks it to change the subject. “Hey, um. Shy?”

“Hm?”

“Does Dashie have a crush on Sunset?”

Fluttershy blinks a few times before tilting her head to the side. “What?”

“At the breakfast table earlier, when Dashie was talking to Sunset. She said stuff like, I love you, and I wanna be with you, and spend time with you, and stuff. I know that it was probably platonic love and friendship and stuff but she’s never been like that with anyone else before. Not even with you. I've never seen her say she loves you in front of the rest of us like that. So I wanna know if Dashie, you know, like-likes her.”

Fluttershy sits, molding her face into that of curiosity and confusion. “Well, I mean, I don't know. She doesn't really talk about romance or anything like that with me. And I don't know her, um, sexuality. She could be but she also couldn't. But either way, I mean. Wouldn't it be her business if it was?”

Pinkie joins her, sitting. “Well if she is gay, than asking that question might make her uncomfy and drive her away from me. And if she isn't, she might get the wrong idea. I just thought I'd ask you because you would be the best person to know, I feel.”

“Oh, I understand why you asked me, out of all the people to ask. But my question is, why do you want to know? Would it change anything if she was?”

Pinkie sighs. “I don't know. It shouldn't. It's not that I personally have a problem with people like that, on paper. But in real life, you know, my parents aren't real happy with gay stuff. I mean Limestone went through a phase where she had a girlfriend but then she decided that she's straight and our parents, well. They weren't happy about it but they weren't anti gay. And I kinda feel a little bit the same way. I know I shouldn't but it's just how I was raised. But if Dashie did like girls, you know. We fell asleep together on the couch. I'd wanna know sooner rather than later if she was. Same with any of you. You, AJ, Sunny, even Rare... oof.” She winces. “Sorry.”

“It's okay. You can talk about her in front of me. I just...” Fluttershy rests her head on her friend’s shoulder. “I just wish she wasn't so... freaking stubborn.”

Pinkie gasps a little at the vulgarity.

“Sorry...” Fluttershy leans back away and stands up. “No, you know what, I'm not sorry. Rarity is out of line. Sorry for almost cussing but that's how I feel.” She takes a meditative breath before sitting back down. “Anyway, to get back on the subject. I can't answer your question. You'd have to ask Rainbow about it yourself if you want to know the answer for sure. But in my opinion, if it wouldn't change anything, then there's no point in asking, and if she hypothetically was gay, then she would tell us all if and when she was ready to tell us.”

Pinkie nods and leans back onto the bedsheets. “Yeah, I guess I see where you're coming from.”

The bathroom door opening distracts the two from their conversation, and drives them to their feet. Applejack enters the bedroom with Sunset in tow, both clad in towels. The former’s is wrapped around her waist below her tank top, and the latter’s is around her chest.

“I figured you two’d be in here pickin’ out an outfit,” Applejack says, crossing her arms and leaning a shoulder against the wall. “Whatcha got for us?”

Fluttershy smooths out the dress and begins to speak as if she were a talk show host.

“Well first off I have a tent dress in periwinkle, almost a powder blue actually, with a gentle floral print. Looks to be fleur de lis but I could be mistaken and they're irises, but either way they're a pale cream that matches the lace at the collar quite nicely. I have a pair of tights here, plain white, about the same shade but if not you can only really tell in specific lighting. There's also a denim jacket cut to a little above the waist with some of woman’s best friend, pockets, and some copper snap buttons that you of course don't use because their main purpose is to add a splash of color without overpowering the palette. To top it all off, a newsboy style hat in a dark gray. I don't have any shoes that go amazingly well with the rest of the ensemble but the denim gives you much more freedom and flexibility with your footwear choices. Oh and there's three other outfits comprising a few other styles. So, what do you think?”

Applejack and Pinkie share a moderately perturbed look at the very un-Fluttershy-esque display, but Sunset takes no heed as she puts a hand to her mouth.

“That's really nice...” she murmurs. “It's really pretty, Fluttershy, I don't know what to say.”

“Oh, you like it?” Fluttershy asks, her face lighting up. “That's wonderful! So will you wear this today?”

“Yeah, that... that would be really cool of you. And, don't worry, I'll give it back after a wash-”

“Oh, no, that isn't necessary, you really don't have to do that. I don't wear it, and it either doesn't fit or doesn't really match the aesthetic of the rest of us. If you like it, I want you to keep it.”

Sunset steps forward and feels the fabric in her fingers. “If you're sure, then... okay. Thank you. Really.”

The sound of the main door opening carries into the bedroom. Pinkie glances back and steps away from the group, leaving the room. Applejack turns and looks between the door and Sunset and back.

“Hey, uh,” she begins to ask. “Suns, you gonna want one of us to help you into the dress?”

“Uh... yeah, sure.”

A beat of silence passes and Applejack facepalms. “That wasn't supposed to be a yes or no question.”

“Hm?”

“I think,” Fluttershy begins, stepping between the two. “That Applejack is asking you which of us you want to have help you get dressed, because I'm sure you don't have the mobility to do it yourself yet.”

“Oh...” a slight frown covers Sunset’s face. “You're asking because... you want me to say Fluttershy and give you a break? I mean I don't mind that but-”

“I ain't sayin’ that at all!” Applejack waves her hand as if doing so physically waved the ascertainment aside. “I'm sayin’ that, y’know, she's better at the whole dress thing, and it's her apartment and her bedroom and her clothes and you just spent a long time with me. I was more givin’ you a sense of freedom to make your own choices rather than me just tellin’ you what to do all the time.”

“...oh.” Sunset traces her fingers over the fresh gauze, her arms smelling a bit like disinfectant and itching ever so slightly. “Okay, yeah, that makes more sense. A lot more sense. Sorry.”

“You're fine, if I have a problem then I'll tell ya. But until that point, I like bein’ around ya. I don't really give sponge baths to people if I hate their guts, y’know?”

Sunset nods. “Yeah. Makes sense. Um. Actually... yeah. Can you help?”

“Of course.”

Fluttershy takes a step back. “I'll get out of your way then.”

“You don't have to leave, Fluttershy,” Sunset says. “I don't wanna kick you out of your own bedroom.”

“Oh, it's not anything to do with you. I just need to make sure that Rainbow puts the knives back in the right spot.”

Sunset furrows her brow. “What about knives?”

Fluttershy ‘eep’s and covers her mouth, eyes going wide.

Sunset’s face darkens a little. “I was wondering where the knife block was when we used a spoon to spread butter... I take it you girls moved it because of me, right?”

Applejack puts a hand on her shoulder. “It was my idea. I didn't want you to think about the bad stuff while we were here. It ain't cuz’ we don't trust ya or nothin’ like that. I just want you to be happy and focus on the good stuff. We all do.”

Sunset sighs and slumps her shoulders. “It's fine, it makes sense. Sorry again.”

“You don't need to apologize so much,” Fluttershy says, missing the complete irony of the statement. “You've been through a terrifying ordeal these past few weeks, so it's only natural to feel a little suspicious of our intentions at first thought. But a little thing that I use myself, is that the first thought you get is just what your environment has conditioned you to think, and the second thought you get is who you really are.”

Sunset nods. “I think I heard that before, once. Princess Celestia said something like that, I think. I don't really remember the context though, I had tuned her out because I was thinking about the mirror that brought me here... it's funny. Much as I regret all of the terrible things I've done in my past, I'm thankful for my missteps because they lead me to you girls.”

“If I may,” Applejack adds. “I'm also thankful for ‘em because otherwise we’d never have met ya. And to be honest, if it weren't for you tearin’ us apart before, I doubt we'd have been as close together as we are now. I mean, there was one time way back when, me an’ Dash were at the mall with Fluttershy, and Dash was talkin’ to the clerk at the guitar store...”

“Oh, I remember that day.” Fluttershy giggles. “Over fifteen minutes passed because Rainbow was buying the guitar she uses today, and me and Applejack just stood there in silence the whole time. It was so awkward.”

“Yeah, n’ that was before we all stopped talkin’ to each other. So you know what, Sunset, thanks for all you did, cuz now I certainly consider myself and Fluttershy to be really close friends.”

“Oh, me too!”

Sunset turns and puts her arms around the two girls, who reciprocate the hug. “Thanks guys,” she whispers.

A clattering of several metal objects from the kitchen distracts the three, before they hear Rainbow’s voice saying “My bad!” Fluttershy extricates herself and zips out to investigate the noise.

“Here,” Applejack says, stepping over to the bed and picking up the outfit. “Let's get you changed.”

The process isn't too dramatic. Applejack carefully avoids bumping into the gauze and Sunset avoids falling over. In no time at all Sunset admires her new outfit in the mirror in the corner of the room.

“Fit well?” AJ asks.

“Fits great.” Sunset adjusts the hat. “My hair’s a bit frizzy right now but it'll go down.”

“Looks nice on ya.”

“Aw thanks.” Sunset steps away from the mirror, deliberately avoiding looking at her own face and trying not to think of her dreams last night.

Applejack clamps a hand on her shoulder. “Now let's make sure Dash didn’t break anything.”

/x/x/x/
> 8b- Stoplight
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

/x/x/x/

“I can't escaaape myyyseeelf~”

Scootaloo’s earbuds blared many an anthem of teenage angst. Growing up in elementary school alone and friendless breeds a bit of a different taste in music than that of the more well adjusted crowd, who ascribe more to Top 40 fare than edgy anthems of rebellion and introspection.

“So many tiiimes I've triiied~”

She rested her head against the car window, the cold of the outside contrasting with the warmth of her body. Pale grey streets bathed in moonlight were coated in fresh snow that continued to fall. Streetlamps illuminated the frozen sidewalk every block.

“But I’m still caaaged iiinsiiide~”

She huffed and glared at this new city, this ugly concrete mess of decaying bricks, degeneracy, and corruption. Canterlot. Another stupid freaking horse pun because of a stupid freaking culture that uses a stupid freaking horse religion to name everything. Ugh.

“Somebody help me through this nightmare~”

Much as she stewed and harrumphed and hemmed and hawwed for the past few months, it did nothing to stave off the unstoppable truth. She and her family really were moving to the big city. And there was nothing she could've done to stop it.

“I can't control myseeelf~”

She felt a hand on her knee, so she paused the music and glanced over at its owner.

“Hm?” She asked.

“Things will be better,” the woman said, comfortingly.

“Tch. Sure.”

The woman sighed. “Canterlot High’s middle school program is really good. And the soccer team has a junior division. You'll make friends. It won't be like it was before.”

“Yeah right. We’re moving from the country to a rich kid school full of a bunch of trust fund preps. I'm sure they'll love an emo tomboy.”

“I really wish you didn't use that word... ‘emo’ has such a negative connotation. But there's nothing wrong with liking music about dark themes, or being a tomboy. There's more than one way to be a girl, after all. And anyway, a lot of kids are in on federal grants, academic and sports scholarship, or extracurricular volunteer hours. It's not all people who pay to get in, there are people like us there too.”

Scootaloo smacked her head into the headrest behind her. “You can't know that for sure. You haven't been to school since you were a kid so you don't understand what it's like anymore.”

The car slowed to a stop at a red light.

“Baby, please... will you at least give it a try? If it doesn't work out, we’ll figure something else out. Your father and I want what's best for you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine, mom. I'll give it a try. Whatever that means... the Wondercolts seem alright, at least. Spitfire’s mom is a war hero, and there's that Rainbow Dash girl too. But they're all in high school already. I don't wanna have to wade through the idiots who are my age just to get to hang out with the older kids. I'm mature enough for high school now, I should be able to just skip ahead, right?”

“You certainly are intelligent enough to do so, little miss straight As. But I feel you should still have the same experience as all of your peers, and I don't want you to miss out on the middle school life to help you move on, culturally... and, who knows, you might even try your luck with the boys.”

“Ewww, mom!” She complained, cracking a smile. “Boys are gross.”

“I said the same thing at your age. But look at me now, a fool in love with your father.”

“Dad’s not a boy, he's... a dad.”

“He used to be a boy once. A long time ago.”

“Nah.” Scootaloo crossed her arms. “I refuse to believe the universe existed before I was born.”

The light turned green, and the car started to roll forward.

“Well trust me because I lived for a while before you were born-”

Suddenly the brakes slammed, but the car still skidded forward a bit. A screaming motorcycle came from the left and the two vehicles very nearly collided. The bike had to roar around, veering way left in its course just to not get hit. The two in the car directed their attention out the right window.

“Holy shit,” the older woman breathed as she put a hand to her chest. “I almost hit that person!”

The cyclist skidded to a stop in the middle of the road, before steadying the vehicle and looking back. She took off the helmet revealing a young woman with long red and yellow hair. She glared at the two and stuck one very rude finger into the air; admittedly it was somewhat deserved but hey, the light was red.

“You didn't though,” Scootaloo supplied. “It was a close call.” As she turned she noticed something on their left, but not soon enough before it was too late. It was a pair of oncoming headlights. “Mom-”

The truck barreled into their car.

/x/x/x/

Scootaloo shakes her head and blinks a few times, returning to the present day. She draws her attention to the people around her; Sweetie Belle’s family is gathered, looks of concern in their eyes.

She grunts and wipes at her eyes. “This is stupid!” She roars, pulling away from the group. She glared at the tv, a freeze frame of a car accident flickering on the screen. “It's just a movie! I'm fine!”

The memory still rings fresh, stinging the same as it did when it happened. But it was in the past. It's in the past. It shouldn't matter anymore. It doesn't matter go away go away GO AWAY-

Her train of thought is interrupted by the arms of her best friend, her secret girlfriend, secured tightly around her torso.

“You started screaming again...” Sweetie Belle murmurs. “Same as before.”

Scootaloo grinds her teeth. “Yeah... the movie just... I didn't know there was a car crash in it. And it...” the fingernails dug into her palms draw blood. “It reminded me of...” she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.

Sweetie Belle turns to her sister and mother. “She'll be fine, she just needs some time.”

Cookie nods. “You know how best to help her. We’ll be in the kitchen... come, dear.”

Rarity follows, sparing a last look at the two young teens before shutting the door.

“What was that?” She asks.

Cookie sighs as she begins to tidy up the kitchen. “Her mother died in a car accident. When Scoot is reminded of that dreadful incident, sometimes she has flashbacks.”

“Like ptsd?”

“Possibly. I'm not sure. Only her father has her medical records, I only know what she's told me.”

Rarity steps over to the coffee maker and begins a brew. “How often does something like... that... happen?”

“You mean the screaming for her mother? Not too often. Maybe once every couple of weeks. In this crazy city of terrible drivers, there are quite a few wrecks. None fatal, of course, not since that one wretched day, but... it seems her mind sees a car accident, and it brings her back to when the tragic accident happened.”

Rarity leans back against the counter as the brown nectar drips into the carafe. “Why have I never seen it happen before?”

“You aren't here very often, dear. Always with your friends. Which is okay, I'm not saying that to make you feel guilty. But it usually happens when you're gone. In fact I've only been present for a few. This happens more often during times of stress as well, sometimes she has nightmares. Last exam week, when you were studying at Cloudy and Igneous’ house, she woke us up at one in the morning.”

“She doesn't need a trigger? She just remembers it?”

Cookie nods, somber. “It's a terrible ordeal, made only worse by this Sunset Shimmer business. This is what I was talking about earlier, but I didn't think it was my place to tell you if you didn't know. But now, well, I'm sure you'd just worry, and it isn't as if you can ask right now. You may be home more and witness this, so I might as well tell you now.”

The coffee maker dings.

Rarity sighs. “I never knew... that’s awful.”

“True, but it's all in the past now. She's getting better as time goes by. One day she may even get past this. But for now... ah. The market. I should leave before too long, as I have errands to run. Can I assume you can help with anything they might need until I return?”

“But of course.”

Cookie nods, gathers her purse, and heads out.

Rarity sits pensively in silence for a while. She pulls out her phone and begins searching, typing through local news and obituaries. Yes, there is indeed overwhelming evidence that such an event did occur. Woman killed by drunk driver, young girl left motherless, drunk driver kills woman, local man grieves dead wife, and the photographs used all shared a remarkable likeness to a young Scootaloo.

She put the phone back down, biting her lip. Guilt and shame cross her face. “To think I doubted- wait...” After a moment, confusion joins, and she heads across the room to a desk in the corner. She reaches for a pen and a piece of paper tucked inside a stationery cabinet and begins to write a few notes:

Sunset makes Anon a Miss blog. Sunset gets caught. Sunset threatens to out Scootaloo. Sunset holds my nudes hostage to extort Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Sunset cuts herself for sympathy. Sunset pretends to try to kill herself and makes Flash and Applebloom corroborate the story. Scootaloo lies to say Sunset followed her. Sunset blackmails Applebloom to take the blame. LIE. Sunset blackmails Micro Chips to lie to Pinkie. Sweetie Belle tells Applebloom to lie and agree that Sunset threatened Scootaloo.

Rarity taps the pen on the paper a few times, deep in thought.

“Okay. If she doesn't have Flash and Applebloom in on her lies, Flash could have hit her with his car. That's dangerous, a sociopath would never put themselves in harm’s way. And if she has Flash and Applebloom in on it, she must have something terrible on them. Even worse than having a small penis or... hm. Actually come to think of it, Anon a Miss never posted anything about Applebloom...”

She furrows her brows.

“Come to think of it, she never posted anything about any of the kids. Even though she knows Scootaloo is a lesbian. Somehow. Hm... If she’s using Scootaloo’s sexuality as leverage, it was foolish of her to tell me she was bi. But then again, she probably knew I couldn't use that against her without it turning the others against me when she eventually earned some of our trust back. But how would she know she only fooled some of us?”

She begins to chew on the pen as she thinks of that one Shadow Spade novel where the up and coming rookie was framed by the record holder, and he was only caught by a chocolate stain on his scarf.

“I need to find that chocolate stain... or even just eat a few chocolate chips would do-” she freezes in place.

“Micro Chips!”

/x/x/x/

Applejack and Sunset step out into the living room. Everything seems to be in order. Applejack asks ‘what happened’ but with a glance and a head nod.

“Dashie dropped the knife block.”

Applejack blinks. “How.”

“I, uh... didn’t know there was a thingy on the bottom to balance the weight out.” Rainbow grins in a sheepish manner. “Lucky I stepped away first before it fell and rained blades. Handle first but still, coulda been dangerous.”

“I don't even know why mom and dad have such sharp knives in the first place... they don't even cut anything with them. Everything they eat is either steamed, microwaved, or takeout... Oh, Sunset,” Fluttershy finally looks up from her tea. “The dress looks so good on you!”

Sunset shrugs. “Eh, it looks all right on me. But I like it. Thanks.”

“All right?” Rainbow asks. “You look awesome!”

“Yeah Sunny,” Pinkie adds. “Sooooo~ cute!”

Sunset shrugs. “If you say so.”

“Alright y'all, we should talk transportation before too long. Shy, you're stayin’ here?”

“Um, yes... if that's okay with all of you.”

“Nice. Suns, we’ll stop by your apartment first to get your journal. I'll be headin’ home last cuz duh, and I'm droppin off Sun n Rain- heh- at Rain’s in between. That leaves Pinkie as the only one with a decision left to make.”

“I’d rather go home and get ready for a super fun-tiffer-astic time for tomorrow! ...but it doesn't matter to me when.”

“Alrighty, that was quick n’ easy. Sun, Dash, Pinkie, home, works out well. Anything y'all need to do before then?”

Rainbow and Pinkie both look down at their pajamas, look back at each other, and shrug.

“Y'all will freeze.”

“Psshh, I'm protected from the heat by a solid wall of muscle and pure awesomeness.”

“And I'm built like a bunny <3”

“Alright,” Applejack concedes, turning in place. She freezes for a second, contemplating what Pinkie just said, but shakes her head and drops it. “Ain't no time like the present. Fluttershy, thanks for havin’ us.”

“Yeah, you rock!” Pinkie cries.

Fluttershy politely waves. “It was nothing really. I liked seeing you all.”

Rainbow and Sunset hug her from opposite sides, holding for a few extra moments than most would deem necessary. They pulled away slowly.

“Text me when you all get to where you're going please,” she asks, stepping back from the group. “I’m probably going to take a bath myself soon. We should do this again. Maybe not this weekend but maybe the weekend after that? Or it could be this weekend if you want it to be-”

“Shy.” Rainbow stops her. “How about you just tell us when you're ready to have us all over again?”

She pauses, blushes, and lets out a nervous, demure giggle. “That sounds like a plan.”

With very little pomp and circumstance, the quartet make their way out of the apartment to finally give the timid girl a much-needed break from people. The trek down the hall to the elevator is about as uneventful as the ride itself down, save for Pinkie dancing and humming along to That Song. As the doors finally opened to the parking garage, she immediately regrets not wearing full length pants.

The overcast sky and dreary weather don't affect them long as the girls move quickly to the truck. Sunset still needs help getting in and buckled but she is still able to at least close the door herself. Applejack fires up the engine and pulls out, and in no time at all she hits the open... ice. Needless to say they don't go very fast. The radio plays.

“~He said I wanna see you again~”

“Nice!” Applejack exclaims, bumping the music up slightly. “I love this band!”

“~But I'm stuck in colder weather~”

Rainbow Dash makes her displeasure at the southern twang known.

“~Maybe tomorrow will be better~”

“AJ, play something good!” she whines.

“~Can I call you then~”

Sunset clenches her hands into tight fists.

“~She said you're a ramblin' man~”

“Driver picks the music, passenger shuts ‘er cake hole!”

“~You ain't ever gonna change~”

Soft piano chords and a melancholic violin supported the dramatic vocal delivery.

“~You got a gypsy soul to blame~”

“I don't mind it,” Pinkie chimed. “It's really pretty!”

“~And you were born for leavin’~”

Sunset suddenly shudders, letting out a sob, and presses a hand to her eyes.

“Sorry girls, I...” she catches her breath, and sniffs. “The song just...”

Applejack clicks the dial over to another station. “We don't gotta hear that song, no big deal.” The next one plays some random pop song that nobody pays attention to. “Too close to home?”

Sunset nods. “Yeah...” she wipes her eyes as well as she can. “A little.”

The car slows to stop behind a red light.

“Well, you have changed,” Pinkie insists. “Ever since Twilight came, and you got blasted with those rainbows, you've been different than you were before. Way different.”

Sunset nods and turns to face her. “Thanks Pinkie.” On her way back she glances out the driver side window, as the light turns green. “Hey, don't go yet.”

“Hm?” Applejack asks, frozen for a second before a car roars by in front of them. She blinks and tracks it before checking both ways and continuing forward. “Boy howdy, that coulda been bad. Good eye, Suns.”

“This light sucks,” she replies, settling back in her seat. She glances at the base of the streetlamp as it passes out of her vision. “The yellow ends right as soon as the green goes. I saw a garbage truck absolutely cream this sedan a few years back. I heard the driver died.”

“Heavy,” Rainbow says. “I think I heard that story somewhere, actually. Just can't remember where.”

“That's sad.” Pinkie sinks a little deeper into her chair. “We should write city council to fix it or something.”

“Maybe.” Applejack pulls into a parking spot outside Sunset’s apartment building. “Someone should do somethin’ ‘bout it. Don't know why it's still like that after a tragedy like that. Anyway, best not to dwell on it. Sometimes sad things happen. It sounds heartless but the best thing we can do is help people move on. The people we’ve lost in the past would want us to stay happy even though they're gone.”

A somber silence passes the group, broken only by a commercial break. After a second, Applejack kills the engine and unbuckles.

“Suns, you wanna stay here while I go get your journal?”

Sunset nods. “Yeah, I... don't wanna go back in there just yet. Too many bad memories.”

Applejack nods and pops open the door. “I'll be back in a minute.” With that she shuts the heat in and bustles her way up the steps.

Once she was inside, Sunset turned to face Rainbow and Pinkie.

“Hey, girls...”

They face her, expectantly.

“What.. happened to her parents?”

/x/x/x/
> 9- Spectrum
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

/x/x/x/

Applejack can't help but breathe with her mouth, nose held, as she steps into Sunset’s apartment. The stench of blood, dirty laundry, and stale body odor overpowers all.

“Get in, grab it, get out...” she mutters to herself.

She steps over and snatches the journal off of the counter where she'd left it. She gives a brief once-over to the apartment, nods her head, and quickly shuffles out. With the door shut behind her, she sighs in relief and heads back to the front door.

She checks the pages inside, ensuring that yes indeed it did contain messages between Twilight and Sunset. A brief curiosity passes her as she turns to the most recently marked page before stepping outside proper. A gentle smile crosses her face as she reads, which quickly fades into a shameful not-smile. She quickly snaps it shut and pushes out into the cold.

The journey back to her car is quick, and as she steps inside, she hands the journal over.

“Sun, I looked in it...” she admits. “I wanted to make sure it was the right book before I headed all the way back. I figured it was okay since I've already written in it anyway.”

Sunset shrugs. “Yeah, I mean. That's smart. Why? You say that as if you found something you didn't want to see.”

Applejack sighs. “Twilight chewed us out but good. Disappointed. Furious... Betrayed.”

Sunset awkwardly ambles around the book as she flips the pages. Applejack gets the crew back on the road, and the backseat duo give each other a nervous look. Sunset skims the reply.

“Glad you're okay, much to discuss, heart at ease... okay, yeah, I see what you mean. She seems pissed. But also sad. Sorta like Celestia was... they're a lot alike. Wait, AJ, she also says you went above and beyond and that she’s proud and grateful, and isn't chastising you. She said she’s glad to call all of you her friends, that she's upset about the situation and everypony makes mistakes. And she says she forgives you... that you're strong and capable, she wishes you the best, she loves you, and... snrkt,” she stifles a giggle. “And we should give her regards to Flash.”

The mood whiplash sends the girls into a cackling fit.

Sunset shakes her head as she shuts the book. “Oh Twilight. Never change.”

/x/x/x/

Flash sneezes.

“Gesundheit.”

“Ever get that feeling people are talking about you somewhere?”

Spearhead shrugs, shoveling a mound of corn flakes into his mouth.

Across the table, Flash continues to scroll through his phone. Snow is expected to fall on Sunday evening but probably not enough to delay school. Acclaimed director Canter Zoom buys out the screenplay for an upcoming Daring Do movie. A message from Rarity asks if he saw Applebloom when he almost hit Sunset. He answers yes, and swipes away the notifications before setting the phone down.

“I'm gonna head out soon. You need anything until me or dad get back?”

He leans back in his chair, twirling the spoon around his fingers. “I think I’m good right now.”

Flash picks his phone back up again and glances at a specific message indicating a lunch meeting slated for that afternoon with one Shining Armor.

“Alright, cool; later.”

“Enjoy your day off, man.”

Flash pushes out the front door and heads down the steps to the sidewalk and subsequently his car. Down the street he notices a familiar rusty red pickup truck, and after a moment’s hesitation, waves. It honks as it passes, and from the opening window he can hear Pinkie Pie’s voice yelling.

“Hi Flash! Bye Flash!”

After they pass, Pinkie pulls her head back inside the vehicle as Applejack shuts it from her controls.

“Don't do that,” she gently chides. “Don't you know if you hit something at this speed you'll lose it?”

“You're going like twenty miles an hour.”

“A punch is twenty miles an hour,” Rainbow counters. “It'd be like something punching you in the head, times how big it is compared to a fist.”

Pinkie blinks. “Nerrrd!”

“How is that nerdy!?” She exclaims. “It's about punching! That's the least nerdy thing I can think of.”

“Physics is pretty nerdy, Dash.”

“Whatever AJ, as if you don't use physics sometimes. Come on, Sunset, help me out here.”

Sunset smirks. “I am an impartial mediator.”

“You can't say that, that's Fluttershy’s line.”

“Can and did.”

“Dashie’s a ner~rd,” Pinkie cheers. “Dashie’s a ner~rd!”

Rainbow crosses her arms and tries to glare out the window. “You guys are lame.”

The truck rolls up to a stop sign.

“Chin up, Rain,” Applejack says, before continuing. “At least nerds make money. Doesn't your dad work in weather analysis?”

She shrugs. “Yeah, he and Fluttershy’s dad are meteorologists. That's where they met. They've been friends since they were our age, that's why Fluttershy and I grew up together.”

“What's your mom do?” Sunset asks.

“She's an army medic.”

“So she's a doctor?”

“Not really. Medics don't really have a high survival rate for their patients. But that's probably because medics deal with bullet wounds and third degree burns. Doctors just prescribe you aspirin for a headache, or tell you to start drinking diet cola because you're diabetic. It's more like she's a surgeon but without many sterile supplies and you could get blown up any second. She's kind of a badass like that.”

“That's cool. My mom was a nurse. I think. I don't really remember, it's been so long. Does your mom work in a hospital?”

“Nah, she retired once she found out she was pregnant with me. Ever since then she’s been a stay at home mom.”

Applejack pulls into the driveway, putting the car in park. “Alrighty, we have arrived. Sunset, you-”

“I got her,” Rainbow says, unbuckling. “Thanks for the ride AJ. Pinkie, I'll see you when I see you.”

“By Dashie! Bye Sunny!”

Applejack just tips her hat as Sunset waves. Rainbow hops out and helps Sunset leave the car. Pinkie clambers into the front passenger seat... from the back. Rainbow and Sunset head up the driveway towards the front door. Applejack honks twice, then pulls out of the driveway and heads off.

“You know you coulda walked around, right?”

Pinkie shrugs. “Yeah... but that way’s not as fun.”

“Heh... you're like a cartoon character, you know?”

“I'm not a cartoon, silly, I'm a human.”

“I didn't say you ARE one, I said you're LIKE one.”

“Simile schmimile, fo mimile, banana fanna fo fimile, fee fi fo fimile~”

Applejack nods her head. “Betcha can't say that five times fast.”

“Simile shimile fimile mimile- dang it!”

“Silver star. I ain't gonna challenge ya. I get bronze.”

“Then who gets gold?”

“Mic the Microphone. Duh.”

“Mix the Mic? Puh-leeze, he is sooo twenty ten. And besides, he doesn't even make music anymore!”

“Two Pacer don't make music anymore, it don't mean he's bad.”

“Well that's because he died... Allegedly.”

“Pinkie. The man died. People saw his body. He had a funeral.”

“That's just what he wants you to think, for when he makes his big comeback. He’ll come back as a hologram and drop the hottest album of the century, bet!”

“Alright, I'll bite. If he does come back as a hologram and makes an album, how’s he gonna hold the microphone?”

“Well duh, the microphone is also a hologram!”

“Okay, smarty pants, is the cord a hologram too? How about the speakers, the stage, the audience. This whole hypothetical situation is off the charts weird. What next, is there gonna be a whole band made of holograms?”

“It worked well for Jem.”

Applejack lets out a very long and drawn out expression of disgust.

“Aw, you don't like Jem and the Holograms?”

“Do I look like I like that... ‘band’?”

“Well AJ there's not any one ‘look’ of liking a band. Don't be a stereotyper.”

“I just don't like ‘em. It ain't my jam.”

“Could it be your jelly?”

Applejack sighs.

“Or maybe your peanut butter?”

“I ain't talking to you anymore.”

“Aaaaawwwww...”

A moment of silence in the car passes, until...

“Hey AJ?”

“Hm?”

“What if... we started a band?”

“A band?”

“Yeah, like a rock band. Dashie can play guitar, right? And don't you know how to play the bass?”

“A little bit.”

“And I can play the drums! That's pretty much everything we need. Maybe a singer, unless Dashie can sing and play at the same time. A power trio! Sunset can sing if Dashie can't do both. Fluttershy probably won't wanna join because she doesn't like the spotlight, and Rarity... well, we’re not talking to her right now. But maybe eventually when we’re all friends again we can get her to play the piano, and-”

“Why don't we start with making sure I can play bass and you can play drums, okay? Like I said, I only know a little. And Rainbow’s got her hands full already with soccer, softball, and tennis, and I think she wants to try out for the wrestling team too.”

“We have a women’s wrestling team?”

“No. But still, even if she doesn't make it in, that's three sports, plus all her classes, plus hangin’ out with us. Plus, we don't know if she wants to be in a band with us, and we don't even know if Rarity’s ever gonna be friends with us again! And Sunset ain't in no position at all to be in a band right now anyway. It's a neat idea and all, but now ain't the time to have it.”

Silence awaits her.

“Pink?”

“You... you don't think Rarity’s gonna be friends with us again?

Applejack sighs. “I don't know. I hope so. I hope she can come to her senses and see what's so clearly the truth. For Sunset’s sake. Problem is, what Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo did is just... so vile. I could barely believe that my sister could do something like that. Let alone the others. And lookin’ at everything, Rare got hit the worst out of all of us. For me it was just some dumb story about when I was a kid. Didn't ever make any orphan jokes. Makes sense, Belle’s the only one with both living parents. For Rainbow it was low grades, which, you know. It ain't a huge secret anyway. Fluttershy wears hair extensions. Big whoop. But Rarity... they posted personal, private pictures of her.”

“But Rarity likes her body!” Pinkie snaps. “Rarity’s pretty and confident and... and skinny...” she sniffs. “I'm... I’m sorry, AJ, I’m not mad at you. And that's unfair to Rarity, it doesn't make it right. And I know what you mean. It's hard to believe her own sister would do that to her. I wouldn't wanna believe it if you said Marble did that to me. But...”

“No, I... I get it. I’m sorry too, Pinkie. I didn't mean to make it seem like I didn't care about your stuff too, which was bad. I just mean that, like. Showing a picture is a lot worse than just empty words. Ain't nobody worth a hoot said nothing to you about your body, right?”

Pinkie shrugs. “Yeah, I guess so. But MyStable is full of jerks and idiots. I blocked everyone who said anything, but it doesn't erase the memories. And I'm sure that the things people said to Rarity because of her pictures were really bad. I just... I hate that this happened. It hurt all of us and it hurt all of our friendships. I just want things to go back to how they were before.”

“You n’ me both. Only people who don't are, well, Bloom, Belle, n’ Scoot.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, clearly they weren't okay with Sunset bein’ friends with us. Somethin’ had to be wrong, otherwise they wouldn't a’ made the blog.”

Pinkie puts a finger to her mouth in thought. “I guess you're right. They’d need a reason. A really good one. But I can't think of any. Did Sunset do anything really bad to any of them?”

“Worst I heard is she was just mean to ‘em. But she ain't been mean to ‘em, or anyone, since the Fall Formal. I'd ask Rare about Belle, but... ouch. And I’d ask Dash about Scoot. I'll ask Bloom when I get home. We’ll get this thing figured out soon.”

“I hope so. I liked having Sunset back, but it was... different without Rarity. It's like a jigsaw puzzle but with a missing piece.”

“I know what you mean... she and I ain't been the closest of friends but we always had each other’s backs. Except when none of us were friends. But that warn’t cuz of any bad blood between us, that's just how it went. There was a wedge between me n’ Dash, but not really anyone else. You were the one who had it the worst, with both Fluttershy AND Rarity against you. The problem was Dash was my connection to Fluttershy, and Fluttershy was my connection to Rarity. And you were, well... busy. You can't tell me you spent much time with Dash solo back then.”

“Yeah, I didn't really... juggling two hundred and sixteen friends is hard. If I cut down on how many people it is down to just you six, then I feel like I can spend enough time with all of you without letting any of you feel left out.”

“Mmhmm. It probably didn't help you or Rarity’s case I was always on you two about makin’ up. I probably wasn't either of your favorite person.”

“Well you're one of them now!”

Applejack nods. “And I wouldn't have it any other way.”

The rock farm on the horizon creeps ever closer as the two continue on the road, now more dirt than concrete. The time the two have alone is growing shorter, and a burning question rises to Pinkie’s lips.

“Hey AJ?”

“Hm?”

“Do you think Dashie’s gay?”

She doesn't answer for a minute. Pinkie begins to regret the question before Applejack bursts out laughing.

“Are you kidding? That girl’s about as subtle as a tomato on a grape vine.”

“What!?”

“Pink. Come on. Has Dash showed any interest in dating boys?”

“I... well... no.”

“And you ever notice how she avoids pronouns when she talks about eventually dating?”

“Kinda? I just thought maybe she didn't like the terms boyfriend or girlfriend.”

“She's a bigger sports fan than my brother.”

“That doesn't mean anything, lots of straight girls can like sports.”

“Pinkie. She has rainbow colored hair.”

“That's because she got that gene from her dad!”

Applejack chuckles and shakes her head. “Alright, alright, there's a chance that maybe I'm just being stereotypical. But she glances at pretty girls a few more times than most guys I know. And I wouldn't be surprised in the least if she told us she was.”

“Does... does that bother you?”

“Not really. I spend time with a lot of straight boys. I'm okay with that. Why shouldn't I be okay with a gay girl, especially if she’s my friend, I trust her, and we got all the same parts? She respects all of us too much to let us feel uncomfortable by stuff she might do or say. And anyway, after becoming friends with Sunset Shimmer, after she used to be actually evil, I've found that things like sexuality, or religion, or, I don't know, hair color, or whatever... those things don't matter to me when I think of who I wanna be friends with. What matters to me is character, and Rainbow’s got more than most. Gay, straight, or otherwise.”

Pinkie nods, and turns to look out the window, contemplating this.

“Why do you ask?”

Pinkie shrugs. “I’ve never seen her say I love you to anyone before. Not even her parents. Not even Fluttershy. But she said it to Sunset.”

“You think Rainbow has a crush on Sunset?”

“I don't know. Maybe.”

“Is that a problem?”

“I... don't know.”

“Does the problem have to do with Rainbow and Sunset starting a relationship, or-”

“I don’t want my friends to start dating each other because what if they wanna spend all their time with each other and none with m... with the rest of us...?”

“...ah.”

“I mean part of it is that I don't wanna give her the wrong idea or anything if she is, since we’re close enough that we can sleep together and it not be weird, but most of it is that if Rainbow and Sunset started dating then that's two people who aren't in the friend group as much. And it already hurts to have Rarity gone, so I don't know what I'd do if it was two people. And if Rarity never is friends with us again then that's three people gone. And I love you and Fluttershy and I'm glad we’re friends but if there's only three people, I... I would feel like a third wheel.”

“Pinkie. Even if Rarity is never friends with us again, even if Rainbow and Sunset do go out, even if it's just me you and Fluttershy spending time together, do you think she and I are gonna ignore you?”

“Well... no. I guess not.”

“And do you think that if Rainbow and Sunset did start dating, they'd ignore the rest of us?”

“...no.”

“And do you really think that me and Fluttershy and Rainbow and Sunset are ever gonna stop trying to get Rarity to see reason and be friends with us again?”

“No. You're right, I'm being silly...”

Applejack reaches a hand over to clamp on her shoulder. “All of us are going through some heavy emotions right now. Guilt, shame, regret, concern, worry, anger, it’s hard right now. For all of us. But we are gonna make it through this, and we’re all gonna come out better friends on the other side. I guarantee it.”

Pinkie puts her hand on top of Applejack’s and nods. “Thanks AJ.”

The truck finally pulls into the long driveway down to the Pie household. They can see Limestone tilling soil in the side yard, and Igneous splitting wood in the front. He hacks a piece clean in two before leaning back up to wipe his brow. He raises an arm to wave as Applejack slows to a stop.

“You okay to stay home?” She asks. “You know there's always room at my house if you don't wanna be alone right now.”

“I'll be okay. Maud’s here. And I need to get ready for tomorrow anyway.”

“Got it. I'll see you at school then?”

“Yes, unless I accidentally stay up too late on Sunday and sleep in. But don't worry, I won't do that. Probably. Bye AJ, thanks for the ride!”

As Applejack nods and waves, Pinkie steps out of the car and heads up towards the house. She pulls a K-turn on the gravel driveway, honks twice, and begins the drive home.

/x/x/x/

Rainbow Dash and Sunset watch Applejack’s truck drive off, waving until they can no longer see it. As soon as it passes out of sight, Rainbow pulls out her phone and texts Fluttershy that she made it home safe. As she does so, Sunset studies the house.

As far as two-story suburban houses go, this one is pretty standard. The walls were a dull grayish-blue, the roof a dull dark bluish-gray with splotches of white, thanks to the weather. Tacky Wondercolts decals decorate the main window on the upper right, and vertically-striped rainbow curtain covers a smaller one on the upper left. A small alcove in the middle holds a plain white door. A path leads to it from the driveway, which sits in front of a brick garage built into the side. The lawn is well-kept underneath the smooth dusting of light snow.

“Alright, let's go in. And don't worry, I already texted mom and dad that you were framed, so you don't gotta worry about, uh... being treated how I treated you yesterday.”

“Oh, thanks. I don't really know your parents but I'd like my first impression to be one where they don't think I ridiculed you in front of the entire school.”

“Right...”

Sunset pulls Twilight’s journal to her chest as the duo make their way up the driveway. A frigid bitter gust rolls through, and Sunset winces in pain.

“Oh no...” she mutters as a few bits of her wrists begin to moisten. “Hey uh. Rainbow? I think I'm gonna need new gauze.”

“Already? Man... well, we’ve got a bunch of army surplus in the basement so it'll be fine.” Rainbow unceremoniously shoves the door open. “Mom! Dad! I'm home!”

Sunset steps in the doorway as Rainbow shuts the chill out. She glances down at the small red spots dotted on her arm and sighs, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from letting her face betray the pain. However, she can feel her muscles relax as the toasty warmth of the house’s interior envelops her.

