"Yah sure this is a good idea?" Applejack asked as the Rainbooms stood beside the Wondercolt statue. The school was out for the day. But the girls still remained on school grounds. Principal Celestia had allowed them to just this once though.
Sunset rolled her eyes, sticking her hands in her jacket pockets to keep them warm. The snow had begun to fall that morning, and it showed no signs of stopping. "Twilight deserves to know about this as much as anyone does."
"What about your Journal?" Rarity asked.
Sunset shook her head. "It was her idea to come here. And as she said, "We don't get together nowhere near often enough. It's time we change that.""
The girls couldn't argue with that. It was true. Before they could say more though, the statue base glowed, before outshot Princess Twilight herself. Luckily Fluttershy was able to grab her before she slipped and slid into a snowbank or fell on her butt.
Twilight smiled at her as she took a moment to get her bearings. "Thanks, Fluttershy. You'd think I'd be used to this by now."
The other girl just blushed, as Twilight was soon able to stand on her own two feet, still a little unsteady. But better by the moment.
"So is Spike coming too?" Rainbow asked, looking again at the portal.
Twilight shook her head. "No. He's on some kind of Royal Business in Canterlot. I'll be joining him in a few days, so the two of us and my parents can spend Hearth's Warming Eve in the Crystal Empire."
"So what's Hearth's Warming Eve?" Pinkie asked as the group filed away from the statue and toward Sugarcube Corner.
Sunset rolled her eyes. "It's basically Equestria's version of Christmas. But without all of the religious undertones that go with it in this world."
Twilight nodded. "It's a very long story, and frankly it's too cold to tell it right now." She looked at Sunset with a worried look. "But before all of that, you mentioned something is going at Canterlot High? Is it magic-related?"
Sunset shook her head. "No. And speaking of magic," she stopped and pulled what looked like some kind of rock out of her backpack. "We took this off a girl named Wallflower Blush earlier."
Twilight looked it over. She could feel the Equestrian magic in the stone, which was carved rather artfully if she was being honest. "What was she doing with it?"
Applejack shook her head. "Ya'll know more about magic than the rest of us. But it looked like she was stealing people's memories. Not sure of what though, or why she would. She got real snippy and defensive about it when we asked her what she was doing." She looked at Sunset. "Seemed rightly pissed off at Sunset for some reason."
Twilight looked at her fellow unicorn. "Do you know her?"
Sunset sighed. "Kind of? We're on the Yearbook Committee together. But I don't really know her. Let alone why she would hate me as she did. I don't remember picking on her any more than I did with anyone else back in the old days."
The girls winced at the reminder, and Sunset rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Oh for. I'm over it! Honestly, I'm past the point of beating myself up over it. It's in the past now. No point in remembering it all the time."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Twilight's smile, though, only grew as she placed the stone in her backpack for safekeeping (and eventual study back in Ponyville) and pulled out two letters. "Speaking of the past, Sunset. These are for you. I have orders to give them to you."
Sunset took them with a confused frown, one that melted into a smile as she saw the names on the first letter. Her smile only grew as she read it.
"Who's it from, Sunny?!" Pinkie asked, hopping up and down.
Sunset sniffed. "It's from my parents. I haven't talked to them in so long. Long story short, they're asking when they can come to visit me. Or when I'll finally come home for a visit. Even if it's not permanent." She looked at Twilight. "Do they?"
Twilight nodded. "They know. I wasn't going to lie to them. I had to stop them from following me here. I offered to let them stay in the castle for as long as they needed. It's a long way back to Sire's Hollow."
Sunset nodded, as she folded the letter up and gently put it into a pocket. She saw the looks the Rainbooms were giving her and snorted. "What? You girls never asked about my family."
"... Touché, darling," Rarity replied with a huff. "But now I do believe you owe us something." The others nodded, crowding around and giving her the stink eye.
Sunset rolled her eyes. "Fine. You all know I'm a unicorn, right?" The girls nodded. "I was born in a small town called Sire's Hollow. Both of my parents are unicorns. And I'm an only child. That's about it really. I haven't seen my parents since before I ran away from Equestria."
"Why not?" Rainbow asked. As much as her parents drove her insane, even she couldn't imagine going that long without seeing them. None of the girls could.
Sunset shrugged. "It wasn't easy for them to get to Canterlot from Sire's Hollow. And I didn't always have enough bits to go home as much as I wanted to. And then I turned into a self-entitled brat, who thought I was owed literally everything I could think of. We saw each other even less after that."
Twilight's smile fell. "Which is why I let them stay with me in Ponyville. As much as they deserve to see you again, Sunset. It's almost impossible to teach somepony how to behave properly in this world. I mean. Look at me! And learning to walk properly is another pain to learn when you're a pony."
Sunset nodded, as she turned to look at the other letter. Her brows rose when she saw the official wax seal on the envelope. Only one pony she knew used that seal. She bit her lip as she opened the letter. As she read it, her annoyance and anger rose, steam almost coming from her ears.
The girls shared a worried look. "Who is it from?" Fluttershy asked.