“Go on and wait in the bathroom. You wanna clean up there? Oh and you can set the journal in my room, last door on the left, I'm gonna go get the stuff.”

“Bathroom’s fine.”

“Cool.”

Immediately inside the house are two stairways, the left one heading down and the right one heading up. It seems the first floor is halfway underground, so technically a basement. Sunset glances down at the shoe mat and steps out of her footwear, then takes a deep breath and heads upstairs.

She can hear some kind of sports announcer on the television. As she climbs the stairs she glances around the room. The right half of the house is comprised of one large room; the front half is a living space and the back half is a dining room. Immediately ahead is a kitchen, and a hallway lies down the left. A burly man with familiarly rainbow colored hair sits kicked back in a recliner with a can of beer in his hand. He looks up at his guest and points a finger.

“Okay, you're, uh... you're not Fluttershy, certainly not Rarity, definitely not the pink one. Spitfire? No, wait, she has orange hair. Applejack?”

“Ehh... no, I’m... I’m Sunset.”

He snaps his finger and nods. “Right, I forgot that you were the one coming today. You'll have to forgive me, I'm a bit scatterbrained at the moment. And, uh... not quite sober. Last night was a bit... hectic. Anyway, mein heim ist dein heim, so feel free to make yourself at home... Oh? Where’d Dash go?”

“She's...” Sunset begins to rub her fingers against the journal. “She's getting some... stuff from downstairs. I'd sit but I'm... a little bloody at the moment.”

“Ah, lady problems, I understand. Say no more. There's, uh. Chocolate in the refrigerator.”

Oh.

“No, that's... that's not what I meant!” Sunset exclaims, feeling her cheeks color. “I mean. Medical stuff. Cuts and... stuff.”

“Oh dear,” a voice murmurs from behind Sunset, startling her a bit. She whirls and is taken aback by Rainbow Dash. Except, not Rainbow Dash. She’s a bit older; her hair is just a bit too short and not multicolored enough, only a reddish orange hue rather than the full spectrum. Her voice is just a bit different as well.

“Whoever wrapped your gauze is very clearly an amateur,” she continues. “I can only hope they did a better job disinfecting and sanitizing. How bad are the lacerations, honey, do they hurt much?”

“Don't scare the kid, Windy!” Bow calls from his seat.

“I'm not going to scare her, dear, I’m a trained professional!” She reaches a hand out. “May I?”

Sunset hesitantly nods, and sets the journal on the floor before presenting her arms. “Rainbow told me you’re an army medic?”

“I was,” she says, deftly unwrapping the bandages. “And damn good at my job. Most I do nowadays is the occasional diagnosis or second opinion. Oh my, some of them seem to have reopened. This damnable weather... at least they don't seem to be infected, that's a good thing. I won't touch them, I haven't washed my hands, but I suggest cleaning the blood, then running some lukewarm water over them in the bathroom. Moisturize the gaps if you can. Should be fine if you just rewrap it. Is my daughter getting you fresh gauze?”

“I think so.”

“Good, she should certainly be able to do a better job than these were,” she says, giving a slightly disdainful look at the fabric. “I'll go ahead and dispose of these, you go on ahead and wait for Rainbow. Can I get you anything to drink? Have you eaten today?”

“I'm... I'm fine.”

Windy nods and winds the bloodied reels. “Just let either of us know if you need anything... Rainbow told us what happened with the anonymous blog. And judging by what I see here, I think I can infer enough. I can't help with the psychological aspect of things but I can make my home accommodate your physical needs.”

Sunset nods. “I'll keep that in mind. Thanks.”

As Windy takes care of the mess and proceeds to wash her hands, Sunset picks up the journal and heads down the hallway. There are two doors on either side; the first on the right leads to the bathroom, but she passes it. She steps to the second door on the left and nudges the door open, tossing the journal onto the bed before giving a cursory glance at the floor, ensuring no little red spatters, and heads into the bathroom.

She flicks the light on, and a loud noise starts up. She jolts and glances towards the grating grinding noise coming from the ceiling. After a moment it smooths out and reveals itself as simply a fan. She sets a hand to her chest, willing her heart to slow with a touch, and takes a seat on the toilet lid. The bathroom is sparsely decorated. A powder blue towel, a 3-in-1 bottle of soap/shampoo/conditioner- orange scented- a single toothbrush, and an open crumpled tube of toothpaste are the only visible items. Sunset pokes the edge of the bathtub with her toe.

Her boredom comes quick and is unrelenting. She analyzes the sink cabinet to her left, and pulls out one of the drawers. Inside is a stack of magazines. She files through them seeing mostly stuff for video games or firearms or naked women or basketball or... wait a second. Sunset slowly slides that drawer closed, a touch of color coming to her cheeks, and pulls open the next one up. Inside is a tangled mess of cords attached to various items like a blow dryer and a curling iron. The next and final drawer holds some combs, brushes, cologne, deodorant, various razors and disposable blades...

Sunset slams the drawer shut and tears away from it, putting her head in her hands. Her eyes trace the tally marks as part of her brain asks, “what’s one more?” She grits her teeth and screws her eyes shut, willing the darkness away.

After a minute or so, the door swings inward.

“Hey Sunset,” Rainbow begins, shutting the door behind her with a foot. “Sorry it took so long, a lot of these words are hard to read. But I think I got everything.” She starts setting the contents of her arms down onto the sink, muttering a curse as a few items clatter inside. “Mom told me to rinse and moisturize, I'll leave up the how to you- hey, you okay?”

Sunset drops her hands, not bothering to wipe her face. “I looked in the top drawer.”

Rainbow is still for a moment, then sighs. “Damn it. I'm sorry, I should've texted mom and asked her to move my razors into their bathroom for the night.”

“No, it's... it's fine. I'm fine. I just... I'm just not healthy yet. It's been less than a day, I'm still adjusting to having you girls back, and I’m still adjusting to not actively wanting to hurt myself. But my mind is just not getting with the program. It keeps telling me that I want this, that I want to hurt myself, but I know I don't. I really, really don't.”

“I believe you...” Rainbow crouches, then sits on her knees and leans in. “I have friends who’ve gone through the whole cutting thing before. I don't understand what it's like to ever want to do that to yourself, but I know it sucks. I know you're always fighting with yourself. Because it's a disease, but like for your brain and stuff. But they got through it, and no offense to them but you're a lot stronger than them, so if they can do it, so can you.”

Sunset nods, and pulls some toilet paper into a makeshift napkin. “Thanks Rainbow... it does suck. But I stopped it. I didn't let my hands grab them. I will be better one day, over this all. It's just hard right now.”

“It will. But for now, we gotta get you wrapped back up. AJ is... well, she's very, uh. What's that word when you do a job but you don't think about any of the little details? Practical?”

“...Utilitarian?”

“You tilla... um. Sure. She's very that. It's like she’ll play SpeedyCart and just hold the X button down all the way the whole race, because it's faster to go fast, but she hits like every wall because she thinks about going fast but not driving efficiently. You gotta hit the brakes sometimes so that you can make turns better, but still keep your forward momentum going. That's why I always beat her, heh. But she always says I'm cheating even though I just... am better than her.”

“Yeah, that...” Sunset offers a light smile as she tilts her wrists up. “She really didn't take too kindly to that match at Pinkie Pie’s house. I’ve never been closer to hearing her use profanity than I was that day, I think.”

“Pro what now?” Rainbow asks as she pulls out a few cotton swabs.

“Cuss words. I heard lots of grunting all of the consonants of fuck and shit but without any of the vowels.”

“Oh, so is profanity like the fancy word for cussing?”

“Y...yeah...” Sunset cocks an eyebrow. “You didn't know that word?”

Rainbow shrugs as she sets to work. “I know cuss, why do I need to know pRoFaNiTy,” she mocks slightly. “It's like four times as long. I don't really see why people gotta have huge words for everything when small words work better.”

“What about earlier, with efficiency and momentum?”

“Well efficiency is its own thing. Speed is doing the whole thing fast, and efficiency is making better decisions and cutting down on how much you waste. Sure you can run fast, but if you don't run efficiently then you run out of energy and you hit the wall too soon. And momentum is how much force is behind the speed. And the direction is velocity. You gotta know about that stuff when you play softball and golf and tennis and stuff, since sports is just physics but cool.”

“That makes a lot of sense actually. There's not really shorter words for any of those. Profanity is kind of an ostentatious word now that you mention it.”

Rainbow’s blank stare is her response.

“Pretentious.”

Rainbow blinks.

“Full of yourself, like you're better than everyone else. Like you find everyone around you so far below you that they should consider it a privilege to be basking in your presence.”

“Oh, so it’s like high and mighty?”

“Pretty much, but for intelligence rather than morality.”

Rainbow nods sagely. So basically like you used to be...”

Sunset nods her head but eventually concedes. “Yeah, kind of...”

“Or Rarity.”

Sunset sighs. “Yeah... kinda, I guess.”

“Don't wanna talk about her?”

Sunset shrugs. “I have a lot of feelings about her right now but none that I can really put into words. I still care about her, I still wanna be her friend, and I would love to forgive her and have her back in my life. It just hurts that she thinks I would hurt her like that. And I mean I get why, because I would have done that before, when I was still evil. But not anymore. Not now that I've accepted the magic of friendship into my heart. And not now when it's so obvious that it was Applebloom!”

Rainbow winces. “Yeah... I still can't believe I thought it was you for so long.”

“Do you mind if I ask why you did, actually? Was it just loyalty?”

“Not really. It was more like, it made more sense that you were being a bitch to us and lying about it than it did for our own family to do it and then frame you for it. Plus with the whole thing that happened between us a few years back, I'm sure you can get why I was really hesitant.”

“Right, I forgot about that... honestly I did so much bad shit in my past it's kind of all bled together. I don't even remember individual things I did, just the overall misery and loneliness. The bursts of euphoria- er, of feeling good- they started off so strong when I first came here. You were all like sheep to conquer. But eventually they stopped coming altogether. That's why I got with Flash.”

“Oh yeah, you two dated for a while, right?”

“I wouldn't say dated. He tried, I always gave him that, and he tried to make me happy. Make me feel loved. When he asked about my family and I lied and said they were all dead, he wanted to get me to meet his family. Last year he wanted me to have Hearth’s Warming at his house so I wasn't alone for the holidays, but I said no. I thought I was better off alone anyway. And I didn't wanna get too close to him because I knew it wasn't forever, and I didn't wanna break his heart when we did.”

“You liked him?”

“I... I don't know. I think I less liked him as a person and I more liked the attention he gave me. I think it's more about respect. He gave me the attention I wanted, thought I deserved, so I wanted him to feel rewarded. And, well, what better way to reward a teenage boy than to fuck him? Hormones probably added to everything. Faust, being a human is so confusing.”

“Yeah, sex is a great way to make you think you're in love when you're not. It feels awesome, though.”

“Oh?” Sunset asks, a mischievous smirk crawling across her face. “And how would you know, miss?”

Rainbow blushes and looks away. “I, uh... one time I was staying after soccer practice running a few drills with one of the upperclassmen. Afterwards we were sweaty so we were gonna shower in the locker room. And I kinda liked her a little and I knew she was bi and, uh, well I think she caught me checking her out, and she asked if I liked what I saw, and I said yeah, so we, uh...”

“Inside the school!?”

“Let's just say that was the day that I confirmed that yeah I do like girls. Like, for real.”

“Who was it?”

“That's between me and her... okay don't tell her I told you but it was Blossomforth.”

“Oh, nice! She's cute. Any reason why you didn't go out with her?”

“Yeah... you.”

Sunset drops her head. “...ah, right.”

“It wouldn't have worked out anyway, she started dating some douche from crystal prep, and now she's graduated and gone. We still keep in touch sometimes though.”

“That's good to hear.”

“...she's reeeeeally flexible.”

Sunset snorts laughing as Rainbow gives her a smug smirk. “Now there's the Sunset Shimmer I’ve been missing. Alright, I think I got all the blood off, we should just rinse and put some lotion... maybe not lotion yet though, you still look a little tender.”

“Yeah, sounds like a plan... thanks Rainbow.”

“No problem, it's just blood after all.”

“No, I mean. Thank you.”

“What for?”

“For- you know, just. Going back to normal with me. Having a conversation and being my friend and making me laugh when I'm upset and letting me into your home even though I treated you so badly in the past and... trusting me and stuff.”

Rainbow pats her knee. “Well, you're welcome I guess. It's not that big a deal to me, I think you're cool and like being friends with you, but I know it's a big deal for you, so lemme just say that I enjoy it and I'm glad that you like having me as a friend too.” She stands and holds her arms out, helping Sunset pull herself up. “You hungry?”

Sunset nods, and laughs nervously. “Yeah I kind of haven't eaten anything besides a slice of pizza and a scone in... a while.”

Rainbow sighs. “They're not called scones.” She reaches for gauze and begins applying it. “Stop it.”

“They're what I call them and you should respect my culture as an immigrant to this world.”

“You are not an immigrant, you are a magical pony unicorn from a different dimension. My parents are immigrants, they’re from different countries. There is a huge difference.”

“Rainbow are you denying me citizenship status based on my species and national origin? That's racist.”

Rainbow shakes her head. “Space horses are not immigrants. They're aliens. Sunset, you're an alien.”

Sunset then takes her free hand and latches it onto Rainbow’s head. “Game over, man.”

The girls laugh as the gauze finishes wrapping, and they file out of the bathroom. With one final glance at the top drawer, Sunset pauses as her finger hovers over the light switch.

“You won't break me,” she mouths. “I will heal.”

And with that, she hits the light and closes the door.

/x/x/x/
> 10a- Cathode Ray Tubes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

/x/x/x/

CHAPTER 10a

/x/x/x/

“Yeah Bloom was there. About half a block behind Sunset. Recognized the jacket. Why do you ask?”

The message on the cell phone screen goes unanswered, and the screen dims. The backlight, set to shutoff after five minutes of inactivity, soon turns black. It rests on its owner’s chest as she simply stares at the ceiling. The heels of her palms are pressed into her temples.

“Flash could be lying. Bloom could be lying. Sunset may be lying. Micro and Pinkie could be lying. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle may be lying, but they wouldn't. But neither would Flash, Bloom, Micro, or Pinkie, unless Sunset had her talons in them. But what could she have on them? What is her plan? Lie about the suicide attempt, cut her wrists, and blackmail people into framing Apple Bloom. But why would she frame Apple Bloom if she required her cooperation? She relied on Apple Bloom as a witness. Is she pitting Micro and Pinkie against Flash and Bloom? What could she have to pit them against each other? Why would they agree to it if their deepest secrets were already revealed?” She sighs.

“If Bloom and Flash are telling the truth, Sunset tried to kill herself, or at least she put herself in a position to make herself seemingly in danger, but Sunset wouldn't put herself in danger like that. So they must be lying on Sunset’s behalf. Their story exists to bring sympathy to Sunset. Bloom tells Applejack the story at great personal cost. There must be something truly awful Sunset has over her to make her say that. Flash lying makes sense, who knows what else Sunset has over him. Micro and Pinkie can’t be telling the truth, otherwise either Bloom would be telling the truth about half of it or all of it. Micro will lie, of course, whenever he bothers to answer me. But he's a terrible liar.”

As if on cue her phone buzzes. She picks it up and slides on the MyStable notification, then waits for the app to open. Her message inbox opens automatically and allows her to read the message history.





Rare-indeed
Hello Micro. I believe that you and Pinkie recently had a conversation regarding the internet. I have been lead to believe that in your eyes, the person running the Anon-a-Miss blog created it through a certain IP address. Would you mind explaining in layman’s terms what exactly that means, please?


xxC007ranch-H4CK3Rxx
0h hi Rarity! I didn't think you would ever be curious about IP addresses. 0h well, I'm sure it's for something cool. Anyway, basically every single computer has a different set of numbers indicating its IP address. That's like a street address, where the number is your computer and the street name is your router- the box with the flashing lights on it. Whenever you do anything on the internet, the info is stamped with your IP address. All data traveling on the internet can be traced by this number. Lots of programs can even trace them to specific cities.


That's very interesting, Micro. But may I ask how exactly did your conversation with Pinkie Pie go?


Oh, she asked me to find the “parent email” which isn't really something that exists but I kinda knew what she meant so I checked out the blog and ran a scan on it real quick and found the address and I sent it to her and she thanked me, and... that's about it for that day. Then a while later she told me about how the first three numbers were the same as a video game console at Applejack’s house, so Sunset Shimmer wasn't actually Anon-a-Miss. I’m skeptical... but the numbers don't lie.


What does Sunset have over you?


...um. what?


What is she blackmailing you with?


I'm sorry, I don't really know what you mean. I don't have anything to be blackmailed with, not anymore.


Micro, please, my friends have all abandoned me because Sunset turned them all against me. She concocted a story about being sooooo depressed and suicidal, she’s blackmailing Applebloom and Flash into corroborating some sob story about an attempted suicide, she's got to be blackmailing you into giving Pinkie Pie false information, or both of you into corroborating this story. Fluttershy won't speak to me. Please, Micro, I need proof.


Whoa, that's a lot. Okay, so... you're saying that Sunset blackmailed Applebloom into pretending to be Anon-a-Miss, and blackmailed Flash into telling you she tried to kill herself, and either blackmailed me into telling Pinkie a random IP address that just so happened to match Applebloom’s OR both of us into making up this story, and you're the only one smart enough to know all of this?


Yes. That is exactly what I'm saying. There is no possible way on earth that all of you are telling the truth. There's no way that Anon-a-Miss is anyone but Sunset.


Why not Applebloom and her friends?


Because they're family. Family wouldn't do that.


Pinkie Pie wouldn't lie to anyone to keep them away from their friends. She would die for any random stranger who smiled at her because she's a ray of sunshine. Flash Sentry wouldn't lie to anyone to help Sunset even if she threatened to kill him. Applebloom is the world’s second worst liar behind only her sister. And I would never lie to you. You know that. You've known that I've been in love with you since before I ever even asked you out back in middle school. I respect that you don't return the feelings, because I'm just glad to be your friend, but you know how I feel about you. And I would never lie to anyone, especially not to you, if it ended up hurting you.


Then what am I supposed to believe, Micro? That my sister uploaded my private photos just to make me hate Sunset? I trust her more than I trust you. That isn't to say anything negative about your character but Sweetie Belle would never hurt me like that.


And I would? And Flash? Applebloom? PINKIE PIE?


Pinkie didn't need to be blackmailed to hate me before Twilight came. Applebloom has no special attachment to me beyond being her friend’s sister. Flash barely spoke to me until Twilight came. And maybe you aren't being blackmailed. Maybe you're being bribed with, I don't know, say, the nudes that she's threatening me with exposing? All of you are capable of lying to me for any number of goals or reason, especially if Sunset is pulling your strings.


You really think that little of us?


You're the ones stabbing me in the back for the bitch queen. You have no room to pass judgment.


k
<this user cannot be messaged>






Rarity resists the urge to throw her phone into the wall, and instead tosses it down the bed towards her feet.

“Of course he'd block me...” she murmurs bitterly, as she rolls over to glare at the morning sun. “It's easier than maintaining a façade with me. If only I could find out what she had over him... perhaps if we speak in person at school he'll be much more inclined to cooperate.”

She pulls her blanket up over her head. “I certainly have the time free to do so...”

/x/x/x/

Sunset pulls the bathroom door shut and follows Rainbow Dash down the hall to her bedroom.

The athlete nudges the door open with her foot, and flips on the light switch. Above, the ceiling fan sets alight and begins lazily circling in place.

The right corner is occupied by a bed, its frame in the shape of a cumulus cloud. Teal sheets and a cerulean comforter sit rumpled but somewhat straight-ish if you squint. A guitar and the journal sit on top. A nightstand and dresser sit on either side of the bed. The rest of the room is pure chaotic hell.

Laundry, sports equipment, food wrappers, various video game accessories, and guitar tablature books are strewn across the floor. It’s nearly impossible to tell if there is any furniture underneath the mess. A decently sized CRT TV sits hung up on the wall.

“Make yourself at home,” Rainbow invites, sitting on her bed and putting her guitar in her lap. It was a cool electric blue with a scarlet fretboard, with three dials and a whammy bar on the base.

“That looks cool,” Sunset tentatively murmurs, finding a spot next to her. “Hearth’s Warming present?”

“Yup!” Rainbow proudly proclaims. “This baby is my new pride and joy. Fender Stratocaster, just like all the legends. Blackmare, Claptrot, Neighndrix, Vaughandalusia... oh, uh, sorry, you probably don't know who those people are since you're, well... not from here.”

“Actually, uh...” Sunset lets out a short, melancholy laugh. “I know some of those names. Flash would talk about them a lot.”

“Oh yeah... right.” She strums. “I know we literally just talked about that. I just didn’t think you really had an interest in anything besides world domination back then...” She strummed again.

“G flat... minor?”

“E flat, but I might be out of tune. So whaddaya wanna do? Dinner won't be ready for a few hours.”

“I don't know, I... uh. I'm new to the whole solo hangouts thing. It's always been with all of you, or most of you anyway. I'm not really sure what two people even do. You know, when there's not a crisis, or sexual tension, or studying magic to do.”

“Sexual tension, eeeehh?” Rainbow asks, with a smirk and a dramatic wink, and puts the dorsum of her right hand against her forehead. “Oh, SUNset, why didn't you say anything before?”

“Pff...” Sunset gently shakes her head. “Not with you, you're not my type. But if you want I could go and call up Blossomforth for you.”

“Oh Sunset. You're so naive. I am everyone’s type. Even the straight girls would want me if they knew I was open for business.”

“My type is... ponies.”

“Would... would it help if I put on a horse mask?”

“Are you actively trying to get in my pants? Or, uh, skirt, in this case?”

“Nah. You're not exactly my type either. I can respect the leather biker aesthetic, and Fluttershy, but I don't wanna get in bed with either of those, and you're kinda wearing Fluttershy’s clothes.”

“Oh yeah... so what songs do you know?”

“A couple. I'm not amazing right now, I just barely started. But I know a couple chords.” Rainbow strummed three times, four times, then five times, left fingers climbing the fretboard in an ascending then descending pattern. “Smoke on the Water, baby’s first song.”

“I think I recognize that one. Flash tried to teach it to me. It was pretty easy, it was just the pull-off that gave me trouble. I'd show you right now but...” she glanced down at her forearms. “I'm not in the best shape for music making at the moment.”

“You'll have time. We've still got several years of high school left. And now that you're back with us again, this time for good, I’ll totally teach you stuff if you want.”

“I’d like that... thanks.”

Rainbow nods and turns her attention to the instrument. She starts playing a series of three arpeggios, playing the highest, a lower one, and a second lower one, before playing the middle and then the highest again.

“Blue Öyster Colt?”

“Bingo.”

A knock at the door has both girls turn their head. It opens to reveal Rainbow’s mom.

“Hey girls, I don't mean to interrupt, but Sunset, you're vegetarian, right?”

Sunset nods. “I avoid eating meat if I can. I mean, I can digest it, and I'll eat it if it's there. I don't want anyone to go through trouble on my part.”

“Oh don't be silly, dear, with how often Fluttershy comes over it's honestly more convenient to just make everything vegetarian anyway. Mushroom tastes better than beef too, and being honest it’s easier to digest for Bow. Oh, wait, do you like mushrooms?”

“Yeah, mushrooms are good.”

“What about cabbage?”

“That’s fine.”

“Beetroot?”

“Yeah, it's fine.”

“Or asparagus-

“Everything sounds fine,”

“-or onion, or pickles-”

“I'll eat whatever, okay!”

Windy takes a slight step back. “Okay... I just want you to feel at home, and make food that you like.”

“I appreciate your hospitality, ma’am,” Sunset says, wringing her hands. “I’m not picky. I appreciate that you're cooking. I just...”

“I understand. You two have fun.” She closes the door.

Sunset waits a few seconds before putting her head in her hands.

“Mom’s aggressively polite,” Rainbow murmurs. “She would apologize for hurting you if she took a bullet out of you. She's a lot like Fluttershy like that.”

“So... she's just. Like that? All the time?”

Rainbow shrugs. “She's like that with all of the company I bring. AJ, Pinkie, Rare... uh, I haven't brought over Twilight, we just never had that opportunity. But I'm sure if I did she’d be the same way.”

Sunset sighs. “So it's not just... pity?”

“Pity? Why?”

Sunset motions with her bandage-wrapped arms. “Is everyone just gonna coddle me now? Oh you poor baby, sad little depressed girl cutting herself up, better handle her like porcelain so she doesn't just shatter everywhere, I don't wanna be the one who sets her off.”

“Sunset, that isn't what happened. Nobody who matters is gonna think less of you or try to put on kid gloves. Mom is neurotic because she’s got ptsd from seeing hundreds of people die. If she’s giving any extra attention to you it's because she knows mental illness when she sees it, and she’s one of the best people to deal with this kind of stuff. She helped out Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie through their depression stuff, and she just wants to help you. Okay?”

Sunset purses her lips. “Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie? Had depression?”

Rainbow leans back, bonking her head onto the wall. “Oops. Yeah. They did.”

“Really?” Sunset follows suit. “Never would have guessed.”

“Why’s that?”

“I just can't picture either of them being... in my position.”

“Well, I mean, personalities can change over time. You... you're a big example.”

She nods. “I suppose so... did... was some of it my fault?”

“I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, yeah. You tormented everybody. I hated you for hurting my friends.” She gives a melancholy smirk. “That's kinda why I sorta went berserk yesterday. You hurt the people I care about, then you turned good so I could forgive you. But then this whole mess happened and I thought you betrayed the trust and forgiveness I gave you. But, hey, now we know that's a lie and we can all move on.” She absentmindedly started playing more arpeggios. “We just need everyone else to get that now.”

“Three Stables Down?”

“Mmhmm.”

Sunset pauses. “Wait. Why the fuck is every single band name a horse pun?”

Rainbow shrugs. “Well, God’s a horse. People are religious.”

“Just because Faust created this world doesn't make her a God.”

“She's a space horse from a different dimension who made the universe, I think that makes her God.”

“Why do you keep saying God as a proper noun rather than as a descriptive noun?”

A blank stare answers her question.

“Alright, uh. Why do you keep saying ‘God’ but not ‘a god’?”

“Well, cuz there's only one. Probably. I dunno if she's real or not but if there was any god there’d be only one.”

“Interesting.”

“You believe there could be lots of them?”

“I've done lots of research on paranormal, occult, divine, and other such phenomenae. Uh. Ghosts, demons, and holy junk. And there's still so much about the world we don't understand. I mean, all the books and scrolls and tomes in the ancient library I could find about the mirror that lead me here, not a single piece of information about this world exists over there. And I'm sure nothing in this world says anything about magic or talking ponies. If I had never gone on my power trip, if I'd stayed a good little obedient filly, both of us might have gone our whole lives never knowing there was an entire world just inches from our fingertips. Before I came here I was really skeptical but now I feel like anything is possible. Making decisions and assumptions about the natural world around us based solely on our own experiences and opinions is academically dishonest, and that's why I can have this disagreement with you without turning it into an argument.”

Rainbow slowly nods. “I... understood maybe half of that. But basically, yeah, the world’s weird and we shouldn't fight each other just because we have different opinions.” She sighs. “What am I, an after school special now?”

“A kids book. Teach me how to count to ten now!”

“Red is spelled r e d. Reeeeed.”

“How do the ABGs go again?”

“...”

“What?”

“What in the FUCK is ABG?”

Sunset cocks her head to the side. “You know... the alphabet. A B G D E Z-”

“Okay first you think biscuits are cookies, now you think the alphabet is out of order-”

“You call scones biscuits-”

“It's A B C D E F G-”

“Wait, what?”

“A B C D E F-”

“OH!” Sunset looks wide-eyed in realization across the room. “Is that why music notes and letter grades are in that weird order?”

“Weird order!?” Rainbow sputters. “It's the alphabet!”

“I guess our worlds use different alphabets... why do you skip E in grades but not music notes?”

Rainbow blinks. “I... don't know.”

“All I know is in Equestria, your A is an HD, your B is a D, your C is Cr, your D is P, and your F is, well, F.”

“That is... confusing as shit.”

“It is not confusing! There's high distinction, distinction, credit, pass, and fail. It makes perfect sense!”

“I like A B C D F. It makes sense to me.”

“Eh... that's fair I guess.” Sunset folds her hands. “You... do you want help studying?”

“I'm fine.”

“I'm just saying, if you need help, I-”

“Suns. Please. I've got it. I appreciate the offer but I don't need help. I just need to pay better attention in class so I can get a good grade on the exams.”

“Alright. I know that your grades are a touchy subject so I won't push. And I'll drop it. Okay?”

Rainbow nods. “Thanks.” She strums again, then begins a series of slow and deliberate climbs and rapid falls. “If I did need help studying I’d ask for it. And anyway, my grades are the least of your concerns. You should worry about your health and stuff, you know?”

“Yeah, I see where you're coming from. I just hate knowing that my friends aren’t in the best of circumstances. Even when I thought you girls hated me. Oh, Red Hot Filly Pep-” Sunset sighs. “Another... another goddamn horse pun.”

“Are there any horseland musicians that aren't horse puns?”

She shrugs. “There's Sapphire Shores, Countess Coloratura, Songbird Serenade. There's a lot of alliteration but maybe I'm only remembering the ones with the same letter names because of that. There's plenty more, but I never really listened to pop music. I was always more into symphonies, orchestras, the occasional musical. Princess Celestia loved musicals, and I wanted brownie points so I told her I wanted to come because I loved them too even though at first I didn't, but eventually I really got into them.”

Rainbow nods, fingers absentmindedly performing a heavily syncopated riff. “I can't say I like any of those, personally. I've always been into punk and rock. Started getting into metal recently, like this one. It's fun. Something about the raw aggression and technical mastery is just right up my alley, but. Uh. Rarity... doesn't like it. At all. And neither does Fluttershy, she gets bad anxiety cuz of all of the distortion and screaming. AJ and Pinkie like some of it though. Actually this one,” she pauses to accentuate the notes. “Is AJ’s favorite right now, but she likes their more mellow songs a bit more.”

“What's it called?”

“Oh, they're Five... uh...” she stops in her tracks. “You're not gonna like this.”

Sunset closes her eyes. “What's the pun?”

“It's, uh. Um. Oh man. Five hoof death kick.”

Sunset leans back against the wall. “What.”

“They got the name from a movie about an assassin who retired but then her boss beat her into a coma so when she woke up she wanted revenge so she got on her horse and she made it kick him to death five times.”

“It...” Sunset opens her eyes and furrows her brow. “It kicked him to death five times?”

“Yeah.”

“He died five times?”

“No, the horse kicked him five times. To death.”

“So the horse kicked him four times and he didn't die, but the fifth time killed him?”

“Yeah.”

“How?”

“Well, the horse knew a secret hidden forbidden technique from an ancient master who lived in Chineigh, and the first four kicks were just to activate certain chi energy points, and after the fifth one when you take five steps then your heart explodes.”

“So he died from the heart explosion?”

“No, the horse was just really strong.”

“That's stupid. What’s the point of the exploding heart if he just died from getting stomped to death by a horse?”

Rainbow rubs her left temple. “Because the boss knew that she deserved to have her revenge so he let himself die honorably in combat. It was poetic, and it subverted expectations.”

“But she didn't have her revenge, because the horse is the one who killed him. Is this movie a comedy?”

“No, it's an action movie!”

“It sounds silly.”

“It's not silly, it's awesome, she has a samurai sword and a motorcycle and she goes to Neighpon and fights off eighty eight guys all by herself and then has a showdown with one of her former partners.”

Sunset cocks her head to the side. “So she fights eighty nine people and wins? Seems a little bit unrealistic.”

“Well she was a highly trained assassin.”

“Well, so was the partner, right? She was tired from fighting eighty eight people, she’d have been at a constant disadvantage.”

“Exactly, so the partner underestimated her, and her pride was her downfall!”

“Alright, I guess that makes sense. So, wait, if she has a samurai sword and a motorcycle then why did she have a Chineighse horse in Neighpon?”

“Well she didn't have the horse until she went to the desert back home. The thing in Neighpon was first and then she came back.”

“Why did she go to Neighpon first, wouldn't hearing about eighty nine dead people set the boss on high alert?”

“Sunset it would make more sense if you actually watched the movies, do you wanna watch the movies?”

“Movies? There's more than one?”

“It's parts one and two. Wanna have a double feature sleepover?”

She shrugs. “Never had one before. Might as well try it now.”

“Alright, awesome! You're gonna love it, it's really cool. Why don't we do it after dinner?”

“Yeah, sounds good. When... when is dinner?”

“Should be soon, we’ve been chatting for a while.” Rainbow strums one last time before getting up from the bed, crossing the room, looking around a large pile of clothes in the corner, and setting the instrument down on top of it. “My guitar stand is somewhere under all these t shirts.”

“Why don't you do your laundry?”

“I only wear these for like two hours every day, this pile is shirts I've worn for four hours total... or six hours... no, this one is six, and that one is four. Or that’s the two pile. Oh, unless it’s the eight pile. It doesn't smell like the ten pile.”

“Rainbow-”

“Yeah?”

“Why don't we go to the laundromat together soon so we can get all of our clothes clean?”

“I don't need the laundromat, I just gotta run it here first.”

“And why haven't you yet?”

“Because I... have other things to do. Like. Uh.” She slumps her shoulders. “Alright, fine, we’ll have a laundry date. We just need a couple quarters. Or, maybe a lot of quarters. Okay, you know what, I’ll just bring a twenty.”

“I might have to borrow some money if it's soon, I don't have much left. I had it all rationed out for three months but then I spent it all on ice cream, chocolate, and razor blades. I wasn't sure what I was gonna do when it came spring time so I could get my job at the sushi place in the mall again but honestly I wasn't planning to live that long.” She follows Rainbow’s gaze over her shoulder to see that Windy had silently opened the door while she was talking.

“Hey girls,” she murmurs, quieter than normal, about at the volume of Fluttershy’s loud voice. “Dinner’s ready...” she trials off and stands in silence for just slightly longer than an awkward moment before pulling the door back shut.

Sunset turns and her body falls onto the bed. “Well that was terrible timing.”

“It's fine, she just...” Rainbow pinches the bridge of her nose. “You won't have to owe me anything. You've been through a lot, and I can afford to help. All of us can. And I know that if I was in your shoes you'd help me too. So don't stress about finances and don't stress about mom. She isn't gonna judge you, worst she might do is ask you if everything’s okay about three or four thousand times. But she does that all the time anyway. Don't worry about money right now, until you're okay, okay?”

Sunset nods gently. “All right... I won't worry.”

“Good.” Rainbow claps her hands together. “Now come on, let’s go eat, and then when we come back we’re gonna watch the sickest movies that were ever made.”

“That sounds like a great idea... hope I don't choke on bread again.”

“Well if you do mom knows CPR...” she leans in suggestively and waggles her eyebrows. “And I know mouth to mouth.”

Sunset rolls her eyes, and replies deadpan. “Ooohh, mother daughter action. Nice.”

Rainbow jumped back, cringing. “Ew! Oh god, please never say that again!”

“If you can't take the heat, get outta the kitchen.”

“All right, all right, you win this round.” Rainbow pauses with her hand on the door knob. “Oh, uh. We have a knife block in the kitchen. You good?”

Sunset ponders for a moment. “I think so. It's not surprise razors, just the handles. I can see them no problem, but if I need help cutting something-”

“Blame your bandages?”

She nods. “Yeah. I don't trust myself holding a knife right now, but I think I'm okay seeing other people holding them.”

“That's totally cool, whatever you need.”

Sunset leans in and hugs Rainbow. “Thanks.”

Rainbow is frozen for a few seconds, but then returns the gesture. “No problem.”

“Not just for the knife thing. I may not be back to normal, but you've helped me at least feel back to normal, at least for a little bit. And I appreciate that a lot.”

“Yeah, sure. You're my friend, Suns. Whatever bad shit happened between us in the past is in the past. What matters right now is that you need normalness, so that's what I'll give you.”

“Normalness... yeah. That's a good word for it.” Sunset pulls away. “No drama, no discourse, no angst. Just two friends chatting about random stuff. It's a nice change of pace. It just took a lot longer to get here than I wanted it to take.”

“After the hell you went through, you deserve it, no matter how long it's been.” Rainbow finally pulls the door open and steps out.

Sunset follows her, taking one last glance at the journal before the door clicks shut behind them.

/x/x/x/
> 10b- Cellular Backlight
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

/x/x/x/

Applejack opens her front door to find her brother leaning against a counter, drinking coffee, and staring at her.

“Hey Mac,” she greets, shutting the door as she scuffs her boots on the welcome mat. “What did I miss?”

Mac just shrugs, taking a sip of coffee. “Not much. Been quiet. Granny’s sleepin’... Bloom’s been in her room all day.”

“Figger’d such.”

“You okay sis?”

“Whaddaya mean? Just got here.”

“No, you got here ten minutes ago. Rustbucket ain’t quiet. You sat in the truck for a bit, then you stood outside the front door for a bit. You ain't lookin’ forward to chattin’ with Bloom, huh?”

Applejack sighs, hanging her hat on the nearby rack, and follows up with her jacket. “I guess I’m pretty obvious. Even followed the speed limit on the way here.”

“You wanna talk about it?”

“Nah, I’m...” she unbuttons her flannel. “I’m just gonna go talk to Bloom. She been eatin’?”

“She poked at her dinner last night, after ya left. Ate an egg this morning. Haven't seen her since.”

“Hmm.” Applejack finishes taking her flannel off, and wraps it around her forearms. “Why are you drinking coffee at six in the evening?”

“It's decaf.”

The two sit in silence for upwards of a minute, broken only by the occasional sip.

“Ya know...” he murmurs. “You don't gotta talk to her right now.”

“No, I gotta.” She rolls her neck. “I gotta apologize for what I said to her last night. It wasn't right of me to bring ma and pa into this.”

“You know they woulda been.”

“I know. She knows. Didn't give me the right to say it. I was mad at myself, and I took it out on her.”

“You were mad at her too. She had just admitted to hurtin’ your friend and humiliatin’ you in front of the school.”

“And that gave me the right to be a jerk? No, Mac, we were both in the wrong.”

“It ain't bein’ a jerk, it's bein’ an authority figure. You and I are the closest thing she's got to a mom an dad-”

“She has parents.” Applejack snaps. “They just ain't here anymore. We ain't her new parents. We’re brother and sister. Member when Suns spread the rumor we were... y’know. Her real parents?”

“Mmhmm. My... senior year? Maybe junior. I don't remember, high school was so long ago. But you gotta admit, we all but adopted her when she was just a baby, least far as family goes. It was believable. It was effective.”

“Mac. I was four. You were eleven. Sunset’s rumors were never realistic, she always made it so the students was the one who gave it power cuz kids and teens know how to spin things juicier than a steamroller in an orchard. Another thing that I shoulda recognized...”

Mac set his now-empty mug into the sink. “Warn’t your fault.”

“I know. It was Bloom n’ her friends who done it. And I ate it up.”

“It's past. Sunset’s better, right?”

“Yeah. She is. She’s with Rainbow.”

“So y'all made up with each other?”

Applejack groans. “Well... Rare believes that Sunset blackmailed Bloom on account of she’d never believe that her sister would post her lewds.”

Mac blushes. “What?”

“Oh dang. You didn't know either. Yeah... Anon posted photos of Rare in her undies.”

“Bloom exposed private pics of-”

“Warn't Bloom. Belle did that. Bloom just made the account and the text posts. I think. At least I hope.”

“I should hope so too, that's just...” he shakes his head. “Why’d she even have pics like that at all?”

“Well, she sent ‘em to Sunset as reference for puttin’ bras on. Oh, speakin’ of...” she reaches back for a second, then takes off the article in question from underneath her tank and cami. “Ah, that's... that's much better. Anyway, this ain't gonna be one of those conversations where I’m gonna have to tell ya women can have photos like that on their phones without it being a thing?”

“Yeah yeah,” Mac waves her off. “She just didn't strike me as one of those girls- actually, you know what, I'm not gonna say that either because I just went through what you would say back in my head and it didn't end well for me. Either way it's wrong for Belle to do that. To her own sister, no less. And I guess that explains why Miss Rarity ain't so quick to believe and forgive Sunset.”

Applejack bundles her discarded clothes in her hands. “Yeah...” she makes a noise somewhere between a groan and a sigh. “This whole dang mess. Those girls just wanted to hurt Sunset and it ended up hurtin’ all of us. There'd be a life lesson in it if Belle n’ Scoot came clean.”

“Hmm...”

“Hmm is right. I don't get what they even stand to gain from shuttin’ Sunset out like this. It ain't like ‘em for petty vengeance.”

“No, that... that ain't what I mean.” Mac bit his thumb for a moment. “They did hurt all o’ y’all, remember? You n’ Piggly Wiggly, Rain’s bad grades, Fluttershy’s hair extensions, Miss Rarity’s private photos. An’ that's just gettin’ started. They spilled beans on everyone in school. Y'all said how everyone was tearin’ each other apart like a barn in a twister. But that don't make no sense. There ain't motive for none of that. There warn’t need to keep on keepin’ on after y'all threw Sunset outta the friend group like a sack o’ moldy apples.”

“Okay. Ouch. But... you're right. Anon a Miss kept postin’ after that. So if their aim was to take away Sunset’s friends an’ make her miserable, they did it. They got everythin’ they ever wanted and then some. But then why did they go on an’ spread the secrets of everyone else in school? What... what was the plan?”

Mac stepped over to the fridge, and pulled out a cider. He popped the cap with his boot and took a sip. “You gotta keep everything in perspective here if you're gonna go up here n have a talk with her yourself. I already talked to her last night. I laid out her punishment already. She has her phone- for homework, emergencies, and for communicatin’ with her friends to convince ‘em to come clean. Or to rat ‘em out on MyStable.”

“Alright, that's fair. I was gonna say... and I ain't ever gonna understand how you can open bottles like that.”

“Years o’ practice. Anyway, this mess is bigger than either of us. Bigger than those three. It's even bigger than Sunset Shimmer. But, at the end of the day, Sunset Shimmer is the one who’s hurt the most. And until those girls tell the truth about who Anon a Miss really was, it's gonna stay that way. I know she’s better, n’ she’s with Rainbow right now. But she... she tried to kill herself. I'm sure it's cuz of the isolation n’ bein’ ostracized by everyone. It don't matter much why they did what they did to everyone but her, cuz it's just silly rumors. Except maybe Miss Rarity but that's a special case. I'm just thinkin’ that it ain't over just because Anon a Miss won't be so anonymous no more once those three come clean. But that's later talk. Now talk is waitin’ for ya upstairs.”

“Yeah, yeah...” Applejack lurched her way out of the kitchen and into the dining room, pausing at the foot of the stairs to the second story. “Guess I been waitin’ long enough.”

“I'll be down here.”

Applejack lets out a long slow exasperated exhale the entire time she clunks her way up the stairs. When she reaches the top, Applebloom’s bedroom door opens. After a moment, her face shows in the crack.

“Sis?” She asks, quietly.

“Can I come in?”

/x/x/x/

Fluttershy’s phone rings. She reaches across her bed for the device and checks the caller ID before setting it back down. After a moment, she reaches back and answers it.

“Rarity.”

“Hello Fluttershy... I respect your request that our friendship is put on hiatus. However I hope you can make an exception here, as this call is one I would make with any acquaintance.”

“What do you want, Rarity? I'm... currently occupied.”

“Don't worry, this won't take very long. You can get back to your... herbal medicine soon. I just want to know something.”

“Mm?”

“I... um.” She sighs.” How do you typically handle interactions with your younger sibling when you believe he may have wronged you?”

Fluttershy slowly leans up from her bed, her movements sluggish and subdued. “Zephyr? Is a selfish entitled inconsiderate jerk. All the time. How I handle interactions with him when he wrongs me is all the time. I just talk to him normal.”

“Yes, I know, but... surely there was a point in time where you two were close.”

“Yeah, a long time ago, I guess. Why? What are you trying to do here, start a conversation? I already told you-”

“I'm looking for advice on how to get to the heart of the truth of this whole sordid MyStable affair. If Sweetie Belle truly did spread my photographs, and Sunset really is innocent- notice I said if- then I need to know the best way to broach the subject. And to do that, I want to have a full deck. I have not had the misfortune of being unable to fully get along with my sister, and thus I have not the skills to-”

“Just talk to her,” Fluttershy interrupts, her voice flat. “If you can call me after I told you I don't want to talk to you, then you can talk to your sister. Sit her down one on one and have this talk with her your own way. Your relationship with her and my relationship with Zephyr are too different.”

“Ah...” Rarity sighs. “That's essentially what Pinkie Pie said when I called and asked about her with her sisters... I’m sure it's what Applejack will say about her and hers. Thank you for your input.”

“You're welcome... I...”

“Yes?”

“...I hope that your talk goes well.”

“As do I.”

An awkward silence reigns for several long moments.

“What brought this on, Rarity?” Fluttershy asks.

“I spoke with Micro Chips earlier. I... I hurt him. I asked him about IP addresses and what he said made it seem like everyone is telling the truth. So I lashed out and hurt him. And I am now having a harder and harder time believing that Sunset is a devious mastermind on levels higher than my own comprehension, but... but she has to be. Because the alternative...”

“What do you mean you hurt him?”

“I... I used his attraction to me as a weapon. I'm... I’m turning into a monster. I’m becoming what Sunset was.”

Fluttershy makes as if to respond a few times but ultimately says nothing.

“Fluttershy?”

“I'm still here.”

“I just want to make absolutely sure of every detail of what I believe to be true before I continue on my investigation. I... I reread one of my old Shadow Spade novels. I'd forgotten just how mature the subject matter could be, despite being geared towards younger kids. And I’d forgotten just how accurate to actual detective work it was. And I’d forgotten that in complicated situations like this, one can't let implicit bias get in the way of logic.”

“Okay.”

“... I’ll talk to Sweetie Belle now.”

“That sounds like a good idea.”

Another awkward silence passes.

Fluttershy is the one to break it this time.

“Be sure to let her know that you trust her, and you just want concrete proof that she didn't hurt you. And that no matter what happens you'll still love her. Because she's your sister and nothing will ever change that. You've been through too much together to lose it all now over a simple little misunderstanding. No matter how emotionally damaging it's been to the people around us. No matter how rough the hardships, and no matter what bad blood or negativity came between you right now, you still love her. You're still family.”

“Yes, I... I understand. We are still family. And I still love... her.”

“I'm glad you do.”

“Do you... does she still love me?”

“Yes. Of course. You just need to... talk to your sister, and get everything cleared up. And then you can talk to her again. And she really wants you to. I... really want you to.”

“And I want to as well...” Rarity lets out a short melancholic sigh. “I suppose I'll hang up now.”

“Sounds good. Goodbye Rarity.”

“So long...” a single click is all that remains of the conversation.

Fluttershy tosses her phone down onto the covers near her feet, and puts her fingers underneath her moist eyes, wiping away the tears that had welled up during the conversation.

/x/x/x/

As Sunset polishes off her third bowl of soup, Rainbow pops one last dumpling into her mouth. The two adults at the table share an awestruck look.

“I have never seen someone eat more than me,” Bow murmured. “Ever.”

Sunset looks up from her bowl, tapping her napkin to her mouth. “Oh, I didn't...” she sets down the fabric. “I didn't mean to-”

“Oh, you're fine, dear,” Windy interrupts, reaching over to set a comforting hand on her shoulder. “He just means that usually he's the one with the biggest appetite at the table. Unless, of course, I make my pasta potato sourdough sandwiches. But I made plenty of soup, so eat as much as you like. If anything, I’m flattered that you want so much of it.”

“Oh, well, it’s delicious- wait.” Sunset furrows her brow, comprehending what she just heard. “Pasta and potato... sandwich?”

“On sourdough,” Rainbow chimes, in between chugging from an electric green plastic bottle. “It's the best.”

“That sounds like a lot of carbs,” Sunset remarks. “For a human. For a pony... uh...”

“It's a lot for even a cow,” Bow says. “And I don't just mean my ex wife! Ah? Ah?”

“Dad. You don't have an ex wife.”

He crosses his arms and leans back in his chair. “I could have... you don't know... maybe I married my high school sweetheart in secret, absconding before college, only for it to fall tragically apart before my stint in the military before I met your mom.”

Rainbow rolls her eyes. “High school relationships don't last into adulthood, everyone knows that. And besides, did you even know any girls back then?”

“He was popular with the ladies back then,” Windy answers, her voice less jealous than matter of fact. “What was her name, Lily Blossom?”

“Yeap, that's her. Went to prom together. She had a kid a while back, real similar name. Rainbow, I think she was in the Wondercolts, you ever know a Blossom?”

Sunset was the only one to notice the slight reddening of Rainbow’s face as she answered.

“Yeah, Blossomforth, I knew her. We were friends for a while, but she graduated. Haven't really kept up on her...” she takes a brief moment to drain the rest of her soda. “I'm gonna go get more.”

With that she moves rather quickly from the table and into the adjoining kitchen, leaving Sunset alone with the adults for a moment.

“So...” she says, filling the silent void left behind. “You met each other in the military?”

“Mmhmm,” Bow says, nodding. “I was an analytics engineer for the air force, mostly cross referencing weather with the vehicles to figure what would be the most fuel efficient way to travel, and when. One day one of the planes exploded right next to me, and the next thing I knew your mom, a medic, was tending to my wounds. Naturally I was fu- um, a little delirious from the morphine, and I said. Uh. Hon, what did I say?”

“You asked if you died and went to heaven because I looked like an angel.”

“Yeah, I remember now. And afterwards I kept faking illnesses just to get an excuse to come see you, and eventually you told me I didn't have to do that if I wanted to spend some time with you. And we kept in contact even after our tours were over, and one day, we... consummated.”

“And that's how I was made,” Rainbow chimes in, sitting down with a second bottle, this one brown.

“Then we got married and that's that.”

Sunset chuckles to herself. “So, Rainbow, you were a guest at your parents’ wedding?”

“Yeah yeah,” she says, “I’m a bastard, laugh it up.”

“There's nothing wrong with children born out of wedlock,” Windy sternly- yet gently- chides. “You were Faust’s gift to me, not a burden.”

“Yeah mom, I know,” Rainbow appeases, rolling her eyes. “I'm the greatest birthday present ever.”

“Birthday present?” Sunset asks.

“Oh yeah. I was born on mom’s birthday.”

“Really?”

“Mmhmm. It was real close too, it was almost the day after but, eh, I was too fast for that.”

“You were an easy birth,” Windy remarks. “It's like you couldn't wait to get out of me. I probably could have done it myself if your father wasn't so dead set on driving me to the hospital. Faster than the speed limit, mind you.”

“Cop followed me the entire second half of the drive there,” Bow adds. “When he saw me turning into the hospital parking lot he turned his lights and siren off and just kept going. Guess he figured out what was going on.”

“Imagine spending my birthday giving birth in a jail cell,” Windy laughed. “Wouldn't that be something right out of a movie?”

“Oh hey,” Rainbow says. “That reminds me. Suns, for when we watch the movie tonight, what do you usually do, popcorn? Wait. Do they have popcorn back where you're from?”

“Yes Rainbow, Equestria has popcorn. And it really doesn't matter, as long as it's not breadsticks. I'd rather not die.”

Rainbow immediately stands up. “FLUTTERSHY HAS ALL MY LEFTOVER BREADSTICKS!”

“Please don't shout at the table, dear.”

“Sorry mom.”

“Where’s Equestria?” Bow asks.

Sunset and Rainbow share a brief look and have a silent conversation for a moment before Rainbow shrugs and sits back down.

“It’s a magical portal dimension of unicorns and pegasi,” Sunset replies. “It wouldn't be on any map.”

A stunned silence rings across the table for a few moments until it is broken by Bow.

“Well, weirder things have happened. Were you a pegasus or were you a unicorn?”

Sunset’s jaw drops. “You are taking this... remarkably well.”

Bow shrugs. “Hey, all the weird electromagnetic anomalies in the local atmosphere has gotta have an explanation somehow.”

“I was banking on aliens,” Windy adds. “I can't say I’m disappointed that it's horses instead, as that definitely explains a lot of our religion’s origins. But... aliens would have been cooler, no offense. Anyway, you haven't answered the question. Unicorn or Pegasus?”

“I... I was a unicorn.”

Bow nods. “You strike me as a unicorn. In fact I had a theory that's.. well, it's not similar, but it's a lot closer to unicorns than to aliens. I was camp fairy.”

“Here we go again,” Windy playfully teases.

“Hey, fairies are a lot more likely to exist than aliens!”

“There is definitive proof that aliens exist, there isn't any for fairies outside of folklore and some drunk rednecks who saw barn owls and thought they were goblins.”

“We literally have a unicorn right at our kitchen table, is that not enough evidence that mythical creatures can and do exist? Just imagine the possibilities. Vampires, dragons, mermaids!”

“Actually...” Sunset interjects. “Dragons are also real.”

“See!?”

“Okay, okay,” Windy appeases. “Alright, fine. I’ll concede that in the wake of evidence that unicorns and dragons are real, fairies are... plausible. But I still think aliens exist too!”

“You mean like little green guys,” Sunset asks. “Or do you mean like the xenomorphs?”

“Oh don't even get me started on those movies,” Windy begins to gush. “HR Giara is an artistic visionary, and the entire science fiction genre wouldn't be nearly the same without him.”

“We just watched the first one last night.”

“Oh, it's such a good film! Uh.” Realization sets in on Windy’s face. “Oh. Wait, you let Fluttershy watch that movie???”

“In my defense, I’m pretty desensitized to horror since way scarier exists back home. And, well, she said she liked some of it, just not the scary parts.”

“I can imagine why, the cinematography is just breathtaking, and the sound design is-

“You're all nerds!” Rainbow cries, picking up her and Sunset’s dishes. “I'm making popcorn!”

As she leaves, sheepish grins are exchanged across the table. In the settling silence, the adults get back to their meals as Sunset compulsively glances down at her wrists. The gauze is still fastened securely, still cleared of red. She looks back up at the table, at these two random people who didn't even know anything about her having taken her in, sheltered her, supplied her, fed her. Her eyes begin to mist over, and she tries to wipe it away with the backs of her hands, without much success.

“Are you okay, dear?” Windy asks, voice gentle.

Sunset nods. “Yeah, I’m... I’m okay. I'm just not really that used to acts of kindness from strangers. These past several weeks have just been... cold and lonely. So I want to thank you both for your hospitality.”

“Hey,” Bow says, mouth full. “You're friends with Rainbow, and that makes you family.” He then swallows at a look from his wife. “We’re both glad to offer a safe space for anyone who needs it, and from what she told us, you need it.”

Sunset nods again. “Well I appreciate that a lot. I had kind of given up hope that I'd ever be happy again...” she grimaces. “Oh man, that sounded angsty.”

Windy presses her forefinger and thumb together. “Well, maybe a little bit. But considering the hell you went through, I think you're entitled to a little bit of angst. I know of a certain other person who went through... I won't say worse, because no tragedy is quantifiable against another, but an also traumatic ordeal, who went quite a bit more off the angsty scale than you seem to be. To a degree that's, well, it...” she sighs. “It doesn't matter right now, I shouldn't even be talking about her right now considering she's the reason behind your current suffering.”

Sunset’s brow furrows. “Are you talking about Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, or Scootaloo? Because none of them struck me as the angsty type.”

“It's... one of them...

Bow sets his fork down. “Scootaloo’s mother died a few years back, and it affected her. She really took after our daughter. There was one day she ended up in our front yard wanting to do some research paper on one of her heroes, and she wanted to hear some stories about Rainbow when she was a kid. Of course, it was four in the damn morning, but I recognized her as the kid from the accident, so I obliged and let her in. She was a good kid, despite appearances and music taste. I honestly don't know what compelled her to take part in that blogging fiasco.”

“Well,” Sunset cedes, “I was kind of bad back in the day.”

“We know. Rainbow told us. You essentially broke her up with her best friend at the time. And we did resent you for hurting our baby girl. But what those girls did to you in return...” Bow shakes his head, and glares intensely at his plate. “It’s utterly deplorable. There's no excuse for it, even if she did see her mom die. You didn't deserve that.” He slowly and deliberately sets his fist on the table. “You were a bully, don't get me wrong. But nothing you did couldn't be fixed. Canterlot High has never had a suicide, never a shooting, never a scandal. Just a megalomaniacal queen. But from what I heard, it was because you never knew friendship. And when you did get a taste of it, in no small part thanks to Rainbow, you became quite a delightful person. And now I've seen it firsthand. You are a good person. And you will be happy again.”

Windy nods in agreement. “What you did before, that was yesterday. What you do from now on is tomorrow. Who you are now is all that matters. Your past does not define you, because your past is not today.”

Sunset nods, letting her eyes spill over. “Thank you both.”

Windy comes over and hugs her. “Of course, dear. We all have dark spots in our lives. And we need to be there for each other during them.”

“Well I appreciate that you two are here for mine.”

An affectionate moment passes, and Windy returns to her seat. After what suspiciously seems like the exact amount of time before anyone gets bored passes, Rainbow comes back into the dining room, a large bowl of popcorn in one hand and her phone to her ear in the other.

“Hey Shy, hold up a second, ok? Hey Suns, test this and see if it needs more butter or salt.”

Sunset complies and pops a kernel into her mouth.

“It's perfect,” she says. “Is that Fluttershy?”

“Okay, good. Yeah, it is. One sec, ok? Hey Shy, I’m back. No, it's fine, I just needed to see if she’d like the popcorn. Because we’re watching a movie. Well, technically two movies. Yeah, that one. Look, that doesn't matter right now, are you okay? She... wants to believe her?” Rainbow glances at Sunset. “Well... yeah, that is good. I guess we’ll just have to see how their talk goes. Uh-huh. Yes, I’ll swing by tomorrow to pick it up. All right. Oh, come on, I-” she sighs. “I... loveyoutoobye.”

“Aaawww,” Sunset mocks.

“Don't you start, she gets very affectionate when she's high.” Rainbow glances at her parents. “Per. Focusing. On... her knitting.”

Bow sighs. “Rain, she can only use the, oh sorry I smell like a skunk because I work at the animal shelter, excuse so many times. You kids act like we’ve never smoked weed ourselves.”

Windy smacks his arm.

Bow clears his throat. “You kids act like I've never smoked it myself.”

“Wait, dad, you knew?”

“For Faust’s sake Rainbow, she listens to Bob Marley, the Grateful Dead, and Sublime. Did you not know?”

“I... found out when I went over yesterday.”

Bow puts his face in his hands as Windy pinches the bridge of her nose.

“Wow Rainbow, even your parents think you're a square,” Sunset teases.

“Ah, shut up and come watch the movie,” she mutters as she turns and walks down the hall.

Sunset stands up and follows after her, pausing to thank the adults once more for the meal, and steps into the bedroom, shutting the door behind them.”

/x/x/x/

“So... you got any siblings?” Flash innocuously asks, dipping a fry in ketchup.

“I got a sister,” Shining responds in between sips of his shake. “Twilight Sparkle. If you’re really attuned to science journals, you'd probably see her name here and there. She did the math behind the zero point energy field manipulator matrix tech breakthrough. She and, uh, what's his face, was it... Freemare?”

“Yeah... cool...” Flash tries really hard to hide his disinterest. “So uh. Where's she go to school?”

Shining slowly turns to look at him. “She and her girlfriend go to Crystal Prep.”

“Oh!” He replies, trying really hard to stifle his shock. “That's... cool. Good for them. Go LGBT!”

“Did you invite me to lunch just so you could try to fuck my sister?”

“No!”

A look from Shining defeated the remnants of his resolve.

“...maybe.”

“You're not the first. You won't be the last.” He finishes the last of his shake. “You're a good kid. Spearhead’s said some good things about you. And the care and respect you took to get here should be applauded. But you should give up on pursuing Twiley. She's way out of your league.”

Flash bites his tongue to keep from responding.

“Look. I don't say this to disparage you,” Shining continues. “I've seen your band play a couple times. You're clearly talented. And you seem like a nice respectful sort. And, speaking frankly, you are handsome and attractive. I'm sure plenty of girls out there would be lucky to have you. But... my sister is a special case. She has scholarships out the wazoo. She has an entire wing of the school dedicated to her various experiments. The actual president has corresponded with her before on a matter of national security, twice. And you? You deliver pizzas. She's lactose intolerant and only orders Chineighse. You're from two completely different worlds, and it will never work out.”

Flash sighs. “Yeah. I get it. Big brother instinct.”

“Buddy. This is to spare you rejection. Us being related has nothing to do with it. You've been with Sunset Shimmer, the biggest and most famous bitch queen in the entire tri state area’s history. You're an accomplished player. Don't get your heart broken going for the highest branch when there's plenty of good fruit dropping low.”

Flash takes a depressed bite of his sandwich as Shining’s watch beeps.

“Well,” he says, standing up. “This has been fun. We should do it again some time. Chatting with you on my lunch break has actually been really enlightening. Genuinely.” He pats Flash on the shoulder before grabbing up his tray and trash. “C’est la vie, dude. Peace out.”

As he leaves, Flash sets his burger down and forces himself to swallow. He leans back and ponders on the new information he's gathered, trying frantically to piece together the enigmatic puzzle that was the lavender-skinned girl he fell in love with.

After a few minutes his phone buzzes. He checks it and sees that it's from Rarity. He opens it and reads.

“Would you mind doing some detective work for me?” She asks.

“What do you have in mind?”

“Sunset Shimmer is most likely staying overnight at Pinkie Pie’s house. Rainbow Dash was violent towards her before the heel face turn, Fluttershy couldn't handle two overnight stays in a row, and Sunset most likely couldn't stay in the same house as Applebloom. Therefore it's the best assumption that she is out of town. If you could monitor three- my, my sister’s, and Anon-a-Miss’- MyStable profiles overnight and report on your findings in the morning, that would be much appreciated.”

“You got a plan to ensnare the bitch queen?”

“I have the makings of one. It just needs a little tact and subtlety on my end. Two attributes that have been sorely lacking in my department recently. So to remedy that, I told Fluttershy that I was going to entertain the notion that Sweetie Belle really was Anon. Surely she will tell Rainbow who will then tell Applejack and Pinkie, and lull Sunset into a false sense of security. She’ll grow complacent. Then when you have record of the blog’s activity, you can ask Micro Chips to trace it.

“Why do I have to talk to the nerd?”

“I used his crush on me to hurt him, and accused him of letting Sunset bribe him with my nudes. He is surely desperate to make amends with me, and that means it will be easy for someone else he idolizes to butter him up and get information from a lot easier, without him going on paragraphs and paragraphs of tangents that nobody cares about.”

“I'd say harsh but JFC that guy goes on and on.”

“Exactly. So, if and when Anon updates next, and there is hard evidence that Sweetie and I are both offline and inactive- as she and I will spend a day together- and we can indeed find out what wifi the update was sent through. Sunset won't have any leg to stand on. We are in control right now, and we will bring her crimes to light. This will work, with your help.”

“Devious. Don't worry Rarity, I’m in.”

“Thank you very much Flash. If things go well enough, I’m sure a substantial reward will be coming your way ;)”

“Only reward I need is Sunset facing justice.”

“Delightful. I'll keep in touch.”

“Ditto.”

Flash pockets his phone and leans back in his chair, a gentle grin on his face.

“You're going down, horse.”

/x/x/x/

Scootaloo twists the doorknob to no avail.

“Oh well...” she mutters to herself, pulling out a small metal tool. She glances to either side and begins fiddling with the lock. After a few minutes broken up by more paranoid glances up and down the empty hallway, she finally hears a click.

“Heck yeah,” she murmurs, before pushing her way into the room. And then immediately stepping back out, coughing and pulling the collar of her shirt over her nose.

“It smells like a fart died in here. What is that, spoiled milk and BO? And... copper. Eugh.”

She steps in, shutting the door behind her and encasing the room in near-darkness, illuminated only by the pale cloudlight from the windows. She pulls out her phone and activates the flashlight, bringing sight to the darker corners of the room.

“Okay, outlets. Outlets. Here's one, nothing. Here's one. Here's one. Dang girl, your apartment’s got more outlets than my entire dad’s house. Oh, shit!” She yelps, tripping over a pile of empty ice cream pints, sending a mass of flies buzzing away.

“There's the dairy. God. What a freaking slob. It's too hard to line a trash can, huh? Pig. Whatever. Oh, is that... is this dirty laundry? What the hell is wrong with you? Jeez. No wonder I can't find your phone, this place is a mess.”

She starts shining the light at her feet as well.

“Alright, is it-”

A buzz brings her attention to the center of the room, and the futon. She steps over and finds what she's looking for.

“Sweet, that was easy. Let's see. Do you use a pear charger or a cyborg charger? Cyborg it is. Perfect.” She slips the device into her pocket. A knock at the door grabs her attention, and the opening of the door freezes her heart in place.

“Oi, Shimmer!” A loud Fillydelphia accent shouts. “Where’s ma fawkin rent?”

“Sunset’s not here right now,” Scootaloo says, the hamster wheel in her brain rolling faster than the human eye could see. “She's at a friend’s house right now, and asked me to come pick up her phone because she forgot it. Did she forget to pay rent this month?”

“This month? HA! She ain't paid me a fawkin bit this month or last month. You tell her when you see her next that if I don't get three months worth by next week, her ass is outta here, you get me? Takin’ all her shit n’ I’m burnin it in the furnace.”

“You got it sir,” Scootaloo says, stepping back into the light. “I'll deliver the message, along with the phone.”

“Ah, das real good. You're a good kid there. Here, I’ll get that lock for ya. Wait... how'd you get in here again?”

“Door wasn't even locked.”

“Door wasn't even fawkin locked. I don't believe this. Can you believe this? Unbelievable. It's like she wants to get robbed. And in dis part o town? Fawkin unbelievable. Well. Go on, kid, go deliver dat shit. Can't believe she's got good kids like you doin’ all her dirty work. Can't believe it.”

Scootaloo wastes no time getting out of there, pulse pounding in her ears. She can't help but grin as she steps back outside into the sidewalk, despite the cold.

“I did it,” she whispers, pumping her fists in victory. “I got the phone! Oh, ten percent battery? It's fine. I'll charge it when I get home. Oh. Oh, Sunset. You're so going down. Once and for all.

/x/x/x/
> 11- i don’t have a clever name
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

/x/x/x/

“We never meant it to go this far, honest.”

“But...” Applejack runs a hand over her forehead. “But why did you do it?”

“Because...” Applebloom casts her head down. “Because of Sunset. I was jealous that you, my sister, were spending time with her and your friends instead of your family... Instead of me. I wanted to make her look bad, so I made up Anon-a-miss and posted the story about you and made it look like she'd done it.”

“Alright. I get that.” The older sister turns, and puts her back against the headboard of the bed. “But if you were feelin’ neglected by me, you shoulda just said so. I'm sure if I'd asked Sunset and the girls it woulda been okay to invite you too!”

“I know, I know, it was dumb, and if I could go back and undo it, I would.”

“So what about Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo?” She asks. “What made them get involved?”

“Well, I told them about what I did. Scoots was on board from day one, but Sweetie wasn't. Until y'all had your sleepover at Rarity’s. So she texted me and sent me the photos, and had me upload ‘em. Then she was a part of it. After that, Anon just got outta hand. People started sendin’ her other stuff, photos and messages and videos an’ everything. I didn't wanna keep goin’, I wanted to stop since you stopped bein’ friends with Sunset and I didn't wanna hurt anyone no more. But Scoots wasn't satisfied. She wanted Sunset to be destroyed. It was almost... scary. She kept sayin’ that Sunset deserved it, and I didn't agree but I kept my mouth shut because she was my friend, and I wanted to support her.”

“And what about Belle?”

“I...” Applebloom sighs. “I don't know. She don't talk to me one on one as much as she used to. It feels like she n’ Scoot are just one person now, ‘xept Scoot’s both the mouth and the ears. Ever since I got ‘em into this whole blog business in the first place, she just feels... I dunno. Distant, I guess. But that ain't important right now, is it...”

“Any other time I’d talk to you about that, but you're right. Sunset’s the important one here. So, if I'm hearin’ you right, you're sayin’ that Scoot is the one who's makin’ the decisions for the both of ‘em and Belle’s just goin’ along with it?”

“Pretty much. Belle don't come up with any of the ideas, except the, uh... Rarity thing. I didn't have no part o’ that one, they did it on their own after I gave ‘em the password. I didn't even see those pictures. I ain't keen to turn off the safesearch.”

“Belle came up with postin’ the lewds?” Applejack asks, incredulous. “That don't sound right.”

“Well... it wasn't that she came up with it. She’d took the costume photos and put ‘em in a dropbox the three of us use, so there wouldn't be a trace. Scoots had her snoopin’ in Rarity’s phone for dirt and she found the convo records that had the pics in ‘em. Way I heard, She’d brought it up to Scoots n’ she said it was a good idea to post ‘em. They did that together without runnin’ it by me first. It started off as a team effort, the three of us, but after enough time it was their baby, and I was just the one running’ account maintenance, clearin’ all of the notifications, replyin’ to all the messages, n’ sortin’ through all the submissions. It was just like homework.”

“So you're the one doin’ all the behind the scenes stuff, and they were the ones dealing with gossip?”

“Well all three of us took part in the gossipin’ stuff but once you stopped bein’ friends with Sunset it wasn't important to me anymore. Far as I knew I was done, and I only stayed in because, well. It was our thing. I did it cuz they were doin’ it. And nobody was gettin’ hurt, not seriously, that's why I never said nothin’ about it. It never got bad enough that it felt like before Twilight Sparkle came. Until yesterday. I swear, I never wanted no one to get hurt. I just wanted my big sister back.”

“Sis, ya still had me.”

“Not as much!” She protests. “Back when you’d stopped bein’ friends with Dash n’ Pinkie we spent so much time together. Then Twilight showed up and you got back friends with everyone else, you were catchin’ up. And since school had just started that was fine for a while. I figured after the Fall Formal everything was gonna get back to normal, and we could keep spendin’ time together. But then when it happened, and all that magic stuff happened, suddenly you were best friends with the bee eye tea sea aych queen. Before I knew it y'all had your week of sleepovers planned for winter break and... and I was here all alone. It was all just happenin’ so fast and I was so mad and lonely and scared I was losin’ my sister, that... that I made the blog. She was so mean to me, to all of us, to everyone. It felt like... like you were pickin’ her over me.”

Applejack leans over and pulls her sister into a hug.

“Ya know that love ain't like a cup o’ sugar that gets used up, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, there's enough to go around, an’ lovin’ her ain't gonna mean there's none left for me. I know. Mama said that to Mac about you, and to you about me a lot, didn't she?”

“Yep,” she chuckles, tipping her hat. “She’d say that to me every time I was mad that we bought somethin’ for baby Bloom but nothin’ for me. Your crib, your clothes, diapers an’ formula, toys. She...” her smile fades. “She loved you so much. When she got sick, I heard her talkin’ to Granny. Sayin’ how she was worried about you growin’ up without a mom. She didn't want you to feel like she had abandoned you. If she weren't cryin’ and I didn't know what cancer was I woulda been mad that you were the only one she was talkin’ about. Lookin’ back I think she knew that me n’ Mac woulda been okay- we’re still sad, but we’re okay- but you were still so tiny. Like a little doll. Near the end, when she couldn't even hold you anymore on account of her arms were just too weak, she still wanted one of us to hold you close to her. She died holdin’ your hand... we had to pull your iron grip away so the doctors could take care of the... body...”

“AJ?” She asks, as Applejack sits back up again.

“Bloom. What I said, about ma and pa. It wasn't right. I was angry, and hurt, and ashamed of myself. And I took it out on you. I shouldn't have done that. I regret it, and I wish I could take it all back. I just... I hope you can forgive me.”

“‘Course I can. What I did was rotten. Honestly you coulda said a whole lot worse and still not need to apologize, least in my eyes. If anything I’m the one who should beg Sunset forgiveness.”

“That’s fair,” Applejack replies, slowly nodding. “I just don't want our relationship to be broken too. I love you. Always have, always will, and I don't want bad blood about other stuff to come between us ever. I especially don't want our parents to come between us either.”

“I love you too, sis. And... I don't want that either.” She sits in silence for a few moments. “I just wish I’d got a chance to meet ‘em. What you said hurt, but it ain't for any reason besides I agree with you. I hurt Sunset bad. I'm disappointed in me too. But I ain't gonna just sit around and cry about it. I swear I'll make it right. I'll do whatever I can to make the girls stop. Fixin’ my mistake is the only way I can move forward from this. I figure doing the right thing from here on is all I can do to keep my honor n’ stuff intact. Oh. Oh, wait a second, that’s... oh, is this what Sunset’s been feelin’ like for the past couple months?”

“How do you figure?”

“Well... she did bad stuff too, and then decided to start doin’ good stuff instead. She’d been tryin’ to make a better name for herself ever since gettin’ shot up with all those rainbows. And I’m sure that as soon as school starts up again I’m gonna be doin’ the same thing. Aw, man...” she falls back onto the bed. “I'm gonna have to tell the whole school that I’m the one who’s been spillin’ their secrets to everyone else.”

“Eeyup.”

The girls’ eyes both dart to the new arrival, standing at the ajar door.

“Mac?” Applejack asks.

“Granny needs me to pick some stuff up from the store. I need the keys.”

“Got it,” she says, pulling them out of her pocket and tossing them over. “What all’s she need?”

“White flour, apple cider vinegar, portobellos, red onion, just toppin’ off stuff we’re low on. How’s, uh. How’s your talk goin’?”

The girls exchange a glance.

“Good,” they both say in unison.

“Glad to hear... I’ll be home later this afternoon. Y'all got any special ideas on dinner before then, shoot me a text and I’ll see about pickin’ it up.”

With that, he pulls the door fully closed.

“Any thoughts?” Applejack asks.

“I dunno, I ain't got much of an appetite. I still feel bad.” Bloom turns to face the window. “Probably will until I actually talk to the girls. I'd’a done it earlier today but I don't know what to even say, where to even start. They ain't said nothin’ to me since whatever gobbledygook Mac read out to y’all yesterday. I haven't looked at MyStable neither.”

“Mac told me your deal. I ain't got nothin’ to add to it. Now, I. Definitely. Need a shower. I ain't had a proper one in two days now, didn't get a chance to at Fluttershy’s. So I'm gonna go ahead and do that. In the meantime, I ain't gonna tell you how to spend your time, cuz’ I trust you'll figure out what to do and how to do it on your own, since it's your mess. But I do expect that this gets taken care of in a timely manner.”

“Yeah, I know... and yeah, you do smell bad.”

Applejack whaps the back of her head with her hat. “Varmint,” she quips, half-smiling. “Get to it.”

“I will... I love you.”

“I love you too.”

/x/x/x/

Rainbow’s eye twitches as she glares at the dead-asleep figure laying in her bed. She slowly turns towards the tv, displaying the menu for the movie she’d been hyping up all day now. She lets out a long slow sigh, reaches for the nearby remote, and powers it off.

“I was gone two minutes…” she mutters to herself before tossing the device across the room. She takes the popcorn bowl in hand and slowly pulls the door closed, leaving the room in utter darkness. She continues to grumble various inaudible grievances on her way to the living room. As she arrives, her dad turns his head.

“Forget something?” He asks.

“She is already asleep.” Rainbow slumps down onto the couch, spilling a few kernels. She gathers them and tosses them back into the bowl. “I got everything set up, and I went to pee, and came back, and…” she groans. “Man, I really wanted to watch it!”

“Sounds like she needs the rest.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Rainbow pops a handful into her mouth. “Wan’ any?”

“I’ll pass. Just ate dinner. My metabolism ain’t as spry as it used to be in my youth. Once came a time I could just eat and eat and eat, carboloading the whole day away. Nowadays, I’d just fart everyone outta the house.”

“Gross.” Munch. “Whatcha watchin’?”

“News.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s important to know about current events.”

“Which are…?”

“Well, it’s going to be sunny tomorrow, but then it’s gonna snow all day afterwards. Firefighters got a cat out of a tree. Oh, and, shocking nobody, my stocks are all still stagnant.”

“No wars, or celebrity sex scandals, or alien abductions?”

“I’m sure they’ll mention plenty after the commercial break.”

The two sit in silence for another minute as some talking dog says some witty quip before some forgettable product graces the screen before quickly cutting to a different ad. Munch.

“You know…” Bow adjusts his seat. “I, uh. I don’t mean to pry, or anything, but, you know that I have to ask, as a parent, that um… well…” he sighs. “So are you and Sunset… you know… involved?”

“No, dad, we are not having sex.”

He hesitates before nodding. “Alright. I just wanted to let you know that, if you are becoming… you know… sexually active-“

“Da~ad!” She cries out, covering her eyes.

“I know, I know, awkward conversation time, but I just want to make sure that if those things are happening, that you’re being safe and responsible about it, and that both you and your partner get screened for STIs and such. Because, since you’re under our health insurance, I’d be the one paying for the treatment if you did catch gonno-herpa-syphil-aids.”

“Why are you bringing this up now?” She moans, looking everywhere except for her embarrassing father.

“Because you’ve got a very pretty girl sleeping in your bed right now, and… you’ve been showing a lot of, how should I say this… tenderness, towards her, that I rarely see from you unless it’s towards Fluttershy. With most of your other friends you come off as aloof, and you tease them all. But I haven’t seen anything like that towards her. You’ve been attentive to her needs, and you were looking at her more often than you weren’t. And, I see now that this behavior isn’t because you are engaged, or plan to engage, in a relationship with her. So, I have no more awkward questions to ask you.”

“All right, yeah, I get it...” Munch. “Thanks for looking out, I guess.”

Bow bites his lip. “I feel I’ve upset you.”

“I’m not upset.”

“Are you sure?”

Rainbow chews for a few moments before swallowing. “Well, I mean, am I not allowed to care about my friends without wanting to have sex with them?”

“That’s not what I-“

“I know, dad, but… it’s just. I don’t… yesterday I threatened to beat the hell out of her. Before I knew it wasn’t her. But I was just so angry, to walk into Fluttershy’s apartment and find my enemy there, taking advantage of my best friends’ kindness, and then later on yelling at Scoot. I threatened to throw her out the window, and… I meant it. I wanted to hurt her, so bad.”

“That’s understandable, she did hurt your friends. Allegedly.”

“It’s more than that. It’s… look, do you remember when they found drugs in my locker at school?”

He nods. “Because Sunset used that one fat kid to plant it.”

“Yeah… when that happened, she had tricked me into thinking she was suicidal and needed some support, and so I went there since, you know, I had no reason to be suspicious yet because it was so early on in her reign of terror. She hadn’t hurt me yet. But then she did. And since this had happened already, I was so suspicious that she was doing the same thing again but to Fluttershy. And I saw red. But… but then Pinkie texted Micro and asked him to do some computer nerd stuff and found that the blog was connected to Applejack’s internet, or something. And I realized that Sunset didn’t do it this time. And I was such a bitch to her when she felt alone and betrayed and abandoned by her friends. Just like I was. So I have to make up for it. I have to be a better friend to her now, because I was so shitty before. I have to do better. And that means treating her the way I treat Fluttershy. Because she needs it right now. It’s not just because she’s hot. And I don’t appreciate feeling like you’re implying that I can only be nice to girls because I want to have sex with them, just because you know I’m gay now. It makes me feel like you think I don’t know how to be nice if I don’t have something to gain from it. Which, I know that isn’t true. But the way you said it made me feel that way.”

“I see.” Bow leans forward in his chair. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, Rain. I just wanted to make sure my little girl was safe when… when she wasn’t my little girl anymore. And in the future I’ll try to do better with my wording, okay?”

Rainbow nods. “I’m sorry I got shitty with you. I’m just upset about Sunset, and Rarity, and Scootaloo. I don’t know. I guess I’m just being hypersensitive because everything’s so fucked right now. And I really wanted to watch the movie. And I feel gross and bloated anyway because I started my period the other day-“

“Okay okay, awkward lady stuff, say no more!”

“Oh, you can ask me about sex stuff but you can’t her me talk about periods?”

“…touché. Anyway, apology accepted?”

“Yeah, I know you didn’t try to hurt me on purpose. I just wanted to talk about it now before it turned into a fight later.”

“I’m glad for that. I’d hate to make it unpleasant, especially with Sunset in the house. That girl…” he shakes his head. “What the hell is wrong with Scootaloo? She posts awful things about you, and Fluttershy, and everyone else in the school, and tortures Sunset for weeks to the point of suicide. It’s absolutely despicable. I thought we were all better role models than that…”

“I dunno.” Munch. “I guess Sunset musta done something real bad to her, bad enough she never forgave her. And you’d think that hearing she tried to off herself would make her back off, but it’s like she wants Sunset to die. She never did anything bad enough to deserve to die. Get the shit kicked out of her, yeah, maybe jail for a month, get blasted with magic unicorn rainbows, work in retail for a day, sure, but not dead.”

“What could Sunset possibly have done to her that’s worse than the most traumatic thing that ever happened to her?” Bow supposes, adjusting his seat. “Everything you told me she ever did came off more as pranks by a sociopath, pulling puppet strings to force everyone to eat out of the palm of her hand, and punishing anyone who stepped out of line.”

“Who knows?” Munch. “All I know is, the Sunset who did those things isn’t the Sunset in my room. Oh, or standing in the hall. Hey sleepyhead.”

A bleary-eyed Sunset stands at the top of the stairs, her arms to her chest.

“Hey…” she murmurs, swaying slightly. “You… you’re out here.”

“I figured I’d let you get some shuteye solo,” Rainbow says with a shrug. “You okay? Gauze holding fast?”

“Yeah…” she sniffs twice. “I’m…” a sob rattles her frame.

Rainbow sets the bowl to her side and rushes to her friend. “Whoa, hey, are you upset?”

Sunset steps forward and puts her head in the crook of Rainbow’s shoulder.

“I just can’t wake up alone right now.”

Rainbow slowly pulls Sunset in. “Alright, I get that. It won’t happen again, okay?”

She just whimpers quietly in response, gently being swayed back and forth.

“Do you just wanna go to bed early tonight?”

“I don’t know what I want.” Sunset whispers, voice shaking. “If I go to sleep I’ll have nightmares. But I’m too tired to even do anything…”

“Nightmares, you say?” Bow asks, getting up out of his chair. “You know, I think we might have some drugs somewhere that cause dreamless sleep.”

“You mean like medicine drugs,” Rainbow jokes. “Or like fun drugs?”

“I am not giving my teenage daughter ‘fun’ drugs. Nor her teenage friend.”