"It's from Princess Celestia. It's my, and I quote, "Pardon for the incident with the Element of Magic. Honestly, Sunset. The fact that you thought you needed one, saddens me. I thought you knew me better than that. For all that happened between us, I would never have done something like what you believe I would. Where my students get the idea that I would banish them, or imprison them, or imprison them in the place I banished them to, is beyond me."
Twilight's jaw dropped in shock. "Did she just?"
Sunset nodded, crumbling the letter in her first. "She just called both of us idiots. I forgot how infuriating she can be sometimes!" She hissed, her face flushed with annoyance. "But that is a weight off my shoulders at least. Was she in a bad mood when she gave it to you, Twilight?"
Twilight shrugged. "Spike said she was in a particularly bad mood about something when he saw her. He sent the letter to me and told me about her mood. I don't know why she would say it like that."
Rarity cleared her throat. "As interesting as all of this is, Canterlot High is having a rather major problem at the moment. Did Sunset tell you anything?"
Twilight shook her head. "No. Just that there's something very wrong and fishy going on. I want to help. I do. But I'm not sure how much good I'll be."
Pinkie's smile seemed forced, as the group came to the snack shop. "Better buckle up, princess! It's a doozy!"
***
"... And that's when you came through the portal," Applejack finished an annoyed look on her face.
Twilight sipped her milkshake in silence, trying to digest all she had been told. It reminded her far too much of a similar mess from the year before. Something she would be happy to forget ever happened. "Has anyone actually accused you of this, Sunset?"
Sunset pinched her nose. "Some have tried. But I can count them on one hand. Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo have been the most vocal about it. They even made a scene at lunch about how we were all sitting together when their sisters shouldn't be sitting with a, and I quote, "Raging she-demon."
Twilight's eyes widened. She hadn't expected that. This just made things even worse. "Okay. We know you didn't do it, Sunset. You're far too smart, and we all know how much you've changed. None of us would do this. I wasn't even here to do anything like this. Who does that leave?"
"What about the Dazzlings?" Rainbow asked. "Revenge and all that."
"But no one's seen them since the Battle of the Bands, though," Fluttershy added. "And why go after Sunset and not all of us?"
The girls couldn't argue that. "The photos came from your phone. Right, Rarity?" Twilight asked the fashionista, who nodded. "Who else was in the house that night?"
Rarity tapped her chin. "Mother and father of course. Sweetie was with Applebloom and Scootaloo. I know my parents would never do something like this, and I can't believe Sweetie would be so shallow and simple-minded."
Twilight scratched her chin. "Could anyone have gotten into your phone?"
Rarity sighed. "Well. Yes. I have lent Sweetie my phone before, and she knows the password to log onto it. And Applebloom is quite the tech wiz when she wants to be, I must admit."
Applejack's frown grew. "Now hold. Are ya accusing our sisters of doing this?"
Twilight pinched her nose. "I'm not sure. Have they said anything about how much you girls hangout?"
Applejack tipped her hat down. "Applebloom was mightly peeved when I didn't spend time with her like I promised I would. I hated not to. But I promised Sunset I'd help her rearrange her apartment. Totally forgot that was the same day I promised my sister." She shook her head. "But that's a huge leap to think she would do something like this. It's just stupid. No Apple Family member would do that to one another."
Her frown grew. "Not if they wanted to stay part of the family."
Twilight shook her head, as she took another sip. "This reminds me far too much of the Gabby Gums Incident."
"The what?" Sunset asked.
Twilight shook her head. "Last year, my Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo started to spill ponies dirtiest secrets to all of Ponyville in the Foal Free Press, in order to try and get their cutie marks. They tried to stop. But Diamond Tiara blackmailed them into continuing. They eventually found a way out of it, and we did forgive them. But this reminds me of that."
Sunset tapped her chin. "Well, I know Diamond Tiara isn't the Editor in Chief of the school paper for a fact. So she hasn't got anything to do with this. Or at least not this deep."
The girls nodded. "So then. Now what?" Pinkie asked.
Twilight grinned rather deviously. "It's simple, really. This whole thing reeks of a poorly thought-out scheme. Whoever is doing this was banking on the idea that Canterlot High hadn't forgiven Sunset for what happened in the past. That you girls would turn on her and leave her all alone."
She held up her hand. "But they've shown they don't know a thing about you, Sunset. Or how strong all of our friendships are. They made it blatantly look like this was you doing it. But you never once made it look like you did all of those bad things before the Fall Formal. Right?"
Sunset nodded, rather proud of those facts. Even if she was a different person now.
Twilight's smile grew. "Then I say we wait. Canterlot High isn't falling for whatever Anon-a-Miss is trying to sell. This whole scheme is doomed to failure. It's only a matter of time before whoever is behind it figures that out, and either quits. Or slips up and reveals who is actually doing it! Simple!"
The girls all giggled. It was so simple, now that they thought of it it. Why didn't they think of that? With that happy thought, they all returned to their drinks, more than happy to not try and think about this whole mess.
Unaware that a few booths away, a certain trio sat fuming and furious about how all of this had been going down. Knowing full well that one thing was for sure.
Princess Twilight Sparkle was right.