“Technically,” Sunset interjects. “I… haven’t been a teenager for a few years now.”

“Bro, what?” Rainbow pulls her head back, incredulous. “I thought you were our age.”

“No…” Sunset pulls away, eyes still downcast but trying to force a half smile. “I was almost an adult when I escaped. I don’t know the exact exchange rate between our worlds but I think I’m probably… twenty one or twenty two or something. Do, uh… do you got any booze, Bow?”

“I don’t think alcohol is the best thing for you to have right now.”

“Dad it was just a jo-“

“I know. I know it was a joke. But I am not going to give alcohol to someone who’s feeling low. That could lead her down a path of substance abuse that I refuse to enable. Sunset, do you understand that?”

“Yeah, I… I do.” She crosses her arms, winces, and puts them back to her sides. “I wasn’t really thinking about that aspect. Oh, Creator, I… I really haven’t thought this through. Am I ever gonna be able to be normal again?”

“Hey, hey, you aren’t abnormal,” Bow gently chides, reaching out a hand to her shoulder. “This type of trauma happens on a semi frequent basis. Often enough that I’ve seen how it can go. There are healthy paths, and unhealthy paths. I am just making it crystal clear where I stand on the nature of those paths, and how far I am willing to go to keep you on a path that will lead you to recovery. Getting drunk can be fun, yes, but you don’t drink when you drive, when you’re sad, or when you have work in the morning. And right now, sad you are.”

Sunset looks up at him through her bangs. “Yes sir.” She sighs. “I understand where you’re coming from. I just hate… thinking so much. I just wish I could do something about it. At least for enough time to get a full nights sleep.”

“Well do I have some good news for you, because I do have drugs for exactly that. They’re just not mind or mood altering. They’re called Hypnocil; an experimental compound that temporarily disrupts the connection between the parts of your brain that dream. It’s not supported by the FDA yet, but I’ve participated in preliminary studies and it hasn’t done so much as give me a headache. Made my piss smell like onions but, hey, it doesn’t usually smell like flowers anyway.”

“Gross, dad.” Rainbow shoves another handful of popcorn into her mouth before resting the bowl on the side of her hip. “So uh. What kind of nightmares are we blocking?”

Sunset grimaces. “They’re not great. I, uh. I tried to kill myself in ways besides jumping off a bridge or in front of a car. And I sometimes remember how I felt, waking up after I… failed. I, uh. Found out that the bars on the wall to my loft can’t lift my body weight without snapping in half. So that’s good. When you, um. Try that. You wake up with one hell of a headache. Red spots all over your face. A dry patch in your throat where it squeezed out every drop of saliva. And you remember how it felt to suffocate. The loneliness and the regret, and the fear of what could have happened if you actually succeeded. And the apathy when you realize that it doesn’t do anything besides give you one more day because your friends still don’t… they still hate you.”

Bow smacks his lips. “Okay, yeah, that doesn’t sound like fun. Let’s get you some of those pills, okay sweetheart?”

“Okay… I appreciate it.”

“Of course. We keep the stock downstairs. Rain, uh, you gonna come too?”

“No, I’m fine.” She fidgets at the phone in her pocket for a few moments. “Go on and head downstairs. Suns, I’ll be in my room, okay?”

Sunset nods before she follows the man down the stairs. Rainbow waits until they were gone before pulling out her phone, and hitting one of the first contacts on the list. She held the device to her ear, waiting for the click and the perky hello on the other end of the line.

“Hey Pinks.”

“Hi Dashie! Is Sunset there!? If Sunset’s there tell her to say hi! Oh, what’s up Maud? Oh, okay, I’ll tell her. Dashie, Maud says that Boulder says hi!”

“Hi Boulder. So uh. Hey, listen, has Fluttershy called you yet?”

“No but she texted me about the Rarity thing. That’s really good, I hope that Rarebear comes to her senses and we can all go back to normal.”

“Yeah. So. Listen. How, uh… how are you?”

Pinkie is uncharacteristically silent for a few moments.

“You don’t call unless it’s important. Did something happen to Sunset?” She asks, all mirth absent from her voice.

“Sunset's fine. Or, well, about as fine as someone can be in this situation. No, I… I called because I wanted to hear your voice.”

“Really? My voice? Why?”

Rainbow exhales through her nose. “Look, it doesn’t matter why right now. Just know that… I’m glad that you answered. You’re really important to me. I know that most of the time it seems like I only really hang out with Fluttershy, or give most of my attention to AJ. But I also like having you as a friend too. And I don’t…” Rainbow rubs her free sleeve over her eyes. “I was just thinking about stuff, is all. Important stuff. Like. How I would be destroyed if one of my best friends… you know. K’d their S.”

Pinkie remains silent.

“Pink?”

“I’m okay, Dashie. I promise. I stopped feeling… like K’ing my S, a long time ago. I didn’t do it, and I was lucky that you were there when I needed you most. Even though we weren’t really friends at the time. I mean of course we were still friends, we just kinda forgot that because of how Sunny used to be. You saved me. That hasn’t changed.” She hesitates for a few moments. “Sorry for being vague earlier, Maud still doesn’t know about that whole thing. I had to get away from her for a second. At least I think she doesn’t know. I’m in the bathroom now. She probably knows since she’s really smart and it was HER belt I used and it wouldn’t be hard to figure out why it broke like that. The only one who knows about it still is you.”

“I’m glad you don’t feel like that anymore.” Rainbow leans back. “Are you ever gonna tell her?”

“I don’t see what the point is. Hey sis, in a different timeline a few years ago you found my dead body hanging from the ceiling fan? It would just upset her. I’m fine now, and that should be what matters.” She is quiet for another few moments. “So did Sunset… mention something about that?”

“Alright, look. You know I don’t gossip. And I’m only telling you this for Sunset’s well being for when she’s at your house tomorrow night. Do not let Sunset wake up by herself. At all. Make sure that she is constantly supervised when she’s asleep. She… she gets triggered or whatever by waking up alone because it reminds her of waking up alone after… uh… failed suicide attempts.”

“Okay. Thanks for letting me know, Dashie. I’ll watch her like a hawk, with a telescope. Is, uh, is she okay now?”

“Yeah, she just had a nightmare and woke up when I was in the next room over. Right now dad’s giving her those pills that make you not dream.”

“Oh, the Elm Street thing.”

“The… what?”

“It doesn’t matter Dashie ;) the audience will understand.”

Rainbow slowly blinks. “Weirdo,” she murmurs, smiling despite her confusion. “I gotta say I can never tell what you’re gonna say next. You’re definitely my least boring or predictable friend.”

“Woohoo, gold medal!”

“Yeah.” She glances over to see Bow and Sunset begin climbing up the stairs. “Hey, I gotta go. But it was nice talking to you.”

“Yeah, you too Dashie! I don’t get to talk on the phone with you often so when I do it’s a real treat. Like a cupcake. Ooh, or an oatmeal scotchie!” A sound like a freight train’s roar comes out from the small speaker. “Or an oatmeal scotchie flavored cupcake! Gummy, put down the scissors and grab the whisk, I just came up with the BEST! RECIPE! EVER!!! BYE DASHIE!” And with that, the click of the dial tone replaces the shouting.

Rainbow puts the phone down in time for the opposing pair to re-enter the living room proper.

“Pinkie called you, I take it?” Bow asks.

“Yeah, h… how’d you know?”

“I could hear her screaming about recipes from the stairs.”

“Ah.”

“How is Pinkie, by the way?” Sunset asks, reading the small writing on the side of the bottle in her hands. “She make it home all right and stuff?”

“Oh yeah, she’s fine.” Rainbow’s eyes absentmindedly drew to Sunset’s throat, then to the stairway banister, and she frowned slightly. “You… might be eating some butterscotch cupcakes tomorrow.”

“Oh, I love butterscotch.” She looks up. “I’m gonna go take two of these in the bathroom. I’ll meet you in the bedroom?”

“Yeah, sounds good. I’ll make more popcorn.”

“Okay, cool. I’ll see you in a bit.”

After she leaves the room, Rainbow leans towards Bow and whispers. “How much weight does the banister hold?”

“Only forty kilos before breaking. It’s fine.”

“Okay. Good…”

Bow pulled her into a hug. “Pinkie… didn’t call you.”

“No.” Rainbow sighs. “Why do most of my friends all have these same exact problems… it isn’t me, is it?”

“Course not. Most likely, you being such a good friend draws those who are suffering closer to you. Because they know you ease their burdens, and you’re happy to do it. And in time they will be there for you if and when you need it. Plus, you’re all teenagers; angsty stuff happens to most of you every single day.”

“I guess so.” She hugs him back. “I just don’t know if I can handle all of the responsibility. I’ve got five people now, all depending on me to be strong for them when they need it. I’m really lucky that AJ and Rare and Spitfire don’t really have this problem too, but I am about at my limit for worrying about the people I love committing suicide. Especially when I… when I get to thinking about it myself.”

Bow pulls her tighter. “I know. Trust me, I know. I’ve been to more friends’ funerals than I care to count. Most of them are suicides. The war… took a piece of all of us. I just hope you never have to bury a brother. Or in this case a sister. It may not be landmines and punji sticks, but trauma is still trauma.”

The two stand embraced in silence for about a minute before pulling away.

“I love you, dad.”

“Love you too, kiddo.” He sits back down in his chair. “Have fun in there. But-“ he turns and points an accusatory finger at her. “Not too much fun.” He holds a serious face for a moment before winking.

“No. I’m gonna go be irresponsible and get pregnant now. And like twenty STDs. And an ass tattoo that says daddy issues. Good night.”

“Good night, punk.”

She leaves him to the news and disappears into the darkened hallway. He glances at the rack of medals on the wall, at all of the names of his comrades long since gone from this world. He gives them a melancholic smirk.

“Hope you found peace on the other side, fellas.”

/x/x/x/

Sweetie Belle sighs through her nose as she glares at her phone, furiously tapping away.

“Care to apprise me?” Chimes a nearby voice.

“Applebloom is being difficult, Rarity,” she says, not looking up. “Very difficult. She’s still sticking to saying that she saw Sunset jump. I’m trying to tell her that she’s safe because you know the truth, but I guess she’s just scared. More scared of Sunset than of being grounded for three months.”

This is, of course, a lie. The actual discussion consisted of Applebloom essentially holding Anon-a-Miss’ password hostage, and begging her conspirators to admit to their contributions to the debacle. But as if she could say that.

“Three months? My, Applejack really is sticking it to her.” Rarity sighs as she fast-forwards through yet another set of commercials. “What about Scootaloo? She’s been on that walk for a few hours now. Surely her head is clear about the triggering incident by now.”

“She’s on her way home now, she’ll be here before it gets dark.” She bites her lip and swaps apps to MyStable. She signs out of her own account, and into Bloom’s. “So, uh, hey, what time do you wanna go to the mall with us tomorrow? And what time do you want us to be back by?”

“Oh, possibly leaving in the late morning, near to noon. We could even make brunch beforehand. I have no set itinerary as far as our return.”

“Yeah, alright, sounds good,” she says, absentmindedly, as she changes the password. It sends a confirmation email, and she swaps to an email app. “What all brunch stuff do you wanna make?”

“Well, for once, I think I’m going to splurge on calories and oil. I feel circumstances allow me to have a full cheat weekend. I feel that some fried diced red potatoes would be just divine next to some prench toast, perhaps some oeufs en cocotte, oh! And some of those organic blackberries. In fact, I may make a reduction and we can use it as syrup.”

“Yeah, cool.” Belle logs into Applebloom’s email account, clicks the most recent message, and confirms that yes indeed she did want to change it. “But are you gonna make that gross yellow stuff and put it on the eggs?”

“Hollandaise is not gross! But no. Too much fat if we’re having bacon too. Too much oil. I want to cheat, not break out. Any more than I already have.”

“Okay. What’s cocotte Prench for?” She then goes back to MyStable and, while still on Bloom’s account, relinquishes access to the blog. She lets out a relieved sigh before a bittersweet grimace adorns her face.

“Ah.” Rarity pauses. “Well, in the context of eggs, it may mean something along the lines of baked. But alone, I do believe it means prostitute.”

In an instant the melancholy disappears as Belle chuckles at this. “We’re gonna make whore eggs?”

“Sweetie Belle!” Rarity gasps, struggling to keep a straight face. “Mind your language!”

“Sorry. Slutty eggs?”

“Oh, you-“ Rarity throws an appropriately named throw pillow at her sister. “I’ll not have you besmirch my favorite language.”

Belle laughs through the barrage of bewildered then furious texts assailing her phone. Eventually, however, they stop entirely. She takes a deep breath as the energy seems to wind down. And then she freezes as Rarity’s phone begins ringing.

She glances at the caller ID, then again, and she blanches in confusion before answering.

“Hello?” She asks. She is silent for nearly a full minute, her face unreadable. Only then does she respond.

“That is, by far, the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. I am literally looking right at her. We are having a delightful time together, spoiled now due to your ludicrous accusations. My sister is not some computer hacker; the only person I know who can even come close to that level of skill is Micro, and he and I are not on speaking terms. I am literally looking at her phone screen as we speak and there is nothing of the sort occurring. Applejack. Applejack. I am not sending you photos of my sister’s phone screen. No. I am not sending you photos of Scootaloo’s either. Yes, she’s right here next to me. No, I am not going to force her to speak to you! That is- you are- this is insane. I am- Applejack. May I speak? May I finish my sentence? Okay, OKAY, I- Apple- goodbye.” She hangs up on her conversational partner midsentence. “Unbelievable.”

Rarity glances over at her sister, and flashes her a comforting smile.

“Things aren’t going well on your end, I take it?”

“What did she say?”

“She said you hacked into her sister’s account and removed her from Anon-a-Miss’ MyStable account. How convenient. What a ridiculous notion. As if it were so easy to hack into someone’s social media. The audacity- she told me to send her screenshots of your phone. She is so obsessed with this idea that the three of you are responsible for everything. But that’s ludicrous.” She looks down at her phone and begins drafting a message to Flash Sentry. “You would never dare to violate my privacy like that. I would kill you, bring you back to life, and then kill you again.” As she finishes typing she looks back up, and the smile fades. “Darling, that’s only a joke. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Yeah…” Belle responds, dejected.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. I’m just…” she frowns at the last solitary text she received from Bloom. “I’m just scared that AB and I are never gonna recover from this. She’s one of my best friends, and I’m- and Sunset is tearing us apart.”

This is a new low: you and I are done. 

“Hey, don’t worry,” Rarity says, leaning back. “I have someone investigating the situation. The truth will come out, one way or another. Our friendships are not broken irreparably: they can still be mended. And those responsible for this entire tragedy will be brought to light, and subsequently justice. Mark my words. You have nothing to fear.”

Belle nods, her newfound smile not quite reaching her eyes. “Yeah. Good. I just can’t wait for all of this to blow over.”

She looks up as the front door opens.

“Hey Rarity, Scoot’s home now.”

At this, the new arrival pauses from pulling a device up from out of her pocket, and shoves it back down. She kicks her boots off and shrugs off her jacket, hanging it up on the coat rack. She strolls into the living room and rests a shoulder on the wall.

“Hey Rare. Hey SB.”

“Hello dear,” Rarity greets, standing up and straightening her skirt. “I was just wondering when you were going to return. Has the fresh air done you some good?”

“Yeah. It was fine. I’m kinda tired. I think I wanna get up early tomorrow for our trip.” She sniffs twice. “So uh. When are we wanting to go?”

“Eleven or so. After brunch.” Belle stands up and crosses the room. “Rarity wants to make whore eggs.”

“Oh cool, with that yellow shit on top?” Scoot asks. “That was bomb.”

“Ew…”

“Sweetie Belle, I told you not to use that word.” Rarity sternly lectures.

“Alright fine, slutty eggs.”

“That is not any better!”

“Holiday sauce, right?” Scoot mutters to herself, looking down and to the left, furrowing her brow.

“How come I can’t say slutty but Scoot can say shitty?”

“I cannot correct her profanity because she was not birthed from out of our mother’s vagina.”

“Ew, Rarity! Gross…”

“Anyway, Scootaloo, to answer your question, no, I am not going to make hollandaise. I want to fry the potatoes in the grease from the bacon, and I don’t want to eat bacon grease and a butter-rich sauce in the same meal. If you so desire, perhaps I can teach you how to cook some in your own time.”

“Cool.” Scoot glances over and cocks her head to the side. “You okay B?”

Belle’s arms are crossed as she glares at the floor. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.”

“Slutty isn’t even a bad word. I don’t know what the big deal is! It’s not even a cuss, you can say it on PG thirteen movies! And I’m thirteen now!”

“I hear the word often enough at school,” Rarity chides. “That I don’t want to hear it in my home either. This is the one place I can even be anymore without drawing leers from all passerby. The lustful glances from the men, the judgmental sneers from the women… Sunset spread my pictures everywhere, do you understand? Anywhere I go to in this town, people know who I am. They know that I’m the girl in those photographs. At worst, random strangers will come up to me and ask me to perform sexual favors for them. and at best they hurl those insults at me. Floozy. Harlot. Tramp. Slut. And Whore. I especially hate that one…” she sighs. “Especially that one.”

Belle stops chewing on her cheek. “Right… I forgot about that whole thing. I’m sorry Rarity, I didn’t mean to bring up the bad stuff.”

“There is no need for apologies, my love. I am merely explaining to you now, in clear detail, why exactly I am being so strict as far as your vocabulary is concerned. It bothers me on a personal level. When it comes to profanity like… bitch, or shit, or even the proverbial F bomb, that doesn’t matter too much to me. At least in small doses. Rainbow Dash has a fairly vulgar pattern of speech, and it can frequently get on my nerves, but that is just the way she speaks. I can abide by it. But there are just too many personal unpleasantries attached to… to those terms, for me to hear them. Especially when they’re coming out of my baby sister’s mouth.”

“Wait,” Scoot interjects. “Then why did Rainbow Dash call you one? Doesn’t she know how much it bothers you?”

Rarity sighs. “I attribute her outburst to a product of the moment’s heat in response to my own tongue lashing. I did insult her intelligence, knowing full well that it was something Sunset also made her self-conscious about. I rationalized it in the moment considering her betrayal, but I took my anger out on the wrong person. The only one I should have been rude to is the one who hacked my phone in the first place. And now she is no doubt gallivanting about with my friends. So to answer your question, she did it because she was using her emotions over her brain. I have forgiven her for it, as I had done the same in return. Regardless, I hope I have now made it abundantly clear where I stand as far as the usage of any word implying connotations of sexual promiscuity.”

“Yeah, you have,” Belle says, without making any direct eye contact with her sister. “It won’t happen again.”

“I know it won’t.” Rarity checks the time on her phone. “Well, I suppose I should shower and prepare a few things for brunch. The television is yours. Please be in bed by a reasonable hour, and I will see you both in the morning. Au revoir~”

With this she enters the back hallway, leaving the two younger girls alone in the living room. Scoot then slips the contraband out of her pocket and presents it.

“Ladies and gentlemen? We got ‘em.”

“Shouldn’t we talk about that in our bedroom?”

“Nah. It’s all good. Rare’s gonna take forever in the shower, your parents are asleep, and it’s not like they’re gonna be able to tell the difference between our phones anyway since we both have black cases. I mean, come on, Rarity’s gullible enough to think you hacked her phone instead of just, you know, opening it while she was asleep. She STILL doesn’t even have a passcode!”

“You mean to think Sunset hacked it.”

Scoot blinks. “I mean. I guess so. But you and I both know the truth so I don’t have to lie to you. Right?”

“I mean, yeah, I guess so, but I just don’t feel comfortable with you saying out loud in the open the things you made me do to my sister.”

“Dude, it’s fine!” Scoot pinches the bridge of her nose. “So, what, no nice job? No good work? No, wow you weren’t lying when you told me you know how to pick locks?”

“Good job.” Belle crosses her arms and sighs. “So then what’s the plan? What are we gonna do next?”

“I got good news and I got bad news. The good news is, I’m gonna do all the work from here on since I have the plan and you have too much heat. The bad news is, we still can’t get into the account.”

“Actually, I…” Belle cracks a small smile. “I got back into the account.”

“Dude, what? Seriously!?” Scoot rushes in for a hug. “That’s awesome!”

“Yeah…” her smile fades. “Well. The problem is, I did it by using Bloom’s email account to change the password. And now I think she hates me. Probably forever.”

“She’ll get over it. Not like she can hold getting caught against you. She shoulda been more careful.”

“It wasn’t an accident, she chose to do it-“

“Then she should’ve just kept her mouth shut and did what she was told. Then we wouldn’t be in this mess right now. If anything,” A shadow passes her face. “It’s her fault Sunset’s still alive. If AJ hadn’t rescued her from that fucking pig sty, she probably would have killed herself today.”

Belle takes a slight step back.

“Pig sty?”

Scoot lets out a dark chuckle. “Yeah. Her apartment was disgusting. Freezing cold. Pitch black. Smelled like BO and spoiled milk and copper. It smelled like my dad’s house, all it needed was beer and cat shit and it’d be exactly the same. Felt it was only fitting since she’s the one who put me there.”

Belle grimaces, and fights back a wave of nausea.

“And even if she didn’t kill herself,” Scoot continues, growling; oblivious. “Apparently she ran out of rent money. I ran into the landlord and she’s got just a couple weeks until she gets evicted. All Bloom had to do was just shut the fuck up, and Sunset would have been on the streets. Maybe she would’ve even froze to death. But NO, Bloom had to get sentimental. Poor Sunset.” She wipes at her eyes. “What about me, huh?”

“Scoots-“

“What, is she jealous that I still have one parent left alive? Is that why she picked Sunset over me? Is Bloom angry that I’m, what, ungrateful or something? What the fuck right does she have to judge me? She was a baby when her mom got cancer, and she was a toddler when her dad died. Get the fuck over it. She wasn’t there to see it happen! She doesn’t know what real trauma is like! But Sunset jumps in front of a car and suddenly oh let’s all suddenly give a shit-“

“Scoots, stop it!” Belle sobs.

“Stop what!? Oh- oh shit. Why are you crying?”

“Because you’re scaring me!” She takes a deep shuddering breath. “You’re really freaking scaring me right now! I’ve never seen you like this before…”

“Like what?”

“Like… like this!” She puts her head in her hands. “You’re being so… so mean. So cruel. You’re punishing Sunset for things she didn’t do, so you can get some kind of revenge. But she isn’t the one who killed your mom! She wasn’t driving the truck. She didn’t do any of the things that you’re blaming her for, but you’re talking about her like she’s the one who did it.” She looks back up. “I don’t like doing this any more! All of Rarity’s friends hate her, and that already is too far. I don’t need a death on my conscience too! And worst of all, you’re making Bloom hate me! And it’s like you don’t even care that my feelings are hurt too…”

Scoot’s face stays unreadable for a few moments, before she bites her lip. “I’m sorry that you feel that way. It wasn’t my intention to hurt you. The only person I meant to hurt was Sunset. And, I’m sure that from your perspective, it seems a little ridiculous. Like an obsession or something.” She slips the phone out of her pocket and starts fidgeting with it. “I admit I got a little carried away just now. There’s… there’s a lot of bad shit in my brain. I try to hide it the best I can but sometimes it all just spills out and…” she sighs.

“Look.” She hands the phone over to Belle. “I don’t wanna make excuses. I’m so sorry I scared you. I never wanted you to see that fucked up side of me, and I’m so sorry I showed it to you just now, from out of nowhere. I should have mentioned it before, but I just… to be honest I just was scared you’d think I was fucking crazy, and you wouldn’t want anything to do with me anymore, and I’d be forced to go live with my dad again, or take my chances on the streets. I thought maybe I could hide it, but clearly I can’t. But getting closure is so close I can taste it. I just need her to get what she deserves, then I can finally move on with my life. Or, that’s where I was coming from. But you’re right. I’m being selfish, and I’m not paying attention to the people I love who are still alive and with me today. Take this. You should be the one who decides when and how to proceed. Please. I’m hurting you and I need to stop.”

Belle hesitantly reaches out, as if to grab a venomous snake. “What do you mean by closure?”

Scoot rubs the back of her head. “I think it’s time that I tell you about the day mom died.”

Belle draws her hand back.

“Are you sure?”

She nods. “Yeah. I’m sure.”

“You don’t have to-“

“No, it’s time. And I should also tell you about what my dad did to me.”

“Your dad?” Belle closes the distance between the two. “You mean the time he hit you? You don’t have to talk about-“

“He…” Scoot takes Belle’s hand in her own. “It was after the funeral. It was a closed casket. He was drunk. He told me that I looked just like her. He told me that when he saw me, all he could think of was her. He said that it was my fault that she died. He told me that it should have been me who died. He said that because of me he’ll never love another woman again. He said that my dress was beautiful. He hadn’t brushed his teeth or showered in two weeks. He said he loved me. And then…”

Belle hugs her.

“Sunset ran a red light on the icy roads and cut off my mom. She distracted us while we were sitting halfway through the intersection. When the truck hit us into the lamp post, my door pinned my legs in place. And mom… was gone. And Sunset just fucking watched. She didn’t even try to help. She didn’t even check to make sure we were okay. She just watched. And then she drove away. She killed my mom and just drove away.” She returns the hug. “Some days I wish she killed me instead, just so I could have died before my dad raped me.”

Belle squeezes her tightly. “I understand now.”

“But most days? I wish that he was the one who was driving. Then maybe I could forgive Sunset while she was still alive.”

“You didn’t deserve that.”

“His fingers were so cold.”

Belle pulls back and rests a hand on the side of Scoot’s head. “Please promise me that you’ll go get therapy after we’re done with Anon a Miss.”

Scoot nods in response. “If I’m lashing out at the people I love, and hurting them, and scaring them, then yes. I promise.”

“Who else knows about this?”

“Bunch of people in the government, cops, and foster people. That’s about it. I don’t want it to be public knowledge. I mean, I’m only talking about it with you now so you understand why I want Sunset dead. Why I’ve invested so much time and effort and energy into this blog. I didn’t want to ever have to tell you that I… that… that the first person I had sex with isn’t you.”

“Scoot, I don’t care about that! I mean. Well. I care about you and I wanna support you through sexual assault recovery and stuff. I mean I don’t care who you’ve had sex with before, even if it was consensual. It doesn’t bother me, it doesn’t make me feel less loved or anything. And I’m not angry that you wanted to hide this from me either; I get why you didn’t ever talk to me about it. I’m just glad to know that you trust me enough to tell me something like that happened to you.”

The two are quiet for a few moments until Scoot breaks the silence.

“Hey, uh. I know this is a good moment for us and all. But I am so fucking hungry right now, and I can’t wait for brunch in the morning. You want me to make you anything?”

“No, I’m good for right now; Rarity and I ate a little bit ago.”

“Okay. Cool. I’m gonna eat and then probably crash. I’ll just shower in the morning before we go.”

“If you’re gonna do that I might as well tonight.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll see you in a few.”

Belle nods and heads back to the bedroom. Scoot stands still, alone, until she hears the door latch. Once the quiet little click reaches her ears, she heaves out a huge sigh of relief. She glances down at her hand, still holding Sunset’s phone. And a wicked grin crosses her face.

“Sweets, I love you, but god are you gullible.”

She then pulls out her own phone as she turns and walks to the kitchen. She swipes over to her notepad and scrolls down to an entry titled Leather Jacket. Within is a list of names, in alphabetical order, followed by bulleted lists. She scrolls down to her best friend’s name, and creates a new entry: “dad raped me after mom’s funeral”.

“What’s another Lie for the Journal,” she mutters to herself before scanning back through the rest of the entries. She paid particular attention to Rarity’s entry, as it was now the longest one of the bunch. “I mean, he beat me, so he deserves it. But fuck am I glad he never molested me or anything. Add more trauma to the pot, why don’t you?”

She shoves her phone back into her pocket before taking a seat at the kitchen island and scanning through Sunset’s text archives. She pauses for a second to rifle through the freezer and shove a hot pocket into the microwave. She resumes her dirt-digging as the radioactive hum saturates the air, along with the scents of cheap tomato, fake cheese, and garlic. She skims and scrolls, hunting for buzzwords. Eventually after only around two minutes of searching, her eyes light up.

“Holy shit,” she whispers, putting her free hand to her mouth. As the microwave dings, she sets the device down and puts both hands over her chest. “Sunset already knows Rainbow’s gay?”

She giggles as she gets to work on her masterwork of a plan. By the time she is finished and she grabs her food, it has grown cold yet again.

“Sorry Dash,” she says, hitting send. “But your closet’s getting evicted.”

/x/x/x/
> 12- Dusky Skies and Fast-Approaching Rainclouds
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

/x/x/x/

“If you will not say it, then I will. I am wicked, as you say. I am a scoundrel. I banished my own father and I killed my own son. I will do anything to rule this country. War is everywhere. Unless somebody unifies the nation and reigns over us we will see more rivers of blood and more mountains of the dead.”

“It is cold... My old wound hurts when the air is cold.”

“Relatable,” Sunset murmurs as she nestles further into the bed. “So, what, this is the kid’s favorite movie or something?”

“Yeah,” Rainbow answers, scraping the bottom of the bowl for a few lightly-buttered unpopped kernels. “It’s like a really old samurai movie. The director based a whole bunch of stuff in this movie on that one. It’s a. Like, a, uh… it’s not a ripoff. It’s the good version.”

“An homage?”

Rainbow tries to snap her fingers with little success. “Yeah, that’s it. An homage. My fingers are slippery.”

“You should wash your hands.”

“And miss part of the movie? No thanks.” She glances at the clock. “Dude, we’ve been watching these for over three and a half hours now. It’s almost midnight.”

“Time flew by. You weren’t kidding, this movie’s been awesome.”

“Hey, I actually do gotta pee though. Lemme up?”

“Oh, yeah. Sure. Want me to pause?”

“Nah, they’re just gonna talk for a while.” The girls disentangle themselves from the sheets and pull apart. “All the big fight scenes are over anyway, plus I can quote the whole ending. Almost. But I’ll be right back, okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll try not to fall asleep.”

“Yeah, you do that. We’re right up at the end.” Rainbow cracks her neck to either side, grabbing her phone from the end table on her way out the door. On her way to the bathroom, as she does her best to wipe the butter on her pants, she looks down and notices the absolute flood of notifications. Three missed calls, a dozen texts, and about a hundred MyStable blips sit waiting for her.

“Glad I’m on do not disturb, jeez…” she murmurs to herself as she closes the door, sits down, and starts to take care of business.

One call each came from Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie. The texts were from an assortment of people, and their contents caused her heart to sink. She ignored the MyStable ones completely, as she could infer what most of them were probably going to say. She focused her attention on the most important ones.

A text from Applejack read “you’ll always be my best friend no matter what”. One from Pinkie read “this doesn’t change anything between us, I promise”. Fluttershy just said “❤️”. One from Jet Set said “just ignore the rumors and lies baby” and one from Spitfire said “sorry we all found out this way but hey welcome to the club” and one from Apple Bloom said “I’m so sorry, I tried to stop them” and one from Scootaloo said “do you believe me now?”

Against her better judgment she swiped over to MyStable itself and at the top of her feed was a post from Anon-a-Miss herself from about three hours ago, tagging her directly.

“Did u guys no that RAINBOW DASH has a dirty little secret? She munches on carpet! That’s right ladies, she is in the muff market. Sorry fellas, but these buns ain’t gonna hold a hotdog anytime soon. That rainbow colored hair ain’t just hereditary. Every month is pride month for this gal. She is as gay as the day is long and then some. Queer as a three dollar bill. This dike can stop rivers from flooding unless it’s the river between her legs whenever she sees a naked lady. That’s right, kids; Rainbow Dash is the world’s biggest LESBIAN!!! Surprise!”

Rainbow sighs, and swipes over to her phone app. She scrolls down to an entry labeled “Squirt”, taps on it, and puts the device to her ear. It rings once before immediately picking up.

“Rainbow?” Scoot asks from the other side. “Are you feeling-“

“Shut up,” Rainbow snaps. “Shut. The fuck. Up. You little bitch. What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Me? I don’t know what you’re-“

“What the fuck is outing me gonna do on your quest to ruin Sunset? Huh? What the fuck have I ever done to you?”

“Rainbow, I don’t know why you’re getting mad at me, I didn’t even-“

“It was you or Belle, and unless you told her, the only one who knew was you.”

“I’m not the only one who knew you’re gay!”

“You, my parents, Fluttershy, and my exes are the only fucking people in the world who know. And I seriously doubt that any of them would do it. And I won’t tell you any of their names because I, unlike you, respect people’s privacy enough not to just blab about it to random strangers online. I’m not like you, I’m not a fucking asshole.”

“Sunset knew too.”

“And how the FUCK would you know if she did or not?” Rainbow asks. “Huh? How would you know what Sunset knows?”

“I don’t know, Rarity said Sunset told her she was bi. I figured that you two would, you know. Sync up.”

“Sexuality isn’t a period, numbnuts. What did you hope to accomplish, other than burning your bridges with me and my family?”

“Okay, first of all? Stop insulting me-“

“You lost your right to be treated with respect and dignity the moment you started airing everyone else’s dirty laundry. The moment you lied about Sunset following you around town. The moment you pushed her to try to fucking hang herself. So many moments that it’s impossible to keep track of them all. You fucking sociopath. You think it’s okay to play chess with our lives just because your best friends are jealous that their sisters have best friends of their own. You don’t have a good enough reason to do this shit, not to Sunset, not to Fluttershy and Pinkie and AJ. And especially not to Rarity. She treats you like another sister and you betray her privacy? Even if you didn’t pull this shit on MyStable, stealing my right to come out at my own pace in my own time, I disowned you back in Fluttershy’s apartment. But now? You’re fucking dead to me, you demented little cunt. Lose my number. I’m blocking you on everything. Don’t ever show your fucking face at my house again. Don’t fucking speak to me at school. Don’t even fucking look at me if we run into each other out in town. You are less than nothing to me now. Do you get me?”

Silence greets her from the other line.

“Do you get me, Scootaloo?”

“Yeah. I get you.”

“Good. Have a nice life.” Rainbow hangs up without waiting for a response. Immediately, she scrolls up to Rarity’s number and calls her. This time, it takes over a full minute before getting a response.

“Hullo?” Rarity drawls, groggy. “Rainbow. This better be an emergency.”

“Have you been asleep for the last three hours?”

“Mm. Four. I think. What, did you finally come to your senses and apologize?”

“Everyone on MyStable knows I’m gay now because of the damn kids. One of them, probably Scootaloo because she knew, just outed me through Anon-a-Miss. And I know for a fact that it wasn’t Sunset Shimmer because we’ve been watching movies the entire time. She doesn’t even have her phone, how could she?”

“You’re gay?”

“That doesn’t fucking matter right now!”

“Please don’t curse at me.”

“Alright, sorry, but can we focus on the important thing here? There is no fuck- no freaking way that Sunset did it. She can’t have been Anon. This is undisputable evidence!”

“No it’s not. It could’ve been anyone by proxy. It could have been Apple Bloom doing it under threat or blackmail. It could have been Snips or Snails working for her long since. It could have been Micro doing it in exchange for sexual favors. It could be any number of things.”

“Come on Rare. You have to see the truth!”

“I do see the truth, Rainbow. Perhaps it’s the rest of you who need to do so.”

“Why are you obsessed with the need for Sunset to be evil?”

“And why are you so obsessed with the need for my sisters to be evil?”

“Because Sunset didn’t fucking do it!”

“Watch your language-“

“Oh, get over yourself, princess! I’m the one who’s about to face hell on earth on Monday. And Sunset is still broken!”

“You and Sunset are not the only ones going through a rough time. If you’ll excuse me, I have a lovely dream to return to. If there is nothing else to discuss, our conversation ends here.”

“So, what, did your conversation with Fluttershy earlier mean nothing?”

“…”

“Well, Rare?”

“Right. I, hmm… Look.” She sighs. “Much as I may want our Sunset to be innocent, I would much rather believe that my sisters, my family, would never betray my privacy and spread my photographs around the internet. There needs to be actual solid concrete proof. Otherwise, there is nothing to talk about. Blind conjecture and happenstance alone aren’t enough.”

“Then what will be enough? Will anything ever be enough for you?”

“Not with what I’ve seen so far. I am tired, Rainbow. Can we please discuss this during the daytime?”

“Yeah. Fine. Whatever.”

“Rainbow, please don’t be curt with me. I still treasure your friendship. We are merely having a disagreement about the trustworthiness of a mutual acquaintance. And…” she takes a deep breath. “As a side note. Your sexuality does not bother me. I am truly sorry that your decision was unfairly taken from you, but I do want you to know that I would never judge you or think less of you because of the people you love. You have my love and support, to whatever end you will accept it.”

Rainbow slowly nods. “I… appreciate that. I didn’t ever expect you not to. It’s just that I didn’t wanna tell anybody just yet. I just wasn’t ready. But it’s good to know that I didn’t have to worry about any of my friends.” She stands and flushes. “Thanks Rare.

“Dear god Rainbow, were you on the toilet for that entire conversation?”

“Oh, like you’ve never had an important conversation while in the bathroom too.” She presses the phone between her ear and shoulder as she washes her hands. “Anyway, uh. Well. I just got off the phone with Scoot before calling you. Whether you believe her or not, I don’t. And if you could let her know that I feel to her how you feel to Sunset, about needing proof, that would probably be good. Otherwise, I don’t want her near me, my house, or my family. I’m not gonna tell you not to talk to her, but I can’t say I’m gonna be super buddy-buddy with you as long as you’re still close with her.”

“I understand, as I feel the same way about you in regards to Sunset.” She sighs. “I just wish that whoever it is that is lying confesses sooner rather than later. I do so hate having to choose sides like this. It’s absolutely exhausting even just thinking about it.”

“Yeah. It sucks.” She leans back against the door. “Hey, uh. I still gotta call Fluttershy, AJ, and Pinkie.”

“And sleep is calling my name. I hope your phone calls go well. And that Monday doesn’t serve to be too difficult for you.”

“Yeah. Bye Rare.”

“Good-bye Rainbow.”

The two hang up in tandem. Rainbow heaves a sigh of relief, which gives way to a groan of frustration as she scrolls further up. She takes a deep breath before pressing on Pinkie’s name. Almost instantaneously she answers.

“Dashie?” She asks, voice so quiet Rainbow almost mistook her for Fluttershy.

“Hey Pinks.”

“Is everything Oki-Doki-Loki?”

“I’m fine. Could be worse. Could be a whole hell of a lot better.” Rainbow sits on the floor. “I told Scoots she’s dead to me. But Rare and I are on speaking terms now, at least.”

“That’s really good! I’m glad to hear that…”

“So. Elephant in the room. You saw what Scoot posted.”

“I mean what I said. Nothing is different. I still feel exactly as I did before. I mean. I might not cuddle with you as much any more, but I never really did that much in the first place since I know you get overwhelmed by physical touch a lot, and I mean I guess I’m kinda the teensiest bit concerned that you’ll fall in love with one of us, or try to force an eventual girlfriend into our friend group and the group dynamic will get all twisted around even worse than it already is. But it’s all just a bunch of itty bitty teeny tiny things that all add up to be a way bigger thing than it actually is, there’s no really big thing that’s gonna make any problems between you and me. We maybe can’t hang out alone at my house, or I mean we can but we probably shouldn’t because you know how my family is and I just don’t want you to feel uncomfortable without the rest of the girls as a buffer. But I still love you as a friend, Dashie. And nothing is ever gonna change that.”

Rainbow nods. “Thanks Pinks.”

“Of course. I know you had your own reasons for not telling any of us, even though some of us kinda already knew.”

“Oh?”

“Uh…” Pinkie chuckles nervously. “I thought that maybe you might be possibly a little bit? And AJ kinda already knew. Or at least she thought she did. Or, uh, maybe she didn’t want me to tell you that? But, uh, it doesn’t matter right now because she definitely knows now. It didn’t bother her either. I don’t think that it would really bother any of us. So at least you’ll have a supportive web of friends here for you, you know?”

“Yeah. That’s good…” she leans over and rests her head on the side of the cabinet. “I just wanted to… you know… touch base. With everyone. In reverse order of… uh… hey, what’s the thing called that you told me about? Where you only have an amount of energy to do stuff each day, and doing hard stuff takes more out of you? What’s that called?”

“Spoons?”

“Yeah, yeah that! In reverse order of how many spoons it takes. And you’re tied for AJ behind Fluttershy for second lowest so don’t worry about that. Scoot was the most, then Rare. Sunset woulda been next but she’s here right now.”

“Like right now right now?”

“No, I’m in the bathroom.”

“You’re… are you peeing right now?”

“No, I finished before I called you.”

“Oh, okay. I was gonna laugh because I’m totally peeing right now LOL.”

“Ew, Pinkie! TMI!”

“Oh, you mean like for real?”

“Huh? Oh, no, I’m kidding. I don’t actually care. I’m not the bladder police. It was a joke. Just don’t gimme any details like color or smell and we should be golden. Or, uh… oh god, why did I have to say that!?”

“It’s okay Dashie, I promise- AAAaaaaaa”

“Pink?”

A moment of silence passes before she answers.

“Sorry, I dropped my phone when I stood up, but it’s okay!” She is quiet for another moment. “So do you wanna call AJ next? I know the phone takes a lot of your spoons.”

“I’m fine. For right now. I’ll probably spend tomorrow doing absolutely nothing. Well, after I drop Sunset off at your house. You still wanna have your solo sleepover with her, right, since your dad and Lime are out of town?”

“Oh. Uh. Actually…” she hums in through. “As it turns out, they came home early this morning. So it’s not gonna be as fun of a sleepover as I planned. Or as loud. But, yeah, I still wanna see her tomorrow. And she didn’t get to play MDR six with us last time, since Fluttershy totally bogarted the controller. I don’t know what we’re gonna eat yet but we’ll figure something out. What time are you gonna be here at?”

Rainbow shrugs. “I dunno. Maybe like. Elevenish? Maybe closer to noon.”

“I’ll try to be awake for that.”

“Either way I can tell you when I know for sure, how’s that sound?”

“Sounds good! Tell Sunset I can’t wait to see her, okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll tell her. It was nice talking to you… again.”

She laughs. “Yeah, this is kind of a new record for you.”

“Special times call for special circumcisions.”

“Stances.”

“Huh?”

“Circumstances. Circumcision is when you cut off the tip of the peepee.”

“How the hell do you know that?”

“Daddy’s family culture says that all boys need to do it when they’re kids. Makes it easier to clean, or something. I dunno.”

“How does cutting the tip off make it easier to clean?”

“I don’t know Dashie, I don’t have that body part!”

“Right. Well. Have fun with your dick chopping.”

“I will have so much fun with my dick chopping. You will not believe the amount of fun I am going to have. It’s going to rain disembodied dick tips up in this bizznitch!”

Rainbow blinks a few times. “What the fuck?”

“I don’t know, it’s getting late, and I think I tasted too much of the rum for the cupcakes. Oh, by the way, do you like salted caramel with your oatmeal cookies, or cinnamon sugar?”

“I don’t like oatmeal cookies. They’re liars who pretend to be chocolate chip.”

“Not oatmeal raisin, oatmeal scotchies!”

“I just don’t like oatmeal.”

She gasps. “What don’t you like?”

“What?”

“Come ON, I never get to say it. What don’t you like?”

Rainbow sighs. “I don’t like Oatmeal.”

“Oatmeal!? ARE YOU CRAZY???” She scream-cheers into the phone loudly enough to blow Rainbow’s hair out of her face. In the background Rainbow can hear her cheering and celebrating. She humors her for a few moments more before Pinkie gets back on the line.

“Thanks Dashie, that’s one of my favorite memes about me.”

Rainbow pinches the bridge of her nose. “Dude I have no idea what you’re talking about. Go home. You’re drunk.”

“Okay mooooom… and… thanks for calling me Dashie. I really appreciate it. I’m gonna let you get on with AJ now.”

“I appreciate that. G’night Pinks.”

“G’night Dashie. And tell Sunset G’night too.”

“Alright. Later.”

“Bye!”

Rainbow hangs up, and slumps over a little further, slouching hard. She scrolls all the way near the top of her contacts list to Applejack’s name and taps it. She actually rings long enough to go to voicemail, before sighing and laying fully on the floor. She props her feet up against the wall before scrolling down, but before she can get to her destination the phone rings.

“Hello?” She says, answering it.

“Hey sug,” Applejack greets, sounding very distracted. “I’ve got my hands full a bit right now so I can’t talk long but I know what this is about so I’ll spare a minute. I love ya. You like guys or gals or both or neither or whatever the heck those spacegender people are called nowadays, that don’t bother me none at all. I ain’t gonna get naked in front of ya, least not til I get used to the idea. But I don’t really get naked in front of ya in the first place anyway. Irregardless. You’re my best friend, always have been and probably always will.”

“Thanks AJ. You okay over there?”

“Bloom is hysterical. Apparently Belle used her password to get into her email and change her MyStable password to cut off her connection to Anon a Miss, since she was the account holder. Or something. I don’t know, this website is nonsensical to me. But that must be how they posted this stuff about you. Bloom thinks this is gonna be the end of their friendship permanently. I’m tryin’ to figure out where to draw the line between consolin’ her and tellin’ her the truth that…” she begins to whisper. “That’s she’s probably right.”

“Man. That’s rough. I hope that things get better.”

“Yeah, me too. Hey, look. Are you okay? I know you don’t call on the phone often on account of you don’t like talking to people when you can’t see their face. I just wanna make sure this ain’t like a huge emergency or nothin.”

“No. I’m fine. I just… I just needed to hear you say that we’re all good. That’s it. I’m gonna be okay. All this shit doesn’t bother me, it’s just the anxiety and fear that you might have a problem with it. But you don’t. I’m totally fine, I promise.”

“Alright hun, I’ll trust you on this. I gotta go. Hey. Tell Sunset I said goodnight, okay? I’d tell her myself but her phone is still in her apartment.”

“Yeah. I’ll do that. Later AJ.”

“Later Dash.” She quickly hangs up.

Rainbow curls up into a ball on the floor, before scrolling to her last phone call of the night. She slips it to her ear and waits.

“Rainbow,” Fluttershy’s voice coos, barely audible. “Are you okay?”

She screws her eyes shut. “No.”

“I was afraid of that. Can I do or say anything to help you out right now?”

“I don’t think so…” she wipes at the tears now staining her cheeks. “This fucking sucks.”

“I know. I know it does. I’m so sorry that this happened without your consent. You didn’t deserve to be outed like that.”

“What am I gonna do?” Rainbow whimpers. “I don’t know how to deal with this. It was so much easier to just hide this from everybody, but now? I don’t think I can do this right now. How am I supposed to be here for Sunset when I need her to be here for me now?”

“It’s going to be okay. I know you’re upset, and things are going to be hard for a while. But it isn’t forever. You’re still taking Sunset to Pinkie’s house tomorrow morning, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Okay, then instead of thinking about anything long term, just think about until the morning. Is anything concerning being outed going to affect you during the night?”

“…no.”

“Okay, then that’s good. Do you think you’ll be able to be a supportive friend to Sunset at least for the night and part of the morning?”

Rainbow nods. “I think so.”

“Good. That’s all you need to worry about as far as Sunset is concerned. But I know you must still be upset and concerned about this after you drop her off. I doubt you want to be alone right now, right?”

“No. I don’t. I just… need to…” she swallows hard. “Can I please come see you tomorrow?”

“Of course. Come to my apartment after you drop off Sunset. I’ll be here for you. Whatever you need. You’re my closest friend, Rainbow, and I hate knowing that you’re suffering.”

“Are you sure you have the spoons for it? I mean, you just had all of us over.”

“Oh Rainbow, I will always have a spoon for you. I love you. You’re one of the most important people in my life, and I could never imagine being here without you. You have been there for me through the hardest parts of my life, and I mean it when I say that I’d be dead without you. You pulled me out of the water, remember? And even if it did stress me out to have you over again so soon, it would be worth it because I know you’re hurting and you need me. You’ve been there for me when I’ve needed you, and I am more than happy to return the favor. And also I still have all of your breadsticks.”

“Okay. Good. I…” she sniffles. “I love you too…” she then cracks the smallest of smiles. “No homo.”

Fluttershy giggles on the other line. “I’m glad to hear that you’re at least in a positive enough mood to be joking around. Be sure to use that with Sunset, okay? For her sake.”

“Of course. I just…” she wipes her eyes. “I just needed to call everyone real quick so that I can get out all the…. all the worry and shit, so I don’t fuckin dump on Sunset when she needs to be the one who’s doing the dumping.”

“I understand that. Who else do you need to call tonight?”

“Nobody. Just you. I called you last because… you’re the easiest person to talk to. You’re like dessert. You get eaten at the end of the meal so you can just rest and taste the sweet.”

“Aww, that’s really nice of you to say!”

Rainbow shrugs. “It’s true.”

“Well, much as I appreciate that, how long have you been on the phone for?”

“Like… twenty minutes. Sunset’s watching the end of a movie. I’ll get back there now. I just needed to…”

“I know. You’re strong, Rainbow, stronger than all of us in a lot of ways. You can do this.”

“Yeah. I can. At least for Sunset’s sake.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Alright. See you then.”

A few seconds of silence settle in before the two girls hang up in tandem. Rainbow sits up, stands up, and heads back to her room. When she opens the bedroom door, Sunset is sitting up and staring at the screen with rapt attention.

The mother has her young daughter with her atop a horse. The katana is slung over her back, gleaming in the crimson sunset. The triumphant blasting of brasswinds contrasted heavily with the somber strings, but blended seamlessly. They are riding off into the distant horizon, the black speck of their silhouette vanishing into the darkening sky. The credits roll.

“Holy shit,” Sunset breathes, putting her hands to her mouth, voice shaking, eyes sparkling with unshed tears. “That was beautiful.”

“Glad you liked it,” Rainbow says as she puts a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I told you the movie was badass.”

“I understand the five hoof death kick reference now. You’re right, it wasn’t silly after all, given the right context.” She looks up. “You were in there for a while.”

“I figured I was already in there so I pinched one off. Then I figured I should get a new tampon in while I was in there. I didn’t wanna run back and forth a hundred times tonight so I just took care of it all in one go.”

“You washed your hands, right?” Sunset asks with a knowing smirk.

“Nope,” Rainbow teases as she ruffles Sunset’s hair.

“Oh noooo,” Sunset halfheartedly protests. “Not the pee hands!”

Rainbow chuckles as she reaches over to turn the lamp on. When she does, the pattern of red dots on Sunset’s arms instantly snap her out of the jovial mood.

“Hey, are you all right?”

Sunset reaches her arms out, tilting them to either side. “Yeah. I think the compression’s what caused this. But it’s not slipping or sliding around or anything like that. It’s still secure. It’s not wet. And it doesn’t hurt. At least not any more than it usually does. I think I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

“Your mom told me it would be fine until morning. If you’re worried you can go downstairs and ask her, but otherwise I think it’s okay. It’s not like it was before, because the scabs sliding around were all gross and shit. But this feels okay.”

“If you’re sure, you’re sure…” Rainbow nudges the door closed. “So uh. You want any dessert. Like ice cream?”

Sunset frowns slightly. “Not particularly, no. Probably won’t be able to eat ice cream again for a while.”

“Oh, shit, my bad-“

“No, you’re okay! Honest. It’s just, about as much to do with the cold outside as it is that I basically only ate ice cream for like a month. Plus I’m full from the soup, and the popcorn on top of that. I think I’m just ready to go back to sleep now.” She looks down at her outfit. “Oh, um. About that.” She looks back up at Rainbow. “Can you help me take this off?”

Rainbow blushes and takes a step back. “Huh? Why?”

Sunset cocks her head to the side and furrows her brows. “I don’t wanna rumple the fabric much, or wear the same outfit during the night as I did during the day. And I can’t say that the fabrics are the most comfortable to sleep in. Is that okay?”

“Oh! Oh, yeah, that’s okay, I just…” Rainbow sighs. “Yeah, no, that’s totally fine. You wanna borrow some pajamas?”

“If that makes you comfortable,” Sunset says, placing her hands in her lap. “I don’t usually wear clothes when I sleep, but I don’t wanna put you in an uncomfortable place, so I’ll take whatever I can get. What are you willing to offer me?”

Rainbow stumbles to her dresser, rifling through the top drawer.

“Okay, I got a couple things in here. Um, here’s a red set that’s a button up shirt and some shorts. A couple tank tops, a pair of black pants with some lightning bolts.”

“Are you feeling okay, Rainbow?” Sunset asks, genuine concern coloring her voice. “You look kinda pale.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I got some green thermals too. Anything work for you?”

“The button up would probably be easiest for me, considering I don’t have the best range of movement for my arms as far as verticality goes. And I might as well take the shorts too, to keep the set matching. Man, I regret not packing anything, but my dirty laundry pile is way bigger than yours. Plus it was dark and I didn’t wanna inconvenience Applejack any further…”

Rainbow comes back to the bed, scarlet fabric in hand, and sets them on the bed.

“So, uh,” she coughs. “You need help taking these off?”

“Yeah, that’d be helpful,” Sunset stands up and looks into Rainbow’s eyes. “Are you… okay to do that?”

“Yeah, sure, why wouldn’t I be?” Rainbow replies, looking anywhere but at Sunset. “Everything’s great, we’re just two girls about to get undressed, that’s totally normal for girls to do and it not be a big deal. I’m fine.”

Sunset places a hand on Rainbow’s arm. “Hey. I trust you. You don’t have anything to worry about as far as my feelings go. I know you’re not gonna take advantage of me or anything. It’s not any different than when Applejack did it, or Fluttershy, or when Pinkie’s probably going to. Just because you like girls, that doesn’t mean I have any reason not to be okay with you helping me get dressed.” She flashes a comforting smile. “Plus, it’s not like anyone else knows about that.”

Rainbow takes a step back and drops her gaze to the floor.

“Hey, you okay?” Sunset asks, sitting back down and trying to steal a glimpse. “What’s wrong?“

Rainbow slowly turns her face back up, revealing the two tears that had fallen. She clenches her fists.

“Look, um.” She swallows. “While we were watching the movie, Scoots kinda outed me on MyStable.”

“What!?” Sunset stands again. “Why the fuck would she do that to you?”

“It wasn’t her. It was Anon-a-Miss.”

Sunset drops her arms to her side, feeling the air exit her lungs as if she was just punched in the back.

“But… why?”

“I don’t know why,” Rainbow grunts, looking back down. “Well. I kind of do. In the bathroom I called her to ask why. And she said that you knew I was gay. I think she was trying to make me think it was you all along. I don’t think she even knew you were here. That…” she puts her head in her hands. “That bitch.”

Sunset reaches a hand out, but frowns. “She said I knew?”

Rainbow gently pushes past Sunset to flop down onto the bed. “Yeah. I dunno where she’s getting that from. She can’t know you know unless you told her, and I know that didn’t happen. I mean, sure, maybe you could be triple crossing us and be secretly in league with her for the long con, but that’s stupid.”

Sunset narrows her eyes. “Hey, can you call me real quick?”

Rainbow reaches over the nightstand for her phone. “Okay. Ahem. Hey, Siri, call Sunset Shimmer. What’s this about?”

The room fills with the background music over the scrolling credits, and the quiet ringing. After a few rings, the call goes straight to voicemail, upon which Rainbow hangs up.

“Suns?”

Sunset clenches her fists. “Hopefully it’s about nothing,” she whispers. “But I have a really bad feeling that something else is gonna happen with Anon-a-Miss. But…” she then cracks a dark smile. “That might actually be my ticket to innocence. Heh… well, only time will tell with that. I’m tired, too tired to worry about this right now. Now, uh, Rainbow.”

She turns to find Rainbow suddenly pantsless.

“Yeah, sure,” she says, absentmindedly rifling through yet another pile of clothes. “Lemme just find that one pair of blue pants real quick. They got wolves on it. Do you see one?”

Sunset blinks. “No. You got through that real easy.”

“Go through what?”

“The whole thing about undressing me.”

“Huh?” She looks up, inquiringly. “Whaddaya mean? I’m still tryin’ to psyche myself up for that.”

“Well, right now you’re…” she turns away, her cheeks growing slightly red as she does. “That pair has a hole in it by the way.”

“Ohhh, I get it- FOUND IT!” She returns back to the bed and slips on the located article. “There’s a difference between me getting undressed in front of you, and me taking your clothes off. Like, if it’s me it’s okay because I know you’re not into me, but…” she freezes in place, eyes widening in shock.

Sunset purses her lips and turns away, nodding slowly. “Oh. Um. I see.” She awkwardly wrings her hands together. “So uh. You… are into… me?” She asks.

“I’m not into you! I mean, I’m not… into-into you. I mean…” Rainbow covers her reddening cheeks with her hands. “It’s not like that. I don’t like you like that. It’s just that… you, uh…” she sighs and covers her eyes. “I… uh… think you have really nice tits. And I don’t wanna make you feel uncomfortable if I stare.”

Sunset is quiet for a few moments before she bursts out laughing.

“Du-ude,” Rainbow whines. “Don’t laugh… not cool.”

Sunset puts a hand on Rainbow’s shoulder as she leans in. “Okay,” she breathes, trying to stop laughing. “Alright, I’m sorry. I’m not laughing at you. I’m just…” she finally catches her breath. “I just did not expect you to say something like that. I was just caught off guard. And I’m… kinda flattered?”

“Like, I‘ve fucked girls before, and I’ve been in the shower with girls before, and it’s not been a thing that’s really mattered at all ever. I’m friends with a lot of them, and I’ve known them for years. So with them, it’s totally normal. But with you? I was friends with you for a couple weeks, then I hated your guts, and now I’ve been friends again with you for a couple days. I don’t think my brain is used to seeing you as, you know, a friend. I still think of you as…” she groans. “As a s…”

Sunset sits next to her. “As a what?”

“As a se…”

Sunset can’t help but smirk. “You sound like Fluttershy.”

Rainbow puts her hands in her lap and stares at the wall. “As a sexy bitch. I hated your guts and wanted to throw hands with you but I always thought you were really stupidly hot. I mean, I was friends with Gilda before you put her in jail, and from the moment she started inviting you to our hangout sessions, I had always wanted to… hrrmmm iwantedtohavesexwithyou.”

Sunset blushes as her smile fades away. “Rainbow that was… that was years ago.”

“Yeahhhhhh…” she moans as she leans back against the wall. “I mean it’s not as bad as it was back then, because when you planted weed in my locker it knocked it up a bunch of notches but after you cut me off from AJ it knocked it back down. The feelings I had went from hatefucking to punching you in the face. But then when you started being friends with us again the punching you in the face feeling went away, and when you stopped having that bad girl aesthetic and started being an actually good person, especially to Fluttershy…” she gives a small sad smile. “I started to admire you. Because you were a good person deep down all along, you just never really knew friendship…” the smile disappears. “But then Anon-a-Miss happened and the… hatefucking… came back.”

“Rainbow-“

“And it hasn’t gone away yet.” She turned to face Sunset but couldn’t quite manage to make eye contact. “I meant what I said this morning. I want to be your friend. I just didn’t really think I was gonna have to deal with all these feelings quite as soon as I am. And with Scoot outing me, now I’m all nervous and paranoid and worrying about nothing.” She chanced a look up. “I’m sorry Sunset. I should be supporting you since you’re suicidal and stuff, I don’t need to be whining about my stupid shit-“

“It’s not stupid.” Sunset scoots right up next to Rainbow and places a hand on hers. “Just because my problems have a more tangible presence doesn’t mean that your problems don’t matter. You are in pain right now, and I understand that. I’m here for you for this, just like you’re here for me for… for this.”

Rainbow’s face tightens. “I scratch your back you scratch mine?”

“Yeah,” Sunset says, shrugging. “Basically.”

Rainbow nods. “I’m dumb.”

“You’re not dumb,” Sunset gently chides, bumping foreheads. “You live in a culture where your sexuality is judged by people on the streets. The people in your family, in your school, in your town. There are people here who are assaulted or even killed just for liking the same sex. As if it’s anyone else’s business but their own.” She gently exhales. “And if it’s any consolation I literally don’t care either way. I know you’re not going to do anything to me that I don’t want you to do. We’re just gonna be putting pajamas on. At least you don’t have to give me a freaking sponge bath.”

This cracks Rainbow’s stoic exterior. “Yeah… gosh darn it.” She snaps her fingers in an exaggerated fashion. “Curses. Foiled again!”

Sunset pulls away and stands up, putting her arms out as far as they would go. “Alright now please for the love of god take this jacket off of me.”

Rainbow stands, follows her, and reaches for the denim. She dry swallows, then proceeds to remove it. She gently sets it on an empty part of the floor before turning back around.

“Your arms okay?”

“They’re fine,” Sunset soothes, now lifting her arms as far as they would go, which admittedly wasn’t very high- barely even parallel to the ground. “The dress would probably be easier going down.”

“Yeah, sure,” Rainbow murmurs as she unbuttons the straps from the chest piece. She moves slowly and deliberately so as not to actually make contact with anything untoward. “Hey so after this,” she begins to ask as she prepares to pull the dress down. “Do you want the bra off next or the tights orrrrrrr-“

The syllable holds in her mouth as she freezes- again- upon finding that the answer is the tights considering there was no bra to speak of. Her eyes glaze over for a few moments before she is snapped out of her reverie.

“Take a picture,” Sunset jokes. “It’ll last longer.”

Rainbow screws her eyes shut and pulls the dress the rest of the way down. “Sorry!”

“It’s fine Rainbow, they’re just boobs.” She pulls her arms back to her side, and crosses her wrists over her stomach. “You literally have two of them yourself.”

Rainbow slowly opens her eyes back up, blinks twice, and shakes her head back and forth. “Okay. Yeah. You’re right. I’m being dumb- no- hormonal. That’s just tits. Same as I figured.” She absentmindedly takes the tights off as well. “Dumbass teenage horny brain.”

“You’re fine,” Sunset says, stepping out of the tights as she rolls her eyes. “Flash just stood there for like two whole minutes going ‘duuuuhhhhh’ no matter how many times I tried to get him to move on. So you are definitely holding more blood in your body.”

Rainbow puts the clothes back in the pile before reaching for the red top. “Blood… you mean like. How there’s only enough in the body to work the brain or the dick?”

“Yeah that one. Ooo, this fabric feels nice!”

“Yeah it’s, uh. Lemme check.” She checks the tag of the shorts. Eighty percent linen. Twenty percent co… col… uh, cooler? That doesn’t sound right. Man, this writing is hard to read, faded to hell. Oh, wait, I’m gonna assume it’s cotton.”

“Linen. Isn’t that flax?”

“I dunno,” Rainbow shrugs as she pulls the shorts up. “Ask Rari…”

Sunset smacks her lips. “That ain’t gonna work chief.”

“My bad,” Rainbow murmurs as she buttons up the shirt. Save for the last few. “Uh, I’m gonna need to… do these.”

Sunset shrugs. “Alright. Do ‘em. I don’t care if you touch my chest, I sure as hell can’t do it myself.”

Rainbow pauses. “You know, I could just… NOT do these last couple buttons. Wink.”

“Gasp,” Sunset drones, monotone. “Oh no. You fiend. What ever shall I do.”

Rainbow chuckles as she fastens the last couple of buttons. “See, that wasn’t so bad.”

“Wow golly gee whiz willickers, you freakin’ think so?” Sunset teases.

Rainbow sits back and admires her handiwork. And then her face falls slightly. “I think that’s a bit too small on you,” she remarks as her eyes subconsciously draw down to her now-exposed navel, and noticed just how tight the shirt is. “In fact I think it might be a bit too small on me. Come to think of it I don’t know when the last time I wore that was.”

Sunset shrugs. “It’s fine. It’s anything. It’s better than nothing. Or, well, maybe in your case. For me it could go either way.” She looks down at the gauze, particularly at the red spots. “It doesn’t look like the spots are too much bigger. Yeah. They should absolutely be fine. Now, uh. I just gotta take those pills your dad gave me, and then I think I’ll be ready for bed.”

“I’ll get you a glass of water,” Rainbow says before she walks out the door. But as her hand is on the knob, she stops. “Hold on a second. I just realized. Earlier. AJ told me that you left your phone in your apartment.” She turns around. “Why’d you ask me to call you?”

Sunset smirks. “Well. Let’s just say that I have a hunch.”

“A hunch?”

“Alright. Level with me. Let’s just assume for argument’s sake that Scootaloo can pick locks, broke into my apartment, and, let’s say ‘borrowed’ my phone. Let’s say she started reading my text history, mainly with you, and learned that I know that you’re gay. The moment she knows that I know, she makes a post on MyStable suggesting that I- who definitely knows now- outed you, to get you to implicate me. It would be a perfect plan, probably would’ve even worked too, if only she wasn’t too stupid to realize I was right next to you the whole time.”

Rainbow sighs. “Yeah, that makes sense. I mean, I know you didn’t do it. I watched you. AJ said your phone is gone. And it is weird that she said that you know. It makes…” she slams her fist into the door. “So much goddamn sense.”

A quiet knock on the other side of the door causes Rainbow to open it.

“Mom.”

“Hey sweetheart…” Windy murmurs. “I… saw on MyStable.”

Rainbow pulls the door fully open, but continues to stare at the floor. She does nothing as her mother steps forward and pulls her into a gentle hug.

“I love you,” she whispers. “So much.”

“I…” Rainbow holds her back, and her voice breaks. “I love you too, mommy.”

Sunset awkwardly turns away from the exchange, fidgeting her fingers together and actually noticing that yes indeed the pajamas were probably a bit too small for her. In fact they felt so tight around the armpits that she imagined that these were probably from Rainbow’s childhood and she just never really sorted through any of her clothes. Despite her proclivity for not wearing many clothes normally, whether back in Equestria or alone in her apartment, this felt somehow… lewd. At least the shirts weren’t too ridiculously tight, she reasoned.

“I wanna go see Fluttershy tomorrow,” Rainbow eventually murmurs. “Do you need the car?”

“Are you going to be staying the night?”

“I… maybe.”

“Actually, I can get groceries Monday, it’s fine. You probably need her more than I need more dumplings.” She pulls away and looks up at her slightly-taller-than-her daughter. “Do you want a pasta and potato sandwich?”

“On sourdough?”

Windy pats Rainbow’s cheek. “Comin’ right up. And, Sun-“ she freezes on the spot. “What… the hell… are you wearing?”

Sunset gave her a sheepish smile. “I think these pajamas are slightly too small on me.”

“Honey, you look like you’re about to explode right out of that,” she says, reaching forward and taking Sunset by the hand. “Here, I’ll let you wear a pair of mine. They’re probably a lot more suited to you in the, ah, the chest department.”

As Rainbow watches her mom kidnap her friend- for her own good, sure, but kidnapping it was regardless- she reaches for Sunset’s pills. She opens the cap and pulls one out, but she stops as she looks inside. It was a fresh bottle, still having the cotton ball at the top. She finds her eyes glued to the caplets. In her mind’s eye she can see herself pouring them right down her throat, sprinting to the bathroom and locking the door. She blinks away the horrible vision and screws the cap back on, visibly shaken. She sets the bottle back down and looks at the two little white ovals sitting in her palm. She closes her hand over them.

“I can do this…” she whispers to herself. “For Sunset.”

She leaves for the kitchen and grabs a glass, filling it with water. She brings it back just in time for Sunset to exit the master bedroom in a button-up top that actually fits her. This one is a dark maroon, with a plaid design.

“This feels really nice too, thanks Windy.”

“Oh of course, any time.” She turns to face Rainbow. “Dear, I think maybe next time you offer pajamas to your lady friends, you should make sure that you aren’t giving them clothes from the little boys section. Especially when they’re more, shall I say. Gifted, than you are in… some departments.”

“Little… boys?” Rainbow asks, blinking.

“You have a tiny tiny body dear. You’re tall but you’re very thin. Especially the torso. And the chest. You can wear the clothes from the youth section. And this,” she says, presenting the red top. “Is from the youth section. Not the Adult Women section.”

Rainbow shrugs. “My bad. I didn’t know. Sorry Suns.”

“Like I said,” Sunset replies, shrugging. “It’s fine. It wasn’t uncomfortable. If anything you’d be the one uncomfortable. Or, uh, maybe you’d be very comfortable. Your dad though…”

“Oh, he’d be super comfortable all right,” Windy teases, with an eye roll. “Right up until I smack him upside the head.”

“Dad’s not a creep.”

“I never said he’s a creep, but he is a healthy male with a healthy sex drive especially for his age-“

“Ew, MOM!”

“And Sunset is a very pretty young woman-“

“STO-OP!”

“And it would be perfectly natural for him to-“

“SHE’S LIKE FIFTEEN!”

Sunset clicks her teeth. “I mean technically right now I’m probably in my twenties, in human years.”

The two born-humans slowly turn their heads.

“Human…”

“…years?”

Sunset chuckles. “Time… feels a lot faster in the human world. By twice. Give or take. It’s really weird. Magic shit. I haven’t talked to Twilight about it yet. Or done the math. But legally speaking I’m an adult. I think. Probably.” She shrugs. “I dunno. Haven’t really worked it out yet. Not that it matters that much. Either way I’d probably be flattered. Bow seems like a nice enough guy. Of course I wouldn’t wanna get in the way of- you know what maybe I should just stop talking right now.”

Rainbow shakes her head, letting out a quiet chuckle and holding out the pills and the water. “Yeah, please don’t talk about fucking my dad.”

“I’m not gonna-“ Sunset takes the glass and pops the pills, washing them down. “Come on to your dad. That would be weird. He reminds me too much of my dad.” She sets the half-empty glass on the nightstand. “And besides, that doesn’t matter anyway because now I’m wearing a shirt that actually fits me. Y’know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you did that on purpose.”

“Oh please,” Rainbow jokes. “I’m not crafty enough to plan that out.”

Windy presses her fingers together. “So,” she begins to say in an uncharacteristically awkward tone. “Rain-“

“I’m not gonna fuck Sunset, mom.”

“Okay, I just wanted to let you know that, if you are becoming… you know… sexually active-“

“Oh my god.”

“Hey, who’s the doctor here?”

“Dad literally said those exact same words in exactly the same way earlier, why do both of you think…” she sighs. “I will get STD screenings if and when I become sexually active.”

“Good girl.” She points two fingers at Sunset. “And the same goes for you. Please get screened if and when you get to the point in your life where you start having sex.”

“Ehe… uh…” Sunset offers a sheepish grin. “Too late?”

Windy pinches the bridge of her nose. “Please tell me you at the very least used protection.”

Sunset remains suspiciously silent.

Rainbow then gently begins to push her mother out the door. “Sunset’s a grownup in Equestria, it’s fiiiine…”

“Just be safe,” she says before stepping out of her own volition. “I care about you, Sunset. You’re a good kid. I just don’t wanna see you get hurt again. Do you want a sandwich too?”

“I’m good,” Sunset says, sitting down. “I’m. Getting real tired. I think I might fall asleep before it’s finished anyway. But thank you. Not just for the food. But for being such a gracious host. And for caring for my wounds. And for… just. For being so kind to me. Nobody has been this hospitable to me since…” she blinks away some wetness from her eyes. “Since Princess Celestia. I appreciate this so, so much.”

“Of course.” Windy nods to Rainbow. “I’ll be right back.”

And with that she walks away.

A few moments of silence pass before Rainbow drapes an arm over Sunset. “Princess Celestia?”

Sunset clumsily wipes at her eyes with her knuckles. “Yeah. Um. Look, I haven’t told anyone else this before. But, um. Well, I grew up in the slums of Canterlot. Regular street rat. My parents died when I was a kid, so I was on my own. I was okay because my magic was really powerful and I used it to stay alive. To steal food. To stay warm. To fight off the stallions who preyed on lost and lonely little foals. Until one day I made a bigger explosion than I’d meant to, and it got the attention of the guards. The Princess came and… I don’t know why. If she saw potential in me, or wanted to protect collateral damage, or if she just took pity on that dirty little filly cowering in an alley, or whatever. Regardless, she gave me a place to stay. So I would live in the Lunar suite. She made me breakfast once, pancakes with silly little faces drawn on them with the fruit. I told her I was allergic to wheat. I wasn’t. I just didn’t want her to treat me like a child. Even though I was one. Eventually she enrolled me in the School for Gifted Unicorns. I ended up top of my class. And eventually I set my sights on the throne. On conquest. I wanted to control everyone. To make it so that the disgusting depths of society were no more. I wanted to fix it all. But I also wanted me to be on top of it. To be not just Princess, but the Queen. I would do anything to rule Equestria. I saw Celestia as a stepping stone to further my own agenda. But I didn’t realize until after I betrayed her that I also saw her as my only friend. I miss her so much…”

When she is finished with her story, she finds herself laying down, her head too heavy to lift. But she continues further on a tangent, her words now slurring together.

“I hurt her so bad. She was the only mare in my life who ever treated me good, and I threw her away. But I don’t wanna throw away your mom.” She slowly reaches a hand out and snakes it together in Rainbow’s. “And I don’t wanna throw away you. You’re a good friend. Thank you for taking such good care of me today. I really appreciate it.”

Rainbow pats their hands.

“Good night Sunset,” she whispers. “I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

“Thanks… Dashie…” Sunset’s head rolls to the side as she finally passes out.

As Rainbow watches the peaceful rise and fall of her chest, she clenches her free fist and allows herself a few more tears.

But this time, they aren’t for herself.

/x/x/x/
> 13- The Eye of the Storm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

/x/x/x/

Scootaloo glares at the twin devices sitting before her.

One bears a missed call from Rainbow Dash. The other holds one text from Rarity. ‘Rainbow called me,’ it says, ‘Sunset is at her house right now so she must have had someone else make that post. I am so sorry to hear that your relationship with her has been damaged. Let’s try to forget about the hardships tomorrow and just enjoy ourselves, okay?’

“Of all the rotten luck…” she grumbles.

“You should have made sure Sunset wasn’t in Rainbow’s house,” Sweetie Belle spits. She is sitting with her knees tucked to her chest, clad in a lavender towel-robe. Her hair sits wrapped in a second white one. “Let alone her bedroom. Or her bed.”

“Well it’s too late now.” She falls backwards, landing her head on the pillow. “Now we’re probably fucked.”

Belle does not answer immediately. She merely glowers in silence, leering at the phones as well.

“We?” She eventually asks.

Scoot turns her head. “Well, yeah. We. As a team. Are fucked now. I’ll have to find a way to spin this, maybe find a way to explain it away. To say she was blackmailing one of us into posting while she was under deep cover. It probably has to be you since she wouldn’t be blackmailing me and also following me around town. So I’m gonna need to teach you how to use my lockpicks. And I need to figure out a way for you to have known Rainbow was gay-“

“You’re having ME post that!?” Belle snaps, incredulous.

“Well, it has to be you. because Bloom’s out of the picture. I mean come on. What do you want from me?”

“I want you to not saddle me with more things to keep track of,” Belle whines, burying her face back in her knees. “It’s already way too confusing. And Bloom hates me because I’m the one who messed with her email. It isn’t fair to just keep throwing everything onto me like this.”

“It’s just one more thing. It’s not a big deal-“

“Don’t tell me what is or is not a big deal!” She grabs Sunset’s phone and begins to motion wildly with it as she punctuates her speech. “You made me look through my sister’s friggin underwear photos. You made me steal Rainbow’s progress report. You made me hack my best friend’s email account. You made me do all of these things that I only did because you swore that it couldn’t be you. And now you want to make me take the blame for outing somebody? That’s not fair. What if someone outed me? Outed us? Mom and dad would kick both of us out of this house.”

“Everyone could already tell Rainbow was gay. But you and I don’t have rainbow colored hair. You and I don’t have the side of our heads shaved. You and I aren’t blatantly obvious about it. And Rainbow’s parents are going to be fine with this. They aren’t homophobic. Half of Rainbow’s friends are gay, and the other half literally use rainbow magic. She’ll be fine. She’ll get over it. It’s not a big deal. You’re freaking out over nothing.”

“It’s not nothing. It’s a lot more than nothing, it’s a lot of things! I’m having to sacrifice a lot, and it feels like you don’t have to do any. It feels like I’m doing all of the work now-“

“You have to sacrifice a lot?” Scoot scoffs and rolls her eyes. “You’re still best friends with Rarity. Rainbow told me that I’m dead to her. You stayed here all day watching tv with YOUR sister, meanwhile I had to go out in the freezing cold and break the law breaking into her apartment, which smells absolutely disgusting by the way, and take the phone.”

“Okay, yeah, but-“

“I’m sorry that I had to be the one to go do the leg work, I’m sorry that I’m asking you for the monumental Herculean task that is to just be quiet and let me do the planning, and I’m SO sorry that MY trauma is mildly inconveniencing you... and…” She looks down and takes a deep breath. “Look. I really am sorry that you’re suffering. But I physically can’t handle any more. I only trust you with this because I know that you’re strong. Stronger than me...” She looks up through her bangs. “I’m sorry that my mental health is a mess, and that it’s bringing you down too. I don’t want you to have to do all of this. And if it weren’t for Bloom, you wouldn’t be. But right now we both have to work together to get through this.”

Belle bites her lip. “I know. I just want you to stop being so mean to me.”

“Alright… I’m sorry I was mean.”

“I don’t want you to apologize for it. You apologized enough earlier. But all the trauma and stuff isn’t an excuse to lash out at me with no consequences. You need to change your behavior. Otherwise a promise is just empty words.”

“Alright. I’ll try to be better in the future.”

Belle huffs. “You’ll try?”

“I will be better in the future, starting now. Better?”

She turns and gives the faintest hint of a smile. “It’s a start.” She turns and leans in closer. “And... I’m sorry too. I guess I was just being selfish. I glossed over the fact that you did go out and do a bunch of hard work. And that Rainbow doesn’t wanna associate with you at all anymore.”

“It’s fine. She’ll get over it. We just need to work harder to get them to think that Sunset is still the one doing it. It’s not like she has proof or anything,” Scoot says, sliding her fingers over Sunset’s phone. “She doesn’t know for sure. She just made a deduction that happened to be correct. But it won’t be the truth for much longer. We have the tech. We have the control. And we will decide what history will be remembered as. We will turn the truth into whatever we want. And as long as Rainbow doesn’t know for certain that I have the phone, we still have an out. We can still come out the other side better for it.”

Belle freezes and relinquishes her grip. “What about Bloom?”

Scoot’s face falls. “Well…” she bites her lip. “I guess that she eventually is gonna have to either choose to quit being friends with us forever, or just shut up and go along with the lie and pretend that she didn’t completely dick me over. I’m sure that she’s gonna pick the second one. Out of the two of you she is definitely the most impressionable. The easiest to coerce. It was really easy to get her to manage the account by telling her that she’s the one who made it in the first place so it’s all her responsibility if you think about it. Honestly, the fact that she’s mad at you for taking back control of it is pathetic and childish. She was so hell bent on getting revenge on Sunset first, and she had the gall to whine because she saw a consequence to her own action? Please. But whatever. I can postpone my friendship with her for a little bit as long as in the end Sunset gets hers…” She looks up to find Belle staring off into space, a puzzled look on her face. “Hey, uh. What’s up?”

“If you had to choose between getting your revenge and keeping your friendship with me,” she tentatively asks, refusing to make eye contact. “Which one would you choose?”

Scoot slowly slides her legs off the bed.

“Are you gonna make me choose?” She asks, voice cool and sharp as a razor to the skin.

“No.” She says. “But you might have to.”

“I don’t see why I can’t have both, unless you suddenly wanna start pretending to care about that manipulative sociopathic egotistical bitch.”

Belle stands up.

“You know, she never used sexuality or gender or whatever as a weapon. Not once. Not ever. Nobody at CHS ever did. Ever. At least not from what I can remember. Maybe they did over at Crystal Prep, but never here. Sunset never stooped that low. She played us against each other for our actions, not for who we were. And nobody has ever killed themselves either. You’ve broken one of those records, and you’ve almost broken both of them now. You’re becoming worse than she ever was.”

She turns and looks Scoot dead in the eye.

“I won’t help you hurt Sunset anymore. Not after this.”

“So that’s it?” Scoot growls. “You’re giving up on this? On me? After everything we talked about earlier? That’s bullshit. If you really were my friend, and if you really loved me, then you would stay by my side through this and not abandon me!”

“It’s not about love, Scoots!” Belle puts her head in her hands. “I don’t even know who you are anymore! This is turning you into a monster. I’m not going to stop you, and I’m not going to lock you out of the account. And I will love and support you through the personal stuff. But I am not going to go any further on this path you’ve chosen, waging this digital war with our friends and family as collateral casualties. I am not going to take any more blame for this. I can’t handle any more guilt. I can’t handle hurting anyone else. But what I can’t handle most of all is hearing you talk so dismissively about Applebloom. We were both friends before we ever even met you, and now she’s out of my life because of you. You want Sunset dead so badly and it’s because she’s evil, she’s manipulative, she’s a sociopath, she’s egotistical, she’s a bitch. But you’re fighting fire with fire. You’re being just as evil if not worse! You’re manipulating me, and you’re talking about Bloom like she’s a bad dog, and you’re acting without any care for Rainbow’s feelings, and worst of all you’re being a huge hypocrite.”

“Hypocrite?”

“I get that your mom dying was traumatizing, especially seeing it happen right in front of you. But her mom died too, and she almost saw Sunset kill herself right in front of her. Maybe she wasn’t abused by her dad like you were, and maybe she didn’t have to deal with the foster care system, and maybe she didn’t have nearly as rough a life as you have. But you’re ignoring the fact that she has it rough too. You’re ignoring the fact that maybe she isn’t as strong as you are, and that maybe she can’t handle watching someone die when she doesn’t have a good reason for it. Not like you. I don’t blame her for one second for coming clean for her part! And you’re acting like it’s the biggest betrayal in the world.”

“Because it IS a betrayal!” She hisses, crawling over the bed. “She ratted us out. And she’s doing it for personal gain. To make her grounding less bad. To ease her conscience. She didn’t help one single person besides herself when she went and blabbed to Applejack.”

Belle clenches her fists. “She helped Sunset.”

“I don’t fucking care about Sunset.”

“Yeah. I know. She knows. We all know. Everybody knows. You care so little about Sunset that you’re willing to hurt all of your friends to take her down.”

“I wouldn’t have to do any of this if she would just fucking kill herself already!”

“Why are you so obsessed with her being dead? Don’t you think that weeks of loneliness and pain is more than enough retribution? You’ve already scarred her both mentally and physically, and she’s still cut off from Rarity. Why can’t that be enough for you?”

“Because my pain didn’t last just a month. It’s lasted years. And it will last for the rest of my life.”

Belle sits on the bed’s edge and stares at the floor. “And don’t you think that if you make her kill herself, you’re gonna carry that weight too? Not just your mom, and not just Sunset, but all of the people you hurt along the way. Bloom. Rarity. Me. And now Rainbow. And every single person whose secrets Anon-a-Miss spilled. You’ve already caused everyone else so much heartache and stress, and now you’ve gone too far. I’ve been thinking ever since we were at Fluttershy’s apartment that maybe we’d gone too far already, but now I’m sure of it. And that’s why I can’t do it any more.”

Scoot remains silent.

“I love you,” Belle whispers. “You mean so much to me, and that’s why I can’t help you sacrifice your own morality. I love the person you were before all of this drama, but this person you’re becoming? I don’t love her. I’m coming very close to hating her. And I don’t want to hate you. There’s already so much hate in my life from everyone except for you, that it would ruin me forever if I lost you too.”

“Fine.” Scoot stands, grabbing her phone and Sunset’s. “I’ll do it myself. Since it apparently hurts you so fucking bad. Never mind what I want. Never mind what I need. Never mind…” she stifles a sob. “I just wanna avenge my mom.”

“Sunset didn’t drive the truck.”

“But Sunset watched it happen!”

“Do you want to avenge her,” Belle asks, a single tear falling down her cheek. “Or do you just want to hurt someone else the way you’ve been hurt? I don’t think that your mom would want you to-“

Scoot smacks her, a sudden burst of lightning flashing in her eyes. “Don’t tell me what MY mom-“

Belle immediately slaps her right back with the force of a freight train for all Scootaloo could tell, sending her sprawling to the floor. “Don’t you dare hit me, ever,” she warns. “After everything I’ve done for you, you don’t get to put your hands on me like that, you… you jerk! I invited you into my house, into my bedroom, into my bed. I begged and pleaded and did so many extra chores to get my parents to take you in, I have shared every single thing I’ve ever owned with you, and I did most of your dirty work for Anon-a-Miss.”

Belle leans in closely to Scoot’s cowering form and whispers, her teeth grit and her eyes wet.

“You. Don’t. Hit. Me. Period.”

“I’m sorry-“

“Yes, Scoots! You should be sorry! What the frick is wrong with you?” Belle readjusts her head towel before rubbing her sore palm. “Whatever your problem is, it better be gone tomorrow. Because I refuse to be abused by you. That is unacceptable.”

Scoot lets out a full wet sob, which is followed by many more as somewhere in her subconscious a dam breaks.

“I didn’t mean to hit you…” she says between breaths. “I swear I didn’t mean to do that! I would never hit you! I just…” she puts her hands over her eyes as she frantically tries to bring her breathing back under control. “I’m so sorry…”

Belle crosses her arms and turns away.

“If you ever do that to me again,” she warns. “I will tell my parents. I will tell Rarity. I will tell Applebloom. I will tell Rainbow Dash. I will tell everyone. Don’t… don’t EVER hit me again.” She sighs. “I’m sorry I hit you back. And so hard. Are you okay?”

Scoot dares to look up at her, her hands shaking. Her throat tightens, her stomach churns, and nausea permeates her body. She can smell copper.

“Oh, your nose is bleeding,” Belle groans, grabbing a few tissues from the nightstand. “I must have got you right in it. Does it hurt?”

“A… a little…” she braces her hands on the ground as she allows her friend to dab at her face. She tries to pay little heed to the red dots that come away. “I swear I don’t know what that was-“

“You probably reacted to me talking about your mom,” she says, inspecting the wound. “I mean, you kinda just glanced off my forehead. It’s like your hand just did it by itself. You didn’t do it to hurt me. But, you still did it.” She grimaces. “I aimed for your cheek. I must have missed it. It doesn’t look broken or anything.”

“Is it still bleeding?“

“Not a lot.” Belle folds the tissues over and stands up. “I’m sorry I brought her up. But you know why I did, right?”

Scoot nods, her body numb. “Yeah…” she murmurs, rubbing her shoulder. “I mean. You have a point anyway… until you said that, I never really thought about how, like. If there is a god and stuff. And if heaven is real. That…  maybe there’s a chance that I’ll get to see her again. But only if I go to heaven too.” She looks down into her palms. “But if heaven is real, then maybe hell is too. And if I get my revenge on Sunset. I’m probably gonna go there.”

“Scoots-“

“I don’t believe in god. I don’t believe in heaven and hell. I don’t believe in anything. So I don’t think mom is anywhere, watching me. She’s just… gone. All I have of her left is my memories.” She closes her eyes and leans back. “Bloom doesn’t even have that. She just has pictures, and stories. I guess I saw that as… that she was lucky enough not to get too attached. She was a baby. She doesn’t remember. But I was there. I saw it happen. I saw everything.”

Belle takes a seat next to her, but says nothing.

“I saw it crush her. One second she was sitting there, and the truck was behind the glass. Then the glass broke, and I closed my eyes for a second. It felt like I was flying for one moment, and then I slammed into the door. The door slammed into me. The lamppost hit between the glove box and the seat, and it pinned my legs together against the, uh, the middle part. Doctors said I was lucky that it didn’t hit me directly. Lucky. Right. And when I looked up, I saw… I saw…”

“You don’t have to say anything,” Belle soothes, reaching over to grab her hand. “You don’t have to relive that again. I get it. I know you didn’t try to hurt me on purpose. I know you just don’t want anyone else to talk about your mom. You need to get therapy. That’s why I’m not stopping you from keeping the blog going. That’s why I’m not telling on you right now. That’s why I don’t have a grudge against you, why I’m not scared of you, and why I still want to be here for you. You need support for the time that you don’t have any. Because that was a very traumatizing experience. It doesn’t excuse anything that you did to me, or to Rainbow, or to Rarity, or even to Sunset. But I can understand why you’re doing it. You need someone to be punished for a senseless tragedy.”

“Sunset caused it,” Scoot murmurs. “But I mean. I guess you do have a point. I was alone for so long before I met you girls. And now Sunset knows what it’s like. To lose someone you love. And it’s worse… mom would still love me if she was still here. But everyone hated Sunset. Some of them still do. And I tried to kill myself before too. I didn’t lie about that. So now I know that she knows what it was like, to be me. But even then, she still bullied me when I was going through the pain.” she softly groans. “But I’m still alive. And I’m in a better place now. Maybe I… maybe I fucked up. Maybe you’re right. Maybe I went too far. Maybe…”

Belle hugs her. “Maybe?”

“Maybe I need to tell the truth.” She pulls out her own phone. “About a lot of things.”

“Really?”

“I do need help. I just could never get it. Dad stopped paying for my insurance. So I don’t have any. I can’t get help. Not right now. But I know I need it. I thought I could deal with it alone, and just pretend everything is okay. I mean, yeah I have ptsd and panic attacks, but those are still manageable. Those only hurt me. But now, I’m… I’m hurting the ones I love. And I don’t just mean with rumors. I hit you. And…” she begins to tremble. “I outed Rainbow. Why the fuck did I do that? To hurt Sunset? How is that gonna hurt Sunset? And now she’s out of my life forever…”

Belle holds her tighter. “Maybe we could get my parents to adopt you or something? Add you as a dependent.”

“I don’t think I could date my sister. Even if she’s adopted. It’s still gross.”

“I think it’s kinda hot.”

“Ew!” the two share a laugh at the joke, before melancholy silence fills the room again.

“Would you really ask them to do that for me?”

“Of course. I love you; you’re like a sister to me…” she grimaces. “Although, maybe not, because we’ve kissed and stuff.”

Scoot sets her jaw. “I mean. We could always temporarily break up.”

“Huh?”

“Just for a little while. I’d rather have you in my life as my friend than not at all. Plus, I mean. It’s illegal anyway since neither of us are the age of consent yet.”

Belle whines. “But…”

“It’s not forever. It’s just… if we break up, and your parents adopt me, and we’re sisters for as long as I get the therapy and the help that I need, and then when I’m healthy enough to not do shit like hit you, then we can get back together again.” Scoot leans over to kiss her forehead. “I swear, waiting for you would be worth it.”

Belle leans in closer. “Well…” she murmurs, reaching for her hair.

“I’ll probably have to come clean to everyone,” Scoot continues. “Tell the truth. Figure out how to do it. It’s gonna suck but I’ve made too many mistakes along the way and it’s honestly shocking that it hasn’t fallen apart yet. It would be so much better if I do it on my own terms. And, maybe I can try to figure out a way to put the blame on someone else. Maybe on Diamond Tiara and Silver Spo…” she sighs. “No. God, I don’t even know. I don’t wanna do it right now.”

“You don’t have to do anything right now, I don’t think,” Belle placates, distracted. “At least not right this moment. Sunset is safe with Rainbow. Nobody’s in any immediate danger. Rarity is upset still but she’s being civil. You can probably wait until at least after we go to the mall. You should have one last good experience with Rarity in case everything blows up. And I want one too, since she’s gonna find out that I copied her pictures. It might be a good idea to wait until tomorrow at the least to do it.”

Scoot groans. “It would’ve been so much more easy if Sunset just…” she stops in her tracks. “No. No, I…” she sighs. “Yeah. I need, like. So many pills. Or something. Sunset never killed anyone. Except my mom. But even then… I’ve never tried to get revenge on the guy driving the truck. I mean, he ran out and he called the cops on his cell, and at the trial they found that the brakes just failed. It really was an accident. But, he still helped me. He still stuck around. And, I guess that’s why I hated Sunset. I couldn’t blame the driver, and I couldn’t blame god, so I guess I just had to blame Sunset. Maybe you’re right about needing someone to suffer. And Sunset was already so terrible to all of us for so long. I guess I just forgot that deep down, she’s human too. Or, uh, a unicorn, I guess.”

Belle pats her hand. “We don’t have to worry about anything at the moment. Right now, we should just get some sleep, and we can do the thinking about telling the truth tomorrow. And we have another week of winter break, since the high school starts up again a week earlier. So we can spend that week trying to make reparations.”

“Repa… what? I don’t know what that means, dork-tionary.”

“Fixing stuff. Really, you’ve never heard the word reparation before?”

“I don’t know why you need a big fancy word for fixing stuff when you can just say that.”

“Expanding your vocabulary isn’t the worst thing in the world,” Belle chides, bumping their foreheads together. “Well now you know for the future.”

“I have already forgotten what the word was.”

“Oh, whatever…” she rests her head in the crook of Scoot’s neck. “Do you really mean it when you say you wanna tell the truth now?”

“Well…” she sighs. “Look, um. There’s a few things I should probably tell you. A few things I’ve lied to you about. And I don’t just mean a long time ago. I mean today. Earlier. I said that my dad… you know. Raped me. And… he didn’t.”

Belle sits a little straighter. “Then why…?”

“To get you off my back and let me plow ahead with Sunset’s phone.” She swipes at the device in question, turning on the backlight and revealing the lock screen. “I mean he was still abusive. He still hit me. And he would forget to buy food, just beer. And he was always too drunk to drive me anywhere that I needed to go. But he never did… that… to me. At least not that I can remember. I don’t think I repressed it. If I was gonna repress something it woulda been the crash.”

“So you lied about being raped?”

“Yeah… not my proudest moment.”

Belle stands fully up. “You lied about being raped. To manipulate me. Is that what you’re saying?”

“I mean, yeah. That’s what I’m saying. Coming clean about lies-“

“That’s disgusting,” Belle snipes, backing into the wall. “That’s so gross.”

“Belle-“

“No, that’s…” she presses a hand to her mouth. “No.”

Scootaloo rolls her eyes. “I’m trying to apologize here.”

“I’m sick of your apologies. They don’t mean anything.”

“Okay, in the three apologies I’ve had tonight, I’ve done nothing bad worth getting mad at me about. I deserve better than to be glared at like I kicked your fucking dog.”

“The first apology wasn’t earned, because you lied to me about your dad raping you, just to get me to shut up and back off so you could out Rainbow. That’s your problem. You keep just doing things and hoping that your ends will justify your means and hoping I’ll forget about all of the terrible things you’ve done to me and the people I care about and just be your shadow. You don’t think about the consequences of your actions, and you treat people like pawns in chess. You’re so much worse than Sunset, it’s…” She puts her head into her hands. “It’s too much.”

“Belle,” she says, reaching out. But as her hand makes contact, she violently tears away.

“Don’t touch me.”

“Why are you being like this? A minute ago you were fine!”

“A minute ago I didn’t know you were the kind of person to lie about that. What else are you lying about? How can I trust you anymore after this?”

“That was it!”

“How can I be sure?”

“I-“ Scootaloo sputters as she tries to find words.

“That’s too much all at once. I can’t even look at you right now!”

“I didn’t even do anything that bad-“

“Not individually. Everything you did has a perfect excuse. But the fact that all of it happened in such short notice of each other says more than enough about what kind of a person you are right now. And together it all makes me not care about the excuses.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? You’re turning on me for trying to be better? What the hell is wrong with you!?”

“I’m not turning on you. I’m telling you that I’m disappointed in you. And…” she sniffles before wiping at her eyes. “I’m breaking up with you.”

“No you’re not-“

“You are sick. Sick in the head. And you need some serious professional help. And until you get that, I cannot let myself be in a relationship with you. When you’re physically abusive, and emotionally manipulative, and a pathological liar… this is not healthy for me. I don’t deserve this.”

“Don’t abandon me.”

Belle shakes her head. “I’ll still be your friend. Your sister. But not your girlfriend. I’m not abandoning you. I’m just looking out for my own best interest, and for yours too.”

Scoot rushes to her side and pins her shoulders to the wall.

“Loving you IS my best interest.”

Belle gently rests her hands on Scootaloo’s wrists. “This was your idea. You said that waiting for me would be worth it. Now… you crossed a lot of lines today. But not all of them. Please don’t cross the last line. Please don’t ruin our friendship. You still have time to make up for all of the bad that you’ve done. Nothing you’ve done so far can’t still be fixed.”

Scoot’s fists tremble for a few moments as she considers her options. She eventually sighs and drops her hands.

“Okay.”

Belle presses her hands to the knot in the towel. “Okay?”

“We’ll break up. Temporarily. Okay? Temporary?”

“Temporary.”

Scoot sighs. “Can I just ask one favor?”

“What do you want?”

“Can we just have one more night as a couple?” She whispers. “One last evening together before we take a break. Something to look forward to. Something to remember you by?”

Belle nods. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“But-“

“I. Don’t. Want. To.” She adopts a firm stance. “Respect. My. Boundaries.”

Scoot turns away and wipes the tears from her cheeks. “Fine.”

“I know you’re upset. But you cannot take that out on me. I am not your emotional punching bag. And I’m not your personal sex… factory. “

“F…factory?”

“You know what I mean! I don’t owe you my body, or my attention, or my romantic predilections. And until you stop being so, so… I don’t wanna say demented. But… Until you stop, with all of this everything that this is, then all we are is friends who might soon become adopted sisters. Okay?”

She huffs. “It’s better than nothing.”

“Alright.” She glances at the bed, and then at the master bath. “My hair’s dry by now. I’m gonna go get dressed. Is there anything else you need to tell me before we try to put all of this behind us?”

“No. That’s it.”

“Good.” Belle rifles in the nearby dresser for a pair of pajamas before heading into the side room. “Let’s try to have a good day tomorrow with Rarity, okay?”

“Sure.” Scoot flings herself loosely onto the bed and starts to scroll through MyStable. She winces as nearly every single post has something to do with Rainbow Dash. Eventually she just exits the app, her stomach queasy, and stares at the ceiling until Belle returns.

“You’re showering in the morning?” Belle asks.

“Yeah.” She sets her phone on the side table and slides under the covers before turning her lamp off, blanketing the left half of the room in darkened moonlight.

“Things will be better tomorrow.”

“Right…” she puts her pillow over head and tries to block out the rest of the world, to no avail.

Unremembered dreams follow her into a restless slumber.

/x/x/x/

Sunset opens her eyes to see a sea of empty white.

She cranes her neck to look around but finds that she cannot do so. No signal to move any part of her body manages to bear any fruit. Panic is the first place her instincts take her, but it does not take root. A quietly pleasant high fills every bit of her body that she is conscious of.

“Hello?” She asks.

A ripple in the fabric of this reality shimmers, and a curtain opens up. Navy blue shadows spill out of it, and a doorway appears.

Sunset falls to her hooves, and can now see and feel her legs. She takes a few tentative steps towards the entrance, but stops as she sees a pair of glowing eyes in the darkness.

“Where am I?” She asks.

A tall unicorn strides into the pale, an alicorn to be more exact. This doesn’t seem to be Twilight, and it definitely isn’t Celestia. Dark blues, purples, and black radiates from her body the way that pink, green, and light blue shone from Celestia.

“Are you Luna?” Sunset asks.

“You must be Sunset Shimmer,” she greets without moving her mouth. Telepathy. “We have heard a great deal about you from our sister.”

“We?”

A sad smile creeps across Luna’s face. “Forgive us our usage of Olde Ponish pronouns. It was commonplace a thousand and some odd years ago. Old habits die hard, we are afraid.”

Sunset falls to her haunches. “You’re one for three, Princess.”

“You really are feisty…” Luna circles around Sunset. “You are correct in ascertaining our identity. As for the location, this is a subsidiary branch of limbo. Your consciousness has been denied its ability to dream for a short time. Perhaps you have taken a medication from your world?”

“Yeah, I had two pills that were supposed to help me not dream.”

“Why have you elected to reject your dreams?”

“Because they’re all nightmares.” Sunset glances down at her forelegs, then does a double take as she inspects the silvery marks. “Huh, my scars are on my unicorn body too?”

“What nightmares have you had, may we ask?”

Sunset shrugs. “Being abandoned by my friends. Reliving the last moments of my relationship with Celestia. Killing myself. All that fun stuff.”

Luna nods. “A perfectly reasonable explanation.”

“Is there a point to this interrogation?”

“You showed up here unannounced. The point seems to be one that you decide upon yourself. We are simply investigating that which should not exist in our own reality.”

Sunset glances at the doorway. “Where’s that?”

“That is the tantabus.”

“The what?”

“It is of no consequence to you.”

“Alright.”

“You and I share a kinship,” Luna says, staring wistfully into the distance. “Twilight Sparkle has redeemed us both.”

“Oh yeah, she did mention something about that.” Sunset shrugs. “We should start a book club.”

“Book… club?”

“It was a joke. Look, Princess Luna-“

“Please, in dreams we are not the Princess.”

“Luna. Our conversation has been scintillating and robust, but I really just wanna go to sleep so I can wake up in the morning. Do you mind if I ask how I… get out of here?”

“You wake up.”

“And how long is that going to be?”

“There is a time dilation between your world and ours. Roughly speaking, it is approximately nine cycles to five. Therefore, if your body is to sleep for nine hours, we suspect you will remain here for five hours.”

“Great.” Sunset taps the ground. “You got any books or something?”

“Twilight Sparkle cares deeply for you.”

“Yeah. Is this going somewhere?”

“My sister also cares deeply for you. Despite all the harm you have done to her. She still looks upon you in a favorable light. A light that has kindled with news of your newfound exploits with friendship.”

“We gonna do something besides rub dirt in my wounds?”

“We do not wish to dredge up bitter and painful memories. If anything we wish to congratulate you on overcoming the thirst for power. And… to offer a warning.”

“Oh man, I was hoping for a surprise party. Wait, unless the warning is that cake and balloons are in my near future!?”

Luna sets a hoof on Sunset’s shoulder. “Great power is a gift that has been bestowed upon both of us. Power that both of us have abused with reckless wanton. And it is only through friendship that we both have been saved from the depths of loneliness and despair welcomed by our hubris and avarice. What little I know of your situation by way of Twilight Sparkle does not seem to be the most jovial of times. For that you have our apologies. You do not deserve the mistreatment you have received.”

“Well thanks. I do appreciate that.”

Luna pulls away and walks out a few steps.

“Soon may come a time where you are presented with the opportunity to have vengeance over those who have wronged you. You must promise us that you will not fall to something as petty as revenge.”

“I think I deserve a little bit of revenge. As a treat.”

“I thought the same once. My treat earned me the prison sentence of the millennium.”

“Jeez, you gotta make it so dramatic…”

“We feel you are not taking this with the seriousness it is intended to be given.”

“Look, Luna, it’s been a long day. A long week. A long month. A long life. I had shitty sleep last night. I had shitty sleep the night before. I’m tired as fuck and I just want to close my eyes and pass out for a little while. I don’t have the energy to care about dark omens of fate and destiny and all that other crap. If I promise you that I won’t get revenge on that bitch that very nearly killed me, can I be left to my own devices for a little bit before my body wakes up?”

“We only hope you will consider an alternative if the time ever does come when you are presented with the opportunity to tip the scales of justice in your favour.” Luna glances at the door which makes a very agitated sound. “We are needed elsewhere,” she says, looking back to Sunset. “When we leave we will seal the exit. You will be safe.”

“Cool. Thanks Luna… you, uh. You sure you don’t have a book or something?”

A swirl of smoke solidifies into a rectangular prism and lands at Sunset’s hooves.

“Here,” Luna says as she walks away. “This is a story that a friend of Twilight Sparkle’s has… strongly encouraged us to read ourselves. We hope it may pass the time quicker for you. And we hope you will take our advice.”

“Yeah, revenge is bad. Got it.” Sunset inspects the cover more carefully. “Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone? Huh. Could be interesting. Thanks Lu- aaaaand you’re gone already.”

She squats down and grabs at the book with her hooves for a minute before freezing in place, slowly shaking her head, and opting to use her magic instead.

“Crazy-ass anti-dreaming pills…” she murmurs to herself as she settles in to read.

/x/x/x/
> 14a- Dawn of the Penultimate Day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

/x/x/x/

Flash hovers his thumb over the trash can icon on his phone. The image of him taking a selfie of himself and That Bitch shines on the screen. He remains motionless until the traffic light turns green, and he returns his focus to the road. He drives another block before stopping at a red light and looking back at the photo. He wrestles with his anger and the bitter melancholy for a long time as the pattern repeats for the next few minutes until finally he reaches the parking lot of his destination.

He swipes over to the MyStable app to check in on his charges. Like he thought, there had yet to be any activity from any of the concerned parties. Well, that is, aside from the absolute shitstorm on Rainbow Dash’s page. The news had sparked in a few hours but overnight it became a raging inferno. Flash didn’t consider himself to be a particularly close friend of Rainbow, but he had a cordial relationship with her both inside and outside of school. What Sunset had done to her set chills through his bones, and brought bile to his throat. But it only serves to strengthen his resolve to help Rarity put an end to the reign of terror once and for all.

If only he could actually find the evidence they needed first.

He turns his attention back to his photo library, rubbing his thumb on the vestiges of adhesive where a phoenix-shaped sticker once rested. He reminisces about the context.

Sunset had bought him a new phone for his birthday, the phone he was holding today. Naturally the first thing he did was attempt to capture a Lock Screen, so he put his arm around her shoulder and took the photo. She had a look of confusion and discomfort on her face that he never noticed until long after they were no longer together anymore. He had gone on a warpath of deleting every last remnant of her existence from his life after they’d broken up, and every single photo he ever took that she had any part of had long since been deleted. All of them except for this one.

He had no attachment to this photo in particular. It was just two teens sitting together in his bedroom. There was nothing special about the composition. The image quality itself was fuzzy. The lighting was horrendous, the flash much too bright for far too dark a room. There wasn’t any logical or conscious reason to hold onto this memory. He’d already gotten over the breakup. In fact he’d fallen in love with someone else completely! So why, he asked himself over and over again for the last several months, did he find it so difficult to delete it?

He slams his head back against his seat, groaning in frustration. And then in pain as he quietly murmurs ‘ow’. He turns off the engine, cutting off the radio’s sad alternative rock song as well. He takes a deep breath and tries to collect some sense of optimism, as today he was going to make damn sure that something good happened. The hope works and he finally musters the courage to delete the photo. He slips his phone in his pocket before stepping out of the car and immediately into a puddle several inches deep. The inviting sunlight upon the cloudless sky happily shines down, almost as if mocking him.

Now with one foot completely wet, growing colder by the second, he ambles his way quickly to the exterior sidewalk surrounding the restaurant. Placing one arm over the window, he glances in without the glare. The building isn’t quite full, but it isn’t exactly empty either. He scans the faces of its patrons, finding none who were familiar. He can feel his heart fall as the disappointment flows through his veins, and he is about to pull away until he spies a familiar shade of navy blue somewhere near the back.

He darts to the doorway and rushes in only to bounce off and land on the ground. Luckily there was a convenient patch of snow to break his fall. Unluckily it was grey rather than white. Still, he pulls himself back to his feet and double checks the door. It said pull. He sighs and chuckles to himself as he enters the establishment proper. In an instant the scents of ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and oyster sauce saturate his nostrils, stopping him dead in his tracks for a few seconds. The saliva in his mouth reminds him of his admittedly stupid decision to skip breakfast this morning, but his feet continue to move regardless, the unpleasant squish of a wet sock notwithstanding.

His path takes him near a single table where a young woman sits, a laptop on one side of the table and a plate of rice and sauced vegetables on the other. One hand rapidly typed a smattering of words into a document, the other grabs at a plump chunk of zucchini with a pair of chopsticks. A messenger bag sits  between her feet. She wears her hair in a ponytail, somewhat ironically, and has two stripes- one pink and one violet- streaking the length. This was definitely the person he was looking for today.

He circles around the table to get a better look at her front half, and his eyebrows dart upwards. She wears a thick black framed pair of glasses at the bridge of her nose. Her fingernails are broken, bitten nubs rather than a smooth manicure. And she wears a drab gray wooly jumper over a pair of sweatpants and a pair of simple boots. And she chews her food like a normal person. This was definitely his Twilight Sparkle, for sure. But something was wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong. Still, despite every siren klaxon and warning bell going off at the back of his mind, he takes another step closer to her.

“Can I help you?” She asks without looking up, her voice dry and uninterested. She then puts a piece of broccoli in her mouth and unleashes another furious barrage of typing. After she chews and swallows, she continues. “Or are you just going to stand there in my personal space and continue to wordlessly stare at me all day?”

“Hey, Twi,” he says. “It’s me.”

She finally deigns to look up at him, but no trace of recognition crosses her face. She gives him an unimpressed frown before sighing.

“Look, I don’t know how many times I have to tell you people to send me an email if you want to arrange a follow up meeting with me. I am neck deep in a very important project about a high amount of abnormal readings of electromagnetic radiation in this area, and I don’t have time to spare your fragile little feelings by pretending to care about whatever scholarship, grant, or job opportunity you want to throw my way. If I don’t answer your email, I am not interested. Unless you’re from the President, God, or Stephen Hawking himself, I do not have the time or effort to budget for whatever it is you want from me. Now if you’ll please excuse me, I wish to enjoy my breakfast without getting stared at by some mouth breathing neanderthal. Please leave now.”

She returns her attention to her computer.

“Twi,” Flash slowly nods his head and pulls up a chair. “It’s Flash Sentry. From CHS. Please don’t act like you don’t know me. I’m sorry I never called or wrote, but in my defense you never gave me a phone number or an address or whatever. And honestly given how you used to type with your fists a few months back, I didn’t even think you’d own a computer.”

Behind him an older woman’s voice asks something in a language he doesn’t understand. “你好, Twilight, 这个男人打扰你了吗?”

Flash turns to see what seemed to be the store’s owner speaking past him.

“是的.” Twilight replied, a polite smile on her face.. “他正在经历一种错觉。他可能很危险。我会建议报警。”


“我会立即给他们打电话。你现在想吃午饭吗？”


“那是没有必要的。我宁愿现在离开。我担心我的安全受到威胁。谢谢你的报价！”


“明天见。再见！”


“再见. Flash Sentry,” Twilight now says, turning to him. “It was very nice to meet you. Unfortunately, it seems I now must leave as I have been here for too long. I would suggest that you now order something yourself. The Mongolian beef is particularly delicious. I would hate to see your venture be entirely fruitless.”

As she reaches to close the laptop, he grabs her wrist.

“Twilight, please-“

He is interrupted by her other hand in the form of a fist colliding directly with his nose, and he goes sprawling to the ground.

“Get your goddamn hands off of me you little shit,” she hisses as she shoves her laptop in her bag, shouldering the strap. “I don’t know you. You don’t know me. And even if you did know me, that does not give you the right to violate my bodily autonomy. Leave me the fuck alone.”

She approaches the counter and reaches into her pocket for her wallet, but the tall man at the register waves her off.

“You eat free today.”

“But-“

“You are our most valued customer. You keep the heat on. You deserve better. So eat free today. And please come back here tomorrow. I will make sure he is not here.”

She nods. “Okay. Thank you. I’ll be here.” She spares one last glance down at Flash, who is now sitting upright and holding several napkins to his nose. “I’m not going to press charges. But that is the extent of my mercy to men who can’t take no for an answer. I had better not see you here again.” She turns without awaiting a response and shoulders her way out the door.

Flash merely groans in frustration as he leans against the wall.

“She is out of your league,” the tall man says.

“Yeah,” he sighs. “I heard that one before.”

“The police are coming.”

“Wonderful.”

“You will remain seated until they arrive.”

“Fan freakin tastic.”

“You are the boyfriend of that vile Anon a Miss girl. She told a lie that we cook dog meat. We do not cook dog meat. We use cow, duck, pig, and shrimp. Sometimes lamb. But never dog.”

“EX boyfriend,” he corrects, checking the blood. “I want nothing to do with that evil bitch ever again.” His phone begins to ring. He pulls it out and is surprised to see none other than Sunset’s name.

“Ex boyfriend, huh?”

Flash rolls his eyes and answers. “What the hell do you want?”

His eyes widen as she replies. “Rarity?”

He sits in stunned silence listening to her speak for a long time. Several minutes pass as she sobs hysterically into the phone. Eventually she falls into a silence broken only by sniffling, before asking one final question.

“No,” he says, nodding his head as if she could see. “No activity from anyone. Fuck, man… I can’t believe she did that.”

Out the corner of his eye he sees a familiar red-and-blue-lit car pull into the parking lot.

“Look, Rare, I gotta go. My, uh. Dad needs me. But you and I are gonna sit down and we’ll figure this out, okay? Yeah. Yeah. I know. I treated her like shit too. We’ll take care of it together, okay? Okay. I’ll see you when I see you. Later.” He clicks the phone off as the officer enters the building.

“Alright,” he says, smacking at his bubble gum and cracking his knuckles. “Who’s the douchebag who’s manhandling the ladies?”

Flash raises a hand. “Hey dad.”

“Aw for chrissake,” he nods his head and removes his sunglasses. “What the hell didja do?”

“I saw someone I thought was someone else…” he opens his photos app and scrolls to the recycle bin before recovering the photo of him and Sunset. “And now I have to fix things.”

“Well whatever it is, you’re grounded for. Uh, a week.”

“Should give me plenty of time then, huh?”

“She ain’t pressing charges?”

The tall man nodded. “No officer. No charges. But she will be here tomorrow if you need to speak with her.”

“That won’t be necessary,” he says, placing a fist on the counter. “So what’s up with the kid? He not allowed back or something?”

“He is banned from the premises. Permanently.”

“Alright. Reasonable. I’ll head soon… Actually.” His eyes dart up to the menu. “Mind if I order some Mongolian beef before we go?”

As the two men discussed food, Flash gazed at his Lock Screen. At the surprised and confused deer-in-the-headlights look behind the camera flash. At the girl he spent a month hating. At the girl he spent a year loving. And within him, something warm awoke. He never stopped loving her. Not really. He just found difficulty in forgiving her for sabotaging Rarity at last year’s Fall Formal, in forgiving her for forcing him to break up with her, in almost turning evil and enslaving the entire world to go conquer the universe, in spreading everyone’s dirtiest filthiest secrets across the entire school. Except now, apparently, she didn’t do that last part at all.

And now, forgiving her for the other stuff seemed a hell of a lot easier.

Forgiving Scootaloo, on the other hand…

“Alright, stand up.”

Flash does as he is asked. “Am I going to jail?”

“No. But while I’m waiting for my food, you’re havin’ a conversation with your old man where you give me a straight answer. Lady on the phone kept speaking in some other language, I’m assuming Mandarin but it coulda been Cantonese or Taiwanese or fuckin Pig Latin for all I know. What English I got is you put your hands on the girl? What the hell is wrong with you, Flash? I thought I raised you better than that.”

Flash sighs as they sit. “I thought she was someone else. So I saw she was trying to leave, and I… grabbed her wrist. And then she knocked me on my ass.”

“Oof. Never grab an angry woman’s wrist.”

“Yeah, I know that now.”

“So how’d you confuse her for someone else? One of those weird freakass clone dealios like a few years back?”

“No, it’s more like… wait, who are you talking about?”

He shrugs. “Spear said he saw some gal at school who looked a whole lot like a girl I’d arrested. I checked out the security cams and lo and behold they looked exactly alike. Gold skin. Red and yellow hair. Blue eyes that looked like they stabbed right through your soul… eugh. Anyway, they were in two places at once, so I guess they’re either twins or clones. They ain’t twins, the one I arrested got taken by a couple o’ feds. Gave me her details. Only child, orphan, whatever. They took her away. I dunno where she went. But I saw the other one a few times. She an’ that one troublemaker, uh, G something, got in it big for arson. Anyway, is this like that? Weird clones?”

Flash purses his lips in thought. “I guess so.”

“Alright, you got plausible deniability. You’re not dangerous or mean, or evil. You’re just kinda stupid.”

“Gee, thanks dad.”

“I’m sorry, but your friends all seem to be either delinquents or the main characters of the world’s wackiest tv show. And there’s no shame in being a little stupid.”

“Are we just gonna sit here and insult me all day?”

He smiles and takes his cap off. “Not all day. Just as long as it takes to get some breakfast. And don’t worry, I got you a plate too. It’s been a while since you and I ate together. I been workin’ too many doubles since your brother had that… uh, what’s the politically correct way of saying he went fuckin’ nuts?”

“Mental breakdown.”

“Well whatever it is, I blew half the money I had on your mom’s funeral, and the other half on my old friend Jack. Took him goin’ fuckin’ nuts to see I was a dumbass with shit money skills. She’s the one who handled our finances. When she was gone, I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t wanna know what to do. And I’m paying for it now. Literally.” He sighs. “Look. Flash. You’re my kid. I know I’m not around a lot. But you’re a damn good kid. I see it when you don’t think I’m looking. The other day, with that Rarity chick. You didn’t have to save her ass. But you did anyway. And the way she hugged you… you do good with the ladies. So, don’t bother trying to get the ones who just aren’t that into you. Just be yourself, and keep doing good deeds and being a good person. And one day you’ll end up with a gal like your mom. Or at least a gal who won’t punch you in the face. You got me?”

Flash nods, as his mind is drawn to one girl in particular. “Yeah.”

“And, hey. I’m only gonna say this once.” He glanced around the room before leaning in and whispering. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

/x/x/x/

“And so, with Ahuizotl defeated, and the sapphire statue secured, the world was safe and sound once again, thanks to… Daring Do?”

Sunset turns the page in confusion.

“Wait, what?” She asks. “That's it? That’s the ending!?” She chucks it from her hoof into the infinite white abyss. “This book sucks!”

/x/x/x/

The sun is bright, the clucking of chickens carries in through the window, fresh eggs and bacon sizzle away happily on the griddle, and an enormous untouched stack of pancakes sits at the center of the kitchen table. But four empty plates remain. Even Wynona can sense that something is wrong as she quietly whines under the table.

Granny Smith shoulders her way into the kitchen with two big ol’ buckets of milk, but stops as she smells a mood more sour than the contents of the buckets were about to be.

“Mac, do me a favor and boil these for me when you have a minute.”

“Yes Granny.”

She makes her way to the big chair and pulls it closer to her youngest.

“I don’t understand how the internet works. I don’t understand what you young’uns see in those screens, those video games, tweeters, twitching, red bubbles, emails, MyStable. None of it. So I don’t exactly know what it is that your friends did to ya. I barely even know what’s goin’ on in the farm, in my own bedroom some days. But just cuz I don’t understand it don’t mean I can’t feel bad when my family feels bad about it.”

“She stole my car key, copied it, kept the copy for herself, and threw the original away.”

Granny Smith blinks. “Oh! Okay, I think I understand it now.” She sighs then stands up and reaches for the rolling pin and the keys. “I’ll be right back.”

Applejack takes the rolling pin and the keys out of her granny’s arms. “You’re not goin’ to drive to town just to beat up teenagers. If anyone is gonna do it it’s gonna be me. But we ain’t gonna drive anywhere, we ain’t gonna beat up no one, and we ain’t gonna do nothin’ today but have our breakfast, do our chores, have our lunch, spend some quality time as a family, have our dinner, then go to bed. We don’t gotta let this break up our normal schedule any more than it already has. We’re Apples, okay? We stick together.”

“I wasn’t gonna beat no one up…” she grumbles.

Mac places a plate of crispy bacon on the table before returning to the stove.

“So the rolling pin was for, what, showmanship?” Applejack asks.

“A grandma with a rolling pin is the most intimidating figure known to man.”

“Maybe to you…”

“Well maybe if either of those girls saw their grandmas with a rollin pin once or twice then maybe they wouldn’t be so vile!”

“Their grandmas are all dead…” Applebloom murmurs.

Applejack slowly exhales. “In any case. There’s gonna be no threats of violence. If we stoop to that level, we ain’t no better than they are. All we can do that is moral, and just, and SANE, is to not let this get us down. We have each other. We ain't alone. And we gotta remember that Sunset is the one who’s hurtin most of all. And soon as she’s in a forgivin’ mood she’s probably gonna be stayin’ a night or two with me. And we gotta make sure that everything is in order so we can be good matrons to our guest.”

Mac sets a plate of eggs at the table, and starts heaping his plate high of everything.

“Now let’s eat our food before it gets cold-“

She is cut off by Applebloom’s cell phone ringing.

“Sorry.”

“Aren’t you grounded from that thing?”

“She’s grounded from fun things, not from talkin’ to Belle an’ Scoot about tellin’ the truth.” Mac begins to dump a metric ton of syrup over his cakes. “So she can have the phone if she’s supervised, and it’s on speaker.”

“Okay…”

“Hello?” Bloom asks, her polite tone stained black with subtext.

“Rarity found out!”

Bloom nods. “Okay.”

“She told our parents and now they’re kicking Scootaloo out!”

Bloom shrugs. “Okay.”

“Bloom, please say something other than okay!”

Bloom sighs. “All right.”

“Look, we were supposed to be a team. The three of us, together forever, ride or die! Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

“It meant something before you two were complacent with Sunset committing suicide. It meant something before you two started lying and making things up just to keep hurting people and dodge all responsibility. It meant something before you two let me take the fall for everything. And it meant something before you hacked my account and changed my password just to keep me from messing with your evil plan. It meant something when our friendship was a two way street and not just you taking advantage of me.”

“That wasn’t me! Bloom, please, you gotta believe me that it was all Scoots, okay. She hit me last night! And she’s been lying to me about all sorts of things. She lied and said her dad raped her! She was manipulating me just like she was manipulating you. We are both victims here, so we need to stick together.”

“Okay. We’ll stick together. What do you want from me?”

“What do you mean?”

“What of my behavior do you want me to change to benefit you? What do you want me to do to help you? What options do I have left to further assist you in any way? I’m grounded because both of you wanted to escape punishment after I came clean. I can’t even use my personal account on any website, not just MyStable, and it’s because you ruined my password security. What can I do?”

She is silent for a while, before whispering. “I don’t know.”

“I told the truth. I’m doing my time. Now it’s your turn. I can’t help you Belle. I don’t even want to right now. The wound is still fresh. I gotta forgive you cuz it’s the right thing to do, but I ain’t strong enough to do it right now. You gotta give me time. For now, you just need to do the right thing. Come clean. Apologize to Sunset. And to Rarity. And to everyone else you hurt. You and I are gonna be doin’ a lot of apologizing when school starts up again, and now it sounds like Scoots is gonna be doin’ a lot too.”

“Where is she gonna go?”

“I honestly, genuinely, don’t care. She can couch surf for a little while. Compared to all of the terrible things she’s done, I think it’s a light sentence. She ain’t gonna die. She ain’t gonna kill herself.”

“Are you sure about that?”

This time it’s Applebloom who is silent for a while.

“Are you willing to have her death on your conscience?”

“How dare you put that on me?” Bloom spits. “When I’m the one who saved Sunset’s life by putting my neck on the line? Do you even know how much I’m grounded from? How little freedom I have right now? This is as close as I can get to being in jail without actually going. No. If she does, it ain’t gonna be on me. It’ll be on herself. And it’ll be on you. You chose to stick with her instead of me. You chose to keep walkin’ on the dark side. You chose to thicken the web of lies. You chose this. You made the situation. This is your fault. And you are not gonna saddle me with more guilt than I already have. And because of me, nobody is gonna kill herself. Sunset will be fine. Scoot will be fine. I will be fine. And I really really hope that you’ll be fine too. But we are not friends right now. You hurt me and the ones I love. You make an effort to put things right, and I’ll make an effort to help repair the damage she done to us. Okay?”

“Okay…”

“I still care about you. But I still gotta show you tough love, and let you fix your own mistakes. That’s… what Mac n’ AJ have been teaching me.”

“Are you sure everything will be fine?”

“I can’t guarantee it. But if we put enough elbow grease into it, we can come as close to fine as we can get. And hopefully, if we both put hard work into fixing this… we can spend summer together.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

“All right. I’ll… I’ll see what I can do. It’s gonna be rough for a little bit. Rarity… doesn’t know what to say to me. Neither do mom or dad. I’m glad you can at least talk to me.”

“Of course. I care about you. Even after everything. Because Nothing you’ve done so far can’t be fixed. Well, maybe except for outing Rainbow. But I know that ain’t something you were behind.”

“Yeah… we got in a big fight.”

“You said she hit ya.”

“No, this was after that. We, uh. Well. I think our friendship has been irreparably damaged.”

“Nothin’ can’t be repaired.”

Belle sighs. “Look, I’ll have to talk to you in private some time. Because I know that you’re on speaker right now. And there’s some things that you should probably know that can’t be shared. But, I think I do need to go talk to Rarity. She… I did something horrible to her.”

“I know. But you should take action now. Before it’s too late.”

“Okay. I will. And… I’m sorry. Your email password is x crusader x with a capital C and a 3 instead of the E.”

“Thank you… and thanks for calling.”

“I love you.”

“Love you too.”

Belle hangs up, and Bloom returns to her seat.

“Sorry ‘bout that, everyone.”

Mac polishes off his last bite of pancake. “Rainbow Dash is gay?”

Applejack smacks her forehead. “That’s your takeaway?”

Granny chuckles. “I knew it. I guess I just won a bet.”

“WHAT!?”

/x/x/x/

Sunset finally wakes up, groggy, in a funk, and eyes covered in something unpleasant.

“Morning sunshine,” Rainbow teases. “It’s almost not even morning anymore. How was your sleep?”

“I don’t know. But I’m glad not to be waking up alone.”

“Yeah, of course.” She sighs as she roughly sets her phone on the nightstand. “Well, everyone knows I’m gay now. Well, except for Jet Set and a couple of his friends. They just think it’s a rumor.”

“Who the hell is Jet Set?”

“Ah, he’s some guy from Crystal Prep. He’s their best tennis player. Almost as good as me. We’re rivals. I’d say friendly but he’s kind of a homophobic douchebag. I’d love to drag his ass in the dirt at the Friendship Games this year.”

“Oh, is that this year? I wasn’t around until after the last one. Man. I can’t believe it’s only been… almost four years here? Makes it, let’s see, four by nine is thirty six divided by five is… wow. About seven years.”

“Okay you lost me with the math.”

“There’s a subtle time dilation between Equestria and here. Time passes about double here. So, in Equestria, I’ve been gone for seven years.”

“How the hell do you know that?”

“I didn’t dream so I ended up in Princess Luna’s dream realm near the tantabus and she told me the equation before giving me a book to read while I slept.”

Rainbow sighs. “Okay, I’m just gonna stop asking questions now. Well anyway, mom’s cooking breakfast. Whenever you want we can go eat.”

“I should probably wash my face first.”

“It probably isn’t that bad.” She reaches to turn on the light and turns to inspect Sunset’s face. “Yeah you should probably wash your face first. You need any help with that?”

“I doubt it, but I could use some help getting to the bathroom. I can’t exactly see.”

“Yeah, sure,” she says as they slip out of bed together. Sunset keeps one hand on Rainbow’s waist as they walk. “Are you just wearing a bra?”

“You’re practically a furnace. And at least it’s a sports bra. Here we are, watch your head, here’s the sink. You got it?”

“I think so,” she says as she starts to splash water and dig the sleep from her eyes. Once she was satisfied she’d gotten all of it she finally chanced a glance at the mirror. She pressed her fingers to her cheeks. “Hey. The dark circles are way less dark now.”

“Getting good sleep will do that for ya,” Rainbow says before snaking her arm over to grab her toothbrush. “Mind stepping to the side?”

“Yeah, sure,” Sunset does so and takes a short stride over. She then looks down at the toilet. “I think I gotta go.”

“Need help?” Rainbow asks as she kicks the door shut.

“Maybe with… cleanup. Are you comfortable with that?”

Rainbow mulls this over for a little bit. “One or two?”

“One.”

“Yeah, I can do that.” She starts to brush as Sunset sits and takes care of business. Later, as they finish with their bathroom duties, and somewhere Pinkie starts snickering to herself, they wash their hands and Rainbow checks out the gauze.

“Not too bad. You want fresh?”

“I think I’ll be fine, unless your mom tells me otherwise.”

“Okay cool. God am I starving.”

“You could’ve eaten.”

Rainbow nods. “I didn’t wanna risk you waking up alone again.”

“You could’ve texted your mom and asked her to bring you a plate.”

Rainbow nods again. “I didn’t think of that.”

The two girls laugh at this as they exit the bathroom and start down the hall towards the dining room.

“Hey momma,” Rainbow greets as they pass the doorway to the kitchen. “Whatcha got?”

“Hey dear,” she says, kissing Rainbow’s forehead. She chuckles as Rainbow groans and rubs it off. “Oh, you can’t rub off my love. Hi Sunset. Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah. It smells good in here.”

“There’s an apple pancake in the oven, it should be done soon. But right now,” she says as she stirs a concoction of green pepper, onion, potato, and a few other things among the eggs. “Bow made cheese toast, there’s some pudding, and the eggs are about done. Go ahead and sit down and I’ll bring things in as they’re done, okay?”

Rainbow does so, but Sunset stays. “I hope you’re not going all out for my sake,” she asks.

“Oh, nonsense, this is normal for me. And I love cooking. I actually did quite a few kitchen shifts in the army. Enough I almost got in trouble for it. So don’t worry at all about that.”

“Alright…” Sunset glances at the oven. “Pancake? Singular?”

“Oh it’s more like an apple pie, but instead of pie crust it’s more of a pancakey kind of texture. It’s a language difference, mostly. But yeah, there’s cinnamon, brown sugar, ginger, nutmeg, all sorts of yummy spices. Some of the pudding. Have you had semolina pudding?”

“Not by name.”

“It’s like porridge. Flour, milk, eggs, butter, basic stuff. Smells weird but tastes like heaven. There’s plenty in there for now. Can you carry anything?”

“I think so.”

“If you can, please set this pan on the table, on one of the doilies. I’ll get the proteins.”

Sunset does as asked and follows Windy into the dining room with the rest of the food. The eggs and sausage are all set around the table, filling the room with their delicious scents.

“I cooked the kielbasas separate, because I wasn’t sure how comfortable you were with eating them.”

“What animal are they made of?”

“…yes.”

“Alright, probably best if I avoid it. Thank you.”

“Of course, dear. I’ll check on the pancake.”

She darts out of the room, leaving Sunset to take an empty seat next to Rainbow.

“How’d those pills treat you, Sun?” Bow asks in between enormous bites of toast.

She nods. “They definitely worked. No nightmares.”

“Good to hear. How was the eye goop?”

“Horrendous.”

“I’ll make a note and send it in. The eggheads in the labs think it has to do with the tear production or something. But no dreams?”

“Technically no.”

“Technically?”

“My consciousness was transported to what seemed to be the dream realm in Equestria.”

“Yeah… I think I’ll leave that out of the report. There’s no testing on unicorns, after all. And I’m sure you’d appreciate not having the government knocking down your door demanding to do some experiments on you.”

“Thank you.”

Windy carries a big pot into the room, setting it on the last remaining empty place at the table before finally sitting down, slapping her oven mitts next to her plate. “The government has no interest in performing dissections on aliens anymore. The reason not to say anything is because they would most certainly want to enter Equestria and steal their oil. But don’t tell anyone I said that.”

The crew begins to chow down, offering Sunset assistance when she needs it. Rainbow helps spread cheese on her rye toast, Bow cuts her a nice meaty slice of the pancake, and Windy leans back as she drinks a glass of red wine. She quietly offers Sunset some, who politely declines. Eventually, the hosts all find themselves unable to take another bite. However, Sunset continues to wolf down a third plate. It's only after this one is gone before she pushes the plate and leans back.

“You are the best cook I’ve ever met,” Sunset says, satisfied.

“Why thank you. I’d like to think I hold that title for many people. Right?”

Bow and Rainbow both nod wordlessly. Bow loosens his belt.

“‘S why I married you.”

She gently slaps him with the oven mitts. “Are you sure it’s not for my intelligence, personality, and general sense of ethics?”

“Don’t forget your rockin’ body.”

“DAAAaaad!”

“I’m gonna miss it here,” Sunset murmurs.

“No reason for that,” Bow chimes in, reaching over to set a gentle hand on her shoulder. “You’re welcome in our home any time. Just, you know, let us know beforehand.”

She nods and thanks him before Rainbow stands up.

“Phone,” she says, before glancing down at the caller ID and freezing.”

“Who’s calling?” Sunset asks.

Rainbow slowly looks up. “You are.” She answers the phone and puts it to her ear. “Hello?”

She stands still and listens for several minutes. Eventually she nods.

“Yeah. I forgive you. But…” she glances at Sunset. “I don’t think it’s the best idea for right now.”

“Who is it?”

“Rarity. No, keep talking, Sunset just asked me who it was.”

“Why does Rarity have my phone?”

Rainbow puts a finger up as she furrows her brows.

“Well she’s sure as shit not staying here. Cuz fuck that little bitch! What, she is one! Alright, fine, but she is not staying in my house. Not after everything she did. Well yeah to me, but to Sunset too. And Fluttershy, and Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. And you. Yeah. Of course I care about you, you’re my friend. Yeah, even after that. I’m sorry too. Look, I’m gonna take Sunset to Pinkie’s soon. She can call you from either of our phones. It’s gonna be okay. Alright. Later.”

Rainbow sighs, before she bursts out laughing.

“Rain?” Sunset asks, standing.

She continues laughing, and sits down, setting the phone back in her pocket. She continues laughing as Windy comes over to her, and pulls her head to her stomach. She continues laughing until the laughter turns to tears. And she sobs until she is quiet. And she stays quiet until she asks in the quietest voice any of them had ever heard her speak.

“Is it okay if I go to Fluttershy’s for a few days?”

“Of course dear…” she glances to Bow.

He stands up and strides over to Sunset. “How about I drive you to the Pie’s place?”

Sunset nods, then places a hand on Rainbow’s free shoulder. “Hey.”

Rainbow turns to look at her. “I’m sorry-“

“It’s okay. Did Scootaloo have my phone?”

Rainbow nods.

“I thought so. Alright, hey, so I really do appreciate everything you’ve done for me. I loved hanging out with you. But you need Fluttershy right now, and that’s okay. I’m gonna get dressed and get the journal and stuff, and we’ll talk later, okay?”

Rainbow nods again.

“Come here.”

The two girls embrace for a while before pulling away.

“It’ll be okay.”

“I know.”

Sunset nods and turns to Bow. “Do you mind waiting for me for a few minutes?”

Windy kneels down. “Actually,” she asks Rainbow. “Is it okay if he takes you while I take her? She probably needs an outfit.”

Rainbow nods again, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Yeah.”

Bow pats Sunset’s shoulder a few times before heading to the kitchen. “I’ll help you with a lot of things. But not to get dressed. That’s outta my comfort zone. Rain, I’ll go get the car warmed up. Come out whenever you’re ready.” He steps into the kitchen and after the sounds of metallic jingling and the swish of a sports coat he steps out the other side and heads down the stairs and out the door.

“Why couldn’t Rarity have found out before I got outed…?”

Windy brushes the hair out of her forehead. “Sometimes bad things happen to us because of other people’s actions. You can’t change what happens, all you can control is how you react. I’m not gonna tell you what to do or how to do it because I’m straight as an arrow and I couldn’t help you there anyway. But whatever you choose to do, I will do my damnedest to support you as I have always done. Nothing has changed, and nothing ever will.” She leans her head forward so they touch. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Sunset?”

“Bedroom?” She murmurs, heading already down the hall.

Windy nods. “I’ll be there in a moment. Rain?”

“Mmhmm.”

“You’ve got this. And you have free reign to stay however long you need. But, before then… I need you to tell me exactly what Rarity told you.”

/x/x/x/
> Intermission: The Beginning (of the End)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

/x/x/x/

As Scootaloo awakens, she finds that all of her senses are being completely overloaded. The car horn blaring stabs into her ears. The dry frigid air on her face contrasts heavily with the wet heat of the seat warmer on her back and thighs. The throbbing headache pulsing through her right temple is trickling down the side of her head, threatening to spill into her eye. The seatbelt digging into her pelvis and shoulder restricts all freedom of movement, holding her upper body in place, and her legs are pinned together by the car door. At least, she thinks so. She can’t really feel them. Her heavy pulse pounds in her throat as the white-hot beads of adrenaline shoot through her fingers. Or at least through the fingers of her left hand. She can’t feel her right hand. She can’t feel most of her right arm, in fact. She tries to pivot slightly, sending an electric jolt down the entire limb. She winces, before trying to open her eyes. She forces them back closed before reaching to wipe the offending red liquid out of them. However, she instead seems to press it even further in.

As a sharp tapping noise bangs on the window, she groans and tries to open her eyes regardless of what must be blood. All of her vision is stained, a veneer filter of scarlet. The windshield is blood red. The dashboard is blood red. She looks down and her shirt is blood red. She looks back up and her eye wanders further and further to the left. The stereo is blood red. The center console is blood red. The pile of twisted metal, broken glass, torn fabric, and some unidentifiable material in the driver’s seat is blood red. The only thing she can see that is not blood red is where the window should have been. Instead she can see the gleaming chrome grill of a big truck. She can’t move her neck. As the agonizingly eternal seconds slowly tick on, she struggles to make sense of what on earth she was looking at.

She tries to consider what lead her to wind up in this situation. The last memory she can conjure up comes in pieces. Fuzzy static, the frantic tapping, the blaring horn, the dull aching pains, and the sputtering rumble of the truck engine occupying the driver’s seat all serve to inhibit the process. But eventually she remembers.

Some idiot on a motorcycle cut them off, almost getting creamed in the process. She glanced over at the driver and watched them remove their helmet. Her helmet. Crimson and deep yellow. And one extended middle finger. She had rolled her eyes and turned back to see the oncoming truck.

And finally she can tell what it is she’s looking at.

The unidentifiable material was pulverized meat.

Don’t think about it.

The next few minutes go by in a blur, and when next she has her focus back she finds herself laying in a very uncomfortable bed. The noises have all gone away, and all that is left is a slow steady beeping. She feels no physical pain anymore: just an endless numb fog. She can’t move her left arm very much, as something holds her wrist in place. She can barely move her left leg. She tries to sit up, but her chest is also strapped down. She tries to speak but her throat is completely raw, and making any noise is much too painful.

“You’re awake,” a voice murmurs from just out of her vision. “How about that…” The voice’s owner steps into view. She was a short redhead with pale blue skin, and wore what looked to be a military style jacket, black t-shirt, and sweatpants. “Didn’t think you’d be up so soon through all that sedation,” she says, glancing through a clipboard.

Scootaloo quietly whines.

“Sorry about the straps,” she says, reaching a hand over to undo them. “They were on you already before they called me in. I swear the braindead idiots they got working in this place have the bedside manner of R Lee fucking Ermey.” She pauses and covers her mouth. “Eh. Sorry. Slipped right outta me.”

“M?”

“They told me you screamed so loud and for so long that your body forgot to breathe. Can’t imagine your throat’s in good enough shape to talk yet. So I’m gonna do the talking here…” she sits on the side of the bed. “Your mother did not survive the collision.”

Silence.

“But I think you already figured that one out on your own.”

“M.”

“I know what you saw, honey, and I am so sorry that you had to experience this, especially young as you are. And I know that the thought running through your head is something along the lines of, how could I possibly know what you saw. And you’re right. I don’t know. Not really. I saw photos but that doesn’t represent reality. But trust me when I say that I am probably one of the closest people who can come close. And I know you’re thinking, you know, how?”

She turns to face the wall, and crosses her arms. “I spent a tour in active duty. Only one tour, before I pursued the medical side of things. There was a boy. He was the sweetest little thing I’d ever met. One day we were just patrolling, shooting the shit, he told me about a girl he had waiting for him at home, and how he was going to propose to her at Hearth’s Warming. And then the next, he-“ she shook her head. “He stepped on a fucking land mine. It could have just as easily been me. But it was him. And he honestly looked about the same as… I know what you saw. Because I’ve seen it too. And I was a grown ass woman at the time. And you? You’re… you’re just a child.”

She grabs the clipboard in both of her hands, staring through it.

“I can’t operate on the patients here. I don’t work in this place as a surgeon. I’m just a consultant. I’m not talking to you because of the money they’ll give me, because there is no money. The coroner, the chief medical officer, the district attorney, they had the good sense to take a look past the bullshit the rest of these morons put you through, all these brainless cops, and these heartless nurses, and these soulless insurance companies. They had the good sense to call me and ask me to rush out in the freezing cold and try to be there for you if you needed it. And I had the good sense to tell them yes. I will do whatever I can to help you get what you need. I’ll work with your father, okay?”

She turns and drops the clipboard.

“I know,” she says, wiping a tear from the young girl’s face. “I know that this sucks. But I’ll pull some strings and try to set you up with some affordable grief counseling first, and then we can figure out what else we can do to help you through this. I promise that you will not suffer alone, okay?”

The door opens, and a police officer pokes his head in.

“Hey, Sarge,” he quietly asks, rubbing a thumb on his mustache. “Is this a bad time?”

“It’s certainly not a good time, Corporal.”

“Ah, I ain’t a Corporal anymore, Sarge. On my way to lieutenant, hopefully.”

“No time for small talk here, Sentry.”

“Firm. Heard you was in here so thought I’d tell ya straight. My boys downtown just busted your kid for some o’ the ol’ green stuff.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” she groans, rolling her eyes. “Shimmer’s planting drugs now? I swear I really hate that little shit.”

“Shimmer’s got an alibi this time, pretty rock solid, so it ain’t her.”

“Are you absolutely sure?”

“Well the alibi IS your kid. Hence my sayin’, it’s pretty rock solid.”

“Ah, God! Dammit… Then she got someone else to do it for her. Wonderful. Thank you for letting me know.”

“Yes’m,” he says, tipping his hat to her before leaving the room.

As he goes, the woman just puts her face in her hands.

“Why today…?” She throws her hands down in frustration before standing up from the bed, then takes a deep breath. “Kiddo,” she says, picking up the clipboard again. “I’m gonna keep in touch with you and your father. But I gotta go right now. Personal matters.”

The rest of the memory began to fade as she left and was replaced by a hundred voices and faces Scootaloo didn’t care to remember.

Apologies for your loss. You’re so brave. My condolences. You’re so strong. There’s one more Angel in Heaven. It’s okay to cry. It wasn’t your fault. A parade of faceless doctors and lawyers and behavioral psychologists and insurance representatives with the empty platitudes all day long filled the next day, the next week, the next month. All save for one. Whistles. She was there for her in the hospital. She was there for her at the viewing. She was there for her at the funeral. Scootaloo did appreciate it, but she didn’t feel it. She didn’t feel anything. This made total sense given she lost her mother, but that was just it. There was no sadness. No grief. No sense of loss. Just an infinite eternal numbness. Like her torso was frozen in time.

Stop making me think about it.

Her father changed. At first, imperceptibly so. He didn’t laugh as hard or smile as wide. He drank his beer more deeply, sometimes having a second one during dinner. Then a third. He didn’t look her in the eyes when he spoke to her. All things that made sense at the time. But they got worse. His emotions went from muted to dead. He drank a six pack every day, a twelve pack, an eighteen pack, eventually he was drinking twenty four cans a day. And he didn’t speak to her at all. She ceased to exist as the kitchen table slowly filled with medical bills, funeral bills, legal bills, credit card bills, and he spent all their days talking on the phone. Until one day he would literally just drink, stare at the paper, and hang up the phone every single time it would ring. All day from dawn to dusk. Dust collected. The color even faded from the walls, the paper slowly peeling.

There was no new food in the house. The fridge was full of beer cans. The freezer was full of beer bottles. The pantry eventually ran out of boxed macaroni, ramen, and soup cans. Scootaloo didn’t ask her dad to go buy food because she didn’t get out of bed. She just laid down, listened to her music, and stared up at the ceiling. I don’t want to think about it again. She would go to the bathroom of course, and menstruation waits for nobody. But by the time it came time to start at her new school, all she was looking forward to was a hot meal and a chance to breathe in air that didn’t stink of beer.

Walking into CHS for the first time she realized quickly that Sunset Shimmer thought she was the queen bitch of the universe.

“Who are you supposed to be,” the bully taunted, assessing the new kid with the ragged dirty clothes, the unwashed unkempt hair, the sunken eyes, and the skin hanging off her bones. “An anorexic sewer rat?”

Scootaloo clenched her fists but said nothing.

“Ooo, you’re just too easy to rile up,” she teased, leering. “Too bad you’re too much of a coward to do anything about it. Heh. You’re not a sewer rat. You’re a sewer… chicken. Ba-gawk! Buk buk, ba-“

The punch was not as effective as it was intended to be, in fact completely missing its target, and sending Scootaloo herself sprawling to the ground. The fatigue and dizziness of hunger were just doing too much damage to her equilibrium, and to her sense.

“Aww, that’s adorable,” Sunset murmured, crouching down. “What’s the matter, sewer chicken, can’t throw a punch?”

“Fuck you!” Scootaloo spit, causing everyone to gasp and fall silent. Even Sunset herself took a step back.

“Well dang, you got no bite, but you sure got bark.” She leaned in to whisper. “Go on and bark all you want, sewer chicken. All you’ll ever sound like to me is cluck cluck cluck. Now go cry home to your mommy.”

The next thing Scootaloo remembered was being torn away from Sunset.

“-ttacking me for no reason, you little psycho!”

“No reason, Sunset?” The voice of the one pulling Scootaloo back challenged. “You’re a snake. Every single word that comes out of your mouth is poison, and you’re surprised that one day it came back to bite you?”

“Technically, Rainbow Dash,” she said in a mockingly ostentatious melodrama. “It would actually be venom, but such eruditic linguistic differences far exceed your vocabularic tendencies, and would of course surely elude one such as you who is not as well versed in sesquipedalian loquaciousness as I?”

“Oh, shut the hell up, man,” Rainbow scoffed. “I don’t even know what half of those words mean.”

“Yeah. Exac-” Sunset coughed and placed her fingers on her throat. “Faust alive, I think you broke the skin!”

“You know, princess,” Rainbow spit. “I don’t think you realize that every single person who goes to this school wants to strangle you too. Only difference is this kid’s the first one to actually do it.”

“Fine. You wanna keep that rabid dog… rat… chicken… THING on your leash, Rainbow, that’s fine with me. Just keep it as far away from me as possible.”

“Ohhhh, you are such a CUNT!” She groaned. “You don’t even know who the fuck this kid is and you’re already branding her as your next public victim. What, you needed to find fresh meat because trying to wreck my fucking career for a month just got boring?”

“Hey, I’m not the one who smuggled narcotics into our school.”

“You literally! Fucking! Are! You bought them from Gilda, I know, I talked to her!”

“I was in my apartment, Rainbow-“

“Yeah, crying to me because your life is sooo sad because you’re sooo lonely and everyone hates your guts, and that your parents were sooo abusive and that’s why you don’t know how to be nice to anyone, and all this fake... I, the sad part is that I actually for a few moments believed you, but only because I forgot that you’re the greatest actress who ever lived. You’re just a selfish voice, a pretty face, and a black heart.”

Once a few moments of silence rang out, Sunset cleared her throat.

“We done now?” She asked, utterly disinterested. “Yeah? Cool. Thank you for the praise, but I’m sorry to say that the flattery will get you nowhere. And I’m sorry you have to make shit up just to draw attention to yourself. And I’m sorry that you’ve had a naught three GPA your entire secondary school career. And I’m sorry that you haven’t won a single tennis match all season. And I’m sorry that your mom had to sift through hamburger meat to find a dead woman and hasn’t been home lately and you’re upset because you miss when you and mommy used to spend more time together back when you were a little girl. And I’m sorry that all of your oldest friends are literally convicted felons, and that all of your current friends are spineless crybaby cowards, and that all of the people who used to be your friend hate you m-“

“You need to shut the fuck up,” Scootaloo growled, pushing forward against the arms securing her. “Before I shut you the fuck up myself.”

“My my, the language is blue today,” Sunset snapped. “Do you have anything else in your arsenal besides weak punches and F bombs? Am I supposed to be impressed, or intimidated?”

“Chill squirt,” Rainbow whispered, stepping up to the plate and putting her hand in front of Scootaloo. “I got this.” She looked back forward and spoke normally. “At least I have my integrity. I won’t deny anything you said about me. Sometimes I like to be the center of attention. Sometimes I’ll, ya know, embellish a little on the details. I struggle sometimes both on and off the field. I sometimes wish things were the way they were when I was little because the world didn’t feel so big and scary back then as it does now. I feel bad for the kid whose mother that hamburger meat was. I have a lot of friends who made bad decisions, or aren’t as proud as I am, or who aren’t friends with me right now. But they’re still my friends. They just don’t agree with that right now. I can study harder, train harder, work on myself. Because I know who I am. I can say I have flaws and not feel bad about it. Can you do that, Sunset? Can you be honest about your faults? No? No. The answer is no. You can’t. And that’s why you’re never gonna sink your claws in me.”

“Yeah, okay, you bore me,” Sunset sneered. “I’m going to class.”

As the students slowly filed out, Scootaloo reached out a hand.

“Hey squirt,” the older girl greets, putting her fist out. “Good to meet ya. I’m Rainbow Dash. And you are?”

She bumped it. “Scootaloo.”

“Eh, bit long, but that’s cool. So, squirt, what exactly did the bitch queen say to ya that made you try to rip her head off?”

“She…” slow groan.

“Yeah?”

Scootaloo looked down to the ground. “Cry home to mommy.”

Rainbow slowly blinked a few times in confusion. “That’s tame.”

“My mom is dead.”

“Oh. Yeah. Uh. Well, that checks out.”

“She died last month,” and it’s that evil bitch’s fault. “And I haven’t even cried about it since the day after it happened, so.”

“Oh shit, you were in the car? Damn, I’m sorry to hear that, kid.”

“Yeah, well, you and everyone else in the hospital.” I swear I’ll get revenge on her if it’s the last thing I do. “Is Sunset that… that BITCH’s name?”

“Ah,” Rainbow waved her off. “She’s just a mean girl. Just another fake-ass plastic peaked-in-high-school loser. Just stay away from her, okay? Don’t even think about her. You stick with me, and things will be great. Well. Maybe not me personally, we probably don’t have any classes together. But… I do know someone I can hook you up with. Meet up with me tomorrow morning in the gym, okay?

“Cool… thanks.”

As Rainbow wordlessly walked off, Scootaloo just walked the halls randomly. Black thoughts boiled in her head as she thought of all the ways she wished to make Sunset suffer. She clearly saw the accident, she clearly knew her mom was dead, she clearly knew who she was, and yet still had the audacity, the nerve, the GALL to tell her to cry home to her? To take her mother away, don’t think about it, and plunge her home life into the miserable solitude and then make fun of her day one of school? She even brought it up in casual conversation with someone else! That heartless soulless evil whore should fucking BURN for what she did. The meat in the driver’s seat flashed in her mind again, steeling her resolve.

“I will avenge you, mom.”

By the time she collected her thoughts, she spotted a tall navy-blue figure quickly approaching her.

“Hello,” she greeted, voice low and mysterious. “I trust you are that new student, Scootaloo, yes?”

“Uh… yeah.”

She nodded. “Very good. Please come with me.

Shrug. “Okay.”

As it turned out this was the vice-principal Luna, who had some questions to ask about the security camera footage from earlier.

I don’t know what sort of behavior was acceptable in your home town, but we will not tolerate this behavior here in Canterlot. This is your first offense to I’ll let you go with a warning but I’m keeping my eye on you. Go to your classes and do this and do that and when I say jump you say how high and blah blah blah who gives a shit. The words blended together and Scootaloo could not find the energy to care to sort them out.

The rest of the day passed in a blur until lunch when she finally ate something besides plain boiled white rice for the first time in weeks, and she absolutely wolfed it down. She had no idea what it actually was, nor could she have described what it tasted like. But it was delicious.

She’d decided to spend the rest of her lunch break in the bathroom to catch some quiet time, but found some unpleasant company.

“Hello, sewer chicken.”

Scootaloo didn’t even stop walking on her path to the stall, quietly closing it and sitting.

“Okay, first of all,” Sunset spat. “Don’t ignore me. That’s just rude.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Scootaloo replied. “Or I’ll-“

She was cut off by a loud slam against the stall door.

“Listen here, you little brat. You may have been hot stuff where you came from,” Sunset growled through grit teeth, now standing immediately outside the door. “But trust me when I say that I was way hotter where I came from. But I can respect your… let’s call it bravery. So I’m willing to make a compromise. I’ll stay out of your way if you stay out of mine. I’ll leave you and yours alone. But this school belongs to me, and as long as you respect that hierarchy, we can learn to tolerate each other’s presence. Fair deal?”

“Sure, fine, whatever, can I pinch a loaf in peace now?”

“Ew… yeah, fine. Ugh.”

As her footsteps receded, Scootaloo couldn’t help but grin as she tried to imagine Sunset’s body as mangled as her mom,

As…

pleasegodnodontmakemeseeitagain-

She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, continuing to spit the rest of the vomit into the toilet.

“God…” she moaned, wiping off with toilet paper. “Why couldn’t it be both of us…?”

The rest of the day was a blur again, and after the final bell rang and she walked back home, she stopped in front of the front door. She would claim afterwards it was because she wanted to hear the rest of the song in her earbuds, but she really genuinely just didn’t want to walk in the door. There was no specific reason. Definitely not the safe in the closet that she didn’t want to open whose code was her birthday.

She didn’t want to wipe her shoes off on the welcome mat. She didn’t want to tuck six bottles of beer from the fridge under her arm. She didn’t want to tiptoe past her snoring father. She didn’t want to carefully set the bottles on her nightstand. She didn’t want to type her date of birth into the safe. She didn’t want to take the revolver and one bullet up to her room. She didn’t want to change into the black suit she’d worn to the funeral. She didn’t want to spit out the first sip of the beer all over herself because it was absolutely disgusting and how the fuck can dad drink this so much. She didn’t wanna clean it up. So she didn’t clean it up, and instead just held her nose as she chugged the rest of it.

She hissed and dropped the bottle onto the floor, loaded the bullet, spun the chamber, and put the barrel to her temple.

She pulled the trigger.

Click.

She sighed, whether out of disappointment or relief she couldn’t tell. She contemplated trying again, and looking up how guns work online, but the warmth welling up in her chest gave her a different idea. After returning the gun to its resting place she went back up to her room and proceeded to drink the rest of the beer. She didn’t remember doing it. But she remembered that it felt good.

She must have passed out at some point because she awoke to two fists tearing her off the bed and violently shaking her.

“You little thief!” He growled, flecks of spit flying all over her face. “After everything I do for you,” he pushed her back onto the bed. “You pay me back with THIS,” he threw one of the empty bottles at the wall. Glass flew everywhere.

Between the sudden panic, the pounding headache, and the vestiges of intoxication, Scootaloo had no choice but to surrender, sit in silence, and let him scream. Individual words blended together in a sea of white noise as he yelled and carried on.

Eventually he stopped and took a few deep breaths before shaking his head. “You don’t even care.”

She did not reply.

He shook his head. “I thought that your mother and I raised you better than that.”

“I guess you thought wrong.”

In an instant he smacked her face with enough force to knock her backwards. As her head landed on her pillow, mental clarity sliced through the alcohol like a freshly sharpened scythe through wheat. She looked back at him, furious, daring him to touch her again, but the look of sheer terror and regret on his face gave her pause.

“I’m sorry-“

“You pathetic sack of shit,” she growled, pulling herself up. “There isn’t a fucking ounce of food in this house because you won’t go to the fucking store and buy a goddamn thing besides beer, so what the fuck did you expect me to do?”

He just shook his head as he wrung his hands together, looking everywhere in the room except for his daughter.

“If you ever put your hands on me again, I will kill you,” she warned, gathering her things. “I will wait for you to fall asleep, and then I will get the gun, and then I will shoot you in the head. Going to prison would be better than staying here.”

“Loo, please,”

“I’m going to school. And when I come home, there had better be something edible in the fridge. Because if there isn’t, then I’ll know that you’re the one who doesn’t care. And I’ll call the cops and I’ll tell them to send CPS and you’ll go to prison. I will ruin your entire,” she grabbed a second bottle. “Fucking,” she threw it at the window, where it bounced before landing in the floor. “Life!”

With that she left the room, slamming the door shut behind her.

As the adrenaline pumped through her, she couldn’t help but grin at the shift in power dynamics bending to her favor. And then the headache kicked back in.

By the time she made it to Canterlot High, she made good on her promise to Rainbow to meet her in the gym. However, when she arrived, it seemed to be completely empty. She glanced at her phone and saw that she was early by a significant margin. She sat in the corner, put her earbuds in, and waited out the clock.

Eventually someone arrived, a tall blonde girl with a Stetson hat on. She was carrying several crates full of apples. Following her in was a younger girl, a redhead with a pink ribbon in her hair, who carried a folding table. The two seemed preoccupied with themselves, and Scootaloo was happy to let them do their own thing. She closed her eyes and lost herself in the music.

A few songs later, someone tapped her on the shoulder. As she opened her eyes to see that this someone was in fact Rainbow, she pulled her earbuds out.

“What’s up squirt?”

“Hi Rainbow,” she greeted, standing up. “I was a bit early today.”

Rainbow narrowed her eyebrows as she leaned in close. “Why are you wearing a… Dude, did someone punch you in the face?”

“I tripped.”

“Okay… anyway, so, one of my friends- or, well, we’re not friends right now because of stupid shit that you don’t need to worry about, but you know what I mean. She’s got a younger sister who’s in your class, and, um.” She sucked some air in through her teeth before blowing it back out. “Her parents are dead too. So, like, she can probably understand you a little. So if it’s fine with you then I was gonna hand you off to her?”

“I guess so.”

“Alright, cool. I gotta take care of some stuff at the soccer field real quick, but I’ll at least putcha in the right direction, introduce you.”

Rainbow lead her towards the two girls from earlier, who were peeling apples on a table. Scootaloo fought the bile rising in her throat as they walked. Surely there was a better, more tactful way to have said that, right?

As they approached, the blonde took her hat off and the smile fell from her face.

“Howdy, Captain Flake,” she greeted, voice curt. “You need something from me? I know you ain’t here to do nothin for me. Except maybe to make some more empty promises and then never show up?

“AJ, you’re the one who…” Rainbow groaned. “I don’t wanna argue about this again, I actually do have a good reason for talking with you right now.”

“Then I’d love to hear it fast, so I can get back to work.”

Rainbow motioned for Scootaloo to step forward.

“This is Scootaloo. She’s new. And she’s already Sunset’s target. She, uh… has similar life experiences to you two. So I would hope that maybe…?”

“Similar life experiences?”

Scootaloo whispered. “My mom died recently.”

Applejack gave her a once-over, then her expression softened as she turned back to Rainbow. “Is she…?”

Rainbow nodded.

“I’m Apple Bloom,” the redhead greeted, sticking her hand out. “I saw you in biology. And algebra.”

“Hey,” Scootaloo responded, shaking her hand. “I. Didn’t notice. I haven’t been noticing much of anything lately, since…”

“That’s okay. Life is gonna be hard. School too. But trust me, me and Sweetie Belle are thick as thieves and we got plenty of room in our little posse. Once I’m done with my chores here maybe we can both go over and get to know her a little before school starts?”

“You can go now,” Applejack said, nudging her. “I got the rest of this.”

“Really sis? Awesome! Thanks!”

“Yeah, I gotta talk to Rainbow in private about somethin’ else anyway, and I don’t need no nosy eavesdroppers listenin’ in.”

“I don’t drop no eaves on boring conversations.”

“Oh- get on outta here, will ya?”

“Can do. See you at home!”

Bloom grabbed Scootaloo’s hand and yanked her off her feet and tore off before she even had a chance to wave goodbye to Rainbow. The last thing she saw before they disappeared into the locker rooms was the somber expression on Rainbow’s face as she whispered something to Applejack.

“She’s probably done in the showers by now,” Bloom murmured as they finally slowed down in the girls lockers. “She does cross country right now and they run in the mornings. We actually get up at around the same time cuz I got morning chores at home.” She turned as she spoke. “I gotta milk the cow and get the eggs cuz- are you okay?”

Scootaloo, who was not okay, was trying very hard not to look at anyone or anything, just frozen in place. “Yeah. Fine.”

“We didn’t run too fast did we?”

“No, it’s…” a trio of high schoolers were getting undressed nearby. “I’ve just never been in a girls locker room before.”

“It’s ok, you don’t gotta get naked or nothin like that.”

“I know, it’s just… that…” she crossed her arms. “I like girls, is all.”

Bloom shrugged. “Okay? What’s that got to do with-“ her face blanched as she noticed the older girls. “Ooooohhh…”

“Yeah.”

“Do you wanna wait outside?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. You can go hang out outside the locker room and I’ll bring her to you when she’s done, alright?”

“Alright.”

As Scootaloo did so, she pondered on just how cavalier Bloom was with the information that essentially caused her to switch schools. She’d professed her feelings to her now ex best friend, who had then told the whole school about it. Things weren’t easy after that.

But here, it was almost as if Bloom couldn’t even conceive that there would be a problem. The tightness in her chest eased up as she realized that not only did Rainbow hook her up with such a kind and welcoming friend, she was also totally chill with what used to be her deepest and darkest secret. She leaned against the wall and, for the first time in a while, she allowed herself to relax.

Maybe… maybe things don’t have to be so bad before she gets her revenge.

“Good morning, sewer chicken.”

Scratch that.

“What do you want now?” Scootaloo murmured, begrudgingly opening her eyes and looking up at the bitch.

“A peace offering,” she replied, tossing a small package into Scoot’s lap.

“What’s this?”

“Charm bracelet kit.” Sunset crossed her arms and looked off to the side. “I made some custom golden strings and put them in there. You make some of those and give them to whatever friends you make, and as long as you respect our little agreement, they’ll be safe…” she bit her lip before continuing. “What’s your name?”

“I thought it was sewer chicken.”

“Your real name.”

“S… Scootaloo.”

“Alright. Scootaloo. From here on, we’re not enemies. Stay in line and respect my rule, and you won’t be messed with. Deviate, and impact my life in any way, there will be consequences. But until then, like I said, I’ll leave you and yours alone.”

“Why are you doing this? I thought you hated me.”

“I-!” Sunset seemed taken aback at this. “Hated?” She asked, bewildered. “I mean. I hate being challenged by po- er, by people who don’t know their place. But I don’t hate anypony. I’m not…”

“I walked in the door and the first thing you did was insult me,” Scootaloo sniped, rolling her eyes. Technically it was the second thing. The first thing was killing her mom. But that’s beside the point. “Where I come from you don’t exactly insult people you like.”

“I just met you, how could I hate you? All I was doing was asserting dominance, you’re the one who started choking me for nothing.”

“You!” Scootaloo grunted angrily. “You fucking started it!”

“And now I’m finishing it.” Sunset crouched down. “Contrary to popular belief, I don’t care what anybody does in their home lives. I know, of course, I do background checks on everyone the day they come here for the first time, just in case I need to. But not to pass judgment on anyone. I don’t care about any of that. I don’t care that you’re literally dressed for a funeral for some reason. I don’t care that you’re a booze hound-“

“What?”

“Don’t interrupt me. You smell like beer. I don’t care that you’re in the good graces of a junkie burnout loser and a braindead redneck. I don’t care about any of that. All I care about is power, because it’s the only thing more important than any of you. I have nothing that I can blackmail you for. So take the bribery instead. Most people here aren’t so lucky as you to have that opportunity.”

“Am I supposed to thank you?”

“Thanks are not required payment for an exchange of goods and services. It’s just good manners.” She stood back up again. “This is hopefully the last conversation the two of us ever have. Stay out of my way, sewer ch- sorry. Scootaloo.”

As she turned and walked away, she hesitated for just a moment before quietly whispering “And… I’m sorry about your mother.”

You better fucking apologize you stupid cunt.

The cracking of plastic alerted Scootaloo to the fact that she was clenching the package so hard she literally almost broke it. She pulled her hands off and let the pain fade, joints unlocking and muscles uncramping. She sighed as she realized that it was gonna take a little while before her hands stopped hurting. And then it hit her.

She admitted it. So at least she wears her evil on her sleeve. At least she’s a respectable adversary. Scootaloo glanced down at the box in her lap as an idea came to her. They would be going to school here for years. There would be plenty of time to devise a strategy. All Scootaloo would need to do was quietly pay attention to Sunset from the sidelines. If Sunset thought they were neutral, that was an extra card that could be played against her. If little miss wannabe princess wants to live in a fantasy world that she can live without consequences, then may it bite her in the ass. The revenge doesn’t need to happen right now. It can sit in the oven for a little bit and be all the sweeter when it finally hits.

“Just you wait, Sunset,” Scootaloo quietly mused. “I’ll let you build your castle. Brick by brick. And when you think everything is good for you and you’re set for life, that’s when I’ll strike. I’ll destroy you. So go ahead and be happy with our civil neutrality. It’ll just make it easier to stab you in the back later.”

She shook the box a little. There were definitely beads in there.

“Might as well use this if I got it. But… on who…?

As she pondered the kind of person she was about to meet, she couldn’t help but sigh as her logic center kicked in. So the only friends she’ll start with are a simple farmer girl and some sporty chick. Great. Girls who wake up at 5am. If Scootaloo had her way she’d go to bed at 5am. At least Bloom didn’t seem like she was a raging lesbophobe. But then again, neither did Coconut, until…

She shook her head. Coco is gone. Out of her life forever. For better or for worse. We’re moving on to greener pastures now. Hopefully.

A few more minutes passed. The older girls from earlier walked by, as Scoot buried her face and prayed that they weren’t telepaths.

“Are you okay?”

She looked up to see that one of them was looking down at her with soft, concerned aquamarine eyes.

“Y- yeah.”

“Does it hurt?” She asked, reaching into her purse. Her long pink bangs slid over her eyes as she did so, but she flipped them back. “Your eye?”

She put a hand up to her temple, having completely forgotten her injury.

“I’m fine. I fell.”

The older girl pulled out a small packet, bent down, and handed it over.

“Here, this should help with the inflammation and pain.”

“Thanks…” Ibuprofen. Sounds like a good idea, actually. Might help with the headache too.

It was then that she became fully aware of the headache. She’d wonder why it wasn’t more apparent earlier if she weren’t a little distracted by glancing up and accidentally catching a glimpse of white lace. She snapped her vision back down as she tore the packet open.

“Here’s something to take it with,” she said, also handing over a small water bottle. “I’m sorry but they’re not coated so it wouldn’t be comfortable to dry swallow them.”

“It’s cool.”

“And… if you need any resources for anything. Mental health, domestic abuse, eating disorders, whatever, and you need someone to come with you, feel free to ask me. If you want to do it outside the eyes of Sunset or the rest of the school, you can come find me at the Meadowbrook animal shelter. I’m there to volunteer every day except Sunday, because they’re closed.”

“I’m good… thanks.”

The girl stood back up, biting her lip. Scoot regretted being curt, but she really didn’t appreciate the insinuations that came with the offer. It was incredibly rude and invasive.

“Well, I hope that your pain gets better soon. I have to go now, the bell’s going to ring soon and I need to be in the soccer field by then or-“

She was interrupted by the aforementioned bell, before ‘eep’ing and sprinting off, leaving Scootaloo alone.

She slipped the flip phone out of her pocket to check the time. She sighed as she realized that she would rather sit here all day in case Bloom had lied to and abandoned her, than go to class. Nothing seemed more annoying than to give any attention to academia. Why bother? She wasn’t gonna go to college. She wasn’t gonna have a career as an adult. She wasn’t even gonna graduate. She just wanted to ruin Sunset, and anything after that, she was just gonna wing it. Either things would naturally turn out better on their own, or if they didn’t, she could always just kill herself. Because without mom… what’s even the point in sticking around?

Before she had any longer to continue contemplating the futility of defying mortality, Bloom finally showed back up again.

“Hey Scoots, sorry it took a minute,” she said, rubbing the back of her head. “Lost track o’ time. We’re probably gonna be a little bit late to our first class.”

Shrug. “I wasn’t exactly on time yesterday. No point trying to make a good second impression, right?”

“Eh, I guess so. Usually I get a little wiggle room cuz I gotta do my chores in the mornings, and Belle has track. You… well.”

“I’ll just pull the dead mom card if they have a problem. That’s been shutting people up pretty quick when I bring it up.” Beat. “See?”

“Oh, right…” she cocked her head and looked back into the lockers. “There ya are, slowpoke.”

“Don’t tease me,” a musical voice whined. “My thighs hurt.”

Scoot craned her neck to glance behind her, and she felt all of the air leave her lungs as she beheld the most beautiful girl she had ever seen in her entire life.

Her pale lavender hair clung wet to her neck and forehead. Her emerald eyes pierced the soul, and her bright- though mildly pained- smile sliced through the shadows of the mind despite the braces. Her skin, white as snow, was perfectly clear. She had on short shorts, and her shirt was a bit cropped, showing off her belly ring. The tourmaline gem sparkled in the fluorescent lights. A pair of pants were haphazardly hanging out the sides of the backpack she wore, its straps pulled as tight as they could go. She walked with a slight limp, favoring her right leg.

“You didn’t stretch?” Bloom teased.

“I’ve never done a sport before,” she moaned, leaning on the wall. “I wasn’t born with eighty pounds of muscle like you were.”

“I was born eight pounds and one ounce.”

“Whatever,” she said as she finally took notice of the other girl sitting on the floor and staring at her. “Hiya.”

“Hi… hi.” she mirrored, tripping over her own tongue.

“Your eye okay?”

“Y… yeah.”

“This is Scootaloo,” Bloom greeted. “She’s the new kid.”

“I heard you tried to strangle Sunset Shimmer,” Belle said, sounding impressed more so than anything else. “Makes you kind of a hero here.”

“I’m not a hero…”

“Maybe not,” she said with a shrug. “But you’re clearly not a villain.”

“Maybe you can be an antihero,” Bloom added. “Like Deadpool. Or Kylo Ren.”

“Nobody knows your video game people,” Belle deadpanned. “You nerd.”

“I’m not a nerd, you’re just outta touch!”

“Movies aren’t worth watching unless they’re ten years old, at least.”

“You’re such a hipster.”

“I am not a hipster! I’m just not into things that are popular.”

“That’s a hipster.”

“Hipsters are specifically a counterculture devoted to following fashion and music interests that fall outside of the mainstream media. I listen to the radio and wear normal clothes. I’m not a hipster, by its definition!”

Scootaloo had half a mind to ask, “What are you, a dictionary?” But figured it would have been a rude comment to make to someone she had just met. Especially someone she thought was cute.

“Eh, potato potahto.” Bloom reached a hand down to Scoot. “Come on, we gotta get goin’.”

“Yeah,” Belle said as she also extended a hand. “It’s good to meet you.”

Scoot shoved her items into her bag before accepting their hands and allowing them to pull her up. Once standing, neither of the girls pulled their hands away, but nothing seemed significant about it to either. But to Scootaloo, this was the first time anyone had touched her skin in weeks, aside from getting the shit smacked out of her. And it was the first time a girl she thought was pretty had touched her in months.

“You okay?” Bloom asked.

“Yeah… I’m just…” she sighed and squeezed their hands back. “I’ve just not been looking forward to anything since it happened. And now, for the first time in a long time, I’m actually kind of really looking forward to getting to know you two. And… I’m scared.”

“What are you scared of?”

“Fucking it up.”

“You ain’t gonna mess nothin up. You’re here now.”

“And we’re gonna be BFFs forever!”

Scootaloo felt a smile touch her face for the first time since the accident.

“I think I’d like that.”

It’ll be nice to have resources to help her get revenge.

And now, all she had to do was be patient.

/x/x/x/
> 14b - Shattered Fragments (of the Penultimate Day)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

/x/ Earlier… /x/

When Rarity awakens, she asserts that today is going to be a good day. Opalescence is snuggled up right between her legs; through her window the sun looks bright for the first time in a long while; the drama of the previous couple of days had long since melted away in the wake of the plans of those following. Nothing can possibly go wrong today. A delicious breakfast, a delightful jaunt to the mall, and then afterwards surely an equally delicious bowl of revenge were sure to arrive soon. All she has to do is be patient. Although given by her stomach screaming at her to fill it with sustenance, perhaps that first one can stand to spare the patience.

She carefully maneuvers her legs around the cat, who hisses in protest before darting away, taking half the blankets with her. Rarity chuckles in spite of herself before making her way fully out of the bed and to the door. The moment she opens it a sliver, Opal darts through and down the hall.

The sound and smell of cooking bacon fills the air, carrying Rarity aloft as she drifts down the hall and into the kitchen.

“Rarity?” Belle asks, keeping her eyes focused on the bacon and toast.

“It’s me,” she says, sidling over. “This smells divine.”

“I put some vanilla and cinnamon in the egg wash like you said.”

“I have to say, this is one of the best things I’ve ever woken up to.”

“Hey, it was your idea. Oh, uh, I didn’t get started on the whor- uh, sorry, the um. Promiscuous eggs. Or the berries. But I have the potatoes defrosting in the oven.”

“I can take care of those while you get these.” Rarity opens the fridge and begins to pull ingredients out, setting them on the island. “I presume Loo is still asleep?”

“Yeah. I think. She’s gonna shower soon.” She flips the piece of toast over. “I already did last night, to give her more time in the morning.”

“Well that was nice of you.” Rarity sniffs the air. “Hey, you didn’t burn anything this time.”

“Oh come on, I was a kid when that happened, you can’t still be bringing that up!”

“You burned. The juice.”

“And that’s why I didn’t touch the berries.”

She chuckles a bit at this as she heads to the sink to wash her hands. “Are you ready for our excursion today?”

“Yeah…” Belle prods at the bacon. “It’ll be nice to have one last big hangout together.”

“You say that as if it’s going to be our last one ever.”

“I mean. Before school starts up again. We probably won’t get a chance again until summer.”

“I doubt I’m leaving the country for spring break again. And even so, there are weekends. Lots of weekends…” she sighs. “I have a lot of free time now. I can focus on my work. My savings account has just been collecting interest for months now. Perhaps it’s time I make a purchase. There’s an embroidery machine I’ve had my eyes on that I may just get today.”

“That’s the one you’ve been talking about since last Hearth’s Warming, isn’t it?” Belle asks, soaking a new slice of bread. “The one that’s like three thousand dollars?”

“It is indeed. I’ve been putting every spare penny I have into it. I would have had enough by the Fall Formal, had the whole Twilight situation not occurred. Which of course, I’m glad happened. But… it may as well not have happened. So I might as well do something nice for myself, yes?”

“You do deserve it.” Ding! “Potatoes are probably fine by now.”

As Rarity pulls them out of the oven, Sweetie Belle can’t help but feel the sting of her sister’s melancholic admission. Because after all, she’s right. Before Twilight, Rarity didn’t exactly have many positive relationships of value with anybody. Sunset had made sure of that. And after Twilight had left, things were great! She had an entire network of friends… Until this weekend. And whose fault is that, exactly?

“These should honestly cool down for a while. And the berries should be room temperature.”

“Oh? Sorry, Rare, I didn’t know.”

“It’s fine, dear, we’re in no rush. The bacon isn’t done yet, so we can’t start the potatoes anyway. And the eggs are much better fresh. So this will work out perfectly.”

“Alright…” she purses her lips. “Actually, do you have a second?”

“For what?”

“I left my phone to charge in the bedroom. Would you mind grabbing it for me?”

“Expecting a call?”

“Nah. I just wanna put on a video or something. This is a lot more boring than I expected it to be.”

“Sure. You’re doing the bulk of the work, after all. Perhaps I’ll even see if Loo is awake.”

“It’ll be on MY side of the bed,” she emphasizes, with a bit more urgency than she intended.

“But of course it would be, silly,” Rarity teases. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I… just making sure you don’t grab the wrong one.”

“Oh please, I think I’m intelligent enough to determine which one is yours and which one is hers, yes? Besides, the worst that happens is I go back in and swap them out.”

“I know, but you know how protective Scoots is about her privacy.”

“Of course, and I would never violate that. You forget the only person more protective over their phone is moi~”

“You say, when you don’t even have a passcode.”

“One does not need a passcode amongst trustworthy company.” Rarity suddenly frowns. “Although. Perhaps one would have saved me from the torrent of embarrassment Sunset has brought me. But then again, she isn’t exactly what I would call trustworthy. Not like Applejack, or Fluttershy, or… or you.”

Before Belle can fully internalize the second sting of the morning, she notices that their parents have entered the kitchen as well.

“Love the smell o’ bacon in the morning,” Hondo grumbles, heading to the coffee maker. “You better be savin’ me a dozen pieces. At least.”

“Dear, you are not eating a dozen pieces of bacon. Your heart-“

“Ah, my heart’s fine. It’s my stomach I’m worried about.”

“You have two ulcers!” Cookie cries.

“It’s fine, I’ll just have some tums.” He sniffs the potatoes. “These ain’t done yet.”

“We’re going to cook them in bacon grease,” Rarity supplies. “And when the blackberries are ready, I’ll make syrup from them.”

“Mmmmm, nice,” he nods sagely as he leans against the counter. “I gotta say, you two girls are gonna make some men really happy someday, cookin’ the way you do. Just like Bow’s lady.”

“Yes, Windy‘s cooking is delightful…” Rarity murmurs to herself. “If you’ll excuse me for a moment, Belle had just asked me to fetch her phone.”

“Yeah sure, just don’t take too long. This is some prime breakfast if I ever seen some.”

Rarity nods as she steps out of the kitchen, striding through the living room and down the hall. As she approaches the bedroom, something heavy lodges itself in her stomach. She rubs at it for a moment, and takes a brief moment to step into the bathroom. She is torn between sitting on the toilet and continuing to rub, briefly wondering what she ate to cause such a weird and sudden bout of discomfort. Finding no answers, she steps back out and continues on her way to her sisters’ room.

Slowly pushing the door in, she peeks inside to ensure that there isn’t anyone indecent inside. Finding the room empty, she fully steps in and walks over to the bed. There are three phones sitting on the table nearest the door.

“Inconvenient,” she sighs, not pausing to wonder why, if privacy was so important to Loo, she would leave her phone on Belle’s side of the bed. “Which one was hers again…?”

Rarity picks up one of them and swipes a finger on the screen. An image of all three of the kids shows up, which narrows down the possibilities by exactly zero. She swipes it open but finds that it is passcode-locked. She huffs and sets it back down.

“Process of elimination it is.” She mutters, reaching for another one. She swipes this one, but it shows only Belle and Scootaloo. It is the same photo, but this one is zoomed in just a bit further to crop Bloom out of the photo for some reason. Strange. Same deal with this one security-wise, also locked by a passcode.

She narrows her eyes as she sets it down, puzzling over this predicament. She couldn’t exactly bring all of them over and ask Belle which was hers. Well, she COULD do that, but would have rather avoided the mild embarrassment that could result. And then she glanced at the third device. The… awfully familiar third device.

The awfully familiar third device that she knew for a fact did not belong to anyone in the house.

The awfully familiar third device that… should not be here.

“Pah. Surely not,” she says with an eye roll. “There’s no way.”

And yet. There it was.

“Right?”

Rarity reaches down for it as time around her slows, freezing to a standstill. Her heart beats in her chest, seeming to slam its way up into her throat. She desperately wills herself to be wrong, feeling acid adrenaline drip from her veins and frosted ice form on her spine. Her trembling hand brushes against the silicone gel case that she held just a handful of weeks ago. So long ago it seems.

“No…” she whispers, voice fragile and delicate as porcelain. She wraps her fingers around and slowly pulls it upwards as she hears the bathroom door open behind her. She turns the phone over, and the act causes the screen to automatically light up. The lock screen consists of a selfie taken by Sunset ‘Bitch Queen’ Shimmer herself, surrounded by all of their friends. In fact, there Rarity was, right in the thick of it. Her vision blurs as heat rises on her underarms, knuckles, and stomach. She swipes it open, passcode-free, and is met with a different photo, this one of a tear-stricken but slightly smiling Sunset Shimmer standing next to the beaming Princess Twilight Sparkle.

This is Sunset’s phone.

But why…?

“Oh, my GOD Rarity,” Scootaloo yelps from behind her. “I did not know you were there, you just gave me a heart attack!”

Rarity turns her head to the side just enough to catch sight of the younger girl in her periphery. She is scrambling to cover herself with her towel, heeding this task much more so than whatever the reason for her scare turned out to be.

“God, just, please knock next time or something so I know you’re in here, I just about gave you a facefull of titty.” She finally gets the knot ready and tightens it against her chest. “Why are you even in here in the first place?”

Rarity then takes a slow and dramatic swivel around as she deliberately brings the phone into full view, purposefully showing the screen side forward. She fights the bile rising in her throat as a contemptuous glare forces its way on her face. Her free fist clenches as she slowly turns her head down.

“What is this?” She hisses, teeth grit, lips curling into a snarl as Scootaloo’s face falls.

“I… it’s… I…” she sputters and fights for a cohesive sentence that refuses to be spoken. Her stomach falls into her knees as she takes a step backwards. Rarity steps towards her.

“Why… the bloody hell… do you have Sunset Shimmer’s cell phone?” She snarls, her typical manner of speech gone completely by the wayside. Instead, she is growling in the manner of a starving tigress staring down its prey.

Scoot’s eyes widen, her shoulders hunch as she retreats into a smaller version of herself, a tortoise seeking the safety of its shell. But no shell can protect her from the pure blind furious rage pouring from Rarity’s body. Her breathing speeds up and grows shallow as her back collides with the wall. Still, Rarity is advancing.

“I swear to Faust, Scootaloo, if you don’t have a very good explanation for this in five seconds, I am GOING to lose my temper with you. And neither of us want that to happen. One.”

“Rarity, I-“

“Two.”

“I don’t know what-“

“Two and a half.”

“It isn’t mine!”

“I KNOW IT’S NOT YOURS!” Rarity roars.

“Please don’t yell-“

Rarity whiris on her heel and storms out of the room, slamming her shoulder into the door and bashing a hole in the wall with the knob.

“Rare!”

She stomps through the house on her way to the kitchen, where she meets Belle- darting out of the kitchen- halfway.

“I can explain!” She cries, still holding onto the spatula and tongs.

“Do it,” Rarity whispers, voice barely above a whisper. “Give me an explanation right. Now. Why do you two have Sunset’s phone?”

“The hell’s going on?” Hondo growls, joining the fray. “Why are you stomping and screaming?”

“Really!” Cookie adds, following him out. “There’s no reason for that level of activity this early.”

“This is Sunset Shimmer’s phone!” Rarity explains through tears. “And it’s here! In their bedroom! WHY?”

“I. I just stole it yesterday,” Scootaloo says, catching up. “Out of her apartment! I noticed she forgot it the other day, at Fluttershy’s! So I went to get it while I was…”

“How did you notice she forgot it?”

“I, she, I, uh,” she sputters, frantically formulating her way out of this one. Inwardly she kicks herself for not bringing the phones into the bathroom with her. How could she make such a stupid fuckup?

“And you lied to me about getting “fresh air” too, another lie to add to the pile.”

“Yeah, I… I was. I was scared. And-“

“Scared? From whom did you have to fear?”

“Sunset was… I was…” Scootaloo shook her head. “I just wanted to make sure she couldn’t post anymore.”

Rarity then dropped her arms as she gasped.

“If you stole it yesterday evening, then the one who outed Rainbow Dash last night…”

Scootaloo takes a step back as the full brunt of the discovery hits her like a sledgehammer to the chest.

“It was you.” Rarity takes a step forward. “This whole time. Right in plain sight. It was YOU.” She felt her fists ball up as her cheeks soaked. “You slimy, disgusting, conniving little BITCH.”

“What the hell is happening here!?” Hondo yells. “Rarity, what are you yelling about? What did she do? What happened?”

“She’s Anon a Miss!” Rarity cries, falling to her knees. “She spread the rumors about me, about all of us! She posted all of those horrible horrible things! She! SHE!” She loses her balance and collapses to the ground, hyperventilating.

As Cookie rushes to her fallen daughter’s side, Belle and Scootaloo both merely stand frozen in place.

 A dark look crosses Hondo’s face as he glowers.

“What did you do?” He snarls. “What did you do to my daughter?”

“I… I… I…” Scootaloo looks around the room, desperate to find something, anything, but there is no savior to be found. There is no way out. She locks eyes with Belle, and makes a decision before glaring. “You.”

“Scoot…?“

“You moved the phones to your side of the bed on purpose to get me caught,” she accuses, taking a step forward. “Didn’t you?”

“Don’t speak to her,” Hondo growls, stepping in front of her. “I asked you a question. What. The hell. Did you do. To my kids.”

“You wouldn’t understand,” she snaps.

He clenched his fists before turning to face his youngest, getting down on one knee before softening his voice. “Baby doll,” he says, putting his hand on her cheek. “What’s going on?”

Belle sniffs. “It’s now, Scoots,” she whispers. “You have to start fixing it right now. You have to come clean. I have to…” she blinks away the tears before turning her attention back to her father. “We- Scoots and Bloom and I- we framed Sunset for spreading rumors and sharing secrets.”

“Why?” He asks, not understanding. “Why did… what did…” he turns back around to look at Scootaloo. “You…?”

Rarity continues to wail in horror, no longer making cohesive noises. Cookie turns to glare at the interloper.

“Get out.” She says, voice plain. “Pack your things. Put some damn clothes on. And get out of this house.”

“But-“

In an instant Cookie is on her feet, and grabs the girl by the throat, pressing her against the wall. Not hard enough to hurt, or cause any damage, or even impact her ability to breathe. But enough to make an impression. “After everything I have done for you… all these years I’ve treated you like one of my own. And you pay back our hospitality with this vile betrayal, these lies, this… Get out.” She lets go and points across the room at the door. “You get out. And you stay out.”

Hondo scoops Rarity from the floor, bridal style, and pulls her away from this abominable outsider he could no longer recognize. Rarity falls silent, spent, and passes out. The phone slips from her fingers and falls to the ground as he carries her out of the room.

“Where will I go?” Scoot asks, voice small as ever.

“Hell,” Cookie spits. “That’s where you can go. You lied to me. You lied to my daughter. You lied to every single person at school. You spread lewd photographs of a minor! Of my baby! You make me sick to even breathe the same air as you. Consider yourself lucky that I don’t hospitalize you. That is the extent of my mercy. You pack your things, and you never speak to any of us again.” She turns to face Belle. “And you… we will talk about this later. Now say your goodbyes,” she snatches the utensils. “And see her off.”

As she leaves, the girls remain.

“Look what you did,” Scootaloo says, devoid of emotion. “You just had to get your revenge on me, huh?”

“What are you talking about?” Belle asks through tears of her own. “Do you think I wanted this?”

“Oh please,” she spit, raising her voice. “You’ve been begging and pleading me to stop the whole fucking time. It’s all you ever wanted from me. You were obsessed with making sure the dirt I have on you never saw the light of day. Of course you moved them over when I was in the shower! You left yours behind on purpose just to get Rarity to find it, excellent plan, you backstabber.”

“Wh, what do you mean?”

“When I got out of the shower, she was standing on your side of the bed. With Sunset’s phone. When I distinctly remember putting it on my side.” This was, of course, a lie. She herself set her and Sunset’s phone together on Belle’s nightstand, unthinking. She would only be in the shower for five minutes and didn’t expect anyone to enter the room. A silly little mistake. One tiny lapse in judgment. And now everything was falling apart. But there was one last thing she could do. “You did this on purpose, didn’t you? You did this just to hurt me back! You betrayed me! Admit it!”

“I didn’t touch the phone!”

“You fucking sabotaged me, you traitor!” She clenches her fists and screws her eyes shut before taking a resolute deep breath. This is it. “I hate you. I fucking hate you. You are dead to me, you hear me? Dead.”

“No…” Belle leans against the wall, slowly sliding down. “Please! You don’t mean that.”

“I have never meant anything more in my entire life. You. Stupid. Useless. Bitch. All you had to do was just do everything I told you exactly the way I told you to do it. It was EASY!” She finally broke out in emotion. But anger, it wasn’t. “Just do what I tell you to, and keep your mouth shut. I tell you to give me Rarity’s phone, and you do it. I tell you to lie to your mom and dad, and you do it. I don’t care about any of your bullshit excuses, and I never have. This was my plan, my perfect plan, and you completely ruined it through your, your, incompetence. Your ineptitude. Your negligence. You don’t know how to follow simple directions! You fucked me up for the last time, so you know what? No more. I am done using you and ordering you around. Okay, you have dragged your feet, and argued with me every single step of the way,” she wipes the tears away as she continues. “I did all of the real work this entire fucking time, and all you had to do was just keep the phone hidden on your side of the bed, and I would have gotten away with it. So mark my words, that big deep dark secret you’ve been begging me to keep hidden this whole time? The one I only hid conditional of you doing what I told you? Well, it’s going everywhere now. Good fucking job, you dumb bitch!”

Cookie steps back out of the kitchen.

“No. Shut up. Shut up! You shut up, and you leave my babies alone,” she growls. “You’ve done enough damage to both of them, to everyone in the school, in the whole damn city. You’ve poisoned this whole household long enough with your lies and deceit, and I will not sit idly by as you continue to abuse this girl who gave up everything to invite you into our home. And you manipulate her into doing your bidding, doing terrible things she would never have done if not for your bad influence, your filthy blackmail. You have five minutes to pack your things and go before I call the police.”

As she speaks, the realization dawns in Belle’s eyes.

“Come on baby,” she says as she pulls Belle into her embrace. “Come in here with me, okay? She can’t hurt you any more. And I promise you, we’ll get through this together as a family, okay?”

The last thing she does before entering the kitchen is silently mouth her thanks, before disappearing around the corner.

Scoot pauses for a moment as she fully takes in the moment.

She may have just burned the bridges with everyone in the house, but the hope that maybe, just maybe, she convinced Cookie and Hondo that Belle was just another victim too? It was enough to steel her resolve. Maybe things went down the shitter for herself but Belle would at least be spared from the wrath of her sister.

But for now, she’ll have to pack.

/x/ Now /x/

“Cold, we’re so cold!” The radio cries, heavy guitars and synths vibrating the windows. “We are~”

Bow reaches over to turn the music down to a reasonable volume.

“I like that song…” Rainbow quietly murmurs, her head resting against the frigid window as she stares wistfully at the clouds.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm.” He sits in silence for a few moments before nodding. “Do you need to talk about it?”

Rainbow sighs and throws her head back. “No, it’s fine. It sucks but I’ll get through it.”

“You don’t have to do it alone.”

“Yeah. I know. That’s why I’m going to Fluttershy’s.”

He bites his lip before moving his hand back to the volume knob. However, he hesitates before retracting his hand.

“So. About Scoot-“

“Don’t! Please. Don’t say her name. I don’t wanna hear about her right now. Or ever. It’ll just make me mad and I don’t wanna take it out on you.”

“Okay. Clearly I can’t do this your way. So I’m going to do it my way because this is time sensitive. Rain. I, HAVE, to talk about this, and I, HAVE, to talk about it right now. Because she is going to come to our home next.”

“No, dad, she’s not, because I told her she’s dead to me-“

“This isn’t all about you.”

“The hell it isn’t!”

“I promised that girl that she would always have a place to stay in my home. That there would always be a seat at my table if she was hungry. That somewhere in the world she can be welcomed even if every other door shuts her out. And when she shows up, I need to know what my choices are. Because don’t get me wrong, if I have to choose, then I will choose you over her every single time. But I need to know if I have to make that choice. I need to hear you tell me that you will not be okay with me providing hospitality to her.”

“Would you let her in if I said yes?”

“I would.”

“Why?”

“Because I promised your mother.”

“That!” Rainbow huffs. “The stupid hippo-whatever oath, right?”

“No,” he rubs a hand on his head for a moment before pulling the car over. “This is… pertinent to Scoots.”

“Pert…?”

“It concerns her. When your mother asked you to look out for a kid with orange skin and magenta hair at the high school the first day after winter break, and protect her from Sunset, and make sure she made friends her age, she also made me promise that if that girl ever showed up at our house, that I welcome her in as if she were my own.”

“I mean. Yeah. I guess that makes sense. Her mom died and her dad abused her, right?”

“He neglected her, which, yes, is a form of abuse. Windy never told me the full story, confidentiality and all, but. From what she could tell me, he was awful. She needed a stable paternal figure in her life after such a traumatic event. And she promised me to be that. So when she showed up on our front lawn to do that hero project on you, I let her in and fed her and showed her all of your sports trophies and all that jazz. I never would have expected her to ever be capable of hurting anyone like this. Least of all you. You…” he reaches over to take her hand in his. “I promised your mother to look after Scootaloo. And I did. But now, I’m at a crossroads. I’m going to have to choose between her, and you. I don’t want to have to sacrifice one to save the other, not again. But if I have to choose between my wants and your needs. You come first. You will always come first. And I need to know if in order to put your needs first, I’ll have to turn Scootaloo away.”

Rainbow blinks her tears away as she returns her father’s grip. “Yeah. She hurt me, and I don’t want her anywhere near me, my house, or my family again. I can’t have her in my life right now. I can’t…” She rests her head on his arm. “I don’t care how much trouble she’s in right now. I have to be strong for Sunset. For Rare. For Fluttershy and Pinkie and AJ, for the team, for everyone. And I can’t do that with Her around. She dug this grave and she can lay in it. I’m not gonna bury her but I’m not gonna help her out either.”

“Okay.” Bow leans over and kisses the top of her head. “That’s all I needed to say. I’m sorry.”

“It’s cool… I’m sorry for being a bitch.”

“You’re not a bitch. You are a strong, fierce, independent woman who I am very proud of. You set, maintain, and defend personal boundaries like no one else I’ve ever met. And I want to respect them the best I can. But I can’t go back on my word, unless I’m given something more important. And you are the most important person in my life right now.”

“Except for mom, right?”

He nods. “No. Your mother is so close to second that you two are touching. But when I say you’re my number one? I mean it. If the worst came to pass and I had to choose between you two, then I am choosing you. No matter who it is, or what circumstance, I will always choose you, every single time. I’m not exactly hoping for that to come up, but something about the way your mother talks about Scootaloo is… well, she seems very attached to that kid. And before I get back home from dropping you off, I need to know what the game plan is going to be. So I promise you. Scootaloo is not welcome in my home. Okay?”

“Okay… thanks, dad.”

“Of course.” He turns around to check the street before merging back into the lane. “And. You don’t have to say it back. But. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

He squeezes her hand before reaching to the radio, cranking it back up.

/x/ Earlier… /x/

Scootaloo shoulders her duffel bag, giving one last sad look around the room she called home for the better part of two years. There wasn’t much other than clothes, toiletries, and her phone. She never considered herself a materialistic person. And right now, Things weren’t exactly high on her list of priorities. She didn’t have one, really. One little stupid mistake caused a cascade of failure culminating in what could only become the complete breakdown of her life. Which sucks. She literally had decided the previous night that she had already inflicted as much pain on Sunset as she really wanted to, and was totally willing to just let consequences naturally fizzle out on their own. Perhaps it was that lack of conviction that inspired her carelessness. Because now? Her life was over. And if she was going down, she was at least taking her mom’s killer with her. But first, she needed to figure out whose couch she was going to be sleeping on next.

A curt knock on the bedroom door precedes the entrance of the last person she wanted to see right now.

“Rarity,” she greets without looking up. “You’re awake.”

“Give me Sunset’s phone.”

She begrudgingly hands it over, refusing to make eye contact.

“I presume there was no personal vendetta against myself or my sister,” Rarity says as she slips the phone into her purse. “And we were merely pawns in your game, yes?”

She grunts in response, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall, glaring at the floor.

“I’d like to think that Sweetie Belle and I were more than hospitable to you. I can only wonder why you would cause us such heartache and misery. I understand more than any the desire to get back at all of the horrible things that Sunset did to all of us. But what I will not abide by is collateral damage. I would never dream of hurting you even if it meant my dream job in Paris with Sunset as my own personal pincushion. We gave you everything we could, because we were more than happy to do so. You needed the help. When Applejack contacted me and informed me of the situation, was I not there with her at your house the very next day to help you pack your things and move away from that abusive monster?”

“I didn’t ask for your help.”

“I didn’t ask to have my bloody underwear photos leaked across the internet, and yet here we are!”

“Whatever.”

“Honestly, do you even realize the full gravity of what you have done to my reputation? And I can only imagine now what revenge you’ll have against my sister. I don’t know what secret you have over her, but it all makes sense now. The things you have done or will do, well, there’s nothing I or anyone else can do to stop it. But we will no longer aid and abet your ability to do such vile things. I will no longer afford any further generosity to you, as there are many who deserve it much more than you do.”

“What, like Sunset?”

“Yes. Exactly like Sunset.”

“She’s an evil bitch-“

“She WAS an evil bitch. Past tense. You think I don’t know that? After everything she did to me? For years, before you ever even showed up. You only saw the second half of her reign of terror.”

“What, you think that magic unicorns can show up and shoot her with rainbows and then just erase all the shit she did?”

“No, I don’t think that at all. I fully expect her to make reparations for everything she did. But you never gave her the opportunity to! You’ve made us hate her for things that she didn’t do before we had the chance to sort out the things that she did do.”

“How are you gonna ‘sort out’ what she did?” Scoot challenges, finally locking eyes. “Ignoring your siblings to hang out with her? Oh, it’s okay Sunset, you may be the biggest villain in history, who ripped people apart for pleasure; a pony princess took pity on you so you deserve special treatment. Let’s parade you around as a trophy to show everyone else how much better we are than you because we can forgive someone. Never mind how much she’s hurt other people.”

“She never leaked lewd photos! She never outed someone for their sexuality! And she never made someone suicidal. You did that.”

“She made ME suicidal!”

Rarity sighs and punches the bridge of her nose. “I don’t want to argue with you about this.”

“Yeah? Because you know you’re full of shit.”

“E-?” She looks up at this. “Excuse me?”

“Sunset terrorized us all for years, she planted drugs in our lockers, she lied and stole and cheated and manipulated, and she killed my mom-

“Are you serious? Your mother died in a car accident caused by a drunken idiot driving a faulty vehicle. What on earth could Sunset have had to do with any of that?”

“She was THERE! She caused the accident. She cut us off in the intersection, flipped us off, distracted us, and then the… it…” She screws her eyes shut and presses her hands to her temples. “I’m so fucking sick and tired of answering this goddamn question. She was there, tapping on the door, looking at me in my window. Don’t tell me that I’m lying, don’t tell me I’m insane, don’t tell me she wasn’t there. She was. I saw her. It’s her fault, okay?”

“Do you really think I’m going to believe that?” Rarity asks, rolling her eyes. “After every single other lie you’ve told, it is absolutely despicable that you would try to pull the wool over my eyes once more.”

“It’s not a lie,” Scoot moans, dropping her hands. “Nobody has ever believed me when I said it. But I wouldn’t expect you to either.”

“Ugh.”

“What do you MEAN, UGH?” She screams, tearing away from the wall. “The one thing I would never lie about is my mom! My head was stuck in place staring at her for hours. I see her every time I close my eyes. I-“

“How did you know Sunset was staring at you through your window if your head was stuck staring the complete opposite way?” Rarity quietly asks with a sneer, as Scootaloo freezes in place. “Through a completely shattered window no less. You have failed to keep your story straight this whole time,”

“Wh… what?”

“And I am not stupid. After your outburst the other day, I looked up the accident. I saw the photos they took of the car. There is no way that you would have seen anything through that window, especially so if you’re telling the truth about your head being locked in place. Frankly, the fact that you are using the tragedy of your mother to garner sympathy from me for your actions is disgusting.”

“But,” Scoot whimpers, recalling the memory just as vividly as it was the day it happened. “But I saw her…”

“Either you’re a skilled manipulator, or you have memory problems, but either way you need help. Professional help. Whether you’re willing to concoct such horrendous lies for nothing, or you are just that out of touch with reality itself, there is something wrong with you.”

Rarity then pulls her wallet out of her purse, and pulls several $20 bills out of it. She folds the stack in half, putting the wallet away, and handing over the money.

“Here.”

“Why are you…?”

Rarity sighs and rolls her eyes. “It’s cold outside, and you haven’t eaten today. Take this, have a hot meal, and get a taxi to take you somewhere safe and trustworthy. I don’t want to see your face ever again, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to throw you into the streets with nothing. Nobody deserves that. Not even…” she blinks a few times before a few tears stream down. “Not even Sunset at her worst.”

Scoot hesitantly takes the money.

“Thanks…” she murmurs. After a few moments of silence, she ambles her way out of the room, leaving Rarity alone.

A minute passes before she slides down the wall and sits on the floor, weeping freely. She slides the door closed with her foot and pulls out her phone. Except it’s Sunset’s phone. She can’t find the energy to dig for her own, so she just opens it. A photo of a tearful Sunset and a beaming Twilight assails her, and the dam breaks. Between sobs she scrolls through the contacts. She taps on Flash Sentry’s number and puts the phone to her ear.

“What the hell do you want?” He snaps.

“It’s me.”

“Rarity? He asks.

“There’s been a bit of an update on the Anon a Miss situation.”

/x/ Now… /x/

Sunset sits in silence as Windy looks over her wounds.

“So…” she murmurs, eventually. “I guess I shouldn't have left my phone in my apartment, huh?”

“Hon...” Windy reaches over for more peroxide before turning back to her work. “What happened to Rainbow wasn’t your fault. And, if you really think about it, it was a good thing for you. Because it sounds like Rarity doesn’t think you did it anymore.”

“Whoop dee doo…”

“That’s worth celebration.”

“You know, I don’t feel like celebrating. If what it took to prove my innocence is hurting Rainbow like that, then I’d rather have stayed guilty.”

“But you aren’t the one who hurt her.”

“I may as well have! If I kept my phone on me then none of this would have ever happened, and Rainbow wouldn’t be upset right now. It is my fault.”

“If a frog had wings then it wouldn’t bump its ass when it hops. But frogs don’t have wings, and you don’t have control over what Loo does. She could have just stolen your phone off your person, or used a VPN or a proxy or some other technical workaround, or any number of other possibilities. She…” Windy trails off in thought for a moment before quietly whispering, “How did you know?”

Sunset sighs. “Look, I… I did something I’m not proud of. A lot of somethings. But there’s one in particular. Back in the day. Do you remember the whole weed in the locker thing?”

Windy’s knuckles tighten around Sunset’s wrist for just a moment before relaxing. “I do.”

“Well. To make sure I knew where she was when the plan to plant it went down, I called Rainbow. I said I was in crisis. I pretended to be suicidal and depressed because I was lonely and didn’t have any friends. I confessed to her all sorts of things that I figured were things that I noticed that kids get bullied for but that someone like Dash would be sympathetic towards. Like orphans and lesbians.”

“Mm. Did Applejack find you in a similar state?”

“Similar? Ha. Basically exactly the same state. Just real this time.”

“So you said you were gay and she said hey me too?”

“I’m not gonna say exactly what she said because I don’t wanna invade her privacy any more than it’s already been invaded. But. That’s essentially what happened, yeah.”

“So… are you…?”

“I’m what this world would call functionally pansexual. Gender doesn’t matter to me when it comes to attraction. I mean, back in Equestria, we didn’t really care about that. Our ruler had female and male consorts in even supply. I mean, I’m basically straight for unicorns, I’m not really into pegasi or earth ponies.”

“Earth Pony?”

“Uh. Well…” Sunset rolls her head a bit at this. “They’re. Unicorns without horns. Pegasi without wings. They’re, I’m trying to think of what the politically correct way of referring to them was. I never remembered it because I didn’t care about earth ponies. They’re like. Vanilla ice cream, compared to pegasi and unicorns being the strawberry and the chocolate.”

“So just regular ponies then.”

“Pretty much.”

“So when ponies date someone of the same species, that’s what qualifies as straight in your eyes?”

Sunset nods. “Yeah. Heterospecies relationships were frowned upon by some parts of society. I mean, it was totally normal for unicorns and pegasi to both choose earth pony mates, but if a pegasus and a unicorn dated, it would certainly turn some heads. Actually I think it was illegal a while back. I’m not very well versed in ancient history, but I think that Colonel Hurricane and Queen Platinum excommunicated ponies in interspecies relationships for a little while. I mean, they couldn’t exactly say ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ when one of them has wings, after all.”

“Hmm.”

A silence settles in that Sunset perceives as awkward.

“You’re not, like… upset. Are you?”

Windy nods. “Of course not. My mind is just on a lot of things right now. Please read any of my terse responses as distracted more so than anything else.” She then begins applying an ointment. “I also have an inkling, and I’m trying to piece it together. Because much as I’m willing to help you, my daughter’s safety is my priority. But since Bow is taking care of her right now, that’s one less thing that I have to worry about. But there’s still a lot on my plate. And once I’m sure that these are clean and ready, and I take you down to the Pie household, I’m probably going to have a full day.”

“Doing what?”

“I’m not going to tell you that because it isn’t your business. And this isn’t a matter of anger, it’s a matter of the hippocratic oath.”

“Hippo…?”

“Ah. They wouldn’t have that in Equestria, given you probably didn’t have a Hippocrates. It’s the code of ethics in the medical world. Doctor patient confidentiality and all that.”

“What, about Scootaloo?” At a look, Sunset nods. “Right. Confidential.”

“I’m not going to tell you because it doesn’t concern you. Simple as that. Nothing personal… actually…” Windy freezes in place. “The day you had the weed planted in the locker…?”

“Yeah?”

Windy squints her eyes. “Did you happen to drive around on your motorcycle that day?”

“Yeah. I drove from Gilda’s place out in the boonies to the high school. There was actually a car accident I drove past. Some idiot almost drove into me so I flipped them off. Karma is a bitch though, some other idiot hit that idiot. I called emergency services on a pay phone in case they were hurt, but I wasn’t about to stick around and get busted if the police came too, since. You know. I had drugs on me.”

Windy blinks a few times, before reaching for the peroxide again. “Interesting.”

“Why do you ask?”

“It’s nothing you need to worry about,” she says, flashing Sunset a reassuring smile as she stands up. “You’re clean and clear. Let’s gauze you up.”

/x/x/x/